Releasing Strategy Research Articles

Synergistic Toughening and Strain Releasing Strategy in Metal Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics

Synergistic Toughening and Strain Releasing Strategy in Metal Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics

Optimizing the releasing strategy used for the biological control of the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis by Trichogramma galloi with computer modeling and simulation

One of the challenges in augmentative biological control programs is the definition of releasing strategy for natural enemies, especially when macro-organisms are involved. Important information about the density of insects to be released and frequency of releases usually requires a great number of experiments, which implies time and space that are not always readily available. In order to provide science-based responses for these questions, computational models offer an in silico option to simulate different biocontrol agent releasing scenarios. This allows decision-makers to focus their efforts to more feasible options. The major insect pest in sugarcane crops is the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis, which can be managed using the egg parasitoid Trichogramma galloi. The current strategy consists in releasing 50,000 insects per hectare for each release, in three weekly releases. Here, we present a simulation model to check whether this releasing strategy is optimal against the sugarcane borer. A sensitive analysis revealed that the population of the pest is more affected by the number of releases rather than by the density of parasitoids released. Only the number of releases demonstrated an ability to drive the population curve of the pest towards a negative growth. For example, releasing a total of 600,000 insects per hectare in three releases led to a lower pest control efficacy that releasing only 250,000 insects per hectare in five releases. A higher number of releases covers a wider range of time, increasing the likelihood of releasing parasitoids at the correct time given that the egg stage is short. Based on these results, it is suggested that, if modifications to the releasing strategy are desired, increasing the number of releases from 3 to 5 at weekly intervals is most likely preferable.

Optimal releasing strategy of enterprise software firms facing the competition from cloud providers

In the contemporary enterprise software market, there has been a notable surge in the utilization of SaaS products. This trend has prompted certain upstream suppliers of cloud resources, commonly referred to as cloud providers, to introduce their own SaaS offerings, thereby augmenting the competition within the industry. The matter of optimal releasing strategy encountered by software firms in this industry has been scarcely addressed in prior literature. Therefore, the present study employs the Hotelling model to depict the market segmentation in the context of a software firm’s selection among three distinct strategies, namely on-premise, SaaS, and dual version strategies, to effectively manage competition. Through an examination of the optimal pricing and profit for each strategy, and a subsequent analysis of the resulting profits, we have managed to arrive at conclusive recommendations for optimal strategy selection. Based on the analytical findings, it can be inferred that the selection of the optimal strategy can be classified into two distinct scenarios, which are contingent upon the magnitude of the unit cloud rental fee. In a high-cost rental environment, the optimal release strategy shifts from the SaaS strategy and dual version strategy to the on-premise strategy, as the disparity in value between on-premise and SaaS versions increases. In a context of low rental fee and a widening value gap, the optimal strategy choice sequence is as follows: SaaS, on-premise, dual version, on-premise, dual version, and ultimately on-premise. Furthermore, we analyze and reveal the impact of various factors on the maximum profit that software companies can achieve. The findings we have derived have significant implications for software companies’ decision-making in the face of the challenge posed by highly centralized public cloud supply.

Ultra-conformable liquid metal particle monolayer on air/water interface for substrate-free E-tattoo

Gallium-based liquid metal has gained significant attention in conformal flexible electronics due to its high electrical conductivity, intrinsic deformability, and biocompatibility. However, the fabrication of large-area and highly uniform conformal liquid metal films remains challenging. Interfacial self-assembly has emerged as a promising method, but traditional approaches face difficulties in assembling liquid metal particles. Here, we realized the multi-size universal self-assembly (MUS) for liquid metal particles with various diameters (<500 μm). By implementing a z-axis undisturbed interfacial material releasing strategy, the interference of gravitational energy on the stability of floating particles is avoided, enabling the fabrication of ultra-conformable monolayer films with large areas (>100 cm2) and high floating yield (50–90%). Moreover, the films can be conformally transferred onto complex surfaces such as human skin, allowing for the fabrication of substrate-free flexible devices. This eliminates interference from traditional substrate mechanical responses, making the liquid metal e-tattoo more user-friendly.

