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Noradrenaline, also known as norepinephrine, has a wide range of activities and effects on most brain cell types1. Its reuptake from the synaptic cleft heavily relies on the noradrenaline transporter (NET) located in the presynaptic membrane2. Here we report the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of the human NET in both its apo state and when bound to substrates or antidepressant drugs, with resolutions ranging from 2.5 Å to 3.5 Å. The two substrates, noradrenaline and dopamine, display a similar binding mode within the central substrate binding site (S1) and within a newly identified extracellular allosteric site (S2). Four distinct antidepressants, namely, atomoxetine, desipramine, bupropion and escitalopram, occupy the S1 site to obstruct substrate transport in distinct conformations. Moreover, a potassium ion was observed within sodium-binding site 1 in the structure of the NET bound to desipramine under the KCl condition. Complemented by structural-guided biochemical analyses, our studies reveal the mechanism of substrate recognition, the alternating access of NET, and elucidate the mode of action of the four antidepressants.The cryo-electron microscopy structures of the human noradrenaline transporter in both the apo state and bound to substrates or antidepressant drugs are resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning analytics dashboards (LADs) are emerging tools that convert abstract, complex information with visualizations to facilitate teachers' data-driven pedagogical decision-making. While many LADs have been designed, teachers' capacities for using such LADs are not well articulated in the literature. To fill the gap, this study provided a conceptual definition highlighting data visualization literacy and integrating abilities as two critical components in LAD capacities. Moreover, this study assessed teachers' LAD capacities through a knowledge test and examined the combined effect of teachers' self-regulation, emotions, perceptions of LAD usefulness and ease of use, and online teaching experience on teachers' achievements of the LAD capacity knowledge test. The results of a Bayesian path analysis based on the sample of 150 teachers show that (1) teachers' self-regulation and perceived LAD usefulness were the two main factors that made significant impacts on their LAD capacities, (2) the factors of negative emotions and perceived ease of use had effects on teachers' LAD capacities, but such effects were mediated by self-regulation and perceived usefulness, and (3) online teaching experience had little effect on LAD capacities. This is the first study that conceptually researches teachers' capacities for LAD uses. The findings offer novel perspectives into the complexity of LAD using process and demonstrate the importance of teachers' self-regulation, emotions, and perceptions of usefulness in enhancing teachers' abilities to use LADs for pedagogical decisions and actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deformation mechanisms of the Tianshan orogenic belt (TOB) are one of the most important unresolved issues in the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. To better understand the lithospheric deformation of the eastern Tianshan orogenic belt, we combined the S-wave tomography and gravity data to develop a three-dimensional (3D) density model of the crust and upper mantle beneath the eastern Tianshan area. Results show that the crust of the eastern Tianshan is mainly characterized by positive density anomalies, revealing widespread subduction-related magmatism during the Paleozoic. We however have also observed extensive low-density anomalies beneath the eastern Tianshan at depths deeper than ∼100 km, which is likely linked to a relatively hot mantle. The most fundamental differences of the lithosphere within the eastern Tianshan occur in the uppermost mantle. The uppermost mantle layers in the Bogda Shan and Harlik Shan are relatively dense. This is likely associated with an eclogite body in the uppermost mantle. The most significant negative anomaly of the uppermost mantle is however found in the Jueluotage tectonic belt and the central Tianshan Block and is possibly associated with depleted mantle material. We suggest that these differences related to compositional changes may control the strength of the lithospheric mantle and have affected the uplift of the northern and southern segments of the eastern Tianshan after the Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Speech enhancement performance has improved significantly with the introduction of deep learning models, especially methods based on the Long–Short-Term Memory architecture. However, these methods face challenges such as high computational complexity and redundancy of input features. To address these issues, we propose a U-Net-based approach that utilizes an encoder/decoder to extract more concise features, thereby enhancing single-channel speech performance and reducing computation complexity. The proposed method includes a Cross-Swin-Transformer block and a masked bottleneck module, which down-samples features while preserving the detailed representation through skip connections and carefully designed blocks. The bottleneck module extracts coarse representations of hidden features as masks. We evaluated our method against other U-Net-based approaches on VCTK and DNS corpora using CBAK, eSTOI, PESQ, STOI, and SI-SDR metrics. The results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves promising performance while significantly reducing computational complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Olfaction feedback systems could be utilized to stimulate human emotion, increase alertness, provide clinical therapy, and establish immersive virtual environments. Currently, the reported olfaction feedback technologies still face a host of formidable challenges, including human perceivable delay in odor manipulation, unwieldy dimensions, and limited number of odor supplies. Herein, we report a general strategy to solve these problems, which associates with a wearable, high-performance olfactory interface based on miniaturized odor generators (OGs) with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. The OGs serve as the core technology of the intelligent olfactory interface, which exhibit milestone advances in millisecond-level response time, milliwatt-scale power consumption, and the miniaturized size. Empowered by robust AI algorithms, the olfactory interface shows its great potentials in latency-free mixed reality (MR) and fast olfaction enhancement, thereby establishing a bridge between electronics and users for broad applications ranging from entertainment, to education, to medical treatment, and to human machine interfaces.Liu et al. developed AI-driven, wearable olfactory interfaces with odor generators for realizing latency-free mixed-reality and fast olfaction recovery. This technology enables personalized olfactory feedback and enhanced virtual environments for various applications including education, and clinical treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transfer zone in rift basins preserves important information on regional tectonic evolution and plays significant roles in hydrocarbon accumulation. Based on the systematic analysis of 3D seismic data and hydrocarbon accumulation conditions, the geometry, kinematics, and reservoir control of a large synthetic overlapping