The roles of ubiquitination and deubiquitination of NLRP3 inflammasome in inflammation-related diseases: A review.

The inflammatory response is a natural immune response that prevents microbial invasion and repairs damaged tissues. However, excessive inflammatory responses can lead to various inflammation-related diseases, posing a significant threat to human health. The NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome is a vital mediator in the activation of the inflammatory cascade. Targeting the hyperactivation of the NLRP3 inflammasome may offer potential strategies for the prevention or treatment of inflammation-related diseases. It has been established that the ubiquitination and deubiquitination modifications of the NLRP3 inflammasome can provide protective effects in inflammation-related diseases. These modifications modulate several pathological processes, including excessive inflammatory responses, pyroptosis, abnormal autophagy, proliferation disorders, and oxidative stress damage. Therefore, this review discusses the regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation by ubiquitination and deubiquitination modifications, explores the role of these modifications in inflammation-related diseases, and examines the potential underlying mechanisms.

A Highly Flexible Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Sensor for Wearable Bone Density Testing.

Driven by the loss of bone calcium, the elderly are prone to osteoporosis, and regular routine checks on bone status are necessary, which mainly rely on bone testing equipment. Therefore, wearable real-time healthcare devices have become a research hotspot. Herein, we designed a high-performance flexible ultrasonic bone testing system using axial transmission technology based on quantitative ultrasound theory. First, a new rare-earth-element-doped PMN-PZT piezoelectric ceramic was synthesized using a solid-state reaction, and characterized by X-ray diffraction and SEM. Both a high piezoelectric coefficient d33 = 525 pC/N and electromechanical coupling factors of k33 = 0.77, kt = 0.58 and kp = 0.63 were achieved in 1%La/Sm-doped 0.17 PMN-0.47 PZ-0.36 PT ceramics. Combining a flexible PDMS substrate with an ultrasonic array, a flexible hardware circuit was designed which includes a pulse excitation module, ultrasound array module, amplification module, filter module, digital-to-analog conversion module and wireless transmission module, showing high power transfer efficiency and power intensity with values of 35% and 55.4 mW/cm2, respectively. Finally, the humerus, femur and fibula were examined by the flexible device attached to the skin, and the bone condition was displayed in real time on the mobile client, which indicates the potential clinical application of this device in the field of wearable healthcare.

A Review of Fingerprint Sensors: Mechanism, Characteristics, and Applications.

Identification technology based on biometrics is a branch of research that employs the unique individual traits of humans to authenticate identity, which is the most secure method of identification based on its exceptional high dependability and stability of human biometrics. Common biometric identifiers include fingerprints, irises, and facial sounds, among others. In the realm of biometric recognition, fingerprint recognition has gained success with its convenient operation and fast identif ication speed. Different fingerprint collecting techniques, which supply fingerprint information for fingerprint identification systems, have attracted a significant deal of interest in authentication technology regarding fingerprint identification systems. This work presents several fingerprint acquisition techniques, such as optical capacitive and ultrasonic, and analyzes acquisition types and structures. In addition, the pros and drawbacks of various sensor types, as well as the limits and benefits of optical, capacitive, and ultrasonic kinds, are discussed. It is the necessary stage for the application of the Internet of Things (IoT).