Recently, metasurfaces composed of artificially fabricated subwavelength structures have shown remarkable potential for the manipulation of light with unprecedented functionality. Here, we first ...demonstrate a metasurface application to realize a compact near-eye display system for augmented reality with a wide field of view. A key component is a see-through metalens with an anisotropic response, a high numerical aperture with a large aperture, and broadband characteristics. By virtue of these high-performance features, the metalens can overcome the existing bottleneck imposed by the narrow field of view and bulkiness of current systems, which hinders their usability and further development. Experimental demonstrations with a nanoimprinted large-area see-through metalens are reported, showing full-color imaging with a wide field of view and feasibility of mass production. This work on novel metasurface applications shows great potential for the development of optical display systems for future consumer electronics and computer vision applications.
Cell–cell interaction accounts for one of the most influential factors affecting the viability and functionality of cell‐based tissue models. In this respect, various methods capable of producing ...micro‐patterns with cell spheroids are introduced to simultaneously improve contact‐dependent and ‐independent cell‐cell interactions. However, no method has yet been designed to effectively generate precise 3D patterns with multiple spheroid types. In this study, a new high‐precision and convenient 3D spheroid printing technology is developed, designated as 3D bio‐dot printing. This new technique is designed to produce cell‐laden, non‐adhesive micro‐pores within 3D structures to allow cell spheroids to be induced at printed sites. Experimental results show that various cell types, including hepatocytes, pancreatic β‐cells, and breast cancer cells, can be employed for the in situ formation of cell spheroids, and 3D freeform structures with multiple spheroid types can be printed. Moreover, this novel technology can also be used for performing 3D invasion assays. More importantly, it ensures that the precise control of spheroid size and position is achieved at micrometer scale. Finally, the usefulness of this novel technology is demonstrated by producing multicellular micro‐patterns with primary hepatocyte spheroids and endothelial cells, that exhibit significantly improved long‐term hepatic function and drug metabolism.
A new, high‐precision 3D cell spheroid printing technique, named 3D bio‐dot printing, is presented. The new technique exhibits convenient, precise, and 3D producible results with multiple cell spheroids, and can be applied to 3D spheroid invasion assays. Its application to hepatic models demonstrates that the technique can significantly improve long‐term hepatic function and drug metabolism through precise patterning with cell spheroids.
Abstract
Spin Hall effect, an electric generation of spin current, allows for efficient control of magnetization. Recent theory revealed that orbital Hall effect creates orbital current, which can be ...much larger than spin-Hall-induced spin current. However, orbital current cannot directly exert a torque on a ferromagnet, requiring a conversion process from orbital current to spin current. Here, we report two effective methods of the conversion through spin-orbit coupling engineering, which allows us to unambiguously demonstrate orbital-current-induced spin torque, or orbital Hall torque. We find that orbital Hall torque is greatly enhanced by introducing either a rare-earth ferromagnet Gd or a Pt interfacial layer with strong spin-orbit coupling in Cr/ferromagnet structures, indicating that the orbital current generated in Cr is efficiently converted into spin current in the Gd or Pt layer. Our results offer a pathway to utilize the orbital current to further enhance the magnetization switching efficiency in spin-orbit-torque-based spintronic devices.
Recently, addressing various wounds, ranging from skin injuries to pressure and chronic ulcers, has necessitated a more detailed approach to wound condition monitoring aimed at enhancing the ...patient's quality of life. Although most available wound dressings offer protection and promote the regeneration of wound lesions, they fail to monitor wound progression. To meet this need, this study introduces a pioneering solution: a wireless, battery‐free, optoelectronic diagnostic sensor seamlessly integrated into a colorimetric, pH‐sensitive wound dressing, designed to significantly enhance patient quality of life through improved wound care. Curcumin‐polycaprolactone (C‐PCL) dressing protect the wounds, promote cell regeneration, and possess antimicrobial properties. In addition, the dressing exhibits colorimetric pH‐monitoring capabilities across different wound conditions, enabling individuals without specialized knowledge to assess the status of their wounds. The core innovation lies in the integration of a green light‐emitting diode (LED) and photodiode, which meticulously evaluates color changes from yellow to red of colorimetric dressing, enhance the precision of this user‐friendly colorimetric diagnosis strategy. The integration of wireless battery‐free systems facilitates quantitative and real‐time monitoring of wound data in patients without inconvenience. These innovations will pave the way for rapid wound status evaluation, ensuring timely interventions and optimized care for deteriorating wound conditions.
The manuscript introduces an advanced wound care approach: a wireless, battery‐free optoelectronic diagnostic sensor integrated with a colorimetric electrospun nanofiber wound dressing. The innovative strategy employs a Curcumin‐polycaprolactone (C‐PCL) based dressing that changes color in response to pH variations, indicating evolving wound conditions. The integration of an optoelectronic sensor and colorimetric wound dressing for wireless data transmission distinguishes this work.
