Smartphone access, digital economy, and pesticide use intensity: Evidence from China.

Pesticide overuse has been an increasing concern in China. Digital technology, such as smartphone access, is considered an effective way to promote proper use of pesticides. Using the Chinese Extended Family Database (2015, 2017, and 2019), this study empirically examines the impact of smartphone access on pesticide use intensity among Chinese farmers. The results show a "double-edged sword" effect of smartphone access on pesticide use intensity. In rural areas with a low level of digital economy, greater smartphone access led to higher pesticide use intensity. In rural areas with a high digital economy level, smartphone access reduced pesticide use intensity. The study results show that reducing pesticide use intensity through digital technology is not a linear process but a complicated one that involves social and engineering integration, including an increase in access to smartphones, development of a regional digital economy, reconstruction of agricultural extension systems, and enhancement of the capacity of digital technology.

Promoted hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol over single-atom Cu sites with Na+-decorated microenvironment.

Although single-atom Cu sites exhibit high efficiency in CO2 hydrogenation to methanol, they are prone to forming Cu nanoparticles due to reduction and aggregation under reaction conditions, especially at high temperatures. Herein, single-atom Cu sites stabilized by adjacent Na+ ions have been successfully constructed within a metal-organic framework (MOF)-based catalyst, namely MOF-808-NaCu. It is found that the electrostatic interaction between the Na+ and Hδ- species plays a pivotal role in upholding the atomic dispersion of Cu in MOF-808-NaCu during CO2 hydrogenation, even at temperatures of up to 275°C. This exceptional stabilization effect endows the catalyst with excellent activity (306 g·kgcat-1·h-1), high selectivity to methanol (93%) and long-term stability at elevated reaction temperatures, far surpassing the counterpart in the absence of Na+ (denoted as MOF-808-Cu). This work develops an effective strategy for the fabrication of stable single-atom sites for advanced catalysis by creating an alkali-decorated microenvironment in close proximity.

Research on the impact of ESG performance on carbon emissions from the perspective of green credit.

Utilizing panel data from 30 Chinese provinces, this research examines the non-linear relationship between regional environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and carbon emissions (CE) from the viewpoint of green credit. The study reveals a single threshold effect between ESG performance and CE, with green credit acting as the threshold variable. When the amount of green credit in a region exceeds the threshold, the growth rate of CE in that region begins to decline with higher ESG scores. Furthermore, green credit acts as a catalyst, playing a negative moderating role between ESG performance and CE, validated by both threshold regression and fixed effects models on panel data. Green credit indirectly influences carbon emissions by supporting green innovation, thus facilitating the transition to a greener economic development framework. Lastly, regional disparities are found in the moderating influence of green credit between ESG performance and CE. In regions with high ESG performance, the moderating impact of green credit is smaller, while in regions with low ESG performance, the effect is more significant. The research findings offer theoretical backing for policymakers regarding the efficacy of ESG in achieving carbon neutrality objectives, and offer valuable strategic recommendations for the diversified formulation of green credit strategies on both national and provincial scales. Regional heterogeneity test results provide valuable support for formulating policies that encourage green credit in provinces with low ESG performance.

Self-esteem, depression, anxiety and sexual function in Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome with neovagina: A case series.

