Simulation of Coupling Process of Flexible Needle Insertion into Soft Tissue Based on ABAQUS

In order to get to the desired target inside the body,it is essential to investigate the needle-tissue coupling process and calculate the tissue deformation.A cantilever beam model is presented to predicting the deflection and bending angle of flexible needle by analyzing the distribution of the force on needle shaft during the procedure of needle insertion into soft tissue.Furthermore,a finite element(FE)coupling model is proposed to simulate the needle-tissue interactive process.The plane and spatial models are created to relate the needle and tissue nodes.Combined with the cantilever beam model and the finite element needle-tissue coupling model,the simulation of needle-tissue interaction was carried out by the ABAQUS software.The comparing experiments are designed to understand the needle-tissue interactions,by which the same points in the experiments and simulation are compared and analyzed.The results show that the displacements in x and z directions in the simulation can accord with the experiments,and the deformation inside the tissue mainly occurs in the axial direction.The study is beneficial to the robot-assisted and virtual needle insertion procedure,and to help the physicians to predict the inside tissue deformation during the treatments.

Trace element geochemistry and stable isotopic(δ^(13)C andδ^(15)N)records of the Paleocene coals,Salt Range,Punjab,Pakistan

The Paleocene coals of the Salt Range in the Punjab Province of Pakistan have great economic potential;however,their trace element and stable isotopic characteristics have not been studied in detail except for a few sporadic samples.In this study,a total of 59 coal samples of which 14 are obtained from open cast mines have been investigated for elemental composition andδ^(13)C-δ^(15)N isotopic signatures.Average contents of trace elements such as Co,Cr,Cu,Pb,Sr,Th,U,V,and Zn are 7.4,41.7,11.2,12.5,90.2,4.0,1.9,128,and 31.1 mg/kg,respectively.These values,when compared with the World Coal Clarke values,were relatively higher in low-rank coals in comparison with Clarke values for brown coals.Likewise,As(20.4 mg/kg),Co(6.6 mg/kg),Cr(22.4 mg/kg),Cu(^(13).3 mg/kg),Pb(19.2 mg/kg),Sr(^(15)4.7 mg/kg),Th(2.5 mg/kg),V(47.8 mg/kg),and Zn(75.1 mg/kg)were significantly higher in the sub-bituminous to bituminous coals of the Salt Range.Mineralogical analysis,based on X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,revealed that the studied samples contain illite,kaolinite calcite,gypsum,pyrite,and quartz.Elemental affinity with organic and inorganic phases of coals calculated by an indirect statistical approach indicated a positive association of ash content with Ag,Al,Co,Cr,Cs,Cu,Mn,P,Rb,Pb,Th,U,and V,suggesting the presence of inorganic components in studied coals.However,As,Fe,Sr,and Zn exhibit negative correlations that imply their association with the organic fraction.Theδ^(13)C andδ^(15)N isotopic range and average−24.94‰to−25.86‰(−25.41‰)and−2.77‰to 3.22‰(0.96‰),respectively,reflecting 3C type modern terrestrial vegetation were common in the palaeomires of studied coal seams.In addition,the trivial variations of 0.92‰and 0.45‰among^(13)C and^(15)N values can be attributed to water level fluctuations and plant assemblies.

Novel aspects of extracellular adenosine dynamics revealed by adenosine sensor cells

Adenosine modulates diverse physiological and pathological processes in the brain, including neuronal activities, blood flow, and inflammation. However, the mechanisms underlying the dynamics of extracellular adenosine are not fully understood. We have recently developed a novel biosensor, called an adenosine sensor cell, and we have characterized the neuronal and astrocytic pathways for elevating extracellular adenosine. In this review, the physiological implications and therapeutic potential of the pathways revealed by the adenosine sensor cells are discussed. We propose that the multiple pathways regulating extracellular adenosine allow for the diverse functions of this neuromodulator, and their malfunctions cause various neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Magneto-Optical Properties of Wider Gap Semiconductors ZnMnTe and ZnMnSe Films Prepared by MBE

