Macrophage Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles Sensitize Glioblastoma to Radiation by Suppressing Proneural–Mesenchymal Transformation in Glioma Stem Cells

Radiotherapy is identified as a crucial treatment for patients with glioblastoma, but recurrence is inevitable. The efficacy of radiotherapy is severely hampered partially due to the tumor evolution. Growing evidence suggests that proneural glioma stem cells can acquire mesenchymal features coupled with increased radioresistance. Thus, a better understanding of mechanisms underlying tumor subclonal evolution may develop new strategies. Herein, data highlighting a positive correlation between the accumulation of macrophage in the glioblastoma microenvironment after irradiation and mesenchymal transdifferentiation in glioblastoma are presented. Mechanistically, elevated production of inflammatory cytokines released by macrophages promotes mesenchymal transition in an NF-κB-dependent manner. Hence, rationally designed macrophage membrane-coated porous mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMNs) in which therapeutic anti-NF-κB peptides are loaded for enhancing radiotherapy of glioblastoma are constructed. The combination of MMNs and fractionated irradiation results in the blockage of tumor evolution and therapy resistance in glioblastoma-bearing mice. Intriguingly, the macrophage invasion across the blood-brain barrier is inhibited competitively by MMNs, suggesting that these nanoparticles can fundamentally halt the evolution of radioresistant clones. Taken together, the biomimetic MMNs represent a promising strategy that prevents mesenchymal transition and improves therapeutic response to irradiation as well as overall survival in patients with glioblastoma.     

Implicit discrete-time fast terminal sliding mode control with disturbance compensation

In this paper, an implicit discrete-time fast terminal sliding mode (DFTSM) control with disturbance compensation is designed and analyzed for uncertain high-order systems. First, a recursive discrete sliding surface is constructed based on implicit Euler technique, which can completely eliminate discretization chattering so as to significantly reduce the boundary layer of sliding mode motion. With the help of a high-order disturbance compensator, the accuracy limitation of implicit DFTSM control systems is overcome by increasing the order of sliding mode. Then the finite-time convergence of implicit DFTSM is proved for the first time, and the influence relationship of control parameters on the convergence speed and control accuracy of the algorithm is established. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed design approach.     

Development,integration, and field evaluation of an autonomous citrus-harvesting robot

Citrus harvesting is a labor-intensive and time-intensive task. As the global population continues to age, labor costs are increasing dramatically. Therefore, the citrus-harvesting robot has attracted considerable attention from the business and academic communities. However, robotic harvesting in unstructured and natural citrus orchards remains a challenge. This study aims to address some challenges faced in commercializing citrus-harvesting robots. We present a fully integrated, autonomous, and innovative solution for citrus-harvesting robots to overcome the harvesting difficulties derived from the natural growth characteristics of citrus. This solution uses a fused simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm based on multiple sensors to perform high-precision localization and navigation for the robot in the field orchard. Besides, a novel visual method for estimating fruit poses is proposed to cope with the randomization of citrus growth orientations. Further, a new end-effector is designed to improve the success and conformity rate of citrus stem cutting. Finally, a fully autonomous harvesting robot system has been developed and integrated. Field evaluations showed that the robot could harvest citrus continuously with an overall success rate of 87.2% and an average picking time of 10.9 s/fruit. These efforts provide a solid foundation for the future commercialization of citrus-harvesting robots.     

Infrared target tracking based on proximal robust principal component analysis method

Applied Intelligence - Infrared target tracking plays an important role in both civil and military fields. The main challenges in designing a robust and high-precision tracker for infrared...     

Pathogen-mimicking nanocomplexes: self-stimulating oxidative stress in tumor microenvironment for chemo-immunotherapy

A novel drug-loaded pathogen-mimicking nanocomplex (MSN-DOX-SP-LPS) has been constructed for synergistic chemo-immunotherapy.

