Retargeting of T lymphocytes toward cancer cells by bispecific antibodies has demonstrated its therapeutic potential, with one such antibody approved for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia ...(blinatumomab) and several other in clinical trials. However, improvement of their efficacy and selectivity for solid tumors is still required. Here, we describe a novel tandem T-cell recruiting trispecific antibody for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). This construct, termed trispecific T-cell engager (TriTE), consists of a CD3-specific single-chain Fv (scFv) flanked by anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) single-domain V
HH
antibodies. The TriTE was well expressed in mammalian and yeast cells, bound the cognate antigens of the three parental antibodies, and enabled the specific cytolysis of EGFR- and/or EpCAM-expressing cancer cells, without inducing T cell activation and cytoxicity against double-negative (EGFR
−
EpCAM
−
) cancer cells. Bivalent bispecific targeting of double-positive HCT116 cells by TriTE improved in vitro potency up to 100-fold compared to single-positive cells and significantly prolonged survival in vivo. In addition, it was less efficient at killing single-positive target cells than the corresponding bispecific controls, leading to potentially enhanced tumor specificity. Moreover, dual targeting of two tumor-associated antigens may contribute toward preventing the tumor escape by antigen loss caused by selective pressures from conventional single-targeting T-cell engagers, and may help to overcome antigenic heterogeneity.
This review summarizes research data on SARS-CoV-2 in water environments. A literature survey was conducted using the electronic databases Science Direct, Scopus, and Springer. This complete research ...included and discussed relevant studies that involve the (1) introduction, (2) definition and features of coronavirus, (2.1) structure and classification, (3) effects on public health, (4) transmission, (5) detection methods, (6) impact of COVID-19 on the water sector (drinking water, cycle water, surface water, wastewater), (6.5) wastewater treatment, and (7) future trends. The results show contamination of clean water sources, and community drinking water is vulnerable. Additionally, there is evidence that sputum, feces, and urine contain SARS-CoV-2, which can maintain its viability in sewage and the urban-rural water cycle to move towards seawater or freshwater; thus, the risk associated with contracting COVID-19 from contact with untreated water or inadequately treated wastewater is high. Moreover, viral loads have been detected in surface water, although the risk is lower for countries that efficiently treat their wastewater. Further investigation is immediately required to determine the persistence and mobility of SARS-CoV-2 in polluted water and sewage as well as the possible potential of disease transmission via drinking water. Conventional wastewater treatment systems have been shown to be effective in removing the virus, which plays an important role in pandemic control. Monitoring of this virus in water is extremely important as it can provide information on the prevalence and distribution of the COVID-19 pandemic in different communities as well as possible infection dynamics to prevent future outbreaks.
As the development of systems in smart homes is increasing, it is of ever-increasing importance to have data, which artificial intelligence methods and techniques can apply to recognize activities ...and patterns or to detect anomalies, with the aim of reducing energy consumption in the main home domestic services, and to offer users an alternative in the management of these resources. This paper describes the design and implementation of a platform based on the internet of things and a cloud environment that allows the user to remotely control and monitor Wi-Fi wireless e-switch in a home through a mobile application. This platform is intended to represent the first step in transforming a home into a smart home, and it allows the collection and storage of the e-switch information, which can be used for further processing and analysis.
The educational sector has made extraordinary efforts to neutralize the impact of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, forcing teachers, scholars, and academic personnel to change the way education is ...delivered by developing creative and technological solutions to improve the landscape for education. The Internet of Things (IoT) is crucial for the educational transition to digital and virtual environments. This paper presents the integration of IoT technology in the Two-Dimensional Cartesian Coordinate System Educational Toolkit (2D-CACSET), to transform it into MEIoT 2D-CACSET; which includes educational mechatronics and the IoT. The Educational Mechatronics Conceptual Framework (EMCF) is extended to consider the virtual environment, enabling knowledge construction in virtual concrete, virtual graphic, and virtual abstract levels. Hence, the students acquire this knowledge from a remote location to apply it further down their career path. Three instructional designs are designed for this work using the MEIoT 2D-CACSET to learn about coordinate axes, quadrants, and a point in the 2D Coordinate Cartesian System. This work is intended to provide an IoT educational technology to offer an adequate response to the educational system’s current context.
