Comparison of the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles and extract of applied topically on surgical wounds inflicted on the skin of rabbits.

Antibiotics are used for postsurgical wound healing purposes but unfortunately, resistance against them demands some alternatives for quick recovery. Sepsis of wounds is a challenge for medical as well as veterinary professionals. Nanoparticles have significant advantages in wound treatment and drug resistance reversal.

Nano-Chitosan/ Oil/Cellulose Acetate Nanofibers: Manufacturing, Antibacterial and Wound Healing Activities.

Accelerated wound healing in infected skin is still one of the areas where current therapeutic tactics fall short, which highlights the critical necessity for the exploration of new therapeutic approaches. The present study aimed to encapsulate oil in a nano-drug carrier to enhance its antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, in vitro, and in vivo wound healing studies of the novel nano-chitosan/ oil/cellulose acetate electrospun nanofibers were investigated.

Heparin Affinity-Based IL-4 Delivery to Modulate Macrophage Phenotype and Endothelial Cell Activity In Vitro.

Macrophages play a pivotal role in wound healing and tissue regeneration, as they are rapidly recruited to the site of injury or implanted foreign material. Depending on their interaction with the material, macrophages can develop different phenotypes, with the M1 pro-inflammatory and M2 pro-regenerative phenotypes being highly involved in tissue regeneration. M2 macrophages mitigate inflammation and promote tissue regeneration and extracellular matrix remodeling.

Mosquito Blood Feeding Prevention Using an Extra-Low DC Voltage Charged Cloth.

Mosquito vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue pose a major threat to human health. Personal protection from mosquito blood feeding is mostly by treating clothing with insecticides and the use of repellents on clothing and skin. Here, we developed a low-voltage, mosquito-resistant cloth (MRC) that blocked all blood feeding across the textile and was flexible and breathable.

Optimization of 13-tetradecenyl acetate sex pheromone for trapping Melanotus communis (Coleoptera: Elateridae).

Corn wireworm, Melanotus communis Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Elateridae), is an economically important larval pest of root and tuber crops in the United States. Previous work to estimate field-level abundance of M. communis has focused on grain-based larval baits placed in soil.

Bio-Mimic, Fast-Moving, and Flippable Soft Piezoelectric Robots.

Cheetahs achieve high-speed movement and unique athletic gaits through the contraction and expansion of their limbs during the gallop. However, few soft robots can mimic their gaits and achieve the same speed of movement. Inspired by the motion gait of cheetahs, here the resonance of double spiral structure for amplified motion performance and environmental adaptability in a soft-bodied hopping micro-robot is exploited.

Genetic basis of ecologically relevant body shape variation among four genera of cichlid fishes.

Divergence in body shape is one of the most widespread and repeated patterns of morphological variation in fishes and is associated with habitat specification and swimming mechanics. Such ecological diversification is the first stage of the explosive adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in the East African Rift Lakes. We use two hybrid crosses of cichlids (Metriaclima sp.

A Review of Barbed Sutures-Evolution, Applications and Clinical Significance.

Surgical ligatures are a critical component of any surgical procedure since they are the device that provides immediate post-surgical tissue apposition. There have been several studies to improve the design and use of these wound closure devices for different surgical procedures. Yet, there is no standardized technique or device that can be used for any specific application.

Biocatalytic Membranes for Carbon Capture and Utilization.

Innovative carbon capture technologies that capture CO from large point sources and directly from air are urgently needed to combat the climate crisis. Likewise, corresponding technologies are needed to convert this captured CO into valuable chemical feedstocks and products that replace current fossil-based materials to close the loop in creating viable pathways for a renewable economy. Biocatalytic membranes that combine high reaction rates and enzyme selectivity with modularity, scalability, and membrane compactness show promise for both CO capture and utilization.

Carbonic Anhydrase Enhanced UV-Crosslinked PEG-DA/PEO Extruded Hydrogel Flexible Filaments and Durable Grids for CO Capture.

In this study, poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate/poly (ethylene oxide) (PEG-DA/PEO) interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels (IPNH) were extruded into 1D filaments and 2D grids. The suitability of this system for enzyme immobilization and CO capture application was validated. IPNH chemical composition was verified spectroscopically using FTIR.

Development of a Pneumatic-Driven Fiber-Shaped Robot Scaffold for Use as a Complex 3D Dynamic Culture System.

Cells can sense and respond to different kinds of continuous mechanical strain in the human body. Mechanical stimulation needs to be included within the in vitro culture system to better mimic the existing complexity of in vivo biological systems. Existing commercial dynamic culture systems are generally two-dimensional (2D) which fail to mimic the three-dimensional (3D) native microenvironment.

Prevalence and factors associated with underweight among 15-49-year-old women in Sierra Leone: a secondary data analysis of Sierra Leone demographic health survey of 2019.

Background: Women are at higher risks of being underweight than men due to biological, socio-economic, and cultural factors. Underweight women have high risks of poor obstetric outcomes. We aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with being underweight among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Sierra Leone.

Soft Functionally Gradient Materials and Structures - Natural and Manmade: A Review.

