Photonic bandgap amorphous chalcogenide thin films with multilayered structure grown by pulsed laser deposition method

Amorphous chalcogenide thin films were fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition technique. Thereafter, the stacks of multilayered thin films for reflectors and microcavity were designed for telecommunication wavelength. The prepared multilayered thin films for reflectors show good compatibility. The microcavity structure consists of Ge25Ga5Sb10S65 (doped with Er3+) spacer layer surrounded by two 5-layer As40Se60/Ge25Sb5S70 reflectors. Scanning/transmission electron microscopy results show good periodicity, great adherence and smooth interfaces between the alternating dielectric layers, which confirms a suitable compatibility between different materials. The results demonstrate that the chalcogenides can be used for preparing vertical Bragg reflectors and microcavity with high quality.     

Formation of Additive-Containing Nanothermites and Modifications to their Friction Sensitivity

Nanothermites can provide high energy densities and reaction rates but can also display extreme friction sensitivities. Additives that provide friction modification offer the potential to reduce the friction sensitivity of nanothermites. In the present work, MoS₂, graphene, and hexadecane additives were dispersed in MoO₃ prior to nanothermite formation with the aim of reducing friction sensitivity. Nanothermites were subsequently prepared using a palmitic acid–passivated nano-aluminum (L-Al) and additive-containing nano-MoO₃ by the resonant acoustic mixing of dry powders. In general, the incorporation of additives results in a reduction in friction sensitivity with the baseline minimum ignition friction rising from 10 to 120 N using 0.5% wt/wt micrometer-sized MoS₂ or 5% wt/wt hexadecane. However, the relationships between loading and performance are complex and vary by additive; for example, the friction sensitivity dependence using micrometer-diameter MoS₂ displays a maximum at 0.5% wt/wt and declines to 7 N using 5% MoS₂.     

Surface analysis and electrochemical behavior of Ti–20Zr alloy in simulated physiological fluids

An advanced Ti–20Zr alloy was obtained by double vacuum melting in a semi-levitation furnace with cold crucible. The alloy shows fully lamellar α + β microstructure. Cyclic potentiodynamic polarization curves revealed that the alloy passivated easier, more rapid than Ti, having a more stable passive film in Ringer solutions of different pH values, simulating severe functional conditions of an implant. In neutral and alkaline Ringer solutions, the alloy passive film improved its properties in time (1500 h) by the deposition of protective hydroxyapatite, as was demonstrated by XPS, SEM, EDX, Raman and FT-IR measurements. Alloy presented lower corrosion rates and higher polarization resistances (from linear polarization measurements) than those of Ti (tens of times) proving a more resistant passive film. Alloy open circuit potentials had more electropositive values in comparison with Ti and tended to nobler values in time, which denote better passive state and its enhancement in time, due to the new depositions from the physiological solutions. Nyquist and Bode spectra depicted a more protective passive film on the alloy surface than on Ti surface. The passive film is formed by two layers: an inner barrier layer and an outer porous layer. An electric equivalent circuit with two time constants was modeled.     

Extended strings and graphs for simple gene assembly

The simple intramolecular model for gene assembly in ciliates is particularly interesting because it can predict the correct assembly of all available experimental data, although it is not universal. The simple model also has a confluence property that is not shared by the general model. A previous formalization of the simple model through sorting of signed permutations is unsatisfactory because it effectively ignores one operation of the model and thus, it cannot be used to answer questions about parallelism in the model, or about measures of complexity. We propose in this paper a string-based model in which a gene is represented through its sequence of pointers and markers and its assembly is represented as a string rewriting process. We prove that this string-based model is equivalent to the permutation-based model as far as gene assembly is concerned, while it tracks all operations of the simple model. We also consider overlap graphs for these strings and prove the results with respect to the overlap of markers.     

