Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) thin films on indium tin oxide and glass substrates have been fabricated and subjected to a non-adiabatic annealing process. The films showed subtle changes in their structure and optical properties as well as an increase in conductivity due to the effects of rapid thermal annealing. Through a combination of Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy studies in conjunction with electrical characterization, and four-point probe measurements, material enrichment of conductive PEDOT domains at the polymer-metal interface have been demonstrated, which well explains the surface conductivity improvement of a thin film of PEDOT:PSS after annealing.

Methanogenic Archaea are found in a wide range of environments and use several strategies to adjust to changes in extracellular solute concentrations. One methanogenic archaeon, Methanosarcina thermophila TM-1, can adapt to various osmotic conditions by synthesis of ␣-glutamate and a newly discovered compatible solute, N-acetyl-␤-lysine, or by accumulation of glycine betaine (betaine) and potassium ions from the environment. Since betaine transport has not been characterized for any of the methanogenic Archaea, we examined the uptake of this solute by M. thermophila TM-1. When cells were grown in mineral salts media containing from 0.1 to 0.8 M NaCl, M. thermophila accumulated betaine in concentrations up to 140 times those of a concentration gradient within 10 min of exposure to the solute. The betaine uptake system consisted of a single, high-affinity transporter with an apparent K s of 10 M and an apparent maximum transport velocity of 1.15 nmol/min/mg of protein. The transporter appeared to be specific for betaine, since potential substrates, including glycine, sarcosine, dimethyl glycine, choline, and proline, did not significantly inhibit betaine uptake. M. thermophila TM-1 cells can also regulate the capacity for betaine accumulation, since the rate of betaine transport was reduced in cells pregrown in a high-osmolarity medium when 500 M betaine was present. Betaine transport appears to be H ؉ and/or Na ؉ driven, since betaine transport was inhibited by several types of protonophores and sodium ionophores.

In the recent few years, high power electronic becomes one of the fastest growing market segments of semiconductor industry, because of the strong demand of high energy conversion efficiency and low energy loss, for the green environment protection. The major applications are motor drivers, UPS, PV inverters, hybrid/electric vehicle, rail traction and wind turbines…etc. Those applications are typically operating at very high voltage (> 200V) and high current (> 50A), and also need to operate under high temperature and harsh environment. Therefore, the circuit boards for such applications must achieve outstanding characteristics in terms of electrical, thermal, and mechanical performance, in order to provide reliable functionality during operation. Ceramics are no doubt the unique material that can offer excellent performance to survive at such operation conditions, and can be used as the core material of the circuit board for power modules. Therefore, in order to further understand the advantages and disadvantages of each ceramic technology, such as DBC, DPC, and thick film substrates, a comprehensive comparison study on reliability, thermal, and electrical performance were discussed.

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In order for the pipeline industry to usher in the next-level fracture mechanics engineering analysis, reasonable and prudent fracture toughness characterizations are needed to improve burst pressure predictions and fatigue crack growth analysis of pipelines with planar cracks. Converting Charpy V-Notch (CVN) value to fracture toughness via different empirical correlation models derived throughout the years, while laudable, have inherent shortcomings. The main issues being that the Charpy toughness test is not a fracture mechanics-based measurement and the transferability of sub-scale fracture toughness testing is often not completely understood nor is correctly applied. This paper expands on these shortcomings and presents solutions which are supported by fracture toughness data obtained from the pipe boy and seam weld of API 5L line pipe steels. In this manner, best available toughness derivations for mean toughness in base metal and long seam welds are presented. Suggestions for standard fracture mechanics sub-scale coupon testing, such as ASTM E1820, on pipeline steel samples are delineated with rationale for each test type. The transferability of fracture toughness from sub-scale coupon testing results to that exhibits in full-scale pipe failure are demonstrated in the paper. This fracture toughness test database and other similar data sets can be combined and serve as the basis for establishing an industry wide Pipeline Material Database which would mirror established material databases in the aerospace industry such as NASGRO and AFMAT. It is envisioned that a centralized and validated Pipeline Material Database will be expanded to include fatigue crack growth rate data and other pipeline material characterization data sets. These data will support minimizing material assumptions and increase the accuracy of structural integrity predictions to improve the overall pipeline performance. This combined database would be accessible to engineers, analysts, and researchers and updated at regular intervals as more data becomes available.