Heteroepitaxial Growth Kinetics in a CVD Process Using Nickel Oxide on MgO as a Model System

Three-dimensional crysallites of NiO were grown on MgO substrates using a CVD process by reacting NiBr₂ with oxygen in the presence of water vapor at 600°C. The vapor pressures of oxygen and water vapor were kept at 0.88 and 2.61 kPa, respectively. The growth rate of periodically spaced NiO nuclei was measured. The results, which show a peak in the average deposition rate when plotted against the nuclei spacing, are modeled in terms of an effective diffusion distance for the NiO molecules on the MgO surface, and assuming a negligibly small reaction rate of the precursors on the surface of NiO crystallites. The latter assumption results from the observation that the average growth rate on cleaved MgO surface dropped to a very low value once a continuous film of NiO was formed. An effective diffusion distance was manifested by the observation of characteristic denuded zones surrounding the NiO crystallites when the nucleation rate was increased by increasing the water vapor supersaturation on the surface. The comparison with model is used to estimate the effective diffusion distance.     

Collective deformations in proteins determined by a mode analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories

A systematic method of representing and analyzing the intramolecular strains in proteins is proposed. For illustrative purposes, the method is applied to the N-terminal fragment of the human T-cell glycoprotein CD4. The method is based on the singular value decomposition (SVD) of molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories. The slowest three modes of motion that carry information along the protein molecule over large length scales are analyzed, so as to characterize the collective motions and the resulting strains along the three principal axes of the protein. Strong cooperative motions of different types, mainly wave-like, wagging, wiggling, breathing, bending and shearing motions, and rigid body rotations are distinguished. The mean-square fluctuations of C^α-atoms induced by the three dominant modes are found to exhibit a closer correlation with the experimental temperature factors in the presence of solvent.     

Polymorphisms in the bovine lactoferrin promoter are associated with reproductive performance and somatic cell count

Lactoferrin plays an important role in the innate immune system, with well-characterized antibacterial, antiviral, and immune modulatory properties. The objective of this study was to determine the allele and haplotype frequency of polymorphisms at positions −586, −190, and −28 of the bovine lactoferrin promoter in Holstein-Friesians and to quantify their association with performance using phenotypic data on progeny from 848 sires. Associations between genotypes and performance were quantified using weighted mixed models with genotyped individuals included as a random effect, and average expected relationships among individuals accounted for through a numerator relationship matrix. The dependent variables were daughter yield deviation for production traits and deregressed predicted transmitting ability for calving interval and functional survival. The C to T polymorphism at −586, which distorts a putative activating protein 2 (AP-2) binding site, was associated with a shorter calving interval and higher somatic cell score. The G to A polymorphism at −190, located in a putative selective promoter factor 1 (SP-1) binding site, was associated with a longer calving interval and decreased functional survival. A third polymorphism (A to C) at position −28, found within the noncanonical TATA box, had a tendency to associate with functional survival. On the basis of the data we proposed a haplotype combination that was associated with improved reproductive performance in the Holstein-Friesian breed. We hypothesized that the observable phenotypic associations with lactoferrin promoter polymorphisms can potentially be explained by allele-specific differences in constitutive or inducible levels of gene expression. The lack of a pleiotropic effect of the single nucleotide polymorphisms studied on both fertility and milk production traits strengthens the importance of these polymorphisms, or at least the lactoferrin promoter, in selection for improved fertility.     

New modified-majority voter-based efficient QCA digital logic design

ABSTRACT

Quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) is an emerging nanotechnology and a possible alternative solution to the limitation of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. One of the most attractive fields in QCA is the implementation of configurable digital systems. This article presents a novel multifunctional gate called the modified-majority voter (MMV). The proposed gate works on the explicit interaction of the cell characteristic property for the implementation of digital circuits. This prominent feature of the proposed gate reduces the maximum hardware cost and implements highly efficient QCA structures. To verify the functionality of the proposed gate, some physical proofs, truth table and computational simulation results are performed. These results assured the validity of the existence of the proposed gate. It also dissipates less energy which has been calculated under three separate tunnelling energy levels using the QCAPro tool. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed MMV gate, several optimal irreversible arithmetic circuits such as three-input XOR, half-adder and full-adder are proposed. The modular layouts are verified with the freely available QCADesigner tool version 2.0.3.     

Benders Decomposition Algorithms for Two Variants of the Single Allocation Hub Location Problem

Networks and Spatial Economics - The hub location problem (HLP) is a special type of the facility location problem with numerous applications in the airline industry, postal services, and computer...     

Better quality built environments: design review panels as applied in Cambridge,England

ABSTRACT

This paper describes how design review panels operate in England, focusing on three panels operating in Cambridge. It considers two questions: whether design review panels contribute to improving the quality of the built environment, and whether they are an important element of the design process. The analysis focuses on the quality and process of urban design, based on face-to-face qualitative interviews with planners, developers and panel members. In conclusion, despite the several shortcomings, the paper argues that the panels contribute to better dialogue between the different actors of the process, and hence can improve the quality of built environments.     

