3D Modelling of Biological Systems for Biomimetics

1　IntroductionBasedonthereviewofthepreviousworkof 3Dgeometricalmodellingtechniquesandsystemsdevelopedforindustrial,medicalandanimationapplications,thispaperdiscussestheproblemsassociatedwiththeexist ingtechniquesandsystems ,especiallywhenappliedto3Dmodellingof plants ,insectsandanimalsforbiomimeticsresearchanddevelopment .Then ,paperproposessomeareasofresearchinterestsin 3Dmod ellingofplants ,insectsandanimalsforBiomimetics .Toavoidtherepeating ,inthispaper ,biologicalobjectswillbeusedtorep…     

昆虫学研究的Internet资源

互联网的发展给昆虫学的研究开辟了新的道路。该文简要介绍了Internet以及在昆虫学研究和教学中的应用概况 ,并从虚拟图书馆、数据库、在线工具、网上期刊、课程网站以及个人网页 6个方面系统介绍了昆虫学研究的Internet资源     

Internet上的分子生物学免费软件资源

Ｉｎｔｅｒｎｅｔ的迅猛发展使得大量的分子生物学数据库和软件与之连接［１］,为分子生物学的研究带来了极大的便利,为生命科学的研究带来了机遇和挑战。生命科学网络资源的利用应当成为我国生命科学工作者的必备素质之一。本文简单介绍常用的基于Ｍａｃｉｎ－ｔｏｓｈ...     

3D Printing Sulfur Copolymer‐Graphene Architectures for Li‐S Batteries

3D printing is becoming an efficient approach to facilely and accurately fabricate diverse complex architectures with broad applications. However, suitable inks and 3D print favorable architectures with high electrochemical performances for energy storage are still being explored. Here, sulfur copolymer‐graphene architectures with well‐designed periodic microlattices are 3D printed as a cathode for Li‐S batteries using a suitable ink composed of sulfur particles, 1,3‐diisopropenylbenzene (DIB), and condensed graphene oxide dispersion. Using thermal treatment, elemental sulfur can be reacted with DIB to produce sulfur copolymer, which can partially suppress the dissolution of polysulfides. Moreover, graphene in the architecture can provide high electrical conductivity for whole electrode. Hence, 3D printed sulfur copolymer‐graphene architecture exhibits a high reversible capacity of 812.8 mA h g^?1 and good cycle performance. Such a simple 3D printing approach can be further extended to construct many complex architectures for various energy storage devices.     

Development of a 3D optical scanner for evaluating patient-specific dose distributions

PurposeThis paper describes the hardware and software characteristics of a 3D optical scanner (P3DS) developed in-house. The P3DS consists of an LED light source, diffuse screen, step motor, CCD camera, and scanner management software with 3D reconstructed software.Materials and methodWe performed optical simulation, 2D and 3D reconstruction image testing, and pre-clinical testing for the P3DS. We developed the optical scanner with three key characteristics in mind. First, we developed a continuous scanning method to expand possible clinical applications. Second, we manufactured a collimator to improve image quality by reducing scattering from the light source. Third, we developed an optical scanner with changeable camera positioning to enable acquisition of optimal images according to the size of the gel dosimeter.ResultsWe confirmed ray-tracing in P3DS with optic simulation and found that 2D projection and 3D reconstructed images were qualitatively similar to the phantom images. For pre-clinical tests, the dose distribution and profile showed good agreement among RTP, optical CT, and external beam radiotherapy film data for the axial and coronal views. The P3DS has shown that it can scan and reconstruct for evaluation of the gel dosimeter within 1 min. We confirmed that the P3DS system is a useful tool for the measurement of 3D dose distributions for 3D radiation therapy QA. Further experiments are needed to investigate quantitative analysis for 3D dose distribution.     

Next‐Generation Additive Manufacturing of Complete Standalone Sodium‐Ion Energy Storage Architectures

The first entirely AM/3D‐printed sodium‐ion (full‐cell) battery is reported herein, presenting a paradigm shift in the design and prototyping of energy‐storage architectures. AM/3D‐printing compatible composite materials are developed for the first time, integrating the active materials NaMnO₂ and TiO₂ within a porous supporting material, before being AM/3D‐printed into a proof‐of‐concept model based upon the basic geometry of commercially existing AA battery designs. The freestanding and completely AM/3D‐fabricated device demonstrates a respectable performance of 84.3 mAh g^?1 with a current density of 8.43 mA g^?1; note that the structure is typically comprised of 80% thermoplastic, but yet, still works and functions as an energy‐storage platform. The AM/3D‐fabricated device is critically benchmarked against a battery developed using the same active materials, but fabricated via a traditional manufacturing method utilizing an ink‐based/doctor‐bladed methodology, which is found to exhibit a specific capacity of 98.9 mAh m^?2 (116.35 mAh g^?1). The fabrication of fully AM/3D‐printed energy‐storage architectures compares favorably with traditional approaches, with the former providing a new direction in battery manufacturing. This work represents a paradigm shift in the technological and design considerations in battery and energy‐storage architectures.     

