Mechanically induced rhombohedral to tetragonal phase transition in PMN–PT single crystals by nanoindentation

Understanding the phase transition behavior of the rhombohedral phase (R) and tetragonal phase (T) of the relaxor ferroelectric PMN–PT single crystals under mechanical load is essential for the potential voltage-free controlled ferroelectric-based nanodevices. Relaxor ferroelectric single crystals PMN–PT, under a local inhomogeneous mechanical load, were studied experimentally by the nanoindentation tests and Raman spectroscopy measurements. The observations show that the rhombohedral phase can be transformed successfully to the tetragonal phase under a mechanical stress, and the tetragonal phase in the PMN–PT single crystals presents a structural stability. The phase transition induced by the mechanical stress with different strain rates further indicates that the relaxor ferroelectric single crystals possess a potential mechanical controllability. The present study reveals the phase transition pathway of the relaxor ferroelectric single crystal under inhomogeneous stress and provides the exciting possibility of the control of mechanically induced phase transition for ferroelectrics.     

Compute and Memory Efficient Universal Sound Source Separation

Journal of Signal Processing Systems - Recent progress in audio source separation led by deep learning has enabled many neural network models to provide robust solutions to this fundamental...     

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure pretreatment on flavour and physicochemical properties of freeze-dried carambola slices

Ripe carambolas are hard to store and transport, while freeze-dried ones are easy to store. However, its long production time leads to higher costs. This study shows that high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment could shorten the freeze-drying time of carambola slices. After HHP treatment (25–250 MPa), the drying time of the fresh sample can be shortened by 33.3–44.4% and the distribution of water and pigment in tissues is much uniform. With the increment of the pressure, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging rate are increased. At 250 MPa, the total phenolic content (TPC) increased from 11.34 to 13.36 mg GAE g⁻¹, and the total flavonoid content (TFC) of the control sample was increased from 10.77 to 12.73 mg RE g⁻¹. Compared with the untreated sample, HHP treatment can enhance the flavour and shorten the freeze-drying time. This work guides the application of HHP technology for drying food processing.     

Polymer electrets and their applications

Polymer electrets have revealed great potential application in electromechanical devices because of the low weight, large quasi-piezoelectric sensitivity, and excellent flexibility. For an electret, a permanent and macroscopic electric field exists on the surface, principally led by a macroscopic electrostatic charge on the surface or a net orientation of polar groups inside the object. Here, progress in the development of polymer electrets is reviewed. After a brief retrospect of the research courses and those typical polymer electrets that are classified into fluorine polymer and nonfluorine polymer, we present a survey on the charging methods, including corona, soft X-ray, contact, thermal and monoenergetic particle beams. The latest representative applications (i.e., power harvesting, sensors, field effect transistors, and biomedicine) based on polymer electrets are also summarized. Finally, we complete this review with a discussion on perspectives and challenges in this field.     

Facile fabrication of silk fibroin/graphene oxide composite films and real-time morphological observation in stretching

Layer-structured regenerated silk fibroin (SF)/graphene oxide (GO) composite films were fabricated by a facile solution casting method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermal gravity analysis confirmed the successful incorporation and uniform dispersion of graphene oxides in the SF matrix. To visualize GO's effect on the morphological evolution, atomic force microscopic images were recorded in real-time during the composite elongation to establish a correlation between microscopic structural characters and macroscopic mechanical properties. The result showed that the incorporation of graphene oxide into the SF matrix resulted in chain conformational transition, film surface flattening, and mechanical reinforcement. Surface roughness dramatically decreased from 65 to 10 nm, while tensile modulus increased substantially from 8.61 to 22.37 MPa by adding well-dispersed graphene oxide up to 1 wt% into the SF matrix. Through the real-time AFM observation under the horizontal stretching mode, the surface topography of original SF films varied from tori-spherical aggregations to rod-like ones resulting from GO's incorporation. In the meantime, SF's hydrophobicity was also increased, as manifested by contact angle increase from 30.81° to 45.09°.     

Electrochemical Quantification of Neurotransmitters in Single Live Cell Vesicles Shows Exocytosis is Predominantly Partial

Exocytosis plays an essential role in the communication between cells in the nervous system. Understanding the regulation of neurotransmitter release during exocytosis and the amount of neurotransmitter content that is stored in vesicles is of importance, as it provides fundamental insights to understand how the brain works and how neurons elicit a certain behavior. In this minireview, we summarize recent progress in amperometric measurements for monitoring exocytosis in single cells and electrochemical cytometry measurements of vesicular neurotransmitter content in individual vesicles. Important steps have increased our understanding of the different mechanisms of exocytosis. Increasing evidence is firmly establishing that partial release is the primary mechanism of release in multiple cell types.