Current Materials Science - Online First

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers affecting the female population worldwide. It is a highly heterogeneous disease mainly classified into three subtypes based on the status of the molecular markers for the hormones (estrogen and progesterone) and epidermal growth factor (HER-2) receptors. Hormone receptor positive breast cancer shows a good prognosis, while tumors that do not show any of these receptors (triple negative breast cancer) are highly invasive. Despite all the conventional therapies for the treatment of breast cancer, it remains the leading cause of cancer deaths of women worldwide.

Chemical grafting of nanoparticles (NPs) with polymers and surface modifiers as a targeted ligand can become an alternative for active targeting. Hence, these polymeric NPs can control drug release with pH-responsive stimuli, and the high selectivity of these NPs allows them to accumulate more inside the cancer cells that overexpress these receptors, leaving normal cells unaffected.

Formulation incorporates various polymers, solvents drug, and stabilizing agents in the aqueous phase. Various techniques discussed in this review are employed for synthesis, resulting in a dry NP formulation.

In this context, we shall discuss the development of NPs against distinct forms of cancer malignancies. From here, we know that polymeric NPs can produce a system with good characteristics, effectiveness, and active targeting of different cancer cells.

This system is a striking candidate for the targeted drug delivery for cancer therapy, anticipating that NPs could be further developed for various breast cancer therapy applications.

Traditional SBS-modified asphalt consumes a large amount of energy during the production process. WMA-DSBS-modified asphalt can reduce the mixing temperature, which is crucial for reducing energy consumption.

The aim of this study was to reduce the mixing temperature as much as possible without compromising the performance of the asphalt mixture while saving energy consumption and protecting the environment. By evaluating the warm mixing effects of different warm mixing types applied to direct-to-plant SBS (DSBS) modified asphalt, as well as the changes in road performance after warm mixing DSBS modified asphalt mixture, reference opinions are provided for the dosage of warm mixing agents in engineering problems.

A comparison is made between DSBS-modified asphalt and warm mix DSBS-modified asphalt in terms of technical performance parameters. On the basis of the Brinell rotational viscosity test and the variable temperature compaction test, an index system for evaluating the modification effect of warm-mixed asphalt was developed.

The research results indicated that three different warm mixing agents have an enhancing effect on the temperature sensitivity, high-temperature performance, and low-temperature plastic deformation ability of asphalt in some temperature ranges. The viscosity of DSBS modified asphalt decreases with the increase of temperature before and after the addition of the three warm mix agents. During the temperature increase process, the viscosity reduction index K value changes from negative to positive; The dosage of warm mixing agent is negatively correlated with the porosity of WMA-DSBS modified asphalt mixture, and as the temperature increases, the porosity of the mixture will decrease. The performance value T shows an upward trend, improving its road performance.

A reasonable dosage of warm mix agent can significantly reduce the mixing temperature, therefore WMA-DSBS modified asphalt plays an important role in reducing energy consumption.

Sheep wool-reinforced composites offer a sustainable alternative with diverse applications. This study explores their properties, focusing on water absorption behavior and contact angle measurements.

To investigate the properties of sheep wool-reinforced composites and evaluate their suitability for moisture-sensitive environments, with potential for patent protection.

Wool fibres, known for their hydrophilic nature, were modified to be hydrophobic and incorporated into epoxy resin matrices. Different weaving patterns were utilized to create fibre mats reinforcing epoxy composites.

2D plane weaving reinforcements exhibited superior in-plane properties compared to other reinforcements. Utilizing environmental sources like sheep wool in epoxy composites offers advantages such as low density, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability, potentially patentable innovations.

The study demonstrates the developed composites' excellent resistance to water absorption, making them viable for moisture-sensitive applications. Contact angle measurements suggest strong interfacial adhesion between wool fibres and the epoxy matrix, highlighting patent-worthy advancements. These findings underscore the potential of sheep wool-reinforced composites in sustainable and moisture-resistant applications across various industries, including automotive, construction, and consumer goods, emphasizing the importance of patent protection for innovative technologies.

Psychosis is a debilitating mental disorder characterized by a profound disconnection from reality, manifesting in symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking. The pathophysiology of psychosis is multifaceted, involving an interplay of neurobiological, genetic, and environmental factors. Neurobiologically, dysregulation of neurotransmitter systems particularly dopaminergic, serotonergic, and glutamatergic pathways-plays a central role, with excessive dopaminergic activity linked to positive symptoms and glutamatergic dysfunction implicated in cognitive impairments. Genetic predisposition, evidenced by significant heritability and associations with specific genetic variants, intersects with environmental factors such as stress, trauma, and substance use to influence the onset and progression of psychosis. Cognitive disruptions, including deficits in attention, memory, and executive function, exacerbate the disorder’s impact. This phenomenon has led to short-term as well as long-term psychosocial and mental health implications for all.

To determine the antipsychotic activity of pharmaceuticals, numerous antipsychotic screening models are available. Determining the optimal animal model for measuring antipsychotic activity is the primary goal of this study.

A search for literature was carried out using several keywords, including “Antipsychotic,” “In-vivo models,” “In-vitro models,” and “Behavior models,” on the databases Science Direct and PubMed. For the purpose of obtaining the most appropriate articles to fulfil the goal of this review article, the search was customized by using the necessary filters.

Research and review articles based on neuroleptic screening models are available to determine the antipsychotic activity of novel pharmacological compounds.

Following our research, we identified several helpful models for evaluating the antipsychotic activity of pharmaceuticals and proposed that combining in-vitro and in-vivo techniques with behavioral methodologies might yield the most appropriate results for our field of study.

Thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), as a rapidly developing green engineering material, its microstructure determines its comprehensive mechanical properties. However, there are few reports on the influence of the distribution and shape of rubber particles on the overall properties of TPV.

In order to overcome the shortcoming that traditional experimental methods cannot obtain the internal stress change process of materials, we have established a series of representative volume element (RVE) models with different particle distributions and shapes through the micromechanical finite element method.

The uniaxial tension and tension recovery of the models have been simulated. The results show that with the change of particle distribution and shape, the minimum elastic modulus of TPV based on ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) / polypropylene (PP) could reach 31.4 MPa and the highest resilience could reach 87.4%.

In addition, it can be seen from the stress distribution nephogram that the change in particle distribution and shape would obviously change the position of the stress concentration area in TPV.