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Hierarchically porous MOFs (HP-MOFs) present advantageous synergism of micro- and mesopore but challenging in synthetic control at molecular scale. Herein, we present the first example of reversible and controllable mesopore generation and renovation in a microporous MOF of HKUST-1 via synthetic manipulation at molecular scale. An ammonia-gas etching strategy is proposed to create mesopores in carboxylate-based microporous MOFs and thus produce HP-MOFs. Gas-phase etching ensures uniform mesopore formation inside the MOF crystals via plane-oriented cutting the carboxylate-metal bonds off without affecting the crystal size and morphology. The mesopore size is controlled by the etching temperature, while the mesopore volume could be tuned by adjusting etchant pressure. The generated mesopores could be renovated using MOF precursors solutions so that to achieve controllable mesopore generation/closure, and encapsulation of the adsorbed molecules. This work demonstrates a powerful protocol for precisely tailoring and tuning the properties of MOF materials at molecular scale.

Adsorption of guest molecules by porous materials proceeds in a spontaneous exothermic way, whereas desorption usually requires external energy input as an endothermic process. Reducing such energy consumption makes great sense in practice. Here we report the reversible and automatic methanol (MeOH) adsorption/release in an ionic hydrogen-bonded organic framework (iHOF) constructed from guanidinium cation and borate anion ([B(OCH3)4]3[C(NH2)3]4Cl•4CH3OH, termed Gd-B) at ambient condition. The metastable Gd-B automatically releases all sixteen MeOH molecules (63.4 wt%) via desorption and tetra-methyl borate hydrolysis at ambient atmosphere and the structure can be recovered when re-exposed to MeOH vapor or liquid, mimicking combustible ice behavior but at ambient condition. Reversible capture/release of four guest MeOH molecules is also realized without destroying its crystal structure. The combustible Gd-B paves a way for exploring metastable iHOF materials as carrier for alternative energy source and drug delivery etc., Porous materials function as sorbents for gas storage but release of guest molecules often needs extra energy. Here the authors report reversible methanol adsorption and release in a hydrogen-bonded organic framework, which mimics combustible ice behavior but under ambient condition.

The photoreduction of toxic Cr(VI) to environmental Cr(III) driven by visible-light is highly desired. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as one class of outstanding porous materials, had been utilized for photoreduction of Cr(VI). Current methods modulated the photoreduction of Cr(VI) mainly by selection of suitable metal ions or organic ligands in single component MOFs. However, most of them still exhibit limited photoreduction performance due to low Cr(VI) adsorption rate/capacity, weak light harvesting efficiency, and/or poor electronic utilization efficiency. Multivariate metal-organic frameworks with highly visible-light photosensitive unit and strong Cr(VI) adsorption strut into one single phase is therefore expected to be an effective strategy to improve the photoreduction of Cr(VI), but remains unexplored. Herein, intense visible-light absorption porphyrin unit and strong toxic anions adsorption strut were integrated into one single MOF simultaneously via a sequential mixed-ligand and ionization method, which strongly improve the photoreduction performance of Cr(VI). The synergistic effect of strong adsorption of Cr2O72− and efficient utilization of light endowed H2TCPP⊂(I-)Meim-UiO-66 with highly efficient photoreduction activity toward toxic Cr2O72− under visible light in a rate of 13.3 mgCr(VI)/gcatalyst/min, much higher than the reported MOF-based photocatalysts including typical NH2-UiO-66 (0.2 mgCr(VI)/gcatalyst/min) and NH2-MIL-125 (1.6 mgCr(VI)/gcatalyst/min). As far as we know, this is the best catalyst among all the reported MOF-based photocatalysts for Cr(VI) photoreduction, in which the I- in our imidazolium functionalized MOF acts as sacrificial agent. Based on the results from time-resolved photoluminescence spectra, electron spin resonance, and theoretical calculation etc., a photoreduction mechanism of Cr2O72- over H2TCPP⊂(I-)Meim-UiO-66 was also well proposed. This general and facial strategy, combining the advantages of adsorption and photosensitivity in a multivariate MOF, paves the way to design of higher efficient photocatalytic materials.

