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To ensure the operational safety of nuclear power plants, we present a Quadruped Inspection Robot that can be used for many types of steam generators. Since the Inspection Robot relies on the Holding Modules to grip the tube-sheet, it can be regarded as a hybrid robot with variable configurations, switching between 4-RRR-RR, 3-RRR-RR, and two types of 2-RRR-RR, and the variable configurations bring a great challenge to dimensional synthesis. In this paper, the kinematic model of the Inspection Robot in multiple configurations is established, and the analytical solution is given. The workspace mapping is analyzed by the solution-space, and the workspace of multiple configurations is decomposed into the workspace of 2-RRR to reduce the analysis complexity, and the workspace calculation is simplified by using the envelope rings. The optimization problem of the manipulator is transformed into the calculation of the shortest contraction length of the swing leg. The switching performance of the Inspection Robot is evaluated by stride-length, turning-angle, and workspace overlap-ratio. The performance indexes are classified and transformed based on the proportions and variation trends of dimensional parameters to reduce the number of optimization objective functions, and Pareto optimal solutions are obtained using an intelligent optimization algorithm.

A new configuration of a 9-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot has been designed to address the prevalence of balance disorders in patients and the increasing demand for exercise rehabilitation training. This lower-limb end rehabilitation robot can assist patients with repetitive movements to stimulate and rebuild their nervous system and improve their pelvic and muscle motion control abilities. Starting from functional requirements, multiple robot configuration design schemes are proposed, and various performance indicators are comprehensively considered to ultimately select and optimize a 9-DOF redundant series-parallel hybrid robot and complete its kinematic analysis and derivation. This robot consists of a 6-DOF vestibular parallel device and a 3-DOF proprioceptive parallel device in series, which are modular in structure and function while retaining the advantages of the strong load-bearing capacity of series robots and the large workspace of parallel robots. A new structural form is proposed for investigating lower-limb rehabilitation robots.

Thrombosis, a prevalent condition, can provoke severe health issues like acute coronary syndrome (ACS), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and pulmonary embolism (PE). The rising incidence of these diseases annually significantly impacts patient wellbeing and poses a substantial burden on healthcare systems. Recombinant neorudin is a developing anticoagulant drug for thrombotic diseases whose phase I clinical trials has been completed. The distribution pattern of it and its active metabolite, hirudin, in thrombi, blood surrounding the thrombus and peripheral blood remains uncertain. This study explored their distribution using a rat arteriovenous bypass thrombosis model, revealing higher neorudin levels in blood surrounding the thrombus and elevated hirudin concentrations in thrombus. Recombinant neorudin significantly increased Thrombin Time (TT) in both plasma surrounding the thrombus and peripheral blood, and reduced the wet weight of the thrombus. The results above demonstrated the anticoagulant and antithrombotic efficacy of recombinant neorudin in vivo. Give the distribution pattern of neorudin and hirudin, we hypothesized that neorudin was cleaved at the site of thrombus formation to produce hirudin, leading to the rapid accumulation of hirudin within local thrombi and resulting in a higher concentration inside the thrombus. This insight was crucial for understanding the action mechanisms of anticoagulants in thrombosis management and provided a valuable guidance for therapeutic strategies in treating thrombotic diseases.

Summary: Background: Global dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages has provided a sufficient opportunity for natural selection, thus enabling beneficial mutations to emerge. Characterisation of these mutations uncovers the underlying machinery responsible for the fast transmission of Omicron variants and guides vaccine development for combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Through systematic bioinformatics analysis of 496,606 sequences of Omicron variants, we obtained 40 amino acid substitutions that occurred with high frequency in the S protein. Utilising pseudoviruses and a trans-complementation system of SARS-CoV-2, we identified the effect of high-frequency mutations on viral infectivity and elucidated the molecular mechanisms. Finally, we evaluated the impact of a key emerging mutation on the immune protection induced by the SARS-CoV-2 VLP mRNA vaccine in a murine model. Findings: We identified a proline-to-leucine substitution at the 1263rd residue of the Spike protein, and upon investigating the relative frequencies across multiple Omicron sublineages, we found a trend of increasing frequency for P1263L. The substitution significantly enhances the capacity for S-mediated viral entry and improves the immunogenicity of a virus-like particle mRNA vaccine. Mechanistic studies showed that this mutation is located in the FERM binding motif of the cytoplasmic tail and impairs the interaction between the S protein and the Ezrin/Radixin/Moesin proteins. Additionally, this mutation facilitates the incorporation of S proteins into SARS-CoV-2 virions. Interpretation: This study offers mechanistic insight into the constantly increasing transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants and provides a meaningful optimisation strategy for vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2. Funding: This study was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Plan of China (2021YFC2302405, 2022YFC2303200, 2021YFC2300200 and 2022YFC2303400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32188101, 32200772, 82422049, 82241082, 32270182, 82372254, 82271872, 82341046, 32100755 and 82102389), Shenzhen Medical Research Fund (B2404002, A2303036), the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory Startup Fund (21330111), Shenzhen San-Ming Project for Prevention and Research on Vector-borne Diseases (SZSM202211023), Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Project at Southwest United Graduate School (202302AO370010). The New Cornerstone Science Foundation through the New Cornerstone Investigator Program, and the Xplorer Prize from Tencent Foundation.

Flippers are key tissues through which frogs swim in water, and their spreading and contracting state directly affects their ability to move while driving their hind limbs. First, inspired by movement mechanism of frog flippers, a controllable soft-body extension-driven frog-like flipper mechanism was designed by combining the large elasticity and strong ductility of soft-body materials. This mechanism is driven by single motor via linkage gear, enabling it to simulate the changing state of flipper extension precisely controlled by the frog as it swims. Second, nonlinear mechanical calculations of flipper deformation membrane were carried out, and deformation optimization model based on Ogden's super soft-body material was established. Subsequently, integral analysis of the deformed area of flippers was used to obtain a fluid dynamics model of the paddling performance. Theoretical calculations and computational fluid dynamics simulations have shown that flippers can instantaneously control changes in the flipper area to inhibit fluid separation while swimming, effectively reducing the water drag of flippers in water and thus increasing the swimming propulsive force. Finally, when the spreading area of flippers was the same, and the swimming efficiency increased by 1, 1.6, and 1.9 times compared with that of fixed, passive folding, and passive spring flippers, respectively.

In nature, gliding birds frequently execute intricate flight maneuvers such as aerial somersaults, perched landings, and swift descents, enabling them to navigate obstacles or hunt prey. It is evident that birds rely on different wing–tail configurations to accomplish a wide range of aerial maneuvers. For traditional fixed‐wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), pitch control primarily comes from the tail's elevators, while adjusting flight lift and drag involves deploying wing flaps. Although these designs ensure reliable flight, they compromise the drones’ maneuverability to maintain longitudinal stability. Therefore, the study introduces a biomimetic morphing wing UAV, and presents a pitch control strategy that simultaneously engages morphing wings, ailerons, and tail elevators. The pull‐up maneuver tests indicate that the proposed control method results in a pitch rate that is approximately 2.5 times greater than when using only the elevator control. A closed‐loop control system for the drone is also established. The closed‐loop flight experiment, which tracks a 45° pitch angle, demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed coupled control method in adjusting the flight attitude. In addition, during cruising, the UAV employs three configurations, straight wing, forward‐swept wing, and back‐swept wing, to cater to different mission objectives and augment its flight capabilities.

