Modeling and Optimization of Energy Harvesters for Specific Applications Using COMSOL and Equivalent Spring Models.

Energy harvesting from natural sources, including bodily movements, vehicle engine vibrations, and ocean waves, poses challenges due to the broad range of frequency bands involved. Piezoelectric materials are frequently used in energy harvesters, although their effectiveness depends on aligning the device's natural frequency with the frequency of the target energy source. This study models energy harvesters customized for specific applications by adjusting their natural frequencies to match the required bandwidth.

Unveiling the Nexus: Influence of learning motivation on organizational performance and innovative climate of Chinese firms.

This study delves into the interplay between learning motivation, organizational performance, and the innovative climate within Chinese firms. It is a subject of frequent discussion in literature but there is little concrete evidence supporting this viewpoint within the context of small and medium size enterprises in China. Drawing upon a comprehensive review of existing literature and empirical data gathered, this research aims to uncover the connections between employee learning motivation and its impact on the organizational dynamics in the context of Chinese firms.

Colorimetric sweat analysis using wearable hydrogel patch sensors for detection of chloride and glucose.

Sweat is a promising non-invasive biofluid that can provide valuable insights into the physiological state of the human body. However, a major obstacle to analyzing sweat in real-time is the fabrication of simple, fast-acting, accurate, and low-cost sensing constructs. To address this challenge, we introduced easily-prepared wearable hydrogel sensors that can be placed on the skin and used colorimetric techniques to assess sweat analytes without invasive procedures.

Saliva sampling strategies affecting the salivary glucose measurement.

Characterized by sustained elevated blood glucose levels, diabetes mellitus has become one of the largest global public health concerns by imposing a heavy global burden on socio-economic development. To date, regular blood glucose level check by performing a finger-prick test has been a routine strategy to monitor diabetes. However, the intrusive nature of finger blood prick tests makes it challenging for individuals to maintain consistent testing routines.

Paper-based colorimetric sensors for point-of-care testing.

By eliminating the need for sample transportation and centralized laboratory analysis, point-of-care testing (POCT) enables on-the-spot testing, with results available within minutes, leading to improved patient management and overall healthcare efficiency. Motivated by the rapid development of POCT, paper-based colorimetric sensing, a powerful analytical technique that exploits the changes in color or absorbance of a chemical species to detect and quantify analytes of interest, has garnered increasing attention. In this review, we strive to provide a bird's eye view of the development landscape of paper-based colorimetric sensors that harness the unique properties of paper to create low-cost, easy-to-use, and disposable analytical devices, thematically covering both fundamental aspects and categorized applications.

Nurturing the marriages of urinary liquid biopsies and nano-diagnostics for precision urinalysis of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer remains the second-most common cancer diagnosed in men, despite the increasingly widespread use of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening. The controversial clinical implications and cost benefits of PSA screening have been highlighted due to its poor specificity, resulting in a high rate of overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis. Thus, the development of novel biomarkers for prostate cancer detection remains an intriguing challenge.

A robust localization approach for Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL): A single-center retrospective study.

Background: Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL) represents the gold standard treatment method for cases with large kidney stones. As a critical step in performing PCNL, the procedure of establishing a safe and accurate nephrostomy tract will dramatically impact the treatment quality of patients with large-sized kidney stones.

Objective: This work attempts to describe a new and improved process of establishing an accurate nephrostomy tract and clinically evaluate the effectiveness and safeness of this proposed methodology.

Prefrontal GABA(δ)R Promotes Fear Extinction through Enabling the Plastic Regulation of Neuronal Intrinsic Excitability.

Extinguishing the previously acquired fear is critical for the adaptation of an organism to the ever-changing environment, a process requiring the engagement of GABA receptors (GABARs). GABARs consist of tens of structurally, pharmacologically, and functionally heterogeneous subtypes. However, the specific roles of these subtypes in fear extinction remain largely unexplored.

A novel and sensitive DNA methylation marker for the urine-based liquid biopsies to detect bladder cancer.

Background: Better prognostic outcome is closely correlated with early detection of bladder cancer. Current non-invasive urianalysis relies on simultaneously testing multiple methylation markers to achieve relatively high accuracy. Therefore, we have developed an easy-to-use, convenient, and accurate single-target urine-based DNA methylation test for the malignancy.

Individual differences in emotion differentiation modulate electrocortical dynamics of cognitive reappraisal.

Cognitive reappraisal plays an important role in individuals' mental health and adaptation and depends on individual differences in emotion differentiation. However, it is unclear how individual differences in emotion differentiation modulate the electrocortical dynamics of cognitive reappraisal. To this end, we employed event-related potentials (ERPs) and source analysis to characterize temporal dynamics and cortical functions of cognitive reappraisal related with positive emotion differentiation.

Emotional Contexts Modulate Anticipatory Late Positive Component and Reward Feedback Negativity in Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder.

