Fruit is one of the essential sources of human nutrition.Consumers around the world need to be able to purchase fruit of reliable flavor and nutritional quality.Physical appearance and physicochemical properties play ...Fruit is one of the essential sources of human nutrition.Consumers around the world need to be able to purchase fruit of reliable flavor and nutritional quality.Physical appearance and physicochemical properties play a key role in determining desirable quality and flavor.However,for some fruits such as watermelon,durian,pineapple,it is very hard to determine quality and flavor by external appearance.Therefore,a practical method to predict physical and physicochemical properties of fruit needs to be developed.In this study,a computerized technique is investigated to determine pineapple grades and their physical and physicochemical properties,including ripeness,total soluble solids,pH value and water content.The results reveal that by grading using pulp characteristics it is possible to classify pineapples into three distinct groups,which are significantly different in TSS,pH value and water content.In addition,predicting pineapple grades using flicking sounds and signal processing demonstrates that pineapples classified as grade 1 and grade 3 are significantly different in TSS,pH value and water content.This suggests that the estimation of the texture of pineapple pulp and its physicochemical properties can be performed prior to cutting.Therefore,it is feasible to develop an automated grading technique that can be used to determine pineapple quality as accurately as destructive grading to predict pineapple grades,texture and physicochemical properties.展开更多
Road sweeping is an essential service that has to be conducted for public health,as well as aesthetic purposes.In many countries,sweeping vehicles are used for this activity.They usually comprise a gutter brush that s...Road sweeping is an essential service that has to be conducted for public health,as well as aesthetic purposes.In many countries,sweeping vehicles are used for this activity.They usually comprise a gutter brush that sweeps the debris that is located in the road gutter.This work studies the performance of two kinds of gutter brushes:a cutting brush and a flicking(F128)brush.This is carried out by means of a 3-D dynamic,nonlinear Finite Element(FE)brush model developed by the authors.In this model,inertia forces are applied to the bristle,and its clamped end is fixed.Consequently,the surface(road)is rotated,translated,and raised.Bristle-road interaction is modelled as flexible-to-rigid contact.In particular,the aim of this article is to compare the performance of a conventional brush and a brush rotating at variable speed.As brushes normally work tilted,FE analyses are carried out for tilted cutting and F128 brushes,rotating at speeds that fluctuate at different frequencies.It is concluded that brush oscillations have a significant effect on bristle tip velocities and bristle-road forces.Also,at certain frequencies,oscillations seem to improve sweeping performance of the F128 brush.However,they do not appear to improve significantly the performance of the cutting brush.展开更多
To investigate the neurotoxicity of intrathecal injections of dexmedetomidine,Sprague-Dawley rats were intrathecally injected with dexmedetomidine at doses of 0.75,1.50 and 3.00μg/kg into the spinal dorsal horn.We fo...To investigate the neurotoxicity of intrathecal injections of dexmedetomidine,Sprague-Dawley rats were intrathecally injected with dexmedetomidine at doses of 0.75,1.50 and 3.00μg/kg into the spinal dorsal horn.We found that c-Fos expression in the rat spinal dorsal horn peaked at 7 hours following the 3.00μg/kg dexmedetomidine injection,while the levels of c-Fos expression following 0.75 and 1.50μg/kg dexmedetomidine were similar to those in the spinal dorsal horn of normal rats. At 48 hours following administration,the level of c-Fos expression was similar to normal levels.In addition,the intrathecal injections of dexmedetomidine increased paw withdrawal mechanical thresholds and prolonged thermal tail flick latencies.These results indicate that dexmedetomidine has pronounced antinociceptive effects.However,dexmedetomidine appears to have neurotoxic effects in the spinal cord because it increased c-Fos expression in the spinal dorsal horn within 7 hours following administration.展开更多
Pain is a sensation which in many cases represents the only symptom for the diagnosis of several disorders. Throughout ages man has used many different remedies for pain relief, among which medicinal herbs are most co...Pain is a sensation which in many cases represents the only symptom for the diagnosis of several disorders. Throughout ages man has used many different remedies for pain relief, among which medicinal herbs are most common due to their efficacy and relative safety due to their natural origin. In present study methanol extract of Terminalia chebula fruit was evaluated for its analgesic effects in albino mice. The extract was prepared using whole dried powdered fruit with seeds in absolute methanol. It was then subjected to rotary evaporator under reduced pressure to get concentrated