The fish disease epidemiology is urgent to be investigated for the surveillance and prevention. The diseased fish showed splenomegaly with diffusion of white nodules and microscopical granulomatous formation. It is important to develop a method of pathogens isolated from clinical samples with serial dilution method and disc diffusion method. Representative colonies were selected from diseased cobia on BHIA plate and were inoculated onto MacConkey agar, TCBS agar, and blood agar. The cage-culture of the different bacterial groups detected in the survey of bacteria isolated from THOD, HDSB, EMD with serial dilution method. 119 from 128 isolated strains were Gram¡¦s negative (93%), including pathogenic Vibrio spp. 57% (73/128) in THOD. 54 from 90 isolated strains were Gram¡¦s negative (60%), including pathogenic Vibrio spp. 12.2% (11/90) in HDSB. 61 from 104 isolated strains were Gram¡¦s negative (59%), including pathogenic Vibrio spp. 70.2% (77/90) in EMD. In different times diseased grouper, 104 from 139 isolated strains were Gram¡¦s negative (75%), including pathogenic Vibrio spp. 88% (123/139), in 2003. While 24 from 44 isolated strains were Gram¡¦s negative (55%), including pathogenic Vibrio spp. 73% (32/44), in 2004. 66 from 75 isolated strains were Gram¡¦s negative (88%), including pathogenic Vibrio spp. 97% (73/75) by disc dilution method in EMD. 9 from 31 isolated strains were Gram¡¦s negative (30%), including pathogenic Vibrio spp. 26% (8/31), by disc dilution method of grouper in PCG. A DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) technique can identify six groups of bacteria from cobia, and J6, R13, T29 have similarity 100%. Quantity One Version 4.5 (Bio-Rad) can identify six groups of bacteria from diffusion methods that F group diluted the bacterial strain from serial dilution method. B group and E group diluted the bacterial strain from disc diffusion method. Higher resistance rates of the different bacterial strains isolated from cobia and were £]-lactam and susceptible were observed in quinolones.

Oligomers of soft and hard segments of unsaturated polyesters (UPE) were synthesized in two steps of esterification. For the hard segment, isophthalic acid was first reacted with 1,2-propanediol, then maleic anhydride was added for further esterification. For the soft segment, diethylene glycol was used to replace 1,2-propanediol. Oligomers of soft and hard segments were blended in different ratios, and then cured with various amount of styrene. Dynamic mechanical and the stress-strain properties of these cured UPEs were evaluated. The results indicated that both stress and strain were above the criteria of the inhibitors when the amount of hard segment oligomer was 30, 60 or 70 wt% of UPE, and the added styrene was 35 or 45 phr relative to UPE. The formula of 30 wt% hard segment, 70 wt% soft segment, and 45 phr styrene was selected for the following studies. Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and poly(dimethyl siloxane) were incorporated into the uncured UPE resins via sol-gel process. Then fillers and 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 wt% of magnesium hydroxide were blended with UPE resins and cured. Self-extinguished phenomenon was observed in the erosion tests when the amount of magnesium hydroxide was equal or higher than 15 wt% relative to UPE. After 101 days of nitroglycerin migration experiments, the migration rate and amount were significantly reduced for these filled specimens compared with the current formula of inhibitors. In addition, 2.5 or 5 phr of phenyl triethoxysilane (PhTES) relative to UPE was added together with TEOS to study the physical properties of the organic-inorganic hybrid materials. When the amount of PhTES was 2.5 phr, it was found that the miscibility between inorganic and organic components improved, and their stress- strain properties also satisfied the criteria of the inhibitors.

