Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantifying intrinsic loss mechanisms in solar cells: Why is power efficiency fundamentally limited?

Intrinsic loss mechanisms are quantified for a single junction device under one sun illumination. Thermalisation, below Eg and Boltzmann losses are shown to be the dominant loss mechanisms in a device with Eg = 1.31eV , accounting for 30%, 25% and 9% of the incident solar radiation respectively. Alternative device designs which target these dominant intrinsic losses are considered. Concentrator (and restricted emission) devices target Boltzmann loss. This loss mechanism is shown to have a logarithmic relationship with concentration and as such, a small increase in absorption solid angle equates to a large increase in fundamental limiting efficiency. A multi-junction device resolves the mismatch between the broad solar spectrum and single threshold absorption, and thus targets below Eg and thermalisation losses. A greater number of junctions allows the device absorption profile to better match the solar spectrum, increasing device efficiency. Boltzmann loss slightly increases with junction number and as such, concentration will be proportionally more effective at increasing efficiency in a multi-junction device. A hot carrier device targets thermalisation loss. This loss mechanism is eliminated in the impact ionisation model used in this paper, allowing for enhanced device efficiency. ----- The on-screen and audio presentation of this paper can be played by clicking the multimedia PDF link at the bottom right hand of this page.
Interaction of [d-Trp6, Des-Gly10] LHRH Ethylamide and Hydroxy Propyl β-Cyclodextrin (HPβCD): Thermodynamics of Interaction and Protection from Degradation by α-Chymotrypsin

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms and thermodynamics of the interaction between hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) and [d-Trp 6, des-Gly 10] LHRH ethylamide (deslorelin), a peptide drug. Methods: We used UV and Fluorescence spectroscopy to study the interaction of HPβCD and deslorelin. Circular dichroism was used to study the conformational changes induced in deslorelin upon interaction with HPβCD. The thermodynamics of the interaction of deslorelin and HPβCD was studied using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). We also determined the effect of HPβCD on the degradation of deslorelin by α-chymotrypsin. Results: UV and fluorescence spectroscopy indicated that HPβCD induced a change in polarity of the environment surrounding the chromophores of deslorelin. Wavelength selective fluorescence indicated an increase in the fluorescence polarization of deslorelin with an increase in excitation wavelength in the presence of HPβCD suggesting that tryptophan is present in a media of reduced mobility. Circular dichroism studies indicated that HPβCD stabilizes the conformation of deslorelin. In addition, ITC indicated an exothermic reaction between deslorelin and HPβCD with a low enthalpy of binding of ∼−600 cal/mol and a binding affinity of ∼1.25 × 10 2 M− 1. Finally, the rate of degradation of deslorelin by α-chymotrypsin was decreased by 33% in the presence of HPβCD. Conclusions: These results indicate that there is an interaction between HPβCD and deslorelin, which involves the inclusion of aromatic amino acids of deslorelin into the hydrophobic cavity of the cyclodextrin. This inclusion, providing steric hindrance, may be one of the mechanisms by which HPβCD reduces enzymatic hydrolysis of deslorelin.
Time Evolution of Contact-Electrified Electron Dissipation on Silicon Oxide Surface Investigated Using Noncontact Atomic Force Microscope

Deposition and observation of contact-electrified electrons on thin silicon oxide surface were performed separately and successfully investigated by the noncontact DC mode measurement of the induced electrostatic force with an atomic force microscope (AFM). It was found that the dissipation of the contact-electrified electrons had three stages with respect to time, which correspond to a stable state, an unstable state and a trapped state at the charge trap site.
Hierarchically Organized Superstructure Emerging from the Exquisite Association of Inorganic Crystals, Organic Polymers, and Dyes: A Model Approach Towards Suprabiomineral Materials

We report a novel hierarchically organized superstructure emerging from an exquisite association of inorganic crystals, organic polymers, and dyes. The resultant K2SO4/poly(acrylic acid) composite includes five different tiers from the nanoscopic to the macroscopic. An additional new tier leading to functionality is formed by the incorporation of organic dyes that are organized in a nanospace. The emergent superstructure and properties are designed through changes in polymer concentration. The multiple roles of the polymer realize the generation of the architecture at each size scale. This model approach should be widely applicable to other systems, allowing for the preparation of innovative materials by an appropriate combination of crystals, polymers, and functional molecules.
How to Define the Bullwhip Effect