Background:
Intra-articular injection of adipose-derived stem cells, which are divided into adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) and adipose-derived stromal vascular fractions (ADSVFs), has ...been reported to be a viable treatment modality for knee osteoarthritis (OA); however, its efficacy remains limited.
Purpose:
This study aimed to provide comprehensive information about the efficacy and safety of intra-articular injections of autologous ASCs and ADSVFs without adjuvant treatment in patients with knee OA.
Study Design:
Meta-analysis; Level of evidence, 1.
Methods:
A systematic search of the MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases was performed to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the efficacy and safety of intra-articular injections of autologous ASCs or ADSVFs without adjuvant treatments compared with placebo or hyaluronic acid in patients with knee OA. Clinically, the 100-mm visual analog scale for pain relief and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index for functional improvement were implemented. Radiologically, cartilage status was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Procedure-related knee pain, swelling, and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated for safety. Additionally, we performed subgroup analyses comparing ASCs versus ADSVFs. Methodological quality was assessed using the modified Coleman Methodology Score (mCMS).
Results:
A total of 5 RCTs were included in this study. Based on the meta-analysis, ASCs or ADSVFs showed significantly better pain relief at 6 months (Z = 7.62; P < .0001) and 12 months (Z = 7.21; P < .0001) and functional improvement at 6 months (Z = 4.13; P < .0001) and 12 months (Z = 3.79; P = .0002), without a difference in procedure-related knee pain or swelling compared with controls. Although a meta-analysis with regard to cartilage improvements was not performed owing to heterogeneous MRI assessment, 3 studies reported significantly improved cartilage status after the injection. No serious AEs associated with ASCs or ADSVFs were reported. Subgroup analyses showed similar efficacy between ASC and ADSVF treatments. The median mCMS was 70 (range, 55-75).
Conclusion:
For patients with knee OA, intra-articular injection of autologous ASCs or ADSVFs without adjuvant treatment showed remarkable clinical efficacy and safety at short-term follow-up. Some degree of efficacy has been shown for cartilage regeneration in knee OA, although the evidence remains limited. Further RCTs that directly compare ASCs and ADSVFs are needed.
With the advancement of functional textile technology, there is a growing demand for functional enhancements in textiles from both industrial and societal perspectives. Recently, nanopattern transfer ...technology has emerged as a potential approach for fabricating functional textiles. However, conventional transfer methods have some limitations such as transfer difficulties on curved fiber surfaces, polymer residues, and delamination of transferred nanopatterns. In this study, an advanced nanopattern transfer method based on surface modification and thermoforming principles is applied to microscale electrospun fibers. This transfer method utilizes covalent bonding and mechanical interlocking between nanopatterns and the fibers without requiring extra adhesives. Various nanopatterns transferred electrospun fibers possess significant potential for diverse wearable healthcare applications. This work introduces two specific application scenarios in the field of wearable healthcare, both of which leverage the light: diagnostics and antimicrobials. Versatile textile with silver nanogap‐pattern detects glucose in sweat, diagnosing hypoglycemia and diabetes by shifting Raman peaks from 1071.0 to 1075.4 cm−1 for 0 to 150 µm glucose. Additionally, a bactericidal mask using visible light to induce the photocatalytic degradation effect of titanium dioxide and silver nanopatterns is developed. Bactericidal efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus is 99.9% due to photolysis from visible light irradiation.
This manuscript presents an innovative nanotransfer printing technique for the functionalization of electrospun textiles. By employing oxygen plasma treatment and a heat pressing, various nanopatterns can be effectively transferred onto electrospun fibers. This study anticipates that such versatile functional textiles will facilitate the diagnosis of glucose levels through the surface‐enhanced Raman scattering method and inhibit bacterial growth through photodegradation.
The development of deep learning has achieved great success in object detection, but small object detection is still a difficult and challenging task in computer vision. To address the problem, we ...propose an improved single-shot multibox detector (SSD) using enhanced feature map blocks (SSD-EMB). The enhanced feature map block (EMB) consists of attention stream and feature map concatenation stream. The attention stream allows the proposed model to focus on the object regions rather than background owing to channel averaging and the effectiveness of the normalization. The feature map concatenation stream provides additional semantic information to the model without degrading the detection speed. By combining the output of these two streams, the enhanced feature map, which improves the detection of a small object, is generated. Experimental results show that the proposed model has high accuracy in small object detection. The proposed model not only achieves good detection accuracy, but also has a good detection speed. The SSD-EMB achieved a mean average precision (mAP) of 80.4% on the PASCAL VOC 2007 dataset at 30 frames per second on an RTX 2080Ti graphics processing unit, an mAP of 79.9% on the VOC 2012 dataset, and an mAP of 26.6% on the MS COCO dataset.
