Thermal Decomposition of Molecular Materials {\{{\rm N}(n{-}{\rm C}_{4}{\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm M}^{\rm II} {\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2} {\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty},\,{\rm M}^{\rm II} = {\rm Zn},\, {\rm Co},\, {\rm Fe}}

Thermal decomposition of oxalate-based molecular precursors, namely ${\{{\rm N}(n{-} {\rm C}_{4} {\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm Zn}^{\rm II}{\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2} {\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty}, \{{\rm N}(n{-}{\rm C}_{4}{\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm Co}^{\rm II}{\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2}{\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty}}$ , and ${\{{\rm N}(n{-}{\rm C}_{4} {\rm H}_{9})_{4}[{\rm Fe}^{\rm II}{\rm Fe}^{\rm III}({\rm C}_{2}{\rm O}_{4})_{3}]\}_{\infty}}$ , abbreviated as BuZnFe, BuCoFe, and BuFeFe, respectively, are studied using thermogravimetry (TG) in the temperature range from ~300?K to ~675?K at multiple heating rates. This study also deals with how the thermal decomposition of the complexes proceed stepwise through a series of intermediate reactions. The effect of the divalent metal M^II on the nature of thermal decomposition of the complexes, reflected in their TG profiles in terms of number of steps involved, is reported in this study. The temperature range of thermal decomposition steps for BuZnFe, BuCoFe, and BuFeFe with the same heating rates are studied systematically. Two different isoconversional methods, namely an improved iterative method and a model-free method are employed to calculate the kinetic parameters, and thus the most probable reaction mechanism of thermal decomposition is determined. Based on kinetic parameters, the important thermodynamic parameters such as the changes of entropy, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy are estimated for the activated complex formation from the precursors. Considering the mass loss during the different thermal decomposition steps of BuZnFe, BuCoFe, and BuFeFe, observed in the thermogravimetry profiles, the overall reactions of the thermal decompositions are demonstrated.     

SCC casting prediction for the realization of prototype VHPC-precambered composite beams

Casting simulations of self-compacting concrete are carried out in order to obtain a value of the minimum fluidity needed to cast a VHPC precambered composite beam. The mix proportioning of the concrete takes into account this minimum value. The numerical predictions are finally compared with the experimental observations during two casting tests and the real casting of the two 13 m beams. Although the simplifying assumptions needed to carry out the simulations are numerous, there is an agreement between the predictions and the real casting.     

Effect of compost age and composition on the atrazine removal from solution

Compost samples from two composting facilities, the Urbana (Illinois) Landscape Recycling Center (ULRC) and Illinois State University (ISU), were selected to examine the effect of compost age on atrazine removal from solution. The ULRC samples were made from yard waste without an additional nitrogen source. The ISU samples were made from yard waste or sawdust with the addition of manure. The 6-month-old ULRC compost had the greater capacity to remove atrazine from solution, which we attributed to its greater organic carbon content. The addition of nitrate into ULRC compost could influence the extent of atrazine removal, but did not have a significant impact on atrazine removal when applied to ISU compost, probably because manure was added to the yard waste to produce the compost. For both ULRC and ISU samples, the presence of sodium azide inhibited atrazine removal, suggesting that microbial activity contributed to the atrazine removal. Metabolic analysis demonstrated that hydroxyatrazine was the major identified metabolite that accumulated in solution before significant ring mineralization could occur. When compared with the ISU compost, the ULRC compost sample had a greater capacity to remove atrazine from solution during the 120 days of study because of the larger humic acid content. The experimental results suggested that less-mature compost may be better suited for environmental applications such as removing atrazine from tile-drainage waters.     

Grating-coupled surface plasmon polaritons and waveguide modes in a silver-dielectric-silver structure

A silver-dielectric-silver structure that supports both waveguide modes and surface plasmon polaritons is explored. The upper interface between the dielectric and the silver is periodically corrugated to allow coupling of visible photons to both types of mode. Such a metallic microcavity leads to plasmonic and waveguide self-interacting bandgaps at Brillouin zone boundaries. In addition there are found other bandgaps from mode crossings within the Brillouin zone. This results specifically in a very flat photonic band due to anticrossings between a surface plasmon polariton and waveguide modes. Characterization of the observed modes in terms of their resonant electromagnetic fields is achieved by using a multilayer, multishape differential grating theory.     

Nanomaterials for efficiently lowering the freezing point of anti-freeze coolants

In this paper, we report, for the first time, the effect of the lowered freezing point in a 50% water/50% anti-freeze coolant (PAC) or 50% water/50% ethylene glycol (EG) solution by the addition of carbon nanotubes and other particles. The experimental results indicated that the nano materials are much more efficient (hundreds fold) in lowering the freezing point than the regular ionic materials (e.g., NaCl). The possible explanation for this interesting phenomenon is the colligative property of fluid and relative small size of nano material. It is quite certain that the carbon nanotubes and metal oxide nano particles could be a wonderful candidate for the nano coolant application because they could not only increase the thermal conductivity, but also efficiently lower the freezing point of traditional coolants.     

