In the emerging Internet of Things, stretchable antennas can facilitate wireless communication between wearable and mobile electronic devices around the body. The proliferation of wireless devices ...transmitting near the human body also raises interference and safety concerns that demand stretchable materials capable of shielding electromagnetic interference (EMI). Here, an ultrastretchable conductor is fabricated by depositing a crumple‐textured coating composed of 2D Ti3C2Tx nanosheets (MXene) and single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) onto latex, which can be fashioned into high‐performance wearable antennas and EMI shields. The resulting MXene‐SWNT (S‐MXene)/latex devices are able to sustain up to an 800% areal strain and exhibit strain‐insensitive resistance profiles during a 500‐cycle fatigue test. A single layer of stretchable S‐MXene conductors demonstrate a strain‐invariant EMI shielding performance of ≈30 dB up to 800% areal strain, and the shielding performance is further improved to ≈47 and ≈52 dB by stacking 5 and 10 layers of S‐MXene conductors, respectively. Additionally, a stretchable S‐MXene dipole antenna is fabricated, which can be uniaxially stretched to 150% with unaffected reflected power <0.1%. By integrating S‐MXene EMI shields with stretchable S‐MXene antennas, a wearable wireless system is finally demonstrated that provides mechanically stable wireless transmission while attenuating EM absorption by the human body.
2D titanium carbide–based ultrastretchable conductors are fabricated by harnessing the surface instability of pre‐stretched latex, showing strain‐invariant performance in stretchable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shields and wearable wireless communicators, respectively. Finally, a wearable antenna with on‐site EM protection for the human body is demonstrated, which exhibits mechanically stable and efficient wireless communication and shielding performance.
Are children less susceptible to COVID-19? Lee, Ping-Ing; Hu, Ya-Li; Chen, Po-Yen ...
Journal of microbiology, immunology and infection,
06/2020, Letnik:
53, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Stretchable energy storage devices have become indispensable components toward energy autonomy for wearable electronic, implantable medical devices, and untethered soft machines. A Zn‐based battery ...with a neutral electrolyte could act as a competitive candidate for wearable/implantable electronics because of its intrinsic safety and high energy density. Therefore, it is highly desired to develop a synergistic combination of stretchable anodes/cathodes and neutral electrolytes for stretchable Zn‐based batteries. Herein, a scalable fabrication process is developed to produce stretchable Zn‐ion hybrid batteries composed of V2CTx MXene cathodes and zinc‐decorated Ti3C2Tx MXene anodes. To endow high stretchability to the Zn‐ion hybrid battery, both MXene‐based electrodes are fabricated with crumple‐like microtextures enabling reversible folding/unfolding behaviors to attenuate in‐plane stress while stretching. In comparison with the state‐of‐the‐art work, the as‐fabricated Zn‐ion hybrid battery features large deformability (50% strain), ultrathin device (≈170 µm), low areal weight (≈20 mg cm−2), and an ultralow self‐discharge rate (0.7 mV h−1), and demonstrates rechargeable and strain‐insensitive specific capacities of 118.5 and 103.6 mAh g−1 under 0% and 50% strains, respectively. Finally, with ultrathin and lightweight merits, the stretchable battery is further fabricated into a magnetically actuated soft robot with remote control, capable of crawling between two designated points for charging/discharging tasks.
A stretchable Zn‐ion hybrid battery, composed of reconfigurable V2CTx a MXene cathode and a zinc‐decorated Ti3C2Tx MXene anode, achieves strain‐insensitive mechanical properties and electrochemical performance. It performs magnetically robotic actuations and demonstrates synergistic advantages of light device weight, remote control, and user‐safe power supply. The integration of energy storage devices into soft robots facilitates the development of self‐powered soft machines towards futuristic applications.
