Self-Healing Multiblock Copolypeptide Hydrogels via Polyion Complexation

Diblock, triblock, and pentablock copolypeptides were designed and prepared for formation of polyion complex hydrogels in aqueous media. Increasing the number of block segments was found to allow formation of hydrogels with substantially enhanced stiffness at equivalent concentrations. Use of similar length ionic segments also allowed mixing of different block architectures to fine-tune hydrogel properties. The pentablock hydrogels possess a promising combination of high stiffness, rapid self-healing properties, and cell compatible surface chemistry that makes them promising candidates for applications requiring injectable or printable hydrogel scaffolds

Self-Sorting Microscale Compartmentalized Block Copolypeptide Hydrogels

Multicomponent interpenetrating network hydrogels possessing enhanced mechanical stiffness compared to their individual components were prepared via physical mixing of diblock copolypeptides that assemble by either hydrophobic association or polyion complexation in aqueous media. Optical microscopy analysis of fluorescent-probe-labeled multicomponent hydrogels revealed that the diblock copolypeptide components rapidly and spontaneously self-sort to form distinct hydrogel networks that interpenetrate at micron length scales. These materials represent a class of microscale compartmentalized hydrogels composed of degradable, cell-compatible components, which possess rapid self-healing properties and independently tunable domains for downstream applications in biology and additive manufacturing

Coordinated Target Tracking by Distributed Unscented Information Filter in Sensor Networks with Measurement Constraints

Tracking a target in a cluttered environment is a representative application of sensor networks. In this paper, we develop a distributed approach to estimate the motion states of a target using noisy measurements. Our method consists of two parts. In first phase, using the unscented sigma-point transformation techniques and information filter framework, a class of algorithms denoted as unscented information filters was developed to estimate the states of a target to be tracked. These techniques exhibit robustness and accuracy of sigma-point filters for nonlinear dynamic inference while being as easily fused as the information filters. In the second phase, we proposed a novel consensus protocol which allows each sensor node to find a consistent estimate of the value of the target. Under this protocol, the final estimate of the value of the target at each time step is iteratively updated only by fusing the neighbors’ measurements when one sensor node is out of the measurement scope of the target. Performance of the distributed unscented information filter is demonstrated and discussed on a target tracking task

Gender-specific association of decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate and left vertical geometry in the general population from rural Northeast China

Abstract Background Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is common and associated with cardiovascular outcomes among patients with known chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the link between decreased estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and left ventricular (LV) geometry remains poorly explored in general population. In this study, we examined the gender-specific association between eGFR and LVH in the general population from rural Northeast China. Methods This survey was conducted from July 2012 to August 2013. A total of 10907 participants (5,013 men and 5,894 women) from the rural Northeast China were randomly selected and examined. LV mass index (LVMI) was used to define LVH (LVMI\u2009>\u200946.7\ua0g/m 2.7 in women; > 49.2\ua0g/m 2.7 in men). LV geometry was defined as normal, or with concentric remodeling, eccentric or concentric hypertrophy, according to relative wall thickness (RWT) and LVMI. Mildly decreased eGFR was defined as eGFR\u2009\u2265\u200960 and\u2009<\u200990\ua0ml/min/1.73\ua0m 2 , and moderate-severely decreased eGFR was defined as eGFR\u2009<\u200960\ua0ml/min/1.73\ua0m 2 . Results As eGFR decreased, LVH showed a gradual increase in the entire study population. Multivariate analysis revealed a gender-specific relationship between eGFR and LV geometry. Only in men, mildly decreased eGFR was associated with concentric remodeling [odds ratio (OR): =1.58; 95% CI: 1.14\u20132.20; P \u2009<\u20090.01] and concentric LVH OR \u2009=\u20091.63; 95% CI: 1.15\u20132.31; P \u2009<\u20090.01). And only in men, moderate-severely decreased eGFR was a risk factor for concentric LVH ( OR \u2009=\u20094.56; 95% CI: 2.14\u20139.73; P \u2009<\u20090.001) after adjusting for confounding factors. Conclusions These findings suggested that decreased eGFR was a risk factor for LV geometry in men, and a gender-specific difference should be taken into account in clinical practice