Motor Control Network Effective Connectivity in Regulating Muscle Force Output

Objective of the study: This study aimed at characterizing output features of the higher-order motor control centers (hoMCCs), including secondary (premotor cortex [Pre] and supplementary motor area [SMA]) and association (prefrontal cortex [PFC]) motor regions to the primary motor cortex (M1) during graded force tasks. It is well known that one of the major roles of the primary motor cortex (M1) is controlling motor output such as muscle force. However, it is unclear how the hoMCCs interact with M1 in regulating voluntary muscle contractions. Methods: fMRI data was acquired during graded force tasks and fMRI-based effective connectivity (EC) and muscle force analyses were performed to study the relationship between hoMCCs-M1 effective connectivity and voluntarily exerted handgrip force. Results: The results show that there is a consistent information flow from the hoMCCs to M1 under all force conditions, suggesting a hierarchical control mechanism in the brain in regulating voluntary muscle force. Only the premotor cortex exhibited a significant role in mediating the level of force production through its EC with M1 but that role diminished when the exerted force was high, suggesting perhaps a ceiling and/or fatigue effect on the EC. A flip in the direction of EC from the primary sensory cortex (S1) to the hoMCCs (PFC, SMA, and Pre) at lower force levels while at higher forces EC was observed from the hoMCCs to S1. Conclusion: The hoMCCs regulate M1 output to produce desired voluntary muscle force. Only the Pre-to-M1 connectivity strength directly correlates with the force level especially from low to moderate levels. The hoMCCs are involved in modulating higher force production likely by strengthening M1 output and downgrading inhibition from S1 to M1.

Opportunities And Outlooks Embracing new quality productive forces

New quality productive forces refer to advanced productivity driven by revolutionary technological breakthroughs and empowered by digital technology.They are distinguished from conventional productive capacity which is supported by workshop flfloors,assembly lines,and modular technology.

ForceCT双能量与低kV扫描技术在头颈CTA中的对比分析

探索并比较Force CT双能量与低kV扫描技术在头颈CTA中的作用。方法 以系统随机化法,将2022.01-2023.01在我院接受头颈CTA检查的40例患者均分为两组各20例。其中观察组患者采用低kV扫描技术,对照组则进行Force CT双能量扫描。比较两组的辐射剂量、图像质量。结果 观察组的辐射剂量指数低于对照组,P<0.05。观察组的大脑中动脉与颈内动脉图像质量均高于对照组,P<0.05。结论 运用低kV扫描技术,能较好地降低头颈CTA检查时的辐射剂量,与此同时还能得到更为高质量的图像,帮助病情的更快诊断,患者能尽快得到个性化的治疗,早日恢复健康。

Force CT高级建模迭代重建算法对门静脉图像质量的影响

目的:探讨Force CT高级建模迭代重建算法(ADMIRE)对门静脉图像质量影响。方法:回顾性分析2022年1—4月于中山大学附属第八医院行上腹部CT平扫及增强的40例患者影像资料,在syngo.via后处理工作站重建,采用门脉期原始数据重建出滤波反投影算法(FBP)、ADMIRE1、ADMIRE3、ADMIRE5 4组不同重建算法的图像,在4组不同算法图像上测量门静脉干中心位置、肝实质及同层竖脊肌的CT值和噪声值,计算门静脉和肝实质的信噪比(SNR)和对比噪声比(CNR)。此外,由两位具有5年以上诊断经验的医生对图像进行主观评分。结果:随着迭代等级的增高,图像的CNR、SNR呈现上升的趋势,图像的噪声值呈现下降的趋势,其中ADMIRE5组图像中门静脉和肝脏具有最高的CNR和SNR且具有最低的噪声值,以及最高的主观评分,采用ADMIRE5重建算法的门静脉与周围组织对比非常好,门静脉5级分支显示良好。结论:高级建模迭代重建ADMIRE算法相比于FBP重建算法,降噪效果更好,门静脉的显示更加锐利,能提升门静脉的图像质量。

