Functional Nanomaterials, Department of Materials Science, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
Published: September 2024
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
Various fields, including medical and human interaction robots, gain advantages from the development of bioinspired soft actuators. Many recently developed grippers are pneumatics that require external pressure supply systems, thereby limiting the autonomy of these robots. This necessitates the development of scalable and efficient on-board pressure generation systems. While conventional air compression systems are hard to miniaturize, thermopneumatic systems that joule heat a transducer material to generate pressure present a promising alternative. However, the transducer materials of previously reported thermopneumatic systems demonstrate high heat capacities and limited surface area resulting in long response times and low operation frequencies. This study presents a thermopneumatic pressure generator using aerographene, a highly porous (>99.99%) network of interconnected graphene microtubes, as lightweight and low heat capacity transducer material. An aerographene pressurizer module (AGPM) can pressurize a reservoir of 4.2 cm to ∼14 kPa in 50 ms. Periodic operation of the AGPM for 10 s at 0.66 Hz can further increase the pressure in the reservoir to ∼36 kPa. It is demonstrated that multiple AGPMs can be operated parallelly or in series for improved performance. For example, three parallelly operated AGPMs can generate pressure pulses of ∼21.5 kPa. Connecting AGPMs in series increase the maximum pressure achievable by the system. It is shown that three AGPMs working in series can pressurize the reservoir to ∼200 kPa in about 2.5 min. The AGPM's minimalistic design can be easily adapted to circuit boards, making the concept a promising fit for the on-board pressure supply of soft robots.
Introduction: Military pilots are subjected to unique pulmonary demands, particularly in high performance jets. The hypobaric environment necessitates use of on-board oxygen, breathing masks, and regulators to increase oxygen pressure, affecting ventilation and breathing responses. Safety features like pilot flight equipment and strapping into an ejection seat further impact pilot pulmonary function.
Various fields, including medical and human interaction robots, gain advantages from the development of bioinspired soft actuators. Many recently developed grippers are pneumatics that require external pressure supply systems, thereby limiting the autonomy of these robots. This necessitates the development of scalable and efficient on-board pressure generation systems.
Background: Sailors undergo anxiety and sleep disturbances due to prolonged journeys and the nature of their work on ships. Earlier studies indicate Cyclic Meditation (CM) being beneficial for managing anxiety and improving sleep quality. Thus, the current study was designed to investigate the effect of CM on anxiety and sleep quality among sailors.
Biomic AUTh, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Thessaloniki, 57001, Greece; FoodOmicsGR Research Infrastructure, AUTh Node, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Thessaloniki, 57001, Greece; School of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636, Thessaloniki, Greece. Electronic address:
The production of biogenic amines (BAs) in fish, affecting quality and safety, is influenced by harvesting techniques and handling, with dark-meat fish like tuna being most associated with histamine poisoning.
A rapid HILIC-MS/MS method developed for analyzing BAs such as putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, and tyramine in tuna samples demonstrated high accuracy and precision in measurements.
The study found that the analyzed tuna samples posed no risk of toxic effects from BAs, indicating the method is useful for routine safety analysis in fish products.