On-demand targeting nanotheranostics with stimuli-responsive releasing property to improve delivery efficiency to cancer

Nanocarriers have great potential to enhance drug delivery efficiency and therapeutic effect for various cancers. However, premature drug leakage and non-specific targeting still limit the delivery efficiency. Here, we present a smart on-demand targeting nanotheranostic system (PO-PB@SPIOs) with stimuli-responsive releasing property to improve the delivery efficiency for ovarian cancer. This delivery system prevents premature drug leakage via boronate ester linkages and shields the targeting moieties (phenylboronic acid) from non-specific binding when circulating in the blood. The PO-PB@SPIOs would release the tumor-targeting payload (PB) in response to the tumor microenvironment. Then, PB was able to target the overexpressed sialic acids on tumor cells. The significant improvement of delivery efficiency was demonstrated in vivo by a significantly enhanced signal in near-infrared-fluorescence (NIRF)/magnetic-resonance (MR) imaging (5-fold higher) and a remarkable photo-thermal therapeutic effect (complete cure rate (CCR) up to 80%). Furthermore, due to the on-demand targeting and stimuli-responsive releasing strategy, this nanotheranostic system shows a greater delivery efficiency even than the active-targeting small molecules or control nanoformulations. We believe this delicate design has great potential to develop novel drug nanoformulation.

Sono-ReCORMs for synergetic sonodynamic-gas therapy of hypoxic tumor

Carbon monoxide (CO) gas therapy, a novel anti-tumor technique based on the cytotoxicity from the CO released in situ, has become one of the hot topics in cancer treatment. Since the technique is oxygen-independent, it displays promising therapeutic effect for hypoxic tumor where traditional photodynamic therapy shows limited efficacy and insufficient penetration depth. To fully address these limitations of PDT, we propose a synergetic sonodynamic-CO gas releasing strategy for the therapy of hypoxic tumor. In this work, two rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes with different substituted ligands are investigated for US-triggered ROS generation and CO release. Our results indicated that the electron-donating NMe2-substituted complex (Re-NMe2) exhibits stronger luminescence intensity and generates more singlet oxygen (1O2) than the electron-withdrawing NO2-substituted complex (Re-NO2). In addition, Re-NMe2 displays release of CO triggered by US, thus showing high sono-cytotoxicity to tumor cells in-vitro and in-vivo. The strong ROS-generating capability combined with rapid CO-releasing feature from Re-NMe2 has made it a powerful tool for the efficient treatment of hypoxic tumor.

A novel electrochemical biosensor based on MIL-101-NH2 (Cr) combining target-responsive releasing and self-catalysis strategy for p53 detection

A novel electrochemical biosensor was constructed to detect p53 gene based on MIL-101-NH2 (Cr) by combining target-responsive releasing and self-catalysis strategy. MIL-101-NH2 (Cr) with suitable pore structure was used to encapsulate methylene blue (MB) as signal probe. The hairpin DNA (HP) containing rich-G sequences was used as gatekeeper to seal up the pores and avoid MB leakage through covalent immobilization. The p53 gene could hybridize with the loop portion of HP for the formation of dsDNA, which had the specific nicking site of the nicking endonuclease (Nt.BstNBI). Then Nt.BstNBI recognized the specific recognition site and cleaved HP to open the pore for releasing of MB. Meanwhile, the cleavage of HP released the target DNA to trigger the target recycling for signal amplification. More importantly, the plentiful rich-G sequences were exposed to form Hemin/G-quadruplex DNAzymes, which could unite MIL-101-NH2 (Cr) to catalyze redox reaction of MB released by itself for signal amplification. The biosensor for p53 had wide linear range from 1 × 10−14 to 1 × 10−7 M and a low detection limit of 1.4 × 10−15 M. The combination of target-responsive releasing and self-catalysis strategy provided a promising way for constructing ultrasensitive and simple biosensor.

A Novel Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Mil-101-Nh2 (Cr) Combining Target-Responsive Releasing and Self-Catalysis Strategy for P53 Detection

A Novel Electrochemical Biosensor Based on Mil-101-Nh2 (Cr) Combining Target-Responsive Releasing and Self-Catalysis Strategy for P53 Detection

Releasable AlGaN/GaN 2D Electron Gas Heterostructure Membranes for Flexible Wide‐Bandgap Electronics

AbstractThe development of transferrable free‐standing semiconductor materials and their heterogeneous integration to arbitrary substrates open up new possibilities in improving device performance, exploring nonconventional manufacturing approaches, and offering a pathway to soft, conformal, and flexible electronics. In this work, flexible AlGaN/GaN high‐electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are demonstrated, which are transfer‐printed from AlGaN/GaN on insulator to a flexible substrate using a novel releasing strategy based on the fast, facile, and reliable transfer process. Flexible AlGaN/GaN HEMTs possess good electrical performance such as the maximum saturated drain current density and transconductance of 110 mA mm−1 and 42.5 mS mm−1, respectively. Moreover, a significant piezoelectric behavior is observed when the device is under strain, resulting from the piezoelectric‐induced polarization at the heterostructure interface. Owing to an additional strain‐induced piezoelectric effect by the mechanical bending, the performance of AlGaN/GaN HEMT can be further improved. The results demonstrate that the device has great potential in applications for the next‐generation flexible electronics, such as wearable systems, intelligent microinductor systems, and smart systems that can sense or feedback external mechanical stimuli.

