Structural Design Principles Research Articles

Development of Next-Generation Nutritionally Fortified Plant-Based Milk Substitutes: Structural Design Principles.

Consumers are increasingly interested in decreasing their dietary intake of animal-based food products, due to health, sustainability, and ethical concerns. For this reason, the food industry is creating new products from plant-based ingredients that simulate many of the physicochemical and sensory attributes associated with animal-derived foods, including milk, eggs, and meat. An understanding of how the ingredient type, amount, and organization influence the desirable physicochemical, sensory, and nutritional attributes of these plant-based foods is required to achieve this goal. A potential problem with plant-based diets is that they lack key micronutrients, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, and ω-3 fatty acids. The aim of this review is to present the science behind the creation of next-generation nutritionally fortified plant-based milk substitutes. These milk-like products may be formed by mechanically breaking down certain plant materials (including nuts, seeds, and legumes) to produce a dispersion of oil bodies and other colloidal matter in water, or by forming oil-in-water emulsions by homogenizing plant-based oils and emulsifiers with water. A brief overview of the formulation and fabrication of plant-based milks is given. The relationship between the optical properties, rheology, and stability of plant-based milks and their composition and structure is then covered. Approaches to fortify these products with micronutrients that may be missing from a plant-based diet are also highlighted. In conclusion, this article highlights how the knowledge of structural design principles can be used to facilitate the creation of higher quality and more sustainable plant-based food products.

Phase Change Materials for Nonvolatile, Solid‐State Reflective Displays: From New Structural Design Rules to Enhanced Color‐Changing Performance

AbstractWith the arrival of omnimedia era, there has been an increasing demand for energy‐saving, colorful, and portable displays. Traditional display technologies, such as electrophoresis and electronic ink display suffer from low color switching speed and poor color richness. Due to their high performances, phase change materials (PCMs)‐based nonvolatile, solid‐state reflective display coatings have become the most promising materials for new portable display technology. Existing researches mainly focus on improving the color‐changing performance of coatings by optimizing film structural parameters, but ignore improving the performance by designing new PCMs. Here, this study reveals the color‐changing mechanisms of display coatings through a combination of experiments, first‐principles calculations, spectral fitting, and optical simulation. It is found that reducing the vacancy concentrations of PCMs can increase the color‐changing performance of coatings owing to the increase in p–p coupling strength. Based on previous reports and the new insights into p–p coupling strength, this study proposes three structural design principles of ideal PCMs (low ionicity, a limited degree of hybridization, and high p–p coupling strength) and predicts new PCM candidates for display applications. This study opens a broad avenue for developing nonvolatile display technologies and material selection.

Procedural Reconstruction of 3D Indoor Models from Lidar Data Using Reversible Jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo

Automated reconstruction of Building Information Models (BIMs) from point clouds has been an intensive and challenging research topic for decades. Traditionally, 3D models of indoor environments are reconstructed purely by data-driven methods, which are susceptible to erroneous and incomplete data. Procedural-based methods such as the shape grammar are more robust to uncertainty and incompleteness of the data as they exploit the regularity and repetition of structural elements and architectural design principles in the reconstruction. Nevertheless, these methods are often limited to simple architectural styles: the so-called Manhattan design. In this paper, we propose a new method based on a combination of a shape grammar and a data-driven process for procedural modelling of indoor environments from a point cloud. The core idea behind the integration is to apply a stochastic process based on reversible jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo (rjMCMC) to guide the automated application of grammar rules in the derivation of a 3D indoor model. Experiments on synthetic and real data sets show the applicability of the method to efficiently generate 3D indoor models of both Manhattan and non-Manhattan environments with high accuracy, completeness, and correctness.

