Second harmonic magnetoacoustic responses of magnetic nanoparticles in magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction

Due to the unique magnetic, mechanical and thermal properties, magnetic nanoparticles(MNPs) have comprehensive applications as the contrast and therapeutic agents in biomedical imaging and magnetic hyperthermia. The linear and nonlinear magnetoacoustic responses determined by the magnetic properties of MNPs have attracted more and more attention in biomedical engineering. By considering the relaxation time of MNPs, we derive the formulae of second harmonic magnetoacoustic responses(2H-MARs) for a cylindrical MNP solution model based on the mechanical oscillations of MNPs in magnetoacoustic tomography with magnetic induction(MAT-MI). It is proved that only the second harmonic magnetoacoustic oscillations can be generated by MNPs under an alternating magnetic excitation. The acoustic pressure of the 2H-MAR is proportional to the square of the magnetic field intensity and exhibits a linear increase with the concentration of MNPs. Numerical simulations of the 2H-MAR are confirmed by the experimental measurements for various magnetic field intensities and solution concentrations using a laser vibrometer. The favorable results demonstrate the feasibility of the harmonic measurements without the fundamental interference of the electromagnetic excitation, and suggest a new harmonic imaging strategy of MAT-MI for MNPs with enhanced spatial resolution and improved signal-to-noise ratio in biomedical applications.     

Toward efficient interactions of bubbles and coal particles induced by stable cavitation bubbles under 600 kHz ultrasonic standing waves

The interactions of bubbles and coal particles in 600 kHz ultrasonic standing waves (USW) field has been investigated. A high-speed camera was employed to record the phenomena occurred under the USW treatment. The formation and behaviors of cavitation bubbles were analyzed. Under the driving of these cavitation bubbles, whose size is from several microns to dozens of microns, coal particles were aggregated and then attracted by large bubbles due to the acoustic radiation forces. The results of USW-assisted flotation show a significant improvement in recoveries at 600 kHz, which indicates that the interactions of bubbles and particles in the USW field are more efficient than that in the conventional gravitational field. Furthermore, the sound pressure distribution of the USW was measured and predicted by a hydrophone. The analysis of gravity and buoyancy, primary and secondary Bjerknes forces shows that bubble-laden particles can be attracted by the rising bubbles under large acoustic forces. This study highlights the potential for USW technology to achieve efficient bubble-particle interactions in flotation.     

Manothermosonication (MTS) treatment by a continuous-flow system: Effects on the degradation kinetics and microstructural characteristics of citrus pectin

Modified pectin (MP) was reported to have increased bioactivities compared with the original one. However, traditional modification methods such as using an acidic solvent with heating are not only costly but causing severe pollution as well. In this study, manothermosonication (MTS) with a continuous-flow system was utilized to modify citrus pectin. The citrus pectin (5 g/L) treated by MTS (3.23 W/mL, 400 kPa, 45 °C) exhibited lower molecular weight (Mw, 248.17 kDa) and PDI (2.76). The pectin treated by MTS (400 KPa, 45 °C, 5 min) exhibited a narrower Mw distribution and lowered more Mw (48.8%) than the ultrasound(US)-treated (23.8%). Pectin degradation data fitted well to kinetic model of 1/Mw_t −1/Mw₀ = kt (45–65 °C). A lower activation energy of 13.33 kJ/mol was observed in the MTS treatment compared with the US-treated (16.38 kJ/mol). The MTS-treated pectin lowered the degree of methoxylation (DM), mol% of rhamnose and galacturonic acid (GalA) while increased mol% of galactose (Gal), xylose (Xyl), and arabinose (Ara). The ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance showed that MTS could not alter the primary structures of citrus pectin. However, an elevated (Gal + Ara)/Rha and reduced GalA/(Rha + Ara + Gal + Xyl) molar ratios after MTS suggested that MTS resulted in more significant degradation on the main chains and less on the side chains of pectin, in agreement with the result of atomic force microscope. Moreover, the MTS-treated pectin exhibited a higher 1,1-diphenyl-2picryl hydrazyl radical scavenging capacity compared with original pectin.     

