SLP: A zero-contact non-invasive method for pulmonary function testing

Structured Light Plethysmography (SLP) is a novel non-invasive method that uses structured light to perform pulmonary function testing that does not require physical contact with a patient. The technique produces an estimate of chest wall volume changes over time. A patient is observed continuously by two cameras and a known pattern of light (i.e. structured light) is projected onto the chest using an off-the-shelf projector. Corner features from the projected light pattern are extracted, tracked and brought into correspondence for both camera views over successive frames. A novel self calibration algorithm recovers the intrinsic and extrinsic camera parameters from these point correspondences. This information is used to reconstruct a surface approximation of the chest wall and several novel ideas for 'cleaning up' the reconstruction are used. The resulting volume and derived statistics (e.g. FVC, FEV) agree very well with data taken with a spirometer. © 2010. The copyright of this document resides with its authors.

First-principles study of UC2 and U2C3

The electronic structure and mechanical properties Of UC2 and U2C3 have been systematically investigated using first-principles calculations by the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. Furthermore, in order to describe precisely the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized U 5f electrons, we adopt the generalized gradient approximation +U formalisms for the exchange-correlation term. We show that our calculated structural parameters and electronic properties for UC2 and U2C3 are in good agreement with the experimental data by choosing an appropriate Hubbard U = 3 eV. As for the chemical bonding nature, the contour plot of charge density and total density of states suggest that UC2 and U2C3 are metallic mainly contributed by the 5f electrons, mixed with significant covalent component resulted from the strong C-C bonds. The present results also illustrate that the metal-carbon (U-C) bonding and the carbon-carbon covalent bonding in U2C3 are somewhat weaker than those in UC2, leading to the weaker thermodynamic stability at high temperature as observed by experiments.

Electronic structures and mechanical properties of uranium monocarbide from first-principles LDA plus U and GGA plus U calculations

The electronic structure, elastic constants, Poisson's ratio, and phonon dispersion curves of UC have been systematically investigated from the first-principles calculations by the projector-augmented-wave (PAW) method. In order to describe precisely the strong on-site Coulomb repulsion among the localized U 5f electrons, we adopt the local density approximation (LDA) + U and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) + U formalisms for the exchange correlation term. We systematically study how the electronic properties and elastic constants of UC are affected by the different choice of U as well as the exchange-correlation potential. We show that by choosing an appropriate Hubbard U parameter within the GGA + U approach, most of our calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Therefore. the results obtained by the GGA + U with effective Hubbard parameter U chosen around 3 eV for UC are considered to be reasonable. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The application of SnS nanoparticles to bulk heterojunction solar cells

Tin mono-sulphide (SnS) nanoparticles were synthesized by a facile method. Reactions producing narrow size distribution SnS nanoparticles with the diameter of 5.0-10 nm were carried out in an ethylene glycol solution at 150 degrees C for 24 h. Bulk heterojunction solar cells with the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/polyethylenedioxythiophene polystyrenesulphonate (PEDOT PSS)/SnS polymer/Al were fabricated by blending the nanoparticles with a conjugated polymer to form the active layer for the first time. Current density-voltage characterization of the devices showed that due to the addition of SnS nanoparticles to the polymer film, the device performance can be dramatically improved, compared with that of the pristine polymer solar cells. (c) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

The synthesis of MDMO-PPV capped PbS nanorods and their application in solar cells

Poly[2-methoxy-5-(3',7'-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MDMO-PPV) capped PbS nanorods about 100 nm in diameter and 400 nm in length were synthesized via a hydrothermal route in toluene and dimethylsulfoxide solution. By blending the PbS nanorods with the MDMO-PPV as the active layer, bulk heterojunction solar cells with an indium tin oxide (ITO)/polyethylenedioxythiophene/polystyrenesulphonate (PEDOT PSS)/MDMO-PPV PbS nanorods/Al structure were fabricated in a N-2 filled glove box, Current density-voltage characterization of the devices showed that the solar cells with PbS nanorods hybrid with MDMO-PPV as active layer were better in performance than the devices with the polymer only. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chiral symmetry analysis and rigid rotational invariance for the lattice dynamics of single-wall carbon nanotubes

We provide a detailed expression of the vibrational potential for the lattice dynamics of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT's) satisfying the requirements of the exact rigid translational as well as rotational symmetries, which is a nontrivial generalization of the valence force model for the planar graphene sheet. With the model, the low-frequency behavior of the dispersion of the acoustic modes as well as the flexure mode can be precisely calculated. Based upon a comprehensive chiral symmetry analysis, the calculated mode frequencies (including all the Raman- and infrared-active modes), velocities of acoustic modes, and the polarization vectors are systematically fitted in terms of the chiral angle and radius, where the restrictions of various symmetry operations of SWCNT's are fulfilled.

