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By using the method of replacing curves with a straight line, taking into account factors such as circle-milling area compensation and milling thickness conversion, a mechanical model for circle-milling force prediction of aramid fiber reinforced polymers is proposed, which can predict line-milling forces and circle-milling forces at any angle and diameter. Experimental results indicate a strong positive correlation between the line and circle-milling forces. Further analysis determined the linear relationship between the error of both and the milling diameter, as well as the sinusoidal function relationship between the line-milling force and the milling angle, based on which an experimental prediction model of the milling force is proposed. It is verified that the established simulation and experimental prediction models have high accuracy. Through the value and fluctuation of the milling force, the quality of the milling surface can be detected, which provides good theoretical support for improving the quality of the milling surface and processing stability.

Previous studies showed that osa-miR168a, a plant miRNA rich in fruits and vegetables, had cross-kingdom biological effects on immunocytes, silkworms, and rodents. In this study, the effects of miR168a on mouse colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) were investigated. The results showed that miR168a oligomers were resistant during the process of food digestion, ending up with a residual concentration of 67.8 ± 11.2 fM in mouse intestines 4 h after oral gavage. More importantly, direct oral administration of the miRNA to the colitis mice significantly ameliorated the progression of the disease, as evidenced by the reduction in DAI score, histopathological lesions, and proinflammatory cytokines. Repairing intestinal barrier function by promoting the regeneration of TJ proteins and the mucus layer, suppressing oxidative stress and colonic inflammation via modulating Nrf2 and NF-κB signaling pathways, and restoring the imbalanced gut microbiota caused by DSS are proposed mechanisms behind the anticolitis activity of miR168a. This study provided new evidence of the cross-kingdom regulatory effects of dietary miRNAs, suggesting the potential of the plant miRNA for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

Consideration of irradiation effects is important for in-orbit operation and radiation protection in aerospace applications. The configuration of irradiation defects and their impact on deteriorating the carrier transport properties of CZT crystals need to be clarified. In this study, the microdefect evolution mechanism of CdZnTe (CZT) crystals under 10 MeV Chlorine (Cl) ion irradiation at flux of 1 × 1010∼1 × 1012n·cm−2are investigated. The stacking faults first appear in the CZT crystal at 4.5 × 10−4displacement per atom (dpa), which are categorized into slip-type, gap-type and vacancy-type. In order to hinder the further expansion of stacking fault, S-shaped stacking fault dipole appears. When the dpa reaches 4.5 × 10−2, the local phase transition occurs in the damage zone to form CuPt-A ordered phase with ZnTe/CdTe periodic arrangement because the fluctuation in local composition and strain caused by cascade collisions. The deterioration of electric field distribution and charge collection caused by irradiation damage layer leads to the decrease of γ-ray detection ability. The energy resolution (ER) of the CZT detector for γ-ray can be maintained at 30.6% when the ion flux accumulates to 1 × 1012n·cm−2, revealing high irradiation hardness. Consequently, these findings provide a theoretical basis for the radiation damage recovery of CZT detectors, further demonstrating that CZT crystals are the most competitive new generation of room-temperature nuclear radiation detection materials, and can provide radiation protection strategies for similar compound semiconductor materials.

Industrial development has led to contamination of the environment with heavy metal ions, which accumulate in soil or water and pose a serious threat to human health. Simple and rapid detection methods are effective in controlling or preventing the further increase of pollution. However, existing detection methods are relatively complex or require expensive instruments and special sample handling, often resulting in secondary contamination. Therefore, there is a real need for a simple and economical on-site detection method. Herein, we describe a new method for the detection of Fe3+ions in industrial wastewater using shape change in a hydrogel. Metal ions coordinate with the carboxyl groups in a polyacrylic acid/poly(vinyl alcohol) shape memory hydrogel, and this fixes temporary shapes that depend on the metal ions and their concentrations. This shape change is reversible by the dissociation of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. In particular, this change can be well reproduced and observed with the naked eyes. The shape memory performance experiments and density functional theory (DFT) simulation calculations showed that Fe3+ions coordinated most strongly with the carboxyl groups in the hydrogel under experimental conditions. A quantitative relationship between the shape fixation ratio and Fe3+ion concentrations was established. According to this, an economic on-site testing device was designed to achieve analogue effluent detection. The method has potential applications for rapid detection of Fe3+ion concentration in highly acidic industrial wastewater, which offers the possibility of practical application of shape memory hydrogels in environmental management.

Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland tissue that can lead to decreased milk production and altered milk composition, carrying serious implications for the safety of dairy products. Although both caffeic acid (CA) and umbilical cord-mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) showed potential anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties, little is known about their combined roles in treating mastitis. Here, we report the combined effects and mechanisms of CA and UC-MSCs on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mastitis. Based on the network pharmacological analysis, the potential relevant genes involved in the alleviating effects of CA on LPS-induced mastitis were inferred. In LPS-treated mammary epithelial cells, CA or/and UC-MSC conditioned medium (UC-MSC-CM) inhibited the phosphorylation of p65, p50, p38, IκB, and MKK3/6 proteins and the expression of downstream inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and COX-2. Additionally, CA or/and hydrogel-loaded UC-MSCs also suppressed the activation of the above inflammatory pathway, leading to the alleviation of pathological damages in the LPS-induced mouse mastitis model. UC-MSCs exhibited more significant effects than CA, and the combined treatment of both was more effective. Our study sheds light on the synergistic and complementary effects of CA and UC-MSCs in alleviating mastitis, offering clues for understanding the regulation of the p38-MAPK/NF-κB↔TNF-α signal transduction loop in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) pathway as a potential mechanism. This study provides a theoretical basis for developing a novel antibiotic alternative treatment of mastitis that may contribute to reducing economic losses in animal husbandry and protecting public health safety.

Droplets, tiny liquid compartments, are increasingly emerging in the biomedical and biomanufacturing fields due to their unique properties to serve as templates or independent reaction units. Currently, the straightforward and efficient generation of various functional droplets in a biofriendly manner remains challenging. Herein, a novel microfluidic-assisted pneumatic strategy is described for the customizable and high-throughput production of monodispersed droplets, and the droplet size can be precisely controlled via a simplified gas pressure regulation module. In particular, numerous uniform alginate microcarriers can be rapidly fabricated in an all-aqueous manner, wherein the encapsulated islet or liver cells exhibit favorable viability and biological functions. Furthermore, by changing the microchannel configuration, several fluid manipulation functions developed by microfluidic technology, such as mixing and laminar flow, can be successfully incorporated into this platform. The droplet generators with scalable functionality are demonstrated in many biomanufacturing scenarios, including on-demand distribution of cell-mimetic particles, continuous synthesis of biomedical metal–organic framework (MOF), controllable preparation of compartmental microgel, etc. These may provide sustainable inspiration for developing droplet generators and their applications in tissue and organ engineering, biomaterials design, bioprinting nozzles, and other fields.

Sarcopenia leading to a loss of activity ability affects individuals of various ages, particularly the elderly with limited mobility. Therefore, portable muscle function evaluation is crucial for predicting sarcopenia. However, traditional clinical diagnosis methods are not accessible for home use due to their high costs and inconvenience. Here, to develop a portable and user-friendly muscle function evaluation system to facilely predict sarcopenia, we designed a real-time surface electromyography (sEMG) acquisition system composed of an eight-channel hydrogel-based flexible electrode array and a printed circuit board. Benefiting by the differential circuit layout and the soft nature of the hydrogel electrode, the sEMG sensor array can be conformably attached onto the human wrist with low common mode noise, enabling the noninvasive, continuous sEMG signal collection with a high signal-to-noise ratio of 29.91 dB. As a demonstration, the device was applied to collect sEMG data on a group of elderly individuals. Two sEMG features were extracted, both of which were found to significantly affect sarcopenia. Overall, this lightweight, user-friendly sEMG acquisition system shows promise for homecare use in predicting sarcopenia, offering a cost-effective and convenient alternative to traditional clinical methods.