extract;different doses (300, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) were assessed for analgesic activity by tail immersion technique and acetic acid induced writhing test. Similar doses of Aspirin were used as standard drug (positive control) for comparison. Results of both tail flick method and acetic acid induced writhing test revealed that T. chebula fruit extract possessed varying degree of analgesic activity significant at 300 mg/kg and highly significant at 500 and 1000 mg/kg in comparison to control. The results were almost similar to standard drug. In acetic acid induced writhing test, maximum inhibition of writhing was observed at 1000 mg/kg where the number of writhes decreased from 14.1 to 5.2 indicating 63.1% inhibition. Above findings suggest that T. chebula fruit extract possesses significant analgesic activity in albino mice with reference to positive and negative control groups;however further studies on a large number of animals with clinical trials are required to confirm safe and effective use of this fruit extract in humans for analgesic purpose.展开更多
Introduction: Pain is a complex phenomenon and in many diseases is the cardinal manifestation. In many of them, the source of pain is obscure and in turn curing pain also becomes difficult. Finding a new regulatory me...Introduction: Pain is a complex phenomenon and in many diseases is the cardinal manifestation. In many of them, the source of pain is obscure and in turn curing pain also becomes difficult. Finding a new regulatory mechanism for pain perception and processing such as alternation of neurogenesis may establish a new treatment. Methods and Materials: In this study, 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: social, isolated, morphine-treated socialized (MTS) and morphine-treated isolated (MTI). After injection of BrdU for 14 days (50 mg/kg/rat/day/i.p) and morphine for seven days from day 8 (3 mg/kg/rat/day/i.p), rats were performed tail flick test and then sacrificed. Brains were prepared for assessing neurogenesis and serums were collected for assessing glutathione. Results: In tail flick test isolated and morphine-treated isolated rats had decreased sensitivity to pain stimuli compared to social and morphine-treated socialized rats, respectively. In assessing neurogenesis, isolated and morphine-treated isolated rats had reduced numbers of newly generated neurons compared to social and morphine-treated socialized rats, respectively. Glutathione in serum in isolated and morphine-treated isolated rats increased compared to social and morphine-treated socialized rats, respectively. Conclusion: Reduction of neurogenesis was associated with reduced pain sensitivity in isolated groups. So, isolation may alleviate pain and reduce pain threshold and sensitivity.展开更多
Tail flick latency (TFL) towards thermal irradiation has been widely used as a nociceptive index in studying pain and analgesia, including acupuncture analgesia,and in the screening of narcotic analgesics. While tail ...Tail flick latency (TFL) towards thermal irradiation has been widely used as a nociceptive index in studying pain and analgesia, including acupuncture analgesia,and in the screening of narcotic analgesics. While tail flick is basically a spinal reflex,it is under the tonic control of higher centers.In this note, high level spinal transection was performed on rats in an attempt to analyze the central mechanism of acupuncture analgesia at the spinal anal supraspinal levels.展开更多
Intracisternally administered lanthanum chloride was found to produce analgesic effects as measured by the mouse tail-flick method and the characteristics of the analgesic effects were similar to those of morphine and...Intracisternally administered lanthanum chloride was found to produce analgesic effects as measured by the mouse tail-flick method and the characteristics of the analgesic effects were similar to those of morphine and electro-acupuncture. It was also found that the actions of Pr3+ in vitro resembled those of La3+, but the former exerted dual action on transmitter release of the neuromuscular synapse. In the present study, the relationship between Pr8+ and Ca2+ as well as the effects of them on electro-acupuncture analgesia are observed and at the same time, the analgesic effects of 10 kinds of lanthanides are compared.展开更多
The stimulative effect of supracutaneous electroacupuncture using a blunt-tip electrode on120 points of human skin was observed in 12 healthy volunteers. A comparison of stimulation by the moreexpensive supracutaneous...The stimulative effect of supracutaneous electroacupuncture using a blunt-tip electrode on120 points of human skin was observed in 12 healthy volunteers. A comparison of stimulation by the moreexpensive supracutaneous instrument specifically designed for this treatment and that of the rnore conventional transcutaneous electroacupuncture instrument, modified by use of a blunt-tip, belt-type electrodeinstead of the traditional electro-needle. showed similar therapeutic effects. An animal experiment, usingthe rat tail flick analgesia method to compare supracutaneous electroacupuncture. showed that the painthreshold was raised by both types of electroacupuncture. with both having an optimal stimulation time of10￣20 minutes. The percentage of change in maximum pain threshold was 206. 6 % for supracutaneouselectroacupuncture at 7V and 175. 4 % for transcutaneous electroacupuncture at 2V.展开更多
