Intrinsically stretchable and transparent thin-film transistors based on printable silver nanowires, carbon nanotubes and an elastomeric dielectric.

Thin-film field-effect transistor is a fundamental component behind various mordern electronics. The development of stretchable electronics poses fundamental challenges in developing new electronic materials for stretchable thin-film transistors that are mechanically compliant and solution processable. Here we report the fabrication of transparent thin-film transistors that behave like an elastomer film. The entire fabrication is carried out by solution-based techniques, and the resulting devices exhibit a mobility of ∼30 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), on/off ratio of 10(3)-10(4), switching current >100 μA, transconductance >50 μS and relative low operating voltages. The devices can be stretched by up to 50% strain and subjected to 500 cycles of repeated stretching to 20% strain without significant loss in electrical property. The thin-film transistors are also used to drive organic light-emitting diodes. The approach and results represent an important progress toward the development of stretchable active-matrix displays

Analysis of the effect of anti-tuberculosis treatment and lung injury in patients with tuberculosis combined with underlying disease

Objective·To investigate the impact of complications on the prognosis and lung injury of patients with tuberculosis..Methods·A retrospective cohort study was used for analysis, to select a total of 450 smear-positive tuberculosis (TB) patients, 323 males (71.8%) and 127 females (28.2%), from January to December 2018 at Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, which were divided into non-complication group and complication group (diabetes, hypertension, liver diseases, kidney diseases and gallbladder diseases). Overall treatment outcomes and lung injuries in TB patients with and without complications were analyzed by using χ2 test. Stratified analysis of the impact of each comorbidity on the prognosis and lung injury of TB patients was performed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to analyze the temporal correlation between complications and tuberculosis prognosis.Results·Four hundred and fifty patients with a median age of 33 years were included, 173 of whom had complications: diabetes in 49 cases, hypertension in 23 cases, liver diseases in 83 cases, kidney diseases in 35 cases, and gallbladder diseases in 17 cases. The cure rate of TB patients without complications was 80.5%, which was significantly higher than that of the group with complications (P<0.05); the significantly lower cure rate of TB patients with diabetes, hypertension and kidney diseases at diagnosis was the key cause of anti-tuberculosis treatment failure; TB patients with diabetes and liver diseases had higher lung bacterial load and larger areas of lung damage, and TB patients with diabetes and kidney diseases had higher incidence of pulmonary cavity.Conclusion·Diabetes, hypertension and kidney diseases exacerbate lung damage and lead to lower TB cure rates. Early interventions by clinicians at the time of diagnosis can improve cure rates, shorten treatment time, and reduce medical costs for TB patients

Study on the adaptability and optimization of boom replacement methods for suspension bridges

To ensure the safe operation of bridges, the study of methods and techniques for boom replacement has become a crucial aspect of the scientific maintenance of suspension bridges. This study focuses on analyzing the bridge responses and evaluating the applicability of three different boom replacement methods: single-point, three-point and five-point, using finite element calculations. A sea-crossing suspension bridge is taken as a case study to simulate the process of boom replacement using temporary booms. Consequently, the optimal replacement method for booms of varying lengths is determined. Meanwhile, this research proposes a quantitative basis for classifying boom lengths based on calculation data and analysis results to determine the suitable boom lengths for different replacement methods. Besides, a comparison of the relationship between the force transmission efficiency of temporary booms and boom length reveals that longer booms exhibit lower force transmission efficiency, with the efficiency decreasing at a faster rate as boom length increases. Overall, these findings provide a theoretical basis for the study of boom replacement in suspension bridges

Monocyte at diagnosis as a prognosis biomarker in tuberculosis patients with anemia

BackgroundAnemia leads to a lower cure rate and poor prognosis in tuberculosis patients. Effective predictors for the prognosis of tuberculosis with anemia (A-TB) are urgently needed. Monocyte has been proven to be a prognostic biomarker of many lung diseases. Whether monocyte that the predominant innate immune cell as early defense against tuberculosis can predict A-TB is not known.MethodsData for A-TB patients with initial treatment in Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Logistics regression analysis was used to study the correlation between peripheral blood cells and treatment outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the cut-off value. We estimated a 12-month prognosis using Kaplan–Meier techniques. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for the univariate and multivariate analyses to analyze the predictors of poor prognosis of A-TB.ResultsOf 181 patients analyzed, 94 were cured and 87 non-cured. Logistic regression analysis identified monocyte as an independent immune-related risk factor for the prognosis of A-TB (OR: 7.881, 95% CI: 1.675–37.075, P = 0.009). The ROC curve analysis proved that the most discriminative cut-off value of monocyte was 0.535 × 10^9/L. K–M analysis demonstrated that the cumulative cure rates of A-TB were significantly higher in A-TB with monocyte &lt; 0.535 × 10^9/L (69.62%) than that in those with monocyte ≥ 0.535 × 10^9/L (38.24%) (Log-rank, χ2 = 16.530, P &lt; 0.0001). On univariate and multivariable analysis, monocyte was an independent predictor of poor prognosis in A-TB. Similarly, monocyte was also an independent predictor of poor pulmonary cavity closure in A-TB (HR: 3.614, 95% CI: 1.335–9.787, P = 0.011).ConclusionIn A-TB patients, elevated monocyte was associated with poor prognosis and poor cavity pulmonary closure. Monocyte may provide a simple and inexpensive prognostic biomarker in A-TB