transfer zone in the south of the Wenchang A subsag in the Zhujiang (Pearl) River Mouth basin were investigated. Results indicate that the development and evolution of the transfer zone was controlled by the interaction between pre-existing faults and regional stress transformation. The intense rifting of the main faults of the transfer zone controlled the development of source rocks and fault-controlled slope break paleogeomorphology. The strike-slip overprint since the Oligocene is conducive to the formation of a large-scale fault-anticline trap, and the secondary faults in the transfer zone contribute to the hydrocarbon transportation. The conjugate intersection area of the NE- and NW-trending faults offers more opportunity for hydrocarbon migration and accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel technique for removal of migrated esophageal stent (MES) under fluoroscopy. Methods: From January 2009 to April 2023, 793 patients with a dysphagia score of 3–4 underwent esophageal stenting at our center, and 25 patients (mean age: 70.06 years old; male/female: 15/10) underwent stent removal using "loop method" under fluoroscopy. The primary outcomes were technical success and complications. The secondary outcomes were procedure time, radiation exposure, biochemical indicators [white blood cell (WBC), hemoglobin (Hb), platelet (PLT), albumin (ALB), alanine transaminase (ALT), total bilirubin (TB), urea nitrogen (UN) and C-reactive protein] of pre- and post-treatment at 2 weeks. Results: Technical success was 100% without major complications. The mean procedure time was (39.44 ± 9.28) minutes, which showed no statistical significance between benign (n = 5) and malignant (n = 20) group [(42.40 ± 8.85) vs (38.71 ± 9.46) mins, p > 0.05]. The mean radiation exposure was (332.88 ± 261.47) mGy, which showed no statistical significance between benign and malignant group [(360.74 ± 231.43) vs (325.92 ± 273.54) mGy, p > 0.05]. Pre- and post-procedure Hb [(114.46 ± 11.96) vs. (117.57 ± 13.12) g/L] and ALB [(42.26 ± 3.39) vs. (44.12 ± 3.77) g/L] showed significant difference (p < 0.05), while WBC, PLT, CRP, and ALT showed no significance (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Fluoroscopy-guided "Loop method" for MES removal is an effective and safe alternative technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic ethanol conversion into high-valuable chemicals while realizing hydrogen production is attractive and challenging. In this study, flower-like, porous flower-like, and net-like CdS nanostructures were prepared by solvothermal technique and were used to investigate the effect of morphology on ethanol conversion. It was found by characterization that the one-dimensional net-like CdS had the best crystallinity and the largest specific surface area, which provided more active sites and possessed superior ethanol conversion activity. The ethanol conversion was 4.7% in 10 h with a hydrogen production rate of 1.32 mmol g−1 h−1 and an acetaldehyde (AA) production rate of 1.96 mmol g−1 h−1 with a selectivity of 51%. In comparison, 2,3-butanediol(2,3-BDO) was produced at a rate of 0.61 mmol g−1 h−1 with a selectivity of 32%. The pore structure of one-dimensional net-like CdS with predominantly large mesopores showed better selectivity for 2,3-BDO, indicating that the pore size of the catalyst plays an important role in the C–C coupling reaction. Further, the catalysts were modified by depositing Pt nanoparticles on net-like CdS and the photocatalytic ethanol conversion performance was improved by about 3.5 times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wearable electronics with great breathability enable a comfortable wearing experience and facilitate continuous biosignal monitoring over extended periods1–3. However, current research on permeable electronics is predominantly at the stage of electrode and substrate development, which is far behind practical applications with comprehensive integration with diverse electronic components (for example, circuitry, electronics, encapsulation)4–8. Achieving permeability and multifunctionality in a singular, integrated wearable electronic system remains a formidable challenge. Here we present a general strategy for integrated moisture-permeable wearable electronics based on three-dimensional liquid diode (3D LD) configurations. By constructing spatially heterogeneous wettability, the 3D LD unidirectionally self-pumps the sweat from the skin to the outlet at a maximum flow rate of 11.6 ml cm−2 min−1, 4,000 times greater than the physiological sweat rate during exercise, presenting exceptional skin-friendliness, user comfort and stable signal-reading behaviour even under sweating conditions. A detachable design incorporating a replaceable vapour/sweat-discharging substrate enables the reuse of soft circuitry/electronics, increasing its sustainability and cost-effectiveness. We demonstrated this fundamental technology in both advanced skin-integrated electronics and textile-integrated electronics, highlighting its potential for scalable, user-friendly wearable devices.Incorporation of a ‘liquid diode’ into a wearable electronic platform enhances comfort and stability by shunting away sweat as it accumulates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition and geological evolution of pre-Cryogenian material in the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas have played an important role in studying the formation and evolution of early supercontinents on Earth. This paper systematically summarizes the characteristics of pre-Cryogenian sedimentation, paleontology, magmatism, and metamorphism in the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas. Based on existing data, the records of pre-Cryogenian sedimentation and paleontology are mainly concentrated in the Meso–Neoproterozoic, with relatively few records from the Paleoproterozoic or earlier. The oldest geological record is the Hadean detrital zircons in the metamorphosed sedimentary rocks of the Himalaya and Qamdo areas (ca. 4.0 Ga). The Tibetan Plateau and surrounding areas preserve records related to the formation and evolution of the Kenor supercraton, and the Columbia, Rodinia, and Gondwana supercontinents. Pre-Cryogenian basements can be divided into three types: Tarim-, Yangtze-, and Lhasa-type. The Tarim-type basement has a paleogeographic affinity with the northern margins of the Australian and Indian continents and lacks detrital zircon age peaks and magmatic-metamorphic records related to the Rodinia assembly (ca. 1.3–0.9 Ga). The Yangtze-type basement records volcanic activity related to global cooling in the latest pre-Cryogenian period and contains Meso–Neoproterozoic stromatolite and micropaleoflora fossils, as well as magmatic-metamorphic records related to Rodinia assembly (ca. 1.1–1.0 Ga). The Lhasa-type basement is characterized by Neoproterozoic rift-related sediment records (ca. 900 Ma) and high-pressure metamorphic events (ca. 650 Ma), with a prominent peak of detrital zircon ages of ca. 1.2–1.1 Ga. It is likely to have a paleogeographic affinity with the African continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gout is a self-limiting form of inflammatory arthropathy caused by the formation of urate crystals due to hyperuricemia. The resolution of gout involves the transition of proinflammatory M1-type macrophages to anti-inflammatory M2-type macrophages, as well as neutrophil-mediated extracellular trap (NET) formation. However, the underlying