Nebulized Gadolinium‐Based Nanoparticles: A Theranostic Approach for Lung Tumor Imaging and Radiosensitization

Lung cancer is the most common and most fatal cancer worldwide. Thus, improving early diagnosis and therapy is necessary. Previously, gadolinium‐based ultra‐small rigid platforms (USRPs) were developed to serve as multimodal imaging probes and as radiosensitizing agents. In addition, it was demonstrated that USRPs can be detected in the lungs using ultrashort echo‐time magnetic resonance imaging (UTE‐MRI) and fluorescence imaging after intrapulmonary administration in healthy animals. The goal of the present study is to evaluate their theranostic properties in mice with bioluminescent orthotopic lung cancer, after intrapulmonary nebulization or conventional intravenous administration. It is found that lung tumors can be detected non‐invasively using fluorescence tomography or UTE‐MRI after nebulization of USRPs, and this is confirmed by histological analysis of the lung sections. The deposition of USRPs around the tumor nodules is sufficient to generate a radiosensitizing effect when the mice are subjected to a single dose of 10 Gy conventional radiation one day after inhalation (mean survival time of 112 days versus 77 days for irradiated mice without USRPs treatment). No apparent systemic toxicity or induction of inflammation is observed. These results demonstrate the theranostic properties of USRPs for the multimodal detection of lung tumors and improved radiotherapy after nebulization.     

Ultrasmall Nanoplatforms as Calcium‐Responsive Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The preparation of ultrasmall and rigid platforms (USRPs) that are covalently coupled to macrocycle‐based, calcium‐responsive/smart contrast agents (SCAs), and the initial in vitro and in vivo validation of the resulting nanosized probes (SCA‐USRPs) by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is reported. The synthetic procedure is robust, allowing preparation of the SCA‐USRPs on a multigram scale. The resulting platforms display the desired MRI activity—i.e., longitudinal relaxivity increases almost twice at 7 T magnetic field strength upon saturation with Ca²⁺. Cell viability is probed with the MTT assay using HEK‐293 cells, which show good tolerance for lower contrast agent concentrations over longer periods of time. On intravenous administration of SCA‐USRPs in living mice, MRI studies indicate their rapid accumulation in the renal pelvis and parenchyma. Importantly, the MRI signal increases in both kidney compartments when CaCl₂ is also administrated. Laser‐induced breakdown spectroscopy experiments confirm accumulation of SCA‐USRPs in the renal cortex. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first studies which demonstrate calcium‐sensitive MRI signal changes in vivo. Continuing contrast agent and MRI protocol optimizations should lead to wider application of these responsive probes and development of superior functional methods for monitoring calcium‐dependent physiological and pathological processes in a dynamic manner.     

The role of microcrystalline structure on optical scattering characteristics of semi-crystalline thermoplastics and the accuracy of numerical input for IR-heating modeling

Infrared (IR) heating is widely used for thermoforming of thermoplastic polymers. The key benefit of radiation heating is that a significant amount of the radiative energy penetrates into the polymers thanks to their semi-transparency. For the case of heating unfilled semi-crystalline polymers, the relation between their microcrystalline structure and optical properties is the key to develop a predictive IR-heating model as microcrystalline structure introduces an optically heterogeneous medium. In this study, a relation between the microcrystalline structure of a polyethylene (PE) and its effect on the thermo-optical properties was experimentally analyzed considering a two-step analysis. At very first step, the relation was analyzed considering samples with identical thicknesses and different morphologies, characterized here in terms of degree of crystallinity (X_c (%)). Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and integrating sphere, optical characteristics of the PE samples were analyzed in near-infrared (NIR) and middle-infrared (MIR) spectral ranges. The analyses showed that a slight variation in X_c (%) has a great effect on the optical characteristics of PE, particularly the transmission characteristics in NIR range. The wavelength-dependent effect of X_c (%) on the transmission behaviors opened a discussion about the fact that the microcrystalline structures -in particular spherulites or their substructures such as lamellae- are responsible for optical scattering. Using the optical properties obtained from the two-step experimental analyses, two different thermo-optical properties were calculated, namely extinction and absorption coefficients, and used as a numerical input for the parametric numerical studies. The numerical studies were performed using an in-house developed radiation heat transfer algorithm -RAYHEAT-. Both the experimental and numerical analyses demonstrated the importance of the optical scattering regarding the identification of thermo-optical properties, used as a numerical input for radiation heat transfer models.     

Comparison of two models of a double inlet miniature pulse tube refrigerator: Part A thermodynamics

The cooling of electronic components is of great interest to improve their capabilities, especially for CMOS components or infrared sensors. The purpose of this paper is to present the design and the optimization of a miniature double inlet pulse tube refrigerator (DIPTR) dedicated to such applications. Special precautions have to be considered in modeling the global functioning of small scale DIPTR systems and also in estimating the net cooling power. In fact, thermal gradients are greater than those observed in normal scale systems, and moreover, because of the small dimensions of ducts (diameter), the pulse tube cannot be assumed to be adiabatic. Hence thermal heat conduction phenomena must be considered. Besides dead volumes introduced by junctions and capillaries cannot be neglected any more in front of the volume of the gas tube itself. The hydrodynamic and thermal behaviors of the cooler are predicted by means of two different approaches: a classical thermodynamic model and a model based on an electrical analogy. The results of these analysis are tested and criticized by comparing them with experimental data obtained on a small commercial pulse tube refrigerator.     

