Fracture analysis of bounded magnetoelectroelastic layers with interfacial cracks under magnetoelectromechanical loads: Plane problem

Fracture behaviors of multiple interfacial cracks between dissimilar magnetoelectroelastic layers subjected to in-plane magnetoelectromechanical loads are investigated by using integral transform method and singular integral equation technique. The number of the interfacial cracks is arbitrary, and the crack surfaces are assumed to be magnetoelectrically impermeable. The field intensity factors including stress, electric displacement and magnetic induction intensity factors as well as the energy release rates (ERRs) are derived. The effects of loading combinations, crack configurations and material property parameters on the fracture behaviors are evaluated according to energy release rate criterion. Numerical results show that both negative electrical and magnetic loads inhibit crack extension, and that the material constants have different and important effects on the ERRs. The results presented here should have potential applications to the design of multilayered magnetoelectroelastic structures. © The Author(s), 2010.postprin

Improved Charge-Trapping Properties of TiON/HfON Dual Charge Storage Layer by Tapered Band Structure

published_or_final_versio

Improved performance by using TaON/SiO2 as dual tunnel layer in Charge-Trapping nonvolatile memory

postprin

Improved Memory Characteristics by NH3-Nitrided GdO as Charge Storage Layer for Nonvolatile Memory Applications

published_or_final_versio

Recent changes of water discharge and sediment load in the Yellow River basin, China

The Yellow River basin contributes approximately 6% of the sediment load from all river systems globally, and the annual runoff directly supports 12% of the Chinese population. As a result, describing and understanding recent variations of water discharge and sediment load under global change scenarios are of considerable importance. The present study considers the annual hydrologic series of the water discharge and sediment load of the Yellow River basin obtained from 15 gauging stations (10 mainstream, 5 tributaries). The Mann-Kendall test method was adopted to detect both gradual and abrupt change of hydrological series since the 1950s. With the exception of the area draining to the Upper Tangnaihai station, results indicate that both water discharge and sediment load have decreased significantly (p<0.05). The declining trend is greater with distance downstream, and drainage area has a significant positive effect on the rate of decline. It is suggested that the abrupt change of the water discharge from the late 1980s to the early 1990s arose from human extraction, and that the abrupt change in sediment load was linked to disturbance from reservoir construction.Geography, PhysicalGeosciences, MultidisciplinarySCI(E)43ARTICLE4541-5613

Wavelength-multiplexed duplex transceiver based on III-V/Si hybrid integration for off-chip and on-chip optical interconnects

A six-channel wavelength-division-multiplexed optical transceiver with a compact footprint of 1.5 x 0.65 mm(2) for off-chip and on-chip interconnects is demonstrated on a single silicon-on-insulator chip. An arrayed waveguide grating is used as the (de)multiplexer, and III-V electroabsorption sections fabricated by hybrid integration technology are used as both modulators and detectors, which also enable duplex links. The 30-Gb/s capacity for each of the six wavelength channels for the off-chip transceiver is demonstrated. For the on-chip interconnect, an electrical-to-electrical 3-dB bandwidth of 13 GHz and a data rate of 30 Gb/s per wavelength are achieved

Sea-level constraints on the amplitude and source distribution of Meltwater Pulse 1A.

During the last deglaciation, sea levels rose as ice sheets retreated. This climate transition was punctuated by periods of more intense melting; the largest and most rapid of these—Meltwater Pulse 1A—occurred about 14,500 years ago, with rates of sea-level rise reaching approximately 4 m per century1, 2, 3. Such rates of rise suggest ice-sheet instability, but the meltwater sources are poorly constrained, thus limiting our understanding of the causes and impacts of the event4, 5, 6, 7. In particular, geophysical modelling studies constrained by tropical sea-level records1, 8, 9 suggest an Antarctic contribution of more than seven metres, whereas most reconstructions10 from Antarctica indicate no substantial change in ice-sheet volume around the time of Meltwater Pulse 1A. Here we use a glacial isostatic adjustment model to reinterpret tropical sea-level reconstructions from Barbados2, the Sunda Shelf3 and Tahiti1. According to our results, global mean sea-level rise during Meltwater Pulse 1A was between 8.6 and 14.6 m (95% probability). As for the melt partitioning, we find an allowable contribution from Antarctica of either 4.1 to 10.0 m or 0 to 6.9 m (95% probability), using two recent estimates11, 12 of the contribution from the North American ice sheets. We conclude that with current geologic constraints, the method applied here is unable to support or refute the possibility of a significant Antarctic contribution to Meltwater Pulse 1A

PIWIL2 (piwi-like RNA-mediated gene silencing 2)

Review on PIWIL2, with data on DNA/RNA, on the protein encoded and where the gene is implicated

A novel missense mutation of bovine lipase maturation factor 1 (LMF1) gene and its association with growth traits

Lipase maturation factor 1 (LMF1) gene is a novel candidate gene in severe hypertriglyceridemia. To detect the polymorphism in LMF1 gene in 804 Chinese cattle, we firstly described the polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), DNA sequence and PCR-RFLP methods for detecting mutations of LMF1 gene, which affected growth and development in animal. The results showed a novel mutation in exon 4: NC_007326.3: g.27154 T>C, which resulted in a missense mutation within LMF1 protein (p.197 Trp>Arg). Genotype TT was dominant in four breeds, and genotypic frequencies of LMF1 exon 4 AvaI locus were calculated in four populations which agreed with Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05). The association analysis showed that individuals with genotype TC had greater body weight than those with genotype TT at 12, 18 and 24 months of age in Nanyang cattle (P < 0.05).Key words: Bovine, polymorphism, growth traits, LMF1 gene