Principles and thoughts of magnetic surgical instrument structure planning

<p indent=0mm>Since the first magnetic surgical instrument appeared in the 1970s, magnetic surgical instruments have made great progress in the following <sc>50 years.</sc> They solved a series of complex clinical problems, and optimized traditional surgical methods. The master works of magnetic surgical instruments, such as Levita and LINX, were published in the top journals, and made a profound impact on the surgical and scientific communities. After the magnetic surgery theories and its application systems raised by experts in surgical and engineering fields, magnetic surgery gradually becomes an important branch of surgery. In recent years, under the guidance of the magnetic surgery theory system, magnetic surgery has achieved vigorous development. A variety of highly innovative magnetic surgical instruments have emerged endlessly. However, it cannot be ignored that with the development of magnetic surgery, there will still be many obstacles in the future. Because magnetic surgery is an interdisciplinary discipline, it requires a deep integration of surgery and engineering. The most representative problem is how to make reasonable and effective structural planning of magnetic instruments. This is the most basic problem of magnetic surgery. Therefore, this article will discuss the principles of magnetic surgical instrument structure planning, summarize the problems encountered in the past, and propose potential solutions to the corresponding problems. In the early stage of the development of magnetic surgery, due to lack of experience and theoretical guidance, the irrational design of magnetic surgical instruments was common. The following four principles of structural design of magnetic surgical instruments could not be followed: Magnetic force to meet the function, safety without damage, minimum volume, and optimized shape. As a result, some magnetic surgical instruments failed to fully utilize their unique advantages, and even caused damage to patients, which greatly limits the promotion of magnetic surgery. The author concluded that there were four problems in the design of the magnetic surgical mechanical structure in the past: The magnetic force of the magnet was uncontrollable, the magnetic force of the magnet was irreversible, the magnetic force of the magnet was unknown, and the shape of the magnet was immutable. In response to the above problems, global surgical and scientific experts are also actively responding. At present, preliminary solutions have been proposed for this purpose, and success in experimental verification has been achieved. The authors put forward some solutions for peer reference and verification. Magnetic surgical instruments are mostly made of permanent magnet materials. The permanent magnet has the defect of uncontrollable magnetic force, and electromagnetic and electronically controlled permanent magnets can completely solve this problem. The characteristics of a soft magnetic material determine that it can be rapidly saturated and magnetized, and it can be quickly demagnetized after the magnetic field is removed. With this feature, hard magnet and soft magnet can be used together during magnetic surgery. In addition, if a miniature distance sensor can be loaded on both ends of the magnetic rings, and the distance is converted into a signal through wireless transmission technology, and interpreted by an external receiver, the distance between the magnetic staplers can be finally obtained, so as to achieve an intelligent magnetic anastomosis. In addition, the magnetic structure can be deformed through fluid magnetism or self-assembly magnetism to meet clinical needs.

Study on the Teaching Reform of Concrete Structural Design Principle under the Application-oriented Talents of Civil Engineering

Due to the issues of weak practical ability of students, ineffective curriculum teaching, this paper attempts to make a preliminary reform on concrete structural design principle course for undergraduate colleges based on the shortcomings of the course of concrete structural principle design: after reform, students will become as the main body of teaching link. Starting from the pathway of theory and practice and bring students into the lab and let them participate in scientific research activities to enrich their practice ability through optimizing the blackboard teaching pattern and introducing the new media supplementary teaching for enhancing the teaching efficiency. Our school also implemented the teaching activities of concrete structure design principle under the new mode for undergraduate students in 2015 and 2016. The students’ achievements and practical ability have been improved to a certain extent and good teaching results have been achieved. The authors try to provide some suggestions for the teaching reform of concrete structural design principle course in undergraduate colleges.

Tunable poly(aryleneethynylene) networks prepared by emulsion templating for visible-light-driven photocatalysis

A simple structural design principle of poly(arylene ethynylene) π-conjugated microcellular polymers as the pure organic, heterogeneous photocatalytic systems is presented. They are synthesized by the Sonogashira cross-coupling polymerization of 1,3,5-triethynylbenzene and 1,4-diiodobenzene, 2,5-dimethoxy-1,4-diiodobenzene or 2,6-diiodo-4-nitrophenol within the high internal phase emulsion (HIPE). Such poly(arylene ethynylene)-based polyHIPEs allow for fine alignment of the valence and conduction band levels to enhance their photocatalytic activity. The resulting polyHIPEs exhibit substantial semiconducting properties, such as strong light-harvesting capability in the visible-light region, most likely due to their π-extended poly(arylene ethynylene) main backbone with donor–acceptor characters having optical fine-tuned bandgaps over a range of 1.70–2.35 eV. The intriguing properties allow these polyHIPE photocatalysts to efficiently catalyze the degradation of water-dissolved endocrine disrupting compound bisphenol A (BPA) under visible light.

Lightweight topology optimization with consideration of the fail-safe design principle for continuum structures

ABSTRACT The topology optimization of continuum structures is investigated to obtain an optimized topology satisfying the fail-safe design principle with suitable redundancy components. An optimization model with a nonlinear objective and linear constraints is established by defining the reciprocal topology variable as design variables and linearly approximating the structural performance. The model is solved by a dual sequential quadratic programming (DSQP) algorithm. Topology optimization with displacement constraints is used as an example. The presented optimization model and solution approach offers the following advantages. (1) A volume constraint, which makes determining reasonable values difficult, need not be specified. (2) Weighted coefficients, which combine multiple compliances under different load cases into a combined compliance, need not be specified as well. (3) The presented optimization model is a type of single-objective programming and thus avoids the challenges in the min-max model. (4) The proposed method shows a strong capability of finding optimum solutions.

