Development of Controlled Release Oral Dosages by Density Gradient Modification Using 3D Printing Technologies

Over the years, three-dimensional (3D) printing has gradually become more comin people\u27s lives. Due to its quick development, it has attracted the attention of researchers in the pharmaceutical industry. The main purpose of this project was to couple fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing with hot melt extrusion (HME) technology to manufacture tablets with different drug release profiles and to solve dose issues related to an individual’s physiological differences and to enhance extended release properties. Ketoprofen was used as the model drug and different properties were added to the polymer to create a formulation suited to HME technology for the production of filaments used for printing. This study also investigated polymer matrices and how 3D printing can affect a drug’s release into the body

Big Data-driven Technology Innovation: Concept and Key Problems

In the background of big data, technological innovation has met some new opportunities and challenges. Based on expounding the concept and key technologies of big data, the concept, main data resources and characteristics of data driven technological innovation are analyzed. And some key problems of data driven technological innovation are discussed from technological and management perspective. From technological perspective, the key processes of data-driven technological innovation such as data acquisition, data processing, technology opportunity discovery and identification technology etc. are discussed and a technological framework is proposed based on Hadoop ecosystem. From management view, the idea of using big data to carry on operation and decision, matched decision-making culture and appropriate process, overall planning of large data applications and the stage of the target are analyzed as the main factors to affect the data-driven mode realization. This study has good values to the enterprises to build data driven innovative mode

Effects of Cryogenic Treatment after Annealing of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Sheet on Its Formability at Room Temperature

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an Open Access article made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.In this article, the effects of cryogenic treatment after annealing on the formability of Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheet were experimentally studied. The Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy was treated by cryogenic treatment after annealing (ACT). Tensile tests were carried out using a universal machine at room temperature. The microstructure evolution of Ti-6Al-4V subjected to ACT was also investigated using an optical microscope (OM). Both the shearing performance and drawing formability were analyzed by punch shearing tests and deep drawing tests, respectively. Results showed that after ACT, the tendency of the β phase can be apparently changing into stable β’ and α’ phases. The elastic modulus is lower than that of the untreated material. It was found that both the yield strength and tensile strength are declined slightly, whereas the ductility is increased significantly. The shear strength in punch shearing is decreased at room temperature and cryogenic temperature. The ratio of smooth zone on the section after ACT3 is much larger than the others. The rollover diameters are not obviously greater than those of the untreated. Additionally, the height of the burr shows a decreasing trend after ACT. During deep drawing, drawing depth is deeper than that of the untreated material, the drawing load after ACT is reduced, and the decreasing tendency of the drawing load slows down. It is noted that the micro-cracks occur at the bottom of the sample.Peer reviewe

Research on model fitting and strength characteristics of critical state for expansive soil

According to Mengzi expansive soil, consolidated drained tests and undrained tests are carried on under saturated and remoulded conditions. The stress-strain characteristics of saturated soil are researched systematically under different confining pressure, initial dry density, initial water content, shearing rate and drainage condition. The inherent unity of diversity of shearing strength for the same samples measured by different experimental methods is indicated according to the normalization of critical state test results. And the failure lines in p ‘- q - ν space of remoulded saturated expansive soil under consolidated drained and undrained conditions are attained. The hyperbolic curve model can fit well the weak hardening stress-strain curves and the exponential curve model can fit the weak softening stress-strain curves. The test results can provide technical parameters and theoretical help for shearing strength variation of slope during rainfall and strength state of soil structure in normal water level

N6-methyladenosine RNA modification promotes viral genomic RNA stability and infection

Molecular manipulation of susceptibility (S) genes that are antipodes to resistance (R) genes has been adopted as an alternative strategy for controlling crop diseases. Here, we show the S gene encoding Triticum aestivum m(6)A methyltransferase B (TaMTB) is identified by a genome-wide association study and subsequently shown to be a positive regulator for wheat yellow mosaic virus (WYMV) infection. TaMTB is localized in the nucleus, is translocated into the cytoplasmic aggregates by binding to WYMV NIb to upregulate the m(6)A level of WYMV RNA1 and stabilize the viral RNA, thus promoting viral infection. A natural mutant allele TaMTB-SNP176C is found to confer an enhanced susceptibility to WYMV infection through genetic variation analysis on 243 wheat varieties. Our discovery highlights this allele can be a useful target for the molecular wheat breeding in the future

