Mechanical Load and Piezo1 Channel Regulated Myosin II Activity in Mouse Lenses

The cytoarchitecture and tensile characteristics of ocular lenses play a crucial role in maintaining their transparency and deformability, respectively, which are properties required for the light focusing function of ocular lens. Calcium-dependent myosin-II-regulated contractile characteristics and mechanosensitive ion channel activities are presumed to influence lens shape change and clarity. Here, we investigated the effects of load-induced force and the activity of Piezo channels on mouse lens myosin II activity. Expression of the Piezo1 channel was evident in the mouse lens based on immunoblot and immufluorescence analyses and with the use of a Piezo1^-tdT transgenic mouse model. Under ex vivo conditions, change in lens shape induced by the load decreased myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation. While the activation of Piezo1 by Yoda1 for one hour led to an increase in the levels of phosphorylated MLC, Yoda1 treatment for an extended period led to opacification in association with increased calpain activity and degradation of membrane proteins in ex vivo mouse lenses. In contrast, inhibition of Piezo1 by GsMTx4 decreased MLC phosphorylation but did not affect the lens tensile properties. This exploratory study reveals a role for the mechanical load and Piezo1 channel activity in the regulation of myosin II activity in lens, which could be relevant to lens shape change during accommodation.     

A test of independence based on a generalized correlation function

In this paper, we propose a novel test of independence based on the concept of correntropy. We explore correntropy from a statistical perspective and discuss its properties in the context of testing independence. We introduce the novel concept of parametric correntropy and design a test of independence based on it. We further discuss how the proposed test relaxes the assumption of Gaussianity. Finally, we discuss some computational issues related to the proposed method and compare it with state-of-the-art techniques.     

Modified MSWI ash-mix slag for use in cement concrete

In this study, fly- and scrubber-ash from a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) were mixed uniformly in their production weight proportions; then, the mixture was added to waste glass frit and melted to form a glassy slag. The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure test results for the glassy slag revealed that the amount of leached heavy metals was far below the regulatory threshold. The slag-blended cement concrete (SBCC) specimens were manufactured with 20 wt.% of the cement replaced by slag powder. Three water/cementitious ratios, 0.48, 0.58 and 0.68, were selected to mold the specimens for compressive strength testing. The strengths of the SBCC specimens were close to or higher than those of the ordinary Portland cement concrete (OPCC) specimens at an age of 28 days and were 5–10% higher than those of the OPCC specimens at ages of 56 and 90 days. The experimental results demonstrated the feasibility of recycling MSWI fly- and scrubber-ash with waste glass.     

Influence of sintering temperature on the shrinkage and geometrical characteristics of steel parts produced by powder metallurgy

The dimensional and geometrical characteristics of Charpy bars produced with two different steels were investigated to evaluate the effect of increasing the sintering temperature from 1120 °C (conventional sintering temperature) up to 1350 °C. The problem was approached from the Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) point of view, referring to the standard ASME Y14.5 (2009). The dimensional and geometrical characteristics were evaluated using a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), measuring the surfaces by scanning mode. The work highlights that the increase in the sintering temperature, aimed at improving the mechanical properties, does not prevent the main benefit of this technology, i.e., the possibility of producing parts with good dimensional and geometrical precision. Moreover, a methodology establishing the measurement procedures and data processing, to be used in future work for the characterisation of more complex shapes, was defined.     

基于电路理论与正交投影的支路损耗分摊方法

基于正交投影概念,提出一种新的基于电路理论的支路损耗分摊方法。将发电或负荷电流源独立作用下的支路电流分量在支路总电流方向上作正交投影,定义该正交投影分量为电流源对支路的电流投影分量,以此为基础分解支路潮流,实现支路损耗分摊。支路潮流分解结果可作为输电线路利用份额的计算基础。还深入探讨节点注入功率的两种等效方式,指出将所有发电与负荷均等效为电流源的等效方式存在单个电流源独立作用的结果主要取决于对地支路的问题,而将发电与负荷分别依次等效为电流源/等值导纳的等效方式则反映了支路功率分布应主要取决于发电与负荷的分布而非对地支路的实际情况,故应采用该种等效方式。通过算例验证该文方法的有效性。     

A push mechanism for GPRS supporting private IP addresses

The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) provides a packet switched data service for mobile users. However, the existing GPRS specification does not provide the push mechanism and it is difficult to support GPRS services such as call termination (incoming call) for wireless voice over IP (VoIP). Based on the short message service, this paper proposes a push mechanism for GPRS supporting private IP addresses. Our approach does not need to modify the existing GPRS structure.     

CMOS artificial subretinal chip for natural light illumination

A novel CMOS oscillating pixel array for subretinal prosthesis used in natural light illumination is presented. Its prototype chips are fabricated in a standard 0.6 /spl mu/m CMOS technology. Experimental results show the device can deliver effective self-oscillation for subretinal electrical stimulation.     

卫星移动通信系统星际路由算法的设计

本文提出了一种适合各种非静止轨道卫星移动通信系统的有效的星际路由算法,它以目前广泛应用的链路一状态算法为基础,针对卫星移动通信系统的特点加以改进,并加入了优化措施,仿真结果显示系统性能大大提高：切换率降低,抖动减小,可靠性增加等,而付出的链路代价甚小。     

采用高斯波形近似的干涉型光纤光栅法布里-珀罗传感系统的可见度分析

两光纤布拉格光栅(FBG)的光谱失配会使其构成的光纤法布里-珀罗(FFP)传感系统的干涉条纹可见度降低,从而影响探测性能。基于弱反射率FBG反射谱的高斯波形近似,推导了光谱失配引起的可见度变化表示式。实验测量了干涉型FFP传感系统的可见度曲线,对理论分析进行了验证。研究表明,反射谱旁瓣对光谱失配引起的可见度变化有重要影响。从光谱匹配的角度,采用高斯切趾光栅的FFP传感系统优于普通均匀光栅的系统。