Stiffness-tunable biomaterials provide a good extracellular matrix environment for axon growth and regeneration

Neuronal growth, extension, branching, and formation of neural networks are markedly influenced by the extracellular matrix—a complex network composed of proteins and carbohydrates secreted by cells. In addition to providing physical support for cells, the extracellular matrix also conveys critical mechanical stiffness cues. During the development of the nervous system, extracellular matrix stiffness plays a central role in guiding neuronal growth, particularly in the context of axonal extension, which is crucial for the formation of neural networks. In neural tissue engineering, manipulation of biomaterial stiffness is a promising strategy to provide a permissive environment for the repair and regeneration of injured nervous tissue. Recent research has fine-tuned synthetic biomaterials to fabricate scaffolds that closely replicate the stiffness profiles observed in the nervous system. In this review, we highlight the molecular mechanisms by which extracellular matrix stiffness regulates axonal growth and regeneration. We highlight the progress made in the development of stiffness-tunable biomaterials to emulate in vivo extracellular matrix environments, with an emphasis on their application in neural repair and regeneration, along with a discussion of the current limitations and future prospects. The exploration and optimization of the stiffness-tunable biomaterials has the potential to markedly advance the development of neural tissue engineering.

Negative Stiffness Mechanism on An Asymmetric Wave Energy Converter by Using A Weakly Nonlinear Potential Model

Salter's duck,an asymmetrical wave energy converter(WEC)device,showed high efficiency in extracting energy from 2D regular waves in the past;yet,challenges remain for fluctuating wave conditions.These can potentially be addressed by adopting a negative stiffness mechanism(NSM)in WEC devices to enhance system efficiency,even in highly nonlinear and steep 3D waves.A weakly nonlinear model was developed which incorporated a nonlinear restoring moment and NSM into the linear formulations and was applied to an asymmetric WEC using a time domain potential flow model.The model was initially validated by comparing it with published experimental and numerical computational fluid dynamics results.The current results were in good agreement with the published results.It was found that the energy extraction increased in the range of 6%to 17%during the evaluation of the effectiveness of the NSM in regular waves.Under irregular wave conditions,specifically at the design wave conditions for the selected test site,the energy extraction increased by 2.4%,with annual energy production increments of approximately 0.8MWh.The findings highlight the potential of NSM in enhancing the performance of asymmetric WEC devices,indicating more efficient energy extraction under various wave conditions.

Static-to-kinematic modeling and experimental validation of tendon-driven quasi continuum manipulators with nonconstant subsegment stiffness

Continuum robots with high flexibility and compliance have the capability to operate in confined and cluttered environments. To enhance the load capacity while maintaining robot dexterity, we propose a novel non-constant subsegment stiffness structure for tendon-driven quasi continuum robots(TDQCRs) comprising rigid-flexible coupling subsegments.Aiming at real-time control applications, we present a novel static-to-kinematic modeling approach to gain a comprehensive understanding of the TDQCR model. The analytical subsegment-based kinematics for the multisection manipulator is derived based on screw theory and product of exponentials formula, and the static model considering gravity loading,actuation loading, and robot constitutive laws is established. Additionally, the effect of tension attenuation caused by routing channel friction is considered in the robot statics, resulting in improved model accuracy. The root-mean-square error between the outputs of the static model and the experimental system is less than 1.63% of the arm length(0.5 m). By employing the proposed static model, a mapping of bending angles between the configuration space and the subsegment space is established. Furthermore, motion control experiments are conducted on our TDQCR system, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the static-to-kinematic model.

Sliding modes of fault activation under constant normal stiffness conditions

Fault activation has been the focus of research community for years.However,the studies of fault activation remain immature,such as the fault activation mode and its major factors under constant normal stiffness(CNS)conditions associated with large thickness of fault surrounding rock mass.In this study,the rock friction experiments were conducted to understand the fault activation modes under the CNS conditions.Two major parameters,i.e.the initial normal stress and loading rate,were considered and calibrated in the tests.To reveal the response mechanism of fault activation,the local strains near the fault plane were recorded,and the macroscopic stresses and displacements were analyzed.The testing results show that the effect of displacement-controlled loading rate is more pronounced under the CNS conditions than that under constant normal load(CNL)conditions.Both the normal and shear stresses drop suddenly when the stick-slip occurs.The decrease and increase of the normal stress are synchronous with the shear stress in the regular stick-slip scenario,but mismatch with the shear stress during the chaotic stick-slip process.The results are helpful for understanding the fault sliding mode and the prediction and prevention of fault slip.

