bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Au-ion irradiation effects on microstructure and deuterium permeation resistance of Al/Al2O3 coating
Authors: Zhang Wei , Deng Jiuguo , Zhu Changda , Zhong Yilong , Yang Jian , Xin Hongyang , Liu Guiliang , Tang Rui , Feng Kaiming , Liu Ning , Yang Jijun
Published: May 2022

Al/Al2O3 coating with a total thickness of approximately 3 μm was irradiated by 6 MeV Au-ions with the damage level from 13 to 39 dpa at room temperature. The results showed that the surface roughness of the Al/Al2O3 coating decreased with increasing irradiation damage levels. As the irradiation damage level is up to 39 dpa, the crystallinity of the Al2O3 layer is enhanced, and the irradiation-induced defects such as voids and dislocations appeared in the Al/Al2O3 coating. The decreased hardness and the deterioration of deuterium permeation resistance are strongly associated with the changed microstructure. The underlying mechanism for the evolution of the microstructure and properties induced by Au-ion irradiation is discussed.
Edge biasing and its impact on the edge and SOL turbulence
Authors: Shankar Vijay , Bisai N. , Raj Shrish , Sen A.
Published: May 2022

A theoretical study is made of the effect of edge biasing on the dynamics of the interchange turbulence in the edge and scrape-off layer regions. A linear analysis of a set of model fluid equations shows that biasing stabilizes the small k

y
modes. The model equations are next solved numerically, using the BOUT++ framework, to explore the nonlinear dynamics in the presence of positive or negative bias and compared to results in the absence of bias. Positive biasing is found to lead to a larger increment in plasma density and temperature as compared to negative biasing. It is further observed that cross-correlation between density and poloidal electric field at different radial positions decreases for positive biasing and in the case of negative biasing it is almost similar to that of no biasing. Plasma density and poloidal electric field fluctuations have been investigated which show that the density fluctuations increase (decrease) for positive (negative) biasing but the radially outward flux for these biasing cases always decreases mainly due to the decrease of cross-correlation between density and poloidal electric field fluctuations.
Experimental investigation of beam-ion losses induced by magnetic perturbations using the light ion beam probe technique in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak
Authors: Galdon-Quiroga J. , Sanchis-Sanchez L. , Chen X. , Birkenmeier G. , Gage K. , Cano-Megias P. , Gonzalez-Martin J. , Heidbrink W.W. , Putignano O. , Ryan D. , Suarez Lopez G. , Tal B. , VanZeeland M.A. , Viezzer E. , Willensdorfer M. , the ASDEX Upgrade Team  , the EUROfusion MST1 Team
Published: May 2022

The impact of externally applied magnetic perturbations (MPs) on fast-ion losses has been investigated by means of the light ion beam probe (LIBP) technique in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. The LIBP technique allows to experimentally infer the fast-ion orbit displacement induced by MPs via first-orbit losses using scintillator based fast-ion loss detector (FILD) measurements. The fast-ion orbit displacement against different applied MP spectra has been studied. These shots were conducted in ELM mitigated H-mode plasmas. A rigid rotation of the MP coils was applied with a frequency of 1 Hz, with an n = 2 configuration and changing the differential phase between the upper and lower set of coils (ΔΦul) on a shot-to-shot basis. Beam sources Q7 (tangential) and Q8 (radial) were used to probe different fast-ion orbits with FILD1. The measured fast-ion orbit displacement ranges from 3 to 20 mm approximately, and no qualitative difference is observed between ions from beam sources Q7 and Q8. The minimum is found for a ΔΦul ∼ 50°, which is shifted with respect to the minimum of the plasma boundary displacement, found at ΔΦul ∼ 0°. A first attempt to validate the orbit following code ASCOT—including the plasma response calculated with the MARS-F code—against these experimental measurements is performed. While the dependence of the first-orbit fast-ion displacement with ΔΦul does not match the experimental measurements, these simulations do capture other features such as the order of magnitude of the orbit displacement and the importance of the toroidal spectrum of the applied perturbation.
Modification of the fusion energy gain factor in magnetic confinement fusion due to plasma temperature anisotropy
Authors: Li K. , Liu Z.Y. , Yao Y.L. , Zhao Z.H. , Dong C. , Li D. , Zhu S.P. , He X.T. , Qiao B.
Published: May 2022

In magnetic confinement fusion (MCF), the plasma always exhibits an anisotropic temperature distribution, which may impact not only the plasma dynamics but also the nuclear reaction process. Here, through theoretical derivations and self-consistent particle-in-cell simulations with the newly-developed nuclear reaction and alpha particle energy deposition calculation modules, we find that, if considering the plasma has an anisotropic temperature distribution, the fusion energy gain factor (Q) of MCF is significantly modified, where both the deuteron–triton nuclear reactivity and the alpha particle energy deposition fraction are heavily influenced. The simulation results show that, under the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) condition, if the plasma temperature anisotropy ratio can reach 0.1, i.e., the plasma perpendicular temperature component is one-tenth of its parallel component corresponding to the ambient magnetic field direction, the Q-value of ITER can be increased from the originally-designed 5 to about 10, with doubled enhancement.
Extrinsic noise effects on ribosomal traffic during the translation process
Authors: Sharma Rati
Published: May 2022

