[Evaluation of Muscle Fatigue in Spinal Surgery Instruments Based on sEMG-JASA].

Based on the joint analysis of EMG spectrum and amplitude method (JASA), a study on muscle fatigue assessment of spinal surgical instruments based on surface EMG signals was carried out, and a comparative evaluation of the operating comfort before and after the optimization of spinal surgical instruments was completed. A total of 17 subjects were recruited to collect the surface EMG signals of their brachioradialis and biceps. Five surgical instruments before and after optimization were selected for data comparison, and the operating fatigue time proportion of each group of instruments under the same task was calculated based on the RMS and MF eigenvalues. The results showed that when completing the same operation task, the operation fatigue time of the surgical instruments before optimization was significantly higher than that after optimization (P<0.05); there was no significant difference in the fatigue status of brachioradialis and biceps when operating the same instrument (P>0.05). These results provide objective data and reference for the ergonomic design of surgical instruments and fatigue damage protection.

Synergistic effects of core@double-shell structured magnesium hydroxide microcapsules on flame retardancy and smoke suppression in flexible poly(vinyl chloride).

In order to develop an effective flame retardant for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), a core@double-shell structured magnesium hydroxide@9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide@melamine formaldehyde resin (MH@DOPO@ MF) encapsulated flame retardant was prepared. Its flame retardancy and smoke suppression effects in flexible PVC were investigated. Results show that the PVC/10 wt% MH@DOPO@MF composite has the best flame retardancy and smoke suppression performance in comparison with pure flexible PVC and the PVC/20 wt% MH composite. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) of the PVC/10 wt% MH@DOPO@MF composite was ∼30.8%, achieving a V-1 rating in the UL-94 test. MH@DOPO@MF in PVC remarkably increases the yields of the residual char and drastically decreased the heat release rate (HRR), total heat release (THR), smoke production rate (SPR) and total smoke production (TSP). The mechanical property testing showed that MH@DOPO@MF had slight damage on the tensile strength and elongation at break of PVC. This is ascribed to the synergistic flame-retardant effects of MH coordination with DOPO and MF. The present work demonstrates that the core@double-shell structured microcapsule (MH@DOPO@MF) prepared in this efficient manner has good flame retardancy and smoke suppression, and may provide a candidate flame retardant for applying in flexible PVC.

Highly ordered molecular rotor matrix on a nanopatterned template: titanyl phthalocyanine molecules on FeO/Pt(111).

Molecular rotors, motors and gears play important roles in artificial molecular machines, in which rotor and motor matrices are highly desirable for large-scale bottom-up fabrication of molecular machines. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of a highly ordered molecular rotor matrix by depositing nonplanar dipolar titanyl phthalocyanine (TiOPc, C32H16N8OTi) molecules on a Moiré patterned dipolar FeO/Pt(111) substrate. TiOPc molecules with O atoms pointing outwards from the substrate (upward) or towards the substrate (downward) are alternatively adsorbed on the fcc sites by strong lateral confinement. The adsorbed molecules, i.e. two kinds of molecular rotors, show different scanning tunneling microscopy images, thermal stabilities and rotational characteristics. Density functional theory calculations clarify that TiOPc molecules anchoring upwards with high adsorption energies correspond to low-rotational-rate rotors, while those anchoring downwards with low adsorption energies correspond to high-rotational-rate rotors. A robust rotor matrix fully occupied by low-rate rotors is fabricated by depositing molecules on the substrate at elevated temperature. Such a paradigm opens up a promising route to fabricate functional molecular rotor matrices, driven motor matrices and even gear groups on solid substrates.

Direct Evidence of Dirac Signature in Bilayer Germanene Islands on Cu(111).

Bernal-stacked bilayer germanene with a stable buckled honeycomb structure has been successfully synthesized on Cu(111). Structural and electronic characterizations as well as theoretical calculations unequivocally demonstrate for the first time the presence of a nearly linear energy dispersion in the vicinity of the Fermi energy, as expected of the Dirac signature for theoretical freestanding germanene.

Fe on Sb(111): Potential Two-Dimensional Ferromagnetic Superstructures.

It is highly desirable to fabricate two-dimensional ferromagnetic membranes based on orthodox magnetic elements because of their inherent magnetic properties. In this work, we report on two superstructures including a honeycomb-like lattice and identical nanocluster arrays formed by depositing Fe on Sb(111). Combined with first-principles calculations, both detailed atomic structures have been clarified. The honeycomb structure consists of a single layered Fe-Sb phase, and the cluster phase is assigned as a (3 × 3) Fe3Sb7 superlattice. Both structural phases exhibit high magnetic moments localized on d bands of Fe. Our results provide a method to fabricate 2D magnetic superstructures possessing great potential in the realization of the Haldane model, spintronics applications, and single atom catalysis.

