Northeastern University (NU or NEU) is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North Carolina; Seattle, Washington; San Jose, California; Oakland, California; Portland, Maine; and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. In 2019, Northeastern purchased the New College of the Humanities in London, England. The university's enrollment is approximately 19,000 undergraduate students and 8,600 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Northeastern faculty and alumni include Nobel Prize laureates, Rhodes, Truman, and Marshall scholars. Undergraduate admission to the university is categorized as "most selective."Northeastern features a cooperative education program, more commonly known as "co-op," that integrates classroom study with professional experience and includes over 3,100 partners across all seven continents. The program has been a key part of Northeastern's curriculum of experiential learning for more than a hundred years and is one of the largest co-op/internship programs in the world. While not required for all academic disciplines, participation is nearly universal among undergraduate students. Northeastern also has a comprehensive study abroad program that spans more than 170 universities and colleges.Northeastern is a large, highly residential university. Most undergraduate students choose to live on campus but third-years and above have the option to live off campus. Seventy-eight percent of Northeastern students receive some form of financial aid. In the 2020–21 school year, the university has committed $355 million in grant and scholarship assistance. In 2019, Northeastern's six-year graduation rate was 89 percent.The university's sports teams, the Northeastern Huskies, compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in 18 varsity sports. The men's and women's hockey teams compete in Hockey East, while the men's and women's rowing teams compete in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC) and Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges (EAWRC), respectively. Men's Track and Field has won the CAA back to back years in 2015 and 2016. In 2013, men's basketball won its first CAA regular season championship, men's soccer won the CAA title for the first time, and women's ice hockey won a record 16th Beanpot championship. The Northeastern men's hockey team won the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Beanpot, defeating Boston University, Boston College, and Harvard.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are naturally secreted, non-nuclear lipid nanostructures by biological sources with intrinsic features such as biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and the ability to bypass biological barriers. Despite the growing interest in EV research, their biological potential as a versatile drug delivery vehicle has yet to be widely translated for clinical use. Fewer than 3 % of clinical trials involving these cell-free vesicles have utilized them for drug delivery applications. This review elucidates the reasons behind the translational gap through a comprehensive analysis of pharmacokinetic and tissue transport challenges faced by EVs across various tissue barriers, including the cartilage, blood-brain interface, ocular, gastrointestinal, and skin tissues, and summarizes their endogenous roles within these tissue microenvironments. The review also delves into key engineering design principles, presenting a portfolio of both tissue-specific and tissue-independent targeting strategies to overcome tissue barriers and enhance the precise delivery of engineered EVs. A comprehensive comparison of key factors - such as biodistribution, cellular uptake, intracellular fate, and safety profile - between EVs and benchmark synthetic platforms is also provided to guide the selection of optimal carrier designs for diverse tissue targets and further highlights the steps needed to bridge translational gaps of engineered EVs from a clinical perspective. In conclusion, the review underscores the significance of engineered EVs as a promising next-generation nanocarrier for precision nanomedicine, offering an alternative to conventional synthetic platforms.
The urban thermal environment is becoming increasingly severe. In this study, we integrated eXtreme Gradient Boosting with the SHapley Additive exPlanations method to investigate the effects of various urban factor indexes (UFIs) on land surface temperature (LST) at both block and grid scales. Additionally, we examined the differences in LST and its driving factors across local climate zones (LCZs) at the grid scale. The results show that LST is higher in central areas than in peripheral ones during summer and autumn, but this pattern is reversed in spring and winter. LST varies significantly across LCZs, with the normalized difference built-up index, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and Shannon's diversity index (SHDI) identified as the main contributors. The sky view factor inhibits LST at the block scale but promotes it at the grid scale. The impacts of UFIs follow the seasonal trend: summer > spring > autumn > winter. LST responses to UFIs exhibit similar trends across scales, showing specific warming or cooling thresholds-for example, a cooling effect when SHDI exceeds 0.65, and a warming effect when building density exceeds 20 % (summer and autumn) or 40 % (spring and winter). Significant cooling occurs only when NDVI exceeds 0.4; however, NDVI generally remains low in all seasons except summer. High-contribution UFIs typically exhibit the strongest interaction effects with artificial factor indicators.
