Characterization of Motor Oil by Laser-Induced Fluorescence

A new laser-induced fluorescence method is presented to classify brands of motor oil. A 266-nanometer radiation was employed to collect sixty sets of fluorescence spectra for each brand. Cluster analysis and support vector machine were employed to distinguish motor oils with principal component analysis, which was applied to extract spectral characteristics. The recognition accuracy was up to 100 percent. The results demonstrate that laser-induced fluorescence offers rapid response, high recognition, and high sensitivity for the classification of motor oils.     

Mapping of spikes, slow waves, and motor tasks in a patient with malformation of cortical development using simultaneous EEG and fMRI

We report on the simultaneous and continuous acquisition of EEG and functional MRI data in a patient with a left hemiparesis and focal epilepsy secondary to malformation of cortical development in the right hemisphere. EEG-triggered fMRI localization was previously demonstrated in this patient. In the experiments reported here, 322 spikes maximum at electrode C4 and 126 focal slow waves were identified offline. A hierarchy of models was explored in order to assess the relative contributions of each type of EEG event. Modeling the BOLD response to C4 spikes alone showed an area of activation within the large malformation, adjacent to the area of infolding cortex. However, also modeling slow-waves gave rise to a broader and stronger activation, suggesting that the generators overlap. Motor mapping of the right hand showed activation in the left sensorimotor cortex; left-hand tapping led to a more diffuse area of activation, displaced superiorly into the superior frontal gyrus, and a small area of activation within the lesion. In conclusion, continuous EEG-fMRI is useful to compare the functional mapping of epileptiform activity and eloquent cortices in individual patients.     

Ocular integrity following manganese labeling of the visual system for MRI

Injection of manganese into the eye will enhance the contrast of visual system neuronal pathways imaged by MRI (MEMRI). The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of a range of MnCl₂ doses upon the integrity of various ocular structures. Anesthetized mice received ocular anterior chamber injections of 50–500 nmol of MnCl₂. One week later, the eyes were fixed, embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Additional animals received 50 nmol of MnCl₂ injected into the anterior chamber and were later imaged using T1-weighted 7 T MRI. Following 500 and 300 nmol MnCl₂, the corneal stroma and endothelium were degenerated, the anterior chamber contained a dense fibrin matrix with extensive inflammatory cell infiltration, a plaque often formed on the anterior lens, and significant retinal degeneration was observed. Following 100 nmol MnCl₂, retinal preservation of ocular structures was significantly better than at higher doses. In addition, there was no difference from vehicle control retina in cell counts within the ganglion cell layer, or in the width of the inner nuclear layer or outer nuclear layer. Also, there was no difference in the thickness of the inner plexiform layer. However, there was thinning of the peripheral outer plexiform layer, as well as in the outer segment layer. Visual system elements labeled in MRI of mice that received 100 nmol MnCl₂ included the retina, optic nerve, lateral geniculate nucleus, and superior colliculus. The preservation of ganglion cell layer cell counts and inner plexiform layer thickness following 100 nmol MnCl₂ suggests there was negligible injury to RGCs following this dose. These results support using 100 nmol MnCl₂ in mouse eyes for in vivo assessment of the integrity of RGC projections to target neurons in the brain.     

药用植物真伪品的FT-Raman光谱法鉴别研究

首次采用近红外傅里叶变换拉曼光谱法 (NIR Raman)无损快速鉴别了药用植物肉桂、天麻及其伪(混淆 )品。结果表明 :药用植物肉桂、天麻及其伪 (混淆 )品在拉曼光谱图上有明显的差别。如肉桂在 1 60 0和 1 3 0 0cm- 1有较特征的基频振动峰 ,而肉桂的混淆品阴香 1 3 3 0cm- 1的峰较弱 ,相反的是 1 62 4和 1 5 97cm- 1的基频振动峰较强。天麻在 2 91 4cm- 1的C H振动峰与羊角天麻的 2 93 4cm- 1位移了 2 0个波数 ,另外羊角天麻在 1 60 5cm- 1有较强的拉曼基频振动峰 ,而药用天麻此处未见振动峰。凭借这些谱峰的差异可进行药材的真伪鉴别。该方法具有快速、准确、操作简单、不破坏样品 ,可直接进行鉴别的特点。     

Motorized Photomodulator: Making A Non-photoresponsive Supramolecular Gel Switchable by Light

Introducing photo-responsive molecules offers an attractive approach for remote and selective control and dynamic manipulation of material properties. However, it remains highly challenging how to use a minimal amount of photo-responsive units to optically modulate materials that are inherently inert to light irradiation. Here we show the application of a light-driven rotary molecular motor as a “motorized photo-modulator” to endow a typical H-bond-based gel system with the ability to respond to light irradiation and create a reversible sol-gel transition. The key molecular design feature is the introduction of a minimal amount (2 mol %) of molecular motors into the supramolecular network as photo-switchable non-covalent crosslinkers. Advantage is taken of the subtle interplay of the large geometry change during photo-isomerization of the molecular motor guest and the dynamic nature of a supramolecular gel host system. As a result, a tiny amount of molecular motors is enough to switch the mechanical modulus of the entire supramolecular systems. This study proves the concept of designing photo-responsive materials with minimum use of non-covalent light-absorbing units.     

