Coupling Interaction Research Articles

Unveiling the Coupling Coordination and Interaction Mechanism between the Local Heat Island Effect and Urban Resilience in China

Climate change and urbanization have led to the increasing prominence of urban heat islands (UHIs) today, posing a huge challenge to cities. Urban resilience (UR) refers to the ability of a city or region to adapt to changes and risks. However, the influence between the heat island effect and regional urban resilience is not well understood. In this study, we proposed a methodological framework for unveiling the coupling coordination and interaction mechanism between UHIs and UR. This study first explored UHIs in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and described the creation of a multidimensional index system that evaluates urban resilience across social, economic, ecological, and engineering dimensions. Furthermore, this study unveiled the coupling coordination effect of UHIs and UR through the coupling coordination degree model, and the influence mechanism between the drivers of UHIs and the change in UR was detected using a geographic probe. The results showed that the UHI region forms a ring-shaped belt around the entrance to the Pearl River Delta. The UHIs of the GBA show a significant trend of expansion and escalation over time. The UR of the GBA shows a spatial distribution pattern of high resilience among regional central cities and low resilience among peripheral cities, with significantly uneven development in sub-resilience dimensions. The UHIs and UR of the GBA showed a certain coupling and coordination effect, improving from barely synergistic to a primary coordination state. Among the drivers of UHIs, population density, precipitation, average nighttime light brightness, and ground-average CO2 emissions have strong explanatory power for the spatial variation in UR. The interaction between two factors has a stronger influence on UR than individual factors. The purpose of this paper is to initially reveal the influence mechanism between UHIs and UR and to provide a theoretical basis for further exploring the path of sustainable urban development.

The popular gene of hot event: A hot event propagation mechanism based on information coupling and information energy interaction

Recently, the research on the propagation of hot events has received widespread attention. By analyzing the data of hot events and the data of the common events in the same period on the network, we found that hot events usually break out quickly and opinion leaders and cluster behaviors exist in their propagation process. At the same time, the media public opinion fields of reporting hot events overlap and promote each other. Based on the common factors that drive an event to become a hot event, we used the heat calculation formula and entropy method to put forward the propagation model of hot events based on information coupling and information energy interaction. In the model, the coupling values of different event information are quantified based on the information fragment coupling effect. The heat calculation formula is used to dynamically adjust the propagation probability of different individuals in the propagation process of hot event, and the sensational effect threshold is introduced based on the overall energy value of the event. Finally, we used the real social relationship networks to simulate the evolution propagation process of the hot events, and compared it with the crawling real propagation curve of the events. The proposed model provides a good supplement for the study of the hot events.

Monte Carlo study exploring interplays intricate parameter in dielectric behavior of nano-Borophene lattice

This study focuses on the dielectric responses of the [Formula: see text] nano-Borophene lattice, using Monte Carlo simulations. It explores the impact of various parameters, including temperature, the [Formula: see text] coupling interaction, the crystal field D, and the impact of the longitudinal electric field [Formula: see text], on the dielectric characteristics of nano-Borophene. Simulation study results show that these parameters significantly influence the blocking temperature [Formula: see text] and modify the shape and area of the electrical hysteresis cycle. This research can make an important contribution to the understanding of dielectric phenomena, which is essential in fields such as high-temperature dielectric devices and other advanced technological applications.

MOFs@POMs-derived bimetallic oxide Fe2(MoO4)3 nanoparticles for sensitive colorimetric detection of salicylic acid in aspirin.

Acolorimetric sensing method for salicylic acid (SA) was developed by designing and fabricating bimetallic oxide nanozymes. Firstly, by calcinating MIL-100(Fe)@PMo12 (MOFs@POMs) at different temperature, Fe2(MoO4)3-Ts (T = 400℃, 500℃, 600℃, 700℃) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully prepared. Secondly, by evaluating the peroxidase-like activities, Fe2(MoO4)3-600 NPs shows the best peroxidase-like activity attributed to the Fenton-like effect and the synergistic coupling interaction between Mo and Fe. Finally, based on the specific complexation between SA and Fe3+, a sensitive colorimetric sensor for SA was established, which exhibits superior selectivity and interference with a detection limit of 0.11μM anda linear range of 10 to 100μM, the lowest LOD for SA to date, to the best of our knowledge.

Ergodicity breaking from Rydberg clusters in a driven-dissipative many-body system.

