Torsional Vibration Transduction in a Solid Shaft by MPTs

In this study, we aim to investigate the feasibility to use MPTs (Magnetostrictive Patch Transducers) for torsional vibration measurement in solid ferromagnetic cylinders. MPTs consisting of thin magnetostrictive patches, permanent magnets and a solenoid coil have been widely used for elastic wave transduction in the ultrasound frequency range [1] but they have been seldom used for sonic-frequency range vibration measurement, in spite of their unique wireless transduction characteristics. While a MPT was used in Ref. [2] to perform torsional modal testing in a hollow cylinder or a pipe having relatively small torsional rigidity, no investigation has been reported yet on the use of MPTs in “solid” “ferromagnetic” shafts, common torsional power carrying elements in machines.While we will be mainly focused here on the torsional wave measurement in stationary shafts, the MPT-based torsional measurement can be also applied to rotating shafts. Because the torsional rigidities of solid shafts are much larger than those of hollow cylinders of the same radii, it is important to find optimal MPT configurations, such as the optimal number of rectangular patches to be installed around the surface of a solid shaft. Thereby, we performed numerical investigations and accordingly designed a series of experiments for torsional vibration testing in steel shafts. The actual modal testing experiments with the designed MPTs were found to predict the torsional Eigen-frequencies and Eigen-modes that agree well with the theoretical predictions. Also the relation between the measured vibration signals from MPTs and those from strain gages was checked experimentally and in fact, the experimental result favorably agreed with the theoretical prediction. Potential applications of the MPT-based torsional vibration measurement technique in rotating solid shafts for structural health monitoring are also briefly discussed

Control of gene expression during T cell activation: alternate regulation of mRNA transcription and mRNA stability

BACKGROUND: Microarray technology has become highly valuable for identifying complex global changes in gene expression patterns. The effective correlation of observed changes in gene expression with shared transcription regulatory elements remains difficult to demonstrate convincingly. One reason for this difficulty may result from the intricate convergence of both transcriptional and mRNA turnover events which, together, directly influence steady-state mRNA levels. RESULTS: In order to investigate the relative contribution of gene transcription and changes in mRNA stability regulation to standard analyses of gene expression, we used two distinct microarray methods which individually measure nuclear gene transcription and changes in polyA mRNA gene expression. Gene expression profiles were obtained from both polyA mRNA (whole-cell) and nuclear run-on (newly transcribed) RNA across a time course of one hour following the activation of human Jurkat T cells with PMA plus ionomycin. Comparative analysis revealed that regulation of mRNA stability may account for as much as 50% of all measurements of changes in polyA mRNA in this system, as inferred by the absence of any corresponding regulation of nuclear gene transcription activity for these groups of genes. Genes which displayed dramatic elevations in both mRNA and nuclear run-on RNA were shown to be inhibited by Actinomycin D (ActD) pre-treatment of cells while large numbers of genes regulated only through altered mRNA turnover (both up and down) were ActD-resistant. Consistent patterns across the time course were observed for both transcribed and stability-regulated genes. CONCLUSION: We propose that regulation of mRNA stability contributes significantly to the observed changes in gene expression in response to external stimuli, as measured by high throughput systems

Characteristics of high efficiency current charging system for HTS magnet with solar energy

AbstractIn terms of electrical energy, the technical fusion with solar energy system is promisingly applied in order to improve the efficiency in the power applications, since the solar energy system can convert an eternal electric energy in all-year-around. As one of such power applications, we proposed a current charging system for HTS magnet combined with solar energy (CHS). As this system can operate without external utility power to charge the HTS load magnet due to the solar energy, the operating efficiency is practically improved. The power converter, which is interfaced with solar energy and HTS magnet systems, plays an important role to transfer the stable electric energy and thus, the stabilized performance of the converter with solar energy system is one of essential factors. In this study, we investigated various charging performances under different operating conditions of the converter. In addition, operating characteristics have been analyzed by solving solar cell equivalent equations based on circuit simulation program

Could Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide Test be Useful in Predicting Inhaled Corticosteroid Responsiveness in Chronic Cough? A Systematic Review

