Eu-Doped BaTiO3 Powder and Film from Sol-Gel Process with Polyvinylpyrrolidone Additive

Transparent BaTiO₃:Eu³⁺ films were prepared via a sol-gel method and dip-coating technique, using barium acetate, titanium butoxide, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as modifier viscosity. BaTiO₃:Eu³⁺ films ~500 nm thick, crystallized after thermal treatment at 700 ºC. The powders revealed spherical and rod shape morphology. The optical quality of films showed a predominant band at 615 nm under 250 nm excitation. A preliminary luminescent test provided the properties of the Eu³⁺ doped BaTiO₃.     

Densification and grain growth during solid state sintering of LaPO4

This work is devoted to the kinetic study of densification and grain growth of LaPO₄ ceramics. By sintering at a temperature close to 1500 °C, densification rate can reach up to 98% of the theoretical density and grain growth can be controlled in the range 0.6–4 μm. Isothermal shrinkage measurements carried out by dilatometry revealed that densification occurs by lattice diffusion from the grain boundary to the neck. The activation energy for densification (E_D) is evaluated as 480 ± 4 kJ mol⁻¹. Grain growth is governed by lattice diffusion controlled pore drag and the activation energy (E_G) is found to be 603 ± 2 kJ mol⁻¹. The pore mobility is so low that grain growth only occurs for almost fully dense materials.     

An ASM/ADM model interface for dynamic plant-wide simulation

Mathematical modelling has proven to be very useful in process design, operation and optimisation. A recent trend in WWTP modelling is to include the different subunits in so-called plant-wide models rather than focusing on parts of the entire process. One example of a typical plant-wide model is the coupling of an upstream activated sludge plant (including primary settler, and secondary clarifier) to an anaerobic digester for sludge digestion. One of the key challenges when coupling these processes has been the definition of an interface between the well accepted activated sludge model (ASM1) and anaerobic digestion model (ADM1). Current characterisation and interface models have key limitations, the most critical of which is the over-use of X_c (or lumped complex) variable as a main input to the ADM1. Over-use of X_c does not allow for variation of degradability, carbon oxidation state or nitrogen content. In addition, achieving a target influent pH through the proper definition of the ionic system can be difficult. In this paper, we define an interface and characterisation model that maps degradable components directly to carbohydrates, proteins and lipids (and their soluble analogues), as well as organic acids, rather than using X_c. While this interface has been designed for use with the Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2 (BSM2), it is widely applicable to ADM1 input characterisation in general. We have demonstrated the model both hypothetically (BSM2), and practically on a full-scale anaerobic digester treating sewage sludge.     

The potential of sphingomyelin as a chemopreventive agent in AOM-induced colon cancer model: wild-type and p53+/- mice

A protective effect of sphingolipids on colorectal cancer (CRC) has been reported in certain mouse strains. It is unknown if sphingolipids are protective in a p53 deficiency mouse model of CRC. This study investigated the effect of sphingomyelin (SM) on intestinal sphingomyelinase (SMase) activity, colonic epithelial biology and azoxymethane (AOM)-induced CRC. Groups of wild-type (C57BL/6J) and p53+/- mice were fed 0.1% SM diet for 4 wk, administered a single AOM injection and then killed 6 h later to measure apoptosis and proliferation. Separately, both mouse types were fed 0.05% SM diet, administered three AOM injections and killed 33-38 wk later to measure tumour formation. SM significantly increased SMase activity and reduced proliferation (p < 0.05) in wild-type and p53+/- mice. SM did not regulate baseline apoptosis, apoptotic response to AOM or apoptosis in tumours, nor did it restore defective apoptosis in p53+/- mice. There was a nonsignificant trend to reduced tumour incidence with SM in wild-type (p = 0.15) and p53+/- (p = 0.12) mice. In conclusion, while increasing intestinal SMase activity and suppressing proliferation, SM did not promote any form of apoptosis and failed to achieve significant protection in these mice. Further investigation to understand the variable effect of SM in preventing CRC is warranted.     

Interdiffusion between silica thin films and soda-lime glass substrate during annealing at high temperature

We study the diffusive interaction between soda-lime glass substrates and sputtered aluminum-doped silica thin films at 650°C, the temperature of commercial soda-lime glass shaping or tempering. A first rapid migration of alkali ions from substrate to thin film has been described in a companion paper (J Am Ceram Soc. 2018;101:1516). Using the same samples as (J Am Ceram Soc. 2018;101:1516), we focus here on later interactions, when the layer is consumed by the substrate resulting from diffusive interactions. Using Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy profilometry, we show that the interdiffusion rate increases with the aluminum doping content of the layer. We show that the alkali uptake of silica layers accelerates diffusive exchanges with the substrate, consistently with a decrease of viscosity of the layer. Diffusion profiles of silicon are well reproduced when solving the diffusion equation for a diffusivity having an exponential dependence with silicon concentration. The diffusivity of aluminum is shown to be 10 times slower than the diffusion of silicon. Specific exchanges of the two network formers with network modifiers are deduced from the composition-space trajectories, providing evidence for multicomponent diffusive couplings between species.     

Controlled Individual Skyrmion Nucleation at Artificial Defects Formed by Ion Irradiation

Magnetic skyrmions are particle‐like deformations in a magnetic texture. They have great potential as information carriers in spintronic devices because of their interesting topological properties and favorable motion under spin currents. A new method of nucleating skyrmions at nanoscale defect sites, created in a controlled manner with focused ion beam irradiation, in polycrystalline magnetic multilayer samples with an interfacial Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, is reported. This new method has three notable advantages: 1) localization of nucleation; 2) stability over a larger range of external field strengths, including stability at zero field; and 3) existence of skyrmions in material systems where, prior to defect fabrication, skyrmions were not previously obtained by field cycling. Additionally, it is observed that the size of defect nucleated skyrmions is uninfluenced by the defect itself—provided that the artificial defects are controlled to be smaller than the inherent skyrmion size. All of these characteristics are expected to be useful toward the goal of realizing a skyrmion‐based spintronic device. This phenomenon is studied with a range of transmission electron microscopy techniques to probe quantitatively the magnetic behavior at the defects with applied field and correlate this with the structural impact of the defects.     

Piezoelectricity of the Transmembrane Protein ba3 Cytochrome c Oxidase

Controlling the electromechanical response of piezoelectric biological structures including tissues, peptides, and amino acids provides new applications for biocompatible, sustainable materials in electronics and medicine. Here, the piezoelectric effect is revealed in another class of biological materials, with robust longitudinal and shear piezoelectricity measured in single crystals of the transmembrane protein ba₃ cytochrome c oxidase from Thermus thermophilus. The experimental findings from piezoresponse force microscopy are substantiated using a range of control measurements and molecular models. The observed longitudinal and shear piezoelectric responses of ≈ 2 and 8 pm V⁻¹, respectively, are comparable to or exceed the performance of commonly used inorganic piezoelectric materials including quartz, aluminum nitride, and zinc oxide. This suggests that transmembrane proteins may provide, in addition to physiological energy transduction, technologically useful piezoelectric material derived entirely from nature. Membrane proteins could extend the range of rationally designed biopiezoelectric materials far beyond the minimalistic peptide motifs currently used in miniaturized energy harvesters, and the finding of robust piezoelectric response in a transmembrane protein also raises fundamental questions regarding the molecular evolution, activation, and role of regulatory proteins in the cellular nanomachinery, indicating that piezoelectricity might be important for fundamental physiological processes.