Enhanced Spin-Orbit Torque Efficiency in Platinum-Gadolinium Oxide Nanocomposite Films.

Spin-orbit torque (SOT) has emerged as an effective means of manipulating magnetization. However, the current energy efficiency of SOT operation is inefficient due to low damping-like SOT efficiency per unit current bias. In this work, we dope conventional rare earth oxides, GdOy, into highly conductive platinum by magnetron sputtering to form a new group of spin Hall materials. A large damping-like spin-orbit torque (DL-SOT) efficiency of about 0.35 ± 0.013 is obtained in Pt0.70(GdOy)0.30 measured by the spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance (ST-FMR) technique, which is about five times that of pure Pt under the same conditions. The substantial enhancement of the spin Hall effect is revealed by theoretical analysis to be attributed to the strong side jump induced by the rare earth oxide GdOy impurities. Moreover, this large DL-SOT efficiency contributes to a low critical switching current density (8.0 × 106 A·cm-2 in the Pt0.70(GdOy)0.30 layer) in current-induced magnetization switching measurements. This systematic study on SOT switching properties suggests that Pt1-x(GdOy)x is an attractive spin current source with large DL-SOT efficiency for future SOT applications and provides another idea to regulate the spin Hall angle.

Low-Cost Photoelectric Flow Rate Sensors Based on a Flexible Planar Curved Beam Structure for Clinical Treatments.

In clinical treatments, reliable flow rate measurements ensure accurate drug delivery during infusions, precise gas delivery during artificial ventilations, etc., thereby reducing patient morbidity and mortality. However, precise flow rate sensors are costly, so medical devices with limited budgets choose cheaper but unsatisfactory flow rate measurement approaches, leading to increased medical risks. Here, a photoelectric flow rate sensor based on a flexible planar curved beam structure (FPCBS) is proposed. The FPCBS ensures low out-of-plane stiffness of the sensitive sheet and allows large deformation in the elastic range, enabling the flow rate sensor to measure the flow rate with high sensitivity over a wide range. Meanwhile, the flow rate sensor can be mass-produced using mature materials and manufacturing technology at less than $5 each. The flow rate sensors are integrated into a commercial infusion pump to measure drug infusion and a home ventilator to monitor respiration. The results are comparable to those measured by a commercial flow rate sensor, demonstrating the applicability of the sensor. Considering its proven outstanding performance at low cost, the flow rate sensor shows great potential in clinical treatment, medical diagnosis, and other medical fields.

Extracellular vesicle dynamics in COPD: understanding the role of miR-422a, SPP1 and IL-17 A in smoking-related pathology.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) induced by smoking poses a significant global health challenge. Recent findings highlight the crucial role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in mediating miRNA regulatory networks across various diseases. This study utilizes the GEO database to uncover distinct expression patterns of miRNAs and mRNAs, offering a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of smoking-induced COPD. This study aims to investigate the mechanisms by which extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate the molecular network of miR-422a-SPP1 to delay the onset of COPD caused by smoking. METHODS: The smoking-related miRNA chip GSE38974-GPL7723 was obtained from the GEO database, and candidate miRs were retrieved from the Vesiclepedia database. Downstream target genes of the candidate miRs were predicted using mRNA chip GSE38974-GPL4133, TargetScan, miRWalk, and RNA22 databases. This prediction was integrated with COPD-related genes from the GeneCards database, downstream target genes predicted by online databases, and key genes identified in the core module of WGCNA analysis to obtain candidate genes. The candidate genes were subjected to KEGG functional enrichment analysis using the "clusterProfiler" package in R language, and a protein interaction network was constructed. In vitro experiments involved overexpressing miRNA or extracting extracellular vesicles from bronchial epithelial cell-derived exosomes, co-culturing them with myofibroblasts to observe changes in the expression levels of the miR-422a-SPP1-IL-17 A regulatory network, and assessing protein levels of fibroblast differentiation-related factors α-SMA and collagen I using Western blot analysis. RESULTS: The differential gene analysis of chip GSE38974-GPL7723 and the retrieval results from the Vesiclepedia database identified candidate miRs, specifically miR-422a. Subsequently, an intersection was taken among the prediction results from TargetScan, miRWalk, and RNA22 databases, the COPD-related gene retrieval results from GeneCards database, the WGCNA analysis results of chip GSE38974-GPL4133, and the differential gene analysis results. This intersection, combined with KEGG functional enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction analysis, led to the final screening of the target gene SPP1 and its upstream regulatory gene miR-422a. KEGG functional enrichment analysis of mRNAs correlated with SPP1 revealed the IL-17 signaling pathway involved. In vitro experiments demonstrated that miR-422a inhibition targets suppressed the expression of SPP1 in myofibroblasts, inhibiting differentiation phenotype. Bronchial epithelial cells, under cigarette smoke extract (CSE) stress, could compensate for myofibroblast differentiation phenotype by altering the content of miR-422a in their Extracellular Vesicles (EVs). CONCLUSION: The differential gene analysis of Chip GSE38974-GPL7723 and the retrieval results from the Vesiclepedia database identified candidate miRs, specifically miR-422a. Further analysis involved the intersection of predictions from TargetScan, miRWalk, and RNA22 databases, gene search on COPD-related genes from the GeneCards database, WGCNA analysis from Chip GSE38974-GPL4133, and differential gene analysis, combined with KEGG functional enrichment analysis and protein interaction analysis. Ultimately, the target gene SPP1 and its upstream regulatory gene miR-422a were selected. KEGG functional enrichment analysis on mRNAs correlated with SPP1 revealed the involvement of the IL-17 signaling pathway. In vitro experiments showed that miR-422a targeted inhibition suppressed the expression of SPP1 in myofibroblast cells, inhibiting differentiation phenotype. Furthermore, bronchial epithelial cells could compensate for myofibroblast differentiation phenotype under cigarette smoke extract (CSE) stress by altering the miR-422a content in their extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Carbon dots induce pathological damage to the intestine via causing intestinal flora dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation.

