Influence of additives and post-synthesis treatment on the structural properties of sol-gel prepared alumina-doped zirconia studied by EXAFS-spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction

Alumina- (5 and 10 wt%) doped zirconia samples were prepared by sol-gel processing of aluminum sec-butoxide and zirconium butoxide in the presence of acids (acetic, sulfuric or nitric acid) or organic additives (Pluronic P123). X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption experiments showed that the structure of the synthesized mixed oxides is strongly influenced by the chemical synthesis parameters.     

In Vitro Evaluation of the Cytotoxic Effect of Streptococcus pyogenes Strains,Protegrin PG-1, Cathelicidin LL-37, Nerve Growth Factor and Chemotherapy on the C6 Glioma Cell Line

Brain cancer treatment, where glioblastoma represents up to 50% of all CNS malignancies, is one of the most challenging calls for neurooncologists. The major driver of this study was a search for new approaches for the treatment of glioblastoma. We tested live S. pyogenes, cathelicidin family peptides and NGF, assessing the oncolytic activity of these compounds as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapeutics. For cytotoxicity evaluation, we used the MTT assay, trypan blue assay and the xCELLigence system. To evaluate the safety of the studied therapeutic approaches, we performed experiments on normal human fibroblasts. Streptococci and peptides demonstrated high antitumor efficiency against glioma C6 cells in all assays applied, surpassing the effect of chemotherapeutics (doxorubicin, carboplatin, cisplatin, etoposide). A real-time cytotoxicity analysis showed that the cell viability index dropped to 21% 2–5 h after S. pyogenes strain exposure. It was shown that LL-37, PG-1 and NGF also exhibited strong antitumor effects on C6 glioma cells when applied at less than 10⁻⁴ M. Synergistic effects for combinations of PG-1 with carboplatin and LL-37 with etoposide were shown. Combinations of S. pyogenes strain #7 with NGF or LL-37 demonstrated a cytotoxic effect (56.7% and 57.3%, accordingly) on C6 glioma cells after 3 h of exposure.     

Spherical Sampler Probes Enhance the Robustness of Ambient Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Drugs Screening

Ambient ionization mass spectrometry has become one of the most promising approaches for rapid and high-throughput screening of small molecules in complex biological matrices for emergency medicine, forensics, and food and agriculture applications. The simple procedures for sample collection and ionization without additional pretreatment are vital in these fields. Many efforts have been devoted to modifying various ambient ionization techniques to simplify the procedures and improve the robustness and sensitivity of the methods. Here, we demonstrate the implementation of rigid spherical sampler probes to improve the robustness of touch spray ionization mass spectrometry. The sphericity of the probes increases the stability of the cone-jet mode of electrospray, reduces the requirements for fine positioning of a sampler in the ion source, and decreases the possibility of corona discharge occurrence. The utilization of spherical sampler probes allows fast, non-invasive sampling, followed by rapid analysis for various drugs of different chemical classes in complex biological matrices, such as the whole blood or sebum collected from the skin surface. The linearity of the analytical signal response from drug concentration confirms the possibility of creating a simple semiquantitative method for small molecules monitoring using spherical sampler probes.     

Submicron Sized Hollow Polymer Particles: Preparation and Properties

The considered method for obtaining hollow polymer particles is based on the following pathway: (1) preparation of a carboxylated core latex by emulsion copolymerization of acrylic monomers with methacrylic acid, (2) synthesis of a core-shell latex comprising a styrene (co)polymer shell, (3) neutralization of the core carboxylic groups with a base followed by the core ionization and hydration to a high degree, shell expansion and formation of water-filled hollows. A number of approaches to improve the hydrophilic core – hydrophobic shell compatibility and enlarge the hollow volume are considered. The synthesized hollow particles are of a submicron size with the relative hollow volume V_hol : V_part.= 0.43 – 0.64. Methods for cationic hollow particle latex preparation by anionic latex recharging with a cationic surfactant or acidic melamine resin are discussed. Recharging with a melamine resin is shown to afford hollow particles with an external polymer shell providing a high thermal stability of the particles.     

Hybrid artificial neural network segmentation of precise and accurate inversion recovery (PAIR) images from normal human brain

This paper presents a novel semi-automated segmentation and classification method based on raw signal intensities from a quantitative T1 relaxation technique with two novel approaches for the removal of partial volume effects. The segmentation used a Kohonen Self Organizing Map that eliminated inter- and intra-operator variability. A Multi-layered Backpropagation Neural Network was able to classify the test data with a predicted accuracy of 87.2% when compared to manual classification. A linear interpolation of the quantitative T1 information by region and on a pixel-by-pixel basis was used to redistribute voxels containing a partial volume of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) or a partial volume of GM and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into the principal components of GM, WM, and CSF. The method presented was validated against manual segmentation of the base images by three experienced observers. Comparing segmented outputs directly to the manual segmentation revealed a difference of less than 2% in GM and less than 6% in WM for pure tissue estimations for both the regional and pixel-by-pixel redistribution techniques. This technique produced accurate estimates of the amounts of GM and WM while providing a reliable means of redistributing partial volume effects.     

Low-Temperature Sputtered Ultralow-Loss Silicon Nitride for Hybrid Photonic Integration

Silicon-nitride-on-insulator (Si₃N₄) photonic circuits have seen tremendous advances in many applications, such as on-chip frequency combs, Lidar, telecommunications, and spectroscopy. So far, the best film quality has been achieved with low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) and high-temperature annealing (1200°C). However, high processing temperatures pose challenges to the cointegration of Si₃N₄ with pre-processed silicon electronic and photonic devices, lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI), and Ge-on-Si photodiodes. This limits LPCVD as a front-end-of-line process. Here, ultralow-loss Si₃N₄ photonics based on room-temperature reactive sputtering is demonstrated. Propagation losses as low as 5.4 dB m⁻¹ after 400°C annealing and 3.5 dB m⁻¹ after 800°C annealing are achieved, enabling ring resonators with highest optical quality factors of > 10 million and an average quality factor of 7.5 million. To the best of the knowledge, these are the lowest propagation losses achieved with low temperature Si₃N₄. This ultralow loss enables the generation of microresonator soliton frequency combs with threshold powers of 1.1 mW. The introduced sputtering process offers full complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatibility with front-end silicon electronics and photonics. This could enable hybrid 3D integration of low loss waveguides with integrated lasers and lithium niobate on insulator.     

On Laplace and Stokes potentials

Integral equations associated with the basic boundary value problems for the Laplace and Stokes equations are considered. The integral operators for these integral equations are interpreted as the pseudodifferential operators, and their principal symbols are calculated. The symbols are obtained in terms of the principal curvatures and the coefficients of the first quadratic form of the boundary. As a consequence, the initial approximation is suggested for the iterative methods solving the integral equations. © 1998 by B. G. Teubner Stuttgart–John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

[3+2] Cyclodimerization of 2-arylcyclopropane-1,1-diesters. Lewis acid induced reversion of cyclopropane umpolung

A novel Lewis acid catalyzed [3+2] cyclodimerization of 2-arylcyclopropane-1,1-dicarboxylates is reported. It is the first example of a reaction wherein a donor-acceptor cyclopropane provides two carbons in a newly formed ring. The described cyclodimerization represents a general convenient approach to polyfunctionalized cyclopentanes.