Long-Term Stimulation of the Left Dorsal Branch of the Thoracic Nerve Improves Ventricular Electrical Remodeling in a Canine Model of Chronic Myocardial Infarction.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ventricular electrophysiologic effects of long-term stimulation of the left dorsal branch of thoracic nerve (LDTN) derived from the left stellate ganglion (LSG) in a canine model of chronic myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS: Seventeen adult male beagles were randomly divided into three groups: the sham group (sham operated, n = 6), the MI group (n = 6), and the MI + LDTN group (MI plus LDTN stimulation, n = 5). The canine model of chronic MI was induced by the occlusion of the left anterior descending artery (LADO). The LDTN was separated and intermittently stimulated immediately after LADO for 2 months. The heart rate variability (HRV) analysis, in vivo electrophysiology, the evaluation of LSG function and neural activity, histological staining, and western blotting (WB) assay were performed to evaluate the effect of LDTN stimulation on the heart. RESULTS: The canine MI model was successfully established by LADO, and the LDTN was separated and stimulated immediately after LADO. The HRV analysis showed that LDTN stimulation reversed the increased LF value and LF/HF ratio of the MI group. LDTN stimulation prolonged the shortening ERP and APD90, decreased the dispersion of ERP and APD90, and increased the VFT. Additionally, LDTN stimulation inhibits the LSG function and neural activity. Furthermore, LDTN stimulation suppressed the activation of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, which contributed to the LSG neuronal apoptosis by upregulation of pro-apoptotic Bax and downregulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. CONCLUSION: LDTN stimulation could attenuate cardiac sympathetic remodeling and improve ventricular electrical remodeling, which may be mediated by suppressing the activated Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway and then promoting the LSG neuronal apoptosis.

Inhibitors of APE1 redox and ATM synergistically sensitize osteosarcoma cells to ionizing radiation by inducing ferroptosis.

The resistance of osteosarcoma (OS) to ionizing radiation (IR) is an obstacle for effective patient treatment. Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease-reduction/oxidation factor 1 (APE1/Ref-1) is a multifunctional protein with DNA repair and reduction/oxidation (redox) activities. We previously revealed the role of APE1 in OS radioresistance; however, whether the redox activity of APE1 is involved in OS radioresistance is unclear. APE1 regulates the activation of ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM), an initiator of DNA damage response that mediates radioresistance in other cancers. The role of APE1 redox activity and ATM activation in OS radioresistance is unknown. Our study revealed that IR increased APE1 expression and ATM activation in OS cells, and APE1 directly regulated ATM activation by its redox activity. The combined use of an APE1 redox inhibitor and ATM inhibitor effectively sensitized OS cells to IR in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, the increased radiosensitization of OS cells by the combined use of the two inhibitors was mediated by increased ferroptosis. Co-treatment with the two inhibitors significantly decreased expression of the common targeted transcription factor P53 compared with single inhibitor treatment. Collectively, APE1 redox activity, ATM activation and their crosstalk play important roles in the resistance of OS to irradiation. Synergetic inhibition of APE1 redox activity and ATM activation sensitized OS cells to IR by inducing ferroptosis, which provides a promising strategy for OS radiotherapy.

Laser Ablating Biomimetic Periodic Array Fish Scale Surface for Drag Reduction.

Reducing resistance to surface friction is challenging in the field of engineering. Natural biological systems have evolved unique functional surfaces or special physiological functions to adapt to their complex environments over centuries. Among these biological wonders, fish, one of the oldest in the vertebrate group, have garnered attention due to their exceptional fluid dynamics capabilities. Fish skin has inspired innovation in reducing surface friction due to its unique structures and material properties. Herein, drawing inspiration from the unique properties of fish scales, a periodic array of fish scales was fabricated by laser ablation on a polished aluminum template. The morphology of the biomimetic fish scale surface was characterized using scanning electron microscopy and a white-light interfering profilometer. Drag reduction performance was measured in a closed circulating water tunnel. The maximum drag reduction was 10.26% at a Reynolds number of 39,532, and the drag reduction performance gradually decreased with an increase in the distance between fish scales. The mechanism of the biomimetic drag reduction surface was analyzed using computational fluid dynamics. Streamwise vortices were generated at the valley of the biomimetic fish scale, replacing sliding friction with rolling friction. These results are expected to provide a foundation for in-depth analysis of the hydrodynamic performance of fish and serve as new inspiration for drag reduction and antifouling.

