Free Configuration Research Articles

Clinical and Angiographic Outcomes of Bilateral Internal Thoracic Artery Revascularization: In Situ vs Free Grafts

BackgroundBilateral internal thoracic artery (ITA) grafting is associated with improved long-term outcomes; however, the appropriate graft configuration remains controversial. We compared the long-term outcomes of different graft configurations. MethodsBetween 2009 and 2015, 1171 patients underwent isolated bilateral ITA grafting for left-sided complete revascularization at 4 Japanese cardiac surgery centers: underwent in situ left ITA to the left anterior descending artery plus in situ right ITA to the left circumflex artery (LR group, n = 278), in situ right ITA to the left anterior descending artery plus in situ left ITA to the left circumflex artery (RL group, n = 665), and in situ left ITA to the left anterior descending artery plus free right ITA to the left circumflex artery (free group, n = 228). Major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), including mortality, myocardial infarction and revascularization, and ITA patency, were compared. ResultsAmong the 3 groups, the free group showed significantly lower MACEs and overall mortality rates (P < .001). Nonfatal myocardial infarction and revascularization rates showed no marked differences among the groups. A weighted analysis revealed a decreased risk of MACEs and death in the free group. No marked difference was observed in the patency of the ITA anastomosed to the left anterior descending artery. Patency of the ITA grafted to the circumflex artery in the LR group was significantly lower relative to the other groups. Using a free right ITA grafted to the circumflex artery reduced the risk of graft failure. ConclusionsThe free right ITA configuration for left-sided revascularization might have better long-term outcomes and significantly better patency than other grafts.

Confined boiling on an immersed heated corner: influence of one wall on the other

An experimental test section with horizontal and vertical heated plates forming an inverted L-shape is filled with 3M Novec7000 dielectric fluid at atmospheric pressure. Both plates of 64 × 40 mm 2 dimensions are heated with wall heat fluxes ranging from 0 to 20 W cm −2. There is natural convection for low heat fluxes, medium heat fluxes trigger boiling and for higher power, the critical heat flux is reached. The wall temperature and heat flux are calculated from in-wall thermocouple measurements in steady state. The bubbly flow on the vertical surface is observed with a high-speed camera through a window.The confinement between the vertical heated surface and the wall is varied from 0.5 to 15 mm. In the range of this study, the heat transfer coefficient in natural convection and nucleate boiling regimes increases when the spacing decreases. However, since the critical heat flux decreases when it is more confined, the film boiling regime is reached faster. From the visualizations and the thermal measurements we try to model these different behaviors.Depending on which plate is switched on or off we observed different behaviors. The confinement of the vertical plate does not have any influence on the horizontal one since the plate width is much bigger than the gap change. Also, the horizontal plate heating does not influence the heat transfer on the vertical plate in this study. However, there is an influence of the vertical boiling on the horizontal one, stronger when there is a confinement than in free configuration.

Redundant Non-Serial Implicit Manipulator Kinematics and Dynamics

Abstract Redundant non-serial manipulators that include a spectrum of parallel and non-parallel heavy load bearing construction and material handling equipment are treated, using foundations of differential geometry. Kinematics of this category of manipulator are defined in manipulator configuration space by algebraic equations in input and output coordinates that cannot be explicitly solved for either as a function of the other. New sets called assembly components of manipulator configuration space are defined that partition the space into maximal, path-connected, disjoint, topological components. All configurations within an assembly component can be connected by one or more continuous paths within that component, but configurations in different assembly components cannot be connected by continuous paths. Forward and inverse kinematically singular configurations are characterized by criteria that partition each assembly component into path-connected, singularity-free assembly components in which equations of kinematics and dynamics are well behaved. It is shown that a generalized inverse velocity-based kinematic formulation that is problematic for serial manipulators is likewise plagued with problems for non-serial implicit manipulators that can be avoided using the methods presented. Singularity-free differentiable manipulator configuration space components are defined and parameterized by both input and operational coordinates, leading to well-posed ordinary differential equations of manipulator dynamics in both input and operational coordinates. Three typical applications and associated model problems are studied throughout the paper to illustrate the methods and results presented.

