Measurement of sulfur content in pulps of the Novoyavorovo ore refinery by a neutron radiation method

We describe an apparatus and method for measurement of the sulfur concentration in the pulp stream under refinery conditions using neutron radiation analysis. We present the block diagram for the apparatus and the results of testing of the apparatus at the Novoyavorovo ore refinery.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 2, pp. 60–61, February, 1995.     

Theoretical study of a potential low-noise semimetal-basedavalanche photodetector

The authors present a theoretical analysis of a possible avalanching photodetector (APD)-based on II-VI compound semiconductors. Each unit cell is composed of a HgTe layer, or a similar semimetal, sandwiched between two layers of CdTe and HgCdTe or similar semiconducting materials. The barrier layers are graded so that the leading barrier height is just high enough to eliminate the thermionic emission dark current out of the well. The use of a semimetal within the well has a distinct advantage over a semiconductor, which is that the ionization process is essentially an interband mechanism since the confined carriers within the well lie within the overlapping conduction and valence bands. As a result, the concentration of target carriers is virtually inexhaustible as in a conventional interband device     

A pixellated grating array using photoelectrochemical etching on aGaAs waveguide

We have demonstrated and evaluated a grating array outcoupler fabricated by photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching, a manufacturable and practical approach for fabrication of grating-based III-V semiconductor waveguide devices. An array of submicron period gratings was etched into photolithographically delineated areas in a single PEC step. The fabricated devices are: 10-μm wide rib waveguides with 0.35-μm first-order outcoupling gratings; and 10-μm wide rib waveguides with 10 μm×10 μm pixellated areas of gratings. Device characterization demonstrates the effectiveness of outcoupling grating fabrication using PEC and that the pixellated grating outcoupler is an effective and simple means of generating an optical beam array     

Measles, polio and tetanus toxoid antibody levels in Gambian children aged 3 to 4 years following routine vaccination

A nation-wide cross-sectional survey of 816 children 3-4 years old was carried out in The Gambia between September 1990 and July 1991 to assess the seroprevalence of antibodies against 3 diseases included in the expanded programme on immunization: measles, poliomyelitis and tetanus. Among 689 children whose records were available, 94.5% were fully immunized. Measles vaccine was administered to 97% of the children and 91% of these had detectable antibodies at the time of the survey. Antibodies against type 1 and type 3 polioviruses, after up to 6 doses of oral polio vaccine, were present in 88.1% and 89.3% of the children respectively. Ninety-seven percent of the children who had received 4 doses of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine (DPT) and 91% of those who received 3 doses had detectable tetanus toxoid antibodies at the age of 3-4 years. This study shows that serological responses to EPI vaccines given in infancy persist at very satisfactory levels throughout early childhood.