High-resolution optical imaging of magnetic-domain structures

High-resolution optical techniques for imaging magnetic domains in ferromagnetic materials such as confocal microscopy and scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) are reviewed. The imaging capabilities of different techniques and image formation are discussed in the case of in-plane as well as out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy in different illumination configurations. It is shown that the magnetooptical resolution of near-field measurements depends on the film thickness and is limited by the diffraction on magnetic domains throughout the film. For thin magnetic films, subwavelength resolution can be attained. In addition to well-known near-field magnetooptical effects (out-of plane magnetization sensitivity of linear near-field microscopy and in-plane magnetization sensitivity of nonlinear near-field measurements), linear SNOM imaging of in-plane magnetization in thin magnetic films as well as nonlinear imaging of out-of-plane domains has been demonstrated. Thus, linear and second-harmonic near-field imaging of both in-plane and out-of-plane oriented magnetic domains can be achieved in transparent and opaque specimens. This enables applications of SNOM for studies of all kinds of magnetic materials. High-resolution optical imaging is required for characterization of the micro-magnetic and magnetooptical properties of novel magnetic structures in order to adopt a bottom-up approach in the search for new materials with improved characteristics.     

A real-time vision module for interactive perceptual agents

Abstract. Interactive robotics demands real-time visual information about the environment. Real-time vision processing, however, places a heavy load on the robot's limited resources, which must accommodate multiple other processes running simultaneously. This paper describes a vision module capable of providing real-time information from ten or more operators while maintaining at least a 20-Hz frame rate and leaving sufficient processor time for a robot's other capabilities. The vision module uses a probabilistic scheduling algorithm to ensure both timely information flow and a fast frame capture. In addition, it tightly integrates the vision operators with control of a pan-tilt-zoom camera. The vision module makes its information available to other modules in the robot architecture through a shared memory structure. The information provided by the vision module includes the operator information along with a time stamp indicating information relevance. Because of this design, our robots are able to react in a timely manner to a wide variety of visual events.     

An implementation of the coupled perturbed Kohn-Sham equations: perturbation due to nuclear displacements

The Coupled Perturbed Kohn-Sham equations have been implemented in the Amsterdam Density Functional program package. Our implementation differs from previous ones in many ways. This program uses density fitting to calculate the Coulomb and exchange integrals. Further, all matrix elements of the Fock type matrix and its derivatives are calculated by numerical integration. The frozen core approximation is also implemented. Our implementation is approximately 10 times faster than a finite difference algorithm, and the absolute CPU times also compare favorably with other reported implementations.     

Magnetic separation studies on ferruginous chromite fine to enhance Cr:Fe ratio

The Cr:Fe ratio (chromium-to-iron mass ratio) of chromite affects the production of chrome-based ferroalloys. Although the lit-erature contains numerous reports related to the magnetic separation of di...     

Effect of processing conditions on wood and glass fiber length attrition during twin screw composite compounding

In this study, we compare the effect of twin-screw extrusion processing on the attrition of wood fibers (WFs) with glass fiber. The effects of process variables and screw design on fiber length were investigated by performing a range of dead-stop experiments where the extruder was stopped, opened-up, and compound removed from the screw elements. Fibers, chemically extracted from the polypropylene matrix, were analyzed for length and width using a commercial fiber analyzer. It was found that WF length attrition and composite properties were less affected by screw design and twin-screw processing conditions (feed rate and screw speed) than glass fiber. Length weighted fiber length and X50 length (a measure used in particle size analysis) were equally correlated with process conditions and composite performance for both fiber types. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48551.     

Intentionally induced intestinal barrier dysfunction causes inflammation,affects metabolism,and reduces productivity in lactating Holstein cows

Study objectives were to evaluate the effects of intentionally reduced intestinal barrier function on productivity, metabolism, and inflammatory indices in otherwise healthy dairy cows. Fourteen lactating Holstein cows (parity 2.6 ± 0.3; 117 ± 18 d in milk) were enrolled in 2 experimental periods. Period 1 (5 d) served as the baseline for period 2 (7 d), during which cows received 1 of 2 i.v. treatments twice per day: sterile saline or a gamma-secretase inhibitor (GSI; 1.5 mg/kg of body weight). Gamma-secretase inhibitors reduce intestinal barrier function by inhibiting crypt cell differentiation into absorptive enterocytes. During period 2, control cows receiving sterile saline were pair-fed (PF) to the GSI-treated cows, and all cows were killed at the end of period 2. Administering GSI increased goblet cell area 218, 70, and 28% in jejunum, ileum, and colon, respectively. In the jejunum, GSI-treated cows had increased crypt depth and reduced villus height, villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, cell proliferation, and mucosal surface area. Plasma lipopolysaccharide binding protein increased with time, and tended to be increased 42% in GSI-treated cows relative to PF controls on d 5 to 7. Circulating haptoglobin and serum amyloid A concentrations increased (585- and 4.4-fold, respectively) similarly in both treatments. Administering GSI progressively reduced dry matter intake (66%) and, by design, the pattern and magnitude of decreased nutrient intake was similar in PF controls. A similar progressive decrease (42%) in milk yield occurred in both treatments, but we observed no treatment effects on milk components. Cows treated with GSI tended to have increased plasma insulin (68%) and decreased circulating nonesterified fatty acids (29%) compared with PF cows. For both treatments, plasma glucose decreased with time while β-hydroxybutyrate progressively increased. Liver triglycerides increased 221% from period 1 to sacrifice in both treatments. No differences were detected in liver weight, liver moisture, or body weight change. Intentionally compromising intestinal barrier function caused inflammation, altered metabolism, and markedly reduced feed intake and milk yield. Further, we demonstrated that progressive feed reduction appeared to cause leaky gut and inflammation.     

