BINA

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a dysfunction that affects a large proportion of women. Current support scaffolds’ lack of biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical compliance are associated with surgical complications including erosion and pain, indicating the urgent need for new tissue scaffolds with customizable functions. A new material that uses polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as the main ingredient and is chemically tuned to possess suitable mechanical properties and degradation rates for the surgical treatment of POP is developed. Specifically, the thiol‐norbornene “click” chemistry enables the sol‐gel transition of the biomaterial under UV‐light without side‐products. Meanwhile, NaOH treatment further toughens the hydrogel with a higher crosslink density. The PVA‐based biocompatible ink can be printed with UV‐facilitated direct ink writing due to the rapidly UV‐initiated chemical crosslink; in situ image …

Cancer remains a leading cause of death globally (1). The conventional methods of treatment offered are radiation (2), chemotherapy (3), immunotherapy (4), surgery, and recently nanotechnology (nanomedicine and nano-processes)(5). Every cancer treatment can be defined and evaluated based on its efficiency, selectivity, side effects, and economic cost (6). However, combining predictive models and advanced machine learning methods with these cancer therapies may enhance their overall efficiency and selectivity, as well as the safety of the patient.Radiation Therapy (RT), also known as radiotherapy, is a non-surgical intervention frequently used in cancer treatment (2). This method is based on a high-level focused dose of radiation directed toward the tumor. This deposit of highenergy radiation kills cancer cells or decelerates their growth by damaging their DNA (2). Nevertheless, the challenges of RT include damage to tumor-proximate normal cells, the inability to radiate minor tumors out of scope of the imaging scans, patient movement, and low oxygen supply (7, 8). Therefore, many researchers are working on the development of targeted radiation methods to deliver a higher dose of radiation to the tumor with improved selectivity. Recently, the combination of nanotechnology with laser radiation has been demonstrated to represent a safe set of modalities for tumor destruction with high specificity (9). In particular, this involves the use of light-controlled nanoparticles (NPs) that can be activated via a light of a specific wavelength to form highly efficient and selective systems in the nanometer range (10). These NPs accumulate specifically …

We demonstrate an experimental technique to characterize genuinely nonclassical multi-time correlations using projective measurements with no ancillae. We implement the scheme in a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond undergoing a unitary quantum work protocol. We reconstruct quantum-mechanical time correlations encoded in the Margenau-Hills quasiprobabilities. We observe work extraction peaks five times those of sequential projective energy measurement schemes and in violation of newly-derived stochastic bounds. We interpret the phenomenon via anomalous energy exchanges due to the underlying negativity of the quasiprobability distribution.

Metamaterials and plasmonic structures made from aluminum (Al) have attracted significant interest due to their low cost, long-term stability, and the relative abundance of aluminum compared to the rare metals. Also, aluminum displays distinct dielectric properties allowing for the excitation of surface plasmons in the ultraviolet region with minimal non-radiative losses. Despite these clear advantages, most of the research has been focused on either gold or silver, probably due to difficulties in forming smooth thin films of aluminum. In the present work, we detect and characterize second harmonic generation (SHG) in the optical regime, emanating from triangular hole arrays milled into thin aluminum films in reflection mode, at normal incidence. We report intense nonlinear responses, year-long stability, and overall superior performances with respect to gold. The robustness of the Al structures and high reproducibility …

Although non-alkaline rechargeable Zn–air batteries (RZABs) are promising for energy storage, their chemistry is still underdeveloped and unclear. It was suggested that using Zn(OAc)2 or Zn(OTf)2 aqueous solutions as electrolytes enables reversible, corrosion-free charge–discharge processes, but the anodic stability of carbon in these cells has remained poorly studied. We report that CO2 evolution is manifested during the oxygen evolution reaction in non-alkaline RZABs, which is associated with the corrosion of carbon scaffolds. This corrosion is observed for different electrolyte compositions, such as Zn(OAc)2, ZnSO4 and Zn(OTf)2 solutions of various concentrations. The corrosion rate decreases when the overpotentials during the oxygen evolution reaction are lower. This study underlines the importance of addressing the anodic instability of carbon in non-alkaline RZABs.

