Dual Planes Research Articles

In-situ exfoliating graphene to anchor Mo2C NPs and modulate crystal planes for hydrogen production

An economical and efficient noble metal-free catalyst is necessary for large-scale hydrogen production. Here, Mo2C nanoparticles (NPs) were well-dispersed on the surface of 2D graphene nanosheets by in-situ propping oxide graphene (GO) layers, anchoring molybdate ions between GO layers and pyrolysis. The exposed crystal planes were also adjusted by above strategy. The results indicate that uniform and well-dispersed Mo2C NPs with a narrow size distribution were anchored on 2D rGO nanosheets and exposed dual crystal planes. The results of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) show that the optimal Mo2C/rGO catalyst only needs low overpotential (η10, 112 mV) to drive 10 mA cm−2 in alkaline solution, and η10 only increased by 12 mV after 1000 cycles test, indicating high activity and stability for HER. Notably, the overpotential is below than that of Pt/C commercial catalyst when current density is more than 100 mA cm−1. The excellent performance is benefit from low hydrogen adsorption Gibbs free energy (ΔGH∗) on the Mo2C catalyst. Therefore, the proposed strategy is efficient to prepare well-dispersed and dual crystal planes-exposed Mo2C NPs for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Ultra-wideband rectenna with the dual ground plane for wide dynamic input power and load range

ABSTRACT The ultra-wideband rectenna is designed to have a fractional bandwidth of more than 100%, allowing it to work from 1.4 GHz to 5.4 GHz, with a bandwidth of 4 GHz. The proposed design involves a square patch antenna that incorporates an inverted L-slot and utilises dual ground planes in the form of rectangular and semi-octagonal shapes. The intended rectenna simultaneously harvests energy from various frequency bands, including GSM 1800 MHz, UTMS 2100 MHz, ISM 2450 MHz, 2800 MHz, and 3600 MHz. The proposed rectifier circuit incorporates three impedance-matching (IM) branches, which effectively mitigate the nonlinear attributes of the rectifier system and ensure favourable IM across a broad spectrum of frequencies. The DC combining technique is employed to attain favourable conversion efficiency. The CE in the GSM 1800 MHz band was measured to be 74%. The CE in the UTMS 2100 MHz band was measured to be 66%. In the ISM2450 MHz frequency band, a CE of 76% was measured. The CE in the 2800 MHz frequency band was determined to be 67.5%. At 3600 MHz, the measured CE is recorded as 67%. The obtained optimal load value is 470 Ω and it provides more than 65% conversion efficiency (CE) at all the intended frequency bands. The proposed rectenna demonstrates an CE exceeding 50% across the entire range of input power level (IPL) variations from 0 to 11 dBm. Furthermore, it achieves an efficiency surpassing 60% when subjected to load variations ranging from 270 Ω to 750 Ω.

Study of beam divergence and thrust vector eccentricity characteristics of the Hall thruster based on dual Faraday probe array planes and its applications

The accurate knowledge of the thrust vector eccentricity and beam divergence characteristics of Hall thrusters are of significant engineering value for the beneficial integration and successful application of Hall thrusters on spacecraft. For the characteristics of the plume bipolar diffusion due to the annular discharge channel of the Hall thruster, a Gaussian-fitted method for thrust vector deviation angle and beam divergence of Hall thrusters based on dual Faraday probe array planes was proposed in respect of the Hall thruster beam characteristics. The results show that the ratios of the deviation between the maximum and minimum values of the beam divergence angle and the thrust vector eccentricity angle using a Gaussian fit to the optimized Faraday probe dual plane to the mean value are 1.4% and 11.5%, respectively. The optimized thrust vector eccentricity angle obtained has been substantially improved, by approximately 20%. The beam divergence angle calculated using a Gaussian fitting to the optimized Faraday probe dual plane is approximately identical to the non-optimized one. The beam divergence and thrust vector eccentricity angles for different anode mass flow rates were obtained by averaging the beam divergence and thrust vector eccentricity angles calculated by the dual-plane, Gaussian-fitted ion current density method for different cross-sections. The study not only allows for an immediate and effective tool for determining the design of thrust vector adjustment mechanisms of spacecraft with different power Hall thrusters but also for characterizing the 3D spatial distribution of the Hall thruster plume.

