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Hydrophobic chitosan aerogels were prepared using chitosan as a matrix and 2,6-dimethyl-5-heptenal as a cross-linking modifier to graft n-octadecanethiol and were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results showed that the surface of the hydrophobic chitosan aerogel had a three-dimensional porous structure. 2,6-Dimethyl-5-heptenal was successfully grafted via the Schiff base reaction. The proportion of elemental sulfur was 1.17% in the aerogel. In the surface contact angle test, the oil droplet contact angle was 0°, and the water droplet contact angle was 126°. The chitosan aerogel exhibited good hydrophobic properties. The loading of fat-soluble curcumin in the aerogel reached the maximum value of 70.5 mg/g after 40 min, and the optimal loading temperature was 27 ℃. The hydrophobic chitosan aerogel had a good sustained-release performance, and the sustained-release rate of curcumin in simulated intestinal fluid was up to 89.6%.

AbstractBackgroundMethodsResultsConclusionPsoriasis, a chronic inflammatory dermatosis, profoundly affects patients’ well-being. Although exosomes are key in disease etiology, diagnostic potentials of associated genes are unclear. Our research targeted bioinformatics-based characterization of exosome-related genes and the development of a diagnostic model for psoriasis.Within GSE30999 dataset, an exosome-centric diagnostic model was formulated. Its diagnostic capability was appraised in GSE30999 and GSE14905 cohorts. Human keratinocytes (HaCaT) were used to construct psoriasis cell model. qRT-PCR was used to detect expression of diagnostic genes in the model. Construction of a protein-protein interaction network was undertaken, complemented by enrichment analyses. Comparative evaluation of immunological microenvironments between healthy controls and disease cohort was executed. Prospective miRNAs and transcription factors (TFs) were prognosticated using online prediction tools.A distinctive diagnostic model with superior diagnostic performance, evidenced by an AUC value greater than 0.88, was unveiled. The model featured seven exosome-related biomarker genes (CCNA2, NDC80, CCNB1, CDCA8, KIF11, CENPF, and ASPM) interwoven in a complex network and chiefly linked in the regulation of Cell Cycle and Cellular Senescence. These genes were significantly overexpressed in psoriasis cell models. Immune infiltration analysis distinguished profound discrepancies (p < 0.05) in immunological microenvironment between disease and control groups with enrichment of T cells CD4 memory activated, Macrophages M1, and Neutrophils in the disease group. 11 miRNAs and 27 TFs were identified.The study introduces a new and potent diagnostic model for psoriasis, with selection of credible exosome-associated biomarker genes. These discoveries aid in clinical diagnostics and research on exosome involvement in psoriasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural sea waves are typically multi-directional. However, the existing studies on the interaction of waves and structures mostly concentrate on uni-directional waves. In this study, using a higher-order boundary element method based on the nonlinear potential flow theory and the perturbation expansion technique, a numerical model is developed to investigate the hydrodynamic performance of a semi-submersible wind turbine foundation in uni- and multi-directional waves. Comprehensive validations with the wave-tank experiment are conducted. It is found that the significant platform response increases with the peak wave period in uni-directional irregular waves, while the high-frequency "energy" ratio changes little. The significant wave height hardly influences motion responses from either the time- or the frequency-domain perspective. In multi-directional irregular waves, the translational motions exhibit monotonicity with wave directionality. The energy concentration around the primary direction leads to a dominant wave-frequency motion and an increase in the high-frequency "energy" ratio. Although the individual modal motion responses are variable functions of wave nonlinearity, their averaged translational and rotational motions are nearly constant, indicating an energy transition or a trade-off relationship among the modal motions. In addition, unlike the uni-directional wave case, the low- and high-frequency "energy" ratios increase quadratically and decrease linearly with the significant wave height in multi-directional waves, respectively. All these findings demonstrate that wave directionality can change the wave–structure interaction properties and therefore needs to be adequately considered in engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]