Development and validation of a generic 3D model of the distal femur

The development and validation of a virtual generic 3D model of the distal femur using computer graphical methods is presented. The synthesis of the generic model requires the following steps: acquisition of bony 3D morphology using standard computed tomography (CT) imaging; alignment of 3D models reconstructed from CT images with a common coordinate system; computer graphical sectioning of the models; extraction of bone contours from the image sections; combining and averaging of extracted contours; and 3D reconstruction of the averaged contours.

The generic models reconstructed from the averaged contours of six cadaver femora were validated by comparing their surface geometry on a point to point basis with that of the CT reconstructed reference models. The mean errors ranged from 0.99 to 2.5 mm and were in agreement with the qualitative assessment of the models.     

New method of monitoring remote wildlife via the Internet

A new system of monitoring remote wildlife via the Internet was developed. The system consists of a QuickTime streaming server with a digital PC camera and a recipient computer with monitoring software. Results of field experiments were fine. Wildlife (raccoon dogs and feral cats) inhabiting a forest remote from the observer were monitored and photographed automatically when detected. Data and frame rates were 35–300 kilobits per second and 3–14 frames per second, respectively, depending on the network traffic. This system is applicable wherever a broadband network is available and thus has great potential for ecological research.     

4D confocal microscopy of Dictyostelium discoideum morphogenesis and its presentation on the Internet

 Methods to present three-dimensional (3D) and time series of 3D datasets (4D) are demonstrated using the recent advances in confocal microscopy and computer visualization. The process of cell sorting during tip formation in the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum is examined as an example by in vivo confocal microscopy of spectrally different green fluorescent protein (GFP) variants as reporters of cell-type specific gene expression. Also, cell sorting of the co-aggregating slime mould species D. discoideum and D. mucoroides is observed using a GFP variant and a spectrally distinguishable fluorescent vital stain. The confocal data are handled as 3D and 4D datasets, their processing and the advantages of different methods of visualization are discussed step by step. Selected sequences of the experiments can be viewed on the Internet, giving a much better impression of the complex cellular movements during Dictyostelium morphogenesis than printed photographs. Received: 17 February 1998 / Accepted: 14 June 1998     

网络成瘾的生物学机制研究与展望

网络成瘾是指由于过度使用网络而导致社会及心理损害的现象,危害极大,故受到广泛关注。网络成瘾主要受生物学机制的调控。在脑神经机制方面,通过对成瘾者的自发脑电、事件相关电位以及成瘾者静息态BOLD-f MRI的分析,发现成瘾者脑功能区出现异常。同时,网络成瘾也受到自主神经功能的影响。另外,脑内奖赏系统和成瘾记忆模型也可能成为引发网络成瘾的脑神经机制。体内化学物质的失衡也能引发网络成瘾。鉴于此,一些治疗方法如药物干预、行为干预、认知干预以及综合干预疗法使得根治网络成瘾成为可能。本文拟从网络成瘾的概念、表现特点、不良影响及其发生的生物学机制等方面的研究进展进行阐述,以期为相关研究提供一些有价值的参考依据。     

Differential expression of murine CGI-105 gene in 3T3-L1 cells by adrenocorticotropic hormones

The effects of adrenocorticotropic hormones on murine CGI-105 gene expression were investigated in 3T3-L1 cells. Expression was markedly increased in differentiated cells and it was up-regulated 2-fold in cells induced to differentiate with dexamethasone.     

Internet of Intelligences Can Be a Platform for Risk Analysis and Management

ABSTRACT

In this article, we clarify the concept of the Internet of Intelligences (IOI) to be a platform for risk analysis. An IOI is a triple consisting of a set of agents, a network, and a model. A process of processing homological information is a layer. An IOI with more than one layer is a Multiple Internet of Intelligences (M-IOI). If agents in an M-IOI not only provide information in response to a question asked by a customer but also review information from other agents and summarize it, we refer to this as a summarizing M-IOI. In this article, a simplest M-IOI is used to answer a question issued by an insurance company considering selling policies in Wenzhou, China, where the level of typhoon risk is high. We employ the normal diffusion model to process the summaries and give an adequate answer.     

School-Based Internet Obesity Prevention Programs for Adolescents: A Systematic Literature Review

In response to the childhood obesity epidemic, numerous studies on school-basedInternet obesity prevention interventions have been conducted. The purpose ofthis systematic review is to describe, synthesize, and evaluate the research onschool-based Internet obesity prevention programs for adolescents. Medline,CINAHL, and PsycInfo were searched from January 1995 to August 2012 to locaterelevant studies. Ninety-one reports were initially identified, with 12 meetingthe inclusion criteria. Studies had variable control groups, program content,and sample characteristics. Though few authors reported on implementationprocesses or body mass index (BMI) outcomes, the majority of studies wereeffective in improving health behaviors in the short term. Most studies werejudged to have a high or unclear risk of bias in at least two domains, thus thequality of evidence for this body of literature is moderate. Further research isneeded to examine programs of longer duration, optimal dose and timing ofprograms, cost-effectiveness, and mediators and moderators of interventionoutcomes.     

