Integrating miRNA and full-length transcriptome profiling to elucidate the mechanism of muscle growth in Muscovy ducks reveals key roles for miR-301a-3p/ANKRD1.

BACKGROUND: The popularity of Muscovy ducks is attributed not only to their conformation traits but also to their slightly higher content of breast and leg meat, as well as their stronger-tasting meat compared to that of typical domestic ducks. However, there is a lack of comprehensive systematic research on the development of breast muscle in Muscovy ducks. In addition, since the number of skeletal muscle myofibers is established during the embryonic period, this study conducted a full-length transcriptome sequencing and microRNA sequencing of the breast muscle. Muscovy ducks at four developmental stages, namely Embryonic Day 21 (E21), Embryonic Day 27 (E27), Hatching Day (D0), and Post-hatching Day 7 (D7), were used to isolate total RNA for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 68,161 genes and 472 mature microRNAs were identified. In order to uncover deeper insights into the regulation of mRNA by miRNAs, we conducted an integration of the differentially expressed miRNAs (known as DEMs) with the differentially expressed genes (referred to as DEGs) across various developmental stages. This integration allowed us to make predictions regarding the interactions between miRNAs and mRNA. Through this analysis, we identified a total of 274 DEGs that may serve as potential targets for the 68 DEMs. In the predicted miRNA‒mRNA interaction networks, let-7b, miR-133a-3p, miR-301a-3p, and miR-338-3p were the hub miRNAs. In addition, multiple DEMs also showed predicted target relationships with the DEGs associated with skeletal system development. These identified DEGs and DEMs as well as their predicted interaction networks involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis and muscle development were most likely to play critical roles in facilitating the embryo-to-hatchling transition. A candidate miRNA, miR-301a-3p, exhibited increased expression during the differentiation of satellite cells and was downregulated in the breast muscle tissues of Muscovy ducks at E21 compared to E27. A dual-luciferase reporter assay suggested that the ANKRD1 gene, which encodes a transcription factor, is a direct target of miR-301a-3p. CONCLUSIONS: miR-301a-3p suppressed the posttranscriptional activity of ANKRD1, which is an activator of satellite cell proliferation, as determined with gain- and loss-of-function experiments. miR-301a-3p functions as an inducer of myogenesis by targeting the ANKRD1 gene in Muscovy ducks. These results provide novel insights into the early developmental process of black Muscovy breast muscles and will improve understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Flexible Organic Photovoltaic-Powered Hydrogel Bioelectronic Dressing With Biomimetic Electrical Stimulation for Healing Infected Diabetic Wounds.

Electrical stimulation (ES) is proposed as a therapeutic solution for managing chronic wounds. However, its widespread clinical adoption is limited by the requirement of additional extracorporeal devices to power ES-based wound dressings. In this study, a novel sandwich-structured photovoltaic microcurrent hydrogel dressing (PMH dressing) is designed for treating diabetic wounds. This innovative dressing comprises flexible organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells, a flexible micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) electrode, and a multifunctional hydrogel serving as an electrode-tissue interface. The PMH dressing is engineered to administer ES, mimicking the physiological injury current occurring naturally in wounds when exposed to light; thus, facilitating wound healing. In vitro experiments are performed to validate the PMH dressing's exceptional biocompatibility and robust antibacterial properties. In vivo experiments and proteomic analysis reveal that the proposed PMH dressing significantly accelerates the healing of infected diabetic wounds by enhancing extracellular matrix regeneration, eliminating bacteria, regulating inflammatory responses, and modulating vascular functions. Therefore, the PMH dressing is a potent, versatile, and effective solution for diabetic wound care, paving the way for advancements in wireless ES wound dressings.

Characteristics and potential biomarkers of flavor compounds in four Chinese indigenous chicken breeds.

