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STEM education is designed for students to improve their skills so that they can handle the challenge in the 21st century. STEM skills are needed in nowadays’ job market, so it is essential for a country to develop STEM education so that the next generation can adapt to the future society. This paper analyses the development of STEM education in Japan, China and the United States to provide suggestions to solve the existing problems in these three countries. This paper found that there are three main problems which are the gender gap problem, the uneven quality of STEM teachers and students’ low interest in learning STEM. To solve these three problems, governments should build a qualified STEM teacher training system. Schools should pay more attention to the educational background of the teachers rather than other irrelevant factors. Teachers are encouraged to correct the negative stereotypes about STEM and give clear instructions on the future career choices of students. In this way, students’ interest in learning STEM and self-efficacy can be improved.

Funding Information: We gratefully acknowledge support and resources from the High Performance Computing Center at New York University Abu Dhabi. We thank A. Kyriazidou and C. Haefke for their feedback and comments, which improved the paper. This work was supported by the New York University Abu Dhabi (Global PhD Student Fellowship to F.L.) and JSPS KAKENHI (grant no. JP21H04595 to P.H.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s). Scientific editors shape the content of academic journals and set standards for their fields. Yet, the degree to which the gender makeup of editors reflects that of scientists, and the rate at which editors publish in their own journals, are not entirely understood. Here, we use algorithmic tools to infer the gender of 81,000 editors serving more than 1,000 journals and 15 disciplines over five decades. Only 26% of authors in our dataset are women, and we find even fewer women among editors (14%) and editors-in-chief (8%). Career length explains the gender gap among editors, but not editors-in-chief. Moreover, by analysing the publication records of 20,000 editors, we find that 12% publish at least one-fifth, and 6% publish at least one-third, of their papers in the journal they edit. Editors-in-chief tend to self-publish at a higher rate. Finally, compared with women, men have a higher increase in the rate at which they publish in a journal soon after becoming its editor.

Disparities continue to pose major challenges in various aspects of science. One such aspect is editorial board composition, which has been shown to exhibit racial and geographical disparities. However, the literature on this subject lacks longitudinal studies quantifying the degree to which the racial composition of editors reflects that of scientists. Other aspects that may exhibit racial disparities include the time spent between the submission and acceptance of a manuscript and the number of citations a paper receives relative to textually similar papers, but these have not been studied to date. To fill this gap, we compile a dataset of 1,000,000 papers published between 2001 and 2020 by six publishers, while identifying the handling editor of each paper. Using this dataset, we show that most countries in Asia, Africa, and South America (where the majority of the population is ethnically non-White) have fewer editors than would be expected based on their share of authorship. Focusing on US-based scientists reveals Black as the most underrepresented race. In terms of acceptance delay, we find, again, that papers from Asia, Africa, and South America spend more time compared to other papers published in the same journal and the same year. Regression analysis of US-based papers reveals that Black authors suffer from the greatest delay. Finally, by analyzing citation rates of US-based papers, we find that Black and Hispanic scientists receive significantly fewer citations compared to White ones doing similar research. Taken together, these findings highlight significant challenges facing non-White scientists.

A hydrogen atom coupled with electron transfer (HadCET) mechanism is proposed for electrocatalytic NAD+ reduction on metal electrodes (Cu, Fe and Co), in contrast to the NAD˙ radical pathway on carbon electrodes.

Scaffold-based approach is a developed strategy in biomanufacturing, which is based on the use of temporary scaffold that performs as a house of implanted cells for their attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. This strategy strongly depends on both materials and manufacturing processes. However, it is very difficult to meet all the requirements, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical strength, and promotion of cell-adhesion, using only single material. At present, no single bioprinting technique can meet the requirements for tissue regeneration of all scales. Thus, multi-material and mixing-material scaffolds have been widely investigated. Challenges in terms of resolution, uniform cell distribution, and tissue formation are still the obstacles in the development of bioprinting technique. Hybrid bioprinting techniques have been developed to print scaffolds with improved properties in both mechanical and biological aspects for broad biomedical engineering applications. In this review, we introduce the basic multi-head bioprinters, semi-hybrid and fully-hybrid biomanufacturing systems, highlighting the modifications, the improved properties and the effect on the complex tissue regeneration applications.

