Multifunctional Sulfur-Hyperdoped Silicon Nanoparticles with Engineered Mid-Infrared Sulfur-Impurity and Free-Carrier Absorption

Si nanoparticles (NPs), which are innovative promising light-harvesting components of thin-film solar cells and key-enabling biocompatible theranostic elements of infrared-laser and radiofrequency hyperthermia-based therapies of cancer cells in tumors and metastases, are significantly advanced in their near/mid-infrared band-to-band and free-carrier absorption via donor sulfur-hyperdoping during high-throughput facile femtosecond-laser ablative production in liquid carbon disulfide. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman microscopy reveal their mixed nanocrystalline/amorphous structure, enabling the extraordinary sulfur content of a few atomic percents and very minor surface oxidation/carbonization characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A 200-nm thick layer of the nanoparticles exhibits near−mid-infrared absorbance, comparable to that of the initial 380-micron thick n-doped Si wafer (phosphor-dopant concentration ≈10¹⁵ cm⁻³), with the corresponding extinction coefficient for the hyperdoped NPs being 4–7 orders higher over the broadband spectral range of 1–25 micrometers. Such ultimate, but potentially tunable mid-IR structured, multi-band absorption of various sulfur-impurity clusters and smooth free-carrier absorption are break through advances in mid-infrared (mid-IR) laser and radiofrequency (RF) hyperthermia-based therapies, as envisioned in the RF-heating tests, and in fabrication of higher-efficiency thin-film and bulk photovoltaic devices with ultra-broad (UV−mid-IR) spectral response.     

Finite deformation swelling of a temperature-sensitive hydrogel cylinder under combined extension-torsion

The swelling behavior of a temperature-sensitive poly-N-isopropylacrylamide(PNIPAM) hydrogel circular cylinder is studied subjected to combined extension-torsion and varied temperature. In this regard, a semi-analytical solution is proposed for general combined loading. A finite element(FE) analysis is conducted, subjecting a hydrogel cylinder to the combined extension-torsion and the varied temperature to evaluate the validity and accuracy of the solution. A user-defined UHYPER subroutine is developed and verified under free and constrained swelling conditions. The FE results illustrate excellent agreement with the semi-analytical solution. Due to the complexity of the problem, some compositions and applied loading factors are analyzed. It is revealed that for larger cross-linked density and larger ending temperature, the cylinder yields higher stresses and smaller radial swelling deformation. Besides, the radial and hoop stresses increase by applying larger twist and axial stretch. The hoop stresses intersect at approximately R/Rout = 0.58, where the hoop stress vanishes. Besides, the axial force has direct and inverse relationships with the axial stretch and the twist, respectively. However, the resultant torsional moment behavior is complex, and the position of the maximum point varies significantly by altering the axial stretch and the twist.     

Changes of microflora in high pressure treated Indian white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus)

ABSTRACT

This study was to investigate the piezotolerance and diversity indices of microflora of Indian white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus) after high pressure (HP)-treatment. Indian white prawns subjected to HP-treatments and its effect was studied up to species level and compared with unpressurized samples. The bacterium was identified by using bacterial identification schemes, biochemical tests and API kits (bioMérieux, Marcyl’Etoile, France). Diversity analysis was performed using PRIMER (Plymouth Routines in Multivariate Research) software v 5.2.2. The significant elimination of microflora was found to be proportional with the pressure level. In the case of spore formers, mere destruction was noticed after HP-treatment. Arthrobacter spp., Listeria grayi and Corynebacterium spp. were the most piezotolerant bacteria in HP-treated samples. Diversity indices revealed a significant reduction of microflora of Indian white prawn. The apparent reduction of microflora with pressure level was clearly evident from the diversity indices; moreover a diminished piezotolerance of Gram negative spoilage bacteria was also observed.     

石英砂粒径对水合物沉积物力学性质的影响

利用自主研发的水合物沉积物原位合成与力学性质测试的高压低温三轴仪,通过多级加荷的试验方法,以不同粒径的砂粒作为沉积物骨架进行三轴压缩试验,得到了剪切过程的应力-应变关系曲线,以及不同粒径尺寸沉积物的强度,还有剪切过程中的体积变化关系。结果表明:含水合物沉积物强度随着沉积物粒径尺寸的增大而增强;在降压剪切过程中,所有粒径的水合物沉积物式样均有明显的剪缩现象。     

Size reduction of “reformed casein micelles” by high-power ultrasound and high hydrostatic pressure

We investigated the effect of ultrasound (US) and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on the size of reformed casein micelles (RMCs) obtained by titrating calcium and phosphorous solution into sodium caseinate solutions. Both US and HHP reduced the size of the RMCs. A decrease in size from ~200 nm to ~170 nm when US (20 kHz, 0.46 W/mL) was applied for 30 min; and down to ~85 nm when HHP was applied 500 MPa for 15 min. Electron microscopic analysis showed that the RMCs before and after US are similar to milk native casein micelles, and that HHP extensively disintegrated the RMCs. Small angle X-ray scattering and SDS-PAGE showed that the internal structure of the RMCs as well as the casein molecules are not affected by the US and HHP treatments.     

