Three-way Switch Research Articles

Design and application of a multiple combination portable auxiliary device for infusion

Intravenous infusion is an important route of drug therapy, and infusion safety is an important issue for medical staff. Long-term and multiple infusion routes at the same time bring inconvenience to patients. Multiple three-way switches in parallel infusion may lead to interruption of the liquid route, which can seriously endanger the life of patients. To address these clinical issues, medical staff from the School of Basic Medical Sciences of Hebei Medical University and the Emergency Department of the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University designed a multiple combination portable infusion assistance device and obtained the National Utility Model Patent of China (ZL 2022 2 0226073.2). The device is mainly composed of adhesive tape sticker, fixed slots and pipelines, and also includes a three-way valve and a mixing chamber, and different modes of infusion assist devices can be selected according to clinical needs. The device is simple and convenient to operate, solves the problem of multiple liquid infusion blockages, improves the safety and comfort of infusion, and can meet the needs of liquid infusion in various clinical situations.

Design and application of a new transoral gastric tube for extraction and storage of gastric contents

Difficulty in swallowing is a common symptom in stroke patients, and nasogastric tubes are routinely used to solve the nutritional support problem of these patients. The existing nasogastric tube have the disadvantages of causing aspiration pneumonia and patient discomfort. The traditional transoral gastric tube has no one-way valve switch and gastric content storage device, and cannot be fixed in the stomach, resulting in reflux of gastric contents, inability to fully understand the digestion and absorption of gastric contents, and accidental dislocation of the gastric tube, affecting further feeding and gastric content detection. For these reasons, the medical staff of the department of gastroenterology and colorectal surgery of Jilin University China-Japan Union Hospital designed a new transoral gastric tube that can extract and store gastric contents, and was granted a national utility model patent of China (ZL 2020 2 1704393.1). The device consists of collection, cannula and fixation modules. The collection module includes three parts. Gastric contents storage capsule, which can clearly visualize the gastric contents; three-way switch, which can be controlled by rotating the pathway, makes the pathway exist in different states, which is convenient for medical personnel to extract gastric juice, as well as perform intermittent oral tube feeding on the patient or close the pipeline, and reduce contamination and prolong the service life of the gastric tube; one-way valve, which can effectively avoid the contents of the reflux back into the stomach. The tube insertion module includes three parts. A graduated tube, which can enable the medical staff to effectively identify the insertion depth; a solid guide head, which makes the insertion of the tube through the mouth more smoothly; the gourd-shaped passageway, which effectively avoids the blockage of the tube. The fixation module is a water-filled balloon, which is properly filled with water and air. After the pipe is inserted through the mouth, it can be injected with water and gas properly to avoid accidental withdrawal of the gastric tube. Intermittent oroesophageal tube feeding of patients with dysphagia after stroke through a transoral gastric tube that can extract and store gastric contents can not only accelerate the recovery process of patients and shorten the hospitalization time, but also transoral enteral nutrition can effectively promote the recovery of patients' systemic systems, which has certain clinical use value.

Unique CT emission from aryl terpyridine nanoparticles in aqueous Medium: A combined effect of excited state hydrogen bonding and conformational planarization

Two conformationally flexible aryl terpyridine molecules (aryl: pyrene and anthracene) have been synthesized that can form nanoscopic aggregates in aqueous medium. Unlike organic medium, these bichromophoric molecules showed broad, red-shifted multiple emission bands when microinjected in water. Experimental evidences indicate this unique emission behavior from nanoparticles originating from only a single ground state species. The existence of multiple emission bands and the large bathochromic shifts suggesting planarization of excited state induced by aggregation of chromophores. At the same time, due to higher basicity of terpyridine nitrogens at excited state (photo-basicity), the molecules could be involved H-bonding with water molecules. This could further stabilize a unique internally decoupled charge transfer (CT) state, as evident by time-dependent fluorescence studies. Intermolecular CT promoted by aggregation and mediated by H-bonding of terpyridine to water is indeed a rare example. Though the aggregate formation was found to be insensitive over a large pH range, a unique three-way optical switch can be constructed using metal ions (Zn2+ ions) as additive.

