Surface engineering of cellulose microspheres via amyloid-like protein aggregation for bilirubin removal.

Hemoperfusion is one of the most effective blood purification techniques to quickly remove bilirubin from the blood of patients with kidney or liver failure. Although numerous adsorbent materials with high adsorption capacity have been developed, their clinical application are still limited due to poor biocompatibility and biosafety issues. Herein, biocompatible core-shell structured adsorbents with cellulose microspheres (CMs) as the supporting core and phase-transformed lysozyme (PTL) as the functional shell are fabricated for the removal of bilirubin in hemoperfusion.

Ultra-impregnable MXene/ChNC@TiO Membrane for Oil/Water Microemulsion Separation and Photocatalytic Degradation of Dyes.

TiO-coated chitin nanocrystals (TiO@ChNCs) inserted between two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets of MXene, and composite membranes with both oil/water emulsion separation and visible photocatalytic degradation of dyes, were prepared. TiO was generated on the surface of chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) to obtain ChNC@TiO. Subsequently, polydopamine (PDA) was used as an adhesive to insert ChNC@TiO into MXene nanosheets, followed by vacuum filtration to obtain the ChNC@TiO membranes.

"Cell-On-Demand" Digital Microfluidics for Real-Time Low-Abundance Single-Cell Isolation and Sample Analysis.

Studying low-abundance cells at the single-cell level is critical for revealing unique biological functions. Efficient single-cell isolation technology can significantly enhance low-abundance single-cell detection sensitivity. However, the lack of individual control over each target cell hinders further bio-analysis.

AM-DMF-ddRPA: an All-in-One Digital Microfluidic Platform for Rapid and Automatic Digital Nucleic Acid Analysis.

Accurate nucleic acid quantification analysis (NQA) is crucial for disease treatment and prevention. However, existing digital NQA methods often lack sufficient automation and speed. In this study, we introduce a novel rapid and automated active-matrix digital microfluidics-based droplet digital recombinase polymerase amplification method (AM-DMF-ddRPA).

Structure-Based Design of Potent and Selective MerTK Inhibitors by Modulating the Conformation of αC Helix.

Tumor-associated macrophages play an important role in cancer progression and immunosuppression, making their receptors promising therapeutic targets. MerTK, a TAM receptor, regulates macrophage efferocytosis and polarization, and its inhibition holds potential for tumor growth suppression and immune modulation. However, Tyro3, another TAM receptor, is involved in neurogenesis, highlighting the need to selectively target MerTK while avoiding Tyro3 inhibition to prevent neurotoxicity.

Temperature-triggered inflatable hydrogel muscles with snap-through instability for untethered robots.

Pneumatic artificial muscles have been widely used in the field of robotics because of their large output force and fast actuation, however, the accompanying bulky compressors and pumps limit their miniaturized applications. Despite current untethered pneumatic artificial muscles can be driven by adjusting the internal pressure, it is challenging to structurally mimic natural muscles with high water content. Here, we propose untethered pneumatic artificial muscles comprising a hydrogel actuator with snap-through instability and an air storage chamber.

Electric Field-Induced Dual-Gradient Heterojunction Diodes Toward Ultrasensitive Self-Powered Ionic Skin.

The hydrogel ionic diode is regarded as a promising self-powered sensor, capable of harvesting energy from low-frequency stimuli human motions and converting it into electrical signals. However, the sensitivity of the reported conventional bilayer hydrogel ionic diodes are relatively low, due to the single heterojunction interface and high interface resistance, making it challenging to meet the demands of high-precision sensing. Here, a universal method for fabricating dual-gradient hydrogel ionic diodes without bilayer structure through the induction of anionic and cationic polymer gradient distribution via a direct current electric field is developed.

Nanofibrous Chitin Clusters Constructed via Controllable Crystalline Structure Transition for 3D Functional Materials.

Intensively studied polymeric particle production technologies often rely on the combination of polymer self-assembly and particle processing techniques. Herein, an elegant crystallization transition-mediated strategy is proposed to confine molecular self-assembly within a limited range, avoiding the need for extra particle processing steps. This approach enables the production of the regenerated nanofibrous chitin clusters woven with the helical nanofibers.

Correction: Parallel Screening of Wild-Type and Drug-Resistant Targets for Anti-Resistance Neuraminidase Inhibitors.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Artificial intelligence-enabled multipurpose smart detection in active-matrix electrowetting-on-dielectric digital microfluidics.

An active-matrix electrowetting-on-dielectric (AM-EWOD) system integrates hundreds of thousands of active electrodes for sample droplet manipulation, which can enable simultaneous, automatic, and parallel on-chip biochemical reactions. A smart detection system is essential for ensuring a fully automatic workflow and online programming for the subsequent experimental steps. In this work, we demonstrated an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled multipurpose smart detection method in an AM-EWOD system for different tasks.

Application trends and strategies of hydrogel delivery systems in intervertebral disc degeneration: A bibliometric review.

Hydrogels are widely used to explore emerging minimally invasive strategies for intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) due to their suitability as drug and cell delivery vehicles. There has been no review of the latest research trends and strategies of hydrogel delivery systems in IVDD for the last decade. In this study, we identify the application trends and strategies in this field through bibliometric analysis, including aspects such as publication years, countries and institutions, authors and publications, and co-occurrence of keywords.

Cellulose nanocrystals-based optical organohydrogel fiber with customizable iridescent colors for strain and humidity response.

