Supramolecular Glyco‐nanoparticles Toward Immunological Applications

Glyco‐mimicking nanoparticles (glyco‐NPs) with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) donor and acceptor groups formed via dynamic covalent bond of benzoboroxole and sugar from two complementary polymers are prepared. The glyco‐NPs are proved to be quite stable under physiological conditions but sensitive to pH. So the glyco‐NPs can be internalized by dendritic cells with integrity and nontoxicity and then dissociate within the acidic organelles. This particle dissociation is directly observed and visualized in vitro, for the first time via the FRET measurements and fluorescent microscopy. This feature makes controlled release of drug or protein by glyco‐NPs possible, i.e., when model antigen Ovalbumin is loaded in the glyco‐NPs, the released Ovalbumin in dendritic cells stimulates T cells more efficiently than the free Ovalbumin itself as a result of the enhanced antigen processing and presentation. Thus, the results enlighten a bright future of the glyco‐NPs in immunotherapy.     

Is the List of Incomplete Open Cubes Complete?

Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes is the major project by the twentieth-century conceptual artist Sol LeWitt. In this paper we interpret the enumerative component of the project as embeddings of graphs. This formulation permits use of an algorithm to check the completeness of the list of the structures produced by the artist. Our conclusion is that the artist found the correct number of structures (that is, 122), but that his list contains a mistake in the presentation of a pair of incomplete cubes, a discovery that appears not to have been noted before.     

Optimization of Pathogen Capture in Flowing Fluids with Magnetic Nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles have been employed to capture pathogens for many biological applications; however, optimal particle sizes have been determined empirically in specific capturing protocols. Here, a theoretical model that simulates capture of bacteria is described and used to calculate bacterial collision frequencies and magnetophoretic properties for a range of particle sizes. The model predicts that particles with a diameter of 460 nm should produce optimal separation of bacteria in buffer flowing at 1 L h⁻¹. Validating the predictive power of the model, Staphylococcus aureus is separated from buffer and blood flowing through magnetic capture devices using six different sizes of magnetic particles. Experimental magnetic separation in buffer conditions confirms that particles with a diameter closest to the predicted optimal particle size provide the most effective capture. Modeling the capturing process in plasma and blood by introducing empirical constants (c_e), which integrate the interfering effects of biological components on the binding kinetics of magnetic beads to bacteria, smaller beads with 50 nm diameters are predicted that exhibit maximum magnetic separation of bacteria from blood and experimentally validated this trend. The predictive power of the model suggests its utility for the future design of magnetic separation for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.     

Structural dependence of microwave dielectric properties of spinel structured Mg2(Ti1-xSnx)O4 solid solutions: Crystal structure refinement,Raman spectra study and complex chemical bond theory

Mg₂(Ti_1-xSn_x)O₄ (x?=?0–1) ceramics were prepared through conventional solid-state method. This paper focused on the dependence of microwave dielectric properties on crystal structural characteristics via crystal structure refinement, Raman spectra study and complex chemical bond theory. XRD spectrums delineated the phase information of a spinel structure, and structural characteristic of these compositions were achieved with the help of Rietveld refinements. Raman spectrums were used to depict the correlations between vibrational phonon modes and dielectric properties. The variation of permittivity is ascribed to the Mg₂(Ti_1-xSn_x)O₄ average bond covalency. The relationship among the B-site octahedral bond energy, tetrahedral bond energy and temperature coefficient are discussed by defining on the change rate of bond energy and the contribution rate of octahedral bond energy. The quality factor is affected by systematic total lattice energy, and the research of XPS patterns illustrated that oxygen vacancies can be effectively restrained in rich oxygen sintering process. Obviously, the microwave dielectric properties of Mg₂(Ti_1-xSn_x)O₄ compounds were obtained (${\epsilon }_r$= 12.18, $Q\times f$?=?170,130?GHz, ${\tau }_f$?=??53.1?ppm/°C, x?=?0.2).     

太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像技术的发展与应用

作为太赫兹技术中的重要组成部分,太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像一经问世就引起了行业内的广泛关注,人们引入了各种方法去提升此成像技术的测量性能,同时也尝试将此成像技术应用于不同的工业和基础研究领域。本文综述了近年来人们对太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像的技术改良和应用研究,包括提升成像系统的空间分辨率、信噪比、信息获取能力,以及将此成像技术应用于光谱识别检测、超表面器件功能验证、太赫兹特殊光束测量、太赫兹表面波观测等,希望该综述能够推动太赫兹脉冲焦平面成像的进一步技术革新和应用拓展。     

Alloy optimisation of bainitic steel for large plastic mould

Based on the phase transformation theories, especially the T₀ concept of bainite transformation, alloy optimisation of bainitic steel with carbides has been carried out aiming at the produce of plastic mould with large cross-section. The effect of manganese and silicon on proeutectoid ferrite and bainite transformation is explored by dilatometric analysis, XRD and different microscopy techniques. The results show that after the alloy optimisation, the transformation of proeutectoid ferrite is suppressed and when the cooling rate is lower than 0·1°C?s^??1, the new lower bainite transformation appears by decreasing carbon capacity of austenite and promoting carbide precipitation. Industrial production proves that the optimised alloy SDP1 can meet the demand for the plastic mould with the thickness of 1050?mm.