Trap modulated photoresponse of InGaN/Si isotype heterojunction at zero-bias

n-n isotype heterojunction of InGaN and bare Si (111) was formed by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy without nitridation steps or buffer layers. High resolution X-ray diffraction studies were carried out to confirm the formation of epilayers on Si (111). X-ray rocking curves revealed the presence of large number of edge threading dislocations at the interface. Room temperature photoluminescence studies were carried out to confirm the bandgap and the presence of defects. Temperature dependent I-V measurements of Al/InGaN/Si (111)/Al taken in dark confirm the rectifying nature of the device. I-V characteristics under UV illumination, showed modest rectification and was operated at zero bias making it a self-powered device. A band diagram of the heterojunction is proposed to understand the transport mechanism for self-powered functioning of the device. (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Crack propagation in graphene

The crack initiation and growth mechanisms in an 2D graphene lattice structure are studied based on molecular dynamics simulations. Crack growth in an initial edge crack model in the arm-chair and the zig-zag lattice configurations of graphene are considered. Influence of the time steps on the post yielding behaviour of graphene is studied. Based on the results, a time step of 0.1 fs is recommended for consistent and accurate simulation of crack propagation. Effect of temperature on the crack propagation in graphene is also studied, considering adiabatic and isothermal conditions. Total energy and stress fields are analyzed. A systematic study of the bond stretching and bond reorientation phenomena is performed, which shows that the crack propagates after significant bond elongation and rotation in graphene. Variation of the crack speed with the change in crack length is estimated. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Stable isotopic signature of Southern Ocean deep water CO2 ventilation

The link between atmospheric CO2 level and ventilation state of the deep ocean is poorly understood due to the lack of coherent observations on the partitioning of carbon between atmosphere and ocean. In this Southern Ocean study, we have classified the Southern Ocean into different zones based on its hydrological features and have binned the variability in latitudinal air-CO2 concentration and its isotopic ratios. Together with air-CO2, we analysed the surface water for the isotopic ratios in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Using the binary mixing approach on the isotopic ratio of atmospheric CO2 and its concentration, we identified the delta C-13 value of source CO2. The isotopic composition of source CO2 was around -9.22 +/- 0.26 parts per thousand for the year 2011 and 2012, while a composition of -13.49 +/- 4.07 parts per thousand was registered for the year 2013. We used the delta C-13 of DIC to predict the CO2 composition in air under equilibrium and compared our estimates with actual observations. We suggest that the degeneration of the DIC in presence of warm water in the region was the factor responsible for adding the CO2 to the atmosphere above. The place of observation coincides with the zone of high wind speed which promotes the process of CO2 exsolution from sea water. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flexible implementation of power system corrective topology control

This paper proposes a novel decision making framework for optimal transmission switching satisfying the AC feasibility, stability and circuit breaker (CB) reliability requirements needed for practical implementation. The proposed framework can be employed as a corrective tool in day to day operation planning scenarios in response to potential contingencies. The switching options are determined using an efficient heuristic algorithm based on DC optimal power flow, and are presented in a multi-branch tree structure. Then, the AC feasibility and stability checks are conducted and the CB condition monitoring data are employed to perform a CB reliability and line availability assessment. Ultimately, the operator will be offered multiple AC feasible and stable switching options with associated benefits. The operator can use this information, other operating conditions not explicitly considered in the optimization, and his/her own experience to implement the best and most reliable switching action(s). The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated on the IEEE-118 bus test system. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Integrating AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor with Si: A comparative study of integration schemes

