Atomic oxygen effects on POSS polyimides in low earth orbit

Kapton polyimde is extensively used in solar arrays, spacecraft thermal blankets, and space inflatable structures. Upon exposure to atomic oxygen in low Earth orbit (LEO), Kapton is severely eroded. An effective approach to prevent this erosion is to incorporate polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) into the polyimide matrix by copolymerizing POSS monomers with the polyimide precursor. The copolymerization of POSS provides Si and O in the polymer matrix on the nano level. During exposure of POSS polyimide to atomic oxygen, organic material is degraded, and a silica passivation layer is formed. This silica layer protects the underlying polymer from further degradation. Laboratory and space-flight experiments have shown that POSS polyimides are highly resistant to atomic-oxygen attack, with erosion yields that may be as little as 1% those of Kapton. The results of all the studies indicate that POSS polyimide would be a space-survivable replacement for Kapton on spacecraft that operate in the LEO environment.     

Recent changes in the snout position and surface velocity of Gangotri glacier observed from space

Glacier mass variations have a direct impact on some of the key components of the global water cycle, including sea level rise and freshwater availability. Apart from being one of the largest Himalayan glaciers, Gangotri is one of the sources of water for the Ganges river, which has a considerable influence on the socioeconomic structure of a largely over-populated catchment area accounting for ～26% of India’s landmass. In this study, we present the most recent assessment of the Gangotri glacier dynamics, combining the use of interferometric techniques on synthetic aperture radar data and sub-pixel offset tracking on Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite imagery. Results show that on average, the Gangotri glacier snout has receded at a rate of 21.3 ± 3 m year^?1 over a period of 6 years (2004–2010). While glacier surface velocity near the snout is estimated to be between 24.8 ± 2.3 and 28.9 ± 2.3 m year^?1, interior portions of the glacier recorded velocities in the range of 13.9 ± 2.3 to 70.2 ± 2.3 m year^?1. Further, the average glacier surface velocity in the northern (lower) portions (28.1 ± 2.3 m year^?1) is observed to be significantly lower than in the southern (higher) portions (48.1 ± 2.3 m year^?1) of the Gangotri glacier. These values are calculated with an uncertainty of less than 5 m year^?1. Results also highlight a consistent retreat and non-uniform dynamics of the Gangotri glacier.     

Bacteriocins: Recent Trends and Potential Applications

In the modern era, there is great need for food preservation in both developing and developed countries due to increasing demand for extending shelf life and prevention of spoilage of food material. With the emergence of new pathogens and ability of micro-organisms to undergo changes, exploration of new avenues for the food preservation has gained importance. Moreover, awareness among consumers regarding harmful effects of chemical preservatives has been increased. Globally, altogether there is increasing demand by consumers for chemical-free and minimal processed food products. Potential of bacteriocin and its application in reducing the microbiological spoilages and in the preservation of food is long been recognized. Bacteriocins are normally specific to closely related species without disrupting the growth of other microbial populations. A number of applications of bacteriocin have been reported for humans, live stock, aquaculture etc. This review is focused on recent trends and applications of bacteriocins in different areas in addition to their biopreservative potential.     

A novel electro‐organic synthesis of aniline‐based copolymers at platinum electrodes

A novel, efficient, and ecocompatible electro copolymerization of anilines at platinum electrode using acetonitrile as non‐aqueous solvent and lithiumperchlorate as supporting electrolyte was carried and described here. The progress and mechanistic study of copolymerization was done using cyclic voltammetry. The reaction proceeded smoothly and quantitatively at ambient temperature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Radiometric calibration of an airborne CO2 pulsed Doppler lidar with a natural earth surface

Radiometric calibration of an airborne CO2 pulsed Doppler lidar has been accomplished with surface retroreflection signals from the White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. Two circular passes were made at altitudes of 6.3 and 9.3 km. The computed calibration factors for both altitudes are in excellent agreement with the value derived from standard ground-based measurements involving a fixed sandpaper target of known reflectance. This finding corroborates a previous study that successfully calibrated an airborne cw Doppler lidar with a variety of natural Earth surfaces. The present results indicate that relatively uniform Earth surface targets can be used for in-flight calibration of CO2 pulsed airborne and, in principal, other infrared lidars.     

Plane wave propagation and domain of influence in fractional order thermoelastic materials with three-phase-lag heat transfer

The domain of influence theorem for the fractional order theory of anisotropic thermoelastic materials with three-phase-lag heat transfer is proposed. The fractional order theory of thermoelasticity with three-phase-lag heat transfer has been used to investigate the problem. The plane wave propagation in anisotropic thermoelastic medium having a fractional order derivative in the context of three-phase-lag model of thermoelasticity is studied. The governing equations for a transversely isotropic three-phase-lag model are reduced as a special case. Some wave characteristics are computed numerically and presented graphically.     

The Effect of Early Life Stress on Emotional Behaviors in GPR37KO Mice

GPR37 is an orphan G-protein-coupled receptor, a substrate of parkin which is linked to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and affective disorders. In this study, we sought to address the effects of early life stress (ELS) by employing the paradigm of limited nesting material on emotional behaviors in adult GPR37 knockout (KO) mice. Our results showed that, while there was an adverse effect of ELS on various domains of emotional behaviors in wild type (WT) mice in a sex specific manner (anxiety in females, depression and context-dependent fear memory in males), GPR37KO mice subjected to ELS exhibited less deteriorated emotional behaviors. GPR37KO female mice under ELS conditions displayed reduced anxiety compared to WT mice. This was paralleled by lower plasma corticosterone in GPR37KO females and a lower increase in P-T286-CaMKII by ELS in the amygdala. GPR37KO male mice, under ELS conditions, showed better retention of hippocampal-dependent emotional processing in the passive avoidance behavioral task. GPR37KO male mice showed increased immobility in the forced swim task and increased P-T286-CaMKII in the ventral hippocampus under baseline conditions. Taken together, our data showed overall long-term effects of ELS—deleterious or beneficial depending on the genotype, sex of the mice and the emotional context.     

Charge trap generation in LPCVD oxides under high field stressing

The degradation of low pressure chemical vapor deposited (LPCVD) oxides, prepared using silane and tetra ethyl ortho silicate (TEOS) as the source, has been investigated under high field stressing. The LPCVD oxides exhibit enhanced conductivity for the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling current, which is modeled as an effective lowering of potential barrier at the injecting electrode. The charge to breakdown (Q_bd) of LPCVD oxides depends on both the deposition chemistry and post deposition annealing condition. The change in interface-state density (ΔD_it), flatband voltage (ΔV_fb), and gate voltage (Δ|V_g|) during constant current stressing are studied to identify the degradation mechanism. We see a very good correlation between Q_bd and Δ|V_g|, indicating that the degradation in LPCVD oxides is dominated by bulk trap generation and subsequent charge trapping. We present a detailed theoretical analysis to substantiate this     

Optimization of extrinsic source/drain resistance in ultrathin body double-gate FETs

Extrinsic resistance due to contacts and nonabrupt lateral extension doping profile can become a performance-limiter in ultrathin body double-gate FETs (DGFET). In this paper, two-dimensional device simulations are used to study and optimize the extrinsic resistance in a sub-20 nm gate length DGFET. For a given lateral doping gradient, the extension doping needs to be offset from the gate edge by an amount called the underlap. The current drive, and hence transistor performance, is maximized when the underlap is chosen in such a way as to balance the impact of nonabrupt doping on the short channel effects and series resistance. This optimization depends upon the maximum allowed off-state subthreshold leakage current and the electrostatic integrity of the device structure.