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The challenges of replicating the complex mechanical and structural diversity of natural tissues in vitro by leveraging multi‐material digital light processing (DLP) bioprinting are addressed. This technique utilizes PEGDA‐AAm bio‐ink to develop multi‐component, cell‐laden hydrogel constructs with varying moduli. These constructs not only possess heterogeneous mechanical properties but also feature complex architectures and precisely engineered surface microstructures. The hydrogel microfluidic chips are successfully fabricated with perfusable microchannels, embedding various cell types within the matrix. This approach enables the bioprinting of intricate cell‐laden structures with unique surface topologies, such as spiral grooves and triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS), which effectively influence cell alignment, spreading, and migration. By integrating various cell‐laden PA hydrogels, the diverse mechanical moduli of biological tissues, including bone, liver lobules, and vascular networks are replicated. This technique ensures high‐fidelity differentiation between cell types and regions. These findings provide valuable insights into the impact of substrate modulus and structure on cell behavior, underscoring the potential of multi‐component, multi‐modulus hydrogel constructs in creating sophisticated structures with custom‐tailored mechanical properties. This study significantly advances the field by demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of multi‐material DLP bioprinting in developing complex, functionally relevant tissue models for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yarn‐woven triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have greatly advanced wearable sensor technology, but their limited sensitivity and stability hinder broad adoption. To address these limitations, Poly(VDF‐TrFE) and P(olyadiohexylenediamine (PA66)‐based nanofibers coaxial yarns (NCYs) combining coaxial conjugated electrospinning and online conductive adhesive coating are developed. The integration of these NCYs led to enhanced TENGs (NCY‐TENGs), notable for their flexibility, stretchability, and improved sensitivity, which is ideal for capturing body motion signals. One significant application of this technology is the fabrication of smart insoles from NCY‐TENG plain‐woven fabrics. These insoles are highly sensitive and possess antibacterial, breathable, and washable properties, making them ideal for real‐time gait monitoring in patients with diabetic foot conditions. The NCY‐TENGs and their derivatives show immense potential for a variety of wearable electronic devices, representing a considerable advancement in the field of wearable sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast progress of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology has been considerable over the past decades. Emerging Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) provides power systems with promising solutions to integrate large‐scale renewable energy sources, as well as multiple asynchronous power grids. Consequently, implementation of a multi‐terminal HVDC transmission system has been easier using MMC converters. However, protection of multi‐terminal MMC‐based HVDC grids under DC fault conditions is a challenge for the industry. This study sheds light on concept of system‐level DC protection coordination for multi‐terminal HVDC grids. Although, there are different protection methods for HVDC transmission systems including multi‐terminal ones, there are no well‐defined protection coordination strategies for transmission links protection and belonging HVDC converters under DC fault conditions. The proposed protection coordination prevents unnecessary tripping of MMCs in the multi‐area HVDC grids and supports the system with minimum effect on healthy parts. For the first time, different HVDC Converter Tripping (HCT) profiles are presented based on a fully selective protection strategy and their characteristics are discussed comprehensively. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy for multi‐terminal MMC‐based HVDC grids. The proposed coordination can be applied to DC grid code requirements of meshed HVDC grids in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lightning‐induced nitrogen oxides (LNOx) can affect ozone (O3) through photochemical processes. However, the impact of LNOx on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) O3 valley, an area with a lower O3 column compared to surrounding areas, remains controversial. Prior to this study, the impact of monsoonal transport on LNOx and related effects on the TP O3 valley has been overlooked. The objectives of this study are to differentiate between locally generated LNOx and monsoon‐transported LNOx over the TP and to evaluate their impacts on tropospheric NOx vertical column density, tropospheric column O3, and O3 at different altitudes. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry model was used to replicate LNOx, NOx, and O3 over the TP during July 2010, for which nesting techniques and sensitivity experiments were implemented. The findings emphasize the importance of LNOx as a source of NOx in this region, with nonlocal lightning activity being the primary source. Conversely, the influence of locally generated LNOx on NOx levels over the TP is comparatively minor. Overall, LNOx contributes to an increase in O3 over the TP, but one order lower than the O3 depletion. The impact of LNOx on O3 varies across different altitude ranges; it is broadly "C" shaped, reflecting increase in O3 at near‐surface and in upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS) regions and decrease in the middle troposphere. The increase in surface‐level O3 over the TP is mainly caused by monsoon‐transported LNOx, while locally generated LNOx also plays a crucial role in O3 formation in the UTLS region. Plain Language Summary: Lightning‐induced nitrogen oxides (LNOx) play an important role in ozone (O3) production. However, the impact of LNOx on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) O3 valley, an area