Far-Field Plasmonic Resonance Enhanced Nano-Particle Image Velocimetry within a Micro Channel

In this paper, a novel far-field plasmonic resonance enhanced nanoparticle-seeded Particle Image Velocimetry (nPIV) has been demonstrated to measure the velocity profile in a micro channel. Chemically synthesized silver nanoparticles have been used to seed the flow in the micro channel. By using Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA), plasmonic resonance enhanced light scattering has been calculated for spherical silver nanoparticles with diameters ranging from 15nm to 200nm. Optimum scattering wavelength is specified for the nanoparticles in two media: water and air. The diffraction-limited plasmonic resonance enhanced images of silver nanoparticles at different diameters have been recorded and analyzed. By using standard PIV techniques, the velocity profile within the micro channel has been determined from the images.Comment: submitted to Review of Scientific Instrument

Do Clonal Plants Show Greater Division of Labour Morphologically and Physiologically at Higher Patch Contrasts?

When growing in reciprocal patches in terms of availability of different resources, connected ramets of clonal plants will specialize to acquire and exchange locally abundant resources more efficiently. This has been termed division of labour. We asked whether division of labour can occur physiologically as well as morphologically and will increase with patch contrasts.We subjected connected and disconnected ramet pairs of Potentilla anserina to Control, Low, Medium and High patch contrast by manipulating light and nutrient levels for ramets in each pair. Little net benefit of inter-ramet connection in terms of biomass was detected. Shoot-root ratio did not differ significantly between paired ramets regardless of connection under Control, Low and Medium. Under High, however, disconnected shaded ramets with ample nutrients showed significantly larger shoot-root ratios (2.8∼6.5 fold) than fully-lit but nutrient-deficient ramets, and than their counterparts under any other treatment; conversely, fully-lit but nutrient-deficient ramets, when connected to shaded ramets with ample nutrients, had significantly larger shoot-root ratios (2.0∼4.9 fold) than the latter and than their counterparts under any other treatment. Only under High patch contrast, fully-lit ramets, if connected to shaded ones, had 8.9% higher chlorophyll content than the latter, and 22.4% higher chlorophyll content than their isolated counterparts; the similar pattern held for photosynthetic capacity under all heterogeneous treatments.Division of labour in clonal plants can be realized by ramet specialization in morphology and in physiology. However, modest ramet specialization especially in morphology among patch contrasts may suggest that division of labour will occur when the connected ramets grow in reciprocal patches between which the contrast exceeds a threshold. Probably, this threshold patch contrast is the outcome of the clone-wide cost-benefit tradeoff and is significant for risk-avoidance, especially in the disturbance-prone environments

Biochar has no effect on soil respiration across Chinese agricultural soils

This work was supported by NSFC (41371298 and 41371300), Ministry of Science and Technology (2013GB23600666 and 2013BAD11B00), and Ministry of Education of China (20120097130003). The international cooperation was funded under a “111” project by the State Agency of Foreign Expert Affairs of China and jointly supported under a grant for Priority Disciplines in Higher Education by the Department of Education, Jiangsu Province, China; The work was also a contribution to the cooperation project of “Estimates of Future Agricultural GHG Emissions and Mitigation in China” under the UK-China Sustainable Agriculture Innovation Network (SAIN). Pete Smith contributed to this work under a UK BBSRC China Partnership Award. The authors are grateful to Yuming Liu, Bin Zhang, Xiao Li, Gang Wu, Jinjin Qu and Yinxin Ye and Dongqi Liu for their contribution to field experiments, and to Rongjun Bian and Qaiser Hussain for their participation in discussions of the data analysis and interpretation, and to Xinyan Yu and Jiafang Wang for their assistance in lab works.Peer reviewedPostprin

Changes in the proteome and secretome of rat liver sinusoidal endothelial cells during early primary culture and effects of dexamethasone

