Meso-mechanical analyses of shape memory alloy wires reinforced smart structures with damages

The thermo-mechanical behaviors of shape memory alloy (SMA) wires reinforced smart structures with damages are analyzed through variational principle and meso-mechanical method.A governing equation on the structure is derived.Mathematical expressions on meso-displacement field,stress-strain field of typical element with damages are presented.A failure criterion for interface failure between SMA wires and matrix is established under two kinds of actuation which are dead-load and temperature,where the temperature is included in effective free restoring strain.In addition,there are some other composing factors in the failure criterion such as interface properties,thermodynamical properties of SMA,initial debonding length L-l,etc.The results are significant to understand structural strength self-adaptive control and failure mechanism of SMA wires reinforced smart structures with damages,and provide a theoretical foundation for further study on the integrity of SMA smart structures.

Study on EEG power and coherence in patients with mild cognitive impairment during working memory task

To investigate the features of electroencephalography （EEG） power and coherence at rest and during a working memory task of patients with mild cognitive impairment （MCI）. Thirty-five patients （17 males, 18 females; 52-71 years old） and 34 sex- and age-matched controls （17 males, 17 females; 51-63 years old） were recruited in the present study. Mini-Mental State Examination （MMSE） of 35 patients with MCI and 34 normal controls revealed that the scores of MCI patients did not differ significantly from those of normal controls （P〉0.05）. Then, EEGs at rest and during working memory task with three levels of working memory load were recorded. The EEG power was computed over 10 channels： fight and left frontal （F3, F4）, central （C3, C4）, parietal （P3, P4）, temporal （T5, T6） and occipital （O1, O2）; inter-hemispheric coherences were computed from five electrode pairs of F3-F4, C3-C4, P3-P4, T5-T6 and O1-O2 for delta （1.0-3.5 Hz）, theta （4.0-7.5 Hz）, alpha-1 （8.0-10.0 Hz）, alpha-2 （10.5-13.0 Hz）, beta-1 （13.5-18.0 Hz） and beta-2 （18.5-30.0 Hz） frequency bands. All values of the EEG power of MCI patients were found to be higher than those of normal controls at rest and during working memory tasks. Furthermore, the values of EEG power in the theta, alpha-1, alpha-2 and beta-1 bands of patients with MCI were significantly high （P〈0.05） in comparison with those of normal controls. Correlation analysis indicated a significant negative correlation between the EEG powers and MMSE scores. In addition, during working memory tasks, the EEG coherences in all bands were significantly higher in the MCI group in comparison with those in the control group （P〈0.05）. However, there was no significant difference in EEG coherences between two groups at rest. These findings comprise evidence that MCI patients have higher EEG power at rest, and higher EEG power and coherence during working conditions. It suggests that MCI may be associated with compensatory processes at rest and during working memory tasks. Moreover, failure of normal cortical connections may be exist in MCI patients.

Alpha spectral power and coherence in the patients with mild cognitive impairment during a three-level working memory task

Objective： The functional relationship between calculated alpha band spectral power and inter-/intra-hemispheric coherence during a three-level working memory task of patients with mild cognitive impairment （MCI） was investigated. Methods：Subjects included 35 MCI patients according to the DSM-Ⅳ criteria （mean age： 62.3, SD： 6.5） and 34 healthy controls （mean age：57.4, SD： 4.0） were selected from the community at large. All subjects performed a simple calculation and recall task with three levels of working memory load while electroencephalograph （EEG） signal was recorded. The spectral EEG power was computed over alphal （8.0～10.0 Hz） and alpha2 （10.5～13.0 Hz） frequency bands and was compared between rest stage and working memory processing stage by two-way ANOVA. Post hoc testing analyzed the differences between each two levels of working memory load during task processing. The inter-hemisphere EEG coherence of frontal （F3-F4）, central （C3-C4）, parietal （P3-P4）, temporal （T5-T6） as well as occipital （O1-O2） was compared between MCI patients and normal controls. The EEG signals from F3-C3,F4-C4, C3-P3, C4-P4, P3-O1, P4-O2, T5-C3, T6-C4, T5-P3 and T6-P4 electrode pairs resulted from the intra-hemispheric action for alphal and alpha2 frequency bands. Result： There was significantly higher EEG power from MCI patients than from normal controls both at rest and during working memory processing. Significant differences existed between rest condition and three-level working memory tasks （P〈0.001）. The inter- and intra-hemispheric coherence during working memory tasks showed a ＂drop to rise＂ tendency compared to that at rest condition. There was significantly higher coherence in MCI patients than in the controls.When task difficulties increased, the cortical connectivity of intra-hemispheric diminished while the inter-hemispheric connectivity dominantly maintained the cognitive processing in MCI patients. Conclusion： The results of the present study indicate that the alpha frequency band may be the characteristic band in distinguishing MCI patients from normal controls during working memory tasks. MCI patients exhibit greater inter-hemispheric connectivity than intra-hemispheric connectivity when memory demands increase. MCI patients mobilize a compensatory mechanism to maintain the processing effectiveness while the processing efficiency is reduced.

