Theranostic Layer-by-Layer Nanoparticles for Simultaneous Tumor Detection and Gene Silencing

Layer-by-layer nanoparticles (NPs) are modular drug delivery vehicles that incorporate multiple functional materials through sequential deposition of polyelectrolytes onto charged nanoparticle cores. Herein, we combined the multicomponent features and tumor targeting capabilities of layer-by-layer assembly with functional biosensing peptides to create a new class of nanotheranostics. These NPs encapsulate a high weight percentage of siRNA while also carrying a synthetic biosensing peptide on the surface that is cleaved into a urinary reporter upon exposure to specific proteases overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment. Importantly, this biosensor reports back on a molecular signature characteristic to metastatic tumors and associated with poor prognosis, MMP9 protease overexpression. This nanotheranostic mediates noninvasive urinary-based diagnostics in mouse models of three different cancers with simultaneous gene silencing in flank and metastatic mouse models of ovarian cancer.     

Cell-Viability Analysis Against MCF-7 Human Breast Cell Line and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Newly Synthesized Selenoxopyrimidines

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - New selenoxopyrimidines were synthesized by one-pot multicomponent reaction of ethyl aceto-acetate, with aromatic aldehydes and selenourea in acidic medium....     

On the Bures–Wasserstein distance between positive definite matrices

The metric $d(A,B)={\left[\text{tr}A+\text{tr}B?2\text{tr}{\left(A^{1∕2}B{A}^{1∕2}\right)}^{1∕2}\right]}^{1∕2}$ on the manifold of $n\times n$ positive definite matrices arises in various optimisation problems, in quantum information and in the theory of optimal transport. It is also related to Riemannian geometry. In the first part of this paper we study this metric from the perspective of matrix analysis, simplifying and unifying various proofs. Then we develop a theory of a mean of two, and a barycentre of several, positive definite matrices with respect to this metric. We explain some recent work on a fixed point iteration for computing this Wasserstein barycentre. Our emphasis is on ideas natural to matrix analysis.     

Autostratification in drying colloidal dispersions: effect of particle interactions

When particles differing in size or charge are mixed and cast, vertical segregation is an inevitable phenomenon in the produced films. Apart from the Peclet number, which is the ratio of evaporation to diffusion rates, particle interactions play a crucial role in determining the distribution of particles in the dried films. Trueman et al. (1) developed a model for vertical segregation of particles during drying. Their numerical solution assumed that the chemical potentials were determined entirely by entropy. We report the effect of particle interactions in various systems: (i) charged particles with different Peclet numbers and (ii) charged particles with the same Peclet numbers. An experimental study has also been carried out for particles with Peclet numbers straddling unity; the experimental results conform with the behavior predicted theoretically.     

Atomic scale investigation of grain boundary structure role on intergranular deformation in aluminium

The role that grain boundary (GB) structure plays on the directional asymmetry of an intergranular crack (i.e. cleavage behaviour is favoured along one direction, while ductile behaviour along the other direction of the interface) was investigated using atomistic simulations for aluminium 〈1 1 0〉 symmetric tilt GBs. Middle-tension (M(T)) and Mode-I crack propagation specimens were used to evaluate the predictive capability of the Rice criterion. The stress–strain response of the GBs for the M(T) specimens highlighted the importance of the GB structure. The observed crack tip behaviour for certain GBs (Σ9 (2 2 1), Σ11 (3 3 2) and Σ33 (4 4 1)) with the M(T) specimen displayed an absence of directional asymmetry which is in disagreement with the Rice criterion. Moreover, in these GBs with the M(T) specimen, the dislocation emission from a GB source at a finite distance ahead of the crack tip was observed rather than from the crack tip, as suggested by the Rice criterion. In an attempt to understand discrepancy between the theoretical predictions and atomistic observations, the effect of boundary conditions (M(T), Mode-I and the edge crack) on the crack tip events was examined and it was concluded that the incipient plastic events observed were strongly influenced by the boundary conditions (i.e. activation of dislocation sources along the GB, in contrast to dislocation nucleation directly from the crack tip). In summary, these findings provide new insights into crack growth behaviour along GB interfaces and provide a physical basis for examining the role of the GB character on incipient event ahead of a crack tip and interface properties, as an input to higher scale models.     

Higher Order Efficiency,Saddle Point Optimality,and Duality for Vector Optimization Problems

In this paper, we intend to characterize the strict local efficient solution of order m for a vector minimization problem in terms of the vector saddle point. A new notion of strict local saddle point of higher order of the vector-valued Lagrangian function is introduced. The relationship between strict local saddle point and strict local efficient solution is derived. Lagrange duality is formulated, and duality results are presented.     

Phase separation and superconductivity in Fe(1+x)Te(0.5)Se(0.5)

Fe(1+x)Te(0.5)Se(0.5) is the archetypical iron-based superconductor. Here we show that the superconducting state is controlled by the stacking of its anti-PbO layers, such that homogeneous ordering hinders superconductivity and the highest volume fractions are observed in phase separated structures as evidenced by either a distribution of lattice parameters or microstrain.     

Thermophysical and sonochemical behaviour of binary mixtures of decan-1-ol with halohydrocarbons at (T = 293.15 and 313.15) K

Densities and ultrasonic velocities of binary mixtures of decan-1-ol with 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dibromoethane, and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethene have been measured over the entire range of composition at T = (293.15 and 313.15) K and at atmospheric pressure. From these results, the excess molar volumes, molar free volumes, excess molar isentropic compressibilities, limiting excess partial molar volumes, and isentropic compressibilities, intermolecular free lengths, and available volumes by three methods, thermal expansion coefficients, parameters related to space-filling ability, intermolecular free lengths, and molecular radii have been calculated. The experimental ultrasonic velocities have been analyzed in terms of the ideal mixture relations of Nomoto and Van Dael, Jacobson’s free length, Schaaff’s collision factor, Flory’s statistical, and Prigogine–Flory–Patterson theories and thermoacoustical parameters.