Stiffness Characteristics of a Basic Nonlinear Air Spring Model

This study predicts the characteristics of a compressible polytropic air spring model. A second-order nonlinear autonomous air spring model is presented. The proposed model is based on the assumption that polytropic processes occur. Isothermal and isentropic compression and expansion of the air within the spring chambers are the two scenarios that are taken into consideration. In these situations, the air inside the spring chambers compresses and expands, resulting in nonlinear spring restoring forces. The MATLAB/Simulink software environment is used to build a numerical simulation model for the dynamic behavior of the air spring. To quantify the values of the stiffnesses of the proposed models, a numerical solution is run over time for various values of the design parameters. The isentropic process case has a higher dynamic air spring stiffness than the isothermal process case, according to the results. The size of the air spring chamber and the area of the air spring piston influence the air spring stiffness in both situations. It is demonstrated that the stiffness of the air spring increases linearly with increasing piston area and decreases nonlinearly with increasing air chamber length. As long as the ratio of the vibration’s amplitude to the air spring’s chamber length is small, there is good agreement in both scenarios between the linearized model and the full nonlinear model. This implies that linear modeling is a reasonable approximation of the complete nonlinear model in this particular scenario.

ODS MA754合金传热界面接触热阻实验研究

鉴于ODS MA754合金传热界面的接触热阻参数对全固态堆芯空间反应堆系统的热量导出具有重要影响,研发和设计了高温高压接触热阻实验装置,测量了不同温度(20~800℃)、压力(0~80 MPa)、气体氛围(He、CO_(2))以及试件表面粗糙度(1.6、3.2μm)下ODS MA754合金传热界面的接触热阻,并基于测试获得的宽量程数据点,建立了ODS MA754合金的接触热阻数据库。实验结果表明:随着接触面温度和压力的升高,界面接触热阻降低,且热阻降低的速率逐渐减小;相较于表面粗糙度为1.6μm的试件,粗糙度为3.2μm试件表面的界面接触热阻明显偏大,实验得到的定量关系可为工程样件的加工粗糙度要求提供依据;He气氛下的接触热阻远小于CO_(2)气氛,在0.1 MPa、100℃工况下,He气氛接触热阻约为CO_(2)气氛接触热阻的1/4。该研究结果可为空间反应堆的热工设计提供数据参考。

基于乘客OD间路径旅行时间的城市轨道交通客流分布计算模型的适用性研究

[目的]针对目前城市轨道交通(以下简称“城轨”)线网客流分布计算模型的客流计算结果与实际客流存在偏差的现象,需基于OD间路径的实际旅行时间,对基于多路径概率分配的客流分布计算模型的适用性展开研究。[方法]基于乘客OD间路径的实际旅行时间,分析揭示了现有城轨客流分布计算模型存在的主要问题;融合AFC(自动售检票)系统和ATS(列车自动监控)系统两类数据,构建并标定了基于乘客OD间路径旅行时间的城轨客流分布计算模型;对目前国内城轨系统广泛采用的基于多路径概率分配的城轨客流分布计算模型的适用性进行了分析与评价。[结果及结论]现有城轨客流分布计算模型在路径选择集和路径选择比例上存在主要问题。通过基于多路径概率分配的城轨客流分布计算模型获取的路径分配比例,得到的旅行时间分布模拟结果均为单峰,无法重现从AFC票卡提取的实际旅行时间分布的多峰情况。当城轨线网较为简单时,基于多路径概率分配的城轨客流分布计算模型基本适用;当线网规模不断增加,线网结构进一步复杂,列车运行方式的多样性、乘客出行行为的差异性等不断加大的条件下,该模型对于路径阻抗差异小的OD可能适用,而对于路径阻抗差异大的OD不适用。

基于异构数据特征的城市轨道交通OD客流短时预测方法

城市轨道交通起讫点(origin-destination,OD)客流短时预测在智能交通系统中意义重大,它为交通管控策略实施以及出行者出行选择提供了重要的决策依据。卷积神经网络被广泛用于交通数据空间相关性提取,但其平移不变性与局部敏感性导致该方法更重视局部特征而忽视全局特征。本研究构建了基于注意力机制的异构数据特征提取机模型(heterogeneous data feature extraction machine,HDFEM)以实现OD矩阵空间相关性的全局感知。该模型从时空特征和用地属性特征出发,构造异构数据OD时空张量与地理信息张量,依托模型张量编码层对异构数据张量进行分割与编码,通过注意力机制连接各张量块特征,提取OD矩阵中各个部分间的空间相关性。该方法不仅实现了异构数据与OD客流数据的融合,还兼顾了卷积神经网络模型未能处理的OD矩阵远距离特征,进而帮助模型更全面地学习OD客流的空间特征。对于OD时序特性,该模型使用了长短时记忆网络来处理。在杭州地铁自动售检票系统(auto fare collection,AFC)数据集上的实验结果表明:HDFEM模型相对于基于卷积神经网络的预测模型,其均方误差、平均绝对误差与标准均方根误差分别下降了4.1%,2.5%,2%,验证了全局OD特征感知对于城市轨道交通OD客流预测的重要性。

