Magnetically-assisted digital light processing 4D printing of flexible anisotropic soft-Magnetic composites

Flexible anisotropic soft-magnetic composite (FASMC) presents superior magnetic properties in one or more specified directions, showing great potential in the application of microwave absorption, soft robots, and other smart sensors/actuators. However, the fabrication of FASMC using additive manufacturing is challenging due to a trade-off between magnetic properties of the composites enhanced by iron particles and printability during printing. Here, we developed a 4D printing scheme using flexible soft-magnetic photosensitive resin consisting of flexible long-chin acrylic resin monomer and soft magnetic iron particles. Multiple complex structures with good spatial resolution of ∼170 μm were fabricated using magnetic field-assisted digital light processing (MF-DLP). Directional magnetic field was applied during printing, enabling the fabrication of FASMC with strong anisotropic magnetic properties. FASMC with high CIP (carbonyl iron powder, CIP) concentration of up to 45 wt.% was fabricated with excellent tensile strength and elongation up to 460%. Strong anisotropic magnetic properties were demonstrated through a series of stimuli-response testing such as large deformation, anti-deflection, controlled motion, variable stiffness metamaterial, and array assembly, under external magnetic field. This study demonstrates the feasibility and potential of MF-DLP technique for fabrication of FASMC, shedding light on the design and fabrication of next-generation sensors and actuators.</p

λ-Metadynamics Approach To Compute Absolute Solvation Free Energy

We present a new approach to combine λ dynamics with metadynamics (named λ-metadynamics) to compute free energy surfaces with respect to λ. Particularly, the λ-metadynamics method extends metadynamics to a single virtual variable λ, i.e., the coupling parameter between solute and solvent, to compute absolute solvation free energy as an exemplary application. We demonstrate that λ-metadynamics simulations can recover the accurate potential of mean force surface with respect to λ compared to the benchmark results from traditional λ-dynamics with umbrella sampling. The solvation free energy results for five small organic molecules from λ-metadynamics simulations using the same filling scheme show that the statistical errors are within ±0.5 kcal/mol. The new λ-metadynamics method is general, and other variables such as order parameters to describe conformational changes can be easily combined with λ-metadynamics. This should allow for efficient samplings on high-dimension free energy landscapes

DataSheet1_Researches on Special Thermal Hydraulic Phenomena of Annular Fuel Assembly by Sub-Channel Analysis Code-NACAF.docx

Dual cooled annular fuel is a novel fuel design, which has the potential to improve the reactor power density while maintaining or improving its safety margin. The effects of tight-lattice geometry, fuel burnup, fuel expansion, coolant channel blockage on the thermal hydraulic performance of annular fuel is studied to illustrate its special features in this paper. A sub-channel analysis code named NACAF, which includes empirical constitutive models in consideration of tight-lattice effects on prediction of pressure drop, critical heat flux and turbulent mixing, channel blockage model, heat conduction model for dual surface cooling condition, coolant flowrate distribution between inner and outer channel, is developed for annular fuel assembly or core analysis based on homogenous fluid model. Validation work is carried out with comparing NACAF results with analytical solutions, as well as numerical results of existing sub-channel code for annular fuel, such as VIPRE-01 and TAFIX. Comparison results demonstrates NACAF’s prediction error is acceptable and it has the ability to simulate thermal hydraulic performance of annular fuels or annular fuel bundles. Based on the developed and verified NACAF, the special thermal hydraulic phenomena of annular fuel are studied to clarify the features of annular fuel.</p

Additional file 3: of Molecular mechanism of the extended oil accumulation phase contributing to the high seed oil content for the genotype of tung tree (Vernicia fordii)

Figure S7. Transcript expression of 60s ribosomal protein L18a (Rp119A, Tung tree ID tung.gene.scaffold67.00040) in the ten samples of tung tree seeds. (TIFF 4825 kb

Table1_Heavy metal pollution decreases the stability of microbial co-occurrence networks in the rhizosphere of native plants.DOCX

Soil microorganisms play an important role in maintaining soil quality and function, although the response of soil microbial biodiversity to heavy metals has been extensively investigated, the microbe-microbe associations under the influence of both native plant species and extremely high heavy metal contamination are not well documented. We examined the diversity and composition of microbial communities and the physicochemical properties in the rhizosphere of three native plant species, Carex breviculmis, Buddleja davidii, and Artemisia annua growing on and around a Pb-Zn waste heap with a nearly 100-year history of natural recovery. Both plant species and heavy metals influence soil microbial diversity and composition. C. breviculmis and A. annua showed a prominent advantage in increasing rhizosphere microbial diversity and richness as well as network complexity compared with plant Buddleja davidii at severely contaminated soil, which was mainly related to the accumulation of soil nutrients such as soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen rather than a reduction in heavy metal concentrations. Moreover, the heavy metal concentration and soil nutrient levels significantly affected the microbial groups affiliated with Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota, in which those affiliated with Chloroflexi and Ascomycota were positively associated with heavy metals. Soil microbial network on the Pb-Zn waste heap exhibited higher average degree and a higher proportion of positive links than those around the waste heap, and thus soil microbial structure became more complexity and unstable with increasing heavy metal pollution.</p

