In this study, three distinct ion species (Cr, C, and N) were implanted into a solution-treated 60NiTi alloy. Ion implantation was found to induce the formation of crystallographic defects and promote the development of nanoscale hard phases within the modified surface layer. Consequently, the near-surface hardness and corrosion resistance of the 60NiTi alloy were significantly enhanced. However, both the untreated and ion-implanted samples exhibited a notable decrease in corrosion resistance under frictional conditions. Furthermore, the transformation of free carbon into graphite-like carbon was observed on the worn surface of the carbon ion-implanted sample following annealing. This structural evolution contributes to enhanced anti-friction performance, reduced wear loss, and improved corrosion resistance in the carbon ion-implanted and post-annealed sample under mechanical friction conditions.

A lichen-inspired laminated porous composite film consisting of CNTs/rGO networks, Ag interlayers and WPU, with multiple scattering and internal attenuation of EM waves, achieving a high EMI shielding efficiency of 63.42 dB at only 1.4 mm thickness.

Understanding the evolution mechanism of alloy organization during selective laser melting (SLM) is crucial for adjusting process parameters and determining structural and organizational properties. However, it is very difficult to capture the corresponding microstructural change. This study employs molecular dynamics simulations to explore the microstructural evolution and laser melting behavior of Ti6Al4V nanoparticles at the atomic scale, which deepens the basic understanding of SLM. The nanoparticle size effect, structural changes, and sintering mechanism are investigated by establishing nanoparticle systems. The results demonstrate that surface diffusion and volume diffusion dominate the melting process, and surface atoms are more prone to pre-melting and violent movement. The melting temperature of nanoparticles depends on their size, with smaller-sized nanoparticles having a lower melting temperature. Varying size ratios in the two-nanoparticle system result in inconsistent diffusion and wetting rates of smaller nanoparticles. As the size ratio increases, small nanoparticles more easily diffuse and wet large ones. Furthermore, the melting behavior of a multiple-nanoparticle system is investigated.

Supplementary Table 1. Clinical Information of Tissues from Early-Stage LUAD Patients

High sensitivity and a broad linear sensing range simultaneously are desirable for the practical application of flexible piezoresistive pressure sensors. In this paper, we developed a flexible piezoresistive sensor featuring a multilayer hierarchical structure. The structure incorporates flexible electrodes with hierarchical microhemisphere arrays made of ESSIL 296 (a polydimethylsiloxane/silica composite) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), along with a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/Ti3C2Tx MXene nanofiber membrane. The hierarchical design enlarges the interlayer contact area, thus improving the sensitivity, mechanical robustness and electrical stability. The as-prepared ESSIL/GNP–PVDF/MXene pressure sensor exhibiting high performance with fast response and recovery times and excellent dynamic stability, demonstrates potential application for high-performance wearable electronics.

Soft grippers often suffer from excessive degrees of freedom, structural deformation, and insufficient gripping force. To address these challenges, a soft pneumatic gripper inspired by the oral structure of the lamprey is proposed, driven through a synergistic positive–negative pressure actuation mechanism. A dual‐chamber configuration is developed by combining an upper positive‐pressure pneumatic chamber with a lower negative‐pressure suction chamber to enhance gripping stability and adaptability. Rectangular chambers with equal length‐to‐width ratios provide superior deformation control and output efficiency. A kind of high‐stiffness E620 silicone is selected for the upper section and a soft silicone named Ecoflex 00‐50 for the lower section to achieve a balance between rigidity and flexibility. Mechanical testing confirms that the actuator can generate a single‐finger grasping force of 1.4 N at a pressure of 20 kPa and a single‐finger gripping force of 6.3 N at a pressure of 50 kPa. Constitutive parameters are obtained from uniaxial tensile tests by curve fitting, serving as the foundation for finite element simulations. This actuator is fabricated using a die‐casting process and tested on a pneumatic control platform. Experimental results validate the design and demonstrate controllable and enhanced gripping performance, with better adaptability in diverse conditions.

