ALBERT

Description: Synthetic biomaterials submitted to new structural technologies have become ideal for the recovery of traumatized bone tissues and some bone substitutes such as bioactive glass, β-Tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) are being used in areas of tissue defects. For this study, ACP was produced in the form of fibers and then submitted to cytotoxicity testing. A sample of ACP was inserted into the mandibular region of a patient with a lost implant so after removal and curettage, the remaining bone site was filled with the ACP biomaterial. Preliminary cytotoxicity test was negative. After 15 weeks of healing, a titanium implant was inserted at the site. Clinical and radiographic follow-up was conducted for 12 months and sequential radiographic analyses revealed tissue formation resembling spongy bone. Images under immunohistochemistry demonstrated efficient deposition and osteoconduction of the newly deposited tissue. Residual portion of the CaO:P 2 O 5 outer layers served as a substrate for osteoid matrix deposition, aiding growth, and the results of fiber absorption favored maturation of the new bone tissue. Bone repair was benefited by the existence of the ACP in the form of fibers. Samples taken from the grafted site demonstrated that the ACP favored the formation and maturation of the newly deposited tissue with few residual remnants of its constituents. In addition, the ACP in fibers allows its use in simple cases such as alveoli after dental extraction or small bone defects accelerating local healing.

Description: The morphological and chemical changes in deciduous dentin produced by different conditioning protocols were evaluated in this in vitro study. Eighty primary dentin samples were divided into eight groups ( n  = 10): G1, acid etching; G2, self-etching adhesive; G3, G4, Er: YAG laser irradiation at 25.5 and 38.2 J cm −2 , respectively; 10 Hz and spray irrigation. Groups 5, 6, 7, and 8 were irradiated at previous densities, and then phosphoric acid or self-etching adhesive conditioning was applied. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to evaluate chemical and morphological changes. Paired t-test and One-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis ( p  ≤ 0.05). All samples showed different morphology with specific characteristics according to the conditioning protocol. Changing element concentration values are expressed in atomic percent (at %). After conditioning, there were statistically significant differences ( p  ≤ 0.05) for p at% and Ca/P in all groups; highlighting the following additional findings by group: G1, G7, and G8 showed changes in all elements studied, G2 presented a decrease in C at% and increased Ca at%, G3 and G4 exhibited at% changes in C, trace elements and Ca. Furthermore, G5 showed at% changes in O and trace elements; while G6 changes were observed on C at%, O at% and trace elements at%. Dentin morphology and chemical composition varied in accordance with the conditioning protocol, with characteristics specific for each one that could have clinical implications for the retention and bond strength performance of adhesive materials. The most aggressive conditioning protocol according to mineral content reduction was phosphoric acid, whereas self-etching produced the least aggressive morphological changes, and Er:YAG laser irradiation enhanced deciduous dentin mineral structure.

Description: “ Nanhai I ” shipwreck of China Southern Song Dynasty is the oldest and the most integrally preserved shipwreck in the world. The related conservation and archeological research have caught great attention of different experts all over the world. In this study, different types of concretion covered on the surface of the ceramics in “ Nanhai I ” shipwreck were analyzed by X-ray diffractometer, micro-Raman spectrometer, and scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Based on the analyses, we found that the grey concretion was mainly composed of quartz, aragonite, and calcite while the reddish concretion was mainly composed of pyrite and quartz. Our study indicated that the formation process of the grey concretion probably included the crystallization and transformation of aragonite, while the corrosion of iron implements and crystallization of pyrite were highly involved in the formation of reddish concretion. Concretion of ceramics in the “Nanhai I” shipwreck consisted two major parts. Formation of the grey part included crystallization and transformation of aragonite. Formation of pyrite framboids were involved in the formation of reddish part.

Description: The aim of this study was to assess the cleaning capacity of the octenidine hydrochloride (OCT) used as root canal irrigant by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. Sixty human unirradicular extracted teeth were randomly distributed in 6 groups ( n  = 10) according to irrigant solutions which were used during root canal preparation: G1, 0.1% OCT; G2, 2% chlorhexidine (CHX); G3, 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl); G4, OCT + 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA); G5, 2.5% NaOCl + 17% EDTA and G6, distilled water. All specimens were instrumented with ProTaper system up to F4. Teeth were sectioned and prepared for SEM. The smear layer was evaluated using a 5-score system and the data were analyzed by Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn (α = 0.05). In all root canal thirds there was no significant difference between OCT, CHX, NaOCl, and water groups ( p  〉 .05), and these groups showed higher smear layer values than NaOCl + EDTA and OCT + EDTA groups ( p  〈 .05). There was no significant difference between NaOCl + EDTA and OCT + EDTA groups ( p  〉 .05). It was concluded that OCT used as a single root canal irrigant presented poor cleaning capacity and could be used in association with a final irrigation with EDTA to obtain smear layer removal. Octenidine could be used as root canal irrigant. However, it should be used with a final irrigation with EDTA to improve root canal cleaning.

Description: The chemical compositions (organic and inorganic contents) and mechanical behaviors of the dentin of permanent and deciduous teeth were analyzed and compared using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (µ-EDXRF) Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy (FT-Raman) and a microhardness test (HD). Healthy fresh human primary and permanent molars ( n  = 10) were selected, The buccal surfaces facing upwards were stabilized in an acrylic plate, flattened, polished, and submitted to the µ-EDXRF, FT-Raman, and HD analysis. The results of the analysis were subjected to ANOVAs and Mann-Whitney U /Student's t multiple comparisons tests. The data showed similar values for the dentin of the primary and permanent teeth in P content, organic content (amide I peak), inorganic content ( – 430 and 590), and microhardness, Nevertheless, Ca content and Ca/P weight ratio were higher, and the peak was lower in the dentin of the permanent teeth compared to primary teeth. It be concluded that despite permanent teeth showed more Ca element, both substrates showed similar behavior of chemical and physical properties. The dentine substrate of primary teeth presents the lowest Ca content and Ca/P weight ratio and the permanent human dentine showed the lowest peak.

Description: Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer with highest mortality rate. However, the annihilation in early stage implies a high survival rate therefore, it demands early diagnosis. The accustomed diagnosis methods are costly and cumbersome due to the involvement of experienced experts as well as the requirements for highly equipped environment. The recent advancements in computerized solutions for these diagnoses are highly promising with improved accuracy and efficiency. In this article, we proposed a method for the classification of melanoma and benign skin lesions. Our approach integrates preprocessing, lesion segmentation, features extraction, features selection, and classification. Preprocessing is executed in the context of hair removal by DullRazor, whereas lesion texture and color information are utilized to enhance the lesion contrast. In lesion segmentation, a hybrid technique has been implemented and results are fused using additive law of probability. Serial based method is applied subsequently that extracts and fuses the traits such as color, texture, and HOG (shape). The fused features are selected afterwards by implementing a novel Boltzman Entropy method. Finally, the selected features are classified by Support Vector Machine. The proposed method is evaluated on publically available data set PH2. Our approach has provided promising results of sensitivity 97.7%, specificity 96.7%, accuracy 97.5%, and F-score 97.5%, which are significantly better than the results of existing methods available on the same data set. The proposed method detects and classifies melanoma significantly good as compared to existing methods. Enhancing contrast of Lesion using texture and color information. Uniform and active contour based segmentation technique is implemented for accurate lesion detection. Select ideal features based on Entropy index for lesions classification.

Description: Although the confirmation of inflammatory changes within tissues at the onset of various diseases is critical for the early detection of disease and selection of appropriate treatment, most therapies are based on complex and time-consuming diagnostic procedures. Raman spectroscopy has the ability to provide non-invasive, real-time, chemical bonding analysis through the inelastic scattering of photons. In this study, we evaluate the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy as a new, easy, fast, and accurate diagnostic method to support diagnostic decisions. The molecular changes in carrageenan-induced acute inflammation rat tissues were assessed by Raman spectroscopy. Volumes of 0 (control), 100, 150, and 200 µL of 1% carrageenan were administered to rat hind paws to control the degree of inflammation. The prominent peaks at [1,062, 1,131] cm −1 and [2,847, 2,881] cm −1 were selected as characteristic measurements corresponding to the C–C stretching vibrational modes and the symmetric and asymmetric C–H (CH 2 ) stretching vibrational modes, respectively. Principal component analysis of the inflammatory Raman spectra enabled graphical representation of the degree of inflammation through principal component loading profiles of inflammatory tissues on a two-dimensional plot. Therefore, Raman spectroscopy with multivariate statistical analysis represents a promising method for detecting biomolecular responses based on different types of inflammatory tissues. Multivariate statistical analysis of inflammatory Raman spectral data could be used as a potential diagnostic tool for analyzing various inflammatory diseases.

Description: The lateral aspects of larval cephalic cuticle of oak tasar moth, Antheraea proylei , a hybrid between Antheraea pernyi and Antheraea roylei exhibited the presence of gravity receptors in the form of dorsal campaniform sensilla. The distribution pattern and number of dome shaped dorsal campaniform sensilla were found to vary in different larval stages. In the first and second larval stages, 4-5 sensilla were localized near the apex of the lateral aspects of the cephalic cuticle on either side of the head. From the third larval stage onwards, on the other hand, both the right and left lateral aspects of the cephalic cuticle were covered with innumerable dome shaped dorsal campaniform sensilla. The sensilla were found to be arranged in groups of 3 to 5 on the cephalic cuticle with dome-free cuticular portion of about 50–100 µm in length between two adjacent groups of the sensilla. The individual dome shaped dorsal campaniform sensillum was either smooth surfaced or was covered with smaller domes through out the surface. The significance of differences in the number and distribution pattern of the dorsal campaniform sensilla among different larval stages in relation to gravity reception and preferred feeding posture are discussed in the light of available literature. Gravity receptor In the form of Dorsal Campaniform sensilla in lateral aspects of cephalic cuticle in advanced larval stages govern vertical feeding posture ensuring proper food consumption

Description: Microimaging is of great significance in the biological and medical fields, since it can realize observations acting as important references for cellular research and disease diagnosis. However, traditional microscopy only offers qualitative sample contours; moreover, it is difficult to reach large-amount sample observations limited by the fixed field of view (FoV). To realize massive cellular measurements quantitatively, three designed quantitative interferometric microscopic cytometers based on the FoV scanning are introduced and compared in details in this article. These devices not only retrieve the quantitative sample phase distributions in the extended FoV, but also provide the detailed information of massive cells, such as cellular volume, area, and roundness. Considering their capabilities as quantitative imaging and large-amount sampling, it is believed that these quantitative interferometric microscopic cytometers (QIMCs) can be potentially adopted in high-throughput cell imaging and statistical analysis for both the biological and medical applications. Use of the FoV scanning based QIMCs, not only the cellular quantitative phase imaging can be retrieved, but also the details of massive cells, including cellular volume, area, and roundness, are accurately extracted. Quantitative interferometric microscopic cytometers are proposed for cellular phase imaging and configuration extraction. Field of view scanning is adopted to increase the cellular amount in measurements for statistical analysis.