Abstract The respiratory system, especially the lung, is the key site of pathological injury induced by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Given the low feasibility of targeted delivery of antibodies into the lungs by intravenous administration and the short half-life period of antibodies in the lungs by intranasal or aerosolized immunization, mRNA encoding broadly neutralizing antibodies with lung-targeting capability can perfectly provide high-titer antibodies in lungs to prevent the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we firstly identify a human monoclonal antibody, 8-9D, with broad neutralizing potency against SARS-CoV-2 variants. The neutralization mechanism of this antibody is explained by the structural characteristics of 8-9D Fabs in complex with the Omicron BA.5 spike. In addition, we evaluate the efficacy of 8-9D using a safe and robust mRNA delivery platform and compare the performance of 8-9D when its mRNA is and is not selectively delivered to the lungs. The lung-selective delivery of the 8-9D mRNA enables the expression of neutralizing antibodies in the lungs which blocks the invasion of the virus, thus effectively protecting female K18-hACE2 transgenic mice from challenge with the Beta or Omicron BA.1 variant. Our work underscores the potential application of lung-selective mRNA antibodies in the prevention and treatment of infections caused by circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Efficient object handover between humans and robots holds significant importance within collaborative manufacturing environments. Enhancing the efficacy of human–robot handovers involves enabling robots to comprehend and foresee human handover intentions. This article introduces human‐teaching–robot‐learning‐prediction framework, allowing robots to learn from diverse human demonstrations and anticipate human handover intentions. The framework facilitates human programming of robots through demonstrations utilizing augmented reality and a wearable dataglove, aligned with task requirements and human working preferences. Subsequently, robots enhance their cognitive capabilities by assimilating insights from human handover demonstrations, utilizing deep neural network algorithms. Furthermore, robots can proactively seek clarification from humans via an augmented reality system when confronted with ambiguity in human intentions, mirroring how humans seek clarity from their counterparts. This proactive approach empowers robots to anticipate human intentions and assist human partners during handovers. Empirical results underscore the benefits of the proposed approach, demonstrating highly accurate prediction of human intentions in human–robot handover tasks.

Objective: Protein disulfide isomerase A3 (PDIA3) promotes the correct folding of newly synthesized glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. PDIA3 is overexpressed in most tumors, and it may become a biomarker of cancer prognosis and immunotherapy. Our study aims to detect the expression level of PDIA3 in gastric cancer (GC) and its association with GC development as wells as the underlying mechanisms. Methods: GC cell lines with PDIA3 knockdown by siRNA, CRISPR-cas9 sgRNAs or a pharmacological inhibitor of LOC14 were prepared and used. PDIA3 knockout GC cells were established by CRISPR-cas9-PDIA3 system. The proliferation, migration, invasion and cell cycle of GC cells were analyzed by cell counting kit-8 assay, wound healing assay, transwell assay and flow cytometry, respectively. Immunodeficient nude mice was used to evaluate the role of PDIA3 in tumor formation. Quantitative PCR and western blot were used for examining gene and protein expressions. RNA sequencing was performed to see the altered gene expression. Results: The expressions of PDIA3 in GC tissues and cells were increased significantly, and its expression was negatively correlated with the three-year survival rate of GC patients. Down-regulation of PDIA3 by siRNA, LOC14 or CRISPR-cas9 significantly inhibited proliferation, invasion and migration of GC cells TMK1 and AGS, with cell cycle arrested at G2/M phase. Meanwhile, decreased PDIA3 significantly inhibited growth of tumor xenograft in vivo. It was found that cyclin G1 (encoded by CCNG1 gene) expression was decreased by downregulation of PDIA3 in GC cells both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, protein levels of other cell cycle related factors including cyclin D1, CDK2, and CDK6 were also significantly decreased. Further study showed that STAT3 was associated with PDIA3-mediated cyclin G1 regulation. Conclusion: PDIA3 plays an oncogenic role in GC. Our findings unfolded the functional role of PDIA3 in GC development and highlighted a novel target for cancer therapeutic strategy.

In cold regions, saline soils can cause dissolution, settlement, and salt expansion of the roadbed under the influence of freeze–thaw cycles, so they need to be stabilized during road construction. In this study, lime, fly ash (FA), and polyacrylamide (PAM) were used to stabilize sulfate saline soils, and the stabilized saline soils were subjected to the unconfined compressive strength test (UCS), splitting test, and freeze–thaw cycle tests (FTs). The stabilization mechanism of the three materials on saline soils was also studied via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The test results showed that the addition of lime, FA, and PAM to saline soils can improve the mechanical properties and frost resistance of saline soils. After 28 d of curing, the UCS of FA-, PAM-, and lime-stabilized saline soils increased by at least 55%, 23%, and 1068%, respectively, and the splitting strength increased by at least 161%, 75%, and 2720%, respectively. After five freeze–thaw cycles, the residual strength ratios (BDRs) of the UCS of L2 (lime 8%), F2 (FA 11%), and P2 (PAM 1%) stabilized soils and saline soils were 71.78%, 56.42%, 39.05%, and 17.95%, respectively, and the decreasing trend tended to be stable. The saline soils stabilized by lime and FA were chemically stabilized, and their mechanical properties and frost resistance were better than the physical stabilization of PAM.

In recent years, with the development of the construction industry and the wide application of concrete materials, the demand for natural resources such as sand and gravel in China has continued to grow. The Xinjiang region is rich in natural desert sand resources due to its large desert area, which are inexpensive and easy to obtain, providing new possibilities for the production of concrete materials. The use of natural desert sand as concrete aggregate not only reduces the cost of construction but also contributes to the protection of the environment and the rational development and utilization of natural resources. However, poor particle gradation in natural desert sand leads to poor concrete properties. In this study, the Dinger–Funk equation was used to optimize the aggregate gradation of natural desert sand from Toksun, Xinjiang, and concrete specimens were prepared for mechanical properties and sulfate erosion resistance tests. The test results show that the four groups of aggregates optimized by the Dinger–Funk equation are better than the single gradation and natural gradation in terms of apparent density, bulk density, void ratio, mechanical properties, and durability of concrete. Where the distribution modulus n = 0.3 was the best, the compressive strength, splitting strength, and flexural strength were increased by 13.14%, 15.71%, and 11.08%, respectively, as compared to the natural gradation. After 90 sulfate erosion and dry–wet cycles, the mass change rate and relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete specimens first increased and then decreased, and at the distribution modulus n = 0.3, the aggregate particles of 0.3–0.6 mm, 0.6–1.18 mm, and 1.18–2.36 mm accounted for 26.98%, 32.33%, and 40.69%, respectively, and the smallest of the mass change rates of durability was the best.