BACKGROUND: The Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is a rare condition with significant psychological implications. However, our understanding of its impact on postoperative sexual function and mental health is still limited. AIM: Evaluate the mental health status and sexual functioning of women with MRKH syndrome after vaginoplasty surgery. METHODS: We enrolled 53 cases with MRKH syndrome who underwent artificial vaginoplasty. The participants were asked to participate in a two-round survey conducted between February 2021 during the covid-19 period and March 2023. The survey included questionnaires to measure depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and sexual functioning. Differences between scores over time were analysed using a paired sample t-test, and we assessed the correlation between mental health and sexual functioning. RESULTS: In the first round, patients' mean ± SD age at surgery was 23.6 ± 4.5 years old, and the mean ± SD time that had elapsed since surgery at the time of the survey was 34.2 ± 20.8 months. None of the patients reported low self-esteem, 45.3 % reported mild-to-moderate depression, and 34.0 % reported mild anxiety. Thirty patients have had vaginal intercourse during the last six months. The mean ± SD Female Sexual Functioning Index score was 24.6 ± 4.4, and 60.0 % had a score of 23.5 or higher, indicating high sexual functioning. The sexual functioning scores were positively correlated with self-esteem scores and negatively correlated with depression or anxiety scores (p < 0.05). There was no significant improvement in patient's mental health status and sexual function between the second round survey (71.3 ± 17.8 months after surgery) and the first round survey (p > 0.05). In contrast, the sexual arousal of FSFI were significantly higher in the second survey round (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Most patients undergoing vaginoplasty reported persisting mental health challenges. However, the majority reported good sexual functioning.

Efficacy of Huangma Ding or autologous platelet-rich gel for the diabetic lower extremity arterial disease patients with foot ulcers.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes foot is one of the most serious complications of diabetes and an important cause of death and disability, traditional treatment has poor efficacy and there is an urgent need to develop a practical treatment method. AIM: To investigate whether Huangma Ding or autologous platelet-rich gel (APG) treatment would benefit diabetic lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) patients with foot ulcers. METHODS: A total of 155 diabetic LEAD patients with foot ulcers were enrolled and divided into three groups: Group A (62 patients; basal treatment), Group B (38 patients; basal treatment and APG), and Group C (55 patients; basal treatment and Huangma Ding). All patients underwent routine follow-up visits for six months. After follow-up, we calculated the changes in all variables from baseline and determined the differences between groups and the relationships between parameters. RESULTS: The infection status of the three groups before treatment was the same. Procalcitonin (PCT) improved after APG and Huangma Ding treatment more than after traditional treatment and was significantly greater in Group C than in Group B. Logistic regression analysis revealed that PCT was positively correlated with total amputation, primary amputation, and minor amputation rates. The ankle-brachial pressure and the transcutaneous oxygen pressure in Groups B and C were greater than those in Group A. The major amputation rate, minor amputation rate, and total amputation times in Groups B and C were lower than those in Group A. CONCLUSION: Our research indicated that diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) lead to major amputation, minor amputation, and total amputation through local infection and poor microcirculation and macrocirculation. Huangma Ding and APG were effective attreating DFUs. The clinical efficacy of Huangma Ding was better than that of autologous platelet gel, which may be related to the better control of local infection by Huangma Ding. This finding suggested that in patients with DFUs combined with coinfection, controlling infection is as important as improving circulation.

Gestational Exposure to PM2.5 and Specific Constituents, Meconium Metabolites, and Neonatal Neurobehavioral Development: A Cohort Study.

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during pregnancy has been inversely associated with neonatal neurological development. However, the associations of exposure to specific PM2.5 constituents with neonatal neurological development remain unclear. We investigated these associations and examined the mediating role of meconium metabolites in a Chinese birth cohort consisting of 294 mother-infant pairs. Our results revealed that exposure to PM2.5 and its specific constituents (i.e., organic matter, black carbon, sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium) in the second trimester, but not in the first or third trimester, was inversely associated with the total neonatal behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA) scores. The PM2.5 constituent mixture in the second trimester was also inversely associated with NBNA scores, and sulfate was identified as the largest contributor. Furthermore, meconium metabolome analysis identified four metabolites, namely, threonine, lysine, leucine, and saccharopine, that were associated with both PM2.5 constituents and NBNA scores. Threonine was identified as an important mediator, accounting for a considerable proportion (14.53-15.33%) of the observed inverse associations. Our findings suggest that maternal exposure to PM2.5 and specific constituents may adversely affect neonatal behavioral development, in which meconium metabolites may play a mediating role.

