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Highlights Dielectric elastomers (DEs), have attracted interest because they can replicate the behavior of muscles. They can change shape when subjected to an electric field. A novel DE is proposed in this study that incorporates silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires into silicone rubber (SR). The nanowires were propagated using polycarbosilane via a chemical vapor reaction (CVR). A boronate polymer was employed to promote compatibility between SR and SiC nanowires which modified the nanowire surfaces, leveraging a strong adhesive quality of the catechol moiety. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) inkjet printing was then used to form the DEs into various shapes. These DEs had substantial dielectric constants of the order of 4.46. Significantly, one of the DEs achieved the highest actuated area strain of 20.36% in an electric field of 16.5 V/μm, demonstrating excellent driving performance. Furthermore, when used the fabricated DEs showed pronounced long‐term stability, meaning they are capable of finding applications in artificial intelligence, biomimetics, aerospace, and other disciplines. The SiC nanowires were obtained through a chemical vapor reaction. A boronate polymer with catechol moiety was used to modify the SiC nanowires. DEs were formed various shapes by inkjet printing. DEs achieved very large actuated strains of up to 20.36% at 16.5 V/μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the requirement of high stretchability, high sensitivity, and multifunction for flexible sensors, core–sheath structured polystyrene‐ethylene‐butene‐styrene (SEBS)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/carbonyl iron particle (CIP) fiber with SEBS/CNTs as the sheath and SEBS/CIP as the core was prepared through wet spinning. The contents of CNTs and CIP in the composite fiber were adjusted by changing the extrusion speed of the SEBS/CNTs and SEBS/CIP spinning solutions. The morphology, electromechanical sensing, and magnetic precepting performances of the fiber were studied. The SEBS/CNTs/CIP fiber sensor showed high stretchability with a maximum strain sensing range of 0%–216.9%, high sensitivity with a gauge factor (GF) of up to 1068.28, as well as excellent durability. In addition, the SEBS/CNTs/CIP fiber sensor exhibited excellent magnetic sensing performance by changing the relative resistance of 35.2% with a magnetic flux density variation of 1.2 T. The applications of SEBS/CNTs/CIP fiber in stretchable circuits, human body motion monitoring, and magnetic field perception were demonstrated. Highlights: SEBS/CNTs/CIP fiber for strain and magnetic field sensing was fabricated.The SEBS/CNTs/CIP fiber sensor could sense 216.9% strain with GF up to 1068.28.Relative resistance of SEBS/CNTs/CIP fiber sensor changed by 35.2% under 1.2 T.SEBS/CNTs/CIP fiber was used in human motion monitoring and magnetic perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of Baduanjin qigong on improving lung function and postoperative quality of life of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to find an effective home-based pulmonary rehabilitation method. Methods: A randomised controlled trial was carried out from July 2019 to October 2021, which included 216 NSCLC postoperative participants from Beijing China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Science. Participants were randomly divided into two groups, including the observation (n = 108) group and the control group (n = 108). The control group was given routine lung rehabilitation training, while the observation group was given Baduanjin qigong. Both groups were trained for 12 weeks.The patient's age, sex, smoking history, lung cancer stage, pathological type were recorded. Related indicators of lung function, 6-min walk distance(6MWD), Piper fatigue Scale, and Borg dyspnea score before and after intervention were recorded. Results: Compared with these indicators before indicators, lung function, 6MWD, Piper fatigue Scale score and Borg score were significantly better in the two groups after intervention (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in FVC%, 6MWD and Borg score between the two groups (P > 0.05), whereas FEV1% and Piper fatigue Scale scores in the observation group were better than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Both Baduanjin qigong and traditional pulmonary rehabilitation methods can improve the postoperative lung function and quality of life of patients with NSCLC; and compared with traditional pulmonary rehabilitation training, Baduanjin Qigong may have certain advantages in relieving cancer-related fatigue and FEV1%, and may be another new method of home-based pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with NSCLC. Trial registration: Clinical Trial No.: ChiCTR1900025121. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Conductive fiber was prepared via coaxial wet spinning and magnetron sputtering. • The microcracks and silver plating improved the sensing strain from 70% to 167%. • The SBS/Gr/CNTs/Ag fiber sensor has a very high gauge factor of 1669. In this study, a flexible strain sensor with high sensitivity and a wide working strain range was developed by employing a poly(styrene butadiene styrene) (SBS) matrix and carbon nanotubes (CNTs)/graphene (Gr) as the conductive filler via coaxial wet spinning. Microcracks were induced on the surface of the SBS/Gr/CNTs fibers through controlled mechanical stretching, followed by enhancing the conductive network through silver plating using magnetron sputtering. The results revealed that both the formation of the microcrack structure and silver plating significantly improved the strain sensing performance of the SBS/Gr/CNTs fibers. The formation of microcracks increased the maximum sensing strain from 70 % to 110 % with a high gauge factor of 902. Furthermore, with a silver sputtering duration of 5 min, the strain working range of the silver-plated SBS/Gr/CNTs fiber-based sensor increased to 167 %, accompanied by a significantly enhanced gauge factor of 1669. The SBS/Gr/CNTs/Ag fiber sensor also exhibited reliable stability and durability during repeated stretching-releasing cycles. Moreover, it demonstrated the ability to monitor human movements, including finger and wrist joint motions, as well as knee joint bending. These findings highlight the effectiveness of microcrack formation and silver plating in enhancing the strain sensing capabilities of SBS/Gr/CNTs fibers. The developed sensor holds great promise for various applications, particularly in monitoring human movements and structural deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]