4081 Times Increase in Atmospheric Humidity Capture Capacity via Confinement of 2D Nanosheets in 3D Matrix

Atmospheric humidity capture is urgently needed in humidity-related process. Most of the traditional technology suffers the defects of large energy consumption, low capture capacity, etc. Here, an intelligent gel (IG), which was composed of super hygroscopic materials (SHM, for humidity detection, spontaneous capture and in-situ liquefaction), hydrophilic polymer PEG-6000 (polyethylene glycol, for humidity storage), and hydrophobic polymer PVDF (poly(vinylidene-fluoride), for fast water release), is shown. Based on such kind of integration, effective color responsive humidity detection, spontaneous humidity capture and in-situ liquefaction, under ambient conditions, have been achieved. The synergistic effects between two polymers have given birth to a 3D polymer framework that can shrink upon heating and swelling upon solvent immersion, which then act as a versatile matrix that dispersed evenly the 2D SHM into atomically scale. As a consequence, approximate 4081 times increase in working capacity than the individual SHM has been observed. Being an effective way to manipulate atmospheric humidity at the device level, the present work may open new avenue for next-generational water management systems.

In-situ-grown silver–polymer framework with coordination complexes for functional artificial tissues

Sensorized actuators are critical to imitate proprio-/exteroception properties of biological neuromuscular systems. Existing add-on approaches, which physically blend heterogeneous sensor/actuator components, fall short of yielding satisfactory solutions, considering their suboptimal interfaces, poor adhesion, and electronic/mechanical property mismatch. Here, we report a single homogeneous material comprising seamless sensing-actuation unification properties at nano-/molecule levels, in which built-in sensing functions originate from the actuator architecture itself. In-situ-grown silver nanoparticles and metal-ligand complexes cooperatively create a silver–polymer framework (SPF) that is stretchable (1200%), conductive (0.076 S/m), and strong (0.76 MPa in-strength). SPF displays concomitant multimodal sensing (mechanical and thermal cues) and sensorized actuation capabilities, which include proprio-deformation and external stimuli perceptions (simultaneous with load-lifting ability up to 3700× of own weight). In view of its human somatosensitive muscular systems imitative functionality, the reported SPFs bode well for use with next generation functional tissues including artificial skins, human-machine interfaces, self-sensing robots, and otherwise dynamic materials.

Results of long-term patency of small-diameter biodegradable vascular prostheses with atrombogenic drug coating of sheep model

Background. Preclinical tests of biodegradable small diameter vascular prostheses on a sheep model have been carried out.Aim. To assess the results of long-term patency and remodeling of biodegradable vascular prostheses based on polyhydroxybutyrate / valerate and polycaprolactone with an atrombogenic drug coating in a large laboratory animal model.Methods. We researched vascular prostheses made of polyhydroxybutyrate / valerate and polycaprolactone (PHBV/PCL) 4 mm in diameter with layer-by-layer vascular endothelial growth factor incorporated into the polymer framework, the main fibroblast growth factor, chemoattractant molecule containing SDF-1a (GFmix) surface, and additional modifying drug surface heparin and iloprost (PHBV/PCL/ GFmix/Heparin/Iloprost). Animals with implanted synthetic Gore-Tex vascular grafts with a diameter of 4 mm were included into a comparison group.Results. After one day of implantation it was revealed that the patency of biodegradable PHBV/PCL/GFmix/Heparin/Iloprost prostheses was 62.5%, while synthetic Gore-Tex prostheses were thrombosed in 100% of cases. At the same time, after 18 months of implantation, the patency of biodegradable vascular PHBV/PCL/ GFmix/Heparin/Iloprost prostheses decreased to 50%. Passable drug-eluting polymer grafts were completely resorbed after 18 months of implantation, and aneurysmically expanded newly formed vascular tissue was formed in their place.Conclusion. Vascular prostheses made of polyhydroxybutyrate/valerate and polycaprolactone showed better long-term patency results than synthetic prostheses used in the clinical practice. However, the strengthening of the external framework of the prostheses is required in order to prevent the formation of aneurysms.

Іnvestigation of gel formation peculiarities and properties of hydrogels obtained by the structuring of acrylamide prepolymers

The paper represents the results of the investigation of the formation of a polymeric matrix of hydrogel due to the structuring of polyacrylamide using its reactive polymeric derivative – poly-N- (hydroxymethyl) acrylamide. Research determined zones of optimum conditions of synthesis and characterized hydrogel depending on pH of media, the ratio between the concentration of prepolymers, and time of synthesis. The investigation of the reaction mixture showed that the hydrogen index of the synthesis of hydrogels is one of the important factors, which in the design of the polymer framework of hydrogels allows regulating their colloidal chemical properties in a wide range.

Efficient Transfer Hydrogenation of Levulinic Acid (LA) to γ-Valerolactone (GVL) over Ni/NiO-MC (MC=Mesoporous Carbon)

Ni/NiO-MC (MC=Mesoporous carbon), in which Ni and NiO nanoparticles well distributed on MC, has been successfully synthesized by a pyrolysis of Ni/mesostructured polymer framework precursor prepared via an ion-exchange process...

Multi-Device Complementary View Adaptation with Liquid Media Queries

The design of responsive Web applications is traditionally based on the assumption that they run on a single client at a time. Thanks to CSS3 media queries, developers can declaratively specify how the Web application UI adapts to the capabilities of specific devices. As users own more and more devices and they attempt to use them to run Web applications in parallel, we propose to extend CSS media queries so that they can be used to adapt the UI of liquid Web applications while they are dynamically deployed across multiple devices.In this paper we present our extension of CSS media queries with liquid-related types and features, allowing to detect the number of devices connected, the number of users running the application, or the role played by each device. The liquid media query types and features defined in this paper are designed and suitable for liquid component-based Web architectures, and they enable developers to control the deployment of individual Web components across multiple browsers. Furthermore we show the design of liquid media queries in the Liquid.js for Polymer framework and propose our adaptation algorithms. We describe multiple adaptation policies and discuss the implications of the multi-device adaptation from the perspective of the developers and users of a Web application. Finally we showcase the expressiveness of the liquid media queries to support real-world examples and evaluate the algorithmic complexity of our approach.