mechanisms of these changes are not clear. Studies have confirmed that high expression of CD39 on macrophages and neutrophils can trigger the polarization of macrophages from a proinflammatory state to an anti-inflammatory state. Recent studies have shown that the pathogenesis of gout involves extracellular ATP (eATP), and the synergistic effect of MSU and extracellular ATP can cause gout. CD39 is a kind of ATP hydrolysis enzyme that can degrade eATP, suggesting that CD39 may inhibit the aggravation of inflammation in gout and participate in the remission mechanism of gout. To confirm this hypothesis, using data mining and flow cytometry, we first found that CD39 expression was significantly upregulated on CD14 + monocytes and neutrophils in gout patients during the acute phase. Inhibition of CD39 by lentivirus or a CD39 inhibitor in acute gout models aggravated gouty arthritis and delayed gout remission. Apyrase, a functional analog of CD39, can significantly reduce the inflammatory response and promote gout remission in acute gout model mice. Our findings confirm that the upregulation of CD39 during gout flare-ups promotes spontaneous remission of acute gouty inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of big data, the extensive collection and dissemination of information has brought new security challenges, and how to ensure the security of big data under the premise of ensuring the normal operation of the topic transmission network has become an urgent problem to be solved. Online social networks have become the main channels and carriers for obtaining and disseminating information. Current social events and trending topics are transmitted in the form of topics on the microblog platform. Therefore, studying the evolution process and development trend of microblog topic communication is of great significance for public opinion monitoring, crisis prevention and control, early warning, and precision marketing. A multi-feature metric analysis method is designed for the influencing factors in the process of topic propagation, and the influencing factors are divided into two levels: content characteristics and structural characteristics. Aiming at the problem of Weibo topic trend prediction, this paper proposes a micro-blog topic trend prediction model, G-Informer, which integrates graph attention. Considering the graph structure and time evolution characteristics of the topic in the process of propagation evolution, the experimental results show that the G-Informer model in this paper has certain advantages in predicting the trend of microblog topics and has good robustness for predicting long series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists are promising agents in the treatment of endometriosis-related pain. Here we assessed the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of SHR7280, an oral non-peptide GnRH antagonist in premenopausal women with endometriosis. Methods: In the Phase 1 part of the randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, dose-ascending, Phase 1/2 trial, premenopausal women with endometriosis were randomized (4:1) to receive SHR7280 or placebo treatment for 21 consecutive days. The treatment dose started from 200 mg QD, and then increased to 300 mg QD and 200 mg BID. Safety, PK, and PD parameters were assessed. Results: In total, 30 patients received assigned treatment, 24 with SHR7280 and 6 with placebo. SHR7280 was well tolerated. Adverse events (AEs) were reported in 19 (79.2%, 19/24) patients in the SHR7280 group and 5 (83.3%, 5/6) patients in the placebo group. Most AEs were mild and no severe AEs occurred. SHR7280 showed a rapid absorption, with a time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) of 1.0 h, 1.0 h, and 0.8 h for the 200 mg QD, 300 mg QD, and 200 mg BID regimens, respectively. Plasma concentration of SHR7280 was dose dependent. The mean half-life (t1/2) at steady state was 6.9 h, 7.4 h, and 2.8 h, respectively, and little or no accumulation was observed. Pharmacodynamic analysis showed that SHR7280 could effectively suppress estradiol and luteinizing hormone concentrations and prevent progesterone increase in a dose-dependent manner. SHR7280 at doses of 300 mg QD and 200 mg BID could suppress estradiol levels within the desired therapeutic window of 20–50 pg/mL throughout the treatment period. Conclusions: SHR7280 showed favorable safety, PK, and PD profiles in the doses of 200 mg QD, 300 mg QD, and 200 mg BID. The results of this study provide evidence to support the further development of SHR7280 as a GnRH antagonist for the treatment of endometriosis-related pain in the subsequent Phase 2 trial. Trial Registry: Trial registration number: Clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT04417972. Trial registration date: 5 June 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mild mesangial proliferative IgA nephropathy with minimal change disease (MCD-IgAN) and mild mesangial proliferative IgA nephropathy without minimal change disease (Non-MCD-IgAN) have similar characteristics on light microscopy. Nevertheless, their discrepancies in clinicopathological features and prognosis remain unknown. A total of 589 patients with biopsy-proven mild mesangial proliferative IgA nephropathy (M-IgAN) combined with light microscopy and immunofluorescence were enrolled. Firstly, the diagnoses of the patients by electron microscopy were recorded and used as the gold standard. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity using nephrotic syndrome (NS) as the diagnostic criteria to identify MCD-IgAN. Then, excluding patients with a 24-h urinary total protein less than 0.5 g/day, incomplete clinical data, or less than the six-month follow-up, we included 184 cases of non-MCD-IgAN and 98 cases of MCD-IgAN. The patients' clinicopathological and outcome data were collected and compared. Among the 589 patients, according to electron microscopy, 381 were diagnosed with non-MCD-IgAN, 167 with MCD-IgAN, and 41 with M-IgAN complicated by other glomerular diseases. Using NS as the diagnostic criteria to distinguish non-MCD-IgAN and MCD-IgAN, the sensitivity and specificity were 83.8% and 99.5%, respectively. The patients in the MCD-IgAN group tended to be younger, hypotensive, with lower urinary erythrocytes, and more likely to achieve complete remission, and fewer patients progressed to the endpoint than those in the non-MCD-IgAN group (all P < 0.05). NS appears to be an objective indicator for differentiating MCD-IgAN from non-MCD-IgAN. Non-MCD-IgAN varies greatly from MCD-IgAN in clinicopathology and treatment response, with a poorer prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid diagnosis of respiratory virus infection through breath and blow remains challenging. Here we develop a wireless, battery-free, multifunctional pathogenic infection diagnosis system (PIDS) for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptom severity by blow and breath within 110 s and 350 s, respectively. The accuracies reach to 100% and 92% for evaluating the infection and symptom severity of 42 participants, respectively. PIDS realizes simultaneous gaseous sample collection, biomarker identification, abnormal physical signs recording and machine learning analysis. We transform PIDS into other miniaturized wearable or portable electronic platforms that may widen the diagnostic modes at home, outdoors and public places. Collectively, we demonstrate a general-purpose technology for rapidly diagnosing respiratory pathogenic infection by breath and blow, alleviating the technical bottleneck of saliva and nasopharyngeal secretions. PIDS may serve as a complementary diagnostic tool for other point-of-care techniques and guide the symptomatic treatment of viral infections. