The impact of lubricants on the precision lapping process.

The impact of lubricants on pole-tip recession and surface morphology of hard disk drive heads in the precision lapping process was investigated with atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and auger electron spectroscopy. In particular, the effects of deionized water, hydrocarbon oil, ethanediol, isopropanol, and ethanol lubricants were evaluated. The results reveal that proper selection of lubricant is critical for achieving optimal performance in the lapping process. A mixture of 68% hydrocarbon oil, 30% isopropanol, and 2% octadecenoic acid was found to yield the most favorable results, displaying a writer shield recession, first shield of reader recession, and surface roughness of 0.423, 0.581, and 0.242 nm, respectively.

Multi-Stimuli-Responsive Fluorescent Molecule with AIE and TICT Properties Based on 1,8-Naphthalimide.

A multi-stimuli responsive fluorophore, named NBDNI, was developed by constructing a 1,8-naphthalimide derivative in which a rotatable electron-donating N,N-dimethylaniline group attached to its 4-position. This molecular structure endowed NBDNI with aggregate-induced emission (AIE) and twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) properties, enabling remarkable fluorescence changes in response to multiple external stimuli: (i) sensitivity to polarity in various solvent systems and polymer matrix; (ii) significant fluorescence response and excellent linearity towards temperature changes in solution; (iii) distinct switch of fluorescence color upon acid and base treatments; (iv) reversible mechanochromism behavior in the solid state. Moreover, the mechanisms underlying the aforementioned stimuli-responsive phenomena have been proposed based on comprehensive systematic measurements. Furthermore, preliminary applications such as fluorescence thermometry and acid/base test paper have been demonstrated. This research will bring about new opportunities for the development of novel stimuli-responsive luminescent materials.

Plexin D1 emerges as a novel target in the development of neural lineage plasticity in treatment-resistant prostate cancer.

Treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer (t-NEPC) often arises from adenocarcinoma via lineage plasticity in response to androgen receptor signaling inhibitors, such as enzalutamide. However, the specific regulators and targets involved in the transition to NEPC are not well understood. Plexin D1 (PLXND1) is a cellular receptor of the semaphorin (SEMA) family that plays important roles in modulating the cytoskeleton and cell adhesion. Here, we found that PLXND1 was highly expressed and positively correlated with neuroendocrine markers in patients with NEPC. High PLXND1 expression was associated with poorer prognosis in prostate cancer patients. Additionally, PLXND1 was upregulated and negatively regulated by androgen receptor signaling in enzalutamide-resistant cells. Knockdown or knockout of PLXND1 inhibited neural lineage pathways, thereby suppressing NEPC cell proliferation, patient derived xenograft (PDX) tumor organoid viability, and xenograft tumor growth. Mechanistically, the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) regulated PLXND1 protein stability through degradation, and inhibition of HSP70 decreased PLXND1 expression and NEPC organoid growth. In summary, our findings indicate that PLXND1 could serve as a promising therapeutic target and molecular marker for NEPC.

Plexin D1 emerges as a novel target in the development of neural lineage plasticity in treatment-resistant prostate cancer.

Treatment-induced neuroendocrine prostate cancer (t-NEPC) often arises from adenocarcinoma via lineage plasticity in response to androgen receptor signaling inhibitors, such as enzalutamide. However, the specific regulators and targets involved in the transition to NEPC are not well understood. Plexin D1 (PLXND1) is a cellular receptor of the semaphorin (SEMA) family that plays important roles in modulating the cytoskeleton and cell adhesion. Here, we found that PLXND1 is highly expressed and positively correlated with neuroendocrine markers in patients with NEPC. High PLXND1 expression is associated with poorer prognosis in prostate cancer patients. Additionally, PLXND1 was upregulated and negatively regulated by androgen receptor signaling in enzalutamide-resistant cells. Knockdown or knockout of PLXND1 inhibit neural lineage pathways, suppressing NEPC cell proliferation, PDX tumor organoid viability, and xenograft tumor growth. Mechanistically, the chaperone protein HSP70 regulates PLXND1 protein stability through degradation, and inhibition of HSP70 decreases PLXND1 expression and NEPC organoid growth. In summary, our findings suggest that PLXND1 could be a new therapeutic target and molecular indicator for NEPC.

