A Magnetically and Thermally Controlled Liquid Metal Variable Stiffness Material

Smart materials that can actively tune their stiffness are of great interest to many fields, including the construction industry, medical devices, industrial machines, and soft robotics. However, developing a material that can offer a large range of stiffness change and rapid tuning remains a challenge. Herein, a liquid metal variable stiffness material (LMVSM) that can actively and rapidly tune its stiffness by applying an external magnetic field or by changing the temperature is developed. The LMVSM is composed of three layers: a gallium–iron magnetorheological fluid (Ga–Fe MRF) layer for providing variable stiffness, a nickel–chromium wire layer for Joule heating, and a soft heat dissipation layer for accelerating heating and rapid cooling. The stiffness can be rapidly increased by 4 times upon the application of a magnetic field or 10 times by solidifying the Ga–Fe MRF. Finally, the LMVSM is attached to a pneumatically controlled soft robotic gripper to actively tune its load capacity, demonstrating its potential to be further developed into smart components that can be widely adopted by smart devices

The recent advances on carrier materials for microencapsulating lipophilic cores

Lipophilic ingredients,such as polyunsaturated fatty acids,play an important role in industrialized foods to fortify the nutrients.However,these materials are normally sensitive to oxygen,light or heat to be oxidized,and hard to flow and mix within the bulk food due to the hydrophobic nature.Microencapsulation of lipophilic materials could effectively extend their shelf lives,mask unsatisfied flavors,change their physicochemical properties,and enhance the mixing capacities.This work reviewed the different carrier materials applied in microencapsulating the lipophilic ingredients,and discussed their characteristics and effects on encapsulation efficiencies and release profiles of lipophilic cores

Does Subacromial Osteolysis Affect Shoulder Function after Clavicle Hook Plating?

Purpose. To evaluate whether subacromial osteolysis, one of the major complications of the clavicle hook plate procedure, affects shoulder function. Methods. We had performed a retrospective study of 72 patients diagnosed with a Neer II lateral clavicle fracture or Degree-III acromioclavicular joint dislocation in our hospital from July 2012 to December 2013. All these patients had undergone surgery with clavicle hook plate and were divided into two groups based on the occurrence of subacromial osteolysis. By using the Constant-Murley at the first follow-up visit after plates removal, we evaluated patients’ shoulder function to judge if it has been affected by subacromial osteolysis. Results. We have analyzed clinical data for these 72 patients, which shows that there is no significant difference between group A (39 patients) and group B (33 patients) in age, gender, injury types or side, and shoulder function (the Constant-Murley scores are 93.38±3.56 versus 94.24±3.60, P>0.05). Conclusion. The occurrence of subacromial osteolysis is not rare, and also it does not significantly affect shoulder function

A targeting method for robot-assisted percutaneous needle placement under fluoroscopy guidance

Minimally invasive procedures are rapidly growing in popularity thanks to advancements in medical robots, visual navigation and space registration techniques. This paper presents a precise and efficient targeting method for robot-assisted percutaneous needle placement under C-arm fluoroscopy. In this method, a special end-effector was constructed to perform fluoroscopy calibration and robot to image-space registration simultaneously. In addition, formulations were given to compute the movement of robot targeting and evaluate targeting accuracy using only one X-ray image. With these techniques, radiation exposure and operation time were reduced significantly compared to other commonly used methods. A pre-clinical experiment showed that the maximum angle error was 0.94° and the maximum position error of a target located 80mm below the end-effector was 1.31mm. And evaluation of the system in a robot-assisted pedicle screws placement surgery has justified the accuracy and reliability of proposed method in clinical applications

Androgen‐repressed lncRNA LINC01126 drives castration‐resistant prostate cancer by regulating the switch between O‐GlcNAcylation and phosphorylation of androgen receptor

