Atomic resolution of dielectric with low temperature coefficient

Ba(6-3x)Nd(8+2x)Ti(18)O(54) (BNTl14) is a high permittivity dielectric with low temperature coefficient (Tcf). Low coefficient of change of dielectric permittivity with temperature (Tcf) is an unusual materials property. The research is aimed at discovering how atomic structure relates to temperature coefficient. Sub-Ångström scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is used to measure mixed occupancy of Nd and Ba in atomic columns. It was expected that phase separation would occur to accommodate mixing of dissimilar ions. However no evidence of phase separation was found. There is a good image match between experiment and high angle annular dark field (HAADF) simulation. Vacancies and excess Ba ions appear to be randomly arranged on the available sites which would result in distortion of TiO6 octahedra. The low Tcf may arise from TiO6 distortion.

Photoinduced transparency of effective three-photon absorption coefficient for femtosecond laser pulses in Ge16As29Se55 thin films

We report a dramatic change in effective three-photon absorption coefficient of amorphous Ge16As29Se55 thin films, when its optical band gap decreases by 10 meV with 532 nm light illumination. This large change provides valuable information on the higher excited states, which are otherwise inaccessible via normal optical absorption. The results also indicate that photodarkening in chalcogenide glasses can serve as an effective tool to tune the multiphoton absorption in a rather simple way. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics.

The two-step positive temperature coefficient in resistance characteristics of n-(Ba,Pb)TiO3 ceramics created through inclusion of grain boundary modifier additives

Donor-doped n-(Ba,Pb)TiO3 polycrystalline ceramics exhibit distinctly two-step positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) characteristics when formulated with suitable combinations of B2O3 and Al2O3 as grain boundary modifiers by heterogeneous addition. B2O3 or Al2O3 when added singularly resulted in either steep or broad PTCR jumps respectively across the phase transition. The two-step PTCR is attributed to the activation of the acceptor states, created through B2O3 and Al2O3, for various temperature regimes above the Curie point (T-c). The changing pattern of trap states is evident from the presence of Ti4+-O--Al3+ type hole centres in the grain boundary layer regions, identified in the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra. That charge redistribution occurs among the inter-band gap defect states on crossing the Curie temperature is substantiated by the temperature coefficient in the EPR results. Capacitance-voltage results clearly show that there is an increase in the density of trap states with the addition of B2O3 and Al2O3. The spread in energy values of these trap states is evident from the large change in barrier height (phi similar or equal to 0.25-0.6 eV) between 500 and 650 K.

Effect of catchment characteristics on the relationship between past discharge and the power law recession coefficient

This study concerns the relationship between the power law recession coefficient k (in - dQ/dt = kQ(alpha), Q being discharge at the basin outlet) and past average discharge Q(N) (where N is the temporal distance from the center of the selected time span in the past to the recession peak), which serves as a proxy for past storage state of the basin. The strength of the k-Q(N) relationship is characterized by the coefficient of determination R-N(2), which is expected to indicate the basin's ability to hold water for N days. The main objective of this study is to examine how R-N(2) value of a basin is related with its physical characteristics. For this purpose, we use streamflow data from 358 basins in the United States and selected 18 physical parameters for each basin. First, we transform the physical parameters into mutually independent principal components. Then we employ multiple linear regression method to construct a model of R-N(2) in terms of the principal components. Furthermore, we employ step-wise multiple linear regression method to identify the dominant catchment characteristics that influence R-N(2) and their directions of influence. Our results indicate that R-N(2) is appreciably related to catchment characteristics. Particularly, it is noteworthy that the coefficient of determination of the relationship between R-N(2) and the catchment characteristics is 0.643 for N = 45. We found that topographical characteristics of a basin are the most dominant factors in controlling the value of R-N(2). Our results may be suggesting that it is possible to tell about the water holding capacity of a basin by just knowing about a few of its physical characteristics. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of hanging coefficient on the efficiency of frame net

Comparative fishing experiments with frame nets of 0.4 and 0.5 hanging coefficients were conducted. Results indicate that net with hanging coefficient of 0.4 as more effective for better catch.

