Chiara Daraio

Bio: Chiara Daraio is an academic researcher from California Institute of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Metamaterial & Carbon nanotube. The author has an hindex of 61, co-authored 326 publications receiving 12533 citations. Previous affiliations of Chiara Daraio include École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne & ETH Zurich.

Bifurcation-based acoustic switching and rectification

Abstract: Switches and rectification devices are fundamental componentsused for controlling the flow of energy in numerous applications. Thermal and acoustic rectifiers have been proposed for use in biomedical ultrasound applications thermal computers energy-saving and-harvesting materials and direction-dependent insulating materials. In all these systems the transition between transmission states is smooth with increasing signal amplitudes. This limits their effectiveness as switching and logic devices, and reduces their sensitivity to external conditions as sensors. Here we overcome these limitations by demonstrating a new mechanism for tunable rectification that uses bifurcations and chaos. This mechanism has a sharp transition between states, which can lead to phononic switching and sensing. We present an experimental demonstration of this mechanism, applied in a mechanical energy rectifier operating at variable sonic frequencies. The rectifier is a granular crystal, composed of a statically compressed one-dimensional array of particles in contact, containing a light mass defect near a boundary. As a result of the defect, vibrations at selected frequencies cause bifurcations and a subsequent jump to quasiperiodic and chaotic states with broadband frequency content. We use this combination of frequency filtering and asymmetrically excited bifurcations to obtain rectification ratios greater than 10^4. We envisage this mechanism to enable the design of advanced photonic, thermal and acoustic materials and devices.

Significantly accelerated osteoblast cell growth on aligned TiO2 nanotubes.

Abstract: Vertically aligned yet laterally spaced nanoscale TiO2 nanotubes have been grown on Ti by anodization, and the growth of MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cells on such nanotubes has been investigated. The adhesion/propagation of the osteoblast is substantially improved by the topography of the TiO_2 nanotubes with the filopodia of growing cells actually going into the nanotube pores, producing an interlocked cell structure. The presence of the nanotube structure induced a significant acceleration in the growth rate of osteoblast cells by as much as ∼300–400%.

Microstructures to control elasticity in 3D printing

Abstract: We propose a method for fabricating deformable objects with spatially varying elasticity using 3D printing. Using a single, relatively stiff printer material, our method designs an assembly of small-scale microstructures that have the effect of a softer material at the object scale, with properties depending on the microstructure used in each part of the object. We build on work in the area of metamaterials, using numerical optimization to design tiled microstructures with desired properties, but with the key difference that our method designs families of related structures that can be interpolated to smoothly vary the material properties over a wide range. To create an object with spatially varying elastic properties, we tile the object's interior with microstructures drawn from these families, generating a different microstructure for each cell using an efficient algorithm to select compatible structures for neighboring cells. We show results computed for both 2D and 3D objects, validating several 2D and 3D printed structures using standard material tests as well as demonstrating various example applications.

Tunability of solitary wave properties in one-dimensional strongly nonlinear phononic crystals.

Abstract: One-dimensional strongly nonlinear phononic crystals were assembled from chains of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and stainless-steel spheres with gauges installed inside the beads. Trains of strongly nonlinear solitary waves were excited by impacts. A significant modification of the signal shape and an increase of solitary wave speed up to two times (at the same magnitude of dynamic contact force) were achieved through a noncontact magnetically induced precompression of the chains. The data for the PTFE based chains are presented for the first time and the data for the stainless-steel beads chains are extended into a range of maximum dynamic forces more than one order of magnitude lower than previously reported. Experimental results agreed reasonably well with the long-wave approximation and numerical calculations based on the Hertz interaction law for particles interactions.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics

Abstract: Three parallel algorithms for classical molecular dynamics are presented. The first assigns each processor a fixed subset of atoms; the second assigns each a fixed subset of inter-atomic forces to compute; the third assigns each a fixed spatial region. The algorithms are suitable for molecular dynamics models which can be difficult to parallelize efficiently—those with short-range forces where the neighbors of each atom change rapidly. They can be implemented on any distributed-memory parallel machine which allows for message-passing of data between independently executing processors. The algorithms are tested on a standard Lennard-Jones benchmark problem for system sizes ranging from 500 to 100,000,000 atoms on several parallel supercomputers--the nCUBE 2, Intel iPSC/860 and Paragon, and Cray T3D. Comparing the results to the fastest reported vectorized Cray Y-MP and C90 algorithm shows that the current generation of parallel machines is competitive with conventional vector supercomputers even for small problems. For large problems, the spatial algorithm achieves parallel efficiencies of 90% and a 1840-node Intel Paragon performs up to 165 faster than a single Cray C9O processor. Trade-offs between the three algorithms and guidelines for adapting them to more complex molecular dynamics simulations are also discussed.

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

Additive manufacturing (3D printing): A review of materials, methods, applications and challenges

Abstract: Freedom of design, mass customisation, waste minimisation and the ability to manufacture complex structures, as well as fast prototyping, are the main benefits of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing. A comprehensive review of the main 3D printing methods, materials and their development in trending applications was carried out. In particular, the revolutionary applications of AM in biomedical, aerospace, buildings and protective structures were discussed. The current state of materials development, including metal alloys, polymer composites, ceramics and concrete, was presented. In addition, this paper discussed the main processing challenges with void formation, anisotropic behaviour, the limitation of computer design and layer-by-layer appearance. Overall, this paper gives an overview of 3D printing, including a survey on its benefits and drawbacks as a benchmark for future research and development.