Determining of 18 amino acids in plasma of pregnant women with sleep disorders by UHPLC-MS/MS.

Many pregnant women experience sleep disorders, and amino acid levels could play a crucial role in affecting maternal sleep. To explore this potential relationship, an accurate and effective UHPLC-MS/MS method has been developed to monitor 18 amino acids in the plasma samples of pregnant women. This method aims to assess how plasma amino acid levels might be linked to sleep disorders during pregnancy. Plasma samples were precipitated with acetonitrile containing 0.2% formic acid. We used 5% seralbumin as the surrogate matrix to establish quantitative curves for amino acid determination in human plasma. The method was validated in both the surrogate matrix and human plasma. The optimized UHPLC-MS/MS method was validated, showing that that the analytes had comparable recovery and negligible matrix effects in both 5% seralbumin and human plasma. The linearity, lower limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, and stability all met the acceptance criteria. The validated method was successfully applied to determination of the plasma levels of 18 amino acids in pregnant women with or without sleep disorders, indicating that alanine, lysine, tryptophan, glutamic acid, and phenylalanine levels had significant changes which may be related to sleep disorders during early pregnancy. An accurate, reliable, and efficient UHPLC-MS/MS method was successfully developed and support to find the specific amino acids as potential biomarkers for sleep disorders in pregnant women.

U-shaped relationship between lights-out time and nocturnal oxygen saturation during the first trimester: An analysis based on the nuMOM2b-SDB data.

Objective: Preventing adverse events due to unstable oxygen saturation (SpO2) at night in pregnant women is of utmost importance. Poor sleep has been demonstrated to impact SpO2 levels. Nowadays, many gravida have a habit of prolonged exposure to light before sleep, which can disrupt their sleep. Therefore, this study aimed at investigate the relationship between lights-out time, sleep parameters and SpO2, exploring the underlying mechanisms. Methods: The data of 2881 eligible subjects from the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study Monitoring Mothers-to-be and Sleep Disordered Breathing (nuMOM2b-SDB) database were analyzed. Multiple linear regression models were used to investigate the relationship between lights-out time and SpO2. In addition, restricted cubic splines (RCS) were employed to fit the nonlinear correlation between the two variables. The smoothing curve method was further utilized to depict the relationship between lights-out time and SpO2 based on various subgroup variables. Results: All participants were categorized according to race/ethnicity. A negative correlation was observed between nighttime lights-out time and average value of SpO2 (Avg-SpO2) (ß = -0.05, p = 0.010). RCS revealed a U-shaped relationship between lights-out time and Avg-SpO2, with the turning point at 22:00. The subcomponent stratification results indicated that the Avg-SpO2 and minimum value of SpO2(Min-SpO2) of advanced maternal age decreased as the lights-out time was delayed. Furthermore, overweight and obese gravida showed lower Avg-SpO2 and Min-SpO2 levels than normal weight. Conclusions: A U-shaped relationship was identified between lights-out time and nocturnal Avg-SpO2 during early pregnancy, with the inflection at 22:00. Notably, later lights-out times are associated with lower levels of Min-SpO2 for advanced maternal age. The findings suggest that appropriately adjusting the duration of light exposure before sleep and maintaining a relatively restful state may be more beneficial for the stability of SpO2 in pregnant women. Conversely, deviations from these practices could potentially lead to pathological alterations in SpO2 levels.

Thermal Stability Improvement of Core Material via High Internal Phase Emulsion Gels.

Biocompatible particle-stabilized emulsions have gained significant attention in the biomedical industry. In this study, we employed dynamic high-pressure microfluidization (HPM) to prepare a biocompatible particle emulsion, which effectively enhances the thermal stability of core materials without the addition of any chemical additives. The results demonstrate that the HPM-treated particle-stabilized emulsion forms an interface membrane with high expansion and viscoelastic properties, thus preventing core material agglomeration at elevated temperatures. Furthermore, the particle concentration used for constructing the emulsion gel network significantly impacts the overall strength and stability of the material while possessing the ability to inhibit oxidation of the thermosensitive core material. This investigation explores the influence of particle concentration on the stability of particle-stabilized emulsion gels, thereby providing valuable insights for the design, improvement, and practical applications of innovative clean label emulsions, particularly in the embedding and delivery of thermosensitive core materials.