A 2-Stable Family of Triple Systems

For many well-known families of triple systems $\mathcal{M}$, there are perhaps many near-extremal $\mathcal{M}$-free configurations that are far from each other in edit-distance. Such a property is called non-stable and is a fundamental barrier to determining the Turán number of $\mathcal{M}$. Liu and Mubayi gave the first finite example that is non-stable. In this paper, we construct another finite family of triple systems $\mathcal{M}$ such that there are two near-extremal $\mathcal{M}$-free configurations that are far from each other in edit-distance. We also prove its Andrásfai-Erdős-Sós type stability theorem: Every $\mathcal{M}$-free triple system whose minimum degree is close to the average degree of the extremal configurations is a subgraph of one of these two near-extremal configurations. As a corollary, our main result shows that the boundary of the feasible region of $\mathcal{M}$ has exactly two global maxima.

Natural frequencies and modal shapes of folded sandwich plates made of porous core and FG-CNTRC coating layers resting on two parameters elastic foundation

Folded structures hold significant importance in aerospace technology due to their distinct design, effectively reconciling strength with a lightweight framework. Within aerospace applications, these structures fulfill diverse roles, serving as pivotal elements in aircraft wings, fuselage sections, and essential components of spacecraft and satellites. This study delves into the free vibration behavior of folded sandwich plates composed of a porous core and functionally graded carbon nanotube-reinforced composite (FG-CNTRC) coatings, resting on a two-parameter elastic foundation. Leveraging first-order shear deformation plate theory (FSDT), elasto-dynamic equations are established for each individual plate segment. Utilizing the two-dimensional generalized differential quadrature method (2D-GDQM), these equations are discretized. Subsequently, by applying boundary conditions to all six edges, including traditional clamped, simply supported, and free configurations, and incorporating continuity conditions for displacements, forces, and moments at the joint borders, natural frequencies and modal shapes are extracted for the folded plate structure. The validity of the proposed formulation and results is demonstrated by comparing them with numerical examples for both composite flat and folded plates. This comparison provides strong support for the accuracy and reliability of the present study. The study comprehensively examines the influence of various parameters on natural frequencies, including modal shape visualizations under different boundary configurations, plate thickness, crank angle, porosity parameter, core thickness, foundation stiffness, and CNTs distribution type.

Simulation methodology and numerical comparison of boxer and opposed free piston linear generator configuration in 0D/1D environment

Free Piston Linear Generators (FPLGs) are thermal machines suitable for both stationary power generation unit (PU) and vehicle propulsion. They convert chemical energy from the fuel into electric energy to charge a battery using a linear electric generator. Due to the reduction of friction losses and the ability to work with different compression ratios, FPLGs are potentially characterized by high overall global efficiency with respect to a conventional alternative internal combustion engine. Like conventional internal combustion engines, FPLGs have several configurations: single piston, dual piston, opposed piston and boxer are the configurations considered in this work. Two configurations are compared in this paper from a functional and energetic perspective: opposed piston (Opposed) and Boxer. This is done with the aim to highlights pro and cons of these configurations. They are modelled using the 0D/1D modelling coupling GT-Power® and Simulink®. The comparison between the two configurations was done modelling the architecture with the same size and in two-strokes operating mode. The comparison of the two configurations highlights differences between them in terms of scavenging process, thermodynamic efficiency and global energy efficiency, putting in evidence what aspects need to be improved for each configuration and what are their advantageous features. Boxer configuration can provide less power due to lower volumetric efficiency compared to the Opposed configuration. Boxer configuration can provide 102.2 kW while Opposed can provide 110.0 kW at full load with a frequency of 20 Hz (equivalent to 1200 rpm). The Opposed configuration results in lower heat loss but higher energy lost at the exhaust. The final balance shows that Boxer configuration has a slightly higher brake efficiency (equal to 28.9 %) compared to the value found for Opposed (27.6 %).

Flight dynamics of aircraft incorporating the semi-aeroelastic hinge

Aircraft like the Boeing 777-X use on-ground folding wingtips to meet the airport gate size restriction while increasing the aspect ratio during flight to reduce induced drag. A recent concept of aircraft design is to utilise in-flight floating wingtips as a means of load alleviation, which is known as semi-aeroelastic hinge (SAH). This device allows wingtips to be released during manoeuvre and severe gusts to alleviate wing loads, while locking the wingtips during cruise to maintain an optimum aerodynamic shape. This paper develops a flight mechanics model incorporating flexible wings to study the influence of the SAH device on multiple aspects of aircraft flight dynamics. The dynamic responses of the aircraft to gusts and control surface inputs are computed and compared for various hinge and wingtip configurations and release times. It was found that the gust load measured from the wing with free hinge configuration was approximately 40% lower compared to that of the fixed hinge case. It is also shown that when the SAH is released, it can significantly reduce an aircraft's roll damping and the frequency of the short-period mode, leading to higher roll and pitch rates. Furthermore, it shows that the transient responses following the wingtip release will exacerbate the responses induced by gusts, and greater load alleviation can be achieved by manipulating the hinge release time for each gust length. Finally, a step input of the elevator during the hinge release was found to be beneficial for enhancing the gust load alleviation.

