Interconnect Channels Research Articles

Release of human growth hormone from an in-situ implant modulated by poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether and tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane

A patient-friendly delivery system to release human growth hormone (hGH) is very desirable. In situ forming implant systems (ISIs) can provide a long acting and effective protein delivery. In these systems, solvents and additives play major roles in drug release. In this study, four groups of PLGA-based ISIs containing hGH were prepared in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) and poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEG-DME) as solvents with and without tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane (Tris) as stabilizer. Several analyses were used to investigate the implants, which include release profile, viscosity, contact angle, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hGH and IGF-1 serum measurements and histopathology. In in vitro release experiments, the hGH cumulative release from PEG-DME system was twice that from NMP system during 14 days, and hGH release was tripled in the presence of Tris. With the addition of Tris to the ISIs containing PEG-DME, the water penetration, interconnectivity of pores and inner channels, surface pores and hydrophilicity were increased. Moreover, the effect of Tris on the hGH stabilization synergized its positive effects and increased the hGH final cumulative release. Results of the ISIs containing PEG-DME and Tris injection in rabbits demonstrated a reduced tissue inflammation. Moreover, the 14-days serum levels of the hGH and IGF-1 of this system in recipient rabbits were comparable to those of the commercial daily injection samples.

Immobilization of gelatin on the oxygen plasma-modified surface of polycaprolactone scaffolds with tunable pore structure for skin tissue engineering

In this study, polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds were fabricated via the freeze-casting method. Moreover, the surface of prepared constructs was modified using an oxygen plasma treatment technique for grafting the gelatin in order to improve physicochemical and biological properties. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) micrographs demonstrated interconnect and unidirectional pore channels. At the same time, the modification procedure showed slight effects on the lamellar microstructure of pores. Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy determined chemical characterization, which evaluates the effect of the surface treatment on the chemical structure of scaffolds. The wettability of the constructs was investigated by a water drop contact angle and swelling ratio tests. The results illustrated an increment in hydrophilicity after oxygen plasma modification, while the immobilization of gelatin enhanced more the potential of interaction with water molecules. Moreover, the increase in the biodegradation ratio was observed after modification. The in-vitro performance of constructs before and after gelatin immobilization was investigated bt the cell culture assay. Accordingly, modified scaffolds with gelatin support cell attachment and filopodia formation compared with the PCL ones. Besides, the biocompatibility of polymeric matrixes was proved by MTT assay. The results suggest that gelatin grafting on oxygen plasma modified PCL scaffold can be useful in wound healing.

Internet communication: architecture and typology of digital folklore

The paper discusses the interconnection of network architecture and channels of information transmission and storage in the process of the internet communication. The concept of digital folklore as compared to traditional folk culture is explained. Genre classification of digital folklore is introduced. The mechanisms of digital folklore functioning within different patterns of modern network architecture are analyzed. The idea of the research is introduced on the base of the comparative study. The article argues that the internet forms a special communicative environment that gives rise to innovative cultural and linguistic phenomena. It reflects users’ thoughts and ideas, expressed in the form of a text, synthesized with graphics, sound, and animation. The new communication medium contributes to the implementation of various language tools and stimulates users’ creativity. This way language becomes a tool for their creative personal expression. Particular attention is drawn to the evolution of folklore and its traditions in typological coverage. The focus is made on the communicative function of digital folklore, conditioned by special aspects of the internet medium.

Effects of macropore size in carbonate apatite honeycomb scaffolds on bone regeneration.

The pore architecture of scaffolds is a critical factor for angiogenesis and bone regeneration. Although the effects of scaffold macropore size have been investigated, most scaffolds feature macropores with poor uniformity and interconnectivity, and other parameters (e.g., microporosity, chemical composition, and strut thickness) differ among scaffolds. To clarify the threshold of effective macropore size, we fabricated honeycomb scaffolds (HCSs) with distinct macropore (i.e., channel) sizes (~100, ~200, and ~300μm). The HCSs were composed of AB-type carbonate apatite with ~8.5% carbonate ions, i.e., the same composition as human bone mineral. Their honeycomb architecture displayed uniformly sized and orderly arranged channels with extremely high interconnectivity, and all the HCSs displayed ~100-μm-thick struts and 0.06cm3g-1 of micropore volume. The compressive strengths of HCSs with ~100-, ~200-, and ~300-μm channels were higher than those of reported scaffolds, and decreased with increasing channel size: 62±6, 55±9, and 43±8MPa, respectively. At four weeks after implantation in rabbit femur bone defects, new bone and blood vessels were formed in all the channels of these HCSs. Notably, the ~300-μm channels were extensively occupied by new bone. We demonstrated that high interconnectivity and uniformity of channels can decrease the threshold of effective macropore size, enabling the scaffolds to maintain high mechanical properties and osteogenic ability and serve as implants for weight-bearing areas.