TheⅡ-Ⅵbased magnetic semiconductors with a direct and wide optical bandgap are expected to show high potential for optical applications utilizing short wavelength laser diodes(LDs),such as 532-nm green and475-nm blue LDs.We have confirmed that the Faraday rotationθ_F in the ZnMnTe and ZnMnSe films deposited on quartz glass(QG)and sapphire(SA)substrates by using molecular beam epitaxy(MBE)is large near the absorption edge.This paper reports the magneto-optical properties of ZnMnTe and ZnMnSe films synthesized on the QG and SA substrates,and shows the result of a direct Faraday rotation observation successfully made for the ZnMnTe films under 1.28-kHz alternating magnetic fields.The optical absorption characteristics of the ZnMnTe films grown on the SA substrates by MBE are discussed by comparing them with the optical absorption properties and photoluminescence spectra of theⅡ-ⅥZnTe parent single crystals.

<i>In Situ</i>Observation and Measurement of Actin Stress Fiber Deformation in Stretched Osteoblast like Cell

It is believed that mechanical stimuli, such as stretching of the extracellular matrix, are transmitted into cells via focal adhesion complexes and the actin cytoskeleton. Transmission dynamics of strain from the extracellular matrix into intracellular organelles is crucial to clarify the mechanosensing mechanisms of cells. In this study, we observed deformation behavior of actin stress fibers under uniaxial stretch using an originally developed cell-stretching microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device. It was difficult to conduct in situ observation of cells under stretch using conventional cell stretching devices, because motion artifacts such as rigid displacement during stretch application were not negligible. Our novel cell-stretching MEMS device suppressed rigid displacement while stretching, and we succeeded in obtaining time-lapse images of stretched cells. Uniaxial strain with a 10% magnitude and strain rate of 0.5%/sec was applied to cells. Deformation behaviors of the cells and actin stress fibers were recorded using a confocal laser scanning microscope. In time-lapse images of stretched cells, strains along each stress fiber were measured manually. As a result, in cells with a relatively homogeneous stress fiber structure oriented in one direction, distribution of the axial strain on stress fibers generally corresponded to deformation of the stretching sheet on which the cells had adhered. However, in cells with a heterogeneous stress fiber structure oriented in several directions, we found that the strain distribution along stress fibers was not homogeneous. In regions around the cell nucleus, there was a more complicated strain distribution compared with other regions. Our results suggest the cell nucleus with a stiff mechanical resistance yields such a complicated strain distribution in stress fibers.

A Study of Quantitative Progress Evaluation Models for Open Source Projects

Open source software (OSS) has become an indispensable part of society, not only for personal use but also for corporate use. Projects developed and operated by OSS are called open source projects, and the number of such projects is increasing. On the other hand, because anyone can participate in an open source project, the progress of the project is uncertain due to differences in project members’ skills, development environments, and time zones of activity. Therefore, many users and companies need to understand the development and operation status of open source project. Then, the developers carefully make decisions on upgrading or installing new OSS. In this paper, we focus on the maintenance effort estimation for open source projects considering uncertainty. Also, we evaluate the project quantitatively using Earned Value Management (EVM). Moreover, we examine the appropriateness of the model for predicting the maintenance effort expeditures. Furthermore, we discuss the appropriateness of this EVM method.

East Asian VLBI Network observations of active galactic nuclei jets:imaging with KaVA+Tianma+Nanshan

The East Asian Very Long Baseline Interferometry(VLBI) Network(EAVN) is a rapidly evolving international VLBI array that is currently promoted under joint efforts among China,Japan and Korea.EAVN aims at forming a joint VLBI Network by combining a large number of radio telescopes distributed over East Asian regions.After the combination of the Korean VLBI Network(KVN) and the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry(VERA) into Ka VA,further expansion with the joint array in East Asia is actively promoted.Here we report the first imaging results(at 22 and 43 GHz) of bright radio sources obtained with Ka VA connected to Tianma 65-m and Nanshan 26-m Radio Telescopes in China.To test the EAVN imaging performance for different sources,we observed four active galactic nuclei(AGN) having different brightness and morphology.As a result,we confirmed that the Tianma 65-m Radio Telescope(TMRT) significantly enhances the overall array sensitivity,a factor of 4 improvement in baseline sensitivity and 2 in image dynamic range compared to the case of Ka VA only.The addition of the Nanshan 26-m Radio Telescope(NSRT) further doubled the east-west angular resolution.With the resulting high-dynamic-range,high-resolution images with EAVN(Ka VA+TMRT+NSRT),various fine-scale structures in our targets,such as the counter-jet in M87,a kink-like morphology of the 3 C 273 jet and the weak emission in other sources are successfully detected.This demonstrates the powerful capability of EAVN to study AGN jets and to achieve other science goals in general.Ongoing expansion of EAVN will further enhance the angular resolution,detection sensitivity and frequency coverage of the network.

