The mechanism of morphogenesis in a phase-separating concentrated multicomponent alloy

What determines the morphology of a decomposing alloy? Besides the well-established effect of the nucleation barrier, we demonstrate that, in a concentrated multicomponent Ni(Al,Cr) alloy, the details of the diffusion mechanism strongly affect the kinetic pathway of precipitation. Our argument is based on the combined use of atomic-scale observations, using three-dimensional atom-probe tomography (3D APT), lattice kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and the theory of diffusion. By an optimized choice of thermodynamic and kinetic parameters, we first reproduce the 3D APT observations, in particular the early-stage transient occurrence of coagulated precipitates. We then modify the kinetic correlations among the atomic fluxes in the simulation, without altering the thermodynamic driving force for phase separation, by changing the vacancy-solute interactions, resulting in a suppression of coagulation. Such changes can only be quantitatively accounted for with non-zero values for the off-diagonal terms of the Onsager matrix, at variance with classical models.     

In-situ growth of copper sulfide nanocrystals on multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their application as novel solar cell and amperometric glucose sensor materials

Single-crystalline copper sulfide (beta-Cu2S) nanocrystals (NCs) were grown in situ on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by the solvothermal method. The morphology of the Cu2S NCs was varied from spherical particles (av size=4 nm) to triangular plates (av size=12 nm) by increasing the concentration of the precursors. The lattice matching between Cu2S and the MWCNTs would be an important factor in the growth of Cu2S NCs on the MWCNTs. The solar cells and the amperometric glucose sensors fabricated using these Cu2S-MWCNT hybrid nanostructures respond more sensitively than those using the Cu2S NCs (or MWCNTs) alone. The utilization of the active Cu2S NCs through direct binding with the conductive MWCNTs would lead to excellent performance of these nanodevices.     

Gate electrostatics and quantum capacitance of graphene nanoribbons

Capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics are important for understanding fundamental electronic structures and device applications of nanomaterials. The C-V characteristics of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are examined using self-consistent atomistic simulations. The results indicate strong dependence of the GNR C-V characteristics on the edge shape. For zigzag edge GNRs, highly nonuniform charge distribution in the transverse direction due to edge states lowers the gate capacitance considerably, and the self-consistent electrostatic potential significantly alters the band structure and carrier velocity. For an armchair edge GNR, the quantum capacitance is a factor of 2 smaller than its corresponding zigzag carbon nanotube, and a multiple gate geometry is less beneficial for transistor applications. Magnetic field results in pronounced oscillations on C-V characteristics.     

Fabrication and characterization of directly-assembled ZnO nanowire field effect transistors with polymer gate dielectrics

We report the fabrication and electrical characterization of ZnO nanowire field effect transistors (FETs). Dielectrophoresis technique was used to directly align ZnO nanowires between lithographically prepatterned source and drain electrodes, and spin-coated polyvinylphenol (PVP) polymer thin layer was used as a gate dielectric layer in "top-gate" FET device configuration. The electrical characteristics of the top-gate ZnO nanowire FETs were found to be comparable to the conventional "bottom-gate" nanowire FETs with a SiO2 gate dielectric layer, suggesting the directly-assembled nanowire FET with a polymer gate dielectric layer is a useful device structure of nanowire FETs.     

Annealing characteristics of nanostructured Cu-Fe-P alloy processed by accumulative roll-bonding

Annealing characteristics of a nanostructured copper alloy processed by accumulative roll-bonding (ARB) were studied. A nano-grained Cu-Fe-P alloy processed by 8 cycles of the ARB was annealed at various temperatures ranging from 100 to 400 degrees C for 0.6 ks. The sample still showed an ultrafine grained (UFG) structure up to 250 degrees C, however above 300 degrees C it began to replace by equiaxed and coarse grains due to an occurrence of the conventional static recrystallization. The hardness of the annealed copper decreased largely above 300 degrees C. These annealing characteristics of the UFG copper alloy were compared to those of a high purity copper.     

Training Algorithm with Incomplete Data for Feed-Forward Neural Networks

A new algorithm is developed to train feed-forward neural networks for non-linear input-to-output mappings with small incomplete data in arbitrary distributions. The developed Training-EStimation-Training (TEST) algorithm consists of 3 steps, i.e., (1) training with the complete portion of the training data set, (2) estimation of the missing attributes with the trained neural networks, and (3) re-training the neural networks with the whole data set. Error back propagation is still applicable to estimate the missing attributes. Unlike other training methods with missing data, it does not assume data distribution models which may not be appropriate for small training data. The developed TEST algorithm is first tested for the Iris benchmark data. By randomly removing some attributes from the complete data set and estimating the values latter, accuracy of the TEST algorithm is demonstrated. Then it is applied to the Diabetes benchmark data, of which about 50% contains missing attributes. Compared with other existing algorithms, the proposed TEST algorithm results in much better recognition accuracy for test data.     