Marine biofouling is a severe problem with a wide‐reaching impact on ship maintenance, the economy, and ecosystem safety, among others. Inspired by complex multifunctional frogskins, wrinkled ...slippery coatings are created that exhibit remarkable antifouling, anti‐icing, and self‐cleaning properties through a combination of degradable di‐block copolymer self‐assembly i.e., polystyrene‐b‐polylactide (PS‐b‐PLA) and hydrolysis‐driven dynamic release‐induced surface wrinkling. Microwrinkled patterns can generate curved surfaces that are resistant to biofouling. Gyroid‐forming PS‐b‐PLA can be used to produce nanoporous templates with cocontinuous nanochannels, which generate strong capillary forces for trapping and storing infiltrated lubricants. In this study, block‐copolymer‐derived hierarchically wrinkled slippery liquid‐infused nanoporous surfaces (i.e., micro wrinkles with nanochannels infused with slippery fluids) are successfully fabricated after silicone oil infiltration. The antibiofouling performance of these surfaces is examined against different foulers under various conditions. The produced coatings exhibited flexible, stable, transparent, and easily tunable antibiofouling characteristics. In particular, the formation of an eco‐friendly silicon‐based lubricant layer without the use of fluorinated compounds and costly material precursors is an advantage in industrial practice that can be adopted in various applications, such as fuel transport, self‐cleaning windows, anticorrosion protection, nontoxic coatings for medical devices, and optical instruments.
Inspired by complex multifunctional frogskins, wrinkled slippery coatings are created that exhibit remarkable antifouling, anti‐icing, and self‐cleaning properties through a combination of degradable di‐block copolymer self‐assembly (i.e., polystyrene‐b‐polylactide) and hydrolysis‐driven dynamic release‐induced surface wrinkling. The formation of an eco‐friendly silicon‐based lubricant layer with flexible, stable, transparent, and easily tunable antibiofouling characteristics is an advantage in industrial practice.
Statin use decreases the risk of decompensation and mortality in patients with cirrhosis due to hepatitis C virus (HCV). Whether this beneficial effect can be extended to cirrhosis in the general ...population or cirrhosis due to other causes, such as hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection or alcohol, remains unknown. Statin use also decreases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic HBV and HCV infection. It is unclear whether the effect can be observed in patients with pre‐existing cirrhosis. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of statin use on rates of decompensation, mortality, and HCC in HBV‐, HCV‐, and alcohol‐related cirrhosis. Patients with cirrhosis were identified from a representative cohort of Taiwan National Health Insurance beneficiaries from 2000 to 2013. Statin users, defined as having a cumulative defined daily dose (cDDD) ≥28, were selected and served as the case cohort. Statin nonusers (<28 cDDD) were matched through propensity scores. The association between statin use and risk of decompensation, mortality, and HCC were estimated. A total of 1350 patients with cirrhosis were enrolled. Among patients with cirrhosis, statin use decreased the risk of decompensation, mortality, and HCC in a dose‐dependent manner (P for trend <0.0001, <0.0001, and 0.009, respectively). Regression analysis revealed a lower risk of decompensation among statin users with cirrhosis due to chronic HBV (adjusted hazard ratio HR, 0.39; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.25‐0.62) or HCV infection (HR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.29‐0.93). The lowered risk of decompensation was of borderline significance among statin users with alcohol‐related cirrhosis (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.45‐1.07). Conclusion: Statin use decreases the decompensation rate in both HBV‐ and HCV‐related cirrhosis. Of borderline significance is a decreased decompensation rate in alcohol‐related cirrhosis. (Hepatology 2017;66:896–907).
Scalable nanoelectronics with energy‐efficient logic technology is crucial for next‐generation edge devices. Low‐dimensional semiconductors, such as transition metal dichalcogenides and single‐walled ...carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), have tunable properties with reduced short‐channel effects. The unique properties of each material can be utilized owing to the heterogeneous integration of multiple semiconducting channels to form complementary metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (CMOS) logic. However, the integration remains challenging. This study reveals the realization of low static power hetero‐CMOS inverters by the integration of n‐type monolayer MoS2 and p‐type SWCNT networks. The balanced inverter exhibits a large peak gain of ≈67 at a supply voltage of 2 V with the customized design of the wafer‐scale synthetic process and channel integration. An ultralow standby power consumption of ≈5 pW and a practical peak gain of ≈7 at a reduced supply voltage of 0.25 V are achieved. A high noise margin (>70%) validates the circuit's tolerance to external noises and the dynamic analysis of the inverting amplifier in push–pull configuration exhibits a large AC gain. This work paves the way toward the wafer‐scale integration of low‐dimensional materials for low‐power nanoelectronics.