with a lower O3 column compared to surrounding areas, remains controversial. Prior to this study, the impact of monsoonal transport on LNOx and related effects on the TP O3 valley has been overlooked. In this research, we distinguish between locally generated LNOx over the TP and LNOx transported by the monsoon from surrounding areas, and we discuss their individual effects on NOx and O3 over the TP. We found that NOx over the TP is mainly composed of LNOx, with a higher proportion of monsoon‐transported LNOx than locally generated LNOx. Generally, LNOx increases O3 over the TP but the effect is small. The impact of LNOx on O3 varies across different altitude ranges; it is broadly "C" shaped, reflecting increase in O3 at near‐surface and in upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (UTLS) regions and decrease in the middle troposphere. The increase in surface‐level O3 over the TP is mainly caused by monsoon‐transported LNOx, while locally generated LNOx also plays a crucial role in O3 formation in the UTLS region. Key Points: Lightning‐induced nitrogen oxides and ozone over the Tibetan Plateau were simulated by Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry for 1 monthMonsoon‐transported lightning‐induced nitrogen oxides significantly contribute to Tibetan Plateau nitrogen oxidesLightning‐induced nitrogen oxides increase Tibetan Plateau ozone and the increment exhibits a C‐shaped curve in the vertical axis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation control for multiple quadrotors subject to maintaining the formation configuration and collision avoidance in the situation of stochastic links failure is investigated in this paper. First, the distributed formation controller is designed, the position controller is developed to manage the desired formation of position, and the attitude controller is developed to control the translation and rotation movements of the quadrotor. Then, in order to avoid the collisions between multiple quadrotors and the obstacles, a potential energy function method is introduced into the quadrotor formation control combined with the nest adaptive control. Inspired by the design of event trigger controller, a communication compensation controller is designed to ensure the stability of quadrotor formation under the condition of random communication interruption and recovery. Moreover, a prescribed time function is designed, which means the convergence time of the formation system can be set in advance. The prescribed time stability of the formation control system is proved by Lyapunov theory. Finally, the simulation results verify the effectiveness and superiority of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Amide proton transfer (APT) imaging has been increasingly applied in tumor characterization. However, its value in evaluating breast cancer remains undetermined. Purpose: To assess the diagnostic performance of APT imaging in breast cancer and its association with prognostic histopathologic characteristics. Study Type: Prospective. Subjects: Eighty‐four patients with breast lesions. Field Strength/Sequence: A 3.0 T/single‐shot fast spin echo APT imaging. Assessment: APTw signal in breast lesion was quantified. Lesion malignancy, T stage, grades, Ki‐67 index, molecular biomarkers (estrogen receptor [ER] expression, progesterone receptor [PR] expression, human epidermal growth factor receptor [HER‐2] expression), molecular subtypes (luminal A, luminal B, triple negative, and HER‐2 enriched) were determined. Statistical Tests: Student t‐test, one‐way analysis of variance, receiver operating characteristic analysis, and Pearson's correlation with P < 0.05 as statistical significance. Results: APTw signal was significantly higher in malignant lesions (1.55% ± 1.24%) than in benign lesions (0.54% ± 1.13%), and in grade III lesions than in grade II lesions (1.65% ± 0.84% vs. 0.96% ± 0.96%), and in T2‐ (1.57% ± 0.64%) and T3‐stage lesions (1.54% ± 0.63%) than in T1‐stage lesions (0.81% ± 0.64%) for invasive breast carcinoma of no special type. APTw signal significantly correlated with Ki‐67 index (r = 0.364) but showed no significant difference in groups of ER (P = 0.069), PR (P = 0.069), HER‐2 (P = 0.961), and among molecular subtypes (P = 0.073). Data Conclusion: APT imaging shows potential in differentiating breast lesion malignancy and associates with prognosis‐related tumor grade, T stage, and proliferative activity. Evidence Level: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide‐bandgap perovskite solar cell is a crucial part of perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, which offer an avenue for surpassing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) limit of single‐junction silicon solar cells. However, the actual efficiency of such tandem solar cells today is diminished by the nonradiative recombination losses in the wide‐bandgap perovskite subcells. Here, this work reports a grain regrowth and bifacial passivation (GRBP) strategy to reduce recombination losses at the grain boundaries and perovskite/charge transport layer interfaces simultaneously. This is achieved by a posttreatment of perovskite films with a mixture of methylammonium thiocyanate (MASCN) and phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI). The MASCN induces the regrowth of perovskite grains and simultaneously facilitates the penetration of PEAI into the hole‐transport‐layer (HTL)/perovskite bottom interface. Thereby, the bulk and interface nonradiative recombination losses are reduced and the open‐circuit voltage in solar cells is considerably increased. PCEs of 21.9% and 19.9% for the 1.65‐eV bandgap opaque and semitransparent perovskite solar cells, respectively, are obtained. The encapsulated semitransparent perovskite solar cells retain their initial efficiency following 500 h of operation under one‐sun illumination in ambient conditions. The perovskite/silicon 4‐terminal (4‐T) tandem cells are fabricated with impressive PCEs 29.8% and 28.5% for 0.049 cm2 and 1 cm2 devices, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commercialization of all‐perovskite tandem solar cells requires thermally