Molecular structure and granule morphology of native and heat‐moisture‐treated pinhão starch

Pinhão seed is an unconventional source of starch and the pines grow up in native forests of southern Latin America. In this study, pinhão starch was adjusted at 15, 20 and 25% moisture content and heated to 100, 110 and 120 °C for 1 h. A decrease in λ max (starch/iodine complex) was observed as a result of increase in temperature and moisture content of HMT. The ratio of crystalline to amorphous phase in pinhão starch was determined via Fourier transform infra red by taking 1045/1022 band ratio. A decrease in crystallinity occurred as a result of HMT. Polarised light microscopy indicated a loss of birefringence of starch granules under 120 °C at 25% moisture content. Granule size distribution was further confirmed via scanning electron microscopy which showed the HMT effects. These results increased the understanding on molecular and structural properties of HMT pinhão starch and broadened its food and nonfood industrial applications.     

Characterizing physical habitat preferences and thermal refuge occupancy of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at high river temperatures

Anthropogenic influences, including climate change, are increasing river temperatures in northern and temperate regions and threatening the thermal habitats of native salmonids. When river temperatures exceed the tolerance levels of brook trout and Atlantic salmon, individuals exhibit behavioural thermoregulation by seeking out cold‐water refugia – often created by tributaries and groundwater discharge. Thermal infrared (TIR) imagery was used to map cold‐water anomalies along a 53 km reach of the Cains River, New Brunswick. Trout and salmon parr did not use all identified thermal anomalies as refugia during higher river temperature periods (>21°C). Most small‐bodied trout (8–30 cm) were observed in 80% of the thermal anomalies sampled. Large‐bodied trout (>35 cm) required a more specific set of physical habitat conditions for suitable refugia, that is, 100% of observed large trout used 30% of the anomalies sampled and required water depths >65 cm within or adjacent to the anomaly. Densities of trout were significantly higher within anomalies compared with areas of ambient river temperature. Salmon parr were less aligned with thermal anomalies at the observed temperatures, that is, 59% were found in 65% of the sampled anomalies; and densities were not significantly different within/ outside anomalies. Salmon parr appeared to aggregate at 27°C, and after several events over 27°C variability in aggregation behaviour was observed – some fish aggregated at 25°C, others did not. We stipulate this is due to variances of thermal fatigue. Habitat suitability curves were developed for velocity, temperature, depth, substrate, and deep water availability to characterize conditions preferred by fish during high‐temperature events. These findings are useful for managers as our climate warms, and can potentially be used as a tool to help conserve and enhance thermal refugia for brook trout and Atlantic salmon in similar systems.     

Differential Game for Distributed Power Control in Device-to-Device Communications Underlaying Cellular Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - In the formulating of power control for wireless networks, the radio channel is commonly formulated using static models of optimization or game theory. In these...     

Effect of Supports and Promoters on the Performance of Ni-Based Catalysts in Ethanol Steam Reforming

Ethanol steam reforming (ESR) is one of the potential processes to convert ethanol into valuable products. Hydrogen produced from ESR is considered as green energy for the future and can be an excellent alternative to fossil fuels with the aim of mitigating the greenhouse gas effect. The ESR process has been well studied, using transition metals as catalysts coupled with both acidic and basic oxides as supports. Among various reported transition metals, Ni is an inexpensive material with activity comparable to that of noble metals, showing promising ethanol conversion and hydrogen yields. Additionally, different promoters and supports were utilized to enhance the hydrogen yield and the catalyst stability. This review summarizes and discusses the influences of the supports and promoters of Ni-based catalysts on the ESR process.     

Drift hole mobility in strained and unstrained doped Si1-xGex alloys

Results of the drift hole mobility in strained and unstrained SiGe alloys are reported for Ge fractions varying from 0 to 30% and doping levels of 10¹⁵-10¹⁹ cm^-3. The mobilities are calculated taking into account acoustic, optical, alloy, and ionized-impurity scattering. The mobilities are then compared with experimental results for a boron doping concentration of 2×10¹⁹ cm^-3. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical values is obtained. The results show an increase in the mobility relative to that of silicon     

Low-Temperature Materials and Thin Film Transistors for Flexible Electronics

This paper addresses the low-temperature deposition processes and electronic properties of silicon based thin film semiconductors and dielectrics to enable the fabrication of mechanically flexible electronic devices on plastic substrates. Device quality amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H), nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si), and amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiN/sub x/) films and thin film transistors (TFTs) were made using existing industrial plasma deposition equipment at the process temperatures as low as 75/spl deg/C and 120/spl deg/C. The a-Si:H TFTs fabricated at 120/spl deg/C demonstrate performance similar to their high-temperature counterparts, including the field effect mobility (/spl mu//sub FE/) of 0.8 cm/sup 2/V/sup -1/s/sup -1/, the threshold voltage (V/sub T/) of 4.5 V, and the subthreshold slope of 0.5 V/dec, and can be used in active matrix (AM) displays including organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. The a-Si:H TFTs fabricated at 75/spl deg/C exhibit /spl mu//sub FE/ of 0.6 cm/sup 2/V/sup -1/s/sup -1/, and V/sub T/ of 4 V. It is shown that further improvement in TFT performance can be achieved by using n/sup +/ nc-Si contact layers and plasma treatments of the interface between the gate dielectric and the channel layer. The results demonstrate that with appropriate process optimization, the large area thin film Si technology suits well the fabrication of electronic devices on low-cost plastic substrates.     

On Deciding Readiness and Failure Equivalences for Processes

In this paper, we study the complexity of deciding readiness and failure equivalences for finite state processes and recursively defined processes specified by normed context-free grammars (CFGs) in Greibach normal form (GNF). The results are as follows: (1) Readiness and failure equivalences for processes specified by normed GNF CFGs are both undecidable. For this class of processes, the regularity problem with respect to failure or readiness equivalence is also undecidable. Moreover, all these undecidability results hold even for locally unary processes. In the unary case, these problems become decidable. In fact, they are Π^p₂-complete, We also show that with respect to bisimulation equivalence, the regularity for processes specified by normed GNF CFGs is NL-complete. (2) Readiness and failure equivalences for finite state processes are PSPACE-complete. This holds even for locally unary finite state processes. These two equivalences are co-NP-complete for unary finite state processes. Further, for acyclic finite state processes, readiness and failure equivalences are co-NP-complete and they are NL-complete in the unary case. (3) For finite tree processes, we show that finite trace, readiness, and failure equivalences are all L-complete. Further, the results remain true for the unary case. Our results provide a complete characterization of the computational complexity of deciding readiness and failure equivalences for several important classes of processes.