Do we know the strength of the chorioamnion? A critical review and analysis

The chorioamnion is the membrane that surrounds the fetus during gestation. Normally, it must remain intact for the duration of pregnancy, 37-42 weeks, and only rupture during or just before labour and delivery of the fetus. In a significant number (3%) of all births, this does not happen, and membranes rupture before term, resulting in preterm birth and significant perinatal morbidity. It is known that the material properties of chorioamnion may play a major role in mechanical rupture; a number of studies have been undertaken to characterise the physical nature of chorioamnion and examine factors that may predispose to rupture. However, the existing literature is inconsistent in its choice of both physical testing methods and data analysis techniques, motivating the current review. Experimental data from a large number of chorioamnion mechanical studies were collated, and data were converted to standard engineering quantities. The failure strength of the chorioamnion membrane was found consistently to value approximately 0.9 MPa. It is hoped that past and future studies of membrane mechanics can provide insight into the role of chorioamnion in labour and delivery. In addition, biomechanical approaches can help elucidate the potential causes of early rupture, and suggest future protocols or treatments that could both diagnose and prevent its occurrence. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Measurement-Integrated simulations and Kalman filter applied to a co-flowing jet

This paper deals with the experimental evaluation of a flow analysis system based on the integration between an under-resolved Navier-Stokes simulation and experimental measurements with the mechanism of feedback (referred to as Measurement-Integrated simulation), applied to the case of a planar turbulent co-flowing jet. The experiments are performed with inner-to-outer-jet velocity ratio around 2 and the Reynolds number based on the inner-jet heights about 10000. The measurement system is a high-speed PIV, which provides time-resolved data of the flow-field, on a field of view which extends to 20 jet heights downstream the jet outlet. The experimental data can thus be used both for providing the feedback data for the simulations and for validation of the MI-simulations over a wide region. The effect of reduced data-rate and spatial extent of the feedback (i.e. measurements are not available at each simulation time-step or discretization point) was investigated. At first simulations were run with full information in order to obtain an upper limit of the MI-simulations performance. The results show the potential of this methodology of reproducing first and second order statistics of the turbulent flow with good accuracy. Then, to deal with the reduced data different feedback strategies were tested. It was found that for small data-rate reduction the results are basically equivalent to the case of full-information feedback but as the feedback data-rate is reduced further the error increases and tend to be localized in regions of high turbulent activity. Moreover, it is found that the spatial distribution of the error looks qualitatively different for different feedback strategies. Feedback gain distributions calculated by optimal control theory are presented and proposed as a mean to make it possible to perform MI-simulations based on localized measurements only. So far, we have not been able to low error between measurements and simulations by using these gain distributions.

Sequencing, annotation and comparative analysis of nine BACs of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

A 10-fold BAC library for giant panda was constructed and nine BACs were selected to generate finish sequences. These BACs could be used as a validation resource for the de novo assembly accuracy of the whole genome shotgun sequencing reads of giant panda newly generated by the Illumina GA sequencing technology. Complete sanger sequencing, assembly, annotation and comparative analysis were carried out on the selected BACs of a joint length 878 kb. Homologue search and de novo prediction methods were used to annotate genes and repeats. Twelve protein coding genes were predicted, seven of which could be functionally annotated. The seven genes have an average gene size of about 41 kb, an average coding size of about 1.2 kb and an average exon number of 6 per gene. Besides, seven tRNA genes were found. About 27 percent of the BAC sequence is composed of repeats. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using neighbor-join algorithm across five species, including giant panda, human, dog, cat and mouse, which reconfirms dog as the most related species to giant panda. Our results provide detailed sequence and structure information for new genes and repeats of giant panda, which will be helpful for further studies on the giant panda.

