Fecal microbiota transplantation reveals the impact of gut microbiota dysbiosis on osteoporosis development in ovariectomized mice.

Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mineral density and deteriorated bone microarchitecture. The gut microbiota has emerged as a potential regulator of bone metabolism through the gut-bone axis. This study investigates the role of gut microbiota dysbiosis in osteoporosis.

Pollutant emissions and environmental advantages of heating peanut oil by using commercial induction cooktop: A comparative analysis with traditional natural gas stoves.

Commercial induction cooktops are increasingly gaining popularity in residential households and business restaurants. However, little is known about the specific environmental benefits of induction cooking compared to conventional gas cooking. This study used two heating methods to heat peanut oil to achieve the same heating effect, and compared particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone precursors, and total carbon emissions generated during the heating process using various detection devices.

Ursolic acid induces apoptosis and autophagy in oral cancer cells.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the fifth common cause of cancer mortality in Taiwan with high incidence and recurrence and needs new therapeutic strategies. In this study, ursolic acid (UA), a triterpenoid, was examined the antitumor potency in OSCC cells. Our results showed that UA inhibited the proliferation of OSCC cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner in both Ca922 and SCC2095 oral cancer cells.

Self-Patterning of Silica/Epoxy Nanocomposite Underfill by Tailored Hydrophilic-Superhydrophobic Surfaces for 3D Integrated Circuit (IC) Stacking.

As microelectronics are trending toward smaller packages and integrated circuit (IC) stacks nowadays, underfill, the polymer composite filled in between the IC chip and the substrate, becomes increasingly important for interconnection reliability. However, traditional underfills cannot meet the requirements for low-profile and fine pitch in high density IC stacking packages. Post-applied underfills have difficulties in flowing into the small gaps between the chip and the substrate, while pre-applied underfills face filler entrapment at bond pads.

Vapor-Phase Polymerized Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) on a Nickel Nanowire Array Film: Aqueous Symmetrical Pseudocapacitors with Superior Performance.

Three-dimensional (3D) nanometal scaffolds have gained considerable attention recently because of their promising application in high-performance supercapacitors compared with plain metal foils. Here, a highly oriented nickel (Ni) nanowire array (NNA) film was prepared via a simple magnetic-field-driven aqueous solution deposition process and then used as the electrode scaffold for the vapor-phase polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT). Benefiting from the unique 3D open porous structure of the NNA that provided a highly conductive and oriented backbone for facile electron transfer and fast ion diffusion, the as-obtained poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) exhibited an ultra-long cycle life (95.

An Ultralong, Highly Oriented Nickel-Nanowire-Array Electrode Scaffold for High-Performance Compressible Pseudocapacitors.

Ultralong, highly oriented Ni nanowire arrays are used as the electrode scaffold to support metal-oxide- and conductive-polymer-based electrode materials with a high mass loading; the as-obtained asymmetric supercapacitor can be compressed by fourfold and exhibits superior energy and power densities with ultrahigh cycle stability.

Conformal Pad-Printing Electrically Conductive Composites onto Thermoplastic Hemispheres: Toward Sustainable Fabrication of 3-Cents Volumetric Electrically Small Antennas.

Electrically small antennas (ESAs) are becoming one of the key components in the compact wireless devices for telecommunications, defence, and aerospace systems, especially for the spherical one whose geometric layout is more closely approaching Chu's limit, thus yielding significant bandwidth improvements relative to the linear and planar counterparts. Yet broad applications of the volumetric ESAs are still hindered since the low cost fabrication has remained a tremendous challenge. Here we report a state-of-the-art technology to transfer electrically conductive composites (ECCs) from a planar mould to a volumetric thermoplastic substrate by using pad-printing technology without pattern distortion, benefit from the excellent properties of the ECCs as well as the printing-calibration method that we developed.

Alternating current line-filter based on electrochemical capacitor utilizing template-patterned graphene.

Aluminum electrolytic capacitors (AECs) are widely used for alternating current (ac) line-filtering. However, their bulky size is becoming more and more incompatible with the rapid development of portable electronics. Here we report a scalable process to fabricate miniaturized graphene-based ac line-filters on flexible substrates at room temperature.

Shape-Tailorable Graphene-Based Ultra-High-Rate Supercapacitor for Wearable Electronics.

With the bloom of wearable electronics, it is becoming necessary to develop energy storage units, e.g., supercapacitors that can be arbitrarily tailored at the device level.

Electrospray-deposition of graphene electrodes: a simple technique to build high-performance supercapacitors.

Here we report an electrostatic spray deposition method to prepare three-dimensional porous graphene electrodes for supercapacitor applications. The symmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent specific capacitance (366 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) in 6 M KOH) and long cycle life (108% capacitance retention up to 40 000 cycles). Moreover, the energy densities of the organic and aqueous electrolyte based supercapacitors reach 22.

