New metal-organic precursors for MOCVD applications: Synthesis, characterization, crystal structure and thermal properties of mixed-ligand Mg(II) complexes

In an effort to develop new MOCVD precursors, mixed-ligand metal-organic complexes, bis (acetylacetonato-k(2)O,O') (2,2'-bipyridine-k(2)N,N') magnesium(II), and his (acetylacetonato-k(2)O,O') (1,10-phenanthroline-k(2)N,N') magnesium(II) were synthesized. Spectroscopic characterization and crystal structures confirmed them to be monomeric and stable complexes. Crystal structure analysis suggests in each of the magnesium(II) complexes, the metal center has a distorted octahedral coordination geometry. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA/DTA) suggests that these complexes are volatile and thermally stable. The thermal characteristics of newly designed complexes make them attractive precursors for MOCVD applications. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DEFINING alpha-HELIX GEOMETRY BY C-alpha ATOM TRACE vs (phi-psi) TORSION ANGLES: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

A regular secondary structure is described by a well defined set of values for the backbone dihedral angles (phi,psi and omega) in a polypeptide chain. However in real protein structures small local variations give rise to distortions from the ideal structures, which can lead to considerable variation in higher order organization. Protein structure analysis and accurate assignment of various structural elements, especially their terminii, are important first step in protein structure prediction and design. Various algorithms are available for assigning secondary structure elements in proteins but some lacunae still exist. In this study, results of a recently developed in-house program ASSP have been compared with those from STRIDE, in identification of alpha-helical regions in both globular and membrane proteins. It is found that, while a combination of hydrogen bond patterns and backbone torsional angles (phi-psi) are generally used to define secondary structure elements, the geometry of the C-alpha atom trace by itself is sufficient to define the parameters of helical structures in proteins. It is also possible to differentiate the various helical structures by their C-alpha trace and identify the deviations occurring both at mid-positions as well as at the terminii of alpha-helices, which often lead to occurrence of 3(10) and pi-helical fragments in both globular and membrane proteins.

Plastic Analysis and Testing of multidirectional SFRC flag slabs

This paper presents a theoretical and experimental study of multidirectional steel fibers reinforced concrete slabs (SFRC). The study is based on a real building application using SFRC flag slabs. For the evaluation of the slabs bearing capacity, plastic calculations are performed both at section and structure levels. The section analysis uses the perfect plastic stress-strain diagram, with reference to the values of the strength characteristics of SFRC based on previous jobs that used similar fibers and dosages. In the structure analysis the plastic yield lines method has been used. This method relates the section last bearing moment and the plastic collapse load. The experimental campaign has consisted of the testing of six 2 m. diameter circular shaped slabs prototypes, and has allowed to verify the reference resistance used in the calculations.

A construção do discurso publicitário contemporâneo com imagens de famílias: aspectos linguístico-discursivos

Este trabalho realiza análises de anúncios publicitários que veiculam, de algum modo, cenários de famílias como parte estruturante de sua composição/prática discursiva. Estuda os mecanismos linguístico-discursivos e as marcas textuais da enunciação como indiciativos do sujeito discursivo/enunciador/ideológico e das determinações que o movem. O discurso conforma-se a normas que causam efeitos de sentido, por sua materialidade e por sua relação com o momento de enunciação, culturalmente, historicamente construídos. O estudo analisa, então, as seleções lexicais, a complexidade sintática, a engenhosa teia argumentativa e seus operadores, a construção do ethos, os marcadores de heterogeneidades enunciativas e os modos de organização do discurso publicitário. Os textos promocionais publicitários analisados exigem gestão eficaz da convergência do ethos propriamente discursivo com o construído a partir de imagens arquetípicas de famílias. A prática discursiva publicitária é uma prática intersemiótica, que integra produções concernentes a diferentes domínios semióticos; no caso, o pictórico. Com base na Análise Semiolinguística do Discurso, o estudo científico da linguagem, ao viabilizar análises que evidenciam a força argumentativa do enunciador, revela que o sujeito discursivo detém, pelo uso sutil do discurso, um forte instrumento de poder e de legitimação de valores e marcas, para obtenção de suas metas. Assim, o estudo propicia reflexão sobre o uso estratégico do discurso publicitário como instrumento de poder, de enformação, de moldagem do leitor, de modo que atenda às demandas do enunciador, fortalecendo, portanto, socialmente, as estruturas de dominação

