From supramolecular chemistry to nanotechnology : assembly of 3D nanostructures

Fabricating well-defined and stable nanoparticle arrays and crystals in a controlled fashion receives growing attention in nanotechnology owing to the potential application in optoelectronic devices, biological sensors, and photonic structures. The research described in this thesis aims to construct stable, ordered and functional 2D and 3D nanoparticle structures. Molecular recognition abilities have been exploited by using a combination of supramolecularly directed self-assembly of receptor-functionalized nanoparticles and top-down nanofabrication techniques.\ud Noncovalent host-guest nanoparticle assembly is highly versatile. It involves specific multivalent interactions, in which the nanoparticle-surface or the inter-particle binding strength can be fine-tuned by introducing competitive interactions. The additional advantage is the possibility for error correction. Host or guest molecules are attached to the surface of the nanoparticles to control the assembly of functionalized nanoparticles to self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) via specific host-guest interactions in a layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly methodology. Top-down nanofabrication schemes were combined with supramolecular nanoparticle assembly to form stable and ordered nanoparticle architectures on surfaces, other interfaces, and as free-standing structures

Platinum and platinum-ruthenium nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterizations and applications

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Improving the precision of multiparameter estimation in the teleportation of qutrit under amplitude damping noise

Since the initial discovery of quantum teleportation, it is devoted to transferring unknown quantum states from one party to another distant partner. However, in the scenarios of remote sensing, what people truly care about is the information carried by certain parameters. The problem of multiparameter estimation in the framework of qutrit teleportation under amplitude damping (AD) noise is studied. Particularly, two schemes are proposed to battle against AD noise and enhance the precision of multiparameter estimation by utilizing weak measurement (WM) and environment-assisted measurement (EAM). For two-phase parameters encoded in a qutrit state, the analytical formulas of the quantum Fisher information matrix (QFIM) can be obtained. The results prove that the scheme of EAM outperforms the WM one in the improvements of both independent and simultaneous estimation precision. Remarkably, the EAM scheme can completely ensure the estimation precision against the contamination by AD noise. The reason should be attributed to the fact that EAM is carried out after the AD noise. Thus, it extracts information from both the system and the environment. The findings show that the techniques of WM and EAM are helpful for remote quantum sensing and can be generalized to other qutrit-based quantum information tasks under AD decoherence.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted by Annalen der Physi

Supramolecular Layer-by-Layer Assembly of 3D Multicomponent Nanostructures via Multivalent Molecular Recognition

The supramolecular layer-by-layer assembly of 3D multicomponent nanostructures of nanoparticles is demonstrated. Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) was used as the patterning tool for making patterned β-cyclodextrin (CD) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and for the confinement of nanoparticles on the substrate. A densely packed and multilayered nanoparticle structure was created by alternating assembly steps of complementary guest- (Fc-SiO2, 60 nm) and host-functionalized (CD-Au, 3 nm) nanoparticles. The effects induced by the order of the nanoparticle assembly steps, going from large to small and from small to large nanoparticles by using Fc-SiO2, CD-Au, and CD-SiO2 (350 nm) nanoparticles, were compared. AFM height profiles revealed that the specific supramolecular assembly of nanoparticles was self-limited, i.e. one nanoparticle layer per assembly step, allowing the control over the thickness of the supramolecular hybrid nanostructure by choosing the size of the nanoparticles, irrespective of the core material of the nanoparticles. The roughness of structure, observed by AFM imaging of the top layer, was directly influenced by the size and packing of the underlying nanoparticle layers

Verum- versus Sham-Acupuncture on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in Animal Models: A Preclinical Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common health condition affecting senile people and leads to severe cognitive dysfunctions. Acupuncture has been shown to be a possible alternative natural remedy for AD in some animal studies. Objective. To perform a systematic review to identify the effect of verum-acupuncture compared with sham-acupuncture on learning and memory performance among animal models of AD. Methods. Experimental animal studies of treating AD via verum- and sham- acupuncture were searched in nine electronic databases, including Sciverse ScienceDirect, PubMed, Springer, Ebsco Medline, AMED, EMBASE (Elsevier), Scopus (Elsevier), PsycINFO (ProQuest), and OVID from the dates of the databases’ inception to June 2019. The Morris water maze test was considered as an outcome measure. The software Revman 5.3 and Stata 16.0 were used to conduct the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was examined by using I2 statistics. The publication bias was assessed via Begg’s test by Stata 16.0. Results. Twelve studies involving 229 animals met the inclusion criteria. Most of the studies had a moderate quality according to SYRCLE's risk of bias tool for animal studies. The results of the meta-analysis indicated that verum-acupuncture could reduce the escape latency (MD = −12.90, 95% CI (−17.08, −8.71), ) and increase the time spent in the original platform quadrant (MD = 7.28, 95% CI (4.23, 10.33), ) and frequency of the crossing former platform (MD = 2.01, 95% CI (1.53, 2.50), ) compared with the sham-acupuncture. Conclusions. Acupuncture is effective in improving cognitive functions in AD animal models, and this benefit is more than just a placebo effect. Further clinical trials are needed to confirm the findings.This work was sponsored by the Teaching and Research Award Program for Outstanding Young Teachers, Shanghai Sanda University (No. 2018zz13) and Special Project for Clinical Research, Shanghai Municipal Health Commission (No. 20174Y0009). The publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library. The authors would like to extend their gratitude to Yuen-Shan Ho, from School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, for inspiring them to seek the underlying research directions. Besides, the authors thank Hai-Dong Guo, from School of Basic Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, for providing help in organizing the data and Yan Xu, the chair of Nursing Department, Shanghai Sanda University, for providing general support

