Ferroelectric phase-transition frustration near a tricritical composition point

Phase transition describes a mutational behavior of matter states at a critical transition temperature or external field. Despite the phase-transition orders are well sorted by classic thermodynamic theory, ambiguous situations interposed between the first- and second-order transitions were exposed one after another. Here, we report discovery of phase-transition frustration near a tricritical composition point in ferroelectric Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3. Our multi-scale transmission electron microscopy characterization reveals a number of geometrically frustrated microstructure features such as self-assembled hierarchical domain structure, degeneracy of mesoscale domain tetragonality and decoupled polarization-strain relationship. Associated with deviation from the classic mean-field theory, dielectric critical exponent anomalies and temperature dependent birefringence data unveil that the frustrated transition order stems from intricate competition of short-range polar orders and their decoupling to long-range lattice deformation. With supports from effective Hamiltonian Monte Carlo simulations, our findings point out a potentially universal mechanism to comprehend the abnormal critical phenomena occurring in phase-transition materials.

Benthic and coral reef community field data for Heron Reef, Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 2002–2018

This paper describes benthic coral reef community composition point-based field data sets derived from georeferenced photoquadrats using machine learning. Annually over a 17 year period (2002–2018), data were collected using downward-looking photoquadrats that capture an approximately 1 m2 footprint along 100 m–1500 m transect surveys distributed along the reef slope and across the reef flat of Heron Reef (28 km2), Southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Benthic community composition for the photoquadrats was automatically interpreted through deep learning, following initial manual calibration of the algorithm. The resulting data sets support understanding of coral reef biology, ecology, mapping and dynamics. Similar methods to derive the benthic data have been published for seagrass habitats, however here we have adapted the methods for application to coral reef habitats, with the integration of automatic photoquadrat analysis. The approach presented is globally applicable for various submerged and benthic community ecological applications, and provides the basis for further studies at this site, regional to global comparative studies, and for the design of similar monitoring programs elsewhere.

Investigations of potsherds of miniature cups and household pots from the first millennium AD (the case study on the Western Lithuanian ceramics)

This article presents data on the structure and elemental composition of hand-built miniature cups with a smooth surface, that were enclosed into burials as funeral pottery, and household pots dated to the first millennium AD found in four different archaeological sites of Western Lithuania. Investigated funeral and household pottery samples reflect the chemical composition of the local raw materials used for their production, while the variations in composition point to different clay locations, as well as use of distinct tempers and peculiarities of ceramics firing technology.

Uncertainty Analysis of Two Copula-Based Conditional Regional Design Flood Composition Methods: A Case Study of Huai River, China

The issue of regional design flood composition should be considered when it comes to the analysis of multiple sections. However, the uncertainty accompanied in the process of regional design flood composition point identification is often overlooked in the literature. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to uncover the sensibility of marginal distribution selection and the impact of sampling uncertainty caused by the limited records on two copula-based conditional regional design flood composition methods, i.e., the conditional expectation regional design flood composition (CEC) method and the conditional most likely regional design flood composition (CMLC) method, which are developed to derive the combinations of maximum 30-day flood volumes at the two sub-basins above Bengbu hydrological station for given univariate return periods. An experiment combing different marginal distributions was conducted to explore the former uncertainty source, while a conditional copula-based parametric bootstrapping (CC-PB) procedure together with five metrics (i.e., horizontal standard deviation, vertical standard deviation, area of 25%, 50%, 75% BCIs (bivariate confidence intervals)) were designed and employed subsequently to evaluate the latter uncertainty source. The results indicated that the CEC and CMLC point identification was closely bound up with the different combinations of univariate distributions in spite of the comparatively tiny difference of the fitting performances of seven candidate univariate distributions, and was greatly affected by the sampling uncertainty due to the limited observations, which should arouse critical attention. Both of the analyzed sources of uncertainty increased with the growing T (univariate return period). As for the comparison of the two proposed methods, it seemed that the uncertainty due to the marginal selection had a slight larger impact on the CEC scheme than the CMLC scheme; but in terms of sampling uncertainty, the CMLC method performed slightly stable for large floods, while when considering moderate and small floods, the CEC method performed better.

Research Regarding Apparent Digestibility of Selected Hybrid Mulberry Leaf Chemical Content

During the growth of silkworm larvae study, also was done a research which aimed to determine the chemical composition and the digestibility of mulberry leaves from a Romanian Selected Hybrid. The results showed that advancing in the vegetation stage at the same time with different periods of the silkworm larvae�s growth, the mulberry leaves experience an aging process being noticed through its quality decreasing from chemical composition point of view. So, for example, the CP which was in average 20.78�0.627% (from DM), decreased during the study with 2.87%; while the CF had an average of 18.10�0.271%, (from DM) increased with 1.47%. Accordingly with this, to the majority of nutrients from mulberry leaves, except the crude fiber was noticed a continuous digestibility decreasing throughout larval growth period. The nutrients digestibility from the leaves registered a value of 58.45%.

