Article
Biology
Richard D. Smith, Ilya Kolb, Shinsuke Tanaka, Albert K. Lee, Timothy D. Harris, Mladen Barbic
Summary: This study presents a remote-controlled micropositioning approach using phase-change material-filled resistive heater micro-grippers for precise positioning of multiple probes. The technology enables micrometer-precision independent positioning of arbitrarily shaped probes and has significant implications for multi-probe applications in neuroscience and other fields.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jinyan Chen, Jianlin Yang, Feng Qian, Qing Lu, Yu Guo, Zhijun Sun, Chao Chen
Summary: This paper presents an inchworm-like soft colonoscopy robot based on a rubber spring, which can conduct colorectal cancer screening without causing pain to patients and shows great potential for clinical application.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Tzu-Hsuan Lin, Alan Putranto, Pin -Hang Chen, Yun-Zhen Teng, Li Chen
Summary: We have developed a High Mobility Inchworm Climbing Robot (HMICRobot) capable of traversing obstacles and conducting internal inspections in steel box girder bridges. Compared to existing robots, the HMICRobot has superior climbing and obstacle-crossing capabilities due to its hybrid power design, unique footpad electromagnetic control, and central core module with large wheels. With exceptional locomotion abilities, such as vertical and horizontal climbing, flipping, and obstacle-crossing, the HMICRobot is a promising solution for complex inspection and maintenance tasks in steel box girders. In the field of inspection robots, the HMICRobot represents a significant advancement, particularly for internal inspections of steel box girder bridges.
AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Hor Dashti-N, M. N. Najafi, Hyunggyu Park
Summary: A study of a self-repelling two-leg spider walk reveals different behavior modes depending on the values of control parameters. The system undergoes two different regimes in large times, showing distinct behaviors related to the distance between legs positions and the statistics of self-crossing of the traversed paths.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wei Fang, Kastur M. Meyer Auf Der Heide, Christopher Zaum, Angelos Michaelides, Karina Morgenstern
Summary: The study observed the diffusion of water trimers on a copper surface at unexpectedly low temperatures (<10 K) using scanning tunneling microscopy, revealing a unique diffusion process involving structural rearrangements. Density functional theory calculations showed that the diffusion of hydrogen-bonded clusters can occur at exceedingly low temperatures without the need for hydrogen bond breakage or exchange, impacting the Ostwald ripening of ice nanoclusters and hydrogen bonded clusters.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Rui Li, Yang Liu, Ai Guo, Mengjie Shou, Mingfu Zhao, Dong Zhu, Ping-an Yang, Chul-Hee Lee
Summary: This study proposes an inchworm-like climbing robot based on synergistic cable-driven grippers and a telescopic torso, aiming to solve the critical problems of weak grasping, large size, and a lack of self-perception capability in climbing robots. The robot's structure was designed by analyzing the movements of primate hands and inchworms, and the soft grippers and telescopic torso were developed to mimic their respective motions. Flexible sensors were integrated into the grippers and torso for self-perception, and the experimental results show that the robot can climb pipes with different roughness and diameters at stable speeds.
IEEE-ASME TRANSACTIONS ON MECHATRONICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Jie Deng, ChengLin Yang, YingXiang Liu, ShiJing Zhang, Jing Li, XueFeng Ma, Hui Xie
Summary: A small resonant inchworm piezoelectric robot with six evenly distributed driving feet is proposed and tested in this study. The robot adopts a bonded-type structure to achieve a small size and excites radial bending vibration mode and longitudinal vibration mode simultaneously. The superposition of these two vibration modes generates elliptical motions at the driving feet. The structure is designed using finite element simulation, and the geometric parameters are adjusted to minimize the difference in resonant frequencies of the vibration modes. The prototype exhibits a maximum speed of 200 mm/s and a displacement resolution of 0.71 mu m, making it suitable for fast and high-precision transportation in narrow spaces.