Abstract Operando monitoring of complex physical and chemical activities inside rechargeable lithium-ion batteries during thermal runaway is critical to understanding thermal runaway mechanisms and giving early warning of safety-related failure. However, most existing sensors cannot survive during such extremely hazardous thermal runaway processes (temperature up to 500 °C accompanied by fire and explosion). To address this, we develop a compact and multifunctional optical fiber sensor (12 mm in length and 125 µm in diameter) capable of insertion into commercial 18650 cells to continuously monitor internal temperature and pressure effects during cell thermal runaway. We observe a stable and reproducible correlation between the cell thermal runaway and the optical response. The sensor’s signal shows two internal pressure peaks corresponding to safety venting and initiation of thermal runaway. Further analysis reveals that a scalable solution for predicting imminent thermal runaway is the detection of the abrupt turning range of the differential curves of cell temperature and pressure, which corresponds to an internal transformation between the cell reversible and irreversible reactions. By raising an alert even before safety venting, this new operando measurement tool can provide crucial capabilities in cell safety assessment and warning of thermal runaway.

The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a new type of energy vehicle that has extremely high demands for vehicle energy consumption management. This study aims to achieve refined energy management of PHEVs, while avoiding high-energy consumption associated with independent control of the thermal management system. For this purpose, a reliable co-simulation platform based on a particular PHEV energy and thermal management system architecture is developed. The platform aims to optimize engine fuel consumption and ensure the stability of the coolant temperature. This study introduces the NSGA-II genetic algorithm to the field of vehicle R&D to collaboratively control the rotary speed of the pump and fan, which highly accelerating the vehicle development cycle. The results show that the optimized algorithm for engine thermal management system efficiently improved fuel economy under dynamics driving conditions. Under SFTP-US06 conditions, the fuel consumption of the PHEV reduced by 0.46L/100 km, resulting in a fuel-saving rate of 5.67%, and the average power of low-voltage accessories was reduced by 81.81%.The approach used in this research can increase the accuracy of the virtual calibration and help shorten the automotive development cycle.

In this study, the conventional virtual chain method is refined and a 4‐degrees‐of‐freedom (DOF) parallel bipedal mechanism (PBM) for walking robots is presented. The proposed design has the advantages of low inertia, high load‐to‐weight ratio, and impact resistance. First, to solve the redundant motion‐transmission problem, a refined virtual chain method is proposed for the type synthesis of the 4‐DOF parallel thigh mechanism. Second, the relationship equation for each actuated wrench component in a reasonable actuated joint arrangement is derived, and the number and location of the actuated joints are determined. Third, by optimizing the design of the hip joint as a 2‐DOF counter‐centered five‐link spherical mechanism with different rotation centers, passive knee and ankle joints are designed based on the bionic principle. This design is performed to make the PBM isotropic and minimize inertia. The proposed PBM can withstand heavy loads and impacts owing to its humanoid crossed four‐link knee joint mechanism and compliant calf mechanism. Finally, the prototype is processed, and the rationality of the design and excellent performance of the PBM design are verified by dynamic and static simulations and gait experiments.

Three dimensional (3D) robot measurement systems, with binocular planar structured light cameras (3D cameras) installed at the terminal flange of robots, are widely used to measure complete workpieces by stitching point clouds obtained from various sampled poses. To ensure accurate stitching, hand–eye calibration is necessary. However, 3D cameras often demonstrate low precision in measuring jumping edges and vertices, resulting in challenges when selecting appropriate calibrators and calibration methods for hand–eye calibration. We propose a simple and high‐precision hand–eye calibration method for 3D robot measurement systems. Initially, a single sphere is utilized as the calibrator, and its poses are observed using specific robotic motions. Subsequently, the hand–eye calibration problem is formulated as a well‐known equation, AX=XB, relying solely on the high‐precision relative pose of the robot. Finally, a novel simultaneous solution for AX=XB and the corresponding closed‐form initial solution are introduced. Simulations and experiments confirm that the proposed method exhibits high noise resistance and achieves high‐precision calibration, even with a limited calibration data quantity. Compared with traditional methods, the fitting error of the proposed method can be reduced from over 0.9 mm to less than 0.6 mm.

Shorebird populations are declining around the world, which has prompted concerns regarding tidal flat protection during migration. The lack of high-tide roosts not only can limit the access of shorebirds to tidal flats but also means that they expend more energy when moving between tidal flats and roosting sites. This situation can negatively affect their body condition. This highlights the importance of maintaining a network of tidal flats and high-tide roosts “ecologically linked” by shorebirds. Using the Yellow River Delta (YRD), a key stopover site in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway (EAAF), as the case study area, we assessed how the availability of optimal high-tide roosts has changed over time and identified conservation hotspots and restoration gaps from the perspective of ecological connectivity for shorebirds. Based on a developed Geographic Information System (GIS) method, combined with knowledge of shorebird roost choices from the literature and remote sensing data, we evaluated the adequacy of high-tide roosts in the YRD over 20 years (2000–2020) and identified restoration areas by scenario analysis. The results showed that 1) the mean distance between potential intertidal habitats and the nearest optimal high-tide habitat increased from 1305 m in 2000 to 2931 m in 2020, with a 30 % decline in the area of intertidal habitats suitably covered by optimal high-tide habitats for shorebirds in Group 1 (body length ≦ 20 cm) in the YRD; 2) the scenario analysis suggested that this gap can be eliminated by seasonal management of mariculture ponds and salt pans in key areas. This approach is likely applicable to stopover sites throughout the EAAF.

Wheat is the main component for producing the flavor liquor Daqu. It is essential to meet the raw material quality requirements for high-quality Daqu to breed special wheat varieties and simultaneously develop the supporting cultivation practices. From 2018 to 2020, a field experiment involving four representative wheat cultivars (Chuanmai 104, Mianmai 367, Xikemai 8, and Shumai 1671) and six nitrogen application rates (0, 45, 90, 135, 180, and 225 kg/hm2) in four different agro-ecological sites (Guanghan, Zitong, and Xichang in Sichuan Province, and Nanzhang in Hubei Province) in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River basin was conducted. This study evaluated the main quality parameters of wheat raw materials and the quality of the flavor liquor Daqu. The results showed that, for most sensory and chemical parameters of Daqu, the main effects of year, location and variety, were all significant (P

Abstract A full understanding of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine-mediated antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 circulating variants will inform vaccine effectiveness and vaccination development strategies. Here, we offer insights into the inactivated vaccine-induced antibody responses after prime-boost vaccination at both the polyclonal and monoclonal levels. We characterized the VDJ sequence of 118 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and found that 20 neutralizing mAbs showed varied potency and breadth against a range of variants including XBB.1.5, BQ.1.1, and BN.1. Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) based on nonoverlapping mAbs exhibited enhanced neutralizing potency and breadth against the most antibody-evasive strains, such as XBB.1.5, BQ.1.1, and BN.1. The passive transfer of mAbs or their bsAb effectively protected female hACE2 transgenic mice from challenge with an infectious Delta or Omicron BA.2 variant. The neutralization mechanisms of these antibodies were determined by structural characterization. Overall, a broad spectrum of potent and distinct neutralizing antibodies can be induced in individuals immunized with the SARS-CoV-2 inactivated vaccine BBIBP-CorV, suggesting the application potential of inactivated vaccines and these antibodies for preventing infection by SARS-CoV-2 circulating variants.

