Gradients of properties increase the morphing and stiffening performance of bioinspired synthetic fin rays.

State-of-the-art morphing materials are either very compliant to achieve large shape changes (flexible metamaterials, compliant mechanisms, hydrogels), or very stiff but with infinitesimal changes in shape that require large actuation forces (metallic or composite panels with piezoelectric actuation). Morphing efficiency and structural stiffness are therefore mutually exclusive properties in current engineering morphing materials, which limits the range of their applicability. Interestingly, natural fish fins do not contain muscles, yet they can morph to large amplitudes with minimal muscular actuation forces from the base while producing large hydrodynamic forces without collapsing.

Availability, Quality, and Evidence-Based Content of mHealth Apps for the Treatment of Nonspecific Low Back Pain in the German Language: Systematic Assessment.

Background: Nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) carries significant socioeconomic relevance and leads to substantial difficulties for those who are affected by it. The effectiveness of app-based treatments has been confirmed, and clinicians are recommended to use such interventions. As 88.

Assembly of Rolled-Up Collagen Constructs on Porous Alumina Textiles.

Developing new techniques to prepare free-standing tubular scaffolds has always been a challenge in the field of regenerative medicine. Here, we report a new and simple way to prepare free-standing collagen constructs with rolled-up architecture by self-assembling nanofibers on porous alumina (AlO) textiles modified with different silanes, carbon or gold. Following self-assembly and cross-linking with glutaraldehyde, collagen nanofibers spontaneously rolled up on the modified AlO textiles and detached.

Developmental biomechanics and age polyethism in leaf-cutter ants.

Many social insects display age polyethism: young workers stay inside the nest, and only older workers forage. This behavioural transition is accompanied by genetic and physiological changes, but the mechanistic origin of it remains unclear. To investigate if the mechanical demands on the musculoskeletal system effectively prevent young workers from foraging, we studied the biomechanical development of the bite apparatus in leaf-cutter ants.

Nettle, a Long-Known Fiber Plant with New Perspectives.

The stinging nettle L. is a perennial crop with low fertilizer and pesticide requirements, well adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. It has been successfully grown in most European climatic zones while also promoting local flora and fauna diversity.

Self-assembled fibrinogen nanofibers support fibroblast adhesion and prevent E. coli infiltration.

Fibrinogen nanofibers hold great potential for wound healing applications since they mimic the native blood clot architecture and offer important binding sites to support fibroblast adhesion and migration. Recently, we introduced a new method of salt-induced self-assembly to prepare nanofibrous fibrinogen scaffolds. Here, we present our results on the mechanical properties of these scaffolds and their interaction with 3T3 fibroblasts and E.

How a sticky fluid facilitates prey retention in a carnivorous pitcher plant (Nepenthes rafflesiana).

Nepenthes pitcher plants grow in nutrient-poor soils and produce large pitfall traps to obtain additional nutrients from animal prey. Previous research has shown that the digestive secretion in N. rafflesiana is a sticky viscoelastic fluid that retains insects much more effectively than water, even after significant dilution.

A Comparison of Empirical Correlations of Viscosity and Thermal Conductivity of Water-Ethylene Glycol-AlO Nanofluids.

Because of their superb thermal conductivity, nanofluids are seen as new generation of cooling mediums in many engineering applications. It is well established that even a small amount of nanoparticles mixed with a base fluid may result in distinct thermal conductivity enhancement. On the other hand, addition of nanoparticles to the base fluid results in its substantial viscosity increase.

Genetic Variability of Morphological, Flowering, and Biomass Quality Traits in Hemp ( L.).

Hemp ( L.) is a bast-fiber crop well-known for the great potential to produce sustainable fibers. Nevertheless, hemp fiber quality is a complex trait, and little is known about the phenotypic variability and heritability of fiber quality traits in hemp.

Speech and Language Therapy Services for Multilingual Children with Migration Background: A Cross-Sectional Survey in Germany.

Speech, language, and communication needs are particularly common among multilingual and migrant children. More than every third child in Germany has a migrant background. In the city of Bremen, this figure is even higher, including refugee children.

Recombination in yeast based on six base pairs of homologous sequences: Structural instability in two sets of isomeric model expression plasmids.

