bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Correction: Reversibility and two state behaviour in the thermal unfolding of oligomeric TIM barrel proteins
Authors: Romero-Romero Sergio , Costas Miguel , Rodríguez-Romero Adela , Fernández-Velasco D. Alejandro
Published: March 2016

Correction for ‘Reversibility and two state behaviour in the thermal unfolding of oligomeric TIM barrel proteins’ by Sergio Romero-Romero et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 20699–20714.
Leveraging a high resolution microfluidic assay reveals insights into pathogenic fungal spore germination
Authors: Barkal Layla J. , Walsh Naomi M. , Botts Michael R. , Beebe David J. , Hull Christina M.
Published: March 2016

Germination of a population of pathogenic fungal spores into yeast can be tracked, quantified, and parsed using a microfluidic assay.
Continuous on-chip fluorescence labelling, free-flow isoelectric focusing and marker-free isoelectric point determination of proteins and peptides
Authors: Herzog Christin , Poehler Elisabeth , Peretzki Andrea J. , Borisov Sergey M. , Aigner Daniel , Mayr Torsten , Nagl Stefan
Published: March 2016

Presented are microfluidic chips that allow for continuous subsequent biomolecular labelling, free-flow isoelectric focusing and real-time isoelectric point monitoring.
First total synthesis of trehalose containing tetrasaccharides from Mycobacterium smegmatis
Authors: Chaube Manishkumar A. , Sarpe Vikram A. , Jana Santanu , Kulkarni Suvarn S.
Published: March 2016

Total synthesis of three important trehalose containing tetrasaccharides isolated fromMycobacterium smegmatisis reported for the first time, using regioselective opening of benzylidene acetals and stereoselective glycosylations as key steps.
Control of cross-linking and reactions in one-step dispersion polymerization toward particles with combined anisotropies
Authors: Liu Yanan , Jiang Kun , Ma Yuhong , Liu Lianying , Yang Wantai
Published: March 2016

Particles with a combination of anisotropies in morphology, surface roughness, structure and composition are synthesized by one-step dispersion polymerization.
Triply responsive soft matter nanoparticles based on poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate-block-3-phenylpropyl methacrylate] copolymers
Authors: Pei Yiwen , Jarrett Kevin , Saunders Martin , Roth Peter J. , Buckley Craig E. , Lowe Andrew B.
Published: March 2016

The stimulus-responsive properties of nanoparticles based on poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate-b-3-phenylpropyl methacrylate] (p(OEGMA-b-PPMA)) copolymers in alcohols are described.
Preparation of poly(ionic liquid) composite particles and function modification with anion exchange
Authors: Tokuda Masayoshi , Shindo Tatsunori , Suzuki Toyoko , Minami Hideto
Published: March 2016

Detailed investigation on the synthesis of poly(ionic liquid) composite particles by seeded (dispersion) polymerization and property modification using anion exchange.
Co-supported catalysts on nitrogen and sulfur co-doped vertically-aligned carbon nanotubes for oxygen reduction reaction
Authors: Liu Yunmei , Zhao Bin , Zhang Ying , Zhang Huijuan , Zhan Ke , Yang Junhe , Li Jianqiang
Published: March 2016

A high-performance ORR catalyst of Co supported on nitrogen and sulfur co-doped VACNTs was fabricated by cobalt sputtering and subsequent annealing in decomposition atmosphere of NH4SCN.
Fluorescent genipin cross-linked REDV-conjugated polymeric microbubbles for human vascular endothelial cell (HVEC) targeting
Authors: Liu Zhe , Shi Changcan , Li Yihong , Song Yuanhui , Xu Qien
Published: March 2016

Fluorescent polymeric microbubbles conjugated with REDV peptides were fabricated to achieve HVECs active targeting. The degradation, cytotoxicity and targeting features endowed them potential candidates in early molecular diagnosis for cardiovascular diseases.
Simultaneous synthesis of ettringite and absorbate incorporation by aqueous agitation of a mechanochemically prepared precursor
Authors: Zhong Lihua , Qu Jun , Li Xuewei , He Xiaoman , Zhang Qiwu
Published: March 2016

Co-grinding of calcium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide and gypsum was performed to prepare an activated precursor for synthesizing ettringite (simple formula 3CaO·Al2O3·3CaSO4·32H2O).
A green fabrication strategy for MgAl2O4 foams with tunable morphology
Authors: Tripathy Shuvendu , Khilari Santimoy , Saini Deepash Shekhar , Bhattacharya Debasis
Published: March 2016

An eco-friendly fabrication of porous MgAl2O4 ceramic foam for efficient dye adsorption.
Rapid discovery and identification of multiple absorbed chemical constituents and metabolites in rat cerebrospinal fluid after oral administration of Jitai tablets by a LC-MS based metabolomics approach
Authors: Wang Shuping , Fu Peng , Liu Lei , Wang Lingling , Peng Chengcheng , Zhang Weidong , Liu Runhui
Published: March 2016

An integrative strategy using LC-Q/TOF-MS and LC-QqQ-MS/MS coupled with multi-variate statistical analysis was developed to screen and identify the constituents transported into the rat cerebrospinal fluid after oral administration of Jitai tablets.
Preparation of palygorskite coated cordierite as supports of manganese based catalysts for low-temperature NOx removal from diesel exhausts by NH3 selective catalytic reduction
Authors: Zhang Xianlong , Guo Yaqing , Xie Chenghua , Wu Xueping , Wang Junwei
Published: March 2016

