393 research outputs found
Thermoresponsive Colloidal Molecules
We fabricated thermoresponsive colloidal molecules of ca. 250 nm size.
Electron- and scanning force microscopy reveal the dumbbell-shaped morphology.
The temperature dependence of the size and aspect ratio (ca. 1.4 to 1.6) is
analyzed by depolarized dynamic light scattering and found to be in good
agreement with microscopic evidence
Rauschgemeinschaften. Die dritte Welle der Psychedelic Music
FĂŒr diesen Beitrag ist leider kein Abstract verfĂŒgbar. ---------
The Influence Of Service Atmosphere and Customer Relationship Management On Customer Satisfaction That Result In Repetitive Purchase In Huqqa Shisha and Lounge Surabaya
Café is one of business establishment existed in order to serve beverages. Café that serves shisha as their main product are becoming trends nowadays. However in Indonesia, café that served shisha as one of their products are demanding, especially in Surabaya. Customers are then faced with choices in which café to visit. Improving and maintaining quality of service within café is important as quality of service provided by café may affect the economic growth of a region or even a country. The purpose if this study is to prove that there are influence of service atmosphere and customer relationship management towards customer satisfaction, and customer satisfaction towards repetitive purchase in HUQQA Shisha and Lounge, Surabaya. Structured Equations Model (SEM) is used to measure the variables. Variables used in this research are service atmosphere, customer relationship management, customer satisfactions and repetitive purchase. Respondents chosen are those who have had visit and purchase in HUQQA Shisha and Lounge. Respondents also have to have visited at least two times between six months period. Minimum of high school education level is necessary to ensure that respondents are understood and knowledgeable to fill the questionnaires. One Hundred respondents were chosen to give perceptions of HUQQA Shisha and Lounge. The research result indicates that there are influence of customer relationship management to customer satisfactionand customer satisfaction towards repetitive purchase, while the service atmosphere did not influence the customer satisfaction in HUQQA Shisha and Lounge to deliver better service quality
Silica-coated plasmonic metal nanoparticles in action
Hybrid colloids consisting of noble metal cores and metal oxide shells have been under intense investigation for over two decades and have driven progress in diverse research lines including sensing, medicine, catalysis, and photovoltaics. Consequently, plasmonic core?shell particles have come to play a vital role in a plethora of applications. Here, an overview is provided of recent developments in the design and utilization of the most successful class of such hybrid materials, silica-coated plasmonic metal nanoparticles. Besides summarizing common simple approaches to silica shell growth, special emphasis is put on advanced synthesis routes that either overcome typical limitations of classical methods, such as stability issues and undefined silica porosity, or grant access to particularly sophisticated nanostructures. Hereby, a description is given, how different types of silica can be used to provide noble metal particles with specific functionalities. Finally, applications of such nanocomposites in ultrasensitive analyte detection, theranostics, catalysts, and thin-film solar cells are reviewed.This work was funded by the Spanish MINECO (Grant Nos. MAT2013-46101-R and MAT2017-86659-R). C.H. acknowledges the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for funding within the framework of a Feodor Lynen fellowship
Computational and experimental prediction of human C-type lectin receptor druggability
Mammalian C-type lectin receptors (CTLRS) are involved in many aspects of
immune cell regulation such as pathogen recognition, clearance of apoptotic
bodies, and lymphocyte homing. Despite a great interest in modulating CTLR
recognition of carbohydrates, the number of specific molecular probes is
limited. To this end, we predicted the druggability of a panel of 22 CTLRs
using DoGSiteScorer. The computed druggability scores of most structures were
low, characterizing this family as either challenging or even undruggable. To
further explore these findings, we employed a fluorine-based nuclear magnetic
resonance screening of fragment mixtures against DC-SIGN, a receptor of
pharmacological interest. To our surprise, we found many fragment hits
associated with the carbohydrate recognition site (hit rate = 13.5%). A
surface plasmon resonance-based follow-up assay confirmed 18 of these
fragments (47%) and equilibrium dissociation constants were determined.
Encouraged by these findings we expanded our experimental druggability
prediction to Langerin and MCL and found medium to high hit rates as well,
being 15.7 and 10.0%, respectively. Our results highlight limitations of
current in silico approaches to druggability assessment, in particular, with
regard to carbohydrate-binding proteins. In sum, our data indicate that small
molecule ligands for a larger panel of CTLRs can be developed
The distinct features of microbial 'dysbiosis' of Crohn's disease do not occur to the same extent in their unaffected, genetically linked kindred
Background/Aims:
Studying the gut microbiota in unaffected relatives of people with Crohnâs disease (CD) may advance our understanding of the role of bacteria in disease aetiology.
Methods:
Faecal microbiota composition (16S rRNA gene sequencing), genetic functional capacity (shotgun metagenomics) and faecal short chain fatty acids (SCFA) were compared in unaffected adult relatives of CD children (CDR, n = 17) and adult healthy controls, unrelated to CD patients (HUC, n = 14). The microbiota characteristics of 19 CD children were used as a benchmark of CD âdysbiosisâ.
