With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the emergence of 5G, traditional silicon-based electronics no longer fully meet market demands such as nonplanar application scenarios ...due to mechanical mismatch. This provides unprecedented opportunities for flexible electronics that bypass the physical rigidity through the introduction of flexible materials. In recent decades, biological materials with outstanding biocompatibility and biodegradability, which are considered some of the most promising candidates for next-generation flexible electronics, have received increasing attention, e.g., silk fibroin, cellulose, pectin, chitosan, and melanin. Among them, silk fibroin presents greater superiorities in biocompatibility and biodegradability, and moreover, it also possesses a variety of attractive properties, such as adjustable water solubility, remarkable optical transmittance, high mechanical robustness, light weight, and ease of processing, which are partially or even completely lacking in other biological materials. Therefore, silk fibroin has been widely used as fundamental components for the construction of biocompatible flexible electronics, particularly for wearable and implantable devices. Furthermore, in recent years, more attention has been paid to the investigation of the functional characteristics of silk fibroin, such as the dielectric properties, piezoelectric properties, strong ability to lose electrons, and sensitivity to environmental variables. Here, this paper not only reviews the preparation technologies for various forms of silk fibroin and the recent progress in the use of silk fibroin as a fundamental material but also focuses on the recent advanced works in which silk fibroin serves as functional components. Additionally, the challenges and future development of silk fibroin-based flexible electronics are summarized. (1) This review focuses on silk fibroin serving as active functional components to construct flexible electronics. (2) Recent representative reports on flexible electronic devices that applied silk fibroin as fundamental supporting components are summarized. (3) This review summarizes the current typical silk fibroin-based materials and the corresponding advanced preparation technologies. (4) The current challenges and future development of silk fibroin-based flexible electronic devices are analyzed.
The rapid development of wearable sensing technology exhibits unprecedented opportunities for artificial intelligence by establishing an interactive interface between the physical and the virtual ...worlds. Energy preservation and multi-functional integration are central for the enhancement of perception and sustainability of wearable electronics. Herein, to address the above two critical challenges, we presented a printed silk-fibroin-based triboelectric nanogenerator (PS-TENG), which can efficiently scavenge the bio-mechanical energy and precisely detect components of environmental humidity and human body motions simultaneously. An industrial mass-fabrication technology, i.e. screen-printing process, was successfully optimized to manufacture graphite-based microscale surface patterns atop polymeric soft substrate to form interdigital electrodes, which was covered by a thin layer of silk fibroin to realize the PS-TENG. The proposed wearable PS-TENG exhibited a remarkable output performance, and the voltage, the current and the power density achieved up to 666 V, 174.6 μA, 412 μW/cm2, respectively. Furthermore, this ultra-thin foldable PS-TENG possesses incredible features for multi-functional wearable sensing. With the help of the unique selective absorption property of silk fibroin, it was firstly reported that the existing states of water molecules (i.e., liquid and gaseous) in the air were successfully distinguished. Moreover, as attractive potential applications, it was demonstrated to accurately discriminate the health situation of human body (i.e., respiratory monitoring and joints motion recognizing) based on the capacitive and the triboelectric principles respectively, which is a novel combination of passive sensing and active sensing mechanisms within a single wearable device.
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•A novel printed silk-fibroin-based triboelectric nanogenerator (PS-TENG) for multi-functional wearable sensing was proposed.•It was firstly demonstrated to distinguish existing states of water molecules due to the newfound property of silk fibroin.•A combination of passive sensing and active sensing within a single device was realized.•An outstanding output of 412 μW/cm2 was achieved, and the single-electrode configuration endows it remarkable wearability.•The industrial technology of screen-printing was optimized to fabricate microscale graphite patterns atop soft substrate.
The hierarchical packaging of eukaryotic chromatin plays a central role in transcriptional regulation and other DNA-related biological processes. Here, we report the 11-angstrom–resolution cryogenic ...electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of 30-nanometer chromatin fibers reconstituted in the presence of linker histone H1 and with different nucleosome repeat lengths. The structures show a histone H1-dependent left-handed twist of the repeating tetranucleosomal structural units, within which the four nucleosomes zigzag back and forth with a straight linker DNA. The asymmetric binding and the location of histone H1 in chromatin play a role in the formation of the 30-nanometer fiber. Our results provide mechanistic insights into how nucleosomes compact into higher-order chromatin fibers.
