Comprehensive deciphering the alternative splicing patterns involved in leaf morphogenesis of Liriodendron chinense.

Alternative splicing (AS), a pivotal post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism, profoundly amplifies diversity and complexity of transcriptome and proteome. Liriodendron chinense (Hemsl.) Sarg., an excellent ornamental tree species renowned for its distinctive leaf shape, which resembles the mandarin jacket. Despite the documented potential genes related to leaf development of L. chinense, the underlying post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms remain veiled. Here, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome to clarify the genome-wide landscape of the AS pattern and the spectrum of spliced isoforms during leaf developmental stages in L. chinense. Our investigation unveiled 50,259 AS events, involving 10,685 genes (32.9%), with intron retention as the most prevalent events. Notably, the initial stage of leaf development witnessed the detection of 804 differentially AS events affiliated with 548 genes. Although both differentially alternative splicing genes (DASGs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched into morphogenetic related pathways during the transition from fishhook (P2) to lobed (P7) leaves, there was only a modest degree of overlap between DASGs and DEGs. Furthermore, we conducted a comprehensively AS analysis on homologous genes involved in leaf morphogenesis, and most of which are subject to post-transcriptional regulation of AS. Among them, the AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE transcript factor LcAIL5 was characterization in detailed, which experiences skipping exon (SE), and two transcripts displayed disparate expression patterns across multiple stages. Overall, these findings yield a comprehensive understanding of leaf development regulation via AS, offering a novel perspective for further deciphering the mechanism of plant leaf morphogenesis.

Analysis of physical activity and prescription opioid use among US adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Opioid crisis has become a global concern, but whether physical activity (PA) can effectively reduce prescription opioid use remains unclear. The study aimed to examine the relationship of different domains of PA (e.g., occupation-related PA [OPA], transportation-related PA [TPA], leisure-time PA [LTPA]) with prescription opioid use and duration of prescription opioid use. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 27,943 participants aged ≥ 18 years from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2007- March 2020). We examined the relationship of different domains of PA with prescription opioid use and duration of prescription opioid use using multivariable logistic regression. Stratified analysis and a series of sensitivity analysis were used to elevate robustness. All analyses were conducted using appropriate sampling weights. RESULTS: Of the 27,943 participants, the mean age was 45.10 years, with 14,018 [weighted, 50.0%] females and 11,045 [weighted, 66.0%] non-Hispanic White. After multivariable adjustment, inverse associations between PA and prescription opioid use were observed for sufficient (≥ 150 min/week) total PA (OR,0.68 95%CI [0.56-0.81]), TPA (OR,0.73 95%CI [0.58-0.92]), and LTPA (OR,0.60 95%CI [0.48-0.75]) compared with insufficient PA(< 150 min/week), but not for sufficient OPA (OR,0.93 95%CI [0.79-1.10]). In addition, the associations were dose-responsive, participants had 22-40%, 27-36%, and 26-47% lower odds of using prescription opioids depending on the duration of total PA, TPA, and LTPA, respectively. Nevertheless, the impact of PA on prescription opioid use varied by duration of opioid use. Sufficient total PA was associated with elevated odds of short-term use of prescription opioids (< 90 days). Comparatively, sufficient total PA, TPA, and LTPA had different beneficial effects on reducing long-term use of prescription opioids (≥ 90 days) depending on the strength of opioids. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated sufficient total PA, TPA, and LTPA were inversely associated with prescription opioid use and varied depending on the duration and strength of prescription opioid use. These findings highlight PA can provide policy guidance to address opioid crisis.

Normalization weighted combination scores re-evaluate TNM staging of gastric cancer: a retrospective cohort study based on a multicenter database.

