Hybrid Platform Research Articles

Prospects for the development of the digital ruble – a new form of national currency

The article discusses topical issues of the development of the Russian payment system related to the introduction of a new form of national currency – the digital ruble, assesses the benefits for individuals and legal entities provided by the digital ruble, certain types of risks associated with the new payment option. The author, considering the issues of the technology of functioning of the digital ruble platform, analyzes the reasons for the Central Bank's choice of a hybrid platform architecture involving the use of both components of a centralized system and components of distributed registries.

Deep learning-assisted identification and quantification of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in non-contrast CT scans: Development and external validation of Hybrid 2D/3D UNet

Accurate stroke assessment and consequent favorable clinical outcomes rely on the early identification and quantification of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) in non-contrast computed tomography (NCCT) images. However, hemorrhagic lesions can be complex and difficult to distinguish manually. To solve these problems, here we propose a novel Hybrid 2D/3D UNet deep-learning framework for automatic aSAH identification and quantification in NCCT images. We evaluated 1824 consecutive patients admitted with aSAH to four hospitals in China between June 2018 and May 2022. Accuracy and precision, Dice scores and intersection over union (IoU), and interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to assess model performance, segmentation performance, and correlations between automatic and manual segmentation, respectively. A total of 1355 patients with aSAH were enrolled: 931, 101, 179, and 144 in four datasets, of whom 326 were scanned with Siemens, 640 with Philips, and 389 with GE Medical Systems scanners. Our proposed deep-learning method accurately identified (accuracies 0.993–0.999) and segmented (Dice scores 0.550–0.897) hemorrhage in both the internal and external datasets, even combinations of hemorrhage subtypes. We further developed a convenient AI-assisted platform based on our algorithm to assist clinical workflows, whose performance was comparable to manual measurements by experienced neurosurgeons (ICCs 0.815–0.957) but with greater efficiency and reduced cost. While this tool has not yet been prospectively tested in clinical practice, our innovative hybrid network algorithm and platform can accurately identify and quantify aSAH, paving the way for fast and cheap NCCT interpretation and a reliable AI-based approach to expedite clinical decision-making for aSAH patients.

Abstract P1034: Functional Modelling Of Arrhythmias With Human Cardiac Organoids

Engineered heart tissues (EHTs) have become a well-established model of human cardiac muscle. Metabolic maturity, improved sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ handling, and the incorporation of critical non-myocyte cell populations are advantages that EHTs provide over immature 2D cardiomyocyte models. Our human cardiac organoid-EHT hybrid (hCO) platform was developed to be compatible with standardized 96-well tissue culture formats to enable high-throughput functional screening, while retaining the physiological advantages of larger EHTs. Here, we explored the applicability of hCOs as a model of various arrhythmic mechanisms. QT-prolongation could be mimicked with LTCC agonist BayK8644 or hERG blocker dofetilide, which increased the relaxation time of the hCOs and induced arrhythmia at high concentrations. Ectopy was induced by perturbing SR Ca2+ cycling with ryanodine or caffeine. HCN4 blocker ivabradine slowed rate, and at high concentrations produced a complex pause-burst phenotype. Increasing the cardiomyocyte-to-fibroblast ratio with growth factors, or the addition of extra fibroblasts prolonged contraction duration and induced ectopy. Inflammatory cytokines also increased relaxation time and provoked ectopy. From this data we propose that hCOs are a sensitive and reliable platform for studying arrhythmias and we are currently exploring the impact of CPVT-linked RYR2 and CASQ2 mutations on hCO arrhythmogenesis.

An Alternative Thinking in Tumor Therapeutics: Living Yeast Armored with Silicate.

A hybrid platform, constructed via the surface "armoring" of living yeasts by a manganese silicate compound (MS@Yeast), is investigated for combinational cancer treatment. The intrinsic characteristics of living yeasts, in both acidophilic and anaerobic conditions, empower the hybrid platform with activated selected colonization in tumors. While silicate particles are delivered in a targeting manner, yeast fermentation occurs at the cancerous region, inducing both alcohol and CO2. The excessive content of alcohol causes the hemangiectasis of tumor tissue, facilitating the penetration of therapeutics into central tumors and subsequent endocytosis. The catalytic Mn2+ ions, released from silicate particles, react with CO2 to induce forceful oxidative stress in tumor cells, ablating the primary tumors. More interestingly, the debris of sacrificed tumor cells and yeasts triggers considerable antitumor immune responses, rejecting both rechallenged and metastatic tumors. The integration of biologically active microorganisms and functional materials, illustrated in this study, provides distinctive perspectives in the exploration of potential therapeutics for tackling cancer.

