Intelligent health and sport: An interplay between flexible sensors and basketball.

Basketball, as one of the most popular sports in the world, has millions of followers and massive economic value. Basketball evolves so fast that it requires teams with smarter strategies, better skills, and stronger players. However, the competition strategies and training methods in basketball are still experience-based, lacking precise data to drive for more efficient training and strategies. On the other hand, flexible sensors, as a new class of sensors, have been a hotspot for scientific research and widely applied in various fields. Due to their excellent characteristics of flexibility, wearing comfort, convenience, and response speed, integrating flexible sensors into basketball has the potential to greatly promote all aspects of the sport. This paper aims to bring more fusion between basketball and flexible sensors. In this perspective, we first perform a review of the history of sensing technologies in the basketball sport and discuss mechanisms of flexible sensors applied on basketball players. Then specific scenarios for flexible sensors applied in basketball were elaborated on in detail. Finally, we envision the potential applications of flexible sensors in basketball and present our views on future development directions. We hope this paper can depict how flexible sensing technology is integrated into basketball systems and point out the future development of basketball with the help of flexible sensors.

Case report: Clinical complete response in advanced ALK-positive lung squamous cell carcinoma: a case study of successful anti-PD-1 immunotherapy post ALK-TKIs failure.

In patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) harboring the echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4) -anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement, targeted therapy typically demonstrates superior efficacy as an initial treatment compared to chemotherapy. Following resistance to ALK-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), regimens incorporating platinum-based dual agents or combined with bevacizumab often show effectiveness. However, therapeutic alternatives become constrained after resistance develops to both TKIs and platinum-based therapies. Given that the majority of ALK-positive non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) are LADC, the benefits of TKIs for patients with ALK-positive lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and the optimal treatment strategy for these patients remain a subject of debate. In this case study, we report on a patient with advanced LSCC, in whom the EML4-ALK rearrangement was identified via ARMS-PCR (Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Polymerase Chain Reaction). The patient underwent oral treatment with crizotinib and alectinib, showing effectiveness in both first-line and second-line ALK-TKI therapies, albeit with limited progression-free survival (PFS). Subsequent resistance to second-generation TKI was followed by the detection of tumors in the left neck region via computed tomography (CT). Biopsy pathology revealed non-squamous cell carcinoma, and subsequent treatment with platinum-based double-drug therapy proved ineffective. Further analysis through next-generation sequencing (NGS) indicated ALK negativity but a high expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Immunotherapy was then initiated, resulting in a PFS of over 29 months and clinical complete remission (cCR). This case underscores the potential benefit of ALK-TKIs in patients with ALK-positive LSCC. Resistance to second-generation TKIs may lead to ALK negativity and histological transformation, highlighting the necessity of repeated biopsies post-TKI resistance for informed treatment decision-making. As of November 2023, imaging studies continue to indicate cCR in the patient, with a survival time exceeding 47 months.

Chalcogenide glass nanospheres with tunable morphology by liquid-phase template approach.

Chalcogenide glass (ChG) with unique material properties has been widely used in mid-infrared. Traditional ChG microspheres/nanospheres preparation usually uses a high-temperature melting method, in which it is difficult to accurately control the size and the morphology of the nanospheres. Here, we produce nanoscale-uniform (200-500 nm), morphology-tunable, and arrangement-orderly ChG nanospheres from the inverse-opal photonic crystal (IOPC) template by the liquid-phase template (LPT) method. Moreover, we refer to the formation mechanism of nanosphere morphology as the evaporation-driven self-assembly of colloidal dispersion nanodroplets within the immobilized template and find that the concentration of ChG solution and the pore size of IOPC are the key to control the morphology of the nanospheres. The LPT method is also applied to the two-dimensional microstructure/nanostructure. This work provides an efficient and low-cost strategy for the preparation of multisize ChG nanospheres with tunable morphology and is expected to find various applications in mid-infrared, optoelectronic devices.

Dual-Mode Fiber Strain Sensor Based on Mechanochromic Photonic Crystal and Transparent Conductive Elastomer for Human Motion Detection.

As an important component of wearable and stretchable strain sensors, dual-mode strain sensors can respond to deformation via optical/electrical dual-signal changes, which have important applications in human motion monitoring. However, realizing a fiber-shaped dual-mode strain sensor that can work stably in real life remains a challenge. Here, we design an interactive dual-mode fiber strain sensor with both mechanochromic and mechanoelectrical functions that can be applied to a variety of different environments. The dual-mode fiber is produced by coating a transparent elastic conductive layer onto photonic fiber composed of silica particles and elastic rubber. The sensor has visualized dynamic color change, a large strain range (0-80%), and a high sensitivity (1.90). Compared to other dual-mode strain sensors based on the photonic elastomer, our sensor exhibits a significant advantage in strain range. Most importantly, it can achieve reversible and stable optical/electrical dual-signal outputs in response to strain under various environmental conditions. As a wearable portable device, the dual-mode fiber strain sensor can be used for real-time monitoring of human motion, realizing the direct interaction between users and devices, and is expected to be used in fields such as smart wearable, human-machine interactions, and health monitoring.