Unleashing Cancer Cells on Surfaces Exposing Motogenic IGDQ Peptides

Thiolated peptides bearing the Ile‐Gly‐Asp (IGD) motif, a highly conserved sequence of fibronectin, are used for the preparation of anisotropic self‐assembled monolayers (SAM gradients) to study the whole‐population migratory behavior of metastatic breast cancer cells (MDA‐MB‐231 cells). Ile‐Gly‐Asp‐Gln‐(IGDQ)‐exposing SAMs sustain the adhesion of MDA‐MB‐231 cells by triggering focal adhesion kinase phosphorylation, similarly to the analogous Gly‐Arg‐Gly‐Asp‐(GRGD)‐terminating surfaces. However, the biological responses of different cell lines interfaced with the SAM gradients show that only those exposing the IGDQ sequence induce significant migration of MDA‐MB‐231 cells. In particular, the observed migratory behavior suggests the presence of cell subpopulations associated with a “stationary” or a “migratory” phenotype, the latter determining a considerable cell migration at the sub‐cm length scale. These findings are of great importance as they suggest for the first time an active role of biological surfaces exposing the IGD motif in the multicomponent orchestration of cellular signaling involved in the metastatic progression.     

Fast Targeting and Cancer Cell Uptake of Luminescent Antibody‐Nanozeolite Bioconjugates

Understanding the targeted cellular uptake of nanomaterials is an essential step to engineer and program functional and effective biomedical devices. In this respect, the targeting and ultrafast uptake of zeolite nanocrystals functionalized with Cetuximab antibodies (Ctxb) by cells overexpressing the epidermal growth factor receptor are described here. Biochemical assays show that the cellular uptake of the bioconjugate in the targeted cancer cells already begins 15 min after incubation, at a rate around tenfold faster than that observed in the negative control cells. These findings further show the role of Ctxb exposed at the surfaces of the zeolite nanocrystals in mediating the targeted and rapid cellular uptake. By using temperature and pharmacological inhibitors as modulators of the internalization pathways, the results univocally suggest a dissipative uptake mechanism of these nanomaterials, which seems to occur using different internalization pathways, according to the targeting properties of these nanocrystals. Owing to the ultrafast uptake process, harmless for the cell viability, these results further pave the way for the design of novel theranostic tools based on nanozeolites.     

Overcoming internal barriers to industrial energy efficiency through energy audit: a case study of a large manufacturing company in the home appliances industry

Energy efficiency plays a key role in reducing global energy consumption, especially in the industrial sector, with an indirect positive impact on the competitiveness of industrial firms. Although a cultural shift toward recognizing the strategic importance of energy efficient and environmental friendly solutions is diffusing among industrial companies, also pushed by the evolution of local and international regulatory frameworks, strong barriers hampering the adoption of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) still exist. These barriers, and in particular those linked to behavioral issues, may be overcome by the use of a well-designed energy audit methodology. However, how energy audit can help overcome behavioral barriers to industrial energy efficiency remains an under-researched topic in literature. This paper presents and discusses a novel methodology for energy audit developed and implemented by a large manufacturing company. The methodology is built around four phases, and it pays special emphasis to the initial step of the audit, where the strongest resistance to the implementation of EEMs is typically found due to a lack of awareness and commitment which hampers the identification of needs and opportunities associated with the adoption of EEMs. The proposed methodology has been able to overcome in practice the typical behavioral barriers that affect the implementation of EEMs in the manufacturing sector and has strong applicability in other firms and industries.     

Revealing Photoluminescence Modulation from Layered Halide Perovskite Microcrystals upon Cyclic Compression

Halide perovskites show promise for high‐efficiency solar energy conversion and light‐emitting diode devices owing to their bandgap, which falls within the visible optical range. However, due to their rigidity, GPa pressures are necessary to control the complex interplay between their electronic and crystallographic structure. Layered perovskites are likely to be controlled using much lower pressures by exploiting the optical anisotropy of the embedded organic molecules in the structure. This work introduces layered perovskite microplatelets and demonstrates the extreme sensitivity of their emission to cyclic mechanical loading in the range of tens of MPa. A drastic change in their emission is observed in situ, from near‐white to an enhanced blue color. This process is reversible, as is evident from a hysteresis loop in the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the microplatelets. A combination of experimental analysis and computational modelling shows that such behavior cannot be attributed to changes in the crystallographic structure of the flakes. Instead, it suggests that, thanks to their structural anisotropy, microplate alignment and reorientation are responsible for the observed PL modulation. The possibility to tune the optical emission of layered perovskite crystals via low pressures makes them highly interesting as active materials in applications where stress sensing or light modulation is desired.     

