Quaternary pulse width modulation based ultra-high frame rate scene projector used for hard-ware-in-the-loop testing.

The scene projector (SP) can provide simulated scene images with same optical characteristics as the real scenes to evaluate imaging systems in hard-ware-in-the-loop (HWIL) simulation testing. The single scene generation device (SGD) based SP typically projects 8-bit images at 220 fps, which is insufficient to fulfill the requirements of ultra-high frame rate imaging systems, such as star trackers and space debris detectors. In this paper, an innovative quaternary pulse width modulation (PWM) based SP is developed and implemented to realize the ultra-high frame rate projection. By optically overlapping modulation layers of two digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs) in parallel, and illuminating them with light intensities, a quaternary SGD is built up to modulate quaternary digit-planes (QDs) with four grayscale levels. And the quaternary digit-plane de-composition (QDD) is adopted to decompose an 8-bit image into 4 QDs. In addition, the exposure time of each QD is controlled by quaternary PWM, and the base time is optimized to 8 µs. The experimental results prove that the total exposure time of all QDs sequentially modulated by quaternary PWM is approximately 760 µs, namely projecting 8-bit images at 1300 fps. The quaternary PWM using two DMDs in parallel dramatically improves the grayscale modulation efficiency compared to the existing projection technologies, which provides a new approach for the SP design with ultra-high frame rate.

Peripheral 5-HT Mediates Gonadotropin-Inhibitory Hormone-Induced Feeding Behavior and Energy Metabolism Disorder in Chickens via the 5-HT2C Receptor.

INTRODUCTION: Since the discovery of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH), it has been found to play a critical role in reproduction in vertebrates. Recently, a regulatory role of GnIH in appetite and energy metabolism has emerged, although its precise physiological mechanisms remain unknown. METHODS: Thus, the present study evaluated the effects of a single or long-term intraperitoneal GnIH treatment on the food intake, weight, and glucolipid metabolism of chickens, as well as investigating the possible neuroendocrinology factors and mechanisms involved in GnIH-induced obesity and glucolipid metabolism disorder. RESULTS: Our results show that the intraperitoneal administration of GnIH to chickens resulted in a marked body mass increase, hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, and glucose intolerance. Subsequently, the results of metabolomics studies and the pharmacological inhibition of the 5-HT2C receptor revealed that blocking the 5-HT2C receptor reinforced the effects of GnIH on food intake, body weight, and blood glucose and lipid levels, resulting in even worse cases of GnIH-induced hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and hepatic lipid deposition. This suggests that, via the 5-HT2C receptor, peripheral 5-HT may act as a negative feedback regulator to interplay with GnIH and jointly control energy balance homeostasis in chickens. DISCUSSION: Our present study provides evidence of cross-talk between GnIH and 5-HT in food intake and energy metabolism at the in vivo pharmacological level, and it proposes a molecular basis for these interactions, suggesting that functional interactions between GnIH and 5-HT may open new avenues for understanding the mechanism of the neuroendocrine network involved in appetite and energy metabolism, as well as providing a new therapeutic strategy to prevent obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disorders.

