Solvothermal Synthesis of Gd

Uniform Gd2O3 : Eu3+ luminescent nanowires were prepared on a large scale by a facile solvothermal method using polyethylene glycol (PEG-2000) as template and ethanol as solvent; the properties and the structure were characterized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) showed that the precursors are hexagonal phase Gd(OH)3 crystals, and the samples calcined at 800C° are cubic phase Gd2O3. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images indicated that the samples are nanowires with a diameter of 30 nm and a length of a few microns. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed that the ratio of D50→F72 to D50→F71 transition peak of the calcined samples is stronger than that of the precursors, which confirmed that the color purity of the Gd2O3 : Eu3+ is better than that of the precursors. The as-obtained Gd2O3 : Eu3+ luminescent nanowires show a strong red emission corresponding to D50→F72 transition (610 nm) of Eu3+ under ultraviolet excitation (250 nm), which have potential application in red-emitting phosphors and field emission display devices

Influence of aluminum substitution on microstructural, electrical, dielectric and electromagnetic properties of sol-gel synthesized yttrium iron garnet (YlG)

Aluminum-substituted Yttrium iron garnet, Al-YIG (Y3AlxFe5-xO12; x = 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0) samples were synthesized via auto combustion sol-gel technique. The obtained powder was heated at 950 °C, pressed into pellets and sintered at 1200 oC. The samples microstructures were studied using Field emissions scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The average grain size decreased from 0.46 µm at x = 0.4 to a minimum value of 0.33 µm at x = 2.0. Elemental composition of the samples was studied by energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), while bulk density was measured by Archimedes principle. Electrical and dielectric measurements were carried out using Agilent impedance analyzer. Generally, the samples resistivity decreased with Al concentration. At 1 MHz frequency, the sample x = 0.4 has the highest resistivity of 2.19 × 105 Ωm which decreases down to its minimum value of 1.75 × 104 Ωm at x = 2.0. The dielectric constant for all the samples decreased with frequency. For the sample x = 0.4, the ε'r decreased from 49.03 at 40 Hz to 8.08 at 1 MHz. The dielectric loss tangent, tan δ decreased with increasing frequency, while it increased with Al substitution. Permeability values were calculated from permittivity data. The real ermeability decreases from 1263.12 at x = 0.4 to 6.96 at x = 1.2, and the decreased down to 11.74 at x = 2.0. The high dielectric constant, low resistivity and low loss values of the samples indicate their suitability for miniaturization of radio frequency devices, antenna and filter resonator

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Effect of PEO on the hydrophilicity of PLLA ultrafine fibers

The Polyethylene oxide (PEO) / Poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) ultrafine blend fibers have been prepared by electrospinning. The hybrid solvent of trichloromethane and ethanol was found to be the co-solvent for electrospinning. The PEO/PLLA blend solutions in various ratios were studied for electrospinning into ultrafine fibers. The morphology of the fibers was shown by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The hydrophilicity of fiber samples was characterized by determining their water contact angle. The spun ultrafine fibers are expected to be used in the native extracellular matrix for tissue engineering

The Chinese Version of the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials: Translation, Adaptation, and Validation Study

BackgroundProviding people with understandable and actionable health information can considerably promote healthy behaviors and outcomes. To this end, some valid and reliable scales assessing the patient-friendliness of health education materials, like the PEMAT-P (Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for printable materials), have been well developed in English-speaking countries. However, the English version of the PEMAT-P has not been translated and adapted into simplified Chinese and validated in mainland China. ObjectiveThis study sought to translate the PEMAT-P tool into a simplified Chinese (Mandarin) version (C-PEMAT-P, a Chinese version of the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for printable materials) and verify its validity and reliability for assessing the comprehensibility and actionability of health education resources written in simplified Chinese. As a result, the validated C-PEMAT-P could be used to guide health researchers and educators to design more comprehensible and actionable materials for more tailored and targeted health education and interventions. MethodsWe translated the PEMAT-P into simplified Chinese in the following three steps: (1) forward-translating the PEMAT-P into simplified Chinese, (2) back-translating the simplified Chinese version into English, and (3) testing translation equivalence linguistically and culturally by examining the original English version of the PEMAT-P and the back-translated English version of the tool. Any discrepancies between the original English tool and the back-translated English tool were resolved through a panel discussion among the research team of all authors to produce a revised forward-translated Chinese version (C-PEMAT-P). We then evaluated the clarity of construction and wording as well as the content relevance of the C-PEMAT-P using a 4-point ordinal scale to determine its content validity. After that, 2 native Chinese speakers (health educators) used the C-PEMAT-P to rate 15 health education handouts concerning air pollution and health to validate their reliability. We calculated the Cohen coefficient and Cronbach α to determine the interrater agreement and internal consistency of the C-PEMAT-P, respectively. ResultsWe finalized the translated Chinese tool after discussing the differences between the 2 English versions (original and back-translated) of the PEMAT-P, producing the final Chinese version of the PEMAT-P (C-PEMAT-P). The content validity index of the C-PEMAT-P version was 0.969, the Cohen coefficient for the interrater scoring agreement was 0.928, and the Cronbach α for internal consistency was .897. These values indicated the high validity and reliability of the C-PEMAT-P. ConclusionsThe C-PEMAT-P has been proven valid and reliable. It is the first Chinese scale for assessing the comprehensibility and actionability of Chinese health education materials. It can be used as an assessment tool to evaluate health education materials currently available and a guide to help health researchers and educators design more comprehensible and actionable materials for more tailored and targeted health education and interventions