bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Innovations and Opportunities in Sustainable Textile Recycling
Authors: Anjimoon Shaik , V Asha , Gurnani Jaicky , Khan Irfan , Paul Surovi , Al-Jawahry Hassan M.
Published: March 2024

Waste or wastage is the term for materials that remain unutilized after a product's initial use or process completion. It is a type of substance that is worthless, ineffective, or flawed. Thus, material that loses its value or becomes unusable after the creation of any textile product has concluded is referred to as textile waste. Produce waste occurs during all phases of the textile production process, including spinning, weaving, knitting, dying, finishing, and garment making. This study examines the effects textile waste on the environment and the difficulties in recycling procedures within the industry, which is crucial for the world economy and ecosystem. It is crucial to move towards a circular economy model since the textile industry produces a lot of trash because of its fast fashion cycles and high levels of production to meet demand. This study emphasizes the textile industry's significant environmental impact. The conclusions show that although textile recycling can help lessen the industry's environmental impact, there are still a number of obstacles to overcome, including the need for low-grade materials to have commercially viable recycling processes, the high cost of recovery procedures, and the logistical and technical challenges associated with separating fiber blends. In order to deal with these issues, the study emphasizes how crucial it is to develop environmentally friendly procedures and cutting-edge recycling technologies.
Acoustic analysis of chevron nozzle: A CFD approach
Authors: Alsalami Zaid , Sharma Sanjeev , Jeevan Nagendra Kuma Y. , Kansal Lavish , Singh Shivani , Vishkarma Manoj Kumar
Published: March 2024

Noise pollution from aircraft is a critical environmental issue, affecting not only wildlife but also human health and comfort, especially for populations living near airports. The recent, researchers have been primarily focused on reducing noise pollution in aircraft systems. Among the major contributors to noise pollution are the aircraft engine and nozzle. To address noise in the nozzle, the chevron nozzle, characterized by a sawtooth pattern at its edge, has been commercialized. Thus, there is a need for dependable Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) capabilities to swiftly assess initial designs for noise reduction and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. For noise reduction in aircraft systems, CFD capabilities are essential. This study conducts Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis of the chevron nozzle. Additionally, design optimization is performed utilizing the Taguchi method.
Estimation of PCU’s in Heterogeneous Traffic by Different methods
Authors: Abood Ahmed Salam , K S Prashanth , K Saritha , Kansal Lavish , Parashar Ashish Kumar , Kumar Pramod
Published: March 2024

Transportation gets more intricate when cities get busier. Increased motor vehicles are moving into towns, which means increased traffic jams. The impacts of urbanisation are pervasive and include, but are not limited to, traffic performance, road safety, pollution, and traffic congestion. The rising number of people in the nation is driving up demand for personal vehicles including cars and motorcycles. Adding additional lanes is not enough to solve traffic congestion effectively. So, studying passenger car units (PCU) in heterogeneous traffic becomes necessary. Efforts to derive PCU values for cities roads with various traffic situations are made on this article. Using the density technique, we got somewhat different PCU values for the remaining three cars, but Chandra's method gave us PCU values of 1.99, 3.37, and 1.33, respectively. The data shows that buses make up a significant portion of the traffic in this region, constituting 23% of the total. Of the entire traffic volume, cars account for 16%. There are 19% fewer cars and trucks on two wheels in the research region. Of the total vehicles in the research region, buses constitute 21%. Nineteen percent of all traffic is caused by cars. It has been found that according to site 1 in the research region, three-wheeled vehicles constitute 18% of total traffic.
Short-term rainfall prédiction using prédictive analytics: A case study in Telangana
Authors: K Ravikiran , Gopala Krishna P. , Rajashekhar N. , Sandeep K. , Hazim Y. Saeed , Reddy Uma , Sobti Rajeev , Kumar Ashwani
Published: March 2024

Rainfall forecasting is critical because heavy rains can bring a full of tragedies. This prediction aids people in requiring preventive steps, and it should be correct. There are two types of rainfall forecasting: short-term forecasting and long-term forecasting. Predictions are typically correct for short-term, but creating a model for future rainfall prediction is the most difficult task. Because it is strongly tied to economy and human lives, heavy precipitation forecast could be a severe disadvantage for natural science departments. It’s the cause of natural disasters like floods and droughts that affect people all around the world every year. For countries like India, where agriculture is the primary source of income, the accuracy of rainfall estimates is critical. Regression may be used in the prediction of precipitation utilizing machine learning approaches. The goal of this work is to provide non-experts with easy access to the techniques and approaches used in the field of precipitation prediction, as well as a comparison of the various machine learning algorithms.
A comprehensive review on helmet detection and number plate recognition approaches
Authors: Vijendar Reddy G. , Gandla Alekhya , Veldurthi Jhahnavi , Dugyala Raman , Mohammed Kahtan A. , B Swathi , Sobti Rajeev , Kumar Ashwani
Published: March 2024

