AI-driven design of customized 3D-printed multi-layer capsules with controlled drug release profiles for personalized medicine.

Personalized medicine aims to effectively and efficiently provide customized drugs that cater to diverse populations, which is a significant yet challenging task. Recently, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has transformed the medical field, and was expected to facilitate the efficient design and development of customized drugs through the synergy of their respective advantages. In this study, we present an innovative method that combines AI and 3D printing technology to design and fabricate customized capsules. Initially, we discretized and encoded the geometry of the capsule, simulated the dissolution process of the capsule with classical drug dissolution model, and verified it by experiments. Subsequently, we employed a genetic algorithm to explore the capsule geometric structure space and generate a complex multi-layer structure that satisfies the target drug release profiles, including stepwise release and zero-order release. Finally, Two model drugs, isoniazid and acetaminophen, were selected and fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology was utilized to precisely print the AI-designed capsule. The reliability of the method was verified by comparing the in vitro release curve of the printed capsules with the target curve, and the f2 value was more than 50. Notably, accurate and autonomous design of the drug release curve was achieved mainly by changing the geometry of the capsule. This approach is expected to be applied to different drug needs and facilitate the development of customized oral dosage forms.

Real-time in situ fluorescence imaging of telomerase and miR378 in living cells using a two-color DNA tetrahedron nanoprobe combined with molecular beacons.

A biosensor that can detect biomarkers accurately, quickly, and conveniently is important for the diagnosis of various diseases. However, most of the existing detection methods require sample extraction, which makes it difficult to detect and image intracellular molecules or to detect two different types of biomarkers simultaneously. In this study, we constructed a DNA tetrahedral nanoprobe (DTP) capable of detecting both miR378 and telomerase, both of which are tumor markers. In the presence of miR378, FAM on the molecular beacon of DTP fluoresced via Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), and the limit of detection was 476 pM with excellent specificity. When present, telomerase binds to telomerase substrate (TS) primers, extending the repeat sequence (TTAGGG)n to trigger Cy3 fluorescence. A strong linear relationship existed between the fluorescence intensity of Cy3 and the number of HeLa cells. The limit of detection was 800 HeLa cells. In addition, DTP was less cytotoxic to and biocompatible with HeLa cells and fluoresced only in cancer cells, which can help to sensitively distinguish between normal and cancer cells. In conclusion, DTP can simultaneously detect the content of miR378 and activity of telomerase and realize intracellular imaging, which has broad application prospects in early cancer diagnosis and treatment.

A radical photochromic metal-organic framework for boosting NIR-II photothermal conversion and therapy.

This work demonstrates for the first time that a photochromic metal organic framework (pMOF) can be employed as a promising class of NIR-II photothermal material based on the photoinduced donor-acceptor intermolecular charge transfer process. After further surface-modification, such UV-activated pMOF-a nanoparticles allow the strong inhibition of 4T1 cancer cells under 1064 nm laser irradiation.

Establishment of primary health information in the COVID-19 outbreak: A cross-sectional study of population awareness of self-testing.

The global pandemic of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 is a severe threat to human health. This paper aims to investigate the status of mass health self-examination awareness and its influencing factors during the COVID-19 epidemic and establish complete health information to intervene in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic. The study used a simple random sampling method to survey permanent residents (9761 people) aged 15-70 years in a region of Jiangsu Province, China. The survey collected data using a questionnaire with acceptable reliability and validity. The data were entered into SPSS 26, and the data were analyzed using the chi-square test, ANOVA, and logistic regression. The differences in the status of mass health self-examination during COVID-19 were statistically significant (P < 0.05) in terms of the literacy level of the grassroots population, ease of access to medical care, primary medical and health conditions, the situation of medical examination programs, and the construction of primary health information technology. The establishment of comprehensive and systematic primary health information can effectively assist in raising people's awareness of health self-examination and promoting health behaviors, which is essential for enhancing COVID-19 prevention and intervention.

Titanium dioxide hierarchical microspheres decorated with atomically dispersed platinum as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution.