A simple strategy to design 3-layered Au-TiO2 dual nanoparticles immobilized cellulose membranes with enhanced photocatalytic activity

Cellulose-based photocatalysts of supported nanoparticles feature high photocatalytic activity but their facile construction and photocatalytic mechanism exploration are highly challenging. Herein, a simple structural design principle and synergistic properties of 3-layered porous cellulose-based membranes are used for catalytic degradation of Rhodamine B in an aqua system. The 3-layered Au-TiO2 cellulose membranes were fabricated through the tape method and the suction filtration process. The composite membranes with strong redox ability, high charge-separation efficiency, and wide absorption range could stimulate the solar-driven plasma evaporation of Au nanoparticles and the photocatalytic function of TiO2 nanoparticles simultaneously. As characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, well-defined Au nanoparticles with an average size of 18.24 ± 3.17 nm were uniformly distributed on the TiO2-CM surface. Compared with TiO2-CM, TiO2-Au-CM showed better catalytic degradation of organic dye. This work demonstrated that a simple strategy design of Au-TiO2-CM could efficiently enhance the photocatalytic activity for the degradation of dyes in water.

Mitochondrion-Targeting Peptides and Peptidomimetics: Recent Progress and Design Principles.

Mitochondria are multifunctional subcellular organelles whose operations encompass energy production, signal transduction, and metabolic regulation. Given their wide range of roles, they have been studied extensively as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. Mitochondrion-mediated pathways have been identified as promising targets in the context of these diseases. However, the delivery of specific probes and drugs to the mitochondria is one of the major problems that remains to be solved. Over the past decade, much effort has been devoted to developing mitochondrion-targeted delivery methods based on the membrane characteristics and the protein import machinery of mitochondria. While various methods utilizing small molecules to polymeric particles have been introduced, it is notable that many of these compounds share common structural elements and physicochemical properties for optimal selectivity and efficiency. In this Perspective, we will review the most recently developed mitochondrion-targeting peptides and peptidomimetics to outline the key aspects of structural requirements and design principles. We will also discuss successful and potential applications of mitochondrial delivery to assess opportunities and challenges in the targeting of mitochondria.

Preparation of VCAP/AMPS/DMDAAC/AM Quaternary Copolymer Filtrate Reducer for Drilling Fluids

It is difficult for existing filtrate reducer to meet oilfield application requirements. Based on the molecular structure design principle of temperature-resistant vinyl copolymer, a quaternary copolymer filtrate reducer has been developed with VCAP, AMPS, DMDAAC and AM as monomers through water solution copolymerization using redox initiation system. The optimum synthesis conditions were as follows: the mole ratio of monomer was VCAP/AMPS/DMDAAC/AM=1:1:1:9, reaction temperature was 70°C, reaction time was 6 h, initiator mass ratio was 0.2% and total monomer mass ratio was 20%. The filtration loss of base slurry with 1wt% optimum synthetic product after aging at 150 °C for 16 h was 5.2 mL.

Structural Design and Application of Azo-based Supramolecular Polymer Systems

This article presents a brief overview of recent advances in azo-containing supramolecular systems. In literature, it has been shown that azo supramolecular polymers and their composite materials exhibit fast and intelligent responses to various external stimuli, such as temperature, pH change, redox reagents, ligands, coupling reagents, etc. In applications, these systems are widely used for molecular motors, shape memory, liquid crystal, solar thermal energy storage, signal transmission, intelligent encryption, and other purposes. Furthermore, these systems can function as key components for device upgrade processing. However, the design and rules of azo supramolecular polymers are still not supported by an exact theory. Information about the relationship between the spatial structure and behavior is lacking, and new supramolecular materials cannot be designed by adding functional moieties to known azo polymers. Based on the current research status, this review mainly summarizes the structural design principles as well as structures and applications of known azo supramolecules; meanwhile, it highlights the emerging development fields, recent advances, and prospects in fabricating self-assembling intelligent supramolecular systems with azo supramolecular polymers as responsive units. The goal of this review is to bring new inspiration to researchers who want to optimize the chemical structure, steric conformation, electrostatic environment, and specific molecular functionalization.

Recent Advances in 4D Bioprinting.