Development of Nb-GaAs based superconductor-semiconductor hybrid platform by combining in situ dc magnetron sputtering and molecular beam epitaxy

Development of Nb-GaAs based superconductor-semiconductor hybrid platform by combining <i>in situ</i> dc magnetron sputtering and molecular beam epitaxy

Observation of Rydberg Blockade Due to the Charge-Dipole Interaction between an Atom and a Polar Molecule.

We demonstrate Rydberg blockade due to the charge-dipole interaction between a single Rb atom and a single RbCs molecule confined in optical tweezers. The molecule is formed by magnetoassociation of a Rb+Cs atom pair and subsequently transferred to the rovibrational ground state with an efficiency of 91(1)%. Species-specific tweezers are used to control the separation between the atom and molecule. The charge-dipole interaction causes blockade of the transition to the Rb(52s) Rydberg state, when the atom-molecule separation is set to 310(40)nm. The observed excitation dynamics are in good agreement with simulations using calculated interaction potentials. Our results open up the prospect of a hybrid platform where quantum information is transferred between individually trapped molecules using Rydberg atoms.

Prussian Blue nanoparticles supported on a hybrid platform of graphene oxide and cubic silsesquioxane applied to Diuron detection

This work describes the preparation and chemical modification of the graphene oxide platform with octa(aminopropyl)silsesquioxane, with subsequent deposition of Prussian Blue nanoparticles on its surface. The materials were characterized by Raman Spectroscopy, X-Ray Excited Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy, which ensured the success of the proposed synthesis. The Differential Pulse Voltammetry technique was employed in order to apply the conventional electrode as a sensor for the detection of Diuron, a widely used pesticide due to its efficiency in controlling a wide range of weeds and grasses, but which has carcinogenic and genotoxic effects. The graphite paste electrode modified with the metallic complex was electroactive in the electrocatalytic detection of Diuron, with a detection limit of 4.96 nmol·L−1. Given this, it can be proposed that the material prepared in this work is included in the list of potential candidates for the development of electrochemical sensors for the detection of Diuron.

3D Printed SnS2/SnS-Based Nanocomposite Hydrogel as a Photoenhanced Triboelectric Nanogenerator

Recent advancements in printing technologies have led to new fabrication techniques for the development of various flexible, compact, wearable, and portable energy harvesters and self-powered devices. In particular, the three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology for a nanogenerator has become advantageous due to its low cost, simplicity, and high precision in fabricating complicated structures. Therefore, we report a 3DP-based photoinduced triboelectric nanogenerator (PTNG) fabrication, a hybrid version of a conventional triboelectric nanogenerator. Here, a 3D printed poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite hydrogel (3DPH) with photoactive SnS2/SnS nanoflakes is used as a tribo-positive material and copper foil as a tribo-negative material for PTNG application. Under light illumination, the as-fabricated PTNG with an optimized weight percentage of SnS2/SnS displays the open-circuit voltage (Voc) enhancement from 29 to 37.5 V and short-circuit current (Isc) enhancement from 1.23 to 1.58 μA. In addition, the power density of the device is observed at 5.4 μW/cm2 under illumination conditions at the external load of 60 MΩ. This enhanced performance of the as-fabricated PTNG is attributed to the mutual coupling effect and improved interfacial interactions between the SnS2/SnS nanoflakes and PVA under the influence of light illumination, leading to a charge-trapping mechanism. The outstanding performance and stability of the as-fabricated PTNG surpassing all similar recent reports, establish it as an effective hybrid platform for constructing multifunctional self-powered devices.

Isolated Single-Atom Cobalt in the ZnIn2S4 Monolayer with Exposed Zn Sites for CO2 Photofixation

Constructing highly active photocatalysts with rich reactive sites for photofixation of CO2 with organic compounds implements an environmentally friendly route for CO2 valorization and carbon neutralization. Herein, we report the isolated cobalt (Co) single-atom (SA)-decorated two-dimensional (2D) single-layer ZnIn2S4 (ZIS) nanosheet composites (Co-sZIS) with dual active centers of Co and Zn for CO2 fixation with epoxides under visible light. The unique ensemble of Co-sZIS optimizes light harvesting, promotes charge carrier separation, and enriches the bifunctional active sites for the efficient adsorption and activation of the reactants of epoxides and CO2. Consequently, the Co-sZIS exhibits significantly improved CO2-epoxide cycloaddition performance compared to bulk ZIS. In addition, the synergetic photoredox manner of simultaneously exploiting photogenerated electrons and holes efficiently facilitates the activation of CO2 and epoxides, thereby further reducing the energy barrier of CO2 fixation. This work not only provides a paradigm of rationally interfacial engineered SA-onto-2D semiconductors for CO2 valorization but also highlights the structure–activity relationship by the well-defined active sites in this SA-based hybrid platform.