Motorbikes serve as the primary mode of transportation in most countries as they are cost effective and appropriate for a nuclear family. But it has been observed that more than 70% of the users do not prefer to wear safety helmets for various reasons jeopardizing their lives and falling prey to accidents. The most prevalent method for ensuring this right now is traffic police manually monitoring the motorcyclists. But due to excess traffic and limited traffic personnels, many violators go unrecognized and continue to practice the same. Thus, it is important to eliminate the human intervention and automate the monitoring system using deep learning and computer vision-based techniques. Our proposed system implements this by extracting number plate of helmet violators and generates an e-challan on the registered mobile number. We propose using a custom trained YOLO-v8 model for violation detection and YOLO-v8 + EasyOCR for number plate detection and extraction. Canny Edge Detection is a preprocessing step that can be used to enhance the edges of objects in an image, making them more distinguishable. This system holds great potential for enhancing safety-related policies and ensuring strict enforcement of traffic regulations. Additionally, it contributes to the advancement of traffic management through the implementation of an AI-based automated traffic violation and ticketing system.
Analysis of efficient building for energy conversion and storage using phase change material
Authors: Ahmed Raghad , C P Vandana , Reddy G. Vijendar , Sobti Rajeev , Chauhan Shilpi , Srivastava Arun Pratap
Published: March 2024

Building energy efficiency is now a top priority because of the major negative effects that may happen on the society, the economy, and the environment. In various parts of the world, several researchers have worked on ways of achieving methods that can use phasechange materials as thermal storage. This is because these technologies have the potential to greatly reduce energy consumption when combined with solar power. PCMs store thermal energy in ways quite different than ordinary construction materials. These materials make use of latent heat rather than sensible heat. Therefore, phase-changed materials possess a notable advantage over sensible heat thermal energy storage materials with respect to storing and releasing heat. As a result, this paper was concerned with exploring the possibility of building energy conversion and storage systems using phase change material.
Numerical Investigation on Flow and Heat Transfer characteristics of Pure Water in Concentric Triple Tube Heat Exchanger
Authors: Anjimoon Shaik , V Asha , Dange Prashant , Khan Irfan , Paul Surovi , Al-Fatlawy Ramy Riad
Published: March 2024

In the current study, the investigation of heat transfer and fluid flow Characteristics of Pure water when pass through a triple tube heat exchanger (CTTHX). this investigation has been conducted across various Reynolds Number to gain insights into their performance also conducted a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation using the ANSYS-FLUENT software. Result obtained was validated by comparing to empirical correlation data found in the existing literature. The investigation considered various operating variable as Reynolds Number and temperature across the inner, intermediate, and outer tubes. Specifically, the Reynolds Number of 2000 at 305 K, a range of 2000 to 4500 at 340 K, and 2000 at 295 K for the respective tubes. Key findings are that friction factor increase by 12.5% as compared to correlation in existing literature. And Nusselt number (Nu) increase by 50% in the range of Reynolds Number (Re) from 2000 to 4500.
Performance analysis of a novel metamaterial-inspired substrate-integrated cavity for 5G applications
Authors: Amanatiadis Stamatis , Salonikios Vasileios , Kantartzis Nikolaos , Yioultsis Traianos
Published: March 2024

The functionality of a fully planar metamaterial-inspired substrate-integrated cavity is thoroughly investigated in the present work. The electromagnetic field confinement of the proposed device is realized with the utilization of broadside-coupled complementary split ring resonators that operate as a virtual electric wall. The numerical results from the eigenvalue analysis verify the presence of the fundamental resonances with a noteworthy quality factor. Subsequently, full-wave simulations are conducted to validate the resonance functionality of the proposed device, with excitation achieved using the metallic core of a coaxial cable. Numerical results highlighted, also, the radiation capabilities exploiting the inherent openings in the device due to the complementary resonators.
Unsupervised 3D reconstruction method based on multi-view propagation
Authors: LUO Jingfeng , YUAN Dongli , ZHANG Lan , QU Yaohong , SU Shihong
Published: March 2024

In this paper, an end-to-end deep learning framework for reconstructing 3D models by computing depth maps from multiple views is proposed. An unsupervised 3D reconstruction method based on multi-view propagation is introduced, which addresses the issues of large GPU memory consumption caused by most current research methods using 3D convolution for 3D cost volume regularization and regression to obtain the initial depth map, as well as the difficulty in obtaining true depth values in supervised methods due to device limitations. The method is inspired by the Patchmatch algorithm, and the depth is divided into n layers within the depth range to obtain depth hypotheses through multi-view propagation. What's more, a multi-metric loss function is constructed based on luminosity consistency, structural similarity, and depth smoothness between multiple views to serve as a supervisory signal for learning depth predictions in the network. The experimental results show our proposed method has a very competitive performance and generalization on the DTU, Tanks & Temples and our self-made dataset; Specifically, it is at least 1.7 times faster and requires more than 75% less memory than the method that utilizes 3D cost volume regularization.
Small intestinal flukes of the genusMetagonimus(Digenea: Heterophyidae) in Europe and the Middle East: A review of parasites with zoonotic potential
Authors: Scholz Tomáš , Kuchta Roman , Barčák Daniel , Cech Gábor , Oros Mikuláš
Published: March 2024

