Multi-functional photonic spin Hall effect sensor controlled by phase transition

Photonic spin Hall effect(PSHE), as a novel physical effect in light–matter interaction, provides an effective metrological method for characterizing the tiny variation in refractive index(RI). In this work, we propose a multi-functional PSHE sensor based on VO_(2), a material that can reveal the phase transition behavior. By applying thermal control, the mutual transformation into different phase states of VO_(2) can be realized, which contributes to the flexible switching between multiple RI sensing tasks. When VO_(2) is insulating, the ultrasensitive detection of glucose concentrations in human blood is achieved. When VO_(2) is in a mixed phase, the structure can be designed to distinguish between the normal cells and cancer cells through no-label and real-time monitoring. When VO_(2) is metallic, the proposed PSHE sensor can act as an RI indicator for gas analytes. Compared with other multi-functional sensing devices with the complex structures, our design consists of only one analyte and two VO_(2) layers, which is very simple and elegant. Therefore, the proposed VO_(2)-based PSHE sensor has outstanding advantages such as small size, high sensitivity, no-label, and real-time detection, providing a new approach for investigating tunable multi-functional sensors.

Sounding the alarm:Functionally referential signaling in Azure-winged Magpie

Functionally referential signals are a complex form of communication that conveys information about the external environment.Such signals have been found in a range of mammal and bird species and have helped us understand the complexities of animal communication.Corvids are well known for their extraordinary cognitive abilities,but relatively little attention has been paid to their vocal function.Here,we investigated the functionally referential signals of a cooperatively breeding corvid species,Azure-winged Magpie(Cyanopica cyanus).Through field observations,we suggest that Azure-winged Magpie uses referential alarm calls to distinguish two types of threats:’rasp’ calls for terrestrial threats and ’chatter’ calls for aerial threats.A playback experiment revealed that Azure-winged Magpies responded to the two call types with qualitatively different behaviors.They sought cover by flying into the bushes in response to the ’chatter’ calls,and flew to or stayed at higher positions in response to ’rasp’ calls,displaying a shorter response time to ’chatter’ calls.Significant differences in acoustic structure were found between the two types of calls.Given the extensive cognitive abilities of corvids and the fact that referential signals were once thought to be unique to primates,these findings are important for expanding our understanding of social communication and language evolution.

Design of AI-Enhanced and Hardware-Supported Multimodal E-Skin for Environmental Object Recognition and Wireless Toxic Gas Alarm

Post-earthquake rescue missions are full of challenges due to the unstable structure of ruins and successive aftershocks.Most of the current rescue robots lack the ability to interact with environments,leading to low rescue efficiency.The multimodal electronic skin(e-skin)proposed not only reproduces the pressure,temperature,and humidity sensing capabilities of natural skin but also develops sensing functions beyond it—perceiving object proximity and NO2 gas.Its multilayer stacked structure based on Ecoflex and organohydrogel endows the e-skin with mechanical properties similar to natural skin.Rescue robots integrated with multimodal e-skin and artificial intelligence(AI)algorithms show strong environmental perception capabilities and can accurately distinguish objects and identify human limbs through grasping,laying the foundation for automated post-earthquake rescue.Besides,the combination of e-skin and NO2 wireless alarm circuits allows robots to sense toxic gases in the environment in real time,thereby adopting appropriate measures to protect trapped people from the toxic environment.Multimodal e-skin powered by AI algorithms and hardware circuits exhibits powerful environmental perception and information processing capabilities,which,as an interface for interaction with the physical world,dramatically expands intelligent robots’application scenarios.

A lightweight false alarm suppression method in heterogeneous change detection

Overlooking the issue of false alarm suppression in heterogeneous change detection leads to inferior detection per-formance.This paper proposes a method to handle false alarms in heterogeneous change detection.A lightweight network of two channels is bulit based on the combination of convolutional neural network(CNN)and graph convolutional network(GCN).CNNs learn feature difference maps of multitemporal images,and attention modules adaptively fuse CNN-based and graph-based features for different scales.GCNs with a new kernel filter adaptively distinguish between nodes with the same and those with different labels,generating change maps.Experimental evaluation on two datasets validates the efficacy of the pro-posed method in addressing false alarms.

