Comparative Cytotoxicity of Artemisinin and Cisplatin and Their Interactions with Chlorogenic Acids in MCF7 Breast Cancer Cells

In parts of Africa and Asia, self‐medication with a hot water infusion of Artemisia annua (Artemisia tea) is a common practice for a number of ailments including malaria and cancer. In our earlier work, such an extract showed better potency than artemisinin alone against both chloroquine‐sensitive and ‐resistant parasites. In this study, in vitro tests of the infusion in MCF7 cells showed high IC₅₀ values (>200 μM ). The combination of artemisinin and 3‐caffeoylquinic acid (3CA), two major components in the extract, was strongly antagonistic and gave a near total loss of cytotoxicity for artemisinin. We observed that the interaction of 3CAs with another cytotoxic compound, cisplatin, showed potentiation of activity by 2.5‐fold. The chelation of cellular iron by 3CA is hypothesized as a possible explanation for the loss of artemisinin activity.     

Automated robotic platforms in design and development of formulations

Product design for formulations is an active and challenging area of research. The new challenges of a fast-paced market, products of increasing complexity, and practical translation of sustainability paradigms require to re-examine the existing theoretical frameworks to include the advantages deriving from the new reality of digitalization of business and research. In this work, we review the existing approaches, clearly stating the role of automation and machine-learning-guided optimization in the broader framework. Moving from this, we review the state of the art of automated hardware and software for formulated product design, and identify the open challenges for future research. Perspectives are given on the emerging fields of automated discovery, scale-up, and multistage optimization, and a unitary picture of the existing connections is provided, in the general context of a completely digital R&D workflow.     

Structure–Transport Correlation Reveals Anisotropic Charge Transport in Coupled PbS Nanocrystal Superlattices

The assembly of colloidal semiconductive nanocrystals into highly ordered superlattices predicts novel structure-related properties by design. However, those structure–property relationships, such as charge transport depending on the structure or even directions of the superlattice, have remained unrevealed so far. Here, electric transport measurements and X-ray nanodiffraction are performed on self-assembled lead sulfide nanocrystal superlattices to investigate direction-dependent charge carrier transport in microscopic domains of these materials. By angular X-ray cross-correlation analysis, the structure and orientation of individual superlattices is determined, which are directly correlated with the electronic properties of the same microdomains. By that, strong evidence for the effect of superlattice crystallinity on the electric conductivity is found. Further, anisotropic charge transport in highly ordered monocrystalline domains is revealed, which is attributed to the dominant effect of shortest interparticle distance. This implies that transport anisotropy should be a general feature of weakly coupled nanocrystal superlattices.     

Modifications in the psychoanalytic treatment of adults who "act-out."

Describes modifications of the psychoanalytic approach to benefit adults who, because of acting-out behavior, are considered not amenable to psychotherapy. Case profiles of 2 males, one who could not be faithful in marriage and the other who was involved in dangerous promiscuity, are presented as examples. Four principles (avoiding limit setting, extending perspectivism, maintaining active interest, and setting achievable goals) for working with such patients are presented. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparation and characterisation of chemisorbents based on heteropolyacids supported on synthetic mesoporous carbons and silica

The preparation of chemisorbents based on tungsto- and molybdophosphoric acids supported on two types of synthetic mesoporous carbons and two types of mesoporous silica is described. Strong solid acids with good accessibility to acid sites may potentially be effective adsorbents for the removal of basic molecular impurities, such as amines, from ultrapure manufacturing environments. Prepared materials were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and equilibrium ammonia uptake. Composites of SBA-15 with heteropolyacids were synthesised. It was shown that the inclusion of HPAs into SBA-15 results in the loss of long range order. Adsorbents based on the HPAs impregnated into the supports with the open-pore morphology (Novacarb and SBA-15) were found to be promising materials. A composite of tungstophosphoric acid with sol–gel SiO₂ was found to have the highest ammonia uptake.     

A 1.3-THz Balanced Waveguide HEB Mixer for the APEX Telescope

In this paper, we report about the development, fabrication, and characterization of a balanced waveguide hot electron bolometer (HEB) receiver for the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope covering the frequency band of 1.25-1.39 THz. The receiver uses a quadrature balanced scheme and two HEB mixers, fabricated from 4- to 5-nm-thick NbN film deposited on crystalline quartz substrate with an MgO buffer layer in between. We employed a novel micromachining method to produce all-metal waveguide parts at submicrometer accuracy (the main-mode waveguide dimensions are 90 times 180 mum ). We present details on the mixer design and measurement results, including receiver noise performance, stability and ldquofirst-lightrdquo at the telescope site. The receiver yields a double-sideband noise temperature averaged over the RF band below 1200 K, and outstanding stability with a spectroscopic Allan time more than 200 s.     

Optics Design and Verification for the APEX Swedish Heterodyne Facility Instrument (SHeFI)

In this paper, we present the design and verification of the optics of the Swedish Heterodyne Facility Instrument (SHeFI) receiver installed in the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) telescope during spring 2008. SHeFI is located in the Nasmyth instrumentation Cabin A (NCA). The receiver has been designed to have 6 frequency channels, of which four receiver channels have been built, and characterized: 211-275 GHz (Band 1), 275-370 GHz (Band 2), 385-500 GHz (Band 3), and 1250-1390 GHz (Band T2). Bands 1, 2, and T2 are installed at the telescope and are currently in operation. The optical design is driven by the requirement of frequency independent illumination of the secondary with -12 dB edge taper for each frequency channel and the limitation (beam clearance through the Nasmyth tube and the elevation encoder) imposed by the receiver position in the NCA. This paper describes the design approach, optimization, and verification of the optical system, coupling each individual receiving beam to the common optics of the telescope.