Extended depth-of-field wide-field fluorescence microscopy with a micro-mirror array lens system for versatile cellular examination.

We present a versatile extended depth-of-field (EDOF) wide-field fluorescence microscopy using a new, to the best of our knowledge, active device, micro-mirror array lens system (MALS) for calibration-free and orientation-insensitive EDOF imaging. The MALS changed the focal plane during image acquisition, and the system could be operated in any orientation. Two EDOF imaging modes of high-speed accumulation and low-speed surface sectioning were implemented. The performance was demonstrated in non-contact imaging of conjunctival goblet cells in live mice and depth-resolved cellular examination of ex-vivo human cancer specimens. MALS-based EDOF microscopy has potential for versatile cellular examination.

Methodology for Mapping the Residual Stress Field in Serviced Rails Using LCR Waves.

Non-destructive stress measurement by ultrasonic testing is based on calculating the acoustoelastic modulus obtained from the relationship between material stress and sound wave velocity. A critically refracted longitudinal (LCR) wave, which is a bulk longitudinal wave penetrating below and parallel to the surface below an effective depth, is most suitable for ultrasonic stress measurement tests because it exhibits a relatively large change in travel time in response to a change in stress. In particular, the residual stress distribution through the thickness of the subject can be calculated if transducers of different frequencies are applied because of the characteristic of propagation to different depths of penetration depending on the frequency. The main purpose of this study was to visualize the internal or residual stress distribution through the thickness of rails using LCR waves. To this end, LCR probes with different center frequencies were designed and manufactured, and the residual stress values ​​of an unused railroad rail and two used railroad rails operated under different conditions were calculated. This was done using the ultrasonic signals received from each probe, of which the distributions were mapped. Through these mapping results, different residual stress values could be calculated according to the depth. The differences in residual stress generation and distribution according to the conditions surrounding the contact between train wheels and rails, and their characteristics, were visualized and analyzed. As a result, it could be concluded that the non-destructive evaluation technique using LCR waves could detect differences in the residual stress of a rail, and thus can be used to measure the residual stress of the rail accurately.

Experimental Consideration of Conditions for Measuring Residual Stresses of Rails Using Magnetic Barkhausen Noise Method.

Residual stress, a factor affecting the fatigue and fracture characteristics of rails, is formed during the processes of fabrication and heat treatment, and is also generated by vertical loads on wheels due to the weight of vehicles. Moreover, damage to rails tends to accelerate due to the continuous increase in the number of passes and to the high speed of passing vehicles. Because this can have a direct effect on safety accidents, having a technique to evaluate and analyze the residual stresses in rails accurately is very important. In this study, stresses due to tensile loads applied to new rails and residual stresses remaining in used rails were measured by using magnetic Barkhausen noise method. First, a magnetization frequency and noise band suitable for the rails were selected. Moreover, by applying tensile loads to specimens and comparing the difference in magnetization amplitudes for each load, the stresses applied to the rails by using the magnetic Barkhausen noise method were measured, and the analysis of the results was verified. Based on these results, the difference in the results for the loads asymmetrically applied according to the wheel shape was analyzed by measuring for the head parts of used rails.

Ultrasonic device developed for non-invasive moxibustion therapy.

BACKGROUND: Recently, some adverse effects of moxibustion has been reported such as burns, smoke, allergies, and so on. To overcome the adverse effects of traditional moxibustion, an ultrasonic moxibustion device (UMD) was designed, simulated, fabricated, and tested. The objective of this study is to provide detailed information about the main design parameters, simulation outcome, and performance-test results. METHODS: The main components of the UMD are a 1-MHz ultrasonic transducer (UT) with concave lens, and its applicator. The acoustic pressure and temperature distribution of the UT was simulated and described graphically using COMSOL software, which is based on the finite element method (FEM). Experimental verification of the temperature distribution was performed on the skin of pork. The temperature-change profiles of pork in relation to increase of therapy time were obtained at an unfocused point (2 mm) and at a focal distance of 13 mm. For the performance test, moxibustion therapy was conducted on the abdominal skin of mice for 120 min using the new UMD and its histological images were acquired to analyze the skin-tissue damage. RESULTS: The FEM simulation of temperature distribution and acoustic pressure agreed with the experimental outcome. Histological images showed that there was no skin-tissue damage to the mouse abdomens after therapy. The results clearly show that the newly developed UMD can overcome the disadvantages of traditional moxibustion therapy and achieve the proposed design parameters. CONCLUSION: The FEM simulation and performance tests provided valuable information about developing future UMDs. In addition, its performance can be compared with traditional moxibustion therapy for future study.

