Three-dimensional micro strain gauges as flexible, modular tactile sensors for versatile integration with micro- and macroelectronics.

Flexible tactile sensors play important roles in many areas, like human-machine interface, robotic manipulation, and biomedicine. However, their flexible form factor poses challenges in their integration with wafer-based devices, commercial chips, or circuit boards. Here, we introduce manufacturing approaches, device designs, integration strategies, and biomedical applications of a set of flexible, modular tactile sensors, which overcome the above challenges and achieve cooperation with commercial electronics.

Influencing factors of different metabolic status in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the risk factors for different metabolic status in patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: A total of 968 hospitalized patients with schizophrenia were recruited. Fasting blood glucose (GLU) and lipid profile, including total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglyceride (TG) were measured.

Probabilistic sunspot predictions with a gated recurrent units-based combined model guided by pinball loss.

Sunspots play a crucial role in both weather forecasting and the monitoring of solar storms. In this work, we propose a novel combined model for sunspot prediction using improved gated recurrent units (GRU) guided by pinball loss for probabilistic forecasts. Specifically, we optimize the GRU parameters using the slime mould algorithm and employ a seasonal-trend decomposition procedure based on loess to tackle challenges related to sequence prediction, such as self-correlations and non-stationarity.

Millimeter-scale magnetic implants paired with a fully integrated wearable device for wireless biophysical and biochemical sensing.

Implantable sensors can directly interface with various organs for precise evaluation of health status. However, extracting signals from such sensors mainly requires transcutaneous wires, integrated circuit chips, or cumbersome readout equipment, which increases the risks of infection, reduces biocompatibility, or limits portability. Here, we develop a set of millimeter-scale, chip-less, and battery-less magnetic implants paired with a fully integrated wearable device for measuring biophysical and biochemical signals.

Optimization of suspended particulate transport parameters from measured concentration profiles with a new analytical model.

The water body's suspended concentration reflects many coastal environmental indicators, which is important for predicting ecological hazards. The modeling of any concentration in water requires solving the settling-diffusion equation (SDE), and the values of several key input parameters therein (settling velocity w, eddy diffusivity D, and erosion rates p(t)) directly determine the prediction performance. The time-consuming large-scale simulations would benefit if the parameter values could be estimated through available observations in the target sea area.

Continuous genetic monitoring of transient mesenchymal gene activities in distal tubule and collecting duct epithelial cells during renal fibrosis.

Epithelial cells (ECs) have been proposed to contribute to myofibroblasts or fibroblasts through epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during renal fibrosis. However, since EMT may occur dynamically, transiently, and reversibly during kidney fibrosis, conventional lineage tracing based on Cre-loxP recombination in renal ECs could hardly capture the transient EMT activity, yielding inconsistent results. Moreover, previous EMT research has primarily focused on renal proximal tubule ECs, with few reports of distal tubules and collecting ducts.

Evaluating the Immune Response of a Nanoemulsion Adjuvant Vaccine Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Infection.

Nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccines have attracted extensive attention because of their small particle size, high thermal stability, and ability to induce validly immune responses. However, establishing a series of comprehensive protocols to evaluate the immune response of a novel nanoemulsion adjuvant vaccine is vital. Therefore, this article features a rigorous procedure to determine the physicochemical characteristics of a vaccine (by transmission electron microscopy [TEM], atomic force microscopy [AFM], and dynamic light scattering [DLS]), the stability of the vaccine antigen and system (by a high-speed centrifuge test, a thermodynamic stability test, SDS-PAGE, and western blot), and the specific immune response (IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b).

The advantages of penehyclidine hydrochloride over atropine in acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning: A meta-analysis.

Background: Penehyclidine hydrochloride (PHC) has been used for many years as an anticholinergic drug for the treatment of acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (AOPP). The purpose of this meta-analysis was to explore whether PHC has advantages over atropine in the use of anticholinergic drugs in AOPP.

Methods: We searched Scopus, Embase, Cochrane, PubMed, ProQuest, Ovid, Web of Science, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Duxiu, Chinese Biomedical literature (CBM), WanFang, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), from inception to March 2022.