Abstract Background The Warburg effect is well-established to be essential for tumor progression and accounts for the poor clinical outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. An increasing body of literature suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are important regulators for HCC. However, few circRNAs involved in the Warburg effect of HCC have hitherto been investigated. Herein, we aimed to explore the contribution of circFOXK2 to glucose metabolism reprogramming in HCC. Methods In the present study, different primers were designed to identify 14 circRNAs originating from the FOXK2 gene, and their differential expression between HCC and adjacent liver tissues was screened. Ultimately, circFOXK2 (hsa_circ_0000817) was selected for further research. Next, the clinical significance of circFOXK2 was evaluated. We then assessed the pro-oncogenic activity of circFOXK2 and its impact on the Warburg effect in both HCC cell lines and animal xenografts. Finally, the molecular mechanisms of how circFOXK2 regulates the Warburg effect of HCC were explored. Results CircFOXK2 was aberrantly upregulated in HCC tissues and positively correlated with poor clinical outcomes in patients that underwent radical hepatectomy. Silencing of circFOXK2 significantly suppressed HCC progression both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, circFOXK2 upregulated the expression of protein FOXK2-142aa to promote LDHA phosphorylation and led to mitochondrial fission by regulating the miR-484/Fis1 pathway, ultimately activating the Warburg effect in HCC. Conclusions CircFOXK2 is a prognostic biomarker of HCC that promotes the Warburg effect by promoting the expression of proteins and miRNA sponges that lead to tumor progression. Overall, circFOXK2 has huge prospects as a potential therapeutic target for patients with HCC.

The frog-inspired jumping robot is an interesting topic in the field of biomechanics and bionics. However, due to the frog’s explosive movement and large range of joint motion, it is very difficult to make their structure completely bionic. To obtain the optimal jumping motion model, the musculoskeletal structure, jumping movement mechanism, and characteristics of frogs are first systematically analyzed, and the corresponding structural and kinematic parameters are obtained. Based on biological characteristics, a model of the articular bone structure is created, which can fully describe the features of frog movement. According to the various factors affecting the frog’s jumping movement, mass and constraints are added, and the complex biological joint structure is simplified into four different jumping structure models. The jumping ground reaction force, velocity, and displacement of the center of mass, joint torque, and other motion information of these four models are obtained through ADAMS simulation to reveal the jumping movement mechanism and the influencing factors of frogs. Finally, various motion features are analyzed and compared to determine the optimal structural model of the comprehensive index, which provides a theoretical basis for the design of the frog-inspired jumping robot.

In the wild, gliding birds dodge obstacles or predators by folding and twisting their wings swiftly to perform a rapid roll. Accordingly, the authors strive to explore the feasibility of improving the roll rate of drones through this bird‐inspired morphing method, by using the asymmetric sweepback of wings to simulate the contraction of birds’ wings and the deflection of the aileron to imitate wing torsion. Moreover, the effects of wing morphing on the centroid, inertia matrix, and aerodynamic characteristics of the drone are explored herein, and a nonlinear dynamic model is established. Furthermore, a novel cooperative strategy that combines wing morphing with aileron deflection for roll control is introduced, and a flight controller based on this cooperative strategy is developed. Finally, the superiority of the cooperative strategy and the accuracy of the dynamic modeling have been validated in the outdoor flights of the morphing wing drone.

The treatment of patients with balance disorders is an urgent problem to be solved by the medical community. The causes of balance disorders are diverse. An aging population, traffic accidents, stroke, genetic diseases and so on are all possible factors. It has brought great pain and inconvenience to patients and their families. At present, there are two main types of assisted rehabilitation training robots for patients with balance disorders: exoskeleton robots and end robots. The exoskeleton robot is generally installed on the outside of the patient’s body to follow their movement, which can support the weight of the body and provide power support to help the patient train and recover lower limb ability. The use of end robots is usually to secure the patient’s foot to the motion platform and control the pedal to drive the lower limbs to conduct gait training. Such passive training is more suitable for patients with severe disorders. The patient has low awareness of active participation. This paper focuses on research on end rehabilitation training robots for balance disorders. In this paper, a robotic system for rehabilitation training of patients with balance disorders is invented. The robot body is a 9 degree of freedom (DOF) redundant series-parallel hybrid motion platform. Two sets of motion platforms with symmetrical mirror images are used together to simulate different motion modes of the human body and drive the human body to move. Each set of motion platforms is composed of a 6-DOF vestibular parallel device and a 3-DOF proprioception parallel device. It has the advantages of DOF decoupling and fast response, proposing a new structural form for the design of proprioceptive and vestibular simulation platforms. The robot’s functional level can be divided into a vestibular sense module and a proprioception module according to the structure. The two modules can work independently to achieve different functions or work together to achieve complex motion and multisensory fusion. This robot is a redundant mechanism device with 9 DOFs. Through a reasonable distribution of DOF and motion, the robot’s working space can be increased, and the robot’s flexibility and motion performance can be improved. In this paper, a trajectory tracking control algorithm for vestibular and proprioceptive simulation is proposed, which can provide unlimited body sense training for patients within the robot’s limited motion range.

The motion process and force of the jumper crossing a multiphase environment are of great significance to the research of small amphibious robots. Here, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics)-based simulation analysis for motions through multiphase environments (water–air multiphase) is successfully realized by UDF (user-defined function). The analytical model is first established to investigate the jumping response of the jumpers with respect to the jump angle, force, and water depth. The numerical model of the jumper and its surrounding fluid domain is conducted to obtain various dynamic parameters in the jumping process, such as jumping height and speed. Satisfactory agreements are obtained by comparing the error of repeated simulation results (5%). Meanwhile, the influence of the jumper’s own attributes, including mass and structural size, on the jumping performance is analyzed. The flow field information, such as wall shear and velocity when the jumper approaches and breaks through the water surface, is finally extracted, which lays a foundation for the structural design and dynamic underwater analysis of the amphibious robot.

