κ-Opioid Signaling in the Lateral Hypothalamic Area Modulates Nicotine-Induced Negative Energy Balance

Several studies have reported that nicotine, the main bioactive component of tobacco, exerts a marked negative energy balance. Apart from its anorectic action, nicotine also modulates energy expenditure, by regulating brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis and white adipose tissue (WAT) browning. These effects are mainly controlled at the central level by modulation of hypothalamic neuropeptide systems and energy sensors, such as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). In this study, we aimed to investigate the kappa opioid receptor (κOR)/dynorphin signaling in the modulation of nicotine’s effects on energy balance. We found that body weight loss after nicotine treatment is associated with a down-regulation of the κOR endogenous ligand dynorphin precursor and with a marked reduction in κOR signaling and the p70 S6 kinase/ribosomal protein S6 (S6K/rpS6) pathway in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA). The inhibition of these pathways by nicotine was completely blunted in κOR deficient mice, after central pharmacological blockade of κOR, and in rodents where κOR was genetically knocked down specifically in the LHA. Moreover, κOR-mediated nicotine effects on body weight do not depend on orexin. These data unravel a new central regulatory pathway modulating nicotine’s effects on energy balance.     

大位移井钻柱振动规律研究与应用

在大位移井钻井工程中钻柱受着各种振动，当各种振动共振时，钻柱承受着非常大的动载，很容易受损，同时，钻柱的振动影响着井壁的稳定，严重威胁着井下的作业安全。以大位移井近井底的钻柱为研究对象，分析了钻柱振动行为所遵循的规律。采用线性分析法，获得了大位移井钻柱横向振动和扭转振动的频谱方程。同时获得了钻柱各种共振频率的分布。经分析表明：大位移井钻柱的横向振动和扭转振动的共振频率与实际钻井转速非常接近，应合理选择转速以减小钻柱共振的发生。文章的分析研究为大位移井钻柱动态行为的研究提供了理论依据。     

一种弯曲抽油杆打捞工具

为安全、快速、有效地解决顶部极度弯曲、径向变形尺寸很大的落井抽油杆打捞难题,研制了一种在套管内打捞弯曲抽油杆的工具。该工具把以往从落物顶端引入打捞改为从落物侧面引入打捞,使复杂的井下故障处理简单化,从而缩短修井周期,减少修井费用,及时恢复油井生产。该项技术先后在江苏油田6口油井上应用,成功率100%,验证了工具的独特性和可靠性。     

1/f noise in large-area Hg<Subscript>1−x</Subscript>Cd<Subscript>x</Subscript>Te photodiodes

The 1/f noise in photovoltaic (PV) molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown Hg_1−xCd_xTe double-layer planar heterostructure (DLPH) large-area detectors is a critical noise component with the potential to limit sensitivity of the cross-track infrared sounder (CrIS) instrument. Therefore, an understanding of the origins and mechanisms of noise currents in these PV detectors is of great importance. Excess low-frequency noise has been measured on a number of 1000-μm-diameter active-area detectors of varying “quality” (i.e., having a wide range of I-V characteristics at 78 K). The 1/f noise was measured as a function of cut-off wavelength under illuminated conditions. For short-wave infrared (SWIR) detectors at 98 K, minimal 1/f noise was measured when the total current was dominated by diffusion with white noise spectral density in the mid-10⁻¹⁵A/Hz^1/2 range. For SWIR detectors dominated by other than diffusion current, the ratio, α, of the noise current in unit bandwidth i_n(f = 1 Hz, V_d = −60 mV, and Δf = 1 Hz) to dark current I_d(V_d = −60 mV) was α_SW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 1 × 10⁻³. The SWIR detectors measured at 0 mV under illuminated conditions had median α_SW-P = i_n/I_ph ∼ 7 × 10⁻⁶. For mid-wave infrared (MWIR) detectors, α_MW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 2 × 10⁻⁴, due to tunneling current contributions to the 1/f noise. Measurements on forty-nine 1000-μm-diameter MWIR detectors under illuminated conditions at 98 K and −60 mV bias resulted in α_MW-P = i_n/I_ph = 4.16 ± 1.69 × 10⁻⁶. A significant point to note is that the photo-induced noise spectra are nearly identical at 0 mV and 100 mV reverse bias, with a noise-current-to-photocurrent ratio, α_MW-P, in the mid 10⁻⁶ range. For long-wave infrared (LWIR) detectors measured at 78 K, the ratio, α_LW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 6 × 10⁻⁶, for the best performers. The majority of the LWIR detectors exhibited α_LW-d on the order of 2 × 10⁻⁵. The photo-induced 1/f noise had α_LW-P = i_n/I_ph ∼ 5 × 10⁻⁶. The value of the noise-current-to-dark-current ratio, α appears to increase with increasing bandgap. It is not clear if this is due to different current mechanisms impacting 1/f noise performance. Measurements on detectors of different bandgaps are needed at temperatures where diffusion current is the dominant current. Excess low-frequency noise measurements made as a function of detector reverse bias indicate 1/f noise may result primarily from the dominant current mechanism at each particular bias. The 1/f noise was not a direct function of the applied bias.     

