A Novel Heterozygous Missense Variant in Parathyroid Hormone 1 is Related to the Occurrence of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.

Introduction: Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is one of the most common diseases in the pediatric orthopedics, with an incidence of 1-5%. Genetic factors are the bases of the pathogenesis of DDH, but the pathogenic variants and pathogenesis of DDH are still unknown. There are no key accurate diagnostic or prognostic molecular markers for DDH. The purpose of our study was to screen for genetic variant associated with DDH and explore its pathogenesis. Materials and Methods: The genetic variation of DDH was tested by variant NGS-based exome analyses, verified by the Sanger sequencing. Results: A four-generation family in which DDH was present in three generations was recruited. A novel heterozygous missense variant c.629C>T (p.(Ala210Val)) in exon 7/8 of the parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (PTH1R) gene was identified through screening of two affected and one unaffected family members. The candidate variant was validated in all available family members with all three affected members being positive for the PTH1R variant. Conclusion: Our results are highly supportive of PTH1R as a novel candidate gene for DDH and demonstrated that the combination of pedigree information and next-generation sequencing is an effective method for identifying pathogenic variants associated with DDH.

Physiological and biochemical regulation of tobacco by oxathiapiprolin under Phytophthora nicotianae infection.

As a fungicide, oxathiapiprolin has excellent effects on diseases caused by oomycetes. Fungicides generally protect crops by inhibiting pathogens, but little research has addressed the effects of fungicides on crops. This study combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses to systematically analyze the physiological regulatory mechanisms of oxathiapiprolin on tobacco under Phytophthora nicotianae infection. The results showed that under P. nicotianae infection, tobacco's photosynthetic rate and antioxidant enzyme activity increased after the application of oxathiapiprolin. Omics results showed that the genes related to carbon metabolism, disease-resistant proteins, and amino acid synthesis were highly expressed, and the amino acid content increased in tobacco leaves. This study is the first comprehensive investigation of the physiological regulatory effects of oxathiapiprolin on tobacco in response to P. nicotianae infection. These findings provide a basis for the balance between regulating tobacco growth and development and enhancing disease resistance under the stimulation of oxathiapiprolin and provide new research and development opportunities for identifying new disease-resistance genes and the development of high-yielding disease-resistant crop varieties.

Discovery of coumaric acid derivatives hinted by coastal marine source to seek for uric acid lowering agents.

In this work, a series of novel compounds Spartinin C1-C24 were screened, synthesised and evaluated for inhibiting xanthine oxidase thus lowering serum uric acid level. The backbones were derived from the components of coastal marine source Spartina alterniflora and marketed drugs. The top hits Spartinin C10 & C22 suggested high inhibition percentages (78.54 and 93.74) at 10 µM dosage, which were higher than the positive control Allopurinol. They were low cytotoxic onto human normal hepatocyte cells. Treatment with Spartinin C10 could lower the serum uric acid level to 440.0 µM in the hyperuricemic model mice (723.0 µM), comparable with Allopurinol (325.8 µM). Spartinin C10 was more appreciated than Allopurinol on other serum indexes. The preliminary pharmacokinetics evaluation indicated that the rapid absorption, metabolism and elimination of Spartinin C10 should be further improved. The discovery of pharmaceutical molecules from coastal marine source here might inspire the inter-disciplinary investigations on public health.

