感性神经元模型及其动力学特性研究

神经元的大小属于介观尺度范围,本文考虑神经元的电感特性,建立了由细胞膜电感、膜电容、钾离子忆阻器和氯离子电阻构成的神经元经典电路模型和介观电路模型.利用经典电路理论和介观电路的量子理论,推导了在外部冲击激励下神经元细胞膜电压响应的表达式.将枪乌贼神经元的电生理参数代入膜电压表达式并计算可知,两种模型下的膜电压均先增大后减小,最后达到零值的静息状态,且其能量主要集中在0—30 Hz的脑电频率范围内.进一步比较发现,介观电路模型下膜电压的峰值及达到峰值所需的时间(达峰时间)均低于经典电路模型下的值,并与枪乌贼轴突受到刺激后的实验结果更接近,说明介观电路模型更能反应神经元受到刺激后的生理特征.基于介观电路模型,随着外部激励强度的增加,膜电压的峰值增加且达峰时间变短.膜电压峰值及达峰时间等参数更易受神经元膜电容的影响.神经元的介观电路模型对于理解神经元受到刺激后的兴奋性,推动受大脑功能启发的量子神经网络的发展等具有重要意义.     

感性神经元模型及其动力学特性研究

神经元的大小属于介观尺度范围,本文考虑神经元的电感特性,建立了由细胞膜电感、膜电容、钾离子忆阻器和氯离子电阻构成的神经元经典电路模型和介观电路模型.利用经典电路理论和介观电路的量子理论,推导了在外部冲击激励下神经元细胞膜电压响应的表达式.将枪乌贼神经元的电生理参数代入膜电压表达式并计算可知,两种模型下的膜电压均先增大后减小,最后达到零值的静息状态,且其能量主要集中在0—30 Hz的脑电频率范围内.进一步比较发现,介观电路模型下膜电压的峰值及达到峰值所需的时间(达峰时间)均低于经典电路模型下的值,并与枪乌贼轴突受到刺激后的实验结果更接近,说明介观电路模型更能反应神经元受到刺激后的生理特征.基于介观电路模型,随着外部激励强度的增加,膜电压的峰值增加且达峰时间变短.膜电压峰值及达峰时间等参数更易受神经元膜电容的影响.神经元的介观电路模型对于理解神经元受到刺激后的兴奋性,推动受大脑功能启发的量子神经网络的发展等具有重要意义.     

Electrical interfacing of neurotransmitter receptor and field effect transistor

The interfacing of a ligand-gated ion channel to a transistor is studied. It relies on the transduction of ion current to a voltage in a cell-transistor junction. For the first time, a genetically modified cell is used without external driving voltage as applied by a patch-pipette. Using a core-coat conductor model, we show that an autonomous dynamics gives rise to a signal if a driving voltage is provided by potassium channels, and if current compensation is avoided by an inhomogeneous activation of channels. In a proof-of-principle experiment, we transfect HEK293 cells with the serotonin receptor 5-HT3A and the potassium channel Kv1.3. The interfacing is characterized under voltage-clamp with a negative transistor signal for activated 5-HT3A and a positive signal for activated Kv1.3. Without patch-pipette, a biphasic transient is induced by serotonin. The positive wave is assigned to 5-HT3A receptors in the free membrane that drive a potassium outward current through the adherent membrane. The negative wave is attributed to 5-HT3A receptors in the adherent membrane that are activated with a delay due to serotonin diffusion. The implementation of a receptor-cell-transistor device is a fundamental step in the development of biosensors that combine high specificity and universal microelectronic readout.     

Statistical model of current-coupled ion channels in nerve membranes

A statistical model of a driven system is developed. Its microscopic elements are the ion channels through a nerve membrane. Their conductances are stochastically switching under the competing influences of thermal noise and local membrane voltage. A current flow through the membrane induces a coupling between the channels via the electrolytes surrounding the membrane. The long range of the coupling permits a generalized mean field theory for the stationary membrane current as a function of the applied electrode voltage. We derive analytically the macroscopic conductance-voltage-temperature relation for the spatially uniform current state. It shows analogues of first and second order phase transitions. The critical temperature diverges at a finite coupling strength. The theory fits sodium conductance characteristics measured on nerve axon membranes from various species by a variation of only the coupling strength. This supports the hypothesis that this simplest possible model for sodium channels is universal for all species.The work of this author was partially supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft     

