Adhesive anti-fibrotic interfaces on diverse organs.

Implanted biomaterials and devices face compromised functionality and efficacy in the long term owing to foreign body reactions and subsequent formation of fibrous capsules at the implant-tissue interfaces1-4. Here we demonstrate that an adhesive implant-tissue interface can mitigate fibrous capsule formation in diverse animal models, including rats, mice, humanized mice and pigs, by reducing the level of infiltration of inflammatory cells into the adhesive implant-tissue interface compared to the non-adhesive implant-tissue interface. Histological analysis shows that the adhesive implant-tissue interface does not form observable fibrous capsules on diverse organs, including the abdominal wall, colon, stomach, lung and heart, over 12 weeks in vivo. In vitro protein adsorption, multiplex Luminex assays, quantitative PCR, immunofluorescence analysis and RNA sequencing are additionally carried out to validate the hypothesis. We further demonstrate long-term bidirectional electrical communication enabled by implantable electrodes with an adhesive interface over 12 weeks in a rat model in vivo. These findings may offer a promising strategy for long-term anti-fibrotic implant-tissue interfaces.

Electrical bioadhesive interface for bioelectronics.

Reliable functions of bioelectronic devices require conformal, stable and conductive interfaces with biological tissues. Integrating bioelectronic devices with tissues usually relies on physical attachment or surgical suturing; however, these methods face challenges such as non-conformal contact, unstable fixation, tissue damage, and/or scar formation. Here, we report an electrical bioadhesive (e-bioadhesive) interface, based on a thin layer of a graphene nanocomposite, that can provide rapid (adhesion formation within 5 s), robust (interfacial toughness >400 J m-2) and on-demand detachable integration of bioelectronic devices on diverse wet dynamic tissues. The electrical conductivity (>2.6 S m-1) of the e-bioadhesive interface further allows bidirectional bioelectronic communications. We demonstrate biocompatibility, applicability, mechanical and electrical stability, and recording and stimulation functionalities of the e-bioadhesive interface based on ex vivo porcine and in vivo rat models. These findings offer a promising strategy to improve tissue-device integration and enhance the performance of biointegrated electronic devices.

Auditory acuity and musical ability in young adults with high schizotypal traits.

BACKGROUND: Despite auditory cognition dysfunction being consistently found in people with schizophrenia, the evidence from non-clinical individuals with schizotypy is rare and inconsistent. No studies thus far have comprehensively assessed the association among auditory perception, musical cognition, and schizotypy in non-clinical samples. AIM: We aimed to explore abnormalities in auditory skills, from basic perception to musical ability, among individuals with schizotypal traits. METHOD: An extreme-group design was adopted. Sixty-six participants from the schizotypy and control groups were screened from 1093 young adults using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). Auditory acuity was assessed using four auditory discrimination threshold tests, and musical ability was evaluated through the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA). Basic demographic information and musical backgrounds were assessed and matched, and depression, anxiety, and digit-span index were evaluated and controlled. RESULTS: Elevated sensitivity in auditory perception and improved musical talent were found in young adults with high schizotypal traits. Auditory acuity and musical ability were positively correlated with schizotypy and its factors among participants across groups. A regression analysis in the control group showed that cognitive perceptual scores of SPQ positively predicted auditory temporal sensitivity. The mediation analysis revealed an indirect effect of pure tone duration discrimination between musical rhythmic ability and positive factor of schizotypy. DISCUSSION: Elevated sensitivity in auditory temporal perception and improved musical talent in young adults with high schizotypy may contribute to explaining the variation of auditory process in the development of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. It can also help elucidate the association between psychopathology and creativity in auditory modality.

A One-Dimensional Fluidic Nanogenerator with a High Power Conversion Efficiency.

Electricity generation from flowing water has been developed for over a century and plays a critical role in our lives. Generally, heavy and complex facilities are required for electricity generation, while using these technologies for applications that require a small size and high flexibility is difficult. Here, we developed a fluidic nanogenerator fiber from an aligned carbon nanotube sheet to generate electricity from any flowing water source in the environment as well as in the human body. The power conversion efficiency reached 23.3 %. The fluidic nanogenerator fiber was flexible and stretchable, and the high performance was well-maintained after deformation over 1 000 000 cycles. The fiber also offered unique and promising advantages, such as the ability to be woven into fabrics for large-scale applications.

Tunable Photothermal Actuators Based on a Pre-programmed Aligned Nanostructure.

