Size-dependent multispectral photoacoustic response of solid and hollow gold nanoparticles

Photoacoustic (PA) imaging attracts a great deal of attention as an innovative modality for longitudinal, non-invasive, functional and molecular imaging in oncology. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are identified as superior, NIR-absorbing PA contrast agents for biomedical applications. Until now, no systematic comparison of the optical extinction and PA efficiency of water-soluble AuNPs of various geometries and small sizes has been performed.Here spherical AuNPs with core diameters of 1.0, 1.4 and 11.2?nm, nanorods with longitudinal/transversal elongation of 38/9 and 44/12?nm and hollow nanospheres with outer/inner diameters of 33/19, 57/30, 68/45 and 85/56?nm were synthesized. The diode laser set-up with excitations at 650, 808, 850 and 905?nm allowed us to correlate the molar PA signal intensity with the molar extinction of the respective AuNPs. Deviations were explained by differences in heat transfer from the particle to the medium and, for larger particles, by the scattering of light. The molar PA intensity of 1.0?nm AuNPs was comparable to the commonly used organic dye methylene blue, and rapidly increased with the lateral size of AuNPs.     

Realization of minute-long steady-state H-mode discharges on EAST

In the 2016 EAST experimental campaign,a steady-state long-pulse H-mode discharge with an ITER-like tungsten divertor lasting longer than one minute has been obtained using only RF heating and current drive,through an integrated control of the wall conditioning,plasma configuration,divertor heat flux,particle exhaust,impurity management,and effective coupling of multiple RF heating and current drive sources at high injected power.The plasma current (Ip ～ 0.45 MA) was fully-noninductively driven (Vloop ＜ 0.0 V) by a combination of ～2.5 MW LHW,～0.4 MW ECH and ～0.8 MW ICRF.This result demonstrates the progress of physics and technology studies on EAST,and will benefit the physics basis for steady state operation of ITER and CFETR.     

High‐Sensitivity Real‐Time Analysis of Nanoparticle Toxicity in Green Fluorescent Protein‐Expressing Zebrafish

Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) show great potential for diagnostic and therapeutic application in humans. A great number of studies have tested the cytotoxicity of AuNP using cell culture. There is, however, an urgent need to test AuNP in vertebrate animal models that interrogate biodistribution and complex biological traits like organ development, whole body metabolism, and cognitive function. The sheer number of different compounds precludes the use of small rodent model for initial screening. The extended fish embryo test (FET) is used here to bridge the gap between cell culture and small animal models. A study on the toxicity of ultrasmall AuNP in wild type and transgenic zebrafish is presented. FET faithfully reproduce all important findings of a previous study in HeLa cells and add new important information on teratogenicity and hepatotoxicity that could not be gained from studying cultured cells.     

Small‐Molecule Inhibitors of AF6 PDZ‐Mediated Protein–Protein Interactions

PDZ (PSD‐95, Dlg, ZO‐1) domains are ubiquitous interaction modules that are involved in many cellular signal transduction pathways. Interference with PDZ‐mediated protein–protein interactions has important implications in disease‐related signaling processes. For this reason, PDZ domains have gained attention as potential targets for inhibitor design and, in the long run, drug development. Herein we report the development of small molecules to probe the function of the PDZ domain from human AF6 (ALL1‐fused gene from chromosome 6), which is an essential component of cell–cell junctions. These compounds bind to AF6 PDZ with substantially higher affinity than the peptide (Ile‐Gln‐Ser‐Val‐Glu‐Val) derived from its natural ligand, EphB2. In intact cells, the compounds inhibit the AF6–Bcr interaction and interfere with epidermal growth factor (EGF)‐dependent signaling.     

Chemical Expansion Due to Hydration of Proton‐Conducting Perovskite Oxide Ceramics

The crystal structures of proton‐conducting BaZr_1?xY_xO_3?x/2 (BZY05–BZY20) and BaCe_0.8Y_0.2O_2.9 (BCY20) during hydration/dehydration has been studied by in situ high‐temperature X‐ray diffraction and thermal analysis. A contraction/expansion of the crystal lattice associated with dehydration/hydration was observed for all materials at elevated temperatures and the polymorphic phase transition temperatures of BaCe_0.8Y_0.2O_2.9 were depressed by lowering the vapor pressure of water. A thermodynamic formalism is introduced to describe the chemical expansion associated with the hydration of oxygen vacancies in acceptor‐doped oxides. A conventional point defect model was applied to describe the lattice strain associated with the hydration. The chemical expansion is discussed with respect to the available volumetric data on the hydration of proton‐conducting oxide materials and its likely impact on ceramic fuel cells/hydrogen separation membranes utilizing a proton‐conducting electrolyte.     

