Impact of Arsenic Related Defects on Electronic Performance of ZrO2/GaAs:Density Functional Theory Calculations

Arsenic can diffuse into high-κ dielectrics during OaAs-based metal oxide semiconductor transistor process, which causes the degradation of gate dielectrics. To explore the origins of the degradation, we employ nonlocal B3LYP hybrid functional to study arsenic related defects in ZrO2. Via band alignments between the OaAs and ZrO2, we are able to determine the defect formation energy in the GaAs relative to the ZrO2 band gap and assess how they will affect the device performance. Arsenic at the interstitial site serves as a source of positive fixed charge while at the oxygen or zirconium substitutional site changes its charge state within the band gap of GaAs. Moreover, it is found that arsenic related defects produce conduction band offset reduction and gap states, which will increase the gate leakage current.

Detecting the core of a network by the centralities of the nodes

Many networks exhibit the core/periphery structure.Core/periphery structure is a type of meso-scale structure that consists of densely connected core nodes and sparsely connected peripheral nodes.Core nodes tend to be well-connected,both among themselves and to peripheral nodes,which tend not to be well-connected to other nodes.In this brief report,we propose a new method to detect the core of a network by the centrality of each node.It is discovered that such nodes with non-negative centralities often consist in the core of the networks.The simulation is carried out on different real networks.The results are checked by the objective function.The checked results may show the effectiveness of the simulation results by the centralities of the nodes on the real networks.Furthermore,we discuss the characters of networks with the single core/periphery structure and point out the scope of the application of our method at the end of this paper.

A New Economic Assessment Index for the Impact of Climate Change on Grain Yield

The impact of climate change on agriculture has received wide attention by the scientific community. This paper studies how to assess the grain yield impact of climate change, according to the climate change over a long time period in the future as predicted by a climate system model. The application of the concept of a traditional ＂yield impact of meteorological factor （YIMF）＂ or ＂yield impact of weather factor＂ to the grain yield assessment of a decadal or even a longer timescale would be suffocated at the outset because the YIMF is for studying the phenomenon on an interannual timescale, and it is difficult to distinguish between the trend caused by climate change and the one resulting from changes in non-climatic factors. Therefore, the concept of the yield impact of climatic change （YICC）, which is defined as the difference in the per unit area yields （PUAY） of a grain crop under a changing and an envisaged invariant climate conditions, is presented in this paper to assess the impact of global climate change on grain yields. The climatic factor has been introduced into the renowned economic Cobb-Douglas model, yielding a quantitative assessment method of YICC using real data. The method has been tested using the historical data of Northeast China, and the results show that it has an encouraging application outlook.

OPTIMALITY CONDITIONS AND DUALITY RESULTS FOR NONSMOOTH VECTOR OPTIMIZATION PROBLEMS WITH THE MULTIPLE INTERVAL-VALUED OBJECTIVE FUNCTION

In this paper, both Fritz John and Karush-Kuhn-Tucker necessary optimality conditions are established for a （weakly） LU-efficient solution in the considered nonsmooth multiobjective programming problem with the multiple interval-objective function. Further, the sufficient optimality conditions for a （weakly） LU-efficient solution and several duality results in Mond-Weir sense are proved under assumptions that the functions constituting the considered nondifferentiable multiobjective programming problem with the multiple interval- objective function are convex.

Reactor Network Synthesis Based on Instantaneous Objective Function Characteristic Curves

It is believed that whether the instantaneous objective function curves of plug-flow-reactor (PFR) and continuous-stirred-tank-reactor (CSTR) overlap or not, they have a consistent changing trend for complex reactions (steady state, isothermal and constant volume). As a result of the relation of the objective functions (selectivity or yield) to the instantaneous objective functions (instantaneous selectivity or instantaneous reaction rate), the optimal reactor network configuration can be determined according to the changing trend of the instantaneous objective function curves. Further, a recent partition strategy for the reactor network synthesis based on the instantaneous objective function characteristic curves is proposed by extending the attainable region partition strategy from the concentration space to the instantaneous objective function-unreacted fraction of key reactant space. In this paper, the instantaneous objective function is closed to be the instantaneous selectivity and several samples are examined to illustrate the proposed method. The comparison with the previous work indicates it is a very convenient and practical systematic tool of the reactor network synthesis and seems also promising for overcoming the dimension limit of the attainable region partition strategy in the concentration space.

Spratlies Archipelago as the Australasian Tektite Impact Crater, Details of Formation &Richard Muller’s Dust Cloud Explanation for the Mid-Pleistocene Ice Age Cycle Transition

Several significant events of a geological nature occurred approximately 800 ka before the present: (1) Australasian tektite fall (AA), (2) Brunhes-Matuyama geomagnetic reversal (BMR), (3) mid-Pleistocene changes in ice age cycles. Add to these the undated fault system (4) in the South-West (SW) of the South China Sea (SCS). Here we offer a unified cause for all four of these in (5), an impact in the SCS of a large, massive cosmic object, likely a comet, obliquely coming from the SW at an extremely shallow angle, striking the Sunda shelf yet unexploded with the shock of its compressed air bow wave, and causing the continual shelf and slope to collapse, resulting in the fault system (4), then traveling almost tangentially to the surface, exploding at impact with the sea surface, ejecting the tektites (1), creating the formation underlying the later atolls of Spratlies Archipelago (6), Nansha Islands in Chinese, & causing the BMR (2). An explanation of event (3) was Richard Muller’s hypothesis of planet Earth passing through an interplanetary dust cloud periodically due to ecliptic precession. Here we hypothesize this cloud actually is a belt of Australasian tektites ejected into space at super-orbital velocities that Earth encounters about every 100 ka.

