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Nowadays, crowdsourced documents like Wikipedia pages and comments on products are all over the Internet. However, documents generated by crowdsourcing participants may contain inconsistent facts, implicit semantics and fabricated contents, thus threatening the trustworthiness of information content security available in Internet. To address this problem, we propose FuFaction, enabled by an enhanced observation mechanism based on the notion of hybrid-mask consisting of a hard-mask and a soft-mask, to eliminate factual inconsistencies on crowdsourced documents at the hidden-state level (or in a fuzzy way), according to the given evidence retrieved from an external open domain. Specifically, instead of focusing on a specific category of factual inconsistency, FuFaction captures anomalous hidden-states between a crowdsourced document and evidence obtained via a reverse-attention mechanism, where a hard-mask controls the attending direction as bidirectional and unidirectional for better understanding on semantics. Then, a soft-mask is generated with the help of the hard-masked reverse-attention to revise or mask anomalous hidden-states on the crowdsourced document. Afterwards, the masked hidden-states are further refined by a cross reverse-attention and factual consistency reinforcement strategy, based on which a new crowdsourced document with higher factual consistency is generated via neural text generation. According to our experimental results, FuFaction can effectively deal with the fuzzy factual inconsistencies on crowdsourced documents, achieving the overall best performance in terms of factual consistency metrics with a little higher (yet still competitive) editing cost on literal vocabulary, so as to reflect factually consistent semantics supported by the given evidence.

Semantic segmentation is one of the basic tasks in computer vision. Its purpose is to achieve pixel-level scene segmentation. With the popularity of depth sensors, combining depth data with RGB images for semantic segmentation can improve the accuracy of semantic segmentation. First, this paper mainly summarizes the fusion of RGB information and depth information and then describes the RGBD semantic segmentation method, evaluation metrics, data set, and comparison of the results on the two mainstream data sets, and then make a prospect of possible future research directions, and finally, a conclusion is made. This part of the work has a certain guiding significance for future research on RGBD semantic segmentation and lays a foundation for later research.

Understanding yield potential, yield gap and the priority of management factors for reducing the yield gap in current intensive maize production is essential for meeting future food demand with the limited resources. In this study, we conducted field experiments using different planting modes, which were basic productivity (CK), farmer practice (FP), high yield and high efficiency (HH), and super high yield (SH), to estimate the yield gap. Different factorial experiments (fertilizer, planting density, hybrids, and irrigation) were also conducted to evaluate the priority of individual management factors for reducing the yield gap between the different planting modes. We found significant differences between the maize yields of different planting modes. The treatments of CK, FP, HH, and SH achieved 54.26, 58.76, 65.77, and 71.99% of the yield potential, respectively. The yield gaps between three pairs: CK and FP, FP and HH, and HH and SH, were 0.76, 1.23 and 0.85 t ha–1, respectively. By further analyzing the priority of management factors for reducing the yield gap between FP and HH, as well as HH and SH, we found that the priorities of the management factors (contribution rates) were plant density (13.29%)>fertilizer (11.95%)>hybrids (8.19%)>irrigation (4%) for FP to HH, and hybrids (8.94%)>plant density (4.84%)>fertilizer (1.91%) for HH to SH. Therefore, increasing the planting density of FP was the key factor for decreasing the yield gap between FP and HH, while choosing hybrids with density and lodging tolerance was the key factor for decreasing the yield gap between HH and SH.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has led to international concern. We aimed to establish an effective screening strategy in Shanghai, China, to aid early identification of patients with COVID-19.

CO2 flooding has been widely used in oil field development, but the produced fluid is easy to cause corrosion of tubing and casing. In order to determine the corrosion behavior of produced fluid on J55 steel during CO2 flooding, we use the simulated oil well produced fluid as corrosive medium and conduct the corrosion simulation experiment at high temperature and high pressure. The experimental results showed that the crystalline grain size of corrosion film surface is different for the different CO2 partial pressure. When CO2 partial pressure is greater than the critical pressure, the crystalline grain is not oblique six-party crystal structure, and the grains become small and compact, so the corrosion product film should have a good corrosion inhibition. Both static and dynamic corrosion of samples are serious. The research has a theoretical guiding significance on corrosion protection during CO2 flooding.