Flexible calorimetric flow sensor with unprecedented sensitivity and directional resolution for multiple flight parameter detection.

The accurate perception of multiple flight parameters, such as the angle of attack, angle of sideslip, and airflow velocity, is essential for the flight control of micro air vehicles, which conventionally rely on arrays of pressure or airflow velocity sensors. Here, we present the estimation of multiple flight parameters using a single flexible calorimetric flow sensor featuring a sophisticated structural design with a suspended array of highly sensitive vanadium oxide thermistors. The proposed sensor achieves an unprecedented velocity resolution of 0.11 mm·s-1 and angular resolution of 0.1°. By attaching the sensor to a wing model, the angles of attack and slip were estimated simultaneously. The triaxial flight velocities and wing vibrations can also be estimated by sensing the relative airflow velocity due to its high sensitivity and fast response. Overall, the proposed sensor has many promising applications in weak airflow sensing and flight control of micro air vehicles.

Comparative Analysis of the Evolution of Green Leaf Volatiles and Aroma in Six Vitis vinifera L. Cultivars during Berry Maturation in the Chinese Loess Plateau Region.

Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are important in giving grape a fresh and green aroma. But the changes in GLVs during the phenological development of grapevines are not well known. This study analyzed the GLVs and transcription levels of associated biosynthetic genes in six grape species from the Loess Plateau region at five stages of maturation. Thirteen GLVs were detected, showing unique patterns for each grape type at various growth phases. The primary components in six grapes were (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, and hexanal. With the exception of Cabernet Franc in 2019, the overall GLV contents of the six types generally increased during growth and development, peaking or stabilizing at harvest. And Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Gernischt, and Cabernet Sauvignon exhibited higher total contents among the varieties. PLS-DA analysis revealed 3-hexenal's high VIP scores across two years, underscoring its critical role in grape variety classification. Correlation analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between the levels of hexanal, 1-hexanol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, nonanal, and (E, E)-2,6-nonadienal and the expression of VvHPL and VvAAT genes in the LOX-HPL pathway. Specifically, VvHPL emerges as a potential candidate gene responsible for species-specific differences in GLV compounds. Comprehending the changing patterns in the biosynthesis and accumulation of GLVs offers viticulturists and enologists the opportunity to devise targeted strategies for improving the aromatic profile of grapes and wines.

A New Composite Material with Energy Storage, Electro/Photo-Thermal and Robust Super-Hydrophobic Properties for High-Efficiency Anti-Icing/De-Icing.

All weather, high-efficiency, energy-saving anti-icing/de-icing materials are of great importance for solving the problem of ice accumulation on outdoor equipment surfaces. In this study, a composite material with energy storage, active electro-/photo-thermal de-icing and passive super-hydrophobic anti-icing properties is proposed. Fluorinated epoxy resin and MWCNTs/PTFE particles are used to prepare the top multifunctional anti-icing/de-icing layer, which exhibited super-hydrophobicity with water contact angle greater than 155° and conductivity higher than 69 S m-1 . The super-hydrophobic durability of the top layer is verified through tape peeling and sandpaper abrasion tests. The surface can be heated by applying on voltage or light illumination, showing efficient electro-/photo-thermal and all-day anti-icing/de-icing performance. The oleogel material at the bottom layer is capable to absorb energy during heating process and release it during cooling process by phase transition, which greatly delayed the freezing time and saved energy. The icing test of single ice droplet, electro-/photo-thermal de-icing and defrosting tests also proved the high efficiency and energy saving of the anti-icing/de-icing strategy. This study provided a new way to manufacture multi-functional materials for practical anti-icing/de-icing applications.