Inductively coupled plasma reactive-ion etching (ICP-RIE) is first applied to decrease the thickness of a Si substrate for light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) characterization. A simple and reliable process flow with the self-aligned Al layer as a hard mask layer in ICP-RIE is used to fabricate a thin semiconductor substrate with Al back-side contact. A single-side polished P-type Si wafer with a thickness of 350 μm is decreased to 100 μm by ICP-RIE from the polished side. The thickness of the thin Si substrate and the dimensions of the designed patterns determined by ICP-RIE are verified using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and an optical microscope (OM). A selective high-dielectric constant insulator, niobium oxide (NbOx), is directly deposited on the unpolished side of the thin Si substrate as the sensing membrane of a LAPS by reactive ratio frequency (rf) sputtering. A high photocurrent was found in the ICP-RIE LAPS sample under back-side illumination, particularly in high-frequency operation. Compared to an Si substrate without ICP-RIE, 3-fold and 6.5-fold higher photocurrents were achieved by the proposed LAPS with ICP-RIE measured at 1 and 50 kHz of light modulated frequency, respectively. The highest modulated frequency of illumination was 50 kHz for an acceptable photocurrent in the LAPS with ICP-RIE, which is sufficient for two-dimensional (2D) images acquired with high-speed scanning. The NbOx layer deposited on the unpolished Si surface could automatically generate higher pH sensitivity than conventional polished Si surfaces because of the higher surface roughness. The calculated pH sensitivity and linearity were 55.8 mV/pH and 99.6%, respectively, in a pH range from 2 to 12. No clear degradation of hysteresis was found for the LAPS with ICP-RIE. For the designed patterns of the Al hard mask layer, the spatial resolution of the 2D image of the LAPS with ICP-RIE could be obtained by the difference between dimensions observed by OM and the dimensions calculated from the photocurrent versus scanning length controlled by the X-Y stage. A pattern with a length of 250 μm generated by ICP-RIE was measured as 255 μm in the LAPS with scanning step of 5 μm. ICP-RIE is demonstrated to achieve a spatial resolution of 5 μm in the Si-based LAPS. Further reduction of the thickness of an Si substrate by ICP-RIE controlling and its ability to create a dynamic 2D image are suggested for future investigation in spatial resolution optimization.

Fast and highly selective detection of trace amounts of metal ions has become one of the most urgent issues concerning public security and living systems. However, developing a highly efficient fluorescent sensor for metal ions still remains a great challenge. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising class of porous fluorescent sensors towards ion detection. Herein, the anionic MOF FJI-C8 based on the π-conjugated aromatic ligand H6TDPAT (2,4,6-tris(3,5-dicarboxylphenylamino)-1,3,5-triazine) containing uncoordinated nitrogen and carboxylate oxygen atoms was chosen as highly efficient sensor for selective detection of Fe3+. Due to the strong interaction between Fe3+ and Lewis base sites (uncoordinated nitrogen and carboxylate oxygen atoms), the high overlap between the emission spectrum of the anionic FJI-C8 and the absorption spectrum of Fe3+, and the good overlap of the excitation spectrum of the host material FJI-C8 with the absorption spectrum of Fe3+, FJI-C8 exhibited a high sensitivity (0.0233 mM of Fe3+) and extra selectivity (Ksv = 8245 M−1) for the rapid detection (less than 30 s) of Fe3+ with low usage (0.04 mg mL−1 of FJI-C8 suspension). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of a luminescent MOF chemosensor based on a trefoil ligand with the highest density of uncoordinated N and carboxylate O atoms for the highly selective detection of Fe3+. It is also crucial to note that this is a first time detection of Fe3+ using both FJI-C8 suspension and solid after filtration, and the results indicate that the detection of Fe3+ using the FJI-C8 suspension is better. This study will pave the way for designing luminescent MOF chemosensors for the detection of Fe3+ ion.

Graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (g‐CNQDs) are highly promising photoresponsive materials. However, synthesis of monodispersed g‐CNQDs remains challenging. Here we report the dual function of MOF [Cu3BTC2] (HKUST‐1) as a catalyst and template simultaneously to prepare g‐CNQDs under mild conditions. Cyanamide (CA), a graphitic carbon nitride precursor, catalytically dimerized inside the larger MOF cavities at 90 °C and condensed into g‐CNQDs at 120 °C in a controlled fashion. The HKUST‐1 template was stable under the reaction conditions, leading to uniform g‐CNQDs with a particle size of 2.22±0.68 nm. The as prepared g‐CNQDs showed photoluminescence emission with a quantum yield of 3.1 %. This concept (MOF dual functionality) for catalyzing CA polycondensation (open metal sites (OMSs) effect) and controlling the produced particle size (pore‐templating effect), together with the tunable MOF porosity, is expected to produce unique g‐CNQDs with controllable size, morphology, and surface functionality., The first example of a MOF as a dual‐function material for templating and catalyzing the formation of monodispersed graphitic carbon nitride quantum dots (g‐CNQDs) under very mild conditions is reported. g‐CNQDs with tailorable sizes and properties can be prepared using this synthetic protocol, taking the advantages of the huge MOF family with tunable pore structures.

