Influence of Nb content on the corrosion resistance and saturation magnetic density of FeCuNbSiB alloys

Nanocrystalline FeCuNbSiB alloys obtained from the partial crystallization of amorphous alloys have attracted technological attention due to their excellent magnetic properties, but the relationship between corrosion resistance and magnetic properties is not well established. The influence of Nb as an alloying element and effect of partial crystallization on the corrosion resistance of Fe73.5Si13.5B10Cu1, Fe73.5Si13.5B7Nb3Cu1 and Fe73.5Si13.5B5Nb5Cu1 amorphous alloys were studied and the effect of corrosion on magnetization saturation flux density, B-s, was investigated. The addition of niobium on amorphous alloys increases the corrosion resistance. The raise of Nb content from 3 to 5% increases the corrosion resistance also. A partial crystallization increases the corrosion resistance of the samples with Nb. However, in the samples without Nb, the partial crystallization diminishes the corrosion resistance. The values of B-s depend on the alloy corrosion resistance.) (C) 2002 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

On energy pumping, synchronization and beat phenomenon in a nonideal structure coupled to an essentially nonlinear oscillator

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The aggregation process in tetraethoxysilane-derived sonogels as an analogy to the critical phenomenon

The structural evolution in silica sols prepared from tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) sonohydrolysis was studied 'in situ' using small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The structure of the gelling system can be reasonably well described by a correlation function given by gamma(r) similar to (1/R(2))(1/r) exp(- r/xi), where xi is the structure correlation length and R is a chain persistence length, as an analogy to the Ornstein-Zernike theory in describing critical phenomenon. This approach is also expected for the scattering from some linear and branched molecules as polydisperse coils of linear chains and random f-functional branched polycondensates. The characteristic length. grows following an approximate power law with time t as xi similar to t(1) (with the exponent quite close to 1) while R remains undetermined but with a constant value, except at the beginning of the process in which the growth of. is slower and R increases by only about 15% with respect to the value of the initial sol. The structural evolution with time is compatible with an aggregation process by a phase separation by coarsening. The mechanism of growth seems to be faster than those typically observed for pure diffusion controlled cluster-cluster aggregation. This suggests that physical forces (hydrothermal forces) could be actuating together with diffusion in the gelling process of this system. The data apparently do not support a spinodal decomposition mechanism, at least when starting from the initial stable acid sol studied here.

Doping saturation in dye-sensitized solar cells based on ZnO:Ga nanostructured photoanodes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Visible PL phenomenon at room temperature in disordered structure of SrWO4 powder

The SrWO4 (SWO) powders were synthesized by the polymeric precursor method and annealed at different temperatures. The SWO structure was obtained by X-ray diffraction and the corresponding photoluminescence (PL) spectra was measured. The PL results reveal that the structural order-disorder degree in the SWO lattice influences in the PL emission intensity. Only the structurally order-disordered samples present broad and intense PL band in the visible range. To understand the origin of this phenomenon, we performed quantum-mechanical calculations with crystalline and order-disordered SWO periodic models. Their electronic structures were analyzed in terms of band structure. The appearance of localized levels in the band gap of the order-disordered structure was evidenced and is a favorable condition for the intense PL to occur.

Light-related photosynthetic characteristics of lotic macroalgae

Photosynthetic characteristics in response to irradiance were analysed in 42 populations of 33 macroalgal species by two distinct techniques (chlorophyll fluorescence and oxygen evolution). Photosynthesis-irradiance (PI) curves based on the two techniques indicated adaptations to low irradiance reflected by low saturation values, high to moderate values of photosynthetic efficiency (alpha) and photoinhibition (beta), for Bacillariophyta and Rhodophyta, which suggests they are typically shade-adapted algae. In contrast, most species of Chlorophyta were reported as sun adapted algae, characterized by high values of I-k and low of alpha, and lack of or low photoinhibition. Cyanophyta and Xanthophyta were intermediate groups in terms of light adaptations. Photoinhibition was observed in variable degrees in all algal groups, under field and laboratory conditions, which confirms that it is not artificially induced by experimental conditions, but is rather a common and natural phenomenon of the lotic macroalgae. Low values of compensation irradiance (I-c) were found, which indicate that these algae can keep an autotrophic metabolism even under very low irradiances. High ratios (>2) of photosynthesis/respiration were found in most algae, which indicates a considerable net gain. These two physiological characteristics suggest that macroalgae may be important primary producers in lotic ecosystems. Saturation parameters (I-k and I-s) occurred in a relatively narrow range of irradiances (100-400 mumol photons m(-2) s(-1)), with some exceptions (higher in some filamentous green algae or lower in red algae). These parameters were way below the irradiances measured at collecting sites for most algae, which means that most of the available light energy was not photochemically converted via photosynthesis. Acclimation to ambient PAR was observed, as revealed by lower values of I-k and I-c and higher values of alpha and quantum yield in algae from shaded streams, and vice versa. Forms living within the boundary layer (crusts) showed responses of shade-adapted species and had the highest values of P-max, alpha and quantum yield, whereas the opposite trend was observed in gelatinous forms (colonies and. laments). These results suggests adaptation to the light regime rather than functional attributes related to the growth form.

