Device-independent quantum randomness-enhanced zero-knowledge proof.

Zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) is a fundamental cryptographic primitive that allows a prover to convince a verifier of the validity of a statement without leaking any further information. As an efficient variant of ZKP, noninteractive zero-knowledge proof (NIZKP) adopting the Fiat-Shamir heuristic is essential to a wide spectrum of applications, such as federated learning, blockchain, and social networks. However, the heuristic is typically built upon the random oracle model that makes ideal assumptions about hash functions, which does not hold in reality and thus undermines the security of the protocol. Here, we present a quantum solution to the problem. Instead of resorting to a random oracle model, we implement a quantum randomness service. This service generates random numbers certified by the loophole-free Bell test and delivers them with postquantum cryptography (PQC) authentication. By employing this service, we conceive and implement NIZKP of the three-coloring problem. By bridging together three prominent research themes, quantum nonlocality, PQC, and ZKP, we anticipate this work to inspire more innovative applications that combine quantum information science and the cryptography field.

Loss of mGlu5 receptors in somatostatin-expressing neurons alters negative emotional states.

Subtype 5 metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu5) are known to play an important role in regulating cognitive, social and valence systems. However, it remains largely unknown at which circuits and neuronal types mGlu5 act to influence these behavioral domains. Altered tissue- or cell-specific expression or function of mGlu5 has been proposed to contribute to the exacerbation of neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we examined how these receptors regulate the activity of somatostatin-expressing (SST+) neurons, as well as their influence on behavior and brain rhythmic activity. Loss of mGlu5 in SST+ neurons elicited excitatory synaptic dysfunction in a region and sex-specific manner together with a range of emotional imbalances including diminished social novelty preference, reduced anxiety-like behavior and decreased freezing during retrieval of fear memories. In addition, the absence of mGlu5 in SST+ neurons during fear processing impaired theta frequency oscillatory activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral hippocampus. These findings reveal a critical role of mGlu5 in controlling SST+ neurons excitability necessary for regulating negative emotional states.

Studying the role of Bombyx mori molybdenum cofactor sulfurase in Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus infection.

Molybdenum cofactor sulfurase (MoCoS) is a key gene involved in the uric acid metabolic pathway that activates xanthine dehydrogenase to synthesise uric acid. Uric acid is harmful to mammals but plays crucial roles in insects, one of which is the immune responses. However, the function of Bombyx mori MoCoS in response to BmNPV remains unclear. In this study, BmMoCoS was found to be relatively highly expressed in embryonic development, gonads and the Malpighian tubules. In addition, the expression levels of BmMoCoS were significantly upregulated in three silkworm strains with different levels of resistance after virus infection, suggesting a close link between them. Furthermore, RNAi and overexpression studies showed that BmMoCoS was involved in resistance to BmNPV infection, and its antivirus effects were found to be related to the regulation of uric acid metabolism, which was uncovered by inosine- and febuxostat-coupled RNAi and overexpression. Finally, the BmMoCoS-mediated uric acid pathway was preliminarily confirmed to be a potential target to protect silkworms from BmNPV infection. Overall, this study provides new evidence for elucidating the molecular mechanism of silkworms in response to BmNPV infection and new strategies for the prevention of viral infections in sericulture.

Uridine diphosphate glucosyltransferase is vital for fenpropathrin resistance in Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera).

The silkworm (Bombyx mori) is an important model lepidopteran insect and can be used to identify pesticide resistance-related genes of great significance for biological control of pests. Uridine diphosphate glucosyltransferases (UGTs), found in all organisms, are the main secondary enzymes involved in the metabolism of heterologous substances. However, it remains uncertain if silkworm resistance to fenpropathrin involves UGT. This study observes significant variations in BmUGT expression among B. mori strains with variable fenpropathrin resistance post-feeding, indicating BmUGT's role in fenpropathrin detoxification. Knockdown of BmUGT with RNA interference and overexpression of BmUGT significantly decreased and increased BmN cell activity, respectively, indicating that BmUGT plays an important role in the resistance of silkworms to fenpropathrin. In addition, fenpropathrin residues were significantly reduced after incubation for 12 h with different concentrations of a recombinant BmUGT fusion protein. Finally, we verified the conservation of UGT to detoxify fenpropathrin in Spodoptera exigua: Its resistance to fenpropathrin decreased significantly after knocking down SeUGT. In a word, UGT plays an important role in silkworm resistance to fenpropathrin by directly degrading the compound, a function seen across other insects. The results of this study are of great significance for breeding silkworm varieties with high resistance and for biological control of pests.