Biocompatibilities of sapphire and borosilicate glass as cortical neuroprostheses

The in vivo biocompatibility of pure sapphire and borosilicate glass (BSG) implanted onto the cerebral cortex was studied via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histopathology. Each implant was embedded onto the cortical surface of an adult rat brain for a total of 28 days. Rats underwent surgery with and without implants, and rats with purposely damaged cortical implant sites were also studied. Each animal was imaged via MRI before surgery as well as 10 and 28 days after the surgery. Histopathological results of animals were obtained on the 28th day to determine the specific effect on neurons. Despite the fact that sapphire has been widely used in a variety of medical implants, both MRI and histopathological results indicate that pure sapphire is not biocompatible with the cerebral cortex. On the contrary, BSG implants appear to be biocompatible with the cortical surface.     

Securitization of motor insurance loss rate risks

In an attempt to transfer the loss rate risks in motor insurance to the capital market, we use the tranche technique to hedge the motor insurance risks. This paper illustrates AXA and their securitization of French motor insurance in 2005 as an example. Though this application is new, this transaction is based on a concept similar to CDOs. Tranches of bonds are constructed on the basis of the expected loss ratio from motor insurance policy holders’ groups. As a consequence we develop motor loss rate bonds using the structure of synthetic CDOs. The coupon payments of each tranche depend on the level of the loss rates of the underlying motor insurance pool. We show the integral formulas for the loss tranche contract where the loss distribution is modelled with discounted compound Poisson process. Esscher transform is chosen for a risk adjusted measure change and Fourier inversion method is used to calculate the price of the motor claim rate securities. The pricing methods of the tranches are illustrated, and possible suggestions to improve the pricing method and the design of these new securities follow.     

Dynamics and mechanics of motor-filament systems

Motivated by the cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells, we develop a general framework for describing the large-scale dynamics of an active filament network. In the cytoskeleton, active cross-links are formed by motor proteins that are able to induce relative motion between filaments. Starting from pair-wise interactions of filaments via such active processes, our framework is based on momentum conservation and an analysis of the momentum flux. This allows us to calculate the stresses in the filament network generated by the action of motor proteins. We derive effective theories for the filament dynamics which can be related to continuum theories of active polar gels. As an example, we discuss the stability of homogenous isotropic filament distributions in two spatial dimensions.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of awake monkeys: some approaches for improving imaging quality

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at high magnetic field strength can suffer from serious degradation of image quality because of motion and physiological noise, as well as spatial distortions and signal losses due to susceptibility effects. Overcoming such limitations is essential for sensitive detection and reliable interpretation of fMRI data. These issues are particularly problematic in studies of awake animals. As part of our initial efforts to study functional brain activations in awake, behaving monkeys using fMRI at 4.7 T, we have developed acquisition and analysis procedures to improve image quality with encouraging results.We evaluated the influence of two main variables on image quality. First, we show how important the level of behavioral training is for obtaining good data stability and high temporal signal-to-noise ratios. In initial sessions, our typical scan session lasted 1.5 h, partitioned into short (<10 min) runs. During reward periods and breaks between runs, the monkey exhibited movements resulting in considerable image misregistrations. After a few months of extensive behavioral training, we were able to increase the length of individual runs and the total length of each session. The monkey learned to wait until the end of a block for fluid reward, resulting in longer periods of continuous acquisition. Each additional 60 training sessions extended the duration of each session by 60 min, culminating, after about 140 training sessions, in sessions that last about 4 h. As a result, the average translational movement decreased from over 500 μm to less than 80 μm, a displacement close to that observed in anesthetized monkeys scanned in a 7-T horizontal scanner.Another major source of distortion at high fields arises from susceptibility variations. To reduce such artifacts, we used segmented gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequences. Increasing the number of segments significantly decreased susceptibility artifacts and image distortion. Comparisons of images from functional runs using four segments with those using a single-shot EPI sequence revealed a roughly twofold improvement in functional signal-to-noise-ratio and 50% decrease in distortion. These methods enabled reliable detection of neural activation and permitted blood-oxygenation-level-dependent-based mapping of early visual areas in monkeys using a volume coil.In summary, both extensive behavioral training of monkeys and application of segmented gradient-echo EPI sequence improved signal-to-noise ratio and image quality. Understanding the effects these factors have is important for the application of high field imaging methods to the detection of submillimeter functional structures in the awake monkey brain.