Assessment of strength development in cement-admixed artificial organic soil with GX07

To explore the stabilization effect of stabilizing agent GX07 on treating organic soil and the influence of organic matter on the strength development of stabilized soil,artificial organic soil with various organic matter content was obtained by adding different amounts of fulvic acid into non-organic clay,and then liquid-plastic limit tests were carried out on the artificial organic soil.Meanwhile,unconfined compressive strength(UCS) tests were performed on cement-only soil and composite stabilized soil,respectively.The test results indicate that the plastic limit of soil samples increases linearly,and the liquid limit increases exponentially as the organic matter content increases.The strength of stabilized soil is well correlated with the organic matter content,cement content,stabilizing agent content and curing time.When the organic matter content is 6%,as the cement content varies in the range of 10%-20%,the strength of cement-only soil increases from 88.5 to 280.8 kPa.Once 12.6% GX07 is added into the mix,the strength of stabilized soil is 4.93 times compared with that of cement-only soil.GX07 can obviously improve the strength of cemented-soil and has a good economic applicability.A strength model is proposed to predict strength development.

Extracorporeal organ support for critically ill patients:Overcoming the past,achieving the maximum at present,and redefining the future

Extracorporeal organ support(ECOS)has made remarkable progress over the last few years.Renal replacement therapy,introduced a few decades ago,was the first available application of ECOS.The subsequent evolution of ECOS enabled the enhanced support to many other organs,including the heart[veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO),slow continuous ultrafiltration],the lungs(veno-venous ECMO,extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal),and the liver(blood purification techniques for the detoxification of liver toxins).Moreover,additional indications of these methods,including the suppression of excessive inflammatory response occurring in severe disorders such as sepsis,coronavirus disease 2019,pancreatitis,and trauma(blood purification techniques for the removal of exotoxins,endotoxins,or cytokines),have arisen.Multiple organ support therapy is crucial since a vast majority of critically ill patients present not with a single but with multiple organ failure(MOF),whereas,traditional therapeutic approaches(mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure,antibiotics for sepsis,and inotropes for cardiac dysfunction)have reached the maximum efficacy and cannot be improved further.However,several issues remain to be clarified,such as the complexity and cost of ECOS systems,standardization of indications,therapeutic protocols and initiation time,choice of the patients who will benefit most from these interventions,while evidence from randomized controlled trials supporting their use is still limited.Nevertheless,these methods are currently a part of routine clinical practice in intensive care units.This editorial presents the past,present,and future considerations,as well as perspectives regarding these therapies.Our better understanding of these methods,the pathophysiology of MOF,the crosstalk between native organs resulting in MOF,and the crosstalk between native organs and artificial organ support systems when applied sequentially or simultaneously,will lead to the multiplication of their effects and the minimization of complications arising from their use.

Left Ventricle Failure and Blood Flow Estimation for Centrifugal Blood Pumps

This paper shows the blood flow control （FwC） performance to adjust rotational speed of an ICBP （implantable centrifugal blood pump） in order to provide an adequate flow to left ventricle in different patient conditions. ICBP is a totally implantable LVAD （left ventricular assist device） with ceramic bearings developed for long term circulatory assistance. FwC uses PI （proportional-integral） control to adjust rotational speed in order to provide blood flow. FwC does not use sensor for feedback, as there is an estimation system to provide blood flow measurement. Control strategy has being studied in a HCS （hybrid cardiovascular simulator） as a tool that allows the physical connection of ICBP during evaluation. In addition, HCS allows changes of some cardiovascular parameters in order to simulate specific heart disease： ejection fraction （10-25%） and heart rate （50-110 bpm）. FwC was able to adjust blood flow with steady error less than 2%. Results demonstrated that FwC is adequate to LVAD control irL different left ventricle failure conditions.