Background: Neuroimaging research has determined deficits in the dopaminergic circuit of major depressive disorder (MDD) during adolescence. This study investigated how emotional contexts modulate the temporal dynamics of reward anticipation and feedback in adolescents.

Methods: EEG data from 35 MDD and 37 healthy adolescents were recorded when they conducted a gambling task after being presented with emotional pictures.

Chronic Stress Oppositely Regulates Tonic Inhibition in Thy1-Expressing and Non-expressing Neurons in Amygdala.

Chronic or prolonged exposure to stress ranks among the most important socioenvironmental factors contributing to the development of neuropsychiatric diseases, a process generally associated with loss of inhibitory tone in amygdala. Recent studies have identified distinct neuronal circuits within the basolateral amygdala (BLA) engaged in different emotional processes. However, the potential circuit involved in stress-induced dysregulation of inhibitory tones in BLA remains elusive.

Adolescents Exhibit Late Maturation of Long-Range Beta Coherences in Affective Processing.

We investigated whether intra-/interhemispheric long-range beta coherences mirror developmental changes in affective functional integration during adolescence. Electroencephalogram data were gathered from 15 young adolescents, 16 old adolescents, and 16 young adults during viewing affective pictures. The results indicated that both positive and negative pictures induced greater intra- and interhemispheric long-distance beta coherences than neutral pictures.

Two-Photon Nanolithography of Tailored Hollow three-dimensional Microdevices for Biosystems.

Functional three-dimensional (3D) microstructures incorporating accessible interiors have emerged as a versatile platform for biosystem applications. By configuring their 3D geometric features, these biosystem microdevices can accurately evaluate and control targeted bioenvironments. However, classical fabrication techniques based on photolithography-etching processes cannot precisely and programmably control the geometric of the entire hollow 3D microstructures.

Maskless 3D Ablation of Precise Microhole Structures in Plastics Using Femtosecond Laser Pulses.

Femtosecond laser ablation is a robust tool for the fabrication of microhole structures. This technique has several advantages compared to other microfabrication strategies for reliably preparing microhole structures of high quality and low cost. However, few studies have explored the use of femtosecond laser ablation in plastic materials because of the lack of controllability over the fabrication process in plastics.

Temperamental Effortful Control Modulates Gender Differences in Late Positive Potentials Evoked by Affective Pictures in Adolescents.

We investigated whether effort control (EC) modulates gender differences in late positive potential (LPP) evoked by affective pictures. We collected EEG data from 46 healthy adolescents while they viewed 90 affective pictures. Relative to neutral pictures, boys showed larger LPP amplitudes for positive pictures compared to girls while girls showed larger LPP amplitudes for negative pictures compared to boys.

Highly sensitive glucose sensors based on enzyme-modified whole-graphene solution-gated transistors.

Noninvasive glucose detections are convenient techniques for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, which require high performance glucose sensors. However, conventional electrochemical glucose sensors are not sensitive enough for these applications. Here, highly sensitive glucose sensors are successfully realized based on whole-graphene solution-gated transistors with the graphene gate electrodes modified with an enzyme glucose oxidase.

Flexible organic electrochemical transistors for highly selective enzyme biosensors and used for saliva testing.

Flexible organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are successfully used as high-performance enzyme biosensors, such as uric acid (UA) and cholesterol sensors. The sensitivity and selectivity of the sensors can be simultaneously enhanced by co-modifying the gate electrodes with positively/negatively charged bilayer polymer films and enzymes. These OECT-based UA sensors are successfully utilized for non-invasive UA detection in human saliva.

Flexible Organic Electronics in Biology: Materials and Devices.

At the convergence of organic electronics and biology, organic bioelectronics attracts great scientific interest. The potential applications of organic semiconductors to reversibly transmit biological signals or stimulate biological tissues inspires many research groups to explore the use of organic electronics in biological systems. Considering the surfaces of movable living tissues being arbitrarily curved at physiological environments, the flexibility of organic bioelectronic devices is of paramount importance in enabling stable and reliable performances by improving the contact and interaction of the devices with biological systems.

Organic electrochemical transistors with graphene-modified gate electrodes for highly sensitive and selective dopamine sensors.

Organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) are successfully used as highly sensitive and selective dopamine sensors. The selectivity of the OECT-based dopamine sensors is significantly improved by coating biocompatible polymer Nafion or chitosan on the surface of the gate electrodes. The interference induced by uric acid and ascorbic acid is effectively eliminated especially after the modification of Nafion.

Highly selective and sensitive glucose sensors based on organic electrochemical transistors with graphene-modified gate electrodes.

The sensitivity of glucose sensors based on organic electrochemical transistors (OECT) is increased by co-modifying graphene or reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and enzyme (glucose oxidase) on the gate electrodes for the first time. The optimized device shows linear responses to glucose in a broad concentration region from 10 nM to 1 μM and with a detection limit down to 10 nM, which is two orders of magnitude better than that for the device without the graphene modification. The selectivity of the device is systematically studied for the first time.