As a typical representative of global complex diseases, psoriasis has attracted widespread attention because of its high heritability, heterogeneity, and incidence. Environmentally induced activation ...of the inflammatory–immune axis in patients with psoriasis relies on genetic regulation of genomic variation. The heritability of psoriasis exceeds 80%, and research of genomic variation in psoriasis is of great significance to the interpretation of the biological pathogenesis of the disease. The development of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) has provided a powerful means for the capture of psoriasis susceptibility genes. More than 100 psoriasis susceptibility loci have been captured, enabling humans to gain a breakthrough understanding of the genetics and traits of psoriasis. With the advancement of research methods, increasingly more genetic methodologies are being used to capture the locations and types of variants outside the scope of GWAS scanning, making up for the inclinations and deficiencies of traditional GWAS capture of gene loci in a more detailed manner. This review covers several decades of research on genomic variation in psoriasis, including GWASs in psoriasis, the capture of functional gene variant types, and the translation of genomic variation into precision medicine; summarizes the research progress of genomic variation in psoriasis; and provides a theoretical reference for future genetic-based research of the mechanisms underlying psoriasis.
The CRISPR/Cas9 system is an efficient gene-editing method, but the majority of gene-edited animals showed mosaicism, with editing occurring only in a portion of cells. Here we show that single gene ...or multiple genes can be completely knocked out in mouse and monkey embryos by zygotic injection of Cas9 mRNA and multiple adjacent single-guide RNAs （spaced 10-200 bp apart） that target only a single key exon of each gene. Phenotypic analysis of F0 mice following targeted deletion of eight genes on the Y chromosome individually demonstrated the robustness of this approach in generating knockout mice. Importantly, this approach delivers complete gene knockout at high efficien- cies （100% on Arnt and 91% on Prrt2） in monkey embryos. Finally, we could generate a complete Prrt2 knockout monkey in a single step, demonstrating the usefulness of this approach in rapidly establishing gene-edited monkey models.
We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in Han Chinese, with 1,434 affected individuals (cases) and 4,270 controls in the discovery phase and follow-up of the ...top 61 SNPs in an additional 2,703 cases and 3,464 controls. We identified associations at 17p13 (rs3803800, P = 9.40 × 10(-11), OR = 1.21; rs4227, P = 4.31 × 10(-10), OR = 1.23) and 8p23 (rs2738048, P = 3.18 × 10(-14), OR = 0.79) that implicated the genes encoding tumor necrosis factor (TNFSF13) and α-defensin (DEFA) as susceptibility genes. In addition, we found multiple associations in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region (rs660895, P = 4.13 × 10(-20), OR = 1.34; rs1794275, P = 3.43 × 10(-13), OR = 1.30; rs2523946, P = 1.74 × 10(-11), OR = 1.21) and confirmed a previously reported association at 22q12 (rs12537, P = 1.17 × 10(-11), OR = 0.78). We also found that rs660895 was associated with clinical subtypes of IgAN (P = 0.003), proteinuria (P = 0.025) and IgA levels (P = 0.047). Our findings show that IgAN is associated with variants near genes involved in innate immunity and inflammation.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is rare and potentially life-threatening; its etiology remains unclear. Imaging characteristics on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and their prognostic ...significance have rarely been studied. We sought to determine CMR's prognostic value in PPCM by using T1 and T2 mapping techniques.
Data from 21 PPCM patients from our CMR registry database were analyzed. The control group comprised 20 healthy age-matched females. All subjects underwent comprehensive contrast-enhanced CMR. T1 and T2 mapping using modified Look-Locker inversion recovery and T2 prep balanced steady-state free precession sequences, respectively. Ventricular size and function, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), myocardial T1 value, extracellular volume (ECV), and T2 value were analyzed. Transthoracic echocardiography was performed at baseline and during follow-up. The recovered left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was defined as LVEF ≥50% on echocardiography follow-up after at least 6 months of the diagnosis.
CMR imaging showed that the PPCM patients had severely impaired LVEF and right ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF: 26.8 ± 10.6%; RVEF: 33.9 ± 14.6%). LGE was seen in eight (38.1%) cases. PPCM patients had significantly higher native T1 and ECV (1345 ± 79 vs. 1212 ± 32 ms, P < 0.001; 33.9 ± 5.2% vs. 27.1 ± 3.1%, P < 0.001; respectively) and higher myocardial T2 value (42.3 ± 3.7 vs. 36.8 ± 2.3 ms, P < 0.001) than did the normal controls. After a median 2.5-year follow-up (range: 8 months-5 years), six patients required readmission for heart failure, two died, and 10 showed left ventricular function recovery. The LVEF-recovered group showed significantly lower ECV (30.7 ± 2.1% vs. 36.8 ± 5.6%, P = 0.005) and T2 (40.6 ± 3.0 vs. 43.9 ± 3.7 ms, P = 0.040) than the unrecovered group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed ECV (OR = 0.58 for per 1% increase, P = 0.032) was independently associated with left ventricular recovery in PPCM.
