bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A fitting formula for electron–ion energy partition fraction of 3.54-MeV fusion alpha particles in hot dense deuterium–tritium plasmas*
Authors: Zhang Yan-Ning , Wang Zhi-Gang , Zhao Yong-Tao , He Bin
Published: October 2020

Based on our previous work (Phys. Plasmas
25 012704 (2018)), a fitting formula is given for electron–ion energy partition fraction of 3.54-MeV fusion alpha particles in deuterium–tritium (DT) plasmas as a function of plasma mass density ρ, electron temperature T
e, and ion temperature T
i. The formula can be used in a huge range of the plasma state, where ρ varies between 1.0 g/cc ∼ 10.03 g/cc and both T
e and T
i change from 0.1 keV to 100.0 keV. Relativistic effect for electrons is investigated including the effect of the projectile recoil in the plasmas at T
e ≥ 50.0 keV. The partition fraction for T
e > T
i is found to be close to that for T
e = T
i. The comparisons with other fitting results are made at some plasma densities when T
e = T
i, and the difference is explained. The fitting result is very close to the calculated one in most cases, which is convenient for the simulation of alpha heating in hot dense DT plasmas for inertial confined fusion.
Weakening effect of plastic yielding inception in thin hard coating systems*
Authors: Huang Xiao , Zhou Shujun , Shao Tianmin
Published: October 2020

Hard coatings have been widely applied to enhance tribological performance of mechanical components. However, it was predicted that thin hard coatings may have a weakening effect which could reduce the coating/substrate system’s resistance to plastic yielding compared with the uncoated substrate material. In this paper, analytical simulation is utilized to investigate the origin of weakening effect. The functions of material mechanical properties and coating thickness on the weakening effect are theoretically investigated. Partial-unloading spherical nanoindentation tests are performed on tungsten coated single crystalline silicon and copper to acquire the stress-strain curves and compared with the uncoated cases. The experimental results are in consistence with the analytical solutions, demonstrating the presence of weakening effect.
Self-powered solar-blind photodiodes based on EFG-grown (100)-dominant β-Ga2O3 substrate*
Authors: Chu Xu-Long , Liu Zeng , Zhi Yu-Song , Liu Yuan-Yuan , Zhang Shao-Hui , Wu Chao , Gao Ang , Li Pei-Gang , Guo Dao-You , Wu Zhen-Ping , Tang Wei-Hua
Published: October 2020

We report the edge-defined-film-fed (EFG)-grown β-Ga2O3-based Schottky photodiodes. The device has a reverse leakage current of ∼nA and a rectified ratio of ∼104 at ± 5 V. In addition, the photodiode detector shows a dark current of 0.3 pA, a photo-responsivity (R) of 2.875 mA/W, a special detectivity (D
*) of 1010 Jones, and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 1.4% at zero bias, illustrating a self-powered operation. This work may advance the development of the Ga2O3-based Schottky diode solar-blind photodetectors.
Possible light neutral boson and particle mass quantization *
Authors: Wang Tao-Feng , Li Zi-Ming , Yang Xiao-Ting
Published: October 2020

Qualities of nucleons, such as the fundamental parameter mass, might be modified in extreme conditions relative to those of isolated nucleons. We show the ratio of the EMC-effect tagged nucleon mass to that of the free one (

); these values are derived from the nuclear structure function ratio between heavy nuclei and deuterium measured in the electron Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) reaction in 0.3

0.7. The increase in

with

is phenomenologically interpreted via the release of a color-singlet cluster formed by sea quarks and gluons in bound nucleons holding high momentum in the nucleus, from which the mass and fraction of non-nucleonic components in nuclei can be deduced. The mass of color-singlet clusters released per short range correlated (SRC) proton in the high momentum region (

2 fm

) is extracted to be 16.890

0.016 MeV/c

, which evidences the possibility of a light neutral boson and quantized mass of matter.
Strongly lensed gravitational waves as probes to test the cosmic distance duality relation *
Authors: Lin Hai-Nan , Li Xin , Tang Li
Published: October 2020

The cosmic distance relation (DDR) associates the angular diameters distance (

) and luminosity distance (

) by a simple formula, i.e.,

. The strongly lensed gravitational waves (GWs) provide a unique way to measure

and

simultaneously to the GW source, hence they can be used as probes to test DDR. In this study, we investigated the use of strongly lensed GW events from the future Einstein Telescope to test DDR. We assumed the possible deviation of DDR as

, and considered two different parametrizations of

, namely,

and

. Numerical simulations showed that, with about 100 strongly lensed GW events observed by ET, the parameter

was constrained at 1.3% and 3% levels for the first and second parametrizations, respectively.
Can embedded knowledge in pollution prevention techniques reduce greenhouse gas emissions? A case of the power generating industry in the United States
Authors: Lee Sangyoul , Bi Xiang
Published: October 2020

