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The sp 2 nature of graphene endows the hexagonal lattice with very high theoretical stiffness, strength and resilience, all well-documented. However, the ultimate stretchability of graphene has not yet been demonstrated due to the difficulties in experimental design. Here, directly performing in situ tensile tests in a scanning electron microscope after developing a protocol for sample transfer, shaping and straining, we report the elastic properties and stretchability of free-standing single-crystalline monolayer graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. The measured Young’s modulus is close to 1 TPa, aligning well with the theoretical value, while the representative engineering tensile strength reaches ~50-60 GPa with sample-wide elastic strain up to ~6%. Our findings demonstrate that single-crystalline monolayer graphene can indeed display near ideal mechanical performance, even in a large area with edge defects, as well as resilience and mechanical robustness that allows for flexible electronics and mechatronics applications. The extraordinary mechanical properties of graphene are usually measured on very small or supported samples. Here, the authors develop a method to test a large area of graphene and show that even with edge defects it displays near-ideal mechanical performance.

Catalytic reductive coupling of two electrophiles and one unsaturated bond represents an economic and efficient way to construct complex skeletons, which is dominated by transition-metal catalysis via two electron transfer. Herein, we report a strategy of visible-light photoredox-catalyzed successive single electron transfer, realizing dearomative arylcarboxylation of indoles with CO 2 . This strategy avoids common side reactions in transition-metal catalysis, including ipso-carboxylation of aryl halides and β-hydride elimination. This visible-light photoredox catalysis shows high chemoselectivity, low loading of photocatalyst, mild reaction conditions (room temperature, 1 atm) and good functional group tolerance, providing great potential for the synthesis of valuable but difficultly accessible indoline-3-carboxylic acids. Mechanistic studies indicate that the benzylic radicals and anions might be generated as the key intermediates, thus providing a direction for reductive couplings with other electrophiles, including D 2 O and aldehyde. Catalytic reductive coupling of two electrophiles and one C = C bond is usually performed by two electron transfer metal catalysis. Herein, the authors show a visible light photoredox-catalyzed successive single electron transfer leading to dearomative arylcarboxylation of indoles with CO 2 and generating indoline-3-carboxylic acids.

Our preliminary work has revealed that vitamin D receptor (VDR) activation is protective against cisplatin induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Ferroptosis was recently reported to be involved in AKI. Here in this study, we investigated the internal relation between ferroptosis and the protective effect of VDR in cisplatin induced AKI. By using ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 and measurement of ferroptotic cell death phenotype in both in vivo and in vitro cisplatin induced AKI model, we observed the decreased blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and tissue injury by ferrostatin-1, hence validated the essential involvement of ferroptosis in cisplatin induced AKI. VDR agonist paricalcitol could both functionally and histologically attenuate cisplatin induced AKI by decreasing lipid peroxidation (featured phenotype of ferroptosis), biomarker 4-hydroxynonenal (4HNE), and malondialdehyde (MDA), while reversing glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4, key regulator of ferroptosis) downregulation. VDR knockout mouse exhibited much more ferroptotic cell death and worsen kidney injury than wild type mice. And VDR deficiency remarkably decreased the expression of GPX4 under cisplatin stress in both in vivo and in vitro, further luciferase reporter gene assay showed that GPX4 were target gene of transcription factor VDR. In addition, in vitro study showed that GPX4 inhibition by siRNA largely abolished the protective effect of paricalcitol against cisplatin induced tubular cell injury. Besides, pretreatment of paricalcitol could also alleviated Erastin (an inducer of ferroptosis) induced cell death in HK-2 cell. These data suggested that ferroptosis plays an important role in cisplatin induced AKI. VDR activation can protect against cisplatin induced renal injury by inhibiting ferroptosis partly via trans-regulation of GPX4.

The wireless power transfer (WPT) system has been widely used in various fields such as household appliances, electric vehicle charging and sensor applications. A frequency reconfigurable magnetic resonant coupling wireless power transfer (MRCWPT) system with dynamically enhanced efficiency by using the frequency reconfigurable metamaterial is proposed in this paper. The reconfigurability is achieved by adjusting the capacitance value of the adjustable capacitor connected in the coil of the system. Finite element simulation results have shown that the frequency reconfigurable electromagnetic metamaterial can manipulate the direction of the electromagnetic field of the system due to its abnormal effective permeability. The ultra-thin frequency reconfigurable metamaterial is designed at different working frequencies of 14.1 MHz, 15 MHz, 16.2 MHz, 17.5 MHz, 19.3 MHz, 21.7 MHz and 25 MHz to enhance the magnetic field and power transfer efficiency (PTE) of the system. Frequency reconfigurable mechanism of the system with the frequency reconfigurable metamaterial is derived by the equivalent circuit theory. Finally, further measurement which verifies the simulation by reasonable agreement is carried out. PTE of the system by adding the metamaterial are 59%, 73%, 67%, 66%, 65%, 60% and 58% at different working frequencies. PTE of the system with and without the metamaterial is 72% and 49% at the distance of 120 mm and the frequency of 15 MHz, respectively.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most commonmalignancy. Exsome plays a significant role in the elucidation of signal transduction pathways between hepatoma cells, angiogenesis and early diagnosis of HCC. Exosomes are small vesicular structures that mediate interaction between different types of cells, and contain a variety of components (including DNA, RNA, and proteins). Numerous studies have shown that these substances in exosomes are involved in growth, metastasis and angiogenesis in liver cancer, and then inhibited the growth of liver cancer by blocking the signaling pathway of liver cancer cells. In addition, the exosomal substances could also be used as markers for screening early liver cancer. In this review, we summarized to reveal the significance of exosomes in the occurrence, development, diagnosis and treatment of HCC, which in turn might help us to further elucidate the mechanism of exosomes in HCC, and promote the use of exosomes in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

