骨小梁中超声背散射信号的频率分析及其微结构的估计

骨质疏松症是一种骨强度下降的全身性骨骼疾病,骨强度的下降是骨量减少和骨微结构退化的共同结果。相比于传统的超声透射方法,超声背散射法可提供更多的骨微结构信息,而对于松质骨结构的建模能有助于结构信息的获取。本文将骨小梁简化为单圆柱模型(圆柱状的单根骨小梁浸于骨髓中),并基于此模型对超声背散射与频率的关系进行分析。用铝线代替骨小梁做仿体实验,通过实验与理论结果的比较来验证单圆柱模型的可行性。     

超声轴向传播技术评价长骨的研究

用超声轴向传播技术评价长骨状况已成为近年来的一个研究热点。本文首先介绍了第一到达波(FAS)法、超声Lamb波及柱面导波法在评价长骨皮质骨状况方面的研究进展,最后分析和讨论了当前研究中存在的问题及应该研究的方向。     

Antiviral properties of polymeric aziridine- and biguanide-modified core-shell magnetic nanoparticles

Polycationic superparamagnetic nanoparticles (～150-250 nm) were evaluated as virucidal agents. The particles possess a core-shell structure, with cores consisting of magnetite clusters and shells of functional silica covalently bound to poly(hexamethylene biguanide) (PHMBG), polyethyleneimine (PEI), or PEI terminated with aziridine moieties. Aziridine was conjugated to the PEI shell through cationic ring-opening polymerization. The nanometric core-shell particles functionalized with biguanide or aziridine moieties are able to bind and inactivate bacteriophage MS2, herpes simplex virus HSV-1, nonenveloped infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), and enveloped viral hemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV). The virus-particle complexes can be efficiently removed from the aqueous milieu by simple magnetocollection.     

Self-assembly of a nonionic photoresponsive surfactant under varying irradiation conditions: a small-angle neutron scattering and cryo-TEM study

We have used small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) to determine the structure of aggregates formed by the photoresponsive surfactants diethylene glycol mono(4',4-butyloxy, butyl-azobenzene) (C4AzoOC4E2) and diethylene glycol mono(4',4-hexyloxy, butyl-azobenzene) (C4AzoOC6E2) under different illumination conditions. At high concentrations, the self-assembly behavior of these surfactants changes remarkably in response to different radiation conditions. The trans isomers assemble into bilamellar (C4AzoOC4E2) and unilamellar (C4AzoOC6E2) vesicles, while the cis isomers (under UV light) form bicontinuous phases. These light-induced structural changes are attributed to a change in the sign of the Gaussian rigidity, which is the direct result of azobenzene photoisomerization.     

Joint spectrogram segmentation and ridge-extraction method for separating multimodal guided waves in long bones

Ultrasonic guided waves (GWs) can be used to evaluate long bones effectively because of the ability to provide the information of the whole bone. In this study, a joint spectrogram segmentation and ridge-extraction (JSSRE) method was proposed to separate multiple modes in long bones. First, the Gabor time-frequency transform was applied to obtain the spectrogram of multimodal signals. Then, a multi-class image segmentation algorithm was used to find the corresponding region of each mode in the spectrogram, including an improved watershed transform and a region growing procedure. Finally, the ridges were extracted and the time domain signals representing individual modes were reconstructed from these ridges in each region. The validations of this method were discussed by simulated multimodal signals with different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). The correlation coefficients between the original signals without noise and the reconstructed signals were calculated to analyze the results quantitatively. The results showed that the extracted ridges were in good agreement with generated theoretical dispersion curves, and the reconstructed signals were highly related to the original signals, even under the SNR=3 dB situation.     

