Influence of steady background gradients on the accuracy of molecular diffusion anisotropy measurements

Spatial susceptibility variations of body components lead to local gradients of the static magnetic field. Effects of such background gradients on fractional diffusion anisotropy (FA) measurements on whole-body magnetic resonance units operating at 1.5, 3.0 and 7.0 T were analyzed theoretically and experimentally. Analytical expressions were derived for the cases of diffusion occurring in isotropic media and in tissues with cylindrical symmetry (e.g., white matter tracts or skeletal musculature). Typical magnitudes of background gradient strengths were estimated from in vivo and in vitro measurements with B0 field mapping sequences. Additionally, numerical simulations of magnetic field distributions and resulting field gradients were performed considering tissue-air interfaces in simplified geometrical arrangements. For media with isotropic diffusion, both measurements and analytical calculations showed increasing FA inaccuracy with stronger coupling between diffusion-encoding and background gradients. For cylindrical symmetry, FA values were estimated for a standard diffusion tensor imaging protocol in a realistic scenario. At 1 mm distance from a water-air interface, susceptibility-related background gradients amount to approximately 9 mT/m at 7 T and lead to a relative error of the measured FA of up to 48%. The error in the anisotropy assessment rises considerably with increasing field strength and must be taken into account especially for experimental and clinical studies on modern high-field systems.     

表面人工低维结构的功能设计与构造

可控地构造具有一定功能的表面人工低维结构,并且总结、理解体系微观结构对其宏观性质影响的一般规律,不仅对探索低维基本物理以及其中的新奇量子现象至关重要,更是微电子工业保持持续发展的关键前提.这方面的研究包括发展新的生长技术实现对体系形成过程的精确控制,对获得的材料做高分辨率的表征;从理论上则要理解体系的生长过程,阐明热力学、动力学的作用机理,从而指导制备技术的发展.深入研究表面人工低维结构的性质更可能导致新物理现象与原理的发现,产生全新的器件概念,进一步反馈给体系功能的设计,推动基础研究与应用探索的发展.文章简要介绍了表面物理国家重点实验室近年来在表面人工低维结构的功能设计与构造方面的研究成果     

共形整流罩像差特性分析及校正方法

共形结构不仅具有良好的空气动力学性能,且不存在由于表面不连续造成的热梯度等问题,因而采用该结构的导弹整流罩更有利于导弹系统作战性能的提高。但共形结构中采用的非球面罩曲面使整流罩表现出许多不同于球形结构的动态特性,这给导引头中光学系统的设计带来很多困难。在分析共形结构一阶特性的基础上,利用矢量像差理论详细分析该结构中初级像差产生的原因及特点,并提出通过控制元件的倾斜和偏心来平衡所有观察视场中像差的方法。软件分析结果表明：加入倾斜偏心元件后可适当放大小观察视场中的像差,共形整流罩在各观察视场中具有较为稳定的像差特性,有效地改善了该结构的成像质量。     

Shape transformation transitions in a model of fixed-connectivity surfaces supported by skeletons

A compartmentalized surface model of Nambu and Goto is studied on triangulated spherical surfaces by using the canonical Monte Carlo simulation technique. One-dimensional bending energy is defined on the skeletons and at the junctions, and the mechanical strength of the surface is supplied by the one-dimensional bending energy defined on the skeletons and junctions. The compartment size is characterized by the total number L^′ of bonds between the two-neighboring junctions and is assumed to have values in the range from L^′ = 2 to L^′ = 8 in the simulations, while that of the previously reported model is characterized by L^′ = 1, where all vertices of the triangulated surface are the junctions. Therefore, the model in this paper is considered to be an extension of the previous model in the sense that the previous model is obtained from the model in this paper in the limit of L^′↦1. The model in this paper is identical to the Nambu-Goto surface model without curvature energies in the limit of L^′↦∞ and hence is expected to be ill-defined at sufficiently large L^′. One remarkable result obtained in this paper is that the model has a well-defined smooth phase even at relatively large L^′ just as the previous model of L^′↦ 1. It is also remarkable that the fluctuations of surface in the smooth phase are crucially dependent on L^′; we can see no surface fluctuation when L^′≤ 2, while relatively large fluctuations are seen when L^′≥ 3.     