Any cellular process at the microscopic level is governed by both extrinsic and intrinsic noise (IN) and same is true for mRNA translation as well. Even though the effect of stochasticity via the IN is well studied for mRNA translation, same cannot be said about extrinsic noise (EN). In this article, we incorporate EN in a model of mRNA translation and carry out stochastic simulations of the same. We then evaluate various statistics related to the residence time of the ribosome and the ribosomal traffic on the mRNA and subsequent protein production. We also study the effect of slow codons and ribosome dropoff. From our simulations, we show that noise in the translation initiation rate rather than the translation termination rate acts to significantly broaden the distribution of ribosome residence times on the mRNA lattice. This EN also has an effect on ribosomal current, density and protein production. Further, the presence of slow codons acts to increase the mean residence times. However, this increase also depends on the number and position of the slow codons on the lattice. We also show that the slow codons act to mask any effect from the EN themselves. Our results, therefore, have implications towards a better understanding of the role the individual components play during the translation process.
2Nd International Conference “Gas Discharge Plasma and Synthesis Of Nanostructures 2021
Authors: Timerkaev B A , Fairushin I I
Published: May 2022

In the city of Kazan from December 1 to December 4, 2021 on the basis of the Kazan National Research Technical University named after V.I. A.N. Tupolev-KAI hosted the II International Conference "Gas Discharge Plasma and Synthesis of Nanostructures" was held. The main organizers of this conference are KNRTU-KAI, KFU, Academy of Science Republic of Tatarstan. This event has become a notable event for the community of scientists and researchers involved in the physics of gas discharges and the synthesis of nanostructured materials. The conference discussed issues related to fundamental, problematic issues in the physics of gas discharges, such as the theory of arc plasma, high-frequency discharges, microwave discharges, glow discharge. Nevertheless, the main attention was paid to the problems of using gas discharge plasma for the synthesis of nanostructures. It is gratifying that there are results in this direction that are ready for industrial application. This year, the topic of the conference additionally includes a section on the physics of non-ideal and dusty plasma. On this topic, several plenary reports were made at once, which were presented by leading world scientists. The conference became a platform where completely new fundamental results that are at the forefront of science were presented. The vast majority of the presented works were presented for the first time.

Organizing Committee, Scientific Committee are available in the pdf
Properties of Electric Discharge of a Jet Anode and an Electrolytic Cathode
Authors: Akhatov M F , Galimova R K , Mardanov R R , Nizameev A A , Loginov N A
Published: May 2022

The paper shows some results of the definite current-voltage characteristic (CVC) of interaction of electric discharge with a jet electrolytic cathode and a steady anode at different jet lengths (lc), jet diameter (dc), electrolyte flow rate (G) for various electrolyte concentrations.
Study of the Effect of Plasma Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of Mineral Fiber Threads
Authors: Antonova M V , Ibatullina A R , Parsanov A S , Krasina I V
Published: May 2022

The article describes methods for modifying glass and basalt fibers and threads, and composite materials from them. Special attention is paid to plasma methods. Twisted glass thread and basalt twisted thread are investigated in the work. Plasma treatment was used to modify the threads. The type of plasma is nonequilibrium, low-temperature; the type of discharge is high-frequency capacitive. The results of research of thread properties, such as morphological changes and breaking load of threads. The plasma-treated and non-treated samples of threads were compared. The modes of plasma modification of threads in which the increase of breaking load strength of glass threads up to 23 % and of basalt threads up to 10 % is achieved have been established.
Investigation of Thermal Conductivity of Nanostructures Using A Mathematical Model
Authors: Juraev H. S. , Juraeva G.H.
Published: May 2022

The transfer of heat through nanostructures differs significantly from the corresponding processes inside macroscopic bodies. Various research methods, both theoretical and experimental, are applied to such objects. This approach to nanostructures gives great advantages. The hyperbolic equations we have obtained describe the wave process of the thermal signal flow and the properties of heat transfer in nanostructures across a thin layer, in which the simplest task is to determine the thermal conductivity.
PLASMOCHEMICAL METHOD OF POLYANILINE FILM OBTAINED
Authors: Danilaev M P , Kuklin V A , Sidorov I N
Published: May 2022

The results of the polymer film investigation are considered in that paper. These films are obtained in atmospheric pressure barrier discharge from aniline with simultaneous generation of carbon particles in the films. It is demonstrated that the structure of these films corresponds to one of the amorphous polymers. Carbon particles produce agglomerates with a concentration that slightly depends on the discharge energy density. The authors show that the conductivity of aniline films with carbon particles mainly depends on water saturation.
Synthesis of nickel coatings with high surface area on the ceramic powders
Authors: Morozov M V , Nagulin K Y , Mansurov R N , Gilmutdinov A K
Published: May 2022