Following the well-known public information disclosure program, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), the United States established the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), which documents annual direct GHG emissions from major point-source polluters from 2010 onwards. While recorded GHG emissions in the GHGRP have declined over time, few studies have shed light on the mechanism through which such reduction is achieved. This paper empirically examines whether experience in managing toxic pollutants subject to the TRI pre-GHGRP contributed to the decrease in GHG emissions post-GHGRP. We use data from electrical power plants to construct various measures for the magnitude and diversity of knowledge in pollution prevention (P2) pre-GHGRP. Using a difference-in-differences framework with first-differenced panel data, we find that electrical power plants with abundant experience in P2 achieved a greater reduction in GHG emissions by 2.3%–4.8% compared to less-experienced plants post-GHGRP. This suggests that policymakers can leverage a plant’s prior knowledge and experience with P2 techniques to develop targeted strategies to facilitate the transfer of embedded knowledge to other firms and pollutants.
La2O3 nanoparticles formation using Nothopanax scutellarium leaf extract in two-phase system and photocatalytic activity under UV light irradiation
Authors: Mustofa K , Yulizar Y , Saefumillah A , Apriandanu D O B
Published: October 2020

La2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) have been formed using Nothopanax scutellarium leaf extract (NSE) and lanthanum precursor in two-phases system (n-hexane/water) with high-speed stirring method. Alkaloids as a secondary metabolite compound in NSE were used as a hydrolyzing agent and the other substances, namely saponin and tannin as a capping agent. All characterizations in this study were undertaken by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), UV-Vis DRS, X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. UV-Vis DRS characterization showed that La2O3 NPs has a bandgap value of 5.59 eV. The particle size of La2O3 NPs was around 84.3 nm confirmed by TEM. UV-Vis spectrophotometer was utilized to analyze the photocatalytic activity of La2O3 NPs for the degradation of malachite green (MG) as a modelling of dye. The degradation percentage of MG using La2O3 NPs was 87.32 % for 120 min under UV light irradiation.
Microwave-assisted synthesis of organic corrosion inhibitor based imidazoline-stearic
Authors: Rahayu D U C , Cahyani S , Abdullah I , Nurani D A , Krisnandi Y K
Published: October 2020

Corrosion often occurs in oil and gas industries’ pipelines indicated by a decrease in quality which is harmful to the industries and environment. To slow down the corrosion rate, a corrosion inhibitor is needed. Organic corrosion inhibitors are more widely used than inorganic ones due to its effectiveness and non-toxic. One of the most widely used organic corrosion inhibitors is imidazolines. In this study, imidazoline-stearic was successfully synthesized from triethylenetetramine (TETA) with various purity grade of stearic acid (SA) using 800 W microwave irradiation at 200 °C for 9 min. The obtained products then were separated by a solvent extraction method and identified using thin layer chromatography (TLC). Moreover, the products had also been characterized using FTIR and UV-Vis spectral data. The ability to inhibit corrosion on carbon steel in 1 % NaCl solution was evaluated to obtain inhibition efficiency (%IE). %IE at 500 ppm of imidazoline-stearic from SA pro analysis, technical, and commercial sample were 84.43 %, 75.42 %, and 84.41 %, respectively. Imidazoline-stearic from SA pro analysis revealed a similar corrosion inhibition activity compared with the commercial. Hence, imidazoline-stearic from SA technical grade demonstrated a promising corrosion inhibitor by using economical fatty acid.
The optical and high-pressure raman scattering study of La(Fe,Mo)0.5O3 ceramics
Authors: Triyono D , Laysandra H , Rafsanjani R A
Published: October 2020

This study was focused on the optical-vibrational analysis and high-pressure Raman-scattering spectroscopy of La(Fe,Mo)0.5O3 ceramics at room temperature. This material was fabricated by using the sol-gel method. The element composition was checked by X-ray Fluorescence confirming the atomic ratio of La, Fe and Mo. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy confirmed the (Fe/Mo −O) bonding vibration which is typical perovskite structure. The band gap energy investigated by UV-Vis spectra was found to be 2.03 eV. At room temperature, the Raman scattering spectra under high pressure was characterized by the Raman-scattering spectrum in the range of 0.90 to 16.7 GPa. The high-pressure Raman scattering confirmed the structural transition after the pressure surpasses 7.0 GPa. From this phenomena, it well indicates the lattice structure stability is still preserved under 7.0 GPa.
The influence of calcination temperature on the structural properties of La2FeMnO6 double perovskite materials
Authors: Yunida  , Triyono D
Published: October 2020

The double perovskite compound, La2FeMnO6 (LFMO), has been synthesized using the sol-gel method. Structural properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman scattering spectroscopy. Rietveld refinement of calcination powder from X-ray data indicates the compound was a single-phase formation of double perovskite with 750 °C and 900 °C calcination temperatures. XRF showed the weight and atomic ratio of the compound are suitable with double perovskite stoichiometric, respectively. The result of structural analysis confirmed that the La2FeMnO6 has a cubic structure with space group Pm-3m at both temperatures. Lattice parameters, volume and crystallite size of the samples become larger as higher calcination temperatures. Raman scattering spectroscopy and FTIR have been used to study the peak vibrational modes and various bond formations of the prepared samples.
Study of La(Fe, Zn)O3 on the structural properties prepared by sol-gel method
Authors: Fajriyani F , Triyono D
Published: October 2020

