Phase Current Measurement Method of Dual Inverter-Motor Drive System Using a Single DC Link Current Sensor

In recent years, electric propulsion systems have become widely, used and these systems have strict limits in volume and weight. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the inverter-motor drive system. In a typical n inverter-motor drive system, at least 2n phase current sensors are required. In order to reduce the number of phase current sensors, this paper proposes a method for measuring phase current using n DC link current sensors in a 2n inverter-motor drive system. Two phase currents per inverter-motor system are measured during one period of the switching frequency using the pulse width modulation (PWM) shift method. However, since the measured phase current contains an error component in the average current, the error component was compensated for in order to obtain a current similar to the actual phase current by using the slope and dwell time of the phase current. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through experiments

Interaction of testisin with maspin and its impact on invasion and cell death resistance of cervical cancer cells

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that testisin promotes malignant transformation in cancer cells. To define the mechanism of testisin-induced carcinogenesis, we performed yeast two-hybrid analysis and identified maspin, a tumor suppressor protein, as a testisin-interacting molecule. The direct interaction and cytoplasmic co-localization of testisin with maspin was confirmed by immunoprecipitation and confocal analysis, respectively. In cervical cancer cells, maspin modulated cell death and invasion; however, these effects were inhibited by testisin in parallel experiments. Of interest, the doxorubicin resistance was dramatically reduced by testisin knockdown (P=0.016). Moreover, testisin was found to be over-expressed in cervical cancer samples as compared to matched normal cervical tissues. Thus, we postulate that testisin may promote carcinogenesis by inhibiting tumor suppressor activity of maspin.Structured summaryMINT-7712215, MINT-7712176: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) binds (MI:0407) to Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) by pull down (MI:0096)MINT-7712188: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) and Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) colocalize (MI:0403) by fluorescence microscopy (MI:0416)MINT-7712115: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) by two-hybrid (MI:0018)MINT-7712162, MINT-7712128: Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) by anti bait co-immunoprecipitation (MI:0006)MINT-7712147: Testisin (uniprotkb:Q9Y6M0) physically interacts (MI:0915) with Maspin (uniprotkb:P36952) by anti tag co-immunoprecipitation (MI:0007

Biomimetic Thermal-sensitive Multi-transform Actuator

Controllable and miniaturised mechanical actuation is one of the main challenges facing various emerging technologies, such as soft robotics, drug delivery systems, and microfluidics. Here we introduce a simple method for constructing actuating devices with programmable complex motions. Thermally responsive hydrogels based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and its functionalized derivatives (f-PNIPAM) were used to control the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) or the temperature at which the gel volume changes. Techniques for ultra-violet crosslinking the monomer solutions were developed to generate gel sheets with controllable crosslink density gradients that allowed bending actuation to specified curvatures by heating through the LCST. Simple molding processes were then used to construct multi-transform devices with complex shape changes, including a bioinspired artificial flower that shows blossoming and reverse blossoming with a change in temperature

Smartphone-Based Endoscope System for Advanced Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Feasibility Study

Background: Endoscopic technique is often applied for the diagnosis of diseases affecting internal organs and image-guidance of surgical procedures. Although the endoscope has become an indispensable tool in the clinic, its utility has been limited to medical offices or operating rooms because of the large size of its ancillary devices. In addition, the basic design and imaging capability of the system have remained relatively unchanged for decades. Objective: The objective of this study was to develop a smartphone-based endoscope system capable of advanced endoscopic functionalities in a compact size and at an affordable cost and to demonstrate its feasibility of point-of-care through human subject imaging. Methods: We developed and designed to set up a smartphone-based endoscope system, incorporating a portable light source, relay-lens, custom adapter, and homebuilt Android app. We attached three different types of existing rigid or flexible endoscopic probes to our system and captured the endoscopic images using the homebuilt app. Both smartphone-based endoscope system and commercialized clinical endoscope system were utilized to compare the imaging quality and performance. Connecting the head-mounted display (HMD) wirelessly, the smartphone-based endoscope system could superimpose an endoscopic image to real-world view. Results: A total of 15 volunteers who were accepted into our study were captured using our smartphone-based endoscope system, as well as the commercialized clinical endoscope system. It was found that the imaging performance of our device had acceptable quality compared with that of the conventional endoscope system in the clinical setting. In addition, images captured from the HMD used in the smartphone-based endoscope system improved eye-hand coordination between the manipulating site and the smartphone screen, which in turn reduced spatial disorientation. Conclusions: The performance of our endoscope system was evaluated against a commercial system in routine otolaryngology examinations. We also demonstrated and evaluated the feasibility of conducting endoscopic procedures through a custom HMD

Retinoid production using metabolically engineered Escherichia coli with a two-phase culture system