Chinese indigenous chickens have a long history of natural and artificial selection and are popular for their excellent meat quality and unique flavor. This study investigated six meat quality-related traits in Ningdu yellow, Baier yellow, Kangle, and Shengze 901 chickens. Two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used to detect unique flavors in 24 breast muscle samples from the same phenotyped chickens. Overall, 685, 618, 502, and 487 volatile organic compounds were identified in Ningdu yellow, Baier yellow, Kangle, and Shengze 901 chickens, respectively. The flavor components were separated into eight categories, including hydrocarbons and aldehydes. Multivariate analyses of the identified flavor components revealed some outstanding features of these breeds. For example, the hydrocarbons (22.09%) and aldehydes (14.76%) were higher in Ningdu yellow chickens and the highest content of N, N-dimethyl-methylamine was in Ningdu yellow, Baier yellow, and Shengze 901 chickens, indicating the maximum attribution to the overall flavor (ROAV = 439.57, 289.21, and 422.80). Furthermore, we found that 27 flavor compounds differed significantly among the four Chinese breeds, including 20 (e.g., 1-octen-3-ol), two (e.g., 2-methyl-naphthalene), four (e.g., 2,6-lutidine), and one (benzophenone) flavor components were showed significant enrichment in Ningdu yellow, Baier yellow, Kangle, and Shengze 901 chickens, respectively. The flavor components enriched in each breed were key biomarkers distinguishing breeds and most were significantly correlated with meat quality trait phenotypes. These results provide novel insights into indigenous Chinese chicken meat flavors.

Dietary supplementation with honeycomb extracts positively improved egg nutritional and flavor quality, serum antioxidant and immune functions of laying ducks.

Introduction: Honeycomb is a traditional natural health medicine and has antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antitumor activities. It is currently unclear whether honeycomb extract supplementation has positive effects on the intensive farming laying duck production. This study aims to evaluate the effects of honeycomb extracts on the laying performance, egg nutritional and flavor quality, serum biochemical indexes, and antioxidant and immune status in laying ducks. Methods: A total of 672 healthy 28-week-old Shanma laying ducks with similar laying performance and body weight were randomly distributed into four dietary treatments with 6 replicates of 28 birds. The birds in each treatment were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0 (control group), 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 g/kg honeycomb extracts, respectively. Feed and water were provided ad libitum for 45 days. Laying performance, egg quality, egg nutrition and flavor quality, serum parameters were assessed. Results: The results showed that compared with the control group, honeycomb extracts addition significantly increased the average daily feed intake but did not affect the other laying performance indexes, egg quality or serum biochemical indexes of laying ducks. Dietary supplementation with honeycomb extracts significantly increased crude protein content and decreased the contents of cholesterol and trimethylamine in eggs. Diets supplemented with 1.5 g/kg honeycomb extracts significantly improved egg total amino acids and flavor amino acids contents, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids composition and enhanced the serum antioxidant activity and immune functions of ducks. Discussion: Duck eggs are rich in nutrients and a valuable source of high-quality food for human, while they are rarely consumed directly by consumers because of their stronger fishy odor and lower sensory quality. Many studies have showed that the influence of dietary supplementation on egg components. This study indicated that dietary supplementation with honeycomb extracts positively reduced the contents of egg cholesterol and trimethylamine, improve egg amino acids contents and fatty acid profiles, enhanced serum antioxidant and immune status of laying ducks. The recommended supplemental level of honeycomb extracts was 1.5 g/kg in the diet of laying ducks.

Effects of traditional Chinese herbal feed supplement on growth performance, immunity, antioxidant levels, and intestinal health in chickens: a study on Ningdu yellow chickens.