Discursos na/da educação profissional e tecnológica: a criação dos Institutos Federais de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia

A presente pesquisa de doutorado tem como objeto de estudo as recontextualizações e ressignificações que a educação profissional e tecnológica passou nos últimos anos, com a criação dos Institutos Federais de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia, tomando por base os discursos circulantes que amparam as mudanças introduzidas a partir das políticas educacionais e curriculares. O problema de pesquisa foi desenvolvido por meio de um olhar dialético entre macro e microcontextos, tendo como preocupação o discurso na sua relação com a estrutura social, apoiando-se nas formulações da Análise Crítica do Discurso, a partir de Norman Fairclough. Ao mesmo tempo, foram utilizadas as teorizações de Stephen Ball, principalmente a abordagem do ciclo de políticas, que trabalha com as formulações discursivas dos diferentes contextos de produção e implementação de políticas educacionais. Toda a discussão conduzida neste trabalho sobre a conjuntura macroestrutural da sociedade, a partir do novo capitalismo, na sua relação com os aspectos do microcontexto, levou ao entendimento de que o gerencialismo e a performatividade penetraram profundamente nas relações, conduzindo a opções ideológicas pautadas em discursos que refletem essas tecnologias. Por meio das reflexões e análises sobre o contexto nacional, tendo como base textos diversos, e sobre o microcontexto do Instituto Federal do Rio de Janeiro, considerando observações, escutas, diálogos, vivências e experiências, essa pesquisa aponta para o potencial do contexto da prática. Compreende-se que as intervenções dos docentes, técnicos e gestores dos Institutos Federais nos discursos que interpretam, promovendo recontextualizações e ressignificações, definirão a formação que o novo e crescente contingente de discentes receberá e, neste ponto, essa pesquisa aposta em formulações discursivas contra-hegemônicas que apontam para uma formação politécnica para o mundo do trabalho.

Para que serve uma enfermaria de clínica médica?: reflexões a partir de um hospital universitário.

Esse trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a relação entre a organização da estrutura hospitalar baseada em sua divisão por enfermarias de especialidades e a perpetuação da lógica fragmentadora própria da Biomedicina, racionalidade médica hegemônica ocidental. O campo estudado foi o Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto. Através de entrevistas semiestruturadas com médicos clínicos, especialistas e profissionais responsáveis pela regulação de vagas desse hospital é discutida a existência de dois discursos diferentes: o discurso clínico e o discurso especialista. A partir da análise dessas entrevistas, foi apontada e debatida a profunda relação entre esses discursos, a estrutura hospitalar e a assistência médica oferecida aos pacientes. A análise realizada evidencia que embora os dois discursos estejam absolutamente inseridos no paradigma biomédico, a clínica médica se identifica e é identificada como responsável pelo paciente como um todo, enquanto as especialidades são reconhecidas como responsáveis apenas por uma determinada parte. Essa diferença apresentou influência tanto na forma de cuidar do paciente, como na função de cada serviço dentro do hospital. As enfermarias de clínica se caracterizaram por serem setores consensualmente capazes de conduzir satisfatoriamente a maioria dos pacientes.Se por um lado a abrangência da clínica é motivo de orgulho para os clínicos, por outro, a falta de autonomia decorrente dessa característica determina um sentimento de depreciação por parte desses profissionais. Esse trabalho foi realizado sob perspectiva hermenêutica filosófica proposta por Hans-Georg Gadamer e com o auxílio dos conceitos de paradigma proposto por Thomas Kuhn e estilo de pensamento elaborado por Ludwik Fleck.

Genetic analysis of east and west coast populations of Penaeus monodon from India based on random amplified polymorphic DNA

The east and west coast populations of wild Penaeus monodon in India were genetically characterized by RAPD analysis using six highly polymorphic primers reported earlier. The average genetic similarities within populations, based on profiles generated by all the six primers, were 0.828 and 0.851 for the east and west coast populations, respectively, values with individual primers ranging from 0.744 to 0.889. The average genetic similarity between populations across all the primers was 0.774. The number of bands found to be polymorphic were 38 (51.35%) and 37 (50.68%) in the east and west coast populations, respectively. Primer 5 yielded the highest level of polymorphism (63.63%) in the east coast population whereas primer 3 yielded the lowest level of polymorphism (36.36%) in the west coast population. The study reveals the existence of genetic variation in P. monodon stocks providing scope for genetic improvement through selective breeding. It also provides baseline data for future work on population structure analysis of P. monodon.