For various applications, it is challenging but essential to obtain complex tunable mechanical actuations in response to environmental stimuli. Here, a general and effective strategy is developed to produce multiple types of photomechanical actuation (from phototropic/apheliotropic bending to three-dimensional helical buckling) by manipulating the orientation of one-dimensional nanomaterials. These materials are manipulated to mimic plants that generate diverse mechanical motions through the orientation of cellulose fibrils. The photomechanical actuations can be completed in milliseconds and can be performed reversibly without detectable fatigue after 100 000 cycles. This capacity to produce multiple types of photomechanical actuation is further developed to produce complex integrated movements, as demonstrated by a light-manipulated robotic arm and a solar energy harvesting system.

Fiber-Shaped Perovskite Solar Cells with High Power Conversion Efficiency.

A perovskite solar cell fiber is created with a high power conversion efficiency of 7.1% through a controllable deposition method. A combination of aligned TiO2 nanotubes, a uniform perovskite layer, and transparent aligned carbon nanotube sheet contributes to the high photovoltaic performance. It is flexible and stable, and can be woven into smart clothes for wearable applications.

Stretchable polymer solar cell fibers.

Power yourself up: a sweater made from solar cells! Stretchable and wearable fibers are shown to be highly efficient polymer solar cells. Their stable energy conversion efficiency variation is below 10% even after 1000 bending cycles or stretching under a strain of 30%. These fibers can easily be woven into fabric from which any type of clothing can be made.

A Shape-Memory Supercapacitor Fiber.

A shape-memory, fiber-shaped supercapacitor is developed by winding aligned carbon nanotube sheets on a shape-memory polyurethane substrate. Despite its flexibility and stretchability, the deformed shapes under bending and stretching can be "frozen" as expected and recovered to the original state when required. Its electrochemical performances are well-maintained during deformation, at the deformed state and after the recovery.

An Aligned and Laminated Nanostructured Carbon Hybrid Cathode for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

An aligned and laminated sulfur-absorbed mesoporous carbon/carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid cathode has been developed for lithium-sulfur batteries with high performance. The mesoporous carbon acts as sulfur host and suppresses the diffusion of polysulfide, while the CNT network anchors the sulfur-absorbed mesoporous carbon particles, providing pathways for rapid electron transport, alleviating polysulfide migration and enabling a high flexibility. The resulting lithium-sulfur battery delivers a high capacity of 1226 mAh g(-1) and achieves a capacity retention of 75% after 100 cycles at 0.1 C. Moreover, a high capacity of nearly 900 mAh g(-1) is obtained for 20 mg cm(-2), which is the highest sulfur load to the best of our knowledge. More importantly, the aligned and laminated hybrid cathode endows the battery with high flexibility and its electrochemical performances are well maintained under bending and after being folded for 500 times.

Integrating perovskite solar cells into a flexible fiber.

Perovskite solar cells have triggered a rapid development of new photovoltaic devices because of high energy conversion efficiencies and their all-solid-state structures. To this end, they are particularly useful for various wearable and portable electronic devices. Perovskite solar cells with a flexible fiber structure were now prepared for the first time by continuously winding an aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube sheet electrode onto a fiber electrode; photoactive perovskite materials were incorporated in between them through a solution process. The fiber-shaped perovskite solar cell exhibits an energy conversion efficiency of 3.3%, which remained stable on bending. The perovskite solar cell fibers may be woven into electronic textiles for large-scale application by well-developed textile technologies.

Wearable solar cells by stacking textile electrodes.

A new and general method to produce flexible, wearable dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) textiles by the stacking of two textile electrodes has been developed. A metal-textile electrode that was made from micrometer-sized metal wires was used as a working electrode, while the textile counter electrode was woven from highly aligned carbon nanotube fibers with high mechanical strengths and electrical conductivities. The resulting DSC textile exhibited a high energy conversion efficiency that was well maintained under bending. Compared with the woven DSC textiles that are based on wire-shaped devices, this stacked DSC textile unexpectedly exhibited a unique deformation from a rectangle to a parallelogram, which is highly desired in portable electronics. This lightweight and wearable stacked DSC textile is superior to conventional planar DSCs because the energy conversion efficiency of the stacked DSC textile was independent of the angle of incident light.

A twisted wire-shaped dual-function energy device for photoelectric conversion and electrochemical storage.