This paper reviewed a variety of methods of polymer surface modification, which mainly includes Solution processing method, Plasma treatment，Surface grafting method，Irradiation treatment and method of Atomic force microscopy probe shock , and the specific polymer material combined with the modification method and its modification mechanism was introduced in detail.Polymer has very extensive application both in chemical fields and in daily life, but due to its poor surface hydrophilicity and wear resistance, the further application of polymer materials were limited. In order to improve its surface properties, modification are needed on the surface of the polymer. Polymer surface modification means to operate on the surface of polymer within the scope of nanometer level, and give some new properties on material surface, such as hydrophilicity, scratch resistance, under the premise of without affecting the material ontic properties.There are many methods of polymer surface modification. This paper reviewed Solution processing method, Plasma treatment，Surface grafting method，Irradiation treatment and method of Atomic force microscopy probe shock . Different methods of modification combined with specific materials are introduced as follow.

A full scale masonry model of two-floor and single bay was built in this paper and was strengthened by ring-beam and constructional column. And then pseudo-dynamic testing was conducted to study the time-history curves of displacement, velocity, acceleration response and restoring force in 7 degree rarely earthquake. Results show that the earthquake performance is steady and there are no visible cracks on the model after the testing. Windows and doors perform well because of the constraint of ring-beam and column, whereas failures often occurred when the structures were not strengthened. Seismic performance is largely improved by ring-beam and constructional column and the structure can resist 7 degree rarely earthquake.

The method of view-dependent smoothly rendering of large-scale vector data based on the vector texture on virtual globe is presented. The vector texture is rasterized from the vector data based on view-dependent quadtree LOD. And the vector texture is projected on the top of the terrain. The smooth transition of multi-level texture is realized by adjusting the transparency of texture dynamically based on view range in two processes to avoid texture “popping”. In “IN” process, the texture’s alpha value increases when the view range goes up while In “OUT” process, the texture’s alpha value decreases. the vector texture buffer updating method is used to accelerate the texture fetching based on the least-recently-used algorithm. In the end, the real-time large-scale vector data rendering is implemented on virtual globe. The result shows that this method can real-time render large-scale vector data smoothly.

An automatic individual tree detection method from pure image is proposed. Color and texture features are selected to form a vector for a pixel-level classification, then trained to assign a label to each pixel. Other features can be integrated into the pixel vector for extracting more information of trees. An ensemble method combining multiple logistic regression classifiers improves effectiveness of the single pixel-level classifier. Then spectral, shape and knowledge characteristics of individual tree crowns are used for tree top localization. At last, tree crowns are delineated by region-based algorithm.

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) with a high molecular weight of 69,000 was first synthesized. It was afterwards grafted with benzimidazole pendant groups on the backbones. The acid doped benzimidaozle grafted PBI membranes were investigated and characterized including fuel cell tests at elevated temperatures without humidification. At an acid doping level of 13.1 mol H3PO4 per average molar repeat unit, the PBI membranes with a benzimidazole grafting degree of 10.6% demonstrated a conductivity of 0.15 S cm-1 and a H2-air fuel cell peak power density of 378 mW cm-2 at 180 oC at ambient pressure without humidification.

The lead(II) Complex constructed with 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid, [Pb3(5-hipa)2]n•4H2O(1), (5-hipa = 5-hydro- xyisophthalic acid) has been synthesized by hydrothermal methods and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, IR and X-ray single crystal diffraction. In trinuclear symmetrical complex 1, Pb1 is four-coordinated, Pb2 and Pb3 are three-coordinated by 5-nitroisophthalic acid groups, respectively, which is further connected through intermolecular hydrogen bonds resulting in a three-dimensional (3D) network.