Compared to normal controls, PPCM patients showed significantly higher native T1, ECV, and T2. Native T1, ECV, and T2 were associated with LVEF recovery in PPCM. Furthermore, ECV could independently predict left ventricular function recovery in PPCM.
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•K+ cations can tailor the eight-membered ring window size of RHO zeolite to selectively adsorb N2 from CH4 based on their difference in kinetic diameters.•Ion-exchanged degree of K+ ...cations in RHO zeolite can be controlled to obtain greater N2/ CH4 separation performance.•In the PSA simulation, K-RHO zeolite exhibits higher CH4 throughput than ETS-4 owing to higher N2 working capacity of K-RHO zeolite.
Zeolite RHO, a microporous zeolite, has the great possibility for N2/CH4 separation by regulating the size of the eight-membered ring window on the RHO framework. In this work, the ability of ion-exchanged RHO zeolites for N2/CH4 separation is investigated, and a highly nitrogen selectivity adsorbents are developed. RHO samples were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. Alkali metal cations (Na+, K+, Cs+) was used for ion exchange. Adsorption equilibrium isotherms of N2 and CH4 were measured at normal temperature and fitted by the Langmuir equation. The adsorbent selection parameters (S parameters) were calculated based on the working capacity and equilibrium selectivity of N2/CH4, which are used to comprehensively evaluate the selectivity of N2/CH4. The results indicate that the cations have effects on the regulation of the eight-membered ring window. In particularly, K-RHO no.2 sample which is obtained by ion exchange of K+ cations exhibit the best N2/CH4 separation performance, which is a potential nitrogen selective adsorbent. In addition, the product throughputs of RHO and the commercial adsorbent ETS-4 were compared by common PSA simulation process with essentially the same product purity and recovery. The results show that K-RHO no.2 has 36 % higher product throughput than ETS-4, which can compensate for the problem of low N2 working capacity of ETS-4 in industrial application.
We aimed to assess the utility of the combination of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) + clock drawing test (CDT) and the Fried phenotype for predicting non-elective hospital readmission or ...death within 6 months in elderly inpatients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
A single-center prospective cohort was conducted from September 2018 to February 2019. Inpatients ≥65 years old were recruited. Predictive validity was tested using a Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis, and the discriminative ability was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.
A total of 542 patients were included. Overall, 12% (64/542) screened positive for cognitive impairment, 16% (86/542) were physically frail and 8% (44/542) had cognitive impairment combined with physical frailty, showing an older age (P < 0.001) and a lower education level (P < 0.001) than physically frail patients. A total of 113 patients (20.9%) died or were readmitted at 6 months. Frail participants with a normal (hazard ratio HR: 1.73, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.06-2.82, P = 0.028) or impaired cognition (HR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.27-4.91, P = 0.008) had a higher risk of non-elective hospital readmission or death than robust patients after adjusting for the age, sex, education level, marital status, the presence of diabetes mellitus, heart failure, and history of stroke. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) showed that the discriminative ability in relation to 6 months readmission and death for the MMSE + CDT + Fried phenotype was 0.65 (95% CI: 0.60-0.71), and the AUC for men was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.63-0.78), while that for women was 0.60 (95% CI: 0.51-0.69).
Accounting for cognitive impairment in the frailty phenotype may allow for the better prediction of non-elective hospital readmission or death in elderly inpatients with CVD in the short term.
ChiCTR1800017204; date of registration: 07/18/2018.
Severe acne is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by widespread inflammatory lesions including nodules, cysts and potential scarring. Here we perform the first genome-wide association ...study of severe acne in a Chinese Han population comprising 1,056 cases and 1,056 controls using the Illumina HumanOmniZhongHua-8 BeadChip. In an independent cohort of 1,860 cases and 3,660 controls of Chinese Han, we replicate 101 SNPs of which 3 showed consistent association. We identify two new susceptibility loci at 11p11.2 (DDB2, rs747650, P(combined)=4.41 × 10⁻⁹ and rs1060573, P(combined)=1.28 × 10⁻⁸) and 1q24.2 (SELL, rs7531806, P(combined)=1.20 × 10⁻⁸) that are involved in androgen metabolism, inflammation processes and scar formation in severe acne. These results point to new genetic susceptibility factors and suggest several new biological pathways related to severe acne.
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