Peripheral blood eosinophils: an important reference for radiologists to distinguish between pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculous pleurisy in children.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined the value of chest CT signs combined with peripheral blood eosinophil percentage in differentiating between pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculous pleurisy in children. METHODS: Patients with pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculous pleurisy were retrospectively enrolled from January 2019 to April 2023 at the Kunming Third People's Hospital and Lincang People's Hospital. There were 69 patients with pulmonary paragonimiasis (paragonimiasis group) and 89 patients with tuberculous pleurisy (tuberculosis group). Clinical symptoms, chest CT imaging findings, and laboratory test results were analyzed. Using binary logistic regression, an imaging model of CT signs and a combined model of CT signs and eosinophils were developed to calculate and compare the differential diagnostic performance of the two models. RESULTS: CT signs were used to establish the imaging model, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.856 (95% CI: 0.799-0.913), the sensitivity was 66.7%, and the specificity was 88.9%. The combined model was established using the CT signs and eosinophil percentage, and the ROC was plotted. The AUC curve was 0.950 (95% CI: 0.919-0.980), the sensitivity was 89.9%, and the specificity was 90.1%. The differential diagnostic efficiency of the combined model was higher than that of the imaging model, and the difference in AUC was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The combined model has a higher differential diagnosis efficiency than the imaging model in the differentiation of pulmonary paragonimiasis and tuberculous pleurisy in children. The presence of a tunnel sign on chest CT, the absence of pulmonary nodules, and an elevated percentage of peripheral blood eosinophils are indicative of pulmonary paragonimiasis in children.

Development of a high quantum yield probe for detection of mitochondrial G-quadruplexes in live cells based on fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy.

Mitochondrial G-quadruplexes are components that are potentially involved in regulating mitochondrial function and play crucial roles in the replication and transcription of mitochondrial genes. Consequently, it is imperative to develop probes that can detect mitochondrial G-quadruplexes to understand their functions and mechanisms. In this study, a triphenylamine fluorescent probe, TPPE, which has excellent cytocompatibility and does not affect the natural state of G-quadruplexes, was designed and demonstrated to localize primarily to the mitochondria. Owing to the unique binding mode between TPPE and G-quadruplexes, TPPE was able to distinguish G-quadruplexes from other substances due to the higher fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield. On the basis of the photon counts determined via fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, we analyzed the differences in the numbers of mitochondrial G-quadruplexes in various cell lines. We observed reductions in the number of mitochondrial G-quadruplexes during apoptosis, ferroptosis and glycolysis inhibition. This study shows the great potential of using TPPE to track and analyze mitochondrial G-quadruplexes and presents a novel perspective in the development of probes to detect mitochondrial G-quadruplexes in live cells.

Association between Conversion to Shockable Rhythms and Survival with Favorable Neurological Outcomes for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests.

BACKGROUND: The initial cardiac rhythm in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) portends different prognoses and affects treatment decisions. Initial shockable rhythms are associated with good survival and neurological outcomes but there is conflicting evidence for those who initially present with non-shockable rhythms. The aim of this study is to evaluate if OHCA with conversion from non-shockable (i.e., asystole and pulseless electrical activity) rhythms to shockable rhythms compared to OHCA remaining in non-shockable rhythms is associated with better survival and neurological outcomes. METHOD: OHCA cases from the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study registry in 13 countries between January 2009 and February 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Cases with missing initial rhythms, age <18 years, presumed non-medical cause of arrest, and not conveyed by emergency medical services were excluded. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between initial and subsequent shockable rhythm, survival to discharge, and survival with favorable neurological outcomes (cerebral performance category 1 or 2). RESULTS: Of the 116,387 cases included. 11,153 (9.6%) had initial shockable rhythms and 9,765 (8.4%) subsequently converted to shockable rhythms. Japan had the lowest proportion of OHCA patients with initial shockable rhythms (7.3%). For OHCA with initial shockable rhythm, the adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for survival and good neurological outcomes were 8.11 (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.62-8.63) and 15.4 (95%CI 14.1-16.8) respectively. For OHCA that converted from initial non-shockable to shockable rhythms, the aORs for survival and good neurological outcomes were 1.23 (95%CI 1.10-1.37) and 1.61 (95%CI 1.35-1.91) respectively. The aORs for survival and good neurological outcomes were 1.48 (95%CI 1.22-1.79) and 1.92 (95%CI 1.3 - 2.84) respectively for initial asystole, while the aOR for survival in initial pulseless electrical activity patients was 0.83 (95%CI 0.71-0.98). Prehospital adrenaline administration had the highest aOR (2.05, 95%CI 1.93-2.18) for conversion to shockable rhythm. CONCLUSION: In this ambidirectional cohort study, conversion from non-shockable to shockable rhythm was associated with improved survival and neurologic outcomes compared to rhythms that continued to be non-shockable. Continued advanced resuscitation may be beneficial for OHCA with subsequent conversion to shockable rhythms.