OBJECTIVES:Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is the standard of care for resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, the impact of adjuvant immunotherapy (adj-IO) remains to be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to explore the impact of adj-IO on survival of patients who underwent neoadjuvant immunotherapy for stage II-IIIB NSCLC. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We retrospectively collected data of patients who received neoadjuvant immunotherapy followed by complete resection for stage II-IIIB NSCLC from January 2019 to August 2023 in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (China). The non-adj-IO group was matched 1:1 with the adj-IO group via propensity score matching (PSM). Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using the log-rank test. The impact of adj-IO on survival was assessed via Cox regression analysis. RESULTS:This study included 267 patients. After PSM, the final cohort comprised 102 patients per group (median [range] age: 60 [25-82] years; 168 male). Patients who received adj-IO had a similar DFS (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65-1.88, P = 0.705) and OS (HR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.21-1.06, P = 0.070) to those without adj-IO. In subgroup analyses, adj-IO did not improve DFS or OS in terms of pathological response, the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression level (PD-L1 = 0% vs. others), or the histological subgroup (adenocarcinoma vs. others). Adj-IO was not an independent prognostic factor for DFS (P = 0.427) or OS (P = 0.210). CONCLUSION:Adj-IO may have no impact on survival in patients who undergo complete resection after neoadjuvant immunotherapy and may be omitted in perioperative immunotherapy.

Ultrasonic cavitation combined with micro-abrasive-assisted surface modification offers a promising route to simultaneously enhance the surface quality and mechanical performance of advanced aerospace alloys. This study elucidates the intrinsic mechanisms through combined theory, simulation, and experiments. Within the cavitation-abrasive fluid domain, a mathematical model of cavitation bubble evolution considering viscosity and bubble perturbations was established. Numerical simulations revealed that micro-abrasives at a velocity of 90 m/ s and a separation distance of 30 & micro;m significantly suppressed bubble oscillations, while increasing ultrasonic frequency from 20 to 40 kHz markedly reduced the acoustic pressure amplitude, thereby weakening cavitation intensity. The simulation analysis revealed a pronounced directionality of ultrasonic cavitation, highlighting its potential in surface modification. Experimental validation using a 600 W ultrasonic vibration system with 0.5 wt % SiC particles confirmed substantial improvements in surface integrity. At 20 kHz, surface roughness decreased from 2.01 & micro;m to 1.44 & micro;m (28.4%), microhardness increased from 375.9 Hv to 465.7 Hv (23.9%), and residual compressive stress was enhanced from -249.3 MPa to -724.5 MPa (190.5%). Microstructural analysis further demonstrated grain refinement, with the average phase width decreased from 0.46 & micro;m to 0.32 & micro;m, thereby substantiating the Hall-Petch strengthening mechanism. These findings elucidate the cavitation-abrasive synergy and provide quantitative guidance for optimizing ultrasonic surface treatments to enhance the fatigue resistance and service life of titanium alloys in demanding applications.

Soft pneumatic rehabilitation gloves offer inherent safety and comfort, making them a preferred solution for hand rehabilitation in stroke patients due to their unparalleled advantages. The output characteristics of soft pneumatic actuators (SPAs) critically determine the training efficacy and application potential of these gloves. However, conventional SPAs suffer from limited normal pressure output and poor directional bending capabilities, significantly constraining their utility. Inspired by the superior locomotion of fish tails, this study proposes a rigid-flexible coupled hyperbolic SPA (HSPA). The pneumatic network of the HSPA incorporates hyperbolic chambers that closely mimic the streamlined profile of a fish's dorsal structure. The gradually expanding cross-section and variable-curvature geometry of these chambers guide deformation trajectories during inflation, enabling high-precision directional bending. This design enhances force density along the bending axis while preventing torsional deformation-common in uniform-curvature SPAs under high impedance-that risks injuring patients' fingers. The HSPA's constraining layer employs a rigid-flexible coupling strategy, embedding a bionic fishbone structure to substantially augment fingertip normal pressure and joint torque. To promote neural remodeling in stroke patients, our pneumatic rehabilitation glove integrates multimodal training strategies: pre-programmed rehabilitation, mirror therapy, and active rehabilitation driven by motion intention recognition via electromyography signals. Experimental validation and wearability assessments confirm the HSPA's high directional bending accuracy and superior force output. The developed glove demonstrates significant promise in facilitating post-stroke rehabilitation and assisted grasping tasks.

