Impact time control based on time-to-go prediction for sea-skimming antiship missiles

This paper proposes a novel approach for guidance law design to satisfy the impact-time constraints for a certain class of homing missiles. The proposed guidance law provides proper lateral acceleration commands that make the impact time error converge to zero by the time of impact. This scheme can be applied to any existing guidance law for which a formula of predicted time to go is available. Convergence of time-to-go errors is supported by Lyapunov stability. The optimal guidance law and the impact angle control guidance law are extended by the proposed method for impact-time-control guidance and impact-time-and-angle-control guidance, respectively. The performance of the extended guidance laws is demonstrated by numerical simulation

Mechanical Stimulation of the HT7 Acupuncture Point to Reduce Ethanol Self-Administration in Rats

Background. Alcoholism, which is a disabling addiction disorder, is a major public health problem worldwide. The present study was designed to determine whether the application of acupuncture at the Shenmen (HT7) point suppresses voluntary alcohol consumption in addicted rats and whether this suppressive effect is potentiated by the administration of naltrexone. Methods. Rats were initially trained to self-administer a sucrose solution by operating a lever. A mechanical acupuncture instrument (MAI) for objective mechanical stimulation was used on rats whose baseline response had been determined. In addition, the effect of HT7 acupuncture on beta-endorphin concentration and ethanol intake via naltrexone were investigated in different groups. Results. We found that ethanol intake and beta-endorphin level in rats being treated with the MAI at the HT7 point reduced significantly. The treatment of naltrexone at high doses reduced the ethanol intake and low-dose injection of naltrexone in conjunction with the MAI also suppressed ethanol intake. Conclusions. The results of the current study indicate that using the MAI at the HT7 point effectively reduces ethanol consumption in rats. Furthermore, the coadministration of the MAI and a low dose of naltrexone can produce some more potent reducing effect of ethanol intake than can acupuncture alone

Mathematical Distinction in Action Potential between Primo-Vessels and Smooth Muscle

We studied the action potential of Primo-vessels in rats to determine the electrophysiological characteristics of these structures. We introduced a mathematical analysis method, a normalized Fourier transform that displays the sine and cosine components separately, to compare the action potentials of Primo-vessels with those for the smooth muscle. We found that Primo-vessels generated two types of action potential pulses that differed from those of smooth muscle: (1) Type I pulse had rapid depolarizing and repolarizing phases, and (2) Type II pulse had a rapid depolarizing phase and a gradually slowing repolarizing phase

Clinical and Pathological Characteristics of Four Korean Patients with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy type 2B

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B (LGMD2B), a subtype of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (ARLGMD), is characterized by a relatively late onset and slow progressive course. LGMD2B is known to be caused by the loss of the dysferlin protein at sarcolemma in muscle fibers. In this study, the clinical and pathological characteristics of Korean LGMD2B patients were investigated. Seventeen patients with ARLGMD underwent muscle biopsy and the histochemical examination was performed. For the immunocytochemistry, a set of antibodies against dystrophin, α, β, γ, δ-sarcoglycans, dysferlin, caveolin-3, and β-dystroglycan was used. Four patients (24%) showed selective loss of immunoreactivity against dysferlin at the sarcolemma on the muscle specimens. Therefore, they were classified into the LGMD2B category. The age at the onset of disease ranged from 9 yr to 33 yr, and none of the patients was wheelchair bound at the neurological examination. The serum creatine kinase (CK) was high in all the patients (4010-5310 IU/L). The pathologic examination showed mild to moderate dystrophic features. These are the first Korean LGMD2B cases with a dysferlin deficiency confirmed by immunocytochemistry. The clinical, pathological, and immunocytochemical findings of the patients with LGMD2B in this study were in accordance with those of other previous reports

Evaluating Acupuncture Point and Nonacupuncture Point Stimulation with EEG: A High-Frequency Power Spectrum Analysis

To identify physical and sensory responses to acupuncture point stimulation (APS), nonacupuncture point stimulation (NAPS) and no stimulation (NS), changes in the high-frequency power spectrum before and after stimulation were evaluated with electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 37 healthy subjects received APS at the LI4 point, NAPS, or NS with their eyes closed. Background brain waves were measured before, during, and after stimulation using 8 channels. Changes in the power spectra of gamma waves and high beta waves before, during, and after stimulation were comparatively analyzed. After NAPS, absolute high beta power (AHBP), relative high beta power (RHBP), absolute gamma power (AGP), and relative gamma power (RGP) tended to increase in all channels. But no consistent notable changes were found for APS and NS. NAPS is believed to cause temporary reactions to stress, tension, and sensory responses of the human body, while APS responds stably compared to stimulation of other parts of the body

