Surfactant Self-Assembly Enhances Tribopositivity of Stretchable Ionic Conductors for Wearable Energy Harvesting and Motion Sensing.

Boosting stretchability and electric output is critical for high-performance wearable triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG). Herein, for the first time, a new approach for tuning the composition of surface functional groups through surfactant self-assembly to improve the tribopositivity, where the assembly increases the transferred charge density and the relative permittivity of water polyurethane (WPU). Incorporating bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (TFSI-) and alkali metal ions into a mixture of WPU and the surfactant forms a stretchable film that simultaneously functions as positive tribolayer and electrode, preventing the conventional detachment of tribolayer and electrode in long term usage. Further, the conductivity of the crosslinked film reaches 3.3 × 10-3 mS cm-1 while the elongation at break reaches 362%. Moreover, the surfactant self-assembly impedes the adverse impact of the fluorine-containing groups on tribopositivity. Consequently, the charge density reaches 155 µC m-2, being the highest recorded for WPU and stretchable ionic conductor based TENG. This work introduces a novel approach for boosting the output charge density while avoiding the adverse effect of ionic salts in solid conductors through a universal surfactant self-assembly strategy, which can be extended to other materials. Further, the device is used to monitor and harvest the kinetic energy of human body motion.

An angiogenesis-related lncRNA signature predicts the immune microenvironment and prognosis of breast cancer.

Both angiogenesis and lncRNAs play crucial roles in the development and progression of breast cancer. Considering the unknown association of angiogenesis and lncRNAs in breast cancer, we aim to identify angiogenesis-related lncRNAs (ARLs) and explore their prognostic value. Here, based on analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database, the correlation between ARL and the prognosis and immune infiltration landscape of breast cancer were investigated. Eight ARLs (MAFG-DT, AC097478.1, AL357054.4, AL118556.1, SNHG10, MED14OS, OTUD6B-AS1, and CYTOR) were selected to construct the risk model as a prognostic signature. The survival rate of the patients in the high-risk group was lower than that in the low-risk group. The ARL signature was an independent prognostic predictor, and areas under the curve of 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival were 0.745, 0.695, and 0.699, respectively. The prognostic ARLs were associated with the immune infiltration landscape and could indicate the immune status, immune response, tumor mutational burden, and drug sensitivity of patients with breast cancer. Furthermore, qRT-PCR of clinical samples revealed that OTUD6B-AS1 was correlated with prognostic pathological parameters. OTUD6B-AS1 promoted breast cancer cell proliferation, wound healing, migration, invasion, and human umbilical vein endothelial cells tube formation. Mechanistically, OTUD6B-AS1 regulated EMT- and angiogenesis-related molecules. Taken together, we constructed and verified a robust signature of eight ARLs for the prediction of survival in patients with breast cancer, and the characterization of the immune infiltration landscape. Our findings suggest that OTUD6B-AS1 could be a therapeutic target for patients with breast cancer.

A Stretchable Solid Ionic Electrode-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Biomechanical Energy Harvesting and Self-Powered Sensors.

Stretchable power devices and self-powered sensors have become increasingly desired for wearable electronics and artificial intelligence. In this study, an all-solid-state triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is reported, whose one solid-state structure prevents delamination during stretch and release cycles and increasing the patch adhesive force (3.5 N) and strain (586% elongation at break). Through the synergetic virtues of stretchability, ionic conductivity, and excellent adhesion to the tribo-layer, reproducible open-circuit voltage (VOC ) of 84 V, charge (QSC ) of 27.5 nC, and short-circuit current (ISC ) of 3.1 µA after drying at 60°C or 20,000 contact-separation cycles are obtained. Apart from contact-separation, this device shows unprecedented electricity generation through stretch-release of solid materials leading to a linear relationship between VOC and strain. For the first time, this work provides a clear explanation of the working mechanism of contact-free stretching-releasing and investigates the relationships of exerted force, strain, thickness of the device, and electric output. Benefitting from the one solid-state structure, this contact-free device remains stable even after repeated stretch-release cycling, maintaining 100% of its VOC after 2500 stretch-release cycles. These findings provide a strategy toward highly conductive and stretchable electrodes for harvesting mechanical energy and health monitoring.

Differentiation of iPSCs into insulin-producing cells via adenoviral transfection of PDX-1, NeuroD1 and MafA.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PDX-1 (pancreatic and duodenal homeobox-1), NeuroD1 (neurogenic differentiation-1) and MafA (V-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog A) in the differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into insulin-producing cells and to explore this new approach of cell transplantation therapy for type 1 diabetes in mice. METHODS: iPSCs were infected with adenovirus (Ad-Mouse PDX-1-IRES-GFP, Ad-Mouse NeuroD1-IRES-GFP and Ad-Mouse Mafa-IRES-GFP) and then differentiated into insulin-producing cells in vitro. RT-PCR was applied to detect insulin gene expression, immunofluorescence to identify insulin protein, and mouse insulin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to evaluate the amount of insulin at different concentration of glucose. Insulin-producing cells were transplanted into the liver parenchyma of diabetic mice. Immunohistochemistry, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were performed to assess the function of insulin-producing cells. RESULTS: Insulin biosynthesis and secretion were induced in iPSCs and insulin-producing cells were responsive to glucose in a dose-dependent manner. Gene expression of the three-gene-modified embryoid bodies (EBs) was similar to the mouse pancreatic ß cell line MIN6. Transplantation of insulin-producing cells into type I diabetic mice resulted in hyperglycemia reversal. CONCLUSIONS: The insulin-producing cells we obtained from three-gene-modified EBs may be used as seed cells for tissue engineering and may represent a cell replacement strategy for the production of ß cells for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.