岩石碎裂作用的分形尺度(英文)

各种各样的统计幂定律关系经常成功地被用来描述碎屑大小分布和断口形状 (不平整度 )的分级规律 ,表明碎裂作用是一种尺度不变的作用过程。一条新的有关岩石碎裂作用破裂能量的尺度律 ,可以由分形几何以及Griffith能量平衡的概念推导出来 ,而且它与先前三条关于大小缩减或Hall Petch关系的理论是相一致的。从材料强度的观点来看 ,断口形状的分形维数是形状因子和岩石Weibull均质系数的函数。在任何一次采集中 ,如果碎屑都是致密压实的 ,那么大小分布和碎屑不平整度的分形维数是相同的。然而有些地壳碎屑在三维体积上已不再是致密压实的 ,破裂的地壳可被当作分形的多孔物质来处理。在此情况下 ,地壳碎屑形状的分形容量与地壳断口大小分布的分形维数相关 ,可以预期 ,在大地构造及地震强度的分形分析中 ,地壳断口大小分布的分形维数可作为断裂制约条件之一。

Blockchain-Assisted Secure Fine-Grained Searchable Encryption for a Cloud-Based Healthcare Cyber-Physical System

The concept of sharing of personal health data over cloud storage in a healthcare-cyber physical system has become popular in recent times as it improves access quality.The privacy of health data can only be preserved by keeping it in an encrypted form,but it affects usability and flexibility in terms of effective search.Attribute-based searchable encryption(ABSE)has proven its worth by providing fine-grained searching capabilities in the shared cloud storage.However,it is not practical to apply this scheme to the devices with limited resources and storage capacity because a typical ABSE involves serious computations.In a healthcare cloud-based cyber-physical system(CCPS),the data is often collected by resource-constraint devices;therefore,here also,we cannot directly apply ABSE schemes.In the proposed work,the inherent computational cost of the ABSE scheme is managed by executing the computationally intensive tasks of a typical ABSE scheme on the blockchain network.Thus,it makes the proposed scheme suitable for online storage and retrieval of personal health data in a typical CCPS.With the assistance of blockchain technology,the proposed scheme offers two main benefits.First,it is free from a trusted authority,which makes it genuinely decentralized and free from a single point of failure.Second,it is computationally efficient because the computational load is now distributed among the consensus nodes in the blockchain network.Specifically,the task of initializing the system,which is considered the most computationally intensive,and the task of partial search token generation,which is considered as the most frequent operation,is now the responsibility of the consensus nodes.This eliminates the need of the trusted authority and reduces the burden of data users,respectively.Further,in comparison to existing decentralized fine-grained searchable encryption schemes,the proposed scheme has achieved a significant reduction in storage and computational cost for the secret key associated with users.It has been verified both theoretically and practically in the performance analysis section.

