Integral Properties Research Articles

Enhancing Maturation and Translatability of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes through a Novel Medium Containing Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase 2 Inhibitor.

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) constitute an appealing tool for drug discovery, disease modeling, and cardiotoxicity screening. However, their physiological immaturity, resembling CMs in the late fetal stage, limits their utility. Herein, we have developed a novel, scalable cell culture medium designed to enhance the maturation of hPSC-CMs. This medium facilitates a metabolic shift towards fatty acid utilization and augments mitochondrial function by targeting Acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2 (ACC2) with a specific small molecule inhibitor. Our findings demonstrate that this maturation protocol significantly advances the metabolic, structural, molecular and functional maturity of hPSC-CMs at various stages of differentiation. Furthermore, it enables the creation of cardiac microtissues with superior structural integrity and contractile properties. Notably, hPSC-CMs cultured in this optimized maturation medium display increased accuracy in modeling a hypertrophic cardiac phenotype following acute endothelin-1 induction and show a strong correlation between in vitro and in vivo target engagement in drug screening efforts. This approach holds promise for improving the utility and translatability of hPSC-CMs in cardiac disease modeling and drug discovery.

Soybean protein-reinforced highly extensible and self-adhesive hydrogels with ultra-sensitive strain sensing for flexible electronic devices

There is a growing interest in utilizing sustainable and renewable biomass resources to construct high-performance hydrogels for flexible electronics. In this study, soybean protein isolate (SPI) with abundant functional groups was introduced into the hydrogel matrix, while the connection between SPI, MXene and the polymer network was strengthened by hydrogen bonding. The sensible strategy overcame the problems of easy oxidation, agglomeration and weak interactions that existed in the binding of conductive filler MXene nanosheets with polymer chains. The prepared composite hydrogel exhibited integrated properties of high stretchability (>800 %), excellent self-adhesive property, plasticity, injectability, cyclic stability and durability in extreme environments (-20–60°C). Noteworthily, this hydrogel demonstrated high sensitivity and stable electrical resistance response to minor changes in tension, compression, bending, and temperature. In addition, this hydrogel exhibited excellent UV isolation and perspiration properties, making it ideal for practical applications of flexible devices in sports environments. The preparation of green, multipurpose, flexible electronics and human motion monitoring devices is made easier by the practical approach in this study.

Comparative study of laser-induced graphene fabricated in atmospheric and interface-confined environments

Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has found widespread applications in various carbon-based electronics, such as sensors, optoelectronics, and energy storage devices, due to its low cost, high efficiency, and large-scale fabrication potential. Here, two laser-induced carbonization techniques are investigated in terms of structural integrity (uniformity and densification) and electrical property by a combined experimental and theoretical approach; these techniques, namely interface and surface ablation, operate in confined and ambient environments, respectively. The property of LIG for each laser-induced carbonization technique is systematically studied using optical and electrical characterization methods. The results show that the naturally confined and oxygen-free environment of interface ablation can fabricate more compact and intact LIG than surface ablation in an open and oxygen environment, thus enabling a 7.6 times reduction of the square/sheet resistance. The underlying mechanism for these improved properties is the compressive thermal stress and higher carbonization efficiency of interface ablation. The better structural integrity and electrical property of interface-ablated graphene enable a four-fold improvement in the specific areal capacitance of supercapacitors. These findings present that interface ablation is a more effective and facile method to enable the scalable preparation of intact and highly conductive LIG for its potential use in high-performance carbon-based electronics.

Algebraic aspects of holomorphic quantum modular forms

Matrix-valued holomorphic quantum modular forms are intricate objects associated to 3-manifolds (in particular to knot complements) that arise in successive refinements of the volume conjecture of knots and involve three holomorphic, asymptotic and arithmetic realizations. It is expected that the algebraic properties of these objects can be deduced from the algebraic properties of descendant state integrals, and we illustrate this for the case of the (-2,3,7)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(-2,3,7)$$\\end{document}-pretzel knot.

Numerical Evidence for a Refinement of Deligne’s Period Conjecture for Jacobians of Curves

Let A / Q be a Jacobian variety and let F be a totally real, tamely ramified, abelian number field. Given a character ψ of F / Q , Deligne’s Period Conjecture asserts the algebraicity of the suitably normalized value L ( A , ψ , 1 ) at s = 1 of the Hasse-Weil-Artin L-function of the ψ -twist of A. We formulate a conjecture regarding the integrality properties of the family of normalized L-values ( L ( A , ψ , 1 ) ) ψ , and its relation to the Tate-Shafarevich group of A over F. We numerically investigate our conjecture through p-adic congruence relations between these values.

