No abstract

Asthma, accompanied by lung inflammation, bronchoconstriction, and airway hyperresponsiveness, is a significant public health burden. Here we report that G protein-coupled receptor Mrgprs are expressed in a subset of vagal sensory neurons innervating the airway and mediates cholinergic bronchoconstriction and airway hyperresponsiveness. These findings provide novel insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of asthma.

No abstract

The dramatic advances in flexible/wearable electronics have garnered great attention for touch sensors for practical applications in human health monitoring and human-machine interfaces. Self-powered triboelectric tactile sensors with high sensitivity, reduced crosstalk, and simple processing routes are highly desirable. Herein, we introduce a facile and low-cost fabrication approach for a metal-electrode free, fully integrated, flexible, and self-powered triboelectric tactile sensor array with 8-by-8 sensor units. Through the height difference between the sensor units and interconnect electrodes, the crosstalk derived from the electrodes has been successfully suppressed with no additional shielding layers. The tactile sensor array shows a remarkable sensitivity of 0.063 V kPa-1 with a linear range from 5 to 50 kPa, which covers a broad range of testing objects. Furthermore, due to the advanced mechanical design, the flexible sensor array exhibits great capability of pressure sensing even under a curved state. The voltage responses from the pattern mapping by finger touching demonstrate the uniformity of the sensor array. Finally, real-time tactile sensing associated with light-emitting diode (LED) array lighting demonstrates the potential application of the sensor array in position tracking, self-powered touch screens, human-machine interfaces and many others.

The triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) reduction assay was evaluated and improved with maize seed (Zea mays cv. Zhengdan958). The reduced TTC in embryo was extracted with three kinds of organic solvents: trichloroacetic acid (TCA)/acetone, ethanol, and acetone. The absorbance spectra of the three extracts were similar, with a maximum at 485 nm. The efficiency of TCA/acetone in extracting the reduced TTC was higher than that of acetone and ethanol. A negative correlation between TTC reduction and malondialdehyde content in embryo was demonstrated. The TCA/acetone extraction may be used as a routine protocol for TTC reduction assay of seed vigor in cereal (e.g. maize, rice, wheat and barley) seeds.

Introduction Chronic itch has been drawing much attention due to its clinical significance and the complexity of its mechanisms. To facilitate the development of anti-itch strategies, it is necessary to investigate the key players in itch sensation under chronic itch conditions. Several members of the Mrgpr family were identified as itch receptors that detect cutaneous pruritogens in primary sensory neurons. However, the role of Mrgprs in chronic itch conditions has not been well described. Methods Scratching behaviors of WT and Mrgpr-clusterΔ−/− mice were examined in dry skin model and contact dermatitis model to examine the role of Mrgpr genes in mediating chronic itch sensation. Scratching behaviors of the mice were also examined in allergic itch model. Real-time PCR were performed to examine the expression level of MrgprA3 and MrgprC11 under naïve and dry skin conditions. The MrgprA3+ itch-sensing fibers were labeled by tdTomato fluorescence in Mrgpra3GFP-Cre; ROSA26tdTomato mice, and the morphology and density of those fibers in the epidermis were analyzed under dry skin condition. Results We showed that deleting a cluster of Mrgpr genes in mice reduced scratching behavior severely under two chronic itch conditions, namely dry skin and contact dermatitis, and the allergic itch condition. Moreover, the gene expressions of itch receptors MrgprA3 and MrgprC11 in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were upregulated significantly under dry skin condition. Consistently, the percentage of MrgprA3+ itch-sensing neurons was increased as well. We also observed hyperinnervation of MrgprA3+ itch-sensing fibers in the epidermis of the skin under dry skin condition. Discussion We demonstrate that Mrgprs play important roles in mediating chronic itch and allergic itch. These findings enrich our knowledge of itch mechanism and may lead to the development of novel therapeutic approach to combat itch.

No abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are a promising power and sensing solution for biomedical applications attributed to the high electrical output and sensitivity with low-cost and widely available materials. Here, the recent developments in TENG-based biomedical applications with various structures and functionalities are discussed and summarized. Wearable TENGs perform well in motion and respiratory monitoring with excellent flexibility and low bio-risks. Implantable TENGs enable interactions with the cardio-cerebral vascular system and nervous system to monitor and treat different diseases with good biodegradability. Furthermore, explorations of TENGs in in vitro systems, including drug delivery, cellular proliferation and differentiation, are reviewed. Perspectives on the biomedical applications of TENGs are proposed based on investigation in this area in the past two decades. With continuous efforts in miniaturization and optimization of robustness, the TENG-based self-powered biomedical systems will definitely play an important role in the healthcare market in the future. K E Y W O R D S biomedical systems, in vitro systems, in vivo applications, triboelectric nanogenerators 1 | INTRODUCTION Disease prevention, diagnosis, and therapy are attractive research topics since they are essential to human health. Accordingly, precise signal monitoring of health-related physiological parameters, which can reflect the health conditions of patients in real time, is of paramount importance. 1-4 Current instruments for clinical diagnosis, such as electrocardiograph (ECG) monitor, electroencephalograph (EEG), gastroscope, and enteroscope, are usually bulky, and it is hard to upgrade them into wearable devices to realize in vivo real-time monitoring. 5 Additionally, clinical instruments for therapeutic purposes such as using the pulse generator to stimulate brain are usually expensive, which hinders their wider applications and more frequent use on patients. Low-cost portable, wearable, and implantable devices are urgently required to meet the demands of in vivo health monitoring and disease treatment. 6,7 Rapid development in flexible materials and technologies has given rise to the emergence of wearable Xin Xia and Qing Liu contribute equally to this work.