基于手机信令数据的城市居民动态OD矩阵提取方法

现有的城市居民出行调查周期较长,交通小区划分粒度粗糙,导致调查不能及时准确地获取居民出行信息。针对该问题,提出了一种基于手机信令数据的城市居民动态OD矩阵提取方法。首先,针对信令数据中的两种复杂噪声:乒乓切换和漂移数据,提出了基于窗口阈值的检测与等效位置替换方法,以及复杂漂移点的检测和标记处理方法;然后,提出一种改进的ST-DBSCAN聚类方法,引入一种等时化方法将时间信息与空间信息相结合,识别出行过程中的驻留点;最后,基于地理信息系统构建含有道路关键节点的路网,将居民出行OD与路网节点相匹配,有效推导出城市居民动态OD矩阵。实验结果表明:与ST-DBSCAN算法相比,所提改进的ST-DBSCAN算法在聚类效果和识别速度上分别提升了6.10%和5.26%;与统计方法和二阶统计量方法相比,基于改进的ST-DBSCAN算法的动态OD矩阵提取方法在均方误差(MSE)上分别降低了16.98%和21.55%。以北京市为例,运用提出的动态OD矩阵提取方法,能够及时有效地分析城市居民日常与高峰时段的出行特征。

Non-invasive model for predicting high-risk esophageal varices based on liver and spleen stiffness

BACKGROUND Acute bleeding due to esophageal varices(EVs)is a life-threatening complication in patients with cirrhosis.The diagnosis of EVs is mainly through upper gastrointestinal endoscopy,but the discomfort,contraindications and complications of gastrointestinal endoscopic screening reduce patient compliance.According to the bleeding risk of EVs,the Baveno VI consensus divides varices into high bleeding risk EVs(HEVs)and low bleeding risk EVs(LEVs).We sought to identify a non-invasive prediction model based on spleen stiffness measurement(SSM)and liver stiffness measurement(LSM)as an alternative to EVs screening.AIM To develop a safe,simple and non-invasive model to predict HEVs in patients with viral cirrhosis and identify patients who can be exempted from upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.METHODS Data from 200 patients with viral cirrhosis were included in this study,with 140 patients as the modelling group and 60 patients as the external validation group,and the EVs types of patients were determined by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and the Baveno Ⅵ consensus.Those patients were divided into the HEVs group(66 patients)and the LEVs group(74 patients).The effect of each parameter on HEVs was analyzed by univariate and multivariate analyses,and a noninvasive prediction model was established.Finally,the discrimination ability,calibration ability and clinical efficacy of the new model were verified in the modelling group and the external validation group.RESULTS Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that SSM and LSM were associated with the occurrence of HEVs in patients with viral cirrhosis.On this basis,logistic regression analysis was used to construct a prediction model:Ln[P/(1-P)]=-8.184-0.228×SSM+0.642×LSM.The area under the curve of the new model was 0.965.When the cut-off value was 0.27,the sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the model for predicting HEVs were 100.00%,82.43%,83.52%,and 100%,respectively.Compared with the four prediction models of liver stiffness-spleen diameter to platelet ratio score,variceal risk index,aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio,and Baveno VI,the established model can better predict HEVs in patients with viral cirrhosis.CONCLUSION Based on the SSM and LSM measured by transient elastography,we established a non-invasive prediction model for HEVs.The new model is reliable in predicting HEVs and can be used as an alternative to routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy screening,which is helpful for clinical decision making.

