An Efficient Numerical Model for Planar Spiral Inductor On-Chip

In this paper, a very useful numerical technique has been developed for analyzing the transient characteristics of a planar-spiral inductor on-chip. A locally conformal technique and an alternating-direction implicit scheme are applied to the finite-difference time-domain method. A formulation for solving three dimensional Maxwell’s equations is proposed. Using the proposed method, various parameters of the planar-spiral inductors have been analyzed and an equivalent circuit, which includes frequency-independent circuit elements, has been introduced. Highly computational efficiency is implemented. Numerical results show excellent agreement with the measured data over a wide frequency range.     

PURIFICATION OF L-METHIONINE AND N-ACETYL-D-METHIONINE FROM THE MIXTURE OF ENZYMATICALLY DEACYLATED N-ACETYL-DL-METHIONINE

1. INTRODUCTION Methionine, namely 2-amido-4-thiomethyl butyric acid with a structure of CH3SCH2CH2CHCOOH, is one of the essential amino acids and has two natural enantionmers, D and L-methionine. The mixture of L- and D-isomers can be used as analeptics or nutritive additives to maintain the equilibrium of amino acids of feed [1,2]. L-methionine can release active methyl and accelerate the synthesis of choline, which further speeds up the conversion of the lipid accumulated in liv…     

Preparation and structural stability investigation of CoN/CN soft X-ray multilayers

The structural stability of heat-treated CoN/CN soft X-ray multilayers fabricated by dual-facing-target sputtering has been investigated by using complementary measurement techniques. The high temperature annealing results imply that the destructive threshold of the Co/C multilayers is improved by 100–200 degrees centigrade through doping with N. The low-angle X-ray diffraction of CoN/CN soft X-ray multilayers indicates that the period expansion of the multilayers is only 4 % at 400°C, and the interface pattern still exists even if they were annealed at 700°C. The Raman spectra analyses give the evidence that the formation of the sp³ bonding in the CN sublayers can be suppressed effectively by doping N with atoms, and thus the period expansion resulting from the changes in the density of CN layers can be decreased considerably. The X-ray photoelectron spectra analyses present the information of the existence of the strong covalent bonding betweenC andN atoms, and the ionic bonding between Co and N atoms, which can slow down the tendency of the structural relaxation. The interstitial N atoms decrease the mobility of Co atoms, and thus the fcc-Co and hcp-Co coexist even though the annealing temperature is much higher than the phase transformation temperature of 420°C, leading to the suppression of the grain growth.     

The Pearson system of utility functions

This paper describes a parametric family of utility functions for decision analysis. The parameterization embeds the HARA class in a four-parameter representation for the risk aversion function. The resulting utility functions can have only four shapes: concave, convex, S-shaped, and reverse S-shaped. This makes the family suited for both expected utility and prospect theory. The paper also describes an alternative technique to estimate the four parameters from elicited utilities, which is simpler than standard fitting by minimization of the mean quadratic error.     

Demand forecast sharing in a dual-channel supply chain

We assess the benefits of sharing demand forecast information in a manufacturer–retailer supply chain, consisting of a traditional retail channel and a direct channel. The demand is a linear function of price with a Gaussian primary demand (i.e., zero-price market potential). Both the manufacturer and the retailer set their price based on their forecast of the primary demand. In this setting, we investigate the value of sharing demand forecasts. We analyze the ‘make-to-order’ scenario, in which prices are set before and production takes place after the primary demand is known, and the ‘make-to-stock’ scenario, in which production takes place and prices are set before the primary demand is known. We also compare the supply chain performance with and without the direct channel under some assumptions (production cost is zero, and each demand function has the same slope of price). We find that the direct channel has a negative impact on the retailer’s performance, and, under some conditions, the manufacturer and the whole supply chain are better off. Our research extends and complements prior research that has investigated only the inventory and replenishment-related benefits of information sharing.     

The Tolerance of All-Optical Switching Based on Cascaded Second-Order Nonlinearity in PPLN APE Waveguide

Based on solving the couple mode equation numerically, the characterization of the signal power on the gate power was analyzed. And the relationship of the tolerance of the grating period and the bulk temperature on the interaction length was analyzed.     

Covalent functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes by lipase

Lipase from Candida rugosa was covalently anchored onto acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) through a self-catalytic mechanism. A variety of characterization techniques including FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS were employed to demonstrate the formation of the ester linkage between lipase and MWNTs. The MWNTs-lipase biocomposites showed significantly increased solubility in some common-used organic solvents, such as THF, DMF and chloroform. This study may offer a novel and facile route for covalent modification of carbon nanotubes, and expand the potential utilization of both lipases and MWNTs in the fields of biocatalyst and biosensor.