Effects of Mind-Body Exercises for Osteoporosis in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a major cause of fractures and even life-threatening fractures in the elderly. Mind-body exercise is a beneficial intervention to improve flexibility, control body balance and reduce pain. We aimed to evaluate the effects of physical and mental exercise on osteoporosis in the elderly. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focusing on mind-body exercises for osteoporosis were included. Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, Medline, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang were searched from inception to January 2023. Outcomes included bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), body balance (BB), pain, indicators of bone metabolism (BMI), lower extremity function, fearing level, and quality of life (QOL). The quality of study reporting was rated by 2 reviewers independently, and Review Manager software (version 5.3) was used for meta-analysis. Results: Thirty-nine trials with 2325 participants were included. The pooled results showed that mind-body exercises have encouraging effect on elderly people with osteoporosis, especially in aspects of BMD, BMC, QOL, improving the function of lower extremity, reducing pain and fearing level. While, dance and eight-section brocade could not improve the quality of life,or dance and eight-section brocade have no effect on BMD. Conclusions: Mind-body exercises may have potential efficacy for osteoporosis in the elderly. However, due to the poor methodological quality of the included trials, more clinical trials with precise methodological design and rigorous reporting are needed.

Preparation, Modification, and Application of Biochar in the Printing Field: A Review.

Biochar is a solid material enriched with carbon produced by the thermal transformation of organic raw materials under anoxic or anaerobic conditions. It not only has various environmental benefits including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving soil fertility, and sequestering atmospheric carbon, but also has the advantages of abundant precursors, low cost, and wide potential applications, thus gaining widespread attention. In recent years, researchers have been exploring new biomass precursors, improving and developing new preparation methods, and searching for more high-value and meaningful applications. Biochar has been extensively researched and utilized in many fields, and recently, it has also shown good industrial application prospects and potential application value in the printing field. In such a context, this article summarizes the typical preparation and modification methods of biochar, and also reviews its application in the printing field, to provide a reference for future work.

Conformational entropy of hyaluronic acid contributes to taste enhancement.

Natural taste/flavor enhancers are essential ingredients that could potentially address condiments overconsumption. For the first time, we report that hyaluronic acid (HA) could modulate taste perception, governed by the dynamic interactions among taste compounds, mucin, and HA. Various conformations of HA impact taste perception. The high molecular weight (Mw) of 1090 kDa HA inhibits the sense of taste due to its increased viscosity, which hinders the penetration of Na+ into the mucin layer. HA with low and medium Mw (100 kDa, 400 kDa) could enhance taste perception. Isothermal titration calorimetry analysis confirms the stronger binding between mucin and HA. The intensity of their interaction increases as the Mw of HA increases from 8 kDa to 400 kDa. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation characterization further indicates that the rigid conformation of 100 kDa HA facilitates the binding of Na+ with taste receptors, thereby enhancing taste perception. The flexible conformation of 400 kDa HA may conceal the taste receptor cells, reducing taste enhancement. Our work advances the understanding of conformational entropy of natural mucoadhesion and mucopenetration polymers, which lays the foundation for their potential use as taste enhancers.

Developing a Quality Evaluation System for Color Reproduction of Color 3D Printing Based on MATLAB Multi-Metrics.

Color 3D printing has been widely used in many fields such as cultural, medical, industrial, and food. The color reproduction accuracy of 3D printed products in these fields is becoming increasingly demanding, which requires more reproduction methods and practical tools. At present, most color 3D printing devices use one quantitative index, that is, color difference, to directly predict the color reproduction quality. However, this single quantitative index is not optimal for the curved surface of 3D printed color objects. Based on color evaluation principles, in this study, five new quantitative metrics consisting of color gamut comparison index, color SSIM index, color FSIM index, iCID index, and subjective scaling values are proposed for comparison, and the corresponding GUI design and code implementation of new color quality evaluation system are performed by MATLAB. Moreover, the comprehensive color assessment of color 3D printed products is confirmed by utilizing standard image acquisition and microscopic imaging methods that are not limited to printing materials and sampling locations. The operation of this system is validated to provide interactivity, simplicity and high efficiency. As a result, the system can provide new valuable feedback for color separation and output calibration of color 3D printing devices.

Development of chlorine dioxide sustained-release device using carboxymethyl cellulose-polyvinyl alcohol-ß-cyclodextrin ternary hydrogel and a new sustained-release kinetic model.