Bicontinuous vitrimer heterogels with wide-span switchable stiffness-gated iontronic coordination.

Currently, it remains challenging to balance intrinsic stiffness with programmability in most vitrimers. Simultaneously, coordinating materials with gel-like iontronic properties for intrinsic ion transmission while maintaining vitrimer programmable features remains underexplored. Here, we introduce a phase-engineering strategy to fabricate bicontinuous vitrimer heterogel (VHG) materials. Such VHGs exhibited high mechanical strength, with an elastic modulus of up to 116 MPa, a high strain performance exceeding 1000%, and a switchable stiffness ratio surpassing 5 × 103. Moreover, highly programmable reprocessing and shape memory morphing were realized owing to the ion liquid-enhanced VHG network reconfiguration. Derived from the ion transmission pathway in the ILgel, which responded to the wide-span switchable mechanics, the VHG iontronics had a unique bidirectional stiffness-gated piezoresistivity, coordinating both positive and negative piezoresistive properties. Our findings indicate that the VHG system can act as a foundational material in various promising applications, including smart sensors, soft machines, and bioelectronics.

High-pressure Synthesis of Cobalt Polynitrides: Unveiling Intriguing Crystal Structures and Nitridation Behavior.

In this study, we conduct extensive high-pressure experiments to investigate phase stability in the cobalt-nitrogen system. Through a combination of synthesis in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell, first-principles calculations, Raman spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, we establish the stability fields of known high-pressure phases, hexagonal NiAs-type CoN, and marcasite-type CoN2 within the pressure range of 50-90 GPa. We synthesize and characterize previously unknown nitrides, Co3N2, Pnma-CoN and two polynitrides, CoN3 and CoN5, within the pressure range of 90-120 GPa. Both polynitrides exhibit novel types of polymeric nitrogen chains and networks. CoN3 feature branched-type nitrogen trimers (N3) and CoN5 show π-bonded nitrogen chain. As the nitrogen content in the cobalt nitride increases, the CoN6 polyhedral frameworks transit from face-sharing (in CoN) to edge-sharing (in CoN2 and CoN3), and finally to isolated (in CoN5). Our study provides insights into the intricate interplay between structure evolution, bonding arrangements, and high-pressure synthesis in polynitrides, expanding the knowledge for the development of advanced energy materials.

High-Q Fano resonances in all-dielectric metastructures for enhanced optical biosensing applications.

Fano resonance with high Q-factor is considered to play an important role in the field of refractive index sensing. In this paper, we theoretically and experimentally investigate a refractive index sensor with high performance, realizing a new approach to excite multiple Fano resonances of high Q-factor by introducing an asymmetric parameter to generate a quasi-bound state in the continuum (BIC). Combined with the electromagnetic properties, the formation mechanism of Fano resonances in multiple different excitation modes is analyzed and the resonant modes of the three resonant peaks are analyzed as toroidal dipole (TD), magnetic quadrupole (MQ), and magnetic dipole (MD), respectively. The simulation results show that the proposed metastructure has excellent sensing properties with a Q-factor of 3668, sensitivity of 350 nm/RIU, and figure of merit (FOM) of 1000. Furthermore, the metastructure has been fabricated and investigated experimentally, and the result shows that its maximum Q-factor, sensitivity and FOM can reach 634, 233 nm/RIU and 115, respectively. The proposed metastructure is believed to further contribute to the development of biosensors, nonlinear optics, and lasers.

Recent progress on the development of bioinspired surfaces with high aspect ratio microarray structures: From fabrication to applications.

