Manipulation of microenvironment with a built-in electrochemical actuator in proximity of a dissolved oxygen microsensor

Biochemical sensors for continuous monitoring require dependable periodic self diagnosis with acceptable simplicity to check its functionality during operation. An in-situ self-diagnostic technique for a dissolved oxygen microsensor is proposed in an effort to devise an intelligent microsensor system with an integrated electrochemical actuation electrode. With a built-in platinum microelectrode that surrounds the microsensor, two kinds of microenvironments, called the oxygen-saturated or oxygen-depleted phases, can be created by water electrolysis, depending on the polarity. The functionality of the microsensor can be checked during these microenvironment phases. The polarographic oxygen microsensor is fabricated on a flexible polyimide substrate (Kapton) and the feasibility of the proposed concept is demonstrated in a physiological solution. The sensor responds properly during the oxygen-generating and oxygen-depleting phases. The use of these microenvironments for in-situ self-calibration is discussed to achieve functional integration, as well as structural integration, of the microsensor system.     

网络化永久性油气藏远程动态实时监测系统设计

本文设计了一种应用于油气藏永久性实时动态监测系统。该系统用光纤Bragg光栅(FBG)传感器作为井下永久性传感器,测量目的层的温度、压力等参数的模拟信号;在井口建立数据采集处理系统,将模拟信号解调成数字信号;通过GPRS无线移动通信网络传输到监测中心的数据库服务器上,并以Web形式发布到Internet网络上,同时提供移动用户浏览接口,且当数据异常时可以发送报警短消息。该系统实现了油气藏的远程实时动态监测,可以为油藏管理人员和技术人员及时、准确地做出决策提供可靠依据。     

The Effect of Moisture Content on the Conversion of Ergosterol to Vitamin D in Shiitake Mushrooms

The distribution of ergosterol in different parts of shiitake mushrooms was studied in order to optimize the conversion of ergosterol to vitamin D₂ during drying. The effect of moisture on the conversion of ergosterol to vitamin D₂ was also investigated by adjusting the moisture content of fresh mushrooms to different levels in a large vacuum desiccator and subjecting them to UV irradiation at 290-320 nm wavelength, for 2 h. The moisture, ergosterol and vitamin D₂ contents were determined using standard procedures. It was found that the ergosterol content on a dry matter basis of fresh shiitake mushroom was highest in the gills (10.6 ± 0.99 mg/g DM), followed by the cap or pileus (5.34 ± 0.64 mg/g DM) and was least in the stalk or stipe (2.97 ± 0.56). The moisture content had a marked influence on the conversion of ergosterol to vitamin D₂, the best conversion taking place at a moisture content of about 70% on a wet basis.     

A model of reduction of oxidation-enhanced diffusion in heavily doped Si layers

A model of reduction of oxidation-enhanced diffusion (OED) in heavily doped Si layers via bulk recombination of self-interstitials at centers associated with the dopant is suggested. The allowance made for the recombination of excess self-interstitials, which are generated upon thermal oxidation, allows one to describe the dependence of OED reduction on the doping level. The experimental data on the OED of B and P impurities in uniformly doped Si layers are analyzed. From the analysis, the recombination-rate constants are determined and capture radii are estimated for various variants of interaction of excess self-interstitials with impurity atoms and impurity-vacancy pairs.     

Effect of saturation parameters on the interaction of titanium alloys with carbon-nitrogen-containing media

We study some specific features of phase formation and gas saturation in the course of chemical and thermal treatment of VT1-0, OT4, and VT14 titanium alloys in carbon-nitrogen-containing (graphite and nitrogen under atmospheric pressure) and nitrogen-containing (molecular nitrogen under atmospheric pressure) media. Saturation was carried out at 750–1100°C, and the time of isothermal holding was 5 or 20 h. We have shown that, irrespective of the composition of the saturating medium, within the range 750–1000°C, the phase composition of coatings is identical and consists of TiN and Ti₂N nitrides. The quantitative proportions between them depend on the temperature and time of treatment. Owing to the specific features of the composition of a carbon-nitrogen-containing medium, the depth of the diffusion sublayer increases, and the stoichiometry of cubic nitride decreases, which leads to an increase in the surface microhardness of nitride coatings. Carbonitride coatings are formed only at high saturation temperature (1100°C). Their maximum hardness is 2.5 GPa higher than that of nitrides formed under similar conditions.Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 81–87, May–June, 2004.     

Ecological problems of the Amu Darya delta

Translated from Gidrotekhnicheskoe Stroitel'stvo, No. 3, pp. 6–8, March, 1992.     

Aging, expertise, and narrative processing.

In a study of how aviation expertise influences age differences in narrative processing, young and older pilots and nonpilots read and recalled aviation and general narratives. They chose referents for sentences referring to a protagonist or minor character mentioned 1 sentence (recent character) or 3 sentences (distant character) before this target sentence. All groups chose referents less accurately for sentences about distant and minor characters than about recent and protagonist characters, perhaps because these referents were less likely to be in working memory. Young readers and pilots were more accurate for distant and minor character target sentences in aviation narratives and recalled aviation narratives more accurately. Expertise did not reduce age differences. Expertise differences may reflect decreased demands on working memory capacity, and age declines may reflect reduced capacity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)