Partial substitution of other metallic ions at La and/or Fe sites of LaFeO3 had been applied to modify the structural properties and for enhancing the properties of its material. In this present work, we prepared LaFeO3 by replacing a portion of Fe3+ with Zn2+ with x = 0.03; 0.05; and 0.07 to study the effect on the structural which prepared by sol-gel method. The samples were identified by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra, Raman spectroscopy, and Ultraviolet-Visible Diffuse Reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS). XRD pattern showed all of the samples formed in single crystal and are having an orthorhombic structure with space group Pbnm. The lattice parameters were found to be slightly increased with the increase of Zn concentration. The result of FTIR spectra and Raman spectra also show further information about the formation of LaFeO3 with the distortion due to the replacement of Zn2+ into Fe3+. The absorbance and reflectance of samples are measured using UV-Vis DRS and the energy band gap of LaFe1-x
Zn
x
O3 ( x = 0.03; 0.05; and 0.07) are determined by Tauc plot using Kubelka-Munk function and was found the energy band gap slightly decreased as the concentration of Zn2+ increased.
Inhibitor effect of PCMB and PMSF towards partially purified product from pineapple core (Ananas comosus [L.] Merr) using gel filtration column chromatography method
Authors: Amalia M F , Hudiyono S , Setiasih S
Published: October 2020

The research aims to isolate, purify, and examine the inhibitors effect of a partially purified product from pineapple core with Palembang type pineapple (Ananas comosus[L.] Merr). The isolation process obtained crude enzymes with specific activity 42.60 Units/mg. Purification of crude enzymes using fractionation method with ammonium sulfate obtained bromelain fraction with the highest specific activity at 0–50 % saturation level of ammonium sulfate, which is 230.22 Units/mg with a purity level of 5.40 times from its crude extract. Further purification of 0–50 % ammonium sulfate fraction by gel filtration chromatography method using DEAE-Sephadex G-50 matrix obtained enzyme with specific activity 275.46 Units/mg with purity level 6.50 times from its crude extract. The optimum substrate concentration was at a concentration of 1.0 % (w/v). The purified bromelain has a Michaelis-Menten (Km) constant value and the maximum speed of the enzymatic reaction (Vmax) i.e. 0.52 % (w/v) and 0.51 Units/min. The proteolytic activity of bromelain is strongly inhibited by PCMB compound and activated by PMSF at 0.1 mM concentration of 67.27 %.
Efficiency and potential synthesis of pyrimido [4,5-d] pyrimidine derivatives by iodine catalyst as antioxidant agent
Authors: Cahyana A H , Liandi A R , Zaky M Z R
Published: October 2020

Pyrimido [4,5-d] pyrimidine is an uracil compound that has similarities to the structure of pteridine and purines and has significant bioactivity. The aim of this research is to synthesize pyrimido [4,5-d] pyrimidine derivatives and test their activity as antioxidant. The reaction was carried out with the support of the iodine catalyst to get an effective reaction. Experimental evidence in support of the formation products was confirmed using FTIR, UV-vis Spectrophotometer, and GC-MS. The results of the analysis produced four pyrimido [4,5-d] pyrimidine derivatives, 5-Styryl-5,8-dihydro-1H,6H-pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,4,7-trione (compound 1), 5-Styryl-7-thioxo-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1H-pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,4-dione (compound 2), 5-Phenyl-5,8-dihydro-1H,6H-pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,4,7-trione (compound 3), and 5-Phenyl-7-thioxo-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1H-pyrimido[4,5-d]pyrimidine-2,4-dione (compound 4). Reaction optimization was conducted by varying reaction time, reaction temperature, amount of catalyst and solvent. The optimum conditions of the reaction were obtained under conditions of 10 % mol of catalyst, temperature 70 °C, for 4 h with a water solvent. Compound 1 has a better activity than 3 other compounds with an IC50 value of 10.11 ppm.
Metal organic frameworks of lanthanum and iron using BDC linker as catalysts for glucose conversion into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF)
Authors: Riezzati N , Krisnandi Y K , Zulys A
Published: October 2020

Lanthanum and Iron-Metal Organic Frameworks (La-MOFs, Fe-MOFs) have been successfully synthesized through solvothermal method and applied as catalysts to convert glucose into 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). 5-HMF is a very promising energy source which extensively used in chemical industries and polymer materials. MOF is used as source of Lewis and Brønsted acid that can improve the conformation of 5-HMF in glucose transformation. The XRD pattern, surface morphology, chemical composition, absorption spectra, and surface area were characterized by X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-Ray (SEM-EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Brunauer-Emmelt-Tellers (BET). The specific peaks of La-MOF on XRD pattern corresponded at 2θ = 8° respectively, while Fe-MOF corresponded to MIL-88B structure at 2θ = 9°. SEM analysis of La-MOF and Fe-MOF revealed the catalysts morphology were rod-like and rhombic. The FTIR spectrum of La-MOF showed the broadening peak at 3526 cm−1 for O-H stretching vibrations while Fe-MOF had sharp peak intensity at 749 cm−1 for C-H bending vibrations. The surface area of the La-MOF and Fe-MOF were 107.107 m2/g and 215.435 m2/g, respectively. The activity of La-MOF and Fe-MOF as catalysts was performed in 10 mL vial glass reactor at T = 403 K with varied time from 0–8 h and catalyst loading were varied from 8–12 mg. The product analysis was carried out using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) in which Fe-MOF showed higher activity giving yield 26.79 % rather than La-MOF with 19.2 % yield of 5-HMF in 6 h reaction time using 10 mg catalyst in DMSO as solvent.
Hierarchical ZSM-5 synthesized from Bangka kaolin and Bayat natural zeolite for methane conversion catalysts
Authors: Faisal M , Abdullah I , Krisnandi Y K
Published: October 2020

