Efficient operation of control systems in robotics or autonomous driving targeting real-world navigation scenarios requires perception methods that allow them to understand and adapt to unstructured ...environments with good accuracy, adaptation, and generality, similar to humans. To address this need, we present a memristor-based differential neuromorphic computing, perceptual signal processing, and online adaptation method providing neuromorphic style adaptation to external sensory stimuli. The adaptation ability and generality of this method are confirmed in two application scenarios: object grasping and autonomous driving. In the former, a robot hand realizes safe and stable grasping through fast ( ~ 1 ms) adaptation based on the tactile object features with a single memristor. In the latter, decision-making information of 10 unstructured environments in autonomous driving is extracted with an accuracy of 94% with a 40×25 memristor array. By mimicking human low-level perception mechanisms, the electronic neuromorphic circuit-based method achieves real-time adaptation and high-level reactions to unstructured environments.
Materials following Murray's law are of significant interest due to their unique porous structure and optimal mass transfer ability. However, it is challenging to construct such biomimetic ...hierarchical channels with perfectly cylindrical pores in synthetic systems following the existing theory. Achieving superior mass transport capacity revealed by Murray's law in nanostructured materials has thus far remained out of reach. We propose a Universal Murray's law applicable to a wide range of hierarchical structures, shapes and generalised transfer processes. We experimentally demonstrate optimal flow of various fluids in hierarchically planar and tubular graphene aerogel structures to validate the proposed law. By adjusting the macroscopic pores in such aerogel-based gas sensors, we also show a significantly improved sensor response dynamics. In this work, we provide a solid framework for designing synthetic Murray materials with arbitrarily shaped channels for superior mass transfer capabilities, with future implications in catalysis, sensing and energy applications.
Abstract This work introduces a silent speech interface (SSI), proposing a few-layer graphene (FLG) strain sensing mechanism based on thorough cracks and AI-based self-adaptation capabilities that ...overcome the limitations of state-of-the-art technologies by simultaneously achieving high accuracy, high computational efficiency, and fast decoding speed while maintaining excellent user comfort. We demonstrate its application in a biocompatible textile-integrated ultrasensitive strain sensor embedded into a smart choker, which conforms to the user’s throat. Thanks to the structure of ordered through cracks in the graphene-coated textile, the proposed strain gauge achieves a gauge factor of 317 with <5% strain, corresponding to a 420% improvement over existing textile strain sensors fabricated by printing and coating technologies reported to date. Its high sensitivity allows it to capture subtle throat movements, simplifying signal processing and enabling the use of a computationally efficient neural network. The resulting neural network, based on a one-dimensional convolutional model, reduces computational load by 90% while maintaining a remarkable 95.25% accuracy in speech decoding. The synergy in sensor design and neural network optimization offers a promising solution for practical, wearable SSI systems, paving the way for seamless, natural silent communication in diverse settings.
High-resolution microdisplays that offer superior picture quality are pivotal display components in immersive augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) systems. For AR and VR applications, the ...microdisplays must satisfy major requirements such as high resolution, exceptional brightness, and a broad color gamut to ensure clear and vivid picture quality. Quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) are emerging light sources due to their outstanding color purity and controllability. Rapid advancements in QD materials and device technologies suggest the potential industrialization of QD-LED displays in the near future. Moreover, recent innovation in the process technology of patterning QD layers enables the formation of ultrahigh-resolution QD-LED pixels for microdisplays, promising immersive and brighter visual experiences in AR and VR applications. In this study, we review the latest QD-LED technologies from QD material advancements and device architecture optimization to the pixelization process and integration of full-color display systems. Advancements in QD-LED display technology will enable the realization of high picture quality QD-LED microdisplays for extremely immersive AR and VR display systems.
A simulation model of electrical percolation through a three-dimensional network of curved CNTs is developed in order to analyze the electromechanical properties of a highly stretchable fiber strain ...sensor made of a CNT/polymer composite. Rigid-body movement of the curved CNTs within the polymer matrix is described analytically. Random arrangements of CNTs within the composite are generated by a Monte-Carlo simulation method and a union-find algorithm is utilized to investigate the network percolation. Consequently, the strain-induced resistance change curves are obtained in a wide strain range of the composite. In order to compare our model with experimental results, two CNT/polymer composite fibers were fabricated and tested as strain sensors. Their effective CNT volume fractions are estimated by comparing the experimental data with our simulation model. The results confirm that the proposed simulation model reproduces well the experimental data and is useful for predicting and optimizing the electromechanical characteristics of highly stretchable fiber strain sensors based on CNT/polymer composites.
