An Improved A-Star Path Planning Algorithm Based on Mobile Robots in Medical Testing Laboratories.

In the blood sample management pipeline environment, we have innovatively improved the traditional A-star algorithm to enhance the efficiency of mobile robots. This study employs a grid environmental modeling approach to accurately simulate medical testing laboratories. On the grid map, we utilize an 8-neighbor search method for path planning to accommodate the complex structure within the laboratory. By introducing an improved evaluation function and a bidirectional search strategy, we have successfully reduced the number of search nodes and significantly improved path search efficiency. Additionally, we eliminate redundant nodes in the path, smooth the path using cubic uniform B-spline curves, remove unnecessary inflection points, and further optimize the motion trajectory of the robot. The experimental results of the path planning simulation under different scenarios and specifications show that the improved A-star algorithm has higher search efficiency and traverses fewer nodes compared to the traditional A-star algorithm and the bidirectional A-star algorithm. Overall, the simulation experiments verify the feasibility of the improved A-star algorithm, which can better meet the needs of actual mobile robots in real medical testing laboratories.

The effect of citral loading and fatty acid distribution on the oleogels: Physicochemical properties and in vitro digestion.

Oleogels containing bioactive substances such as citral (CT) are used as functional food ingredients. However, little information is available on the influence of different oleogel network structure caused by CT addition and fatty acid distribution on its digestion behavior. Coconut oil, palm oil, high oleic peanut oil, safflower seed oil, and perilla seed oil were used in this study. The results showed that perilla seed oil-CT-based oleogels had the highest oil-holding capacity (99.03 ± 0.3), whereas CT addition higher than 10 wt% could lead to the morphology collapse of oleogels. Physical and thermodynamic analyses revealed that CT could reduce oleogel hardness and higher unsaturated fatty acid content is more likely to form oleogel with stable and tight crystalline network. Moreover, the dense structure of oleogels hinders the contact between oleogels and lipase, thus weakening triglyceride digestion. These findings provide valuable insights into the design of oleogels loading with CT.