Slow Route Research Articles

Dosimetric and optical properties of CaSO4:Tm and CaSO4:Tm,Ag crystals produced by a slow evaporation route

Abstract The motivation of this work was to produce TL dosimeters based on crystals of CaSO4 doped with thulium and silver, by means of a suitable new route. The crystals were produced by an adaptation of the slow evaporation route using calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as precursor, and incorporating the dopants (Tm2O3 and silver nanoparticles) in a solution of sulfuric acid, which is evaporated resulting in CaSO4:Tm or CaSO4:Tm,Ag crystal powders. X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the produced samples exhibit only a single phase corresponding to the crystal structure of anhydrite. Optical characterization was performed to determine the band gap of the materials. Samples did not show a reasonable OSL signal after stimulation with blue LEDs. TL characteristics such as glow curves, linearity and reproducibility of response, minimum detectable dose and fading were evaluated. The CaSO4:Tm samples showed TL emission glow curves with peaks in temperatures proper for dosimetry. The CaSO4:Tm,Ag samples presented a very intense peak displaced to high temperatures that could only be observed by applying heating rates below 4 °C/s. Samples doped with thulium oxide and silver nanoparticles showed the highest TL intensity and lowest fading.

Running on Empty

This issue of IEEE Design&Test is about power for electric vehicles, a subject of increasing importance. One particularly interesting article for me was the one by Korosh Vatanparvar and Mohammad Abdullah Al Faruque. This article notes that battery usage depends on speed and route, and that a slower route could save battery and thus extend the range of the car. The authors also note that this slower route might involve more usage of heating and air conditioning, which decreases range, and finding the energy-optimal route must include this factor. The authors generate energy-efficient routes as part of this work. This might be a nice addition to Google Maps and other route-finding apps, which find the fastest routes unless you tell the tool otherwise.

A Dual Route Model of Empathy: A Neurobiological Prospective.

Human beings are physically independent but are psychologically connected. We spend a lot of time dealing with others' intentions, experiences, and internal states. The term empathy describes these phenomena. Previous studies defined empathy as “the ability and tendency to share and understand others' internal state” (Zaki and Ochsner, 2012). Consistent with this definition, accumulated empirical evidence showed that empathy is a multifaceted construct composed of two components, including affective empathy and cognitive empathy (Hoffman, 1984; Decety and Jackson, 2004; Singer, 2006; Uddin et al., 2007; Shamay-Tsoory et al., 2009; Barrett et al., 2016). Recently, ever-growing studies have considered empathy under different viewpoints (e.g., developmental trajectories, naturalism, disordered population, and so on), and have summarized the independence and non-independence of affective empathy and cognitive empathy (Barrett et al., 2016). These studies provide significant contributions to the progress of empathy research. However, we are not yet to fully understand the neurocognitive mechanisms between the affective empathy and cognitive empathy. Three major limitations restrict our knowledge toward empathy. First, it is rare to characterize cognitive and affective empathy in terms of processing speed and involvement of consciousness. Second, previous research often studies cognitive and affective empathy separately. It is hard to identify and explain the interactive nature between these two components. Third, influential factors, including attention and prior knowledge, have not yet been considered in the framework of empathy, thus under-estimating their impacts on empathy processing. Attention and prior knowledge are closely linked with the two aforementioned limitations, specifically processing speed and consciousness involvement as well as the integration of affective empathy and cognitive empathy. Thus, these two factors are discussed in the present opinion. To address these limitations, the present opinion proposes a novel and general framework to summarize both behavioral and neural evidence in the literature. The proposed dual route model of empathy is mainly composed of an automatic, fast, and specific “lower route” with affective empathy as well as a complex, slow, and iterative “higher route” with cognitive empathy. This proposed empathy model aims to integrate these two routes and to include the influences of attention and prior knowledge. Previously, in the domain of emotion neuroscience, Joseph LeDuox, a pioneer to study emotions, proposed a framework with two parallel neural systems, namely a low road and a high road (LeDoux, 1998). Specifically, the low road, which is a fast, subcortical, short-latency pathway with minimal cortical involvement, directly conveys sensory information from the thalamus to the amygdala, allowing stimuli to be processed automatically without consciousness and awareness (Davis, 1992; LeDoux, 1995, 1997). These features of rapid and automatic processes construct the low road emotion processes. In contrast, the high road indicates the visual pathways from retina neuron to visual cortex, and then connects to inferior temporal lobe for processing higher level consciousness of emotion feeling, and finally directs to the amygdala (LeDoux, 1998). These features of slow processing and more involvement of consciousness establish the high road of emotion. The present opinion hypothesizes that empathy also has a similar dual route system, which includes an automatic, fast and lower-level route (i.e., lower route) and a complex, slow and higher-level route (i.e., higher route), inside our brain (Figure ​(Figure1).1). The rest of the paper is organized as a series of introductions for each component of empathy. Also, we consider these components in the proposed dual route model of empathy in order to obtain the whole picture of the empathy processing. Open in a separate window Figure 1 The conceptual visualization for the proposed dual route model of empathy.