Acoustic radiation force impulse predicts long-term outcomes in a large-scale cohort:High liver cancer,low comorbidity in hepatitis B virus

BACKGROUND Acoustic radiation force impulse(ARFI)is used to measure liver fibrosis and predict outcomes.The performance of elastography in assessment of fibrosis is poorer in hepatitis B virus(HBV)than in other etiologies of chronic liver disease.AIM To evaluate the performance of ARFI in long-term outcome prediction among different etiologies of chronic liver disease.METHODS Consecutive patients who received an ARFI study between 2011 and 2018 were enrolled.After excluding dual infection,alcoholism,autoimmune hepatitis,and others with incomplete data,this retrospective cohort were divided into hepatitis B(HBV,n=1064),hepatitis C(HCV,n=507),and non-HBV,non-HCV(NBNC,n=391)groups.The indexed cases were linked to cancer registration(1987-2020)and national mortality databases.The differences in morbidity and mortality among the groups were analyzed.RESULTS At the enrollment,the HBV group showed more males(77.5%),a higher prevalence of prediagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),and a lower prevalence of comorbidities than the other groups(P<0.001).The HCV group was older and had a lower platelet count and higher ARFI score than the other groups(P<0.001).The NBNC group showed a higher body mass index and platelet count,a higher prevalence of pre-diagnosed non-HCC cancers(P<0.001),especially breast cancer,and a lower prevalence of cirrhosis.Male gender,ARFI score,and HBV were independent predictors of HCC.The 5-year risk of HCC was 5.9%and 9.8%for those ARFI-graded with severe fibrosis and cirrhosis.ARFI alone had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUROC)of 0.742 for prediction of HCC in 5 years.AUROC increased to 0.828 after adding etiology,gender,age,and platelet score.No difference was found in mortality rate among the groups.CONCLUSION The HBV group showed a higher prevalence of HCC but lower comorbidity that made mortality similar among the groups.Those patients with ARFI-graded severe fibrosis or cirrhosis should receive regular surveillance.

Acoustic radiation force on a cylindrical composite particle with an elastic thin shell and an internal eccentric liquid column in a plane ultrasonic wave field

A model with three-layer structure is introduced to explore the acoustic radiation force(ARF)on composite particles with an elastic thin shell.Combing acoustic scattering of cylinder and the thin-shell theorem,the ARF expression was derived,and the longitudinal and transverse components of the force and axial torque for an eccentric liquid-filled composite particle was obtained.It was found that many factors,such as medium properties,acoustic parameters,eccentricity,and radius ratio of the inner liquid column,affect the acoustic scattering field of the particle,which in turn changes the forces and torque.The acoustic response varies with the particle structures,so the resonance peaks of the force function and torque shift with the eccentricity and radii ratio of particle.The acoustic response of the particle is enhanced and exhibits higher force values due to the presence of the elastic thin shell and the coupling effect with the eccentricity of the internal liquid column.The decrease of the inner liquid density may suppress the high-order resonance peaks,and internal fluid column has less effects on the change in force on composite particle at ka>3,while limited differences exist at ka<3.The axial torque on particles due to geometric asymmetry is closely related to ka and the eccentricity.The distribution of positive and negative force and torque along the axis ka exhibits that composite particle can be manipulated or separated by ultrasound.Our theoretical analysis can provide support for the acoustic manipulation,sorting,and targeting of inhomogeneous particles.

Imaging a force field via an optically levitated nanoparticle array

Levitated optomechanical systems represent an excellent candidate platform for force and acceleration sensing.We propose a force-sensing protocol utilizing an optically levitated nanoparticle array.In our scheme,N nanoparticles are trapped in an optical cavity using holographic optical tweezers.An external laser drives the cavity,exciting N cavity modes interacting simultaneously with the N nanoparticles.The optomechanical interaction encodes the information of the force acting on each nanoparticle onto the intracavity photons,which can be detected directly at the output ports of the cavity.Consequently,our protocol enables real-time imaging of a force field.