The heterophyid trematodeMetagonimus romanicus(Ciurea, 1915) (Digenea) is redescribed on the basis of type material from domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in Romania, vouchers from experimentally infected cats (Felis catus) and adults recovered from golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) infected with metacercariae from scales of chub (Squalius cephalus) and common nase (Chondrostoma nasus) (Cypriniformes: Leuciscidae) in Hungary. This trematode, endemic to Europe and neighbouring regions (northwestern Türkiye), was previously misidentified asM. yokogawai(Katsurada, 1912), a zoonotic parasite of humans in East Asia. However, the two species differ considerably both genetically and morphologically,e.g., in the position of the ventral sucker, the presence of the prepharynx, the anterior extent of the vitelline follicles and the posterior extent of the uterus.Metagonimus ciureanus(Witenberg, 1929) (syn.Dexiogonimus ciureanusWitenberg, 1929), described from domestic cats and dogs in Israel, is a valid species distributed in the Middle East and Transcaucasia, which is also confirmed by molecular data. It differs from allMetagonimusspecies, includingM. romanicus, in having symmetrical testes instead of the oblique testes of the other congeners. The zoonotic significance ofM. romanicusandM. ciureanusis unclear, but appears to be low in Europe, mainly because raw or undercooked, whole fish with scales are generally not consumed. Accidental infection of fishermen by metacercariae in the scales when cleaning fish is more likely, but has never been reported. Remains of cyprinoids with scales infected with metacercariae ofMetagonimusspp. can be an important natural source of infection for dogs, cats, and other carnivores, which can serve as a reservoir for these parasites.
Domestic violence and social services in Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Nigeria: Comparative study
Authors: Jegede Oluwaseun Ayotunde , Vilka Lolita , Trapenciere Ilze , Markovič Daniel , Žemaitaityte Irena , Oloruntegbe Kunle
Published: March 2024

Objectives: with regard to neglect, deprivation, false allegations, exposure to traumatic experiences, and other factors, it is reasonable to claim that domestic violence is a major contributor to child abuse in families. Domestic violence also affects the national economy and the probability of poverty. The legal definition of violence and cultural traditions play a significant role in how it is perceived. This study focuses on exploring domestic violence and social services to respond to domestic violence in families with children and examines multidisciplinary approach to domestic violence in families across Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Nigeria. Materials and Methods: based on purposive sampling, 16 in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals from Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, and Nigeria who work with families and individuals who have experienced domestic violence. The data were analysed using ATLAS.ti 5.0 to generate themes and finalised by employing qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) with the software fsQCA 4.0. Results: data showed that several conditions impacted the effective intervention and prevention of domestic violence. Four of these conditions were identified as sufficient causal pathways for domestic violence: tradition for tolerance of violence, lack of or fuzzy national definition of domestic violence, cultural traditions, level of support for women’s empowerment, government policies addressing family violence, and multidisciplinary efforts of social intervention professionals. Conclusions. The observed level of violence tolerance provides some explanation for the low rate of self-reported domestic violence and rationale for a greater emphasis on human rights and dignity awareness. The multidisciplinary efforts of social intervention are evident in the services provided in Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, and Nigeria; there are professional referrals to little multidisciplinary collaboration in Nigeria. The example of Nigeria demonstrates that regulations exist to prevent domestic violence, but cultural traditions make it difficult for women to disclose abuse, resulting in many women suffering in silence.
Using the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) – method to asses HR requirements and optimize processes in health care
Authors: Thum Regina , Wehner Cornelia , Goetz Olav
Published: March 2024

Changing market conditions and increasingly scarce human resources require health care providers to analyze, review, and constantly adjust their processes within their healthcare facilities. A personnel requirement assessment based on the WISN method has proven to be a useful instrument for personnel planning, but also for identifying potential for improvement and process optimization. Based on a mixed method approach, using a systematic literature review, focus group-based experts discussions and interviews the WISN – method was applied to calculate human resource needs for a neurology team of therapists in a general hospital in Germany. Furthermore, the study intended to identify concrete measures for optimization. The results show that it is possible to calculate the required personal resources using the WISN-Method. Additionally, three support activities (daily documentation, weekly documentation, and scheduling) which, at 5.5 hours/week per therapist, tie up considerable working time could be identified. After implementing the optimization measures, a maximum of 1.36 full-time equivalents (FTE) therapists out of a team of 9.51 FTEs therapists could be saved or used for value-adding other health activities. It can be concluded that WISN is a good way to calculate Human Resource (HR) requirements and can help to increase transparency and efficiency in health care.
Wie gemeindenah soll Psychiatrie sein? Distanzeffekte auf die
Inanspruchnahme psychiatrischer Leistungen in einer Schweizerischen
Versorgungsregion
Authors: Stulz Niklaus , Dubno Benjamin , Gebhardt Ralf , Hepp Urs
Published: March 2024

Ziel der Studie Untersuchung der psychiatrischen Inanspruchnahme in
Abhängigkeit von der Anreisezeit zu den Behandlungsangeboten.

Methodik Retrospektive Analyse der Inanspruchnahmekohorte 2022 (18–64
Jahre alt) in einem psychiatrischen Dienst in der Schweiz.

