Nanoparticles are considered to be a powerful approach for the delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs. One of the main challenges is developing an appropriate method for preparation of drug ...nanoparticles. As a simple, rapid and scalable method, the flash nanoprecipitation (FNP) has been widely used to fabricate these drug nanoparticles, including pure drug nanocrystals, polymeric micelles, polymeric nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, and polyelectrolyte complexes. This review introduces the application of FNP to produce poorly water-soluble drug nanoparticles by controllable mixing devices, such as confined impinging jets mixer (CIJM), multi-inlet vortex mixer (MIVM) and many other microfluidic mixer systems. The formation mechanisms and processes of drug nanoparticles by FNP are described in detail. Then, the controlling of supersaturation level and mixing rate during the FNP process to tailor the ultrafine drug nanoparticles as well as the influence of drugs, solvent, anti-solvent, stabilizers and temperature on the fabrication are discussed. The ultrafine and uniform nanoparticles of poorly water-soluble drug nanoparticles prepared by CIJM, MIVM and microfluidic mixer systems are reviewed briefly. We believe that the application of microfluidic mixing devices in laboratory with continuous process control and good reproducibility will be benefit for industrial formulation scale-up.
In this study, a method for optimizing a weighted nuclear norm model is proposed. This model optimization solution employs a soft-thresholding operation on the singular values of an observation ...matrix. To determine the soft-thresholding, we focused on the unique properties of a class of special matrices, termed rank-order similar matrices (ROSMs). The threshold determination problem was solved during training by exploiting these properties. In addition, we applied this optimization method to image denoising. In this application, the denoising does not work on the whole image at once, but rather relies on a set of ROSMs. Each matrix in the set is an ROSM, built by stacking non-local similar patch vectors. This optimization method is applied to every ROSM in the set to obtain estimates of the underlying patches, which are aggregated to reconstruct a restored image. Simulation results of 154 noisy images indicate that the proposed optimization method achieves the same peak signal to noise ratio/mean structural similarity index measure results as those achieved by several other state-of-the-art methods such as block-matching and 3D filtering and weighted nuclear norm minimization. It also outperforms many state-of-the-art methods such as nuclear norm minimization, in terms of the visual quality of images.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is playing an important role in providing access to affordable, clean and green energy worldwide through the use of smart devices. The current electric power networks ...will be more reliable, secure, flexible and durable by implementing IoT in power systems. This paper presents a brief discussion about IoT contributions in the development of power systems from a generation, transmission, distribution and consumption point of view. 5G cellular networks have a great potential for the development of IoT technology. Additionally, 5G cellular networks can be instrumental in supporting the greater communication needs of IoT. This review provides a comprehensive analysis about the role of 5G cellular networks in the growth of IoT technology and power systems. Large amounts of data will be generated due to the incorporation of renewable energy, deployment of the smart grid and the improvements to the electricity market. In this way, in order to realize the connection between things and people, things and things and people and people in power systems, it is essential to apply IoT in power systems. In this case, 5G is providing numerous advantages to Power IoT (PIoT) by offering greater opportunities in progress and improvements; however, there are also numerous challenges with the deployment of 5G in PIoT. Finally, this review article provides an overview of the role, implications and challenges of 5G in PIoT.
Stimulated by the recent USEPA＇s green stormwater infrastructure （GSI） guidance and policies, GS1 systems have been widely implemented in the municipal area to control the combined sewer overflows ...（CSOs）, also known as low impact development （LID） approaches. To quantitatively evaluate the performance of GSI systems on CSO and urban flooding control, USEPA-Stormwater Management Model （SWMM） model was adopted in this study to simulate the behaviors of GSI systems in a well- developed urban drainage area, PSW45, under different circumstances. The impact of different percentages of stormwater runoff transported from impervious surfaces to the GSI systems on CSO and urban flooding control has also been investigated. Results show that with current buildup, GSI systems in PSW45 have the best performance for low intensity and short duration events on both volume and peak flow reductions, and have the worst pertbrmance tor high intensity and long durataon events. Since the low intensity and short duration events are dominant from a long-term perspective, utilizing GSI systems is considered as an effective measure of CSO control to meet the long-term controlstrategy for PSW45 watershed. However, GSI systems are not suitable for the flooding control purpose in PSW45 due to the high occurrence possibility of urban flooding during or after high intensity events where GSI systems have relatively poor performance no matter for a short or long duration event,
The development of a pragmatic biosensor for diagnosing acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is of paramount significance. However, the detection of cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) presents formidable ...challenges owing to the intricate composition and scant concentration of cTnI in clinical samples. Therefore, we propose an innovative approach employing an aptamer biosensor predicated on MXene/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to discern cTnI. By integrating the MXene/MWCNTs nanomaterial, our aptasensor manifests remarkable amplification effects, thereby enabling an extensive detection range spanning from 10 to 10
6
pg/mL, while attaining an unparalleled detection sensitivity with an exceptionally low limit of 6.21 pg/mL. Furthermore, our aptasensor exhibits favourable selectivity, reproducibility, and stability. Moreover, our aptasensor showcases a robust clinical correlation equation of
y
= 1.202
x
+ 0.0147, accompanied by an
R
2
value of 0.9797. A notable
p
-value discrepancy is observed between the AMI and healthy control groups. Remarkably, the area under the curve (AUC) achieved amounts to 0.981, with a sensitivity of 0.938 and specificity of 0.923. These outstanding attributes, coupled with its exceptional clinical performance, position our aptasensor as the optimal choice for the practical monitoring of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) disease.
