4,275 research outputs found
A XAFS investigation of amorphous-to-crystalline and fluorite-to-pyrochlore phase transitions in Ln2M2O7 (Ln= Gd, Tb, Dy; M= Ti, Zr)
No full textAmorphous-to-crystalline and fluorite-to-pyrochlore phase transitions in complex oxides Ln2M2O7 (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy; M = Ti, Zr) prepared by sol-gel and coprecipitation methods were studied using x-ray absorption spectroscopy in combination with x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The Ln titanates crystallize directly from the amorphous state to the pyrochlore structure, while the Ln zirconates form the intermediate fluorite phase first. We have found that both XANES and EXAFS data reflect the considerable difference between the crystallization processes of Ln titanates and zirconates. In particular the evolution of the K–Ti pre-edge features is a good indicator of the phase transition from amorphous to crystalline state. The splitting of the first Ln-O shell in the FT modulus of L3-Ln edge EXAFS spectra in Ln titanates can be regarded as a fingerprint of the ordered pyrochlore structure formation which is accompanied also by specific changes in the main features of the XANES spectra. For the Ln zirconates these features are less pronounced
The valence of Bi and Pb in BaPb1-xBixO3 superconducting oxide: a x-ray absorption study
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The Treatment of Ties in AP Correlation
No full textThe Kendall tau and AP correlation coefficients are very commonly use to compare two rankings over the same set of items. Even though Kendall tau was originally defined assuming that there are no ties in the rankings, two alternative versions were soon developed to account for ties in two different scenarios: measure the accuracy of an observer with respect to a true and objective ranking, and measure the agreement between two observers in the absence of a true ranking. These two variants prove useful in cases where ties are possible in either ranking, and may indeed result in very different scores. AP correlation was devised to incorporate a top-heaviness component into Kendall tau, penalizing more heavily if differences occur between items at the top of the rankings, making it a very compelling coefficient in Information Retrieval settings. However, the treatment of ties in AP correlation remains an open problem. In this paper we fill this gap, providing closed analytical formulations of AP correlation under the two scenarios of ties contemplated in Kendall tau. In addition,we developed an R package that implements these coefficients.Best Short Paper Accepted author manuscriptMultimedia ComputingWeb Information System
Magnetization of crystalline and amorphous phases of R2Ti2O7 and R2Zr2O7 (R= Gd, Dy, Tb)
No full textWe present the study of frustrated magnets R2M2O7, where R = Gd, Dy, Tb and M = Ti, Zr. Magnetic susceptibility χ and low-temperature magnetization of perfectly ordered pyrochlores R2Ti2O7, partially disordered fluorites R2Zr2O7, and their completely disordered amorphous phases were measured and analyzed. We have found that structural disorder weakens the exchange interaction of the rare-earth ions. Magnetic moments of dysprosium and terbium, obtained from nearly saturated magnetization, are slightly affected by the disorder while the gadolinium moment is completely independent of it. The local structure of the compounds, including oxygen environment of the rare-earth ions, is discussed in terms of the influence of the crystal electric field on the magnetic properties of R2M2O7
The influence of BaSnO3 and BaZrO3 nanoinclusions on the critical current and local structure of HTS coated conductors
No full textWe studied the effect of artificial pinning centers in the form of nanoinclusions of stannate BaSnO3 (BSO) and zirconate BaZrO3 (BZO) barium on the critical current of high-temperature superconducting tapes of the second generation (2G) based on YBa2Cu3O7-δ films (YBCO). It has been found that the introduction of BaZrO3 nanoinclusions increases the critical current at 77 K for the magnetic field direction parallel and normal to the tape surface, while the introduction of BaSnO3 nanoinclusions decreases the critical current in both cases. To elucidate the origin of a different impact of nanoinclusions we examined the local structure of the YBCO-matrix using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS and XANES). The spectra were collected at K-edges of Cu, Sn, and Zr at the European Synchrotron (ESRF). It was revealed that the introduction of BaZrO3 nanoinclusions increases the stiffness of copper–oxygen bonds in superconducting CuO2 plane and minimizes their static disorder in the YBCO matrix, while the introduction of BaSnO3 nanoinclusions leads to a significant increase in static disorder with a relatively weak effect on the stiffness of Cu–O bonds. These changes in the local structure become decisive for changing the macroscopic properties of high-temperature superconductor-tapes
Delamination Analysis of A Class of AP-PLY Composite Laminates
No full textA recently developed fiber placement architecture, AP-PLY, has been shown to give significantly improved damage tolerance characteristics of composite structures. The behavior of delaminations resulting from low speed impact damage is of particular concern. Major attention has been paid to expand current knowledge on the delamination response of simple AP-PLY composite structure and move towards in-depth understanding of the failure mechanisms behind the damage tolerance. This thesis presents the approaches to predict delamination onset and analyze delamination growth, in support of the search of the optimum woven pattern for AP-PLY composite laminates. The recovered interlaminar stress between layers combined with the maximum stress criterion determined the delamination onset of simple AP-PLY composite laminate under out-of-plane loads. 