Design of Signal Lamp Filament Monitoring Alarm Instrument

To improve the reliability of the light emitting diode(LED)signal lamp filament current monitoring alarm instrument for metro systems,a new type of hot standby online monitoring apparatus was developed which is based on synchronous transmission data(STD)bus technology.In this system,a double hot standby mode can be achieved by adopting bus arbitration.In addition,to detect the effective value of alternating current which is from 0 to 200 mA in the signal lamp lighting circuit,a precision rectifier signal conditioning circuit and an isolated acquisition circuit were designed.This new type of alarm instrument has high detection accuracy and could meet the functional requirements for metro signal systems after comparing it with some industry products that were applied on the spot.

One-step spraying method to construct superhydrophobic magnesium surface with extraordinary robustness and multi-functions

The robust magnesium surfaces with multi-functions are highly desirable,and the simple and scalable methods to construct such surfaces are urgently indispensable.Herein,we conducted a one-step spraying method to facilely fabricate the robust coating with multi-functions on magnesium alloys.The as-sprayed magnesium alloys surface is superhydrophobic with a static water contact angle(WCA)of 157.0°and a roll-off angle of 6.0°.Such surface has excellent mechanical,chemical and thermal stabilities,even undergoing various physical and chemical damages,including sand impact(10 gmin^(-1),≥20 min),water impact(2 impacts s^(-1),≥180 min),abrasion(1.00 kPa,≥25 cycles),peeling(≥2.15 kPa),high temperature(200°C,≥24 h),strong acidic/salty/basic media(p H=113)and organic-solvent immersion(ethanol and n-hexane,≥24 h),demonstrating brilliant robustness.Notably,the surface displays multi-functions of corrosion protection,anti-fouling and heat insulation,which will undoubtedly promote the much wider applications of magnesium alloys.

Design of Drilling and Riveting Multi-functional End Effector for CFRP and Aluminum Components in Robotic Aircraft Assembly

To fulfill the demands for higher quality,efficiency and flexibility in aviation industry,a multi-functional end effector is designed to automate the drilling and riveting processes in assembling carbon fiber reinforced polymer(CFRP)and aluminum components for a robotic aircraft assembly system.To meet the specific functional requirements for blind rivet installation on CFRP and aluminum materials,additional modules are incorporated on the end effector aside of the basic processing modules for drilling.And all of these processing modules allow for a onestep-drilling-countersinking process,hole inspection,automatic rivet feed,rivet geometry check,sealant application,rivet insertion and installation.Besides,to guarantee the better quality of the hole drilled and joints riveted,several online detection and adjustment measures are applied to this end effector,including the reference detection and perpendicular calibration,which could effectively ensure the positioning precision and perpendicular accuracy as demanded.Finally,the test result shows that this end effector is capable of producing each hole to a positioning precision within ±0.5 mm,aperpendicular accuracy within 0.3°,a diameter tolerance of H8,and a countersink depth tolerance of±0.01 mm.Moreover,it could drill and rivet up to three joints per minute,with acceptable shearing and tensile strength.

Development of a novel multi-functional integrated bioconjugate effectively targeting K-Ras mutant pancreatic cancer