Effects of manipulator operation task and troubleshooting task on blood pressure indexes of oceanauts / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To explore the characteristics and rules of blood pressure changes in oceanauts during simulated operation of manipulator and troubleshooting tasks with different difficulty. Methods: In July 2020, 8 deep-sea manned submersible oceanauts, 6 males and 2 females, were selected as objects. In the 1∶1 model of Jiaolong deep-sea manned submersible, the oceanauts performed manipulator operation tasks and troubleshooting tasks with different difficulties, measured the continuous blood pressure of the oceanauts, filled in the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX scale) after the completion of a single mission, and the changes of systolic pressure (SBP), diastolic pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mental workload were analyzed. Results: In a single task, the SBP, DBP and MAP of the oceanauts increased first and then decreased. The blood pressure values at the third minute were significantly lower than those at the first minute (P<0.01), and those at the fifth minute were significantly higher than those at the third minute (P<0.01). When performing the same task, compared with the quiet state, SBP, DBP and MAP increased when the oceanauts performed low difficulty, high difficulty, high difficulty+2-back manipulator operation task and troubleshooting task (P<0.05). When the task difficulty was the same, the SBP and MAP of oceanauts performing manipulator operation tasks were higher than those of oceanauts performing troubleshooting tasks (P<0.05). Compared with low difficulty tasks, the scores of NASA-TLX scale for oceanauts performing high difficulty manipulator operationtasks were significantly higher (P<0.05). Compared with the low difficulty task and high difficulty task, the scale score of the high difficulty+2-back troubleshooting task was significantly higher (P<0.05). When the task difficulty was the same, the scale scores of low difficulty and high difficulty manipulator operation tasks were significantly higher than those of troubleshooting tasks (P<0.05). SBP, DBP, MAP of No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 7 oceanauts (all of whom had 6 years of diving) were positively correlated with NASA-TLX scale scores (r>0.8, P<0.05) . Conclusion: In the process of manned deep-sea diving, when the oceanauts perform manipulator operation tasks and troubleshooting tasks, with the increase of task difficulty, the mental load of oceanauts increases, and the blood pressure index increases significantly in a short time. At the same time, improving the proficiency of operation can reduce the variation range of blood pressure indexes. Blood pressure can be used as an effective reference to evaluate the difficulty of operation and guide scientific training.

Comparative study of corneal thickness and thinnest point position of keratoconus measured by Pentacam HR and RTVue OCT / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To investigate the difference, correlation, and consistency of corneal thickness and the thinnest point position detected by Pentacam HR corneal topography map and RTVue optical coherence tomography(OCT)in patients with keratoconus.METHODS: Cross-sectional comparative study. The corneal curvature map, corneal thickness map, thinnest point position, and thinnest point thickness were detected by Pentacam HR and RTVue OCT. Paired sample t-test was used for data consistent with normal distribution, and paired sample rank sum test was used for data inconsistent with normal distribution. Spearman correlation analysis and Bland-Altman analysis were used for the correlation and consistency of the two measurement methods.RESULTS: A total of 63 patients(105 eyes)with keratoconus were included in this study, including 49 males(77.8%)and 14 females(22.2%), aged 22.24±6.19 years; among them, relevant data of Pentacam HR topographic map: Km was 47.85±4.73D and Kmax was 55.43±8.72D. In measuring central corneal thickness and the thinnest point thickness of keratoconus, the Pentacam HR was 4.70μm and 19.46μm thicker than the mean value measured by RTVue OCT(P&#x003C;0.05). There was no significant difference between the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the thinnest points measured by the two devices(P&#x003E;0.05). The central corneal thickness and the thinnest point thickness measured by the two devices were highly correlated, the horizontal coordinate of the thinnest point was moderately correlated, and the vertical coordinate of the thinnest point was weakly correlated. Bland-Altman analysis showed that the central corneal thickness, the thinnest point thickness, the horizontal coordinate of the thinnest point, and the vertical coordinate of the thinnest point were 95.2%(100/105)and 93.3%(98/105), 95.2%(100/105), 95.2%(100/105)respectively, which were within the 95% consistency limit, while the consistency ranges were -36.00～+26.62μm, -42.27～+3.36μm, -0.80～+0.84mm, and -1.95～+1.06mm, respectively.CONCLUSION: In keratoconus, the central corneal thickness and the thinnest point thickness measured by Pentacam HR were higher than those measured by RTVue OCT. It is not recommended that the central corneal thickness and the thinnest point thickness measured by the two instruments be interchangeable in clinical use because of the wide range of consistency between the two instruments' results. The position of the thinnest corneal point measured by the two instruments is similar and consistent, so it could be considered to replace the measured values of the two instruments in clinical use.

