Interaction of O vacancies and domain structures in single crystal BaTi O3: Two-dimensional ferroelectric model

Two-dimensional simulations on the interactions of oxygen vacancies and different domain structures in barium titanate single crystal were carried out using the phase field method. The evolution of the spontaneous polarizations and oxygen vacancies was coupled through Maxwell's equation. The results showed that two barriers near the electrodes existed in both the 90°and 180°domain structures. It has also been observed that while an intrinsic electrostatic potential drop across the 90°domain wall created the electric fields which drove the electrons and oxygen vacancies aggregate on the different sides of the domain wall, the 180°domain wall had insignificant interaction with the potential, and no electron or vacancy accumulation in 180°domain structure was observed. Polarization charge density is believed to be the origin of this difference. © 2008 The American Physical Society.published_or_final_versio

VIABILITY, FATTY ACID COMPOSITION, AND STRUCTURE OF THE CORALLINE ALGA CORALLINA PILULIFERA

The decrease in the seaweed flora in some rocky areas, known as algal whitening or barren ground, is associated with some species of coralline algae. To determine the biological characteristics of a representative species of branched coralline alga, the number of medullary tiers was counted and ranged from 12 to 16. The 18S rDNA, psbA, and rbcL genes were used to confirm the identification of Corallina pilulifera. Measuring viability using triphenyl tetrazolium chloride showed highly viability from December to January. Cultural conditions of 16 C, 16 h light:8 h dark cycle, and 40 mu E m(-2) s(-1) light intensity were optimal for maintaining the viability of the coralline alga for up to three days. The fatty acids included 31.4% omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid. Scanning electron microscopy of the surface structure revealed unique round wells about 7.9 +/- 1.3 mu m in diameter. The coralline alga, preventing fleshy seaweeds, may be used as a potential template for the creation of new environmentally friendly biomimetic antifouling material against the attachment of soft foulants, especially micro- and macroalgae.X111Ysciescopu

Structure and dielectric properties of cubic Bi<inf>2</inf>(Zn <inf>1/3</inf>Ta<inf>2/3</inf>)<inf>2</inf> O<inf>7</inf> thin films

Pyrochlore Bi2(Zn1/3Ta2/3)2 O7 (BZT) films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates. In contrast to bulk monoclinic BZT ceramics, the BZT films have a cubic structure mediated by an interfacial layer. The dielectric properties of the cubic BZT films [ε∼177, temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) ∼-170 ppm/°C] are much different from those of monoclinic BZT ceramics (ε∼61, TCC ∼+60 ppm/°C). Increasing the thickness of the BZT films returns the crystal structure to the monoclinic phase, which allows the dielectric properties of the BZT films to be tuned without changing their chemical composition. © 2009 American Institute of Physics

Soft-Boosted Self-Constructing Neural Fuzzy Inference Network

© 2013 IEEE. This correspondence paper proposes an improved version of the self-constructing neural fuzzy inference network (SONFIN), called soft-boosted SONFIN (SB-SONFIN). The design softly boosts the learning process of the SONFIN in order to decrease the error rate and enhance the learning speed. The SB-SONFIN boosts the learning power of the SONFIN by taking into account the numbers of fuzzy rules and initial weights which are two important parameters of the SONFIN, SB-SONFIN advances the learning process by: 1) initializing the weights with the width of the fuzzy sets rather than just with random values and 2) improving the parameter learning rates with the number of learned fuzzy rules. The effectiveness of the proposed soft boosting scheme is validated on several real world and benchmark datasets. The experimental results show that the SB-SONFIN possesses the capability to outperform other known methods on various datasets

Situational-Context for Virtually Modeling the Elderly

The generalized aging of the population is incrementing the pressure over, frequently overextended, healthcare systems. This situations is even worse in underdeveloped, sparsely populated regions like Extremadura in Spain or Alentejo in Portugal. In this paper we propose an initial approach to use the Situational-Context, a technique to seamlessly adapt Internet of Things systems to the needs and preferences of their users, for virtually modeling the elderly. These models could be used to enhance the elderly experience when using those kind of systems without raising the need for technical skills. The proposed virtual models will also be the basis for further eldercare innovations in sparsely populated regions

Reversible change in electrical and optical properties in epitaxially grown Al-doped ZnO thin films

Aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) films were epitaxially grown on sapphire (0001) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. As-deposited AZO films had a low resistivity of 8.01× 10-4 Ω cm. However, after annealing at 450 °C in air, the electrical resistivity of the AZO films increased to 1.97× 10-1 Ω cm because of a decrease in the carrier concentration. Subsequent annealing of the air-annealed AZO films in H2 recovered the electrical conductivity of the AZO films. In addition, the conductivity change was reversible upon repeated air and H2 annealing. A photoluminescence study showed that oxygen interstitial (Oi′) is a critical material parameter allowing for the reversible control of the electrical conducting properties of AZO films. © 2008 American Institute of Physics

Ubiquitin-like modifier FAT10 attenuates RIG-I mediated antiviral signaling by segregating activated RIG-I from its signaling platform

RIG-I is a key cytosolic RNA sensor that mediates innate immune defense against RNA virus. Aberrant RIG-I activity leads to severe pathological states such as autosomal dominant multi-system disorder, inflammatory myophathies and dermatomyositis. Therefore, identification of regulators that ensure efficient defense without harmful immune-pathology is particularly critical to deal with RIG-I-associated diseases. Here, we presented the inflammatory inducible FAT10 as a novel negative regulator of RIG-Imediated inflammatory response. In various cell lines, FAT10 protein is undetectable unless it is induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines. FAT10 non-covalently associated with the 2CARD domain of RIG-I, and inhibited viral RNA-induced IRF3 and NF-kappa B activation through modulating the RIG-I protein solubility. We further demonstrated that FAT10 was recruited to RIG-I-TRIM25 to form an inhibitory complex where FAT10 was stabilized by E3 ligase TRIM25. As the result, FAT10 inhibited the antiviral stress granules formation contains RIG-I and sequestered the active RIG-I away from the mitochondria. Our study presented a novel mechanism to dampen RIG-I activity. Highly accumulated FAT10 is observed in various cancers with pro-inflammatory environment, therefore, our finding which uncovered the suppressive effect of the accumulated FAT10 during virus-mediated inflammatory response may also provide molecular clue to understand the carcinogenesis related with infection and inflammation.11109Ysciescopu

Plant Homeo Domain Finger Protein 8 Regulates Mesodermal and Cardiac Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells Through Mediating the Histone Demethylation of pmaip1

published_or_final_versio

Seed-layer mediated orientation evolution in dielectric Bi-Zn-Ti-Nb-O thin films

Highly (hhh) -oriented pyrochlore Bi-Zn-Ti-Nb-O (BZTN) thin films were fabricated via metal-organic decomposition using orientation template layers. The preferred orientation was ascribed to the interfacial layer, the lattice parameter of which is similar to BZTN. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy supported that the interfacial layer consists of Bi and Pt. The (hhh) -oriented thin films exhibited a highly insulating nature enabling feasible applications in electronic devices, particularly voltage tunable application. The BZTN thin films did not show any apparent dielectric anisotropy and the slightly enhanced dielectric properties were discussed in connection to the internal stress and the grain boundary effect. © 2007 American Institute of Physics