Hierarchical ZSM-5 has been successfully synthesized from Bayat natural zeolite as alumina and silica source and Bangka kaolinite as an additional silica source using tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) and poly(acrylamide-co-dialyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA-M) as a structure and pore directing agent. XRD pattern shows an evidence of MFI (Mordenite Inverted Framework) structure with peaks at 2θ = 8.01°, 8.90° and 23.15°. SEM images show that the surface of as-synthesized zeolite has coffin-like structure, while EDX analysis shows it has a Si/Al molar ratio of 8.77. The N2 isotherm adsorption exhibited a type IV H4 curve, which indicated the material has mesoporosity, although the Barrett-Joyner-Halenda analysis showed the ZSM-5 has a pore size distribution around 1.937 nm, indicated the micropore dominating its pore size. This confirms that the as-synthesized natural ZSM-5 has hierarchical properties. This as-synthesized natural ZSM-5 then was impregnated with Fe2O3 to improve its catalytic activity towards methane conversion reaction. XRD analysis shows an existence of Fe2O3 at 2θ = 41.22°. Both Fe-impregnated synthetic and natural ZSM-5 show a higher percentage of methane conversion (84.825 % and 86.958 %, respectively), but they give a lower percentage yield of formaldehyde (39.973 % and 32.2 %, respectively) than the parent synthetic and natural ZSM-5.
Catalytic conversion of beef tallow with MgO derived from MgCO3 for biofuels production
Authors: Riyadhi A , Yulizar Y , Susanto B H
Published: October 2020

Fuels from biological sources, such as oils and fats, receive much attention. Beef tallow is a cheap and abundant feedstock that can be converted into renewable fuels. Catalytic conversion of beef tallow was accomplished with the MgO catalyst derived from MgCO3. Magnesium oxide catalyst was prepared by calcination of MgCO3 at temperature 700 °C. The catalyst was tested for its performance in a fixed bed reactor at temperature 300 °C for 60 min. Conversion of beef tallow to hydrocarbons biofuels was studied. The MgO catalyst was characterized by nitrogen adsorption isotherms (BET), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The assay activity of MgO shows all fatty acids derived from beef tallow have converted into liquid and gas fraction with a black paste residue that has a boiling point of more than 300 °C. The results of the liquid fraction composition depend on the ratio of the given MgO catalyst. At the ratio of MgO catalysts and feeds 2 wt.%, the results of liquid fraction contain the alkanes (45.61%), alkenes (4.12%), alcohols (3.96%), ketones (8.55 %), esters (23.42 %), and cyclic compounds (14.34 %), while at the ratio of 4 wt.%, the liquid fraction contains the alkanes (55.56 %), alkenes (8.94 %), alcohols (5.27 %), ketones (13.73 %) and cyclic compounds (16.50 %).
Simulation of critical temperature of FeTe, FeSe and FeTe0.5Se0.5 using equation McMillan
Authors: Asmarakusuma D P U , Suyanto D
Published: October 2020

This study uses simulation to produce the critical temperature of FeTe, FeSe, and FeTe0.5Se0.5 superconductors using McMillan equation which show shifts in λ (electron-phonon coupling strength), ωlog (logarithmic average of phonon frequency), and Density of States (DOS) at the Fermi level compared to its composing elements. Comparison of critical temperatures shows that Fe mixed with Se and/or Te experience some changes that could possibly increase of the critical temperature.
The Effect of leaf surface character on the ability of water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. to transpire water
Authors: Maylani E D , Yuniati R , Wardhana W
Published: October 2020

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of leaf surface character on the ability of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms.) to transpire water. This experiment was performed using a healthy and acclimatized water hyacinth collected from Sawangan, Depok area. Five individual plants with the same size (6 leaves per plant), leaf length (10.4 ± 0.8 cm), leaf width (7.8 ± 0.7 cm) and root length (24.8 ± 7.4 cm) were put in each 20 L plastic tank containing tap water and allowed to grow in a greenhouse for six days. The transpiration rate of each plant was measured using a weighing method every day. The number of stomata, stomatal density and stomatal index were measured; amount of water loss from the individual plant through transpiration was analyzed. Based on the results of the study, it was found that the lowest leaf surface area is correlated with the number of stomatal and transpiration rates in the individual measured plants.
Reduction of curcuminoid extract from turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizomes and its antibacterial activities
Authors: Dewi S Q , Saepudin E , Rahayu D U C
Published: October 2020