The study of the dynamic of the synthesis processes of nickel nanostructured coatings on the ceramic powders is presented. It has used the approach with the minimal set of reagents for the deposition of nickel coatings with high surface area. The Al2O3 is selected as a ceramic powder. As a result of the study, it has found the optimal conditions for the synthesis of Ni/Al2O3 composite powders with high surface area. It has studied the dynamic of the synthesis process of nickel coating by the scanning electron microscopy that allowed us to clarify the mechanism of the synthesis of nickel nanostructured coatings. The surface area of the synthesized composite powders was studied by nitrogen adsorption. The obtained results may have wide applications in catalysis and electrochemistry.
Low-current arc in plasma flow from discharge with liquid electrolyte cathode
Authors: Tazmeev K K , Tazmeeva R N , Tazmeev B K
Published: May 2022

The effect of plasma flow from a discharge with a solution cathode on the properties of a low-current electric arc has been experimentally studied. Electric power was supplied to the arc from a GORN-type inverter source. A rectifier served as a power source for the discharge with a solution cathode. The output voltage was 1700 V. Aqueous solutions of table salt were used in the experiments. The specific electrical conductivity of the solutions was in the range of 10–15 mS/cm. The electric arc was ignited between horizontally oriented rod electrodes. The interelectrode distance varied within 2–15 mm. The discharge current with a water cathode was established within 8–15 A. The arc burned in the current range of 1–8 A. The conditions under which stable burning of the electric arc is ensured are revealed.
Creation of a flexible thin-film thermoelectric converter for the range -50...150 degrees Celsius
Authors: Plotnikova O P , Kirillov D V , Tumanov N A , Manegin D S , Riazanov V A
Published: May 2022

The paper presents the results of a project to create highly sensitive thermoelectric converters for small temperature differences on a flexible film base, consisting of a large number of compact thermocouples connected in series. Such sensors may be used, for example, as the part of fire alarm systems without any power supply. The sensors were produced as multilayer structure coating of thermoelectric alloys on the flexible polymer substrate through photolithographic masks. A pair of chromel-T and kopel was taken as thermoelectric alloys. The preliminary operating parameters of the obtained samples are presented.
Use of non-thermal plasma for decontamination of titanium implants
Authors: Sysolyatina E. , Petryakov A. , Abdulkadieva M. , Vasilieva E. , Chernukha M. , Avetisyan L. , Alekseeva T. , Barsuk V. , Ermolaeva S. , Titov N. , Akishev Yu.
Published: May 2022

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) has a non-specific bactericidal effect as a result of the synergistic activity of biologically active components contained in the plasma torch. As part of this work, we investigated the potential of using NTP for the antibacterial treatment of titanium implants. Applying samples made of the VT6 titanium alloy used to create implants and a strain of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus MRSA, we showed that 1) plasma pretreatment of the sample surface led to the formation of a film containing titanium oxides which have a weak bactericidal effect reducing the colonization of the surface with staphylococcus; 2) direct plasma treatment of a polished titanium disk for 120 seconds reduced the contamination of S. aureus by 563 times; 3) the relief of the titanium surface itself plays an important role in the effectiveness of decontamination: the bacteria on the rough surface were less susceptible to the effects of NTP than the bacteria on the polished surface. In total, the data obtained indicate the need to continue research aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the bactericidal activity of NTP against bacteria on the surface of titanium implants.
Interaction of powerful plasma jets with Mo/Si multilayers
Authors: Skriabin A S , Telekh V D , Pavlov A V , Turyanskiy A G , Senkov V M , Tsygankov P A , Parada-Becera F F
Published: May 2022

The paper presents some results of experimental studies of Mo/Si multilayer degradation under UV exposure from compressed plasma jets in air. Such high current plasma flows generate broadband powerful UV radiation fluxes. A single exposure caused a slight decrease of reflectivity from 0.54 to 0.47 due to the coating contamination by the debris from the plasma light emitter.
Monte Carlo characterization of PETALO, a full-body liquid xenon-based PET detector
Authors: Renner J. , Romo-Luque C. , Aliaga R.J. , Álvarez V. , Ballester F. , Benlloch-Rodríguez J.M. , Carrión J.V. , Cubero D. , Díaz J. , Esteve R. , Gadea R. , Generowicz J. , Gillam J. , López-Gómez J.L. , Martínez A. , Monrabal F. , Querol M. , Rappaport M. , Rodríguez J. , Rodríguez-Ponce J. , Solevi P. , Teruel-Pardo S. , Toledo J.F. , Torres-Curado R. , Herrero-Bosch V. , Gómez-Cadenas J.J. , Ferrario P.
Published: May 2022

New detector approaches in Positron Emission Tomography
imaging will play an important role in reducing costs, lowering
administered radiation doses, and improving overall
performance. PETALO employs liquid xenon as the active scintillating
medium and UV-sensitive silicon photomultipliers for scintillation
readout. The scintillation time in liquid xenon is fast enough to
register time-of-flight information for each detected coincidence,
and sufficient scintillation is produced with low enough
fluctuations to obtain good energy resolution. The present
simulation study examines a full-body-sized PETALO detector and
evaluates its potential performance in PET image reconstruction.
Pre-launch characterization of the spectrometer of Hard X-ray Imager (HXI) onboard the ASO-S mission
Authors: Liu W. , Zhang Z. , Wu J. , Ma T. , Zhang Y. , Hu Y.M. , Zhang Y.Q. , Huang Y.Y. , Wang H.X. , Jiang X.K. , Chen D.Y.
Published: May 2022

