Synthesis of epitaxial BaZrO3 thin films by chemical solution deposition

This work reports on the low temperature preparation and characterization of BaZrO₃ (BZO) epitaxial thin films by chemical solution deposition (CSD). The X-ray θ-2θ scan and φ-scan measurements have demonstrated that the BZO films exhibit cube-on-cube epitaxy on (100) MgO substrates, with the full width at half maximum (FWHM) for the ω-scan and φ-scan of 0.35° and 0.46°, respectively. The SEM and AFM analyses revealed that the morphology of the films is strongly correlated with annealing temperature. The root mean square roughness for the film annealed at 600 °C is 3.63 nm, while for the film grown at 1000 °C is 5.25 nm.     

VLSI and SPICE modeling of ALU

The Arithmetic and Logic Unit （ALU） is a combination circuit that performs a number of arithmetic and logical operations within a microprocessor. The demand for faster and compact ALUs makes it desirable to test the ALU in conjunction with pre-design parts prior to manufacture. This may be accomplished in a process using CAD and SPICE simulation software. Our purpose is to realize a method for importing a layout drawn in Tanner L-edit and simulated in T-Spice into PSpice which is referred to as software talking. To do so we use an eight-function instruction set called Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Arithmetic and Logic Unit （CMOS ALU） which is laid out in Tanner L-edit and produces an extracted net-list which is simulated in T-Spice. An ALU equivalent design is then modeled in PSpice for further testing with pre-manufactured parts of the PSpice library.     

Optical-mode neural network by use of the nonlinear response of a laser diode to external optical feedback

We present an intelligent all-optical neural network using a single laser diode that is provided with controlled external feedback. The outputs of the laser neural network (LNN) are represented in the optical domain by the longitudinal cavity modes of the laser diode. The inputs to the LNN are applied by means of adjusting the external feedback of each longitudinal mode through an optical vector-matrix multiplier. Supervised training of some basic input-output mappings is demonstrated by means of a stochastic learning algorithm. The stability and reproducibility of the LNN setup is examined.     

Correction to: Ensuring High Performance Characteristics for Explosion-Welded Bimetals

The authors’ affiliation should read Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University, Kremenchug, Ukraine.     

Chaotic self-pulsation and cross-modulation in awavelength-selective external-cavity laser diode

Chaotic self-pulsation in a single wavelength external-cavity laser diode is observed. It is shown that the self-pulsation is caused by interdependencies between the optical output power and the compound cavity losses through the refractive index of the laser diode material. Refractive index changes result in a detuning between the externally selected wavelength and the weak internal-mode structure of the anti-reflection coated laser diode. This detuning is directly related to the compound cavity losses. On the one hand, a change in optical output power results in a change of the refractive index via the carrier density. On the other hand, it results in a change of refractive index via temperature changes. Compared to the carrier induced refractive index change, the temperature induced refractive index change is opposite in sign, a factor of ~10² smaller and slower. The switch-on and switch-off time of the self-pulsation is governed by the carrier life time. The repetition rate of the self-pulsation is governed by the thermal time constant and is in the megahertz region. Cross-modulation resulting from the thermal induced refractive index change is demonstrated. In a two-wavelength double external-cavity laser diode, optical power at one wavelength effects the optical power at the other wavelength. This cross-modulation is shown to be related to previous experiments on a laser neural network. A novel technique is introduced to measure the thermal impedance of a laser diode that is based on the cross-modulation     

Review of The psychology of human possibility and constraint.