A Robotics Experimental Design Method Based on PDCA: A Case Study of Wall-Following Robots.

There is a lack of research that proposes a complete and interoperable robotics experimental design method to improve students' learning outcomes. Therefore, this study proposes a student-oriented method based on the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) concept to design robotics experiments. The proposed method is based on our teaching experience and multiple practical experiences of allowing students to do hands-on experiments. It consists of eight steps, mainly including experimental goals, experimental activities, robot assembly, robot control, in-class evaluation criteria, and after-class report requirements. The after-class report requirements designed in the proposed method can help students improve their report-writing abilities. A wall-following robotics experiment designed using the PDCA method is proposed, and some students' learning outcomes and after-class reports in this experiment are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. This experiment also helps students to understand the fundamental application of multi-sensor fusion technology in designing an autonomous mobile robot. We can see that the proposed reference examples allow students to quickly assemble two-wheeled mobile robots with four different sensors and to design programs to control these assembled robots. In addition, the proposed in-class evaluation criteria stimulate students' creativity in assembling different wall-following robots or designing different programs to achieve this experiment. We present the learning outcomes of three stages of the wall-following robotics experiment. Three groups of 42, 37, and 44 students participated in the experiment in these three stages, respectively. The ratios of the time required for the robots designed by students to complete the wall-following experiment, less than that of the teaching example, are 3/42 = 7.14%, 26/37 = 70.27%, and 44/44 = 100%, respectively. From the comparison of learning outcomes in the three stages, it can be seen that the proposed PDCA-based design method can indeed improve students' learning outcomes and stimulate their active learning and creativity.

[Consistency evaluation of multidimensional quality attributes of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma by fusion of multi-source information].

The quality control of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces is one of the key tasks in the traditional Chinese medicine industry. In this study, multi-source information fusion was employed to fuse the data from near-infrared spectroscopy, electronic tongues, and other tests and establish an overall quality consistency evaluation method for Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, which provided methodological support for the overall quality evaluation of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma. The near-infrared spectroscopy information was measured in both static and dynamic states for 23 batches of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma samples from different sources, and the electronic tongue sensory information, moisture content, and leachate content were measured. The overall quality of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma was evaluated by multi-source information fusion. The results showed that the near-infrared spectroscopy information of 16122103, 801000509, 801000352, 701003656, HX21L01, and 160956 was different from that of other batches of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma powder in the static state, and 701003298, 16122103, 701003656, 701003107, 801000229, and 18090404 were the different batches in the dynamic state. The moisture content showed no significant difference between batches. The leachate content in the batch 801000509 was different from that in other batches. The electronic tongue sensory information of 150721004, 151237, 160703004, HX21M01, HX21K04, HX21K01, and 601003516 was different from that of other batches. Furthermore, data layer fusion was employed to analyze the overall quality of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma. Four batches, 150721004, HX21M01, HX21K04, and HX21K01, showed the parameters exceeding the 95% control limits and differed from the other samples in terms of the overall quality. This study integrated the information of moisture, near-infrared spectroscopy, and other sources to evaluate the quality consistency among 23 batches of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma samples, which provides a reference for the quality consistency evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces.

Emerging Invasive Group A Streptococcus M1UK Lineage Detected by Allele-Specific PCR, England, 20201.

Increasing reports of invasive Streptococcus pyogenes infections mandate surveillance for toxigenic lineage M1UK. An allele-specific PCR was developed to distinguish M1UK from other emm1 strains. The M1UK lineage represented 91% of invasive emm1 isolates in England in 2020. Allele-specific PCR will permit surveillance for M1UK without need for genome sequencing.

Uric acid metabolism promotes apoptosis against Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus in silkworm, Bombyx mori.

