Structural and ultrastructural characterization of zebu (Bos indicus) spermatozoa.

The ultrastructure of normal, ejaculated spermatozoa of Bos indicus was studied by means of electron microscopy, being evaluated in two principal parts, the head and the tail. The head is flat, oval or paddle-shaped with a square base, which provides a concave recess for the insertion of the tail. The acrosome tightly covers the anterior two thirds of the nucleus. A distinct unilateral acrosomal bulge was observed along the apical edge of the head. The equatorial region demarcates the acrosome from the post-equatorial region that covers the caudal one third of the nucleus. The classical 9+9+2 fiber pattern which composes the axoneme was observed along three segments of the tail, namely middle, principal and terminal pieces. The axoneme is anteriorly bound by the mitochondrial helix (middle piece) and posteriorly by the fibrous helix (principal piece), except at the terminal piece. The border between the middle piece and principal piece was well defined due to the termination of the thick mitochondrial helix and the presence of the annulus. Some of the spermatozoa presented cytoplasmatic droplets, which appeared as stalk-like appendages.     

基于ANSYS的新型人字齿同步带受力分析

人字齿同步带传动是同步带传动在结构上的新突破,它兼有直齿和斜齿同步带的优点,有承载能力强、噪声低等特点,在传动领域得到重视.通过Pro/E建立了一对人字齿带与带轮完全啮合的三维模型,利用ANSYS有限元软件对其进行了静态非线性接触分析,结果表明:随着螺旋角的增大,带齿根最大等效应力和强力层最大等效应力减小.通过对带齿加载过程的动态过程分析,带齿顶与带轮齿槽接触,减缓带齿根应力集中,表明新型人字齿同步带带齿与轮齿间齿形设计更合理.     

Morphometric,quantitative, and three‐dimensional analysis of the heart muscle fibers of old rats: Transmission electron microscopy and high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy methods

This research investigated the morphological, morphometric, and ultrastructural cardiomyocyte characteristics of male Wistar rats at 18 months of age. The animals were euthanized using an overdose of anesthesia (ketamine and xylazine, 150/10 mg/kg) and perfused transcardially, after which samples were collected for light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that cardiomyocyte arrangement was disposed parallel between the mitochondria and the A‐, I‐, and H‐bands and their M‐ and Z‐lines from the sarcomere. The sarcomere junction areas had intercalated disks, a specific structure of heart muscle. The ultrastructural analysis revealed several mitochondria of various sizes and shapes intermingled between the blood capillaries and their endothelial cells; some red cells inside vessels are noted. The muscle cell sarcolemma could be observed associated with the described structures. The cardiomyocytes of old rats presented an average sarcomere length of 2.071 ± 0.09 μm, a mitochondrial volume density (Vv) of 0.3383, a mitochondrial average area of 0.537 ± 0.278 μm², a mitochondrial average length of 1.024 ± 0.352 μm, an average mitochondrial cristae thickness of 0.038 ± 0.09 μm and a ratio of mitochondrial greater length/lesser length of 1.929 ± 0.965. Of the observed mitochondrial shapes, 23.4% were rounded, 45.3% were elongated, and 31.1% had irregular profiles. In this study, we analyzed the morphology and morphometry of cardiomyocytes in old rats, focusing on mitochondria. These data are important for researchers who focus the changes in cardiac tissue, especially changes owing to pathologies and drug administration that may or may not be correlated with aging. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

人字齿轮直线型对角修形设计及成形磨原理

为了降低承载传动误差波动产生的振动激励，提出了成形磨人字齿轮直线型对角修形优化设计。根据ISO对角修形定义，计算齿顶、齿根修形起始线在旋转投影面上的螺旋角，将修形曲线设计为直线型，给定最大修形量，确定对角修形的齿面方程。利用齿面接触分析和轮齿承载接触分析，以工作载荷下人字齿轮承载传动误差波动量最小为优化目标，采用遗传算法优化对角修形参数。确定以目标修形齿面法向偏差的平方和最小的目标函数，以螺旋角、模数、压力角为设计变量，采用遗传算法分别对齿顶和齿根修形区域进行逼近，从而实现对角修形的成形磨加工。结果表明，人字齿轮直线型对角修形可以将承载传动误差波动量降低到36.65%；采用三截面砂轮成形磨的理论误差控制在1μm以内，获得较高的齿面精度；试验人字齿小轮齿的检测结果控制在4级精度以内，并进行了齿轮副的滚检试验，从而验证该方法的有效性。     

Low-dose electron image reconstruction of negatively stained contractile phage sheath from Bacillus subtilis (PBS-Z).