Study of the Lift Force Induced by An Interceptor on A High-Speed Mono-Hull:The Affecting Factors and Estimation Formula

To find a better way to estimate the lift force induced by an interceptor on a high-speed mono-hull ship,a series of high-speed mono-hull ship models are designed and investigated under different conditions.Different lift forces are obtained by numerical calculations and validated by a model test in a towing tank.The factors that influence the force are the interceptor height,velocity,draft,and deadrise angle.The relationship between each factor and the induced lift force is investigated and obtained.We found that the induced lift mainly depends on the interceptor height and advancing velocity,and is proportional to the square of the interceptor height and velocity.The results also showed that the effects of the draft and deadrise angle are relatively less important,and the relationship between the induced lift and these two factors is generally linear.Based on the results,a formula including the combined effect of all factors used to estimate the lift force induced by the interceptor is developed based on systematic analysis.The proposed formula could be used to estimate the lift force induced by interceptors,especially under high-speed condition.

Comparisons of Wave Force Model Effects on the Structural Responses and Fatigue Loads of a Semi-Submersible Floating Wind Turbine

The selection of wave force models will significantly impact the structural responses of floating wind turbines.In this study,comparisons of wave force model effects on the structural responses and fatigue loads of a semi-submersible floating wind turbine(SFWT)were conducted.Simulations were performed by employing the Morison equation(ME)with linear or second-order wave kinematics and potential flow theory(PFT)with first-or second-order wave forces.A comparison of regular waves,irregular waves,and coupled wind/waves analyses with the experimental data showed that many of the simulation results and experimental data are relatively consistent.However,notable discrepancies are found in the response amplitude operators for platform heave,tower base bending moment,and tension in mooring lines.PFT models give more satisfactory results of heave but more significant discrepan-cies in tower base bending moment than the ME models.In irregular wave analyses,low-frequency resonances were captured by PFT models with second-order difference-frequency terms,and high-frequency resonances were captured by the ME models or PFT models with second-order sum-frequency terms.These force models capture the response frequencies but do not reasonably predict the response amplitudes.The coupled wind/waves analyses showed more satisfactory results than the wave-only analyses.However,an important detail to note is that this satisfactory result is based on the overprediction of wind-induced responses.

Effect of preload forces on multidimensional signal dynamic behaviours for battery early safety warning

Providing early safety warning for batteries in real-world applications is challenging.In this study,comprehensive thermal abuse experiments are conducted to clarify the multidimensional signal evolution of battery failure under various preload forces.The time-sequence relationship among expansion force,voltage,and temperature during thermal abuse under five categorised stages is revealed.Three characteristic peaks are identified for the expansion force,which correspond to venting,internal short-circuiting,and thermal runaway.In particular,an abnormal expansion force signal can be detected at temperatures as low as 42.4°C,followed by battery thermal runaway in approximately 6.5 min.Moreover,reducing the preload force can improve the effectiveness of the early-warning method via the expansion force.Specifically,reducing the preload force from 6000 to 1000 N prolongs the warning time(i.e.,227 to 398 s)before thermal runaway is triggered.Based on the results,a notable expansion force early-warning method is proposed that can successfully enable early safety warning approximately 375 s ahead of battery thermal runaway and effectively prevent failure propagation with module validation.This study provides a practical reference for the development of timely and accurate early-warning strategies as well as guidance for the design of safer battery systems.

Effect mechanism of seepage force on the hydraulic fracture propagation

The flow of fluid through the porous matrix of a reservoir rock applies a seepage force to the solid rock matrix.Although the seepage force exerted by fluid flow through the porous matrix of a reservoir rock has a notable influence on rock deformation and failure,its effect on hydraulic fracture(HF)propagation remains ambiguous.Therefore,in this study,we improved a traditional fluid–solid coupling method by incorporating the role of seepage force during the fracturing fluid seepage,using the discrete element method.First,we validated the simulation results of the improved method by comparing them with an analytical solution of the seepage force and published experimental results.Next,we conducted numerical simulations in both homogeneous and heterogeneous sandstone formations to investigate the influence of seepage force on HF propagation.Our results indicate that fluid viscosity has a greater impact on the magnitude and extent of seepage force compared to injection rate,and that lower viscosity and injection rate correspond to shorter hydraulic fracture lengths.Furthermore,seepage force influences the direction of HF propagation,causing HFs to deflect towards the side of the reservoir with weaker cementation and higher permeability.