The self-reconfigurable modular robotic system is a class of robots that can alter its configuration by rearranging the connectivity of their component modular units. The reconfiguration deformation planning problem is to find a sequence of reconfiguration actions to transform one reconfiguration into another. In this paper, a hybrid reconfiguration deformation planning algorithm for modular robots is presented to enable reconfiguration between initial and goal configurations. A hybrid algorithm is developed to decompose the configuration into subconfigurations with maximum commonality and implement distributed dynamic mapping of free vertices. The module mapping relationship between the initial and target configurations is then utilized to generate reconfiguration actions. Simulation and experiment results verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Organic cocrystals, which are assembled by noncovalent intermolecular interactions, have garnered intense interest due to their remarkable chemicophysical properties and practical applications. One notable feature, namely, the charge transfer (CT) interactions within the cocrystals, not only facilitates the formation of an ordered supramolecular network but also endows them with desirable semiconductor characteristics. Here, we present the intriguing ambipolar CT properties exhibited by nanosheets composed of single cocrystals of C70/ferrocene (C70/Fc). When heated to 150 °C, the initially ambipolar monoclinic C70/Fc nanosheet-based field-effect transistors (FETs) were transformed into n-type face-centered cubic (fcc) C70 nanosheet-based FETs owing to the elimination of Fc. This thermally induced alteration in the crystal structure was accompanied by an irreversible switching of the semiconducting behavior of the device; thus, the device transitions from ambipolar to unipolar. Importantly, the C70/Fc nanosheet-based FETs were also found to be much more thermally stable than the previously reported C60/Fc nanosheet-based FETs. Furthermore, we conducted visible/near-infrared diffuse reflectance and photoemission yield spectroscopies to investigate the crucial role played by Fc in modulating the CT characteristics. This study provides valuable insights into the overall functionality of these nanosheet structures.

ObjectiveBalloon angioplasty (BA) has been the treatment of choice for pulmonary artery stenosis (PAS) in children. There remains, however, a significant proportion of resistant lesions. The ultra-high pressure (UHP) balloons might be effective in a subset of these lesions. In this study, we analyzed the safety and efficacy with short- to mid-term follow-up results of UHP BA for PAS in children with congenital heart defects (CHD) in our center.MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort study in a single tertiary heart center. Children diagnosed with PAS associated with CHD were referred for UHP BA. All data with these children were collected for analysis with updated follow-up.ResultsA total of 37 UHP BAs were performed consecutively in 28 children. The success rate was 78.4%. A significantly (P = 0.005) larger ratio of the balloon to the minimal luminal diameter at the stenotic waist (balloon/waist ratio) was present in the success group (median 3.00, 1.64–8.33) compared to that in the failure group (median 1.94, 1.41 ± 4.00). Stepwise logistic regression analysis further identified that the balloon/waist ratio and the presence of therapeutic tears were two independent predictors of procedural success. The receiver operating characteristic curve revealed a cut-off value of 2.57 for the balloon/waist ratio to best differentiate success from failure cases. Signs of therapeutic tears were present in eight cases, all of whom were in the success group. Perioperative acute adverse events were recorded in 16 patients, including 11 pulmonary artery injuries, three pulmonary hemorrhages, and two pulmonary artery aneurysms. During a median follow-up period of 10.4 (0.1–21.0) months, nine cases experienced restenosis at a median time of 40 (4–325) days after angioplasty.ConclusionsThe UHP BA is safe and effective for the primary treatment of PAS in infants and children with CHD. The success rate is high with a low incidence of severe complications. The predictors of success are a larger balloon/waist ratio and the presence of therapeutic tears. The occurrence of restenosis during follow-up, however, remains a problem. A larger number of cases and longer periods of follow-up are needed for further study.

Robot measurement systems with a binocular planar structured light camera (3D camera) installed on a robot end-effector are often used to measure workpieces’ shapes and positions. However, the measurement accuracy is jointly influenced by the robot kinematics, camera-to-robot installation, and 3D camera measurement errors. Incomplete calibration of these errors can result in inaccurate measurements. This paper proposes a joint calibration method considering these three error types to achieve overall calibration. In this method, error models of the robot kinematics and camera-to-robot installation are formulated using Lie algebra. Then, a pillow error model is proposed for the 3D camera based on its error distribution and measurement principle. These error models are combined to construct a joint model based on homogeneous transformation. Finally, the calibration problem is transformed into a stepwise optimization problem that minimizes the sum of the relative position error between the calibrator and robot, and analytical solutions for the calibration parameters are derived. Simulation and experiment results demonstrate that the joint calibration method effectively improves the measurement accuracy, reducing the mean positioning error from over 2.5228 mm to 0.2629 mm and the mean distance error from over 0.1488 mm to 0.1232 mm.

With the use of collaborative robots in intelligent manufacturing, human–robot interaction has become more important in human–robot collaborations. Human–robot handover has a huge impact on human–robot interaction. For current research on human–robot handover, special attention is paid to robot path planning and motion control during the handover process; seldom is research focused on human handover intentions. However, enabling robots to predict human handover intentions is important for improving the efficiency of object handover. To enable robots to predict human handover intentions, a novel human handover intention prediction approach was proposed in this study. In the proposed approach, a wearable data glove and fuzzy rules are firstly used to achieve faster and accurate human handover intention sensing (HIS) and human handover intention prediction (HIP). This approach mainly includes human handover intention sensing (HIS) and human handover intention prediction (HIP). For human HIS, we employ wearable data gloves to sense human handover intention information. Compared with vision-based and physical contact-based sensing, wearable data glove-based sensing cannot be affected by visual occlusion and does not pose threats to human safety. For human HIP, we propose a fast handover intention prediction method based on fuzzy rules. Using this method, the robot can efficiently predict human handover intentions based on the sensing data obtained by the data glove. The experimental results demonstrate the advantages and efficacy of the proposed method in human intention prediction during human–robot handover.

This paper focuses on motion planning for mobile manipulators, which includes planning for both the mobile base and the manipulator. A hierarchical motion planner is proposed that allows the manipulator to change its configuration autonomously in real time as needed. The planner has two levels: global planning for the mobile base in two dimensions and local planning for both the mobile base and the manipulator in three dimensions. The planner first generates a path for the mobile base using an optimized A* algorithm. As the mobile base moves along the path with the manipulator configuration unchanged, potential collisions between the manipulator and the environment are checked using the environment data obtained from the on-board sensors. If the current manipulator configuration is in a potential collision, a new manipulator configuration is searched. A sampling-based heuristic algorithm is used to effectively find a collision-free configuration for the manipulator. The experimental results in simulation environments proved that our heuristic sampling-based algorithm outperforms the conservative random sampling-based method in terms of computation time, percentage of successful attempts, and the quality of the generated configuration. Compared with traditional methods, our motion planning method could deal with 3D obstacles, avoid large memory requirements, and does not require a long time to generate a global plan.