The structure of the contractile sheath of the defective phage from B. subtilis (PBS-Z) has been investigated by low-dose electron microscopy and image reconstruction. The extended and contracted sheath particles were imaged by means of two negative stains which consisted of uranyl- and phosphotungstate-containing solutions of a pH of 4.2 and 7.0 respectively. Images of identical parts of the same type of specimen were recorded at a total electron dose of 80 C/m2 (5 electrons/A2) and 4 x 10(3) C/m2 (250 electrons/A2). The low-dose reconstructions of the extended and contracted sheath structure in the two stains show good correspondence and made it possible to draw the following structural conclusions. The sheath protein in both types of structure has an elongated shape, and in both structures the long molecular axis lies in a plane perpendicular to the helical sheath axis. The orientation of the protein in the extended and contracted sheath is different; the long axes differ by about 35 degrees in orientation. The reconstructions did not permit conclusions about different conformational states of the protein in both structures. These data, together with the packing parameters of the protein subunits in the contractile sheath [1], form the complete structural analysis of this biological structure by electron microscopy. The radiation damage effects which have been monitored in analyzing image pairs to the full extent may be summarized as follows. (1) Diameters of the sheath structure increase, which indicate flattening. (2) There is no loss in resolution, and layerline altitudes of the Fourier-transformed images do not change. (3) Uranyl stain behaves differently compared to phosphotungstate. In both negative stains the structural noise level increases upon irradiation as follows from the increase in phase residuals of the digital layerline data. In uranyl-stained images also more aperiodic noise appears. (4) The Fourier amplitudes of the principal layerline maxima shift towards lower spatial frequencies; phases of corresponding maxima generally remain constant. This pattern is more pronounced in the extended sheath data; there is no rationale describing these positional shifts. Moreover, in the case of contracted sheath the amplitudes of Fourier components also change more in absolute value. Therefore the damage effects also seem to depend on the type of structure embedded in the stain. (5) In the reconstructed images these radiation effects create artificial stain-excluded volumes of a type and at a radius which depend on the stain and structure.     

Influences of friction and mesh misalignment on time-varying mesh stiffness of helical gears

As one of the most important excitation sources of vibration, time-varying mesh stiffness of helical gear pairs need accurately calculated. Compared with spur gears, friction in helical gears is significant. This work for the first time presents an improved calculation method for the mesh stiffness of helical gears with effect of friction incorporated. Firstly, helical gear is sliced into number of pieces along its axis direction and each piece could be regarded as spur gear. Then forces applied to each piece including friction force are analyzed. Potential energy method is employed to develop time-varying mesh stiffness of each piece pair of both kinds of helical gears with different transverse and axial contact ratios. Furthermore, influences of various working conditions and misalignment on mesh stiffness are also investigated. Results indicate that effect brought by friction on total mesh stiffness should be not neglected. The reduction amount of stiffness increases with lower speed, heavier load and rougher surface. The stiffness difference between cases with and without friction is affected by gear geometry and mounting parameters like module, helix angle and mounting misalignment. This work provides an essential tool for comprehensive dynamics analysis with consideration of the relationship between stiffness and working conditions.     

String mitochondria in mouse soleus muscle

Red myofibers in mouse soleus muscle have two spatially distinct populations of mitochondria: one where these organelles are disposed in large clusters just inside the sarcolemma and the other situated between the myofibrils. In most cases, the interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM), which are much smaller than the subsarcolemmal ones (SSM), are arranged as pairs, with each member on opposite sides of the Z‐line. In some myofibers, the IFM have fused end‐to‐end to form greatly elongated organelles, which we call “string mitochondria.” Although narrow, these can be many sarcomeres in length. The SSM do not form string mitochondria. Most of the string mitochondria exhibit many instances of “pinching,” a process involved in mitochondrial division. Elements of sarcoplasmic reticulum are intimately involved with each mitochondrial membrane invagination. It appears as if the fusion:fission balance of IFM in the soleus muscle is slightly out of kilter, with end‐to‐end fusion predominating over fission. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:237–241, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

基于APDL的斜齿轮造型技术

在斜齿轮的CAE分析中,需要对它进行参数化造型,为实现这一目的,利用了ANSYS的APDL.首先在ANSYS中形成端面齿廓,再沿螺旋线拖拉,直接生成了一对斜齿轮的参数化模型,便于进一步分析齿轮的齿面接触应力和齿根应力,以及斜齿轮的啮合过程,在实际中应用获得了良好的效果.     