Effect of Titanium Dioxide Particles on the Thermal Stability of Silica Aerogels.

Silica aerogels exhibit a unique nanostructure with low thermal conductivity and low density, making them attractive materials for thermal isolation under extreme conditions. The TiO2 particle is one of the common industrial additives used to reduce the thermal radiation of aerogel composites under high-temperature environments, but its influence on thermal resistance is almost unknown. Herein, we report the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles with different crystal phases and different sizes on the thermal stability of silica aerogel composites. By adding TiO2 nanoparticles, the aerogel can significantly resist collapse at high temperatures (up to 1000 °C). And compared with the rutile phase TiO2, the anatase phase TiO2 shows much higher temperature resistance performance, with shrinkage of only one-sixth of the rutile phase after 800 °C treatment. Interestingly, energy-dispersive spectrometer mapping results show that after 800 °C treatment, silica nanoparticles (NPs) are squeezed out in between anatase TiO2 particles, which resists the coarsening of silica NPs and ultimately enhances the stability of aerogel composites. The optimal anatase phase TiO2-doped silica aerogel demonstrates the integrated properties of crack-free morphology (2.84% shrinkage), low thermal conductivity (29.30 mW/(m·K)) and low density (149.4 mg/cm3) after 800 °C treatment. This study may provide new insights for developing oxide-doped silica aerogels with both high-temperature resistance and low thermal radiation.

Mitigating UV-Induced Degradation in Solar Panels through ZnO Nanocomposite Coatings

This study explores the enhancement of silicon-based solar cell performance and durability through the application of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposite film coatings. Utilizing the sol–gel method, ZnO nanorods were synthesized and dispersed within a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) matrix, resulting in uniform nanocomposite films. Comprehensive characterization using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), UV-Visible spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements confirmed the effective integration and desirable properties of ZnO within the PVB matrix. The ZnO coatings demonstrated superior UV absorptivity, significantly blocking UV radiation at 355 nm while maintaining high transparency in the visible range. This led to improvements in key photovoltaic parameters, including short circuit current (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), efficiency (η), and fill factor (FF). Although a minor reduction in Isc was observed due to the ZnO layer’s influence on the light absorption spectrum, the overall efficiency and fill factor experienced notable enhancements. Furthermore, the thermal load on the solar cells was effectively reduced, mitigating UV-induced degradation and thereby prolonging the operational lifespan of the solar panels. Under damp heat conditions, the coated solar panels exhibited remarkable durability compared to their uncoated counterparts, underscoring the protective advantages of ZnO films. These findings highlight the potential of ZnO nanocomposite coatings to significantly boost the efficiency, reliability, and longevity of silicon-based solar panels, making them more viable for long-term deployment in diverse environmental conditions.

Fractional Jacobi–Picard iteration method using Gauss–Seidel technique for solving a system of nonlinear fractional differential equations

The main objective of this study is to introduce an improvement of Picard’s method, a technique commonly used to effectively solve a set of nonlinear fractional differential equations based on Caputo’s fractional derivative. Using the Picard’s method to solve fractional differential equations is straightforward. However, dealing with the integral in each Picard’s iteration becomes tough or even impossible for nonlinear problems. Thus, we propose an iterative strategy called the fractional Jacobi–Picard iteration method, which combines Picard’s iteration method with the shifted Jacobi polynomial. The computation of the fractional integrals of the shifted Jacobi polynomials is easily achieved at each step by utilizing properties of the fractional integral and shifted Jacobi polynomial. Furthermore, this approach not only transforms the system of equations into a reversible form but also solves it using the Gauss–Seidel technique. The convergence analysis of the method has been carefully performed. We performed detailed numerical simulations to show how well our method performs compared to other methods. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of our approach, especially in handling problems with non-smooth solutions.