SCIENCE CHINA-TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Mechanical
Linqi Ye, Xueqian Wang, Houde Liu, Bin Liang, Bo Yuan
Summary: This paper investigates how to walk faster for two simple 2D walking models. Open-loop analysis is conducted and the concept of acceleration factor is proposed. It is found that the acceleration factor has a fixed correlation with the velocity transition trend, independent of the step length. Based on this, walking controllers are designed and closed-loop simulations are performed to achieve faster walking speeds.
NONLINEAR DYNAMICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Xufeng Wang, Wei Pu, Ruichen Zhang, Fanan Wei
Summary: This study proposed an innovative design of an inchworm-like soft crawling robot utilizing the synergistic interaction of electricity and moisture for its hybrid dual-drive locomotion. The combination of the two driving methods greatly improves the environmental adaptability of the soft robot, and visible light was developed as the driving method on the basis of the dual drive.
Article
Robotics
Yifan Zhang, Dezhi Yang, Peinan Yan, Peiwei Zhou, Jiang Zou, Guoying Gu
Summary: This paper presents a class of inchworm-inspired multimodal soft crawling-climbing robots that can achieve crawling, climbing, and transitioning between horizontal and vertical planes. The robots are developed with pneumatic artificial muscles for body deformation and negative pressure suckers for controllable friction forces, allowing them to move at different speeds on different surfaces and carry payloads in confined spaces and aquatic environments.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ROBOTICS
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Ryunosuke Nakagawa, Kouji Izumi, Renato Naito, Suguru Kadomoto, Hiroaki Iwamoto, Hiroshi Yaegashi, Shohei Kawaguchi, Takahiro Nohara, Kazuyoshi Shigehara, Kotaro Yoshida, Yoshifumi Kadono, Atsushi Mizokami
Summary: Inchworm sign is considered a characteristic finding in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, but pathologically diagnosed muscle invasive bladder cancers can also be found in patients with inchworm sign. This study found that inchworm sign was not a prognostic factor in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jia Li, Yang Yu, Emanuel Gull, Guy Cohen
Summary: This study extends the inchworm quantum Monte Carlo method to the interaction expansion and explores its application in multiorbital quantum impurity models. The implementation shows better performance than other algorithms in the interaction expansion, but remains inferior to specialized algorithms in certain cases.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Geshuo Wang, Zhenning Cai
Summary: This study focuses on the real-time simulation of open quantum systems, using a hybrid method that combines the inchworm method for the spin-boson model and the modular path integral methodology for spin systems. This method can effectively address the numerical sign problem and has been extensively validated through numerical experiments.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL THEORY AND COMPUTATION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yusuke Hamashita, Takahiro Shibata, Akiko Takeuchi, Takashi Okuno, Naoki Kise, Toshihiko Sakurai
Summary: The artificial nucleic acid i-PPc demonstrated the ability to detect single nucleotide mutations and suppress gene expression, showing potential for antisense therapy targeting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP).