A wire-shaped energy device that can perform photoelectric conversion and electrochemical storage was developed through a simple but effective twisting process. The energy wire exhibited a high energy conversion efficiency of 6.58 % and specific capacitance of 85.03 µF cm(-1) or 2.13 mF cm(-2), and the two functions were alternately realized without sacrificing either performance.

Self-healable electrically conducting wires for wearable microelectronics.

Electrically conducting wires play a critical role in the advancement of modern electronics and in particular are an important key to the development of next-generation wearable microelectronics. However, the thin conducting wires can easily break during use, and the whole device fails to function as a result. Herein, a new family of high-performance conducting wires that can self-heal after breaking has been developed by wrapping sheets of aligned carbon nanotubes around polymer fibers. The aligned carbon nanotubes offer an effective strategy for the self-healing of the electric conductivity, whereas the polymer fiber recovers its mechanical strength. A self-healable wire-shaped supercapacitor fabricated from a wire electrode of this type maintained a high capacitance after breaking and self-healing.

Enhanced osteochondral regeneration with a 3D-Printed biomimetic scaffold featuring a calcified interfacial layer.

The integrative regeneration of both articular cartilage and subchondral bone remains an unmet clinical need due to the difficulties of mimicking spatial complexity in native osteochondral tissues for artificial implants. Layer-by-layer fabrication strategies, such as 3D printing, have emerged as a promising technology replicating the stratified zonal architecture and varying microstructures and mechanical properties. However, the dynamic and circulating physiological environments, such as mass transportation or cell migration, usually distort the pre-confined biological properties in the layered implants, leading to undistinguished spatial variations and subsequently inefficient regenerations. This study introduced a biomimetic calcified interfacial layer into the scaffold as a compact barrier between a cartilage layer and a subchondral bone layer to facilitate osteogenic-chondrogenic repair. The calcified interfacial layer consisting of compact polycaprolactone (PCL), nano-hydroxyapatite, and tasquinimod (TA) can physically and biologically separate the cartilage layer (TA-mixed, chondrocytes-load gelatin methacrylate) from the subchondral bond layer (porous PCL). This introduction preserved the as-designed independent biological environment in each layer for both cartilage and bone regeneration, successfully inhibiting vascular invasion into the cartilage layer and preventing hyaluronic cartilage calcification owing to devascularization of TA. The improved integrative regeneration of cartilage and subchondral bone was validated through gross examination, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and histological and immunohistochemical analyses based on an in vivo rat model. Moreover, gene and protein expression studies identified a key role of Caveolin (CAV-1) in promoting angiogenesis through the Wnt/ß-catenin pathway and indicated that TA in the calcified layer blocked angiogenesis by inhibiting CAV-1.

Bioadhesive interface for marine sensors on diverse soft fragile species.

Marine animals equipped with sensors provide vital information for understanding their ecophysiology and collect oceanographic data on climate change and for resource management. Existing methods for attaching sensors to marine animals mostly rely on invasive physical anchors, suction cups, and rigid glues. These methods can suffer from limitations, particularly for adhering to soft fragile marine species such as squid and jellyfish, including slow complex operations, unreliable fixation, tissue trauma, and behavior changes of the animals. However, soft fragile marine species constitute a significant portion of ocean biomass (>38.3 teragrams of carbon) and global commercial fisheries. Here we introduce a soft hydrogel-based bioadhesive interface for marine sensors that can provide rapid (time <22 s), robust (interfacial toughness >160 J m-2), and non-invasive adhesion on various marine animals. Reliable and rapid adhesion enables large-scale, multi-animal sensor deployments to study biomechanics, collective behaviors, interspecific interactions, and concurrent multi-species activity. These findings provide a promising method to expand a burgeoning research field of marine bio-sensing from large marine mammals and fishes to small, soft, and fragile marine animals.

A bioadhesive pacing lead for atraumatic cardiac monitoring and stimulation in rodent and porcine models.