Martial arts are,by nature,a fantastic sport in both the reality and imagination of the public—the aspiration to kick higher,faster,and stronger matched by stories and imagery of an ancient China where chi blasts dem...Martial arts are,by nature,a fantastic sport in both the reality and imagination of the public—the aspiration to kick higher,faster,and stronger matched by stories and imagery of an ancient China where chi blasts demolish entire temples and wandering warriors fly across the sky in acts of derring-do with the flick of a finger.While the martial arts have always played a central role in Chinese society as entertainment,they also exist as cautionary tales of an ever-changing world in which展开更多
选词填空从下列方框里10个单词中选择8个适当单词的正确形式填入下列各句中,使其句意完整。每个单词只使用一次。material urban flick concrete catalogue risk criminal load crime brick1.Don’t worry.These dangerous____have all ...选词填空从下列方框里10个单词中选择8个适当单词的正确形式填入下列各句中,使其句意完整。每个单词只使用一次。material urban flick concrete catalogue risk criminal load crime brick1.Don’t worry.These dangerous____have all been locked up.2.What kind of____is the bridge made of?3.You drove too fast round the corner—it was a(n)____thing to do.4.He is____the goods into the back of the car.展开更多
文摘Fruit is one of the essential sources of human nutrition.Consumers around the world need to be able to purchase fruit of reliable flavor and nutritional quality.Physical appearance and physicochemical properties play a key role in determining desirable quality and flavor.However,for some fruits such as watermelon,durian,pineapple,it is very hard to determine quality and flavor by external appearance.Therefore,a practical method to predict physical and physicochemical properties of fruit needs to be developed.In this study,a computerized technique is investigated to determine pineapple grades and their physical and physicochemical properties,including ripeness,total soluble solids,pH value and water content.The results reveal that by grading using pulp characteristics it is possible to classify pineapples into three distinct groups,which are significantly different in TSS,pH value and water content.In addition,predicting pineapple grades using flicking sounds and signal processing demonstrates that pineapples classified as grade 1 and grade 3 are significantly different in TSS,pH value and water content.This suggests that the estimation of the texture of pineapple pulp and its physicochemical properties can be performed prior to cutting.Therefore,it is feasible to develop an automated grading technique that can be used to determine pineapple quality as accurately as destructive grading to predict pineapple grades,texture and physicochemical properties.
文摘Road sweeping is an essential service that has to be conducted for public health,as well as aesthetic purposes.In many countries,sweeping vehicles are used for this activity.They usually comprise a gutter brush that sweeps the debris that is located in the road gutter.This work studies the performance of two kinds of gutter brushes:a cutting brush and a flicking(F128)brush.This is carried out by means of a 3-D dynamic,nonlinear Finite Element(FE)brush model developed by the authors.In this model,inertia forces are applied to the bristle,and its clamped end is fixed.Consequently,the surface(road)is rotated,translated,and raised.Bristle-road interaction is modelled as flexible-to-rigid contact.In particular,the aim of this article is to compare the performance of a conventional brush and a brush rotating at variable speed.As brushes normally work tilted,FE analyses are carried out for tilted cutting and F128 brushes,rotating at speeds that fluctuate at different frequencies.It is concluded that brush oscillations have a significant effect on bristle tip velocities and bristle-road forces.Also,at certain frequencies,oscillations seem to improve sweeping performance of the F128 brush.However,they do not appear to improve significantly the performance of the cutting brush.
文摘To investigate the neurotoxicity of intrathecal injections of dexmedetomidine,Sprague-Dawley rats were intrathecally injected with dexmedetomidine at doses of 0.75,1.50 and 3.00μg/kg into the spinal dorsal horn.We found that c-Fos expression in the rat spinal dorsal horn peaked at 7 hours following the 3.00μg/kg dexmedetomidine injection,while the levels of c-Fos expression following 0.75 and 1.50μg/kg dexmedetomidine were similar to those in the spinal dorsal horn of normal rats. At 48 hours following administration,the level of c-Fos expression was similar to normal levels.In addition,the intrathecal injections of dexmedetomidine increased paw withdrawal mechanical thresholds and prolonged thermal tail flick latencies.These results indicate that dexmedetomidine has pronounced antinociceptive effects.However,dexmedetomidine appears to have neurotoxic effects in the spinal cord because it increased c-Fos expression in the spinal dorsal horn within 7 hours following administration.