Modeling prostate anatomy from multiple view TRUS images for image-guided HIFU therapy

Current planning methods for transrectal high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment of prostate cancer rely on manually defining treatment regions in 15-20 sector transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) images of the prostate. Although effective, it is desirable to reduce user interaction time by identifying functionally related anatomic structures (segmenting), then automatically laying out treatment sites using these structures as a guide. Accordingly, a method has been developed to effectively generate solid three-dimensional (3-D) models of the prostate, urethra, and rectal wall from boundary trace data. Modeling the urethra and rectal wall are straightforward, but modeling the prostate is more difficult and has received much attention in the literature. New results presented here are aimed at overcoming many of the limitations of previous approaches to modeling the prostate while using boundary traces obtained via manual tracing in as few as 5 sector and 3 linear images. The results presented here are based on a new type of surface, the Fourier ellipsoid, and the use of sector and linear TRUS images. Tissue-specific 3-D models will ultimately permit finer control of energy deposition and more selective destruction of cancerous regions while sparing critical neighboring structures.     

Effect of pH on the Crystallization of Homogeneously Precipitated Nanosized PZT Powder

Nanosized lead zirconate titanate (PZT) powder with Zr:Ti ratio in the morphotropic phase boundary region was synthesized by homogeneous precipitation of metal ions. The powder precipitated at 90°C and at pH 6.7 resulted single-phase perovskite lead zirconate titanate powder when calcined at 550°C and above for 4 hours in air. The solution pH and the precipitation temperature strongly affect the composition of the calcined powder. The results obtained by structural characterization of homogeneously precipitated powder were compared with that obtained from the conventional precipitation method using ammonia in terms of crystallization, homogeneity, and microstructure. The homogeneously precipitated powder showed smaller particle size, minimum agglomeration and uniform shape on calcination and annealing. Powdered samples that precipitated by homogeneous precipitation crystallized directly to perovskite PZT, without any intermediate pyrochlore phase formation. In contrast, the NH₃ precipitated powder converted to perovskite PZT via metastable pyrochlore and it showed phase segregation upon annealing at higher temperatures. The reaction kinetics has been studied by X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Deformable Organic Nanowire Field‐Effect Transistors

Deformable electronic devices that are impervious to mechanical influence when mounted on surfaces of dynamically changing soft matters have great potential for next‐generation implantable bioelectronic devices. Here, deformable field‐effect transistors (FETs) composed of single organic nanowires (NWs) as the semiconductor are presented. The NWs are composed of fused thiophene diketopyrrolopyrrole based polymer semiconductor and high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene oxide as both the molecular binder and deformability enhancer. The obtained transistors show high field‐effect mobility >8 cm² V^?1 s^?1 with poly(vinylidenefluoride‐ co ‐trifluoroethylene) polymer dielectric and can easily be deformed by applied strains (both 100% tensile and compressive strains). The electrical reliability and mechanical durability of the NWs can be significantly enhanced by forming serpentine‐like structures of the NWs. Remarkably, the fully deformable NW FETs withstand 3D volume changes (>1700% and reverting back to original state) of a rubber balloon with constant current output, on the surface of which it is attached. The deformable transistors can robustly operate without noticeable degradation on a mechanically dynamic soft matter surface, e.g., a pulsating balloon (pulse rate: 40 min^?1 (0.67 Hz) and 40% volume expansion) that mimics a beating heart, which underscores its potential for future biomedical applications.     

Bow-tie architecture of gene regulatory networks in species of varying complexity

The gene regulatory network (GRN) architecture plays a key role in explaining the biological differences between species. We aim to understand species differences in terms of some universally present dynamical properties of their gene regulatory systems. A network architectural feature associated with controlling system-level dynamical properties is the bow-tie, identified by a strongly connected subnetwork, the core layer, between two sets of nodes, the in and the out layers. Though a bow-tie architecture has been observed in many networks, its existence has not been extensively investigated in GRNs of species of widely varying biological complexity. We analyse publicly available GRNs of several well-studied species from prokaryotes to unicellular eukaryotes to multicellular organisms. In their GRNs, we find the existence of a bow-tie architecture with a distinct largest strongly connected core layer. We show that the bow-tie architecture is a characteristic feature of GRNs. We observe an increasing trend in the relative core size with species complexity. Using studied relationships of the core size with dynamical properties like robustness and fragility, flexibility, criticality, controllability and evolvability, we hypothesize how these regulatory system properties have emerged differently with biological complexity, based on the observed differences of the GRN bow-tie architectures.