Ziyu Liu

Cancer remains a major global health challenge, and nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have emerged as a promising strategy for targeted cancer therapy. However, clinical translation is still limited by an incomplete understanding of how nanoparticles navigate the tumor microenvironment (TME) throughout the delivery process. This review presents an integrated, stage-by-stage framework for nanoparticle design that addresses the TME barriers encountered during systemic circulation, tumor-targeted enrichment, and drug release. During systemic circulation, PEGylation, hydrophilic polymer modification, cell membrane- or exosome-based biomimetic technologies, and biomolecular corona formation are employed to prolong circulation half-life. In the tumor-targeting stage, charge-reversal surfaces, ligand conjugation, ligand shielding, and tuning of physical properties enhance tumor accumulation and cellular internalization. For drug release, molecular and structural design enables intracellular responsive release, stepwise extracellular-to-intracellular release, and sequential release to distinct target cells. Beyond summarizing these strategies, we highlight the newly proposed active transport and retention (ATR) principle as a unifying mechanistic framework that explains how nanoparticles achieve tumor accumulation through active endothelial transport and retention via tumor component interactions. We further discuss translational barriers including complex fabrication, scalability hurdles, and biocompatibility constraints, and outline emerging solutions such as novel nanoparticle fabrication methods (microfluidics, turbulent jet, and microfluidic mixing), engineered biomimetic exosomes, organ-on-a-chip evaluation platforms, and AI-driven design screening. By connecting stage-specific design strategies to the ATR framework, this review offers a mechanistic foundation for the rational design of next-generation nanomedicines.

Digital twin technology provides a promising approach for integrating the diverse physical and information resources involved in civil aircraft maintenance. However, existing studies often address individual technologies or isolated maintenance applications, while the systematic integration of digital twins and complementary digital technologies within a digital hangar remains insufficiently clarified. This study develops a practice-informed framework for digital-twin-enabled smart aircraft maintenance through a structured synthesis of relevant technologies and an illustrative analysis of the China Eastern Airlines Digital Hangar project. The framework organizes the smart maintenance system into interconnected functions for data perception, digital representation and data management, analytical decision support, and visualization and simulation. The industrial case illustrates how these functions can be mapped to core maintenance-management domains, including personnel, tools, aircraft materials, maintenance tasks, and safety. The analysis also clarifies the distinction between a digital-twin-enabled maintenance system and a conventional maintenance information platform with three-dimensional visualization. To support subsequent empirical assessment, operational efficiency, traceability, decision quality, system reliability, and economic performance are proposed as key evaluation dimensions. The framework provides a structured reference for the design, assessment, and further development of digital hangars in civil aviation maintenance.

DNA methylation has long been regarded as a stable, maintenance-based epigenetic marker. However, this classical binary model struggles to fully explain the dynamic and situational dependence of methylation regulation at the multi-biological level. This review defines DNA methylation as a programmable information layer that systematically integrates the latest advances in three interrelated dimensions of molecular coding, disease status indication, and epigenomic engineering. At the molecular level, this paper describes how the chemical diversity of cytosine modification, the writing–erasing enzyme network, and the three-dimensional structure of chromatin jointly construct a methylated polymorphic coding system and evaluates the performance of emerging sequencing technologies in DNA integrity, reading length, modification resolution, and analytical complexity through a multidimensional scoring framework. At the cellular and clinical levels, this paper comprehensively demonstrates methylation as a quantifiable indicator of cell identity, biological aging and disease status, covering circulating free DNA biomarkers and spatial heterogeneity analysis. Critically, this paper evaluates how the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based epigenome editing platform achieves causal inference and promotes the transformation of methylation from related biomarkers to functional therapeutic targets. At the same time, persistent challenges such as off-target specificity, in vivo delivery, and spatiotemporal regulation encountered in epigenetic gene editing are discussed. This review reveals the paradigm shift of DNA methylation from passive observation markers to actively engineered regulatory parameters, which has direct therapeutic application prospects.

G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) remains a challenge in high-performance aviation because it can rapidly impair pilot functional capacity and compromise aircraft control. Traditional approaches have largely treated G-LOC as a physiological tolerance or threshold problem, emphasizing maximum +Gz tolerance, centrifuge-based assessment, and post hoc identification of loss of consciousness. However, operational G-LOC risk is more dynamic and depends on the interaction among +Gz magnitude, rate of onset, exposure duration, individual physiological reserve, and anti-G straining maneuver effectiveness. This review reframes G-LOC as a time-dependent physiological decompensation process rather than a discrete terminal endpoint. We synthesize evidence on the progression from compensated cardiovascular regulation to potential loss of consciousness, with particular attention to early functional degradation, including visual, cognitive, behavioral, and performance-related changes. We further discuss how mechanism-informed physiological monitoring may support adaptive protection strategies. This framework shifts G-LOC research from static tolerance assessment toward dynamic physiological state monitoring and individualized protection in high-performance aviation.

