Surface PEGylation of hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles via aminated intermediate

A hybrid of organic/inorganic system, hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles functionalized with poly(ethylene glycol), was synthesized in the presence of coupling agent and aminated ends. Doxorubicin (DOX) was used as a model drug to evaluate the effect of PEGylation on the loading capacity and release pattern of the system. Characterization with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption-desorption, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) confirmed the PEG conjugation, as well as the amorphous mesoporous nature of the synthesized particles. Due to the capping effect of PEG molecules over the pores in the silica structure, the synthesized system was able to retain higher amount of cargo and establish a controlled manner when releasing.     

New results on system of generalized quasi-Ky Fan inequalities with set-valued mappings in topological semilattice spaces

Under new assumptions, this paper obtains some extended versions of Ky Fan type inequality for a family of C-continuous set-valued mappings in the setting of topological semilattices. The obtained results are new and different from the corresponding known results in the literature. Some special cases of the main result are also discussed. Some examples are given to illustrate the results.     

偶联剂对HDPE基竹塑复合材料性能的影响

以高密度聚乙烯(HDPE)、竹粉(BF)为原料,马来酸酐接枝聚丙烯(MAH-g-PP)作为偶联剂,通过混炼、平板热压成型制备竹粉/HDPE复合材料,研究了马来酸酐接枝聚丙烯添加量(0、2%、5%、8%)对竹粉/HDPE复合材料吸湿性、吸水性、弯曲强度、拉伸强度以及抗冲击强度等性能的影响。结果表明:MAH-g-PP能显著改善竹粉/HDPE复合材料的吸湿、吸水性能,明显提高复合材料的力学性能; 当MAH-g-PP添加量为5%时,复合材料的吸湿、吸水率最低,静曲强度与弹性模量分别提高68%和30.4%,拉伸强度与抗冲击强度分别增长53.7%和75%; 而当MAH-g-PP添加量为8%时,复合材料的力学性能在一定程度上有所降低。红外光谱(FTIR)分析显示,添加MAH-g-PP后竹粉的游离羟基与马来酸酐之间发生了酯化反应。     

Earthworms (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from islands of Kien Hai District,Kien Giang Province,Vietnam, with descriptions of two new species and one subspecies

An earthworm inventory was conducted on three islands (Hon Tre, Lai Son and An Son) in the southernmost part of Vietnam. A total of 13 species and subspecies belonging to four genera and two families were collected from 49 sampling sites. The genus Metaphire Sims & Easton, 1972 is dominant with six species and subspecies, Metaphire anomala (Michaelsen, 1907), Metaphire bahli (Gates, 1945), Metaphire houlleti (Perrier, 1872), Metaphire mangophila (Nguyen, 2011), Metaphire kiengiangensis Nguyen & Trinh, 2015, Metaphire peguana laisonensis subsp. nov. Two new species, Polypheretima dorsotheca sp. anov. and Polypheretima insularis sp. nov., and a new subspecies Metaphire peguana laisonensis subsp. nov. are described. Additionally, Amynthas alteradamae (Michaelsen, 1934) and Amynthas tertiadamae (Michaelsen, 1934) are re-described based on fresh material. An identification key to species is also provided.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4EA4C2C0-BEC2-45BF-8B72-388302A53F51     

TspanC8 tetraspanins differentially regulate the cleavage of ADAM10 substrates,Notch activation and ADAM10 membrane compartmentalization

The metalloprotease ADAM10 mediates the shedding of the ectodomain of various cell membrane proteins, including APP, the precursor of the amyloid peptide Aβ, and Notch receptors following ligand binding. ADAM10 associates with the members of an evolutionary conserved subgroup of tetraspanins, referred to as TspanC8, which regulate its exit from the endoplasmic reticulum. Here we show that 4 of these TspanC8 (Tspan5, Tspan14, Tspan15 and Tspan33) which positively regulate ADAM10 surface expression levels differentially impact ADAM10-dependent Notch activation and the cleavage of several ADAM10 substrates, including APP, N-cadherin and CD44. Sucrose gradient fractionation, single molecule tracking and quantitative mass-spectrometry analysis of the repertoire of molecules co-immunoprecipitated with Tspan5, Tspan15 and ADAM10 show that these two tetraspanins differentially regulate ADAM10 membrane compartmentalization. These data represent a unique example where several tetraspanins differentially regulate the function of a common partner protein through a distinct membrane compartmentalization.     

Practical Contributions of the Systems-Based Evolutionary Learning Laboratory to Knowledge and Stakeholder Management

This paper reports on a case study on improving the quality of life for women smallholder farmers in Vietnam, using the systems-based Evolutionary Learning Laboratory (ELLab) approach. The study aims to provide evidence of practical contributions of the ELLab to project stakeholder and knowledge management through the case study. A transformative learning framework was developed to provide initial reflections on the planning phase of the project. Practical contributions of the ELLab process to stakeholder identification and management, and knowledge creation during project planning and implementation are discussed. Strong evidence was found of transformations in awareness and perspectives amongst project actors that subsequently led to systemic and executable action plans. This clearly proved the value of the ELLab approach in informal transformative learning.