Experimental investigation of parallel optical data storage using pyrrylfulgide photochromic material

The optical storage characteristics of a new kind of organic photochromic material-pyrrylfulgide were experimentally investigated in the established parallel optical data storage system. Using the pyrrylfulgide/PMMA film as a photon-mode recording medium, micro-images and encoded binary digital data were recorded, readout and erased in this parallel system. The storage density currently reaches 3 x 10(7) bit/cm(2). The recorded information on the film can be kept for years in darkness at room temperature.

Real-time data processing of interferential imaging spectrometer based on FPGA

Based on the data processing technologies of interferential spectrometer, a sort of real-time data processing system on chip of interferential imaging spectrometer was studied based on large capacitance and high speed field programmable gate array( FPGA) device. The system integrates both interferograrn sampling and spectrum rebuilding on a single chip of FPGA and makes them being accomplished in real-time with advantages such as small cubage, fast speed and high reliability. It establishes a good technical foundation in the applications of imaging spectrometer on target detection and recognition in real-time.

beta(+)/EC-decay study of Ir-176 neutron-deficient isotope

The beta(+)/EC decay of doubly odd Ir-176 has been investigated using Nd-146(Cl-35, 5n gamma)Ir-176 heavy ion fusion evaporation reaction at 210MeV bombarding energy. With the aid of a helium-jet recoil fast tape transport system, the reaction products were transported to a low-background location for measurements. Based on the data analysis, the previously published gamma rays in Ir-176 decay were proved, moreover, 3 new levels and 10 new gamma rays were assigned to Ir-176 decay. The new level scheme of Os-176 with low excitation energy has been established. The time spectra of typical gamma rays clearly indicate a long-lived low-spin isomer in Ir-176 nuclide.

Development of multi-channel gated integrator and PXI-DAQ system for nuclear detector arrays

A multi-channel gated integrator and PXI based data acquisition system have been developed for nuclear detector arrays with hundreds of detector units. The multi-channel gated integrator can be controlled by a programmable Cl controller. The PXI-DAQ system consists of NI PXI-1033 chassis with several PXI-DAQ cards. The system software has a user-friendly GUI which is written in C language using LabWindows/CVI under Windows XP operating system. The performance of the PXI-DAQ system is very reliable and capable of handling event rate up to 40 kHz. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Observation of a Possible New Isomer in Ir-175

The neutron deficient nuclide Ir-175 was produced by irradiation of Nd-146 with 210 MeV Cl-35 via a fusion-evaporation reaction channel. The reaction products were transported to a low-background location using a helium-jet recoil fast-moving tape-transport system for measurement. The experimental devices and data analysis method are introduced. Based on the decay-curve fitting of the beta-delayed gamma ray from Ir-175, realized by the least-square method, a new long-lived isomeric state of Ir-175 is proposed and briefly discussed.

Phosphoproteome analysis of mouse liver using immobilized metal affinity purification and linear ion trap mass spectrometry

Since protein phosphorylation is a dominant mechanism of information transfer in cells, there is a great need for methods capable of accurately elucidating sites of phosphorylation. In recent years mass spectrometry has become an increasingly viable alternative to more traditional methods of phosphorylation analysis. The present study used immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC coupled with a linear ion trap mass spectrometer to analyze phosphorylated proteins in mouse liver. A total of 26 peptide sequences defining 26 sites of phosphorylation were determined. Although this number of identified phosphoproteins is not large, the approach is still of interest because a series of conservative criteria were adopted in data analysis. We note that, although the binding of non-phosphorylated peptides to the IMAC column was apparent, the improvements in high-speed scanning and quality of MS/MS spectra provided by the linear ion trap contributed to the phosphoprotein identification. Further analysis demonstrated that MS/MS/MS analysis was necessary to exclude the false-positive matches resulting from the MS/MS experiments, especially for multiphosphorylated peptides. The use of the linear ion trap considerably enabled exploitation of nanoflow-HPLC/MS/MS, and in addition MS/MS/MS has great potential in phosphoproteome research of relatively complex samples. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Application of digital image analysis to the study of banded spherulite during growing and melting process

A digital image analysis(DIA) technique can be applied directly to the image obtained by polarizing microscope. The time-resolved DIA apparatus including image collecting, showing and data analysis has been home-made. As an example, it has been used to study the banded spherulite in the blends of poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(styrene-ran-acrylonitrile) (SAN).

