Exploitation of Immune Response-eliciting Properties of Hypocrellin Photosensitizer SL052-based Photodynamic Therapy for Eradication of Malignant Tumors

A diaminophenyl derivative of hypocrellin B (SL052) has been developed as a photosensitizer for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of solid tumors. Testing SL052-PDT on mouse carcinoma and fibrosarcoma models revealed a typical response seen with clinically established photosensitizers featuring initial rapid tumor ablation with ensuing recurrence at rates dependent on photosensitizer/light doses. Elevated numbers of immune cells were found in lymph nodes draining SCCVII mouse squamous cell carcinomas treated by SL052-PDT (in particular T cells), and the accumulation of degranulating cytotoxic T cells was detected at the tumor-treated site. This indicates that a significant contribution to tumor cures is elicited by an antitumor adaptive immune response. Two different immunotherapy agents, γ-interferon and antibody blocking inhibitory FcγRIIB receptor, were both found to be highly effective in potentiating the curative effect of SL052-PDT with SCCVII tumors. Combining SL052-PDT with FcγRIIB-blocking antibody treatment caused a further increase in the number of cells in tumor-draining lymph nodes and in degranulating CD8⁺ cells, suggesting the amplification of the immune response induced by PDT. Vaccines consisting of SCCVII cells treated with SL052-PDT in vitro were effective in reducing growth of established subcutaneous SCCVII tumors. In conclusion, PDT mediated by SL052 is suitable to be integrated with various immunotherapy protocols.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the ligand substitution reaction of aquodiethylenetriaminepentaacetatoruthenate (III) in aqueous solution

The kinetics of ligand substitution reactions of [Ru(H₂dtpa) (H₂O)] (2) (H₂dtpa=diprotonated diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) were studied as a function of ligand (L) concentration, pH (2.5–8.0) and temperature (30–45 °C) at 0.2 M ionic strength. The equilibrium constants for the formation of mixed ligand complex [Ru^III(dtpa) (L)] (L=2-mercaptopyrimidine, cysteine) and the distribution of various species in solution in the pH range of 2.5–8.0 were computed from potentiometric results. [Ru(H₂dtpa) (H₂O)] ( H₂dtpa= ) , pH (2,5–8,0) (30–45°C) 0,2 M. [Ru^III(dtpa) (L)] ( L=2-, ) pH=2,5–8,0.     

The Mathematics Attitudes and Perceptions Survey: an instrument to assess expert-like views and dispositions among undergraduate mathematics students

One goal of an undergraduate education in mathematics is to help students develop a productive disposition towards mathematics. A way of conceiving of this is as helping mathematical novices transition to more expert-like perceptions of mathematics. This conceptualization creates a need for a way to characterize students' perceptions of mathematics in authentic educational settings. This article presents a survey, the Mathematics Attitudes and Perceptions Survey (MAPS), designed to address this need. We present the development of the MAPS instrument and its validation on a large (N = 3411) set of student data. Results from various MAPS implementations corroborate results from analogous instruments in other STEM disciplines. We present these results and highlight some in particular: MAPS scores correlate with course grades; students tend to move away from expert-like orientations over a semester or year of taking a mathematics course; and interactive-engagement type lectures have less of a negative impact, but no positive impact, on students' overall orientations than traditional lecturing. We include the MAPS instrument in this article and suggest ways in which it may deepen our understanding of undergraduate mathematics education.