Approximate cutting pattern optimization of frame-supported and pneumatic membrane structures

International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design - A simple iterative method is presented for cutting pattern optimization of frame-supported and pneumatic membrane structures for...     

Within-class multimodal classification

Multimedia Tools and Applications - In many real-world classification problems there exist multiple subclasses (or clusters) within a class; in other words, the underlying data distribution is...     

Creating the brain and interacting with the brain: an integrated approach to understanding the brain

In the past two decades, brain science and robotics have made gigantic advances in their own fields, and their interactions have generated several interdisciplinary research fields. First, in the ‘understanding the brain by creating the brain’ approach, computational neuroscience models have been applied to many robotics problems. Second, such brain-motivated fields as cognitive robotics and developmental robotics have emerged as interdisciplinary areas among robotics, neuroscience and cognitive science with special emphasis on humanoid robots. Third, in brain–machine interface research, a brain and a robot are mutually connected within a closed loop. In this paper, we review the theoretical backgrounds of these three interdisciplinary fields and their recent progress. Then, we introduce recent efforts to reintegrate these research fields into a coherent perspective and propose a new direction that integrates brain science and robotics where the decoding of information from the brain, robot control based on the decoded information and multimodal feedback to the brain from the robot are carried out in real time and in a closed loop.     

Synthetic Peroxides Promote Apoptosis of Cancer Cells by Inhibiting P-Glycoprotein ABCB5

This article discloses a new horizon for the application of peroxides in medical chemistry. Stable cyclic peroxides are demonstrated to have cytotoxic activity against cancer cells; in addition a mechanism of cytotoxic action is proposed. Synthetic bridged 1,2,4,5-tetraoxanes and ozonides were effective against HepG2 cancer cells and some ozonides selectively targeted liver cancer cells (the selectivity indexes for compounds 11 b and 12 a are 8 and 5, respectively). In some cases, tetraoxanes and ozonides were more selective than paclitaxel, artemisinin, and artesunic acid. Annexin V flow-cytometry analysis revealed that the active ozonides 22 a and 23 a induced cell death of HepG2 by apoptosis. Further study showed that compounds 22 a and 23 a exhibited a strong inhibitory effect on P-glycoprotein (P-gp/ABCB5)-overexpressing HepG2 cancer cells. ABCB5 is a key player in the multidrug-resistant phenotype of liver cancer. Peroxides failed to demonstrate a direct correlation between oxidative potential and their biological activity. To our knowledge this is the first time that peroxide diastereoisomers have been found to show stereospecific antimalarial action against the chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain of Plasmodium falciparum. Stereoisomeric ozonide 12 b is 11 times more active than stereoisomeric ozonide 12 a (IC₅₀=5.81 vs 65.18 μm ). Current findings mean that ozonides merit further investigation as potential therapeutic agents for drug-resistant hepatocellular carcinoma.     

A dense and compact laser cladding layer with solid metallurgical bonding significantly improved corrosion resistance of Mg alloy for engineering applications

Although Mg alloy attracts great attention for engineering applications because of high specific strength and low density, low corrosion resistance limits its extensive use. In this study, Mg–Al–Zn–Mn alloy was treated via a laser cladding process to generate a dense and compact laser cladding layer with solid metallurgical bonding on the substrate for improving corrosion resistance, effectively hindering the corrosion pervasion into Mg alloy. The corrosion current density declined from 103 μA/cm² for Mg alloy to 13 μA/cm² for the laser cladding layer in NaCl aqueous solution. Moreover, the laser cladding layer was slightly corroded in comparison with Mg alloy in NaCl aqueous solution. Besides, the microhardness of the cladding layer reached a mean value of 170.5 HV, 3.1 times of Mg alloy (56.8 HV) due to the in situ formation of hardening intermetallic phases. Wear resistance of laser cladding layer was also obviously improved. These results demonstrated that the laser cladding layer obviously enhanced anticorrosion property of Mg alloy for engineering applications.     

Formation of a protective layer against corrosion on Mg alloy via alkali pretreatment followed by vanillic acid treatment

Although Mg alloy possesses high specific strength, low density, and good biocompatibility, poor corrosion resistance hinders its further applications. In the present study, an innovative protective layer against corrosion was prepared on the AZ31 Mg alloy via alkali pretreatment followed by vanillic acid treatment. The alkali pretreatment supplied –OH for the AZ31 Mg alloy surface to react with vanillic acid. The vanillic acid treatment played a crucial role in enhancing the corrosion resistance due to the excellent ability to act as a barrier and retard aqueous solution penetration, which effectively isolated the underlying Mg alloy from the corrosive environment. The corrosion current density of alkali and vanillic acid-treated Mg alloy (AZ31V) almost showed two orders of magnitude lower values in comparison with that of the AZ31 Mg alloy, and the corrosion potential of AZ31V Mg alloy increased from −1.41 to −1.25 V. The immersion tests proved that there was no occurrence of severe corrosion. Hence, the alkali pretreatment and vanillic acid treatment may represent a promising method to improve the corrosion resistance of Mg alloy.     

平面结构冗余并联机构的误差敏感度分析

针对一种含闭环支链的平面结构冗余并联机构进行误差敏感度分析。分析了该机构的逆运动学和正运动学。基于矩阵法建立了机构的误差模型，并通过反解、正解结合的方法对该误差模型进行了验证。基于误差模型，得到了评价机构误差敏感度的指标，绘制了各指标在工作空间内的等值线图。基于误差敏感度指标，定义了低误差敏感性工作空间，绘制了低误差敏感性工作空间在工作空间中的分布图。与平面3-RRR并联机构进行了误差敏感度对比分析。结果表明，该机构的低误差敏感性工作空间占比较大，同时可以通过调节其冗余支链不断扩大低误差敏感性工作空间，使机构在大范围空间中保持低误差敏感性。     

某高校既有建筑室内人员相关VOCs目标污染物的实测分析

为研究高校既有建筑室内人群散发对室内VOCs的影响，对高校不同人群样本的教室及会议室两类典型人群密集房间，共82个人群样本对象进行了VOCs采样分析，得到不同实际场景下的人员相关的VOCs浓度水平，并对其潜在的影响因素进行分析。结果表明，共确认了29种与室内人员相关的高检出率且较高浓度值的物质，包括芳香族化合物9种，烷烯烃类9种，酮类和醛类8种，醇酯类以及卤化物3种，并得到主要VOCs物质的浓度水平和I/O比。对影响因素的统计分析表明，室内人员密度、季节和房间类型对不同VOCs物质存在显著性影响，其中季节性因素对目标VOCs污染物影响最为广泛，其次是房间类型与室内人员密度。该研究可为进一步了解人员密集室内VOCs污染现状及控制策略提供一定的科学参考。