Inter-generational ties, financial transfers and home-ownership support

Home-ownership is transmitted between generations. Parental gifts form one of the mechanisms through which the intergenerational transmission of home-ownership takes place. Using the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study, we investigated the influence of parental and children’s resources and other characteristics on financial support from parents to children. A major independent variable was parental home-ownership. As dependent variables, we distinguished between financial support towards buying a home, and financial support in the form of gifts of € 5,000 or more ever received. By making this distinction, we could test whether homeowner parents were particularly likely to help their children become homeowners rather than giving other types of financial help. The results did not indicate such specific gift-giving: parental home-ownership was just as important to other types of monetary support as to home-ownership support. However, the distance to the place where the adult child had grown up was negatively associated with receiving home-ownership support but not with receiving other financial transfers.     

Critical conditions for onset of mould growth under varying climate conditions

A performance-based service life design format based on climatic exposure on one hand and “resistance” of materials against mould growth on the other hand, is presented in this paper. A limit state for onset of mould growth is defined as the occurrence of traces of mould observed by microscopy. A dose–response model is proposed by which onset of mould growth can be predicted for an arbitrary climate history of combined relative humidity ? and temperature T. The model is calibrated and verified against a comprehensive set of experimental data published by Viitanen et al. [Viitanen H, Ritschkoff A-C. Mould growth in pine and spruce sapwood in relation to air humidity and temperature. Uppsala: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Products; 1991. Report No. 221, 49 p.; Viitanen H. Modelling the time factor in the development of mould fungi – effect of critical humidity and temperature conditions in pine and spruce sapwood. Holzforschung 1997;51(1):6–14; Viitanen H. Modelling the time factor in the development of brown rot decay in pine and spruce sapwood – the effect of critical humidity and temperature conditions. Holzforschung 1997;51(2):99–106; Viitanen H, Bjurman J. Mould growth on wood under fluctuating humidity conditions. Material und Organismen 1995;29(1):27–46] describing mould development on spruce and pine sapwood as a function of climatic exposure. The model is applied to predict time to onset of mould growth under natural outdoor climate (under shelter) as well as mould development in building attics and in crawl space foundations. The predicted response shows reasonable agreement with experimental observations and proven experience, although biological processes of this type display great variability. The results show that a generally applicable, quantitative model can be used as a powerful tool for moisture safe design in practice. The model is designed to facilitate continuous improvement of prediction capability by further laboratory testing of various materials under specified climate conditions. In combination with currently available building physics software the model is suitable for moisture safe design of wood-based components in the building envelope.     

Toxicity characterization of complex mixtures using biological and chemical analysis in preparation for assessment of mixture similarity

In the United States, several proposed approaches for using bioassays for the risk assessment of complex hazardous mixtures require that selected mixtures be "sufficiently similar" to each other. The goal of this research was to evaluate the utility of a protocol using in vitro bioassays and chemical analysis as a basis for assessing mixture similarity. Two wood preserving wastes (WPWs) containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pentachlorophenol were extracted and fractionated to generate potentially similar mixtures. Chemical analysis was conducted using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Genotoxicity was evaluated using the Salmonella/microsome and Escherichia coli prophage induction assays. The crude extract of one WPW was also tested in the chick embryotoxicity screening test (CHEST) assay. The CHEST assay provided the most sensitive measurement of toxicity. Overall, the biological potency of the samples was not well correlated with predicted potency based on chemical analysis. Although several mixtures appeared similar based on chemical analysis, the magnitude of the response in bioassays was often dissimilar. Fractionation was required to detect the genotoxicity of mixture components in vitro. The results confirm the need for an integrated protocol, combining chemical analysis, fractionation, and biological testing to characterize the risk associated with complex mixtures.     

Acceptability of genetically modified cheese presented as real product alternative

European consumers, in general, have negative attitudes towards the use of gene technology in food production. The objective of this study was to examine whether taste and health benefits influence the acceptability of genetically modified (gm) products when they are presented as real product alternatives. Consumers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden (n=738) assessed two cheeses: one was labelled as genetically modified (preferred in an earlier product test) and the other as conventional (neutral in an earlier product test). A smaller control group received two cheeses with blind codes. Labelling decreased consumers' intentions to buy the originally preferred gm-labelled cheese, but still the intentions were at the same level with the conventionally labelled option. Participants chose two gm cheeses out of five possible when given the option to take cheese home after tasting. Intentions to buy gm cheese could best be explained by respondents' attitudes towards gene technology and perceived taste benefits. General health interest was also a reinforcer of intentions for gm cheese with reduced fat content.