A putative \u201cchemokine switch\u201d that regulates systemic acute inflammation in humans

Systemic inflammation is complex and likely drives clinical outcomes in critical illness such as that which ensues following severe injury. We obtained time course data on multiple inflammatory mediators in the blood of blunt trauma patients. Using dynamic network analyses, we inferred a novel control architecture for systemic inflammation: a three-way switch comprising the chemokines MCP-1/CCL2, MIG/CXCL9, and IP-10/CXCL10. To test this hypothesis, we created a logical model comprising this putative architecture. This model predicted key qualitative features of systemic inflammation in patient sub-groups, as well as the different patterns of hospital discharge of moderately vs. severely injured patients. Thus, a rational transition from data to data-driven models to mechanistic models suggests a novel, chemokine-based mechanism for control of acute inflammation in humans and points to the potential utility of this workflow in defining novel features in other complex diseases.

Experimental Study of a New Pneumatic Actuating System Using Exhaust Recycling

Pneumatic actuating systems are an important power system in industrial applications. Due to exhaust loss, however, pneumatic actuating systems have suffered from a low utilization of compressed air. To recycle the exhaust energy, a novel pneumatic circuit was proposed to realize energy savings through recycling exhaust energy. The circuit consisted of three two-position three-way switch valves, which were used to control the exhaust flows into a gas tank or the ambient environment. This paper introduced the energy recovery configuration and working principles and built a mathematical model of its working process. Then, the mathematical model was verified by experiments. Finally, through experiments in which the air supply pressure, the critical pressure and the volume of the gas tank were regulated, the energy recovery characteristics of the pneumatic actuating system were obtained. Using the new circuit, the experimental results showed that the energy recovery efficiency exceeded 23%. When the air supply pressure was set to 5 bar, 6 bar, and 7 bar, the time required for pneumatic actuation to complete the three working cycles were 5.2 s, 5.3 s, and 5.9 s, respectively. When the critical pressure was set to 0 bar, 0.5 bar, 1 bar, and 1.5 bar, the times for pneumatic actuation to complete the three working cycles were 4.9 s, 5.1 s, 5.2 s, and 5.3 s, respectively. When the volume of the gas tank was set to 2 L, 3 L, 4 L, and 5 L, the number of working cycles was 3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. This paper provides a new method of cylinder exhaust recycling and lays a good foundation for pneumatic energy savings.

A bipedal-unequivalent three-dimensional DNA walker and its biosensing application

Herein, a bipedal-unequivalent three-dimensional DNA walker is designed and applied to biosensing. It involves three components: (i) DNA three-way junction switch (DTWJS), in which two longer strands containing different sequences are partially complementary serving as bipedal-unequivalent walking strand (B-UWS) and the shortest one serves as blocking strand; (ii) fluorophore-labelled hairpins H1 and H2, co-modified onto gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), serving as track strands; (iii) hairpins H3 and H4, contain sequences complementary to H1 and H2, respectively, serving as fuel strands. By target binding to blocking strand, B-UWS is liberated to hybridize with H1 and H2 in turn. The unfolded H1 and H2 get hybridized with H3 and H4, respectively, accompanying by B-UWS sequential release and fluorescence signal accumulation. Then B-UWS continues to hybridize with another track strands to walk. Compared with unipedal and bipedal-equivalent DNA walkers, this bipedal-unequivalent DNA walker has twice the sustainable operation capability through kinetic and affinity studies. Using let-7a as a model target, it shows a detection limit of 68 pM and satisfactory reproducibility in biological fluids. This DNA walker provides a new sustainable operation mode and will be a potential analytical tool in clinical diagnosis.