Micromorphology engineering and co-catalyst construction are considered as feasible approaches to boost the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance. Herein, we combined two approaches to construct a new photocatalyst with titanium dioxide (TiO2) hierarchical microspheres (HMSs) as support and atomically dispersed platinum (Pt) species as co-catalyst (donated as TiO2 HMSs@xPt). The as-prepared TiO2 HMSs@xPt photocatalysts exhibited combined advantages including adequate light harvesting, improved charge-carrier separation and transport, abundant active sites, and reduced Pt consumption, which are favorable for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Specifically, the optimized TiO2 HMSs@0.36Pt exhibits a remarkable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 11.7 mmol g-1h-1 under simulated AM 1.5G solar light irradiation, which is 50 times and 4.8 times higher than those of pure TiO2 HMSs and traditional anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) with the same Pt loading, respectively.

Immobilization of Cr(VI) from solution by a graphene oxide-nZVI/biochar composite.

A graphene oxide (GO)-nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI)-biochar composite (GO-nZVI/BC) was synthesized prior to characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy analyses. Batch experiments were performed at different initial Cr(VI) concentrations, contact times, and solution pH values. The effects of coexisting anions and chelating agents were also examined. The results indicated that the removal of Cr(VI) was highly pH-dependent and reached a maximum capacity at pH of 2. The equilibrium data were fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model, and the kinetic data fitted better with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The increasing concentrations of EDTA in aqueous solutions were favorable to the removal of Cr(VI), while NO 3 - significantly inhibited adsorption. Furthermore, the GO-nZVI/BC maintained ~84.5% of its original capacity after aging in the air for 25 weeks. Based on the removal efficiency, GO-nZVI/BC can be considered to be an effective material for water treatment applications. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Biochar-supported graphene oxide-coated nanoscale zerovalent iron (GO-nZVI/BC) was synthesized and used to treat Cr(VI) from solution. Cr(VI) removal was pH-dependent and obeyed the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order model. GO-nZVI/BC maintained ~84.5% of its original capacity after aging for 25 w in the air.

Biochars with excellent Pb(II) adsorption property produced from fresh and dehydrated banana peels via hydrothermal carbonization.

Fresh and dehydrated banana peels were used as biomass feedstock to produce highly effective sorbent biochars through a facile one-step hydrothermal carbonization approach with 20%vol phosphoric acid as the reaction medium. The elemental ratio of oxygen content of the two as-prepared biochars were about 20%, and the FT-IR analysis confirmed the existence of abundant surface functional groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl which greatly enhanced the adsorption performance. The sorbents showed excellent lead clarification capability of 359mg·g-1 and 193mg·g-1 for dehydrated and fresh banana peels based biochars, respectively. The change of the CO/OCO and the appearance of PbO/PbOC on the surface after adsorption confirmed that the ion exchange might be the dominant mechanism. The dehydration and pulverization pre-treatment and the addition of phosphoric acid can benefit the formation of those functional groups and hydrothermal carbonization can be a promising method to transfer biomass like fruit peels into biochars with excellent adsorption performance.

Oxide nanowires for solar cell applications.

Oxide nanowire arrays were studied for their applications to solar cells. It was demonstrated that the nanowires could provide direct pathways for electron transport in dye-sensitized solar cells and therefore, while forming photoelectrode films, they offered better suppression of charge recombination than nanoparticles. However, the photoelectron films consisting of nanowires suffered a disadvantage in giving large surface area for dye adsorption. Such a shortcoming of nanowires had been exemplified in this paper illustrating that it could be well compensated by incorporating with nanoparticles to form a nanoparticle-nanowire array hybrid photoelectrode film. The oxide nanowires were also demonstrated to be able to enhance the performance of inverted structure polymer solar cells as a cathode buffer layer by establishing a large interface with the polymers so as to facilitate the transport of photogenerated electrons from the polymer to the electron collecting electrode. Such an enhancement effect could be further boosted while the nanowires were replaced with nanotubes; the latter may build up larger interface with the polymers than the former and therefore facilitates the electron transport more efficiently.