The influence of calcination temperature on catalytic activities in a Co based catalyst for CO2 dry reforming

The carbon dioxide dry reforming of methane (CDR) reaction could be thermodynamically favored in the range of 800 to 1,000 °C. However, the catalyst in this reaction should be avoided at the calcination temperature over 800 °C since strong metal support interaction (SMSI) in this temperature range can decrease activity due to loss of active sites. Therefore, we focused on optimizing the temperature of pretreatment and a comparison of surface characterization results for CDR. Results related to metal sintering over support, re-dispersion by changing of particle size of metal-support, and strong metal support interaction were observed and confirmed in this work. In our conclusion, optimum calcination temperature for a preparation of catalyst was proposed that 400 °C showed a higher and more stable catalytic activity without changing of support characteristics.     

A geostatistical analysis of geostatistics

The bibliometric indices of the scientific field of geostatistics were analyzed using statistical and spatial data analysis. The publications and their citation statistics were obtained from the Web of Science (4000 most relevant), Scopus (2000 most relevant) and Google Scholar (5389). The focus was on the analysis of the citation rate (CR), i.e. number of citations an author or a library item receives on average per year. This was the main criterion used to analyze global trends in geostatistics and to extract the Top 25 most-cited lists of the research articles and books in geostatistics. It was discovered that the average citation rate for geostatisticians has stabilized since 1999, while the authors’ n-index seems to have declined ever since. One reason for this may be because there are more and more young authors with a lower n-index. We also found that the number of publications an author publishes explains only 60% of the variation in the citation statistics and that this number progressively declines for an author with a lower number of publications. Once the geographic location is attached to a selection of articles, an isotropic Gaussian kernel smoother weighted by the CR can be used to map scientific excellence around the world. This revealed clusters of scientific excellence around locations such as Wageningen, London, Utrecht, Hampshire, UK, Norwich, Paris, Louvain, Barcelona, and Zürich (Europe); Stanford, Ann Arbor, Tucson, Corvallis, Seattle, Boulder, Montreal, Baltimore, Durham, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles (North America); and Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Santiago (Chile), Taipei, and Beijing (other continents). Further correlation with socio-economic variables showed that the spatial distribution of CRs in geostatistics is independent of the night light image (which represents economic activity) and population density. This study demonstrates that the commercial scientific indexing companies could enhance their service by assigning the geographical location to library items to allow spatial exploration and analysis of bibliometric indices.     

Comparison of Predicted and Experimentally Measured Aerosol Deposition Efficiency in BALB/C Mice in a New Nose-Only Exposure System

The use of respiratory tract dosimetry predictions to estimate the desired aerosol exposure concentration required for a specific target deposited dose in animal inhalation studies has been hindered by: (1) a lack of species/strain specific quantitative respiratory tract anatomy; and (2) verification by comparison of calculated and experimentally measured deposited doses. Using recent literature on tracheobronchial and pulmonary respiratory tract anatomy, dosimetry predictions for the Balb/c mouse were compared with deposited doses for 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 micrometer diameter aerosols in a newly available nose-only exposure system. Spatial and temporal aerosol port to port uniformity of this nose-only exposure system was within ± 10% of the mean. Dosimetry predictions were in agreement with the measured mean deposited doses for the aerosols tested.     

An alternative to the biomagnetic forward problem in arealistically shaped head model, the “weightedvertices”

The “weighted vertices” (WV), an alternative in solving the biomagnetic forward problem (BFP) for a realistically shaped head (RSH) model are presented. This proposed approach differs from the others in the way some terms in the governing integral equations are defined. The effects that WV has on important issues such as the “auto solid angle” and “stability of equations” are discussed. Two variants of the WV approach, i.e., the “linear weight” and the “quadratic weight”, have been developed, and comparison of results produced by these two approaches shows that the implementation of quadratic elements to evaluate the integral produces significant improvements. This study is done with a focus on magnetic rather than electric phenomena, so a homogeneous conductor has been used in the numerical example. However, the thoughts behind this proposed method can be easily extended for cases where inhomogeneous conductors are involved. Significant improvement in the accuracy of the forward problem has been observed by use of the WV approach     

