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Telemedicine and video-based diagnosis have raised significant concerns regarding the protection of facial privacy. Effective de-identification methods require the preservation of diagnostic information related to normal and pathological facial movements, which play a crucial role in the diagnosis of various movement, neurological, and psychiatric disorders. In this work, we have developed FaceMotionPreserve , a deep generative model-based approach that transforms patients’ facial identities while preserving facial dynamics with a novel face dynamic similarity module to enhance facial landmark consistency. We collected test videos from patients with Parkinson’s disease recruited via telemedicine for evaluation of model performance and clinical applicability. The performance of FaceMotionPreserve was quantitatively evaluated based on neurologist diagnostic consistency, critical facial behavior fidelity, and correlation of general facial dynamics. In addition, we further validated the robustness and advancements of our model in preserving medical information with clinical examination videos from a different cohort of patients. FaceMotionPreserve is applicable to real-time integration, safeguarding facial privacy while retaining crucial medical information associated with facial movements to address concerns in telemedicine, and facilitating safer and more collaborative medical data sharing.

There is an urgent need for cost‐effective strategies to produce hydrogen from renewable net‐zero carbon sources using renewable energies. In this context, the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction can be boosted by replacing the oxygen evolution reaction with the oxidation of small organic molecules, such as ethylene glycol (EG). EG is a particularly interesting organic liquid with two hydroxyl groups that can be transformed into a variety of C1 and C2 chemicals, depending on the catalyst and reaction conditions. Here, a catalyst is demonstrated for the selective EG oxidation reaction (EGOR) to formate on nickel selenide. The catalyst nanoparticle (NP) morphology and crystallographic phase are tuned to maximize its performance. The optimized NiS electrocatalyst requires just 1.395 V to drive a current density of 50 mA cm−2 in 1 m potassium hydroxide (KOH) and 1 m EG. A combination of in situ electrochemical infrared absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) to monitor the electrocatalytic process and ex situ analysis of the electrolyte composition shows the main EGOR product is formate, with a Faradaic efficiency above 80%. Additionally, C2 chemicals such as glycolate and oxalate are detected and quantified as minor products. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the reaction process show the glycol‐to‐oxalate pathway to be favored via the glycolate formation, where the CC bond is broken and further electro‐oxidized to formate. A combination of in situ and ex situ analysis shows the main product of the ethylene glycol (EG) oxidation reaction (EGOR) is formate with a Faradaic efficiency above 80%, and glycolate and oxalate as minor chemicals on nickel selenide nanoparticles (NPs). Further density functional theory (DFT) calculation reveals the electrooxidation mechanism to these products.

Acoustic manipulation of microparticles and cells has attracted growing interest in biomedical applications. In particular, the use of acoustic waves to concentrate particles plays an important role in enhancing the detection process by biosensors. Here, we demonstrated microparticle concentration within sessile droplets placed on the hydrophobic surface using the flexural wave. The design benefits from streaming flow induced by the Lamb wave propagated in the glass waveguide to manipulate particles in the droplets. Microparticles will be concentrated at the central area of the droplet adhesion plane based on the balance among the streaming drag force, gravity, and buoyancy at the operating frequency. We experimentally demonstrated the concentration of particles of various sizes and tumor cells. Using numerical simulation, we predicted the acoustic pressure and streaming flow pattern within the droplet and characterized the underlying physical mechanisms for particle motion. The design is more suitable for micron-sized particle preparation, and it can be valuable for various biological, chemical, and medical applications.

Classical periodic solution theories of undamped Duffing equations are mostly restricted to continuous nonlinearities, while discontinuous models from mechanical impact and switching circuits lack systematic existence criteria for crossing periodic orbits. This work addresses a second-order undamped Duffing system with jump discontinuity of g(x) on x=0, where g(x) is piecewise continuously differentiable on two half real axes. With the separation condition ruling out sliding trajectories on the discontinuity line, the continuity of the Poincaré map is proved by Filippov theory for discontinuous ODEs. Using the Poincaré–Bohl fixed-point theorem, we derive multiple sufficient conditions ensuring the existence of 2π crossing periodic solutions via successive relaxation of growth hypotheses, and a numerical test example confirms the practicability of our theoretical findings, extending classical continuous Duffing results to discontinuous dynamical systems.

Implantable electrodes are crucial for stimulation safety and recording quality of neuronal activity. To enhance their electrochemical performance, electrodeposited nanostructured platinum (nanoPt) and iridium oxide (IrOx) have been proposed due to their advantages of in situ deposition and ease of processing. However, their unstable adhesion has been a challenge in practical applications. This study investigated the electrochemical performance and stability of nanoPt and IrOx coatings on hierarchical platinum-iridium (Pt-Ir) substrates prepared by femtosecond laser, compared with the coatings on smooth Pt-Ir substrates. Ultrasonic testing, agarose gel testing, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) testing were used to evaluate the coatings’ stability. Results showed that the hierarchical Pt-Ir substrate significantly enhanced the charge-storage capacity of electrodes with both coatings to more than 330 mC/cm2, which was over 75 times that of the smooth Pt-Ir electrode. The hierarchical substrate could also reduce the cracking of nanoPt coatings after ultrasonic, agarose gel and CV testing. Although some shedding was observed in the IrOx coating on the hierarchical substrate after one hour of sonication, it showed good stability in the agarose gel and CV tests. Stable nanoPt and IrOx coatings may not only improve the electrochemical performance but also benefit the function of neurobiochemical detection.