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic highlighted our need for methods that allow rapid viral surveillance. Here, authors report a wireless, battery-free and wearable self-diagnosis platform that can continuously capture viral particles, diagnose infection status and evaluate symptom severity via breath and blow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous monitoring of arterial blood pressure (BP) outside of a clinical setting is crucial for preventing and diagnosing hypertension related diseases. However, current continuous BP monitoring instruments suffer from either bulky systems or poor user-device interfacial performance, hampering their applications in continuous BP monitoring. Here, we report a thin, soft, miniaturized system (TSMS) that combines a conformal piezoelectric sensor array, an active pressure adaptation unit, a signal processing module, and an advanced machine learning method, to allow real wearable, continuous wireless monitoring of ambulatory artery BP. By optimizing the materials selection, control/sampling strategy, and system integration, the TSMS exhibits improved interfacial performance while maintaining Grade A level measurement accuracy. Initial trials on 87 volunteers and clinical tracking of two hypertension individuals prove the capability of the TSMS as a reliable BP measurement product, and its feasibility and practical usability in precise BP control and personalized diagnosis schemes development. Continuous monitoring of arterial blood pressure is limited by bulky connecting systems and poor interfacial contact. Here, Li et al. report a wearable thin, soft, miniaturized system that integrates sensing, active pressure adaptation, and signal processing for improved performance and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyze the risk factors and develop a clinical prediction model for early biliary infection (EBI) after percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting (PTBS) in patients with malignant biliary obstruction (MBO). Methods: The clinical data of 236 patients with MBO treated with PTBS from June 2012 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Independent risk factors were analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression, and a nomogram model was constructed based on the results. Discrimination, calibration, and clinical usefulness of this model were further assessed. Results: The technical success rate of PTBS was 100%, and EBI after PTBS was 20.3%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hilar MBO (P = 0.020), diabetes (P = 0.001), previous surgical or endoscopic intervention (P = 0.007), procedure time > 60 min (P = 0.007), and intraprocedural biliary hemorrhage (P = 0.003) were independent risk factors for EBI after PTBS. A nomogram model was developed to predict the probability of EBI. ROC curves showed good discrimination of the model (area under curve = 0.831). The calibration plot indicated that the predicted probability of EBI by this model was in good agreement with the actual probability of EBI. The DCA curves showed that the net benefit of nomogram-assisted decisions was higher than or equal to the net benefit of treatment for all or none at a wide threshold probability (0–0.8). Conclusion: The nomogram model based on the above independent risk factors can predict the probability of EBI and model-assisted treatment decisions contribute to improved clinical outcome. Therefore, MBO patients with probability of EBI > 0.20 based on the model should be recommended for perioperative broad-spectrum antibiotics and close monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of celiac plexus block (CPB) combined with 125I seeds implantation (ISI) for refractory epigastric pain from abdominal malignancies. Methods: The data of 81 patients with refractory epigastric pain [visual analog scale (VAS) score ≥ 4] from abdominal malignancies were collected in this retrospective case–control study. Group A (n = 40) was treated with CPB alone, while Group B (n = 41) underwent CPB combined with ISI. The primary study endpoints were the VAS score, quality of life (QoL), and local tumor control (LTC) rate. The secondary endpoints were complications, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Results: The VAS scores at week 2 (T2), week 4 (T4), week 8 (T8), and week 12 (T12) in both groups were significantly lower compared with the pretreatment values (all P < 0.01). VAS scores in Group B showed a sustained decrease, especially for "mild pain" and "moderate pain," while the VAS scores in Group A rebounded at T8 and T12 (both P < 0.01). The QoL in Group B improved significantly from T4 until T12, which better than that at T12 in Group A (all P < 0.01). The LTC rates at T8 were 35.0% and 92.7% in Groups A and B, respectively, with a significant difference (P < 0.01). Group B had a slightly lower complication rate and a slightly longer median PFS/OS than group A, but neither was statistically different (P = 0.09 and P = 0.99, respectively). Conclusion: CPB combined with ISI performs more sustained pain relief (up to 12 weeks) compared to CPB alone, and ultimately improves the patients' QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is to give a novel Jackknife Empirical Likelihood for both smooth and unsmooth statistical functionals. Specifically, we consider the estimation of unknown statistical functionals under the framework of general delete-d jackknife and a usage of the subsampling method which can reduce the computational burden. Moreover, the corresponding statistical inference issues and asymptotic properties of the proposed method are also investigated. Several related application examples are carefully conducted to check the superiority of our new proposed method. Finally, the finite sample simulation studies are also included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in virtual reality (VR) technologies accelerate the creation of a flawless 3D virtual world to provide frontier social platform for human. Equally important to traditional visual, auditory and tactile sensations, olfaction exerts both physiological and psychological influences on humans. Here, we report a concept of skin-interfaced olfactory feedback systems with wirelessly, programmable capabilities based on arrays of flexible and miniaturized odor generators (OGs) for olfactory VR applications. By optimizing the materials selection, design layout, and power management, the OGs exhibit outstanding device performance in various aspects, from response rate, to odor concentration control, to long-term continuous operation, to high mechanical/electrical stability and to low power consumption. Representative demonstrations in 4D movie watching, smell message delivery, medical treatment, human emotion control and VR/AR based online teaching prove the great potential of the soft olfaction interface in various practical applications, including entertainment, education, human machine interfaces and so on. Virtual reality technologies need olfactory systems to improve human perception, but their bulky formats limit their practicality. Here, Liu et. al. report flexible and miniaturized odor generators with tunable odor concentration in close user proximity for