Folate is essential for human health, playing a vital role in the metabolism of nucleic and amino acids. However, folate intake is below the recommendation in many countries. Mandatory folic acid fortification is practised in more than 80 countries around the world, but not, for example, in most EU countries. Additionally, there are concerns about excessive folic acid intake. Therefore, studying folate from natural sources, such as cereal and legume-based foods, is important. Unlike enriched folic acid, natural folates need to be liberated from the food matrix, and, further, most of them are unstable and can be lost during digestion. Thus, to understand the role of a food as a folate source, it is necessary to consider the bioaccessibility of folate, meaning the proportion of folate potentially available for absorption. However, knowledge about folate bioaccessibility in foods is still limited, especially at the vitamer level. Furthermore, the mechanisms behind how food matrices influence folate bioaccessibility are not well understood. This thesis aimed to investigate the bioaccessibility of endogenous folate in cereals and legumes. Folate bioaccessibility in cereal and legume matrices (flours, pastes and breads) was compared first. Next, the stability of folate vitamers during in vitro digestion was studied. Then, the effects of ingredients and processing methods on folate bioaccessibility were investigated. Finally, the significance of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate to folate bioaccessibility was examined. Samples were subjected to a static in vitro digestion model, and folates were analysed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled with photodiode array and fluorescence detection. Folate bioaccessibility in cereal and legume matrices ranged from 31% to 123%. Faba bean matrices generally had better folate bioaccessibility than cereal matrices. Among the breads, rye breads typically had higher folate bioaccessibility, and oat breads had lower folate bioaccessibility than the other breads. Three common trends in folate stability during in vitro digestion were found: (1) high stability of formyl pool folates, but frequent interconversion among formyl folates (10-formyldihydrofolate, 5-formyltetrahydrofolate) and 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate; (2) the decrease of reduced folates (tetrahydrofolate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, and 5-formyltetrahydrofolate); and (3) high stability of oxidised folates (folic acid and 10-formylfolic acid). These changes were universal for all studied food matrices, but the degree varied. 5-methyltetrahydrofolate was more stable in legume matrices than in cereal matrices. Both the ingredients and the processing methods affected the bioaccessibility of folate. Because of a larger formyl folate pool, whole-grain wheat bread had better folate bioaccessibility than white wheat bread. The inclusion of faba bean flour as a baking ingredient not only introduced a large formyl pool but also stabilised 5-methyltetrahydrofolate during digestion, improving both the folate content and bioaccessibility in bread. Folate bioaccessibility was easily improved with a simple paste making process. Conversely, baking with added yeast significantly enhanced the 5-methyltetrahydrofolate level in breads but decreased their folate bioaccessibility due to the instability of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. Further experiments showed that 5-methyltetrahydrofolate was crucial for folate bioaccessibility and its stability in food matrices during the in vitro digestion was a trade-off between the pro-oxidative and protective factors. However, phenolic compounds could act as protective factors in stabilising 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. In summary, folates underwent significant changes during digestion. However, food matrices can be modified to turn these changes towards better folate bioaccessibility. Faba bean was shown to be a promising dietary source of folate. In addition to folate content, bioaccessibility should be considered when evaluating foods as folate sources. B-ryhmän vitamiineihin kuuluvaa folaattia tarvitaan mm. nukleiinihappojen synteesiin ja aminohappojen aineenvaihduntaan. Folaatin saanti jää usein alle suositusten. Sikiöiden hermostoputken sulkeutumishäiriöiden ehkäisemiseksi monessa maassa viljavalmisteita täydennetään foolihapolla. Tämä ei kuitenkaan ole yleistä EU:ssa, ja siksi on tärkeää tutkia elintarvikkeiden luontaista folaattia. Pitoisuuksien lisäksi voidaan tarkastella folaatin biosaatavuutta (bioaccessibility), jolla tarkoitetaan sitä osuutta folaatista, joka vapautuu elintarvikkeesta ja voisi imeytyä. Useimmat folaatin muodoista, vitameereista, ovat herkkiä tuhoutumaan. Folaatin biosaatavuutta ei ole juuri tutkittu etenkään vitameeritasolla, eikä elintarvikematriisin vaikutusta biosaatavuuteen ymmärretä hyvin. Väitöskirjatyön tavoite oli tutkia viljojen ja palkokasvien folaatin biosaatavuutta. Biosaatavuutta tutkittiin staattisella in vitro ruoansulatusmallilla, ja folaatit määritettiin erittäin suuren erotuskyvyn nestekromatografialla (UHPLC). Folaatin biosaatavuus vilja- ja palkokasvimateriaaleista – jauhoista, kuumennetuista jauho–vesiseoksista ja leivistä – oli 31–123 %. Vitameerien pysyvyydet ruoansulatusmallissa vaihtelivat, ja elintarvikkeissa yleisesti esiintyvä 5-metyylitetrahydrofolaatti oli pysyvämpi palkokasvi- kuin viljamateriaaleissa. Härkäpavun folaatin biosaatavuus oli parempi kuin viljojen. Ruisleipien folaatin biosaatavuus oli hyvä, kun taas kauraleivissä biosaatavuus oli heikompi. Täysjyvävehnäleivän folaatin biosaatavuus oli parempi kuin valkoisen vehnäleivän, ja härkäpapujauhon käyttäminen leivonnassa paransi sekä leivän folaattitasoa että biosaatavuutta. Biosaatavuutta pystyttiin parantamaan myös yksinkertaisella kuumennuskäsittelyllä. Leivinhiivan käyttäminen nosti kyllä leivän folaattipitoisuutta, mutta heikensi biosaatavuutta hiivan tuottaman 5 metyylitetrahydrofolaatin heikon pysyvyyden vuoksi. 5-Metyylitetrahydrofolaatin pysyvyys osoittautuikin ratkaisevan tärkeäksi folaatin biosaatavuudelle. Fenoliset yhdisteet edistivät 5-metyylitetrahydrofolaatin pysyvyyttä. Tämä väitöskirjatyö osoitti, että elintarvikematriisien muokkauksella ja valmistusaineiden valinnalla voidaan parantaa folaatin biosaatavuutta. Härkäpavun osoitettiin olevan lupaava folaatin lähde. Folaattipitoisuuden lisäksi biosaatavuus tulisi ottaa huomioon arvioitaessa elintarvikkeita folaatin lähteinä.