2D finite element models with cohesive elements inserted in the interfaces of woven layers have been built to evaluate the delamination initiation and propagation in the different woven patterns of simple AP-PLY composite beams. The parameters of the woven pattern, such as the woven angle, the number of woven plies, the number of straight filled plies, and the location of the woven patterns in through the thickness direction, were investigated and shown to have a significant effect on delamination creation and growth. An energy method based on beam theory was proposed to analyze the strain energy release rate (SERR) of an existing crack in an AP-PLY beam structure. The developed analytical method was implemented in isotropic materials and the obtained SERR of a crack was validated by reference results and finite element solutions. The general behavior of crack growth on the left or right crack tip was evaluated and basic trends leading to crack propagation on one side of the crack were established. A correction factor was introduced to improve the accuracy of the SERR of a small crack through the numerical calculation. The singularity of crack tip caused by dissimilar materials was investigated and was found that the inclusion of the singularity effect could increase the accuracy for small cracks. It has been shown that the neutral axis needs to be relocated to decouple the bending and membrane behavior of unsymmetrical composite laminates, thus to meet the requirement of minimizing the strain energy of the delaminated beam to calculate the SERR of a delaminated composite beam. The calculated SERR of a crack in a composite beam has been verified by comparing with a finite element model. The woven plies in AP-PLY composite laminate altered the layup and two conventional laminates with different stacking sequences were identified in an AP-PLY composite laminate based on the assumption that the resin areas were ignored. A step by step approach was developed to obtain the SERR of a crack that goes across different materials. The analytical SERR determined when two materials are used in sequence, sets the stage for optimization of AP-PLY composite laminates without taking account of the effect of the resin area. The procedure of optimization of simple AP-PLY pattern was proposed and industry may benefit for many applications. An equivalent stiffness approach was used to model regions containing resin pockets and straight or inclined composite layers. A series of three point bending tests was carried out where the failure process and loading capacity were evaluated. The methodology, procedure of optimization, philosophy outlined in this thesis might also be applied to the more complicated fully woven AP-PLY composite laminates. The work in this thesis contributes to the understanding of the behavior of AP-PLY composite laminates with delaminations
Structure function analysis of blazars AP Librae and 3c279
No full textHighest Honors in AstronomyBlazars AP Librae and 3c279 are analyzed for microvariability using a technique known as structure function analysis. AP Librae was observed in April
of 2005 and 3c279 was observed in April of 2007. The data for AP Librae was
previously reduced by Andrew Collazzi and the author reduced the data for
3c279. Both sets of data were reduced using Robert Knop's data reduction
program.
The author ran structure function analysis on both sets of data. Structure function analysis is a statistical analysis run on data that is suppose to
nd timescales of variability, periodicity, and the noise type of data. Previous analysis of AP Librae confirmed mircrovariability, which also shows up in
the structure function of AP Librae. Blazar 3c279 was much quieter than AP
Librae and showed no microvariability durning any of the nights.College of Arts and ScienceDepartment of Physics and Astronom
AP-based wireless intrusion detection systems
No full textThis thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author.
Researchers can access this thesis by asking their local university, institution or public library to
make a request on their behalf. Monash staff and postgraduate students can use the link in the References field
Environmental toxicity, redox signaling and lung inflammation:the role of glutathione
No full textGlutathione (gamma-glutamyl-cysteinyl-glycine, GSH) is the most abundant intracellular antioxidant thiol and is central to redox defense during oxidative stress. GSH metabolism is tightly regulated and has been implicated in redox signaling and also in protection against environmental oxidant-mediated injury. Changes in the ratio of the reduced and disulfide form (GSH/GSSG) can affect signaling pathways that participate in a broad array of physiological responses from cell proliferation, autophagy and apoptosis to gene expression that involve H(2)O(2) as a second messenger. Oxidative stress due to oxidant/antioxidant imbalance and also due to environmental oxidants is an important component during inflammation and respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and asthma. It is known to activate multiple stress kinase pathways and redox-sensitive transcription factors such as Nrf2, NF-kappaB and AP-1, which differentially regulate the genes for pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as the protective antioxidant genes. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms for the induction of antioxidants, such as GSH, versus pro-inflammatory mediators at sites of oxidant-directed injuries may allow for the development of novel therapies which will allow pharmacological manipulation of GSH synthesis during inflammation and oxidative injury. This article features the current knowledge about the role of GSH in redox signaling, GSH biosynthesis and particularly the regulation of transcription factor Nrf2 by GSH and downstream signaling during oxidative stress and inflammation in various pulmonary diseases. We also discussed the current therapeutic clinical trials using GSH and other thiol compounds, such as N-acetyl-l-cysteine, fudosteine, carbocysteine, erdosteine in environment-induced airways disease
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