Versatile Systems Research Articles

The Unique Light-Harvesting System of the Algal Phycobilisome: Structure, Assembly Components, and Functions.

The phycobilisome (PBS) is the major light-harvesting apparatus in cyanobacteria and red algae. It is a large multi-subunit protein complex of several megadaltons that is found on the stromal side of thylakoid membranes in orderly arrays. Chromophore lyases catalyse the thioether bond between apoproteins and phycobilins of PBSs. Depending on the species, composition, spatial assembly, and, especially, the functional tuning of different phycobiliproteins mediated by linker proteins, PBSs can absorb light between 450 and 650 nm, making them efficient and versatile light-harvesting systems. However, basic research and technological innovations are needed, not only to understand their role in photosynthesis but also to realise the potential applications of PBSs. Crucial components including phycobiliproteins, phycobilins, and lyases together make the PBS an efficient light-harvesting system, and these provide a scheme to explore the heterologous synthesis of PBS. Focusing on these topics, this review describes the essential components needed for PBS assembly, the functional basis of PBS photosynthesis, and the applications of phycobiliproteins. Moreover, key technical challenges for heterologous biosynthesis of phycobiliproteins in chassis cells are discussed.

The Fuel Flexibility of Gas Turbines: A Review and Retrospective Outlook

Land-based gas turbines (GTs) are continuous-flow engines that run with permanent flames once started and at stationary pressure, temperature, and flows at stabilized load. Combustors operate without any moving parts and their substantial air excess enables complete combustion. These features provide significant space for designing efficient and versatile combustion systems. In particular, as heavy-duty gas turbines have moderate compression ratios and ample stall margins, they can burn not only high- and medium-BTU fuels but also low-BTU ones. As a result, these machines have gained remarkable fuel flexibility. Dry Low Emissions combustors, which were initially confined to burning standard natural gas, have been gradually adapted to an increasing number of alternative gaseous fuels. The paper first delivers essential technical considerations that underlie this important fuel portfolio. It then reviews the spectrum of alternative GT fuels which currently extends from lean gases (coal bed, coke oven, blast furnace gases…) to rich refinery streams (LPG, olefins) and from volatile liquids (naphtha) to heavy hydrocarbons. This “fuel diet” also includes biogenic products (biogas, biodiesel, and ethanol) and especially blended and pure hydrogen, the fuel of the future. The paper also outlines how, historically, land-based GTs have gradually gained new fuel territories thanks to continuous engineering work, lab testing, experience extrapolation, and validation on the field.

Engineered Curli Nanofilaments as a Self-Adjuvanted Antigen Delivery Platform.

Proteinaceous nanoparticles constitute efficient antigen delivery systems in vaccine formulations due to their size and repetitive nature that mimic most invading pathogens and promote immune activation. Nonetheless, the coadministration of an adjuvant with subunit nanovaccines is usually required to induce a robust, long-lasting, and protective immune response. Herein, the protein Curli-specific gene A (CsgA), which is known to self-assemble into nanofilaments contributing to bacterial biofilm, is exploited to engineer an intrinsically immunostimulatory antigen delivery platform. Three repeats of the M2e antigenic sequence from the influenza A virus matrix 2 protein are merged to the N-terminal domain of engineered CsgA proteins. These chimeric 3M2e-CsgA spontaneously self-assemble into antigen-displaying cross-β-sheet nanofilaments that activate the heterodimeric toll-like receptors 2 and 1. The resulting nanofilaments are avidly internalized by antigen-presenting cells and stimulate the maturation of dendritic cells. Without the need of any additional adjuvants, both assemblies show robust humoral and cellular immune responses, which translate into complete protection against a lethal experimental infection with the H1N1 influenza virus. Notably, these CsgA-based nanovaccines induce neither overt systemic inflammation, nor reactogenicity, upon mice inoculation. These results highlight the potential of engineered CsgA nanostructures as self-adjuvanted, safe, and versatile antigen delivery systems to fight infectious diseases.