Folate receptor(FR)overexpression occurs in a variety of cancers,including pancreatic cancer.In addition,enhanced macropinocytosis exists in K-Ras mutant pancreatic cancer.Furthermore,the occurrence of intensive desmoplasia causes a hypoxic microenvironment in pancreatic cancer.In this study,a novel FR-directed,macropinocytosis-enhanced,and highly cytotoxic bioconjugate folate(F)-human serum albumin(HSA)-apoprotein of lidamycin(LDP)-active enediyne(AE)derived from lidamycin was designed and prepared.F-HSA-LDP-AE consisted of four moieties:F,HSA,LDP,and AE.F-HSA-LDP presented high binding efficiency with the FR and pancreatic cancer cells.Its uptake in wild-type cells was more extensive than in K-Ras mutant-type cells.By in vivo optical imaging,F-HSA-LDP displayed prominent tumor-specific biodistribution in pancreatic cancer xenograft-bearing mice,showing clear and lasting tumor localization for 360 h.In the MTT assay,F-HSA-LDP-AE demonstrated potent cytotoxicity in three types of pancreatic cancer cell lines.It also induced apoptosis and caused G2/M cell cycle arrest.F-HSALDP-AE markedly suppressed the tumor growth of AsPc-1 pancreatic cancer xenografts in athymic mice.At well-tolerated doses of 0.5 and 1 mg/kg,(i.v.,twice),the inhibition rates were 91.2%and 94.8%,respectively(P<0.01).The results of this study indicate that the F-HSA-LDP multi-functional bioconjugate might be effective for treating K-Ras mutant pancreatic cancer.

Multi-functional optical fiber sensor system based on a dense wavelength division multiplexer

We propose a novel and efficient multi-functional optical fiber sensor system based on a dense wavelength division multiplexer(DWDM).This system consists of an optical fiber temperature sensor, an optical fiber strain sensor, and a 48-channel DWDM.This system can monitor temperature and strain changes at the same time.The ranges of these two sensors are from-20℃ to 100℃ and from-1000 με to 2000 με, respectively.The sensitivities of the temperature sensor and strain sensor are 0.03572 nm/℃ and 0.03808 nm/N, respectively.With the aid of a broadband source and spectrometer,different kinds and ranges of parameters in the environment can be monitored by using suitable sensors.

A design and application of compound multi-functional sensor in wood-based panel processing

A compound multi-functional sensor was designed by the study on the on-line testing technology of wood-based panels, and its properties of shape, functions, size, resistance to special environment were studied in details. The operational principles of different sensors, technical flow of manufacturing, development of software systems of special functions, and the assessments of technical specification were also be introduced. This sensor adopted many new technologies, such as the applications of piezoresistant effect and heat sensitive effect can effectively measure the pressure and temperature, digital signal processing technology was used to extract and treat signals, and resist interference, encapsulation technology was used to keep the normal run of sensor under a harsh environment. Thus, the on-line compound multi-functional temperature/pressure sensor can be applied better to supervise the production of wood-based panels. All technical specifications of the compound multi-functional sensor were tested and the results met the requirements of the equipments.

Quasi-distribution Appraisal about Finite Element Analysis of Multi-functional Structure Made of Honeycomb Sandwich Materials

A new appraisal method（QDA, quasi-distribution appraisal） which could be used to evaluate the finite element analysis of multi-functional structure made of honeycomb sandwich materials is developed based on sub-section Bezier curve. It is established by simulating the distribution histogram data obtained from the numerical finite element analysis values of a satellite component with sub-section Bezier curve. Being dealt with area normalization method, the simulation curve could be regarded as a kind of probability density function（PDF）, its mathematical expectation and the variance could be used to evaluate the result of finite element analysis. Numerical experiments have indicated that the QDA method demonstrates the intrinsic characteristics of the finite element analysis of multi-functional structure made of honeycomb sandwich materials, as an appraisal method, it is effective and feasible.

Fiber-Loop Ringdown Multi-Function Sensors

We demonstrate a fiber-loop ring down multi-function sensors system, which can be used to measure refractive index and curvature simultaneously. Good agreement has been found between theoretical analyses and experimental results. It has great potential for sensor applications.

Considering calcium-binding proteins in invertebrates: multi-functional proteins that shape neuronal growth

Calcium is a critical second messenger molecule in all cells and is vital in neurons for synaptic transmission.Given this importance,calcium ions are tightly controlled by a host of molecular players including ion channels,sensors,and buffering proteins.Calcium can act directly by binding to signaling molecules or calcium’s effects can be indirect,for example by altering nuclear histones.

