Bose-Einstein Condensate Driven by a Kicked Rotor in a Finite Box

We study the effect of different heating rates of a dilute Bose gas confined in a quasi-1D finite, leaky box. An optical kicked-rotor is used to transfer energy to the atoms while two repulsive optical beams are used to confine the atoms. The average energy of the atoms is localized after a large number of kicks and the system reaches a nonequilibrium steady state. A numerical simulation of the experimental data suggests that the localization is due to energetic atoms leaking over the barrier. Our data also indicates a correlation between collisions and the destruction of the Bose-Einstein condensate fraction.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Ratiometric spectral imaging for fast tumor detection and chemotherapy monitoring in vivo

We report a novel in vivo spectral imaging approach to cancer detection and chemotherapy assessment. We describe and characterize a ratiometric spectral imaging and analysis method and evaluate its performance for tumor detection and delineation by quantitatively monitoring the specific accumulation of targeted gallium corrole (HerGa) into HER2-positive (HER2 +) breast tumors. HerGa temporal accumulation in nude mice bearing HER2 + breast tumors was monitored comparatively by a. this new ratiometric imaging and analysis method; b. established (reflectance and fluorescence) spectral imaging; c. more commonly used fluorescence intensity imaging. We also tested the feasibility of HerGa imaging in vivo using the ratiometric spectral imaging method for tumor detection and delineation. Our results show that the new method not only provides better quantitative information than typical spectral imaging, but also better specificity than standard fluorescence intensity imaging, thus allowing enhanced in vivo outlining of tumors and dynamic, quantitative monitoring of targeted chemotherapy agent accumulation into them

Multimodality imaging in vivo for preclinical assessment of tumor-targeted doxorubicin nanoparticles.

This study presents a new multimodal imaging approach that includes high-frequency ultrasound, fluorescence intensity, confocal, and spectral imaging to improve the preclinical evaluation of new therapeutics in vivo. Here we use this approach to assess in vivo the therapeutic efficacy of the novel chemotherapy construct, HerDox during and after treatment. HerDox is comprised of doxorubicin non-covalently assembled in a viral-like particle targeted to HER2+ tumor cells, causing tumor cell death at over 10-fold lower dose compared to the untargeted drug, while sparing the heart. Whereas our initial proof-of-principle studies on HerDox used tumor growth/shrinkage rates as a measure of therapeutic efficacy, here we show that multimodal imaging deployed during and after treatment can supplement traditional modes of tumor monitoring to further characterize the particle in tissues of treated mice. Specifically, we show here that tumor cell apoptosis elicited by HerDox can be monitored in vivo during treatment using high frequency ultrasound imaging, while in situ confocal imaging of excised tumors shows that HerDox indeed penetrated tumor tissue and can be detected at the subcellular level, including in the nucleus, via Dox fluorescence. In addition, ratiometric spectral imaging of the same tumor tissue enables quantitative discrimination of HerDox fluorescence from autofluorescence in situ. In contrast to standard approaches of preclinical assessment, this new method provides multiple/complementary information that may shorten the time required for initial evaluation of in vivo efficacy, thus potentially reducing the time and cost for translating new drug molecules into the clinic

Regression of murine lung tumors by the let-7 microRNA.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently emerged as an important new class of cellular regulators that control various cellular processes and are implicated in human diseases, including cancer. Here, we show that loss of let-7 function enhances lung tumor formation in vivo, strongly supporting the hypothesis that let-7 is a tumor suppressor. Moreover, we report that exogenous delivery of let-7 to established tumors in mouse models of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) significantly reduces the tumor burden. These results demonstrate the therapeutic potential of let-7 in NSCLC and point to miRNA replacement therapy as a promising approach in cancer treatment

Investigating photoexcitation-induced mitochondrial damage by chemotherapeutic corroles using multimode optical imaging

We recently reported that a targeted, brightly fluorescent gallium corrole (HerGa) is highly effective for breast tumor detection and treatment. Unlike structurally similar porphryins, HerGa exhibits tumor-targeted toxicity without the need for photoexcitation. We have now examined whether photoexcitation further modulates HerGa toxicity, using multimode optical imaging of live cells, including two-photon excited fluorescence, differential interference contrast (DIC), spectral, and lifetime imaging. Using two-photon excited fluorescence imaging, we observed that light at specific wavelengths augments the HerGa-mediated mitochondrial membrane potential disruption of breast cancer cells in situ. In addition, DIC, spectral, and fluorescence lifetime imaging enabled us to both validate cell damage by HerGa photoexcitation and investigate HerGa internalization, thus allowing optimization of light dose and timing. Our demonstration of HerGa phototoxicity opens the way for development of new methods of cancer intervention using tumor-targeted corroles

Responding to COVID-19 in social work field education in Australia, New Zealand and the United States

Author(s), Kathryn Hay, "Responding to COVID-19 in social work field education in Australia, New Zealand and the United States". International Social Work pp. 1-14. [2021] Copyright © The author/s. DOI: [10.1177/00208728211048934]. Published source must be acknowledged with citation. Reuse is restricted to non-commercial and no derivative usesPublishe

Tumor detection and elimination by a targeted gallium corrole

Sulfonated gallium(III) corroles are intensely fluorescent macrocyclic compounds that spontaneously assemble with carrier proteins to undergo cell entry. We report in vivo imaging and therapeutic efficacy of a tumor-targeted corrole noncovalently assembled with a heregulin-modified protein directed at the human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER). Systemic delivery of this protein-corrole complex results in tumor accumulation, which can be visualized in vivo owing to intensely red corrole fluorescence. Targeted delivery in vivo leads to tumor cell death while normal tissue is spared. These findings contrast with the effects of doxorubicin, which can elicit cardiac damage during therapy and required direct intratumoral injection to yield similar levels of tumor shrinkage compared with the systemically delivered corrole. The targeted complex ablated tumors at >5 times a lower dose than untargeted systemic doxorubicin, and the corrole did not damage heart tissue. Complexes remained intact in serum and the carrier protein elicited no detectable immunogenicity. The sulfonated gallium(III) corrole functions both for tumor detection and intervention with safety and targeting advantages over standard chemotherapeutic agents

Random Matrix Theory of Transition Strengths and Universal Magnetoconductance in the Strongly Localized Regime

Random matrix theory of the transition strengths is applied to transport in the strongly localized regime. The crossover distribution function between the different ensembles is derived and used to predict quantitatively the {\sl universal} magnetoconductance curves in the absence and in the presence of spin-orbit scattering. These predictions are confirmed numerically.Comment: 15 pages and two figures in postscript, revte