Unique Design Principles Research Articles

Biomimetic Pulsating Vesicles with Both pH-Tunable Membrane Permeability and Light-Triggered Disassembly-Re-assembly Behaviors Prepared by Supra-Amphiphilic Helices.

The reversible unfolding-refolding transition is considerably important for natural elastomeric proteins (e.g., titin) to fulfill their biological functions. It is of great importance to develop synthetic versions by borrowing their unique stretchable design principles. Herein, we present a novel pulsating vesicle by means of the aqueous self-assembly of supra-amphiphilic helices. Interestingly, this vesicle simultaneously features dynamic swelling and shrinkage movements in response to external proton triggers. Titin-like unfolding-refolding transformation of artificial helices was proved to play a crucial role in this pulsatile motion. Moreover, the vesicular membrane of this vesicle has exhibited tunable permeability during reversible expansion and contraction circulation. Meanwhile, light can also be used as a driving force to further regulate the disassembly-reassembly transformation of the pulsating vesicle. In addition, the drug delivery system was also employed as an investigating model to estimate the permeability variation and disassembly-reassembly behaviors of the pulsating vesicles, which displayed unique dual quick- and sustained-release behaviors toward anti-cancer agents. It is anticipated that this work opens an avenue for fabricating novel stretchable biomimetics by using the exclusive unfolding-refolding nature of artificial foldamers.

Recent Advances in Bioinspired Gel Surfaces with Superwettability and Special Adhesion.

Engineering surface wettability is of great importance in academic research and practical applications. The exploration of hydrogel‐based natural surfaces with superior properties has revealed new design principles of surface superwettability. Gels are composed of a cross‐linked polymer network that traps numerous solvents through weak interactions. The natural fluidity of the trapped solvents confers the liquid‐like property to gel surfaces, making them significantly different from solid surfaces. Bioinspired gel surfaces have shown promising applications in diverse fields. This work aims to summarize the fundamental understanding and emerging applications of bioinspired gel surfaces with superwettability and special adhesion. First, several typical hydrogel‐based natural surfaces with superwettability and special adhesion are briefly introduced, followed by highlighting the unique properties and design principles of gel‐based surfaces. Then, the superwettability and emerging applications of bioinspired gel surfaces, including liquid/liquid separation, antiadhesion of organisms and solids, and fabrication of thin polymer films, are presented in detail. Finally, an outlook on the future development of these novel gel surfaces is also provided.

Using Pseudoenzymes to Probe Evolutionary Design Principles of Enzymes.

Enzymes are governed by unique evolutionary design principles as their catalytic sites were shown to induce long-range evolutionary conservation gradients. We have recently used a comparative bioinformatics approach to disentangle structural determinants from other possible determinants of the evolutionary conservation gradients. The approach is based on comparing the evolutionary patterns of enzymes to those of pseudoenzymes with the same tertiary structure where the catalytic functionality is turned off. This approach provides a way to evaluate several hypotheses regarding the origin of the observed evolutionary conservation gradient in enzymes. The conclusions from such comparative analyses are important for a better understanding of the unique evolutionary design principles of enzymes, which can in turn potentially guide the design of new and improved enzymes.

Selective Molecular Separation by Interfacially Crystallized Covalent Organic Framework Thin Films.

Exponential interest in the field of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) stems from the direct correlation between their modular design principle and various interesting properties. However, existing synthetic approaches to realize this goal mainly result in insoluble and unprocessable powders, which severely restrict their widespread applicability. Therefore, developing a methodology for easy fabrication of these materials remains an alluring goal and a much desired objective. Herein, we have demonstrated a bottom-up interfacial crystallization strategy to fabricate these microcrystalline powders as large-scale thin films under ambient conditions. This unique design principle exploits liquid-liquid interface as a platform, allowing simultaneous control over crystallization and morphology of the framework structure. The thin films are grown without any support in free-standing form and can be transferred onto any desirable substrate. The porous (with Tp-Bpy showing highest SBET of 1 151 m2 g-1) and crystalline thin films, having high chemical as well as thermal stability, also hold the merit to tune the thickness as low as sub-100 nm. These nanostructured thin COF films demonstrate remarkable solvent-permeance and solute-rejection performance. A prominent instance is the Tp-Bpy thin film, which displays an unprecedented acetonitrile permeance of 339 L m-2 h-1 bar-1.

Characterization of multi-layered fish scales (Atractosteus spatula) using nanoindentation, X-ray CT, FTIR, and SEM.

