Characteristics of a tapered undulator for the X‐ray absorption fine‐structure technique at PLS‐II

An in‐vacuum undulator (IVU) with a tapered configuration was installed in the 8C nanoprobe/XAFS beamlime (BL8C) of the Pohang Light Source in Korea for hard X‐ray nanoprobe and X‐ray absorption fine‐structure (XAFS) experiments. It has been operated in planar mode for the nanoprobe experiments, while gap‐scan and tapered modes have been used alternatively for XAFS experiments. To examine the features of the BL8C IVU for XAFS experiments, spectral distributions were obtained theoretically and experimentally as functions of the gap and gap taper. Beam profiles at a cross section of the X‐ray beam were acquired using a slit to visualize the intensity distributions which depend on the gap, degree of tapering and harmonic energies. To demonstrate the effect of tapering around the lower limit of the third‐harmonic energy, V K‐edge XAFS spectra were obtained in each mode. Owing to the large X‐ray intensity variation around this energy, XAFS spectra of the planar and gap‐scan modes show considerable spectral distortions in comparison with the tapered mode. This indicates that the tapered mode, owing to the smooth X‐ray intensity profile at the expense of the highest and most stable intensity, can be an alternative for XAFS experiments where the gap‐scan mode gives a considerable intensity variation; it is also suitable for quick‐XAFS scanning.     

The preparation of optical fibre nanoprobe and its application in spectral detection

As an important component of scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM), optical fibre nanoprobe has been applied to many fields extensively. A melt-stretched etching method is proposed to produce optical fibre nanoprobe with low cost. Firstly, optical fibre tip with micrometer-sized diameter is created by the melt-stretched measure. Next, it is dipped into hydrofluoric acid (HF), and a fine optical fibre nanoprobe will be made after a short-time etching. Owing to the taper structure of tip, it can be etched again in acid if a nanoprobe is not constructed when the first etching is completed. In addition, optical fibre nanoprobe is applied to spectral investigation, and the fluorescence spectroscopy of rhodamine B (Rh B) solution is collected by an optical investigation system with a bifurcated fibre.     

The gigapixel image concept for graphic SEM documentation. Applications in archeological use-wear studies

In this paper, we propose a specific procedure to create gigapixel-like images from SEM (scanning electron microscope) micrographs. This methodology allows intensive SEM observations to be made for those disciplines that require of large surfaces to be analyzed at different scales once the SEM sessions have been completed (e.g., stone tools use-wear studies). This is also a very useful resource for academic purposes or as a support for collaborative studies, thus reducing the number of live observation sessions and the associated expense.     

A sub‐micrometer resolution hard X‐ray microprobe system of BL8C at Pohang Light Source

A microprobe system has been installed on the nanoprobe/XAFS beamline (BL8C) at PLS‐II, South Korea. Owing to the reproducible switch of the gap of the in‐vacuum undulator (IVU), the intense and brilliant hard X‐ray beam of an IVU can be used in X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) and X‐ray absorption fine‐structure (XAFS) experiments. For high‐spatial‐resolution microprobe experiments a Kirkpatrick–Baez mirror system has been used to focus the millimeter‐sized X‐ray beam to a micrometer‐sized beam. The performance of this system was examined by a combination of micro‐XRF imaging and micro‐XAFS of a beetle wing. These results indicate that the microprobe system of the BL8C can be used to obtain the distributions of trace elements and chemical and structural information of complex materials.     