Supplementary Figure 1 to 7, and Supplementary Materials and Methods

Early-stage lung adenocarcinoma generally has a favorable prognosis. However, more than 30% of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma cases relapse within 5 years of initial treatment, even after complete removal of the primary tumor. Identification of the factors contributing to early-stage lung adenocarcinoma metastasis is needed to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies. In this study, we found upregulation of xylosyltransferase 1 (XYLT1), a glycosyltransferase that initiates the biosynthesis of sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) chains, in metastatic recurrent lesions of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma, which correlated with poor prognosis. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that XYLT1 promoted lung adenocarcinoma cell survival and metastasis by activating the NF-κB pathway. Mechanistically, XYLT1 interacted with IκBα and facilitated the biosynthesis of sGAG-conjugated IκBα, which enhanced the interaction between IκBα and IKKs to promote the proteasomal degradation of IκBα. These results illustrate that proteoglycan modification-mediated activation of NF-κB signaling is a driver of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma metastasis, providing a possibility for the detection and intervention of early lung adenocarcinoma metastasis. Significance: XYLT1 promotes metastatic recurrence of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma by facilitating sulfated glycosaminoglycan conjugation and proteasomal degradation of IκBα to activate NF-κB, providing potential biomarker and treatment strategies for lung cancer metastasis.

Flexible piezoresistive sensors based on carbon nanomaterials have attracted significant attention with regard to their application to wearable electronics. The enhanced performance of these sensors is primarily due to the integration of microstructures and conductive coatings. In this study, a flexible sandwich-shaped piezoresistive pressure sensor is fabricated by adopting microstructured electrodes and a porous sensing layer of carbon nanocomposite. The microtextured electrodes are obtained from a template by three-dimensional printing using digital light processing (DLP), and the porous structure is obtained by scarification of an NaCl crystal template. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene nanoparticles (GNPs), composited with polydimethylsiloxane and silica (ESSIL 296), are used to fabricate the functional structures, including the upper and lower electrode layers and a sandwiched porous sensing layer. The sensor exhibits a rapid response and recovery speed (∼80 ms), a high sensitivity (0.437 kPa−1) within a range of 0–1.08 kPa, and excellent stability. In addition, such sensors demonstrate potential applications for finger motion monitoring and information encryption.

The surface properties of titanium alloys critically determine their performance in aerospace and advanced engineering applications. Here, we propose a novel surface modification strategy by integrating ultrasonic cavitation with silicon carbide (SiC) micro-abrasives to enhance the surface integrity of TC17 titanium alloy. Theoretical analysis indicates that SiC particles act as effective cavitation nucleation sites, with their size governing both heterogeneous nucleation rates and kinetic energy transfer during cavitation-induced impacts. An experimental platform was established to investigate the influence of ultrasonic cavitation and SiC abrasives of varying sizes (34.7 mu m, 13.4 mu m, and 6.5 mu m). Results reveal that cavitation-abrasive synergy significantly modifies surface morphology and wettability, accompanied by notable mechanical property enhancements. Surface microhardness increased from 375.9 Hv to 454.2 Hv (20.8 % improvement), while compressive residual stress reached -693.1 MPa. The average phase width decreases to 0.326 mu m when relatively larger abrasives are used, indicating a more distinct phase refinement. The strengthening effect exhibited strong dependence on abrasive size, with larger particles inducing more severe plastic deformation due to their higher impact energy. Overall, this study clarifies the mechanistic role of micro-abrasives in cavitation-assisted modification and establishes an effective pathway for tailoring titanium alloy surfaces in high-performance applications.