Morphogenesis involves the transformation of initially simple shapes, such as multicellular spheroids, into more complex 3D shapes. These shape changes are governed by mechanical forces including molecular motor-generated forces as well as hydrostatic fluid pressure, both of which are actively regulated in living matter through mechano-chemical feedback. Inspired by autonomous, biophysical shape change, such as occurring in the model organism hydra, we introduce a minimal, active, elastic model featuring a network of springs in a globe-like spherical shell geometry. In this model there is coupling between activity and the shape of the shell: if the local curvature of a filament represented by a spring falls below a critical value, its elastic constant is actively changed. This results in deformation of the springs that changes the shape of the shell. By combining excitation of springs and pressure regulation, we …

Micelle Encapsulation Zinc‐doped copper oxide nanocomposites (MEnZn‐CuO NPs) is a novel doped metal nanomaterial prepared by our group based on Zinc doped copper oxide nanocomposites (Zn‐CuO NPs) using non‐micellar beam. Compared with Zn‐CuO NPs, MEnZn‐CuO NPs have uniform nanoproperties and high stability. In this study, we explored the anticancer effects of MEnZn‐CuO NPs on human ovarian cancer cells. In addition to affecting cell proliferation, migration, apoptosis and autophagy, MEnZn‐CuO NPs have a greater potential for clinical application by inducing HR repair defects in ovarian cancer cells in combination with poly (ADP‐ribose) polymerase inhibitors for lethal effects.

Ultrasonic irradiation of molten metals in liquid media causes dispersion of the metals into suspensions of micro- and nano- particles that can be separated. This is applicable mainly to low-mp elemental metals or alloys, but higher mp were also reported. Among the metals, mercury and gallium exhibit especially-low melting points thus considered as liquid metals (LM). Sonication of mercury in aqueous solutons of certain metal-ions can cause simultaneous reduction of the ions and reactions between the metals. Gallium can be melted and sonicated in warm water, as-well-as in aqueous solutions of various solutes such as metal ions and organic compounds, which opened a wide window of interactions between the gallium particles and the solutes. Sonication of molten metals in organic liquids, such as polyethylene glycole (PEG) 400, forms carbon dots (C-dots) doped with nanoparticles of these metals. This …

Nanoscale Page 1 Nanoscale rsc.li/nanoscale The Royal Society of Chemistry is the world's leading chemistry community. Through our high impact journals and publications we connect the world with the chemical sciences and invest the profits back into the chemistry community. IN THIS ISSUE ISSN 2040-3372 CODEN NANOHL 15(17) 7595–8030 (2023) Cover See Munho Kim, Guo-En Chang et al., pp. 7745–7754. Image reproduced by permission of Guo-En Chang from Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 7745. Inside cover See Palyam Subramanyam, Vasudevanpillai Biju et al., pp. 7695–7702. Image reproduced by permission of Vasudevanpillai Biju from Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 7695. REVIEWS 7608 Integration of functional peptides into nucleic acid-based nanostructures Jessica S. Freitag, Christin Möser, Robel Belay, Basma Altattan, Nico Grasse, Bhanu Kiran Pothineni, Jörg Schnauß and David M. Smith* 7625 …

One of the problems associated with conducting a membrane filtration process is the accumulation of undesirable material on the surface of membranes. The deposited layer can significantly increase the resistance of the membrane, which leads to a reduction of the process efficacy. In many cases, the service life of the membranes is also reduced. One type of contamination that can accumulate on the surface of membranes are biological species (i.e., microorganisms). The process is called biofouling and can lead to a biofilm formation, which constitutes an integral layer resistant or completely invulnerable to many commonly used cleaning techniques. Various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and algae, proliferate and colonize the available surface of the membranes. Adhesion to the surface is enabled by secreted components known as extracellular polymeric substances, thanks to which a biofilm is formed on the surface. In order to reduce the intensity of biofouling, the membranes are subjected to various modification techniques. One of the modification techniques is the addition of particles with antimicrobial and anti-biofouling properties to the polymer at the stage of membrane production. In this study, copper oxide (CuO) was used as an antimicrobial material, which was added, as a nanopowder, to a polysulfone solution. From the prepared membrane-forming solution, flat ultrafiltration membranes were produced using the wet phase inversion method. The secondary solvent was the ultrapure water. The aim of the conducted research was to produce membranes with anti-biofouling properties and to characterize them in terms of …

