Compressing slippery surface-assembled amphiphiles for tunable haptic energy harvesters.

A recurring challenge in extracting energy from ambient motion is that devices must maintain high harvesting efficiency and a positive user experience when the interface is undergoing dynamic compression. We show that small amphiphiles can be used to tune friction, haptics, and triboelectric properties by assembling into specific conformations on the surfaces of materials. Molecules that form multiple slip planes under pressure, especially through π-π stacking, produce 80 to 90% lower friction than those that form disordered mesostructures.

Influence of the glycocalyx on the size and mechanical properties of plasma membrane-derived vesicles.

Recent studies have reported that the overexpression of MUC1 glycoproteins on cell surfaces changes the morphology of cell plasma membranes and increases the blebbing of vesicles from them, supporting the hypothesis that entropic forces exerted by MUC1 change the spontaneous curvature of cell membranes. However, how MUC1 is incorporated into and influences the size and biophysical properties of plasma-membrane-blebbed vesicles is not understood. Here we report single-vesicle-level characterization of giant plasma membrane vesicles (GPMVs) derived from cells overexpressing MUC1, revealing a 40× variation in MUC1 density between GPMVs from a single preparation and a strong correlation between GPMV size and MUC1 density.

Simulation for Systems Integration: A Win-Win to Achieve Your Education, Quality, and Safety Goals.

Health care education is a cornerstone of clinical excellence, ensuring the highest level of readiness to achieve high-quality and safe care. Integrating simulation into health care systems can provide a modality to address educational, quality, and safety goals. Simulation is a methodology used to immerse individuals, teams, and medical systems into clinical scenarios or environments.

UK Foot and Ankle Thromboembolism (UK-FATE).

Aims: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a potential complication of foot and ankle surgery. There is a lack of agreement on contributing risk factors and chemical prophylaxis requirements. The primary outcome of this study was to analyze the 90-day incidence of symptomatic VTE and VTE-related mortality in patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery and Achilles tendon (TA) rupture.