Suppression of transmembrane sodium currents on the freshly isolated hippocampal neuron cell with continuous infrared light

Physiotherapeutic effects of infrared lasers have been proved in clinic.These infrared-based regulations of the bioelectrical activities can roughly be classied into enhancement and suppression of action potential(AP),which are described by sodium(Na)and potassium(K)transmembrane current equations,named as Hodgkin and Huxley(HH)-model.The enhancement effect is able to evoke or strengthen the AP when infrared light is applied.Its corresponding mechanism is commonly ascribed to the changes of the cell membrane capacitance,which is transiently increased in response to the infrared radiation.The distinctive feature of the suppression effect is to inhibit or reduce the AP by the designed protocols of infrared radiation.However,its mechanism presents more complexity than that in enhancement cases.HH-model describes how the Na current determines the initial phase of AP.So,the enhancement and suppression of AP can be also ascribed to the regulations of the corresponding Na currents.Here,a continuous infrared light at the wavelength of 980 nm(CIS-980)was employed to stimulate a freshly isolated hippocampal neuron in vitro and a suppression effect on the Na currents of the neuron cell was observed.Both Na and K currents,which are named as whole cell currents,were simultaneously recorded with the cell membrane capacitance current by using a patch clamp combined with infrared irradiation.The results demonstrated that the CIS-980 was able to reversibly increase the capacitance currents,completely suppressed Na currents,but little changed K currents,which forms the steady outward whole cell currents and plays a major role on the AP repolarization.A conrmation experiment was designed and carried out by synchronizing tens of milliseconds of infrared stimulation on the same kinds of hippocampal neuron cells.After the blocked K channel,a reduction of Na current amplitude was still recorded.This proved that infrared suppression of Na current was irrelevant to K channel.A membrane capacitance mediation process was preliminarily proposed to explain the Na channel suppression process.

Progress in helicopter infrared signature suppression

Due to their low-attitude and relatively low-speed fight profiles, helicopters are subjected to serious threats from radio, infrared （IR）, visual, and aural detection and tracking. Among these threats, infrared detection and tracking are regarded as more crucial for the survivability of helicop- ters. In order to meet the requirements of infrared stealth, several different types of infrared sup- pressor （IRS） for helicopters have been developed. This paper reviews contemporary developments in this discipline, with particular emphasis on infrared signature suppression, advances in mixer-ejectors and prediction for helicopters. In addition, several remaining challenges, such as advanced IRS, emissivity optimization technique, helicopter infrared characterization, etc., are proposed, as an initial guide and stimulation for future research. In the future, the comprehen- sive infrared suppression in the 3-5 μm and 8-14 μm bands will doubtfully become the emphasis of helicopter stealth. Multidisciplinary optimization of a complete infrared suppression system deserves further investigation.