Recent research on cognitive impairment in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国当代儿科杂志

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignant neoplastic disease in children. With the continuous improvement in diagnosis and treatment, there has been an increasing number of ALL children who achieve long-term survival after complete remission; however, a considerable proportion of these children have cognitive impairment, which has a serious adverse impact on their learning, employment, and social life. This article reviews the latest research on cognitive impairment in children with ALL from the aspects of the influencing factors, detection techniques, and prevention/treatment methods for cognitive impairment.

Direct toxicity of the herbicide florasulam against Chlorella vulgaris: An integrated physiological and metabolomic analysis.

Herbicides are the agents of choice for use in weed control; however, they can enter the aquatic environment, with potentially serious consequences for non-target organisms. Despite the possible deleterious effects, little information is available regarding the ecotoxicity of the herbicide florasulam toward aquatic organisms. Accordingly, in this study, we investigated the toxic effect of florasulam on the freshwater microalga Chlorella vulgaris and sought to identify the underlying mechanisms. For this, we employed a growth inhibition toxicity test, and then assessed the changes in physiological and metabolomic parameters, including photosynthetic pigment content, antioxidant system, intracellular structure and complexity, and metabolite levels. The results showed that treatment with florasulam for 96 h at the concentration of 2 mg/L, 2.84 mg/L, and 6 mg/L in medium significantly inhibited algal growth and photosynthetic pigment content. Moreover, the levels of reactive oxygen species were also increased, resulting in oxidative damage and the upregulation of the activities of several antioxidant enzymes. Transmission electron microscopic and flow cytometric analysis further demonstrated that exposure to florasulam (6 mg/L) for 96 h disrupted the cell structure of C. vulgaris, characterized by the loss of cell membrane integrity and alterations in cell morphology. Changes in amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and the antioxidant system were also observed and contributed to the suppressive effect of florasulam on the growth of this microalga. Our findings regarding the potential risks of florasulam in aquatic ecosystems provide a reference for the safe application of this herbicide in the environment.

Interpopulation trophic niches and ontogenetic shifts of a mangrove fish predator.

Fish trophic niches reflect important ecological interactions and provide insight into the structure of mangrove food webs. Few studies have been conducted in mangrove fish predators to investigate interpopulation trophic niches and ontogenetic shifts. Using stable isotope analysis and two complementary approaches, the authors investigated trophic niche patterns within and between two ontogenetic groups (juveniles and sub-adults) of a generalist predator (Acentrogobius viridipunctatus) in four mangroves with heterogeneous environmental conditions (e.g., tidal regimes, salinity fluctuations and mangrove tree community). The authors hypothesized that the trophic niche between populations would vary regionally and trophic position would increase consistently from juvenile to sub-adult stages. The results revealed that both δ13 C and δ15 N values varied greatly across populations and between ontogenetic groups, and complex spatio-ontogenetic variations were expressed by Layman's metrics. They also found some niche separation in space, which is most likely related to resource availability in spatially diverse ecosystems. In addition, trophic niche position increased consistently from juveniles to sub-adults, indicating ontogenetic feeding shifts. The isotopic plasticity index and Fulton's condition index also showed significant spatial-ontogenetic variation, which is consistent with optimal foraging theory. The findings highlight that trophic plasticity has a high adaptive value for mangrove fish predators in dynamic ecosystems.

Methotrexate plus reduced or full-dose glucocorticoids for the treatment of active, moderate-to-severe Graves' orbitopathy.