Control and dynamic releasing method of a piezoelectric actuated microgripper

This paper proposes the control and dynamic releasing method of a symmetric microgripper with integrated position sensing. The microgripper adopted in this micromanipulation system is constructed by two L-shaped leverage mechanisms and the fingers of the microgripper is machined much thinner than the gripper body. A combined feedforward/feedback position controller is established to improve the motion accuracy of the microgripper in high frequency. The feedforward controller is established based on rate-dependent inverse Prandtl-Ishlinskii (P–I) hysteresis model. The inertial force generated in dynamic based releasing process is analyzed through MATLAB simulation. Open-loop experimental tests have been performed, and the results indicate the first natural frequency of the microgripper is 730 Hz. Then experiments in high frequency based on the developed combined controller are carried out and the results show the tracking error of a superimposed sinusoidal trajectory with the frequency of 100 Hz, 120 Hz and 130 Hz is 6.4%. Finally, the tiny objects releasing experiments are conducted where the combined controller is used to control the motion amplitude and frequency to achieve inertial force controllable to improve operation accuracy. And the results show that the dynamic releasing strategy is effective.

Nitric Oxide-Producing Cardiovascular Stent Coatings for Prevention of Thrombosis and Restenosis.

Cardiovascular stenting is an effective method for treating cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), yet thrombosis and restenosis are the two major clinical complications that often lead to device failure. Nitric oxide (NO) has been proposed as a promising small molecule in improving the clinical performance of cardiovascular stents thanks to its anti-thrombosis and anti-restenosis ability, but its short half-life limits the full use of NO. To produce NO at lesion site with sufficient amount, NO-producing coatings (including NO-releasing and NO-generating coatings) are fashioned. Its releasing strategy is achieved by introducing exogenous NO storage materials like NO donors, while the generating strategy utilizes the in vivo substances such as S-nitrosothiols (RSNOs) to generate NO flux. NO-producing stents are particularly promising in future clinical use due to their ability to store NO resources or to generate large NO flux in a controlled and efficient manner. In this review, we first introduce NO-releasing and -generating coatings for prevention of thrombosis and restenosis. We then discuss the advantages and drawbacks on releasing and generating aspects, where possible further developments are suggested.

A Wolbachia infection model with free boundary

Scientists have been seeking ways to use Wolbachia to eliminate the mosquitoes that spread human diseases. Could Wolbachia be the determining factor in controlling the mosquito-borne infectious diseases? To answer this question mathematically, we develop a reaction-diffusion model with free boundary in a one-dimensional environment. We divide the female mosquito population into two groups: one is the uninfected mosquito population that grows in the whole region while the other is the mosquito population infected with Wolbachia that occupies a finite small region. The mosquito population infected with Wolbachia invades the environment with a spreading front governed by a free boundary satisfying the well-known one-phase Stefan condition. For the resulting free boundary problem, we establish criteria under which spreading and vanishing occur. Our results provide useful insights on designing a feasible mosquito releasing strategy that infects the whole mosquito population with Wolbachia and eradicates the mosquito-borne diseases eventually.

Optimal sequential releasing strategy for software products in the presence of word-of-mouth and requirements uncertainty

This study proposes a two-period analytical model to explore the relative optimality of three sequential releasing strategies for a software vendor: (1) Skipping Strategy—skip the limited-functionality version and introduce a full-functionality version in the next period, (2) Replacement Strategy—release a limited-functionality version first and replace it with a full-functionality version later, and (3) Line-extension Strategy—release a limited-functionality version first and extend the product line by releasing a full-functionality version later. Word-of-mouth (WOM) effect and uncertainty in consumers’ requirements are taken into consideration. Our analysis shows that Skipping Strategy is optimal when the net WOM is negative and sufficiently small, while the Replacement Strategy becomes the optimal choice when the net WOM is negative but not sufficiently small. However, the Line-extension Strategy dominates other two strategies when the net WOM is positive. Different pricing patterns may be chosen when adopting Line-extension Strategy, i.e. when the net WOM is positive and not very large, Low–High pricing pattern (a relatively low price for the limited-functionality version and a relatively high price for the full-functionality version) is optimal, while High–Low pricing pattern (a relatively high price for the limited-functionality version and a relatively low price for the full-functionality version) becomes optimal when the net WOM is positive and sufficiently large. Numerical experiments show that the software vendor could improve its profit by choosing optimal quality design but the overall dominance pattern of the three release strategies is similar no matter whether the quality design is exogenously given or optimally chosen.