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•Efficient degradation of 2,4-D (commercial herbicide) by solar photo-Fenton process.•Sunlight, ferrioxalate complex, and calcium peroxide (CaO2) improve 2,4-D degradation.•CaO2 ...synthesized from eggshell was confirmed by FTIR and XRD.•2,4-Dichlorophenol, 1,4-Benzoquinone, and oxalic acid are the formed intermediates.•TOC shows the degradation and mineralization of 2,4-D at 53 W/m2 UVA.
The present study focused on the degradation of the commercial herbicide 2,4-D in water by solar photoFenton assisted with ferrioxalate complex and calcium peroxide (CaO2), using an experimental system consisting of a storage tank, a water pump, a solar reactor, and a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC), which collected solar energy of 212.102 kJ/L. The CaO2 was synthesized from eggshells, the influence of the 2,4-D concentration, oxalic acid (H2C2O4), iron (Fe3+), and CaO2 on the degradation of herbicide was evaluated by HPLC, and the intermediates such as 2,4-dichlorophenol, 1,4-benzoquinone, and oxalic acid were determined to confirm the proposed reaction mechanism. The generation of hydroxyl radicals and other reactive species, depends on the molar ratios of oxalate/Fe3+, CaO2/Fe3+, and CaO2/2,4-D. The optimum concentrations for 100 % degradation were 61.5 mg/L 2,4-D, 50.5 mg/L Fe3+, 100.5 mg/L H2C2O4, and 81 mg/L CaO2 with 42.27 % COD and 44.09 % TOC. This study highlights the viability of the solar photoFenton process to degrade the 2,4-D herbicide and aims to promote: the recovery of organic waste such as eggshells, the complexing effect of H2C2O4-Fe3+, the CaO2 as an alternative oxidant, and the application of renewable energy in the treatment of similar contaminants present in wastewater for future research.
Industry 4.0 involves various areas of engineering such as advanced robotics, Internet of Things, simulation, and augmented reality, which are focused on the development of smart factories. The ...present work presents the design and application of the methodology for the development of augmented reality applications (MeDARA) using a concrete, pictorial, and abstract approach with the intention of promoting the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the students within the conceptual framework of educational mechatronics (EMCF). The flight of a drone is presented as a case study, where the concrete level involves the manipulation of the drone in a simulation; the graphic level requires the elaboration of an experiential storyboard that shows the scenes of the student’s interaction with the drone in the concrete level; and finally, the abstract level involves the planning of user stories and acceptance criteria, the computer design of the drone, the mock-ups of the application, the coding in Unity and Android Studio, and its integration to perform unit and acceptance tests. Finally, evidence of the tests is shown to demonstrate the results of the application of the MeDARA.
Within Industry 4.0, drones appear as intelligent devices that have brought a new range of innovative applications to the industrial sector. The required knowledge and skills to manage and ...appropriate these technological devices are not being developed in most universities. This paper presents an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based smart educational mechatronics system that makes use of a motion capture (MoCap) laboratory and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) to teach UAV knowledge and skills, within the Educational Mechatronics Conceptual Framework (EMCF). The macro-process learning construction of the EMCF includes concrete, graphic, and abstract levels. The system comprises a DJI Phantom 4, a MoCap laboratory giving the drone location, a Simulink drone model, and an embedded system for performing the HIL simulation. The smart educational mechatronics system strengthens the assimilation of the UAV waypoint navigation concept and the capacity for drone flight since it permits the validation of the physical drone model and testing of the trajectory tracking control. Moreover, it opens up a new range of possibilities in terms of knowledge construction through best practices, activities, and tasks, enriching the university courses.
