The development of various artificial electronics and machines would explosively increase the amount of information and data,which need to be processed via in-situ remediation.Bioinspired synapse devices can store and...The development of various artificial electronics and machines would explosively increase the amount of information and data,which need to be processed via in-situ remediation.Bioinspired synapse devices can store and process signals in a parallel way,thus improving fault tolerance and decreasing the power consumption of artificial systems.The organic field effect transistor(OFET)is a promising component for bioinspired neuromorphic systems because it is suitable for large-scale integrated circuits and flexible devices.In this review,the organic semiconductor materials,structures and fabrication,and different artificial sensory perception systems functions based on neuromorphic OFET devices are summarized.Subsequently,a summary and challenges of neuromorphic OFET devices are provided.This review presents a detailed introduction to the recent progress of neuromorphic OFET devices from semiconductor materials to perception systems,which would serve as a reference for the development of neuromorphic systems in future bioinspired electronics.展开更多
Cancer is a global health problem that is often successfully addressed by therapy, with cancer survivors increasing in numbers and living longer world around. Although new cancer treatment options are continuously exp...Cancer is a global health problem that is often successfully addressed by therapy, with cancer survivors increasing in numbers and living longer world around. Although new cancer treatment options are continuously explored, platinum based chemotherapy agents remain in use due to their efficiency and availability. Unfortunately, all cancer therapies affect normal tissues as well as cancer, and more than 40 specific side effects of platinum based drugs documented so far decrease the quality of life of cancer survivors. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a frequent side effects of platinum-based chemotherapy agents. This cluster of complications is often so debilitating that patients occasionally have to discontinue the therapy. Sensory neurons of dorsal root ganglia are at the core of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms. In these postmitotic cells, DNA damage caused by platinum chemotherapy interferes with normal functioning. Accumulation of DNA-platinum adducts correlates with neurotoxic severity and development of sensation of pain. While biochemistry of DNA-platinum adducts is the same in all cell types, molecular mechanisms affected by DNA-platinum adducts are different in cancer cells and non-dividing cells. This review aims to raise awareness about platinum associated chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy as a medical problem that has remained unexplained for decades. We emphasize the complexity of this condition both from clinical and mechanistical point of view and focus on recent findings about chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in in vitro and in vivo model systems. Finally, we summarize current perspectives about clinical approaches for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy treatment.展开更多
Food selection plays a pivotal role in maintaining adequate nutrient intake, thus elucidating drivers of food choice is a meaningful strategy to maintain health and manage dis-ease. Taste and smell are key determinant...Food selection plays a pivotal role in maintaining adequate nutrient intake, thus elucidating drivers of food choice is a meaningful strategy to maintain health and manage dis-ease. Taste and smell are key determinants of food choice and warrant careful consideration. In this review, we first discuss how sensory stimulation influences food selection and meta-bolism. We then review the evidence regarding the relationship between taste and smell dysfunction and food preferences and selection, with attention given to contexts of certain chronic diseases. We conclude with brief recommendations for the management of chemosen-sory disorders. While sensory abilities influence food selection, the effect of taste and smell dysfunction on long-term consumption patterns and health status must be considered in light of environment, exposure, and culture.展开更多