Bend Coupling Through Near-Zero GVD Slow Light Photonic Crystal Waveguides

Slow light propagation through photonic crystal (PhC) slab devices has great potential to reduce the size and power consumption of silicon photonic optical circuits. Most commonly, slow light routing through photonic crystals is achieved by using W1 waveguide bends operating near their cutoff frequencies. Unfortunately, this leads to optical pulse distortion due the high group velocity dispersion (GVD) associated with these designs. In this letter, however, we study the coupling between slow light waveguides optimized for near-zero GVD and 60 $^{\circ }$ PhC bends. Using numerical methods and the temporal coupled mode theory, we assess the performance of single bends coupled to input/output waveguides, and S-bends composed of two cascaded bends. In this latter, we observe that the bend-waveguide quality factor has great impact over transmission and dispersion. We propose a novel 60 $^{\circ }$ PhC bend design for routing optical modes while maintained reduced dispersion. This is achieved over a -3 dB bandwidth of around 50 nm in devices with slowdown factor up to 40. We show that this 60 $^{\circ }$ PhC bend has good stability under changes in S-bend length and fabrication induced disorder. These results can lead to great improvements in the design of monolithically integrated modulators, switches, (de)multiplexers, and filters based on photonic crystals, as well as on the routing of long optical buffers and delay lines.

Departure time and route choices in bottleneck equilibrium under risk and ambiguity

This paper examines commuters’ departure time and route choices in the morning commute problem when a true distribution of travel time is unknown but belongs to a bounded distributional uncertainty set. The travel preferences towards risk and ambiguity are distinguished by adopting the criterion of ambiguity-aware Constant Absolute Risk Aversion (CARA) travel time. We first examine the dynamic user equilibrium for a single-route model with a homogeneous preference towards risk and ambiguity. Compared with risk-neutral commuters, we find that departure time window is shifted earlier for the risk-averse commuters and shifted later for the risk-seeking commuters. We also study the single bottleneck with a risk-averse class and a risk-seeking class. We show that with a larger gap between the two classes’ preferences, the congestion pattern will change from one peak to two peaks. It implies that preference heterogeneity may stagger the departure time choices and thereby relieve the average congestion. Last, we examine a two-route problem with homogeneous preference. Commuters choose between a fast and risky route (highway) and a slow and safe route (local arterial). We prove the monotonicity of the traffic flow distribution between the two routes with respect to the maximum variation in travel time. Furthermore, we find that reducing the uncertainty on the highway by providing information will reduce the total system cost and the total expected congestion simultaneously for risk-averse commuters. However, it will reduce the total expected congestion but increase the total system cost for risk-seeking commuters. In the numerical section, the price of anarchy is analyzed by varying the risk preference and the ambiguity preference.

Microvascularization of the spleen in larval and adult Xenopus laevis: Histomorphology and scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts.