Environment-friendly Juncus effusus-based adsorbent with a three-dimensional network structure for highly efficient removal of dyes from wastewater

The increasing contamination of water from textile dyes is one of the major environmental problems facing humanity, which has stimulated extensive investigation of fabricating adsorbents with high removal efficiency and excellent adsorption capacity towards textile dyes. Nature has engineered some intriguing high-performance materials that may be excellent sustainable materials for water purification use. Herein, we report a novel Juncus effusus (JE)-based adsorbent with a three-dimensional network structure and interconnected channels for dye removal from wastewater. To further enhance its adsorption capacity towards textile dyes, the biodegradable chitosan (CS) was employed for the chemical modification of the JE fiber. The results showed that the CS–JE fibers exhibited a high adsorption capacity towards three types of anionic dyes at the temperature of 296 K: 526.3 mg g−1 for C.I. Acid Yellow 11 (AY11), 452.5 mg g−1 for C.I. Reactive Red 195 (RR195), and 255.1 mg g−1 for C.I. Direct Blue 15 (DB15), which outperforms most of the reported CS-modified adsorbents. The Langmuir model satisfactorily fitted the equilibrium adsorption curves of the CS–JE fibers. Throughout the kinetics studies, the adsorption fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model and exhibited a two-stage of intraparticle diffusion, indicating the adsorption of the investigated dyes onto the CS-JE fiber is rather complex that both the external surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion occurred simultaneously. Finally, taking advantage of the specific 3D network structure and interconnect channels of the CS-JE fiber, a vertically oriented CS–JE cake was fabricated using CS–JE fibers for continuous filtration of dyes from wastewater. The cake exhibited high flow flux and rapid filtration performance under continuous flow without requiring additional pressure. The present work confirmed that the CS-JE composite can be a promising candidate for wastewater treatment.

Research and Outlook on Northeast Asian Energy Interconnection

Northeast Asia is the most developed region in Asia with large energy demand, and plays an important role in the global economic development. Northeast Asia has been facing severe challenges in ensuring energy security, protecting the environment, and coping with climate change, because of their high dependency on fossil fuels and imports of oil from outside the region, and inverse distribution between energy resources and demand. In order to actively respond to climate change, promote the transition to low-carbon energy and sustainable development in the region, achieve the grand purpose of economic prosperity, social progress and ecological protection, this study is conducted with a focus on power grid interconnection in Northeast Asia. Based on the historical energy and power data in Northeast Asia, this paper studies the development trends of energy and power demand in future by combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Considering the distribution of clean energy bases, this paper proposes an energy interconnection scheme in Northeast Asia with high clear energy penetration scenario. To form the Asia-Europe energy interconnection, the construction of the Asia-Europe interconnection channels is briefly analyzed in this paper.

Climatic control on stacking and connectivity of fluvial successions: Upper Cretaceous Bajo Barreal Formation of the Golfo San Jorge basin, Patagonia

