The a-C:H/p-Si solar cell deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films (a-C:H) were deposited on p-type silicon as well as silica substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique using a mixture of graphite and camphor powders. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurement revealed the presence of hydrogen in the a-C:H films. The optical properties and structure of the a-C:H film were investigated by UV-visible and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The formation of a heterojunction between the a-C:H film and silicon substrate was confirmed by the current-voltage (I-V) measurement. Furthermore, the structure of a-C:H/p-Si showed photovoltaic characteristics with an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.4 V and short-circuit current density (J_sc) of about 15 mA/cm² under AM1.5 (100 mW/cm²) illumination. From the calculation, the energy conversion efficiency and fill factor were found to be 2.1% and 0.38, respectively. The carbon layer contributed to the energy conversion efficiency, which was proved by the measurement of quantum efficiency.     

Phase diagram calculation on Sn-Zn-Ga solders

Sn-Zn eutectic system is one of the most promising lead-free solders with the advantages of low melting points, excellent mechanical properties and acceptable costs, whereas its poor wetting ability confines its applications in many substrates. In this paper, gallium (Ga) was added to the Sn-Zn eutectic system in order to improve its melting properties and wetting abilities. Piecing binary phase diagram method was employed to calculate the uncharted Sn-Zn-Ga ternary phase diagram and the eutectic point of this ternary system. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method was used to exam the melting point of the solder system. The SnZn6Ga solder has a melting point of 174.4 °C, with wetting rate of 48.9%, while the melting point of Sn-Zn alloy is 198.5 °C and melting rate is only about 20%. In addition, the method of piecing binary phase diagrams proves to be feasible to clarify certain unknown ternary phase systems.     

Enthalpy and volume relaxation of PMMA, PC, and a-Se: evaluation of aging bulk moduli

Enthalpy, h, and volume, v, relaxation of poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, and polycarbonate, PC, were measured using differential scanning calorimetry and mercury-in-glass dilatometry. For PMMA both temperature down-jumps and up-jumps were studied. Attention was paid to the influence of cooling/heating rates on aging process with the result that it is related to the corresponding shift of glass transition temperature, T_g. From the time dependence of enthalpy, h, and volume, v, the aging modulus was defined as K_a = (∂h/∂v)_T, and was found to be ca. 2 GPa. This corresponds roughly to the inverse value of the compressibility, κ_l, in the vicinity of T_g. The results of the measurements on amorphous selenium supported the notion that K_a assumes values close to 1/κ_l. The measured K_a values were about 5 GPa, in fair agreement with compressibility data extracted from pvT measurements.     

Structure and crystallization of potassium titanium phosphate glasses containing B2O3 and SiO2

Transparent glasses composition of which can be expressed by the formula: (100−x) · (K₂O · 2TiO₂ · P₂O₅) · x(K₂O · 2B₂O₃ · 7SiO₂), where x=5, 10, 15 and 20 mol% (KTP-xKBS), were obtained by melt quenching technique. The structure and crystallization behavior of these glasses have been examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction. In spite of their nominal composition, the studied glasses exhibit a similar oxygen polyhedra distribution. However, significant differences were found in the trigonal BO₃ units amount. During DTA runs all the examined glasses devitrify in two steps. In the former, very small crystals of an unknown crystalline phase are produced. In KTP-5KBS and KTP-10KBS glasses anatase phase was also detected. Attempts were made in order to identify the unknown phase (UTP) for which a AB₃(XO₄)₂(OH)₆ Crandallite-type structure was proposed where the A, B and X sites were occupied by K, Ti and/or Al, and P, respectively. In the second devitrification step the crystallization of the KTiOPO₄ phase occurs while the UTP phase previously formed disappears. Isothermal heat treatments performed at temperature just above T_g have allowed one to obtain transparent crystal-glass nanocomposites, formed by crystalline nanostructure of the UTP phase uniformly dispersed in the amorphous matrix.     

