Additive manufacturing of electrically responsive soft actuators is of great importance in designing and constructing novel soft robots and soft machines. However, there are very limited options for 3D-printable and electrically responsive soft materials. Herein, we report a strategy of 3D printing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel actuators that are electrically controllable. We print a jellyfish-like actuator from PVC ink, which can achieve 130° bending in less than 5 s. With the multi-material 3D printing technique, we have further printed a soft actuator with a stiffness gradient that can generate undulatory motion. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we show that a 3D-printed PVC gel-based smart window can change its transparency upon the application of voltage. The 3D printing strategy developed in this article may expand the potential applications of electrically responsive soft materials in diverse engineering fields.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c05082 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 394, Abha, 61421, KSA, Saudi Arabia.
In wind energy generation systems, ensuring high energy quality is critical but is often compromised due to the limited performance and durability of conventional regulators. To address this, this work presents a novel controller for managing the machine-side inverter of a single-rotor large wind turbine system using an induction machine-type generator. The proposed controller is designed using proportional, integral, and derivative error-based mechanisms, which fundamentally differ from traditional proportional-integral (PI) regulators.
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January 2025
Department of Electrical and Electronics, Faculty of Engineering, Alberoni University, Kapisa, Afghanistan.
This study first proposes an innovative method for optimizing the maximum power extraction from photovoltaic (PV) systems during dynamic and static environmental conditions (DSEC) by applying the horse herd optimization algorithm (HHOA). The HHOA is a bio-inspired technique that mimics the motion cycles of an entire herd of horses. Next, the linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC) was applied to monitor the HHOA's reference voltage output.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Prev Alzheimers Dis
February 2025
Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA; School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA.
Background: Recent disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease show promise to slow cognitive decline, but show no efficacy towards reducing symptoms already manifested.
Objectives: To investigate the efficacy of a novel noninvasive brain stimulation technique in modulating cognitive functioning in Alzheimer's dementia (AD).
Design: Pilot, randomized, double-blind, parallel, sham-controlled study SETTING: Clinical research site at UT Southwestern Medical Center PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five participants with clinical diagnoses of AD were enrolled from cognition specialty clinics.
Exp Neurol
January 2025
Brain and Mind Research Institute, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address:
Spasticity is a common comorbidity of spinal cord injury (SCI), disrupting motor function and resulting in significant discomfort. While elements of post-SCI spasticity can be assessed using pre-clinical SCI models, the robust measurement of spasticity severity can be difficult due to its periodic and spontaneous appearance. Electrical stimulation of sensory afferents can elicit spasticity-associated motor responses, such as spasms; however, placing surface electrodes on the hindlimbs of awake animals can induce stress or encumbrance that could influence the expression of behaviour.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Res
January 2025
Man-Technology-Environment Research Center (MTM), Örebro University, Örebro SE-701 82, Sweden.
As the volume of plastic waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) continues to rise, a significant portion is disposed of in the environment, with only a small fraction being recycled. Both disposal and recycling pose unknown health risks that require immediate attention. Existing knowledge of WEEE plastic toxicity is limited and mostly relies on epidemiological data and association studies, with few insights into the underlying toxicity mechanisms.
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