Membranes for the life sciences and their future roles in medicine

Since the global outbreak of COVID-19,membrane technology for clinical treatments,including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO)and protective masks and clothing,has attracted intense research attention for its irreplaceable abilities.Membrane research and applications are now playing an increasingly important role in various fields of life science.In addition to intrinsic properties such as size sieving,dissolution and diffusion,membranes are often endowed with additional functions as cell scaffolds,catalysts or sensors to satisfy the specific requirements of different clinical applications.In this review,we will introduce and discuss state-of-the-art membranes and their respective functions in four typical areas of life science:artificial organs,tissue engineering,in vitro blood diagnosis and medical support.Emphasis will be given to the description of certain specific functions required of membranes in each field to provide guidance for the selection and fabrication of the membrane material.The advantages and disadvantages of these membranes have been compared to indicate further development directions for different clinical applications.Finally,we propose challenges and outlooks for future development.

Light-responsive organic artificial enzymes:Material designs and bio-applications

As significant biocatalysts,natural enzymes have exhibited a vast range of applications in biocatalytic reactions.However,the“always-on”natural enzyme activity is not beneficial for the regulation of catalytic processes,which limits their bio-applications.Recently,it has been extensively reported that various organic artificial enzymes exhibit prominent absorption and controlled activity under illumination,which not only creates a series of light-responsive catalytic platforms but also plays a key role in biosensing and biomedical research.To provide novel ideas for the design of artificial enzymes,we conduct this review to highlight the recent progress of light-responsive organic artificial enzymes(LOA-Enz).The specific photoresponse mechanism and various bio-applications of LOA-Enz are also presented in detail.Furthermore,the remaining challenges and future perspectives in this field are discussed.

Flexible organic artificial synapse with ultrashort-term plasticity for tunable time-frequency signal processing

A flexible organic artificial synapse(OAS)for tunable time-frequency signal processing was fabricated using a tri-blend film that had been fabricated using a one-step solution method.When combined with a chitosan film,this OAS can achieve an ultrashort-term retention time of only 49 ms for instant electricalcomputing applications;this is the shortest retention time yet achieved by a two-terminal artificial synapse.An array of these flexible OASs can withstand a high bending strain of 5%for 10^(4) cycles;this deformation endurance is a new record.The OAS was also sensitive to the number and frequency of electrical inputs;a tunable cut-off frequency enables dynamic filtering for use in image detail enhancement.This work provides a new resource for development of future neuromorphic computing devices。

Ferroelectric artificial synapse for neuromorphic computing and flexible applications

Research of artificial synapses is increasing in popularity with the development of bioelectronics and the appearance of wearable devices.Because the high-temperature treatment process of inorganic materials is not compatible with flexible substrates,organic ferroelectric materials that are easier to process have emerged as alternatives.An organic synaptic device based on P(VDF-TrFE)was prepared in this study.The device showed reliable P/E endurance over 104 cycles and a data storage retention capability at 80℃ over 104 s.Simultaneously,it possessed excellent synaptic functions,including short-term/long-term synaptic plasticity and spike-timing-dependent plasticity.In addition,the ferroelectric performance of the device remained stable even under bending(7 mm bending radius)or after 500 bending cycles.This work shows that low-temperature processed organic ferroelectric materials can provide new ideas for the future development of wearable electronics and flexible artificial synapses.

Artificially Grown Sex Organs May Soon Be Possible

impotence=阳痿.而从本文的内容看,此等号并不完全正确。因为本文明明白白地写着: With more than 80 million men and women in the United States sufferingfrom some form of impotence…(注:八千万,这个数字惊人！) 细查词典,发现impotence的另一含义适用本文:不能性交。 人类已经开始找到了治疗此病的良法: …it may be possible within 25 years to artificially grow penises(阴茎)andvaginas(阴道)that can be implanted as functioning organs in humans. 本文的另一信息是:Viagra could be licensed for use by women in three tofour years. “伟哥”的后续消息告诉读者,这个被人们偶然发现的新药正在不断改进和完善之中。】