     

Regulation of cell fate by near infrared-responsive telomerase activity

Here we develop a strategy using near infrared (NIR) modulation of telomerase activity based on gold nanocage@smart polymer system. Using this biocompatible design, we can regulate cellular behavior. This system has been used in vivo by taking advantages of NIR. This is the first example for optical modulation of telomerase activity in living cells and tissues.

     

Effects of Ti and Mn Co-substitution on P4mm BiFeO3: An Ab Initio Calculation

Tetragonal BiFeO₃ (BFO), which has a giant spontaneous polarization, has attracted a great deal of attention recently. In this paper, we systematically study the structural, magnetic, electronic and optic properties of BFO, BiFe_0.75Mn_0.25 O ₃ (BFMM), and BiFe_0.75Ti_0.125Mn_0.125 O ₃ (BFMT). Results show that doping Ti and Mn into the Fe sites increases the c/a ratio and enhances the magnetization of BiFeO₃ from 0 to 5 μ_B. The crystal symmetry changes from orthogonality to tetragonality with half of the Mn atoms being replaced by Ti in BiFe_0.75Mn_0.25 O ₃, which suppresses the energy splitting of the Mn 3d orbitals and thus enlarge the band gap to 1.21 eV for BiFe_0.75Ti_0.125Mn_0.125 O ₃. Our calculated Bader charge and charge density difference show that the smallest volume of BiFe_0.75Mn_0.25 O ₃ arises from the strong Mn–O bonds in BiFe_0.75Mn_0.25 O ₃. Further investigations indicate similar optical behaviors for BiFeO₃ and BiFe_0.75Ti_0.125Mn_0.125 O ₃. However, BiFe_0.75Mn_0.25 O ₃ exhibits strong absorption in the infrared region for the transition from O 2p to Mn \({e_{g}^{2}}\) and \(t_{2g}^{3}\).     

Surface Energy and Surface Stability of Ag Nanocrystals at Elevated Temperatures and Their Dominance in Sublimation‐Induced Shape Evolution

The surface energy and surface stability of Ag nanocrystals (NCs) are under debate because the measurable values of the surface energy are very inconsistent, and the indices of the observed thermally stable surfaces are apparently in conflict. To clarify this issue, a transmission electron microscope is used to investigate these problems in situ with elaborately designed carbon‐shell‐capsulated Ag NCs. It is demonstrated that the {111} surfaces are still thermally stable at elevated temperatures, and the victory of the formation of {110} surfaces over {111} surfaces on the Ag NCs during sublimation is due to the special crystal geometry. It is found that the Ag NCs behave as quasiliquids during sublimation, and the cubic NCs represent a featured shape evolution, which is codetermined by both the wetting equilibrium at the Ag–C interface and the relaxation of the system surface energy. Small Ag NCs (≈10 nm) no longer maintain the wetting equilibrium observed in larger Ag NCs, and the crystal orientations of ultrafine Ag NCs (≈6 nm) can rotate to achieve further shape relaxation. Using sublimation kinetics, the mean surface energy of Ag NCs at 1073 K is calculated to be 1.1–1.3 J m^?2.     

Polypyrrole Whelk‐Like Arrays toward Robust Controlling Manipulation of Organic Droplets Underwater

Whelk‐like polypyrrole (PPy) arrays film is successfully prepared by electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of low‐surface‐energy tetraethylammonium perfluorooctanesulfonate (TEAPFOS) as dopant. The underwater wettability of PPy whelk‐like arrays can be successfully tuned by electrical doping/dedoping of PFOS ions. Interestingly, CCl₄ droplets with microliter‐size as a representative sample are gathered together to form a larger droplet underwater at the potential of +0.8 V (vs Ag/AgCl), because PPy is in its PFOS‐doped states. Note that CCl₄ droplet can climb uphill successfully on the inclined whelk‐like arrays PPy film under the applied potential of ?1.0 V (vs Ag/AgCl), which may be attributed to wettability gradient derived from different oxidation states of PPy induced by electrochemical potential. These results may provide a simple strategy for on‐demand manipulation of organic droplets underwater at low voltage.