Functionally gradient materials (FGM) have gradual variations in their properties along one or more dimensions due to local compositional or structural distinctions by design. Traditionally, hard materials (e.g.

Wet Spinning of Graphene Oxide Fibers with Different MnO Additives.

We present the fabrication of graphene oxide (GO) and manganese dioxide (MnO) composite fibers via wet spinning processes, which entails the effects of MnO micromorphology and mass loading on the extrudability of GO/MnO spinning dope and on the properties of resulted composite fibers. Various sizes of rod and sea-urchin shaped MnO microparticles have been synthesized via hydrothermal reactions with different oxidants and hydrothermal conditions. Both the microparticle morphology and mass loading significantly affect the extrudability of the GO/MnO mixture.

Comparison of NIH 3T3 Cellular Adhesion on Fibrous Scaffolds Constructed from Natural and Synthetic Polymers.

Polymer scaffolds are increasingly ubiquitous in the field of tissue engineering in improving the repair and regeneration of damaged tissue. Natural polymers exhibit better cellular adhesion and proliferation than biodegradable synthetics but exhibit inferior mechanical properties, among other disadvantages. Synthetic polymers are highly tunable but lack key binding motifs that are present in natural polymers.

Nano-Enriched Self-Powered Wireless Body Area Network for Sustainable Health Monitoring Services.

Advances in nanotechnology have enabled the creation of novel materials with specific electrical and physical characteristics. This leads to a significant development in the industry of electronics that can be applied in various fields. In this paper, we propose a fabrication of nanotechnology-based materials that can be used to design stretchy piezoelectric nanofibers for energy harvesting to power connected bio-nanosensors in a Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN).

Raman and NMR spectroscopic and theoretical investigations of the cubic laves-phases REAl (RE = Sc, Y, La, Yb, Lu).

The cubic Laves-phase aluminides REAl with RE = Sc, Y, La, Yb and Lu were prepared from the elements by arc-melting or using refractory metal ampoules and induction heating. They all crystallize in the cubic crystal system with space group 3̄ and adopt the MgCu type structure. The title compounds were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and spectroscopically investigated using Raman and Al and in the case of ScAl by Sc solid-state MAS NMR.

A textile-reinforced composite vascular graft that modulates macrophage polarization and enhances endothelial cell migration, adhesion and proliferation .

At the present time, there is no successful off-the-shelf small-caliber vascular graft (<6 mm) for the repair or bypass of the coronary or carotid arteries. In this study, we engineer a textile-reinforced hydrogel vascular graft. The textile fibers are circularly knitted into a flexible yet robust conduit to serve as the backbone of the composite vascular graft and provide the primary mechanical support.

W. Matthews Grant's Dual Sources Account and Ultimate Responsibility.

A number of philosophers and theologians have recently challenged the common assumption that it would be impossible for God to cause humans actions which are free in the libertarian or incompatibilist sense. Perhaps the most sophisticated version of this challenge is due to W. Matthews Grant.

Fiber/Yarn-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs): Fabrication Strategy, Structure, and Application.

With the demand of a sustainable, wearable, environmentally friendly energy source, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) were developed. TENG is a promising method to convert mechanical energy from motion into electrical energy. The combination of textile and TENG successfully enables wearable, self-driving electronics and sensor systems.

Characterization of Sweat Drying Performance of Single Layered Thermal Protective Fabrics Used in High-Risk Sector Workers' Clothing.

Absorption and transportation of moisture from sweat are the crucial properties of the fabrics used in performance clothing. Sweat moisture is a significant factor that may cause discomfort to the wearer. The majority of the injuries and fatalities that happen to the high-risk sector workers in their line of duty may be caused by inadequate comfort provided by the protective uniform.

Mechanochemically interlocked cubane copper complex interface for WOLED.

In the rapid development of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), phosphorescent transition metal complexes have played a crucial role as the most promising candidates for next generation display and lighting applications. However, most devices are fabricated using iridium and platinum-based complexes which are expensive and available in very limited quantities, whereas using relatively abundant organometallic complexes for fabrication results mostly in inefficient performance results. To overcome these issues, we have synthesized tetra copper iodide with tetra triphenyl cage like structure (denoted as CIPh) as an emerging class of luminescent material by mechanochemical grinding followed by thermal treatment for application in white OLED.

Plasma-Induced Diallyldimethylammonium Chloride Antibacterial Hernia Mesh.

A hernia is a pathological condition caused by a defect or opening in the muscle wall, which leads to organs pushing through the opening or defect. Hernia recurrence, seroma, persistent pain, tissue adhesions, and wound infection are common complications following hernia repair surgery. Infection after hernia mesh implantation is the third major complication leading to hernia recurrence.

Effects of sterilization methods on gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel properties and macrophage gene expression.

To assure the long-term safety and functional performance after implantation, it is of critical importance to completely sterilize a biomaterial implant. Ineffective sterilization can cause severe inflammation and infection at the implant site, leading to detrimental events of morbidity and even mortality. Macrophages are pivotal players in the inflammatory and foreign body response after implanting a biomaterial in the body.