Analysis of Dynamic Cross Response between Spindles in a Dual Spindle Type Multi-Functional Turning Machine

In order to meet increasing demand for higher productivity and flexibility, recently many kinds of multi-functional machine tools, which are capable of multiple machining functions or different kinds of machining processes on one machine, have been developed and widely used in manufacturing industries. In this study, a multi-functional turning lathe, which has two spindles and two turrets so that multiple turning operations and various machining processes could be performed simultaneously, has been developed. Furthermore, the equations of correlation between whole responses and cross responses of the two spindles have been derived to examine to what extent the two spindles affect each other’s vibrations.

Design and Development of a Multi-functional Laparoscopic Device

This study presents a design of a multifunctional laparoscopic appendectomy device that includes three surgical instruments commonly used in laparoscopic appendicitis surgeries:endoloop,endobag and scissors.It collects these three independent surgical tools in a single laparoscopic appendectomy device.These days there is a trend of moving to multi-functional surgery devices during minimally invasive surgery.The main reasons behind the minimal invasive surgery are to avoid changing the devices several times during the operation,to reduce the time spent in operation,to increase the efficiency of the operation,to facilitate the follow-up of the camera and devices,and to leave trocars to be used for other surgical instruments.The multi-functional appendectomy device that,we present here,provides these benefits.The standard trocar entries are appropriate for its usage.The presented multifunctional laparoscopic appendectomy device offers more practical use in comparison to individual devices.On the other hand,development of these multi-functional surgery devices can be directly enhanced to the robotic surgery devices.

Design and Development of a Forest Nursery, for the Enhancement of Multi-Functional Agriculture and for a Didactical Purpose

The experimental idea of the present project was elaborated in order to create a structure where different categories and institutions could collaborate, with the common aim to develop a sustainable and profitable agriculture in mountain and marginal areas. The target was the recovering of an abandoned agricultural site, throughout its re-organisation, re-qualification and auto-sustainability, involving local citizens. This approach was based on three further broad functions such as environmental, economic and social purposes. This cooperation, that allows the capitalization of local knowledge and the forging of relationships between local and external sources of expertise, information and advice, is fundamental to the future of existing rural communities, in particular in mountain areas. The model proposed, with the elaboration of a management software and technical agronomic sheets, could be an incentive for the activities already present in that region and to stimulate new ones. The enhancing of the native ecological system, the biodiversity tutelage and the valorization of the knowledge of the territory is the basic requirement for the successful of any land management.

Multi-Functioning in Virtual Monitoring of Thin-Walled Bridges

Multi-functioning in virtual monitoring and assessment of ultimate dynamics of thin-walled bridges is treated in present paper. The approach enables multiple functions in virtual monitoring of the bridges made of integrated thin-walled members with their hierarchical configuration. Theoretical, numerical and experimental in situ assessments of the problem are presented. Some results of structural application are submitted.

A Portable Multi-functional Real-time Digital Simulator Dedicated to Protective Relay Testing

The paper intfoduces a PC-DSP based real-time digital simulator which is portable in size and aimed at the closed-loop testing of various types of protective relays for their design and application. The simulator can be widely used in not only concerning utilities but also manufacturers and research / certification institutes because of its many functions. The hardware architecture and software implementation of the simulator are described. The main features and functions of the simulator are also

Pattern Matching of Industrial Alarm Floods Using Word Embedding and Dynamic Time Warping

Dear Editor,This letter proposes a new pattern matching method based on word embedding and dynamic time warping(DTW)to identify groups of similar alarm floods.First,alarm messages are transformed into numeric values that represent alarms and also reflect the relationships between alarm occurrences.Then,similarities between numerically encoded alarm flood sequences are calculated by DTW and groups of similar floods are identified via clustering.The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by a case study with alarm&event data obtained from a public industrial simulation model.