Hydrogels containing silver nanoparticles for burn wounds show antimicrobial activity without cytotoxicity

This research introduces a novel dressing for burn wounds, containing silver nanoparticles in hydrogels for infected burn care. The 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropane sulfonic acid sodium salt hydrogels containing silver nanoparticles have been prepared via ultraviolet radiation. The formation of silver nanoparticles was monitored by surface plasmon bands and transmission electron microscopy. The concentration of silver nitrate loaded in the solutions slightly affected the physical properties and mechanical properties of the neat hydrogel. An indirect cytotoxicity study found that none of the hydrogels were toxic to tested cell lines. The measurement of cumulative release of silver indicated that 70%–82% of silver was released within 72 hr. The antibacterial activities of the hydrogels against common burn pathogens were studied and the results showed that 5 mM silver hydrogel had the greatest inhibitory activity. The results support its use as a potential burn wound dressing. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40215.     

Measurements of the refractive index of yttrium in the 50-1300-eV energy region

The first experimental results to our knowledge on the refractive index n = 1 - delta + ibeta of yttrium in the extreme-ultraviolet and soft x-ray energy ranges are discussed. To determine the absorptive part beta, transmittance measurements were performed on pure yttrium films in the 50-1300-eV energy region at beamline 6.3.2 of the Advanced Light Source. The dispersive part delta was then calculated from the absorption results by means of the Kramers-Kronig transformation. Compared with prior tabulated values, the new wet of data for the refractive index of yttrium is in better agreement with the sum rules and contains previously unresolved fine structure information in the regions of the M2,3 and M4,5 absorption edges, where yttrium-based multilayer mirrors operate.     

Mo/B4C/Si multilayer-coated photodiode with polarization sensitivity at an extreme-ultraviolet wavelength of 13.5 nm

A silicon photodiode coated with an interface-engineered Mo/Si multilayer was developed as a polarization sensitive detector. The Mo/B4C/Si multilayer was designed to reflect 13.5-nm extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) radiation at an incident angle of 45 degrees, at which the maximum polarization sensitivity occurs. The sensitivity of this specially coated photodiode and its polarization responses were determined by measurement of the reflectance and transmittance of the multilayer coating with synchrotron radiation. The Mo/B4C/Si multilayer was found to reflect 69.9% of the s-polarized radiation and only 2.4% of the p-polarized radiation, thus transmitting approximately 0.2% s-polarized radiation and 8.4% p-polarized radiation at a 13.5-nm wavelength and a 45 degrees angle of incidence. A polarization ratio, (Tp - Ts)/(Tp + Ts), of 95% was achieved with sufficiently high sensitivity from this photodiode. This result demonstrates the high polarization sensitivity and the usefulness of multilayer-coated photodiodes as novel EUV polarimeters.     

Atorvastatin Attenuates Programmed Death Ligand-1 (PD-L1) Induction in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with high morbidity and mortality. Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a major ligand of programmed death 1 receptor (PD1), and PD1/PD-L1 checkpoint acts as a negative regulator of the immune system. Cancers evade the host’s immune defense via PD-L1 expression. This study aimed to investigate the effects of tumor-related cytokines, interferon gamma (IFNγ), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) on PD-L1 expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, HepG2. Furthermore, as atorvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering agent, is documented for its immunomodulatory properties, its effect on PD-L1 expression was investigated. In this study, through real-time RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunocytochemistry methods, PD-L1 expression in both mRNA and protein levels was found to be synergistically upregulated in HepG2 by a combination of IFNγ and TNFα, and STAT1 activation was mainly responsible for that synergistic effect. Next, atorvastatin can inhibit the induction of PD-L1 by either IFNγ alone or IFNγ/TNFα combination treatment in HepG2 cells. In conclusion, in HepG2 cells, expression of PD-L1 was augmented by cytokines in the tumor microenvironment, and the effect of atorvastatin on tumor immune response through inhibition of PD-L1 induction should be taken into consideration in cancer patients who have been prescribed atorvastatin.     

Nitrogen removal in recirculated duckweed ponds system.

Duckweed-based ponds (DWBPs) have the potential for nitrogen (N) removal from wastewater; however, operational problems such as duckweed die-off regularly occur. In this study, effluent recirculation was applied to the DWBPs to solve the above problem as well as to investigate N removal mechanisms. Two pilot scale recirculated DWBPs were employed to treat municipal wastewater. The average removal efficiencies for TN, TKN and NH4-N were 75%, 89% and 92%, respectively at TN loading of 1.3 g/m2.d and were 73%, 74% and 76%, respectively at TN loading of 3.3 g/m2.d. The effluent of the system under both operational conditions had stable quality and met the effluent standard. Duckweed die-off was not observed during the study, which proves the system stability and effluent recirculation which is thought to be a reason. N-mass balance revealed that nitrification-denitrification and duckweed uptake play major roles in these recirculated DWBPs. The rates of nitrification-denitrification were increased as TN loading was higher, which might be an influence from an abundance of N and a suitable condition. The rates of N uptake by duckweed were found similar and did not depend on the higher TN loading applied, as the duckweed has limited capacity to assimilate it.     

Characterization of zone plate properties using monochromatic synchrotron radiation in the 2 to 20 nm wavelength range

A zone plate composed of Mo zones having 4 mm outermost zone diameter, 100 nm outermost zone width, and supported on a silicon nitride membrane was characterized using monochromatic synchrotron radiation in the 2 to 20 nm wavelength range. The zero and first order efficiencies were measured and compared to ab initio calculations that account for the optical properties of the materials, the width and shape of the zones, and multiple-layer thin-film effects. It is shown that the thicknesses of the Mo zones and the membrane and the ratio of the zone width to zone period can be independently determined from the measured diffraction efficiencies in the zero and first orders and that the computational code can be used to reliably design zone plates that are optimized for applications such as solar irradiance monitors in the extreme ultraviolet region.     

SiC/Tb and Si/Tb multilayer coatings for extreme ultraviolet solar imaging

Narrowband SiC/Tb and Si/Tb multilayers are fabricated with as much as a 23% normal-incidence reflectance near a 60 nm wavelength and spectral bandpass (FWHM) values of 9.4 and 6.5 nm, respectively. The structural properties of the films are investigated using extreme ultraviolet and x-ray reflectometry and transmission electron microscopy. Thermal stability is investigated in films annealed to as high as 300 degrees C. Because of their superior thermal stability, relatively high reflectance, and narrower spectral bandpass, Si/Tb multilayers are identified as optimal candidates for solar physics imaging applications, where the peak response can be tuned to important emission lines such as O v near 63.0 nm and Mg x near 61.0 nm. We describe our experimental procedures and results, discuss the implications of our findings, and outline prospects for improved performance.     

Efficiency of a grazing-incidence off-plane grating in the soft-x-ray region

Efficiency measurements of a grazing-incidence diffraction grating in the off-plane mount were performed using polarized synchrotron radiation. The grating had 5000 grooves/mm, an effective blaze angle of 14 degrees, and was gold coated. The efficiencies in the two polarization orientations (TM and TE) were measured in the 1.5-5.0 nm wavelength range and were compared with the efficiencies calculated using the PCGrate-SX code. The TM and TE efficiencies differ, offering the possibility of performing unique science studies of astrophysical, solar, and laboratory sources by exploiting the polarization sensitivity of the off-plane grating.