BACKGROUND: The pathological depth of tumor invasion (pT) and lymph node metastasis (pN) are critical independent prognostic factors for patients with gastric cancer (GC), representing effective methods for evaluating prognosis. In this study, the authors employed a normalization weight combination score to calculate the weight ratio of the pT stage and pN stage. Subsequently, the authors established a novel weighted TN (wTN) staging model based on these T and N weights, evaluating its prognostic capacity. METHODS: This study utilized a training cohort from A Medical University Cancer Hospital and a validation cohort from the SEER database. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and Cox regression were employed to screen clinical characteristics. Multivariate linear regression and cluster analysis calculated the weight ratio of T stage and N stage in the training and validation cohorts, respectively, followed by re-staging. Prognostic value was evaluated using C-index, likelihood ratio, Wald, and Score tests for wTN stage and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage. A nomogram model was developed, and accuracy was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), decision curve analysis (DCA), and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses. RESULTS: LASSO was used for initial screening, selecting eight potential features for Cox analysis. Age, tumor size, metastasis lymph nodes (MLNs), and tumor location were confirmed as independent prognostic factors. wTN was calculated in the training and validation cohorts, and nomograms were established with the independent factors. N stage had a higher weight proportion than T stage in both cohorts (0.625/0.375 in training cohort, 0.556/0.444 in validation cohort). wTN outperformed the 8th TNM stage in C-index, likelihood ratio, Wald, and Score tests in the training cohort, with successful validation in the validation cohort. Stratified analysis of distinct pathological types further demonstrates that wTN staging exhibits superior prognostic performance. CONCLUSION: The wTN staging model based on T stage and N stage weights has a good prognostic value for GC patients. The same conclusion was obtained in different pathological stratification.

Association between secondhand smoke exposure and severe headaches or migraine in never-smoking adults.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to examine the relationship between secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and severe headaches or migraine in never-smoking adults verified by serum cotinine. BACKGROUND: Current evidence about the association between self-reported SHS exposure and headaches or migraine is limited and contradictory. An important issue lies in the lack of actual SHS exposure assessment through biomarkers. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 4560 never-smoking adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2004. The SHS exposure was evaluated by measuring serum cotinine concentrations. The information regarding severe headaches or migraine was based on self-reporting. RESULTS: The overall prevalence rate of severe headaches or migraine was 20% (919/4560). After adjusting for relevant covariates, we found that heavy SHS exposure (serum cotinine at 1 to 10 ng/mL) was positively associated with severe headaches or migraine (OR: 2.02, 95% CI [1.19, 3.43]); however, no significant association was found between low SHS exposure (serum cotinine at 0.05 to 0.99 ng/mL) and severe headaches or migraine (OR: 1.15, 95% CI [0.91, 1.47]). Restricted cubic spline analysis showed that the natural logarithm of serum cotinine had a linear relationship with severe headaches or migraine (p = 0.335 for nonlinearity). Stratified analysis indicated that individuals with a BMI of <25 (p < 0.001 for interaction) and sedentary activity (p = 0.016 for interaction) modified the relationship between SHS exposure and severe headaches and migraine. Even after altering the definition of SHS exposure, excluding drugs that might affect the metabolism of serum cotinine, and multiple imputation, our sensitivity analysis results remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated that heavy SHS exposure (serum cotinine at 1 to 10 ng/mL) had a significant positive association with severe headaches or migraine in never-smoking adults. Prospective studies are necessary to verify this relationship in the future.

Development and Validation of Tumor Marker Indices in Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Tumor markers (TMs) are important for the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). However, the prognostic importance of the tumor marker index (TMI) based on GC-specific TMs for advanced gastric cancer (AGC) still needs to be further explored. METHODS: We retrospectively examined patients who underwent radical gastric cancer surgery between February 2014 and June 2016 at the Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Harbin Medical University. The patients were divided into training and validation groups. TMI was determined as the geometric mean of the standard cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels. Patient overall survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Independent prognosis-associated risk factors were identified using Cox hazard regression models. A nomogram model incorporating TMI and clinicopathological factors was developed, and its performance was evaluated using a decision curve analysis, concordance index, and calibration plots. RESULTS: In the TMI training cohort, the cutoff value was set at .439, categorizing patients into TMI-High and TMI-Low groups. The 5-year survival rate in the TMI-Low group significantly surpassed that in the TMI-High group (78.2% vs 58.1% and 49.7 vs 41.6, P < .001). TMI emerged as an independent prognostic factor. The nomogram accurately predicted patient prognosis by using TMI and clinicopathological characteristics. Validation of the TMI in the independent cohort yielded satisfactory results. CONCLUSION: The TMI constructed based on specific TMs associated with gastric cancer can offer a precise prognostic prediction for patients.