Unravelling the Efficient Photocatalytic Activity of Boron-induced Ti3+ Species in the Surface Layer of TiO2.

Ti3+ species are highly unstable in air owing to their facile oxidation into Ti4+ species, and thus they cannot concentrate in the surface layer of TiO2 but are mainly present in its bulk. We report generation of abundant and stable Ti3+ species in the surface layer of TiO2 by boron doping for efficient utilization of solar irradiation. The resultant photocatalysts (denoted as B-TiO2-x) exhibit extremely high and stable solar-driven photocatalytic activity toward hydrogen production. The origin of the solar-light activity enhancement in the B-TiO2-x photocatalysts has been thoroughly investigated by various experimental techniques and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The unique structure invoked by presence of sufficient interstitial boron atoms can lead to substantial variations in density of states of B-TiO2-x, which not only significantly narrow the band gap of TiO2 to improve its visible-light absorption, but also promote the photogenerated electron mobility to enhance its solar-light photocatalytic activity.

Markedly different adsorption behaviors of gas molecules on defective monolayer MoS2: a first-principles study.

Sulfur vacancy (SV) is one of the most typical defects in two-dimensional monolayer MoS2, leading to reactive sites. We presented a systematic study of the adsorption behaviors of gas molecules, CO2, N2, H2O, CO, NH3, NO, O2, H2 and NO2, on monolayer MoS2 with single SV by first-principles calculations. It was found that CO2, N2 and H2O molecules physisorbed at the proximity of single SV. Our adsorption energy calculations and charge transfer analysis showed that the interactions between CO2, N2 and H2O molecules and defective MoS2 are stronger than the cases of CO2, N2 and H2O molecules adsorbed on pristine MoS2, respectively. The defective MoS2 based gas sensors may be more sensitive to CO2, N2 and H2O molecules than pristine MoS2 based ones. CO, NO, O2 and NH3 molecules were found to chemisorb at the S vacancy site and thus modify the electronic properties of defective monolayer MoS2. Magnetism was induced upon adsorption of NO molecules and the defective states induced by S vacancy can be completely removed upon adsorption of O2 molecules, which may provide some helpful information for designing new MoS2 based nanoelectronic devices in future. The H2 and NO2 molecules were found to dissociate at S vacancy. The dissociation of NO2 molecules resulted in O atoms located at the S vacancy site and NO molecules physisorbed on O-doped MoS2. The calculated results showed that NO2 molecules can help heal the S vacancy of the MoS2 monolayer.

In-Plane Intermolecular Interaction Assisted Assembly and Modified Electronic States of Metallofullerene Gd@C82.

Orientational configuration and electronic states of Gd@C82 bonding to Cu(111) have been thoroughly investigated by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (LT-STM/S) and differential conductance mapping complemented by first-principles calculations. We clarify that individual Gd@C82 energetically adopts tilting adsorption configuration with the scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) states readily assigned to the C82 cage/Cu(111) hybrid states and the Gd/cage hybrid states, respectively. Moreover, upon assembling and sufficient thermal activation, Gd@C82 fullerenes are inclined to restore the energetically favored tilting orientational configuration similar to an individual one. This suggests the feasibility of high-level integration of single-Gd@C82 based moletronic device with the performances almost unchanged by two-dimensional arrangement. Furthermore, by rationalizing the inter-Gd@C82 interaction induced slight energy offset of the electronic states, we qualitatively confirm the shown electronic hybrid states as Cu(111)-, C82 cage- and Gd-dominant hybrid states, respectively.

Ionic compound mediated rearrangement of 3, 4, 9, 10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride molecules on Ag(100) surface.

Tailoring of the assembly structure of organic molecular monolayer is of great importance to improve the performance of molecular devices. In this work, a typical ionic compound, namely KCl, was used to mediate the rearrangement of 3, 4, 9, 10-perylene tetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) monolayer on Ag(100). Combined scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) results indicate that both molecule and molecular superlattice would rotate after the dosing of KCl. The density functional theory calculation shows that KCl would exist in the form of molecules rather than ions on Ag(100) and demonstrates that experimentally observed structural transition induced by KCl molecules is energetically favored.

