Extra Elements Research Articles

Caging-Pnictogen-Induced Superconductivity in Skutterudites IrX3 (X = As, P).

Here, we report on a new kind of compound, XδIr4X12-δ (X = P, As), the first hole-doped skutterudites superconductor. We provide atomic-resolution images of the caging As atoms using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). By inserting As atoms into the caged structure under a high pressure, superconductivity emerges with a maximum transition temperature (Tc) of 4.4 K (4.8 K) in IrAs3 (IrP3). In contrast to all of the electron-doped skutterudites, the electronic states around the Fermi level in XδIr4X12-δ are dominated by the caged X atom, which can be described by a simple body-centered tight-binding model, implying a distinct pairing mechanism. Our density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal an intimate relationship between the pressure-dependent local-phonon mode and the enhancement of Tc. The discovery of XδIr4X12-δ provides an arena to investigate the uncharted territory of hole-doped skutterudites, and the method proposed here represents a new strategy of carrier doping in caged structures, without introducing extra elements.

The Golden Plate with the Picture of the Horned Animal from the Northern Altai: the Traditions of Animal Style and the Artistic Experiment

The article is devoted to the analysis of the unique syncretical creature’s picture, depicted on the golden plate from the burial ground Karban-2. The golden plate with the picture of the horned animal was found in the near-bottom part of one of the robbed Pazyryk burial mounds. In this article there is a try to define the place of a two-humped “camel” with horns in the system of the figurative plot of Scythian Siberian animal style. The general stylictics of the representation of the character’s horns, legs and head and the usage practice of the plate for the decoration of head dress refer to transcultural components. The local ethnographic features are reflected in the choice of the camel’s figure as a base of a created image, in the combination of a main picture and extra elements of a local griffin and elk iconography. The authors conclude that the Karban plate represents a distinctive imitation of the decorations exterior in Scythian Siberian animal style, the result of a definite artistic experiment.

Comparative study of piston mode designs for temperature-compensated surface acoustic wave resonators using SiO2/LiNbO3 structure

This paper compares three different piston mode designs for temperature-compensated surface acoustic wave (TC-SAW) resonators using SiO2/LiNbO3 structure. It was shown that in rough approximation, phase shift given by extra elements for the piston mode operation is determined by the total mass of extra elements and SiO2 which overlaid on piston region. The hammer head design without additional metal layers does not work properly due to the weaker impact of the extra elements when the SiO2 layer is thick. On the other hand, piston mode designs using metal dots or stripes are effective to suppress the transverse mode resonances even when the SiO2 layer is thick. Although larger metal thickness is preferable for the wideband operation, it also makes the split of main resonance. Thus, the optimal metal thickness can be found from this trade-off, and then the optimal metal width can be found to achieve good transverse mode suppression.

Self-calibration for Mueller polarimeters based on DoFP polarization imagers.

Mueller polarimeters (MPs) based on division of focal plane (DoFP) polarization imagers can achieve fast measurements and significantly improve the effectiveness of Mueller polarimetry. In this Letter, we demonstrate a unique property of the DoFP sensor-based MPs: they can be calibrated without any extra polarizing reference element. We describe a self-calibration method that only requires six image acquisitions; based on our analysis, the calibration accuracy is only limited by the noise.

Digital Current Controller With a Novel Active Damping Design for IPMSM

Internal model control gets wide attentions in electric drives for its outstanding robustness. Underdamped oscillations however, always can be seen in the synchronous <i>d</i>- and <i>q</i>- axis components of the stator currents if without proper extra damping elements included, especially under the low sampling to fundamental frequency ratios. The reasons for these oscillations are analyzed in the discrete-time domain other than as usually done in the continuous-time domain. Following that, a distinctive active damping matrix is proposed for the current closed-loop control of interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSMs). As a result, the anti-disturbance capability is enhanced, allowing the oscillations, often seen in the <i>d</i>- and <i>q</i>-axis current components, suppressed very well. Compared with other damping methods, the typical PI structure is still retained, which is desired on the point of engineering view. At last, the analysis as well as the damping effectiveness is validated through experiments.

The vaccine equity crisis is a stress test for all future major environmental challenges

The vaccine equity crisis has an extra element that makes it crucial for our capacity to tackle future major societal challenges. Unlike most of these, including the climate one, the current pandemic causes major damage that is directly observable in the very short term, that is, within the political cycle of the incumbent policymakers. If not even this kind of crisis with directly observable damage is able to influence the incentive structure of policymakers and lead to the adoption of timely and effective measures, there is no reason to expect that this would ever happen for crises whose effects largely materialize in future political cycles. As a consequence, if we fail to tackle this particular crisis effectively now, we are creating an enormous credibility problem for future crises that could seriously undermine our capacity to reach binding agreements in the future.

