Some data on the infiltration of porous iron-manganese alloys with copper and its alloys

Summary It is clearly shown that nonporous iron-manganese-copper alloys can be produced by infiltrating an iron-manganese matrix with copper or copper alloys.Additional data have been obtained on the effectiveness of copper, a copper-manganese master alloy, and brass as infiltrating materials; the feasibility of producing a nonporous iron-manganese alloy free from oxide inclusions is demonstrated.Data are presented on the formation of iron-manganese-copper alloys with different manganese contents during infiltration with copper and copper-manganese master alloys, under different infiltration conditions.The extent of phase interaction during infiltration and the condition of boundaries in alloys produced under different infiltration conditions have been investigated.     

Effect of interfacial reactions on the photoelectric performance of In/CdTe/ITO and CrOxCdTe/ITO heterostructures

By evaporating undoped CdTe layers onto indium tin oxide (ITO), followed by a layer of In or CrO_x, back-effect photovoltaic cells In/CdTe/ITO and CrO_x/CdTe/ITO were prepared. It was shown that reducing the area of grain boundaries in CdTe, bringing the space-charge region farther away from the defect-rich region at the CdTe/ITO interface, and employing CrO_x instead of In back contacts raise the quantum efficiency of the devices to 6%.     

Remote control of a robot in a map network

The automated control of manufacturing devices on a common communications network is a necessity for the factory of the future. The manufacturing automation protocol (MAP) represents a major effort by a group of companies towards meeting this need, and apparently is becoming a standard for factory-floor communications. In this project, an ASEA 2000 robot was used with a computer-controlled ply-cutting machine in a simulated factory sheet-metal cell to demonstrate coordinated inter- and intra-cell communications. Both machines used a MAP network to send and receive information from the cell-controller computer, and to coordinate cell operation. The methodology, hardware and software required to adapt the ASEA robot to the MAP network are described. This methodology will be useful in adapting other computer-controlled manufacturing devices to MAP networks.     

Specific recognition of HLA-E, but not classical, HLA class I molecules by soluble CD94/NKG2A and NK cells

The CD94/NKG2 receptors expressed by subpopulations of NK cells and T cells have been implicated as receptors for a broad range of both classical and nonclassical HLA class I molecules. To examine the ligand specificity of CD94/NKG2 proteins, a soluble heterodimeric form of the receptor was produced and used in direct binding studies with cells expressing defined HLA class I/peptide complexes. We confirm that CD94/NKG2A specifically interacts with HLA-E and demonstrate that this interaction is dependent on the association of HLA-E with peptide. Moreover, no interaction between CD94/NKG2A and classical HLA class I molecules was observed, as assayed by direct binding of the soluble receptor or by functional assays using CD94/NKG2A+ NK cells. The role of the peptide associated with HLA-E in the interaction between HLA-E and CD94/NKG2A was also assessed. All class I leader sequence peptides tested bound to HLA-E and were recognized by CD94/NKG2A. However, amino acid variations in class I leader sequences affected the stability of HLA-E. Additionally, not all HLA-E/peptide complexes examined were recognized by CD94/NKG2A. Thus CD94/NKG2A recognition of HLA-E is controlled by peptide at two levels; first, peptide must stabilize HLA-E and promote cell surface expression, and second, the HLA-E/peptide complex must form the ligand for CD94/NKG2A.