Microvascular anatomy and histomorphology of larval and adult spleens of the Clawed Toad, Xenopus laevis were studied by light microscopy of paraplast embedded serial tissue sections and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of vascular corrosion casts (VCCs). Histology showed i) that white and red pulp are present at the onset of metamorphic climax (stage 57) and ii) that splenic vessels penetrated deeply into the splenic parenchyma at the height of metamorphic climax (stage 64). Scanning electron microscopy of VCCs demonstrated gross arterial supply and venous drainage, splenic microvascular patterns as well as the structure of the interstitial (extravasal) spaces representing the "open circulation routes." These spaces identified themselves as interconnected resin masses of two distinct forms, namely "broccoli-shaped" forms and highly interconnected small resin structures. Arterial and venous trees were clearly identified, as were transitions from capillaries to interstitial spaces and from interstitial spaces to pulp venules. Venous sinuses were not diagnosed (nonsinusal spleen). The splenic circulation in Xenopus laevis is "open." It is hypothesized that red blood cells circulate via splenic artery, central arteries, penicillar arteries, and red pulp capillaries primarily via "broccoli-shaped" interstitial spaces, pulp venules and veins into subcapsular veins to splenic veins while lymphocytes circulate also via the interstitial spaces represented by the highly interconnected small resin structures in vascular corrosion casts. In physiological terms, the former most likely represent the fast route for blood circulation, while the latter represent the slow route. J. Morphol. 277:1559-1569, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effect of Route Reflection on IBGP Convergence and an approach to reduce convergence time

Request for Comments (RFCs) for Border gateway Protocol (BGP) suggest that the network topology using BGP must have full mesh of IBGP sessions to avoid routing loops. Routing loop is a condition where packets are routed between two or more routers resulting in slow convergence and routing instability. Route reflection is one of the strategies to avoid full mesh of internal BGP sessions between BGP speaking routers in an autonomous system. This paper focuses on demonstrating an effect of using route reflection on convergence time in a small network. A mixed network scenario of external and internal BGP sessions is considered for demonstration. Results of the simulation have shown that, route reflection can significantly increase the convergence time avoiding full mesh. Also an approach to reduce the convergence time has been proposed. Proposed algorithm is based on the principle of creating logical group of router reflectors. The same concept can be scaled for larger networks for different scenarios.

Thermoluminescent analysis of CaSO4:Tb,Eu crystal powder for dosimetric purposes

The motivation of this work was to produce crystals of CaSO4 doped with an unusual combination of RE elements such as terbium (Tb) and europium (Eu) in different concentrations, and analyze its thermoluminescent (TL) properties. The crystals were produced by the slow evaporation route using calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as precursor, and incorporating the dopants (Tb2O3 and Eu2O3) in a solution of sulfuric acid, that is evaporated and collected again, leaving just CaSO4:Tb,Eu crystal powder. The terbium and europium ions were incorporated in concentration ratios of 1:1, 2:1 and 5:1 (weight proportions). X-ray diffraction analyses showed that samples of doped CaSO4 exhibit only a single phase corresponding to the crystal structure of anhydrite. The radioluminescence confirmed the presence of Tb3+ and Eu2+ in the crystal matrix. The CaSO4:Tb,Eu crystal powders showed TL emission glow curves with three peaks centered around 170 °C, 270 °C and 340 °C, after irradiation with a 90Sr/90Y source. Thermoluminescent (TL) characteristics such as linearity, reproducibility and fading were evaluated. Samples produced with concentration ratio of 2:1 of Tb and Eu showed the highest TL intensity. The produced CaSO4:Tb,Eu samples present TL properties useful for dosimetric purposes.

Theoretical model for AB5 alloy hydride formation: the electrochemical activation of the hydrogen diffusion process

This paper examines the hydrogen diffusion process during activation cycles in LaNi3.6Co0.7Mn0.4 − xMoxAl0.3 alloys with x = 0; 0.1 and 0.25 in strong alkaline solutions. The effect of molybdenum substitution was analyzed by potential, composition, and temperature (E-c-T) and charge/discharge curves. Hysteresis values and the potential between charge/discharge curves have been used as parameters for efficiency loss. Further, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was carried out in order to visualize the charge transfer and diffusion component during activation process. A mathematical approach is presented here based on the mechanism involved in the course of the hydriding reaction solving a spherical second Fick’s law. Thus, adsorbed hydrogen is considered to be transferred from the surface to inner sites, and the diffusion into the bulk of the alloy is demonstrated to be the slow route. Diffusion overpotentials and time constants for AB5 alloys were calculated as a function of the number of hydrogenation cycles. These results show that the molybdenum content has positive effects in kinetic behavior.

