Enhanced luminescence of GdTaO4:Eu thin-film phosphors by K doping

The effect of K⁺ ions on GdTaO₄:Eu³⁺ thin-film phosphors was investigated in order to improve their luminescent properties. The GdTaO₄:Eu_0.1, K_x thin films were synthesized by sol-gel process, and characterized through measuring their microstructure and luminescence. The results indicated that photoluminescence (PL) intensity of GdTaO₄:Eu³⁺ film was improved remarkably by K doping. There were two maxima in the curve of PL intensity against K⁺ dopant concentration, where one was improved up to 2.1 times at x = 0.001 and the other was enhanced up to 2.7 times at x = 0.05. The first maximum was regarded as the alteration of the local environment surrounding the Eu³⁺ activator by incorporation of K⁺ ions, and the second maximum was due to the flux effect. Additionally, the luminescence increased with the increase of firing temperature from 800 °C to 1200 °C.     

Isoscaling in Statistical Sequential Decay Model

A sequential decay model is used to study isoscaling, i.e. the factorization of the isotope ratios from sources of different isospins and sizes over a broad range of excitation energies, into fugacity terms of proton and neutron number, R21（N, Z） = Y2（ N, Z）/Y1（ N, Z） = Cexp（αN -βZ）. It is found that the isoscaling parameters α and β have a strong dependence on the isospin difference of equilibrated source and excitation energy, no significant influence of the source size on α andβ has been observed. It is found that α and β decrease with the excitation energy and are linear functions of 1/T and △（Z/A）2 or△（N/A）2 of the sources. Symmetry energy coefticient Gsym is constrained from the relationship of a and source △（Z/A）2, /3 and source △（N/A）2.     

Transmission Properties of W3 Y-Branch Filters in Two-Dimensional Photonic Crystal Slabs

A highly efficient W3 Y-branch filter in a two-dimensional photonic crystal slab with triangular lattice of air holes is designed and fabricated, and its transmission properties are measured. By accurately adjusting the size of the resonant cavities, the minimum wavelength spacing of 7 nm between two channels is realized. The corresponding resonant wavelengths of the two cavities agree well with the calculated ones. This implies that this kind of fiIter may be promising in integrated wavelength division multiplexing system.     

A novel scheme of label abstraction and erasion based on Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifier

A novel label abstraction and erasion scheme based on a Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifier (FP-SOA) is proposed for all-optical separation of the bit-serial label from payload and its performance is investigated by simulation. Important features of this scheme are that it does not make use of any high-speed electronics and only one device is needed. Using this scheme, label abstraction and erasion can be realized with the extinction ratio of 9.72 and 7.05 dB, respectively.     

High-order kinetic flux vector splitting schemes in general coordinates for ideal quantum gas dynamics

A class of high-order kinetic flux vector splitting schemes are presented for solving ideal quantum gas dynamics based on quantum statistical mechanics. The collisionless quantum Boltzmann equation approach is adopted and both Bose–Einstein and Fermi–Dirac gases are considered. The formulas for the split flux vectors are derived based on the general three-dimensional distribution function in velocity space and formulas for lower dimensions can be directly deduced. General curvilinear coordinates are introduced to treat practical problems with general geometry. High-order accurate schemes using weighted essentially non-oscillatory methods are implemented. The resulting high resolution kinetic flux splitting schemes are tested for 1D shock tube flows and shock wave diffraction by a 2D wedge and by a circular cylinder in ideal quantum gases. Excellent results have been obtained for all examples computed.     

Cocaine reward and locomotion stimulation in mice with reduced dopamine transporter expression

Background  

The dopamine transporter (DAT) plays a critical role in regulating dopamine neurotransmission. Variations in DAT or changes in basal dopaminergic tone have been shown to alter behavior and drug responses. DAT is one of the three known high affinity targets for cocaine, a powerful psychostimulant that produces reward and stimulates locomotor activity in humans and animals. We have shown that cocaine no longer produces reward in knock-in mice with a cocaine insensitive mutant DAT (DAT-CI), suggesting that cocaine inhibition of DAT is critical for its rewarding effect. However, in DAT-CI mice, the mutant DAT has significantly reduced uptake activity resulting in elevated basal dopaminergic tone, which might cause adaptive changes that alter responses to cocaine. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine how elevated dopaminergic tone affects how mice respond to cocaine.     

Phosphoric acid‐doped imidazolium ionomers with enhanced stability for anhydrous proton‐exchange membrane applications

Phosphoric acid‐doped crosslinked proton‐conducting membranes with high anhydrous proton conductivity, and good chemical stability in phosphoric acid were synthesized and characterized. The synthetic procedure of the acid‐doped composite membranes mainly involves the in situ crosslinking of polymerizable monomer oils (styrene and acrylonitrile) and vinylimidazole, and followed by the sulfonation of pendant imidazole groups with butanesultone, and further doped with phosphoric acid. The resultant phosphoric acid‐doped composite electrolyte membranes are flexible and show high thermal stability and high‐proton conductivity up to the order of 10^?2 S cm^?1 at 160 °C under anhydrous conditions. The phosphoric acid uptake, swelling degree, and proton conductivity of the composite membranes increase with the vinylimidazole content. The resultant composite membranes also show good oxidative stability in Fenton's reagent (at 70 °C), and quite good chemical stability in phosphoric acid (at 160 °C). The properties of the prepared electrolyte membranes indicate their promising prospects in anhydrous proton‐exchange membrane applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013 , 51, 1311–1317     

Annealing effect on performance and morphology of photovoltaic devices based on poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide)

Novel block copolymers, poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide) (P3HT‐b‐PEO) were synthesized via Suzuki coupling reaction of P3HT and PEO homopolymers. The copolymers were characterized by NMR, gel permeation chromatography, differential scanning calorimeter, and UV–vis measurements. A series of devices based on the block copolymers with a fullerene derivative were evaluated after thermal or solvent annealing. The device using P3HT‐b‐PEO showed higher efficiency than using P3HT blend after thermal annealing. Phase‐separated structures in the thin films of block copolymer blends were investigated by atomic force microscopy to clarify the relationship between morphologies constructed by annealing and the device performance. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Thermal and pH responsive high molecular weight poly(urethane‐amine) with high urethane content

Aliphatic poly(urethane‐amine) (PUA) was synthesized from copolymerization of CO₂ and 2‐methylaziridine (MAZ) using Y(CCl₃COO)₃‐ZnEt₂‐glycerine coordination catalyst, the urethane content of PUA was over 80%, and its yield could reach 90%. PUA with molecular weight as high as 31.0 kg/mol was obtained when the copolymerization reaction was carried out in N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), mainly due to the good solubility of PUA in DMAc. PUA exhibited reversible thermo‐responsive property in deionized water, and the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) was highly sensitive to its urethane content and molecular weight, which was observed in a broad window from 37 to 90 °C. Furthermore, the phase transition behavior could also be controlled by change of pH value. When the pH value of the PUA aqueous solution changed from 9.2 to 13, the LCST value of the solution decreased from 48.4 °C to 30 °C. Therefore, the PUA showed thermo‐ and pH‐ dual responsive performance in water. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011