EAWM-related air-sea-land interaction and the Asian summer monsoon circulation

Based on the data analysis, this study further explores the characteristics of East Asian winter monsoon (hereafter, EAWM, for brevity) as well as the related air-sea-land system, and illustrates how and to what degree anomalous signals of the subsequent Asian summer monsoon are rooted in the preceding EAWM activity. We identified an important air-sea coupled mode, i.e., the EAWM mode illustrated in Section 3. In cold seasons, strong EAWM-related air-sea two-way interaction is responsible for the development and persistence of the SSTA pattern of EAWM mode. As a consequence, the key regions, i.e., the western Pacific and South China Sea (hereafter, SCS, for brevity), are dominated by such an SSTA pattern from the winter to the following summer. In the strong EAWM years, the deficient snow cover dominates eastern Tibetan Plateau in winter, and in spring, this anomaly pattern is further strengthened and extended to the northwestern side of Tibetan Plateau. Thus, the combined effect of strong EAWM-related SSTA and Tibetan snow cover constitutes an important factor in modulating the Asian monsoon circulation. The active role of the EAWM activity as well as the related air-sea-land interaction would, in the subsequent seasons, lead to: 1) the enhancement of SCS monsoon and related stronger rainfall; 2) the northward displacement of subtropical high during Meiyu period and the related deficient rainfall over Meiyu rainband; 3) above-normal precipitation over the regions from northern Japan to northeastern China in summer; 4) more rainfall over the Arabian Sea and Northeast India, while less rainfall over southwest India and the Bay of Bengal. The strong EAWM-related air-sea interaction shows, to some degree, precursory signals to the following Asian summer monsoon. However, the mechanism for the variability of Indian summer monsoon subsequent to the strong EAWM years remains uncertain.

基于视觉的机器人轨迹误差测量技术

提出了一种基于视觉的机器人轨迹精度测量系统,该系统以计算机视觉为基础,结合激光测量等技术,可实时测量机器人的运动轨迹误差.完成了高精度图像快速采集与处理、系统标定、三维计算及计算结果可视化等关键技术研究及系统研制工作,并在机器人上进行了实验,大量的实验表明,该系统的测量精度和速度均可满足机器人的轨迹测量的需要.