Traditional Chinese herbs have been widely researched as a green, safe, and effective feed additive for poultry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of traditional Chinese prescription (TCP) based on various herbs in a specific ratio on the growth performance, carcass traits, immunity, antioxidant level, and intestinal health of Ningdu yellow chickens. A total of 420 female Ningdu yellow chickens were randomly divided into 5 groups, with 6 replicates of 14 each. The chickens were fed with a basal diet supplemented with 0 (CON), 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, or 0.8% TCP from d 43 to 105. Body weight, feed intake, and serum biochemical indicators were recorded at d 70 and 105, intestinal morphology and microflora of the carcass were determined at d 105. Compared to the control group, chickens fed with TCP, particularly at the level of 0.6%, showed improved average daily gain and breast muscle percentage, as well as a lower feed-to-gain ratio with statistical significance (P < 0.05). Between 43 and 70 d of age, chickens fed with TCP exhibited higher levels of serum glutathione peroxidase activity, total antioxidant capacity, and superoxide dismutase, particularly in the group fed with the 0.6% level of TCP (P < 0.05). Between 43 and 105 d of age, feeding chickens with 0.4 and 0.6% TCP resulted in a decrease in serum IL-2 concentration, and increase in the IL-4 content (P < 0.05). Chickens fed with 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8% TCP had significantly higher jejunum villous height (P < 0.05), TCP supplementation also led to a marked increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroidota compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Collectively, the study suggests that TCP supplementation can enhance immune and antioxidant functions, improve jejunum morphology, and positively impact cecum microflora in chickens. Based on these results, a level of 0.6% TCP could be considered an optimum level as a feed supplement for Ningdu yellow chickens aged 43 to 105 d.

Effect of crossbreeding and sex on slaughter performance and meat quality in Xingguo gray goose based on multiomics data analysis.

Here, we examined the effects of crossbreeding and sex on growth performance, slaughter performance, and meat quality in Xingguo gray (XG) goose, using transcriptomic and metabolomic techniques. The experiment was conducted using 400 goslings (1-day old) of 2 genotypes: the XG breed and its ternary hybrids [F2 geese; (XG Goose♂ × Yangzhou Goose♀)♀ × Shitou Goose♂]. The goslings were divided into 4 groups: female XG, male XG, female F2 geese, and male F2 geese, and growth parameters were examined at 70 d of age, using 30 birds from each group. Following slaughter, samples of breast and thigh muscles were collected from each group for chemical, metabolome, and transcriptome analyses. Growth rate, live body and slaughter weights, meat chemical composition, and muscle fiber diameter were affected by crossbreeding and sex. Crossbreeding significantly improved the dressing percentage, semieviscerated rate, eviscerated yield, and abdominal fat yield of XG geese. To clarify the potential regulatory network affected by crossbreeding and sex, we used RNA-seq and nontargeted metabolomics to detect changes in male and female goose breast muscle. The transcriptome results showed that there were 534, 323, 297, and 492 differently expressed genes (DEGs) among the 4 comparison groups (XG-Female vs. F2-Female, XG-Male vs. F2-Male, F2-Male vs. F2-Female, and XG-Male vs. XG-Female, respectively) that were mainly related to muscle growth and development and fatty acid metabolism pathways. A total of 141 significantly differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were enriched in serine and threonine, propionate, and pyruvate metabolism. Finally, we comprehensively analyzed the metabolome and transcriptome data and found that many DEGs and DAMs played crucial roles in lipid metabolism and muscle growth and development. In summary, crossbreeding can improve XG goose production performance and affect breast muscle gene expression and metabolites in both female and male geese.

FoxO directly regulates the expression of odorant receptor genes to govern olfactory plasticity upon starvation in Bactrocera dorsalis.

Under nutrient-poor conditions, animals must save energy by adjusting their behavior and physiology in order to survive. Although the impact of feeding state on olfactory sensory neuron activity has been well studied, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the transcriptional changes in odorant receptors (Ors) induced by feeding signals are seldom mentioned. Here, we showed that starvation could attenuate antennal responses of Bactrocera dorsalis toward multiple odorants, which could be reverted by sugar re-feeding, but not by a protein-rich diet. Using methyl eugenol (ME) as a paradigm, our study provided molecular evidence that Forkhead Box protein O (FoxO) can be expressed in antennal tissues to govern starvation-induced olfactory modifications by binding to the upstream regulatory regions of ME-responsive Ors and regulating their expressions. Since the consensus FoxO binding motif was also identified in other 17 Ors whose expression levels were also significantly altered upon FoxO knockdown and starvation, our data suggest that FoxO-dependent binding is likely a universal regulatory mechanism for Or genes during starvation and re-feeding cycles. Taken together, the FoxO-Ors axis elucidated in this study provides an improved understanding of how the insulin signaling pathway senses the feeding state and certain macronutrient composition to shape olfactory plasticity, allowing flies to dynamically alter chemosensory sensitivities toward different odors. Our study also highlights sugar as a satiety signal, which could increase ME-mediated trap efficiency in the field.

