Superswelling Microneedle Arrays for Dermal Interstitial Fluid (Prote)Omics

The noninvasive sampling of dermal interstitial fluid (ISF) for the monitoring of clinical biomarkers is a greatly appealing area of research. The identification of molecular biomarkers in biological fluids has been accelerated with -omics analyses but remains limited in ISF because of its time-consuming and complex extraction process. Here, the generation of microneedle (MN) patches made of superabsorbent acrylate-based hydrogels for the rapid sampling of dermal ISF is described to explore its proteome. In depth, iterative optimization allows the identification of novel acrylate-based compositions with the required chemical, mechanical, and biocompatibility properties allowing proteomic analysis of the extracted ISF for the first time after sampling with swelling MNs. The generated MN arrays show no cytotoxic effect, successfully cross the stratum corneum, and can collect up to 6 µL of dermal ISF in 10 min in vivo. Proteomics lead to the detection of 176 clinically relevant biomarkers in the collected samples validating the use of ISF as a relevant bodily fluid for disease monitoring and diagnostic. Importantly, it is discovered that extraction fingerprint is strongly dependent on the MNs chemistry, and thus specific biomarkers could be selectively extracted by tuning the composition of the patch, making the system versatile and specific.     

A Bio-Conjugated Fullerene as a Subcellular-Targeted and Multifaceted Phototheranostic Agent

Fullerenes are candidates for theranostic applications because of their high photodynamic activity and intrinsic multimodal imaging contrast. However, fullerenes suffer from low solubility in aqueous media, poor biocompatibility, cell toxicity, and a tendency to aggregate. C₇₀@lysozyme is introduced herein as a novel bioconjugate that is harmless to a cellular environment, yet is also photoactive and has excellent optical and optoacoustic contrast for tracking cellular uptake and intracellular localization. The formation, water-solubility, photoactivity, and unperturbed structure of C₇₀@lysozyme are confirmed using UV-visible and 2D ¹H, ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy. The excellent imaging contrast of C₇₀@lysozyme in optoacoustic and third harmonic generation microscopy is exploited to monitor its uptake in HeLa cells and lysosomal trafficking. Last, the photoactivity of C₇₀@lysozyme and its ability to initiate cell death by means of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) production upon exposure to low levels of white light irradiation is demonstrated. This study introduces C₇₀@lysozyme and other fullerene-protein conjugates as potential candidates for theranostic applications.     

A simple model for deep dynamic stall conditions

The present study is focused on modeling of dynamic stall behavior of a pitching airfoil. The deep stall regime is in particular considered. A model is proposed, which has a low implementation and computational complexity but yet is able to deal with different types of dynamic stall conditions, including those characterized by multiple vortex shedding at the airfoil leading edge. The proposed model is appraised against an extensive data set of experimental (α,C_L) curves for NACA0012. The results of an existing widely used model, having comparable complexity, are also shown for comparison. The proposed model is able to well reproduce not only the classic curves of deep dynamic stall but also the curves characterized by lift oscillations at high angles of attack due to the shedding of multiple vortices. Furthermore, the model appears to be robust to variations of its parameters from the optimal values and of the airfoil geometry. Finally, the model is successfully implemented in a commercial CFD software and applied to the simulation of a vertical axis wind turbine within the actuator cylinder approach. The accuracy of the prediction of the turbine power coefficient in the whole rotation cycle is very good for the optimal working condition of the turbine, for which the model parameters were calibrated. Fairly good accuracy is also obtained in significantly different working conditions without any further calibration.     

