Related Research Applications Research Articles

Study on the Preparation and Application of Flexible Photonic Crystal Hydrogel Sensors

With the development of deformation structured color materials and sensor signal analysis, the combination of photonic crystals with optical structure characteristics and highly sensitive hydrogels in the environment can stimulate response under conditions of mechanical deformation, temperature, humidity, pH, etc. Optical-based hydrogel sensors avoid these disadvantages of conventional sensors, such as non-destructive measurements, high-speed transmission, almost interference-free, telemetry remote control, and many other advantages. This paper introduces the optical properties of photonic crystals and the synthesis of hydrogel polymers, and describes the working principle of photonic crystal hydrogel sensors. There is no systematic generalization of the direction of flexible sensors, so this paper summarizes the progress in the direction of physical, chemical, and biological sensors, and reviews the related research applications, and discusses the potential future directions and development challenges.

Detecting the novel appliance in non-intrusive load monitoring

Results from Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring serve for energy decomposition and load identification, which would facilitate effective energy consumption management. Existing studies have focused on settings with a fixed number of electrical appliances. This differs significantly from real-world scenarios, thus largely limiting the practical application of related research. We study the pattern variations of the aggregated power sequences and separately analyze two different scenarios for new appliance introduction. Based on this, we propose a novel appliance detection method that can be implemented for low-frequency sampling data. The proposed method can determine whether new appliances are introduced without the prior information at the appliance level, thus establishing a basis for load monitoring in scenarios with dynamic changes in load topology. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves at least a 35.93 % improvement in the metric of F1 compared to the event-based approach in the presence of a different number of unknown appliances.

High-resolution respirometry (HRR)-derived assessment of human skeletal muscle respiratory control confirms loss of metabolic flexibility with aging and type 2 diabetes

Compromised metabolic flexibility is linked to skeletal muscle respiratory control limitations and associated with human senescence and pathological conditions, like type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). However, demonstrable proof of compromised metabolic flexibility is limited in research studying aging and T2D, possibly because respiratory control per consensus is commonly assessed at 37°C when mitochondrial temperatures have been shown to reach ~50°C. Therefore, the study objective was to assess indices of skeletal muscle respiratory control and metabolic flexibility via high-resolution respirometry (HRR) in older individuals (OFM) and those diagnosed with T2D. Our hypothesis is that both populations, OFM and T2D, will present with diminished metabolic flexibility when compared to relative controls, young fitness-matched (YFM) or body-mass and BMI-matched middle-aged overweight or obese (MAOO) controls, respectively. Study methodology involved: i) Collecting published HRR-derived assessments of skeletal muscle state 3 respiration using complex I+II substrates obtained with standard experimental conditions at 37°C (OXPHOS 37 ); ii) Temperature correcting published values to reflect mitochondrial temperatures ~10°C higher than contracting muscle (OXPHOS ~50 ); and iii) Estimating metabolic flexibility by taking the difference of OXPHOS 37 from OXPHOS ~50 . Data show that OFM (n = 170; age = 65 ± 6 y; Fitness Percentile = 48 ± 29%) express higher (p < 0.001) rates of OXPHOS 37 than YFM (n = 154; age = 25 ± 5 y; Fitness Percentile = 43 ± 14%) with average rates of 123 ± 39 and 109 ± 31 ml/kg/min, respectively, but no observable difference (p = 0.113) between T2D (n=148, body mass = 99 ± 17 kg, BMI = 32 ± 5) and MAOO (n = 267, body mass = 97 ± 19 kg, BMI = 32 ± 6) with average rates of 96 ± 24 and 100 ± 25 ml/kg/min, respectively. Alternatively, temperature correction and determination of metabolic flexibility confirmed our study hypothesis in OFM v YFM (5.88 ± 1.57 and 6.32 ± 1.92 l/min, respectively, p = 0.026) as well as T2D v MAOO (115 ± 29 and 122 ± 31 ml/kg/min, respectively, p = 0.024). A summary of results confirms that OFM and T2D suffer from compromised metabolic flexibility. However, these findings were only observable after temperature correcting previously published HRR-derived data. Conclusions: This study further highlights the importance of maintaining muscle mass and relative fitness, respectively, to retain metabolic flexibility throughout life. Also, general standardized HRR methodologies may currently obscure some biological context and, thus, limit our full application of related research. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Semiotics in South Korea: history and research trends

