Intrinsic Defect Limit to the Growth of Orthorhombic HfO2 and (Hf,Zr)O2 with Strong Ferroelectricity: First-Principles Insights

It is believed that promoting the fraction of ferroelectric orthorhombic phase (o-phase) through O-poor growth conditions can increase the spontaneous polarization of HfO₂ and (Hf,Zr)O₂ thin films. However, the first-principles calculations show that the growth may be limited by the easy formation of point defects in the orthorhombic and tetragonal phases of HfO₂, ZrO₂, and (Hf,Zr)O₂. Their dominant defects, O interstitial (O_i) under O-rich conditions and O vacancy (V_O) under O-poor condition, have low formation energies and quite high density (10¹⁶–10¹⁹ cm⁻³ for 800–1400 K growth temperature). Especially, O_i has negative formation energy in tetragonal HfO₂ under O-rich condition, causing non-stoichiometry and limiting the crystalline-seed formation during o-phase growth. High-density defects can cause disordering of dipole moments and increase leakage current, both diminishing the polarization. These results explain the experimental puzzle that the measured polarization is much lower than the ideal value even in O-poor thin films and highlight that controlling defects is as important as promoting the o-phase fraction for enhancing ferroelectricity. The O-intermediate condition (average of O-rich and O-poor conditions) and low growth temperature are proposed for fabricating HfO₂ and (Hf,Zr)O₂ with fewer defects, lower leakage current, and stronger ferroelectricity, which challenges the belief that O-poor condition is optimal.     

Transposable Elements and Stress in Vertebrates: An Overview

Since their identification as genomic regulatory elements, Transposable Elements (TEs) were considered, at first, molecular parasites and later as an important source of genetic diversity and regulatory innovations. In vertebrates in particular, TEs have been recognized as playing an important role in major evolutionary transitions and biodiversity. Moreover, in the last decade, a significant number of papers has been published highlighting a correlation between TE activity and exposition to environmental stresses and dietary factors. In this review we present an overview of the impact of TEs in vertebrate genomes, report the silencing mechanisms adopted by host genomes to regulate TE activity, and finally we explore the effects of environmental and dietary factor exposures on TE activity in mammals, which is the most studied group among vertebrates. The studies here reported evidence that several factors can induce changes in the epigenetic status of TEs and silencing mechanisms leading to their activation with consequent effects on the host genome. The study of TE can represent a future challenge for research for developing effective markers able to detect precocious epigenetic changes and prevent human diseases.     

Formation of radioactive cesium microparticles originating from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident: characteristics and perspectives

ABSTRACT

Following identification of radioactive Cs microparticles (CsMPs) in aerosol samples from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), numerous reports on CsMPs have been published. This paper reviews recent progress in the measurement and characterization of CsMPs by advanced analytical techniques, including advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and synchrotron X-ray analysis. These analyses revealed that the CsMPs contained Si, Fe, Zn, Cs, and minor quantities of U together with some fission products. Uranium in the CsMPs was identified as being in the form of uraninite and (U,Zr)O₂. Detailed advanced TEM analysis has clarified some of the processes resulting in the alteration of constituents of the nuclear fuels and containment vessel materials during this severe accident. In addition, a detailed report on the elemental compositions and structures of the fuel debris fragments collected inside and outside of the primary containment vessel²⁵ highlighted the fact that the fuel debris fragments contained nanoparticles with the U and Zr components having similar structures to that of the CsMPs. This similarity in structures has stimulated further research on the structure and elemental constituents, especially for U and Zr in the CsMPs, and has opened up new avenues for studying the chemical characteristics of the fuel debris.     

POD-assisted strategies for structural topology optimization

We propose a new numerical tool for structural optimization design. To cut down the computational burden typical of the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) method, we apply Proper Orthogonal Decomposition on SIMP snapshots computed on a fixed grid to construct a rough structure (predictor) which becomes the input of a SIMP procedure performed on an anisotropic adapted mesh (corrector). The benefit of the proposed design tool is to deliver smooth and sharp layouts which require a contained computational effort before moving to the 3D printing production phase.     

微量Zr对不对称轧制Al-0.8Mg-0.9Si合金板织构及性能的影响

本文研究了微量Zr对不对称轧制Al-0.8Mg-0.9Si合金板及其相继固溶处理后的微观结构及性能的影响。结果表明：微量Zr在Al-0.8Mg-0.9Si合金中形成Al3Zr相弥散分布在基体中,在不对称轧制过程中,该化合物相对Copper{112}<111>、Brass{011}<211>、S{123}<634>、E{111}<110>和F{111}<112>等形变织构无明显影响；在随后的固溶处理过程中,轧制板材发生的再结晶使得Copper、Brass、S等形变织构的取向密度降低,但不溶的细小Al3Zr相在一定程度上抑制了不连续再结晶行为,反而使轧制过程中形成的E、F剪切织构的取向密度增加。添加微量Zr所形成的上述结构使该合金板材在固溶后获得较好的综合性能,其抗拉强度、屈强比和延伸率分别可达230MPa、0.49和9.5%以上；塑性应变比r值从0.7提高至0.84,杯突值IE由8.94提高至9.84,各向异性度|Δr|由0.15降低至0.04。     