Description: Chronic liver diseases' hallmark is the fibrosis that results in liver function failure in advanced stages. One of the serious parasitic diseases affecting the liver tissues is schistosomiasis. Immunologic reactions to Schistosoma eggs leads to accumulation of collagen in the hepatic parenchyma causing fibrosis. Thus, monitoring and reporting the staging of the histopathological information related to liver fibrosis are essential for accurate diagnosis and therapy of the chronic liver diseases. Automated assessment of the microscopic liver tissue images is an essential process. For accurate and timeless assessment, an automated image analysis and classification of different stages of fibrosis can be employed as an efficient procedure. In this work, granuloma stages, namely cellular, fibrocellular, and fibrotic granulomas along with normal liver samples were classified after features extraction. In this work, a new hybrid combination of statistical features with empirical mode decomposition (EMD) is proposed. These combined features are further classified using the back-propagation neural network (BPNN). A comparative study of the used classifier with the support vector machine is also conducted. The comparative results established that the BPNN achieved superior accuracy of 98.3% compared to the linear SVM, quadratic SVM, and cubic SVM that provided 85%, 84%, and 80%; respectively. In conclusion, this work is of special value that provides promising results for early prediction of the liver fibrosis in schistosomiais and other fibrotic liver diseases in no time with expected better prognosis after treatment. Staging of liver fibrosis is essential for accurate diagnosis and therapy of liver diseases. A new hybrid combination of statistical features with empirical mode decomposition is proposed. BPNN achieved superior accuracy compared to linear SVM, quadratic SVM, and cubic SVM

Description: More recent studies indicate that immune cells which secrete their secretory products or cytokines play an important role in reproductive system. In our study, immune cell populations (CD8 + T lymphocytes, CD68 + macrophages, plasma cells, siderophages, eosinophils) and expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II were examined in female reproductive tract during follicular ( n  = 13) and luteal phase ( n  = 10). Plasma cells and eosinophil granulocytes are present in few numbers in luminal epithelium, but abundant in longitudinal muscle layer of uterus, whereas siderophages are the dominant cell type in stroma. Moreover, MHC-I and -II + cells are expressed by individual cells in organ layers, while CD8 + T cells and CD68 + macrophages are dominant in epithelium and muscle layer, respectively. In conclusion, we did not found significant changes in immune cells according to follicular and luteal phases, but localization and numbers in each organ have changed according to both organ and layers. These results indicate that these factors may play a crucial role not only to generate an immune response but also to have a role in regulation of physiological functions in female reproductive organs. This study was to determine the distribution of immune cells in bovine reproductive tract during sexual cycle that is considered to affect reproductive system. Immune cell localization and numbers in each organ have changed according to both organ and layers. Plasma cells and eosinophil granulocytes are present in few numbers in luminal epithelium. CD8 + T cells and CD68 + macrophages are dominant in epithelium and muscle layer. These cells play a crucial role an immune response in bovine reproductive tract during sexual cycle.

Description: The ultrastructure and morphometrics of pigmented macrophages (PMs) were assessed in the spleen of European sea bass experimentally dosed with Cd and Hg. PMs occurred either as solitary cells or as variably structured aggregations, defined as macrophage aggregates (MAs). Light microscopy revealed a high degree of morphological heterogeneity amongst MAs of all experimental groups. At the ultrastructural level, MAs showed a heterogeneous pigment content that was not influenced by the treatment. Cytoplasm rarefaction/vacuolation and euchromatic nuclei, were observed in PMs of dosed fish. Undosed and Cd-dosed samples differ significantly with regard to the following morphometric features: the Minor axis of the best fitting ellipse, Aspect Ratio, and Roundness. In Cd-dosed fish, MAs showed reduced size and complexity. Lacunarity showed significant differences between undosed and both Cd and Hg-dosed samples. These results suggest that heavy metals, and especially Cd, may influence the dynamics of PM aggregation/disaggregation. Variability in splenic MAs was observed both by light and electron microscopy. However, only the morphometric techniques adequately and objectively described the phenomenon, allowing a quantitative/statistical comparison of morphology among experimental groups. These morphometric analyses could be usefully applied in toxicological and ecotoxicological, as well as morpho-functional studies. Heavy metals influence the dynamic of pigmented macrophages aggregation/disaggregation and macrophage aggregate ultrastructure. Morphometric analysis yielded a robust way to monitor the variability of pigmented macrophages and relative aggregates.

Description: To observe the clinical efficacy of intravitreal injection of conbercept in the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD), optical coherence tomography (OCT) and the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was observed to measure the changes of anatomical changes of central macular thickness (CMT) and the area and volume of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) uplift. Fifteen patients (15 eyes) with wet AMD were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent intravitreal injection of conbercept of 0.05 mL once. After 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months, OCT and BCVA were used to examine and to compare with the preoperative and postoperative central macular thickness and RPE uplift area. BCVA (median) increased respectively from 0.12 ± 0.13 to 0.21 ± 0.15 at 1 week, to 0.90 ± 0.25 at 1 month, to 0.38 ± 0.17 at 3 months ( p  〈 .001). The thickness of central macular decreased from 500 ± 25 μm to 256 ± 19 μm, 221 ± 29 μm, and 215 ± 14 μm, respectively. The normal physiological structure and stratification of the macular area were clear gradually. Conbercept treatment of wet AMD can significantly improve visual acuity, after 1 month up to the plateau, 3 months of continuous drug injection can make the vision maintained at a high stage, and macular retinal normal structural morphology recovery is good, the treatment has no obvious adverse reactions, and with good security. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to measure the changes of anatomical changes of central gray thickness. A, Fundus （eye） area changes during preoperative and postoperative. B, Macular fovea thinner after surgery. C, The thickness of macular fovea. Conbercept has been a new monoclonal antibody affinity drug listed in China. Intravitreal injection of conbercept treatment of wet AMD can significantly improve visual acuity. OCT can visually observe the structure of retina in two-dimensions, which more intuitively shows the effect of drugs.

Description: Fluorescence-based microscopy is among the most successful methods in biological studies. It played a critical role in the visualization of subcellular structures and in the analysis of complex cellular processes, and it is nowadays commonly employed in genetic and drug screenings. Among the fluorescence-based microscopy techniques, light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) has shown a quite interesting set of benefits. The technique combines the speed of epi-fluorescence acquisition with the optical sectioning capability typical of confocal microscopes. Its unique configuration allows the excitation of only a thin plane of the sample, thus fast, high resolution imaging deep inside tissues is nowadays achievable. The low peak intensity with which the sample is illuminated diminishes phototoxic effects and decreases photobleaching of fluorophores, ensuring data collection for days with minimal adverse consequences on the sample. It is no surprise that LSFM applications have raised in just few years and the technique has been applied to study a wide variety of samples, from whole organism, to tissues, to cell clusters, and single cells. As a consequence, in recent years numerous set-ups have been developed, each one optimized for the type of sample in use and the requirements of the question at hand. Hereby, we aim to review the most advanced LSFM implementations to assist new LSFM users in the choice of the LSFM set-up that suits their needs best. We also focus on new commercial microscopes and “do-it-yourself” strategies; likewise we review recent designs that allow a swift integration of LSFM on existing microscopes. We present an overview of recent technological advances in light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM). The focus will be on custom-built set-ups as well as commercially available LSFM microscopes. Special attention goes to designs that allow integration of LSFM on standard microscope bodies.

Description: The villi of human jejunum vary in size and shape during different functional conditions. In the base the lamina propria is isotonic with blood, in the tip hyperosmotic. Here we study electrophysiological and morphological effects of incubation in hypotonic, isotonic, or hypertonic solutions, and to test various isotonic fixatives for microscopy. Samples of jejunal mucosae, obtained during surgery in obese patients, were studied in Ussing chambers where electrical parameters were registered during incubation in Krebs solution at various osmolarities, and during fixation in formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, or osmium tetroxide (OsO 4 ). The same fixatives were used for other jejunal specimens that were fixed directly for light microscopy. Morphometry was carried out to determine size and height of villi, proportion of lamina propria, and surface enlargement due to villi. Ussing chamber incubation in fluids with low osmolarity resulted in increased electrical resistance and epithelial swelling. Opposite results were obtained at high osmolality. Fixation was faster in formaldehyde than in glutaraldehyde or OsO 4 . In biopsies processed directly for light microscopy the proportions of lamina propria of the mucosa, and of lamina propria of villi, were significantly larger in biopsies fixed in formaldehyde than after fixation in glutaraldehyde or OsO 4 . The villus tips sometimes ended with a bleb with prominent spaces between the epithelial cells. In summary, jejunal villi swell in vitro when exposed to hypotonic solutions, and shrink in hypertonic solutions. Much of the morphological changes occurring during fixation can be related to the physiological hyperosmolar milieu in villus tips. Hyperosmolarity in villus tips affect fixation conditions Osmolarity differences affect the gap between the cells and the resistance in vitro Ussing chamber data show faster fixation with formaldehyde than with glutaraldehyde or OsO 4.

Description: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of 95% ethanol irrigation, with 5 or 10 min of action, on the antibacterial properties of 2% chlorhexidine (CHX), on oral biofilm, evaluated with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Oral biofilm development was induced in 80 sterilized bovine dentin blocks, distributed in two groups (5 or 10 min) and 4 subgroups, according to time and the solution used: Saline (SALINE5, SALINE10); Saline followed by CHX (SALINE/CHX5, SALINE/CHX10); Ethanol (ETHANOL5, ETHANOL10), Ethanol followed by CHX (ETHANOL/CHX5, ETHANOL/CHX10). The surface of the block was dyed with Live/Dead ® BacLight . Images from different areas were analyzed by BioImage L program. The total biovolum (µm³), biovolum of live cells (green), percentage of live cells of the thickness of the biofilm visualized in CLSM and on surface biofilm were evaluated. Total biovolum and biovolum of living cells showed similar results among the different groups ( p  〉 .05). The percentage of living cells in total thickness of the biofilm also was similar among the groups ( p  〉 .05), except ETHANOL5, SALINE/CHX10, ETHANOL10, and ETHANOL/CHX10 that showed lower percentage than SALINE5 ( p  〈 .05). The ETHANOL10 and ETHANOL/CHX10 also showed lower percentage of living cells than ETHANOL/CHX5 and SALINE10 ( p  〈 .05). In relation to biofilm surface, SALINE/CHX5, SALINE/CHX10, ETHANOL5, ETHANOL10, ETHANOL/CHX5, and ETHANOL/CHX10 showed a lower percentage of living cells percentage than SALINE5 and SALINE10 groups ( p  〈 .05). Therefore, ethanol has no effect on antimicrobial properties of 2% chlorhexidine, prior when used as endodontic irrigating solution. The use of ethanol acting by contact either for 5 or 10 min did not affect the antimicrobial property of 2% chlorhexidine. The irrigation protocol using ethanol afforded the reduction of viable microorganisms in conditions similar to SALINE/CHX.