stable narrow‐bandgap (NBG) perovskites and tunnel junction. However, the high content of methylammonium (MA) and organic hole transport layer used in NBG perovskite subcell undermine the thermal stability of all‐perovskite tandems. Here, thermally stable mixed lead‐tin NBG perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are developed by using only formamidinium (FA) for the A‐site cation. Solution‐processed indium tin oxide nanocrystals (ITO NCs) are deployed further to replace the conventional organic charge transport layer. Meanwhile, the ITO NCs layer simultaneously functions as a recombination layer in the tunnel junction, which simplifies the architecture of all‐perovskite tandem devices. The thermally stable all‐FA Pb‐Sn PSCs achieve a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.0%. With the thermally stable all‐FA NBG perovskite and optimized tunnel junction, a stabilized PCE of 26.3% is further obtained in all‐perovskite tandems. The unencapsulated tandem devices maintain >90% of their initial efficiencies after 212 h aging at 85 °C in the N2 atmosphere. The strategies herein offer a crucial step toward efficient and thermally stable all‐perovskite tandem solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve accurate and rapid measurement of the hydrophobicity class (HC) of composite insulators, an intelligent spray image recognition technique based on light‐weight convolutional neural networks (CNN) is proposed in this paper. A spray image data set contains clean, contaminated and aged insulators with various illuminations, shooting angles and distances, about 10 400 images of shed surface were collected by spray tests and data augmentation. Five classification models were established by different CNNs, including GoogLeNet, ResNet101, ShuffleNet 0.5×, ShuffleNet 0.25× and MobileNet V2, while the first four of them were pre‐trained by ImageNet dataset. These models were trained, validated and tested by spray image data set. Six indexes were designed to evaluate each model and the discriminative regions for classification were visualized by gradient weighted class activation mapping (Grad‐CAM) method. The results show that these models can effectively recognize spray images with HC1–HC7 and the light‐weight ShuffleNet 0.5× has the best performance, with the classification accuracy of 97.09% for 2022 test images. The Grad‐CAM visualizations indicate that the results have high reliability. This study can provide reference for on‐line detection and intelligent identification of hydrophobicity levels of composite insulators. © 2022 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To develop a model based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) radiomics and clinical features for predicting radiation‐induced temporal lobe injury (RTLI) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) after intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods: Two hundred and sixteen patients with NPC were retrospectively included. Radiomics features were extracted and selected. The logistic regression analysis was performed for prediction models construction. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated for performance evaluation. Results: Three radiomics features were selected to construct the radiomics signature (AUC of 0.94 and 0.92). The clinical‐radiomics model, integrating radiomics signature with T classification, achieved higher predictive performance in the training and validation cohorts (AUC of 0.95 and 0.93), as well as improved accuracy of the classification of RTLI outcomes (net reclassification improvement: 0.711; 95% CI: 0.57–0.86; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The clinical‐radiomics model and radiomics signature both showed great performance in predicting RTLI in patients with NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Line‐commutated converter‐based high‐voltage direct current (LCC‐HVDC) systems suffer from commutation failure (CF) when receiving‐end AC grid faults occur, which is a major drawback and threatens the security and stability of power systems. This paper presents a fast and accurate evaluation method of CF for the LCC‐HVDC systems, considering the CF probability characteristics. Firstly, based on the analysis of the CF probability characteristics from the view of short‐circuit impedance, the CF tolerance index (CFTI) and CF vulnerability index (CFVI) are proposed to quantitatively evaluate the LCC‐HVDC systems' risk of the possible‐ and inevitable‐occurrence CF, respectively. Secondly, four factors, that is, commutation voltage, fault occurrence time, DC current and firing angle command, are considered to calculate CF evaluation indices (CFEIs) and identify the CF risk area boundaries based on the theoretical analysis. Moreover, the relationships among short‐circuit impedance, fault position, and extinction angle are established based on the AC/DC decoupling method, which helps realize the decoupling of multi‐factors affecting CF during fault. Compared to earlier methods, this evaluation method combines the advantages of the accuracy of the electromagnetic transient simulation method and the rapidity of theoretical derivation. Finally, the validity and accuracy of the evaluation method are verified in the CIGRE HVDC benchmark model and IEEE 39‐bus system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Creatine chemical exchange saturation transfer (CrCEST) MRI is used increasingly in muscle imaging. However, the CrCEST measurement depends on the RF saturation duration (Ts) and relaxation delay (Td), and it is challenging to compare the results of different scan parameters. