Model averaging for linear models with responses missing at random

Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics - In this paper, a model averaging approach is developed for the linear regression models with response missing at random. It is shown that the...     

Spatiotemporal Magnetocaloric Microenvironment for Guiding the Fate of Biodegradable Polymer Implants

The degradation behavior of implants is significantly important for bone repair. However, it is still unprocurable to spatiotemporally regulate the degradation of the implants to match bone ingrowth. In this paper, a magneto-controlled biodegradation model is established to explore the degradation behavior of magnetic scaffolds in a magnetothermal microenvironment generated by an alternating magnetic field (AMF). The results demonstrate that the scaffolds can be heated by magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) under AMF, which dramatically accelerated scaffold degradation. Especially, magnetic NPs modified by oleic acid with a better interface compatibility exhibit a greater heating efficiency to further facilitate the degradation. Furthermore, the molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the enhanced motion correlation between magnetic NPs and polymer matrix can accelerate the energy transfer. As a proof-of-concept, the feasibility of magneto-controlled degradation for implants is demonstrated, and an optimizing strategy for better heating efficiency of nanomaterials is provided, which may have great instructive significance for clinical medicine.     

Restricted testing conditions for the multilinear maximal operator

Restricted testing conditions were considered recently. For the maximal operator, Hytönen, Li and Sawyer [8] first obtained parental testing condition. Later, they [9] showed that it suffices to restrict testing to doubling cubes. Chen and Lacey [3] gave a similar restricted testing condition. In our paper, we discuss a version of the latter in the multilinear setting.

     

Visible light-driven acridone catalysis for atom transfer radical polymerization

Acridone as a new kind of visible light photocatalyst has been developed to catalyze metal free atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The photocatalyst possess low excited state potential as can undergo an oxidative quenching pathway to initiate ATRP of vinyl monomers. Kinetic study and light on/off reaction demonstrate the “living”/controlled nature of the polymerization by light. Block copolymers can be achieved by using PMMA as macroinitiator to reinitiate polymerization of other vinyl monomers, which shows highly preserved Br chain-end functionality in the synthesized polymers. Moreover, the polymerization can be conducted under air atmosphere as most photocatalysts need anaerobic condition, which may give inspiration of further application of this kind of photocatalyst.     

Nacre-Inspired,Liquid Metal-Based Ultrasensitive Electronic Skin by Spatially Regulated Cracking Strategy

The realization of liquid metal-based wearable systems will be a milestone toward high-performance, integrated electronic skin. However, despite the revolutionary progress achieved in many other components of electronic skin, liquid metal-based flexible sensors still suffer from poor sensitivity due to the insufficient resistance change of liquid metal to deformation. Herein, a nacre-inspired architecture composed of a biphasic pattern (liquid metal with Cr/Cu underlayer) as “bricks” and strain-sensitive Ag film as “mortar” is developed, which breaks the long-standing sensitivity bottleneck of liquid metal-based electronic skin. With 2 orders of magnitude of sensitivity amplification while maintaining wide (>85%) working range, for the first time, liquid metal-based strain sensors rival the state-of-art counterparts. This liquid metal composite features spatially regulated cracking behavior. On the one hand, hard Cr cells locally modulate the strain distribution, which avoids premature cut-through cracks and prolongs the defect propagation in the adjacent Ag film. On the other hand, the separated liquid metal cells prevent unfavorable continuous liquid-metal paths and create crack-free regions during strain. Demonstrated in diverse scenarios, the proposed design concept may spark more applications of ultrasensitive liquid metal-based electronic skins, and reveals a pathway for sensor development via crack engineering.     

Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Euphorbia milii leaf constituents: Characterization and improved photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye under natural sunlight

A facile biosynthesis route was followed to prepare zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Euphorbia milii (E. milii) leaf constituents. The SEM images exhibited presence of spherical ZnO NPs and the corresponding TEM images disclosed monodisperse nature of the ZnO NPs with diameter ranges between 12 and 20 nm. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis revealed that the ZnO NPs have specific surface area of 20.46 m²/g with pore diameter of 2 nm–10 nm and pore volume of 0.908 cm³/g. The EDAX spectrum exemplified the existence of Zn and O elements and non-appearance of impurities that confirmed pristine nature of the ZnO NPs. The XRD pattern indicated crystalline peaks corresponding to hexagonal wurtzite structured ZnO with an average crystallite size of 16.11 nm. The FTIR spectrum displayed strong absorption bands at 512 and 534 cm^?1 related to ZnO. The photocatalytic action of ZnO NPs exhibited noteworthy degradation of methylene blue dye under natural sunlight illumination. The maximum degradation efficiency achieved was 98.17% at an illumination period of 50 min. The reusability study proved considerable photostability of the ZnO NPs during photocatalytic experiments. These findings suggest that the E. milii leaf constituents can be utilized as suitable biological source to synthesis ZnO NPs for photocatalytic applications.     

Pectic Galactan Polysaccharide-Based Gene Delivery System for Targeting Neuroinflammation

Treating neuroinflammation-related injuries and disorders through manipulation of neuroinflammation functions is being heralded as a new therapeutic strategy. In this study, a novel pectic galactan (PG) polysaccharide based gene therapy approach is developed for targeting reactive gliosis in neuroinflammation. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a cell protein with a high affinity to β-galactoside sugars and is highly expressed in reactive gliosis. Since PG carries galactans, it can target reactive gliosis via specific carbohydrate interaction between galactan and Gal-3 on the cell membrane, and therefore can be utilized as a carrier for delivering genes to these cells. The carrier is synthesized by modifying quaternary ammonium groups on the PG. The resulting quaternized PG (QPG) is found to form complexes with plasmid DNA with a mean diameter of 100 nm and have the characteristics required for targeted gene therapy. The complexes efficiently condense large amounts of plasmid per particle and successfully bind to Gal-3. The in vivo study shows that the complexes are biocompatible and safe for administration and can selectively transfect reactive glial cells of an induced cortical lesion. The results confirm that this PG-based delivery system is a promising platform for targeting Gal-3 overexpressing neuroinflammation cells for treating neuroinflammation-related injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.     

Viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polycarbonate films by liquid dewetting

A liquid dewetting method for the determination of the viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polymer films has been extended to study thickness effects on the properties of ultrathin polycarbonate (PC) films. PC films with film thicknesses ranging from 4 to 299 nm were placed on glycerol at temperatures from below the macroscopic glass transition temperature (T_g) to above it with the dewetting responses being monitored. It is found that the isothermal creep results for films of the same thickness, but dewetted at different temperatures can be superposed into one master curve, which is consistent with the fact of PC being a thermorheologically simple material. Furthermore, the results show that the T_g of PC thin films is thickness dependent, but the dependence is weaker than the results for freely standing films and similar to literature data for PC films supported on rigid substrates. It was also found that the rubbery plateau region for the PC films stiffens dramatically, but still less than what has been observed for freely standing polycarbonate films. The rubbery stiffening is discussed in terms of a recently reported model that relates macroscopic segmental dynamics with the stiffening. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1559–1566     

Space-Confined Atomic Clusters Catalyze Superassembly of Silicon Nanodots within Carbon Frameworks for Use in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Incorporating nanoscale Si into a carbon matrix with high dispersity is desirable for the preparation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) but remains challenging. A space-confined catalytic strategy is proposed for direct superassembly of Si nanodots within a carbon (Si NDs⊂C) framework by copyrolysis of triphenyltin hydride (TPT) and diphenylsilane (DPS), where Sn atomic clusters created from TPT pyrolysis serve as the catalyst for DPS pyrolysis and Si catalytic growth. The use of Sn atomic cluster catalysts alters the reaction pathway to avoid SiC generation and enable formation of Si NDs with reduced dimensions. A typical Si NDs⊂C framework demonstrates a remarkable comprehensive performance comparable to other Si-based high-performance half LIBs, and higher energy densities compared to commercial full LIBs, as a consequence of the high dispersity of Si NDs with low lithiation stress. Supported by mechanic simulations, this study paves the way for construction of Si/C composites suitable for applications in future energy technologies.