Parallel Translation on K¨ahler Manifolds

In this paper, the author establishs a real-valued function on K¨ahler manifolds by holomorphic sectional curvature under parallel translation. The author proves if such functions are equal for two simply-connected, complete K¨ahler manifolds, then they are holomorphically isometric.     

Noise Reduction in Spur Gear Systems

This article lists some tips for reducing gear case noise. With this aim, a static analysis was carried out in order to describe how stresses resulting from meshing gears affect the acoustic emissions. Different parameters were taken into account, such as the friction, material, and lubrication, in order to validate ideas from the literature and to make several comparisons. Furthermore, a coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) analysis was performed, which was an innovative way of evaluating the sound pressure level of the aforementioned gears. Different parameters were considered again, such as the friction, lubrication, material, and rotational speed, in order to make different research comparisons. The analytical results agreed with those in the literature, both for the static analysis and CEL analysis—for example, it was shown that changing the material from steel to ductile iron improved the gear noise, while increasing the rotational speed or the friction increased the acoustic emissions. Regarding the CEL analysis, air was considered a perfect gas, but its viscosity or another state equation could have also been taken into account. Therefore, the above allowed us to state that research into these scientific fields will bring about reliable results.     

A Survey of Information Entropy Metrics for Complex Networks

Information entropy metrics have been applied to a wide range of problems that were abstracted as complex networks. This growing body of research is scattered in multiple disciplines, which makes it difficult to identify available metrics and understand the context in which they are applicable. In this work, a narrative literature review of information entropy metrics for complex networks is conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Existing entropy metrics are classified according to three different criteria: whether the metric provides a property of the graph or a graph component (such as the nodes), the chosen probability distribution, and the types of complex networks to which the metrics are applicable. Consequently, this work identifies the areas in need for further development aiming to guide future research efforts.     

高盐样品中锂的电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法(ICP-OES)测定研究

锂是重要的战略金属和新能源材料,其开发利用受到全球的高度关注。在高盐卤水特别是盐湖卤水和地下卤水中富含巨量的锂资源,在对这些资源进行锂的开发利用过程中,需对锂的含量进行准确测定,然而卤水中共存的高浓度Na+, K+, Ca2+和Mg2+会对微量锂的准确测定产生严重的干扰。电感耦合等离子体发射光谱法(ICP-OES)具有线性范围宽和多元素同步分析能力,针对卤水中锂的快速准确测定,详细开展了高盐样品中锂的ICP-OES分析方法研究。结果表明,锂在610.364 nm处具有较高的信噪比,且Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+和Ar不会对锂的测定产生显著的谱线干扰。然而,样品中大量共存的Na+, K+和Mg2+会对锂的测定产生严重的基体正干扰,而Ca2+产生负干扰。尽管内标法在消除基体干扰方面具有广泛的应用,但传统的以钇和钪为内标元素的内标法不能有效解决该问题。此外,针对标准加入法操作繁琐、不适合批量样品分析问题,以及基体匹配法需多离子匹配,且不适合样品基体组成变化的批量样品分析等问题,考察了采用单一组分进行复杂基体匹配的可行性。由于NaCl广泛存在于卤水中,且对锂的测定具有显著的增敏效应,通过系列研究发现,通过同时向样品和标准溶液中加入10 g·L-1的NaCl,成功解决了总量不超过40 g·L-1的NaCl, KCl和MgCl2所产生的干扰。尽管采用该法或沉淀预分离方式均不能消除Ca2+产生的负干扰,但当样品中Ca2+含量不高于1.8 g·L-1时,对测定不产生显著的影响。通过采用该方法对三种不同基体组成的卤水样品进行加标回收测定,其回收率在96.60%~104.20%范围内。此外,通过与电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测定结果进行对比,充分论证了该法的准确性和可靠性(相对误差±3.66%)。该法仅以单一的NaCl进行复杂基体匹配,不仅简化了操作,还实现了基体组成变化的批量样品分析,因而在卤水中锂的快速准确测定及锂资源开发利用方面具有重要意义。     

Size-dependent thermoelastic initially stressed micro-beam due to a varying temperature in the light of the modified couple stress theory

The bending of the Euler-Bernoulli micro-beam has been extensively modeled based on the modified couple stress (MCS) theory. Although many models have been incorporated into the literature, there is still room for introducing an improved model in this context. In this work, we investigate the thermoelastic vibration of a micro-beam exposed to a varying temperature due to the application of the initial stress employing the MCS theory and generalized thermoelasticity. The MCS theory is used to investigate the material length scale effects. Using the Laplace transform, the temperature, deflection, displacement, flexure moment, and stress field variables of the micro-beam are derived. The effects of the temperature pulse and couple stress on the field distributions of the micro-beam are obtained numerically and graphically introduced. The numerical results indicate that the temperature pulse and couple stress have a significant effect on all field variables.