Stimulation of Spheroidal Cells?The Role of Cell Shape

The behavior of spheroidal cells in an applied uniform field is examined in order to gain insight into the role of cell shape in the electrical activity of biological cells. The responses of cells having different eccentricities but the same height in the direction of stimulation are compared. The effect of a change in the direction of stimulation is discussed. In the process of obtaining the results an approximate method for calculating biopotentials during extracellular stimulation is presented and justified.     

Can One Control the Vibrations of a Drum?

This paper considers the problem of constructing feedback stabilizing controllers for the wave operator on ⁿ (more generally AR systems determined by a hyperbolic operator). In order to accomplish this, it must first clarify the notion of an input-output structure on a distributed system, as well as what it means to interconnect two such systems. Both these notions are shown to be consequences of a structure which generalizes the standard causal structure of lumped systems determined by the flow of time. Given this apparatus, the paper then constructs feedback controllers which stabilize the wave equation along directions given by a proper cone in ⁿ.     

3G Products — What will the Technology Enable?

Following the phenomenal success of second generation global system for mobile communications (GSM) systems, the world has turned its attention to third generation mobile systems (3G). New radio spectrum has been allocated for these networks and over the last 12 months there has been global activity to license this spectrum. Licences have been awarded in a number of ways including 'beauty contests' and (often costly) auctions. Technologists have joined forces to specify the standards for 3G. This paper describes the drivers for 3G and the commercial model that is emerging. The benefits that 3G technology will provide for business and consumer products are identified. A component-based approach to application and product development is described, based on the important value add features of mobile systems. Finally, mobile terminals, billing and payment, and customer care are also considered as they are vital to the overall customer experience.     

Shielding Effectiveness of Superconductor in the Shape of Spherical Shell

1IntroductionElectromagnehcshieldingisoneoftheimportantmethodstoaccomplishEMCandoneoftheeffechveapproachestoconsolidateelectronicequipmentagainstEMIundervariousofcomplexelectrOInagnehcenvironments.TherearealotofchoicesinsmictUre,volumeandmaterialstocarTyoutelectromagneticshielding.Astomaterials,shieldingmetalisuhlizedmostcommonlyatpresent,anditStheoryandprachcehavealreadybeendevelopeduptoarelativeperfectlevel[l,2].EversincethesuperconductivitywasfoundoutearlythiscentUry,thesuperconductor,…     

Can blockchain link the future?

Recently, decentralization has been extensively explored by researchers. Blockchain, as a representation of decentralized technology, has attracted attention with its unique characteristics, such as irrevocability and security. Consequently, herein, we introduce cutting-edge blockchain technologies from four directions: blockchain system, consensus algorithms, smart contract, and scalability. Subsequently, we analyze the current lack of consensus mechanism, fault tolerance, and block capacity of the blockchain, and the integration of blockchain into 5G/6G mobile communication. Furthermore, we discuss the possible applications of blockchain in intellectual property protection, the Internet of Things, digital twins, standardization, and epidemic prevention and control. Finally, explore the impacts and solutions of blockchain on human society beyond technology.     

Can satellites unblock the Internet?

Anyone who has surfed the Internet knows how slow it can be. Some have even suggested that it could become entirely gridlocked early in the next millennium. The author explains how satellites could help avert such a catastrophe. The primary advantage of a satellite system for Internet delivery is the same as it is for other types of communication: coverage area. A single satellite in geostationary orbit can serve approximately one third of the planet's surface, so three can cover most of the world's population. For regions where terrestrial infrastructure is limited or nonexistent, satellite coverage may be the only option. The author discusses the proposed Teledesic broadband low Earth satellite system operating in the Ku band, which is backed by Microsoft, and its only direct competitor SkyBridge which is backed by Alcatel and Loral. The author also discusses the geosynchronous Earth orbit broadband satellite systems. The commercial viability of these systems is discussed     

Macrophage Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles Sensitize Glioblastoma to Radiation by Suppressing Proneural–Mesenchymal Transformation in Glioma Stem Cells

Radiotherapy is identified as a crucial treatment for patients with glioblastoma, but recurrence is inevitable. The efficacy of radiotherapy is severely hampered partially due to the tumor evolution. Growing evidence suggests that proneural glioma stem cells can acquire mesenchymal features coupled with increased radioresistance. Thus, a better understanding of mechanisms underlying tumor subclonal evolution may develop new strategies. Herein, data highlighting a positive correlation between the accumulation of macrophage in the glioblastoma microenvironment after irradiation and mesenchymal transdifferentiation in glioblastoma are presented. Mechanistically, elevated production of inflammatory cytokines released by macrophages promotes mesenchymal transition in an NF-κB-dependent manner. Hence, rationally designed macrophage membrane-coated porous mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMNs) in which therapeutic anti-NF-κB peptides are loaded for enhancing radiotherapy of glioblastoma are constructed. The combination of MMNs and fractionated irradiation results in the blockage of tumor evolution and therapy resistance in glioblastoma-bearing mice. Intriguingly, the macrophage invasion across the blood-brain barrier is inhibited competitively by MMNs, suggesting that these nanoparticles can fundamentally halt the evolution of radioresistant clones. Taken together, the biomimetic MMNs represent a promising strategy that prevents mesenchymal transition and improves therapeutic response to irradiation as well as overall survival in patients with glioblastoma.     