Background: The organs in the body function in coherent organ networks. These organ networks are commonly known as physiological systems. Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure and pH exhibit the characteristics of neurally re...Background: The organs in the body function in coherent organ networks. These organ networks are commonly known as physiological systems. Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure and pH exhibit the characteristics of neurally regulated Physiological Systems. Any medical condition, such as diabetes, has origins which are due to systemic dysfunction. This influences the genetic expression of proteins and the rate at which such expressed proteins subsequently react. Increased levels of acidity influence the levels of available minerals, protein conformation, and hence the rate at which expressed proteins such as insulin and leptin react or function. This is particularly significant in diabetes etiology where a deficiency of insulin and insulin-“resistance” are significant features of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Proteins such as Insulin absorb and emit light. Moreover, the spectrum and intensity of the bioluminescence emitted from glycated proteins (which are more significantly bioluminescent) influence colour perception. Accordingly, changes to the diabetic’s colour perception can be used as the basis of a cognitive screening technique which is able to quantify the influence of genotype and phenotype. This may have significant advantages over current biomarker techniques which are not able to satisfactorily determine the earliest onset of?diabetes or distinguish between the symptomatic and presymptomatic onset of diabetes. Such methodology, based upon the properties of proteins, i.e. effectively, the rate at which proteins are expressed and the rate at which such expressed proteins subsequently react, allows the clinician to quantify genotype and phenotype and may contribute to a greater understanding of the processes responsible for what are commonly known as type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this article is to highlight the limitations of the current techniques used to diagnose diabetes and to highlight, at least from the theoretical perspective, the significance of the autonomic nervous system and physiological s展开更多
Imbuing artificial sensory system with intelligence of the biological counterpart is limited by challenges in emulating perceptual learning ability at the device level.In biological systems,stimuli from the surroundin...Imbuing artificial sensory system with intelligence of the biological counterpart is limited by challenges in emulating perceptual learning ability at the device level.In biological systems,stimuli from the surrounding environment are detected,transmitted,and processed by receptor,afferent nerve,and brain,respectively.This process allows the living creatures to identify the potential hazards and improve their adaptability in various environments.Here,inspired by the biological olfaction system,a gas sensory system with perceptual learning is developed.As a proof-of-concept,H2S gas with various concentrations is used as the stimulation and the stimuli will be converted to pulse-like physiological signals in the designed system,which consists of a gas sensor,a flexible oscillator,and a memristor-type artificial synapse.Furthermore,the learning ability is implemented using a supervised learning method based on k-nearest neighbors(KNN)algorithm.The recognition accuracy can be enhanced by repeating training,illustrating a great potential to be used as the neuromorphic sensory system with a learning ability for the applications in robotics.展开更多
Rhodamine B-ethylenediamine-beta-cyclodextrins (RhB-beta-CDen) and rhodamine B-beta-cyclodextrins (RhB-beta-CD) form inclusion complexes with many guest molecules, which can be used as nucleic acid probe. In this pape...Rhodamine B-ethylenediamine-beta-cyclodextrins (RhB-beta-CDen) and rhodamine B-beta-cyclodextrins (RhB-beta-CD) form inclusion complexes with many guest molecules, which can be used as nucleic acid probe. In this paper we determined the most stable conformations of RhB-beta-CDen and RhB-beta-CD by molecular mechanics and dynamics simulation. The interaction between RhB-beta-CDen and two guest molecules, 1-borneol and cyclohexanol, have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The results show that the interaction between borneol and RhB-beta-CDen is stronger than that between cyclohexanol and RhB-beta-CDen.展开更多
The larval stages of most marine fishes spend days to weeks in the pelagic environment,where they must find food and avoid predators in order to survive.Some fish only spend part of their life history in the pelagic e...The larval stages of most marine fishes spend days to weeks in the pelagic environment,where they must find food and avoid predators in order to survive.Some fish only spend part of their life history in the pelagic environment before returning to their adult habitat,for example,a coral reef.The sensory systems of larval fish develop rapidly during the first few days of their lives,and here we concentrate on the various sensory cues the fish have available to them for survival in the pelagic environment.We focus on the larvae of reef fishes because most is known about them.We also review the major threats caused by human activities that have been identified to have worldwide impact and evaluate how these threats may impact larval-fish survival and orientation abilities.Many human activities negatively affect larval-fish sensory systems or the cues the fish need to detect.Ultimately,this could lead to decreased numbers of larvae surviving to settlement,and,therefore,to decreased abundance of adult fishes.Although we focus on species wherein the larvae and adults occupy different habitats(pelagic and demersal,respectively),it is important to acknowledge that the potential anthropogenic effects we identify may also apply to larvae of species like tuna and herring,where both larvae and adults are pelagic.展开更多
