Upgrading and extending the life cycle of soft robots with in situ free-form liquid three-dimensional printing.

Soft robotics hardware, with numerous applications ranging from health care to exploration of unstructured environments, suffers from limited life cycles, which lead to waste generation and poor sustainability. Soft robots combine soft or hybrid components via complex assembly and disassembly workflows, which complicate the repair of broken components, hinder upgradability, and ultimately reduce their life spans. In this work, an advanced extrusion-based additive manufacturing process, in situ free-form liquid three-dimensional printing (iFL3DP), was developed to facilitate functional upgrades and repairs in soft robots.

Assessing the acceptability and feasibility of remote spirometric monitoring for rural patients with interstitial lung disease: a multimethod approach.

Introduction: Interstitial lung disease encompasses a group of rare lung conditions causing inflammation and scarring of lung tissue. The typical method of monitoring disease activity is through pulmonary function tests performed in a hospital setting. However, accessing care can be difficult for rural patients due to numerous barriers.

Loss of testosterone induces postprandial insulin resistance and increases the expression of the hepatic antioxidant flavin-containing monooxygenases in mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia.

Aim: We tested the hypothesis that low testosterone alters the effects of intermittent hypoxia (IH) on glucose homeostasis, hepatic oxidative stress, and transcriptomic profile in male mice.

Methods: We used sham-operated or orchiectomized (ORX) mice exposed to normoxia (Nx) or IH for 2 weeks. We performed fasting insulin and glucose tolerance tests and assessed fasting and postprandial insulin resistance with the HOMA-IR.

Shining light on fluoride detection: a comprehensive study exploring the potential of coumarin precursors as selective turn-on fluorescent chemosensors.

In this study, we report a fluoride chemosensor based on the use of a non-fluorescent pre-coumarin, compound 1. This compound undergoes selective fluoride-triggered formation of coumarin 2, with a concomitant turn-on fluorescence signal. Although compound 1 exists as a mixture of alkene isomers (2 : 1 in favor of the isomer), only the minor -isomer undergoes cyclization.

Intermittent Hypoxia and Weight Loss: Insights into the Etiology of the Sleep Apnea Phenotype.

Sleep apnea (SA) is a major respiratory disorder with increased risk for hypertension and obesity; however, our understanding of the origins of this complex disorder remains limited. Because apneas lead to recurrent drops in O during sleep, intermittent hypoxia (IH) is the main animal model to explore the pathophysiology of SA. Here, we assessed the impacts of IH on metabolic function and related signals.

Orchiectomy exacerbates sleep-disordered breathing induced by intermittent hypoxia in mice.

We tested the hypothesis that low testosterone levels alter the regulation of breathing in mice exposed to intermittent hypoxia (IH). We used orchiectomized (ORX) or control (Sham-operated) mice exposed to normoxia or IH (12 h/day, 10 cycles/h, 6% O) for 14 days. Breathing was measured by whole-body plethysmography to asses the stability of the breathing pattern (frequency distribution of total cycle time - Ttot) and the frequency and duration of spontaneous and post-sigh apneas (PSA).

On the origins of sleep disordered breathing, cardiorespiratory and metabolic dysfunction: which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a complex, sex specific and highly heterogeneous group of respiratory disorders. Nevertheless, sleep fragmentation and repeated fluctuations of arterial blood gases for several hours per night are at the core of the problem; together, they impose significant stress to the organism with deleterious consequences on physical and mental health. SDB increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, depression and anxiety disorders; however, the same health issues are risk factors for SDB.

deficiency prevents hypoxia-induced lung dysfunction by protecting the access to alveoli.

Hypoxia is common in lung diseases and a potent stimulator of the long non-coding RNA (). Herein, we investigated the impact of on hypoxia-induced lung dysfunction in mice. -deficient mice and their wild-type littermates were tested after 8 days of normoxia or hypoxia (10% oxygen).

Corrigendum: Testosterone Supplementation Induces Age-Dependent Augmentation of the Hypoxic Ventilatory Response in Male Rats With Contributions From the Carotid Bodies.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.

Paper-based manganese and β-cyclodextrin sensors for colorimetric sulfur dioxide detection.

Reported herein is a novel detection method for sulfur dioxide in aqueous solutions, in which the presence of sulfur dioxide leads to color changes of filter paper modified with both β-cyclodextrin and manganese. This detection method is rapid (less than 5 min required for complete color change), sensitive (limits of detection as low as 33 ppm), broadly applicable (tolerant of a range of pH values), and practical (color changes can be observed via naked eye detection and quantified via straightforward color analysis). Extensive optimization of each component provides insight into the unique stabilizing effect of cyclodextrin in preventing the filter paper from permanganate-induced degradation, and mechanistic analysis points to an oxidation-reduction reaction as responsible for the observed color changes.

A dipodal bimane-ditriazole-diCu(II) complex serves as an ultrasensitive water sensor.

An ultrasensitive fluorescent water sensor based on a dipodal bimane-Cu(II) complex is reported here. This complex, which is non-fluorescent in the absence of water, demonstrates a remarkable turn-on fluorescence in the presence of extremely low (0.000786% v/v) concentrations of water, highly selective water-induced displacement of copper and restoration of the innate bimane fluorescence.