Structural and optoelectronic properties of amorphous GaN thin films

Amorphous gallium nitride (a-GaN) thin films were deposited on glass substrate by electron beam evaporation technique at room temperature and high vacuum using N ₂ as carrier gas. The structural properties of the films was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). It was clear from XRD spectra and SEM study that the GaN thin films were amorphous. The absorbance, transmittance and reflectance spectra of these films were measured in the wavelength range of 300–2200 nm. The absorption coefficient spectral analysis in the sharp absorption region revealed a direct band gap of E _g = 3:1 eV. The data analysis allowed the determination of the dispersive optical parameters by calculating the refractive index. The oscillator energy E ₀ and the dispersion energy E _d, which is a measure of the average strength of inter-band optical transition or the oscillator strength, were determined. Electrical conductivity of a-GaN was measured in a different range of temperatures. Then, activation energy of a-GaN thin films was calculated which equalled E _a = 0:434 eV.     

Emission characteristics of a glow discharge plasma based on a mixture of helium with chlorine molecules

We present the results of a study of the emission characteristics of a longitudinal glow discharge based on a mixture of helium and chlorine. Study of the emission characteristics of the discharge showed that it emits most efficiently in the bands of the chlorine molecule with maxima at 200 nm and 258 nm in an He-Cl₂ mixture (P = 0.2–0.3 kPa). We present the optimization of the average emission power of a UV emitter as a function of the glow discharge parameters, the pressure, and the composition of the working gas mixture. Based on solution of the Boltzmann equation for the electron energy distribution function in a discharge based on the optimal mixture (according to experimental data), we calculated the power losses per unit pressure going toward elementary processes, the electron transport characteristics, the ionization and attachment coefficients as a function of the parameter E/P. The calculated parameters of the plasma for the UV emitter allowed us to provide a basis for the qualitative pattern of physicochemical processes in the studied plasma. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 1, pp. 121–124, January–February, 2008.     

First-principles investigation of electronic and optical properties in wurtzite Zn<Subscript>1-x</Subscript>Mg<Subscript>x</Subscript>O

A first-principles study has been performed to evaluate the electronic and optical properties of wurtzite Zn_1-xMg_xO. Substitutional doping is considered with Mg concentrations of x = 0, 0.0625, 0.125, 0.1875 and 0.25, respectively. Mg incorporation can induce band gap widening due to the decrease of Zn 4s states. The imaginary part of the dielectric function shows that the optical transition from band edge emission decreases slightly with increasing Mg contents. The optical band gap also increases from 3.2 to 3.7 eV with increasing Mg contents from 0.0625 to 0.25. The calculated results suggest that relatively high Mg concentration is necessary for effective band gap engineering of wurtzite Zn_1-xMg_xO.     

Laser gain by electron collisional pumping of Ar VII–V XII

Gain coefficients have been calculated for transitions of singlet levels ns–np of orbital n=4 and n=5 in magnesium-like ions with atomic numbers Z=18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. Population inversions for 4p and 5p levels in these ions were also calculated, via electron collisional excitation, for electron temperature range of 93–231 eV and electron density range of 10¹⁶–10¹⁷ cm⁻³. Under these plasma conditions, the maximum gain that occurred for 4s–4p transition was at electron temperature of 231 eV and electron density of 4×10¹⁷ cm⁻³. Scaling of the maximum gain coefficients with atomic number Z and the plasma parameters is also presented.     

The Decay of Massive Scalar Field in Non-Static Gödel Type Universe with Viscous Fluid and Heat Flow

In this study, we have investigated the dynamics of non-static Gödel type rotating universe with massive scalar field, viscous fluid and heat flow in the presence of cosmological constant. For various cosmic matter forms, the behavior of the cosmological constant (Λ), shear (η) and bulk (ξ) viscosity coefficients and other kinematic quantities have studied in the early universe. We have showed the decay of massive scalar field in the non-static rotating Gödel type universe and we have obtained constant scalar field with and without source density. Also, we have investigated the effects of massive scalar field on the matter density and pressure. From solutions of the field equations, we have a cosmological model with non-zero expansion, shear, heat flux and rotation. Also some physical and geometrical aspects of the model discussed.     

Polymer adsorption on the surface of highly dispersed silica

Attempts at modification of silica surface with a polymer (natural latex) directly in the course of the precipitation process have been made. The effects of temperature, non-ionic surfactants and silane coupling agent in preparation of poly[cis-isoprene]-coated silica on the precipitation of polymer/silica composites initiated by ammonium salts (NH₄Cl, (NH₄)₂SO₄, NH₄HCO₃), have been studied. The influence of the process parameters on the quality of the silicas obtained and the character of the polymer adsorption on the silica surface has been determined along with the effect of the surface impregnation with natural latex on physicochemical parameters of the silicas (bulk density, capacities to absorb water, dibutyl phthalate and paraffin oil) and their surface structure.