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Article
Robotics
Kasra Eshaghi, Zendai Kashino, Hyun Joong Yoon, Goldie Nejat, Beno Benhabib
Summary: The study introduces a strategy using anchor robots to address motion planning and localization tasks concurrently, optimizing the performance of the swarm in terms of both motion and localization. Furthermore, a novel method for swarm localization is proposed, which combines inter-robot proximity measurements and motion commands.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruizheng Hou, Zhisong Wang
Summary: The FOF1 ATP synthase is an extremely efficient molecular machine in biology, and a thermodynamic model has been constructed to analyze its performance under various conditions. Experimental data has confirmed the model's prediction of a specific relationship between ATP synthesis rate and proton-motive force, indicating the machine operates near the universal limit of the 2nd law of thermodynamics. Additionally, the model suggests two symmetries of heat production that can be tested experimentally, providing quantitative constraints on the mechanisms behind FOF1's high efficiency.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Yong Zhou, Nicholas Ariotti, James Rae, Hong Liang, Vikas Tillu, Shern Tee, Michele Bastiani, Adekunle T. Bademosi, Brett M. Collins, Frederic A. Meunier, John F. Hancock, Robert G. Parton
Summary: Caveolae, specialized domains of the cell membrane, play crucial roles in lipid sorting and creating a unique lipid environment. Caveolin-1 (CAV1) and cavinl sort distinct plasma membrane lipids individually, while together they generate a unique lipid nano-environment. The selective lipid sorting by caveolae, regulated by lipid metabolism and acyl chain remodeling, may facilitate communication among lipid metabolism, vesicular trafficking, and signaling.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shern R. Tee, Debra J. Searles
Summary: Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of complex electrochemical systems, such as ionic liquid supercapacitors, often use the constant potential method (CPM) to model conductive electrodes. However, the inclusion of CPM can be computationally expensive. This study demonstrates the computational savings available in CPM MD simulations of ionic liquid supercapacitors by using fully periodic boundary conditions instead of the traditional non-periodic slab geometry. Furthermore, it shows that fully periodic CPM MD simulations produce comparable results to traditional simulations with a nearly double speedup in computational time using the doubled cell approach or a finite field approach.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ludwig J. Ahrens-Iwers, Mathijs Janssen, Shern R. Tee, Robert H. Meissner
Summary: Researchers have developed a feature-rich implementation of constant potential methods (CPMs) called ELECTRODE for large-scale electrochemical simulations. This implementation includes various corrections and models to more accurately simulate the behavior of conducting electrodes, such as non-periodic boundary conditions, nonideal metal electrodes, and long-range electrostatics. By using different methods for simulations, the researchers revealed the relationship between water and ionic dipole relaxations and verified the effectiveness of the one-dimensional correction.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hon Lin Too, Na Guo, Chun Zhang, Zhisong Wang
Summary: DFT-based first-principles calculations were performed to investigate the adsorption difference of a backbone-free nucleobase, a backbone-containing Na counterion nucleotide, and a backbone-containing H counterion nucleotide on 2D materials. It was found that the inclusion of a sugar-phosphate backbone alters the electronic affinity of nucleobases and the backbone should be considered in the study of DNA nucleobase adsorption. It was also demonstrated that the H counterion model is superior to the Na counterion model in terms of adsorption on 2D materials.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ruizheng Hou, Zhisong Wang
Summary: This study introduces a method to deduce the effective potential from motor trajectories and finds that it can yield a motor's stall force. This finding reduces the difficulty of stall force measurement and provides a method for measuring an important quantity relevant to efficient energy conversion of molecular motors.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xiao Rui Liu, Long Ying Loh, Winna Siti, Hon Lin Too, Tommy Anderson, Zhisong Wang
Summary: This study reports an integrated system of DNA walker and DNA origami platform, which combines an advanced light-powered bipedal walker and a rod-like DNA origami platform. By tailor-designing the origami to match with the walker, the self-directed and processive motion of the walker is achieved. This integrated system serves as a 'seed' system for future development of advanced light-powered DNA nanorobots and bio-mimicking nano-muscles.
NANOSCALE HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiao Rui Liu, Xinpeng Hu, Iong Ying Loh, Zhisong Wang
Summary: The study demonstrates a novel strategy for transforming chemical nanomotors into optical nanomotors, achieving high directional fidelity through optomechanical control while retaining high efficiency performance similar to chemical nanomotors.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xinpeng Hu, Xiaodan Zhao, Iong Ying Loh, Jie Yan, Zhisong Wang
Summary: This study demonstrates the sustained force generation capability of an artificial molecular motor at the single-molecule level, showcasing its autonomous chemically fueled operation and self-directed walking. The results suggest a reasonably efficient chemomechanical conversion of the motor compared to biomotors, with implications for similar force-demanding applications.
