Plane-projection multi-photon microscopy for high-frame-rate Live Tissue Imaging

We present a wide-field multi-photon microscopy that provides optical sectioning at high frame rate under biocompatible laser dosage. Axial resolution comparable to confocal microscopy and 5-frame-per-second live tissue imaging are demonstrated

Constructing Employability Indicators for Enhancing the Effectiveness of Engineering Education for the Solar Industry

The aim of this research is to establish a set of employability indicators that capture the competency requirements and performance expectations that solar energy enterprises have of their employees. In the qualitative component of the study, 12 administrators and 32 engineers in the industry were interviewed, and meetings with focus groups were conducted to formulate a questionnaire for a survey of Taiwanese solar energy companies for the confirmation and prioritisation of the employability indicators. On the basis of the results of the quantitative component, an interpretational model relating competence, job performance, working attitude, and employability for solar corporation recruitment and training purposes as well as for school curricular development was developed. The interpretation model formulated effectively interprets the relationship between solar enterprises’ expectations and students’ employability. The research contributes a framework for the selection and cultivation of talent, as well as providing a basis for fundamental development of the solar engineering curriculum

Building Professional Competencies Indices in the Solar Energy Industry for the Engineering Education Curriculum

This study aims to develop professional competency indices and their subindices as needed by the solar energy industry, to establish a basis for development of the engineering education curriculum. The methodologies adopted by the study are literature analysis, expert advisories, and focus groups. The study focuses on the establishment of competency indices by experts at stock market-listed companies and then confirms these competencies with focus groups. The study found that the competencies required by the solar industry consist of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the areas of materials development and applications, photovoltaic technology, cell manufacturing technology, biotechnology, chemical technology, power generation and electricity, process development and improvement, data collection and analysis, industry regulation, green energy beliefs, and working attitudes and values. The results of this study can be used as the basis for the cultivation, selection, and employment of industry professionals

Wide-field optical sectioning for live-tissue imaging by plane-projection multiphoton microscopy

Optical sectioning provides three-dimensional (3D) information in biological tissues. However, most imaging techniques implemented with optical sectioning are either slow or deleterious to live tissues. Here, we present a simple design for wide-field multiphoton microscopy, which provides optical sectioning at a reasonable frame rate and with a biocompatible laser dosage. The underlying mechanism of optical sectioning is diffuser-based temporal focusing. Axial resolution comparable to confocal microscopy is theoretically derived and experimentally demonstrated. To achieve a reasonable frame rate without increasing the laser power, a low-repetition-rate ultrafast laser amplifier was used in our setup. A frame rate comparable to that of epifluorescence microscopy was demonstrated in the 3D imaging of fluorescent protein expressed in live epithelial cell clusters. In this report, our design displays the potential to be widely used for video-rate live-tissue and embryo imaging with axial resolution comparable to laser scanning microscopy

Fabrication of a Miniature Zinc Aluminum Oxide Nanowire Array Gas Sensor and Application for Environmental Monitoring

A miniature n-type semiconductor gas sensor was fabricated successfully using zinc aluminum oxide nanowire array and applied to sense oxygen. The present study provided a novel method to produce zinc aluminum alloy nanowire 80 nm in diameter by the vacuum die casting technique and then obtain zinc aluminum oxide nanowire array using the thermal oxidation technique. The gas sensing properties were evaluated through the change of the sensitivity. The factors influencing the sensitivity of the gas sensor, such as the alloy composition, operating temperature, and oxygen concentration, were investigated further. Experimental results indicated that the maximum sensitivity could be acquired when the weight percentage of aluminum was 5% in zinc aluminum alloy at the operating temperature of 200°C

Epinephrine administration via a laryngeal mask airway: what is the optimal dose?

