Application of MEMS Accelerometers and Gyroscopes in Fast Steering Mirror Control Systems

In a charge-coupled device (CCD)-based fast steering mirror (FSM) tracking control system, high control bandwidth is the most effective way to enhance the closed-loop performance. However, the control system usually suffers a great deal from mechanical resonances and time delays induced by the low sampling rate of CCDs. To meet the requirements of high precision and load restriction, fiber-optic gyroscopes (FOGs) are usually used in traditional FSM tracking control systems. In recent years, the MEMS accelerometer and gyroscope are becoming smaller and lighter and their performance have improved gradually, so that they can be used in a fast steering mirror (FSM) to realize the stabilization of the line-of-sight (LOS) of the control system. Therefore, a tentative approach to implement a CCD-based FSM tracking control system, which uses MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes as feedback components and contains an acceleration loop, a velocity loop and a position loop, is proposed. The disturbance suppression of the proposed method is the product of the error attenuation of the acceleration loop, the velocity loop and the position loop. Extensive experimental results show that the MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes can act the similar role as the FOG with lower cost for stabilizing the LOS of the FSM tracking control system

Microstructure evolution of creep damaged DZ411 superalloy during rejuvenation heat treatment

The simple solution and aging treatment processes were adopted to rejuvenate the microstructure of creep damaged DZ411 superalloy. The microstructure evolution of superalloy during rejuvenation process was investigated by OM and SEM, and then the mechanical properties were evaluated by tensile and creep rupture tests. The results show that creep damaged superalloy obtained from interrupted test at the end of secondary stage of creep suffers from the spheroidization and rafting of the prime γ′ phase and vanishing of the secondary γ′ phase, but no creep cavities. It is also found that the solution treatment plays a prime role in dissolution of deformed γ′ phase, and then re-precipitation of fine γ′ phase. The proper solution temperature can effectively avoid incipient melting and recrystallization. The two stages of aging are the dominant procedures of optimizing the size, shape and volume ratio of bimodal size γ′ phase. By the appropriate rejuvenation schedule, the bimodal size γ′ particles with coarse secondary γ′ particles and fine tertiary γ′ particles can be obtained. The average diameters of bimodal size γ′ particles are about 0.38 μm and 0.07 μm, and the volume fraction are 47.5% and 6.5% respectively. Rejuvenation heat treatment can successfully recover the room temperature strength close to that of the original alloy. The creep rupture life and elongation of rejuvenated DZ411 superalloy under condition of 980 ℃/220 MPa are 121 h and 13%, these values are slightly lower than that of the original alloy

Protein deubiquitinase USP7 is required for osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells

Abstract Background Human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) are multipotent progenitor cells with self-renewal capabilities and multilineage differentiation potential, including osteogenesis. Although protein deubiquitinases have been linked to stem cell fate determination, whether protein deubiquitination contributes to lineage commitment during osteogenic differentiation of hASCs remains to be investigated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the ubiquitin specific protease 7 (USP7) on osteogenic differentiation of hASCs. Methods An osteocalcin promoter driven luciferase reporter system was established to initially discover the potential association between USP7 and hASC osteogenesis. To further characterize the function of USP7 in osteogenic differentiation of hASCs, a combination of in vitro and in vivo experiments were carried out through genetic depletion or overexpression of USP7 using a lentiviral strategy. Moreover, HBX 41,108, a cyanoindenopyrazine-derived deubiquitinase inhibitor of USP7, was utilized at different doses to further examine whether USP7 regulated osteogenic differentiation of hASCs through its enzymatic activity. Results We demonstrated that USP7 depletion was associated with remarkable downregulation of the reporter gene activity. Genetic depletion of USP7 by lentiviral RNAi markedly suppressed hASC osteogenesis both in vitro and in vivo, while overexpression of USP7 enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of hASCs. Notably, chemical blockade via the small molecular inhibitor HBX 41,108 could efficiently mimic the effects of USP7 genetic depletion in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions Taken together, our study revealed that protein deubiquitinase USP7 is an essential player in osteogenic differentiation of hASCs through its catalytic activity, and supported the pursuit of USP7 as a potential target for modulation of hASC-based stem cell therapy and bone tissue engineering

Alginate Hydrogel-Embedded Capillary Sensor for Quantitative Immunoassay with Naked Eye

We have developed an alginate hydrogel-embedded capillary sensor (AHCS) for naked eye-based quantification of immunoassay. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) can modulate gel-sol transformation to increase the permeability of Cu2+-cross-linked alginate hydrogel film in the AHCS, followed by solution exchange into the capillary. Through measuring the length of the liquid phase of the microfluidics in the capillary at a given time, the concentration of the ALP could be quantified with the naked eye. Since ALP is widely applied as a signal reporter for immunoassays, the AHCS could easily accommodate conventional immune sensing platforms. We justify the practicality of AHCS with hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum samples and got comparable results with commercialized immunoassay. This AHCS is easy to make and use, effective in cost, and robust in quantification with the naked eye, showing great promise for next generation point-of-care testing

A review on trends in development and translation of omics signatures in cancer

The field of cancer genomics and transcriptomics has evolved from targeted profiling to swift sequencing of individual tumor genome and transcriptome. The steady growth in genome, epigenome, and transcriptome datasets on a genome-wide scale has significantly increased our capability in capturing signatures that represent both the intrinsic and extrinsic biological features of tumors. These biological differences can help in precise molecular subtyping of cancer, predicting tumor progression, metastatic potential, and resistance to therapeutic agents. In this review, we summarized the current development of genomic, methylomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolic signatures in the field of cancer research and highlighted their potentials in clinical applications to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment decision in cancer patients

Additional file 1: Figure S1. of Protein deubiquitinase USP7 is required for osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells

Western blotting analysis of USP7 expression in hASCs stably expressing FLAG tagged USP7/wild-type (WT) with antibodies against the indicated proteins. (PDF 12 kb

Porous Co₃O₄ Nanorods–Reduced Graphene Oxide with Intrinsic Peroxidase-Like Activity and Catalysis in the Degradation of Methylene Blue

A facile two step process was developed for the synthesis of porous Co₃O₄ nanorods–reduced graphene oxide (PCNG) hybrid materials based on the hydrothermal treatment cobalt acetate tetrahydrate and graphene oxide in a glycerol–water mixed solvent, followed by annealing the intermediate of reduced graphene oxide-supported Co­(CO₃)_0.5(OH)·0.11H₂O nanorods in a N₂ atmosphere. The morphology and microstructure of the composites were examined by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that the obtained PCNG have intrinsic peroxidase-like activity. The PCNG are utilized for the catalytic degradation of methylene blue. The good catalytic performance of the composites could be attributed to the synergy between the functions of porous Co₃O₄ nanorods and reduced graphene oxide