Harnessing the Formation of Natural Killer–Tumor Cell Immunological Synapses for Enhanced Therapeutic Effect in Solid Tumors

The formation of an immunological synapse (IS) on recognition of a cancer cell is the main mechanism underlying the natural killer (NK)-cell-mediated killing of tumor cells. Herein, an integrative strategy for cancer therapy against solid tumors is reported, in which alterations in the cleft of IS, following the secretion of acidic granular content, are utilized as a trigger for the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. NK cells are decorated with the IS-environment-responsive micellar system to ensure the release of the payload when they attack cancer cells. Using this strategy, the immunological cytotoxic killing effect of NK cells against solid tumors is reinforced with the site-specific diffusion of chemotherapeutic agents. Harnessing the intrinsic mechanism for the recognition of abnormal cells and the tumor-homing effect of NK cells limit the adverse systemic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. This approach may provide a pragmatic platform for the universal and effective utilization of IS formation.     

Influence of in-plane fibre orientation on mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of stitched glass/polyester composites

The influence of in-plane fibre orientation on the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness, G_Ic of unstitched and stitched glass/polyester composites is investigated in this paper. The G_Ic of planar specimens depends on the fibre orientation, θ in the layers adjacent to the fracture plane, in addition to the property of matrix material. The mode I fracture toughness and fracture behavior of unstitched and stitched 0/0, 30/−30, 45/−45, 60/−60, 90/90 and 0/90 interfaces of unidirectional fibre mats (UD) and 30/−30, 45/−45 and 90/90 interfaces of woven roving mats (WRM) are studied. WRM layer orientation is represented by the direction of warp fibres. Stitching is done by untwisted Kevlar fibre roving of Tex 175 g/km at the stitch densities (number of stitches per unit area) of 10.24 and 20.48 stitches/inch². The specimens having same stitch density, but different stitch distributions are prepared, and the influence of stitch distribution on G_Ic is studied. Double cantilever beam (DCB) tests are carried out and the G_Ic is determined using modified beam theory. The G_Ic of both unstitched and stitched specimens increases with increase in orientation angle, θ upto 45° above which it decreases. The G_Ic values of unstitched 45/−45 delamination interface is around 2.4 times that of the unstitched 0/0 interfaces. The influence of fibre orientation on G_Ic is clearly observed in unstitched specimens, whereas in the stitched specimens, stitching plays an important role in improving the G_Ic and suppresses the influence of fibre orientation; degree of suppression increases with increasing stitch density. When the value of θ is above 45°, transverse cracks are observed in the delamination interface surrounded by UD layers; while in the delamination interface surrounded by WRM layers, transverse cracks are not initiated irrespective of the fibre orientation angle.     

Analysis of collapse behaviour of combined geometry metallic shells under axial impact

Collapse behaviour of aluminium thin conical frusta with shallow spherical caps (shells of combined geometry) is studied both experimentally and numerically. These shells were of four different thicknesses and were subjected to axial compression between two rigid platens under both quasi-static and impact loading. The R/t values of the spherical portion of the shells were varied between 27 and 218, and for the conical frusta portion, mean diameter-to-thickness (D_m/t) values were varied between 79 and 190. Quasi-static tests were performed on a UTM of 100 T capacity with digital recording facility. Impact experiments were carried out on a drop mass set-up. A three-dimensional non-linear finite element analysis was carried out using LS-DYNA. Numerical results thus obtained were validated with the experimental results. Typical time histories of the specimen deformation and load compression curves were obtained. The behaviour of these shells of combined geometry is compared with the response of the shells of spherical or conical geometries. A discussion on their deformation behaviour, mean buckling load and energy absorbed is presented, and influence thereon of various parameters is discussed.     

Delineating the effect of substituent and π-bridge flip on the photophysical properties of pyrene derivatives: answers from DFT/TD-DFT calculations

Journal of Materials Science - Pyrene-based Schiff base derivatives have attracted enormous potential as fluorescent probe for multifarious research applications due to their fashionable...     

Wireless Robotics: Opportunities and Challenges

Wireless robotics is one of the emerging fields in the world of automation. In-spite of research and standardization efforts around the world, the definition of the term “Robot” is still evolving. Robots have found application in many domains including home automation, industrial automation, health-care, surveillance, reconnaissance, planetary exploration or rescue missions. This paper addresses some of the opportunities, research challenges and standardization issues in wireless robotics with the focus on wireless and networking aspects.     

