Fluorescent Nanodiamonds Embedded in Biocompatible Translucent Shells

High pressure high temperature (HPHT) nanodiamonds (NDs) represent extremely promising materials for construction of fluorescent nanoprobes and nanosensors. However, some properties of bare NDs limit their direct use in these applications: they precipitate in biological solutions, only a limited set of bio‐orthogonal conjugation techniques is available and the accessible material is greatly polydisperse in shape. In this work, we encapsulate bright 30‐nm fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) in 10–20‐nm thick translucent (i.e., not altering FND fluorescence) silica shells, yielding monodisperse near‐spherical particles of mean diameter 66 nm. High yield modification of the shells with PEG chains stabilizes the particles in ionic solutions, making them applicable in biological environments. We further modify the opposite ends of PEG chains with fluorescent dyes or vectoring peptide using click chemistry. High conversion of this bio‐orthogonal coupling yielded circa 2000 dye or peptide molecules on a single FND. We demonstrate the superior properties of these particles by in vitro interaction with human prostate cancer cells: while bare nanodiamonds strongly aggregate in the buffer and adsorb onto the cell membrane, the shell encapsulated NDs do not adsorb nonspecifically and they penetrate inside the cells.     

欧胜推出AudioPlus新产品线

10月15日,欧胜微电子有限公司宣布推出其AudioPlus电源管理产品线的第一款产品WM8350.该芯片将高保真音频编码解码器(CODEC)与电源管理子系统结合,可为便携式音频和导航应用提供高性能音频、同时延长电池寿命并降低系统成本.     

母乳中的低聚半乳糖研究和应用的最新进展

本详述了低聚半乳糖的研究和应用的最新进展,并简述了低聚半乳糖的特性。     

Factors associated with profitability in pasture-based systems of milk production

The global dairy industry needs to reappraise the systems of milk production that are operated at farm level with specific focus on enhancing technical efficiency and competitiveness of the sector. The objective of this study was to quantify the factors associated with costs of production, profitability, and pasture use, and the effects of pasture use on financial performance of dairy farms using an internationally recognized representative database over an 8-yr period (2008 to 2015) on pasture-based systems. To examine the associated effects of several farm system and management variables on specific performance measures, a series of multiple regression models were developed. Factors evaluated included pasture use [kg of dry matter/ha and stocking rate (livestock units/ha)], grazing season length, breeding season length, milk recording, herd size, dairy farm size (ha), farmer age, discussion group membership, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, fat %, kg of milk fat and protein per cow, kg of milk fat and protein per hectare, and capital investment in machinery, livestock, and buildings. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated costs of production per hectare differed by year, geographical location, soil type, level of pasture use, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, dairy farm size, breeding season length, and capital investment in machinery, livestock, and buildings per cow. The results of the analysis revealed that farm net profit per hectare was associated with pasture use per hectare, year, location, soil type, grazing season length, proportion of purchased feed, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, dairy farm size, and capital investment in machinery and buildings per cow. Pasture use per hectare was associated with year, location, soil type, stocking rate, dairy farm size, fat %, protein %, kg of fat and protein per cow, farmer age, capital investment in machinery and buildings per cow, breeding season length, and discussion group membership. On average, over the 8-yr period, each additional tonne of pasture dry matter used increased gross profit by €278 and net profit by €173 on dairy farms. Conversely, a 10% increase in the proportion of purchased feed in the diet resulted in a reduction in net profit per hectare by €97 and net profit by €207 per tonne of fat and protein. Results from this study, albeit in a quota limited environment, have demonstrated that the profitability of pasture-based dairy systems is significantly associated with the proportion of pasture used at the farm level, being cognizant of the levels of purchased feed.     

Bench-Scale Testing of Nanofiltration for Seawater Desalination

A dual-staged nanofiltration process is being evaluated as an alternative to reverse osmosis for seawater desalination. The primary goal of this system is to reduce energy consumption while producing potable water at an acceptable recovery rate. Investigation of this system at the bench-scale level focused on membrane surface characterization, ion rejection (including boron, bromide, and iodide rejection), and flux decline. Results from this study showed that two commercially available nanofiltration membranes can effectively desalinate seawater. Although fouling was apparent—and resulted in approximately 20% flux decline over 3 days—a critical flux was not identifiable. Operation of the system at different cross-flow velocities revealed the significance of hydrodynamic conditions on the polarization modulus, and hence on membrane performance.     

