Characteristics of electrocodeposited Ni-Co-SiC composite coating

Electrodeposited composites are gaining importance for their advantages including low cost, ease and simplicity of operation to tailor made coatings for tribological applications. Generally, composites containing carbides (like SiC) are preferred for high wear resistance along with increased hardness, improved corrosion resistance, and high temperature oxidation resistance as compared to alloy and pure metal electroplating. In the present work, electrolytic codeposition technique was adopted in the deposition of Ni-Co-SiC composite coating on mild steel substrate, using nickel alloyed with cobalt as the binder phase with SiC as dispersed particles. To improve the properties of coating further, Cr plating was also performed. Since the particle size and volume percent variation of dispersoid have great importance in codeposition, so the effect of these two variables on the process of codeposition and properties was observed. Morphological studies of Ni-Co-SiC coating were carried out with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis to correlate the mechanical and corrosion behaviour of the coating.     

Optical, electrical and structural characteristics of Al:ZnO thin films with various thicknesses deposited by DC sputtering at room temperature and annealed in air or vacuum

Transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films have been grown with various thicknesses between 0.3 and 1.1 μm by magnetron sputtering at room temperature onto soda lime glass substrates. After deposition, the samples have been annealed at temperatures ranging from 150 to 450 °C in air or vacuum. The optical, electrical, and structural characteristics of the AZO coatings have been analyzed as a function of the film thickness and the annealing parameters by spectrophotometry, Hall effect measurements, and X-ray diffraction. As-grown layers are found polycrystalline, with hexagonal structure that shows some elongation of the unit cells along the c-axis, having visible transmittance ∼85-90% and resistivity ∼1.6-2.0 mΩ cm, both parameters slightly decreasing when the film thickness increases. Heating in air or vacuum produces further elongation of the crystalline lattice together with some increase of the visible transmittance and a decrease of the electrical resistance that depends on the heating temperature and atmosphere. The best characteristics have been obtained after treatment in vacuum at 350 °C, where the highest carrier concentrations are achieved, giving visible transmittance ∼90-95% and resistivity ∼0.8-0.9 mΩ cm for the AZO layers with various thicknesses. Some relationships between the analyzed properties have been established, showing the dependence of the lattice distortion, the band gap energy and the mobility on the carrier concentration.     

Reversed and Anomalous Doppler Effects in Photonic Crystals and other Time-dependent Periodic Media

We predict that reversed and anomalous non-relativistic Doppler shifts can be observed under some circumstances when light reflects from a shock wave front propagating through a photonic crystal, or material with a periodic modulation of the dielectric. This theoretical prediction is generalizable and applies to wave-like excitations in a variety of periodic media. An experimental observation of this effect has recently been made (Seddon, N. and Bearpark, T. Science, 302 (2003) 1537) and we provide a brief discussion of this experiment.     

New Beta-lactamases in Candidate Phyla Radiation: Owning Pleiotropic Enzymes Is a Smart Paradigm for Microorganisms with a Reduced Genome

The increased exploitation of microbial sequencing methods has shed light on the high diversity of new microorganisms named Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR). CPR are mainly detected via 16S rRNA/metabarcoding analyses or metagenomics and are found to be abundant in all environments and present in different human microbiomes. These microbes, characterized by their symbiotic/epiparasitic lifestyle with bacteria, are directly exposed to competition with other microorganisms sharing the same ecological niche. Recently, a rich repertoire of enzymes with antibiotic resistance activity has been found in CPR genomes by using an in silico adapted screening strategy. This reservoir has shown a high prevalence of putative beta-lactamase-encoding genes. We expressed and purified five putative beta-lactamase sequences having the essential domains and functional motifs from class A and class B beta-lactamase. Their enzymatic activities were tested against various beta-lactam substrates using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and showed some beta-lactamase activity even in the presence of a beta-lactamase inhibitor. In addition, ribonuclease activity was demonstrated against RNA that was not inhibited by sulbactam and EDTA. None of these proteins could degrade single- and double-stranded-DNA. This study is the first to express and test putative CPR beta-lactamase protein sequences in vitro. Our findings highlight that the reduced genomes of CPR members harbor sequences encoding for beta-lactamases known to be multifunction hydrolase enzymes.     

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Treatment Reduces Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Septic Shock in Mice

Despite advances in medicine, mortality due to sepsis has not decreased. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy is emerging as an alternative treatment in many inflammation-related diseases. However, there are few studies on the application of PEMF therapy to sepsis. In the current study, we examined the effect of PEMF therapy on a mouse model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced septic shock. Mice injected with LPS and treated with PEMF showed higher survival rates compared with the LPS group. The increased survival was correlated with decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA expression and lower serum nitric oxide levels and nitric oxide synthase 2 mRNA expression in the liver compared with the LPS group. In the PEMF + LPS group, there was less organ damage in the liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys compared to the LPS group. To identify potential gene targets of PEMF treatment, microarray analysis was performed, and the results showed that 136 genes were up-regulated, and 267 genes were down-regulated in the PEMF + LPS group compared to the LPS group. These results suggest that PEMF treatment can dramatically decrease septic shock through the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression. In a clinical setting, PEMF may provide a beneficial effect for patients with bacteria-induced sepsis and reduce septic shock-induced mortality.     

单片机控制的托辊阻力参数及加载测试仪硬软件系统研发

论述了托辊阻力参数硬件测试系统的组成及工作过程,进行了系统硬件的电气原理电路的设计和测试软件系统及数据处理应用程序的设计。     

应用水化硅酸盐纳米粉体制备块体材料

以磨细生石灰和硅质原料的混合物为前驱物,采用动态水热合成方法制备了水化硅酸盐纳米粉体.借助SEM、TEM及氮吸附等测试方法,分析了制得的水化硅酸盐粉体的形貌、粒径和比表面积.将制得的水化硅酸盐纳米粉体压制成块状固体.采用正交设计方法研究了成型压力、水泥掺量、纤维掺量、聚合物掺量等因素对块体材料力学性能的影响.结果表明:由该粉体压制成的块体材料立即具有强度和耐水性,且表观密度低;成型压力是影响其力学性能最显著的因素.     

非对称电阻场板场效应器件击穿特性仿真分析

利用TCAD仿真研究一种二维紧耦合电阻场板电流调制原理下的物理模型与最优化结构。通过优化关键工艺与材料参数,改善器件漂移区尖峰电场,最终在相同漂移区掺杂下击穿电压较一维PN结理论击穿电压提升273%,相同归一化击穿电压10%变化范围下,漂移区电荷变化允许冗余范围比现有传统PN超结拓宽15倍。相较于对称电阻场板场效应器件,在现有工艺下非对称优化电阻场板场效应器件能够更好的实现结构小型化与高密度的设计。