Patching laser-reduced graphene oxide with carbon nanodots

Three-dimensional graphenes are versatile materials for a range of electronic applications and considered among the most promising candidates for electrodes in future electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) as they are expected to outperform commercially used activated carbon. Parameters such as electrical conductivity and active surface area are critical to the final device performance. By adding carbon nanodots to graphene oxide in the starting material for our standard laser-assisted reduction process, the structural integrity (i.e. lower defect density) of the final 3D-graphene is improved. As a result, the active surface area in the hybrid starting materials was increased by 130% and the electrical conductivity enhanced by nearly an order of magnitude compared to pure laser-reduced graphene oxide. These improved material parameters lead to enhanced device performance of the EDLC electrodes. The frequency response, i.e. the minimum phase angle and the relaxation time, were significantly improved from −82.2° and 128 ms to −84.3° and 7.6 ms, respectively. For the same devices the specific gravimetric device capacitance was increased from 110 to a maximum value of 214 F g−1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1

Approaches to in vitro tissue regeneration with application for human disease modeling and drug development

Reliable in vitro human disease models that capture the complexity of in vivo tissue behaviors are crucial to gain mechanistic insights into human disease and enable the development of treatments that are effective across broad patient populations. The integration of stem cell technologies, tissue engineering, emerging biomaterials strategies and microfabrication processes, as well as computational and systems biology approaches, is enabling new tools to generate reliable in vitro systems to study the molecular basis of human disease and facilitate drug development. In this review, we discuss these recently developed tools and emphasize opportunities and challenges involved in combining these technologies toward regenerative science.National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (U.S.) (Grant 5R01EB010246-02)National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (U.S.) (Grant 1UH2TR000496)United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Cooperative Agreement W911NF-12-2-0039

Does observability affect prosociality?

The observation of behaviour is a key theoretical parameter underlying a number of models of prosociality. However, the empirical findings showing the effect of observability on prosociality are mixed. In this meta-analysis, we explore the boundary conditions that may account for this variability, by exploring key theoretical and methodological moderators of this link. We identified 117 papers yielding 134 study level effects (Total N = 788, 164) and found a small but statistically significant, positive association between observability and prosociality (r = .141, 95% CI = .106, .175). Moderator analysis showed that observability produced stronger effects on prosociality (1) in the presence of passive observers (i.e., people whose role was to only observe participants) vs perceptions of being watched, (2) when participants decisions were consequential (vs non-consequential), (3) when the studies were performed in the laboratory (as opposed to in the field/online), (4) when studies used repeated measures (instead of single games) and (5) when studies involved social dilemmas (instead of bargaining games). These effects show the conditions under which observability effects on prosociality will be maximally observed. We describe the theoretical and practical significance of 14 these results

Report of the NIH task force on research standards for chronic low back pain

Abstract Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients\u27 lives. Such cLBP is often termed non-specific, and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. The NIH Pain Consortium therefore charged a Research Task Force (RTF) to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimal data set to describe research participants (drawing heavily on the PROMIS methodology); reporting responder analyses in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved the recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals. The RTF believes these recommendations will advance the field, help to resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurologic, and other mechanistic substrates of chronic low back pain. We expect the RTF recommendations will become a dynamic document, and undergo continual improvement. PERSPECTIVE: A Task Force was convened by the NIH Pain Consortium, with the goal of developing research standards for chronic low back pain. The results included recommendations for definitions, a minimal dataset, reporting outcomes, and future research. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes

The impact of asking intention or self-prediction questions on subsequent behavior: a meta-analysis

The current meta-analysis estimated the magnitude of the impact of asking intention and self-prediction questions on rates of subsequent behavior, and examined mediators and moderators of this question–behavior effect (QBE). Random-effects meta-analysis on 116 published tests of the effect indicated that intention/prediction questions have a small positive effect on behavior (d+ = 0.24). Little support was observed for attitude accessibility, cognitive dissonance, behavioral simulation, or processing fluency explanations of the QBE. Multivariate analyses indicated significant effects of social desirability of behavior/behavior domain (larger effects for more desirable and less risky behaviors), difficulty of behavior (larger effects for easy-to-perform behaviors), and sample type (larger effects among student samples). Although this review controls for co-occurrence of moderators in multivariate analyses, future primary research should systematically vary moderators in fully factorial designs. Further primary research is also needed to unravel the mechanisms underlying different variants of the QBE

