Noradrenaline (NA) release from locus coeruleus axons generates vascular contractile tone in arteriolar smooth muscle and contractile capillary pericytes. This tone allows neuronal activity to evoke vasodilation that increases local cerebral blood flow (CBF). Much of the vascular resistance within the brain is located in capillaries and locus coeruleus axons have NA release sites closer to pericytes than to arterioles. In acute brain slices, NA contracted pericytes but did not raise the pericyte cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration, while the α1 agonist phenylephrine did not evoke contraction. Blocking α2 adrenergic receptors (α2Rs, which induce contraction by inhibiting cAMP production), greatly reduced the NA-evoked pericyte contraction, whereas stimulating α2Rs using xylazine (a sedative) or clonidine (an anti-hypertensive drug) evoked pericyte contraction. Noradrenaline-evoked pericyte contraction and capillary constriction are thus mediated via α2Rs. Consequently, α2Rs may not only modulate CBF in health and pathological conditions, but also contribute to CBF changes evoked by α2R ligands administered in research, veterinary and clinical settings.
Magnetorheological elastomer is a new kind of intelligent material that mainly incorporates micron-sized ferromagnetic particles into a polymer. A dynamic vibration absorber that is based on the controllable shear modulus of magnetorheological elastomer is widely used in vibration systems. In the study, a flexible carbody model with a magnetorheological elastomer dynamic vibration absorber is established. A design method of a semiactive dynamic vibration absorber that is based on magnetorheological elastomer is introduced, and the operational principle of the semiactive dynamic vibration absorber is also discussed. To improve the vibration absorption performance of the magnetorheological elastomer dynamic vibration absorber, via multiple regression analysis, the optimal design frequency expressions for both the rigid vibration and the elastic vibration of the carbody are fitted. Parameter determination for the magnetorheological elastomer dynamic vibration absorber is investigated in detail. Then, the effects on the rigid vibration and the elastic vibration with the magnetorheological elastomer vibration absorber both with the passive vibration absorber and without a vibration absorber are analyzed. Finally, Sperling’s riding index is used to evaluate the feasibility and the performance of the magnetorheological elastomer dynamic vibration absorber in a practical application. The results demonstrate that the vibration of the carbody can be effectively reduced by using the magnetorheological elastomer dynamic vibration absorber instead of the dynamic vibration absorber without the magnetorheological elastomer. The magnetorheological elastomer dynamic vibration absorber that is modified by the optimum frequency provides superior vibration reduction performance and improves the riding quality of the railway vehicle.
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