Investigation on the formation of Cu-Fe nano crystalline super-saturated solid solution developed by mechanical alloying

In this study, the formation of super saturated solid solution in the binary Cu-Fe system was investigated. Three powder blends with 30, 50 and 70 wt.% of Fe were milled for different times to 96 h. The variations of lattice parameter and inter-planar spacing were calculated and analyzed using X-ray diffraction analysis (XDA). The anisotropy of lattice deformation in the FCC phase was studied and the obtained results were compared to milled pure Cu powder. Furthermore, crystallite size was calculated using Scherer formula in comparison with Rietveld full profile refinement method. Considering the previous studies about the formation of non-equilibrium FCC and BCC phases, the phase evolution has been discussed and the proportion of each phase was calculated using Rietveld refinement method. Supplementary studies on the evolution of microstructure and formation of solid solution were carried out using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Finally, high angle annular dark field (HAADF) imaging was utilized to find out the level of homogeneity in the resulting phases. While true alloying takes place in each phase, the final structure consists of both FCC and BCC nano-crystallites. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Positively selected amino acid replacements within the RuBisCO enzyme of oak trees are associated with ecological adaptations

Phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood (PAML) has become the standard approach to study positive selection at the molecular level, but other methods may provide complementary ways to identify amino acid replacements associated with particular conditions. Here, we compare results of the decision tree (DT) model method with ones of PAML using the key photosynthetic enzyme RuBisCO as a model system to study molecular adaptation to particular ecological conditions in oaks (Quercus). We sequenced the chloroplast rbcL gene encoding RuBisCO large subunit in 158 Quercus species, covering about a third of the global genus diversity. It has been hypothesized that RuBisCO has evolved differentially depending on the environmental conditions and leaf traits governing internal gas diffusion patterns. Here, we show, using PAML, that amino acid replacements at the residue positions 95, 145, 251, 262 and 328 of the RuBisCO large subunit have been the subject of positive selection along particular Quercus lineages associated with the leaf traits and climate characteristics. In parallel, the DT model identified amino acid replacements at sites 95, 219, 262 and 328 being associated with the leaf traits and climate characteristics, exhibiting partial overlap with the results obtained using PAML

Feasibility of the use of ( ZnxHg(1-x)Te ternary compound as a spectrometer of nuclear radiations

In this paper in order to achieve a suitable spectrometer for nuclear radiation detection at room temperature, effect of adding the element Hg to binary compound semiconductor ZnTe was studied completely. Electronic structure and transport properties of ternary compound semiconductor ZnxHg(1-x)Te (ZHT) simulated using ABINIT as a computational code based on density functional theory. According to this simulation the range of x≥0.8 was selected. This simulations including good response function compared to CdTe simulated by using MCNP as a computational code, shows that ZHT in the above range is a suitable nuclear spectrometer at room temperature