Beyond Early Development: Observing Zebrafish over 6 Weeks with Hybrid Optical and Optoacoustic Imaging

AbstractZebrafish are common model organisms in developmental biology, but have recently emerged as imaging targets of research in cancer, tissue regeneration, metabolic disorders, functional genomics, and phenotype‐based drug discovery. Conventionally, zebrafish are studied during the first few days of development using optical microscopy methods. However, optical methods are not suited for imaging at later stages, since the fish become opaque. To address needs to visualize beyond the first days of development, a novel multimodality system for observing zebrafish from larval stage to adulthood is developed. Using a hybrid platform for concurrent selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM) and optoacoustic mesoscopy, fish (ex vivo) at stages of development up to 47 days at a similar object size‐to‐resolution ratio are imaged. Using multiple wavelength illumination over the visible and short‐wavelength infrared regions, it is demonstrated that the optoacoustic method can follow GFP‐based contrast used in SPIM, enabling molecular imaging interrogation in adult fish. Moreover, the optoacoustic modality reveals zebrafish features based on optical contrast absent in SPIM, including contrast from endogenous blood, water, and lipids. It is discussed how the hybrid system method can enable the study of zebrafish in a wider range of applications and over time‐scales not possible currently when using optical microscopy.

Considerations for Designing and Implementing a Multi-institution Undergraduate Medical Education Experience.

Cancer Care Experience (CCE) is a unique elective educational program to further explore the subspecialty of oncology beyond the scope of the traditional undergraduate medical education curriculum. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CCE moved from an in-person to a virtual learning platform. This transition allowed program leaders to offer CCE as a multi-institutional program, with students participating from both Duke University School of Medicine and Penn State College of Medicine. Our study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of virtual learning, student perspectives on multi-institutional collaboration, and the program's impact on the student's understanding of oncology care and clerkship preparedness. Overall, students indicated CCE was an impactful program for them to learn more about oncology and that virtual learning was an effective learning platform. Furthermore, our results suggest students found the multi-institutional aspect valuable and that a multi-institution, hybrid (in-person and virtual) platform was preferred. Our study highlights the success of CCE as a multi-institution program and an effective elective program to expose students to the field of oncology further.

Experimental investigation of a Multi-OWC wind turbine floating platform

The worldwide energy supply needs to be enhanced following the expanding of electrical energy request. Marine renewable energies have the potential to partially cover the incoming energy growth but the economic unfeasibility slows down their exploitation. Specifically, the viability and technological development of Wave Energy Converters could be improved through the integration into already existing offshore structures. Against this background, this work proposes a novel concept of hybrid platform composed of a spar buoy wind turbine integrated with three Oscillating Water Columns (OWCs). An experimental investigation is carried out in the wave basin of Marine Technology Research Institute (CNR-INM, Rome, Italy) aiming to analyze of the performance of the hybrid system prototype. The scaling procedure and the experimental setup are described. The focus of the analysis is on the hydrodynamic behavior of the OWCs’ air chambers considering both wave and wind loads. The influence of the wind action and the effect of air chambers damping variation on the dynamic behavior of the floating platform are deepened towards the resulted power extraction performances of the OWCs. Different wind and wave conditions are considered to test the scaled model. As result, the OWCs hydrodynamic response is positively affected by angular motion of the platform, due to the influence of the wind loads. The increasing in the damping affects the air pressure and the relative water level inside the OWCs, hence the mean extracted power.

A Novel Hybrid Platform for Live/Dead Bacteria Accurate Sorting by On-Chip DEP Device.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) forecasts, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will be the leading cause of death worldwide in the next decades. To prevent this phenomenon, rapid Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST) techniques are required to drive the selection of the most suitable antibiotic and its dosage. In this context, we propose an on-chip platform, based on a micromixer and a microfluidic channel, combined with a pattern of engineered electrodes to exploit the di-electrophoresis (DEP) effect. The role of the micromixer is to ensure the proper interaction of the antibiotic with the bacteria over a long time (≈1 h), and the DEP-based microfluidic channel enables the efficient sorting of live from dead bacteria. A sorting efficiency of more than 98%, with low power consumption (Vpp = 1 V) and time response of 5 s, within a chip footprint of ≈86 mm2, has been calculated, which makes the proposed system very attractive and innovative for efficient and rapid monitoring of the antimicrobial susceptibility at the single-bacterium level in next-generation medicine.