In our previous experiments of a supply chain using Beer Game, we found a counterexample for the bullwhip effect such that inventory level of the upstream firm is not always larger than that of the downstream firm even in the environment that the number of firms is many and the length of delay is longer. In this paper, we propose several quantitative definitions of the bullwhip effect and re-estimate our previous findings with these definitions. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic attempt has been made to define the bullwhip effect quantitatively while it is defined qualitatively so far. This study is the first attempt to define the bullwhip effect quantitatively. We show that a frequency based statistical measurement such as a stochastic dominance is not appropriate to capture the bullwhip effect quantitatively because it cannot distinguish between a case of the bullwhip effect and a counterexample. On the other hand, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation works well. Contact: Prof. Toshiji Kawagoe Dept. of Complex Systems Future University Hakodate 116-2 Kameda-Nakanocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8655, Japan Tel: 81-138-34-6424 Email: kawagoe@fun.ac. jp
Colloids dispersed in polymer solutions. A computer simulation study

We report a computer-simulation study of a simple model for a colloid dispersed in a polymer solution. The simulations were performed using a computational scheme that allows simulation at constant osmotic pressure of the polymers. We present results for the polymer-induced interaction, the equation-of-state, and the phase diagram. The simulations show that when the radius of gyration of the polymers Rg is sufficiently large compared to the diameter of the colloidal particles col (2Rg/col0.45), addition of polymer induces a colloidal ``liquid–vapor'' phase separation. For shorter polymers, only the solid–fluid transition is observed. In addition, we find that the nonpairwise additivity of the polymer-induced attraction between the colloidal particles has a pronounced effect on the equation-of-state and the phase behavior of a colloid–polymer mixture. The perturbation theory of Lekkerkerker et al. [Europhys. Lett. 20, 559 (1992)] is found to perform well, except at low densities.
Potability Assessment of Selected Brands of Bottled Water in Abeokuta, Nigeria

This study was carried out to determine the potability of selected brands of bottled water in Abeokuta metropolis. Water quality parameters such as physical (Color, turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), total solids (TS)), chemical (pH, total hardness, alkalinity, chloride (Cl-), free chlorine, sulphate (SO 4 2- ), nitrate (NO3 -) and iron (Fe 2+ ) and microbiological (total coliform) were determined using standard procedures. The results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis for analysis of variance using SPSS 15.0. Mean values of water quality parameters were compared to World Health Organization (WHO) standards in drinking water. Results showed that water parameters like colour ( -1 ), free chlorine ( -1 ), Cl- ( 27 mg L -1 ), SO 4 2- (15 mg L -1 ), NO 3 - ( -1 ), Fe 2+ ( -1 ) and total coliform (0.0 count mL -1 ) were within WHO standards for drinking water indicating the potability of the bottled waters and hence, could be consumed without any possible health problems.
Genetic affinities and essential oil composition of Salvia officinalis L., S. fruticosa Mill., S. tomentosa Mill. and their hybrids

In order to clarify the relationship between Salvia officinalis L. , S. fruticosa Mill. , and S. tomentosa Mill. , interspecific crosses were made and were followed by a study of chromosome behaviour, pollen fertility, seed set, and essential oil composition of parents and F1 plants. The data presented show that although the three tested Salvia species have low crossability they are closely related.
Open Set Semantic Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images

The development of computational vision approaches that exploit satellite imagery is relatively recent, mainly due to the limited availability of this type of image. In the area of remote sensing, applications that employ computational vision techniques are modeled for classification in closed set scenarios. However, the world is not purely closed set, many scenarios present classes that are not previously known by the algorithm, an open set scenario. Thus, the main objective of this paper is the study and development of semantic segmentation techniques considering the open set scenario applied to remote sensing images. Focusing on this problem, this is the first work to study and develop semantic segmentation techniques for open set scenarios applied to remote sensing images. The main contributions of this paper are: 1) a discussion of related works in open set semantic segmentation, showing evidence that these techniques can be adapted for open set remote sensing tasks; 2) the development and evaluation of four novel approaches for open set semantic segmentation. Our methods yielded competitive results when compared to closed set methods for the same dataset
Colloidal Stability of Gold Nanoparticles in 2-Propanol under Laser Irradiation

