Signal Improvement for Underwater LIBS

We employed a collinear long-short double-pulse laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LS-DP-LIBS) to detect the underwater metal samples. The emission spectra, time-resolved signal, plasma images and sound characteristics of plasma shockwaves are experimentally investigated in this work. The results show that the underwater signal of Al, Cu and Fe spectral lines are significantly improved by collinear LS-DP-LIBS with inter-pulse delay of 35 us. The mechanism of the signal improvement is considered to be the pre irradiation effect of the long pulse laser beam. In the collinear LS-DP-LIBS method, the long pulse first generates a cavitation bubble in water and provides a gaseous environment. Then the short pulse generates the plasma from the sample surface. The present experiments show that the collinear LS-DP-LIBS method offers a significant signal improvement in underwater measurement of metal samples. This new method has great potential in deep-sea exploration using LIBS

Metabolic engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for efficient production of optically pure (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol

Background: 2,3-butanediol is an important platform compound which has a wide range of applications, involving in medicine, chemical industry, food and other fields. Especially the optically pure (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol can be employed as an antifreeze agent and as the precursor for producing chiral compounds. However, some (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol overproducing strains are pathogenic such as Enterobacter cloacae and Klebsiella oxytoca. Results: In this study, a (3R)-acetoin overproducing C. glutamicum strain, CGS9, was engineered to produce optically pure (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol efficiently. Firstly, the gene bdhA from B. subtilis 168 was integrated into strain CGS9 and its expression level was further enhanced by using a strong promoter Psod and ribosome binding site (RBS) with high translation initiation rate, and the (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol titer of the resulting strain was increased by 33.9%. Then the transhydrogenase gene udhA from E. coli was expressed to provide more NADH for 2,3-butanediol synthesis, which reduced the accumulation of the main byproduct acetoin by 57.2%. Next, a mutant atpG was integrated into strain CGK3, which increased the glucose consumption rate by 10.5% and the 2,3-butanediol productivity by 10.9% in shake-flask fermentation. Through fermentation engineering, the most promising strain CGK4 produced a titer of 144.9\ua0g/L (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol with a yield of 0.429\ua0g/g glucose and a productivity of 1.10\ua0g/L/h in fed-batch fermentation. The optical purity of the resulting (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol surpassed 98%. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest titer of optically pure (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol achieved by GRAS strains, and the result has demonstrated that C. glutamicum is a competitive candidate for (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol production

Improved Analysis of Manganese in Steel Samples Using Collinear Long–Short Double Pulse Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)

A long-short double pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (long-short DP-LIBS) method was employed to improve the performance of LIBS for the measurement of manganese in steel samples. The long pulse was generated by a Nd:YAG laser which was operated at free runing (FR) mode. To investigate the detection ability without sample preparation, the steel washers were tested using SP-LIBS and long-short DP-LIBS, respectively. The measurement results show that the long-short DP-LIBS method was able to record clear spectra from the rusty steel washers. The steel washers were also measured after the polishing process. The measurement results show that the signal intensity was enhanced by long-short DP-LIBS. Through the observation with scanning electron microscope (SEM) on the laser craters, the results suggest that the improvement of detection ability can be attributed to the pre-radiation effect of long-pulse laser beam. Next, the analytical performance for quantitative measurement of manganese was evaluated by employing ten standard steel samples. The results show that the linearty fit (R2) of calibration curve is 0.988 for long-short DP-LIBS, whereas, R2 is only 0.810 for SP-LIBS under the same measurement conditions. The five times repeated measurement results show that the average Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) of the tested samples is 29.3% for SP-LIBS and is 10.5% for long-short DP-LIBS. The prediction results also show that the average Relative Error of Prediction (REP) is 94.9% for SP-LIBS and it 4.9% for long-short DP-LIBS. The experimental results in current work demonstrate that long-short DP-LIBS is promising for the on line measurement of steel in the steelmaking plant

Belowground Rhizomes in Paleosols: The Hidden Half of an Early Devonian Vascular Plant

The colonization of terrestrial environments by rooted vascular plants had far-reaching impacts on the Earth system. However, the belowground structures of early vascular plants are rarely documented, and thus the plant−soil interactions in early terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood. Here we report the earliest rooted paleosols (fossil soils) in Asia from Early Devonian deposits of Yunnan, China. Plant traces are extensive within the soil and occur as complex network-like structures, which are interpreted as representing long-lived, belowground rhizomes of the basal lycopsid Drepanophycus. The rhizomes produced large clones and helped the plant survive frequent sediment burial in well-drained soils within a seasonal wet−dry climate zone. Rhizome networks contributed to the accumulation and pedogenesis of floodplain sediments and increased the soil stabilizing effects of early plants. Predating the appearance of trees with deep roots in the Middle Devonian, plant rhizomes have long functioned in the belowground soil ecosystem. This study presents strong, direct evidence for plant−soil interactions at an early stage of vascular plant radiation. Soil stabilization by complex rhizome systems was apparently widespread, and contributed to landscape modification at an earlier time than had been appreciated