轴线平行度误差对双圆弧齿轮传动误差的影响分析

应用圆弧齿轮的啮合原理,研究了双圆弧齿轮传动的轴线平行度误差和其传动误差之间的关系,据此分析了不同方向的轴线平行度误差、螺旋角等对其传动误差的影响情况。     

Accuracy of AFM measurements of the contour length of DNA fragments adsorbed on mica in air and in aqueous buffer

The measurement by atomic force microscope of the contour length of DNA fragments adsorbed on mica has been made as accurate as possible by revisiting the different steps of image acquisition and processing. In air, the DNA helical rise was estimated at 2.97 +/- 0.15 A per base pair (bp) (mean +/- standard deviation) by imaging a 648-bp DNA fragment and 2.95 +/- 0.14 A per bp for a 115-bp fragment. This confirms earlier observations suggesting that drying DNA fragments on mica in the presence of nickel induces limited conformational changes. At this point the exact nature of these conformational changes remains unknown. Simple hypotheses are the transconformation of stretches of the DNA molecules to the A-form of the double helix or alteration of the helix structure at the points of contact between DNA and mica. By contrast, in aqueous buffer, the measured helical rise was 3.14 +/- 0.15 A per bp for the 648-bp fragment and 3.17 +/- 0.13 A per bp for the 1115-bp fragment. Thus, measured helical rises do not depend on the fragment length and are significantly shorter than the 3.38 A per bp measured by crystallography, but close to the 3.18 A per bp found in NMR studies. These findings are discussed with respect to discrepancies in earlier results published in the literature.     

斜齿正时皮带传动的噪音和寿命

一种新的降低噪音的斜齿正时皮带已经被开发,本研究采用一种曲线齿廓分别设计了斜角为3°、5°和10°的三种皮带.把这些正时皮带的噪音和寿命与斜角为0°的常规正时皮带进行了比较.这些具有斜角为5°和10°的新型斜齿皮带的噪音比常规带低5 dB(A).设置装配张力传递动力时带松边张力最低,对各型带的寿命几乎相同.本研究结果表明,在实际应用中如果噪音是关键要素,则应选用斜齿带.     

Cross wedge rolling of a Ti6Al4V (ELI) alloy: the experimental studies and the finite element simulation of the deformation and failure

The cross wedge rolling (CWR) deformation and fracture of a Ti6Al4Al (ELI) alloy were investigated experimentally and numerically using a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model analysis. The experimentally determined flow stress and damage model parameters were verified by tension split Hopkinson pressure bar testing of notched samples. The simulation and experimental CWR forces showed well agreements except near the end of the stretching zone. The model analysis showed that the temperature distribution in the work piece was non-uniform during the CWR. When the initial temperature of the work piece was relatively low, the work piece temperature increased, a heating effect of the plastic deformation, while relatively high initial work piece temperatures resulted in cooling the work piece, caused by the work piece contact with the tools. The cracks were shown numerically to initiate in the midsections of the work piece during the guiding action and elongated in a direction normal to the maximum tensile stress triaxiality, resulting in cruciform-shaped crack formation, which was well agreed with the previously observed crack shape.     

Pull-in instability of two opposing microcantilever arrays with different bending rigidities

Comb-drive structures consisting of two opposing parallel arrays of microcantilevers are commonly adopted in many designs of MEMS. This work studies pull-in instability of comb-drive structures in which two opposing arrays have different bending rigidities. Based on a simplified spring model, it is verified that equilibrium deflections of all intermediate microcantilevers in the arrays are negligibly small prior to the onset of instability, and non-negligible deflections of the end microcantilevers cause a significant end-effect on pull-in instability of the comb-drive array. With this concept, the critical value for instability of the comb-drive arrays is estimated, with or without the end-effect, for varying bending rigidity ratios. Compared to the results without the end-effect, the end-effect is found to lower the critical interaction coefficient for instability, and the reduction in the critical value for instability increases with decreasing bending rigidities of the end microcantilevers. These results for varying bending rigidity ratios indicate the significance of the end design on the instability of comb-drive structures. In particular, the results obtained by the present method are in good agreement with some known experimental data available in the literature and the exact results obtained by iteration numerical method for the spring model.     

基于Pro/E的角变位斜齿轮参数化精确建模研究

综合运用Pro/E软件的参数化技术对渐开线角变位斜齿轮参数化的精确建模设计进行了研究,以角变位斜齿轮加工和渐开线齿廓生成原理为基础,对比斜齿轮一般建模方法,从前齿廓截面、后齿廓截面的建立和螺旋线生成三个方面,提出了精确的角变位斜齿轮参数化建模方法,实现了角变位斜齿轮精确建模设计。     

Confocal microscopy study of the distribution, content and activity of mitochondria during Paracentrotus lividus development

In the present paper we applied confocal microscopy and fluorescence technologies for studying the distribution and the oxidative activity of sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) mitochondria during development, by in vivo incubating eggs and embryos with cell‐permeant MitoTracker probes. We calculated, by a mathematical model, the intensity values, the variations of intensity, and the variation index of incorporated fluorochromes. Data demonstrate that mitochondrial mass does not change during development, whereas mitochondrial respiration increases. In addition, starting from 16 blastomeres stage, some regions of the embryo contain organelles more active in oxygen consumption.     

