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This study employs a simple liquid-phase deposition method to grow TiO2 onto nanoscale silver wires, with a diameter of 90 nm and a length of 15∼20 μm. This core-shell structure possesses a high specific surface area, which enhances the gas reaction surface. Measurements can be conducted at room temperature. The main mechanism relies on the conductive properties of silver to transmit electrons, while Schottky barriers between Ag and TiO2 further accelerate oxygen ionization and surface redox reactions. This structure may contribute to enhancing the response value, response time, and recovery time of gas sensors.

Background: Endoscopy is important for the diagnosis and treatment of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (AUGIB), especially acute variceal bleeding (AVB), in liver cirrhosis. However, the optimal timing of endoscopy remains controversial, primarily because the currently available evidence is of poor quality, and the definition of early endoscopy is also very heterogeneous among studies. Herein, a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) is performed to explore the impact of the timing of endoscopy on the outcomes of cirrhotic patients with AVB. Methods: A total of 368 cirrhotic patients presenting with AUGIB who are highly suspected to be from AVB will be enrolled. They will be stratified according to the severity of liver function and clinical presentation at admission and then randomly assigned at a 1:1 ratio into early (within 12 h after admission) and delayed (within 12–24 h after admission) endoscopy groups within each stratum. The primary outcomes include the rates of 5-day failure to control bleeding after admission and 6-week rebleeding. The secondary outcomes include 6-week mortality and incidence of adverse events. Conclusion: Considering existing evidence originates from non-randomized studies, this RCT will provide high-quality evidence to uncover whether cirrhotic patients with AVB should undergo early endoscopy to control bleeding and improve survival. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT06031402.

Tumor metabolic reprogramming requires high levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to maintain treatment resistance, which poses major challenges to chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Especially, high levels of ATP promote copper ion efflux for limiting the curative effect of cuproptosis. Here, an H2S-responsive mesoporous Cu2Cl(OH)3-loading chemotherapeutic cisplatin (CDDP) was synthesized, and the final nanoparticle, CDDP@Cu2Cl(OH)3-CDs (CDCuCDs), was encapsulated by electrostatic action with carbon dots (CDs). CDCuCDs reacted with overproduction H2S in colon tumor to produce photothermic copper sulfide for photothermal therapy. CDDP was released by lysis to achieve chemotherapeutic effects. Importantly, CDDP elevated H2O2 levels in cells through a cascade reaction and continuously transforms H2O2 into highly cytotoxic •OH through chemodynamic therapy between H2O2 and Cu+, which enables nanoparticles to generate •OH and improve the chemotherapeutic efficacy. Highly toxic •OH disrupts mitochondrial homeostasis, prohibiting it from performing normal energy-supplying functions. Down-regulated ATP inhibits heat shock protein expression, which promotes the therapeutic effect of mild photothermal therapy and reduces the efflux of intracellular copper ions, thus improving the therapeutic effect of cuproptosis. Our research provides a potential therapeutic strategy using overproduction H2S responses in tumors, allowing tumor microenvironment-activated •OH nanogenerators to promote tumor energy remodeling for cancer treatment.

Abstract The elevated level of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in colon cancer hinders complete cure with a single therapy. However, excessive H2S also offers a treatment target. A multifunctional cascade bioreactor based on the H2S-responsive mesoporous Cu2Cl(OH)3-loaded hypoxic prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ), in which the outer layer was coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) to form TPZ@Cu2Cl(OH)3-HA (TCuH) nanoparticles (NPs), demonstrated a synergistic antitumor effect through combining the H2S-driven cuproptosis and mild photothermal therapy. The HA coating endowed the NPs with targeting delivery to enhance drug accumulation in the tumor tissue. The presence of both the high level of H2S and the near-infrared II (NIR II) irradiation achieved the in situ generation of photothermic agent copper sulfide (Cu9S8) from the TCuH, followed with the release of TPZ. The depletion of H2S stimulated consumption of oxygen, resulting in hypoxic state and mitochondrial reprogramming. The hypoxic state activated prodrug TPZ to activated TPZ (TPZ-ed) for chemotherapy in turn. Furthermore, the exacerbated hypoxia inhibited the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate, decreasing expression of heat shock proteins and subsequently improving the photothermal therapy. The enriched Cu2+ induced not only cuproptosis by promoting lipoacylated dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase (DLAT) heteromerization but also performed chemodynamic therapy though catalyzing H2O2 to produce highly toxic hydroxyl radicals ·OH. Therefore, the nanoparticles TCuH offer a versatile platform to exert copper-related synergistic antitumor therapy.

Abstract A composite material comprising carbon black and Sb-doped SnO2 (ATO) is employed as a support for a Pt catalyst in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) to improve the performance of a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell under low-humidity conditions. The effects of Sb-doping on the crystal, structural, and electrochemical characteristics of ATO particles are being examined. In a single cell test, the ratio of Sb in ATO is systematically optimized to improve performance. The distribution of Pt nanoparticles is uniform on carbon black and ATO carrier, forming notable triple-junction points at the interface of carbon black and ATO carrier. This structure thus induces a strong interaction between Pt and ATO, promoting the content of metallic Pt. Compared with a Pt/C catalyst, the best-performing Pt/C–ATO catalyst exhibits superior electrochemical activity, stability, and CO tolerance. The power density of MEA with the Pt/C–ATO catalyst is 15% higher than that of the MEA with the Pt/C catalyst

Pareto dominance-based algorithms face a significant challenge in handling many-objective optimization problems. As the number of objectives increases, the sharp rise in non-dominated individuals makes it challenging for the algorithm to differentiate their quality, resulting in a loss of selection pressure. The application of the penalty-based boundary intersection (PBI) method can balance convergence and diversity in algorithms. The PBI method guides the evolution of individuals by integrating the parallel and perpendicular distances between individuals and reference vectors, where the penalty factor is crucial for balancing these two distances and significantly affects algorithm performance. Therefore, a comprehensive adaptive penalty scheme was proposed and applied to NSGA-III, named caps-NSGA-III, to achieve balance and symmetry between convergence and diversity. Initially, each reference vector’s penalty factor is computed based on its own characteristic. Then, during the iteration process, the penalty factor is adaptively adjusted according to the evolutionary state of the individuals associated with the corresponding reference vector. Finally, a monitoring strategy is designed to oversee the penalty factor, ensuring that adaptive adjustments align with the algorithm’s needs at different stages. Through a comparison involving benchmark experiments and two real-world problems, the competitiveness of caps-NSGA-III was demonstrated.