It is challenging to probe ergodicity breaking trends of a quantum many-body system when dissipation inevitably damages quantum coherence originated from coherent coupling and dispersive two-body interactions. Rydberg atoms provide a test bed to detect emergent exotic many-body phases and nonergodic dynamics where the strong Rydberg atom interaction competes with and overtakes dissipative effects even at room temperature. Here, we report experimental evidence of a transition from ergodic toward ergodic breaking dynamics in driven-dissipative Rydberg atomic gases. The broken ergodicity is featured by the long-time phase oscillation, which is attributed to the formation of Rydberg excitation clusters in limit cycle phases. The broken symmetry in the limit cycle is a direct manifestation of many-body collective effects, which is verified experimentally by tuning atomic densities. The reported result reveals that Rydberg many-body systems are a promising candidate to probe ergodicity breaking dynamics, such as limit cycles, and enable the benchmark of nonequilibrium phase transition.

System Performance of Wing and Propellers in a Periodic Distributed Propulsion Experiment

The design task for distributed propulsion (DP) aircraft is more complex than conventional twin-engine designs due to the pronounced propeller wing interaction. DP concepts rely on a beneficial and robust interaction of propulsion and lifting surface. Additionally, a good DP design is optimised as a system such that each element is not optimised by itself (i.e. ηprop and CL/CD), but with consideration of the close coupled interaction. The evaluation of such an interaction driven setup is scope of this work. Thrust and torque of a periodic co-rotating DP wing are measured simultaneously with airfoil coefficients. Thereby the influence of propeller on the wing and vice versa are identified.Two different sets of propeller geometries with a diameter of D = 0.6 m are studied. One propeller set is designed for minimum induced propeller loss (MIL). The second propeller set is designed to have a constant induced axial velocity over the radius (CIV). We shall compare how the different strategies perform in the DP system.The two element wing has a span of B = 2.4 m and a reference chord of c = 0.8 m, operating at Re = 2.1 × 106. For this study, the propellers are pitched to meet a constant cT, J and Matip . The results focus on the system performance for the combined setup in take-off configuration. While the isolated propeller efficiency benefits from the integration in front of the wing by > Δηprop = 12%, the system efficiency suffers from increased drag on the trailing wing that is roughly tripled over the clean wing. Depending on the propeller position relative to the wing, interaction losses can be minimised so that a system efficiency gain over the isolated wing and propeller of > Δηsys = 4% is achieved.

Chemisorption-Induced Robust and Homogeneous Tungsten Disulfide Interlayer Enables Stable PEDOT-Free Organic Solar Cells with Over 19% Efficiency.

Construction of a high-quality charge transport layer (CTL) with intimate contact with the substrate via tailored interface engineering is crucial to increase the overall charge transfer kinetics and stability for a bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cell (OSC). Here, we demonstrate a surface chemistry strategy to achieve a homogeneous composite hole transport layer (C-HTL) with robust substrate contact by self-assembling two-dimensional tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanosheets on a thin molybdenum oxide (MoO3) film-evaporated indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate. It is found that over such a well-defined C-HTL, WS2 is homogeneously tethered on the ITO/MoO3 substrate stemming from the strong electronic coupling interaction between the building blocks, which enables a favorable interfacial configuration in terms of uniformity. As a result, the D18:L8-BO-based OSC with C-HTL exhibits a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.23%, an 11% improvement over the WS2-based control device, and the highest efficiency among single-junction PEDOT-free binary BHJ OSCs.

Detail and structural design of a fixed-wing BWB UAV

The current study focuses on the development of a prototype BWB UAV for highway traffic monitoring by supporting a Cooperative Intelligent Transport System (C-ITS). This system allows the monitoring of traffic conditions at large roads and highways. Having determined the mission requirements and concluded the aerodynamic conceptual and preliminary design phases, high fidelity CFD simulations are performed, aiming to calculate the key aerodynamic and stability characteristics of the platform and to optimize its performance throughout the mission. More specifically, regarding the aerodynamic vehicle design, results concerning the calculation of stability derivatives, control surfaces sizing, trim analysis and flight envelope (V-n diagram) are presented, along with the respective methodologies. Considering the structural design of the aircraft, a combination of layout, FE simulations and parameterized design tools were employed, allowing the design and sizing of the skin and the internal structural parts. The parts are mainly made of composite and additively manufactured nylon materials. Coupled interaction loops are conducted among the aerodynamic and structural analyses to optimize the overall performance of the aerial vehicle, maximizing the aerodynamic efficiency, and reducing the structural weight. Finally, the study is concluded by the presentation of the manufactured prototype of the UAV, which satisfies all the structural, aerodynamic, stability and performance requirements for the established highway traffic monitoring mission.

