Biocompatible Electronic Skins for Cardiovascular Health Monitoring.

Cardiovascular diseases represent a significant threat to the overall well-being of the global population. Continuous monitoring of vital signs related to cardiovascular health is essential for improving daily health management. Currently, there has been remarkable proliferation of technology focused on collecting data related to cardiovascular diseases through daily electronic skin monitoring. However, concerns have arisen regarding potential skin irritation and inflammation due to the necessity for prolonged wear of wearable devices. To ensure comfortable and uninterrupted cardiovascular health monitoring, the concept of biocompatible electronic skin has gained substantial attention. In this review, biocompatible electronic skins for cardiovascular health monitoring are comprehensively summarized and discussed. The recent achievements of biocompatible electronic skin in cardiovascular health monitoring are introduced. Their working principles, fabrication processes, and performances in sensing technologies, materials, and integration systems are highlighted, and comparisons are made with other electronic skins used for cardiovascular monitoring. In addition, the significance of integrating sensing systems and the updating wireless communication for the development of the smart medical field is explored. Finally, the opportunities and challenges for wearable electronic skin are also examined.

Choanal Polyps With Osseous Metaplasia From the Nasal Septum: A Case Report and the Literature Review.

Choanal polyps belong to a special type of nasal polyps, which are quite uncommon if originating from the nasal septum, especially those with osseous metaplasia. In this article, we report the case of a 63-year-old male patient with persistent nasal obstruction on the right side. An irregular light yellow lobulated mass with smooth surface could be visualized in the nasal cavity through nasal endoscopy, arising from the right nasal septum and extending to the nasopharynx. Computed tomography scan showed a large soft tissue shadow of the nasal meatus, with ossified structure in the center. Histopathological biopsy revealed nasopharyngeal mucositis. The patient underwent functional endoscopic sinus surgery and the polypoidal mass sent for histopathological examination proved to be choanal polyps.

Machine Learning-Aided Design of Gold Core-Shell Nanocatalysts toward Enhanced and Selective Photooxygenation.

We demonstrate the use of the machine learning (ML) tools to rapidly and accurately predict the electric field as a guide for designing core-shell Au-silica nanoparticles to enhance 1O2 sensitization and selectivity of organic synthesis. Based on the feature importance analysis, obtained from a deep neural network algorithm, we found a general and linear dependent descriptor (θ ∝ aD0.25t-1, where a, D, and t are the shape constant, size of metal nanoparticles, and distance from the metal surface) for the electric field around the core-shell plasmonic nanoparticle. Directed by the new descriptor, we synthesized gold-silica nanoparticles and validated their plasmonic intensity using scanning transmission electron microscopy-electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS) mapping. The nanoparticles with θ = 0.40 demonstrate an ∼3-fold increase in the reaction rate of photooxygenation of anthracene and 4% increase in the selectivity of photooxygenation of dihydroartemisinic acid (DHAA), a long-standing goal in organic synthesis. In addition, the combination of ML and experimental investigations shows the synergetic effect of plasmonic enhancement and fluorescence quenching, leading to enhancement for 1O2 generation. Our results from time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations suggest that the presence of an electric field can favor intersystem crossing (ISC) of methylene blue to enhance 1O2 generation. The strategy reported here provides a data-driven catalyst preparation method that can significantly reduce experimental cost while paving the way for designing photocatalysts for organic drug synthesis.

Conductive Hydrogel Conduits with Growth Factor Gradients for Peripheral Nerve Repair in Diabetics with Non-Suture Tape.

Diabetic patients suffer from peripheral nerve injury with slow and incomplete regeneration owing to hyperglycemia and microvascular complications. This study develops a graphene-based nerve guidance conduit by incorporating natural double network hydrogel and a neurotrophic concentration gradient with non-invasive treatment for diabetics. GelMA/silk fibroin double network hydrogel plays quadruple roles for rapid setting/curing, suitable mechanical supporting, good biocompatibility, and sustainable growth factor delivery. Meanwhile, graphene mesh can improve the toughness of conduit and enhance conductivity of conduit for regeneration. Here, novel silk tapes show quick and tough adhesion of wet tissue by dual mechanism to replace suture step. The in vivo results demonstrate that gradient concentration of netrin-1 in conduit have better performance than uniform concentration caused by chemotaxis phenomenon for axon extension, remyelination, and angiogenesis. Altogether, GelMA/silk graphene conduit with gradient netrin-1 and dry double-sided adhesive tape can significantly promote repairing of peripheral nerve injury and inhibit the atrophy of muscles for diabetics.

