Fiber‐shaped stretchable strain sensors with small testing areas can be directly woven into textiles. This paves the way for the design of integrated wearable devices capable of obtaining real‐time ...mechanical feedback for various applications. However, for a simple fiber that undergoes uniform strain distribution during deformation, it is still a big challenge to obtain high sensitivity. Herein, a new strategy, surface strain redistribution, is reported to significantly enhance the sensitivity of fiber‐shaped stretchable strain sensors. A new method of transient thermal curing is used to achieve the large‐scale fabrication of modified elastic microfibers with intrinsic microbeads. The proposed strategy is independent of the active materials utilized and can be universally applied for various active materials. The strategy used here will shift the vision of the sensitivity enhancement method from the active materials design to the mechanical design of the elastic substrate, and the proposed strategy can also be applied to nonfiber‐shaped stretchable strain sensors.
Surface strain redistribution in substrates significantly enhances sensitivity of fiber‐shaped stretchable strain sensors fabricated by thermal‐transient‐curing and Plateau–Rayleigh instability. Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfibers with beads are produced in large scale. The beads regulate strain distribution. Novel sensors are well adhered to textiles for monitoring sports activities. This study opens up a new perspective of fiber‐shaped sensors and a method to enhance sensitivity.
Stretchable conductors are the basic units of advanced flexible electronic devices, such as skin‐like sensors, stretchable batteries and soft actuators. Current fabrication strategies are mainly ...focused on the stretchability of the conductor with less emphasis on the huge mismatch of the conductive material and polymeric substrate, which results in stability issues during long‐term use. Thermal‐radiation‐assisted metal encapsulation is reported to construct an interlocking layer between polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and gold by employing a semipolymerized PDMS substrate to encapsulate the gold clusters/atoms during thermal deposition. The stability of the stretchable conductor is significantly enhanced based on the interlocking effect of metal and polymer, with high interfacial adhesion (>2 MPa) and cyclic stability (>10 000 cycles). Also, the conductor exhibits superior properties such as high stretchability (>130%) and large active surface area (>5:1 effective surface area/geometrical area). It is noted that this method can be easily used to fabricate such a stretchable conductor in a wafer‐scale format through a one‐step process. As a proof of concept, both long‐term implantation in an animal model to monitor intramuscular electric signals and on human skin for detection of biosignals are demonstrated. This design approach brings about a new perspective on the exploration of stretchable conductors for biomedical applications.
Thermal‐radiation‐assisted metal encapsulation is used to prepare large‐scale high‐performance stretchable conductors that possess high stretchability, stability and adhesion and large surface area. They are used to simultaneously monitor electromyography and skin deformation and implanted to detect intramuscular signals. This study offers a new path for highly stable stretchable conductors and related biointerface applications.
As a new development direction for electrical discharge machining, short electric arc machining (SEAM) has emerged as an efficient machining technology for difficult-to-machine conductive materials, ...as this method is not limited by the strength, hardness, toughness, and other mechanical properties of metal materials. In this paper, the pulse voltage, DC voltage, and DC superimposed pulse (comb) voltage were used as energy inputs to study the SEAM of Ti6Al4V. Experiments were carried out with a graphite tube material as the tool and Ti6Al4V as the workpiece. The current waveform of the experimental process was analyzed; the material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear ratio (TWR) were calculated; and the surface and cross-sectional micro-morphologies and micro-hardness were studied. The experimental results showed that the comb voltage input mode yields the highest machining efficiency, with an MRR of 19,620 mm
3
/min and a maximum current of 1475 A, which was 35 times higher than that in the conventional pulse voltage input mode. Moreover, the processing was more stable; however, the surface quality was poor. The study results are expected to help select an appropriate processing method depending on the process requirements.
In this study, we have proposed the use of direct current (DC) power source instead of pulsed power source for solving the problems of low material removal rate (MRR), high relative tool wear ratio ...(RTWR), and high specific energy consumption (SEC) in short electric arc machining (SEAM). The performance of SEAM with DC was significantly improved as compared to that with medium frequency pulse (MFP). The MRR of Ti6Al4V alloy during SEAM with DC exceeded 15100 mm
3
/min and the ideal MRR exceeded 60000 mm
3
/min. Further, the RTWR and SEC were 0.7% and 36.6 kJ/cm
3
, respectively. The influence of tool electrode polarity and voltage on MRR, RTWR, SEC, and surface roughness were studied. The current and voltage during the entire process were measured by DEWESoft SIRIUSi multi-channel data acquisition system. Moreover, the surface morphology, cross section, chemical composition, and micro-hardness of Ti6Al4V after machining were also investigated.
