Fabrication of Dendrimer－like PAMAM Based on Silica Nanoparticles

A G 4.0 dendrimer-like poly (amido amine) (PAMAM) based on silica nanoparticles was fabricated via a divergent approach.It was built from γ-aminopropyi silica nanoparfides (APSN) core via repetitive addition of acrylate (MA) and hexylenediamine (HDA). FT-IR and EA were used to monitor the progress of dendrimer during each step. The amino group content of the resulting product increased from 0.49 to 3.72 mmol/g after the 4th generation. In addition, the percentage of grafting increased with increasing generation and reached to 65.9% after 4th generation. It was found that the resulting silica nanoparticles could be dispersed in methanol with a mean hydrodynamic particle diameter of 152.7 nm although the silica nanoparticles had agglomerated during the storage period.     

Deposition of Hydrogen-Free Silicon Nitride Thin Films by Microwave ECR plasma Enhanced Magnetron Sputtering at Room Temperature

Hydrogen-free silicon nitride （SiNx） films were deposited at room temperature by microwave electron cyclotron resonance （MW-ECR） plasma enhanced unbalance magnetron sputtering system. Both Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to study the bonding type and the change of bonding structures of the silicon nitride films. The results indicate that the chemical structure and composition of SiNx films deposited by this technique depend strongly on the N2 flow rates, the stoichiometric SiNx film, which has the highest hardness of 22.9 GPa, could be obtained at lower N2 flow rate of 4 sccm.     

Experiences in Expert Systems

This paper describes some work carried out in the Scientific Research and Development Branch (SRDB) of the Home Office, intended to contribute to an overall aim of building up internal expertise in the field of expert systems. This was done by carrying out a number of pilot and demonstrator projects, two of which are described in some detail. The plan, which proved successful, was to build as far as possible on the relevant skills already possessed by an OR group in the branch. The lessons learned from these are summarized in the hope that they will be of use to other groups who wish to become involved in this important area.     

Program explanations and causal relevance

Frank Jackson and Philip Pettit have defended a non-reductive account of causal relevance known as the ‘program explanation account’. Allegedly, irreducible mental properties can be causally relevant in virtue of figuring in non-redundant program explanations which convey information not conveyed by explanations in terms of the physical properties that actually do the ‘causal work’. I argue that none of the possible ways to spell out the intuitively plausible idea of a program explanation serves its purpose, viz., defends non-reductive physicalism against Jaegwon Kim’s Causal Exclusion Argument according to which non-reductive physicalism is committed to epiphenomenalism because irreducible mental properties are ‘screened off’ from causal relevance by their physical realizers. Jackson and Pettit’s most promising explication of a program explanation appeals to the idea of invariance of effect under variation of realization, but I show that invariance of effect under variation of realization is neither necessary nor sufficient for causal relevance.     

Order restricted randomized designs for control versus treatment comparison

We develop a method of randomizing units to treatments that relies on subjective judgement or on possible coarse modeling to produce restrictions on the randomization. The procedure thus fits within the general framework of ranked set sampling. However, instead of selecting a single unit from each set for full measurement, all units within a set are used. The units within a set are assigned to different treatments. Such an assignment translates the positive dependence among units within a set into a reduction in variation of contrasting features of the treatments. A test for treatment versus control comparison, with controlled familywise error rate, is developed along with the associated confidence intervals. The new procedure is shown to be superior to corresponding procedures based on completely randomized or ranked set sample designs. The superiority appears both in asymptotic relative efficiency and in power for finite sample sizes. Importantly, this test does not rely on perfect rankings; rather, the information in the data on the quality of rankings is exploited to maintain the level of the test when rankings are imperfect. The asymptotic relative efficiency of the test is not affected by estimation of the quality of rankings, and the finite sample performance is only mildly affected.     

Synthesis,structure, spectroscopic and magnetic properties of a novel two-dimensional copper(II) complex Na2[Cu(pba)] · 6H2O [pba = 1,3-propylenebis(oxamato)]

The copper(II) complex Na₂[Cu(pba)] · 6H₂O has been synthesized and its structure determined. It consists of a novel two-dimensional network of [Cu(pba)]^2– anions connected to each other through the sodium ion as a bridge. Spectroscopic and magnetic properties have been measured and a spin distribution calculation has been carried out with the GAUSSIAN-94. Theoretical calculations indicate the rather larger spin density on nitrogen atoms should be responsible for the satellite lines appearing beside the main hyperfine coupling signs of copper(II). The antiferromagnetic interaction may be due to the intermolecular interaction and/or different copper(II) ions through the Na⁺ bridge in the same layer.     

When should you sack a football manager? Results from a simple model applied to the English Premiership

What strategy should a football (soccer, in American parlance) club adopt when deciding whether to sack its manager? This paper introduces a simple model assuming that a club's objective is to maximize the number of league points that it scores per season. The club's strategy consists of three choices: the length of the honeymoon period during which it will not consider sacking a new manager, the level of the performance trapdoor below which the manager get the sack, and the weight that it will give to more recent games compared to earlier ones. Some data from the last six seasons of the English Premiership are used to calibrate the model. At this early stage of the research, the best strategy appears to have only a short honeymoon period of eight games (much less than the actual shortest period of 12 games), to set the trapdoor at 0.74 points per game, and to put 47% of the weight on the last five games. A club adopting this strategy would obtain on average 56.8 points per season, compared to a Premiership average of 51.8 points.