A stimuli-responsive hydrogel for reversible information storage, encryption and decryption.

Smart hydrogel materials, known for their sensitivity to external stimuli, exhibit a reversible dynamic response and find applications in diverse fields, particularly in information storage. Despite significant efforts in this domain, developing a hydrogel with high-resolution, repeatable recording, and robust information encryption/decryption capabilities still remains a challenge. In this study, we synthesized a polymer hydrogel, namely polyvinyl alcohol-n-isopropylacrylamide-octadecyl polyoxyethylene ether acrylate hydrogel (PPNS), which features multiple hydrogen bonds through copolymerization, by using N-isopropylacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, and octadecyl polyoxyethylene ether acrylate (SGA15) as raw materials. The PPNS hydrogel demonstrated outstanding high-resolution, repeatable recording capabilities, enabling reversible recording, encryption, and decryption of information using anhydrous ethanol as the inducer. Varying the SGA15 monomer concentration revealed that the PPNS-2% hydrogel, prepared with 2% SGA15, outperformed the other hydrogels in terms of information recording and encryption/decryption when immersed in anhydrous ethanol and deionized water. Furthermore, the PPNS-2% hydrogel exhibited the ability to undergo multiple information cycles while maintaining excellent mechanical properties even after 25 cycles. Notably, ethanol served as a specialized ink for inscribing different patterns on the hydrogel surface for information recording. The recorded information could be erased through water wiping or ethanol volatilization, enabling reversible information recording, encryption, and decryption. Due to their responsive and dynamic nature of PPNS hydrogels are positions them as promising candidates for use as innovative information storage platforms.

Efficacy and safety of anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objectives: The current study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) among patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) through meta-analysis. Methods: As of June 2023, we searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and the Cochrane Library. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which compared the clinical outcomes of anti-CD38 mAbs plus immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) or proteasome inhibitors (PIs) plus dexamethasone and IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone alone for RRMM patients were included. Efficacy outcomes were mainly evaluated with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The safety was analyzed with hematologic and nonhematologic treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). All results were pooled using hazard ratio (HR), relative risk (RR), and their 95% confidence interval (CI) and prediction interval (PI). Results: This meta-analysis included 11 RCTs in total. Compared with IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone alone, anti-CD38 mAbs in combination with IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone significantly prolonged PFS (HR: 0.552, 95% CI = 0.461 to 0.659, 95% PI = 0.318 to 0.957) and OS (HR: 0.737, 95% CI = 0.657 to 0.827, 95% PI = 0.626 to 0.868) in patients with RRMM. Additionally, RRMM patients receiving anti-CD38 mAbs in combination with IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone achieved higher rates of overall response (RR: 1.281, 95% CI = 1.144 to 1.434, 95% PI = 0.883 to 1.859), complete response or better (RR: 2.602, 95% CI = 1.977 to 3.424, 95% PI = 1.203 to 5.628), very good partial response (VGPR) or better (RR: 1.886, 95% CI = 1.532 to 2.322, 95% PI = 0.953 to 3.731), and minimum residual disease (MRD)-negative (RR: 4.147, 95% CI = 2.588 to 6.644, 95% PI = 1.056 to 16.283) than those receiving IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone alone. For TEAEs, the rates of hematologic and nonhematologic TEAEs, including thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), pneumonia, bronchitis, dyspnea, diarrhea, pyrexia, back pain, arthralgia, fatigue, insomnia, and hypertension, were higher in the anti-CD38 mAbs in combination with IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone group than in the IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone group. Conclusion: Our study showed that anti-CD38 mAbs in combination with IMiDs (or PIs) and dexamethasone improved PFS and OS, and achieved higher rates of overall response, complete response or better, VGPR or better, and MRD-negative, as well as higher rates of thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, URTI, pneumonia, bronchitis, dyspnea, diarrhea, pyrexia, back pain, arthralgia, fatigue, insomnia, and hypertension in RRMM patients. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023431071.

Humidity-Resistant, Conductive Fabric-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Efficient Energy Harvesting and Human-Machine Interaction Sensing.

With the rapid development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), the exploration of self-powered, flexible, and wearable electronic devices has attracted widespread attention. However, the choice of tribomaterials and high humidity environment have a significant impact on the triboelectricity of TENG. Therefore, we prepared a composite fabric (HPC) with superhydrophobic and conductive properties, which was used simultaneously as a tribopositive material and electrode for the construction of promising wearable TENGs. Specifically, the loading of polydopamine, carbon nanotubes, and polypyrrole on the surface of the cotton fabric makes it have not only conductivity but also enhanced tribopositive polarity. Then, cetyltrimethoxysilane was selected to modify it to obtain superhydrophobicity. Compared with the common TENGs with a separate tribolayer and electrode, the integrated HPC-TENG shows the advantages of simpler structure and lighter wear. Moreover, compared with the unmodified fabric-based TENG, the performance of the proposed HPC-TENG is improved by nearly 7.2 times, and the maximum power density can reach 2.6 W m-2. This remarkable output can be attributed to the combination of strong electron-giving groups, high electrical conductivity, and abundant micro- and nanorough structure of the HPC fabric. More importantly, due to the water repellency of the fabric surface, the high output performance can be maintained under high humidity conditions. In addition, HPC-TENG has potential applications as pressure sensors for human motion status monitoring and multichannel sensing for smart game blanket entertainment. The newly designed HPC-TENG offers a new strategy for the development of superhydrophobic fabrics with an electrical conductivity, energy harvesting, and self-powered sensor.

Multi-Functional Janus Hollow Solar Evaporator Based on Copper Foam for Non-Contact High-Efficiency Solar Interfacial Distillation.