Stimuli-responsive optical hydrogels are widely used in various fields including environmental sensing, optical encryption, and intelligent display manufacturing. However, these hydrogels are susceptible to water losses when exposed to air, leading to structural damage, significantly shortened service lives, and compromised durability. This study presents mechanically robust, environmentally stable, and multi-stimuli responsive optical organohydrogel fibers with customizable iridescent colors.

Discovery of Dual MER/AXL Kinase Inhibitors as Bifunctional Small Molecules for Inhibiting Tumor Growth and Enhancing Tumor Immune Microenvironment.

A series of bifunctional compounds have been discovered for their dual functionality as MER/AXL inhibitors and immune modulators. The furanopyrimidine scaffold, renowned for its suitability in kinase inhibitor discovery, offers at least three distinct pharmacophore access points. Insights from molecular modeling studies guided hit-to-lead optimization, which revealed that the 1,3-diketone side chain hybridized with furanopyrimidine scaffold that respectively combined amino-type substituent and 1-pyrazol-4-yl substituent on the top and bottom of the aryl regions to produce and , exhibiting potent antitumor activities in various syngeneic and xenograft models.

pH-triggered polydopamine-decorated nanocellulose membranes for continuously selective separation of organic dyes.

Membrane separation technology has emerged as a powerful tool to separate organic dyes from industrial wastewater. However, continuously selective separation of organic dyes with similar molecular weight remains challenging. Herein, we presented a pH-triggered membrane composed of polydopamine-decorated tunicate-derived cellulose nanofibers (PDA@TCNFs) for selective separation of organic dyes.

Chitinous Bioplastic Enabled by Noncovalent Assembly.

Natural polymeric-based bioplastics usually lack good mechanical or processing performance. It is still challenging to achieve simultaneous improvement for these two usual trade-off features. Here, we demonstrate a full noncovalent mediated self-assembly design for simultaneously improving the chitinous bioplastic processing and mechanical properties via plane hot-pressing.

De Garengeot Hernia, an acute appendicitis in the right femoral hernia canal, and successful management with transabdominal closure and appendectomy: a case Report.

Incarceration of the appendix within a femoral hernia is a rare condition of abdominal wall hernia about 0.1 to 0.5% in reported femoral hernia [1].

Reversible Surface Engineering of Cellulose Elementary Fibrils: From Ultralong Nanocelluloses to Advanced Cellulosic Materials.

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) are supramolecular assemblies of cellulose chains that provide outstanding mechanical support and structural functions for cellulosic organisms. However, traditional chemical pretreatments and mechanical defibrillation of natural cellulose produce irreversible surface functionalization and adverse effects of morphology of the CNFs, respectively, which limit the utilization of CNFs in nanoassembly and surface functionalization. Herein, this work presents a facile and energetically efficient surface engineering strategy to completely exfoliate cellulose elementary fibrils from various bioresources, which provides CNFs with ultrahigh aspect ratios (≈1400) and reversible surface.

High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells and Modules Fabricated by Slot-Die Coating with Nontoxic Solvents.

Energy shortage has become a global issue in the twenty-firt century, as energy consumption grows at an alarming rate as the fossil fuel supply exhausts. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a promising photovoltaic technology that has grown quickly in recent years. Its power conversion efficiency (PCE) is comparable to that of traditional silicon-based solar cells, and scale-up costs can be substantially reduced due to its utilization of solution-processable fabrication.

Spray-assisted LBL assembly of chitosan/nanocellulose as coatings of commercial membranes for oil-in-water emulsion separation.

Owing to the limitation of their wettability and pore size, lab filter membranes could not separate oil/water emulsions. Herein, we present surface modification of commercial membranes with chitosan/nanocellulose coatings via a spray-assisted layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly technology. By alternate spraying chitosan (CS) solution and TEMPO-oxidized tunicate cellulose nanofiber (TCNF) suspension, (CS/TCNF) multilayers were obtained, where n denotes the number of bilayers.

Highly transparent, hydrophobic, and durable anisotropic cellulose films as electronic screen protectors.

Cellulose films have attracted extensive interest in the field of burgeoning electronic devices. However, it remains a challenge to simultaneously address the difficulties including facile methodology, hydrophobicity, optical transparency, and mechanical robustness. Herein, we reported a coating-annealing approach to fabricate highly transparent, hydrophobic, and durable anisotropic cellulose films, where poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(trifluoroethyl methacrylate) (PMMA-b-PTFEMA) as low surface energy chemicals was coated onto regenerated cellulose films via physical (hydrogen bonds) and chemical (transesterification) interactions.

The impact of holiday season and weekend effect on traumatic injury mortality: Evidence from a 10-year analysis.

Objectives: Trauma is one of the leading causes of death and its incidence increases annually. The "weekend effect" and "holiday season effect" on traumatic injury mortality remain controversial, whereby traumatic injury patients admitted during weekends and/or holiday season have a higher risk of in-hospital death. The present study is aimed to explore the association between "weekend effect" and "holiday season effect" and mortality in traumatic injury population.

Lactoferrin Mediates Enhanced Osteogenesis of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells: Innovative Molecular and Cellular Therapy for Bone Repair.

A prospective source of stem cells for bone tissue engineering is adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), and BMP-2 has been proven to be highly effective in promoting the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. Rarely has research been conducted on the impact of lactoferrin (LF) on ADSCs' osteogenic differentiation. As such, in this study, we examined the effects of LF and BMP-2 to assess the ability of LF to stimulate ADSCs' osteogenic differentiation.