Recently, the mixed operation is a trend. We would develop a new model to solve the problems for the out-dated integrated financial supervision. After analyzing the finance in the era of Big Data, we combed the logical structure of the traditional separated supervision mode with model diagrams. Studying academic journals, we summarized characteristics and found the mechanism of the integrated financial supervision. Accordingly, we designed a process model of the financial integrated function supervision. All the work was under the guidance of macro, micro and comprehensive equilibrium analysis of Comprehensive Economics. We still established the model’s structure framework to demonstrate the innovation–the two-way coordination of institutional supervision and functional supervision, and the matrix supervision structure. Our model will guide the process of integrated financial supervision, maintain the stability of the financial market, and reduce the financial supervision risk and other existing problems.

A new device on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate is proposed for light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). A Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) film is sputtered on the Indium Tin oxide (ITO)/PET substrate as the photosensitive semiconductor layer. A high-dielectric constant layer of NbOx is sputtered on IGZO as the sensing membrane. Photocurrent versus bias voltage curve is illustrated successfully with the ultra-violet (UV) LED illmination with ac signal modulaiton. pH sensitivity, linearity, drift and hysteresis is 68 mV/pH, 99%, 1.8 mV/h and 1.1 mV of this fabricatd device, respectively. The highest operation frequency is 30 kHz, which make it as a highly potential candidate for 2D chemical image sensor, especially first demostrated in a PET susbtrate.

A fully integrated system and user interface, named Mirror-LAPS, was established for chemical imaging of diffusion-based reactions and bioimaging, e.g., cellular metabolism imaging in situ, with advantages of portability, real-time monitoring and flexible control. By means of a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a minimized drive circuit and an illumination path integrated into the hardware, the volume and cost of this Mirror-LAPS system are only 11 % and 75 %, respectively, those of the conventional LAPS system. 2D images can be easily constructed based on the combination of the measured photocurrent with automatic digitization and recorded coordinates for each pixel in the frame. The time to image one pixel under the optimized parameters with a periods per pixel (PPP) of 64 is approximately 6.6 ms. The location, area, and resolution of pixels can be easily, quickly and flexibly adjusted in the user interface to obtain 2D images and a real-time video. The cellular metabolism of HK2 cellsfor different cell numbers and glucose concentrations is virtually demonstrated by this Mirror-LAPS system by the color changes in 2D images for the first time, which could provide a reliable platform in a cell culturing space for cell-based research.

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) has been approved for use as the semiconductor layer in a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). A new device structure of niobium oxide (NbOx)/P-I-N amorphous silicon (a-Si) on ITO/glass is proposed for a thin film LAPS with the advantage of a high photovoltage. P-type, intrinsic and N-type a-Si layers are fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) with selective gas dopants on ITO/glass. A single NbOx layer is directly sputtered onto an a-Si substrate and is used as the pH sensing membrane. The temperatures for all of the processes used to manufacture this device are lower than 300 °C, including the rapid thermal anneal (RTA) treatment, which is compatible with conventional fabrication processes for glass substrates in solar cells and thin film transistors. Based on the photovoltage versus gate bias characteristics in standard buffer solutions, the calculated pH sensitivity and linearity from pH 2 to 10 is 40 mV/pH and 99.4% for the P-I-N a-Si LAPS with RTA treatment at 300 °C. Compared with an intrinsic a-Si structure, a 50% higher photovoltage is achieved in the P-I-N a-Si LAPS. Furthermore, XRD and SIMS are used to verify the properties of the a-Si film. A high frequency ac laser signal of up to 20 kHz was obtained with the P-I-N a-Si LAPS while maintaining the same spatial resolution, which is important for two-dimensional images acquired by high-speed scanning with an analog micromirror.