As a sustainable, clean, and friendly technology with a minimal carbon footprint when treating seawater or wastewater, interfacial solar vapor generation (ISVG) technology is a great alternative to traditional desalination and water purification methods (e.g., reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration). So far, it presents tremendous potential for applications in realizing desalination of seawater or brine, wastewater treatment, and so forth. However, the precipitated salt particles during conventional ISVG inevitably block the evaporator surface, resulting in the degradation of photothermal conversion and decrease of evaporation rate. Herein, a multi-functional non-contact Janus hollow evaporator based on copper foam was prepared, which was assembled by a hydrophobic light-to-heat conversion layer and a hydrophilic interfacial water evaporation layer as two separate parts. Accordingly, the precipitated salt in the ISVG system does not block the photothermal interface, increasing the stability of solar capture and reusability of the evaporator. Notably, the hollow structure of the evaporator has a local interfacial heating effect, endowing the evaporation system with a high seawater evaporation rate of 2.249 kg m-2 h-1. The evaporator is capable of stable operation for 10 h under 1 sun illumination even when evaporating concentrated brine (15 wt %). Moreover, the evaporation rate of water under one sun irradiation reached 2.284 kg m-2 h-1 and the solar-to-vapor efficiency reached 96.6%. Not only that, the evaporator was able to successfully purify wastewater containing dyes and heavy metal ions. The multi-functional Janus hollow interfacial solar evaporator will provide inspiration for upcoming research on the production of safety water.

Impact of robotic and open surgery on patient wound complications in gastric cancer surgery: A meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis is intended to evaluate the effect of both robotic and open-cut operations on postoperative complications of stomach carcinoma. From the earliest date until June 2023, a full and systemic search has been carried out on four main databases with keywords extracted from 'Robot', 'Gastr' and 'Opene'. The ROBINS-I instrument has been applied to evaluate the risk of bias in nonrandomized controlled trials. In these 11 trials, a total of 16 095 patients had received surgical treatment for stomach cancer and all 11 trials were nonrandomized, controlled trials. Abdominal abscesses were reported in 5 trials, wound infections in 8 trials, haemorrhage in 7 trials, wound dehiscence in 2 trials and total postoperative complications in 4 trials. Meta-analyses revealed no statistically significantly different rates of postoperative abdominal abscesses among patients who had received robotic operations than in those who had received open surgical procedures (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.25, 3.36; p = 0.89). The incidence of bleeding after surgery was not significantly different from that in both groups (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.69, 2.75; p = 0.37). Similarly, there was no significant difference between the two groups (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.52, 1.18; p = 0.24). No significant difference was found between the two groups (OR, 1. 28; 95% CI, 0.75, 2.21; p = 0.36). No significant difference was found between the two groups of patients who had received the robotic operation and those who had received the surgery after the operation (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.78, 1.66; p = 0.49). Generally speaking, this meta-analysis suggests that the use of robotics does not result in a reduction in certain postsurgical complications, including wound infections and abdominal abscesses. Thus, the use of a microinvasive robot for stomach carcinoma operation might not be better than that performed on the surgical site after the operation. This is a valuable guide for the surgeon to select the operative method.

Vitrectomy vs. Spontaneous Closure for Traumatic Macular Hole: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the traumatic macular hole (TMH) closure rate and visual acuity (VA) improvement rate by comparing two treatment methods for TMH: vitrectomy and observation for spontaneous closure. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science Library, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and Sino Med were systematically searched from their inception to June 10, 2021. Studies in the surgery group (n = 32) and studies in the observation group (n = 12) were meta-analyzed. The primary outcomes were the TMH closure and VA improvement rates in the surgery and observation groups. The secondary outcomes were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improvement in the surgery group. Stata software (version 15.1) was used for the analyses. Results: Thirty-six studies that included 1,009 eyes were selected for this meta-analysis, among which 33 were retrospective studies and 3 were prospective studies. The meta-analysis showed that the random-model pooled event rate for TMH closure was 0.37 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.26-0.48) in the observation group, while it was 0.9 (95% CI, 0.85-0.94) in the surgery group. The fixed-model pooled event rate for VA improvement was 0.39 (95% CI, 0.33-0.45) in the observation group, while the random-model pooled event rate of VA improvement for the surgery group was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.63-0.80). The pooled event rate for BCVA improvement in the surgery group was 0.39 (95% CI, 0.33-0.46). Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggests that TMH hole closure and VA improvement rates in the surgery group were significantly higher than those in the observation group. Vitrectomy is an effective method for treating TMH. However, further randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are required to evaluate the efficacy and safety of surgery and observation for TMH treatment. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/#recordDetails, identifier: CRD42021276684.

Bcl-2 enhances neurogenesis and inhibits apoptosis of newborn neurons in adult rat brain following a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.

To determine whether Bcl-2 could influence adult neurogenesis and prevent apoptosis of newborn neurons, we injected Bcl-2 expressing plasmid into the lateral ventricle of rat brain immediately following a 30-min occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCAO). We found that Bcl-2 increased neural progenitor cells (BrdU+-DCX+) in the ipsilateral striatum, newborn immature neurons (BrdU+-Tuj-1+) and newborn mature neurons (BrdU+-MAP-2+) in the ipsilateral striatum and frontal cortex at 1 to 4 weeks following MCAO. Bcl-2 overexpression promoted development of newborn neurons into GABAergic and cholinergic neurons in the ipsilateral striatum. Moreover, Bcl-2 significantly decreased the apoptosis of newborn neurons, determined by double staining of Tuj-1 and activated caspase-3 (Tuj-1+-Casp+). These results indicate that overexpression of Bcl-2 in adult rat brain enhances neurogenesis and survival of newborn neurons. Increasing neurogenesis and preventing the death of newborn neuron may be a strategy to aid in the repair of adult brain after stroke.