The LBFGS quasi-Newtonian method for molecular modeling prion AGAAAAGA amyloid fibrils

Experimental X-ray crystallography, NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy, dual polarization interferometry, etc. are indeed very powerful tools to determine the 3-Dimensional structure of a protein (including the membrane protein);theoretical mathematical and physical computational approaches can also allow us to obtain a description of the protein 3D structure at a submicroscopic level for some unstable, noncrystalline and insoluble proteins. X-ray crystallography finds the X-ray final structure of a protein, which usually need refinements using theoretical protocols in order to produce a better structure. This means theoretical methods are also important in determinations of protein structures. Optimization is always needed in the computer-aided drug design, structure-based drug design, molecular dynamics, and quantum and molecular mechanics. This paper introduces some optimization algorithms used in these research fields and presents a new theoretical computational method—an improved LBFGS Quasi-Newtonian mathematical optimization method—to produce 3D structures of prion AGAAAAGA amyloid fibrils (which are unstable, noncrystalline and insoluble), from the potential energy minimization point of view. Because the NMR or X-ray structure of the hydrophobic region AGAAAAGA of prion proteins has not yet been determined, the model constructed by this paper can be used as a reference for experimental studies on this region, and may be useful in furthering the goals of medicinal chemistry in this field.

单用拉米夫定治疗慢性HBV感染期间发生暴发性肝炎的预测指标

Background. Breakthrough hepatitis (BTH), defined as a flare of transaminases alanine aminotransferase (ALT),can occur during lamivudine monotherapy for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. There have been many reports of lamivudine resistant mutations within the C domain of the viral reverse transcriptase; however, the appearance of these mutants is not necessarily correlated with BTH during lamivudine therapy. Methods and Results. Entire serial HBV genomic sequences before and during lamivudine therapy for 4 patients with BTH and 1 patient without BTH were analyzed and showed changes in the pre S region. These changes may be associated with ALT flares. Further investigation in a cohort of 36 patients with a median treatment period of 25 months showed that 21 patients had a rise in HBV DNA titer, of whom 18 had BTH. Univariate statistical analyses showed that possible prognostic indicators for the occurrence of BTH were pre S deletions (P = 0.03) and L180M/M204L mutations (P = 0.04). By multivariate Cox regression analyses, significant variables were pre S deletions (hazard ratio, 0.17; 95%confidence internal (CI), 0.044-0.66) and precore mutations (hazard ratio, 5.70; 95%CI 1.74-18.71) prior to the commencement of lamivudine monotherapy. Interestingly, BTH occurred after the selection of the wild type species in the pre S region during lamivudine monotherapy. Conclusions. These results suggest that patients with HBV pre S deletionmutants should bemonitored carefully during lamivudine therapy.

Higher levels of the lipophilic antioxidants coenzyme Q_(10) and vitamin E in long-lived termite queens than in short-lived workers

Termite queens and kings live longer than nonreproductive workers.Several molecular mechanisms contributing to their long lifespan have been investigated;however,the underlying biochemical explanation remains unclear.Coenzyme Q(CoQ),a component of the mitochondrial electron transport chain,plays an essential role in the lipophilic antioxidant defense system.Its beneficial effects on health and longevity have been well studied in several organisms.Herein,we demonstrated that long-lived termite queens have significantly higher levels of the lipophilic antioxidant CoQ_(10) than workers.Liquid chromatography analysis revealed that the levels of the reduced form of CoQ_(10) were 4 fold higher in the queen's body than in the worker's body.In addition,queens showed 7 fold higher levels of vitamin E,which plays a role in antilipid peroxidation along with CoQ,than workers.Furthermore,the oral administration of CoQ_(10) to termites increased the CoQ_(10) redox state in the body and their survival rate under oxidative stress.These findings suggest that CoQ_(10) acts as an efficient lipophilic antioxidant along with vitamin E in long-lived termite queens.This study provides essential biochemical and evolutionary insights into the relationship between CoQ_(10) concentrations and termite lifespan extension.

地幔水化及水在大火成岩省形成中的作用

大火成岩省的形成受控于多种因素,包括异常的地幔温度、易熔饱满组分的存在、地幔源中的挥发分和减压的程度。在一个具体大火成岩省中,所有的因素缺少完整的检验导致了地幔柱模型存在争议。这里,我们报道了估算的来自中国西南峨眉山大火成岩省的辉石中水的含量。尽管这些辉石表现出类岛弧的水含量(达到3.4%),微量元素特征并不支持俯冲带的设定但是指示了深处地幔的含水储层。结合之前的研究,我们提出含水的热地幔在显生宙偶尔出现制造了大陆大火成岩省(例如:塔里木、西伯利亚圈闭和卡鲁)。地幔柱形成深处地幔含水储层的广泛例子表明,地球内部大范围水化。