As one of the three payloads of the Advanced Space-based
Solar Observatory (ASO-S), the pre-launch characterization of HXI
includes the characterization of the collimator and the
spectrometer. This article focuses on the pre-launch
characterization of HXI's spectrometer, including detection
efficiency, energy resolution, and energy to ADC channel (E-C)
relationship. The detection efficiency characterization necessitates
a sufficient number of calibrated energy points in the HXI
observation energy range, with a refined measurement around the
absorption edge of the lanthanum bromide crystal, and is calibrated
with an X-ray beam. The characterization results are consistent with
the simulations and show that the detection efficiency difference
between detector modules is controlled within ±3%. Radioactive
sources 133Ba and 137Cs are used to
calibrate the energy resolution and E-C relationship. The
characterization results show that all detector modules' energy
resolutions are better than 26% at 32 keV, meeting the design
specification. And their E-C relationships vary regularly with
voltage. All of the characterization results indicate that the
flight model of the HXI spectrometer meets the performance
requirements and is capable of performing on-orbit observation
activities.
A New Approach for Storage Capacity and Allowable Injection Time Calculation in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Reservoir
Authors: Jaya Anthony Kurnia , Syihab Zuher
Published: May 2022

In reducing the CO2 emissions in the atmosphere, some energy industry start to implement the Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). However, there still less restriction and considerations in calculating the storage capacity and allowable injection time of CCS reservoir which might lead into leakage problem. In overcoming this problem, there is a study conducted to make a new calculation with higher accuracy. In this study, the reservoir model is using CMG software with base model of East Natuna Field. Then, this model is used to make a sensitivity analysis for 10 CCS fields with a support of CMG-CMOST and Eureqa software. The result is an equation with an R-Square of 96.6% for storage capacity and 95.4% for allowable injection time. The considered parameter in the new equation are permeability, porosity, fracture pressure, thickness, area, reservoir temperature, and reservoir pressure. To validate the new equation, a case study is made for 3 CCS fields. The result shows that the new equation shows up to 21% smaller storage capacity and 7 years reduction in allowable injection time. The result is reasonable due to additional restrictions. Therefore, it is believed that the generated equation is valid and more beneficial compared to the conventional equation.
Study of terrain correction computation using square pattern and sloped triangle methods in Karangsambung
Authors: Salam R A , Wahyudi E J , Setianingsih
Published: May 2022

Conventional assessments of terrain correction are carried out by laying transparent paper containing the Hammer chart on topographic maps, then estimating the elevation for each of Hammer chart’s compartment. This procedure has disadvantages, the number of compartments is too small, and there is a subjectivity from the observer in estimating the compartment’s height, especially in an area with varied topography, such as Karangsambung. These research aims are to study the effect of the topography around Karangsambung on terrain correction value and to overcome problems in conventional terrain correction estimation. Estimation of terrain correction carried out using square pattern and sloped triangle method, where the area around measurement points divided into square and triangle compartment. Based on the results, South Seraju Ranges, with an altitude of 1000 m at a distance of 20 – 30 km from Karangsambung gives an effect of 0.05 mGal on terrain correction, while the Quaternary Volcano with height of 3000 m at range of 30 – 40 km gives the effect of 0.1 mGal. The results of applying the program at the gravity data show that the use of the square pattern and sloped triangle method can correct errors from conventional estimation up to 3 mGal.
Gravity - Depth Regression Method for 3D Modelling of Basement Geometry
Authors: Wijanarko Edy , Grandis Hendra
Published: May 2022

Gravity method is often used to estimate the sedimentary basin configuration at the preliminary stage of oil and gas exploration. This paper aims at the determination of 3D basement topography based on gravity data and known depth at several points. The gravity-depth relationship is used to determine the initial model and to adjust the model iteratively from the residuals. The algorithm is relatively simple and fast, since it does not involve matrix inversion nor multiplication. The proposed method also allows density contrast estimation. Tests using synthetic data showed satisfactory results in both synthetic model recovery and low RMS misfit after a few iterations.
Comparative Study of Gradient Gravity Method Between Signal Processing and Direct Measurement
Authors: Nugraha Purwaditya , Kadir Wawan Gunawan A. , Setianingsih
Published: May 2022

The vertical gradient gravity method is one of the developments from the conventional gravity method. The advantage of this method is that it is able to detect the presence of shallow anomalies below the soil surface. In addition, this method is also able to minimize errors resulting from processing and correcting data. This research was conducted by testing the vertical gradient gravity method which is carried out with signal processing or with a vertical gradient gravity filter and the vertical gradient gravity method which is carried out by direct measurement. It was found that the vertical gradient gravity method which was carried out by direct measurements resulted in a clearer pattern in determining the presence of shallow anomaly sources.
GMODL: An Indonesian MATLAB-based ground-penetrating radar data modeling and processing software
Authors: Widodo Widodo , Ra’if Kurnia Anwar , Firdaus Muhammad Aldi , Hidayatullah Ibnu Thoriq
Published: May 2022