北斗/SINS/OD组合导航定位终端设计

针对常见组合导航系统在隧道、峡谷、森林等卫星信号较弱甚至出现失锁状况的地区,定位精度会迅速下降的问题,设计了北斗/捷联惯导(SINS)/里程计(OD)组合导航定位终端。终端设计以OMAPL137处理器为核心,包括北斗、SINS、里程计、4G通信和电源等模块。数据处理部分以北斗导航接收机和根据SINS/OD推算分别得到的伪距、伪距率之间的差值作为量测值,使用拓展卡尔曼(EKF)滤波算法进行数据融合与误差估计。实验结果表明,北斗/SINS/OD组合导航定位终端在卫星失锁情况下行驶总里程5 km时最大位置误差为46.82 m,误差漂移为0.94%,能够有效解决卫星信号受遮蔽导致定位精度下降的问题,实现平滑载体运行轨迹并提高导航定位精度。

出租车OD序列聚类的城市功能区识别算法研究

提出一种由添加窗口约束的规整路径距离改进的K中心聚类算法(LDTW-K-medoids),通过构造时间序列、动态时间规整、时间序列聚类、聚类结果解读的流程来识别城市功能区。将算法应用在纽约市城市功能区识别中,对50万条出租车OD数据进行处理,将265个交通小区划分为五大功能区,并结合出租车全局流动模式、建筑物面积指数和富集指数来定量识别功能性质。与谷歌地图和卫星影像对比的结果表明,算法能够有效识别城市功能区,总体精度为83.8%。

Letter to editor‘Non-invasive model for predicting high-risk esophageal varices based on liver and spleen stiffness’

predicting high-risk esophageal varices based on liver and spleen stiffness".Acute bleeding caused by esophageal varices is a life-threatening complication in patients with liver cirrhosis.Due to the discomfort,contraindications,and associated complications of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy screening,it is crucial to identify an imaging-based non-invasive model for predicting high-risk esophageal varices in patients with cirrhosis.

不同焊接方法下燃料元件包壳用ODS钢焊接接头界面演化规律

ODS钢具有优异的高温力学性能、抗辐照性能和抗热蠕变性能等,是最有潜力的下一代核反应堆包壳候选材料之一。ODS钢的焊接技术主要包括熔焊、钎焊、压力焊等,根据核燃料元件包壳结构,选择电子束焊接、旋转摩擦焊及脉冲电流辅助扩散焊三种焊接方法进行对比研究,并对ODS钢焊接接头微观形貌演化进行分析,揭示了最优焊接方法及界面形貌演化规律。结果表明,电子束焊接及旋转摩擦焊接工艺下,焊接接头的晶界处均有Y_(2)O_(3)析出,而采用脉冲电流辅助扩散焊无氧化物析出和团聚,对于Fe-Cr系ODS钢有突出优势。因此,脉冲电流辅助扩散焊在抑制ODS钢中纳米氧化物的析出、团聚和减少接头变形等方面具有显著优势,是一种适合ODS钢焊接的高质量焊接方法。

LAMOST的“Unknown”光谱分类研究:ODS-YOLOv7模型

天体识别是天文新发现和深入研究天体的基础。在LAMOST DR8 v1.0发布的低分辨率光谱数据中有约53万条因没有类别标签而被命名为“Unknown”的光谱,其中有88.56%的光谱信噪比在0~10之间,对这批光谱的研究分析将增加LAMOST的有效数据产出。该研究为“Unknown”光谱的分类设计了一种ODS-YOLOv7模型。它是一种端到端的类别预测模型,通过添加一维卷积注意力模块以提高光谱识别能力。在经过一批信噪比在0~10之间的已知类别光谱训练后,ODS-YOLOv7可以学习到低信噪比光谱的有效特征,进而实现对“Unknown”光谱的类别预测。实验表明,该模型在已知类别标记的低信噪比恒星、星系、类星体的光谱识别中,F1-score分别为0.98、0.95、0.95;同时在与传统算法KNN、RF、DT、SVM和深度学习算法1D CNN、1DSSCNN、ResNet、DenseNet、VIT对比实验中取得相对最好的效果。实验结果还给出了ODS-YOLOv7模型对DR8 v1.0中信噪比在0~10的“Unknown”光谱预测置信度分布,在预测类别为恒星、星系、类星体任务中,有92%的分类置信度在60%以上。为保证模型输出质量,本文只选取分类置信度大于99%的光谱类别作为输出结果。以此为依据,在DR8 v1.0和DR9 v0发布的全部“Unknown”光谱中分别有37.19%和47.03%被ODS-YOLOv7模型预测出类别。此外,还增加人工认证以检验该模型预测的正确性。为提升模型的可解释性,参照了二维图像特征可视化的Grad-CAM方法,将其改进为适合于可视化一维光谱数据特征的算法。其结果表明该模型可自动关注到不同的分类特征,使得该模型非常适用于低信噪比“Unknown”光谱的类别预测。