Kondo effect mediated topological protection: Co on Sb(111).

We report on a Kondo effect on Co/Sb(111) mediating topological protection of the surface states against local magnetic perturbations. A sharp scanning tunneling spectroscopic peak near the Fermi energy is interpreted as a fingerprint of the Kondo resonance with a high Kondo temperature of about 200 K. Density function theory calculations reveal that the protruding Co adatoms are responsible for the Kondo peak, while the Co atoms underneath present as nonmagnetic impurities. By identifying the quasiparticle interference wavevectors, we demonstrate that only scattering channels related to backscattering confinements are observed for surfaces with and without the Co adsorption. It suggests that the Kondo effect suppresses the backscattering of the topological surface states and may help to expand the functionality of magnetically coupled topological materials for spintronics applications.

Buckled germanene formation on Pt(111).

Germanene, a 2D honeycomb lattice analogous to graphene, is fabricated on a Pt(111) surface. It exhibits a buckled configuration with a (3 × 3) superlattice coinciding with the substrate's (√19 × âˆš19) superstructure. Covalent bonds exist throughout the germanene layer. The resulting high-quality germanene enables researchers to explore the fundamentals of germanene and its potential applications.

Molecular orbital imaging of cobalt phthalocyanine on native oxidized copper layers using STM.

To observe molecular orbitals using scanning tunneling microscopy, well-ordered oxidized layers on Cu(001) were fabricated to screen the individual adsorbed cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) molecules from the electronic influence of the metal surface. Scanning tunneling microscope images of the molecule on this oxidized layer show similarities to the orbital distribution of the free molecule. The good match between the differential conductance mapping images and the calculated charge distribution at energy levels corresponding to the frontier orbitals of CoPc provides more evidence of the screening of the oxidized layer from interactions between the metal surface and supported molecules.

Structures and orientations of cobalt phthalocyanine adsorbed on Sb(111).

The structures and orientations of cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) adsorbed on Sb(111) were investigated by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope. We found that at the initial coverage molecular domains formed both on the terraces and at the vicinity of step edges that were saturated by molecular chains in advance. With the increasing of molecular coverage, the alternately arranged molecular rows of CoPc adsorbed on the bridge sites of Sb(111) and the orientations of them were rotated by 14° ± 2° with respect to the [-101] direction. At the coverage above one monolayer, the molecules of the second layer were assembled along the directions of the underlying molecular rows and showed similar configurations. Consequently, the second-layer CoPc molecules interacted with neighboring molecules via π orbitals, resulting in the observation of overlapped molecular orbitals.

Laser spot position dependence in photothermal mode cooling of a microcantilever.

We explore the laser spot position (LSP) dependence of photothermal mode cooling in a microcantilever-based Fabry-Perot cavity. Experiments on photothermal cooling demonstrate that the direction of photothermal backaction on the first two cantilever modes is LSP dependent, which can be either parallel or antiparallel. A theoretical analysis of this LSP-dependent effect identifies the parallel and the antiparallel coupling regions along the lever. Simulation results are in quantitative agreement with our experimental observations. We conclude that the cooling limit imposed by photothermal mode coupling can be surmounted by operating in the parallel coupling region.

Molecular orientation and lattice ordering of C60 molecules on the polar FeO/Pt(111) surface.

C(60) molecules assemble into close packing layer under the domination of the intermolecular interaction when deposited onto Pt(111)-supported FeO layer kept at 400 K. From corresponding high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) image, a kind of C(60) molecular orientational ordering stabilized by the intermolecular interaction is revealed as C(60)/FeO(111)-(√133 × âˆš133) R17.5° structure and determined from the commensurability between the C(60) nearest-neighbor distance and the lattice of the underlying oxygen layer. Moreover, due to the inhomogeneously distributed work function of the underlying FeO layer, the C(60) molecular electronic state is periodically modulated resulting in a bright-dim STM contrast. In addition, one coincidence lattice ordering is determined as 8 × 8 superstructure with respect to the C(60) primitive cell, which overlays a 3 × 3 moiré cell of the underlying FeO layer.

Molecular orientations and interfacial structure of C60 on Pt(111).