异氰酸醋官能化乙丙共聚物的制备及其与尼龙6共混体系的研究

本工作合成了一种含异氰酸酷功能基团的不饱和单体，（3-异氰酸酯基-4-甲基）苯氨基甲酸-2-丙烯配（TAI）。以过氧化二异丙苯（OCP）为引发剂，该单体被用于乙烯丙烯共聚物（EPM）的自由基溶液接枝官能化。纯化后的接枝产物（EPM-g-TAI）的傅立叶变换红外光谱中存在2273cm-l异氰酸酷基团（-NCO），表明异氰酸醋单体已经接枝到乙丙共聚物上。接枝率采用化学滴定和红外光谱的方法确定。与EPM相比，EPM-g-TAl的分子量分布（MMO）变窄。采用旋转流变仪测定了EPM-g-TAl的流变行为。EPM-g-TAl的表观粘度高于EPM且随接枝率的增加而增加。采用接触角测定的表面分析表明，对于给定的的极性测定液体接枝产物的接触角随接枝率的增加而增大；我们同时得到接枝产物的表面自由能（75）以及表面自由能的色散分量（γs）和表面自由能的极性分量（γsρ），这些参数随接枝率提高而增大的趋势使我们可以定量估计接枝反应对改善极性的贡献。本工作研究了（3一异氰酸酯基-4-甲基）苯氨基甲酸-2-丙烯醋（TAl）官能化乙烯丙烯共聚物（EPM-g-TAI）与尼龙6（PA6）的反应共混。傅立叶变换红外光谱表明，由于EPM-g-TAl中的异氰酸醋基（-NCO）与尼龙6中的端胺基（-NH2）之间的化学反应：EPM-g-TAI／PA6谱图中3299cm-1处的阵日伸缩振动峰变窄变高，1640cm-1处阵日变形振动峰和1547cm-1处阵日弯曲振动峰变强。同时研究了共混体系的热性能、流变性能、机械性能和形态特征。OSC结果表明，在相同的共混组成下，EPM-g-TAI／PA6共混体系中尼龙6的结晶烩（△Hc）到氏于EPM／PA6共混体系中的尼龙6，这种差别随着共混物中乙烯丙烯共聚物含量的增加而增大，说明反应共混体系中尼龙6的结晶受到一定的限制；EPM-g-TAI／PA6共混体系的复数粘度和贮能模量高于相应的EPM／PA6共混体系；与相同组成的EPM／PA6相比，EPM-g-TAI／PA6中分散相的粒子尺寸更小，粒子分布更均匀，界面粘合更强；反应共混后的机械性能如拉伸强度、杨氏模量，弯曲强度和模量、缺口及非缺口冲击强度均随着接枝率的提高而增加。

Preparation and performance of cellulose acetate/polyethyleneimine blend microfiltration membranes and their applications

A modified microfiltration membrane has been prepared by blending a matrix polymer with a functional polymer. Cellulose acetate (CA) was blended with polyethyleneimine (PEI), which was then crosslinked by polyisocyanate, in a mixture of solvents. In the membrane, PEI can supply coupling sites for ligands in affinity separation or be used as ligands for metal chelating, removal of endotoxin or ion exchange. The effects of the time of phase inversion induced by water vapor, blended amount of PEI and amount of crosslinking agent on membrane performance were investigated. The prepared blend membranes have specific surface area of 12.04-24.11 m(2)/g and pure water flux (PWF) of 10-50 ml/cm(2) min with porosity of 63-75%. The membranes, made of 0.15 50 wt.% PEI/CA ratio and 0.5 crosslinking agent/PEI ratio, were applied to adsorbing Cu2+ and bovine serum albumin (BSA) individually. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu2+ ion on the blend membrane is 7.42 mg/g dry membrane. The maximum adsorption capacities of BSA on the membranes with and without chelating Cu2+ ion are 86.6 and 43.8 mg/g dry membrane, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