Design and Test of Combined Air Suction Cotton Breed Seeder

In view of such a phenomenon that nowadays cotton breeding and seeding mainly depend on artificial planting in China, a kind of combined air suction cotton breed seeder was designed, which is mainly composed of combined air suction seed metering device, three-way switch device, waste seed recovery device, vacuum fan, and so on. It can sow two rows at a time, and the line spacing, plant spacing, and sowing depth can be continuously adjusted to achieve precise sowing. The model of “suck before and blow after” is adopted in seed clearing, which makes seed clearing both clean and rapid. The force, speed, and acceleration of cotton seed are theoretically analyzed when the seed metering device is filled with seeds and then determines the main structural parameters and motion parameters of the device. This paper takes Lumianyan No. 37 as the research object, adopts the single-factor test and the quadratic regression rotation orthogonal test, selects the forward speed, air pressure, and groove plate width of the air suction cup as the experimental factors, and conducts an experiment of the seeder’s performance, by analyzing the influence law of the seeder’s velocity on its seeding variation coefficient. This paper concludes that the coefficient of variation is small when the velocity is 1.2–1.5 m/s and finds the optimal range of unit velocity when sowing and finally builds the mathematical models including multiples index and missing index. After parameter optimization, this paper makes the optimal parameters for sure; that is, the seeder’s velocity ranges from 1.3 to 1.5 m/s, wind pressure ranges from 2.5 to 2.8 kPa, and the width of the air suction groove ranges from 2.6 to 2.8 mm. At this time, the multiples index and missing index of the combined air suction cotton breed seeder are less than 3%, whose sum total is less than 5%. In the field test, the seed clearing performance of the seed clearing system is tested, and the seed clearing rate has reached 100%, meeting the seeding requirements in cotton tablets.

Workshop, Cost-Effective and Streamlined Fabrications of Re-Usable World-To-Chip Connectors for Handling Sample of Limited Volume and for Assembling Chip Array.

The world-to-chip interface is an essential yet intriguing part of making and employing microfluidic devices. A user-friendly connector could be expensive or difficult to make. We fabricated two ports of microfluidic chips with easily available materials including Teflon blocks, double adhesive films, coverslips, and transparency films. By using a mini grinder, coverslips were drilled to form small holes for the fluid passages between port and chip. Except for the double adhesive films, the resultant ports are durable and re-useable. The DK1 port, contains a mini three-way switch which allows users to handle fluid by a tube-connected pump, or by a manual pipette for the sample of trace amount. The other port, the DK2 port, provides secured tube-connections. Importantly, we invented a bridge made of craft cutter-treated transparency films and double adhesive films to mediate liquid flow between DK2 port and chip. With the use of a bridge, users do not need to design new ports for new chips. Also, individual chips could be linked by a bridge to form a chip array. We successfully applied DK1 port on a microfluidic chip where green fluorescent protein was immobilized. We used DK2 port on an array of fish chips where the embryos of zebra fish developed.

Distinguishing mechanisms underlying EMT tristability

BackgroundThe Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) endows epithelial-looking cells with enhanced migratory ability during embryonic development and tissue repair. EMT can also be co-opted by cancer cells to acquire metastatic potential and drug-resistance. Recent research has argued that epithelial (E) cells can undergo either a partial EMT to attain a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) phenotype that typically displays collective migration, or a complete EMT to adopt a mesenchymal (M) phenotype that shows individual migration. The core EMT regulatory network - miR-34/SNAIL/miR-200/ZEB1 - has been identified by various studies, but how this network regulates the transitions among the E, E/M, and M phenotypes remains controversial. Two major mathematical models – ternary chimera switch (TCS) and cascading bistable switches (CBS) - that both focus on the miR-34/SNAIL/miR-200/ZEB1 network, have been proposed to elucidate the EMT dynamics, but a detailed analysis of how well either or both of these two models can capture recent experimental observations about EMT dynamics remains to be done.ResultsHere, via an integrated experimental and theoretical approach, we first show that both these two models can be used to understand the two-step transition of EMT - E→E/M→M, the different responses of SNAIL and ZEB1 to exogenous TGF-β and the irreversibility of complete EMT. Next, we present new experimental results that tend to discriminate between these two models. We show that ZEB1 is present at intermediate levels in the hybrid E/M H1975 cells, and that in HMLE cells, overexpression of SNAIL is not sufficient to initiate EMT in the absence of ZEB1 and FOXC2.ConclusionsThese experimental results argue in favor of the TCS model proposing that miR-200/ZEB1 behaves as a three-way decision-making switch enabling transitions among the E, hybrid E/M and M phenotypes.

Anion-Controlled Positional Switching of a Phenyl Group about the Dinuclear Core of a AuSb Complex.