Identification of the enteropathogens Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli based on the cadF virulence gene and its product

Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are common causes of gastroenteritis in humans. Infection with C. jejuni or C. coli is commonly acquired by eating undercooked chicken. The goal of this study was to develop specific detection assays for C. jejuni and C. coli isolates based on the cadF virulence gene and its product. The cadF gene from C. jejuni and C. coli encodes a 37-kDa outer membrane protein that promotes the binding of these pathogens to intestinal epithelial cells. A fragment of approximately 400 bp was amplified from 38 of 40 (95%) C. jejuni isolates and 5 of 6 (83.3%) C. coli isolates with primers designed to amplify an internal fragment of the cadF gene. PCR was then used to amplify Campylobacter DNA from store-bought chickens. A 400-bp band was amplified from 26 of the 27 chicken carcasses tested by the PCR-based assay. The CadF protein was detected in every C. jejuni and C. coli isolate tested, as judged by immunoblot analysis with a rabbit anti-C. jejuni 37-kDa serum. In addition, methanol-fixed samples of whole-cell C. jejuni and C. coli were detected with the rabbit anti-37-kDa serum by using an indirect-immunofluorescence microscopy assay. These findings indicate that the cadF gene and its product are conserved among C. jejuni and C. coli isolates and that a PCR assay based on the cadF gene may be useful for the detection of Campylobacter organisms in food products.     

Electron-beam CT: the effect of using a correction function on coronary artery calcium quantitation

The relationships between 4 bacterial and 3 viral antibody titers and morbidity (undifferentiated fever (UF)) and mortality were investigated in recently weaned beef calves. Blood samples from 100 animals that required treatment for UF (Cases) and 100 healthy control animals (Controls) were obtained: upon arrival at the feedlot (Arrival), at the time of selection as a Case or Control (Selection), and at approximately 33 d of the feeding period (Convalescent). Seroconversion to Pasteurella haemolytica antileukotoxin was associated with an increased risk of UF (OR = 2.83); however, seroconversion to bovine herpesvirus-1 G-IV glycoprotein was associated with a decreased risk of UF (OR = 0.43). Higher Arrival bovine viral diarrhea virus antibody titer was associated with a decreased risk of UF (OR = 0.83). Increases in Mycoplasma alkalescens antibody titer after Arrival were associated with an increased risk of UF (OR = 1.10). Higher Arrival Haemophilus somnus antibody titer and increases in Haemophilus somnus antibody titer after Arrival were both associated with a decreased risk of UF (OR = 0.76 and OR = 0.78). The odds of overall mortality (OR = 5.09) and hemophilosis mortality (OR = 11.31) in Cases were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than in the Controls. Higher Arrival bovine herpesvirus-1 antibody titer was associated with an increased risk of mortality (OR = 1.30). Protective immunity to Pasteurella haemolytica antileukotoxin, Haemophilus somnus, bovine herpesvirus-1 G-IV glycoprotein, bovine viral diarrhea virus, and Mycoplasma spp. may be necessary to reduce the occurrence of UF. Animals with UF are at an increased risk of overall and hemophilosis mortality.     

The crystal structure of the sevenfold mutant of barley beta-amylase with increased thermostability at 2.5 A resolution

The three-dimensional structure of the sevenfold mutant of barley beta-amylase (BBA-7s) with increased thermostability was determined by X-ray crystallography. The enzyme was purified as a single component and crystallized by a hanging drop method in the presence of 14 % PEG 6000. The crystals belong to space group P43212 with cell dimensions a=b=72.11 A, c=250.51 A. The diffraction data up to 2.5 A were collected after soaking the crystal in 100 mM maltose with Rsym of 8.6 %. The structure was determined by a molecular replacement method using soybean beta-amylase (SBA) as a search model and refined to an R-factor of 18.7 %. The final model included 500 amino acid residues, 141 water molecules and three glucose residues, which were located at subsites 1-2 and 4 in the active site. The r.m.s. distance of 485 Calpha atoms between BBA-7s and SBA was 0.62 A. Out of the seven mutated amino acids, four (Ser295Ala, Ile297Val, Ser351Pro and Ala376Ser) were substitutions from the common residues with SBA to the thermostable forms. A comparison of the structures of BBA-7s and SBA indicated that the side-chain of Ser376 makes new hydrogen bonds to the main-chain of an adjacent beta-strand, and that the side-chains of Val297 reduce an unfavorable interaction between the side-chains of Ala314. The mutation of Ser295Ala breaks the hydrogen bond between Ser295 OG and Tyr195 OH, which seems to be the reason for the unoccupied glucose residue at subsite 3. The tandem mutations at 350-352 including substitutions to two Pro residues suggested the reduction of main-chain entropy in the unfolded structure of this solvent-exposed protruded loop.