An imidazolium-containing sulfonated polyetheretherketone (SPEEK) composite, termed as SPEEK–Bmim, was prepared from SPEEK and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate. This composite material was characterized by FT-IR, surface charge analysis and elemental analysis. The prepared material could selectively adsorb the protein hemoglobin (Hb). The adsorption efficiency was about 90%. The sorption capacity of the SPEEK–Bmim to Hb was 31.6 μg mg−1, and 84% of the retained Hb could be readily recovered by elution with 0.5% (m/v) aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution. The activity of the eluted Hb was about 91%. This ionic liquid-modified SPEEK composite was used practically for the isolation of Hb from human whole blood.

Through the laboratory experiment, the foaming properties of six kinds of foaming agent was evaluated comprehensively. Through the primary selection, foaming agent concentration selection and salt tolerance evaluation, HY-2 foaming agent was selected in follow-up experiments. The Liquid viscosity effect for foaming performance showed that there exists an optimal value of the liquid viscosity, corresponding to the concentration of foam stabilizing agent should not be less than 700mg/l. The impact of temperature on the performance of foaming agent was mainly on the foam stability, the higher the temperature, the stability of the bubble the worse. Due to the presence of crude oil, foaming volume and stability of the foam appeared a downward trend, the character of which is very advantageous to adjust fluidity difference between the layers of high permeable formation and low permeable formation.

The Cobalt (Ⅱ) Complex constructed with 5-nitroisophthalic acid and 2,2’-bibenzimidazole, [Co(H2bibim)2( 5-nipa)] (1), (H2bibim =2,2’-bibenzimidazole, 5-nipa=5-nitroisophthalic acid) have been synthesized by hydrothermal methods and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, IR and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Complex 1 has six coordinated by two H2bibim ligands and one 5-nitroisophthalic acid groups that is further connected though intermolecular hydrogen bonds and resulting in a three-dimensional (3D) network.

The Cobalt (II) Complex constructed with 5-nitroisophthalic acid and 2,2’-bibenzimidazole, [Co(H2bibim)3](5-nipa)•H2O (1), (H2bibim =2,2’-bibenzimidazole, 5-nipa=5-nitroisophthalic acid) have been synthesized by hydrothermal methods and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, IR and X-ray single crystal diffraction. Complex 1 possesses distorted CoN6 octahedrals linked by the H2bibim ligands in a bidentate chelating mode and the 5-nitroisophthalic acid groups act as counterions, and there exists a 2D supramolecular network linked by intermolecular O−H•••O and N−H•••O hydrogen-bonding interactions.

Terrain rendering has long been an active research topic in computer graphic and virtual reality. If large and detailed, digital terrains can be represented by a huge amount of data and therefore of graphical primitives to render in real-time. A dynamic, realistic and seamless rendering scheme for large scale terrain was proposed in this paper, based on successive LOD tiles and GPU acceleration. Multi-resolution girds and images were used for view-dependent data control and grid simplification, and multi-thread mechanism was employed for visibility clipping and data exchange between memory and disk, at the same time, a seamless combination algorithm between tiles of terrain and texture was proposed. Experimental results of real scenes with open data and comparisons with traditional method demonstrate the efficiency and practicality of our method.

Hydrothermal reaction of Co(NO3)2·6H2O with H2bibm and H4cta at 120 ?C yielded a novel 1D Co(II) coordination polymer, [Co(H2bibm)(cta)]n · nH2O (1) [H2bibm = 2,2`-bibenzimidazole, cta = citrate], in which distorted CoN2O4octahedra are linked by the cta ligands in a tetradentate bridging mode to construct a zigzag chain with Co...·Co distances of 7.510(1) A° . A 2D supramolecular network is formed by p-p stacking with a face-to-face distance of 3.55 °A between the imidazole rings of the 2,2`-bibenzimidazole ligands and interchain O-H· · ·O and N-H· · ·O hydrogen bond interactions. Complex 1 displays strong green fluorescence emissions at 538 nm in th+e solid state upon photoexcitation at 395 nm at room temperature.