An In–Ga–Zn oxide (IGZO) layer is applied, for the first time, as the semiconductor layer of a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). The IGZO layer sputtered on the commercial ITO/glass substrate could be used as the active layer of an LAPS illuminated by a ultraviolet light-emitting diode (UV LED). In the operation of LAPS, an IGZO/ITO glass substrate with a higher photocurrent and less interference of the ambient light compared with a conventional n-type silicon wafer is obtained. A sensing membrane of sputtered niobium oxide directly on the IGZO layer, with a substrate temperature of 250 °C, is verified to have a pH sensitivity of 61.8 mV/pH according to photocurrent versus gate bias curves measured in various pH buffer solutions. The ac signal applied to the UV LED can be increased to 30 kHz for IGZO LAPS pH sensing. This improvement is beneficial for the sensor’s use in high-speed 2-D chemical image applications.

Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) glass has been applied as the semiconductor substrate of a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) with the advantages of immunity to room light inference and high photocurrent. For the first time, investigations into this IGZO LAPS including two-dimensional (2D) chemical imaging and reduction of the potential biorelative damage induced by the requirement of an ultraviolet (UV) light source are presented in this study. For the spatial resolution, a smaller aperture for the light spot provided by a light emitting diode (LED) makes the photocurrent decrease. To overcome this natural limitation, the type of AC modulation of light source is changed from a sine wave to a square wave with different duty cycles. The photocurrent and power consumption of a 365 nm LED with square wave and a duty cycle of 40 % are 42.2 % higher and 16.2 % lower than those of the conventional setup of a sine wave, respectively. The pH sensitivity, linearity, hysteresis and drift are comparable. The illumination wavelengths of 365, 405 and 435 nm are studied for photoresponse. 405 nm illumination with acceptable pH sensing performance can be suggested for IGZO LAPS for less bio damage concern. Additionally, a laser with a wavelength of 405 nm with spot size of 25 μm and scanning step of 2 μm is proven to have a clear pattern recognition down to 50 μm in 2D image. Further optimization of the spot size of the laser, thickness and composition of IGZO are suggested for better spatial resolution.

Highly dispersed ultrafine defective Pt nanoparticles (NPs) encapsulated in the mesopores of MIL-101 were successfully achieved for the first time through a facile chemical dealloying approach. PtCo alloy NPs inside the mesoporous MIL-101 were firstly formed via a double-solvent method and the Co species were subsequently selectively etched by diluted nitric acid to achieve the defective Pt NPs. Compared with PtCo alloy NPs, the as-prepared defective Pt NPs showed an improved catalytic activity towards the hydrogenation of nitroarenes under mild conditions.

Sweat rate monitor is an important factor for hydration in exercise and training. However, the measurement of sweat rate is complicated and time-consumption in the conventional method by a calculation of total weight loss. Sweat sensor is a potential candidate to overcome these drawbacks, which may be possible to use in wearable applications for continuous detection. In the study, a new capacitive-type sensor constructed by Gui diatomaceous earth (GDE) is first proposed for solution volume detection in μl level on flexible substrate. Solution can easily penetrate into GDE through the top electrode with interdigital patterns. Capacitance is increased with volume of RO water, which can be explained by increases of dielectric constant and response area after water penetration. Sensitivity is about 7.2 pF/μl and application volume range is from 2 to 8 μl, which is a potential candidate for human sweating rate test in the future.

Two in-vacuum kicker magnets serve to inject and to extract the electron beams for the TPS injector. A large gas load generated from the outgassing of kicker ferrites (CMD5005) causes concern. To study the effect of vacuum firing in decreasing the outgassing from kicker ferrites, we set up a test bench to record spectra from a residual-gas analyzer (RGA) and measured the rates of outgassing during vacuum firing. The RGA spectrum revealed that water vapor is the dominant gas from the unbaked ferrites; with the throughput method the rate of outgassing, q2.7 (Ferrite), before baking was 5.5 × 10−9 mbar L s−1 cm−2. A duration 40 h of vacuum firing at 200 °C is required to remove the water vapor from the kicker ferrites and to yield a rate between 2.2 × 10−12 and 2.6 × 10−12 mbar L s−1 cm−2 after vacuum firing.

