0.25?μm 1.2?MHz BOOST-PFM-CONTINUOUS triple mode LED driver integrated in analog front end IC for portable application

This paper proposes a triple mode LED driver integrated with 16bit level sensitive analog front end by 0.25???m CMOS process for portable application. The LED driver needs to regulate single LED current with 0.9?C3.6 V_input voltage to support several types of battery. The output range is 2.5?C4?V which requires voltage step-up and step-down. A step-up/step-down converter can do this with a lot complexity, more components, lower efficiency and requirement of high voltage switches which adds extra manufacture cost. Our proposed topology avoids complicated step-up/step-down topology. It has triple modes: Boost PWM mode, PFM mode, LDO mode to cover different input voltage range. The mode control is implemented by simple circuit and gives smooth mode transition and very stable LED current. The simple topology makes it possible to use two stack 3?V IO devices as internal power switch to tolerate max to 5.7?V. By careful design and layout, LED switching activity only degrades the 16bit level analog front end SNR by 1?dB.     

Measurement of the amount and number of pollen particles of Cryptomeria japonica (taxodiaceae) by imaging with a photoacoustic microscope

A photoacoustic microscope (PAM), which includes a condenser microphone and a pair of linear-motor-driven pulse stages, was specially designed for spectroscopic applications. The PAM was applied to measure the amount and number of pollen particles of Cryptomeria japonica (CJ), which is known for its allergic function against eyes and nose. The advantage of photoacoustic (PA) imaging is both its high sensitivity and its counting ability up to high concentrations of the specimen. The CJ pollen particles were fixed on a piece of adhesive tape or on albumen (egg white) on a glass slide set in a PA cell. The PA image showed the ability of this method to count CJ pollen from the several-hundred-milligram region to even a single particle. The PA signal obtained was integrated over the specimen surface. The dependence of the PA signal on the amount or number of the pollen particles was measured. The resulting coefficients of correlation of the calibration curves for the amount and the number of pollen particles were 0.94 and 0.97, respectively.     

旋转型分离器流场中粒子运动的数值解析

作为固液分离器的基础研究,应用龙格-库塔法对进入旋转态液体中的固体粒子由运动开始到被分离完成的全过程进行了数值计算。动力学模型中除考虑了重力、浮力、流体粘性力外,还考虑了假想质量力、Basst力、Sffm an扬力以及压力梯度力等多种力的作用。在实验装置中与数值计算参数相同的条件下进行了可视化实验研究。计算结果发现,在运动开始阶段,粒子的粒径越小,加速度越大,很快进入运动平衡状态,相反粒子粒径越大,加速度越小。运动的第2阶段,直径大的粒子仍在加速运动,因此不同直径的粒子运动之间存在一个运动加速度、速度及位移逆转现象。数值解析结果与可视化实验结果进行了比较,证明了数学模型与计算结果的正确性。     

The numerical analysis of particle-size distribution of clusters in shear flow at one-dimensional closed system and three-dimensional open system

Aimed at optimizing the resin-molding process, a method for numerically analyzing aggregation and dispersion behavior of the filler in resin composite was proposed. The flow of a resin composite during molding was calculated by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and particle-size distribution (PSD) of the cluster in each computational domain of the CFD model was estimated by solving the population balance equation (PBE). The proposed numerical-analysis method is based on the thixotropy model of Usui et al. In the thixotropy model, PSD is calculated by taking into account the aggregation and dispersion rate of the cluster by Brownian coagulation, shear coagulation, and shear breakage. Shear-breakage rate of the cluster is evaluated by solving the energy balance of bonding energy of the primary particles cut at the breakage and the drag applied to the cluster by the flow of the fluid. The composite viscosity was calculated using Krieger and Dougherty’s model based on apparent-solid-volume fraction estimated from the calculated PSD. To solve the PBE at low calculation cost, it was discretized using the fixed-pivot technique of Kumar and Ramkrishna. The proposed method was incorporated into the general-purpose CFD software FLOW-3D®, and its accuracy was proved.     

Association of Antihypertensive Effects of Esaxerenone with the Internal Sodium Balance in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Hypertensive Rats