The white epidermis of silkworms is due to the accumulation of uric acid crystals. Abnormal silkworm uric acid metabolism decreases uric acid production, leading to a transparent or translucent phenotype. The oily silkworm op50 is a mutant strain with a highly transparent epidermis derived from the p50 strain. It shows more susceptibility to Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) infection than the wild type; however, the underlying mechanism is unknown. This study analysed the changes in 34 metabolites in p50 and op50 at different times following BmNPV infection based on comparative metabolomics. The differential metabolites were mainly clustered in six metabolic pathways. Of these, the uric acid pathway was identified as critical for resistance in silkworms, as feeding with inosine significantly enhanced larval resistance compared to other metabolites and modulated other metabolic pathways. Additionally, the increased level of resistance to BmNPV in inosine-fed silkworms was associated with the regulation of apoptosis, which is mediated by the reactive oxygen species produced during uric acid synthesis. Furthermore, feeding the industrial strain Jingsong (JS) with inosine significantly increased the level of larval resistance to BmNPV, indicating its potential application in controlling the virus in sericulture. These results lay the foundation for clarifying the resistance mechanism of silkworms to BmNPV and provide new strategies and methods for the biological control of pests.

Multicomponent Sulfonylation of Alkenes to Access ß-Substituted Arylsulfones.

A novel multicomponent sulfonylation of alkenes is described for the assembly of various ß-substituted arylsulfones using cheap and easily available K2S2O5 as a sulfur dioxide source. Of note, the procedure does not need any extra oxidants and metal catalysts and exhibits a relatively wide substrate scope and good functional group compatibility. Mechanistically, an initial arylsulfonyl radical is formed involving the insertion of sulfur dioxide with aryl diazonium salt, followed by alkoxyarylsulfonylation or hydroxysulfonylation of alkenes.

Aurantio-obtusin ameliorates obesity by activating PPARα-dependent mitochondrial thermogenesis in brown adipose tissues.

Obesity contributes to the progression of various chronic diseases, and shortens life expectancy. With abundant mitochondria, brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipates energy through heat to limit weight gain and metabolic dysfunction in obesity. Our previous studies have shown that aurantio-obtusin (AO), a bioactive ingredient in Chinese traditional medicine Cassiae semen significantly improves hepatic lipid metabolism in a steatotic mouse model. In the current study we investigated the effects of AO on lipid metabolism in the BAT of diet-induced obesity mice and in oleic acid and palmitic acid (OAPA)-stimulated primary mature BAT adipocytes. Obese mice were established by feeding a HFHS diet for 4 weeks, and then administered AO (10 mg/kg, i.g.) for another 4 weeks. We showed that AO administration significantly increased the weight of BAT and accelerated energy expenditure to protect the weight increase in the obese mice. Using RNA sequencing and molecular biology analysis we found that AO significantly enhanced mitochondrial metabolism and UCP1 expression by activating PPARα both in vivo and in vitro in the primary BAT adipocytes. Interestingly, AO administration did not improve metabolic dysfunction in the liver and white adipose tissue of obese mice after interscapular BAT excision. We demonstrated that low temperature, a trigger of BAT thermogenesis, was not a decisive factor for AO to stimulate the growth and activation of BATs. This study uncovers a regulatory network of AO in activating BAT-dependent lipid consumption and brings up a new avenue for the pharmaceutical intervention in obesity and related comorbidities.

Advances in the extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway in silkworms, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera).

Signaling pathways regulate the transmission of signals during organism growth and development, promoting the smooth and accurate completion of numerous physiological and biochemical reactions. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway is an essential pathway involved in regulating various physiological processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, migration, and more. This pathway also contributes to several important physiological processes in silkworms, including protein synthesis, reproduction, and immune defense against pathogens. Organizing related studies on the ERK signaling pathway in silkworms can provide a better understanding of its mechanism in Lepidopterans and develop a theoretical foundation for improving cocoon production and new strategies for pest biological control.

Humans can sense small numbers of objects in a box by touch alone.

Everyday experiences suggest that a container, such as a box of chocolate sprinkles, can convey pertinent information about the nature of its content. Despite the familiarity of the experience, we do not know whether people can perceive the number of objects in the container from touch alone and how accurately they can do so. In three experiments, participants handled containers holding between one and five objects and verbally estimated their number. Containers were small cardboard jewelry boxes, and objects were round beads of varying diameter and weight. Any useful visual and auditory cues were precluded. Experiment 1 demonstrated very accurate performance, provided the objects were of sufficient weight. Experiment 2 demonstrated that withholding information about the possible number of objects inside the container does not affect accuracy at a group level but does produce occasional overestimations at an individual level. Experiment 3 demonstrated that removing the weight cue leads to systematic underestimations but does not eliminate people's ability to distinguish between different numbers of objects in the container. This study contributes to a growing picture that container haptics is surprisingly capable.