Article
Physics, Applied
Huijuan Xu, Ruizheng Hou, Hongrong Li, Zhisong Wang
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS
(2020)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhisong Wang, Ruizheng Hou, Iong Ying Loh
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ruizheng Hou, Nan Wang, Weizhu Bao, Zhisong Wang
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Laetitia Bardet, Herve Roussel, Stefano Saroglia, Masoud Akbari, David Munoz-Rojas, Carmen Jimenez, Aurore Denneulin, Daniel Bellet
Summary: The thermal instability of silver nanowires leads to increased electrical resistance in AgNW networks. Understanding the relationship between structural and electrical properties of AgNW networks is crucial for their integration as transparent electrodes in flexible optoelectronics. In situ X-ray diffraction measurements were used to study the crystallographic evolution of Ag-specific Bragg peaks during thermal ramping, revealing differences in thermal and structural transitions between bare and SnO2-coated AgNW networks.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Nathalia Cancino-Fuentes, Arnau Manasanch, Joana Covelo, Alex Suarez-Perez, Enrique Fernandez, Stratis Matsoukis, Christoph Guger, Xavi Illa, Anton Guimera-Brunet, Maria V. Sanchez-Vives
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive characterization of graphene-based solution-gated field-effect transistors (gSGFETs) for brain recordings, highlighting their potential clinical applications.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sikandar Aftab, Hailiang Liu, Dhanasekaran Vikraman, Sajjad Hussain, Jungwon Kang, Abdullah A. Al-Kahtani
Summary: This study examines the effects of hybrid nanoparticles made of NiO@rGO and NiO@CNT on the active layers of polymer solar cells and X-ray photodetectors. The findings show that these hybrid nanoparticles can enhance the charge carrier capacities and exciton dissociation properties of the active layers. Among the tested configurations, the NiO@CNT device demonstrates superior performance in converting sunlight into electricity, and achieves the best sensitivity for X-ray detection.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hyo Jung Shin, Seung Gyu Choi, Fengrui Qu, Min-Hee Yi, Choong-Hyun Lee, Sang Ryong Kim, Hyeong-Geug Kim, Jaewon Beom, Yoonyoung Yi, Do Kyung Kim, Eun-Hye Joe, Hee-Jung Song, Yonghyun Kim, Dong Woon Kim
Summary: This study investigates the role of SOX9 in reactive astrocytes following ischemic brain damage using a PLGA nanoparticle plasmid delivery system. The results demonstrate that PLGA nanoparticles can reduce ischemia-induced neurological deficits and infarct volume, providing a potential opportunity for stroke treatment.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Anurag Chaudhury, Koushik Debnath, Nikhil R. Jana, Jaydeep K. Basu
Summary: The study investigates the interaction between nanoparticles and cell membranes, and identifies key parameters, including charge, crowding, and membrane fluidity, that determine the adsorbed concentration and unbinding transition of nanoparticles.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sina Sadeghi, Fazel Bateni, Taekhoon Kim, Dae Yong Son, Jeffrey A. Bennett, Negin Orouji, Venkat S. Punati, Christine Stark, Teagan D. Cerra, Rami Awad, Fernando Delgado-Licona, Jinge Xu, Nikolai Mukhin, Hannah Dickerson, Kristofer G. Reyes, Milad Abolhasani
Summary: In this study, an autonomous approach for the development of lead-free metal halide perovskite nanocrystals is presented, which integrates a modular microfluidic platform with machine learning-assisted synthesis modeling. This approach enables rapid and optimized synthesis of copper-based lead-free nanocrystals.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zahir Abbas, Nissar Hussain, Surender Kumar, Shaikh M. Mobin
Summary: The rational construction of free-standing and flexible electrodes for electrochemical energy storage devices is an emerging research focus. In this study, a redox-active metal-organic framework (MOF) was prepared on carbon nanofibers using an in situ approach, resulting in a flexible electrode with high redox-active behavior and unique properties such as high flexibility and lightweight. The prepared electrode showed excellent cyclic retention and rate capability in supercapacitor applications. Additionally, it could be used as a freestanding electrode in flexible devices at different bending angles.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lishan Zhang, Xiaoting Zhang, Hui Ran, Ze Chen, Yicheng Ye, Jiamiao Jiang, Ziwei Hu, Miral Azechi, Fei Peng, Hao Tian, Zhili Xu, Yingfeng Tu