Pseudo grid-based physics-informed convolutional-recurrent network solving the integrable nonlinear lattice equations

Traditional discrete learning methods involve discretizing continuous equations using difference schemes, necessitating considerations of stability and convergence. Integrable nonlinear lattice equations possess a profound mathematical structure that enables them to revert to continuous integrable equations in the continuous limit, particularly retaining integrable properties such as conservation laws, Hamiltonian structure, and multiple soliton solutions. The pseudo grid-based physics-informed convolutional-recurrent network (PG-PhyCRNet) is proposed to investigate the localized wave solutions of integrable lattice equations, which significantly enhances the model’s extrapolation capability to lattice points beyond the temporal domain. We conduct a comparative analysis of PG-PhyCRNet with and without pseudo grid by investigating the multi-soliton solutions and rational solitons of the Toda lattice and self-dual network equation. The results indicate that the PG-PhyCRNet excels in capturing long-term evolution and enhances the model’s extrapolation capability for solitons, particularly those with steep waveforms and high wave speeds. Finally, the robustness of the PG-PhyCRNet method and its effect on the prediction of solutions in different scenarios are confirmed through repeated experiments involving pseudo grid partitioning.

Empirical limit theorems for Wiener chaos

We consider empirical measures in a triangular array setup with underlying distributions varying as sample size grows. We study asymptotic properties of multiple integrals with respect to normalized empirical measures. Limit theorems involving series of multiple Wiener–Itô integrals are established.

Detailed-based dictionary learning for low-light image enhancement using camera response model for industrial applications

Images captured in low-light environments are severely degraded due to insufficient light, which causes the performance decline of both commercial and consumer devices. One of the major challenges lies in how to balance the image enhancement properties of light intensity, detail presentation, and colour integrity in low-light enhancement tasks. This study presents a novel image enhancement framework using a detailed-based dictionary learning and camera response model (CRM). It combines dictionary learning with edge-aware filter-based detail enhancement. It assumes each small detail patch could be sparsely characterised in the over-complete detail dictionary that was learned from many training detail patches using iterative ℓ1\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${{\\ell}}_{1}$$\\end{document}-norm minimization. Dictionary learning will effectively address several enhancement concerns in the progression of detail enhancement if we remove the visibility limit of training detail patches in the enhanced detail patches. We apply illumination estimation schemes to the selected CRM and the subsequent exposure ratio maps, which recover a novel enhanced detail layer and generate a high-quality output with detailed visibility when there is a training set of higher-quality images. We estimate the exposure ratio of each pixel using illumination estimation techniques. The selected camera response model adjusts each pixel to the desired exposure based on the computed exposure ratio map. Extensive experimental analysis shows an advantage of the proposed method that it can obtain enhanced results with acceptable distortions. The proposed research article can be generalised to address numerous other similar problems, such as image enhancement for remote sensing or underwater applications, medical imaging, and foggy or dusty conditions.

Alterations of Matrisome Gene Expression in Naturally Aged and Photoaged Human Skin In Vivo.

The main component of human skin is a collagen-rich extracellular matrix (ECM), known as the matrisome. The matrisome is essential for maintaining the structural integrity and mechanical properties of the skin. Recently, we reported notable decreases in matrisome proteins in natural aging and photoaging human skin. This study aims to investigate the mRNA expression of the core matrisome proteins in human skin, comparing young versus aged and sun-protected versus sun-exposed skin by quantitative real-time PCR and immunostaining. Our findings reveal a notable decrease in core matrisome transcription in aged skin. The mRNA expression of the core matrisome, such as collagen 1A1 (COL1A1), decorin, and dermatopontin, is significantly reduced in aged skin compared to its young skin. Yet, the majority of collagen mRNA expression levels of aged sun-exposed skin are similar to those found in young sun-exposed skin. This discrepancy is primarily attributable to a substantial decrease in collagen transcription in young sun-exposed skin, suggesting early molecular changes in matrisome transcription due to sun exposure, which preceded the emergence of clinical signs of photoaging. These findings shed light on the mRNA transcript profile of major matrisome proteins and their alterations in naturally aged and photoaged human skin, offering valuable insights into skin matrisome biology.

Trajectory fitting estimation for integrated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process driven by Lévy process

In this article, we investigate the trajectory fitting estimation for the integrated Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process driven by the Lévy process based on continuous observations. The strong consistency and asymptotic distributions of the estimator are obtained by the strong law of large numbers and the inner clock property of the α-stable stochastic integral.