Realization of superconducting transmon qubits based on topological insulator nanowires

Topological-material-based Josephson junctions have the potential to be used to host Majorana zero modes and to construct topological qubits. For operating the topological qubits at an appropriate timescale to avoid decoherence and quasiparticle poisoning, one would eventually go to the time domain and embed the topological qubits into quantum electrodynamic circuits. Here, we constructed a topological-insulator-nanowire-based transmon qubit and demonstrated its strong coupling to a coplanar waveguide resonator. The flux-tunable spectrum and Rabi oscillations with a qubit lifetime T 1 of ∼ 0.5 μ s were observed. Such a hybrid platform, containing topological materials and quantum electrodynamic circuits, can further be used to study the physical properties such as Majorana zero modes in topological quantum circuits.

Nano zinc oxide-functionalized nanofibrous microspheres: A bioactive hybrid platform with antimicrobial, regenerative and hemostatic activities

Bioactive hybrid constructs are at the cutting edge of innovative biomaterials. PLA nanofibrous microspheres (NF-MS) were functionalized with zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) and DDAB-modified nZnO (D-nZnO) for developing inorganic/nano-microparticulate hybrid constructs (nZnO@NF-MS and D-nZnO@NF-MS) merging antibacterial, regenerative, and haemostatic functionalities. The hybrids appeared as three-dimensional NF-MS frameworks made-up entirely of interconnecting nanofibers embedding nZnO or D-nZnO. Both systems achieved faster release of Zn2+ than their respective nanoparticles and D-nZnO@NF-MS exhibited significantly greater surface wettability than nZnO@NF-MS. Regarding bioactivity, D-nZnO@NF-MS displayed a significantly greater and fast-killing effect against Staphylococcus aureus. Both nZnO@NF-MS and D-nZnO@NF-MS showed controllable concentration-dependent cytotoxicity to human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) compared with pristine NF-MS. They were also more effective than pristine NF-MS in promoting migration of human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) in the in vitro wound healing assay. Although D-nZnO@NF-MS showed greater in vitro hemostatic activity than nZnO@NF-MS (blood-clotting index 22.82 ± 0.65% vs.54.67 ± 2.32%), both structures exhibited instant hemostasis (0 s) with no blood loss (0 mg) in the rat-tail cutting technique. By merging the multiple therapeutic bioactivities of D-nZnO and the 3D-structural properties of NF-MS, the innovative D-nZnO@NF-MS hybrid construct provides a versatile bioactive material platform for different biomedical applications.

Wholesale central bank digital currency vs traditional real-time gross settlement: Benefits beyond a new acronym?

Central banks need to modernise their wholesale payment services. This is not to say they must choose between modernising their real-time gross settlement systems or building a new wholesale central bank digital currency system. Rather, as this paper will argue, they must develop a common, standardised hybrid platform for the global financial (wholesale) markets. Indeed, central banks need to provide interoperable cross-border payment services by accepting foreign participants and coordinating their short-term liquidity instruments. This paper argues that if central banks want to serve future wholesale markets, they will need to provide 24/7/365 services with cross-border finality for simple fund transfers, but also for deliveryversus-payment and payment-versus-payment settlements at the transaction level. The paper will discuss how interoperability is a key issue, and requires completely common message and communication standards, but especially common identification and security standards in which distributed ledger technology and transaction-chaining are important elements. Wholesale systems must be highly resilient. As this paper shows, cooperation between central banks is essential if they are to deliver cross-border wholesale payment services for the global financial markets of the future.