Injectable Hydrogels Based on Hyaluronic Acid and Gelatin Combined with Salvianolic Acid B and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor for Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) leads to structural damage in the brain, and is one of the major causes of disability and death in the world. Herein, we developed a composite injectable hydrogel (HA/Gel) composed of hyaluronic acid (HA) and gelatin (Gel), loaded with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and salvianolic acid B (SAB) for treatment of TBI. The HA/Gel hydrogels were formed by the coupling of phenol-rich tyramine-modified HA (HA-TA) and tyramine-modified Gel (Gel-TA) catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). SEM results showed that HA/Gel hydrogel had a porous structure. Rheological test results showed that the hydrogel possessed appropriate rheological properties, and UV spectrophotometry results showed that the hydrogel exhibited excellent SAB release performance. The results of LIVE/DEAD staining, CCK-8 and Phalloidin/DAPI fluorescence staining showed that the HA/Gel hydrogel possessed good cell biocompatibility. Moreover, the hydrogels loaded with SAB and VEGF (HA/Gel/SAB/VEGF) could effectively promote the proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). In addition, the results of H&E staining, CD31 and α-SMA immunofluorescence staining showed that the HA/Gel/SAB/VEGF hydrogel possessed good in vivo biocompatibility and pro-angiogenic ability. Furthermore, immunohistochemical results showed that the injection of HA/Gel/SAB/VEGF hydrogel to the injury site could effectively reduce the volume of defective tissues in traumatic brain injured mice. Our results suggest that the injection of HA/Gel hydrogel loaded with SAB and VEGF might provide a new approach for therapeutic brain tissue repair after traumatic brain injury.

The novel non-fully-fused ring small molecule acceptors: End-capped modification investigation.

End-capped modification is an efficacious strategy for developing high-performance acceptor materials. In this paper, the experimentally synthesized A-D-A'-D-A type non-fully-fused ring acceptor IDTBT-4F (R) was used as a reference molecule, and five small molecule acceptors for R1-R5 were investigated by changing R's terminal functional groups. By using DFT/B3PW91/6-31G (d,p) method, the ground-state structures of all molecules were studied. The absorption spectra of these acceptors were gained by the TD-DFT/MPW1PW91/6-31G (d,p) approach. Meanwhile, the charge density difference and transition density matrix were analyzed effectively. It can be observed that, compared to the R molecule, all developed molecules exhibited narrower energy gaps, larger absorption wavelengths, more red-shifted absorption spectra, lower excitation energies, higher dipole moment and greater electron-accepting capacity. The strategy of functional group substitution is superior to halogen substitution in improving the aforementioned parameters. Both terminal π-extension and end-group chlorination strategies can synergistically enhance molecular performance. In addition, we also calculated the electron mobility of the dimers constructed by all the molecules, among which R1 and R4 molecules designed with -COOCH3 functional group substitution and R2 molecule with terminal chlorination achieved superior electron mobility compared to R molecule due to their significant electronic coupling. Overall, the study shows that the designed molecules can be highly effective candidates for applications of organic solar cells.

A longitudinal study on the effects of social support on self-stigma, psychiatric symptoms, and personal and social functioning in community patients with severe mental illnesses in China.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined whether social support contributes to better consequences among chronic patients with severe mental illnesses (SMI) in their community recovery stage and whether self-stigma would be a mechanism through which social support impacts psychiatric symptoms and personal and social functioning. AIMS: This study aimed to examine prospective associations of social support with long-term self-stigma, psychiatric symptoms, and personal and social functioning, and to investigate whether self-stigma would mediate the associations of social support with psychiatric symptoms and personal and social functioning among patients with SMI. METHODS: A total of 312 persons with SMI (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) in their community recovery stage participated in the study. Social support, self-stigma, psychiatric symptoms, and personal and social functioning were evaluated at baseline. The follow-up assessment was conducted at 6 months with the baseline measures except for social support. Hierarchical linear regression and mediation analysis were performed. RESULTS: The results showed that baseline social support predicted decreases in stigma (ß = -.115, p = .029) and psychiatric symptoms (ß = -.193, p < .001), and increases in personal and social functioning (ß = .134, p = .008) over 6 months, after adjusting for relevant covariates. Stigma at 6 months partially mediated the association between baseline social support and 6-month psychiatric symptoms (indirect effect: ß = -.043, CI [-0.074, -0.018]). Stigma and psychiatric symptoms at 6 months together mediated the association between baseline social support and 6-month personal and social functioning (indirect effect: ß = .084, 95% CI [0.029, 0.143]). CONCLUSION: It is necessary to provide comprehensive social support services and stigma reduction interventions at the community level to improve the prognosis of SMI.