Nature creatures have evolved excellent receptors, such as sensory hairs in arthropods, lateral line system of fishes. Researchers inspired by nature creatures have developed various mechanical sensors. Here, we provi...Nature creatures have evolved excellent receptors, such as sensory hairs in arthropods, lateral line system of fishes. Researchers inspired by nature creatures have developed various mechanical sensors. Here, we provide an overview on the development of Artificial Hair-Like （AHL） sensors based on the inspiration of hair flow sensory receptors, especially sensory hairs in arthropods and lateral line systems of fishes. We classify the developed AHL sensors into several categories according to the operating principles they based on, for example, piezoresistive and piezoelectric effects. The current challenges and existing problems in the development of AHL sensors are also present, which were primarily restricted by the exploratory tools of sensing mechanism of creatures and current manufacturing technologies. In future, more efforts are required in order to further improve the performance of AHL sensors. We expect that intelligent multi-functional AHL sensors can be applied not only in applications like navigation of underwater automatic vehicles, underwater search and rescue, tap-water metering, air monitoring and even in medicare, but also potentially be used in space robots to detect complex to- pography.展开更多
An efficient method is presented for implementing mobile robot perception-action behaviors, based on time varying environment potential field approach. First, in this paper, the concept of dynamic potential U(x,y,z,t)...An efficient method is presented for implementing mobile robot perception-action behaviors, based on time varying environment potential field approach. First, in this paper, the concept of dynamic potential U(x,y,z,t) is proposed for representing the environment of a mobile robot, and the form of U(x,y,z,t) is deduced, and then the velocity control of the vehicle with two wheel is directly calculated by transition function T of U(x,y,z,t). Finally, the perception-action layer is successfully implemented for avoiding collision, wandering, and integrating path planning and steering control on THMR-II (tsingHua university Mobile Robot system). Based on sonar array signals, the experimental results are given to show that THMR-II has better reflexive function, real-time obstacle avoidance, adaptability and robustness for complex environments.展开更多
After major natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake-tsunami event in South Asia, reports appear about the mysterious ability of animals to anticipate and to escape the impending danger. This is an opportunity...After major natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake-tsunami event in South Asia, reports appear about the mysterious ability of animals to anticipate and to escape the impending danger. This is an opportunity to recall the long history of this phenomenon in the traditions of different civilizations, to evaluate Chinese efforts, 30-40 years ago, to use this phenomenon for earthquake prediction, and to judge its state of acceptance in modem science. An effort is made to introduce this phenomenon as a research field of modem bionics. The timing is favorable since, increasingly, infrared thermal anomalies, monitored from satellite, suggesting litho-atmospheric processes, are found to precede earthquakes. They were unexpected by seismologists and are here suggested to essentially reflect the energy conversion patterns responsible for the signals monitored by animals. The aim is to learn from animals in the long term how natural disasters can better be anticipated, and how simple technical warning systems can be developed. Some challenges are analyzed. One is interpretation of the nature of energy release prior to the main earthquake disaster resulting in ＂macro-anomaly＂ precursors, another is better to understand the effect on animal senses. The role of non-linear cooperative phenomena including tsunamitype waves is emphasized.展开更多