Calorie Restriction Using High-Fat/Low-Carbohydrate Diet Suppresses Liver Fat Accumulation and Pancreatic Beta-Cell Dedifferentiation in Obese Diabetic Mice.

In diabetes, pancreatic ß-cells gradually lose their ability to secrete insulin with disease progression. ß-cell dysfunction is a contributing factor to diabetes severity. Recently, islet cell heterogeneity, exemplified by ß-cell dedifferentiation and identified in diabetic animals, has attracted attention as an underlying molecular mechanism of ß-cell dysfunction. Previously, we reported ß-cell dedifferentiation suppression by calorie restriction, not by reducing hyperglycemia using hypoglycemic agents (including sodium-glucose cotransporter inhibitors), in an obese diabetic mice model (db/db). Here, to explore further mechanisms of the effects of food intake on ß-cell function, db/db mice were fed either a high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet (db-HC) or a low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet (db-HF) using similar calorie restriction regimens. After one month of intervention, body weight reduced, and glucose intolerance improved to a similar extent in the db-HC and db-HF groups. However, ß-cell dedifferentiation did not improve in the db-HC group, and ß-cell mass compensatory increase occurred in this group. More prominent fat accumulation occurred in the db-HC group livers. The expression levels of genes related to lipid metabolism, mainly regulated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and γ, differed significantly between groups. In conclusion, the fat/carbohydrate ratio in food during calorie restriction in obese mice affected both liver lipid metabolism and ß-cell dedifferentiation.

In vitro study on antioxidant and lipid-lowering activities of tobacco polysaccharides.

Tobacco polysaccharides were extracted by hot water extraction, and purified and separated using DEAE-52 cellulose chromatography columns, and three purified polysaccharide fractions, YCT-1, YCT-2, and YCT-3, were finally obtained. The physicochemical properties of the three fractions were analyzed by ultraviolet spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography and high-performance gel chromatography. The in vitro antioxidant activity of tobacco polysaccharides was compared among different fractions by using DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical scavenging assay and potassium ferricyanide method. The in vitro hypoglycemic activity was compared using α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity inhibition assay. And the in vitro hypolipidemic activity were investigated by using pancreatic lipase activity inhibition assay and HepG-2 intracellular lipid accumulation assay. All the results showed that the constituent monosaccharides of the three tobacco polysaccharide fractions were similar, but the molar percentages of each monosaccharide were different. The average molecular weights of the three components were 27,727 Da, 27,587 Da, and 66,517 Da, respectively, and the scavenging activities on DPPH radicals and hydroxyl radicals were at a high level with good quantitative-effect relationships. The reducing power were much lower than that of the positive control VC, and the three polysaccharide fractions had a weak inhibitory ability on α-amylase activity, but showed excellent inhibitory ability on α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase activity. In addition, the results of cellular experiments showed that all three fractions were able to inhibit lipid over-accumulation in HepG-2 cells by increasing the mRNA expression levels of PPAR-α, CPT-1A, and CYP7A1 genes, and the tobacco polysaccharide YCT-3 showed the best effect. The mechanism by which YCT-3 ameliorated the over-accumulation of intracellular lipids in HepG-2 cells was found to be related to its influence on the expression of miR-155-3p and miR-17-3p in the exosomes of HepG-2 cells.

New-onset hypertension as a contributing factor to the incidence of atrial fibrillation in the elderly.