H2S is a gaseous compound that contributes to air pollution. In this work, the electrochemical oxidation treatment of gaseous streams polluted with H2S is evaluated using a jet mixer and ...electrochemical cell device, in which the performance of electrolytic and electro-Fenton assisted absorption processes are compared. Results demonstrate the feasibility of both processes to remove H2S, reaching coulombic efficiencies of nearly 100% in the electrolytic assisted absorption, and 70–80% in the electro-Fenton assisted absorption. Aqueous solutions containing phosphate salts as electrolyte were found to be suitable as absorbents for the process. Efficiency in the cathodic production of H2O2 in these solutions using the experimental device was found to be as high as 32.8% (1.184 mgH2O2/min) at 12 °C and atmospheric pressure. Sequential formation of SO2 and SO3 is obtained by the oxidation of H2S contained in the gas. These species are hydrolysed, and a part remained in the absorbent as SO32− and SO42−, while the rest is dragged in the outlet gas. SO3 production is promoted by electrolytic assisted absorption and polysulphides by the electro-Fenton technology. Low concentrations of elemental sulphur are detected in the solid suspensions formed during the process.
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•Elimination of H2S from gaseous streams by electrochemically assisted absorption.•Electrochemical production of H2O2 with efficiency as high as 32.8%.•Coulombic efficiency of 100% in electrolytic absorption and 80% in electro-Fenton.•Electrolytic absorption produces mainly SO3 and electro-Fenton, polysulphides.•Applying 0.3 A, removals rates of H2S as high as 1.827 mgS/min are obtained.
In this work, we show that TGF‐β produced by colorectal cancer cells activates pericytes that in turn promote their tumorigenic properties through the release of soluble factors, including IGFBP‐3, ...with a prominent role in cancer cell migration and invasion. Moreover, co‐implantation of colorectal cancer cells and pericytes in immunodeficient mice increased tumor growth.
The crosstalk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment has been implicated in cancer progression and metastasis. Fibroblasts and immune cells are widely known to be attracted to and modified by cancer cells. However, the role of pericytes in the tumor microenvironment beyond endothelium stabilization is poorly understood. Here, we report that pericytes promoted colorectal cancer (CRC) cell proliferation, migration, invasion, stemness, and chemoresistance in vitro, as well as tumor growth in a xenograft CRC model. We demonstrate that coculture with human CRC cells induced broad transcriptomic changes in pericytes, mostly associated with TGF‐β receptor activation. The prognostic value of a TGF‐β response signature in pericytes was analyzed in CRC patient data sets. This signature was found to be a good predictor of CRC relapse. Moreover, in response to stimulation by CRC cells, pericytes expressed high levels of TGF‐β1, initiating an autocrine activation loop. Investigation of secreted mediators and underlying molecular mechanisms revealed that IGFBP‐3 is a key paracrine factor from activated pericytes affecting CRC cell migration and invasion. In summary, we demonstrate that the interplay between pericytes and CRC cells triggers a vicious cycle that stimulates pericyte cytokine secretion, in turn increasing CRC cell tumorigenic properties. Overall, we provide another example of how cancer cells can manipulate the tumor microenvironment.
Due to the emergence of the coronavirus disease (COVID 19), education systems in most countries have adapted and quickly changed their teaching strategy to online teaching. This paper presents the ...design and implementation of a novel Internet of Things (IoT) device, called MEIoT weather station, which incorporates an exogenous disturbance input, within the National Digital Observatory of Smart Environments (OBNiSE) architecture. The exogenous disturbance input involves a wind blower based on a DC brushless motor. It can be controlled, via Node-RED platform, manually through a sliding bar, or automatically via different predefined profile functions, modifying the wind speed and the wind vane sensor variables. An application to Engineering Education is presented with a case study that includes the instructional design for the least-squares regression topic for linear, quadratic, and cubic approximations within the Educational Mechatronics Conceptual Framework (EMCF) to show the relevance of this proposal. This work's main contribution to the state-of-the-art is to turn a weather monitoring system into a hybrid hands-on learning approach thanks to the integrated exogenous disturbance input.
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