Functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes and their binding to cancer cells

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A proposed minimum skill set for university graduates to meet the informatics needs and challenges of the "-omics" era

10.1186/1471-2164-10-S3-S36BMC Genomics10SUPPL. 3BGME

APBioNet-Transforming Bioinformatics in the Asia-Pacific Region

10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003317PLoS Computational Biology910

Synergistic photothermal ablative effects of functionalizing carbon nanotubes with a POSS-PCU nanocomposite polymer

10.1186/1477-3155-10-34Journal of Nanobiotechnology10-JNOA

The mechanical and electrical properties of direct-spun carbon nanotube mats

The mechanical and electrical properties of a direct-spun carbon nanotube mat are measured. The mat comprises an interlinked random network of nanotube bundles, with approximately 40 nanotubes in a bundle. A small degree of in-plane anisotropy is observed. The bundles occasionally branch, and the mesh topology resembles a 2D lattice of nodal connectivity slightly below 4. The macroscopic in-plane tensile response is elasto-plastic in nature, with significant orientation hardening. In-situ microscopy reveals that the nanotube bundles do not slide past each other at their junctions under macroscopic strain. A micromechanical model is developed to relate the macroscopic modulus and flow strength to the longitudinal shear response of the nanotube bundles. The mechanical and electrical properties of the mat are compared with those of other nanotube arrangements over a wide range of density

Spontaneous Unexplained Preterm Labor with Intact Membrane: Finding Protein Biomarkers through Placenta Proteome

Spontaneous unexplained preterm labor with intact membrane (sPTL-IM) remains as an unresolved challenge in obstetrics due to the complex syndromes involved during preterm birth. Two dimensional-gel electrophoresis (2D-GE) coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight/time of flight (MALDI TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry has become an alternative in screening for potential novel protein-based biomarkers and revealing the pathophysiology of sPTL-IM. To achieve this objective, protein extracted from fetal and maternal sides of the placenta obtained from sPTL-IM (n = 5) and the respective control (n = 10) groups were separated and compared using 2D-gel electrophoresis. MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry was utilized to identify the differentially expressed proteins between both groups, and the molecular functions of these proteins were studied. A total of 12 proteins were significantly differentiated in sPTL-IM over the control. Differentially expressed proteins were identified to have involved in structural/cytoskeletal components, immune responses, fetal and placenta development, and anticoagulation cascade. More proteins were found to be differentially expressed in the fetal side compared to the maternal side of the placenta. This postulates that the influence of sPTL-IM from fetus is greater than that of the mother. Ultimately, these results might lead to further investigations in elucidating the potential of these proteins as biomarkers and/or drug targets

Constraints on ultracompact minihalos from extragalactic {\gamma}-ray background

It has been proposed that ultracompact minihalos (UCMHs) might be formed in earlier epoch. If dark matter consists of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), UCMHs can be treated as the {\gamma}-ray sources due to dark matter annihilation within them. In this paper, we investigate the contributions of UCMHs formed during three phase transi- tions (i.e., electroweak symmetry breaking, QCD confinement and e+ e- annihilation) to the extragalactic {\gamma}-ray background. Moreover, we use the Fermi-LAT observation data of the extragalactic {\gamma}-ray background to get the constraints on the current abundance of UCMHs produced during these phase transitions. We also compare these results with those obtained from Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) observations and find that the constraints from the Fermi-LAT are more stringent than those from CMBComment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

Market structure, ESG performance, and corporate efficiency: Insights from Brazilian publicly traded companies

Using a sample of Brazilian listed companies, our study investigates the directional cause–effect relationship between market structure, ESG performance, and firm efficiency under a Stochastic Structural Relationship Programming (SSRP) model. Our empirical evidence is threefold. First, our findings indicate that firms with better environmental performance are more efficient, whereas lower ESG performance and poorer corporate governance practices are associated with a higher level of efficiency. Second, our study suggests that market structure measures (i.e., competition, concentration, and market power) have heterogeneous impacts on various ESG indexes. Specifically, higher market competition is associated with a lower concentration, better ESG performance and environmental performance, but worse corporate governance performance, although market power can only enhance the environmental and governance performance of firms. Third, the market structure proxies employed in this study are significantly attributed to firm efficiency. Our findings provide practical implications for various stakeholders and suggest avenues for future studies that can build on our evidence

Enhancing methanol oxidation reaction with platinum–ruthenium embedded MXene:Synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical properties

Methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is the main reaction that takes place in an anodic electrode of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), whichis a promising electrochemical energy conversion technology. This study presents a novel approach for enhancing the electrocatalytic activity of MOR performance using composite of MXene (Ti3C2Tx) with Pt and Ru bimetal. The aimed of this study is to investigates the optimum electrocatalyst loading for PtRu/Ti3C2Tx to improve and stand out the potential of electrocatalysts in the MOR catalytic activity. The study also provides detailed physical characterizations and electrochemical measurements. The results show that the electrocatalyst loading of 0.40 mgcm−2 has the highest ECSA value and better reaction activity compared to other loadings. The electrocatalytic activity, CO tolerance, and stability of the electrocatalyst also show the better result for this loading. The comparative study with previous research shows that the PtRu/Ti3C2Tx electrocatalyst exhibits the highest catalytic activity, which is 5.13 times better than that of the previous study on the Pt/C electrocatalyst. Thus, the novel combination of MXene structure and PtRu indicates a promising electrocatalyst for MOR