Search

Most stretchable film strain sensors generally present nonlinear electrical responses to applied strain, leading to an inaccurate acquisition of sophisticated signals, difficult signal processing, and zero‐calibration, which hampers practical applications severely. Here, a Janus hetero‐structured microarray film sensor is developed by in‐situ growth of silver nanoparticles on the surface of micro‐patterned elastomer films fabricated via low‐temperature imprinting followed by scraping‐induced particle trapping. Heterogeneous property designs in both modulus and electrical conductivity via introducing polymer microarrays enable modulating the electron transport manner in the conductive layer of elastic Janus films upon stretching, allowing to tune signal linearity effectively. Therefore, such a hetero‐structured film sensor shows good signal linearity (fluctuation of gauge factor [GF] below ±0.02) and relatively high sensitivity (GF > 10) within 55% strain, a detection limit of 0.2% strain, and a response/recovery time of 16.3/46.9 ms, respectively. Correspondingly, it enables monitoring human respiration and body motion with higher resolution compared with the nonlinear one, meanwhile, it is capable of detecting tiny pressure to discriminate braille alphabets via touch identification. Overall, it unveils a simple strategy to fabricate film strain sensors for high‐resolution healthcare and body motion monitoring, as well as electronic skins toward tactile sensing and touch identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While photo-cross-linking (PXL) with alkyl diazirines can provide stringent distance restraints and offer insights into protein structures, unambiguous identification of cross-linked residues hinders data interpretation to the same level that has been achieved with chemical cross-linking (CXL). We address this challenge by developing an in-line system with systematic modulation of light intensity and irradiation time, which allows for a quantitative evaluation of diazirine photolysis and photo-reaction mechanism. Our results reveal a two-step pathway with mainly sequential generation of diazo and carbene intermediates. Diazo intermediate preferentially targets buried polar residues, many of which are inaccessible with known CXL probes for their limited reactivity. Moreover, we demonstrate that tuning light intensity and duration enhances selectivity towards polar residues by biasing diazo-mediated cross-linking reactions over carbene ones. This mechanistic dissection unlocks the full potential of PXL, paving the way for accurate distance mapping against protein structures and ultimately, unveiling protein dynamic behaviors. Photo-cross-linking (PXL) with alkyl diazirines can provide stringent distance restraints and offer insights into protein structures, but unambiguous identification of cross-linked residues hinders data interpretation. Here, the authors report a quantitative analysis of alkyl diazirine photo-cross-linking reactions and reveal a two-step mechanism, enabling selective targeting of buried polar residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robotics includes complex mathematical calculations and coordinate transformations in forward and inverse kinematics, path planning, and robot dynamics. Students may experience a high cognitive load and lose learning motivation because robotics can be complex and challenging to understand. This study applied virtual reality (VR) technology in robotics education to simplify and visualize complex robot kinematics, aiming to increase learning motivation and reduce cognitive load. This study incorporated real and virtual robot control to develop an integrated robot learning system. This system enables learners to control the digital twin of a physical robot and observe the synchronized motion of both the virtual and physical robots. Users can operate the virtual robot to achieve the target position by setting joint parameters or using values calculated from inverse kinematics. They can also understand the principle of digital twins by observing the synchronous motion of both robots. A teaching experiment was conducted to explore the performance of applying VR in robotics education and its impacts on cognitive load and learning motivation. The system was improved based on user responses to facilitate subsequent promotional activities. VR can transform complex robotics into easily understandable learning experiences and provide an interactive user interface, making the system a suitable learning tool for STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mechanical thrombectomy has emerged as a promising treatment for acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion. However, cases involving cancerous emboli retrieved during endovascular embolectomy are rare. We present a case of a 65-year-old man with a history of heavily treated rectal cancer, who developed a middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction due to metastatic adenocarcinoma. The patient presented with sudden onset right-side weakness, right facial palsy, global aphasia, and left gaze deviation, with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 16. Following intravenous thrombolysis, endovascular thrombectomy was performed, achieving nearly complete recanalization. Pathological examination of the retrieved thrombus revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma of rectal origin. The patient's neurological deficits gradually improved, and he was successfully discharged to undergo further palliative therapy. This case underscores the importance of considering mechanical thrombectomy for patients with advanced solid organ malignancy presenting with acute ischemic stroke, even when the etiology could be a tumor embolus. Our findings highlight the potential for mechanical thrombectomy to restore neurological function in such cases, allowing patients to proceed to the next level of care with a reasonably good post-stroke quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blended learning has propelled into mainstream education in recent years with the help of digital technology. Commonly available digital devices and the Internet have made access to learning resources such as learning management systems, online libraries, digital media, etc. convenient and flexible for both lecturers and students. Beyond the physical classroom walls, learning can still continue at another place and time. However, although today's students generally face no difficulties in using technology for everyday social and entertainment activities, it would be constructive to understand if the students can make effective use of technology for learning as well. It has been posited that to make effective use of technology for learning, one needs to have a certain level of digital literacy. Digital literacy for learning is more than just knowing how to operate the technology, but also having the right information management and critical thinking skills, as well as proper online behaviours. This study aims to answer the question: Do students require digital literacy to be effective in learning in a blended learning environment? To answer this question, this study examined the relationships between effective learning and four digital literacy constructs; i.e. underpinnings, background knowledge, central competencies, and attitudes and perspectives. Responses were first collected from the students who were taking courses in a blended learning environment at a local university and then analysed using partial least squares. Analyses show that the four digital literacy constructs could be reduced to three, and the three digital literacy constructs each had a statistically significant relationship with the effective learning construct. This study provides evidence that digital literacy is a prerequisite for students to be effective in learning in a blended learning environment.