Catalytic activity of human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (hIDO1) at low oxygen

A cytokine-inducible extrahepatic human indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (hIDO1) catalyzes the first step of the kynurenine pathway. Immunosuppressive activity of hIDO1 in tumor cells weakens host T-cell immunity, contributing to the progression of cancer. Here we report on enzyme kinetics and catalytic mechanism of hIDO1, studied at varied levels of dioxygen (O2) and l-tryptophan (l-Trp). Using a cytochrome b5-based activating system, we measured the initial rates of O2 decay with a Clark-type oxygen electrode at physiologically-relevant levels of both substrates. Kinetics was also studied in the presence of two substrate analogs: 1-methyl-l-tryptophan and norharmane. Quantitative analysis supports a steady-state rather than a rapid equilibrium kinetic mechanism, where the rates of individual pathways, leading to a ternary complex, are significantly different, and the overall rate of catalysis depends on contributions of both routes. One path, where O2 binds to ferrous hIDO1 first, is faster than the second route, which starts with the binding of l-Trp. However, l-Trp complexation with free ferrous hIDO1 is more rapid than that of O2. As the level of l-Trp increases, the slower route becomes a significant contributor to the overall rate, resulting in observed substrate inhibition.

Heating-rate-induced porous α-Fe2O3 with controllable pore size and crystallinity grown on graphene for supercapacitors.

Porous α-Fe2O3/graphene composites (S-PIGCs) have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method combined with a slow annealing route. The S-PIGCs as a supercapacitors electrode material exhibit an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 343.7 F g(-1) at a current density of 3 A g(-1), good rate capability, and excellent cycling stability. The enhanced electrochemical performances are attributed to the combined contribution from the optimally architecture of the porous α-Fe2O3, as a result of a slow annealing, and the extraordinary electrical conductivity of the graphene sheets.

Improved Ant Colony Algorithm and its Application on the Routing Selection of Stable Clusters in Wireless Sensor Networks

Aiming at the shortcomings of slow convergence speed and instable optimal routing which will occur when ant colony algorithm is applied in wireless sensor networks, an improved algorithm is proposed in this paper, which can be used to optimize cluster heads number, cluster unequally and keep the majorizing clusters stable. In addition, the improved ant colony algorithm is used for routing in the majorizing cluster. Simulation experiments show that the stable cluster colony algorithm is useful in reducing the energy consumption and improving the speed of data package transmission.

Strangers on a Train

Strangers on a Train Rakesh Malhotra and Linda Tomlinson Trains are to India as cars are to America. The full tenor of that statement cannot be felt until one actually has the opportunity to experience a train ride in India, especially one that traverses the Himalayan Mountains. In July of 2012, students and faculty from Fayetteville State University (FSU), a Historically Black College and University located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, had such an experience! The best way to describe this experience would be to call it a curiously breath-taking journey. Regardless of the aesthetics of the train travel, there is a definite practical utility and usefulness for trains in India that cannot be negated or ignored. Although foreign travelers tend to get caught up in the scenic beauty of the tunnels, waterfalls, bridges, stations, vegetation, animals, and people encountered along the route, the indigenous rider’s dependency on trains as a vital mode of transportation is quite obvious to the keen observer. India is a populous nation and although vehicles are available, trains are crucial because they provide a proper balance and alternative to a society dominated by private transportation. The Kalka Shimla Railway highlighted in the photograph is one of the three Mountain Railways of India declared World Heritage sites in 2008 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO 2013). This narrow-gauge railway connects Shimla, the summer capital of British India to the rest of the nation by train. It passes through beautiful hill country and 102 tunnels for about 96 kilometers or the equivalent of 60 miles. It is affectionately called a “Toy Train” because of its narrow, winding, and slow passage route. Starting in the Shivalik foothills in Kalka (656 meters or 2000 feet), the train takes a leisurely 5 hours to climb to 2075 meters or 6811 feet to reach Shimla in the Himalayas. Passengers are provided with a panoramic view of India’s mountain lands and its inhabitants. Without the train, many of these wonderful sights in the high mountain elevations would be “hidden” from view. Needless to say, for a group coming from the a small town in the American South, experiencing the wonders of India’s Himalayan culture while traveling on a piece of colonial history itself, was both exciting and overwhelming for various reasons. First, most American southerners are not accustomed to the high elevations of [End Page 1] the Himalayas and the concomitant temperatures associated with these altitudes. After finally becoming acclimatized to the “heat” of the Punjab plains, it was jolting to stick one’s hand out the window or stand in the doorway of the Toy Train to feel the cool breeze flowing among the Himalayan pine trees penetrate one’s body and soul! Of course we were told to expect a change in temperature on our sojourn from Jalandhar to Shimla, but actual experience always makes for a poignant and lasting impression. The coolness came as an immediate relief and unexpected pleasure for the North Carolina travelers and we availed ourselves of every opportunity to “feel” the mountains. Second, the mountainous terrain was different, to say the least, than the landscapes back home. Some southern states, including North Carolina, are indeed mountainous, but traveling up into the Himalayas, which include some of the highest peaks on Earth, presented a different scenario for most students from FSU. We did not waste this opportunity. Traveling through the many tunnels similar to the one in the cover photograph gave us Americans the opportunity to imagine the complexity of building a railroad through a mountain range such as the Himalayas. Certainly this experience offered us the opportunity to speculate about the rationale and urgency the British must have possessed in order to undertake such a complicated endeavor. Some tunnels were short and sweet, others were long and mysterious, creating a sense of intrigue to what could have been a tedious trip. On the other hand, the winding and weaving of the train cars created some challenges in terms of photography and videography. As a consequence, the group learned that standing in the open doorway of a train, provided a perfect position for engaging in both activities. Furthermore...