Transcriptomic analysis of the fat body of resistant and susceptible silkworm strains, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera), after oral treatment with fenpropathrin.

The widespread use of pyrethroid pesticides has brought serious economic losses in sericulture, but there is still no viable solution. The key to solving the problem is to improve silkworm resistance to pesticides, which depends on understanding the resistance mechanism of silkworms to pesticides. This study aimed to use transcriptomes to understand the underlying mechanism of silkworm resistance to fenpropathrin, which will provide a theoretical molecular reference for breeding pesticide-resistant silkworm varieties. In this study, the fat bodies of two strains with differential resistance after 12 h of fenpropathrin feeding were analyzed using RNA-Seq. After feeding fenpropathrin, 760 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the p50(r) strain and 671 DEGs in the 8y strain. The DEGs involved in resistance to fenpropathrin were further identified by comparing the two strains, including 207 upregulated DEGs in p50(r) and 175 downregulated DEGs in 8y. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that these fenpropathrin-related DEGs are mainly enriched in the metabolism and transporter pathways. Moreover, 28 DEGs involved in the metabolic pathway and 18 in the transporter pathway were identified. Furthermore, organic cation transporter protein 6 (BmOCT6), a transporter pathway member, was crucial in enhancing the tolerance of BmN cells to fenpropathrin. Finally, the knockdown of the expression of the homologs of BmOCT6 in Glyphodes pyloalis (G. pyloalis) significantly decreased the resistant level of larvae to fenpropathrin. The findings showed that the metabolism and transporter pathways are associated with resistance to fenpropathrin in silkworm, and OCT6 is an effective and potential target not only for silkworm breeding but also for pest biocontrol.

Three-Dimensional Measurement of the Temporomandibular Joint in Pruzansky-Kaban Type IIa Hemifacial Microsomia.

OBJECTIVE: This observational retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the morphological characteristics of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in type IIa hemifacial microsomia (HFM). METHODS: We recruited 88 patients with unilateral type IIa HFM. Data relating to the length, distance, and angle of the TMJ, were measured on 3-dimensional models created by the analysis of computed tomography data. Normality analysis was performed by using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Data were compared with the paired t test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: The height, long axis, and short axis of the affected condyle were significantly shorter than the unaffected side ( P <0.001); the ratios were 0.41±0.15, 0.75±0.20, and 0.95±0.24, respectively. The spaces between the condyle and the glenoid fossa were significantly larger in affected TMJs ( P <0.001). The ratio between the ipsilateral and contralateral anterior space in the sagittal plane was 4.62±2.59; this was significantly different than the ratio of inner space (1.50±1.70), superior space (1.70±0.97), and lateral space (1.28±0.62) in the coronal plane ( P <0.001) and the ratio of superior space (1.43±1.05) and posterior space (1.47±0.98) in the sagittal plane ( P <0.001); there were no statistical differences between the 5 spaces ( P >0.05). The breadth and depth of the glenoid fossa were significantly shorter in affected TMJs ( P <0.001), the ratio of the breadth in the affected and unaffected glenoid fossa was between 0.5 and 1 and the depth of the affected glenoid fossa was almost half of that on the unaffected side. The ratio between the ipsilateral and contralateral height of the condyle was significantly different when compared with the length of the mandibular ramus ( P <0.001). The ratio between the ipsilateral height of the condyle and the length of the mandibular ramus was significantly different when compared with that of the contralateral side ( P <0.001). The height of the affected condyle were significantly different ( P =0.005) among different ages. CONCLUSIONS: We found that hypoplasia was more severe in terms of the height of the condyle than the long axis and short axis of the condyle. The degree of condyle deformity was more severe than the mandible. And the affected condyle still had growth potential in the vertical direction with age.

Morphologic Changes of the Temporomandibular Joint in Pruzansky-Kaban Type IIa Hemifacial Microsomia Postmandibular Distraction Osteogenesis.

