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Robotic devices for rehabilitation and training is a promising and challenging research topic with a potentially huge social impact. The availability of tools for autonomously performing physiotherapy exercises increases their efficiency, provides supplementary information about results and progress, reduces physiotherapists’ efforts and the need of their physical presence during exercise sessions, and encourages autonomy and independence in people with disabilities. Nevertheless, supportive technologies developed without the inputs and feedback of the end-user throughout the design process are less likely to be adopted for their intended purpose and use case. In this article, we propose a modular hand/wrist exoskeleton that actuates the wrist flexion/extension and adduction/abduction motions and hand fingers flexion/extension motions. It is designed to be wearable and easy to control and manage and can be used by the patient in collaboration with the physiotherapist or autonomously. A user-centered design perspective has been employed in all the design and development phases. This article introduces the main features of the device and presents some tests conducted with a user having limited hand and wrist mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-functional material was fabricated to mimic the periosteum for guided bone regeneration. Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was fabricated into a gold-coated electrospun membrane. The gold-coated PVDF membranes were observed and characterized for their morphology and structural formation using light microscopy and differential calorimetry, respectively. Hydrophilicity, mechanical behavior, and electrical properties were evaluated from the results of the contact angle, universal testing machine, and an inductance–capacitance–resistance meter, respectively. MC3T3E1 osteoblast cells were seeded onto PVDF membranes with and without the gold coating. The cells on the seeded membranes were cultured under either a non-dynamic condition or a dynamic condition by shaking at 100 rpm (1.67 Hz). In vitro testing was performed to evaluate the biological performance (cell proliferation and viability), protein analysis, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and calcium content. PVDF with the gold coating had a higher melting temperature, hydrophilicity, and dielectric constant than without the gold coating. The gold-coated PVDF membranes showed a lower Young's modulus than the uncoated PVDF membranes. The seeded gold-coated and uncoated PVDF membranes under the dynamic condition had higher cell proliferation, viability, protein amount, ALP activity, calcium content, and calcium deposition than the PVDF membrane without either the gold coating or under the dynamic condition. Finally, the results deduced that the gold-coated PVDF membranes were able to mimic the periosteum with a dual function and showed promise for guided bone regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the present work, the M-type Sr-hexagonal ferrites having chemical composition Sr 1-x Ce x Fe 12-y Zn y O 19 (x = 0.000, 0.025, 0.050, 0.075, 0.10, y = 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0) are prepared via sol-gel autocombustion technique. The Structural and magnetic properties of M-type Sr-hexagonal ferrites are studied and discussed thoroughly. The structural, micro graphical and magnetic particularities of the samples are calculated through X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) respectively. X-ray diffraction assured that all the synthesized composites possess a pure M-type hexaferrite structure and basic crystalline configuration of Sr-hexaferrite which does not alter by Ce-Zn substitution. It is observed that the Ce-Zn substitution has significant effect on its magnetic properties. VSM results reveal that pure sample has coercivity of 4.49 kOe, which shows the hard nature of the samples. It is perceived that values of remanence (M r) and saturation magnetization (M s) decline with increasing the Ce-Zn ions substitution. The reason behind the reduction in magnetic saturation (M s) and remanence (M r) might be spin canting and dilution phenomena with increasing the rare earth substituted ions. The large coercivity magnets may be valuable for permanent (stable) magnet applications. The prepared composites could be useful for applications in microwave absorbing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The media-terrorism nexus needs further exploration. This article is a qualitative analysis of the coverage of London Attacks, 2005 by the British TV news channels. It aims to investigate and to empirically ascertain the veracity of the media-terrorism-symbiotic-relationship notion. The research draws a comparison with a similar study of the coverage of Mumbai attacks, 2008 and maintains that when the terrorist event happens on British soil, the symbiotic relationship theory is not verified completely. It concludes that British TV news channels, while reporting the home event of terrorism, do not overly focus on the theme of awe and terror. Instead, they are more responsible, careful, and nationalistic while covering the events of terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmonic nanomaterials with multiple components and designed structures show diverse properties and functions owing to the synergistic effects of the different components. Engineering the compositional and structural complexity of plasmonic nanomaterials is a powerful technique for expanding their range of applications. A facile approach to an unprecedented dart‐like type of nanostructure with AgPd bimetal selectively deposited at one end of Au nanobipyramids, forming AgPd nanodarts, is reported here. The synthetic process involves both galvanic replacement and Ostwald ripening. The morphological evolution of the AgPd