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data modeling and processing is crucial to near-surface geophysics. Its use in geohazard mitigation, construction, shallow hydrocarbon contamination, and other shallow subsurface detection is undeniable due to its high-resolution imaging. GPR software (MATGPR) that we used currently requires access to MATLAB which not everybody can use because of its licensing prices. Thus, we developed this program (GMODL) that uses finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) and split-step Fourier algorithms. To test the software, we created synthetic models. The synthetic model used for the testing is a river model for flood mitigation that consists of a layer of freshwater with ρ = 20 Ωm, k = 81 and μ
r = 1 of depth 5 m, two layers of sandstone with ρ = 850 Ωm, k = 2.5 and μ
r = 1 of total depth 4 m, and a layer of claystone with ρ = 120 Ωm, k = 11 and μ
r = 1 of depth 1 m. The GPR antenna frequency is set to 250 MHz. The testing algorithm of GMODL shows that it can create a synthetic radargram for the river model. The boundary layers are obvious to identify. Also, the freshwater thickness can be determined from the radargram.
Fabrication of DSSC photoanode based on TiO2 produced by caustic fusion of local ilmenite
Authors: Wijayanti S , Nursam N M , Soepriyanto S , Suhendar D
Published: May 2022

Photoanode is an essential part in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Semiconductor materials, such as TiO2, ZnO, and SnO2, are commonly used as photoanode material. In this study, DSSC photoanode was fabricated using TiO2 obtained from Bangka ilmenite concentrate by caustic fusion method followed by water leaching, acid leaching, and sol-gel reactions. The synthesized TiO2 powder has an anatase phase with a crystal size of 9.55 nm, band gap energy of 3.0 eV, spherical morphology with an average particle size of 0.53 μm, and a specific area of 138.39 m2/g. The synthesized TiO2 powder was found to have Fe impurities. The DSSC with TiO2 photoanode synthesized in this work produced current-voltage characteristics with photoconversion efficiency of 0.75%.
Full-Waveform Inversion in Time Domain by Increased Frequency Iteratively
Authors: Aparajita M J , Winardhi I S
Published: May 2022

With seismic imaging techniques using numerical solutions of seismic acoustic wave equations, full-waveform inversion in the time domain can be a tool for estimating high-resolution models from complex geological conditions. However, full-waveform inversion in the time domain has several drawbacks, namely if you determine the initials of the model that is far from the global minimum (the true model) will give a stacked result at the local minimum and to overcome this problem is to use the method of increasing the frequency iteratively. With this method, at least it will keep away the results from a local minimum and close to a global minimum. The result of using the iterative frequency increment method on the full-waveform inversion time domain produces an image that resembles the original synthetic model and produces an updated velocity value that is not too different from the true velocity value of the synthetic model.
Development of a process chain for multi-stage sheet metal forming of high-strength aluminium alloys
Authors: Günzel J , Hauß J , Gaedigk C , Bergmann J , Groche P
Published: May 2022

The high-strength aluminium alloys EN AW-6082 and -7075 are characterized by low density and high strength but also limited cold formability and pronounced springback behaviour in the ultra-high-strength T6 state. In order to exploit their lightweight design potential, temperature-supported process routes such as warm or hot forming are applied. Alternatively, there is the possibility of cold forming preconditioned semi-finished products at the expense of the initial material properties. Common to all variants are complex interrelationships due to linked plant periphery resulting from up- and downstream heat treatments. In addition, occurring heat transfers in temperature-supported process routes or strain hardening effects during cold forming lead to reduced formability. Especially for multi-stage forming processes, as they are required for complex components, the above-mentioned process routes reach their limits. The different requirements of the four single-stages (deep drawing, blanking, collar drawing and upsetting) for the production of a demonstrator geometry with adapted wall thicknesses make a new type of temperature control necessary. This paper shows that the combination of temperature-supported and multi-stage forming contributes to a significant increase in formability. The temperature-controlled forming tool used for this purpose enables an inline heating of the components during the process, so that an industrially feasible and economical overall process chain for the fabrication of the demonstrator geometry out of those alloys is convertible.
An industrial application case to predict galling in hot stamping processes
Authors: Berahmani S , Bruinekreeft L , Güner A , Venema J , Sigvant M
Published: May 2022

Severe tool wear is an unwanted phenomenon which occurs widely during hot stamping processes due to extreme process conditions like high temperatures and the absence of lubricant. Galling is a wear mechanism in the form of adhesive wear in which some material from the sheet transfers to the tooling. In a longer term, the build-up of material on the tool can damage the sheet in the form of scratches and can negatively affect the heat transfer between sheet and tool. Therefore, it is important to develop advanced models to predict and control tool wear and galling during hot stamping processes. More recently an advanced friction model for hot stamping processes has been introduced to accurately describe frictional behavior of 22MnB5-AlSi. This study aims to further extend the advanced friction model of 22MnB5-AlSi into a galling prediction tool by first evaluating possible galling initiation models and next assessing growth models. These models are calibrated using experimental data from hot strip draw tests performed at Tata Steel. This results in a multi-dimensional galling model as a function of temperature, pressure, strain and also on the relative sliding distance in contact between the tool and the sheet. Finally, the predicted galling distribution on the tooling surfaces for two industrial parts from Volvo Cars are verified. The galling locations are accurately found on the parts by the applied galling model.
Controllable preparation of TiO2 nanotubes and their photocatalytic performance
Authors: Xing-ping Fan
Published: May 2022