The hierarchical architecture of protective biological materials such as mineralized fish scales, gastropod shells, ram’s horn, antlers, and turtle shells provides unique design principles with potentials for guiding the design of protective materials and systems in the future. Understanding the structure-property relationships for these material systems at the microscale and nanoscale where failure initiates is essential. Currently, experimental techniques such as nanoindentation, X-ray CT, and SEM provide researchers with a way to correlate the mechanical behavior with hierarchical microstructures of these material systems1-6. However, a well-defined standard procedure for specimen preparation of mineralized biomaterials is not currently available. In this study, the methods for probing spatially correlated chemical, structural, and mechanical properties of the multilayered scale of A. spatula using nanoindentation, FTIR, SEM, with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis, and X-ray CT are presented.

Characterization Of Multi-layered Fish Scales (<em>Atractosteus spatula</em>) Using Nanoindentation, X-ray CT, FTIR, and SEM

The hierarchical architecture of protective biological materials such as mineralized fish scales, gastropod shells, ram’s horn, antlers, and turtle shells provides unique design principles with potentials for guiding the design of protective materials and systems in the future. Understanding the structure-property relationships for these material systems at the microscale and nanoscale where failure initiates is essential. Currently, experimental techniques such as nanoindentation, X-ray CT, and SEM provide researchers with a way to correlate the mechanical behavior with hierarchical microstructures of these material systems1-6. However, a well-defined standard procedure for specimen preparation of mineralized biomaterials is not currently available. In this study, the methods for probing spatially correlated chemical, structural, and mechanical properties of the multilayered scale of A. spatula using nanoindentation, FTIR, SEM, with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis, and X-ray CT are presented.

Integrating “education for entrepreneurship” in multiple faculties in “half‐the‐time” to enhance graduate entrepreneurship

PurposeThis paper seeks to highlight the role of entrepreneurship education in encouraging the growth of graduate entrepreneurship in the UK to help overcome the over‐supply of university graduates in a very difficult employment market. This paper aims to discuss the design principle for entrepreneurship education that facilitates graduate entrepreneurship, and the design methodology that allows multi‐faculty collaboration in the provision of entrepreneurship programmes.Design/methodology/approachThis paper begins with the conceptualisation of design principles and frameworks based on current concepts found in the literature, followed by practitioner‐based reflection to shed insights into the process of developing entrepreneurship education in higher education institutions (HEIs).FindingsThe authors have developed the “30/70 methodology” to guide the future design of entrepreneurship education, and the “80/20 methodology” to support cross‐faculty entrepreneurship programmes to serve non‐business students. Factors that impede or support academic entrepreneurship and effective integration of entrepreneurship programmes in HEIs are discussed.Originality/valueThis paper shares the authors' experiences, and their unique design principles and methodology to support the development of education for entrepreneurship.

Stacking nonenzymatic circuits for high signal gain

Signal amplification schemes that do not rely on protein enzymes show great potential in areas as abstruse as DNA computation and as applied as point-of-care molecular diagnostics. Toehold-mediated strand displacement, a programmable form of dynamic DNA hybridization, can be used to design powerful amplification cascades that can achieve polynomial or exponential amplification of input signals. However, experimental implementation of such amplification cascades has been severely hindered by circuit leakage due to catalyst-independent side reactions. In this study, we systematically analyzed the origins, characteristics, and outcomes of circuit leakage in amplification cascades and devised unique methods to obtain high-quality DNA circuits that exhibit minimal leakage. We successfully implemented a two-layer cascade that yielded 7,000-fold signal amplification and a two-stage, four-layer cascade that yielded upward of 600,000-fold signal amplification. Implementation of these unique methods and design principles should greatly empower molecular programming in general and DNA-based molecular diagnostics in particular.

Analyte-Driven Switching of DNA Charge Transport: De Novo Creation of Electronic Sensors for an Early Lung Cancer Biomarker