Background： In the classical psychological refractory period （PRP） paradigm, two stimuli are presented in brief succession, and participants are asked to make separate speeded responses to both stimuli. Due to a ce...Background： In the classical psychological refractory period （PRP） paradigm, two stimuli are presented in brief succession, and participants are asked to make separate speeded responses to both stimuli. Due to a central cognitive bottleneck, responses to the second stimulus are delayed, especially at short stimulus-onset asynchrony （SOA） between the two stimuli. Although the mechanisms of dual-task interference in the classical PRP paradigm have been extensively investigated, specific mechanisms underlying the cross-modal PRP paradigm are not well understood. In particular, it remains unknown whether the dominance of vision over audition manifests in the cross-modal PRP tasks. The present study aimed to investigate whether the visual dominance effect manifessts in the cross-modal PRP paradigm. Methods： We adapted the classical PRP paradigm by manipulating the order of a visual and an auditory task： the visual task could either precede the auditory task or vice versa, at either short or long SOAs. Twenty-five healthy participants took part in Experiment 1, and thirty-three new participants took part in Experiment 2. Reaction time and accuracy data were calculated and further analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results： The results showed that visual precedence in the Visual-Auditory condition caused larger impairments to the subsequent auditory processing than vice versa in the Auditory-Visual condition： a larger delay of second response was revealed in the Visual-Auditory condition （ 135 ± 10 ms） than the Auditory-Visual condition （88 ± 9 ms）. This effect was found only at the short SOAs tinder the existence of the central bottleneck, but not at the long SOAs. Moreover, this effect occurred both when the single visual and the single auditory task were of equal difficulty in Experiment I and when the single auditory task was more difficult than the single visual task in Experiment 2. Conclusion： Results of the two experiments suggested that the visual dominance effect 展开更多
The distribution of proliferative zones, NO-producing cells and apoptosis areas in the medulla oblongata, cerebellum, optic tectum, thalamus and hypothalamus of Amur sturgeon Acipenser schrenckii was investigated, usi...The distribution of proliferative zones, NO-producing cells and apoptosis areas in the medulla oblongata, cerebellum, optic tectum, thalamus and hypothalamus of Amur sturgeon Acipenser schrenckii was investigated, using techniques of immunoperoxidase staining of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), neuronal nitric oxide synthase and TU-NEL-labeling of fragmented DNA. It has been established, that in the sturgeon brain NO can act both as a cytotoxic proapoptogenic factor, and as a factor, which stimulates cell proliferation. The presence of NO-producing elements in somato- and viscerosensory areas of medulla oblongata, tectum, cerebellum and thalamus suppose, that in these brain areas NO constitutes apoptogenic factor, which induces the cells death in a territory of postmitotic neuroblasts, renders controlling effect on development and differentiating of chemosensory, visual, motor and hypophysotropic brain areas in postnatal ontogenesis. Maximal proliferating activity and high concentration of NO-ergic cells were revealed in external layers, adjoining to the medullar, cerebellar and tectum membranes, that allow to suppose NO participation in postnatal morphogenesis of these brain structures as a factor, which regulates cell proliferation. In sensory centers (tectum and nuclei of the V, VII, and X nerves), significantly varying ratios of intensities of proliferation and apoptosis were found;this is indicative of dissimilar rates of growth and differentiation in visual and chemosensory centers of the sturgeon brain. Presence of NO-producing elements in the PCNA- immuno-labeling and TUNEL-labeling brain areas allow to consider NO as a factor, which balances processes of proliferation and apoptosis in the sturgeon brain.展开更多
The study is based on the results of the integrated measurement of the energy expenditure at rest and common activity in birds belonging to various systematic groups. Homeothermy has formed in birds and mammals indepe...The study is based on the results of the integrated measurement of the energy expenditure at rest and common activity in birds belonging to various systematic groups. Homeothermy has formed in birds and mammals independently and in different geological ages. However, in both groups it originated as a side effect of selection for aerobic metabolism improvement that provided a higher level of activity. Advantages of having high and stable body temperature, which were inevitably related with metabolism intensification, led to development of thermoregulatory adaptations such as fur and feathers. This made it possible to retain the metabolically generated heat and reduce heat absorption in hot environments. Emergence of homeothermy with aerobic supply of motion activity, possibilities to regulate the level of metabolism and thermal conductance, has opened a lot of opportunities for homoeothermic animals. Achieving such a level of energy utilization allowed them to maintain activity for a longer time, while its sensory support led to complication and diversification of birds’ behavioral