HighlightsThe iontronic pressure sensor achieved an ultrahigh sensitivity (Smin > 200 kPa−1, Smax > 45,000 kPa−1).The iontronic pressure sensor exhibited a broad sensing range of over 1.4 MPa.Pseudocapacitive iontronic pressure sensor using MXene was proposed.Flexible pressure sensors are unprecedentedly studied on monitoring human physical activities and robotics. Simultaneously, improving the response sensitivity and sensing range of flexible pressure sensors is a great challenge, which hinders the devices’ practical application. Targeting this obstacle, we developed a Ti3C2Tx-derived iontronic pressure sensor (TIPS) by taking the advantages of the high intercalation pseudocapacitance under high pressure and rationally designed structural configuration. TIPS achieved an ultrahigh sensitivity (Smin > 200 kPa−1, Smax > 45,000 kPa−1) in a broad sensing range of over 1.4 MPa and low limit of detection of 20 Pa as well as stable long-term working durability for 10,000 cycles. The practical application of TIPS in physical activity monitoring and flexible robot manifested its versatile potential. This study provides a demonstration for exploring pseudocapacitive materials for building flexible iontronic sensors with ultrahigh sensitivity and sensing range to advance the development of high-performance wearable electronics.

The development of organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) with low power consumption and high gain will advance many flexible electronics. Here, by combining solution-processed monolayer organic crystal, ferroelectric HfZrO x gating and van der Waals fabrication, we realize flexible OTFTs that simultaneously deliver high transconductance and sub-60 mV/dec switching, under one-volt operating voltage. The overall optimization of transconductance, subthreshold swing and output resistance leads to transistor intrinsic gain and amplifier voltage gain over 5.3 × 10 4 and 1.1 × 10 4 , respectively, which outperform existing technologies using organics, oxides and low-dimensional nanomaterials. We further demonstrate battery-powered, integrated wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) and pulse sensors that can amplify human physiological signal by 900 times with high fidelity. The sensors are capable of detecting weak ECG waves (undetectable even by clinical equipment) and diagnosing arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. Our sub-thermionic OTFT is promising for battery/wireless powered yet performance demanding applications such as electronic skins and radio-frequency identification tags, among many others. Exploiting negative capacitance effects in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) is advantageous for enhancing device performance. Here, the authors report solution-processed sub-thermionic OTFTs and circuits with ferroelectric hafnium oxides that show ultra-low power and ultra-high gain.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Although our understanding in the pathophysiological features of sepsis has increased significantly during the past decades, there is still lack of specific treatment for sepsis. Neutrophils are important regulators against invading pathogens, and their role during sepsis has been studied extensively. It has been suggested that the migration, the antimicrobial activity, and the function of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have all been impaired during sepsis, which results in an inappropriate response to primary infection and potentially increase the susceptibility to secondary infection. On the other hand, accumulating evidence has shown that the reversal or restoration of neutrophil function can promote bacterial clearance and improve sepsis outcome, supporting the idea that targeting neutrophils may be a promising strategy for sepsis treatment. In this review, we will give an overview of the role of neutrophils during sepsis and discuss the potential therapeutic strategy targeting neutrophils.

Tumor angiogenesis is necessary for the continued survival and development of tumor cells, and plays an important role in their growth, invasion, and metastasis. The tumor microenvironment—composed of tumor cells, surrounding cells, and secreted cytokines—provides a conducive environment for the growth and survival of tumors. Different components of the tumor microenvironment can regulate tumor development. In this review, we have discussed the regulatory role of the microenvironment in tumor angiogenesis. High expression of angiogenic factors and inflammatory cytokines in the tumor microenvironment, as well as hypoxia, are presumed to be the reasons for poor therapeutic efficacy of current anti-angiogenic drugs. A combination of anti-angiogenic drugs and antitumor inflammatory drugs or hypoxia inhibitors might improve the therapeutic outcome.

Aesthetic education, conveyed through public art courses, serves as a vital form of humanistic literacy education. It represents an effective approach to fostering innovative and creative thinking among college students. In order to effectively analyze the aesthetic education work of 46 universities, an aesthetic education index evaluation system is constructed, involving indicators including faculty strength, curriculum setting, teaching management, artistic practice, and teaching support. The secondary indicators corresponding to the five indicators are statistically analyzed, and a comprehensive evaluation analysis of the current development status of aesthetic education in 46 universities in Anhui Province is conducted by combining theoretical analysis with empirical analysis. Based on principal component analysis, an integrated evaluation model for the development of aesthetic education in universities in Anhui Province is further constructed. The model designed quantifies the influence weight of each aesthetic education index on the development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province, and forges a theoretical basis for determining the precursors of rapid development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province. Additionally, a novel approach is introduced to gauge the progression of aesthetic education within universities in Anhui Province, considering the dispersion of aesthetic education index data across the province. The comprehensive evaluation model for the development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province exhibits an overall declining trend. Hence, it is suggested to utilize the maximum value of the first derivative of the comprehensive evaluation model as an indicator of the imminent rapid development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province. On this basis, the probability equation of sustainable development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province is defined. Overall, the research results lay a theoretical foundation for the development of aesthetic education in Anhui Province.