Conductive Polymer Combined Silk Fiber Bundle for Bioelectrical Signal Recording

Electrode materials for recording biomedical signals, such as electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG) and evoked potentials data, are expected to be soft, hydrophilic and electroconductive to minimize the stress imposed on living tissue, especially during long-term monitoring. We have developed and characterized string-shaped electrodes made from conductive polymer with silk fiber bundles (thread), which offer a new biocompatible stress free interface with living tissue in both wet and dry conditions

AMPA receptor GluA2 subunit defects are a cause of neurodevelopmental disorders.

AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are tetrameric ligand-gated channels made up of combinations of GluA1-4 subunits encoded by GRIA1-4 genes. GluA2 has an especially important role because, following post-transcriptional editing at the Q607 site, it renders heteromultimeric AMPARs Ca2+-impermeable, with a linear relationship between current and trans-membrane voltage. Here, we report heterozygous de novo GRIA2 mutations in 28 unrelated patients with intellectual disability (ID) and neurodevelopmental abnormalities including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Rett syndrome-like features, and seizures or developmental epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). In functional expression studies, mutations lead to a decrease in agonist-evoked current mediated by mutant subunits compared to wild-type channels. When GluA2 subunits are co-expressed with GluA1, most GRIA2 mutations cause a decreased current amplitude and some also affect voltage rectification. Our results show that de-novo variants in GRIA2 can cause neurodevelopmental disorders, complementing evidence that other genetic causes of ID, ASD and DEE also disrupt glutamatergic synaptic transmission

Genome-wide association study identifies six new loci influencing pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure.

Numerous genetic loci have been associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in Europeans. We now report genome-wide association studies of pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). In discovery (N = 74,064) and follow-up studies (N = 48,607), we identified at genome-wide significance (P = 2.7 × 10(-8) to P = 2.3 × 10(-13)) four new PP loci (at 4q12 near CHIC2, 7q22.3 near PIK3CG, 8q24.12 in NOV and 11q24.3 near ADAMTS8), two new MAP loci (3p21.31 in MAP4 and 10q25.3 near ADRB1) and one locus associated with both of these traits (2q24.3 near FIGN) that has also recently been associated with SBP in east Asians. For three of the new PP loci, the estimated effect for SBP was opposite of that for DBP, in contrast to the majority of common SBP- and DBP-associated variants, which show concordant effects on both traits. These findings suggest new genetic pathways underlying blood pressure variation, some of which may differentially influence SBP and DBP

Comunicare Fisica Attraverso lo Sport

Scopo dell'iniziativa di far avvicinare i giovani alla scienza e in particolare alla Fisica tramite il naturale connubio della fisica con lo sport. L'abbinamento "Fisica e Sport" dettato dalla consapelovezza che spesso trascuriamo il fatto che la Fisica alla base di molte delle attivit\u2c6 comuni di ogni giorno. Lo sport solo una delle applicazioni pratiche della fisica che coinvolge tutta la popolazione

Fisica applicata allo sci alpino

Capitolo sulla interpretazione fisica della tecnica della scuola italiana di sci alpin

Extending the utility of conducting polymers through chemisorption of nucleophiles

The investigation of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) exposed to several example amines has shown that they bind to the conducting polymer through a nucleophilic attack on the positively charged carbon atoms. The PEDOT films were polymerized using the vacuum vapor phase polymerization (VPP) technique, and their electrical and optical properties subsequently modified by adsorbing aniline, ammonia or urea. Analysis of the surface chemistry shows that the reversibility of the binding depends on the nature of the amine, although a portion is chemisorbed to the PEDOT. This mechanism allows the polymer surface to be decorated with biomolecules or nanoparticles, as demonstrated by attachment of poly(allylamine) coated silica nanoparticles to the PEDOT. This understanding provides the opportunity to control PEDOT properties, and opens the pathway to extend the utility of these electroactive, optoactive, and bioactive materials.Pejman Hojati-Talemi, Drew Evans, and Manrico Fabrett

Flexible polymer-on-polymer architecture for piezo/pyroelectric energy harvesting

An all polymer piezo/pyroelectric device was fabricated using β phase poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) as the active material and vapor phase polymerized (VPP) poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiphene) (PEDOT) as the flexible electrode overlay material. Inherent problems usually associated with coating polymeric electrodes onto the low surface energy PVDF were overcome by air plasma treating the film in conjunction with utilizing the VPP technique to simultaneously synthesize and in situ deposit the PEDOT electrode. Strain measurements up to the breaking-strain of PVDF (approximately 35%) indicated that the change in R/Ro was significantly smaller for the PEDOT based electrodes compared to the platinum electrode. Plasma treatment of the PVDF film increased the level of surface oxygenated carbon species that contributed to increased surface energy, as confirmed by confirmed by contact angle measurement. The enhanced adhesion between the two polymers layers contributed to a significant increase in the measured piezoelectric output voltage from 0.2 to 0.5 V for the same strain conditions. Pyroelectric voltage outputs were obtained by placing the film onto and off of a hotplate, for temperatures up to 50 °C above ambient. Finally, as a proof of concept, a simple energy harvesting device (plastic tube with slots for mounting multiple piezo/pyro films) was fabricated. The device was able to generate a usable level of peak output current (>3.5 μA) from human inhalation and exhalation "waste energy".Pejman Talemi, Marine Delaigue, Peter Murphy, and Manrico Fabrett

Using oxygen plasma treatment to improve the performance of electrodes for capacitive water deionization

Abstract not availablePejman Hojati-Talemi, Linda Zou, Manrico Fabretto, Robert D. Shor