Current clinically used electronic implants, including cardiac pacing leads for epicardial monitoring and stimulation of the heart, rely on surgical suturing or direct insertion of electrodes to the heart tissue. These approaches can cause tissue trauma during the implantation and retrieval of the pacing leads, with the potential for bleeding, tissue damage, and device failure. Here, we report a bioadhesive pacing lead that can directly interface with cardiac tissue through physical and covalent interactions to support minimally invasive adhesive implantation and gentle on-demand removal of the device with a detachment solution. We developed 3D-printable bioadhesive materials for customized fabrication of the device by graft-polymerizing polyacrylic acid on hydrophilic polyurethane and mixing with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to obtain electrical conductivity. The bioadhesive construct exhibited mechanical properties similar to cardiac tissue and strong tissue adhesion, supporting stable electrical interfacing. Infusion of a detachment solution to cleave physical and covalent cross-links between the adhesive interface and the tissue allowed retrieval of the bioadhesive pacing leads in rat and porcine models without apparent tissue damage. Continuous and reliable cardiac monitoring and pacing of rodent and porcine hearts were demonstrated for 2 weeks with consistent capture threshold and sensing amplitude, in contrast to a commercially available alternative. Pacing and continuous telemetric monitoring were achieved in a porcine model. These findings may offer a promising platform for adhesive bioelectronic devices for cardiac monitoring and treatment.

Auditory P300 in individuals with high schizotypy: associations of schizotypal traits with amplitude and latency under different oddball conditions.

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of auditory P300 between non-clinical individuals with high and low schizotypal traits, and investigate the relationship between schizotypy and P300 under various oddball conditions. Methods: An extreme-group design was adopted. After screening 1,519 young adults using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), sixty-three participants were chosen and divided into two groups (schizotypy group: 31 participants; control group: 32 participants). Basic demographic information was assessed and matched between groups. Depression and anxiety indexes were evaluated and controlled. The P300 component was evoked by an auditory oddball paradigm with different frequencies and durations. Results: (1) The duration P300 amplitude at PZ site was significantly weaker in the schizotypy group than in the control group [F(1,54) = 7.455, p = 0.009, ηp2 = 0.121]. (2) In the schizotypy group, the latency of frequency P300 at PZ site under large-variant oddball condition was significantly correlated with total SPQ scores (rp = 0.451, p = 0.018) and disorganized dimension scores (rp = 0.381, p = 0.050). (3) In the control group, significantly negative correlations was found between the negative dimension score of SPQ and the frequency P300 amplitudes under small variant condition (PZ: rp = -0.393, p = 0.043; CPZ: rp = -0.406, p = 0.035). In addition, a significant negative relationship was found between disorganized dimension scores and the duration P300 latency at CPZ site under large-variant oddball condition (rp = -0.518, p = 0.006). Moreover, a significant negative association was found between the duration P300 amplitude at CPZ site under small-variant oddball condition and negative factor scores (rp = -0.410, p = 0.034). Conclusion: Individuals with high schizotypal traits were likely to have deficient attention and hypoactive working memory for processing auditory information, especially the duration of sounds. P300 effects were correlated with negative and disorganized schizotypy, rather than positive schizotypy. There were diverse patterns of relationship between schizotypal traits and P300 under different oddball conditions, suggesting that characteristics and parameters of target stimuli should be considered cautiously when implementing an auditory oddball paradigm for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum.

Oxygen therapy for pneumonia in adults.

BACKGROUND: Oxygen therapy is widely used in the treatment of lung diseases. However, the effectiveness of oxygen therapy as a treatment for pneumonia is not well known. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness and safety of oxygen therapy in the treatment of pneumonia in adults older than 18 years. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) 2011, Issue 4, part of The Cochrane Library, www.thecochranelibrary.com (accessed 9 December 2011), which includes the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1948 to November week 3, 2011) and EMBASE (1974 to December 2011). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of oxygen therapy for adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and nosocomial (hospital-acquired) pneumonia (HAP or NP) in intensive care units (ICU). DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently reviewed abstracts and assessed data for methodological quality. MAIN RESULTS: Three RCTs met our inclusion criteria. The studies enrolled 151 participants with CAP or immunosuppressed patients with pulmonary infiltrates. Overall, we found that non-invasive ventilation can reduce the risk of death in the ICU, odd ratio (OR) 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09 to 0.88; endotracheal intubation, OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.61; complications, OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.70; and shorten ICU length of stay, mean duration (MD) -3.28, 95% CI -5.41 to -1.61.Non-invasive ventilation and standard oxygen supplementation via a Venturi mask were similar when measuring mortality in hospital, OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.11 to 2.68; two-month survival, OR 1.67, 95% CI 0.53 to 5.28; duration of hospital stay, MD -1.00, 95% CI -2.05 to 0.05; and duration of mechanical ventilation, standard MD -0.26, 95% CI -0.66 to 0.14. Some outcomes and complications of non-invasive ventilation were varied according to different participant populations. We also found that some subgroups had a high level of heterogeneity when conducting pooled analyses. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Non-invasive ventilation can reduce the risk of death in the ICU, endotracheal intubation, shorten ICU stay and length of intubation. Some outcomes and complications of non-invasive ventilation were varied according to different participant populations. Other than the oxygen therapy, we must mention the importance of standard treatment by physicians. The evidence is weak and we did not include participants with pulmonary tuberculosis and cystic fibrosis. More RCTs are required to answer these clinical questions. However, the review indicates that non-invasive ventilation may be more beneficial than standard oxygen supplementation via a Venturi mask for pneumonia.