Photo-Crosslinkable Polymeric Coatings Providing Chemically Versatile Reactive Surfaces on Various Substrates

We demonstrate a chemical route to attain simple, clean, scalable, photopatternable, chemically adjustable, and versatile systems to fabricate reactive organic thin films. Their surfaces exhibit effective biocompatibility, controlled reactivity, and processability on various surface types, i.e., photo-crosslinkable polymeric thin films with various functionalities, further applicable for the definition of surface activity for interfacing biological objects. The copolymers were synthesized with three monomers: a poly(ethylene glycol)-containing monomer, a monomer releasing a primary amine upon exposure to UV light, and a monomer bearing cyclic dithiocarbonate or glycidyl groups that are highly reactive with the amine. The resulting copolymers were processed with polar solvents such as water or alcohol for coating and were readily crosslinked under UV light illumination to form a highly stable molecular network, beneficial for defining selective reactive surfaces in a desired region on a variety of organic and inorganic substrates. The designed system was chemically versatile in immobilizing biologically relevant molecules on the surfaces by (i) post-crosslinking modification through the reaction of bovine serum albumin on the remaining surface reactive group with a primary amine in the protein and (ii) pre-crosslinking formulation with reactive gelatin that has the functionality to crosslink in the composite thin film. We further showed that the resulting coating on a glass or polystyrene substrate provided excellent biocompatibility and growth of C2C12 murine myocytes.

RNA-Dependent RNA Targeting by CRISPR-Cas Systems: Characterizations and Applications.

Genome editing technologies that are currently available and described have a fundamental impact on the development of molecular biology and medicine, industrial and agricultural biotechnology and other fields. However, genome editing based on detection and manipulation of the targeted RNA is a promising alternative to control the gene expression at the spatiotemporal transcriptomic level without complete elimination. The innovative CRISPR-Cas RNA-targeting systems changed the conception of biosensing systems and also allowed the RNA effectors to be used in various applications; for example, genomic editing, effective virus diagnostic tools, biomarkers, transcription regulations. In this review, we discussed the current state-of-the-art of specific CRISPR-Cas systems known to bind and cleave RNA substrates and summarized potential applications of the versatile RNA-targeting systems.

Teleoperation of Soft Robots with Real‐Time Fingertip Haptic Feedback Using Small Batteries

AbstractSoft robots are promising candidates for robust grasping and manipulation of different types of objects; however, their development has been a scientific challenge because of the lack of compact, yet precise, controllable soft actuators. In this work, innovative haptic interactive systems based on sensor‐integrated actuators powered by small batteries are reported. A liquid‐metal strain sensor with a versatile form factor and robust sensing performance is incorporated into a fast‐switching high‐force ionic polymer actuator. The structure of the sensor‐integrated actuator is rationally designed through encapsulation technology to achieve the best sensitivity and actuation while maintaining compactness, allowing for accurate, real‐time estimation and tracking of the actuation process. In a closed loop between the user and sensor‐integrated actuator, the motion and manipulation dynamics of a soft gripper made of sensor‐integrated actuators can be controlled by hand motions during a task. By combining with a thimble‐type haptic feedback device, the states of the gripper can be transmitted back to the user in real‐time via the proprioception of the integrated sensor. The approach opens a prospective avenue for the development of future robotic technologies without requiring camera‐based sensors for versatile, wearable, and scalable haptic systems.

Micro-LEDs Illuminate Visible Light Communication

Visible light communication (VLC), as an interdisciplinary paradigm, spans various technologies from basic device sciences to system engineering. Micro-size light-emitting diodes (micro-LEDs), because of their excellent spatio-temporal capability, are promising candidates for use as transmitters in versatile high-capacity VLC systems. Novel luminous material, fabrication process, and optical structure were successively employed for further increasing the electrical-to-optical (E-O) bandwidth of these micro-LED devices. In addition, multi-color and multi-structured micro-LEDs are enabling multi-modal and heterogeneous VLC systems with clear advantages over previously-studied point-to-point architectures. Herein, we discuss solutions for >1-GHz micro-LEDs. With the deployment of the next-generation VLC system in mind, we then provide perspectives into how micro-LEDs can assist the VLC evolution beyond the fifth-generation/sixth-generation (B5G/6G) era.