Wafer‐scale low‐power hetero‐CMOS inverters are realized by integrating monolayer MoS2 and SWCNT networks. An ultralow standby power consumption of ≈5 pW at a reduced supply voltage of 0.25 V, high NMs (>70%), and dynamic analysis in a push‐pull configuration are achieved. It paves the way toward the wafer‐scale integration of low‐dimensional materials for low‐power nanoelectronics.
Air pollution is inevitably the result of human civilization, industrialization, and globalization. It is composed of a mixture of gases and particles at harmful levels. Particulate matter (PM), ...nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxides (CO
) are mainly generated from vehicle emissions and fuel consumption and are the main materials causing outdoor air pollution. Exposure to polluted outdoor air has been proven to be harmful to human eyes. On the other hand, indoor air pollution from environmental tobacco smoking, heating, cooking, or poor indoor ventilation is also related to several eye diseases, including conjunctivitis, glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In the past 30 years, no updated review has provided an overview of the impact of air pollution on the eye. We reviewed reports on air pollution and eye diseases in the last three decades in the PubMed database, Medline databases, and Google Scholar and discussed the effect of various outdoor and indoor pollutants on human eyes.
Two-dimensional MXene materials have demonstrated attractive electrical and electrochemical properties in energy storage applications. Adding stretchability to MXene remains challenging due to its ...high mechanical stiffness and weak intersheet interaction, so the assembling techniques for mechanically stable MXene architectures require further development. We report a simple fabrication by harnessing the interfacial instability to generate higher dimensional MXene nanocoatings capable of programmed crumpling/unfolding. A sequential patterning approach enabled the design of sequence-dependent MXene textures across multiple length scales, which were utilized for controllable wetting surfaces and high-areal-capacitance electrodes. We next transferred the crumpled MXene nanocoating onto an elastomer to fabricate an MXene/elastomer electrode with high stretchability. The accordion-like MXene can be reversibly folded/unfolded and still preserve efficient specific capacitances. We further fabricated asymmetric MXene supercapacitors, and the devices demonstrated efficient electrochemical performance and large deformability (180° bendability, 100% stretchability). Our texturing techniques can be applied to large MXene families for designing stretchable architectures in wearable electronics.
Elevated fatty acid synthase (FASN) has been reported in both androgen-dependent and -independent prostate cancers. Conventional treatment for prostate cancer is radiotherapy (RT); however, the ...following radiation-induced radioresistance often causes treatment failure. Upstream proteins of FASN such as Akt and NF-κB are found increased in the radioresistant prostate cancer cells. Nevertheless, whether inhibition of FASN could improve RT outcomes and reverse radiosensitivity of prostate cancer cells is still unknown. Here, we hypothesised that orlistat, a FASN inhibitor, could improve RT outcomes in prostate cancer. Orlistat treatment significantly reduced the S phase population in both androgen-dependent and -independent prostate cancer cells. Combination of orlistat and RT significantly decreased NF-κB activity and related downstream proteins in both prostate cancer cells. Combination effect of orlistat and RT was further investigated in both LNCaP and PC3 tumour-bearing mice. Combination treatment showed the best tumour inhibition compared to that of orlistat alone or RT alone. These results suggest that prostate cancer treated by conventional RT could be improved by orlistat via inhibition of FASN.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a more robust understanding of how to develop dynamic capabilities (DCs) in multiunits by examining the roles of international experience and career ...capital. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a survey of a sample of 413 managers in multiunits and applies structural equation modeling to determine the relationships among variables. Findings The analyses identify international experience as an important antecedent for the career capital of managers in multiunits; further, they show the impact of knowing-how and knowing-why among the aspects of career capital in developing DCs in multiunits. Practical implications This study offers a practical trajectory for developing DCs in multiunits by leveraging the advantages of the international experience of managers and career capital (knowing-how and knowing-why). Originality/value Previous DC studies ignored the development of DCs in multiunits and ignored the role of the manager in multiunits. This paper contributes to the theoretical view of this subject in two important ways: first, it identifies a new pivotal role for career capital (knowing-how and knowing-why) in enabling DC development; second, it shows that the international experience of managers is an important antecedent of career capital advantage and of developing DCs in multiunit routines.
PDF