MoS2 Nanoplatelets on Hybrid Core-Shell (HyCoS) AuPd NPs for Hybrid SERS Platform for Detection of R6G

In this work, a novel hybrid SERS platform incorporating hybrid core-shell (HyCoS) AuPd nanoparticles (NPs) and MoS2 nanoplatelets has been successfully demonstrated for strong surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) enhancement of Rhodamine 6G (R6G). A significantly improved SERS signal of R6G is observed on the hybrid SERS platform by adapting both electromagnetic mechanism (EM) and chemical mechanism (CM) in a single platform. The EM enhancement originates from the unique plasmonic HyCoS AuPd NP template fabricated by the modified droplet epitaxy, which exhibits strong plasmon excitation of hotspots at the nanogaps of metallic NPs and abundant generation of electric fields by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Superior LSPR results from the coupling of distinctive AuPd core-shell NP and high-density background Au NPs. The CM enhancement is associated with the charge transfer from the MoS2 nanoplatelets to the R6G. The direct contact via mixing approach with optimal mixing ratio can effectively facilitate the charges transfer to the HOMO and LUMO of R6G, leading to the orders of Raman signal amplification. The enhancement factor (EF) for the proposed hybrid platform reaches ~1010 for R6G on the hybrid SERS platform.

Unidirectional hybrid diode laser through the integration of a hook-shaped traveling-wave semiconductor optical amplifier and Taiji ring resonator.

We demonstrate a unidirectional ring diode laser based on hybrid integration of a hook-shaped traveling-wave semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a Taiji ring resonator. The additional crossover bending waveguide inside the silicon nitride Taiji ring introduces a non-reciprocal loss in the laser cavity while the gain is provided by a multiple depth etched hook-shaped SOA. We present the detailed design flow for both active and passive components of the unidirectional hybrid diode laser. This work paves the way to use a hook-shaped SOA-based hybrid platform for various applications including optical sensing, all-optical switching, photonic memories, and topological optics.

EndoTrainer: a novel hybrid training platform for endoscopic surgery

PurposeEndoscopy implies high demanding procedures, and their practice requires structured formation curricula supported by adequate training platforms. Physical platforms are the most standardised solution for surgical training, but over the last few years, virtual platforms have been progressively introduced. This research work presents a new hybrid, physic-virtual, endoscopic training platform that exploits the benefits of the two kind of platforms combining realistic tools and phantoms together with the capacity of measuring all relevant parameters along the execution of the exercises and of providing an objective assessment performance.MethodsThe developed platform, EndoTrainer, has been designed to train and assess surgical skills in hysteroscopy and cystoscopy following a structured curricula. The initial development and validation is focused on hysteroscopic exercises proposed in the Gynaecological Endoscopic Surgical Education and Assessment (GESEA) Certification Programme from The Academy and European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (ESGE) and analyses the obtained results of an extensive study with 80 gynaecologists executing 30 trials of the standard 30 degree endoscope navigation exercise.ResultsThe experiments demonstrate the benefits of the presented hybrid platform. Multi-variable statistical analysis points out that all subjects have obtained statistically significant improvement in all relevant parameters: shorter and safer trajectories, improved 30-degree endoscope navigation, accurate positioning over the targets and reduction of the execution time.ConclusionThis paper presents a new hybrid approach for training, and evaluating whether it provides an objectivable improvement of camera navigation endoscopic basic skills. The obtained results demonstrate the initial hypothesis: all subjects have improved their camera handling and navigation skills.

A novel Sunflower-like MOF@COF for improved photocatalytic CO2 reduction

Metal-organic framework (MOF) and covalent organic framework (COF) hybrid materials have drawn much research attention in the field of photocatalysis due to their complementary advantages, massive specific area, customizable structure and performance, and suitable band gap. Herein, the MOF@COF hybrid platform with a novel sunflower-like strong π-π bond stacking was formed by introducing the preformed synthetic COF into the MOF precursor solution and modulating its morphology by vacuum thermal-assisted growth. More importantly, the synthesized MOF on the COF hybrid platform with multiple active centers exhibits excellent catalytic activity in the sacrificial agent-free photocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction under simulated sunlight. Additionally, the maximum CH4 yieldrate of the synthesized PCN-222-Cu@TpPa-1 (1:2) reached 21.27 μmol g-1h -1, with an AQY (apparent quantum yield) about 10.46 % (in pure water system, λ = 550 nm) and a methane selectivity of about 27.25 %. The best performance of PCN-222-Cu@TpPa-1 is approximately 4.3 times higher than that of pure PCN-222-Cu and 100 times higher than that of the reported NH2-MIL-125(Ti) NMB. The selectivity of the products CO and CH4 can be improved by adjusting the ratio of MOF and COF. Finally, the goal of providing an optimal photocatalytic platform for increased photocatalytic CO2 reduction with highly effective morphology-tunable MOF@COF was expanded upon by a potential photocatalytic reaction mechanism, which was suggested based on the analysis of experimental results.