A nanoindentation analysis of the effects of microstructure on elastic properties of Al2O3/SiC composites

Nanoindentation tests were carried out to investigate certain elastic properties of Al2O3/SiCp composites at microscopic scales (nm up to mu m) and under ultra-low loads from 3 mN to 250 mN, with special attention paid to effects caused by SiC particles and pores. The measured Young's modulus depends on the volume fraction of SiC particles and on the composite porosity and it can compare with that of alumina. The Young's modulus exhibits large scatters at small penetrations, but it tends to be constant with lesser dispersion as the indentation depth increases. Further analysis indicated that the scatter results from specific microstructural heterogeneities. The measured Young's moduli are in agreement with predictions, provided the actual role of the microstructure is taken into account. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Discovery of a male-biased mutant family and identification of a male-specific SCAR marker in gynogenetic gibel carp Carassius auratus gibelio

Gibel carp ( Carassius auratus gibelio) is a uniquely gynogenetic species with a minor ratio of males in natural habitats, but its male origin and sex determination mechanisms have been unknown. In this study, a male-biased mutant family was discovered from the gynogenetic gibel carp, and a male-specific SCAR marker was identified from the mutant family. Normal spermatogenesis was observed in the male testes by immuno. fluorescence histochemistry. Nearly identical AFLP profiles were observed between males and females, but a male-specific 86 bp AFLP fragment was screened by sex-pool bulked segregant analysis and individual screening. Based on the male-specific AFLP fragment, a total of 579 bp sequences were cloned by genome walking. Subsequently, a male-specific SCAR marker was designed, and the male-specific DNA fragment was confirmed to be steadily transmitted to the next generation and consistently detected only in males. (C) 2009 National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier Limited and Science in China Press. All rights reserved.

Homoepitaxial Growth of 4H-SiC and Ti/4H-SiC SBDs

Homoepitaxial growth of4H-SiC on off-oriented Si-face （0001） 4H-SiC substrates was performed at 1500℃ by using the step controlled Epitaxy. Ti/4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes （SBDs） with blocking voltage over lkV have been made on an undoped epilayer with 32μm in thick and 2-5 × 10^15 cm^-3 in carrier density. The diode rectification ratio of forward to reverse （defined at ± 1V） is over 107 at room temperature and over 10^2 at 538K. Their electrical characteristics were studied by the current-voltage measurements in the temperature range from 20 to 265 ℃. The ideality factor and Schottky barrier height obtained at room temperature are 1.33 and 0. 905eV, respectively. The SBDs have on-state current density of 150A/cm^2 at a forward voltage drop of about 2.0V. The specific on-resistance for the rectifier is found to be as 7.9mΩ · cm^2 and its variation with temperature is T^2.0.

Changes in individual plant traits and biomass allocation in alpine meadow with elevation variation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Plant traits and individual plant biomass allocation of 57 perennial herbaceous species, belonging to three common functional groups (forbs, grasses and sedges) at subalpine (3700 m ASL), alpine (4300 m ASL) and subnival (>= 5000 m ASL) sites were examined to test the hypothesis that at high altitudes, plants reduce the proportion of aboveground parts and allocate more biomass to belowground parts, especially storage organs, as altitude increases, so as to geminate and resist environmental stress. However, results indicate that some divergence in biomass allocation exists among organs. With increasing altitude, the mean fractions of total biomass allocated to aboveground parts decreased. The mean fractions of total biomass allocation to storage organs at the subalpine site (7%+/- 2% S.E.) were distinct from those at the alpine (23%+/- 6%) and subnival (21%+/- 6%) sites, while the proportions of green leaves at all altitudes remained almost constant. At 4300 m and 5000 m, the mean fractions of flower stems decreased by 45% and 41%, respectively, while fine roots increased by 86% and 102%, respectively. Specific leaf areas and leaf areas of forbs and grasses deceased with rising elevation, while sedges showed opposite trends. For all three functional groups, leaf area ratio and leaf area root mass ratio decreased, while fine root biomass increased at higher altitudes. Biomass allocation patterns of alpine plants were characterized by a reduction in aboveground reproductive organs and enlargement of fine roots, while the proportion of leaves remained stable. It was beneficial for high altitude plants to compensate carbon gain and nutrient uptake under low temperature and limited nutrients by stabilizing biomass investment to photosynthetic structures and increasing the absorption surface area of fine roots. In contrast to forbs and grasses that had high mycorrhizal infection, sedges had higher single leaf area and more root fraction, especially fine roots.

Viewing DVM via general behaviors of zooplankton: A way bridging the success of individual and population

In this paper, we viewed the diel vertical migration (DVM) of copepod in the context of the animal's immediate behaviors of everyday concerns and constructed an instantaneous behavioral criterion effective for DVM and non-DVM behaviors. This criterion employed the function of 'venturous revenue' (VR), which is the product of the food intake and probability of the survival, to evaluate the gains and losses of the behaviors that the copepod could trade-off. The optimal behaviors are to find the optimal habitats to maximize VR. Two types of VRs are formulated and tested by the theoretical analysis and simulations. The sensed VR, monitoring the real-time changes of trade-offs and thereby determining the optimum habitat, is validated to be the effective objective function for the optimization of the behavior; whereas, the realized VR, quantifying the actual profit obtained by an optimal copepod in the sensed-VR-determined habitat, defines the life history of a specific age cohort. The achievement of a robust copepod overwintering stock through integrating the dynamics of the constituent age cohorts subjected to the instantaneous behavioral criterion for DVM clearly exemplified a possible way bridging the immediate pursuit of an individual and the end success of the population. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.