Role of flow cytometry for the improvement of bioprocessing of oleaginous microorganisms

Oleaginous microorganisms, such as yeast, fungi, microalgae and bacteria, represent a key segment of second generation feed-stock materials and are considered to synthesize a wide range of industrially important chemical compounds. Oleaginous microorganisms possess a broad varieties of chemical compounds such as carotenoids, pigments, carbohydrates, chlorophyll, and storage-material lipids. Oleaginous microorganisms have been recognized as promising sources for the synthesis of unsaturated, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). So far, a variety of high-throughput screening methodologies (HTMs) have been employed for the development of bioprocessing of oleaginous microorganisms for sustainable production of industrially valuable compounds. Of HTMs, flow cytometry (FC) and sorters (FACS) have received substantial interest as better HTMs because of their ability to screen large numbers of cells within seconds, and interrogate and isolate living cells at single-cell level. Forward and side scattering signals of FC are used to determine the physiological state of the cell while different channels available in the FC facilitate the detection of signals produced from fluorophores. Simultaneous measurement of physiological characteristics along with specific compound accumulation at single-cell level enables the possibility of separating a particular phenotype with specific properties from a population. Different microbial strain development strategies in combination with FACS produced improved phenotypes with desired properties. This review first summarizes the FACS methodologies suitable for oleaginous microorganisms and the significant progress that has been achieved in oleaginous microorganisms using FACS, and highlights the important, advanced and future prospects of FACS methodologies that are suitable for the development of bioprocessing in oleaginous microorganisms. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Metal Oxides for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

The incessant demand for energy forces us to seek it from sustainable resources; and concerns on environment demands that resources should be clean as well. Metal oxide semiconductors, which are stable and environment friendly materials, are used in photovoltaics either as photoelectrode in dye solar cells (DSCs) or to build metal oxide p – n junctions. Progress made in utilization of metal oxides for photoelectrode in DSC is reviewed in this article. Basic operational principle and factors that control the photoconversion efficiency of DSC are briefly outlined. The d -block binary metal oxides viz. TiO₂, ZnO, and Nb₂O₅ are the best candidates as photoelectrode due to the dissimilarity in orbitals constituting their conduction band and valence band. This dissimilarity decreases the probability of charge recombination and enhances the carrier lifetime in these materials. Ternary metal oxide such as Zn₂SnO₄ could also be a promising material for photovoltaic application. Various morphologies such as nanoparticles, nanowires, nanotubes, and nanofibers have been explored to enhance the energy conversion efficiency of DSCs. The TiO₂ served as a model system to study the properties and factors that control the photoconversion efficiency of DSCs; therefore, such discussion is limited to TiO₂ in this article. The electron transport occurs through nanocrystalline TiO₂ through trapping and detrapping events; however, exact nature of these trap states are not thoroughly quantified. Research efforts are required not only to quantify the trap states in mesoporous metal oxides but new mesoporous architectures also to increase the conversion efficiency of metal oxide-based photovoltaics.     

Strong room temperature ferromagnetism in chemically precipitated ZnO:Co2+:Bi3+ nanocrystals for DMS applications

Well crystalline Co-Bi co-doped ZnO nanostructures with various concentration of Bi were synthesized by simple chemical precipitation technique using metal nitrate precursors. The structural and magnetic properties of the samples calcined at 300 °C for 6 h has been studied comprehensively. X-ray diffraction patterns of the pure and Co-with Bi doped samples have shown the well crystalline diffraction peaks corresponds to the characteristic wurtzite ZnO crystal structure. Aggregated nano particles have emerged with flower like morphology and it can be seen from the scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The average particle diameter was estimated and found to be 25–35 nm. Tunable optical band gap related to an additional electron state created by dopant was observed from the UV–Visible spectra. Typical PL emission in the UV, visible and continuous deep level emission further demonstrates that the potential application of the material in optoelectronics. Excellent ferromagnetic features of the material at room temperature reveal the additional carrier induced exchange interaction could enhance the ferromagnetism in co-doped ZnO nanostructure. The addition of Bi at 3⁺ states can act as donor within the semiconductor which provides the additional electron charge carrier that could involve directly to the exchange interaction effectively at certain limit and enhances the ferromagnetism. At higher doping concentration the formation of diamagnetic Bi₂O₃ secondary phase have contributed to change the ferromagnetic behaviour of the sample. From this study it is suggested that this kind of combined ferromagnetism and excellent optical tunability of the Bi co-doped ZnO:Co system will be the potential material for future magneto-opto-electronic devices.     

Atomic force microscopy of electrochemical nanoelectrodes

Nanometer-sized electrodes have recently been used to investigate important chemical and biological systems on the nanoscale. Although nanoelectrodes offer a number of advantages over macroscopic electrochemical probes, visualization of their surfaces remains challenging. Thus, the interpretation of the electrochemical response relies on assumptions about the electrode shape and size prior to the experiment and the changes induced by surface reactions (e.g., electrodeposition). In this paper, we present first AFM images of nanoelectrodes, which provide detailed and unambiguous information about the electrode geometry. The effects of polishing and cleaning nanoelectrodes are investigated, and AFM results are compared to those obtained by voltammetry and SEM. In situ AFM is potentially useful for monitoring surface reactions at nanoelectrodes.