FR4-based electromagnetic scanning micro-grating integrated with an angle sensor for a low-cost NIR micro-spectrometer.

Aiming to implement a low-cost single-photodetector-based NIR micro-spectrometer, we present a novel flame retardant 4 (FR4)-driven micro-grating for spectral dispersion and spatial scanning. It consists of a silicon blazed grating directly bonded onto the FR4 actuator platform and an integrated differential electromagnetic angle sensor. Owing to the better shock and vibration reliability, larger aperture, shorter fabrication cycle, and much lower cost, it may be a potential alternative to conventional silicon microelectromechanical systems scanning micro-gratings. The micro-spectrometer prototype based on this device shows a spectral range of 800-1800 nm, a spectral accuracy of ±1.3 nm, and a 10 nm spectral resolution.

Characterizing the Role of TaWRKY13 in Salt Tolerance.

The WRKY transcription factor superfamily is known to participate in plant growth and stress response. However, the role of this family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is largely unknown. Here, a salt-induced gene TaWRKY13 was identified in an RNA-Seq data set from salt-treated wheat. The results of RT-qPCR analysis showed that TaWRKY13 was significantly induced in NaCl-treated wheat and reached an expression level of about 22-fold of the untreated wheat. Then, a further functional identification was performed in both Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa L. Subcellular localization analysis indicated that TaWRKY13 is a nuclear-localized protein. Moreover, various stress-related regulatory elements were predicted in the promoter. Expression pattern analysis revealed that TaWRKY13 can also be induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG), exogenous abscisic acid (ABA), and cold stress. After NaCl treatment, overexpressed Arabidopsis lines of TaWRKY13 have a longer root and a larger root surface area than the control (Columbia-0). Furthermore, TaWRKY13 overexpression rice lines exhibited salt tolerance compared with the control, as evidenced by increased proline (Pro) and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) contents under salt treatment. The roots of overexpression lines were also more developed. These results demonstrate that TaWRKY13 plays a positive role in salt stress.

A Multi-Frequencies Micro-Electromagnetic Vibration Energy Harvester with Nonlinearity for Expanding the Frequency Band.

In this paper, we proposed a multi-frequencies electromagnetic vibration energy harvester (EVEH) with a wider operating frequency band. The EVEH contains three different vibration picking-up systems with different natural frequencies. A broadened bandwidth was obtained by combining the structural nonlinearity of the vibration picking-up systems with the multi-frequencies, while the vibration energy harvest was increased by adopting two induction coils in the EVEH system. At an acceleration of 1.5g and frequencies of 45.6, 75 and 146.5 Hz, the peak-peak voltages of the prototype were 336, 270 and 39.8 mV, respectively. The corresponding bandwidths were 10.1, 7.8 and 4.2 Hz, respectively.

A Low-G Silicon Inertial Micro-Switch with Enhanced Contact Effect Using Squeeze-Film Damping.

Contact time is one of the most important properties for inertial micro-switches. However, it is usually less than 20 µs for the switch with rigid electrode, which is difficult for the external circuit to recognize. This issue is traditionally addressed by designing the switch with a keep-close function or flexible electrode. However, the switch with keep-close function requires an additional operation to re-open itself, causing inconvenience for some applications wherein repeated monitoring is needed. The switch with a flexible electrode is usually fabricated by electroplating technology, and it is difficult to realize low-g switches (<50 g) due to inherent fabrication errors. This paper reports a contact enhancement using squeeze-film damping effect for low-g switches. A vertically driven switch with large proof mass and flexible springs was designed based on silicon micromachining, in order to achieve a damping ratio of 2 and a threshold value of 10 g. The proposed contact enhancement was investigated by theoretical and experimental studies. The results show that the damping effect can not only prolong the contact time for the dynamic acceleration load, but also reduce the contact bounce for the quasi-static acceleration load. The contact time under dynamic and quasi-static loads was 40 µs and 570 µs, respectively.

Implementation of an automatic and miniature on-line multi-parameter water quality monitoring system and experimental determination of chemical oxygen demand and ammonia-nitrogen.

An automatic, miniature and multi-parameter on-line water quality monitoring system based on a micro-spectrometer is designed and implemented. The system is integrated with the flow-batch analysis and spectrophotometric detection method. The effectiveness of the system is tested by measuring chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia-nitrogen in water. The results show that the modified system provides a cost-effective, sensitive, reproducible and reliable way to measure COD and ammonia-nitrogen in water samples with automatic operation and low toxic chemical consumption. In addition, the experiment results show that the relative error of the system is less than 10%, the limit of detection is 2 mg/L COD and 0.032 mg/L ammonia-nitrogen, respectively, and the relative standard deviation was 6.6% at 15.0 mg/L COD (n = 7) and 5.0% at 0.300 mg/L ammonia-nitrogen (n = 7). Results from the newly designed system are consistent with the data collected through the Chinese national standard analysis methods.

