Synergy of Immunostimulatory Genetherapy with Immune Checkpoint Blockade Motivates Immune Response to Eliminate Cancer

Normalizing the tumor-induced immune deficiency in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) through increasing the efficient infiltration and activation of antitumoral immunity in TME is the core of promising immunotherapy. Herein, a Cyclo(Arg-Gly-Asp-d -Phe-Lys) (RGD) peptides-modified combinatorial immunotherapy system based on the self-assembly of the nanoparticles named RGD-DMA composed of RGD-PEG-PLA, methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactide) (MPEG-PLA) and 1,2-Dioleoyl-3-trimethylammonium-propane (DOTAP) is used to codeliver the immunostimulatory chemokine CCL19-encoding plasmid DNA (CCL19 pDNA) and immune checkpoint ligand PD-L1 inhibitor (BMS-1). The RGD-DMA/pCCL19-BMS-1 system not only exhibited significant inhibition of tumor progression but also induced locally high concentrations of immunostimulatory cytokines at tumor sites without causing an obviously systemic inflammatory response. The immunosuppressive TME is efficaciously reshaped by the coadministration of RGD-DMA/pCCL19 and BMS-1, as indicated by the activated T lymphocytes, increased intratumoral-infiltration of mature dendritic cells (DCs), and the repolarization of macrophages from pro-tumoral M2-phenotype toward tumoricidal M1-phenotype. The upregulated PD-L1 expression at tumor sites caused by the increased IFN-γ levels after immunostimulatory gene therapy further demonstrated the synergistic effects of BMS-1 in counteracting the inhibitory role of PD-L1 expression in antitumor immunity. Therefore, the combination of immunostimulating therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitor that synergistically target multiple immune regulatory pathways demonstrates significant potential as a novel immunotherapy approach.     

Fast Quantitative Analysis of Hidden Dangerous Substances in Mail Based on Specific Interval PLS

Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves - Terahertz radiation has many unique characteristics that make it useful for noninvasive mail inspection. While qualitative analysis of mail...     

高阶表面结构刚挠结合印制板制作技术

高阶表面结构刚挠结合印制电路板集合了混压设计,不对称设计等特点,且挠性板在外层,导致开窗处高度差较大,这一特点给制作增添了较大难度。本文选取此类典型刚挠结合板产品,分享部分关键制作技术。     

Cyclic thermal shock resistance of h-BN composite ceramics with La2O3–Al2O3–SiO2 addition

The effects of La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ addition on the thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), Young's modulus and cyclic thermal shock resistance of hot-pressed h-BN composite ceramics were investigated. The samples were heated to 1000 °C and then quenched to room temperature with 1–50 cycles, and the residual flexural strength was used to evaluate cyclic thermal shock resistance. h-BN composite ceramics containing 10 vol% La₂O₃–Al₂O₃ and 20 vol% SiO₂ addition exhibited the highest flexural strength, thermal conductivity and relatively low CTE, which were beneficial to the excellent thermal shock resistance. In addition, the viscous amorphous phase of ternary La₂O₃–Al₂O₃–SiO₂ system could accommodate and relax thermal stress contributing to the high thermal shock resistance. Therefore, the residual flexural strength still maintained the value of 234.3 MPa (86.9% of initial strength) after 50 cycles of thermal shock.     

One-step preparation of the superhydrophobic Al alloy surface with enhanced corrosion and wear resistance

Corrosion and wear failures are bottlenecks for restricting applications and developments of Al-based functional materials. As a new lubrication technology, superhydrophobic preparation provides an effective way to settle Al alloy corrosion. The preparation methods of superhydrophobic Al alloys are mainly multistep strategies. In this study, superhydrophobic Al alloy, has been prepared by an efficient one-step electrochemical etching process. Meanwhile, its micromorphology has been observed by a scanning electron microscope. The wettability has been measured by video optical contact angle meter. The corrosion behavior has been tested by electrochemical workstation, and wear performance has been characterized by friction tester. The results show that the micro-nanoterraced concave–convex structure has been fabricated and an as-prepared surface exhibits excellent superhydrophobic behavior. Further electrochemical and tribological tests show that corrosion resistance and wear resistance have also been significantly improved. This study provides a new method to prepare wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant Al alloy for widening applications of multifunctional Al-based engineering materials.     