Gecko feet offer remarkable adhesion performance on almost all surfaces and have inspired extensive research to develop artificial adhesives. However, most existing gecko-inspired adhesives are either monofunctional without sensing or serve only as support for sensing, lacking the real-time detection or feedback on adhesion status that is important for engineered mimics. Furthermore, artificial adhesives generally perform strong adhesion only when well aligned with the substrate, but have limited adhesion to common off-angle surfaces, which significantly limits their practical application. Here, a self-sensing adhesive (SSA) is proposed that mimics the particular structural configuration and tactile sensing function of gecko feet. The SSA consists of micro-adhesive structures on the top layer, which provide strong adhesion, and porous structures sandwiched by a pair of foil electrodes on the bottom layer as a compliant backing and capacitive sensor. The proposed SSA is able to sense the adhesive state and force in real-time, achieving a profound integration of sensing and adhesion functions. Moreover, both the experimental and simulation results demonstrate that the reliable attachment of the SSA to off-angle substrates is enabled by the compliance of the backing porous structures, which ensures reliable adhesion under nonideal conditions. The SSA expands the application areas of dry adhesives, from the detection of the adhesive state (force) to reliable adhesion to an off-angle surface, opening an avenue for the development of intelligent robotic systems based on dry adhesives.

An ordered and rationally designed distribution structure can fully exploit the superior properties of micro/nano-fillers, maximizing the synergistic effects between the fillers and the matrix. However, current research primarily focuses on the linear alignment of fillers, which only enhances the composite's performance along a specific direction. In this study, sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) particles were arranged in an annular pattern induced by an electric field. Similar to the role of aggregates in concrete, the oriented SPS particles acted as rigid support points, constructing "micro-bridges" within the matrix. These SPS particles cooperatively bore the load with the matrix, reducing stress concentration and enabling the composite to exhibit improved integrity and stability. In tensile tests, hydrogels containing 1 wt% oriented particles demonstrated an approximately 68.5% increase in fracture elongation and a 7.67 kPa enhancement in tensile strength compared to the pure polyacrylamide hydrogel. This study introduces a novel filler annular orientation strategy that enables isotropic enhancement of composite properties while effectively overcoming the limitations imposed by conventional direction-dependent reinforcement mechanisms.

Controlling cavitation dynamics is essential for optimizing ultrasonic-assisted processing, targeted energy release, and damage mitigation. Here, we propose a structural strategy for tunable cavitation control using roughness-engineered surfaces that generate geometry-induced potential wells. Titanium alloy walls with varying porosity were fabricated via triply periodic minimal surface designs to systematically modulate roughness. High-speed imaging revealed that moderate roughness stabilizes bubble aggregation above the surface, whereas smooth walls fail to retain bubbles and excessive roughness induces perturbation-driven release. Specifically, in the 20 % porosity sample at t = 0.78 ms, multiple larger clusters formed at the center region of the wall, displaying asymmetric shapes and stretched edges, significantly increasing bubble retention time. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that van der Waals-dominated short-range adsorption and localized low-energy zones extend bubble residence time, enabling stable capture. Excessive roughness, however, disrupts potential well uniformity, triggering asymmetric collapse and directed energy release. Integrating experimental and simulation results, we establish a multistage "capture-perturbation-collapse-release" framework for surface-induced cavitation control. This approach could potentially enable targeted cavitation control in ultrasonic cleaning, precision machining, and erosion prevention.

When ZnS:M@Al2O3 (M = Mn, Cu) is combined with PDMS, although it has a certain luminescence potential, due to its weak luminescence intensity, it is difficult for common spectral sensors on the market to effectively detect its luminescence signal, and it must be detected by precision instruments and devices with high sensitivity, which is particularly prominent in the fields of flexible electronics and intelligent sensing. This study systematically investigates the synergistic effects of temperature (60-90 degrees C) and composition ratio (2:8 to7:3) on the mechanoluminescence performance of ZnS:M@Al2O3-PDMS composites (M = Mn, Cu). RGB analysis and spectral characterization showed that low temperature (60 degrees C) and moderate to high ZnS:M@Al2O3 content enhanced the luminescence intensity. However, excessive particles and high temperature (90 degrees C) degrade the luminescence performance due to an increase in Young's modulus and aggregation. Mechanistic studies indicate that PDMS with a low Young's modulus (2.679-3.393 MPa) at 60 degrees C facilitates stress transfer and internal electric field enhancement in ZnS particles, optimizing electron-hole recombination. The application successfully demonstrated its potential in motion monitoring and interactive display of pressure response for self-powered soft robots, laying the foundation for the further development and application of ML materials.