Owing to unique physiochemical and biological properties as well as the ability to be combined with a wide variety of materials for both biocompatibility and hydrophilia, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is an excellent choice as a carrier. Loading Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) into biodegradable carrier for its good disinfection performance and high safety factors has attracted significantattention. Therefore, in this study, we used ClO2 as a model drug, and a sustained-ClO2-gas-release gel was developed from degradable materials, such as carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and ß-cyclodextrin (ßCD), through a simple and benign crosslinking strategy. Notably, the gel had sustained-release property in a wide temperature range of 4-35 â„ƒ and released ClO2 gas effectively for more than 30 days. Furthermore, a loss factor was proposed based on the incomplete release of the drug in the sustained release process to a chieve a good fit with the gas diffusion process. A new diffusion model was designed based on the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, and an excellent fit was obtained. This sustained-ClO2-gas-release gel provides theoretical and technical guidance for the development of sustained-disinfectant-release agents for use in space and offers new insights into the sustained release model of skeleton-soluble hydrogels. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10570-023-05070-6.

3D-printed solar evaporator with seashell ornamentation-inspired structure for zero liquid discharge desalination.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has enormous promise for fresh water recovery and salt harvesting, but salt accumulation-related challenges stand in its way. Herein, we report a spined groove-ridge pairs inspired by the shell ornamentation of the Vasticardium vertebratum, which addresses salt accumulation by artfully integrating salt reflux into localized salt crystallization. The seashell-mimetic radial V-groove array enables the 3D evaporator to transport water rapidly and directionally, resulting in high-performance water evaporation (∼95% efficiency) and localized crystallization. The periodic spines enlightened by the spine-bearing ridge on the seashell provide considerable micro-unit salt reflux. The 2-in-1 integration design endows the three-dimensional evaporator with superior solar-driven zero liquid discharge and excellent long-term salt resistance even when dealing with high-salinity brine (20 wt% NaCl) and a series of heavy metallic salt solutions. Our design offers a new alternative solution to avoiding salt scaling and could advance locally crystallized solar evaporators towards practical applications.

A Repeatable Self-Adhesive Liquid-Free Double-Network Ionic Conductor with Tunable Multifunctionality.

Liquid-free ionic conductors (LFICs) have promising applications in flexible electronics because most ionic conductors currently suffer from ionic liquid leakage or water evaporation issues. However, it has been a formidable challenge for LFICs to achieve long-term repeated self-adhesion on different substrates, especially on soft biological tissues. Based on the double-network design concept, we first fabricate a series of repeatable self-adhesive liquid-free double-network ionic conductors (SALFDNICs), consisting of stretchable first poly(AA-ChCl)-type supramolecular deep eutectic polymer networks and stiff second polydopamine (PDA) networks, which can maintain sufficient dynamic hydrogen bonds and catechol groups in the ionic conductors by preventing the overoxidation of dopamine, thus balancing the contradiction between adhesion and cohesion in liquid-free ionic conductors. Therefore, SALFDNICs can instantly form various interface interaction forces with multiple substrates (adhesion strength up to 757 N/m) and firmly adhere to various substrates for 20 detachment-reattachment cycles with a reduction in adhesion strength of less than 15%. Furthermore, SALFDNICs also have other comprehensive properties, such as optimum self-healing properties (self-healing efficiency of 90%), good stretchability (strain at break of 1200%), and promising conductivity (2.31 × 10-2 S m-1). Therefore, we believe that the extraordinary performance of SALFDNICs is important for improving device integration and the further development of flexible electronics.

Pigment Penetration Characterization of Colored Boundaries in Powder-Based Color 3D Printing.

Color 3D printing has widely affected our daily lives; therefore, its precise control is essential for aesthetics and performance. In this study, four unique test plates were printed using powder-based full-color 3D printing as an example; moreover, the corresponding pigment-penetration depth, chromaticity value and image-based metrics were measured to investigate the lateral pigment penetration characteristics and relative surface-color reproduction of each color patch, and to perform an objective analysis with specific microscopic images. The results show that the lateral pigment-penetration depth correlates with the number of printed layers on the designed 3D test plates, and the qualitative analysis of microscopic images can explain the change in chromaticity well. Meanwhile, there is an obvious linear correlation between the mean structural similarity, color-image difference and color difference for current color samples. Thus, our proposed approach has a good practicality for powder-based color 3D printing, and can provide new insight into predicting the color-presentation efficiency of color 3D-printed substrates by the abovementioned objective metrics.

Chitin/Ca solvent-based conductive and stretchable organohydrogel with anti-freezing and anti-drying.