The cyanide-degradation bacteria Klebsiella oxytoca SYSU-110 was isolated from the waste water of a metal-plating plant in southern Taiwan. K. oxytoca can utilize many nitrile compounds [including acetonitrile (100 mM), benzonitrile (1 mM), butyronitrile (100 mM), glutaronitrile (50 mM), methacrylnitrile (100 mM), phenylacetonitrile (1 mM), propionitrile (25 mM), succinonitrile (25 mM) and valeronitrile (50 mM)] as its sole nitrogen source. In this study, we found out that K. oxytoca was capable of degrading acetonitrile and propionitrile. Frome GC analysis, we recognized amide was an intermediate compound, while the carboxylic acid and ammonia were the final end-products. Therefore, we presume that K. oxytoca biodegraded nitrile compounds by two enzymes, the nitrile hydratase and amidase. We also analyzed the total cell proteins by 2-D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after the cells were cultured in medium containing 25mM succinonitrile. There were 23 proteins could be induced or overexpressed by nitrile and we had identified 11 by Mascot Peptide mass Fingerprint and Blast. Six proteins that can protect the cells from oxidative damage are: superoxide dismutase, glutathione s-transferase, dyp-type peroxidase, metal binding protein PsaA (that can transport metal ions into the cells), LraI, and FepA (used to transport inorganic ions into the cells). Three enzymes glutamine synthetase, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase,¡@and dihydroxyacid dehydratase were used to synthesize amino acids. One protein was identified as ribosomal protein L9. The last identified protein is nucleoside triphosphates kinase which can convert nucleoside diphosphates to nucleoside triphosphates non-specifically. From the activity analysis, superoxide dismutase and glutathione S-transferase activities were escalated when the cells were cultured in 25mM succinonitrile, and the concentration of ROS has rise. These results suggested that succinonitrile could cause oxidative damage to the cells and induce some anti-oxidative damage proteins to protect them.

The thesis discusses how to utilize Sol-gel method to prepare nano-sized TiO2 films of photoelectrodes and the their use in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. The main goal is the study on the production of TiO2 photoelectrodes. When making nano-sized TiO2 films of photoelectrodes, we have to first produce TiO2 sol via the Sol-gel method optical thin films are then made by spin coating. After its spin coating, we study the crystalline phase and morphology of nano-sized TiO2 films of photoelectrodes in terms of two ways: Supercritical drying and oven drying. Among the Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells that are made with different drying methods, owing to higher porosity and surface area, the nano-sized TiO2 films of photoelectrodes made by supercritical drying adsorb more dye molecules and are thus more efficient.

A processing route for development of hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 or HAp)-titania (TiO2) hybrid coatings on titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) has been established. HAp powders of different size and morphology were synthesized by aqueous precipitation techniques using different precursor couples and XRD, SEM and FTIR were performed for complete characterization. Hybrid coatings were then prepared via sol-gel by incorporating presynthesized HAp powders into a titanium-alkoxide dip coating solution. Titania network is formed by hydrolysis and condensation of Ti-isopropoxide (Ti[OCH(CH3)2]4) based sols. The effect of titania sol formulation, specifically the effect of organic solvents on the microstructure of the dip coated films calcined at 500 &ordm / C has been investigated. The coatings exhibit higher tendency for cracking when a high vapor pressure solvent, such as ethanol (C2H5OH) is used causing development of higher macroscopic stresses during evaporation of the sol. Titania sol formulations replacing the solvent with n-propanol (CH3(CH2)2OH) and acetly-acetone (C5H8O) combinations enhanced the microstructural integrity of the coating during evaporation and calcination treatments. Sol-gel processing parameters such as multilayer coating application and withdrawal rate can be employed to change the titania thickness in the range of 0.120 - 1.1 microns and to control the microstructure of HAp-titania hybrid coatings. Slower withdraw rates and multi-layer dip coating lead to coatings more vulnerable to cracking. A high calcination temperature in the range of 400 &ordm / C-600 &ordm / C lead to more cracking due to combined effect of densification originated stresses and thermal stresses upon cooling.

