Effect of ambient water vapour on stability of lithium niobate electro-optic waveguide devices

A study of the effect of ambient water vapour on the stability of LiNbO3 Mach-Zehnder optical waveguide devices is reported. It is shown using both a conventional stability measurement technique and a novel voltage-stressing technique that the presence of water vapour degrades considerably the stability of these devices.     

Low loss channel waveguides in polymers

The primary routes for creating polymeric channel waveguides are reviewed. Processes, materials, waveguide performance, and applications recently reported in the literature are covered. Emphasis is on an internal diffusion approach under development at Du Pont which has not been widely reported. The intent is to provide a perspective on the flexibility and versatility for fabricating polymer channel waveguides for practical integrated optic applications     

Magnetic properties and microstructures of mischmetal-FeB-(Al, Ti and Al-Co) permanent magnets

The magnetic characteristics of anisotropic MM-FeB- (Al, Ti and Al-Co) permanent magnets have been investigated by using hot-pressing and die-upsetting process. The best magnetic properties obtained in these studies were H _C = 5.1 kOe, B _r = 5.4 kG with (BH)_max = 5.1 MGOe for hot-pressed MM-FeB-Al-Co magnets and H _C = 3.6 kOe, B _r = 6.7 kG, (BH)_max = 6.8 MGOe for die-upset MM-FeB-Al-Co magnets. Higher squareness of demagnetization curve was obtained in anisotropic die-upset MM-FeB- (Al, Al-Co) magnets. X-ray diffraction and STEM investigations revealed that the higher magnetic properties in die-upset magnets were resulted from alignment of the c-axis along the die-upsetting direction. The magnetic anisotropy of the die-upset magnets and the densification of the hot-pressed magnets were increased by partial substitution of Al and Al-Co for Fe.     

Effects of parental separation and divorce on very young children.

Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care were analyzed to explore effects of marital separation on children in the first 3 years of life. The sample included 73 never-married mothers and 97 separated mothers; a comparison group of 170 was conditionally randomly selected from the 2-parent families. Children in 2-parent families performed better than children in 1-parent families on assessments of cognitive and social abilities, problem behavior, attachment security, and behavior with mother. However, controlling for mothers' education and family income reduced these differences, and associations with separated-intact marital status were nonsignificant (the effect size was .01). Thus, children's psychological development was not affected by parental separation per se; it was related to mothers' income, education, ethnicity, childrearing beliefs, depressive symptoms, and behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can rheometry measure crystallization kinetics? A comparative study using block copolymers

The isothermal crystallization kinetics and the melting behavior of block copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(1,2-butylene oxide) were studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry and rheometry to test the validity of rheological methods. The copolymers had different block lengths (hence different melt structures) and different block architectures (diblock EB and triblock EBE and BEB). For crystallization from disordered and lamellar melts, half-times for crystallization from rheometry were much shorter, and Avrami exponents were higher, than those from calorimetry. For more-highly structured melts (gyroid, hexagonal and cubic spheres), the half-times were comparable but the Avrami exponents from rheometry were still high compared to DSC. The differences between the rates of crystallization from calorimetry and rheometry are an artifact of the rheological measurements, at low crystallite volume fractions the rheology is directly proportional to the degree of crystallinity but at high crystalline volume fractions the proportionality is lost due to the changing connectivity of the crystals. The rates of crystallization ranked in order: lamellar>disordered≈gyroid>hexagonal?cubic spheres. Other things being equal, the effect of block architecture was insignificant.     

Unbiased combinations of nonanalog Monte Carlo techniques and fair games

Historically, Monte Carlo variance reduction techniques have developed one at a time in response to calculational needs. This paper provides the theoretical basis for obtaining unbiased Monte Carlo estimates from all possible combinations of variance reduction techniques. Hitherto, the techniques have not been proven to be unbiased in arbitrary combinations. The authors are unaware of any Monte Carlo techniques (in any linear process) that are not treated by the theorem herein.     

Potentiometric biosensor employing catalytic antibodies as the molecular recognition element

Catalytic antibodies are introduced as an important new class of biomolecules for molecular recognition in biosensors in which the binding sites are continually regenerated by the catalytic reaction of the substrate. Consequently, molecular recognition by catalytic antibodies can yield reversible immunoblosensors. In this example, a prototype potentiometric biosensor is described in which a micro-pH electrode is modified with a catalytic antibody that catalyzes the hydrolysis of phenyl acetate, producing hydrogen ions that can be monitored by the electrode. The reversible response is linear with the log of substrate concentration over a range of 20-500 microM with a detection limit of 5 microM under the conditions of this study. Alternative applications of catalytic antibodies in other biosensor configurations are discussed.     

A time-course study of the effect of sulphur on glucosinolates in oilseed rape (Brassica napus) from the vegetative stage to maturity

Samples consisting of the whole above-ground part of the oilseed rape plant (Brassica napus L), were taken every 2 weeks from before stem extension to maturity. The plants were separated into vegetative tissue, floral tissue, pods and seeds (when these components appeared), and the individual glucosinolates present were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. A high glucosinolate variety (Rafal) and a low glucosinolate variety (Cobra) were compared. The effect of sulphur (32 kg ha^?1 elemental sulphur applied at the beginning of stem extension) on the various parts of the plant was investigated. Total glucosinolate concentration in all plant parts was higher in Rafal than in Cobra. Glucosinolate concentration in the vegetation declined over time, most noticeably when the flowers and seeds were produced, and glucosinolate concentration of the pods also fell as that of the seeds rose. It is suggested that there may have been some redistribution of glucosinolates or glucosinolate precursors within the plant as maturity approached. Changes occurred in the proportions that individual glucosinolates contributed to the total glucosinolate content, and this may be relevant to plant/pathogen relationships. Sulphur application increased the glucosinolate concentration of the vegetative tissue by mid April and also increased the glucosinolate concentration of the flowers. It is suggested that this could affect the plant's resistance to disease.