nanodarts is thoroughly investigated and the growth mechanism is put forward. The as‐obtained AgPd nanodarts exhibit an outstanding photothermal conversion efficiency and peroxidase activity, which make them powerful for photothermally–catalytically combined tumor organoid ablation. In addition, two types of AgPd nanodart‐derived single‐end nanostructures, AgPd@ZIF‐8, and AgPd@TiO2 nanodarts, are prepared for the first time. The ZIF‐8 and TiO2 shell are preferentially coated at the AgPd end of the AgPd nanodarts, respectively. Both AgPd@ZIF‐8 and AgPd@TiO2 nanodarts show superior antimicrobial activities. The protocol and concept of modulating the structure of the nanodarts in this work can be extended to the development of a new class of plasmonic nanostructures with multifunctionalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malignant melanoma, one of the most aggressive types of cancer easily metastasizes, making it extremely difficult to treat and unresponsive to current therapies. Recent breakthroughs in nanomaterials-based cancer immunotherapy have provided potential specific strategy for tumor and metastasis inhibition. With the development of nanotechnology, inorganic nanomaterials have been increasingly studied for their potential cancer therapeutic and molecular imaging functions. However, only iron-based nanomaterials have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in inorganic nanomedicines. For promising clinical application, a new type of nanocomposite is engineered by combining ultra-small iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 NPs) and ovalbumin (OVA), denoted as Fe 3 O 4 -OVA nanocomposites in this study. Interestingly, this is the first time that Fe 3 O 4 NPs are found as nano-immunopotentiators helping nanocomposites efficiently stimulate dendritic cell-based immunotherapy and potentially-activate macrophages. These nanocomposites efficiently stimulate the maturation level of bone marrow derived dendritic cell (BMDCs) and corresponding activation of T cells and also potentially-activate macrophages. With the help of the Fe 3 O 4 nano-immunopotentiators (Fe 3 O 4 NPs), this therapeutic and prophylactic Fe 3 O 4 -OVA vaccine can not only efficiently inhibit the subcutaneous and metastatic B16-OVA tumor growth but also successfully prevent the formation of subcutaneous and metastatic tumor, providing a promising strategy for expanding the clinical use of Fe-based nanomaterials. Image 1 • Synthesized ultra-small Fe 3 O 4 NPs was found for the first time as nano-immunopotentiators combining with OVA as tumor model antigen, denoted as Fe 3 O 4 -OVA nanocomposites. • Fe 3 O 4 , as nano-immunopotentiators, could help this nanocomposite Fe 3 O 4 -OVA vaccine to efficiently induce the maturation of dendritic cells, activation of macrophages and strongly immune response of T cells. • With the help of Fe 3 O 4 nano-immunopotentiators, this therapeutic Fe 3 O 4 -OVA vaccines can efficiently inhibit the subcutaneous and metastatic B16-OVA tumor growth. • This prophylactic Fe 3 O 4 -OVA vaccines can successfully prevent the formation of subcutaneous and metastatic tumor in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fin-Ray principle, inspired by the physiology of fish rays, represents the foundation of a large number of robotic devices. However, despite their popularity, there is not any ad-hoc theoretical model technique for the analysis of this family of fingers. This lack is the main motivation of the presented work, which provides the mathematical modeling, analysis, and prototyping of a closed-chain Fin-Ray finger. In this scenario, the contribution of this article is twofold. At one end, we provide a general discrete Cosserat approach for the modeling of closed-chain soft robots which shares the geometrical structure of the rigid robotics counterpart. On the other end, the approach is employed to explore the family of Fin-Ray effect fingers. Finally, an improved design, which is able to conform to contacting surfaces, while maintaining stiffness out of its grasping plane, is fabricated and its performances are compared to those of a previously proposed prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photo‐responsive combinational therapeutics attained significant attention in cancer theranostic owing to the versatile features of nanomaterials. The simplest nano‐design with unique properties to carry out multifunctionalties is a challenging assignment. Herein, a facile solvothermal method is employed to fabricate homogeneous MnO2 sea urchin‐shaped nanoparticles (MnO2‐OVA NPs) with a high loading capacity (86.15%) of ovalbumin (OVA) antigen. The prepared MnO2‐OVA NPs demonstrated excellent biocompatibility against different cell lines and significant cellular uptake, resulting in mature dendritic cells to enhance anti‐tumor immunity. The synthesized sea urchin‐shaped MnO2‐OVA NPs further exhibited self‐generated catalytic properties that efficiently relieve tumor hypoxia and improve cancer therapies. More excitingly, MnO2‐OVA NPs endorsed reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response of minute UV irradiation (mW) for photodynamic therapy. Further, the prepared photo‐responsive nanoparticles showed promising T1‐MR imaging and relaxivity properties for diagnosis and real‐time drug delivery monitoring. These synergetic therapeutic strategies produced by MnO2‐OVA NPs showed excellency as a potential theranostic agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global burden of cancer is increasing rapidly, and nanomedicine offers promising prospects for enhancing the life expectancy of cancer patients. Janus nanoparticles (JNPs) have garnered considerable attention due to their asymmetric geometry, enabling multifunctionality in drug delivery and theranostics. However, achieving precise control over the self-assembly of JNPs in solution at the nanoscale level poses