Ultrasonic stimulation of the brain to enhance the release of dopamine – A potential novel treatment for Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the decrease of dopamine (DA) production and release in the substantia nigra and striatum regions of the brain. Transcranial ultrasound has been exploited recently for neuromodulation of the brain in a number of fields. We have stimulated DA release in PC12 cells using low-intensity continuous ultrasound (0.1 W/cm² − 0.3 W/cm², 1 MHz), 12 h after exposure at 0.2 W/cm², 40 s, the amount of DA content eventually increased 78.5% (p = 0.004). After 10-day ultrasonic treatment (0.3 W/cm², 5 min/d), the DA content in the striatum of PD mice model restored to 81.07% of the control (vs 43.42% in the untreated PD mice model). In addition to this the locomotion activity was restored to the normal level after treatment. We suggest that the low intensity ultrasound-induced DA release can be attributed to a combination of neuron regeneration and improved membrane permeability produced by the mechanical force of ultrasound. Our study indicates that the application of transcranial ultrasound applied below FDA limits, could provide a candidate for relatively safe and noninvasive PD therapy through an amplification of DA levels and the stimulation of dopaminergic neuron regeneration without contrast agents.     

Imaging and tracking an electrostatic charge micro-domain by Kelvin force microscopy as evidence of water adsorption on mica surface

Muscovite mica is a widely accepted substrate for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) investigations. However, mica has intrinsic properties that alter samples and obstruct their analysis due to free charges build-up, ionic exchange and water adsorption taking place at the surface. In addition to interfacial phenomena, there is a growing interest in electrostatic charges on insulators as they are crucial in diverse applications. Despite the high demand for studies of this nature, experimental set-ups capable of resolving charge build-up at the micro-scale are still scarce and technically limited. Here, we report the imaging of surface charge dissipation on freshly cleaved mica by Kelvin-probe Force Microscopy (KPFM). A local electrostatic charge micro-domain was generated by friction between an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and mica, and its decay was tracked by two-dimensional mapping using KPFM. We found time-dependent charge dissipation, which is attributed to the adsorption of water molecules on mica surface.     

一种超导重力仪磁悬浮力的等效计算

为实现超导重力仪磁悬浮力的精确计算,以GWR型超导重力仪为模型基础,采用有限元的思想,将超导球表面电流理想化为多个等高共轴电流环,计算出各个电流环与超导线圈的作用力,求和得到线圈与超导球间的磁悬浮力。利用MATLAB完成计算程序实现,通过改变下线圈电流和上、下线圈电流比,获得满足一定条件的磁悬浮力及其梯度。选取合适的模型参数,计算出线圈对质量为m=4.069 g超导球的磁悬浮力大小为:Ftotal=3.988×10^-2N,磁悬浮力梯度为:-9.699×10^-3N/m,此时悬浮力梯度合适,满足系统稳定性和灵敏度的要求。     

粉末晶体(ZrO2)x(Bi2O3)1-x(x=1.0, 0.97) 晶体结构分析

为了确定ZrO2和(ZrO2)0.97(Bi2O3)0.03的晶体结构和原子热振动各向同性温度因子B,对该粉末晶体进行X射线衍射实验,建立了晶体结构模型,进行晶体结构分析。首先,采用共沉淀法和高温固相烧结法制备了纳米氧化锆ZrO2和(ZrO2)0.97(Bi2O3)0.03粉末晶体,接着,使用X射线测试仪对两种样品进行了衍射实验（XRD）,利用Rietveld 精修方法的 RIETAN-2000程序对所得实验结果进行了晶体结构分析,获得了晶体结构参量和原子热振动各向同性温度因子B。通过Maximum Entropy Method（MEM）解析得到了粉末晶体(ZrO2)x(Bi2O3)1-x(x=1.0,0.97)的等高电子密度分布可视化图谱。结果表明,(ZrO2)0.97(Bi2O3)0.03的晶胞体积比ZrO2的晶胞体积大分别为140.6850 Å3和140.5637Å3;ZrO2晶体的原子热振动各向同性温度因子B(Zr)、BO(1)、BO(2)和 B（Bi）分别为0.690、0.269、 0.178 和 0 Å2,(ZrO2)0.97(Bi2O3)0.03晶体的分别为0.460 、0.583 、0.121 和0.581 Å2。 确定了(ZrO2)0.97(Bi2O3)0.03的晶体结构属于单斜晶系,实现了等高电子密度分布三维（3D）和二维（2D）的可视化,进一步确定了晶体结构和原子位置。     