A novel three dimensional reconstruction framework from wide baseline images was proposed based on point and line features. After detecting and matching features, the relations between discrete images are computed and refined according to multi-view geometric constraints, and both structure of the scene and motion of cameras are retrieved, where we employ a procedure of Euclidean reconstruction based on approximate camera internal parameters and buddle adjustments. Based on retrieved motion and correspondence of line features, a 3D line reconstruction scheme was put forward to assist us in gaining regular structure and topology of the scene. In virtue of some manual interactions, mesh models of the scene came into being, and a rectification method for perspective images was used to acquiring texture patches. Finally, an interactive modeling prototype system from multiple images is designed and implemented. Real scenes and augmented reality applications demonstrate the feasibility, correctness and accuracy of our framework.

Patients with endometrial cavity fluid (ECF) in assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) are poor in prognosis. This review presents the research development of ECF during ARTs, particularly in treatment.

Understanding genetic diversity and population structure of landraces is important in utilization of these germplasm in breeding programs. In the present study, a total of 143 core maize landraces from the South Maize Region (SR) of China, which can represent the general profile of the genetic diversity in the landraces germplasm of SR, were genotyped by 54 DNA microsatellite markers. Totally, 517 alleles (ranging from 4 to 22) were detected among these landraces, with an average of 9.57 alleles per locus. The total gene diversity of these core landraces was 0.61, suggesting a rather higher level of genetic diversity. Analysis of population structure based on Bayesian method obtained the samilar result as the phylogeny neighbor-joining (NJ) method. The results indicated that the whole set of 143 core landraces could be clustered into two distinct groups. All landraces from Guangdong, Hainan, and 15 landraces from Jiangxi were clustered into group 1, while those from the other regions of SR formed the group 2. The results from the analysis of genetic diversity showed that both of groups possessed a similar gene diversity, but group 1 possessed relatively lower mean alleles per locus (6.63) and distinct alleles (91) than group 2 (7.94 and 110, respectively). The relatively high richness of total alleles and distinct alleles preserved in the core landraces from SR suggested that all these germplasm could be useful resources in germplasm enhancement and maize breeding in China.

Aquaporins (AQPs) may be involved in the occurrence of abnormal uterine bleeding as the mediators between ovarian steroids and cyclic endometrial changes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of endometrial AQPs in women with anovulatory uterine bleeding and explore the relationship between endometrial AQPs and ovarian steroids.

The flow of water and some other small molecules across cell membranes is important in many of the processes underlying reproduction. The fluid movement is strongly associated with the presence of aquaporins (AQPs) in the female and male reproductive systems. It has been suggested that AQPs mediate water movement into the antral follicle and play important roles in follicle development. AQPs are known to be involved in the early stage of spermatogenesis, in the secretion of tubule liquid and in the concentration and storage of spermatozoa. Fluid reabsorption in some regions of the male reproductive tract is under steroid hormone control and could be mediated by various AQPs. Also AQPs take part in the processes of fertilization, blastocyst formation (as the pathway for transtrophoectodermal water movement during cavitation) and implantation. Alterations in the expression and function or regulation of AQPs have already been demonstrated in disorders of the male reproductive system, such as abnormal sperm motility, the abnormal epididymis and infertility seen in cystic fibrosis, and varicocele. This article extensively reviews the distribution of AQPs in mammalian reproductive tissues and discusses their possible physiological and pathophysiological roles.

The cDNA of BmK IT-AP, an excitatory insect toxin from the scorpion Buthus martensi Karsch that has an analgesic effect on mammalian cells, was expressed in E. coli in the form of an inclusion body. Following denaturation and reduction, the recombinant protein was renatured and purified by liquid chromatography. The authenticity of the recombinant product was confirmed by bioassay and its electrophysiological effect on insect sodium channel.

In this study, the effect of the scorpion a-like toxin BmK M1 was investigated on isolated DUM neurons from Locusta migratoria and compared with the effect on para/tipE voltage-gated Na channels (VGSC), cloned from Drosophila melanogaster. The two insects display different pharmacological properties regarding -like toxins. Moreover, with the aid of the -like toxin BmK M1 and 5 of its mutants, the importance of aromatic residues for the interaction of the toxin with the VGSC in L. migratoria and D. melanogaster, is shown.