Fast and highly selective detection of trace amounts of metal ions has become one of the most urgent issues concerning public security and living systems. However, developing a highly efficient fluorescent sensor for metal ions still remains a great challenge. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a promising class of porous fluorescent sensors towards ion detection. Herein, the anionic MOF FJI-C8 based on the π-conjugated aromatic ligand H

The working principle and measurement of ultrasonic machining gap is analyzed in this paper. A stable machining gap between the tool and workpiece must be maintained for improving processing accuracy and efficiency. Therefore, a fuzzy self-tuning PID parameters controller for ultrasonic machining tool feed system is designed, by means of using Matlab /Simulink simulation experiment, in this paper.

For higher photo signal of chemical image sensor, a new device structure of P-I-N amorphous silicon (a-Si) on ITO/glass is first applied in light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). Niobium oxide (NbO x ) is used as pH sensing membrane. All processes of device are lower than 300 o C, which are suitable for glass substrate. Based on photovoltage versus gate bias characteristics, calculated pH sensitivity and linearity between pH 2 to 10 is 40 mV/pH and 99.4%, respectively. Compare to conventional intrinsic amorphous silicon structure, improvement on photocurrent, and spatial resolution are 50% and 15%, respectively. In the meantime, higher frequency of ac signal of laser up to 20 kHz could be used for high speed scanning by means of red laser and analog micromirror scanning system.

ISAR imaging of high speed moving target has drawn extensive attention for its practical applications. However, the imaging quality is affected significantly by the phase modulation induced by high speed motion. To suppress the influences of high speed motion efficiently, a novel ISAR imaging method for high speed moving target based on the parametric sparse representation is proposed. First, the echo signal is sparse represented via designing a flexible parametric sensing matrix according to high speed motion. Subsequently, the sensing matrix is optimized after adaptive computation, during which the target velocity estimation is involved. Finally, a clear ISAR image can be reconstructed with less sampling data and without the motion compensation in conventional ISAR imaging. Compared to the existing method based on compressed sensing (CS), the proposed method possesses lower computational complexity and better robustness.

In this study, a tin-based oxide (SnOx) semiconductor layer on a commercial indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrate was investigated for the first time for use as the active layer of a light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). The photoabsorption of SnOx layers sputtered using varying Ar/O2 gas flow ratios was characterized by means of the ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis); the photo/electric response of a LAPS directly covered with an NbOx sensing membrane was evaluated under modulated ultraviolet illumination. In situ substrate heating at 250 °C during sputtering and post-deposition rapid thermal annealing (RTA) with temperatures of 400 and 450 °C in a N2 environment were applied to study sample behavior. Based on X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results, the fabricated SnO2 layer can be transformed into a polycrystalline SnO2 phase in the bulk with a surface SnO layer by thermal budget. A high photocurrent and an acceptable pH sensitivity of 1.29 μA and 57.6 mV/pH, respectively, are obtained under UV light-emitting diode (LED) illumination for a LAPS built using a SnOx layer sputtered with a flow ratio of Ar/O2 = 46/4 with substrate heating at 250 °C. The stability and lifetime performance of the SnOx LAPS needs to be improved by further process optimization, especially in terms of developing a crack-free SnOx process and increasing sensing membrane coverage. The experimental results show the potential of SnOx for use as the active layer in a LAPS.

This paper introduces the analytic hierarchy process, and applies in the process of engineering project risk evaluation of navigational environment safety. This paper takes the breakwater project of a harbor as an example for analysis, through the recognition of each risk source and risk factor that the project influences on navigation safety to determine the risk indicators, and uses analytic hierarchy process to analyze the impact of various risk factors on navigation safety, thus gains the overall influence of project on navigation safety. This can be used as an auxiliary tool of engineering risk management.

The thickness effect of In-Ga-Zn oxide (IGZO) semiconductor layer is investigated for pH sensing in light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS). pH sensing membrane is 45 nm-thick NbOx, which is directly on IGZO/ITO/glass substrate. The thickness of IGZO layer is determined by time-mode control in reactive rf sputtering. The highest photovoltage and operation frequency can be obtained in the IGZO thickness of 300 nm. pH sensitivity is about 65 mV/pH with ac signal frequency at 1 kHz. For better stability in hysteresis, further investigations on sensing membrane optimization are suggested.