Curcuminoid is an active compound of turmeric rhizomes commonly used as yellow pigment. In some cases, the presence of pigment in beauty product is not desirable due to its aesthetics effect. In this study, yellow color removal of curcuminoid was carried out by two steps hydrogenation, i.e. using LiAlH4 followed by Pd-C catalyst to form dihydrocurcuminol and hexahydrocurcuminol derivatives, respectively. Dihydrocurcuminol derivatives had successfully synthesized by observing a wavelength shift from 419 to 428 nm in UV-Vis spectra and FTIR spectra also showed a reduction intensity of the carbonyl groups at 1600 cm−1. Moreover, hexahydrocurcuminol derivatives were identified at 283 nm in UV-Vis spectra while in FTIR spectra showed an absorption band of C-H sp3 at 2942 cm−1. Curcuminoid and hexahydrocurcuminol derivatives were evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Staphyloccocus aureus with 2 and 2.5 mm and Fusobacterium nucleatum with 4 and 2.75 mm inhibitory zone diameter, respectively. It can be concluded that curcuminoid and hexahydrocurcuminol derivatives had a weak antibacterial activity against both bacteria tests.
Antibacterial activity of curcuminoid derivatives resulted from hydrogenation reaction with Pd-C catalyst from turmeric (Curcuma longa) rhizomes extract
Authors: Sudewo L D , Saepudin E , Rahayu D U C
Published: October 2020

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is one of the most commonly used plants for traditional medicine especially for antibacterial activity. However, because of its color, it is necessary to conduct a transformation reaction that can change the color of curcuminoid into colorless but still have antibacterial activity. The aim of this research was to analyze the antibacterial activity of tetrahydrocurcuminoid, derived from hydrogenation of curcuminoid isolated from turmeric extract towards Staphylococcus aureus and Fusobacterium nucleatum. Hydrogenation reaction was carried out using H2 gas with Pd-C catalyst to remove the conjugated double bond in curcuminoid to form tetrahydrocurcuminoid. Tetrahydrocurcuminoid then was purified by using silica gel column chromatography and characterized using UV-Vis and FTIR spectral data. Antibacterial activity of curcuminoid and tetrahydrocurcuminoid were tested against S. aureus and F. nucleatum using disc diffusion method. The antibacterial activity showed that tetrahydrocurcuminoid had a better antibacterial activity against S. aureus and F. nucleatum with average diameter of clear zone were 5.5 and 2.75 mm, respectively, than curcuminoid with 2 and 2.5 mm, respectively.
Phase transition of Cd(OH)2 and physical properties of CdO microstructures prepared by precipitation method for optoelectronic applications
Authors: Ismail Walid , El-Shaer Abdelhamid , Abdelfatah Mahmoud
Published: October 2020

Low cost precipitation technique is employed here to have CdO microstructures as a promising material for optoelectronic applications. Cadmium nitrate hexahydrate and sodium hydroxide were mixed together to have white precipitate of cadmium hydroxide. The product white precipitate then dried at 100 °C followed by different annealing temperatures (200, 300, 400 and 700 °C) for 2 h. The formed samples are characterized employing XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques to investigate the structural and morphology properties. The XRD results indicate that as prepared exhibited hexagonal ß-Cd(OH)2 phase. For annealed samples at 200, mixed phases of γ-Cd(OH)2 hexagonal as well as monoclinic were appeared. γ-Cd(OH)2 monoclinic phase and CdO cubic phase were formed with calcined temperature of 300°C. Pure cubic phase of CdO crystal structure was obtained at 400°C. With higher annealed temperature of 700°C, both cubic phases of CdO and CdO2 are appeared. The results designate that CdO microstructures formed with single-phase formation of cubic structure at 400°C, which is the most advantageous for optoelectronic applications.
Truncated Triangular Silver Nanoparticles using low concentration of CTAB
Authors: Saleh Hagar M. , El-Brolossy T. A. , Abdallah T. , Talaat H.
Published: October 2020

Triangular silver nanoparticles have special properties which increase their importance in chemistry, biology, physical and medical applications. This work concerns with fabrication of truncated nanotriangles, using a simple chemical method. The seed mediated growth method that is usually used to synthesize nanorods, is modified to create nanotriangles. By using this modified method, we successfully obtained silver truncated nanotriangles by adding low concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) into seed solution. UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) was used to characterize the surface plasmon resonance of the formed nanoparticles. Also, the geometrical properties of nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The average edge length of truncated nanotriangle is affected by varying the amount of seed added to the growth solution; it varies from 56 nm up to 75 nm according to the amount of seed used. The degree of truncation (T) for the produced nanotriangle edges has been estimated. Furthermore, the effect of CTAB concentration as well as the speed in which NaBH4 is added to the seed solution on the formed nanoparticles was investigated.
ESCargo: a regulatable fluorescent secretory cargo for diverse model organisms
Authors: Casler Jason C. , Zajac Allison L. , Valbuena Fernando M. , Sparvoli Daniela , Jeyifous Okunola , Turkewitz Aaron P. , Horne-Badovinac Sally , Green William N. , Glick Benjamin S.
Published: October 2020

Exocytic membrane traffic can be visualized using regulatable fluorescent secretory cargoes. In cells from diverse eukaryotes, a red fluorescent fusion protein termed ESCargo can be trapped as aggregates in the endoplasmic reticulum and then released by ligand addition to create a wave of transport through the secretory pathway. This tool should have broad utility.
Speculation
Authors: Harman Graham
Published: October 2020