A Comparative Study on the Addition Methods of TiO2 Sintering Aid to the Properties of Porous Alumina Membrane Support

TiO2 is usually used as a sintering aid to lower the sintering temperature of porous alumina membrane support. Two ways of the addition of TiO2 are chosen: in-situ precipitation and in-situ hydrolysis. The results show that the distribution status of TiO2 has an important effect on the property of porous alumina membrane support. In in-situ hydrolysis method, the nano-meter scale TiO2 distributes evenly on the alumina particles&rsquo; surface. The bending strength of the support increases sharply and the pore size distribution changes more sharply along with the content of TiO2 which slightly increases from 0.3 wt.% to 0.4 wt.%. The distribution of the nano-meter scale TiO2 is not so even added by in-situ precipitation method. Neither the bending strength nor the pore size distribution of the support is worse than that of the support added by in-situ hydrolysis even if the content of TiO2 is high to 2 wt.%. The permeating flux has a similar tendency. Consequently, the porous alumina membrane support has the porosity of 30.01% and the bending strength of 77.33 MPa after sintering at 1650 &deg;C for 2 h with the optimized TiO2 content of 0.4 wt.% added by the in-situ hydrolysis method

Study on the effects of the textured surface to improve the performance of cylinder block/valve plate interfaces

This paper discovers how the surface texture of micro-dimples impacts the tribological performance of the interface between cylinder block and valve plate. For this, a mathematical model which considers the cavitation effect for calculating oil film pressure and oil leakage is established. The radius of the micro dimples is considered for studying the influence of the pressure field and the leakage flow. Then a simulation model is built up according to the mathematical model. Meanwhile, a particular test rig was designed and established to verify the theoretical results. Both simulation and experimental results show that a good designed surface texture of micro-dimples could improve the lubrication performance a lot and the structure parameters could be optimized. The leakage flow of the port plate pair will be greatly decreased by micro dimples and it is positive correlated with the radius of the micro dimples

Functional structure, taxonomic composition and the dominant assembly processes of soil prokaryotic community along an altitudinal gradient

As more attentions have been paid to microbial taxonomic community structure along altitudinal gradients, the knowledge of the altitudinal variations in microbial functional structure in terrestrial ecosystems is limited. More importantly, the dominant assembly processes that drive altitudinal variations in both taxonomic composition and functional structure remain unclear. To fill the gaps, we integrated soil prokaryotic taxonomic community structure, functional community structure and community assembly processes along an altitudinal gradient into a comprehensive understanding. The results revealed that both taxonomic community structure and core functional community structure of soil prokaryotic microbes significantly differed across altitudes. We detected the core functional groups associated with the redox reactions essential for microbial metabolism and biogeochemical cycles across altitudes. Chemoheterotrophy and photoautotrophy were dominant in abundance, indicating the important roles of primary energy metabolism for soil prokaryotic community. The whole prokaryotic community taxonomic composition was dominantly shaped by dispersal limitation (governing 74% of spatial turnover). The variation of functional structure was primarily caused by environmental selection, while the taxonomic variation within individual functional groups was weakly related to selection but mainly driven by drift. These results are critical for predicting the future dynamics of soil microbial community in the face of disturbances

Preparation of Fly Ash-Based Porous Ceramic with Alumina as the Pore-Forming Agent

Low-cost porous ceramic from fly ash with alumina as the pore-forming agent was produced. The effect of the alumina content on line shrink, bulk density, mechanical strength, porosity, and phase composition of porous ceramic were investigated in detail. The results showed that the addition of alumina can help to improve the porosity and then it can change the pore structure of porous ceramic. Meanwhile, the addition of alumina can react with SiO2 in fly ash which can form the mullite. With the increase of alumina content, the content of quartz decreased gradually, while the alumina and mullite increased. Furthermore, the pore size becomes uniform and the permeability increased gradually. After sintering at 1250 &deg;C for 0.5 h, the porous ceramic has been obtained the bending strength of &ge; 35MPa and the porosity of &ge; 28% with the addition content of alumina (25 wt%)

Film cathode for thermal batteries using a screen-printing process

In this study, the film cathode for thermal batteries with wonderful reproducibility and homogeneity is fabricated and investigated. The film cathode is prepared by screen printing process. A single cell with a 50 mu m film cathode using screen printing process exhibited a specific capacity of 2092.61 As g(-1). For comparison, a single cell with a 600 mm pellet cathode is also discharged, demonstrating a specific capacity of 1076.65 As g(-1). These significant improvements can be attributed to the optimal thickness of cathode. The film cathode also exhibited excellent utilization of the electrode material and excellent mechanical strength making it applicable to thermal batteries. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p