Markov prediction is an important method predicts availability of repairable system. How to estimate the transition matrix and profit matrix (if it has) play a fundamental role in Markov prediction. This article introduced briefly homogeneous Markov chain prediction method, study on estimation and algorithm which calculate the transition matrix and profit matrix accompany with transition on the base of historical data about system state and profit. Finally, according to algorithm, we write a customized functions utilizing R software and provide the calling method more details. It did fundamental work on utilizing data about system failure and maintenance to estimate the rate of system failure and the effective degree of steady-state, which enrich the theory and technology of decision models for reliability-centered maintenance and system maintainability modeling.

The spectroscopic, electrochemical and electroluminescent properties of three binuclear Ru(II) complexes with different length of flexible bridges were investigated. The single-layer electroluminescent devices with configuration of indium–tin oxide/Ru complex (~ 100 nm)/Ga:In were found to give a turn-on voltages as low as 2.3 V, a maximum luminance up to 310 cd/m2 at a bias voltage of 5.8 V, and low delay times less than 2 s.

This study describes magnetically driven suppression of cross-reactions among molecules. First, the magnetic nanoparticles are coated with bio-probes and dispersed in liquid. The bio-probes can then bind with homologous or heterologous bio-targets. When alternating-current (ac) magnetic fields are applied, magnetic nanoparticles rotate driven by ac magnetic fields. Thus, the bio-targets bound on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles experience a centrifugal force. The centrifugal force can be manipulated by adjusting the angular frequency of the rotating magnetic nanoparticles. The angular frequency is determined by the applied ac magnetic field frequency. Since the binding force for good binding is much higher than that of poor binding, frequency manipulation is needed for the centrifugal force to be higher than the poor-binding force but lower than the good-binding force. Therefore, poor binding which contributes to cross reactions between molecules can be suppressed efficiently by control of the ac magnetic field frequency.

Immunomagnetic reduction (IMR), which involves measuring the reduction in the ac magnetic susceptibility of magnetic reagents, is due to the association between bio-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles and target bio-molecules. This has been demonstrated for assaying proteins in solutions free of Fe ions, such as serum. In this work, the validity of IMR assay for samples rich in Fe ions like hemoglobin (Hb) is investigated. According to the results, there is no magnetic signal contributed by Fe-ion-rich Hb. Furthermore, the results show a high sensitivity in assaying hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) by using IMR.

Vancomycin resistant enterococci has become an important nosocomial pathogen since it is discovered in late 1980s. The products, encoded by vancomycin resistant gene cluster in enterococci, catalyze the synthesis of peptidoglycan precursors with low affinity with glycopeptide antibiotics including vancomycin and teicoplanin and lead to resistance. These vancomycin resistant gene clusters are classified into nine types according to their gene sequences and organization, or D-Ala:D-Lac (VanA, VanB, VanD and VanM) and D-Ala:D-Ser (VanC, VanE, VanG, VanL and VanN) ligase gene clusters based on the differences of their encoded ligases. Moreover, these gene clusters are characterized by their different resistance levels and infection models. In this review, we summarize the classification, gene organization and infection model of vancomycin resistant gene cluster in Enterococcus spp.

The influence of the initially ordered state to the structural evolution on the magnetic fluid film under perpendicular magnetic fields was investigated. The magnetic field was increased from zero to a certain strength H i at a given sweep rate d H /d t and maintained at H i for a period of time, after which the magnetic field was further raised at d H /d t . The H i was adequately set so that a granular ordered structure of magnetic columns formed in the magnetic fluid film. This granular ordered structure served as an initial state for the following structural evolution when the magnetic field was increased from H i . When the magnetic field was raised up to H s , the structure evolved to the transition state, at which each column split into two columns. To obtain the initial structures of various orderness, the duration time t d at H i was varied from 1 to 180 s. It was found that the degree of orderness of the initial structure under H i increases with t d , and a higher H s was also observed. This result can be interpreted by taking the interactions between a column and its neighbors into account.

