Sensitivity Enhancement of a Graphene, Zinc Sulfide-based Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor With an Ag Metal Configuration in the Visible Region

A biosensor based on the modified Kretschmann configuration is proposed here. The sensitivity of the conventional prism-based sensor using angular interrogation is low. To enhance the sensor's performance, layers of zinc sulfide (ZnS) and graphene have been deposited over the metal layer. The angular interrogation technique is used to analyze the performance of the sensor. The thickness of the Ag metal has been optimized. The thickness of the Ag metal is taken as 50 nm because minimum reflectance has been achieved. With the combinations of the four layers of ZnS and one graphene layer, the maximum sensitivity attained is 305o/RU. Performance parameters such as detection accuracy, FWHM, and quality factor of the sensor have been evaluated as obtained as 0.33 deg-1, 3.05 deg, 100.7 RIU-1, respectively. The proposed sensor has potential application in the field of biochemical and biological analyte detection.

Performance of etched silica FBG for simultaneous strain temperature measurement

In this article, we have extensively investigated the efficiency of etched silica-based fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) for the experimental measurement of temperature and strain simultaneously. A single-multi-single mode fiber (SMS) combination is employed in the circuitry which acts as a bandpass filter for efficient interrogation technique. We recorded the sensitivity of 20.30 pm/°C and 2.89 pm/µɛ over the temperature and strain range of 25–225°C and 50-2050 µɛ, respectively. These data were recorded with the strain resolution of ± 10 µɛ whereas the resolution for the temperature is ± 0.50°C. The experimental results show the potentiality of the sensor for measuring the strain and temperature simultaneously with higher intrinsic sensitivity and resolution.

A meta-analytic review of experimental tests of the interrogation technique of Hanns Joachim Scharff

Hanns Scharff, an interrogator during the Second World War, was known for his remarkable effectiveness at collecting intelligence from prisoners of war using a friendly, conversational approach in which he led the prisoners to unknowingly reveal the information he wanted. In the last decade, psychologists have produced a body of experimental studies testing the effectiveness of Scharff’s interrogation technique. Here, I provide a meta-analytic review of that experimental research. The existing data supports the conclusions that the present conceptualization of Scharff’s technique is effective at eliciting more new information, leading people to perceive the interviewer as more knowledgeable, and inducing people to underestimate how much information they have revealed. However, numerous unanswered questions and challenges for this program of research remain. For example, future research may benefit from examining unaddressed elements of the methods Scharff used in the field. Research would also benefit from the development of measures that more clearly correspond to practical outcomes.

Afterword

The U.S. policy to adopt torture1 as an interrogation technique after the 9/11 attacks had a relatively short life span, yet it was deeply corrosive to the national interest and continues to be.2 First adopted by the administration of President George W. Bush in the summer of 2002, it was formally terminated by an executive order signed by President Barrack Obama on January 22, 2009, his second day in office. The actual official ...