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor stacks deposited on a single growth platform are used to compare the most common transition, AlN to GaN, schemes used for integrating GaN with Si. The efficiency of these transitions based on linearly graded, step graded, interlayer, and superlattice schemes on dislocation density reduction, stress management, surface roughness, and eventually mobility of the 2D-gas are evaluated. In a 500 nm GaN probe layer deposited, all of these transitions result in total transmission electron microscopy measured dislocations densities of 1 to 3 x 10(9)/cm(2) and <1 nm surface roughness. The 2-D electron gas channels formed at an AlGaN-1 nm AlN/GaN interface deposited on this GaN probe layer all have mobilities of 1600-1900 cm(2)/V s at a carrier concentration of 0.7-0.9 x 10(13)/cm(2). Compressive stress and changes in composition in GaN rich regions of the AlN-GaN transition are the most effective at reducing dislocation density. Amongst all the transitions studied the step graded transition is the one that helps to implement this feature of GaN integration in the simplest and most consistent manner. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Injection barrier induced deviations in space charge limited conduction in doped poly(3-methylthiophene) based devices

The carrier density dependent current-voltage (J V) characteristics of electrochemically prepared poly(3-methylthiophene) (P3MeT) have been investigated in Pt/P3MeT/Al devices, as a function of temperature from 280 to 84 K. In these devices, the charge transport is found to be mainly governed by different transport regimes of space charge limited conduction (SCLC). In a lightly doped device, SCLC controlled by exponentially distributed traps (Vl+1 law, l > 1) is observed in the intermediate voltage range (0.5-2 V) at all temperatures. However, at higher bias (> 2 V), the current deviates from the usual Vl+1 law where the slope is found to be less than 2 of the logJ-logV plot, which is attributed to the presence of the injection barrier. These deviations gradually disappear at higher doping level due to reduction in the injection barrier. Numerical simulations of the Vl+1 law by introducing the injection barrier show good agreement with experimental data. The results show that carrier density can tune the charge transport mechanism in Pt/P3MeT/Al devices to understand the non-Ohmic behavior. The plausible reasons for the origin of injection barrier and the transitions in the transport mechanism with carrier density are discussed. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

MnFe2O4-Fe3O4 core-shell nanoparticles as a potential contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging

In recent years, magnetic core-shell nanoparticles have received widespread attention due to their unique properties that can be used for various applications. We introduce here a magnetic core-shell nanoparticle system for potential application as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MnFe2O4-Fe3O4 core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized by the wet-chemical synthesis method. Detailed structural and compositional charaterization confirmed the formation of a core-shell microstructure for the nanoparticles. Magnetic charaterization revealed the superparamagnetic nature of the as-synthesized core-shell nanoparticles. Average size and saturation magnetization values obtained for the as-synthesized core-shell nanoparticle were 12.5 nm and 69.34 emu g(-1) respectively. The transverse relaxivity value of the water protons obtained in the presence of the core-shell nanoparticles was 184.1 mM(-1) s(-1). To investigate the effect of the core-shell geometry towards enhancing the relaxivity value, transverse relaxivity values were also obtained in the presence of separately synthesized single phase Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 nanoparticles. Average size and saturation magnetization values for the as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were 12 nm and 65.8 emu g(-1) respectively. Average size and saturation magnetization values for the MnFe2O4 nanoparticles were 9 nm and 61.5 emu g(-1) respectively. The transverse relaxivity value obtained in the presence of single phase Fe3O4 and MnFe2O4 nanoparticles was 96.6 and 83.2 mM(-1) s(-1) respectively. All the nanoparticles (core-shell and single phase) were coated with chitosan by a surfactant exchange reaction before determining the relaxivity values. For similar nanoparticle sizes and saturation magnetization values, the highest value of the transverse relaxivity in the case of core-shell nanoparticles clearly illustrated that the difference in the magnetic nature of the core and shell phases in the core-shell nanoparticles creates greater magnetic inhomogeneity in the surrounding medium yielding a high value for proton relaxivity. The MnFe2O4-Fe3O4 core-shell nanoparticles exhibited extremely low toxicity towards the MCF-7 cell line. Taken together, this opens up new avenues for the use of core-shell nanoparticles in MRI.

