Search

The authors reveal a thermal actuating bilayer that undergoes reversible deformation in response to low-energy thermal stimuli, for example, a few degrees of temperature increase. It is made of an aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) sheet covalently connected to a polymer layer in which dibenzocycloocta-1,5-diene (DBCOD) actuating units are oriented parallel to CNTs. Upon exposure to low-energy thermal stimulation, coordinated submolecular-level conformational changes of DBCODs result in macroscopic thermal contraction. This unique thermal contraction offers distinct advantages. It's inherently fast, repeatable, low-energy driven, and medium independent. The covalent interface and reversible nature of the conformational change bestow this bilayer with excellent repeatability, up to at least 70 000 cycles. Unlike conventional CNT bilayer systems, this system can achieve high precision actuation readily and can be scaled down to nanoscale. A new platform made of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) in tandem with the bilayer can harvest low-grade thermal energy and convert it into electricity. The platform produces 86 times greater energy than PVDF alone upon exposure to 6 °C thermal fluctuations above room temperature. This platform provides a pathway to low-grade thermal energy harvesting. It also enables low-energy driven thermal artificial robotics, ultrasensitive thermal sensors, and remote controlled near infrared (NIR) driven actuators.

Photonic materials have drawn considerable attention for a great deal of promising applications with versatile optical characteristics and functionalities. This review provides a concise overview of co‐assembly strategies for the creation of photonic crystals, offering precise control over structural colors throughout the entire visible spectrum by manipulating the interaction of light with complex micro‐nano structures. Specifically, the utilization of block copolymers (BCPs) and colloidal nanoparticles as wavelength‐scale building blocks facilitates the modulation of defined nanostructures with functionality and tailorability for diverse coloration effects. Additionally, by facilely adjusting the relative ratios, a flexible balance can be struck between photonic crystals and photonic glasses for dynamic control of arrangements. Finally, this review concludes by discussing the future outlook and challenges in advancing co‐assembly‐based photonic functional materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automated laboratory pipelines empowered by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) have been reshaping the paradigm of chemical and material discovery. While intelligent decision‐making strategies have been developed that enable fast convergence to optimal reaction conditions, the overall efficiency is still bottlenecked by the slow acquisition of online characterization units, especially in microfluidics‐based systems. In response, an ultrafast machine vision framework is hereby developed to directly predict optical spectra from real‐time high‐speed imaging in this article. Utilizing uniquely engineered deep‐learning algorithms, this framework automatically detects droplets and recapitulates high‐quality spectra from embedded image features in a sub‐millisecond timeframe. In a proof‐of‐concept example, droplets are detected with an average precision of 99.75% within 0.51 ms, and their spectra spanning the entire visible wavelengths are predicted with an average peak error of 5.32 nm, which is equivalent to 1.6% of the visible range. The work demonstrates the first example of an all‐imaging‐based machine learning framework deployed in a real‐time environment for the full replacement of an analytical instrument. It highlights the broader possibility of AI in material researches to break the physical limitations of online diagnostics and to further boost efficiencies in self‐driving laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the success of immunotherapy in advanced esophageal cancer, neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy (CIT) is being increasingly used for local staged esophageal cancer, especially in the context of clinical trials, which brings similar pCR with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and shows promising results. However, there is still a part of potentially operable patients can't undergo surgery after neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy. The follow-up treatment and prognosis of this population remain unclear. Patients pathologically diagnosed with ESCC, clinical stage T1-3N+M0 or T3-4aNanyM0 (AJCC 8th), PS 0–1 were retrospectively enrolled from 1/2020 to 6/2021 in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital. All patients firstly received PD-1 inhibitors plus chemotherapy (albumin paclitaxel, 260 mg/m2 on day 1 plus carboplatin AUC = 5 on day 1) every 3 weeks for 2–4 cycles. For those patients who did not receive surgery, definitive radiotherapy with 50.4 Gy/28F or 50 Gy/25F was adopted using VMAT, concurrent with chemotherapy or alone. The concurrent chemotherapy regimens included weekly TC (paclitaxel 50 mg/m2, d1, carboplatin AUC = 2, d1) or S1 (60 mg bid d1–14, 29–42). The survival outcomes and treatment toxicity were recorded and analyzed. A total of 56 eligible patients were finally identified from 558 patients who were treated in department of thoracic surgery, among all the patients, 25 (44.6%) received radiotherapy alone, and 31 (55.4%) received chemoradiotherapy after neoadjuvant CIT. The median follow-up was 20.4 months (interquartile range [IQR] 8.7–27 months). The median PFS and OS were 17.9 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.0–21.9 months) and 20.5 months (95% CI 11.8–27.9 months), respectively. In the subgroup analysis, the median OS was 26.3 months (95% CI 15.33–NA) for patients exhibiting partial response (PR) to CIT, compared to 17 months (95% CI 8.77–26.4) for those with stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD), yielding a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.54 (95% CI 0.27–1.06, P = 0.07). No significant difference was observed for patients received radiotherapy alone or chemoradiotherapy with HR = 0.73 (95% CI 