Photogrammetry, from the Land to the Sea and Beyond: A Unifying Approach to Study Terrestrial and Marine Environments

The series of technological advances that occurred over the past two decades allowed photogrammetry-based approaches to achieve their actual potential, giving birth to one of the most popular and applied procedures: structure from motion (SfM). The technique expanded rapidly to different environments, from the early ground-based and aerial applications in terrestrial scenarios, to underground and underwater surveys. Nevertheless, the transfer through different media required a period of adaptation that could take anything from years to decades. Only recently, thanks to the emergence of low-cost versatile imaging systems, have airborne and underwater photogrammetry became approachable to a wide range of research budgets, resulting in a popular cost-effective solution for many disciplines. Although numerous review efforts have already been made to resume the current knowledge on photogrammetry, this review summarizes the evolution of the technique in both terrestrial and underwater environments, paying special attention to the transfer of methods and techniques between the two environments. The acquired information helped to identify trends during its development and to highlight the urgency to widen the range of its applications in aquatic habitats in order to fill the current gap of knowledge on their structure and species distribution, delaying the design of proper conservation strategies.

Отслеживание плавания самодвижущихся сперматозоидов с помощью компьютерных методов анализа спермы для определения влияния вибрации на сперматозоиды

Human sperm motility is of great interest to researchers and biologists studying sperm function and to medical practitioners evaluating and treating male in-fertility. Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) instruments are used to trace the swimming paths of sperm automatically in time-lapse microscopy image sequences connect-the-dots between video frames, enabling rapid automatic quantification of sperm motility parameters for hundreds of cells at a time. The image processing and sperm tracking capabilities of today’s CASA instruments can be enhanced However. In this paper we highlighted the limitations of (CASA) instruments and suggested ways to mitigate them from the literature. We have also our algorithm ‒ program complex to determine linear velocity in Java. With all these efforts in further improving the computational tools for CASA, much more robust and versatile systems should be available in the foreseeable future.

Digital Process Monitoring of Stationary Processing Equipment—A Step Toward an Optimized Digital Processing Plant

In response to the current trends of digital transformation in the raw materials extraction and processing industry, IFE Aufbereitungstechnik GmbH has set itself the challenging goal of developing robust and versatile sensor systems for monitoring the condition of their predominantly vibrating stationary processing units. It shall be used as a basis for establishing a predictive maintenance scheme and ultimately facilitate the reduction of equipment downtime. In the course of the research project, research activities will be directed in particular toward a better understanding of the operating state of vibrating machines, especially based on their vibration patterns. Namely, a range of experiments with various vibrating screens and vibratory conveyors as well as an already ongoing extended case study on a linear vibrating screen currently operating in a waste treatment plant will be conducted. Furthermore, DEM simulations of vibrating screens as well as a specifically engineered “Laboratory Vibrating Machine” will be part of the research process. The sensors in use to identify and measure the required vibration patterns will be newly developed vibration sensors called “Sapient Edge Sensors”, which, later on, will be combined with other sensors for measuring different parameters.