A general approach is described for the de novo design and construction of aptamer-based electrochemical biosensors, for potentially any analyte of interest (ranging from small ligands to biological macromolecules). As a demonstration of the approach, we report the rapid development of a made-to-order electronic sensor for a newly reported early biomarker for lung cancer (CTAP III/NAP2). The steps include the in vitro selection and characterization of DNA aptamer sequences, design and biochemical testing of wholly DNA sensor constructs, and translation to a functional electrode-bound sensor format. The working principle of this distinct class of electronic biosensors is the enhancement of DNA-mediated charge transport in response to analyte binding. We first verify such analyte-responsive charge transport switching in solution, using biochemical methods; successful sensor variants were then immobilized on gold electrodes. We show that using these sensor-modified electrodes, CTAP III/NAP2 can be detected with both high specificity and sensitivity (K(d) ~1 nM) through a direct electrochemical reading. To investigate the underlying basis of analyte binding-induced conductivity switching, we carried out Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) experiments. The FRET data establish that analyte binding-induced conductivity switching in these sensors results from very subtle structural/conformational changes, rather than large scale, global folding events. The implications of this finding are discussed with respect to possible charge transport switching mechanisms in electrode-bound sensors. Overall, the approach we describe here represents a unique design principle for aptamer-based electrochemical sensors; its application should enable rapid, on-demand access to a class of portable biosensors that offer robust, inexpensive, and operationally simplified alternatives to conventional antibody-based immunoassays.

Accelerating Tests for the Performance Deterioration of Concrete Exposed to Chloride Media

Chloride attack is one of the most severe durability problems for the marine concrete structures. The natural process of chloride ingress in concrete takes long time. Artificial environmental simulating tests were developed to shorten the testing duration. However, the control parameters of the artificial environment didn’t have unique design principles. In this study, two types of accelerating test system and two exposure sites are adopted. These two systems had different wet-dry cycle intervals and belonged to Zhejiang University and Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI, Japan). The exposure sites were located in Hangzhou Bay Bridge and PARI respectively. A group of concrete specimens were put in those four places for accelerating testing and natural exposing. The chloride concentration distribution in each specimen was measured and the chloride resistance of the concrete under each environment was evaluated. Based on the testing results, the accelerating rate of the artificial environment to the practical exposure environment was discussed. In addition, the influence of the artificial environmental effects on the performance deterioration accelerating of the concrete was discussed. This study could be referred to design an ideal artificial environment accelerating tests.

Designing digital objects for learning: lessons from Froebel and Montessori

Designers of interactive toys face many challenges when integrating digital technologies into the educational manipulatives they design. Drawing on the distinctive approaches of Friedrich Froebel and Maria Montessori – philosophers of education and pioneering toy designers – this paper proposes to qualify and distinguish between their unique design principles as manifested in traditional as well as digital learning objects and educational manipulatives. Application of these core design principles will enable modern day toy designers, particularly those operating in the interactive domain, to meet their educational objectives and maximise the learning potential in children's interactive learning experiences.

Introduction of a calibration-free reaction calorimeter that combines the benefits of DSCS and reaction calorimeters

The reaction calorimeter CPA202 (chemical process analyzer) determines thermal effects by measuring the true heat flow (THF) based on unique design principles. In particular, measurements can be performed without requiring any calibration procedures and the obtained results are most reliable and exhibit extremely stable baselines. The benefits in respect of experimental speed, data quality and long term performance are obvious. Due its broad dynamic range the instrument can be employed for measurements ranging from small physical heat to energetic chemical reactions. The CPA allows running experiments seamlessly with reaction volumes between 10 and 180 mL. This volume flexibility simplifies the investigation of multi-step operations and is the basis for various applications employing precious or highly energetic compounds. Due to the fact that calibrations are not required, altering conditions during a single experiment like changes in viscosities, liquid levels or stirring speeds do not affect the results of the measurements.

The Design Principle of Historical Curvilinear-Oblique Weir

The “Historical Curvilinear Oblique Weir” was built by Kenzan Nonaka in the Edo era. The shape of those weirs is unique and different from which made in the modern period, some weirs are remaining in Kochi prefecture. By the investigation and analysis of the location of these weirs, I tried to make a hypothesis that is different from the previous one about the design principle of the weir.In this unique design principle, there is the opinion that it was built along the edge line of the sand bar. On the other hand, there is also a tradition of having been built by the technique of “ito-nagashi” in local Kochi. However, neither of the opinions explains enough about the shape of the weir. The hypothesis shown by this research is, “the weir was built crossing the run where the stabilized height of the river was located, and had a sluice gate in the deep pool of the river.” and I think that it has higher valid than the existing one.

A New 3WV-INCH Screen Size Color Picture Tube

It was almost a decade ago that a new color picture tube system1) was being developed in this division. The system was named TRINITRON. This name was intended to describe its unique design principles adopting in-line beam configuration, single large-aperture electron lens, and an Aperture Grille with a cylindrical face plate. Excellent displays were achieved with high picture quality and resolution. Manufacture of 12V, 90 degree TRINITRON color picture tubes began in 1968, and they are still being produced in the original design without major modifications.