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Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are disseminated cancer cells. The occurrence and circulation of CTCs seem key for metastasis, still the major cause of cancer-associated deaths. As such, CTCs are investigated as predictive biomarkers. However, due to their rarity and heterogeneous biology, CTCs’ practical use has not made it into the clinical routine. Clearly, methods for the effective isolation and reliable detection of CTCs are urgently needed. With the development of nanotechnology, various nanosystems for CTC isolation and enrichment and CTC-targeted cancer therapy have been designed. Here, we summarize the relationship between CTCs and tumor metastasis, and describe CTCs’ unique properties hampering their effective enrichment. We comment on nanotechnology-based systems for CTC isolation and recent achievements in microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip technologies. We discuss recent advances in CTC-targeted cancer therapy exploiting the unique properties of nanomaterials. We conclude by introducing developments in CTC-directed nanosystems and other advanced technologies currently in (pre)clinical research. CA extern

Abstract: A measurement is presented of differential cross sections for t-channel single top quark and antiquark production in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 mml:mspace> by the CMS experiment at the LHC. From a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 mml:mspacefb-1, events containing one muon or electron and two or three jets are analysed. The cross section is measured as a function of the top quark transverse momentum (pT), rapidity, and polarisation angle, the charged lepton pT and rapidity, and the pT of the W boson from the top quark decay. In addition, the charge ratio is measured differentially as a function of the top quark, charged lepton, and W boson kinematic observables. The results are found to be in agreement with standard model predictions using various next-to-leading-order event generators and sets of parton distribution functions. Additionally, the spin asymmetry, sensitive to the top quark polarisation, is determined from the differential distribution of the polarisation angle at parton level to be 0.440 +/- 0.070, in agreement with the standard model prediction.

The chemical composition of aerosols is of particular importance to assess their interactions with radiation, clouds and trace gases in the atmosphere and consequently their effects on air quality and the regional climate. In this study, we present the results of the first long-term dataset of the aerosol chemical composition at an observatory on the coast of Namibia, facing the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean. Aerosol samples in the mass fraction of particles smaller than 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10) were collected during 26 weeks between 2016 and 2017 at the ground-based Henties Bay Aerosol Observatory (HBAO; 22∘6′ S, 14∘30′ E; 30 m above mean sea level). The resulting 385 filter samples were analysed by X-ray fluorescence and ion chromatography for 24 inorganic elements and 15 water-soluble ions. Statistical analysis by positive matrix factorisation (PMF) identified five major components, sea salt (mass concentration: 74.7±1.9 %), mineral dust (15.7±1.4 %,), ammonium neutralised (6.1±0.7 %), fugitive dust (2.6±0.2 %) and industry (0.9±0.7 %). While the contribution of sea salt aerosol was persistent, as the dominant wind direction was south-westerly and westerly from the open ocean, the occurrence of mineral dust was episodic and coincided with high wind speeds from the south-south-east and the north-north-west, along the coastline. Concentrations of heavy metals measured at HBAO were higher than reported in the literature from measurements over the open ocean. V, Cd, Pb and Nd were attributed to fugitive dust emitted from bare surfaces or mining activities. As, Zn, Cu, Ni and Sr were attributed to the combustion of heavy oils in commercial ship traffic across the Cape of Good Hope sea route, power generation, smelting and other industrial activities in the greater region. Fluoride concentrations up to 25 µg m−3 were measured, as in heavily polluted areas in China. This is surprising and a worrisome result that has profound health implications and deserves further investigation. Although no clear signature for biomass burning could be determined, the PMF ammonium-neutralised component was described by a mixture of aerosols typically emitted by biomass burning, but also by other biogenic activities. Episodic contributions with moderate correlations between NO3-, nss-SO42- (higher than 2 µg m−3) and nss-K+ were observed, further indicative of the potential for an episodic source of biomass burning. Sea salt accounted for up to 57 % of the measured mass concentrations of SO42-, and the non-sea salt fraction was contributed mainly by the ammonium-neutralised component and small contributions from the mineral dust component. The marine biogenic contribution to the ammonium-neutralised component is attributed to efficient oxidation in the moist marine atmosphere of sulfur-containing gas phase emitted by marine phytoplankton in the fertile waters offshore in the Benguela Upwelling System. The data presented in this paper provide the first ever information on the temporal variability of aerosol concentrations in the Namibian marine boundary layer. This data also provide context for intensive observations in the area.

In a 1992 interview, Matthew Lipman affirmed that P4C was “a Deweyan way to go beyond Dewey” thereby explicitly acknowledging the Deweyan inspiration of his project but also asserting his own original contribution to the creation and development of a new educational approach. This achievement was the outcome of his effort to overcome what he later described as “the apparent inconsistency in Dewey’s formulation of the relationship between philosophy and education” (Lipman, 2008, p. 147). This inconsistency had been, indeed, the leading motivation for Lipman’s educational inquiry to the point that finding the solution to this problem would be his “life’s work” (p. ivi). Starting from this acknowledgment, the article highlights the Deweyan background of the P4C pedagogy, showing how Dewey’s ideas constitute a strong educational framework, which grounds and organizes both the curriculum and the device of the community of philosophical inquiry (COPI). However, it also identifies the original contributions offered by Lipman in the development of a new pedagogical framework, which successfully operationalizes a “practical” understanding of the educational role of philosophy. The focus is in particular on three elements within the P4C pedagogy, that represent Lipman’s original contribution to the development of the Deweyan legacy in accordance with a new pedagogical framework: the idea of teaching for thinking; the pattern of the process of inquiry in a P4C session; and the “reconstruction” of a new understanding of philosophy and its educational value, which constitutes the effective overcoming of the inconsistency that Lipman had found in Dewey’s educational thought.

Since the 1950's economists applied game theoretical concepts to a wide variety of economic problems. The Nash equilibrium concept has proven to be a powerful instrument in analyzing the outcome of economic processes. Since the late 1980's economists also show a growing interest in the application of evolutionary game theory. This paper discusses the main concepts of evolutionarygame theory and their applicability to economic issues. Whereas traditional game theory focusses on the static Nash equilibria as the possible outcomes of the game, evolutionary game theory teaches us to model explictly the behavior of individuals outside equilibrium. This may provide us with a better understanding of the dynamic forces within a society of interacting individuals.

The ratio of branching fractions R(D∗-)≡B(B0→D∗-τ+ντ)/B(B0→D∗-μ+νμ) is measured using a data sample of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb-1. For the first time, R(D∗-) is determined using the τ-lepton decays with three charged pions in the final state. The B0→D∗-τ+ντ yield is normalized to that of the B0→D∗-π+π-π+ mode, providing a measurement of B(B0→D∗-τ+ντ)/B(B0→D∗-π+π-π+)=1.97±0.13±0.18, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The value of B(B0→D∗-τ+ντ)=(1.42±0.094±0.129±0.054)% is obtained, where the third uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the branching fraction of the normalization mode. Using the well-measured branching fraction of the B0→D∗-μ+νμ decay, a value of R(D∗-)=0.291±0.019±0.026±0.013 is established, where the third uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the branching fractions of the normalization and B0→D∗-μ+νμ modes. This measurement is in agreement with the standard model prediction and with previous results.