Transfunctional Optical Thin Films via Bioinspired Engineering.

Advanced multifunctional optical films or substrates have continued to develop as essential components in the diverse optical industry. Several functions, including high transparency, self-cleaning ability, structural color, flexibility, and durability, are required to obtain versatile and practical optical films. Herein, we introduce a cicada-wing-inspired transfunctional optical thin film (CITOTF) with nanostructures on both surface nanostructures inspired by the cicada-wings.

Deep Learning Models for Anatomical Location Classification in Esophagogastroduodenoscopy Images and Videos: A Quantitative Evaluation with Clinical Data.

Background/objectives: During gastroscopy, accurately identifying the anatomical locations of the gastrointestinal tract is crucial for developing diagnostic aids, such as lesion localization and blind spot alerts.

Methods: This study utilized a dataset of 31,403 still images from 1000 patients with normal findings to annotate the anatomical locations within the images and develop a classification model. The model was then applied to videos of 20 esophagogastroduodenoscopy procedures, where it was validated for real-time location prediction.

Patterning of Metal Halide Perovskite Thin Films and Functional Layers for Optoelectronic Applications.

In recent years, metal halide perovskites have received significant attention as materials for next-generation optoelectronic devices owing to their excellent optoelectronic properties. The unprecedented rapid evolution in the device performance has been achieved by gaining an advanced understanding of the composition, crystal growth, and defect engineering of perovskites. As device performances approach their theoretical limits, effective optical management becomes essential for achieving higher efficiency.

Crack-Based Sensor with Microstructures for Strain and Pressure Sensing.

Recent extensive research on flexible electronics has led to the development of various flexible sensors. In particular, sensors inspired by the slit organs of a spider, which utilize cracks in a metal film to measure strain, have garnered considerable interest. This method exhibited significantly high sensitivity, repeatability, and durability in measuring strain.

Ultrasensitive and Highly Stretchable Multiple-Crosslinked Ionic Hydrogel Sensors with Long-Term Stability.

Flexible hydrogels are receiving significant attention for their application in wearable sensors. However, most hydrogel materials exhibit weak and one-time adhesion, low sensitivity, ice crystallization, water evaporation, and poor self-recovery, thereby limiting their application as sensors. These issues are only partly addressed in previous studies.

Bioinspired On-Demand Directional Droplet Manipulation Surfaces.

In this study, we exploited the properties of nature-inspired hierarchical structures to propose surfaces capable of on-demand directional droplet manipulation. A microline polydimethylsiloxane structure that simulated a bamboo leaf was fabricated, and silica particles were embedded onto its surface to create hierarchical structures. The as-fabricated multiscale line structures exhibited anisotropic wetting properties along the advancing direction.

Silver-Reduced Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Diacrylate Composites with Microline Arrays for Directional Bending Sensors.

Herein, a soft and flexible polymer composite sensor with a surface structure is manufactured that is sensitive to a wide range of mechanical stimuli, including small actions and large motions. A polymer sensor performing with a piezoresistive mechanism is proposed by synthesizing a new conductive polymer composite to fabricate a microline structure by itself, named Ag-reduced poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) composite directional bending sensor (ACBS). A simple but effective process of forming nanoparticles (NPs) and surface structures is a notable characteristic.

Efficacy and Safety of Botulinum Toxin Type A (NABOTA) for Post-stroke Upper Extremity Spasticity: A Multicenter Phase IV Trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Daewoong botulinum toxin type A (NABOTA) after its launch in South Korea.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter, open-label phase IV clinical trial included 222 patients with stroke. All patients visited the clinic at baseline and at weeks 4, 8, and 12 after injection of upto 360 units of NABOTA into the wrist, elbow, and finger flexor muscles at the first visit.

Robust and Transparent Lossless Directional Omniphobic Ultra-Thin Sticker-Type Film with Re-entrant Micro-Stripe Arrays.

Directional droplet-sliding control without wetting the surface is immensely required in advanced surface engineering, including biological and chemical analyses or green technology. However, the development of robust and transparent thin sticker-type directional omniphobic films for portable usage in smart microfluidic platforms is rare. In this study, we report a novel perfluoropolyether (PFPE) directional omniphobic film (PDOF).

Self-Assembled Artificial Nanocilia Actuators.

Self-assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) is a powerful route to constructing higher-order structures. However, the programmed self-assembly of NPs into non-close-packed, 3D, shape-morphing nanocilia arrays remains elusive, whereas dynamically actuated nanometer cilia are universal in living systems. Here, a programmable self-assembly strategy is presented that can direct magnetic NPs into a highly ordered responsive artificial nanocilia actuator with exquisite nanometer 3D structural arrangements.

Ammonium transporter 1 increases rice resistance to sheath blight by promoting nitrogen assimilation and ethylene signalling.

Sheath blight (ShB) significantly threatens rice yield production. However, the underlying mechanism of ShB defence in rice remains largely unknown. Here, we identified a highly ShB-susceptible mutant Ds-m which contained a mutation at the ammonium transporter 1;1 (AMT1;1) D N.

Capillary-Induced Clustering of Thermoresponsive Micropillars.

In this study, we demonstrate the controllable clustering of thermoresponsive high-aspect-ratio hydrogel pillars by modulating the elastic modulus of the materials. Generally, high-aspect-ratio polymeric pillars readily cluster owing to the effect of capillary force and adhesion. However, this unstable behavior hinders the implementation of various functionalities such as wetting, adhesion, and energy harvesting on surfaces with such pillars.