4D bioprinting has emerged as a powerful technique where the fourth dimension "time" is incorporated with 3D bioprinting. In this technique, the printed bioconstructs are able to change their shapes or functionalities when triggered by either internal or external stimuli. In 4D bioprinting, the materials with/without cells enable the spatial-temporal control of the shape and/or functionality of the constructs. Using this method, researchers have printed bioconstructs that can transform into rather complex structures which are difficult to obtain directly by 3D bioprinting or other methods. Although the history of 4D bioprinting is short, rapid progress in this field is witnessed recently, with focus mainly on developing novel 4D printable materials, exploring novel methods to precisely control the process, and pursuing biomedical applications. To better understand this technique, the recent advances of 4D bioprinting, including the mechanism, structure design principles, applications in biomedical engineering, and also the facing challenges are reviewed.

From Natural Complexity to Biomimetic Simplification: The Realization of Bionic Fish Inspired by the Cownose Ray

Features of fish-like environmental compatibility and maneuverability have attracted bioinspired design researchers worldwide to contemplate the practical applications of robotic fish. This article presents a conceptual design for and the development of a robotic fish inspired by the cownose ray. We extracted essential biomimetic parameters of the cownose ray to develop reasonable simplifications of the body shape, the mechanical structure design principle of the multijointdriving fin rays, and the motion principle. The practical motion abilities of the bionic prototype's internally driven skeleton are calculated theoretically and compared with its natural model. Parameters affecting propulsion performances are analyzed using a one-dimensional (1-D) calculation method. The basic motion modes are obtained according to the analysis.

Assessment of the Cement Plate Building Covering Facade

The article deals with the methodology of the assessment of the state of the external facade of the outer cladding façade from the fiber cementitious boards in view of meeting the conditions of the technical legislation valid in the Czech Republic. On a particular case, the methodology of the procedure from the visual assessment of the facade facing plates to the requirements of their mechanical and physical properties is described. The object under consideration is a civic building in a climatically challenging location in the Beskydy foothills, whose facade is completely lined with fiber-cement boards. The assessment is based on the provisions of ČSN ISO 13822 (73 0038): Design principles for structures - Evaluation exists. construction and ČSN P 74 7251: 2015 Folded cladding, tiles and panel cladding - Requirements for casting accuracy, quality and appearance. For the assessment of mechanical and physical properties, the provisions of ČSN EN 12467 - Fiber-cement flat plates - Specimen specification and test method are used. Limit values ​​of individual parameters are taken into account in the technical sheets of the manufacturer of fiber-cement boards.

Assembling global conservation governance

As the configuration of global environmental governance has become more complex over the past fifty years, numerous scholars have underscored the importance of understanding the transnational networks of public, private and nonprofit organizations that comprise it. Most methodologies for studying governance emphasize social structural elements or institutional design principles and focus less attention on the social interactions that generate diffuse, hybrid regimes. Yet capturing the dynamics of these networks requires a relational methodology that can account for a range of elements that constantly shift and change relative to overlapping institutional boundaries. Collaborative Event Ethnography draws on insights from multi-sited, team, and institutional ethnography to assemble teams of researchers to study major international conferences, which offer important political spaces where public, private, and nonprofit actors align around sanctioned logics and techniques of governance. Drawing on insights generated from these conferences and field sites across the globe, we trace the constitutive forces behind paradigm shifts in biodiversity conservation, specifically the interconnected rise of market-based approaches, global targets, and new conservation enclosures. We show how the iterative refining of the methodology over five events generated an increasingly robust understanding of global conservation governance as processual, dynamic, and contingent, constituted through constantly shifting assemblages of state and nonstate actors, devices and narratives that collectively configure fields of governance. Finally, we reflect on how our team, as an evolving combination of researchers, research interests, and data collection tools—itself an assemblage, —has informed the continual refinement of the methodology and generated novel understandings of global conservation governance.

Structural design principles that underlie the multi-specific interactions of G\u03b1q with dissimilar partners

Gαq is a ubiquitous molecular switch that activates the effectors phospholipase-C-β3 (PLC-β3) and Rho guanine-nucleotide exchange factors. Gαq is inactivated by regulators of G protein signaling proteins, as well as by PLC-β3. Gαq further interacts with G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), although the functional role of this interaction is debated. While X-ray structures of Gαq bound to representatives of these partners have revealed details of their interactions, the mechanistic basis for differential Gαq interactions with multiple partners (i.e., Gαq multi-specificity) has not been elucidated at the individual residue resolution. Here, we map the structural determinants of Gαq multi-specificity using structure-based energy calculations. We delineate regions that specifically interact with GTPase Activating Proteins (GAPs) and residues that exclusively contribute to effector interactions, showing that only the Gαq “Switch II” region interacts with all partners. Our analysis further suggests that Gαq-GRK2 interactions are consistent with GRK2 functioning as an effector, rather than a GAP. Our multi-specificity analysis pinpoints Gαq residues that uniquely contribute to interactions with particular partners, enabling precise manipulation of these cascades. As such, we dissect the molecular basis of Gαq function as a central signaling hub, which can be used to target Gαq-mediated signaling in therapeutic interventions.