Propagation and Attenuation Characteristics of an Ultrasonic Beam in Dissimilar-Metal Welds.

Ultrasonic inspection of welds joining dissimilar metals in nuclear power plants has proven to be a challenge, because the ultrasonic waves are subject to diffraction, distortion, scattering, and noise. These perturbations are due to their interactions with coarse-grained microstructures having anisotropic and heterogeneous metallurgical properties that can promote ultrasonic attenuation. In this paper, to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing for dissimilar-metal welds (DMWs), ultrasonic beam characteristics for DMWs with a buttering layer were investigated in order to analyze the beam distortion phenomenon caused by inhomogeneous anisotropic properties and coarse grains. Ultrasonic testing was performed on DMW specimens using single ultrasonic transducers to investigate the behavior of the ultrasonic beam in the welds. According to the anisotropic and heterogeneous properties, when passing through the weld and the buttering layer of the DMW, ultrasonic waves were distorted and attenuation was high. In particular, in the case of using angular incidence that passed through the weld and the buttering layer in turn, the received ultrasonic data did not contain accurate internal information. From this, it was verified that internal defects may be detected by transmitting ultrasonic waves in different directions. Finally, the existing limitations on the application of non-destructive ultrasonic testing to dissimilar-metal welds were verified, and a solution to the measurement method was proposed.

Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)-PbTiO3-Based Ultrasonic Transducer for Detecting Infiltrated Water in Pressurized Water Reactor Fuel Rods.

In this study, a high-sensitivity Pb( Mg 1 / 3 Nb 2 / 3 ) O 3 - PbTiO 3 (PMN-PT)-based ultrasonic transducer was developed for detecting defective pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel rods. To apply the PMN-PT substance to nuclear power plant facilities, given the need to guarantee their robustness against radioactive materials, the effects of neutron irradiation on PMN-PT were investigated. As a result, the major piezo-electric constants of PMN-PT, such as the electrical impedance, dielectric constant, and piezo-electric charge constant, were found to vary within acceptable ranges. This means that the PMN-PT could be used as the piezo-electric material in the ultrasonic transducer for nuclear power plants. The newly developed ultrasonic transducer was simulated using a modified KLM model for the through-transmission method and fabricated under the same conditions as in the simulation. The through-transmitted waveforms of normal and defective PWR fuel rods were obtained and compared with simulated results in the time and frequency domains. The response waveforms of the newly developed ultrasonic transducer for pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel rods showed good agreement with the simulation outcome and could clearly detect defective specimens with high sensitivity.

Effect of Neutron Irradiation on Properties of Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-PbTiO3.

The effect of neutron irradiation on the electrical and piezoelectric properties of a PMN-PT [(Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3-PbTiO3)] single crystal such as permittivity, electrical impedance and piezoelectric constant d33 has been investigated at 1 kHz. The changes of d33 and permittivity depending on the dose of neutron irradiation for all samples of PMN-PT single crystal were found. In all samples, the permittivity, and piezoelectric constant d33 decreased with the increase of irradiation dose. Changes of XRD patterns depending on the dose of neutron irradiation for all samples were found. From the results of XRDs for analyzing the formation of the PMN-PT single crystals in single phase, the neutron irradiation will affect the crystallinity of PMN-PT single crystals.

Comparative study of binding constants from Love wave surface acoustic wave and surface plasmon resonance biosensors using kinetic analysis.

Biosensors are used in a variety of fields for early diagnosis of diseases, measurement of toxic contaminants, quick detection of pathogens, and separation of specific proteins or DNA. In this study, we fabricated and evaluated the capability of a high sensitivity Love wave surface acoustic wave (SAW) biosensor. The experimental setup was composed of the fabricated 155-MHz Love wave SAW biosensor, a signal measurement system, a liquid flow system, and a temperature-control system. Subsequently, we measured the lower limit of detection (LOD) of the 155-MHz Love wave SAW biosensor, and calculated the association and dissociation constants between protein G and anti-mouse IgG using kinetic analysis. We compared these results with those obtained using a commercial surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor. We found that the LOD of the SAW biosensor for anti-mouse IgG and mouse IgG was 0.5 and 1 microg/ml, respectively, and the resultant equilibrium association and dissociation constants were similar to the corresponding values obtaining using the commercial SPR biosensor. Thus, we conclude that the fabricated 155-MHz Love wave SAW biosensor exhibited the high sensitivity of the commercial SPR biosensor and was able to analyze the binding properties of the ligand and receptor by kinetic analysis similarly to the commercial SPR biosensor.

