Simultaneous Reconstruction of Gas Concentration and Temperature Using Acoustic Tomography.

Acoustic tomography utilizes sensor arrays to collect sound wave signals, enabling non-contact measurement of physical parameters within an area of interest. Compared to optical technologies, acoustic tomography offers the advantages of low cost, low maintenance, and easy installation. Current research in acoustic tomography mainly focuses on reconstruction algorithms for temperature fields, while monitoring the composition and concentration of gases is significant for ensuring safety and improving efficiency, such as in scenarios like boiler furnaces and aviation engine nozzles. In excitable gases, the speed of sound exhibits an S-shaped curve that changes with frequency, a characteristic that could be potentially useful for acoustic tomography. Therefore, this study primarily discusses the quantitative calculation of gas concentration and temperature based on the dispersion of the speed of sound. By employing graphic processing and pattern matching methods, a coupled relationship of the dispersion of the speed of sound with gas concentration and temperature is established. The projection intersection method is used to calculate the concentration and temperature of binary and ternary gas mixtures. Combined with the inversion method, a joint reconstruction method for gas concentration fields and temperature fields based on the dispersion of the speed of sound is developed. The feasibility of the proposed simultaneous reconstruction method for temperature and concentration fields is validated using numerical simulations. Additionally, an acoustic tomography experimental system was set up to conduct reconstruction experiments for binary gas concentration fields and temperature fields, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method.

[Professor GAO Wei-bin's clinical experience of electroacupuncture with dense wave at periotic points for neurotic tinnitus].

Professor GAO Wei-bin's clinical experience of electroacupuncture (EA) with dense wave at periotic points for neurotic tinnitus is introduced. Based on the basic theory of TCM and the perspective of neuroanatomy, EA with dense wave at new periotic points (four points at mastoid process) and Ermen (TE 21), Tinggong (SI 19) could have the effects of qi reaching affected area, and play the treatment role of "where the acupoint is, where the efficacy is".

Proteome alterations in cortex of mice exposed to fluoride and lead.

Both fluoride and lead can cross the blood-brain barrier and produce toxic effects on the central neural system, resulting in low learning and memory abilities, especially in children. In order to identify the proteomic pattern in the cortex of young animals, from the beginning of fertilization to the age of postnatal day 56, pregnant female mice and pups were administrated with 150 mg sodium fluoride/L and/or 300 mg lead acetate/L in their drinking water. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) combined with mass spectrometry (MS) was applied to identify differently expressed protein spots. Results showed that there were eight proteins in the cortex that significantly changed, whose biological functions were involved in (1) energy metabolism (Ndufs1, Atp5h, Atp6v1b2), (2) cytoskeleton (Spna2, Tuba1a, Tubb2a), (3) glycation repair (Hdhd2), and (4) cell stress response (Hspa8). Based on the previous and current studies, ATPase, Spna2, and Hspa8 were shared by fluoride and lead both as common target molecules.

Op18/stathmin is involved in the resistance of taxol among different epithelial carcinoma cell lines.

PURPOSE: Taxol is an effective chemotherapeutic agent against epithelial-derived carcinomas, and resistance of carcinoma cells to taxol has developed with the wide prescription of the drug. In this study, five different epithelial carcinoma cell lines were randomly employed to screen the resistant cell line to taxol, and to explore the probable mechanism of taxol-resistant development. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cells were grouped into the controls and the taxol treated. The treatment effects of five different epithelial carcinoma cell lines, including CNE1, Hep3B-2, MGC, MCF-7, and NCI-H1299, after being treated by taxol were analyzed through inspecting the ratios of cellular apoptosis, inhibition of cellular proliferation, the capability of cell colony formation and wound recovery, and the interference of cell motility and invasion, while western blot analysis and siRNA targeting Op18/stathmin were applied to explore the probable mechanism on the taxol resistance difference in these cells. RESULTS: Nonsmall cell lung cancer NCI-H1299 cells presented obvious taxol resistance, and the inhibition of cell motility and invasion was also the weakest in taxol-treated NCI-H1299 cells among these five cell lines. Microtubule dynamics analysis demonstrated that taxol treatment destroyed normal microtubule arrays and caused obvious microtubule collapse in CNE1, Hep3B-2, MGC, and MCF-7 rather than NCI-H1299, while the latter expressed high levels of microtubule-destabilizing protein Op18/stathmin. Inhibition of Op18/stathmin expression increased the sensitivity to taxol and promoted cellular apoptosis in NCI-H1299 cells. CONCLUSION: NCI-H1299 cells are evidently resistant to taxol-induced cellular apoptosis, inhibition of cellular proliferation and wound recovery, as well as cell migration and invasion interference, which are closely associated with the changes of microtubule dynamics. High expression of Op18/stathmin is perhaps a crucial determinant of taxol-resistant development in NCI-H1299 cells.

Proteomic analysis of hippocampus in offspring male mice exposed to fluoride and lead.

Fluoride and lead are two common pollutants in the environment. Previous investigations have found that high fluoride exposure can increase the lead burden. In this experiment, in order to study on the molecular mechanisms of central neural system injury induced by the above two elements, differently expressed protein spots in hippocampus of male mice treated with 150 mg sodium fluoride/L and/or 300 mg lead acetate/L in their drinking water were detected by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS). The behavior tests showed that 56 days of fluoride and lead administration significantly reduced the vertical activity and lowered the memory ability of mice. In addition, results of 2-DE and MS revealed that nine spots demonstrated above a twofold change in the same trend in all treatment groups, which were mainly related with (1) energy metabolism, (2) cell stress response/chaperones, (3) cytoskeleton development, (4) protein metabolism, and (5) cell surface signal transduction. The findings could provide potential biomarkers for lesion in nervous system induced by fluoride and lead exposure.