Dynamics of Permanent-Magnet Biased Active Magnetic Bearings

Active magnetic radial bearings are constructed with a combination of permanent magnets to provide bias forces and electromagnets to generate control forces for the reduction of cost and the operating energy consumption. Ring-shaped permanent magnets with axial magnetization are attached to a shaft and share their magnet stators with the electromagnets. The magnet cores are made of solid iron for simplicity. A simplified magnetic circuit of the combined magnet system is analyzed with linear circuit theory by approximating the characteristics of permanent magnets with a linear relation. A linearized dynamical model of the control force is presented with the first-order approximation of the effects of eddy currents. Frequency responses of the rotor motion to disturbance inputs and the motion for impulsive forces are tested in the non-rotating state. The frequency responses are compared with numerical results. The decay of rotor speed due to magnetic braking is examined. The experimental results and the presented linearized model are similar to those of the all-electromagnetic design

Prediction of post-treatment hypothyroidism using changes in thyroid volume after radioactive iodine therapy in adolescent patients with Graves' disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The goal of iodine-131 therapy for pediatric Graves' disease is to induce hypothyroidism. However, changes in post-treatment thyroid volume have not been investigated in pediatric and/or adolescent patients.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>The aim of this retrospective study was to examine whether changes in thyroid volume predict post-treatment hypothyroidism in adolescent Graves' disease patients.</p> <p>Patients and Methods</p> <p>We used ultrasonography to examine changes in thyroid volume, and also assessed thyroid functions, at 0, 1, 3, 5, 8 and 12 months after iodine-131 treatment in 49 adolescents ranging in age from 12 to 19 years retrospectively. Based on thyroid function outcome at 12 months, patients were divided into two groups: 29 patients with overt hypothyroidism requiring levothyroxine replacement and 20 without overt hypothyroidism. We compared changes in post-radioiodine thyroid volume between the two groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>About 90% of patients whose thyroid volume at 3 months after iodine-131 administration was less than 50% of the original volume were hypothyroid by one year after treatment (positive predictive value 88%, sensitivity 75.9%, specificity 85.0%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We believe ultrasonographic measurement of thyroid volume at 3 months after iodine-131 to be clinically useful for predicting post-treatment hypothyroidism in adolescent Graves' disease patients.</p

On the change of growth and wood constructive substances in Salix Koriyanagi which was grown in different soil moisture conditions

textabstractThe cellular interactions that drive the formation and maintenance of the insulating myelin sheath around axons are only partially understood. Leucine-rich glioma-inactivated (LGI) proteins play important roles in nervous system development and mutations in their genes have been associated with epilepsy and amyelination. Their function involves interactions with ADAM22 and ADAM23 cell surface receptors, possibly in apposing membranes, thus attenuating cellular interactions. LGI4-ADAM22 interactions are required for axonal sorting and myelination in the developing peripheral nervous system (PNS). Functional analysis revealed that, despite their high homology and affinity for ADAM22, LGI proteins are functionally distinct. To dissect the key residues in LGI proteins required for coordinating axonal sorting and myelination in the developing PNS, we adopted a phylogenetic and computational approach and demonstrate that the mechanism of action of LGI4 depends on a cluster of three amino acids on the outer surface of the LGI4 protein, thus providing a structural basis for the mechanistic differences in LGI protein function in nervous system development and evolution

Molecular constituents of neuronal AMPA receptors

Dynamic regulation of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs) underlies aspects of synaptic plasticity. Although numerous AMPAR-interacting proteins have been identified, their quantitative and relative contributions to native AMPAR complexes remain unclear. Here, we quantitated protein interactions with neuronal AMPARs by immunoprecipitation from brain extracts. We found that stargazin-like transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins (TARPs) copurified with neuronal AMPARs, but we found negligible binding to GRIP, PICK1, NSF, or SAP-97. To facilitate purification of neuronal AMPAR complexes, we generated a transgenic mouse expressing an epitope-tagged GluR2 subunit of AMPARs. Taking advantage of this powerful new tool, we isolated two populations of GluR2 containing AMPARs: an immature complex with the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone immunoglobulin-binding protein and a mature complex containing GluR1, TARPs, and PSD-95. These studies establish TARPs as the auxiliary components of neuronal AMPARs

Visible and Infra-red Light Emission in Boron-Doped Wurtzite Silicon Nanowires

Silicon, the mainstay semiconductor in microelectronic circuitry, is considered unsuitable for optoelectronic applications owing to its indirect electronic band gap, which limits its efficiency as a light emitter. Here we show the light emission properties of boron-doped wurtzite silicon nanowires measured by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy at room temperature. A visible emission, peaked above 1.5 eV, and a near infra-red emission at 0.8 eV correlate respectively to the direct transition at the Γ point and to the indirect band-gap of wurtzite silicon. We find additional intense emissions due to boron intra-gap states in the short wavelength infra-red range. We present the evolution of the light emission properties as function of the boron doping concentration and the growth temperature