Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Rui Zhang, Ali Mozaffari, Juan J. de Pablo
Summary: Active liquid crystals, with their inherent structural anisotropy, exhibit long-range order and topological defects. This Review discusses both natural and synthetic active liquid crystals, exploring their autonomous behavior as well as potential applications.
NATURE REVIEWS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Madhu Bala, Vickramjeet Singh
Summary: In this study, the authors investigated the drop dynamics of binary THF solutions containing fatty acids or surfactants. It was found that the addition of fatty acids can induce autonomous motion of the drops, which can be controlled by adjusting the concentration of fatty acids. The presence of fatty acids also reduces the contact line pinning of the drops. This work demonstrates the potential applications of highly evaporating THF with solutes in self-propelled motion of non-aqueous drops.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Koutaro Onoda, Ben Nanzai
Summary: Spontaneous oscillation of a nitrobenzene droplet containing DEHPA in an aqueous phase under alkaline conditions was observed, characterized as oscillation of oil-water interfacial tension. Investigation of different conditions revealed the impact of DEHPA adsorption-desorption cycle on the oscillation mechanism.
Article
Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Applications
Yong Tao, Didier Sornette, Li Lin
Summary: Boltzmann machines, unsupervised-learning neural networks, contribute to the field of deep learning. Using economic growth theory, it is shown that in a free-market society with a certain number of agents, a Boltzmann-like income distribution emerges, reflecting a brain-like structure of society. Empirical investigation reveals that the income structure for low and middle classes in most countries follows a Boltzmann-like distribution.
CHAOS SOLITONS & FRACTALS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Catarina Nabais, Delphine Pessoa, Jorge De-Carvalho, Thomas van Zanten, Paulo Duarte, Satyajit Mayor, Jorge Carneiro, Ivo A. Telley, Monica Bettencourt-Dias
Summary: Centrioles are formed by centrosomes and cilia. In most proliferating cells, centrioles are assembled through canonical duplication, regulated by the cell cycle and the presence of mature centrioles. However, in certain cell types, centrioles are assembled de novo by mechanisms that are not yet fully understood.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Tengfei Wang, Zheng Yao, Mingquan Lu
Summary: This paper proposes an autonomous coordinate establishment (ACE) method that doesn't rely on known reference points for ground-based positioning systems (GBPSs). ACE utilizes a kinematic receiver to collect carrier phase measurements and employs a three-step procedure to establish a regional coordinate system. Numerical simulations and a real-world experiment demonstrate that ACE can achieve coordinate estimation with decimeter to centimeter-level accuracy, enabling rapid deployment and operation for GBPSs.
JOURNAL OF GEODESY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Stuart Bartlett, David Louapre
Summary: This study presents a benchmark investigation of autonomous chemical agents exhibiting associative learning of environmental features. The researchers aim to explore if simple, nonliving dissipative structures can also exhibit associative learning. The results demonstrate that simple chemical patterns can display lifelike behaviors, which opens up possibilities for in vitro studies of autonomous chemical learning systems with potential relevance to artificial life, origins of life, and systems chemistry.
Article
Thermodynamics
S. Y. Misyura, R. Egorov, V. S. Morozov, A. S. Zaitsev
Summary: The experimental study reveals that the interaction of thermocapillary and thermogravitational-free convection in a thin layer of liquid can result in self-organization or partial disintegration of micro-vortices, with convection scales changing continuously over time due to complex nonlinear interactions between vortex structures and scales.
NANOSCALE AND MICROSCALE THERMOPHYSICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Antonio Bucchiarone, Martina De Sanctis, Nelly Bencomo
Summary: The future of smart city transportation planning focuses on prioritizing the mobility of people, promoting walking, cycling, shared mobility services, and public transport, while advancing autonomous and electric car technologies. Cities are investing in connected, multi-modal transit networks and rethinking the relationship between traditional public transport and new mobility services.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Veneta Gerganova, Sophie G. Martin
Summary: Even the simplest cells exhibit intracellular patterning through various mechanisms, including biochemical reactions and physical forces.
Article
Biology
Danielle Holz, Aaron R. Hall, Eiji Usukura, Sawako Yamashiro, Naoki Watanabe, Dimitrios Vavylonis
Summary: The study reveals that filament severing, particularly near the barbed ends, can explain the distribution of actin lifetime and lead to structural remodeling of actin networks. Experimental evidence shows frequent disassembly of newly-assembled actin.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Tomohiro Hayakawa, Fumitoshi Matsuno
Summary: This article focuses on the application of reconfigurable modular robots in slope and gap traversal tasks. It proposes an autonomous distributed system that allows robots to autonomously change their morphology based on the environment, enabling successful traversal.
