Biobased Inks Based on Cuttlefish Ink and Cellulose Nanofibers for Biodegradable Patterned Soft Actuators.

Soft actuators with stimuli-responsive and reversible deformations have shown great promise in soft robotics. However, some challenges remain in existing actuators, such as the materials involved derived from nonrenewable resources, complex and nonscalable preparation methods, and incapability of complex and programmable deformation. Here, a biobased ink based on cuttlefish ink nanoparticles (CINPs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) was developed, allowing for the preparation of biodegradable patterned actuators by direct ink writing technology. The hybrid CNF/CINP ink displays good rheological properties, allowing it to be accurately printed on a variety of flexible substrates. A bilayer actuator was developed by printing an ink layer on a biodegradable poly(lactic acid) film using extrusion-based 3D printing technology, which exhibits reversible and large bending behavior under the stimuli of humidity and light. Furthermore, programmable and reversible folding and coiling deformations in response to stimuli have been achieved by adjusting the ink patterns. This work offers a fast, scalable, and cost-effective strategy for the development of biodegradable patterned actuators with programmable shape-morphing.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with primary squamous cell carcinoma of the retromolar trigone: A SEER-based analysis.

BACKGROUND: Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the retromolar trigone (primary SCC RMT) is an uncommon malignant tumor. There is still much to learn about its clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. In order to better understand the clinicopathological features and predictive survival aspects of primary SCC RMT, this study examined data from the SEER database from 2000 to 2020. Furthermore, in order to forecast the overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with primary SCC RMT, we created nomograms. METHOD: The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database was used to retrieve the information on individuals with primary SCC RMT who received a diagnosis between 2000 and 2020. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using the Cox proportional risk regression model. Using R software, prognostic nomograms were created to forecast the OS and CSS likelihood. The nomograms' prediction abilities were evaluated using the consistency index (C-index), calibration curve, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULT: A total of 1717 patients with primary SCC RMT were included, they were randomly assigned to the primary and validation cohorts in a 7:3 ratio using R software. Multivariate Cox regression revealed that age, marital status, regional nodes positive, Summary stage, TNM stage, T stage, N stage, surgery were independent prognostic factors of OS, and age, marital status, regional nodes positive, tumor sizes, Summary stage, N stage, surgery were independent prognostic factors of CSS in the primary cohort. The C-index of the nomogram OS was 0.705 (95 % CI: 0.685-0.725) and the C-index of CSS was 0.734 (95 % CI:0.714-0.754) in the primary cohort. In validation cohort, the C-index of the nomogram OS and CSS were 0.730 (95 % CI: 0.710-0.750) and 0.723 (95 % CI: 0.684-0.762), respectively. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS and CSS rates in the primary cohort and validation cohort were approximately in line with the nomogram estimations, in accordance to the calibration curves. CONCLUSION: We conducted an analysis using the SEER database to investigate the features, survival outcomes, and prognostic parameters of patients with primary SCC RMT. And we developed two prognostic nomograms that can be used by clinicians to forecast the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival and cancer-specific survival of patients with primary SCC RMT.

Multistimuli-Responsive Actuators Derived from Natural Materials for Entirely Biodegradable and Programmable Untethered Soft Robots.

Untethered soft robots have attracted growing attention due to their safe interaction with living organisms, good flexibility, and accurate remote control. However, the materials involved are often nonbiodegradable or are derived from nonrenewable resources, leading to serious environmental problems. Here, we report a biomass-based multistimuli-responsive actuator based on cuttlefish ink nanoparticles (CINPs), wood-derived cellulose nanofiber (CNF), and bioderived polylactic acid (PLA). Taking advantage of the good photothermal conversion performance and exceptionally hygroscopic sensitivity of the CINPs/CNF composite (CICC) layer and the opposite thermally induced deformation behavior between the CICC layer and PLA layer, the soft actuator exhibits reversible deformation behaviors under near-infrared (NIR) light, humidity, and temperature stimuli, respectively. By introducing patterned or alignment structures and combining them with a macroscopic reassembly strategy, diverse programmable shape-morphing from 2D to 3D such as letter-shape, coiling, self-folding, and more sophisticated 3D deformations have been demonstrated. All of these deformations can be successfully predicted by finite element analysis (FEA) . Furthermore, this actuator has been further applied as an untethered grasping robot, weightlifting robot, and climbing robot capable of climbing a vertical pole. Such actuators consisting entirely of biodegradable materials will offer a sustainable future for untethered soft robots.

Auto-Classification of Parkinson's Disease with Different Motor Subtypes Using Arterial Spin Labelling MRI Based on Machine Learning.