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the quasi‐steady‐state (QUASS) CrCEST MRI on clinical 3T scanners. Methods: T1 and CEST MRI scans of Ts/Td of 1 s/1 s and 2 s/2 s were obtained from a multi‐compartment creatine phantom and 5 healthy volunteers. The CrCEST effect was quantified with asymmetry analysis in the phantom, whereas 5‐pool Lorentzian fitting was applied to isolate creatine from phosphocreatine, amide proton transfer, combined magnetization transfer and nuclear Overhauser enhancement effects, and direct water saturation in four major muscle groups of the lower leg. The routine and QUASS CrCEST measurements were compared under two different imaging conditions. Paired Student's t‐test was performed with p‐values less than 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The phantom study showed a substantial influence of Ts/Td on the routine CrCEST quantification (p = 0.02), and such impact was mitigated with the QUASS algorithm (p = 0.20). The volunteer experiment showed that the routine CrCEST, amide proton transfer, and combined magnetization transfer and nuclear Overhauser enhancement effects increased significantly with Ts and Td (p < 0.05) and were significantly smaller than the corresponding QUASS indices (p < 0.01). In comparison, the QUASS CrCEST MRI showed little dependence on Ts and Td, indicating its robustness and accuracy. Conclusion: The QUASS CrCEST MRI is feasible to provide fast and accurate muscle creatine imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research field of soft robotics develops exponentially since it opens up many imaginations, such as human‐interactive robot, wearable robots, and transformable robots in unpredictable environments. Wet environments such as sea and in vivo represent dynamic and unstructured environments that adaptive soft robots can reach their potentials. Recent progresses in soft hybridized robotics performing tasks underwater herald a diversity of interactive soft robotics in wet environments. Here, the development of soft robots in wet environments is reviewed. The authors recapitulate biomimetic inspirations, recent advances in soft matter materials, representative fabrication techniques, system integration, and exemplary functions for underwater soft robots. The authors consider the key challenges the field faces in engineering material, software, and hardware that can bring highly intelligent soft robots into real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid increase in the number of Apps, the requirement of users has also become extremely complex. Developers have to continuously acquire innovative requirements that provide the guideline for developing more competitive products. However, traditional methods to acquire requirements are not suitable for the App development due to the disadvantage that it cannot interact with users directly. Besides, some methods that use text and data analysis to acquire requirements automatically are hard to expand innovative products because they are often confined to the specific App or the same domain. Therefore, to attract more new users, developers try to find new portable inspiration from other domains for enriching the functions of the App. In this article, we propose a feature extraction method from the descriptions of Apps and use similarity matching to acquire cross‐domain requirements. Our experiments have verified that the Precision, the Recall, and the F‐measure are all as high as 80% of our feature extraction method. Besides, the requirements list we recommend also makes a good performance in terms of reusability with the average Reuse Rank of 59.33% and average Adjusted Functional Points of 7.49, the adaptability gets an average score of 3.3, and the average score of operability is 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high penetration of uncertain resources challenges the security of power system operation. By taking the impact of rescheduling under contingencies into consideration, reliability‐constrained unit commitment (RCUC) is developed to address this challenge. Although several efforts have been made in modelling reliability constraints, the existing methods can only manage oversimplified low‐order temporal‐independent contingencies without considering wide‐range contingencies or their state‐transition‐process issue. To quantify the impact of rescheduling on the normal‐state scheduling process denoted by UC problem, this paper builds up a Bayesian inference method for encoding reliability constraints in wide‐range temporal‐dependent contingencies. Three predictors, for example, expected‐generator‐rescheduling‐power, expected‐energy‐not‐serviced and lost‐of‐load‐probability, are selected to describe the possible corrective behaviours in rescheduling process and quantified by using Bayesian inference method. Then, these predictors are reformatted as a set of linearized constraints to be incorporated into UC. The proposed RCUC comprehensively considers the effect of rescheduling in wide‐range temporal‐dependent contingencies. Therefore, it can reveal the influence of generator rescheduling in wide‐range contingencies and keep better reliability performance than those methods reported in previous RCUC studies. The modified IEEE 30‐bus test system and IEEE 118‐bus test system are used to show the proposed model's effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the large‐scale penetration of wind and solar energies in the power system, the randomness of this renewable energy increases the non‐linear characteristics and uncertainty of the system, which causes a mismatch between renewable energy generation and load demand and it will badly affect the bus voltage control of distribution network. In this context, this study applies pumped storage hydroelectric (PSH) which tracks the load variation rapidly, operate flexibly and reliably to balance the power of the system to minimize the bus voltage deviation. Moreover, to obtain the optimal control policy of PSH, a deep‐reinforcement‐learning algorithm, that is, deep deterministic policy gradient, is utilized to train the agent to address the continuous transformation of the pumped storage hydro‐wind‐solar (PSHWS) system. The performance of a well‐trained agent was evaluated on the IEEE 30‐bus power system. Simulation results show that the proposed method achieves an improvement of 21.8% in cumulative deviation per month, which implies that it can keep the system operating in a safe voltage range more effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All‐perovskite tandem solar cells offer a promising avenue to go beyond the efficiency limit of single‐junction