Interface Research Articles

Dual-edged sword effects of sulfation/hydration on Ce-doped TiO2(001) single-atom catalyst for NH3-SCR reaction: A first-principles study

SO2/H2O-resistance remains challenges for selective catalytic reduction with NH3 (NH3-SCR). The detailed promotion and/or inhibition effects of sulfation/hydration on cerium-titanium (CT) catalysts for NH3-SCR are still controversial. Herein, a series of adsorption characteristics, bonding strengths, electronic effects, and reaction pathways were performed by first-principles density functional theory calculations to explore the structure-performance/resistance of CT catalysts and unravel the effects of sulfation/hydration for NH3-SCR. We constructed six CT catalyst structures based on three TiO2 facets [(001)/(101)/(100)] and two surface configurations [single-atom (SA)/interface (IF)]. CT(001)-SA could protect the active Ce site from sulfation/hydration with TiO2(001) as SO2/H2O-trapping site, which was the optimal SO2/H2O-resistant structure among six CT catalyst structures. An electron-deficient state of CT(001)-SA was caused by sulfation/hydration through electron capture behavior. From the perspective of reactants adsorption, this electron-deficient state not only promoted the NH3/NO adsorption but also suppressed the secondary sulfation/hydration. As for NH3-SCR pathways, hydration promoted NH3 dissociation, N-N coupling, and N-O breaking, but inhibited the H1 transfer (rate-determining step). Sulfation impaired the redox ability of Ce site, promoted H1 transfer and N-O breaking, but inhibited the NH3 dissociation, N-N coupling, and H2 transfer (rate-determining step). Hence, sulfation/hydration exhibited “dual-edged sword” effects for NH3-SCR on CT(001)-SA via electronic effects.

Improving the performance of steel aluminum resistance spot welding joints based on steel coating design

The surface coating of steel significantly impacts intermetallic compounds (IMC) distribution and the performance of steel aluminum resistance spot welding (RSW) joints. In this paper, four sheets of steel with different surface coating were individually designed for welding with aluminum alloy. The results showed that the welded steel with coating performs better than that of Bare plate, while the welded steel with galvannealed (GA) coating has better performance than galvanized (GI) coating. The joints with GA coating failed in button pullout (PF) under tensile shear tests, while others failed in an interface (IF). The reason can be that the surface alloying zinc plating helps improve the combination reaction of Fe and Al, and the Zn will undergo a ternary combination reaction with Fe and Al to form a new compound containing Zn. The presence of the Zn layer can promote the interfacial reaction between steel and aluminum, and the welded joint performance reduces the impact of oxide film, even when the coating is thicker than 10 μm.

The Inter Face of Social Media Recruitment and Nursing Education Research.

This study describes using social media in recruiting a large and hard-to-reach national sample of family nurse practitioner students in the United States enrolled in their final clinical course and the impact on survey response targets. Social media recruitment was initiated when sample targets were not met using traditional, direct email invitations. A cross-sectional, observational, complex-samples survey design was used to collect data from students enrolled in accredited programs. When inviting participants via emails to schools of nursing and program administrators was only moderately successful, direct recruitment via social media sites was used. Targeted study advertisements were shown 602 389 times to 77 410 unique Facebook users over 14 months. In the final sample of 3940 study participants, 46% (n = 1811) were recruited through social media. Survey responses for health education research are typically 50% or less of the target. Using Facebook was successful for recruiting a large, geographically disperse and representative student sample necessary to ensure findings were representative and generalizable. This recruitment strategy could be effectively used for a myriad of research in areas where social media use exists to gain access to participants who might otherwise not be accessible.

Wire arc additive manufacturing of functionally graded material with SS 316L and IN625: Microstructural and mechanical perspectives

In the present study, functionally graded material (FGM) of Austenitic Stainless Steel-SS 316L and Nickel-based superalloy-Inconel 625 (IN625) was manufactured via Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) based Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). WAAM processed FGM was well-formed without any defects and solidification cracking was not observed at the bi-metallic interface (IF) region. Microstructural features show a sharp transition at the IF with a discontinued dendritic structure. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) examination confirmed the fine dissolution of elements at the IF and no major difference in the composition was observed. Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) maps confirmed that the grains are dominantly columnar while the IF revealed the smooth crystallographic growth along with large elongated dendrites in the< 001 >direction. The microstructure was mainly austenitic in the SS 316L layers with a lower fraction of ferrite while precipitates were noticed in the IN625 layers within the austenitic matrix. Yield strength (YS) and tensile strength (UTS) of SS 316L and IN625 were comparable with wrought ones. All the IF samples at 90° failed in the SS 316L region because of the lower UTS in comparison to IN625 and the mode of fracture was ductile. Microhardness measurements depicted the gradual change of hardness along the building direction. The present work highlights the potential of WAAM to fabricate FGM with required properties and is a viable manufacturing alternative to the traditional manufacturing techniques for producingFGM’s.