The purpose of this study was to automatically classify different motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) on arterial spin labelling magnetic resonance imaging (ASL-MRI) data using support vector machine (SVM). This study included 38 subjects: 21 PD patients and 17 normal controls (NCs). Based on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) subscores, patients were divided into the tremor-dominant (TD) subtype and the postural instability gait difficulty (PIGD) subtype. The subjects were in a resting state during the acquisition of ASL-MRI data. The automated anatomical atlas 3 (AAL3) template was registered to obtain an ASL image of the same size and shape. We obtained the voxel values of 170 brain regions by considering the location coordinates of these regions and then normalized the data. The length of the feature vector depended on the number of voxel values in each brain region. Three binary classification models were utilized for classifying subjects' data, and we applied SVM to classify voxels in the brain regions. The left subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC_sub_L) was clearly distinguished in both NCs and PD patients using SVM, and we obtained satisfactory diagnostic rates (accuracy = 92.31%, specificity = 96.97%, sensitivity = 84.21%, and AUCmax = 0.9585). For the right supramarginal gyrus (SupraMarginal_R), SVM distinguished the TD group from the other groups with satisfactory diagnostic rates (accuracy = 84.21%, sensitivity = 63.64%, specificity = 92.59%, and AUCmax = 0.9192). For the right intralaminar of thalamus (Thal_IL_R), SVM distinguished the PIGD group from the other groups with satisfactory diagnostic rates (accuracy = 89.47%, sensitivity = 70.00%, specificity = 6.43%, and AUCmax = 0.9464). These results are consistent with the changes in blood perfusion related to PD subtypes. In addition, the sensitive brain regions of the TD group and PIGD group involve the brain regions where the cerebellothalamocortical (CTC) and the striatal thalamocortical (STC) loops are located. Therefore, it is suggested that the blood perfusion patterns of the two loops may be different. These characteristic brain regions could become potential imaging markers of cerebral blood flow to distinguish TD from PIGD. Meanwhile, our findings provide an imaging basis for personalised treatment, thereby optimising clinical diagnostic and treatment approaches.

Dual Protective Porous Ti3 C2 Tx MXene/Polyimide Composite Film for Thermal Insulation and Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

The thriving 5G communication technology leads to the high demand for EMI shielding materials and thermal management materials. Particularly, portable thermal-sensitive electronic devices have more stringent requirements for thermal insulation performances. In most cases, ultrathin EMI shielding materials integrated with ultralow thermal conductivity are not easy to be achieved. To overcome this obstacle, dual protective porous composite films based on Ti3 C2 Tx MXene and polyimide are fabricated by sacrificing polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) templates. By optimizing the contact thermal resistance and Kapitza resistance, the composite film presents superior thermal insulation performances with a thermal conductivity of 0.0136 W m-1 K-1 . Moreover, the hybrid porous film maintains superior EMI shielding effectiveness of 63.0 dB and high SSE/t of 31651.2 dB cm2 g-1 . Nevertheless, the excellent active and passive heating ability based on Joule heating and photothermal conversion makes the composite film an ideal portable material for thermal management. This work sheds light on designing thermal management materials and EMI shielding materials for cutting-edge electronic devices.

Achieving fast interfacial solar vapor generation and aqueous acid purification using Ti3C2Tx MXene/PANI non-woven fabrics.

Acid rain is a worldwide problem because of the emission of acidic gases into the atmosphere, leading to the acidification of first-order streams and aggravation of fresh water shortage. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop an environmentally friendly method for removing acid from water. Herein, an advanced technology that can achieve aqueous acid purification using solar energy is realized with Ti3C2Tx MXene/polyaniline (PANI) hybrid non-woven fabrics (MPs) through interfacial solar vapor generation, with PANI acting as an acid absorber through the doping process. Benefiting from the porous structure and crumpled micro-surface of MPs, a high evaporation rate of 2.65 kg m-2 h-1 with an efficiency of 93.7% can be achieved under one-sun illumination. Moreover, MPs present an even higher evaporation rate of 2.83 kg m-2 h-1 in high concentration aqueous acid and can generate clean water with a pH higher than 6.5. More importantly, thanks to the unique reversible doping process of PANI, when used as an aqueous acid purifier, MPs show good stability and reusability after dedoping. Our work sheds light on an efficient strategy for dealing with aqueous acid and acid rain.

In Situ Fabrication of N-Doped ZnS/ZnO Composition for Enhanced Visible-Light Photocatalytic H2 Evolution Activity.