Multicopy episomal yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) plasmids are frequently employed in research and industrial production despite their known limited structural and segregational stability. Employing a set of six yEGFP3 model expression plasmids (identical in size but differing in the arrangement of their functional sequences, joined via six base pair SacI sequences), we used back transformation of total DNA extracted from yeast transformants into Escherichia coli to detect potential plasmid rearrangements. This approach revealed deletions, translocations, duplications, and flippings of functional sequences in our plasmids based on homologous recombination between the SacI sequences.

Recombinant multicopy plasmids in yeast - interactions with the endogenous 2 μm.

Flp-mediated site specific intramolecular recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is considered responsible for amplification of the endogenous 2 μm plasmid. For YEp-type vectors, a similar mechanism can be imagined by which such plasmids achieve high copy numbers, a trait desired for many research applications and necessary for industrial production. We have cultivated yeast carrying one of six isomeric YEp-type model expression plasmids under two different conditions and back transformed the shuttle vectors into Escherichia coli.

Recombinant multicopy plasmids in yeast - interactions with the endogenous 2µm.

Flp-mediated site specific intramolecular recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is considered responsible for amplification of the endogenous 2µm plasmid. For YEp-type vectors, a similar mechanism can be imagined by which such plasmids achieve high copy numbers, a trait desired for many research applications and necessary for industrial production. We have cultivated yeast carrying one of six isomeric YEp-type model expression plasmids under two different conditions and back transformed the shuttle vectors into Escherichia coli.

Optimizing Hemp Fiber Production for High Performance Composite Applications.

Hemp is a sustainable and environmental friendly crop that can provide valuable raw materials to a large number of industrial applications. Traditionally harvested at full flowering for textile destinations, nowadays hemp is mainly harvested at seed maturity for dual-purpose applications and has a great potential as multipurpose crop. However, the European hemp fiber market is stagnating if compared to the growing market of hemp seeds and phytocannabinoids.

Biomechanics of hover performance in Neotropical hummingbirds versus bats.

Hummingbirds and nectar bats are the only vertebrates that are specialized for hovering in front of flowers to forage nectar. How their aerodynamic performance compares is, however, unclear. To hover, hummingbirds consistently generate about a quarter of the vertical aerodynamic force required to support their body weight during the upstroke.

Impact of plasmid architecture on stability and yEGFP3 reporter gene expression in a set of isomeric multicopy vectors in yeast.

Multicopy episomal plasmids in yeast, used whenever elevated levels of foreign or homologous gene expression are necessary, are known to be less stable compared to the endogenous 2-μm plasmid they are based on, at least without selective pressure. Considering that rich medium favors growth rate and, simultaneously, is less expensive than selective medium, enhancing stability in non-selective medium is extremely desirable. In this study, we changed the architecture of a multicopy model expression plasmid, creating six isoforms (same size, same DNA content but different positions and orientations of the expression block) and studied mitotic stability, copy number, as well as reporter yEGFP3 expression between isoforms.

Functional gradients in the pericarp of the green coconut inspire asymmetric fibre-composites with improved impact strength, and preserved flexural and tensile properties.

Here we investigate the mechanical properties and structural design of the pericarp of the green coconut (Cocos nucifera L.). The pericarp showed excellent impact characteristics, and mechanical tests of its individual components revealed gradients in stiffness, strength and elongation at break from the outer to the inner layer of the pericarp.

A set of isomeric episomal plasmids for systematic examination of mitotic stability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Yeast episomal shuttle vectors (YEp type) are commonly used in fundamental research and biotechnology whenever elevated product levels are desired. Their instability, however, poses an impediment not only in industrial scale fermentation. In order to analyse instability which might be linked to plasmid structure, a series of YEp type plasmids that are identical in size has been assembled, differing only in the overall arrangement of the fragments used.

Damage, repair and regeneration in insect cuticle: The story so far, and possibilities for the future.

The exoskeleton of an insect can contain countless specializations across an individual, across developmental stages, and across the class Insecta. Hence, the exoskeleton's building material cuticle must perform a vast variety of functions. Cuticle displays a wide range of material properties which are determined by several known factors: the amount and orientation of the chitin fibres, the constituents and degree of cross-linking and hydration of the protein matrix, the relative amounts of exo- and endocuticle, and the shape of the structures themselves.