Off-shell higher-spin fields in AdS4 and external currents

We construct an unfolded system for off-shell fields of arbitrary integer spin in 4d anti-de Sitter space. To this end we couple an on-shell system, encoding Fronsdal equations, to external Fronsdal currents for which we find an unfolded formulation. We present a reduction of the Fronsdal current system which brings it to the unfolded Fierz-Pauli system describing massive fields of arbitrary integer spin. Reformulating off-shell higher-spin system as the set of Schwinger–Dyson equations we compute propagators of higher-spin fields in the de Donder gauge directly from the unfolded equations. We discover operators that significantly simplify this computation, allowing a straightforward extraction of wave equations from an unfolded system.

Co-Delivery of mRNA and pDNA Using Thermally Stabilized Coacervate-Based Core-Shell Nanosystems

Co-delivery of different species of protein-encoding polynucleotides, e.g., messenger RNA (mRNA) and plasmid DNA (pDNA), using the same nanocarrier is an interesting topic that remains scarcely researched in the field of nucleic acid delivery. The current study hence aims to explore the possibility of the simultaneous delivery of mRNA (mCherry) and pDNA (pAmCyan) using a single nanocarrier. The latter is based on gelatin type A, a biocompatible, and biodegradable biopolymer of broad pharmaceutical application. A core-shell nanostructure is designed with a thermally stabilized gelatin–pDNA coacervate in its center. Thermal stabilization enhances the core’s colloidal stability and pDNA shielding effect against nucleases as confirmed by nanoparticle tracking analysis and gel electrophoresis, respectively. The stabilized, pDNA-loaded core is coated with the cationic peptide protamine sulfate to enable additional surface-loading with mRNA. The dual-loaded core-shell system transfects murine dendritic cell line DC2.4 with both fluorescent reporter mRNA and pDNA simultaneously, showing a transfection efficiency of 61.4 ± 21.6% for mRNA and 37.6 ± 19.45% for pDNA, 48 h post-treatment, whereas established commercial, experimental, and clinical transfection reagents fail. Hence, the unique co-transfectional capacity and the negligible cytotoxicity of the reported system may hold prospects for vaccination among other downstream applications.

Contact interactions between soil and a corrugated metal sheet in soil-shell structures under construction

During the construction of soil-shell objects, large deformations of the shell, which is made of corrugated metal sheet, occur. This enables geodetic techniques to be used when monitoring such objects. On this basis, displacements of selected points of the shell are determined, and it is then possible to obtain bending moments, as shown in this paper. Based on measurements using strain gauges in the circumferential band of the shell, internal forces in steel are estimated. The algorithm given in the paper enables the impact of soil on the shell in the examined objects to be analysed. The proposed method of analysing forces in the contact layer becomes especially useful when the static conditions of the model of a shell, which is considered as a bar submerged unilaterally in the soil medium, are met. The paper indicates the possibility of using both measuring techniques. Calculations include a smaller share of axial forces on the contact impact during the laying phase of the backfill. The paper provides examples of the analysis of built shells and record-breaking objects, with an assessment of the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Good mapping of contact forces, which were calculated on the basis of bending moments, was indicated even when there was not a dense grid of measuring points. An important advantage of the algorithm involves reduction of the circumferential band that is separated from the soil-shell system to the bar, which is an element resulting from the division of the structure into subsystems.