On/off-switchable anti-neoplastic nanoarchitecture.

Throughout the world, there are increasing demands for alternate approaches to advanced cancer therapeutics. Numerous potentially chemotherapeutic compounds are developed every year for clinical trial and some of them are considered as potential drug candidates. Nanotechnology-based approaches have accelerated the discovery process, but the key challenge still remains to develop therapeutically viable and physiologically safe materials suitable for cancer therapy. Here, we report a high turnover, on/off-switchable functionally popping reactive oxygen species (ROS) generator using a smart mesoporous titanium dioxide popcorn (TiO2 Pops) nanoarchitecture. The resulting TiO2 Pops, unlike TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), are exceptionally biocompatible with normal cells. Under identical conditions, TiO2 Pops show very high photocatalytic activity compared to TiO2 NPs. Upon on/off-switchable photo activation, the TiO2 Pops can trigger the generation of high-turnover flash ROS and can deliver their potential anticancer effect by enhancing the intracellular ROS level until it crosses the threshold to open the 'death gate', thus reducing the survival of cancer cells by at least six times in comparison with TiO2 NPs without affecting the normal cells

Morphological alterations of T24 cells on flat and nanotubular TiO2 surfaces

Aim To investigate morphological alterations of malignant cancer cells (T24) of urothelial origin seeded on flat titanium (Ti) and nanotubular titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures. Methods Using anodization method, TiO2 surfaces composed of vertically aligned nanotubes of 50-100 nm diameters were produced. The flat Ti surface was used as a reference. The alteration in the morphology of cancer cells was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A computational model, based on the theory of membrane elasticity, was constructed to shed light on the biophysical mechanisms responsible for the observed changes in the contact area of adhesion. Results Large diameter TiO2 nanotubes exhibited a significantly smaller contact area of adhesion (P < 0.0001) and had more membrane protrusions (eg, microvilli and intercellular membrane nanotubes) than on flat Ti surface. Numerical membrane dynamics simulations revealed that the low adhesion energy per unit area would hinder the cell spreading on the large diameter TiO2 nanotubular surface, thus explaining the small contact area. Conclusion The reduction in the cell contact area in the case of large diameter TiO2 nanotube surface, which does not enable formation of the large enough number of the focal adhesion points, prevents spreading of urothelial cells

Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2—to end preventable child deaths by 2030—we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends. Here we quantified, for the period 2000–2017, the subnational variation in mortality rates and number of deaths of neonates, infants and children under 5 years of age within 99 low- and middle-income countries using a geostatistical survival model. We estimated that 32% of children under 5 in these countries lived in districts that had attained rates of 25 or fewer child deaths per 1,000 live births by 2017, and that 58% of child deaths between 2000 and 2017 in these countries could have been averted in the absence of geographical inequality. This study enables the identification of high-mortality clusters, patterns of progress and geographical inequalities to inform appropriate investments and implementations that will help to improve the health of all populations

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

Fabrication of Microfibre-nanowire Junction Arrays of ZnO/SnO2 Composite by the Carbothermal Evaporation Method

A cotton-like ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite was grown by the carbothermal evaporation of a mixture of ZnO and SnO2 powders at 1100 degrees C by the vapour-liquid-solid process, in which the Sn particles produced by the reduction of SnO2 act as the catalyst. Field-emission scanning electron microscope images suggest that the composites are made of microfibre-nanowire junction arrays. The structure is formed due to the fast growth of the ZnO microfibre and the subsequent epitaxial radial growth of the ZnO nanowires with Sn particles at the tips. The photovoltaic performance of the ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite sensitized with a D35-cpdt dye was investigated. A dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) with a ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposite photoanode based on a cobalt electrolyte achieved a solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency of similar to 0.34% with a short circuit current (JSC) of 0.66 mA/cm(2), an open circuit voltage (VOC) of 870 mV, and a fill factor (FF) of 59. The results show the potential of this one dimensional structure in cobalt electrolyte-based DSSCs; the further optimization which is needed to achieve higher efficiencies is also discussed

Electronic structure of 2D hybrid perovskites : Rashba spin-orbit coupling and impact of interlayer spacing