2D MXene Ti3C2 Coupled with 1D Co3O4 Nanowires on Carbon Cloth for Efficient Chlorine Evolution Activity

AbstractChlorine evolution reaction (CER) is a key anode reaction in chlor‐alkali electrolysis. Although non‐precious metals have been widely used as CER catalysts, their low catalytic activity has been a major constraint on their development. Herein, 1D Co3O4 coupled with 2D Ti3C2 MXene on carbon cloth for highly efficient CER is reported by constructing two different heterojunctions (1D Co3O4 tip to 2D Ti3C2 face and 1D face to 2D face) through electronic coupling and strong interfacial interaction. The decreased electron density around O atoms in Co─O and Ti─O at two heterojunctions is more conducive to the adsorption of Cl−, thereby reducing the free energy of the reaction and jointly promoting CER. Consequently, the MXene@Co3O4/CC (carbon cloth) exhibits a low overpotential of 86 mV at 10 mA cm−1, low tafel slope of 47.9 mV dec−1, which is superior to commercial DSA and other non‐precious metal materials. This work provides new insights into the rational design of multiple heterojunctions, which leads to a new path for non‐precious metal catalysts in CER.

Coupling Au with BOx matrix induced by Closo-boron cluster for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia

Au is considered as one of the most promising catalysts for nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), however maximizing the activity utilization rate of Au and understanding the synergistic effects between Au and carriers pose ongoing challenges. Herein, we systematically explore the synergistic catalytic effect of incorporating Au with boron clusters for accelerating NRR kinetics. An in-situ abinitio strategy is employed to construct B-doped Au nanoparticles (2–6 nm in diameter) loaded on BOx substrates (Au–BOx), in which B not only modulates the surface electronic structure of Au but also forms strong coupling interactions to stabilize the nanoparticles. The electrochemical results show that Au–BOx possesses excellent NRR activity (NH3 yield of 48.52 μg h−1 mgcat.−1, Faraday efficiency of 56.18%), and exhibits high stability and reproducibility throughout the electrocatalytic NRR process. Theoretical calculations reveal that the introduction of B induces the formation of both Au dangling bond and Au–B coupling bond, which considerably facilitates the hydrogenation of *N2–*NH3. The present work provides a new avenue for the preparation of metal-boron materials achieved by one-step reduction and doping process, utilizing boron clusters as reducing and stabilizing agents.

Role of Protons in and around Strongly Coupled Nitroxide Biradicals for Cross-Effect Dynamic Nuclear Polarization.

In magic angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP), biradicals such as bis-nitroxides are used to hyperpolarize protons under microwave irradiation through the cross-effect mechanism. This mechanism relies on electron-electron spin interactions (dipolar coupling and exchange interaction) and electron-nuclear spin interactions (hyperfine coupling) to hyperpolarize the protons surrounding the biradical. This hyperpolarization is then transferred to the bulk sample via nuclear spin diffusion. However, the involvement of the protons in the biradical in the cross-effect DNP process has been under debate. In this work, we address this question by exploring the hyperpolarization pathways in and around bis-nitroxides. We demonstrate that for biradicals with strong electron-electron interactions, as in the case of the AsymPols, the protons on the biradical may not be necessary to quickly generate hyperpolarization. Instead, such biradicals can efficiently, and directly, polarize the surrounding protons of the solvent. The findings should impact the design of the next generation of biradicals.

Study on load distributing function of square slab surface under the action of underwater close‐in blast loading

AbstractThe mode and magnitude of the blast load are the main cause of damage to the structure. Most current studies have simplified the blast load into a bilinear form that differs greatly from the actual time history curve and is applied directly to the structure, avoiding the fluid–solid coupling interaction between the water fluid and the structure. The simplified blast load for near‐explosion or internal explosion will bring a big error to the calculation results. To quickly determine the load on the structure surface under the action of underwater near the explosion, this study studies the interaction between water hammer wave and structure through the verified full coupling model, and puts forward the explosion load distribution function on the square plate surface under the action of underwater explosion, and establishes a simplified prediction formula for the explosion load parameters (peak pressure and positive reflection impulse) at the center of the plate surface, using these formulas, a general method for constructing the explosion load at any point on the structural surface is proposed, which lays a foundation for subsequent structural damage and failure analysis.