BACKGROUND: Carbon dots (CDs), as excellent antibacterial nanomaterials, have gained great attention in treating infection-induced diseases such as periodontitis and stomatitis. Given the eventual exposure of CDs to the intestine, elucidating the effect of CDs on intestinal health is required for the safety evaluation of CDs. RESULTS: Herein, CDs extracted from ε-poly-L-lysine (PL) were chosen to explore the modulation effect of CDs on probiotic behavior in vitro and intestinal remodeling in vivo. Results verify that PL-CDs negatively regulate Lactobacillus rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus) growth via increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and reducing the antioxidant activity, which subsequently destroys membrane permeability and integrity. PL-CDs are also inclined to inhibit cell viability and accelerate cell apoptosis. In vivo, the gavage of PL-CDs is verified to induce inflammatory infiltration and barrier damage in mice. Moreover, PL-CDs are found to increase the Firmicutes to Bacteroidota (F/B) ratio and the relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae while decreasing that of Muribaculaceae. CONCLUSION: Overall, these evidences indicate that PL-CDs may inevitably result in intestinal flora dysbiosis via inhibiting probiotic growth and simultaneously activating intestinal inflammation, thus causing pathological damage to the intestine, which provides an effective and insightful reference for the potential risk of CDs from the perspective of intestinal remodeling.

Development of ε-poly(L-lysine) carbon dots-modified magnetic nanoparticles and their applications as novel antibacterial agents.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are widely applied in antibacterial therapy owing to their distinct nanoscale structure, intrinsic peroxidase-like activities, and magnetic behavior. However, some deficiencies, such as the tendency to aggregate in water, unsatisfactory biocompatibility, and limited antibacterial effect, hindered their further clinical applications. Surface modification of MNPs is one of the main strategies to improve their (bio)physicochemical properties and enhance biological functions. Herein, antibacterial ε-poly (L-lysine) carbon dots (PL-CDs) modified MNPs (CMNPs) were synthesized to investigate their performance in eliminating pathogenic bacteria. It was found that the PL-CDs were successfully loaded on the surface of MNPs by detecting their morphology, surface charges, functional groups, and other physicochemical properties. The positively charged CMNPs show superparamagnetic properties and are well dispersed in water. Furthermore, bacterial experiments indicate that the CMNPs exhibited highly effective antimicrobial properties against Staphylococcus aureus. Notably, the in vitro cellular assays show that CMNPs have favorable cytocompatibility. Thus, CMNPs acting as novel smart nanomaterials could offer great potential for the clinical treatment of bacterial infections.

Engineering white blood cell membrane-camouflaged nanocarriers for inflammation-related therapeutics.

White blood cells (WBCs) play essential roles against inflammatory disorders, bacterial infections, and cancers. Inspired by nature, WBC membrane-camouflaged nanocarriers (WBC-NCs) have been developed to mimic the "dynamic" functions of WBCs, such as transendothelial migration, adhesion to injured blood vessels, etc, which make them promising for diverse medical applications. WBC-NCs inherit the cell membrane antigens of WBCs, while still exhibiting the robust inflammation-related therapeutic potential of synthetic nanocarriers with excellent (bio)physicochemical performance. This review summarizes the proposed concept of cell membrane engineering, which utilizes physical engineering, chemical modification, and biological functionalization technologies to endow the natural cell membrane with abundant functionalities. In addition, it highlights the recent progress and applications of WBC-NCs for inflammation targeting, biological neutralization, and immune modulation. Finally, the challenges and opportunities in realizing the full potential of WBC-NCs for the manipulation of inflammation-related therapeutics are discussed.

