A stretchable conductive elastomer sensor with self-healing and highly linear strain for human movement detection and pressure response.

Expanding the detection information of wearable smart devices in applications has practical implications for their use in daily life and healthcare. Damage and breakage caused by mechanical injuries and continuous use are unavoidable for polymer matrices so self-healing properties are expected to be conferred on flexible sensors to extend their life and durability. In addition, a good linearity of relative resistance change vs. strain (gauge factor, GF) facilitates the streamlined conversion of electrical signals to 3D information of human motion, whereas existing works on sensors neglect the quantitative analysis of signals. This letter reports a self-healable flexible electronic sensor based on hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction between maleic acid-grafted natural rubber (MNR), polyaniline (PANI), and phytic acid (PA). MNR is the flexible matrix and the template for aniline (ANI) polymerization, and PA acts as the dopant and crosslinking agent. The MNR-PANI-PA sensor shows easy self-healing at room temperature, enhanced mechanical behaviour (∼2.5 MPa, 1000% strain), and excellent linearity (GF of 13.8 over 250% strain and GF of 32.0 over 250-100% strain). Due to the highly linear relationship between ΔR/R and bending angle, the electrical signals of human limb movement can output relevant information on bending angle and frequency. By constructing a sensing array, changes in the position and magnitude of applied pressure could also be detected in real-time. Based on these advantages, the MNR-PANI-PA composite sensor is expected to have potential applications in health monitoring, body motion detection, and electronic skins.

Effects of Hibernation on Colonic Epithelial Tissue and Gut Microbiota in Wild Chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus).

The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in the host's metabolic processes. Many studies have shown significant changes in the gut microbiota of mammals during hibernation to adapt to the changes in the external environment, but there is limited research on the colonic epithelial tissue and gut microbiota of the wild chipmunks during hibernation. This study analyzed the diversity, composition, and function of the gut microbiota of the wild chipmunk during hibernation using 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing technology, and further conducted histological analysis of the colon. Histological analysis of the colon showed an increase in goblet cells in the hibernation group, which was an adaptive change to long-term fasting during hibernation. The dominant gut microbial phyla were Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria, and the relative abundance of them changed significantly. The analysis of gut microbiota structural differences indicated that the relative abundance of Helicobacter typhlonius and Mucispirillum schaedleri increased significantly, while unclassified Prevotella-9, unclassified Prevotellaceae-UCG-001, unclassified Prevotellaceae-UCG-003 and other species of Prevotella decreased significantly at the species level. Alpha diversity analysis showed that hibernation increased the diversity and richness of the gut microbiota. Beta diversity analysis revealed significant differences in gut microbiota diversity between the hibernation group and the control group. PICRUSt2 functional prediction analysis of the gut microbiota showed that 15 pathways, such as lipid metabolism, xenobiotics biodegradation and metabolism, amino acid metabolism, environmental adaptation, and neurodegenerative diseases, were significantly enriched in the hibernation group, while 12 pathways, including carbohydrate metabolism, replication and repair, translation, and transcription, were significantly enriched in the control group. It can be seen that during hibernation, the gut microbiota of the wild chipmunk changes towards taxa that are beneficial for reducing carbohydrate consumption, increasing fat consumption, and adapting more strongly to environmental changes in order to better provide energy for the body and ensure normal life activities during hibernation.

LARP1, an RNA-binding protein, participates in ovarian cancer cell survival by regulating mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in response to the influence of the PI3K/mTOR pathway.

Targeting the PI3K/mTOR pathway and modulating mitochondrial adaptation is expected to be a critical approach for cancer therapy. Although the regulation of mitochondria by the PI3K/mTOR pathway has been investigated, it is not well understood due to the complexity of its regulatory mechanisms. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) selectively regulate gene expression through post-transcriptional modulation, playing a key role in cancer progression. LARP1, a downstream RBP of the mTOR pathway, is involved in mitochondria-mediated BCL-2 cell survival. Therefore, exploring the involvement of LARP1 in PI3K/mTOR-mediated translational regulation of mitochondria-associated proteins in ovarian cancer cells could help elucidate the role of mitochondria in the PI3K/mTOR pathway. We found that, unlike SKOV3 cells, the mitochondrial function of A2780 cells was not affected, which were insensitive to the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor PKI-402, suggesting that cell survival may be related to mitochondrial function. Knockdown of the LARP1 gene after PKI-402 treatment resulted in impaired mitochondrial function in A2780 cells, possibly due to decreased mRNA stability and reduced protein translation of the mitochondrial transcription initiation factor, TFB2M, and the respiratory chain complex II subunit, SDHB. LARP1 affects protein translation by binding to TFB2M mRNA, regulating mitochondrial DNA-encoded genes, or indirectly regulating the nuclear DNA-encoded SDHB gene, ultimately interfering with mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and leading to apoptosis. Therefore, LARP1 may be an important mediator in the PI3K/mTOR pathway for regulating mRNA translation and mitochondrial function. Targeting RBPs such as LARP1 downstream of the mTOR pathway may provide new insights and potential therapeutic approaches for ovarian cancer treatment.

Towards low-temperature dendrite-free zinc anode by constructing functional MXene buffer layer with duplex zincophilic sites.

Dendrite growth and side reactions of zinc metal anode have severely limited the practical application of aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs). Herein, we introduce an artificial buffer layer composed of functional MXene (Ti3CN) for zinc anodes. The synthesized Ti3CN exhibits superior conductivity and features duplex zincophilic sites (N and F). These characteristics facilitate the homogeneous deposition of Zn2+, accelerate the desolvation process of hydrated Zn2+, and reduce the nucleation overpotential. The Ti3CN-protected Zn anode demonstrates significantly enhanced reversibility compared to bare Zn anode during long-term cycling, achieving a cumulative plating capacity of 10,000 mAh cm-2 at 10 mA cm-2. In Ti3CN-Zn||Cu asymmetric cell, it maintains nearly 100 % Coulombic efficiency over 2500 cycles at 2 mA cm-2. Furthermore, the assembled Ti3CN-Zn//δ-K0.51V2O5 (KVO) full cell exhibit a low capacity decay rate of 0.002 % per cycle at 5 A/g. Even at 0 °C, the Ti3CN-Zn symmetric cell maintains steady cycling for 2000 h. This study introduces a novel approach for designing artificial solid electrolyte interlayers for commercial AZIBs.