Manipulating Hetero-Nanowire Films for Flexible and Multifunctional Thermoelectric Devices.

Flexible thermoelectric devices hold significant promise in wearable electronics owing to their capacity for green energy generation, temperature sensing, and comfortable wear. However, the simultaneous achievement of excellent multifunctional sensing and power generation poses a challenge in these devices. Here, ordered tellurium-based hetero-nanowire films are designed for flexible and multifunctional thermoelectric devices by optimizing the Seebeck coefficient and power factor.

Biomimetic Multimodal Receptors for Comprehensive Artificial Human Somatosensory System.

Electronic skin (e-skin) capable of acquiring environmental and physiological information has attracted interest for healthcare, robotics, and human-machine interaction. However, traditional 2D e-skin only allows for in-plane force sensing, which limits access to comprehensive stimulus feedback due to the lack of out-of-plane signal detection caused by its 3D structure. Here, a dimension-switchable bioinspired receptor is reported to achieve multimodal perception by exploiting film kirigami.

Transboundary microplastic pollution in Xiamen Bay and adjacent Jiulong River estuary after the outbreak of COVID-19.

Land-based transport from nearshore areas is a key pathway of microplastic (MP) pollution in the oceans. Therefore, transport, fate, and intervention on MPs necessitate an investigation of MP contamination in coastal regions. Here, MP pollution in the surface waters of Xiamen Bay and Jiulong River estuary was evaluated in 2021 after the outbreak of COVID-19.

Spatial distribution and potential ecological risk of metal(loid)s in cultivated land from Xianjia Town in Fujian, Southeast China.

Metal(loid)s in cultivated land become an important issue with respect to human health and food security. However, it remains challenging to identify metal(loid) pollution characteristics due to varying environmental settings at the local scale. In this study, the geographic information system and categorical regression model were applied to analyze the spatial distribution and influencing factors of metal(loid)s in cultivated land using 90 sampling sites in Xianjia Town, Southeast China.

Mussel-Inspired Tissue-Adhesive Hydrogel Based on the Polydopamine-Chondroitin Sulfate Complex for Growth-Factor-Free Cartilage Regeneration.

Glycosaminoglycan-based hydrogels are widely used for cartilage repair because glycosaminoglycans are the main component of the cartilage extracellular matrix and can maintain chondrocyte functions. However, most of the glycosaminoglycan-based hydrogels are negatively charged and cell-repellant, and they cannot host cells or favor tissue regeneration. Inspired by mussel chemistry, we designed a polydopamine-chondroitin sulfate-polyacrylamide (PDA-CS-PAM) hydrogel with tissue adhesiveness and super mechanical properties for growth-factor-free cartilage regeneration.

Biohybrid methacrylated gelatin/polyacrylamide hydrogels for cartilage repair.

Articular cartilage defect repair is challenging for clinics because of the lack of self-regenerative ability of avascular tissue. Gelatin-based hydrogels are widely used in the field of tissue engineering because of their good biodegradability, excellent biocompatibility, and cell/tissue affinity. However, gelatin-based hydrogels exhibit poor thermal stability and low mechanical strength, which limit their application in cartilage repair.

Biomimetic Mineralized Hierarchical Graphene Oxide/Chitosan Scaffolds with Adsorbability for Immobilization of Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications.

Biomimetic calcium phosphate mineralized graphene oxide/chitosan (GO/CS) scaffolds with hierarchical structures were developed. First, GO/CS scaffolds with large micropores (∼300 μm) showed high mechanical strength due to the electrostatic interaction between the oxygen-containing functional groups of GO and the amine groups of CS. Second, octacalcuim phosphate (OCP) with porous structures (∼1 μm) was biomimetically mineralized on the surfaces of the GO/CS scaffolds (OCP-GO/CS).

Methanogenesis affected by the co-occurrence of iron(III) oxides and humic substances.

Iron oxides and humic substances (humics) have substantial effects on biochemical processes, such as methanogenesis, due to their redox reactivity and ubiquitous presence. This study aimed to investigate how methanogenesis is affected by the common occurrence of these compounds, which has not been considered to date. The experiment was conducted with anoxic paddy soil microcosms receiving a humics surrogate compound (anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate, AQDS) and three iron(III) oxides (ferrihydrite, hematite, and magnetite) differing in crystallinity and conductivity.

Extracellular quinones affecting methane production and methanogenic community in paddy soil.

This study investigated the change of CH4 production and methanogenic community in response to the presence of humic substances (humics) analogue, anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS). Anaerobic experiments used a Chinese paddy soil, and three concentration levels of 0.5, 5, and 20 mM AQDS were conducted.