Multifunctional hydrophobic fabric-based strain sensor for human motion detection and personal thermal management

Multifunctional flexible devices for human motion detection and thermal management raised great at-tention as the problem of the aging population is becoming more and more serious.However,it is still a challenge to endow the devices with excellent stability and wide application scope.Here we prepared a hydrophobic and conductive fabric-based strain sensor for smart fabric via successively coating with poly-dopamine(PDA),polyaniline(PANI),polypyrrole(PPy),and polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)through in-situ polymerization and dip-coating,which could be used for strain sensor and wearable heater both in air and underwater.The obtained sample exhibited a fast electrical response in 500 ms and could withstand 10,000 times stretching-releasing cycles,additionally,the sample exhibited satisfactory electro-thermal and photo-thermal performances.As a whole,the multifunctional fabric-based devices with excellent performances show great potential to be applied in medical monitoring and personal care,especially for aged and disabled persons.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition in organ fibrosis development:current understanding and treatment strategies

Organ fibrosis is a process in which cellular homeostasis is disrupted and extracellular matrix is excessively deposited.Fibrosis can lead to vital organ failure and there are no effective treatments yet.Although epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)may be one of the key cellular mechanisms,the underlying mechanisms of fibrosis remain largely unknown.EMT is a cell phenotypic process in which epithelial cells lose their cell-to-cell adhesion and polarization,after which they acquire mesenchymal features such as infiltration and migration ability.Upon injurious stimulation in different organs,EMT can be triggered by multiple signaling pathways and is also regulated by epigenetic mechanisms.This narrative review summarizes the current understanding of the underlying mechanisms of EMT in fibrogenesis and discusses potential strategies for attenuating EMT to prevent and/or inhibit fibrosis.Despite better understanding the role of EMT in fibrosis development,targeting EMT and beyond in developing therapeutics to tackle fibrosis is challenging but likely feasible.

Rational designed microstructure pressure sensors with highly sensitive and wide detection range performance

Highly sensitive pressure sensors are often deployed in human-machine interaction area,touch screen and human motion detection.However,there are still great challenges to fabricating with high sensitivity pressure sensor with wide-range detection.Herein,we developed a new strategy to fabricate a highly sensitive pressure sensor using sandpaper and improve its detection range using a sacrificial template.It was the fthatirst time to combine microstructure processing with the sacrificial template method to fabricate pressure sensor.The microstructure of sandpaper endowed the sensor with high sensitivity,and the elastic substrate enhanced the sensor ability to resist high pressure without being damaged.The fabricated sensor device exhibits a superior sensitivity of 39.077 kPa-1in the range from 50 kPa to 110 kPa with a broad linear response.Remarkably,high pressure ceiling(<160 kPa) ensures that the sponge could be applied in different practical conditions to monitor a range of subtle human motions including finger,wrist bending,and pulse.For applications,the sensor device can not only detect the foot stepping behavior(0.7 MPa) but also produce an obvious response to an extremely slight paper(9 mg,~0.9 Pa).The successful preparation of this micro-structured elastic sponge material provided new ideas for exploring its potential applications in pressure sensors and flexible wearable electronic devices.