Reviews the book, The psychology of human possibility and constraint by Jack Martin and Jeff Sugarman (see record 1999-02336-000). The way to read this little book is to share in the authors' concern for understanding individuals and for vindicating psychology as a discipline concerned with the psychological development of individuals. Apart from its unsettling philosophical overexcitability, there is a notable distortion in the authors' efforts to understand individual transcendence, namely, a near total failure to deal with values, moral growth, and individual freedom. Human development is understood procedurally, in historical context of course, but as culminating in a "theory" of self and others. This lingering rationalist bias is in part due to their philosophical borrowings, but it also betrays the functionalist stance so characteristic of our contemporary focus on usefulness. For all that, this is an engaging book, one I recommend for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

也到南非打高球

今年的世界杯正在南非打得火热,有机会亲历现场观战的人们,自然该对南非有所了解。不知道有机会到南非的朋友们是否知道,这个温暖明媚的海滨国度,不仅是足球的乐园,也是高尔夫球的乐园。南非得天独厚的气候让这里四季都适合打球,全国有大大小小六百个之多的高球场,且依托南非丰富的地理条件,有些在海边,有些在森林中,有些坐落在葡萄酒庄园,还有的背依雄山峻岭,景色绝佳。或许,热爱足球火爆性格的球迷大多并非高球爱家,但到南非打球,绝对是高球爱家们不容错过的。     

Diphasic transfer of oxygen in vertical flow filters: a modelling approach

Oxygen renewal, as a prominent phenomenon for aerobic bacterial activity, deeply impacts vertical flow constructed wetland (VFCW) treatment efficiency. The authors introduce a multiphase model able to simulate oxygen transfer in VFCWs. It is based on a two-phase flow module, and a transport module. The transport module is able to deal with convection/diffusion phenomena, inter-phase (air-water) mass exchange, and first-order kinetics. The first results displayed for the air phase allow us to draw the following ideas on the design of vertical filters. The ponding phenomenon is more efficient for oxygen renewal than non-ponding batch loading: it provides a higher value, sooner, and deeper in the filter. In non-colonised filters and for standard batch loading, oxygen convection in the air phase is predominant for oxygen renewal. The seepage front limits oxygen renewal through the bottom of the filter and leads to an insufficient oxygen concentration on the lowest part of the filter.     

Coarse-grained kinetic modelling of bilayer heterojunction organic solar cells

The on-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) method provides a powerful tool to simulate the J–V properties of organic solar cells. However, the computational cost associated with charge injection may limits its applicability. In the attempt to overcome this limitation, we describe in this paper a coarse-grained numerical approach to photocurrent generation in bilayer heterojunction solar cells. Starting from the KMC algorithm, a self-consistent numerical procedure is proposed to find the steady-state solutions of the kinetic equations describing particle dynamics in one dimension across the layer thickness. Our model incorporates the generation, transport and recombinations of charge carriers, excitons, and electron/hole pairs, whose introduction is required to correctly describe interfacial phenomena at the coarse-grained level. A continuum model of the electrostatic interactions among charge carriers is proposed and used to compute their hopping rates during the simulation. The model is used to investigate the J–V properties of Cathode/PCBM/P3HT/PEDOT:PSS/ITO bilayer devices, showing that Fermi level pinning at the Cathode/PCBM interface must be invoked to accurately model the experimental behavior. From the fitting to the experimental J–V data, we conclude the short-circuit current density to be mainly associated with a high exciton diffusion length. The analogies and differences between our model and existing KMC and drift–diffusion approaches are also discussed.     

Effects of diesel on survival, growth, and gene expression in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry

Diesel spills are all too frequent disturbances of freshwater ecosystems, largely as a result of the quantities transported and consumed. Assessing the risk that such events may pose to aquatic life remains a difficult process, because of the complexity of this hydrocarbon mixture and our limited knowledge of its toxicity. A diesel spike experiment with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fry was carried out to fill this knowledge gap. Survival, growth, and gene expression changes were assessed and toxicity thresholds were determined. Whereas the biological end points were consistent in the determination of (sub)lethal doses, microarrays supplied additional information on the mechanism of toxicity (oxygen deprivation) and potential long-term effects (feminization, immune system alterations) of diesel exposure on salmonids. Hemoglobins, prostaglandins, cytochromes, and gluthathion-S-transferases were among the molecular biomarkers proposed for use in future risk assessments based on microarray results. By bridging traditional toxicity testing with recent microarray technologies, this study shows the potential of genomics tools in ecotoxicity studies as well as industrial applications, including risk assessment, in the near future.