Simple-structured hydrophilic sensors for sweat uric acid detection with laser-engraved polyimide electrodes and cellulose paper substrates

Accurate detection of uric acid(UA)is crucial for diagnosing gout,yet traditional sweat-based UA sensors continue to face challenges posed by complex and costly electrode fabrication methods,as well as weakly hydrophilic substrates.Here,we designed and developed simple,low-cost,and hydrophilic sweat UA detection sensors constructed by carbon electrodes and cellulose paper substrates.The carbon electrodes were made by carbonized polyimide films through a simple,one-step laser engraving method.Our electrodes are porous,possess a large specific surface area,and are flexible and conductive.The substrates were composed of highly hydrophilic cellulose paper that can effectively collect,store,and transport sweat.The constructed electrodes demonstrate high sensitivity of 0.4μA Lμmol^(-1)cm^(-2),wide linear range of 2–100μmol/L.In addition,our electrodes demonstrate high selectivity,excellent reproducibility,high flexibility,and outstanding stability against mechanical bending,temperature variations,and extended storage periods.Furthermore,our sensors have been proven to provide reliable results when detecting UA levels in real sweat and on real human skin.We envision that these sensors hold enormous potential for use in the prognosis,diagnosis,and treatment of gout.

Application of flash nanoprecipitation to fabricate poorly water-soluble drug nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are considered to be a powerful approach for the delivery of poorly watersoluble 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 watersoluble 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.

Flexible and biocompatible nanopaper-based electrode arrays for neural activity recording

Advances in neural electrode technologies can have a significant impact on both fundamental and applied neuroscience. Here, we report the development of flexible and biocompatible neural electrode arrays based on a nanopaper substrate. Nanopaper has important advantages with respect to polymers such as hydrophilicity and water wettability, which result in significantly enhanced biocompatibility, as confirmed by both in vitro viability assays and in vivo histological analysis. In addition, nanopaper exhibits high flexibility and good shape stability. Hence, nanopaper-based neural electrode arrays can conform to the convoluted cortical surface of a rat brain and allow stable multisite recording of epileptiform activity in vivo. Our results show that nanopaper-based electrode arrays represent promising candidates for the flexible and biocompatible recording of the neural activity.

The Impact of Internet of Things Supported by Emerging 5G in Power Systems: A Review

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.

Uptake and traffcking of different sized PLGA nanoparticles by dendritic cells in imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like mice model

Psoriasis is an autoimmune infammatory 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 traffcking in psoriasis-like mice model by using fuorescence 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 frstly transported to skindraining 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 traffcking of NPs by DCs in skin and lymphoid system,which needs to be considered in NPs tailing to treat infammatory skin disease like psoriasis.

Quantitative analysis of impact of green stormwater infrastructures on combined sewer overflow control and urban flooding control

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,