In this study, the effect of the scorpion a-like toxin BmK M1 was investigated on isolated DUM neurons from Locusta migratoria and compared with the effect on para/tipE voltage-gated Na+ channels (VGSC), cloned from Drosophila melanogaster. The two insects display different pharmacological properties regarding α-like toxins. Moreover, with the aid of the α-like toxin BmK M1 and 5 of its mutants, the importance of aromatic residues for the interaction of the toxin with the VGSC in L. migratoria and D. melanogaster, is shown.

Growth factor-expanded neural precursor cells isolated from the mammalian central nervous system can differentiate into neurons and glia. Although the morphological and neurochemical development of these neural precursor cells has been investigated, little attention has been paid to their electrophysiology. This study examined the electrophysiological properties of neurons and glia derived from neural precursor cells isolated from the adult rat spinal cord (SC) and subventricular zone (SVZ). Cells were cultured in medium containing epidermal growth factor and/or fibroblast growth factor-2. After at least two passages, spheres of neural precursor cells were plated on coated coverslips and maintained in culture for up to 6 weeks. Whole-cell patch recordings were made using standard current clamp techniques. Immature action potentials were observed within hours of plating for both SC and SVZ cells. Input resistance and time constants decreased over the first week after plating and no further changes were found at later times. At similar times following plating, however, SVZ cells had a lower input resistance and shorter time constant compared to SC cells. SVZ cells also had higher resting membrane potentials and smaller after hyperpolarizations than those of SC cells, despite no significant difference in the amplitude of action potentials. Neither the SC nor the SVZ cells were capable of eliciting more than a single action potential in response to injected current. While all SC cells tested were depolarized by glutamate, the response of SVZ cells to glutamate varied considerably. This study revealed that neural precursor cells from SC and SVZ differ in both active and passive membrane properties. It appears also that the electrophysiological development of SC and SVZ precursor-derived neurons is incomplete under the conditions used. These observations suggest that the neural precursor cells from different anatomical locations may be physiologically diverse and may exhibit some differences in commitment toward neuronal or glial phenotypes.

The gene encoding a neurotoxin (BmK M1) from the scorpion Buthus martensiiKarsch was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeat a high level with the alcohol dehydrogenase promoter. SDS–PAGE of the culture confirmed expression and showed secretion into medium from yeast. Recombinant BmK M1 was purified rapidly and efficiently by ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography to homogeneity, produced a single band on tricine–SDS–PAGE, and processed the homologous N-terminus. Amino acid analysis and N-terminal sequencing demonstrated that the recombinant toxin was processed correctly from the α-mating factor leader sequence and was chemically identical to the native form. The expressed recombinant BmK M1 was toxic for mice, which indicated that it was biologically active. Quantitative estimation showed that recombinant BmK M1 had an LD50similar to that of the native toxin.

The effects of specific mitogens and substrates on the proliferative capacity and the differentiated phenotypic plasticity of neural precursor cell populations isolated from the adult rat subventricular zone (SVZ) were examined. SVZ cells were grown on uncoated tissue culture plastic, extracellular matrix, or poly-d-ornithine with either laminin or fibronectin. SVZ neural precursor cells could not be generated with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor, stem cell factor, heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF), granulocyte colony stimulating factor, or ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), but could be with EGF, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), and FGF2 plus heparin. Varying combinations of substrate and mitogen resulted in very different expansion rates and/or lineage potential. Neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes differentiated from all cultures, but EGF-generated neural precursor cells were more restricted to an astrocytic lineage and FGF2-generated neural precursor cells had a greater capacity for neuronal differentiation. In both EGF- and FGF2-generated cell populations, CNTF increased the number of differentiated astrocytes, triiodothyronine oligodendrocytes, PDGF neurons, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor neurons only from EGF cells. Electrophysiological analysis of differentiated cells showed three distinct phenotypes, glial, neuronal, and presumed precursor cells, although the neuronal properties were immature. Collectively, these data indicate that CNS neural precursor cell populations isolated with different mitogens and substrates are intrinsically different and their characteristics cannot be directly compared.

