简介:Asystemisdescribedherethatcannoninvasivelycontrolthenavigationoffreelybehavingratviaultrasonic,epidermalandLEDphoticstimulatorsontheback.Thesystemreceivescommandsfromaremotehostcomputertodeliverspecifiedelectricalstimulationstothehearing,painandvisualsensesoftheratrespectively.Theresultsdemonstratethatthethreestimuliworkingroupsfortheratnavigation.Wecancontroltherattoproceedandmakerightandleftturnswithgreatefficiency.Thisexperimentverifiedthattheratwasabletoreachasettingdestinationinthewayofcablewiththehelpofapersonthroughtheappropriatecoordinationofthethreestimulators.Thetelemetryvideocameramountedontheheadoftheratalsoachieveddistantimageacquisitionandhelpedtoadjustitsnavigationpathoveradistanceof300m.Inaword,thenon-invasivemotioncontrolnavigationsystemisagood,stableandreliablebio-robot.
简介:Asystematicphylogeneticfootprintingapproachwasperformedtoidentifycon-servedtranscriptionfactorbindingsites(TFBSs)inmammalianpromoterregionsusinghuman,mouseandratsequencealignments.Wefoundthatthescoredis-tributionsofmostbindingsitemodelsdidnotfollowtheGaussiandistributionrequiredbymanystatisticalmethods.Therefore,weperformedanempiricaltesttoestablishtheoptimalthresholdforeachmodel.WegaugedourcomputationalpredictionsbycomparingwithpreviouslyknownTFBSsinthePCK1genepro-moterofthecytosolicisoformofphosphoenolpyruvatecarboxykinase,andachievedasensitivityof75%andaspecificityofapproximately32%.Almostallknownsitesoverlappedwithpredictedsites,andseveralnewputativeTFBSswerealsoidentified.WevalidatedapredictedSP1bindingsiteinthecontrolofPCK1tran-scriptionusinggelshiftandreporterassays.Finally,weappliedourcomputationalapproachtothepredictionofputativeTFBSswithinthepromoterregionsofallavailableRefSeqgenes.OurfullsetofTFBSpredictionsisfreelyavailableathttp://bfgl.anri.barc.usda.gov/tfbsConsSites.
简介:Themodulationandcontrolofgecko'sfootmovementswerestudiedelectrophysiologicallyinordertodesignthemotorcontrolsystemofagecko-mimicrobot.Inthisstudy(1)theanatomyoftheperipheralnervescontrollingthegecko'sfootmovementswasdetermined;(2)therelationshipbetweenthelimbnervesofthegeckoanditsfootmotorpatternswasstudied;(3)theafferentimpulsesofthenervesevokedbyrubbingthegecko'stoesandpalmwererecorded;(4)copyingthenaturalpatternsofmovementofthegecko'sfoot(abduction,adduction,flexion,andrevolution)anditslimbnervemodulationandcontrolmechanism,thenerveswerestimulatedundercomputercontrol,andtheresultsrecordedbyCCD.Resultssuggestthatgecko'sfootmovementscanbesuccessfullycontrolledbyartificialelectricalsignals.
简介:AflexiblehingelesscontrolsurfacemodelwasproposedformotioncontrolofUnderwaterVehicles(UVs),whichisinspiredbytheflexiblebendingcontrolsurfacesofunderwatercreatures,suchasfishandsquid.ComputationalFluidDynamics(CFD)simulationdemonstratesthat,incomparisonwiththehingedorrigidcontrolsurface,theproposedflexiblebendingcontrolsurfacecansuppresstheflowseparationsoastoimprovetheturningperformance.Aprototypeoftheflexiblecontrolsurfacewasfabricated,inwhichShapeMemoryAlloy(SMA)wireswereselectedastheactuators.Theelasticenergystorageandexchangemechanismwasincorporatedintotheactuationofthecontrolsurfacetoimprovetheefficiency.ThermalanalysisofSMAwireswasperformedtofindproperactuatingcondition.Open-loopbendingexperimentswerecarriedout.Theresultsshowthattheproposedcontrolsurfacecanachievethemaximumbendingangleof104°.Moreover,thepowerandenergyconsumptionunderdifferentpulseconditionswerecompared.