Surfaces with high aspect ratio microarray structures can implement sophisticated assignment in typical fields including microfluidics, sensor, biomedicine, et al. via regulating their deformation or the material properties. Inspired by natural materials and systems, for example sea cockroaches, water spiders, cacti, lotus leaves, rice leaves, and cedar leaves, many researchers have focused on microneedle functional surface studies. When the surface with high aspect ratio microarray structures is stimulated by the external fields, such as optical, electric, thermal, magnetic, the high aspect ratio microarray structures can undergo hydrophilic and hydrophobic switching or shape change, which may be gifted the surfaces with the ability to perform complex task, including directional liquid/air transport, targeted drug delivery, microfluidic chip sensing. In this review, the fabrication principles of various surfaces with high aspect ratio microarray structures are classified and summarized. Mechanisms of liquid manipulation on hydrophilic/hydrophobic surfaces with high aspect ratio microarray structures are clarified based on Wenzel model, Cassie model, Laplace pressure theories and so on. Then the intelligent control strategies have been demonstrated. The applications in microfluidic, drug delivery, patch sensors have been discussed. Finally, current challenges and new insights of future prospects for dynamic manipulation of liquid/air based on biomimetic surface with high aspect ratio microarray structures are also addressed.

Printhead on a chip: empowering droplet-based bioprinting with microfluidics.

Droplet-based bioprinting has long struggled with the manipulation and dispensation of individual cells from a printhead, hindering the fabrication of artificial cellular structures with high precision. The integration of modern microfluidic modules into the printhead of a bioprinter is emerging as one approach to overcome this bottleneck. This convergence allows for high-accuracy manipulation and spatial control over placement of cells during printing, and enables the fabrication of cell arrays and hierarchical heterogenous microtissues, opening new applications in bioanalysis and high-throughput screening. In this review, we summarize recent developments in the use of microfluidics in droplet printing systems, with consideration of the working principles; present applications extended through microfluidic features; and discuss the future of this technology.

High-Efficient Microdroplet Harvesting and Detaching Inspired from Sarracenia Lid Trichome.

Fog harvesting plays a pivotal role in harnessing atmospheric water resources and holds significant promise for alleviating global water scarcity. Nonetheless, enhancing harvesting efficiency remains a persistent challenge, especially concerning the rapid detachment of droplets from surfaces. In this study, we discovered that the trichomes of Sarracenia not only efficiently harvest and transport liquid but also quickly drain harvested liquid. We have elucidated the augmentation mechanism behind effective fog harvesting and drainage within the lid of Sarracenia. The trichomes facing the counterflow can enhance fog harvesting efficiency by 80% through air-flow-assisted spreading of liquid film. The wedge corner generated by the interface between hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces, coupled with the reduction of cross-sectional angles, diminishes the adhesive force of liquid droplets, fosters droplet spheroidization, and substantially facilitates droplet detachment. In addition, the quantitative detachment of droplets can be achieved by adjusting the cross-sectional angle and wetting gradient. This integrated structure combining efficient condensation and detachment has diverse applications in cooling towers and seawater desalination.

Daylily (Hemerocallis fulva Linn.) flowers improve sleep quality in human and reduce nitric oxide and interleukin-6 production in macrophages.

The flowers of daylily (Hemerocallis fulva Linn.) have been used as vegetable and medicinal herb for thousands of years in Taiwan and eastern Asia. Daylily flowers have been demonstrated to exert several biomedical properties. In this study, we provided the evidences show that daylily flowers exert anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and improved the sleep quality in vivo. We demonstrated that adult volunteers received water extract of daylily flowers improved sleep quality, sleep efficiency and daytime functioning, while sleep latency was reduced, compared to the adult volunteers received water. In addition, we demonstrated that aqueous and ethanol extracts of daylily flowers inhibited nitric oxide and interleukin-6 production in lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages. Furthermore, the quantitative high performance liquid chromatography-based analysis showed the rutin content of the aqueous extract, ethanolic extract, ethyl acetate fractions of ethanolic extract, and water fractions of ethanolic extract were 7.27, 23.30, 14.71, and 57.43 ppm, respectively. These results indicate that daylily flowers have the potential to be a nutraceutical for improving inflammatory-related diseases and sleep quality in the future.

Nanofiber embedded bioinspired strong wet friction surface.

