Technology diffusion: analysing the diffusion of agent technologies

Despite several examples of deployed agent systems, there remain barriers to the large-scale adoption of agent technologies. In order to understand these barriers, this paper considers aspects of marketing theory which deal with diffusion of innovations and their relevance to the agents domain and the current state of diffusion of agent technologies. In particular, the paper examines the role of standards in the adoption of new technologies, describes the agent standards landscape, and compares the development and diffusion of agent technologies with that of object-oriented programming. The paper also reports on a simulation model developed in order to consider different trajectories for the adoption of agent technologies, with trajectories based on various assumptions regarding industry structure and the existence of competing technology standards. We present details of the simulation model and its assumptions, along with the results of the simulation exercises.

On the statistical estimation of diffusion processes: a survey

Data available on continuos-time diffusions are always sampled discretely in time. In most cases, the likelihood function of the observations is not directly computable. This survey covers a sample of the statistical methods that have been developed to solve this problem. We concentrate on some recent contributions to the literature based on three di§erent approaches to the problem: an improvement of the Euler-Maruyama discretization scheme, the use of Martingale Estimating Functions and the application of Generalized Method of Moments (GMM).

On the statistical estimation of diffusion processes - a partial survey

Data available on continuous-time diffusions are always sampled discretely in time. In most cases, the likelihood function of the observations is not directly computable. This survey covers a sample of the statistical methods that have been developed to solve this problem. We concentrate on some recent contributions to the literature based on three di§erent approaches to the problem: an improvement of the Euler-Maruyama discretization scheme, the employment of Martingale Estimating Functions, and the application of Generalized Method of Moments (GMM).

Development and validation of a stability-indicative agar diffusion assay to determine the potency of linezolid in tablets in the presence of photodegradation products

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

Measurement of oxygen atom diffusion in Nb and Ta by anelastic spectroscopy

Impurity interstitial atoms present in metals with BCC structure can diffuse in the metallic matrix by jumps to energetically equivalent crystallographic sites. Anelastic spectroscopy (internal friction) is based on the measurement of mechanical loss or internal friction as a function of temperature. Due to its selective and nondestructive nature, anelastic spectroscopy is well suited for the study of diffusion of interstitial elements in metals. Internal friction measurements were made using the torsion pendulum technique with oscillation frequency of a few Hz, temperature interval from 300 to 700 K, heating rate of about 1 K/min, and vacuum better than 10-5 mbar. The polycrystalline Nb and Ta samples used were supplied by Aldrich Inc. The results obtained showed thermally activated relaxation structures due to stress-induced ordering of oxygen atoms around the Nb (or Ta) atoms of the metallic matrix. The results were interpreted by three methods and led to activation enthalpy values for the diffusion of oxygen in Nb and Ta of 1.15 eV and 1.10 eV, respectively.

Determination of the oxygen and nitrogen interstitial diffusion coeficient in niobium by mechanical spectroscopy

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

Diffusion of Interstitial Elements in Ti Alloys used as Biomaterials

Titanium alloys are excellent implant materials for orthopedic applications due to their desirable properties, such as good corrosion resistance, low elasticity modulus, and excellent biocompatibility. The presence of interstitial elements (such as oxygen and nitrogen) causes strong changes in the material's mechanical properties, mainly in its elastic properties. Study of the interaction among interstitial elements present in metals began with Snoek's postulate, that a stress-induced ordering of interstitials gives rise to a peak in the mechanical relaxation (internal friction) spectra. In the mechanical relaxation spectra, each species of interstitial solute atom gives rise to a distinct Snoek's peak, whose temperature and position depend on the measurement frequency. This effect is very interesting because its peculiar parameters are directly related to the diffusion coefficient (D) for the interstitial solute. This paper presents a study of diffusion of heavy interstitial elements in Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta alloys using mechanical spectroscopy. Pre-exponential factors and activation energies are calculated for oxygen and nitrogen in theses alloys.

Oxygen diffusion in superconducting oxides

Since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity of cuprate oxides, it has been clear that it is strongly affected by the oxygen content, which is also a crucial factor to determine other physical properties of high T-c superconductors. Non-stoichiometric (interstitial) oxygen strongly influences the physical properties of various superconducting oxides, in particular by creating conducting holes. It is now ascertained that the amount of holes injected depends not only on the content of interstitial oxygen, but also on its ordering. Rearrangement of the oxygen ordering may occur even below room temperature due to the unusual high mobility of these atoms. This way, mechanical spectroscopy is one of the most adequate techniques for the study of the mobility (diffusion) of oxygen atoms. This technique allows the determination of the jump frequency of an atomic species precisely, regardless of the model or the different possible types of jumps. In order to evaluate the mobility and the effect of oxygen content on these oxides, ceramic samples we prepared and submitted to several oxygen removal cycles alternately with mechanical relaxation measurements. As for SBCO, it was assumed that the peak was due to O(1)-O(5) jumps of oxygen atoms at the chain terminals or in chain fragments in the orthorhombic phase. In the case of BSCCO, the results showed complex anelastic relaxation structures, which were attributed to interstitial oxygen atom jumps between two adjacent CuO planes.

Diffusion of Nitrogen in Ti-13V-11Cr-3Al Alloys

Metals with a bcc crystalline structure such as Ti-13V-11Cr-3Al alloys have their physical properties significantly changed through the addition of interstitial elements such as oxygen and nitrogen. These metals can dissolve substantial amounts of interstitial elements forming solid solutions. Mechanical spectroscopy measurements constitute a powerful tool for studying interactions of these interstitial elements with other elements that make up the alloy. From these measurements, it is possible to obtain information regarding diffusion, interstitial concentration, interaction between interstitials, and other imperfections of the crystalline lattice, In this paper, Ti-13V-11Cr-3Al alloys with several amount of nitrogen, in a solid solution, were studied using mechanical spectroscopy (internal friction) measurements. The results presented complex internal friction spectra which were resolved in a series of constituent Debye peaks corresponding to different interactions and interstitial diffusion coefficients. Pre-exponential factors and activation energies were calculated for nitrogen in theses alloys.

Nitrogen diffusion in the Nb-1.0wt%Zr measured by mechanical spectroscopy

The scientific and technological development in the area of new materials contributed to several applications of niobium and its alloys in nuclear power plants as well as in aerospace, aeronautics, automobile and naval industries. This paper presents the interstitial diffusion coefficients of nitrogen in solid solution in the Nb-1.0wt%Zr alloy using internal friction measurements obtained by mechanical spectroscopy, which uses a torsion pendulum operating at an oscillation frequency between 1.0 Hz and 10.0 Hz. The temperature range varies from 300K to 700K, at a heating rate of 1 K/min and vacuum better than 2 x 10(-6) Torr. The results showed an increase of the interstitial diffusion coefficient of nitrogen that was correlated with configurational considerations for the octahedral interstitials.