Bodies with the nonspherical tensor of inertia (TOI) exhibit a variety of rotational motion patterns, including chaotic motion, stable periodic (quasi-periodic) rotation, unstable rotation around the ...direction close to the body's second principal axis, featuring a well-known tennis-racket (also known as Garriott-Dzhanibekov 1) effect – series of seemingly spontaneous 180 degrees flips. These patterns are even more complex if the body's TOI is changing with time. Changing a body's TOI has been discussed recently as a tool to perform controllable Garriott-Dzhanibekov flips and similar maneuvers. In this work, the optimal control of the TOI of the body (spacecraft, or any other device that admits free rotation in three dimensions) is used as a means to perform desirable re-orientations of a body with respect to its angular velocity. Using the spherical TOI as the initial and final point of the maneuver, we optimize the parameters of the maneuver to achieve and stabilize the desired orientation of the body's principal axes with respect to spin angular velocity. It appears that such a procedure allows for finding arbitrarily complex maneuver trajectories of a spinning body. In particular, intermediate axis instability can be used to break the alignment of the body's principal axis and the axis of rotation. Such maneuvers do not require utilization of propellants and could be straightforwardly used for attitude control of a spin-stabilized spacecraft. The capabilities of such a method of angular maneuvering are demonstrated in numerical simulations.
Immature hematopoietic progenitors are a constant source for renewal of hemocyte populations and the basic component of the tissue and cell repair apparatus. A unique property of these cells of ...internalizing extracellular double-stranded DNA has been previously shown. The leukostimulatory effect demonstrated in our pioneering studies was considered to be due to the feature of this cell. In the present research, we have analyzed the effects of DNA genome reconstructor preparation (DNAgr), DNAmix, and human recombinant angiogenin on both hematopoietic stem cells and multipotent progenitors. Treatment with bone marrow cells of experimental mice with these preparations stimulates colony formation by hematopoietic stem cells and proliferation of multipotent descendants. The main lineage responsible for this is the granulocyte-macrophage hematopoietic lineage. Using fluorescent microscopy as well as FACS assay, co-localization of primitive c-Kit- and Sca-1-positive progenitors and the TAMRA-labeled double-stranded DNA has been shown. Human recombinant angiogenin was used as a reference agent. Cells with specific markers were quantified in intact bone marrow and colonies grown in the presence of inducers. Quantitative analysis revealed that a total of 14,000 fragment copies of 500 bp, which is 0.2% of the haploid genome, can be delivered into early progenitors. Extracellular double-stranded DNA fragments stimulated the colony formation in early hematopoietic progenitors from the bone marrow, which assumed their effect on cells in G0. The observed number of Sca1+/c-Kit+ cells in colonies testifies to the possibility of both symmetrical and asymmetrical division of the initial hematopoietic stem cell and its progeny.
Abstract
Complex oxides show extreme sensitivity to structural distortions and defects, and the intricate balance of competing interactions which emerge at atomically defined interfaces may give rise ...to unexpected physics. In the interfaces of non-magnetic complex oxides, one of the most intriguing properties is the emergence of magnetism which is sensitive to chemical defects. Particularly, it is unclear which defects are responsible for the emergent magnetic interfaces. Here, we show direct and clear experimental evidence, supported by theoretical explanation, that the B-site cation stoichiometry is crucial for the creation and control of magnetism at the interface between non-magnetic ABO
3
-perovskite oxides, LaAlO
3
and SrTiO
3
. We find that consecutive defect formation, driven by atomic charge compensation, establishes the formation of robust perpendicular magnetic moments at the interface. Our observations propose a route to tune these emerging magnetoelectric structures, which are strongly coupled at the polar-nonpolar complex oxide interfaces.
The paper presents a framework for interactive control of multi robots using mixed reality interfaces. The proposed approach can operate with both single and multi-robot systems, including ...interaction with industrial manipulators, mobile robots, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The human-robot interface allows both interactive and physical interaction with the robot. Particular attention is paid to a visualisation of the robots' intent during control. The presented framework has Robotic Operation System (ROS) as a core that can be connected to any robot and mixed reality interface. This allows us to make framework scalable and connect several different mixed reality devices and multiple heterogeneous robots. In the implementation part we connected our framework with Microsoft HoloLens, collaborative robot KUKA IIWA, mobile platform Plato, UAV designed on the basis of dji f450. The proposed framework was tested experimentally with real experimental setups mentioned above. The results showed the capabilities of the mixed reality system for interactive control of different robots' type.
