154 research outputs found
Computer-aided design of bevel gear tooth surfaces
This paper presents a computer-aided design procedure for generating bevel gears. The development is based on examining a perfectly plastic, cone-shaped gear blank rolling over a cutting tooth on a plane crown rack. The resulting impression on the plastic gear blank is the envelope of the cutting tooth. This impression and envelope thus form a conjugate tooth surface. Equations are presented for the locus of points on the tooth surface. The same procedures are then extended to simulate the generation of a spiral bevel gear. The corresponding governing equations are presented
Study of sponge gourd ascorbate peroxidase and winter squash superoxide dismutase under respective flooding and chilling stresses
AbstractThe objectives of this work were to study the responses of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and physiological parameters of bitter melon (BM), sponge gourd (SG), and winter squash (WS) under waterlogged and low temperature conditions. The BM and SG plants were subjected to 0â72h flooding treatments. Moreover, BM and WS plants were exposed to chilling at 12/7°C (day/night) for 0â72h. The results show that different genotypes responded differently to environmental stress according to their various antioxidant enzymes and physiological parameters. The activity of APX in roots and leaves of SG plants significantly higher than that of BM plants during continuous flooding. Significant increases in SOD activity in leaves of WS plants were also observed throughout the entire chilling duration compared to BM plants. On the basis of our observations, we conclude that increased APX and SOD activities provide SG and WS plants with increased waterlogging and chilling stress tolerance, respectively. Both APX and SOD activities can be used for selecting BM lines with the best tolerances to water logging and chilling stresses
Towards General-Purpose Text-Instruction-Guided Voice Conversion
This paper introduces a novel voice conversion (VC) model, guided by text
instructions such as "articulate slowly with a deep tone" or "speak in a
cheerful boyish voice". Unlike traditional methods that rely on reference
utterances to determine the attributes of the converted speech, our model adds
versatility and specificity to voice conversion. The proposed VC model is a
neural codec language model which processes a sequence of discrete codes,
resulting in the code sequence of converted speech. It utilizes text
instructions as style prompts to modify the prosody and emotional information
of the given speech. In contrast to previous approaches, which often rely on
employing separate encoders like prosody and content encoders to handle
different aspects of the source speech, our model handles various information
of speech in an end-to-end manner. Experiments have demonstrated the impressive
capabilities of our model in comprehending instructions and delivering
reasonable results.Comment: Accepted to ASRU 202
Pharmacokinetics of quercetin-loaded nanodroplets with ultrasound activation and their use for bioimaging
PmoB subunit of particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) in Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath): The Cu^I sponge and its function
In this study, we describe efforts to clarify the role of the copper cofactors associated with subunit B (PmoB) of the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) (M. capsulatus). This subunit exhibits strong affinity toward Cu^I ions. To elucidate the high copper affinity of the subunit, the full-length PmoB, and the N-terminal truncated mutants PmoB_(33â414) and PmoB_(55â414), each fused to the maltose-binding protein (MBP), are cloned and over-expressed into Escherichia coli (E. coli) K12 TB1 cells. The Y374F, Y374S and M300L mutants of these protein constructs are also studied. When this E. coli is grown with the pmoB gene in 1.0âŻmM Cu^(II), it behaves like M. capsulatus (Bath) cultured under high copper stresswith abundant membrane accumulation and high CuI content. The recombinantPmoB proteins are verified by Western blotting of antibodies directed against the MBP sub-domain in each of the copper-enriched PmoB proteins. Cu K-edge X-rayabsorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) of the copper ions confirms that all the PmoB recombinants are Cu^I proteins. All the PmoB proteins show evidence of a âdicopper siteâ according to analysis of the Cu extended X-ray absorption edge fine structure (EXAFS) of the membranes. No specific activities toward methane and propene oxidation are observed with the recombinant membrane-bound PmoB proteins. However, significant production of hydrogen peroxide is observed in the case of the PmoB_(33â414) mutant. Reaction of the dicopper site with dioxygenproduces hydrogen peroxide and leads to oxidation of the CuI ions residing in the C-terminal sub-domain of the PmoB subunit
Equivalent efficacies of reverse hybrid and concomitant therapies in first- line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection
Background and AimConcomitant therapy is a recommended first- line treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection in most national or international consensuses. Reverse hybrid therapy is a modified 14- day concomitant therapy without clarithromycin and metronidazole in the final 7ĂÂ days. This study aims to test whether 14- day reverse hybrid therapy is non- inferior to 14- day concomitant therapy in the first- line treatment of H.ĂÂ pylori infection.MethodsHelicobacter pylori- infected adult patients were randomly assigned to receive either reverse hybrid therapy (dexlansoprazole 60ĂÂ mg o.d. plus amoxicillin 1ĂÂ g b.d. for 14ĂÂ days, and clarithromycin 500ĂÂ mg plus metronidazole 500ĂÂ mg b.d. for initial 7ĂÂ days) or concomitant therapy (dexlansoprazole 60ĂÂ mg once o.d. plus amoxicillin 1ĂÂ g, clarithromycin 500ĂÂ mg, and metronidazole 500ĂÂ mg b.d. for 14ĂÂ days). H.ĂÂ pylori status was assessed 6ĂÂ weeks after the end of treatment.ResultsHelicobacter pylori- infected participants (nĂÂ =ĂÂ 248) were randomized to receive either 14- day reverse hybrid therapy (nĂÂ =ĂÂ 124) or 14- day concomitant therapy (nĂÂ =ĂÂ 124). Intention- to- treat analysis demonstrated that the two therapies had comparable eradication rate (95.2% vs 93.5%; 95% confidence interval, - 4.0% to 7.4%; PĂÂ =ĂÂ 0.582). However, reverse hybrid therapy had a much lower frequency of adverse events than concomitant therapy (20.2% vs 38.7%, PĂÂ =ĂÂ 0.001). The two therapies exhibited comparable drug adherence (93.5% vs 87.9%, PĂÂ =ĂÂ 0.125).ConclusionsFourteen- day reverse hybrid therapy and 14- day concomitant therapy are equivalent in efficacy for the first- line treatment of H.ĂÂ pylori infection. However, reverse hybrid therapy has fewer adverse events compared with concomitant therapy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163472/2/jgh15034_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163472/1/jgh15034.pd
