Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is popular sensing material because of its unique piezoelectric characteristics. In this work an impact sensor was prepared from a sandwiched structure PVDF film, and the related detection circuits were presented. The dependence of the PVDF sensors' response on the elasticity of the supporting materials was examined and discussed. Here two response indexes were discussed, which were the peak-to-peak voltage (Vpp) and the recovery time. Firstly, falling impact experiments were executed on desk-supported PVDF sensors (100 μm PVDF film) using free falls of different weights from different heights. Then the same shock experiments were repeated on the same sensor, but changing the backstops to a sponge and rubber, respectively. On the desk, the values of Vpp were bigger than when the other two backstops were used; but the changes of the impact energy could not be reflected by the PVDF sensor when it was supported by a hard material. It was found that the biggest sensitivity of the voltage response (about 96.62 V/J) was obtained by the sponge-supported sensor; for the same sensor, when it was supported by rubber, the slope was 82.26 V/J. Moreover, the recovery time for the desk-supported sensor was almost constant, varying from 0.15 to 0.18 s, while for the same sensor supported by sponge or rubber, its recovery time changed with the shifting of the impact energy in the range of 0.02∼0.36 s, but no pattern could be found in the recovery-time characteristics.

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a frequently occurring pregnancy disorder in the placenta, which results in various maternal and fetal complications. The current study aims to evaluate the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs)encapsulated microRNA (miR)-101 in biological processes of trophoblasts in PE and its underlying mechanism. Methods: Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (HUCMSC) and HUCMSC-derived EVs were isolated and cultured, after which EV characterization was carried out using PKH67 staining. In silico analyses were adopted to predict the downstream target genes of miR-101, and dual luciferase reporter gene assay was applied to validate the binding affinity. Furthermore, loss-and gain-of-function approaches were adopted to determine the role of miR-101 and bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) in trophoblast proliferation and invasion using EDU staining and transwell assay. In addition, a rat model of PE was established to verify the function of EV-encapsulated miR-101 in vivo. Results: Placental tissues obtained from PE patients presented with downregulated miR-101 expression and upregulated BRD4 and CXCL11 expression. EV-encapsulated miR-101 from HUCMSCs could be delivered into the trophoblast HTR-8/SVneo cells, thus enhancing proliferation and migration of trophoblasts. Mechanically, miR-101 targeted and negatively regulated BRD4 expression. BRD4 knockdown promoted the proliferation and migration of trophoblasts by suppressing NF-κB/CXCL11 axis. EV-encapsulated miR-101 from HUCMSCs also reduced blood pressure and 24 h urine protein in vivo, thereby ameliorating PE. Conclusion: In summary, EV-encapsulated miR-101 promoted proliferation and migration of placental trophoblasts through the inhibition of BRD4 expression via NF-κB/CXCL11 inactivation.

No abstract

Angular distribution of polarized light and its effect on light extraction efficiency (LEE) in AlGaN deep-ultraviolet (DUV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are investigated in this paper. A united picture is presented to describe polarized light's emission and propagation processes. It is found that the electron-hole recombinations in AlGaN multiple quantum wells produce three kinds of angularly distributed polarized emissions and propagation process can change their intensity distributions. By investigation the change of angular distributions in 277nm and 215nm LEDs, this work reveals that LEE can be significantly enhanced by modulating the angular distributions of polarized light of DUV LEDs.

No abstract