Contracting, prompting, and reinforcing substance use disorder continuing care: A randomized clinical trial.

Although continuing care is strongly related to positive treatment outcomes for substance use disorder (SUD), participation rates are low and few effective interventions are available. In a randomized clinical trial with 150 participants (97% men), 75 graduates of a residential Veterans Affairs Medical Center SUD program who received an aftercare contract, attendance prompts, and reinforcers (CPR) were compared to 75 graduates who received standard treatment (STX). Among CPR participants, 55% completed at least 3 months of aftercare, compared to 36% in STX. Similarly, CPR participants remained in treatment longer than those in STX (5.5 vs. 4.4 months). Additionally, CPR participants were more likely to be abstinent compared to STX (57% vs. 37%) after 1 year. The CPR intervention offers a practical means to improve adherence among individuals in SUD treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extending the Fatigue Life of Riveted Coped Stringer Connections

Fatigue cracking occurs at the copes of stringer–floorbeam connections of older, riveted steel bridges. Some cracks are quite long and raise serious questions regarding the remaining fatigue life of the subject bridges. Damage limitation methods (DLMs) have been used to increase the fatigue life of these stringers, but the effectiveness of the DLMs for these riveted connections had never been evaluated by tests. Therefore, tests were conducted to evaluate the fatigue life of coped, riveted stringer–floorbeam connections, and the effectiveness of DLMs. Fatigue cracks in the coped stringer–floorbeam connection were initially developed to establish crack initiation requirements and the rate and extent of crack growth. Once a significant crack was noted, one of several DLMs was applied, and the specimens were retested to determine the effectiveness of the DLM in controlling cracking. These DLMs included the drilled hole, the inserted bolt and the removed rivet methods. The relative effectiveness of the methods is described, and a design procedure is proposed for improving their performance.     

Suicide Attempt Self-Injury Interview (SASII): Development, reliability, and validity of a scale to assess suicide attempts and intentional self-injury.

The authors describe the development of the Suicide Attempt Self-Injury Interview (SASII), an instrument designed to assess the factors involved in nonfatal suicide attempts and intentional self-injury. Using 4 cohorts of participants, authors generated SASII items and evaluated them with factor and content analyses and internal consistency statistics. The final measure was assessed for reliability and validity with collateral measures. The SASII assesses variables related to method, lethality and impulsivity of the act, likelihood of rescue, suicide intent or ambivalence and other motivations, consequences, and habitual self-injury. The SASII was found to have very good interrater reliability and adequate validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-maintenance interaction: Inefficient social coordination impairs self-regulation.

Tasks requiring interpersonal coordination permeate all spheres of life. Although social coordination is sometimes efficient and effortless (low maintenance), at other times it is inefficient and effortful (high maintenance). Across 5 studies, participants experienced either a high- or a low-maintenance interaction with a confederate before engaging in an individual-level task requiring self-regulation. Self-regulation was operationalized with measures of (a) preferences for a challenging task with high reward potential over an easy task with low reward potential (Study 1) and (b) task performance (anagram performance in Study 1, Graduate Record Exam performance in Studies 2 and 3, physical stamina in Study 4, and fine motor control in Study 5). Results uniformly supported the hypothesis that experiencing high-maintenance interaction impairs one's self-regulatory success on subsequent, unrelated tasks. These effects were not mediated through participants' conscious processes and emerged even with a nonconscious manipulation of high-maintenance interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's use of looking behavior as a cue to detect another's goal

Three studies examined children's understanding of the role that looking behavior plays in revealing another's desired goal. In each study, participants were asked which of 2 objects a protagonist wanted to obtain. Four-year-olds did not infer that an object examined via prolonged looking was more likely to be the protagonist's goal than an object that was either glanced at or inadvertently touched. Instead, they were accurate only when the protagonist looked at one of two potential goals. In contrast, the majority of 6-year-olds (and adults in Experiment 1) consistently regarded prolonged looking as the more important cue of the protagonist's goal. These age differences suggest that development is characterized by an increasing appreciation that goal is revealed by comparative differences in the quality of perceptual connectedness to objects in the world. One explanation for these age differences is that preschoolers are limited in their understanding of the difference between perceiving with full attention and without it.