Electrical characterization of very-narrow-gap bulk HgCdTe single crystals by variable magnetic field hall measurements

Variable-magnetic-field Hall measurements (0 to 1.5 T) are performed on very-narrow-gap bulk-grown Hg_1−xCd_xTe single crystals (0.165 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) at various temperatures (10 to 300K). The electron densities and mobilities are obtained within the one-carrier (electrons) approximation of the reduced-con-ductivity-tensor scheme. The present data together with the selected data set reported by other workers exhibit a pronounced peak when the electron mobility is plotted against the alloy composition x-value which has been predicted to be due to the effective-mass minimum at the bandgap-crossing (E_g ≈ 0). The observed position (x ≈ 0.165), height (≈4 x 10² m²Vs), and width (≈0.01 in x) of the mobility-peak can be explained by a simple simulation involving only ionized-impurity scattering. A lower bound of the effective mass is introduced as a fitting parameter to be consistent with the finiteness of the observed electron mobility and is found to be of the order of 10⁻⁴ of the mass of a free electron.     

Improving technical specifications from a risk perspective

The Technical Specifications (TSs) for a nuclear power plant is an important licensing document which defines various operational requirements or conditions. In light of the recent trends to move towards risk-based regulation, many researchers analyzed the risk impacts associated with the TS requirements, using the plant models, such as event trees or fault trees, that were developed as part of probabilistic safety assessments. This paper presents the insights gained from a review of these risk-based analyses of TSs, focussing on surveillance requirements and AOT (allowed outage time) requirements.     

Interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd0.96Zn0.04 Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Double-crystal x-ray rocking curve (DCRC) and secondary-ion mass-spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements have been performed to investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing on the interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The sharp satellite peaks of the DCRC measurements on a 100-period HgTe/CdTe (100Å/100Å) superlattice show a periodic arrangement of the superlattice with high-quality interfaces. The negative direction of the entropy change obtained from the diffusion coefficients as a function of the reciprocal of the temperature after RTA indicates that the Hg diffusion for the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice is caused by an interstitial mechanism. The Cd and the Hg concentration profiles near the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice interfaces, as measured by SIMS, show a nonlinear behavior for Hg, originating from the interstitial diffusion mechanism of the Hg composition. These results indicate that a nonlinear interdiffusion behavior is dominant for HgTe/CdTe superlattices annealed at 190°C and that the rectangular shape of HgTe/CdTe superlattices may change to a parabolic shape because of the intermixing of Hg and Cd due to the thermal treatment.     

Characterization of the cavity nucleation factor for life prediction under creep-fatigue interaction

It is understood that grain boundary cavitation is one of the detrimental processes for the degradation of materials that reduces the creep-fatigue life at high temperatures. In a previous investigation, a model for life prediction under creep-fatigue conditions was proposed in terms of cavity nucleation and growth. In that model, the cavity nucleation factor (P) was introduced to correlate between the number of cavities and the plastic strain range from which athermal vacancies are generated. It was considered to be a material specific constant which was independent of the experimental conditions. However, in this study, it is found that the cavity nucleation factor is a function of the plastic strain range but is independent of the testing temperature at near 0.5 T _m. In the light of this dependency, a new cavity nucleation factor (P'), is introduced. Using this new cavity nucleation factor (P'), a modified equation for life prediction is proposed, and it is shown that there is good agreement between predicted and experimental lives. Additionally, an interesting approach has been made to find the physical meaning of the new cavity nucleation factor (P'). According to this study, it is suggested that the new cavity nucleation factor, which is regarded as a material specific constant, is found to be strongly related to the density of the grain boundary precipitates with a linear relationship existing between them.     

The crystal structure of an Fe-superoxide dismutase from the hyperthermophile Aquifex pyrophilus at 1.9 A resolution: structural basis for thermostability

The incidence of stress fractures is increasing among competitive and recreational athletes as well as among children and the elderly. By understanding the continuum of bone's response to stress and maintaining an appropriate index of suspicion, the health care provider can diagnose these injuries appropriately. An accurate history and examination is essential and will differentiate stress fractures from other stress reactions. The more common stress fractures are discussed.     

Oxygen dependency of retinal adhesion

PURPOSE: Normal retina is firmly attached to the retinal pigment epithelium, but the force of this adhesion drops precipitously within the first 2-3 min after enucleation. The purpose was to study metabolic factors that might be relevant to this postmortem failure of adhesion. METHODS: Dutch rabbit retina was manually peeled from the retinal pigment epithelium on strips of enucleated eyecup within a 37 degrees C bath. Retinal adhesiveness was measured by observing the amount of retinal pigment epithelium that remained adherent to the retina. RESULTS: Autologous whole blood in place of salt solution retarded the decrease in adhesiveness. A solution of hemoglobin alone was similarly effective, whereas methemoglobin solution failed to help the persistence of retinal adhesion. Bubbling oxygen into the salt solution and circulating it to avoid oxygen depletion at the tissue boundary also proved effective at sustaining retinal adhesiveness. Eyes made ischemic in vivo for 5 min or longer, by elevating intraocular pressure, showed virtually no retinal adhesion when enucleated immediately thereafter. However, eyes made ischemic for 10 min, but allowed to regain circulation for 5 min before enucleation, showed a return of retinal adhesiveness to 80% of normal. CONCLUSIONS: Oxidative metabolism is critical to the maintenance of retinal adhesiveness, and the effects of oxygen deprivation on adhesion are reversible within a certain time period.