Liposome Crosslinked Polyacrylamide/DNA Hydrogel: a Smart Controlled-Release System for Small Molecular Payloads.

A novel stimuli-responsive hydrogel system with liposomes serving as both noncovalent crosslinkers and functional small molecules carriers for controlled-release is developed. Liposomes can crosslink polyacrylamide copolymers functionalized with cholesterol-modified DNA motifs to yield a DNA hydrogel system, due to the hydrophobic interaction between cholesteryl groups and the lipid bilayer of liposomes. Functional information encoded DNA motifs on the polymer backbones endow the hydrogel with programmable smart responsive properties. In a model system, the hydrogel exhibits stimuli-responsive gel-to-sol transformation triggered by the opening of DNA motifs upon the presence of a restriction endonuclease enzyme, EcoR I, or temperature change, realizing the controlled-release of liposomes which are highly efficient carriers of active small molecules payloads. Two active molecules, 1,1-dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindodicarbocyanine perchlorate (DiIC18(5)) and calcein, are chosen as the hydrophobic and hydrophilic model payloads, respectively, to address the feasibility of the releasing strategy. Moreover, the hydrogel exhibits injectable property as well as self-recovery behaviors.

Effect of different tourniquet releasing strategy on blood loss in total knee arthroplasty

Objective: To explore the influences on peri-operative blood loss and postoperative blood transfusion in primary total knee arthroplasty when using different methods to release the pneumatic tourniquet. Methods: From January 2015 to December 2016, 484 patients with osteoarthritis were enrolled, undergoing primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty in the Orthopedics Department of Peking University Third Hospital. Retrospective data was used, and all the patients had been operated on by three independent working groups. Group A was the strategic tourniquet release group. After the completion of all osteotomy and soft tissue balance, the tourniquet was released for five minutes for coagulation of bleeding tissue and was then inflated again before component cementation untill the end of the operation. In Group B, full-time tourniquet usage was applied to patients, and was just released post wound closure and pressure dressing. In Group C, the tourniquet was inflated from the beginning of incision to the end of cementation. It was then released after the prosthesis was cemented. A series of data in these three groups were observed and recorded, including output of drain, decrease of hemoglobin level in the first and third day after operation, the total measured blood loss, the hidden blood loss, the number of transfused patients, and the rates of allogenic blood transfusion. Results: The decrease of hemoglobin level in the first day after operation, the output of drain and the total level of measured blood loss were slightly higher in Group A. The decrease of hemoglobin level in the third day after operation and the hidden blood loss was slightly higher in Group B. Group C had the lowest total measured blood loss and hidden blood loss among the three groups. However, no significant differences of outcomes were observed among these groups. A total of 29 patients received blood transfusion(Group A 10/165, 6.1%; Group B 11/177, 6.2%; Group C 8/142, 5.6%). There was no significant differences among the three groups in output of drain(P=0.496), decrease of hemoglobin level(P=0.242), total measured blood loss(P=0.390), hidden blood loss(P=0.204), or postoperative blood transfusion rate(P=0.976). Conclusions: Under the routine application of the multimodal blood-loss prevention approach, including tranexamic acid, drain under atmospheric pressure, compression and cryotherapy after operation, the different choices of tourniquet releasing strategies have no significant effect on peri-operative blood loss or postoperative blood transfusion rate in total knee arthroplasty.