immersive virtual reality applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: 125I brachytherapy is effective in relieving cancer pain due to osteolytic bone metastases. However, fewer studies focused on painful osteoblastic bone metastases (OBMs), we conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy of 125I brachytherapy for the treatment of painful OBMs. Methods: From April 2017 to April 2019, clinical data of a total of 65 patients with OBMs who underwent CT/cone beam CT -guided 125I brachytherapy were collected and analyzed. The primary study endpoints were technical success, relief of pain (RoP), and quality of life (QoL). The secondary study endpoints were treatment-related complications, local tumor control (LCR), and overall survival (OS). The logistic regression analysis was performed to predict RoP. Results: Technical success rate was 100%. Visual analog scale scores and daily morphine consumption continuously decreased significantly at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 10 weeks (all P < 0.05). The RoP at 6 weeks was 84.62%. QoL presented improvement at 6 and 10 weeks. Only minor complications occurred in 12 patients (18.46%). LCR was 93.85% at 10 weeks. The OS was 29.80 months. Two factors were significantly associated with the RoP: max diameter (MD, < 3 cm vs. ≥ 3 cm, P = 0.019) and serum levels of bone alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP, ≥ 100 U/L vs. < 100 U/L, P = 0.016). Conclusions: 125I brachytherapy is an effective treatment in relieving painful OBMs and improving patients' QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Given the variable nature of clinical manifestations, neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is regarded as a heterogeneous disease which is challenging to diagnose early. To the present, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)-like symptoms have never been listed in the performance of NIID. Case presentation: A 58-year-old man presented with progressive Parkinsonism and postural instability for 3 years. Initially, he was considered as probable PSP due to vertical supranuclear gaze palsy, postural instability, and hummingbird sign. No high-intensity signal on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) was revealed. Eventually, the diagnosis was revised to NIID by Notch 2 N-terminal like C (NOTCH2NLC) GGC repeat expansions and skin biopsy showing intranuclear eosinophilic inclusions in the vesicles and ductal epithelial cells of sweat glands. Conclusion: Even if the typical high-intensity along the corticomedullary junction (CMJ) on DWI is lacking, clinicians should be alert to the possibility of NIID when PSP-like symptoms develop. This case report offers new features of NIID and expands its clinical spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although transcatheter arterial chemo-embolization (TACE) plays a key role on clinical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it was greatly limited by the poor synergistic effect between chemotherapeutics and physical embolization to tumor-feeding arteries. In the present work, a temperature sensitive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-b-methacrylic acid) (PNA), which was modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNP@PNA), was successfully used to encapsulate doxorubicin (DOX) by electrostatic binding with their carboxyl groups. The resultant gold nanomedicines (AuNP@PNA/DOX) exhibited temperature responsive sol-gel phase transition, favorable shear thinning effect and X-ray angiography. By in vivo evaluation of vascular embolization on VX2-tumor-bearing rabbits, AuNP@PNA/DOX exhibited far better antitumor efficacy than Lipiodol/DOX, on either tumor growth inhibition, proliferation, apoptosis, necrosis or anti-metastasis. Owing to sufficient embolization to tumor vascular networks, AuNP@PNA/DOX down-regulated the expression levels of HIF-1α, VEGF and MMP-9, and prompted more efficient activation on CD3+/CD8+ T cells and the related cytokines, suggesting the synergistic effect between AuNP@PNA and DOX on the improvement of post-operative tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. With their favorable pharmcokinetics and biocompatibility, AuNP@PNA/DOX is promising to be developed as a multi-functional artery-imaging/embolic agent with immune-chemo-embolization for enhancing TACE efficacy on HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, parallel plate capacitors are numerically simulated by solving weak forms within the framework of the finite element method. Two different domains are studied. We study the infinite parallel plate capacitor problem and verify the implementation by deriving analytical solutions with a single layer and multiple layers between two plates. Furthermore, we study the finite parallel plate capacitor problem and verify it by Love's potential equation and Xiang's capacitance equation. Moreover, the fringing effect is considered and extended to problems with multiple dielectric layers, such a solution is not possible by means of the existing analytical solutions. Besides, we realize the possibility of choosing different boundary conditions (electric potential boundary conditions and charge density boundary conditions) by changing the weak form. Finally, a transient solution that includes dielectric loss and calculates the quality factor of a capacitor is presented, which may be used in capacitor design. Convergence and consistency of results are demonstrated by comparing the results between analytical and numerical solutions and also the results from different boundary conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cd-free Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells are more promising by comparing with the Cd-containing solar cells due to its merit of environmentally friendly nature. In order to further improve the short-circuit current, wide bandgap Zn(O,S) has recently been used as buffer layer instead of CdS. However, substituting CdS and ZnO films with single-layer Zn(O,S) can usually cause current leakage and aggravate carrier recombination. Herein, Zn1−xMgxO (ZMO) films were prepared between the Zn(O,S) and Al-doped ZnO as the second buffer layer. It is found that the bandgap and crystallinity of the ZMO film can be regulated by controlling the sputtering power. The morphology of the ZMO films revealed that the vertical columnar grain structure favorable for electron transport can be prepared at higher sputtering power, enhancing the short-circuit current density. Furthermore, the quality factor reduction and activation energy of recombination close to CIGS thin-film bandgap indicate that the interface recombination and open-circuit voltage deficit are reduced. Finally, a peak efficiency of 16.58% in Cd-free CIGS solar cells was achieved with high open-circuit voltage (Voc) (664 mV) and fill factor (74.5%). Voc of Cd-free CIGS solar cells has reached the same value as that of CdS/CIGS devices. These results demonstrate that deposited ZMO as the second buffer layer plays an important role in the reduction of Voc deficit in CIGS solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate dynamic tissue changes after airway stenting (AS) with a newly designed metal brachytherapy stent (BS) loaded with radioactive 125I seeds in normal rabbits. Methods: Forty-five normal New Zealand white rabbits were divided into 3 groups (group A: stent without seeds; group B: stent with 0.4 mCi active seeds; group C: stent with 0.8 