As part of our continuing interest in redox-active, anion-responsive main-group transition-metal platforms, we have investigated the effect of chloride by fluoride anion substitution on the core structure of a dinuclear AuSb platform. Starting from [(o-(iPr2P)C6H4)2Cl2SbPh]AuCl (2) in which the antimony-bound phenyl group is positioned trans to the gold atom, we found that the introduction of fluoride anions, as in [(o-(iPr2P)C6H4)2F2SbPh]AuCl (3) and [(o-(iPr2P)C6H4)2ClFSbPh]AuCl (4), produces structures in which the phenyl group switches to a perpendicular direction with respect to the gold atom. Replacement of the gold-bound chloride anion in 3 by a fluoride anion can be achieved by successive treatment with TlPF6 and [nBu4N][Ph3SiF2]. These reactions, which proceed via the intermediate zwitterionc gold antimonate complex [o-(iPr2P)C6H4)2F3SbPh]Au (6), trigger migration of the phenyl group to gold and afford [(o-(iPr2P)C6H4)2F3Sb]AuPh (7). Because the phenyl group in 7 is orthogonal to that in 3 and opposite to that in 2, the title AuSb platform can be regarded as a molecular analogue of a mechanical three-way switch in which the switching element is a phenyl group. Finally, while all complexes involved retain a Au → Sb interaction, this interaction is no longer present in the zwitterionic derivative 6 because of the neutralization of the Lewis acidity of the antimony center.

Abstract B2-49: Coupled cellular decision-making of EMT and stemness: A bottom-up regulatory model

Abstract Epithelial cells undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) have often been shown to behave as cancer stem cells (CSCs) but the precise molecular connection remains elusive. At the genetic level, stemness is governed by LIN28/let-7 double inhibition switch, whereas EMT/MET is controlled by miR-200/ZEB double inhibition circuit. The two switches are coupled by LIN28 being inhibited by miR-200, and ZEB being inhibited by let-7. Here, we devise a specific theoretical framework to investigate the dynamics of the LIN28/let-7 system, and show that it can operate as a three-way switch (between low, high and intermediate LIN28 levels termed the D, U and the hybrid D/U states) similar to the three-way operation of the miR-200/ZEB circuit that allows for the existence of a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) or partial EMT phenotype, in addition to epithelial and mesenchymal ones. We find significant correspondence between the existence of the three states of the two circuits: E-D; M-U; E/M-D/U. Incorporating the activation of OCT4 by LIN28, we find that the hybrid E/M phenotype has high likelihood (as compared to either the pure E or M states) to gain stemness. Combining the LIN28/let-7 regulation by NF-kB and c-MYC, we find that NF-kB, but not c-MYC, elevates the likelihood of E/M to gain stemness. Our results are consistent with emerging concept that cells undergoing partial EMT can gain stemness. Citation Format: Mohit Kumar Jolly, Bin Huang, Mingyang Lu, Sendurai A Mani, Herbert Levine, Eshel Ben-Jacob. Coupled cellular decision-making of EMT and stemness: A bottom-up regulatory model. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Computational and Systems Biology of Cancer; Feb 8-11 2015; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(22 Suppl 2):Abstract nr B2-49.

Operating principles of Notch–Delta–Jagged module of cell–cell communication

Notch pathway is an evolutionarily conserved cell–cell communication mechanism governing cell-fate during development and tumor progression. It is activated when Notch receptor of one cell binds to either of its ligand—Delta or Jagged—of another cell. Notch–Delta (ND) signaling forms a two-way switch, and two cells interacting via ND signaling adopt different fates—Sender (high ligand, low receptor) and Receiver (low ligand, high receptor). Notch–Delta–Jagged signaling (NDJ) behaves as a three-way switch and enables an additional fate—hybrid Sender/Receiver (S/R) (medium ligand, medium receptor). Here, by extending our framework of NDJ signaling for a two-cell system, we show that higher production rate of Jagged, but not that of Delta, expands the range of parameters for which both cells attain the hybrid S/R state. Conversely, glycosyltransferase Fringe and cis-inhibition reduces this range of conditions, and reduces the relative stability of the hybrid S/R state, thereby promoting cell-fate divergence and consequently lateral inhibition-based patterns. Lastly, soluble Jagged drives the cells to attain the hybrid S/R state, and soluble Delta drives them to be Receivers. We also discuss the critical role of hybrid S/R state in promoting cancer metastasis by enabling collective cell migration and expanding cancer stem cell (CSC) population.

