In-fiber liquid-level probe based on Michelson interferometer via dual-mode elliptical multilayer-core fiber

Abstract

An in-fiber liquid-level probe fabricated from homemade dual-mode elliptical multilayer-core fiber (EMCF) was proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed sensor simply consists of a segment of the EMCF with one end coated with silver film, and a Michelson interferometer is roughly established when light from single-mode fiber incident from the other end. The detected interference patterns, rather clean due to the few-mode property, shift as the liquid level due to strong interaction between high-order modes and measurands through evanescent waves. Both the propagation characteristics and operation principle of such a sensor were demonstrated in detail, and sensitivities of 33.48, 43.35, and 48.93 pm/mm corresponding to liquid indices of 1.333, 1.353, and 1.373 were successfully achieved with a 50-mm EMCF probe, respectively. Moreover, the proposed sensor had the potential to discriminate measurand index after proper calibration.     

Cutter mark cross method for improvement of contact stiffness by controlling distribution of real contact area

Contact surfaces do not make contact perfectly because such surfaces have a lot of asperities. The real contact area is much smaller than the nominal contact area, and the real contact areas has a non-uniform distribution because of the waviness in the contact surface. The contact stiffness is influenced not only by the deformation of the asperities, but also by the distribution of the real contact areas. In general, a contact surface with a uniform distribution of the real contact areas has greater contact stiffness. However, this requires a grinding finish and costs more than the cutting finish. In this study, a method for uniformly distributing the real contact areas easily, is proposed to improve the contact stiffness of a contact surface finished by cutting. The method is called the cutter mark cross (CMC) method. The allowable waviness in the CMC method is shown. In addition, the effect of the CMC method is investigated by experimentation. The results show that the real contact areas can be distributed uniformly using the CMC method. The horizontal and vertical contact stiffness can also be improved.     

大变形对钨合金材料扫描断口及力学性能的影响

研究了高强度钨合金材料大变形量锻造后的扫描断口,并结合力学性能变化规律分析了大变形对材料组织和性能的影响。结果表明随着变形量增大断口上钨颗粒尺寸减小并呈多边化趋势,断裂方式则呈现钨颗粒解理断裂逐渐增多的特点,这些变化有利于钨合金材料的强化     

电流卡钳传输阻抗的线性补偿

为了扩展电流卡钳的频率测试范围,根据其等效电路模型,分析并测试了传输阻抗特性,发现了传输阻抗在频率范围内的非线性现象,进而提出了基于放大器的线性补偿方法.通过测试结果表明,在1-50kHz的被测信号情况下,匹配了放大器的电流探头的传输阻抗的波动范围≤±1dB.因而,利用这一补偿方法,可以给单片机信号采集转换成被测电流值带来方便.     

Influence of the additives argon, O2, C4F8, H2, N2 and CO on plasma conditions and process results during the etch of SiCOH in CF4 plasma

Reactive ion etch processes for modern interlevel dielectrics become more and more complex, especially for further scaling of interconnect dimensions. The materials will be damaged within such processes with the result of an increase in their dielectric constants. The capability of selected additives to minimize the low-k sidewall damage during reactive ion etching (RIE) of SiCOH materials in fluorocarbon plasmas was shown in different works in the past. Most of the investigated additive gases alter the fluorine to carbon ratio as well as the dissociation of the parent gas inside the etch plasma. The result is a changed etch rate, a modified polymerization behavior and other characteristics of the process induced SiCOH damage. Heavy inert ions like argon will be accelerated to the sample surface in the cathode dark space and enhance therewith the sputter yield on the SiCOH network [1]. In this paper the additives Ar, O₂, C₄F₈, H₂, N₂ and CO were added to a conventional CF₄ etch plasma. We try to provoke different changes in the plasma conditions and therewith in the process results. Contact angle measurements, spectroscopic ellipsometry, Hg-probe analysis, FTIR measurements and SEM cross-sections were used to overview the additive induced modifications. To understand the influences of the additives gases more exactly, changes in the physical and chemical plasma behavior must be analyzed. Therefore quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) and quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS) were used.     

A Multifunctional and Fast-Response Lysosome-Targetable Fluorescent Probe for Monitoring pH and Isoxaflutole

A new chemosensor, namely N-(2-morpholinoethyl)acetamide-4-morpholine-1,8-naphthimide (MMN), was designed and synthesized through an amidation reaction. MMN was fabricated as a multifunctional fluorescent probe for monitoring pH and isoxaflutole. MMN exhibited excellent stability in MeCN/H₂O (v/v, 9/1), with an obvious “off–on” fluorescence response toward pH changes due to intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), where the linear response ranges of MMN in the weakly acidic system were from 4.2 to 5.0 and from 5.0 to 6.0 with apparent pK_a = 4.62 ± 0.02 and 5.43 ± 0.02. Based on morpholine as the lysosome targetable unit, MMN could selectively locate lysosomes in live cells. MMN also successfully detected the presence of H⁺ in test papers. Finally, MMN could specifically recognize isoxaflutole at a detection limit of 0.88 μM. A possible sensing mechanism was identified based on density function theory calculations. These results indicate that MMN could be a superior potential chemosensor for detecting pH and isoxaflutole selectively and sensitively and could be used in real sample detection.     

