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We study the organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) performance of the ladder polymer, poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline) (BBL) in an attempt to better understand how an apparently hydrophobic side-chain-free polymer is able to operate as an OECT with favorable redox kinetics in an aqueous environment. We examine two BBLs of different molecular masses from different sources. Both BBLs show significant film swelling during the initial reduction step. By combining electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (eQCM) gravimetry, in-operando atomic force microscopy (AFM), and both ex-situ and in-operando grazing incidence wide-angle x-ray scattering (GIWAXS), we provide a detailed structural picture of the electrochemical charge injection process in BBL in the absence of any hydrophilic side-chains. Compared with ex-situ measurements, in-operando GIWAXS shows both more swelling upon electrochemical doping than has previously been recognized, and less contraction upon dedoping. The data show that BBL films undergo an irreversible hydration driven by the initial electrochemical doping cycle with significant water retention and lamellar expansion that persists across subsequent oxidation/reduction cycles. This swelling creates a hydrophilic environment that facilitates the subsequent fast hydrated ion transport in the absence of the hydrophilic side-chains used in many other polymer systems. Due to its rigid ladder backbone and absence of hydrophilic side-chains, the primary BBL water uptake does not significantly degrade the crystalline order, and the original dehydrated, unswelled state can be recovered after drying. The combination of doping induced hydrophilicity and robust crystalline order leads to efficient ionic transport and good stability., 24 pages, 5 figures

Supplementary Data from Development of Novel Aptamer-Based Targeted Chemotherapy for Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer is common worldwide, with most patients presenting with nonmuscle invasive disease. Multiple intravesical recurrences lead to reduced quality of life and high costs for patients with this form of bladder cancer. Intravesical chemotherapy aimed at reducing recurrence is the standard-of-care but has significant side effects from nonspecific cytotoxicity to normal urothelium. Importantly, toxicity limits doses that can be administered. Thus, tumor-specific drug targeting could reduce toxicity and enhance effectiveness by allowing higher doses. Here, using cell internalization systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), we identify a novel bladder cancer-specific, chemically modified nucleic acid aptamer that can be preferentially internalized into tumor cells but not normal urothelial cells. The 35-nucleotide B1 aptamer is internalized into bladder cancer cells through clathrin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis. As proof of principle, a B1-guided DNA nanotrain delivery vehicle for epirubicin was constructed as a targeted intravesical chemotherapy. The B1-nanotrain-epirubicin construct exhibited selective cytotoxicity towards bladder cancer cells and outperformed epirubicin in murine orthotopic xenograft models of human bladder cancer. This aptamer-based delivery system makes targeted chemotherapy possible for bladder cancer, providing a compelling rationale for clinical development.Significance:These findings identify a bladder cancer–specific aptamer that can be used for targeted delivery of chemotherapy, potentially reducing toxicity and enhancing therapeutic efficacy.

Background: The Pentagon Drawing Test (PDT) is a common assessment for visuospatial function. Evaluating the PDT by artificial intelligence can improve efficiency and reliability in the big data era. This study aimed to develop a deep learning (DL) framework for automatic scoring of the PDT based on image data. Methods: A total of 823 PDT photos were retrospectively collected and preprocessed into black-and-white, square-shape images. Stratified fivefold cross-validation was applied for training and testing. Two strategies based on convolutional neural networks were compared. The first strategy was to perform an image classification task using supervised transfer learning. The second strategy was designed with an object detection model for recognizing the geometric shapes in the figure, followed by a predetermined algorithm to score based on their classes and positions. Results: On average, the first framework demonstrated 62%accuracy, 62%recall, 65%precision, 63%specificity, and 0.72 area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. This performance was substantially outperformed by the second framework, with averages of 94%, 95%, 93%, 93%, and 0.95, respectively. Conclusion: An image-based DL framework based on the object detection approach may be clinically applicable for automatic scoring of the PDT with high efficiency and reliability. With a limited sample size, transfer learning should be used with caution if the new images are distinct from the previous training data. Partitioning the problem-solving workflow into multiple simple tasks should facilitate model selection, improve performance, and allow comprehensible logic of the DL framework.

DNA can catalyse alternative RNA splicing reactions in vitro, and modulate RNA structure and function.