Speculation does not refer to anything like a unified school of literary criticism; nor is it one of the terms commonly employed by critics. Nonetheless, there have already been at least two important appeals to speculation in early 21st-century philosophical approaches to literature. One of them is speculative realism, including the variant of this school propounded by Quentin Meillassoux and known as speculative materialism. Another is Tom Eyers’s speculative formalism, as developed in his book of the same title. Whereas Meillassoux is concerned with the mathematizability of literary texts, Eyers is focused on moments of self-reflexive paradox.
Sanskrit Literary Theory
Authors: Rajendran Chettiarthodi
Published: October 2020

Traditional Sanskrit literary theory has always tried to distinguish kāvya,a term often translated as poetry, but actually subsuming all creative literature including prose romance, biography, and drama, from other linguistic expressions like treatises of knowledge systems (śāstra) and narratives (ākhyāna). Though the treatises related to the topic were written in Sanskrit, they addressed Prakrit poetry also, and Sanskrit drama was always multilingual. Literary theorists of India have speculated on a variety of topics related to the nature, aims, genre, and constituent elements of literature, the equipments necessary for a poet, various levels of meaning, and the nature of aesthetic response. In their attempt to distinguish kāvya from other linguistic expressions, they have also formulated various concepts like poetic figures, stylistic features, suggestiveness, aesthetic emotion, propriety, and the like that they deem to be exclusive to poetry. Indian theorists took into account both the creative and receptive aspects of literature and the notion of the ideal reader is inherent in the discussions of poetry. Literary theory also armed itself with the insights it received from philosophical systems in dealing with the problems related to verbal cognition and aesthetic experience. The Kāvyālaṅkāra of Bhāmaha (6th century), the Kāvyādarśa of Daṇḍin (7th century), the Kāvyālaṅkārasārasamgraha of Udbhaṭa (8th century), the Kāvyālaṅkāasūtravṛtti ofVāmana (8th century),the Kāvyālaṅkāra of Rudraṭa (9th century), the Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana (9th century), the Kāvyamīmāmsā of Rājaśekhara (10th century), Vakroktijīvita of Kuntaka (10th century), the Locana commentary on Dhvanyāloka and theAbhinavabhāratī commentary on Nāṭyaśāstra of Abhinavagupta (11th century), the Vyaktiviveka of Mahimabhaṭṭa (11th century), the Kāvyaprakāśa of Mammaṭa (11th century), the Sāhityadarpaṇa of Viśvanātha (14th century), the Sarasvatīkaṇṭābharaṇa and Śṛṅgāraprakāśa of Bhoja (11th century),the Citramīmāmsā of Appayya Dīkṣita (16th–17th century), and the Rasagaṅgādhara Jagannātha Paṇḍita (17th century) are some of the seminal works in Indian literary theory.
The Quality of Government and Public Administration
Authors: Mungiu-Pippidi Alina
Published: October 2020

In 1999, Evans and Rauch showed a strong association between government effectiveness (quality of government)—particularly the presence of a Weberian-like bureaucracy, selected and promoted on merit alone and largely autonomous from private interests—and economic growth. In 1997 and the aftermath of the Washington Consensus controversial reforms the World Bank promoted this finding in its influential World Development Report 1997 as part of its broader paradigm on “institutional quality.” Twenty years of investment in state capacity followed, by means of foreign assistance supporting the quality of public administration as a prerequisite to development. However, most reviews found the results well under expectations. This is hardly surprising, seeing that Max Weber, credited as the first promoter of the importance of bureaucracy as both the end result and the tool of government rationalization in modern times, never took for granted the autonomy of the state apparatus from private interest. He clearly stated that the power using the apparatus is the one steering the bureaucracy itself. In fact, a review of empirical evidence shows that the quality of public administration is endogenous to the quality of government more broadly and therefore can hardly be a solution in problematic contexts. The autonomy of the state from private interest is one of the most difficult objectives to accomplish in the evolution of a state, and few states have managed in contemporary times to match the achievements of Denmark or Switzerland in the 19th century. Two countries, Estonia and Georgia, are exceptional in this regard, but their success argues for the primacy of politics rather than of administration.
Instruments and Implementation in Public Policy and Administration
Authors: Howlett Michael
Published: October 2020

Understanding policy instrument choices and the range of possibilities present in any implementation situation is key for both policy advisors and decision makers. These choices are a concern in policy formulation, which requires an understanding of what kinds of instrument options exist, which subset of tools is generally considered feasible or possible in a given context, and which among that smaller subset of all possible tools is deemed by policy experts, politicians, and the public to be the most appropriate to use at a given time. And, once plans have been adopted, questions of how they can best be implemented and how implementation can be done by governments raise another key set of instrument-related issues important to both policymaking and public administration.
Bounded Rationality in Public Administration
Authors: Shafran JoBeth , Jones Bryan D. , Dye Connor
Published: October 2020