Introducing EMMIE: An evidence rating scale to encourage mixed-method crime prevention synthesis reviews

Objectives This short report describes the need for, and the development of, a coding system to distil the quality and coverage of systematic reviews of the evidence relating to crime prevention interventions. The starting point for the coding system concerns the evidence needs of policymakers and practitioners. Methods The coding scheme (EMMIE) proposed builds on previous scales that have been developed to assess the probity, coverage and utility of evidence both in health and criminal justice. It also draws on the principles of realist synthesis and review. Results The proposed EMMIE scale identifies five dimensions to which systematic reviews intended to inform crime prevention should speak. These are the Effect of intervention, the identification of the causal Mechanism(s) through which interventions are intended to work, the factors that Moderate their impact, the articulation of practical Implementation issues, and the Economic costs of intervention

Long-Acting Injectable vs Oral Antipsychotics for Relapse Prevention in Schizophrenia: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

Background: While long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIs) are hoped to reduce high relapse rates in schizophrenia, recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) challenged the benefits of LAIs over oral antipsychotics (OAPs). Methods: Systematic review/meta-analysis of RCTs that lasted = 6 months comparing LAIs and OAPs. Primary outcome was study-defined relapse at the longest time point; secondary outcomes included relapse at 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, all-cause discontinuation, discontinuation due to adverse events, drug inefficacy (ie, relapse + discontinuation due to inefficacy), hospitalization, and nonadherence. Results: Across 21 RCTs (n = 5176), LAIs were similar to OAPs for relapse prevention at the longest time point (studies = 21, n = 4950, relative risk [RR] = 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.80-1.08, P =.35). The finding was confirmed restricting the analysis to outpatient studies lasting \u3e= 1 year (studies = 12, RR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.71-1.07, P =.31). However, studies using first-generation antipsychotic (FGA)-LAIs (studies = 10, RR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.97, P =.02) and those publishe

Fabrication of a Hybrid Microfluidic System Incorporating both Lithographically Patterned Microchannels and a 3D Fiber-Formed Microfluidic Network

A device containing a 3D microchannel network (fabricated using sacrificial melt-spun microfibers) sandwiched between lithographically patterned microfluidic channels offers improved delivery of soluble compounds to a large volume compared to a simple stack of two microfluidic channel layers. With this improved delivery ability comes an increased fluidic resistance due to the tortuous network of small-diameter channels.United States. Army (Engineer Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL))National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant 5F32EB011866)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Grant 1K99EB013630)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH NHLBI grant 1 R21 HL106585-01)National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH NHLBI grant 1 R21 HL106585-01

Stable Heterogeneity for the Production of Diffusible Factors in Cell Populations

The production of diffusible molecules that promote survival and growth is common in bacterial and eukaryotic cell populations, and can be considered a form of cooperation between cells. While evolutionary game theory shows that producers and non-producers can coexist in well-mixed populations, there is no consensus on the possibility of a stable polymorphism in spatially structured populations where the effect of the diffusible molecule extends beyond one-step neighbours. I study the dynamics of biological public goods using an evolutionary game on a lattice, taking into account two assumptions that have not been considered simultaneously in existing models: that the benefit of the diffusible molecule is a non-linear function of its concentration, and that the molecule diffuses according to a decreasing gradient. Stable coexistence of producers and non-producers is observed when the benefit of the molecule is a sigmoid function of its concentration, while strictly diminishing returns lead to coexistence only for very specific parameters and linear benefits never lead to coexistence. The shape of the diffusion gradient is largely irrelevant and can be approximated by a step function. Since the effect of a biological molecule is generally a sigmoid function of its concentration (as described by the Hill equation), linear benefits or strictly diminishing returns are not an appropriate approximations for the study of biological public goods. A stable polymorphism of producers and non-producers is in line with the predictions of evolutionary game theory and likely to be common in cell populations