PmoB subunit of particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) in Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath): The Cu^I sponge and its function
In this study, we describe efforts to clarify the role of the copper cofactors associated with subunit B (PmoB) of the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) from Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) (M. capsulatus). This subunit exhibits strong affinity toward Cu^I ions. To elucidate the high copper affinity of the subunit, the full-length PmoB, and the N-terminal truncated mutants PmoB_(33â414) and PmoB_(55â414), each fused to the maltose-binding protein (MBP), are cloned and over-expressed into Escherichia coli (E. coli) K12 TB1 cells. The Y374F, Y374S and M300L mutants of these protein constructs are also studied. When this E. coli is grown with the pmoB gene in 1.0âŻmM Cu^(II), it behaves like M. capsulatus (Bath) cultured under high copper stresswith abundant membrane accumulation and high CuI content. The recombinantPmoB proteins are verified by Western blotting of antibodies directed against the MBP sub-domain in each of the copper-enriched PmoB proteins. Cu K-edge X-rayabsorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) of the copper ions confirms that all the PmoB recombinants are Cu^I proteins. All the PmoB proteins show evidence of a âdicopper siteâ according to analysis of the Cu extended X-ray absorption edge fine structure (EXAFS) of the membranes. No specific activities toward methane and propene oxidation are observed with the recombinant membrane-bound PmoB proteins. However, significant production of hydrogen peroxide is observed in the case of the PmoB_(33â414) mutant. Reaction of the dicopper site with dioxygenproduces hydrogen peroxide and leads to oxidation of the CuI ions residing in the C-terminal sub-domain of the PmoB subunit
Serum Levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Are Associated With Autonomic Dysfunction and Impaired Cerebral Autoregulation in Patients With Epilepsy
Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) may regulate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in epilepsy. The present study investigated the role of IGF-1 and BDNF in the regulation of autonomic functions and cerebral autoregulation in patients with epilepsy.Methods: A total of 57 patients with focal epilepsy and 35 healthy controls were evaluated and their sudomotor, cardiovagal, and adrenergic functions were assessed using a battery of ANS function tests, including the deep breathing, Valsalva maneuver, head-up tilting, and Q-sweat tests. Cerebral autoregulation was measured by transcranial doppler during the breath-holding test and the Valsalva maneuver. Interictal serum levels of BDNF and IGF-1 were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.Results: During interictal period, reduced serum levels of BDNF and IGF-1, impaired autonomic functions, and decreased cerebral autoregulation were noted in patients with epilepsy compared with healthy controls. Reduced serum levels of BDNF correlated with age, adrenergic and sudomotor function, overall autonomic dysfunction, and the autoregulation index calculated in Phase II of the Valsalva maneuver, and showed associations with focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures. Reduced serum levels of IGF-1 were found to correlate with age and cardiovagal function, a parameter of cerebral autoregulation (the breath-hold index). Patients with a longer history of epilepsy, higher seizure frequency, and temporal lobe epilepsy had lower serum levels of IGF-1.Conclusions: Long-term epilepsy and severe epilepsy, particularly temporal lobe epilepsy, may perturb BDNF and IGF-1 signaling in the central autonomic system, contributing to the autonomic dysfunction and impaired cerebral autoregulation observed in patients with focal epilepsy
The persistent shadow of the supermassive black hole of M 87
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration reported the first-ever event-horizon-scale images of a black hole, resolving the central compact radio source in the giant elliptical galaxy M 87. These images reveal a ring with a southerly brightness distribution and a diameter of âŒ42 ÎŒas, consistent with the predicted size and shape of a shadow produced by the gravitationally lensed emission around a supermassive black hole. These results were obtained as part of the April 2017 EHT observation campaign, using a global very long baseline interferometric radio array operating at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. Here, we present results based on the second EHT observing campaign, taking place in April 2018 with an improved array, wider frequency coverage, and increased bandwidth. In particular, the additional baselines provided by the Greenland telescope improved the coverage of the array. Multiyear EHT observations provide independent snapshots of the horizon-scale emission, allowing us to confirm the persistence, size, and shape of the black hole shadow, and constrain the intrinsic structural variability of the accretion flow. We have confirmed the presence of an asymmetric ring structure, brighter in the southwest, with a median diameter of 43.3â3.1+1.5â
ÎŒas. The diameter of the 2018 ring is remarkably consistent with the diameter obtained from the previous 2017 observations. On the other hand, the position angle of the brightness asymmetry in 2018 is shifted by about 30° relative to 2017. The perennial persistence of the ring and its diameter robustly support the interpretation that the ring is formed by lensed emission surrounding a Kerr black hole with a mass âŒ6.5â
Ăâ
109âMâ. The significant change in the ring brightness asymmetry implies a spin axis that is more consistent with the position angle of the large-scale jet
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