Electrical coupling regulates layer 1 interneuron microcircuit formation in the neocortex

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,the research team led by Prof.Yu Yongchun(禹永春)at the Institutes of Brain Science,Fudan University,revealed the vital roles of electrical coupling in chemical synapse formation between interneurons,which was published in Nature Communications(2016,7:12229,DOI:10.1038).Although the excitatory neurons in the neocortex are electrically coupled only during early development,

Mixed Electric and Magnetic Coupling Design Based on Coupling Matrix Extraction

This paper proposes a design and fine-tuning method for mixed electric and magnetic coupling filters.It derives the quantitative relationship between the coupling coefficients(electric and magnetic coupling,i.e.,EC and MC)and the linear coefficients of frequencydependent coupling for the first time.Different from the parameter extraction technique using the bandpass circuit model,the proposed approach explicitly relatesEC and MC to the coupling matrix model.This paper provides a general theoretic framework for computer-aided design and tuning of a mixed electric and magnetic coupling filter based on coupling matrices.An example of a 7th-order coaxial combline filter design is given in the paper,verifying the practical value of the approach.

Coexisting fast–slow dendritic traveling waves in a 3D-array electric field coupled neuronal network

Coexistence of fast and slow traveling waves without synaptic transmission has been found in hhhippocampal tissues,which is closely related to both normal brain activity and abnormal neural activity such as epileptic discharge. However, the propagation mechanism behind this coexistence phenomenon remains unclear. In this paper, a three-dimensional electric field coupled hippocampal neural network is established to investigate generation of coexisting spontaneous fast and slow traveling waves. This model captures two types of dendritic traveling waves propagating in both transverse and longitude directions: the N-methyl-D-aspartate(NMDA)-dependent wave with a speed of about 0.1 m/s and the Ca-dependent wave with a speed of about 0.009 m/s. These traveling waves are synaptic-independent and could be conducted only by the electric fields generated by neighboring neurons, which are basically consistent with the in vitro data measured experiments. It is also found that the slow Ca wave could trigger generation of fast NMDA waves in the propagation path of slow waves whereas fast NMDA waves cannot affect the propagation of slow Ca waves. These results suggest that dendritic Ca waves could acted as the source of the coexistence fast and slow waves. Furthermore, we also confirm the impact of cellular spacing heterogeneity on the onset of coexisting fast and slow waves. The local region with decreasing distances among neighbor neurons is more liable to promote the onset of spontaneous slow waves which, as sources, excite propagation of fast waves. These modeling studies provide possible biophysical mechanisms underlying the neural dynamics of spontaneous traveling waves in brain tissues.

Equivalent circuit model including magnetic and thermo sources for the thermo–magneto–electric coupling effect in magnetoelectric laminates

The nonlinear thermo–magneto–mechanical magnetostrictive constitutive and the linear thermo–mechanical-electric piezoelectric constitutive are adopted in this paper. The bias magnetic field and ambient temperature are equivalent to a magnetic source and a thermo source, respectively. An equivalent circuit, which contains a magnetic source and a thermo source at the input, for the thermo–magneto–electric coupling effect in magnetoelectric（ME） laminates, is established. The theoretical models of the output voltage and static ME coefficient for ME laminates can be derived from this equivalent circuit model. The predicted static ME coefficient versus temperature curves are in excellent agreement with the experimental data available both qualitatively and quantitatively. It confirms the validity of the proposed model. Then the models are adopted to predict variations in the output voltages and ME coefficients in the laminates under different ambient temperatures, bias magnetic fields, and the volume ratios of magnetostrictive phases. This shows that the output voltage increases with both increasing temperature and increasing volume ratio of magnetostrictive phases; the ME coefficient decreases with increasing temperature; the ME coefficient shows an initial sharp increase and then decreases slowly with the increase in the bias magnetic field, and there is an optimum volume ratio of magnetostrictive phases that maximize the ME coefficient.This paper can not only provide a new idea for the study of the thermo–magneto–electric coupling characteristics of ME laminates, but also provide a theoretical basis for the design and application of ME laminates, operating under different sensors.

Influence of spin-orbit coupling induced by in-plane external electric field on the intrinsic spin-Hall effect in a Rashba two-dimensional electron gas

We study theoretically the influence of spin-orbit coupling induced by in-plane external electric field on the intrinsic spin-Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron gas with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. We show that, after such an influence is taken into account, the static intrinsic spin-Hall effect can be stabilized in a disordered Rashba twodimensional electron gas, and the static intrinsic spin-Hall conductivity shall exhibit some interesting characteristics as conceived in some original theoretical proposals.

Effect of alternating ultrasonic frequency electric signal on the distribution of pore in aluminum alloy weld

The application of ultrasonic vibration in the welding process can effectively suppress the pore defects of the weld.The different ultrasonic application methods own different effects on the weld pore.In this paper,the ultrasonic frequency vibration in the weld pool is excited by the coupling of the ultrasonic frequency electrical signal and the welding electrical signal.The influence of ultrasonic excitation voltage and excitation frequency on porosity,number,location,and size of pore in weld was investigated.The results show that the variation of ultrasonic excitation voltage and frequency has a direct influence on the pore distribution.The pore defects can be decreased by the coupling of ultrasonic frequency electrical signal with reasonable parameters or increased by the coupling of ultrasonic frequency electrical signal with unreasonable parameters.The ultrasonic excitation frequency is fixed at 30 kHz and the ultrasonic excitation voltage is changed.The porosity of the weld is close to that of the weld without ultrasonic action when the ultrasonic excitation voltage is 25 V and 75 V.The porosity of the weld is significantly lower than that of the weld without ultrasonic action when the ultrasonic excitation voltage is 50 V and 100 V.The ultrasonic excitation voltage is fixed at 100 V and the ultrasonic excitation frequency is changed.The porosity of the weld is the largest and exceeds that of the weld without ultrasonic action when the ultrasonic excitation frequency is 20 kHz.The porosity of the weld is lower than that of the weld without ultrasonic action when the ultrasonic excitation frequency is 25,30,35,and 40 kHz.The pores were mainly concentrated on the upper part of the weld and the number of pores of small size increased significantly after the coupling of an ultrasonic frequency electrical signal,indicating that ultrasonic promoted the rise and escape of bubbles in the weld pool.