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) has been widely investigated as a suitable process method for the preparation of alternative fuels from algae, due to its mild reaction conditions and environmentally benign reaction medium. HTL requires heat input to a large amount of aqueous phase medium, which accounts for most of the heat consumption in the bio-crude preparation stage; in addition, co-processing requires bio-crude as a feedstock for the fuel refinery system. Therefore, energy consumption in the preparation stage of bio-crude is important for industrial cost control. In this paper, HTL from different types of algae and process methods is evaluated from the perspective of energy consumption. One-step HTL, two-step HTL, and co-solvent system HTL were modelled and calculated using the chemical simulation software Aspen Plus. Five algal species with lipid contents ranging from 6.15 wt% to 47.80 wt% were evaluated. The results showed that both process method and algal species had a significant effect on the energy consumption of the HTL process. The co-solvent system HTL using a methanol:water ratio of 1:19 (v/v) and an ethanol:water ratio of 3:97 (v/v) consumed less heat (based on fatty acids and fatty acid esters (FAFEs)) than one-step HTL while obtaining high quality bio-crude. Two-step HTL has about 20% higher process heat consumption, although there are advantages in bio-crude quality and by-products over one-step HTL.

Background/Objectives: Diabetic wound healing faces significant challenges due to the harsh microenvironment of wounds such as high blood glucose levels, excessive inflammation, persistent infection, upregulated reactive oxygen species (ROS), and damaged new blood vessels. Therefore, developing hydrogel dressings with microenvironmental regulation functions has become an important strategy in treating diabetic wounds. Methods: In this study, an ultraviolet in situ crosslinked hydrogel (D@H/E) was developed using methacrylic anhydride modified hyaluronic acid (HA-MA) and glycidyl methacrylate modified ε-polylysine (EPL-GMA), loaded with the iron chelating agent desferrioxamine (DFO). The physicochemical and biochemical properties of the hydrogel were comprehensively characterized, and its efficacy as a dressing for diabetic wounds was evaluated in a STZ-induced hyperglycemic mouse model. Results: This hydrogel demonstrated remarkable multidimensional effects by alleviating oxidative stress damage, inhibiting bacterial infection, regulating inflammatory responses, mitigating ferroptosis, and promoting cell migration and tubule formation. Specifically, the DFO-loaded hydrogel achieved a high DPPH radical scavenging efficiency of 80.8% and exhibited excellent antibacterial activity, with over 99.8% inhibition against both S. aureus and E. coli. In streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice, the hydrogel accelerated wound closure to near completion by day 14. Mechanistically, it significantly upregulated CD206 expression to promote M2 macrophage polarization, upregulated the expression of angiogenesis-related factors to promote angiogenesis at the wound site, and enhanced GPX4 expression to alleviate ferroptosis. Conclusions: By orchestrating multi-dimensional synergy that combines ROS scavenging, infection control, immune regulation, and anti-ferroptosis, this D@H/E hydrogel system effectively remodels the harsh diabetic wound microenvironment, offering a promising platform for chronic wound management.

Switchable superwettable membranes have attracted significant attention for wastewater treatment; however, their deployment is often restricted by complex fabrication processes and a limited capacity to separate diverse oil–water mixtures. Drawing inspiration from the dual-affinity wetting mechanisms of fish scales and lotus leaves, this study presents a hierarchical nanofibrous composite membrane designed for efficient, adaptable oil–water separation. By integrating scalable electrospinning with hydrothermal synthesis, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers were decorated with flower-like ZnO nanosheet arrays and subsequently modified with microcrystalline cellulose (MC). This use of a renewable, biodegradable polymer acts as a sustainable functional coating, enhancing the environmental profile of the separation process. The resulting hierarchical architecture enables facile switching between underwater superoleophobicity and under-oil superhydrophobicity solely through pre-wetting. Optimization studies revealed that a 3% cellulose concentration yields superior performance. The optimized membrane exhibits separation efficiencies exceeding 99% for both surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water and water-in-oil emulsions, with permeance fluxes traversing 318–2800 l · m⁻² · h⁻¹ · bar⁻¹. For immiscible mixtures, the membrane achieves over 99.4% efficiency with fluxes exceeding 6400 l · m⁻² · h⁻¹ · bar⁻¹. Furthermore, the material demonstrates robust stability across saline, acidic, and alkaline environments and exceptional recyclability over 10 filtration cycles. This nature-inspired strategy, combining bio-sourced materials with scalable manufacturing, offers a cost-effective and sustainable solution for industrial applications ranging from oil spill remediation to water treatment.

As osteoarthritis is a common disease in elderly people and large cartilage defects can only be treated by joint replacement surgery, a scaffold is seen as a potential treatment that could help patients to delay or avoid surgery. An ideal scaffold should have similar properties to the surrounding tissues. Thus, for different levels of OA, patients with different bone properties should use different scaffold structures with different mechanical or biological properties. In this paper five structures (A–E) are designed for young OA patients or patients with good bone mechanical properties, middle-age OA patients with weak bone mechanical properties or patients with little osteoporosis, and elderly OA patients who have severer OA and osteoporosis who are not able to perform normal activities. And these five scaffold structures are 3D-printed by an EOS machine with Ti6Al4V powder and evaluated by experiments based on a biomechanical bioreactor simulating the human knee joint and simulation through ANSYS. Structure D with a solid thick beam in the middle has the highest loading force, which is 3707.835 N, and structure E, composed of the polyhedron with the highest specific surface area, has the lowest loading force, which is 1837.402 N. Structures A, B, and C are intended for young OA patients or patients with good bone mechanical properties. Structures D and E are designed for patients who need to avoid or delay joint replacement surgery.