repertoire (as well as that of mammals) facilitating the conquest of almost entire part of the biosphere that was suitable for living. This process was favored by the development of nurturing and passing on the information, collected throughout the life, to new generations. Formation of high levels of aerobic metabolism in birds and mammals was proceeding in parallel among different groups of reptilian ancestors. The level of homeothermy, at which aerobic metabolism was able to maintain prolonged activity, developed in birds and mammals in different ways: they had got dissimilar partitioning of venous and arterial networks, erythrocytes with or without a cell nucleus, different lungs design—but, at that, similar minimum metabolic power and rather close body temperatures which corresponded well to the environmental conditions on the Earth. Natural selection allowed animals with high energetic metabolism to increase their diversity an展开更多
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(U21A20497)Singapore National Research Foundation Investigatorship(Grant No.NRF-NRFI08-2022-0009)。
文摘The development of various artificial electronics and machines would explosively increase the amount of information and data,which need to be processed via in-situ remediation.Bioinspired synapse devices can store and process signals in a parallel way,thus improving fault tolerance and decreasing the power consumption of artificial systems.The organic field effect transistor(OFET)is a promising component for bioinspired neuromorphic systems because it is suitable for large-scale integrated circuits and flexible devices.In this review,the organic semiconductor materials,structures and fabrication,and different artificial sensory perception systems functions based on neuromorphic OFET devices are summarized.Subsequently,a summary and challenges of neuromorphic OFET devices are provided.This review presents a detailed introduction to the recent progress of neuromorphic OFET devices from semiconductor materials to perception systems,which would serve as a reference for the development of neuromorphic systems in future bioinspired electronics.
基金supported by grant from the Ministry of Education,Science and Technological Development,Republic of Serbia(173051)supported by a UICC Yamagiwa-Yoshida Memorial International Cancer Study Grant(YY2/2015/381414)
文摘Cancer is a global health problem that is often successfully addressed by therapy, with cancer survivors increasing in numbers and living longer world around. Although new cancer treatment options are continuously explored, platinum based chemotherapy agents remain in use due to their efficiency and availability. Unfortunately, all cancer therapies affect normal tissues as well as cancer, and more than 40 specific side effects of platinum based drugs documented so far decrease the quality of life of cancer survivors. Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a frequent side effects of platinum-based chemotherapy agents. This cluster of complications is often so debilitating that patients occasionally have to discontinue the therapy. Sensory neurons of dorsal root ganglia are at the core of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms. In these postmitotic cells, DNA damage caused by platinum chemotherapy interferes with normal functioning. Accumulation of DNA-platinum adducts correlates with neurotoxic severity and development of sensation of pain. While biochemistry of DNA-platinum adducts is the same in all cell types, molecular mechanisms affected by DNA-platinum adducts are different in cancer cells and non-dividing cells. This review aims to raise awareness about platinum associated chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy as a medical problem that has remained unexplained for decades. We emphasize the complexity of this condition both from clinical and mechanistical point of view and focus on recent findings about chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in in vitro and in vivo model systems. Finally, we summarize current perspectives about clinical approaches for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy treatment.
文摘Food selection plays a pivotal role in maintaining adequate nutrient intake, thus elucidating drivers of food choice is a meaningful strategy to maintain health and manage dis-ease. Taste and smell are key determinants of food choice and warrant careful consideration. In this review, we first discuss how sensory stimulation influences food selection and meta-bolism. We then review the evidence regarding the relationship between taste and smell dysfunction and food preferences and selection, with attention given to contexts of certain chronic diseases. We conclude with brief recommendations for the management of chemosen-sory disorders. While sensory abilities influence food selection, the effect of taste and smell dysfunction on long-term consumption patterns and health status must be considered in light of environment, exposure, and culture.