Hypertension and atrial fibrillation are closely related. However, hypertension is already prevalent in young adults, but atrial fibrillation usually occurs in the elderly. In the present analysis, we investigated incident atrial fibrillation in relation to new-onset hypertension in an elderly Chinese population. Our study participants were elderly (≥65 years) hypertensive residents, recruited from community health centers in the urban Shanghai (n = 4161). Previous and new-onset hypertension were defined as the use of antihypertensive medication or elevated systolic/diastolic blood pressure (≥140/90 mmHg), respectively, at entry and during follow-up on ≥ 2 consecutive clinic visits. Atrial fibrillation was detected by a 30-s single-lead electrocardiography (ECG, AliveCor® Heart Monitor) and further evaluated with a regular 12-lead ECG. During a median of 2.1 years follow-up, the incidence rate of atrial fibrillation was 7.60 per 1000 person-years in all study participants; it was significantly higher in patients with new-onset hypertension (n = 368) than those with previous hypertension (n = 3793, 15.76 vs. 6.77 per 1000 person-years, P = 0.02). After adjustment for confounding factors, the hazard ratio for the incidence of atrial fibrillation was 2.21 (95% confidence interval 1.15-4.23, P = 0.02) in patients with new-onset hypertension versus those with previous hypertension. The association was even stronger in those aged ≥ 75 years (hazard ratio 2.70, 95% confidence interval 1.11-6.56, P = 0.03). In patients with previous hypertension, curvilinear association (P for non-linear trend = 0.04) was observed between duration of hypertension and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation, with a higher risk in short- and long-term than mid-term duration of hypertension. Our study showed a significant association between new-onset hypertension and the incidence of atrial fibrillation in elderly Chinese. In an elderly Chinese population with previous and new-onset hypertension, we found that the new-onset hypertension during follow-up, compared with previous hypertension, was associated with a significantly higher risk of incident atrial fibrillation. In patients with previous hypertension, curvilinear association was observed between duration of hypertension and the risk of incident atrial fibrillation, with a higher risk in short- and long-term than mid-term duration of hypertension.

KINASE-INDUCIBLE DOMAIN INTERACTING 8 regulates helical pod morphology in Medicago truncatula.

Leguminosae exhibits a wide diversity of legume forms with varying degrees of spiral morphologies, serving as an ideal clade for studying the growth and development of spiral organs. While soybean (Glycine max) develops straight pods, the pod of the model legume Medicago truncatula is a helix structure. Despite the fascinating structures and intensive description of the pods in legumes, little is known regarding the genetic mechanism underlying the highly varied spirality of the legume pods. In this study, we found that KINASE-INDUCIBLE DOMAIN INTERACTING 8 (MtKIX8) plays a key role in regulating the pod structure and spirality in M. truncatula. Unlike the coiled and barrel-shaped helix pods of the wild type, the pods of the mtkix8 mutant are loose and deformed and lose the topologic structure as observed in the wild-type pods. In the pods of the mtkix8 mutant, the cells proliferate more actively and overly expand, particularly in the ventral suture, resulting in uncoordinated growth along the dorsal and ventral sutures of pods. The core cell cycle genes CYCLIN D3s are upregulated in the mtkix8 pods, leading to the prolonged growth of the ventral suture region of the pods. Our study revealed the key role of MtKIX8 in regulating seed pod development in M. truncatula and demonstrates a genetic regulatory model underlying the establishment of the helical pod in legumes.

Scalable production of recombinant three-finger proteins: from inclusion bodies to high quality molecular probes.

BACKGROUND: The three-finger proteins are a collection of disulfide bond rich proteins of great biomedical interests. Scalable recombinant expression and purification of bioactive three-finger proteins is quite difficult. RESULTS: We introduce a working pipeline for expression, purification and validation of disulfide-bond rich three-finger proteins using E. coli as the expression host. With this pipeline, we have successfully obtained highly purified and bioactive recombinant α-Βungarotoxin, k-Bungarotoxin, Hannalgesin, Mambalgin-1, α-Cobratoxin, MTα, Slurp1, Pate B etc. Milligrams to hundreds of milligrams of recombinant three finger proteins were obtained within weeks in the lab. The recombinant proteins showed specificity in binding assay and six of them were crystallized and structurally validated using X-ray diffraction protein crystallography. CONCLUSIONS: Our pipeline allows refolding and purifying recombinant three finger proteins under optimized conditions and can be scaled up for massive production of three finger proteins. As many three finger proteins have attractive therapeutic or research interests and due to the extremely high quality of the recombinant three finger proteins we obtained, our method provides a competitive alternative to either their native counterparts or chemically synthetic ones and should facilitate related research and applications.