LEKIDs Developments for mm-Wave Astronomy

Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) have recently drawn the attention of the low-temperature detectors community. Easy fabrication, high sensitivity, small time constants and most notably the intrinsic capability to frequency multiplexing open new possibilities to applications that need very large array sizes and/or high speed read-out. Lumped Element Kinetic Inductance Detectors (LEKIDs) designed and fabricated in our collaboration have already shown good on sky performances, but new developments are needed for future multi-thousands-pixels instruments. In this contribution we present such ongoing developments: a new LEKIDs design, optimized to be dual polarization sensitive; use of new materials such as TiN in order to reach better signal to noise ratios; new solutions to minimize the cross-talk between pixels in order to achieve a better control of the resonance positions in frequency space. We discuss present lab measurements of the optical performances and recent improvements of the read-out electronics.     

Failure mechanisms of H13 die on relation to the forging process – A case study of brass gas valves

In the hot forging industry, die life is an important process factor because of the cost involved in lost production, replacement of die blocks and operative handling of the dies. There is still no consensus, however, on the type of wear affecting dies or the dominant mechanisms for die failure, which varies from one situation to another. This metallographic study of a failed industrial hot forging die used to forge gas cylinder valves has indicated various failure modes. Although plastic deformation and thermal fatigue are usually quoted as the main causes of damage, oxidative and abrasive wear, fatigue cracking and chipping appeared to bet he most important in this study. Feedback coupling of fatigue and wear effects are detected. Detailed scanning electron microscopy observations and energy-dispersive X-ray and optical profilometry analysis suggest that these failures might very depending on their localisation on the die surfaces and show a complex mechanisms related to the variation of process parameters.     

Microstructure investigation and thermal stability of 99.1% aluminum processed by equal channel angular extrusion

Microstructure evolution of 99.1% aluminum after equal-channel angular extrusion (ECAE) and subsequent heat-treatment was investigated. After deformation the samples were annealed at different temperatures. The deformed and annealed states were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and microhardness tests. It was shown that the observed microstructure changes during subsequent annealing have to be associated with recovery and cells formation. The initial stages of recovery were investigated using weak-beam technique. The microstructure obtained after annealing for 1 h at 100 °C consists of some arrangements of the dislocations into sub-grain boundaries within the wide preexisting grains. Annealing at 300 °C led to the appearance of a duplex microstructure consisting of bands of slightly coarsened grains associated with refined grains. No growth of dislocation cells was observed up to 400 °C. In XRD measurements, the lattice parameter increase with subsequent heating. This indicates a continuous grain growth during annealing. This is due to the important increase of coherency length, D observed parallel to a substantial decrease of rms-strain, ε.     

Production planning in automotive powertrain plants: a case study

Based on a real case study from the automotive industry, this paper deals with production planning in powertrain plants. We present an overview of the production planning process and propose a mixed integer linear programme to determine the production quantities of each product over a planning horizon of several days. Then, using real data of an engine assembly line, we simulate the performance obtained through the proposed model within a rolling horizon planning process. We perform multiple tests in order to evaluate the impact of two parameters involved in this process: planning frequency and frozen horizon length. Furthermore, in order to illustrate the value of improving coordination between engine plants and their customers, we evaluate the impact of the quality of demand information (orders and forecasts). We analyse the simulation results and provide insights and recommendations in order to achieve a good trade-off between service level, inventory, and planning stability.     

Gold nanoparticle assemblies: Thermal behaviour under optical excitation

The optical response of materials based on gold nanoparticle assemblies depends on many parameters connected to both material morphology and light excitation characteristics. The optical energy absorbed is then converted into heat through different nanoscale energy exchange mechanisms. This heating subsequently modifies itself the optical properties. We investigate the interplay between the optical and thermal responses of nanocomposite media under its theoretical aspect. In this first paper, the thermal response of gold nanoparticle assemblies under pulsed optical excitation is considered. Both conventional and original modelling approaches are presented. We first underline the role of electromagnetic interactions between particles in a dense assembly in its linear optical response. We then show how the interaction of light with matrix-embedded gold nanoparticles can result in the generation of thermal excitations through different energy exchange mechanisms. Finally, we demonstrate the possible significant influence of the heat carrier ballistic regime and phonon rarefaction in the cooling dynamics of an embedded gold nanoparticle subsequent to ultrafast pulsed laser excitation.     

Effect of gate length in InAs/AlSb HEMTs biased for low power or high gain

The effect of gate-length variation on DC and RF performance of InAs/AlSb HEMTs, biased for low DC power consumption or high gain, is reported. Simultaneously fabricated devices, with gate lengths between 225 nm and 335 nm, have been compared. DC measurements revealed higher output conductance g_ds and slightly increased impact ionization with reduced gate length. When reducing the gate length from 335 nm to 225 nm, the DC power consumption was reduced by approximately 80% at an f_T of 120 GHz. Furthermore, a 225 nm gate-length HEMT biased for high gain exhibited an extrinsic f_T of 165 GHz and an extrinsic f_max of 115 GHz, at a DC power consumption of 100 mW/mm. When biased for low DC power consumption of 20 mW/mm the same HEMT exhibited an extrinsic f_T and f_max of 120 GHz and 110 GHz, respectively.