Moth‐eye antireflection coating fabricated by nanoimprint lithography on 1 eV dilute nitride solar cell

We report on the performance of biomimicked antireflection coating applied to dilute nitride solar cell. The coating consists of nanostructures replicating the moth‐eye geometry and has been fabricated by nanoimprint lithography directly within the window layer covering the dilute nitride absorbing junction. The mean reflectivity within the spectral range of 320–1800 nm remains under 5% for incident angles up to 45°. The effect of the coating on the cell performance was assessed by measuring the current–voltage characteristics under simulated solar illumination. A clear performance increase was identified when comparing a solar cell with the moth‐eye coating with a solar cell having a standard SiN_x/SiO₂ coating. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of the PM Gas-Phase Filter Artifact Using a Setup for Mixing Diesel-Like Soot and Hydrocarbons

The filter artifact is a significant source of error in gravimetric measurements of particulate matter (PM) exhaust. However, only a few studies on the subject exist. Results from these studies show a large discrepancy mainly because the experiments were performed using real diesel vehicle exhaust with varying exhaust composition. In this study, a setup for mixing diesel-like soot and hydrocarbon vapor was constructed for generating a stable exhaust aerosol with adjustable composition. The particle size distribution of the diesel-fueled soot generator (GMD [geometric mean diameter] adjustable between 27 and 164 nm) was found to represent “real” exhaust particulate emission. This setup was applied for studying the filter artifact on Teflon-coated glass fiber filters using pentadecane as the hydrocarbon vapor. Experiments were performed using particle and hydrocarbon concentrations of 130–700 μg/m³ and 10–12 ppm, respectively. It was found that the particle concentration of the aerosol affects the filter artifact. At lower particle concentrations, more hydrocarbon adsorption was detected. In the absence of particles, the adsorption was highest. Furthermore, filter soot load, corresponding to 0.13%–0.66% of the clean filter mass, was found to affect adsorption. Sooty filters adsorbed less vapor than clean filters. However, increasing the soot load resulted in more adsorption. Moreover, it was found that the backup filter serves as a reasonable estimate of the filter artifact only for low particle concentrations and filter soot loads. These results indicate that the filter soot load is an important parameter influencing the filter artifact, and therefore, it should be considered when performing gravimetric sampling. The setup was proven to be a unique tool for quantitative studies of the filter artifact.

Copyright 2012 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Using Analog Predistortion for Linearizing Class A–C Power Amplifiers

An analog 5th order, complex-valued polynomial predistortion IC has been built to linearize the behavior of RF power amplifiers. The predistorter can be used either at baseband or low IF frequencies and it was tested using a simple IF amplifier that could be biased to operate in classes A, AB, B and C. Intermodulation products can be reduced by 20 to 30 dB in classes A and AB over a bandwidth of several MHz. In classes B and C the shape of nonlinearity is such that a low-order polynomial predistortion function is not sufficient for linearizing them.     

Growth of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Sharp Metal Tips

The nucleation and growth of single‐walled carbon nanotubes is observed in situ in a transmission electron microscope. Carbon atoms are implanted into catalytically active metal particles by electron‐beam sputtering. The metal particles are then shaped with a focused electron beam. Once the particles have a region of high surface curvature, spontaneous nucleation and growth of single‐walled carbon nanotubes occurs on the metal particles. It is shown that the local solubility of carbon in the metal determines the nucleation of nanotubes. This is confirmed by atomistic computer simulations treating the solubility of carbon in a metal particle as a function of the size of the system.     

Nitrogen in river basins: sources, retention in the surface waters and peatlands, and fluxes to estuaries in Finland

Nitrogen export from diffuse and point sources and its retention in the major river basins of Finland is quantified and discussed. The estimated total export from river-basins in Finland was 119,000 tonnes N a(-1) for the period 1993 to 1998 based on N export from different land use types defined in a GIS-based assessment model, incorporated with estimates of N inputs from atmospheric deposition and point sources. Agriculture contributes 38% of the total export, varying in the range 35-85% in the south-western basins and 0-25% in the northern basins. This estimate of N export from agriculture was based on regional N balances together with data from small agricultural research catchments. Forestry contributes on average 9%, with increasing dominance towards eastern and northern parts of the country: from 2% to 15% in the southern-mid-western Finland basins to 10-30% in the large northern basins. 'Background' N export from forests on both mineral and organic soils contributes 27% on average; in the northern basins it may contribute from 40% up to 90% of the total load. The estimate was calculated based on practically all data available from 42 small, experimental catchments in Finland. Of the total N input to Finnish river-systems, 0% to 68% was retained in surface waters and/or peatlands, with a mean retention of 22%. The highest retention of N (36-61%) was observed in the basins with the highest lake percentages. The lowest retention (0-10%) of N was in the coastal basins with practically no lakes. In the national N mass balance, 38,000 tonnes N a(-1) (32%) was estimated as lake retention and 4,000 tonnes N a(-1) (3%) as retention in peatlands. On the basis of mass balances and sensitivity analysis, retention was in most cases estimated to be in the range of 7.5-12.5 kg ha(-1)a(-1) in lakes and 0-1.5 kg ha(-1)a(-1) in peatlands. The model results were tested using the split-sample technique and uncertainty estimates for different data sources are provided and discussed.     

Distribution of Nitrogen in the Cationized Potato Starch Granule

The distribution of a cationic reagent in the potato starch granule derivatized by reaction with 1,2-epoxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride was studied by ESCA spectroscopy. It was possible to detect and quantify the contents of nitrogen derived from proteinous material and nitrogen derived from the cationizing reagent on the surfaces of starch preparations. The results show that the differences in nitrogen distribution between cationic starches prepared by different (dry or wet) methods are negligible. According to the result it seems that the cationization takes place more easily in the amorphous material of the inner parts of the granule than in the crystalline amylopectin layer of the surface.     

Journal research data sharing policies: a study of highly-cited journals in neuroscience,physics, and operations research

Scientometrics - The practices for if and how scholarly journals instruct research data for published research to be shared is an area where a lot of changes have been happening as science policy...     

Tetrahydroquinoline/4,5-Dihydroisoxazole Molecular Hybrids as Inhibitors of Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP/ABCG2)

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the major factors in the failure of many chemotherapy approaches. In cancer cells, MDR is mainly associated with the expression of ABC transporters such as P-glycoprotein, MRP1 and ABCG2. Despite major efforts to develop new selective and potent inhibitors of ABC drug transporters, no ABCG2-specific inhibitors for clinical use are yet available. Here, we report the evaluation of sixteen tetrahydroquinoline/4,5-dihydroisoxazole derivatives as a new class of ABCG2 inhibitors. The affinity of the five best inhibitors was further investigated by the vanadate-sensitive ATPase assay. Molecular modelling data, proposing a potential binding mode, suggest that they can inhibit the ABCG2 activity by binding on site S1, previously reported as inhibitors binding region, as well targeting site S2, a selective region for substrates, and by specifically interacting with residues Asn436, Gln398, and Leu555. Altogether, this study provided new insights into THQ/4,5-dihydroisoxazole molecular hybrids, generating great potential for the development of novel most potent ABCG2 inhibitors.