A Surface-Mediated Biomimetic Porous Polyether-Ether-Ketone Scaffold for Regulating Immunity and Promoting Osteogenesis.

The repair of critical-sized bone defects remains a major challenge for clinical orthopedic surgery. Here, we develop a surface biofunctionalized three-dimensional (3D) porous polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) scaffold that can simultaneously promote osteogenesis and regulate macrophage polarization. The scaffold is created using polydopamine (PDA)-assisted immobilization of silk fibroin (SF) and the electrostatic self-assembly of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (nano-HA) on a 3D-printed porous PEEK scaffold.

Intuitionistic fuzzy set of -submodules and its application in modeling spread of viral diseases, mutated COVID-, via flights.

In this study, we generalize fuzzy -module, as intuitionistic fuzzy -submodule of -module (IF M), and utilize it for modeling the spread of coronavirus in air travels. Certain fundamental features of intuitionistic fuzzy -submodule are provided, and it is proved that IF M can be considered as a complete lattice. Some elucidatory examples are demonstrated to explain the properties of IF M.

Leaf-Inspired Flexible Thermoelectric Generators with High Temperature Difference Utilization Ratio and Output Power in Ambient Air.

The inherently small temperature difference in air environment restricts the applications of thermoelectric generation in the field of Internet of Things and wearable electronics. Here, a leaf-inspired flexible thermoelectric generator (leaf-TEG) that makes maximum use of temperature difference by vertically aligning poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate and constantan thin films is demonstrated. Analytical formulae of the performance scales, i.

Extension of Compositional Space to the Ternary in Alloy Chiral Nanoparticles through Galvanic Replacement Reactions.

Metal chiral nanoparticles (CNPs), composed of atomically chiral lattices, are an emerging chiral nanomaterial showing unique asymmetric properties. Chirality transmission from the host CNPs mediated with galvanic replacement reactions (GRRs) has been carried out to extend their compositional space from the unary to binary. Further compositional extension to, e.

A Highly Sensitive, Reliable, and High-Temperature-Resistant Flexible Pressure Sensor Based on Ceramic Nanofibers.

Flexible pressure sensors are essential components for soft electronics by providing physiological monitoring capability for wearables and tactile perceptions for soft robotics. Flexible pressure sensors with reliable performance are highly desired yet challenging to construct to meet the requirements of practical applications in daily activities and even harsh environments, such as high temperatures. This work describes a highly sensitive and reliable capacitive pressure sensor based on flexible ceramic nanofibrous networks with high structural elasticity, which minimizes performance degradation commonly seen in polymer-based sensors because of the viscoelastic behavior of polymers.

Hydrophobic Interaction: A Promising Driving Force for the Biomedical Applications of Nucleic Acids.

The comprehensive understanding and proper use of supramolecular interactions have become critical for the development of functional materials, and so is the biomedical application of nucleic acids (NAs). Relatively rare attention has been paid to hydrophobic interaction compared with hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction of NAs. However, hydrophobic interaction shows some unique properties, such as high tunability for application interest, minimal effect on NA functionality, and sensitivity to external stimuli.

Highly Transparent and Flexible Iontronic Pressure Sensors Based on an Opaque to Transparent Transition.

Human-computer interfaces, smart glasses, touch screens, and some electronic skins require highly transparent and flexible pressure-sensing elements. Flexible pressure sensors often apply a microstructured or porous active material to improve their sensitivity and response speed. However, the microstructures or small pores will result in high haze and low transparency of the device, and thus it is challenging to balance the sensitivity and transparency simultaneously in flexible pressure sensors or electronic skins.

A mitochondria-targeting NIR fluorescent potassium ion sensor: real-time investigation of the mitochondrial K regulation of apoptosis in situ.

The first NIR fluorescent mitochondria-targeting K+ sensor, denoted as TAC-Rh, was developed. The produced sensor consists of a rhodamine analog as the fluorophore and triazacryptand (TAC) as the K+ recognition unit. Compared to the K+ sensors reported previously, TAC-Rh exhibits two unique optical properties: the largest Stokes shifts (120 nm) and the longest emission peak wavelength (720 nm).

Sub-3 nm Intermetallic Ordered PtIn Clusters for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Industrial applications of Pt-based oxygen-reduction-reaction (ORR) catalysts are limited by high cost and low stability. Here, facile large-scale synthesis of sub-3-nm ordered PtIn clusters on commercial carbon black as ORR catalyst that alleviates both these shortcomings is reported. As-prepared PtIn/C exhibits a mass activity of 0.

Extracellular Nanomatrix-Induced Self-Organization of Neural Stem Cells into Miniature Substantia Nigra-Like Structures with Therapeutic Effects on Parkinsonian Rats.

Substantia nigra (SN) is a complex and critical region of the brain wherein Parkinson's disease (PD) arises from the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Miniature SN-like structures (mini-SNLSs) constructed from novel combination of nanomaterials and cell technologies exhibit promise as potentially curative cell therapies for PD. In this work, a rapid self-organization of mini-SNLS, with an organizational structure and neuronal identities similar to those of the SN in vivo, is achieved by differentiating neural stem cells in vitro on biocompatible silica nanozigzags (NZs) sculptured by glancing angle deposition, without traditional chemical growth factors.

Topography-Directed Hot-Water Super-Repellent Surfaces.

Natural and artificial super-repellent surfaces are frequently textured with pillar-based discrete structures rather than hole-based continuous ones because the former exhibits lower adhesion from the reduced length of the three-phase contact line. Counterintuitively, here, the unusual topographic effects are discovered on hot-water super-repellency where the continuous microcavity surface outperforms the discrete microneedle/micropillar surface. This anomaly arises from the different dependencies of liquid-repellency stability on the surface structure and water temperature in the two topographies.

Engineering MoS Basal Planes for Hydrogen Evolution via Synergistic Ruthenium Doping and Nanocarbon Hybridization.

Promoting the intrinsic activity and accessibility of basal plane sites in 2D layered metal dichalcogenides is desirable to optimize their catalytic performance for energy conversion and storage. Herein, a core/shell structured hybrid catalyst, which features few-layered ruthenium (Ru)-doped molybdenum disulfide (MoS) nanosheets closely sheathing around multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT), for highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is reported. With 5 at% (atomic percent) Ru substituting for Mo in MoS, Ru-MoS/CNT achieves the optimum HER activity, which displays a small overpotential of 50 mV at -10 mA cm and a low Tafel slope of 62 mV dec in 1 m KOH.

Hydrophobic CuO Quantum Dots Enabled by Surfactant Modification as Top Hole-Transport Materials for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells.

The utilization of an inorganic hole-transport layer (HTL) is one of the most effective methods to improve the stability and reduce the cost of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, achieving high-quality inorganic HTL films, especially HTL films in n-i-p structures, via solution processes remains a big challenge. Here, a simple surface modification strategy for low-cost and stable cuprous oxide (CuO) quantum dots is proposed, which utilizes a silane coupling agent.

Structures and Properties of LaFeCuO and BaFeCuO as Cobalt-Free Perovskite-Type Cathode Materials for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Perovskite oxides with mixed electronic-ionic conduction are important catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Here, two cobalt-free perovskite oxides, LaFeCuO (LFCuO) and BaFeCuO (BFCuO), were synthesized and comparatively studied with respect to their phase structures, oxygen contents, chemical defects, thermal expansion coefficient (TEC), as well as electrical and electrochemical properties. Different structures and properties have been found for each oxide, which have been interpreted based on their tolerance factors and chemical defects.