文摘Background: The organs in the body function in coherent organ networks. These organ networks are commonly known as physiological systems. Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure and pH exhibit the characteristics of neurally regulated Physiological Systems. Any medical condition, such as diabetes, has origins which are due to systemic dysfunction. This influences the genetic expression of proteins and the rate at which such expressed proteins subsequently react. Increased levels of acidity influence the levels of available minerals, protein conformation, and hence the rate at which expressed proteins such as insulin and leptin react or function. This is particularly significant in diabetes etiology where a deficiency of insulin and insulin-“resistance” are significant features of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Proteins such as Insulin absorb and emit light. Moreover, the spectrum and intensity of the bioluminescence emitted from glycated proteins (which are more significantly bioluminescent) influence colour perception. Accordingly, changes to the diabetic’s colour perception can be used as the basis of a cognitive screening technique which is able to quantify the influence of genotype and phenotype. This may have significant advantages over current biomarker techniques which are not able to satisfactorily determine the earliest onset of?diabetes or distinguish between the symptomatic and presymptomatic onset of diabetes. Such methodology, based upon the properties of proteins, i.e. effectively, the rate at which proteins are expressed and the rate at which such expressed proteins subsequently react, allows the clinician to quantify genotype and phenotype and may contribute to a greater understanding of the processes responsible for what are commonly known as type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this article is to highlight the limitations of the current techniques used to diagnose diabetes and to highlight, at least from the theoretical perspective, the significance of the autonomic nervous system and physiological s
基金the funding support from the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2018YFB1304700)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.61574163 and 61801473).
文摘Imbuing artificial sensory system with intelligence of the biological counterpart is limited by challenges in emulating perceptual learning ability at the device level.In biological systems,stimuli from the surrounding environment are detected,transmitted,and processed by receptor,afferent nerve,and brain,respectively.This process allows the living creatures to identify the potential hazards and improve their adaptability in various environments.Here,inspired by the biological olfaction system,a gas sensory system with perceptual learning is developed.As a proof-of-concept,H2S gas with various concentrations is used as the stimulation and the stimuli will be converted to pulse-like physiological signals in the designed system,which consists of a gas sensor,a flexible oscillator,and a memristor-type artificial synapse.Furthermore,the learning ability is implemented using a supervised learning method based on k-nearest neighbors(KNN)algorithm.The recognition accuracy can be enhanced by repeating training,illustrating a great potential to be used as the neuromorphic sensory system with a learning ability for the applications in robotics.
文摘Rhodamine B-ethylenediamine-beta-cyclodextrins (RhB-beta-CDen) and rhodamine B-beta-cyclodextrins (RhB-beta-CD) form inclusion complexes with many guest molecules, which can be used as nucleic acid probe. In this paper we determined the most stable conformations of RhB-beta-CDen and RhB-beta-CD by molecular mechanics and dynamics simulation. The interaction between RhB-beta-CDen and two guest molecules, 1-borneol and cyclohexanol, have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The results show that the interaction between borneol and RhB-beta-CDen is stronger than that between cyclohexanol and RhB-beta-CDen.
基金supported by an ARC Discovery grant(DP 110100695)to UES and JML.
文摘The larval stages of most marine fishes spend days to weeks in the pelagic environment,where they must find food and avoid predators in order to survive.Some fish only spend part of their life history in the pelagic environment before returning to their adult habitat,for example,a coral reef.The sensory systems of larval fish develop rapidly during the first few days of their lives,and here we concentrate on the various sensory cues the fish have available to them for survival in the pelagic environment.We focus on the larvae of reef fishes because most is known about them.We also review the major threats caused by human activities that have been identified to have worldwide impact and evaluate how these threats may impact larval-fish survival and orientation abilities.Many human activities negatively affect larval-fish sensory systems or the cues the fish need to detect.Ultimately,this could lead to decreased numbers of larvae surviving to settlement,and,therefore,to decreased abundance of adult fishes.Although we focus on species wherein the larvae and adults occupy different habitats(pelagic and demersal,respectively),it is important to acknowledge that the potential anthropogenic effects we identify may also apply to larvae of species like tuna and herring,where both larvae and adults are pelagic.
