A study of the interface of CeO2/Si heterostructure grown by ion beam deposition

Epitaxial cerium dioxide films on single-crystal silicon substrates (CeO2/Si) have been grown by a dual mass-analyzed low-energy ion beam deposition (IBD) system. By double-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) are 23' and 33' in the rocking curves for (222) and (111) faces of the CeO2 film, respectively, and the lattice-mismatch Delta a/a with the substrate is about - 0.123%. The results show that the CeO2/Si grown by IBD is of high crystalline quality. In this work, the CeO2/Si heterostructure were investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) measurements. Especially, XPS and AES depth profiling was used to analyze the compositions and structures in the interface regions of the as-grown and post-annealed CeO2/Si. It was found that there was no silicon oxide in the interface region of the as-grown sample but silicon oxide in the post-annealed sample. The reason for obtaining such high quality heterostructure mainly depends on the absence of silicon oxide in the surface at the beginning of the deposition. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Inspired English teaching : a practical guide for teachers.

Este manual se centra en un examen más detallado de los planes de estudio, porque las escuelas que trabajan para mejorar su oferta para los superdotados tienen la necesidad de una orientación más detallada en determinadas áreas. Diseñado principalmente para el maestro de primaria, está estructurado en seis capítulos en donde se analiza lo que las escuelas deben estar tratando de lograr y por qué, destaca el hecho de que la capacidad lingüística se reconoce a menudo a una edad temprana del niño y los logros significativos que pueden ocurrir antes de que éste llegue a escuela, mira las matemáticas en la escuela primaria y considera lo que representa ser dotado en matemáticas y cómo la escuela podría reconocer matemáticos dotados, considera la ciencia y su papel en ayudar a los niños a desarrollarse como pensadores sofisticados, explora el papel de las TIC como herramienta de aprendizaje.

Carbon monoxide oxidation over platinum: Stable, oscillatory and quasi-chaotic regimes

We model the heterogeneously catalyzed oxidation of CO over a Pt surface. A phase diagram analysis is used to probe the several steady state regimes and their stability. We incorporate an experimentally observed 'slow' sub-oxide kinetic step, thereby generalizing a previously presented model. In agreement with experimental data, stable, oscillatory and quasi-chaotic regimes are obtained. Furthermore, the inclusion of the sub-oxide step yields a relaxation oscillation regime. © 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Human and ecological risk assessment of a crop protection chemical: a case study with the azole fungicide epoxiconazole.

Conventional risk assessments for crop protection chemicals compare the potential for causing toxicity (hazard identification) to anticipated exposure. New regulatory approaches have been proposed that would exclude exposure assessment and just focus on hazard identification based on endocrine disruption. This review comprises a critical analysis of hazard, focusing on the relative sensitivity of endocrine and non-endocrine endpoints, using a class of crop protection chemicals, the azole fungicides. These were selected because they are widely used on important crops (e.g. grains) and thereby can contact target and non-target plants and enter the food chain of humans and wildlife. Inhibition of lanosterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) mediates the antifungal effect. Inhibition of other CYPs, such as aromatase (CYP19), can lead to numerous toxicological effects, which are also evident from high dose human exposures to therapeutic azoles. Because of its widespread use and substantial database, epoxiconazole was selected as a representative azole fungicide. Our critical analysis concluded that anticipated human exposure to epoxiconazole would yield a margin of safety of at least three orders of magnitude for reproductive effects observed in laboratory rodent studies that are postulated to be endocrine-driven (i.e. fetal resorptions). The most sensitive ecological species is the aquatic plant Lemna (duckweed), for which the margin of safety is less protective than for human health. For humans and wildlife, endocrine disruption is not the most sensitive endpoint. It is concluded that conventional risk assessment, considering anticipated exposure levels, will be protective of both human and ecological health. Although the toxic mechanisms of other azole compounds may be similar, large differences in potency will require a case-by-case risk assessment.