BackgroundThe association between obesity and outcomes in patients receiving programmed death-1/programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) checkpoint inhibitors has already been confirmed in pre-treated ...non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, regardless of PD-L1 tumor expression.MethodsWe present the outcomes analysis according to baseline body mass index (BMI) and BMI variation in a large cohort of metastatic NSCLC patients with a PD-L1 expression ≥50%, receiving first line pembrolizumab. We also evaluated a control cohort of metastatic NSCLC patients treated with first line platinum-based chemotherapy. Normal weight was set as control group.Results962 patients and 426 patients were included in the pembrolizumab and chemotherapy cohorts, respectively. Obese patients had a significantly higher objective response rate (ORR) (OR=1.61 (95% CI: 1.04–2.50)) in the pembrolizumab cohort, while overweight patients had a significantly lower ORR (OR=0.59 (95% CI: 0.37–0.92)) within the chemotherapy cohort. Obese patients had a significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) (HR=0.61 (95% CI: 0.45–0.82)) in the pembrolizumab cohort. Conversely, they had a significantly shorter PFS in the chemotherapy cohort (HR=1.27 (95% CI: 1.01–1.60)). Obese patients had a significantly longer overall survival (OS) within the pembrolizumab cohort (HR=0.70 (95% CI: 0.49–0.99)), while no significant differences according to baseline BMI were found in the chemotherapy cohort. BMI variation significantly affected ORR, PFS and OS in both the pembrolizumab and the chemotherapy cohorts.ConclusionsBaseline obesity is associated to significantly improved ORR, PFS and OS in metastatic NSCLC patients with a PD-L1 expression of ≥50%, receiving first line pembrolizumab, but not among patients treated with chemotherapy. BMI variation is also significantly related to clinical outcomes.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had a huge impact on healthcare systems, resulting in many routine diagnostic procedures either being halted or postponed.
To evaluate whether the diagnoses of colorectal, ...gastric and pancreatic cancers have been impacted by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Italy.
A survey designed to collect the number of histologically-proven diagnoses of the three cancers in gastroenterology services across Italy from January 1 to October 31 in 2017–2020. Non-parametric ANOVA for repeated measurements was applied to compare distributions by years and macro-areas.
Compared to 2019, in 2020 gastric cancer diagnoses decreased by 15.9%, CRC by 11.9% and pancreatic by 9.9%. CRC distributions showed significant differences between all years, stomach cancer between 2018 and 2020 and 2019–2020, and pancreatic cancer only between 2017 and 2019. The 2019–2020 comparison showed fewer CRC diagnoses in the North (-13.7%), Center (-16.5%) and South (-4.1%), fewer stomach cancers in the North (-19.0%) and South (-9.4%), and fewer pancreatic cancers in the North (-14.1%) and Center (-4.7%), with an increase in the South (+12.3%). Distributions of CRC and gastric cancer were significantly different between all years in the North.
This survey highlights the concerning effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnostic yield of gastroenterology services for stomach, colorectal and pancreatic cancers in Italy.
Focusing on the interplay between interface chemistry, electrochemistry, and integrated electronics, we show a novel low-cost and flexible biosensing platform for continuous glucose monitoring. The ...amperometric biosensing system features a planar three-electrode structure on a plastic substrate, and a wireless near-field communication-powered electronic system performing sensor analog front-end, A/D conversion, digital control, and display tasks. The working electrode is made of electropolymerized poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) film onto a polyethylene terephthalate/gold electrode followed by immobilization of cross-linked glucose oxidase by glutaraldehyde. The advantages offered by such a device, including low-cost materials and instrumentation as well as the good sensitivity of 9.24 μA/(mM · cm 2 ) are promising tools for point-of-care monitoring. It is demonstrated that the devices are good candidates for the development of advanced sensing approaches based on the investigation of the noise produced during operation (fluctuation-enhanced sensing).
We report the second case, to the best of our knowledge, of a mother with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) who gave birth to a daughter with Angelman syndrome (AS). The menarche occurred when she was 16, ...and the following menstrual cycles were irregular, but she never took sexual hormone replacement therapy. At the age of 26, our patient with PWS became pregnant. The diagnosis was confirmed by molecular genetic testing that revealed a ~5.7 Mb deletion in the 15q11.1–15q13 region on the paternal allele in the mother with PWS and the maternal one in the daughter with AS, respectively. Both the mother with PWS and the daughter with AS showed peculiar clinical and genetic features of the two syndromes. Our case report reaffirms the possible fertility in PWS; therefore, it is very important to develop appropriate socio-sexual education programs and fertility assessments in order to guarantee the expression of a healthy sexuality.
Background: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) needs high-quality care and multidisciplinary management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, most non-urgent clinical activities for HHT outpatients ...were suspended. We conducted an analytical observational cohort study to evaluate whether medical and psychological support, provided through remote consultation during the COVID-19 pandemic, could reduce the complications of HHT. Methods: A structured regimen of remote consultations, conducted by either video-calls, telephone calls, or e-mails, was provided by a multidisciplinary group of physicians to a set of patients of our HHT center. The outcomes considered were: number of emergency room visits/hospitalizations, need of blood transfusions, need of iron supplementation, worsening of epistaxis, and psychological status. Results: The study included 45 patients who received remote assistance for a total of eight months. During this period, 9 patients required emergency room visits, 6 needed blood transfusions, and 24 needed iron supplementation. This was not different from what was registered among the same 45 patients in the same period of the previous year. Remote care also resulted in better management of epistaxis and improved quality of life, with the mean epistaxis severity score and the Euro-Quality of Life-Visual Analogue Scale that were significantly better at the end than at the beginning of the study. Discussion: Remote medical care might be a valid support for HHT subjects during periods of suspended outpatient surveillance, like the COVID-19 pandemic.
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