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Background and Objectives: The fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. is widely used medicinally to treat coughs, asthma, exhaustion, eczema, and pruritus in Northeast Asian countries, including Korea, China, and Japan. This study was designed to investigate the effects of S. chinensis on dermatitis in mice with calcipotriol (MC-903)-induced atopic dermatitis (AD), and its effects on skin barrier dysfunction was also investigated. Materials and Methods: The inhibitory effects of an ethanolic extract of S. chinensis (EESC) on skin lesions, water content, water-holding capacity (WHC), histopathological abnormalities, and inflammatory cytokine and chemokine levels were evaluated in mice with AD induced by MC903. Results: Topical EESC ameliorated skin lesions, reduced skin water content, and increased MC903-induced WHC. EESC also prevented MC-903-induced histopathological abnormalities such as epidermal disruption, hyperkeratosis, spongiotic changes, and immune cell infiltration in inflamed tissue. Moreover, topical EESC reduced MC-903-induced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP). Furthermore, unlike dexamethasone, EESC did not reduce the spleen/body weight ratio. Conclusions: These results suggest that S. chinensis can be used as an alternative to external corticosteroids and that its anti-inflammatory and skin barrier dysfunction-restoring effects are related to the downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, and TSLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environment stress is a major threat to the existence of coral reefs and has generated a lot of interest in the coral research community. Under the environmental stress, corals can experience tissue loss and/or the breakdown of symbiosis between the cnidarian host and its symbiotic algae causing the coral tissue to appear white as the skeleton can be seen by transparency. Image analysis is a common method used to assess tissue response under the environmental stress. However, the traditional approach is limited by the dynamic nature of the coral-algae symbiosis. Here, we observed coral tissue response in the scleractinian coral, Montipora capricornis, using high frequency image analysis throughout the experiment, as opposed to the typical start/end point assessment method. Color analysis reveals that the process can be divided into five stages with two critical stages according to coral tissue morphology and color ratio. We further explore changes to the morphology of individual polyps by means of the Pearson correlation coefficient and recurrence plots, where the quasi-periodic and nonstationary dynamics can be identified. The recurrence quantification analysis also allows the comparison between the different polyps. Our research provides a detailed visual and mathematical analysis of coral tissue response to environmental stress, which potentially shows universal applicability. Moreover, our approach provides a robust quantitative advancement for improving our insight into a suite of biotic responses in the perspective of coral health evaluation and fate prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ease of gene sequencing and the technology available to study and manipulate non-model organisms, the extension of the methodological toolbox required to translate our understanding of model organisms to non-model organisms has become an urgent problem. For example, mining of large coral and their symbiont sequence data is a challenge, but also provides an opportunity for understanding functionality and evolution of these and other non-model organisms. Much more information than for any other eukaryotic species is available for humans, especially related to signal transduction and diseases. However, the coral cnidarian host and human have diverged over 700 million years ago and homologies between proteins in the two species are therefore often in the gray zone, or at least often undetectable with traditional BLAST searches. We introduce a two-stage approach to identifying putative coral homologues of human proteins. First, through remote homology detection using Hidden Markov Models, we identify candidate human homologues in the cnidarian genome. However, for many proteins, the human genome alone contains multiple family members with similar or even more divergence in sequence. In the second stage, therefore, we filter the remote homology results based on the functional and structural plausibility of each coral candidate, shortlisting the coral proteins likely to have conserved some of the functions of the human proteins. We demonstrate our approach with a pipeline for mapping membrane receptors in humans to membrane receptors in corals, with specific focus on the stony coral, P. damicornis. More than 1000 human membrane receptors mapped to 335 coral receptors, including 151 G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). To validate specific sub-families, we chose opsin proteins, representative GPCRs that confer light sensitivity, and Toll-like receptors, representative non-GPCRs, which function in the immune response, and their ability to communicate with microorganisms. Through detailed structure-function analysis of their ligand-binding pockets and downstream signaling cascades, we selected those candidate remote homologues likely to carry out related