Role of the shape of various bacteria in their separation by Microthermal Field-Flow Fractionation

The steady-state movement of the spherical and non-spherical particles, such as prolate or oblate rotational ellipsoids, cylinders, or parallelepipeds, suspended in a liquid and exposed to a unidirectional temperature gradient, is analyzed theoretically. The differences in the ratios of the rotational to translational diffusion coefficients of the non-spherical to spherical particles, the heterogeneity of thermal conductivity of the particle body, and the heterogeneity in surface chemical nature make possible to separate the particles according to differences in shape. Preliminary experimental separations of Gram-positive and Gram-negative, nearly spherical and rod-shaped bacteria performed by Microthermal Field-Flow Fractionation confirmed that the fractionation of the cells according to differences in shape is possible.     

A simple technique for evaluation of transmission coefficient at the splice with angular offset and transverse offset for first higher mode propagation in graded index fibers

We present simple and accurate analytical expressions for transmission coefficient at the splice with angular offset and transverse offset in case of first higher mode propagation in graded index fibers. We employ the simple series expression for first higher order modal field for graded index fiber. The evaluation of the concerned parameters based on our formalism requires very little computations. Here, we show that our estimations match excellently well with the exact results in case of step and parabolic index fibers. Further, splice being highly tolerant for longitudinal separation, our analysis is judiciously restricted to the case of transverse and angular mismatches only. The analysis should find application in dual mode graded index fiber in all optical technology.     

Refractive index, birefringence, third-order non-linearity and piezoelectric resonance studies of L-lysine monohydrochloride dihydrate single crystals

The principal refractive indices of L-lysine monohydrochloride dihydrate (L-LMHCl) single crystal for different wavelengths were measured by minimum deviation method at room temperature. The experimental values of refractive indices fit well with the theoretical Cauchy's equations. The birefringence and the crossing angle between the optical axes were calculated. The parameters of Sellmeier's single term dispersion equation were determined by least square method. A simple interferometric technique was used to observe the interference patterns along the optic plane and to qualitatively analyze the optical homogeneity of the grown crystal. The nonlinear refractive index (n₂) and nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) were also determined using Z-scan technique. The piezoelectric resonance in dielectric dispersions was observed at room temperature.     

Effect of laser radiation on optical properties of disk shaped quantum dot in magnetic fields

The optical absorption coefficients and changes in the refractive index in GaAs/AlGaAs, disk shaped quantum dots (DSQD) with simultaneously applied laser and magnetic field are studied in detail. The use of the density matrix formalism is made to study the variations in linear and non-linear polarizability with the frequency of the electric field. It is found that the absorption coefficient and the refractive index changes depend not only on the optical wave but also on the strength of the static magnetic field.     

Diffusion-weighted MRI: influence of intravoxel fat signal and breast density on breast tumor conspicuity and apparent diffusion coefficient measurements

Promising recent investigations have shown that breast malignancies exhibit restricted diffusion on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and may be distinguished from normal tissue and benign lesions in the breast based on differences in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values. In this study, we assessed the influence of intravoxel fat signal on breast diffusion measures by comparing ADC values obtained using a diffusion-weighted single shot fast spin-echo sequence with and without fat suppression. The influence of breast density on ADC measures was also evaluated. ADC values were calculated for both tumor and normal fibroglandular tissue in a group of 21 women with diagnosed breast cancer. There were systematic underestimations of ADC for both tumor and normal breast tissue due to intravoxel contribution from fat signal on non–fat-suppressed DWI. This ADC underestimation was more pronounced for normal tissue values (mean difference=40%) than for tumors (mean difference=27%, P<.001) and was worse in women with low breast tissue density vs. those with extremely dense breasts (P<.05 for both tumor and normal tissue). Tumor conspicuity measured by contrast-to-noise ratio was significantly higher on ADC maps created with fat suppression and was not significantly associated with breast density. In summary, robust fat suppression is important for accurate breast ADC measures and optimal lesion conspicuity on DWI.     

天然黄铁矿光吸收特征

以天然黄铁矿为样本,用Cary 500型紫外可见近红外分光光度计在200～2 000 nm范围内测出了样品的吸收谱和反射谱,计算出了吸收系数,并根据Tauc规则算出了样品的禁带宽度.结果表明:所测天然黄铁矿光吸收系数在105数量级;在吸收图谱中出现了明显的肩行结构,可以判断样品属于间接禁带半导体,其禁带宽度为0.64 ...     

Mining categorical sequences from data using a hybrid clustering method

The identification of different dynamics in sequential data has become an every day need in scientific fields such as marketing, bioinformatics, finance, or social sciences. Contrary to cross-sectional or static data, this type of observations (also known as stream data, temporal data, longitudinal data or repeated measures) are more challenging as one has to incorporate data dependency in the clustering process. In this research we focus on clustering categorical sequences. The method proposed here combines model-based and heuristic clustering. In the first step, the categorical sequences are transformed by an extension of the hidden Markov model into a probabilistic space, where a symmetric Kullback–Leibler distance can operate. Then, in the second step, using hierarchical clustering on the matrix of distances, the sequences can be clustered. This paper illustrates the enormous potential of this type of hybrid approach using a synthetic data set as well as the well-known Microsoft dataset with website users search patterns and a survey on job career dynamics.     

Electro-osmotic flow of a viscoelastic fluid in a channel : Applications to physiological fluid mechanics

The paper presents a comprehensive theoretical study on the electro-osmotic flow of a viscoelastic fluid past a channel having stretching walls. An attempt has been made to investigate the effect of rheological and electro-osmotic parameters on the kinematics of the fluid. Results presented here pertain to the case where the channel height is much greater than the thickness of electrical double layer comprising the Stern and diffuse layers. The study reveals that an increase in electro-osmotic parameter leads to an increase in the axial velocity throughout the channel for a fluid having viscoelastic coefficient equal to that of blood. This aspect provides a source of novel insight into the process of designing bio-sensing and micro-fluidic devices.     

Blow-up of solutions to a parabolic system with nonlocal source

This paper deals with a parabolic system with different diffusion coefficients and coupled nonlocal sources, subject to homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. The conditions on global existence, simultaneous or non-simultaneous blow-up, blow-up set, uniform blow-up profiles and boundary layer are got using comparison principle and asymptotic analysis methods.     

Development of an in-cell SPME method to determine the chemical resistance of polymeric membranes to permeation by organic solvents

A stainless steel cell with an in-cell solid-phase microextraction (SPME) sampling device is proposed to investigate the permeation of dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, and benzene through a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) membrane. The advantage of using SPME as a direct sampling device in the collection chamber is that it is a simple and sensitive means to monitor the concentrations of organic compounds in the collection medium for a closed-loop test system. Compared with the permeation results for an ASTM F739 cell, the standardized breakthrough times were shorter and the permeability coefficients were greater using the alternative cell. Although the optimum SPME sampling parameters should be obtained in advance, the in-cell SPME method can be an appropriate approach to determine the resistance of polymeric membranes to permeation by organic solvents.