Efficacy of Lymph Node Location-Number Hybrid Staging System on the Prognosis of Gastric Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND: Lymph node metastasis location and number significantly affects the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC). This study was designed to examine a new lymph node hybrid staging (hN) system to increase the predictive ability for patients with GC. METHODS: This study analyzed the gastrointestinal treatment of GC at the Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 2011 to December 2016, and selected 2598 patients from 2011 to 2015 as the training cohort (hN) and 756 patients from 2016 as the validation cohort (2016-hN). The study utilized the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), c-index, and decision curve analysis (DCA) to compare the prognostic performance of the hN with the 8th edition of AJCC pathological lymph node (pN) staging for GC patients. RESULTS: The ROC verification of the training cohort and validation cohort based on each hN staging and pN staging showed that for each N staging, the hN staging had a training cohort with an AUC of 0.752 (0.733, 0.772) and a validation cohort with an AUC of 0.812 (0.780, 0.845). In the pN staging, the training cohort had an AUC of 0.728 (0.708, 0.749), and the validation cohort had an AUC of 0.784 (0.754, 0.824). c-Index and DCA also showed that hN staging had a higher prognostic ability than pN staging, which was confirmed in the training cohort and the verification cohort, respectively. CONCLUSION: Lymph node location-number hybrid staging can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with GC.

Metastatic lymph nodes and prognosis assessed by the number of retrieved lymph nodes in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of quantitative assessments of the number of retrieved lymph nodes (RLNs) in gastric cancer (GC) patients needs further study. AIM: To discuss how to obtain a more accurate count of metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) based on RLNs in different pT stages and then to evaluate patient prognosis. METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent GC radical surgery and D2/D2+ LN dissection at the Cancer Hospital of Harbin Medical University from January 2011 to May 2017. Locally weighted smoothing was used to analyze the relationship between RLNs and the number of MLNs. Restricted cubic splines were used to analyze the relationship between RLNs and hazard ratios (HRs), and X-tile was used to determine the optimal cutoff value for RLNs. Patient survival was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Finally, HRs and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models to analyze independent risk factors associated with patient outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 4968 patients were included in the training cohort, and 11154 patients were included in the validation cohort. The smooth curve showed that the number of MLNs increased with an increasing number of RLNs, and a nonlinear relationship between RLNs and HRs was observed. X-tile analysis showed that the optimal number of RLNs for pT1-pT4 stage GC patients was 26, 31, 39, and 45, respectively. A greater number of RLNs can reduce the risk of death in patients with pT1, pT2, and pT4 stage cancers but may not reduce the risk of death in patients with pT3 stage cancer. Multivariate analysis showed that RLNs were an independent risk factor associated with the prognosis of patients with pT1-pT4 stage cancer (P = 0.044, P = 0.037, P = 0.003, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A greater number of RLNs may not benefit the survival of patients with pT3 stage disease but can benefit the survival of patients with pT1, pT2, and pT4 stage disease. For the pT1, pT2, and pT4 stages, it is recommended to retrieve 26, 31 and 45 LNs, respectively.

Genome-wide identification of XTH genes in Liriodendron chinense and functional characterization of LcXTH21.

Liriodendron chinense is a relic tree species of the family Magnoliaceae with multiple uses in timber production, landscape decoration, and afforestation. L. chinense often experiences drought stress in arid areas. However, the molecular basis underlying the drought response of L. chinense remains unclear. Many studies have reported that the xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) family plays an important role in drought stress resistance. Hereby, to explore the drought resistance mechanism of L. chinense, we identify XTH genes on a genome-wide scale in L. chinense. A total of 27 XTH genes were identified in L. chinense, and these genes were classified into three subfamilies. Drought treatment and RT-qPCR analysis revealed that six LcXTH genes significantly responded to drought stress, especially LcXTH21. Hence, we cloned the LcXTH21 gene and overexpressed it in tobacco via gene transfer to analyze its function. The roots of transgenic plants were more developed than those of wild-type plants under different polyethylene glycol (PEG) concentration, and further RT-qPCR analysis showed that LcXTH21 highly expressed in root compared to aboveground organs, indicating that LcXTH21 may play a role in drought resistance through promoting root development. The results of this study provide new insights into the roles of LcXTH genes in the drought stress response. Our findings will also aid future studies of the molecular mechanisms by which LcXTH genes contribute to the drought response.

Development and Validation of an Age-Related Gastric Cancer-Specific Immune Index.

