Solid-state oligomer electrolyte with amine–acid interaction for dye-sensitized solar cells

A pair of poly(ethylene glycol) oligomers with terminal groups capable of providing amine–acid interactions are used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) as an electrolyte that can be easily solidified at room temperature. In spite of its solidity, the oligomer electrolyte has high ionic diffusion and good permeability into the nanopores of a TiO₂ electrode. The electron diffusion coefficient and lifetime in a photoelectrode are largely affected by the adsorptive interaction between cations and the TiO₂ surface. The energy-conversion efficiency of DSSCs using the oligomer electrolyte is greater than 4.5%. Long-term storage at room temperature demonstrates that the stability of the oligomer electrolyte system is superior to that of a volatile solvent electrolyte.     

Effect of a global regulatory gene, afsR2, from Streptomyces lividans on avermectin production in Streptomyces avermitilis

The global regulatory gene, afsR2, from Streptomyces lividans was previously reported to highly stimulate two structurally unrelated antibiotics, actinorhodin and undecylprodigiosin, in both S. lividans and its close relative S. coelicolor. Production of eight avermectin components was also improved in S. avermitilis: the use of wild-type S. avermitilis and its high-producing mutant, transformed by introduction of multiple copies of afsR2, increased the total avermectin productions by 2.3-fold and 1.5-fold, respectively.     

烧结工艺对B2O3掺杂Ba1-xSrxTiO3梯度陶瓷介电性能的影响

研究了烧结温度及升温速率对氧化硼(B₂O₃)掺杂钛酸锶钡梯度陶瓷(Ba_1-xSr_xTiO₃,x=0-0.4,步长0.02)的致密化、晶粒尺寸及介电性能的影响.结果表明,随着烧结温度的升高,在氧化硼挥发的同时致密化程度提高,从而居里峰提高且变得尖锐;随着氧化硼含量的增加,晶粒尺寸均匀长大、介电常数和介电损耗都增加;升温速率适中时,掺杂物的挥发、致密化进程及晶粒长大同步完成,梯度陶瓷介电性能才有效提高.此外,钛酸锶钡梯度陶瓷掺杂适量氧化硼明显降低烧结温度,比未掺杂相同成分的陶瓷烧结温度至少降低150℃,且介电损耗明显减小;梯度陶瓷的居里峰温度区间显著展宽,大大降低了该温区的介温系数,可望提高该系列陶瓷元器件精度及稳定性.     

TEXTURE OF FRESH-PACK WHOLE CUCUMBER PICKLES: CORRELATION OF INSTRUMENTAL AND SENSORY MEASUREMENTS*

Correlations were determined between Texture Profile Analysis parameters of brittleness, hardness or total work of compression obtained with the Instron testing machine and sensory responses of firmness or crispness in evaluating texture of fresh-pack processed whole cucumbers (1-in. diam) of three ‘firm’ pickling cultivars (Explorer, Chipper, GY 3), two ‘soft’ pickling cultivars (Green F, Mincu) and a parthenocarpic slicer (MSU 6902 G). Further, correlations were determined between the TPA parameters and Magness-Taylor fruit pressure test (FPT) firmness. TPA hardness and total work correlated well with sensory responses; FPT firmness correlated satisfactorily with sensory firmness. Mean textural values from the various methods were compared with those obtained in the same manner for raw cucumbers. TPA brittleness tended to disappear in the processed fruit. Processing reduced mean TPA values across the six varieties to 35-58% of raw fruit values; it decreased mean FPT firmness to only 88%.     

COMPOSITION OF CARBOHYDRATES AND CONCENTRATION OF β-GALACTOSIDASE OF COMMERCIAL FROZEN YOGURT

Commercial frozen yogurt samples were analyzed for composition, β-galactosidase activity, and microbial quality. The composition of protein, fat, sugars, other carbohydrates, and total solids varied considerably among the 11 brands tested. All samples contained high levels of lactic acid bacteria (> 6. 0 log cfu/mL), as well as active β-galactosidase but the enzymatic activity varied greatly (1.04 – 43.12 ONP units) among samples. A significant correlation (r = 0.785) existed between β-galactosidase and lactic acid bacteria concentrations. The major sugars in samples were sucrose (0–12.7%) followed by lactose (2.31–4.25%) and glucose (0.74–2.49%). The sugar extraction method developed for the HPLC analysis gave reliable and reproducible data, despite the fact that frozen yogurt samples contained a wide variation in fat, protein, and total solids contents.     