Because of the abundance and availability of natural sea water resources, electrolysis of sea water is regarded as a most appealing and promising approach for the generation of hydrogen green energy, and even it lowers the cost of hydrogen production. However, for seawater electrolysis, highly efficient and robust electrocatalysts that can withstand chloride corrosion on electrodes, particularly the anode, are required. Here, we present the synthesis of nickel molybdenum phosphide engineered with ruthenium supported on nickel foam (Ru22NiMoP2/NF) by hydrothermal technique and followed reactions under autogenic pressure at elevated temperatures (RAPET) in Swagelok, which demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity in alkaline sea water. For hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Ru22NiMoP2/NF requires low overpotentials of 60 and 52 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mAcm-2 than commercial …

TiO2 material has gained significant attention for large‐scale energy storage due to its abundant, low‐cost, and environmentally friendly properties, as well as the availability of various nanostructures. Phosphorus doping has been established as an effective technique for improving electronic conductivity and managing the slow ionic diffusion kinetics of TiO2. In this study, non‐doped and phosphorus doped TiO2 materials were synthesized using sodium alginate biopolymer as chelating agent. The prepared materials were evaluated as anode materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries (LIBs). The electrodes exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance, including a high reversible capacity of 235 mAh g‐1 at 0.1C and excellent first coulombic efficiency of 99%. An integrated approach, combining Operando XRD and Ex‐situ XAS, comprehensively investigates the relationship between phosphorus doping, material …

Chiral polymeric particles (CPPs) were studied extensively in recent years due to their importance in pharmaceutical applications. Here, nanosized CPPs were synthesized and applied as catalysts for direct asymmetric aldol reaction. The CPPs were prepared by miniemulsion or inverse miniemulsion based on various chiral amino acid derivatives and characterized by dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy. The nanoparticles with spherical structure between 250 and 400 nm and high chiral surface area were used as catalysts in the aldol reaction at room temperature without additional solvent. L-tryptophan gave the highest enantiomeric excess, >86% with similar catalytic performance four times.

Background Machine learning (ML) has gained significant attention for classifying immune states in adaptive immune receptor repertoires (AIRRs) to support the advancement of immunodiagnostics and therapeutics. Simulated data are crucial for the rigorous benchmarking of AIRR-ML methods. Existing approaches to generating synthetic benchmarking datasets result in the generation of naive repertoires missing the key feature of many shared receptor sequences (selected for common antigens) found in antigen-experienced repertoires. Results We demonstrate that a common approach to generating simulated AIRR benchmark datasets can introduce biases, which may be exploited for undesired shortcut learning by certain ML methods. To mitigate undesirable access to true signals in simulated AIRR datasets, we devised a simulation strategy (simAIRR) that constructs …

The unique fluorescent nanomaterials known as carbon dots (CDs) are highly resistant to photobleaching, have low toxicity, and are well soluble in water. Polyethyleneimine (PEI) coated CDs are a novel fluorophore with good biocompatibility and pH sensing ability. Here, p-phenylenediamine (p-PD) is used as a carbon source and hyperbranched PEI is used as a surface passivation agent in a simple, one-step hydrothermal synthesis process. The CDs optical characteristics are pH-responsive due to the presence of different amine groups on PEI, which is functional polycationic polymer. The limits of techniques based on fluorescence intensity can be overcome by fluorescent lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), a very sensitive method for detecting a microenvironment. In this study, FLIM was used to measure pH with pH-sensitive CDs. These molecules are nontoxic to the cells, and the positively charged CDs have …

In article number 2204925, Orit Shefi and co-workers depict that neurons are transformed into magnetic units and dynamically localized within 3D biomaterials using magnetic manipulations. Iron-oxide nanoparticles are synthesized and incorporated into neurons, which are then subjected to various magnetic fields. The neurons' movement is controlled inside multi-layered 3D collagen scaffolds simulating in-vivo tissue structures, thus constructing pre-designed, viable and functional 3D microarchitectures of neural networks.

