Potential of hybrid iron oxide–gold nanoparticles as thermal triggers for pancreatic cancer therapy

Theranostics are emerging platforms for rapid cancer diagnosis and therapy. Hybrid iron oxide–gold nanoparticles (HNPs) have shown potential as theranostics due to their ability for imaging using MRI, heating using laser irradiation and carrier abilities for drug molecules after surface functionalization. The ability of HNPs to act as localised nano-heaters has been well documented for tumour ablation applications where maximal heating effect is desired. However, the use of HNPs as thermal triggers for drug release requires more control over temperature output and careful consideration of heat dissipation. In this work we report the potential of HNPs to act as localised nano-heaters in vitro and ocument the cellular effect prior and post laser irradiation in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma (BxPC-3) cell lines. The data showed that after incubation of 50 mg mL 1 HNPs, a thermal increase of up to 9 C was observed in the cells after laser irradiation with the total area experiencing heat dissipation from the laser beam being 346 mm2. Although the total temperature experienced by cells was below the perceived temperature for irreversible cell damage, after 24 h significant levels of HSP27 and HSP70 were evident with a drop in cell viability to 85%. This indicated that even with rapid irradiation at low temperatures the cells were undergoing stress. Upon I.T. injection in pancreatic xenograft models, a similar heating capacity was observed at identical concentration which also resulted in bulk tumour dissipation. The findings from this work highlight the factors which must be taken into consideration when designing HNPs as theranostics for heat triggered drug delivery

Revealing the Core Dynamics of Vesta: Insights from Experimental Investigations of Electrical Resistivity and Thermal Conductivity

Insights from high pressure and temperature experiments involving in-situ measurements of the electrical resistivity of Fe-5wt%Ni at temperatures of up to 2000 K, under pressures of 2-5 GPa in a 1000-ton cubic-anvil press have been used to reveal Vesta’s core dynamics. The Wiedemann–Franz law was used to calculate the thermal conductivity from the measured electrical resistivity data. Comparing the findings of this study with prior investigations on both pure Fe and Fe-10wt%Ni indicates that an increase in Ni ranging from 0-10wt% has negligible effect on the electrical resistivity of Fe alloys. By comparing the range of estimated heat flux through the core-mantle boundary of 1.5–78 GW to the estimated adiabatic core heat flux ~331 MW at the top of Vesta’s core determined in this study, we conclude that the mechanism behind Vesta’s past core dynamo that generated its surface magnetic field during its early history was thermal convection

False discovery rate smoothing

We present false discovery rate smoothing, an empirical-Bayes method for exploiting spatial structure in large multiple-testing problems. FDR smoothing automatically finds spatially localized regions of significant test statistics. It then relaxes the threshold of statistical significance within these regions, and tightens it elsewhere, in a manner that controls the overall false-discovery rate at a given level. This results in increased power and cleaner spatial separation of signals from noise. The approach requires solving a non-standard high-dimensional optimization problem, for which an efficient augmented-Lagrangian algorithm is presented. In simulation studies, FDR smoothing exhibits state-of-the-art performance at modest computational cost. In particular, it is shown to be far more robust than existing methods for spatially dependent multiple testing. We also apply the method to a data set from an fMRI experiment on spatial working memory, where it detects patterns that are much more biologically plausible than those detected by standard FDR-controlling methods. All code for FDR smoothing is publicly available in Python and R.Comment: Added misspecification analysis, added pathological scenario discussions, additional comparisons, new graph fused lasso algorith

Development of a Model for the Establishment of a Hydro Electric Power Generating Plant