Abstract Climate impact on alluvial organization owing to its control on water availability and sediment delivery within the catchment, but temporal changes in stacking patterns are often interpreted to reflect changes in subsidence and base level. To test for evidence of climatic control on the stacking pattern, we study an outcrop succession with two styles of stacking within the Upper Cretaceous Bajo Barreal Formation in the Cerro Ballena anticline, Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina. The 385 m thick and 2.5 km wide exposure has layer-cake geometry, lacking either large-scale erosional surfaces, fluvial terraces, or evident paleosols, dismissing either local tectonic activity or base-levels shifts. Rooted in a paleohydrological study recognizing upward increasing in both channel width and flow depth of formative rivers, we use spectral gamma-ray logs, x-ray diffraction in mudstones, and sandstone petrography to understand the controls on the stacking pattern. At the base, Section A consists of small-scale, isolated channels fills in a siliciclastic floodplain with sand:mud ratio of ~1:6, whereas the overlying Section B has a sand-mud ratio of ~1:3, with larger-scale channels and greater inter-connectivity within a volcaniclastic floodplain. Upward reduction in K percentage through Section A parallel with increasing kaolinite content, and mudstone samples from Section B contains a higher proportion of kaolinite than Section A samples, evidencing an upward increase in paleo-weathering in humid conditions. Detrital components of Section A indicate several volcanic sources (e.g., basic-intermediate components derived from the Middle Jurassic Bahia Laura Group and acidic components sourced from the Andes Cordillera), whereas Section B exclusively contains acidic clasts derived from the Andes Cordillera. Simultaneous changes in detrital constituents, suspended load type, and increasing scale of the rivers in Section B occur coeval with increases in channel inter-connectivity, here related to the increase of river discharge and sediment supply in a humid climate, favoring more frequent avulsions or higher channel migration rates in a relatively flat geomorphic scenario. The study demonstrates, combining independent lines of evidence, that climate change can impact the stacking and connectivity of potential sandstone reservoirs.

Experience of Documentation for the Accessibility of Widespread Cultural Heritage

The will to preserve and enhance cultural heritage imposes reflections on databases as containers of information for the accessibility of dispersed heritage. The aim of the research is to validate methodological approaches in order to create 3D models and information systems. These tools improve accessibility to the artifact, according to different interconnection channels, in order to overcome the physical limit imposed by location. Tangible and intangible heritage take the form of a metadata network throughout a critical analysis and elaboration of data. These files create a complex database containing 3D models rich in information that describe cultural systems. The digital survey is the starting point for the development of languages, signs and symbols. It transfers complex objects into virtual systems, developing a multidimensional dialogue capable of integrating actions and meanings. The interactivity of complex databases facilitates the accessibility and disclosure of data to a wide audience. It requires the establishment of representation systems based on the development of virtual environments.

Advancing Principles and Strategies of Power Grid Interconnection in the Belt and Road

Promoting the “Belt and Road” grid interconnection and cross-border transmission channel construction is of great significance in optimizing the global energy governance structure, realizing complementary advantages and mutually beneficial cooperation with the countries along the route, assisting regional economic integration, and building a human destiny community. Based on an analysis of the status, future development trend and challenges of power grid interconnection in the B&R area, the basic principles and overall strategy for promoting transnational power grid interconnection in the B&R is proposed.

Resonance Attacks on Load Frequency Control of Smart Grids

Load frequency control (LFC) is widely employed to regulate power plants in modern power generation systems of smart grids. This paper presents a simple and yet powerful type of attacks, referred to as resonance attacks, on LFC power generation systems. Specifically, in a resonance attack, an adversary craftily modifies the input of a power plant according to a resonance source (e.g., rate of change of frequency) to produce a feedback on LFC power generation system, such that the state of the power plant quickly becomes instable. Extensive computer simulations on popular LFC power generation system models which consist of linear, non-linear, and/or high-order items clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed attacks. As the attack has very low computational cost and communication overhead, it is easy to launch in resource-limited devices such as intelligent electronic devices. In our simulations, the attacker keeps modified input within the normal operating range so as to invade plausibility and consistency based attack detection methods and yet the modifications can quickly drive the system beyond the admissible boundary. Another interesting finding is that by maliciously modifying the input such as power load and tie-line signal over multi-area interconnection channels, a multi-area LFC power generation system could become unreliable more quickly than a single-area system. Finally, we propose countermeasures on the proposed attacks.

Ortho-Mode Sub-THz Interconnect Channel for Planar Chip-to-Chip Communications

This paper presents for the first time the design, fabrication, and demonstration of a dielectric waveguide (DWG)-based ortho-mode sub-THz interconnect channel for planar chip-to-chip communications. By combining the proposed new transition of microstrip line with DWG orthogonally, the ortho-mode transition is constructed to form an ortho-mode channel. The measured minimum insertion losses for the $E_{y11}$ mode and the $E_{x11}$ mode are 6.6 dB with 20.3-GHz 3-dB bandwidth and 6.5 dB with 55.2-GHz 3-dB bandwidth, respectively. The simulation and measurement results agree well with each other.

