Enhanced Power Generation from the Interaction between Sweat and Electrodes for Human Health Monitoring

Power generation from human sweat has attracted great attention due to its potential application in waste energy scavenging. However, the development of methods to generate sufficient electricity from sweat to power electronic devices for health monitoring remains a major challenge. Here, we report a wearable sweat-based electricity generator (SEG), in which the power generation mechanism is based on the redox reaction between sweat and electrodes. Due to the increase in oxygen adsorption, both the output current and power of SEG with single-walled carbon nanotubes modified electrode can be remarkably enhanced by 5.6 and 14.7 times compared to SEG with a nanotube-free electrode, respectively. The SEGs have been first utilized to power a wireless heart-rate sensor for sustainably transmitting heart-rate data to a smart phone. Moreover, self-powered sensing of lactic acid has been achieved by electric signals with the current sensitivity of 11.79 mmol·L-1·mA-1, demonstrating applications in human health care. </p

On-chip electro-optic tuning of a lithium niobate microresonator with integrated in-plane microelectrodes

We demonstrate electro-optic tuning of an on-chip lithium niobate microresonator with integrated in-plane microelectrodes. First two metallic microelectrodes on the substrate were formed via femtosecond laser process. Then a high-Q lithium niobate microresonator located between the microelectrodes was fabricated by femtosecond laser direct writing accompanied by focused ion beam milling. Due to the efficient structure designing, high electro-optical tuning coefficient of 3.41 pm/V was observed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

High-performance and long-term stability of mesoporous Cu-doped TiO2 microsphere for catalytic CO oxidation

Although the low-temperature reaction mechanism of catalytic CO oxidation reaction remains unclear, the active sites of copper play a crucial role in this mechanism. One-step aerosol-assisted self-assembly (AASA) process has been developed for the synthesis of mesoporous Cu-doped TiO2 microspheres (CuTMS) to incorporate copper into the TiO2 lattice. This strategy highly enhanced the dispersion of copper from 41.10 to 83.65%. Long-term stability of the as-synthesized CuTMS materials for catalytic CO oxidation reaction was monitored using real-time mass spectrum. Isolated CuO and Cu-O-Ti were formed as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The formation of the Cu-O-Ti bonds in the crystal lattice changes the electron densities of Ti(IV) and O, causing a subsequent change in Ti(III)/Ti(IV) and Onon/OTotal ratio. 20CuTMS contained the highest lattice distortion (0.44) in which the Onon/OTotal ratio is lowest (0.18). This finding may be attributed to the absolute formation of the Cu-O-Ti bonds in the crystal lattice. However, the decrease of Ti(III)/Ti(IV) ratio to about 0.35 of 25CuTMS was caused by the CuO cluster formation on the surface. N2O titration-assisted H2 temperature-programmed reduction and in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the properties of copper and effects of active sites

Elective caesarean section versus vaginal delivery for preventing mother to child transmission of hepatitis B virus – a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Caesarean section before labor or before ruptured membranes ("elective caesarean section", or ECS) has been introduced as an intervention for preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Currently, no evidence that ECS versus vaginal delivery reduces the rate of MTCT of HBV has been generally provided. The aim of this review is to assess, from randomized control trails (RCTs), the efficacy and safety of ECS versus vaginal delivery in preventing mother-to-child HBV transmission.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We searched Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (January, 2008), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (the Cochrane Library 2008, issue 1), PubMed (1950 to 2008), EMBASE (1974 to 2008), Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) (1975 to 2008), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (1979 to 2008), VIP database (1989 to 2008), as well as reference lists of relevant studies. Finally, four randomized trails involving 789 people were included. Based on meta-analysis, There was strong evidence that ECS versus vaginal delivery could effectively reduce the rate of MTCT of HBV (ECS: 10.5%; vaginal delivery: 28.0%). The difference between the two groups (ECS <it>versus </it>vaginal delivery) had statistical significance (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.60, P < 0.000001). No data regarding maternal morbidity or infant morbidity according to mode of delivery were available.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ECS appears to be effective in preventing MTCT of HBV and no postpartum morbidity (PPM) was reported. However, the conclusions of this review must be considered with great caution due to high risk of bias in each included study (graded C).</p