Objective: A combination of glucocorticoids with mycophenolate is recommended by current guidelines to boost response to Graves' orbitopathy (GO) therapy. This study was designed to evaluate the therapeutic effects and safety of methotrexate (MTX) plus reduced (3.0 g) or full-dose (4.5 g) i.v. methylprednisolone (MP) vs full-dose i.v. MP alone. Design and methods: This was a prospective, randomized, observer-masked, single-center clinical trial conducted in a tertiary clinical center. Ninety-seven patients with active moderate-to-severe GO were screened and 90 patients underwent randomization between April 2018 and Oct 2019. All patients completed 12 weeks of treatment and received clinical assessment. The patients received either MP 4.5 g only, MP 4.5 g plus oral MTX, or MP 3.0 g plus oral MTX. The primary outcome was the CAS response at week 12. Secondary outcomes were adverse events and other individual ophthalmic parameters. Results: At week 12, 53.3% of MP, 76.7% of reduced MP plus MTX, and 76.7% of MP plus MTX achieved a CAS response, although the difference was not significant (P = 0.1). The overall response rates of the MP group, the reduced MP plus MTX group, and the MP plus MTX group were 43.3%, 53.3%, and 60%, respectively (P = 0.5). Subgroup analysis found that smoking status interacted with marginal significance with treatment effect (P = 0.048). Importantly, adverse event incidence was significantly lower in the reduced MP + MTX group (P = 0.017). Conclusions: Our study shows that reduced MP plus MTX therapy is effective and safer in treating active and moderate-to-severe GO patients than 4.5 g MP monotherapy.

Discovery of derivatives from Spartina alterniflora-sourced moiety as xanthine oxidase inhibitors to lower uric acid.

In this work, hit compounds Spartinin F1-F20 sharing the Spartina alterniflora-sourced ferulic acid backbone were synthesized and evaluated on inhibiting xanthine oxidase and lowering uric acid level. The top hit Spartinin F2 exhibited inhibition percentages at 10 µM dosage as high as 84.48 (higher than that of the positive control allopurinol) and low cyto-toxicity. Spartinin F2 inferred potential efficiency in lowering the serum UA level (from 631.6 µM to 295.0 µM), which was comparable with allopurinol (to 309.2 µM). Spartinin F2 was also beneficial for other serum indexes. The bioavailability of Spartinin F2 was 63.71% from the preliminary pharmacokinetics test and the molecular docking simulation indicated that except for retaining the hydrogen bonds with the key residues such as THR 1010 and LYS 771, the introduction of the π-sulfur interactions via the sulfonate might also be beneficial for developing more potent XO inhibitors.

Toxic effects of fludioxonil on the growth, photosynthetic activity, oxidative stress, cell morphology, apoptosis, and metabolism of Chlorella vulgaris.

Fludioxonil is widely used in the control of crop diseases because of its broad spectrum and high activity, but its presence is now common in waterways proximate to treated areas. This study examined the toxic effects and mechanisms of fludioxonil on the microalgal taxa Chlorella vulgaris. The results showed that fludioxonil limited the growth of C. vulgaris and the median inhibitory concentration at 96 h was 1.87 mg/L. Concentrations of 0.75 and 3 mg/L fludioxonil reduced the content of photosynthetic pigments in algal cells to different degrees. Fludioxonil induced oxidative damage by altering C. vulgaris antioxidant enzyme activities and increasing reactive oxygen species levels. Fludioxonil at 0.75 mg/L significantly increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The highest level of activity was 1.60 times that of the control group. Both fludioxonil treatment groups significantly increased ROS levels, with the highest increase being 1.90 times that of the control group. Transmission electron microscope showed that treatment with 3 mg/L fludioxonil for 96 h disrupted cell integrity and changed cell morphology, and flow cytometer analysis showed that fludioxonil induced apoptosis. Changes in endogenous substances indicated that fludioxonil negatively affects C. vulgaris via altered energy metabolism, biosynthesis of amino acids, and unsaturated fatty acids. This study elucidates the effects of fludioxonil on microalgae and the biological mechanisms of its toxicity, providing insights into the importance of the proper management of this fungicide.