Cordierite honeycomb ceramic (CC) was immersed in PG–water mixed slurry to prepare a palygorskite (PG) coated CC as a catalyst carrier (PG–CC).
Dynamics of chiral molecules in gaseous environments: validity of the Magnus effect in microscale systems
Authors: Chen Hong-Fei , Zhong Wei-Rong
Published: March 2016

Dynamics and separation of chiral C60 were numerically investigated in a gaseous environment with a linear velocity.
Structure and electrochemical properties of multilayer graphene prepared by electrochemical exfoliation of graphite in the presence of benzoate ions
Authors: Kurys Ya. I. , Ustavytska O. O. , Koshechko V. G. , Pokhodenko V. D.
Published: March 2016

Multilayer graphene prepared via the electrochemical exfoliation of graphite in the presence of benzoic anions is an effective electrocatalyst for ascorbic acid and NADH oxidation.
The first report on the eco-friendly synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles in PEG catalyzed by Cu(ii) immobilized on Fe3O4@SiO2@l-arginine as a novel, recyclable and non-corrosive catalyst
Authors: Ghorbani-Choghamarani Arash , Shiri Lotfi , Azadi Gouhar
Published: March 2016

Cu(ii) immobilized on Fe3O4@SiO2@l-arginine as a novel nanostructured compound catalyzed the cycloaddition reaction of organic nitriles and sodium azide to produce 5-substituted 1H-tetrazoles.
Aggregation-induced emission and reversible mechanochromic luminescence of carbazole-based triphenylacrylonitrile derivatives
Authors: Zhan Yong , Gong Peng , Yang Peng , Jin Zhe , Bao Ying , Li Ying , Xu Yongnan
Published: March 2016

Conjugated organic molecules exhibiting AIE are characterized by the strongly twisted conjugated skeleton, which could provide loose intermolecular stacking and weak π–π interactions in the solid state to generate stimuli-responsive materials.
In situ synthesis of carbon fiber-supported SiOx as anode materials for lithium ion batteries
Authors: Bai Xuejun , Wang Biao , Wang Huaping , Jiang Jianming
Published: March 2016

The profiled carbon fiber-supported SiOx LIB anodes with abundant capillary channels and high contact area can improve lithium-ion transport and buffer the SiOx volume changes, resulting in the improvement of the cell performance.
Organic light-emitting devices based on solution-processable small molecular emissive layers doped with interface-engineering additives
Authors: Ha Tae-Won , Kim Young-Baek , Heo Gi-Seok , Hwang Inchan , Jeon Hong Goo , Park Byoungchoo
Published: March 2016

A simple solution-process to fabricate full-colour small molecular OLEDs is proposed. The incidence of nano-pinhole defects decreases sharply following the introduction of an interface-engineering additive, resulting in good device performance.
Triggering effect caused by elemental sulfur as a mean to reduce the polymerization temperature of benzoxazine monomers
Authors: Arza Carlos Rodriguez , Froimowicz Pablo , Ishida Hatsuo
Published: March 2016

Mixtures of different benzoxazine resins and elemental sulfur (S8) are prepared and then reacted at 120 °C, below the temperature for radical formation of sulfur, triggering the reduction of the polymerization temperature.
“Green” gold nanotriangles: synthesis, purification by polyelectrolyte/micelle depletion flocculation and performance in surface-enhanced Raman scattering
Authors: Liebig Ferenc , Sarhan Radwan M. , Prietzel Claudia , Reinecke Antje , Koetz Joachim
Published: March 2016

The aim of this study was to develop a one-step synthesis of gold nanotriangles (NTs) in the presence of mixed phospholipid vesicles followed by a separation process to isolate purified NTs.
Phytochemical investigation, hypocholesterolemic and anti-atherosclerotic effects of Amaranthus viridis leaf extract in hypercholesterolemia-induced rabbits
Authors: Salvamani Shamala , Gunasekaran Baskaran , Shukor Mohd Yunus , Abu Bakar Md. Zuki , Ahmad Siti Aqlima
Published: March 2016

Hypercholesterolemia is one of the main causes for coronary heart disease, which occurs due to high levels of serum cholesterol.
Droplet-microarray on superhydrophobic–superhydrophilic patterns for high-throughput live cell screenings
Authors: Popova Anna A. , Demir Konstantin , Hartanto Titus Genisius , Schmitt Eric , Levkin Pavel A.
Published: March 2016

Droplet-microarray platform based on superhydrophobic–superhydrophilic patterning allows for miniaturized high throughput drug and transfection screenings of live cells in separated nanoliter droplets.
Highly ordered, polypyrrole-coated Co(OH)2architectures for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors
Authors: Lee Jun Seop , Shin Dong Hoon , Kim Wooyoung , Jang Jyongsik
Published: March 2016

Highly-ordered, polypyrrole-coated Co(OH)2nanosheets are fabricated through facile electrodeposition for use in the positive electrode of ultrahigh capacitive solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors.
Suppression of nanowire clustering in hybrid energy harvesters
Authors: Pan Chengbin , Hu Jianchen , Grustan-Gutierrez Enric , Hoang Minh Tuan , Duan Huiling , Yvonnet Julien , Mitrushchenkov Alexander , Chambaud Gilberte , Lanza Mario
Published: March 2016