Conductive hydrogel flexible sensors have attracted considerable research interest because of their good conductivity, flexibility, and biocompatibility. However, conventional hydrogels suffer from dehydration under ambient environments and freezing at low temperatures. Herein, we prepared a chitin/polyacrylamide organohydrogel with highly stretchable, anti-freezing, and anti-drying properties. This organohydrogel was creatively prepared by one-step radical polymerization in the chitin and calcium chloride/methanol (Ca solvent) aqueous solution. Benefiting from the chitin/Ca solvent system, the organohydrogel shows relatively high stretchability (improve ~5 times), excellent anti-freezing (up to -80 °C) upon long-term storage, and anti-drying (67 days under normal environment) performance. What's more, the reversible noncovalent bonds in the organohydrogel endow it with repeatable multi-purpose adhesion and rapid self-healing, while the abundant free ions grant it good conductivity to be a flexible sensor. Therefore, it is promising that this chitin-based conductive organohydrogel with multifunctionality would provide wide application scopes of flexible electronic devices.

Superhydrophilic three-dimensional porous spent coffee ground reduced palladium nanoparticles for efficient catalytic reduction.

The use of functional biodegradable wastes to treat environmental problems would create minimal extra burden to our environment. In this paper, we propose a sustainable and practical strategy to turn spent coffee ground (SCG) into a multifunctional palladium-loaded catalyst for water treatment instead of going into landfill as solid waste. Bleached delignified coffee ground (D-SCG) has a porous structure and a good capability to reduce Pd (II) to Pd (0). A large amount of nanocellulose is formed on the surface of SCG after bleaching by H2O2, which anchors and disperses the palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs). The D-SCG loaded with Pd NPs (Pd-D-SCG) is superhydrophilic, which facilitates water transport and thus promotes efficient removal of organic pollutants dissolved in water. Pd-D-SCG exhibits excellent room temperature catalytic activity for the removal of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and methylene blue (MB) in water and shows good chemical stability and recyclability in water, with no obvious decrease even after five repeated cycles.

Hibiscus Leachate Dye-Based Low-Cost and Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell Prepared by Screen Printing.

Although the price of dye-sensitized solar cells is lower than other solar cells, they still contain some high-cost materials, such as transparent conductive substrates, dyes (ruthenium dyes, organic dyes, etc.), and platinum counter electrodes. To solve this problem, a dye-sensitized solar cell based on hibiscus leaching solution and carbon black-silver electrodes was prepared by screen printing. The prepared low-cost dye-sensitized solar cells were flexible. The open-circuit voltage (Voc) of the obtained dye-sensitized solar cell is 0.65 V, the current density (Jsc) is 90 µA/cm², and the fill factor (FF) is 0.241.

Paper-based analytical device for high-throughput monitoring tetracycline residue in milk.

A low-cost and portable paper-based analytical device has been developed for high throughput and on-site monitoring TC residue in milk through visualized colorimetric reaction. The filtration and concentration effect induced by the porous nature of paper contribute to strengthen the color intensity, leading to quantitative and sensitive detection of tetracycline reaching 1 ppm detection limit, with the linear range of 1-100 ppm both in water and milk samples. The applicability was demonstrated by detection of TC in 18 different types of real milk samples with good recovery ranging from 88% to 113%. Furthermore, the dynamic degradation behavior of tetracycline was monitored through the device. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of colorimetric detection of tetracycline in milk using the paper-based device. This simple, fast, cost-effective (~$0.50 per device) and equipment-free paper-based platform provides a promising tool for future application in food and environmental safety.

Advanced Surface Color Quality Assessment in Paper-Based Full-Color 3D Printing.

Color 3D printing allows for 3D-printed parts to represent 3D objects more realistically, but its surface color quality evaluation lacks comprehensive objective verification considering printing materials. In this study, a unique test model was designed and printed using eco-friendly and vivid paper-based full-color 3D printing as an example. By measuring the chromaticity, roughness, glossiness, and whiteness properties of 3D-printed surfaces and by acquiring images of their main viewing surfaces, this work skillfully explores the correlation between the color representation of a paper-based 3D-printed coloring layer and its attached underneath blank layer. Quantitative analysis was performed using ΔE*ab, feature similarity index measure of color image (FSIMc), and improved color-image-difference (iCID) values. The experimental results show that a color difference on color-printed surfaces exhibits a high linear correlation trend with its FSIMc metric and iCID metric. The qualitative analysis of microscopic imaging and the quantitative analysis of the above three surface properties corroborate the prediction of the linear correlation between color difference and image-based metrics. This study can provide inspiration for the development of computational coloring materials for additive manufacturing.

Weavable Transparent Conductive Fibers with Harsh Environment Tolerance.