Background: The nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor blocker esaxerenone is effective in reducing blood pressure (BP). Objective: In this study, we investigated esaxerenone-driven sodium homeostasis and its association with changes in BP in Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) hypertensive rats. Methods: In the different experimental setups, we evaluated BP by a radiotelemetry system, and sodium homeostasis was determined by an approach of sodium intake (food intake) and excretion (urinary excretion) in DSS rats with a low-salt diet (0.3% NaCl), high-salt diet (HSD, 8% NaCl), HSD plus 0.001% esaxerenone (w/w), and HSD plus 0.05% furosemide. Results: HSD-fed DSS rats showed a dramatic increase in BP with a non-dipper pattern, while esaxerenone treatment, but not furosemide, significantly reduced BP with a dipper pattern. The cumulative sodium excretion in the active period was significantly elevated in esaxerenone- and furosemide-treated rats compared with their HSD-fed counterparts. Sodium content in the skin, skinned carcass, and total body tended to be lower in esaxerenone-treated rats than in their HSD-fed counterparts, while these values were unchanged in furosemide-treated rats. Consistently, sodium balance tended to be reduced in esaxerenone-treated rats during the active period. Histological evaluation showed that esaxerenone, but not furosemide, treatment attenuated glomerulosclerosis, tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and urinary protein excretion induced by high salt loading. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings suggest that an esaxerenone treatment-induced reduction in BP and renoprotection are associated with body sodium homeostasis in salt-loaded DSS rats.     

Roles of Macrophages in Advanced Liver Fibrosis,Identified Using a Newly Established Mouse Model of Diet-Induced Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Macrophages play critical roles in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, it is unclear which macrophage subsets are critically involved in the development of inflammation and fibrosis in NASH. In TSNO mice fed a high-fat/cholesterol/cholate-based diet, which exhibit advanced liver fibrosis that mimics human NASH, we found that Kupffer cells (KCs) were less abundant and recruited macrophages were more abundant, forming hepatic crown-like structures (hCLS) in the liver. The recruited macrophages comprised two subsets: CD11c⁺/Ly6C⁻ and CD11c⁻/Ly6C⁺ cells. CD11c⁺ cells were present in a mesh-like pattern around the lipid droplets, constituting the hCLS. In addition, CD11c⁺ cells colocalized with collagen fibers, suggesting that this subset of recruited macrophages might promote advanced liver fibrosis. In contrast, Ly6C⁺ cells were present in doughnut-like inflammatory lesions, with a lipid droplet in the center. Finally, RNA sequence analysis indicates that CD11c⁺/Ly6C⁻ cells promote liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation, whereas CD11c⁻/Ly6C⁺ cells are a macrophage subset that play an anti-inflammatory role and promote tissue repair in NASH. Taken together, our data revealed changes in liver macrophage subsets during the development of NASH and shed light on the roles of the recruited macrophages in the pathogenesis of advanced fibrosis in NASH.     

Capability of Human Dendritic Cells Pulsed with Autologous Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lysate to Induce Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes against HLA-A33-Matched Cancer Cells

Irradiated murine induced-pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) elicit the antitumor response in vivo. However, it is unclear whether human iPSCs would elicit antitumor effects. In the present study, we investigated the capability of human iPSC lysate (iPSL)-pulsed dendritic cells (DCs) (iPSL/DCs) to induce cancer-responsive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in vitro. iPSCs and DCs were induced from peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A33 homozygous donor. The iPSL was pulsed with immature DCs, which were then stimulated to allow full maturation. The activated DCs were co-cultured with autologous CTLs and their responses to SW48 colorectal carcinoma cells (HLA-A32/A33), T47D breast cancer cells (HLA-A33/A33), and T98G glioblastoma cells (HLA-A02/A02) were tested with enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays. Comprehensive gene expression analysis revealed that the established iPSCs shared numerous tumor-associated antigens with the SW48 and T47D cells. Immunofluorescent analysis demonstrated that the fluorescent-labeled iPSL was captured by the immature DCs within 2 h. iPSL/DCs induced sufficient CTL numbers in 3 weeks for ELISPOT assays, which revealed that the induced CTLs responded to SW48 and T47D cells. Human iPSL/DCs induced cancer-responsive CTLs on HLA-A33-matched cancer cells in vitro and could be a promising universal cancer vaccine for treating and preventing cancer.     

膜生物反应器中微生物特征与膜污染的相关性

采用Anoxic/Oxic(A/O)工艺的浸没板式膜生物反应器处理城市生活污水。以PCR-DGGE和FISH等分子生物学方法对系统中的微生物学特性与膜污染的相关性进行了研究。结果发现:当MLSS为1.10×104mg/L时,占据最大体积分数的污泥颗粒的直径为47.75μm,小于2μm的微粒子体积分数为1.01%,同时,动胶菌比例达到最高值36.5%,膜组件操作压力达最低值4.5 kPa;而MLSS为2.05×104mg/L时,占有最大体积分数的污泥颗粒直径为24.54μm,小于2μm的微粒子体积分数为2.07%,动胶菌占全菌的比例为最低值15.5%,同时膜组件的操作压力大于17 kPa。结果表明,具有较佳的菌群多样性和较高比例动胶菌的活性污泥中,菌胶团的颗粒较大,且易造成膜孔堵塞的微小粒子相对较少,致使膜组件的操作压力降低。研究显示膜生物反应器中的微生物学特性也是膜污染的重要影响因素之一。