Correlation between the defect structure and the residual stress distribution in ZnO visualized by TEM and Raman microscopy

A deep understanding of the appearance and distribution of residual stresses in ZnO is of high importance as mechanical stresses directly influence its electrical and optical properties. In this paper we investigate the correlation between residual stresses and the plastic deformation below a micro indent placed on a prism plane of a ZnO single crystal. The residual stress field was mapped by means of confocal Raman microscopy. A cross section was studied by transmission electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence to visualize defect structures. In the Raman measurement bands of residual stresses were observed. The analysis of the defect structure showed that the residual stress distribution corresponds to crystallographic directions which are known to be the preferred directions for plastic deformation. The preparation of lamellae by FIB strongly alters both the residual stress state as well as the defect density caused by plastic deformation.     

Culture collections and the biotechnology deal

Culture collections provide starting material for life science research, development and production. Especially in biotechnology, well characterised and pure microbial strains are essential for reproducible and safe bioprocesses. Culture collections also play a role as repositories of biological material for future applications and help to preserve biological diversity. In addition, they also maintain the know-how needed for more complex identification methods and help to develop new techniques. To enable culture collections to achieve higher quality standards, new certification guidelines for biological resource centres are currently being developed.     

Modelling the GSM Handover Protocol in CommUnity

CommUnity is a formal approach to software architecture. It has a precise, yet intuitive mathematical semantics based on category theory. It supports, at the methodological level, a clear separation between computation, coordination, and distribution (including mobility). It provides a simple state-based language for describing component behaviour that is inspired by Unity and Interacting Processes. It also addresses composition as a first class concern and accounts for the emergence of global system properties from interconnections. This paper describes the approach and available tool support by modelling essential aspects of the GSM handover protocol. We also sketch a framework that we are implementing for the distributed execution of such specifications using Klava, a Java library for mobile agent systems based on tuple spaces.     

Assessing architectural evolution: a case study

This paper proposes to use a historical perspective on generic laws, principles, and guidelines, like Lehman’s software evolution laws and Martin’s design principles, in order to achieve a multi-faceted process and structural assessment of a system’s architectural evolution. We present a simple structural model with associated historical metrics and visualizations that could form part of an architect’s dashboard. We perform such an assessment for the Eclipse SDK, as a case study of a large, complex, and long-lived system for which sustained effective architectural evolution is paramount. The twofold aim of checking generic principles on a well-know system is, on the one hand, to see whether there are certain lessons that could be learned for best practice of architectural evolution, and on the other hand to get more insights about the applicability of such principles. We find that while the Eclipse SDK does follow several of the laws and principles, there are some deviations, and we discuss areas of architectural improvement and limitations of the assessment approach.     

Measurement of the Loss and Depolarization Probability of UCN on Beryllium and Diamond Like Carbon Films

Currently several institutes worldwide are working on the development of a new generation of ultracold neutron (UCN) sources. In parallel with source development, new materials for guiding and storage of UCN are developed. Currently the best results have been achieved using ⁵⁸Ni, Be, solid O₂ and low temperature Fomblin oil (LTF). All of these materials have their shortcomings like cost, toxicity or difficulty of use. A novel very promising material is diamond like carbon (DLC). Several techniques exist to coat surfaces, and industrial applications (e.g., for extremely hard surfaces) are already wide spread. Preliminary investigations using neutron reflectometry at PSI and Los Alamos yielded a critical velocity for DLC of about 7 m/s thus comparable to Beryllium. A low upper limit of depolarization probability for stored polarized UCN has been measured at the PF2 facility of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) by North Carolina State University (NCSU), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (PNPI), thus making it also a good material for storage and guidance of polarized UCN. Still missing is the loss probability per bounce. We will be able to extract this number and a more stringent value for the depolarization from our experiment thus proving the suitability of DLC as a wall material for a wide range of UCN applications.     

Connectors for mobile programs

Software architecture has put forward the concept of connector to express complex relationships between system components, thus facilitating the separation of coordination from computation. This separation is especially important in mobile computing due to the dynamic nature of the interactions among participating processes. We present connector patterns, inspired in Mobile UNITY, that describe three basic kinds of transient interactions: action inhibition, action synchronization, and message passing. The connectors are given in COMMUNITY, a UNITY-like program design language which has a semantics in category theory. We show how the categorical framework can be used for applying the proposed connectors to specific components and how the resulting architecture can be visualized by a diagram showing the components and the connectors     

A novel apparatus for the investigation of material properties for the storage of ultracold neutrons

We have built a novel apparatus for the investigation of materials for the storage of ultracold neutrons. Neutrons are filled into a storage volume, confined at the bottom by a magnetic field, at the top by gravity and at the sides by the slit-less sample surface under investigation. For different beryllium and diamond-like carbon samples, storage times up to 200 s were obtained at room temperature. The corresponding loss parameters η for ultracold neutrons varied between 4.2 and 6.8×10^-4 per wall collision.     

Learning Software Engineering at a Distance

Delivering a software engineering curriculum by distance learning requires innovative and flexible approaches to presenting and managing the learning materials. At the Open University, we've been offering a broadly based master's degree in Computing for Commerce and Industry by distance learning for over 20 years. The Open University's SE curriculum and delivery mechanisms are shaped by its commitment to offering professionally accredited part-time, open, and large-scale distance learning primarily aimed at IT practitioners