Background. The aim of this animal study was to clarify the effects of laryngeal mask airway (LMA)-administrated epinephrine and to assess the optimal dose. Methods. Thirty pigs were anesthetized and intubated with a cuffed tracheal tube (TT) and an LMA. Then they were assigned to one of five groups. The control group received distilled water 10 mL via the TT; the TT group received epinephrine 50 μg/kg via the TT; and the other three groups received two, four or six times the TT dose of epinephrine via the LMA. Heart rate (HR) and arterial pressure were monitored before and after drug administration for 15 minutes. Results. After epinephrine administration, the LMA-6 and TT groups had elevated systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures at 1 min and there was no significant difference between the two groups. In the TT group, these parameters peaked at 2 min then declined rapidly. In the LMA-6 group, they increased more slowly, and then maintained a plateau. The control, LMA-2 and LMA-4 groups failed to display significant persistent (>2 min) hemodynamic changes. Conclusions. We could not identify an optimal LMA-administrated epinephrine dose. The TT route is suitable when a high peak drug effect is required and the LMA route may be preferable if a persistent plateau effect is desired. Effective LMA administration of drugs may require larger doses than those given via TT

Improved Performance for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using a Compact TiO 2

This work determines the effect of compact TiO2 layers that are deposited onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). A series of compact TiO2 layers are prepared using radio frequency (rf) reactive magnetron sputtering. The films are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The results show that when the Ar/O2/N2 flow rates are 36 : 18 : 9, the photo-induced decomposition of methylene blue and photo-induced hydrophilicity are enhanced. After annealing at 450°C in an atmosphere ambient for 30 min, the compact TiO2 layers exhibit higher optical transmittance. The XRD patterns for the TiO2 films for FTO/glass show a good crystalline structure and anatase (101) diffraction peaks, which demonstrate a higher crystallinity than the ITO/glass films. As a result of this increase in the short circuit photocurrent density, the open-circuit photovoltage, and the fill factor, the DSSC with the FTO/glass and Pt counter electrode demonstrates a solar conversion efficiency of 7.65%

An Analysis and Research on the Transmission Ratio of Dye Sensitized Solar Cell Photoelectrodes by Using Different Etching Process

Classical photoelectrodes for Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) were fabricated by using the electrochemical method on the titanium (Ti) template, for that the fabrication process would influence the characteristics of the DSSCs. In this study, at first three different methods were used to etch Ti templates from 10 to 17 min, (1) polishing-chemical etching: Ti template was annealed at 450°C for 1 h, abraded using number 80 to 1500 SiC sheet, and then etched in a solution of 5% HF + 95% H2O; (2) electrochemical polishing-chemical etching: Ti template was annealed at 450°C for 1 h, electrolytic polishing with 42% CH3OH + 5% HClO4 + 53% HOCH2CH2OC4H9 solution, and the chemical-etching in a solution of 5% HF + 95% H2O; (3) chemical etching: Ti template was etched in a solution of 5% HF + 95% H2O and annealed at 450°C for 1 h. When the etching time was changed from 10 to 17 min, the thicknesses of Ti templates decreased from 75.3 μm to 14.8 μm, depending on the etching method. After etching process, the TiO2 nanotube arrays were fabricated as the photoelectrode of DSSCs by electrochemical process, in which the Ti as anode and platinum (Pt) as cathode. The electrolyte solution included C2H4(OH)2, NH4F, and deionized water. After annealing the grown TiO2 nanotube arrays at 450°C for 3 h, we would show that the etching process had large effect on the structure and transmittance ratio of the TiO2 nanotube arrays

Synthesis of new 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-4′-azido nucleoside analogues as potent anti-HIV agents

We prepared 1-(4′-azido-2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-β -D-arabinofuranosyl)cytosine (10) and its hydrochloride salt (11) as potential antiviral agents based on the favorable antiviral profiles of 4′-substituted nucleosides. Compounds 10 and 11 were synthesized from 1,3,5-O-tribenzoyl-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-arabinofuranoside in multiple steps, and their structures were unequivocally established by IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and 19F NMR spectroscopy, HRMS, and X-ray crystallography. Compounds 10 and 11 exhibited potent anti-HIV-1 activity (EC50: 0.3 and 0.13 nM, respectively) without significant cytotoxicity in concentrations up to 100 μM. Compound 11 exhibited extremely potent anti-HIV activity against NL4-3 (wild-type), NL4-3 (K101E), and RTMDR viral strains, with EC50 values of 0.086, 0.15, and 0.11 nM, respectively. Due to the high potency of 11, it was also screened against an NIH Reagent Program NRTI-resistant virus panel containing eleven mutated viral strains and for cytotoxicity against six different human cell lines. The results of this screening indicated that 11 is a novel NRTI that could be developed as an anti-AIDS clinical trial candidate to overcome drug-resistance issues