Pool boiling on vertical and horizontal heated plates with a dielectric fluid: Influence of vertical canal width

A closed system testbench has been developed to study pool boiling with a dielectric fluid at atmospheric pressure. The experimental setup consists in immerged horizontal and vertical adjacent heated plates, representing the corner of a parallelepipedal heating element. Both plates are 64x40mm2. The plates can be heated separately or simultaneously, with surface heat flux ranging from 0 to 20 W/cm2. Additionally, the canal width in front of the vertical heated plate is varied from 0.5 to 15 mm to study the influence of confinement. The opposite wall of the canal is made of transparent glass to allow optical visualization of the boiling on the vertical plate. A condenser at the top of the system controls the fluid subcooling. The wall temperatures are measured in steady-state regime in the middle of the plates, heat transfer coefficients are also determined. This configuration leads to complex flows, from natural convection to film boiling, including nucleate boiling. For low heat flux, smaller vertical canal widths enhance natural convection mixed with phase change phenomena: this conveys significantly higher heat transfer coefficients than in the vertical free configuration case. At higher heat flux, confinement does not enhance heat exchange on the vertical plate. When the vertical plate is confined, bubble coalescence and critical heat flux occur for lower heat flux compared to the free configuration. Visual observations on boiling regimes on the vertical plate are given depending on confinement. Finally, simultaneous heating of both plates is compared to isolated plate heating: boiling on the vertical plate improves heat exchange on the horizontal one, whereas boiling on the horizontal plate has no effect on the vertical one.

Uncertainty driven active learning of coarse grained free energy models

Coarse graining techniques play an essential role in accelerating molecular simulations of systems with large length and time scales. Theoretically grounded bottom-up models are appealing due to their thermodynamic consistency with the underlying all-atom models. In this direction, machine learning approaches hold great promise to fitting complex many-body data. However, training models may require collection of large amounts of expensive data. Moreover, quantifying trained model accuracy is challenging, especially in cases of non-trivial free energy configurations, where training data may be sparse. We demonstrate a path towards uncertainty-aware models of coarse grained free energy surfaces. Specifically, we show that principled Bayesian model uncertainty allows for efficient data collection through an on-the-fly active learning framework and opens the possibility of adaptive transfer of models across different chemical systems. Uncertainties also characterize models’ accuracy of free energy predictions, even when training is performed only on forces. This work helps pave the way towards efficient autonomous training of reliable and uncertainty aware many-body machine learned coarse grain models.

Energy-saving discharge needle shape for electrohydrodynamic airflow generation

Electrohydrodynamics (EHD) is a way to produce low energy-consuming airflow without moving components. The basis of airflow by EHD is corona discharge. A way to generate corona discharge is done, among others, via needle-type emitter electrodes whose shape and arrangement play a crucial role in the effectiveness of the discharge. Until now, the needle shape was chosen somewhat arbitrarily, although it impacts the energy consumption of the EHD process. We lack systematic studies on the impact of needle shape on the EHD discharge process and associated airflow to help engineers and scientists choose the best shape. This in-silico study screens the impact of the needle shape parameters on EHD performance in terms of electrical power consumption and airflow generation. The study aims to find the ideal EHD needle shape for unrestricted and confined flow. For this purpose, we test three different geometrical configurations. The first configuration is a free-flow single-needle configuration. The second configuration adds a dielectric nearby, which represents a needle enclosure. Lastly, a configuration including a dielectric and a converging nozzle is examined. All studies use a 2D-axisymmetric, fully automatized EHD physics-based model. The first set of parametric studies explores the inherent geometrical properties of the needle shape, like tip radii (10–250 μm), needle cone angle (10–70°), and needle diameters (0.5–2 mm). The second set of parametric studies investigates the operation conditions, such as the emitter-collector distance (10–40 mm), the nozzle contraction ratio (0.04–1), and the operating voltage (6–32 kV). The results of the free-flow configuration show qualitative agreement with experiments on existing needle products. The ideal energy-saving needle shape for free flow configuration features a short conical tip length (i.e., a large angle ≥30°), a diameter of 2 mm, and a needle rip radius of 100 μm. The situation changes when a dielectric is present, and a sharp angle of 10° is favorable to reduce energy consumption. Since a dielectric inverts the optimal needle shape, it makes sense to customize it for a particular application in EHD airflow generation. We provide performance maps that can be used as design charts. This study is a guideline to optimize EHD devices further to reduce energy consumption and increase airflow speed.