Description: The cross-infections may occur during handling of dental elements, affecting the health of dental practitioners and researchers. This study aimed to analyze the influence of the storage medium temperature on the bacterial contingent of the human teeth used for research purposes. Thirty human teeth were donated to the Human Teeth Biobank immediately after extraction. The teeth were cleaned with tap water and neutral soap. The teeth were randomly distributed according to the temperature of the storage solution (deionized water): at 4 °C (refrigerator) or at −10 °C (freezer) and were stored individually in sterile vials during 60 days. After this period, a microbiological analysis (CFU/mL) of the storage solutions was performed and teeth were submitted to SEM analysis. Data were analyzed by Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Dunn's post-test ( p  ≤ .05). Total aerobic bacteria ranged from 5.8 to 8.4 log 10 CFU/mL for refrigerated solution and from 1.9 to 8.5 log 10 CFU/mL for frozen solution. No statistical differences were found between the storage solutions ( p  〉 .05). The counts of Streptococcus spp., Lactobacillus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. were similar for both storage solutions ( p  〉 .05). SEM analysis showed spiral- and rod-shaped bacteria attached on teeth stored under 4 °C, which may suggest the presence of Treponema spp. and Lactobacillus spp. Similar morphological forms were found on teeth stored under −10 °C. A biofilm organized in honeycomb-like form was found in the frozen teeth. Cocci were eventually found in all the samples. It was concluded that bacterial growth and survival were not influenced by the temperature of the teeth storage solution. There is no consensus about the most indicated method to store human teeth. Groups showed similar morphological findings, but organized honeycomb-like biofilms were found only for the teeth stored under −10 °C. The bacterial growth and survival were not influenced by the temperature.

Description: This study evaluated dentin bond strength (BS) and nanoleakage of non- and pre-etched dentin immediately (T 0 ,), 7 days (T 7 ), and 14 days (T 14 ) after bleaching. Bovine incisors (150) were selected and half of them submitted to intrapulpal dentin etching (e). Non- and pre-etched dentin were subjected to the following ( n  = 15): no bleaching/control (C); 35% carbamide peroxide (CP); 35% hydrogen peroxide (35% HP); 25% hydrogen peroxide (25% HP); and sodium perborate (SP). Bleaching agents were applied to the pulp chamber four times within a 72-h interval. Afterwards, pulp chamber dentin was prepared for the BS test at different evaluation times ( n  = 5): T 0 , T 7 , and T 14 . Composite blocks were built on pulp chamber and sectioned in slices. Slices were reduced to an hour-glass shape with a cross-sectional area of 0.8 mm 2 and submitted to microtensile BS test. Two additional specimens for each group were prepared for nanoleakage evaluation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results were analyzed by ANOVA (two-way) and Dunnett's test ( p  〈 .05). BS decreased immediately after intracoronal bleaching for both sound and pre-etched dentin ( p  〈 .05). At T 14 , the BS of non-etched bleached dentin increased for all groups, whereas the pre-etched SPe group presented BS similar to the Ce. Nanoleakage within the hybrid layer was perceptible immediately after bleaching, although a decrease in nanoleakage was observed for all groups at T 14 . Adhesive restorations should be performed 7–14 days after bleaching, according to the bleaching agent used. Intracoronal bleaching should be performed preferably with sodium perborate if previous dentin etching is applied. Intracoronal bleaching reduced bond strength and led to nanoleakage regardless the bleaching agent used. Etching dentin prior to bleaching seems unnecessary. After bleaching, adhesive procedures should be delayed (14 days) to assure reliable bonding.

Description: The present work was undertaken with the aim to deduce morphological adaptations in skin of an angler catfish Chaca chaca by means of scanning electron microscopy. The fish is nocturnal, bottom dwelling, sluggish, ambush predator, lives in sand, mud, or soft substrates often buried and camouflaged for protection and to feed. The surface of the epidermis is covered with polygonal epithelial cells, each having surface relief of microridges forming intricate patterns. In between epithelial cells irregularly distributed mucous cell openings, randomly distributed epidermal specialized structures, taste buds, and neuromasts are discernible. The epidermal specialized structures are keratinized. These are either irregularly the rounded elevated plaque like or the cone shaped structures. The superficial keratinized cells could frequently be discernible exfoliated at the surface. At intervals, characteristic epidermal projections could be observed. Surface of these projections at intervals is differentiated into short stumpy protuberances, each bearing a taste bud at its summit. Further, near the basal portion of these epidermal projections, conical, or rounded plaque like epidermal specialized structures are also discernible. The surface sculpture of the skin of Chaca chaca is associated with the structural and functional significance and physiological adaptations of the epidermis with respect to its ecological niche. Surface sculpture of epidermis of Chaca chaca showing epidermal specialized structures, taste buds and neuromasts. Presence of elongated neuromasts is indeed unusual. Elongated epidermal projections on the surface are reported for the first time.

Description: Auscultation of heart dispenses identification of the cardiac valves. An electronic stethoscope is used for the acquisition of heart murmurs that is further classified into normal or abnormal murmurs. The process of heart sound segmentation involves discrete wavelet transform to obtain individual components of the heart signal and its separation into systole and diastole intervals. This research presents a novel scheme to develop a semi-automatic cardiac valve disorder diagnosis system. Accordingly, features are extracted using wavelet transform and spectral analysis of input signals. The proposed classification scheme is the fusion of adaptive-neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and HMM. Both classifiers are trained using the extracted features to correctly identify normal and abnormal heart murmurs. Experimental results thus achieved exhibit that proposed system furnishes promising classification accuracy with excellent specificity and sensitivity. However, the proposed system has fewer classification errors, fewer computations, and lower dimensional feature set to build an intelligent system for detection and classification of heart murmurs. This work proposes a novel scheme to develop a semi-automatic cardiac valve disorder diagnosis system based on the fusion of ANFIS and HMM.

Description: On the cover: The cover shows Airyscan superresolution image of Helianthus (sunflower) pollen. Image provided by Mayandi Sivaguru, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Uinversity of illinois at Urbana–Champaign, IL, USA, DOI: 10.1002/jemt.22974 .

Description: Common mulberry weed ( Fatoua villosa (Thunb.) Nakai) and creeping amaranth ( Amaranthus crassipes Schlecht) are reported for the first time in Pakistan's flora as these were not listed in any other literature nor identified before in Pakistan. Plants were found as a result of taxonomic studies performed in 2013 in Peshawar, Pakistan. Detail study was performed for the exact identification. Morphological results were compared with Flora of China and Flora of North America. Plant distribution along with its habitat and adjacent species was also recorded. Scanning electron and light microscopy was performed for the confirmation of epidermal appendages on leaf epidermis and palyno-morphological characters. Two new records to flora of Pakistan were added using micro and macro-morphological characters. Leaf epidermal and pollen investigation through SEM and Light morphology was found significant in correct identification of species.

Description: In this study 12 species of Cyperaceae have been studied for quantitative and qualitative observation of pollen grains through Light and scanning electron microscopy. Pollens of 12 species of Cyperaceae from different wetlands of Azad Jammu and Kashmir were collected. Morphological characters of pollen grains were then investigated under the Light and Scanning electron microscope. Two pollen types have been observed apolar and heteropolar. Shape of pollens was prolate (4 spp), sub-spheroidal (7 spp), and oblate (1 spp). Variation observed in exine sculpturing granular (4 spp), reticulate (1 spp), areolate-punctate (3 spp), and psilate (2 spp). Polar to equatorial ratio and fertility percentage of the pollens were also studied. Based on these micromorphlogical characters of pollens taxonomic keys have been made for the accurate identification of the members of Cyperaceae. The characteristics studied in present research work are very much valuable taxonomically and phytochemically for the identification of species of family Cyperaceae. Light microscope (LM) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for pollen observation, which play vital role in the taxonomical identification of species and provide sufficient information for taxonomist. Using SEM and LM the palyno-morphological characters of Cyperaceae have been identified for the first time in wetlands of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. These palyno-morphological characters were found significant in identifying the species of Cyperaceae.

Description: The pancreas comprises an important metabolic organ of endocrine and exocrine character that has embryonic origin of rudimentary buds that fuse to form the organ. The present work aims to describe the pancreatic histogenesis of hybrid chick embryos ( Gallus gallus ). The research was performed in the UFPI, previously approved by the CEUA with protocol no. 040/15. We used 120 fertilized eggs of hybrid chickens kept in an incubator with controlled temperature and humidity. Daily collections of embryos and fetuses were performed from 4 to 21 days of incubation through the anatomical dissection consecutive the euthanasia. The tissues, previously fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde, were submitted to histological processing and stained with hematoxylin–eosin. Finally, the mounted slides were analyzed in image software to obtain histomorphometric data, which were submitted to statistical analysis. The pancreas of hybrid chicken embryos originates around the fourth day of incubation with the dorsal and ventral pancreatic bud formation, which are composed by epithelial and mesenchymal cells. These cells differ in exocrine and endocrine cells. Around twelve embryonic days occurs the buds fusion and the immature organ formation that will give continue with the ductal system development, vascularization and compartmentalization of the endocrine and exocrine parts. Until 21st day of incubation it is possible to identify undifferentiated tissue forms which suggesting postnatal histogenesis. The description of pancreas histogenesis using histometric data on hybrid chicken embryos contributes to the clarification of embryonic development and reaffirms the premise that chickens serve as an experimental model for embryonic study of mammals. Schematic photomicrography of the embryonic pancreatic histological structures of gallinaceous embryos (dorsal bud, epithelial cells, pancreatic duct, pancreatic islet, pancreatic acini and acinar lumen) and their histomorphometric correlations during the pancreas development represented by graphs. Bar: 50 micrometers; 1000x; hematoxylin-eosin staining.