Design of CT and CQ filters using approximation and optimization

A new design technique for cascaded triplet (CT) filters has been derived commencing from the well-known Chebyshev all-pole prototype filter. One or more finite frequency poles may be introduced by cross coupling across sets of three nodes, and the filter rematched by a reasonably accurate approximate compensation of the element values. Any general optimizer may then be used to obtain a nearly perfect result without undue concern over convergence failures. A previous similar theory for cascaded quadruplet sections is generalized and may be combined with the CT theory to form filters having both types of sections. The theory is applied to both singly and doubly terminated filters and may include poles on the real axis of the s-plane for delay equalization     

Toughness control of boron carbide obtained by spark plasma sintering in nitrogen atmosphere

Boron carbide ceramic was prepared by reactive Spark Plasma Sintering under N₂-atmosphere and for different heating times and maximum pressure regimes. Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB), indentation, XRD and microscopy measurements were performed for samples characterization. It is shown that SHPB toughness control depending on SPS regime is possible and the main reason is introduction of nitrogen into B₄C ceramic. Complex relationships between processing conditions, sintering mechanism, material's specifics, static and dynamic mechanical properties are discussed. Improvement of dynamic toughness is through mechanisms resembling those working for static load conditions such as cracks deflection and pull out, but there are also significant differences.     

Computing the graph-based parallel complexity of gene assembly

We consider a graph-theoretical formalization of the process of gene assembly in ciliates introduced in Ehrenfeucht et al. (2003) [3], where a gene is modeled as a signed graph. The gene assembly, based on three types of operations only, is then modeled as a graph reduction process (to the empty graph). Motivated by the robustness of the gene assembly process, the notions of parallel reduction and parallel complexity of signed graphs have been considered in Harju et al. (2006) [7]. We describe in this paper an exact algorithm for computing the parallel complexity of a given signed graph and for finding an optimal parallel reduction for it. Checking the parallel applicability of a given set of operations and scanning all possible selections amount to a high computational complexity. We also briefly discuss a faster approximate algorithm that however, cannot guarantee finding the optimal reduction.     

Real-time continuous measurement of right ventricular volume using a conductance catheter

The authors propose using a multi-electrode conductance catheter to measure continuous right ventricular volume. True ventricular volume measurements are affected by four main sources of error. 1) field non-uniformity, 2) catheter curvature, 3) blood conductivity changes, and 4) leakage of current through surrounding tissues. Three-dimensional finite-element models were developed to investigate the effects of these sources of error and to devise schemes for correcting them. The models include an axisymmetric cylindrical model, a rectangular block model, and a heart model with left and right ventricular chambers. The heart model is built from conical primitives, with major dimensions derived from the literature. Finite-element simulations showed that volume measurements were underestimated due to field nonuniformity to as much as 1/25th actual volume in segments near the exciting electrodes. The extent of underestimation in a segment decreased with increasing distance of the segment from the exciting electrodes and increased for larger segmental volumes. Catheter curvature overestimated measured volume by as much as 4.5 times when the curvature was increased from 0.0 to 1.25 (from a straight catheter to a very curved one). The leakage of current through surrounding tissues overestimated volume by nearly 30%. The sensitivity of volume measurement to blood resistivity changes was found to be very high, at 70%. Correction factors established with the computer models compensate for field nonuniformity. Mathematical mapping of the curved catheter onto a fictitious straight catheter corrects for the catheter curvature error. Correction for both nonuniform field and catheter curvature allowed measurement of total ventricular volume with an error of 7%. Leakage current is determined by using different frequencies to build the catheter electric field and to separate tissue and blood resistance paths. Using this scheme, the percentage overestimation in volume measurement due to leakage could be determined with an accuracy of 85%. The proposed correction scheme for blood conductivity changes involves the in-vivo measurement of blood conductivity with the catheter itself. It was found that blood conductivity could be determined with insignificant error (< 0.5%) so long as the blood volume around the exciting electrodes had a radius of more than the electrode spacing.