Establishment of pediatric developmental dysplasia of the hip biobank: Shanghai children's hospital experience.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a debilitating condition that affects 1-7% of newborns. Children with DDH, not treated early and effectively, will easily lead to disability. A better understanding of the biology of DDH is critical to the development of prognostic biomarkers and novel therapies. The purpose of this study was to establish a biobank of DDH genetic resources, to facilitate clinical and basic scientific research. The biological specimen and clinical data of DDH were collected in Shanghai Children's Hospital from 2014 to 2021. The collection of blood samples was performed at definitive diagnosis and review, tissue specimens were performed at definitive surgery. The clinical data was collected at the whole stage of DDH patients at diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. A total of 528 patients with DDH were enrolled in this study, 90 were men and 438 were women, with the mean age of 4.67 years. The numbers of tissue and blood specimens reached 2172 and 1490, respectively. The quality test results showed that the DNA concentration decreased slightly with the extension of storage time, but the DNA purity did not change. Meanwhile, the extension of storage time slightly affected the stability of protein of tissue samples but did not affect the expression of the housekeeping gene. The DDH biobank built has the potential of monitoring disease pathogenesis and progress, which could provide specimens to the researchers improving the biological understanding and provide guidance of clinical treatment of this disease to clinicians.

Quantitative evaluation of retinal and choroidal changes in Fabry disease using optical coherence tomography angiography.

To examine the retinal and choroidal changes in patients with Fabry disease (FD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). FD patients and age- and sex-matched healthy subjects were enrolled. A detailed ophthalmological examination was performed for all participants. The retinal thickness, ganglion cell layer with inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness, choroidal thickness (CT), vessel length density (VLD), vessel perfusion density (VPD), and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) were analyzed in a detailed way with OCTA. Moreover, all FD patients underwent several laboratory tests to evaluate systemic conditions. A total of 54 subjects comprising 26 FD patients and 28 normal controls were enrolled. The retinal thickness, GCIPL thickness, and FAZ area showed no significant differences between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Only the superior CT in FD patients was significantly thinner than that in the normal subjects (P = 0.040). The macular VLD and VPD in the FD group were significantly reduced compared with the healthy controls (P = 0.026, P = 0.008). The macular VLD in FD patients had no significant correlations with different laboratory results (all P > 0.05), while the macular VPD were negatively correlated with creatinine (r = - 0.432, P = 0.028) and cystatin C (r = - 0.422, P = 0.032). FD patients may have retinal vascular dropout and choroidal vascular alterations. Analysis of vessel density using OCTA might be useful in the clinical assessment in FD patients.

Clinical research of plasma diafiltration in the treatment of severe liver failure / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To study the clinical effect of plasma diafiltration in severe liver failure.Methods:The clinical data of 64 patients with severe liver failure treated in Changsha Central Hospital Affiliated to Nanhua University from January 2019 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The control group ( n=32) was treated with plasma exchange; The observation group ( n=32) was treated with plasma dialysis and filtration, and the clinical therapeutic effects of the two groups were compared. Results:The total effective rate of observation group was 96.88%(31/32), which was significantly higher than that of control group (78.13%, 25/32) ( P<0.05). After treatment, there was no significant difference in total bilirubin and direct bilirubin between the observation group and the control group (all P>0.05), but the alanine aminotransferase [(94.02±31.31)U/L] in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group [(160.79±53.55)U/L] ( P<0.05). After treatment, the serum creatinine [(87.80±10.7) μmol /L] and ammonia [(56.80±4.73)μmol/L] in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group [(101.57±25.34)μmol/L, (101.87±10.34)μmol/L, all P<0.05]. The plasma consumption of observation group [(1 582.25±125.15)ml] was significantly less than that of control group [(2 262.50±208.29)ml] ( P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was 3.13%(1/32), which was significantly lower than that in the control group [25.00%(8/32)], with statistically significant difference ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Compared with plasma exchange, plasma dialysis and filtration in the treatment of severe liver failure can effectively improve the liver function of patients, with better clearance of small molecule toxins. Moreover, plasma dialysis and filtration has less amount of plasma use , higher safety, and better clinical application value.