Background: Aging has a negative impact on the immune function of patients. The purpose of this study was to construct an age-related specific immune index according to the immune aging phenomenon of gastric cancer (GC) and explore its prognostic value. Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent radical GC surgery in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Harbin Medical University, from August 2014 to December 2016 and divided them into a training cohort and a validation cohort. A new immune score, the GC-specific immune index (GSII), was developed as a series of lymphocyte subsets associated with the prognosis of patients with GC. Then, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to compare the prediction performance. The Kaplan‒Meier method and Log rank test were used to analyze the overall survival of patients. Cox hazard regression models were used to identify independent risk factors associated with prognosis. Finally, a nomogram model was constructed by combining the GSII and clinicopathological characteristics, and the calibration chart, consistency index, and decision curve were used to test the performance of the model. Results: Aging did not significantly affect CD8 cell counts but decreased CD4 and CD19 cell counts. Based on the Cox analysis, the GSII of patients ≤60 years old was 0.079×lg CD4+0.348×lg CD19, and the GSII of patients >60 years old was 0.058×lg CD4. A decreased GSII was indicative of a poor prognosis and was an independent risk factor associated with patient outcomes. The nomogram constructed based on the GSII and clinicopathological features accurately predicted patient prognosis. Furthermore, the GSII was well validated in the validation cohort. Conclusion: The GSII constructed for the special immune aging phenomenon of GC can accurately predict patient prognosis.

Development and Validation of a Prediction Model for Chronic Post-Surgical Pain After Thoracic Surgery in Elderly Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) is one of the adverse outcomes after surgery, especially in thoracotomy. However, the prevalence of CPSP in elderly adults (≥65 years), is still limited. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to establish and validate the prediction model of CPSP in those patients after thoracic surgery, including thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Patients and Methods: This retrospective, observational single-center cohort study was conducted in Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, which randomly and consecutively collected 577 elderly patients who underwent thoracic surgery between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020. According to the Akaike information criterion, the prediction model was built based on all the data and was validated by calibration with 500 bootstrap samples. Results: The mean age of participants was 69.09±3.80 years old, and 63.1% were male. The prevalence of CPSP was 26.9%. Age more than 75 years, BMI, blood loss, longer length of hospital stays, and higher pre-operative neutrophil count were associated with CPSP. Except for these factors, we incorporated history of drinking to build up the prediction model. The areas under the curve (AUCs) of the prediction models were 0.66 (95% CI, 0.61-0.71) and 0.64 (95% CI, 0.59-0.69) in the observational and validation cohorts, respectively. And the calibration curve of the predictive model showed a good fit between the predicted risk of CPSP and observed outcomes in elderly patients. Conclusion: The present developed model may help clinicians to find high-risk elderly patients with CPSP after thoracic surgery and take corresponding measures in advance to reduce the incidence of CPSP and improve their life quality.

Fe-Fe3C Functionalized Few-Layer Graphene Sheet Nanocomposites for an Efficient Electrocatalyst of the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Preparation of a high-efficiency, low-cost, and environmentally friendly non-precious metal catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is highly desirable in fuel cells. Herein, a Fe-Fe3C-functionalized few-layer graphene sheet (Fe/Fe3C/FLG) nanocomposite was fabricated through the vacuum heat treatment technique using ferric nitrate and glucose as the precursors and exhibited a high-performance ORR electrocatalyst. Multiple characterizations confirm that the nanosized Fe particles with the Fe3C interface are uniformly distributed in the FLGs. Electrocatalytic kinetics investigation of the nanocomposite indicates that the electron transfer process is a four-electron pathway. The formation of the Fe3C interface between the Fe nanoparticles and FLGs may promote the electron transfer from the Fe to FLGs. Furthermore, the Fe/Fe3C/FLG nanocomposite not only exhibits high ORR catalytic activity but also displays desirable stability. Consequently, the obtained Fe/Fe3C/FLG nanocomposite might be a promising non-precious, cheap, and high-efficiency catalyst for fuel cells.

Efficacy and Safety of Apatinib plus Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cancer: A Phase II Trial.

Evidence for neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cancer (ESCC) is inadequate. We conducted a single-arm phase II trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with taxol and cisplatin (ATP) for locally advanced ESCC. All patients were cT3-4aN0-3 M0 (IIIb-IVa) stage, which were confirmed by histopathology. Apatinib was taken orally (425 mg/d) for two cycles, followed by one cycle of rest. Taxol was administered at 135 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1, and cisplatin was administered at 20 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 to day 3. Radical ESCC resection was performed 4 weeks after ATP. The primary endpoint was pathological response rate (pCR). Secondary endpoints were pathologic response rate (MPR), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), R0 resection rate, and safety profile. This trial was registered. We evaluated 41 patients for screening from Oct 2018 to July 2020, of whom 39 were enrolled in the study, with a median age of 65 years (range 49-75 years), and 29 (74.4%) were male. Among the 39 patients, 1 was considered unresectable by the multidisciplinary team due to tumor progression, and 38 patients underwent surgery eventually. The median follow-up was 22 months (range 5-29 months), and the follow-up rate was 100%. The 1-year and 2-year OS was 95% and 95%, and the 1-year and 2-year DFS was 85% and 82%, respectively. Thirty-eight (97.3%) successfully underwent R0 resection. Of the 38 evaluable patients, 9 (23.6%) were pCR, and 15 (39.5%) were MPR. The most common ATP-related AEs were nausea (76.9%), leucopenia (53.8%), neutropenia (51.2%) and vomit (51.2%), anemia (41.0%), and hypertension (25.6%). The most frequent grade 3-4 events included leucopenia (15.3%), neutropenia (15.3%), nausea (12.8%), vomit (12.8%), and hypertension (10.2%). No treatment-related death occurred. Neoadjuvant apatinib combined with taxol and cisplatin for locally advanced ESCC showed favorable activity and manageable safety.