Rheum officinale (a traditional Chinese medicine) for chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major public health issue worldwide. Standard therapies to delay CKD progression include dietary protein restriction and administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) to help control blood pressure and confer additional renoprotective effects. Despite such interventions, CKD incidence and mortality rates continue to increase. Rheum officinale (Da Huang) a medicinal herb used widely in China to treat CKD has been reported to offer a range of pharmacological properties that may delay disease progression. OBJECTIVES: To assess the benefits and harms of Rheum officinale for preventing the progression of CKD. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Renal Group's Specialised Register and CENTRAL (Issue 4, 2011), MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Chinese Biomedicine Database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP (Chongqing VIP Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database), and Wanfang Data. We also handsearched reference lists of articles. We applied no restrictions on language of publication. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs that assessed the benefits and harms of Rheum officinale for preventing the progression of CKD regardless of dosage, type, maturity, mode of administration, duration of treatment, or storage time before use. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts for eligibility, assessed study quality, and extracted data. We expressed results for dichotomous outcomes (need for renal replacement therapy, all-cause mortality, quality of life) as risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Continuous outcomes (glomerular filtration rate (GFR), serum creatinine (SCr), creatinine clearance (CrCl), blood urea nitrogen (BUN)) were expressed as mean differences (MD) with 95% CIs. MAIN RESULTS: We identified nine studies that enrolled 682 participants. None of the studies reported blinding or group allocation methods. Seven studies were judged to be at low risk of incomplete outcome reporting; three studies were judged to be a low risk of selective reporting (protocols were available and/or all outcomes relevant to the this review were reported); and two studies were judged free of other potential biases.Seven studies compared Rheum officinale with no treatment and two made comparisons with captopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi). Compared with no treatment, Rheum officinale had a positive effect on SCr (MD -87.49 µmol/L, 95% CI -139.25 to -35.72) and BUN (MD -10.61 mmol/L, 95% CI -19.45 to -2.21). Compared with captopril, a statistically significant difference was not demonstrated in relation to Rheum officinale for any outcome (BUN, CrCl, or patients' capacity to undertake work). No data were available on all-cause mortality or cost of treatment. Only minor adverse events were reported in association with Rheum officinale. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Currently available evidence concerning the efficacy of Rheum officinale to improve SCr and BUN levels in patients with CKD is both scant and low quality. Although Rheum officinale does not appear to be associated with serious adverse events among patients with CKD, there is no current evidence to support any recommendation for its use.

Highly Conducting and Stretchable Double-Network Hydrogel for Soft Bioelectronics.

Conducting polymer hydrogels are promising materials in soft bioelectronics because of their tissue-like mechanical properties and the capability of electrical interaction with tissues. However, it is challenging to balance electrical conductivity and mechanical stretchability: pure conducting polymer hydrogels are highly conductive, but they are brittle; while incorporating the conducting network with a soft network to form a double network can improve the stretchability, its electrical conductivity significantly decreases. Here, the problem is addressed by concentrating a poorly crosslinked precursor hydrogel with a high content ratio of the conducting polymer to achieve a densified double-network hydrogel (5.5 wt% conducting polymer), exhibiting both high electrical conductivity (≈10 S cm-1 ) and a large fracture strain (≈150%), in addition to high biocompatibility, tissue-like softness, low swelling ratio, and desired electrochemical properties for bioelectronics. A surface grafting method is further used to form an adhesive layer on the conducting hydrogel, enabling robust and rapid bonding on the tissues. Furthermore, the proposed hydrogel is applied to show high-quality physiological signal recording and reliable, low-voltage electrical stimulation based on an in vivo rat model. This method provides an ideal strategy for rapid and reliable tissue-device integration with high-quality electrical communications.