Fatigue damage evaluation by metal magnetic memory testing

Tension-compression fatigue test was performed on 0.45% C steel specimens.Normal and tangential components of magnetic memory testing signals,Hp(y) and Hp(x) signals,with their characteristics,K of Hp(y) and Hp(x)M of Hp(x),throughout the fatigue process were presented and analyzed.Abnormal peaks of Hp(y) and peak of Hp(x) reversed after loading; Hp(y) curves rotated clockwise and Hp(x) curves elevated significantly with the increase of fatigue cycle number at the first a few fatigue cycles,both Hp(y) and Hp(x) curves were stable after that,the amplitude of abnormal peaks of Hp(y) and peak value of Hp(x) increased more quickly after fatigue crack initiation.Abnormal peaks of Hp(y) and peak of Hp(x) at the notch reversed again after failure.The characteristics were found to exhibit consistent tendency in the whole fatigue life and behave differently in different stages of fatigue.In initial and crack developing stages,the characteristics increased significantly due to dislocations increase and crack propagation,respectively.In stable stage,the characteristics remained constant as a result of dislocation blocking,K value ranged from 20 to 30 A/(m·mm)-1,and Hp(x)M ranged from 270 to 300 A/m under the test parameters in this work.After failure,both abnormal peaks of Hp(y) and peak of Hp(x) reversed,K value was 133 A/(m·mm)-1 and Hp(x)M was-640 A/m.The results indicate that the characteristics of Hp(y) and Hp(x) signals were related to the accumulation of fatigue,so it is feasible and applicable to monitor fatigue damage of ferromagnetic components using metal magnetic memory testing(MMMT).

NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 reduces neuronal damage and preserves learning and memory in a rat model of traumatic brain injury

Objective NMDA receptor channel plays an important role in the pathophysiological process of traumatic brain injury （TBI）. The present study aims to study the pathological mechanism of TBI and the impairment of learning and memory after TBI, and to investigate the mechanism of the protective effect of NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 on learning and memory disorder after TBI. Methods Forty Sprague-Dawley rats （weighing approximately 200 g） were randomized into 5 groups （n = 8 in each group）： control group, model group, low-dose group （MK-801 0.5 mg/kg）, middle-dose group （MK-801 2 mg/kg）, and high-dose group （MK-801 10 mg/kg）. TBI model was established using a weight-drop head injury mode. After 2-month drug treatment, learning and memory ability was evaluated by using Morris water maze test. Then the animals were sacrificed, and brain tissues were taken out for morphological and immunohistochemical assays. Results The ability of learning and memory was significantly impaired in the TBI model animals. Besides, the neuronal caspase-3 expression, neuronal nitric oxide synthase （nNOS）-positive neurons and OX-42-positive microglia were all increased in TBI animals. Meanwhile, the number of neuron synapses was decreased, and vacuoles degeneration could be observed in mitochondria. After MK-801 treatment at 3 different dosages, the ability of learning and memory was markedly improved, as compared to that of the TBI model animals. Moreover, neuronal caspase-3 expression, OX-42-positive microglia and nNOS-positive neurons were all significantly decreased. Meanwhile, the mitochondria degeneration was greatly inhibited. Conclusion MK-801 could significantly inhibit the degeneration and apoptosis of neurons in damaged brain areas. It could also inhibit TBI-induced increase in nNOS-positive neurons and OX-42-positive microglia. Impairment in learning and memory in TBI animals could be repaired by treatment with MK-801.

Effects of neurofeedback on the short-term memory and continuous attention of patients with moderate traumatic brain injury： A preliminary randomized controlled clinical trial

Purpose： There are some studies which showed neurofeedback therapy （NET） can be effective in clients with traumatic brain injury （TBI） history. However, randomized controlled clinical trials are still needed for evaluation of this treatment as a standard option. This preliminary study was aimed to evaluate the effect of NET on continuous attention （CA） and short-term memory （STM） of clients with moderate TBI using a randomized controlled clinical trial （RCT）. Methods： In this preliminary RCT, seventeen eligible patients with moderate TBl were randomly allo- cated in two intervention and control groups. All the patients were evaluated for CA and STM using the visual continuous attention test and Wechsler memory scale-4th edition （WMS-IV） test, respectively, both at the time of inclusion to the project and four weeks later. The intervention group participated in 20 sessions of NFT through the first four weeks. Conversely, the control group participated in the same NF sessions from the fifth week to eighth week of the project. Results： Eight subjects in the intervention group and five subjects in the control group completed the study. The mean and standard deviation of participants＇ age were （26.75 ~ 15.16） years and （2Z60 ＋_ 8.17） years in experiment and control groups, respectively. All of the subjects were male. No significant improvement was observed in any variables of the visual continuous attention test and WMS-IV test between two groups （p _~ 0.05）. Conclusion： Based on our literature review, it seems that our study is the only study performed on the effect of NET on TBl patients with control group. NET has no effect on CA and STM in patients with moderate TBI. More RCTs with large sample sizes, more sessions of treatment, longer time of follow-up and different orotocols are recommended.