Description: Now-a-days, plant species are consumed globally for various purposes and this increasing demand leads to adulteration due to gradually exploitation in natural resources. The major causes of adulteration may be confusion in nomenclature, unawareness of authentic sources, unavailability of authentic sources, color resemblances, deficiencies in collection procedures, and misidentification. This study aims to use the microscopic techniques such as scanning electron microscopy for the authentication of the oil yielding seeds of four important and traditionally used species Prunus persica , Prunus domestica , and Eruca sativa and Argemone Mexicana from their adulterants. All of these are versatile in usage. Locally, these four plants are adulterated badly and there is need to provide a criteria and a complete monograph for correct identification. This research may prove to be helpful for quality control and as well for future studies to explore other novel aspects of these plants. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is applied for discrimination of morphologically similar oil yielding seeds SEM can be used for quality control of seeds Seed surface ornamentation is found to be in authentication of original source of seeds

Description: Image fusion techniques can integrate the information from different imaging modalities to get a composite image which is more suitable for human visual perception and further image processing tasks. Fusing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and phase contrast images is very important for subcellular localization, functional analysis of protein and genome expression. The fusion method of GFP and phase contrast images based on complex shearlet transform (CST) is proposed in this paper. Firstly the GFP image is converted to IHS model and its intensity component is obtained. Secondly the CST is performed on the intensity component and the phase contrast image to acquire the low-frequency subbands and the high-frequency subbands. Then the high-frequency subbands are merged by the absolute-maximum rule while the low-frequency subbands are merged by the proposed Haar wavelet-based energy (HWE) rule. Finally the fused image is obtained by performing the inverse CST on the merged subbands and conducting IHS-to-RGB conversion. The proposed fusion method is tested on a number of GFP and phase contrast images and compared with several popular image fusion methods. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed fusion method can provide better fusion results in terms of subjective quality and objective evaluation. A novel image fusion method based on Complex Shearlet Transform (CST) is proposed. The Haar Wavelet-Based Energy (HWE) Rule is proposed to merge the low-frequency subbands which contain the salient features and energy. The method focuses on fusing GFP and Phase Contrast images.

Description: The object of this study was to describe the prenatal development and histochemical properties of mucins in the sheep gastrointestinal tract. To determine changes in the mucin profile, the sections were stained with specific histochemical stains for carbohydrates. While neutral and mixed mucins were observed in the superficial epithelial cells of the abomasal pyloric region, acidic mucins were detected in the secretory ducts and corpus of the glands. Acidic mucins consisted predominantly of sialomucins. In the duodenal villi, the number of goblet cells containing neutral mucins increased toward the end of gestation, whereas Brunner's glands contained acidic mucins until the 95th day of gestation and both acidic and neutral mucins thereafter. The jejunal goblet cells contained either acidic, neutral, or mixed mucins. Goblet cells containing acidic mucins, which were mainly localized to the ileal crypts and villi, mostly contained sulfated mucins. While villi were observed in the proximal colon until the 115th day of gestation, later the typical crypt structure emerged. During the period in which the villi were found in the proximal colon, the goblet cells containing sulphomucins were predominant, whereas the goblet cells containing sialomucins were predominant after the typical crypt structure was formed. In conclusion, gastrointestinal mucins may be involved in the formation of meconium during the prenatal period, and acidic mucins may contribute to the strength of the intestinal barrier against pathogens and digestive enzymes, as the barrier is not fully functional after birth. In the gastrointestinal tract, the number of goblet cells producing acidic mucins increased from the proximal to the distal end. The histomorphological structure of the proximal colon changed throughout the prenatal period.

Description: Pollen used to track structural and functional evolution in plants as well as to investigate the problems relative to plant classification. Pollen characters including ornamentation, shape, apertural pattern, pollen symmetry, colpus length, width, and margins used to detect the similarities and dissimilarities between genera and also species of the same genus. In this study pollen features of 20 monocot species belonging to 15 genera of the Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae, Iridaceae, Ixioliriaceae, Liliaceae, and Xanthorrhoeaceae were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). In this study two species that is Zephyranthes citrina and Tulbaghia violacea were reported for the first time from Pakistan. Pollen grains were visualized with LM. Non-acetolyzed and acetolyzed pollen were examined using SEM. A taxonomic key was developed to highlight the variation in pollen features in order to make their systematic application for correct species identification. Description of 20 monocot pollen. Pollen characterization to identification of taxa. To develop taxonomic key using pollen features for species identification.

Description: Palynological features as well as comparative foliar epidermal using light and scanning electron microscope (SEM) of 17 species (10genera) of Amaranthaceae have been studied for its taxonomic significance. Different foliar and palynological micro-morphological characters were examined to explain their value in resolving the difficulty in identification. All species were amphistomatic but stomata on abaxial surface were more abundant. Taxonomically significant epidermal character including stomata type, trichomes (unicellular, multicellular, and capitate) and epidermal cells shapes (polygonal and irregular) were also observed. Pollens of this family are Polypantoporate, pores large, spheroidal, mesoporous region is sparsely to scabrate, densely psilate, and spinulose. All these characters can be active at species level for identification purpose. This study indicates that at different taxonomic levels, LM and SEM pollen and epidermal morphology is explanatory and significant to identify species and genera. For the first time SEM and LM foliar palyno-morphological characters were used to identify Amaranthaceae of Pakistan. Comparative SEM and LM foliar and palyno-morphological features were found significant for the identification of Amaranthaceae species.

Description: On the cover: The cover image, by Jiwon Lee and Onseok Lee, is based on the Research Article Usefulness of hard X-ray microscope using synchrotron radiation for the structure analysis of insects , DOI: 10.1002/jemt.22978 .

Description: We evaluate the suitability of simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique (SIRT), filtered back projection, and simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique methods for buried interface roughness measurements. We also investigate the effect of total electron dose distributed over the entire tilt series on measured roughness values. We investigate the applicability of the dose fractionation theorem by evaluating the effect of an increasing number of images, i.e., decreasing tilt increment size at fixed total electron irradiation dose on the quantitative measurement of buried interface roughness. The results indicate that SIRT is the most suitable method for reconstruction and a 3° to 5° angle is optimal for the roughness measurement. We evaluate the suitability of simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique, filtered back projection, and simultaneous algebraic reconstruction methods for buried interface roughness measurements. We also investigate the effect of total electron dose distributed over the entire tilt series on measured roughness values.

Description: The performance of the present-day scanning electron microscopy (SEM) extends far beyond delivering electronic images of the surface topography. Oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steel is on of the most promising materials for the future nuclear fusion reactor because of its good radiation resistance, and higher operation temperature up to 750°C. The microstructure of ODS should not exceed tens of nm, therefore there is a strong need in a fast and reliable technique for their characterization. In this work, the results of low-kV SEM characterization of nanoprecipitates formed in the ODS matrix are presented. Application of highly sensitive photo-diode BSE detector in SEM imaging allowed for the registration of single nm-sized precipitates in the vicinity of the ODS alloys. The composition of the precipitates has been confirmed by TEM-EDS. The nm-sized precipitates in the Oxide dispersion strengthened steels alloys registered with photo-diode BSE detector scanning electron microscopy overlarge area, with no complex preparation as for TEM. Low-kV observation revealed at least two different phases of precipitates, confirmed with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy measurements

Description: Quantification of the structure and composition of biomaterials using micro-CT requires image segmentation due to the low contrast and overlapping radioopacity of biological materials. The amount of bias introduced by segmentation procedures is generally unknown. We aim to develop software that generates three-dimensional models of fibrous and porous structures with known volumes, surfaces, lengths, and object counts in fibrous materials and to provide a software tool that calibrates quantitative micro-CT assessments. Virtual image stacks were generated using the newly developed software TeIGen, enabling the simulation of micro-CT scans of unconnected tubes, connected tubes, and porosities. A realistic noise generator was incorporated. Forty image stacks were evaluated using micro-CT, and the error between the true known and estimated data was quantified. Starting with geometric primitives, the error of the numerical estimation of surfaces and volumes was eliminated, thereby enabling the quantification of volumes and surfaces of colliding objects. Analysis of the sensitivity of the thresholding upon parameters of generated testing image sets revealed the effects of decreasing resolution and increasing noise on the accuracy of the micro-CT quantification. The size of the error increased with decreasing resolution when the voxel size exceeded 1/10 of the typical object size, which simulated the effect of the smallest details that could still be reliably quantified. Open-source software for calibrating quantitative micro-CT assessments by producing and saving virtually generated image data sets with known morphometric data was made freely available to researchers involved in morphometry of three-dimensional fibrillar and porous structures in micro-CT scans. Open source software for calibrating quantitative micro-CT assessments was made available. Colliding and noncolliding fibers, spheres and porosities with precisely known volumes, surfaces, lengths, and object counts and can be generated.

Description: The grape weevil, Naupactus xanthographus Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a polyphagous insect native to southern South America that causes considerable damage in grape and other fruit species. In this study, the morphology and ultrastructure of the antennae and the antennal sensilla of N. xanthographus were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The antennae consist of a scape, a pedicel, a funicle, and a zone called the “club,” which are all formed by a total of 12 antennomers. Different types of sensilla were observed: sensilla trichoidea, sensilla chaetica type 1 and 2, sensilla basiconica, and sensilla rod-like. No sexual dimorphism was observed. The possible functions of the sensilla are discussed in relation to their morphology and ultrastructure. Description of shape and length of the antenna, and number, type, distribution, and ultrastructure of sensory sensilla. Five types of sensilla on male and female antennae, no sex-specific differences. Antennae possess chemo- and mechanoreceptor functions.

Description: To fully exploit the power of coherent Raman imaging, techniques are needed to image more than one vibrational frequency simultaneously. We describe a method for switching between two vibrational frequencies based on a single fiber-laser source. Stokes pulses were generated by soliton self-frequency shifting in a photonic crystal fiber. Pump and Stokes pulses were stretched to enhance vibrational resolution by spectral focusing. Stokes pulses were switched between two wavelengths on the millisecond time scale by a liquid-crystal retarder. Proof-of-principle is demonstrated by coherent anti-Stokes Raman imaging of polystyrene beads embedded in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix. The Stokes shift was switched between 3,050 cm −1 , where polystyrene has a Raman transition, and 2,950 cm −1 , where both polystyrene and PMMA have Raman resonances. The method can be extended to multiple vibrational modes. A CARS fiber-laser excitation source allows Stokes wavelength switching at each pixel by soliton frequency shifting in a photonic crystal fiber. Dual images at 2,950 cm −1 and 3,050 cm −1 for polystyrene beads in a PMMA matrix demonstrate the method.

Description: Growth years are closely related to the quality of Chinese medicinal materials, and they can provide a reliable basis for quality evaluation on crude drugs in accordance with the suitable growth years. Herbchronology, the numerical and pattern analysis of annual growth rings in herbaceous perennials, has emerged to be a recognized science that is applied in age determination of perennial forbs. Fifty medicinal species growing in temperate and subtropical zones of China were examined by microstructure observation to determine the presence of growth rings in the secondary root xylem of medicinal perennial dicotyledonous herbs. Nearly half of the surveyed species showed clearly or relatively clearly demarcated growth rings in their roots, and additional anatomical patterns have been observed in different species. Clear variations in growth rings of different genus or species were characterized in this study, and these findings proved the feasibility of applying herbaceous plant growth rings in age identification of traditional Chinese medicine. Growth rings in the roots of 50 medicinal herbs were examined by microstructure, and variations in growth rings of different genera or species were characterized. The results showed that herbaceous plant growth rings could be applied in age identification of traditional Chinese medicine.