This study investigated the bioaccessibility of folate in wheat bread baked with different ingredients and processing methods. Next, different matrices were spiked with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, gallic acid (GA), or both to investigate the stability of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate during in vitro digestion. The folate bioaccessibility in bread varied from 44 to 96%. The inclusion of whole-grain or faba bean flour significantly improved both folate content and bioaccessibility. Baking with yeast increased the folate content by 145% in bread but decreased folate bioaccessibility compared to the bread without added yeast because of the instability of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. Spiking experiments confirmed oxidation as a critical reason for 5-methyltetrahydrofolate loss during digestion. However, GA protected this vitamer from degradation. Additionally, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate was less stable in whole-grain wheat matrices than other matrices. This study demonstrated that the stability of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate is crucial for folate bioaccessibility in bread, and methods for stabilizing this vitamer should be further studied.

This article presents a detailed investigation of the impact of mechanical strain on transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) material-based tunneling field-effect transistor (TFET). First, the impact of mechanical strain on material parameters of MoSe2 is calculated using the first principle of density functional theory (DFT) under meta-generalized gradient approximation (MGGA). The device performance of the TMD TFET has been studied by solving the self-consistent 3-D Poisson and Schrodinger equations in nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) framework. The results demonstrate that both ${I}_{\scriptscriptstyle {\rm {ON}}}$ and ${I}_{\scriptscriptstyle {\rm {OFF}}}$ increase with uniaxial tensile strain, however the change in ${I}_{\scriptscriptstyle {\rm {ON}}}/{I}_{\scriptscriptstyle {\rm {OFF}}}$ ratio remains small. This strain-dependent performance change in TMD TFET has been utilized to design an ultrasensitive strain sensor. The device shows a sensitivity ( $\Delta {I}_{\text {DS}}/{I}_{\text {DS}}$ ) of 3.61 for a strain of 2%. Due to the high sensitivity to the strain, these results show the potential of using MoSe2 TFET as a flexible strain sensor. Furthermore, the strained TFET is analyzed for backend circuit performance. It is observed that the speed and energy efficiency of ten-stage inverter chain based on controlled strain improve substantially in comparison to unstrained TFETs.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactor (NAD(P)H) is regarded as an important energy carrier and charge transfer mediator. Enzyme-catalyzed NADPH production in natural photosynthesis proceeds

