Mechanics and Morphological Compensation Strategy for Trimmed Soft Whisker Sensor.

Recent studies have been inspired by natural whiskers for a proposal of tactile sensing system to augment the sensory ability of autonomous robots. In this study, we propose a novel artificial soft whisker sensor that is not only flexible but also adapts and compensates for being trimmed or broken during operation. In this morphological compensation designed from an analytical model of the whisker, our sensing device actively adjusts its morphology to regain sensitivity close to that of its original form (before being broken).

Production of ORF8 protein from SARS-CoV-2 using an inducible virus-mediated expression system in suspension-cultured tobacco BY-2 cells.

Production of ORF8 protein from SARS-CoV-2 in tobacco BY-2 cells.

A new computerized assessment battery for cognition (C-ABC) to detect mild cognitive impairment and dementia around 5 min.

This study aimed to develop a new computerized assessment battery for cognition (C-ABC) to detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. We performed C-ABC in subjects with dementia (n = 422), MCI (n = 145), and normal cognition (NC; n = 574), and analyzed by age stratum (50s, 60s, and 70-85 years). To distinguish MCI from NC, the C-ABC total combined score, which were calculated by dividing the C-ABC total score by the C-ABC required time, revealed the best area under the curves (AUC) at 0.

A novel WD40-repeat protein involved in formation of epidermal bladder cells in the halophyte quinoa.

Halophytes are plants that grow in high-salt environments and form characteristic epidermal bladder cells (EBCs) that are important for saline tolerance. To date, however, little has been revealed about the formation of these structures. To determine the genetic basis for their formation, we applied ethylmethanesulfonate mutagenesis and obtained two mutants with reduced levels of EBCs (rebc) and abnormal chloroplasts.

Hydride-Reduced EuSrFeO: A T-to-T' Conversion Enabling Fe in Square-Planar Coordination.

Low-temperature reaction of A-site-ordered layered perovskite EuSrFeO (T structure) with CaH induces a shift in the EuO slabs to form EuSrFeO with a T' structure (4/ space group) in which only the Fe cation is reduced. Contrary to the previously reported T' structures with Jahn-Teller-active d cations (Cu and Ni), stabilization of EuSrFeO with the Fe (d) cation reflects the stability of the FeO square-planar unit. The stability of T'-type EuSrFeO over a T-type polymorph is confirmed by density functional theory calculations, revealing the d occupancy for the T' structure.

General Correlated Geminal Ansatz for Electronic Structure Calculations: Exploiting Pfaffians in Place of Determinants.

We propose here a single Pfaffian correlated variational ansatz that dramatically improves the accuracy with respect to the single determinant one, while remaining at a similar computational cost. A much larger correlation energy is indeed determined by the most general two electron pairing function, including both singlet and triplet channels, combined with a many-body Jastrow factor, including all possible spin-spin, spin-density, and density-density terms. The main technical ingredient to exploit this accuracy is the use of the Pfaffian for antisymmetrizing a highly correlated pairing function, thus recovering the Fermi statistics for electrons with an affordable computational cost.

Formation of BN-covered silicene on ZrB/Si(111) by adsorption of NO and thermal processes.

We have investigated the adsorption and thermal reaction processes of NO with silicene spontaneously formed on the ZrB/Si(111) substrate using synchrotron radiation x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density-functional theory calculations. NO is dissociatively adsorbed on the silicene surface at 300 K. An atomic nitrogen is bonded to three Si atoms most probably by a substitutional adsorption with a Si atom of silicene (N≡Si).

A Two-Stage Service Migration Algorithm in Parked Vehicle Edge Computing for Internet of Things.

Parked vehicle edge computing (PVEC) utilizes both idle resources in parked vehicles (PVs) and roadside units (RSUs) as service providers (SPs) to improve the performance of vehicular internet of things (IoT). However, it is difficult to make optimal service migration decisions in PVEC networks due to the uncertain parking duration and resources heterogeneity of PVs. In this paper, we formulate the service migration of all the vehicles as an optimization problem with the objective of minimizing the average latency.

Developing Conductive Highly Ordered Zinc Oxide Nanorods by Acetylacetonate-Assisted Growth.

Highly ordered vertically grown zinc oxide nanorods (ZnO NRs) were synthesized on ZnO-coated SiO/Si substrate using zinc acetylacetonate hydrate as a precursor via a simple hydrothermal method at 85 °C. We used 0.05 M of ZnO solution to facilitate the growth of ZnO NRs and the immersion time was varied from 0.

Black tea polyphenol theaflavin as promising antioxidant and potential copper chelator.

Background: In this work, we investigated the antioxidant and copper chelating abilities of theaflavin, a polyphenol responsible for astringency, color, and sensation in black tea. Using voltammetric techniques, the analyses were conducted with disposable electrochemical printed carbon chips in conjunction with a portable hand-held potentiostat.

Results: Voltammograms of theaflavin showed five separate oxidation peaks, corresponding to the oxidation of five individual functional groups.

Structure and Properties of Hybrid Film Fabricated by Spin-Assisted Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Sacran and Imogolite Nanotubes.

A free-standing (biomacomolecule/synthetic inorganic nanotubes) hybrid film was fabricated through an alternative layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of sacran and imogolite nanotubes. Sacran is a natural polysaccharide extracted from the cyanobacterium , while imogolite is a natural tubular aluminosilicate clay found in volcano ash. The hybrid film thickness increased linearly with the number of the bilayers, because of the interaction between the negatively charged surface of sacran and the positively charged surface of imogolite.

Anti-crossing property of strong coupling system of silver nanoparticle dimers coated with thin dye molecular films analyzed by electromagnetism.