Bounded rationality is the notion that while humans want to be fully rational beings and weigh the costs and benefits when making a decision, they cannot do so due to cognitive and emotional limitations. The role of human nature in the study and design of organizations can be examined through three general approaches that are explained using metaphors: organization as machine, organization as hierarchy, and organization as canal. The organization-as-machine approach ignores the principles of bounded rationality by assuming the organizational members perform straightforward cost–benefit responses to the incentives put forward by the operators. Later developments in organizational scholarship incorporate elements of bounded rationality and allowed researchers to link human cognitive capacities to the basic organizational features, giving us two new conceptions of organization: organization as hierarchy and organization as canal. Organization as hierarchy focuses on the organization’s use of subunits to create divisions of labor to expand the capacity to process information and problem-solve. Organization as canal recognizes that the weaknesses of human cognition are still channeled into the organizational structure, making it difficult for organizations to update their preferences and assumptions as they receive new information. These principles of bounded rationality in organizational theory can be applied to policy-making institutions. Hierarchical organizations delegate information processing to the subunits, allowing them to attend to the various policy environments and process incoming information. While the collective organization attends to many issues at once, the rules and procedures that are present within the organization and the cognitive limits of decision makers, prevent proportional information processing. Political institutions are unable to respond efficiently to changes in the environment. Thus, organizational adjustment to the environment is characterized as disjointed and episodic as opposed to smooth and incremental. Punctuated equilibrium theory applies these tenets of bounded rationality to a theory of policy change. Congress has been a vehicle for studying bounded rationality in organizations and theories of policy change, as it is a formal institution with bureaucratic elements and is subject to the constraints faced by any formal organization.
Gabon: An Uneasy Civil‒Military Concord
Authors: Bachmann Olaf
Published: October 2020

Like many other African military forces, the Gabonese national army was a direct offshoot of a colonial army—the French one, in this case. Like many of their former brothers in arms on the African continent, the Gabonese military has had difficulty finding their bearings in the newly independent nation, with which they have experienced no bonding. A coup carried out by a handful of officers in 1964 dealt an early blow to the development of civil‒military concord. As of 1965, the political leadership, then firmly in the hands of the Bongo family, made sure it would keep the military under control. An important part of the security belt created by the Bongo regime was the propping up—and corresponding generous endowment—of a Presidential Guard and the paramilitary forces of the Gendarmerie. With the regime feeling more and more secure, among other reasons thanks to the agile management of an extensive patronage system fuelled by the country’s oil wealth, the army was allowed to grow and develop somewhat, although it never reached the capacity to defend the country’s sovereignty against any serious threat. Over the more than four decades of Omar Bongo’s rule (1967‒2009), Gabon’s defense remained outsourced to France through a range of initially secret and later publicly “legitimized” defense treaties. Occasional tensions, such as in the mid-1970s, did not significantly alter that pattern. With its security firmly guaranteed by the Garde Républicaine, the Gendarmerie, and the French, the regime worked to integrate the army into its control system. This was done though accelerating creation of a large number of senior officers’ posts, and these officers were gratified with honors, financial rewards, and at times official government posts. Meanwhile, the rank and file were kept at bay. Consequentially, a two-tier army that mirrored the country’s sociopolitical makeup evolved. Small pockets of professional soldiers did emerge in the country over the years, especially among up to colonel-rank commissioned officers, who benefited from excellent training abroad and were able to perfect their skills on peacekeeping operations. However, professionalism did not percolate through the institution. In 2020, 10 years into the reign of Omar Bongo’s son, Ali, the relationship of the military to the political power is unclear. On the one hand, the army may be an instrument of repression used by a ruling elite that is less and less benevolent in distributing benefits because it has lost the resources to do so. Such was the case in response to unrest after the 2016 elections. On the other hand, it cannot be excluded that part of the army’s lumpenmilitariat could side with the people in a revolt against the government. Because the legitimacy of the clientelist order is under duress, the coercive force provided by the carriers of arms can provide one line of defense, but the military may also turn against their increasingly anemic patron.
Romania: Civil-Military Relations in the Modern Age
Authors: Zulean Marian
Published: October 2020

Romania has no tradition in militarism despite its history of authoritarian regimes in 20th century. The process of modernization and democratization that started in the middle of 19th century was interrupted for about half a century by the authoritarian regime of King Carol II (1938), followed by a military dictatorship during World War II, and continued with a Communist dictatorship until 1989.

The transition to democracy started in 1990 from a very low level, Ceausescu’s regime being one of the fiercest dictatorial regimes. However, Romania succeeded in building up a functional democracy and market economy with Western assistance that transformed it into a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). One basic conditionality to the admission into NATO and the EU was putting the military under civilian control and building up democratic civil–military relations. Thus, Romania has no history of military involvement in politics. After three decades of transition, Romania implemented a complex mechanism of democratic control of the military. However, issues regarding the incomplete internalization of democratic norms of control of the military, resistance to change through the system of military education, an obsolete national security legislation, and some legacy practices related to rights abuses perpetrated by intelligence services need to be addressed in order to consider Romania a consolidated democracy.
Guatemala: The Military in Politics
Authors: Isaacs Anita , Schwartz Rachel A.
Published: October 2020

Since the mid-20th century, the Guatemalan military has played a prominent role in the country’s political life. Yet, this was not always the case. During Guatemala’s first century of independence, the armed forces operated largely as the pawn of personalist rulers and oligarchic elites, utilizing coercion to quell labor unrest and impose order in the countryside. Developments during the Cold War era, however, transformed the Guatemalan military into a centralized source of political and economic power and the key protagonist in domestic politics.

