| 1. |
- Horwich, A, et al.
(författare)
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EAU–ESMO consensus statements on the management of advanced and variant bladder cancer - an international collaborative multi-stakeholder effort : under the auspices of the EAU and ESMO Guidelines Committees
- 2019
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Ingår i: Annals of Oncology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0923-7534 .- 1569-8041. ; 30:11, s. 1697-1727
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Although guidelines exist for advanced and variant bladder cancer management, evidence is limited/conflicting in some areas and the optimal approach remains controversial.OBJECTIVE: To bring together a large multidisciplinary group of experts to develop consensus statements on controversial topics in bladder cancer management.DESIGN: A steering committee compiled proposed statements regarding advanced and variant bladder cancer management which were assessed by 113 experts in a Delphi survey. Statements not reaching consensus were reviewed; those prioritised were revised by a panel of 45 experts before voting during a consensus conference.SETTING: Online Delphi survey and consensus conference.PARTICIPANTS: The European Association of Urology (EAU), the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), experts in bladder cancer management.OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Statements were ranked by experts according to their level of agreement: 1-3 (disagree), 4-6 (equivocal), 7-9 (agree). A priori (level 1) consensus was defined as ≥70% agreement and ≤15% disagreement, or vice versa. In the Delphi survey, a second analysis was restricted to stakeholder group(s) considered to have adequate expertise relating to each statement (to achieve level 2 consensus).RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Overall, 116 statements were included in the Delphi survey. Of these, 33 (28%) statements achieved level 1 consensus and 49 (42%) statements achieved level 1 or 2 consensus. At the consensus conference, 22 of 27 (81%) statements achieved consensus. These consensus statements provide further guidance across a broad range of topics, including the management of variant histologies, the role/limitations of prognostic biomarkers in clinical decision making, bladder preservation strategies, modern radiotherapy techniques, the management of oligometastatic disease and the evolving role of checkpoint inhibitor therapy in metastatic disease.CONCLUSIONS: These consensus statements provide further guidance on controversial topics in advanced and variant bladder cancer management until a time where further evidence is available to guide our approach.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Chen, Yujie, et al.
(författare)
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A gradient-distributed liquid-metal hydrogel capable of tunable actuation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-8947 .- 1873-3212. ; 421, s. 127762-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Although thermoresponsive hydrogels have numerous applications that range from soft robots, biomedical engineering, and actuators to sensors for artificial muscles, the existing hydrogel actuators undergo only unidirectional deformation under a single thermal stimulus and suffer from slow actuation and unstable interfacial adhesion in multiple layers. Herein, hydrogels containing gradient-distributed polydopamine-coated eutectic gallium-indium (PDA-EGaIn) nanodroplets in a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) matrix and thus featuring a gradient distribution of thermal conductivity and an increased barrier towards water loss are shown to be capable of a rapid and tuneable thermoresponse. Notably, whereas hydrogels with a low content of PDAEGaIn undergo rapid one-way bending under a single thermal (45 degrees C) stimulus, those with a high content of PDAEGaIn undergo sequential bidirectional (bending) actuation. The ability of these hydrogels to undergo fast and tuneable actuation under a single thermal stimulus makes them suitable for use in grab-release instruments and soft robots.
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| 4. |
- Chen, Yujie, et al.
(författare)
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Shape-Memory Polymeric Artificial Muscles : Mechanisms, Applications and Challenges
- 2020
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Ingår i: Molecules. - : MDPI. - 1431-5157 .- 1420-3049. ; 25:18
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Shape-memory materials are smart materials that can remember an original shape and return to their unique state from a deformed secondary shape in the presence of an appropriate stimulus. This property allows these materials to be used as shape-memory artificial muscles, which form a subclass of artificial muscles. The shape-memory artificial muscles are fabricated from shape-memory polymers (SMPs) by twist insertion, shape fixation via T(m)or T-g, or by liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs). The prepared SMP artificial muscles can be used in a wide range of applications, from biomimetic and soft robotics to actuators, because they can be operated without sophisticated linkage design and can achieve complex final shapes. Recently, significant achievements have been made in fabrication, modelling, and manipulation of SMP-based artificial muscles. This paper presents a review of the recent progress in shape-memory polymer-based artificial muscles. Here we focus on the mechanisms of SMPs, applications of SMPs as artificial muscles, and the challenges they face concerning actuation. While shape-memory behavior has been demonstrated in several stimulated environments, our focus is on thermal-, photo-, and electrical-actuated SMP artificial muscles.
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| 5. |
- Johansson, Eva, et al.
(författare)
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Wheat gluten polymer structures : The impact of genotype, environment, and processing on their functionality in various applications
- 2013
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Ingår i: Cereal Chemistry. - 0009-0352 .- 1943-3638. ; 90:4, s. 367-376
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For a number of applications, gluten protein polymer structures are of the highest importance in determining end-use properties. The present article focuses on gluten protein structures in the wheat grain, genotype- and environment-related changes, protein structures in various applications, and their impact on quality. Protein structures in mature wheat grain or flour are strongly related to end-use properties, although influenced by genetic and environment interactions. Nitrogen availability during wheat development and genetically determined plant development rhythm are the most important parameters determining the gluten protein polymer structure, although temperature during plant development interacts with the impact of the mentioned parameters. Glutenin subunits are the main proteins incorporated in the gluten protein polymer in extracted wheat flour. During dough mixing, gliadins are also incorporated through disulfide-sulfhydryl exchange reactions. Gluten protein polymer size and complexity in the mature grain and changes during dough formation are important for breadmaking quality. When using the gluten proteins to produce plastics, additional proteins are incorporated in the polymer through disulfide-sulfhydryl exchange, sulfhydryl oxidation, β-eliminations with lanthionine formation, and isopeptide formation. In promising materials, the protein polymer structure is changed toward β-sheet structures of both intermolecular and extended type and a hexagonal close-packed structure is found. Increased understanding of gluten protein polymer structures is extremely important to improve functionality and end-use quality of wheat- and gluten-based products.
