Differential effect of common ligands and molecular oxygen on antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles versus silver ions

The antibacterial activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is partially due to the release of Ag(+), although discerning the contribution of AgNPs vs Ag(+) is challenging due to their common co-occurrence. We discerned the toxicity of Ag(+) versus a commercially available AgNP (35.4 ± 5.1 nm, coated with amorphous carbon) by conducting antibacterial assays under anaerobic conditions that preclude Ag? oxidation, which is a prerequisite for Ag(+) release. These AgNPs were 20× less toxic to E. coli than Ag(+) (EC??: 2.04 ± 0.07 vs 0.10 ± 0.01 mg/L), and their toxicity increased 2.3-fold after exposure to air for 0.5 h (EC??: 0.87 ± 0.03 mg/L) which promoted Ag(+) release. No significant difference in Ag(+) toxicity was observed between anaerobic and aerobic conditions, which rules out oxidative stress by ROS as an important antibacterial mechanism for Ag(+). The toxicity of Ag(+) (2.94 μmol/L) was eliminated by equivalent cysteine or sulfide; the latter exceeded the solubility product equilibrium constant (K(sp)), which is conducive to silver precipitation. Equivalent chloride and phosphate concentrations also reduced Ag(+) toxicity without exceeding K(sp). Thus, some common ligands can hinder the bioavailability and mitigate the toxicity of Ag(+) at relatively low concentrations that do not induce silver precipitation. Furthermore, low concentrations of chloride (0.1 mg/L) mitigated the toxicity of Ag(+) but not that of AgNPs, suggesting that previous reports of higher AgNPs toxicity than their equivalent Ag(+) concentration might be due to the presence of common ligands that preferentially decrease the bioavailability and toxicity of Ag(+). Overall, these results show that the presence of O? or common ligands can differentially affect the toxicity of AgNPs vs Ag(+), and underscore the importance of water chemistry in the mode of action of AgNPs.     

Multiscale periodic assembly of striped nanocrystal superlattice films on a liquid surface

Self-assembly of nanocrystals (NCs) into periodically ordered structures on multiple length scales and over large areas is crucial to the manufacture of NC-based devices. Here, we report an unusual yet universal approach to rapidly assembling hierarchically organized NC films that display highly periodic, tunable microscale stripe patterns over square centimeter areas while preserving the local superlattice structure. Our approach is based on a drying-driven dynamic assembly process occurring on a liquid surface with the stripe pattern formed by a new type of contact-line instability. Periodic ordering of NCs is realized on microscopic and nanoscopic scales simultaneously without the need of any specialized equipment or the application of external fields. The striped NC superlattice films obtained can be readily transferred to arbitrary substrates for device fabrication. The periodic structure imparts interesting modulation and anisotropy to the properties of such striped NC assemblies. This assembly approach is applicable to NCs with a variety of compositions, sizes, and shapes, offering a robust, inexpensive route for large-scale periodic patterning of NCs.     

From nanoelectronics to nano-spintronics

Today's electronics uses electron charge as a state variable for logic and computing operation, which is often represented as voltage or current. In this representation of state variable, carriers in electronic devices behave independently even to a few and single electron cases. As the scaling continues to reduce the physical feature size and to increase the functional throughput, two most outstanding limitations and major challenges, among others, are power dissipation and variability as identified by ITRS. This paper presents the expose, in that collective phenomena, e.g., spintronics using appropriate order parameters of magnetic moment as a state variable may be considered favorably for a new room-temperature information processing paradigm. A comparison between electronics and spintronics in terms of variability, quantum and thermal fluctuations will be presented. It shows that the benefits of the scalability to smaller sizes in the case of spintronics (nanomagnetics) include a much reduced variability problem as compared with today's electronics. In addition, another advantage of using nanomagnets is the possibility of constructing nonvolatile logics, which allow for immense power savings during system standby. However, most of devices with magnetic moment usually use current to drive the devices and consequently, power dissipation is a major issue. We will discuss approaches of using electric-field control of ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductor (DMS) and metallic ferromagnetic materials. With the DMSs, carrier-mediated transition from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phases make possible to have devices work very much like field effect transistor, plus the non-volatility afforded by ferromagnetism. Then we will describe new possibilities of the use of electric field for metallic materials and devices: Spin wave devices with multiferroics materials. We will also further describe a potential new method of electric field control of metallic ferromagnetism via field effect of the Thomas Fermi surface layer.     

Dynamic and Static Recrystallization Behavior of Low Carbon High Niobium Microalloyed Steel

 The recrystallization behavior of a low carbon high Nb microalloyed steel was investigated using Continuous and interrupted hot compression tests. The results showed that the onset of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) could be detected from inflection in the plot of the strain hardening rate θ against stress σ regardless of whether the stress peak appears or not. According to Zener-Hollomon parameter the activity energy of DRX (Qdef) was obtained, and a new modified expression calculating Qdef was proposed in consideration of the chemical composition of experimental steel. Applying the 2% offset method the static softening fraction was determined. The graphic representation of the softening fraction vs. interrupt time gave the information of the non-static recrystallization temperature (about 1000℃)and the relationship of precipitation-time-temperature. Static recrystallization kinetics follow Avrami’s law in high deformation temperature, and different values of the exponent n were given to illustrate the different effects of Nb element on static recrystallization at different deformation temperature.     