胜利勘探数据中心及勘探辅助决策系统研究

In the paper through extensive study and design, the technical plan for establishing the exploration database center is made to combine imported and self developed techniques. By research and repeated experiment a modern database center has been set up with its hardware and network having advanced performance, its system well configured, its data store and management complete, and its data support being fast and direct. Through study on the theory, method and model of decision an exploration decision assistant schema is designed with one decision plan of well location decision support system being evaluated and put into action. 1. Study on the establishment of Shengli exploration database center Research is made on the hardware configuration of the database center including its workstations and all connected hardware and system. The hardware of the database center is formed by connecting workstations, microcomputer workstations, disk arrays, and those equipments used for seismic processing and interpretation. Research on the data store and management includes the analysis of the contents to be managed, data flow, data standard, data QC, data backup and restore policy, optimization of database system. A reasonable data management regulation and workflow is made and the scientific exploration data management system is created. Data load is done by working out a schedule firstly and at last 200 more projects of seismic surveys has been loaded amount to 25TB. 2. Exploration work support system and its application Seismic data processing system support has the following features, automatic extraction of seismic attributes, GIS navigation, data order, extraction of any sized data cube, pseudo huge capacity disk array, standard output exchange format etc. The prestack data can be accessed by the processing system or data can be transferred to other processing system through standard exchange format. For supporting seismic interpretation system the following features exist such as auto scan and store of interpretation result, internal data quality control etc. the interpretation system is connected directly with database center to get real time support of seismic data, formation data and well data. Comprehensive geological study support is done through intranet with the ability to query or display data graphically on the navigation system under some geological constraints. Production management support system is mainly used to collect, analyze and display production data with its core technology on the controlled data collection and creation of multiple standard forms. 3. exploration decision support system design By classification of workflow and data flow of all the exploration stages and study on decision theory and method, target of each decision step, decision model and requirement, three concept models has been formed for the Shengli exploration decision support system including the exploration distribution support system, the well location support system and production management support system. the well location decision support system has passed evaluation and been put into action. 4. Technical advance Hardware and software match with high performance for the database center. By combining parallel computer system, database server, huge capacity ATL, disk array, network and firewall together to create the first exploration database center in China with reasonable configuration, high performance and able to manage the whole data sets of exploration. Huge exploration data management technology is formed where exploration data standards and management regulations are made to guarantee data quality, safety and security. Multifunction query and support system for comprehensive exploration information support. It includes support system for geological study, seismic processing and interpretation and production management. In the system a lot of new database and computer technology have been used to provide real time information support for exploration work. Finally is the design of Shengli exploration decision support system. 5. Application and benefit Data storage has reached the amount of 25TB with thousand of users in Shengli oil field to access data to improve work efficiency multiple times. The technology has also been applied by many other units of SINOPEC. Its application of providing data to a project named Exploration achievements and Evaluation of Favorable Targets in Hekou Area shortened the data preparation period from 30 days to 2 days, enriching data abundance 15 percent and getting information support from the database center perfectly. Its application to provide former processed result for a project named Pre-stack depth migration in Guxi fracture zone reduced the amount of repeated process and shortened work period of one month and improved processing precision and quality, saving capital investment of data processing of 30 million yuan. It application by providing project database automatically in project named Geological and seismic study of southern slope zone of Dongying Sag shortened data preparation time so that researchers have more time to do research, thus to improve interpretation precision and quality.

残留盆地分布综合地球物理研究——以大港地区为例

Macro-distribution of residual basins is a basic question in residual basin research，the main object of macro-distribution study is to build strata framework, compute thickness of residual strata and analyze characteristics of residual basins. With the guidance of the theory of integrated geology and geophysical research, the paper assembled series of methods and established the technical chart based on gravity and magnetic data, with restriction of geology, seismic and drilling data. Based on potential field data processing and analysis, forward and inverse computation, region potential field analysis and potential field separation, etc. it computed depth of gravity/magnetic basement and got strata framework. It had got effective results in the research of macro-distribution of residual basin research in the Dagang area. It did the wavelet transform of gravity/magnetic data with multi-kind of wavelet basis using a trou algorithm. From comparison of processing result and their spectral of wavelet analysis, up continuation and filter method, the wavelet approximation is better to fit the regional potential field, and it is an effective method to separate gravity/magnetic effect caused by deep geology bodies. The experiment of matching pursuit shows that te transform domain methods have great advantage in potential data analysis. From the integrated geophysical study of rock property study, gravity/magnetic basement inversion and fault system analysis of the Dagang area, it gets the strata framework and the thickness of pre-Cenozoic residual strata. Comprehensive study with gravity and magnetotelluric profile inversion and interpretation, three prospect plays of macro-distribution of residual basins are fingered out. It has great residual strata thickness in the northern part of Chengning Uplift and there is thrust fault in the deep zone and good up-Paleozoic hydrocarbon source rocks in this area. With integrated analysis, this area will be the most prospective hydrocarbon location of pre-Cenozoic residual basins.