Enhancement of the sensitivity of surface plasmon resonance biosensor by modifying the metal surface.

We report on the enhancement of sensitivity of SPR biosensor by modifying the metal surface. A mixture layer, in which gold and dielectric medium coexist, was simply prepared by increasing the roughness of gold surface deposited onto a glass substrate via the reduction reaction. The absorbance spectrum and atomic force microscopy study showed that the average roughness of modified substrate increased by 4 times, compared to the unmodified substrate. The SPR curves of the unmodified substrate and the modified substrate were measured with the various refractive index of the dielectric medium. The sensitivity of modified substrate to the refractive index of dielectric medium was increased by 1.5 times, compared to the unmodified substrate. In result, the addition of the mixture layer between the gold surface and the dielectric medium by the reduction reaction can provides the enhancement of sensitivity in the SPR biosensor.

Structural chemistry of M2Si5N8:Eu2+ (M = Ca, Sr, Ba) phosphor via structural refinement.

Structural refinement using X-ray powder diffraction data and geometry energy calculations using quantum mechanics were used to investigate the preferential substitution sites and the amount of Eu2+ ions in the host lattice of alkaline earth elements co-doped M2Si5N8:Eu2+ (M = Ca, Sr, and Ba), which is a red color-emitting nitride phosphor prepared via a carbothermal reaction method. Of the possible preferential sites, the preferential site proposed by the structural refinement results, in which the Eu2+ ions might preferentially occupy nine coordinated sites with nitrogen in M2Si5N8:Eu2+, was confirmed via geometry energy calculations using a first-principle based on the density-functional theory. The final converged weighted R factor (R(wp)) and the goodness-of-fit indicator [S(= R(wp)/R(e))] were 9.51% and 1.77, respectively. Each occupancy of Eu2+ ions for the two non-equivalent M sites, M(1) and M(2), was 0.10(2) and 0.04(2), respectively. The final refined model described the crystal structure in a space group Pmn2, (No. 31) with Z = 2, a = 5.7424(1) angstroms, b = 6.8837(1) angstroms, c = 9.3586(1) angstroms, and alpha(= beta= gamma)= 90 degrees.

Preferential site of Gd in Gd-doped Fe3O4 nanopowder.

Both structural refinement using X-ray powder diffraction data and energy calculation using quantum mechanics were used to determine the site preference and the amount of Gd in the host lattice of Gd doped Fe3O4 [Gd(x)Fe(3-x)O4 (x = 0.1)] nanopowder prepared by the sonochemical method. Among possible cation-disorder models, the model proposed by structural refinement, in which Gd ions might preferentially occupy the octahedral sites in Gd doped Fe3O4 having the inverse spinel structure, was confirmed by geometry energy calculation using a first-principle based on the density-functional theory. The final converged weighted R-factor, R(wp), and the goodness-of-fit indicator, S (= R(wp)/R(e)) were 6.73% and 1.22, respectively. The occupancy of Gd ions occupying octahedral sites was 0.04(2).

Fabrication and comparison of PMN-PT single crystal, PZT and PZT-based 1-3 composite ultrasonic transducers for NDE applications.

This paper describes fabrication and comparison of PMN-PT single crystal, PZT, and PZT-based 1-3 composite ultrasonic transducers for NDE applications. As a front matching layer between test material (Austenite stainless steel, SUS316) and piezoelectric materials, alumina ceramics was selected. The appropriate acoustic impedance of the backing materials for each transducer was determined based on the results of KLM model simulation. Prototype ultrasonic transducers with the center frequencies of approximately 2.25 and 5MHz for contact measurement were fabricated and compared to each other. The PMN-PT single crystal ultrasonic transducer shows considerably improved performance in sensitivity over the PZT and PZT-based 1-3 composite ultrasonic transducers.