简介:QigongisapartoftraditionalChinesemedicine.Accordingtotheantiquetreaties,thefoundationsoftraditionalChinesemedicinearebasedinmaintainingtheharmonybetweenQi(energy),Jing(essence)andShen(spirit).Alterationsinthisharmonycandevelopanddeterminetheappearanceofdisease.TherapeuticeffectsofQigongarehelpfulinthepreventionandtreatmentofseveraldiseases.It'smainroleinrestoringbodyfunctionsisduetothecommunicationbetweeninternalorgans,tissuesandcells.ThemaingoalofthisworkistoshowtheefficacyofQigonginthetreatmentofadermatologicaldiseasecharacterizedbytheappearanceofcircularorovalpatchesofmissinghair,knownasalopeciauniversalis.Forwesternmedicinetheexactcauseofthisillnessisnottotallyrevealed,however,it'sattributedtopsycological,geneticsandmetabolicalterations.FromthetraditionalChinesemedicineperspective,hairalterationsareframedintheareaofthewaterenergy,representedbythekidneyorgan.TheresultsofQigongtreatmentsuggestedthatthecranialhairfollicleshadbeenactivatedsincethefirsttreatment.Astreatmentprogressed,thecranialhairfolliclescontinuedtogrow,what'smore,thebrightnessandpigmentationofthehairalsoincreased.Therefore,intheclinicalconditionsevaluated,Qigongcouldbeaneffectivealternativetreatmentinconsiderationofthevisibleevidenceaboutrapidandlonglastingresults.Besides,wedidnotobserveanysideeffectsofQigonginthiscase.
简介:ThenameofSRproteinsisderivedfromtheirtypicalRSdomainthatisrichinserine(Ser,S)andarginine(Arg,R).Theyareconservedinevolution.Uptonow,10membersoftheSRproteinfamilyhavebeenidentifiedinhumans.SRproteinscontainoneortwoRNAbindingmotifsasidefromtheRSdomain,andalsopossessspecialbiochemicalandimmunologicalfeatures.AstothefunctionsofSRproteins,theyfacilitatetherecruitmentofthecomponentsofsplicesomeviaprotein-proteininteractiontoprompttheassemblyofearlysplicesome;whileinalternativesplicing,tissue-specificallyexpressedSRproteinalongwiththerelativeratioofSRproteinandheterogeneousnuclearribonucleoprotein(hnRNP)iscomposedoftwomainregulativemechanismsforalternativesplicing.Almostallofthebiochemicalfunctionsareregulatedbyreversiblephosphorylation.
简介:Tumormetastasisisthedominantcauseofdeathincancerpatients.However,themolecularandcellularmechanismsunderlyingtumormetastasisarestillelusive.Theidentificationofproteinmoleculeswiththeirexpressionscorrelatedtothemetastaticprocesswouldhelptounderstandthemetastaticmechanismsandthusfacilitatethedevelopmentofstrategiesforthetherapeuticinterventionsandclinicalmanagementofcancer.Proteomicsisasystematicresearchapproachaimingtoprovidetheglobalcharacterizationofproteinexpressionandfunctionundergivenconditions.Proteomictechnologyhasbeenwidelyusedinbiomarkerdiscoveryandpathogeneticstudiesincludingtumormetastasis.Thisarticleprovidesabriefreviewoftheapplicationofproteomicsinidentifyingmolecularfactorsintumormetastasisprocess.Thecombinationofproteomicswithotherexperimentalapproachesinbiochemistry,cellbiology,moleculargeneticsandchemistry,togetherwiththedevelopmentofnewtechnologiesandimprovementsinexistingmethodologieswillcontinuetoextenditsapplicationinstudyingcancermetastasis.