Inhibition of metal dusting of Alloy 800H by laser surface melting

Metal dusting is a catastrophic carburisation phenomenon that occurs at temperatures of 450-850 °C in atmospheres of high carbon activity. The resistance of alloys to corrosion, including metal dusting, relies on the formation of a dense, adherent oxide layer that separates the alloy from the corrosive environment. For such an oxide layer to be protective, it must achieve full surface coverage, be crack-free and be established before significant material degradation has occurred. Formation of a protective oxide scale can be enhanced by increasing the population of rapid diffusion paths for the protective elements (e.g. Cr and Al) to reach the alloy surface.In this work, laser surface melting has been used to improve the metal dusting resistance of Alloy 800H by creating a rapid solidification microstructure and, thereby, increasing the density of rapid diffusion paths. Oxidation during laser processing has been found to be detrimental to metal dusting resistance. However, it has been demonstrated that the resulting oxide can be removed without compromising metal dusting resistance.Results of exposure to a metal dusting atmosphere (20% H₂ and 80% CO at 650 °C) are presented. Samples have been examined in plan and cross-section using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Selected samples were also examined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD).     

Dual-Color Quantum Dot–Encoded Nanoprobe for DNA Assays and Cell Imaging

In this article, a novel dual-color quantum dot–encoded fluorescent nanoprobe was prepared by the reverse microemulsion method and layer-by-layer assembly method. First, red fluorescence–emitting CdTe quantum dots were encapsulated in silica nanoparticles by the reverse microemulsion method. Yellow fluorescence–emitting quantum dots were deposited on the surface of silica nanoparticles to form a dual-color quantum dot@silica beads/quantum dot nanoprobe. Then capture DNA was linked to a QSQ nanoprobe via covalent bonding. We utilized the quantum dot@silica beads/quantum dot nanoprobe to capture and detect the mutant BRAF DNA sequence through the competitive immunoassay method. The resulting quantum dot@silica beads/quantum dot nanoprobe-capture DNA conjugates showed sequence-specific hybridization with target DNA. Furthermore, a multispectral imaging system was utilized to distinguish the quantum dot optical code in the quantum dot@silica beads/quantum dot nanoprobe. The quantum dot@silica beads/quantum dot nanoprobe was used in human osteoblast-like HepG2 cell imaging. The proposed quantum dot@silica beads/quantum dot nanoprobe and decoding analysis method could be used for targeting imaging, biological assays, and early detection of cancer.     

Enhanced photoluminescence of InGaAs quantum dots induced by nanoprobe indentation

We have found in the nanoprobe-photoluminescnece (PL) measurement that the PL from InGaAs quantum dots was enhanced remarkably by small elastic indentation of the nanoprobe onto the sample surface. In order to clarify the mechanism of the PL enhancement, the nanoprobe-induced strain distribution and the energy-band profiles in the bulk GaAs have been calculated on the bases of linear continuum elastic theory and six-band strain Hamiltonian. It was found that the nm-scale strain modulation by the nanoprobe indentation results in the confinement potential for light holes 50–70 nm beneath the nanoprobe, revealing that the hole accumulation into the minimum causes the PL enhancement.     

基于InP@ZnS QDs/Dured纳米荧光探针的DNA检测

利用巯基丙酸包覆的In P@Zn S量子点(QDs)与Dured构建了一种检测DNA的荧光探针。在该探针中,以环境友好型带负电的In P@Zn S量子点为荧光团,与带正电的Dured通过静电结合,构建了In P@Zn S QDs/Dured纳米荧光探针。通过荧光共振能量转移(FRET)机理,量子点荧光被猝灭;当DNA存在时,Dured与DNA的特异性结合使Dured从In P@Zn S QDs表面脱附,FRET过程被打断,In P@Zn S QDs荧光恢复,以荧光"关-开"方式检测DNA。该探针检测DNA的线性范围为2.0~275.0 ng·L-1,检测限为1.0 ng·L-1,并可用于模拟生物生理条件下的DNA检测。     