The influence of laser light irradiation at the surface plasmon frequency of the gold nanoparticles suspended in 2-propanol is examined by the UV−vis absorption spectral measurement and also by a transmission electron microscope. It has been found that the laser light irradiation on the colloidal suspension causes coagulation or dispersion of the particles depending on the particle concentration of the suspension. To investigate the cause of this finding, we have measured the ζ-potential of the particles by an electrophoretic light scattering method. This measurement suggests that the dispersion phenomenon of flocculates is due to the increment in the ζ-potential of the particles which prevents mutual access of negatively charged particles. The photochemical reaction, in which the gold particles obtain electrons from a solvent molecule, is suggested to be responsible for this process.
Critical Potentials for Pitting Corrosion of Ni, Cr‐Ni, Cr‐Fe, and Related Stainless Steels

Critical pitting potentials for the binary Cr‐Fe and Cr‐Ni alloys in become more noble (correspondingly more resistant to pitting) with increasing content, particularly in the region 25–40% and 10–20% Cr, respectively. The potentials for 57.8% Cr‐Fe and pure Cr fall within the transpassive region. Ni containing 3.2% Mo, to the contrary, shows a lower (more active) critical potential; higher per cent Mo‐Ni alloys appear to fall within the transpassive region corroding anodically as plus Ni++ without pitting. Ni alloyed with 15% Cr‐Fe shifts the potential in the noble direction; Mo alloyed with 15% Cr, 13% Ni stainless steel has a similar but even greater effect. At 0°C, 15% Cr, 13% Ni stainless steel exhibits a potential 0.5v more noble than at 25°C, corresponding to greatly increased resistance to pitting. This shift is less pronounced for the stainless steels containing Mo; in fact, at or above 1.5% Mo, the critical potentials at 0°C are below those at 25° C. In , alloyed Mo shifts the potentials slightly in the active direction, contrary to a marked noble shift in . At 0°C the potentials are still more active. These trends correlate with observed pitting for 15% Cr, 13% Ni stainless steel and the similar alloy containing 2.4% Mo in 10% both at 0° and 25°C. Absence of pitting is observed in 10% at 0°C for 15% Cr, 13% Ni stainless steel, but not for the similar alloy containing 2.4% Mo, which pits. The over‐all results are explained on the basis of competitive adsorption at the metal surface and an effect of temperature on the structure of the double layer.
Tin-Based Nanoparticles Prepared by a Wet Chemical Synthesis using Green Reducing and Capping Agents

In the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) via wet chemical reduction using tin(II) acetate precursor, the effects of green reducing agents (sugar) and a capping agent (gelatin) on the formation of NPs were analyzed as functions of synthesis conditions and time. When glucose was used as the reducing agent, it was observed that irregular chainlike shapes, aggregates of NPs, were formed during the synthesis at . The NPs were determined as from the fast Fourier transform (FFT) pattern. In the synthesis at by using sucrose, fine spherical NPs of ~10 nm in diameter were formed after the synthesis time of 3 h. As the time increased to 9 h, the chainlike NP aggregates besides irregularly aggregated spherical NPs were also formed locally. However, the chainlike NP aggregates were only observed when the synthesis was conducted at . The spherical NPs and chainlike NP aggregates were analyzed to be pure Sn and , respectively.
Ultrafast Dynamics of Transition Metal Carbonyls. 3. Intracluster Chemistry in (Cr(CO)6)n

