Quantitative Analysis of Structural Changes in Steel Caused by High-Temperature Holding in Hydrogen

We give a quantitative estimate of changes in the structure of 15Kh2MFA steel after its long-term exposure to the combined action of high temperature, tensile stresses, and hydrogen as the factors of degradation of this steel under conditions of oil hydrocracking. Under laboratory conditions, we study the effect of high-temperature hydrogen degradation of 15Kh2MFA heat-resistant steel on changes in the quantitative characteristics of its structural elements, in particular, in the dimension and average distance between carbides as well as in their orientation from one grain to another. Algorithms for the solution of the formulated problems are described, and the possibilities of proposed approaches for the quantitative automatic processing of metallographic images are shown.     

Novel amplified fiber-optic recirculating delay line processor

The application of optical amplifiers (OAs) to fiber-optic delay line signal processing is demonstrated. Both erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) are applicable. Analytical results are presented for both amplified and unamplified fiber-optic recirculating delay lines (AFORDLs and UFORDLs). In the AFORDL an OA is inserted in the fiber loop. It is shown that the active AFORDL structure is capable of realizing all-fiber filters not possible with the passive UFORDL. This result is significant because it shows that the OAs can function beyond just the trivial optical loss compensation to provide extra flexibility not available in passive designs. An AFORDL design is presented which has a pole near +1 and a zero at -1 in the Z-plane resulting in useful characteristics in the magnitude and phase responses. The results suggest that extension of the concept to higher-order filters has the potential to lead to the realization of more complex optical processors     

Primer-induced labeling of pea and field bean chromosomes in situ and in suspension

A protocol for primed in situ DNA labeling (PRINS) was optimized for pea (Pisum sativum L.) and field bean (Vicia faba L.) chromosomes attached to coverslips. Cloned DNA or synthetic oligonucleotides were used as probes for repetitive DNA sequences (rDNA, Fok-element) and different reaction conditions were tested to achieve the highest specific signal-to-background ratio. A procedure based on direct labeling by fluorescein-dUTP was compared with an indirect one using digoxigenin detected by fluorescently labeled antibody. Under optimal conditions, strong and specific signals were obtained exclusively on chromosome regions known to contain respective DNA sequences. Compared to the direct labeling, significantly stronger signals were obtained when the indirect procedure was used. Both types of labeling were successfully applied to chromosomes in suspension and were shown to produce signals comparable to that obtained with chromosomes attached to coverslips. It is expected that primed in situ DNA labeling en suspension (PRINSES) will provide a basis for flow-cytometric discrimination and sorting of otherwise indistinguishable chromosomes according to their specific fluorescent labeling.     

The giant dispersion of critical currents in a superconductor with fractal clusters of a normal phase

The influence of fractal clusters of a normal phase on the dynamics of a magnetic flux trapped in a percolation superconductor is considered. The critical depinning current distribution and the current-voltage characteristics of fractal superconducting structures in the resistive state are determined for an arbitrary fractal dimension of the cluster boundaries. The interval of fractal dimensions is found in which the dispersion of critical currents exhibits unlimited growth. It is established that the fractality of clusters favors a decrease of the electric field arising during the magnetic flux motion, thus increasing the critical current value. The region featuring the giant dispersion of critical currents can be expected to provide for the maximum current-carrying capacity of a superconductor.     

89-GHz fT room-temperature silicon MOSFETs

The authors report the implementation of deep-submicrometer Si MOSFETs that at room temperature have a unity-current-gain cutoff frequency (f_T) of 89 GHz, for a drain-to-source bias of 1.5 V, a gate-to-source bias of 1 V, a gate oxide thickness of 40 Å, and a channel length of 0.15 μm. The fabrication procedure is mostly conventional, except for the e-beam defined gates. The speed performance is achieved through an intrinsic transit time of only 1.8 ps across the active device region     

PAC-learnability of probabilistic deterministic finite state automata in terms of variation distance

We consider the problem of PAC-learning distributions over strings, represented by probabilistic deterministic finite automata (PDFAs). PDFAs are a probabilistic model for the generation of strings of symbols, that have been used in the context of speech and handwriting recognition, and bioinformatics. Recent work on learning PDFAs from random examples has used the KL-divergence as the error measure; here we use the variation distance. We build on recent work by Clark and Thollard, and show that the use of the variation distance allows simplifications to be made to the algorithms, and also a strengthening of the results; in particular that using the variation distance, we obtain polynomial sample size bounds that are independent of the expected length of strings.     

Single-Step Granulation Method with Microwaves: Preliminary Studies and Pilot Scale Results

Common pharmaceutical excipients and compounds were dried either by a simple convection method or by a combined convection and microwave method in a static bed or by a combined microwave and vacuum method in a mixed bed. A simple placebo granulation was dried by an exclusive vacuum method and by a combined microwave and vacuum method in a mixed bed. The results were compared.     

Screening and characterization of microorganisms with glutaryl-7ADCA acylase activity

A screening of microorganisms producing glutaryl-7ADCA acylase, an enzyme able to hydrolyse glutaric acid selectively from glutaryl-3-deacetoxy-7-aminocephalosporanic acid (glutaryl-7ADCA), has been carried out in soil samples. Five microorganisms expressing acylase activity were isolated and classified as Bacillus cereus, Achromobacter xylosooxidans, Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Pseudomonas paucimobilis. The screening was carried out by preparing enrichment cultures containing glutaryl-7-ADCA or cephalosporin C as the selective carbon source. Four model compounds (adipoyl-, glutamyl- and glutaryl-p-nitroanilide and glutarylcoumarin), mimicking the glutaryl-7ADCA beta-lactam moiety, were synthesized as substrates suitable for the rapid screening of the microorganisms (2500) isolated from the enrichment cultures. A total of 300 strains were active on the model substrates and only 5 displayed acylase activity on glutaryl-7ADCA. The fermentation parameters, such as pH and inducer concentration, for the optimal acylase expression and acylase specificity towards the model substrates were different for each strain.     

Possibility of Using a High-Pressure Pneumatic Pump in the Porcelain Industry

The advantages and disadvantages of using a high-pressure pneumatic pump at porcelain and insulator works are discussed. The testing results of a prototype pump are described.