Carbon dots (CDs) were simply prepared from charcoal by hydrothermal processing at 180 °C for 15 h without any chemicals. The as-prepared CDs with an average diameter of 5 ± 6 nm exhibited a predominant absorption peak at 290 nm, corresponding to the n to π* transition of the oxygen functional groups (C═O) and the free amine functional groups (−NH2). The resulting CDs were then incorporated into cotton and polyester by facile ultrasonication for 1 h. The obtained CD-coated fabrics were first evaluated for their UV-blocking capability and then for their antibacterial properties against two model pathogens: Gram-negative E. coli and Gram-positive S. aureus. Both cotton and polyester showed no UV protection at 280 or 380 nm; conversely, cotton or polyester decorated with CDs exhibited a UV blocking ratio of 82–98%. The CD-coated fabrics showed 100% antibacterial activities against E. coli and S. aureus …

Superconducting flux qubits are promising candidates for the physical realization of a scalable quantum processor. Indeed, these circuits may have both a small decoherence rate and a large anharmonicity. These properties enable the application of fast quantum gates with high fidelity and reduce scaling limitations due to frequency crowding. The major difficulty of flux qubits' design consists of controlling precisely their transition energy - the so-called qubit gap - while keeping long and reproducible relaxation times. Solving this problem is challenging and requires extremely good control of e-beam lithography, oxidation parameters of the junctions and sample surface. Here we present measurements of a large batch of flux qubits and demonstrate a high level of reproducibility and control of qubit gaps, relaxation times and pure echo dephasing times. These results open the way for potential applications in the fields of quantum hybrid circuits and quantum computation.

Binder-free carbon cloth (CC) cathodes with tunable porosity prepared from Kynol 1500 by CO2 activation at 900 °C with the specific surface area up to 3170 m2g-1 and pore volume up to 2.05 cc g−1 have been tested in Li–S battery prototypes with catholyte solutions containing Li2S8. The capacity of CCs normalized to carbon mass is linearly proportional to the surface area and pore volume values. Capacities of CC cathodes were compared to the capacity of a composite mesoporous carbon (MPC) cathode prepared from MPC powder with PVdF binder and tested in identical conditions as sulfur host. The results indicate that pore volume of the carbon hosts is a key factor which determines the capacity of Li–S cells with lithium polysulfide catholyte solution. The effect of the surface area and pore volume of carbon cathodes on capacity and cycling performance is discussed. The possibility of attaining of a practical …

Color induction in nitrogen-contaminated diamonds was carried out via various procedures that involve irradiation, thermal treatments (annealing), and more. These treatments affect vacancy defect production and atom orientation centers in the diamond lattice. Natural diamonds underwent color enhancement treatments in order to produce green, blue, and yellow fancy diamonds. The aim of this study was to follow the changes occurring during the treatment, mainly by EPR spectroscopy, which is the main source for the determination of the effect of paramagnetic centers (carbon-centered radicals) on the color centers produced via the treatments, but also via visual assessment, fluorescence, UV-vis, and FTIR spectroscopy. The results indicate that diamonds containing high levels of nitrogen contamination are associated with high carbon-centered radical concentrations. Four paramagnetic center structures (N1, N4, and P2/W21) were generated by the treatment. It is suggested that the N4 structure correlates with the formation of blue color centers, whereas yellow color centers are attributed to the presence of N1 species. While to produce blue and yellow colors, a thermal treatment is needed after irradiation, for treated green diamonds, no thermal treatment is needed (only irradiation).

An innovative method based on the capability to measure temporal changes of gas flow such as Rn-222 and CO2 in deep boreholes, led to the clear discovery that both gases are affected by underground activity and could be associated with the regional geodynamic pre-seismic evolution along the Dead Sea Fault Zone (DSFZ) in northern Israel. Long-term monitoring of natural gases in deep boreholes along seismogenic active fault zones, based on passive measuring systems (avoiding pumping and gas circulation that disturb the local equilibrium) enables to eliminate from the acquired time series, the climatic-induced periodic contributions caused by temperature and barometric pressure, and to expose the remaining portion of the signals that may be associated with the underground tectonic preseismic activity. It was highlighted that the radon present in country rock formations as measured by gamma radiation …