Tuning morphology and doping additional rare earth (RE) cations are potential techniques to promote the photocatalytic performance of ceria (CeO

Both the liberation and stability of endogenous folate are relevant to the bioaccessibility of folate. Since folates are unstable, in addition to studying the natural folate content in foods, bioaccessibility should be considered. To understand folate changes during digestion, a mixture of standard folate compounds was subjected to a static in vitro gastrointestinal digestion assay. Next, different types of bread were analysed to study how food matrices influence folate bioaccessibility. Folates were identified and quantitated by a UHPLC-PDA/FL method. Folic acid and 10-formylfolic acid were stable throughout the digestion, and the conversions among formyl folates and 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate were triggered at the gastric phase. Tetrahydrofolate began to degrade during the oral phase and was lost completely during the gastric phase. During the intestinal phase, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate began to degrade and suffered a 60% loss. With bread matrices, folate conversions and the decrease of reduced folates were also common, but the extent of changes varied. Generally, rye breads had the highest (80–120%) bioaccessibility of folate, while oat breads had the lowest (31–102%). The high proportion of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate could result in low bioaccessibility because of its relatively low stability during digestion in bread matrices. An increase in 10-formylfolic acid content was observed for all the breads, but 10-formyldihydrofolate seemed to be more stable in rye breads than in oat and wheat breads. The results showed that folates undergo significant changes during digestion and that food matrices could be modified to affect these changes towards better folate bioaccessibility.

ObjectiveRecent studies have reported a correlation between non-coding RNAs such as circular RNAs (circRNAs) and clinical value of various cancers. However, the diagnostic and prognostic role of circRNA in breast cancer remains controversial.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsDiagnostic efficacy was estimated by sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC). Pooled HRs with 95% CIs estimated overall survival (OS), and ORs with 95% CIs investigated clinical features.ResultsBy searching PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI and Cochrane Library, we obtained a total of 29 studies with 4405 patients. A shorter survival time was associated with high expression levels of tumour-promoter circRNAs (OS: HR=2.43, 95% CI 2.20 to 2.92, pConclusionDysregulated expression of circRNA was related to diagnosis and prognosis in breast cancer, which indicated it might be a novel biomarker and a target of therapy for breast cancer.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020207912.

PurposeThe role of cystathionine γ-lyase (CTH) in the prognosis and immune invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been reported.MethodsCombined with the clinical characteristics of HCC, CTH was analyzed via R package and various databases in this study.ResultsCompared with normal tissues, the level of CTH in HCC was significantly decreased, the extent of which was related to tumor clinicopathologic stage, gender, tumor status, residual tumor, histologic stage, race, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), albumin, drinking and smoking. The results suggested that CTH might be a protective factor for the survival of HCC patients. Further functional analysis showed that the high expression of CTH was enriched in the reactome signaling by interleukins and the reactome neutrophil degranulation. Moreover, the expression of CTH was negatively correlated with the CD56 (bright) NK cells and Follicular helper T cell (TFH), positively correlated with Th17 cells and central memory T cell (Tcm), and closely correlated with the gene markers of a variety of immune cells. Also, high expression of CTH based on immune cells predicted the better prognosis of HCC. Pyridoxal phosphate, L-cysteine, Carboxymethylthio-3-(3-chlorophenyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol, 2-[(3-Hydroxy-2-Methyl-5-Phosphonooxymethyl-Pyridin-4-Ylmethyl)-Imino]-5-phosphono-pent-3-enoic acid and L-2-amino-3-butynoic acid may be the targeted candidate medications for the treatment of CTH in HCC.ConclusionIn brief, CTH can be used as a biomarker to predict the prognosis and immune infiltration of HCC.