A novel control method for restraining starting-up overcurrent in VSC-HVDC System

Overcurrent and overvoltage can damage converter valves, DC capacitors and transformers in the VSC-HVDC systems. Therefore, a proper starting-up mechanism is needed to avoid overcurrent and overvoltage. Overcurrent occurs in the second stage of the starting-up procedure due to rapid response of controllers, high dVDC/dt and malfunction of PLL. Traditional methods reduce overcurrent, but they cause an increase in starting-up time duration. In this paper, a new control method is proposed to apply in the second stage of the starting-up procedure. Not only does the proposed method restrain overcurrent and overvoltage, but it also reduces time duration of starting-up. In addition, the proposed method reduces dVDC/dt and can limit the starting-up current to any desired value. Furthermore, the proposed method has a simple control system and does not need any extra elements, leading to a simple manufacturing. The operation and design principles of the proposed method are investigated in detail. Finally, the proposed control method is verified by simulation and experimental results of a bipolar two-level VSC-HVDC.

Admittance Matrix Validation for Power Distribution System Models Using a Networked Equipment Model Framework

The evolving nature of electric power distribution systems is motivating the development of advanced applications for utility planning, operation, management, and control. These model-based applications interact with multiple subsystems within software platforms referred to as advanced distribution management systems. Recently, the Common Information Model has been used to enable data model standardization across several entities. Model fidelity is the key to the development of leading-edge, scalable model-based algorithms and assessment of emerging technologies such as distributed energy resources for grid planning and operation. However, distribution system models are error-prone and model validation is challenging due to: (1) the need for considerable time and effort to maintain the network models, (2) update delays due to the evolving nature of the real-world systems that models are derived from, and (3) inevitable human errors in the process which are difficult to detect. In this paper, we extend a model validation application from our prior work referred to as the Model Validator to derive and validate a system admittance matrix using the Common Information Model. First, we introduce different modules for computing device-level primitive admittance matrices from Common Information Model parameters. These individual primitive admittance matrices are then used to validate corresponding entries in a full system admittance matrix. In addition, we validate the overall system admittance matrix by checking for gaps in coverage or extra elements that are not expected. The proposed approach checks the validity of each piece of network model equipment separately and identifies inconsistencies between Common Information Model parameters and the system admittance matrix at the device level. Furthermore, where devices can be specified using different combinations of Common Information Model parameters, each parameter combination is validated separately. This breakdown can help distribution engineers more efficiently apply root cause analysis for inconsistencies. The Model Validator application is implemented on top of GridAPPS-D, an open-source standards-based platform for advanced distribution management system application development. The effectiveness of the proposed application is demonstrated on six different test cases: four IEEE feeders, the Electric Power Research Institute J1 circuit, and a taxonomy feeder.

Anticorrosive nanosized LiF thin film coating for achieving long-cycling stability of LiCoO2 at high voltages

The mutability of layered structures and unfavorable side reactions between cathodes and traditional electrolytes are barriers for the commercialization of LiCoO2 (LCO) at high voltages (above 4.2 V). Metal fluorides, owing to their effective passivation effect, have been considered promising coating materials for various electrochemical applications. As a chemical stability species, LiF can combine the advantages of fluorides with those of lithium without introducing extra elements. In this study, we deposited a uniform nanosized LiF thin film coating onto the LCO particles by coprecipitation to enhance the reversible capacity and cycle stability of the LCO batteries at high voltage. Electrochemical tests indicated that at room temperature, the LCO@LiF cell exhibited an excellent capacity retention with 71.4% after 300 cycles, which is higher than that of many reported oxide and fluoride coatings for LCO at high voltage. This study demonstrated that LiF, an outstanding cathode surface protection layer, can hamper the immediate contact of LCO with the electrolyte, stabilize the LCO surface structure, and successfully protect the cathode from corrosion by the electrolyte. Consequently, a significant enhancement of the electrochemical properties of the LiF-coated LCO was observed. This study provides a facile commercial approach for the mass production of high-voltage LCO cathodes.