How to Make Systems of Nonlinear Autonomous ODEs with Attractor-Behavior, by First Making the General Solutions: Part Two

This paper is presenting a new method for making first-order systems of nonlinear autonomous ODEs that exhibit limit cycles with a specific geometric shape in two and three dimensions, or systems of ODEs where surfaces in three dimensions have attractor behavior. The method is to make the general solutions first by using the exponential function, sine, and cosine. We are building up the general solutions bit for bit according to constant terms that contain the formula of the desired limit cycle, and differentiating them. In Part One, we used only formulas for closed curves where all parts of the formula were of the same degree. In order to use many other formulas for closed curves, the method in this paper is to introduce an additional variable, and we will get an additional ODE. We will choose the part of the formula with the highest degree and multiply the other parts with an extra variable, so that all parts of the formula have the same degree, creating a constant term containing this new formula. We will place it under the fraction line in the solutions, building up the rest of the solutions according to this constant term and differentiating. Keeping this extra variable constant, we will achieve almost the desired result. Using the methods described in this paper, it is possible to make some systems of nonlinear ODEs that are exhibiting limit cycles with a distinct geometric shape in two or three dimensions and some surfaces having attractor behavior, where not all parts of the formulas are the same degree. The pictures show the result.

基于OD的高速公路收费站出入口流量预测方法

目前,高速公路收费站拥堵问题成为影响高速公路通行效率的重要因素,为收费站管理人员提供精准高效的拥堵流量预警具有重要的现实意义。文章基于GC-LSTM模型进行改进,提出了一种称为GC-LSTM-OD的高速公路出入口多步流量预测模型。该模型能够有效预测流量演变趋势,同时具备适应非常态情况的能力。为验证模型性能,文章使用了沿江高速太仓-常州段的现实流量数据,实验结果表明,相较于其他模型,GC-LSTM-OD在多步流量预测方面表现出更加优异的性能。

A Comparative Study on the Truck Frame Stiffness with Solid and Beam Element FEA Models

Truck frames should be designed and fabricated with enough rigidity to avoid excessive deflections. Finite element analysis (FEA) plays an important role in all stages of frame designs. While being accurate, 3D solid element FEA models are built upon frame configuration details which are not feasible in the preliminary design stage, partially because of limited available design data of frames and heavy computation costs. This research develops 1D beam element FEA models for simulating frame structures. In this paper, the CAD model of a truck frame is first created. The solid element FEA analysis, which is adopted as the baseline in this study, is subsequently conducted for the stiffness of the frame, Next, beam element FEA analysis is performed for validating the feasibility of the beam element FEA model by comparing the results from the solid and beam element FEA models. It is found that the beam element FEA model can predict the frame stiffness with acceptable accuracy and reduce the computation cost significantly.

Stiffness Degradation Modeling for Composite Wind Turbine Blades Based on Full-Scale Fatigue Testing

In order to provide more insights into the damage propagation composite wind turbine blades(blade)under cyclic fatigue loading,a stiffness degradation model for blade is proposed based on the full-scale fatigue testing of a blade.A novel non-linear fatigue damage accumulation model is proposed using the damage assessment theories of composite laminates for the first time.Then,a stiffness degradation model is established based on the correlation of fatigue damage and residual stiffness of the composite laminates.Finally,a stiffness degradation model for the blade is presented based on the full-scale fatigue testing.The scientific rationale of the proposed stiffness model of blade is verified by using full-scale fatigue test data of blade with a total length of 52.5 m.The results indicate that the proposed stiffness degradation model of the blade agrees well with the fatigue testing results of this blade.This work provides a basis for evaluating the fatigue damage and lifetime of blade under cyclic fatigue loading.

Stiff Person with Anti-GAD Antibodies

Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) is a rare autoimmune disease related to the lack of inhibition of excitatory neurons in the central nervous system leading to multiple motor dysfunction and symptoms due to uncontrolled motor neuron firing. The pathophysiology of the disease is not completely understood;however, high titers of Glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (anti-GAD Ab) have been found in such patients, which leads to its high association with the disease. We present a case of a 52-year-old female with a 20-year history of ongoing gait and balance issues. She is diagnosed with multiple conditions, including stiff person syndrome (GAD+), spinocerebellar ataxia with epilepsy, systemic lupus erythematosus, type 1 diabetes mellitus, IgA deficiency, hypothyroidism, and pernicious anemia. She presented in our institution with a history of a recent fall from a wheelchair. We review the case presentation and association of anti-GAD antibodies with stiff person syndrome and its treatment.