© 2016 Background Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a safe and convenient test for assessing T H 2 airway inflammation, which is potentially useful in the management of patients with chronic cough. Objective To summarize the current evidence on the diagnostic usefulness of FENO for predicting inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) responsiveness in patients with chronic cough. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted to identify articles published in peer-reviewed journals up to February 2015, without language restriction. We included studies that reported the usefulness of FENO (index test) for predicting ICS responsiveness (reference standard) in patients with chronic cough (target condition). The data were extracted to construct a 2 × 2 accuracy table. Study quality was assessed with Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2. Results We identified 5 original studies (2 prospective and 3 retrospective studies). We identified considerable heterogeneities in study design and outcome definitions, and thus were unable to perform a meta-analysis. The proportion of ICS responders ranged from 44% to 59%. Sensitivity and specificity ranged from 53% to 90%, and from 63% to 97%, respectively. The reported area under the curve ranged from abou t 0.60 to 0.87; however, studies with a prospective design and a lower prevalence of asthma had lower area under the curve values. None measured placebo effects or objective cough frequency. Conclusions We did not find strong evidence to support the use of FENO tests for predicting ICS responsiveness in chronic cough. Further studies need to have a randomized, placebo-controlled design, and should use validated measurement tools for cough. Standardization would facilitate the development of clinical evidence

High‐Color‐Purity Subtractive Color Filters with a Wide Viewing Angle Based on Plasmonic Perfect Absorbers

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110824/1/adom201400533.pd

A genome-wide association study implicates the pleiotropic effect of NMUR2 on asthma and COPD

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are two distinct diseases that are associated with chronic inflammation. They share common features in terms of their advanced stages and genetic factors. This study aimed to identify novel genes underlying both asthma and COPD using genome-wide association study (GWAS) to differentiate between the two diseases. We performed a GWAS of asthma and COPD in 7828 Koreans from three hospitals. In addition, we investigated genetic correlations. The UK Biobank dataset was used for the replication studies. We found that rs2961757, located near neuromedin U receptor 2 (NMUR2) on chromosome 5, was genome-wide significant ([Formula: see text] = 0.44, P-valueAsthma-COPD = 3.41 × 10-8), and significant results were replicated with the UK Biobank data ([Formula: see text] = 0.04, P-valueAsthma-COPD = 0.0431). A positive genetic correlation was observed between asthma and COPD (39.8% in the Korean dataset and 49.8% in the UK Biobank dataset). In this study, 40-45% of the genetic effects were common to asthma and COPD. Moreover, NMUR2 increases the risk of asthma development and suppresses COPD development. This indicates that NMUR2 allows for better differentiation of both diseases, which can facilitate tailored medical therapy

The antioxidant and chemopreventive potentialities of Mosidae (Adenophora remotiflora) leaves

Our study focused on the antioxidant activities of Mosidae leaf ethanol extract (MLE) and included measurements of reducing power, total phenolic compounds, DPPH radical scavenging activity, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. In order to determine whether or not MLE evidences any chemopreventive activities, experimental lung metastasis was induced via the i.v. inoculation of colon26-M3.1 carcinoma cells into BALB/c mice. Additionally, we attempted to characterize any possible cytotoxic effects in murine normal splenocytes and tumor cells (B16-BL6 and colon26-M3.1). The total phenolic content and reducing capacity were measured at 39 mg/100 mL and 1.24, respectively, whereas the DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of MLE were measured to be 88.89% and 22.10%, respectively. Prophylactic i.v. treatment with MLE resulted in a dose-dependent and significant inhibition of lung metastasis. Specifically, a MLE dose of 200 ug per mouse resulted in an 88.90% inhibition of lung metastasis. For the cytotoxicity assay, MLE doses up to 100 ug/mL were not shown to affect the growth of normal murine splenocytes. Additionally, the survival of normal cells was not affected at MLE doses below 500 ug/mL. However, MLE doses up to 500 ug/mL reduced the percentage of tumor cell growth for B16BL6 (67% alive) and colon26-M3.1 (62% alive) cells

Beyond 5G URLLC Evolution: New Service Modes and Practical Considerations

Ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) arose to serve industrial IoT (IIoT) use cases within the 5G. Currently, it has inherent limitations to support future services. Based on state-of-the-art research and practical deployment experience, in this article, we introduce and advocate for three variants: broadband, scalable and extreme URLLC. We discuss use cases and key performance indicators and identify technology enablers for the new service modes. We bring practical considerations from the IIoT testbed and provide an outlook toward some new research directions.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Wireless Commun. Ma