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With the proliferation of electric vehicles (EVs) around the world, the large-scale grid-vehicle interaction (GVI) has become more and more promising recently. However, the existing research works on GVI are mainly limited to day-ahead or intra-day schedules which may not fully utilize the EVs' potential in charging/discharging arrangements for the power grid. Besides, the commonly-adopted practice of the central organization by the electric vehicle aggregator (EVA) may induce EV owners' privacy concerns. To solve these problems and furtherly strengthen the GVI willingness of EV users, a distributed week-ahead framework for the charging / discharging schedules of plug-in EVs interacting with the grid under the organization of an EVA is proposed in this paper. To describe the available dispatchable capacity of one single EV on a weekly time scale, the trip-chain based EV charging and travelling behavior model is formulated. For the EVA, it utilizes aggregate EV power and energy boundaries to model its feasible operation region which is crucial for the determination of the guidance tracking power profile in the distribution energy market clearing process. To protect the EVs' privacies and reduce the computational burden, a distributed algorithm is proposed to help the EVA allocate the guidance power profile among EVs. Case studies are conducted to demonstrate the validness and effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Glioma is one of the most malignant primary tumors affecting the brain. The efficacy of therapeutics for glioma is seriously compromised by the restriction of blood-brain barrier (BBB), interstitial tumor pressure of resistance to chemotherapy/radiation, and the inevitable damage to normal brain tissues. Inspired by the natural structure and properties of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), a tumor-penetrating lipoprotein was prepared by the fusion tLyP-1 to apolipoprotein A-I-mimicking peptides (D4F), together with indocyanine green (ICG) incorporation and lipophilic small interfering RNA targeted HIF-1α (siHIF) surface anchor for site-specific photo-gene therapy. tLyP-1 peptide is fused to HDL-surface to facilitate BBB permeability, tumor-homing capacity and -site accumulation of photosensitizer and siRNA. Upon NIR light irradiation, ICG not only served as real-time targeted imaging agent, but also provided toxic reactive oxygen species and local hyperthermia for glioma phototherapy. The HIF‐1α siRNA in this nanoplatform downregulated the hypoxia‐induced HIF‐1α level in tumor microenvironment and enhanced the photodynamic therapy against glioma. These studies demonstrated that the nanoparticles could not only efficiently across BBB and carry the payloads to orthotopic glioma, but also modulate tumor microenvironment, thereby inhibiting tumor growth with biosafety. Overall, this study develops a new multifunctional drug delivery system for glioma theranostic, providing deeper insights into orthotopic brain tumor imaging and treatment.

Link prediction is a critical prerequisite and foundation task for social network security that involves predicting the potential relationship between nodes within a network or graph. Although the existing methods show promising performance, they often ignore the unique attributes of each link type and the impact of diverse node differences on network topology when dealing with heterogeneous information networks (HINs), resulting in inaccurate predictions of unobserved links. To overcome this hurdle, we propose the Enhancing Predictive Expert Method (EPEM), a comprehensive framework that includes an individual feature projector, a predictive expert constructor, and a trustworthiness investor. The individual feature projector extracts the distinct characteristics associated with each link type, eliminating shared attributes that are common across all links. The predictive expert constructor then creates enhancing predictive experts, which improve predictive precision by incorporating the individual feature representations unique to each node category. Finally, the trustworthiness investor evaluates the reliability of each enhancing predictive expert and adjusts their contributions to the prediction outcomes accordingly. Our empirical evaluations on three diverse heterogeneous social network datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of EPEM in forecasting unobserved links, outperforming the state-of-the-art methods.

Abstract Background The management of metastatic cancer remains a major challenge in cancer therapy worldwide. The targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs through rationally designed formulations is one potential therapeutic option. Notably, excipient-free nanodispersions that are entirely composed of pharmaceutically active molecules have been evaluated as promising candidates for the next generation of drug formulations. Formulated from the self-assembly of drug molecules, these nanodispersions enable the safe and effective delivery of therapeutic drugs to local disease lesions. Here, we developed a novel and green approach for preparing nanoparticles via the self-assembly of rhein (RHE) and doxorubicin (DOX) molecules, named RHE/DOX nanoparticles (RD NPs); this assembly was associated with the interaction force and did not involve any organic solvents. Results According to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, DOX molecules tend to assemble around RHE molecules through intermolecular forces. This intermolecular retention of DOX was further improved by the nanosizing effect of RD NPs. Compared to free DOX, RD NPs exerted a slightly stronger inhibitory effect on 4T1 cells in the scratch healing assay. As a dual drug-loaded nanoformulation, the efficacy of RD NPs against tumor cells in vitro was synergistically enhanced. Compared to free DOX, the combination of DOX and RHE in nanoparticles exerted a synergistic effect with a combination index (CI) value of 0.51 and showed a stronger ability to induce cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the RD NP treatment not only effectively suppressed primary tumor growth but also significantly inhibited tumor metastasis both in vitro and in vivo, with a better safety profile. Conclusions The generation of pure nanodrugs via a self-assembly approach might hold promise for the development of more efficient and novel excipient-free nanodispersions, particularly for two small molecular antitumor drugs that potentially exert synergistic antiproliferative effects on metastatic breast cancer.