Following World War II and on the heels of popular uprising, nationalist junior army officers ushered in a series of popular reforms, which included land redistribution. A 1954 CIA-orchestrated coup supported by the Guatemalan oligarchy and reactionary military factions toppled Guatemala’s “Democratic Spring,” reversed the reforms, and paved the way for four decades of hardline military rule. The subsequent rise of a leftist insurgent movement and the outbreak of armed conflict (1960–1996) gave the armed forces a pretext to dramatically expand their power. They consolidated formal political control over the Guatemalan state and pursued a counterinsurgent campaign, which escalated into genocidal violence in the predominantly Mayan indigenous highlands.

Pulled between the political protagonism of civil war and the subordination to civilian rule required in liberal democracy, the Guatemalan military struggled to redefine its institutional identity with the end of armed conflict. It lurched reluctantly toward peace and democracy following a split in its ranks between a moderate institutionalist faction and right-wing groups wary of ceding political control. Despite peace accord provisions to reduce the military’s size and budget and to confine its institutional activities to external defense, military officials, particularly those from intelligence, continued to wield extraordinary control in the postwar era. Challenging the strictures of peace and democracy, they have fought to maintain key interests, notably impunity for war crimes, political decision-making influence, and wartime sources of illicit enrichment.
The Saro of West Africa
Authors: Kolapo Femi J.
Published: October 2020

During the hundred-odd-year period from 1837 to 1944, liberated Africans with their children, mostly from the Nigerian area who were resettled in Sierra Leone, returned to Nigeria. They and their descendants in Nigeria were known as Saro. While most of them were of Yoruba origin, their population included Igbo, Nupe, Basa, Hausa, and Efik. They returned to Lagos, Abbeokuta, Ibadan, Calabar, Onitsha, Lokoja, and Port Harcourt, locations of political-economic or missionary significance during the period. Isolated individuals went as far as Ilorin, Bida, Kano, Sokoto, and Zaira. In many respects, they constituted the earliest social group who, by their distinctive black Atlantic experience of cultural and intellectual hybridity, mediated Nigeria’s engagement with and introduction to the modern and colonial capitalist demands of the era. As purveyors of new sociopolitical and cultural ideas that would come to underpin Nigeria, they were the forerunners of the nation. By their vision of a homeland that was inclusive of multiple ethnicities and that conceived of a single economy emanating from a network of production centers in the interior, they laid its earliest modern foundation. Their significant economic, social, cultural, religious, and political roles in the actions, interactions, and structures that eventually led to the creation of Nigeria justify the consideration of them as founders of the nation.
Calabi-Yau Spaces in the String Landscape
Authors: He Yang-Hui
Published: October 2020

Calabi-Yau spaces, or Kähler spaces admitting zero Ricci curvature, have played a pivotal role in theoretical physics and pure mathematics for the last half century. In physics, they constituted the first and natural solution to compactification of superstring theory to our 4-dimensional universe, primarily due to one of their equivalent definitions being the admittance of covariantly constant spinors.

Since the mid-1980s, physicists and mathematicians have joined forces in creating explicit examples of Calabi-Yau spaces, compiling databases of formidable size, including the complete intersecion (CICY) data set, the weighted hypersurfaces data set, the elliptic-fibration data set, the Kreuzer-Skarke toric hypersurface data set, generalized CICYs, etc., totaling at least on the order of 1010 manifolds. These all contribute to the vast string landscape, the multitude of possible vacuum solutions to string compactification.

More recently, this collaboration has been enriched by computer science and data science, the former in bench-marking the complexity of the algorithms in computing geometric quantities, and the latter in applying techniques such as machine learning in extracting unexpected information. These endeavours, inspired by the physics of the string landscape, have rendered the investigation of Calabi-Yau spaces one of the most exciting and interdisciplinary fields.
Native Brazilians under the Monarchy in Brazil
Authors: Almeida Maria Regina Celestino de
Published: October 2020

A variety of indigenous peoples active in the backlands and villages of monarchic Brazil presented challenges to the policy of building a national state. The implementation of an indigenist policy that sought to assimilate and incorporate indigenous people as citizens and workers for the Empire was widely debated by politicians and intellectuals who developed different images and political projects for indigenous peoples in accordance with their varying degrees of sociocultural insertion in the various provinces of the Empire. Natives in the backlands were portrayed as savages for whom just wars and enslavement were an appropriate response to any who resisted being assigned to settlements or military bases, while it was proposed that natives in the settled areas be assimilated and their collective lands and aldeias (indigenous villages) be dissolved. Abuse, irregularities, violence, ill-treatment, illegal enslavement, and intensive exploitation of Indian labor by colonists, public authorities, and priests were widely denounced throughout the various regions of the Empire. Indians acted and reacted in a variety of ways, ranging from confrontation to collaboration: they resorted to both legal battles and armed conflict to defend their rights and their land. They fought vigorously in the non-Indians’ wars, both on the frontiers and in the political movements of the Empire, seeking to extract their own advantages from the alliances they formed. There was intense interaction among backlands Indians, aldeia Indians, and non-Indians, including African-descended slaves and quilombolas, and they circulated among both physical spaces and social categorizations, often crossing borders that separated one from another. Many settled Indians remained in their established aldeias, fighting to preserve them. They resorted to the courts in defense of their communal lives and land, affirming their indigenous identities and contradicting the discourse of politicians and intellectuals who considered them assimilated into the general population and civilized, and thus subject to having their aldeias legally abolished. Current ethnogenesis movements have revealed the fallacy of the belief that Indians disappeared in the 19th century.