邻苯二甲酸二烯丙基酯树脂固化特性的研究

运用示差扫描量热(DSC)法研究了邻苯二甲酸二烯丙基酯(DAP)树脂的固化反应历程。讨论了引发剂对DAP固化特性的影响,并由DSC曲线得到了DAP树脂的固化工艺和动力学参数。通过固化度、FT-IR的测试对DAP树脂在中温条件下的固化情况进行了研究。结果表明:在过氧化二异丙苯(DCP)固化体系中引入BPO可以使DAP树脂在更低温度下引发固化;在BPO、DCP用量均为2%的条件下,确定了体系的凝胶温度、固化温度、后处理温度分别为:100.5℃,124.3℃,137.8℃,表观活化能为129.3 kJ/mol,反应级数为0.950。固化度、FTIR的测试结果表明:DAP树脂在中温条件下可以固化得较完全。     

SARS-CoV-2 Infection Dysregulates Cilia and Basal Cell Homeostasis in the Respiratory Epithelium of Hamsters

Similar to many other respiratory viruses, SARS-CoV-2 targets the ciliated cells of the respiratory epithelium and compromises mucociliary clearance, thereby facilitating spread to the lungs and paving the way for secondary infections. A detailed understanding of mechanism involved in ciliary loss and subsequent regeneration is crucial to assess the possible long-term consequences of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to characterize the sequence of histological and ultrastructural changes observed in the ciliated epithelium during and after SARS-CoV-2 infection in the golden Syrian hamster model. We show that acute infection induces a severe, transient loss of cilia, which is, at least in part, caused by cilia internalization. Internalized cilia colocalize with membrane invaginations, facilitating virus entry into the cell. Infection also results in a progressive decline in cells expressing the regulator of ciliogenesis FOXJ1, which persists beyond virus clearance and the termination of inflammatory changes. Ciliary loss triggers the mobilization of p73⁺ and CK14⁺ basal cells, which ceases after regeneration of the cilia. Although ciliation is restored after two weeks despite the lack of FOXJ1, an increased frequency of cilia with ultrastructural alterations indicative of secondary ciliary dyskinesia is observed. In summary, the work provides new insights into SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and expands our understanding of virally induced damage to defense mechanisms in the conducting airways.     

The Use of Molecular Dynamics Simulation Method to Quantitatively Evaluate the Affinity between HBV Antigen T Cell Epitope Peptides and HLA-A Molecules

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV), a potentially life-threatening liver disease, makes people vulnerable to serious diseases such as cancer. T lymphocytes play a crucial role in clearing HBV virus, while the pathway depends on the strong binding of T cell epitope peptide and HLA. However, the experimental identification of HLA-restricted HBV antigenic peptides is extremely time-consuming. In this study, we provide a novel prediction strategy based on structure to assess the affinity between the HBV antigenic peptide and HLA molecule. We used residue scanning, peptide docking and molecular dynamics methods to obtain the molecular docking model of HBV peptide and HLA, and then adopted the MM-GBSA method to calculate the binding affinity of the HBV peptide–HLA complex. Overall, we collected 59 structures of HLA-A from Protein Data Bank, and finally obtained 352 numerical affinity results to figure out the optimal bind choice between the HLA-A molecules and 45 HBV T cell epitope peptides. The results were highly consistent with the qualitative affinity level determined by the competitive peptide binding assay, which confirmed that our affinity prediction process based on an HLA structure is accurate and also proved that the homologous modeling strategy for HLA-A molecules in this study was reliable. Hence, our work highlights an effective way by which to predict and screen for HLA-peptide binding that would improve the treatment of HBV infection.     

P(MMA/EA)/PEG-TPE半互穿网络聚合物的合成

为提高聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯/聚乙二醇聚氨酯(PMMA/PEG-TPE)半互穿网络聚合物的相容性,探索了在PEG-TPE中将甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)与丙烯酸乙酯(EA)共聚形成P(MMA/EA)/PEG-TPE半互穿网络聚合物(S-IPN).红外光谱和核磁共振氢谱分析表明丙烯酸酯基本反应完全,PEG-TPE的单体转化率达到89%; 动态热机械分析(DMA)显示P(MMA/EA)/PEG-TPE的玻璃化转变温度峰较同组成比例的PMMA/PEG-TPE内移,甚至在组成比为10/90,30/70的体系中形成了单一的玻璃化转变峰,且扫描电镜(SEM)中表面形貌也变得较柔顺,表明体系的相容性和互穿程度进一步提高.