LADRC-Based Magnetic Field Measurement Method for a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Rotation Sensor

Magnetic field measurement is fundamental to nuclear magnetic resonance rotation sensors (NMRRS). A phase-locked loop (PLL)-based measurement with two nuclear isotopes is commonly applied to observe the magnetic field. However, the phase-loop and frequency-loop of the nuclear isotopes cannot be optimized simultaneously by a PLL-based method. In this paper, an approach based on a linear active disturbance rejection controller (LADRC) is proposed for synchronous phase-loop control of the two nuclear isotopes. Meanwhile, the frequencies of the nuclear isotopes are observed by linear extended state observers (LESOs). The phase and frequency loops can be decoupled and optimized with the proposed method. An experimental NMRRS prototype used for verification is built. The effectiveness and the feasibility of the proposed method are validated with the experimental results.

Dynamic Cytosolic Ca2+ and Force Responses to Muscarinic Stimulation in Airway Smooth Muscle

During agonist stimulation of airway smooth muscle (ASM), agonists such as ACh induce a transient increase in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt), which leads to a contractile response (excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling). Previously, the sensitivity of the contractile response of ASM to elevated [Ca2+]cyt (Ca2+ sensitivity) was assessed as the ratio of maximum force to maximum [Ca2+]cyt. However, this static assessment of Ca2+ sensitivity overlooks the dynamic nature of E-C coupling in ASM. In this study, we simultaneously measured [Ca2+]cyt and isometric force responses to three concentrations of ACh (1, 2.6 and 10 μM). Both maximum [Ca2+]cyt and maximum force responses were ACh concentration-dependent, but force increased disproportionately, thereby increasing static Ca2+ sensitivity. The dynamic properties of E-C coupling were assessed in several ways. The temporal delay between the onset of ACh-induced [Ca2+]cyt and onset force responses was not affected by ACh concentration. The rates of rise of the ACh-induced [Ca2+]cyt and force responses increased with increasing ACh concentration. The integral of the phase-loop plot of [Ca2+]cyt and force from onset to steady-state also increased with increasing ACh concentration, whereas the rate of relaxation remained unchanged. Although these results suggest an ACh concentration-dependent increase in the rate of cross-bridge recruitment and in the rate of rise of [Ca2+]cyt, the extent of regulatory myosin light chain (rMLC20) phosphorylation was not dependent on ACh concentration. We conclude that the dynamic properties of [Ca2+]cyt and force responses in ASM are dependent on ACh concentration but reflect more than changes in the extent of rMLC20 phosphorylation.