A vibration-based MEMS piezoelectric energy harvester and power conditioning circuit.

This paper presents a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) piezoelectric power generator array for vibration energy harvesting. A complete design flow of the vibration-based energy harvester using the finite element method (FEM) is proposed. The modal analysis is selected to calculate the resonant frequency of the harvester, and harmonic analysis is performed to investigate the influence of the geometric parameters on the output voltage. Based on simulation results, a MEMS Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) cantilever array with an integrated large Si proof mass is designed and fabricated to improve output voltage and power. Test results show that the fabricated generator, with five cantilever beams (with unit dimensions of about 3 × 2.4 × 0.05 mm3) and an individual integrated Si mass dimension of about 8 × 12.4 × 0.5 mm3, produces a output power of 66.75 µW, or a power density of 5.19 µW∙mm-3∙g-2 with an optimal resistive load of 220 kΩ from 5 m/s2 vibration acceleration at its resonant frequency of 234.5 Hz. In view of high internal impedance characteristic of the PZT generator, an efficient autonomous power conditioning circuit, with the function of impedance matching, energy storage and voltage regulation, is then presented, finding that the efficiency of the energy storage is greatly improved and up to 64.95%. The proposed self-supplied energy generator with power conditioning circuit could provide a very promising complete power supply solution for wireless sensor node loads.

[Research on signal processing for water quality monitoring based on continuous spectral analysis].

Based on continuous spectrum analysis, the mathematical model for spectrum signal was established. And the spectrum signal's systematic error processing method based on the invariance of the ratio of the light intensities at any two wavelengths in the range of continuous spectrum was put forward. Combined with wavelet multi-resolution filtering noise processing techniques, the background interference processing method was established based on the spectral characteristics of the measured water quality parameter. These signal processing methods were applied to our independently developed multi-parameter water quality monitoring instrument to on-line measure COD (chemical oxygen demand), six valence chromium and anionic surfactant in the normative and actual environmental water samples, and the monitoring instrument had good repeatability (10%) and high accuracy (±10%) to meet the technical requirements of national environmental protection standards, which was verified by the contrast experiment with China national standard analysis method for determination of the three water quality parameter. The results showed that the researched signal processing methods were able to effectively reduce the spectrum signal's systematic error and the interference from noise and background, which was very important to improve the water quality monitoring instrument's technical function.

[Rapid determination of total phosphorus by ultrasonic assisted sample digestion-spectrum analysis].

Aiming at the technological shortage of national standard method for the determination of total phosphorus, a rapid determination method of total phosphorus based on ultrasonic assisted sample digestion-spectrum analysis was put forward, and the on-line analysis experiment system was designed. Relying on the experiment system, the experimental method and technology was studied. In view of the actual environmental water samples, contrast test experiment with the national standard method for determination method of total phosphorus was carried on. The experimental results showed that the digestion rate of ultrasonic assisted sample digestion using fenton reagents could reach 97%-100% in 13.5 minutes, and the determination method could complete one copy of sample analysis within 16 minutes. This determination method can solve national standard method's technical problems. All of this research work provides the important experimental basis and technical support for the development of the rapid on-line monitoring instrument for determination of total phosphorus.

Prevalence and factors associated with dynapenia among middle-aged and elderly people in rural southern China.

To estimate the prevalence of dynapenia and examine potential risk factors for dynapenia using a sample of rural middle-aged and elderly Chinese. A cross-sectional study of 253 Chinese adults aged 50 years and older was conducted from June to August in 2022 in Nanjing. A questionnaire was used to collect data on all socioeconomic variables. Body weight, height, body fat percentage, grip strength, waist circumference, calf circumference, and gait speed were measured. The prevalence of dynapenia was 69.6 %, 62.3 % in men and 72.7 % in women respectively. Binary logistic regressions indicated significant associations between dynapenia and age (odds ratio [OR] = 2.59; 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.63, 4.12; p < 0.001), educational level (OR = 0.55; 95 % CI 0.38, 0.80; p = 0.002). Dynapenia was prevalent among rural middle-aged and elderly people in southern China. Age and lower education level were both associated with dynapenia. Nutrition and physical activity should be strongly recommended as important strategies to maintain and improve muscle strength.