Our objective was to evaluate the safety and clinical efficacy of autologous M2 macrophage transplantation in nonacute stroke patients. We also evaluated whether the intrathecal administration of ...macrophages influences the production of cytokines by peripheral blood cells and whether the levels of cytokines correlate with stroke severity and responsiveness to cell therapy. In this study, 13 patients (12 males and 1 female with a median age of 63 years) diagnosed with ischemic (n = 10) or hemorrhagic (n = 3) stroke were subjected to cell transplantation therapy (study group). On average, 21.9 × 106 autologous M2 macrophages were injected intrathecally. Thirteen matched case-control stroke patients who did not receive cell therapy comprised the control group. We did not observe any serious adverse events (i.e., intrahospital mortality, neurological worsening, and seizures) related to the cell injection. One patient in the study group and two patients in the control group died during the 6-month follow-up period due to recurrent stroke. In the study group, the NIHSS score decreased from 11 to 6 (p = 0.007) in 6 months after the therapy, whereas the patients in the control group showed a less pronounced neurological improvement (the NIHSS score decreased from 11 to 8, p = 0.07). The obvious positive response (the improvement of the NIHSS score ≥3) in the study group was observed in 75% versus 18% in the control group (pFET = 0.03). M2 cell introduction did not significantly affect the production of various cytokines. Nevertheless, pretreated levels of IL-8, IL-10, and IL-4 correlated with stroke severity. Moreover, responder patients had lower spontaneous production of IL-10, FGF-β, PDGF, VEGF, and higher stimulation indexes of IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-6 than nonresponders. These findings suggest that the intrathecal administration of autologous M2 cells in stroke patients is safe and leads to a better neurological recovery, which could be mediated through the immunomodulatory activity of M2 macrophages.
A set of aromatic-oxyaliphatic polyurethanes (PUs) with different mass fractions of components also containing fluorinated fragments was synthesized and studied using various solid-state NMR ...techniques and dielectric spectroscopy. In contrast to the common model suggested by Cooper and Tobolsky in 1966, the rigid domains of microphase separated PUs are formed, not only by units containing urethane bonds, but also by oxyethylene fragments that form a common rigid phase. The urethane bonds and oxyethylene fragments are incorporated into both rigid and soft phases. Good agreement with the Cooper and Tobolsky model is observed only when solubility parameters are significantly different for the hard and soft segments, such as hydrocarbon aromatics and perfluoroaliphatic blocks.
Olfactory dysfunction is an early marker of COVID-19 infection. However, individuals may develop chronic olfactory impairment for more than six months in 1-10 % of cases. The study's objective is to ...evaluate the efficacy and safety of intranasal immunotherapy using bioactive substances produced by M2 macrophages for the treatment of people with long-term post-COVID-19 hyposmia. Seven individuals with long-term persistent hyposmia (7 to 24 months), associated with PCR-confirmed coronavirus infection were evaluated for olfactory function at baseline, one, and six to twelve months after therapy. The intranasal inhalation of M2 macrophage conditioned medum (one time per day for 28-30 days) was well tolerated. Furthermore, olfactometry demonstrated that the patients restored their capacity to perceive (Kruskal-Wallis H test 14.123, p = 0.0009) and recognize odours (H = 11.674, p = 0.0029). In addition, the subjective evaluation of smell significantly improved (H = 11.935, p = 0.0026). At the 6- to 12-month follow-up, the majority of patients (5/7) reported extremely high levels of satisfaction with the outcomes, and the remaining two patients also felt generally positive about the therapy's success. Overall, our study showed that the use of intranasal inhalations as a method of delivering bioactive factors and the conditioned medium of M2 macrophages as a therapeutic agent are both safe, well tolerated and, according to preliminary data, clinically effective in the treatment of patients with long-term post-COVID-19 hyposmia.
