Research on Beampattern Synthesis of Conformal Array Based on Space-Variability Suppression.

In order to solve the problem that the array beampattern varies greatly with the angle during spatial scanning, this paper presents a synthesis method of the conformal array beampattern based on "spatial-variability (SV)" suppression. In order to obtain a stable beampattern, the convex optimization method is used to solve the weighted value of the amplitude and phase of the elements under the condition of satisfying the set beam gain threshold so that the optimized main lobes of the beams with different directions approach the main lobe of the reference beam. Since beams of different dimensions have different broadening degrees after optimization, we weighted the objective function and solved the optimal weights by the golden section search method (GSM) to improve the comprehensive optimization results of two-dimensional beams.

Membrane phospholipid peroxidation promotes loss of dopaminergic neurons in psychological stress-induced Parkinson's disease susceptibility.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with α-synuclein aggregation and dopaminergic neuron loss in the midbrain. There is evidence that psychological stress promotes PD progression by enhancing glucocorticoids-related oxidative damage, however, the mechanisms involved are unknown. The present study demonstrated that plasma membrane phospholipid peroxides, as determined by phospholipidomics, triggered ferroptosis in dopaminergic neurons, which in turn contributed to stress exacerbated PD-like motor disorder in mice overexpressing mutant human α-synuclein.

Midbrain dopamine oxidation links ubiquitination of glutathione peroxidase 4 to ferroptosis of dopaminergic neurons.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the gradual loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons in association with aggregation of α-synuclein. Oxidative damage has been widely implicated in this disease, though the mechanisms involved remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that preferential accumulation of peroxidized phospholipids and loss of the antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) were responsible for vulnerability of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and progressive motor dysfunctions in a mouse model of PD.

Phospholipase iPLAβ averts ferroptosis by eliminating a redox lipid death signal.

Ferroptosis, triggered by discoordination of iron, thiols and lipids, leads to the accumulation of 15-hydroperoxy (Hp)-arachidonoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (15-HpETE-PE), generated by complexes of 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) and a scaffold protein, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)-binding protein (PEBP)1. As the Ca-independent phospholipase Aβ (iPLAβ, PLA2G6 or PNPLA9 gene) can preferentially hydrolyze peroxidized phospholipids, it may eliminate the ferroptotic 15-HpETE-PE death signal. Here, we demonstrate that by hydrolyzing 15-HpETE-PE, iPLAβ averts ferroptosis, whereas its genetic or pharmacological inactivation sensitizes cells to ferroptosis.

Theacrine, a purine alkaloid from kucha, protects against Parkinson's disease through SIRT3 activation.

Background: Oxidative damage of dopaminergic neurons is the fundamental causes of Parkinson's disease (PD) that has no standard cure at present. Theacrine, a purine alkaloid from Chinese tea Kucha, has been speculated to benefit the neurodegeneration in PD, through similar actions to its chemical analogue caffeine, albeit excluding side effects. Theacrine has nowadays gained a lot of interest for its multiple benefits, while the investigations are weak and insufficient.

Tianma Gouteng granules decreases the susceptibility of Parkinson's disease by inhibiting ALOX15-mediated lipid peroxidation.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Tianma Gouteng granules (TG), a clinical prescription of traditional Chinese medicine, has been clinically applied to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) in combination with Madopar, as included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2015). TG has the potential to decrease the susceptibility of PD pharmacologically, however the mechanisms need detailed demonstration.

Aim Of The Study: To evaluate the pharmacological activities, as well as the possible mechanism of TG in diverse models of PD.

Joint Sensor Selection and Power Allocation Algorithm for Multiple-Target Tracking of Unmanned Cluster based on Fuzzy Logic Reasoning.

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cluster is gradually attracting more attention, which takes advantage over a traditional single manned platform. Because the size of the UAV platform limits the transmitting power of its own radar, how to reduce the transmitting power while meeting the detection accuracy is necessary. Aim at multiple-target tracking (MTT), a joint radar node selection and power allocation algorithm for radar networks is proposed.

Joint Adaptive Sampling Interval and Power Allocation for Maneuvering Target Tracking in a Multiple Opportunistic Array Radar System.

In this paper, a joint adaptive sampling interval and power allocation (JASIPA) scheme based on chance-constraint programming (CCP) is proposed for maneuvering target tracking (MTT) in a multiple opportunistic array radar (OAR) system. In order to conveniently predict the maneuvering target state of the next sampling instant, the best-fitting Gaussian (BFG) approximation is introduced and used to replace the multimodal prior target probability density function (PDF) at each time step. Since the mean and covariance of the BFG approximation can be computed by a recursive formula, we can utilize an existing Riccati-like recursion to accomplish effective resource allocation.

"Shanghuo" increases disease susceptibility: Modern significance of an old TCM theory.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: "Shanghuo", a concept based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory, describes a status of Yin-Yang imbalance when Yang overwhelms Yin. The imbalance of Yin-Yang resembles the breaking of homeostasis and manifests by the impaired physiological functions, which leads to the onset, recurrence, and progression of diseases. Since ancient times, Chinese Materia Medica (CMM), such as herbal tea, has been applied as a treatment for "Shanghuo".

Ultraflat optical frequency comb generated based on cascaded polarization modulators.

A novel approach to generating an ultraflat and stable optical frequency comb with tunable frequency spacing is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed generator consists of a polarization modulator (PolM) and a polarizer. The joint operation of a PolM and a polarizer is equivalent to intensity modulation, but with a third controllable parameter in addition to the two controllable parameters in conventional intensity modulation.

Influence of large signal modulation on photonic UWB generation based on electro-optic modulator.

Various schemes based on electro-optic modulators have been reported to generate ultra-wideband (UWB) signals in the optical domain, but the availability of these methods always relies on small signal modulation. In this paper, the influence of large signal modulation on two typical schemes, representing two major categories of external-modulator-based photonic UWB generation schemes, is analytically and numerically studied. While the quasi single-sideband UWB (QSSB-UWB) pulse can maintain its shape, the Gaussian UWB (GUWB) generation scheme suffers serious modulation distortion when the phase modulation index is greater than π/6.