Molecular orientations and assembled structures of C(60) molecules on Pt(111) have been characterized by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy for coverage between 0.1 ML and 1.5 ML. At room temperature, C(60) molecules preferentially decorate the steps and nucleate into single layer islands (SLIs) with hexagonal close-packed structures upon increasing coverage. C(60) islands comprise two differently oriented C(60)∕Pt(111)-(√13 × âˆš13) R13.9° phases, in which five types of molecular orientation of C(60) carbon cage configurations are clearly identified by the high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy image. Further annealing treatment leads to more uniform molecular orientation without apparent aggregation of C(60) SLIs. As coverage increases above 1 ML, domains corresponding to (2√3 × 2√3) R30° superstructure appear. To explain the above transformation, an interfacial reconstruction model is proposed according to the detailed study of the molecular adsorption structures in different domains.

Coverage-dependent structures of cobalt-phthalocyanine molecules adsorbed on Cu(001) surface.

The morphologies, self-assembly structures, and stability of cobalt-phthalocyanines (CoPc) molecules adsorbed on Cu(001) with coverage ranging from 0.2 monolayer (ML) to 1.6 ML are investigated by ultrahigh-vacuum low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (UHV LT-STM) at liquid nitrogen temperature. Upon increasing the deposition of CoPc molecules various structures, such as isolated adsorption, quasi-hexagonal structure, square root(29) x square root(29) structure, are well characterized by the corresponding high-resolution STM images. The CoPc-CoPc intermolecular interaction and CoPc-substrate interfacial interaction dominate the structural evolutions. For the coverage higher than 1 ML, CoPc molecules preferentially locate on top of the molecules underneath and organize into square root(58) x square root(58) structure. As more and more CoPc molecules adsorb on the first layer, in some square root(58) x square root(58) regions molecular insertion leads to the formation of the square root(29) x square root(29) domain to effectively decrease the energy of the whole system.

The initial stage of the dissociative adsorption and the surface electronic state evolution of NH3 on Si(111)-(7 × 7).

Adsorption of NH3 molecules on Si(111)-(7 × 7) has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. We find that the dissociative adsorption is site-selective and exhibits two adsorption structures resulting from different reaction channels: [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. To explain the dissociation processes, an adsorption model for these reactions is given. Furthermore, the evolution of the local electronic structures is investigated by means of atomically resolved scanning tunneling spectroscopy to clarify the effect of different fragments on the surface states. Finally, we discuss the adsorption position of H atoms from the NH3 dissociation.

Study on the photocatalytic reduction of dichromate and photocatalytic oxidation of dichlorvos.

In this paper, dichromate and dichlorvos are selected as the deputies of inorganic and organic pollutants, respectively, and TiO2/beads is used as a photocatalyst. The effects of various parameters, such as the amount of the photocatalyst, H2O2 concentration, metal ions, anions, pH value, and organic compounds on the photocatalytic reduction of dichromate and photocatalytic oxidation of dichlorvos are studied. From the studies, the differences of the parameters effect on the photocatalytic degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants are obtained. The results show that the optimum amount of the photocatalyst used is 6.0 g cm(-3) for the photocatalytic reactions. With the addition of a small amount of H2O2, the photocatalytic reduction of dichromate is inhibited while the photocatalytic oxidation of dichlorvos is accelerated. With the addition of trace amounts of Fe3+ or Cu2+, both the reactions are accelerated, and with the addition of Zn2+ and Na+, no obvious effects on the reactions are observed. Acidic solution is favorable for the photocatalytic reduction of dichromate; and acidic and alkaline solutions are favorable for the photocatalytic oxidation of dichlorvos. Adding SO4(2-), the photocatalytic oxidation is accelerated and adding Cl- the reaction is inhibited; and with the addition of trace amounts of SO4(2-), Cl- and NO3-, no obvious effects on the photocatalytic reduction of dichromate are observed. With the addition of methanol and toluene, the photocatalytic reduction of dichromate is accelerated, and the photocatalytic oxidation of dichlorvos is inhibited. The possible roles of the additives on the reactions are also discussed.

TiO2/beads as a photocatalyst for the degradation of X3B azo dye.

The feasibility of photocatalytic degradation of X3B azo dye by TiO2/beads photocatalyst was studied. The effects of parameters such as the amount of TiO2/beads, airflow, as well as the concentrations of H2O2, Fe3+, Mg2+ and Na+ on the photocatalytic degradation of X3B azo dye were also studied. The results showed that 25 mg/dm3 X3B azo dye can be photocatalytically degraded completely by 30 min illumination with a 375W medium pressure mercury lamp. Adding a small amount of H2O2 or Fe3+, the efficiencies of photocatalytic degradation of X3B azo dye were increased rapidly. The mechanisms of the reaction and the role of the additives were also investigated. After 120 hours TiO2/beads showed no significant loss of the photocatalytic activity.