The prognostic capacities of nutritional status and inflammation in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have attracted increasing interest. However, the combined usefulness of the ...Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in predicting adverse outcomes has not been investigated. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between the CONUT score and the NLR in patients with AMI and assessing the potential of these factors as prognostic markers.In this retrospective study, we reviewed the medical records of consecutive patients aged 65 years or older who were diagnosed with AMI and who underwent primary coronary intervention. We assessed the nutritional and inflammatory statuses using the CONUT score and the NLR, respectively. The NLR and CONUT score in the major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) (+) patients were significantly higher than those in the MACE (−) patients. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the NLR and CONUT score were 0.71 and 0.77, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with a high NLR (≥6.07) and CONUT score (≥3.5) had the worst prognoses. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses suggested that the CONUT score was an independent predictor.The CONUT score was proven to be a significant prognostic factor of clinical outcomes in patients with AMI. However, further research in this area is needed to more fully understand the relationship among nutritional status, inflammation, and cardiovascular diseases, which might help reduce MACEs in patients with AMI.
Electrical sustainability is a foundation for urbanization and industrialization. Over the past three decades, Pakistan has been convulsed by electricity shortages that at times have reached over ...10–15% of total demand; Therefore, we initiated an effort to explore and understand recurrent energy crises using ANN, Stochastic Time Series (STS), and regression forecasting techniques. In order to determine electricity-influencing factors, the assumptions were analyzed using multiple (weather and time, seasonal and economic factors) factors, for the short, medium, and long terms respectively finding that Pakistan's power system will likely demand 192.64 TWh, 346.31 TWh, 600.08 TWh, and 2299.59 TWh of electricity by 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2050 respectively. Additionally, we explored economic indicators to develop a comprehensive electricity generation plan using the Long-Term Alternative Energy Modeling Tool (LEAP) under diverse (Current Government Policy (CGP), Renewable Energy Generation (REG) and Green, Clean, and Sustainable (GCS)) electricity generation scenarios. Among these scenarios, we conclude that the GCS scenario will enable Pakistan's power system to generate 50% of its electricity using sustainable, clean, and green energy technologies, thus ensuring power and economic sustainability in Pakistan.
•Mitigate PPS electricity crises to ensure economic and power sector sustainability.•MLR, STS and ANN were used to analyze weather, seasonal, and economic factors in forecast. .•STS process is employed in short- and medium-term electricity demand forecast.•The long-term electricity demand forecast is involved in sectors such as GDP, population, ECPC, etc.•Clean and green electricity generation technologies will contribute nearly 50% by 2050 in Pakistan. .
Psoriasis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, where dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in its pathogenesis. In our previous work, we have demonstrated that topical delivery of ...curcumin-loaded poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) could treat Imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like mice. The objective of this study is to further elucidate biofate of PLGA NPs after intradermal delivery including DCs uptake, and their further trafficking in psoriasis-like mice model by using fluorescence probes. Two-sized DiO/DiI-loaded PLGA NPs of 50 ± 4.9 nm (S-NPs) and 226 ± 7.8 nm (L-NPs) were fabricated, respectively. In vitro cellular uptake results showed that NPs could be internalized into DCs with intact form, and DCs preferred to uptake larger NPs. Consistently, in vivo study showed that L-NPs were more captured by DCs and NPs were firstly transported to skin-draining lymph nodes (SDLN), then to spleens after 8 h injection, whereas more S-NPs were transported into SDLN and spleens. Moreover, FRET imaging showed more structurally intact L-NPs distributed in skins and lymph nodes. In conclusion, particle size can affect the uptake and trafficking of NPs by DCs in skin and lymphoid system, which needs to be considered in NPs tailing to treat inflammatory skin disease like psoriasis.
Schematic illustration of uptake and trafficking of two particle-sized PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) in IMQ-induced psoriasis-like mice. Compared to L-NPs, more S-NPs were transported to skin-draining lymph nodes (SDLN) and spleens after intradermal injection. And dendritic cells preferred to uptake L-NPs both in vitro and in vivo. Display omitted
Assessments of new pedagogical practices usually rely on instructor oriented surveys and questionnaires to measure student perceptions of teaching methods; however, fixed response categories in ...structured questionnaires might bias results. This paper demonstrates a mixed methods approach using open and multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) for a student-oriented exploratory analysis and visualization of perceptions of teaching methods. A scientific writing and research methodology course is a required course for first year PhD students in software engineering and geo-infomatics at Wuhan University, China. PhD students attending this course came from countries whose first language is not English, and from a variety of software engineering and geo-infomatics domains. The problem therefore, was to elicit un-mediated perceptions of course assignment, reduce and generalize the resulting data for interpretation. A graphical visualization of themes emerging in student responses to two open-ended questions about an assignment provided a basis for inferring student interests and needs. In this course, an assessment of a task oriented problem-solving experience was implemented through a mixed method strategy incorporating qualitative methods, exploratory data mining techniques, and cartographic visualization. The visualization shows that participating students generally perceived the exercise as challenging, helped them understand journal requirements, and develop ways to survey texts to extract information. The results also suggested that this consensus breaks down in terms of each participant’s own goals, domain, and research interests. Unstructured questions, open coding, and MDS visualization might also prove to be helpful in the process of devising and assessing other student centered pedagogies.
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