The effects of ultrasound on the mechanical properties of rat cardiac muscle

The mechanical properties of cardiac muscle during ultrasonic irradiation have been studied in vitro. Left anterior papillary muscle from normal rats was suspended in buffered lactated Ringers solution equilibrated with 95% O2, and 5% CO2 and maintained at 20 degrees C. The muscles were stimulated to contract isometrically three times per minute at the length which produced maximum tension. Each muscle was irradiated with a MHz ultrasound at an average power of 2.4 Wcm-2 for a period of 10 min with a 10 min recovery period. Irradiation caused an average increase in temperature of the muscle of 1.7 +/- 0.2 degrees C (mean +/- SEM). Irradiation caused the resting tension (1.46 +/- 0.13g) to decrease by 17.8 +/- 4.7% and the developed tension (3.33 +/- 0.61g) to decrease by 4.1 +/- 0.9%. Since changes in contractile properties have been reported with temperature the bath temperature was raised and changes in contraction observed. When compensated for effects of temperature, the changes in resting tension became - 13.3 +/- 4.1% while the change in developed tension became + 1.6 +/- 2.3%. The change in resting tension is highly significant (p less than 0.05 paired t-test) while the change in developed tension is not. Thus 1 MHz ultrasound at an intensity of 2.4 Wcm-2 appears to affect resting tension of cardiac muscle without affecting the active tension. Since changes in cardiac mechanics of this type have not been described previously the effects of ultrasound appears to be unique.     

低能电子入射电离He原子二重微分截面的理论研究

研究了低能电子入射单电离He原子的二重微分截面(DDCS)，通过对散射电子三重微分截面在全空间的角度积分得到敲出电子的DDCS.分别用DS3C模型和BBK模型计算了入射能为26.3，28.3，30.3，32.5，34.3，36.5和40.7eV时，低能电子入射电离He原子的DDCS；研究表明：DS3C的计算结果，除在低入射能(比如26.3eV)和小敲出角之外，均能与绝对测量的实验结果较好地符合.此外，对直接和交换效应也进行了研究，给出了交换效应对截面的贡献.     

温度对氨基苯甲酸在粗糙银表面上行为的影响

本文同时测定了当温度从－１９０℃上升到３０℃和从３０℃下降到－１９０℃对氨基苯甲酸（ｐ－Ａｍｉｎｏｂｅｎｚｏｉｃ Ａｃｉｄ，ＰＡＢＡ）和邻氨基苯甲酸（ｏ－Ａｍｉｎｄｂｅｎｚｏｉｎ Ａｃｉｄ，ＯＡＢＡ）在粗糙的银表面上的表面增强拉曼光谱的变化。结果表明，若吸附质表面拉曼光谱的增强主要表现为化学机理，且整个分子平躺在表面，则分子在表面上的取向不会随温度的变化而改变。而温度的变化会引起基于电磁场增强机理     

Formation of small particles of gold on alumina support films and their behaviour in oxygen and hydrogen atmospheres

Attempt has been successfully made to disperse ultrafine gold particles on alumina support films by keeping the substrate at elevated temperatures during metal deposition under vacuum of ≈ 10^-5 Torr. It is found that reasonable dispersion of particles occurs for a mean thickness of 0.5 nm at a substrate temperature of 125 °C. The resulting samples turn out to be quite suitable for model studies of the behaviour of gold/alumina catalyst. Electron microscope observations coupled with diffraction have provided evidence for emergence of gold particles without any compound formation with the residual gases present during deposition at 10^-5 Torr. The nature of dispersion and average particle size are shown to depend on substrate temperature and the amount of metal evaporated. Heat treatments in hydrogen and oxygen at 200–500 °C for various lengths of time led to an increase in particle size with a simultaneous decrease in number density (i.e. coarsening of particles) following, in all probability, the Ostwald ripening mechanism. The oxidizing atmosphere has been shown to be more favourable to coarsening or deactivation of the catalyst. Finally, it is indicated that gold particles prefer to facet giving well-defined shapes (e.g. hexagonal, pentagonal or rhombohedral) with faces corresponding to planes of relatively smaller interfacial energies.     