Cationic polyelectrolytes prevent the aggregation of l-lactate dehydrogenase under unstable conditions

Unstructured biological macromolecules have attracted attention as protein aggregation inhibitors in living cells. Some are characterized by their free structural configuration, highly charged, and water-soluble. However, the importance of these properties in inhibiting protein aggregation remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of charged poly (amino acids), which mimic these properties, on aggregation of l-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and compared their effects to monomeric amino acids and folded proteins. LDH was stable and active at a neutral pH (~7) but formed inactive aggregates at acidic pH (< 6). Adding cationic polyelectrolytes of poly-l-lysine and poly-l-arginine suppressed the acid-induced aggregation and inactivation of LDH under acidic pH values. Adding monomeric amino acids and cationic folded proteins also prevented LDH aggregation but with lower efficacy than cationic polyelectrolytes. These results indicate that unstructured polyelectrolytes effectively stabilize unstable enzymes because they interact flexibly and multivalently with them. Our findings provide a simple method for stabilizing enzymes under unstable conditions.

A barrier method for contact avoiding particles in Stokes flow

Rigid particles in a Stokesian fluid experience an increasingly strong lubrication resistance as particle gaps narrow. Numerically, resolving these lubrication forces comes at an intractably large cost, even for moderate system sizes. Hence, it can typically not be guaranteed that artificial particle collisions and overlaps do not occur in a dynamic simulation, independently of the choice of method to solve the Stokes equations. In this work, the potentially large set of non-overlap constraints, in terms of the Euclidean distance between boundary points on disjoint particles, are efficiently represented via a barrier energy. We solve for the minimum magnitudes of repelling contact forces and torques between any particle pair in contact to correct for overlaps by enforcing a zero barrier energy at the next time level, given a contact-free configuration at a previous instance in time. Robustness for the method is illustrated using a multiblob method to solve the mobility problem in Stokes flow, applied to suspensions of spheres, rods and boomerang shaped particles. Collision free configurations are obtained at all instances in time, and considerably larger time-steps can be taken than without the technique. The effect of the contact forces on the collective order of a set of rods in a background flow that naturally promote particle interactions is also illustrated.

Non-invasive in vivo imaging of human corneal microstructures with optical coherence microscopy.

Non-invasive imaging systems with cellular-level resolution offer the opportunity to identify biomarkers of the early stage of corneal diseases, enabling early intervention, monitoring of disease progression, and evaluating treatment efficacy. In this study, a non-contact polarization-dependent optical coherence microscope (POCM) was developed to enable non-invasive in vivo imaging of human corneal microstructures. The system integrated quarter-wave plates into the sample and reference arms of the interferometer to enable deeper penetration of light in tissues as well as mitigate the strong specular reflection from the corneal surface. A common-path approach was adopted to enable control over the polarization in a free space configuration, thus alleviating the need for a broadband polarization-maintained fiber. The POCM achieved volumetric imaging of corneal microstructures, including endothelial cells over a field of view 0.5 × 0.5 mm2 with an almost isotropic resolution of ∼2.2 µm and a volume (500 × 500 × 2048 voxels) rate of 1 Hz. A self-interference approach between the corneal surface and underlying layers was also developed to lessen the corneal curvature and axial motion artifacts, thus enabling high-resolution imaging of microstructures in the anterior cornea, including squamous epithelial cells, wing epithelial cells, basal epithelial cells, sub-basal nerve plexus, and stromal keratocytes.