Skeletal muscles are critical to human-limb motion dynamics and energetics, where their mechanical states are seldom explored

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as a universal method of cellular communications and are reportedly produced in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes. Bacterial EVs are often called “Outer Membrane Vesicles” (OMVs) as they were the result of a controlled blebbing of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria such as Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). Bacterial EVs are natural messengers, implicated in intra- and inter-species cell-to-cell communication among microorganism populations present in microbiota. Bacteria can incorporate their pathogens into OMVs; the content of OMVs differs, depending on the type of bacteria. The production of distinct types of OMVs can be mediated by different factors and routes. A recent study highlighted OMVs ability to carry crucial molecules implicated in immune modulation, and, nowadays, they are considered as a way to communicate and transfer messages from the bacteria to the host and vice versa. This review article focuses on the current understanding of OMVs produced from major oral bacteria, P. gingivalis: generation, characteristics, and contents as well as the involvement in signal transduction of host cells and systemic diseases. Our recent study regarding the action of P. gingivalis OMVs in the living body is also summarized.

Organic electrochemical transistors are believed to face an inherent material design tension between optimizing for ion mobility and for electronic mobility. These devices transduce ion uptake into electrical current, thereby requiring high ion mobility for efficient electrochemical doping and rapid turn-on kinetics and high electronic mobility for the maximum transconductance. Here, we explore a facile route to improve operational kinetics and volumetric capacitance in a high-mobility conjugated polymer (poly[2,5-(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-diketopyrrolopyrrole-alt-5,5-(2,5-di(thien-2-yl)thieno [3,2-b]thiophene)], DPP-DTT) by employing a nanowire morphology. For equivalent thicknesses, the DPP-DTT nanowire films exhibit consistently faster kinetics (∼6-10× faster) compared to a neat DPP-DTT film. The nanowire architectures show ∼4× higher volumetric capacitance, increasing from 7.1 to 27.7 F/cm3, consistent with the porous structure better enabling ion uptake throughout the film. The nanowires also exhibit a small but energetically favorable shift in a threshold voltage of ∼17 mV, making the nanostructured system both faster and energetically easier to electrochemically dope compared to neat films. We explain the variation using two atomic force microscopy methods: in situ electrochemical strain microscopy and nanoinfrared imaging via photoinduced force microscopy. These data show that the nanowire film's structure allows greater swelling and ion uptake throughout the active layer, indicating that the nanowire architecture exhibits volumetric operation, whereas the neat film is largely operating via the field effect. We propose that for higher-mobility materials, casting the active layer in a nanowire form may offer faster kinetics, enhanced volumetric capacitance, and possibly lower threshold voltage while maintaining desirable device performance.

The arrival of surgical robots in high-end medical equipment is a landmark, and the realization of tactile sensation a major challenge in this important cutting-edge research field. Aiming to address this issue, we present ultra-sensitive ionic electronic skin in the form of flexible capacitive pressure sensors, which incorporate multistage bionic microstructures in ion gels for the purpose of monitoring the delicate operations of surgical robots. Significantly, the ionic skin exhibits an ultra-high sensitivity of 9484.3 kPa−1 (

Wearable devices developed with flexible electronics have great potential applications for human health monitoring and motion sensing. Although material softness and structural flexibility provide a deformable human-machine interface to adapt to joint bending or tissue stretching/compression, flexible sensors are inconvenient in practical uses as they usually require calibration every time they are installed. This article presents an approach to design and fabricate a flexible curvature sensor to measure human articular movements for amphibious applications. This flexible sensor employs the capacitive sensing principle, where the dielectric layer and electrodes are made from the polyurethane resin and eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) liquid metal; and the fabrication process is implemented with shape deposition molding for batch production. The sensing method for articular rotation angles employs the Euler beam model to make the sensor reusable after one-time calibration by compensating for the unpredicted manual installation error. The illustrative application to ankle sensing in amphibious gaits shows that the root-mean-square error is within 5° for different walking speeds (0.7-1.1 m/s) in treadmill tests and the maximum error is within 3° for underwater sensing with quasi-static measurements. It is expected that the proposed waterproof flexible sensor can push the boundaries of wearable robotics, human locomotion, as well as their related applications.