Ergebnisse Die bevölkerungsbezogenen ambulanten Inanspruchnahmeraten
nahmen mit zunehmender Distanz (Reisezeit im öffentlichen Verkehr) zwischen den
Wohngemeinden und den zuständigen Ambulatorien deutlich und statistisch
signifikant ab. Für die stationäre Inanspruchnahme fanden sich deutlich
geringere Distanzeffekte.

Schlussfolgerung In einem gut zugänglichen und ökonomisch vernünftigen
psychiatrischen Versorgungssystem sollten stationäre und spezialisierte Angebote
zentral organisiert werden, während ambulante, allgemeinpsychiatrische Angebote
eher dezentral und wohnortsnah zu planen sind.
The Extension of Traumatic Subdural Hematoma into the Interhemispheric Fissure Is Associated with Coagulation Disorders: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Sannwald Lennart W. , Moskopp Dag , Moskopp Mats L.
Published: March 2024

Background This study investigates the correlation of the radiologic sign of interhemispheric subdural hematoma (iSDH) in different injury patterns with clinical coagulation disorders. It is hypothesized that the presence of iSDHs is correlated with clinical coagulation disorders in patients with traumatic brain injuries and subdural hematoma (SDH).

Methods Between January 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022, 154 patients with SDH were identified. Coagulation disorders were assessed using chart review and patients were divided into four groups: SDH without iSDH without further injuries (SDH), SDH with iSDH without further injuries (SDH + iSDH), SDH without iSDH with further brain injuries (Combi), SDH with iSDH with further injuries (Combi + iSDH). These four groups were formed under the assumption that isolated SDHs result from a highly specific trauma mechanism (rupture of bridging veins) in predisposed elderly patients, while combined brain injuries with SDH result from a severe global traumatic brain injury combining different pathophysiologic mechanisms often in younger patients. The groups were analyzed for patient demographics, clinical presentation, and association with coagulation disorders. The significance level was set at p < 0.005.

Results The presence of an iSDH was associated with a higher likelihood of concomitant coagulation disorder or anticoagulants in cases of isolated subdural hemorrhage (56.8% of the population in SDH vs. 94.7% in SDH + iSDH, p < 0.005). This effect was not significant in the cases with combined traumatic brain injuries (33.3% in Combi vs. 53.6% in Combi + iSDH, p > 0.005).

Conclusion Our data indicate a high positive predictive value (PPV = 94.7%) for coagulation disorders in traumatic SDH patients with iSDH without any further focal and diffuse brain injuries. We consider this a relevant finding since it hints at the presence of coagulation disorders and might be used in early hemostaseologic assessment and emergency management.
Cementless versus Cemented Total Knee Arthroplasty Using the Same Implant Design: A Mean 5-Year Follow-up Study
Authors: Miller Adam J. , Nadar Arun C. , Granade Charles M. , Smith Langan S. , Yakkanti Madhusudhan R. , Malkani Arthur L.
Published: March 2024

Cementless implant use continues to increase primarily due to increased numbers of younger and obese patients opting for primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Given the increased use of cementless implants, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the midterm clinical performance of cementless TKA using a highly porous tibial baseplate compared with its cemented counterpart of the same system. We conducted a retrospective case-control study of 400 patients undergoing primary TKA that included 200 patients with cementless components matched for age and body mass index (BMI) to 200 patients with cemented implants of the same implant design with a 5-year follow-up. We evaluated clinical results, complications, revisions, and overall survivorship between the cohorts. Statistical analysis was performed using student t-test and chi-square analysis. There was no statistical difference in age (64.3 vs. 64.3 p = 0.81), BMI (34 vs. 33.1 p = 0.19), preoperative Knee Society Score (KSS) function (41 vs. 32.3 p = 0.22), and preoperative KSS knee score (39.2 vs. 38.3 p = 0.54) between the cementless and cemented cohorts, respectively. The cementless group had seven revisions, while the cemented group had nine revisions (p = 0.609). The cementless group had one revision due to aseptic loosening versus five in the cemented group (p = 0.09). Postoperative 5-year KSS knee scores were 92.84 versus 91.75 (p = 0.386) and function scores were 81.81 versus 69.65 (p = 0.00004) in the cementless and cemented groups, respectively. The cementless group had survivorship of 96.5% for all-cause revision compared with 95.5% in the cemented group at 5-year follow-up (p = 0.60). Cementless TKA using a highly porous tibial baseplate showed excellent midterm results with one case of aseptic loosening at 5-year follow-up and with similar Knee Society outcome scores and survivorship compared with the cemented group. Cementless TKA demonstrated noninferiority to cemented TKA and could be used as an alternative mode of fixation in patients opting for primary TKA. Additional long-term follow-up is needed to determine if cementless TKA can demonstrate improved survivorship over cemented TKA.
Causes of conflicts in standardization alliances related to the Belt and Road Initiative
Authors: Chen Xiuwen , Zhou Qing , Wang Zhigang
Published: March 2024