简介:TheconditionofourEarthischanging,anditischangingduetohumandominance.Werealisedthatourinfluenceonbiotaisoverwhelming,buildinguptoamassextinction,thesixthinthehistoryoflifeonEarth.Thelaterthisrealisationisturnedintoactiontodecreaseourfatalinfluence,theworsearethechancesofthesurvivalofthehumanrace.Howcanwefail?Oneplausiblescenarioisthatthiscanhappenviathelossofecologicalservices
简介:TheapplicationsofbionicmethodologydevelopedbytheLaboratoryofDesignandMaterialSelectionasbasisinthecreationofjunctionelementsweredemonstrated.TheseelementsfavortheapplicationofEcodesigninreferencetotheeffec-tivenessofproductdismountaimingthereductionofambientimpactinallitsphasesofuse.Thecreation,thedevelopmentandtheconfectionofnewjunctionelementsweredescribed,andcasestudiesofnewproductsdevelopedspecificallywiththispurposewerepresented.
简介:GreenhousehorticulturalproductioncurrentlyrepresentsanimportantandgrowdngsectorofCanada'sfoodandplantproducproductionsystems.Since2006,thevalueofgreenhousevegetablecropsinCanadaexceedsthatoffieldgrowncrops,signalinganimportantshiftinthew-ayfoodiscultivatedinthecountry.Whilemanyfactorshavecontributedtothischange,amajorareaofinnovationincludesthediscoveriesandadvancesmadeinthedevelopmentofcommercialgreenhouseproductionsystemsaswellastheintegrationofbiologicalcontrolstrategiesforsustainablepestmanagement.Withthisfocus,thisreviewoffersabriefoverviewoftheCanadiangreenhouseindustry,includingadescriptivelistofcommonlyusedbiologicalcontrolorganisms,aswellastheroleCanadianresearchhasplayedinthedevelopmentoftheseagents.WealsoaddressthethreatsthatCanadiangreenhouseproducersfacebyinvasivepestsandthecomplicationsthesehavecreatedforthecommercializationofnovelbiologicalcontrolagents.Thisinformationmayserveasaguideforthedevelopmentofparalleltechnologiesandtoolsinotherpartsoftheworldwheregreenhouseproductionisexpanding.
简介:农业害虫的生物控制依靠agroecosystem功能的知识,特别地当由大量生产的生物代理人的使用影响了时。用分子底的途径合并象基因差异和结构那样的pre-或这些代理人的版本以后的信息能推进我们他们怎么在agroecosystems表演的知识。我们评估了Macrolophuspygmaeus的人口遗传,大多数广泛地在地中海区域对温室庄稼的许多节肢动物害虫使用了食肉的mirid用mitochondrialCytb顺序和microsatellite数据,并且人口遗传和发展史途径。我们调查了商业地大量生产的昆虫(即,在为许多代的实验室饲养团的商业昆虫任何一个,或由农民购买了并且在温室释放了)并且野昆虫(即,在外面自然地发生或在温室为版本在自然被收集)。mirids主要在solanaceous植物在北西班牙,南部的法国和希腊是成年的在agroecosystems被收集。分子的标记和途径区分了2张遗传上区分的人口。不太遗传上多样的人口,此后从实验室mass-rearings和商业地引起的个人的大多数版本把包括的商业紧张称为所有个人。最遗传上多样的人口主要包括了从noncultivated环境,或从野蛮个人的版本发源的个人。在M之间的杂交的稀罕例子。从2张人口的pygmaeus被观察,不对称的基因流动被揭示。这些调查结果提供进发生在M身上的新卓见。在我们学习了的agroecosystems释放的pygmaeus,和监视一些商业种类是可能的表演。
简介:Aroboticfish,BASEMACK1,isdesignedandfabricatedbymimickingtheshapeofalivemackerel.ThreeDCservo-motorsareseriallylinkedtogetherandactuatedtomimicthemackerel'sCarangiformmotion.Hydrodynamiccharac-teristicsofafish-mimetictestmodelareexperimentallyidentifiedandutilizedinordertonumericallysimulatefishswimming.Thediscretesetofkinematicanddynamicparametersareobtainedbyconsideringrequiredhorizontalandlateralforcesandminimumenergyconsumption.Usingtheoptimizedparameterset,optimalcontroloftherobotisstudied.