Thermally Laminated Lighting Textile for Wearable Displays with High Durability.

Textile-based light-emitting devices are attracting more and more attention because of their potential applications in smart clothing, human-computer interfaces, safety warnings, entertainment fashion, etc. However, simple and efficient manufacturing of luminescent devices on fabrics even clothing with excellent stretchability and washability remains challenging. Here, a solvent-free thermal lamination process combined with laser engraving has been proposed to fabricate electroluminescent (EL) devices on textiles. All the preprepared components, such as the bottom electrode, the EL layer, and the top transparent electrode, were thermally laminated on the surface of textiles employing thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as the binding matrix. The stretchability, luminance, and interface adhesion of the EL devices were systematically studied, showing excellent mechanical durability at high temperature, in humid environments, withstanding repeated machine washing, and resistant to various forms of physical damage. As a demonstration of potential application, textile-based EL devices were fabricated, which could display colored and pixelated patterns as well as dynamic images. The thermal lamination technology developed in this work can potentially enable people to DIY (do it yourself) fabricate light-emitting devices on clothing using daily tools, which could facilitate the widespread use of textile-based wearable displays.

Twin-grasper assisted mucosal inverted closure achieves complete healing of large perforations after gastric endoscopic full-thickness resection.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility and safety of a novel twin-grasper assisted mucosal inverted closure (TAMIC) technique for large perforations after gastric endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) in a porcine model. METHODS: Iatrogenic large perforations of the stomach were created and closed by an experienced endoscopist using the TAMIC technique in 12 pigs. Repeat gastroscopy was performed in 4 weeks after surgery to examine the wound sites and then the animals were killed. The primary outcomes were the successful TAMIC closure rate and the complete healing rate. Secondary end points included procedure time of TAMIC, complete inverted healing rate, delayed bleeding rate, and postsurgery perforation. Histologies of the wounds were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin, Masson trichrome, and immunohistochemistry staining. RESULTS: The median size of the defects was 3.5 (range 2.5-4.5) cm. TAMIC was successfully performed in all the 12 pigs. Complete healing was achieved in 11 pigs 4 weeks after operation as one pig died postsurgery due to severe pneumonia. The median procedure time for TAMIC was 39 (range 23-81) min. The complete inverted healing rate was 45.5% (5/11). No delayed bleeding or postsurgery perforation was observed. Histologic analyses showed that both the epithelium and muscularis mucosae layers were appropriately connected under inverted healing. CONCLUSIONS: Twin-grasper assisted mucosal inverted closure is feasible and safe for closure of large perforations after gastric EFTR and could be a propagable and promising technique for clinical practice.

High performance printed organic electrochromic devices based on an optimized UV curable solid-state electrolyte.

Manufacturing cost is a major concern for electrochromic device (ECD) applications in smart windows for energy saving and low-carbon economy. Fully printing instead of a vacuum-based chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process is favored for large-scale fabrication of ECDs. To adapt to the screen printing process, a UV curable solid-state electrolyte based on lithium bis(trifluoromethane-sulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI) was specially formulated. It contains poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG-DA), LiTFSI, water, and ethyl acetate. The optimized ECDs have achieved a 0.6 s bleaching time at 0.6 V and a 1.4 s coloring time at -0.5 V. The ECDs also exhibited excellent stability, which could endure 100 000 cycles of color switching while still maintaining 35% of transmittance change at a 550 nm wavelength. A demo ECD has been fabricated with a screen printed electrolyte, exhibiting stable switching between the clear state and patterned color state.