A Porous Scaffold Design Method for Bone Tissue Engineering Using Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces

Among the various scaffold design methods, function-based modeling is of great interest due to its accurate controllability for designing pore architectures. Parameters, such as the pore size, pore shape, porosity, and channel interconnectivity, should be designed according to actual skeleton characteristics. To this, an effective modeling method of trabecular bone is proposed, combining triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) and fractal geometry. First, the surface morphology of real trabecular bone is obtained based on the binary processing of computed tomography images. Then, the fractal pore-making element using TPMS is built and constructed into a complex porous structure. Finally, the customized scaffold model is manufactured with an additive manufacturing method.

Amorphous nanosized silicon with hierarchically porous structure for high-performance lithium ion batteries

Silicon is a promising alternative anode material for high-performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high specific capacity. However, the practical application is still hampered by poor cycle and rate performance because of the tremendous volume expansions/contractions during the lithium ions insertions/extractions. Here we report a hierarchically porous silicon anode consisting of uniformly dispersed nanoparticles with amorphous structure that has been electrodeposited successfully on the copper foil and been utilized directly for LIBs. The typical size of silicon particle is ∼100–200nm, which is beneficial for the fast lithium ions diffusion in a short distance. The hierarchical pores with interconnect channels are easy for the electrolyte filling and ions transports, and can offer sufficient space for the volume expansions of silicon anode during lithium ions insertions. Furthermore, the amorphous feature of the silicon nanoparticles can effectively release the stress from the lithiation-induced large volume expansions and enhance the structure stability, which are beneficial for the long cycling lifetime. Combing the highly conductive copper substrate, the free-standing silicon anode shows high reversible capacity of 1200mA/g, excellent cycling stability (∼1000mAh/g for 230 cycles) and outstanding rate performance (1000 and 600 mAh/g at 300 and 2000mA/g, respectively). This study may pave a new way to develop silicon/copper composite materials as binder-free anodes for high-performance LIBs.

Comb-shaped guanidinium functionalized poly(ether sulfone)s for anion exchange membranes: Effects of the spacer types and lengths

A series of poly(ether sulfone)-based anion exchange membranes (AEMs), tethering with guanidinium side chains with different spacers, were synthesized via azide-alkyne cycloaddition, deprotection, and the subsequent ion exchange reactions. The designed polymer structures were verified by the 1H NMR spectra. Because of the appropriate water uptake and formation of interconnected ionic clusters, the GPES-3C with propyl spacer showed higher conductivity than the GPES-1C and GPES-9C, with methylene and nonyl spacers, respectively. Comparatively, the GPES-EO AEM with two ethylene oxide (EO) spacers exhibited even higher conductivity, these can be interpreted by interconnectivity of ionic channels and hydrophilicity nature of the EO spacer. Additionally, although the GPES membranes displayed sufficient thermal stability, the chemical stability of as-prepared materials needs to be much improved for fuel cell applications. Overall, these results demonstrated that the properties of “pendent-type” AEM can be tuned facilely by the spacer types and lengths. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 1313–1321

Ex Situ Investigation of Anisotropic Interconnection in Silicon-Titanium-Nickel Alloy Anode Material

Herein we investigate the nanostructural evolution of Silicon-Titanium-Nickel (Si-Ti-Ni) ternary alloy material synthesized by melt spinning process for advanced lithium-ion battery anode. The synthesized material was found to have nano-Silicon particles dispersed in the Ti4Ni4Si7 (STN) alloy buffering matrix and was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution- transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), Scanning transmission electron microscopes - energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (STEM-EDS), and electrochemical performance test. The role of STN matrix is to accommodate the volume expansion stresses of the dispersed Si nanoparticles. However, an interesting behavior was observed during cycling. The Si nanoparticles were observed to form interconnection channels growing through the weak STN matrix cracks and evolving to a network isolating the STN matrix into small puddles. This unique nanostructural evolution of Si particles and isolation of the STN matrix failing to offer significant buffering effect to the grown Si network eventually accelerates more volume expansions during cycling due to less mechanical confinement and leads to performance degradation and poor cycle stability.