On the Causes of Negative Impact of CET-4

As one of the world well-known high-stakes tests, CET-4 （College English Test Band 4） changed from being generally accepted to being widely questioned in the past 25 years. In spite of a series of reforms of CET-4, the negative impact of CET-4 remains intense. Three main reasons are probed into here. Firstly, the objective of CET-4 is ambiguous. Secondly, the test objective does not accord with teaching objective. Finally, test contents do not match well with the practical language use. To improve the present passive state of CET-4, some suggestions are given.

Effects of ply orientation and material on the ballistic impact behavior of multilayer plain-weave aramid fabric targets

Virtual testing of fabric armor provides an efficient and inexpensive means of systematically studying the influence of various architectural and material parameters on the ballistic impact behavior of woven fabrics, before actual laboratory prototypes are woven and destructively tested. In this finite element study, the combined effects of individual ply orientations and material properties on the impact performance of multi-layered, non-stitched woven aramid fabrics are studied using 2-and 4-sided clamping configurations. Individual ply orientations of 0°, ±15°, ±30°, and ±45° are considered along with three levels of inter-yarn friction coefficient. Functionally graded fabric targets are also considered wherein the yarn stiffness progressively increases or decreases through the target thickness while keeping the yarn strain energy density constant and with all other material and architectural parameters unchanged for consistency. For each target configuration, one non-penetrating and one penetrating impact velocity is chosen. The impact performance is evaluated by the time taken to arrest the projectile and the backface deformation for the non-penetrating impacts, and by the residual velocity for the penetrating impact tests. All deterministic impact simulations are performed using LS-DYNA. 2-sided clamped targets and lower inter-yarn frictional levels generally resulted in better impact performance.The functionally graded targets generally showed either similar or inferior impact performance than the baseline fabric target configurations for the non-penetrating shots. Some performance improvements were observed for the penetrating shots when the yarn stiffness was progressively decreased through the layers in a direction away from the strike face, with additional performance enhancements achieved by simultaneously reducing the inter-yarn friction.

Optical Luminosity Function of the QSOs Observed with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Seven (SDSS DR7)

We have determined the Optical Luminosity Function (OLF) of a sample of 80946 Quasi Stellar Objects (QSOs) taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Seven (SDSS DR7) with redshift range??0.3 z Mi < -22.5. The Monte Carlo Technique of numerical integration is used. The sample of QSOs is divided into seven sub-samples with redshift in the ranges: 0.30 z z z < 1.05,?1.05 z z z < 1.80, and 1.80 z < 2.05. Each redshift interval is binned in absolute magnitude with bin width ΔMi = -0.5. A flat universe with cosmological parameters Ωm = 0.3, Ω∧ = 0.7, and Hubble constant Ho = 70.0 km·s-1·Mpc-1 is used. From the optical luminosity function a clear evidence of AGN downsizing is observed, i.e. the number density of the less luminous AGNs peaks at lower redshift than the number density of the more luminous AGNs.

An effective method to calculate the electron impact excitation cross sections of helium from ground state to a final channel in the whole energy region

The electron impact excitation(EIE) cross sections of an atom/ion in the whole energy region are needed in many research fields, such as astrophysics studies, inertial confinement fusion researches and so on. In the present work, an effective method to calculate the EIE cross sections of an atom/ion in the whole energy region is presented. We use the EIE cross sections of helium as an illustration example. The optical forbidden 1^(1)S–n^(1)S(n = 2–4) and optical allowed 1^(1)S–n^(1)P(n = 2–4) excitation cross sections are calculated in the whole energy region using the scheme that combines the partial wave R-matrix method and the first Born approximation. The calculated cross sections are in good agreement with the available experimental measurements. Based on these accurate cross sections of our calculation, we find that the ratios between the accurate cross sections and Born cross sections are nearly the same for different excitation final states in the same channel. According to this interesting property, a universal correction function is proposed and given to calculate the accurate EIE cross sections with the same computational efforts of the widely used Born cross sections,which should be very useful in the related application fields. The datasets presented in this paper are openly available at https://www.doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00142.

