In‐line monitoring of UV photopolymerization with a quartz crystal resonator

An in‐line monitoring device using a quartz crystal resonator for thin film polymerization was proposed, and its performance has been evaluated by implementing in the UV polymerization of 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate with a photoinitiator of 1‐chloroanthraquinone. Because the variation of resonant resistance of the resonator is proportional to the square root of viscosity change that is closely related to the polymerization degree, the resistance can be used as a measure of the polymerization degree. The resistance measurements were compared with the outcome of instrumental analyses of polymerization degree using an FTIR spectrometer and a gel permeation chromatograph. The experimental results showed that the resistance measurements were consistent with the experimental outcome of the instrumental analyses, and this indicates the effectiveness of the proposed device. Owing to the simplicity and availability of the resonator system, its wide utilization in the monitoring of a variety of film polymerization processes, including photoresistor application, is expected. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2428–2439, 2006     

Low-Cost Potentiometric Sensor for Chloride Measurement in Continuous Industrial Process Control

Recently, the new updates in legislation about drinking water control and human health have increased the demand for novel electrochemical low-cost sensors, such as potentiometric ones. Nowadays, the determination of chloride ion in aqueous solutions has attracted great attention in several fields, from industrial processes to drinking water control. Indeed, chloride plays a crucial role in corrosion, also influencing the final taste of beverages, especially coffee. The main goal is to obtain devices suitable for continuous and real-time analysis. For these reasons, we investigated the possibility to develop an easy, low-cost potentiometric chloride sensor, able to perform analysis in aqueous mediums for long immersion time and reducing the need of periodic calibration. We realized a chloride ion selective electrode made of Ag/AgCl sintered pellet and we tested its response in model solutions compatible with drinking water. The sensor was able to produce a stable, reproducible, and accurate quantification of chloride in 900 s, without the need for a preliminary calibration test. This opens the route to potential applications of this sensor in continuous, in situ, and real time measurement of chloride ions in industrial processes, with a reduced need for periodic maintenance.     

Adoption of Common Schemes for Single and Sequential Extractions of Trace Metal in Soils and Sediments

Abstract

The various methods for determining the mode of occurrence of trace metals in sediments and soils have a long history which dates back to the determinations of the availability of metals for plant nutrition performed earlier. Various methods have been developed in the 70′s and 80′s dealing with both single and sequential extraction schemes. Although some schemes received wide acceptance, none of them developed into a commonly accepted procedure. As a result, the information obtained was site-specific and the interpretation of the results scientist-specific. The workshop on single and sequential extraction in sediments and soils held at Sitges     

LIBS/Raman光谱对称零面积变换自动寻峰方法研究

自动寻峰是进行光谱原位探测、实时自动分析的必要环节,对拓展光谱分析技术到长期海洋监测、石油录井等应用领域具有重要意义。该研究以实验室中获得的LIBS/Raman光谱数据,对Gaussian,Lorenz,Voigt三种线型函数构建的对称零面积变换函数进行了比较研究。结果证明各个光谱峰都存在一个最优的对称零面积变换函数,但三种变换函数在各自的最优化参数下获得的峰位、峰宽一致;以实验室中LIBS和Raman光谱定量实验数据对该方法的测试还证明,对称零面积变换寻峰方法对信号的大范围动态变化适应性强,弱峰识别能力达到或优于人工识别水平,有望应用于将来的LIBS/Raman自动原位分析中去。     

Aberration correction and its automatic control in scanning electron microscopes

An automatic aberration correction method has been implemented in scanning electron microscopes (SEM). Necessity of the automatic aberration correction is discussed. The procedure of the automatic aberration correction is explained in detail, where deconvolution techniques are used in order to extract probe information from SEM images. Due to the precise digitization and the usage of proper combinations of correction fields, linearity has been found between the amplitude of each aberration and the corresponding field strength. Experimental results are shown which demonstrate that the aberrations are corrected automatically by a linear feedback control method. After the automatic aberration correction, the image quality has been improved drastically.     