Effective conflict management is pivotal for achieving innovation performance within standardization alliances, particularly those for the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R Initiative). However, existing research has paid limited attention to the interdependent relationship between influencing factors of conflicts in these alliances. To address this gap, this paper employs the interpretative structure model (ISM) to establish mutual relationships among 16 identified influencing factors. The results show that target difference, unbalanced input of resources, and unreasonable distribution of benefits are recognized as key facilitators at the top level, while political risks, impact of financial factors, and policy changes are identified as foundational drivers at the bottom level. At the intermediate level, factors such as demand difference, technical capabilities difference, cognitive difference, value pursuit difference, information asymmetry, lack of trust, poor communication, resource dependency, and unreasonable contribution evaluation are positioned. These identified interdependence relationships offer crucial reference information for conflict management in standardization alliances for the B&R Initiative.
Voltage waveform tailoring for high aspect ratio plasma etching of SiO2 using Ar/CF4/O2 mixtures: Consequences of low fundamental frequency biases
Authors: Krüger Florian , Lee Hyunjae , Nam Sang Ki , Kushner Mark J.
Published: March 2024

The use of non-sinusoidal waveforms in low pressure capacitively coupled plasmas intended for microelectronics fabrication has the goal of customizing ion and electron energy and angular distributions to the wafer. One such non-sinusoidal waveform uses the sum of consecutive harmonics of a fundamental sinusoidal frequency, f0, having a variable phase offset between the fundamental and even harmonics. In this paper, we discuss results from a computational investigation of the relation between ion energy and DC self-bias when varying the fundamental frequency f0 for capacitively coupled plasmas sustained in Ar/CF4/O2 and how those trends translate to a high aspect ratio etching of trenches in SiO2. The fundamental frequency, f0, was varied from 1 to 10 MHz and the relative phase from 0° to 180°. Two distinct regimes were identified. Average ion energy onto the wafer is strongly correlated with the DC self-bias at high f0, with there being a maximum at φ = 0° and minimum at φ = 180°. In the low frequency regime, this correlation is weak. Average ion energy onto the wafer is instead dominated by dynamic transients in the applied voltage waveforms, with a maximum at φ = 180° and minimum at φ = 0°. The trends in ion energy translate to etch properties. In both, the high and low frequency regimes, higher ion energies translate to higher etch rates and generally preferable final features, though behaving differently with phase angle.
Opinion dynamics on biased dynamical networks: Beyond rare opinion updating
Authors: Wang Xunlong , Wu Bin
Published: March 2024

Opinion dynamics is of paramount importance as it provides insights into the complex dynamics of opinion propagation and social relationship adjustment. It is assumed in most of the previous works that social relationships evolve much faster than opinions. This is not always true in reality. We propose an analytical approximation to study this issue for arbitrary time scales between opinion adjustment and network evolution. To this end, the coefficient of determination in statistics is introduced and a one-dimensional stable manifold is analytically found, i.e., the most likely trajectory. With the aid of the stable manifold, we further obtain the fate of opinions and the consensus time, i.e., fixation probability and fixation time. We find that for in-group bias, the more likely individuals are to adopt the popular opinion, the less likely the majority opinion takes over the population, i.e., conformity inhibits the domination of popular opinions. This counterintuitive result can be interpreted from a game perspective, in which in-group bias refers to a coordination game and rewiring probability refers to a rescaling of the selection intensity. Our work proposes an efficient approximation method to foster the understanding of opinion dynamics in dynamical networks.
Noise and thermal performance of a sub-attofarad capacitance sensor for precision measurements, with applications in gravitational wave detectors
Authors: Saraf S. , Buchman S. , Lui C. Y. , Wang S. , Lipa J.
Published: March 2024

We describe the design principles, fabrication, and characterization of a precision AC resonant capacitance bridge (RCB) sensor, based on a resonant differential planar printed circuit board transformer with a solid (ungapped) MnZn ferrite core, demonstrating a short-term sensitivity at 293 K of 0.225 ± 0.005 aF/√Hz at around 120 kHz resonance frequency and 1 Hz Fourier measurement frequency. At 120 K, the RCB short term noise sensitivity is 0.118 ± 0.005 aF/√Hz. We compare the ungapped configuration to five different RCBs: three with a core gap of 65 μm and two with a core gap of 130 μm. Their average room temperature short term noise sensitivities are 0.30 ± 0.01 and 0.45 ± 0.01 aF/√Hz, while the cryogenic operation of these transformers at 120 K resulted in averaged sensitivities of 0.23 ± 0.01 and 0.36 ± 0.01 aF/√Hz, respectively. Multi-hour room temperature runs, with one core of each of the three gap types, proved the stability of their long-term sensitivities of 0.234 ± 0.005, 0.338 ± 0.009, and 0.435 ± 0.010 aF/√Hz for the ungapped (40-h duration) and the 65 and 130 μm (28-h duration) cores, respectively. At 0.1 mHz, a critical frequency for space gravitational wave detectors, the respective sensitivities are 0.25 ± 0.02, 0.35 ± 0.02, and 0.53 ± 0.07 aF/√Hz. Measurements with the ungapped transformer configuration for temperatures from 325 to 349 K further validate the dependence of the noise model on temperature and permeability. The performance of our RCB with an ungapped core matches the calculated performance value and shows an improvement in signal-to-noise ratio of two or more compared with capacitance bridges developed for similar applications. A further factor of about two noise reductions is achieved by cooling to 120 K.
MXene/AlGaN van der Waals heterojunction self-powered photodetectors for deep ultraviolet communication
Authors: Li Linhao , He Yixun , Lin Tingjun , Jiang Hongsheng , Li Yi , Lin Tingting , Zhou Changjian , Li Guoqiang , Wang Wenliang
Published: March 2024