devices. Their efficiencies have been increasing rapidly in the past few years; however, their commercial viability is hindered by the instability under thermal stressing. Herein, comprehensive device design strategies are proposed to achieve thermally stable all‐perovskite tandem solar cells while retaining the advantages of solution processing. Metal oxides, i.e., NiOx and SnO2, are used for the hole and electron transport layers in both wide bandgap and narrow subcells. The metal‐based recombination layer is replaced with a stable and conductive indium tin oxide nanocrystals film to fabricate an all metal‐oxide‐based tunnel junction. Based on those design strategies, the encapsulated all‐perovskite tandem solar cells retained 85% of their initial efficiency after stressing at 85 °C for 2500 h and maintained >80% of their initial performance after 900 h operation at the maximum power point and operating temperature of ≈65 °C. Achieving such thermal stability represents a crucial step toward commercial viability of all‐perovskite tandem solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional bioelectronic implants require energy storage units as power sources. Current energy storage implants face challenges of balancing factors including high‐performance, biocompatibility, conformal adhesion, and mechanical compatibility with soft tissues. An all‐hydrogel micro‐supercapacitor is presented that is lightweight, thin, stretchable, and wet‐adhesive with a high areal capacitance (45.62 F g−1) and energy density (333 μWh cm−2, 4.68 Wh kg−1). The all‐hydrogel micro‐supercapacitor is composed of polyaniline@reduced graphene oxide/Mxenes gel electrodes and a hydrogel electrolyte, with its interfaces robustly crosslinked, contributing to efficient and stable electrochemical performance. The in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility of the all‐hydrogel micro‐supercapacitor is evaluated by cardiomyocytes and mice models. The latter is systematically conducted by performing histological, immunostaining, and immunofluorescence analysis after adhering the all‐hydrogel micro‐supercapacitor implants onto hearts of mice for two weeks. These investigations offer promising energy storage modules for bioelectronics and shed light on future bio‐integration of electronic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size and structural control of particulate carriers for imaging agents and therapeutics are constant themes in designing smart delivery systems. This is motivated by the causal relationship between geometric parameters and functionalities of delivery vehicles. Here, both in vitro and in vivo, the controlling factors for cytotoxicity, photothermal, and anti‐tumor effects of biodegradable magnesium@poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid (Mg@PLGA) particulate carriers with different sizes and shell thicknesses are investigated. Mg@PLGA microspheres fabricated by microfluidic emulsification are shown to have higher Mg encapsulation efficiency, 87%, than nanospheres by ultrasonic homogenization, 50%. The photothermal and anti‐tumor effects of Mg@PLGA spheres are found to be dictated by their Mg content, irrelevant to size and structural features, as demonstrated in both in vitro cell assays and in vivo mice models. These results also provide important implications for designing and fabricating stimuli‐responsive drug delivery vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, most two‐dimensional (2D) metal halide perovskites are of the Ruddlesden–Popper type and contain the thermally unstable methylammonium (MA) molecules, which leads to inferior photovoltaic performance and mild stability. Here we report a new type of MA‐free formamidinium (FA) based low‐dimensional perovskites, featuring a general formula of (PDA)(FA)n−1PbnI3n+1 with propane‐1,3‐diammonium (PDA) as the organic spacer cation. The perovskite films with well‐oriented crystal grains are attained under the assistance of the FACl additive, where the role of Cl is investigated through the grazing‐incidence X‐ray diffraction technique. The photovoltaic device based on the optimized (PDA)(FA)3Pb4I13 film demonstrates a remarkable power conversion efficiency of 13.8 %, the highest record for the FA‐based 2D perovskite solar cells. In addition, compared to (PDA)(MA)3Pb4I13, the MA‐containing analogue and a renowned stable 2D perovskite, both the (PDA)(FA)3Pb4I13 films and their derived devices exhibit exceedingly higher thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methylammonium (MA)‐free perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have drawn broad attention due to their excellent thermostability. However, the efficiency of these devices is inferior to most state‐of‐the‐art PSCs. Herein, the photovoltaic performance of the MA‐free PSCs is enhanced by constructing interfacial capping layers with a pair of alkylammonium halides, n‐propylammonium (PA) iodide and propane‐1,3‐diammonium (PDA) iodide. The structure and composition of the interfacial layers are comprehensively investigated and their correlation with the device performance is presented in terms of defect passivation efficacy, energy level alignment, and hydrophobicity for moisture resistance. The PSC devices based on the PAI and PDAI2 treated MA‐free perovskite films demonstrate better power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) and stabilities than the reference devices without the interfacial layers. Although the PAI‐treated devices exhibit the highest PCE of 21.1%, the PDAI2‐treated PSCs demonstrate the exceptional thermal and humidity stabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial engineering is crucial for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to ensure efficient charge carrier transfer, and pivotal for device performances. Herein, a novel cross‐linked PCBM (CL‐PCBM) interlayer at the perovskite/electron transport layer (ETL) interface of the methylammonium‐free PSC device is incorporated. The dimeric PCBM interlayer prepared using a facile UV cross‐linking technique concurrently improves the quality of the resultant perovskite film and the charge transfer