Structure and defects at Y2BaCuO5 interfaces in melt-textured YBa2Cu3Ox superconductors

Y₂BaCuO₅ (211) inclusions are prominent microstructural features found in melt-textured YBa₂Cu₃O_x (123) superconductors. These particles are of interest because the 123/211 interfaces and the interface-associated defects have been proposed to be flux pinning centers. In addition, the 211 particles are believed to be heterogeneous nucleation centers of dislocation which can increase the critical current density of 123. Unfortunately, only limited studies have been performed on these particles to ascertain their roles in flux pinning. In this investigation, 211 particles, the interfacial structure and defects in undeformed and mechanically deformed melt-textured 123 have been studied by transmission electron microscopy. It was found that there appears to be a preferred orientation between large oblong 211 particles and the 123 matrix. In addition, while the 123/211 interfaces in undeformed 123 are sharp and relatively undistorted, the interfaces in deformed 123 samples are much thicker. Also, the distribution of strained regions and dislocations around oblong 211 particles in undeformed 123 is nonuniform; the interfaces of low surface curvature are relatively free of defects while the surfaces of high curvature are abundant in dislocations. In contrast, the 123/211 interfaces in deformed 123 samples contain high density of dislocations regardless of interface curvature.     

Ferroelectric polarization switching in nylon-11

Cold-drawn Nylon-11 films, which were prepared by stretching the melt-quenched films to a draw ratio of 2.8: 1 at room temperature, were found to exhibit an electric displacement versus electric field hysteresis loop. The results confirmed that the Nylon-11 film exhibited ferroelectric behavior at or below room temperature. The coercive fields were 65, 98, 125, 160, and 215 MV/m at 20, 0, ?20, ?40, and ?60°C and the remanent polarization at ?20°C (where there was considerably less dc conduction) was 56 mC/m². Switching of the polarization was almost completed within 20 ms.     

Laser-induced breakdown of soda-lime glass microspheres using Nd:YAG laser

The Nd:YAG laser-induced breakdown of 20 μm glass microspheres was investigated using time-resolved optical shadow and Schlieren images. Time-resolved imaging showed the location of the initial breakdown and the shockwave motion over its first 400 μm of expansion. Measured shockwave velocities were in the range of 1–10 km/s and showed a linear dependency on laser fluence within 30 ns.     

Theoretical and Experimental Driving-Point Impedance Results of Resonance Circuits in a Gunn Waveguide Oscillator

The frequency tuning range of waveguide oscillator and its stability depend sensitively on the dimension of the resonance cap. Therefore the driving-point impedances with the various dimensions of the resonance cap are calculated by using HFSS(High Frequency Simulation System). In this paper the comparisons between theoretical results of the driving-point impedances as a function of frequency and that of experimental results are described. The oscillation frequency range could be predicted by using the theoretical evaluation methods which are proposed. It shows that resonance cap size and disc height have an effect on the frequency tuning characteristics of Gunn oscillator.     

Irradiation-induced reduction and luminescence properties of Sm doped in BaBPO5

Usually, Sm²⁺ ions could be reduced by heating the materials in reducing atmospheres. Exposure to ionizing radiations is also known to cause Sm³⁺→Sm²⁺ conversion. In this work, BaBPO₅ doped with the samarium ion was prepared by high temperature solid-state reaction. Sm²⁺ ions were obtained by two different reduction methods, i.e., heating in H₂ reduced atmosphere and X-ray irradiation. The measurements of X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were investigated. It is found that the conversion of Sm³⁺→Sm²⁺ is very efficient in BaBPO₅ hosts after X-ray irradiation. Sm²⁺ ions under these two reduction methods exhibit different characteristics that were studied by measurements of luminescence and decay. The results showed that the luminescence properties of Sm²⁺ ions in BaBPO₅ were highly dependent on the sample preparation conditions.     

The potential role of ultrasound in differentiating solid and cystic swellings of the true vocal fold

This study was designed to investigate the potential role of ultrasound in the diagnosis of cysts of the true vocal fold. Materials and Methods: Grayscale ultrasound of the larynx was carried out in 29 patients with a swelling of the true vocal fold and dysphonia. The findings were then compared with those at subsequent microlaryngoscopy, in the majority of cases. Results and Conclusions: Whereas preoperative laryngeal ultrasound correctly predicted the surgical findings of a cystic lesion in only 5 of 11 cases, it correctly identified that no cyst was present in 15 of 16 instances when this had been queried. This study suggests that ultrasound may have some role in investigation of unilateral vocal fold pathology, but that further fine-tuning of the technique may be necessary.     

On eigenvalues and eigenvectors of graphs

It is known that there exists an equivalence relation between the adjacency matrix of graph theory and the Hückel matrix of Hückel molecular orbital theory. This paper presents some useful methods which allow us to systematically find eigenvalues and eigenvectors of various classes of graphs without calculating characteristic polynomials. Results obtained from this study give insight into the topological studies of molecular orbitals.Dedicated to Professor Frank Harary on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Stability and convergence of modified Ishikawa iterative sequences with errors in Banach spaces

Summary Some stability and convergence theorems of the modified Ishikawa iterative sequences with errors for asymptotically nonexpansive mapping in the intermediate sense and asymptotically pseudo contractive and uniformly Lipschitzian mappings in Banach spaces are obtained.