Structural studies of NixFe100-x/Mo magnetic multilayers by x-ray small-angle reflection and high-angle diffraction

Magnetic multilayers [NixFe100-x/Mo-30] grown by dc-magnetron sputtering were investigated by x-ray small-angle reflection and high-angle diffraction. Structural parameters of the multilayers such as the superlattice periods, the interfacial roughness, and interplane distance were obtained. It was found that for our NixFe100-x/Mo system, the Mo layer has bcc structure with [110] preferential orientation, while the preferential orientation of the NixFe100-x layer changes from a fee structure with [111] preferential orientation to a bcc structure with [110] preferential orientation with decreasing values of x. An intermixing layer located in the interlayer region between the NixFe100-x and Mo layers exists in the multilayers, and its thickness is almost invariant with respect to an increase of Mo layer thickness and/or a decrease of x in the region of x greater than or equal to 39. The thickness of the intermixing layer falls to zero when x less than or equal to 23.

Total-internal-reflection fluorescence microscopy with W-shaped axicon mirrors

A scheme based on a W-shaped axicon mirror device for total-internal-reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM) is presented. This approach combines the advantages of higher efficiency compared with traditional TIRFM, adjustable illumination area, and simple switching between wide-field and TIRF imaging modes. TIRF images obtained with this approach are free of shadow artifacts and of interference fringes. Example micrographs of fluorescently labeled polystyrene beads, of Convallaria majalis tissue, and of Propidium-iodide-labeled Chinese hamster ovary cells are shown, and the capabilities of the scheme are discussed. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Reduced ambient reflection of organic light-emitting diodes by utilizing multilayer low-reflection cathodes

Ambient reflection of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is reduced by utilizing a multilayer low-reflection cathode. The low-reflection cathode structure consists of a semitransparent cathode layer, a transparent spacing layer and a high reflective layer. Metals with different optical properties, including silver (Ag) and samarium (Sm), are used as the semitransparent cathode layer, tris(8-quinolinolato) aluminium (Alq(3)) and aluminium (Al) are used as the spacing layer and high reflective layer, respectively. The incident ambient light could be reduced by the cathode structure via destructive optical interference. It is found that the Ag/Alq(3)/Al cathode shows a strong wavelength-dependent reflection. However, the Sm/Alq(3)/Al cathode demonstrates a low reflection in the whole visible range, and the resulting OLED shows a reduced luminous reflectance of 2.7% as compared to 81% for a control device with LiF/Al cathode. A further reduction to 0.9% is realized by replacing a multilayer of Alq(3)/Sm/Alq(3) for the single layer of Alq(3).

In situ external reflection FTIR spectroelectrochemical investigation of poly(o-phenylenediamine) film coated on a platinum electrode

The electrochemically deposited poly(o-phenylenediamine) film on a Pt electrode has been investigated utilizing in situ external reflection FTIR spectroelectrochemistry technique. The prepared ladder polymer film is found to be partially ring-opened. The dopant ClO4- is evidenced to orient in such a way that more than one oxygen atom attach to the charge sites of the polymer. This suggests that positive charges of oxidized polymer are partially delocalized over the whole chains. The proton movement observed during the oxidation reaction is associated with the solvated MeCN molecule. It is proposed that the proton diffusion, dissolvation and protonation of the film may be essential to the electrochemical reduction reaction of the film. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY AND IN-SITU IR MICROSPECTROELECTROCHEMISTRY IN A VERSATILE THIN-LAYER REFLECTION FOURIER-TRANSFORM IR MICROSPECTROELECTROCHEMICAL CELL

A simple, convenient and versatile thin layer reflection Fourier transform IR microspectroelectrochemical (FTIRMSEC) cell has been described and characterized. Electrochemistry and in situ FTIR microspectroscopy were studied by using the hexacyanoferrate redox couple in aqueous sulphate solution, indicating that this type of cell is characteristic of both micro- or ultramicroelectrode and thin layer spectroelectrochemistry. Furthermore, the application of this FTIRMSEC cell to IR for characterization of the products of electrochemical reactions was carried out for the oxidation of (mesotetraphenylporphinato)manganese(III) perchlorate in dichloromethane + tetrabutylammonium perchlorate solution. Finally, the advantages and problems of this type of cell compared with a conventional optically transparent thin layer FTIR spectroelectrochemical cell were discussed.

Roles of equatorial waves and western boundary reflection in the seasonal circulation of the equatorial Indian Ocean

