On‐Chip Magnetic Platform for Single‐Particle Manipulation with Integrated Electrical Feedback

Methods for the manipulation of single magnetic particles have become very interesting, in particular for in vitro biological studies. Most of these studies require an external microscope to provide the operator with feedback for controlling the particle motion, thus preventing the use of magnetic particles in high‐throughput experiments. In this paper, a simple and compact system with integrated electrical feedback is presented, implementing in the very same device both the manipulation and detection of the transit of single particles. The proposed platform is based on zig‐zag shaped magnetic nanostructures, where transverse magnetic domain walls are pinned at the corners and attract magnetic particles in suspension. By applying suitable external magnetic fields, the domain walls move to the nearest corner, thus causing the step by step displacement of the particles along the nanostructure. The very same structure is also employed for detecting the bead transit. Indeed, the presence of the magnetic particle in suspension over the domain wall affects the depinning field required for its displacement. This characteristic field can be monitored through anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements, thus implementing an integrated electrical feedback of the bead transit. In particular, the individual manipulation and detection of single 1‐μm sized beads is demonstrated.     

Frequency-based underwater terrain segmentation

A method for segmenting three-dimensional data of underwater unstructured terrains is presented. The three-dimensional point clouds are converted to two-dimensional elevation maps and analyzed for segmentation in the frequency domain. The lower frequency components represent the slower varying undulations of the underlying ground. The cut-off frequency, below which the frequency components form the ground surface, is determined automatically using peak detection. The user can also specify a maximum admissible size of objects to drive the automatic detection of the cut-off frequency. The points above the estimated ground surface are clustered via standard proximity clustering to form object segments. The precision of the segmentation is compared against ground truth hand labelled data acquired by a stereo camera pair and a structured light sensor. It is also evaluated for registration error when the extracted segments are used for sub-map alignment. The proposed approach is compared to three point cloud based and two image based segmentation algorithms. The results show that the approach is applicable to a range of different terrains and is able to generate features useful for navigation.     

Thermoelectric Effect Spectroscopy and Photoluminescence of High-Resistivity CdTe:In

Thermoelectric effect spectroscopy and photoluminescence techniques were used to study the defect levels in samples from three crystals of CdTe:In grown by the vertical gradient freeze method. The main goal of the investigation was to study defects, which strongly trap charge carriers or act as recombination centers in order to eliminate them from the technological process. The main difference among detecting and non-detecting samples was the absence of electron traps with a very high capture cross-section and energy 0.6 eV to 0.7 eV, which act as lifetime killers even at low concentrations. Recently published ab initio calculations show a complex of Te antisite and Cd vacancy within this energy range.     

全封闭式压缩机腔体声场的数值分析

全封闭式压缩机腔内强烈的声场反映了主要的壳体激发源以及因之产生的噪声辐射。吸气消音器的振动以及机体和电动机表面的辐射激发了这个声场。在对机体、电机表面、数值解法和与机壳的耦合等做不同几何简化的情况下,本文对腔内声场进行了数值分析。模拟结果得到了实验证实,具有良好的一致性。本模型适用于声能向机壳的传播以及向外部环境辐射时分析各参数的影响。     

Completion and stimulation trends in North American unconventional plays and resulting impact on well productivity

过去十年,非常规油气勘探开发在全球范围内大幅扩张。水平钻井和多级水力压裂技术也在不断地发展和创新,使得超长水平井成为可能。同时,因为压裂强度不断增加,作业者可以最大限度地提高储层接触面积和对储层的改造体积 （SRV）。然而,完井优化方面的挑战仍然存在,作业者持续不断地尝试和试验各种完井与增产参数组合,以确保非常规油气藏开发的经济可行性。优选最佳的完井与增产参数组合是一项非常关键的任务,应结合油气田的具体储层特征进行优化。本文总结了2014—2020年间北美9个主要非常规油气藏的压裂增产趋势,包括Marcellus, Haynesville, Barnett, Utica, Bone Spring, Bakken, Wolfcamp Midland, Eagle Ford, Scoop/Stack。分析了各油气田几个关键的完井和增产参数的整体趋势,同时还评估了单个参数（如水平段压裂长度、支撑剂强度、段间距等）对井产能的影响。然后对比分析相应的初始井产量（90 天平均初始产量）,评估各个参数对产能的影响,从而确定每个完井参数的最佳范围,以实现产能最优化。     

The interplay of electronic structure,molecular orientation and charge transport in organic semiconductors: Poly(thiophene) and poly(bithiophene)

Ultrathin films of poly(thiophene) (PT) and poly(bithiophene) (PBT) were prepared by electrochemical route using ionic liquid (BFEE) as medium and electrolyte. Distinct morphologies and electrical properties were observed in these materials. To evaluate its response in photovoltaics, these films were used as active layer in bilayer geometry solar cells with the electron acceptor molecule C₆₀. The best performance was observed for PT films. In order to probe the differences in molecular dynamics and structural order, ultrafast electron dynamics in the low-femtosecond regime was evaluated by resonant Auger spectroscopy using the core–hole clock method at the sulfur K absorption edge. Electron delocalization times for the different polymeric films were derived as a function of the excitation energy. Photoabsorption measurements were conducted and molecular orientation derived. These results corroborated with the morphology found for these films and thus the performance of PT and PBT in the devices, and with the proposed conduction mechanism.     

Identification of potential biophysical and molecular signalling mechanisms underlying hyaluronic acid enhancement of cartilage formation

This study determined the effects of exogenous hyaluronic acid (HA) on the biomechanical and biochemical properties of self-assembled bovine chondrocytes, and investigated biophysical and genetic mechanisms underlying these effects. The effects of HA commencement time, concentration, application duration and molecular weight were examined using histology, biomechanics and biochemistry. Additionally, the effects of HA application on sulphated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) retention were assessed. To investigate the influence of HA on gene expression, microarray analysis was conducted. HA treatment of developing neocartilage increased compressive stiffness onefold and increased sulphated GAG content by 35 per cent. These effects were dependent on HA molecular weight, concentration and application commencement time. Additionally, applying HA increased sulphated GAG retention within self-assembled neotissue. HA administration also upregulated 503 genes, including multiple genes associated with TGF-β1 signalling. Increased sulphated GAG retention indicated that HA could enhance compressive stiffness by increasing the osmotic pressure that negatively charged GAGs create. The gene expression data demonstrate that HA treatment differentially regulates genes related to TGF-β1 signalling, revealing a potential mechanism for altering matrix composition. These results illustrate the potential use of HA to improve cartilage regeneration efforts and better understand cartilage development.     

Particle swarm optimization algorithm driven by multichaotic number generator

In this paper, the utilization of different chaotic systems as pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) for velocity calculation in the PSO algorithm are proposed. Two chaos-based PRNGs are used alternately within one run of the PSO algorithm and dynamically switched over when a certain criterion is met. By using this unique technique, it is possible to improve the performance of PSO algorithm as it is demonstrated on different benchmark functions.     

Some aspects on ruggedness of SiC power devices

This article is on effects that can destroy SiC power semiconductor devices. The failure physics in SiC devices are discussed based on the well understood effects in silicon devices. In some device properties, such as surge current, short circuit, static avalanche and dynamic avalanche, SiC has significant possible advantages compared to silicon. For cosmic ray stability, there are no unique results. Regarding thermal mechanical stress on interface materials, SiC is more challenging. The same may hold for electrical stress in passivation layers at the junction termination.