Nanoemulsions Based on Sunflower and Rosehip Oils: The Impact of Natural and Synthetic Stabilizers on Skin Penetration and an Ex Vivo Wound Healing Model

Vegetable oils offer excellent biological properties, but their high lipophilicity limits their bioavailability. This work aimed to develop nanoemulsions based on sunflower and rosehip oils and to evaluate their wound-healing activity. The influence of phospholipids of plant origin on nanoemulsions' characteristics was investigated. A nanoemulsion prepared with a mixture of phospholipids and synthetic emulsifiers (Nano-1) was compared with another prepared only with phospholipids (Nano-2). The healing activity was evaluated in wounds induced in human organotypic skin explant culture (hOSEC) based on histological and immunohistochemical analysis. The hOSEC wound model was validated, showing that high nanoparticle concentration in the wound bed interferes with cell mobility and the ability to respond to the treatment. Nanoemulsions were 130 to 370 nm, with a concentration of 1013 particles/mL, and a low potential to induce inflammatory processes. Nano-2 was three times larger than Nano-1 but less cytotoxic and could target the oils to the epidermis. Nano-1 permeated intact skin to the dermis and showed a more prominent healing effect than Nano-2 in the hOSEC wound model. Changes in the lipid nanoemulsion stabilizers impacted the cutaneous and cellular penetration of the oils, cytotoxicity, and healing kinetics, resulting in versatile delivery systems.

Single‐Atom Metal Sites Anchored Hydrogen‐Bonded Organic Frameworks for Superior “Two‐In‐One” Photocatalytic Reaction

AbstractPhotoredox catalysis is a green solution for organics transformation and CO2 conversion into valuable fuels, meeting the challenges of sustainable energy and environmental concerns. However, the regulation of single‐atomic active sites in organic framework not only influences the photoredox performance, but also limits the understanding of the relationship for photocatalytic selective organic conversion with CO2 valorization into one reaction system. As a prototype, different single‐atomic metal (M) sites (M2+ = Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, and Zn2+) in hydrogen‐bonded organic frameworks (M‐HOF) backbone with bridging structure of metal‐nitrogen are constructed by a typical “two‐in‐one” strategy for superior photocatalytic CN coupling reactions integrated with CO2 valorization. Remarkably, Zn‐HOF achieves 100% conversion of benzylamine oxidative coupling reactions, 91% selectivity of N‐benzylidenebenzylamine and CO2 conversion in one photoredox cycle. From X‐ray absorption fine structure analysis and density functional theory calculations, the superior photocatalytic performance is attributed to synergic effect of atomically dispersed metal sites and HOF host, decreasing the reaction energy barriers, enhancing CO2 adsorption and forming benzylcarbamic acid intermediate to promote the redox recycle. This work not only affords the rational design strategy of single‐atom active sites in functional HOF, but also facilitates the fundamental insights upon the mechanism of versatile photoredox coupling reaction systems.

Thermoresponsive Conductivity of Graphene-Based Fibers.

Smart materials are versatile material systems which exhibit a measurable response to external stimuli. Recently, smart material systems have been developed which incorporate graphene in order to share on its various advantageous properties, such as mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity as well as to achieve unique stimuli-dependent responses. Here, a graphene fiber-based smart material that exhibits reversible electrical conductivity switching at a relatively low temperature (60°C), is reported. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and density functional theory-based non-equilibrium Green's function (DFT-NEGF) approach, it is revealed that this thermo-response behavior is due to the change in configuration of amphiphilic triblock dispersant molecules occurring in the graphene fiber during heating or cooling. These conformational changes alter the total number of graphene-graphene contacts within the composite material system, and thus the electrical conductivity as well. Additionally, this graphene fiber fabrication approach uses a scalable, facile, water-based method, that makes it easy to modify material composition ratios. In all, this work represents an important step forward to enable complete functional tuning of graphene-basedsmart materials at the nanoscale while increasing commercialization viability.

Microneedles for Efficient and Precise Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy.