Robust and reversible wet attachments are important for medical engineering and wearable electronics. Although ultrastrong capillarity from interfacial nano-thick liquid bridges creates tree frog's strong wet friction, its unstable nano-liquid characteristic challenges further wet friction enhancement. Here, unique hierarchical micro-nano fibrous pillars have been discovered on Chinese bush crickets exhibiting a robust wet friction ~3.8 times higher than tree frog's bulk pillar. By introducing a nano-fibrous pillar array covered with thin films (NFPF), the pillar's separation position switches from the rear to front side compared with bulk pillars, indicating the interfacial contact stress shifting from compressing to stretching. This largely decreases the interfacial separation stress to form more stable and larger nano-liquid bridges. The NFPF array with self-splitting of interfacial liquid and contact stress further guards such interfacial stress shifting to ensure a ~1.9 times friction enhancement. Last, the theories are established, and the applications on wearable electronics are validated.

Fish-Wearable Piezoelectric Nanogenerator for Dual-Modal Energy Scavenging from Fish-Tailing.

Aiming to develop a self-powered bioelectric tag for fish behavioral studies, here we present a fish-wearable piezoelectric nanogenerator (FWPNG) that can simultaneously harvest the strain energy and the flow impact energy caused by fish-tailing. The FWPNG is fabricated by transferring a 2 µm-thick Nb0.02-Pb(Zr0.6Ti0.4)O3 (PZT) layer from a silicon substrate to a spin-coated polyimide film via a novel zinc oxide (ZnO) release process. The open-circuit voltage of the strain energy harvester reaches 2.3 V under a strain of 1% at an ultra-low frequency of 1 Hz, and output voltage of the impact energy harvester reaches a 0.3 V under a pressure of 82.6 kPa at 1 Hz, which is in good agreement with our theoretical analysis. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, an event-driven underwater acoustic transmitter is developed by utilizing the FWPNG as a trigger switch. Acoustic transmission occurs when the amplitude of fish-tailing is larger than a preset threshold. The dual-modal FWPNG device shows the potential application in self-powered biotags for animal behavioral studies and ocean explorations.

Conditional survival of elderly primary central nervous system lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have reported that overall survival of elderly patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), who have the highest incidence of this disease, had failed to benefit from the advancements in treatment strategies over the past decades. This highlights the necessity for intensified research to guide treatment decisions for this specific patient population. METHODS: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was used to extract data of elderly PCNSL patients (age ≥ 60) who were divided into training and validation groups at the ratio of 7:3, for our analysis. Conditional survival [CS(y|x)] was defined as the probability at survival additional y years given that the patient had not died of PCNSL at a specified period of time (x years) after initial diagnosis. The CS pattern of elderly PCNSL patients was analyzed. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate Cox regression analysis were applied to develop a novel CS-based nomogram. RESULTS: A total of 3315 elderly patients diagnosed with CNS lymphoma between 2000 and 2019 were extracted from the SEER database, of whom 2320 patients were divided into the training group and 995 into the internal validation group. CS analysis revealed a noteworthy escalation in the 5-year survival rate among elderly PCNSL patients for every additional year of survival. The rates progressed from an initial 21-49%, 63%, and 75%, culminating in an impressive 88% and the survival improvement over time was nonlinear. The LASSO regression identified nine predictors and multivariate Cox regression was used to successfully construct the CS-based nomogram model with favorable prediction performance. CONCLUSION: CS of elderly PCNSL patients was dynamic and increased over time. Our newly-established CS-based nomogram can provide a real-time dynamic survival estimation, allowing clinicians to better guide treatment decision for these patients.

Fracture-Promoted Ultraslippery Ice Detachment Interface for Long-Lasting Anti-icing.