The performance of hybrid energy harvesters based on ZnO nanowire arrays has been effectively enhanced by the introduction of PMMA.
Pyridyl-substituted anthracene derivatives with solid-state emission and charge transport properties
Authors: Liu Jie , Zhu Weigang , Zhou Ke , Wang Zongrui , Zou Ye , Meng Qing , Li Jie , Zhen Yonggang , Hu Wenping
Published: March 2016

2,6-Di-pyridyl substituted anthracene derivatives for use as emissive charge transport materials.
Identification of a dTDP-rhamnose biosynthetic pathway that oscillates with the molting cycle in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Feng Likui , Shou Qingyao , Butcher Rebecca A.
Published: March 2016

L-Rhamnose is a common component of cell-wall polysaccharides, glycoproteins and some natural products in bacteria and plants, but is rare in fungi and animals. In the present study, we identify and characterize a biosynthetic pathway for dTDP-rhamnose in Caenorhabditis elegans that is highly conserved across nematode species. We show that RML-1 activates glucose 1-phosphate (Glc-1-P) in the presence of either dTTP or UTP to yield dTDP-glucose or UDP-glucose, respectively. RML-2 is a dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase, converting dTDP-glucose into dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxyglucose. Using mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy, we demonstrate that coincubation of dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxyglucose with RML-3 (3,5-epimerase) and RML-4 (4-keto-reductase) produces dTDP-rhamnose. RML-4 could only be expressed and purified in an active form through co-expression with a co-regulated protein, RML-5, which forms a complex with RML-4. Analysis of the sugar nucleotide pool in C. elegans established the presence of dTDP-rhamnose in vivo. Targeting the expression of the rhamnose biosynthetic genes by RNAi resulted in significant reductions in dTDP-rhamnose, but had no effect on the biosynthesis of a closely related sugar, ascarylose, found in the ascaroside pheromones. Therefore, the rhamnose and ascarylose biosynthetic pathways are distinct. We also show that transcriptional reporters for the rhamnose biosynthetic genes are expressed highly in the embryo, in the hypodermis during molting cycles and in the hypodermal seam cells specifically before the molt to the stress-resistant dauer larval stage. These expression patterns suggest that rhamnose biosynthesis may play an important role in hypodermal development or the production of the cuticle or surface coat during molting.
Optimization of an in vitro bioassay to monitor growth and formation of myotubes in real time
Authors: Murphy Sylvia M. , Kiely Maeve , Jakeman Philip M. , Kiely Patrick A. , Carson Brian P.
Published: March 2016

The importance of growth and maintenance of skeletal muscle is vital for long term health and quality of life. Appropriate nutrition with specific bioactivities relevant to the functionalities of tissues such as skeletal muscle, can assist in maintaining and promoting adaptive responses to biological and environmental stresses which prevent muscle atrophy and promote hypertrophy. The aim of this investigation was to develop a novel in vitro cell-based electric impedance assay to study myoblast to myotube formation on the real time cell analysis (RTCA) platform (xCELLigence™, ACEA) and to validate the system by testing myotube responses to hypertrophic stimuli. C2C12 myoblasts were proliferated until 70% confluent in Dulbecco's Modified Eagles Medium (DMEM) (10% FBS) and subsequently differentiated to myotubes over 8 days in DMEM [2% horse serum (HS)]. Changes in cell behaviour and adhesion properties were monitored by measuring impedance via interdigitated microelectrodes in the base of E-16 cell culture dishes. To establish the suitability of this assay to monitor nutrient regulation of muscle hypertrophy, leucine, a known potent regulator of MPS was then supplemented to the fully formed myotubes in physiologically relevant conditions–0.20 mM, 0.40 mM, 0.6 mM, 0.8 mM and above 1.0 mM, 1.5 mM, 2.0 mM and impedance subsequently monitored. Parallel experiments highlighting alterations in myotube thickness, muscle protein synthesis (MPS) (mammalian target of rapamycin; mTOR) and differentiation (myogenin) were conducted to support RTCA bioassay findings. This in vitro bioassay can be used to monitor skeletal muscle behaviour and identify nutrient compounds with bioactivities promoting skeletal muscle hypertrophy, reducing muscle atrophy and thus inform the development of novel nutrient formulations for the maintenance of skeletal muscle.
Beamforming strategies for multi‐antenna relay‐assisted networks
Authors: Mirzaee Meysam , Akhlaghi Soroush
Published: March 2016

Physical layer security has received considerable attentions in recent years. Moreover, cooperative communications using some nodes of network as relays make use of the benefit of multi‐antenna systems such as increasing the secrecy capacity. This study studies a communication network incorporating some multi‐input–multi‐output amplify and forward relays in the presence of some eavesdroppers. The objective persuaded in the current work is to find the beamforming matrices at the relays to maximise the achievable secrecy rate under either individual or total power constraint at these nodes. Accordingly, three main approaches including general rank beamforming (GRBF), rank‐1 beamforming (RBF) and null‐space beamforming (NSBF) are developed. For the NSBF under the total power constraint, a closed‐form solution is obtained, while for the remaining scenarios the corresponding optimisation problem is expressed as a semi‐definite programming problem. Numerical results indicate that the RBF and NSBF methods follow GRBF in some cases and degraded from GRBF in the others. However, it is shown that these two methods have much lower complexity than GRBF.
Secure robust relay beamforming: a convex conic approximation approach
Authors: Maleki Sadr Mohammad Amin , Ahmadian‐Attari Mahmoud
Published: March 2016