Energy Consumption When Transporting Pallet Loads Using a Forklift with an Anti Slip Pad Preventing Damage

A large number of processes for transporting and handling palletized goods using a forklift in logistics centers is usually associated with an increase in pallet and load damage. Therefore, first of all, the “damage mechanism” was identified. A classic “state of the art” analysis was conducted. The paper presents the essence of the authors’ hybrid idea of:—locking the load;—while increasing the coefficient of friction between the pallet and the forks of the forklift; but so as not to compromise on the existing functionality of the forklift forks. The idea turned out to be an innovation that required intellectual property protection, hence it was not only described in a paper but also patented. It is about an extra element that is not standard on forklifts—a forklift fork attachment. The paper discusses mechanical damage to loads involving a forklift, load damage test results, anti-slip forklift attachment, computational model of the attachment, prototype, and real-world testing of the attachment on a forklift in a logistics center. Design data from the FEM calculation system, photos of:—the prototype with components,—the prototype on tests in the logistics center were made available. The paper concludes with a pallet and load damage study performed at a logistics center and an insulation panel factory. The level of accuracy of the publication is detailed enough that the reader can make the attachment on their own and, using the content of the paper, adapt it to the needs of their own logistics system.

Phase Role in the Non-Uniformity of Main-Line Couplings in Asymmetric Extracted-Pole Inline Filters

The use of classical symmetrical polynomial definition to synthesize fully canonical inline filters with an asymmetrical distribution of the transmission zeros along the topology leads to the occurrence of uneven admittance inverter in the main-line. This form introduces some limitations to transform such topology into a ladder network. Despite circuital transformation can be used to accommodate both technology and topology, it is usual that extra reactive elements are necessary to implement phase shifts required to achieve the complete synthesis. This article introduces a novel method able to determine the required phase correction that has to be applied to the characteristic polynomials in order to equalize all the admittance inverters in the main path to the same value. It has been demonstrated that a suitable pair of phase values can be accurately estimated using a developed hyperbolic model which can be obtained from the transmission and reflection scattering parameters. To experimentally validate the proposed method, a Ladder-type filter with asymmetrical polynomial definition has been synthesized, fabricated, and measured, demonstrating the effectiveness of the developed solution.

Comparison of Complex Traffic Junction Descriptions in Automotive Standard Formats

Autonomous and highly automated transportation is very attractive not only for the automotive but also for the mapping industry. In order to exploit the technology, the latest survey solutions are needed, but beyond that, a clear description of the content is a must. Three standards have been selected: (1) used for a long time in navigation systems (NDS), (2) developed for simulation purposes (OpenDRIVE), and (3) designed and proposed for general map data exchange (GDF). In this paper, we present the approach of the three standards, then apply the tools of the standards to a specific sample area, a complex traffic junction, and produce maps in the appropriate formats. The evaluation of the pilot site shows that the difficulty of the exchange standard appears to be a serious obstacle. In the process of applying the navigation standard, the personality of the evaluator (the map maker) is also revealed. In the simulation format, the description of reality is gradually improved by including more and more extra elements.

A safer organic cathode material with overheating self-protection function for lithium batteries

Rechargeable lithium batteries (LBs) have been widely applied in portable devices, electric vehicles (EVs) and grid energy storage systems due to their higher energy density, long cycle life and lack of memory effect. However, if operated improperly such as thermal impact, mechanical damage or short-circuiting, it will cause the vast heat accumulation of LBs, finally fires or explosions. Here, we report a novel concept that the temperature-sensitive conductive polymer-based materials (P3OT@CNT and P3BT@CNT nanocomposites) as cathode materials with intrinsic overheating self-protection function enabled by removing active anions can mitigate the safety concern of LBs. In normal operation conditions, both P3OT@CNT and P3BT@CNT display a better electrochemical performance compared with the reported anion-active cathode materials. More importantly, the thermal dedoping of electroactive PF6- from P3OT or P3BT matrix when the battery temperature reaches to a given high temperature can provide overheating self-protection for LBs, avoiding the occurrence of thermal runaway. During the charging process, the thermal dedoping of PF6- causes the battery voltage to not rise, namely the loss of charging function. This abnormal voltage signal can offer an early warning of battery overheating, allowing timely handling and preventing the occur of thermal runaway of battery. When discharged, the battery can be rapidly switched off with delivering little capacity, avoiding the continuous heat accumulation and preventing battery from thermal runaway. This work provides a new thermal protection strategy for safer LBs, utilizing the intrinsic overheating protection function of cathode materials without introducing extra thermal protection elements to battery.