Calcium citrate (CaCi) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) were renovated as edible granules by spray-drying and polymer (Eudragit) coating to develop bone-protective product. The granules were reinforced functionally with oligochitosan (Och). Characterizations of IR, DSC and XRD concluded that Ca and Och were concordantly incorporated into granules and embedded into the CS matrix. The Ca-loading CS granules achieved about 1.6% Ca loading and 25% of Ca recovery in encapsulation. CaCi and Och would chelate together during preparation of the granules. Eudragit coating enabled the granules smooth and compact, and resulted in slow Ca release in dissolution. In a 28-days of animal test, oral administration with Ca + Och/CS granules inhibited osteoporosis progression in OVX rats through increasing serum Ca/P and internal Ca retention, as well as enhancing bone density and major minerals. Therefore, the composite granules have some potential in sustaining bone health owing to its improvements in Ca protection and the multi-nutritious delivery.

SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) based on lidar is an important method for UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) localization in real time under GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System)-denied situations. However, dynamic objects in real-world scenarios affect odometry in SLAM and reduce localization accuracy. We propose a novel lidar SLAM algorithm based on LOAM (Lidar Odometry and Mapping), which is popular in this field. First, we applied elevation maps to label the ground point cloud. Then we extracted convex hulls in point clouds based on scanlines as materials for dynamic object clustering. We replaced these dynamic objects with background point cloud to avoid accuracy reduction. Finally, we extracted feature points from ground points and non-ground points, respectively, and matched these feature points frame-to-frame to estimate ground robot motion. We evaluated the proposed algorithm in dynamic industrial park roads, and it kept UGV maximum relative position error less than 3% and average relative position error less than 2%.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting nearly five million people worldwide. Among all drug delivery system, oral administration is the most preferable route for colon-specific targeting and the treatment of IBD. Herein, an amphiphilic curcumin polymer (PCur) composed of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and hydrophobic curcumin (Cur) linked by disulfide bond was synthesized and characterized. The sufficient solubility, nano-scaled size and close to the neutral surface potential of PCur lead to preferential accumulation of the active drug in the inflamed regions of the gut. Moreover, PCur showed limited drug release and enhanced robustness under the physiological pH of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and a significantly elevated release was observed when responding to a bacterial reduction in the colon. Furthermore, cellular studies confirmed PCur had low cytotoxicity and increased transmembrane permeability, resulting in improved oral bioavailability evidenced by in vivo pharmacokinetics of rats. Finally, with DSS-induced murine model of IBD, we demonstrated that orally administered PCur ameliorated the inflammatory progression in the colon and could protect mice from IBD. In conclusion, it is illustrated that the developed PCur conjugate could potentially be employed as a colon-specific candidate for IBD treatment.

Triptolide is a diterpenoid compound that inhibits the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the use of triptolide is limited due to its strong gastrointestinal toxicity. The purpose of this work was to develop a transdermal delivery system for triptolide to reduce this toxicity. A microemulsion-based hydrogel (MBH) was prepared from the combination of Gemseal 40-oleic acid as oil phase, Tween 80-labrasol as surfactant, anhydrous ethanol as co-surfactant, water as aqueous phase and Poloxamer 407 as hydrogel matrix. Rheological measurements, environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and transdermal experiments in vitro were used to characterize triptolide-loaded and blank MBH preparations. The effects of Poloxamer 407 and triptolide on the rheological properties and microstructures of the MBH were determined. Transparent and homogeneous MBH could only be formed when the concentration of Poloxamer 407 in the selected O/W microemulsion was in the range of 14.0–16.0% (w/w). When the concentration of Poloxamer 407 increased, the rheological properties such as the yield stresses (σy), storage and loss moduli (G′, G″) of the formulations increased, and the network structures became more compact. The addition of triptolide did not change the interconnected network structures of the MBH preparations. MBH preparations afford a better sustained release profile when compared to microemulsions, a finding confirmed by an in vitro permeation test in mice. MBH appears to be a promising vehicle for transdermal delivery of triptolide.

To evaluate the quality of Pollen Typhae as used in traditional Chinese medicine, a high-performance capillary electrophoresis (HPCE) method has been developed, validated and applied to chromatographic fingerprinting and quantitation of its eight main bioactive flavonoids (naringenin, isorhamnetin 3-O-(2G-α-l-rhamnosyl)-rutinoside, rhamnetin 3-O-neohesperidoside, isorhamnetin, quercetin 3-O-(2G-α-l-rhamnosyl)-rutinoside, quercetin 3-O-neohesperidoside, kaempferol and quercetin). Fingerprinting was based on the selection of nine characteristic chromatographic peaks. In quantitative analysis, the recovery of all eight compounds was in the range 98.5–102.2% with good linearity (r2>0.9919) over a relatively wide concentration range. The assay was successfully applied to the analysis of the eight bioactive flavonoids in 14 different samples. The results indicate that the assay is reproducible and precise and can be used for convenient quality assessment of Pollen Typhae.