Abstract Background Some long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) have decreasing CD4+ T cell counts and progress to AIDS. Exploring which subsets of CD4+ T cell decreasing and the determinants associated with the decay in these patients will improve disease progression surveillance and provide further understanding of HIV pathogenesis. Methods Twenty-five LTNPs infected with HIV by blood products were classified as decreased (DG) if their CD4+ cell count dropped to

Background: Dual homeoboxes A pseudogene 8 (DUXAP8) is a newly discovered long noncoding RNA that has been shown to function as an oncogene in a variety of human malignant cancers. By integrating available data, this meta-analysis sought to determine the relationship between clinical prognosis and DUXAP8 expression levels in diverse malignancies.Materials and methods: A systematic search was performed to identify eligible studies from several electronic databases from their inception to 25 October 2021. Pooled odds ratios and hazard ratios with 95% CI were used to estimate the association between DUXAP8 expression and survival. For survival analysis, the Kaplan-Meier method and COX analysis were used. Furthermore, we utilized Spearman’s correlation analysis to explore the correlation between DUXAP8 and tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), the related genes of mismatch repair (MMR), DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), and immune checkpoint biomarkers.Results: Our findings indicated that overexpression of DUXAP8 was related to poor overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.63, 95% CI, 1.49–1.77, p < 0.001). In addition, elevated DUXAP8 expression was closely related to poor OS in several cancers in the TCGA database. Moreover, DUXAP8 expression has been associated with TMB, MSI, and MMR in a variety of malignancies.Conclusion: This study revealed that DUXAP8 might serve as a prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for cancer. It can be used to improve cancer diagnosis, discover potential treatment targets, and improve prognosis.

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common primary liver malignancy lacking effective molecularly-targeted therapies. HBO1 (lysine acetyltransferase 7/KAT7) is a member of MYST histone acetyltransferase family. Its expression and potential function in HCC are studied. We show that HBO1 mRNA and protein expression is elevated in human HCC tissues and HCC cells. HBO1 expression is however low in cancer-surrounding normal liver tissues and hepatocytes. In HepG2 and primary human HCC cells, shRNA-induced HBO1 silencing or CRISPR/Cas9-induced HBO1 knockout potently inhibited cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion, while provoking mitochondrial depolarization and apoptosis induction. Conversely, ectopic overexpression of HBO1 by a lentiviral construct augmented HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. In vivo, xenografts-bearing HBO1-KO HCC cells grew significantly slower than xenografts with control HCC cells in severe combined immunodeficient mice. These results suggest HBO1 overexpression is important for HCC cell progression.

ABSTRACTCombination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is effective but not curative, and no successful vaccine is currently available for human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1). Broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) provide a new approach to HIV-1 prevention and treatment, and these promising candidates advancing into clinical trials have shown certain efficacies in infected individuals. In addition, bNAbs have the potential to kill HIV-1-infected cells and to affect the course of HIV-1 infection by directly engaging host immunity. Nonetheless, challenges accompany the use of bNAbs, including transient suppression of viraemia, frequent emergence of resistant viruses in rebound viraemia, suboptimal efficacy in virus cell-to-cell transmission, and unclear effects on the cell-associated HIV-1 reservoir. In this review, we discuss opportunities and potential strategies to address current challenges to promote the future use of immunotherapy regimens.

Background: Metallothioneins (MTs) play crucial roles in the modulation of zinc/copper homeostasis, regulation of neoplastic growth and proliferation, and protection against apoptosis. The present study attempted to visualize the prognostic landscape of MT functional isoforms and identify potential prognostic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods: The transcriptional expression, comprehensive prognostic performances, and gene–gene interaction network of MT isoforms in HCC were evaluated via Oncomine, GEPIA, Kaplan–Meier plotter, and GeneMANIA databases. Characterized by good prognostic value in three external cohorts, MT1H was specifically selected as a potential prognostic biomarker in HCC with various clinicopathological features. Functional and pathway enrichment analyses of MT1H status were performed using cBioPortal, the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), and ssGSVA method.Results:MT1E/1F/1G/1H/1M/1X/2A was greatly downregulated in HCC. Prognostic analyses elucidated the essential correlations between MT1A/1B/1H/1X/2A/4 attenuation and poor overall survival, between MT1B/1H/4 downregulation and worse relapse-free survival, and between MT1A/1B/1E/1H/1M/2A/4 downregulation and diminished progression-free survival in HCC. Taken together, these results indicated the powerful prognostic value of MT1H among MTs in HCC. In-depth analyses suggested that MT1H may be more applicable to alcohol-derived HCC and involved in the downregulation of the inflammatory pathway, Jak–STAT pathway, TNF pathway, and Wnt signaling pathway.Conclusion: MT-specific isoforms displayed aberrant expression and varying prognostic value in HCC. MT1H repression in HCC was multi-dimensionally detrimental to patient outcomes. Therefore, MT1H was possibly associated with carcinogenesis and exploited as a novel prognostic biomarker and candidate therapeutic target for HCC.

Abstract In the present paper, we firstly improve the results on traveling wave solution that were established in (Liu and Weng in J. Differ. Equ. 258:3688–3741, 2015) for a neutral reaction–diffusion equation with quasi-monotone reaction. Secondly, by constructing two auxiliary equations and using Schauder’s Fixed Point Theorem, we further establish the existence and the asymptotic properties of the traveling wave solution for the equation with non-monotone reaction. Two examples are also given as the application of our results.

Morphing aircraft can alter their aerodynamic configuration to obtain multitask adaptability and improve flight performance. In this paper, we apply the variable sweep concept on a tandem-wing micro aerial vehicle (MAV) for multitask adaptability, the two canards of which can undergo backward sweep and the two wings can undergo forward sweep. The variable sweep morphing mode can not only weaken the additional inertia forces and moments caused by morphing, but can also maintain the longitudinal dynamic balance without elevator changes, which generates trim drag. What is more, it was demonstrated that sweep morphing can exert a great effect on the aerodynamic characteristics during the transition process, which are functionalized with the sweep inputs. The effect of addition forces and moments during the transition process was analyzed by dynamic response, and the longitudinal stability of the MAV were evaluated based on a linear parameter varying (LPV) model. Due to the dramatic effects of sweep morphing on the longitudinal stability, a gain scheduled transition controller based on a convex hull algorithm is proposed to guarantee the transition stability and improve the robustness, and a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) is used to guarantee the stability of the boundary point with the consideration of input saturation. Finally, the superior performance of the proposed controller was demonstrated by a theoretical simulation based on a nonlinear model.

This study characterized the damage characteristics of carbon fiber composite pressure vessels by the modal acoustic emission (MAE) method. The study showed how to use the extracted damage modal features and established MAE parameters to determine the damage mode of composite pressure vessels. First, the A0 and S0 Lamb modes of the AE signal were split through mode separation, and the time window was selected to establish the MAE characteristic parameters. Subsequently, based on the MAE parameters and the damage mode characteristics established from single damage experiments, a damage mode discrimination method was established. A bending test of carbon fiber composite laminates proved that the modal separation method and the MAE parameters establishment are reasonable and effective. The results from the hydraulic test of the graded loading performed on 20 MPa carbon fiber composite pressure vessels showed the accuracy of the damage mode discrimination method, and the damage state of the pressure vessel could be analyzed using the fiber fracture damage threshold according to the MAE parameters.