In this study, the machining characteristics of pulse short arc milling (SEAM) Ti6Al4V alloy were studied. In this regard, the influence of SEAM parameters on the material removal rate (MRR), ...relative electrode wear ratio (REWR), and surface integrity of Ti6Al4V is studied. A wide variety of processing parameters, including different voltages, frequencies, duty cycles, flushing pressures, electrode rotation speeds, and electrode feed rates, are considered in the investigation. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrograph (EDS), and micro-hardness analysis are applied to analyze results. Moreover, a multichannel data acquisition system is used to measure gap voltage and gap current. Obtained results cover the variation of MRR, REWR, surface roughness (Ra), average resolidified layer thickness, and average heat-affected zone thickness with different processing parameters. Furthermore, the electrode surface morphology and chemical composition of the negative growth of REWR are studied. Based on the obtained results, the microstructure of the resolidified layer and heat-affected zone of the workpiece cross-section is confirmed. This study provides a basis for the high-quality pulse SEAM technology of difficult-to-machine (DTM) materials to enter the semi-finishing field.
This paper proposes a novel combined machining approach. The approach is focused on combining short electric arc machining and electrochemical machining (SEAM-ECM). It aims to improve the surface ...integrity of TC4 titanium alloy by adding compressed air and electrolyte into the SEAM. This approach can change the material removal mechanism of the conventional SEAM and improve the gap flow field distribution and discharge state using the dual fluid properties of electrolyte and air mixed medium. Flow field simulation demonstrates the effects of gas addition on the state of the gap flow field and the electrical conductivity of the mixed medium. The experiments compare the effects of the presence or absence of air and the electrical conductivity of the solution on the machining performance. The results show that SEAM-ECM with electrolyte and air reduces the relative electrode wear rate (REWR) while maintaining a good material removal rate (MRR). In addition, SEAM-ECM utilizes the electrolytic effect to weaken the recast layer compared to SEAM with deionized water and air. The addition of high-speed air reduces defects such as melt drops, particles, and holes. It performs with higher precision and finish than ECM alone, and the overall surface integrity is significantly improved.
Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is a type of highly heterogeneous non-Hodgkin lymphoma with a poor prognosis and lack of effective targeted therapies. Adoptive T-cell therapy has been successfully ...used in the treatment of B-cell malignancies. We first used adoptive transfer of haploidentical T cells activated by patient-specific neoantigens
in vitro
to treat an elderly patient with refractory angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) in 2017, and the patient achieved long-term complete remission (CR). Here we report on early results from this first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial that aims to assess the safety and tolerability of neoantigen-activated haploidentical T cell therapy (NAHTC) for relapsed/refractory PTCL.
Clinical trial registration
http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx
, identifier ChiCTR1800017440.
The aim of this study is to investigate the role of genetic variation and DNA methylation of
rs12041331 in high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HPR) and recurrent ischemic stroke (RIS).
Genotype, ...methylation, and mRNA of
were detected in patients with cerebral ischemia, for the analysis of the effect of
on HPR and RIS.
The major G allele of
rs12041331 was associated with hypermethylation, which was associated with HPR. This link was not observed for RIS.
The
genetic polymorphism and DNA methylation may be among the genetic factors affecting HPR. The correlation between
and RIS needs to be studied further.
A global population of already more than seven billion people has led to an increased demand for food and water, and especially the demand for meat. Moreover, the cost of feed used in animal ...production has also increased dramatically, which requires animal breeders to find alternatives to reduce feed consumption. Understanding the biology underlying feed efficiency (FE) allows for a better selection of feed-efficient animals. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), especially micro RNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), play important roles in the regulation of bio-logical processes and disease development. The functions of ncRNAs in the biology of FE have emerged as they participate in the regulation of many genes and pathways related to the major FE indicators, such as residual feed intake and feed conversion ratio. This review provides the state of the art studies related to the ncRNAs associated with FE in livestock species. The contribution of ncRNAs to FE in the liver, muscle, and adipose tissues were summarized. The research gap of the function of ncRNAs in key processes for improved FE, such as the nutrition, heat stress, and gut-brain axis, was examined. Finally, the potential uses of ncRNAs for the improvement of FE were discussed.
Copy number variations (CNVs) are structural variants consisting of duplications and deletions of DNA segments, which are known to play important roles in the genetics of complex traits in livestock ...species. However, CNV-based genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have remained unexplored in American mink. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between CNVs and complex traits in American mink. A CNV-based GWAS was performed with the ParseCNV2 software program using deregressed estimated breeding values of 27 traits as pseudophenotypes, categorized into traits of growth and feed efficiency, reproduction, pelt quality, and Aleutian disease tests. The study identified a total of 10,137 CNVs (6968 duplications and 3169 deletions) using the Affymetrix Mink 70K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array in 2986 American mink. The association analyses identified 250 CNV regions (CNVRs) associated with at least one of the studied traits. These CNVRs overlapped with a total of 320 potential candidate genes, and among them, several genes have been known to be related to the traits such as ARID1B, APPL1, TOX, and GPC5 (growth and feed efficiency traits); GRM1, RNASE10, WNT3, WNT3A, and WNT9B (reproduction traits); MYO10, and LIMS1 (pelt quality traits); and IFNGR2, APEX1, UBE3A, and STX11 (Aleutian disease tests). Overall, the results of the study provide potential candidate genes that may regulate economically important traits and therefore may be used as genetic markers in mink genomic breeding programs.
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