Synthesis of a New Optoelectronic Material Based on Oriented Adsorption of Dyes to Nanoparticles Surface

Synthesis of the optoelectronic storage material with structure for coating by nanosized metal and azo-dye was reported. The characterization of composites was made by using transmission electron microscope （TEM）, ultraviolet-visible spectrometer （UV-Vis） and thermogravity analyzer （TGA）. It is found that, due to the specific structure, in which azo-dye molecules are oriented and adsorbed on the spherical surface of nanosized metal, the absorption maximum of azo-dye methyl orange shift towards shorter wavelength band. The experimental results show that the proposed technique here wouM offer a promising way to synthesize short wavelength optoelectronic storage material by doping of metal nanoparticles coated with dyes in polymer. Furthermore, the composites based on the structure can present excellent thermal properties suitable for the requirements of optical storage. This new type of material is capable of matching semiconductor laser （GaN） in optoelectronic storage technology.     

Cancer Diagnosis System Based on the Spectra of Serum

Autofluorescence spectra from the serum of health man and cancer patients have been measured and analyzed.Two obviously spectra characteristics of the serum have been discussed in detail.A novel laser cancer diagnosis system(LCD-1)has been established and the diagnosis results are compared with clinical methods.     

How do technologies relate to the repertoire of information sources?

This study applies “channel repertoire” to information sources. Interviews were conducted with 251 residents of Pullman, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho, in which respondents were asked to assess how interested they were in two topics (sports and what's going on in the community) along with how useful traditional media sources (tv, radio, etc.) and technologies (VCR, PC, etc.) were for information about each source. Based on a regression that controlled for demographics, separate repertoires were found for each topic. Sports had only a traditional media repertoire that consisted of tv and newspapers while what's going on in the community had a combined traditional and technology repertoire of newspapers, radios, personal computers, and cellular telephones.     

Can multiple subchannels improve the delay performance of RTS/CTS-based MAC schemes?

We analyze the delay performance of RTS/CTS-based (Request-To-Send/Clear-To-Send) multi-channel MAC (Medium Access Control) schemes for wireless networks. These schemes usually employ multiple data subchannels for data transmission and one control subchannel to send the RTS/CTS dialogue for channel reservation. Through theoretical analysis and simulations, we show that, in fully-connected networks, such multi-channel MAC schemes suffer longer delays than the corresponding single channel MAC scheme, that puts the RTS/CTS dialogue on the same channel as data packet transmissions. This conclusion holds even when data packets have different priorities and higher priority traffic is sent ahead of lower priority traffic.     

Active Shape Model of Combining Pca and Ica： Application to Facial Feature Extraction

Active Shape Model （ASM） is a powerful statistical tool to extract the facial features of a face image under frontal view. It mainly relies on Principle Component Analysis （PCA） to statistically model the variability in the training set of example shapes. Independent Component Analysis （ICA） has been proven to be more efficient to extract face features than PCA. In this paper, we combine the PCA and ICA by the consecutive strategy to form a novel ASM. Firstly, an initial model, which shows the global shape variability in the training set, is generated by the PCA-based ASM. And then, the final shape model, which contains more local characters, is established by the ICA-based ASM. Experimental results verify that the accuracy of facial feature extraction is statistically significantly improved by applying the ICA modes after the PCA modes.     

The Application of the Theory of the Price Elasticity of Demand to the EMS Management

1　Introduction　ExpressMailService (EMS )wasopenedupbyChinaPostintheearly 80stomeettheneedsofeco nomicdevelopment.It sthemostcompetitiveoneofthepostservices.There recivilaviation ,Chinarail wayandotherprivateexpressdeliverycompaniesdomesticallyandUPS ,TNT ,DHLandTEDEXcompetingwithEMSintheinternationalmarket.OneofthemostpowerfulcompeteweaponofthesecompaniesisthelowerpricethanEMS[1 ] .BecauseofthefiercecompetitionEMSdeclinedfromthemo nopolistindomesticandinternationalmarketoftheear…     

How to achieve the huggable behavior of the social robot Probo? A reflection on the actuators