Coupled analysis of building damage due to tunnelling

Excavation works in urban areas require a preliminary risk damage assessment. In historical cities, the prediction of building response to settlements is necessary to reduce the risk of damage of the architectural heritage. The current method used to predict the building damage due to ground deformations is the Limiting Tensile Strain Method (LTSM). This method is based on an uncoupled soil-structure analysis, in which the building is modelled as an elastic beam subject to imposed greenfield settlements and the induced tensile strains are compared with a limit value for the material. This approach neglects many factors which play an important rule in the response of the structure to tunneling induced settlements. In this paper, the possibility to apply a settlement risk assessment derived from the seismic vulnerability approach is considered. The parameters that influence the structural response to settlements can be defined through numerical coupled analyses which take into account the nonlinear behaviour of masonry and the soil-structure interaction.

Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of the chitinase gene from the Helicoverpa armigera single nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus

A putative chitinase gene was identified within the fragment EcoRI-K of the Helicoverpa armigera single-nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (HearNPV, also called HaSNPIV) genome. The open reading frame (ORF) contains 1713 nucleotides (nt) and encodes a protein of 570 amino acids (aa) with a predicted molecular weight of 63.6 kDa. Transcription started at about 18 h post infection (p.i.) and the protein was first detected at 20 h p.i. The times of transcription and expression are characteristic of a late baculovirus gene. 5' and 3' RACE indicated that transcription was initiated from the adenine residue located at -246 nt upstream from the ATG start site and the poly (A) tail was added at 267 nt downstream from the stop codon. This is the first report on the molecular characterization of a chitinase from a single nucleocapsid NPV. The phylogeny of baculoviral chitinase genes were extensively examined in comparison with chitinases derived from bacteria, fungi, nematode, actinomycetes, viruses, insects and mammals. Neighbor-joining and most parsimony analyses showed that the baculoviral chitinases were clustered exclusively within gamma-proteobacteria. Our results strongly suggest that baculoviruses acquired their chitinase genes from bacteria. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structure and magnetic properties of ScFe6Ga6-type RCo5Ga7 (R = Y, Tb, Dy, Ho and Er)

The structure and magnetic properties of the RCo5Ga7 (R = Y, Tb, Dy, Ho and Er) compounds with the ScFe6Ga6-type structure have been studied. The stability of RCo5Ga7 is closely related with the ratio of the metal radii R-RE/R-(Co,R-Ga). With R-RE/R-(Co,R-Ga) less than or equal to 1.36, the compounds can be stabilized in the ScFe6Ga6-type structure. The lattice of RCo5Ga7 shrinks as the atomic order of R increases, and it is consistent with the lanthanide contraction. The structure analysis based on X-ray diffraction patterns reveals that in the orthorhombic RCo5Ga7 (Immm), R occupies the 2a site, and Co enters into the 8k and the 4h sites, and Ga is at the 4e, 4f, 4g, 4h and 8k sites. The interatomic distances and the coordination numbers of RCo5Ga7 are provided from the refinement results. The short interatomic distance (less than 2.480 Angstrom) between the Co ions results in the negative magnetic interaction, which does not favor ferromagnetic ordering. The magnetic moment of YCo5Ga7 is absent, and RCo5Ga7 (R = Tb, Dy, Ho and Er) may have long-range magnetic ordering with the paramagnetic Curie temperature lower than 5 K. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Microphotoluminescence investigation of InAs quantum dot active region in 1.3 mu m vertical cavity surface emitting laser structure

Microphotoluminescence (mu-PL) investigation has been performed at room temperature on InAs quantum dot (QD) vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) structure in order to characterize the QD epitaxial structure which was designed for 1.3 mu m wave band emission. Actual and precise QD emission spectra including distinct ground state (GS) and excited state (ES) transition peaks are obtained by an edge-excitation and edge-emission (EEEE) mu-PL configuration. Conventional photoluminescence methods for QD-VCSELs structure analysis are compared and discussed, which indicate the EEEE mu-PL is a useful tool to determine the optical features of the QD active region in an as-grown VCSEL structure. Some experimental results have been compared with simulation results obtained with the aid of the plane-wave admittance method. After adjustment of epitaxial growth according to EEEE mu-PL measurement results, QD-VCSEL structure wafer with QD GS transition wavelength of 1300 nm and lasing wavelength of 1301 nm was obtained.