Introduction Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) are specialized fenestrated scavenger endothelial cells involved in the elimination of modified plasma proteins and tissue turnover waste macromolecules from blood. LSECs also participate in liver immune responses. A challenge when studying LSEC biology is the rapid loss of the in vivo phenotype in culture. In this study, we have examined biological processes and pathways affected during early-stage primary culture of rat LSECs and checked for cell responses to the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone. Methods LSECs from male Sprague Dawley rats were cultured on type I collagen in 5% oxygen atmosphere in DMEM with serum-free supplements for 2 and 24 h. Quantitative proteomics using tandem mass tag technology was used to examine proteins in cells and supernatants. Validation was done with qPCR, ELISA, multiplex immunoassay, and caspase 3/7 assay. Cell ultrastructure was examined by scanning electron microscopy, and scavenger function by quantitative endocytosis assays. Results LSECs cultured for 24 h showed a characteristic pro-inflammatory phenotype both in the presence and absence of IL-1β, with upregulation of cellular responses to cytokines and interferon-γ, cell-cell adhesion, and glycolysis, increased expression of fatty acid binding proteins (FABP4, FABP5), and downregulation of several membrane receptors (STAB1, STAB2, LYVE1, CLEC4G) and proteins in pyruvate metabolism, citric acid cycle, fatty acid elongation, amino acid metabolism, and oxidation-reduction processes. Dexamethasone inhibited apoptosis and improved LSEC viability in culture, repressed inflammatory and immune regulatory pathways and secretion of IL-1β and IL-6, and further upregulated FABP4 and FABP5 compared to time-matched controls. The LSEC porosity and endocytic activity were reduced at 24 h both with and without dexamethasone but the dexamethasone-treated cells showed a less stressed phenotype. Conclusion Rat LSECs become activated towards a pro-inflammatory phenotype during early culture. Dexamethasone represses LSEC activation, inhibits apoptosis, and improves cell viability

High Sensitivity Carbon Nanotubes Flow-Rate Sensors and Their Performance Improvement by Coating

A new type of hot-wire flow-rate sensor (HWFS) with a sensing element made of a macro-sized carbon nanotube (CNT) strand is presented in this study. An effective way to improve repeatability of the CNT flow-rate sensor by coating a layer of Al2O3 on the CNT surface is proposed. Experimental results show that due to the large surface-to-volume ratio and thin coated Al2O3 layer, the CNT flow-rate sensor has higher sensitivity and faster response than a conventional platinum (Pt) HWFS. It is also demonstrated that the covered CNT flow-rate sensor has better repeatability than its bare counterpart due to insulation from the surrounding environment. The proposed CNT flow-rate sensor shows application potential for high-sensitivity measurement of flow rate

A Flexible Flow Sensor System and Its Characteristics for Fluid Mechanics Measurements

In this paper, we present a novel micromachined hot-film flow sensor system realized by a technique using a film depositing processes and incorporating a standard printed circuit. Sensor electrodes and electronic circuits are preprinted on a flexible substrate of polyimide (PI), i.e., a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB). The sensing element, which is made of Cr/Ni/Pt with a temperature coefficient of resistance around 2,000 ppm/K, is fabricated on the FPCB by either magnetron sputtering technology or pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The sensor can be packed efficiently at high-density and integrated with signal processing circuits without additional pads. A simple fabrication process using mature technique and materials selection guarantees that the time and costs are greatly reduced. Both steady-state and transient characteristics of the sensors are experimentally tested, and the results presented to validate the effectiveness of the sensors

Manipulating the critical temperature for the superfluid phase transition in trapped atomic Fermi gases

We examine the effect of the trapping potential on the critical temperature, $T_C$, for the BCS transition to a superfluid state in trapped atomic gases of fermions. $T_C$ for an arbitrary power law trap is calculated in the Thomas-Fermi approximation. For anharmonic traps, $T_C$ can be increased by several orders of magnitude in comparison to a harmonic trap. Our theoretical results indicate that, in practice, one could manipulate the critical temperature for the BCS phase transition by shaping the traps confining the atomic Fermi gases.Comment: 4 page

Copy Number Variation in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Tourette Syndrome: A Cross-Disorder Study

Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) are heritable neurodevelopmental disorders with a partially shared genetic etiology. This study represents the first genome-wide investigation of large (\u3e500 kb), rare

Analyzing stage and duration of Anglo-Chinese business-to-business relationships

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Industrial Marketing Management. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.The manuscript reports on a study aimed at analyzing a series of relational variables derived from the Western industrial buyer–seller relationship and Chinese guanxi literature. The findings based on data collected from over 200 Taiwanese trading firms reveal that buyer's perceptions of organizational trust, communication, cooperation, social bonding and the saving of face are higher in Anglo-Chinese relationships that venture beyond the short-term. It is also found that cooperation, social bonding and performance are greater in those b2b relationships surveyed that are relatively more mature than in emerging states. The findings also reveal that relationship duration and stage have a significant moderating effect on various Inter-organizational and Interpersonal–Outcome relationships. Several managerial implications are extracted to help Western firms better manage their international relations, as well as help new exporting firms penetrate such well-established guanxi networks