Well-dispersed Li2CoTi3O8 nanoparticles as a multifunctional material for lithium-ion batteries and lithium-sulfur batteries

Cubic spinel Li4Ti5O12 is a desired anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to high stability (the feature of “zero strain”) and good safety. Moreover, Li4Ti5O12 has a good affinity with sulfur for restraining lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) by the Ti-S bond in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). Interestingly, extra cobalt element is introduced to form Li2CoTi3O8, which not only increases theoretical capacity for LIBs but also enhances the adsorption of sulfur for LSBs. In this paper, Li2CoTi3O8 nanoparticles are synthesized via a sol-gel method. As the anode for LIBs, Li2CoTi3O8 displays a desired specific capacity (335.3 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1) and a better rate-capability (188.5 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1; no capacity decay over 400 cycles), which is superior to electrochemical performances of the reported same substances. Besides, Li2CoTi3O8 nanoparticles are designed as both the sulfur host material and the modified separator in LSBs for the first time. Under the LCTO-coated separator, the Li2CoTi3O8/S electrode achieves a first capacity of 1048 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C and the stable capacity retention (732.7 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles). The enhanced performance of the Li2CoTi3O8 electrode is the result of synergistic effect of dispersed particles and larger contact area for LIBs and LSBs.

Memoryless Logic Circuit Design Based on the Quantum Phase Slip Junctions for Superconducting Digital Applications

In this article, the quantum phase slip junction (QPSJ) based full adder, multiplexer, and demultiplexer memoryless circuits for superconducting digital applications are designed for the first time. Generally, the memoryless circuits are implemented by interconnection of the basic gates (i.e., AND, OR, NOT). So in this article, the structures of the QPSJ-based AND and OR gates are also modified in order to reduce the complexity of their connections to the other gates by removing or changing the location of the clock pulse from their output branches. When a gate is connected to the next one, the elements of the second gate are loaded to the circuit of the first gate. The output current of the first gate will be affected due to this loading and no Cooper pair may be produced at its output and the next connected gate will not be switched. Therefore, the main tip in designing of these circuits is that each constituent gate must provide the necessary output current to drive the next connected gates, since each gate is driven by one Cooper pair. In this article, providing sufficient output current for each gate has been observed by 1) selecting proper critical voltages of the QPSJs and 2) by adding extra elements to or removing some elements from the connected gates in the proposed memoryless circuits.

Positive Role of Fluorine Impurity in Recovered LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 Cathode Materials.

Lithium-ion battery (LIB) recycling is considered as an important component to enable industry sustainability. A massive number of LIBs in portable electronics, electric vehicles, and grid storage will eventually end up as wastes, leading to serious economic and environmental problems. Hence, tremendous efforts have been made to improve the hydrometallurgical recycling process because it is the most promising option for handling end-of-life LIBs owing to its wide applicability, low cost, and high productivity. Despite these advantages, some extra elements (Al, Fe, C, F, and so forth) remain as impurities in the removal process and are retained in the solution, which is a great challenge to obtain high-quality cathode materials. In this work, the impacts caused by fluorine impurity on the LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 (NCM622) cathode are intensively investigated via hydrometallurgical coprecipitation for the first time. Our results show that up to 1 at. % fluorine impurity brings a positive influence on the recovered material due to a higher Ni2+ ratio on the surface of cathode particles. In addition, the presence of fluoride ions during coprecipitation could lead to the formation of holes in cathode particles, which improves the rate capability and cyclability dramatically. Compared to the virgin material, the capacity of the NCM622 material with 0.2 at. % fluorine impurity is boosted by ∼8% (167.7 mA h/g) with a remarkable capacity retention of 98.0% after 100 cycles at 0.33 C. Besides, the cathode with 0.2 at. % fluorine impurity shows a far better rate performance, especially at high rates (∼7% increased at 5 C) than that of virgin. These results convince that a low concentration of fluorine impurity is desirable in the hydrometallurgical recycling process. More importantly, this study offers implications in the design of high-performance NCM622 cathode materials via coprecipitation production with ion doping in the near future.