GIS中高频传感器在局部放电监测中的应用

引言 气体绝缘金属封闭开关设备是电力系统的重要设备,是保证供电可靠性的基础,一旦发生故障必将引起局部以致全部地区停电.而导致设备故障的主要原因是其绝缘性能的劣化.实践证明,GIS设备内部故障以绝缘性故障为多.一般认为,GIS中出现的放电造成SF6气体分解,进而严重影响电场分布,导致电场畸变以及绝缘材料的劣化,最终引发绝缘击穿.GIS局部放电既是绝缘性故障的先兆,又是故障的表现形式,监测GIS局部放电可以及时有效地发现GIS设备存在的绝缘缺陷和故障隐患,对保障GIS的安全运行具有重要意义[1][2].目前,国内外广泛采用超高频局部放电测量法(UHF法)检测GIS局部放电[3][4].     

High Precision Prediction of Rolling Force Based on Fuzzy and Nerve Method for Cold Tandem Mill

The rolling force model for cold tandem mill was put forward by using the Elman dynamic recursive network method,based on the actual measured data.Furthermore,a good assumption is put forward,which brings a full universe of discourse self-adjusting factor fuzzy control,closed-loop adjusting,based on error feedback and expertise into a rolling force prediction model,to modify prediction outputs and improve prediction precision and robustness.The simulated results indicate that the method is highly effective and the prediction precision is better than that of the traditional method.Predicted relative error is less than ±4%,so the prediction is high precise for the cold tandem mill.     

温度对油纸绝缘扁平气隙缺陷局部放电特性的影响

Partial discharge based risk assessment method has rapidly developed as an effective diagnosis method in oil/pressboard insulation system.The temperature in field power transformer is variable according to loading and the PD properties in insulation are also variable in different temperature.In order to assess the influence of temperature on partial discharge properties in oil/pressboard insulation system,a partial discharge testing system with temperature adjusting function was adopted in this paper.The partial discharge data obtained from the experimental work were presented in phase-resolved PD(PRPD) pattern analysis and pulse sequence analysis(PSA).The single pulse in time domain at different temperature is also analysed in this paper.     

Analysis of Laser Surface Hardened Layers of Automobile Engine Cylinder Liner

 The effects of rare earth (RE) on the microstructures and properties of high carbon high speed steel (HCHSS) were investigated. The results show that when suitable RE is added to the HCHSS, the effect of RE on the austenite and eutectic carbides is obvious. The austenite grain and coarse eutectic structure are refined, and flake carbides in the eutectic structures become short and fine. After heat treatment, most of the eutectic carbides are spheroidized and distributed in a uniform manner. The hardness and red hardness of modified HCHSS are slightly increased; impact toughness is greatly increased by 3781% and reaches 1017 J/cm2. The mechanism by which RE improves the structures and properties of HCHSS is also analyzed.     

直播稻不同生育阶段受旱对耗水特性和产量的影响

在防雨棚下利用盆栽模拟机械穴直播中稻,设置5种不同受旱模式,对机械穴直播条件下不同生育阶段受旱对水稻耗水特性和产量形成影响进行了研究.结果表明,水稻的耗水量与受旱模式具有明显的相关性,其中拔节孕穗期的受旱处理对水稻全生育期耗水量总量影响最大.不同生育期受旱处理对水稻分蘖数的影响不尽相同,在分蘖期受旱时则会造成分蘖数降低,但在下一个生育期恢复正常灌溉后能得到一定程度的缓解,而在拔节孕穗期后受旱则影响不大.水稻在单独一个生育期经受轻度干旱一般减产并不明显,受干旱影响最大的生育期为拔节孕穗期和抽穗开花期.     

The structure of an electronegative magnetized plasma sheath with non-extensive electron distribution

In this paper, an electronegative magnetized plasma sheath model with non-extensive electron distribution is established, and the Bohm criterion affected by the non-extensive parameter q is theoretically derived. The ion Mach number varies with q. The numerical simulation results show that compared with electronegative magnetized plasma sheath with Maxwell distribution (q = 1), the sheath structures with super-extensive distribution (q < 1) and sub-extensive distribution (q > 1) are different. The physical quantities including the sheath potential distribution, ion density distribution, the electron density distribution, negative ion density distribution and the net space charge density distribution are discussed. It is shown that the non-extensive parameter q has a significant influence on the structure of the electronegative magnetized plasma sheath. Due to the Lorentz force, both the magnitude and the angle of the magnetic field affect the structure of the sheath, whether the electrons are Maxwell distributed or non-extensively distributed.