Assessing wound complications in gastroscopy with Streptomyces protease enzyme combined with Shutai.

Current gastroscopy practices necessitate a balance between procedural efficiency and patient safety. It has been hypothesized that increasing procedure outcomes through the use of Streptomyces protease enzyme and Shutai is possible; however, precise nature of any potential adverse reactions and complications remains unknown. In Zhanjiang, China, 213 patients undergoing gastroscopy participated in this controlled trial. The subjects were allocated at random into two groups: control and treatment. The treatment group was administered topical Streptomyces protease enzyme and intravenous Shutai. Using chi-square and t-tests, information regarding patient demographics, adverse reactions, wound healing, procedure duration, distress levels, and satisfaction was gathered and analysed. The demographic and medical history characteristics of the groups were comparable. There was a greater prevalence of modest immediate reactions in the treatment group (p < 0.05), whereas there were no significant variations observed in delayed reactions and long-term complications (p > 0.05). The treatment group exhibited superior efficiency metrics, including shorter durations for diagnosis, procedure completion and recuperation (p < 0.05). The treatment group exhibited significantly higher patient satisfaction scores (p < 0.05). The incorporation of Streptomyces protease enzyme and Shutai into gastroscopy procedures resulted in significantly enhanced level of procedural efficacy and patient contentment while not introducing an additional risk of long-term complications. The increase in moderate immediate reactions that have been observed requires additional research in order to determine their clinical significance. Although these agents present a possible progression in the field of gastroscopy, their application should be tempered by the immediate adverse reactions that have been documented.

Synergistic Effect of Dual-Doped Carbon on Mo2C Nanocrystals Facilitates Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution.

Molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) materials are promising electrocatalysts with potential applications in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to low cost and Pt-like electronic structures. Nevertheless, their HER activity is usually hindered by the strong hydrogen binding energy. Moreover, the lack of water-cleaving sites makes it difficult for the catalysts to work in alkaline solutions. Here, we designed and synthesized a B and N dual-doped carbon layer that encapsulated on Mo2C nanocrystals (Mo2C@BNC) for accelerating HER under alkaline condition. The electronic interactions between the Mo2C nanocrystals and the multiple-doped carbon layer endow a near-zero H adsorption Gibbs free energy on the defective C atoms over the carbon shell. Meanwhile, the introduced B atoms afford optimal H2O adsorption sites for the water-cleaving step. Accordingly, the dual-doped Mo2C catalyst with synergistic effect of non-metal sites delivers superior HER performances of a low overpotential (99 mV@10 mA cm-2) and a small Tafel slope (58.1 mV dec-1) in 1 M KOH solution. Furthermore, it presents a remarkable activity that outperforming the commercial 10% Pt/C catalyst at large current density, demonstrating its applicability in industrial water splitting. This study provides a reasonable design strategy towards noble-metal-free HER catalysts with high activity.

Establishment of an efficient transformation system and its application in regulatory mechanism analysis of biological macromolecules in tea plants.

Tea (Camellia sinensis), one of the most important beverage crops originated from China and is now cultivated worldwide, provides numerous secondary metabolites that account for its health benefits and rich flavor. However, the lack of an efficient and reliable genetic transformation system has seriously hindered the gene function investigation and precise breeding of C. sinensis. In this study, we established a highly efficient, labor-saving, and cost-effective Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated hairy roots genetic transformation system for C. sinensis, which can be used for gene overexpression and genome editing. The established transformation system was simple to operate, bypassing tissue culture and antibiotic screening, and only took two months to complete. We used this system to conduct function analysis of transcription factor CsMYB73 and found that CsMYB73 negatively regulates L-theanine synthesis in tea plant. Additionally, callus formation was successfully induced using transgenic roots, and the transgenic callus exhibited normal chlorophyll production, enabling the study of the corresponding biological functions. Furthermore, this genetic transformation system was effective for multiple C. sinensis varieties and other woody plant species. By overcoming technical obstacles such as low efficiency, long experimental periods, and high costs, this genetic transformation will be a valuable tool for routine gene investigation and precise breeding in tea plants.

Ultrathin AlOxlayer modified ferroelectric organic field-effect transistor for artificial synaptic characteristics.