超高强7055铝合金铸锭均匀化工艺优化

采用光学显微镜、扫描电镜、差热分析及透射电镜等手段,对一种航空用超高强7055铝合金大尺寸铸锭的均匀化工艺进行分析与优化。提出分级提高均匀化温度的方法,在确保不发生过烧的情况下,最大限度改善铸锭质量。结果显示:低温预均匀化时,铸锭中析出大量的Al₃Zr相,能够大幅度降低对后续挤压变形的再结晶比例;对铸锭采用400 ℃×4 h+465 ℃×16 h+474 ℃×8 h的分级均匀化处理工艺,能够显著消除铸锭中低熔点相的含量,提高铸锭质量,同时相比于原工艺节省约13 h。新的均匀化处理工艺,不仅提高了生产效率,还能够为后续工艺提供良好的铸锭。     

Passive target detection and tracking from electromagnetic field measurements

This paper presents a novel approach to the localization of moving targets in a complex environment based on the measurement of the perturbations induced by the target presence on an independently‐generated time‐varying electromagnetic field. Field perturbations are measured via a set of sensors deployed over the domain of interest and used to detect and track a possible target by resorting to a particle Bernoulli filter (PBF). To comply with real‐time operation, the PBF works along with an artificial neural network (ANN) model of the environment trained offline via finite elements (FEs). The performance of the proposed algorithm is assessed via simulation experiments.     

Al3Zr/Al基原位复合材料等离子体焊接区的组织及表面腐蚀行为

摘要： 本文以5wt%Al3Zr/铝基复合材料为研究对象，以Ar气体为离子气体，Al-Ti-B为丝材进行等离子焊接。用电化学综合测试仪测定了焊接区在3.5%NaCl溶液中的腐蚀极化曲线。采用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、X射线衍射仪（XRD）对复合材料及其焊缝的组织和相组成进行了分析和表征，研究了Al3Zr/Al基复合材料等离子焊接后在3.5%NaCl溶液中的腐蚀行为和腐蚀机理。SEM分析结果表明，等离子弧焊接可获得较好的焊缝组织，焊缝组织主要由Al3Ti相和Al基体组成，Al3Ti相呈条状和球形。电化学极化曲线表明，材料在熔核处的耐蚀性略低于母材，焊缝处浸泡腐蚀机理为Al3Ti相和基体相的电极电位不同形成原电池反应造成。     

广西箭猪坡矿床首次发现的石英脉型锡矿体特征及 锡石微量元素地球化学意义

箭猪坡矿床是丹池成矿带南端的一个以铅锌锑为主的矿床，随着2012-2014年在箭猪坡矿床钻孔中石英脉型锡矿体的首次发现，打开了箭猪坡矿床新的找矿空间。新发现的锡矿体矿石矿物组合类型主要为锡石+闪锌矿+脆硫锑铅矿+黄铁矿+石英及锡石+脆硫锑铅矿+石英+方解石。箭猪坡矿床锡石呈自形-半自形粒状，锡石粒径多在0.1～0.2mm，少数0.02～0.05mm，分布在含硫化物的石英脉裂隙中。物相分析显示箭猪坡矿床锡主要赋存在锡石中，锡石物相占83.33%～100%。阴极发光（CL）图像显示箭猪坡矿床中的锡石经历了两期结晶作用：早期锡石（Ⅰ）和晚期锡石(Ⅱ），早期锡石CL荧光亮度较小，呈暗灰色至黑色；晚期CL荧光亮度较大，呈白色至浅灰色。锡石单矿物SnO2含量91.623%～96.288%，平均94.03%，杂质主要有Fe、W、In等，其中FeO含量0.02%～0.52%，WO3含量多在0.02～1.34%，In2O3含量在0.476%～0.954%，Sn与FeO、In2O3呈负相关，锡石中FeO、WO3、Ta2O5、Nb2O5、MnO含量指示箭猪坡锡形成于中低-中温热液环境，成矿热液来源于高度分异演化的花岗质岩浆。通过与大厂矿田西矿带上部脉状锡矿体的类比分析，具有相似的成矿条件及矿物组合，推测所揭露到的脉状锡矿（化）体相当于西矿带上部脉状锡矿（化）体，而下部的网脉状、似层状锡矿体尚未揭露到，由此预测箭猪坡矿床深部找矿空间及找矿潜力大。     

地域文化元素在景观设计中的应用探究

景观设计与地域文化元素之间既互相影响又相互作用,在进行设计的时候要将这个地区的文化作为设计的基础,然后在设计的时候两者进行相互融合,这样设计出来的作品才会有更高的文化认同感,而且地域文化也能作为景观设计作者进行创作的源头。