Dissipationless spin-Hall current contribution in the extrinsic spin-Hall effect

This paper shows that a substantial amount of dissipationless spin-Hall current contribution may exist in the extrinsic spin-Hall effect,which originates from the spin-orbit coupling induced by the applied external electric field itself that drives the extrinsic spin-Hall effect in a nonmagnetic semiconductor （or metal）.By assuming that the impurity density is in a moderate range such that the total scattering potential due to all randomly distributed impurities is a smooth function of the space coordinate,it is shown that this dissipationless contribution shall be of the same orders of magnitude as the usual extrinsic contribution from spin-orbit dependent impurity scatterings （or may even be larger than the latter one）.The theoretical results obtained are in good agreement with recent relevant experimental results.

An Extended Extrinsic Mechanism for Anomalous Hall Effect

The extrinsic mechanism for anomalous Hall effect in ferromagnets is extended to include the contributions both from spin-orbit-dependent impurity scattering and from the spin-orbit coupling induced by external electric fields. The results obtained suggest that, within the framework of the extrinsic mechanisms, the anomalous Hall current in a ferromagnet may also contain a substantial amount of dissipationless contribution independent of impurity scattering. After the contribution from the spin-orbit coupling induced by external electric fields is included, the total anomalous Hall conductivity is about two times larger than that due to soin-orbit dependent impurity scatterings.

Synchronization of two electrically coupled inspiratory pacemaker neurons

Synchronization is considered to be a crucial mechanism that maintains respiratory rhythm.For understanding the effect of electrical coupling on the transition of the firing patterns and synchronization,we coupled two inspiratory pacemaker neurons together,and studied various synchronous behaviors between them.We firstly compared the bifurcation diagrams between the coupled neurons and single neuron,and found that the coupled neurons had a more complicated bifurcation mode.By increasing the coupling strength,the regular variation of phase differences was illustrated so that asynchronous and some synchronous states could be observed.These synchronous states were also shown in detail by phase portraits and firing series.In addition,we explored the ranges of different synchronous states,which attributed to different ranges of membrane capacitance and coupling strength.

Unified probabilistic gas and power flow

The natural gas system and electricity system are coupled tightly by gas turbines in an integrated energy system. The uncertainties of one system will not only threaten its own safe operation but also be likely to have a significant impact on the other. Therefore, it is necessary to study the variation of state variables when random fluctuations emerge in the coupled system. In this paper, a multislack-bus model is proposed to calculate the power and gas flow in the coupled system. A unified probabilistic power and gas flow calculation, in which the cumulant method and Gram–Charlier expansion are applied, is first presented to obtain the distribution of state variables after considering the effects of uncertain factors. When the variation range of random factors is too large, a new method of piecewise linearization is put forward to achieve a better fitting precision of probability distribution. Compared to the Monte Carlo method, the proposed method can reduce computation time greatly while reaching a satisfactory accuracy.The validity of the proposed methods is verified in a coupled system that consists of a 15-node natural gas system and the IEEE case24 power system.

Optimal Operation of Integrated Energy Systems Subject to Coupled Demand Constraints of Electricity and Natural Gas

This paper proposes a hybrid multi-objective optimization and game-theoretic approach(HMOGTA)to achieve the optimal operation of integrated energy systems(IESs)consisting of electricity and natural gas(E&G)utility networks,multiple distributed energy stations(DESs),and multiple energy users(EUs).The HMOGTA aims to solve the coordinated operation strategy of the electricity and natural gas networks considering the demand characteristics of DESs and EUs.In the HMOGTA,a hierarchical Stackelberg game model is developed for generating equilibrium strategies of DESs and EUs in each district energy network(DEN).Based on the game results,we obtain the coupling demand constraints of electricity and natural gas(CDCENs)which reflect the relationship between the amounts and prices of electricity and cooling(E&C)that DESs purchase from utility networks.Furthermore,the minimization of conflicting costs of E&G networks considering the CDCENs are solved by a multi-objective optimization method.A case study is conducted on a test IES composed of a 20-node natural gas network,a modified IEEE 30-bus system,and 3 DENs,which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed HMOGTA to realize fair treatment for all participants in the IES.

The effect of oxygen concentration on the coupled neurons:Rich spiking patterns and synchronization

The dynamical microenvironments play a crucial role in neuronal spiking patterns.In this paper,we investigated the effect of oxygen concentration on different synchronous spiking patterns of two coupled neuron models by including dynamical ion concentration.Two coupling modes of electrical diffusive coupling and potassium diffusive coupling were considered.In these two cases,oxygen concentration exhibited an important role in the synchronous spiking patterns between two coupled neurons,and extremely rich electrical activities were observed.For the potassium diffusive coupling,differential synchronous patterns of oscillation state(OS),synchronous epileptic seizure state(SSZ)and synchronous spreading depression state(SSD)as well as SZ and SD bursting states were generated.For the electrical diffusive coupling,differential synchronous patterns of resting state(RS),SSZ and SSD were observed.