The microstructural, electrochemical and optical properties of sol-gel derived tungsten oxide electrochromic coatings have been investigated. Coatings were formed by spinning of tungsten metal based aqueous sol on glass with native ITO layer. Three sol formulations / acetylated peroxotungstic acid (APTA), peroxotungstic acid (PTA) and titanium-doped peroxotungstic acid (Ti-PTA) were employed to obtain 200-300 nm thick multi-layered coatings. Material and electrochromic characterization of the coatings have been performed by DSC, XRD, SEM, cyclic voltammetry and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The electrochromic performance of the WO3 coatings was influenced by calcination temperature, by sol chemistry and by the adsorbed water content. For all sol formulations the coatings calcined at 250 &deg / C were amorphous and have shown better performance compared to crystalline counterparts calcined at 400 &deg / C. High calcination temperature also leads to formation of WO3 nanocrystals for APTA and PTA derived coatings, titanium doping retards crystallization. Presence of acetic acid as in APTA sol improved the electrochromic and electrochemical performance. This was related to removal of organics- acetic acid and peroxo ligands- during calcination, which results in an open W-O network providing more ion insertion sites. The water adsorption affected the electrochromic performance in different ways for the coatings calcined at 250 &deg / C and 400 &ordm / C. The amorphous coatings with limited structural water removal and excessive hydroxyl groups tend to crystallize by condensation of W-OH groups upon storage in open atmosphere, therefore exhibiting degrading electrochromic activity with aging. Conversely, hydroxyl groups enhanced Li+ ion insertion for the stable crystalline coatings calcined at 400 &deg / C.

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were formed on glass substrates by sol-gel method. Coating sols were prepared using indium chloride tetrahydrate (InCl3&bull / 4H2O) and tin-chloride pentahydrate (SnCl4&bull / 5H2O) stabilized in organic solvents (acetylacetone and ethanol). First attempt was to synthesize ITO thin films using standard/unmodified coating sols. The effect of calcination treatment in air (300 &ndash / 600 &deg / C) and number of coating layer(s) (1, 4, 7 or 10) on optoelectronic properties (electrical conductivity and optical transparency), crystal structure and microstructure of ITO thin films were investigated. In addition, single-layer ITO thin films with optoelectronic properties comparable to multi-layered films were prepared by employing organically modified coating sols. Oxalic acid dihydrate (OAD) &ndash / a drying/microstructure control agent&ndash / addition to standard sol formulation was achieved. The rationale was to improve the optoelectronic properties of ITO films through enhancement in microstructure and chemical characteristics upon OAD addition. The effects of OAD content in the sol formulation and post-coating calcination treatment on electrical/optical properties of ITO films have been reported. Finally, the effects of post coating drying temperature (100 &ndash / 200 &deg / C) and time (10 &ndash / 60 min) on optoelectronic and microstructural properties of OAD-modified ITO thin films were discussed. Thin films have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD),x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and four-point probe measurement techniques. It was shown that film formation efficiency, surface coverage and homogeneity were all enhanced with OAD addition. OAD modification also leads to a significant improvement in electrical conductivity without affecting the film thickness (45&plusmn / 3 nm). Highly transparent (98 % transmittance in visible region) ITO thin films with a sheet resistance as low as 3.8&plusmn / 0.4 k&Omega / /sqr have been obtained by employing coating sols with optimized OAD amount (0.75 M). The optimum post-coating drying temperature (100 &deg / C) and drying time (10 min) was also determined for 0.75 M OAD-modified ITO thin films.

The pyroelectric ceramic thin films and detectors based on PbTiO3 that exhibits a low dielectric constant and a high pyroelectric coefficient were fabricated by a sol-gel method in this thesis. The lanthanum (La) and calcium (Ca) were adopted as dopants. The PLT and PCT thin films were deposited on Pt/SiO2/Si substrates by spin coating. 1,3 propanediol was used as solvent to minimize the number of cycles of spin coating and drying processes to obtain the desired thickness of thin film. By changing the dopant content and the heating temperature, the effects of various processing parameters on the thin films growth are studied. The effects of various dopant contents on the response of pyroelectric detectors are also discussed. Experimental results reveal that the dopant contents will influence strongly on the characteristics of thin films such as microstructure, dielectricity, ferroelectricity and pyroelectricity. With the increase of dopant content, the grain size, the coercive field (Ec) and the remanent polarization (Pr) of thin films decrease. The relative dielectric constant (£`r) and the pyroelectric coefficient (g) of thin films increase with increasing the dopant content. In addition, the results also show that the PLT(10) and the PCT(25) thin films exhibit large figures of merit Fv for voltage responsivity (Rv) and Fm for specific detectivity (D*) at the heating temperature of 700¢J. In the pyroelectric properties of thin film detectors, Rv and D* increased with an increase of dopant content. However, Rv and D* decreased when La and Ca content exceeded 10 mol% and 25 mol%, respectively. The PLT(10) and the PCT(25) pyroelectric thin film detectors exist both the maximums of Rv and D*. The results are consistent with the evaluations of Fv and Fm of thin films.