The electrochemical doping/dedoping kinetics, and the organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) performance of a series of polythiophene homopolymers with ethylene glycol units in their side chains using both kosmotropic and chaotropic anion solutions were studied. We compare their performance to a reference polymer, the polythiophene derivative with diethylene glycol side chains, poly(3-{[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]methyl}thiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3MEEMT). We find larger OECT material figure of merit, μC*, where μ is the carrier mobility and C* is the volumetric capacitance, and faster doping kinetics with more oxygen atoms on the side chains, and if the oxygen atom is farther from the polythiophene backbone. Replacing the oxygen atom close to the polythiophene backbone with an alkyl unit increases the film π-stacking crystallinity (higher electronic conductivity in the undoped film) but sacrifices the available doping sites (lower volumetric capacitance C* in OECT). We show that this variation in C* is the dominant factor in changing the μC* product for this family of polymers. With more oxygen atoms on the side chain, or with the oxygen atom farther from the polymer backbone, we observe both more passive swelling and higher C*. In addition, we show that, compared to the doping speed, the dedoping speed, as measured via spectroelectrochemistry, is both generally faster and less dependent on ion species or side chain oxygen content. Last, through OECT, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and spectroelectrochemistry measurements, we show that the chaotropic anion PF6− facilitates higher doping levels, faster doping kinetics, and lower doping thresholds compared to the kosmotropic anion Cl−, although the exact differences depend on the polymer side chains. Our results highlight the importance of balancing μ and C* when designing molecular structures for OECT active layers.

Bladder cancer is common worldwide, with most patients presenting with nonmuscle invasive disease. Multiple intravesical recurrences lead to reduced quality of life and high costs for patients with this form of bladder cancer. Intravesical chemotherapy aimed at reducing recurrence is the standard-of-care but has significant side effects from nonspecific cytotoxicity to normal urothelium. Importantly, toxicity limits doses that can be administered. Thus, tumor-specific drug targeting could reduce toxicity and enhance effectiveness by allowing higher doses. Here, using cell internalization systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX), we identify a novel bladder cancer-specific, chemically modified nucleic acid aptamer that can be preferentially internalized into tumor cells but not normal urothelial cells. The 35-nucleotide B1 aptamer is internalized into bladder cancer cells through clathrin-mediated endocytosis and macropinocytosis. As proof of principle, a B1-guided DNA nanotrain delivery vehicle for epirubicin was constructed as a targeted intravesical chemotherapy. The B1-nanotrain-epirubicin construct exhibited selective cytotoxicity towards bladder cancer cells and outperformed epirubicin in murine orthotopic xenograft models of human bladder cancer. This aptamer-based delivery system makes targeted chemotherapy possible for bladder cancer, providing a compelling rationale for clinical development. Significance: These findings identify a bladder cancer–specific aptamer that can be used for targeted delivery of chemotherapy, potentially reducing toxicity and enhancing therapeutic efficacy.

Osteoblasts suppress osteoclastogenesis during the reversal phase of bone remodelling and the mechanism needs to be further investigated. Here, we investigated the role of histone demethylase Jumonji domain-containing 3 (Jmjd3) in osteoblasts on regulating osteoclastogenesis.Jmjd3 expression was silenced in osteoblasts. Osteoblasts and osteoclasts were co-cultured in direct or indirect contact ways, and osteoclastogenesis was determined by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining and Western blotting. Additionally, Ephrin receptor B4 (EphB4) and receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappa Β ligand (RANKL) expression were quantified in osteoblasts via real-time PCR, Western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Subsequently, EphB4 was overexpressed in osteoblasts and RANKL expression and osteoclastogenesis was quantified.Osteoclastogenesis and marker protein expression levels was promoted when osteoclasts were co-cultured with Jmjd3-silenced osteoblasts. Silencing of Jmjd3 expression in osteoblasts decreased EphB4 expression, owing to suppression of demethylation of H3K27me3 on the promoter region of EphB4. Whereas RANKL expression was upregulated in Jmjd3-silenced osteoblasts. Overexpression of EphB4 in osteoblasts inhibited osteoclastogenesis and RANKL expression.Jmjd3 in osteoblasts is a crucial regulator of osteoblast-to-osteoclast communication through EphB4-EphrinB2, RANKL-RANK and EphB4-RANKL signalling axes, suggesting the pivotal role of Jmjd3 in bone remodelling process in bone destruction disease such as chronic apical periodontitis.