Description: A tumor could be found in any area of the brain and could be of any size, shape, and contrast. There may exist multiple tumors of different types in a human brain at the same time. Accurate tumor area segmentation is considered primary step for treatment of brain tumors. Deep Learning is a set of promising techniques that could provide better results as compared to nondeep learning techniques for segmenting timorous part inside a brain. This article presents a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) to segment brain tumors in MRIs. The proposed network uses BRATS segmentation challenge dataset which is composed of images obtained through four different modalities. Accordingly, we present an extended version of existing network to solve segmentation problem. The network architecture consists of multiple neural network layers connected in sequential order with the feeding of Convolutional feature maps at the peer level. Experimental results on BRATS 2015 benchmark data thus show the usability of the proposed approach and its superiority over the other approaches in this area of research. The research presents a deep CNN to segment brain tumor in MRI. Proposed architecture consists of multiple CNN layers connected in sequential order using Convolutional feature maps at peer level. Experiments on BRATS 2015 exhibit promising results.

Description: In recent years, false smut disease of rice has been one of the most important diseases of cultivated rice in China. Ustilaginoidea virens is an ascomycete fungal pathogen that causes false smut in rice. There is always controversy about whether the pathogen can infect the rice root and cause the occurrence of false smut, mainly due to lack direct cytological evidence. In our study, we observed the cytological structure of rice root invaded by U. virens . The results showed that U. virens could attach to the surface of young roots and penetrate into the intercellular space of the root epidermis. The cellulose microfibrils in root epidermal cell wall are very loose and soft, and their structural features are similar to filaments of rice. After the fungus infected the roots, a large number of fungal secretions were accumulated outside of the cell walls. At 40 days, the fungus began to degrade, but pathogens still had not infected the sclerenchyma, in which the cells are arranged densely and the cell walls are thicker. U. virens could not cross the sclerenchyma layer into the endodermis and phloem of the root. To some extent, the U. virens infection affected the leaf and root growth of the rice. After inoculation, there was no fungal mycelium found in transverse sections of the rice young stem. These results suggested that root colonization of U. virens does not lead to systemic invasion in rice. For TEM, hyphae mainly extended in the intercellular spaces, and occasionally, a few hyphae were seen in the epidermal cell. No hyphae infected the sclerenchyma. The infection of rice young roots was observed with light microscopy, confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy to get more detailed cytological information. The results suggested that Ustilaginoidea virens was not a systemic infection agent.

Description: One of the important features of polymethine (cyanine) dyes is isomerization around one of C–C bonds of the polymethine chain. In this review, spectral properties of the isomers, photoisomerization and thermal back isomerization of carbocyanine dyes, mostly meso-substituted carbocyanine dyes, are considered. meso-Alkyl-substituted thiacarbocyanine dyes are present in polar solvents mainly as cis isomers and, hence, exhibit no photoisomerization, whereas in nonpolar solvents, in which the dyes are in the trans form, photoisomerization takes place. In contrast, the meso-substituted dyes 3,3′-dimethyl-9-phenylthiacarbocyanine and 3,3′-diethyl-9-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)thiacarbocyanine occur as trans isomers and exhibit photoisomerization in both polar and nonpolar solvents. The behavior of these dyes may be explained by the fact that the phenyl ring of the substituent in their molecules can be twisted at some angle, removing the substituent from the plane of the molecule and reducing its steric effect on the conformation of the trans isomer. In some cases, photoisomerization of cis isomers of meso-substituted carbocyanine dyes is also observed (for some meso-alkyl-substituted dyes complexed with DNA and chondroitin-4-sulfate; for 3,3′-diethyl-9-methoxythiacarbocyanine in moderate polarity solvents). The cycle photoisomerization–thermal back isomerization of cyanine dyes can be used in various systems of information storage and deserves further investigation using modern research methods.

Description: Sci (ISSN: 2413-4155) is a new and innovative open access journal from MDPI. [...]

Description: Non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma is an innovative and emerging field combining plasma physics, life science and clinical medicine for a wide-range of biological applications. Plasma techniques are applied in treating surfaces, materials or devices to realize specific qualities for subsequent special medical applications, plant seeds to improve the production and quality of crops, and living cells or tissues to realize therapeutic effects. Several studies that are summarized within this review show that non-thermal DBD plasma technique has potential biological applications in soybean sprout growth, chicken embryonic development and postnatal growth rate, and even male chicken reproductive capacity. The current developments in the non-thermal DBD plasma technique may be beneficial to improve plant and poultry productivity.

Description: The feasibility of using full ion kinetics, instead of gyrokinetics, in simulating low-frequency Ion-Temperature-Gradient (ITG) instabilities in tokamaks has recently been demonstrated. The present work extends the full ion kinetics to the nonlinear regime and investigates the nonlinear saturation of a single-n ITG instability due to the E × B trapping mechanism (n is the toroidal mode number). The saturation amplitude predicted by the E × B trapping theory is found to agree with the saturation level observed in the simulation. In extending to the nonlinear regime, we developed a toroidal Boris full orbit integrator, which proved to be accurate in capturing both the short-time scale cyclotron motion and long time scale drift motion, with good kinetic energy conservation and toroidal angular momentum conservation in tokamak equilibrium magnetic fields. This work also extends the previous work from analytic circular magnetic equilibria to general numerical magnetic equilibria, enabling simulation of realistic equilibria reconstructed from tokamak experiments.

Description: Since signal/noise ratios are proportional to the square root of the intensity, high intensity light sources are advantageous for many forms of UV–Vis and IR spectroscopy particularly with very low or high absorbance samples. We report the construction of a low-cost (≈ £6500 GBP, ca. 2016) bench-top spectrometer suitable for biological spectroscopy, which utilizes a hot plasma, generated with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser (λ = 1064 nm). The properties (reliability, intensity, and spectral profiles) of light generated with the plasma in different gaseous media (helium, neon, argon, and krypton) were investigated. Argon provided high intensity broadband light and was the most cost effective. The instrument was compared for spectral accuracy to a commercially available spectrometer (Thermo Scientific, GENESYS 10S) by measurement of the absorbance spectrum of the UV–Vis calibration standard holmium (III) oxide (4%, w/v) in perchloric acid (10%, w/v) and accurately replicated the results of the commercial spectrometer. This economical instrument can record consecutive absorbance spectra (between λ = 380 and 720 nm) for each laser pulse (6 Hz; ~160 ms/pulse), evinced by investigations into lysozyme aggregation in the presence of heparin. This instrument is suitable for use with lasers of a higher pulse power and repetition rates that would induce higher temperature plasmas. Higher temperature plasma sources offer increased signal to noise ratios due to the higher intensity emission generated.

Description: Cancers modulate their microenvironment to favor their growth. In particular, monocytes and macrophages are targeted by immuno-modulatory molecules installed by adjacent tumor cells such as ovarian carcinomas. Cold physical plasma has recently gained attention as innovative tumor therapy. We confirmed this for the OVCAR-3 and SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cell lines in a caspase 3/7 independent and dependent manner, respectively. To elaborate whether plasma exposure interferes with their immunomodulatory properties, supernatants of control and plasma-treated tumor cells were added to human THP-1 monocyte cultures. In the latter, modest effects on intracellular oxidation or short-term metabolic activity were observed. By contrast, supernatants of plasma-treated cancer cells abrogated significant changes in morphological and phenotypic features of THP-1 cells compared to those cultured with supernatants of non-treated tumor cell counterparts. This included cell motility and morphology, and modulated expression patterns of nine cell surface markers known to be involved in monocyte activation. This was particularly pronounced in SKOV-3 cells. Further analysis of tumor cell supernatants indicated roles of small particles and interleukin 8 and 18, with MCP1 presumably driving activation in monocytes. Altogether, our results suggest plasma treatment to alleviate immunomodulatory secretory products of ovarian cancer cells is important for driving a distinct myeloid cell phenotype.

Description: n/a

Description: Multi-hierarchy simulation models aimed at analysis of magnetic reconnection were developed. Based on the real-space decomposition method, the simulation domain consists of three parts: a magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) domain, a particle-in-cell (PIC) domain, and an interface domain to communicate MHD and PIC data. In this paper, the previous model (the 1D interlocking with the upstream condition) by the authors is improved to three types of new models, i.e., two types of the 1D interlocking with the downstream condition and one type of the 2D interlocking with the upstream condition. For their verification, simulations of plasma propagation across the multiple domains were performed in the multi-hierarchy models, and it was confirmed that the new interlocking methods are physically correct.

Description: Non-thermal plasma represents a novel approach in cancer treatment. Both direct and indirect plasma treatments are available, with clinical trials of direct plasma treatment in progress. Indirect treatments involve chemotherapy (i.e., plasma-activated medium) and immunotherapy. Recent studies suggest that integrated plasma treatments could be an extremely effective approach to cancer therapy.

Description: Plasma is an open access, cross-disciplinary scholarly journal of scientific studies related to all aspects of plasma science, such as plasma physics, plasma chemistry and space plasma[...]

Description: This mini review is to introduce the readers of Plasma to the field of plasma medicine. This is a multidisciplinary field of research at the intersection of physics, engineering, biology and medicine. Plasma medicine is only about two decades old, but the research community active in this emerging field has grown tremendously in the last few years. Today, research is being conducted on a number of applications including wound healing and cancer treatment. Although a lot of knowledge has been created and our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that play important roles in the interaction between low temperature plasma and biological cells and tissues has greatly expanded, much remains to be done to get a thorough and detailed picture of all the physical and biochemical processes that enter into play.

Description: The use of plasma energy has expanded in surgery and medicine. Tumor resection in surgery and endoscopy has incorporated the use of a plasma scalpel or catheter for over four decades. A new plasma energy has expanded the tools in surgery: Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP). A cold plasma generator and handpiece are required to deliver the CAP energy. The authors evaluated a new Cold Plasma Jet System. The Cold Plasma Jet System consists of a USMI Cold Plasma Conversion Unit, Canady Helios Cold Plasma® Scalpel, and the Canady Plasma® Scalpel in Hybrid and Argon Plasma Coagulation (APC) modes. This plasma surgical system is designed to remove the target tumor with minimal blood loss and subsequently spray the local area with cold plasma. In this study, various operational parameters of the Canady Plasma® Scalpels were tested on ex vivo normal porcine liver tissue. These conditions included various gas flow rates (1.0, 3.0, 5.0 L/min), powers (20, 40, 60 P), and treatment durations (30, 60, 90, 120 s) with argon and helium gases. Plasma length, tissue temperature changes, and depth and eschar injury magnitude measurements resulting from treatment were taken into consideration in the comparison of the scalpels. The authors report that a new cold plasma jet technology does not produce any thermal damage to normal tissue.