Ginkgolides (GG), containing ginkgolide A (GA), ginkgolide B (GB) and ginkgolide C (GC), are mainly prescribed for ischemic stroke and cerebral infarction. However, the ginkgolides can hardly pass the blood-brain barrier (BBB) into the brain. The purpose of this study was to prepare borneol-modified ginkgolides liposomes (GGB-LPs) to study whether borneol could enhance the transport of ginkgolides across the BBB. The preparation conditions of GGB-LPs were optimized by a response surface-central composite design. Also, pharmacokinetics and biodistribution studies of GGB-LPs were conducted using UPLC-MS. The optimal preparation conditions for GGB-LP were as follows: ratio of lipid to drug (w/w) was 9:1, ratio of phospholipid to cholesterol (w/w) was 7:1, and hydrate volume was 17.5 mL. Under these conditions, the GGB-LP yield was 89.73 ± 3.45%. With GGB-LPs, borneol significantly promoted the transport of ginkgolide across the BBB. The pharmacokinetic parameters of GGB-LP were significantly improved too, with Tmax of 15 min and a high drug concentration of 3.39 μg/g in brain. Additionally, the drug targeting index and relative uptake rate of GGB-LP was increased. Borneol-modified ginkgolide liposomes can thus potentially be used to improve the BBB permeability of gingkolide formulations.

Abstract. Objective:. To explore the approach of minimally invasive transthoracic intramyocardial cellular transplantation under echocardiographic guidance to promote ischemic myocardial repair in a preclinical big-animal study. Methods:. Female Guangxi Bama miniature pigs (weight: 25–30 kg) were randomly allocated into the sham group, untreated myocardial infarction (MI) group (MI group), the MI and surgical intramyocardial injection (SIM) group (MI-SIM group), and the MI and transthoracic echocardiography-guided percutaneous intramyocardial injection (TTEPIM) group (MI-TTEPIM group) (n = 4 each) using a lottery method. A swine MI model was established in the 3 groups excluding the sham group, and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPS-CM) labeled with the herpes simplex virus type-1 thymidine kinase reporter gene (hiPS-CMTK+) were transplanted by SIM in MI-SIM group and TTEPIM in MI-TTEPIM group. The operation time, postoperative recovery time of animals and volume of blood loss were collected for comparison between MI-SIM group and MI-TTEPIM group. 9-(4-[18F] fluoro-3-(hydroxymethyl) butyl) guanine positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging was performed to track the hiPS-CMTK+in vivo. Cardiac function and morphology were evaluated by echocardiography. Results:. The operation time and postoperative recovery time of MI-TTEPIM group were significantly shorter than those of MI-SIM group ((28.3 ± 3.6) min vs. (97.0 ± 6.7) min, P

Abstract In recent years, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have attracted significant attention in energy storage due to their notable advantages, including high safety, low cost, high capacity, and environmental friendliness. However, side reactions like hydrogen evolution and zinc (Zn) dendrites can significantly impact their Coulombic efficiency (CE) and lifespan. Effectively addressing these issues has become a focus of research in this field. In our study, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and nanodiamonds (NDs) were used to optimize the electrolyte of AZIBs. Benefiting from the hydrogen bond fusion of DMSO and NDs, which regulates the Zn deposition behavior, effectively inhibiting the growth of Zn dendrites, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion. The Zn | |Zn symmetric cells using NDs-DMSO-ZS demonstrate exceptional cycling stability for over 1500 h at 1 mA cm− 2, while the Zn//Cu asymmetric cells achieve up to 99.8% CE at 2 mA cm− 2. This study not only shows the application prospects of electrolyte optimization in enhancing AZIBs performance, but also provides a reference for the advancement of electrolyte technology in advanced AZIBs technology.

Abstract The performance of superconducting qubits is degraded by a poorly characterized set of energy sources breaking the Cooper pairs responsible for superconductivity, creating a condition often called “quasiparticle poisoning”. Both superconducting qubits and low threshold dark matter calorimeters have observed excess bursts of quasiparticles or phonons that decrease in rate with time. Here, we show that a silicon crystal glued to its holder exhibits a rate of low-energy phonon events that is more than two orders of magnitude larger than in a functionally identical crystal suspended from its holder in a low-stress state. The excess phonon event rate in the glued crystal decreases with time since cooldown, consistent with a source of phonon bursts which contributes to quasiparticle poisoning in quantum circuits and the low-energy events observed in cryogenic calorimeters. We argue that relaxation of thermally induced stress between the glue and crystal is the source of these events.