Objective Publication speed of peer-reviewed journals may play a major role in early dissemination of knowledge and may raise the citation index. In this study, we evaluated the publication speed of ophthalmology journals. Design Observational study. Participants Observational study of bibliometric data in published ophthalmology journals. Methods A list of ophthalmic journals featured in the 2010 Journal Citation Report was obtained on September 1, 2011. A total of 12 articles were chosen randomly from each of these journals published between January and December 2010. Median publication time and interquartile range (IQR) were obtained from the full texts of the published articles. Main Outcome Measures Time lag between submission and revision, acceptance, and publication of the manuscripts was calculated. Correlation between publication time lag and journal impact factor as well as advance online publication was analyzed. Results A total of 51 ophthalmic journals were included. There was no statistically significant difference in the impact factors of journals based on their reporting of submission, revision, or acceptance times of the manuscripts (both P >0.05, Wilcoxon test). The median peer review and publication time of all ophthalmology journals was 133 days (IQR, 100.5–171.5) and 100 days (IQR, 62.9–166.3), respectively. There was no correlation between the journal impact factors and publication time lag (Spearman correlation). Approximately half of the ophthalmology journals (n = 26; 50.98%) published online in advance. Journals with advance online publication had higher impact factors compared with those without this feature (median, 1.692 [IQR, 1.05–2.80] vs. 1.02 [0.39–1.53]; P = 0.015, Mann–Whitney U test). For journals with advance online publication, the median time from acceptance to advance online publication (74.3 days [IQR, 48.3–115 days]) was significantly shorter than the median time between acceptance and print publication (170.75 days [IQR, 101.4–217 days]; P Conclusions Publication time lag in ophthalmology journals was not correlated with journal impact factors. Advance online publication facility was provided by only half of the ophthalmology journals published in 2010. Journals with advance online publication had a higher impact factor compared with those without this feature. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.

When a magnetic fluid thin film is subjected to a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the film, a portion of magnetic particles is condensed out from the initially monodispersed magnetic fluid and forms magnetic columns. These columns evolve from a disordered column phase to a two-dimensional ordered structural pattern as the field strength reaches some critical value, Hh. The structural pattern formative process of the ordered structures that follows depends on the condition of the disordered column phase. In the letter, the effect of the initial disordered column phase, which can be altered by changing the initial field strength, Hi, on the formative process of the ordered structures is studied, and a phase diagram on the H–Hi plane is constructed. With an initial field strength that exceeds Hh, the structural pattern formative process goes through a plateau, a transition phase, and another plateau. On the other hand, if the initial field strength is less than Hh, the columns in the disordered ...

Influences of both the magnetic field strength H and the sweep rate d H /d t on the structural pattern evolution in a magnetic fluid film under perpendicular fields are systematically investigated. When the magnetic field is increased at a given rate, the structure evolves from a monodispersed state to a disordered one, then to the first-level ordered hexagonal structure, and finally to the second-level ordered structure through a transition state. With a higher d H /d t , the range of the applied magnetic field corresponding to the first-level ordered structure is widened and the field H s , at which the transition occurs becomes higher. An empirical power law H s ∝(d H /d t ) 0.4 was found. A phase diagram for the magnetic fluid film in the H –d H /d t plane is presented.

In this work, the influence of the sweep rates of applied magnetic fields on the agglomeration of magnetic particles in the magnetic fluid film are reported. It was observed that a smaller column agglomerated by magnetic particles results at a higher sweep rate as compared with that at a lower sweep rate. Besides, the magnetic moment per volume inside a column decreases rapidly when the sweep rate is raised from 0 to 15 Oe/s, and almost remains constant as the sweep rate exceeds 20 Oe/s. This variation implies that the packing of magnetic particles inside a column depends on the sweep rate. Thus, the sweep rate is a crucial variable determining the internal structure of columns.

The interferon regulatory factor 6 (IRF6) gene and environmental factors have been shown to be associated with nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) in several populations. This study aimed to confirm the contribution of IRF6 and environmental factors to NSCL/P risk in western Han Chinese. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were investigated in 107 case trios (child and parents) and 100 normal peers in western China using transmission disequilibrium test, case-control analysis, and logistic regression models. Strong evidence of linkage disequilibrium was found between these markers and the disease in both SNP analysis (A allele at rs4844880, G allele at rs2073485, and C allele at rs599021) and haplotype analysis (A-A for rs861019 and rs4844880, A-C for rs4844880 and rs599021, among others). Both mothers' medication and passive smoking during the first trimester of pregnancy may increase the risk of NSCL/P, but mothers' vitamins (including folic acid) supplementation during the first trimester was a protective factor. Interactions between mothers' abortion history and TT genotype of rs2235373 were statistically significant (odds ratio = 6.70, 95% confidence interval =1.69-26.52). Risk factors identified in this study may provide a better understanding of the etiological role IRF6 and environmental factors play in NSCL/P incidence.