Description: Monocytes are involved in innate immune surveillance, establishment and resolution on inflammation, and can polarize versus M1 (pro-inflammatory) or M2 (anti-inflammatory) macrophages. The possibility to control and drive immune cells activity through plasma stimulation is therefore attractive. We focused on the effects induced by cold-atmospheric plasma on human primary monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. Monocytes resulted more susceptible than monocyte-derived macrophages to the plasma treatment as demonstrated by the increase in reactive oxygen (ROS) production and reduction of viability. Macrophages instead were not induced to produce ROS and presented a stable viability. Analysis of macrophage markers demonstrated a time-dependent decrease of the M1 population and a correspondent increase of M2 monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM). These findings suggest that plasma treatment may drive macrophage polarization towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype.

Description: Triple-negative breast cancer is a phenotype of breast cancer where the expression level of estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptors are low or absent. It is more frequently diagnosed in younger and premenopausal women, among which African and Hispanic have a higher rate. Cold atmospheric plasma has revealed its promising ant-cancer capacity over the past two decades. In this study, we report the first cold plasma jet delivered by the Canady Cold Plasma Conversion Unit and characterization of its electric and thermal parameters. The unit effectively reduced the viability of triple-negative breast cancer up to 80% without thermal damage, providing a starting point for future clinical trials.

Description: An ionized physical vapor deposition technique for thin ferromagnetic films is proposed. The technique is based on high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) with positive discharge polarity. A gapped-target was employed as the cathode of the magnetron. By applying positive HiPIMS pulses to the anode, sputtered particles inside the magnetron source were ionized and extracted through the gap. Using a discharge current with a peak of about 13 A, an ion flux in the order of 1021 m−2s−1 was obtained at a distance of 45 mm from the magnetron. In addition, deposition rates of up to 1.1 Å/s for nickel films were achieved using a 30 Hz repetition rate and 300 µs pulse width.

Description: This study has demonstrated kinetic behaviors on the plasma filament propagation with the three-dimensional (3D) Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation. When the ion-to-electron temperature ratio T i / T e is higher, the poloidal symmetry breaking in the filament propagation occurs. The poloidal symmetry breaking is thought to be induced by the unbalanced potential structure that arises from the effect of the gyro motion of plasma particles.

Description: Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has shown its potential in biomedical applications, such as wound healing, cancer treatment and bacterial disinfection. Recent experiments have provided evidence that CAP can also enhance the intracellular uptake of glucose molecules which is important in diabetes therapy. In this respect, it is essential to understand the underlying mechanisms of intracellular glucose uptake induced by CAP, which is still unclear. Hence, in this study we try to elucidate the possible mechanism of glucose uptake by cells by performing computer simulations. Specifically, we study the transport of glucose molecules through native and oxidized membranes. Our simulation results show that the free energy barrier for the permeation of glucose molecules across the membrane decreases upon increasing the degree of oxidized lipids in the membrane. This indicates that the glucose permeation rate into cells increases when the CAP oxidation level in the cell membrane is increased.

Description: The role of magnetic islands in collisionless driven reconnection has been investigated from the standpoint of a kinetic approach to multi-scale phenomena by means of two-dimensional particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. There are two different types of the solutions in the evolution of the reconnection system. One is a steady solution in which the system relaxes into a steady state, and no island is generated (the no-island case). The other is an intermittent solution in which the system does not reach a steady state, and magnetic islands are frequently generated in the current sheet (the multi-island case). It is found that the electromagnetic energy is more effectively transferred to the particle energy in the multi-island case compared with the no-island case. The transferred energy is stored inside the magnetic island in the form of the thermal energy through compressional heating, and is carried away together with the magnetic island from the reconnection region. These results suggest that the formation of a magnetic island chain may have a potential to bridge the energy gap between macroscopic and microscopic physics by widening the dissipation region and strengthening the energy dissipation rate.

Description: C:H:O plasma polymer films (PPFs) were deposited by means of plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition using the non-toxic, biodegradable organic compound dimethyl carbonate (DMC) at various plasma powers and pressures in order to control the degradation properties related to the carbonate ester group. Coating properties using pure DMC monomer vapours were compared to co-polymerized films from gaseous mixtures of DMC with either ethylene (C2H4) or carbon dioxide (CO2) affecting deposition rate and chemical composition. C:H:O film properties were found to depend primarily on the amount of oxygen in the plasma. To investigate the PPF stability during aging, changes in the composition and properties were studied during their storage both in air and in distilled water over extended periods up to 5 months. It was shown that aging of the films is mostly due to oxidation of the plasma polymer matrix yielding slow degradation and decomposition. The aging processes and their rate are dependent on the intrinsic amount of oxygen in the as-prepared C:H:O films which in turn depends on the experimental conditions and the working gas mixture. Adjustable film properties were mainly attained using a pure DMC plasma considering both gas phase and surface processes. It is thus possible to prepare C:H:O PPFs with controllable degradability both in air and in water.

Description: We describe ion and electron temperature measurements in the Swarthmore Spheromak Experiment (SSX) MHD wind tunnel with the goal of understanding limitations on the lifetime of our Taylor-state plasma. A simple model based on the equilibrium eigenvalue and Spitzer resistivity predicted the lifetime satisfactorily during the first phase of the plasma evolution. We measured an average T e along a chord by taking the ratio of the C I I I 97.7 nm to C I V 155 nm line intensities using a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) monochromator. We also recorded local measurements of T e and n e using a double Langmuir probe in order to inform our interpretation of the VUV data. Our results indicated that the plasma decayed inductively during a large part of the evolution. Ion Doppler spectroscopy measurements suggested that ions cooled more slowly than would be expected from thermal equilibration with the electrons, which maintained a constant temperature throughout the lifetime of the plasma.

Description: We report on a new multiscale method approach for the study of systems with wide separation of short-range forces acting on short time scales and long-range forces acting on much slower scales. We consider the case of the Poisson–Boltzmann equation that describes the long-range forces using the Boltzmann formula (i.e., we assume the medium to be in quasi local thermal equilibrium). We develop a new approach where fields and particle information (mediated by the equations for their moments) are solved self-consistently. The new approach is implicit and numerically stable, providing exact energy conservation. We test different implementations that all lead to exact energy conservation. The new method requires the solution of a large set of non-linear equations. We consider three solution strategies: Jacobian Free Newton Krylov, an alternative, called field hiding which is based on hiding part of the residual calculation and replacing them with direct solutions and a Direct Newton Schwarz solver that considers a simplified, single, particle-based Jacobian. The field hiding strategy proves to be the most efficient approach.

Description: One route to improved predictive modeling of magnetically confined fusion reactors is to couple transport solvers with direct numerical simulations (DNS) of turbulence, rather than with surrogate models. An additional challenge presented by coupling directly with DNS is the inherent fluctuations in the turbulence, which limit the convergence achievable in the transport solver. In this article, we investigate the performance of one numerical coupling method in the presence of turbulent fluctuations. To test a particular numerical coupling method for the transport solver, we use an autoregressive-moving-average model to generate stochastic fluctuations efficiently with statistical properties resembling those of a gyrokinetic simulation. These fluctuations are then added to a simple, solvable problem, and we examine the behavior of the coupling method. We find that monitoring the residual as a proxy for the error can be misleading. From a pragmatic point of view, this study aids us in the full problem of transport coupled to DNS by predicting the amount of averaging required to reduce the fluctuation error and obtain a specific level of accuracy.

Description: To determine appropriate treatment doses of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), the Canady Helios Cold Plasma Scalpel was tested across numerous cancer cell types including renal adenocarcinoma, colorectal carcinoma, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, ovarian adenocarcinoma, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Various CAP doses were tested consisting of both high (3 L/min) and low (1 L/min) helium flow rates, several power settings, and a range of treatment times up to 5 min. The impact of cold plasma on the reduction of viability was consistently dose-dependent; however, the anti-cancer capability varied significantly between cell lines. While the lowest effective dose varied from cell line to cell line, in each case an 80–99% reduction in viability was achievable 48 h after CAP treatment. Therefore, it is critical to select the appropriate CAP dose necessary for treating a specific cancer cell type.

Description: Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has been found to uniquely polymerize ribose that is not usually subject to polymerization since molecules that tend to polymerize almost always possess at least a π-bond. The polymer was analyzed via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI TOF) mass spectroscopy and Fourier-Transform inferred spectroscopy (FTIR), and it was found that dehydration occurs during polymerization.

Description: Background: Previous papers have developed a statistical mechanics of neocortical interactions (SMNI) fit to short-term memory and EEG data. Adaptive Simulated Annealing (ASA) has been developed to perform fits to such nonlinear stochastic systems. An N-dimensional path-integral algorithm for quantum systems, qPATHINT, has been developed from classical PATHINT. Both fold short-time propagators (distributions or wave functions) over long times. Previous papers applied qPATHINT to two systems, in neocortical interactions and financial options. Objective: In this paper the quantum path-integral for Calcium ions is used to derive a closed-form analytic solution at arbitrary time that is used to calculate interactions with classical-physics SMNI interactions among scales. Using fits of this SMNI model to EEG data, including these effects, will help determine if this is a reasonable approach. Method: Methods of mathematical-physics for optimization and for path integrals in classical and quantum spaces are used for this project. Studies using supercomputer resources tested various dimensions for their scaling limits. In this paper the quantum path-integral is used to derive a closed-form analytic solution at arbitrary time that is used to calculate interactions with classical-physics SMNI interactions among scales. Results: The mathematical-physics and computer parts of the study are successful, in that there is modest improvement of cost/objective functions used to fit EEG data using these models. Conclusions: This project points to directions for more detailed calculations using more EEG data and qPATHINT at each time slice to propagate quantum calcium waves, synchronized with PATHINT propagation of classical SMNI.

Description: A portable Fourier Transform Spectrometer (B3M-IR) is built and used to measure atmospheric trace gases in the city of Beijing during Olympic Games in 2008. A short description of the instrument is first provided in this paper. A detailed spectral analysis is then presented. The total columns of ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are retrieved from the ground-based solar absorption spectra recorded by the B3M-IR during the Olympic Games. Lacking validation data, only the retrieved total column of O3 is compared with that retrieved by MAX-DOAS, which is deployed at the same station. The mean difference between the two methods of measurement is 6.5%, demonstrating the performance and reliability of B3M-IR.

