Direct Signal Detection Without Data‐Aided: A MIMO Functional Network Approach

Functional network (FN) has been successfully applied in many fields, but so far no methods of direct signal detection (DSD) using FN have been published. In this chapter, a novel DSD approach using FN, which can be applied to cases with a plural source signal sequence, with short sequence, and even with the absence of a training sequence, is presented. Firstly, a multiple‐input multiple‐output FN (MIMOFN), in which the initial input vector is devised via QR decomposition of the receiving signal matrix, is constructed to solve the special issues of DSD. In the meantime, the design method for the neural function of this special MIMOFN is proposed. Then the learning rule for the parameters of neural functions is trained and updated by back‐propagation (BP) algorithm. The correctness and effectiveness of the new approach are verified by simulation results, together with some special simulation phenomena of the algorithm. The proposed method can detect the source sequence directly from the observed output data by utilizing MIMOFN without a training sequence and estimating the channel impulse response

Pancreatic β cells control glucose homeostasis via the secretion of exosomal miR-29 family.

Secreted microRNAs (miRNAs) are novel endocrine factors that play essential pathological and physiological roles. Here, we report that pancreatic β cell-released exosomal miR-29 family members (miR-29s) regulate hepatic insulin sensitivity and control glucose homeostasis. Cultured pancreatic islets were shown to secrete miR-29s in response to high levels of free fatty acids (FFAs) in vitro. In vivo, high levels of FFAs, promoted by either high-fat diet (HFD) feeding (physiopathological) or fasting (physiological), increased the secretion of miR-29s into plasma. Intravenous administration of exosomal miR-29s attenuated insulin sensitivity. The overexpression of miR-29s in the β cells of transgenic (TG) mice promoted the secretion of miR-29s and inhibited the insulin-mediated suppression of glucose output in the liver. We used selective overexpression of traceable heterogenous mutant miR-29s in β cells to confirm that islet-derived exosomal miR-29s target insulin signalling in the liver and blunt hepatic insulin sensitivity. Moreover, in vivo disruption of miR-29s expression in β cells reversed HFD-induced insulin resistance. In vitro experiments demonstrated that isolated exosomes enriched in miR-29s inhibited insulin signalling in the liver and increased hepatic glucose production. These results unveil a novel β cell-derived secretory signal-exosomal miR-29s-and provide insight into the roles of miR-29s in manipulating glucose homeostasis.MRC MD

State-space adaptive filtering based balanced realization

Balanced realizations are attractive candidates for state-space adaptive filter structures due to low parameter sensitivity. Since the balanced realization minimizes the ratio of maximum-to-minimum eigenvalues of the Grammian matrices, this property may lead to an adaptive filter exhibiting good noise rejection. Thus a balanced realization would seem an appropriate choice for the structure of an adaptive filtering algorithm. This paper focuses on answering the research question how does one use discrete-time Lyapunov equations such that, upon adjusting the parameters, the terms in the system matrices vary in such a way that the solutions for the controllability and observability Grammian matrices are always diagonal and equal Here, using an alternative to the finite impulse response coefficients as the adaptive filter parameters, a state-space adaptive filtering based balanced realization is proposed for output-error minimization. The algorithm is in internally balanced realization. Simulation results show that the balanced structure yields good noise rejection compared with the controllable canonical form in steady-state. The simulation results from the experiments imply that the approach is able to reduce the fluctuation in steady-state compared with the controllable canonical structure under the same scenarios.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Rapid surface texturing to achieve robust superhydrophobicity, controllable droplet impact, and anti-frosting performances

Abstract Robust superhydrophobic surfaces with excellent capacities of repelling water and anti-frosting are of importance for many mechanical components. In this work, wear-resistant superhydrophobic surfaces were fabricated by curing a mixture of polyurethane acrylate (PUA) coating and 1H,1H,2H,2H-Perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (HFTCS) on titanium alloy (TC4) surfaces decorated with micropillars pattern, thus, composite functional surfaces with PUA coating in the valleys around the micropillars pattern of TC4 were achieved. Apparent contact angle on fabricated surfaces could reach 167°. Influences of the geometric parameters of micropillars pattern on the apparent contact angle were investigated, and the corresponding wear-resistant property was compared. Droplet impact and anti-frosting performances on the prepared surfaces were highlighted. An optimized design of surface texture with robust superhydrophobicity, controllable droplet impact, and anti-frosting performances was proposed. This design principle is of promising prospects for fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces in traditional mechanical systems