Coupled chemical reactions in dynamic nanometric confinement: IV. Ion transmission spectrometric analysis of nanofluidic behavior and membrane formation during track etching in polymers

In recent papers, it was shown that coupled chemical-topological reactions (CCRs) with both NaOH etchant and silver salts, performed in thin swift-heavy ion-irradiated polymers under the application of a test voltage across the polymer foils, eventually gave rise to characteristic current/voltage features and Bode plots that were tentatively attributed to the formation of Ag₂O membranes within the etched tracks. The same was also found when replacing the silver ions by lithium ions, and adding fluoride ions to the NaOH etchant, to promote LiF membrane formation. Ion Transmission Spectrometry (ITS) enabled us to reconfirm the existence of these membranes beyond doubt. The membrane thickness was determined to be ～0.2–0.4?µm in the best cases.

ITS also revealed that hitherto membrane formation occurs only in ～1% of all tracks, or even less. The reason for this poor abundance seems to be that the decisive factor for membrane formation, which is the firm anchoring of the emerging solid Ag₂O or LiF reaction products on the etched track walls, was hitherto rarely fulfilled. We attribute this tentatively to the too high test voltage applied for controlling the CCR process that might hinder the product anchoring on the walls by promoting nanofluidic electromigration. Indeed, voltage reduction seems to improve the situation.     

Cell membrane voltage during electrical cell fusion calculated by re-expansion method

In electrical cell fusion, two cells are first brought into contact by dielectrophoresis, and then a pulsed voltage is applied to induce reversible membrane breakdown at the contact point, by which the membranes of the two cells are reconnected to form a fusant cell. The prediction of the membrane voltage is a crucial issue for high fusion yield, however, its mathematical expression is known only for the case of an isolated cell in a uniform external field. In this paper, we employ the re-expansion method for the transient field analysis of such a multiple cell system. Each cell is modeled by an infinitesimally thin spherical insulating membrane in conducting media, on which accumulation of free charge occurs when an external field is applied. It is shown that the system has two time constants: (a) that governed by the conductivity and the permittivity of the media and (b) that of charging the membrane capacitance through the conducting media, and that the former is far shorter than the latter. Hence, the time variation due to the former is neglected to obtain a simplified expression for the membrane voltage. By expanding the potential into Legendre harmonic components and relating the coefficients for each cell based on the re-expansion method, a differential equation governing the membrane voltage buildup is obtained. The numerical calculation is performed for the axisymmetric case of two cells in contact, to which a step-wise voltage is applied. It is found that the maximum membrane voltage occurs initially at the contact point, but when the steady state is reached, it moves to the ends of the cell pair, and might lead to unsuccessful fusion. The analysis suggests that high-yield fusion may be achieved by an application of shorter pulse, or of a non-uniform field to concentrate the voltage drop at the contact point.     

A naturally occurring omega current in a Kv3 family potassium channel from a platyhelminth

Background  

Voltage-gated ion channels are membrane proteins containing a selective pore that allows permeable ions to transit the membrane in response to a change in the transmembrane voltage. The typical selectivity filter in potassium channels is formed by a tetrameric arrangement of the carbonyl groups of the conserved amino-acid sequence Gly-Tyr-Gly. This canonical pore is opened or closed by conformational changes that originate in the voltage sensor (S4), a transmembrane helix with a series of positively charged amino acids. This sensor moves through a gating pore formed by elements of the S1, S2 and S3 helices, across the plane of the membrane, without allowing ions to pass through the membrane at that site. Recently, synthetic mutagenesis studies in the Drosophila melanogaster Shaker channel and analysis of human disease-causing mutations in sodium channels have identified amino acid residues that are integral parts of the gating-pore; when these residues are mutated the proteins allow a non-specific cation current, known as the omega current, to pass through the gating-pore with relatively low selectivity.     

Electromechanical response of sliding charge-density-waves: Voltage-induced torsional strain in tantalum trisulfide

We have measured the hysteretic voltage-induced torsional strain (VITS) in orthorhombic tantalum trisulfide as functions of voltage, temperature, and torque, which was applied by attaching a small magnetic rod to the center of the sample. We have found that the magnitude, speed, and even direction of the VITS hysteresis loops varied with the applied torque, suggesting that the VITS is a consequence of residual torsional strains in the sample interacting with hysteretic, voltage-induced changes of the charge-density-wave wave vector. The VITS response time is much longer than the time needed for the wave vector to change with response to either applied stress or applied voltage and varies inversely with the CDW current, suggesting that the VITS response requires motion of CDW defects.     