Measurement of excitation functions in the reactions 197Au(11C, xn)208-xAt using a radioactive 11C beam

A light-element radioactive ion-beam capability has been developed at the LBNL 88-Inch Cyclotron. The system is based on the coupled-cyclotrons method and utilizes short-lived species, e.g., 11C, 14O, 13N produced by (p,n) and (p,alpha) reactions at the LBNL Biomedical Isotope Facility Cyclotron. In a first experiment, 197Au(11C,xn)208-xAt excitation functions have been measured for energies ranging from the Coulomb barrier up to 110 MeV using a beam of 11C with intensities up to (1-2)x10(8) ions/sec on target. The results of this experiment are compared to measurements of 197Au(12C, xn)209-xAt excitation functions.     

The comparison between CdS thin films grown on Si(111) substrate and quartz substrate by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition

Two kinds of cadmium sulfate (CdS) thin films have been grown at 600 °C onto Si(111) and quartz substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The influence of substrates on the structural and optical properties of the CdS thin films grown by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition have been studied. The CdS thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. Although CdS thin films deposited both on Si(111) and quartz substrates were polycrystalline and hexagonal as shown by the XRD , SEM and AFM results, the crystalline quality and optical properties were found to be different. The size of the grains for the CdS thin film grown on Si(111) substrate were observed to be larger than that of the CdS thin film grown on quartz substrate, and there is more microcrystalline perpendicularity of c-axis for the film deposited on the quartz substrate than that for the films deposited on the Si substrate. In addition, in the PL spectra, the excitonic peak is more intense and resolved for CdS film deposited on quartz than that for the CdS film deposited on Si(111) substrate. The LO and TO Raman peaks in the CdS films grown on Si(111) substrate and quartz substrate are different, which is due to higher stress and bigger grain size in the CdS film grown on Si(111) substrate, than that of the CdS film grown on the amorphous quartz substrate. All this suggests that the substrates have a significant effect on the structural and optical properties of thin CdS films. PACS 81.15.Fg; 81.05.Ea; 78.20.-e; 78.67.-n; 42.62.-b     

The influence of subglottal acoustics on laboratory models of phonation

Many previous laboratory investigations of phonation involving physical models, excised larynges, and in vivo canine larynges have failed to fully specify the subglottal system. Many of these same studies have reported a variety of nonlinear phenomena, including bifurcations (e.g., various classes of phonation onset and offset, register changes, frequency jumps), subharmonics, and chaos, and attributed such phenomena to the biomechanical properties of the larynx. However, such nonlinear phenomena may also be indicative of strong coupling between the voice source and the subglottal tract. Consequently, in such studies, it has not been clear whether the underlying mechanisms of such nonlinear phenomena were acoustical, biomechanical, or a coupling of the acoustical and biomechanical systems. Using a physical model of vocal fold vibration, and tracheal tube lengths which have been commonly reported in the literature, it is hypothesized and subsequently shown that such nonlinear phenomena may be replicated solely on the basis of laryngeal interactions with the acoustical resonances of the subglottal system. Recommendations are given for ruling out acoustical resonances as the source of nonlinear phenomena in future laboratory studies of phonation.     

Quantum coherent effects in multi-Zeeman-sublevel atomic systems

This paper reports the experimental results on electromagnetically induced absorption （EIA） spectra observed in the system which does not satisfy completely the conditions given by Lezama et al [1999 Phys. Rev. A 59 4732]. EIA signals on the transitions in the Cs D2 line are able to be observed, where Fg ←→ Fe = Fg-1 as open systems. Theoretical model of Lezama et al is good for the case Fg ←→ Fc = Fg ＋ 1, considering spontaneous transfer of atomic coherences or populations this model is not able to explain our experimental results obtained in the case Fg ←→ Fe = Fg - 1. This paper offers a theoretical model which is able to well explain the case Fg ←→ Fc = Fg - 1. It also uses this theoretical model to explain the split and shift of EIA peaks, which have been obtained in experiments.     

Could temporal order differences underlie 2-month-olds' discrimination of English voicing contrasts?