Contact printing of inorganic nanostructures such nanowires (NWs) has shown great potential for development of high-performance large area electronics (LAE) by printing. The LAE requires printing of electronic layer at selected locations, defined by the circuit layouts. In this paper, we demonstrate that simply with tailored surface morphology of the receiver substrate it is possible to obtain selective printing of electronic layers. The contact printing process has been used here to obtain NW (d=100nm) arrays on the receiver substrates, which is patterned with 3D features of varying height (20 – 200nm). The result show that for larger feature heights, the surface morphology has an impact on the printing uniformity. The effects of surface morphology are also studied in the context of multi-layer devices where uneven surfaces can be found. Surface planarization is investigated as a means for restoring the printing uniformity on uneven surfaces. The conducted studies demonstrate that surface features of a device can be exploited to aid in device fabrication while the planarization technique is able to negate unwanted effects resulting from uneven printing surfaces.

Nanowires (NWs) are promising candidates for high-performance flexible and printed electronics. To evaluate the performance of NW based devices, it is important to develop suitable models. To this end, this paper presents a finite element method (FEM) study of the gate capacitance from the double nanowire (NW) based field-effect transistor (FET). The influence of the diameter, NW-to-NW spacing and the relative orientation between the NWs have been evaluated. We found that the total capacitance in a sparsely distributed double NW system is dominated by the NW-to-NW spacing and their diameters; the influence of the relative orientation is almost negligible. By contrast, when the two NWs are close enough, the influence of the relative orientation starts to play a role. In the extreme case where the two NWs are in contact, the rational angle between the two NWs can influence as much as 1/3 of the total capacitance. The results from this fundamental study provide an interesting insight into the influence of NW distribution on the performance of the NW based FETs.

Contact printed intrinsically flexible inorganic nanomaterials such Si and ZnO nanowires (NWs) have shown great promise for the development of high-performance flexible electronics. In this paper, we study the effect of the vertical alignment in ZnO NWs on the quality (printed NW’s density, and directional alignment) of contact printed nanoscale thick electronic layers over large area. By changing the epitaxial relation of ZnO NWs with the growth substrates, we tune the growth alignment of NWs. The ZnO NWs were grown using bottom-up Vapor Phase Transport (VPT) method on two different substrates: (i) cubic (100) oriented silicon and (ii) hexagonal (0001) c-axis oriented sapphire. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images (from an area ~100 mm2) show that the majority of grown ZnO NWs on sapphire substrate are vertically aligned as compared with the NWs on silicon. Further, by detailed SEM image analysis, we show that aligned, or partially aligned NWs required additional shear force (from sliding) for the directional alignment of NWs forming the electronic layer (printed samples from both donors showed 93% of aligned NWs with sliding). We further show that the printed NWs from sapphire substrate exhibit superior density as compared with the NWs grown on silicon. These results show the significance of suitable vertically aligned NWs for the high-density NWs based printed electronic layers and hence the high-performance flexible and printed electronics.

Pregnant women are generally more susceptible to viral infection. Although the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnant women remains to be determined, evidence indicates that risks of adverse clinical outcomes are similar in pregnancy to the general population. Here we analyzed clinical symptoms and outcomes of 20 pregnant and 299 reproductive-aged non-pregnant female COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized during the same period. Laboratory measurements were compared among mild cases and healthy pregnant women. Our study found that pregnant patients showed enhanced innate immune response evident by higher neutrophils and C-reactive protein. Cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors (CCGFs) profiles from 11 pregnant and 4 non-pregnant COVID-19 patients and 10 healthy pregnant female patients, and lymphocyte subsets analysis of 7 pregnant patients and 19 non-pregnant patients, indicate suppressed cytokine storm and potential enhanced CD8+ T cell and NK cell activity in pregnant patients with COVID-19, which may be essential in contributing to the unique anti-SARS-CoV-2 response in pregnancy.

