Rolling texture and its effect on tensile property of a near-α titanium alloy Ti60 plate

Rolling texture and its effect on tensile properties of Ti60 alloy plates were investigated in the present study. The plates wereβ-rolled at 1070℃ and(α+β)-rolled at 980℃, using uni-directionally rolling(UDR) and cross-directionally rolling(CDR) processes, respectively.β-rolled plates exhibited weak textures, which were attributed to the dispersive orientations of secondary α during the β→α phase transformation. Strong deformation textures formed in(α+β)-rolled plates as a result of slipping mechanisms: the strong T-type texture in UDR plate was related to {10 1 0}[11 2 0] slipping, while the B-type texture in CDR plate was relevant with {0001}[11 2 0] slip. Strong T-type textures led to anisotropic tensile properties. B-type textures would decrease such an anisotropy. The(α+β)-CDR process was found to be a candidate process for reducing anisotropy of Ti60 alloy plates.     

Large capacitance and fast polarization response of thin electrolyte dielectrics by spin coating for two-dimensional MoS2 devices

Nano Research - A spin-coating method was applied to obtain thinner and smoother PEO/LiClO4 polymer electrolyte films (EFs) with a lower level of crystallization than those obtained using a...     

Regulation of Polymer Configurations Enables Green Solvent-Processed Large-Area Binary All-Polymer Solar Cells With Breakthrough Performance and High Efficiency Stretchability Factor

With the great potential of the all-polymer solar cells for large-area wearable devices, both large-area device efficiency and mechanical flexibility are very critical but attract limited attention. In this work, from the perspective of the polymer configurations, two types of terpolymer acceptors PYTX-A and PYTX-B (X = Cl or H) are developed. The configuration difference caused by the replacement of non-conjugated units results in distinct photovoltaic performance and mechanical flexibility. Benefiting from a good match between the intrinsically slow film-forming of the active materials and the technically slow film-forming of the blade-coating process, the toluene-processed large-area (1.21 cm²) binary device achieves a record efficiency of 14.70%. More importantly, a new parameter of efficiency stretchability factor (ESF) is proposed for the first time to comprehensively evaluate the overall device performance. PM6:PYTCl-A and PM6:PYTCl-B yield significantly higher ESF than PM6:PY-IT. Further blending with non-conjugated polymer donor PM6-A, the best ESF of 3.12% is achieved for PM6-A:PYTCl-A, which is among the highest comprehensive performances.     

Escherichia coli prlC gene encodes a trypsin-like proteinase regulating the cell cycle

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Mood disorders are common after stroke and may impede physical, functional, and cognitive recovery, making early identification and treatment of potential importance. We aimed to compare the accuracy of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) Scale in detecting psychiatric morbidity after stroke and to determine the most suitable cutoff points for different purposes. METHODS: One hundred five hospital-referred stroke patients completed both the GHQ-30 and HAD Scale 6 months after onset before a blinded psychiatric assessment in which the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia with some supplementary questions was used to determine a DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) diagnosis. Measures were compared in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the GHQ-30 and the HAD Scale in identifying those patients with any DSM-IV diagnosis (P=0.95), grouped depression (P=0.56), or anxiety (P=0.25) disorders. The previously recommended cutoff points for identifying "cases" for the GHQ (4/5) and for the HAD Scale (8/9 and 11/12) were found to be suboptimal in this population. CONCLUSIONS: The GHQ-30 and HAD scale exhibited similar levels of sensitivity and specificity. Data are presented, taking into account the "cost" of false-positives and negatives, to allow a choice of cutoff points suitable for differing situations.     

Liquid detection with InGaAsP semiconductor lasers having multiple short external cavities

A liquid detection system consisting of a diode laser with multiple short external cavities (MSXC's) is reported. The MSXC diode laser operates single mode on one of 18 distinct modes that span a range of 72 nm. We selected the modes by setting the length of one of the external cavities using a piezoelectric positioner. One can measure the transmission through cells by modulating the injection current at audio frequencies and using phase-sensitive detection to reject the ambient light and reduce 1/f noise. A method to determine regions of single-mode operation by the rms of the output of the laser is described. The transmission data were processed by multivariate calibration techniques, i.e., partial least squares and principal component regression. Water concentration in acetone was used to demonstrate the performance of the system. A correlation coefficient of R(2) = 0.997 and 0.29% root-mean-square error of prediction are found for water concentration over the range of 2-19%.     

Dynamically modulated intensity interrogation scheme using waveguide coupled surface plasmon resonance sensors

An electro-optically modulated intensity interrogation method based on tunable waveguide coupled surface plasmon resonance sensors has been proposed. It has been theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that the proposed scheme can enable sensitive measurement of measurand variations. By modulating the refractive index in the waveguide layer, this interrogation method yields modulated signal whose amplitude is related to measurand's refractive index. This amplitude modulated signal offers a higher signal to noise ratio and eliminates additive noise in the sensor system. A preliminary investigation using saline buffers with different NaCl concentrations shows a resolution of 2.3 × 10^?6 refractive index unit by our approach. Resolution can be controlled by the amplitude of the applied modulation voltage and can be further enhanced by optimizing the device structure or improving the electro-optical (E-O) coefficient of the E-O material. This approach is simple, stable, and promising for low-cost or multi-channel SPR biosensor applications.     

Interactive surgery simulation for the nose augmentation using CT data

Surgery to reshape the nose with an implant has been a regular procedure for enhancing a patient’s appearance and self-confidence. The purpose of this study was to establish a computed tomography (CT) based three-dimensional assistant plastic surgery systems, which can provide the patients with realistic prediction of their own postoperative appearance in computer and specifically produce a nose implant for an individual patient. Preoperative CT data and 3D reconstruction techniques were employed to generate 3D model of the patient’s skull. 3D collision detection and finite elements model deformation were then applied to simulate nose augmentation surgery and predict postoperative appearance. According to the patient’s expectation, digital models of the nose implants were constantly modified. When the patient is satisfied with the simulated results, custom made silicone implants were produced by a computer controlled device. Accurately regeneration of 3D images and realistic operative simulations could be achieved with this system. The implants produced exactly conformed to the results of simulation. No curving and reshaping were needed during operating. The clinical results extremely matched with the simulations. The system enhances surgeon patient communication and facilitates preoperative planning. It is especially desirable for implant surgery with less guesswork of size, contour, and orientation of the implant. The best chance of optimal results could be achieved.     

A two-level strategy for segmenting center of interest from pictures

Segmenting center of interests (COIs) from pictures is an important but highly challenging problem for researchers in computer vision and image processing. The capability of understanding the meanings of pictures by computers can lead to breakthroughs in a wide range of applications including Web image search and online picture-sharing communities. In this paper, a two-level strategy is presented, which consists of a rough segmentation stage and a fine segmentation stage. In the first level, a picture is partitioned into four regions by using a block clustering method based on color and texture features, and the COI within the picture is distinguished from the background according to the principles of photographic composition. This stage aims to determine the approximate region of the target. In the second level, a novel active contour model is established based on shape information and vector method, where the image energy is defined by a hue gradient and the external energy is generated from either a triangular inner force or a supplementary force. This stage tries to extract the boundary of the target accurately. Experimental results on photos downloaded from the Internet show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.