In this study, the problem of secure robust relay beamforming for peer‐to‐peer networks in the presence of eavesdroppers has been optimised and relaxed by assuming the imperfect knowledge of eavesdroppers’ channel state information (CSI). Since the wiretap CSI is imperfect at its legitimate transmitter and receiver, it is a critical issue to make the optimisation problem robust against the channel uncertainty. The authors’ optimisation problem aims to maximise the probabilistic secrecy rate that is subject to keeping the probability of the transmission power of the relays below a specific threshold. The problem is shown to be non‐convex in its original form since the outage probability constraint does not admit a closed‐form expression and it is a non‐deterministic polynomial complete problem. They have presented three novel stochastic methods to handle the outage probability constraint. It has been shown that after some relaxation and randomisation, the problem can be represented as a convex optimisation problem which can be efficiently solved using interior point methods. Simulation results have been presented to verify the advantages of their methods.
Multi‐attribute node importance evaluation method based on Gini‐coefficient in complex power grids
Authors: Wenli Fan , Ping Hu , Zhigang Liu
Published: March 2016

Node importance evaluation contributes to the targeted protection of important nodes, which can enhance the invulnerability of complex power grids against cascading failures. Since the evaluation simply from the perspective of pure topology statistics fails to capture the electrical characteristics of power systems, the authors propose a multi‐attribute node importance evaluation method based on Gini‐coefficient in this study. This method considers not only the electrical characteristics of power grids when evaluation indices are built, but also the impact of the index weight method on the evaluation results. The simulations on the IEEE‐39 system and the 500 kV Center China power system show that the proposed method is suitable to evaluate the node importance in power transmission grids, and can also improve the accuracy of the node importance evaluation.
Interval optimal reactive power reserve dispatch considering generator rescheduling
Authors: Fang Sidun , Cheng Haozhong , Song Yue , Ma Zeliang , Zhu Zhonglie , Zeng Pingliang , Yao Liangzhong
Published: March 2016

Owing to the variations of loads and sustainable energy, the power injections and the load increment direction are of uncertainties, which pose great challenges to the traditional models of power system operation. To determine the effects of those uncertainties on the reactive power reserve (RPR), an interval optimal RPR dispatch with generator rescheduling (GR) is formulated. To evaluate the RPR interval more comprehensively, two sub‐models, namely the optimistic and pessimistic sub‐models, are built. The proposed method is applied to several IEEE systems to illustrate its effectiveness. Case tests show that, proper GR schemes can enhance the RPR of power system by postponing the limit hitting of the generator reactive power. The obtained RPR scheme shows better robustness to the uncertainties of power injections compared with that of the conventional RPR dispatches, and the restriction on the RPR interval widths also suggests the operating risk reduction.
Industrial implementation of a wide area measurement system based control scheme in an isolated power system driven by wind–coal power for aluminium productions
Authors: Sun Yuanzhang , Liao Siyang , Xu Jian , Gu Rongwei , Bao Yi
Published: March 2016

This study presents the industrial implementation of a wide area measurement system (WAMS)‐based real‐time control scheme in an actual isolated power system for aluminium production in China. As driven by wind and coal power, this isolated power system is both economical and environmental friendly. However, the frequency stability issue is challengeable due to its special load characteristic. WAMS‐based control is technically feasible for this issue owing to its instantaneity in monitoring power disturbance, calculating and sending control command. This study presents the industrial implementation method of the WAMS‐based control scheme. This industrial implementation provides demonstrative value for WAMS‐based control technology, significantly expanding the industrial application prospect of WAMS.
Hybrid GSA‐SQP algorithm for optimal coordination of directional overcurrent relays
Authors: Radosavljević Jordan , Jevtić Miroljub
Published: March 2016

This study presents a hybrid gravitational search algorithm‐sequential quadratic programming (GSA‐SQP) algorithm based on the GSAand SQP to optimal coordination of directional overcurrent relays (DOCRs). The SQP routine is incorporated in GSA as a local search mechanism to improve the performance of the conventional GSA algorithm. The coordination between DOCRs is formulated as a non‐linear and highly constrained optimisation problem in which two settings namely time dial setting and pick up current setting of each relay are considered as decision variables. The main objective is to minimise the sum of operating times of all the primary relays, which are expected to operate in order to clear the faults of their corresponding zones. Performance of this approach is studied and evaluated on three different test systems with 6, 24 and 38 relays. Simulation results show that the proposed approach provides effective and robust high‐quality solution of the problem.
Mixed‐integer second‐order cone programing model for VAR optimisation and network reconfiguration in active distribution networks
Authors: Tian Zhuang , Wu Wenchuan , Zhang Boming , Bose Anjan
Published: March 2016

This study presents a comprehensive optimisation model that combines reactive power (VAR) optimisation and network reconfiguration to minimise power losses and eliminate voltage violations. In this model, the reactive power of distributed generators (DGs), VAR compensators, the position of tap‐changer and the states of branches are formulated as continuous and discrete decision variables. The original non‐convex three‐phase optimisation model was converted to a mixed‐integer second‐order cone programming model using the second‐order cone relaxation, big‐M method and piecewise linearisation. The results of numerical tests showed that the proposed model can achieve significant additional gains in network loss reduction and voltage violation mitigation. This developed method can be used as a basic analysis tool for active distribution networks operation schedule or planning.
Towards smart corrective switching: analysis and advancement of PJM's switching solutions
Authors: Balasubramanian Pranavamoorthy , Sahraei‐Ardakani Mostafa , Li Xingpeng , Hedman Kory W.
Published: March 2016