Results:
The CDR microbiota was less diverse (p = 0.044) than that of the HUC group. Local contribution of ÎČ-diversity analysis showed no difference in community structure between the CDR and HUC groups. Twenty one of 1,243 (1.8%) operational taxonomic units discriminated CDR from HUC. The metagenomic functional capacity (p = 0.207) and SCFA concentration or pattern were similar between CDR and HUC (p>0.05 for all SCFA). None of the KEGG metabolic pathways were different between these two groups. Both of these groups (HUC and CDR) had a higher microbiota α-diversity (CDR, p = 0.026 and HUC, p<0.001) with a community structure (ÎČ-diversity) distinct from that of children with CD.
Conclusions:
While some alterations were observed, a distinct microbial âdysbiosisâ, characteristic of CD patients, was not observed in their unaffected, genetically linked kindred
Multivalent display of minimal Clostridium difficile glycan epitopes mimics antigenic properties of larger glycans
Synthetic cell-surface glycans are promising vaccine candidates against Clostridium difficile. The complexity of large, highly antigenic and immunogenic glycans is a synthetic challenge. Less complex antigens providing similar immune responses are desirable for vaccine development. Based on molecular-level glycan-antibody interaction analyses, we here demonstrate that the C. difficile surface polysaccharide-I (PS-I) can be resembled by multivalent display of minimal disaccharide epitopes on a synthetic scaffold that does not participate in binding. We show that antibody avidity as a measure of antigenicity increases by about five orders of magnitude when disaccharides are compared with constructs containing five disaccharides. The synthetic, pentavalent vaccine candidate containing a peptide T-cell epitope elicits weak but highly specific antibody responses to larger PS-I glycans in mice. This study highlights the potential of multivalently displaying small oligosaccharides to achieve antigenicity characteristic of larger glycans. The approach may result in more cost-efficient carbohydrate vaccines with reduced synthetic effort
Multivalent display of minimal Clostridium difficile glycan epitopes mimics antigenic properties of larger glycans
Synthetic cell-surface glycans are promising vaccine candidates against
Clostridium difficile. The complexity of large, highly antigenic and
immunogenic glycans is a synthetic challenge. Less complex antigens providing
similar immune responses are desirable for vaccine development. Based on
molecular-level glycanâantibody interaction analyses, we here demonstrate that
the C. difficile surface polysaccharide-I (PS-I) can be resembled by
multivalent display of minimal disaccharide epitopes on a synthetic scaffold
that does not participate in binding. We show that antibody avidity as a
measure of antigenicity increases by about five orders of magnitude when
disaccharides are compared with constructs containing five disaccharides. The
synthetic, pentavalent vaccine candidate containing a peptide T-cell epitope
elicits weak but highly specific antibody responses to larger PS-I glycans in
mice. This study highlights the potential of multivalently displaying small
oligosaccharides to achieve antigenicity characteristic of larger glycans. The
approach may result in more cost-efficient carbohydrate vaccines with reduced
synthetic effort
Targeted ChemoâPhotothermal Therapy: A Nanomedicine Approximation to Selective Melanoma Treatment
RESEARCHER ID L-2250-2014 (Gonzalo Villaverde Cantizano)
ORCID 0000-0003-2065-0417 (Gonzalo Villaverde Cantizano)
RESEARCHER ID G-7562-2016 (Sergio Gómez Graña)
ORCID 0000-0002-7736-051X (Sergio Gómez Graña)
RESEARCHER ID E-8300-2012 (Eduardo Guisasola Cal)
ORCID 0000-0002-2549-1745 (Eduardo Guisasola Cal)
RESEARCHER ID K-8193-2014 (Alejandro Baeza)
ORCID 0000-0002-2026-6266 (Alejandro Baeza)
RESEARCHER ID M-3378-2014 (MarĂa Vallet RegĂ)
ORCID 0000-0002-6104-4889 (MarĂa Vallet RegĂ)Melanoma is one of the most severe public health issues worldwide, not onlybecause of the high number of cases but also for its poor prognosis in late stages. Therefore, early diagnosis and efficient treatment are key toward a future solution. However, melanoma is highly resistant to cytotoxicity in its metastatic form. In this context, we propose a therapeutic strategy based on a targeted chemo-photothermal nanotransporter for cytotoxic compounds. This approach comprises the use of core-multishell gold nanorods, coated with mesoporous silica and further covered with a thermosensitive polymer, which is vectorized for selective internalization in melanoma cells. The proposed nanoformulation is capable of releasing the transported cytotoxic compounds on demand, in response to near-IR irradiation, with high selectivity and efficacy against malignant cells, even at low concentrations, thereby providing a new tool against melanoma disease.Depto. de QuĂmica en Ciencias FarmacĂ©uticasFac. de FarmaciaTRUEUniĂłn Europea. H2020Ministerio de EconomĂa y Competitividad (MINECO)pu
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