斜齿轮的参数化建模及接触有限元分析

在UG／OpenG却中的实现了渐开线以及螺旋线的设计，建立了斜齿轮的三维参数化模型，并利用Ansys Workbench对斜齿轮进行了接触应力分析。     

Computerized detection and segmentation of mitochondria on electron microscope images

Mitochondrial function plays an important role in the regulation of cellular life and death, including disease states. Disturbance in mitochondrial function and distribution can be accompanied by significant morphological alterations. Electron microscopy tomography (EMT) is a powerful technique to study the 3D structure of mitochondria, but the automatic detection and segmentation of mitochondria in EMT volumes has been challenging due to the presence of subcellular structures and imaging artifacts. Therefore, the interpretation, measurement and analysis of mitochondrial distribution and features have been time consuming, and development of specialized software tools is very important for high-throughput analyses needed to expedite the myriad studies on cellular events. Typically, mitochondrial EMT volumes are segmented manually using special software tools. Automatic contour extraction on large images with multiple mitochondria and many other subcellular structures is still an unaddressed problem. The purpose of this work is to develop computer algorithms to detect and segment both fully and partially seen mitochondria on electron microscopy images. The detection method relies on mitochondria's approximately elliptical shape and double membrane boundary. Initial detection results are first refined using active contours. Then, our seed point selection method automatically selects reliable seed points along the contour, and segmentation is finalized by automatically incorporating a live-wire graph search algorithm between these seed points. In our evaluations on four images containing multiple mitochondria, 52 ellipses are detected among which 42 are true and 10 are false detections. After false ellipses are eliminated manually, 14 out of 15 fully seen mitochondria and 4 out of 7 partially seen mitochondria are successfully detected. When compared with the segmentation of a trained reader, 91% Dice similarity coefficient was achieved with an average 4.9 nm boundary error.     

Fine structure of the male accessory glands of Triatoma rubrofasciata (De Geer, 1773) (Hemiptera, Triatominae)

Male of Triatoma rubrofasciata has four elongated sac-like reproductive mesodermic accessory glands, lined by an inner single layer of secretory cells, with basal plasma membrane infolds and short apical microvilli, and externally enveloped by a thin visceral muscle layer. The secretory cells have a well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex, mitochondria, and secretory granules. In one day old adult the gland cells are poorly developed, presenting small, electron-transparent secretory granules scattered among the rough endoplasmatic reticulum, whereas in three days old adult these cells have the cisternae of the rough endoplasmatic reticulum varing size degree, filled with granular electrondense content. In five days old males the secretory granules increase in diameter, being released to the gland lumen. Therefore, there is an increase of the secretory activity according to male maturation.     

Effects of different coupling models of a helical gear system on vibration characteristics

Time-varying mesh stiffness (TVMS) and the dynamic coupling between the helical gears have a great influence on the vibration characteristics of a helical gear rotor system. Considering the effects of TVMS and adopting two coupling models (lateral-torsional coupling model and lateral-torsional-axial-swing coupling model), the dynamic behavior of a helical gear system was studied. First, an analytical model was used to analyze TVMS of a helical gear pair where the helical tooth is simulated by many spur tooth slices along the direction of the tooth width and the mesh stiffness of each slice is calculated using the energy method. Then, considering the effects of the TVMS excitation, the finite element model of a helical gear rotor system was established. Gear mesh was simulated by the above-mentioned two coupling models to investigate the effects of coupling forms on the system vibration characteristics. The strain energy was used to distinguish the dominant mode and dominant shaft of a gear system in natural characteristics analysis. The results show that the full coupling model can analyze accurately the vibration characteristics of the system and the axial and swing motions cannot be ignored in vibration analysis. Finally, the effects of helix angle on TVMS and vibration responses of a helical gear system were also studied.     

用工具斜齿条法加工斜齿非圆齿轮的啮合理论模型

介绍了斜齿非圆齿轮齿廓的形成原理,针对用工具斜齿条法加工斜齿非圆齿轮动轴线变传动比复杂的运动几何关系,建立了其理论研究的数学模型,对斜齿非圆齿轮齿廓端面截形、节曲柱面截形及瞬时接触线进行了分析。论证了斜齿非圆齿轮齿廓为直纹面,其节曲柱面截形是变导程等螺旋角的螺旋线,平行轴斜齿非圆齿轮传动的瞬时接触线是直线。