Musculoskeletal actinomycosis in children: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Actinomycosis is a rare infectious disease caused by Actinomyces, especially in children. Here, we present a case of musculoskeletal actinomycosis in a 5-year-old girl from China. CASE PRESENTATION: A 5-year-old girl presented with recurrent episodes of fever, pain, erythema, swelling, and festering sores on the right lower extremity, and pus was discharged from a sinus in the right foot. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested subcutaneous soft tissue infection and osteomyelitis of the right crus. A bacterial culture of pus extracted from a festering sore on the right popliteal fossa detected the growth of Actinomycetes europaeus. The patient was cured with 7 weeks of treatment with intravenous ampicillin-sulbactam, followed by 6 weeks of treatment with oral amoxicillin-clavulanate with surgical debridement and drainage. There were no symptoms of recurrence during the 15-month period of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric actinomycosis is a rare and challenging infectious disease. Early accurate diagnosis and optimal surgical debridement are important for the management of pediatric actinomycosis.

Clinical Efficacy of Minimally Invasive Elastic Stable Intramedullary Nailing for Limb Long Bone Fractures in Children.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present paper was to investigate the clinical efficacy of minimally invasive elastic stable intramedullary nailing (ESIN) for long bone fractures in children. METHODS: A total of 350 children with limb fractures from June 2012 to June 2018 were recruited and randomized into two groups: an ESIN group (n = 175) treated with elastic stable intramedullary nailing, and an MPIF group (n = 175), treated with metal plate internal fixation. Both groups received the same physical examination and routine medication. Operation related indexes, clinical efficacy, complications, and postoperative quality of life scores were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, and fracture healing time in the ESIN group were 43.74 ± 4.96 min, 8.14 ± 1.34 mL, 5.97 ± 1.88 days, and 55.89 ± 5.61 days, respectively, which were all significantly less than those in the MPIF group (all P < 0.001). In terms of common complications after limb fracture treatment, there were 6 cases of osteomyelitis, 5 cases of skin irritation response, and 7 cases of inflammatory granuloma in the MPIF group. There were 2 cases of skin irritation response and 5 cases of inflammatory granuloma in the ESIN group. The incidence of postoperative complications in the ESIN group was 4.00%, which was significantly lower than that in MPIF group (10.29%) (P < 0.05). The effective rate for recovery condition in the ESIN group (93.71%) was significantly higher than that in the MPIF group (P < 0.001). The quality of life scores after treatment in both groups were improved, while the score in the ESIN group was significantly higher than that in the MPIF group (79.43%) (P < 0.001). The postoperative satisfaction rate in the ESIN group (94.29%) was significantly higher than that in the MPIF group (86.29%) (P < 0.05). The quality of life scores after treatment in both groups were improved, while the score in the ESIN group was significantly higher than that in the MPIF group (P < 0.001). The postoperative satisfaction rate and the acceptance rate for adjacent joint function in the ESIN group (100%) were significantly higher than those in the MPIF group (92.00%) (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Elastic stable intramedullary nailing is a minimally invasive procedure for long bone fractures in children. It can effectively improve the operation-related indicators and postoperative quality of life and reduce the incidence of complications.

Antifouling Antioxidant Zwitterionic Dextran Hydrogels as Wound Dressing Materials with Excellent Healing Activities.

Hydrogels as wound dressings have received great attention in recent years. It is highly important yet challenging to develop hydrogel dressings that are biocompatible and that can promote wound healing by lowering the risk of inflammatory responses. In this work, we designed and prepared zwitterionic dextran-based hydrogels using carboxybetaine dextran (CB-Dex) and sulfobetaine dextran (SB-Dex) as raw materials, respectively. The efficacy of CB-Dex and SB-Dex hydrogels in promoting wound recovery was evaluated using a mouse skin wound model. Results suggested that the zwitterionic dextran wound dressings showed a faster healing rate than natural dextran hydrogel and a commercial wound dressing (Duoderm film) due to their excellent protein resistance and capacity to scavenge free hydroxyl radicals. In addition, both CB-Dex and SB-Dex hydrogel wound dressings showed excellent cytocompatibility with NIH3T3 and L929 cells, as well as antibacterial adhesion against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Furthermore, both zwitterionic hydrogels demonstrated self-healing properties and can be stretched to adapt to irregular full-thickness wound beds. More importantly, they can be removed from the wound site painlessly by washing with normal saline. Overall, this work provided a new pathway to fabricate multifunctional polysaccharide hydrogels for wound treatment and pain relief when changing wound dressings.