Comparison of total‐etch,self‐etch,and selective etching techniques on class V composite restorations prepared by Er:YAG laser and bur: a scanning electron microscopy study

The purpose of this study was to compare total‐etch, self‐etch, and selective etching techniques on the marginal microleakage of Class V composite restorations prepared by Er:YAG laser and bur. Class V cavities prepared on both buccal and lingual surfaces of 30 premolars by Er:YAG laser or bur and divided into six groups. The occlusal margins were in enamel, and the cervical margins were in cementum. Group‐1: bur preparation(bp)+Adper Single Bond 2 (ASB)+Filtek Z550 (FZ); Group‐2: laser preparation(lp)+(ASB)+(FZ); Group‐3: bp + Clearfil S3 Bond Plus (CSBP)+(FZ); Group‐4: lp+(CSBP) (FZ); Group‐5: bp + acid etching+(CSBP)+(FZ); Group‐6: lp + acid etching+(CSBP)+(FZ). All teeth were stored in distilled water at 37°C for 24 hr, and then thermocycled 1000 times (5–55°C). Five teeth from each group were chosen for the microleakage investigation, and two teeth for the scanning electron microscope evaluation. Teeth which were prepared for the microleakage test were immersed in .5% methylene blue dye for 24 hr. After immersion, the teeth were sectioned and observed under a stereomicroscope for dye penetration. Data were analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests (p < .05). More microleakage was observed in the cervical regions compared to the occlusal regions in Groups 3, 5, and 6, respectively (p < .05). There is no statistically significant difference in Groups 1, 2, and 4, in terms of cervical regions versus occlusal regions (p > .05). No significant differences were observed among any groups in terms of occlusal and cervical surfaces, separately (p > .05). Different etching techniques did not influence microleakage of Class V restorations prepared by Er:YAG laser and bur.     

Immobilization of glucoamylase on magnetic poly(styrene) particles

Magnetic poly(styrene) particles including active groups were prepared for enzyme immobilization without any activation process. Glucoamylase, which is widely used in industry, was immobilized onto these particles. The effects of pH, buffer concentration, and temperature on immobilization were investigated; moreover, the effect of immobilization temperature on immobilized glucoamylase activity was determined for the hydrolysis of maltose. The acetate buffer with the concentration of 6 × 10⁻⁴ M at pH 4 and 20–30°C was found as the most suitable medium for the immobilization of the glucoamylase. The amount of bound protein is 8 mg/g particle with the immobilization yield of 70%. The maximum activity obtained with immobilized glucoamylase is approximately 70% of the free one. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 69–73, 1999     

Lensfree color imaging on a nanostructured chip using compressive decoding

We demonstrate subpixel level color imaging capability on a lensfree incoherent on-chip microscopy platform. By using a nanostructured substrate, the incoherent emission from the object plane is modulated to create a unique far-field diffraction pattern corresponding to each point at the object plane. These lensfree diffraction patterns are then sampled in the far-field using a color sensor-array, where the pixels have three different types of color filters at red, green, and blue (RGB) wavelengths. The recorded RGB diffraction patterns (for each point on the structured substrate) form a basis that can be used to rapidly reconstruct any arbitrary multicolor incoherent object distribution at subpixel resolution, using a compressive sampling algorithm. This lensfree computational imaging platform could be quite useful to create a compact fluorescent on-chip microscope that has color imaging capability.     

Synthesis of N‐polyethereal polypyrroles and their application for the preconcentration of rare earth ions

Conducting polymers containing polyether pseudocages (P I , P II , P III ) have been synthesized via chemical oxidation of 1,5‐bis(1,1‐pyrrole)‐3‐oxabutane (M I ), 1,8‐bis(1,1‐pyrrole)‐3,6‐dioxahexane (M II ), and 1,11‐bis(1,1‐pyrrole)‐3,6,9‐trioxaundecane (M III ) using anhydrous FeCl₃ in CHCl₃. Because as obtained polymer resins did not give any response toward any cations, they were reduced (undoped) using chemical reducing agents. Tetrabutylammonium hydroxide was found to be more effective in undoping to obtain more reproducible and reusable polymer resins. The undoped polymer resins were tried in the extraction of rare earth metal ions from the aqueous medium. Among them, only P III resin removes La(III), Eu(III) and Yb(III) and can be employed for the preconcentration of these metal ions. For batch extraction of La(III), Eu(III) and Yb(III) at neutral pH values, percent recoveries of 98.0 ± 1.0, 90.7 ± 1.4, 87.3 ± 4.0, respectively, has been obtained. The sorption capacity is found as 1.3 mg of La(III) per gram of P III resin. The P III resin could be reused at least five times without significant change in its sorption capacity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008