mCi active seeds) and underwent AS under C-arm guidance. Then, five rabbits were killed from each group at 2, 4, and 8 weeks for further examination. Laboratory tests (including routine blood tests, liver function, kidney function, and electrolytes), gross observations, and tissue changes of Masson/hematoxylin–eosin staining, plus immunohistochemistry of α-SMA, NOX4, and TGF-β were performed at each time point. Results: All animals underwent AS successfully without procedure-related death, but one animal died at 6 weeks due to severe pulmonary infection in group C. Apart from a transient increase in white blood cells (P < 0.05) and a gradual increase in ROS levels (P < 0.05), other blood test items showed no significant changes (P > 0.05). The brachytherapy injury score increased with irradiation dose accumulation (P < 0.05), but tissue hyperplasia at the stent end in group C was less severe than that in groups A and B (P < 0.05). Airway lateral fibrosis was observed in all groups by histopathologic analysis; however, fibrosis in group C was more severe than that in groups A and B (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The brachytherapy injury score increased with irradiation dose accumulation, while granulation tissue hyperplasia at the stent end was inhibited by 125I brachytherapy within 8 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the safety and effectiveness of trans-oral trans-sheath forceps biopsy (TTFB) for patients with severe esophageal obstruction under fluoroscopy. From November 2016 to November 2019, 35 patients with level III or IV dysphagia and a Karnofsky score of less than 60 were enrolled to undergo TTFB and esophageal nutrition tube insertion or stenting simultaneously. Data on diagnostic performance, early complications, and radiation dose were collected, and Karnofsky scores before and after the procedures were compared. The technical success of TTFB was 100%. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 92.3% (24/26), 77.8% (7/9), and 88.6% (31/35), respectively. Complications occurred in two cases (5.7%). The mean procedure duration and irradiation dose were 23.2 min and 7.2 mSv, respectively. The Karnofsky scores significantly increased after 2–4 weeks (t = 11.22, P < 0.0001). TTFB is a safe and effective method for patients with severe esophageal obstruction under fluoroscopy, especially in those who cannot undergo or refuse endoscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of construction and demolition (C&D) waste and used tires in geotechnical engineering contributes to the demand of the sustainable development. This study mainly compared the mechanical behavior of pure sand embankment (PSE), C&D material embankment (CDME), sand-tire shreds mixture embankment (STSME) through a scale model test. Effects of tire shreds content, the first layer geocell reinforcement burial depth, geocell reinforcement depth and compaction degree on the bearing capacity of embankments were investigated. Moreover, embankment load-settlement ratio, the reinforced bearing capacity ratio, the bearing capacity improvement factor (IF), the embankment surface deformation, and the vertical earth pressure distribution inside the embankment were discussed. Results indicate that both C&D material fillers and sand-tire shreds mixture can improve the bearing capacity and stability of embankment slopes. However, C&D material is better than sand-tire shreds mixture in the improvement. The optimum value of tire shreds content is 5%. The reinforcement effect of geocell decreases with the increase of reinforcement depth. With the increase of the buried depth of the first layer, it first increases and then decreases. With the increase of compaction degree increases. The minimum earth pressure appears near the slope. The bearing capacity of CDME is greater than STSME. The ultimate bearing capacity of CDME under the action of the geocell is twice that of the unreinforced embankment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of 3.0 T wide-bore magnetic resonance (MR)-guided microwave ablation (MA) of liver metastases (LM). From October 2018 to May 2020, 39 patients with 63 LM were treated with 3.0 T wide-bore MR-guided 2450-MHz MA therapy. The procedure parameters, technical success, complications, biochemical index changes, local tumor response, local tumor progression (LTP), 12-month disease-free survival (DFS) and 12-month overall survival (OS) were recorded and analyzed. The mean tumor maximum diameter and total procedure time were 3.0 cm and 55.2 min, respectively. Technical success was 100%, but 5 cases (12.8%) had grade-1 complications. Alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase and total bilirubin showed a slight transient increase on day 3 (P < 0.05) and returned to normal by day 30 (P > 0.05). The complete ablation rates for ≤ 2.5 and > 2.5 cm lesions were 100% and 92.5%, respectively. During the median follow-up of 12.0 months, the LTP rate was 4.8% (3/63), and the 12-month DFS and OS rates were 61.3% and 92.2%, respectively. 3.0 T wide-bore MR-guided MA for LM is a safe and effective approach, especially for small LM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the ability of 10 Earth System Models (ESMs) that participated in the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) to reproduce the present-day inhalable particles with diameters less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) over Asia and discusses the uncertainty. PM2.5 accounts for more than 30% of the surface total aerosol (fine and coarse) concentration over Asia, except for central Asia. The simulated spatial distributions of PM2.5 and its components, averaged from 2005 to 2020, are consistent with the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis. They are characterized by the high PM2.5 concentrations in eastern China and northern India where anthropogenic components such as sulfate and organic aerosol dominate, and in northwestern China where the mineral dust in PM2.5 fine particles (PM2.5DU) dominates. The present-day multi-model mean (MME) PM2.5 concentrations slightly underestimate ground-based observations in the same period of 2014–2019, although observations are affected by the limited coverage of observation sites and the urban areas. Those model biases partly come from other aerosols (such as nitrate and ammonium) not involved in our analyses, and also are contributed by large uncertainty in PM2.5 simulations on local scale among ESMs. The model uncertainties over East Asia are mainly attributed to sulfate and PM2.5DU; over South Asia, they are attributed to sulfate, organic aerosol, and PM2.5DU; over Southeast Asia, they are attributed to sea salt in PM2.5 fine particles (PM2.5SS); and over central Asia, they are attributed to PM2.5DU. They are mainly caused by the different representations of aerosols within individual ESMs including the representation of aerosol size distributions, dynamic transport, and physical and chemistry mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous, real-time monitoring of perfusion after microsurgical free tissue transfer or solid organ allotransplantation procedures can facilitate early diagnosis of and intervention for anastomotic thrombosis. Current technologies including Doppler systems, cutaneous O2-sensing probes, and fluorine magnetic resonance imaging methods are limited by their intermittent measurements, requirements for skilled personnel, indirect interfaces, and/or their tethered connections. This