Page composer to translate binary electrical data to optical form

Composer converts binary data to optical form for storage as hologram. Device consists of an array of deformable metal membranes controlled by MOSFET's. Device is fast, produces high contrast ratios, does not degrade with extended use, and can be addressed from diverse angles

Preliminary evaluation of probiotic properties of Lactobacillus strains isolated from Sardinian dairy products

Twenty-three Lactobacillus strains of dairy origin were evaluated for some functional properties relevant to their use as probiotics. A preliminary subtractive screening based on the abilities to inhibit the growth of microbial pathogens and hydrolyze conjugated bile salts was applied, and six strains were selected for further characterization including survival under gastrointestinal environmental conditions, adhesion to gut epithelial tissue, enzymatic activity, and some safety properties. All selected strains maintained elevated cell numbers under conditions simulating passage through the human gastrointestinal tract, well comparable to the values obtained for the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, and were able to adhere to Caco-2 cells to various extents (from 3 to 20%). All strains exhibited high aminopeptidase, and absent or very low proteolytic and strong β-galactosidase activities; none was found to be haemolytic or to produce biogenic amines and all were susceptible to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Our results indicate that the Lactobacillus strains analyzed could be considered appropriate probiotic candidates, due to resistance to GIT simulated conditions, antimicrobial activity, adhesion to Caco-2 cell-line, and absence of undesirable properties. They could be used as adjunct cultures for contributing to the quality and health related functional properties of dairy products

Influence of interface potential on the effective mass in Ge nanostructures

The role of the interface potential on the effective mass of charge carriers is elucidated in this work. We develop a new theoretical formalism using a spatially dependent effective mass that is related to the magnitude of the interface potential. Using this formalism we studied Ge quantum dots (QDs) formed by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) and co-sputtering (sputter). These samples allowed us to isolate important consequences arising from differences in the interface potential. We found that for a higher interface potential, as in the case of PECVD QDs, there is a larger reduction in the effective mass, which increases the confinement energy with respect to the sputter sample. We further understood the action of O interface states by comparing our results with Ge QDs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the O states can suppress the influence of the interface potential. From our theoretical formalism we determine the length scale over which the interface potential influences the effective mass

A new coupling solution for G3-PLC employment in MV smart grids

This paper proposes a new coupling solution for transmitting narrowband multicarrier power line communication (PLC) signals over medium voltage (MV) power lines. The proposed system is based on an innovative PLC coupling principle, patented by the authors, which exploits the capacitive divider embedded in voltage detecting systems (VDS) already installed inside the MV switchboard. Thus, no dedicated couplers have to be installed and no switchboard modifications or energy interruptions are needed. This allows a significant cost reduction of MV PLC implementation. A first prototype of the proposed coupling system was presented in previous papers: it had a 15 kHz bandwidth useful to couple single carrier PSK modulated PLC signals with a center frequency from 50–200 kHz. In this paper, a new prototype is developed with a larger bandwidth, up to 164 kHz, thus allowing to couple multicarrier G3-PLC signals using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) digital modulation. This modulation ensures a more robust communication even in harsh power line channels. In the paper, the new coupling system design is described in detail. A new procedure is presented for tuning the coupling system parameters at first installation in a generic MV switchboard. Finally, laboratory and in-field experimental test results are reported and discussed. The coupling performances are evaluated measuring the throughput and success rate in the case of both 18 and 36 subcarriers, in one of the different tone masks standardized for the FCC-above CENELEC band (that is, from 154.6875–487.5 kHz). The experimental results show an efficient behavior of the proposed coupler allowing a two-way communication of G3-PLC OFDM signals on MV networks

Light harvesting with Ge quantum dots embedded in SiO2 and Si3N4

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Germanium quantum dots (QDs) embedded in SiO2 or in Si3N4 have been studied for light harvesting purposes. SiGeO or SiGeN thin films, produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, have been annealed up to 850 degrees C to induce Ge QD precipitation in Si based matrices. By varying the Ge content, the QD diameter can be tuned in the 3-9 nm range in the SiO2 matrix, or in the 1-2 nm range in the Si3N4 matrix, as measured by transmission electron microscopy. Thus, Si3N4 matrix hosts Ge QDs at higher density and more closely spaced than SiO2 matrix. Raman spectroscopy revealed a higher threshold for amorphous-to-crystalline transition for Ge QDs embedded in Si3N4 matrix in comparison with those in the SiO2 host. Light absorption by Ge QDs is shown to be more effective in Si3N4 matrix, due to the optical bandgap (0.9-1.6 eV) being lower than in SiO2 matrix (1.2-2.2 eV). Significant photoresponse with a large measured internal quantum efficiency has been observed for Ge QDs in Si3N4 matrix when they are used as a sensitive layer in a photodetector device. These data will be presented and discussed, opening new routes for application of Ge QDs in light harvesting devices. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC

Metachronal wave and hydrodynamic interaction for deterministic switching rowers

We employ a model system, called rowers, as a generic physical framework to define the problem of the coordinated motion of cilia (the metachronal wave) as a far from equilibrium process. Rowers are active (two-state) oscillators interacting solely through forces of hydrodynamic origin. In this work, we consider the case of fully deterministic dynamics, find analytical solutions of the equation of motion in the long wavelength (continuum) limit, and investigate numerically the short wavelength limit. We prove the existence of metachronal waves below a characteristic wavelength. Such waves are unstable and become stable only if the sign of the coupling is reversed. We also find that with normal hydrodynamic interaction the metachronal pattern has the form of stable trains of traveling wave packets sustained by the onset of anti-coordinated beating of consecutive rowers.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure