136 research outputs found
A Lightweight Modular Continuum Manipulator with IMU-based Force Estimation
Most aerial manipulators use serial rigid-link designs, which results in
large forces when initiating contacts during manipulation and could cause
flight stability difficulty. This limitation could potentially be improved by
the compliance of continuum manipulators. To achieve this goal, we present the
novel design of a compact, lightweight, and modular cable-driven continuum
manipulator for aerial drones. We then derive a complete modeling framework for
its kinematics, statics, and stiffness (compliance). The modeling framework can
guide the control and design problems to integrate the manipulator to aerial
drones. In addition, thanks to the derived stiffness (compliance) matrix, and
using a low-cost IMU sensor to capture deformation angles, we present a simple
method to estimate manipulation force at the tip of the manipulator. We report
preliminary experimental validations of the hardware prototype, providing
insights on its manipulation feasibility. We also report preliminary results of
the IMU-based force estimation method.Comment: 12 pages, submitted to ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics 2022,
under review. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with
arXiv:2206.0624
The challenges of managing and leading diverse workforce: Equity and job satisfaction
In the last decade, the expansion of the global market and multinational corporations have resulted in the increase of the diverse workforce. Hiring a diverse workforce is seen as a necessity for every multinational organizations. Organizations with a diverse workforce are better able to meet the needs of the international market and it provides the organization with a unique competitive advantage, however, diverse workforce also bring challenges for multinational organizations, which requires organizations and managers to adopt effective management strategies.
This qualitative study compares the experiences of employees and managers in different multinational organizations to investigate the advantages and challenges of diverse workforce in terms of equity and job satisfaction. From analyzing the findings, diverse workforce faces challenges in aspects of wage and treatment gaps, trust crises, ethnocentricity and communication. The study also analyzes the solutions that how to deal with those challenges. The results provided insights into effective strategies of diversity management. As the development of a global market, the debate surrounding the diverse workforce and diversity management proliferates
Electrical conductivity adjustment for interface capacitive-like storage in sodium-ion battery
Sodium-ion battery (SIB) is significant for grid-scale energy storage. However, a large radius of Na ions raises the difficulties of ion intercalation, hindering the electrochemical performance during fast charge/discharge. Conventional strategies to promote rate performance focus on the optimization of ion diffusion. Improving interface capacitive-like storage by tuning the electrical conductivity of electrodes is also expected to combine the features of the high energy density of batteries and the high power density of capacitors. Inspired by this concept, an oxide-metal sandwich 3D-ordered macroporous architecture (3DOM) stands out as a superior anode candidate for high-rate SIBs. Taking Ni-TiO2 sandwich 3DOM as a proof-of-concept, anatase TiO2 delivers a reversible capacity of 233.3 mAh g^-1 in half-cells and 210.1 mAh g^-1 in full-cells after 100 cycles at 50 mA g^-1. At the high charge/discharge rate of 5000 mA g^-1, 104.4 mAh g^-1 in half-cells and 68 mAh g^-1 in full-cells can also be obtained with satisfying stability. In-depth analysis of electrochemical kinetics evidence that the dominated interface capacitive-like storage enables ultrafast uptaking and releasing of Na-ions. This understanding between electrical conductivity and rate performance of SIBs is expected to guild future design to realize effective energy storage
Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in as-deposited CoFeB/MgO thin films
Fabrication of perpendicularly magnetized ferromagnetic films on various
buffer layers, especially on numerous newly discovered spin-orbit torque (SOT)
materials to construct energy-efficient spin-orbitronic devices, is a
long-standing challenge. Even for the widely used CoFeB/MgO structures,
perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) can only be established on limited
buffer layers through post-annealing above 300 {\deg}C. Here, we report that
the PMA of CoFeB/MgO films can be established reliably on various buffer layers
in the absence of post-annealing. Further results show that precise control of
MgO thickness, which determines oxygen diffusion in the underneath CoFeB layer,
is the key to obtaining the as-deposited PMA. Interestingly, contrary to
previous understanding, post-annealing does not influence the well-established
as-deposited PMA significantly but indeed enhances unsaturated PMA with a thick
MgO layer by modulating oxygen distributions, rather than crystallinity or Co-
and Fe-O bonding. Moreover, our results indicate that oxygen diffusion also
plays a critical role in the PMA degradation at high temperature. These results
provide a practical approach to build spin-orbitronic devices based on various
high-efficient SOT materials.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Application and development of nanomaterials in the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is a malignant tumor with a high incidence worldwide. Currently, there are a lack of effective early diagnosis and treatment methods for esophageal cancer. However, delivery systems based on nanoparticles (NPs) have shown ideal efficacy in real-time imaging and chemotherapy, radiotherapy, gene therapy, and phototherapy for tumors, which has led to their recent widespread design as novel treatment strategies. Compared to traditional drugs, nanomedicine has unique advantages, including strong targeting ability, high bioavailability, and minimal side effects. This article provides an overview of the application of NPs in the diagnosis and treatment of esophageal cancer and provides a reference for future research