A Review on the Application of Cobalt-Based Nanomaterials in Supercapacitors.

Among many electrode materials, cobalt-based nanomaterials are widely used in supercapacitors because of their high natural abundance, good electrical conductivity, and high specific capacitance. However, there are still some difficulties to overcome, including poor structural stability and low power density. This paper summarizes the research progress of cobalt-based nanomaterials (cobalt oxide, cobalt hydroxide, cobalt-containing ternary metal oxides, etc.) as electrode materials for supercapacitors in recent years and discusses the preparation methods and properties of the materials. Notably, the focus of this paper is on the strategies to improve the electrochemical properties of these materials. We show that the performance of cobalt-based nanomaterials can be improved by designing their morphologies and, among the many morphologies, the mesoporous structure plays a major role. This is because mesoporous structures can mitigate volume changes and improve the performance of pseudo capacitance. This review is dedicated to the study of several cobalt-based nanomaterials in supercapacitors, and we hope that future scholars will make new breakthroughs in morphology design.

A Review of Cobalt-Containing Nanomaterials, Carbon Nanomaterials and Their Composites in Preparation Methods and Application.

With the increasing demand for sustainable and green energy, electric energy storage technologies have received enough attention and extensive research. Among them, Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used because of their excellent performance, but in practical applications, the electrochemical performance of electrode materials is not satisfactory. Carbon-based materials with high chemical stability, strong conductivity, high specific surface area, and good capacity retention are traditional anode materials in electrochemical energy storage devices, while cobalt-based nano-materials have been widely used in LIBs anodes because of their high theoretical specific capacity. This paper gives a systematic summary of the state of research of cobalt-containing nanomaterials, carbon nanomaterials, and their composites in LIBs anodes. Moreover, the preparation methods of electrode materials and measures to improve electrochemical performance are also summarized. The electrochemical performance of anode materials can be significantly improved by compounding carbon nanomaterials with cobalt nanomaterials. Composite materials have better electrical conductivity, as well as higher cycle ability and reversibility than single materials, and the synergistic effect between them can explain this phenomenon. In addition, the electrochemical performance of materials can be significantly improved by adjusting the microstructure of materials (especially preparing them into porous structures). Among the different microscopic morphologies of materials, porous structure can provide more positions for chimerism of lithium ions, shorten the diffusion distance between electrons and ions, and thus promote the transfer of lithium ions and the diffusion of electrolytes.

Giant Extrinsic Spin Hall Effect in Platinum-Titanium Oxide Nanocomposite Films.

Although the spin Hall effect provides a pathway for efficient and fast current-induced manipulation of magnetization, application of spin-orbit torque magnetic random access memory with low power dissipation is still limited to spin Hall materials with low spin Hall angles or very high resistivities. This work reports a group of spin Hall materials, Pt1 -x (TiO2 )x nanocomposites, that combines a giant spin Hall effect with a low resistivity. The spin Hall angle of Pt1 -x (TiO2 )x in an yttrium iron garnet/Pt1 -x (TiO2 )x double-layer heterostructure is estimated from a combination of ferromagnetic resonance, spin pumping, and inverse spin Hall experiments. A giant spin Hall angle 1.607 ± 0.04 is obtained in a Pt0.94 (TiO2 )0.06 nanocomposite film, which is an increase by an order of magnitude compared with 0.051 ± 0.002 in pure Pt thin film under the same conditions. The great enhancement of spin Hall angle is attributed to strong side-jump induced by TiO2 impurities. These findings provide a new nanocomposite spin Hall material combining a giant spin Hall angle, low resistivity and excellent process compatibility with semiconductors for developing highly efficiency current-induced magnetization switching memory devices and logic devices.

Instantaneous Property Prediction and Inverse Design of Plasmonic Nanostructures Using Machine Learning: Current Applications and Future Directions.

Advances in plasmonic materials and devices have given rise to a variety of applications in photocatalysis, microscopy, nanophotonics, and metastructures. With the advent of computing power and artificial neural networks, the characterization and design process of plasmonic nanostructures can be significantly accelerated using machine learning as opposed to conventional FDTD simulations. The machine learning (ML) based methods can not only perform with high accuracy and return optical spectra and optimal design parameters, but also maintain a stable high computing efficiency without being affected by the structural complexity. This work reviews the prominent ML methods involved in forward simulation and inverse design of plasmonic nanomaterials, such as Convolutional Neural Networks, Generative Adversarial Networks, Genetic Algorithms and Encoder-Decoder Networks. Moreover, we acknowledge the current limitations of ML methods in the context of plasmonics and provide perspectives on future research directions.