Effect of inclusion of blue-green algae meal on growth and accumulation of microcystins in gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio)

Six isonitrogenous (crude protein content: 38%) and isoenergetic (gross energy content: 17 kJ g(-1)) diets were formulated to investigate the effects of inclusion of blue-green algae meal on gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). In each diet, 15% of the protein was supplied by fishmeal; the remainder was supplied by soybean meal and blue-green algae meal. Diet 1 was used as control with no blue-green algae meal whereas the content in diets 2-6 was 15.15, 29.79, 44.69, 59.58 and 74.48%, respectively. Each diet was fed to five groups of gibel carp for 12 weeks in a flow-through system. Final body weight and specific growth rate (SGR) of fish fed diet 5 were significantly lower than the control diet (P < 0.05). Mortality of gibel carp increased with increase in algae meal inclusion (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between fish fed diets 3-6 (P > 0.05). Feed conversion efficiency (FCE) decreased with the increase in algae meal inclusion (P < 0.05). Fish-fed diet 6 showed the highest feeding rate (P < 0.05), while there were no significant differences among the other groups (P > 0.05). Apparent digestibility coefficient of dry matter, protein, and energy decreased with increasing algae meal inclusion in the diets (P < 0.05). Aspartate aminotransferase (GOT) activity in the liver was not significantly different among groups (P > 0.05). Liver alanine aminotransferase (GPT) activity of fish-fed diets 4, 5 and 6 was significantly lower than the control diet (diet 1; P < 0.05). Microcystins in the muscle, liver, gallbladder, and spleen increased with increasing algae inclusion (P < 0.05).

Effect of dietary carbohydrate sources on growth performance and utilization for gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) and Chinese longsnout catfish (Leiocassis longirostris Gunther)

The nutritional function of monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides for omnivorous gibel carp and carnivorous Chinese longsnout catfish were investigated and the ability of these two species to utilize carbohydrates was compared. For each species, triplicate groups of fish were assigned to each of five groups of isoenergetic and isonitrogenous experimental diets with different carbohydrate sources: glucose, sucrose, dextrin, soluble starch (acid-modified starch) and alpha-cellulose. The carbohydrates were included at 60 g kg(-1) in Chinese longsnout catfish diets and at 200 g kg(-1) in gibel carp diets. A growth trial was carried out in a recirculation system at 27.8 +/- 1.9 degrees C for 8 weeks. The results showed that fish with different food habits showed difference in the utilization of carbohydrate sources. For gibel carp, better specific growth rate (SGR) and feed efficiency (FE) were observed in fish fed diets containing soluble starch and cellulose, but for Chinese longsnout catfish, better SGR and FE were observed in fish fed diets containing dextrin and sucrose. Apparent digestibility coefficient of dry matter (ADC(d)) and apparent digestibility coefficient of energy (ADC(e)) were significantly affected by dietary carbohydrate sources in gibel carp. ADC(d) and ADC(e) significantly decreased as dietary carbohydrate complexity increased in Chinese longsnout catfish except that glucose diet had medium ADC(d) and ADC(e). In both species, no significant difference of apparent digestibility coefficient of protein was observed between different carbohydrate sources. Dietary carbohydrate sources significantly affected body composition, and liver phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), pyruvate kinase (PK), glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and malic enzyme (ME) activities also varied according to dietary carbohydrate complexity. Fish with different food habits showed different abilities to synthesize liver glycogen, and the liver glycogen content in gibel carp was significantly higher than in Chinese longsnout catfish. The influence of carbohydrate source on gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis was also different in the two fish species.