[Application of relevance vector machines in nitrate detection of wastewater].

On account of the high dimension and band overlapping features of the ultraviolet spectrum of complex wastewater, the relevance vector machine (RVM) algorithm combined with contiguous ultraviolet spectrum technology was applied in nitrate modeling to realize the rapid and accurate prediction of nitrate-nitrogen. At first the algorithm principle of RVM was introduced, and then based on the ultraviolet spectra of collected pharmacy effluent samples, ultraviolet absorption data between 230 and 245 nm were selected for modeling. Multivariate linear regression, partial least squares, classical support vector machines (SVM) and RVM methods were applied in nitrate modeling respectively and model performances were compared. Experimental result indicates that RVM method has advantages of higher prediction accuracy, sparser model than other compared methods and faster operation speed than SVM method. The relative full-range error is less than 4.5% F. S. Finally, it can be concluded that the LS-SVM method is effective in rapid and accurate detection of nitrate in practical wastewater with complicated composition.

[Miniature near-infrared fibre optic spectrometer for the quantitative detection of protein and fat in milk powder].

The method based on miniature near-infrared spectrometer combined with Y fiber optic probe to detect the protein and fat in milk powder by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in the wavelength range of 900-1 700 nm was proposed. By selecting the appropriate spectral bands, the correction models of protein and fat were established with partial least squares algorithm using Unscrambler 9.7 Chemometrics software. The determination coefficients R2 of the correction modes are 0.987 and 0.986 for protein and fat respectively, and the root mean square errors RMSEC are 0.385 and 0.419 respectively. Using these correction models to predict the protein and fat contents with 30 sets of forecast sample data, the prediction standard deviation is SEP(Protein) = 0.751 for protein, and is SEP(Fat) = 1.109 for fat. The results indicate that these correction models have prediction capability with unknown samples and meet the on line requirements.

[Research progress in water quality monitoring technology based on ultraviolet spectrum analysis].

The water quality monitoring technology based on ultraviolet spectrum analysis has the characteristics of small volume, low cost, and no secondary pollution, and it doesn't need any reagent and sample pretreatment. On account of these characteristics, the direct ultra-violet technology has remarkable superiority over traditional technologies when applied in online monitoring of drinking water, surface water and industrial wastewater, and it has become an important development tendency of modern water monitoring technologies. The principle, characteristics, present situation and development trend of modern water quality monitoring technology based on ultra-violet spectrum analysis were introduced, and the key technical problems were further discussed in this paper.

[The design and experiment of multi-parameter water quality monitoring microsystem based on MOEMS microspectrometer].

Aiming at the monitoring and protecting of water resource environment, a multi-parameter water quality monitoring microsystem based on microspectrometer was put forward in the present paper. The microsystem is mainly composed of MOEMS microspectrometer, flow paths system and embedded measuring & controlling system. It has the functions of self-injecting samples and detection regents, automatic constant temperature, self -stirring, self- cleaning and samples' spectrum detection. The principle prototype machine of the microsystem was developed, and its structure principle was introduced in the paper. Through experiment research, it was proved that the principle prototype machine can rapidly detect quite a few water quality parameters and can meet the demands of on-line water quality monitoring, moreover, the principle prototype machine has strong function expansibility.

[Design of concave grating for ultraviolet-spectrum].

Ultraviolet-spectrum technology is a kind of low signal and multianalysis technology. For taking full advantage of spectral information and reducing the volume of spectrometer, we used high efficiency spectroscopy structure based on concave grating. Based on concave grating theory and optic design software ZEMAX, a flat field concave grating for ultraviolet spectrophotometer was designed from primary structure, which relied on global optimization of the software. The contradiction between wide spectrum bound and limited spectrum extension was resolved, aberrations were reduced successfully, spectrum information was utilized fully, and the optic structure of spectrometer was highly efficient. For better preference of this spectrophotometer, after get the structure parameter, combine grating fabrication condition with practice working condition, grating diffractive theory, holographic optics theory and software PCG rate was used for diffraction efficiency design and improve. A paradigm of flat field concave grating is given, it works between 190 nm to 410 nm, the diameter of the concave grating is 20 mm, and F/# is 0.21. The design result was analyzed and evaluated. It was showed that if the slit source, whose width is 50 microm, is used to reconstruction, the theoretic resolution capacity is better than 3 nm.

[Simultaneous detection of phenol and anionic surfactant in water based on continuous spectrum].