Dynamic-based model for calculating the boulder impact force in debris flow

The boulder impact force in debris flow is generally calculated by static methods such as the cantilever beam models.However,these methods cannot describe the dynamic scenario of boulder collision on structures,so the inertia and damping effects of the structures are not involved causing an overestimation on the boulder impact force.In order to address this issue,a dynamic-based model for calculating the boulder impact force of a debris flow was proposed in this study,and the dynamic characteristics of a cantilever beam with multiple degrees of freedom under boulder collision were investigated.By using the drop-weight method to simulate boulders within debris flow,seven experiments of drop-weight impacting the cantilever beam were used to calibrate the error of the dynamicbased model.Results indicate that the dynamic-based model is able to reconstruct the impact force history on the cantilever beam during impact time and the error of dynamic-based model is 15.3%in calculating boulder impact force,significantly outperforming the cantilever beam model’s error of 285%.Therefore,the dynamic-based model can overcome the drawbacks of the static-based models and provide a more reliable theoretical foundation for the engineering design of debris flow control structures.

Electric field and force characteristic of dust aerosol particles on the surface of high-voltage transmission line

High-voltage transmission lines play a crucial role in facilitating the utilization of renewable energy in regions prone to desertification. The accumulation of atmospheric particles on the surface of these lines can significantly impact corona discharge and wind-induced conductor displacement. Accurately quantifying the force exerted by particles adhering to conductor surfaces is essential for evaluating fouling conditions and making informed decisions. Therefore, this study investigates the changes in electric field intensity along branched conductors caused by various fouling layers and their resulting influence on the adhesion of dust particles. The findings indicate that as individual particle size increases, the field strength at the top of the particle gradually decreases and eventually stabilizes at approximately 49.22 k V/cm, which corresponds to a field strength approximately 1.96 times higher than that of an unpolluted transmission line. Furthermore,when particle spacing exceeds 15 times the particle size, the field strength around the transmission line gradually decreases and approaches the level observed on non-adhering surface. The electric field remains relatively stable. In a triangular arrangement of three particles, the maximum field strength at the tip of the fouling layer is approximately 1.44 times higher than that of double particles and 1.5 times higher compared to single particles. These results suggest that particles adhering to the transmission line have a greater affinity for adsorbing charged particles. Additionally, relevant numerical calculations demonstrate that in dry environments, the primary adhesion forces between particles and transmission lines follow an order of electrostatic force and van der Waals force. Specifically, at the minimum field strength, these forces are approximately74.73 times and 19.43 times stronger than the gravitational force acting on the particles.

An extended social force model on unidirectional flow considering psychological and behavioral impacts of hazard source

An accurate assessment of the evacuation efficiency in case of disasters is of vital importance to the safety design of buildings and street blocks.Hazard sources not only physically but psychologically affect the pedestrians,which may further alter their behavioral patterns.This effect is especially significant in narrow spaces,such as corridors and alleys.This study aims to integrate a non-spreading hazard source into the social force model following the results from a previous experiment and simulation,and to simulate unidirectional pedestrian flows over various crowd densities and clarity–intensity properties of the hazard source.The integration include a virtual repulsion force from the hazard source and a decay on the social force term.The simulations reveal(i)that the hazard source creates virtual bottlenecks that suppress the flow,(ii)that the inter-pedestrian push forms a stabilisation phase on the flow-density curve within medium-to-high densities,and(iii)that the pedestrians are prone to a less orderly and stable pattern of movement in low clarity–intensity scenarios,possibly with lateral collisions passing the hazard source.