Nongenetic optical neuromodulation with silicon-based materials.

Optically controlled nongenetic neuromodulation represents a promising approach for the fundamental study of neural circuits and the clinical treatment of neurological disorders. Among the existing material candidates that can transduce light energy into biologically relevant cues, silicon (Si) is particularly advantageous due to its highly tunable electrical and optical properties, ease of fabrication into multiple forms, ability to absorb a broad spectrum of light, and biocompatibility. This protocol describes a rational design principle for Si-based structures, general procedures for material synthesis and device fabrication, a universal method for evaluating material photoresponses, detailed illustrations of all instrumentation used, and demonstrations of optically controlled nongenetic modulation of cellular calcium dynamics, neuronal excitability, neurotransmitter release from mouse brain slices, and brain activity in the mouse brain in vivo using the aforementioned Si materials. The entire procedure takes ~4-8 d in the hands of an experienced graduate student, depending on the specific biological targets. We anticipate that our approach can also be adapted in the future to study other systems, such as cardiovascular tissues and microbial communities.

Principles of Structural Design of Conjugated Polymers Showing Excellent Charge Transport toward Thermoelectrics and Bioelectronics Applications.

Conjugated polymers, especially their second generation with a donor-acceptor alternating structure, have promising properties. These are suitable for two emerging fields, thermoelectrics and bioelectronics, if appropriate structural designs are implemented. This review aims to give a perspective for the potential and challenges of novel conjugated polymers in such applications. In particular, the aspects of synthetic design and the consequences of modifications of the chemical structure on the charge transport in selected second-generation conjugated polymers are reviewed. By understanding the effects of structural motifs on the overall material properties, polymers can be specifically tailored for the respective application. The basics of charge transport measurements are briefly summarized, as the charge transport plays an important role for thermoelectrics as well as for bioelectronics. In particular, the correlation between the reported charge carrier mobility values and the structural design of the polymers is reviewed. Examples of the application of second-generation conducting polymers in thermoelectrics and bioelectronics are shown to demonstrate the current state of research. Finally, the prospect of a purposeful design of new materials for these two emerging fields is discussed.

Chemistries for DNA Nanotechnology.

The predictable nature of DNA interactions enables the programmable assembly of highly advanced 2D and 3D DNA structures of nanoscale dimensions. The access to ever larger and more complex structures has been achieved through decades of work on developing structural design principles. Concurrently, an increased focus has emerged on the applications of DNA nanostructures. In its nature, DNA is chemically inert and nanostructures based on unmodified DNA mostly lack function. However, functionality can be obtained through chemical modification of DNA nanostructures and the opportunities are endless. In this review, we discuss methodology for chemical functionalization of DNA nanostructures and provide examples of how this is being used to create functional nanodevices and make DNA nanostructures more applicable. We aim to encourage researchers to adopt chemical modifications as part of their work in DNA nanotechnology and inspire chemists to address current challenges and opportunities within the field.

Mechanism of the light-driven proton pump of bacteriorhodopsin based on the consistency principle.

According to the consistency principle, a design principle for protein tertiary structures, all interactions that maintain a protein’s structure are consistent with each other. We assume that proteins satisfy the consistency principle. The specific local structures that form are consequences of the consistency principle. The specific local structures and the global conformation become interdependent. We assume that protein function is a consequence of the interdependency and the breaking of consistency. We applied this idea to the light-driven proton-pump mechanism of bacteriorhodopsin. Bacteriorhodopsin has two distinct conformers: one in which the proton channel opens toward the extracellular side, and another in which the channel opens toward the cytoplasmic side. Important reactions involved in proton pumping are protonation of D85 from the retinal Schiff base and reprotonation of the Schiff base from D96. To recruit a key water molecule, a characteristic pentameric hydrogen bond network is formed around the D85 and Schiff base, but is lost during proton pumping. These reaction components can be explained by active consistency-breaking and processes that either establish new consistency or restore the original consistency. Thus, the consistency principle can be expanded from structure to guide our understanding of protein function. This hypothesis is applicable to other functional proteins with two distinct conformers.