New methods for constructing an approximation of the diffusion operator for the two-dimensional equation of the ambipolar diffusion process in the F layer of the Earth's ionosphere are presented. ...This equation is solved in the framework of modelling the global thermosphere and ionosphere dynamics (for the altitudes from 90 to 500 km). The proposed schemes have finite-difference versions of the integral identity, which is a property of differential diffusion equation and which represents the geometric properties of the process (diffusion proceeds along the magnetic field lines of the Earth). The stability of the proposed schemes is analyzed, as well as the accuracy estimates are obtained on the base of the model analytical solution and during the calculations with physically realistic data. A comparison is made with the second-order finite-difference scheme developed earlier for solving the same problem.
In this paper, we explore the possibility of using free-standing thin films from single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) material in optics of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) range. Test samples were ...fabricated using an aerosol chemical vapor deposition method. Synchrotron radiation was used to record the transmittance spectra of samples in the EUV range. The measured transmittance for a film 40 nm thick almost monotonously increases from 76% at a wavelength of 20 nm–99% at a wavelength of 1 nm. The measured stress-strain curve for the test samples shows that the SWCNT-based thin films have rather high ductility as opposite to fragile films made of conventional solid state materials. We use numerical simulations to demonstrate that the film strain occurs mainly by straightening and sliding of the nanotubes past each other without forming of strain localization responsible for fragile behavior. The combination of high radiation transmittance and unique mechanical properties makes the SWCNT-based thin films very promising for use in the EUV optics. In particular, such films can be used to protect delicate optical elements for EUV lithography from their contamination with debris particles.
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Oxide electronic materials provide a plethora of possible applications and offer ample opportunity for scientists to probe into some of the exciting and intriguing phenomena exhibited by oxide ...systems and oxide interfaces. In addition to the already diverse spectrum of properties, the nanoscale form of oxides provides a new dimension of hitherto unknown phenomena due to the increased surface-to-volume ratio. Oxide electronic materials are becoming increasingly important in a wide range of applications including transparent electronics, optoelectronics, magnetoelectronics, photonics, spintronics, thermoelectrics, piezoelectrics, power harvesting, hydrogen storage and environmental waste management. Synthesis and fabrication of these materials, as well as processing into particular device structures to suit a specific application is still a challenge. Further, characterization of these materials to understand the tunability of their properties and the novel properties that evolve due to their nanostructured nature is another facet of the challenge. The research related to the oxide electronic field is at an impressionable stage, and this has motivated us to contribute with a roadmap on 'oxide electronic materials and oxide interfaces'. This roadmap envisages the potential applications of oxide materials in cutting edge technologies and focuses on the necessary advances required to implement these materials, including both conventional and novel techniques for the synthesis, characterization, processing and fabrication of nanostructured oxides and oxide-based devices. The contents of this roadmap will highlight the functional and correlated properties of oxides in bulk, nano, thin film, multilayer and heterostructure forms, as well as the theoretical considerations behind both present and future applications in many technologically important areas as pointed out by Venkatesan. The contributions in this roadmap span several thematic groups which are represented by the following authors: novel field effect transistors and bipolar devices by Fortunato, Grundmann, Boschker, Rao, and Rogers; energy conversion and saving by Zaban, Weidenkaff, and Murakami; new opportunities of photonics by Fompeyrine, and Zuniga-Perez; multiferroic materials including novel phenomena by Ramesh, Spaldin, Mertig, Lorenz, Srinivasan, and Prellier; and concepts for topological oxide electronics by Kawasaki, Pentcheva, and Gegenwart. Finally, Miletto Granozio presents the European action 'towards oxide-based electronics' which develops an oxide electronics roadmap with emphasis on future nonvolatile memories and the required technologies. In summary, we do hope that this oxide roadmap appears as an interesting up-to-date snapshot on one of the most exciting and active areas of solid state physics, materials science, and chemistry, which even after many years of very successful development shows in short intervals novel insights and achievements. Guest editors: M S Ramachandra Rao and Michael Lorenz