Isolation and characterization of the Shiga toxin gene (stx)-bearing Escherichia coli O157 and non-O157 from retail meats in Shandong Province, China, and characterization of the O157-derived stx2 phages

Infection by Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli of non-O157 and O157 serotypes are rare in China, but infection by O157 serotype was found in Shandong Province and three other provinces in China. To understand the reason for these rare infections and to determine the safety of retail meats in Shandong Province, we examined the distribution of Shiga toxin gene (stx)-bearing E. coli in retail meats and characterized the isolated stx-bearing strains. We used hybridization with DNA probes and isolated stx1- and/or stx2-positive E. coli from 31 (58%) of 53 retail meat samples, with beef showing the highest frequency (68%). Of 42 stx-positive isolates, none belonged to O157. Using the O157-specific immunomagnetic bead technique, we isolated E. coli O157 carrying the eae and stx2 genes from eight beef samples (26%). These strains produced little or no Stx2 and carried a unique q gene. Replication of the stx2 phages was detected in these strains, whereas stx2 phage replication was not detected in our previous study in which we examined similar stx2-bearing E. coli O157 strains from other Asian countries. Analysis of E. coli C600 lysogenized with the stx2 phages found in this study suggests that the lack of Stx2 production is due to changes in non-q gene region(s) of the phage genome or chromosomal mutation(s) in the host. Our data and reports by other workers suggest it is necessary to determine if various stx2-bearing E. coli O157 strains producing Stx2 to varying degrees are distributed in meats in various locations in China.     

Criteria for versatile GaN MOVPE tool:high growth rate GaN by atmospheric pressure growth

Growth rate has a direct impact on the productivity of nitride LED production.Atmospheric pressure growth of GaN with a growth rate as high as 10μm/h and also Al_0.1Ga_0.9N growth of 1μm/h by using 4 inch by 11 production scale MOVPE are described.XRD of（002） and（102） direction was 200 arcsec and 250 arcsec, respectively.Impact of the growth rate on productivity is discussed.     

β-FeOOH thin film as positive electrode for lithium-ion cells

β-FeOOH thin film was prepared on the surface of a foamed Ni substrate by liquid phase deposition (LPD) method with a chemical equilibrium reaction between metal-fluoro complex and oxyhydroxide to make a low-cost and environmentally friendly positive electrode for high-power batteries. The new film electrode, with a thickness of 316 nm, was found out to give a large discharge capacity of 260 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.05 C rate even without an electro-conductive material. Furthermore, the electrode also showed good discharge performance with the retention of 69.9% at 10-0.05 C current rate, which means a promising positive active material for high-power use.     

Nyquist stability criterion of intrinsic zeros for continuous-time pure imaginary zeros

This note treats a stability condition of the zeros of sampled systems corresponding to continuous-time pure imaginary zeros with multiplicity one for systems with the relative degree one. It is shown that the Nyquist plot can be used to check the stability condition.     

DC conduction associated with electric field-induced motion in mineral oils

The contributions of the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) motion to the dc electric conduction in insulating oils are presented. The effects of solid/liquid interfaces on the EHD motion have been studied with a mineral oil-polypropylene mixed dielectric and a mineral oil single dielectric. The time dependence of current, schlieren images of EHD motion induced in the oil layer and response signals of density change in the vicinity of the electrode/oil interfaces after application of step voltage are observed. The results are as follows: (1) the EHD motion occurs at the positive electrode/oil interfaces when a voltage above critical voltage is applied; (2) a time delay exists between the application of step voltage and the onset of EHD motion. The time is inversely proportional to the applied voltage; (3) the EHD motion increases current and produces a peak phenomena in the current waveform; and (4) the time difference between peak current time and the delay time is inversely proportional to applied voltage.     

