Rapid Amygdala Kindling Causes Motor Seizure and Comorbidity of Anxiety- and Depression-Like Behaviors in Rats

Amygdala kindling is a model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) with convulsion. The rapid amygdala kindling has an advantage on quick development of motor seizures and for antiepileptic drugs screening. The rapid amygdala kindling causes epileptogenesis accompanied by an anxiolytic response in early isolation of rat pups or depressive behavior in immature rats. However, the effect of rapid amygdala kindling on comorbidity of anxiety- and depression-like behaviors is unexplored in adult rats with normal breeding. In the present study, 40 amygdala stimulations given within 2 days were applied in adult Wistar rats. Afterdischarge (AD) and seizure stage were recorded throughout the amygdala kindling. Anxiety-like behaviors were evaluated by the elevated plus maze (EPM) test and open field (OF) test, whereas depression-like behaviors were assessed by the forced swim (FS) and sucrose consumption (SC) tests. A tonic-clonic convulsion was provoked in the kindle group. Rapid amygdala kindling resulted in a significantly lower frequency entering an open area of either open arms of the EPM or the central zone of an OF, lower sucrose intake, and longer immobility of the FS test in the kindle group. Our results suggest that rapid amygdala kindling elicited severe motor seizures comorbid with anxiety- and depression-like behaviors

Digital Control Techniques for Efficiency Improvements in Single-Phase Boost Power Factor Correction Rectifiers

Input current shaping has been required in AC-DC rectifiers in order to comply with regulations that specify limits on input current harmonics. Boost power factor correction (PFC) rectifiers are widely used to achieve near-unity input power factor and low current harmonic distortion. This thesis addresses digital control techniques aimed at improving efficiency and reducing harmonic distortion in digitally controlled single-phase boost PFC rectifiers operating over wide range of loads. By taking advantage of the flexibility of digital controllers and using a discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) detection circuit, several proposed control techniques achieve low current harmonic distortion and improve system efficiency over wide load range in DCM and in continuous conduction mode (CCM). In heavy load operation, a simple passive power sharing technique is introduced for interleaved boost PFC rectifiers to increase system power modularity; in medium to light load operation, proposed adaptive approaches improve light load efficiency by extending switching period to achieve low voltage switching and by adjusting switching frequency to scale with processed power. Furthermore, a new current error estimation approach is applied to relieve current sensing limitations and to reduce current controller design effort. Digital control techniques are implemented and verified using field programmable gate array (FPGA) in several boost PFC rectifier prototypes

A framework for the successful implementation of food traceability systems in China

Implementation of food traceability systems in China faces many challenges due to the scale, diversity and complexity of China’s food supply chains. This study aims to identify critical success factors specific to the implementation of traceability systems in China. Twenty-seven critical success factors were identified in the literature. Interviews with managers at four food enterprises in a pre-study helped identify success criteria and five additional critical success factors. These critical success factors were tested through a survey of managers in eighty-three food companies. This study identifies six dimensions for critical success factors: laws, regulations and standards; government support; consumer knowledge and support; effective management and communication; top management and vendor support; and information and system quality

BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ACUPUNCTURE RESEARCH FRONTS AND THEIR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION OVER THREE DECADES

Background: Considerable research has been conducted on acupuncture worldwide. This study chronologically examined the changing features and research fronts of acupuncture and elucidated the differences among the six most productive countries. Methods: Bibliographic coupling is a powerful tool for identifying the research fronts of a field. Acupuncture-related publications worldwide and from the six most productive countries during 1983–2012 were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Science Citation Index. To form the research fronts, the 100 most highly cited papers (HCPs) were clustered in terms of references shared. Results: The United States had the highest proportion of HCPs. The effectiveness of acupuncture in areas such as relieving neck and back pain, migraines and headaches, and knee osteoarthritis symptoms was a predominant topic. Initially, the endogenous opioid peptide system was the primary research focus in the acupuncture mechanism research; however, during 1993–2012, researchers focused more on the functional magnetic resonance imaging of brain activity. In addition, acupuncture use and prevalence, the attitudes of health practitioners, and the effects of expectancy and belief were also major topics. Researches from Western countries, including the United States, England, and Germany, showed more interest in clinical trials and economic- and ethics-related studies, whereas those from East Asian countries including China, Japan, and South Korea focused more on mechanism research. Conclusion: Western countries dominated the research fronts of acupuncture. The patterns of the research fronts varied worldwide, indicating continuity and innovation in research in each country

An Efficiency Improvement Driver for Master Oscillator Power Amplifier Pulsed Laser Systems

The master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) pulsed laser, one of the popular topologies for high-power fiber laser systems, is widely applied in industrial machining laser systems. In MOPA, the low-power pulsed laser, stimulated from a seed laser diode, is amplified by the high- power optical energy from pump laser diodes via the gain fiber. Generally, the high-power pump laser diodes are driven by lossy linear current drivers. The switched mode current drivers boost the driver efficiency but suffer from pulse energy consistency due to the current switching ripple. In this paper, a laser driver system that varies the switching frequency of current source to synchronize with pulsed laser repetition rate is analyzed and implemented. Experimental results are demonstrated using a 20 W pulsed fiber laser system

An Efficiency Improvement Driver for Master Oscillator Power Amplifier Pulsed Laser Systems

The master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) pulsed laser, one of the popular topologies for high-power fiber laser systems, is widely applied in industrial machining laser systems. In MOPA, the low-power pulsed laser, stimulated from a seed laser diode, is amplified by the high- power optical energy from pump laser diodes via the gain fiber. Generally, the high-power pump laser diodes are driven by lossy linear current drivers. The switched mode current drivers boost the driver efficiency but suffer from pulse energy consistency due to the current switching ripple. In this paper, a laser driver system that varies the switching frequency of current source to synchronize with pulsed laser repetition rate is analyzed and implemented. Experimental results are demonstrated using a 20 W pulsed fiber laser system.</jats:p