12.42% Monolithic 25.42 cm2 Flexible Organic Solar Cells Enabled by an Amorphous ITO-Modified Metal Grid Electrode.

Printed metal nanogrid electrode exhibits superior characteristics for use in flexible organic solar cells (OSCs). However, the high surface roughness and inhomogeneity between grid and blank region is adverse for performance improvement. In this work, a thin amorphous indium tin oxide (ITO) film (α-ITO) is introduced to fill the blank and to improve the charge transporting. The introduction of α-ITO significantly improves the comprehensive properties of metal grid electrode, which exhibits excellent bending resistance and long-term stability under double 85 condition (under 85 °C and 85% relative humidity) for 200 h. Both experimental and simulation results reveal α-ITO with a sheet resistance of 20 000 Ω â–¡-1 is sufficient to improve the charge transporting within the adjacent grids, leading to a remarkable efficiency of 16.54% for 1 cm2 flexible devices. With area increased to 4.00, 9.00, and 25.42 cm2 , the devices still display a performance of 16.22%, 14.69%, and 12.42%, respectively, showing less efficiency loss during upscaling. And the 25.42 cm2 monolithic flexible device exhibits a certificated efficiency of 12.03%. Moreover, the device shows significantly improved air stability relative to conventional high-conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate-modified device. All these make the α-ITO-modified Ag/Cu electrode promise to achieve high-efficient and long-term stable large-area flexible OSCs.

Remarkable Near-Infrared Electrochromism in Tungsten Oxide Driven by Interlayer Water-Induced Battery-to-Pseudocapacitor Transition.

Near-infrared (NIR) electrochromism is of academic and technological interest for a variety of applications in advanced solar heat regulation, photodynamic therapy, optical telecommunications, and military camouflage. However, inorganic materials with outstanding NIR modulation capability are quite few. Herein, we propose a promising strategy for achieving strong NIR electrochromism in tungsten oxide that is closely related to its electrochemical transformation from battery-type behavior to pseudocapacitance, induced by introducing an interlayer space with water molecules within tungsten oxide. Further evidence demonstrates that the interlayer water molecules significantly reduced the energy barrier to ion diffusion and increased the ion flux in tungsten oxide. As a result, compared with anhydrous WO3, the as-synthesized WO3·2H2O nanoplates exhibited remarkably improved NIR electrochromic properties, including a large transmittance modulation (90.4%), high coloration efficiency (322.6 cm2 C-1), and high cyclic stability (maintaining 93.7% after 500 cycles), which were comparable to those of the best reported NIR electrochromic materials. Moreover, the application of the WO3·2H2O nanoplate-based electrochromic device resulted in a temperature difference of 11.9 °C, indicating good solar thermal regulation ability.

Efficiency above 12% for 1 cm2 Flexible Organic Solar Cells with Ag/Cu Grid Transparent Conducting Electrode.

With the rapid progress of organic solar cells (OSCs), improvement in the efficiency of large-area flexible OSCs (>1 cm2) is crucial for real applications. However, the development of the large-area flexible OSCs severely lags behind the growth of the small-area OSCs, with the electrical loss due to the large sheet resistance of the electrode being a main reason. Herein, a high conductive and high transparent Ag/Cu composite grid with sheet resistance <1 Ω sq-1 and an average visible light transparency of 84% is produced as the transparent conducting electrode of flexible OSCs. Based on this Ag/Cu composite grid electrode, a high efficiency of 12.26% for 1 cm2 flexible OSCs is achieved. The performances of large-area flexible OSCs also reach 7.79% (4 cm2) and 7.35% (9 cm2), respectively, which are much higher than those of the control devices with conventional flexible indium tin oxide electrodes. Surface planarization using highly conductive PEDOT:PSS and modification of the ZnO buffer layer by zirconium acetylacetonate (ZrAcac) are two necessary steps to achieve high performance. The flexible OSCs employing Ag/Cu grid have excellent mechanical bending resistance, maintaining high performance after bending at a radius of 2 mm.

