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Learning in an organization takes place at the individual, group and organizational levels. There is an upsurge of interest among researchers in issues of collective learning. Spirituality at work, also a multilevel phenomenon, manifests at both the individual and the collective levels. Spirituality at work is about search for meaning or higher purpose, connectedness and transcendence. Spirituality is recognized as a major factor in learning at the individual level. However, the expression and impact of spirituality need to be examined at the collective level. The present research addresses this conceptual and empirical gap using the concept of spiritual climate and examines its impact on learning in teams. This relationship is proposed based on theories of learning in teams, flow, social learning and levels of learning. Various aspects of spiritual climate are found to have positive association with learning in teams in the present study. These findings have theoretical and practical implications on organization development, corporate social responsibility and learning at workplace.

Brain metastatic breast cancer is challenging to treat due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and a lack of ability to target precisely. Most drugs fail to cross the BBB limiting their effectiveness. To combat this problem, a brain metastatic breast cancer cell (MDA-MB-831) membrane-coated polymeric nanoparticle (CCNP) was synthesized. The small size (∼70 nm) and anionic surface charge (−20 mV) achieved during formulation allowed for high penetration and retention in the brain when compared to the PEGylated polymeric nanoparticle alone (mPEG-PLGA or NP). Doxorubicin-loaded CCNP showed high preferential cytotoxicity in vitro. Live (4-120 h) and ex vivo near-infrared imaging in nude mice showed extended circulation and retention of CCNP compared to uncoated nanoparticles. These data indicate that drug/dye-loaded CCNPs demonstrate excellent potential for cancer theranostics of brain metastatic breast tumors.

In the present study, we have fabricated biocompatible and biodegradable monodisperse IR 820 encapsulated polycaprolactone (PCL) glycol chitosan (GC): Poloxamer blend nanoparticles (PP-IR NPs) for imaging and effective photo-immunotherapy. IR 820 has been used as an imaging and photothermal agent whereas glycol chitosan (GC) as an immunostimulatory agent. The combination of IR 820, poloxamer, and GC can be used effectively for photoimmunotherapy for cancer, drug-resistant and TNF-α resistant estrogen positive breast cancer. PP-IR NPs are stable in aqueous solution. The uniform size of 100-220 nm with a high zeta value of +38 ± 2 mV led them to accumulate in cancer cells. Laser treatment did not affect the morphology of PP-IR NPs as observed under the transmission electron microscope (TEM). In vitro cytotoxicity studies on MCF-7 cells showed enhanced toxicity upon laser treatment. Further, we validated the cell death by reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Our studies thus showed that PP-IR NPs are effective in suppressing metastatic cancer as the combinational therapy leads to the formation of apoptotic bodies in MCF-7 cells.

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Photothermal therapy has gained worldwide attention for its less painful, non invasive/minimally invasive, effective thermal ablation based therapy for cancer. It has been found to be effective in the treatment of drug-resistant cancer. Currently available photothermal systems have several limitations such as a high cost, incompatibility and clearance from the physiological system. To address these issues, we have prepared multifunctional biocompatible and biodegradable cost effective IR 820 dye encapsulated glycol chitosan coated polycaprolactone composite nanoparticles (PCLGC-IR) with improved performance.Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been used as a cheap biodegradable polymer, glycol chitosan (GC) as an immunoadjuvant for immune response generation followed by the cost-effective IR 820 dye for photothermal therapy. IR 820 encapsulation increases the stability of the PCLGC-IR nanoparticles as confirmed by DSC and XRD, while the glycol chitosan enhances the uptake of the composite nanoparticles by MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The PCLGC-IR composite nanoparticles with a size of around 150-200 nm can be irradiated with a dual laser at 750 nm and 808 nm in photothermal therapy (PTT). In addition to PTT, the PCLGC-IR composite nanoparticles can also be used for sustainable controlled drug release as they retain their structural integrity even after laser treatment.Further we analyzed the degraded product using liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LCMS) upon photo irradiation. A cytotoxicity study of the PCLGC-IR composite nanoparticles was carried out on NIH3T3 cells. Fluorescence microscope image analysis of MDA-MB-231 cells showed hyperthermic cell death via apoptosis and necrosis due to an enhanced uptake of the PCLGC-IR composite nanoparticles. Our results showed that this nanoformulation can be used for the effective treatment of multiple drug resistant cancer.

Fluorescent, pH dependent and water soluble copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) were synthesized using lysozyme (lyz) as the stabilizing agent to give lysozyme coated copper nanoclusters, viz., lyz–CuNCs. The lyz–CuNCs were 3-5...