Generation of a selective senolytic platform using a micelle-encapsulated Sudan Black B conjugated analog.

The emerging field of senolytics is centered on eliminating senescent cells to block their contribution to the progression of age-related diseases, including cancer, and to facilitate healthy aging. Enhancing the selectivity of senolytic treatments toward senescent cells stands to reduce the adverse effects associated with existing senolytic interventions. Taking advantage of lipofuscin accumulation in senescent cells, we describe here the development of a highly efficient senolytic platform consisting of a lipofuscin-binding domain scaffold, which can be conjugated with a senolytic drug via an ester bond.

Optimization of Potent and Selective Cyclohexyl Acid ERAP1 Inhibitors Using Structure- and Property-Based Drug Design.

Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) cleaves the -terminal amino acids of peptides, which can then bind onto major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I) molecules for presentation onto the cell surface, driving the activation of adaptive immune responses. In cancer, overtrimming of mature antigenic peptides can reduce cytotoxic T-cell responses, and ERAP1 can generate self-antigenic peptides which contribute to autoimmune cellular responses. Therefore, modulation of ERAP1 activity has potential therapeutic indications for cancer immunotherapy and in autoimmune disease.

Improving Visible Light Photocatalysis Using Optical Defects in CoO-TiO Photonic Crystals.

The rational design of photonic crystal photocatalysts has attracted significant interest in order to improve their light harvesting and photocatalytic performances. In this work, an advanced approach to enhance slow light propagation and visible light photocatalysis is demonstrated for the first time by integrating a planar defect into CoO-TiO inverse opals. Trilayer photonic crystal films were fabricated through the successive deposition of an inverse opal TiO underlayer, a thin titania interlayer, and a photonic top layer, whose visible light activation was implemented through surface modification with CoO nanoscale complexes.

The smartHEALTH European Digital Innovation Hub experiences and challenges for accelerating the transformation of public and private organizations within the innovation ecosystem.

Digital innovation can significantly enhance public health services, environmental sustainability, and social welfare. To this end, the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) initiative was funded by the European Commission and national governments aiming to facilitate the digital transformation on various domains (including health) via the setup of relevant ecosystems consisting of academic institutions, research centres, start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises, larger companies, public organizations, technology transfer offices, innovation clusters, and financial institutions. The ongoing goal of the EDIHs initiative is to bridge the gap between high-tech research taking place in universities and research centres and its deployment in real-world conditions by fostering innovation ecosystems.

Spin coating on a budget: A 3D-Printed all-mechanical alternative for cost-effective thin-film deposition.

Spin coating stands out as the most employed thin-film deposition technique across a variety of scientific fields. Particularly in the past two decades, spin coaters have become increasingly popular due to the emergence of solution-processed semiconductors such as quantum dots and perovskites. However, acquiring commercial spin coaters from reputable suppliers remains a significant financial burden for many laboratories, particularly for smaller research or educational facilities.

Online Measurement for Parameter Discovery in Fused Filament Fabrication.

To describe a new method for the automatic generation of process parameters for fused filament fabrication (FFF) across varying machines and materials. We use an instrumented extruder to fit a function that maps nozzle pressures across varying flow rates and temperatures for a given machine and material configuration. We then develop a method to extract real parameters for flow rate and temperature using relative pressures and temperature offsets.

Ultrahigh Surface Area Nanoporous Carbons Synthesized via Hypergolic and Activation Reactions for Enhanced CO Capacity and Volumetric Energy Density.

We report a family of carbon sorbents synthesized by integrating hypergolics with activation reactions on a templated substrate. The materials design leads to nanoporous carbons with a BET area of 4800 m g with an impressive total pore volume of 2.7 cm g.

PIM-1L Kinase Binds to and Inactivates SRPK1: A Biochemical and Molecular Dynamics Study.

SR/RS dipeptide repeats vary in both length and position, and are phosphorylated by SR protein kinases (SRPKs). PIM-1L, the long isoform of PIM-1 kinase, the splicing of which has been implicated in acute myeloid leukemia, contains a domain that consists largely of repeating SR/RS and SH/HS dipeptides (SR/SH-rich). In order to extend our knowledge on the specificity and cellular functions of SRPK1, here we investigate whether PIM-1L could act as substrate of SRPK1 by a combination of biochemical and computational approaches.

Exploring the Effect of Ionic Liquid Conformation on the Selective CO Capture of Supported Ionic Liquid-Phase Adsorbents Based on ZIFs.

The CO adsorption capacity and the CO/N selectivity of a series of Supported Ionic Liquid-Phase adsorbents (SILPs), including the novel inversely structured SILP "Inverse SILPs", are thoroughly investigated. ZIF-8, ZIF-69 and ZIF-70 were involved as the solid matrix, while ILs, having tricyanomethanide (TCM) as an anion and alkyl-methylimidazolium of different alkyl chain lengths (C, C, C) as a cation, were used as the liquid constituents of the SILPs. The ultimate target of the work was to ratify a few recently reported cases of enhanced CO absorptivity in ILs due to their incorporation in ZIFs and to corroborate phenomena of CO/N selectivity improvements in ZIFs, due to the presence of ILs.

Investigation of MO Adsorption Kinetics and Photocatalytic Degradation Utilizing Hollow Fibers of Cu-CuO/TiO Nanocomposite.