The challenges associated with autonomous information processing and storage will be resolved by neuromorphic computing, which takes inspiration from neural networks in the human brain. To create suitable artificial synaptic devices for artificial intelligence, it is essential to look for approaches to improve device performance. In the present study, we suggest a method to address this problem by inserting an ultrathin AlOXlayer at the side of ferroelectric film for the prepared ferroelectric organic effect transistor (Fe-OFET) to modify a ferroelectric polymer film with a low coercive field. The transistors parameters are greatly improved (large memory window exceeding 14 V, high on-off current ratio of 103, and hole mobility up to 10-2cm2V-1s-1). Furthermore, the optimized high-performance Fe-OFET with 2 nm thickness of AlOXlayer is found to have synaptic behaviors including postsynaptic current, short-term/long-term plasticity, spike-amplitude-dependent plasticity, spike-duration-dependent plasticity, paired-pulse facilitation, spike-rate-dependent plasticity, and spike-number-dependent plasticity. An outstanding learning accuracy of 87.5% is demonstrated by an imitated artificial neural network made up of Fe-OFET for a big image version of handwritten digits (28 × 28 pixel) from the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology dataset. By improving synaptic transistor performance in this way, a new generation of neuromorphic computing systems is set to be developed.

Synaptic and Gradual Conductance Switching Behaviors in CeO2/Nb-SrTiO3 Heterojunction Memristors for Electrocardiogram Signal Recognition.

The synaptic properties of memristors have been widely studied. However, researchers are still committed to solving various challenges, including the study of highly reliable memristors with comprehensive synaptic functions and memristors that simulate highly complex neurological learning rules. In this work, we report a CeO2/Nb-SrTiO3 heterojunction memristor whose conductance could be gradually tuned under both positive and negative pulse trains. Due to the gradual conductance switching behavior and the high switching ratio (105), the CeO2/Nb-SrTiO3 heterojunction memristor could dutifully mimic biosynaptic functions, including excitatory/inhibitory postsynaptic current (EPSC/IPSC), paired-pulse facilitation and depression (PPF/PPD), spike amplitude-dependent plasticity (SADP), spike duration-dependent plasticity (SDDP), spike rate-dependent plasticity (SRDP), paired/triplet spiking-time-dependent plasticity (STDP), and Bienenstock-Cooper-Munro (BCM) rules. Moreover, a convolutional neural network based on the memristors is constructed to identify the electrocardiogram (ECG) data sets to realize the diagnosis of diseases with a recognition accuracy of 93%. Besides, the recognition accuracy of the handwriting digit reaches 96%. These studies broaden the research scope of high-level synaptic behavior and lay a foundation for the future full synaptic memristor networks.

A flexible, stretchable system for simultaneous acoustic energy transfer and communication.

The use of implantable medical devices, including cardiac pacemakers and brain pacemakers, is becoming increasingly prevalent. However, surgically replacing batteries owing to their limited lifetime is a drawback of those devices. Such an operation poses a risk to patients­a problem that, to date, has not yet been solved. Furthermore, current devices are large and rigid, potentially causing patient discomfort after implantation. To address this problem, we developed a thin, battery-free, flexible, implantable system based on flexible electronic technology that can not only achieve wireless recharging and communication simultaneously via ultrasound but also perform many current device functions, including in vivo physiological monitoring and cardiac pacing. To prove this, an animal experiment was conducted involving creating a cardiac arrest model and powering the system by ultrasound. The results showed that it automatically detected abnormal heartbeats and responded by electrically stimulating the heart, demonstrating the device's potential clinical utility for emergent treatment.

Dual-cation-doped MoS2nanosheets accelerating tandem alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets are promising candidates as earth-abundant and low-cost catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Nevertheless, compared with the benchmark Pt/C catalyst, the application of MoS2nanosheets is limited to its relatively low catalytic activity, especially in alkaline environments. Here, we developed a dual-cation doping strategy to improve the alkaline HER performance of MoS2nanosheets. The designed Ni, Co co-doped MoS2nanosheets can promote the tandem HER steps simultaneously, thus leading to a much enhanced catalytic activity in alkaline solution. Density functional theory calculations revealed the individual roles of Ni and Co dopants in the catalytic process. The doped Ni is uncovered to be the active site for the initial water-cleaving step, while the Co dopant is conducive to the H desorbing by regulating the electronic structure of neighboring edge-S in MoS2. The synergistic effect resulted by the dual-cation doping thus facilitates the tandem HER steps, providing an effective route to raise the catalytic performance of MoS2materials in alkaline solution.

Biodegradable Flexible Electronic Device with Controlled Drug Release for Cancer Treatment.

