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Remodeling the endogenous regenerative microenvironment in wounds is crucial for achieving scarless, functional tissue regeneration, especially the functional recovery of skin appendages such as sweat glands in burn patients. However, current approaches mostly rely on the use of exogenous materials or chemicals to stimulate cell proliferation and migration, while the remodeling of a pro-regenerative microenvironment remains challenging. Herein, we developed a flexible sono–piezo patch (fSPP) that aims to create an endogenous regenerative microenvironment to promote the repair of sweat glands in burn wounds. This patch, composed of multifunctional fibers with embedded piezoelectric nanoparticles, utilized low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) to activate electrical stimulation of the target tissue, resulting in enhanced pro-regenerative behaviors of niche tissues and cells, including peripheral nerves, fibroblasts, and vasculatures. We further demonstrated the effective wound healing and regeneration of functional sweat glands in burn injuries solely through such physical stimulation. This noninvasive and drug-free therapeutic approach holds significant potential for the clinical treatment of burn injuries.

Objectives:This study examined people's preference for the location to receive palliative care services and determined the associated factors. Methods:A questionnaire with reference to the Chinese version of the Hospice Attitude Scale and the Death Correspondence Scale was designed, piloted, revised, and distributed online and in person to collect data (N = 762). Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the effects of relevant factors. Results:The average age of the participants was 38.1, with a relatively even gender distribution. Over 90% of the participants were either single/never married (44.9%) or married with children (46.0%). 58.1% of the respondents (N = 428) indicated that they would like to receive palliative care at home, compared to 41.9% who preferred receiving such care in institutions or other places (N = 309). Each time people's attitudes toward death became one point more positive, they were 10.2% more likely to choose to receive palliative care services at home. People with a neutral attitude toward palliative care, single/never married or divorced with children, and having/had an occupation in health and social work had higher odds of preferring receiving palliative care at home. Those who had poor self-rated health or with an educational background of primary school or lower or some college had lower odds of preferring receiving palliative care at home. Conclusions:The research showed that attitudes toward death and other factors were associated with people's preferences for palliative care locations. More accessible and affordable community-based and home-based palliative care services should be further explored and provided.

Centipedes exploit soft structures to move efficiently in complex environments. These abilities have promoted scientists to develop centipede-like robots with soft robot technologies. In this article, a centipede-like robot constructed by multiple body segments connected in series is designed. Each body segment features a pair of antagonistic artificial muscles and four electro-adhesive feet, which plays the role of the basic motion unit of the centipede-like robot and can be regarded as a soft myriapod robot. To accomplish the desired movement tasks for the soft myriapod robot, this article proposes a neuro-inspired hierarchical motion control scheme according to the functions of the centipede brain. In the proposed control scheme, a mushroom body-inspired controller with an error-based learning mechanism is adopted for the soft actuator motion control, and a central complex-inspired deep reinforcement learning algorithm is designed for the robot motion selection. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed motion control scheme is verified via both numerical studies and experiments.

Genetic information is generally transferred from RNA to protein according to the classic “Central Dogma”. Here, we made a striking discovery that post-translational modification of a protein specifically regulates the editing of its own mRNA. We show that S-nitrosylation of cathepsin B (CTSB) exclusively alters the adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing of its own mRNA. Mechanistically, CTSB S-nitrosylation promotes the dephosphorylation and nuclear translocation of ADD1, leading to the recruitment of MATR3 and ADAR1 to CTSBmRNA. ADAR1-mediated A-to-I RNA editing enables the binding of HuR to CTSBmRNA, resulting in increased CTSBmRNA stability and subsequently higher steady-state levels of CTSB protein. Together, we uncovered a unique feedforward mechanism of protein expression regulation mediated by the ADD1/MATR3/ADAR1 regulatory axis. Our study demonstrates a novel reverse flow of information from the post-translational modification of a protein back to the post-transcriptional regulation of its own mRNA precursor. We coined this process as “Protein-directed EDiting of its Own mRNA by ADAR1 (PEDORA)” and suggest that this constitutes an additional layer of protein expression control. “PEDORA” could represent a currently hidden mechanism in eukaryotic gene expression regulation.

