铁铬铝合金晶粒长大及合金中稀土元素

研究了不同稀土含量铁铬铝合金,在高温下晶粒长大及界面结构。结果表明:在1200℃以上高温,稀土组元(以La为主)对抑制合金的晶界长大有一定效果,La_2O_3可作为TiN相析出的形核中心,细小TiN质点可在晶界上出现,阻碍晶界迁移;在变温过程中,La向界而扩散,在晶界以La_2O_3形式出现,同时稀土加速氧穿过氧化膜向基体中渗透,导致Al_2O_3及La_2O_3在基体中形成。     

机械设计中的模糊规划模型及其解法

本文应用 Fuzzy 集理论,描述了机械设计中的模糊现象。提出了机械设计的 Fuzzy 最优化方法。并进一步论证了 Fuzzy 最优化可转化为普通规划问题。通过实例计算,证明了本文提出的方法是有效的。     

镍磷合金镀层的强化性能与机制

本文借助于DSC热扫描仪、电子显微镜和硬度计等仪器,研究了化学沉积镍磷合金镀层的强化性能和机制。试验结果表明,随着镀层的磷含量增加,镀层硬度上升,然后下降;在热处理过程中,镀层的硬度变化经历了一个最大值过程,最高硬度出现在400℃。低磷镀层表现为沉淀强化过程,高磷镀层产生分散强化作用。     

矿物和岩石的魔幻世界

这是一本图册集，收录了欧洲、美国、澳大利亚和冰岛等国的135张精美的彩色照片，从辽阔的岩石风景照片，到微小的细节特写，范围跨度极大。图册中水晶、宝石和化石的特写镜头与岩石和矿物的薄而透明的细微纹理图案的微缩图像交替出现。作者或如实记录或添加修饰地“放大”了主题，带领读者走进各种各样令人惊讶的新形态和透视的空间，时而抽象，时而现实。     

Improved method of large scale purification of acetylcholinesterase from the electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) by affinity chromatography

Résumé Une méthode basée sur d'affinité chromatographique nous a permis de purifier complètement l'acétylcholinestérase des organes électriques du gymnote (Electrophorus electricus). L'activité spécifique de l'acétylcholinestérase ainsi établie en milligrammes dépasse 950 mM de substrat hydrolysé (acétylcholine)/mg protéine/h et sa pureté a été vérifiée par électrophorèse sur gel de polyacrylamide.

---

---

This work was supported by grants: USPHS No. GM-01839 and U.C. San Francisco Academic Senate Research Committee, Grant No. 46.     

Controlling the dynamics of spontaneous emission from quantum dots by photonic crystals

Control of spontaneously emitted light lies at the heart of quantum optics. It is essential for diverse applications ranging from miniature lasers and light-emitting diodes, to single-photon sources for quantum information, and to solar energy harvesting. To explore such new quantum optics applications, a suitably tailored dielectric environment is required in which the vacuum fluctuations that control spontaneous emission can be manipulated. Photonic crystals provide such an environment: they strongly modify the vacuum fluctuations, causing the decay of emitted light to be accelerated or slowed down, to reveal unusual statistics, or to be completely inhibited in the ideal case of a photonic bandgap. Here we study spontaneous emission from semiconductor quantum dots embedded in inverse opal photonic crystals. We show that the spectral distribution and time-dependent decay of light emitted from excitons confined in the quantum dots are controlled by the host photonic crystal. Modified emission is observed over large frequency bandwidths of 10%, orders of magnitude larger than reported for resonant optical microcavities. Both inhibited and enhanced decay rates are observed depending on the optical emission frequency, and they are controlled by the crystals' lattice parameter. Our experimental results provide a basis for all-solid-state dynamic control of optical quantum systems.     

Trichomonas hydrogenosomes contain the NADH dehydrogenase module of mitochondrial complex I

Hydrogenosomes are double-membraned ATP-producing and hydrogen-producing organelles of diverse anaerobic eukaryotes. In some versions of endosymbiotic theory they are suggested to be homologues of mitochondria, but alternative views suggest they arose from an anaerobic bacterium that was distinct from the mitochondrial endosymbiont. Here we show that the 51-kDa and 24-kDa subunits of the NADH dehydrogenase module in complex I, the first step in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, are active in hydrogenosomes of Trichomonas vaginalis. Like mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase, the purified Trichomonas enzyme can reduce a variety of electron carriers including ubiquinone, but unlike the mitochondrial enzyme it can also reduce ferredoxin, the electron carrier used for hydrogen production. The presence of NADH dehydrogenase solves the long-standing conundrum of how hydrogenosomes regenerate NAD+ after malate oxidation. Phylogenetic analyses show that the Trichomonas 51-kDa homologue shares common ancestry with the mitochondrial enzyme. Recruitment of complex I subunits into a H2-producing pathway provides evidence that mitochondria and hydrogenosomes are aerobic and anaerobic homologues of the same endosymbiotically derived organelle.     

Unusual phase transitions in ferroelectric nanodisks and nanorods

Bulk ferroelectrics undergo structural phase transformations at low temperatures, giving multi-stable (that is, multiple-minimum) degenerate states with spontaneous polarization. Accessing these states by applying, and varying the direction of, an external electric field is a key principle for the operation of devices such as non-volatile ferroelectric random access memories (NFERAMs). Compared with bulk ferroelectrics, low-dimensional finite ferroelectric structures promise to increase the storage density of NFERAMs 10,000-fold. But this anticipated benefit hinges on whether phase transitions and multi-stable states still exist in low-dimensional structures. Previous studies have suggested that phase transitions are impossible in one-dimensional systems, and become increasingly less likely as dimensionality further decreases. Here we perform ab initio studies of ferroelectric nanoscale disks and rods of technologically important Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 solid solutions, and demonstrate the existence of previously unknown phase transitions in zero-dimensional ferroelectric nanoparticles. The minimum diameter of the disks that display low-temperature structural bistability is determined to be 3.2 nm, enabling an ultimate NFERAM density of 60 x 10(12) bits per square inch-that is, five orders of magnitude larger than those currently available. Our results suggest an innovative use of ferroelectric nanostructures for data storage, and are of fundamental value for the theory of phase transition in systems of low dimensionality.