Fiber and textile electronics provide a focus for a new generation of wearable electronics due to their unique lightness and flexibility. However, fabricating knittable fibers from conductive materials with high tensile and transparent properties remains a challenge, especially for applicability in harsh environments. Here, we report a simple photopolymerization approach for the rapid preparation of a new type of a transparent conductive polymer fiber, poly(polymerizable deep eutectic solvent (PDES)) fiber, which exhibits excellent stability at high/low temperature, in organic solvents, especially in dry environments, and overcomes the volatility and freezability of traditional gel materials. A poly(PDES) fiber possesses outstanding mechanical and sensing properties, including negligible hysteresis and creep, fast resilience after a long stretch (10 min), and signal stability during high-frequency cyclic stretching (1 Hz, 10 000 cycles). In addition, the poly(PDES) fibers are knitted into a plain-structured sensor on textile with breathability and high tolerance to damage, enabling stable and accurate monitoring of human stretching, bending, and rotation motions. Furthermore, its dry-cleaning resistance guarantees the feasibility of long-term monitoring, with the electrical signal remaining stable after five dry-cleaning cycles. These promising features of poly(PDES) fibers will promote potential applications in the fields of human movement monitoring, intelligent fibers, and soft robotics.

3D Printing of Oil Paintings Based on Material Jetting and Its Reduction of Staircase Effect.

Material jetting is a high-precision and fast 3D printing technique for color 3D objects reproduction, but it also suffers from color accuracy and jagged issues. The UV inks jetting processes based on the polymer jetting principle have been studied from printing materials regarding the parameters in the default layer order, which is prone to staircase effects. In this work, utilizing the Mimaki UV inks jetting system with a variable layer thickness, a new framework to print a photogrammetry-based oil painting 3D model has been proposed with the tunable coloring layer sequence to improve the jagged challenge between adjacent layers. Based on contour tracking, a height-rendering image of the oil painting model is generated, which is further segmented and pasted to the corresponding slicing layers to control the overall printing sequence of coloring layers and white layers. The final results show that photogrammetric models of oil paintings can be printed vividly by UV-curable color polymers, and that the proposed reverse-sequence printing method can significantly improve the staircase effect based on visual assessment and color difference. Finally, the case of polymer-based oil painting 3D printing provides new insights for optimizing color 3D printing processes based on other substrates and print accuracy to improve the corresponding staircase effect.

Controllable preparation of carboxymethyl cellulose/LaF3:Eu3+ composites and its application in anti-counterfeiting.

In this experiment, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was used as raw material, rare earth chloride was used as inorganic nano luminescent material to prepare a series of lanthanide rare earth ions-doped composite materials. The photoluminescent materials were prepared via in-situ chemical deposition of rare earth ions onto CMC surface with the help of carboxyl groups contained on the surface of CMC. The structure, fluorescence properties, surface morphology, surface elements, crystalline structure and thermal stability of CMC before and after surface modification were characterized by FT-IR spectra (FTIR), photoluminescence spectra (PL), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA), respectively. The results showed that CMC/LaF3:Eu3+ composites were successfully prepared, and the fluorescence intensity can be organically controlled by the reaction temperature, doping ratio and doping concentration of rare earth ions. The method has mild reaction conditions, facile process without expensive material equipment. Moreover, the as-prepared transparent anti-counterfeiting film possessed good fluorescence intensity, transparency and excellent mechanical properties, which can be used for large-scale functional packaging films.

Experimental Investigation of Color Reproduction Quality of Color 3D Printing Based on Colored Layer Features.

Color three-dimensional (3D) printing is an advanced 3D printing technique for reproducing colorful 3D objects, but it still has color accuracy issues. Plastic-based color 3D printing is a common color 3D printing process, and most factors affecting its color reproduction quality have been studied from printing materials to parameters in the fixed consecutive layers. In this work, and combined with variable stair thickness, the colored layer sequence in sliced layers of a specific 3D color test chart is deliberately changed to test the effects of colored layer features on its final color reproduction quality. Meanwhile, the colorimetric measurement and image acquisition of printed 3D color test charts are both achieved under standard conditions. Results clearly show that the chromatic aberration values and mean structural similarity (MSSIM) values of color samples have a significant correlation with the colored stair thickness, but both did not display a linear relationship. The correlation trends between colored layer sequence and the above two indexes are more localized to the colored stair thickness. Combined with color structural similarity (SSIM) maps analysis, a comprehensive discussion between colored layer features and color reproduction quality of color 3D printing is presented, providing key insights for developing further accurate numerical models.