Cancer is the leading cause of death, acting as a global burden, severely impacting the patients' quality of life and affecting the world economy despite the expansion of cumulative advances in oncology. The current conventional therapies for cancer which involve long treatment duration and systemic exposure of drugs leads to premature degradation of drugs, a massive amount of pain, side effects, as well as the recurrence of the condition. There is also an urgent demand for personalized and precision-based medicine, especially after the recent pandemic, to avoid future delays in diagnosis or treatments for cancer patients as they are very essential in reducing the global mortality rate. Recently, microneedles which consist of a patch with tiny, micron-sized needles attached to it have been quite a sensation as an emerging technology for transdermal application to diagnose or treat various illnesses. The application of microneedles in cancer therapies is also being extensively studied as they offer a myriad of benefits, especially since microneedle patches offer a better treatment approach through self administration, painless treatment, and being an economically and environmentally friendly approach in comparison with other conventional methods. The painless gains from microneedles significantly improves the survival rate of cancer patients. The emergence of versatile and innovative transdermal drug delivery systems presents a prime breakthrough opportunity for safer and more effective therapies, which could meet the demands of cancer diagnosis and treatment through different application scenarios. This review highlights the types of microneedles, fabrication methods and materials, along with the recent advances and opportunities. In addition, this review also addresses the challenges and limitations of microneedles in cancer therapy with solutions through current studies and future works to facilitate the clinical translation of microneedles in cancer therapies.

Synthesis of novel phenothiazine, phenoxazine and carbazole derivatives via Suzuki-Miyaura reaction

The Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction was utilized for the synthesis of 15 new compounds containing phenothiazine (PTZ), phenoxazine (POZ), carbazole (Cz), and triphenylamine (TPA) as good electron donors. The synthesized compounds were furnished with active carbaldehyde groups and decorated with phenyl, thienyl, furyl, imidazolyl, or oxadiazolyl units linked to either one or two sides of the central cores (PTZ, POZ, and Cz). A simple catalytic systems based on Pd(PPh3)4 were tried and the results showed better CC coupling efficiencies of the electron-rich phenothiazine halides over phenoxazine and carbazole analogues when coupled with either electron-rich or electron-deficient boronic acid precursors. Besides, the coupling process of substituted phenothiazine halides with different boronic acids precursors, based on phenyl (Ph), furyl (Fu) and thienyl (Th) units, was found to be dependent on the electronic nature of both PTZ-halide and boronic acid precursors. Coupling efficiency of Ph, Fu, and Th rings with the skeleton of imidazolyl-PTZ-Br coupler to bring up compounds 6a-c showed the order: Ph>Fu>Th (with the yield of 86, 85, and 80%, respectively), while coupling efficiency of the brominated PTZ-oxadiazolyl-phenyl coupler with different arylboronic acids showed the order of Th>Ph>Fu to obtain compounds 8a-c. Additionally, the TPA derivative 11b was obtained with an excellent yield of 96% using Pd(PPh3)4 . The successful activation of the synthesized derivatives with carbaldehyde groups and the integration of different spacers made them substantially suitable to be exploited as promising intermediates for the future synthesis of versatile π-conjugated systems.

The versatile fueling systems of WEST

New fueling systems have been designed for WEST, a full tungsten wall tokamak with divertor configuration. They consist of standard gas injection, supersonic molecular beam injection and pellets injection systems, each being able to fuel continuously the plasma discharge up to a duration of 1000s. A massive gas injection system is also implemented to mitigate the impact of disruptions and runaway electrons. The standard gas system consists of 4 independent lines allowing the injection of up to 4 different gas species during a plasma discharge through 11 injections areas, 4 of them being located in the divertors and in the private flux region. The pellet injection system is able to inject up to 10 pellets per second through 4 tracks: one on the low field side, and the other 3 on the high field side. The supersonic molecular beam injection system consists of 3 injectors located close to the midplane, two on the high field side and one on the low field side. On trigger, the massive gas injection system can deliver in a single puff up 800 Pa.m3 of noble gas in order to stop the plasma discharge. All the fueling systems have been characterized and can be used routinely on plasma.