Mechanical vibration, as an alternative of application of solid/liquid lubricants, has been an effective means to modulate friction at the macroscale. Recently, atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments and model simulations also suggest a similar vibration-induced friction reduction effect for nanoscale contact interfaces, although an additional external vibration source is typically needed to excite the system. Here, by introducing a piezoelectric thin film along the contact interface, we demonstrate that friction measured by a conductive AFM probe can be significantly reduced (more than 70%) when an alternating current (AC) voltage is applied. Such real-time friction modulation is achieved owing to the localized nanoscale vibration originating from the intrinsic inverse piezoelectric effect, and is applicable for various material combinations. Assisted by analysis with the Prandtl—Tomlinson (P—T) friction model, our experimental results suggest that there exists an approximately linear correlation between the vibrational amplitude and the relative factor for perturbation of sliding energy corrugation. This work offers a viable strategy for realizing active friction modulation for small-scale interfaces without the need of additional vibration source or global excitation that may adversely impact device functionalities.

Toluene, a kind of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), serves as a vital constituent of PM2.5 and acts as a notable precursor to ozone. To improve the adsorption performance of adsorbents for toluene, MIL-101(Cr)-XmM with high porosity were synthesized using an in-situ growth restriction strategy. This research reveals that the solvation effect influences the rate of crystal nucleation and growth, leading to variations in the ratio of micropores to mesopores and overall porosity in MIL-101(Cr)-XmM. The high porosity of MIL-101(Cr)-1.6 mM facilitates a higher diffusion rate of particles and exposes a greater number of alkaline sites. Consequently, the adsorption performance of MIL-101(Cr)-1.6 mM for toluene demonstrates a remarkable 240% improvement compared to that of MIL-101(Cr)-1.2 mM. Molecular simulations unveils the impact of adsorption temperature, demonstrating the crucial role of van der Waals interactions in the adsorption of toluene, with a noteworthy inhibition of van der Waals interactions observed upon heating. Density functional theory(DFT) simulations show that toluene molecules tend to preferentially adsorb near the benzene ring of the ligand, primarily due to π-π stacking interactions. Simultaneously, the electrophilic channel with greater porosity can gather more nucleophilic groups, thereby enhancing the adsorption performance of toluene.

•High cetane number fuel hydrogenated catalytic biodiesel is adopted to blend with ethanol to improve its ignition behaviour.•Partially premixed combustion mode can be achieved with the blends of hydrogenated catalytic biodiesel/ethanol/n-octanol.•The effect of injection timing is similar on the trend of ignition and soot formation at both low and high injection pressures.•The change on injection pressure is more effective on the soot reduction than the shift of injection timing.•The proportion of ethanol at 30% shows a greater potential on the soot reduction with a little bit of compensation of power output.

Opto-electrophysiology neural probes targeting single-cell levels offer an important avenue for elucidating the intrinsic mechanisms of the nervous system using different physical quantities, representing a significant future direction for brain–computer interface (BCI) devices. However, the highly integrated structure poses significant challenges to fabrication processes and the presence of photoelectric artifacts complicates the extraction and analysis of target signals. Here, we propose a highly miniaturized and integrated opto-electrophysiology neural probe for electrical recording and optical stimulation at the single-cell/subcellular level. The design of a total internal reflection layer addresses the photoelectric artifacts that are more pronounced in single-cell devices compared to conventional implantable BCI devices. Finite element simulations and electrical signal tests demonstrate that the opto-electrophysiology neural probe eliminates the photoelectric artifacts in the time domain, which represents a significant breakthrough for optoelectrical integrated BCI devices. Our proposed opto-electrophysiology neural probe holds substantial potential for promoting the development of in vivoBCI devices and developing advanced therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders.

The removal of fluoride ions at low concentrations from industrial wastewater has economic and environmental significance simutaneously and presents a great challenge. In this research, an aluminum alginate (AA) foam with a stable frame structure was fabricated by crosslinking sodium alginate (SA) with aluminum chloride (AlCl3) used vacuum freeze-drying treatment. The prepared foam was then employed to remediate fluoride contaminated water. The investigation of the physical chemistry and adsorption properties of AA foam was conducted in a systematic manner. Result showed that the composite foam had a maximum fluoride adsorption capacity of 7.56 mg/g in a 20 mg/L solution of fluoride ions at ambient temperature, illustrating the AA foam exhibits a significant capacity in removal of fluoride contaminated water at low concentrations.