This comprehensive study explores the kinetics of adsorption and its photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) using an advanced copper-decorated photocatalyst in the form of hollow fibers (HFs). Designed to boost both adsorption capacity and photocatalytic activity, the photocatalyst was tested in batch experiments to efficiently remove MO from aqueous solutions. Various isotherm models, including Langmuir, Freundlich, Sips, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich, along with kinetic models like pseudo-first and pseudo-second order, Elovich, Bangham, and Weber-Morris, were utilized to assess adsorption capacity and kinetics at varying initial concentrations.

Inverse design of ZIFs through artificial intelligence methods.

We report a tool combining a biologically inspired evolutionary algorithm with machine learning to design fine-tuned zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs), a sub-family of MOFs, for desired sets of diffusivities of species () and / of any given mixture of species and . We display the efficacy and validitiy of our tool, by designing ZIFs that meet industrial performance criteria of permeability and selectivity, for CO/CH, O/N and CH/CH mixtures.

Synthesis of N-Sulfopropylated Hyperbranched Polyethyleneimine with Enhanced Biocompatibility and Antimicrobial Activity.

Hyperbranched polyethyleneimine having 25,000 Da molecular weight was functionalized by a simple sulfopropylation reaction, affording a novel N-sulfopropylated PEI derivative (PEI-SO ). The successful introduction of N-sulfopropyl and sulfobetaine groups to the amino groups of PEI was spectroscopically confirmed. Furthermore, the antibacterial and anti-cyanobacterial activity of PEI-SO in comparison to the parent PEI were investigated on two type heterotrophic bacteria, i.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell and Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Co-Culture in a Bone-Marrow-on-a-Chip Device toward the Generation and Maintenance of the Hematopoietic Niche.

Bone marrow has raised a great deal of scientific interest, since it is responsible for the vital process of hematopoiesis and is affiliated with many normal and pathological conditions of the human body. In recent years, organs-on-chips (OoCs) have emerged as the epitome of biomimetic systems, combining the advantages of microfluidic technology with cellular biology to surpass conventional 2D/3D cell culture techniques and animal testing. Bone-marrow-on-a-chip (BMoC) devices are usually focused only on the maintenance of the hematopoietic niche; otherwise, they incorporate at least three types of cells for on-chip generation.

Protocol for the simultaneous quantification of oxidative purine lesions in DNA using LC-MS/MS analysis.

Most DNA damages induced through oxidative metabolism are single lesions which can accumulate in tissues. Here, we present a protocol for the simultaneous quantification of oxidative purine lesions (cPu and 8-oxo-Pu) in DNA. We describe steps for enzymatic digestion of DNA and sample pre-purification, followed by quantification through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis.

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Functionalization of Sealed PDMS Microfluidics: Application to Capillary Pumping and Enhanced Cell Growth.

Microfluidic devices serve as essential tools across diverse fields like medicine, biotechnology, and chemistry, enabling advancements in analytical techniques, point-of-care diagnostics, microfluidic cell cultures, and organ-on-chip models. While polymeric microfluidics are favoured for their cost-effectiveness and ease of fabrication, their inherent hydrophobic properties necessitate surface functionalization, often post-sealing. Here, we introduce a versatile apparatus for functionalizing sealed microfluidic devices using atmospheric plasma processing, with a focus on PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) microfluidics.

Insights into Cis-Amide-Modified Carbon Nanotubes for Selective Purification of CH and H from Gas Mixtures: A Comparative DFT Study.

Among a plethora of mixtures, the methane (CH) and hydrogen (H) mixture has garnered considerable attention for multiple reasons, especially in the framework of energy production and industrial processes as well as ecological considerations. Despite the fact that the CH/H mixture performs many critical tasks, the presence of other gases, such as carbon dioxide, sulfur compounds like HS, and water vapor, leads to many undesirable consequences. Thus purification of this mixture from these gases assumes considerable relevance.

Equilibration of linear polyethylene melts with pre-defined molecular weight distributions employing united atom Monte Carlo simulations.

Possessing control over the molecular size (molecular weight/chain length/degree of polymerization) distribution of a polymeric material is extremely important in applications. This is manifested de facto by the extensive contemporary scientific literature on processes for controlling this distribution experimentally. Yet, the literature on computational techniques for achieving prescribed molecular size distributions in simulations and exploring their impact on properties is much less abundant than its experimental/technical counterpart.

Genetic Testing of Breast Cancer Patients with Very Early-Onset Breast Cancer (≤30 Years) Yields a High Rate of Germline Pathogenic Variants, Mainly in the BRCA1, TP53, and BRCA2 Genes.

Early-onset breast cancer constitutes a major criterion for genetic testing referral. Nevertheless, studies focusing on breast cancer patients (≤30 years) are limited. We investigated the contribution and spectrum of known breast-cancer-associated genes in 267 Greek women with breast cancer ≤30 years while monitoring their clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes.

Far-Field Radiative Thermal Rectification Based on Asymmetric Emissivity.

This experimental study investigates thermal rectification via asymmetric far-field thermal radiation on a fused silica slab. An asymmetrical distribution of surface emissivity is created over the device by partially covering the fused silica with a 100 nm thick aluminum film. The slab is subjected to a thermal bias, and when this bias is reversed, a small temperature difference is observed between the different configurations.