Ethylene glycol aqueous solution containing 0.5% NH4F was used as the electrolyte and the Ti foil was oxidized at 40 V for 30 min to obtain TiO2 nanotube arrays with an inner diameter of about 85 nm. After heat treatment at 450 °C for 2 h, the TiO2 nanotubes transformed from an amorphous phase to anatase, and a small percentage of the nanotubes collapsed. The Pt loaded by electrodeposition appeared at the nozzle of the nanotubes in a flake morphology.The best catalytic effect on methylene blue degradation was achieved by Pt loading with electrodeposition for 120 s.The methylene blue degradation rate reached 50% after 10 h of ultraviolet irradiation.
Improved finite-key security analysis of quantum key distribution against Trojan-horse attacks
Authors: Navarrete Álvaro , Curty Marcos
Published: May 2022

Most security proofs of quantum key distribution (QKD) disregard the effect of information leakage from the users’ devices, and, thus, do not protect against Trojan-horse attacks (THAs). In a THA, the eavesdropper injects strong light into the QKD apparatuses, and then analyzes the back-reflected light to learn information about their internal setting choices. Only a few recent works consider this security threat, but predict a rather poor performance of QKD unless the devices are strongly isolated from the channel. Here, we derive finite-key security bounds for decoy-state-based QKD schemes in the presence of THAs, which significantly outperform previous analyses. Our results constitute an important step forward to closing the existing gap between theory and practice in QKD.
Nanomaterials and printing techniques for 2D and 3D soft electronics
Authors: Migliorini Lorenzo , Villa Sara Moon , Santaniello Tommaso , Milani Paolo
Published: May 2022

The merging of electronically conductive elements with soft polymeric materials gave birth to the novel field of soft and stretchable electronics and robotics, in which the key aspect is the maintenance of electrical properties even under severe mechanical deformation. Here, we review the variety of fabrication techniques (dry, wet, and printed) that have been designed, studied, and tested, which leads to a forecast of how soft technologies will have a revolutionary impact on the progress of biomedicine and pre-clinical practice, wearable electronics, environmental monitoring and recognition, smart farming and precision agriculture, and energy harvesting and storage. A particular focus is given to techniques for the printing of 2D and 3D electronics, which allow compliant conductive elements to be coupled to complex three-dimensional objects and platforms. We discuss why it is now necessary to choose between different nanoscale building blocks, nanomaterials, and deposition techniques and to optimize such choices. The watchwords to be prioritized are scalability, versatility, environmental sustainability and biocompatibility, integration, and reduction of the fabrication steps. The target is the design of an eco-friendly and versatile approach for the fully additive manufacture of free-form advanced soft electronic devices (which will eventually be biocompatible and biodegradable) using a multilayer, multimaterial process that can print both active and passive 3D elements on soft polymeric platforms. The sequential combination of dry and wet spray printing is shown to be one of the most promising approaches.
Synthesis and characterization of a g-C3N4/TiO2-ZnO nanostructure for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue
Authors: Saeidpour Sepide , Khoshnevisan Bahram , Boroumand Zohreh
Published: May 2022

In this study, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanostructures with different molar ratios of ZnO and TiO2 (i.e. g-C3N4/TiO2, g-C3N4/ZnO, and g-C3N4/TiO2-ZnO) were synthesized. The synthesized samples were characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), x-ray diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, and ultraviolet (UV)–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis-DRS) techniques. The FE-SEM images showed the surface morphology of each sample. The UV-vis-DRS results indicated that the bandgap of TiO2 was reduced by adding g-C3N4 and different molar ratios of ZnO. The results obtained from BET analysis confirmed that the surface area of the g-C3N4/TiO2-ZnO (1:10) nanostructure was 97.494 cm2 g−1, which was comparatively higher than other nanostructures, and became suitable for photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity of the g-C3N4/TiO2-ZnO nanostructure was performed by photo-degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under simulated solar light. The results of the photocatalytic activity showed that the synthesized nanostructure had good degradation under UV and visible light irradiation by 94.6% and 62.4%, respectively. Also, the kinetics of the photocatalytic degradation confirmed that degradation of MB dye in the presence of UV light was faster than visible light. Furthermore, a study of the reusability of the nanostructure exhibited good photo-stability and activity after six runs.
High power, high repetition rate laser-based sources for attosecond science
Authors: Furch F J , Witting T , Osolodkov M , Schell F , Schulz C P , J Vrakking M J
Published: May 2022