Evidence of strong coupling between plasmons and molecular excitons for plasmonic nanoparticle (NP) dimers exhibiting ultra-sensitive surface enhanced resonant Raman scattering is the observation of anti-crossing in the coupled resonance. However, experimentally tuning the plasmon resonance of such dimers for the observation is difficult. In this work, we calculate the anti-crossing property of dimers coated with thin dye films according to the classical electromagnetism.

Catalytic activation of peroxymonosulfate with manganese cobaltite nanoparticles for the degradation of organic dyes.

In this work, we report the facile hydrothermal synthesis of manganese cobaltite nanoparticles (MnCoO NPs) which can efficiently activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the generation of sulfate free radicals (SO˙) and degradation of organic dyes. The synthesized MnCoO NPs have a polyhedral morphology with cubic spinel structure, homogeneously distributed Mn, Co, and O elements, and an average size less than 50 nm. As demonstrated, MnCoO NPs showed the highest catalytic activity among all tested catalysts (MnO, CoO) and outperformed other spinel-based catalysts for Methylene Blue (MB) degradation.

Study of Human Thermal Comfort for Cyber-Physical Human Centric System in Smart Homes.

An environmental thermal comfort model has previously been quantified based on the predicted mean vote (PMV) and the physical sensors parameters, such as temperature, relative humidity, and air speed in the indoor environment. However, first, the relationship between environmental factors and physiology parameters of the model is not well investigated in the smart home domain. Second, the model that is not mainly for an individual human model leads to the failure of the thermal comfort system to fulfill the human's comfort preference.

Potential anticancer activity of protocatechuic acid loaded in montmorillonite/FeO nanocomposites stabilized by seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii.

Superparamagnetic magnetite nanocomposites (FeO-NCs) were successfully synthesized, which comprised of montmorillonite (MMT) as matrix support, Kappaphycus alvarezii (SW) as bio-stabilizer and FeO as filler in the composites to form MMT/SW/FeO-NCs. Nanocomposite with 0.5 g FeO (MMT/SW/0.

Cytosolic delivery of quantum dots mediated by freezing and hydrophobic polyampholytes in RAW 264.7 cells.

Quantum dots (QDs) can be delivered efficiently inside macrophages using a freeze-concentration approach. In this study, we introduced a new, facile, high concentration-based freezing technology of low toxicity. We also developed QD-conjugated new hydrophobic polyampholytes using poly-l-lysine (PLL), a naturally derived polymer, which showed sustained biocompatibility, stability over one week, and enhanced intracellular delivery.

Met872 is the key residue determining the novel binominal binding of metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 to calmodulin.

Two mGluR7-derived peptides corresponding to residues 856 to 879 and 856 to 875 are known to bind to Ca-saturated calmodulin (Ca/CaM), and their binding manners are thought to differ. Met872 function is believed as one of the anchor residues for CaM-binding only in the shorter peptide. To uncover the role of Met872 in CaM-binding, we prepared a mutant of the long peptide, mGluR7 (M872A), in which Met872 was replaced with Ala.

Dynamic Views of the Fc Region of Immunoglobulin G Provided by Experimental and Computational Observations.

The Fc portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG) is a horseshoe-shaped homodimer, which interacts with various effector proteins, including Fcγ receptors (FcγRs). These interactions are critically dependent on the pair of N-glycans packed between the two C2 domains. Fucosylation of these N-glycans negatively affects human IgG1-FcγRIIIa interaction.

Supramolecular micellar drug delivery system based on multi-arm block copolymer for highly effective encapsulation and sustained-release chemotherapy.

Poly(phosphoester)-based biomaterials have great potential in drug delivery systems (DDSs) because of their multifunctional adjustability, stealth effect, excellent biodegradability, and biocompatibility. To further increase the drug loading efficiency (DLE) and sustained release ability, a multi-arm block copolymer, poly(amido amine)-b-poly(2-butenyl phospholane)-b-poly(2-methoxy phospholane) conjugated with folic acid (abbreviated as PAMAM-PBEP-PMP-FA), was designed and prepared. Compared to the traditional linear copolymers, this multi-arm phosphoester block copolymer integrates a balanced combination of unique features.

Collaborative Resource Management for Negotiable Multi-Operator Small Cell Networks.

The ubiquitous coverage/connectivity requirement of wireless cellular networks has shifted mobile network operators' (MNOs) interest toward dense deployment of small cells with coverage areas that are much smaller as compared to macrocell base stations (MBSs). Multi-operator small cells could provide virtualization of network resources (infrastructure and spectrum) and enable its efficient utilization, i.e.

One-Step Synthesis of One-Dimensional Supramolecular Assemblies Composed of Helical Macromolecular Building Blocks.

Living systems achieve sophisticated functions using supramolecular protein assemblies, in which the protein building blocks possess a specific secondary structure and are noncovalently arranged in a preprogrammed manner. Herein, we demonstrate the one-step synthesis of one-dimensional macromolecular assemblies by simply mixing a glycine-based isocyanide with a nickel catalyst, in which helical constituent polymers are linked end-to-end through multiple hydrogen bonds. The applicable scope of this approach is not confined to a particular monomer bearing a specially designed pendant, but covers a wide range of glycine-based isocyanides with or without aromatic and other functional groups.

Sacran Hydrogel Film Containing Keratinocyte Growth Factor Accelerates Wound Healing by Stimulating Fibroblast Migration and Re-epithelization.

Regenerative therapy with keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) is a novel therapeutic approach for treatment of chronic wounds. However, KGF cannot be used directly to the wound site due to its physicochemical instability. In previous study, sacran, a natural megamolecular polysaccharide, showed potential properties as a biomaterial for hydrogel film in wound healing.