Fundamental research on the label-free detection of protein adsorption using near-infrared light-responsive plasmonic metal nanoshell arrays with controlled nanogap

In this work, we focused on the label-free detection of simple protein binding using near-infrared light-responsive plasmonic nanoshell arrays with a controlled interparticle distance. The nanoshell arrays were fabricated by a combination of colloidal self-assembly and subsequent isotropic helium plasma etching under atmospheric pressure. The diameter, interparticle distance, and shape of nanoshells can be tuned with nanometric accuracy by changing the experimental conditions. The Au, Ag, and Cu nanoshell arrays, having a 240-nm diameter (inner, 200-nm polystyrene (PS) core; outer, 20-nm metal shell) and an 80-nm gap distance, exhibited a well-defined localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak at the near-infrared region. PS@Au nanoshell arrays showed a 55-nm red shift of the maximum LSPR wavelength of 885 nm after being exposed to a solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) proteins for 18 h. On the other hand, in the case of Cu nanoshell arrays before/after incubation to the BSA solution, we found a 30-nm peak shifting. We could evaluate the difference in LSPR sensing performance by changing the metal materials

Terrain-Dependent Slip Risk Prediction for Planetary Exploration Rovers

Wheel slip prediction on rough terrain is crucial for secure, long-term operations of planetary exploration rovers. Although rough, unstructured terrain hampers mobility, prediction by modeling wheel–terrain interactions remains difficult owing to unclear terrain conditions and complexities of terramechanics models. This study proposes a vision-based approach with machine learning for predicting wheel slip risk by estimating the slope from 3D information and classifying terrain types from image information. It considers the slope estimation accuracy for risk prediction under sharp increases in wheel slip due to inclined ground. Experimental results obtained with a rover testbed on several terrain types validate this method

Marine Algae from Hirota Bay on the Pacific Coast of Northeastern Honshu, Japan(Applied Aquatic Bio-Sciences Marine Plant Ecology)

Monthly collection of marine algae from the intertidal to subtidal zones in Hirota Bay (38°56\u27 N, 141°42\u27 E) on the Pacific coast of northeastern Honshu, Japan, was carried out from August 2005 to July 2006. A total of 95 species were listed, 12 of which belong to Chlorophyta, 24 to Phaeophyta, 58 to Rhodophyta, and one to sea grass. In these algae, the 10 species, Urospora penicilliformis, Pachydictyon coriaceum, Chordaria flagelliformis, Myagropsis myagroides, Bangia gloiopeltidicola, Lithophyllum okamurae, Titanoderma tumidulum, Chondracanthus tenellus, Polysiphonia abscissa and P. sphaerocarpa, were newly recorded to the marine algae from the coasts adjacent to Hirota Bay. The floral index of I/H value in Hirota Bay was 1.1, suggesting that the marine algal flora in Hirota Bay belongs to the typical subarctic zone

Improvement of the odometry accuracy of a crawler vehicle with consideration of slippage

Abstract-Crawler mechanisms have the advantage of stable navigation on uneven terrain; as a result, such mechanisms have been adopted for many types of locomotion of outdoor robots, including "search and rescue robots". However, crawler mechanisms always slip when tracking curved paths, and it generates a large accumulating positioning error in vehicles as opposed to conventional wheeled mobile robots. To measure the velocity of the vehicle correctly and improve the accuracy of the odometry, consideration of crawlers' slippage is very important. In this research, we propose a more accurate odometry method for crawler vehicles. In the proposed method, the vehicle can estimate the slip ratios using information from encoders (attached to the actuators) and gyro-sensors. The validity of the method was confirmed by experiments using our crawler vehicle. I. Introduction Crawler mechanisms offer large advantages for the locomotion of vehicles because of their large contact area, which allows them to adapt to bumpy grounds. Therefore, such mechanisms are used in many robotic vehicles for "search and rescue" applications in disaster areas, such as collapsed buildings, underground stairs, or wide cracks in the ground. Our research group also uses crawler vehicles as research platforms of remote control for search and rescue applications. In this research, we aim to realize multi-vehicle control from a distant location with lowbandwidth communication. In this case, it is impossible to realize a conventional vision-based remote control (in which an operator controls a control-joystick by watching continuous vision information from a camera mounted on the vehicle), because of the low-bandwidth communication. To solve this problem, we proposed another remote control system[1] based on three-dimensional range sensor information, as follows: step1: [vehicle side] Obtaining local 3-dimensional environmental information in the neighborhood of the vehicle (called "3D-info") and sending the information to the operator side step2: [vehicle side] Obtaining the vehicle's position and orientation using an odometry system and sending the information to the operator side step3: [operator side] Displaying the 3D-info on the monitor, and super-imposing the vehicle model on it using the odometry informatio

A Possible Interpretation of CDF Dijet Mass Anomaly and its Realization in Supersymmetry

Recently, the CDF collaboration reports an anomaly in dijet mass distribution in association with a lepton and missing energy. We discuss a possibility that the origin of the lepton and missing energy comes not from a W boson but a new boson particle, which is also responsible for the dijet mass peak. We show that such a situation can be realized in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model and the dijet anomaly can be explained.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures; v2 explanation and reference added; v3 : version accepted for publication in PL

Site‐specific methylation patterns of the GAL and GALR1/2 genes in head and neck cancer: Potential utility as biomarkers for prognosis

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136246/1/mc22577.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136246/2/mc22577_am.pd