Optical phonon limited electron mobility in ZnO nanowires wrapped by MgZnO shells

MgxZn1−xO shells are commonly used as a passivation barrier for improving electron mobility in ZnO nanowires by preventing electrons from charged surfaces. However, a high Mg mole fraction x instead makes lower electron mobility, which is usually attributed to the appearance of mixed-phase MgxZn1−xO as x increases. This work aims to find the optimal x for optical phonon limited electron mobility by considering the phase transformation in the MgZnO shell from wurtzite to rock salt, leading to a mixed-phase range of x. Our calculations show that the electron mobility μT can be effectively enhanced by keeping x below 0.057 when confined (CO1) optical phonons are only permitted for small wave vectors, and there is no interface (IF) optical phonon. Once x gets over 0.057, the propagating optical phonons are transformed into IF ones while CO1 phonons become permitted for all wave vectors resulting in a largely strengthened scattering effect and thus a drastic drop in the total electron mobility μT from 1215 to 310 cm2/V s. From then, μT begins to fall slowly as x increases even when the rock salt component in the shell appears to take the place of the wurtzite part, while the scattering from CO1 optical phonons remains primary. Furthermore, the enlarging core radius can weaken the electron–CO1 phonon interaction to enhance mobility.

Microstructure and phase constitution at the interface of double-sided electron beam welded Cu/Al clad metal sheet

The microstructure of the interfa ce zone is the most important factor to determine the properties of the Cu/Al clad metal sheet joint. The composition distribution and phase constitution at the interface of the double-sided electron beam welding (DSEBW) joint of 6.5 mm thick Cu (1.5 mm)/Al (5 mm) clad metal sheet were revealed by means of technologies of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was confirmed that there formed a distinct transition zone with a length of about 5.8 mm at the interface, and it consisted of a thin layer of IMC and a large area eutectic structures. Moreover, the thickness distribution of IMC layer in the center and edges of the interface zone was nonuniform, and gradually decreased from the center (7.5 μm) to the edges (1.5 μm and 2.6 μm) by means of SEM and EBSD. Furthermore, the eutectic structure performed the superior laminar, and the grey IMC dispersed in Al-rich dendrites inside the eutectic structure. In addition, the interface zone mainly consisted of two slices, including Cu/IMC interface (Interfaces I and III) and IMC/eutectic structure interface (Interfaces II and IV). For interfaces I and III, this IMC was Al2Cu, and there was no other IMCs between Cu and Al2Cu IMC by means of TEM; For interfaces II and IV, the eutectic structure was composed of Al2Cu and α-Al, while there was also no other IMCs between Al2Cu IMC and (Al2Cu + α-Al) eutectic structure. In short, the microstructure characterizations at the whole interface of the DSEBW joint were Al2Cu IMC and (Al2Cu + α-Al) eutectic structure.

Coagulation assay discrepancies in Japanese patients with non-severe hemophilia A.

Patients with non-severe hemophilia A often show discrepancies in factor VIII (FVIII) activity. However, information on variant-specific coagulation assay characteristics in Japanese patients is limited. Pathogenic variants were classified into three groups, thrombin-cleavage site (TC), A1-A2-A3 interface (IF), and non-discrepant, with reference to previous studies. Cutoff values for the one-stage assay (OSA)/chromogenic substrate assay (CSA) ratio, which is suitable for distinguishing discrepancies, were determined for all five aPTT reagents. TGA and CWA parameters and bleeding scores were compared between groups. Two of the 39 patients with non-severe hemophilia A (5%) were classified as TC, 10 (26%) as IF, and 27 (69%) as non-discrepant. The OSA/CSA cutoff values between the groups varied widely by aPTT reagent and tended to be relatively low compared to previous studies. As an indicator of bleeding tendency, TGA had a low correlation coefficient for the IF variant, but this was not significant and was comparable to FVIII activity and CWA. Moreover, various parameters and bleeding tendency differed among patients with the same variants. Thus, our findings suggest that it is difficult to adequately assess the bleeding tendency of individual patients, even with the various assessments currently available.