Ice accumulation on surfaces significantly jeopardizes the operational security and economic effectiveness of equipment. As one of the efficient anti-icing strategies, fracture-induced ice detachment strategy can realize low ice adhesion strength and is feasible for large-area anti-icing, but its application in harsh environment is restrained by mechanical robustness deterioration due to ultralow elastic moduli. It is still a challenge for fracture-promoted interfaces to reach ultralow ice adhesion and maintain strong mechanical robustness. Drawing inspiration from subcutaneous tissue, we propose a multiscale interpenetrating reinforcing method to develop a fracture-promoted ultraslippery ice detachment interface. Our approach minimizes elastic deformation and the stress threshold of fracture initiation during ice detachment, ensuring fast and noninjurious ice detachment on the interface. At the same time, this method reinforces the mechanical robustness of the fracture-promoted ultraslippery interface, making it possible to ensure long-term operation under harsh conditions. The superiority is revealed by ultralow ice adhesion strength below 20 kPa at -30 °C even after 200 continuous abrasion cycles, as well as efficient ice shedding during dynamic anti-icing tests, which is clarified by theoretical prediction and experimental verification. This work is expected to enlighten the design of next-generation durable anti-icing interface.

Excitation of multiple Fano resonances on all-dielectric nanoparticle arrays.

In this paper, an all-dielectric metasurface consisting of a unit cell containing a nanocube array and organized periodically on a silicon dioxide substrate is designed and analyzed. By introducing asymmetric parameters that can excite the quasi-bound states in the continuum, three Fano resonances with high Q-factor and high modulation depth may be produced in the near-infrared range. Three Fano resonance peaks are excited by magnetic dipole and toroidal dipole, respectively, in conjunction with the distributive features of electromagnetism. The simulation results indicate that the discussed structure can be utilized as a refractive index sensor with a sensitivity of around 434 nm/RIU, a maximum Q factor of 3327, and a modulation depth equal to 100%. The proposed structure has been designed and experimentally investigated, and its maximum sensitivity is 227 nm/RIU. At the same time, the modulation depth of the resonance peak at λ = 1185.81 nm is nearly 100% when the polarization angle of the incident light is 0 °. Therefore, the suggested metasurface has applications in optical switches, nonlinear optics, and biological sensors.

Flow cytometric printing of double emulsions into open droplet arrays.

Delivery of double emulsions in air is crucial for their applications in mass spectrometry, bioanalytics, and material synthesis. However, while methods have been developed to generate double emulsions in air, controlled printing of double emulsion droplets has not been achieved yet. In this paper, we present an approach for in-air printing of double emulsions on demand. Our approach pre-encapsulates reagents in an emulsion that is reinjected into the device, and generates double emulsions in a microfluidic printhead with spatially patterned wettability. Our device allows sorting of ejected double emulsion droplets in real-time, allowing deterministic printing of each droplet to be selected with the desired inner cores. Our method provides a general platform for building printed double emulsion droplet arrays of defined composition at scale.

Multistage Gradient Bioinspired Riblets for Synergistic Drag Reduction and Efficient Antifouling.

Shark skin-inspired riblets have represented the tremendous potential for drag reduction (DR) and antifouling in submarine, ship, and so on. Most studies simplified the complex denticle embedded in the shark skin into the single-stage riblet with uniform parameters, ignoring the influence of riblet height gradient and material deformation on DR and antifouling. In the present study, flexible multistage gradient riblets (MSGRs) with varied heights were proposed, and their DR and antifouling effects were investigated by the experiment and numerical simulation. The experimental results showed that the maximum DR rate of flexible MSGRs with an elastic modulus of 4.592 MPa could reach 16.8% at a flow velocity of 0.5 m/s. Moreover, the dynamic adhesion measurement indicated a reduction by 69.6% of the adhesion area of Chlorella vulgaris on the flexible MSGR surface. The results identified that flexible MSGRs with low surface energy could generate steady high- and low-velocity streaks and alter the flow state of the fluid, thus lessening the average velocity gradient near the wall and the adhering selectivity of pollutants in riblet and achieving synergistic DR and efficient antifouling. Taken together, the proposed flexible MSGR surface holds promise for reducing surface friction and inhibiting particle attachment in engineering applications.