Life and disease status of patients with Parkinson's disease during and after zero-COVID in China: an online survey.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) at different stages of the pandemic. This study aims to assess the lives and disease status of PD patients during the zero-COVID policy period and after ending the zero-COVID policy. METHODS: This multicenter cross-sectional study included two online surveys among PD patients in China, from May 30 to June 30 in 2022 and from January 1 to February 28 in 2023, respectively. The survey questionnaires contained four sections: (1) status of COVID-19 infection; (2) impact on motor and non-motor symptoms; (3) impact on daily and social lives; and (4) impact on PD disease management. RESULTS: A total of 1764 PD patients participated in the first online survey, with 200 patients having lockdown experience and 3 being COVID-19-positive (0.17%). In addition, 537 patients participated in the second online survey, with 467 patients having COVID-19 infection (86.96%). (1) During zero-COVID, all of the COVID-19-positive patients had mild symptoms of COVID-19 and no death was reported. After zero-COVID, 83.51% of the COVID-19-positive patients had mild symptoms. The overall death rate and inpatient mortality rate of COVID-19-positive PD patients were 3.21% and 30.00%, respectively. (2) During zero-COVID, 49.43% of PD patients reported worsening of PD-related symptoms (lockdown vs. unlockdown, 60.50% vs. 48.02%, P = 0.0009). After zero-COVID, 54.93% of PD patients reported worsening of PD-related symptoms (COVID-19 positive vs. COVID-19 negative, 59.31% vs. 25.71%, P < 0.0001). (3) During zero-COVID, 62.36% of patients felt worried, and 'limited outdoor activities' (55.39%) was the top reason for mental health problems. After zero-COVID, 59.03% of patients felt worried, with 'poor health' (58.10%) being the top reason. The PD patients tended to change their daily activities from offline to online, and their economic and caregiver burdens increased both during and after zero-COVID. (4) Most PD patients would like to choose online rehabilitation during (69.56%) and after zero-COVID (69.27%). The demand for online medication purchasing also increased during (47.00%) and after zero-COVID (26.63%). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the motor and non-motor symptoms of PD patients either during or after the zero-COVID policy period. The PD patients also experienced prominent mental health problems, changes in daily activities, and increases in economic and caregiver burdens. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed ways of PD management with increasing demands for online medication purchasing and rehabilitation.

Laser-Induced Skin-like Flexible Pressure Sensor for Artificial Intelligence Speech Recognition.

Skin-like flexible pressure sensors with good sensing performance have great application potential, but their development is limited owing to the need for multistep, high-cost, and low-efficiency preparation processes. Herein, a simple, low-cost, and efficient laser-induced forming process is proposed for the first time to prepare a skin-like flexible piezoresistive sensor. In the laser-induced forming process, based on the photothermal effect of graphene and the foaming effect of glucose, a skin-like polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) film with porous structures and surface protrusions is obtained by using infrared laser irradiation of the glucose/graphene/PDMS prepolymer film. Further, based on the skin-like PDMS film with a graphene conductive layer, a new skin-like flexible piezoresistive sensor is obtained. Due to the stress concentration caused by the surface protrusions and the low stiffness caused by the porous structures, the flexible piezoresistive sensor realizes an ultrahigh sensitivity of 1348 kPa-1 at 0-2 kPa, a wide range of 200 kPa, a fast response/recovery time of 52 ms/35 ms, and good stability over 5000 cycles. The application of the sensor to the detection of human pulses and robot clamping force indicates its potential for health monitoring and soft robots. Furthermore, in combination with the neural network (CNN) algorithm in artificial intelligence technology, the sensor achieves 95% accuracy in speech recognition, which demonstrates its great potential for intelligent wearable electronics. Especially, the laser-induced forming process is expected to facilitate the efficient, large-scale preparation of flexible devices with multilevel structures.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase in pancreatic diseases: Mechanisms and future perspectives.

Pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer (PC) stand as the most worrisome ailments affecting the pancreas. Researchers have dedicated efforts to unraveling the mechanisms underlying these diseases, yet their true nature continues to elude their grasp. Within this realm, oxidative stress is often believed to play a causal and contributory role in the development of pancreatitis and PC. Excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause oxidative stress, and the key enzyme responsible for inducing ROS production in cells is nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate hydrogen oxides (NOX). NOX contribute to pancreatic fibrosis and inflammation by generating ROS that injure acinar cells, activate pancreatic stellate cells, and mediate macrophage polarization. Excessive ROS production occurs during malignant transformation and pancreatic carcinogenesis, creating an oxidative microenvironment that can cause abnormal apoptosis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition and genomic instability. Therefore, understanding the role of NOX in pancreatic diseases contributes to a more in-depth exploration of the exact pathogenesis of these diseases. In this review, we aim to summarize the potential roles of NOX and its mechanism in pancreatic disorders, aiming to provide novel insights into understanding the mechanisms underlying these diseases.

Zero-dimensional hybrid tin halides with stable broadband light emissions.

Considering the instability and toxicity of 3D Pb-based perovskite nanocrystals, lead-free low-dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides have attracted widespread attention as potential substitutes. Herein, two new tin-based 0D halides [H4BAPP]SnBr5·Br and [H4BAPP]SnCl5·Cl·H2O (BAPP = 1,4-bis(3-aminopropyl)piperazine) were synthesized successfully based on [SnX5]3- as an emission center. Typically, [H4BAPP]SnBr5·Br and [H4BAPP]SnCl5·Cl·H2O display broadband yellow and yellow-green light emissions originating from the radiative recombination of self-trapped excitons (STEs). The photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of the two compounds were calculated to be 19.27% and 2.36%, respectively. Furthermore, the excellent chemical and thermal stability and broadband light emissions reveal their potential application in solid-state white lighting diodes.

Exploring 0D lead-free metal halide with highly efficient blue light emission and high-sensitivity photodetection.

Environmentally friendly and highly efficient blue luminescent materials are an unremitting pursuit in the optoelectronic field. Herein, we assembled a new 0D lead-free metal halide of (F-PPA)ZnBr4, which exhibits narrow blue light emission with a remarkable PLQY of 50.15%, high stability and high detection sensitivity toward UV light. These results indicate the potential for the application of low-dimensional zinc-based halides in multiple optoelectronic devices.

Prevalence, clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of oxyntic gland neoplasm: a single-center retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Oxyntic gland neoplasm (OGN) is a rare subtype of gastric cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence, clinicopathological features, effectiveness and safety of endoscopic treatment, as well as the prognosis of OGN. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients pathologically diagnosed with OGN at our hospital from November 1, 2019 to May 1, 2023. RESULTS: A total of 36 patients with 45 lesions were identified, resulting in a disease frequency of 0.047% (36/76,832). The mean age was 55.0 ± 7.5 years, with a male-to-female ratio of about 1:1.12. Most lesions were ≤10 mm in size (84.4%), located in the upper third of the stomach (73.3%), exhibited slight elevation (75.5%), appeared whitish (55%), had dilated blood vessels on the surface (75.5%). 16 and 21 lesions were treated by precutting endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR-P) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), respectively. No significant differences were found between EMR-P and ESD in terms of en bloc resection rate (100% vs 100%, p = 1.000), complete resection rate (100% vs 90.5%, p = 0.495), and curative resection rate (93.8% vs 90.5%, p = 1.000). No complications such as bleeding and perforation were observed. No recurrence or metastasis was observed during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: OGN is a rare tumor with unique clinical, endoscopic, and pathological characteristics. EMR-P and ESD are deemed safe and effective for treating OGNs. The relatively faster and easier EMR-P seems at least non-inferior to ESD, especially for removal of smaller OGNs. The overall prognosis is favorable.