Aerophilic Electrode with Cone Shape for Continuous Generation and Efficient Collection of H2 Bubbles

Hydrogen as a sustainable and clean energy source has attracted great attention with the increasing global energy crisis. However, sufficient production of hydrogen is seriously impeded by the adhesion of hydrogen bubble to electrodes. Efficient removal of hydrogen bubbles attached to the electrode can improve the efficiency of the hydrogen evolution reaction. Following this concept, numerous approaches to shorten the adhesion time of hydrogen bubbles on electrodes have been presented, such as ultrasonic treatment and electrode surface micro/nano‐modification. Almost all of the existing solutions are based on the instant and direct release of generated hydrogen bubbles into the electrolyte, which can be identified as “Releasing strategy” accordingly. In this contribution, an aerophilic electrode with cone shape is fabricated, from which the generated hydrogen bubbles can be timely removed through efficient and directional transportation (from tip to the base). Correspondingly, this approach is defined as “Transporting strategy”. Furthermore, integrating the base of electrode with a superaerophilic sponge, which possesses excellent properties of efficiently absorbing and releasing gas bubbles, can realize the collection of generated hydrogen. It is believed that the present approach can contribute to promising applications in water electrolysis and will offer inspiration for fabricating novel hydrogen collector.

Optimal technology adoption when the arrival rate of new technologies changes

Our paper contributes to the literature of technology adoption. In most of these models it is assumed that the intensity rate of new arrivals is constant. We extend this approach by assuming that after the last technology jump the intensity of a new arrival can change. Right after the arrival of a new technology the intensity equals a specific value that switches if no new technology arrival has taken place within a certain period after the last technology arrival. We look at different scenarios, dependent on whether the firm is threatened by a drop in the arrival rate after a certain time period or expects the rate to rise. We analyze the effect of a mean preserving spread of the time between two consecutive arrivals on the optimal investment timing and show that larger variance can accelerate investment in case the arrival rate rises while it can decelerate investment in case the arrival rate drops. We find that firms often adopt a new technology a time lag after its introduction, which is a phenomenon frequently observed in practice. Regarding a firm’s technology releasing strategy we explain why additional uncertainty can stimulate customers’ buying behavior. The optimal adoption timing changes significantly, depending on whether the arrival rate is assumed to change or be constant over time. Adding uncertainty about the length of the time period after which the arrival intensity changes, we find that increasing uncertainty accelerates investment, a result that is opposite to the standard real options theory.

A vacuum microgripping tool with integrated vibration releasing capability

Pick-and-place of micro-objects is a basic task in various micromanipulation demands. Reliable releasing of micro-objects is usually disturbed due to strong scale effects. This paper focuses on a vacuum micro-gripper with vibration releasing functionality, which was designed and assembled for reliable micromanipulation tasks. Accordingly, a vibration releasing strategy of implementing a piezoelectric actuator on the vacuum microgripping tool is presented to address the releasing problem. The releasing mechanism was illustrated using a dynamic micro contact model. This model was developed via theoretical analysis, simulations and pull-off force measurement using atomic force microscopy. Micromanipulation experiments were conducted to verify the performance of the vacuum micro-gripper. The results show that, with the assistance of the vibration releasing, the vacuum microgripping tool can achieve reliable release of micro-objects. A releasing location accuracy of 4.5±0.5 μm and a successful releasing rate of around 100% (which is based on 110 trials) were achieved for manipulating polystyrene microspheres with radius of 35-100 μm.

Design of an electro-thermally actuated cell microgripper

The study of cells mechanical properties is of great interest both in medicine and biology to recognize and prevent some diseases causing alterations in cellular behaviour and resistance. Biological micro electro-mechanical systems allow the application of extremely small and precise forces increasing, as a consequence, the number of results possible per experiment and the number of experiments that can be performed simultaneously. The presented work deals with the analysis of an electro-thermally actuated microgripper for single-cell manipulation. Specifications and targets impose several limitations and difficulties in micro manipulators design and these obstacles are even more important when the target of microgripping are biological particles (e.g. living cells). The main parameters that have to be taken into account while designing a cell micromanipulator are, aside from its actuation principle, its kinematics, its fingertips shape, its releasing strategy and its material biocompatibility. More specifically in thermal actuation also thermal stability, insulation and high temperature in the device have to be considered to ensure the cell’s integrity during its micromanipulation.

Centrifugal spun ultrafine fibrous web as a potential drug delivery vehicle

Centrifugal spinning (C-spin) is one of the emerging techniques for the production of ultrafine fibrous web which mimics Extracellular matrix (ECM). Due to its unique characteristic features it is widely used in bio-medical applications such as tissue engineered scaffolds, wound dressing materials and drug delivery vehicles. In the present study tetracycline loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) blended polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) fibers were fabricated using in-house built C-spin system. The developed ultrafine fibers were morphologically characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) before and after drug release and the results showed that the developed webs were highly porous and the pores were evenly distributed. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results confirmed that the drug was incorporated on the fibers. The antibacterial activity and drug releasing strategy were examined and the results showed that the developed webs can effectively act as a drug delivery vehicle.