OVOL guides the epithelial-hybrid-mesenchymal transition

Metastasis involves multiple cycles of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and its reverse-MET. Cells can also undergo partial transitions to attain a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) phenotype that has maximum cellular plasticity and allows migration of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) as a cluster. Hence, deciphering the molecular players helping to maintain the hybrid E/M phenotype may inform anti-metastasis strategies. Here, we devised a mechanism-based mathematical model to couple the transcription factor OVOL with the core EMT regulatory network miR-200/ZEB that acts as a three-way switch between the E, E/M and M phenotypes. We show that OVOL can modulate cellular plasticity in multiple ways - restricting EMT, driving MET, expanding the existence of the hybrid E/M phenotype and turning both EMT and MET into two-step processes. Our theoretical framework explains the differences between the observed effects of OVOL in breast and prostate cancer, and provides a platform for investigating additional signals during metastasis.

Jagged–Delta asymmetry in Notch signaling can give rise to a Sender/Receiver hybrid phenotype

Notch signaling pathway mediates cell-fate determination during embryonic development, wound healing, and tumorigenesis. This pathway is activated when the ligand Delta or the ligand Jagged of one cell interacts with the Notch receptor of its neighboring cell, releasing the Notch Intracellular Domain (NICD) that activates many downstream target genes. NICD affects ligand production asymmetrically--it represses Delta, but activates Jagged. Although the dynamical role of Notch-Jagged signaling remains elusive, it is widely recognized that Notch-Delta signaling behaves as an intercellular toggle switch, giving rise to two distinct fates that neighboring cells adopt--Sender (high ligand, low receptor) and Receiver (low ligand, high receptor). Here, we devise a specific theoretical framework that incorporates both Delta and Jagged in Notch signaling circuit to explore the functional role of Jagged in cell-fate determination. We find that the asymmetric effect of NICD renders the circuit to behave as a three-way switch, giving rise to an additional state--a hybrid Sender/Receiver (medium ligand, medium receptor). This phenotype allows neighboring cells to both send and receive signals, thereby attaining similar fates. We also show that due to the asymmetric effect of the glycosyltransferase Fringe, different outcomes are generated depending on which ligand is dominant: Delta-mediated signaling drives neighboring cells to have an opposite fate; Jagged-mediated signaling drives the cell to maintain a similar fate to that of its neighbor. We elucidate the role of Jagged in cell-fate determination and discuss its possible implications in understanding tumor-stroma cross-talk, which frequently entails Notch-Jagged communication.

Modeling Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transitions in Metastatic Cancer

Cancer metastasis is responsible for more than 90% of cancer deaths. Yet, understanding epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) during cancer metastasis remains a major challenge in cancer biology. It is now established that cells use genetic regulatory circuits to make functional decisions of whether to undergo EMT or not. In this study, we constructed a theoretical model of the circuitry involved in the EMT. The core regulatory unit for the decision consists of two highly interconnected chimeric modules - the miR-34/SNAIL and the miR-200/ZEB mutual-inhibition feedback circuits. We developed a theoretical framework for modeling microRNA-based circuit and applied it to study the chimeric modules. We showed that the miR-34/SNAIL module functions as a noise-buffering signal integrator, and the miR-200/ZEB module functions as a three-way switch, allowing not only for the epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes, but also for a hybrid phenotype with mixed epithelial and mesenchymal characteristics. We further studied EMT in a multi-cell environment by coupling the EMT circuit to cancer-related signaling pathways and by including cell-cell communications. Our model explains recent data on the observation of unusual intermediates with specialized cell behavior, such as collective migration, and phonotypical heterogeneity of the EMT observed in various lung cancer cell lines.

Towards elucidating the connection between epithelial-mesenchymal transitions and stemness.