Evaluation of Perioperative Versus Extended Courses of Antibiotic Prophylaxis After Immediate Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction.

Immediate implant-based breast reconstruction (IIBR) is the most commonly used method in breast reconstruction in the United States. However, postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) can cause devastating reconstructive failure. This study evaluates the use of perioperative versus extended courses of antibiotic prophylaxis after IIBR for the prevention of SSI. This is a single-institution retrospective study of patients who underwent IIBR between June 2018 and April 2020. Detailed demographic and clinical information was collected. Patients were divided into subgroups based on antibiotic prophylaxis regimen: group 1 consisted of patients who received 24 hours of perioperative antibiotics and group 2 consisted of patients who received ≥7 days of antibiotics. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSSv26.0 with P ≤ 0.05 considered statistically significant. A total of 169 patients (285 breasts) who underwent IIBR were included. The mean age was 52.4 ± 10.2 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.8 ± 5.7 kg/m2. Twenty-five percent of patients (25.6%) underwent nipple-sparing mastectomy, 69.1% skin-sparing mastectomy, and 5.3% total mastectomy. The implant was placed in the prepectoral, subpectoral, and dual planes in 16.7%, 19.2%, and 64.1% cases, respectively. Acellular dermal matrix was used in 78.7% of cases. A total of 42.0% of patients received 24-hour prophylaxis (group 1), and 58.0% of patients received extended prophylaxis (group 2). Twenty-five infections (14.8%) were identified, of which 9 (5.3%) resulted in reconstructive failure. In bivariate analyses, no significant difference was found between groups in rates of infection (P = 0.273), reconstructive failure (P = 0.653), and seroma (P = 0.125). There was a difference in hematoma rates between groups (P = 0.046). Interestingly, in patients who received only perioperative antibiotics, infection rates were significantly higher in those with BMI ≥ 25 (25.6% vs 7.1%, P = 0.050). There was no difference in overweight patients who received extended antibiotics (16.4% vs 7.0%, P = 0.160). Our data demonstrate no statistical difference in infection rates between perioperative and extended antibiotics. This suggests that the efficacies of current prophylaxis regimens are largely similar, with choice of regimen based on surgeon preference and patient-specific considerations. Infection rates in patients who received perioperative prophylaxis and were overweight were significantly higher, suggesting that BMI should be taken into consideration when choosing a prophylaxis regimen.

Engineering crystal planes and band structure of 2D tin sulfide nanosheets and investigating their photocatalytic degradation performance

Dual crystal planes and band structure of 2D tin sulfide that were regulated by 3D flower-like structure can be combined to boost its photodegradation performance.

Regional Intelligent Resource Allocation in Mobile Edge Computing Based Vehicular Network

The advancement of 5G technology has brought the prosperous development of Internet of Vehicles (IoV). IoV services are not only computational intensive but also extremely sensitive to the delay. As a promising computing paradigm, mobile edge computing (MEC) can be applied to IoV scenarios. However, due to the limited resources of a single MEC server, it is difficult to cope with the suddenly increased computation loads caused by emergencies, or the intensive resource requests from busy regions. Therefore, we propose a novel regional intelligent management vehicular system with dual MEC planes, in which MEC servers in the same region cooperate with each other to achieve resource sharing. We classify computing tasks into different types according to their delay tolerances and focus on the optimization problem of resource allocation for different type tasks. And then, we design a resource allocation algorithm based on deep reinforcement learning, which can adapt to the changeable MEC environment to process high-dimensional data. Simulation results confirm that our proposed scheme is feasible and effective.

Investigation of Passive Transmission Lines for the MIT-LL SFQ5ee Process

As the complexity of superconductor circuits grows, we envision a dense network of passive transmission lines (PTLs) being used to interconnect cells in rapid-single-flux-quantum (RSFQ) circuits. In our library approach, each cell has dedicated tracks as place holders for routing PTLs. Higher impedance PTLs are desirable due to their narrower width. However, at higher impedance, the margins for the PTL receiver degrade rapidly. We have designed, fabricated, tested, and simulated passive transmission lines (PTLs) for high-speed interconnects in the MIT-LL SFQ5ee 10 kA/cm 2 process. For the symmetric dual ground planes case, PTLs are in the M1 layer with M0 and M2 ground planes, or in the M3 layer with M2 and M4 ground planes. For the asymmetrical dual ground planes case, PTLs are in M2 or M3 layers with M1 and M4 ground planes. We report ±30% margins for these PTLs. We investigate the receiver margins for these PTLs and report impact of margins as a function of corners, interlayer transitions, variants of drivers, and receivers. We demonstrate 100 GHz PTL operation in ring oscillator measurements. We have also adopted multi-layer multi-conductor transmission line models for PTL simulation. We observe good model-to-hardware correlation for low- and high-frequency operation.