Experimental Study on the Electrochemical Performance of PEMFC under Different Assembly Forces

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC)is of paramount significance to the development of clean energy.The components of PEMFC are assembled using many pairs of nuts and bolts.The assembly champing bolt torque is critical to the electrochemical performance and mechanical stability of PEMFC.In this paper,a PEMFC with the threechannel serpentine flow field was used and studied.The different assembly clamping bolt torques were applied to the PEMFC in three uniform assembly bolt torque and six non-uniform assembly bolt torque conditions,respectively.And then,the electrochemical performance experiments were performed to study the effect of the assembly bolt torque on the electrochemical performance.The test results show that the assembly bolt torque significantly affected the electrochemical performance of the PEMFC.In uniform assembly bolt torque conditions,the maximal power density increased initially as the assembly bolt torque increased,and then decreased on further increasing the assembly torque.It existed the optimum assembly torque which was found to be 3.0 N·m in this work.In non-uniform assembly clamping bolt torque conditions,the optimum electrochemical performance appeared in the condition where the assembly torque of each bolt was closer to be 3.0 N·m.This could be due to the change of the contact resistance between the gas diffusion layer and bipolar plate and mass transport resistance for the hydrogen and oxygen towards the catalyst layers.This work could optimize the assembly force conditions and provide useful information for the practical PEMFC stack assembly.

Correlation of work function and stacking fault energy through Kelvin probe force microscopy and nanohardness in diluteα-magnesium

Electronic interactions of the Group 2A elements with magnesium have been studied through the dilute solid solutions in binary Mg-Ca,Mg-Sr and Mg-Ba systems.This investigation incorporated the difference in the‘Work Function'(ΔWF)measured via Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy(KPFM),as a property directly affected by interatomic bond types,i.e.the electronic structure,nanoindentation measurements,and Stacking Fault Energy values reported in the literature.It was shown that the nano-hardness of the solid-solutionα-Mg phase changed in the order of Mg-Ca>Mg-Sr>Mg-Ba.Thus,it was shown,by also considering the nano-hardness levels,that SFE of a solid-solution is closely correlated with its‘Work Function'level.Nano-hardness measurements on the eutectics andΔWF difference between eutectic phases enabled an assessment of the relative bond strength and the pertinent electronic structures of the eutectics in the three alloys.Correlation withΔWF and at least qualitative verification of those computed SFE values with some experimental measurement techniques were considered important as those computational methods are based on zero Kelvin degree,relatively simple atomic models and a number of assumptions.As asserted by this investigation,if the results of measurement techniques can be qualitatively correlated with those of the computational methods,it can be possible to evaluate the electronic structures in alloys,starting from binary systems,going to ternary and then multi-elemental systems.Our investigation has shown that such a qualitative correlation is possible.After all,the SFE values are not treated as absolute values but rather become essential in comparative investigations when assessing the influences of alloying elements at a fundamental level,that is,free electron density distributions.Our study indicated that the principles of‘electronic metallurgy'in developing multi-elemental alloy systems can be followed via practical experimental methods,i.e.ΔWF measurements using KPFM and nanoindentation.

Sensitivity impacts owing to the variations in the type of zero-range pairing forces on the fission properties using the density functional theory

Using the Skyrme density functional theory,potential energy surfaces of^(240)Pu with constraints on the axial quadrupole and octupole deformations(q_(20)and q_(30))were calculated.The volume-like and surface-like pairing forces,as well as a combination of these two forces,were used for the Hartree–Fock–Bogoliubov approximation.Variations in the least-energy fission path,fission barrier,pairing energy,total kinetic energy,scission line,and mass distribution of the fission fragments based on the different forms of the pairing forces were analyzed and discussed.The fission dynamics were studied based on the timedependent generator coordinate method plus the Gaussian overlap approximation.The results demonstrated a sensitivity of the mass and charge distributions of the fission fragments on the form of the pairing force.Based on the investigation of the neutron-induced fission of^(239)Pu,among the volume,mixed,and surface pairing forces,the mixed pairing force presented a good reproduction of the experimental data.