Description: A portable Fourier Transform Spectrometer (B3M-IR) is built and used to measure atmospheric trace gases in the city of Beijing during Olympic Games in 2008. A short description of the instrument is first provided in this paper. A detailed spectral analysis is then presented. The total columns of ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are retrieved from the ground-based solar absorption spectra recorded by the B3M-IR during the Olympic Games. Lacking validation data, only the retrieved total column of O3 is compared with that retrieved by MAX-DOAS, which is deployed at the same station. The mean difference between the two methods of measurement is 6.5%, demonstrating the performance and reliability of B3M-IR.

Description: An array of Ag nanowires has been prepared from a facile, templated approach on Cu(BTC) (1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) metal organic framework (MOF) micropillars. The Ag-deposited scaffolding material may be used to prepare electronic or optoelectronic devices for various applications.

Description: An array of Ag nanowires has been prepared from a facile, templated approach on Cu(BTC) (1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) metal organic framework (MOF) micropillars. The Ag-deposited scaffolding material may be used to prepare electronic or optoelectronic devices for various applications.

Description: The crucial stages in the geochemical evolution of the Earth’s crust, ocean, and atmosphere could be explained by the assumed low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) that are triggered by seismic activity. LENR result in the fission of medium-weight elements accompanied by neutron emissions, involving Fe and Ni as starting elements, and C, N, O as resultants. Geochemical data and experimental evidences support the LENR hypothesis. A spectral analysis of the period 1955-2013 shows common cycles between interannual changes in atmospheric CO2 growth rate and global seismic-moment release, whereas the trending behavior of the atmospheric CO2 was in response to the anthropogenic emissions. Assuming a correlation between such seismic and atmospheric fluctuations, the latter could be explained by cycles of worldwide seismicity, which would trigger massively LENR in the Earth’s Crust. In this framework, LENR from active faults could be considered as a relevant cause of carbon formation and degassing of freshly-formed CO2 during seismic activity. However, further studies are necessary to validate the present hypothesis which, at the present time, mainly aims to stimulate debate on the models which regulates atmospheric CO2.

Description: In Electrified Vehicles, the cost, efficiency, and durability of electrified vehicles are dependent on the energy storage system (ESS) components, configuration and its performance. This paper, pursuing a minimal size tactic, describes a methodology for quantitatively and qualitatively investigating the impacts of a full bandwidth load on the ESS in the HEV. However, the methodology can be extended to other electrified vehicles. The full bandwidth load, up to the operating frequency of the electric motor drive (20 kHz), is empirically measured which includes a frequency range beyond the usually covered frequency range by published standard drive cycles (up to 0.5 Hz). The higher frequency band is shown to be more efficiently covered by a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) which in this paper is defined as combination of a high energy density battery, an Ultra-Capacitor (UC), an electrolytic capacitor, and a film capacitor. In this paper, the harmonic and dc currents and voltages are measured through two precision methods and then the results are used to discuss about overall HEV efficiency and durability. More importantly, the impact of the addition of high-band energy storage devices in reduction of power loss during transient events is disclosed through precision measurement based methodology.

Description: One of the important features of polymethine (cyanine) dyes is isomerization around one of C–C bonds of the polymethine chain. In this review, spectral properties of the isomers, photoisomerization and thermal back isomerization of carbocyanine dyes, mostly meso-substituted carbocyanine dyes, are considered. meso-Alkyl-substituted thiacarbocyanine dyes are present in polar solvents mainly as cis isomers and, hence, exhibit no photoisomerization, whereas in nonpolar solvents, in which the dyes are in the trans form, photoisomerization takes place. In contrast, the meso-substituted dyes 3,3′-dimethyl-9-phenylthiacarbocyanine and 3,3′-diethyl-9-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)thiacarbocyanine occur as trans isomers and exhibit photoisomerization in both polar and nonpolar solvents. The behavior of these dyes may be explained by the fact that the phenyl ring of the substituent in their molecules can be twisted at some angle, removing the substituent from the plane of the molecule and reducing its steric effect on the conformation of the trans isomer. In some cases, photoisomerization of cis isomers of meso-substituted carbocyanine dyes is also observed (for some meso-alkyl-substituted dyes complexed with DNA and chondroitin-4-sulfate; for 3,3′-diethyl-9-methoxythiacarbocyanine in moderate polarity solvents). The cycle photoisomerization–thermal back isomerization of cyanine dyes can be used in various systems of information storage and deserves further investigation using modern research methods.

Description: In Electrified Vehicles, the cost, efficiency, and durability of electrified vehicles are dependent on the energy storage system (ESS) components, configuration and its performance. This paper, pursuing a minimal size tactic, describes a methodology for quantitatively and qualitatively investigating the impacts of a full bandwidth load on the ESS in the HEV. However, the methodology can be extended to other electrified vehicles. The full bandwidth load, up to the operating frequency of the electric motor drive (20 kHz), is empirically measured which includes a frequency range beyond the usually covered frequency range by published standard drive cycles (up to 0.5 Hz). The higher frequency band is shown to be more efficiently covered by a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) which in this paper is defined as combination of a high energy density battery, an Ultra-Capacitor (UC), an electrolytic capacitor, and a film capacitor. In this paper, the harmonic and dc currents and voltages are measured through two precision methods and then the results are used to discuss about overall HEV efficiency and durability. More importantly, the impact of the addition of high-band energy storage devices in reduction of power loss during transient events is disclosed through precision measurement based methodology.

Description: The crucial stages in the geochemical evolution of the Earth’s crust, ocean, and atmosphere could be explained by the assumed low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) that are triggered by seismic activity. LENR result in the fission of medium-weight elements accompanied by neutron emissions, involving Fe and Ni as starting elements, and C, N, O as resultants. Geochemical data and experimental evidences support the LENR hypothesis. The time series analysis highlighted significant correlation between the atmospheric CO2 growth rate and the global seismic-moment release rate, whereas the trending behavior was in response to the anthropogenic emissions. The fluctuations in the atmospheric CO2 growth rate time series were inexplicable in terms of anthropogenic emissions, but could be explained by the cycles of worldwide seismicity, which massively trigger LENR in the Earth’s crust. In this framework, LENR from active faults must be considered as a relevant cause of carbon formation and degassing of freshly-formed CO2 during seismic activity.

Description: Sci (ISSN: 2413-4155) is a new and innovative open access journal from MDPI. [...]

Description: Background: Previous papers have developed a statistical mechanics of neocortical interactions (SMNI) fit to short-term memory and EEG data. Adaptive Simulated Annealing (ASA) has been developed to perform fits to such nonlinear stochastic systems. An N-dimensional path-integral algorithm for quantum systems, qPATHINT, has been developed from classical PATHINT. Both fold short-time propagators (distributions or wave functions) over long times. Previous papers applied qPATHINT to two systems, in neocortical interactions and financial options. Objective: In this paper the quantum path-integral for Calcium ions is used to derive a closed-form analytic solution at arbitrary time that is used to calculate interactions with classical-physics SMNI interactions among scales. Using fits of this SMNI model to EEG data, including these effects, will help determine if this is a reasonable approach. Method: Methods of mathematical-physics for optimization and for path integrals in classical and quantum spaces are used for this project. Studies using supercomputer resources tested various dimensions for their scaling limits. In this paper the quantum path-integral is used to derive a closed-form analytic solution at arbitrary time that is used to calculate interactions with classical-physics SMNI interactions among scales. Results: The mathematical-physics and computer parts of the study are successful, in that there is modest improvement of cost/objective functions used to fit EEG data using these models. Conclusions: This project points to directions for more detailed calculations using more EEG data and qPATHINT at each time slice to propagate quantum calcium waves, synchronized with PATHINT propagation of classical SMNI.

Description: The present work discusses the microstructure and mechanical properties of the as-cast and as-extruded metal matrix composites interpenetrated by stainless steel (Fe–18Cr–9Ni), titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V), and aluminum alloy (Al–5Mg–3Zn) three-dimensional network reinforcement materials. The results show that the different reinforcement materials have different degrees of improvement on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the magnesium matrix composites. Among them, magnesium matrix composites interpenetrated by stainless steel reinforcement have maximum tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation, which are 355 MPa, 241 MPa, and 13%, respectively. Compared with the matrix, it increases by 47.9%, 60.7% and 85.7%, respectively. Moreover, compared with the as-cast state, the as-extruded sample has a relatively small grain size and a uniform size distribution. The grain size of the as-cast magnesium matrix composites is mainly concentrated at 200–300 μm, whereas the extruded state is mainly concentrated at 10–30 μm. The reason is that the coordination deformation of reinforcement and matrix, and the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization, cause grain refinement of magnesium matrix composite during the extrusion process, thereby improving its mechanical properties. Moreover, the improvement is attributed to the effect of the reinforcement itself, and the degree of grain refinement of the metal matrix composites.

Description: We demonstrate wavelength-wavelength correlations of classical broad-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) photons emitted by an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) in a wavelength regime around 1530 nm. We then apply these classical correlated photons in the framework of a real-world ghost spectroscopy experiment at a wavelength of 1533 nm to acetylene ( C 2 H 2 ) reproducing the characteristic absorption features of the C-H stretch and rotational bands. This proof-of-principle experiment confirms the generalization of an ASE source concept offering an attractive light source for classical ghost spectroscopy. It is expected that this will enable further disseminating ghost modality schemes by exploiting classical correlated photons towards applications in chemistry, physics and engineering.

Description: We consider a dilute and ultracold bosonic gas of weakly-interacting atoms. Within the framework of quantum field theory, we derive a zero-temperature modified Gross–Pitaevskii equation with beyond-mean-field corrections due to quantum depletion and anomalous density. This result is obtained from the stationary equation of the Bose–Einstein order parameter coupled to the Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations of the out-of-condensate field operator. We show that, in the presence of a generic external trapping potential, the key steps to get the modified Gross–Pitaevskii equation are the semiclassical approximation for the Bogoliubov–de Gennes equations, a slowly-varying order parameter and a small quantum depletion. In the uniform case, from the modified Gross–Pitaevskii equation, we get the familiar equation of state with Lee–Huang–Yang correction.

Description: This paper presents an optimal approach to the multi-objective synthesis of path following and rudder roll reduction for a container ship in heavy waves. An improved line of sight principle with course-keeping in track-belt is proposed to guide the ship in accordance with marine practice. Concise robust controllers for the course and roll motion based on Backstepping and closed-loop gain shaping are developed. The control parameters have obvious physical significance. The determination method is given and much effort is made to guarantee the uniform asymptotic stability of the closed-loop systems by Lyapunov synthesis. Furthermore, the multi-objective optimization method a fast and elitist multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to solve the restrictions caused by the model perturbation, external disturbance and performance trade-off. Contrasting with the existing literature, the research strategy and control performance are more in line with marine engineering practice. Simulation results illustrate the performances and effectiveness of the proposed system.