•Studied CO2 absorption process using MDEA/PZ blended solvent for blue H2 production.•Suggested a novel solvent looping system of amine absorption process.•Performed techno-economic analysis and ...optimization of CO2 absorption process for SMR.•Achieved 0.622 and 0.751 GJ/ton CO2 of reboiler duty at 90% and 99% CO2 capture rate.•Achieved 99% CO2 capture rate at lower CO2 capture cost (42.44 USD/tonCO2) than 90%
Advanced CO2 capture processes for steam methane reforming that supplies large quantities of H2 to industries are critical for cost-effective blue H2 and CO2 production. In this study, a pre-combustion CO2 absorption process with a novel solvent looping system was developed to capture CO2 from SMR gas at a flow rate of 6946.5 kmol/h and 21 bar. A techno-economic analysis of the advanced absorption process using MDEA/PZ blended solvent was performed with respect to five key operating parameters. For 90 % and 99 % CO2 capture rates, the minimal reboiler duties were 0.622 and 0.751 GJ/CO2 ton, which were approximately 70 % lower than those of conventional post-combustion CO2 capture processes. Despite a significant increase in the CO2 capture rate (90 % to 99 %), the increase in energy consumption and OPEX was only 4 % while using the novel blended-solvent looping system through a low-pressure flash drum, resulting in a lower CO2 capture cost per ton at 99 % CO2 capture rate. The economic analysis suggested that the minimal CO2 capture cost decreased from 44.89 to 42.56 USD/CO2 ton as the capture rate increased. Furthermore, DNN models could predict the CAPEX and OPEX under higher than 98 % accuracy. DNN-based optimization with a multi-variable mutation of features revealed the optimum operating conditions for a minimum CO2 capture cost (42.44 USD/CO2 ton) over a short computational time (12 s). Thus, this study provides insights on the blended solvent and guidelines for a high-pressure CO2 absorption process with a solvent looping system for cost-effective blue H2 production.
Hierarchical structures allow one to improve device performance by exploiting the synergistic effects of micro/nano multiscale components. However, the structural complexity of hierarchical ...structures places limits on their fabrication and applications. Herein, a novel morphology-controllable wrinkled micro/nano hierarchical structure (WHS) was developed by integrating micropatterns, nanopatterns, and wrinkles on a single substrate to overcome these limitations. Each structure could be individually controlled, which offers unlimited design diversity. The produced WHS was used as a superhydrophobic triboelectric nanogenerator. Compared to a nanogenerator with on a film structure, the WHS-based nanogenerator showed a superior contact angle of 152.5°, which is indicative of high hydrophobicity, and an enhanced (by 608%) triboelectric effect, which was ascribed to the highly rough surface of the WHS. The WHS-based nanogenerator was used to fabricate a self-powered and water-repellent cough detection sensor with an entirely superhydrophobic structure and stable superior sensing performance during repeated water spraying.
This study describes a novel fabrication method of hierarchical structures, which can integrate micropatterns, nanopatterns, and wrinkles on a single substrate. This method allows one to independently control three different structures and thus fabricate the wrinkled micro/nano hierarchical structures (WHS). The WHS is utilized as a self-powered and water-repellent cough detection sensor that maintains detection performance during repeated water spraying. Display omitted
•A novel fabrication method for wrinkled hierarchical structures (WHSs) is described.•Micropatterns, nanopatterns, and wrinkles can be integrated on a single substrate.•WHSs is utilized as a superhydrophobic triboelectric nanogenerator (S-TENG).•We demonstrate S-TENG as self-powered and water-repellent cough detection sensors.•The sensor maintains superior detection performance during repeated water spraying.
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•A new bio-inspired design for PDMS sponge has been proposed to improve the absorption capacity for oil-water separation.•The concept of the water absorption and storage functions of ...cacti plant was applied in designing the PDMS sponge.•The sponge with microscale architecture was fabricated by 3D printing technology.•The new design showed an absorption capacity increased by about 3.7 times in the test of oil-water separation.
Oil spills from disasters such as the sinking of ships and the discharge of oily wastes cause serious environmental problems. Polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) sponges are valuable tools for isolating spilled oil. Here, we propose new PDMS sponges with bio-inspired design and enhanced absorption capacities. 3D printing was used to produce templates having negative designs, and after being filled with PDMS, the templates were selectively dissolved. Through this, PDMS sponges with well-interconnected and controlled porosities were produced within 10% error. The wettability of sponges with various pore sizes and line widths was investigated. The surfaces were found to be highly hydrophobic, with water contact angles of 100-143°, and oleophilic, with oil contact angles of ∼0°. The sponge fabricated with line width of 200 μm and pore size of 400 μm showed the highest hydrophobicity and oleophilicity. These parameters were used to produce the surfaces of hollow sponges having bio-inspired design that mimics the water absorption and storage functions of cactus. Repeated oil-water separation testing was conducted, and the absorption capacities were compared with those of non-hollow and conventional sponges. The new design showed absorption capacity up to 3.7 times that of the sponges. The bio-inspired PDMS sponge provides a significant advance in oil–water separation ability.
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