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Purpose: To reduce the difficulty of the sewing process and promote the automation process of fabric sewing, a soft finger-assisted feeding method is proposed to investigate the effect of sewing process parameters on the quality of automatic sewing. Design/methodology/approach: Taking cotton woven fabrics as an example, the causes of sewing deviation are firstly investigated from three aspects: fabric properties, sewing speed and sewing edge position. By simulating the sewing action of human hands, the method of reducing sewing deviation by using soft fingers to press and feed the fabric is proposed. Then, four sewing process factors, namely, robot arm end pressure, sewing machine speed, sewing needle gauge and stitch density, were selected, and three levels were set for each factor to design orthogonal sewing experiments. The sewing deviation of 1# sample under different sewing processes was measured, and the optimal parameter matching for automatic sewing of this specimen was derived. Findings: The findings demonstrate that, while sewing cloth automatically, the sewing deviation is significantly influenced by the robotic arm's end pressure, sewing speed, and stitch density, whereas the sewing deviation is not significantly impacted by the needle number. Originality/value: The findings offer fundamental information for the development of an automated sewing procedure using soft fingers, which has theoretical and real-world application value to speed up the intelligent modernization and transformation of the apparel industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the evolution law and mathematical characterization method of natural fissure structure of coal under uniaxial loading, a 3D numerical model was reconstructed based on computed tomography (CT) scanning experiment to accurately describe natural fissure structure, and the uniaxial compression numerical simulation of coal was carried out. The length, opening, fissure degree and fractal dimension were introduced to characterize the spatial morphology of fissure, and the variation of characterization parameters with increasing load was analyzed. The results reveal the evolution characteristics of fissure structure of coal under uniaxial loading. The study shows that the coal is mostly composed of small-scale fissure, and the fissure evolution can be divided into two stages during the loading process. In the first stage, namely the initial stage of loading, the fissure is compacted and closed. Compared with the non loading, the upper limit of fissure length decreases by -1-1%, the fissure degree decreases by 35%, and the fractal dimension decreases by 22%. In the second stage, fissure in the coal begin to develop with the increase of load. At peak load, the length increases by 10% on average, the distribution frequency of the minimum interval of fissure length increases by 12%, and the distribution frequency of the minimum interval of fissure opening increases by 50%. The research results provide a theoretical basis for revealing the laws of coal fissure propagation under loading and effectively implementing hydraulic fracturing technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: REG3A, a member of the third subclass of the Reg family, has been found in a variety of tissues but is not detected in immune cells. In the past decade, it has been determined that REG3A expression is regulated by injury, infection, inflammatory stimuli, and pro-cytokines via different signaling pathways, and it acts as a tissue-repair, bactericidal, and anti-inflammatory molecule in human diseases. Recently, the role of REG3A in cancer has received increasing attention. The present article aims to investigate the structure, expression, regulation, function of REG3A, and to highlight the potential role of REG3A in tumors. Methods: A detailed literature search and data organization were conducted to find information about the role of REG3A in variety of physiological functions and tumors. Results: Contradictory roles of REG3A have been reported in different tumor models. Some studies have demonstrated that high expression of REG3A in cancers can be oncogenic. Other studies have shown decreased REG3A expression in cancer cells as well as suppressed tumor growth. Conclusions: Taken together, better understanding of REG3A may lead to new insights that make it a potentially useful target for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrinsic self-healing of C3N4 coatings based on host–guest interaction was achieved on fruit substrates via layer-by-layer assembly technique. The coatings were made of alternating layers of poly(ethylenimine)-β-cyclodextrin (PEI-βCD), poly(acrylic acid)-adamantanamine (PAA-AD), and carbon nitride (C3N4). The ultrasonic treatment was used to inhibit C3N4 agglomeration and to form a homogeneous suspension of PEI-βCD-C3N4. Then, PAA-AD and PEI-βCD-C3N4 were self-assembled to obtain the (PAA-AD/PEI-βCD-C3N4)*15 coatings. The photoactivity of the coatings was monitored using photodegradation of methylene blue dye under visible light. We hypothesized that the coatings could be applied to banana fresh-keeping packaging materials by inhibiting or degrading ethylene. The results verified that the coatings possessed excellent degradablility and fresh-keeping performances. Moreover, cell viability tests showed that the coatings exhibited good biocompatibility. In particular, the coatings exhibited excellent self-healing property due to the reversible nature of the host–guest interaction. The coatings show great potential for applications in multifunctional commercial supplies, such as packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Healable films with structural color are highly desirable and have a variety of potential applications. However, combining structural color with self‐healing properties to obtain new functional materials is a big challenge in current research. Herein, we present the first example of a color tunable, ultrathin film that can self‐heal in response to external mechanical abrasion. It is designed based on intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction; the synthetic strategy involves spin‐coating of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and chitosan (CS). The successful preparation of ultrathin, healable, structural color films provides a new type of biomimetic material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]