Phenol and anionic surfactant are important indices for water-quality. Based on improvement and optimization of standard methods (spectrophotometry) for the two indices, we integrated the respective two color-extractants into a composited reagent. Using a self-developed microspectrometer with a design of splitting behind and collection of continuous spectrum signal (340-770 nm) in real time, a compound detection system was constructed. This system could simultaneously detect phenol and anionic surfactant in water without chemical and spectral interferences, leading to great decreases in reagent amount and detection time. The detection limits for phenol and anionic surfactant are 0. 003 and 0.016 mg x L(-1), respectively. This method was applied to water-quality monitoring of real samples in comparison with standard methods, and the results indicated that its reproducibility (relative standard deviation, n=5) and accuracy (relative error to results by standard methods) were less than 5%, contenting with the related standard.

[Detection of sorbic acid in food by homemade micro-spectrometer analytical system].

A homemade micro-spectrometer analytical system was developed for the quantitative determination of the sorbic acid in the food based on the photometric principle. And with the standard addition method it was applied to eliminate the interference coming from the food substrate. The detecting result illustrated a good relativity in the range of 0-10.0 mg x L(-1) with the linear correlation coefficient of 0.9989, and the sample recovery was 99.2%-99.5% with RSD of 0.58%. The micro-spectrometer analysis system has shown potential prospective application in the fields of rapid and high performance detection for food additives.

[Design and experiment of micro biochemical detector based on micro spectrometer].

According to the requirements of rapid detection of important life parameters for the sick and wounded, a new micro bio-chemical detection configuration was proposed utilizing continuous spectroscopy analysis, which was founded on MOEMS and embedded technology. The configuration was developed as so much research work was carried out on the detecting objects and methods. Important parameters such as stray light, absorbance linearity, absorbance ratability, stability and temperature accuracy of the instrument were tested, which are all in good agreement with the design requirements. Clinic tests show that it can detect multiple life parameters quickly (Na+, GLU, Hb eg.).

[Research advances in water quality monitoring technology based on UV-Vis spectrum analysis].

The application of spectral analysis to water quality monitoring is an important developing trend in the field of modern environment monitoring technology. The principle and characteristic of water quality monitoring technology based on UV-Vis spectrum analysis are briefly reviewed. And the research status and advances are introduced from two aspects, on-line monitoring and in-situ monitoring. Moreover, the existent key technical problems are put forward. Finally, the technology trends of multi-parameter water quality monitoring microsystem and microsystem networks based on microspectrometer are prospected, which has certain reference value for the research and development of environmental monitoring technology and modern scientific instrument in the authors' country.

[The optimizing design and experiment for a MOEMS micro-mirror spectrometer].

A MOEMS micro-mirror spectrometer, which uses micro-mirror as a light switch so that spectrum can be detected by a single detector, has the advantages of transforming DC into AC, applying Hadamard transform optics without additional template, high pixel resolution and low cost. In this spectrometer, the vital problem is the conflict between the scales of slit and the light intensity. Hence, in order to improve the resolution of this spectrometer, the present paper gives the analysis of the new effects caused by micro structure, and optimal values of the key factors. Firstly, the effects of diffraction limitation, spatial sample rate and curved slit image on the resolution of the spectrum were proposed. Then, the results were simulated; the key values were tested on the micro mirror spectrometer. Finally, taking all these three effects into account, this micro system was optimized. With a scale of 70 mm x 130 mm, decreasing the height of the image at the plane of micro mirror can not diminish the influence of curved slit image in the spectrum; under the demand of spatial sample rate, the resolution must be twice over the pixel resolution; only if the width of the slit is 1.818 microm and the pixel resolution is 2.2786 microm can the spectrometer have the best performance.

[Near infrared spectroscopy system structure with MOEMS scanning mirror array].

A method which uses MOEMS mirror array optical structure to reduce the high cost of infrared spectrometer is given in the present paper. This method resolved the problem that MOEMS mirror array can not be used in simple infrared spectrometer because the problem of imaging irregularity in infrared spectroscopy and a new structure for spectral imaging was designed. According to the requirements of imaging spot, this method used optical design software ZEMAX and standard-specific aberrations of the optimization algorithm, designed and optimized the optical structure. It works from 900 to 1 400 nm. The results of design analysis showed that with the light source slit width of 50 microm, the spectrophotometric system is superior to the theoretical resolution of 6 nm, and the size of the available spot is 0.042 mm x 0.08 mm. Verification examples show that the design meets the requirements of the imaging regularity, and can be used for MOEMS mirror reflectance scan. And it was also verified that the use of a new MOEMS mirror array spectrometer model is feasible. Finally, analyze the relationship between the location of the detector and the maximum deflection angle of micro-mirror was analyzed.