A hybrid deep learning framework for air quality prediction with spatial autocorrelation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

China implemented a strict lockdown policy to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the worst-affected regions, including Wuhan and Shanghai. This study aims to investigate impact of these lockdowns on air quality index (AQI) using a deep learning framework. In addition to historical pollutant concentrations and meteorological factors, we incorporate social and spatio-temporal influences in the framework.

The Numerical Investigation of the Performance of a Newly Designed Sediment Trap for Horizontal Transport Flux.

Marine sediment transport is closely related to seafloor topography, material transport, marine engineering safety, etc. With a developed time-series vector observation device, the sediment capture and transport process can be observed. The structure of the capture tube and the internal filter screen can significantly affect the flow field during the actual observation, further influencing the sediment transport observation and particle capture process.

Genomic Profiling Reveals Novel Predictive Biomarkers for Chemo-Radiotherapy Efficacy and Thoracic Toxicity in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) remains the main treatment modality for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, its clinical efficacy is largely limited by individual variations in radio-sensitivity and radiotherapy-associated toxicity. There is an urgent need to identify genetic determinants that can explain patients' likelihood to develop recurrence and radiotherapy-associated toxicity following CRT.

Newly Designed and Experimental Test of the Sediment Trap for Horizontal Transport Flux.

The transport processes of marine suspended sediments are important to the material cycle and the shaping of seafloor topography. Existing sediment monitoring methods are limited in their use under high concentration conditions, and are not effective in monitoring and capturing sediment in 3D directions, and there is an inability to accurately explain sediment transport processes. To infer the transport process of suspended sediments, this study proposed a time-series vector in situ observation device.

A physics-informed statistical learning framework for forecasting local suspended sediment concentrations in marine environment.

An in-situ monitoring of water quality (suspended sediment concentration, SSC) and concurrent hydrodynamics was conducted in the subaqueous Yellow River Delta in China. Empirical mode decomposition and spectral analysis on the SSC time series reveal the different periodicities of each physical mechanism that contribute to the SSC variations. Based on this physical understanding, the decomposed SSC time series were trained separately with a newly-proposed augmented lncosh ridge regression, in which (1) a lncosh function was incorporated in traditional ridge regression for handling outliers in original data, and (2) the temporal auto-correlation in the decomposed SSC series was used for augmented regression.

Prognostic Value of Pretreatment Lymphocyte-to-Monocyte Ratio and Development of a Nomogram in Breast Cancer Patients.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore the prognostic significance of pretreatment hematologic parameters in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) of breast cancer patients.

Materials And Methods: The medical records of 440 breast cancer patients in Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute from 2003 to 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Through the results of blood routine before treatment, the absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), absolute monocyte count (AMC), and absolute platelet count (APC) in peripheral blood were collected.

Comprehensive Next-Generation Sequencing Reveals Novel Predictive Biomarkers of Recurrence and Thoracic Toxicity Risks After Chemoradiation Therapy in Limited Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Although definitive chemoradiation therapy (dCRT) remains the most effective treatment modality in limited stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), some patients progress quickly or develop serious radiation-induced thoracic toxicity (RITT). Molecular correlates of response to dCRT remain to be explored.

Methods And Materials: Genomic profiling was performed retrospectively on 231 patients with limited-stage SCLC treated with dCRT between 2015 and 2019 using a customized panel covering cancer and radiation therapy response-related genes.

Transcriptomics Changes in the Peritoneum of Mice with Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Peritonitis.

Peritonitis caused by LPS is a severe clinical challenge, which causes organ damage and death. However, the mechanism of LPS-induced peritonitis has not been fully revealed yet. Here, we investigated the transcriptome profile of the peritoneal tissue of LPS-induced peritonitis in mice.

Developing more sensitive genomic approaches to detect radioresponse in precision radiation oncology: From tissue DNA analysis to circulating tumor DNA.

Despite the common application and considerable efforts to achieve precision radiotherapy (RT) in several types of cancer, RT has not yet entered the era of precision medicine; the ability to predict radiosensitivity and treatment responses in tumors and normal tissues is lacking. Therefore, development of genome-based methods for individual prognosis in radiation oncology is urgently required. Traditional DNA sequencing requires tissue samples collected during invasive operations; therefore, repeated tests are nearly impossible.