Transmission switching, as a power flow control mechanism that can reduce costs and improve reliability, has gained a lot of attention during the last decade. Despite its benefits, industry adoption has been very limited due to its computational complexity, stability and AC performance concerns. Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland (PJM) has published a list of corrective switching solutions to relieve actual and post‐contingency network violations. The list is developed based on operators’ prior knowledge and offline studies. This study employs a fast AC‐based real‐time contingency analysis (RTCA) tool with corrective transmission switching (CTS) functionality to analyse PJM's switching solutions with actual PJM data. The results show that the RTCA CTS tool is almost always able to find solutions that perform better than, or equally as well as, PJM's solutions. The results also show that PJM's list identifies solutions for only 3% of the problematic contingencies with post‐contingency violations over the course of one week. The RTCA CTS tool, however, is able to find corrective TS solutions for almost all the cases. The results suggest that CTS is ripe for industry adoption. The tool provides significant savings and would pave the road towards a smarter transmission network as an essential ingredient of the future smart grid.
Duty‐cycle‐controlled resonant dual‐half‐bridge converter with multifunctional capacitors for distributed generation applications
Authors: Moradisizkoohi Hadi , Milimonfared Jafar , Taheri Meghdad , Salehi Sina
Published: March 2016

This study describes a duty‐cycle‐controlled resonant dual‐half‐bridge converter with multifunctional capacitors for enhancing the voltage level of fuel cell and photovoltaic sources to 380 V. Owing to the incorporation of dc‐link capacitors and leakage inductance into two various resonant circuits, both switches turn‐on under the zero‐voltage‐switching circumstance and turn‐off with low current because of quasi‐resonant operation. Since the currents of diodes are controlled by the leakage inductances of transformers, it is not obligatory for a designer to employ the diodes with reverse‐recovery current specification; consequently, less expensive diodes can be adopted. The complementary effects of series‐connected secondary windings of transformers and switched‐capacitor circuits result in forming the balanced voltage multiplier stage, augmenting the voltage conversion ratio substantially without the need for utilising a transformer having higher turns ratio; so, one of the magnificent factors of growth of the conduction losses has been avoided. Ultimately, the results of the laboratory prototype operating with 58 kHz switching frequency, 18 V input voltage, 380 V output voltage, and 500 W output power prove that the proposed topology would be proficient to fulfil its function in systems using distributed generation resources.
Control method for improving the response of single‐phase continuous conduction mode boost power factor correction converter
Authors: Chiang Hsuang‐Chang , Lin Faa‐Jeng , Chang Jin‐Kuan , Chen Kun‐Feng , Chen Yi‐Lun , Liu Ke‐Chih
Published: March 2016

Continuous conduction mode power factor correction AC–DC converters are widely employed as the front stage in power supplies with medium or high output power. The second‐order reactive input power in single‐phase systems causes second‐order ripple in the DC‐link voltage. The speed of voltage regulation is thus limited by the second‐order frequency in seeking to achieve low distorted input current. This study presents a fast second‐order voltage estimation method, wherein an integrator is used for the estimation of second‐order voltage ripple to obtain rapid voltage feedback without ripple and thereby cope with the limitations imposed by the second‐order frequency. This approach greatly expands the bandwidth of the voltage control loop beyond the second‐order frequency while reducing the total harmonic distortion associated with the input current. This also makes it possible to reduce the DC capacitance to reduce costs. The authors opted for full digital control using a TI F28335 DSP IC, in conjunction with feedback plus feedforward control to facilitate the design of the current loop. A feedback current corrector is used to reduce distortion associated with the input current over a wide load range. The effectiveness of the proposed control method was confirmed with some simulation and experimental results.
Fabrication and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite filled polyetheretherketone functional gradient biomaterials
Authors: Pan Yusong , Chen Yan , Shen Qianqian , Pan Chengling
Published: March 2016

Hydroxyapatite filled polyetheretherketone functional gradient biomaterials (HA/PEEK FGBm) were fabricated through layer‐stacking method and in combination with hot press moulding technology. The influences of total HA content, HA concentration difference between adjacent layers (HCDBAL) and annealing treatment on the tensile properties of HA/PEEK FGBm were investigated. The results indicated that the tensile strength and tensile fracture strain of HA/PEEK FGBm decreased with the increasing total HA content. Contrarily, the tensile modulus of HA/PEEK FGBm increases with the rise of total HA content. The tensile strength and modulus of the HA/PEEK FGBm first increased and then decreased with the rise of HCDBAL. Such change in behaviour was more obvious for the HA/PEEK FGBm with 30% total HA content. Furthermore, the tensile strength and modulus of the HA/PEEK FGBm were obviously improved after annealing treatment.
Biomimetics studies of Salvinia molesta for fabrication
Authors: Tengfei Zheng , Chaohui Wang , Baogang Miao , Zhuangde Jiang
Published: March 2016

It has been reported that the sophisticated structure of the Salvinia molesta surface offered a novel mechanism for long‐term air‐retention. It was difficult to mimic the structure, for it was composed of complex elastic eggbeater‐shaped hairs with a coating of nanoscopic hydrophobic wax crystals, except for the top of the hairs. In this work, a structure of fibres cross on a patterned paper to mimic the ability of S. Molesta is manufactured. The complex elastic eggbeater‐shaped hairs with a coating of SU‐8 photoresist can support a droplet water of 1 ml. This work offered a new simple method to mimic the properties of S. molesta surface.
Hollow Co3O4 microspheres assembled with nanocrystals for non‐enzymatic glucose sensor
Authors: Yin Haoyong , He Xiaolong , Cui Zhenzhen , Nie Qiulin
Published: March 2016

