Effect of Probe Lifting Height in Jumping Mode AFM for Living Cell Imaging

Atomic force microscopy(AFM)is one of the effective methods for imaging the morphological and physical properties of living cells in a near-physiological environment.However,several problems caused by the adhesion of living cells and extension of the cell membranes seriously affect the image quality during living cell imaging,hindering the study of living cells.In this work,jumping mode AFM imaging was used to image living cells at varied probe lifting heights to meet image quality requirements,and image quality related to the probe lifting height is discussed in detail.The jumping mode was divided into three parts based on the varying heights of the lifted probe,namely near-contact mode,half-jumping mode,and full-jumping mode,and the causes of their imaging drawbacks were analyzed.At an appropriate lifting height,the probe can be completely free from the influence of cell adhesion and self-excited oscillation,thus avoiding the occurrence of“trail”phenomena and invalid points in the imaging of living cells and improving the image quality.Additionally,this work provides a new approach to calculating the lateral force through the adhesion of trace and retrace scanning at a low height,which is important for studying the extension characteristics of the cell membrane.

Field test and evaluation on crop dividers of sugarcane chopper harvester

In South China,the tropical weather and climate result in severe sugarcane lodging problems which greatly hinders sugarcane mechanical harvesting.The main function of the crop divider is to lift lodged canes and facilitate base-cut cane feeding.In this study,a series of field tests were conducted on crop dividers of Liugong 4GQ-180 sugarcane chopper harvester.The tests were designed to identify the relationships of the performance index(maximum lifting height of sugarcane)and the main influencing factors(machine forward speed,rotational speed of inside scrolls,and ground clearance of crop divider toes).The single factor test was conducted to determine optimum range of these test factors:the forward speed(FS)was 2.0-4.0 km/h,the rotational speed of inside scrolls(RS)was 100-140 r/min,and the toe ground clearance(GC)was 0-5 cm.The orthogonal test(three factors and three levels)was carried out to determine the optimal combination of operating parameters:FS was 2.0 km/h,RS was 115 r/min,and GC was 0 cm.In addition,the range analysis of orthogonal test results revealed that the order of each test factor affecting crop divider performance was RS,FS,GC.This study was expected to provide valuable references for the optimal operation of sugarcane harvester crop dividers.