Epithelial cells undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions have often been shown to behave as cancer stem cells, but the precise molecular connection remains elusive. At the genetic level, stemness is governed by LIN28/let-7 double inhibition switch, whereas EMT/MET is controlled by miR-200/ZEB double inhibition circuit and LIN28 is inhibited by miR-200, coupling the two modules. Here, using a specially devised theoretical framework to investigate the dynamics of the LIN28/let-7 system, we show that it can operate as a three-way switch (between low, high and intermediate LIN28 levels termed the D, U and hybrid D/U states) similar to the three-way operation of the miR-200/ZEB circuit that allows for the existence of a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal (E/M) phenotype. We find significant correspondence between the existence of the three states of the two circuits: E-D, M-U and E/M-D/U. Incorporating the activation of OCT4 by LIN28, we find that the hybrid E/M phenotype has high likelihood (when compared with either the E or M states) to gain stemness. Combining the LIN28/let-7 regulation by NF-κB and c-MYC, we find that NF-κB, but not c-MYC, elevates the likelihood of E/M phenotype to gain stemness. Our results are consistent with emerging concept that partial EMT can lead to stemness.

The three-way switch operation of Rac1/RhoA GTPase-based circuit controlling amoeboid-hybrid-mesenchymal transition.

Metastatic carcinoma cells exhibit at least two different phenotypes of motility and invasion - amoeboid and mesenchymal. This plasticity poses a major clinical challenge for treating metastasis, while its underlying mechanisms remain enigmatic. Transitions between these phenotypes are mediated by the Rac1/RhoA circuit that responds to external signals such as HGF/SF via c-MET pathway. Using detailed modeling of GTPase-based regulation to study the Rac1/RhoA circuit's dynamics, we found that it can operate as a three-way switch. We propose to associate the circuit's three possible states to the amoeboid, mesenchymal and amoeboid/mesenchymal hybrid phenotype. In particular, we investigated the range of existence of, and the transition between, the three states (phenotypes) in response to Grb2 and Gab1 - two downstream adaptors of c-MET. The results help to explain the regulation of metastatic cells by c-MET pathway and hence can contribute to the assessment of possible clinical interventions.

Toward decoding the principles of cancer metastasis circuits.

Understanding epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) during cancer metastasis remains a major challenge in modern biology. Recent observations of cell behavior together with progress in mapping the underlying regulatory genetic networks led to new understandings of carcinoma metastasis. It is now established that the genetic network that regulates the EMT also enables an epithelial-mesenchymal hybrid phenotype. These hybrid cells possess mixed carcinoma epithelial and mesenchymal characteristics that enable specialized capabilities such as collective cell migration. On the gene network perspective, a four-component decision unit composed of two highly interconnected chimeric modules--the miR34/SNAIL and the miR200/ZEB mutual-inhibition feedback circuits--regulates the coexistence of and transitions between the different phenotypes. Here, we present a new tractable theoretical framework to model and decode the underlying principles governing the operation of the regulatory unit. Our approach connects the knowledge about intracellular pathways with observations of cellular behavior and advances toward understanding the logic of cancer decision-making. We found that the miR34/SNAIL module acts as an integrator while the miR200/ZEB module acts as a three-way switch. Consequently, the combined unit can give rise to three phenotypes (stable states): (i) a high miR200 and low ZEB, or (1, 0) state; (ii) a low miR200 and high ZEB, or (0, 1) state; and (iii) a medium miR200 and medium ZEB, or (½, ½) state. We associate these states with the epithelial, mesenchymal, and hybrid phenotypes, respectively. We reflect on the consistency between our theoretical predictions and recent observations in several types of carcinomas and suggest new testable predictions. See all articles in this Cancer Research section,

Construction of an effective landscape for multistate genetic switches.

Multistate genetic switches play a crucial role during embryonic development and tumorigenesis. An archetypical example is the three-way switch regulating epithelial-hybrid-mesenchymal transitions. We devise a special WKB-based approach to investigate white Gaussian and shot noise effects on three-way switches, and construct an effective landscape in good quantitative agreement with stochastic simulations. This approach allows efficient analytical or numerical calculation of the landscape contours, the optimal path, and the state relative stability for general multicomponent multistate switches.

Hooked on switch: strain-managed cooperative Jahn–Teller effect in Li0.95Mn2.05O4 spinel

Compression and heating of Li0.95Mn2.05O4 induce a unique three-way switch. We demonstrate the possibility of tuning of the structural properties and the induction of phase transitions by changing the external pressure and temperature, and hence changing the lattice strain.