We report on one-color femtosecond-pump/probe experiments applied to homogeneous chromium hexacarbonyl clusters which are prepared in a molecular beam. The pump pulse initiates bimolecular intra-cluster reactions by ultrafast photodissociation of a CO ligand from Cr(CO)6 in a T1u metal-to-ligand charge-transfer state. The resulting reaction products are detected mass-selectively after multiphoton ionization by the probe pulse. In contrast to nanosecond multiphoton ionization (Peifer, W. R.; Garvey, J. F. Int. J. Mass Spectrom. Ion Processes 1990 102, 1), which exclusively leads to appearance of the Cr+ mass peak, a number of novel species which may serve as interesting model systems for catalysis and surface chemistry are detected. In addition to mononuclear fragments, metal cluster ions, and coordinatively unsaturated polynuclear metal carbonyls, metal oxides and carbides are observed in the femtosecond mass spectra. The appearance of these species can be rationalized by formation of asymmetric π-bridging CO ligands in the neutral manifold. The dynamics extracted from the transients of different reaction products is interpreted using concepts of surface and inorganic cluster chemistry. Ultrafast metal-metal bond formation on a time scale much faster than our laser pulse width (ca. 150 fs) can be observed. Site exchange of CO from terminal to bridging positions on the picosecond time scale is proposed to occur in coordinatively unsaturated polynuclear metal carbonyls. Experiments at different center wavelengths (280 and 262.5 nm) reveal energy-dependent reaction channels which are closed when exciting the clusters at 280 nm. When exciting at 262.5 nm, impulsive formation of the corresponding products and decay on the picosecond time scale is observed.
Effect of thickness and cold substrate on transport properties of thermally evaporated CdTe thin films

The correlation between the structural characteristics (stoichiometry and crystallite size) of CdTe films and their electronic transport properties were the aims of the present study to bring attention to the dual importance of grain size and conversion of the semiconductivity type with changing film thickness. Two main parameters were considered: the substrate temperature and film thickness. Transport properties were influenced by grain boundaries as well as by native doping. Optical measurements showed two main direct transitions at energies: E1 ≈ 1.55 eV (fundamental gap) and E2 ≈ 2.49 eV (due to valence band splitting). Both transitions were found to be thickness dependent with a marked change at a film thickness of about 300 nm. In the case of low substrate temperature, the scaling relation between resistivity and grain size showed a deviation from linear behavior at a size of 20 nm and the transmission coefficient is reduced. Also, the deposition on cold substrate enhanced both dark and photoconductivity for films of thickness ≥300 nm. It is also proved that the carrier transport was affected by the transmission coef‐ficient for carriers to pass a single grain boundary as well as the number of grain boundaries per mean free path. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Herramientas de Análisis del Movimiento Humano para su Aplicación Clínica

Resumen El análisis sistemático y cuantitativo del movimiento en pacientes con patologías motrices provee parámetros objetivos que resultan de gran utilidad para el diagnóstico, elección del tratamiento, evaluación y seguimiento de la evolución de los pacientes durante el proceso de rehabilitación. El presente proyecto propuso trasladar la valoración del análisis del movimiento del laboratorio de investigación al ámbito clínico concreto. Para ello se diseñaron, implementaron y validaron técnicas de análisis apropiados para evaluar la evolución de los pacientes con patologías de miembro inferior durante el proceso de rehabilitación. Y las mismas fueron implementadas e investigadas como parte de protocolos de análisis. Los resultados mostraron que las técnicas videográficas para el cálculo de parámetros espacio-temporales, los métodos para la estimación de los intervalos de activación muscular, la estimación de eficiencia muscular para la evaluación de la actividad muscular, la técnica THBI para la estimación de gasto energético y el test AMPPRO para la evaluación cualitativa de la movilidad de pacientes amputados de miembro inferior cumplen con requisitos necesarios en ámbitos clínicos y que representan opciones adecuadas para ser implementadas en esos ambientes. El trabajo a futuro se concentrará en llevar estas técnicas al ámbito clínico concreto para la evaluación de patologías motrices.
ENHANCED SPECTRAL SENSITIVITY FROM RUTHENIUM(II) POLYPYRIDYL BASED PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES

The authors study photovoltaic energy conversion with electrodes coated with the novel ruthenium polypyridyl compounds, cis-[4,4{prime}-(CO{sub 2}H)-2,2{prime}-bipyridine]{sub 2}Ru(X){sub 2} and cis-[5,5{prime}-(CO{sub 2}H){sub 2}-2,2{prime}-bipyridine]{sub 2}Ru(X){sub 2} (X = Cl{sup {minus}}, CN{sup {minus}}, SCN{sup {minus}}). The efficiency and mechanism of photocurrent production for these electrodes is discussed.
Immobilization of liposomes on temperature-responsive polymer networks cross-linked with poly-L-lysine and grafted onto polypropylene

