Research methods for profile analysis: Introduction to the special issue.

The five articles that make up the bulk of this special issue collectively illustrate new methods for examining the utility of sub-test and scale-level profile analysis. By necessity they are preliminary, but they illustrate methods that may indeed prove useful and may help resolve this divide between research and practice. This special issue grew out of a symposium conceived and organized by Cecil Reynolds at the American Psychological Association in 1998. The articles and one of the commentaries in this special issue are extensions of that symposium. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Crohn’s Disease,Host–Microbiota Interactions,and Immunonutrition: Dietary Strategies Targeting Gut Microbiome as Novel Therapeutic Approaches

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a complex, disabling, idiopathic, progressive, and destructive disorder with an unknown etiology. The pathogenesis of CD is multifactorial and involves the interplay between host genetics, and environmental factors, resulting in an aberrant immune response leading to intestinal inflammation. Due to the high morbidity and long-term management of CD, the development of non-pharmacological approaches to mitigate the severity of CD has recently attracted great attention. The gut microbiota has been recognized as an important player in the development of CD, and general alterations in the gut microbiome have been established in these patients. Thus, the gut microbiome has emerged as a pre-eminent target for potential new treatments in CD. Epidemiological and interventional studies have demonstrated that diet could impact the gut microbiome in terms of composition and functionality. However, how specific dietary strategies could modulate the gut microbiota composition and how this would impact host–microbe interactions in CD are still unclear. In this review, we discuss the most recent knowledge on host–microbe interactions and their involvement in CD pathogenesis and severity, and we highlight the most up-to-date information on gut microbiota modulation through nutritional strategies, focusing on the role of the microbiota in gut inflammation and immunity.     

Se及Cu2Se纳米线的大面积合成及其纳米电子学器件性能

通过液相化学反应制备了高质硒(Se)纳米线,同时以Se纳米线为模板,合成了CuzSe纳米线.利用透射电镜(TEM)、高分辨透射电镜(HRTEM)以及X射线衍射仪(XRD)研究了纳米线的形貌结构特征.结果显示,Se纳米线为单晶结构,生长方向沿其[001]面.结合先进的光刻技术及磁控溅射,成功制备了Se和Cu2Se纳米电子学器件.初步测试表明,这种Se纳米线为P型半导体,而Cu2Se纳米线则表现出明显的相变行为.这些发现有利于开发纳米线场效应晶体管以及相变存储器件方面的应用.     

Col4a3-/- Mice on Balb/C Background Have Less Severe Cardiorespiratory Phenotype and SGLT2 Over-Expression Compared to 129x1/SvJ and C57Bl/6 Backgrounds

Alport syndrome (AS) is a hereditary renal disorder with no etiological therapy. In the preclinical Col4a3^-/- model of AS, disease progression and severity vary depending on mouse strain. The sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) is emerging as an attractive therapeutic target in cardiac/renal pathologies, but its application to AS remains untested. This study investigates cardiorespiratory function and SGLT2 renal expression in Col4a3^-/- mice from three different genetic backgrounds, 129x1/SvJ, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C. male Col4a3^-/- 129x1/SvJ mice displayed alterations consistent with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Female, but not male, C57Bl/6 and Balb/C Col4a3^-/- mice exhibited mild changes in systolic and diastolic function of the heart by echocardiography. Male C57Bl/6 Col4a3^-/- mice presented systolic dysfunction by invasive hemodynamic analysis. All strains except Balb/C males demonstrated alterations in respiratory function. SGLT2 expression was significantly increased in AS compared to WT mice from all strains. However, cardiorespiratory abnormalities and SGLT2 over-expression were significantly less in AS Balb/C mice compared to the other two strains. Systolic blood pressure was significantly elevated only in mutant 129x1/SvJ mice. The results provide further evidence for strain-dependent cardiorespiratory and hypertensive phenotype variations in mouse AS models, corroborated by renal SGLT2 expression, and support ongoing initiatives to develop SGLT2 inhibitors for the treatment of AS.     

Artificial Situation Awareness for Increased Autonomy of Unmanned Aerial Systems in the Terminal Area

Situation awareness is the human function of perceiving, comprehending and projecting the state of the environment which is of critical importance to the safe operation of aircraft. A highly autonomous Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) must replicate this behaviour in order to maintain an acceptable level of safety verses a manned vehicle. Nowhere in the flight is situation awareness more critical than during operation in the terminal area. Of primary concern during this stage of flight is the awareness of other traffic heading for the same airfield. This paper presents of a novel method of spatial projection of traffic vehicles encountered by an autonomous UAS in the terminal stage of flight. This projection method relies on a cooperative means of traffic perception, such as Automated Dependant Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) and assumes there is a predefined route which vehicles follow through the terminal region. Whilst this is the case at the majority of airfield, traffic vehicles will not follow this path perfectly. This uncertainty in path following accuracy is captured by utilising a curvilinear reference frame and dealing with discrete transitions (such as the initiation of a turn) separately. It is shown that whilst this technique increases the computational complexity of the problem it can offer significant performance benefit.     

设计灵感就在你的脑中

设计工程是一个以客户为中心的行业,其中新标准由终端客户的需求驱动.当演变到为电子工程设计和制造元器件时,它就再也不是一种产品适合所有应用的模式了.这就在国际上引发了一场工程师们观念上的革命.尽管在过去功能、成本控制和效率是工程师主要的着眼点,而现在一个元器件的外表形状正获得更高的关注度.