Zwitterionic Hydrogel with High Transparency, Ultrastretchability, and Remarkable Freezing Resistance for Wearable Strain Sensors.

Multifunctional hydrogel with outstanding conductivity and mechanical flexibility has received enormous attention as wearable electronic devices. However, fabricating transparent, ultrastretchable, and biocompatible hydrogel with low-temperature stability still remains a tremendous challenge. In this study, an ultrastretchable, highly transparent, and antifreezing zwitterionic-based electronic sensor is developed by introducing zwitterionic proline (ZP) into gellan gum/polyacrylamide (GG/PAAm) double network (DN) hydrogel. The existence of ZP endows the hydrogel with remarkable frost resistance. The toughness and transparency of zwitterionic Ca-GG/PAAm-ZP DN hydrogel can be maintained down to -40 °C. Also, the zwitterionic hydrogel shows good biocompatibility and protein adsorption resistance. The zwitterionic Ca-GG/PAAm-ZP DN hydrogel-based strain sensor can accurately monitor human motions (such as speaking and various joint bendings) under a broad temperature range from -40 to 25 °C. The zwitterionic Ca-GG/PAAm-ZP DN hydrogel-based strain sensor will be of immense value in the field of wearable electronic devices, especially for extreme environment applications.

Polysaccharides and proteins-based nanogenerator for energy harvesting and sensing: A review.

Nanogenerator is a promising energy harvesting device that can scavenge tiny mechanical energy from the surrounding environment, and then convert it into electricity. Natural bio-polymers are the potential candidates for the design of nanogenerators due to their excellent characteristics like piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, non-toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Especially, nanogenerators using bio-sourced polymers as the core raw materials are suitable for wearable and implantable devices. In this review, major advancements in the sensing field of nanogenerators based on natural polysaccharides and proteins (cellulose, chitosan, alginate, agarose, starch, lignin, silk fibroin, collagen, gelatin, keratin, peptide, M13 bacteriophage, ß-cyclodextrin, spider silk, etc.) are summarized. Also, challenges in the improvement of electric output performance, flexibility, anti-humidity and energy management for natural polymers based-nanogenerators are proposed. In the future, they will be applied in daily life as an alternative for traditional power source after addressing issues mentioned above.

Evaluation of retinal and choroidal variations in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy using optical coherence tomography angiography.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the difference in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, choroidal thickness (CT) and superficial retinal vessels between thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) patients and healthy controls. To identify the potential influencing factors for these parameters and evaluate their diagnostic abilities in TAO. METHODS: Twenty active TAO patients, 33 inactive TAO patients and 29 healthy participants were enrolled. TAO patients were divided according to the clinical activity score (CAS). RNFL thickness and CT were measured by HD-OCT, while foveal avascular zone (FAZ), vascular density and perfusion density were measured by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). SPSS software was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Active TAO patients had thinner RNFL thickness than the other two groups (P < 0.001, P < 0.001). Both active and inactive TAO patients had significantly higher CT in the macular region (all P < 0.05). The FAZ area in the active TAO group was significantly larger than the other two groups (P = 0.045, P = 0.001). The inactive TAO group had significantly higher vascular density than the other two groups (all P < 0.05). With regard to the perfusion density, significant differences were observed in the temporal and inferior areas (P = 0.045, P = 0.001), as well as the average values (P = 0.032). The FAZ area was positively correlated with intraocular pressure (r = 0.274, P = 0.013), while it was negatively correlated with axial length (r = - 0.344, P = 0.002). The vascular density and perfusion density were not significantly correlated with different clinical variables (all P > 0.05). The AUC analysis indicated these parameters also exhibited a significant discriminatory power in TAO diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: TAO patients had significant variations in RNFL thickness, choroidal thickness, FAZ area and superficial retinal vessels. These parameters appeared to be potential adjuncts in the evaluation of TAO patients.