capability of the ETL, leading to significantly enhanced device photovoltaic performances. In addition, the PSC devices integrating the CL‐PCBM interlayers exhibit superior humidity and UV stabilities. The successful employment of the CL‐PCBM interlayer can bring new insight into the design and engineering of high‐quality interfaces for efficient PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are nanosized vesicles produced by the gut microbiota (GM). The GM is well‐known to be involved in the pathological process of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanism of OMVs is not clear. In the present study, we demonstrated the involvement of OMVs in the development of cognitive (learning and memory) dysfunction induced by blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption. More important, further study showed that OMVs induced tau phosphorylation by activating glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK‐3β) in the hippocampus. OMVs activated astrocytes and microglia, increased secretion of inflammatory cytokines (nuclear factor κB, interleukin‐1β, and tumour necrosis factor‐α) in the hippocampus. Therefore, OMVs increase the permeability of the BBB and promote the activation of astrocytes and microglia, inducing an inflammatory response and tau hyperphosphorylation by activating the GSK‐3β pathway and finally leading to cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial adhesion and colonization can result in chronic non‐healing wounds. Current hydrophilic wound dressings can release antibacterial agents into the wound exudate, but may result in overhydrated wounds, bacterial overgrowth, and even tissue maceration. Hydrophobic dressings are anti‐fouling, though ineffective to encapsulate and release bactericidal agents. Combining the advantages of hydrophilic and hydrophobic dressings seems difficult, until the development of superwettability surfaces offers an opportunity for omniphobic dressings from intrinsic hydrophilic polymers. Herein, omniphobic porous hydrogel wound dressings loaded with a zinc imidazolate framework 8 (ZIF‐8) are fabricated by a microfluidic‐emulsion‐templating method. The fabricated porous hydrogel membrane with its reentrant architecture is repellent to blood and body fluids, though intrinsically hydrophilic. This unique combination not only reduces the adhesion of harmful microbes, but also enables the encapsulation and release of antibacterial ingredients to wounded sites from hydrophilic polymer networks. As such, the omniphobic metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs)@hydrogel porous wound dressing can inhibit bacteria invasion and enable the controlled release of the bactericidal, anti‐inflammatory, and nontoxic zinc ions. Furthermore, in vivo study of infected full‐thickness skin defect models demonstrates that the dressing also accelerates wound closure by promoting angiogenesis and collagen deposition. Therefore, the omniphobic MOFs@hydrogel porous wound dressings are potentially useful for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of coronary artery disease (CAD), and stearoyl‐CoA desaturase (SCD) is associated with atherosclerosis. However, the associations between variants of SCD and CAD have not yet been decided. Methods: This study analyzed SCD rs41290540 single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 3′‐untranslated region for an association with a risk of CAD among the Chinese Han population. CAD patients and controls were genotyped for SNP rs41290540 in SCD by SNaPshot. The binding affinity of miR‐498 to rs41290540 was determined by a luciferase assay, and SCD expression was assessed using Western blot. Results: A total of 969 CAD patients and 1,095 control subjects were involved in this study. The SCD rs41290540CC genotype is associated with a decreased risk of CAD compared with the AA genotype. Furthermore, the CC genotype is associated with lower serum total cholesterol (TC). Western blot analysis demonstrated that miR‐498 suppressed the expression of SCD. A luciferase assay confirmed that rs41290540 A>C variation in the SCD 3′UTR inhibits miR‐498 binding. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the SCD rs41290540 may be associated with a decreased risk of CAD, lower serum TC, and decreased miR‐498 binding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sponges, Neofibularia nolitangere, can regenerate spontaneously after being broken down into small pieces, and the regenerated structure maintains the original appearance and function. Synthetic materials with such capabilities are highly desired but hardly achieved. Presented here is a sponge‐inspired self‐regenerative powder from a double‐network (DN) tough hydrogel. Hydrogels are regenerated from their powder form, by addition of water, with preservation of the original appearance and mechanical properties. The powder‐hydrogel‐powder cycle can be repeated multiple times with little loss in mechanical properties, analogous to the regeneration of sponges. These DN hydrogels can be conveniently stored and easily shaped upon regeneration. This work may have implications in the development of regenerative materials for coatings and adhesives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a state‐of‐the‐art commercial deep learning‐based computer‐aided diagnosis (DL‐CAD) system for detecting and characterizing pulmonary nodules. Methods: Pulmonary nodules in 346 healthy subjects (male: female = 221:125, mean age 51 years) from a lung cancer screening program conducted from March to November 2017 were screened using a DL‐CAD system and double reading independently, and their performance in nodule detection and characterization were evaluated. An expert panel combined the results of the DL‐CAD system and double reading as the reference standard. Results: The DL‐CAD system showed a higher detection rate than double reading, regardless of nodule size (86.2% vs. 79.2%; P < 0.001): nodules ≥ 5 mm (96.5% vs. 88.0%; P = 0.008); nodules < 5 mm (84.3% vs. 77.5%; P < 0.001). However, the false positive rate (per computed tomography scan) of the DL‐CAD system (1.53, 529/346) was considerably higher