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and their nanocomposites with polymers are potent agents for antibacterial and disinfectant applications. The structural parameters of Ag-NPs, such as size, shape, and surface area, are very critical for developing appropriate formulations for the targeted applications. The impact of these factors on the performance of Ag NPs is analyzed. Ag NPs with a broad spectrum of antibacterial activities have already found applications in wound and burn dressing, food preservation, agricultural ponds, treatment for infected areas, coatings, water treatment, and other biomedical applications. Ag NPs are quite useful against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but their level of toxicity needs careful investigation as their toxicity could be very harmful to human health and the environment. This review discusses the challenges and prospects of various Ag NPs and their composites. The review will enrich the knowledge about the efficiency and mechanism of various Ag nanoparticle-based antibacterial agents.

Sensing-enabled neurostimulators are an advanced technology for chronic observation of brain activities, and show great potential for closed-loop neuromodulation and as implantable brain-computer interfaces. However, local field potentials (LFPs) recorded by sensing-enabled neurostimulators can be contaminated by electrocardiogram (ECG) signals due to complex recording conditions and limited common-mode-rejection-ratio (CMRR). In this study, we propose a solution for removing such ECG artifacts from local field potentials (LFPs) recorded by a sensing-enabled neurostimulator. A synchronized monopolar channel was added as an ECG reference, and two pre-existing methods, i.e., template subtraction and adaptive filtering, were then applied. ECG artifacts were successfully removed and the performance of the method was insensitive to residual stimulation artifacts. This approach to removal of ECG artifacts broadens the range of applications of sensing-enabled neurostimulators.

Controlling the selectivity of chemical products on small Co nanoparticles is crucial in many catalytic applications. Reaction-driven structural changes offer an alternative methodology to regulate their properties. Herein, carbon-induced surface restructuring occurs on a 2Co/MnOₓ catalyst (cobalt nanoclusters with 2% mass loading on manganese oxide) during thermal CO 2 hydrogenation, driven by the formation of bridging Co-C-O-Mn interfacial sites. This leads to a shift in selectivity from methane to CO, with a remarkable enhancement of the CO/CH 4 product ratio from 0.89 to 13.4. Such a Co/MnO x system has unique interfacial properties, including strong carbonophilic and oxophilic characteristics. It chemisorbs reaction-derived CO and facilitates C-O bond breaking, promoting rapid CO dissociation and subsequent carbon coverage on Co nanoclusters. This restructuring of Co nanoclusters suppresses the hydrogenation of CO intermediates to methane. This effect is unique to 2Co/MnOₓ and absent at higher/lower Co loadings or other oxide supports. This insight shows how structural evolution during catalysis enables precise surface engineering, overcoming the structure-sensitivity limits of Co nanoclusters. Tuning selectivity on metal nano catalysts is challenging. In CO 2 hydrogenation, carbon reshapes cobalt on manganese oxide, shifting products from methane to CO and lifting the CO-to-methane ratio 15-fold.

Statin response shows great interindividual variations. Recently, emerging studies have shown that gut microbiota is linked to therapeutic responses to drugs, including statins. However, the association between the gut bacteria composition and statin response is still unclear. In this study, gut microbiota of 202 hyperlipidemic patients with statin sensitive (SS) response and statin resistant (SR) response in East China were investigated by high throughput sequencing to compare the gut bacteria composition and biodiversity in distinct statin response patients. Higher biodiversity was detected in Group SS than Group SR. Specifically, group SS showed significantly increased proportion of genera Lactobacillus (P = 0.001), Eubacterium (P = 0.004), Faecalibacterium (P = 0.005), and Bifidobacterium (P = 0.002) and decreased proportion of genus Clostridium (P = 0.001) compared to Group SR. The results indicated that higher gut biodiversity was associated with statin sensitive response. The increased genera Lactobacillus , Eubacterium , Faecalibacterium , Bifidobacterium , and decreased genus Clostridium in patient gut microbiota may predict patient's statin response, and hence may guide statin dosage adjustments.

Background and purpose Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is strongly linked to blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. This study investigated whether Tubuloside B (Tub-B), a primary bioactive compound of Cistanche tubulosa, ameliorates cognitive deficits by protecting BBB integrity through inhibition of tricellulin (TRIC) ubiquitination and degradation. Methods The main plasma metabolites of total glycosides of Cistanche (TCGs) were identified by UPLC-QQQ-MS. A bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) rat model was used to induce chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH). Cognitive function was assessed using the Morris water maze, and BBB permeability was evaluated by Evans blue extravasation. The concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-10, and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), in the rat hippocampal tissues were quantified using ELISA kits. TRIC expression and ubiquitination were analyzed by Western blot, co-immunoprecipitation, and immunohistochemistry. An in vitro oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) model in brain microvascular endothelial cells was used to validate the effects on barrier function. Results Tub-B was identified as the major circulating metabolite, accounting for 52.3% ± 2.1% of plasma components. In CCH rats, Tub-B (20 mg/kg) significantly improved spatial memory, increasing platform crossings (3.00 ± 0.58 vs. CCH, P <  0.05) and reducing Evans blue leakage (0.038 ± 0.007 µg/g tissue vs. 0.15 ± 0.02 µg/g in CCH, P <  0.001). Furthermore, Tub-B treatment dose-dependently suppressed pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β) and concomitantly enhanced anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10, TGF-β) in the hippocampus. It also attenuated the downregulation of TRIC and suppressed its ubiquitination. In OGD-injured endothelial cells, Tub-B enhanced barrier integrity and inhibited TRIC ubiquitination. Conclusion Tub-B attenuates CCH-induced BBB disruption and cognitive impairment by inhibiting TRIC ubiquitination and degradation, likely via interference with VEGF signaling. These results highlight its potential as a therapeutic agent for VCI.