Simplified model for mass diffusivity estimation based on dynamic pendant drop volume analysis

We present a simplified correlation for calculating the dissolved gas moles in a pendant drop during the diffusion time, for several drop shapes. After this correlation is determined, the Yang and Gu (Ind Eng Chem Res 44:4474–4483, 2005) dynamic pendant drop volume analysis (DPDVA) method for calculation of mass diffusivity from the pendant drop volume variation against time can be used. We solved the differential equation in cylindrical coordinates for the mass transfer model of the gas diffusion into the liquid inside the pendant drop, using a different characteristic length (L_C), instead of the outer radius of the syringe needle (r_n) used in Yang and Gu (Ind Eng Chem Res 44:4474–4483, 2005) for defining the dimensionless variables. L_C is the relationship between the pendant drop volume and its mass transfer surface area at the initial conditions. The generalized correlation saves time, simplifies the method application and the deviations in the diffusion coefficient calculation respect to the complete Yang and Gu model are below 6%.     

Internal surface effects in superlattices in contact with substrate

Using the direct matching procedure and the interface response theory, the effects of the internal surface of a superlattice (i.e., the substrate/superlattice interface) are studied as a function of superlattice parameters while the substrate parameters are kept constant. Surface states are found inside mini-gaps and their localization properties are investigated. The crossings of these states with mini-bands are observed and examined by means of the variational density of states.     

Probing compositeness with Higgs Boson decays at the LHC

We study how massive ghost-free gravity \(f(R)\) -modified theories, MGFTs, can be encoded into generic off-diagonal Einstein spaces. Using “auxiliary” connections completely defined by the metric fields and adapted to nonholonomic frames with associated nonlinear connection structure, we decouple and integrate in certain general forms the field equations in MGFT. Imposing additional nonholonomic constraints, we can generate Levi-Civita, LC, configurations and mimic MGFT effects via off-diagonal interactions of effective Einstein and/or Einstein–Cartan gravity with nonholonomically induced torsion. We show that imposing nonholonomic constraints it is possible reproduce very specific models of massive \(f(R)\) gravity studied in Cai et al. (arXiv:1307.7150, 2013), Klusoňet al. (Phys Lett B 726:918, 2013), Nojiri and Odintov (Phys Lett B 716:377, 2012) and Nojiri et al. (JCAP 1305:020, 2013). The cosmological evolution of ghost-free off-diagonal Einstein spaces is investigated. Certain compatibility of MGFT cosmology to small off-diagonal deformations of \(\Lambda \) CDM models is established.     

The influence of glass coating on the single domain wall potential in amorphous glass-coated Fe-based microwires

The effect of the glass coating on the single domain wall potential in amorphous glass-coated Fe-based microwire has been studied by the switching field distribution technique. The thermoactivated mechanism model is used to describe the thermally activated switching through the complex energy barrier in amorphous FeSiB microwires. Glass removal leads to the increase of the probability of the thermally activated switching pointing to the decrease of the energy barrier.     

Fluorescence staining of yeast cells permeabilized by killer toxin K1: Determination of optimum conditions

Optimal assay conditions were established for the previously described method used to determine the activity ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae pore-forming killer toxin K1. The method is based on cell staining with bromocresol purple. Sensitive cells ofS. cerevisiae from the early exponential phase under nongrowth conditions and in the presence of glucose were the most convenient for determining the killer toxin activity. Maximum killing war reached when the suspension was buffered with 10 mM citrate-phosphate at pH 4.6.     

Design and electro-optical characterization of Si-based resonant cavity light emitting devices at 850 nm

We report on the fabrication and characterization of Si/SiO₂ Fabry-Perot microcavities. These structures are used to enhance the external quantum efficiency along the cavity axis and the spectral purity of emission from silicon rich oxide films that are used as active media to fabricate a Si based RCLED (resonant cavity light emitting devices). A new structure to electrically pump the active media in the resonant cavity has been designed. These structures are fabricated by chemical vapour deposition on a silicon substrate. The microcavities are tuned at 850 nm and present a quality factor ranging from 17 to 150 depending on the number of pairs constituting the dielectric mirrors. An enhancement of the electro and photoluminescence (PL) signal of 20 times is achieved for the selected emission wavelength. These cavities are characterized by TEM analysis to evaluate film uniformity, thicknesses and the densification after annealing processes for temperature ranging from 800 to 1100 °C. The electrical properties of the active media are analyzed. The electroluminescence spectral features are compared with PL spectra correlated with the quality factor of the cavities. The photometric diagram shows also a high directionality of the emitted light within a 30° cone from the sample normal.     

Harmonic and intermodulation distortion modeling in IM-DD multi-band radio over fiber links exploiting injection locked lasers

A comprehensive numerical tool has been developed for the evaluation of the performances of Radio over Fiber (RoF) links intended for wireless signal distribution.At the transmitter end an appropriate set of rate equations allows to model the optical source as a solitary laser or as an appropriately injection locked laser. The optical channel is modeled putting into account the combined effect of fiber dispersion, laser source non ideal performances (e.g. non-linear effects, frequency chirp), and quadratic detection of the receiving photodiode. The simulation model developed can be a useful tool at the design stage allowing a preliminary evaluation of the characteristics of real RoF links.