Synthesis of Silver-Based Plasmas by Plant Extracts for In Vitro PTT/PDT/CT Synergistic Antitumor Therapy

In this study, biosynthetic Ag@AgCl plasma is used as a photosensitizer for the first time to construct a photothermal/photodynamic/chemotherapy and pH-responsive synergistic antitumor nanomedicine delivery system CS-Ag@AgCl/C. The Ag@AgCl and AgNPs synthesized by the extracts of alpine banana, Citrus reticulata, and Citrus sinensis are characterized. The Ag@AgCl NPs synthesized with banana extract have a regular crystal shape and a granular size of 12 nm, and they are more stable than AgNPs synthesized with the other two extracts. In addition, Ag@AgCl plasma used as a photosensitizer can reduce the dependence of CS-Ag@AgCl/C on oxygen in the photodynamic process. After coating with chitosan, though the photothermal conversion efficiency of CS-Ag@AgCl/C decreases from 44.06% to 29.51%, the pH response character of it increases, and the pH response plays an important role in drug release experiments. Under an acidic environment of pH = 5.0 phosphate-buffered saline buffer, the drug release rate of the samples increases significantly. In the synergistic antitumor experiment, the cell survival rate increases from 36.83% to 78.69% after chitosan-coated Ag@AgCl/C NPs. When CS-Ag@AgCl/C-DOX+808 nm is co-cultured with HeLa cells, the cell survival rate is only 14.89%, which indicates that the constructed plasma drug delivery system has excellent photothermal/photodynamic/chemotherapy combined treatment capability.     

Aurora Kinase B Inhibition: A Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Cancer

Aurora kinase B (AURKB) is a mitotic serine/threonine protein kinase that belongs to the aurora kinase family along with aurora kinase A (AURKA) and aurora kinase C (AURKC). AURKB is a member of the chromosomal passenger protein complex and plays a role in cell cycle progression. Deregulation of AURKB is observed in several tumors and its overexpression is frequently linked to tumor cell invasion, metastasis and drug resistance. AURKB has emerged as an attractive drug target leading to the development of small molecule inhibitors. This review summarizes recent findings pertaining to the role of AURKB in tumor development, therapy related drug resistance, and its inhibition as a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer. We discuss AURKB inhibitors that are in preclinical and clinical development and combination studies of AURKB inhibition with other therapeutic strategies.     

Evaluation of Small Molecule Combinations against Respiratory Syncytial Virus In Vitro

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major pathogen that causes severe lower respiratory tract infection in infants, the elderly and the immunocompromised worldwide. At present no approved specific drugs or vaccines are available to treat this pathogen. Recently, several promising candidates targeting RSV entry and multiplication steps are under investigation. However, it is possible to lead to drug resistance under the long-term treatment. Therapeutic combinations constitute an alternative to prevent resistance and reduce antiviral doses. Therefore, we tested in vitro two-drug combinations of fusion inhibitors (GS5806, Ziresovir and BMS433771) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex (RdRp) inhibitors (ALS8176, RSV604, and Cyclopamine). The statistical program MacSynergy II was employed to determine synergism, additivity or antagonism between drugs. From the result, we found that combinations of ALS8176 and Ziresovir or GS5806 exhibit additive effects against RSV in vitro, with interaction volume of 50 µM²% and 31 µM²% at 95% confidence interval, respectively. On the other hand, all combinations between fusion inhibitors showed antagonistic effects against RSV in vitro, with volume of antagonism ranging from −50 µM² % to −176 µM² % at 95% confidence interval. Over all, our results suggest the potentially therapeutic combinations in combating RSV in vitro could be considered for further animal and clinical evaluations.     

柔性约束下压杆的一些稳定和不稳定的临界状态

研究了一端固定、一端弹簧约束滑动固定的压杆在Euler临界载荷作用下的稳定性.将系统的势能表示为转角的泛函,将扰动量展开成Fourier级数,将势能的二阶变分表示成一个二次型,得到在临界状态下势能的二阶变分半正定,并求得临界载荷与屈曲模态.进一步研究临界状态下高阶变分的正定性,包括四阶和六阶变分的正定性.结果表明,与刚性约束不同的是,柔性约束压杆临界状态的稳定性与约束的刚度有关,有稳定与不稳定之分,并给出了临界状态是稳定和不稳定的情况下柔性约束相对刚度的范围.     

基于关联面积的变权组合预测方法及其应用

变权组合预测方法是一种应用非常广泛的组合预测方法,它能够有效提高组合预测方法的预测和拟合精度.为了提高拟合精度,利用各个单项预测方法与原始数据序列在两个相邻时刻的关联面积以及关联度,给出了一种确定变权组合预测模型变权重系数的方法.最后利用该变权重的组合预测模型建立了新疆建设兵团城镇化发展水平的变权组合预测模型,结果表明这类变权组合预测方法具有较高的预测和拟合精度.     

Liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of desorption 6: Separation of a four‐component polymer blend

Baseline separation was achieved of a model four‐component polymer blend of polystyrene‐poly(methyl methacrylate)‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐poly(2‐vinyl pyridine) in a single chromatographic run with help of the unconventional method of liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of desorption. Narrow barriers of liquids were employed, which selectively decelerated elution of particular kinds of macromolecules. Bare silica gel was the column packing, and the eluent was a mixture of dimethylformamide/tetrahydrofuran/toluene 30:50:20 w/w/w. Barrier compositions were neat toluene, B#1, neat tetrahydrofuran, B#2, and dimethylformamide/tetrahydrofuran/toluene 15:55:30, B#3. Minor blend constituents (∼1%) could be identified, as well. The result represents a step toward the separation and molecular characterization of triblock‐copolymers, many of which are expected to contain besides both parent homopolymers also the diblock chains and thus they are in fact four‐component polymer blends.     

Stiffness evaluation of contacting surfaces by bulk and interface waves

This paper describes ultrasonic measurements of normal and tangential stiffnesses of the contacting interface between polished aluminum blocks subjected to nominal contact pressures up to about 3.8 MPa. These stiffnesses were evaluated by ultrasonic spectroscopy methods for the bulk (longitudinal and transverse) wave reflection coefficients and the anti-symmetric mode interface wave velocity. The measurements revealed the interfacial stiffnesses as functions of the frequency as well as the applied contact pressure. The ratio of the tangential and normal stiffnesses is discussed in the light of foregoing theoretical and experimental findings. Furthermore, possible explanations for the frequency dependence of the measured stiffnesses are reviewed, invoking the spatial inhomogeneity of the interfacial stiffness as well as its lossy nature.     

Mechanical properties of lateral transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures

Transition metal dichalcogenide(TMD)monolayers attract great attention due to their specific structural,electronic and mechanical properties.The formation of their lateral heterostructures allows a new degree of flexibility in engineering electronic and optoelectronic dervices.However,the mechanical properties of the lateral heterostructures are rarely investigated.In this study,a comparative investigation on the mechanical characteristics of 1H,IT'and 1H/1T'heterostructure phases of different TMD monolayers including molybdenum disulfide(M0S₂)molybdenum diselenide(MoSe₂),Tungsten disulfide(WS₂),and Tungsten diselenide(WSe₂)was conducted by means of density functional theory(DFT)calculations.Our results indicate that the impact of the lateral heterostructures has a relatively weak mechanical strength for all the TMD monolayers.The significant correlation bet ween the mechanical properties of the TMD monolayers and their structural phases can be used to tune their stiffness of the materials.Our findings,therefore,suggest a novel strategy to manipulate the mechanical characteristics of TMDs by engineering their structural phases for their practical applications.     

One- and Two-Mode Combination Squeezing Operator for Two Harmonic Oscillators with Coordinate-Momentum Coupling

By virtue of the technique of integration within an ordered product of operators, we derive the normal ordering expansion of a one- and two-mode combination squeezing operator for two harmonic oscillators with coordinate- momentum coupling. It turns out that this squeezing operator just diagonalizes the Hamiltonian H=p^21/2m1＋m1ω^21x^21/2＋p^222m2＋m2ω^22x^22/2-λx2p1 so its ground state is a one- and two-mode combination squeezed state. Quantum fluctuation in the ground state is calculated.     

Dynamic stability analysis of an elastic composite material having a negative-stiffness phase

The rigorous classical bounds of elastic composite materials theory provide limits on the achievable composite stiffnesses in terms of the properties and arrangements of the composite's constituents. These bounds result from the assumption, presumably made for stability reasons, that each constituent material must have positive-definite elastic moduli. If this assumption is relaxed, recently published elasticity analyses and experimental measurements show these bounds can be greatly exceeded, resulting in new materials of enormous potential.The key question is whether a composite material having a non-positive-definite constituent can be stable overall in the practically useful situation of applied traction boundary conditions. Drugan [2007. Elastic composite materials having a negative-stiffness phase can be stable. Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 (5), article no. 055502] first proved the answer is yes, by applying the energy criterion of elastic stability to the basic two- and three-dimensional composites consisting of a cylinder or sphere having non-positive-definite (but strongly elliptic) moduli with a thin positive-definite coating and proving overall stability provided the coating is sufficiently stiff.Here, we perform a complete and direct dynamic stability analysis of the plane strain fundamental elastic composite consisting of a circular cylinder of non-positive-definite material firmly bonded to a positive-definite concentric coating, for the full range of coating thicknesses (i.e., volume fractions). We determine quantitatively the full permissible range of inclusion and coating moduli, as a function of coating thickness, for which the overall composite is stable under dead traction boundary conditions. Among the results, we show that in the thin-coating case, the present dynamic stability analysis leads to precisely the same analytical stability requirements as those derived via the energy criterion by Drugan [2007. Elastic composite materials having a negative-stiffness phase can be stable. Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 (5), article no. 055502], and we derive new analytical stability requirements that are valid for a wider range of coating thickness. At the other extreme, we show that in the case of very thick coatings (corresponding to the dilute case of a matrix-inclusion composite), even an inclusion with merely strongly elliptic moduli can be stabilized by a positive-definite matrix satisfying weak requirements, for which we derive analytical expressions. Overall, our results show that surprisingly weak restrictions on the moduli and thickness of the positive-definite coating are sufficient to stabilize a non-positive-definite inclusion, even one whose moduli are merely strongly elliptic. These results legitimize expanding the search for novel materials with extreme properties to those incorporating a non-positive-definite constituent, and they provide quantitative restrictions on the constituent materials’ moduli and volume fractions, for the geometry examined here, that ensure overall stability of such composite materials.