Effect of the Structure of Lithium-Silicate Glasses on the Mechanical Properties of Transparent Glass-Ceramic Materials

Strength of Materials - The development prospects of high-strength transparent glass-crystalline materials on the basis of lithium disilicate for protection of optical systems are found to be...     

Efficient catalysts for olefins from alkanes: sol–gel synthesis of high surface area nano scale mixed oxide clusters

High surface area nano scale Li/MgO oxide clusters with low lithium loadings are prepared by sol–gel method. Appreciable amounts of lithium present can be incorporated into the magnesia gel during preparation and retained in the oxide matrix after gel combustion. This limits presence of free lithium phases and helps prevent the associated sintering and loss of surface area during thermal treatments. The sol–gel method also allows to circumvent the high temperature treatments necessary to incorporate lithium into the magnesia oxide matrix, a prerequisite for the formation of [Li⁺O⁻] type defect sites which are the catalytically active sites for oxidative dehydrogenation of alkanes.     

Effect of electron overheating on the tunneling current of a molecular transistor

The effect of overheating of the electron subsystem on the Coulomb blockade in a structure (molecular transistor) based on a metal cluster containing a finite number of atoms has been theoretically studied. The electron energy spectrum in such quantum grains of cylindrical and spherical shape has been calculated. An increase in the electron subsystem temperature in the cluster leads to vanishing of the current gap and pronounced smoothening of the quantum and Coulomb steps on the current-voltage characteristic of the structure, in agreement with experimental observations.     

Phase separation in chalcogenide semiconductors of the Ge-Te system upon thermal cycling

Close-to-eutectic compositions in the Ge-Te system are analyzed and their behavior with repeated heat treatments is studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. It is shown that repeated heat treatment of the compositions under study leads to phase separation in the material. Assumptions are made about the nature of processes occurring in the materials subjected to heat treatment.     

Development and Evaluation of a Continuous Ambient PM2.5 Mass Monitor

A Continuous Ambient Mass Monitor (CAMM) for fine particle mass (PM_2.5) has recently been developed at the Harvard School of Public Health. The principle of this method is based on the measurement of the increase in pressure drop across a membrane filter (Fluoropore^TM) during particle sampling. The monitor consists of a conventional impactor inlet to remove particles larger than 2.5 mu m, a diffusion dryer to remove particle-bound water, a filter tape to collect particles, a filter tape transportation system to allow unassisted sampling, and a data acquisition and control unit. For each sampling period (typically 30- 60 min), a new segment of the filter tape is exposed so that particles remain close to equilibrium with the sample air during their collection. This results in mini mization of volatilization and adsorption artifacts during sampling. Furthermore, since the required flow rate for the fine particle mass monitoring channel is only 0.3 L / min, the relative humidity of the air sample can be easily reduced to 40% or less using a NafionTM diffusion dryer to remove particle-bound water. The CAMM has a detection limit of > 5 mu g / m³ for PM_2.5 concentrations averaged over 1 h. The performance of the newly developed monitor was investigated through laboratory and field studies. Laboratory tests included a calibration of the CAMM using polystyrene latex (PSL) and silica particles. A series of field studies were conducted in 7 cities with presumably different PM_2.5 chemical composition. The 24 1-h CAMM measurements were averaged and compared to Harvard Impactor (HI) 24 h PM_2.5 integrated measurements. Based on 211 valid sampling days, the measurements obtained from the Harvard Impactor and the CAMM were highly correlated (r² = 0.90). The average CAMM-to-HI concentration ratio was 1.07 (+- 0.18).     

Interference Mitigation on WLANs Using Smart Antennas

This paper investigates the performance of a fixed Wireless LAN in which nodes are equipped with fully adaptive smart antennas. The considered smart antenna system is a uniform circular array of microstrip patch elements in which the weights are updated using the unconstrained LMS algorithm. The behavior of a new directional MAC protocol for spatial multiplexing is analyzed and compared with IEEE 802.11 DCF. The paper purpose is the evaluation of interference and multipath effects on SDMA, using realistic models for the channel and for the smart antenna system. The link model takes into account path loss, cochannel interference and multipath, using a modified Jakes model. Results show that the performance of the WLAN are strictly dependent on the interferer characteristics and on the angular spread of the channel. Fulvio Babich was born in Trieste, Italy. He received the doctoral degree in electrical engineering, from the University of Trieste, in 1984. From 1984 to 1987 he was with the Research and Development Department of Telettra (Vimercate), working on optical communications. From 1987 to 1992 he was with Research and Development Department of Zanussi (Zeltron), where he held the position of Company Head in the Home System European projects. In 1992, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering (DEEI) of the University of Trieste, where he is associate professor of digital communications. His current research interests are in the field of wireless networks and personal communications. Massimiliano Comisso was born in Trieste, Italy. He received the degree of “Laurea" in Electronic Engineering from the University of Trieste. Currently, he is a PhD student at the Department of Electrical Engineering (DEEI) at University of Trieste in information technology. His research interests include wireless networks, adaptive arrays and small antennas. Marco D'Orlando was born in Tolmezzo, Italy, in September 1978. He received the Electronic Engineering degree (summa cum laude) from the University of Trieste, Italy, in December 2003. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (DEEI) at University of Trieste. His research interests are in the field of multimedia communications, networking, joint source channel coding and resource allocation. Lucio Manià was born in Ronchi dei Legionari, Italy, in 1942. He received the Electronic Engineering degree from the University of Trieste, Italy, in 1968. Since 1970 he has been an Assistant Professor with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, where he is currently an Associate Professor. From 1975 to 1985 he was a consulting engineer with Co.El. S.p.A., where he was involved in antenna design for FM and TV broadcasting systems. His current scientific interests include electromagnetic compatibility for safety purposes, wireless communications and numerical techniques for electromagnetic simulations.     

Modeling of theA-Defect distribution in diamond crystals grown by the temperature-gradient method

Based on the available data on the kinetics ofC-to-A nitrogen aggregation, theA-defect profile is calculated for a particular growth sector in diamond crystals grown by the temperature-gradient method. The effects of the growth duration and temperature on the contents ofC andA nitrogen are examined. The formation ofA defects from single substitutional nitrogen is shown to occur even under typical growth conditions, at temperatures of 1300-1500°C, and to have a significant effect on the structural perfection of diamond.