The passivation, oxidation stratified architecture, and mechanical behavior of Al-doped fcc + hcp dual-phase cobalt-based multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) Co(47.5-x)Cr30Fe7.5Ni7.5Mn7.5Alx (x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 at.%) at elevated temperatures were studied comprehensively in the present work. The evolution of the surface morphology, specific oxide growth processes, and elemental distributions were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The analyses show that the oxidation kinetics of the Al-doped MPEAs follow the parabolic or near-parabolic law at 600, 800, and 1000 degrees C. The alloys generally undergo different oxidation stages: for instance, (1) surface reaction between O2- ions and metal ions, (2) surface thickening via oxygen chemisorption, (3) oxide flaking induced by thermal expansion coefficients mismatches. However, no spallation was observed for the present alloys during the 100 h oxidation experiment. The experimental results indicate that the oxide layers have a triple-layer stratified architecture: the outer layer Mn3O4, the intermediate layer (Mn,Cr)xO4, and the inner layer Cr2O3 + Al2O3. CanA2 (Co47Cr30Fe7.5Ni7.5Mn7.5Al0.5) exhibits optimal high-temperature oxidation resistance and demonstrates high strength-ductility at room and elevated temperatures in different processes. The pre-formed Al2O3/Cr2O3 in passive film at room temperature serves as a critical diffusion barrier at high temperature, reducing oxidation rate by 63 % at 1000 degrees C. This work proposes a surface engineering strategy for designing promising materials with a barrier layer for aerospace engines.
The role of MXene functional group modification in modulating the Schottky barrier height (SBH) of TMD-MXene heterostructures is a key research focus for surpassing silicon-based device size limits. However, the effects of different functional groups on TMD-MXene heterostructures remain incompletely understood. This study constructs a WSe2-Ti3C2Tx vdW-HS and focuses on the modulation mechanism of interfacial charge transfer and SBH by substituting functional groups (-Cl, -Br, -I, -S, -Se, -Te, -P, -As, -Si) from Group IV-VII. Results indicate that functional group substitution enables tuning of n-type and p-type SBHs within ranges of 0-1.63 eV and 0-1.41 eV, respectively, achieving n-type and p-type Ohmic contacts when functional groups are-I and-S/-Se/-P/-As/ -Si, respectively. Tunneling analysis shows WSe2-Ti3C2I2 has optimal performance (barrier height 2.91 eV, width 1.487 & Aring;). These phenomena occurs because functional group modifications alter the Ti3C2Tx work function (3.165-6.066 eV). The work function difference between Ti3C2Tx and WSe2 modulates interfacial charge redistribution, thereby altering the electrostatic potential of WSe2 and causing band bending. This ultimately achieves SBH modulation. Thus, we establish a complete mechanistic chain: work function variation-charge redistribution-band bending-SBH modulation. These findings establish a theoretical foundation for the rational design of functional groups to engineer heterostructures with targeted performance metrics.
Strenuous physical exercise causes a massive elevation in the concentration of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), which correlates with effort intensity and duration. The cellular sources and physiological drivers of this phenomenon are unknown. Using methylation patterns of cfDNA and associated histones, we show that cfDNA in exercise originates mostly in extramedullary polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Strikingly, cardiomyocyte cfDNA concentration increases after a marathon, consistent with elevated troponin levels and indicating low-level, delayed cardiac cell death. Physical impact, low oxygen levels, and elevated core body temperature contribute to neutrophil cfDNA release, while muscle contraction, increased heart rate, β-adrenergic signaling, or steroid treatment fail to cause elevation of cfDNA. Physical training reduces neutrophil cfDNA release after a standard exercise, revealing an inverse relationship between exercise-induced cfDNA release and training level. We speculate that the release of cfDNA from neutrophils in exercise relates to the activation of neutrophils in the context of exercise-induced muscle damage.