TRPM8 mechanism of autonomic nerve response to cold in respiratory airway

Breathing cold air without proper temperature exchange can induce strong respiratory autonomic responses including cough, airway constriction and mucosal secretion, and can exacerbate existing asthma conditions and even directly trigger an asthma attack. Vagal afferent fiber is thought to be involved in the cold-induced respiratory responses through autonomic nerve reflex. However, molecular mechanisms by which vagal afferent fibers are excited by cold remain unknown. Using retrograde labeling, immunostaining, calcium imaging, and electrophysiological recordings, here we show that a subpopulation of airway vagal afferent nerves express TRPM8 receptors and that activation of TRPM8 receptors by cold excites these airway autonomic nerves. Thus activation of TRPM8 receptors may provoke autonomic nerve reflex to increase airway resistance. This putative autonomic response may be associated with cold-induced exacerbation of asthma and other pulmonary disorders, making TRPM8 receptors a possible target for prevention of cold-associated respiratory disorders

Survival Outcomes of Patients with Esophageal Cancer Who Did Not Proceed to Surgery after Neoadjuvant Treatment

Background: This retrospective study examined outcomes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients who did not undergo surgical resection after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT). Methods: Patients receiving nCRT between 2012 and 2020 were divided into two groups: group 1 (scheduled surgery) and group 2 (no surgery). Group 2 was further categorized into subgroups based on reasons for not proceeding to surgery: group 2a (disease progression), group 2b (poor general conditions), and group 2c (patient refusal). Overall survival (OS) was the primary outcome. Results: Group 1 comprised 145 patients, while subgroups 2a, 2b, and 2c comprised 24, 16, and 31 patients, respectively. The 3-year OS rate was significantly lower in group 2 compared with group 1 (34% versus 56%, p &lt; 0.001). A subgroup analysis showed varying 3-year OS rates: 13% for group 2a, 25% for group 2b, and 58% for group 2c (p &lt; 0.001). Propensity score matching for group 2c and group 1 revealed no significant difference in 3-year OS rates (p = 0.91). Conclusion: One-third of ESCC patients receiving nCRT did not undergo surgical resection. Overall survival in this group was generally poorer, except for those who refused surgery (group 2c).</p

Growth Hormone Therapy Benefits Pituitary Stalk Interruption Syndrome Patients with Short Stature: A Retrospective Study of 75 Han Chinese

Objective. We aim to investigate the long-term benefits of growth hormone (GH) therapy in short stature adolescents and adults with pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS), which would be beneficial for future clinical applications. Design and Methods. In this study, initial height, final height, total height gain, and GH treatment history were retrospectively investigated in 75 Chinese PSIS patients. We compared height gain between the GH treated cohort and untreated cohort and explored the impact of different GH therapy duration on height gain. Results. For GH treated patients, their final height (SDS) increased from -1.99±1.91 (−6.93~2.80) at bone age (BA) of 11.2 (5.0~17.0) years to -1.47±1.64 (−7.82~1.05) at BA of 16.6 (8.0~18.0) years (P=0.016). And GH treated patients had more height gain than the untreated patients (P<0.05). There was a significant difference between the different GH therapy duration groups (P=0.001): GH 0 versus GH 3, P=0.000; GH 1 versus GH 3, P=0.028; GH 2 versus GH 3, P=0.044. Conclusion. Adult Chinese PSIS patients with short stature benefited the most from at least 12 months of GH therapy. Although patient diagnosis age was lagged behind in the developing countries, GH treatment was still effective for them and resulted in a higher final height and more height gain