Self-powered deep ultraviolet (DUV) photodetectors (PDs) have attracted considerable attention in environmental, industrial, and military fields because of their power-independent and environmentally sensitive photodetection. However, DUV PDs based on traditional thin film structures are limited by the low intrinsic mobility of aluminum-gallium nitride (AlGaN) and the large barrier width of the heterogeneous structure, which makes it difficult to achieve efficient spontaneous separation, resulting in lower responsiveness and a slow response speed. Herein, a 2D/3D DUV PD based on the MXene, niobium carbide (Nb2CTx)/AlGaN van der Waals heterojunctions (vdWHs) has been proposed. The as-prepared DUV PDs revealed self-powered properties with a high responsivity of 101.85 mA W−1, as well as a fast response (rise/decay time of 21/22 ms) under 254 nm DUV illumination, thanks to the excellent electrical conductivity and tunable work function of the MXene. It also showed a large linear dynamic range of 70 dB under −2 V bias because of the strong DUV absorption of MXene/AlGaN vdWH, and the enhanced carrier mobility under high illumination density. This study presents an easy processing route to fabricate high-performance self-powered DUV PDs based on MXene/AlGaN vdWHs for DUV communication.
Peptide-based allosteric inhibitor targets TNFR1 conformationally active region and disables receptor–ligand signaling complex
Authors: Zeng Jialiu , Loi Gavin Wen Zhao , Saipuljumri Eka Norfaishanty , Romero Durán Marco Antonio , Silva-García Octavio , Perez-Aguilar Jose Manuel , Baizabal-Aguirre Víctor M. , Lo Chih Hung
Published: March 2024

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 1 (TNFR1) plays a pivotal role in mediating TNF induced downstream signaling and regulating inflammatory response. Recent studies have suggested that TNFR1 activation involves conformational rearrangements of preligand assembled receptor dimers and targeting receptor conformational dynamics is a viable strategy to modulate TNFR1 signaling. Here, we used a combination of biophysical, biochemical, and cellular assays, as well as molecular dynamics simulation to show that an anti-inflammatory peptide (FKCRRWQWRMKK), which we termed FKC, inhibits TNFR1 activation allosterically by altering the conformational states of the receptor dimer without blocking receptor–ligand interaction or disrupting receptor dimerization. We also demonstrated the efficacy of FKC by showing that the peptide inhibits TNFR1 signaling in HEK293 cells and attenuates inflammation in mice with intraperitoneal TNF injection. Mechanistically, we found that FKC binds to TNFR1 cysteine-rich domains (CRD2/3) and perturbs the conformational dynamics required for receptor activation. Importantly, FKC increases the frequency in the opening of both CRD2/3 and CRD4 in the receptor dimer, as well as induces a conformational opening in the cytosolic regions of the receptor. This results in an inhibitory conformational state that impedes the recruitment of downstream signaling molecules. Together, these data provide evidence on the feasibility of targeting TNFR1 conformationally active region and open new avenues for receptor-specific inhibition of TNFR1 signaling.
Ab initio generalized Langevin equation
Authors: Xie Pinchen , Car Roberto , E Weinan
Published: March 2024

We introduce a machine learning–based approach called ab initio generalized Langevin equation (AIGLE) to model the dynamics of slow collective variables (CVs) in materials and molecules. In this scheme, the parameters are learned from atomistic simulations based on ab initio quantum mechanical models. Force field, memory kernel, and noise generator are constructed in the context of the Mori–Zwanzig formalism, under the constraint of the fluctuation–dissipation theorem. Combined with deep potential molecular dynamics and electronic density functional theory, this approach opens the way to multiscale modeling in a variety of situations. Here, we demonstrate this capability with a study of two mesoscale processes in crystalline lead titanate, namely the field-driven dynamics of a planar ferroelectric domain wall, and the dynamics of an extensive lattice of coarse-grained electric dipoles. In the first case, AIGLE extends the reach of ab initio simulations to a regime of noise-driven motions not accessible to molecular dynamics. In the second case, AIGLE deals with an extensive set of CVs by adopting a local approximation for the memory kernel and retaining only short-range noise correlations. The scheme is computationally more efficient than molecular dynamics by several orders of magnitude and mimics the microscopic dynamics at low frequencies where it reproduces accurately the dominant far-infrared absorption frequency.
How Common can the Origin of Clusters Cha I, Cha II, ϵ Cha and η Cha be?
Authors: Bobylev V. V. , Bajkova A. T.
Published: March 2024