Deleuze and Guattaris Immanent Plane and Becoming in a Fairy Tale

The entities exist on dual planes, on the physical or transcendental plane, in forms, and the philosophical or immanent plane that only considered intensity and movement of the objects. The present study is grounded on the notions of Deleuze and Guattari (1987) who considered immanent plane to be affecting and transforming the indulged bodies through process of becoming. The present study, through thematic analysis, investigated a few instances from the character of Alex Bailey, from, The Enchantress Returns (2013). The findings depicted that becoming was a constant process. Additionally, the becoming bodies or objects could be physical, imaginary, psychological or phenomenal. The transformations through becoming were not physical and did not appear on transcendent plane. Moreover, the affected bodies depicted the difference in their thoughts and actions.

A method for inspecting near-right-angle V-groove surfaces based on dual-probe wavelength scanning interferometry

High-angled structured surfaces such as micropyramidal arrays, V-grooves and lenslet arrays are widely used in industries. However, there is currently no effective way to inspect these microstructures, resulting in very high scrap rates. This paper presents a proof-of-principle demonstration of an optical system capable of measuring V-groove structures in a single measurement acquisition. The dual-probe wavelength scanning interferometry (DPWSI) system comprises dual probes, with orthogonal measurement planes. The calibration of the DPSWI system is the key to registering the relative locations of the dual measurement planes and allowing the surface topography to be correctly reconstructed. In order to achieve this, a custom calibration artefact was manufactured comprising focused ion beam etched features on two faces of a precision cube. The procedures for the characterisation of the artefact to generate reference topography, and the subsequent calibration of the DPWSI are described in full. A measurement example from a metallised saw tooth sample featuring near-right-angles grooves having a peak-to-valley height of 32 μm and nominal pitch of 25 μm is presented and compared with a result obtained using stylus profilometry. DPWSI is shown to obtain an areal dataset in a single acquisition and is able to better resolve peak/valley points compared with the stylus, which is limited by a 2-μm tip radius. Some lateral scale error is apparent in the final DPWSI results and a discussion of this in terms of the limitations surrounding the current calibration artefact is presented.

Monitoring a lab-scale wurster type fluidized bed process by electrical capacitance tomography

In this research, two types of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) sensors, i.e. 12-4-8 combined electrodes and 8-8 dual planes sensors, were designed and used to monitor the gas-solids flow inside a Wurster type fluidized bed. For the 12-4-8 combined electrodes sensor, the measurement was conducted synchronously both inside and outside of the tube, i.e. coating zone and annulus zone, to achieve a fully understand the gas-solids flow characteristics in the bed. For the dual planes ECT sensor, the flow through the two cross-section areas inside the Wurster tube was measured and solids velocity was calculated based on cross-correlation method. A series of test were carried out by varying the operational parameters including the gap between the Wurster tube and air distributor, fluidization air velocity and materials loading. Different flow regimes as well as the flow stability were evaluated based on the ECT measurement results. To evaluate the flow characteristics inside the bed, power spectra density (PSD) and standard deviation (SD) were applied to investigate the fluctuation characteristics in the coating and annulus zones. Experiment results indicate that ECT technology is a powerful tool to monitor the Wurster type fluidized bed process and analysis the gas-solids flow characteristics inside the bed.

Floating Silicon Method single crystal ribbon – observations and proposed limit cycle theory

In the Floating Silicon Method (FSM), a single-crystal Si ribbon is grown while floating on the surface of a Si melt. In this paper, we describe the phenomenology of FSM, including the observation of approximately regularly spaced “facet lines” on the ribbon surface whose orientation aligns with (111) crystal planes. Sb demarcation experiments sectioned through the thickness of the ribbon reveal that the solid/melt interface consists of dual (111) planes and that the leading edge facet growth is saccadic in nature, rather than steady-state.To explain this behavior, we propose a heuristic solidification limit cycle theory, using a continuum level of description with anisotropic kinetics as developed by others, and generalizing the interface kinetics to include a roughening transition as well as a re-faceting mechanism that involves curvature and the Gibbs–Thomson effect.

