A microfluidic hemostatic diagnostics platform: Harnessing coagulation-induced adaptive-bubble behavioral perception.

Clinical viscoelastic hemostatic assays, which have been used for decades, rely on measuring biomechanical responses to physical stimuli but face challenges related to high device and test cost, limited portability, and limited scalability.. Here, we report a differential pattern using self-induced adaptive-bubble behavioral perception to refresh it. The adaptive behaviors of bubble deformation during coagulation precisely describe the transformation of viscoelastic hemostatic properties, being free of the precise and complex physical devices. And the integrated bubble array chip allows microassays and enables multi-bubble tests with good reproducibility. Recognition of the developed bubble behaviors empowers automated and user-friendly diagnosis. In a prospective clinical study (clinical model development [n = 273]; clinical assay [n = 44]), we show that the diagnostic accuracies were 99.1% for key viscoelastic hemostatic assay indicators (reaction time [R], kinetics time [K], alpha angle [Angle], maximum amplitude [MA], lysis at 30 min [LY30]; n = 220) and 100% (n = 44) for hypercoagulation, healthy, and hypocoagulation diagnoses. This should provide fresh insight into existing paradigms and help more clinical needs.

Subsecond periodic radio oscillations in a microquasar.

Powerful relativistic jets are one of the ubiquitous features of accreting black holes in all scales1-3. GRS 1915 + 105 is a well-known fast-spinning black-hole X-ray binary4 with a relativistic jet, termed a 'microquasar', as indicated by its superluminal motion of radio emission5,6. It has exhibited persistent X-ray activity over the last 30 years, with quasiperiodic oscillations of approximately 1-10 Hz (refs. 7-9) and 34 and 67 Hz in the X-ray band10. These oscillations probably originate in the inner accretion disk, but other origins have been considered11. Radio observations found variable light curves with quasiperiodic flares or oscillations with periods of approximately 20-50 min (refs. 12-14). Here we report two instances of approximately 5-Hz transient periodic oscillation features from the source detected in the 1.05- to 1.45-GHz radio band that occurred in January 2021 and June 2022. Circular polarization was also observed during the oscillation phase.

Bonding iron chalcogenides in a hierarchical structure for high-stability sodium storage.

Owing to price-boom and low-reserve of Lithium ion batteries (LIBs), cost-cutting and well-stocked sodium ion batteries (SIBs) attract a lot of attention, aiming to develop an effective energy storage and conversion equipment. As a typical anode for SIBs, Iron sulfide (FeS) is difficult to maintain the high theoretical capacity. Structural instability and inherent low conductivity limit the cyclic and rate performance of FeS. Herein, hierarchical architecture of FeS-FeSe2 coated with nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) is obtained by single-step solvothermal method and two-stage high-temperature treatments. Specifically, lattice imperfections provided by heterogeneous interfaces increase the Na+ storage sites and fasten ion/electron transfer. Synergistic effect induced by the hierarchical architecture effectively enhances the electrochemical activity and reduces the resistance, which contributes to the transfer kinetics of Na+. In addition, the phenomenon that heterogeneous interfaces provide more active site and extra migration Na+ path is also proved by density functional theory (DFT). As an anode for SIBs, FeS-FeSe2/NC (FSSe/C) delivers highly reversible capacity (704.5 mAh·g-1 after 120 cycles at 0.2 A·g-1), excellent rate performance (326.3 mAh·g-1 at 12 A·g-1) and long-lasting durability (492.3 mAh·g-1 after 1000 cycles at 4 A·g-1 with 100 % capacity retention). Notably, the full battery, assembled with FSSe/C and Na3V2(PO4)3/C (NVP/C), delivers reversible capacity of 252.1 mAh·g-1 after 300 cycles at 1 A·g-1. This work provides a facile method to construct a hierarchical architecture anode for high-performance SIBs.

Space-time-regulated imaging analyzer for smart coagulation diagnosis.

The development of intelligent blood coagulation diagnoses is awaited to meet the current need for large clinical time-sensitive caseloads due to its efficient and automated diagnoses. Herein, a method is reported and validated to realize it through artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted optical clotting biophysics (OCB) properties identification. The image differential calculation is used for precise acquisition of OCB properties with elimination of initial differences, and the strategy of space-time regulation allows on-demand space time OCB properties identification and enables diverse blood function diagnoses. The integrated applications of smartphones and cloud computing offer a user-friendly automated analysis for accurate and convenient diagnoses. The prospective assays of clinical cases (n = 41) show that the system realizes 97.6%, 95.1%, and 100% accuracy for coagulation factors, fibrinogen function, and comprehensive blood coagulation diagnoses, respectively. This method should enable more low-cost and convenient diagnoses and provide a path for potential diagnostic-markers finding.

Microfluidic-based in vitro thrombosis model for studying microplastics toxicity.

The potential impact of microplastics (MPs) on health has caused great concern, and a toxicology platform that realistically reproduces the system behaviour is urgently needed to further explore and validate MP-related health issues. Herein, we introduce an optically assisted thrombus platform to reveal the interaction of MPs with the vascular system. The risk of accumulation has also been evaluated using a mouse model, and the effect of MPs on the properties of the thrombus are validated via in vitro experiments. The microfluidic system is endothelialized, and the regional tissue injury-induced thrombosis is then realized through optical irradiation. Whole blood is perfused with MPs, and the invasion process visualized and recorded. The mouse model shows a cumulative risk in the blood with continuous exposure to MPs (P-value < 0.0001). The on-chip results show that MP invasion leads to decreased binding of fibrin to platelets (P-value < 0.0001), which is consistent with the results of the in vitro experiments, and shows a high risk of thrombus shedding in real blood flow compared with normal thrombus. This work provides a new method to further reveal MP-related health risks.

WS2 nanosheets@ZIF-67-derived N-doped carbon composite as sodium ion battery anode with superior rate capability.

Devising novel composite electrodes with particular structural/electrochemical characteristics becomes an efficient strategy to advance the performance of rechargeable battery. Herein, considering the homogeneous transition metal sulfide with N-doped carbon derived from zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (ZIF-67) and WS2 with large interlayer spacing, a laurel-leaf-like Co9S8/WS2@N-doped carbon bimetallic sulfide (Co9S8/WS2@NC) is engineered and prepared via a step-by-step method. As an electrode material for sodium ion batteries (SIBs), Co9S8/WS2@NC composite delivers high capacities of 480 and 405 mA h g-1 at 0.1 and 1.0 A g-1, respectively. As the current density increases from 0.1 to 5.0 A g-1, it provides specific capacity of 359 mA h g-1 with a capacity retention rate of 78.0%, which is higher than that of Co9S8@NC (63.5%) and WS2 (58.6%). The Co9S8/WS2@NC composite anode maintains a stable specific capacity (354 mA h g-1 at 2.0 A g-1). It also exhibits a high capacitive contribution ratio of 90.8% at 1.0 mV s-1. This study provides a new and reliable insight for designing bimetallic sulfide with two-dimensional nanostructure for energy storage.