Time gated Fourier transform spectroscopy as a technique for disentangling short- and long-lived luminescence

Overlapping short- and long-lived luminescence signals are often encountered and are not trivial to disentangle in a single measurement. Here, we demonstrate for a broad range of emitters that time gated Fourier transform spectroscopy can be used as a technique to simultaneously capture and temporally disentangle overlapping spectral features of luminescence signals. This allows us to concurrently measure the fluorescence and phosphorescence bands of an organic fluorophore, retrieve the emission of a quantum dot that is overshadowed by an autofluorescent serum solution, and for removing residual laser scatter and ambient room light in an optical filter free configuration. Time gated Fourier transform spectroscopy only requires the introduction of a common-path interferometer to the emission path of a standard time-correlated single photon counting setup; it can function as a technique to both discriminate signals as well as characterize properties of new materials.

Combining particle and field-theoretic polymer models with multi-representation simulations.

Particle-based and field-theoretic simulations are both widely used methods to predict the properties of polymeric materials. In general, the advantages of each method are complementary. Field-theoretic simulations are preferred for polymers with high molecular weights and can provide direct access to chemical potentials and free energies, which makes them the method-of-choice for calculating phase diagrams. The trade-off is that field-theoretic simulations sacrifice the molecular details present in particle-based simulations, such as the configurations of individual molecules and their dynamics. In this work, we describe a new approach to conduct "multi-representation" simulations that efficiently map between particle-based and field-theoretic simulations. Our approach involves the construction of formally equivalent particle-based and field-based models, which are then simulated subject to the constraint that their spatial density profiles are equal. This constraint provides the ability to directly link particle-based and field-based simulations and enables calculations that can switch between one representation to the other. By switching between particle/field representations during a simulation, we demonstrate that our approach can leverage many of the advantages of each representation while avoiding their respective limitations. Although our method is illustrated in the context of complex sphere phases in linear diblock copolymers, we anticipate that it will be useful whenever free energies, rapid equilibration, molecular configurations, and dynamic information are all simultaneously desired.

Laser-induced fluorescence measurements of spatially resolved OH densities in a helium plasma jet interacting with three different targets in the open air

The presented research work is devoted to the measurements of the absolute densities of ground state OH radicals in an atmospheric pressure helium plasma jet launched in free air onto three different targets. The OH density is measured by using laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The plasma is generated inside a glass tube by a dielectric barrier discharge powered by a mono-polar pulsed high voltage. Estimation of the absolute density is based on a quantitative analysis of the spectral and temporal component of the LIF signal and does not require any assumption on the densities of colliding species. Based on this analysis, the spatially-resolved density distributions of OH radicals are determined in front of three different targets (metallic, dielectric, and ultra-pure water) placed in the open air at 2 cm from the exit of the glass tube. In order to also investigate the temporal behaviour of the OH densities, and the influence of the gas flow rate and of the amplitude of the voltage-pulse, planar LIF has been performed investigating the fluorescence signal (i) during the intervals of the discharge pulses, (ii) for various gas flow rates, and (iii) as a function of the amplitude of the voltage pulse. In the free jet configuration without a target, the OH densities were determined to be in the order of , whereas they increased up to a factor of 10 in contact with a target. The spatial distributions were also influenced by the dielectric properties of the target: in the case of the metallic target, the maximum of the OH density was found to be in the center between the exit of the glass tube and the target, whereas in the case of the dielectric target, the maximum was found to be close to the surface of the target. In the case of ultra-pure water, the densities were equally distributed between the exit of the glass tube and the target. With this work, the influence of a target on the production of OH radicals was demonstrated, which enables the optimisation of the plasma parameters for an efficient production of OH radicals in front of a target with various dielectric properties.

Experimental Investigation of Liquid Interface Stability During the Filling of a Tank in Microgravity

The storage of propellants in space as well as the transfer and filling of spacecraft tanks is a prerequisite for future long-term space exploration missions. In this work, the vented filling of a partially filled tank, which is envisioned as a spacecraft tank, was investigated experimentally under compensated gravity in the Bremen Drop Tower. Experiments were performed with a partially filled tank and a test liquid HFE-7500. The drop tower provides 9 s of compensated gravity. The shape of the free liquid surface inside a right circular cylinder changes from the normal gravity configuration to a free fall configuration during the test. The filling was initiated after 3.5 s and continued until the end at 9 s. The interaction of the incoming liquid jet with the liquid interface was studied for different volumetric flow rates. A stable, but not steady liquid interface was characterized by a deformation due to the incoming liquid jet and the formation of a geyser. The growth of the geyser and the following disintegration into liquid droplets indicated an unstable liquid interface. Subcritical, critical and supercritical regimes of the volumetric flow rates were identified to classify stable and unstable liquid interfaces. The critical Weber number was found to be 1.04, which corresponds to a critical volumetric flow rate of 1.30 mL s-1. This critical Weber number was compared with the existing literature. Additionally, the behaviour of the liquid interface during the reorientation of the liquid inside the tank was observed.