A non‐enzymatic glucose sensor was developed by using the hollow Co3O4 microspheres assembled with nanocrystals as the sensing materials. The hierarchical structured materials were prepared using carbon spheres as sacrificial templates. X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscopy were employed to characterise the crystal structure and morphology of the hollow microspheres. The results showed that the as‐prepared cubic crystalline Co3O4 products have a hollow nature, with the shell thicknesses of about 150 nm. The walls of the hollow microspheres were composed of lots of nanocrystals with diameters about 50 nm. The Co3O4 hollow microspheres displayed superior electrochemical activity used as non‐enzymatic glucose sensors. The high linearity between catalytic current density and glucose concentration was obtained in the range of 2 μM–1.48 mM with a sensitivity of 68.77 μA mM−1 cm−2. More importantly, the interference from the commonly interfering species such as L‐valine, urea, L‐proline, NaCl and L‐lysine can be effectively avoided. The high sensitivity, low detection limit and good selectivity indicated that the hollow Co3O4 microsphere is a promising no‐enzymatic glucose sensor material for practical application.
Preparation of yolk–shell microspheres as temperature switch on/off catalysts
Authors: Yang Kun , Dai Zhao , Chu Yuanyuan , Chen Guangping
Published: March 2016

A novel kind of yolk–shell microspheres was presented in this Letter. First, 250 nm of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles was prepared by solvothermal reaction. Then, the Fe3O4 particles were coated with Au nanoparticles (AuNPs), SiO2, and poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM). After the removal of the SiO2 layer by etching with HF solution, the yolk–shell microspheres were prepared. Each yolk–shell microsphere had a movable core (Fe3O4 self‐assembled AuNPs) and temperature‐responsive shell (PNIPAM). The yolk–shell structure of these microspheres was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. The catalytic performances of these yolk–shell microspheres were investigated under different environmental temperatures. The results indicated that the reduction from 4‐nitrophenol to 4‐aminophenol by NaBH4 was slowed when the temperature was increased because of the hydrophobic and the shrinking sate of PNIPAM shell and the yolk–shell microspheres had a characteristic of temperature switch on/off when the cross‐linking degree was about 20%.
Assessment of crystallite size and strain of CaCu3Ti4O12 prepared via conventional solid‐state reaction
Authors: Ahmadipour Mohsen , Abu Mohamad Johari , Ab Rahman Mohd Fariz , Ain Mohd Fadzil , Ahmad Zainal Arifin
Published: March 2016

Assessment of crystallite size and strain of CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) with multimodal crystallite size is relatively a challenging task. Various estimation methods (Debye–Scherrer, Williamson–Hall, Rietveld refinement and Variance) are usually gave variation results due to different parameter selections of peaks broadening, for example, average line and integral breath (average and total). The high accuracy of estimation method is essential in order to obtain the best estimated result as close as possible to the observed crystallite size. Therefore, this Letter presents the comparison of estimation methods in determining the crystalline size and strain of CCTO from XRD peak broadening. The result shows that each method gave a different crystallite size as far as various solutions are concern and also depicts that the strain is same. However, Rietveld refinement, Debye–Scherrer and variance methods showed a highly correlated with domain size as observed from transmission electron microscopy analysis, due to an exclusion of the instrumental errors.
Morphological and optical properties of ultra‐thin nanostructured Cu films deposited by RF sputtering on nanoporous anodic alumina substrate
Authors: Shaban Mohamed , Ahmed Ashour M. , Abdel‐ Rahman Ehab , Hamdy Hany
Published: March 2016

Nanoporous materials have attracted considerable technological interest due to their wide range of applications. In this study, highly ordered nanoporous anodic alumina substrates (NAAS) were fabricated by two‐steps anodisation. Radio‐frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering was used to deposit ultrathin Cu layers of different morphologies on the top surface of NAAS. From the field emission‐scanning electron microscope images, the Cu/NAAS morphologies were tuned from nanoporous ultra‐thin Cu layer, to nanoporous‐grains of Cu aggregates, then to a continues layer of Cu nanostones as the deposition time increased from 1 to 4 min. The reflection spectra of the Cu/NAAS samples were dominated with localised surface plasmon modes; longitudinal, transverse and higher‐order modes. The surface plasmon resonances of the fundamental and higher‐order longitudinal modes were shifted to longer wavelengths as the deposition time increased. In addition, the transverse surface plasmon resonances were shifted to longer wavelengths for deposition time ≤3 min (nanoporous Cu film) and suddenly shifted to shorter wavelengths for deposition time ≥4 min (continuous film). The correlations between the structural parameters and the shift of surface plasmon resonance modes were discussed. The strong red‐shifted of the surface plasmon modes to the NIR region suggests a unique opportunity for the design of biomedical sensor based on the proposed structures.
Cost management for waste to energy systems using life cycle costing approach: A case study from China
Authors: Li Chunxi , Wang Feng , Zhang Dan , Ye Xuemin
Published: March 2016