Oxygen vacancies (OVs) have critical effects on the photoelectric characterizations and photocatalytic activity of nanoceria, but the contributions of surface OVs on the promoted photocatalytic properties are not clear yet. In this work, we synthesized ceria nanopolyhedron (P-CeO2), ceria nanocube (C-CeO2) and ceria nanorod (R-CeO2), respectively, and annealed them at 600 °C in air, 30%, 60% or pure H2. After annealing, the surface OVs concentration of ceria elevates with the rising of H2 concentration. Photocatalytic activity of annealed ceria is promoted with the increasing of surface OVs, the methylene blue photodegradation ratio with pure hydrogen annealed of P-CeO2, C-CeO2 or R-CeO2 is 93.82%, 85.15% and 90.09%, respectively. Band gap of annealed ceria expands first and then tends to narrow slightly with the rising of surface OVs, while the valence band (VB) and conductive band (CB) of annealed ceria changed slightly. Both of photoluminescence spectra and photocurrent results indicate that the separation efficiency of photoinduced electron-hole pairs is significantly enhanced with the increasing of the surface OVs concentration. The notable weakened recombination of photogenerated carrier is suggested to attribute a momentous contribution on the enhanced photocatalytic activity of ceria which contains surface OVs.

Pregnant women are generally more susceptible to viral infection. Although the impact of SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy remains to be determined, evidence indicates that the risk factors for severe COVID-19 are similar in pregnancy to the general population. Here we systemically analyzed the clinical characteristics of pregnant and non-pregnant female COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized during the same period and found that pregnant patients developed marked lymphopenia and higher inflammation evident by higher C-reactive protein and IL-6. To elucidate the pathways that might contribute to immunopathology or protective immunity against COVID-19 during pregnancy, we applied single-cell mRNA sequencing to profile peripheral blood mononuclear cells from four pregnant and six non-pregnant female patients after recovery along with four pregnant and three non-pregnant healthy donors. We found normal clonal expansion of T cells in the pregnant patients, heightened activation and chemotaxis in NK, NKT, and MAIT cells, and differential interferon responses in the monocyte compartment. Our data present a unique feature in both innate and adaptive immune responses in pregnant patients recovered from COVID-19.

Large bone defects, usually associated to victims of natural disasters, wars and severe accidents, represent a major clinical problem. The search for an effective and efficient treatment is a key area of research. Our group is exploring a novel and fully automatic approach to produce synthetic grafts anatomically designed to fit on the defect site and able to promote tissue regeneration.

There is a significant unmet clinical need to prevent amputations due to large bone loss injuries. We are addressing this problem by developing a novel, cost-effective osseointegrated prosthetic solution based on the use of modular pieces, bone bricks, made with biocompatible and biodegradable materials that fit together in a Lego-like way to form the prosthesis. This paper investigates the anatomical designed bone bricks with different architectures, pore size gradients, and material compositions. Polymer and polymer-composite 3D printed bone bricks are extensively morphological, mechanical, and biological characterized. Composite bone bricks were produced by mixing polycaprolactone (PCL) with different levels of hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tri-calcium phosphate (TCP). Results allowed to establish a correlation between bone bricksarchitecture and material composition and bone bricks performance. Reinforced bone bricks showed improved mechanical and biological results. Best mechanical properties were obtained with PCL/TCP bone bricks with 38 double zig-zag filaments and 14 spiral-like pattern filaments, while the best biological results were obtained with PCL/HA bone bricks based on 25 double zig-zag filaments and 14 spiral-like pattern filaments.

The World Health Organization predicted that by 2020 trauma cases are going to be the main reason of death. Internal fixations “bone fixation plates” currently used to treat bone fractures present significant drawbacks that decrease the healthcare quality and increase its costs. Biocompatible metallic materials such as titanium and its alloys (e.g., Ti-6Al-4V) and 316L stainless steel are used for internal fixations. Current internal fixation drawbacks are: it requires pre-shaping to anatomically fit the patient (personalisation); a second surgery required to remove the implant with the possibility of bone refracture; if the implant remains in the body, metal toxicity/carcinogenic effects may occur; stress shielding possibility may increase due to the mechanical properties mismatch between the metallic implant and the native bone. This review presents an insight to address the mentioned limitations through additive manufacturing, and in particularly metallic powder bed fusion techniques. Different and successful cases aiming to personalise internal fixation implants and to minimise stress shielding are presented. On the other hand, for the metallic implant second surgery requirement and its possibly long-term toxicity, extensive ongoing research on different biodegradable materials are considered. Research future and challenges are also discussed.