TP53 mutation is a critical driver mutation that affects the carcinogenesis and prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer (PC). Currently, there is no driver mutation-derived signature based on TP53 mutational status for prognosis and predicting therapeutic response in PC. In the present study, we characterized the TP53 mutational phenotypes in multiple patient cohorts and developed a prognostic TP53-associated signature based on differentially expressed genes between PC samples with mutated TP53 and wild-type TP53. Comprehensive investigations were carried out in prognostic stratification, genetic variation, immune cell infiltration, and efficacy prediction of chemotherapy and targeted therapy. We found that TP53 mutation commonly occurred as a survival-related driver mutation in PC. In total, 1,154 differentially expressed genes were found between two distinct TP53 mutational phenotypes. A five-gene TP53-associated signature was constructed in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)–Cox analysis and proven to be a robust prognostic predictor, which performed well in three independent Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) validating cohorts. Remarkably, patients in the low-risk group were characterized with decreased tumor mutation burden and activity of immunity, with favorable prognosis. Higher fractions of macrophages M0 and impaired CD8 + T cells were observed in patients in the high-risk group, suggesting immunosuppression with poor survival. Patients in the high-risk group also demonstrated enhanced response to specific chemotherapeutic agents, including gemcitabine and paclitaxel. Several targeted inhibitors, like histamine receptor inhibitor, were screened out as promising drugs for PC treatment. Collectively, the TP53-associated signature is a novel prognostic biomarker and predictive indicator of PC. The signature could contribute to optimizing prognostic stratification and guide effective PC treatments.

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the tolerability, safety, and pharmacokinetics of single and continuous dose administration of recombinant neorudin (EPR‐hirudin, EH) by intravenous administration in healthy subjects, and to provide a safe dosage range for phase II clinical research. Forty‐four subjects received EH as a single dose of between 0.2 and 2.0 mg/kg by intravenous bolus and drip infusion. In addition, 18 healthy subjects were randomly divided into three dose groups (0.15, 0.30, and 0.45 mg/kg/h) with 6 subjects in each group for the continuous administration trial. Single or continuous doses of neorudin were generally well tolerated by healthy adult subjects. There were no serious adverse events (SAEs), and all adverse events (AEs) were mild to moderate. Moreover, no subjects withdrew from the trial because of AEs. There were no clinically relevant changes in physical examination results, clinical chemistry, urinalysis, or vital signs. The incidence of adverse events was not significantly related to drug dose or systemic exposure. After single‐dose and continuous administration, the serum EH concentration reached its peak at 5 min, and the exposure increased with the increase in the administered dose. The mean half‐life (T1/2), clearance (Cl), and apparent volume of distribution (Vd) of EH ranged from 1.7 to 2.5 h, 123.9 to 179.7 ml/h/kg, and 402.7 to 615.2 ml/kg, respectively. The demonstrated safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of EH can be used to guide rational drug dosing and choose therapeutic regimens in subsequent clinical studies. Clinical trial registration: Chinadrugtrials.org identifier: CTR20160444.

This paper presents an innovative application of a 6-DOF robot in the field of rehabilitation training. This robot operates in a parallel fashion for lower limb movement, which adopts a new structure that can help patients to carry out a variety of rehabilitation exercises. Traditional parallel robots, such as the Stewart robot, have the characteristics of strong bearing capacity. However, it is difficult to achieve high-speed, high-acceleration and long journey movement. This paper presents a new robot configuration that can address these problems. This paper also conducts an all-around characteristic analysis of this new parallel robot, including kinematics, dynamics and structure, to better study the robot and improve its performance. This paper optimizes an algorithm to make it more suitable for rehabilitation training. Finally, the performance improvements brought by optimization are verified by simulations.

A considerable amount of early breast tumors grown at a depth over 2 cm in breast tissues. With high near-infrared absorption of iron-platinum (FePt) nanoparticles, we achieved few centimeters deep photoacoustic (PA) imaging for the diagnosis of breast tumors. The imaging depth can extend over 5 cm in chicken breast tissues at the low laser energy density of 20 mJ/cm2 (≤ ANSI safety limit). After anti-VEGFR conjugation and the tail-vein injection, we validated their targeting on tumor sites by the confocal microscopy and PA imaging. Using a home-made whole-body in vivo PA imaging, we found that the nanoparticles were rapidly cleared away from the site of the tumor and majorly metabolized through the liver. These results validated the clinical potential of the FePt nanoparticles in the low-toxicity PA theragnosis of early breast cancer and showed the capacity of our whole-body PA imaging technique on monitoring the dynamic biodistribution of nanoparticles in the living body.

Objective: B-cell-activating factor (BAFF) has been determined to be involved in HIV-1 infection and is correlated with disease progression, while its homologous molecule, a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL), is less frequently reported, and its role remains unclear. We aimed to characterize the APRIL levels in subjects with different HIV-1 infection statuses and determine the relationships with disease progression and immune activation.Methods: The plasma levels of APRIL were compared among 17 long-term non-progressors (LTNPs), 17 typical progressors (TPs), 10 ART-treated patients, and 10 healthy donors (HDs). Seventeen LTNPs and a subset of TPs (n = 6) who initiated ART were assessed longitudinally. The correlations between the APRIL levels and markers of disease progression, B-cell count and specific antibody response, and markers of immune activation and functional cells were analyzed.Results: The circulating APRIL levels were significantly elevated in the LTNPs relative to the TPs, ART-treated patients, and HDs. The longitudinal investigation revealed that the APRIL levels were decreased during follow-up in the LTNPs. ART did not significantly influence the APRIL levels. The levels of plasma APRIL were negatively correlated with the plasma HIV-1 viral load and cellular HIV-1 DNA levels and positively correlated with the CD4+ T-cell count and CD4/CD8 ratio. An inverse correlation was observed between the APRIL and BAFF levels. Furthermore, the APRIL levels were negatively correlated with the frequency of activated CD8+ T cells and levels of interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Finally, positive correlations were observed among the APRIL levels, the frequency of CD8+CD28+ T cells, and natural killer (NK) cell count.Conclusion: The APRIL levels were elevated in the LTNPs and negatively correlated with disease progression and immune activation, suggesting likely protective activity in HIV-1 infection.

Abstract Photoacoustics is a hybrid modality used to image biological tissues. As optical absorption of tissues depends on the wavelength of the transmitted light, multispectral photoacoustic datasets can be obtained by changing this wavelength. This study presents a regularization method to segment multispectral photoacoustic images based on both the spatial and spectral features of the dataset pixels. The proposed processing is adapted from the spatiotemporal mean-shift approach and cluster patterns with similar spectral profiles, i.e., the variation of the received amplitude among the wavelengths, independent of their initial position. The segmentation performance of this method has been experimentally tested on multispectral photoacoustic tomographic data. We initially used a phantom that contained fresh and stale liver samples, and then a second phantom that contained two blood dilutions or a colored absorber. Experimentally, a clustering performance greater than 98% is achieved. This method makes it possible to discriminate between different media, between the same medium as fresh or stale, and between the same medium with different dilutions.