paper reports a wireless, miniaturized, minimally invasive near-infrared spectroscopic system designed for uninterrupted monitoring of local-tissue oxygenation. A bioresorbable barbed structure anchors the probe stably at implantation sites for a time period matched to the clinical need, with the ability for facile removal afterward. The probe connects to a skin-interfaced electronic module for wireless access to essential physiological parameters, including local tissue oxygenation, pulse oxygenation, and heart rate. In vitro tests and in vivo studies in porcine flap and kidney models demonstrate the ability of the system to continuously measure oxygenation with high accuracy and sensitivity. Although continuous monitoring of tissue oxygenation is critically important after tissue/organ graft procedures, current technologies have key limitations. Here, the authors develop a miniaturized, minimally invasive, self-anchoring optical probe and demonstrate continuous monitoring of oxygenation in porcine flap and organ models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the recovery of SIS is based on mathematical operations (such as Lagrange interpolation, XOR, etc), when transmitted over the internet, images are usually filtered, sampled and so on, which makes the existing secret image sharing (SIS) schemes inapplicable. In this paper, we propose a model of meaningful SIS scheme resist to typical image processing of shadows. First, the shadows are generated by extended polynomial-based SIS. Then, through pixel expansion, pixel assignment and fine adjustment, the intermediate shadows are obtained, where the intermediate shadows are consistent with the original shadows after image processing and extraction. We derive three specific algorithms for (k,n) threshold lossless meaningful SIS resist to three kinds of image processing from the model respectively. Further, the analysis of shadows quality is given. Three groups of experiments show the feasibility of the proposed method, and the general model is especially effective against down-sampling and filtering. Besides, the scheme obtains better attributes, such as lossless recovery, (k,n) threshold and meaningful shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin, soft, and skin-integrated electronic system has great advantages for realizing continuous human healthcare monitoring. Here, we report an ultra-thin, flexible, and garment-based microelectronics powered by sweat-activated batteries (SABs) and applications of powering biosensors and microelectronic systems for real time sweat monitoring. The SAB cell is ultra-thin (1.25 mm) with excellent biocompatibility. The SAB has good electricity output with high capacity (14.33 mAh) and maximum power density (3.17 mW cm−2) after being activated by the sweat volume of 0.045 mL cm−2, which could continuously power 120 light emitting diodes over 3 h. The outputs could maintain stable after repeatable bending. Wireless microelectronics system could be continuously powered by the SABs for 3 h to monitor sweat and physiological information, including sweat Na+ concentration, pH, and skin impedance. The reported integrated system provides a potential for solving the power issues of flexible wearable electronics and realizing personalized medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal ions have become a major problem that seriously affects the environment, ecology, and human health with the development of industrialization. Herein, the amino-grafted attapulgite/graphene oxide (A-ATP/GO) nanocomposites were synthesized for Pb(II) removal. The influencing factors including the ratio of the components, pH value, adsorption time, initial concentration of Pb(II) solution, and adsorbent amount were investigated to achieve the optimal adsorption performance. The as-prepared A-ATP/GO were used in Pb(II) solution (150 mg/L, 30 mL, pH = 5) for Pb(II) adsorption, which exhibited a great adsorption ability of 146.97 mg/g for Pb(II). The adsorption kinetic model and isotherms model were applied to investigate the adsorption mechanism of Pb(II) on A-ATP/GO. The A-ATP/GO composite could still maintain an original adsorption of 79.85% after 5 consecutive times, exhibiting the good reproducibility. It was believed that our results could shed light on the design and fabrication of low-cost graphene-based composite adsorbents for high-efficient Pb(II) removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of endovascular treatment for patients with visceral and renal artery aneurysms (VRAAs). Twelve years of experience with interventional procedures and treatment options in our center were also worth discussing. Methods: From January 2009 to December 2020, clinical data of 159 consecutive patients with VRAAs were retrospectively analyzed. Patients' demographic and clinical data were recorded, and the safety and efficacy of endovascular therapy were evaluated. In addition, interventional procedures were also described. Results: A total of 159 patients underwent angiography, and 154 patients were successfully treated with endovascular therapy, with a technical success rate of 96.9%. Of the 154 patients with successful endovascular therapy, 3 patients died within 30 days of treatment, with a 30-day mortality rate of 1.9%, and the remaining patients were clinically successful, with a clinical success rate of 98.1%. Fifty-seven patients underwent emergency interventional treatment due to ruptured aneurysm. There were statistically significant differences in hemoglobin before and after emergency treatment (78.5 ± 22.0 g/dL vs. 93.8 ± 15.0 g/dL, P = 0.00). No other serious complications occurred except death in 3 patients. Conclusion: Endovascular treatment of VRRAs is safe and effective and can significantly improve the symptoms of patients, especially those with ruptured aneurysms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skin-integrated electronics, also known as electronic skin (e-skin), are rapidly developing and are gradually being adopted in biomedical fields as well as in our daily lives. E-skin capable of providing sensitive and high-resolution tactile sensations and haptic feedback to the human body would open a new e-skin paradigm for closed-loop human–machine interfaces. Here, we report a class of materials and mechanical designs for the miniaturization of mechanical actuators and strategies for their integration into thin, soft e-skin for haptic interfaces. The mechanical actuators exhibit small dimensions of 5 mm diameter and 1.45 mm thickness and work in an electromagnetically driven vibrotactile mode with resonance frequency overlapping the most sensitive frequency of human skin. Nine mini actuators can be integrated simultaneously in a small area of 2 cm × 2 cm to form a 3 × 3 haptic feedback array, which is small and compact enough to mount on a thumb tip. Furthermore, the thin, soft haptic interface exhibits good mechanical properties that work properly during stretching, bending, and twisting and therefore can conformally fit onto various parts of the human body to afford programmable tactile enhancement and Braille recognition with an accuracy rate over 85%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the light coupling efficiency of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and polymer optical waveguide integrated device was improved by the grating coupler. To maximize light coupling efficiency, the grating coupler was optimized by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Based