Numerical simulation of flow distribution for external manifold design in solid oxide fuel cell stack

In this study, a three dimensional model is constructed to investigate the flow distributions and the pressure variations for a 40-cell solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to optimize the design parameters of external manifold in the stack. The model consists of equations for the network with chamber structure of manifold. Simulation results indicate that the flow uniformity strongly depends on geometric shapes of manifold, including the joined position between tube and manifold, the dimension of manifold and the number of tubes. The ratio of flow velocity which describes the uniformity of flow distribution can be decreased by optimizing the geometrical structure of manifolds. In addition, it is found that the flow distribution can be intensively influenced by the gas resistance of the stack, which is closely related to the configuration of interconnect channels. The results summarize the importance of structure design of external manifold for stack performance. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental measurement in a 40-cell stack.

On the expressiveness of π-calculus for encoding mobile ambients

We investigate the expressiveness of two classical distributed paradigms by defining the first encoding of the pure mobile ambient calculus into the synchronous π-calculus. Our encoding, whose correctness has been proved by relying on the notion of operational correspondence, shows how the hierarchical ambient structure can be reformulated within a flat channel interconnection amongst independent processes, without centralised control. To easily handle the computation for simulating a capability, we introduce the notions of simulating trace (representing the computation that a π-calculus process has to execute to mimic a capability) and of aborting trace (representing the computation that a π-calculus process executes when the simulation of a capability cannot succeed). Thus, the encoding may introduce loops, but, as it will be shown, the number of steps of any trace, therefore of any aborting trace, is limited, and the number of states of the transition system of the encoding processes still remains finite. In particular, an aborting trace makes a sort of backtracking, leaving the involved sub-processes in the same starting configurations. We also discuss two run-time support methods to make these loops harmless at execution time. Our work defines a relatively simple, direct, and precise translation that reproduces the ambient structure by means of channel links, and keeps track of the dissolving of an ambient.

The Numerical Analysis for a Crack in the Cathode Electrode Surface of Planar SOFC

The crack formation and propagation remain as major issues regarding the mechanical crack behavior of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), due to the thermomechanical mismatch and the porous nature of the SOFC components. The SOFC consisting of brittle ceramic materials can be damaged by the cracking due to high-temperature during the manufacturing and operation. The crack generated during the manufacturing were can cause the cell performance degradation during operation. For crack evaluation because the SOFC products the required power density through the stack considering the interconnector is required. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the vertical crack at the cathode electrode, and also the effects of the crack on the interconnect channel position in operation for the crack behavior and stress field.

Synthesis of 1D Polymer/Zeolite Nanocomposites under High Pressure

Recently, simple carbon based polymers have been synthesized at high pressures in silicalite, a pure SiO2 zeolite with a 3D system of mutually interconnected microchannels. These protocols permitted otherwise unstable polymers to be stabilized and protected from the atmosphere and to obtain an entirely novel class of nanocomposites with modified physical properties. In these 3-D systems, channel interconnection may prevent ideal, isolated polymer chains to be obtained. In this work, the high pressure (5–10 GPa) synthesis of two archetypal, linear polymers polyacetylene (PA) and polycarbonyl (pCO) in the 1D channel system of the pure SiO2 zeolite ZSM-22 (TON) has been performed. The two resulting nanocomposites PA/TON and pCO/TON are organic/inorganic composite materials, which are good candidates as highly directional semiconductors and high energy density materials, respectively. The synthesis was performed in diamond anvil cells, starting from dense C2H2 and CO, confined in ZSM-22, and the nanocomposite...

Microchannel structure of ceramic membranes for oxygen separation

Microchanneled ceramic membranes have demonstrated superior performance in oxygen separation from air over conventional membranes. In this study, the contributions of the microchannel structure to the superior performance were investigated. Compared with supported membranes, the microchanneled membranes provide fast pathways within the channels for gas diffusion as compared to the tortuous interconnection of pore channels in the supported membranes. The walls of the numerous channels provide a large surface for facilitating oxygen dissociation, which was confirmed by varying the channel wall surface using mesh templates with different aperture sizes. In summary, the microchannel structure facilitates gas diffusion and provides a large membrane active surface, resulting in high performance in oxygen separation.