This twelfth volume in the series covering the latest results in the field includes abstracts of papers which have appeared since the publication of Annual Retrospective XI (Volume 282). As well as the 565 semiconductor-related abstracts, the issue includes – in line with the policy of including original papers on all of the major material groups: “Study of Conduction Mechanism in Amorphous Se85-xTe15Bix Thin Films” (A.Sharma and P.B.Barman), “Structure and Optical Properties of Magnetron-Sputtered SiOx Layers with Silicon Nanoparticles” (L.Khomenkova, N.Korsunska, T.Stara, Y.Goldstein, J.Jedrzejewski, E.Savir, C.Sada and Y.Emirov), “Non-Gaussian Diffusion of Phosphorus and Arsenic in Silicon with Local Density Diffusivity Model” (F.Wirbeleit), “Artificial Aging Behavior of 6063 Alloy Studied using Vickers Hardness and Positron Annihilation Lifetime Techniques” (M.A.Abdel-Rahman, A.El-deen A.El-Nahhas, Y.A.Lotfy and E.A.Badawi), “Analysis of the Solid Solution Microstructure of (HF) Al-Zn Alloys” (H.Bedboudi, A.Bourbia, M.Draissiaa, S.Boulkhessaim and M.Y.Debili), “Liquid-Phase Sintering of Tungsten Heavy Alloys” (S.F.Moustafa, S.H.Kaitbay and G.M.Abdo), “Analysis of Stress Intensity Factor and Crack Propagation for Alloy X-750 Pressure Vessel with a Blunting Crack” (E.Mahdavi, M.M.Mashhadi and M.Amidpour), “Effect of Microstructure upon the Wear Properties of 2.25Cr-1Mo Steel” (B.B.Jha, B.K.Mishra, T.K.Sahoo, P.S.Mukherjee and S.N.Ojha), “Phase and Structure Formation of Metallic Materials Electrodeposited via a Liquid State Stage: New Experimental Proof” (O.Girin), “Testing Natural Aging Effect on Properties of 6066 & 6063 Alloys using Vickers Hardness and Positron Annihilation Lifetime Techniques” (M.A.Abdel-Rahman, A.A.Ahmed and E.A.Badawi), “Investigations of the Gyromagnetic Factors for the Ni3+ Center in MgO” (X.M.Li), “Variable Range Hopping (VRH) Model in Manganese Oxides” (H.Abdullah), “Theoretical Studies of the EPR Parameters for Rh+ in NaCl” (Z.H.Zhang, S.Y.Wu, P.Xu and L.L.Li), “The Effect of Droplet Diameter on the Separation of Heavy-Oil from Water using a Hydrocyclone” (F.P.M.Farias, C.J.O.Buriti, W.C.P.B.Lima, S.R.F. Neto and A.G.B.Lima) and “Spreading Exponents: Dynamics of Trisiloxane Wetting of Hydrophobic Surfaces” (J.Radulovic, K.Sefiane and M.E.R.Shanahan).