Coupling coordination analysis between urbanization and ecology in Iran

The coordinated development of urbanization and ecology is essential to regional sustainable development. Harmonized development of both urbanization and ecology relies heavily on understanding the relationship between them. Infrastructure and urbanization have grown exponentially in Iran over the recent decades regardless of environmental resources, leaving many adverse ecological impacts and severe threats to sustainable development. The aforementioned highlights the prominence of developing systems measuring the level of such coordination between urban development and ecological state across the country to identify the regions suffering from unbalanced development and compile sustainable development strategies. The present study thus aims to propose a comprehensive index system of urbanization and ecology, integrating the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model and partitioning method to evaluate the coupling interactions of urbanization and ecology in dual pressure zones (DPZ), urbanization backward zones (UBZ), ecology crisis zones (ECZ), and coordinated development zones (CDZ) in Iranian provinces over 2015–2020. Results indicated that: (1) urbanization and ecology levels declined in most provinces over the studied period. The urbanization level was revealed to be highly correlated with population. (2) The degree of coordination fluctuated from 2015 to 2020 and dropped by one level in 74% of the provinces during the period of study. 3) CCD ranged between 0.23 and 0.63 over the entire period, while most provinces were classified into the imminent imbalance category every year. 4) Most provinces were categorized into UBZ and ECZ. Overall CCD was revealed to be highest in CDZ, followed by UBZ, ECZ, and DPZ, respectively.

The Single-Photon Scattering Properties of Three-Level Giant Atoms under the Interaction of Dissipation and Local Coupling

The coupling of three-level giant atoms with one-dimensional waveguides can show interesting phenomena of transmission and reflection. Since the non-waveguide mode can cause the dissipation of external atoms, we consider the effect of the dissipation rate on the scattering of single photons in the system with giant atom–waveguide coupling. We find that as the dissipation rate of giant atoms increases, the transmission rate of a single photon increases and the reflection rate decreases. In addition, by varying the phase difference and decay rate, the giant atoms are able to achieve perfect transmission and total reflection over the entire frequency range. We also find and show the conditions for the conversion of the optimal frequency. When the cumulative phase of photons reaches a certain value, the system can achieve perfect transmission, which is independent of frequency. This model of coupling giant atoms with waveguides has a promising application in quantum communication and quantum information processing.

Depression of dynamic cerebral autoregulation during neural activation: The role of responders and non-responders

Neurovascular coupling (NVC) interaction with dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) remains unclear. We investigated the effect of task complexity and duration on the interaction with dCA. Sixteen healthy participants (31.6 ± 11.6 years) performed verbal fluency (naming-words (NW)) and serial subtraction (SS) paradigms, of varying complexity, at durations of 05, 30 and 60 s. The autoregulation index (ARI), was estimated from the bilateral middle cerebral artery blood velocity (MCAv) step response, calculated by transfer function analysis (TFA), for each paradigm during unstimulated (2 min) and neuroactivated (1 min) segments. Intraclass correlation (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV) determined reproducibility for two visits and objective criteria were applied to classify responders (R) and non-responders (NoR) to task-induced MCAv increase. ICC values demonstrated fair reproducibility in all tasks. ARI decreased in right (RH) and left (LH) hemispheres, irrespective of paradigm complexity and duration (p < 0.0001). Bilateral ARI estimates were significantly decreased during NW for the R group only (p < 0.0001) but were reduced in both R (p < 0.0001) and NoR (p = 0.03) groups for SS tasks compared with baseline. The reproducible attenuation of dCA efficiency due to paradigm-induced NVC response, its interaction, and different behaviour in R and NoR, warrant further research in different physiological and clinical conditions.

Microstructural Evolution of Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement during the Wet-Carbonation Process

Calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement, as a type of low-carbon cement, can contribute to further reduction in carbon emissions with carbonation technologies. However, the detailed microstructure development of CSA cement during the carbonation process has been rarely analyzed. In this paper, wet carbonation was applied to CSA cement to investigate the microstructure evolution of carbonation products and carbon absorption capacity of CSA cement by means of pH measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement, thermogravimetric (TG) measurement, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) measurement and scanning electron microscope measurement. During the carbonation process, the formed ettringite product and the dicalcium silicate clinker were carbonated immediately to generate calcium carbonate crystals, silica gel and aluminum hydroxide (AH3) gel. With the trend of pH increasing first and notably decreasing later, the coupling interaction between the hydration and carbonation reactions of CSA cement was revealed. From the XRD and TG results, three types of calcium carbonate crystal forms (calcite, vaterite and aragonite) were detected, and the content of calcium carbonate increased with the increase in carbonation time. FT-IR analysis further confirmed the existence of calcium carbonate, silica gel and AH3 gel with their characteristic vibrations. Moreover, the microstructure of carbonation products with different morphologies was observed. The application of wet carbonation to CSA cement provides a more comprehensive insight to the carbonation mechanism of this low-carbon cement.