Previous studies have shown that infants discriminate voice onset time (VOT) differences for certain speech contrasts categorically. In addition, investigations of nonspeech processing by infants also yield evidence of categorical discrimination of temporal-order differences. These findings have led some researchers to argue that common auditory mechanisms underlie the infant's discrimination of timing differences in speech and nonspeech contrasts [e.g., Jusczyk et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 262-270 (1980)]. Nevertheless, some discrepancies in the location of the infant's category boundaries for different kinds of contrasts have been noted [e.g., Eilers et al. (1980)]. Because different procedures were used to study the different kinds of contrasts, interpretation of the discrepancies between the studies has been difficult. In the present study, three different continua were examined: [ba]-[pa] stimuli, which differed in VOT; [du]-[tu] stimuli, which differed in VOT but which lacked format transitions; nonspeech formant onset time (FOT) stimuli that varied in the time that lower harmonics increased in amplitude. An experiment with adults indicated a close match between the perceptual boundaries for the three series. Similarly, tests with 2-month-old infants using high amplitude sucking procedure yielded estimates of perceptual category boundaries at between 20 and 40 ms for all three stimulus series.     

Dispersion of fluorescent dye in the nematic liquid crystal: Enhanced photoluminescence and high birefringence

In the present investigation optical, electro-optical and dielectric properties have been measured for nematic liquid crystal (NLC) material 1550C which consists of 4’-(trans, trans-4-alkylbicyclohexyl) carbonates and 4’-(4-(trans,trans-4-alkyl)-4-cyanobicyclohexane, dispersed with fluorescent dye (Benzo 2,1,3 Thiadiazole) in two different concentrations. Photoluminescence has been enhanced for a dye dispersed system which is the key finding of this investigation. UV absorbance study has also been performed and found to be increased for composite system. Enhanced birefringence after dispersion of dye into pure NLC is also a prominent result of this investigation. Relative permittivity, threshold voltage and dielectric anisotropy have also been measured and found to be increased. The outcome of the present work may be very useful in the construction of liquid crystal displays (LCDs).     

基于金纳米粒子比色法检测全氟辛烷磺酸

全氟辛烷磺酸(perfluorooctanesulfonate,PFOS)具有遗传毒性、生物蓄积性和持久性,且难以降解,因此对其进行分析研究具有十分重要的意义。实验发现,PFOS能使巯基乙胺包被的正电金纳米粒子发生聚集,引起体系吸收信号及颜色改变,据此建立了检测PFOS的紫外-可见分光光度法及比色法。线性方程为A=-0.346+0.049c,相关系数为0.992 4,线性范围0.8～8.0 μmol·L-1,检出限为80 nmol·L-1。研究表明：金纳米粒子在524 nm有特征吸收峰,在650 nm处有较宽吸收峰,PFOS的加入会使金纳米粒子524 nm吸收峰降低,650 nm吸收峰增强,随着PFOS浓度增大,体系颜色由酒红色向红紫色变化。表征了体系的扫描电镜显微成像(SEM)及紫外吸收光谱,考察了金纳米粒子的聚集情况,实验缓冲体系选用pH 5.0的HAc-NaAc缓冲溶液。本方法具有简单、快速等特点,可通过肉眼观察颜色变化来实现对环境污染物PFOS的检测。本方法用于实际水样中PFOS的检测,RSD≤4.4％。     

Evidence for B+-->J/psip(-)Lambda; and search for B0-->J/psip(-)p

We have performed a search for the decays B+-->J/psip(-)Lambda; and search for B0-->J/psip(-)p. in a data set of (88.9+/-1.0) x 10(6) Upsilon(4S) decays collected by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II e(+)e(-) storage ring at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. Four charged B candidates have been observed with an expected background of 0.21+/-0.14 events. The corresponding branching fraction is (12(+9)(-6)) x 10(-6), where statistical and systematic uncertainties have been combined. The result can be interpreted as a 90% confidence level (C.L.) upper limit of 26 x 10(-6). We also find one B0 candidate, with an expected background of 0.64+/-0.17 events, implying a 90% C.L. upper limit of 1.9 x 10(-6).