Cyanobiphenyl-based liquid crystal dimers and the twist-bend nematic phase

ABSTRACT

The synthesis and characterisation of several members of the 1,ω-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl) alkane (CBnCB) and the 1-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yloxy)-ω-(4-cyanobiphenyl-4′-yl) alkane (CBnOCB) homologous series are reported. The new odd members described CB5CB, CB13CB, CB4OCB, CB8OCB and CB10OCB all exhibit twist-bend nematic and nematic phases. The members of these series already reported in literature, CB7CB, CB9CB, CB11CB and CB6OCB, were also prepared in order to allow for a direct comparison of their transitional properties. The properties of these dimers are also compared to those of the corresponding members of the 1,ω-bis(4-cyanobiphenyl-4,-yloxy) alkanes (CBOnOCB). For any given total spacer length, for odd members of these series, the nematic–isotropic transition temperatures and associated entropy changes are greatest for the CBOnOCB dimer and lowest for the CBnCB dimer. These trends are understood in terms of molecular shape. For short spacer lengths, the twist-bend nematic–nematic transition temperature (T_NTBN) is higher for the CBnOCB series than for the CBnCB series but this is reversed as the spacer length increases. Of the CBOnOCB dimers, a virtual value of T_NTBN was estimated for CBO3OCB and T_NTBN was measured for CBO5OCB. These values are considerably lower than those observed for the corresponding members of the CBnCB or CBnOCB series. The dependence of T_NTBN on molecular structure is discussed not only in terms of the molecular curvature but also in the ability of the molecules to pack efficiently. As the temperature range of the preceding nematic phase increases, so the twist-bend nematic–nematic transition entropy change decreases and the transition approaches second order for the longer spacers. For comparative purposes, the transitional behaviour of the even-membered dimers CB6CB, CB5OCB and CBO4OCB is reported and differences accounted for in terms of molecular shape.     

Structural characteristics of different types of nanoparticles synthesised in mesomorphic metal alkanoates

The class of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals (LCs) of the metal alkanoates possesses a number of unique properties, such as intrinsic ionic conductivity, high dissolving ability and ability to form time-stable mesomorphic glasses. These ionic LCs can be used as nanoreactors for the synthesis and stabilisation of different types of nanoparticles (NPs). Thus, some semiconductors, metals and core/shell NPs were chemically synthesised in the thermotropic ionic liquid crystalline phase (smectic A) of the cadmium octanoate (CdC₈) and of the cobalt octanoate (CoC₈). By applying the scanning electron microscopy, the cadmium and cobalt octanoate composites containing CdS, Au, Ag and core/shell Au/CdS NPs have been studied. NPs’ sizes and dispersion distribution of the NPs’ size in the nanocomposites have been obtained.     

基于催化应用调控氧化铈纳米材料的形貌

催化剂的设计、合成和结构调控是获得优异性能的关键.传统的策略主要是尽量减小催化剂颗粒尺寸以增加活性中心的数目,即尺寸效应.近年来,材料科学的快速发展使得在纳米尺度上调变催化剂的尺寸和形貌成为可能,特别是通过形貌调控可暴露更多的高活性晶面,大幅度提高催化性能,即纳米催化中的形貌效应.因此,调节催化剂的尺寸与形貌可以单独或协同优化材料的性能.氧化铈作为催化剂的重要组分与结构、电子促进剂被广泛应用于多相催化剂体系.本文总结了近期氧化铈材料形貌可控合成的进展,包括主要的合成策略和表征方法; 进而分析了氧化铈和金-氧化铈催化材料的形貌效应,指出金-氧化铈之间独特的相互作用与载体形貌密切相关; 阐述了氧化铈纳米材料因暴露晶面的差异而获得不同催化性能的化学机制.     

Using stop-flow lithography to produce opaque microparticles: synthesis and modeling

We report on modeling and experimental studies of the synthesis of opaque microparticles made via stop-flow lithography. Opaque magnetic beads and UV-absorbing dyes incorporated into hydrogel microparticles during synthesis changed the height and the degree of cross-linking of the polymer matrices formed. The effect of the concentration of these opaque materials on the particle height was determined experimentally and agreed well with model predictions based on the photopolymerization process over a wide range of UV absorbance. We also created particles with two independent anisotropies, magnetic and geometric, by applying magnetic fields during particle synthesis. Our work provides a platform for rational design of lithographic patterned opaque particles and also a new class of structured magnetic microparticles.     

Sonochemical synthesis of magnetic Janus nanoparticles

The sonochemical synthesis of nanosized surface-dissymmetrical (Janus) particles is described. The Janus particles were composed of silica and polystyrene, with the polystyrene portion loaded with nanosized magnetite particles. It is shown that the Janus particles can be used to form kinetically stable oil-in-water emulsions that can be spontaneously broken on application of an external magnetic field. The one-pot synthetic process used to prepare the Janus particles has several advantages over other conventional methods of producing such particles.