基于差分吸收光谱法的大气痕量气体在线检测技术

差分光学吸收光谱学技术（Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy,DOAS）是近年来发展起来的一种实时检测大气中痕量气体浓度的有效方法,它采用线性最小二乘拟合方法,用痕量气体标准差分吸收截面对测量得到的差分吸收光谱进行拟合,得出大气中痕量气体的浓度。通过介绍DOAS方法的测量原理,在线监测系统的构成,气体浓度的反演方法,测量结果及讨论等内容,说明它在空气质量监测方面的优越性。     

An improved automatic time-of-flight picker for medical ultrasound tomography

Objective and motivationTime-of-flight (TOF) tomography used by a clinical ultrasound tomography device can efficiently and reliably produce sound-speed images of the breast for cancer diagnosis. Accurate picking of TOFs of transmitted ultrasound signals is extremely important to ensure high-resolution and high-quality ultrasound sound-speed tomograms. Since manually picking is time-consuming for large datasets, we developed an improved automatic TOF picker based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC), as described in this paper.MethodsWe make use of an approach termed multi-model inference (model averaging), based on the calculated AIC values, to improve the accuracy of TOF picks. By using multi-model inference, our picking method incorporates all the information near the TOF of ultrasound signals. Median filtering and reciprocal pair comparison are also incorporated in our AIC picker to effectively remove outliers.ResultsWe validate our AIC picker using synthetic ultrasound waveforms, and demonstrate that our automatic TOF picker can accurately pick TOFs in the presence of random noise with absolute amplitudes up to 80% of the maximum absolute signal amplitude. We apply the new method to 1160 in vivo breast ultrasound waveforms, and compare the picked TOFs with manual picks and amplitude threshold picks. The mean value and standard deviation between our TOF picker and manual picking are 0.4 μs and 0.29 μs, while for amplitude threshold picker the values are 1.02 μs and 0.9 μs, respectively. Tomograms for in vivo breast data with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) (∼25 dB) and low SNR (∼18 dB) clearly demonstrate that our AIC picker is much less sensitive to the SNRs of the data, compared to the amplitude threshold picker.Discussion and conclusionsThe picking routine developed here is aimed at determining reliable quantitative values, necessary for adding diagnostic information to our clinical ultrasound tomography device - CURE. It has been successfully adopted into CURE, and allows us to generate such values reliably. We demonstrate that in vivo sound-speed tomograms with our TOF picks significantly improve the reconstruction accuracy and reduce image artifacts.     

基于光纤光栅的输油管道安全监测系统

针对穿插于滑坡体内的输油管道,提出一种基于光纤光栅传感的管道安全监测系统。系统由光开关和光纤光栅解调仪共同完成数据的自动测量和存储,并利用GPRS方式进行数据传输。利用已知管道上三点应力求最大应力的方法,选用自行研制的光纤光栅传感器监测管体应力。该传感器除了具有抗电磁干扰、耐腐蚀、稳定性好的优点,还可以实现温度补偿,不但排除了温度对测量结果的影响,还可以测量环境温度。经实际应用证明：该监测系统可实现实时监测,性能稳定。     

FTIR结合生理特性研究镉胁迫对果灰藓的影响

苔藓植物可作为监测环境中重金属污染的指示植物。以苔藓植物果灰藓为实验材料,用不同浓度的重金属镉处理7 d后,借助傅里叶红外光谱法(FTIR)分析重金属镉胁迫下果灰藓各化学成分的变化,同时测定可溶性糖(SS)、可溶性蛋白(Pr)、丙二醛(MDA)含量在镉胁迫下的生理指标。结果表明：随着镉处理浓度的升高,可溶性糖含量和可溶性蛋白含量呈现先上升后下降的趋势,丙二醛含量先下降后上升。FTIR与果灰藓响应重金属镉胁迫的各生理指标变化趋势较一致,且FTIR比传统的生理指标测定更敏感、便捷。因此,FTIR可以作为研究苔藓植物应用于环境重金属污染监测的一种快速、有效的方法。     

基于InGaAs光谱成像技术的光纤光栅传感器在大坝渗流监测系统的应用

为了实现大坝渗流监测,提出了一种采用光谱成像技术的光纤Bragg光栅传感器和多点传感系统。基于室内实验结果,对监测系统可靠性与监测数据准确度进行和多点传感信号分辨因子分析,结果表明:用于坝体温度场检测的光线光栅传感器波长温度响应灵敏度可达0.009 1nm/℃;由光源带宽决定的测试系统可实现多个传感器的复用。实践表明:采用光纤光栅传感系统可进行大坝渗流自动监测,特别是在系统防雷击、抗干扰性方面,与传统仪器相比具有明显优势。