NMR Characterization of Long-Chain Fatty Acylcarnitine Binding to the Mitochondrial Carnitine/Acylcarnitine Carrier

The mitochondrial carnitine/acylcarnitine carrier (CAC) transports short-, medium- and long-carbon chain acylcarnitines across the mitochondrial inner membrane in exchange for carnitine. How CAC recognizes the substrates with various fatty acyl groups, especially long-chain fatty acyl groups, remains unclear. Here, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, we have shown that the CAC protein reconstituted into a micelle system exhibits a typical six transmembrane structure of the mitochondrial carrier family. The chemical shift perturbation patterns of different fatty acylcarnitines suggested that the segment A76–G81 in CAC specifically responds to the long-chain fatty acylcarnitine. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of palmitoyl-L-carnitine inside the CAC channel showed the respective interaction and motion of the long-chain acylcarnitine in CAC at the cytosol-open state and matrix-open state. Our data provided a molecular-based understanding of CAC structure and transport mechanism.     

大型移动复杂装备状态监测系统研究

实现对大型移动复杂装备的完整实时在线状态监测是一个非常有意义的研究课题。对用于大型装备局部状态监测的系统特点进行了描述，指出了其局限性；将传统的完整状态监测系统归纳为集中式完整状态监测系统，并依据装备端检测装置功能结构的不同，将集中式完整状态监测系统分为三类，指出了灰匣子系统的优势，以及在现有大型移动复杂装备上应用的难点。在对各类系统进行分析比较的基础上，提出了适用于现有复杂装备的分散式完整状态监测系统，对系统的基本思想进行了阐述。实例说明，该系统适于对现有复杂装备的完整状态监测。     

基于VMD和卷积神经网络的变工况轴承故障诊断方法

针对变工况条件下轴承故障数据无法大量获取以及诊断困难的问题,提出了基于变分模态分解和卷积神经网络的轴承故障诊断方法,使用稳态工况获取的数据训练,能对变工况下的数据实现有效诊断.首先对轴承振动信号进行变分模态分解,以获得有限带宽的固有模态函数;然后构建卷积神经网络模型,采用优化技术提高模型适应性,实现对固有模态函数的自适...     

砂土强度和剪胀性的颗粒力学分析

基于广义塑性理论与临界状态概念,研究提出了一个统一三维砂土本构模型,通过一组参数实现了砂土由压缩至剪切过程中状态参量的统一表述。基于ABAQUS提供的用户自定义材料子程序UMAT接口,利用Fortran语言编程实现了该三维弹塑性本构关系模型在软件中的二次开发。分别利用Toyoura砂、Fuji River砂以及Tokachi砂的剪切试验数据与数值模拟结果进行对比,结果表明：提出的有限元计算模型可以有效反映加载过程中不同围压和砂土初始密度对应力-应变曲线的影响,能够准确描述密砂的剪胀特性与应变软化特性以及松砂的剪缩特性与应变硬化特性,从而更加真实地反映三维应力状态下土的变形和强度特性。研究成果进一步扩展了ABAQUS在岩土工程中的应用范围,能够为岩土工程领域的数值分析计算提供更加快捷的解决方案。     

中热固相法制备掺杂钛的钒酸锂正极材料

以Li2CO3和V2O5为原料,用中热固相法制备了掺杂Ti4+的锂离子电池正极材料Li1.1V3―yTiyO8(y=0.05、0.1、0.2),并对其电化学性能进行了研究。研究表明,掺杂Ti能够很好地改善中热固相法产品的电化学性能,且当y=0.1时,Li1.1V3―yTiyO8循环性能最好,首次放电比容量高达250.9 mAh/g。     

基于文本规则的电网融冰决策技术

通过分析文本知识表达技术,重点介绍状态空间法、二值法和产生式系统。根据文本相关规定,对电网冰情制定了分级标准,对冰情的严重程度有了定量的衡量。通过提取文本元规则,选择控制策略,经过规则消除冲突,规则融合,得到1组新的规则集。在状态空间法的基础上,利用分级标准,结合二值法对规则集进行处理,得到1组能用数字和符号描述的规则集。在VFP软件平台上,根据规则集通过编程实现了不同类型电网融冰、除冰措施实施条件的决策。     

