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Irinotecan (CPT-11) is used as a first or second-line chemotherapy drug for the treatment and management of colorectal cancers. In vitro studies have shown that 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38), the active metabolite of CPT-11, displays promising anticancer efficacy. However, its poor aqueous solubility and hydrolytic degradation result in its lower oral bioavailability and impracticable clinical application. To overcome these limitations, a novel amphiphilic chitosan derivative, deoxycholic acid decorated N'-nonyl-trimethyl chitosan, was synthesized. Nano-micelles loaded with SN38 were subsequently prepared to enhance the bioavailability and anti-tumor efficacy of the drug through oral administration. The nano-micelles demonstrated improved dilution stability, enhanced greater mucosal adherence, significant P-gp efflux inhibition, and increased drug transport in the intestine by paracellular and transcellular pathways. Consequently, both the in vivo pharmacokinetic profile and therapeutic efficacy of SN38 against cancer were substantially improved via the micellar system. Thus, the developed polymeric micelles can potentially enhance the SN38 oral absorption for cancer therapy, offering prospective avenues for further exploration. • Novel chitosan derivative, N-Deoxycholic acid grafted N'-nonyl-trimethyl chitosan, enabled nano-micelle assembly. • Stable micelles loaded with SN38 were prepared for improving its oral delivery. • The micelles exhibited enhanced mucosal adhesion, P-gp inhibition, and intestinal drug transport. • Micellar system improved the oral bioavailability and anticancer efficacy of SN38. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, buildings account for 35% of total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, making them important contributors to decarbonization. Carbon intensities in the power grid are time-varying and can fluctuate significantly within hours, so shifting building loads in response to the carbon intensities can reduce a building's operational carbon emissions. This paper presents a rule-based carbon responsive control framework that controls the setpoints of thermostatically controlled loads responding to the grid's carbon emission signals in real time. Based on this framework, four controllers are proposed with different combinations of carbon accounting methods and control rules. To evaluate their performance, we performed simulation studies using models of a 27-home, all-electric, net zero energy residential community located in Basalt, Colorado, United States. The carbon intensity data of four future years from the Cambium data set are adopted to account for the evolving resource mix in the power grid. Various performance metrics, including energy consumption, carbon emission, energy cost, and thermal discomfort, were used to evaluate the performance of the controllers. Sensitivity analysis was also conducted to determine how the control thresholds and intervals affect the controllers' performance. Simulation results indicate that the carbon responsive controllers can reduce the homes' annual carbon emissions by 6.0% to 20.5%. However, the energy consumption increased by 0.9% to 6.7%, except in one scenario where it decreased by 2.2%. Compared to the baseline, the change in energy cost was between −2.9% and 3.4%, and thermal discomfort was also maintained within an acceptable range. The little impact on energy cost and thermal discomfort indicates there are no potential roadblocks for customer acceptance when rolling out the controllers in utility programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Open-source Modelica models for chiller plants with water-side economizer were developed. • The developed model can evaluate the control performance of multiple control sequences. • Flexible capability of the developed chiller plants with WSE models was demonstrated. • Opportunities in improving the control performance of water-side economizer were identified. There are several cooling mode control sequences for chiller plants with water-side economizers adopted in industry and academia, and it is widely known that this supervisory control significantly affects energy consumption; however, there is a lack of a modeling resource to allow multiple control sequences to be evaluated systematically under different settings, such as system configurations, load types, and climate locations. To fill this gap, this paper develops open-source Modelica models to simulate the control and energy performance of multiple cooling mode control sequences for chiller plants with water-side economizers. These models allow users to develop and test their advanced control sequences for chiller plants with water-side economizers for their target climates and system configurations. To demonstrate how these models can be utilized, a chiller plant with an integrated water-side economizer is simulated using two advanced cooling mode control sequences, two cooling load types, and six climates, for a total of 24 simulation cases. This study revealed that the energy saving potential varied from 8.6% to 36.8% for constant load profiles in all of the considered climates, and from 6.3% to 25.8% for variable load profiles in most of the climates. Results also showed that the developed system models are able to capture transient control details and reveal counterintuitive energy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Microstructure, thermal-moisture properties of PCM with 4 substrates are analyzed. • The addition ratio of PCM is positively related to moisture buffering performance. • Moisture buffering index of zeolite-based PCM are 2 to 10 times of other materials. In this paper, gypsum, zeolite, expanded vermiculite, and shell powder were used as substrates respectively, and phase change microcapsules were mixed into different substrates at a certain mass ratio to prepare phase change microcapsule composites with different substrates. Through the moisture absorption and desorption performance experiments, water vapor permeability coefficient experiments, and isothermal equilibrium moisture content experiments, the moisture buffering properties of composite phase change materials with different substrates were compared. Differential scanning method, specific surface area and pore analysis, and scanning electron microscope were used to study their thermal performance, apparent morphology, and pore distribution characteristics. The moisture buffering performance index of zeolite-based phase change microcapsule composites is 1.5 times that of pure zeolite materials and 2 to 10 times that of other materials. The zeolite-based composites with good stability, large phase latent heat, and the best humidity controlling performance in all substrates have the phase transition temperature range (20 ~ 25℃) closed to the ideal room temperature, which are the most suitable for use as temperature-humidity controlling building materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]