The trajectories of the groupings η Cha, ϵ Cha and Cha I, Cha II, constructed backward in time, have been studied. We concluded that the hypothesis about the joint formation of all four of these clusters from one molecular cloud cannot be completely excluded. However, 10–15 Myr ago, all these four clusters were located at approximately the same height above the plane of the Galaxy. Thus, the gas-dust clouds from which all these four clusters were formed were located on one broad front. It is possible that the appearance of the Cha I, Cha II, ϵ Cha and η Cha clusters may be associated with the impact on such a front of shock waves formed after supernova explosions in the Scorpius–Centaurus association. New estimates of the kinematic ages of the clusters Cha I and Cha II are obtained as 0.12 ± 0.19 and 0.05 ± 0.15, respectively. It is shown that the minimum size of the Cha I-north and Cha I-south clusters corresponded to the time of 0.55 ± 0.24 Myr and 0.04 ± 0.18 Myr ago, respectively, and approximately 1.5 Myr ago the distance between the trajectories of these two groupings was minimal.
Analysis of Energetic and Traction Performances for an Electric Vehicle in Real Driving Conditions
Authors: Ancuța A A , Voloacă Ș , Frățilă G , Danciu G
Published: March 2024

In continuation of the studies related to the performances of electric vehicles and their optimization solutions, in this work a simulation model will be created in accordance with all the demands that appear on the vehicle during driving and the model will be adapted for urban driving conditions on a certain length of time, so that the performance of the electric propulsion system can be determined, such as: the state of charge of the battery, the consumption of electricity, the characteristics of the electric motor, as well as the variation of the autonomy of the vehicle. The simulation model made will later be correlated with a series of experimental data determined in real driving conditions so that the accuracy of the made model can be checked and validated so that it can be used on different types of electric vehicles with different performances and destinations.
The design and development of an Integrated Propulsion System – Phase 3: the testing bench
Authors: Croitorescu V , Ionescu A , Preda D , Duran B , Giurca L
Published: March 2024

The paper presents the testing bench dedicated to the integrated propulsion system (IPS). The IPS consists of a wheel that carries the electric machine and the suspension inside. Its behaviour needs to be tested while being used independently on a test bench and then on road tests. Because no already existing testing bench was available for this kind of testing, a dedicated testing bench was designed and developed. Its main role is to investigate the functional behaviour of the wheel, together with the integrated suspension system behaviour. The tests were made following different scenarios, where different tire dimensions, different environment properties, different road profiles etc. were reproduced.
Proposed solution for the electrification of a motor vehicle formerly powered by an internal combustion engine (case study: Oltcit)
Authors: Racila L , Dumitru I , Oprica A , Matei L
Published: March 2024

A vehicle powered by electricity is a kind of alternative fuel-powered automobile that uses electrically powered engines and controllers for them in place of a conventional internal combustion engine. Instead of burning a carbon-based fuel, power is generated using battery packs. This not only results in monetary savings but also has an extremely reduced negative influence on the surrounding natural environment. The high price that a buyer must pay to get one of the electric cars that are now on the market is one disadvantage. In this article, we explore the possibility of developing an electric vehicle with the use of an electrical conversion kit. The fundamentals and constituent parts of electric car systems will be broken down, and the procedure for transitioning from an internal combustion engine vehicle to an electric vehicle will be analyzed in this paper.
Assessment Possibilities for Trajectory Fusion of Two Vehicles in the Case of Automated Vehicles
Authors: Cordoş N , Barabás I , Todoruţ A , Duma I , Molea A , Moldovanu D , Burnete N , Jurchiș M , Ghereș M
Published: March 2024

Because of the increasing integration of automation and cutting-edge technology into modern transportation systems, the development of efficient and dependable Automated Vehicles (AVs) has become an important area of research. One of the most important characteristics of AVs is their ability to perceive and navigate complex environments safely. The process of combining trajectory data from multiple vehicles, known as trajectory fusion, has the potential to improve AV perception. The feasibility of implementing trajectory fusion in the context of two autonomous vehicles coexisting in the same operational environment is investigated in this study. The primary goal of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of trajectory fusion in increasing the environmental awareness of Automated Vehicles (AVs), while also investigating its implications for the decision-making mechanisms that govern these vehicles. The MATLAB Simulink simulation platform was essential in carrying out this investigation. The intricate dynamics of trajectory fusion within the context of dual AVs were meticulously analyzed and evaluated using this software.
Kinematic and dynamic analysis of a planetary gear box in steady-state working regime
Authors: Ciobotaru T , Grigore L S , Barothi L , Alexa O
Published: March 2024

The paper presents a method for analysis of planetary gear boxes in order to calculate the speed and torque of the epicyclic gear trains elements. Based on these findings, the power flow within the gear box is determined. Additionally, the mechanical efficiency is estimated in order to assess the overall efficiency of the transmission.
Design of Advanced Power Transmissions
Authors: Pavlov P , Dobreva A
Published: March 2024