Preparation and characterization of a novel triple composite scaffold containing silk fibroin, chitosan, extracellular matrix and the mechanism of Akt/FoxO signaling pathway in colonic cancer cells cultured in 3D

This work examined the physical and chemical properties and biocompatibility in vivo and in vitro of a unique triple composite scaffold incorporating silk fibroin, chitosan, and extracellular matrix. The materials were blended, cross-linked, and freeze-dried to create a composite scaffold of silk fibroin/chitosan/colon extracellular matrix (SF/CTS/CEM) with varying CEM contents. The SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) scaffold demonstrated the preferable shape, outstanding porosity, favorable connectivity, good moisture absorption, and acceptable and controlled swelling and degradation properties. Additionally, HCT-116 cells cultivated with SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) showed excellent proliferation capacity, cell malignancy, and delayed apoptosis, according to the in vitro cytocompatibility examination. We also examined the PI3K/PDK1/Akt/FoxO signaling pathway and discovered that cell culture using a SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) scaffold may prevent cell death by phosphorylating Akt and suppressing FoxO expression. Our findings demonstrate the potential of the SF/CTS/CEM (1:1:1) scaffold as an experimental model for colonic cancer cell culture and for replicating the three-dimensional in vivo cell growth environment

Comparison of the effects of rumen-protected and unprotected L-leucine on fermentation parameters, bacterial composition, and amino acids metabolism in in vitro rumen batch cultures

This study was conducted to compare the effects of rumen-protected (RP-Leu) and unprotected L-leucine (RU-Leu) on the fermentation parameters, bacterial composition, and amino acid metabolism in vitro rumen batch incubation. The 5.00 g RP-Leu or RU-Leu products were incubated in situ in the rumen of four beef cattle (Bos taurus) and removed after 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 16, and 24 h to determine the rumen protection rate. In in vitro incubation, both RP-Leu and RU-Leu were supplemented 1.5 mmol/bottle (L-leucine HCl), and incubated after 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 16 h to measure gas production (GP), nutrient degradability, fermentation parameters, bacterial composition, and amino acids metabolism. Results from both in vitro and in situ experiments confirmed that the rumen protection rate was greater (p < 0.01) in RP-Leu than in RU-Leu, whereas the latter was slow (p < 0.05) degraded within incubation 8 h. Free leucine from RP-Leu and RU-Leu reached a peak at incubation 6 h (p < 0.01). RU-Leu supplementation increased (p < 0.05) gas production, microbial crude protein, branched-chain AAs, propionate and branched-chain VFAs concentrations, and Shannon and Sobs index in comparison to the control and RP-Leu supplementation. RU-Leu and RP-Leu supplementation decreased (p < 0.05) the relative abundance of Bacteroidota, which Firmicutes increased (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis indicated that there are 5 bacteria at the genus level that may be positively correlated with MCP and propionate (p < 0.05). Based on the result, we found that RP-Leu was more stable than RU-Leu in rumen fluid, but RU-Leu also does not exhibit rapid degradation by ruminal microbes for a short time. The RU-Leu was more beneficial in terms of regulating rumen fermentation pattern, microbial crude protein synthesis, and branched-chain VFAs production than RP-Leu in vitro rumen conditions

Co-infusion of haplo-identical CD19-chimeric antigen receptor T cells and stem cells achieved full donor engraftment in refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract Background Elderly patients with relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have poor prognosis. Autologous CD19 chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CAR-T) cells have potentials to cure patients with B cell ALL; however, safety and efficacy of allogeneic CD19 CAR-T cells are still undetermined. Case presentation We treated a 71-year-old female with relapsed and refractory ALL who received co-infusion of haplo-identical donor-derived CD19-directed CAR-T cells and mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) following induction chemotherapy. Undetectable minimal residual disease by flow cytometry was achieved, and full donor cell engraftment was established. The transient release of cytokines and mild fever were detected. Significantly elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase, alanine transaminase, bilirubin and glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase were observed from days 14 to 18, all of which were reversible after immunosuppressive therapy. Conclusions Our preliminary results suggest that co-infusion of haplo-identical donor-derived CAR-T cells and mobilized PBSCs may induce full donor engraftment in relapsed and refractory ALL including elderly patients, but complications related to donor cell infusions should still be cautioned. Trial registration Allogeneic CART-19 for Elderly Relapsed/Refractory CD19+ ALL. NCT0279955