Functional expression and purification of Anabaena PCC 7120 XisA protein

Anabaena PCC 7120 xisA gene product mediates the site-specific excision of 11,278 bp nifD element in heterocysts formed under nitrogen starvation conditions. Although XisA protein possesses both site-specific recombinase and endonuclease activities, till date neither xisA transcript nor XisA protein has been detected. Gene encoding XisA protein was isolated from plasmid pMX25 and overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 DE3 yielding 7.7 mg enzyme per L of growth culture in soluble fraction. His-tagged XisA was purified using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography with 95% recovery. The purified XisA showed a single band on SDS-PAGE with molecular mass of 52 kDa. Identity of XisA was confirmed by MALDI-TOF analysis and functionality of enzyme was confirmed using restriction digestion. A PCR based method was developed to monitor excision by XisA, which displayed near 100% activity in E. coli within 1 h at 37 degrees C on LB under static condition. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Synchronous Multi-Scale Observations on Rock Damage and Rupture

This paper reports a multi-scale study on damage evolution process and rupture of gabbro under uniaxial compression with several experimental techniques, including MTS810 testing machine, white digital speckle correlation method, and acoustic emission technique. In particular, the synchronization of the three experimental systems is realized for the study of relationship of deformation and damage at multiple scales. It is found that there are significant correlation between damage evolution at small and large length scales, and rupture at sample scale, especially it displays critical sensitivity at multiple scales and trans-scale fluctuations.

Effects of Noise and Detection Error in a Dynamic Adaptive Optics System

It is well known that noise and detection error can affect the performances of an adaptive optics (AO) system. Effects of noise and detection error on the phase compensation effectiveness in a dynamic AO system are investigated by means of a pure numerical simulation in this paper. A theoretical model for numerically simulating effects of noise and detection error in a static AO system and a corresponding computer program were presented in a previous article. A numerical simulation of effects of noise and detection error is combined with our previous numeral simulation of a dynamic AO system in this paper and a corresponding computer program has been compiled. Effects of detection error, readout noise and photon noise are included and investigated by a numerical simulation for finding the preferred working conditions and the best performances in a practical dynamic AO system. An approximate model is presented as well. Under many practical conditions such approximate model is a good alternative to the more accurate one. A simple algorithm which can be used for reducing the effect of noise is presented as well. When signal to noise ratio is very low, such method can be used to improve the performances of a dynamic AO system.

Estudio epidemiológico de la prevalencia de mastitis Sub. clínica en el ganado reina en la finca Santa Rosa (UNA) en época de lluvia

El presente trabajo investigativo se llevó a cabo en la finca Santa Rosa de la UNA. Con el objetivo de determinar la prevalencia de mastitis subclínica en condiciones tradicional de ordeño, en el Ganado Criollo Reina, se evaluó un total de 290 muestras de, durante un periodo de seis meses de Mayo a Octubre del dos mil cinco (2005). Para conocer la prevalencia de mastitis en el ganado Reina, se realizó una prueba de diagnóstico individual utilizando para esto la prueba de California Mastitis Test (CMT). Los resultados de la prueba CMT muestran que de 290 pruebas realizadas que corresponden al mismo número de vacas, 118 resultaron positivas, al menos con una cruz en uno de sus cuartos mamarios, representando un 41% de esto un 35% mastitis subclínica un 5.1% de mastitis clínica y un 59% de negatividad, este hato es considerado, como una unidad AFECTADA. Se observó que en los diferentes muestreos se presentaron un mayor porcentaje de reacción positiva en los el muestreo numero 12 (70.58) y el muestreo número 8 (58.33%) y el muestreo numero 11 (54.28). Los resultados obtenidos en relación al grado de intensidad, tomando en cuenta los parámetros, indican que del total de la población examinada en términos porcentuales el 4.13% está representada por tres cruces (+++), el 6.03% representada por dos cruces (++) y el 11.37% representada por una cruz (+), para un total de 21.53%. Los cuartos anteriores presentaron mayor prevalencia por mastitis con un 49.30"/o y el más afectado fue el Anterior Derecho (AD) con el 24.82 % reaccionaron positivos. El parto número cinco (- 1.2772). Del factor periodo de lactancia (PERL) este resulto significativos, observándose una tendencia marcada a mayor afectación para el periodo de lactancia cinco presento mayor afectación por mastitis seguido del periodo uno.

