A new semisynthetic ergot peptide alkaloid: DCN 203-922

Summary We report the synthesis, stereochemistry and preliminary pharmacological evaluation of DCN 203-922, a novel ergot alkaloid of the cyclol type, which contains in its peptide moiety the uncommon amino acid L-allo-isoleucine.Part of this paper was reported by this author at the Herbstversammlung der Schweizerischen Chemischen Gesellschaft, Bern, in October 1986.     

Earthshaker: A mobile rescue robot for emergencies and disasters through teleoperation and autonomous navigation

To deal with emergencies and disasters without rescue workers being exposed to dangerous environments, this paper presents a mobile rescue robot, Earthshaker. As a combination of a tracked chassis and a six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, as well as miscellaneous sensors and controllers, Earthshaker is capable of traversing diverse terrains and fulfilling dexterous manipulation. Specifically, Earthshaker has a unique swing arm—dozer blade structure that can help clear up cumbersome obstacles and stabilize the robot on stairs, a multimodal teleoperation system that can adapt to different transmission conditions, a depth camera-aided robotic arm and gripper that can realize semiautonomous manipulation and a LiDAR aided base that can achieve autonomous navigation in unknown areas. It was these special systems that supported Earthshaker to win the first Advanced Technology & Engineering Challenge (A-TEC) championships, standing out of 40 robots from the world and showing the efficacy of system integration and the advanced control philosophy behind it.     

补偿线路分布电容电流的柔性直流配电网电流差动保护方法

针对系统接线方式和线路分布电容影响导致柔性直流配电网故障辨识困难的问题,在对传统电流差动保护在柔性直流配电网中的适用性分析基础上,利用线路贝瑞隆模型推得故障点电流与直流线路两端差电流之间的关系.进一步地,提出具有线路分布电容电流补偿的新型电流差动保护方案,解决对称单极接线方式下故障特征微弱、分布电容电流影响大带来的故障辨识难题.最后,基于PSCAD/EMTDC仿真平台,建立柔性直流配电网模型,通过仿真分析验证所提出的电流差动保护方案的可行性和适用性.     

基于机器视觉的车辆时空参数识别

车辆荷载信息是分析桥梁受力和性能评估的重要依据,其中车辆时空信息是准确识别车辆荷载的关键参数。考虑到传统在桥面埋设传感器的方法影响交通、破坏路面,提出了一种基于机器视觉技术的车辆荷载时空参数识别方法,包括车辆的横向定位、车速、车轴数、轴距的识别。基于正面拍摄视频,采用背景差分法来实现车辆检测,进一步通过车牌识别确定车辆在图像中的位置,然后根据车牌与车道线距离来实现车辆横向定位。基于侧面拍摄视频,采用图像标定方法,结合已知长度的辅助检测线来获取车辆的轴距、轴数、车速等车辆参数。通过试验室模型试验和现场试验验证了提出的方法。结果表明,现场试验中车辆横向定位和车速的最大误差分别为2.42%和2.67%,轴距的平均误差为1.63%,识别结果可以为更多其他车辆参数如轴重和总重的识别提供重要的技术支撑。     

Maternal vitamin A restriction alters biochemical development of the brain in rats

Summary The biochemical development of the fetal brain in relation to maternal vitamin A restriction was studied in rats. The vitamin A status of pregnant rats was varied by supplying low, medium and adequate amounts (6, 40, and 100 g retinol/day/kg body weight, respectively) of vitamin A during pregnancy and suckling. The maternal vitamin A restriction caused an altered brain development in terms of tissue weight, DNA, RNA and protein levels, and biosynthesis of DNA and protein from [³H]-thymidine and [³H]-leucine, respectively. A dose-dependent effect of maternal vitamin A restriction on the metabolism of DNA, RNA and protein was noticed in the developing fetal brain of rats.     

Hypothalamic histamine modulates adaptive behavior of rats at high environmental temperature

Summary Histamine content in the rat hypothalamus was lower at 4°C and higher at 31°C compared to that at 21°C. Pretreatment with -fluoromethylhistidine, a suicide inhibitor of histidine decarboxylase, attenuated both the increased level of hypothalamic histamine and rat adaptive behavior at 31°C. Increase of histamine content in the hypothalamus appears to be an important factor contributing to rat adaptive behavior to high environmental temperature.