Within the last two decades attosecond science has been established as a novel research field providing insights into the ultrafast electron dynamics that follows a photoexcitation or photoionization process. Enabled by technological advances in ultrafast laser amplifiers, attosecond science has been in turn, a powerful engine driving the development of novel sources of intense ultrafast laser pulses. This article focuses on the development of high repetition rate laser-based sources delivering high energy pulses with a duration of only a few optical cycles, for applications in attosecond science. In particular, a high power, high repetition rate optical parametric chirped pulse amplification system is described, which was developed to drive an attosecond pump-probe beamline targeting photoionization experiments with electron-ion coincidence detection at high acquisition rates.
Taking advantage of glass: capturing and retaining the helium gas on the moon
Authors: Li Ao , Chen Xiao , Song Lijian , Chen Guoxin , Xu Wei , Huo Juntao , Gao Meng , Li Ming , Zhang Lei , Yao Bingnan , Ji Min , Zhang Yan , Zhao Shaofan , Yao Wei , Liu Yanhui , Wang Jun-Qiang , Bai Haiyang , Zou Zhigang , Yang Mengfei , Wang Weihua
Published: May 2022

Helium-3 (3He) is a noble gas that has critical applications in scientific research and promising application potential as clean fusion energy. It is thought that the lunar regolith contains large amounts of helium, but it is challenging to extract because most helium atoms are reserved in defects of crystals or as solid solutions. Here, we find large amounts of helium bubbles in the glassy surface layer of ilmenite particles that were brought back by the Chang’E-5 mission. The special disordered atomic packing structure of glasses should be the critical factor for capturing the noble helium gas. The reserves in bubbles do not require heating to high temperatures to be extracted. Mechanical methods at ambient temperatures can easily break the bubbles. Our results provide insights into the mechanism of helium gathering on the moon and offer guidance on future in situ extraction.
The nature and genomic landscape of repetitive DNA classes in Chrysanthemum nankingense shows recent genomic changes
Authors: Zhang Fengjiao , Chen Fadi , Schwarzacher Trude , Heslop-Harrison J S , Teng Nianjun
Published: May 2022

Background and Aims

Tandemly repeated DNA and transposable elements represent most of the DNA in higher plant genomes. High-throughput sequencing allows a survey of the DNA in a genome, but whole-genome assembly can miss a substantial fraction of highly repeated sequence motifs. Chrysanthemum nankingense (2n = 2x = 18; genome size = 3.07 Gb; Asteraceae), a diploid reference for the many auto- and allopolyploids in the genus, was considered as an ancestral species and serves as an ornamental plant and high-value food. We aimed to characterize the major repetitive DNA motifs, understand their structure and identify key features that are shaped by genome and sequence evolution.

Methods

Graph-based clustering with RepeatExplorer was used to identify and classify repetitive motifs in 2.14 millions of 250-bp paired-end Illumina reads from total genomic DNA of C. nankingense. Independently, the frequency of all canonical motifs k-bases long was counted in the raw read data and abundant k-mers (16, 21, 32, 64 and 128) were extracted and assembled to generate longer contigs for repetitive motif identification. For comparison, long terminal repeat retrotransposons were checked in the published C. nankingense reference genome. Fluorescent in situ hybridization was performed to show the chromosomal distribution of the main types of repetitive motifs.

Key Results

Apart from rDNA (0.86 % of the total genome), a few microsatellites (0.16 %), and telomeric sequences, no highly abundant tandem repeats were identified. There were many transposable elements: 40 % of the genome had sequences with recognizable domains related to transposable elements. Long terminal repeat retrotransposons showed widespread distribution over chromosomes, although different sequence families had characteristic features such as abundance at or exclusion from centromeric or subtelomeric regions. Another group of very abundant repetitive motifs, including those most identified as low-complexity sequences (9.07 %) in the genome, showed no similarity to known sequence motifs or tandemly repeated elements.

Conclusions

The Chrysanthemum genome has an unusual structure with a very low proportion of tandemly repeated sequences (~1.02 %) in the genome, and a high proportion of low-complexity sequences, most likely degenerated remains of transposable elements. Identifying the presence, nature and genomic organization of major genome fractions enables inference of the evolutionary history of sequences, including degeneration and loss, critical to understanding biodiversity and diversification processes in the genomes of diploid and polyploid Chrysanthemum, Asteraceae and plants more widely.
Piperonylic acid alters growth, mineral content accumulation and reactive oxygen species-scavenging capacity in chia seedlings
Authors: Nkomo Mbukeni , Gokul Arun , Ndimba Roya , Badiwe Mihlali , Keyster Marshall , Klein Ashwil
Published: May 2022

