Poly(N‐phenylglycine)‐Based Nanoparticles as Highly Effective and Targeted Near‐Infrared Photothermal Therapy/Photodynamic Therapeutic Agents for Malignant Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive tumor resistant to chemotherapy. Therefore, the development of new highly effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of malignant melanoma is highly desirable. In this study, a new class of polymeric photothermal agents based on poly(N‐phenylglycine) (PNPG) suitable for use in near‐infrared (NIR) phototherapy of malignant melanoma is designed and developed. PNPG is obtained via polymerization of N‐phenylglycine (NPG). Carboxylate functionality of NPG allows building multifunctional systems using covalent bonding. This approach avoids complicated issues typically associated with preparation of polymeric photothermal agents. Moreover, PNPG skeleton exhibits pH‐responsive NIR absorption and an ability to generate reactive oxygen species, which makes its derivatives attractive photothermal therapy (PTT)/photodynamic therapy (PDT) dual‐modal agents with pH‐responsive features. PNPG is modified using hyaluronic acid (HA) and polyethylene glycol diamine (PEG‐diamine) acting as the coupling agent. The resultant HA‐modified PNPG (PNPG‐PEG‐HA) shows negligible cytotoxicity and effectively targets CD44‐overexpressing cancer cells. Furthermore, the results of in vitro and in vivo experiments reveal that PNPG‐PEG‐HA selectively kills B16 cells and suppresses malignant melanoma tumor growth upon exposure to NIR light (808 nm), indicating that PNPG‐PEG‐HA can serve as a very promising nanoplatform for targeted dual‐modality PTT/PDT of melanoma.     

Isolation and characterization of seven quorum quenching bacteria for biofouling control in MBR

Recently, interspecies quorum quenching (QQ) by bacteria has been reported as a novel approach in biofouling control in membrane bioreactor (MBR) for wastewater treatment. In this study, seven QQ bacteria, named RO1 to RO7, were isolated from fouling reverse osmosis (RO) membrane and were encapsulated in the microbial filters for biofouling control in MBR. Results showed that all isolates have extracellular QQ activity, and RO1 to RO6 were characterized as heat-stable enzymatic degradation of N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), while RO7 was mainly pH-dependent. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene indicated that RO7 was a species of Pseudomonas sp., others belonged to the species of Bacillus, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Delftia tsuruhatensis, respectively. Then, the microbial filters encapsulated each isolate were applied in a laboratory-scaled MBR and proved the substantial inhibition effect on membrane biofouling except for RO7, indicating that QQ bacteria employing enzymes to degrade AHLs have great potential in biofouling control in MBR.     

Measurement Uncertainty Budget of the PMV Thermal Comfort Equation

Fanger’s predicted mean vote (PMV) equation is the result of the combined quantitative effects of the air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, humidity activity level and clothing thermal resistance. PMV is a mathematical model of thermal comfort which was developed by Fanger. The uncertainty budget of the PMV equation was developed according to GUM in this study. An example is given for the uncertainty model of PMV in the exemplification section of the study. Sensitivity coefficients were derived from the PMV equation. Uncertainty budgets can be seen in the tables. A mathematical model of the sensitivity coefficients of \(T_{\mathrm{a}}\), \(h_{\mathrm{c}}\), \(T_{\mathrm{mrt}}\), \(T_{\mathrm{cl}}\), and \(P_{\mathrm{a}}\) is given in this study. And the uncertainty budgets for \(h_{\mathrm{c}}\), \(T_{\mathrm{cl}}\), and \(P_{\mathrm{a}}\) are given in this study.     