原子分子光子系统的耗散相互作用和退相干

原子分子系统与量子化的电磁场或光子模式耦合的系统是非相对论量子力学理论研究和实验研究的主要对象和模型. 现实系统必然与外界环境耦合,且即便原子隔绝较好、光学腔壁品质因子足够高,原子系统也不等价于少数几个能级构成的简单模型：它仍然有不为零的几率跃迁到不可控的能级空间、与原子相互作用的自由空间真空场的量子效应也必须考虑. 本文将结合开放量子系统理论的基本要素与原子光子的基本模型,对原子分子系统在电磁场中发生的耗散以及量子退相干过程做简单综述,并重点介绍描述量子系统退相干过程的主流理论工具——主方程.     

Strong-field multiphoton ionization of hydrogen. TheS-matrix treatment of the elementary process

Summary A theoretical model is presented to treat the elementary act of strong-field multiphoton ionization of atoms when the electron continuum final-state distribution is important. It is based on theS-matrix formalism and treats the final-state electron-radiation interaction in an essentially nonperturbative way. Selected numerical calculations concern the ionization of hydrogen atoms and include differential and total cross-sections of several multiphoton channels as a function of the laser intensity. Good, qualitative agreement with the experimental observations is found for values of the field intensity which are not critical with respect to the simplifications adopted in constructing the theoretical model. It applies particularly to the use of an ideal model for the laser field. Significant departure from observations is instead found when the implications of the ideal laser model play a critical role, as occurs at channel inversion and suppression. It is concluded that the theoretical treatment to be completely satisfactory needs essentially to incorporate a more realistic laser model such as a multimode one.

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Riassunto Si presenta un modello teorico per il processo elementare della ionizzazione multifotonica di atomi da parte di un forte campo laser quando diventa importante la distribuzione degli stati finali del continuo dell'elettrone. Il modello si fonda sul formalismo della matriceS e tratta l'interazione elettrone-radiazione nello stato finale in modo non perturbativo. I calcoli numerici qui riportati si riferiscono alla ionizzazione di atomi d'idrogeno e includono sezioni d'urto totali e differenziali per diversi canali multifotonici in funzione dell'intensità del laser. Si trova un accordo qualitativo con i dati sperimentali per valori dell'intensità del campo che non sono critici rispetto alle semplificazioni adottate nella costruzione del modello teorico. Un significativo distacco dai dati sperimentali si ha quando le implicazioni del modello di laser ideale giocano un ruolo critico, come si ha per l'inversione e la scomparsa dei canali. Si conclude che il trattamento teorico per essere completamente soddisfacente necessita dell'introduzione di un modello di laser piú realistico, quale, ad esempio, quello a molti modi.

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Резюме Предлагается теоретическая модель для рассмотрения элементарного акта многофотонной ионизации атомов в сильном поле, когда распределение электронных непрерывных конечных состояний является существенным. Подход базируется на формализмеS-матрицы и взаимодействие электронов в конечном состоянии с полем излучения рассматривается непертурбационным образом. Численные вычисления касаются ионизации атомов водорода и включают дифференциальные и полные поперечные сечения для некоторых многофотонных каналов, как функции интенсивности лазерного излучения. Получено хорошее качественное согласие с экспериментальными результатами для значений интенсивности поля, которые не являются критическими по отношению к упрощениям, используемым при конструировании теоретической модели. Используется идеальная модель для лазерного поля. Обнаружено существенное отклонение от экспериментальных результатов в тех случаях, когда имеет место инверсия и подавление каналов. Делается вывод, что теоретический подход становится удовлетворительным, если используется более реалистическая модель лазера, как например, многомодовая модель.