p-Coumaric acid synthesis in plants involves the conversion of phenylalanine to trans-cinnamic acid via phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), which is then hydroxylated at the para-position under the action of trans-cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase. Alternatively, some PAL enzymes accept tyrosine as an alternative substrate and convert tyrosine directly to p-coumaric acid without the intermediary of trans-cinnamic acid. In recent years, the contrasting roles of p-coumaric acid in regulating the growth and development of plants have been well-documented. To understand the contribution of trans-cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase activity in p-coumaric acid-mediated plant growth, mineral content accumulation and the regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), we investigated the effect of piperonylic acid (a trans-cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase inhibitor) on plant growth, essential macroelements, osmolyte content, ROS-induced oxidative damage, antioxidant enzyme activities and phytohormone levels in chia seedlings. Piperonylic acid restricted chia seedling growth by reducing shoot length, fresh weight, leaf area measurements and p-coumaric acid content. Apart from sodium, piperonylic acid significantly reduced the accumulation of other essential macroelements (such as K, P, Ca and Mg) relative to the untreated control. Enhanced proline, superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde contents were observed. The inhibition of trans-cinnamic acid 4-hydroxylase activity significantly increased the enzymatic activities of ROS-scavenging enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, catalase and guaiacol peroxidase. In addition, piperonylic acid caused a reduction in indole-3-acetic acid and salicylic acid content. In conclusion, the reduction in chia seedling growth in response to piperonylic acid may be attributed to a reduction in p-coumaric acid content coupled with elevated ROS-induced oxidative damage, and restricted mineral and phytohormone (indole-3-acetic acid and salicylic) levels.
Diversity Drives Innovation: The Impact of Female-Driven Publications
Authors: Smith Rachel M , Rathore Srishti , Donnelly D’Andrea , Nicksic Peter J , Poore Samuel O , Dingle Aaron M
Published: May 2022

Background

Gender disparities are pervasive in academic plastic surgery. Previous research demonstrates articles authored by women receive fewer citations than those written by men, suggesting the presence of implicit gender bias.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to describe current citation trends in plastic surgery literature and assess gender bias. The expectation was that women would be cited less frequently than their male peers.

Methods

Articles published between 2017 and 2019 were collected from 8 representative plastic surgery journals stratified by impact factor. Names of primary and senior authors of the 50 most cited articles per year per journal were collected and author gender was determined via online database and internet search. The median numbers of citations by primary and senior author gender were compared by Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results

Among 1167 articles, women wrote 27.3% as primary author and 18% as senior author. Women-authored articles were cited as often as those authored by men (P > 0.05) across all journal tiers. Articles with a female primary and male senior author had significantly more citations than articles with a male primary author (P = 0.038).

Conclusions

No implicit gender bias was identified in citation trends, a finding unique to plastic surgery. Women primary authors are cited more often than male primary authors despite women comprising a small fraction of authorship overall. Additionally, variegated authorship pairings outperformed homogeneous ones. Therefore, increasing gender diversity within plastic surgery academia remains critical.
Conditional generative modeling forde novoprotein design with hierarchical functions
Authors: Kucera Tim , Togninalli Matteo , Meng-Papaxanthos Laetitia
Published: May 2022

Motivation

Protein design has become increasingly important for medical and biotechnological applications. Because of the complex mechanisms underlying protein formation, the creation of a novel protein requires tedious and time-consuming computational or experimental protocols. At the same time, machine learning has enabled the solving of complex problems by leveraging large amounts of available data, more recently with great improvements on the domain of generative modeling. Yet, generative models have mainly been applied to specific sub-problems of protein design.

Results

Here, we approach the problem of general-purpose protein design conditioned on functional labels of the hierarchical Gene Ontology. Since a canonical way to evaluate generative models in this domain is missing, we devise an evaluation scheme of several biologically and statistically inspired metrics. We then develop the conditional generative adversarial network ProteoGAN and show that it outperforms several classic and more recent deep-learning baselines for protein sequence generation. We further give insights into the model by analyzing hyperparameters and ablation baselines. Lastly, we hypothesize that a functionally conditional model could generate proteins with novel functions by combining labels and provide first steps into this direction of research.

Availability and implementation

The code and data underlying this article are available on GitHub at https://github.com/timkucera/proteogan, and can be accessed with doi:10.5281/zenodo.6591379.

Supplementary information

Supplemental data are available at Bioinformatics online.
scPreGAN, a deep generative model for predicting the response of single-cell expression to perturbation
Authors: Wei Xiajie , Dong Jiayi , Wang Fei
Published: May 2022

Motivation

Rapid developments of single-cell RNA sequencing technologies allow study of responses to external perturbations at individual cell level. However, in many cases, it is hard to collect the perturbed cells, such as knowing the response of a cell type to the drug before actual medication to a patient. Prediction in silicon could alleviate the problem and save cost. Although several tools have been developed, their prediction accuracy leaves much room for improvement.

Results

In this article, we propose scPreGAN (Single-Cell data Prediction base on GAN), a deep generative model for predicting the response of single-cell expression to perturbation. ScPreGAN integrates autoencoder and generative adversarial network, the former is to extract common information of the unperturbed data and the perturbed data, the latter is to predict the perturbed data. Experiments on three real datasets show that scPreGAN outperforms three state-of-the-art methods, which can capture the complicated distribution of cell expression and generate the prediction data with the same expression abundance as the real data.

Availability and implementation

The implementation of scPreGAN is available via https://github.com/JaneJiayiDong/scPreGAN. To reproduce the results of this article, please visit https://github.com/JaneJiayiDong/scPreGAN-reproducibility.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.