Valence-band discontinuity between GaN and AIN measured by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy

The valence-band discontinuity at a wurtzite GaN/AIN (0001) heterojunction is measured by means of x-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The method first measures the core level binding energies with respect to the valence-band maximum in both GaN and A1N bulk films. The precise location of the valenceb and maximum is determined by aligning prominent features in the valenceb and spectrum with calculated densities of states. Subsequent measurements of separations between Ga and Al core levels for thin overlayers of GaN film grown on A1N and vice versa yield a valence-band discontinuity of ΔE_v = 0.8+- 0.3 eV in the standard Type I heterojunction alignment.     

PIE: A Programming and Instrumentation Environment for Parallel Processing

The issues of performance-efficient programs and system support for parallel programming are the focus of this project to integrate functionality with performance concerns.     

Reference database of the main physiological parameters in Sprague-Dawley rats from 6 to 32 months

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a major public health problem worldwide, but particularly in subsaharan Africa and Asia. Numerous observational studies report inverse associations between vitamin status, measured biochemically or as levels of dietary intake, and the risk of disease progression or vertical transmission. Evidence to support these findings has been obtained from a few randomized placebo-controlled trials. In this paper, we review studies that examined the role of vitamins A, B, C, D, and E in HIV disease progression and transmission, and we discuss the potential mechanisms of action of these vitamins. Adequate vitamin intake leads to enhancement of epithelial integrity and systemic immunity and could contribute to improved clinical condition among HIV-infected subjects and reduce vertical transmission by reducing the risk and severity of opportunistic infection and reducing viral load in blood. Adequate vitamin status may also reduce vertical transmission through the intrapartum and breastfeeding routes by reducing HIV viral load in lower genital secretions and breast milk, respectively. Vitamin supplements may be one of a few potential treatments that are inexpensive enough to be made available to HIV-infected persons in developing countries.     

On the Bonding Mechanism in Cold Spray of Deformable hex-BN-Ni Clusters

Bond strength and the lubrication potential of coatings made of 7 µm Hexagonal Boron Nitride particles encapsulated with nickel (hBN-Ni), and deposited onto aluminum 6061 substrates via cold spray were examined; for all tests, N₂ was used as the carrier gas at a temperature of 480 °C and pressure of 2.4 MPa. Results showed significant improvement in both wear resistance and reduced surface friction. Coated samples also demonstrated unexpected high bond strength, which was much greater than pure nickel cold sprayed onto aluminum. However, while the results were truly promising, the primary reason for the observed high bond strength could not be explained using existing cold spray theories which were primarily developed for pure metal particles. Based on the present findings compared to cold-sprayed layers of composite nickel-nickel (nickel particles encapsulated with nickel), a mechanism for bonding of hBN-Ni particles to aluminum based on the level of plastic deformation and hardenability is proposed. Indeed, the high bond strength between the coating and substrate is related to the relatively high initial ductility of the nickel encapsulation, compliance of the hBN, as well as the ensuing significant plastic deformation of the composite particles during cold spray deposition.     

The effect of individual variation on the structure and function of interaction networks in harvester ants

Social insects exhibit coordinated behaviour without central control. Local interactions among individuals determine their behaviour and regulate the activity of the colony. Harvester ants are recruited for outside work, using networks of brief antennal contacts, in the nest chamber closest to the nest exit: the entrance chamber. Here, we combine empirical observations, image analysis and computer simulations to investigate the structure and function of the interaction network in the entrance chamber. Ant interactions were distributed heterogeneously in the chamber, with an interaction hot-spot at the entrance leading further into the nest. The distribution of the total interactions per ant followed a right-skewed distribution, indicating the presence of highly connected individuals. Numbers of ant encounters observed positively correlated with the duration of observation. Individuals varied in interaction frequency, even after accounting for the duration of observation. An ant''s interaction frequency was explained by its path shape and location within the entrance chamber. Computer simulations demonstrate that variation among individuals in connectivity accelerates information flow to an extent equivalent to an increase in the total number of interactions. Individual variation in connectivity, arising from variation among ants in location and spatial behaviour, creates interaction centres, which may expedite information flow.     

Load-adaptive inter-piconet scheduling in small-scale Bluetooth scatternets

Bluetooth enables wireless communication via ad hoc networks. The basic topology (piconet) is a collection of slaves controlled by a master. A scatternet is a multihop network of piconets. We anticipate that most scatternets will be composed of only a few piconets. However, even in small scatternets, efficient data flow requires the design of inter-piconet scheduling algorithms. Thus, this article presents and evaluates a load adaptive scheduling algorithm tailored for small-scale scatternets. The main advantage of this algorithm is the use of the Bluetooth low-power hold mode, which allows greater flexibility than other low-power modes. A simulation model has been developed in order to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. We show that the results obtained by the model are very close to the analytic results. Then we evaluate the performance of various intra-piconet scheduling algorithms. Finally, we present simulation results regarding inter-piconet scheduling, and compare the proposed algorithm to algorithms using the sniff mode.