We report a new theranostic device based on lead sulfide quantum dots (PbS QDs) with optical emission in the near infrared wavelength range decorated with affibodies (small 6.5 kDa protein-based antibody replacements) specific to the cancer biomarker human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and zinc(II) protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) to combine imaging, targeting and therapy within one nanostructure. Colloidal PbS QDs were synthesized in aqueous solution with a nanocrystal diameter of ∼5 nm and photoluminescence emission in the near infrared wavelength range. The ZHER2:432 affibody, mutated through the introduction of two cysteine residues at the C-terminus (Afb2C), was used as capping ligand to form Afb2C-PbS QDs that have a high binding affinity for HER2, which is overexpressed in several types of cancer including breast cancer. Afb2C-PbS QDs were further modified by conjugation with ZnPP, which acts as an anticancer agent. The biological activity of these QDs was tested against SKBR3 (HER2-positive) and MDA-MB-231 (HER2-normal) breast cancer cells, with results showing that ZnPP-Afb2C-functionalized PbS QDs were successfully targeted to the HER2-overexpressing cancer cells and induced cell apoptosis thanks to the conjugation with ZnPP. These results expand the use of the QD nanoplatform with the formulation of novel nanomaterials for targeted delivery and combined imaging and therapy via direct surface-protein interaction.
<span lang="EN-US">The use of bio-signals analysis in human-robot interaction is rapidly increasing. There is an urgent demand for it in various applications, including health care, rehabilitation, research, technology, and manufacturing. Despite several state-of-the-art bio-signals analyses in human-robot interaction (HRI) research, it is unclear which one is the best. In this paper, the following topics will be discussed: robotic systems should be given priority in the rehabilitation and aid of amputees and disabled people; second, domains of feature extraction approaches now in use, which are divided into three main sections (time, frequency, and time-frequency). The various domains will be discussed, then a discussion of e
... Show MoreIn the present work studies were carried out to extract a cationic dye (Methylene Blue MB) from an aqueous solution using emulsion liquid membrane process (ELM). The organic phase (membrane phase) consists of Span 80 as emulsifier, sulfuric acid solution as stripping agent and hexane as diluent.
In this study, important factors influencing the extraction of methylene blue dye were studied. These factors include H2SO4 concentration in the stripping phase, agitation speed in the dye permeation stage, Initial dye concentration and diluent type.
More than (98%) of Methylene blue dye was extracted at the following conditions: H2SO4 concentration (1.25) M, agitation
... Show MoreBackground: The occurrence of incidental thyroid cancer (ITC) has increased by three times during the last decades and this rise could be attributed to many factors. To limit the prevalence of ITC with goiter especially nodular goiter, total thyroidectomy can become a procedure of choice.
Objective: To determine the extent of incidental thyroid carcinoma (ITC) and to plan a proper preoperative diagnostic work up and a convenient operative procedure for patients with different thyroid diseases.
Results: ITC was found in 77 patients (19.15%). While, 63 patients with non-toxic MNG (15.6%), 12 patients with non-toxic solitary thyroid nodule (3%) and two patients (0.5%) wi
Samples of gasoline engine oil (SAE 5W20) that had been exposed to various oxidation times were inspected with a UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer to select the best wavelengths and wavelength ranges for distinguishing oxidation times. Engine oil samples were subjected to different thermal oxidation periods of 0, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 hours, resulting in a range of total base number (TBN) levels. Each wavelength (190.5 – 849.5 nm) and selected wavelength ranges were evaluated to determine the wavelength or wavelength ranges that could best distinguish among all oxidation times. The best wavelengths and wavelength ranges were analyzed with linear regression to determine the best wavelength or range to predict oxidation t
... Show MoreCopper with different concentrations doped with zinc oxide nanoparticles were prepared from a mixture of zinc acetate and copper acetate with sodium hydroxide in aqueous solution. The structure of the prepared samples was done by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-VIS absorption spectrophotometer. Debye-Scherer formula was used to calculate the size of the prepared samples. The band gap of the nanoparticle ZnO was determined by using UV-VIS optical spectroscopy.
This study investigates the results of electrocoagulation (EC) using aluminum (Al) electrodes as anode and stainless steel (grade 316) as a cathode for removing silica, calcium, and magnesium ions from simulated cooling tower blowdown waters. The simulated water contains (50 mg/l silica, 508 mg/l calcium, and 292 mg/l magnesium). The influence of different experimental parameters, such as current density (0.5, 1, and 2 mA/cm2), initial pH(5,7, and 10), the temperature of the simulated solution(250C and 35 0C), and electrolysis time was studied. The highest removal efficiency of 80.183%, 99.21%, and 98.06% for calcium, silica, and magnesium ions, respectively, were obtained at a current de
... Show MoreHiding technique for dynamic encryption text using encoding table and symmetric encryption method (AES algorithm) is presented in this paper. The encoding table is generated dynamically from MSB of the cover image points that used as the first phase of encryption. The Harris corner point algorithm is applied on cover image to generate the corner points which are used to generate dynamic AES key to second phase of text encryption. The embedded process in the LSB for the image pixels except the Harris corner points for more robust. Experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed scheme have embedding quality, error-free text recovery, and high value in PSNR.
Malware represents one of the dangerous threats to computer security. Dynamic analysis has difficulties in detecting unknown malware. This paper developed an integrated multi – layer detection approach to provide more accuracy in detecting malware. User interface integrated with Virus Total was designed as a first layer which represented a warning system for malware infection, Malware data base within malware samples as a second layer, Cuckoo as a third layer, Bull guard as a fourth layer and IDA pro as a fifth layer. The results showed that the use of fifth layers was better than the use of a single detector without merging. For example, the efficiency of the proposed approach is 100% compared with 18% and 63% of Virus Total and Bel
... Show MoreThis paper presents a new transform method to solve partial differential equations, for finding suitable accurate solutions in a wider domain. It can be used to solve the problems without resorting to the frequency domain. The new transform is combined with the homotopy perturbation method in order to solve three dimensional second order partial differential equations with initial condition, and the convergence of the solution to the exact form is proved. The implementation of the suggested method demonstrates the usefulness in finding exact solutions. The practical implications show the effectiveness of approach and it is easily implemented in finding exact solutions.
Finally, all algori
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