Laying Ella's Ghost: Sublimation of Incestuous Love in Eugene O'Neill's Desire under the Elms and A Moon for the Misbegotten

Abstract Eugene O'Neill's treatment of the subject of adult love in the early Desire under the Elms and his concluding work, A Moon for the Misbegotten, finds expression on the dual planes of the maternal and the romantic. The distinction between the two appears in the terms of Oedipal transgression. The former is associated with motherly warmth, security, wholeness of being, and the latter a distracting, erotic passion that only augments desire and self-destruction, leading the concerned protagonists to the threshold of tragedy. For O'Neill, there are semiautobiographical overtones to these depictions. The unsanctioned but conscious alignment of the two dimensions of love raises the specter of incest, which requires a process of exorcism and sublimation for equilibrium to prevail.

Laying Ella's Ghost: Sublimation of Incestuous Love in Eugene O'Neill's Desire under the Elms and A Moon for the Misbegotten

Abstract Eugene O'Neill's treatment of the subject of adult love in the early Desire under the Elms and his concluding work, A Moon for the Misbegotten, finds expression on the dual planes of the maternal and the romantic. The distinction between the two appears in the terms of Oedipal transgression. The former is associated with motherly warmth, security, wholeness of being, and the latter a distracting, erotic passion that only augments desire and self-destruction, leading the concerned protagonists to the threshold of tragedy. For O'Neill, there are semiautobiographical overtones to these depictions. The unsanctioned but conscious alignment of the two dimensions of love raises the specter of incest, which requires a process of exorcism and sublimation for equilibrium to prevail.

Estimation of gas void formation in statically cooled waxy crude oil using online capacitance measurement

Waxy crude oil is one of the massively produced petroleum reserves in the oil and gas industry. It possesses two different natures at different conditions. At a temperature above its wax appearance temperature it functions as a Newtonian fluid. Moreover, when it flows in a subsea environment where the temperature drops, the occurrence of non-Newtonian fluid would appear. However, it is mandatory to prevent the pipelines from building up with the solid wax layer, or else a strong paraffinic gel structure would plug the flow of the waxy crude oil. This gel accumulation results in the emergence of thermal shrinkage where gas voids consequently occur. A Malay Basin waxy crude oil has used for this study to investigate the gas void formation in statically cooled waxy crude oil using an online Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) measurement. This paper has been focused on the development of a non-invasive, non-intrusive approach for the visualization of waxy crude oil by applying the ECT system. The online inspection of the behavior of waxy crude oil is important so that the appropriate action can be taken during the gas void formation within a gelled crude oil. An experimental study was conducted on a 1.18in. circular flow loop rig at distinct temperatures to assess the behavior and formation of gas voids formed due to thermal shrinkage. A capacitance sensor with dual planes consisting of eight electrodes per plane was installed on the rig to capture the images and measure the raw capacitance. Gas voids within a range of 8–14% were observed within the gelled crude oil based on different cooling temperatures. It has been found from the analysis that the gas voids follow an increasing trend with a decrease in temperature and cooling rate.

Sensorless Vector Control of Five-phase Induction Motor under Open-phases Fault

—This article deals with proposed solutions for five-phase induction motor drives, specifically aimed to sensorless vector control under an open-phases fault. Exploiting the modified transformation matrices for dual planes, the motor model in the synchronous frame is established under open phases. Torque ripple is reduced by particular magnitude ratio currents. Furthermore, the third harmonic current is used to improve iron utilization and torque density. The proposed sliding-mode observer method for wide-range speed estimation combined with online resistance identification is investigated, especially for low-speed operation. Experimental tests are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Bubble dynamics in a 3‐D gas–solid fluidized bed using ultrafast electron beam X‐ray tomography and two‐fluid model