Abstract Semiotic studies in South Korea have a relatively short history; nevertheless, they enjoy a rapid development from a high starting point, so their research scale and insightful perspectives should not be underestimated. The introduction of “structuralist theory” in the late 1960s paved the way for Korean semiotics to enter the academic arena ideologically and theoretically. In the process of following the international trend of semiotic research, Korean semiotics has also formed its own characteristics. After over 40 years of development, it has become an important part of the world’s semiotic studies. It has experienced three historical stages, namely, the budding period (1974–1983), the steady development period (1984–1993), and the comprehensive advancement period (1994–present). The current Korean semiotics presents obvious new trends as follows: conducting cross-regional integration research, highlighting the national characteristic culture, and focusing on the current application of research. First, Korean scholars switched their focus to East Asia, and emphasized the presentness and application of related research while focusing on the combination of semiotics with traditional cultural classics and cultural heritage. Second, in terms of the field of study, Korean semiotics has expanded across multiple fields such as linguistics, literature, aesthetics, philosophy, communication and traditional culture, music, dance, film, architecture, design, and so forth. Finally, in terms of studying the application of semiotics, it has already reached a considerable scale and depth. Although semiotic research in Korea still needs continuous efforts in enhancing theoretical depth and rigor, it has created a wide development space and displayed unlimited potential in terms of innovation of research perspectives and novelty of ideas.

PhotonLabeler: An Inter-Disciplinary Platform for Visual Interpretation and Labeling of ICESat-2 Geolocated Photon Data

NASA’s ICESat-2 space-borne photon-counting lidar mission is providing global elevation measurements that will provide significant benefits to a variety of ecosystem related research applications. Given the novelty of elevation and the derived data products from the ICESat-2 mission, the research community needs software tools that can facilitate photon-level analyses to support product validation and development new analysis methods. Here, we describe PhotonLabeler, a free graphic user interface (GUI) for manual labeling and visualization of ICESat-2 Geolocated Photon data (ATL03). Developed in MATLAB, the GUI facilitates the reading and display of ATL03 Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) files, the manual labeling of individual photons into target classes of choice using a number of point selections tools and enables eventual saving of labeled data in ASCII format. Other capabilities include saving and loading of labeling sessions to manage labeling tasks over time. We expect labeled data generated using the application to serve two main purposes. First, serve as reference data for validating various products from ICESat-2 mission, especially for study sites around the world that do not have existing reference datasets such as airborne lidar. Second, serve as training and validation data in the development of new algorithms for generating various ICESat-2 data products. We demonstrate the first use case through a validation case study for the land and vegetation product (ATL08), which provides canopy and terrain height estimates, over two sites. For the first site, located in northwestern Zambia, we used ICESat-2 ATL03 data acquired at night and for our second site in Texas, US, we used ATL03 data acquired during the day. ATL08 canopy and terrain height data showed good agreement (mean R2 > 0.8) with corresponding height metrics generated from manually labeled data. A comparison between PhotonLabeler and ATL08 photon labels also showed good agreement −93.3% and 95.4% overall accuracies for the Texas and Zambia site, respectively. These results, while limited in scope, show how PhotonLabeler can facilitate photon-level analyses for ICESat-2 data products beyond the ATL08 product. The PhotonLabeler application is freely available as a compiled MATLAB binary to enable free access and utilization by interested researchers.