Energy Conversion Analysis of Multilayered Triboelectric Nanogenerators for Synergistic Rain and Solar Energy Harvesting.

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is an emerging technology that offers excellent potential for the conversion of mechanical energy from rain into electricity for hybrid energy applications. However, a high-performance TENG is yet to be achieved because a quantitative analysis method for the energy conversion process is still lacking. Herein, a quantitative analysis method, termed the "kinetic energy calculation and current integration" (KECCI) method, which significantly improves the understanding of the mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion process, is presented. Based on the KECCI method, a high-performance TENG is developed by systematically optimizing a biomimetic surface structure and instant switch design, with 1.25 mA short-circuit current (Isc ), 150 V open-circuit voltage (Voc ), and a high energy-conversion efficiency of 24.89%. Furthermore, a multilayered TENG device is proposed for continuously harvesting the kinetic energy of raindrops for further improvement in the energy-conversion efficiency. Finally, the multilayered TENGs are integrated with organic photovoltaics, achieving all-weather energy harvesting. This work presents a validated theoretical basis that will guide further development of TENGs toward higher performances, which will promote the commercialization of hybrid TENG systems for all-weather applications.

Industrial equipment detection algorithm under complex working conditions based on ROMS R-CNN.

In the paper, we proposed a deep learning-based industrial equipment detection algorithm ROMS R-CNN (Rotation Occlusion Multi-Scale Region-CNN). It can solve the problem of inaccurate detection of industrial equipment under complex working conditions such as multi-scale ratio, rotation tilt, occlusion and overlap. The method proposed in this paper first is to construct the MobileNetV2 as the feature pyramid network, and then to combine high semantic information with high resolution information solved industrial equipment detection of different scales. Secondly, a specific rotation anchor scheme is proposed, and the data set is clustered through the k-means algorithm to obtain a specific aspect ratio. Combined with the rotation angle, a rotation anchor of any direction and size is generated to solve the problem of easy tilting of industrial equipment. Finally, a Non-Maximum Suppression algorithm with penalty factors is introduced to solve the overlapping in industrial equipment detection. The experimental results in common industrial equipment detection show that this method is better than other algorithms, significantly improves the missed detection and false detection, and the mAP reaches 0.939.

Genome-wide identification and characterization of LcCCR13 reveals its potential role in lignin biosynthesis in Liriodendron chinense.

Introduction: Wood formation is closely related to lignin biosynthesis. Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) catalyzes the conversion of cinnamoyl-CoA to cinnamaldehydes, which is the initiation of the lignin biosynthesis pathway and a crucial point in the manipulation of associated traits. Liriodendron chinense is an economically significant timber tree. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism of wood formation in it remains unknown; even the number of LcCCR family members in this species is unclear. Materials and Results: This study aimed to perform a genome-wide identification of genes(s) involved in lignin biosynthesis in L. chinense via RT-qPCR assays and functional verification. Altogether, 13 LcCCR genes were identified that were divided into four major groups based on structural and phylogenetic features. The gene structures and motif compositions were strongly conserved between members of the same groups. Subsequently, the expression patterns analysis based on RNA-seq data indicated that LcCCR5/7/10/12/13 had high expression in the developing xylem at the stem (DXS). Furthermore, the RT-qPCR assays showed that LcCCR13 had the highest expression in the stem as compared to other tissues. Moreover, the overexpression of the LcCCR13 in transgenic tobacco plants caused an improvement in the CCR activity and lignin content, indicating that it plays a key role in lignin biosynthesis in the stems. Discussion: Our research lays a foundation for deeper investigation of the lignin synthesis and uncovers the genetic basis of wood formation in L. chinense.