0.72–2.6, P = 0.33). The most common Adverse events (AEs) observed during this study were anemia (98.2%), leukopenia (83.9%), thrombocytopenia (53.6%). AEs of grade ≥ 3 radiation-induced pneumonitis and esophagitis were 12.5% and 32.1%, especially, 6 patients (10.7%) died from esophageal fistula and 2 patients (3.6%) died from grade 5 pneumonitis. For local advanced ESCC patients after neoadjuvant CIT who did not receive surgery, definitive radiotherapy was an optional treatment strategy. However, those patients with no response to CIT also showed poor response to radiotherapy, and particular attention should be paid to treatment related toxicity, especially esophageal fistula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to investigate the role of shear wave elastography (SWE) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in the assessment of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) prognosis. Methods: CTGF expression was detected with immunohistochemistry. Clinical and pathological data were collected. Parameters of conventional ultrasound combined with SWE were also collected. The relationship among CTGF expression, ultrasound indicators, the elastic modulus and the clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. Results: Univariate analysis showed that patients with high risk of PTC were characterized with male, Uygur ethnicity, increased expression of CTGF, convex lesions, calcified, incomplete capsule, intranodular blood flow, rear echo attenuation, cervical lymph node metastasis, lesions larger than 1 cm, psammoma bodies, advanced clinical stage, increased TSH and high value in the shear modulus (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the risk factors of high expression of CTGF according to contribution size order were irregular shape, aspect ratio ≥ 1, and increased TSH. The logistic regression model equation was Logit (P) = 1.153 + 1.055 × 1 + 0.926 × 2 + 1.190 × 3 and the Area Under Curve value of the logistic regression was calculated to be 0.850, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.817 to 0.883. Conclusion: SWE and CTGF are of great value in the risk assessment of PTC. The degree of fibrosis of PTC is closely related to the prognosis. The hardness of PTC lesions and the expression level of CTGF are correlated with the main indexes of conventional ultrasound differentiating benign or malignant nodules. Irregular shape, aspect ratio ≥ 1, and increased TSH are independent factors of CTGF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid extraction and screening of high-purity DNA fragments is an indispensable technology in advanced molecular biology. In this article, mesoporous magnetic composite microspheres (MSP@mTiO2) with tunable pore sizes were successfully fabricated for high-purity DNA extraction and fragment screening. Owing to the strong complexation ability of Ti ions with DNA phosphate groups and the high specific surface area of mesoporous microspheres, the MSP@mTiO2 microspheres possess excellent adsorption performance, where the saturated loading capacity of MSP@mTiO2 with a specific surface area of 122 m2 g−1 is as high as 575 μg mg−1 for a salmon sperm specimen. ITC experiments demonstrated that DNA adsorption on MSP@mTiO2 microspheres is mainly driven by entropy, which gives us more potential ways to regulate the balance of adsorption and desorption. Meanwhile, the mesoporous MSP@mTiO2 microspheres exhibit a much higher extraction efficiency compared with non-porous MSP@TiO2 for whole genome DNA from Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Interestingly, DNA fragments with different lengths could be screened by simply regulating the pore size of MSP@mTiO2 or the concentration of Na3PO4 in the eluent. A small pore size and low phosphate concentration are advantageous for the extraction of short-stranded DNA fragments, and DNA fragments (≤1000 bp) can be efficiently extracted when the mesopore size of MSP@mTiO2 is lower than 7.6 nm. The extraction results from the mesoporous composite microspheres provide new promising insights into the purification and screening of DNA from complex biological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the use of abrocitinib and tofacitinib in the treatment of prurigo nodularis, a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by severe itching. The studies conducted on both medications showed promising results in reducing pruritus and improving the condition of patients with prurigo nodularis. However, further research is needed to determine the long-term efficacy and safety of these medications. These findings suggest that abrocitinib and tofacitinib may be potential therapeutic options for prurigo nodularis, but more research is necessary to confirm their effectiveness. [Extracted from the article]

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a key role in various biological processes by influencing the translation of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) through post‐transcriptional regulation. The miR‐184‐3p has been identified as an abundant conserved miRNA in insects. However, less is known about its functions in insect–plant virus interactions. RESULTS: The function of miR‐184‐3p in regulation of plant viral infection in insects was investigated using a rice black‐streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) and Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén) interaction system. We found that the expression of miR‐184‐3p increased in L. striatellus after RBSDV infection. Injection of miR‐184‐3p mimics increased RBSDV accumulation, while treatment with miR‐184‐3p antagomirs inhibits the viral accumulation in L. striatellus. Ken, a zinc finger protein, was identified as a target of miR‐184‐3p. Knockdown of Ken increased the virus accumulation and promoted RBSDV transmission by L. striatellus. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that RBSDV infection induces the expression of miR‐184‐3p in its insect vector L. striatellus. The miR‐184‐3p targets Ken to promote RBSDV accumulation and transmission. These findings provide a new insight into the function of the miRNAs in regulating plant viral infection in its insect vector. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]