Structural, magnetic and dielectric properties of La2−xCaxNiO4+δ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3)

The synthesis, structural, magnetic and dielectric properties of a new type of high permittivity materials La_2−xCa_xNiO_4+δ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) (abbreviated as LCNs) were reported. The samples were prepared through conventional solid state reaction route. Detailed structural information was retrieved by Rietveld refinement; normalized bond length and bond valence was calculated to investigate the compression/dilation effect of bonds and atoms in unit cell. It can be found all samples belong to K₂NiF₄ structure with space group I4/mmm. Doping of Ca in La₂NiO_4+δ shrinks the unit cell and makes the structure tend to become instable. Three types of (La, Ca)-O bonds, and two kinds of Ni-O bonds exist in LCNs. Along c axis there are alternately compressed (La,Ca)O₉ dodecahedra and lengthened NiO₆ octahedra. Room temperature magnetic measurements show that the materials are paramagnetic and Ca doping can improve the spontaneous magnetization. Furthermore, all samples have colossal values of the dielectric constant (?) at frequencies lower than 1 kHz. Interestingly, La_1.8Ca_0.2NiO_4+δ maintains its high permittivity at frequencies up to 1 MHz while La_1.7Ca_0.3NiO_4+δ has the lowest dielectric loss (tan δ). Calcium doping can effectively enhance ? and inhibit tan δ. The distortion of (La,Ca)O₉ dodecahedra can well explain their dielectric properties.     

Evaluating expectations about negative emotional states of aggressive boys using Bayesian model selection.

Researchers often have expectations about the research outcomes in regard to inequality constraints between, e.g., group means. Consider the example of researchers who investigated the effects of inducing a negative emotional state in aggressive boys. It was expected that highly aggressive boys would, on average, score higher on aggressive responses toward other peers than moderately aggressive boys, who would in turn score higher than nonaggressive boys. In most cases, null hypothesis testing is used to evaluate such hypotheses. We show, however, that hypotheses formulated using inequality constraints between the group means are generally not evaluated properly. The wrong hypotheses are tested, i.e.. the null hypothesis that group means are equal. In this article, we propose an innovative solution to these above-mentioned issues using Bayesian model selection, which we illustrate using a case study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tuning in to psychological change: Linguistic markers of psychological traits and emotions over time in popular U.S. song lyrics.

American culture is filled with cultural products. Yet few studies have investigated how changes in cultural products correspond to changes in psychological traits and emotions. The current research fills this gap by testing the hypothesis that one cultural product—word use in popular song lyrics—changes over time in harmony with cultural changes in individualistic traits. Linguistic analyses of the most popular songs from 1980–2007 demonstrated changes in word use that mirror psychological change. Over time, use of words related to self-focus and antisocial behavior increased, whereas words related to other-focus, social interactions, and positive emotion decreased. These findings offer novel evidence regarding the need to investigate how changes in the tangible artifacts of the sociocultural environment can provide a window into understanding cultural changes in psychological processes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

New optical material europium EDTA complex in polyvinyl pyrrolidone films with fluorescence enhanced by silver plasmons

In our search for efficient Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSC) we have prepared polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) films incorporated by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) complex of europium and co-doped with silver nanoparticles (NPs). Steady state fluorescence was studied under weak and strong excitation. Dynamical study was performed by second harmonic of Nd laser. Under weak excitation the fluorescence of europium co-doped with silver plasmons increased by a factor of three and excited by continuous laser by a factor of 50. The lifetimes of films doped by the complex were 755 μs and co-doped with silver nanoparticles 946 μs. This is the first finding that the photon density accumulates the number of plasmons interacting with electronic states of europium increasing its transition probability resulting in the strong intensification of fluorescence. In dynamical measurements of lifetimes a single pulse does not provide enough energy to create such number of plasmons.