Recent Progress in Self-Powered Sensors Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators.

The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has subverted people's lives, causing the rapid development of sensor technologies. However, traditional sensor energy sources, like batteries, suffer from the pollution problem and the limited lifetime for powering widely implemented electronics or sensors. Therefore, it is essential to obtain self-powered sensors integrated with renewable energy harvesters. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), which can convert the surrounding mechanical energy into electrical energy based on the surface triboelectrification effect, was born of this background. This paper systematically introduces the working principle of the TENG-based self-powered sensor, including the triboelectrification effect, Maxwell's displacement current, and quantitative analysis method. Meanwhile, this paper also reviews the recent application of TENG in different fields and summarizes the future development and current problems of TENG. We believe that there will be a rise of TENG-based self-powered sensors in the future.

High output achieved by sliding electrification of an electrospun nano-grating.

The rapid development of flexible and wearable electronics has proposed a trend towards miniaturization, mobility, versatility and artificial intelligence. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can make use of micro/nano multi-functional materials to harvest and store energy from the surrounding environment efficiently, which can drive smart portable electronics operating continuously and steadily. The increase in the output power density of the triboelectric nanogenerator requires new designs. In this work, a new grating TENG was proposed, and the two friction layers were fabricated by near-field electrospinning and conventional electrospinning with two parallel electrodes as a collector, respectively. The basic model of the simulation was simplified according to the highly ordered structure and the repeatability of the TENG grating structure. The effect of the effective contact area on the output of the TENG was further proved by fitting the calculation regularity of the two models with the experimental results. At the same time, the effect of the redundant electrode on the output of the TENG was verified by experiments. We found that this nanogenerator can achieve a very high output of 1800 W m-2 due to a more refined grating structure combined with modification of the contact area. The TENG can also be used as a selfpowered sensor to detect mechanical signals, which requires no additional power source to drive it. Meanwhile, the anisotropic nature of the TENG can also be utilized to sense angles, lock devices or encrypt information. This output control technology provides a more effective idea for future output power improvement, that is, a new generation of high-output TENGs can be designed by effectively adjusting the corresponding contact area and electrode area.

Dihydroartemisinin ameliorates balloon injury-induced neointimal formation through suppressing autophagy in vascular smooth muscle cells.

The present study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effects of injection of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) into the balloon-injured carotid arteries on balloon injury-induced neointimal formation and to explore whether autophagy is involved in the action of DHA. Percutaneous transluminal balloon angioplasty was performed in Sprague-Dawley rats to induce neointimal formation, immediately after which DHA (100 µmol/l × 1 ml) and/or Rapamycin (1 mg/100 µl), were injected into the balloon-injured carotid arteries. After 14 days, the serum samples and carotid artery tissues were harvested for analysis. Rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) were pretreated with DMSO (vehicle), DHA (1, 10, and 100 µmol/l), or 3-methyladenine (3-MA; 10 mM) for 1 h and then stimulated with platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB; 10 ng/ml) for another 24 h. Animal experiments showed that DHA attenuated the balloon injury-induced neointimal formation, inflammation and VSMC phenotypic transition by inhibiting the balloon injury-induced autophagy activation. In vitro results showed that DHA attenuated the PDGF-BB-induced VSMC phenotypic transition, proliferation, and migration by inhibiting the PDGF-BB-induced autophagy activation. Taken together, DHA ameliorates balloon injury-induced neointimal formation through suppressing autophagy. This study provides insights into the development of a drug-eluting stent using DHA.

An acid and alkali-resistant triboelectric nanogenerator.

With the development of technology, environmental problems have become more and more acute and the use of electronic devices in harsh environments has gradually attracted attention. For example, the friction layer of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) may be contaminated and corroded in harsh environments (such as acidic, alkaline or oily environments), resulting in damage or destruction of the TENGs. In this study, we use electrospinning followed by a sintering process to prepare a super-hydrophobic sintered polyvinyl alcohol-polytetrafluoroethylene (S-PVA-PTFE) composite membrane and general industrial oil-absorbing paper to construct a TENG. The maximum power density of the TENG is 261 mW m-2, it can light up 100 blue LEDs, and can power a variety of small electronic devices. Moreover, after 72 h of soaking the friction layer in a strong acid solution followed by a strong alkali solution, the performance of the TENG has no obvious change. The TENG can work stably in an oily working environment. The TENG provides a novel approach for self-powered sensors that work in harsh environments.