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As a vital biomarker, glucose plays an important role in multiple physiological and pathological processes. Thus, glucose detection has become an important direction in the electrochemical analysis field. In order to realize more convenient, real-time, comfortable and accurate monitoring, smartphone-based portable, wearable and implantable electrochemical glucose monitoring is progressing rapidly. In this review, we firstly introduce technologies integrated in smartphones and the advantages of these technologies in electrochemical glucose detection. Subsequently, this overview illustrates the advances of smartphone-based portable, wearable and implantable electrochemical glucose monitoring systems in diverse biofluids over the last ten years (2012–2022). Specifically, some interesting and innovative technologies are highlighted. In the last section, after discussing the challenges in this field, we offer some future directions, such as application of advanced nanomaterials, novel power sources, simultaneous detection of multiple markers and a closed-loop system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book provides a brief journey though the origins of money, identifying the properties of money, what gives money value, and how this value depends on competition in money creation. I "Everything you don't understand about money combined with everything you don't understand about computers." i John Oliver's description of Bitcoin on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, March 2018. This singleness is by no means guaranteed, but rather is a major triumph of central banks.[3] The initial dialogue on money ends with a discussion of physical versus virtual money. They offer multiple reasons why central bank money for all (think conventional accounts for the public at the central bank) make more sense than a central bank cryptocurrency. [Extracted from the article]

Biochar has recently been used for recovering nutrients from waste streams including source-separated human urine. The increased consumption of pharmaceuticals has been a subject of concern as some of the compounds are not completely metabolized and consequently present in human urine. As urine contains both nutrients and pharmaceuticals, biochar applied for nutrient recovery may adsorb pharmaceuticals causing a concern on the introduction of the contaminants to the environment. This review article discusses the sorption of nutrients as well as pharmaceuticals by biochar. It reveals that biochars with different properties can be employed to separately attain nitrogen and phosphorus recovery, and removal of pharmaceuticals from source-separated urine. Production conditions including pyrolysis temperature and feedstock source are the vital aspects for delivering biochar properties that are suitable for different groups of chemical entities (nutrients versus pharmaceuticals). In addition, pharmaceutical adsorption is more favorable at lower solution pH whereas nutrient recovery is favorable at higher solution pH. If this concept of using separate biochars is employed, it will minimize the potential exposure of pharmaceuticals to the environment and humans and in the process the nutrient-rich biochar can be applied to the agrarian fields to achieve a closed-loop fertility system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromodulation is a multi-interdisciplinary field of neuroscience, neural engineering, and medicine in a complex, but a way of understanding. Recently, the interest and researches in this field have been attracted due to its promising applications such as bionic limbs and bioelectronic medicine. For easier entry into this field, in this review, we approach the basic mechanism, methods, and applications of peripheral neuromodulation sequentially. Firstly, the overall structure and functions of the human nervous system are introduced, especially in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Specifically, the fundamental neurophysiology regarding action potentials and neural signals is introduced to understand the communication between the neurons. Thereafter, two main methods for peripheral neuromodulation, which are electrical and optogenetic approaches, are introduced with the principles of the state-of-art devices. Finally, advanced applications of neuromodulation combined with the sensor, stimulator, and controller, called a closed-loop system are introduced with an example of bionic limbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new and updated edition of Andrew Brooks' I Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fashion and Second-Hand Clothes i provides a multi-faceted picture of the dynamics of global clothing production and trade networks. Andrew Brooks critically assesses the systems of production and disposal that are at the core of the contemporary global garment industry through highlighting important historical events and explaining the dynamics of modern-day trade patterns. Throughout the book, Brooks critically analyses how value is created in different segments of the global garment industry. [Extracted from the article]