An approach for cost and configuration optimization of horizontal axis wind turbine (HAWT)

In addition to the environmental advantage of wind turbines, the modern wind turbine design is aiming to become more competitive by minimizing the cost of energy (COE). When evaluating any change to the design of a wind turbine, it is critical that the designer evaluates the impact of the design change on the system cost and performance. A typical problem when start a wind turbine design project is to determine the optimum configuration and operation parameters to minimize COE. In this article an optimization approach is adopted using COE as objective function with the rotor size, power rating and rated rotational velocity (RPM) as design variable. The cost of energy model of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is adopted with modifications to include the main components load level effects on the COE. An aerodynamic blade design is developed and used as base for evaluating the rotor performance. The blade is scaled to present different rotor size and operating conditions for each power rating. Analysis tool is developed to consider coupled interactions between power rating and the rotor size. The Blade Element Momentum (BEM) technique is used to evaluate the effect of configuration and operational conditions on the wind turbine load levels and the expected annual energy production (AEP). These are used as inputs for the proposed COE model in addition to main parameters presenting the manufacturing technology and site conditions. The COE model is based on several elements such initial capital cost (ICC), balance of station (BOS), operations and maintenance (O&amp;M), levelized replacement cost (LRC), AEP and design load levels. A pattern search technique is adopted for the optimization and the approach is illustrated by means of a principle test examples for two types of turbines platform one for low wind onshore site and another for high wind offshore site.

Ligand-mediated exciton dissociation and interparticle energy transfer on CsPbBr3 perovskite quantum dots for efficient CO2-to-CO photoreduction

Perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) hold immense potential as photocatalysts for CO2 reduction due to their remarkable quantum properties, which facilitates the generation of multiple excitons, providing the necessary high-energy electrons for CO2 photoreduction. However, harnessing multi-excitons in PQDs for superior photocatalysis remains challenging, as achieving the concurrent dissociation of excitons and interparticle energy transfer proves elusive. This study introduces a ligand density-controlled strategy to enhance both exciton dissociation and interparticle energy transfer in CsPbBr3 PQDs. Optimized CsPbBr3 PQDs with the regulated ligand density exhibit efficient photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to CO, achieving a 2.26-fold improvement over unoptimized counterparts while maintaining chemical integrity. Multiple analytical techniques, including Kelvin probe force microscopy, temperature-dependent photoluminescence, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations, collectively affirm that the proper ligand termination promotes the charge separation and the interparticle transfer through ligand-mediated interfacial electron coupling and electronic interactions. This work reveals ligand density-dependent variations in the gas-solid photocatalytic CO2 reduction performance of CsPbBr3 PQDs, underscoring the importance of ligand engineering for enhancing quantum dot photocatalysis.

Vertical variations of bacterial growth, mortality loss to nanoflagellates, and viruses in the subtropical northwestern Pacific Ocean

Nanoflagellate grazing and viral lysis are the two main causes of mortality losses of marine bacterioplankton. Deciphering the mortality losses across the water column helps us understand their ecological and biogeochemical consequences. In this study, we implemented the two-point modified dilution method consisting of treatment of undiluted and 25% nanoflagellates and/or virus density at the surface (3 m), deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), and the mesopelagic zone (300 m and 500 m deep) in the subtropical northwestern Pacific Ocean in summer. We found that the bacterial per capita growth (2.3 ± 0.6 d−1) and production (12.4 ± 6.9 μgC L−1 d−1) were significantly higher at the DCM layer than at the mesopelagic zone, possibly because of tight bacteria-phytoplankton coupling and trophic interactions between bacteria, nanoflagellates, and viruses. Further, we found that ∼70% of the bacterial mortality loss can be attributed to nanoflagellate grazing in the DCM layer, while most of the mortality loss in the surface and the mesopelagic zone can be attributed to viral lysis. We argue that while bacterial production is more efficiently transferred to higher trophic levels at the DCM layer, it is predominately recycled in the viral loop on the surface and the mesopelagic zone. Our results reveal the vertical variation of bacterial growth, production, mortality loss to nanoflagellate grazing, and viral lysis, from which we could deduct their depth-dependent impacts on carbon flux in the water column. Our study facilitates the understanding of the impacts of nanoflagellates and viruses on bacterioplankton and the bacteria-mediated biogeochemical cycling.

Optical filters made from random metasurfaces using Bayesian optimization

Abstract We theoretically investigate the ability to design optical filters from a single material and a single layer of randomly dispersed resonant dielectric particles, defining a random metasurface. Using a Bayesian and generalized Mie inverse-design approach, we design particle radii distributions that give rise to longpass, shortpass, bandpass, and bandstop spectral bands in the infrared. The optical response is shown to be directly related to electric and magnetic multipole scattering of the constituent particles and their near field coupling. We discuss the effect of the particle size distribution and particle–particle coupling interactions on filter design in random systems lacking long-range order.