The pig as a preclinical traumatic brain injury model:current models,functional outcome measures,and translational detection strategies

Traumatic brain injury(TBI) is a major contributor of long-term disability and a leading cause of death worldwide. A series of secondary injury cascades can contribute to cell death, tissue loss, and ultimately to the development of functional impairments. However, there are currently no effective therapeutic interventions that improve brain outcomes following TBI. As a result, a number of experimental TBI models have been developed to recapitulate TBI injury mechanisms and to test the efficacy of potential therapeutics. The pig model has recently come to the forefront as the pig brain is closer in size, structure, and composition to the human brain compared to traditional rodent models, making it an ideal large animal model to study TBI pathophysiology and functional outcomes. This review will focus on the shared characteristics between humans and pigs that make them ideal for modeling TBI and will review the three most common pig TBI models–the diffuse axonal injury, the controlled cortical impact, and the fluid percussion models. It will also review current advances in functional outcome assessment measures and other non-invasive, translational TBI detection and measurement tools like biomarker analysis and magnetic resonance imaging. The use of pigs as TBI models and the continued development and improvement of translational assessment modalities have made significant contributions to unraveling the complex cascade of TBI sequela and provide an important means to study potential clinically relevant therapeutic interventions.

SELECTION OF OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONS AND APPLICATION OF GENETIC ALGORITHMS IN DAMPING DESIGN OF PIPE SYSTEM

The vibration failure of pipe system of aeroengine seriously influences the safety of aircraft.Its damping design is determined by the selection of the design target,method and their feasibility.Five objective functions for the vibration design of a pipeline or pipe system are introduced,namely,the frequency,amplitude,transfer ratio,curvature and deformation energy as options for the optimization process.The genetic algorithms(GA)are adopted as the opti- mization method,in which the selection of the adaptive genetic operators and the method of implementation of the GA process are crucial.The optimization procedure for all the above ob- jective functions is carried out using GA on the basis of finite element software-MSC/NASTRAN. The optimal solutions of these functions and the stress distribution on the structure are calculated and compared through an example,and their characteristics are analyzed.Finally we put forward two new objective functions,curvature and deformation energy for pipe system optimization.The calculations show that using the curvature as the objective function can reflect the case of minimal stress,and the optimization results using the deformation energy represent lesser and more uni- form stress distribution.The calculation results and process showed that the genetic algorithms can effectively implement damping design of engine pipelines and satisfy the efficient engineering design requirement.

Optimization method of fi rst-arrival waveform inversion based on the L-BFGS algorithm

The fi rst arrival waveform inversion(FAWI)has a strong nonlinearity due to the objective function using L2 parametrization.When the initial velocity is not accurate,the inversion can easily fall into local minima.In the full waveform inversion method,adding a cross-correlation function to the objective function can eff ectively reduce the nonlinearity of the inversion process.In this paper,the nonlinearity of this process is reduced by introducing the correlation objective function into the FAWI and by deriving the corresponding gradient formula.We then combine the first-arrival wave travel-time tomography with the FAWI to form a set of inversion processes.This paper uses the limited memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno(L-BFGS)algorithm to improve the computational effi ciency of inversion and solve the problem of the low effi ciency of the FAWI method.The overthrust model and fi eld data test show that the method used in this paper can eff ectively reduce the nonlinearity of inversion and improve the inversion calculation effi ciency at the same time.

Theoretical Calculation about the High Energy Density Molecules of Nitrate Ester Substitution Derivatives of Prismane

The nitrate ester substitution derivatives of prismane were studied at the B3LYP/6-311G＊＊ level. The sublimation enthalpies and heats of formation in gas phase and solid state were calculated. The detonation performances were also predicted by using the famous Kamlet-Jacbos equation. Our calculated results show that introducing nitrate ester group into prismane is helpful to enhance its detonation properties. Stabilities were evaluated through the bond dissociation energies, bond order, characteristic heights（H50） and band gap calculations. The trigger bonds in the pyrolysis process of prismane derivatives were confirmed as O–ON2 bond. The BDEs of all compounds were large, so these prismane derivatives have excellent stability consistent with the results of H50 and band gap.

Impact of Nonlethal Levels of Metacid-50 and Carbaryl on Thyroid Function and Cholinergic System of Channa punctatus

With regard to brain acetylcholinesterase and acetylcholine and serum triiodothyronine(T_3) and thyroxine(T_4)profiles,a biphasic response pattern was elicited in Channa punctatus chroni- cally exposed to nonlethal doses of locally used pesticides,namely,Metacid-50 and Carbaryl. Data revealed that these xenobiotics caused significant inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase activity and a decrease in thyroxine level accompanied by a concurrent increase in acetylcholine accumulation and T_3 level.It is surmised that Metacid-50 and Carbaryl influence both neural and hormonal functions.1989 Academic Press.Inc.

Mathematical Analysis of Nipah Virus Infections Using Optimal Control Theory

The optimal use of intervention strategies to mitigate the spread of Nipah Virus (NiV) using optimal control technique is studied in this paper. First of all we formulate a dynamic model of NiV infections with variable size population and two control strategies where creating awareness and treatment are considered as controls. We intend to find the optimal combination of these two control strategies that will minimize the cost of the two control measures and as a result the number of infectious individuals will decrease. We establish the existence for the optimal controls and Pontryagin’s maximum principle is used to characterize the optimal controls. The numerical simulation suggests that optimal control technique is much more effective to minimize the infected individuals and the corresponding cost of the two controls. It is also monitored that in the case of high contact rate, controls have to work for longer period of time to get the desired result. Numerical simulation reveals that the spread of Nipah virus can be controlled effectively if we apply control strategy at early stage.