ROBOTICS AND AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Ayesha Maqbool, Farkhanda Afzal, Tauseef Rana, Alina Mirza
Summary: This paper introduces a thermodynamic-inspired formation control framework that autonomously allocates surveillance regions to each vehicle and adjusts their responsibilities during missions. It allows heterogeneous UAVs to optimally scatter themselves for maximum area coverage. The method shows flexibility and efficiency in cooperative team formation through modeling the system as a collection of heat-generating bodies.
INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION AND SOFT COMPUTING
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Michael Hassoun, Evgeny Kagan
Summary: This study demonstrates the role of randomness and altruism in the motion of artificial agents in a deterministic environment. By incorporating features of randomness and altruism in the agents' motion, the overall swarm energy expenditure can be optimized.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Olivier Rikken, Marijn Janssen, Zenlin Kwee
Summary: This paper provides an in-depth study of DAOs, analyzing their definitions, characteristics, and emerging developments. A comprehensive DAO definition is developed by reviewing the literature and empirically analyzing 1,859 DAOs. The findings show the threshold for DAO survival and the emerging development of off-chain voting.
BLOCKCHAIN-RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hans C. Hendrikse, Arno van der Weijden, Maria Ronda-Lloret, Ting Yang, Roland Bliem, N. Raveendran Shiju, Martin van Hecke, Ling Li, Willem L. Noorduin
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hans C. Hendrikse, Alejo Aguirre, Arno van der Weijden, Anne S. Meeussen, Fernanda Neira D'Angelo, Willem L. Noorduin
Summary: Biological assembly processes offer inspiration for ordering building blocks into advanced functional materials, with bioinspired strategies attractive for assembling supported catalysts, although difficult to achieve. This study presents a simple bioinspired route toward supported catalysts with tunable activity and selectivity, showcasing the potential for simple, versatile, and scalable routes to tunable and highly reactive bioinspired catalysts.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mark M. J. van Rijt, Sjoerd W. Nooteboom, Arno van der Weijden, Willem L. Noorduin, Gijsbertus de With
Summary: A simple post-synthetic ion-exchange strategy for the formation of Zn-HAp has been investigated, effectively replacing Ca2+ ions. The incorporation of Zn2+ ions destabilizes HAp crystals, resulting in dissolution and reprecipitation.
MATERIALS & DESIGN
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
G. Grimaldi, L. S. D. Antony, L. Helmbrecht, A. van der Weijden, S. W. van Dongen, I. Schuringa, J. Borchert, E. Alarcon-Llado, W. L. Noorduin, B. Ehrler
Summary: Two dimensional (2D) perovskites are gaining attention for optoelectronic applications due to their defect tolerance, strong absorption capabilities, and enhanced material stability. However, current fabrication strategies often lead to uniform thin films or isolated single crystals, limiting the potential for patterning these materials. The ion-exchange synthesis method presented in this study offers a promising approach for fabricating 2D perovskites with varying halide compositions and layer thicknesses, allowing for the creation of highly crystalline luminescent materials and the spatial localization of 2D perovskite structures. These advancements expand the possibilities for integrating 2D perovskites into complex device architectures.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Arno van der Weijden, Martin van Hecke, Willem L. Noorduin
Summary: This study reveals that the lattice volume changes of nanocrystals affect the microscopic dimensions of 3D nanocomposite structures, and the silica matrix can adapt to nanoscopic volume changes while preserving the 3D morphology and fine details.
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Arno van der Weijden, Anne-Sophie Leonard, Willem L. Noorduin
Summary: We have developed a two-step self-organization/conversion approach to synthesize metal selenides with controllable 3D architectures. By steering the coprecipitation of barium carbonate nanocrystals and silica, we obtained nanocomposites with controllable 3D shapes. Through a sequential exchange of cations and anions, we successfully converted the nanocrystals into cadmium selenide while preserving the initial shape of the nanocomposites.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Leo Sahaya Daphne Antony, Sjoerd van Dongen, Gianluca Grimaldi, Simon Mathew, Lukas Helmbrecht, Arno van der Weijden, Juliane Borchert, Imme Schuringa, Bruno Ehrler, Willem L. Noorduin, Esther Alarcon-Llado
Summary: Two-dimensional (2D) lead halide perovskites have attracted significant attention as promising materials for photovoltaics and optoelectronic applications. In this study, the effects of the Pb oxidation state on the growth of pure-phase 2D perovskite BA(2)PbI(4) were investigated. It was found that direct formation of BA(2)PbI(4) can be achieved by exposing PbO2 to BAI:IPA solution without the need for an external reducing agent. The difference in morphology and nanocrystal growth rate was attributed to the different chemistry and iodoplumbate complexes involved in each case.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Lukas Helmbrecht, Sjoerd W. van Dongen, Arno van der Weijden, Christiaan T. van Campenhout, Willem L. Noorduin
Summary: Researchers have developed a new, sensitive, and inexpensive method for detecting lead by treating semiconductor materials and observing photoluminescence under UV light. This method has the potential for wide application in environmental testing and lead poisoning prevention.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)