DISSIPATIVE BOUSSINESQ SYSTEM OF EQUATIONS IN THE BENARD-MARANGONI PHENOMENON

By using the long-wavelength approximation, a system of coupled evolution equations for the bulk velocity and the surface perturbations of a Benard-Marangoni system is obtained. It includes nonlinearity, dispersion, and dissipation, and it can be interpreted as a dissipative generalization of the usual Boussinesq system of equations. As a particular case, a strictly dissipative version of the Boussinesq system is obtained.

Effects of the eccentricity on the primaries in the gravitational capture phenomenon

Gravitational capture is a characteristic of some dynamical systems in celestial mechanics, as in the elliptic restricted three-body problem that is considered in this paper. The basic idea is that a spacecraft (or any particle with negligible mass) can change a hyperbolic orbit with a small positive energy around a celestial body into an elliptic orbit with a small negative energy without the use of any propulsive system. The force responsible for this modification in the orbit of the spacecraft is the gravitational force of the third body involved in the dynamics. In this way, this force is used as a zero cost control, equivalent to a continuous thrust applied in the spacecraft. One of the most important applications of this property is the construction of trajectories to the Moon. The objective of the present paper is to study in some detail the effects of the eccentricity of the primaries in this maneuver.

Chest associated to motor physiotherapy acutely improves oxygen saturation, heart rate and respiratory rate in premature newborns with periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A new interpretation for the degradation phenomenon of ZnO varistors

The electrical degradation phenomena of zinc oxide-based varistors were studied using a high-energy current pulse and a.c. polarization at different temperatures. Activation energy measurements during the degradation process showed that these phenomena are associated with diffusion and that the diffusion-controlling species are slower than Zn., For degradation promoted by current pulses of 8×20 μs, the Schottky potential barrier deformation was measured. A decrease in height and width of the potential barrier due to the reduction of surface states density, N s, without a significant change in donor density, N d, was observed. To explain these results, a modification of the unstable components model is proposed for the potential barrier in which the degradation is due to oxi-reduction reactions between atomic defects. These reactions promote the elimination of zinc vacancies and/or adsorbed oxygen on the grain boundaries. © 1992 Chapman & Hall.

New phenomenon of nonlinear Regge trajectory and quantum dual string theory

The relation between the spin and the mass of an infinite number of particles in a q-deformed dual string theory is studied. For the deformation parameter q a root of unity, in addition to the relation of such values of q with the rational conformal field theory, the Fock space of each oscillator mode in the Fubini-Veneziano operator formulation becomes truncated. Thus, based on general physical grounds, the resulting spin-(mass)2 relation is expected to be below the usual linear trajectory. For such specific values of q, we find that the linear Regge trajectory turns into a square-root trajectory as the mass increases.

Modulational instability analysis of surface-waves in the Bénard-Marangoni phenomenon

By using the long-wave approximation, a system of coupled evolutions equations for the bulk velocity and the surface perturbations of a Bénard-Marangoni system is obtained. It includes nonlinearity, dispersion and dissipation, and it is interpreted as a dissipative generalization of the usual Boussinesq system of equations. Then, by considering that the Marangoni number is near the critical value M = -12, we show that the modulation of the Boussinesq waves is described by a perturbed Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation, and we study the conditions under which a Benjamin-Feir instability could eventually set in. The results give sufficient conditions for stability, but are inconclusive about the existence or not of a Benjamin-Feir instability in the long-wave limit. © 1995.

Interference phenomenon for the Faddeevian regularization of 2D chiral fermionic determinants

The classification of the regularization ambiguity of a 2D fermionic determinant in three different classes according to the number of second-class constraints, including the new Faddeevian regularization, is examined and extended. We find a new and important result that the Faddeevian class, with three second-class constraints, possesses a free continuous one parameter family of elements. The criterion of unitarity restricts the parameter to the same range found earlier by Jackiw and Rajaraman for the two-constraint class. We studied the restriction imposed by the interference of right-left modes of the chiral Schwinger model (χQED2) using Stone's soldering formalism. The interference effects between right and left movers, producing the massive vectorial photon, are shown to constrain the regularization parameter to belong to the four-constraint class which is the only nonambiguous class with a unique regularization parameter. ©1999 The American Physical Society.

The phenomenon of photoinhibition of photosynthesis and its importance in reforestation

Photoinhibition, defined as the inhibition of photosynthesis caused by excessive radiance, affects field production to a great extent. This phenomenon is particularly relevant in reforestation practices, when one deals with forests of rapid growth such as Eucalyptus. The imposition of additional stress factors during exposure to high radiance increases the potential for photoinhibitory effects, so the inhibition of photosynthesis indicates that the plant is submitted to stressful conditions. Photoinhibition can be reversible, playing a protective role for the photosynthetic systems, but it can also reflect damage that has already occurred in the photosynthetic apparatus, being irreversible in this case. In this review, we present the physiological and molecular mechanisms of photoinhibition and discuss the interaction between light and other stress factors and its effects on plants destined for reforestation. In addition, the present work analyzes some of the features and strategies that help plants avoid or restrict the occurrence of photoinhibition. For instance, pigments and enzymes which naturally occur in plants can prevent photoinhibition, while preadaptation to nonideal conditions can enhance tolerance to a certain stress factor. Most of these morphological, metabolic, and biochemical mechanisms of defense are related to the dissipation of excessive energy such as heat. Understanding these mechanisms can help improve cultivation procedures, avoid the plants' death, and increase productivity in the field.