Comparison among three methods for obtaining chloroplast genome sequences from the conifer Pinus massoniana

The chloroplast genome (CPG) is a powerful tool for phylogenetic studies. Many CPGs have been determined using NGS. However, the large nuclear-genome and difficult CPG-DNA separation in conifers limit their application in related research. In this study, three methods (PCR + Sanger, PCR + HiSeq, cpDNA+HiSeq) for obtaining the CPGs of Pinus massoniana were compared for sequence accuracy, time and cost. PCR + Sanger obtained the most accurate CPGs with advantages in cost (3.08$/kb) and time (2–3 days); PCR + HiSeq generated some DNA fragments with low depth, and the SNPs false-positive-rate (0.44) and sequencing error-rate (0.0265) of this method were higher than those of the cpDNA+HiSeq. Moreover, the cost (~6.17$/kb) and time (4–5 weeks) would significantly increase when HiSeq sequencing were outsourced to sequencing service company. Thus, for the study of intraspecific and interspecies variation in CPGs, CPG sequences can be obtained by comprehensive methods to bridge the method shortcomings. Scuh as sequence accuracy, cost and time.

Duplex featured polymerase-driven concurrent strategy for detecting of ATP based on endonuclease-fueled feedback amplification

We have developed a novel amplification strategy termed Endo IV-assisted feedback amplification (EFA) taking advantages of rolling circular amplification (RCA) and Endo IV-assisted signal amplification (ESA) biosensing platform for detecting of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Two kinds of specially programmed DNA complexes were employed into EFA system, one composed of a split aptamer fragment and a circular template, and the other composed of AP probe and the same circular template. Hence, ATP as a target induced the self-assembly of spilt aptamer fragments and initiated RCA reaction generating a linear DNA, which consists of hybridization elements with Complex II and formation elements of G-quadruplex. More importantly, the addition of endonuclease IV can cut the Complex II into two parts, and one of which can be trimming by phi29 DNA polymerase initiating the new round of RCA reaction producing more RCA products. Thus significantly enhanced fluorescent signal can be measured for ATP as expected, and our proposed strategy exhibits improved performances toward ATP ultrasensitive detection with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 0.09 nM. Additionally, our developed biosensor demonstrates high selectivity and the superiority of simplicity towards ATP. Above these significant aspects, our proximity binding-induced RCA reaction-based fluorescent assay and Endo IV-fueled feedback signal amplification strategy presents an optimal detection performance towards ATP for potential application in related research and clinical diagnosis.

Tailored biodegradable triblock copolymer coatings obtained by MAPLE: a parametric study

Biocompatible and biodegradable coatings with controllable and tailored chemical and physical characteristics (i.e. morphology and roughness) are of great interest in bone related research applications. Within this research direction, in this work, a series of novel biodegradable coatings based on triblock copolymers poly(lactide-co-caprolactone)-block-poly(ethylene–glycol)-block-poly(lactide-co-caprolactone) (PLCL–PEG–PLCL) were obtained by matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) and their morphological characteristics and roughness were modulated by varying target composition and laser fluence. The coatings were used for preliminary in vitro testing with MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts. It was found that for a specific range of fluences, the main functional groups in the MAPLE-deposited thin films, as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, are similar to the molecular structures of the initial material. Depending on the deposition parameters, significant changes in morphologies, i.e. material accumulation in the form of droplets, wrinkles, or carpet-like structures were revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy. The optimized coating characteristics were further correlated to MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts response. The ability to control the morphology and to maintain unaltered the chemistry of the deposited material through MAPLE is an important step in creating functional bio-interfaces in the field of biomedical research and tissue engineering.

CRISPR guide RNA design for research applications.

The rapid rise of CRISPR as a technology for genome engineering and related research applications has created a need for algorithms and associated online tools that facilitate design of on‐target and effective guide RNAs (gRNAs). Here, we review the state of the art in CRISPR gRNA design for research applications of the CRISPR‐Cas9 system, including knockout, activation, and inhibition. Notably, achieving good gRNA design is not solely dependent on innovations in CRISPR technology. Good design and design tools also rely on availability of high‐quality genome sequence and gene annotations, as well as on availability of accumulated data regarding off‐targets and effectiveness metrics.