Enhanced Eradication of Bacterial/Fungi Biofilms by Glucose Oxidase-Modified Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Potential Treatment for Persistent Endodontic Infections.

Bacterial/fungal biofilm-mediated persistent endodontic infections (PEIs) are one of the most frequent clinical lesions in the oral cavity, resulting in apical periodontitis and tooth damage caused by loss of minerals. The conventional root canal disinfectants are poorly bio-safe and harmful to teeth and tissues, making them ineffective in treating PEIs. The development of nanomaterials is emerging as a promising strategy to eradicate disease-related bacteria/fungi. Herein, glucose oxidase (GOx)-modified magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were synthesized via a facile and versatile route for investigating their effects on removing PEI-related bacterial/fungal biofilms. It is found that GOx was successfully immobilized on the MNPs by detecting the changes in the diameter, chemical functional group, charge, and magnetic response. Further, we demonstrate that GOx-modified MNPs (GMNPs) exhibit highly effective antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. Moreover, the antibacterial/fungal activity of GMNPs is greatly dependent on their concentrations. Importantly, when placed in contact with bacterial/fungal biofilms, the dense biofilm matrix is destructed due to the movement of GMNPs induced by the magnetic field, the formation of reactive oxygen species, and nutrient starvation induced by GOx. Also, the in vitro experiment shows that the as-prepared GMNPs have excellent cytocompatibility and blood compatibility. Thus, GMNPs offer a novel strategy to treat bacteria/fungi-associated PEIs for potential clinical applications.

Effects of electrical stimulation on skin surface.

Abstract: Skin is the largest organ in the body, and directly contact with the external environment. Articles on the role of micro-current and skin have emerged in recent years. The function of micro-current is various, including introducing various drugs into the skin locally or throughout the body, stimulating skin wounds healing through various currents, suppressing pain caused by various diseases, and promoting blood circulation for postoperative muscle rehabilitation, etc. This article reviews these efforts. Compared with various physical and chemical medical therapies, micro-current stimulation provides a relatively safe, non-invasive therapy with few side effects, giving modern medicine a more suitable treatment option. At the same time, the cost of the electrical stimulation generating device is relatively low, which makes it have wider space to and more clinical application value. The current micro-current stimulation technology has become more and more mature, but there are still many problems in its research. The design of the experiment and the selection of the current parameters not standardized and rigorous. Now, clear regulations are needed to regulate this field. Micro-current skin therapy has become a robust, reliable, and well-structured system.

Expression Profiles of CircRNA and mRNA in Lacrimal Glands of AQP5-/- Mice With Primary Dry Eye.

Purpose: This work aimed to identify differentially expressed circular RNAs (circRNAs) and elucidate their potential function in aquaporin 5 (AQP5) knockout (AQP5-/-) mice with the primary dry eye phenotype. Methods: A slit lamp examination was performed on AQP5-/- mice to assess corneal epithelial defects using fluorescein sodium staining. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy analysis were performed to identify structural changes in lacrimal gland epithelial cells due to AQP5 deficiency. The expression profiles of circRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) were determined by a microarray analysis. The selected circRNA was verified by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed to predict the biological functions and the potential pathways of parental genes involved in lacrimal gland epithelial cell changes. According to the bioinformatics analysis of identified circRNAs, we predicted a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network of phagosomes. Results: The AQP5-/- mice spontaneously exhibit dry eye symptoms, wherein the AQP5 deficiency changes the structure of lacrimal gland epithelial cells. The analysis revealed that, compared to AQP5+/+ mice, 30 circRNAs in the lacrimal glands of AQP5-/- mice were differentially expressed (fold change ≥ 2.0, p < 0.05). Nine upregulated circRNAs were identified using qRT-PCR, and nine upregulated validated circRNAs, 40 altered microRNAs (miRNAs), and nine upregulated mRNAs were identified through a network analysis. The KEGG analysis showed that these nine target genes were expressed in phagosomes. Conclusion: The AQP5-/- mice have primary and stable dry eye phenotypes from birth. We identified differently expressed circRNAs in the lacrimal glands of AQP5-/- and AQP5+/+ mice, predicting a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network of phagosomes. CircRNA likely plays an important role in lacrimal gland epithelial cell pathogenesis. Therefore, it is reasonable to use circRNA as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of dry eyes.