significant challenges. Herein, a low-temperature reversed-phase microemulsion system was used to obtain homogenous Mn3O4-Ag2S JNPs, which showed significant potential in cancer theranostics. Structural characterization revealed that the Ag2S (5–10 nm) part was uniformly deposited on a specific surface of Mn3O4 to form a Mn3O4-Ag2S Janus morphology. Compared to the single-component Mn3O4 and Ag2S particles, the fabricated Mn3O4-Ag2S JNPs exhibited satisfactory biocompatibility and therapeutic performance. Novel diagnostic and therapeutic nanoplatforms can be guided using the magnetic component in JNPs, which is revealed as an excellent T1 contrast enhancement agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with multiple functions, such as photo-induced regulation of the tumor microenvironment via producing reactive oxygen species and second near-infrared region (NIR-II) photothermal excitation for in vitro tumor-killing effects. The prime antibacterial and promising theranostics results demonstrate the extensive potential of the designed photo-responsive Mn3O4-Ag2S JNPs for biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotavirus is one of the main pathogens that causes severe diarrhea in children under the age of 5, primarily infecting the enterocytes of the small intestine. Currently, there are no specific drugs available for oral rehydration and antiviral therapy targeting rotavirus. However, metformin hydrochloride, a drug known for its antiviral properties, shows promise as it accumulates in the small intestine and modulates the intestinal microbiota. Therefore, we formulated a hypothesis that metformin hydrochloride could inhibit rotavirus replication in the intestine. To validate the anti-rotavirus effect of metformin hydrochloride, we conducted infection experiments using different models, ranging from in vitro cells and organoids to small intestines in vivo. The findings indicate that a concentration of 0.5 mM metformin hydrochloride significantly inhibits the expression of rotavirus mRNA and protein in Caco-2 cells, small intestinal organoids, and suckling mice models. Rotavirus infections lead to noticeable pathological changes, but treatment with metformin has been observed to mitigate the lesions caused by rotavirus infection in the treated group. Our study establishes that metformin hydrochloride can inhibit rotavirus replication, while also affirming the reliability of organoids as a virus model for in vitro research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant attention is paid to the design of magnetoplasmonic nanohybrids, which exploit synergistic properties for biomedical applications. Here, a facile method was employed to prepare plasmonic magnetic Au-MnO heterostructured hybrid nanoparticles for imaging-guided photothermal therapy of cancers in vitro, with the view to reducing the serious drawbacks of chemotherapy and gadolinium-based contrast agents. The biocompatibility of the prepared Au-MnO nanocomposites was further enhanced by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved triblock copolymers Pluronic® F-127 and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS), with complementary support to enhance the absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) region. In addition, synthesized COS-PF127@Au-MnO nanocomposites exhibited promising contrast enhancement in T1 MR imaging with a good r1 relaxivity value (1.2 mM−1 s−1), demonstrating a capable substitute to Gd-based toxic contrast agents. In addition, prepared COS-PF127@Au-MnO hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) produced sufficient heat (62 °C at 200 μg/mL) to ablate cancerous cells upon 808 nm laser irradiation, inducing cell toxicity, and apoptosis. The promising diagnostic and photothermal therapeutic performance demonstrated the appropriateness of the COS-PF127@Au-MnO HNPs as a potential theranostic agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health and its related facilities are crucial for thriving cities and societies. The optimum utilization of health resources saves money and time, but above all, it saves precious lives. It has become even more evident in the present as the pandemic has overstretched the existing medical resources. Specific to patient appointment scheduling, the casual attitude of missing medical appointments (no-show-ups) may cause severe damage to a patient's health. In this paper, with the help of machine learning, we analyze six million plus patient appointment records to predict a patient's behaviors/characteristics by using ten different machine learning algorithms. For this purpose, we first extracted meaningful features from raw data using data cleaning. We applied Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), Adaptive Synthetic Sampling Method (Adasyn), and random undersampling (RUS) to balance our data. After balancing, we applied ten different machine learning algorithms, namely, random forest classifier, decision tree, logistic regression, XG Boost, gradient boosting, Adaboost Classifier, Naive Bayes, stochastic gradient descent, multilayer perceptron, and Support Vector Machine. We analyzed these results with the help of six different metrics, i.e., recall, accuracy, precision, F1-score, area under the curve, and mean square error. Our study has achieved 94% recall, 86% accuracy, 83% precision, 87% F1-score, 92% area under the curve, and 0.106 minimum mean square error. Effectiveness of presented data cleaning and feature selection is confirmed by better results in all training algorithms. Notably, recall is greater than 75%, accuracy is greater than 73%, F1-score is more significant than 75%, MSE is lesser than 0.26, and AUC is greater than 74%. The research shows that instead of individual features, combining different features helps make better predictions of a patient's appointment status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]