Stress Analysis of the Superconducting Magnet of LPT

The superconducting magnet of the LPT (Lanzhou Penning trap) consists of nine coaxial coils. The maximum magnetic field is 7 T and thus results in a large magnetic force. In order to assure the mechanical stability, it is necessary to do the stress analysis of the magnet system. The 3D Finite Element Analysis of thermal and mechanical behavior was presented in this paper. For the numerical simulation and analysis of the phenomena inside the structure, the ADINA and TOSCA code were chosen right from start. The ADINA code is commonly used for numerical simulations of the structure analysis [1] and the TOSCA code is professional software to calculate the magnetic field and Lorentz Forces. The results of the analysis were evaluated in terms of the stress and deformation.

Trends in elasticity and electronic structure of 5d transition metal diborides: first-principles calculations

We investigate the cohesive energy, heat of formation, elastic constant and electronic band structure of transition metal diborides TMB2 (TM = Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os and Ir, Pt) in the Pmmn space group using the ab initio pseudopotential total energy method. Our calculations indicate that there is a relationship between elastic constant and valence electron concentration (VEC): the bulk modulus and shear modulus achieve their maximum when the VEC is in the range of 6.8-7.2. In addition, trends in the elastic constant are well explained in terms of electronic band structure analysis, e.g., occupation of valence electrons in states near the Fermi level, which determines the cohesive energy and elastic properties. The maximum in bulk modulus and shear modulus is attributed to the nearly complete filling of TM d-B p bonding states without filling the antibonding states. On the basis of the observed relationship, we predict that alloying W and Re in the orthorhombic structure OsB2 might be harder than alloying the Ir element. Indeed, the further calculations confirmed this expectation.

Photochemical synthesis, properties and X-ray crystal structure of tetrabutylammonium dodecamolybdophosphate heteropoly blue

The title heteropoly blue, (Bu4N)(6)H-10 [(PMo11MoO40)-Mo-VI-O-V](4) . H2O has been photochemically synthesized and characterized with elemental analysis, solid diffusion reflectance electronic spectra, CV, ESR, XPS, IR spectra, conductivity measurement and X-ray single crystal analysis. The crystallographic data for C96H218Mo48N6O169P4 are as follows: M-r = 8889.76, triclinic, P (1) over bar, a = 1.4142 (3) nm, b = 2.6027 (5) nm, c = 2.6403(5) nm, alpha = 113.96(3)degrees, beta = 90.05(3)degrees, gamma = 105.71(3)degrees, V = 8.481 (3) nm(3), Z = 1, D-c = 1.741 g/cm(3), F (000) = 4264, mu = 1.798 mm(-1). The X-ray crystal structure analysis reveals that there Is one independent molecule in the unit cell of the title heteropoly blue which contains four mixed-valence heteropoly anions, six tetrabutylammonium cations and one water molecule. Its molecular structure possesses a centrosymmetrical arrangement in the unit cell. The phosphorus atom is In the crystallographic inversion center of the heteropoly anion and the eight oxygen atoms surrounding central phosphorus atom comprise of a distorted hexahedron. Heteropolyanion has two equal sets of PO4 tetrahedron. The PO4 tetrahedron and the MoO6 octahedron in the polyanion are greatly distorted.

Synthesis, crystal structure and properties of H-8[P4W14O58Na4 (H2O)(20)] center dot 16H(2)O

A novel heteropoly tungstophosphates, H-8[P4W14O58Na4(H2O)(20)] . 16H(2)O, was synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectrum and single-crystal X-ray structure analysis. The thermal stability of the compound was investigated by using TG-DTA. The crystal is triclinic system with space group P (1) over bar, a = 1. 137 9(2) nm, b=1. 363 2(3) nm, c=1. 627 1(3) nm; alpha=78. 20(3)degrees, beta=71, 20(3)degrees, gamma= 71. 62(3)degrees; V = 2. 252 5(8) nm(3), Z=1, M-r= 4 374. 38, D-c = 3. 225 mg/cm(3), mu = 18. 007 mm(-1), F(000)=1 972, R=0. 074 2, R-w=0. 200 4. The result of structure analysis shows that the anion of the compound consists of two PW7O29Na2(H2O)(10) subunits and two linked phosphorous atoms. A kind of microporous with size of 0. 661 4 nm X 0. 318 9 nm was formed in the crystal structure.