Micelle‐crosslinked hydrogels with stretchable, self‐healing, and selectively adhesive properties: Random copolymers work as dynamic yet self‐sorting domains

AbstractThe design of crosslinking domains is a vital factor to create functional hydrogels with controlled physical, mechanical, and adhesive properties. This paper demonstrates versatile synthetic systems of micelle‐crosslinked hydrogels with highly stretchable, self‐healing, and selectively adhesive properties. For this, methacrylate‐bearing random copolymer micelles are designed as physical and covalent crosslink domains via the self‐assembly of amphiphilic random copolymers carrying hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), hydrophobic butyl or dodecyl groups, and methacrylate‐terminal PEG in water. The size, aggregation number, and pendant methacrylate number of the micelles are controlled by the composition and degree of polymerization. Hydrogels are efficiently obtained from the free radical polymerization of hydrophilic monomers such as PEG acrylate and acrylamide in the presence of the micelle crosslinkers in water. Owing to the dynamic yet selective chain exchange properties of the micelle domains, the hydrogels are highly stretchable up to over 1000% and show self‐healing and selectively adhesive properties. The self‐healing of hydrogels is promoted upon heating due to the fast chain exchange of the micelle domains, whereas hydrogels consisting of micelles with different alkyl groups are never adhesive because of their self‐sorting properties.

Polymeric Nanogel for Oral Delivery of the Chemotherapeutic Agent: Fabrication and Evaluation Alongside Toxicological Studies and Histopathological Examination.

Nanogel has attracted considerable attention as one of the most versatile drug delivery systems, especially for site-specific and/or time-controlled delivery of the chemotherapeutic agent. The main objective of this study was to prepare the polymeric nanogel characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning, and oral acute toxicity. Free radical polymerization was done for the fabrication of polymeric nanogel. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to confirm the successful free radical polymerization. Various techniques such as x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetric, and thermogravimetric analysis measurement were used to investigate the thermal behavior and crystallinity of developed nanogel. Parameters such as swelling, drug loading, and in vitro drug release is enhanced as polymers and monomers concentrations increase while these parameters decrease in case of increasing crosslinker concentration. The oral biocompatibility results of developed nanogel exhibited no toxicity in rabbits. Histopathological changes were observed between empty and loaded group. The nanosized gel offers a specific surface area which increases the stability of loaded drug (oxaliplatin) and bioavailability of the drug (oxaliplatin) as compared to the conventional drug delivery systems.

Gap solitons in parity–time symmetric moiré optical lattices

Parity–time ( PT ) symmetric lattices have been widely studied in controlling the flow of waves, and recently, moiré superlattices, connecting the periodic and non-periodic potentials, have been introduced for exploring unconventional physical properties in physics, while the combination of both and nonlinear waves therein remains unclear. Here, we report a theoretical survey of nonlinear wave localizations in PT symmetric moiré optical lattices, with the aim of revealing localized gap modes of different types and their stabilization mechanism. We uncover the formation, properties, and dynamics of fundamental and higher-order gap solitons as well as vortical ones with topological charge, all residing in the finite bandgaps of the underlying linear-Bloch wave spectrum. The stability regions of localized gap modes are inspected in two numerical ways: linear-stability analysis and direct perturbance simulations. Our results provide an insightful understanding of soliton physics in combined versatile platforms of PT symmetric systems and moiré patterns.

Structures and Applications of Nucleic Acid-Based Micelles for Cancer Therapy.

Nucleic acids have become important building blocks in nanotechnology over the last 30 years. DNA and RNA can sequentially build specific nanostructures, resulting in versatile drug delivery systems. Self-assembling amphiphilic nucleic acids, composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments to form micelle structures, have the potential for cancer therapeutics due to their ability to encapsulate hydrophobic agents into their core and position functional groups on the surface. Moreover, DNA or RNA within bio-compatible micelles can function as drugs by themselves. This review introduces and discusses nucleic acid-based spherical micelles from diverse amphiphilic nucleic acids and their applications in cancer therapy.