Performance Evaluation of WAP and Internet Protocols over W-CDMA Networks

This paper compares the performance of WAP 1.x to that of Internet protocols. We implement a WAP client and a WAP gateway based on the WAP version 1.1 and assess the overall response time to compare it to those of HTTP and TCP. We use a W-CDMA emulator to evaluate WAP 1.x performance in high-speed wireless networks such as 3G. The results show that all protocols have comparable performance (i.e., response time) except when transmitting large content sets (e.g., multimedia data files), in which case HTTP/TCP offers better performance than WAP 1.x. We also evaluate WAP specific functions such as the binary encoding of WAP headers and WML contents. While binary encoding is effective for small content sets, its effectiveness and performance are questionable for large content sets. Based on the results of our evaluation, we conclude that standard Internet protocols (i.e., HTTP/TCP) are suitable for high-speed wireless networks such as 3G.     

Three-dimensional Biomimetic Technology: Novel Biorubber Creates Defined Micro- and Macro-scale Architectures in Collagen Hydrogels

Tissue scaffolds play a crucial role in the tissue regeneration process. The ideal scaffold must fulfill several requirements such as having proper composition, targeted modulus, and well-defined architectural features. Biomaterials that recapitulate the intrinsic architecture of in vivo tissue are vital for studying diseases as well as to facilitate the regeneration of lost and malformed soft tissue. A novel biofabrication technique was developed which combines state of the art imaging, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and selective enzymatic activity to create a new generation of biomaterials for research and clinical application. The developed material, Bovine Serum Albumin rubber, is reaction injected into a mold that upholds specific geometrical features. This sacrificial material allows the adequate transfer of architectural features to a natural scaffold material. The prototype consists of a 3D collagen scaffold with 4 and 3 mm channels that represent a branched architecture. This paper emphasizes the use of this biofabrication technique for the generation of natural constructs. This protocol utilizes a computer-aided software (CAD) to manufacture a solid mold which will be reaction injected with BSA rubber followed by the enzymatic digestion of the rubber, leaving its architectural features within the scaffold material.     

Design and Development of a Scalable Distributed Debugger for Cluster Computing

Debugging is an essential part of parallel and distributed processing. However, developing parallel and distributed debugger is difficult. This is especially true for cluster computing where heterogeneity presents. In this paper, we first give a survey of the current debugging techniques and existing tools, and then present a client–server debugging model. Based on this model, we discuss the design and development of a practical scalable distributed debugging system for cluster computing in detail, and give two case studies to show how the distributed debugging system efficiently supports debugging message-passing programs such as various MPI and PVM programs. The newly developed distributed debugger is based on the sequential debugger gdb and dbx. It has the capability of scaling to handle hundreds of processes. Its interfaces are completely implemented in Java, and its graphical user interface is the same on all computing platforms. In addition, it is portable, easy to learn and use.     

3D生物打印技术在微生物修复中的应用

排放到环境中的各种农药、多环芳烃、卤代芳烃等有机污染物以及阻燃剂等新兴污染物,对环境污染、农产品质量和环境安全造成了沉重负担。因此,有效去除环境中的有机污染物已成为迫在眉睫的挑战。3D生物打印技术已经在医学材料、制药等行业中发挥着重要作用。现在,越来越多的微生物被确定适合通过3D生物打印生产具有复杂结构和功能的生物材料。微生物的3D生物打印越来越受到环境微生物学家和生物技术专家的关注。本文综述了用于污染物微生物去除的不同3D生物打印技术的原理和优缺点,及用于微生物生物修复技术的可行性,并指出了可能遇到的限制和挑战。     

Development of a semi-automatic system for pollen recognition

A semi-automatic system for pollen recognitionis studied for the european project ASTHMA. The goal of such a system is to provideaccurate pollen concentration measurements. This information can be used as well by thepalynologists, the clinicians or a forecastsystem to predict pollen dispersion. At first,our emphasis has been put on Cupressaceae, Olea, Poaceae and Urticaceae pollen types. The system is composed of two modules: pollengrain extraction and pollen grain recognition. In the first module, the pollen grains areobserved in light microscopy and are extractedautomatically from a pollen slide coloured withfuchsin and digitized in 3D. In the secondmodule, the pollen grain is analyzed forrecognition. To accomplish the recognition, itis necessary to work on 3D images and to usedetailed palynological knowledge. Thisknowledge describes the pollen types accordingto their main visible characteristerics and tothose which are important for recognition. Somepollen structures are identified like the porewith annulus in Poaceae, the reticulum in Oleaand similar pollen types or the cytoplasm inCupressaceae. The preliminary results show therecognition of some pollen types, likeUrticaceae or Poaceae or some groups of pollentypes, like reticulate group.