Mechanically Stable and Damage Resistant Freestanding Ultrathin Silver Nanowire Films with Closely Packed Crossed-Lamellar Structure.

One-dimensional (1D) functional nanowires are widely used as nanoscale building blocks for assembling advanced nanodevices due to their unique functionalities. However, previous research has mainly focused on nanowire functionality, while neglecting the structural stability and damage resistance of nanowire assemblies, which are critical for the long-term operation of nanodevices. Biomaterials achieve excellent mechanical stability and damage resistance through sophisticated structural design.

Adjustment of segmental rotations to achieve both racket speed and accuracy at various impact heights during a two-handed backhand stroke.

This study investigated the influence of impact height and competitive level on racket speed and stroke accuracy by analysing segmental angular kinematics under a random ball condition. High- (HQ,  = 7) and low-quality (LQ,  = 7) groups were determined by -means clustering of the ratio of ball landing in the target (accuracy) and racket speed decrease. HQ showed higher accuracy (48.

Nitrogen-Mediated Promotion of Cobalt-Based Oxygen Evolution Catalyst for Practical Anion-Exchange Membrane Electrolysis.

Scarce and expensive iridium oxide is still the cornerstone catalyst of polymer-electrolyte membrane electrolyzers for green hydrogen production because of its exceptional stability under industrially relevant oxygen evolution reaction (OER) conditions. Earth-abundant transition metal oxides used for this task, however, show poor long-term stability. We demonstrate here the use of nitrogen-doped cobalt oxide as an effective iridium substitute.

Highly Regular Layered Structure via Dual-Spatially-Confined Alignment of Nanosheets Enables High-Performance Nanocomposites.

Assembling ultrathin nanosheets into layered structure represents one promising way to fabricate high-performance nanocomposites. However, how to minimize the internal defects of the layered assemblies to fully exploit the intrinsic mechanical superiority of nanosheets remains challenging. Here, a dual-scale spatially confined strategy for the co-assembly of ultrathin nanosheets with different aspect ratios into a near-perfect layered structure is developed.

Hierarchical and reconfigurable interfibrous interface of bioinspired Bouligand structure enabled by moderate orderliness.

Introducing natural Bouligand structure into synthetics is expected to develop high-performance structural materials. Interfibrous interface is critical to load transfer, and mechanical functionality of bioinspired Bouligand structure yet receives little attention. Here, we propose one kind of hierarchical and reconfigurable interfibrous interface based on moderate orderliness to mechanically reinforce bioinspired Bouligand structure.

Composition analysis of Compound Shenhua Tablet, a seven-herb Chinese medicine for IgA nephropathy: evaluation of analyte-capacity of the assays.

Compound Shenhua Tablet, a medicine comprising seven herbs, is employed in treating IgA nephropathy. This study aimed to meticulously analyze its chemical composition. Based on a list of candidate compounds, identified through extensive literature review pertinent to the tablet's herbal components, the composition analysis entailed the systematic identification, characterization, and quantification of the constituents.

Chaperonin co-expression and chemical modification enables production of active microbial transglutaminase from E. coli cytoplasm.

Microbial transglutaminase (MTG) is a usable enzyme for biomacromolecule modification. In the present study, a "molecular chaperonin" strategy was developed to produce MTG in E. coli cytoplasm with high expression level and a "small molecule-mediated chemical modification" strategy was adopted to strip propeptide chaperonin efficiently during purification.

Mechanically robust bamboo node and its hierarchically fibrous structural design.

Although short bamboo nodes function in mechanical support and fluid exchange for bamboo survival, their structures are not fully understood compared to unidirectional fibrous internodes. Here, we identify the spatial heterostructure of the bamboo node via multiscale imaging strategies and investigate its mechanical properties by multimodal mechanical tests. We find three kinds of hierarchical fiber reinforcement schemes that originate from the bamboo node, including spatially tightened interlocking, triaxial interconnected scaffolding and isotropic intertwining.

Scalable Manufacturing of Mechanical Robust Bioinspired Ceramic-Resin Composites with Locally Tunable Heterogeneous Structures.

Lightweight structural materials with a unique combination of high stiffness, strength, toughness, and hardness, are highly desired yet challenging to be artificially fabricated. Biological structural materials, on the other hand, ingeniously integrate multiple mutually exclusive mechanical properties together relying on their hierarchically heterogeneous structures bonded with gradient interfaces. Here, a scalable bottom-up approach combining continuous nanofiber-assisted evaporation-induced self-assembly with laminating, pressure-less sintering and resin infiltration is reported to fabricate bioinspired heterogeneous ceramic-resin composites with locally tunable microstructure to fulfill specific properties.

High-accuracy tennis players linearly adjust racket impact kinematics according to impact height during a two-handed backhand stroke.

We hypothesised that high-accuracy players more linearly coordinate racket kinematics with impact heights under random height conditions than low-accuracy players. We compared the adjustments of racket kinematics according to impact height between high- and low-accuracy players. Fourteen male tennis players hit the incoming balls with a two-handed backhand at different impact heights (21-108% of body height) to a target area.

Fennel main constituent, trans‑anethole treatment against LPS‑induced acute lung injury by regulation of Th17/Treg function.

Fennel, commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, is known as Foeniculum vulgare Mill. And its clinical application has been shown to target many biological systems including gastroenterology, endocrinology, gynecology and respiratory. The main constituent of the fennel essential oil is trans‑anethole, which has been described to have anti‑inflammatory and antibacterial activities.

