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  • Castillo posted an update 7 months, 1 week ago

    05, 95%CI 1.002-1.09). Mean infant birthweight was 3377.2 ± 481.5 g and excessive weight gain in pregnancy was independently associated with birthweight percentile (OR 13.46, 95%CI 2.43-34.50). Excessive gestational gain was positively associated with cord blood insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and negatively with Peptide YY (PYY) levels. Latina women with pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity have a high rate of excessive gestational gain in pregnancy and could benefit from early counseling about appropriate gain in pregnancy. learn more Excessive gestational weight impacts the intrauterine environment in high-risk infants impacting fetal growth and development.The plasma proteins around nanoparticles (NPs) form an outer protein corona, significantly influencing the subsequent immune response. However, it was uncertain whether the protein corona around NPs influences immune response. This study clarified that the immune response mediated by the protein corona is greatly dependent on the type of plasma proteins surrounding the NPs. Structural changes in the unfolded protein corona elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and induced major proinflammatory cytokine release in both murine and human macrophage cell lines. In contrast, negligible structural changes in the protein corona provoke neither ROS production nor proinflammatory cytokine release. Furthermore, in vivo analysis confirms that a stimulated immune response by an unfolded protein corona triggers selective activation of innate and adaptive immunity in the spleen. Specifically, neutrophils, natural killer cells, and CD8+ T cells are overpopulated by unfolded protein corona structures surrounding nanotubes, whereas innate and adaptive immunologic responses are not triggered by a normal protein corona. In conclusion, highly unfolded protein corona structures are strongly correlated with subsequent activation of proinflammatory cytokines and innate immune responses; thus, the protein corona can be used in immune-enhancing therapy.Morphological properties of surfaces play a key role in natural and man-made objects. The development of robust methods to fabricate micro/nano surface structures has been a long pursuit. Herein, an approach based on molecular self-assembling of liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) is presented to directly translate 2D molecular director profiles obtained by a photoalignment procedure into 3D topographies, without involving further multi-step lithographic processes. The principle of surface deformation from a flat morphology into complex topographies is based on the coupling between electrostatic interactions and the anisotropic flow in LCPs. When activated by an electric field, the LCP melts and is driven by electrohydrodynamic instabilities to connect the electrode plates of a capacitor, inducing topographies governed by the director profile of the LCP. Upon switching off the electric field, the formed structures vitrify as the temperature decreases below the glass transition. When heated, the process is reversible as the formed topographies disappear. By pre-programming the molecular director a variety of structures could be made with increasing complexity. The height, pitch, and the aspect ratio of the textures are further regulated by the conditions of the applied electric field. The proposed approach will open new opportunities for optical and electrical applications.Self-healing and flexibility are significant for many emerging applications of secondary batteries, which have attracted broad attention. Herein, a self-healing flexible quasi-solid Zn-ion battery composing of flexible all-in-one cathode (VS2 nanosheets growing on carbon cloth) and anode (electrochemically deposited Zn nanowires), and a self-healing hydrogel electrolyte, is presented. The free-standing all-in-one electrodes enable a high capacity and robust structure during flexible transformation of the battery, and the hydrogel electrolyte possesses a good self-healing performance. The presented battery remains as a high retention potential even after healing from being cut into six pieces. When bending at 60°, 90°, and 180°, the battery capacities remain 124, 125, and 114 mAh g-1, respectively, cycling at a current density of 50 mA g-1. Moreover, after cutting and healing twice, the battery still delivers a stable capacity, indicating a potential use of self-healing and wearable electronics.Defect engineering is an effective approach to manipulate electromagnetic (EM) parameters and enhance absorption ability, but defect induced dielectric loss dominant mechanism has not been completely clarified. Here the defect induced dielectric loss dominant mechanism in virtue of multi-shelled spinel hollow sphere for the first time is demonstrated. The unique but identical morphology design as well as suitable composition modulation for serial spinels can exclude the disturbance of EM wave dissipation from dipolar/interfacial polarization and conduction loss. In temperature-regulated defect in NiCo2O4 serial materials, two kinds of defects, defect in spinel structure and oxygen vacancy are detected. Defect in spinel structure played more profound role on determining materials’ EM wave dissipation than that of oxygen vacancy. When evaluated serial Co-based materials as absorbers, defect induced polarization loss is responsible for the superior absorption performance of NiCo2O4-based material due to its more defect sites in spinel structure. It is discovered that electron spin resonance test may be adopted as a novel approach to directly probe EM wave absorption capacities of materials. This work not only provides a strategy to prepare lightweight, efficient EM wave absorber but also illustrates the importance of defect engineering on regulation of materials’ dielectric loss capacity.Flexoelectricity is an electromechanical coupling effect in which electric polarization is generated by a strain gradient. In this investigation, a potassium sodium niobite/poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (KNN/PVDF-TrFE)-based nanocomposite is fabricated, and the flexoelectric effect is used to enhance the photovoltaic current (I pv) in the nanocomposite. It is found that both a pyroelectric current and photovoltaic current can be generated simultaneously in a light illumination process. However, the photovoltaic current (I pv) in this process contributes ≈85% of the total current. When assessing the effect of flexoelectricity with a curvature of 1/20, the I pv of the curved KNN/PVDF-TrFE (20%) (K/P-20) composite increased by ≈13.9% compared to that of the flat K/P-20 nanocomposite. Similarly, at a curvature of 1/20, the I pv of the K/P-20 nanocomposite is 71.6% higher than that of the PVDF-TrFE film. However, the photovoltaic effect induced by flexoelectricity is much higher than the increased polarization from flexoelectricity, so this effect is called as the flexophotovoltaic effect.

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