This study is the first systemic cost investigation using the life cycle cost (LCC) method to analyse a municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration power plant project in China. In this study, LCC is divided into acquisition cost, maintenance cost, fault cost, and operating cost. Considering the time value of each cost, a model based on the LCC theory is established and three indexes are introduced to evaluate the MSW incineration power project, including the loan repayment period, the dynamic investment payback period, and a performance indicator. For a 12 MW MSW incineration power plant project, each cost and index are investigated under the designed runtime of 5500 h and a sensitivity analysis is performed to measure the impacts of main factors on the cost assessment results, including the annual operating hours, the government subsidies, the social discount rate, inflation rate and interest rate. The results show that the MSW project's LCC and total revenue are approximately 588 × 106 CNY and 746 × 106 CNY, resulting in an LCC performance indicator of 1.270 relative to the revenue; the acquisition cost comprises the maximum proportion of approximately 50% of the LCC, and the electricity price subsidy for utilising energy from waste (EFW) technology accounts for the largest proportion of approximately 30% of all subsidies; the loan repayment period and dynamic investment payback period are 9 and 15 years, respectively. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the variations in annual operating hours, the subsidy for disposing MSW, and the electricity price for utilising EFW technology have significant effects on the costs and indexes when compared with those of the social discount rate, inflation rate and interest rate; and that the increased acquisition cost and operating cost for denitration system may be offset by an increase in electricity subsidy by up to 0.013 CNY/kW h.
Strongly coupled fluid-particle flows in vertical channels. I. Reynolds-averaged two-phase turbulence statistics
Authors: Capecelatro Jesse , Desjardins Olivier , Fox Rodney O.
Published: March 2016

Simulations of strongly coupled (i.e., high-mass-loading) fluid-particle flows in vertical channels are performed with the purpose of understanding the fundamental physics of wall-bounded multiphase turbulence. The exact Reynolds-averaged (RA) equations for high-mass-loading suspensions are presented, and the unclosed terms that are retained in the context of fully developed channel flow are evaluated in an Eulerian–Lagrangian (EL) framework for the first time. A key distinction between the RA formulation presented in the current work and previous derivations of multiphase turbulence models is the partitioning of the particle velocity fluctuations into spatially correlated and uncorrelated components, used to define the components of the particle-phase turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and granular temperature, respectively. The adaptive spatial filtering technique developed in our previous work for homogeneous flows [J. Capecelatro, O. Desjardins, and R. O. Fox, “Numerical study of collisional particle dynamics in cluster-induced turbulence,” J. Fluid Mech. 747, R2 (2014)] is shown to accurately partition the particle velocity fluctuations at all distances from the wall. Strong segregation in the components of granular energy is observed, with the largest values of particle-phase TKE associated with clusters falling near the channel wall, while maximum granular temperature is observed at the center of the channel. The anisotropy of the Reynolds stresses both near the wall and far away is found to be a crucial component for understanding the distribution of the particle-phase volume fraction. In Part II of this paper, results from the EL simulations are used to validate a multiphase Reynolds-stress turbulence model that correctly predicts the wall-normal distribution of the two-phase turbulence statistics.
Strongly coupled fluid-particle flows in vertical channels. II. Turbulence modeling
Authors: Capecelatro Jesse , Desjardins Olivier , Fox Rodney O.
Published: March 2016

In Part I, simulations of strongly coupled fluid-particle flow in a vertical channel were performed with the purpose of understanding, in general, the fundamental physics of wall-bounded multiphase turbulence and, in particular, the roles of the spatially correlated and uncorrelated components of the particle velocity. The exact Reynolds-averaged (RA) equations for high-mass-loading suspensions were presented, and the unclosed terms that are retained in the context of fully developed channel flow were evaluated in an Eulerian–Lagrangian (EL) framework. Here, data from the EL simulations are used to validate a multiphase Reynolds-stress model (RSM) that predicts the wall-normal distribution of the two-phase, one-point turbulence statistics up to second order. It is shown that the anisotropy of the Reynolds stresses both near the wall and far away is a crucial component for predicting the distribution of the RA particle-phase volume fraction. Moreover, the decomposition of the phase-average (PA) particle-phase fluctuating energy into the spatially correlated and uncorrelated components is necessary to account for the boundary conditions at the wall. When these factors are properly accounted for in the RSM, the agreement with the EL turbulence statistics is satisfactory at first order (e.g., PA velocities) but less so at second order (e.g., PA turbulent kinetic energy). Finally, an algebraic stress model for the PA particle-phase pressure tensor and the Reynolds stresses is derived from the RSM using the weak-equilibrium assumption.
Structural anomaly and dynamic heterogeneity in cycloether/water binary mixtures: Signatures from composition dependent dynamic fluorescence measurements and computer simulations
Authors: Indra Sandipa , Guchhait Biswajit , Biswas Ranjit
Published: March 2016