Electrothermal simulation of integrated circuits

This paper describes new techniques for simulating the DC and steady-state thermal characteristics of integrated circuits using the incomplete Choleski conjugate gradient (ICCG) method, and transient electrothermal performance using an efficient macromodeling method based on asymptotic waveform evaluation (AWE). Results on several benchmark circuits show orders of magnitude reductions in CPU time and memory with accuracy comparable to that of the traditional techniques     

ANTIOXIDANT ROLE OF CHITOSAN IN A COOKED COD (GADUS MORHUA) MODEL SYSTEM

Chitosan with different molecular weights (14, 57 and 360 cP apparent viscosity) was effective in controlling the oxidation of lipids of comminuted cod (Gadus morhua) following cooking. Both peroxide (PV) and 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values were reduced as a result of treatment of fish prior to cooking with 50, 100 and 200 ppm of 14, 57 and 360 cP chitosans. Inhibition of oxidation was concentration-dependent and highest for the 14 cP chitosan.     

Demonstration of a WDM/TDM hybrid PON based on a colorless frame-level reach extender

We propose a hybrid passive optical network (PON) consisting of a 2.5 Gb/s reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA)-based 32 channel loopback wavelength division multiplexing-passive optical network (WDM–PON) and a colorless OEO-based frame-level reach extender (RE). This hybrid PON is designed to support a 128-way split over a 50 km transmission distance per single wavelength channel. We experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of this design through downstream and upstream packet transmission with a commercial gigabit-capable PON (GPON) product. Even if the colorless frame-level RE uses active devices at the remote node, it is still possible to increase the optical link budget through backward compatibility with existing GPON products. This design also provides wavelength conversion and an upstream burst-to-continuous mode conversion between the WDM–PON and GPON. The proposed hybrid PON can satisfy a packet loss ratio (PLR) of 10^?10 at the downstream and upstream transmission including the use of forward error correction (FEC).     

Robust Deniable Authentication Protocol

Deniable authentication protocol is a new technique of modern cryptography. The protocol not only enables an intended receiver to identify the source of a received message, but also prevents a third party from identifying the source of the message. Recently, Shao et al. pointed out that Wang et al.’s deniable authentication protocol based on ElGamal cryptosystem is insecure to a person-in-the-middle attack; that is, in the whole process, the receiver cannot be aware of the existence of this adversary as well as the modification of the messages. Furthermore, they also presented a modification of Wang et al.’s protocol to overcome the security flaw. However, this paper demonstrates that Shao et al.’s improved protocol is still susceptible to a malicious receiver’s impersonation attack. To mitigate this security breach, we propose a robust deniable authentication protocol based on ElGamal cryptography.     

The self-formatting barrier characteristics of Cu–Mg/SiO2 and Cu–Ru/SiO2 films for Cu interconnects

To substitute or to supplement diffusion barrier as reducing lateral dimension of interconnects, the alloying Mg and Ru to Cu was investigated as a self-formatting barrier in terms of their resistivity, adhesion, and barrier characteristics After annealing at 400 °C for 30 min, the resistivities of the Cu–0.7 at%Mg alloy and Cu–2.2 at%Ru alloy were 2.0 μΩ cm and 2.5 μΩ cm, respectively, which are comparable to that of Cu films. The adhesion was investigated by means of a sandwiched structure using the four point bending test. The interfacial debonding energy, which represents the adhesion, of Cu–Mg/SiO₂ was over 5.0 J/m², while those of the Cu–Ru/SiO₂ and Cu/SiO₂ interfaces were 2.2 J/m² and 2.4 J/m², respectively. The barrier characteristics of the alloy films were also investigated by the time-dependent dielectric breakdown test, using a metal–oxide–semiconductor structure, under bias-temperature stress. It was shown that the alloying of Mg made the lifetime seven times longer, as opposed to the alloying of Ru which made it shorter.