Gecko-inspired dry adhesives have shown great potential in the field of robotics. However, there is still a large gap between current artificial adhesive-based grippers and natural geckos, especially in terms of precise and fast control of adhesion, which is an important capability for robotic gripper systems, since the targets to be gripped may vary in size and weight (including thin, fragile, soft, and deformable), and manipulation must be fast to meet high productivity requirements. Here, we propose a robotic gripper that is able to switch adhesion rapidly (in less than 0.5 s) to grasp and release objects of various sizes and weights (such as glass substrates, fragile silicon wafers, and deformable polyethylene terephthalate films) by mimicking the self-peeling behavior of gecko toe pads. The gripper retains the fast and stable manipulation of the conventional mechanical gripper, which is more reliable and has a higher load capacity than stimulus-responsive switchable adhesives. Systematic experimental and theoretical studies provide insights into the construction and analysis of the self-peeling model and mechanism to identify certain crucial parameters affecting the self-peeling behavior. Furthermore, a strategy for active adhesion control (i.e., precise adhesion modulation) is integrated by introducing a preset peeling angle θB, providing the gripper with a quantitative criterion for adjusting the adhesion strength (0 to 82.77 kPa) according to the requirements of practical applications. The gripper has great potential to be an alternative end-operating gripper for robotic systems, opening an avenue for the development of robotic manipulation.

Polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels have garnered significant attention due to their unique swelling properties, biocompatibility, and stability, resulting in them being promising candidates for various applications, ranging from drug delivery to tissue engineering. However, traditional PAM hydrogels suffer from low strength and poor toughness, which limits their widespread use. In this study, based on the theory of filler-reinforced composites, we introduced ordered sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) particles into PAM hydrogels using electric field-assisted techniques. The effects of the geometric dimensions and filling concentration of SPS particles on thermal stability, swelling/deswelling behavior, and mechanical properties of composite hydrogels were investigated. When filled with ordered 100 nm SPS particles at a concentration of 2.0 g·L-1, the resulting SPS/PAM composite exhibited improved water retention capacity, as well as a fracture elongation of 316 % and a tensile strength of 23 kPa. These findings in the paper provide valuable insights into the understanding of PAM hydrogels and open up new avenues for the development of advanced hydrogel-based systems with enhanced performance and functionality.

Flexible sensor arrays have attracted extensive attention in human-computer interaction. However, realizing high-performance sensor units with programmable properties, and expanding them to multi-pixel flexible arrays to maintain high sensing consistency is still struggling. Inspired by the contact behavior of octopus antenna, this paper proposes a programmable multistage dome structure-based flexible sensing array with robust sensing stability and high array consistency. The biomimetic multistage dome structure is pressurized to gradually contact the electrode to achieve high sensitivity and a large pressure range. By adjusting the arrangement of the multistage dome structure, the pressure range and sensitivity can be customized. More importantly, this biomimetic structure can be expanded to a multi-pixel sensor array at the wafer level with high consistency through scalable and high-precision imprinting technologies. In the imprinting process, the conductive layer is conformally embedded into the multistage dome structure to improve the stability (maintain stability over 22 000 cycles). In addition, the braced isolation structure is designed to effectively improve the anti-crosstalk performance of the sensor array (crosstalk coefficient: 26.62 dB). Benefitting from the programmable structural design and high-precision manufacturing process, the sensor array can be customized and is demonstrated to detect human musculation in medical rehabilitation applications.