Proteostasis perturbation of N-Myc leveraging HSP70 mediated protein turnover improves treatment of neuroendocrine prostate cancer.

N-Myc is a key driver of neuroblastoma and neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). One potential way to circumvent the challenge of undruggable N-Myc is to target the protein homeostasis (proteostasis) system that maintains N-Myc levels. Here, we identify heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) as a top partner of N-Myc, which binds a conserved "SELILKR" motif and prevents the access of E3 ubiquitin ligase, STIP1 homology and U-box containing protein 1 (STUB1), possibly through steric hindrance. When HSP70's dwell time on N-Myc is increased by treatment with the HSP70 allosteric inhibitor, STUB1 is in close proximity with N-Myc and becomes functional to promote N-Myc ubiquitination on the K416 and K419 sites and forms polyubiquitination chains linked by the K11 and K63 sites. Notably, HSP70 inhibition significantly suppressed NEPC tumor growth, increased the efficacy of aurora kinase A (AURKA) inhibitors, and limited the expression of neuroendocrine-related pathways.

Humanistic Nursing Care for Patients in Low-Resourced Clinical Settings from Students' Perspectives: A Participatory Qualitative Study.

INTRODUCTION: It is of utmost importance to understand how we can better prepare students to value humanistic spirits and provide humanistic care, a core element of quality care for patients/family characterized by empathy and holistic care, from school to clinical settings (practicum) in low-resourced healthcare environments with seriously low nursing staffing levels. The current study explored participants' experiences of learning and delivering humanistic care for patients. METHODOLOGY: This is a participatory qualitative study. Eligible participants are undergraduate students who completed all the core curricula and are ready to start their one-year clinical practicum/internships. A total of 120 eligible undergraduate students were included in the study. Participants were encouraged to share their own thoughts, questions, and perspectives on learning and providing humanistic care in clinical settings during their one-year practicum from 2020 to 2021. RESULTS: Three major themes emerged: 1. From Textbook to Providing Humanistic Care in low-resourced work contexts; 2. Ethical Considerations; and 3. Implications for Humanistic Nursing Care Education. DISCUSSION: Systematic reforms are needed to make clinical settings more humanistic care-friendly for nurses and nursing students. It is significant to help students internalize the essence of humanistic care in low-resource settings.

Solvent-free electrically conductive Ag/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) composites for paper-based printable electronics.

Solvent-free electrically conductive composites have been applied to flexible electronics to obtain high electrical conductivity. However, some of the proposed composites have low electrical conductivities and are unable to meet the requirements of commercial printable electronics. In this study, solvent-free electrically conductive Ag/EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) composites for paper-based printable electronics were prepared by a thermal melting method. The properties of these electrically conductive Ag/EVA composites, including particle sizes, morphologies and phase purities of the flake silver flake powders, were investigated using a particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The results showed that nanometer-thick flake silver flake powders with smooth and flat surfaces were made by the nanofilm transition technique. These obtained powders were able to form smooth face-to-face contacts, which facilitated the formation of an excellent conductive network in the conductive system. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was conducted to investigate the mechanical properties of EVA and Ag/EVA composites. A Fourier transformation infra-red (FTIR) spectrometer, laser micro-Raman spectrometer and thermogravimetric analyzer were used to analyze the organic functional groups, glass transition temperatures and thermal weight losses of the EVA resin and solvent-free electrically conductive composites. The solvent-free electrically conductive Ag/EVA composite, which contained 55 wt% of the as-prepared flake silver flake powders, was found to have an extremely low volume resistivity of 1.23 × 10-4 Ω cm as well as excellent bending performance and adhesion. These features indicate the great potential of these composites for application in printed electronics.