Hydraulic fracturing operation as an effective enhancing coalbed gas production method is widely used in ultra-low permeability coal seam. However, complex geo-stresses and high heterogeneity between natural cleats structure lead to difficulty predicting hydraulic fracture patterns. Fracture evolution behavior for fracturing operation in coal seams requires a better understanding. In this study, a 2D model of hydraulic fracture propagation was built based on the cohesive zone model of finite element method. The effect of orthogonal cleat system, in-situ stress, dig angle and construction parameters on fracture geometries were main investigated. The main conclusions were as follows: (1) According to the interaction types between hydraulic fracture and cleat system, ladder-shaped fracture and H-shaped fracture geometry was summarized. The difference between them was whether there were continuous and small pressure fluctuation stages. (2) When the horizontal stress difference coefficient was lower and larger than 3/12, fracture geometry was prone to present Η shape and ladder shape respectively. Besides, the dimensionless fracture length and the dimensionless fracture extension aspect ratio of fracture were increasing with larger horizontal stress difference coefficient. (3) The favorable condition for fracture extension was that the dig angle was 45o. Hydraulic fracture tended to propagate along face cleats direction. (4) Larger fracture fluid displacement was beneficial to form more balanced hydraulic fracture geometry and promote large extension scale. As fracture fluid viscosity increased, the fracture geometries transformed from ladder shape to H shape.

A dimeric Y(III)-containing antimonotungstate [Y4(H2O)8(mal)2(OAc)O(Sb2WV2WVI19O72)2]21−(Y4mal2, H3mal = DL-malic acid), resembling a “handshake” configuration, was synthesized and characterized. The polyanion of Y4mal2consists of two Dawson-derived {Y2Sb2W21} moieties that are further linked by two mal ligands and one μ2-bridging acetate to form an asymmetric polyanion. Notably, the chiral configuration induced by the D- or L-configuration of the mal ligand results in both {Y2Sb2W21} moieties within one polyanion exhibiting identical chirality, leading to the racemate crystallization of Y4mal2. Moreover, Y4mal2exhibits excellent Lewis acid catalytic activity for environmentally friendly synthesis of imidazoles.

A two-year field experiment conducted under dryland conditions in semi-humid and drought-prone regions of China aimed to assess the effect of ammonia-oxidizing bacterial on maize water use efficiency and yield. A heterotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (HAOB) strain S2_8_1 was used. Six treatments were applied: (1) no irrigation + HAOB strain (DI), (2) no irrigation + blank culture medium (DM), (3) no irrigation control (DCK), (4) irrigation + HAOB (WI), (5) irrigation + blank culture medium (WM), and (6) irrigation control (WCK). Results revealed that HAOB treatment increased maize growth, yield, and water use efficiency over controls, regardless of whether the year was wet or dry. This improvement was attributed to the accelerated nitrification in the rhizosphere soil due to HAOB inoculation, which subsequently led to increased levels of leaf cytokinins. Overall, these findings suggest that HAOB inoculation holds promise as a strategy to boost water use efficiency and maize productivity in dryland agriculture.

A detailed experimental investigation on the effect of thermal properties on single droplet combustion characteristics has been performed at room temperature and atmospheric pressure under normal gravity with four n-alkanes (n-octane, n-dodecane, n-tetradecane, and n-hexadecane). The evolution of suspended droplet diameter and the global flame over time were obtained using microscopic and direct photography simultaneously. The results show that the n-alkane droplets used in this study exhibited similar D2-law curve characteristics and the droplet shape of single component is quasi-spherical throughout the whole combustion duration. The n-alkanes with lower boiling point and high volatility present a higher burning rate and shorter combustion duration, and there is no expansion process during the evaporation period. Strong microexplosion and fluctuation on droplet diameter were observed when the thermal properties of the multicomponent are sufficiently different. The reason is that the bubbles nucleate, grow, and rupture continuously by heating the components of lower boiling point and high volatility in multicomponent droplets. The thermal properties and mixing ratio of the components in the multicomponent droplet and the formation position of the bubbles have an important influence on the microexplosive combustion and its intensity. Besides, there is an inverse power relationship between the burning rate constant of n-alkane droplets and initial droplet diameter (D0> 1 mm).