Design of Low Mutual Coupling Dielectric Resonator Antennas Without Using Extra Decoupling Element

A simple decoupling method of using specific higher-order modes to improve the isolation of dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) elements is investigated. The higher-order modes have the feature that they can be excited by the active (source) DRA while unexcitable by means of the feeding network. As a result, the coupled fields in the passive (coupled) DRA are unable to reach the feeding port, leading to a very low mutual coupling level. When the coupled modes in the passive DRA have the same radiation characteristics with the mode that excited in the active DRA, the distortion of radiation patterns can also be avoided. This method is found effective for reducing both the E-plane and H-plane coupling. As no extra decoupling element is needed, the entire antenna system is very simple. For verification, an E-plane-coupled <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1\times 2$ </tex-math></inline-formula> multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) DRA array has been fabricated and measured. The results show that using a proper mode, the isolation can be enhanced from about 15 to 45 dB at 5.25 GHz.

High-Dimensional Extension of the TICER Algorithm

The TICER (TIme-Constant Equilibration Reduction) algorithm is a well-known resistor-capacitor (RC) network reduction algorithm. It finds wide applications in integrated circuit post-layout simulation tools. However, the original algorithm is one-dimensional in that each step eliminates one circuit node to obtain an approximately equivalent circuit by connecting additional elements to the neighboring nodes after each elimination. This work extends the TICER algorithm to its high-dimensional version in the sense that each step eliminates a subcircuit as a whole to obtain an approximately equivalent circuit, again by connecting extra elements to the neighboring nodes after each elimination. In practice the high-dimensional TICER (HD-TICER) algorithm finds many advantages over the classical one-dimensional TICER (1D-TICER) algorithm, which is a special case of the HD-TICER algorithm. An elegant mathematical derivation of the HD-TICER algorithm is provided by applying the notion of driving point impedance (DPI). The advantages of the HD-TICER algorithm are demonstrated by application to reductions of some purely resistive networks and RC networks. An approximate time constant estimation method is also provided for selection of a subblock circuit to eliminate.

Influence of zinc doping on the molecular biocompatibility of cadmium-based quantum dots: Insights from the interaction with trypsin

Doping quantum dots (QDs) with extra element presents a promising future for their applications in the fields of environmental monitoring, commercial products and biomedical sciences. However, it remains unknown for the influence of doping on the molecular biocompatibility of QDs and the underlying mechanisms of the interaction between doped-QDs and protein molecules. Using the “one-pot” method, we synthesized N-acetyl-l-cysteine capped CdTe: Zn2+ QDs with higher fluorescence quantum yield, improved stability and better molecular biocompatibility compared with undoped CdTe QDs. Using digestive enzyme trypsin (TRY) as the protein model, the interactions of undoped QDs and Zn-doped QDs with TRY as well as the underlying mechanisms were investigated using multi-spectroscopy, isothermal titration calorimetry and dialysis techniques. Van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonds are the major driving forces in the interaction of both QDs with TRY, which leading to the loosening of protein skeleton and tertiary structural changes. Compared with undoped QDs, Zn-doped QDs bind less amount of TRY with a higher affinity and then release higher amount of Cd. Zn-doped QDs have a less stimulating impact on TRY activity by decreasing TRY binding and reducing Cd binding to TRY. Taken all together, Zn-doped QDs offer a safer alternative for the applications of QDs by reducing unwanted interactions with proteins and improving biocompatibility at the molecular level.

Symposium Title: Hypermirroring- Emotionally Gifted- Living From the Heart- A New Pattern in Children- Supported by Clinical and EEG and BrainMap Data

This paper studies a variation of domination in graphs called (F,B,R)-domination. Let G=(V,E) be a graph and V be the disjoint union of F, B, and R, where F consists of free vertices, B consists of bound vertices, and R consists of required vertices. An (F,B,R)-dominating set of G is a subset D⊆V such that R⊆D and each vertex in B−D is adjacent to some vertex in D. An (F,B,R)-2-stable set of G is a subset S⊆B such that S∩N(R)=0̸ and every two distinct vertices x and y in S have distance d(x,y)>2. We prove that if G is strongly chordal, then αF,B,R,2(G)=γF,B,R(G)−|R|, where γF,B,R(G) is the minimum cardinality of an (F,B,R)-dominating set of G and αF,B,R,2(G) is the maximum cardinality of an (F,B,R)-2-stable set of G. Let D1→∗D2 denote D1 being transferable to D2. We prove that if G is a connected strongly chordal graph in which D1 and D2 are two (F,B,R)-dominating sets with |D1|=|D2|, then D1→∗D2. We also prove that if G is a cactus graph in which D1 and D2 are two (F,B,R)-dominating sets with |D1|=|D2|, then D1∪{1⋅extra}→∗D2∪{1⋅extra}, where ∪{1⋅extra} means adding one extra element.