Destroying Deep Lung Tumor Tissue through Lung-Selective Accumulation and by Activation of Caveolin Uptake Channels Using a Specific Width of Carbon Nanodrug

The main difficulty with current anticancer nanotherapeutics comes from the low efficiency of tumor targeting. Although many strategies have been investigated, including cancer-specific antibody conjugation, lung tumors remain one of the invulnerable types of cancer that must be overcome in the near future. Meanwhile, despite their advantageous physiochemical properties, carbon nanotube structures are not considered safe medical drug delivery agents, but are considered a hazardous source that may cause pulmonary toxicity. However, high-aspect-ratio (width vs. length) nanostructures can be used as very efficient drug delivery agents due to their lung tissue accumulation property. Furthermore, selection of a specific width of the carbon nanostructures can activate additional caveolin uptake channels in cancer cells, thereby maximizing internalization of the nanodrug. The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of carbon nanotube-based nanodrugs having various widths (10–30 nm, 60–100 nm, and 125–150 nm) as a delivery agent to treat lung tumors. The results of the present study provided evidence that both lung tissue accumulation (passive targeting) and caveolin-assisted uptake (active targeting) can simultaneously contribute to the destruction of lung tumor tissues of carbon nanotube

Localized Electrothermal Annealing with Nanowatt Power for a Silicon Nanowire Field-Effect Transistor

This work investigates localized electrothermal annealing (ETA) with extremely low power consumption. The proposed method utilizes, for the first time, tunneling-current-induced Joule heat in a p-i-n diode, consisting of p-type, intrinsic, and n-type semiconductors. The consumed power used for dopant control is the lowest value ever reported. A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) composed of a p-i-n silicon nanowire, which is a substructure of a tunneling FET (TFET), was fabricated and utilized as a test platform to examine the annealing behaviors. A more than 2-fold increase in the on-state (<i>I</i>_ON) current was achieved using the ETA. Simulations are conducted to investigate the location of the hot spot and how its change in heat profile activates the dopants

High-Temperature Current Collection Enabled by the in Situ Phase Transformation of Cobalt–Nickel Foam for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

For the commercial development of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), cathode current collection has been one of the most challenging issues because it is extremely difficult to form continuous electric paths between two rigid components in a high-temperature oxidizing atmosphere. Herein, we present a Co–Ni foam as an innovative cathode current collector that fulfills all strict thermochemical and thermomechanical requirements for use in SOFCs. The Co–Ni foam is originally in the form of a metal alloy, offering excellent mechanical properties and manufacturing tolerance during stack assembly and startup processes. Then, it is converted to the conductive spinel oxide in situ during operation and provides nearly ideal structural and chemical characteristics as a current collector, gas distributor, and load-bearing component. The functionality and durability of the Co–Ni foam are verified by unit cell test and 1 kW-class stack operation, demonstrating performance that is equivalent to that of precious metals as well as an exceptional stability under dynamic conditions with severe temperature and current variations. This work highlights a cost-effective technique to achieve highly reliable electric contacts over the large area using the in situ metal-to-ceramic phase transformation that could be applied to various high-temperature electrochemical devices

FISH imaging and immunostained ED-1 in glomeruli of BMT female rats after treatment.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) (magnification x400). (<b>B</b>) Higher magnification views of the boxed regions in (A), stained with FISH using a Cy3-labeled Y-chromosome (red, white arrow) and DAPI-labeled nucleus (blue) (magnification x400). (<b>C</b>) Macrophages immunostained with ED-1 antibody (black arrow). Kidney of the LETO rat (a), the saline-treated OLETF rat (b), and the G-CSF-treated OLETF rat (c). (<b>D</b>) Quantitative analysis of Y-chromosome-positive cells in glomeruli. (<b>E</b>) Quantitative analysis of ED-1-positive cells in glomeruli. Fluorescence <i>in situ</i> hybridization, FISH; 4′–6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole, DAPI; Bone marrow transplantation, BMT. All data are expressed as mean±SD. *<i>P</i><0.05 vs. LETO rats. ^†<i>P</i><0.05 vs. untreated OLETF rats (n = 3).</p

Expression of the G-CSF receptor (G-CSFR) in kidneys.

<p>(<b>A</b>) RT-PCR analysis of G-CSFR mRNA expression in kidney tissue. Hypothalamus tissue was used as a positive control, together with a no-template negative control. (<b>B</b>) G-CSFR immunostained via antibody (green, a) and DAPI (blue, b) in glomeruli of a kidney section (magnification x400). G-CSF receptor, G-CSFR; positive control, P; negative control, N.</p

Experimental design.

<p>Experiment 1: a rat model of diabetic nephropathy (male OLETF rats), Experiment 2: a rat model of diabetic nephropathy with bone marrow transplantation (BMT) (donors: male OLETF rats, recipients: female OLETF rats).</p

Competition between Charge Transport and Energy Barrier in Injection-Limited Metal/Quantum Dot Nanocrystal Contacts

Injection-limited contacts in many of electronic devices such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and field effect transistors (FETs) are not easily avoided. We demonstrate that charge injection in the injection-limited contact is determined by charge transport properties as well as the charge injection energy barrier due to vacuum energy level alignment. Interestingly, injection-limited contact properties were observed at 5 nm diameter lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dot (QD)/Au contacts for which carrier injection is predicted to be energetically favorable. To probe the effect of charge transport properties on carrier injection, the electrical channel resistance of PbS nanocrystal (NC) FETs was varied through thermal annealing, photoillumination, ligand exchange, surface treatment of the gate dielectric, and use of different sized PbS NCs. Injection current through the PbS/Au contact varied with the FET mobility of PbS NC films consistent with a theoretical prediction where the net injection current is dominated by carrier mobility. This result suggests that the charge transport properties, that is, mobility, of QD NC films should be considered as a means to enhance carrier injection along with the vacuum level energy alignment at the interface between QD NCs and metal electrodes. Photocurrent microscopic images of the PbS/Au contact demonstrate the presence of a built-in potential in a two-dimensionally continuous PbS film near the metal electrodes

Levels of metabolic parameters before treatment with G-CSF or saline.

<p>Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka rats, LETO; Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats, OLETF; total cholesterol, TC; triglyceride, TG; urine albumin creatinine ratio, UACR. All data are expressed as mean±SD. *<i>P</i><0.05 vs. LETO rat (LETO, <i>n</i> = 4; OLETF, <i>n</i> = 8).</p

Sequences of primers.

<p>Sequences of primers.</p

Study of Graphene-based 2D-Heterostructure Device Fabricated by All-Dry Transfer Process

We developed a technique for transferring graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) in dry conditions for fabrication of van der Waals heterostructures. The graphene layer was encapsulated between two hBN layers so that it was kept intact during fabrication of the device. For comparison, we also fabricated the devices containing graphene on SiO₂/Si wafer and graphene on hBN. Electrical properties of the devices were investigated at room temperature. The mobility of the graphene on SiO₂ devices and graphene on hBN devices were 15 000 and 37 000 cm² V^–1 s^–1, respectively, while the mobility of the sandwich structure device reached the highest value of ∼100 000 cm² V^–1 s^–1, at room temperature. The electrical measurements of the samples were carried out in air and vacuum environments. We found that the electrical properties of the encapsulated graphene devices remained at a similar level both in a vacuum and in air, whereas the properties of the graphene without encapsulation were influenced by the external environment