Feasibility Investigation for Online Elemental Monitoring of Iron and Steel Manufacturing Processes using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

The metallurgical industries are very important for social development. In order to improve the metallurgical techniques and quality of products, the real-time analysis and monitoring of iron and steel manufacturing processes are very significant. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been studied and applied for the contents measurement of iron and steel. In this paper, the remote open-path LIBS measurement was studied under different sample temperature, lens to target distance (LTD), sample angle conditions to clarify its online measurement features. The 3D profile measurement system of parallel laser beam fringes projection was also developed to measure the sample profile at different sample temperature. The measurement results demonstrated the robustness of remote open-path LIBS system and 3D profile measurement system. However, the correction is necessary to enhance the detection ability of LIBS online measurement. In order to improve the precision and accuracy of real-time elemental measurement, an innovative co-axial laser beam measurement system combining LIBS and 3D profile techniques is proposed to automatically adjust the focus unit and measure the sample components. The further study of this promising method will be developed for online application of iron and steel manufacturing processes

CURRENT DENSITY EFFECTS ON PLASMA EMISSION DURING PLASMA ELECTROLYTIC OXIDATION (PEO) ON AZ91D-MAGNESIUM ALLOY

The effect of bipolar pulse mode current ratio on plasma behavior was investigated in PEO on AZ91D Mg-Alloy. Two cases of current ratio including 1.20 and 0.88 were applied to the sample. Plasma emission behavior was studied using plasma images and plasma emission measured by photodetector and Intensified Charged-Couple Device (ICCD) camera. The current ratio of greater than 1 shows the continuous increase and then stabilization in emission intensity with a gradual increase in voltage throughout the PEO process. In contrast, the current ratio of less than 1, a sudden drop in plasma emission intensity with voltage was found after 786s. Therefore, PEO process can be divided into two regimes, arc regime and soft regime, before and after voltage drop respectively. Results of measured spectra show that a soft regime does not have atomic or ionic excitation during PEO process. It is demonstrated that the growth of porous layer during PEO can be controlled, which is benefit for the protective oxide coating of sample

Quantitative Elemental Analysis Using Long-Short Double-Pulse Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

鉄鋼プロセス，ボイラなどの様々な産業プロセスにおいて，物質の元素組成をリアルタイムで計測可能な技術が求められている．鉄鋼プロセスでは，鉄鉱石，コークス，石灰石などを原料として，鋼板などを製造する過程で各プロセス中の成分組成を計測することが求められ，溶融金属の組成などをリアルタイム制御することなどが重要となる．しかし，現在まで，これらの産業プロセスで元素組成をリアルタイムで計測可能な技術や装置は実用化されていない．レーザーを用いた非接触，リアルタイム計測方法として，レーザー誘起ブレークダウン分光法(Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy，LIBS)がある．本研究では，LIBSを用いた元素組成の定量計測を目的に，ロング・ショートダブルパルスLIBSの開発を行った．本手法を鋼材中のマンガン及び炭素計測に適用し，計測の安定性，定量性に優れた特性を有することを実証した．The understanding of the controlling factors is becoming more important to improve the efficiency of industrial systems including steel-making processes, boilers and so on. Laser diagnostics such as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) makes it possible to monitor these parameters due to their fast response, high sensitivity, and non-contact features. In this study, a new collinear long and short double pulse LIBS method was developed to improve the detection ability and the measurement accuracy by the control of the plasma cooling process using the long pulse-width laser radiation. The plasma generated by the short pulse-width laser is stabilized and maintained at high temperature during the plasma cooling process by long pulse-width laser radiation. The method was demonstrated to have better measurement stability and quantitative measurement characteristics for Manganese and Carbon measurement in the steel samples compared to the normal single pulse LIBS method

Belowground rhizomes in paleosols:The hidden half of an Early Devonian vascular plant

The colonization of terrestrial environments by rooted vascular plants had far-reaching impacts on the Earth system. However, the belowground structures of early vascular plants are rarely documented, and thus the plant-soil interactions in early terrestrial ecosystems are poorly understood. Here we report the earliest rooted paleosols (fossil soils) in Asia from Early Devonian deposits of Yunnan, China. Plant traces are extensive within the soil and occur as complex network-like structures, which are interpreted as representing long-lived, belowground rhizomes of the basal lycopsid Drepanophycus. The rhizomes produced large clones and helped the plant survive frequent sediment burial in well-drained soils within a seasonal wet-dry climate zone. Rhizome networks contributed to the accumulation and pedogenesis of floodplain sediments and increased the soil stabilizing effects of early plants. Predating the appearance of trees with deep roots in the Middle Devonian, plant rhizomes have long functioned in the belowground soil ecosystem. This study presents strong, direct evidence for plant-soil interactions at an early stage of vascular plant radiation. Soil stabilization by complex rhizome systems was apparently widespread, and contributed to landscape modification at an earlier time than had been appreciated.National Natural Science Foundation of China [41272018]; Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University [2015DG007-KF04]; Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology)SCI(E)[email protected]