Detection of electrophoretically separated cytochromes P450 by element-labelled monoclonal antibodies via laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Numerous structurally and enzymatically similar cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and are present in different amounts and with different enzyme profiles in human tissues and cells. Analysis of their adaptively regulated and individually variable patterns is a peculiar analytical challenge. We developed a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) based method for concomitant detection and semiquantitative determination of electrophoretically separated and blotted CYPs. The first results are given here for the two enzymes CYP1A1 and CYP2E1. Specific monoclonal antibodies directed against the enzymes were differentially labelled with europium via a covalently linked chelator and with iodine, respectively. Analysis of the modified antibodies shows that both europium and iodine are coupled to the heavy and the light chains of the antibodies. Also, the antibodies maintained their antigen-binding properties after labelling as demonstrated by LA-ICP-MS-analysed immunoblots. The method allowed us to detect specifically and concomitantly both CYP enzymes in complex biological samples, i.e. microsomes of rat liver and minipig duodenum, which are characterized by different levels and proportions of the two CYP enzymes. A strong CYP1A1 signal is found in liver microsomes of 3-methylcholanthrene-treated rats, while it is (nearly) absent in liver microsomes of rats treated with isonocotinic acid hydrazide (isoniazid). The constitutively expressed CYP2E1 is found in microsomes of both treatment groups. Duodenal microsomes of minipigs orally exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons show a clear CYP1A1 signal. Low levels of CYP2E1 can also be detected in these microsomes. The LA-ICP-MS method allows concomitant determination of CYPs, thereby exhibiting sensitivity similar to that of conventional chemoluminescence detection via peroxidase-labelled secondary antibodies. The latter method allows readout of a single CYP protein in a 1D separation. Although the results presented here are only for labelling by use of the elements iodine and europium, the same strategy can be applied also for other lanthanide elements in combination with chelating compounds, so LA-ICP-MS of western blots offers a new capability to be applied for highly multiplexed CYP determinations via labelled antibodies.     

A minimum problem with free boundary in Orlicz spaces

We consider the optimization problem of minimizing in the class of functions W1,G(Ω) with , for a given φ₀?0 and bounded. W1,G(Ω) is the class of weakly differentiable functions with . The conditions on the function G allow for a different behavior at 0 and at ∞. We prove that every solution u is locally Lipschitz continuous, that it is a solution to a free boundary problem and that the free boundary, Ω∩∂{u>0}, is a regular surface. Also, we introduce the notion of weak solution to the free boundary problem solved by the minimizers and prove the Lipschitz regularity of the weak solutions and the C1,α regularity of their free boundaries near “flat” free boundary points.     

Intracellular transport and localization of microsomal cytochrome P450

The cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes are mainly localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they function within catalytic complexes metabolizing xenobiotics and some endogenous substrates. However, certain members of families 1–3 were also found in other subcellular compartments, such as mitochondria, plasma membrane, and lysosomes. The physiological function of these enzymes in non-ER locations is not known, although plasma-membrane-associated P450s have been described to be catalytically active and to participate in immune-mediated reactions with autoantibody formation that can trigger drug-induced hepatitis. Several retention/retrieval mechanisms are active in the ER retention of the P450s and inverse integration of the translated P450 into the ER membrane appears to be responsible for transport to the plasma membrane. Furthermore, hydrophilic motifs in the NH₂-terminal part have been suggested to be important for mitochondrial import. Phosphorylation of P450s has been described to be important for increased rate of degradation as well as for targeting into mitochondria. It was also suggested that the mitochondria-targeted P450s from families 1–3 could be active in drug metabolism using an alternative electron transport chain. In this review we present an update of the field emphasizing studies concerning localization, posttranslational modification, such as phosphorylation, and intracellular transport of microsomal P450s.     

On the lattice discrepancy of bodies of rotation with boundary points of curvature zero

This article gives an asymptotic result for the lattice point discrepancy of a large body of rotation in , whose boundary is piecewise smooth and contains points of vanishing Gaussian curvature. Received: 2 November 2006     

Short proofs of the universality of certain diagonal quadratic forms

In a paper of Kim, Chan, and Rhagavan, the universal ternary classical quadratic forms over quadratic fields of positive discriminant were discovered. Here a proof of the universality of some of these quadratic forms is given using a technique of Liouville. Another quadratic form over the field of discriminant 8 is shown universal by a different elementary approach. Received: 30 October 2007