functions in the corals. This pipeline may prove generally useful for other non-model organisms, such as to support the growing field of synthetic biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) with neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) on the improvement of motor development and reduction of spasticity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Twenty-four children with CP were allocated to two groups: the tDCS + NDT group and the only NDT group, done 3 times per week for 5 weeks. The Gross Motor Function Measurement (GMFM-88) and Box and Block Test (BBT) were used to assess changes in motor development, and the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) was used to evaluate changes in spasticity. All measurements were carried out at 3 time points: baseline, post-intervention, and 1 month follow-up. We found improvements in the GMFM-88 total scores and in each individual GMFM-88 dimension scores, favoring the tDCS + NDT group over the only NDT group. The BBT scores improved only in the tDCS + NDT group. In addition, the MAS scores reduced in the hemibody with significant motor impairment only in the tDCS + NDT group. The present findings suggest that tDCS combined with NDT can be considered a promising intervention for children with CP, as it can enhance motor development and reduce spasticity in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconfigurable structures have attracted increasing attention in numerous fields, such as aerospace, biomechanical, and civil engineering, owing to their nature to reshape and readjust without altering their original architectures. However, one of the most challenging issues in designing a reconfigurable structure is to ensure a load‐bearing capacity after reconfiguration, while keeping the structural flexibility during the transformation process. Here, an origami tube that can be easily reconfigured into multiple shapes, yet offering a stiffening mechanism for load‐bearing purposes is presented. A complete set of possible configurations that a single design can be reconfigured into is mathematically identified and classified. Significant differences in their axial stiffness for various configurations are analytically and experimentally investigated. Lastly, a self‐reconfiguring and stiffening mechanism of the proposed origami tube structure made with shape memory polymer (SMP), which automatically reinforces its axial stiffness about an order of magnitude through kinematic transitions is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lifetime of the stator winding insulation is reduced when operated with pulsewidth-modulation inverters, since insulation degradation is accelerated due to increased thermal and electrical stresses on the motor. This paper focuses on a new approach for monitoring the condition of the stator insulation for failure-prone inverter-fed machines. The main concept of the proposed technique is to apply a dc and/or variable-frequency ac test voltage to the stator insulation using the inverter and to perform standard offline insulation tests whenever the motor is not operating. This allows the stator insulation to be tested more frequently as compared to offline tests performed once every three to six years during periodic maintenance. Two methods for testing the insulation with minimal modifications to the inverter circuit are proposed and verified experimentally. The results show that the proposed technique provides a simple low-cost solution for detecting stator insulation degradation at an early stage for reliable operation of inverter-fed machine systems, since the insulation condition can be monitored frequently. This does not only helps prevent forced outages and safety risks due to insulation breakdown but also helps perform maintenance in an efficient manner, since individual motor maintenance can be prioritized and scheduled based on its present condition. Index Terms--AC electric machines, capacitance (C) test, condition monitoring, diagnostics, dissipation factor (DF), insulation resistance (IR), inverters, predictive maintenance, stator insulation.

Stator insulation quality assessment is an important issue for pulsewidth modulation inverter-fed machines, since the stator insulation is exposed to increased thermal/electrical stresses. In this paper, a new approach for monitoring the condition of the stator insulation for inverter-fed machines is proposed. The main concept of the proposed approach is to apply various types of test voltages to the motor stator insulation using the inverter, to perform standard offline insulation tests whenever the motor is not operating. Two methods for testing the insulation with modifications to the inverter circuit are proposed and verified experimentally. The results show that the proposed technique provides a simple low cost solution for detecting stator insulation degradation at an early stage for reliable operation of inverter-fed machine systems, since the insulation condition can be monitored frequently. This not only helps prevent forced outages and safety risks due to insulation breakdown, but also helps perform maintenance in an efficient manner since individual motor maintenance can be prioritized and scheduled based on its present condition. Index Terms--AC motor drives, fault diagnosis, leakage currents, rotating machine insulation testing, variable speed drives.

