Tactile colour pictogram to improve artwork appreciation of people with visual impairments

A recent development in tactile technology enables an improvement in the appreciation of the visual arts for people with visual impairment (PVI). The tactile sense, in conjunction with, or a possibly as an alternative to, the auditory sense, would allow PVIs to approach artwork in a more self‐driven and engaging way that would be difficult to achieve with just an auditory stimulus. Tactile colour pictograms (TCPs), which are raised geometric patterns, are ideographic characters that are designed to enable PVIs to identify colours and interpret information by touch. In this article, three TCPs are introduced to code colours in the Munsell colour system. Each colour pattern consists of a basic cell size of 10 mm × 10 mm to represent the patterns consistently in terms of regular shape. Each TCP consists of basic geometric patterns that are combined to create primary, secondary, and tertiary colour pictograms of shapes indicating colour hue, intensity and lightness. Each TCP represents 29 colours including six hues; they were then further expanded to represent 53 colours. Two of them did not increase the cell size, the other increased the cell size 1.5 times for some colours, such as yellow‐orange, yellow, blue, and blue‐purple. Our proposed TCPs use a slightly larger cell size compared to most tactile patterns currently used to indicate colour, but code for more colours. With user experience and identification tests, conducted with 23 visually impaired adults, the effectiveness of the TCPs suggests that they were helpful for the participants.     

Fabrication,structural and vibrational properties,and physical and optical properties tailoring of nanocrystalline MoS2 films

The modification and tuning features of nanostructured films are of great interest because of controllable and distinctive inherent properties in these materials. Here, nanocrystalline MoS₂ films were fabricated on the stainless steels by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering spectroscopy were used to study the chemical state, chemical composition, crystal structure and vibrational properties of the fabricated MoS₂ films. The bias voltage dependent structural evolution and its influence on the optical properties of MoS₂ nanocrystalline films were systematically investigated. Besides, the residual stresses of MoS₂ nanocrystalline films were explored by employing sin²ψ approach. X-ray diffraction demonstrates that the nanocrystalline MoS₂ films have single-phase hexagonal crystal structure. All MoS₂ films are polycrystalline in nature. The bandgap values are found to be intensively dependent on bias voltage. Our findings show that the nanocrystalline MoS₂ films with different physical properties and intense quantum confinement effect can be realized through adjusting bias voltages. This work may provide deep insight for realizing transitional metal dichalcogenide-based nanostructured film optoelectronic devices with tunable physical properties through a traditional, very cost-effective, and large-scale fabrication method.     

Cell-Free Synthesis of Selenoproteins in High Yield and Purity for Selective Protein Tagging

The selenol group of selenocysteine is much more nucleophilic than the thiol group of cysteine. Selenocysteine residues in proteins thus offer reactive points for rapid post-translational modification. Herein, we show that selenoproteins can be expressed in high yield and purity by cell-free protein synthesis by global substitution of cysteine by selenocysteine. Complete alkylation of solvent-exposed selenocysteine residues was achieved in 10 minutes with 4-chloromethylene dipicolinic acid (4Cl-MDPA) under conditions that left cysteine residues unchanged even after overnight incubation. Gd^III−Gd^III distances measured by double electron–electron resonance (DEER) experiments of maltose binding protein (MBP) containing two selenocysteine residues tagged with 4Cl-MDPA-Gd^III were indistinguishable from Gd^III−Gd^III distances measured of MBP containing cysteine reacted with 4Br-MDPA tags.     

The Electron–Phonon Interaction of Low-Dimensional and Multi-Dimensional Materials from He Atom Scattering

Atom scattering is becoming recognized as a sensitive probe of the electron–phonon interaction parameter λ at metal and metal-overlayer surfaces. Here, the theory is developed, linking λ to the thermal attenuation of atom scattering spectra (in particular, the Debye–Waller factor), to conducting materials of different dimensions, from quasi-1D systems such as W(110):H(1 × 1) and Bi(114), to quasi-2D layered chalcogenides, and high-dimensional surfaces such as quasicrystalline 2ML-Ba(0001)/Cu(001) and d-AlNiCo(00001). Values of λ obtained using He atoms compare favorably with known values for the bulk materials. The corresponding analysis indicates in addition, the number of layers contributing to the electron–phonon interaction, which is measured in an atom surface collision.     