Physical activity after ischemic stroke and its association with adverse outcomes: A nationwide population-based cohort study.

Background: Sufficient physical activity (PA) is highly recommended to improve the prognosis after stroke. However, there have been only a few studies evaluating the changes in PA level after stroke.

Aims: We aimed to identify the changes in PA level between before and after stroke, and to determine the association between PA and adverse outcomes.

Reliable and Robust Fabrication Rules for Springtail-Inspired Superomniphobic Surfaces.

We report a reliable and robust method for the fabrication of bioinspired superomniphobic surfaces with precise concave-cap-shaped micropillar arrays. This method includes silicon-based conventional microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and polymer replication processes. We have elucidated two critical cases of fabrication rules for precise micromachining of a negative-shaped bioinspired silicon master.

Optimization of Shapes and Sizes of Moth-Eye-Inspired Structures for the Enhancement of Their Antireflective Properties.

Novel antireflective (AR) structures have attracted tremendous attention and been used in various applications such as solar cells, displays, wearable devices, and others. They have also stimulated the development of several other methods, including moth-eye-inspired technologies. However, the analyses of the shapes and sizes of nanostructures remain a critical issue and need to be considered in the design of effective AR surfaces.

Selective Liquid Sliding Surfaces with Springtail-Inspired Concave Mushroom-Like Micropillar Arrays.

Herein, a mushroom-like reentrant structure is proposed, inspired by springtails, to create a selective liquid sliding surface by implementing a simple yet sturdy silicon fabrication and lithography method. The fabricated arrays display high structural fidelity, presenting a novel geometry of a concave tip. The mushroom-like head shape of these structures is found to have superomniphobicity, which is independent of a variation of temperatures for even low surface tension liquids such as mineral oil.

Utility of CPR Machine Power and Change in Right Atrial Pressure for Estimating CPR Quality.

When a cardiac arrest occurs, it is necessary to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as soon as possible. This requires maintaining the pressure depth at 5 cm at a rate of 100 cpm. For CPR machines, which are frequently used in ambulances, the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) is not superior to that of manual CPR, although CPR machines can maintain the compression rate and reciprocal distance of the compression plate more accurately.

Moth-eye Structured Polydimethylsiloxane Films for High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells.

Large-area polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films with variably sized moth-eye structures were fabricated to improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells. An approach that incorporated photolithography, bilayer PDMS deposition and replication was used in the fabrication process. By simply attaching the moth-eye PDMS films to the transparent substrates of perovskite solar cells, the optical properties of the devices could be tuned by changing the size of the moth-eye structures.

Tunable Multimodal Drop Bouncing Dynamics and Anti-Icing Performance of a Magnetically Responsive Hair Array.

Anti-icing materials that can efficiently limit ice formation have a strong potential to replace existing anti-icing techniques, such as Joule heating, chemical release, or mechanical removal, which are usually inefficient, expensive, and environmentally harmful. In this study, an anti-icing material based on a magnetically responsive hierarchical hair array that can actively modulate drop bouncing dynamics is presented. The magnetically responsive hair array exhibits an immediate and reversible structural bending motion in response to an external magnetic field.

Multifunctional Moth-Eye TiO/PDMS Pads with High Transmittance and UV Filtering.

This work reports a facile fabrication method for constructing multifunctional moth-eye TiO/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) pads using soft nano-imprinting lithography and a gas-phase-deposited thin sacrificial layer. Mesoporous TiO nanoparticles act as an effective UV filter, completely blocking high-energy UVB light and partially blocking UVA light and forming a robust TiO/PDMS composite pad by allowing the PDMS solution to easily fill the porous TiO network. The paraboloid-shaped moth-eye nanostructures provided high transparency in the visible spectrum and also have self-cleaning effects because of nanoroughness on the surface.

3D tissue formation by stacking detachable cell sheets formed on nanofiber mesh.

We present a novel approach for assembling 3D tissue by layer-by-layer stacking of cell sheets formed on aligned nanofiber mesh. A rigid frame was used to repeatedly collect aligned electrospun PCL (polycaprolactone) nanofiber to form a mesh structure with average distance between fibers 6.4 µm.

Outflow monitoring of a pneumatic ventricular assist device using external pressure sensors.

Background: In this study, a new algorithm was developed for estimating the pump outflow of a pneumatic ventricular assist device (p-VAD). The pump outflow estimation algorithm was derived from the ideal gas equation and determined the change in blood-sac volume of a p-VAD using two external pressure sensors.

Objectives: Based on in vitro experiments, the algorithm was revised to consider the effects of structural compliance caused by volume changes in an implanted unit, an air driveline, and the pressure difference between the sensors and the implanted unit.

Directional Clustering of Slanted Nanopillars by Elastocapillarity.

The unidirectional clustering induced by capillary force of drying liquids between pillars is investigated and a theoretical model to set a criterion of the unidirectional clustering of the slanted nanopillars is proposed.

Moth-Eye TiO2 Layer for Improving Light Harvesting Efficiency in Perovskite Solar Cells.

A moth-eye nanostructured mp-TiO2 film using conventional lithography, nano-imprinting and polydimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) stamping methods is demonstrated for the first time. Power conversion efficiency of the moth-eye patterned perovskite solar cell is improved by ≈11%, which mainly results from increasing light harvesting efficiency by structural optical property.