Summary: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising local treatment modality in cancer therapy, but its therapeutic efficacy is restricted by ineffective delivery of photosensitizers and tumor hypoxia. In this study, a phototactic Chlorella-based near-infrared (NIR) driven green affording-oxygen microrobot system was developed for enhanced PDT. The system exhibited desirable phototaxis and continuous oxygen generation, leading to the inhibition of tumor growth in mice. This study demonstrates the potential of using a light-driven green affording-oxygen microrobot to enhance photodynamic therapy.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yujin Li, Jing Xu, Xinqi Luo, Futing Wang, Zhong Dong, Ke-Jing Huang, Chengjie Hu, Mengyi Hou, Ren Cai
Summary: In this study, hollow heterostructured materials were constructed using an innovative template-engaged method as cathodes for zinc-ion batteries. The materials exhibited fast Zn2+ transport channels, improved electrical conductivity, and controlled volume expansion during cycling. The designed structure allowed for an admirable reversible capacity and high coulombic efficiency.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Paritosh Mahato, Shashi Shekhar, Rahul Yadav, Saptarshi Mukherjee
Summary: This study comprehensively elucidates the role of the core and electrostatic surface of metal nanoclusters in catalytic reduction reactions. The electrostatic surface dramatically modulates the reactivity of metal nanoclusters.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Pei Liu, Mengdi Liang, Zhengwei Liu, Haiyu Long, Han Cheng, Jiahe Su, Zhongbiao Tan, Xuewen He, Min Sun, Xiangqian Li, Shuai He
Summary: This study demonstrates a simple and environmentally-friendly method for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanozymes (ZnO NZs) using wasted hop extract (WHE). The WHE-ZnO NZs exhibit exceptional peroxidase-like activity and serve as effective catalysts for the oxidation of 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In addition, a straightforward colorimetric technique for detecting both H2O2 and glucose was developed using the WHE-ZnO NZs as peroxidase-like catalysts.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hyunkyu Oh, Young Jun Lee, Eun Ji Kim, Jinseok Park, Hee-Eun Kim, Hyunsoo Lee, Hyunjoo Lee, Bumjoon J. Kim
Summary: Mesoporous carbon particles have unique structural properties that make them suitable as support materials for catalytic applications. This study investigates the impact of channel nanostructures on the catalytic activity of porous carbon particles (PCPs) by fabricating PCPs with controlled channel exposure on the carbon surface. The results show that PCPs with highly open channel nanostructures exhibit significantly higher catalytic activity compared to those with closed channel nanostructures.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yunjie Lu, Zhaohui Li, Zewei Li, Shihao Zhou, Ning Zhang, Jianming Zhang, Lu Zong
Summary: A tough, long-lasting adhesive and highly conductive nanocomposite hydrogel (PACPH) was fabricated via the synergy of interfacial entanglement and adhesion group densification. PACPH possesses excellent mechanical properties, interfacial adhesion strength, and conductivity, making it a promising material for long-term monitoring of human activities and electrocardiogram signals.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zichao Wei, Audrey Vandergriff, Chung-Hao Liu, Maham Liaqat, Mu-Ping Nieh, Yu Lei, Jie He
Summary: We have developed a simple method to prepare polymer-grafted plasmonic metal nanoparticles with pH-responsive surface-enhanced Raman scattering. By using pH-responsive polymers as ligands, the aggregation of nanoparticles can be controlled, leading to enhanced SERS. The pH-responsive polymer-grafted nanoparticles show high reproducibility and sensitivity in solution, providing a novel approach for SERS without the need for sample pre-concentration.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Melis Ozge Alas Colak, Ahmet Gungor, Merve Buldu Akturk, Emre Erdem, Rukan Genc
Summary: This research investigates the effect of functionalizing carbon dots with hydroxyl polymers on their performance as electrode materials in a supercapacitor. The results show that the functionalized carbon dots exhibit excellent electrochemical performance and improved stability.