Formation of SiC whiskers/leucite-based ceramic composites from low temperature hardening geopolymer

In this study, SiC whiskers (SCWS) reinforced geopolymer composites (SCWS/KGP) and their ceramic products (SCWS/leucite) were prepared, and effects of SiC whiskers contents on the microstructure and flexural strength of the SCWS/KGP and SCWS/leucite composites were investigated. The results show that the whisker addition has little influence on both phase composition and thermal shrinkage of the KGP composites, but a suitable content of whisker will result in the improved flexural strength, and when the SCWS content is 2 wt%, flexural strength of the SCWS/KGP composite is enhanced by 95% compared with the neat geopolymer. The flexural strength of the composites can be further enhanced significantly after the composites being treated at 1100 °C and 1200 °C and flexural strength of the composite with SCWS content of 2 wt% was 107% and 125% higher than the untreated counterpart, respectively. The increase in flexural strength of the composites should be attributed to the strong leucite formation, whisker debonding and pulling out from matrix during the fracturing process based on the good interfacial bonding state between whisker and leucite matrix.     

Preparation,structure and microwave dielectric properties of novel La2MgGeO6 ceramics with hexagonal structure and adjustment of its τf value

A novel La₂MgGeO₆ ceramic was synthesized through a solid-state reaction process within a sintering temperature range of 1450–1550 °C. By a combination of X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement analyses, the ceramics were found to have a pure hexagonal phase structure belonging to space group R3/146. The scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the ceramic grains were closely connected. The effects of internal (lattice energy, valence bond, and fraction packing) and external factors (density) on the microwave properties of ceramics were also studied. The ceramic exhibited excellent microwave dielectric performances, with a relative permittivity (?_r) of 21.2, a quality factor (Q × f) of 52 360 GHz, and a temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ_f) of ?44.2 ppm/°C, when sintered at 1500 °C for 4 h. The τ_f value of the La₂MgGeO₆ ceramic doped with CaTiO₃ could be adjusted to zero. Particularly, 0.2La₂MgGeO₆-0.8CaTiO₃ ceramics have good microwave dielectric properties with τ_f = +2.1 ppm/°C, Q × f = 15 610 GHz, and ?_r = 40.3.     

Mesoporous Co–Mn Spinel Oxides as Efficient Catalysts for Low Temperature Propane Oxidation

Catalysis Letters - A series of mesoporous cobalt–manganese catalysts were successfully synthesized by sol–gel method as efficient catalysts for the propane oxidation. A significant...     

A cell-based smoothed radial point interpolation method with virtual nodes for three-dimensional mid-frequency acoustic problems

It is well known that the finite element method (FEM) encounters dispersion errors in coping with mid-frequency acoustic problems due to its “overly stiff” nature. By introducing the generalized gradient smoothing technique and the idea of condensed shape functions with virtual nodes, a cell-based smoothed radial point interpolation method is proposed to solve the Helmholtz equation for the purpose of reducing dispersion errors. With the properly selected virtual nodes, the proposed method can provide a close-to-exact stiffness of continuum, leading to a conspicuous decrease in dispersion errors and a significant improvement in accuracy. Numerical examples are examined using the present method by comparing with both the traditional FEM using four-node tetrahedral elements (FEM-T4) and the FEM model using eight-node hexahedral elements with modified integration rules (MIR-H8). The present cell-based smoothed radial point interpolation method has been demonstrated to possess a number of superiorities, including the automatically generated tetrahedral background mesh, high computational efficiency, and insensitivity to mesh distortion, which make the method a good potential for practical analysis of acoustic problems.