Xi, Ming-Chu, Jack Yamuy, Rong-Huan Liu, Francisco R. Morales, and Michael H. Chase.Dorsal spinocerebellar tract neurons are not subjected to postsynaptic inhibition during carbachol-induced motor inhibition. J. Neurophysiol.78: 137–144, 1997. Dorsal spinocerebellar tract (DSCT) neurons in Clarke's column in the lumbar spinal cord of cats anesthetized with α-chloralose were recorded intracellularly. The membrane potential activity and electrophysiological properties of these neurons were examined before and during the state of active-sleep-like motor inhibition induced by the injection of carbachol into the nucleus pontis oralis. The synaptic activity of DSCT neurons during carbachol-induced motor inhibition did not change compared with that during control conditions. In particular, there was an absence of inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in high-gain recordings from DSCT neurons and the resting membrane potential of DSCT neurons was not significantly hyperpolarized during carbachol-induced motor inhibition. The mean amplitude of both monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials and disynaptic IPSPs evoked in DSCT neurons following stimulation of group I muscle afferents after the injection of carbachol was similar to that evoked before the injection of carbachol. There were no significant changes in the mean input resistance and membrane time constant of DSCT neurons during carbachol-induced motor inhibition. We conclude that, in contrast to lumbar motoneurons, DSCT neurons in Clarke's column are not postsynaptically inhibited during carbachol-induced motor inhibition. Therefore the population of spinal cord Ib interneurons that inhibit both DSCT neurons and lumbar motoneurons is not likely to be the interneurons that are responsible for the postsynaptic inhibition of motoneurons that occurs during carbachol-induced motor inhibition. The present findings also indicate that transmission through the DSCT is not modulated by postsynaptic inhibition at the level of DSCT neurons during carbachol-induced motor inhibition.

Xi, Ming-Chu, Rong-Huan Liu, Jack Yamuy, Francisco R. Morales, and Michael H. Chase.Electrophysiological properties of lumbar motoneurons in the α-chloralose-anesthetized cat during carbachol-induced motor inhibition. J. Neurophysiol.78: 129–136, 1997. The present study was undertaken 1) to examine the neuronal mechanisms responsible for the inhibition of spinal cord motoneurons that occurs in α-chloralose-anesthetized cats following the microinjection of carbachol into the nucleus pontis oralis (NPO), and 2) to determine whether the inhibitory mechanisms are the same as those that are responsible for the postsynaptic inhibition of motoneurons that is present during naturally occurring active sleep. Accordingly, the basic electrophysiological properties of lumbar motoneurons were examined, with the use of intracellular recording techniques, in cats anesthetized with α-chloralose and compared with those present during naturally occurring active sleep. The intrapontine administration of carbachol resulted in a sustained reduction in the amplitude of the spinal cord Ia monosynaptic reflex. Discrete large-amplitude inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs), which are only present during the state of active sleep in the chronic cat, were also observed in high-gain recordings from lumbar motoneurons after the injection of carbachol. During carbachol-induced motor inhibition, lumbar motoneurons exhibited a statistically significant decrease in input resistance, membrane time constant and a reduction in the amplitude of the action potential's afterhyperpolarization. In addition, there was a statistically significant increase in rheobase and in the delay between the initial-segment (IS) and somadendritic (SD) portions of the action potential (IS-SD delay). There was a significant increase in the mean motoneuron resting membrane potential (i.e., hyperpolarization). The preceding changes in the electrophysiological properties of motoneurons, as well as the development of discrete IPSPs, indicate that lumbar motoneurons are postsynaptically inhibited after the intrapontine administration of carbachol in cats that are anesthetized with α-chloralose. These changes in the electrophysiological properties of lumbar motoneurons were found to be comparable with those that take place during the atonia of active (rapid-eye-movement) sleep in chronic cats. The present results support the conclusion that the neural system that is responsible for motor inhibition during naturally occurring active sleep can also be activated in α-chloralose-anesthetized cats following the injection of carbachol into the NPO.

At present, several distributed control systems are in operation in China, for example, the system which controls the furnace in a steel mill. Refer to the experience of the operations of these systems, the paper presents the views of design of functional blocks in basic-controller in distributed control system. A well-designed basic-controller should be able to meet the requirements coming from process, operator interface and host computer, and therefore possesses the following five features. These are adaptability, smoothness, safety, conversational ability and coordination. Several implementations to realize these features are given.