Abstract Heterogeneous TiO2@Nb2O5 composites, in which TiO2 nanoparticles were evenly embedded on ultrathin Nb2O5 nanosheets, were used as anode materials for LIBs and demonstrated high capacities and excellent rate capability. For instance, this material displayed large capacities of 166.3 and 129.1 mA h g−1 at current densities of 1 A g−1 after 100 cycles and 5 A g−1 after 300 cycles, respectively.

ObjectivesThe influence of obesity on the outcomes of curative liver resection for malignancies remains controversial. We aimed to compare the in-hospital outcomes of liver resection for malignancy between obese and non-obese patients.DesignThis was a population-based, retrospective, observational study using data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), the largest all-payer US inpatient care database.SettingHospitalisations of adults ≥18 years old with diagnoses of primary hepatobiliary malignancy or secondary malignant neoplasms of liver in the USA were identified from the NIS database between 2005 and 2014.ParticipantsData of 18 398 patients ≥18 years old and underwent liver resection without pancreatic resection in the NIS were extracted. All included subjects had primary hepatobiliary malignancy or secondary malignant neoplasms of the liver. Patients were divided into obese and non-obese groups. These groups were compared with respect to postoperative complications, length of hospital stay and hospital cost according to surgical extent and approach.InterventionsPatients were undergoing lobectomy of liver or partial hepatectomy.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary endpoints of this study were postoperative complications, length of hospital stay and hospital cost.ResultsAfter adjustment, obese patients were significantly more likely to experience postoperative complications than were non-obese patients (adjusted OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.42), regardless of whether lobectomy or partial hepatectomy was performed. Furthermore, obesity was significantly associated with increased risk of postoperative complications in patients who underwent open liver resection, but not laparoscopic resection. No significant difference was observed in length of hospital stay or total hospital costs between obese and non-obese patients.ConclusionsAfter adjustment for preoperative comorbidities and other potential confounders, obesity is significantly associated with greater risk of complications in patients undergoing open liver resection for malignancy, but not laparoscopic resection.

The photosensitizer (PS) as photodynamic therapy (PDT) agent, can also serve as the contrast agent for dual-modal fluorescence imaging (FLI) and photoacoustic imaging (PAI) for precise cancer theranostics. In this study, the PAI capability of commercial PS, benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring-A (BPD) were examined and compared with that from the other PSs and dyes such as TPPS4, Cy5 dye and ICG. We discovered that BPD exhibited its advantage as contrast agent for PAI. Meanwhile, BPD can also serve as the contrast agent for enhanced FLI. In particular, the PEGylated nanoliposome (PNL) encapsulated BPD (LBPD) was produced for contrast enhanced dual-modal FLI and PAI and imaging-guided high-efficiency PDT. Enhanced FLI and PAI results demonstrated the significant accumulation of LBPD both within and among individual tumor during 24h monitoring for in vivo experiment tests. In-vitro and in-vivo PDT tests were also performed, which showed that LBPD have higher PDT efficiency and can easily break the blood vessel of tumor tissues as compared to that from BPD. It was discovered that LBPD has great potentials as a diagnosis and treatment agent for dual-modal FLI and PAI-guided PDT of cancer.

This paper proposes a hexapod robot posture control method for rugged terrain to solve the problem of difficulty in realizing the posture control of a foot robot in rough terrain. The walking gait and original position of a six-legged robot is planned, and the Layer Identification of Tracking (LIT) strategy is developed to enable the robot to distinguish mild rugged terrain and severe rugged terrains automatically. The virtual suspension dynamic model is established. In mild rugged terrain, the posture maintenance strategy is adopted to keep the stability of the torso. In severe rugged terrain, the posture adjustment strategy is adopted to ensure the leg workspace and make it more widely adapt to the changing terrain, and a gravity center position adjustment method based on foot force distribution is designed to use foot force as feedback to control the position and attitude. The experiment of posture control in rough terrain and climbing experiment in the ladder terrain shows that the hexapod robot has good posture maintenance and posture adjustment effects when traversing complex terrain through the posture maintenance strategy and the posture adjustment strategy. Combined with the terrain identification method based on LIT, the hexapod robot can successfully climb the ladder terrain through the identification of the changing ladder terrain, and the movement of the posture adjustment process is stable.

In manufacturing, traditional task pre-programming methods limit the efficiency of human–robot skill transfer. This paper proposes a novel task-learning strategy, enabling robots to learn skills from human demonstrations flexibly and generalize skills under new task situations. Specifically, we establish a markerless vision capture system to acquire continuous human hand movements and develop a threshold-based heuristic segmentation algorithm to segment the complete movements into different movement primitives (MPs) which encode human hand movements with task-oriented models. For movement primitive learning, we adopt a Gaussian mixture model and Gaussian mixture regression (GMM-GMR) to extract the optimal trajectory encapsulating sufficient human features and utilize dynamical movement primitives (DMPs) to learn for trajectory generalization. In addition, we propose an improved visuo-spatial skill learning (VSL) algorithm to learn goal configurations concerning spatial relationships between task-relevant objects. Only one multioperation demonstration is required for learning, and robots can generalize goal configurations under new task situations following the task execution order from demonstration. A series of peg-in-hole experiments demonstrate that the proposed task-learning strategy can obtain exact pick-and-place points and generate smooth human-like trajectories, verifying the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

In order to analyze the complex interactive behaviors between the robot and two humans, this paper presents an adaptive optimal control framework for human-robot-human physical interaction. N-player linear quadratic differential game theory is used to describe the system under study. N-player differential game theory can not be used directly in actual scenerie, since the robot cannot know humans’ control objectives in advance. In order to let the robot know humans’ control objectives, the paper presents an online estimation method to identify unknown humans’ control objectives based on the recursive least squares algorithm. The Nash equilibrium solution of human-robot-human interaction is obtained by solving the coupled Riccati equation. Adaptive optimal control can be achieved during the human-robot-human physical interaction. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by rigorous theoretical analysis and simulations. The simulation results show that the proposed controller can achieve adaptive optimal control during the interaction between the robot and two humans. Compared with the LQR controller, the proposed controller has more superior performance.

As there come to be more applications of intelligent robots, their task object is becoming more varied. However, it is still a challenge for a robot to handle unfamiliar objects. We review the recent work on the feature sensing and robotic grasping of objects with uncertain information. In particular, we focus on how the robot perceives the features of an object, so as to reduce the uncertainty of objects, and how the robot completes object grasping through the learning-based approach when the traditional approach fails. The uncertain information is classified into geometric information and physical information. Based on the type of uncertain information, the object is further classified into three categories, which are geometric-uncertain objects, physical-uncertain objects, and unknown objects. Furthermore, the approaches to the feature sensing and robotic grasping of these objects are presented based on the varied characteristics of each type of object. Finally, we summarize the reviewed approaches for uncertain objects and provide some interesting issues to be more investigated in the future. It is found that the object’s features, such as material and compactness, are difficult to be sensed, and the object grasping approach based on learning networks plays a more important role when the unknown degree of the task object increases.