Abstract Background Prostate cancer (PCa) initially shows satisfactory response to therapies targeting the androgen receptor (AR). However, progression to a castration‐resistant stage indicates poor prognosis in PCa patients. AR signalling still plays a central role in most castration‐resistant prostate cancers (CRPC). Therefore, unveiling the mechanisms of AR reactivation under androgen‐deprived conditions is imperative to discover novel therapeutic targets for CRPC. Methods Using an integrative analysis of the transcriptomics of three independent PCa cohorts and a published landscape of AR‐regulated long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA), lncRNA LINC01126 was selected as a candidate gene that could drive CRPC progression for further study. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, in situ hybridisation (ISH) and fluorescent ISH were performed to detect LINC01126 in PCa tissues and cells. The functional role and mechanism of LINC01126 were further investigated using in vitro and in vivo gain and loss of function assays. Results LINC01126, identified as an AR‐repressed lncRNA, was significantly upregulated after AR‐targeted therapies. In addition, we found that LINC01126 was upregulated in CRPC and was associated with poor prognosis. We also proved that LINC01126 stabilised AR protein and enhanced AR nuclear translocation and transactivation by promoting the transition from O‐GlcNAcylation at threonine 80 to phosphorylation at serine 81 (S81) within the AR protein. Mechanism analysis revealed that LINC01126 facilitates the interaction of CDK9 with AR and impedes the binding of O‐linked N‐acetylglucosamine (O‐GlcNAc) transferase to AR. Consequently, LINC01126 expression was sufficient to activate AR signalling without androgen. LINC01126 overexpression increased, whereas LINC01126 knockdown decreased castration resistance traits in PCa cells in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, our data showed that LINC01126‐targeting antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) substantially inhibited CRPC cells in vitro. Conclusions Our research expands the functions of AR‐regulated lncRNA in sustaining androgen‐independent AR activity and promoting CRPC progression and reveals that LINC01126 may be a new therapeutic target for PCa

A targeting method for robot-assisted percutaneous needle placement under fluoroscopy guidance

Background: Minimally invasive procedures are rapidly growing in popularity thanks to advancements in medical robots, visual navigation and space registration techniques. This paper presents a precise and efficient targeting method for robot-assisted percutaneous needle placement under C-arm fluoroscopy. Method: A special end-effector was constructed to perform fluoroscopy calibration and robot to image-space registration simultaneously and automatically. In addition, formulations were given to compute the movement of robot targeting and evaluate targeting accuracy using only one X-ray image. Result: A pre-clinical experiment showed that the maximum angle error was 0.94° and the maximum position error of a target located 80 mm below the end-effector was 1.31 mm. And evaluation of the system in a robot-assisted pedicle screws placement surgery has justified the accuracy and reliability of proposed method in clinical applications. Conclusion: The positioning accuracy was increased by using present method. Moreover, radiation exposure and operation time were reduced significantly compared to other commonly used methods

A Magnetically and Thermally Controlled Liquid Metal Variable Stiffness Material

Smart materials that can actively tune their stiffness are of great interest to many fields, including the construction industry, medical devices, industrial machines, and soft robotics. However, developing a material that can offer a large range of stiffness change and rapid tuning remains a challenge. Herein, a liquid metal variable stiffness material (LMVSM) that can actively and rapidly tune its stiffness by applying an external magnetic field or by changing the temperature is developed. The LMVSM is composed of three layers: a gallium–iron magnetorheological fluid (Ga–Fe MRF) layer for providing variable stiffness, a nickel–chromium wire layer for Joule heating, and a soft heat dissipation layer for accelerating heating and rapid cooling. The stiffness can be rapidly increased by 4 times upon the application of a magnetic field or 10 times by solidifying the Ga–Fe MRF. Finally, the LMVSM is attached to a pneumatically controlled soft robotic gripper to actively tune its load capacity, demonstrating its potential to be further developed into smart components that can be widely adopted by smart devices

3D actuation of foam-core liquid metal droplets

Precise manipulation of liquid metal (LM) droplets possesses the potential to enable a wide range of applications in reconfigurable electronics, robotics, and microelectromechanical systems. Although a variety of methods have been explored to actuate LM droplets on a 2D plane, versatile 3D manipulation remains a challenge due to the difficulty in overcoming their heavy weight. Here, foam-core liquid metal (FCLM) droplets that can maintain the surface properties of LM while significantly reducing the density are developed, enabling 3D manipulation in an electrolyte. The FCLM droplet is fabricated by coating LM on the surface of a copper-grafted foam sphere. The actuation of the FCLM droplet is realized by electrically inducing Marangoni flow on the LM surface. Two motion modes of the FCLM droplet are observed and studied and the actuation performance is characterized. Multiple FCLM droplets can be readily controlled to form 3D structures, demonstrating their potential to be further developed to form collaborative robots for enabling wider applications