空间电流体系地磁反演及理论研究

The space currents definitely take effects on electromagnetic environment and also are scientific highlight in the space research. Space currents as a momentum and energy provider to Geospace Storm, disturb the varied part of geomagnetic field, distort magnetospheric configuration and furthermore take control of the coupling between magnetosphere and ionosphere. Due to both academic and commercial objectives above, we carry on geomagnetic inverse and theoretical studies about the space currents by using geomagnetic data from INTERMAGNET. At first, we apply a method of Natural Orthogonal Components (NOC) to decomposition the solar daily variation, especially for (solar quiet variation). NOC is just one of eign mode analysis, the most advantage of this method is that the basic functions (BFs) were not previously designated, but naturally came from the original data so that there are several BFs usually corresponding to the process really happened and have more physical meaning than the traditional spectrum analysis with the fixed BFs like Fourier trigonometric functions. The first two eign modes are corresponding to the and daily variation and their amplitudes both have the seasonal and day-to-day trend, that will be useful for evaluating geomagnetic activity indices. Because of the too strict constraints of orthogonality, we try to extend orthogonal contraints to the non-orthogonal ones in order to give more suitable and appropriate decomposition of the real processes when the most components did not satisfy orthogonality. We introduce a mapping matrix which can transform the real physical space to a new mathematical space, after that process, the modified components which associated with the physical processes have satisfied the orthogonality in the new mathematical space, furthermore, we can continue to use the NOC decomposition in the new mathematical space, and then all the components inversely transform back to original physical space, so that we would have finished the non-orthogonal decomposition which more generally in the real world. Secondly, geomagnetic inverse of the ring current’s topology is conducted. Configurational changes of the ring current in the magnetosphere lead to different patterns of disturbed ground field, so that the global configuration of ring current can be inferred from its geomagnetic perturbations. We took advantages of worldwide geomagnetic observatories network to investigate the disturbed geomagnetic field which produced by ring current. It was found that the ring current was not always centered at geomagnetic equator, and significantly deviated off the equator during several intense magnetic storms. The deviation owing to the tilting and latitudinal shifting of the ring current with respect to the earth’s dipole can be estimated from global geomagnetic survey. Furthermore those two configurational factors which gave a quantitative description of the ring current configuration, will be helpful to improve the Dst calibration and understand the dependence of ring current’s configuration on the plasma sheet location relative to the equator when magnetotail field warped. Thirdly, the energization and physical acceleration process of ring current during magnetic storm has been proposed. When IMF Bz component increase, the enhanced convection electric field drive the plasma injection into the inner magnetosphere. During the transport process, a dynamic heating is happened which make the particles more ‘hot’ when the injection is more deeply inward. The energy gradient along the injection path is equivalent to a kind of force, which resist the plasma more earthward injection, as a diamagnetic effect of the magnetosphere anti and repellent action to the exotically injected plasma. The acceleration efficiency has a power law form. We use analytical way to quantitatively describe the dynamical process by introducing a physical parameter: energization index, which will be useful to understand how the particle is heated. At the end, we give a scheme of how to get the from storm time geomagnetic data. During intense magnetic storms, the lognormal trend of geomagnetic Dst decreases depend on the heating dynamic of magnetosphere controlling ring current. The descending pattern of main phase is governed by the magnetospheric configuration, which can be describled by the energization index. The amplitude of Dst correlated with convection electric field or south component of the solar wind. Finally, the Dst index is predicted by upstream solar wind parameter. As we known space weather have posed many chanllenges and impacts on techinal system, the geomagnetic index for evaluating the activity space weather. We review the most popular Dst prediction method and repeat the Dst forecasting model works. A concise and convnient Key Points model of the polar region is also introduced to space weather. In summary, this paper contains some new quantitative and physical description of the space currents with special focus on the ring current. Whatever we do is just to gain a better understanding of the natural world, particularly the space environment around Earth through analytical deduction, algorithm designing and physical analysis, to quantitative interpretation. Applications of theoretical physics in conjunction with data analysis help us to understand the basic physical process govering the universe.