High-Sensitivity and Wide-Range Flexible Ionic Piezocapacitive Pressure Sensors with Porous Hemisphere Array Electrodes.

The development of high-performance flexible pressure sensors with porous hierarchical microstructures is limited by the complex and time-consuming preparation processes of porous hierarchical microstructures. In this study, a simple modified heat curing process was first proposed to achieve one-step preparation of porous hemispherical microstructures on a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. In this process, a laser-prepared template was used to form surface microstructures on PDMS film. Meanwhile, the thermal decomposition of glucose monohydrate additive during heat curing of PDMS led to the formation of porous structures within PDMS film. Further, based on the obtained PDMS/CNTs electrodes with porous hemisphere array and ionic polymer dielectric layers, high-performance ionic piezocapacitive sensors were realized. Under the synergistic effect of the low-stiffness porous hemisphere microstructure and the electric double layer of the ionic polymer film, the sensor based on an ionic polymer film with a 1:0.75 ratio of P(VDF-HFP):[EMIM][TFSI] not only achieves a sensitivity of up to 106.27 kPa-1 below 3 kPa, but also has a wide measurement range of over 400 kPa, which has obvious advantages in existing flexible piezocapacitive sensors. The rapid response time of 110 s and the good stability of 2300 cycles of the sensor further elucidate its practicality. The application of the sensor in pulse monitoring, speech recognition, and detection of multiple dynamic loads verifies its excellent sensing performance. In short, the proposed heat curing process can simultaneously form porous structures and surface microstructures on PDMS films, greatly simplifying the preparation process of porous hierarchical microstructures and providing a simple and feasible way to obtain high-performance flexible pressure sensors.

The effect of increasing the gaps between the front teeth on torque and intrusion control of the incisors for anterior retraction with clear aligners: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of sequential distalization on increasing gaps in the maxillary anterior teeth, focusing on the control of torque and three-dimensional teeth movement during anterior retraction with clear aligners in extraction cases. METHODS: We recruited 24 patients who were undergoing extraction bilateral maxillary first premolars with clear aligners. According to a predetermined increment in the spaces between the maxillary anterior teeth, the patients were divided into three groups: those with no gap (9 cases), a 0.5 mm gap (6 cases) and a 1.0 mm gap (9 cases). In each group, a 2.0 mm en-mass retraction was applied on the anterior teeth. Plaster casts of the upper full dentition were obtained both before and after a 2 mm retraction. The palatal folds were used to overlap each pair of models. The three-dimensional movement of the teeth and the change of torque for the anterior teeth were subsequently analyzed using Geomagic Studio 2014 software. RESULTS: The change in torque in the groups with added gaps was significantly smaller than that in the group with no gaps (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in this respect when comparing the group with a 0.5 mm gap added to the group with a 1.0 mm gap was added (P > 0.05). In the labial-lingual and vertical directions, the displacements of the central and lateral incisors were smaller in the groups with additional gaps compared to those in the groups without gaps (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference observed when comparing the group with a 0.5 mm added gap to the group with a 1.0 mm added gap (P > 0.05). Then, a comparison was made between the displacement of the second premolar to the second molar in the mesial-distal direction across all groups. The study revealed that the anchorage molars in the group without gaps demonstrated significantly smaller displacement compared to those in the group with additional gaps (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Advantages were observed in controlling the torque of the anterior teeth and achieving a desired pattern closer to normal bodily movement by sequentially distalizing the maxillary anterior teeth gaps. Increasing the gaps between the maxillary anterior teeth also resulted in improved control of the vertical direction of the anterior teeth. However, this retraction strategy necessitates substantial protection of the anchorage molars.