基金This research was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China （Nos. 51325501, 51675220 and 51205161）, Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province of China （No. 20170101115JC）, the 13th Five-Year scientific research project of Education Department of Jilin Province （No. 2015474）.
文摘Nature creatures have evolved excellent receptors, such as sensory hairs in arthropods, lateral line system of fishes. Researchers inspired by nature creatures have developed various mechanical sensors. Here, we provide an overview on the development of Artificial Hair-Like （AHL） sensors based on the inspiration of hair flow sensory receptors, especially sensory hairs in arthropods and lateral line systems of fishes. We classify the developed AHL sensors into several categories according to the operating principles they based on, for example, piezoresistive and piezoelectric effects. The current challenges and existing problems in the development of AHL sensors are also present, which were primarily restricted by the exploratory tools of sensing mechanism of creatures and current manufacturing technologies. In future, more efforts are required in order to further improve the performance of AHL sensors. We expect that intelligent multi-functional AHL sensors can be applied not only in applications like navigation of underwater automatic vehicles, underwater search and rescue, tap-water metering, air monitoring and even in medicare, but also potentially be used in space robots to detect complex to- pography.
文摘An efficient method is presented for implementing mobile robot perception-action behaviors, based on time varying environment potential field approach. First, in this paper, the concept of dynamic potential U(x,y,z,t) is proposed for representing the environment of a mobile robot, and the form of U(x,y,z,t) is deduced, and then the velocity control of the vehicle with two wheel is directly calculated by transition function T of U(x,y,z,t). Finally, the perception-action layer is successfully implemented for avoiding collision, wandering, and integrating path planning and steering control on THMR-II (tsingHua university Mobile Robot system). Based on sonar array signals, the experimental results are given to show that THMR-II has better reflexive function, real-time obstacle avoidance, adaptability and robustness for complex environments.
文摘After major natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake-tsunami event in South Asia, reports appear about the mysterious ability of animals to anticipate and to escape the impending danger. This is an opportunity to recall the long history of this phenomenon in the traditions of different civilizations, to evaluate Chinese efforts, 30-40 years ago, to use this phenomenon for earthquake prediction, and to judge its state of acceptance in modem science. An effort is made to introduce this phenomenon as a research field of modem bionics. The timing is favorable since, increasingly, infrared thermal anomalies, monitored from satellite, suggesting litho-atmospheric processes, are found to precede earthquakes. They were unexpected by seismologists and are here suggested to essentially reflect the energy conversion patterns responsible for the signals monitored by animals. The aim is to learn from animals in the long term how natural disasters can better be anticipated, and how simple technical warning systems can be developed. Some challenges are analyzed. One is interpretation of the nature of energy release prior to the main earthquake disaster resulting in ＂macro-anomaly＂ precursors, another is better to understand the effect on animal senses. The role of non-linear cooperative phenomena including tsunamitype waves is emphasized.