For achieving the goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions and achieving carbon neutrality, developing hydrogen energy, the green and clean energy, shows a promising perspective for solving the energy and ecological issues. Herein, firstly, we used the hydrothermal method to synthesize the ZnS(en)0.5 as the precursor. Then, ZnS/ZnO composite was obtained by the in situ transformation of ZnS(en)0.5 with heat treatment under air atmosphere. The composition, optical property, morphology, and structural properties of the composite were characterized by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra (Uv-vis Abs), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Transmission electron microscopy image (TEM). Moreover, the content of ZnO in ZnS/ZnO was controlled via adjustment of the calcination times. The visible-light response of ZnS/ZnO originated from the in situ doping of N during the transformation of ZnS(en)0.5 to ZnS/ZnO under heat treatment, which was verified well by XPS. Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution experiments demonstrated that the sample of ZnS/ZnO-0.5 h with 6.9 wt% of ZnO had the best H2 evolution activity (1790 µmol/h/g) under visible light irradiation (λ > 400 nm), about 7.0 and 12.3 times that of the pure ZnS and ZnO, respectively. The enhanced activities of the ZnS/ZnO composites were ascribed to the intimated hetero-interface between components and efficient transfer of photo-generated electrons from ZnS to ZnO.

Controllable sulphur vacancies confined in nanoporous ZnS nanoplates for visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Controllable sulphur vacancies (Sv) confined in nanoporous ZnS nanoplates (Sv-ZnS) were prepared successfully via rapid heat treatment of ZnS(en)0.5 nanoplates. Sv with controllable concentrations originating from the in situ doping of N atoms endowed Sv-ZnS with a visible-light photocatalytic H2 production activity, having a positive linear correlation with Sv concentration.

Preparation of monolayer HSr2Nb3O10 nanosheets for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Monolayer HSr2Nb3O10 nanosheets with a thickness of about 1.95 nm were synthesized via a top-down approach. The structure and morphology were well characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM analyses. The sample served as an efficient photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution with the in situ growth of highly dispersed Pt clusters (about 2 nm). The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of the Pt/HSr2Nb3O10 nanosheets was 530.2 µmol gcatalyst-1 h-1 under the optimal conditions of 1 wt% of Pt (PtCl4 as the precursor), triethanolamine (TEOA) as the sacrificial reagent and the aqueous solution pH = 10.7, which was about 2.2 times higher than that of the layered HSr2Nb3O10.

A hybrid of CdS/HCa2Nb3O10 ultrathin nanosheets for promoting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

A hybrid of CdS/HCa2Nb3O10 ultrathin nanosheets was synthesized successfully through a multistep approach. The structures, constitutions, morphologies and specific surface areas of the obtained CdS/HCa2Nb3O10 were characterized well by XRD, XPS, TEM/HRTEM and BET, respectively. The TEM and BET results demonstrated that the unique structural features of CdS/HCa2Nb3O10 restrained the aggregation of CdS nanoparticles as well as the restacking of nanosheets effectively. HRTEM showed that CdS nanocrystals of about 25-30 nm were firmly anchored on HCa2Nb3O10 nanosheets and a tough heterointerface between CdS and the nanosheets was formed. Efficient interfacial charge transfer from CdS to HCa2Nb3O10 nanosheets was also confirmed by EPR and photocurrent responses. The photocatalytic activity tests (λ > 400 nm) showed that the optimal hydrogen evolution activity of CdS/HCa2Nb3O10 was about 4 times that of the bare CdS, because of the efficient separation of photo-generated carriers.

Development and photocatalytic mechanism of monolayer Bi2MoO6 nanosheets for the selective oxidation of benzylic alcohols.

Monolayer Bi2MoO6 nanosheets have been successfully prepared for the first time via a bottom-top approach with surfactant assistance, and show 8 times higher activity than bulk Bi2MoO6 for the selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Ultrafast charge separation and more acid-base active sites on the monolayer nanosheets are considered to be responsible for the robust photoactivity.

Ultrathin HNbWO6 nanosheets: facile synthesis and enhanced hydrogen evolution performance from photocatalytic water splitting.

Ultrathin monolayer HNbWO6 nanosheets have been successfully prepared through a simple and ultrafast ion intercalation assisted exfoliation method. These obtained highly dispersed nanosheets present enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity compared to the nanosheets prepared by the traditionally time-consuming process.

Liquid Exfoliated Graphene as Dopant for Improving the Thermoelectric Power Factor of Conductive PEDOT:PSS Nanofilm with Hydrazine Treatment.