Two-dimensional (2D) lead perovskite materials are of interest and under investigation in the solar cell and light-emitting device research community stemming from their high stability and intriguing anisotropic properties. Here we report electronic properties with and without spin–orbit coupling (SOC) together with the influence of van der Waals interaction. Particular attention is given to Rashba SOC, anisotropic band structure effects, and the impact of the electronic structure as a function of interlayer spacing with successively longer organic cations. The results show that larger cations, with a series from butyl-, hexyl-, octyl-, and decyl-diammonium, decrease the electrostatic interaction between the PbI4 planes in the 2D layered perovskites. SOC splitting of the conduction band states lowers the bandgap from 2.21 eV to 1.43 eV in the butyl-diammonium layered perovskite and results in a bandgap of about 1.5 eV in the analogs with longer cation chains. The k-dependent SOC effects (Rashba and Dresselhaus SOC) in the 2D and 3D structures are smaller than the k-independent SOC and are compared to Rashba SOC in III–V semiconductors, SrTiO3, and other 2D hybrid perovskites with respect to symmetry and I–Pb–I angles. The symmetry of the p-orbitals and the bandgap shifts were utilized to perform an analysis of the SOC coupling parameter in the structures in comparison with relativistic effects of isolated Pb. We also report that spacing directly affects the curvature of the bands and the charge carrier mobility perpendicular to the inorganic planes and thus affects the directional charge transport in the 2D perovskite. A distance of 6 nm is the maximum length between the 2D layers to retain a similar effective mass of holes (3m0) in-plane as out-of-plane to allow effective hole charge carrier transport perpendicular to the inorganic layer

Excited-state charge polarization and electronic structure of mixed-cation halide perovskites : the role of mixed inorganic-organic cations in CsFAPbI(3)

Mixed-cation perovskite materials have shown great potential for sunlight harvesting and have surpassed unmixed perovskite materials in solar cell efficiency and stability. The role of mixed monovalent cations in the enhanced optoelectronic properties and excited state response, however, are still elusive from a theoretical perspective. Herein, through time dependent density functional theory calculations of mixed cation perovskites, we report the electronic structure of Cs formamidinium (FA) mixed cationic lead iodide (Cs(0.17)FA(0.87)PbI(3)) in comparison to the corresponding single monovalent cation hybrid perovskite. The results show that the Cs(0.17)FA(0.87)PbI(3) and FAPbI(3) had negligible differences in the optical band gap, and partial and total density of states in comparison to a single cation perovskite, while the effective mass of carriers, the local atomic density of states, the directional transport, and the structural distortions were significantly different. A lattice-distortion-induced asymmetry in the ground-state charge density is found, and originates from the co-location of caesium atoms in the lattice and signifies the effect on the charge density upon cation mixing and corresponding symmetry breaking. The excited-state charge response and induced polarizabilities are quantified, and discussed in terms of their importance for effective light absorption, charge separation, and final solar cell performance. We also quantify the impact of such polarizabilities on the dynamics of the structure of the perovskites and the implications this has for hot carrier cooling. The results shed light on the mechanism and origin of the enhanced performance in mixed-cation perovskite-based devices and their merits in comparison to single cation perovskites

A fully additive approach for the fabrication of split-ring resonator metasurfaces

Abstract Metasurfaces, as a two-dimensional (2D) form of metamaterial, offer the possibility of designing miniaturized antennas for radio frequency (RF) energy harvesting systems with high efficiency, but fabrication of these antennas is still a major challenge. Printed circuit board (PCB) lithography, utilizing subtractive etch-and-print techniques to create metal interconnects on PCBs, was the first technique used to create metasurfaces antennas and remains the dominant technique to this day. The development of large-area fabrication techniques that are flexible, precise, uniform, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly is urgently needed for creating next-generation metasurfaces antenna. The present study reports a new fully additive manufacturing method for the fabrication of copper split-ring resonator (SRR) arrays on a PCB as a planar compact metasurfaces antenna. This new method was developed by combining sequential build up (SBU), laser direct writing (LDW), and covalent bonded metallization (CBM) methods and called (SBU-CBM). In this method, standard FR-4 covered with a layer of polyurethane was used as a basic PCB. The polymer surface was coated with a grafting molecule, followed by LDW to pattern the SRR array on the PCB. Finally, in electroless plating, only the laser-scanned area was selectively plated, and copper covalent bond metallization was selectively plated on the SRR pattern. Copper SRR arrays with different sizes were successfully fabricated on PCB using the SBU-CBM method. Copper strip lines within the SRR repeating building block were miniaturized up to 5 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the smallest size of a PCB antenna that has been reported to date