Analysis of competing ground state channels observed in decay of Cm isotopes

The possible decay modes of even [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]Cm parents have been analyzed to explore the relative emergence of various ground state emission mechanisms using the collective clusterization approach. Based on the collective availability of [Formula: see text], cluster and spontaneous fission (SF) experimental half-life data, we limit our study to isotopes of Cm. In view of this, the most probable decaying fragments from [Formula: see text]Cm are identified in different mass regions and a comprehensive analysis of the shell closure effect of the decay fragments corresponding to different mass domains is carried out within the methodology of Preformed Cluster Model (PCM). The isotopic analysis of the mass distributions and the related barrier characteristic quantities are investigated in view of ground state decay of [Formula: see text]Cm isotopes. The PCM calculated [Formula: see text] and SF half-lives compare nicely with the experimental data and the predictions are made on cluster and heavy-cluster decay of Cm isotopes, where experimental data is not available. It will of further interest to validate these predictions by performing corresponding experiments.

Effect of Packaging Conditions on the Shelf-life of Chicken Frankfurters With and Without Lactate Addition

Shelf-life of frankfurters depends on various factors such as its composition, packaging material and method used as well as the effect of external conditions (temperature). The objective of this study was to determine the shelf-life of packaged (vacuum, shrink and modified atmosphere, MA) chicken frankfurters during storage at different temperatures. For this purpose regular and with sodium lactate addition chicken frankfurters were produced. For MA packaging (MAP), under gas mixture of 70% N2 and 30% CO2, a package consisting of container and heat sealable cover was used. Different laminate composition was used for vacuum and shrink packaging of frankfurters. During frankfurters storage physico-chemical (pH, aw), and microbiological (aerobic mesophiles, lactic acid bacteria and total bacterial count) analyses were performed. Packaging materials were analyzed for their barrier characteristic (oxygen permeability). The shelf-life of frankfurters can be extended if packaged in MA (54 days) and shrink (45 days) packaging compared to 36 days of shelf-life in vacuum packaging, at 3 °C. Higher shelf-life is obtained for frankfurters with lactate addition, in all packaging conditions, stored at 6 °C.

A New Model for Predicting Small Crack Growth Rates

A new model for predicting the small-crack growth rates is proposed under the constant amplitude loading. With the use of two important parameters, the transition crack length a0 and the barrier characteristic parameter d*, the new model can reflect the abnormal feature of small-crack growth. The effect of crack closure is considered in the model as well. The model is shown to provide a better correlation to the experimental results for the Ti-6Al-4V alloy under various stress levels at a stress ratio of R = 0.4.

Anomalous Behavior of Semi-Insulating Silicon Rich Amorphous Silicon Nitride

ABSTRACTSilicon rich PECVD amorphous silicon nitride has been used as an inter-level metal dielectric for making laser programmable connections on restructurable VLSI. There is an apparent Schottky barrier characteristic that has a 0.11 eV lower barrier for Ti than for Al. The stoichiometry was analyzed using RBS and HFS, and found to contain approximately 55% Si, 25% N, and 20% H by atomic percentages. The optical bandgap is 2.01 eV as found by the Tauc method.The insulating behavior depends on time in an anomalous manner at applied fields greater than about 0.2 MV/cm, whereby the current increases with time for several secondsuntil it reaches an equilibrium value. The current decays in a normal charging manner at lower fields and in samples with insulating sub-layers between the electrodes and thenitride. When used as a gate dielectric, there is a long-time charging behavior that shifts the flat band voltage in the opposite direction of the applied stress. This shift is indicative of polarization within the dielectric. This behavior is similar to that of a reverse biased a-Si:H p-i-n diode.