Rectification of terahertz radiation in semiconductor superlattices in the absence of domains

We study theoretically the dynamical rectification of a terahertz AC?electric field, i.e.?the DC?current and voltage response to the incident radiation, in strongly coupled semiconductor superlattices. We address the problem of stability against electric field domains: a spontaneous DC?voltage is known to appear exactly for parameters for which a spatially homogeneous electron distribution is unstable. We show that by applying a weak direct current bias the rectifier can be switched from a state with zero DC?voltage to one with a finite voltage in full absence of domains. The switching occurs near the conditions of dynamical symmetry breaking of an unbiased semiconductor superlattice. Therefore our scheme allows for the generation of DC?voltages that would otherwise be unreachable due to domain instabilities. Furthermore, for realistic, highly doped wide miniband superlattices at room temperature, the generated DC?field can be nearly quantized, that is, be approximately proportional to an integer multiple of ?ω/ea where a is the superlattice period and ω is the AC?field frequency.     

Effects of helical anisotropy on nonlinear voltage response in amorphous wires

The nonlinear voltage response in soft magnetic amorphous wires exciting by an alternating current is studied. The frequency spectrum of the voltage in the pick-up coil wound around the wire with a helical anisotropy is found in the framework of a model based on quasi-static Stoner−Wohlfarth magnetization reversal. The effect of a deviation of the anisotropy axis from the azimuthal direction on the field dependences of amplitudes of voltage harmonics is analyzed. It is shown that the field sensitivity of even harmonics increases with the anisotropy axis deviation angle. The current amplitude range to obtain a maximal field sensitivity of the second harmonic is found. The influence of the skin effect on the frequency spectrum of the pick-up coil voltage is discussed. The results obtained may be of importance for the development of sensors of a weak magnetic field.     

Organic solar cell degradation probed by the nanosecond photoresponse

We measure the transient electrical response of small organic solar cells illuminated with nanosecond light pulses during degradation. Our data show the buildup of a significant memory effect in the pulse response. To measure this memory effect, a sequence of positive or negative bias voltages is applied and the pulse response is then recorded at 0-V bias voltage. For devices with a measurable memory effect, this pulse response depends on the previously applied positive or negative bias voltage. The memory effect is attributed to changes in the (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) layer in conjunction with humidity and the indium tin oxide (ITO) layer. The strength of the memory effect depends on the anode material used and the time exposed to humid atmosphere. Therefore, the strength of this memory effect is a measure for the corresponding degradation process.     

红外光谱发射率测量系统的温漂修正方法

针对探测器光谱响应度温漂现象对红外光谱发射率测量系统重复性的影响,分析探测器温度与输出电压之间的变化规律,提出了基于多项式拟合的光谱响应度温漂修正方法。研究探测器自身温度与其光谱响应度的函数关系,对探测器光谱响应度随温度变化的曲线进行数据拟合,得到探测器温度-光谱响应度的拟合方程,计算光谱响应度的温漂修正系数,修正探测器的输出电压,消除光谱响应度温漂现象对探测器输出电压造成的影响。研制光谱响应度温漂修正装置,测得探测器光谱响度的温漂曲线,对比指数拟合曲线和多项式拟合曲线与测量曲线的吻合度,结果表明6阶多项式拟合曲线的一致性较好,提高了基于积分球反射计的光谱发射率测量系统的重复性。     

Tunable polarization response of a planar asymmetric-spiral infrared antenna

We present measurements at 10.6 microm that demonstrate electronic tuning of the polarization response of asymmetric-spiral infrared antennas connected to Ni-NiO-Ni diodes. Continuous variation of the bias voltage applied to the diode results in a rotation of the principal axis of the polarization ellipse of the spiral antenna. A 90 degrees tuning range is measured for a bias voltage that varies from -160 to +160 mV .This effect is caused by a small asymmetry of the deposited diode contact or by a variation of the detector capacitance with the applied bias voltage.     