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| 6. |
- Mourad, Abdel Hamid, I, et al.
(författare)
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Impact Strengthening of Laminated Kevlar/Epoxy Composites by Nanoparticle Reinforcement
- 2020
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Ingår i: Polymers. - : MDPI. - 2073-4360. ; 12:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Herein, we report the fabrication and characterization of high-strength Kevlar epoxy composite sheets for structural application. This process includes optimization of the curing conditions of composite preparation, such as curing time and temperature, and the incorporation of nanofillers, such as aluminum oxide (Al2O3), silicon carbide (SiC), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in different weight percentages. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was utilized to investigate the thermal stability and curing behavior of the epoxy, finding that a minimum of 5 min is required for complete curing under an optimized temperature of 170 degrees C. Moreover, mechanical characterization, including flexural and drop-weight tests, were performed and found to be in good agreement with the DSC results. Our results show that nanofiller incorporation improves the mechanical properties of Kevlar epoxy composites. Among the tested samples, 0.5% MWCNT incorporation obtained the highest mechanical strength.
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| 7. |
- Rehman, Hafeez Ur, et al.
(författare)
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High-cycle-life and high-loading copolymer network with potential application as a soft actuator
- 2019
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Ingår i: Materials & design. - : ELSEVIER SCI LTD. - 0264-1275 .- 1873-4197. ; 182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Thermo-responsive polymer materials ate appealing in emerging fields including soft robotics, artificial muscles, and actuators. However, realising a single smart polymer material that can achieve immense strain, fast actuation, and high loading remains a challenge. We attempted to address these limitations by fabricating a thermo-responsive copolymer network structure of poly(urethane-caprolactone-siloxane). The relative concentrations of these precursors were adjusted to realise a high mechanical strength of >= 17 MPa, 100% shape fixation, and a quick shape recovery time of <= 15 s. Experimental results revealed that the soft segments largely determines the extensibility and crystallinity of the copolymer material. The thermal gradient of the soft part enables the copolymer to self-heal during shape recovery. The copolymer network was applied to a load lifting device as an artificial muscle and was able to lift 200 times its weight with a short response time of <5 s and maximum power density that was half that of mammalian skeletal muscles. With its fast actuation, high loading, and self-healing abilities, the developed therrno-activated smart copolymer material is potentially applicable to a wide range of fields such as soft robotics, biomimetic devices, and prosthetics.
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| 8. |
- Rehman, Hafeez Ur, et al.
(författare)
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Self-Healing Shape Memory PUPCL Copolymer with High Cycle Life
- 2018
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Ingår i: Advanced Functional Materials. - : WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH. - 1616-301X .- 1616-3028. ; 28:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- New polyurethane-based polycaprolactone copolymer networks, with shape recovery properties, are presented here. Once deformed at ambient temperature, they show 100% shape fixation until heated above the melting point, where they recover the initial shape within 22 s. In contrast to current shape memory materials, the new materials do not require deformation at elevated temperature. The stable polymer structure of polyurethane yields a copolymer network that has strength of 10 MPa with an elongation at break of 35%. The copolymer networks are self-healing at a slightly elevated temperature (70 degrees C) without any external force, which is required for existing self-healing materials. This allows for the new materials to have a long life of repeated healing cycles. The presented copolymers show features that are promising for applications as temperature sensors and activating elements.
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| 9. |
- Rehman, Hafeez Ur, et al.
(författare)
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Stretchable, Strong, Recyclable Helicide Elastomer Based on Dynamic Covalent Interactions
- 2023
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Ingår i: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 15:39, s. 46280-46291
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current methods for making and disposing synthetic polymers have been widely pursued and are largely unsustainable. As a part of the solution, the reversible nature of dynamic covalent bonds emerges as an extraordinarily diverse and valuable feature in the development of exotic molecules and extended structures. With these bonds, it should be possible to construct recyclable and mechanically interlocked molecular structures using relatively simple precursors with preorganized geometries. A new helicide-based elastomer network is developed here with self-healing, recycling, and degradation features using a similar concept. The best self-healing performance (100%) was noted over 10-20 min, with various H2O, HCl, and NaOH solutions that delivered mechanical properties in the 1-1.4 MPa range. For hydrolytic degradation, the parameters are defined based on the type of binding, the pH of the solutions, and the copolymer network, which endowed a degradation time of approximately 4-11 h for each prepared sample. However, due to the reversible nature of the dynamic bonds, the material showed good recyclable mechanical properties compared to the pristine samples after five consecutive cycles, which meet the requirements of recyclable materials and recyclable packaging.
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