Energy budget of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in relation to ration size

Nile tilapia weighing 8.29-11.02 g were fed a practical diet at seven ration levels (starvation, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4% body weight per day and satiation) twice a day at 30 degrees C. Feed consumption, apparent digestibility, nitrogenous excretion and growth were determined directly, and heat production was calculated by difference of energy budget. The relationship between specific growth rate in wet weight (SGR(w), percentage per day) and ration size (RL, percentage per day) was a decelerating curve described as SGR(w) = 2.98 (1 - e(-0.61(RL-0.43))). The apparent digestibility coefficients for dry matter and protein showed a decreasing pattern with increasing ration while the apparent digestibility coefficient of energy was not significantly affected by ration size. The proportion of gross energy intake lost in nitrogenous excretion tended to decrease with increasing ration. Feed efficiency was highest, and the proportion of gross energy intake channelled to heat production was lowest, at an intermediate ration level (2% per day). The energy budget at the satiation level was: 100IE = 16.9FE + 1.2(ZE + UE) + 62.3HE + 19.6RE, where IE, FE, (ZE + UE), HE and RE represent gross energy intake, faecal energy, excretory (non-faecal) energy loss, heat production and recovered energy (growth), respectively. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Influence of N doping on the Rashba coefficient, semiconductor-metal transition, and electron effective mass in InSb1-xNx nanowires: Ten-band k center dot p model

The electronic structures of InSb1-xNx nanowires are investigated using the ten-band k center dot p method. It is found that nitrogen increases the Rashba coefficient of the nanowires dramatically. For thick nanowires, the Rashba coefficient may increase by more than 20 times. The semiconductor-metal transition occurs more easily in InSb1-xNx nanowires than in InSb nanowires. The electronic structure of InSb1-xNx nanowires is very different from that of the bulk material. For fixed x the bulk material is a semimetal, while the nanowires are metal-like. In InSb1-xNx bulk material and thick nanowires, an interesting decrease of electron effective mass is observed near k=0 which is induced by the nitrogen, but this phenomenon disappears in thin nanowires.

Evaluation of thermal radiation dependent performance of GaSb thermophotovoltaic cell based on an analytical absorption coefficient model

Applying the model dielectric function method, we have expressed the absorption coefficient of GaSb analytically at room temperature relating to the contribution of various critical points of its electronic band structure. The calculated absorption spectrum shows good agreement with the reported experimental data obtained by spectral ellipsometry on nominally undoped sample. Based on this analytical absorption spectrum, we have qualitatively evaluated the response of active absorbing layer structure and its photoelectric conversion properties of GaSb thermophotovoltaic device on the perturbation of external thermal radiation induced by the varying radiator temperature or emissivity. Our calculation has demonstrated that desirable thickness to achieve the maximum conversion efficiency should be decreased with the increment of radiator temperature and the performance degradation brought by any structure deviation from its optimal one would be stronger meanwhile. For the popular radiator temperature, no more than 1500 K in a real solar thermophotovoltaic system, and typical doping profile in GaSb cell, a reasonable absorbing layer structure parameter should be controlled within 100-300 nm for the emitter while 3000-5000 nm for the base.

An Extremely High Molar Extinction Coefficient Ruthenium Sensitizer in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: The Effects of pi-Conjugation Extension

We report a heteroleptic ruthenium complex (007) featuring the electron-rich 5-octyl-2,2'-bis(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) moiety conjugated with 2,2-bipyridine and exhibiting 10.7% power conversion efficiency measured at the AM1.5G conditions, thanks to the enhanced light-harvesting that is closely related to photocurrent. This C107 sensitizer has an extremely high molar extinction coefficient,of 27.4 x 10(3) M-1 cm(-1) at 559 nm in comparison to its analogue C103 (20.5 x 10(3) M-1 cm(-1) at 550 nm) or Z907 (12.2 x 10(3) M(-1)cm(-1) at 521 nm) with the corresponding 5-hexyl-3,4-ethylenedioxythiopliene- or nonyl-substituted bipyridyl unit. The augmentation of molar extinction coefficients and the bathochromic shift of low-energy absorption peaks along with the pi-conjugation extension are detailed by TD-DFT calculations. The absorptivity of mesoporous titania films grafted with Z907, C103, or C107 sublinearly increases with the molar extinction coefficient of sensitizers, which is consistent with the finding derived from the surface coverage measurements that the packing density of those sensitizers decreases with the geometric enlargement of ancillary ligands.