Nowadays, controllable drug release is a vitally important strategy for cancer treatment and usually realized using implanting biocompatible devices. However, these devices need to be removed by another surgery after the function fails, which brings the risks of inflammation or potential death. In this article, a biodegradable flexible electronic device with controllable drug (paclitaxel) release was proposed for cancer treatment. The device is powered by an external alternating magnetic field to generate internal resistance heat and promote drug release loaded on the substrate. Moreover, the device temperature can even reach to 65 °C, which was sufficient for controllable drug release. This device also has similar mechanical properties to human tissues and can autonomously degrade due to the structure design of the circuit and degradable compositions. Finally, it is confirmed that the device has a good inhibitory effect on the proliferation of breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and could be completely degraded in vitro. Thus, its great biodegradability and conformity can relieve patients of second operation, and the device proposed in this paper provides a promising solution to complete conquest of cancer in situ.

Flexible Hybrid Electronics for Digital Healthcare.

Recent advances in material innovation and structural design provide routes to flexible hybrid electronics that can combine the high-performance electrical properties of conventional wafer-based electronics with the ability to be stretched, bent, and twisted to arbitrary shapes, revolutionizing the transformation of traditional healthcare to digital healthcare. Here, material innovation and structural design for the preparation of flexible hybrid electronics are reviewed, a brief chronology of these advances is given, and biomedical applications in bioelectrical monitoring and stimulation, optical monitoring and treatment, acoustic imitation and monitoring, bionic touch, and body-fluid testing are described. In conclusion, some remarks on the challenges for future research of flexible hybrid electronics are presented.

Ultralow-Cost, Highly Sensitive, and Flexible Pressure Sensors Based on Carbon Black and Airlaid Paper for Wearable Electronics.

Flexible pressure sensors have attracted considerable attention because of their potential applications in healthcare monitoring and human-machine interactions. However, the complicated fabrication process and the cos of sensing materials limit their widespread applications in practice. Herein, a flexible pressure sensor with outstanding performances is presented through an extremely simple and cost-efficient fabrication process. The sensing materials of the sensor are based on low-cost carbon black (CB)@airlaid paper (AP) composites, which are just prepared by drop-casting CB solutions onto APs. Through simply stacking multiple CB@APs with an irregular surface and a fiber-network structure, the obtained pressure sensor demonstrates an ultrahigh sensitivity of 51.23 kPa-1 and an ultralow detection limit of 1 Pa. Additionally, the sensor exhibits fast response time, wide working range, good stability, as well as excellent flexibility and biocompatibility. All the comprehensive and superior performances endow the sensor with abilities to precisely detect weak air flow, wrist pulse, phonation, and wrist bending in real time. In addition, an array electronic skin integrated with multiple CB@AP sensors has been designed to identify spatial pressure distribution and pressure magnitude. Through a biomimetic structure inspired by blooming flowers, a sensor with the open-petal structure has been designed to recognize the wind direction. Therefore, our study, which demonstrates a flexible pressure sensor with low cost, simple preparation, and superior performances, will open up for the exploration of cost-efficient pressure sensors in wearable devices.

Fabrication of highly pressure-sensitive, hydrophobic, and flexible 3D carbon nanofiber networks by electrospinning for human physiological signal monitoring.

Three-dimensional (3D) porous nanostructure materials have promising applications in pressure sensors or other situations. However, the low sensing sensitivity of these materials restricts precise detection of physiological signals, and it is still a challenge to manufacture highly pressure-sensitive materials, which simultaneously possess other versatile properties. Herein, a simple and cost-efficient strategy is proposed to fabricate versatile 3D carbon nanofiber networks (CNFNs) with superior pressure-sensitivity through electrospinning and thermal treatment. The pressure sensitivity of the CNFNs is 1.41 kPa-1, which is much higher than that of similar 3D porous materials. Unlike traditional carbonaceous materials, the CNFNs exhibit excellent flexibility, stable resilience, and super compressibility (>95%), because of the nano-reinforce of Al2O3. Benefiting from the robust mechanical and piezoresistive properties of the CNFNs, a pressure sensor designed with the CNFNs is able to monitor human physiological signals, such as phonation, pulse, respiration and human activities. An arch-array platform for direction identification of tangential forces and an artificial electronic skin bioinspired by human's hairy skin have been ingeniously designed. The CNFNs also present other versatile characteristics as well, including ultralight density, hydrophobicity, low thermal conductivity, and low infrared emissivity. Therefore, the CNFNs have promising potential in a wide range of applications.