Description: : In this study, effects of pretreatment of corn stover (CS) with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) combined with calcium oxide (CaO) on anaerobic co-digestion of swine manure and CS for biogas production were investigated. Different pretreated-CSs were prepared by adding different doses of NaOH and CaO to CS: Treat-CSA (0.10 g NaOH/g CS), Treat-CSB((0.075 g NaOH + 0.05 g CaO)/g CS), Treat-CSC ((0.05 g NaOH + 0.05 g CaO)/g CS), and Treat-CSD ((0.025 g NaOH + 0.1 g CaO)/g CS). Lignin removal rate, biomass recovery, reduced sugar, methane yield, DT80 (digestion time when biogas achieved 80% of the total biogas), composition of residues, and cost-efficiency were measured to characterize CS after pretreatment and to evaluate the performance of co-digestors fed with swine manure and differently-pretreated CS. The results showed that Treat-CSB showed an excellent lignin removal efficiency and biomass recovery, resulting in the highest methane yield in its co-digestion with swine manure. Since the net benefit of Treat-CSB was calculated to be the highest (i.e., $1.89/ton total solids), therefore, we believe the co-digestion of Treat-CSB and swine manure for biogas production be an effective valorization option for the wastes.

Description: To reuse waste concrete in a more straightforward and simplified way, a new kind of structural member containing fresh concrete (FC) and demolished concrete lumps (DCLs) distinctly larger than conventional recycled aggregates has been proposed. Previous research has shown that, at room temperature, the mechanical performance of the U-shaped steel beams filled with DCLs and FC is similar to that of the U-shaped steel beams filled with FC alone. This research explores the fire behavior of the U-shaped steel beams filled with DCLs and FC. Five specimens including three beams filled with DCLs and FC and two reference beams filled with FC alone were tested in fire. The experimental parameters included the replacement ratio of DCLs, the longitudinal reinforcement ratio, the load ratio, and the thickness of fire insulation. Based on the test results, numerical models in which the thermal resistance at the interface between the U-shaped steel and the in-filled concrete is considered are developed using SAFIR to determine the thermal and structural responses of the specimens. Lastly, parametric studies are carried out preliminarily to investigate the effects of some parameters on the fire resistance of such beams. It is found that the replacement ratio of DCLs within a range of 0% to 33% has a very limited effect on the temperature distribution, structural response, and fire resistance of the specimens, that embedding longitudinal reinforcements can significantly increase the fire resistance of such beams, that the interface thermal resistance can generate a temperature drop of up to 280 °C at the interface between the U-shaped steel and the in-filled concrete, and that the numerical models are capable of predicting the thermal and structural responses of such beams.

Description: Models of particle density and of organic carbon and chlorophyll-a intraparticle concentration were applied to particle size distributions and particle real refractive index distributions determined from flow cytometry measurements of natural seawater samples from a range of UK coastal waters. The models allowed for the estimation of suspended particulate matter, organic suspended matter, inorganic suspended matter, particulate organic carbon, and chlorophyll-a concentrations. These were then compared with independent measurements of each of these parameters. Particle density models were initially applied to a simple spherical model of particle volume, but generally overestimated independently measured values, sometimes by over two orders of magnitude. However, when the same density models were applied to a fractal model of particle volume, successful agreement was reached for suspended particulate matter and both inorganic and organic suspended matter values (RMS%E: 57.4%, 148.5%, and 83.1% respectively). Non-linear organic carbon and chlorophyll-a volume scaling models were also applied to a spherical model of particle volume, and after an optimization procedure achieved successful agreement with independent measurements of particulate organic carbon and chlorophyll-a concentrations (RMS%E: 45.6% and 51.8% respectively). Refractive index-based models of carbon and chlorophyll-a intraparticle concentration were similarly tested, and were also found to require a fractal model of particle volume to achieve successful agreement with independent measurements, producing RMS%E values of 50.2% and 45.2% respectively after an optimization procedure. It is further shown that the non-linear exponents of the volume scaling models are mathematically equivalent to the fractal dimensionality coefficients that link cell volume to mass concentration, reflecting the impact of non-uniform distribution of intracellular carbon within cells. Fractal models of particle volume are thus found to be essential to successful closure between results provided by models of particle mass, intraparticle carbon and chlorophyll content, and bulk measurements of suspended mass and total particulate carbon and chlorophyll when natural mixed particle populations are concerned. The results also further confirm the value of determining both size and refractive index distributions of natural particle populations using flow cytometry.

Description: Herein, the behavior of a rolling type seismic isolation system with a position restoring device (PRD) is investigated, for alleviating problems such as rapid convergence and position restoration. The equation of motion is derived by modeling the behavior of the seismic isolation system, and the seismic characteristics according to the design variables of the PRD are investigated through numerical analysis. The vibration characteristics of the equation of motion show nonlinearity and depend on different variables. Numerical analysis was performed by using the fourth and fifth order Runge–Kutta method, and the vibration characteristics were analyzed with respect to the design parameters in the rolling type seismic isolation system with PRD, and compared to a model without PRD. In the model with PRD, numerical results show that the vibration suppression capability of the earthquake and the position restoration after disturbance are improved compared to those of the model without PRD. In addition, the rolling type seismic isolation system had nonlinear characteristics at specific frequencies, where the response increases suddenly and harmonics occur. This phenomenon can be controlled by the ratio of mass to stiffness and the damping coefficient, showing that the mount system can be designed to avoid resonance through optimal design.

Description: This paper theoretically analyzes the fundamental performance of a fourth-order steady-state moving object tracking filter, called an α - β - γ - δ filter. The α - β - γ - δ filter considers estimations of jerk (time-derivative of acceleration) in the motion of targets. First, regarding the stability conditions of the α - β - γ - δ filter, we prove that there are unstable cases even when the conventionally derived stability conditions are satisfied, and then we derive the correct stability conditions. Next, we analytically derive performance indices that indicate the steady-state errors for targets with typical motions. Based on the derived indices, the optimal performance of the α - β - γ - δ filter is theoretically analyzed and compared with that of the traditional second- and third-order steady-state tracking filters, i.e., α - β and α - β - γ filters. Numerical analyses and simulations are used to verify the advantages and disadvantages of the α - β - γ - δ filter over the above-mentioned filters. The practicality of the use of jerk for the tracking filtering problem is revealed in this paper.

Description: The qualitative analysis for structural robustness study subjected to severe earthquakes is unable to meet engineering requirements, and a quantitative analysis method for structural robustness is needed to be proposed. The existing analysis methods, such as Incremental Dynamic Analysis Method and Pushover method, only study the response of the structure directly from the macroscopic view, rather than focusing on the response of a single component on the structure. Especially for the construction of isolated structure, the impact of accidental bearing failure on the isolated structure and the impact of progressive collapse cannot be considered. In this paper, based on the Alternative Load Path Method, the quantitative analysis method for structural robustness analysis under earthquake is proposed. The structural robustness of some different vertical irregular isolated structures under different earthquakes is studied.

Description: In large-scale and sparse scenes, such as farmland, orchards, mines, and substations, 3D simultaneous localization and mapping are challenging matters that need to address issues such as maintaining reliable data association for scarce environmental information and reducing the computational complexity of global optimization for large-scale scenes. To solve these problems, a real-time incremental simultaneous localization and mapping algorithm called MIM_SLAM is proposed in this paper. This algorithm is applied in mobile robots to build a map on a non-flat road with a 3D LiDAR sensor. MIM_SLAM’s main contribution is that multi-level ICP (Iterative Closest Point) matching is used to solve the data association problem, a Fisher information matrix is used to describe the uncertainty of the estimated pose, and these poses are optimized by the incremental optimization method, which can greatly reduce the computational cost. Then, a map with a high consistency will be established. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated in the real indoor and outdoor scenes as well as two substations and benchmarking dataset from KITTI with the characteristics of sparse and large-scale. Results show that the proposed algorithm has a high mapping accuracy and meets the real-time requirements.

Description: The enzymatic system of vegetables is well known as an efficient biocatalyst in the stereoselective reduction of ketones. Therefore, we decided to use the comminuted material of several plants including five vegetables (Apium graveolens L., Beta vulgaris L., Daucus carota L., Petroselinum crispum L., and Solanum tuberosum L.) and three fruits (Malus pumila L. “Golden” and “Kortland” as well as Pyrus communis L. “Konferencja”) to obtain enantiomerically pure carveol, which is commercially unavailable. Unexpectedly, all of the used biocatalysts not only reduced the carbonyl group of (4R)-(–)-carvone and (4S)-(+)-carvone, but also reduced the double bond in the cyclohexene ring. The results revealed that (4R)-(–)-carvone was transformed into (1R, 4R)- and (1S, 4R)-dihydrocarvones, and (1R,2R,4R)-dihydrocarveol. Although the enzymatic system of the potato transformed the substrate almost completely, the %de was not the highest. Potato yielded 92%; however, when carrot was used as the biocatalyst, it was possible to obtain 17% of (1R, 4R)-(+)-dihydrocarvone with 100% diastereomeric excess. In turn, the (4S)-(+)-carvone was transformed, using the biocatalysts, into (1R, 4S)- and (1S, 4S)-dihydrocarvones and dihydrocarveols. Complete substrate conversion was observed in biotransformation when potato was used. In the experiments using apple, (1R, 4S)-dihydrocarvone with 100% diastereomeric excess was obtained. Using NMR spectroscopy, we confirmed both diastereoisomers of 4(R)-1,2-dihydrocarveols, which were unseparated in the GC condition. Finally, we proved the high usefulness of vegetables for the biotransformation of both enantiomers of carvone as well as dihydrocarvone.

Description: The carbon nanotube (CNT) cold cathode is an attractive choice for millimeter and terahertz vacuum electronic devices owning to its unique instant switch-on and high emission current density. A novel, dual-gridded, field emission architecture based on a CNT cold cathode is proposed here. CNTs are synthesized directly on the cathode surface. The first separating grid is attached to the CNT cathode surface to shape the CNT cathode array. The second separating grid is responsible for controlled extraction of electrons from the CNT emitters. The cathode surface electric field distribution has been improved drastically compared to conventional planar devices. Furthermore, a high-compression-ratio, dual-gridded, CNT-based electron gun has been designed to further increase the current density, and a 21 kV/50 mA electron beam has been obtained with beam transparency of nearly 100%, along with a compression ratio of 39. A 0.22 THz disk-loaded waveguide backward wave oscillator (BWO) based on this electron gun architecture has been realized theoretically with output power of 32 W. The results indicate that higher output power and higher frequency terahertz BWOs can be made using advanced, nanomaterial-based cold cathodes.