Side chain modulated ferrocene derivative as the interstitial conductive medium for high-performance and stable perovskite solar cells

The interfacial nonradiative recombination loss caused by the deep traps and mismatched band alignment restrained the commercial viability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, we have constructed ferrocene carboxylic acid (FcA) and octafluoropentyl-ferrocenyl-carboxylate (OFFcA) interstitial conductive mediums to modulate the integral heterointerface properties and the photovoltaic performances of PSCs. By comparing the passivation strengths of the two molecules, we found that the synergistic effects among Fc/Fc+ redox shuttle, C=O group, and F substituents realize the optimal elimination of interfacial trap sources. Electron-withdrawing F groups reinforce the capacity of the Fc/Fc+ redox shuttle for the healing of metallic Pb defects and provide extensive anchoring sites to stabilize the organic components. Additionally, the homogeneity of the OFFcA layer as well as the humidity stability of perovskite film are facilitated through the introduction of F substituents, which reduce the contact resistance and improve the interfacial charge transfer. The champion OFFcA-modified device delivers an exceptional PCE of 23.62%, exceeding those of the control (PCE=22.32%) and FcA-modified (PCE=23.06%) devices. Moreover, the unencapsulated OFFcA-modified device retains 82.7% of the primary efficiency at 60% RH for more than 50 d and only loses less than 10% of the primary efficiency when stored in a glove box for more than 2000 h.

Advanced Hydrogels in Breast Cancer Therapy.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death for women. Depending on the tumor grade and stage, breast cancer is primarily treated with surgery and antineoplastic therapy. Direct or indirect side effects, emotional trauma, and unpredictable outcomes accompany these traditional therapies, calling for therapies that could improve the overall treatment and recovery experiences of patients. Hydrogels, biomimetic materials with 3D network structures, have shown great promise for augmenting breast cancer therapy. Hydrogel implants can be made with adipogenic and angiogenic properties for tissue integration. 3D organoids of malignant breast tumors grown in hydrogels retain the physical and genetic characteristics of the native tumors, allowing for post-surgery recapitulation of the diseased tissues for precision medicine assessment of the responsiveness of patient-specific cancers to antineoplastic treatment. Hydrogels can also be used as carrier matrices for delivering chemotherapeutics and immunotherapeutics or as post-surgery prosthetic scaffolds. The hydrogel delivery systems could achieve localized and controlled medication release targeting the tumor site, enhancing efficacy and minimizing the adverse effects of therapeutic agents delivered by traditional procedures. This review aims to summarize the most recent advancements in hydrogel utilization for breast cancer post-surgery tissue reconstruction, tumor modeling, and therapy and discuss their limitations in clinical translation.

Insight into role of nicotinamide involved in energy metabolism and redox homeostasis: A case study in strawberry

Role of exogenous nicotinamide (NAM) of quality attributes, energy metabolism and redox homeostasis in postharvest strawberry were evaluated in present study. Results demonstrated that exogenous NAM delayed the quality deterioration of strawberry and would not bring adverse effects on the sensory quality. Additionally, NAM increased the endogenous content of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), which further contributed to the redox homeostasis of strawberry fruit. With lower oxidative damage, exogenous NAM sustained mitochondrial function, via maintaining the ultrastructural integrity and mitochondrial properties, as well as enhancing the energy supply. Our research shed a novel insight on mitochondrial properties and redox homeostasis of fresh fruit regulated by exogenous NAM.

Sequential Ion Induced Multilength‐Scale Structurally Fibers with Strain‐Stiffening, High Damping, and Shape‐Memory Features

AbstractNatural materials possess inherent multilength‐scale structures, showcasing outstanding mechanical properties such as strain‐stiffening, high damping, and shape‐memory features under ambient conditions. Such integrated properties are highly desirable for advanced materials in biomedical devices and soft robots but remain challenging in synthetic materials. Herein, a novel strategy of sequential ion treatment is employed to introduce micro/nanoscale‐ordered structures and molecular‐scale stimulus responses into hydrogel‐derived self‐assembly fibers under ambient conditions. The treated fibers exhibit strain‐stiffening properties with a high toughness of 257 MJ m−3 and 73% damping capacity comparable to spider silk. Owing to their cross‐linking network and reversible secondary structure, those fibers exhibit outstanding water‐stability, wet stretchability, and hydration‐responsive shape‐memory performance, with ultimate elongation of 407%, shape‐fixity ratio of 94%, and shape‐recovery rate of 97%. This work furthers the green fabrication of smart materials with multifunction and presents promising applications in diverse fields, including biomimetics and biomedicine.