Identification of Molecular Subtypes in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Based on Dysregulated Immune LncRNAs.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) perform indispensable functions in cancer pathologies and are involved in the onset and progression of multiple cancers. Multiple platforms were performed to comprehensively analyze the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) for determining molecular subtypes. Molecular subtypes were clustered and analyzed by the "ConsensusClusterPlus" R package. The Limma software was utilized to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional enrichment analyses, including Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Gene Ontology (GO), were performed on the three database resources. Seventeen lncRNAs were determined as HNSCC-specific immune lncRNAs that were dysregulated. Our research identified and redefined two distinct molecular subtypes, C1 (230 samples) and C2 (269 samples). Moreover, the C1 subtype had a higher survival rate than the C2 subtype in HNSCC samples, as well as a prolonged median survival duration with activated immune response. 1531 DEGs, including 529 upmodulated genes and 1002 downmodulated genes, were identified in the above two subtypes. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that upmodulated genes in C2 were associated with tumorigenesis and development, while downregulated genes in C2 were associated with immune response. By comparing with the existing immunophenotyping group, it found that C1 had more overlaps with the existing Atypical and Basal, and C2 and Classical and Mesenchymal had a high degree of coincidence. On the basis of lncRNA, there were significant differences in the aspect of prognostic and immunological characteristics in the two identified molecular subtypes of HNSCC.

Aqueous Protein-Polymer Bioconjugation via Photoinduced RAFT Polymerization Using High Loading Heterogeneous Catalyst.

Light-driven polymerization, such as photoinduced electron/energy transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization, enables biological benign conditions and versatile functional polymer structure design, which is readily used in protein-polymer bioconjugates. However, conventional metalloporphyrinic homogeneous catalysts for PET-RAFT polymerization suffer from limited aqueous solubility and tedious purification. Here we demonstrate the design of PET-RAFT photocatalyst from the reticular assembled Zr-porphyrinic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), along with a biomacromolecule-based chain transfer agent, as efficient bioconjugation tools in water. Our methodology offers manufacturing advantages on bioconjugates under mild conditions such that MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) and cytotoxicity assays have shown the preservation of the protein integrity, bioactivity, and high cell viability after PET-RAFT polymerization. We find that the fast kinetics are benefiting from the ultrahigh loading of metalloporphyrins in MOF-525-Zn. This heterogeneous catalyst also allows us to maintain living characteristics to incorporate myriads of monomers into block copolymers. Other advantages like easy postreaction purification, reusability, and high oxygen tolerance even in an open system are demonstrated. This study provides a tool of highly efficient heterogeneous photocatalysts for polymer-protein bioconjugation in aqueous media and paves the road for biological applications.

RASSF10 regulates bone invasion of growth hormone-secreting adenomas via exosomes.

BACKGROUND: Invasion of pituitary growth hormone-secreting adenoma into surrounding tissues poses a challenge for complete resection in surgery, which is the main reason for recurrence of this type of cancer. Studies have shown that abnormal methylation of RASSF10 can promote the expression of MDM2 and regulate the tumor microenvironment by affecting the secretion of exosomes. In the present study, we aim to uncover the specific underlying mechanism of this effect. METHOD: Transwell co-culture assays was performed using GT1.1 cells or exosomes and RAW264.7 cells. RAW264.7 cells were collected for invasion, proliferation and apoptosis assays, RT-qPCR and western blotting. RNA-seq was performed and used to assess the potential molecular pathways of the effect of GT1.1 cell-exosomes on RAW264.7 cells. RESULTS: GT1.1 cells with reduced RASSF10 expression could promote the proliferation and migration of RAW264.7 cells, and promote their expression of osteoclast markers TRAP and CK. The effect of GT1.1 cell exosomes on the RAW264.7-cell phenotype was shown to be achieved through the RASSF10-MDM2 pathway. RNA-seq allowed the identification of PI3K-AKT, MAPK, and calcium signaling as important in this regulation system of RASSF10-MDM2. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that GT1.1 cells activate PI3K-AKT, MAPK and calcium signaling via the RASSF10-MDM2 pathway, and promote the differentiation of RAW264.7 cells into osteoclasts through exosomes. This study may provide new ideas to aid in early diagnosis, prognostic assessment and treatment of aggressive pituitary adenomas.