During the last five years, significant progress has been made in the development of automotive transmissions, and especially in increasing the gear ratios and improving the efficiency. With the help of software products and programs, new transmission design schemes have been constantly developed, which are characterized by improved operational parameters. Different optimization methods have been considered about the implementations of main objectives: power transmissions’ component design and efficiency improvement. Conclusions have been made concerning the opportunities for reducing the energy consumption by engineering tools inside the power transmissions.
The effects of LPG use over the performance of a Diesel engine
Authors: Molnar C V , Izvorean S , Borborean A T , Stoica V
Published: March 2024

This study is based on the effects of using an auxiliary fuel such as gas on the performance of diesel engines. More attempts to use gas as a secondary fuel in a diesel engine were made over the years, resulting in significant increases of the engine performance. Other effects of dual fuel use, are lower fuel consumption, and an improved combustion, that has a direct effect on pollutant emission. For this investigation a 4-cylinder diesel engine with mechanical injection, equipped with a speed regulator disable system. An auxiliary fuel (gas) is introduced through the intake manifold of the engine using a volume base measurement system. According to the literature, by increasing the main injection advance, we can see further improvement in the engine performance, this being a result of better timing of the burn process. The regular burn process uses only a part of the oxygen in the cylinder, by introducing the gas in the intake, it uses the rest of the oxygen in the cylinder in the burn process. This in theory will improve the efficiency of the engine and thus reduces the emissions.
On the impact of using nanoparticles type additives on the altering of diesel fuel jet characteristics
Authors: Niculae A L , Chiriac R , Racovitza A
Published: March 2024

Even though diesel-powered passenger cars and light-duty vehicles may not be sold in the European Union by 2035, possibly in most other countries will be. Truck diesel engines will remain in use after 2035 because electric trucks are not a viable alternative for goods transportation. This involves continuing research and development on diesel engines to reduce their pollutant emissions. Alternative (renewable) fuels with combustion improvers can diminish emissions at the source. Nanoparticle-based additives can enhance the efficiency and emissions of diesel engines through their intense catalytic activity and by improving the fuel injection process. However, their effect on the injection process has not been well tested and published in the dedicated literature. The use of nanoparticles mixed in small fractions with original diesel fuel influences the physicochemical properties of the fuel as well as the formation of fuel jets inside the combustion chamber. This research focuses on the opportunity of using different diesel fuel blends mixed with combustion improver additives such as MWCNT and CeO2 nanoparticles. In this sense, a simulation investigation was conducted using the AVL BOOST Hydsim software. The physicochemical properties of fuels were used to assess the macroscopic characteristics of the fuel spray, such as penetration, spray cone angle, and Sauter mean diameter. When increasing the nanoparticle dosage, the penetration and spray cone angle values are decreasing, while the Sauter mean diameter values are increasing. This tendency is present for both nanoparticle types considered.
The impact of real driving on vehicle CO2 emissions
Authors: Constantin C , Bățăuş M , Rențea C , Frățilă G
Published: March 2024

On-road (real) driving of a conventional vehicle having free gear-shift strategy and driving style, non-zero positive altitude gain, and uncontrolled ambient conditions is expected to produce different emissions values, including CO2, in respect to those produced in a controlled laboratory experiment following a standardized velocity profile.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of driving style characterized by driving dynamics on CO2 emissions of a passenger car equipped with an internal combustion engine. The study is based on recorded on-road trips of a passenger car that are postprocessed using the EU real driving calculation procedures.

Selected segment trips of urban, rural and motorway driving are used as input for a detailed vehicle model developed in LMS Imagine. Lab AMESim in order to assess the impact of real driving on vehicle CO2 emissions.
Comparisons between Assembly Technologies by Welding and Brazing of Aluminium Alloys from the Sight of Assembly Quality
Authors: Dimitrescu A , Babiş C , Rugescu A M
Published: March 2024

Aluminum and its alloys are finding use in more and more industrial fields. Since the early 1970s, when many companies in the automotive, pharmaceutical and aeronautical industries replaced the classic components of iron alloys with those of aluminum alloys, they faced various difficulties in the non-removable assembly of designed components.

The first assembly technologies used were welding, followed in the 1980s by brazing. Due to its economic advantages, in many cases brazing technologies are preferred by manufacturers. The present paper aims to make a comparative study, based on experimental data, between the non-removable assembly technology by welding and brazing for aluminum alloys of group 6000. Due to the high costs of materials and labor, it is preferable to use relevant non-destructive control methods that can indicate any discontinuities that may occur in welded or brazed structures. These defects can provide valuable information and may indicate either non-compliance with the required technological conditions or the wrong choice of assembly method. Non-destructive testing methods that can highlight interior defects, such as radiographic control with penetrating radiation and ultrasound will be used, as well as less expensive equipment and labor methods that may highlight surface defects or which communicates with the surface such as the method of control with penetrating liquids. Thus, the joint areas of the base and filler materials will be analyzed, as well as the areas in the immediate vicinity that have been thermally influenced. The experimental results will be able to lead to pertinent conclusions in the way of choosing the non-removable assembly technology, results that can be easily generalized in the industrial fields. Thus, each company will be able to choose according to the conditions imposed by the product specifications a certain technology that will satisfy its requirements.