An ocean general circulation model (OGCM) is used to study the roles of equatorial waves and western boundary reflection in the seasonal circulation of the equatorial Indian Ocean. The western boundary reflection is defined as the total Kelvin waves leaving the western boundary, which include the reflection of the equatorial Rossby waves as well as the effects of alongshore winds, off-equatorial Rossby waves, and nonlinear processes near the western boundary. The evaluation of the reflection is based on a wave decomposition of the OGCM results and experiments with linear models. It is found that the alongshore winds along the east coast of Africa and the Rossby waves in the off-equatorial areas contribute significantly to the annual harmonics of the equatorial Kelvin waves at the western boundary. The semiannual harmonics of the Kelvin waves, on the other hand, originate primarily from a linear reflection of the equatorial Rossby waves. The dynamics of a dominant annual oscillation of sea level coexisting with the dominant semiannual oscillations of surface zonal currents in the central equatorial Indian Ocean are investigated. These sea level and zonal current patterns are found to be closely related to the linear reflections of the semiannual harmonics at the meridional boundaries. Because of the reflections, the second baroclinic mode resonates with the semiannual wind forcing; that is, the semiannual zonal currents carried by the reflected waves enhance the wind-forced currents at the central basin. Because of the different behavior of the zonal current and sea level during the reflections, the semiannual sea levels of the directly forced and reflected waves cancel each other significantly at the central basin. In the meantime, the annual harmonic of the sea level remains large, producing a dominant annual oscillation of sea level in the central equatorial Indian Ocean. The linear reflection causes the semiannual harmonics of the incoming and reflected sea levels to enhance each other at the meridional boundaries. In addition, the weak annual harmonics of sea level in the western basin, resulting from a combined effect of the western boundary reflection and the equatorial zonal wind forcing, facilitate the dominance by the semiannual harmonics near the western boundary despite the strong local wind forcing at the annual period. The Rossby waves are found to have a much larger contribution to the observed equatorial semiannual oscillations of surface zonal currents than the Kelvin waves. The westward progressive reversal of seasonal surface zonal currents along the equator in the observations is primarily due to the Rossby wave propagation.

Advanced Programming Language Features for Executable Design Patterns "Better Patterns Through Reflection

The Design Patterns book [GOF95] presents 24 time-tested patterns that consistently appear in well-designed software systems. Each pattern is presented with a description of the design problem the pattern addresses, as well as sample implementation code and design considerations. This paper explores how the patterns from the "Gang of Four'', or "GOF'' book, as it is often called, appear when similar problems are addressed using a dynamic, higher-order, object-oriented programming language. Some of the patterns disappear -- that is, they are supported directly by language features, some patterns are simpler or have a different focus, and some are essentially unchanged.

The management of health library outreach services: evaluation and reflection on lessons learned on the VIVOS project

Yeoman, A. J., Cooper, J. M., Urquhart, C. J. & Tyler, A. (2003). The management of health library outreach services: evaluation and reflection on lessons learned on the VIVOS project. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 91(4), 426-433. Sponsorship: Resource

Irish Times coverage of Irish relief and development nongovernmental organisations, legitimacy and accountability, 1994-2009: analysis and implications for the role of nongovernmental organisations

The overall aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which and ways in which Irish relief and development nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) were linked with the concepts of legitimacy and accountability in Irish Times newspaper coverage between 1994 and 2009. This research was based on a quantitative content analysis of 215 Irish Times articles and the results were analysed using statistical methods. Key findings of the research included that NGO accountability received significantly more coverage than NGO legitimacy, "principal-agent" approaches to NGO accountability received significantly more coverage than "stakeholder" approaches to NGO accountability, and questioning of NGOs based on either their accountability or legitimacy was very limited. It is suggested that these findings may indicate both a failure by Irish NGOs to promote "development literacy" and global solidarity among the Irish public, and a limited degree of "development literacy" and global solidarity among the Irish public.

Police accountability in Ireland: an analysis of the problems posed by the legal, constitutional and political dimensions and how they might be addressed

The concept of police accountability is not susceptible to a universal or concise definition. In the context of this thesis it is treated as embracing two fundamental components. First, it entails an arrangement whereby an individual, a minority and the whole community have the opportunity to participate meaningfully in the formulation of the principles and policies governing police operations. Second, it presupposes that those who have suffered as victims of unacceptable police behaviour should have an effective remedy. These ingredients, however, cannot operate in a vacuum. They must find an accommodation with the equally vital requirement that the burden of accountability should not be so demanding that the delivery of an effective police service is fatally impaired. While much of the current debate on police accountability in Britain and the USA revolves around the issue of where the balance should be struck in this accommodation, Ireland lacks the very foundation for such a debate as it suffers from a serious deficit in research and writing on police generally. This thesis aims to fill that gap by laying the foundations for an informed debate on police accountability and related aspects of police in Ireland. Broadly speaking the thesis contains three major interrelated components. The first is concerned with the concept of police in Ireland and the legal, constitutional and political context in which it operates. This reveals that although the Garda Siochana is established as a national force the legal prescriptions concerning its role and governance are very vague. Although a similar legislative format in Britain, and elsewhere, have been interpreted as conferring operational autonomy on the police it has not stopped successive Irish governments from exercising close control over the police. The second component analyses the structure and operation of the traditional police accountability mechanisms in Ireland; namely the law and the democratic process. It concludes that some basic aspects of the peculiar legal, constitutional and political structures of policing seriously undermine their capacity to deliver effective police accountability. In the case of the law, for example, the status of, and the broad discretion vested in, each individual member of the force ensure that the traditional legal actions cannot always provide redress where individuals or collective groups feel victimised. In the case of the democratic process the integration of the police into the excessively centralised system of executive government, coupled with the refusal of the Minister for Justice to accept responsibility for operational matters, project a barrier between the police and their accountability to the public. The third component details proposals on how the current structures of police accountability in Ireland can be strengthened without interfering with the fundamentals of the law, the democratic process or the legal and constitutional status of the police. The key elements in these proposals are the establishment of an independent administrative procedure for handling citizen complaints against the police and the establishment of a network of local police-community liaison councils throughout the country coupled with a centralised parliamentary committee on the police. While these proposals are analysed from the perspective of maximising the degree of police accountability to the public they also take into account the need to ensure that the police capacity to deliver an effective police service is not unduly impaired as a result.