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Retinoids are lipophilic isoprenoids composed of a cyclic group and a linear chain with a hydrophilic end group. These compounds include retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, retinyl esters, and various derivatives of these structures. Retinoids are used as cosmetic agents and effective pharmaceuticals for skin diseases. Retinal, an immediate precursor of retinoids, is derived by β-carotene 15,15'-mono(di)oxygenase (BCM(D)O) from β-carotene, which is synthesized from the isoprenoid building blocks isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate (DMAPP). Retinoids are chemically unstable and biologically degraded via retinoic acid. Although extensive studies have been performed on the microbial production of carotenoids, retinoid production using microbial metabolic engineering has not been reported. Here, we report retinoid production using engineered <it>Escherichia coli </it>that express exogenous BCM(D)O and the mevalonate (MVA) pathway for the building blocks synthesis in combination with a two-phase culture system using a dodecane overlay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the BCM(D)O tested in <it>E. coli</it>, the synthetic retinoid synthesis protein (SR), based on bacteriorhodopsin-related protein-like homolog (Blh) of the uncultured marine bacteria 66A03, showed the highest β-carotene cleavage activity with no residual intracellular β-carotene. By introducing the exogenous MVA pathway, 8.7 mg/L of retinal was produced, which is 4-fold higher production than that of augmenting the MEP pathway (<it>dxs </it>overexpression). There was a large gap between retinal production and β-carotene consumption using the exogenous MVA pathway; therefore, the retinal derivatives were analyzed. The derivatives, except for retinoic acid, that formed were identified, and the levels of retinal, retinol, and retinyl acetate were measured. Amounts as high as 95 mg/L retinoids were obtained from engineered <it>E. coli </it>DH5α harboring the synthetic <it>SR </it>gene and the exogenous MVA pathway in addition to <it>dxs </it>overexpression, which were cultured at 29°C for 72 hours with 2YT medium containing 2.0% (w/v) glycerol as the main carbon source. However, a significant level of intracellular degradation of the retinoids was also observed in the culture. To prevent degradation of the intracellular retinoids through <it>in situ </it>extraction from the cells, a two-phase culture system with dodecane was used. The highest level of retinoid production (136 mg/L) was obtained after 72 hours with 5 mL of dodecane overlaid on a 5 mL culture.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, we successfully produced 136 mg/L retinoids, which were composed of 67 mg/L retinal, 54 mg/L retinol, and 15 mg/L retinyl acetate, using a two-phase culture system with dodecane, which produced 68-fold more retinoids than the initial level of production (2.2 mg/L). Our results demonstrate the potential use of <it>E. coli </it>as a promising microbial cell factory for retinoid production.</p

Immunomodulatory Effects of Eisenia bicyclis on Innate Immune Cells in Acute Exercise-Stress Rat Model

Abstract -In this study we investigated effects of supplementation with ethyl acetate extracts of the brown alga Eisenia bicyclis on innate immune cells to evaluate the possibilities as an immunomoulator in exercise stress. Twenty male SD rats were divided into four groups and the treatments were as follows: A, no Eisenia bicyclis extract (EBE) (200 mg/kg) intake and maintained at rest ; B, no EBE intake and undergoing exercise ; C, EBE intake and undergoing exercise ; D, EBE intake and maintained at rest. After 5 weeks of oral supplementation, rats were undergoing intensive swimming exercises for 2 h and sacrificed to assess the effects on peritoneal macrophages, spleen cells and natural killer (NK) cells. We showed increasing effects on nitric oxide-inducible nitric oxide synthase (NO-iNOS) production by macrophages and no effects of NK tumoricidal activity and suppressive effects on spleen cell proliferation in exercise group. However, EBE supplementation suppressed NO-iNOS production by macrophages and increased NK tumoricidal activity and spleen cell proliferative response to mitogen in exercise group. Overall, these results that EBE supplementation has differential effects on innate immune response and could be useful as sports nutrition

A Survey on Ubiquitous Healthcare Service Demand among Diabetic Patients

BackgroundAdvanced information technology can be used when developing diagnostic and treatment strategies to provide better care for diabetic patients. However, the levels of need and demand for the use of technological advances have not been investigated in diabetic patients. We proposed and developed an individualized, ubiquitous (U)-healthcare service using advanced information technology for more effective glucose control. Prior to our service initiation, we surveyed patient needs and other pertinent information.MethodsDuring August 2009, we conducted a 34-item questionnaire survey among patients with diabetes who were older than 40 years in two certain hospitals in Korea.ResultsThe mean age of the 228 participants was 61.2±9 years, and males made up 49.1% of the sample. Seventy-one percent replied that they wanted individualized healthcare service, and they also wanted their health information to be delivered through mobile devices such as a cellular phone or a personal digital assistant (40.4%). Most patients had never heard of U-healthcare services (81.1%); however, after explaining the concept, 71.1% of participants responded that they would use the service if it was provided. Despite their willingness, participants were concerned about technical difficulty in using the service (26.3%) as well as the cost of the service (29.8%).ConclusionThe current study suggests that more than 70% of diabetic patients are interested in using U-healthcare services. To encourage widespread use, the application program or device of U-healthcare services should be simple, easy to use and affordable while also including a policy for the protection of private information

Severe hypotension and water intoxication developed after an accidental oxytocin overdose in a morbidly obese patient undergoing cesarean section -A case report-

We present a 32-year-old, extremely obese, pregnant woman who developed severe hypotension and water intoxication after an accidental injection of large bolus of oxytocin during cesarean section under general anesthesia. The patient was initially thought to have an amniotic fluid embolism because of the abrupt hemodynamic changes developed immediately after fetal delivery and lack of recognition of medication error. It is highly recommended that careful attention should be paid not only to the possibility of hemodynamic deterioration and water intoxication if oxytocin is given rapidly in excessive doses, but to the confirmation of the proper use of the drug before it is injected