Reconstructing a plasmonic metasurface for a broadband high-efficiency optical vortex in the visible frequency.

Metasurfaces consisting of a two-dimensional metallic nano-antenna array are capable of transferring a Gaussian beam into an optical vortex with a helical phase front and a phase singularity by manipulating the polarization/phase status of light. This miniaturizes a laboratory scaled optical system into a wafer scale component, opening up a new area for broad applications in optics. However, the low conversion efficiency to generate a vortex beam from circularly polarized light hinders further development.

Exploring the Q-marker of "sweat soaking method" processed radix Wikstroemia indica: Based on the "effect-toxicity-chemicals" study.

Background: Radix Wikstroemia indica (RWI), named "Liao Ge Wang" in Chinese, is a kind of toxic Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) commonly used in Miao nationality of South China. "Sweat soaking method" processed RWI could effectively decrease its toxicity and preserve therapeutic effect. However, the underlying mechanism of processing is still not clear, and the Q-markers database for processed RWI has not been established.

Coordination Mechanism and Bio-Evidence: Reactive γ-Ketoenal Intermediated Hepatotoxicity of Psoralen and Isopsoralen Based on Computer Approach and Bioassay.

Psoralen and isopsoralen are secondary plant metabolites found in many fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs. Psoralen-containing plants ( L.) have been reported to cause hepatotoxicity.

Nanofabrication and characterization of a grating-based condenser for uniform illumination with hard X-rays.

In the development of full-field transmission X-ray microscopy for basic study in science and technology, a condenser capable of providing intense illumination with high uniformity and stability on tested specimens in order to achieve high-quality images is essential. The latest design of a square-shaped condenser based on diffractive gratings has demonstrated promising uniformity in illumination. This paper describes in more detail the development of such a beam shaper for hard X-rays at 10 keV with regard to its design, manufacture and optical characterization.

Risk Factors for HIV Diagnosis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: Results of a Case-Control Study in One Sample of Eastern China.

Substantial increases in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have been reported worldwide in recent years, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM). We conducted a matched case-control study to examine the factors associated with HIV diagnosis among MSM in one sample of eastern China. Between February 2012 and December 2014, we used surveillance records to identify MSM diagnosed with HIV (case participants); we also recruited MSM who did not have HIV (controls) and then matched them (2:1) with control cases in terms of age (±3 years).

Lithographically-generated 3D lamella layers and their structural color.

Inspired by the structural color from the multilayer nanophotonic structures in Morpho butterfly wing scales, 3D lamellae layers in dielectric polymers (polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA) with n ∼ 1.5 were designed and fabricated by standard top-down electron beam lithography with one-step exposure followed by an alternating development/dissolution process of PMMA/LOR (lift-off resist) multilayers. This work offers direct proof of the structural blue/green color via lithographically-replicated PMMA/air multilayers, analogous to those in real Morpho butterfly wings.

Photon nanojet lens: design, fabrication and characterization.

In this paper, a novel nanolens with super resolution, based on the photon nanojet effect through dielectric nanostructures in visible wavelengths, is proposed. The nanolens is made from plastic SU-8, consisting of parallel semi-cylinders in an array. This paper focuses on the lens designed by numerical simulation with the finite-difference time domain method and nanofabrication of the lens by grayscale electron beam lithography combined with a casting/bonding/lift-off transfer process.

Nanofabrication and coloration study of artificial Morpho butterfly wings with aligned lamellae layers.

The bright and iridescent blue color from Morpho butterfly wings has attracted worldwide attentions to explore its mysterious nature for long time. Although the physics of structural color by the nanophotonic structures built on the wing scales has been well established, replications of the wing structure by standard top-down lithography still remains a challenge. This paper reports a technical breakthrough to mimic the blue color of Morpho butterfly wings, by developing a novel nanofabrication process, based on electron beam lithography combined with alternate PMMA/LOR development/dissolution, for photonic structures with aligned lamellae multilayers in colorless polymers.

Simulation and experimental study of aspect ratio limitation in Fresnel zone plates for hard-x-ray optics.

For acquiring high-contrast and high-brightness images in hard-x-ray optics, Fresnel zone plates with high aspect ratios (zone height/zone width) have been constantly pursued. However, knowledge of aspect ratio limits remains limited. This work explores the achievable aspect ratio limit in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) by electron-beam lithography (EBL) under 100 keV, and investigates the lithographic factors for this limitation.

The Uptake of Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Programs in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: No systematic review of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) in China has been performed. We aimed to estimate the uptake of PMTCT programs services in China.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang (Chinese) to identify research studies.

Mechanism-based inhibition of CYPs and RMs-induced hepatoxicity by rutaecarpine.

1. Rutaecarpine, a quinolone alkaloid isolated from the unripe fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa, is one of the main active components used in a variety of clinical applications, including the treatment of hypertension and arrhythmia. However, its hepatotoxicity has also been reported in recent years.

Gold nanopillar arrays as biosensors fabricated by electron beam lithography combined with electroplating.

We report our work on the development of subwavelength gold pillar arrays as local surface plasmonic (LSP) resonators for sensor applications. These arrays are fabricated by electron beam lithography combined with electroplating. The conical shape, instead of flat one, on the top of Au pillars, induced by uneven current density in the plating, may affect the LSP resonance (LSPR).