文摘Pain is a sensation which in many cases represents the only symptom for the diagnosis of several disorders. Throughout ages man has used many different remedies for pain relief, among which medicinal herbs are most common due to their efficacy and relative safety due to their natural origin. In present study methanol extract of Terminalia chebula fruit was evaluated for its analgesic effects in albino mice. The extract was prepared using whole dried powdered fruit with seeds in absolute methanol. It was then subjected to rotary evaporator under reduced pressure to get concentrated extract;different doses (300, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) were assessed for analgesic activity by tail immersion technique and acetic acid induced writhing test. Similar doses of Aspirin were used as standard drug (positive control) for comparison. Results of both tail flick method and acetic acid induced writhing test revealed that T. chebula fruit extract possessed varying degree of analgesic activity significant at 300 mg/kg and highly significant at 500 and 1000 mg/kg in comparison to control. The results were almost similar to standard drug. In acetic acid induced writhing test, maximum inhibition of writhing was observed at 1000 mg/kg where the number of writhes decreased from 14.1 to 5.2 indicating 63.1% inhibition. Above findings suggest that T. chebula fruit extract possesses significant analgesic activity in albino mice with reference to positive and negative control groups;however further studies on a large number of animals with clinical trials are required to confirm safe and effective use of this fruit extract in humans for analgesic purpose.
文摘Introduction: Pain is a complex phenomenon and in many diseases is the cardinal manifestation. In many of them, the source of pain is obscure and in turn curing pain also becomes difficult. Finding a new regulatory mechanism for pain perception and processing such as alternation of neurogenesis may establish a new treatment. Methods and Materials: In this study, 32 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: social, isolated, morphine-treated socialized (MTS) and morphine-treated isolated (MTI). After injection of BrdU for 14 days (50 mg/kg/rat/day/i.p) and morphine for seven days from day 8 (3 mg/kg/rat/day/i.p), rats were performed tail flick test and then sacrificed. Brains were prepared for assessing neurogenesis and serums were collected for assessing glutathione. Results: In tail flick test isolated and morphine-treated isolated rats had decreased sensitivity to pain stimuli compared to social and morphine-treated socialized rats, respectively. In assessing neurogenesis, isolated and morphine-treated isolated rats had reduced numbers of newly generated neurons compared to social and morphine-treated socialized rats, respectively. Glutathione in serum in isolated and morphine-treated isolated rats increased compared to social and morphine-treated socialized rats, respectively. Conclusion: Reduction of neurogenesis was associated with reduced pain sensitivity in isolated groups. So, isolation may alleviate pain and reduce pain threshold and sensitivity.
文摘Tail flick latency (TFL) towards thermal irradiation has been widely used as a nociceptive index in studying pain and analgesia, including acupuncture analgesia,and in the screening of narcotic analgesics. While tail flick is basically a spinal reflex,it is under the tonic control of higher centers.In this note, high level spinal transection was performed on rats in an attempt to analyze the central mechanism of acupuncture analgesia at the spinal anal supraspinal levels.
文摘Intracisternally administered lanthanum chloride was found to produce analgesic effects as measured by the mouse tail-flick method and the characteristics of the analgesic effects were similar to those of morphine and electro-acupuncture. It was also found that the actions of Pr3+ in vitro resembled those of La3+, but the former exerted dual action on transmitter release of the neuromuscular synapse. In the present study, the relationship between Pr8+ and Ca2+ as well as the effects of them on electro-acupuncture analgesia are observed and at the same time, the analgesic effects of 10 kinds of lanthanides are compared.
文摘The stimulative effect of supracutaneous electroacupuncture using a blunt-tip electrode on120 points of human skin was observed in 12 healthy volunteers. A comparison of stimulation by the moreexpensive supracutaneous instrument specifically designed for this treatment and that of the rnore conventional transcutaneous electroacupuncture instrument, modified by use of a blunt-tip, belt-type electrodeinstead of the traditional electro-needle. showed similar therapeutic effects. An animal experiment, usingthe rat tail flick analgesia method to compare supracutaneous electroacupuncture. showed that the painthreshold was raised by both types of electroacupuncture. with both having an optimal stimulation time of10￣20 minutes. The percentage of change in maximum pain threshold was 206. 6 % for supracutaneouselectroacupuncture at 7V and 175. 4 % for transcutaneous electroacupuncture at 2V.
文摘Martial arts are,by nature,a fantastic sport in both the reality and imagination of the public—the aspiration to kick higher,faster,and stronger matched by stories and imagery of an ancient China where chi blasts demolish entire temples and wandering warriors fly across the sky in acts of derring-do with the flick of a finger.While the martial arts have always played a central role in Chinese society as entertainment,they also exist as cautionary tales of an ever-changing world in which
文摘选词填空从下列方框里10个单词中选择8个适当单词的正确形式填入下列各句中,使其句意完整。每个单词只使用一次。material urban flick concrete catalogue risk criminal load crime brick1.Don’t worry.These dangerous____have all been locked up.2.What kind of____is the bridge made of?3.You drove too fast round the corner—it was a(n)____thing to do.4.He is____the goods into the back of the car.