on the simulation results, the grating coupler was fabricated via laser interference lithography process and an OLED was integrated on the surface of it. Comparing the integrated devices without and with grating coupler, light coupling efficiency of the grating-based integrated device was improved by about 5%. The proposed integrated device has the potential application for low-cost and flexible monolithic optical sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In smart cities, the Internet-of-Thing (IoT) provides an enabling communication infrastructure to support tremendous amount of data exchange. Most IoT applications, e.g., wireless local area network, Bluetooth and so forth, utilize the channel-hopping scheme to suppress the transmission security threats. In this paper, to reduce the mutual interference and external jamming attacks, multiple novel channel-hopping patterns, i.e., traditional no-hit-zone (NHZ) hopping pattern and generalized NHZ hopping pattern, are introduced to suit to IoT networks. Particularly the design of probabilistic hopping pattern is first proposed, which has the various usage probabilities with regard to various channels. The properties of these hopping patterns are investigated by the step-to-step examples. Then, the error-rate performance of the multi-node IoT systems adopting these hopping patterns in the presence of jamming attacks is comprehensively analyzed. The extensive simulations show that the traditional/generalized NHZ hopping patterns are in favor of combating the mutual interference but with the limited capability of reducing jamming attacks, while the probabilistic hopping pattern possesses the opposite feature, that is, it has the predominant merit in suppressing jamming attacks. Thus, the novel channel-hopping pattern-based IoT could provide the secure transmission for communication applications in smart cities. Note that, as the physical-layer security technique, the channel-hopping patterns investigated in this paper are convenient to integrate with the security policies implemented in upper layers (e.g., encryption, authentication and so forth). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence shows that mutations in vitamin D receptor (VDR) have been linked with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the interaction effect between VDR variants and environmental factors on the T2D susceptibility remained unclear. Therefore, the current study was conducted to explore the joint effect of VDR polymorphisms and serum triglyceride level on T2D. A total of 2017 participants were included in the cross-sectional study. Taqman probe assays were applied to rs3847987 and rs739837 genotyping. Multiple logistic regression and general linear model were used to examine the effect of interaction between VDR variants and TG on T2D susceptibility and fasting serum glucose, respectively. The results showed that rs739837 polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of T2D under the dominant model (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.02–1.66), after adjusting for potential risk factors. Meanwhile, there was a significant additive interaction between rs3847987 and hypertriglyceridemia (synergy index [SI]: 2.98, 95% CI: 1.23–7.23) and between rs739837 and hypertriglyceridemia (SI: 2.36, 95% CI: 1.05–5.31) on T2D susceptibility. Additionally, a significant linear association between fasting glucose and rs3847987 had been found at high triglyceride level (> 1.90 mmol/L) with an inversely concentration-dependent manner. The study provided further evidence that rs739837 and high level of triglyceride were both associated with higher T2D susceptibility in Chinese population. Additionally, the detrimental effect of VDR variants on T2D could be modified by hypertriglyceridemia status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigated the joint influence of particle crushing and intermediate principal stress coefficient on the macro and micro performances of granular assembles by using 3D discrete element method. The soil particle was modeled by crushable agglomerate. Numerical true triaxial tests with crushable agglomerates were performed. The mechanical behaviors of specimens with unbreakable agglomerates were also tested in this study. The results demonstrated that grain breakage can significantly affect the behaviors of granular soils in both macro and micro scales. Moreover, the present paper also showed that particle breakage did not influence the unique relationship between the intermediate principal stress coefficient b and the deviatoric fabric of strong contacts. This can provide a good basis for developing micro-parameter-based constitutive model considering particle breakage for granular soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of 0.65(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 -0.35(Sr0.7+x + Bi0.2)TiO3 (BNT-S0.7+xBT) composite ceramic pellets are synthesized using a traditional solid sintering method, where a tunable x, the changeable volume of Sr, is to tailor energy storage through the adjustments of the A-site stoichiometry in BNT-S0.7+xBT. We find that a small excess of Sr2+ ions will result in an extensively tuning on the crystal grain size and even contribute to the A-site disorder and charge fluctuation of BNT-S0.7+xBT. As such, the BNT-S0.7+xBT exhibits a minimum average grain size and a highly compact crystal morphology, and thus, BNT-S0.75BT ceramic exhibits a high dielectric constant (εr) of about 5100 at 110 °C. Meanwhile, a relatively thin polarization–electric field (P–E) loop with a high maximum polarization of 42 μC/cm2 and a low remnant electric polarization of 5 μC/cm2 are obtained in a BNT-S0.75BT pellet under 100 kV/cm, corresponding to an energy density of 0.98 J cm−3 and a good η of 70.7%. Attractively, the maximum polarization (Pm) of BNT-S0.75BT ceramic at 25–100 °C hardly decreases, implying excellent temperature stability of polarization performances under high electric field of 100 kV/cm, which favors the energy storage of relaxor ferroelectric ceramics and is valuable to a supercapacitor serving at evaluated high temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2D ultrathin MXene nanosheet was prepared under controlled conditions and employed as a sensitive film to construct a QCM (quartz crystal microbalance) humidity sensor by a dip coating method. The MXene nanosheets were obtained by dislodging the element A from the MAX phase by a facile liquid phase etching method. The morphology and composition of the MXene nanosheets were characterized by means of a number of advanced instruments. It was found that the sample is an ultrathin graphene-like nanosheet. The sensing test results showed that the sensor has a 12.8 Hz/% RH sensitivity, 6 s and 2 s (@ 90%) response/recovery time, maximum humidity hysteresis of 1.16% RH, good stability, and selectivity. Finally, the enhanced humidity response mechanism of the MXene nanosheets was explored by density-functional theory (DFT) calculation and experimental verification. The DFT simulation together with comparison of fluoride-free sample revealed that F elements on the surface of the MXene nanosheets play a more important role in improving humidity responses than OH groups. The results present a new strategy to enhance humidity sensing performance of sensing materials by F− doping or decoration. Thus, the sensor has bright potential for humidity sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]