Most robots have a mechanical look or are covered with plastic or metallic shells. Their actuators are stiff which gives them not only an unnatural look, but also an unnatural touch. The goal of the huggable robot Probo is to serve as robotic research platform for human-robot interaction (HRI) studies with a special focus on children. Since not only cognitive interaction, but also physical interaction is targeted a new mechatronic design must be developed. To give Probo a huggable and safe behavior a new set of actuators is developed together with a triple layered protection cover which is presented in this paper. Probo’s soft touch is introduced, on the one side by use of novel passive compliant actuators, Compliant Bowden Cable Driven Actuators (CBCDAs), and on the other side by combining custom made servo motors, Non Back Drivable Servos (NBDSs), with flexible components and materials such as springs, silicon and foam. The working principle of the novel CBCDA is extensively described, together with experiments in order to determine its level of compliance and its bandwidth.     

Impact of the Percolation Effect on the Temperature Dependences of the Capacitance–Voltage Characteristics of Heterostructures Based on Composite Layers of Silicon and Gold Nanoparticles

Semiconductors - The temperature dependences of the capacitance–voltage characteristics and deep-level spectra of a Au–n-Si:Au–Si–p-Si heterostructure based on a composite...     

Misinformed About the Affordable Care Act? Leveraging Certainty to Assess the Prevalence of Misperceptions

According to some recent research, Americans hold a great deal of misinformation about important political issues. However, such investigations treat incorrect answers to quiz questions measuring knowledge as evidence of misinformation. This study instead defines misperceptions as incorrect answers that respondents are confident are correct. Two surveys of representative samples of American adults on the Affordable Care Act reveal that most people were uncertain about the provisions in the law. Confidently held incorrect beliefs were far less common than incorrect answers. Misperceptions were most prevalent on aspects of the law on which elites prominently and persistently made incorrect claims. Furthermore, although Americans appear to have learned about the law between 2010 and 2012, misperceptions on many provisions of the law persisted.     

Novel Strategies for the Deposition of ?COOH Functionalized Conducting Copolymer Films and the Assembly of Inorganic Nanoparticles on Conducting Polymer Platforms

A method for the preparation of ? COOH functionalized conducting copolymer films; toward the ultimate goal of developing resistance‐based sensing platforms, is presented. The method involved vapor phase copolymerization of pyrrole with a monomer containing the ? COOH functionality, thiophene‐3‐acetic acid (TAA). This copolymerization strategy aided in avoiding the need to employ brittle poly(thiophene‐3‐acetic acid) (PTAA) films in sensing applications. In this strategy, variation in the gas phase feed ratio of pyrrole to TAA allowed for the variation of the composition of the copolymer film and further allowed for the variation of both the conductivity and the amount of ? COOH functionality in the films. Further, the effect of covalent attachment of silver on the conductivity of the copolymer films is performed and presented. This covalent attachment of silver served the dual purpose of verifying the presence of active ? COOH groups on the surface, and also allowed for the quantification of the change in conductivity as a result of such attachment. Use of the conjugated ring containing 4‐aminothiophenol as the linker material enhanced the conductivities of the films. In contrast, employing cysteamine to link silver nanoparticles to the copolymer films did not result in any enhancement in the conductivities. An enhancement in the conductivities, ranging from 2 to 1000 times, is observed on covalent attachment of silver nanoparticles to the copolymer films using 4‐aminothiophenol as the linker material. This increase depended on the amount of TAA in the films and increased with increasing concentrations of TAA in the films. These results clearly indicate the use of these copolymer films in resistance‐based sensing. Further, this covalent attachment could be used as a novel strategy to integrate other inorganic nanomaterials on conducting polymer platforms.     

Can the light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) detect extracellular potentials of cardiac myocytes?

The light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) measures localized photo-induced currents from a silicon wafer, which are dependent on the local surface potential and on the intensity of the light pointer. In this study the ability of the LAPS to record extracellular potentials of adherent cells was investigated. Time dependent LAPS photocurrent signals that correlated in time with contractions were recorded from beating cardiac myocytes cultured on LAPS surfaces. Signals could be recorded both when the LAPS was biased to working points where the photocurrent was maximally sensitive to potential changes and when it was biased to working points where the photocurrent was insensitive to changes in surface potential. Therefore, signals could not be predominantly created by changes in extracellular potential and might be related to mechanical contractions. One possible explanation might be, that the cell-induced modulation of photocurrents arose as a result of cell shape changes. Such alterations in cell shape might have focused and defocused the light pointer and, thus, modulated its intensity. To further test this hypothesis, height changes of beating cardiac myocytes were measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). They were found to match well with signals derived from LAPS measurements. Therefore, it can be concluded, that LAPS signals were mainly determined by the periodic changes in shape of beating heart cells, and this interference precludes the measurements of extracellular electrophysiological potentials from these cells.