A facile approach to fabricate highly sensitive, flexible strain sensor based on elastomeric/graphene platelet composite film

This work developed a facile approach to fabricate highly sensitive and flexible polyurethane/graphene platelets composite film for wearable strain sensor. The composite film was fabricated via layer-by-layer laminating method which is simple and cost-effective; it exhibited outstanding electrical conductivity of 1430 ± 50 S/cm and high sensitivity to strain (the gauge factor is up to 150). In the sensor application test, the flexible strain sensor achieves real-time monitoring accurately for five bio-signals such as pulse movement, finger movement, and cheek movement giving a great potential as wearable-sensing device. In addition, the developed strain sensor shows response to pressure and temperature in a certain region. A multifaceted comparison between reported flexible strain sensors and our strain sensor was made highlighting the advantages of the current work in terms of (1) high sensitivity (gauge factor) and flexibility, (2) facile approach of fabrication, and (3) accurate monitoring for body motions

Multifunctional, durable and highly conductive graphene/sponge nanocomposites

Porous functional materials play important roles in a wide variety of growing research and industrial fields. We herein report a simple, effective method to prepare porous functional graphene composites for multi-field applications. Graphene sheets were non-chemically modified by Triton®X-100, not only to maintain high structural integrity but to improve the dispersion of graphene on the pore surface of a sponge. It was found that a graphene/sponge nanocomposite at 0.79 wt.% demonstrated ideal electrical conductivity. The composite materials have high strain sensitivity, stable fatigue performance for 20,000 cycles, short response time of 0.401s and fast response to temperature and pressure. In addition, the composites are effective in monitoring materials deformation and acoustic attenuation with a maximum absorption rate 67.78% and it can be used as electrodes for a supercapacitor with capacitance of 18.1 F/g. Moreover, no expensive materials or complex equipment are required for the composite manufacturing process. This new methodology for the fabrication of multifunctional, durable and highly conductive graphene/sponge nanocomposites hold promise for many other applications

Enhancing flame retardancy, anti-impact, and corrosive resistance of TPU nanocomposites using surface decoration of α-ZrP

The development of polyurethane composites with significant flame retardancy and corrosion resistance for widening its practical application is a great importance. In this study, supramolecular wrapped α‐ZrP (MCP@ZrP) was prepared via self‐assembly of melamine, cobalt ions (Co ²⁺ ) and phytic acid (PA) on the surfaces of α‐zirconium phosphate (α‐ZrP). It was found that both compatibility and dispersion of α‐ZrP sheets in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrices were improved with the incorporation of organic supramolecular components in TPU/MCP@ZrP nanocomposites. Moreover, their fire‐retardant characteristic was significantly enhanced, along with effective suppression of smoke and toxic gas emission. By adding 5 wt% MCP@ZrP, peak heat release rate, total heat release, total smoke production, and total CO production of such nanocomposites were reduced by 35.66%, 18.01%, 15.52%, and 41.42%, respectively. The generation of a continuous and dense char layer benefited from well‐dispersed MCP@ZrP nanohybrids, which resulted in tortuous effect to impede heat diffusion and prevent the evaporation of volatile gasses. By means of the barrier effect of ZrP, TPU/MCP@ZrP composite films also showed improved anticorrosion performance. Effective interfacial adhesion, achieved by combining MCP supermolecules and α‐ZrP sheets, offers a viable approach to improve protective properties of TPU nanocomposites. Highlights Supramolecular‐wrapped α‐ZrP was prepared via self‐assembly strategy. MCP@ZrP showed good dispersion and interface adhesion within TPU matrices. MCP@ZrP enhanced the flame retardancy and mechanical performance of TPU. MCP@ZrP preventing smoke and toxic gas evaporation

Mechanical, Toughness and Thermal properties of 2D Material- Reinforced Epoxy Composites

Developing epoxy composites with high thermal conductivity and excellent mechanical properties becomes imperative in electronic and aerospace industries. This study investigates and compares the effect of adding boron nitride (BN) sheets and graphene platelets (GnPs) on the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of epoxy resin. The study shows that incorporation of BN or GnPs into epoxy matrix significantly enhanced both mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of epoxy composites. At fractions ranging 1–4 wt%, GnPs/epoxy composites provide higher Young’s modulus, fracture toughness (K1c) and critical stress energy release rate (G1c) compared to BN/epoxy composites. The thermal conductivity of the epoxy composites is up to the maximum of 0.33 Wm 1 K 1 at 4 wt% of GnP loading, which is much higher than that of the composites filled with the same loading of BN (0.23 Wm 1 K 1 ). The study emphasizes the importance of adding thin nanosheets (thickness 3–5 nm) at low loadings in developing epoxy composites to achieve desired mechanical and thermal properties

Genome-Wide Association Study of Lung Adenocarcinoma in East Asia and Comparison With a European Population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (Pinteraction = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population.

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (Pinteraction = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma in East Asia and comparison with a European population

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer. Known risk variants explain only a small fraction of lung adenocarcinoma heritability. Here, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study of lung adenocarcinoma of East Asian ancestry (21,658 cases and 150,676 controls; 54.5% never-smokers) and identified 12 novel susceptibility variants, bringing the total number to 28 at 25 independent loci. Transcriptome-wide association analyses together with colocalization studies using a Taiwanese lung expression quantitative trait loci dataset (n = 115) identified novel candidate genes, including FADS1 at 11q12 and ELF5 at 11p13. In a multi-ancestry meta-analysis of East Asian and European studies, four loci were identified at 2p11, 4q32, 16q23, and 18q12. At the same time, most of our findings in East Asian populations showed no evidence of association in European populations. In our studies drawn from East Asian populations, a polygenic risk score based on the 25 loci had a stronger association in never-smokers vs. individuals with a history of smoking (P interaction  = 0.0058). These findings provide new insights into the etiology of lung adenocarcinoma in individuals from East Asian populations, which could be important in developing translational applications

Flexural Behavior of Two-Span Continuous CFRP RC Beams

This paper investigates the feasibility of replacing steel bars with carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) bars in continuous reinforced concrete (RC) beams. A numerical model is introduced. Model predictions are compared with the experimental results that are available in the literature. A comprehensive numerical investigation is then performed on two-span CFRP/steel RC beams with ρb2 = 0.61–3.03% and ρb1/ρb2 = 1.5, where ρb1 and ρb2 are tensile bar ratios (ratios of tensile bar area to effective cross-sectional area of beams) over positive and negative moment regions, respectively. The study shows that replacing steel bars with CFRP bars greatly improves the crack mode at a low bar ratio. The ultimate load of CFRP RC beams is 89% higher at ρb2 = 0.61% but 7.2% lower at ρb2 = 3.03% than that of steel RC beams. In addition, CFRP RC beams exhibit around 13% greater ultimate deflection compared to steel RC beams. The difference of moment redistribution between CFRP and steel RC beams diminishes as ρb2 increases. ACI 318-19 appears to be conservative, and it leads to more accurate predictions of moment redistribution in CFRP RC beams than that in steel RC beams