The pyroelectric ceramic thin films and detectors based on PbTiO3[abbreviated to PT] that exhibit a low dielectric constant and a high pyroelectric coefficient, which were fabricated by a sol-gel method in this thesis. The (PVDF/PT) pyroelectric bilayer thin films with low leakage current were deposited on PbTiO3/Pt/SiO2/Si substrates by the spin coating. 1,3 propanediol was used as solvent to minimize the number of cycles of the spin coating and drying processes to obtain the desired thickness of PbTiO3 thin film. By changing the concentrations of PVDF solutions (0.6M~1.0M) and thickness of PVDF thin films (50nm~580nm), the effects of various processing parameters on the bilayer thin films growth and the response of pyroelectric infrared detector device are studied. Experimental results reveal that the thickness of PVDF thin films will influence strongly on dielectricity, ferroelectricity, leakage current and pyroelectricity of (PVDF/PT) bilayer thin films. With the increase of the thickness of PVDF thin films, the relative dielectric constant of (PVDF/PT) bilayer thin films decrease from 63 to 20. The tan£_ increases from 0.00152 to 0.0024, leakage current decreases from 1.54x10-6 A/cm2 to 3.86x10-7 A/cm2, Ec decreases from 70.7 KV/cm to 35 KV/cm, Pr decreases from 6.29 £gC/cm2 to 1.14 £gC/cm2, and £^ decreases from 22.5x10-9 C/cm2K to 6.8 x10-9 C/cm2K with an increase of the thickness of PVDF thin film. In addition, the results also show that the largest figure of merit Fv is 1.31x10-10 Ccm/J as the thickness of PVDF thin film is 80nm. With the increase of the thickness of PVDF thin film, the figure of merit Fm decreases from 2.26x10-8 Ccm/J to 1.07x10-8 Ccm/J. The voltage responsivities (Rv) measured at 20 Hz decrease from 1383 V/W to 804 V/W and the specific detectivities (D*) measured at 100Hz decrease from 2.72x107 cmHz1/2/W to 1.71x107 cmHz1/2/W. From the result of D*/J, the result shows the device possesses the best property as the thickness of the PVDF thin film is 165nm. Therefore, the (PVDF/PT) bilayer thin film with the thickness 165nm of PVDF thin film is the most suitable for the applications of pyroelectric thin film IR detectors.

Abstract This study focused on the structure of the particles developed in the PMMA matrix as a function of (a) coupling agent (£^-MPS) and (b) TEOS content. We investigated the difference of using TEOS monomer directly added to silica particles. The polymer precursors are catalyzed using acidic catalysts and undergo the sol-gel reaction to form a hybrid sol-gel material. This composite shows that highly optical transparency and microphase separation at the molecular level. The characteristics and properties of the polymer precursors and their hybrid materials were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimogravimetic analysis (TGA). As for the influence of chemistry structure on morphology and thermal properties, experimental evidence form observations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mulitpoints analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM was used to study the phase separation as well as the fractal structure of these particles present in the system. According to some result, it was found the compatibility between PMMA and silica mainly comes form incorporating the polymer with silica chemical bonding. This chemical bonding not only restrains silyl ester groups form hydrolyzing but also reduces silanol aggregation. Moreover, the thermal properties of the organic¡Vinorganic hybrid are improved as silica content increases.