Research Regarding Chemical Composition and the Digestibility of the Mulberry Leaves from Eforie Variety

During the growth of silkworm larvae study, also was done a research which aimed to determine the chemical composition and the digestibility of mulberry leaves from a Romanian variety, Eforie. The results showed that advancing in the vegetation stage at the same time with different periods of the silkworm larvae�s growth, the mulberry leaves experience an aging process being noticed through its quality decreasing from chemical composition point of view. So, for example, the CP which was in average 20.98�0.670% (from DM), decreased during the study with 3.11%; while the CF had an average of 17.91�0.434%, (from DM) increased with 2.29%. Accordingly, with this, the majority of nutrients from mulberry leaves, excepting cellulose, had an increasing of digestibility with 33.94%. It was noticed a continuous digestibility decreasing during the growth period for the CP with 22.79% and with 33.53% for NFE. The nutrients digestibility from the leaves registered a value of 59.20%.

Synthesis and Thermal Characterization of Dysprosium Zirconate

Results of investigations related to synthesis and thermal properties analysis of the Dy2Zr2O7phase was presented in this article. This material was obtained during high temperature synthesis in an actual pressure of 15 MPa, in vacuum of 3×10-6MPa, and at 1350°C with 2 hours of exposure. Feedstock materials were submicrocrystalline powders of dysprosia Dy2O3and zirconia ZrO2. Both powders were mechanically blended in alcohol before the sintering process. The final product was analysed from the phase’s composition point of view. It was revealed that main constituent elements were dysprosium zirconate with an overall formula of Dy2Zr2O7and others were Dy zirconates with a non-stoichiometric character. The presence of zirconia was found with tetragonal types of unite cell. This fact evidences that partial dissolution of Dy2O3in ZrO2took place. The obtained material was characterized by calorimetric investigations in the thermal range from 25 to 1450°C.

Tutupan karang dan komposisi ikan karang didalam dan luar kawasan konservasi pesisir timur Pulau Weh, Sabang

The study was conducted onApril to October 2013 in marine protected areas of Weh Island. The samplings were done at10 siteswhere 6 sitesare situatedinside of conservation areas, while 4 sites are situated outside of conservation areas. The purpose ofthis study was to evaluate coral covers andreef fish composition. Point intersept transect(PIT), underwater visual census (UVC) and fish catches were used to examine coral covers, abudance and biomass of reef fish. The results showed that average of coral covers, abudance and biomass of target fishes inside conservation were 54%, 1,662 ind/ha and 408.78 kh/ha, respectively, while than outside conservation was 33.05%, 1,058 ind/ha and 307.77 kg/ha, respectively. Total of reef fish species and the catch were increased from previous years, for example there are 60 species in 2010 and it was increased to 83 species in 2013. In addition the fishermen catches were increased slightly from 3.03 kg/trip in 2008 to 3.6 kg/trip in 2013. It is concluded that the coral condition and reef fish composition in the conservation are much better compared to outside of conservation areas.Keywords : Marine protect area; reef fish; Weh Island Abstrak. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada April sampai Oktober 2013 di Kawasan Konservasi Perairan Pesisir Timur Pulau Weh yang terdiri dari 10 stasiun dimana 6 stasiun berada didalam kawasan konservasi dan 4 stasiun diluar kawasan konservasi.Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menilai persentase tutupan karang dan komposisi ikan karang. Sampling menggunakan transek titik dan underwater visual sensus (UVC) dan hasil tangkapan.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa rata-rata kondisi tutupan karang, kelimpahan dan biomassa ikan target dikawasan konservasi yaitu 54%, 1.662 ind/ha dan 408,78 kg/ha, secara berurutan, sedangkan diluar kawasan konservasi adalah 33,05%, 1.058 ind/ha dan 307,77 kg/ha biomassa ikan target.Jumlah jenis ikan karang di kawasan konservasi meningkat, yaitu 60 jenis tahun 2010 menjadi 83 jenis pada tahun 2013 dan rata-rata hasil tangkapan tahun 2008 yaitu 3,03 kg/trip dan tahun 2013 yaitu 3,6 kg/trip. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa kondisi karang dan komposisi jenis dan ukuran ikan lebih baik di dalam kawasan konservasi berbanding diluar kawasan.Kata kunci: Kawasan Konservasi; Ikan karang; Pulau Weh