Correction to: Buckling of magneto-electro-hygro-thermal piezoelectric nanoplates system embedded in a visco-Pasternak medium based on nonlocal theory

Microsystem Technologies - The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. Farzad Ebrahimi was not listed among the authors.     

Evaluation of plume characteristics of arc-heaters with various oxygen injection systems

Arc-heater plumes generated by various oxygen injection systems were investigated by laser absorption spectroscopy. Firstly, oxygen was directly injected into a high-temperature cathode-jet region through a thoriated-tungsten hollow cathode. Although number density of atomic oxygen was increased, erosion of the cathode was too severe to maintain stable discharge. Then, zirconium was used as a cathode material to reduce cathode erosion by oxidation. As a result, stable discharge was maintained for 3 h with pre-mixed argon–oxygen injection and number density of atomic oxygen was successfully increased.     

Buckling of magneto-electro-hygro-thermal piezoelectric nanoplates system embedded in a visco-Pasternak medium based on nonlocal theory

Microsystem Technologies - In this present work the critical loading of magneto-electro-viscoelastic-hygro-thermal (MEVHT) piezoelectric nanoplates embedded in a viscoelastic foundation are...     

PEDOT/PSS bending actuators for autofocus micro lens applications

This paper reports on the development of micro autofocus lens actuators using conducting polymer actuators. We propose a hydrophilic treatment for polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes and a polyethylenedioxythiophene/poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT/PSS) casting method for easily producing bending conducting polymer actuators with high mechanical strength.We first designed micro autofocus lens actuators using bending conducting polymer actuators, and then determined experimentally that the electrical conductivity and breaking strain of the PEDOT/PSS films could be improved by the addition of polyethylene oxide (PEO). Furthermore, we made hydrophobic PVDF membrane surfaces hydrophilic using polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGMA) and coated a solution of a mixture of PEDOT/PSS and PEO on the membrane surfaces to form a laminated film. We produced bending conducting polymer actuators by processing this film. Tests simulating the actuator's use in micro autofocus lenses showed the actuators to operate stably for more than a million cycles.     

Acetylacetoin synthase as a marker enzyme for detecting the 2,3-butanediol cycle

Acetylacetoin synthase (AACSase) and acetylacetoin reductase (AACRase) are representative enzymes of the 2,3-butanediol cycle. After examining their induction conditions in various bacteria, the former was induced by acetoin and the latter by glucose. All strains carrying AACSase also had AACRase, but the reverse was not true. Therefore, AACSase indicates the existence of the cycle. Acetylacetoin (AAC) accumulation or the ratio of 2,3-butanediol isomer formed also indicated the presence of the cycle in bacteria. This cycle is present in some strains and not in others even for those belonging to the same species. The cycle was not always associated with the representative 2,3-butanediol-producing bacteria or bacterial sporogenesis as reported previously.     

Amplitude-division three-electron-wave interference for observing pure phase objects having low spatial frequency

A new interferometry is presented for direct visualization of pure phase objects having low spatial frequency, such as electromagnetic microfields. A thin crystal of silicon prepared using argon ion milling is installed at the standard specimen position. This silicon crystal works as an electron beam splitter and forms diffraction spots in the back focal plane. Using the objective aperture, [000], [111] and [111] spots are selected as coherent electron sources to illuminate the specimen located at the area-selecting aperture position. The lattice image of silicon is formed below the area-selecting aperture position by decreasing the electric current of the objective lens. Three defocused images of the specimen are observed in the fluorescent screen by overexciting the first intermediate lens. We have successfully visualized equipotential lines around a latex particle charged by electron beam irradiation. The computer-simulated image was consistent with the experimental image.     

Optical frequency-domain reflectometry with a rapid wavelength-scanning superstructure-grating distributed Bragg reflector laser

Superstructure-grating distributed Bragg reflector lasers are particularly suited for optical frequency-domain reflectometry optical-coherence tomography with wide wavelength tunability and frequency agility. We report theoretical estimates of and experimental results for the data acquisition speed, the observable depth range, the resolution, and the dynamic range of an optical frequency-domain reflectometry system that uses a superstructure-grating distributed Bragg reflector laser whose wavelength can be tuned from 1533 to 1574 nm with a tuning speed of 10 micros/0.1-nm step.     

Direct observation of electrostatic microfields by four-electron-wave interference using two electron biprisms

A new method has been developed for directly visualizing electromagnetic microfields in real time by the interference of four-electron waves obtained using a transmission electron microscope equipped with a field-emission gun and two electron biprisms. When one object wave and three reference waves interfere, equal-phase lines of the object wave are displayed as the intensity modulation of the interference fringes, in the manner same as in the three-electron-wave interference. The advantage of the four-electron-wave interference is that equal-phase lines are observed without precisely adjusting the angle between the two biprisms or rigorously controlling the fringe spacings of the two biprisms.     

A One-Dimensional Propagation of Shock Wave Supported by Atmospheric Millimeter-Wave Plasma

A shock wave supported by an atmospheric breakdown plasma caused by a high-power millimeter-wave beam was studied. The shadow graph image in a shock tube visualized the one-dimensional shock-wave generated by the millimeter-wave breakdown in atmosphere for the first time. It was revealed that a normal shock wave propagated through the tube at the constant velocity while it was detached from the ionization front of the plasma whenever the propagation velocity of the ionization front was supersonic or subsonic. And it was visually clarified that the atmospheric millimeter-wave breakdown had the combined structure of the normal shock wave and the heating region of the millimeter-wave plasma. The measured pressure of the shock front was as equal as the normal shock which propagated at measured Mach number.     

Evaluation of patient doses due to fluoroscopic exposures

The present study measures entrance surface doses of radiation administered to patients during various fluoroscopic procedures using a dose-area product meter as well as the duration of each procedure. A conversion factor for entrance skin dose to patients was calculated. The average dose to patient during the insertion of intravenous hyperalimentation was 10.2 (maximum, 74.0) mGy, during a barium meal, 58.4 (maximum, 184.0) mGy, for endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP), 97.3 (maximum, 376.0) mGy and for a barium enema, 86.1 (maximum, 271.0) mGy. Doses tended to increase in the abdominal domain and when patients undergo not only diagnostic evaluation but also treatment requiring procedures such as drainage. The management of radiation doses determined using a dose-area product meter is very important and that of individual patients is enabled using the Radiation Information System (RIS).