The field of bone tissue engineering, which is rapidly evolving, aims at the regeneration of the bone structure and its functions. In regenerative medicine, the use of 3D porous structures aims to mimic the bone structure and to promote cell attachment and tissue regeneration. Between the materials used for bone tissue engineering, bioactive glasses have shown high bioactivity and potential stimulation of osteogenesis and angiogenesis. This book chapter discusses key characteristics of bioglass materials and presents the main technologies being used to weak scaffolds incorporating bioglass materials.

Quasi-1D nanowires (NWs) have shown a great potential for the large-area flexible electronics due to their excellent electronic and optoelectronic properties and high mechanical flexibility. The growth of high-quality NWs often requires a high temperature process, which is incompatible with most of flexible substrates. In this regard, a printing strategy has been adopted to decouple the synthesis process from thermally sensitive polymeric substrates. This paper presents a detailed study on the selective printing of NWs using contact printing. In situ scanning electron microscope (SEM) characterizations have been employed here to illustrate the robustness of printed NWs after carrying out various standard microfabrication processes. This study improves our understanding of the NW printing process and lays a strong foundation for the realization of devices and systems such as electronic skin using the NW printing approach.

This study investigates the use of low cost, customizable, biodegradable, polymer-ceramic composite porous structures (bone bricks) for large bone tissue regeneration. Different ceramic materials (hydroxyapatite (HA), β-tri-calcium phosphate (TCP) and Bioglass (45S5) were mixed with poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL). Bone bricks with different material compositions were produced using an extrusion-based additive manufacturing system. Produced bone bricks were morphologically and mechanically assessed. Results allowed to establish a correlation between scaffolds architecture and material composition and scaffolds performance. Reinforced scaffolds showed improved mechanical properties. Best mechanical properties were obtained with PCL/TCP bone bricks and topologies based on 38 double zig zag filaments and 14 spirals.

Cereals and legumes are rich in folate. However, due to the instability of folate, processing and digestion can induce significant folate loss. In this paper, folate bioaccessibility of faba bean, oat, rye and wheat flours and pastes was studied using a static in vitro digestion model. Folate bioaccessibility depended on food matrices, varying from 42% to 67% in flours and from 40% to 123% in pastes. Digestion was associated with the inter conversion of formyl folates, as well as the increase of oxidised vitamers and decrease of reduced vitamers. Especially in faba bean, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate showed surprisingly good stability both in digestion and heat treatment, resulting in high bioaccessibility. The physiological concentration of ascorbic acid did not stabilise folate in digestion; however, a higher level helped to maintain reduced vitamers. Heat treatment (10-min paste making) could improve folate bioaccessibility by liberating folate from the food matrices and by altering folate vitamer distribution.

This paper presents a back-gated ZnO nanowires (NWs) field-effect transistor (FET) realized through the contact printing process. A low-stress $\mathbf{SiN}_{\mathbf{x}}$ deposited at room temperature by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) process was employed as the back-gate dielectric. Importantly, the adopted fabrication process evades any high-temperature process including for the deposition of the high-quality gate dielectric. The temperature fabrication is critical for development of electronic devices on flexible substrates. The ZnO NW FET shows excellent performance, which is reflected through transconductance (477 nS) and $\mathbf{I}_{\mathbf{on}}/\mathbf{I}_{\mathbf{off}}$ ratio $(\sim\mathbf{10}^{\mathbf{6})}$ . Finally, the developed ZnO NW FET was investigated for UV detection and it exhibited a gate tunable photoresponsivity.

Quasi-1D ZnO nanowire (NW) is one of the most promising materials for sensing applications because of its high surface to volume ratio and high sensitivity to external stimulus. Due to their low dimension nature, the NWs are also excellent candidates for flexible electronics. In this work, we used a printing method to achieve highly aligned ZnO NWs on polyimide substrate for flexible UV photodetector application. The as-fabricated devices shows high photo to dark current ratio up to 106 and exhibits a stable performance under extensive mechanical bending tests up to 1000 cycles. This work is believed to advance the research on large area flexible electronics.