Highly transparent sustainable biogel electrolyte based on cellulose acetate for application in electrochemical devices.

In this study, an easy and low-cost production method for a cellulose acetate-based gel polymer containing lithium perchlorate and propylene carbonate is described, as well as the investigation of its properties for potential use as an electrolyte in electrochemical devices. Cellulose acetate, a biopolymer derived from natural matrix, is colourless and transparent, as confirmed by the UV-Vis spectroscopy, with 85 % transparency in visible spectrum. The gels were prepared and tested at different concentrations and proportions to optimise their properties. Thermogravimetry, XRD, and FTIR analyses revealed crucial characteristics, including a substantial 90 % mass loss between 150 and 250 °C, a semi-crystalline nature with complete salt dissociation within the polymer matrix, and a decrease in intensity at 1780 cm-1 with increasing Li+ ion concentration, suggesting an improvement in ionic conduction capacity. In terms of electrochemical performance, the gel containing 10 % by mass of cellulose acetate and 1.4 M of LiClO4 emerged as the most promising. It exhibited a conductivity of 2.3 × 10-4 S.cm-1 at 25 °C and 3.0 × 10-4 S.cm-1 at 80 °C. Additionally, it demonstrated an ideal shape of cyclic voltammetry curves and stability after 400 cycles, establishing its suitability as an electrolyte in electrochemical devices.

An easy to assemble PDMS/CNTs/PANI flexible supercapacitor with high energy-to-power density.

The fabrication of a flexible supercapacitor with state-of-the-art performance is described, based on a facile and low-cost fabrication method that encompasses aligned carbon nanotube arrays (ACNTA)-polyaniline/polydimethylsiloxane electrodes (ACNTA-PANI/PDMS). The ACNTA were partially embedded in PDMS to ensure excellent adhesion and integration whilst PANI was electrodeposited on its surface to improve energy storage properties. The supercapacitor structure and morphology were investigated by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The energy storage properties of the electrodes were evaluated in two and three-electrode configurations. The maximum value of specific capacitance was 408 mF cm-2 (265 F g-1) at 1 mA cm-2, and a high energy density of 20 µW h cm-2 (25.5 W h kg-1) was achieved at a power density of 100 µW cm-2 (126.6 W kg-1) for a symmetric two-electrode device. The device showed a good capacitance retention of 76% after 5000 cycles and was able to maintain 80% of its electrochemical properties while being measured at different bending angles, demonstrating excellent mechanical agility performance under extreme conditions and some of the highest carbon-based energy storage properties.

Ayahuasca Improves Self-perception of Speech Performance in Subjects With Social Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot, Proof-of-Concept, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Ayahuasca is a classic hallucinogen with anxiolytic and antidepressive properties. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that it improves performance (eg, singing, speech). This controlled trial assessed the effects of ayahuasca on speech performance and anxiety in individuals with social anxiety disorder. METHODS: Seventeen volunteers with social anxiety disorder participated in a pilot, proof-of-concept, randomized, parallel-group trial. Self-perception of performance during a public-speaking test was assessed with the Self-statements During Public Speaking Scale primary outcome). Secondary outcomes included anxiety/subjective effects (Visual Analog Mood Scale; Bodily Symptoms Scale), recognition of emotions in facial expressions (REFE), tolerability measures (cardiovascular measures, self-reports), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor plasma levels. Effects on anxiety and REFE were assessed again 7, 14, and 21 days postdrug. FINDINGS: Compared with placebo, ayahuasca significantly improved self-perception of speech performance (Self-statements During Public Speaking Scale) and increased somatic symptoms (Bodily Symptoms Scale). There was also a significant time × group interaction in the cognitive deterioration Visual Analog Mood Scale factor and a significant effect of time in the REFE task, especially in reaction time. Other measures were not significantly modified. Ayahuasca was well tolerated, producing mainly nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, and vomiting. CONCLUSIONS: Ayahuasca improved self-perception of speech performance in socially anxious individuals. These effects occurred independent of task-related anxiety and REFE, suggesting that ayahuasca could specifically improve the cognitive aspect of speech performance. Further studies should try to unveil the mechanisms involved in the effects of ayahuasca and to better understand its effects on anxiety.

The UTrack framework for segmenting and measuring dermatological ulcers through telemedicine.

Chronic dermatological ulcers cause great discomfort to patients, and while monitoring the size of wounds over time provides significant clues about the healing evolution and the clinical condition of patients, the lack of practical applications in existing studies impairs users' access to appropriate treatment and diagnosis methods. We propose the UTrack framework to help with the acquisition of photos, the segmentation and measurement of wounds, the storage of photos and symptoms, and the visualization of the evolution of ulcer healing. UTrack-App is a mobile app for the framework, which processes images taken by standard mobile device cameras without specialized equipment and stores all data locally. The user manually delineates the regions of the wound and the measurement object, and the tool uses the proposed UTrack-Seg segmentation method to segment them. UTrack-App also allows users to manually input a unit of measurement (centimeter or inch) in the image to improve the wound area estimation. Experiments show that UTrack-Seg outperforms its state-of-the-art competitors in ulcer segmentation tasks, improving F-Measure by up to 82.5% when compared to superpixel-based approaches and up to 19% when compared to Deep Learning ones. The method is unsupervised, and it semi-automatically segments real-world images with 0.9 of F-Measure, on average. The automatic measurement outperformed the manual process in three out of five different rulers. UTrack-App takes at most 30 s to perform all evaluation steps over high-resolution images, thus being well-suited to analyze ulcers using standard mobile devices.

HERV-K and HERV-W transcriptional activity in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/MS) is an incapacitating chronic disease that dramatically compromise the life quality. The CFS/ME pathogenesis is multifactorial, and it is believed that immunological, metabolic and environmental factors play a role. It is well documented an increased activity of Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) from different families in autoimmune and neurological diseases, making these elements good candidates for biomarkers or even triggers for such diseases. METHODS: Here the expression of Endogenous retroviruses K and W (HERV-K and HERV-W) was determined in blood from moderately and severely affected ME/CFS patients through real time PCR. RESULTS: HERV-K was overexpressed only in moderately affected individuals but HERV-W showed no difference. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report about HERV-K differential expression in moderate ME/CFS. Although the relationship between HERVs and ME/CFS has yet to be proven, the observation of this phenomenon deserves further attention.