than that of double reading (0.13, 44/346; P < 0.001). Regarding nodule characterization, the sensitivity and specificity of the DL‐CAD system for distinguishing solid nodules > 5 mm (90.3% and 100.0%, respectively) and ground‐glass nodules (100.0% and 96.1%, respectively) were close to that of double reading, but dropped to 55.5% and 93%, respectively, when discriminating part solid nodules. Conclusion: Our DL‐CAD system detected significantly more nodules than double reading. In the future, false positive findings should be further reduced and characterization accuracy improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambiguous alteration patterns of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) obstructed the mechanism investigation of this neurological disorder from epigenetic view. Here, we applied a fully quantitative and validated LC-MS/MS method to determine genomic 5mC and 5hmC in the brain cortex of 3 month-aged (12, 15, and 18 month) AD model mouse and found significant increases of 5mC and 5hmC levels in different months of AD mouse when compared with age-matched wild-type control and exhibited rising trend from 12-month to 18-month AD mouse, thereby supporting genomic DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation were positively correlated with developing AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: D‐serine is a predominant N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate receptor co‐agonist with glutamate, and excessive activation of the receptor plays a substantial role in epileptic seizures. Serine racemase (SRR) is responsible for transforming L‐serine to D‐serine. In this study, we aimed to investigate the genetic roles of SRR and a neighbouring gene, nonsense‐mediated mRNA decay factor (SMG6), in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Here, a total of 496 TLE patients and 528 healthy individuals were successfully genotyped for three SRR tag single nucleotide polymorphisms. The frequencies of the GG genotype at rs4523957 T > G were reduced in the TLE cases in the initial cohort (cohort 1) and were confirmed in the independent cohort (cohort 2). An analysis of all TLE cases in cohort 1 + 2 revealed that the seizure frequency and drug‐resistant incidence were significantly decreased in carriers of the GG genotype at rs4523957. Intriguingly, the activity of the SMG6 promoter with the mutant allele at rs4523957 decreased by 22% in the dual‐luciferase assay, and up‐regulated expression of SMG6 was observed in an epilepsy rat model. This study provides the first demonstration that the GG genotype is a protective marker against TLE. In particular, variation at rs4523957 likely inhibits SMG6 transcription and plays a key role against susceptibility to and severity of TLE. The significance of SMG6 hyperfunction in epileptic seizures deserves to be investigated in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nontoxic liquid metals (conductive materials in a liquid state at room temperature) are an emerging class of materials for applications ranging from soft electronics and robotics to medical therapy and energy devices. Their sticky and corrosive properties, however, are becoming more of a critical concern for circuits and devices containing other metals as these are easily destroyed or contaminated by the liquid metals. Herein, a feasible method for fabricating highly conductive graphene‐coated liquid metal (GLM) droplets is reported and their application as nonstick, noncorrosive, movable, soft contacts for electrical circuits is demonstrated. The as‐prepared GLM droplets consist of a liquid‐phase soft core of liquid metal and a slippery outer layer of graphene sheets. These structures address the issue of simultaneous control of the wettability and conductivity of a soft electronic contact by combining extraordinary properties, i.e., nonstick, noncorrosive, yet exhibiting high electronic conductivity while in contact with metal substrates, e.g., Au, Cu, Ag, and Ni. As proof‐of‐concept, the as‐prepared GLM droplets are demonstrated as floating electrodes for movable, recyclable electronic soft contacts in electrical circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To review the optimality and safety of different anti-Amyloid-b(Ab) immunotherapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Published randomized controlled trials were comprehensively reviewed from electronic databases (Cochrane library, Embase, Pubmed, and Google scholar). Pooled outcomes as mean difference or odds ratio values with 95% confidence interval were reported. The network estimates with confidence and predictive intervals for all pairwise relative effects was evaluated. Optimal intervention was ranked by benefit-risk ratio based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve. Eleven eligible RCTs from 9 literatures, including 5141 patients and 5 interventions were included. The quality of evidence was rated low in comparisons. For efficacy, in terms of Mini-Mental State Examination, aducanumab and solanezumab are significantly effective than placebo. For safety, in terms of Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities (ARIA), bapineuzumab and aducanumab are significantly worse than placebo. There were no significant differences in outcomes of Alzheimer's disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive subscale, Disability Assessment for Dementia, Adverse Events, and mortality. Given the clinical therapeutic effects of anti-Aγ immunotherapies for AD, aducanumab and solanezumab improve the cognitive function, while aducanumab and bapineuzumab may increase the risks of ARIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the aim of improving the shape stability and recycling reliability of hexadecanol (HD), graphene oxide (GO)-grafted hexadecanol (GO- g-HD) shape-stabilized phase-change material (SSPCM) with good thermochemical properties was prepared by oxidizing graphite powders to form GO, which was converted into the acyl chloride and finally condensed with HD. Various characterization techniques were employed to investigate the microstructure, thermal properties, thermal durability, and