Metastasis is responsible for the death of most breast cancer patients. Robo1 has been implicated as a tumor suppressor for various cancers including breast cancer. However, it is not well understood how Robo1 expression is regulated during tumorigenesis. In this study, we uncovered that the transmembrane proline rich ?-carboxyglutamic acid protein 4 (PRRG4) promotes breast cancer metastasis by downregulating Robo1. Analysis of mRNA expression data in The Cancer Genome Atlas and immunohistochemistry assay on breast tumor samples showed that PRRG4 expression was higher in breast tumors than in normal breast tissues. Experiments with PRRG4 knockdown and overexpression revealed that PRRG4 promoted migration and invasion of breast cancer cells, and enhanced metastasis in an experimental metastasis model. Mechanistically, we found that PRRG4 via its LPSY and PPPY motifs recruited the E3 ubiquitin ligase NEDD4, which induced ubiquitination and degradation of Robo1, thus contributing to migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. In addition, PRRG4 interacted with and enhanced protein tyrosine kinase Src and FAK activation. Overall, our data support a model that PRRG4 via NEDD4 downregulates the Robo1, resulting in the activation of Src and FAK and promoting breast cancer metastasis. PRRG4 may be a novel target for treating metastatic breast cancer.

The morphological instability of solid/liquid (S/L) interface during solidification will result in different patterns of microstructure. In this study, two dimension (2D) and three dimension (3D) in-situ observation of solid/liquid interfacial morphology transition in Al-Zn alloy during directional solidification were performed via X-ray imaging. Under a condition of increasing temperature gradient (G), the interface transition from dendritic pattern to cellular pattern, and then to planar growth with perturbation was captured. The effect of solidification parameter (the ratio of temperature gradient and growth velocity (v), G / v) on morphological instabilities was investigated and the experimental results were compared to classical "constitutional supercooling" theory. The results indicate that 2D and 3D evolution process of S/L interface morphology under the same thermal condition are different. It seems that the S/L interface in 2D observation is easier to achieve planar growth than that in 3D, implying higher S/L interface stability in 2D thin plate samples. This can be explained as the restricted liquid flow under 2D solidification which is beneficial to S/L interface stability. The in-situ observation in present study can provide coherent dataset for microstructural formation investigation and related model validation during solidification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports an untethered soft robot using soft electrostatic actuators. The robot consists of a deformable body driven by dielectric elastomer actuators, and two paper-based feet driven by electroadhesion actuators. The use of light-weight batteries and small-volume amplifiers contributes to the development of this untethered soft robot. Inspired by inchworms, this untethered soft robot can achieve locomotion through alternate expansion/contraction of its deformable body and adhesion/detachment of its two paper-based feet. The strong electroadhesion ensures a stable locomotion, and the large voltage-induced deformation and fast response of the robotic body leads to a velocity of 0.02 body length/s. This velocity is higher than that of untethered soft crawling robots based on pneumatic actuators or ionic polymer metal composites. The deformation of the robotic body is studied through finite element analysis. Compared to traditional hard robots, soft robots are found to be more susceptible to dissipative processes, including charging/discharging the actuators, dielectric relaxation and viscoelastic effects. These dissipative effects on this untethered soft robot are also investigated in this paper.

A series of 3DOM cerium-based perovskite catalysts with different B-site elements were prepared by the colloidal crystal template method and excess impregnation method with Cr, Ni, and Mn as the B-site elements. The physical and chemical properties of the catalysts were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), and oxygen temperature-programmed desorption (O2-TPD) characterization techniques. The results showed that the catalyst with Mn as the B-site element had a high-quality macropore structure (pore size 200–250 nm), large specific surface area (45.26 m2/g), and abundant surface adsorbed oxygen content (Oads/Olatt= 0.46). The addition of manganese enhanced the low-temperature reducibility, and the main reduction peak was below 400 °C. The O2-TPD results showed that 3DOM CeMnO3expressed the highest adsorption oxygen content. The 3DOM CeMnO3possessed the best catalytic performance with T50%= 102 °C and T90%= 203 °C during the catalytic oxidation of toluene. Intermediate product study hinted that toluene was first converted into benzoic acid and benzaldehyde and then further degraded into small molecules. The catalyst with the best activity also exhibited good stability, and toluene degradation rate remained above 85% at 200°C for more than 20 h of continuous experiments.

