A Cluster-Based Computational Thermodynamics Framework with Intrinsic Chemical Short-Range Order: Part I. Configurational Contribution

Exploiting chemical short-range order (SRO) is a promising new avenue for manipulating the properties of alloys. However, existing modeling frameworks are not sufficient to understand and predict SRO in multicomponent (>3) alloys. In this work, we developed a hybrid computational thermodynamics framework by marrying unique advantages from CVM (Cluster Variation Method) and CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagram) method through incorporating chemical SRO into CALPHAD with a novel cluster-based solution model. The key is to use the Fowler-Yang-Li transform to decompose the cumbersome cluster chemical potentials in CVM into fewer site chemical potentials of the basis cluster, thereby considerably reducing the number of variables that must be minimized for multicomponent systems. The new framework puts more physics, primarily intrinsic SRO, into CALPHAD, while maintaining its practicality and efficiency. It leverages statistical mechanics to yield a more physical description of configurational entropy and opens the door to cluster-based CALPHAD database development. The application of this newly proposed model in the prototype FCC AB system demonstrated that this model can correctly capture the essential features of the phase diagram and thermodynamic properties. The hybrid CVM-CALPHAD framework represents a new methodology for thermodynamic modeling that enables atomic-scale order to be exploited as a dimension for materials design, which potentially leads to novel complex concentrated alloys. It achieves a balance between the accuracy and computational cost for modeling multicomponent alloys with the intrinsic SRO in the context of CALPHAD

Rapid (<5 min) identification of pathogen in human blood by electrokinetic concentration and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

This study reports a novel microfluidic platform for rapid and long-ranged concentration of rare-pathogen from human blood for subsequent on-chip surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) identification/discrimination of bacteria based on their detected fingerprints. Using a hybrid electrokinetic mechanism, bacteria can be concentrated at the stagnation area on the SERS-active roughened electrode, while blood cells were excluded away from this region at the center of concentric circular electrodes. This electrokinetic approach performs isolation and concentration of bacteria in about three minutes; the density factor is increased approximately a thousand fold in a local area of ~5000 μm(2) from a low bacteria concentration of 5 × 10(3) CFU/ml. Besides, three genera of bacteria, S. aureus, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa that are found in most of the isolated infections in bacteremia were successfully identified in less than one minute on-chip without the use of any antibody/chemical immobilization and reaction processes

Design for data acquisition system of gear measuring center

A data acquisition system for Computerized Numerical Control Gear Measurement Center was developed, in which Field-Programmable Gate Array was used as the control core instead of traditional single-chip microcomputer or Digital Signal Processor, First-In First-Out buffer to hold data, and personal computer bus as data transmission unit. The system performs multichannel data acquisition more efficiently, higher precision and higher rate in real time than the traditional ones. Experimental comparison indicates that the data gathering rate increase twice to 10 kHz, and the uniformly-spaced error is in 1 μm

Inversion formula of multifractal energy dissipation in 3D fully developed turbulence

The concept of inverse statistics in turbulence has attracted much attention in the recent years. It is argued that the scaling exponents of the direct structure functions and the inverse structure functions satisfy an inversion formula. This proposition has already been verified by numerical data using the shell model. However, no direct evidence was reported for experimental three dimensional turbulence. We propose to test the inversion formula using experimental data of three dimensional fully developed turbulence by considering the energy dissipation rates in stead of the usual efforts on the structure functions. The moments of the exit distances are shown to exhibit nice multifractality. The inversion formula between the direct and inverse exponents is then verified.Comment: 3 RevTex pages including 3 eps figure

Broad bandwidth waveguide polarizer via grating mediated mode conversion

A polarization beam splitter (PBS) based on a four-layer slab waveguide is proposed, where a sub-wavelength grating is embedded between the waveguide core and the cladding. This grating not only affords Bragg momentum to tune the propagation constant of guiding modes but also converts the forward zero-order waveguide mode to the backward first one for a specific polarization. Thus, the incident light with polarization that satisfies the phase-matching condition is highly reflected in the waveguide, while other light with orthogonal polarization keeps intact and passes through it efficiently. Numerical simulations show that one can make the compact PBS for both polarizations with an extinction ratio higher than 35 dB, a waveband larger than 80 nm, a grating period tolerance of 20 nm, and a waveguide height tolerance of 80 nm. The revealed mode conversion mechanism via the sub-wavelength grating enriches the design of PBSs for integrated silicon waveguide chips

Iron(II)-Catalyzed Intermolecular Amino-Oxygenation of Olefins through the N−O Bond Cleavage of Functionalized Hydroxylamines

An iron-catalyzed diastereoselective intermolecular olefin amino-oxygenation reaction is reported, which proceeds via an iron-nitrenoid generated by the N− O bond cleavage of a functionalized hydroxylamine. In this reaction, a bench-stable hydroxylamine derivative is used as the amination reagent and oxidant. This method tolerates a range of synthetically valuable substrates that have been all incompatible with existing amino-oxygenation methods. It can also provide amino alcohol derivatives with regio- and stereochemical arrays complementary to known amino-oxygenation methods

HBV inhibits apoB production via the suppression of MTP expression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Liver dominates the production and secretion of apolipoprotein B (apoB) and evidence shows that liver malfunction induced by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection could lead to apolipoprotein metabolism disorders. The present study was undertaken to assess the effects of HBV on apoB expression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Clinical examination: serum apoB levels in patients with chronic HBV infection and in healthy individuals were measured by immunoturbidimetry using biochemical analyzer Olympus 5400. Cell study: mRNA and protein expression levels of apoB in HepG2 and HepG2.2.15 cells were measured by RT-PCR and Western blot. Alternatively, HBV infectious clone pHBV1.3 or control plasmid pBlue-ks were tranfected into HepG2 cells, and mRNA and protein expression levels of apoB, as well as the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) in tranfected HepG2 cells were also measured by RT-PCR and western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum apoB level was much lower in chronic HBV patients as compared to healthy individuals (P < 0.05). Expression of apoB mRNA and protein was lower in HepG2.2.15 cells than in HepG2 cells. Similarly, expression of apoB mRNA and protein was lower in pHBV1.3 transfected HepG2 cells than in pBlue-ks transfected HepG2 cells. Expression of MTP mRNA and protein in pHBV1.3 transfected HepG2 cells was reduced in a dose-dependent fashion.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>HBV infection plays an inhibitory effect on apoB expression.</p

A study of the total chromatic number of equibipartite graphs

AbstractThe total chromatic number χt(G) of a graph G is the least number of colors needed to color the vertices and edges of G so that no adjacent vertices or edges receive the same color, no incident edges receive the same color as either of the vertices it is incident with. In this paper, we obtain some results of the total chromatic number of the equibipartite graphs of order 2n with maximum degree n − 1. As a part of our results, we disprove the biconformability conjecture