The CFETR multipurpose overload robot (CMOR) is a critical component of the fusion reactor remote handling system. To accurately calculate and visualize the structural deformation and stress characteristics of the CMOR motion process, this paper first establishes a CMOR kinematic model to analyze the unfolding and working process in the vacuum chamber. Then, the dynamic model of CMOR is established using the Lagrangian method, and the rigid-flexible coupling modeling of CMOR links and joints is achieved using the finite element method and the linear spring damping equivalent model. The co-simulation results of the CMOR rigid-flexible coupled model show that when the end load is 2000 kg, the extreme value of the end-effector position error is more than 0.12 m, and the maximum stress value is 1.85 × 108 Pa. To utilize the stress-strain data of CMOR, this paper designs a CMOR morphology prediction control system based on Unity software. Implanting CMOR finite element analysis data into the Unity environment, researchers can monitor the stress strain generated by different motion trajectories of the CMOR robotic arm in the control system. It provides a platform for subsequent research on CMOR error compensation and extreme operation warnings.

In ophthalmology, the quality of fundus images is critical for accurate diagnosis, both in clinical practice and in artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted diagnostics. Despite the broad view provided by ultrawide-field (UWF) imaging, pseudocolor images may conceal critical lesions necessary for precise diagnosis. To address this, we introduce UWF-Net, a sophisticated image enhancement algorithm that takes disease characteristics into consideration. Using the Fudan University ultra-wide-field image (FDUWI) dataset, which includes 11 294 Optos pseudocolor and 2415 Zeiss true-color UWF images, each of which is rigorously annotated, UWF-Net combines global style modeling with feature-level lesion enhancement. Pathological consistency loss is also applied to maintain fundus feature integrity, significantly improving image quality. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations demonstrated that UWF-Net outperforms existing methods such as contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) and structure and illumination constrained generative adversarial network (StillGAN), delivering superior retinal image quality, higher quality scores, and preserved feature details after enhancement. In disease classification tasks, images enhanced by UWF-Net showed notable improvements when processed with existing classification systems over those enhanced by StillGAN, demonstrating a 4.62% increase in sensitivity (SEN) and a 3.97% increase in accuracy (ACC). In a multicenter clinical setting, UWF-Net-enhanced images were preferred by ophthalmologic technicians and doctors, and yielded a significant reduction in diagnostic time ((13.17 ± 8.40) s for UWF-Net enhanced images vs (19.54 ± 12.40) s for original images) and an increase in diagnostic accuracy (87.71% for UWF-Net enhanced images vs 80.40% for original images). Our research verifies that UWF-Net markedly improves the quality of UWF imaging, facilitating better clinical outcomes and more reliable AI-assisted disease classification. The clinical integration of UWF-Net holds great promise for enhancing diagnostic processes and patient care in ophthalmology.

The focus of this article is on developing a prediction-based controller for a class of hysteretic nonlinear systems with input and output delays to track desired trajectories. In comparison with existing results for hysteretic nonlinear systems with delays, we consider the presence of distinct and arbitrary length delays in both input and output channels of the system under the background of remote control. We propose a delay-compensation strategy, introducing a new prediction-based controller together with a prediction-based chain observer to compensate for input and output delays. This approach enables real-time monitoring of the tracking performance of remote devices from the local host. For this purpose, we initially apply the inverse hysteresis method to compensate for the hysteresis nonlinearity. Subsequently, a prediction-based chain observer is adopted to estimate the unmeasured state caused by the output delay. Based on online estimates of the state, we introduce a modified predictor to compensate for the input delay. By constructing the Lyapunov functional, we prove that the tracking error converges to a small enough region. Finally, the proposed scheme is applied to a piezoelectric positioning platform. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical results and indicate that the controller has great performance.