Additional file 4: of Molecular mechanism of the extended oil accumulation phase contributing to the high seed oil content for the genotype of tung tree (Vernicia fordii)

Figure S2. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) number for seven comparisons. L indicated Tree L, with low final oil seed content; H indicated Tree H, with high final seed oil content; these were followed the number of days after the start point of oil accumulation. (TIF 2070 kb

Table1_Magnetic Agarose Microspheres/Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogel as a Trackable Bulking Agent for Vesicoureteral Reflux Treatment.docx

Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is one of the most common congenital anomalies in the kidney and the urinary tract. Endoscopic subureteral injection of a bulking agent has become popular in VUR treatment due to its high success rates, few complications, and a straightforward procedure. In this study, a novel magnetic bulking agent was prepared by embedding Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles in cross-linked agarose microspheres with diameters of 80–250 μm and dispersing the magnetic microspheres in a hyaluronic acid hydrogel. The bulking agent has good biocompatibility and biosecurity validated by the tests of cytotoxicity, in vitro genotoxicity, animal irritation, skin sensitization, acute systemic toxicity, and pathological analysis after the injection of the bulking agent extract solution into healthy mice as well as injection of the bulking agent into VUR rabbits. The VUR rabbits were created by incising the roof of the intravesical ureter to enlarge the ureteral orifice. The success rate of the bulking agent in treating VUR rabbits using a subureteral transurethral injection technique was 67% (4/6) or 80% (4/5, excluding the unfinished rabbit), and no migrated particles were found in the organs of the rabbits. The transverse relaxation rate of the bulking agent was 104 mM−1s−1. After injection, the bulking agent was long-term trackable through magnetic resonance imaging that can help clinicians to inspect the VUR treatment effect. For the first time, this study demonstrates that the bulking agent with a long-term stable tracer is promising for endoscopic VUR treatment.</p

Additional file 8: of Molecular mechanism of the extended oil accumulation phase contributing to the high seed oil content for the genotype of tung tree (Vernicia fordii)

Figure S6. Transcript expression of 12 transcription factors with remarkably different expression in Samples L49. L indicated Tree L, with low final oil seed content; H indicated Tree H, with high final seed oil content; times in legend indicated days after start point of oil accumulation. Abbreviations: FPKM, reads per kilobase of exon model per million mapped reads (FPKM), WRKY1, WRKY transcription factor 1; WRKY41, WRKY transcription factor 41; WRKY07, WRKY transcription factor 07; MYB1R1, MYB1R1 transcription factor; MYB44, MYB44 transcription factor; MYB108, MYB108 transcription factor; ERF9, Ethylene-responsive transcription factor 9; ERF112, Ethylene-responsive transcription factor ERF112; AFC2, Serine/threonine-protein kinase AFC2; LRR-RLK1, Probable LRR receptor-like serine/threonine-protein kinase; H2A.1, Probable histone H2A.1; WER, Transcription factor WER (TIFF 10090 kb

Additional file 7: of Molecular mechanism of the extended oil accumulation phase contributing to the high seed oil content for the genotype of tung tree (Vernicia fordii)

Figure S5. Total gene expression quantity during the early and middle period of tung oil accumulation. L indicated Tree L, with low final oil seed content; H indicated Tree H, with high final seed oil content; total gene expression values were all significantly different between the two trees according to Student’s t test, P < 0.05 (Additional file 1: Table S5). Abbreviations: FPKM, reads per kilobase of exon model per million mapped reads (FPKM); BC, Biotin carboxylase of heteromeric ACCase; GAPCP2, Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; PK2, Plastidial pyruvate kinase 2; PEG1–1, Putative glucose-6-phosphate 1-epimerase. (TIFF 1092 kb

Additional file 1: of Molecular mechanism of the extended oil accumulation phase contributing to the high seed oil content for the genotype of tung tree (Vernicia fordii)

Figure S1. Varied oil accumulation period in tung tree seeds. a, Four accessions with about 50% of oil content; b, Four accessions with about 60% oil content; c, Four accessions with about 70% oil content. The Arab number in the x-axis indicated sampling date (month and day; for example, 713 is July 13). We defined the period with the apparent increase for oil content in tung tree seed as rapid oil accumulation. Total oil quick accumulation day was calculated and marked in the bottom right corner. (TIF 1717 kb