Bubble characteristics in a three‐dimension gas‐fluidized bed (FB) have been measured using noninvasive ultrafast electron beam X‐ray tomography. The measurements are compared with predictions by a two‐fluid model (TFM) based on kinetic theory of granular flow. The effect of bed material (glass, alumina, and low linear density polyethylene (LLDPE), dp ∼1 mm), inlet gas velocity, and initial particle bed height on the bubble behavior is investigated in a cylindrical column of 0.1‐m diameter. The bubble rise velocity is determined by cross correlation of images from dual horizontal planes. The bubble characteristics depend highly upon the particle collisional properties. The bubble sizes obtained from experiments and simulations show good agreement. The LLDPE particles show high gas hold‐up and higher bubble rise velocity than predicted on basis of literature correlations. The bed expansion is relatively high for LLDPE particles. The X‐ray tomography and TFM results provide in‐depth understanding of bubble behavior in FBs containing different granular material types. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 1632–1644, 2014

Ultrasonic alignment of bio-functionalized magnetic beads and live cells in PDMS micro-fluidic channel

In this work, we demonstrated the alignment of polystyrene latex microspheres (diameter of 1 ~45 μm), bio-functionalized superparamagnetic beads (diameter 2.8 μm), and live cells (average diameter 1 ~2 μm) using an ultrasonic standing wave (USW) in a PDMS microfluidic channel (330 μm width) attached on a Si substrate for bio-medical applications. To generate a standing wave inside the channel, ultrasound of 2.25 MHz resonance frequency (for the channel width) was applied by two ultrasound transducers installed at both sides of the channel which caused the radiation force to concentrate the micro-particles at the single pressure nodal plane of USW. By increasing the frequency to the next resonance condition of the channel, the particles were concentrated in dual nodal planes. Migration time of the micro-particles towards the single nodal plane was recorded as 108 s, 17 s, and 115 s for polystyrene particles of 2 μm diameter, bio-functionalized magnetic beads, and live cells, respectively. These successful alignments of the bio-functionalized magnetic beads along the desired part of the channel can enhance the performance of a sensor which is applicable for the bio-hybrid system and the alignment of live cells without any damage can be used for sample pre-treatment for the application of lab-on-a-chip type bioassays.

Mondo Rocco

Pat Rocco shot and exhibited the first openly erotic gay films in the United States, beginning in the summer of 1968, near downtown Los Angeles. Yet he has been remembered primarily as a transitional figure, relegated to a marginal position in the narrative of gay history. This article argues for a recovery of his work, reading his films as bold acts of place-claiming on cultural, social, and also spatial geographies, resisting a hegemonic, heteronormative legal and political regime. Rocco resisted this regime of the illicit by celebrating not just gay eros, but also the visibility of gay bodies in specific social locations, forcing public recognition of the gay presence in greater Los Angeles, his home base. Rocco's films operated on dual planes, functioning at both the textual level of representing gay visibility in public space, and at the material level of public exhibition.

Optical Emission Signatures of Dual Planar Magnetron Plasmas for TiO2 Deposition

The dual planar magnetron (DPM) configuration features a mirror reactive magnetron sputtering system unlike that of a single planar unbalanced magnetron set-up. Optical emission signatures of a mixed species of oxygen and argon plasmas show a decrease in intensity peaks when only a single plane is biased. This manifests an oxide layer formation on the target for the single planar case thereby lowering the sputtering yield of the titanium target. No changes in emission intensity peaks are observed when the dual planes are biased. This is favorable for increasing the yield of sputtered titanium beneficial for raising the deposition rate of TiO2 thin film. The DPM process exhibits the anatase and rutile phases of the synthesized TiO2 films. The films are characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, reflectance and FTIR spectroscopy. Photo-reactive properties of the materials are also presented.

Time-multiplexed dual-focal plane head-mounted display with a liquid lens

Focus cues play a significant role in three-dimensional (3-D) depth perception. Conventional stereoscopic displays, however, lack the ability to correctly render these cues, because they present a pair of stereoscopic images on a fixed image plane while forcing the eyes to converge at different distances to view objects at different depths. Using a fast liquid-lens device, we present the design and implementation of a time-multiplexed dual-focal plane display that is capable of rendering correct or near-correct focus cues as well as other depth cues, such as occlusion and shading for a 3-D scene. The focus range of the dual focal planes can vary from infinity to as close as 8 diopters. Two driving mechanisms are proposed to render near-correct focus cues and their effects on image sharpness, flicker, and brightness are compared.