Nigeria as a nation has suffered a lot when it comes to the availability of electricity. A clear comparison between this nation’s electric power supply and other countries revealed the present incessant electric power supply in the country. The average power per capital (watts per person) in the United States is 1,377 Watts. In Canada, it is as high as 1,704 Watts per person and in South Africa; it is 445 Watts per person. The average power per capital in Australia is 1,112 Watts and in New Zealand it is 1,020 W per person. Whereas, the average power per capital (watts per person) in Nigeria is 14 W person. The power system structure is characterized with a lot of faults and outages. These electric power problem has destroyed the industrial processes in the country. As a result, unemployment has increased in the country. As at February, 2020, according to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the number of unemployed youths in the country is 23 million. Data from the International Transparency in the United State stated that there are 40 million unemployed youths in the country. This has increased crime rates among the youths. The country experience a high level of hardship, insecurity and socio-economic disorder as results. Therefore, there is an urgent need to solve this incessant supply of electric power in the country. Hence, a detail study of Akure132/33kV substation Network of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company under which there are 84,264 customers was carried out.&nbsp

What's in a pattern? Examining the Type of Signal Multivariate Analysis Uncovers At the Group Level

Multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has gained enormous popularity in the neuroimaging community over the past few years. At the group level, most MVPA studies adopt an "information based" approach in which the sign of the effect of individual subjects is discarded and a non-directional summary statistic is carried over to the second level. This is in contrast to a directional "activation based" approach typical in univariate group level analysis, in which both signal magnitude and sign are taken into account. The transition from examining effects in one voxel at a time vs. several voxels (univariate vs. multivariate) has thus tacitly entailed a transition from directional to non-directional signal definition at the group level. While a directional group-level MVPA approach implies that individuals have similar multivariate spatial patterns of activity, in a non-directional approach each individual may have a distinct spatial pattern. Using an experimental dataset, we show that directional and non-directional group-level MVPA approaches uncover distinct brain regions with only partial overlap. We propose a method to quantify the degree of spatial similarity in activation patterns over subjects. Applied to an auditory task, we find higher values in auditory regions compared to control regions.Comment: Revised versio

Parametric and Quantitative Analysis on the Development of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger

This work is aimed at developing a prototype shell and tube heat exchanger using locally available technology and materials via design based on optimal combination of parameters using LMTD technique, fabrication, as well as, performance evaluation of the facility.The importance of mini shell and tube heat exchangers (STHEs) in industrial and other engineering applications cannot be underestimated. Hence, based on the problems associated with the design of STHEs, a mini STHE was developed for transfer of heat between two fluids without mixing on the laboratory scale using locally available materials and technology based on an optimized LMTD technique. The performance of the heat exchanger was assessed and evaluated to determine the optimum combination of design parameters. Copper was utilized for the tube side fluid due to its higher thermal conductivity and anti-microbial property, while galvanized steel was used for the shell side fluid due to its cost and corrosion resistance. Parametric studies were carried out on STHE design parameters to obtain an optimal design for efficiency and effectiveness after relevant design considerations. Experimental results were validated with quantitative models, and it was discovered that both Dell-Belaware and Engineering Science Data Unit (ESDU) approaches produced the optimal results required for the selection of shell side and tube fluid film coefficients, respectively over other correlations. In conclusion, the values of parameters of interest were also presented after rigorous mathematical calculations at optimal level and probable recommendations were later made.Self-sponsore

The MB2 gene family of Plasmodium species has a unique combination of S1 and GTP-binding domains

BACKGROUND: Identification and characterization of novel Plasmodium gene families is necessary for developing new anti-malarial therapeutics. The products of the Plasmodium falciparum gene, MB2, were shown previously to have a stage-specific pattern of subcellular localization and proteolytic processing. RESULTS: Genes homologous to MB2 were identified in five additional parasite species, P. knowlesi, P. gallinaceum, P. berghei, P. yoelii, and P. chabaudi. Sequence comparisons among the MB2 gene products reveal amino acid conservation of structural features, including putative S1 and GTP-binding domains, and putative signal peptides and nuclear localization signals. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of domains is unique to this gene family and indicates that MB2 genes comprise a novel family and therefore may be a good target for drug development