Fabrication of pyramidal probes with various periodic patterns and a single nanopore

The nanometer-scale patterned pyramidal probe with an electron beam-induced nanopore on the pyramid apex is an excellent candidate for an optical biosensor. The nanoapertures surrounded with various periodic groove patterns on the pyramid sides were fabricated using a focused ion beam technique, where the optical characteristics of the fabricated apertures with rectangular, circular, and elliptical groove patterns were investigated. The elliptical groove patterns on the pyramid were designed to maintain an identical distance between the grooves and the apex for the surface waves and, among the three patterns, the authors observed the highest optical transmission from the elliptically patterned pyramidal probe. A 103-fold increase of the transmitted optical intensity was observed after patterning with elliptical grooves, even without an aperture on the pyramid apex. The nanopore on the apex of the pyramid was fabricated using electron beam irradiation and was optically characterized

Transcriptome analysis of skeletal muscle in dermatomyositis, polymyositis, and dysferlinopathy, using a bioinformatics approach

BackgroundPolymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) are two distinct subgroups of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Dysferlinopathy, caused by a dysferlin gene mutation, usually presents in late adolescence with muscle weakness, degenerative muscle changes are often accompanied by inflammatory infiltrates, often resulting in a misdiagnosis as polymyositis.ObjectiveTo identify differential biological pathways and hub genes related to polymyositis, dermatomyositis and dysferlinopathy using bioinformatics analysis for understanding the pathomechanisms and providing guidance for therapy development.MethodsWe analyzed intramuscular ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing data from seven dermatomyositis, eight polymyositis, eight dysferlinopathy and five control subjects. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by using DESeq2. Enrichment analyses were performed to understand the functions and enriched pathways of DEGs. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and clarified the gene cluster using the molecular complex detection tool (MCODE) analysis to identify hub genes.ResultsA total of 1,048, 179 and 3,807 DEGs were detected in DM, PM and dysferlinopathy, respectively. Enrichment analyses revealed that upregulated DEGs were involved in type 1 interferon (IFN1) signaling pathway in DM, antigen processing and presentation of peptide antigen in PM, and cellular response to stimuli in dysferlinopathy. The PPI network and MCODE cluster identified 23 genes related to type 1 interferon signaling pathway in DM, 4 genes (PDIA3, HLA-C, B2M, and TAP1) related to MHC class 1 formation and quality control in PM, and 7 genes (HSPA9, RPTOR, MTOR, LAMTOR1, LAMTOR5, ATP6V0D1, and ATP6V0B) related to cellular response to stress in dysferliniopathy.ConclusionOverexpression of genes related to the IFN1 signaling pathway and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I formation was identified in DM and PM, respectively. In dysferlinopathy, overexpression of HSPA9 and the mTORC1 signaling pathway genes was detected

Mechanical Stimulation of the HT7 Acupuncture Point to Reduce Ethanol Self-Administration in Rats

Background. Alcoholism, which is a disabling addiction disorder, is a major public health problem worldwide. The present study was designed to determine whether the application of acupuncture at the Shenmen (HT7) point suppresses voluntary alcohol consumption in addicted rats and whether this suppressive effect is potentiated by the administration of naltrexone. Methods. Rats were initially trained to self-administer a sucrose solution by operating a lever. A mechanical acupuncture instrument (MAI) for objective mechanical stimulation was used on rats whose baseline response had been determined. In addition, the effect of HT7 acupuncture on beta-endorphin concentration and ethanol intake via naltrexone were investigated in different groups. Results. We found that ethanol intake and beta-endorphin level in rats being treated with the MAI at the HT7 point reduced significantly. The treatment of naltrexone at high doses reduced the ethanol intake and low-dose injection of naltrexone in conjunction with the MAI also suppressed ethanol intake. Conclusions. The results of the current study indicate that using the MAI at the HT7 point effectively reduces ethanol consumption in rats. Furthermore, the coadministration of the MAI and a low dose of naltrexone can produce some more potent reducing effect of ethanol intake than can acupuncture alone