Manipulated Optical Absorption and Accompanied Photocurrent Using Magnetic Field in Charger Transfer Engineered C/ZnO Nanowires.

The rarely explored, spin-polarized band engineering, enables direct dynamic control of the magneto-optical absorption (MOA) and associated magneto-photocurrent (MPC) by a magnetic field, greatly enhancing the range of applicability of photosensitive semiconductor materials. It is demonstrated that large negative and positive MOA and MPC effects can be tuned alternately in amorphous carbon ( a-C )/ZnO nanowires by controlling the sp2/sp3 ratio of a-C . A sizeable enhancement of the MPC ratio (≈15%) appears at a relatively low magnetic field (≈0.2 T). Simulated two peaks spin-polarized density of states is applied to explain that the alternate sign switching of the MOA is mainly related to the charge transfer between ZnO and C. The results indicate that the enhanced magnetic field performance of ( a-C )/ZnO nanowires may have applications in renewable energy-related fields and tunable magneto-photonics.

A 3D mathematical model to predict spinal joint and hip joint force for trans-tibial amputees with different SACH foot pylon adjustments.

A solid-ankle cushioned heel (SACH) foot is a non-joint foot without natural ankle function. Trans-tibial amputees may occur toe scuffing in the late swing phase due to a lack of active dorsiflexion. To address this problem, clinical guidelines suggests shortening the pylon to produce a smooth gait. However, this causes a leg length discrepancy, induces asymmetry in the hip joint, and causes an overload of L5/S1 joint force. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the influence of different prosthesis pylons on the hip joint and L5/S1 joint forces. Ten subjects were recruited using leg length for normalisation. Four different pylon reductions (0%, 1%, 2%, and 3%) were used for gait analysis. A Vicon system and force plates were used to collect kinematic data and ground reaction force, respectively. The software package MATLAB was used to create a mathematical model for evaluating the symmetry and force of the hip joint and the low back force of the L5/S1 joint. The model was validated by the correlation coefficient (CC=0.947) and root mean square (RMS=0.028 BW). The model estimated that the 1% group had a symmetrical hip joint force and a lower L5/S1 joint force in the vertical direction. This study indicates that a 1% pylon shortening on a SACH prosthesis is appropriate for a trans-tibial amputee.