文摘Background： In the classical psychological refractory period （PRP） paradigm, two stimuli are presented in brief succession, and participants are asked to make separate speeded responses to both stimuli. Due to a central cognitive bottleneck, responses to the second stimulus are delayed, especially at short stimulus-onset asynchrony （SOA） between the two stimuli. Although the mechanisms of dual-task interference in the classical PRP paradigm have been extensively investigated, specific mechanisms underlying the cross-modal PRP paradigm are not well understood. In particular, it remains unknown whether the dominance of vision over audition manifests in the cross-modal PRP tasks. The present study aimed to investigate whether the visual dominance effect manifessts in the cross-modal PRP paradigm. Methods： We adapted the classical PRP paradigm by manipulating the order of a visual and an auditory task： the visual task could either precede the auditory task or vice versa, at either short or long SOAs. Twenty-five healthy participants took part in Experiment 1, and thirty-three new participants took part in Experiment 2. Reaction time and accuracy data were calculated and further analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results： The results showed that visual precedence in the Visual-Auditory condition caused larger impairments to the subsequent auditory processing than vice versa in the Auditory-Visual condition： a larger delay of second response was revealed in the Visual-Auditory condition （ 135 ± 10 ms） than the Auditory-Visual condition （88 ± 9 ms）. This effect was found only at the short SOAs tinder the existence of the central bottleneck, but not at the long SOAs. Moreover, this effect occurred both when the single visual and the single auditory task were of equal difficulty in Experiment I and when the single auditory task was more difficult than the single visual task in Experiment 2. Conclusion： Results of the two experiments suggested that the visual dominance effect
文摘The distribution of proliferative zones, NO-producing cells and apoptosis areas in the medulla oblongata, cerebellum, optic tectum, thalamus and hypothalamus of Amur sturgeon Acipenser schrenckii was investigated, using techniques of immunoperoxidase staining of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), neuronal nitric oxide synthase and TU-NEL-labeling of fragmented DNA. It has been established, that in the sturgeon brain NO can act both as a cytotoxic proapoptogenic factor, and as a factor, which stimulates cell proliferation. The presence of NO-producing elements in somato- and viscerosensory areas of medulla oblongata, tectum, cerebellum and thalamus suppose, that in these brain areas NO constitutes apoptogenic factor, which induces the cells death in a territory of postmitotic neuroblasts, renders controlling effect on development and differentiating of chemosensory, visual, motor and hypophysotropic brain areas in postnatal ontogenesis. Maximal proliferating activity and high concentration of NO-ergic cells were revealed in external layers, adjoining to the medullar, cerebellar and tectum membranes, that allow to suppose NO participation in postnatal morphogenesis of these brain structures as a factor, which regulates cell proliferation. In sensory centers (tectum and nuclei of the V, VII, and X nerves), significantly varying ratios of intensities of proliferation and apoptosis were found;this is indicative of dissimilar rates of growth and differentiation in visual and chemosensory centers of the sturgeon brain. Presence of NO-producing elements in the PCNA- immuno-labeling and TUNEL-labeling brain areas allow to consider NO as a factor, which balances processes of proliferation and apoptosis in the sturgeon brain.
文摘The study is based on the results of the integrated measurement of the energy expenditure at rest and common activity in birds belonging to various systematic groups. Homeothermy has formed in birds and mammals independently and in different geological ages. However, in both groups it originated as a side effect of selection for aerobic metabolism improvement that provided a higher level of activity. Advantages of having high and stable body temperature, which were inevitably related with metabolism intensification, led to development of thermoregulatory adaptations such as fur and feathers. This made it possible to retain the metabolically generated heat and reduce heat absorption in hot environments. Emergence of homeothermy with aerobic supply of motion activity, possibilities to regulate the level of metabolism and thermal conductance, has opened a lot of opportunities for homoeothermic animals. Achieving such a level of energy utilization allowed them to maintain activity for a longer time, while its sensory support led to complication and diversification of birds’ behavioral repertoire (as well as that of mammals) facilitating the conquest of almost entire part of the biosphere that was suitable for living. This process was favored by the development of nurturing and passing on the information, collected throughout the life, to new generations. Formation of high levels of aerobic metabolism in birds and mammals was proceeding in parallel among different groups of reptilian ancestors. The level of homeothermy, at which aerobic metabolism was able to maintain prolonged activity, developed in birds and mammals in different ways: they had got dissimilar partitioning of venous and arterial networks, erythrocytes with or without a cell nucleus, different lungs design—but, at that, similar minimum metabolic power and rather close body temperatures which corresponded well to the environmental conditions on the Earth. Natural selection allowed animals with high energetic metabolism to increase their diversity an