SUBSTANTIAL pharmacological evidence in vitroand in vivohas suggested the existence of subtypes of the kappa opioid receptor. Quantitative radioligand binding techniques resolved the presence of two high affinity binding sites for the k1ligand [3H]U69,593 in mouse brain membranes, termed k1aand k1b, respectively. Whereas the k1asite has high affinity for fedotozine and oxymorphindole and low affinity for bremazocine and α-neoendorphin, site k1bhas high affinity for bremazocine and α-neoendorphin and low affinity for fedotozine and oxymorphindole. CI-977 and 1169,593 bind equally well at both sites. To determine the relationship between these k1receptor subtypes and the recently cloned mouse k1receptor (KOR), we examined [3H]U69,593 binding to the KOR in stably transfected cells (KORCHN-8). Competition of [3H]U69,593 binding to the KOR by bremazocine, α-neoendorphin, fedotozine and oxymorphindole resolved a single class of binding sites at which these agents had binding affinities similar to that of the k1bsite present in mouse brain. These results suggest that the cloned KOR corresponds to the k1site in mouse brain defined as k1b.

In the present study we explored the mechanisms of carbachol-induced muscle atonia in the α-chloralose-anesthetized animal. We compared our findings to those that have been previously obtained in unanesthetized cats during muscle atonia occurring during natural active sleep. Accordingly, in cats anesthetized with a-chloralose, intracellular records were obtained from masseter motoneurons before and after carbachol-induced motor atonia. Following the induction of atonia, the membrane potential activity was dominated by high-frequency, discrete, hyperpolarizing potentials. These hyperpolarizing potentials were reversed in polarity by the intracellular injection of chloride ions and abolished by the application of strychnine. These findings indicate that they were inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) mediated by glycine. These IPSPs appeared exclusively during muscle atonia. In addition, masseter motoneurons were significantly hyperpolarized and their rheobase increased. There was a decrease in input resistance and membrane time constant. In the α-chloralose-anesthetized preparation, stimulation of the nucleus pontis oralis (NPO) induced IPSPs in masseter motoneurons following, but never prior to, the pontine injection of carbachol. Thus, this is the first demonstration that ‘reticular response-reversal’ may be elicited in an anesthetized preparation. Another state-dependent phenomenon of active sleep, the occurrence of IPSPs in motoneurons that are temporally correlated with ponto-geniculo-occipital (PGO) waves, was also observed in this preparation only after carbachol administration. Based on the data in this report, we conclude that the inhibitory system that mediates atonia during the state of active sleep can be activated in an animal that is anesthetized with a-chloralose. Specifically, the neuronal groups that generate spontaneous IPSPs, those that mediate the phenomenon of reticular response-reversal, and those involved in the generation of PGO waves are capable of being activated and remain functional during a-chloralose-anesthesia.

A linear-phase digital filter system using a dual RRS structure for audio tone control is presented. It has very low arithmetic complexity, and can thus be implemented in real time.

A novel anion exchange composite membrane was prepared based on glutaraldehyde crosslinked quaternized chitosan (QCS) and positively charged polystyrene (PS). The PS was synthesized by emulsion polymerizing styrene monomers in an ethanol aqueous solution (1:2, v:v) containing a surfactant of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and an initiator of potassium persulfate (KPS). The obtained PS microemulsion with an average diameter of 709 nm exhibited a zeta potential of +88.4 mV due to the enwrapped CTAB cations. The positive charges carried by the PS facilitated the composite membrane to have a high ion exchange capacity without increasing the methanol permeation. The conductivities of the membranes at a level of 10−2S cm−1were achieved at 80°C. The methanol permeability of the membranes was in a range of 2.7 × 10−6- 3.3 × 10−7cm2s−1. The obtained anion exchange membranes were stable up to 200°C in air atmosphere according to the data of thermal gravimetric analysis. The tensile stress at break of the membranes was in a range of 16.9–24.9 MPa under ambient atmosphere, and 12.2–13.4 MPa of which were retained after immersing the membranes in a 10 mol L−1KOH solution at room temperature for 96 h.