Nonlocal time-delayed feedback control of spatiotemporal patterns: controlling a network of digital phase-locked loops

Nonlinear Dynamics - Control of spatially extended systems is an important and challenging topic of research. Previous control techniques rely on local or global feedback control. In this paper,...     

Recent Advances in Synergistic Antitumor Effects Exploited from the Inhibition of Ataxia Telangiectasia and RAD3-Related Protein Kinase (ATR)

As one of the key phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinases (PIKKs) family members, ataxia telangiectasia and RAD3-related protein kinase (ATR) is crucial in maintaining mammalian cell genomic integrity in DNA damage response (DDR) and repair pathways. Dysregulation of ATR has been found across different cancer types. In recent years, the inhibition of ATR has been proven to be effective in cancer therapy in preclinical and clinical studies. Importantly, tumor-specific alterations such as ATM loss and Cyclin E1 (CCNE1) amplification are more sensitive to ATR inhibition and are being exploited in synthetic lethality (SL) strategy. Besides SL, synergistic anticancer effects involving ATRi have been reported in an increasing number in recent years. This review focuses on the recent advances in different forms of synergistic antitumor effects, summarizes the pharmacological benefits and ongoing clinical trials behind the biological mechanism, and provides perspectives for future challenges and opportunities. The hope is to draw awareness to the community that targeting ATR should have great potential in developing effective anticancer medicines.     

Thermal evaluation of a heat pipe working with n-pentane-acetone and n-pentane-methanol binary mixtures

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the present study, a set of experiments were accomplished to appraise the thermal performance and heat transfer of n-pentane-acetone and...     

Sample Entropy as a Tool to Assess Lumbo-Pelvic Movements in a Clinical Test for Low-Back-Pain Patients

Low back pain (LBP) obviously reduces the quality of life but is also the world’s leading cause of years lived with disability. Alterations in motor response and changes in movement patterns are expected in LBP patients when compared to healthy people. Such changes in dynamics may be assessed by the nonlinear analysis of kinematical time series recorded from one patient’s motion. Since sample entropy (SampEn) has emerged as a relevant index measuring the complexity of a given time series, we propose the development of a clinical test based on SampEn of a time series recorded by a wearable inertial measurement unit for repeated bending and returns (b and r) of the trunk. Twenty-three healthy participants were asked to perform, in random order, 50 repetitions of this movement by touching a stool and another 50 repetitions by touching a box on the floor. The angular amplitude of the b and r movement and the sample entropy of the three components of the angular velocity and acceleration were computed. We showed that the repetitive b and r “touch the stool” test could indeed be the basis of a clinical test for the evaluation of low-back-pain patients, with an optimal duration of 70 s, acceptable in daily clinical practice.     

微乳液法制备介孔碳材料

介孔碳材料因具有高比表面积,规则的孔隙结构,低密度,良好的生物相容性及导电性,被广泛应用于催化、能量储存及转化、吸附分离和药物递送等领域。微乳液法具有制备工艺简便、环境友好、可大规模生产及产物结构可控性强等突出优势,在制备孔隙结构可控和特殊形态介孔碳方面取得突破性的进展。本文首先着重分析了微乳液法制备介孔碳的反应机理,包括微乳液诱导协同组装机制、乳液溶胀效应和微流控液滴技术。其次,进一步探讨了控制介孔碳材料孔隙形态、外部形貌及内部结构的影响因素。最后,对新型介孔碳材料在能源储存与转化、催化、吸附以及药物递送领域的应用进行了归纳,并对未来的发展提出了展望。     

热分析动力学数据处理方法的研究进展

综述了最近几年来用热分析法研究固相反应动力学的数据处理方法的新进展,指出了现有方法的成功与局限性,介绍了几种新的动力学处理方法及一种新的热分析技术。     

Synthesis and properties of tadpole-shaped gold nanoparticles

In this communication, gold nanoparticles with a tadpole shape were synthesized by a simple aqueous-phase chemical method. The unusual three-dimensional and crystallized structures were demonstrated by TEM, AFM, and HRTEM methods. The SEM and UV-visible absorption measurements and electrophoresis experiments revealed that the tadpoles had novel optical and electrical properties. These attractive structures and properties are expected to find uses in many fields such as electrics, optics, electrochemistry, and biological sensing.     

Delta13C analyses of calcium carbonate: Comparison between the GasBench and elemental analyzer techniques

Measurements of stable carbon isotopic composition (delta13C) of carbonates or carbonate-rich soils are seldom performed in a continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) using an elemental analyzer (EA) as an online sample preparation device. Such analyses are routinely carried out with an external precision better than 0.1 per thousand using a GasBench II (GB) sample preparation device coupled online with a continuous-flow IRMS. In this paper, we report and compare delta13C analyses (86 total analyses) of calcium carbonates obtained by using both the GB and the EA. Using both techniques, the delta13C compositions of two in-house carbonate standards (MERCK carbonate and NR calcite) and ten selected carbonate-rich paleosol samples (of variable CaCO3 content) were analyzed, and data are reported in the VPDB scale calibrated against international standards, NBS 18 and 19. For the in-house standards analyzed by both techniques, a precision better than 0.08 per thousand is achieved. The analytical errors (1sigma) computed from multiple analyses of the delta13C of both the MERCK and NR obtained by the above two techniques are nearly identical. In general, the 1sigma (internal error) of paleosol analyses obtained in the GB is better than 0.06 per thousand, whereas that for the analyses in the EA (three repetitive analyses of the same sample) varies in the range 0.05-0.21 per thousand. However, for paleosols having more than 85% CaCO3, 1sigma is better than 0.15 per thousand (similar to the instrument precision), and in this case the delta13C(VPDB) of samples obtained by the GB is similar to that obtained by the EA. Our results suggest that the delta13C of pure calcium carbonate samples can also be analyzed using the EA technique.