Clinical efficacy and drug resistance of ceftazidime-avibactam in the treatment of Carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacilli infection
ObjectiveTo examine the clinical efficacy, safety, and resistance of Ceftazidime-Avibactam (CAZ-AVI) in patients with Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacilli (CR-GNB) infections.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed relevant data of CR-GNB infected patients receiving CAZ-AVI treatment, analyzed relevant factors affecting drug efficacy, and compared the efficacy and safety with patients receiving Polymyxin B treatment.ResultsA total of 139 patients were included. Agranulocytosis, septic shock, SOFA score, and CAZ-AVI treatment course were independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with CR-GNB infection treated with CAZ-AVI while prolonging the treatment course of CAZ-AVI was the only protective factor for bacterial clearance. The fundamental indicators showed no statistically significant differences between CAZ-AVI and Polymyxin B treatment groups. At the same time, the proportion of patients treated with monotherapy was significantly higher in the CAZ-AVI group than in the Polymyxin B group (37.2% vs. 8.9%, p < 0.05), the 30-day mortality rate of the CAZ-AVI treatment group (27.7% vs. 46.7%, p = 0.027) was lower than that of the Polymyxin B treatment group. The 30-day clinical cure rate (59.6% vs. 40% p = 0.030) and 14-day microbiological clearance rate (42.6% vs. 24.4%, p = 0.038) were significantly higher in the CAZ-AVI than in the Polymyxin B treatment group. Eighty nine patients were monitored for CAZ-AVI resistance, and the total resistance rate was 14.6% (13/89). The resistance rates of Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) to CAZ-AVI were 13.5 and 15.4%, respectively.ConclusionCAZ-AVI has shown high clinical efficacy and bacterial clearance in treating CR-GNB infections. Compared with Polymyxin B, CAZ-AVI significantly improved the outcome of mechanical ventilation in patients with septic shock, agranulocytosis, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients, bloodstream infection, and patients with SOFA score > 6, and had a lower incidence of adverse events. We monitored the emergence of CAZ-AVI resistance and should strengthen the monitoring of drug susceptibility in clinical practice and the rational selection of antibiotic regimens to delay the onset of resistance
Autologous Skin Fibroblast-Based PLGA Nanoparticles for Treating Multiorgan Fibrosis
Fibrotic diseases remain a substantial health burden with few therapeutic approaches. A hallmark of fibrosis is the aberrant activation and accumulation of myofibroblasts, which is caused by excessive profibrotic cytokines. Conventional anticytokine therapies fail to undergo clinical trials, as simply blocking a single or several antifibrotic cytokines cannot abrogate the profibrotic microenvironment. Here, biomimetic nanoparticles based on autologous skin fibroblasts are customized as decoys to neutralize multiple fibroblast-targeted cytokines. By fusing the skin fibroblast membrane onto poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid cores, these nanoparticles, termed fibroblast membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles (FNPs), are shown to effectively scavenge various profibrotic cytokines, including transforming growth factor-beta, interleukin (IL)-11, IL-13, and IL-17, thereby modulating the profibrotic microenvironment. FNPs are sequentially prepared into multiple formulations for different administration routines. As a proof-of-concept, in three independent animal models with various organ fibrosis (lung fibrosis, liver fibrosis, and heart fibrosis), FNPs effectively reduce the accumulation of myofibroblasts, and the formation of fibrotic tissue, concomitantly restoring organ function and indicating that FNPs are a potential broad-spectrum therapy for fibrosis management.Peer reviewe
Diagenesis of the first member of Canglangpu Formation of the Cambrian Terreneuvian in northern part of the central Sichuan Basin and its influence on porosity
In this paper, taking the first Member of the Canglangpu Formation of the Cambrian Terreneuvian in the northern central Sichuan Basin as an example, the diagenesis and its influence on porosity are systemically studied based on the observations and identifications of cores, casts and cathodoluminescence thin sections. The results show that the rock types of the first member of Canglangpu Formation are various, including mixed rocks, carbonate rocks and clastic rocks. The specific lithology is dominated by sand-bearing oolitic dolomite, sandy oolitic dolomite, sparry oolotic dolomite and fine-grained detrital sandstone. At the same time, the Cang 1 Member has experienced five types of diagenetic environments, including seawater, meteoric water, evaporative seawater, shallow burial, and medium-deep burial diagenetic environments. Moreover, the main diagenetic processes under different diagenetic environments include cementation, dissolution, compaction, chemical compaction, dolomitization and structural fractures. According to the analysis, fabric-selective dissolution in meteoric water diagenetic environment, dolomitization in evaporative seawater environment, and non-fabric-selective dissolution, dolomitization and structural fractures in buried diagenetic environment are beneficial to the development of pores. However, cementation, compaction and chemical compaction in medium and deep burial environments, are unfavorable for the development of pores
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