Calculation of the thermal expansion coefficient for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

An estimation method of thermal expansion coefficient in term of lattice energy which was developed earlier for simple materials is extended to a complex material of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi-2212). The calculation of the chemical bond property and thermal expansion coefficient of Bi-2212 has been carried out and the theoretical values were in good agreement with the corresponding experimental results. The dependence of the thermal expansion coefficient on the different structures and on the flexible oxidation states of Bi and Cu are investigated. The results indicate that the thermal expansion coefficients of Bi-2212 are insensitive to the low lattice distortion of the average structure and the changes of formal valences of Bi and Cu ions.

Determination of the molar extinction coefficient for the ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay

The FRAP reagent contains 2,4,6-tris(2-pyridyl)-s-triazine, which forms a blue-violet complex ion in the presence of ferrous ions. Although the FRAP (ferric reducing/antioxidant power) assay is popular and has been in use for many years, the correct molar extinction coefficient of this complex ion under FRAP assay conditions has never been published, casting doubt on the validity of previous calibrations. A previously reported value of 19.800 is an underestimate. We determined that the molar extinction coefficient was 21,140. The value of the molar extinction coefficient was also shown to depend on the type of assay and was found to be 22,230 under iron assay conditions, in good agreement with published data. Redox titration indicated that the ferrous sulfate heptahydrate calibrator recommended by Benzie and Strain, the FRAP assay inventors, is prone to efflorescence and, therefore, is unreliable. Ferrous ammonium sulfate hexahydrate in dilute sulfuric acid was a more stable alternative. Few authors publish their calibration data, and this makes comparative analyses impossible. A critical examination of the limited number of examples of calibration data in the published literature reveals only that Benzie and Strain obtained a satisfactory calibration using their method. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Precision of quasi-optical null-balanced bridge techniques for transmission and reflection coefficient measurements

The precision of quasioptical null-balanced bridge instruments for transmission and reflection coefficient measurements at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths is analyzed. A Jones matrix analysis is used to describe the amount of power reaching the detector as a function of grid angle orientation, sample transmittance/reflectance and phase delay. An analysis is performed of the errors involved in determining the complex transmission and reflection coefficient after taking into account the quantization error in the grid angle and micrometer readings, the transmission or reflection coefficient of the sample, the noise equivalent power of the detector, the source power and the post-detection bandwidth. For a system fitted with a rotating grid with resolution of 0.017 rad and a micrometer quantization error of 1 μm, a 1 mW source, and a detector with a noise equivalent power 5×10−9 W Hz−1/2, the maximum errors at an amplitude transmission or reflection coefficient of 0.5 are below ±0.025.

Effect of lipid sources and inclusion levels in diets for broiler chickens

This research aimed to evaluate the interactions and effects of 2 and 4% addition levels of poultry slaughterhouse fat (chicken tallow) and soybean oil in diets for broiler chickens. Two experiments were carried out using one-day-old male Cobb chicks in an entirely random design with a 2x2 factorial scheme. In the first experiment, 560 chicks were used to evaluate performance and carcass characteristics. In the second experiment, 100 chicks were used to determine the nutrient digestibility, dietary energy utilization and the lipase and amylase pancreatic activity. There was no interaction between the fat sources and the addition levels for any of the analyzed variables, except for the digestibility coefficient of dry matter (DCDM), which was higher in diets added with 2% soybean oil when compared to chicken tallow. The addition of 4% fat in the diet, regardless of fat source, improved the digestibility coefficient of ethereal extract (DCEE) and increased weight gain and feed intake. Moreover, in the initial phase, the addition of 4% fat to the diet increased lipase activity when compared to diets with 2% addition, and a positive correlation between DCEE and pancreatic lipase activity was observed. In conclusion, there is no interaction between fat sources and addition levels, except for DCDM. Carcass characteristics are not influenced by any of the studied factors. The addition of 4% fat increases pancreatic lipase activity and improves DCEE, resulting in greater weight gain, regardless of the tested fat source, making chicken tallow a great alternative to soybean oil.