Electromigration-Induced Plastic Deformation in Cu Interconnects: Effects on Current Density Exponent, <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>, and Implications for EM Reliability Assessment

While Black’s equation for electromigration (EM) in interconnects with n = 1 is rigorously based on the principles of electrotransport, n > 1 is more commonly observed empirically. This deviation is usually attributed to Joule heating. An alternative explanation is suggested by the recent discovery of EM plasticity. To examine this possibility, we have retested samples that had been previously subjected to a predamaging phase of high temperature and current densities to determine whether the loss of median time to failure (MTF) is retained. We find that the predamaged samples exhibit MTFs that are permanently reduced, which is a characteristic of EM plasticity.     

Control of optical bandgap energy and optical absorption coefficient by geometric parameters in sub-10 nm silicon-nanodisc array structure

A sub-10 nm, high-density, periodic silicon-nanodisc (Si-ND) array has been fabricated using a new top-down process, which involves a 2D array bio-template etching mask made of Listeria-Dps with a 4.5 nm diameter iron oxide core and damage-free neutral-beam etching (Si-ND diameter: 6.4 nm). An Si-ND array with an SiO(2) matrix demonstrated more controllable optical bandgap energy due to the fine tunability of the Si-ND thickness and diameter. Unlike the case of shrinking Si-ND thickness, the case of shrinking Si-ND diameter simultaneously increased the optical absorption coefficient and the optical bandgap energy. The optical absorption coefficient became higher due to the decrease in the center-to-center distance of NDs to enhance wavefunction coupling. This means that our 6 nm diameter Si-ND structure can satisfy the strict requirements of optical bandgap energy control and high absorption coefficient for achieving realistic Si quantum dot solar cells.     

Physicochemical Properties,Fatty Acid Profiles,and Sensory Characteristics of Fermented Beef Sausage by Probiotics Lactobacillus plantarum IIA‐2C12 or Lactobacillus acidophilus IIA‐2B4

Probiotics may be used to enhance the functionality and nutritional values of fermented sausages. This study aims to evaluate the physicochemical and sensory properties of beef sausages fermented by lactic acid bacteria of Lactobacillus plantarum IIA‐2C12 and L. acidophilus IIA‐2B4. These strains were isolated from beef cattle and have shown to display probiotic features. While the nutrient contents were not affected by the probiotics, the pH, texture, and color varied among the sausages. Further analysis on fatty acids showed different profiles of saturated (C14:0, C17:0, and C20:0) and unsaturated (C14:1, C18:1n9c, C18:2n6c, and C22:6n3) fatty acids in sausages with probiotics. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry further revealed some flavor development compounds including acid, alcohols, aldehydes, aromatic, ketones, sulfur, hydrocarbons and terpenes, varied among the sausages. Hedonic test showed no difference in the preference toward aroma, texture, and color for untrained panelists.     

Measurement of stresses in Cu and Si around through-silicon via by synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction for 3-dimensional integrated circuits

Through-silicon via (TSV) has been used for 3-dimentional integrated circuits. Mechanical stresses in Cu and Si around the TSV were measured using synchrotron X-ray microdiffraction. The hydrostatic stress in Cu TSV went from high tensile of 234 MPa in the as-fabricated state, to ?196 MPa (compressive) during thermal annealing (in situ measurement), to 167 MPa in the post-annealed state. Due to this stress, the keep-away distance in Si was determined to be about 17 μm. Our results suggest that Cu stress may lead to reliability as well as integration issues, while Si stress may lead to device performance concerns.     

Soil science and the <Emphasis Type="Italic">h</Emphasis> index

Soil science is a relatively young and specialised field of science. This note discusses the use of the h index as a scientific output measure in soil science. We explore the governing factors of h index in soil science: the number of soil scientists, the number of papers published, the average number of citations, and the age of the scientist. We found the average relationship between h index and scientific age for soil science: h = 0.7 t. The h index for soil science is smaller than other major science disciplines but norms for h need to be established