Experimental investigation on surface integrity and fatigue performance of Ti60 alloy under ultrasonic impact treatment

The surface integrity and fatigue properties of Ti60 alloy under different ultrasonic impact processes were investigated. Ultrasonic impact treatment (UIT) with various parameters enhanced the surface integrity of the turned specimen. The Ra values of the UIT specimens were all less than 0.380 μm, with the surface stress concentration factor (Kst) values ranging from 1.075 to 1.120. The compressive residual stress values of the UIT specimens were enhanced, leading to the localization of the maximum residual stress (σrsm) in the subsurface. Increases in surface residual stress (σs) values exceeded 21.9 % and σrsm values were improved by more than 74.4 % compared to the turned specimen. The microhardness values showed improvement after UIT, with surface microhardness (HVs) values ranging from 408.5 HV0.025 to 461.6 HV0.025. The orientation of the grains was deflected in UIT specimens, and the depths of the plastic deformation layer (hp) values experienced increases of more than 17 times. The fatigue life (Nf) value of the Comb. U2 with the best surface integrity was approximately 9328.4 % higher than that of turned and about 4362.1 % higher than that of Comb. U1 with the worst surface integrity among the UIT specimens. Observing the fatigue fractures, the crack initiation locations of the UIT specimens were relocated to the subsurface at a distance of more than 150 μm from the surface. A higher fatigue life of the specimen was achieved when there was better surface integrity and when the fatigue crack source was located further away from the surface. The crack source in the UIT specimen exhibited a large and irregular shape, and there were numerous small, evenly distributed dimples and a limited number of cleavage planes in fatigue instantaneous fracture region. Additionally, it was found that the subsurface fatigue life prediction model demonstrates superior accuracy for shorter fatigue life.

Dynamic study of the duopoly market stability based on open innovation rate integration and intellectual property

Dynamic study of the duopoly market stability based on open innovation rate integration and intellectual property

Modulation of multisensory nociceptive neurons in monkey cortical area 7b and behavioral correlates.

Wide-range thermoreceptive neurons (WRT-EN) in monkey cortical area 7b that encoded innocuous and nocuous cutaneous thermal and threatening visuosensory stimulation with high fidelity were studied to identify their multisensory integrative response properties. Emphasis was given to characterizing the spatial and temporal effects of threatening visuosensory input on the thermal stimulus-response properties of these multisensory nociceptive neurons. Threatening visuosensory stimulation was most efficacious in modulating thermal evoked responses when presented as a downward ("looming"), spatially congruent, approaching and closely proximal target in relation to the somatosensory receptive field. Both temporal alignment and misalignment of spatially aligned threatening visual and thermal stimulation significantly increased mean discharge frequencies above those evoked by thermal stimulation alone, particularly at near noxious (43°C) and mildly noxious (45°C) temperatures. The enhanced multisensory discharge frequencies were equivalent to the discharge frequency evoked by overtly noxious thermal stimulation alone at 47°C (monkey pain tolerance threshold). A significant increase in behavioral mean escape frequency with shorter escape latency was evoked by multisensory stimulation at near noxious temperature (43°C), which was equivalent to that evoked by noxious stimulation alone (47°C). The remarkable concordance of elevating both neural discharge and escape frequency from a nonnociceptive and prepain level by near noxious thermal stimulation to a nociceptive and pain level by multisensory visual and near noxious thermal stimulation and integration is an elegantly designed defensive neural mechanism that in effect lowers both nociceptive response and pain thresholds to preemptively engage nocifensive behavior and, consequently, avert impending and actual injurious noxious thermal stimulation.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Multisensory nociceptive neurons in cortical area 7b are engaged in integration of threatening visuosensory and a wide range of innocuous and nocuous somatosensory (thermoreceptive) inputs. The enhancement of neuronal activity and escape behavior in monkey by multisensory integration is consistent and supportive of human psychophysical studies. The spatial features of visuosensory stimulation in peripersonal space in relation to somatic stimulation in personal space are critical to multisensory integration, nociception, nocifensive behavior, and pain.