A multi-axis robot-based bioprinting system supporting natural cell function preservation and cardiac tissue fabrication

Despite the recent advances in artificial tissue and organ engineering,how to generate large size viable and functional complex organs still remains as a grand challenge for regenerative medicine.Three-dimensional bioprinting has demonstrated its advantages as one of the major methods in fabricating simple tissues,yet it still faces difficulties to generate vasculatures and preserve cell functions in complex organ production.Here,we overcome the limitations of conventional bioprinting systems by converting a six degree-of-freedom robotic arm into a bioprinter,therefore enables cell printing on 3D complex-shaped vascular scaffolds from all directions.We also developed an oil bath-based cell printing method to better preserve cell natural functions after printing.Together with a self-designed bioreactor and a repeated print-and-culture strategy,our bioprinting system is capable to generate vascularized,contractible,and long-term survived cardiac tissues.Such bioprinting strategy mimics the in vivo organ development process and presents a promising solution for in vitro fabrication of complex organs.

Cellular fluidic-based vascular networks for tissue engineering

Artificial organs are devices implanted into the living body as a substitute for damaged or diseased organs.Current efforts focus on the construction of fully functionalized artificial tissues/organs with vascular networks.Although engineering efforts have been made in creating artificial vessels with simple or complex configurations,building vascular networks with hierarchical architectures approximating native counterparts remains challenging.Herein,we give a perspective of cellular fluidics-based construction of vascular networks for tissue engineering,with inspirations drawn from a novel concept of 3D fluidic control platform based on unit-cell constructs.Through architected design of the unit cells,it enables programmed control over gas-liquid-solid interfaces and fluid flow processes in open-cell structures.This cellular-fluidics concept and the associated platform provide lots of inspirations for constructing artificial vascular networks.We believe that cellular fluidics opens a new avenue for fluid control and deterministic delivery,and would find vast opportunities in tissue engineering.

Pedotransfer Functions for Estimating Soil Bulk Density:A Case Study in the Three-River Headwater Region of Qinghai Province,China

Bulk density(BD) is an important soil physical property and has significant effect on soil water conservation function. Indirect methods, which are called pedotransfer functions(PTFs), have replaced direct measurement and can acquire the missing data of BD during routine soil surveys. In this study, multiple linear regression(MLR) and artificial neuron network(ANN) methods were used to develop PTFs for predicting BD from soil organic carbon(OC), texture and depth in the Three-River Headwater region of Qinghai Province, China. The performances of the developed PTFs were compared with 14 published PTFs using four indexes, the mean error(ME), standard deviation error(SDE), root mean squared error(RMSE) and coefficient of determination(R^2). Results showed that the performances of published PTFs developed using exponential regression were better than those developed using linear regression from OC. Alexander(1980)-B, Alexander(1980)-A and Manrique and Jones(1991)-B PTFs, which had good predictions, could be applied for the soils in the study area. The PTFs developed using MLR(MLR-PTFs) and ANN(ANN-PTFs) had better soil BD predictions than most of published PTFs. The ANN-PTFs had better performances than the MLR-PTFs and their performances could be improved when soil texture and depth were added as predictor variables. The idea of developing PTFs for predicting soil BD in the study area could provide reference for other areas and the results could lay foundation for the estimation of soil water retention and carbon pool.

Keep swimming but stop peeing in the pools

Swimming is excellent exercise and offers many health benefits. However, the ＂chlorine smell＂ in swimming pools may be a turn-off for some people. Although this smell is often thought to be of chlorine, it actually comes from volatile compounds that are produced from unintended reactions between disinfectants （e.g., chlorine） and organic matter in the water （Li and Blatchley, 2007; Zwiener et al., 2007; Schmalz et al., 2011; Daiber et al., 2016）. Body fluids, such as sweat and urine, are among the sources of this organic matter that contribute to the formation of disinfection byproducts （DBPs） （Richardson et al., 2007; Arnaud, 2016; Tang et al., 2016）.