OBJECTIVE: Mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO) is a powerful tool for the correction of hemifacial microsomia (HFM). The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the focus of attention in the diagnosis and treatment of HFM. This observational retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to investigate morphologic changes in TMJ post-MDO in type IIa HFM. METHODS: We recruited 48 patients with unilateral type IIa HFM who had completed MDO and mandibular distractor extraction (MDE). Data relating to the length, distance, angle, and volume of the TMJ were measured on 3-dimension models created by the analysis of computed tomography data. Normality analysis was performed by using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Data were compared with the paired t test and Wilcoxon signed-ranks test. RESULTS: The spaces between the affected condyle and the affected glenoid fossa before MDO were all significantly larger than before MDE (P<0.05). The breadth of the affected glenoid fossa before MDO was significantly longer than before MDE (P<0.001). The height of the affected condyle before MDO was significantly longer than before MDE (P<0.001). The volume of the affected condyle before MDO was significantly larger than before MDE (P<0.001). The ratio between the volume of the affected condyle and unaffected condyle before MDO was 0.20±0.13. The ratio between the volume of the affected condyle before MDE and MDO was 0.65±0.32. The resorption rate of the affected condyle post-MDO was 0.35±0.32. CONCLUSION: Herein, we characterized anatomic changes of the TMJ in type- IIa HFM post-MDO. Condylar resorption and the compression of space between the condyle and the glenoid fossa on the affected side were 2 typical manifestations. Our findings enhanced the understanding of the application of MDO on HFM.

Implementation of a Real-Time Object Pick-and-Place System Based on a Changing Strategy for Rapidly-Exploring Random Tree.

An object pick-and-place system with a camera, a six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot manipulator, and a two-finger gripper is implemented based on the robot operating system (ROS) in this paper. A collision-free path planning method is one of the most fundamental problems that has to be solved before the robot manipulator can autonomously pick-and-place objects in complex environments. In the implementation of the real-time pick-and-place system, the success rate and computing time of path planning by a six-DOF robot manipulator are two essential key factors. Therefore, an improved rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT) algorithm, named changing strategy RRT (CS-RRT), is proposed. Based on the method of gradually changing the sampling area based on RRT (CSA-RRT), two mechanisms are used in the proposed CS-RRT to improve the success rate and computing time. The proposed CS-RRT algorithm adopts a sampling-radius limitation mechanism, which enables the random tree to approach the goal area more efficiently each time the environment is explored. It can avoid spending a lot of time looking for valid points when it is close to the goal point, thus reducing the computing time of the improved RRT algorithm. In addition, the CS-RRT algorithm adopts a node counting mechanism, which enables the algorithm to switch to an appropriate sampling method in complex environments. It can avoid the search path being trapped in some constrained areas due to excessive exploration in the direction of the goal point, thus improving the adaptability of the proposed algorithm to various environments and increasing the success rate. Finally, an environment with four object pick-and-place tasks is established, and four simulation results are given to illustrate that the proposed CS-RRT-based collision-free path planning method has the best performance compared with the other two RRT algorithms. A practical experiment is also provided to verify that the robot manipulator can indeed complete the specified four object pick-and-place tasks successfully and effectively.

Fabrications of the Flexible Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensors Using Au-CuO-rGO and Au-CuO-rGO-MWCNTs Nanocomposites as Carriers.

A flexible, non-enzymatic glucose sensor was developed and tested on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The sensor's design involved printing Ag (silver) as the electrode and utilizing mixtures of either gold-copper oxide-modified reduced graphene oxide (Au-CuO-rGO) or gold-copper oxide-modified reduced graphene oxide-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Au-CuO-rGO-MWCNTs) as the carrier materials. A one-pot synthesis method was employed to create a nanocomposite material, consisting of Au-CuO-rGO mixtures, which was then printed onto pre-prepared flexible electrodes. The impact of different weight ratios of MWCNTs (0~75 wt%) as a substitute for rGO was also investigated on the sensing characteristics of Au-CuO-rGO-MWCNTs glucose sensors. The fabricated electrodes underwent various material analyses, and their sensing properties for glucose in a glucose solution were measured using linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The LSV measurement results showed that increasing the proportion of MWCNTs improved the sensor's sensitivity for detecting low concentrations of glucose. However, it also led to a significant decrease in the upper detection limit for high-glucose concentrations. Remarkably, the research findings revealed that the electrode containing 60 wt% MWCNTs demonstrated excellent sensitivity and stability in detecting low concentrations of glucose. At the lowest concentration of 0.1 µM glucose, the nanocomposites with 75 wt% MWCNTs showed the highest oxidation peak current, approximately 5.9 µA. On the other hand, the electrode without addition of MWCNTs displayed the highest detection limit (approximately 1 mM) and an oxidation peak current of about 8.1 µA at 1 mM of glucose concentration.