A widely adaptable analytical method for thermal analysis of flexible electronics with complex heat source structures.

Flexible electronics, as a relatively new category of device, exhibit prodigious potential in many applications, especially in bio-integrated fields. It is critical to understand that thermal management of certain kinds of exothermic flexible electronics is a crucial issue, whether to avoid or to take advantage of the excessive temperature. A widely adaptable analytical method, validated by finite-element analysis and experiments, is conducted to investigate the thermal properties of exothermic flexible electronics with a heat source in complex shape or complex array layout. The main theoretical strategy to obtain the thermal field is through an integral along the complex curve source region. The results predicted by the analytical model enable accurate control of temperature and heat flow in the flexible electronics, which may help in the design and fabrication of flexible electronic devices in the future.

Inkjet-Printed High-Efficiency Multilayer QLEDs Based on a Novel Crosslinkable Small-Molecule Hole Transport Material.

Quantum dots light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) have attracted much interest owing to their compatibility with low-cost inkjet printing technology and potential for use in large-area full-color pixelated display. However, it is challenging to fabricate high efficiency inkjet-printed QLEDs because of the coffee ring effects and inferior resistance to solvents from the underlying polymer film during the inkjet printing process. In this study, a novel crosslinkable hole transport material, 4,4'-bis(3-vinyl-9H-carbazol-9-yl)-1,1'-biphenyl (CBP-V) which is small-molecule based, is synthesized and investigated for inkjet printing of QLEDs. The resulting CBP-V film after thermal curing exhibits excellent solvent resistance properties without any initiators. An added advantage is that the crosslinked CBP-V film has a sufficiently low highest occupied molecular orbital energy level (≈-6.2 eV), high film compactness, and high hole mobility, which can thus promote the hole injection into quantum dots (QDs) and improve the charge carrier balance within the QD emitting layers. A red QLED is successfully fabricated by inkjet printing a CBP-V and QDs bilayer. Maximum external quantum efficiency of 11.6% is achieved, which is 92% of a reference spin-coated QLED (12.6%). This is the first report of such high-efficiency inkjet-printed multilayer QLEDs and demonstrates a unique and effective approach to inkjet printing fabrication of high-performance QLEDs.

Earliella scabrosa-associated postoperative Endophthalmitis after Phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative endophthalmitis after cataract surgery is a severe eye infection that can lead to irreversible blindness in the affected eye. The characteristics, treatment and prognosis of this disease vary because of its association with different pathogens. Here, we report what is possibly the first case of endophthalmitis after cataract surgery to be associated with the rare pathogen Earliella scabrosa. CASE PRESENTATION: A 56-year-old man from Hainan Island (China) with a history of phacoemulsification and type II diabetes mellitus underwent intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. He later presented with progressive endophthalmitis in his right eye. IOL explantation with capsular bag removal and a 23G pars plana vitrectomy combined with a silicone oil tamponade was performed. The infection was cleared without recurrence, and the patient's visual acuity improved from light perception to 20/200 in the right eye. An in vitro culture determined that the causative pathogen was Earliella scabrosa, and this result was confirmed by an internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis. CONCLUSION: Earliella scabrosa has never been reported as an infectious agent in human eyes, and its clinical significance remains unknown. Here, we report a rare case of Earliella scabrosa-associated endophthalmitis after cataract surgery. The fungal infection presented as an acute attack and was successfully treated with vitrectomy.

Efficient multi-barrier thin film encapsulation of OLED using alternating Al2O3 and polymer layers.