Crossrail: the slow route to London's regional express railway

The Crossrail project was inaugurated in 2010 and is due for completion in 2018, allowing regional trains to run through rail tunnels deep under London and out the other side instead of terminating their journeys at one of the city's nineteenth-century termini. The long-established S-Bahn systems of German cities and the Parisian regional express network, RER, have proved the value of regional urban express networks as infrastructures that facilitate compact, polycentric metropolitan development. London is a very late comer to the RER concept, yet the potential for joining up its radial routes was recognized more than a century ago. Many different combinations have been promoted, but none until now has left the drawing-board. The paper explores the long, unsuccessful history of cross-London rail planning, highlighting the significance of comparison with Paris, and drawing lessons for the contribution of rail to ‘save the city’.

Kinetics of Avibactam Inhibition against Class A, C, and D β-Lactamases

Avibactam is a non-β-lactam β-lactamase inhibitor with a spectrum of activity that includes β-lactamase enzymes of classes A, C, and selected D examples. In this work acylation and deacylation rates were measured against the clinically important enzymes CTX-M-15, KPC-2, Enterobacter cloacae AmpC, Pseudomonas aeruginosa AmpC, OXA-10, and OXA-48. The efficiency of acylation (k2/Ki) varied across the enzyme spectrum, from 1.1 × 10(1) m(-1)s(-1) for OXA-10 to 1.0 × 10(5) for CTX-M-15. Inhibition of OXA-10 was shown to follow the covalent reversible mechanism, and the acylated OXA-10 displayed the longest residence time for deacylation, with a half-life of greater than 5 days. Across multiple enzymes, acyl enzyme stability was assessed by mass spectrometry. These inhibited enzyme forms were stable to rearrangement or hydrolysis, with the exception of KPC-2. KPC-2 displayed a slow hydrolytic route that involved fragmentation of the acyl-avibactam complex. The identity of released degradation products was investigated, and a possible mechanism for the slow deacylation from KPC-2 is proposed.

Surface photovoltage properties of self-assembled CdSe quantum dots arrays fabricated by slow evaporation approach

Densely packed and highly ordered CdSe quantum dots (QDs) arrays were prepared through a slow evaporation route; to study the photo-generated charges property of ordered CdSe QDs arrays, illumination induced charge separation in the CdSe QDs arrays were investigated through surface photovoltage (SPV) technology based on lock in amplifier. The significantly enhanced SPV signal of CdSe QDs arrays after post-annealing treatment could be attributed to the greatly increased escape of holes from CdSe QDs surface, as well as the decreased the inter nanocrystal distance. Moreover, much faster excess holes dominates in the frequency range of 30 Hz and 200 Hz, which results in the positive charging of the CdSe QDs arrays near the surface. Our results give a guide for its practical photoelectric applications based on nanocrystals.