Perioperative cerebral hypoxia and neonatal hypoxia-ischemic encephalopathy are the main triggers that lead to temporary or permanent brain dysfunction. The pathogenesis is intimately correlated to neural activities and the pH of the microenvironment, which calls for a high demand for in situ multitype physiological signal acquisition in the brain. However, conventional pH sensing neural interfaces cannot obtain the characteristics of multimodes, multichannels, and high spatial resolution of physiological signals simultaneously. Here, we report a multifunctional implantable iridium oxide (IrOx) neural probe (MIIONP) combined with electrophysiology recording, in situ pH sensing, and neural stimulation for real-time dynamic brain hypoxia evaluation. The neural probe modified with IrOx films exhibits outstanding electrophysiology recording and neural stimulation performance and long-term stable high spatial pH sensing resolution of about 100 μm, and the cytotoxicity of IrOx microelectrodes was investigated as well. In addition, 4 weeks’ tracking of the same neuron firing and instantaneous population spike captured during electrical stimulation was achieved by MIIONP. Finally, in a mouse brain hypoxia model, the MIIONP has demonstrated the capability of synchronous in situ recording of the pH and neural firing changes in the brain, which has a valuable application in dynamic brain disease evaluation through real-time acquisition of multiple physiological signals.

To achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, the chemical absorption method is the most widely used and mature carbon capture technology. In this method, organic amine solution is a commonly used absorbent for CO2absorption. Biphasic solvents have been designed due to their significant advantages in reducing energy consumption for regeneration, and the development of new and efficient biphasic solvents has become the current research focus. The CO2absorption performance of absorbents with different ratios of triethylenetetramine (TETA) and 1-diethylamino-2-propanol (1DMA2P) was investigated by the bubbling absorption method, and it was found that the absorbent of 2 mol/L TETA + 2 mol/L 1DMA2P biphasic solvent showed the best performance. The volume of the rich phase after CO2absorption by the absorbent was 20% lower than that of the ethanolamine (MEA) solution, and the CO2absorption loading was as high as 0.656 mol CO2/mol of total amine. The absorption temperature had little effect on absorption performance and the absorbent had a lower rich-phase volume and better absorption performance when the total amine concentration was 4 mol/L, and the optimum desorption temperature was 393.15 K. Meanwhile, the material composition was characterized by 13C NMR. It could be concluded that the biphasic solvent generated carbamate and protonated amine after absorbing CO2, and the reaction product was mainly concentrated in the lower layer of the phase separation.

ZnS nanowires were successfully synthesized through the direct reaction of Zn and S vapor viacarbon-assisted chemical evaporation deposition method with Au catalyst. The investigations indicated that the size of ZnS nanowires with a diameter of approximately 40 nm was uniform along the axis of the wire and the surfaces were slick. The ZnS nanowire with a hexagonal wurtzite structure was a typical single crystalline structure. HRTEM and SEAD results demonstrated that the nanowire grew along [ 100] direction, which was different from the common direction reported in literatures. The growth of nanowires was controlled by vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism.

Electro-mechanical braking is a new braking mode of rail vehicles, which has the advantages of compact structure, fast response speed, and high precision. It is a new braking technology that conforms to the development trend of full electrification and full intelligence of rail transit brake devices. Due to the special power demand of the electro-mechanical braking device, the electro-mechanical braking motor has a short-time and intermittent working mechanism and is in the state of blocking during working, resulting in its high-temperature rise. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the temperature rise of the motor quickly and accurately at the beginning of its design. To address this problem, based on the coupling calculation of the equivalent thermal circuit method and the equivalent magnetic circuit method, a fast temperature rise calculation method of the motor is proposed. Then, using the fast calculation method, the temperature rise of the electro-mechanical brake motor under different working periods and wind speed is calculated. By function fitting the calculated results, the motor temperature rise curve fitting function is obtained, which can accurately predict the temperature rise of the motor under different working conditions. It provides a theoretical basis for the use of electro-mechanical braking motor in different working conditions and also provides a reference for the design of the electro-mechanical braking motor.

3-Methoxydiphenylamine-4-diazonium salt (MDDS) and its diazoresin were synthesized. The photo- and thermal decomposition of salt and the resins were investigated. The results show that MDDS exhibits excellent thermostability as well as high photosensitivity. A series of diazoresins with different organic counteranions, which dissolve in common solvents and usually were chosen to manufacture the negative presensitized plate, were also synthesized The kinetics of the photo- and thermal decomposition of MDDS in ethanol is reported. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 1975–1982, 1998

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