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Objectives-Skeletal muscle dysfunction is one of the most common comorbidities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The occurrence of respiratory failure in COPD is common and leads to the patient's death. The diaphragm is the most important muscle in the respiratory system and plays a key role in the onset of respiratory failure. This study explores the feasibility of ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) to measure diaphragmatic stiffness and evaluates its changes in COPD patients.Methods-In total, 77 participants (43 patients with stable COPD and 34 healthy controls) were enrolled. All subjects underwent complete diaphragmatic ultrasound SWE measurements and pulmonary function tests. The diaphragmatic stiffness was indicated via diaphragmatic shear wave velocity (SWV) at functional residual capacity (FRC). A trained operator performed the ultrasound SWE examinations of the first 15 healthy controls thrice to assess the reliability of diaphragmatic SWE.Results-A good to excellent reliability was found in diaphragmatic SWV at FRC (ICC = 0.93, 95%CI 0.82-0.98). As compared to the control group, the diaphragmatic SWV at FRC was considerably high in the COPD group (median 2.5 m/s versus 2.1 m/s, P = .008). Diaphragmatic SWV at FRC was linked to forced expiratory volume in one second (r = −0.30, P = .009), forced vital capacity (r = −0.33, P = .003), modified Medical Research Council score (r = 0.30, P = .001), and COPD assessment test score (r = 0.48, P < .001).Conclusions-Ultrasound SWE may be employed as an effective tool for quantitative evaluation of diaphragm stiffness and can help in personalized management of COPD, such as treatment guidance and follow-up monitoring.

Epoxy coatings which can be healed via photothermal effect from focused sunlight are reported. The diamine of m‐xylylenediamine (MXDA) and monoamine of 4‐(heptadecafluorooctyl)aniline (HFOA) are reacted into the diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) network. Via gradual replacement of MXDA with HFOA, the glass transition temperature and crosslinking density of the epoxy network are tuned to achieve the thermally induced healing based on chain diffusion and reentanglement. Aniline black (AB) with well absorptivity for sunlight is used subsequently as the organic photothermal compound, transferring the thermally induced healing into a sunlight responsive one. A common handheld magnifier, which can focus natural sunlight to the required power density (0.6–0.9 W cm−1), is used to successfully heal one cracked coating in outdoor circumstance. This study provides a potential approach to achieve the convenient, precise, and timely healing for outdoor epoxy coatings.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protein expression level of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) using immunohistochemistry (IHC), and assess the association with clinicopathological parameters and the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). In addition, the current study observed the consistency between the levels of HER-2 protein expression determined by IHC and HER-2 gene amplification determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in the CRC samples. Overexpression of HER-2 and gene amplification were examined with semiquantitative standardized IHC in 878 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded CRC samples, while 102 of these cases were analyzed with FISH. A total of 102 cases (11.6%), out of the 878 cases, were determined by IHC to overexpress HER-2. Of these, 25 cases were strongly positive (IHC3+), while 77 cases revealed moderate staining (IHC2+). HER-2 overexpression was more frequent in early-stage cases compared with advanced-stage cases of CRC (P<0.001). However, there was no association observed between HER-2 overexpression and clinicopathological parameters. FISH analysis revealed that 64% (16/25) of the IHC3+ cases had HER-2 gene amplification. By contrast, only 6.5% (5/77) of the IHC2+ cases, and none of the 20 randomly selected IHC0 or 1+ cases, demonstrated HER-2 gene amplification. Furthermore, no associations were observed between HER-2 overexpression or gene amplification with the survival time. Thus, the present study observed that HER-2 overexpression does not correlate with other clinicopathological data or the survival rate, with the exception of clinical stages. However, IHC3+ and 2+ cases should be further analyzed by FISH to assess the status of the HER-2 gene in CRC. Patients with HER-2 gene amplification may constitute as potential candidates for targeted therapy with trastuzumab.

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Bidirectional flow in the vertebral artery is not always indicative of the subclavian steal phenomenon. Measurement of hemodynamic parameters in the vertebral artery, such as MPV, can facilitate determination of the cause of bidirectional flow.

Light triggered soft actuator in aqueous media has applications in operating underwater objects, creating liquid flow, and adjusting reaction velocity, etc. Here, composites prepared from commercial materials, poly[ethylene‐ran‐(vinyl acetate)] (EVA) and aniline black (AB), are reported as one cost efficient material for preparing such actuator, where EVA and AB work respectively as shape‐memory polymer matrix and near‐infrared light triggered photothermal filler. Upon irradiation, the temperature of the composites increases greatly with light power density and AB content. Light‐induced shape‐memory effect (SME) with recovery ratio >98%, temperature‐memory effect (TME), and reversible bidirectional shape‐memory effect (rbSME) of the prepared composites in air are realized. Higher light power density is required to trigger the shape recovery in aqueous media, while good SME, TME, and rbSME are also achieved. Releasing device and gripper are used to indicate the feasibility of the composites as light triggered soft underwater actuators.