Organic optoelectronic devices, especially for OLEDs, are extremely susceptibility to water vapor and oxygen which limit their widespread commercialization. In order to extend the shelf-lifetime of devices, thin film encapsulation is the most promising and challenging encapsulation process. In this study, dyad-style multilayer encapsulation structures based on alternating Al2O3 layer and parylene C have been discussed as gas diffusion barriers, in which dense and pinhole-free Al2O3 films were grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and flexible parylene C layers were deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). We found the particle in ALD deposited Al2O3 films process is the key killer to barrier property. The thickness of Al2O3 films is the key factor which limit the amount of strain placed on barrier films. With three dyads of the optimal thickness of 30 nm Al2O3 film and 500 nm parylene C, WVTR value is lower than 10-5 g m-2 per day. In addition, the lifetime of OLEDs with and without encapsulation was 190 h and 10 h, respectively. All the results show that this TFE structure has the effective encapsulated property and does not cause degradation of the OLED devices.

Hybrid Printing Metal-mesh Transparent Conductive Films with Lower Energy Photonically Sintered Copper/tin Ink.

With the help of photonic sintering using intensive pulse light (IPL), copper has started to replace silver as a printable conductive material for printing electrodes in electronic circuits. However, to sinter copper ink, high energy IPL has to be used, which often causes electrode destruction, due to unreleased stress concentration and massive heat generated. In this study, a Cu/Sn hybrid ink has been developed by mixing Cu and Sn particles. The hybrid ink requires lower sintering energy than normal copper ink and has been successfully employed in a hybrid printing process to make metal-mesh transparent conductive films (TCFs). The sintering energy of Cu/Sn hybrid films with the mass ratio of 2:1 and 1:1 (Cu:Sn) were decreased by 21% compared to sintering pure Cu film, which is attributed to the lower melting point of Sn for hybrid ink. Detailed study showed that the Sn particles were effectively fused among Cu particles and formed conducting path between them. The hybrid printed Cu/Sn metal-mesh TCF with line width of 3.5 µm, high transmittance of 84% and low sheet resistance of 14 Ω/□ have been achieved with less defects and better quality than printed pure copper metal-mesh TCFs.

Embedded Ag/Ni Metal-Mesh with Low Surface Roughness As Transparent Conductive Electrode for Optoelectronic Applications.

Metal-mesh is one of the contenders to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) as transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) for optoelectronic applications. However, considerable surface roughness accompanying metal-mesh type of transparent electrodes has been the root cause of electrical short-circuiting for optoelectronic devices, such as organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and organic photovoltaic (OPV). In this work, a novel approach to making metal-mesh TCE has been proposed that is based on hybrid printing of silver (Ag) nanoparticle ink and electroplating of nickel (Ni). By polishing back the electroplated Ni, an extremely smooth surface was achieved. The fabricated Ag/Ni metal-mesh TCE has a surface roughness of 0.17 nm, a low sheet resistance of 2.1 Ω/□, and a high transmittance of 88.6%. The figure of merit is 1450, which is 30 times better than ITO. In addition, the Ag/Ni metal-mesh TCE shows outstanding mechanical flexibility and environmental stability at high temperature and humidity. Using the polished Ag/Ni metal-mesh TCE, a flexible quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED) was fabricated with an efficiency of 10.4 cd/A and 3.2 lm/W at 1000 cd/m2.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel aliphatic acid-conjugated antimicrobial peptides as potential agents with anti-tumor, multidrug resistance-reversing activity and enhanced stability.

Compared with traditional anti-tumor drugs, antimicrobial peptides as novel anti-tumor agents have prominent advantages of higher specificity and circumvention of multi-drug resistance. BP100 is a multifunctional membrane-active peptide with high antimicrobial activity. Taking BP100 as a lead peptide, we designed and synthesized a series of aliphatic chain-conjugated peptides through solid-phase synthesis. Biological evaluation revealed that these peptides exhibited better anti-cancer activity than BP100. Further investigations revealed that these peptides could disrupt the cell membrane and trigger the cytochrome C release into cytoplasm, which ultimately resulted in apoptosis. Meanwhile, these peptides also exhibited effective anti-tumor activity against multidrug resistant cells and had multidrug resistance-reversing effect. Additionally, conjugation of aliphatic acid to those peptides could enhance their stability in plasma. In conclusion, aliphatic acid-modified peptides might be promising anti-tumor agents for cancer therapy.