Chemical reaction in a liquid–liquid phase‐separated multiple droplet:Synchronization of color change dynamics with droplet movement

Liquid–liquid phase separation in a biotic cell system organizes complicated biochemical reactions and functions by forming membraneless compartments that allow a substrate to move across the phase boundary.On the other hand,liquid–liquid phase separation in an abiotic system gives rise to an emulsion and/or multiple droplets that hardly undergo chemical reactions.We have developed a method for the formation of phase‐separated multiple droplet in a ternary mixture with a 3D‐printed microchannel and demonstrated the occurrence of the iron(III)thiocyanate ligand exchange reaction in the multiple droplet.The reaction proceeded differently in the outer‐and the inner‐droplet phases,giving a different iron(III)complex that was identified on the basis of its color change.Surprisingly,the color change was dynamic,enabling visualization of the interphase mass transfer.At the same time,the color change dynamics synchronized with the multiple‐droplet movement.

Response surface method for modeling the removal of carbon dioxide from a simulated gas using water absorption enhanced with a liquid-film-forming device

This paper presents the results from using a physical absorption process to absorb gaseous CO2mixed with N2using water by producing tiny bubbles via a liquid-film-forming device（LFFD）that improves the solubility of CO2in water.The influence of various parameters—pressure,initial CO2concentration,gas-to-liquid ratios,and temperature—on the CO2removal efficiency and its absorption rate in water were investigated and estimated thoroughly by statistical polynomial models obtained by the utilization of the response surface method（RSM）with a central composite design（CCD）.Based on the analysis,a high efficiency of CO2capture can be reached in conditions such as low pressure,high CO2concentration at the inlet,low gas/liquid ratio,and low temperature.For instance,the highest removal efficiency in the RSM–CCD experimental matrix of nearly 80%occurred for run number 20,which was conducted at 0.30 MPa,CO2concentration of 35%,gas/liquid ratio of 0.71,and temperature of 15℃.Furthermore,the coefficients of determination,R^2,were 0.996 for the removal rate and 0.982 for the absorption rate,implying that the predicted values computed by the constructed models correlate strongly and fit well with the experimental values.The results obtained provide essential information for implementing this method properly and effectively and contribute a promising approach to the problem of CO2capture in air pollution treatment.

Ultrahigh figure-of-merit of Cu2Se incorporated with carbon coated boron nanoparticles

Cu2Se based thermoelectric materials are of great potential for high-temperature energy harvesting due to their high-temperature figure-of-merit(zT).For further development of Cu2Se,both engineering and mid-temperature figure-of-merit need to be improved.In this work,we report that carbon-coated boron(C/B)nanoparticles incorporation can significantly improve both mid-and high-temperature zT in Cu2Se.The nanoparticle inclusions can result in a homogeneous distribution of Cu:C:B interfaces responsible for both improvement of the Seebeck coefficient and significantly reduction in thermal conductivity.Ultrahigh mid-and high temperature thermoelectric performance with zT=1.7 at 700 K and 2.23 at 1000 K as well as significantly improved engineering zT are achieved in the C/B incorporated Cu2Se with desirable mechanical properties and cycling stability.Our findings will stimulate further study and exploration for the Cu2Se based thermoelectric materials for broad applications in converting waste heat to electricity with competitive energy conversion efficiency.

New Insights into Dynamic Actin-Based Chloroplast Photorelocation Movement

Chloroplast movement is essential for plants to survive under various environmental light conditions. Photo- tropins--plant-specific blue-light-activated receptor kinases--mediate the response by perceiving light intensity and direction. Recently, novel chloroplast actin （cp-actin） filaments have been identified as playing a pivotal role in the directional chloroplast photorelocation movement. Encouraging progress has recently been made in this field of research through molecular genetics and cell biological analyses. This review describes factors that have been identified as being involved in chloroplast movement and their roles in the regulation of cp-actin filaments, thus providing a basis for reflection on their biochemical activities and functions.