Testosterone Supplementation Induces Age-Dependent Augmentation of the Hypoxic Ventilatory Response in Male Rats With Contributions From the Carotid Bodies.

Excessive carotid body responsiveness to O and/or CO/H stimuli contributes to respiratory instability and apneas during sleep. In hypogonadal men, testosterone supplementation may increase the risk of sleep-disordered breathing; however, the site of action is unknown. The present study tested the hypothesis that testosterone supplementation potentiates carotid body responsiveness to hypoxia in adult male rats.

Additive effects of orchiectomy and intermittent hypoxia on lung mechanics and inflammation in C57BL/6J male mice.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? Does endogenous testosterone modulate the consequences of intermittent hypoxia (IH) in the lungs of male mice? What is the main finding and its importance? Orchiectomized mice exposed to IH develop a pattern that is similar to emphysema or obstructive lung disease with elevated lung volumes, low pulmonary elastance during a methacholine challenge test and high counts of lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavages. Since low testosterone levels and other respiratory diseases are common in sleep apnoea, there is a clear clinical relevance to these results.

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that low testosterone levels modulate the pulmonary responses to intermittent hypoxia (IH; used as a model of sleep apnoea (SA)) in male mice.

Erythropoietin Produces a Dual Effect on Carotid Body Chemoreception in Male Rats.

Erythropoietin (EPO) regulates respiration under conditions of normoxia and hypoxia through interaction with the respiratory centers of the brainstem. Here we investigate the dose-dependent impact of EPO in the CB response to hypoxia and hypercapnia. We show, in isolated "" carotid body (CB) preparations containing the carotid sinus nerve (CSN) from adult male Sprague Dawley rats, that EPO acts as a stimulator of CSN activity in response to hypoxia at concentrations below 0.

Ronald C.D. Breslow (1931-2017): A career in review.

Reviewed herein are key research accomplishments of Professor Ronald Charles D. Breslow (1931-2017) throughout his more than 60 year research career. These accomplishments span a wide range of topics, most notably physical organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, and bioorganic chemistry.

Stress and Loss of Ovarian Function: Novel Insights into the Origins of Sex-Based Differences in the Manifestations of Respiratory Control Disorders During Sleep.

The respiratory system of women and men develops and functions in distinct neuroendocrine milieus. Despite differences in anatomy and neural control, homeostasis of arterial blood gases is ensured in healthy individuals regardless of sex. This convergence in function differs from the sex-based differences observed in many respiratory diseases.

Mice and Rats Display Different Ventilatory, Hematological, and Metabolic Features of Acclimatization to Hypoxia.

Phylogeographic studies showed that house mice () originated in the Himalayan region, while common rats ( and ) come from the lowlands of China and India. Accordingly, it has been proposed that its origins gave mice, but not rats, the ability to invade ecological niches at high altitudes (pre-adaptation). This proposal is strongly supported by the fact that house mice are distributed throughout the world, while common rats are practically absent above 2,500 m.

Impact of ovariectomy and CO inhalation on microglia morphology in select brainstem and hypothalamic areas regulating breathing in female rats.

The neural network that regulates breathing shows a significant sexual dimorphism. Ovarian hormones contribute to this distinction as, in rats, ovariectomy reduces the ventilatory response to CO. Microglia are neuroimmune cells that are sensitive to neuroendocrine changes in their environment.

Lung oxidative stress and transcriptional regulations induced by estradiol and intermittent hypoxia.

We determined the effects of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) and estradiol (E) on oxidative stress and gene expression in the lungs. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were left intact (sham) or ovariectomized (OVX) and implanted with pumps delivering vehicle or E (0.5 mg/kg/day).

Metabolic responses to intermittent hypoxia are regulated by sex and estradiol in mice.

The roles of sex and sex-hormones on the metabolic consequences of intermittent hypoxia (IH, a reliable model of sleep apnea) are unknown. We used intact male or female mice and ovariectomized (OVX) females treated with vehicle (Veh) or estradiol (E) and exposed to normoxia (Nx) or IH (6% O, 10 cycles/h, 12 h/day, 2 wk). Mice were then fasted for 6 h, and we measured fasting glucose and insulin levels and performed insulin or glucose tolerance tests (ITT or GTT).

Progesterone decreases apnoea and reduces oxidative stress induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia in ovariectomized female rats.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? Does progesterone reduce the effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) on arterial blood pressure, respiratory control and oxidative stress in the central nervous system in ovariectomized rats? What is the main finding and its importance? Progesterone does not prevent the elevation of arterial blood pressure in rats exposed to CIH, but normalizes respiratory control, and reduces cerebral oxidative stress. This study draws focus to a potential role of progesterone and the consequences of sleep apnoea in menopausal women.

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that progesterone (Prog) reduces the effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) on arterial blood pressure, respiratory chemoreflexes and oxidative stress in the central nervous system.

Erythropoietin and caffeine exert similar protective impact against neonatal intermittent hypoxia: Apnea of prematurity and sex dimorphism.

Apnea of prematurity (AoP) is associated with severe and repeated episodes of arterial oxygen desaturation (intermittent hypoxia - IH), which in turn increases the number of apneas. So far, there is no data addressing whether IH leads to sex-specific respiratory consequences, neither if drugs targeting AoP are more effective in males or females. We used rat pups for investigating whether IH-mediated increase of apneas is sex-specific.