电致发光的完全悬空超薄硅衬底氮化镓基蓝光LED器件的制备与表征

为提升硅衬底氮化镓基LED(发光二极管)器件的光电性能和出光效率,本文提出了一种利用背后工艺实现的悬空薄膜蓝光LED器件.结合光刻工艺、深反应离子刻蚀和电感耦合等离子体反应离子刻蚀的背后工艺,制备了发光区域和大部分正负电极区域的硅衬底完全掏空,并减薄大部分氮化镓外延层的悬空薄膜LED器件.对悬空薄膜LED器件进行三维形...     

A computational algorithm for computing nonlinear auditory frequency selectivity.

Computational algorithms that mimic the response of the basilar membrane must be capable of reproducing a range of complex features that are characteristic of the animal observations. These include complex input output functions that are nonlinear near the site's best frequency, but linear elsewhere. This nonlinearity is critical when using the output of the algorithm as the input to models of inner hair cell function and subsequent auditory-nerve models of low- and high-spontaneous rate fibers. We present an algorithm that uses two processing units operating in parallel: one linear and the other compressively nonlinear. The output from the algorithm is the sum of the outputs of the linear and nonlinear processing units. Input to the algorithm is stapes motion and output represents basilar membrane motion. The algorithm is evaluated against published chinchilla and guinea pig observations of basilar membrane and Reissner's membrane motion made using laser velocimetry. The algorithm simulates both quantitatively and qualitatively, differences in input/output functions among three different sites along the cochlear partition. It also simulates quantitatively and qualitatively a range of phenomena including isovelocity functions, phase response, two-tone suppression, impulse response, and distortion products. The algorithm is potentially suitable for development as a bank of filters, for use in more comprehensive models of the peripheral auditory system.     

纳秒脉冲下典型钳压型浪涌防护元件的响应特性

为研究以压敏电阻和瞬态抑制（TVS）二极管为代表的典型钳压型浪涌防护元件的纳秒脉冲响应特性,为电磁脉冲干扰防护元件的选型提供科学依据,分别基于百ns和2 ns上升前沿电磁脉冲直接注入的方式,实验测试并对比分析两类元件在不同脉冲上升沿时间、电压幅值等情况下的响应差异,并阐明产生过冲响应差异的物理机理。结果表明:两类防护元件的响应时间均与注入纳秒脉冲上升沿时间有关,且随着上升沿的增加而变长,其中TVS二极管在相同上升脉冲情况下具有更为敏感的响应速度;当注入脉冲电压幅值增加时,PN结热积累加快,击穿速度加快,元件响应时间更短,相比于TVS稳定的钳位幅值,压敏电阻在钳位幅值附近处振荡明显;当快速脉冲到达时,压敏电阻和TVS二极管响应曲线在钳位幅值稳定前均发生过冲现象,并且两类防护元件的过冲电压均随着注入脉冲幅值的增加而增加;尽管钳位电压幅值由自身防护特性决定,但在相同注入脉冲条件下,同类不同型号的防护元件过冲电压几乎相同,通常压敏电阻过冲电压小于钳位电压,而TVS二极管则相反,并且随着钳位幅值变小,过冲电压与钳位电压的比值变大,这意味着过冲现象对低压TVS二极管性能影响更为严重。     

微加工薄膜变形镜特性分析

 借助测量微加工薄膜变形镜驱动器的面形影响函数,分析了驱动器的电压-位移函数和驱动器之间的线性叠加性;通过对连续面形变形镜拟合像差的理论分析和实验研究,建立了微加工薄膜变形镜电压解耦模型。分析了对前36阶Zernike模式的拟合残差和拟合能力,指出微加工薄膜变形镜仅可用来拟合低级像差并且有较大的拟合能力和较小的拟合残差,而不能拟合高级像差。     

Fabrication of solid-state fuel cell based on DNA film

We have fabricated a fuel cell based on the DNA film (DNAFC) and examined its properties under various humidity conditions at room temperature. The open-circuit voltage of a DNAFC is generated by supplying H₂ gas to the anode. The open-circuit voltage strongly depends on the humidity conditions, and in a DNA film, the optimum condition in which the open-circuit voltage attains a value as high as 0.55 V is achieved under the relative humidity condition of 55%. Furthermore, the cell voltage of the DNAFC decreases with an increase in current density, as observed in fuel cells such as proton exchange membrane fuel cell, solid oxide fuel cell, and several others. These results indicate that DNA film can be used as the fuel cell electrolyte under approximately 55% humidity condition.