Broad-Spectral-Range Sustainability and Controllable Excitation of Hyperbolic Phonon Polaritons in α-MoO3

Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in orthorhombic-phase molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO₃) show in-plane hyperbolicity, great wavelength compression, and ultralong lifetime, therefore holding great potential in nanophotonic applications. However, its polaritonic response in the far-infrared (FIR) range remains unexplored due to challenges in experimental characterization. Here, monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is used to probe HPhPs in α-MoO₃ in both mid-infrared (MIR) and FIR frequencies and correlate their behaviors with microstructures and orientations. It is found that low structural symmetry leads to various phonon modes and multiple Reststrahlen bands (RBs) over a broad spectral range (over 70 meV) and in different directions (55–63 meV and 119–125 meV along the b-axis, 68–106 meV along the c-axis, and 101–121 meV along the a-axis). These HPhPs can be selectively excited by controlling the direction of swift electrons. These findings provide new opportunities in nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications, such as directed light propagation, hyperlenses, and heat transfer.     

Graphite Oxide and Aromatic Amines: Size Matters

Experimental and theoretical studies are performed in order to illuminate, for first time, the intercalation mechanism of polycyclic aromatic molecules into graphite oxide. Two representative molecules of this family, aniline and naphthalene amine are investigated. After intercalation, aniline molecules prefer to covalently connect to the graphene oxide matrix via chemical grafting, while napthalene amine molecules bind with the graphene oxide surface through π–π interactions. The presence of intercalated aromatic molecules between the graphene oxide layers is demonstrated by X‐ray diffraction, while the type of interaction between graphene oxide and polycyclic organic molecules is elucidated by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical calculations describe the intercalation mechanism and the aniline grafting, rationalizing the experimental data. The present work opens new perspectives for the interaction of various aromatic molecules with graphite oxide and the so‐called “intercalation chemistry”.     

Expression of Main Toll-Like Receptors in Patients with Different Types of Colorectal Polyps and Their Relationship with Gut Microbiota

Abnormal activation of Toll-like receptor (TLRs) signaling can result in colon cancer development. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of important TLRs in different histological types of colorectal polyps and evaluate their relationship with intestinal microbiota. The expression levels of TLR2, 3, 4, and 5 were analyzed in intestinal biopsy specimens of 21 hyperplastic polyp (HP), 16 sessile serrated adenoma (SSA), 29 tubular adenoma (TA), 21 villous/tubulovillous (VP/TVP) cases, and 31 normal controls. In addition, selected gut bacteria including Streptococcus bovis, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF), Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas spp., Lactobacillus spp., Roseburia spp., and Bifidobacterium spp. were quantified in fecal samples using absolute qRT PCR, and, finally, the association between TLRs and these gut microbiota- was evaluated by Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Higher expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in VP/TVP and TA, and lower expression levels of TLR3 and TLR5 in all type of polyps were observed. The differences in TLR expression patterns was not only dependent on the histology, location, size, and dysplasia grade of polyps but also related to the intestinal microbiota patterns. TLR2 and TLR4 expression was directly associated with the F. nucleatum, E. faecalis, S. bovis, Porphyromonas, and inversely to Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Roseburia quantity. Furthermore, TLR3 and TLR5 expression was directly associated with Bifidobacterium, Roseburia, and Lactobacillus quantity. Our results suggest a possible critical role of TLRs during colorectal polyp progression. An abnormal regulation of TLRs in relation to gut microbial quantity may contribute to carcinogenesis.     

The analysis and comparison of two novel kinds of focusing elements as reflectors

In this article, two novel kinds of focusing elements as reflectors are analyzed and compared. One is the grooved Fresnel zone plate reflector with continuous phase‐correcting. The other called subzone paraboloid reflector, has the profile that consists of a series of paraboloids. Their diffraction efficiencies and bandwidths are described. The two elements still preserve the advantages of Fresnel zone plates, namely, low profile, high efficiency, and simple fabrication. Two dual‐reflector antennas using the proposed focusing elements as the main reflectors are simulated and the results show that these antennas have good radiation performances. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:101–108, 2015.     

Enhanced properties for visible-light-driven photocatalysis of Ag nanoparticle modified Bi2MoO6 nanoplates

The visible light driven Bi₂MoO₆ photocatalyst doped with different contents of Ag nanoparticles was successfully synthesized by a combination of hydrothermal and sonochemical methods. The as-synthesized samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and UV–visible spectroscopy to investigate crystalline structure, morphology, composition and photocatalytic properties. XRD patterns and TEM images of the samples revealed pure phase orthorhombic Bi₂MoO₆ nanoplates without any detection of Ag dopant due to its low concentration and very tiny particle size. TEM images showed that Ag nanoparticles with the size of 10–15 nm were dispersed randomly on the surface of Bi₂MoO₆. The XPS analysis of Ag/Bi₂MoO₆ nanocomposites revealed the presence of additional metallic Ag. Photocatalytic activities of the Ag/Bi₂MoO₆ nanocomposites were evaluated by determining the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light radiation. In this research, the 10 wt% Ag/Bi₂MoO₆ nanocomposites showed the best photocatalytic activity. The results suggest that the dispersion of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of Bi₂MoO₆ significantly enhances its photocatalytic activity.