High-temperature fibre Bragg grating thermometer

The use of gratings written in tin-doped silica fibres as a thermometer for high-temperature applications is described. Measurements up to ~800°C show a significant advantage over conventional fibre gratings. A considerable blue-shift has been observed at high temperatures. If corrections for blue-shift are taken into account, the errors are smaller than ~2°C     

Modeling and sensitivity analysis of fire emissions in southern Africa during SAFARI 2000

This paper uses three recently generated southern African satellite burned area products for the month of September 2000 in a sensitivity study of regional biomass burning emissions for a number of trace gases and particulates. Differences in the extent and location of areas burned among products generated from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Systeme Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT-VEGETATION), and Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2) data are significant and result in different emissions estimates for woodland and grassland land cover types. Due to the different emission profiles in woodlands and grasslands, favoring relatively more products of incomplete combustion in woodlands compared with products of complete combustion in grasslands in the late dry season, these changes are not proportional to the differences in the burned area amounts. The importance of accurate burned area information not just in terms of the total area but also in terms of its spatial distribution becomes apparent from our modeling results. This paper highlights the urgent need for satellite data producers to provide accuracy assessments associated with satellite-derived products. Preferably, these accuracy data will be spatially explicit, or defined in a way that can be applied in a spatially explicit modeling context, to enable emissions uncertainties to be defined with respect to different landscape units in support of greenhouse gas emissions reporting.     

Fabrication of optical fibre nanowires and their optical and mechanical characterisation

It is demonstrated for the first time that long nanowires with radii as small as 30 nm can be manufactured with a conventional coupler fabrication rig. The temporal deterioration of nanowire optical properties has been studied and correlated with its mechanical behaviour. The original transmission properties have been restored by a post-fabrication treatment.     

Gamma-Ray-Induced Multi-Effect on Properties of Chalcogenide Glasses

Gamma-ray irradiations induced various alterations in sulfur- and selenium-based chalcogenide glasses. The absorbed dose was in the range of 0.01–3.6 MGy. The glasses exhibit prominent sensitivity to γ-ray irradiation, characterized by changes in some of the physical properties of the glasses, e.g., optical transmission, optical band gap, density, and thermal expansion coefficient. The effects on glass structure and microscopic morphology were also studied by Raman spectra and scanning electron microscopic observations.     

Nonenzymatic browning induced by gamma-irradiation in model system Part IV. Three components system consisting of fructose, alanine and phenylalanine

Summary The effect of irradiation on the nonenzymatic browning reaction in the model system consisting of 0,03M-fructose, 0.01M-alanine and 0.01M-phenylalanine in aqueous solution was investigated. The loss of phenylalanine and fructose after irradiation, due to their high reactivity towards radical species of water radiolysis was greater compared with alanine. The heating of preirradiated solution caused only a slight decrease in the concentration of substrates. The characteristic absorption spectra for only irradiated and for irradiated and heated solutions were recorded. The heating produced a chromophore with a broadened absorption maximum about 285 nm. Two unidentified Amadori type compounds which gave positive response to ninhydrin were found by amino-acid analysis.

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Durch -Strahlung induzierte nichtenzymatische Bräunung im Modell-System Teil IV. Dreikomponentenmodellsystem aus Fructose, Alanin und Phenylalanin

Zusammenfassung Es wurde der Einfluß von -Strahlen auf die nichtenzymatische Bräunung im Dreikomponenten-Modellsystem, bestehend aus 0,03m-Fructose, 0,01m-Alanin und 0,01m-Phenylalanin in wäßriger Lösung untersucht. Der Verlust an Phenylalanin und Fructose nach der Bestrahlung war größer als bei Alanin wegen dessen größerer Reaktivität zu den Radikalen der Wasserradiolyse. Beim Erhitzen von bestrahlten Losungen wurde eine Abnahme in der Konzentration von Substraten beobachtet. Es wurden die charakteristischen Absorptionsspektren von lediglich bestrahlten und von bestrahlten und gleichzeitig erhitzten Lösungen aufgenommen. Beim Erhitzen wird ein Chromophor mit breitem Absorptionsmaximum bei ungefähr 285 nm, gebildet. Es wurden zwei nichtidentifizierte Amadoriprodukte mit positiver Ninhydrin-Reaktion bei den Aminosäureanalysen gefunden.

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For part 3 see [8]