Development of a high-performance liquid chromatography – Tandem mass spectrometry urinary pterinomics workflow

Pteridines have evoked considerable interest from the scientific community owing to their prominent roles in human health and disease. The availability of analytical methodologies suitable for comprehensive pteridine profiling, termed here as “pterinomics”, has been limited by inconsistent sample preparation and the exclusion of lesser studied pteridine derivatives. In response, the present study describes a new pterinomics workflow using a high-performance liquid chromatography – tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) methodology for the simultaneous analysis of 15 pteridine derivatives including four structural isomers, marking the largest quantitative pteridine panel that has been studied to-date. The validated method possessed excellent sensitivity with method detection limits (0.025 μg L−1 to 0.5 μg L−1) that were comparable or superior to existing techniques. Spiked recovery studies demonstrated the technique was both accurate (88–112%) and precise (RSD: 0–6%). A comparative study of commonly used oxidative pretreatments, including triiodide, permanganate, and manganese dioxide, revealed that the oxidative mechanisms were inefficient, complex, and concentration dependent. Finally, 50 clinical urine specimens were examined with the new technique wherein 10 pteridine derivatives were quantified and population ranges have been given. This technique can be used to examine pteridine molecular epidemiology and biochemistry to support related research applications, and may further be readily extended to include additional pteridine derivatives and biological matrices for specific applications.

TLC/IR (UATR) off-line coupling for the characterization of additives in EPDM rubber compositions

The knowledge of the components that constitutes a rubber composition is important to justify the properties of the final device, particularly when it comes to elastomeric compositions used in the aerospace industry. The development of methodologies that can detect components, specially the smallest proportion of the rubbers composition is a constant challenge and an important gap in the studies of this nature. Therefore, methodologies by using standard techniques and/or of last generation are important in rubber industry and research laboratories, aiming application in related research. In this context, this study shows the coupling/association techniques (off-line) of thin layer chromatography and infrared spectroscopy (TLC/IR), being the IR spectra obtained by universal attenuated total reflection (UATR), applied to the analysis of additives in rubber compositions of ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM). Two EPDM compositions, a kind of eluent system and Gibbs' reagent, as developer, were used. Basically, all organic components were detected by this methodology, being possible to suggest that it can be applied for detecting additives of similar chemical structures, even though it's presents in small amounts in the composition.

Performance assessment of Hargreaves model in estimating solar radiation in Abuja using minimum climatological data

Lack of incident solar radiation is a significant impediment for most related research applications. Mathematical models have been handy in reducing challenges being posed by inability of having solar radiation instrumental sites at every point on the Earth. Hargreaves-Samani’s model is one of the several empirical methods so far formulated in estimating global solar radiation (GSR) from maximum and minimum temperature data. Most of these models are often been applied in mid-latitudes. The paper attempts to assess the performance of Hargreaves-Samani’s model in the Savanna region using Abuja as the case study. Estimated values of GSR from one month data adapted from Nigeria meteorological Agency (NIMET); using Hargreaves’ model shows 90% index of agreement (IA) with the observed values; which suggests a good model performance that has significant correction of about 29%. Concepts are suggested on improving the model performance in the savannah region. Key words: Global Solar radiation, air temperature, model validation, inversion-layer.

A super-resolution Fresnel zone plate and photon sieve

Abstract Realizing a smaller or sharper diffractive center spot is a valuable research aim in soft X-ray focus and other related research applications. Fresnel zone plates (FZP) and photon sieves (PS) are often used to focus the X-rays or other wavelength light at present. Here, we show that combination of a super-resolution phase mask (SPM) and an FZP (or PS) as one diffractive optical element can realize a smaller or sharper diffractive center spot without significantly increasing the fabrication difficulty. All these diffractive phase elements can be applied to beam shaping, mask-less lithography, energy congregation in high power lasers, soft X-rays focus, and any other field that requires a smaller or sharper diffractive center spot.