The action mechanism of the work done by the electric field force on moving charges to stimulate the emergence of carrier generation/recombination in a PN junction

It is discovered that the product of the current and the electric field in a PN junction should be regarded as the rate of work(power)done by the electric field force on moving charges(hole current and electron current),which was previously misinterpreted as solely a Joule heating effect.We clarify that it is exactly the work done by the electric field force on the moving charges to stimulate the emergence of non-equilibrium carriers,which triggers the novel physical phenomena.As regards to Joule heat,we point out that it should be calculated from Ohm’s law,rather than simply from the product of the current and the electric field.Based on this understanding,we conduct thorough discussion on the role of the electric field force in the process of carrier recombination and carrier generation.The thermal effects of carrier recombination and carrier generation followed are incorporated into the thermal equation of energy.The present study shows that the exothermic effect of carrier recombination leads to a temperature rise at the PN interface,while the endothermic effect of carrier generation causes a temperature reduction at the interface.These two opposite effects cause opposite heat flow directions in the PN junction under forward and backward bias voltages,highlighting the significance of managing device heating phenomena in design considerations.Therefore,this study possesses referential significance for the design and tuning on the performance of piezotronic devices.

The deterministic condition for the ground reaction force acting point on the combined knee valgus and tibial internal rotation moments in early phase of cutting maneuvers in female athletes

Background:Combined knee valgus and tibial internal rotation(VL+IR)moments have been shown to stress the anterior cruciate ligament(ACL)in several in vitro cadaveric studies.To utilize this knowledge for non-contact ACL injury prevention in sports,it is necessary to elucidate how the ground reaction force(GRF)acting point(center of pressure(CoP))in the stance foot produces combined knee VL+IR moments in risky maneuvers,such as cuttings.However,the effects of the GRF acting point on the development of the combined knee VL+IR moment in cutting are still unknown.Methods:We first established the deterministic mechanical condition that the CoP position relative to the tibial rotational axis differentiates the GRF vector’s directional probability for developing the combined knee VL+IR moment,and theoretically predicted that when the CoP is posterior to the tibial rotational axis,the GRF vector is more likely to produce the combined knee VL+IR moment than when the CoP is anterior to the tibial rotational axis.Then,we tested a stochastic aspect of our theory in a lab-controlled in vivo experiment.Fourteen females performed 60˚cutting under forefoot/rearfoot strike conditions(10 trials each).The positions of lower limb markers and GRF data were measured,and the knee moment due to GRF vector was calculated.The trials were divided into anterior-and posterior-CoP groups depending on the CoP position relative to the tibial rotational axis at each 10 ms interval from 0 to 100 ms after foot strike,and the occurrence rate of the combined knee VL+IR moment was compared between trial groups.Results:The posterior-CoP group showed significantly higher occurrence rates of the combined knee VL+IR moment(maximum of 82.8%)at every time point than those of the anterior-CoP trials,as theoretically predicted by the deterministic mechanical condition.Conclusion:The rearfoot strikes inducing the posterior CoP should be avoided to reduce the risk of non-contact ACL injury associated with the combined knee VL+IR stress.

Distributed Dynamic Load in Structural Dynamics by the Impulse-Based Force Estimation Algorithm

This paper proposes a novel approach for identifying distributed dynamic loads in the time domain.Using polynomial andmodal analysis,the load is transformed intomodal space for coefficient identification.This allows the distributed dynamic load with a two-dimensional form in terms of time and space to be simultaneously identified in the form of modal force,thereby achieving dimensionality reduction.The Impulse-based Force Estimation Algorithm is proposed to identify dynamic loads in the time domain.Firstly,the algorithm establishes a recursion scheme based on convolution integral,enabling it to identify loads with a long history and rapidly changing forms over time.Secondly,the algorithm introduces moving mean and polynomial fitting to detrend,enhancing its applicability in load estimation.The aforementioned methodology successfully accomplishes the reconstruction of distributed,instead of centralized,dynamic loads on the continuum in the time domain by utilizing acceleration response.To validate the effectiveness of the method,computational and experimental verification were conducted.