reliability of the composite. The results show that HD was embedded in the composite with a maximum mass fraction of 62.7 wt % through physical adsorption and covalent bonding. The grafted percentage and density of HD on ultrathin GO sheets are 36.5 wt % and 1.51 mmol g−1, respectively. The GO- g-HD SSPCM melts at 49.7 °C with a latent heat of 152.3 J g−1, and freezes at 45.4 °C with a phase-change enthalpy of 129.9 J g−1. The thermal conductivity of GO- g-HD is measured as 0.519 W m−1 K−1, which is an improvement of 41.8 % compared with that of neat HD. Moreover, the as-prepared composite also presents excellent chemical and thermal stability, excellent thermal durability, negligible variation in latent heats, and no changes in the phase-change temperatures due to strong covalent bonds and interactions between the matrix and HD. Thus, GO- g-HD is a promising candidate for thermal energy storage in the future because of the very good latent heat, enhanced conductivity, and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction To evaluate the glycometabolism and outcomes of gestational diabetes mellitus ( GDM) patients according to the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group ( IADPSG) criteria in China. Materials and Methods According to the results of a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, 1,683 pregnant women were divided into three groups: (i) an increment GDM group (patients meet the IADPSG criteria, but not the previous Chinese criteria); (ii) a stock GDM group (patients meet both criteria); and (iii) a normal glucose tolerance group. Their glycometabolism outcomes, prepregnancy and postpartum body mass index were compared, as were maternal-fetal outcomes. Results The IADPSG and previous Chinese criteria diagnosed 12.4% and 5.5% of women with GDM. Pairwise comparison showed significant differences in 1-h plasma glucose, 2-h plasma glucose, HbA1c values and area under curve of glucose among all groups ( P < 0.01). The fasting plasma glucose and postpartum body mass index of the stock group were significantly higher than those of the other two groups ( P < 0.01). The incidences of hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy and cesarean section of the normal glucose tolerance group were significantly lower than those of the other two groups ( P < 0.001). No significant differences in patient age, prepregnancy body mass index, duration of pregnancy, prevalence of premature labor, premature rupture of membranes, neonatal jaundice, neonatal asphyxia or Ponderal Index were observed, but significant differences in macrosomia and neonatal hypoglycemia were observed ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The IADPSG criteria doubled the number of GDM patients. The cases of the increment patients were mild. The IADPSG criteria should be discussed fully before implementation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photothermal therapy has attracted much interest for use in cancer treatment in recent years. In this study, Cu2Se nanoparticles as a novel photothermal agent modified by chitosan (CS-Cu2SeNPs) were successfully synthesized through a facile route at room temperature. The as-synthesized CS-Cu2SeNPs exhibited good water solubility and significant stability. CS-Cu2SeNPs can efficiently convert near-infrared (NIR) light into heat and exhibit excellent thermostability. In vitro experiments showed that CS-Cu2SeNPs had selective cellular uptake between cancer and normal cells and expressed clear anticancer activity on A375 and HeLa human cancer cells. In addition, the anticancer activity was increased to about 400 % by combination with a laser at 808 nm, which acted through induction of apoptosis with the involvement of intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. CS-Cu2SeNPs irradiated with a laser effectively triggered the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction that promoted cell apoptosis. Therefore, the developed CS-Cu2SeNPs could be used as a novel phototherapeutic agent for the photothermal therapy of human cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the association between body mass index and oncological outcomes in Chinese patients who had undergone radical nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. Methods Between August 1998 and October 2009, 236 consecutive Chinese patients underwent radical nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center (Guangzhou, China). Body mass index data were available for 230 (97.5%) of these patients. All 230 patients were classified into three groups according to the body mass index criteria for Asians, issued by the Asia Cohort Consortium: underweight, body mass index <18.5 kg/m2 ( n = 21, 9.1%); normal weight, body mass index ≥18.5 and <25 kg/m2 ( n = 151, 65.7%); and obesity, body mass index ≥25 kg/m2, ( n = 58, 25.2%). Spearman's rank correlation, Kaplan- Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to analyze the data. Results Being underweight was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.017) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ( P = 0.003). Univariate analysis showed recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival were significantly worse in underweight patients than in patients with normal weight or obese patients. After adjustments for other clinicopathological variables, multivariate analysis confirmed that recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival were significantly worse in underweight patients than in patients with normal weight or obese patients (recurrence-free survival P = 0.014, cancer-specific survival P = 0.015). Conclusions Preoperative underweight is an independent predictor of unfavorable recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival in Chinese patients with upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma treated by radical nephroureterectomy, whereas obesity is associated with superior recurrence-free survival and cancer-specific survival. Further studies, including a multi-institutional, prospective, Asian cohort study, are required to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]