Immobilization of liposomes on implantable/insertable medical devices may be advantageous for the stability of liposomes and the localized release of drugs from the device to prevent/manage pathological processes. This work focuses on the preparation of polymeric systems suitable for the immobilization of drug-free and 5-fluorouracil-loaded liposomes. Polymeric systems, based on N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS), were prepared by γ radiation with three different structures: a binary copolymer grafted onto polypropylene (PP), an interpenetrated polymer network (IPN) grafted onto PP, and an IPN hydrogel; all of them cross-linked with poly-L-lysine. Although liposome immobilization is accompanied by a lost in the 5FU entrapment efficiency, the high extent of the immobilization provides the polymeric systems with a remarkable amount of drug at their surface. These findings point out poly-L-lysine as a suitable component to endow surface-modified devices with ability to host liposomes and thus to develop drug-medical device combination products.
Darstellung und Kristallstruktur der Verbindungen MnCuX (X = P, As, PxAs1-x) / Preparation and Crystal Structure of Compounds MnCuX (X = P, As, PxAs1-x)

Three new ternary compounds MnCuP, MnCuP0.5As0. 5 and MnCuAs have been prepared and characterized by X-Ray, DTA and magnetic measurements. They crystallize orthorhombically in the space group P nma (No. 62). The structures were calculated from single crystal data. The melting points were determined by DTA measurements (MnCuP: 1090°C; MnCuP0.5As0.5: 1000 °C; MnCuAs: 950 °C). MnCuAs appears to show an antiferromagnetic ordering up to 295 K.
Absorption spectra of thin film of polyaniline

The absorption spectra of thin film of polyaniline (PANI) were measured as a function of the protonation state of the polymer, the concentration of PANI in NMP, drying temperature and atmosphere. The absorbance value of the 950 nm peak and the ratio of the absorbance value at 950 nm to that of the 630 nm peak increases with increasing the protonation state of PANI. This is consistent with the observation of varying the conductivity with the protonation state. A modified molecular structure of PANI is proposed [(PhNHPhNH)] y [(PhN=Ph=N) x (PhNHPhNH .+ ) 1-x ] 1-y (0≤y andx≤1) where y and x are defined as the oxidation and the protonation states of PANI, respectively
New Liquid-Membrane Electrodes used for the Determination of Copper and Nickel

Abstract Four electrodes with a liquid membrane, Cu−2 -selective and Ni2+ -selective, respectively, not described previously in the literature, were prepared and characterized. From these electrodes 1 and 2 are based on simple complexes of Cu(II) and Ni(II) with 6-nitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dithiol (6 - nitro - Q.D.T.) as ligand. Electrodes 3 and 4 are based on the corresponding mixed complexes in which the ammonia molecule acts as the second ligand along with 6-nitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dithiol as the first ligand. Both the Cu2+ -selective electrode and Ni2+ -selective electrode have been used to determine the Cu2+ and Ni2+ ions in aqueous solution both by direct potentiometry and by potentiometric titration with EDTA. The primary and secondary characteristics of these electrodes, as well as their selectivity constants for practical use in the potentiometric assay of copper and nickel, were determined. By comparison with the electrodes based on the simple complexes (1 and 2) the electrodes based on mixed complexe.
A new computational approach to Slater’s SCF–Xα equation

A new computational scheme is presented for the performance of LCAO−MO calculations in the SCF−Xα model. The scheme is intended to be applicable for large systems and to be more accurate than the scattered−wave SCF−Xα method. The Xα potential is fitted by least−squares to a linear combination of Gaussians, and the approximated SCF−Xα equation is solved by the conventional Rayleigh−Ritz variational method. The muffin−tin approximation is avoided, and matrix elements are calculated analytically in contrast to the discrete variational scheme. Some illustrative results are given for the ionization energies and equilibrium geometries of small molecules. It is found that over−all performance of the method is satisfactory for both ionization energies and equilibrium geometries.