Here, we fabricated a highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) ( PEDOT: PSS) nanofilm via vacuum filtration with enhanced thermoelectric power factor by doping of liquid exfoliated graphene (GE) and hydrazine treatment. The effect of GE exfoliated in dimethylformamide (DMF) and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) on the electrical conductivity and thermopower of PEDOT: PSS was investigated. Although electrical conductivity decreased with increasing GE, thermoelectric power factors of PEDOT: PSS nanofilms were improved with 3 wt % GE in DMF (38.6 µW m(-1) K(-2)) and in NMP (28.0 µW m(-1) K(-2)) compared to pure PEDOT: PSS (11.5 µW m(-1) K(-2)). The mechanism of improvement was proposed to be the removal of PSS and the good interaction between PEDOT and GE. With hydrazine treatment, 3 wt % GE-doped PEDOT: PSS nanofilm (PG3) showed a further enhanced power factor of 53.3 µW m(-1) K(-2) (∼5 times higher than that of pristine PEDOT: PSS nanofilm). The effects of hydrazine containing concentration, treatment time, and temperature on the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of PG3 were investigated systematically. An estimated thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) is 0.05 with the optimized power factor at room temperature.

[The effect of envelope protein mutation on hepatitis B virus assemble].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of envelope protein mutation on HBV assembly. METHODS: The envelope protein mutated vectors were constructed by the molecular clone in vitro, and then transfected transiently in the cell HepG2. The expression and secretion of S protein was assay by ELISA. HBV DNA was quantitatively evaluated by PCR. After co-transfection with pHBV-mS1S and adwR9 the DNA was quantitatively evaluated by PCR. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in expression and secretion of S protein assayed by ELISA in the cytoplasm and supernatant among pHBV-mS1, pHBV-mS, pHBV-mS1S and the wild HBV adwR9 plasmid. The DNA detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR from those the cytoplasm of mutants was higher than that from the wild HBV adwR9 cytoplasm, especially from the cytoplasm of pHBV-mS1S plasmid. However, the DNA detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR from the supernatant of those mutants was lower than that from the wild HBV adwR9 supernatant, especially from pHBV-mS1S. The DNA detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR from the supernatant co-transfected with pHBV-mS1S and adwR9 was lower than that from the supernatant co-transfected with pcDNA3 and adwR9. CONCLUSION: There was no effect of envelope protein mutation on the expression and secretion of S protein. Envelope protein mutation could interfere the assembly of HBV particle and cause reduction of secretion of HBV.

[Development of hygromycin-resistant packaging cell line for hepatitis B virus-derived vectors].

OBJECTIVE: To cooperate with the study of HBV vector, hygromycin-resistant packaging cell line was developed that allows encapsidation of plasmids into HBV particles. METHODS: Free of packaging signal, HBV genome was inserted into plasmid pMEP4, which expresses the HBV structural proteins including core, pol and preS/S proteins. HepG2 cell lines were employed to transfect with the construct. Hygromycin selection was done at a concentration of 150 micrograms/ml in the culture medium. The hygromycin-resistant clones with the best expressions of HBsAg and HBcAg were theoretically considered as packaging cell line and propagated under the same conditions. It was infected with recombinant retrovirus vector and hen selected with G418 and hygromycin in the culture medium. The existence of recombinant HBV virion in the culture medium was examined by PCR. RESULTS: Hygromycin-resistant HBV packaging cell line was generated, which harbored an HBV mutant whose packaging signal had been deleted. Expressions of HBsAg and HBcAg were detectable. Infected with recombinant retrovirus pRV-CP, the hygromycin-resistant packaging cell line was found to secrete mutant HBV particles and no wild-type HBV was detectable in the culture medium. CONCLUSION: After the packaging signal was deleted and transfected into HepG2 cell lines, the partial HBV genome lost its ability to form wild-type HBV, but conserves cis-action providing structural proteins for the packaging of the replication-defective HBV.

[Replication and encapsidation of HBV mutants with the truncated C gene].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the replication and encapsidation of HBV mutants with the truncated C gene. METHODS: The HBV mutants with the truncated C gene were constructed by molecular cloning and PCR-based deletion in vitro. The replication and encapsidation of HBV mutants were investigated by Southern blotting, PCR and real-time fluorescence PCR respectively after transfecting the HBV mutants plasmid into HepG2 cells by using liposome. RESULTS: The C-truncated HBV mutant vectors were constructed successfully and confirmed exactly by clone sequencing and enzymes digestion. The C-truncated HBV mutants were replication defective, however, all types of HBV DNA could be detected positive in the cytoplasm and supernatant after co-transfecting the C-truncated HBV mutants plasmid and the helper constructs into HepG2 cells. The C-truncated HBV mutants were proved to produce 3-40 folds more progeny DNA than that of the wild-type HBV by DNA quantitative assay. CONCLUSION: The C-truncated HBV mutants are replication-deficient and could not replicate and encapsulate in the hepatocytes when transfected solely, however, the progeny HBV-variant viruses are encapsidated more effectively to secrete into supernatant when co-transfected with the helper construct which lacks part of 5 prime-proximal HBV RNA packaging signal Epsilon.