功率超声在金属熔体成形中的作用效应及其可视化研究进展

主要介绍功率超声在金属熔体成形领域中的作用,详述了超声在铸造成形、辅助焊接成形中细化晶粒、除气除杂、强化焊缝、减小残余应力、促进界面润湿等方面的应用和作用机理。针对超声空化气泡的高速摄影及金属熔体中晶体生长的同步辐射X射线成像观察的研究进展,提出将高速摄影与同步辐射X射线成像结合起来,通过原位观察方法研究超声波与液态金属媒质的相互作用机理,为进一步促进超声在金属熔体成形中的应用提供理论指导。     

电流密度对微/纳结构电铸成型模芯质量的影响

利用多物理场耦合分析软件COMSOL Multiphysics,模拟微/纳结构电铸过程中阴极表面的电场分布,研究不同电流密度下微/纳结构表面的电场分布及电铸层生长前沿情况。仿真结果表明:采用较低的初始电流密度,可有效改善微/纳结构生长前沿铸层厚度的均匀性。选用纳米光阑和纳米柱阵列2种微/纳结构母板进行电铸实验,将初始电流密度从4A/dm2调至1A/dm2,纳米光阑母板成型最大误差60nm降至±20nm之内。通过合理设置初始电流密度、增强阴极表面溶液流动强度等措施,纳米柱阵列模芯特征直径尺寸误差由6.27%下降至2.49%,有效提高电铸模芯的复制质量。     

A Two‐Stage Annealing Strategy for Crystallization Control of CH3NH3PbI3 Films toward Highly Reproducible Perovskite Solar Cells

The solvent‐engineering method is widely used to fabricate top‐performing perovskite solar cells, which, however, usually exhibit inferior reproducibility. Herein, a two‐stage annealing (TSA) strategy is demonstrated for processing of perovskite films, namely, annealing the intermediate phase at 60 °C for the first stage then at 100 °C for the second stage. Compared to conventional direct annealing temperature (DHA) at 100 °C, using this strategy, MAPbI₃ films become more controllable, leading to superior film uniformity and device reproducibility with the champion device efficiency reaching 19.8%. More specifically, the coefficient of variation of efficiency for 49 cells is reduced to 5.9%, compared to 9.8% for that using DHA. The TSA process is carefully studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy. It is found that in comparison with DHA the formation of hydrogen bonding and crystallization of perovskite are much slower and can be better controlled when using TSA. The improvements in film uniformity and device reproducibility are attributed to: 1) controllable MAPbI₃ crystal growth stemming from the progressive formation of hydrogen bonding between methylammonium and halide; 2) suppression of intermediate phase film dewetting, which is believed to be due to its decreased mobility at the initial low‐temperature annealing stage.     

Building 2D quasicrystals from 5-fold symmetric corannulene molecules

Nano Research - The formation of long-range ordered aperiodic molecular films on quasicrystalline substrates is a new challenge that provides an opportunity for further surface functionalization....     

Quantum Inspired Broadband Photonic Absorber: Potential Application as Solar Sail along with Mobility Analysis

Electromagnetic wideband absorption is still perceived as a critical and formidable challenge to address with an unambiguous photonic absorber. Subwavelength metamaterial (MM) unit cells with unique and controlled features have recently gained considerable interest. However, meta-atoms, generated using a quantum-inspired pattern distribution, are underwhelming in existing literature to design photonic absorbers and their potential application to manufacture solar sails is still quite uncommon. In this article, to create a flexible, polarization-insensitive, ultrathin, and broadband MM absorber, quantum interference pattern-inspired design is utilized. Herein, a novel approach to fabricating solar sails for the space exploration incorporates the proposed broadband photonic absorber rather than conventional reflectors. The quantum-inspired meta-absorber (QIMA) exhibits an absorption of over 91% for the visible domain, i.e., 380–800 nm under a conventional plane-polarized source. It is shown in the study that broadband absorbers are almost equivalent to excellent reflectors to design the solar sails in terms of the time-averaged force calculated by utilizing the Maxwell stress tensor method. Thus, the QIMA has the potential to be a viable alternative to reflectors in the design of futuristic solar sails for space exploration. The interference theory model is also utilized to assure the dependability of calculated data, and additionally, the standard AM1.5 solar spectrum is utilized to demonstrate the QIMA's solar-harvesting potentiality.     

亲历加拿大高校任教有感

西门菲沙大学(SFU)是加拿大著名的综合类大学,学科门类齐全,办学理念先进。本文通过作者在SFU的教学和科研工作经历,对比了加拿大高校和我国高校在教学、科研、校园文化建设等方面的差别,以期对我国高校教育改革有所启示。