Model-based surgical planning and simulation of cranial base surgery

Plastic skull models of seven individual patients were fabricated by stereolithography from three-dimensional data based on computed tomography bone images. Skull models were utilized for neurosurgical planning and simulation in the seven patients with cranial base lesions that were difficult to remove. Surgical approaches and areas of craniotomy were evaluated using the fabricated skull models. In preoperative simulations, hand-made models of the tumors, major vessels and nerves were placed in the skull models. Step-by-step simulation of surgical procedures was performed using actual surgical tools. The advantages of using skull models to plan and simulate cranial base surgery include a better understanding of anatomic relationships, preoperative evaluation of the proposed procedure, increased understanding by the patient and family, and improved educational experiences for residents and other medical staff. The disadvantages of using skull models include the time and cost of making the models. The skull models provide a more realistic tool that is easier to handle than computer-graphic images. Surgical simulation using models facilitates difficult cranial base surgery and may help reduce surgical complications.     

Finite-time settling adaptive observer for linear discrete-time systems

This paper deals with a design method for an adaptive scheme which would identify the parameters and observe the state of any unknown single-input single-output linear discrete-time systems using only input-output data. Kreisselmeier's parametrized system [5] is used instead of the original system. Then the parameter identification process and the state observation process are well separated. To accelerate the convergence rate of the estimates, a finite-time settling scheme is proposed. It is shown that the estimates obtained converges to true values at k = 3n ?1, where k is the discrete time and n is the order of system. A numerical example is given to indicate acceptable performance of the proposed scheme.     

Velocity, electromechanical coupling factor and acoustic loss of surface shear waves propagating along x-axis on rotated Y-cut plates of LiNbO3

Velocity and propagation loss of surface shear waves are measured on free-space and metallised surfaces of LiNbO3 crystals along the x-axis of rotated Y-cut plates as a function of rotation about the x-axis between 35° and 70°. The coupling factor obtained from the velocities is 0.20 for a 35° rotated Y-cut plate and 0.09 for a 70° plate. The coupling factor changes linearly with the rotation angle. The propagation losses over the whole range measured here are less than 5 dB/cm on both free-space and on metallised surfaces. These losses are fairly low and very favourable for fabricating s.a.w. filters.     

烧结工艺对Cu-20Zn黄铜力学性能的影响

利用日本网带式连续烧结炉,采用2种不同的烧结工艺制备Cu-20%Zn黄铜,研究烧结工艺对其力学性能和微观组织的影响。第1种烧结工艺是快速升温到550℃预烧50 min,然后在860℃高温烧结50 min;第2种烧结工艺是在200 min内将温度从100℃缓慢升高到750℃,然后升温到870℃保温1 h。结果表明:采用第1种工艺烧结时,烧结体中可看到大量的形状不规则的孔隙,基体没有联接成一体。采用第2种工艺烧结时,由于延长了预烧结时间和减慢升温速度,黄铜的孔隙收缩并趋于球化,孔隙数量明显减少,烧结体的密度和硬度都增大,伸长率显著提高;但由于晶粒长大,晶界强化效果下降,导致强度下降。采用第2种烧结工艺制备的黄铜综合力学性能较好,密度达到8.12 g/cm3,硬度为86 HRH,抗拉强度和伸长率分别为242 MPa和27.3%,均超过日本工业标准JIS和中国国家标准的要求。     

Anisotropy of the spatial distribution of In(Ga)As quantum dots in In(Ga)As-GaAs multilayer heterostructures studied by X-ray and synchrotron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy

High-resolution X-ray and synchrotron (crystal truncation rods) diffraction methods and transmission electron microscopy have been employed to study MBE-grown multilayer In(Ga)As-GaAs heterostructures with arrays of vertically coupled In(Ga)As quantum dots (QDs) in a GaAs matrix. Additional (vertical and lateral) spatial ordering of QDs in perfect crystalline structures, giving rise to undulations of the crystalline planes and quasi-periodic elastic strain, was shown to be essentially anisotropic with respect to crystallographic directions of the [110] type. The anisotropy of the QD formational system of can be accounted for by assuming that the spatial ordering of the QDs and the corrugation of the crystal planes are the initial stages of relaxation of the elastic strain introduced into the system by the QDs. The anisotropic relief of the crystal planes (corrugated growth surface) results from the formation of a system of spatially ordered quantum quasi-wires uniformly filled with QDs. In a multilayer heterostructure with high crystal perfection, the anisotropic relief of the crystal planes is inherited by overlying layers and its amplitude decreases gradually with increasing distance from the source of elastic strain—the superstructure containing In(Ga)As QDs in the given case.