Low-cost high-performance solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors based on MnO2 nanowires and Fe2O3 nanotubes.

A low-cost high-performance solid-state flexible asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) with α-MnO2 nanowires and amorphous Fe2O3 nanotubes grown on flexible carbon fabric is first designed and fabricated. The assembled novel flexible ASC device with an extended operating voltage window of 1.6 V exhibits excellent performance such as a high energy density of 0.

Uniform vertical trench etching on silicon with high aspect ratio by metal-assisted chemical etching using nanoporous catalysts.

Recently, metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE) has been proposed as a promising wet-etching method for the fabrication of micro- and nanostructures on silicon with low cost. However, uniform vertical trench etching with high aspect ratio is still of great challenge for traditional MaCE. Here we report an innovated MaCE method, which combined the use of a nanoporous gold thin film as the catalyst and a hydrofluoric acid (HF)-hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) mixture solution with a low HF-to-H2O2 concentration ratio (ρ) as the etchant.

Magnetic alignment of hexagonal boron nitride platelets in polymer matrix: toward high performance anisotropic polymer composites for electronic encapsulation.

We report magnetic alignment of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) platelets and the outstanding material properties of its polymer composite. The magnetically responsive hBN is produced by surface modification of iron oxide, and their orientations can be controlled by applying an external magnetic field during polymer curing. Owing to the anisotropic properties of hBN, the epoxy composite with aligned hBN platelets shows interesting properties along the alignment direction, including significantly reduced coefficient of thermal expansion, reaching ∼28.

Silicon-based hybrid energy cell for self-powered electrodegradation and personal electronics.

Silicon (Si)-based solar cell is by far the most established solar cell technology. The surface of a Si solar cell is usually covered by a layer of transparent material to protect the device from corrosion, contamination and mechanical damage. Here, we replaced this protection layer by a thin layer film of polydimethysiloxane nanowires.

Hydrogenated ZnO core-shell nanocables for flexible supercapacitors and self-powered systems.

Although MnO2 is a promising material for supercapacitors (SCs) due to its excellent electrochemical performance and natural abundance, its wide application is limited by poor electrical conductivity. Inspired by our results that the electrochemical activity and electrical conductivity of ZnO nanowires were greatly improved after hydrogenation, we designed and fabricated hydrogenated single-crystal ZnO@amorphous ZnO-doped MnO2 core-shell nanocables (HZM) on carbon cloth as SC electrodes, showing excellent performance such as areal capacitance of 138.7 mF/cm(2) and specific capacitance of 1260.

Automated dispersion and orientation analysis for carbon nanotube reinforced polymer composites.

The properties of carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composites are strongly dependent on the dispersion and orientation of CNTs in the host matrix. Quantification of the dispersion and orientation of CNTs by means of microstructure observation and image analysis has been demonstrated as a useful way to understand the structure-property relationship of CNT/polymer composites. However, due to the various morphologies and large amount of CNTs in one image, automatic and accurate identification of CNTs has become the bottleneck for dispersion/orientation analysis.

Reversible superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic transition of ZnO nanorod/epoxy composite films.

Tuning the surface wettability is of great interest for both scientific research and practical applications. We demonstrated reversible transition between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity on a ZnO nanorod/epoxy composite film. The epoxy resin serves as an adhesion and stress relief layer.

A combined etching process toward robust superhydrophobic SiC surfaces.

Large-scale porous SiC was fabricated by a combination of Pt-assisted etching and reactive ion etching. It was found that the surface roughness of combined etchings increased dramatically in comparison with metal-assisted etching or reactive ion etching only. To reduce the surface energy, the porous SiC surface was functionalized with perfluorooctyl trichlorosilane, resulting in a superhydrophobic SiC surface with a contact angle of 169.

Facile preparation of nitrogen-doped graphene as a metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction.

Nitrogen-doped graphene (nG) is a promising metal-free catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) on the cathode of fuel cells. Here we report a facile preparation of nG via pyrolysis of graphene oxide with melamine. The morphology of the nG is revealed using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy while the successful N doping is confirmed by electron energy loss spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic octadecylamine-functionalized graphite oxide film.

We demonstrated a facile strategy of producing superhydrophobic octadecylamine (ODA)-functionalized graphite oxide (GO) films. ODA was chemically grafted on GO sheets by the nucleophilic substitution reaction of amine groups with epoxy groups. The long hydrocarbon chain in ODA reduces the surface energy of the GO sheet.

Rational preparation of faceted platinum nanocrystals supported on carbon nanotubes with remarkably enhanced catalytic performance.

Faceted platinum nanocrystals supported on carbon nanotubes were prepared using NO2- as a crucial shape-controlling agent. The composites exhibit high electrochemical catalytic activity for oxygen reduction facilitated by the cooperation between the Pt{111} facets and atomic steps, and extremely high selectivity for the oxidation of glycerol to glyceraldehyde.