Diagnostico situacional de cisticercosis porcina en el rastro municipal de Masaya, Nicaragua en el periodo Enero a Julio 2009

La cisticercosis y la teniasis, ocasionadas por Taenia solium, representan un problema de salud pública. Éstas se encuentran asociadas fuertemente con la crianza de cerdos y las deficientes condiciones sanitarias e higiénicas. Cuando una persona come carne de cerdo infectada, mal cocida o cruda, adquiere teniasis. La cisticercosis se adquiere al ingerir alimentos (verduras principalmente) o agua contaminada con materias fecales conteniendo huevecillos de Taenia solium, o por autoinfestación cuando la persona con teniasis no tiene hábitos de higiene adecuados. Con este estudio se propuso determinar el diagnóstico situacional de cisticercosis porcina en el Rastro Municipal de Masaya en el periodo de Enero-Julio 2009. Los cálculos correspondieron a los casos de cerdos infectados con cisticercosis de los diferentes patentados o dueños de cerdos faenados, además de cada uno de los siete meses de estudio y el porcentaje global de los siete meses evaluados. Los datos se tomaron de los registros que se realizaban durante la inspección postmortem por el médico veterinario autorizado por la Alcaldía de Masaya. El método de estudio fue observacional de tipo transversal. Los resultados obtenidos en base al hallazgo de cerdos infectados con cisticercosis es que éste no era disperso, ya que se mantuvo en cerdos faenados de 5 patentados. El mes con mayor afectación fue Marzo con 0.29% y el porcentaje global fue de 0.14% que equivale a 17 cerdos con cisticercos de 11,903 animales faenados. En este estudio no se lograron determinar pérdidas económicas ni las regiones anatómicas de mayor afectación, ya que en el rastro no se lleva control de peso de los animales y los procesos de matanza no se rigen por el Reglamento de Inspección Veterinaria de la carne para la República de Nicaragua, artículo 118, Ministerio Agropecuario y Forestal (MAGFOR).

Evaluación y prueba avanzada de rendimiento de diez lineas promisorias y tres variedades comerciales de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) bajo condiciones de riego, Malacatoya, Granada

El experimento fue establecido en la finca Las Lajas ubicado en el municipio de Malacatoya, departamento de Granada. La zona del ensayo se encuentra ubicada en los 12° 04' 40" de latitud Norte y 86° 01' 55" longitud Oeste en una altura de 70 msnm, la zona se caracteriza por tener suelos arcillosos. El trabajo de campo estuvo comprendido entre el 4 de Agosto al 11 de Diciembre del 2000, se utilizó el diseño en Bloques Completamente al Azar (BCA) con 13 cultivares de arroz (Oryza sativa L.) y cuatro repeticiones. Se utilizaron análisis estadísticos univariados (ANDEVA) y multivariados (Conglomerados y Componentes Principales); separación de medias según Tukey (oo=0.05). En el ensayo se evaluaron características fenotípicas de 10 líneas promisorias procedentes de Cuba y tres variedades comerciales procedentes de Nicaragua, Colombia y Taiwán estas variedades son INTA N-1, ORYZICA LLANOS-4 y TAICHUNG SEN 10, respectivamente. Se evaluaron variables de crecimiento y desarrollo, tales como floración, altura de planta, macollamiento, aceptabilidad fenotípica, y rendimiento de granos, entre otras, y las principales enfermedades. Mediante la caracterización se determinó que los 13 cultivares estudiados presentaron variación morfológica y fenológica, el análisis multivariado diferenció las líneas de las variedades. Las líneas ECIAV-118, ECIAV-119, ECIAV-120 y la variedad ORYZICA LLANOS 4 presentaron senescencia tardía y lenta, y excelente aceptabilidad fenotípica. El rendimiento de las variedades superaron a las líneas, presentando promedios de 4785 y 4822 kg/ha., en cambio las líneas mostraron rendimientos entre 3835.0 y 4572.0 kg/ha. Las líneas ECIAV-118 y ECIAV-119 mostraron mayor tolerancia a las enfermedades, en cambio TAICHUNG SEN-10 fue la mejor entre las variedades.