基于桶内动态融合的透明现象的高效绘制

基于桶排序的顺序独立透明现象绘制算法,采用桶排序原理将投影收集到同一个像素上的多个片元并排序,当发生桶内片元冲突时会产生错误的绘制结果.为此,提出一种基于桶内动态融合的透明现象的高效绘制算法.此算法采用桶内动态融合和并发读/写的方法逐一融合落入同一个桶内的所有片元,并在后处理中按从前向后的顺序融合各个桶内的颜色值.由于同时发生桶内片元冲突和读/写冲突的概率非常小,因而可以大大提高绘制结果的准确性.实验结果表明,与基于桶排序的绘制算法相比,采用文中算法可以更准确地绘制场景,生成与真实结果非常相近的绘制效果,同时算法的效率基本保持不变.

Single mode and multimodes lasing emission from MEH-PPV doped polystyrene thin films with surface ripples formed by vapour-induced phase separation

We report single mode and multimodes lasing emission from conjugated polymer poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV) doped polystyrene ( PS) thin films with surface ripples. Surface ripples were formed by water vapour-induced phase separation. A single mode lasing emission at 606 nm with a line-width of less than 0.4 nm was obtained. The laser threshold was as low as 3.5 mu J pulse(-1). The side mode suppression ratio was 5.76 dB. The periodic changes of the refraction index in the MEH-PPV : PS blending film due to the phase separation should be attributed to the lasing actions.

Effects of SEBS-g-BTAI on the morphology, structure and mechanical properties of PA6/SEBS blends

Styrene-b-(ethylene-co-1-butene)-b-styrene (SEBS) triblock copolymer functionalized with epsilon-caprolactam blocked allyl (3-isocyanate-4-tolyl) carbamate (SEBS-g-BTAI) was used to toughen polyamide 6 (PA6) via reactive blending. Compared to the PA6/SEBS blends, mechanical properties such as tensile strength, Young's modulus, especially Izod notched strength of PA6/SEBS-g-BTAI blends were improved distinctly. Both theological and FTIR results indicated a new copolymer formed by the reaction of end groups of PA6 and isocyanate group regenerated in the backbone of SEBS-g-BTAI. Smaller dispersed particle sizes with narrower distribution were found in PA6/SEBS-g-BTAI blends, via field emitted scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The core-shell structures with PS core and PEB shell were also observed in the PA6/SEBS-g-BTAI blends via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which might improve the toughening ability of the rubber particles.

Rheology, morphology and mechanical properties of LLDPE/PS blends catalyzed by combined Lewis acids

The rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of LLDPE/PS blends with a combined catalyst, Me3SiCl and InCl3 center dot 4H(2)O, were studied in this work. The higher complex viscosity and storage modulus at low frequency were ascribed to the presence of graft copolymers, which were in situ formed during the mixing process. From the rheological experiments, the complex viscosity and storage modulus of reactive blends were higher than the physical blends. The dispersion of LLDPE particles of reactive blending becomes finer than that of physical blends, consistent with the rheological results. As a result of increased compatibility between LLDPE/PS, the mechanical properties of reactive blends show much higher tensile and Izod impact strength than those of physical blends.

Chitosan(Chitin)/Cellulose Composite Biosorbents Prepared Using Ionic Liquid for Heavy Metal Ions Adsorption

Chitosan(chitin)/cellulose composites as biodegradable biosorbents were prepared under an environment-friendly preparation processes using ionic liquids. Infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectra indicated the stronger intermolecular hydrogen bond between chitosan and cellulose, and the hydroxyl and amine groups were believed to be the metal ion binding sites. Among the prepared biosorbents, freeze-dried composite had higher adsorption capacity and better stability. The capacity of adsorption was found to be Cu(II) (0.417 mmol/g) > Zn(II) (0.303 mmol/g) > Cr(VI) (0.251 mmol/g) > Ni(II) (0.225 mmol/g) > Ph(II) (0.127 mmol/g) at the same initial concentration 5 mmol L-1. In contrast to some other chitosan-type biosorbents, preparation and component of the biosorbent were obviously more environment friendly. Moreover, adsorption capacity of chitosan in the blending biosorbent could be fully shown.