The effect of travel time variability on route choice decision: a generalized linear mixed model based analysis

The effect of travel time variability (TTV) on route choice behavior is explored in this study. A stated preference survey is conducted to collect behavioral data on Shanghai drivers’ choice between a slow but stable route and a fast but unreliable route. Travel time and TTV are respectively measured by mean and standard deviation of random travel time. The generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) is applied to quantify trade-offs between travel time and TTV. The GLMM based route choice model effectively accounts for correlations among repeated observations from the same respondent, and captures heterogeneity in drivers’ values of TTV. Model estimation results show that, female drivers and drivers with rich driving experience are less likely to choose a route with high TTV; smaller expected travel time of a route increase the probability of its being chosen; all drivers have intrinsic preference for a route with smaller expected travel time, but the degree of preference may vary within the population; TTV on average has negative effects on route choice decision, but a small portion of drivers are risk-prone to choose a fast but unreliable route despite high TTV.

Important role of chemical interaction on flame extinction in downstream interaction between stretched premixed H2-air and CO-air flames

Important role of chemical interaction in flame extinction is numerically investigated in downstream interaction among lean (rich) and lean (rich) premixed as well as partially premixed H2- and CO-air flames. The strain rate varies from 30 to 5917 s−1 until interacting flames cannot be sustained anymore. Flame stability diagrams mapping lower and upper limit fuel concentrations for flame extinction as a function of strain rate are presented. Highly stretched interacting flames are survived only within two islands in the flame stability map where partially premixed mixture consists of rich H2-air flame, extremely lean CO-air flame, and a diffusion flame. Further increase in strain rate finally converges to two points. It is found that hydrogen penetrated from H2-air flame (even at lean flame condition) participates in CO oxidation vigorously due to the high diffusivity such that it modifies the slow main reaction route CO + O2 → CO2 + O into the fast cyclic reaction route involving CO + OH → CO2 + H. These chemical interactions force even rich extinction boundaries with deficient reactant Lewis numbers larger than unity to be slanted at high strain rate. Appreciable amount of hydrogen in the side of lean H2-air flame also oxidizes the CO penetrated from CO-air flame, and this reduces flame speed of the H2-air flame, leading to flame extinction. At extremely high strain rates, interacting flames are survived only by a partially premixed flame such that it consists of a very rich H2-air flame, an extremely lean CO-air flame, and a diffusion flame. In such a situation, both the weaker H2- and CO-air flames are parasite on the stronger diffusion flame such that it can lead to flame extinction in the situation of weakening the stronger diffusion flame. Important role of chemical interaction in flame extinction is discussed in detail.

On runoff generation and the distribution of storage deficits

A number of hydrological models use a distribution function to develop the non-linear rainfall–runoff catchment response. In this study the beta function is applied to represent a distribution of soil moisture storages in conjunction with a fast and slow pathway routing. The BETA3 and BETA4 modules, presented in this paper, have a distribution of discrete storage elements that have variable and redistributed water levels at each timestep. The PDM-BETA5 is an analytical solution with a similar structure to the commonly used probability distribution model (PDM). Model testing was performed on three catchments in the Northern Pennine region in England. The performances of the BETA models were compared with a commonly used formulation of the PDM. The BETA models performed marginally better than the PDM in calibration and parameter estimation was better with the BETA models than for the PDM. The BETA models had a small advantage in validation on the hydrologically fast responding test catchments.

Influence of ionic mobility on the phase transformation route in Y 3Al 5O 12 (YAG) stoichiometry

Ionic mobilities of Y 3+ and Al 3+ are controlled using either amorphous or well-crystallized precursors and enhanced by the addition of molten NaCl flux. Experimental results indicate that phase transformation prefers a relatively slow reaction route via YAM–YAP–YAG because of limited ionic mobility when either Y 3+ or Al 3+ is confined to a crystallized structure. The selection of intermediate phases can be either Y-rich (YAM) or Al-rich (YAP), depending on the competition of ionic mobility between Y 3+ and Al 3+ during phase transformation. The YAH–YAG route is selected only when the ionic mobility of Y 3+ or Al 3+ is high enough to induce a nucleation and growth reaction while a certain degree of stoichiometric inhomogeneity is presented; otherwise YAG is crystallized directly from amorphous precursors without passing through any intermediate phase.