简介:Adatasetof103SARS-CoVisolates(101humanpatientsand2palmcivets)wasinvestigatedondifferentaspectsofgenomepolymorphismandisolateclassification.Thenumberandthedistributionofsinglenucleotidevariations(SNVs)andinsertionsanddeletions,withrespecttoa"profile",weredeterminedanddiscussed("profile"beingasequencecontainingthemostrepresentedletterperposition).Distributionofsubstitutioncategoriespercodonpositions,aswellassynonymousandnon-synonymoussubstitutionsincodingregionsofannotatedisolates,wasdetermined,alongwithaminoacid(a.a.)propertychanges.Similaranalysiswasperformedforthespike(S)proteininalltheisolates(55ofthembeingpredictedforthefirsttime).TheratioKa/KsconfirmedthattheSgenewassubjectedtotheDarwinianselectionduringvirustransmissionfromanimalstohumans.Isolatesfromthedatasetwereclassifiedaccordingtogenomepolymorphismandgenotypes.Genomepolymorphismyieldstotwogroups,onewithasmallnumberofSNVsandanotherwithalargenumberofSNVs,withuptofoursubgroupswithrespecttoinsertionsanddeletions.Weidentifiedthreebasicnine-locusgenotypes:TTTT/TTCGG,CGCC/TTCAT,andTGCC/TTCGT,withfoursubgenotypes.Bothclassificationsproposedareinaccordancewiththenewinsightsintopossibleepidemiologicalspread,bothinspaceandtime.
简介:Thepresentstudywasconductedtoinvestigatethepotentialembryo-fetaltoxicityofArtesunate,anantimalarialdrug,inSprague-Dawleyrats.Thetestitemwasorallyadministeredbygavagetopregnantrats(22femalespergroup)fromgesta-tionalday(GD)6through15atdoselevelsof0,2,4and8mg/kg,AlldamsweresubjectedtocaesareansectiononGD20andtheirfetuseswereexaminedforexternal,visceral,andskeletalabnormalities.Therewerenotreatment-relatedclinicalsigns,bodyweightsandfoodconsumptioninanyofthetreatmentg...
简介:Thenucleocapsidprotein(Nprotein)hasbeenfoundtobeanantigenicproteininanumberofcoronaviruses.WhethertheNproteininsevereacuterespiratorysyndrome-associatedcoronavirus(SARS-CoV)isantigenicremainstobeelucidated.UsingWesternblotandEnzyme-linkedImmunosorbentAssay(ELISA),therecombinantNproteinsandthesynthesizedpeptidesderivedfromtheNproteinwerescreenedinserafromSARSpatients.AllpatientserainthisstudydisplayedstrongpositiveimmunoreactivitiesagainsttherecombinantNproteins,whereasnormalseragavenegativeimmunoresponsestotheseproteins,indicatingthattheNproteinofSARS-CoVisanantigenicprotein.Furthermore,theepitopesitesintheNproteinweredeterminedbycompetitionexperiments,inwhichtherecombinantproteinsorthesynthesizedpeptidescompetedagainsttheSARS-CoVproteinstobindtotheantibodiesraisedinSARSsera.OneepitopesitelocatedattheC-terminuswasconfirmedasthemostantigenicregioninthisprotein.AdetailedscreeningofpeptidewithELISAdemonstratedthattheaminosequencefromCodons371to407wastheepitopesiteattheC-terminusoftheNprotein.UnderstandingoftheepitopesitescouldbeverysignificantfordevelopinganeffectivediagnosticapproachtoSARS.
简介:Manystructuralandfunctionalpropertiespossessedbyplantshavegreatpotentialstostimulatenewconceptsandinno-vativeideasinthefieldofbiomimeticengineering.Thekeyinputsfrombiologycanbeusedforcreationofefficientandop-timizedstructures.ThestudyofthegeometryandfoldingpatternofleavesofMimosapudica,referredasSensitivePlant,revealssomeofthepeculiarcharacteristicsduringfoldingandunfolding.Whentheleafistouched,itquicklyfoldsitsleafletsandpinnaeanddroopsdownwardatthepetioleattachment.Withthehelpofexperimentsonsimulationmodel,thevariationsinangleofleafletsanddegreeofcompactionafterfoldingareinvestigated.