Toward High‐Dimensional Single‐Cell Analysis of Graphene Oxide Biological Impact: Tracking on Immune Cells by Single‐Cell Mass Cytometry

Considering the potential exposure to graphene, the most investigated nanomaterial, the assessment of the impact on human health has become an urgent need. The deep understanding of nanomaterial safety is today possible by high‐throughput single‐cell technologies. Single‐cell mass cytometry (cytometry by time‐of flight, CyTOF) shows an unparalleled ability to phenotypically and functionally profile complex cellular systems, in particular related to the immune system, as recently also proved for graphene impact. The next challenge is to track the graphene distribution at the single‐cell level. Therefore, graphene oxide (GO) is functionalized with AgInS₂ nanocrystals (GO–In), allowing to trace GO immune–cell interactions via the indium (¹¹⁵In) channel. Indium is specifically chosen to avoid overlaps with the commercial panels (>30 immune markers). As a proof of concept, the GO–In CyTOF tracking is performed at the single‐cell level on blood immune subpopulations, showing the GO interaction with monocytes and B cells, therefore guiding future immune studies. The proposed approach can be applied not only to the immune safety assessment of the multitude of graphene physical and chemical parameters, but also for graphene applications in neuroscience. Moreover, this approach can be translated to other 2D emerging materials and will likely advance the understanding of their toxicology.     

A multianalysis thermography‐based approach for fatigue and damage investigations of ASTM A182 F6NM steel at two stress ratios

Infrared thermography allows an alternative energy‐based approach for studying the fatigue behaviour of materials to better understand damage phenomena. In particular, the methodology of infrared thermography can explain the complex dissipative mechanisms promoted by the input parameters, such as the loading ratio, can rapidly provide information about the fatigue strength, and has low cost. In this work, analysis of the thermographic sequences of ASTM A 182 grade F6NM steel obtained during fatigue testing provided four thermal indexes that were used to investigate the thermoelastic and plastic behaviour of material. Fatigue tests at two opportunely chosen loading ratios (R = ?0.1, R = 0.5) were performed to investigate the relation between the material behaviour and each index at a specific loading ratio. Finally, estimation of the fatigue strength by means of suitable analysis procedures allowed for an investigation of the damage behaviour of materials under specific loading conditions.     

The effect of fellows' training in invasive cardiology on radiological exposure of patients

The aim of this work was to evaluate and quantify the impact of an invasive training of cardiology fellows on some exposure parameters. From 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2002, three staff members performed 2.582 diagnostic procedures (Group 1) that were compared with 819 performed by, or with the participation of five cardiology fellows (Group 2). Exposure parameters were as follows (Group 1/Group 2): fluoroscopy time 3.8 +/- 4.5/5.5 +/- 5.9 min (+38%), mean number of frames 589 +/- 282/642 +/- 260 (+9%), Kerma-area product (KAP) during fluoroscopy 10.6 +/- 14/15.5 +/- 16 Gycm2 (+45%), KAP during cine-angiography 20.8 +/- 14/22.5 +/- 12 (+8%), total KAP 31.5 +/- 28/38.1 +/- 28 (+21%). Differences were all significant (P 相似文献   

Mass spectrometric study of the laser-evaporated Fe–Zr–O system up to 3300 K

Material systems such as U–Zr–O, Fe–Zr–O, and Zr–O have been recognized as fundamental for the analysis of in-vessel nuclear fuel debris behavior during a severe meltdown accident. In the present work, the evaporation behavior of ZrO₂ and Zr–Fe–O systems are investigated using heating with laser pulses of millisecond duration and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The relative partial pressures of main species of vapor over ZrO₂ and ZrO₂–FeO systems were measured at temperatures above 2750 K. The temperature dependence of O/Zr atomic ratio in vapor over zirconia was analyzed: it turned out that evaporation occurs in a noncongruent mode at temperatures above 3000 K. Evaporation of the Zr–Fe–O system was greatly affected by the fast evaporation of FeO, implying that the atomic Zr/Fe ratio, less than 0.1 below 3000 K, significantly increased with temperature. Moreover, the ratios of main vapor components were defined only by the surface temperature, independent of the zirconia sample origin.     

Gamma-ray burst jet dynamics and their interaction with the progenitor star

The association of at least some long gamma-ray bursts with type Ic supernova explosions has been established beyond reasonable doubt. Theoretically, the challenge is to explain the presence of a light hyper-relativistic flow propagating through a massive stellar core without losing those properties. We discuss the role of the jet-star interaction in shaping the properties of the outflow emerging on the surface of the star. We show that the nature of the inner engine is hidden from the observer for most of the evolution, well beyond the time of the jet breakout on the stellar surface. The discussion is based on analytical considerations as well as high resolution numerical simulations. Finally, the observational consequences of the scenario are addressed in light of the present capabilities.