Model systems approaches search for commonality in patterns underlying biological diversity and complexity led by common evolutionary paths. The success of the approach does not rest on the species chosen but on the scalability of the model and methods used to develop the model and engage research. Fine-tuning approaches to improve coral cell cultures will provide a robust platform for studying symbiosis breakdown, the calcification mechanism and its disruption, protein interactions, micronutrient transport/exchange, and the toxicity of nanoparticles, among other key biological aspects, with the added advantage of minimizing the ethical conundrum of repeated testing on ecologically threatened organisms. The work presented here aimed to lay the foundation towards development of effective methods to sort and culture reef-building coral cells with the ultimate goal of obtaining immortal cell lines for the study of bleaching, disease and toxicity at the cellular and polyp levels. To achieve this objective, the team conducted a thorough review and tested the available methods (i.e. cell dissociation, isolation, sorting, attachment and proliferation). The most effective and reproducible techniques were combined to consolidate culture methods and generate uncontaminated coral cell cultures for ~7 days (10 days maximum). The tests were conducted on scleractinian corals Pocillopora acuta of the same genotype to harmonize results and reduce variation linked to genetic diversity. The development of cell separation and identification methods in conjunction with further investigations into coral cell-type specific metabolic requirements will allow us to tailor growth media for optimized monocultures as a tool for studying essential reef-building coral traits such as symbiosis, wound healing and calcification at multiple scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the Bloch oscillation of elastic waves in a chain composed of hollow elliptical cylinders (HECs). These HECs are 3D-printed in different wall thicknesses and are arranged to form a graded chain. We find that the frequency band structure of this lattice can be manipulated in a way to create a narrow strip of transmission range sandwiched between slanted stop bands. This results in the trapping of elastic waves at a specific location of the chain, which depends on the input frequency of the propagating elastic waves. This elastic Bloch oscillation in a tailorable 3D-printed system enables the control of energy localization in solids, potentially leading to engineering applications for vibration filtering, energy harvesting, and structural health monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured composites built with microporous cellulose fibers and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have potential impacts in the fields of energy storage, sensors, and flexible electronics. Few results have been shown for high mechanoelectrical sensitivity of CNT‐paper composite because of numerous current paths in the network. Here, CNT‐paper‐based nanostructured composite sensors whose sensitivities are generated by controlled tensile fracture of the composite are presented. Under uniaxial load, the cellulose fibers in the paper experience straightening, stiffening, and fracture. The cellulose fibers originally parallel to the tension are fractured while those inclined and perpendicular to the tension are reorganized to form crossbar junctions in the vicinity of a crack. The cross junctions exhibit resistive and capacitive sensitivity to the out‐of‐plane force by the compression of the junctions. Such piezoresistive and piezocapacitive sensitivities are characterized and evaluated for human behavior monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a renewable energy harvesting method, interest in piezoelectric energy harvesting has increased significantly. Despite the piezoelectric energy-harvesting technology expanding its area to the flexible (elastic, amendable) devices, striking use or application of the technology is hardly found in the market. Here, we report a novel flexible piezoelectric energy harvester fabricated by using an additive manufacturing process, which enables both effective and customized manufacturing technique. By taking advantages of additive manufacturing, further application of the piezoelectric energy-harvesting technology is highly expected. Particles of BaTiO3, a ceramic with a large piezoelectric constant, were mixed with polyether block amide elastomer to form a flexible piezoelectric composite. The energy harvester was fabricated using an additive manufacturing process, by printing the piezoelectric composite on a laser-patterned flexible Indium-tin-oxide–coated polyethylene terephthalate substrate. Performance of fabricated energy harvester was evaluated by applying a mechanical stress to the energy harvester; voltage and current output were 2 V and 40 nA, respectively. An analytical model of the piezoelectric energy harvester was developed and discussed to explain the form of the voltage waveforms in response to the applied stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]