Tobacco particulate matter is more potent than nicotine at upregulating nicotinic receptors on SH-SY5Y cells.

The effect of total particulate matter (TPM) from cigarette smoke on the expression and binding properties of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) was investigated using a human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y). TPM but not nicotine on its own inhibited cell growth at nicotine concentrations above 5 microM. To examine effects on nAChR expression, intact cells were incubated with 3H-epibatidine, and a Bmax of 13 fmoles/10(5) cells (7.8 x 10(4) binding sites/cell) was measured in unexposed cells as well as in cells treated with 2 microM nicotine alone or with TPM containing 2 microM nicotine. Using Scatchard analysis, we measured a Kd of 0.3 nM for 3H-epibatidine binding to nAChRs. This Kd was increased to 1.3 nM by addition of nicotine or TPM extract, both at 2 microM nicotine. Bmax, however, was unaffected, suggesting competitive binding of nicotine to its receptor. Short-term and prolonged 3-day exposures of SH-SY5Y cells to either TPM or nicotine at nicotine concentrations ranging from 0.2 microM to 20 microM increased specific binding, suggesting upregulation of nAChR expression. Most significant, binding was consistently greater in cells pretreated with TPM than in cells pretreated with nicotine. We conclude that TPM contains compounds that are toxic to cells at high concentrations (cell growth inhibition) but that do not compete with nicotine for binding to nAChRs (Scatchard analysis). These non-nicotinic compounds are capable of increasing the expression of one or more of the nAChR subunits. Furthermore, our cell culture assay provides a useful in vitro model for assessing the relative addictiveness of different tobacco products, including that of non-nicotine components.     

Radiation-curable carbon fiber prepreg composites

Radiation processing is the utilization of ionizing radiation, usually photons or electron beams, to produce useful physical and chemical changes in a material. A potential application for electron beam processing for composite manufacturing is for curing carbon fiber prepregs. These prepregs, carbon fibers or fabrics preimpregnated with liquid polymer resin, are commonly used in the aircraft industry. Their use, however, can be time consuming and labor intensive. The advantages of radiation curing over thermal or chemical curing methods include improved rate control, reduced curing times, and curing at ambient temperature. There is no need for chemical initiators. A radiation-curable prepreg has been designed to meet the mechanical and physical property specifications of a leading aircraft manufacturing company. The resin is a mixture of an expoxy diacrylate, polybutadiene diacrylate, and a multifunctional monomer. This resin was used to impregnate a plain weave carbon fabric, at a loading of 35 percent (by mass), using a solvent process. Preliminary characterization studies show that the cured polymer produced by irradiation in air to a dose of 40 kGy is amorphous with a maximum gel fraction of 85 percent. The softening point of the polymer varied from 228°C (30-kGy sample) to 237°C (50-kGy sample). The linear thermal expansion coefficient of the polymer was 1.7 × 10⁻⁴ m/m°C from 25°C to 150°C and was unaffected by varying the applied dose from 30 to 50 kGy.     

Alert based disaster notification and resource allocation

When a disaster occurs, timely actions in response to urgent requests conveyed by critical messages (known as alerts) constitute a vital key to effectiveness. These actions include notifying potentially affected parties so that they can take precautionary measures, gathering additional information, and requesting remedial actions and resource allocation. However, there are different types of disasters such as epidemic outbreaks, natural disasters, major accidents, and terrorist attacks. At the same time, there are also many different parties involved such as governments, healthcare institutions, businesses, and individuals. To address these problems, we introduce a Disaster Notification and Resource Allocation System (DNRAS) based on an Alert Management System (AMS) implemented through Web services. This unified platform supports timely interactions among various parties, focusing on notification and monitoring, resource enquiry and allocation, as well as the mobility of information. We detail the mechanisms of these functions in our system, illustrating the Web services interface parameters for communications and interoperability. We illustrate the applicability of our approach with an example of an epidemic outbreak and discuss the advantage of our approach with respect to various stakeholders of our system.