Enhanced ferroelectric properties of vanadium doped bismuth titanate (BTV) thin films grown by pulsed laser ablation technique

Bi_3.99Ti_2.97V_0.03O₁₂ (BTV) thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition at substrate temperatures ranging between 650 and 750 °C. The structural phase, and orientation of the deposited films were investigated in order to understand the effect of the deposition parameters on the properties of the BTV films. As the substrate temperature was increased to 700 °C, the films started showing a tendency of assuming a c-axis preferred orientation, while at lower temperatures polycrystalline films were formed. The Au/BTV/Pt capacitor showed an interesting dependence of the remnant polarization (P_r) as well as dc leakage current values on the growth temperature. The film deposited at 675 °C showed a very large 2P_r of 42 μC cm⁻², which is the largest for BTV thin films among the values reported so far.     

Economics and Performance of 10 Gb/s Metro Transport Over Mixed Fiber Plant of G.655 NZDF and G.652.C Zero Water-Peak Fibers

Using lower-cost lasers, 30% savings are possible for 10-Gb/s uncompensated metro transmission over NZDF, compared to G.652 fiber. We present WDM transmission results for a mixed plant of NZDF rings interconnected to G.652.C-fiber access laterals.     

BF3-doped polyaniline: A novel conducting polymer

We review the unusual structural, transport and magnetic properties of highly conducting polyaniline, doped with boron trifluoride. Our studies establish the unique conducting state of this system, which is in distinct contrast with the conventional proton-doped polyaniline samples.     

Growth Behavior of CdS Nanoparticles Embedded in Polymer and Sol-Gel Silica Matrices: Relationship with Surface-State Related Luminescence

Chemical techniques were employed to synthesize CdS nanoparticles embedded in polymer (PEG 300) and sol-gel silica matrices. Systematic growth of particles (radius 3–9 nm) was obtained by adjusting post-deposition annealing temperature and time to examine the dependence of surface-state–related luminescence on particle size. Photoluminescence (PL) peak energy showed a linear dependence with a gentle slope in the weak confinement region and a steep slope in the strong confinement region, the divergence being observed near the excitonic Bohr radius for CdS. The empirical relation proposed for the weak confinement region could be used for estimating chemically prepared CdS nanoparticle size with a high degree of reliability from PL peak energy.     

Electron transfer reactions of nickel(III) and nickel(IV) complexes

This review narrates the electron transfer reactions of various nickel(III) and nickel(IV) complexes reported during the period 1981 until today. The reactions have been categorized mainly with respect to the type of nickel complexes. The reactivity of nickel(III) complexes of macrocycles, 2,2′-bipyridyl and 1,10-phenanthroline, peptides and oxime–imine, and of nickel(IV) complexes derived from oxime–imine, oxime and miscellaneous ligands with various organic and inorganic electron donors have been included. Kinetic and mechanistic features associated with such interactions have been duly analyzed. The relevance of Marcus cross-relation equations in the delineation of the electron transfer paths has also been critically discussed.     

Study on the extraction of U(IV) relevant to PUREX process

The paper presents a radiokinetic study on the appearance and growth of^*Fe₂S₃,^*Fe(OH)₃,^*Fe₂(C₂O₄)₃,^*Fe(IO₃)₃ crystals in a colloidal medium of agar and gelatine. The values of the diffusion constants through gels of⁵⁵⁺⁵⁹Fe³⁺ radioactive cations and of the rate of global growth process of these crystals in agar or gelatine were calculated using the experimental data. A new method for the determination of the starting time for the complex nucleation process was proposed. The formation rate of crystals under study decreases in the order:^*Fe(OH)₃>^*Fe(IO₃)₃>^*Fe₂S₃>^*Fe₂(C₂O₄)₃, in agar medium and^*Fe(OH)₃>^*Fe(IO₃)₃>^*FeC₂O₄)₃>^*FeS₃, in gelatine medium.     

Graph bisection algorithms with good average case behavior

In the paper, we describe a polynomial time algorithm that, for every input graph, either outputs the minimum bisection of the graph or halts without output. More importantly, we show that the algorithm chooses the former course with high probability for many natural classes of graphs. In particular, for every fixedd≧3, all sufficiently largen and allb=o(n ^{1?1/[(d+1)/2]}), the algorithm finds the minimum bisection for almost alld-regular labelled simple graphs with 2n nodes and bisection widthb. For example, the algorithm succeeds for almost all 5-regular graphs with 2n nodes and bisection widtho(n ^2/3). The algorithm differs from other graph bisection heuristics (as well as from many heuristics for other NP-complete problems) in several respects. Most notably:

1. the algorithm provides exactly the minimum bisection for almost all input graphs with the specified form, instead of only an approximation of the minimum bisection,
2. whenever the algorithm produces a bisection, it is guaranteed to be optimal (i.e., the algorithm also produces a proof that the bisection it outputs is an optimal bisection),
3. the algorithm works well both theoretically and experimentally,
4. the algorithm employs global methods such as network flow instead of local operations such as 2-changes, and
5. the algorithm works well for graphs with small bisections (as opposed to graphs with large bisections, for which arbitrary bisections are nearly optimal).

     

Determination of the stability constant of Np(V) fluoride complex using a fluoride ion selective electrode

Fluoride complexing of Np(V) has been studied using fluoride ion selective electrode (F-ISE). Free fluoride ion concentrations in the presence of Np(V) were measured at 0.1 and 1.0M ionic strength. The data were used to calculate the stability constant of the fluoride complex of Np(V) and the values obtained are reported here.     

Coordination-based self-assembled capsules (SACs) for protein,CRISPR–Cas9, DNA and RNA delivery

Biologics, such as functional proteins and nucleic acids, have recently dominated the drug market and comprise seven out of the top 10 best-selling drugs. Biologics are usually polar, heat sensitive, membrane impermeable and subject to enzymatic degradation and thus require systemic routes of administration and delivery. Coordination-based delivery vehicles, which include nanosized extended metal–organic frameworks (nMOFs) and discrete coordination cages, have gained a lot of attention because of their remarkable biocompatibility, in vivo stability, on-demand biodegradability, high encapsulation efficiency, easy surface modification and moderate synthetic conditions. Consequently, these systems have been extensively utilized as carriers of biomacromolecules for biomedical applications. This review summarizes the recent applications of nMOFs and coordination cages for protein, CRISPR–Cas9, DNA and RNA delivery. We also highlight the progress and challenges of coordination-based platforms as a promising approach towards clinical biomacromolecule delivery and discuss integral future research directions and applications.

SACs can be efficiently used to load biologics such as proteins, CRISPR–Cas9, DNA and RNA and release them on-demand.