底部两层框架-抗震墙砖房抗震能力的分析方法与设计控制

提出了底部两层框架 -抗震墙砖房框剪层和砖混层的极限受剪承载力、侧移刚度、极限剪力系数计算公式 ,并基于设置不同数量抗震墙的底部两层框架 -抗震墙砖房的实例计算和弹塑性时程分析 ,给出了结构砖混过渡层与相邻框剪层的极限剪力系数比和侧移刚度比的合理取值及薄弱楼层位置判别和破坏状态评定的方法和原则。     

From Long Infrared to Very Long Infrared Wavelength Focal Plane Arrays Made with HgCdTe n + n ?/ p Ion Implantation Technology

This paper aims at studying the feasibility of very long infrared wavelength (VLWIR) (12–18 μm) focal plane arrays using n-on-p planar ion-implanted technology. To explore and analyze the feasibility of such VLWIR detectors, a set of four Cd _x Hg_1−x Te LPE layers with an 18 μ cutoff at 50 K has been processed at Defir (LETI/LIR–Sofradir joint laboratory), using both our “standard” n-on-p process and our improved low dark current process. Several 320 × 256 arrays, 30-μm pitch, have been hybridized on standard Sofradir readout circuits and tested. Small dimension test arrays characterization is also presented. Measured photonic currents with a 20°C black body suggest an internal quantum efficiency above 50%. Typical I(V) curves and thermal evolution of the saturation current are discussed, showing that standard photodiodes remain diffusion limited at low biases for temperatures down to 30 K. Moreover, the dark current gain brought by the improved process is clearly visible for temperatures higher than 40 K. Noise measurements are also discussed showing that a very large majority of detectors appeared background limited under usual illumination and biases. In our opinion, such results demonstrate the feasibility of high-performance complex focal plane arrays in the VLWIR range at medium term.     

铁路桥梁横向振动模拟及适应快速行车结构型式的研究

针对铁路提速后出现的上承式简支钢板梁桥跨中横向振幅过大的问题,以羊楼司桥(L=32m单跨上承式简支钢板梁桥)为例进行实桥检测和数值模拟,建立车辆、线路、桥梁三者的联合模型,考虑轮轨接触力,应用MSC/DYTRAN大型结构分析程序进行车线桥动力相互作用的仿真分析。研究揭示我国用量最多的C62型货车以70∽80km/h的速度空载通过时,该跨度的钢板梁桥发生横向谐振的机理。此外,用该方法对32m跨长的组合梁结构进行桥梁动力特性及列车走行性分析,表明该结构满足提速货车和高速电动旅客列车走行的要求。研究结果对我国高速铁路桥梁建设和既有桥梁的改造具有积极意义。     

"What is in a word? No versus Yes differentially engage the lateral orbitofrontal cortex": Correction.

Reports an error in "What is in a word? No versus Yes differentially engage the lateral orbitofrontal cortex" by Nelly Alia-Klein, Rita Z. Goldstein, Dardo Tomasi, Lei Zhang, Stephanie Fagin-Jones, Frank Telang, Gene-Jack Wang, Joanna S. Fowler and Nora D. Volkow (Emotion, 2007[Aug], Vol 7[3], 649-659). The supplemental materials link should appear as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.3.649.supp. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-11660-018.) The words "No" and "Yes" are involved in conditioning to prohibit or encourage behavior, respectively. The authors, therefore, hypothesized that these words would be attributed to endogenous valence, activating neuronal circuits involved with valence and emotional control. Functional MRI (fMRI) at 4 Tesla was used to record regional brain activity while participants were exposed to emphatic vocalizations of the words. Results showed that No and Yes were associated with opposite brain-behavior responses; while No was negatively valenced, produced slower response times, and evoked a negative signal in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), Yes was positively valenced, produced faster response times, and evoked a positive signal in a contiguous region of the OFC. Attribution of negative valence to No and trait anger control were associated with increased responsivity of the OFC to No. Inasmuch as sensitivity to the prohibitive command No develops during childhood through interaction with primary caregivers as the first social objects, our findings may implicate the lateral OFC in the neurobiology of emotion regulation and subsequent social development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd0.96Zn0.04 Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Double-crystal x-ray rocking curve (DCRC) and secondary-ion mass-spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements have been performed to investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing on the interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The sharp satellite peaks of the DCRC measurements on a 100-period HgTe/CdTe (100Å/100Å) superlattice show a periodic arrangement of the superlattice with high-quality interfaces. The negative direction of the entropy change obtained from the diffusion coefficients as a function of the reciprocal of the temperature after RTA indicates that the Hg diffusion for the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice is caused by an interstitial mechanism. The Cd and the Hg concentration profiles near the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice interfaces, as measured by SIMS, show a nonlinear behavior for Hg, originating from the interstitial diffusion mechanism of the Hg composition. These results indicate that a nonlinear interdiffusion behavior is dominant for HgTe/CdTe superlattices annealed at 190°C and that the rectangular shape of HgTe/CdTe superlattices may change to a parabolic shape because of the intermixing of Hg and Cd due to the thermal treatment.     

Growth and characterization of hot-wall epitaxial CdTe on (111) HgCdTe and CdZnTe substrates

Thin CdTe films were deposited by hot-wall epitaxy (HWE) on (111) HgCdTe and CdZnTe substrates at temperatures from about 140 to 335°C. X-ray rocking curves were used to show that crystal quality of the CdTe (111)B films improved as substrate temperature increased from 140 to about 250°C. Rocking curve values for full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreased from 2–4 degrees at 140–150°C to less than 100 arc-s at 250°C, and a FWHM of 59 arc-s was the lowest value observed near 250°C. The FWHM of the HWE CdTe was found to be insensitive to growth rate below about 400Å/min, but increased to four degrees at 1250Å/min. X-ray diffraction confirmed that films grown on the B-face at higher temperatures were epitaxial, but contained a significant volume fraction, 35% to 50%, of rotational in-plane twins. Electron microscopy confirmed a coarse twin density, and photoluminescence spectra showed an absence of excitonic emission in the HWE films. Simultaneous growth on two (111) HgCdTe substrates with different surface polarities between 230°C and 335°C showed that deposition rate on the A-face decreased relative to that on the B-face as temperature increased. Films grown on the B-face exhibited better surface morphologies than those grown on the A-face.