Location specific multi-scale characterization and constitutive modeling of pig aorta

The mechanical and structural behavior of the aorta depend on physiological functions and vary from proximal to distal. Understanding the relation between regionally varying mechanical and multi-scale structural response of aorta can be helpful to assess the disease outcomes. Therefore, this study investigated the variation in mechanical and multi-scale structural properties among the major segments of aorta such as ascending aorta (AA), descending aorta (DA) and abdominal aorta (ABA), and established a relation between mechanical and multi-structural parameters. The obtained results showed significant increase in anisotropy and nonlinearity from proximal to distal aorta. The change in periphery length and radii between load and stress free configuration was also found increasing far from the heart. Opening angle was significantly large for ABA than AA and DA (AA/DA vs ABA; p = 0.001). Mean circumferential residual stretch (ratio of mean periphery length at load and stress free configurations) was found decreasing between AA and DA, and then increasing between DA to ABA and its value was significantly more for ABA (AA vs DA; p = 0.041, AA vs ABA; p = 0.001, DA vs ABA; p = 0.001). The waviness of collagen fibers, collagen fiber content, collagen fibril diameter and total protein content were found significantly increasing from proximal to distal. Pearson correlation test showed a significant linear correlation between variation in mechanical and multi-scale structural parameters over the aortic length. Residual stretch was found positively correlated with collagen fiber content (r = 0.82) whereas opening angel was found positively correlated with total protein content (TPC) (r = 0.76).

Equilibrium states for the massive Sine-Gordon theory in the Lorentzian signature

In this paper we investigate the massive Sine-Gordon model in the ultraviolet finite regime in thermal states over the two-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. We combine recently developed methods of perturbative algebraic quantum field theory with techniques developed in the realm of constructive quantum field theory over Euclidean spacetimes to construct the correlation functions of the equilibrium state of the Sine-Gordon theory in the adiabatic limit. First of all, the observables of the Sine-Gordon theory are seen as functionals over the free configurations and are obtained as a suitable combination of the S−matrices of the interaction Lagrangian restricted to compact spacetime regions over the free massive theory. These S−matrices are given as power series in the coupling constant with values in the algebra of fields over the free massive theory. Adapting techniques like conditioning and inverse conditioning to spacetimes with Lorentzian signature, we prove that these power series converge when evaluated on a generic field configuration. The latter observation implies convergence in the strong operator topology in the GNS representations of the considered states. In the second part of the paper, adapting the cluster expansion technique to the Lorentzian case, we prove that the correlation functions of the interacting equilibrium state at finite temperature (KMS state) can be constructed also in the adiabatic limit, where the interaction Lagrangian is supported everywhere in space.

Atmospheric Sulfuric Acid-Multi-Base New Particle Formation Revealed through Quantum Chemistry Enhanced by Machine Learning.

The formation of molecular clusters and secondary aerosols in the atmosphere has a significant impact on the climate. Studies typically focus on the new particle formation (NPF) of sulfuric acid (SA) with a single base molecule (e.g., dimethylamine or ammonia). In this work, we examine the combinations and synergy of several bases. Specifically, we used computational quantum chemistry to perform configurational sampling (CS) of (SA)0-4(base)0-4 clusters with five different types of bases: ammonia (AM), methylamine (MA), dimethylamine (DMA), trimethylamine (TMA), and ethylenediamine (EDA). Overall, we studied 316 different clusters. We used a traditional multilevel funnelling sampling approach augmented by a machine-learning (ML) step. The ML made the CS of these clusters possible by significantly enhancing the speed and quality of the search for the lowest free energy configurations. Subsequently, the cluster thermodynamics properties were evaluated at the DLPNO-CCSD(T0)/aug-cc-pVTZ//ωB97X-D/6-31++G(d,p) level of theory. The calculated binding free energies were used to evaluate the cluster stabilities for population dynamics simulations. The resultant SA-driven NPF rates and synergies of the studied bases are presented to show that DMA and EDA act as nucleators (although EDA becomes weak in large clusters), TMA acts as a catalyzer, and AM/MA is often overshadowed by strong bases.