Working on team projects is a common feature in higher education as a way to foster team learning and collaboration. For a team to work well towards achieving project objectives, it is important that there is effective team communication. Conventionally, face-to-face interactions allow students to interact with each other in multiple communication channels, simultaneously sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages in real time. Today, modern mobile technology offers students a variety of alternative digital communication media for collaboration. Unlike a full-channel communication medium such as the face-to-face interaction, a digital communication medium like instant messaging does not normally transmit nonverbal cues. As a result, to compensate for insufficient nonverbal cues, users of instant messaging services have to put more effort and time into understanding each other. If more effort and time is required to understand each other better, then why is it that today's students prefer instant messaging to face-to-face interactions for collaborative project work? To answer this question, this study conducted a questionnaire survey to collect responses from university students who have been involved in team projects. This study analysed students' copresence (a second-order formative construct consisting of two first-order constructs: self-copresence and partner-copresence) and its relationships with media satisfaction and communication effectiveness. It investigated whether these relationships differed between the students who used instant messaging and those who used face-to-face interactions. In addition, this study also examined whether media satisfaction played a mediating role between copresence and communication effectiveness. The findings of this study could help explain how different communication media can facilitate teamwork in collaborative learning environments.

The 48-basepair (48-bp) variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism in exon 3 of the dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) is implicated in the etiology of attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In particular, ADHD in European-ancestry population is associated with an increased prevalence of the 7-repeat (7R) allele of the exon 3 VNTR. However, it is intriguing to note that the 7R allele has been found to be of very low prevalence in the Chinese general population. In a previous case-control study, our research team had found that the 7R allele was similarly absent in Chinese ADHD children in Hong Kong. Instead, there was an increased prevalence of the 2R allele in Chinese ADHD children. Interestingly, in Asian samples, the 2R allele had been found to be an evolutionary derivative of the 7R allele with equivalent biochemical functionality. So, the finding of an association between ADHD and 2R allele in Chinese population does not exactly contradict the original 7R allele finding in European-ancestry population. However, given the potential pitfall of population stratification in the previous case-control design, this current study tested the 2R allele and ADHD association using a methodologically more rigorous family-based approach on 33 Chinese ADHD probands who had favorable clinical responses to stimulant medication (methylphenidate). Haplotype Relative Risk (HRR) analysis and Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT) both showed a significant preferential transmission of the 2R allele from the biological parents to ADHD probands (pone-tailed = 0.038, OR = 2.04; pone-tailed = 0.048, OR = 2.29, respectively). A second hypothesis speculates that it is the deviation, including 7R and 2R alleles, from the conserved ancestral 4R allele which confers risk to ADHD. Thus, a preferential transmission of non-4R alleles, against the 4R allele, from biological parents to their ADHD probands is predicted. Both HRR analysis and TDT confirmed such prediction (pone-tailed = 0.029, OR = 2.07; pone-tailed = 0.032, OR = 2.43, respectively). This study re-confirmed the original finding of a previous study that in Chinese population, the 2R allele of the DRD4 exon 3 VNTR was related to ADHD. This endorses the general thesis that DRD4 exon 3 VNTR polymorphism is related to ADHD, despite that the exact length or number of repeats of the associated alleles varies across ethnicity. This in turn supports the dopamine dysregulation theory of ADHD.