We have performed steady state UV-visible absorption and time-resolved fluorescence measurements and computer simulations to explore the cosolvent mole fraction induced changes in structural and dynamical properties of water/dioxane (Diox) and water/tetrahydrofuran (THF) binary mixtures. Diox is a quadrupolar solvent whereas THF is a dipolar one although both are cyclic molecules and represent cycloethers. The focus here is on whether these cycloethers can induce stiffening and transition of water H-bond network structure and, if they do, whether such structural modification differentiates the chemical nature (dipolar or quadrupolar) of the cosolvent molecules. Composition dependent measured fluorescence lifetimes and rotation times of a dissolved dipolar solute (Coumarin 153, C153) suggest cycloether mole-fraction (XTHF/Diox) induced structural transition for both of these aqueous binary mixtures in the 0.1 ≤ XTHF/Diox ≤ 0.2 regime with no specific dependence on the chemical nature. Interestingly, absorption measurements reveal stiffening of water H-bond structure in the presence of both the cycloethers at a nearly equal mole-fraction, XTHF/Diox ∼ 0.05. Measurements near the critical solution temperature or concentration indicate no role for the solution criticality on the anomalous structural changes. Evidences for cycloether aggregation at very dilute concentrations have been found. Simulated radial distribution functions reflect abrupt changes in respective peak heights at those mixture compositions around which fluorescence measurements revealed structural transition. Simulated water coordination numbers (for a dissolved C153) and number of H-bonds also exhibit minima around these cosolvent concentrations. In addition, several dynamic heterogeneity parameters have been simulated for both the mixtures to explore the effects of structural transition and chemical nature of cosolvent on heterogeneous dynamics of these systems. Simulated four-point dynamic susceptibility suggests formation of clusters inducing local heterogeneity in the solution structure.
Inertial amplification of continuous structures: Large band gaps from small masses
Authors: Frandsen Niels M. M. , Bilal Osama R. , Jensen Jakob S. , Hussein Mahmoud I.
Published: March 2016

We investigate wave motion in a continuous elastic rod with a periodically attached inertial-amplification mechanism. The mechanism has properties similar to an “inerter” typically used in vehicle suspensions, however here it is constructed and utilized in a manner that alters the intrinsic properties of a continuous structure. The elastodynamic band structure of the hybrid rod-mechanism structure yields band gaps that are exceedingly wide and deep when compared to what can be obtained using standard local resonators, while still being low in frequency. With this concept, a large band gap may be realized with as much as twenty times less added mass compared to what is needed in a standard local resonator configuration. The emerging inertially enhanced continuous structure also exhibits unique qualitative features in its dispersion curves. These include the existence of a characteristic double-peak in the attenuation constant profile within gaps and the possibility of coalescence of two neighbouring gaps creating a large contiguous gap.
Inelastic effects in molecular transport junctions: The probe technique at high bias
Authors: Kilgour Michael , Segal Dvira
Published: March 2016

We extend the Landauer-Büttiker probe formalism for conductances to the high bias regime and study the effects of environmentally induced elastic and inelastic scattering on charge current in single molecule junctions, focusing on high-bias effects. The probe technique phenomenologically incorporates incoherent elastic and inelastic effects to the fully coherent case, mimicking a rich physical environment at trivial cost. We further identify environmentally induced mechanisms which generate an asymmetry in the current, manifested as a weak diode behavior. This rectifying behavior, found in two types of molecular junction models, is absent in the coherent-elastic limit and is only active in the case with incoherent-inelastic scattering. Our work illustrates that in the low bias-linear response regime, the commonly used “dephasing probe” (mimicking only elastic decoherence effects) operates nearly indistinguishably from a “voltage probe” (admitting inelastic-dissipative effects). However, these probes realize fundamentally distinct I-V characteristics at high biases, reflecting the central roles of dissipation and inelastic scattering processes on molecular electronic transport far-from-equilibrium.
Symmetric energy-momentum tensor: The Abraham form and the explicitly covariant formula
Authors: Nesterenko V. V. , Nesterenko A. V.
Published: March 2016

We compare the known in literature, explicitly covariant 4-dimensional formula for the symmetric energy-momentum tensor of electromagnetic field in a medium and the energy-momentum tensor derived by Abraham in the 3-dimensional vector form. It is shown that these two objects coincide only on the physical configuration space Γ¯, formed by the field vectors and the velocity of the medium, which satisfy the Minkowski constitutive relations. It should be emphasized that the 3-dimensional vector formulae for the components of the energy-momentum tensor were obtained by Abraham only on Γ¯, and the task of their extension to the whole unconditional configuration space Γ was not posed. In order to accomplish the comparison noted above, we derive the covariant formula a new by another method, namely, by generalizing the Abraham reasoning. The comparison conducted enables one to treat the explicitly covariant formula as a unique consistent extension of the Abraham formulae to the whole configuration space Γ. Thus the question concerning the relativistic covariance of the original 3-dimensional Abraham formulae defined on Γ¯ is solved positively. We discuss in detail the relativistic covariance of the 3-dimensional vector formulae for individual components of the 4-dimensional tensors in electrodynamics which is manifested in the form-invariance of these formulae under Lorentz transformations.
Phase selection and nanocrystallization in Cu-free soft magnetic FeSiNbB amorphous alloy upon rapid annealing
Authors: Morsdorf L. , Pradeep K. G. , Herzer G. , Kovács A. , Dunin-Borkowski R. E. , Povstugar I. , Konygin G. , Choi P. , Raabe D.
Published: March 2016

Nucleation of soft magnetic Fe3Si nanocrystals in Cu-free Fe74.5Si15.5Nb3B7 alloy, upon rapid (10 s) and conventional (30 min) annealing, was investigated using x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and atom probe tomography. By employing rapid annealing, preferential nucleation of Fe3Si nanocrystals was achieved, whereas otherwise there is simultaneous nucleation of both Fe3Si and undesired Fe-B compound phases. Analysis revealed that the enhanced Nb diffusivity, achieved during rapid annealing, facilitates homogeneous nucleation of Fe3Si nanocrystals while shifting the secondary Fe-B crystallization to higher temperatures resulting in pure soft magnetic nanocrystallization with very low coercivities of ∼10 A/m.