A política de contratação de professores temporários na rede municipal de ensino de Cametá (Pará, Brasil, 2013-2020)

Objetiva-se analisar a política de contratação de professores temporários na rede municipal de ensino de Cametá durante as duas últimas gestões municipais (2013–2020). O foco central da pesquisa é a investigação das interfaces entre disputa pelo poder político local (municipal) e a gestão educacional. Trata-se de um estudo de caso em abordagem qualitativa, tendo como procedimentos de coleta de dados análise documental, entrevistas, observação participante e aplicação de questionário fechado (survey). Nosso referencial teórico pautou-se em pressupostos da antropologia da política, tendo o conceito clientelismo como categoria analítica central, bem como ancorou-se em literatura que privilegia estudos realizados a partir do município. Os resultados indicam que a prática de contratação de professores temporários em Cametá incide majoritariamente em escolas da zona rural, sendo pautada em relações de natureza clientelista envolvendo diversos atores, sobretudo vereadores, professores temporários e diretores de escola. Ademais, observou-se a precarização do trabalho docente dos temporários, com atrasos salariais recorrenetes e meses trabalhados sem receber, sendo a atuação do ministério público insuficiente diante de um cenário de inobservância do arcabouço legal que regula o magistério.

Argumentation, Ideology and Discourse in Evolving Specialized Communication

In the digital age, the transformation process of information into ‘knowledge’ is characterized by hyper-connected communities, where a potentially infinite amount of information is ubiquitously accessible to individuals or community users and is instrumental in the creation of shared knowledge, but also in building consensus across community participants, societal membership and grouping, through the argumentative ideological representation of assumptions, values and practices. This Special Issue of “Lingue e Linguaggi” on the theme Argumentation, Ideology and Discourse in Evolving Specialized Communication explores the interface between these three dimensions and combines an array of perspectives into a distinctly unified volume, offering synchronic, diachronic, comparative, interlinguistic and intercultural approaches over a range of specialized knowledge domains. The volume integrates quantitative and qualitative approaches, making use of Corpus Linguistics, alongside other methods incorporated in theoretical approaches such as Critical Discourse Analysis, Appraisal Theory and Argumentation Theory, focusing on the pragma-linguistic features of different texts and genres, together with their ideological purposes for different audiences in various contexts of use. The collection of essays investigates argumentative styles and patterning along with the discursive socio-construction of ideology in the dynamics of recontextualization, rescripting and remediation which affect the multi-faceted nature of contemporary communication.

A nonlinear interface structural damage model between ice crystal and frozen clay soil

A nonlinear interface structural damage model between ice crystal and frozen clay soil

Sandstone-concrete interface transition zone (ITZ) damage and debonding micromechanisms under freeze-thaw

Sandstone-concrete interface transition zone (ITZ) damage and debonding micromechanisms under freeze-thaw

Improved Prediction of Transmix Processes Occurring at the Interface between Batches of Fuels Consecutively Transported in Collapsible Pipelines

Improved Prediction of Transmix Processes Occurring at the Interface between Batches of Fuels Consecutively Transported in Collapsible Pipelines

Aerosol drug delivery to tracheotomized patients with COVID-19: Pragmatic suggestions for clinicians.

Because of the wide and rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the number of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly increased medically complex and resource-intensive treatment requirements in health care settings. Although tracheostomy is frequently needed for critically ill patients requiring extended mechanical ventilation, it has been described as an aerosol-generating procedure that puts health care professionals at an increased risk of viral transmission. In addition, the delivery of aerosolized medications to this patient population has become controversial because of concerns on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via droplets. Although aerosol therapy in spontaneously breathing patients with COVID-19 was described in recent publications, innovations in aerosol drug delivery to COVID-19 patients with tracheostomy have not been presented. Therefore, empirically based guidance on how to deliver aerosols safely and effectively to tracheotomized patients with COVID-19 is still lacking. This paper provides recommendations and rationales for device selection, interface selection, delivery techniques, and infection control based on the evolving body of literature.

모바일 게임 인터페이스 레이아웃 특성이 사용자의 구매 의도에 미치는 영향

모바일 게임 인터페이스 레이아웃 특성이 사용자의 구매 의도에 미치는 영향

Development of Educational Learning Tool Combining Interface Applications and AI Subjects

Development of Educational Learning Tool Combining Interface Applications and AI Subjects

On the Evaluation and Implementation of LSTM Model for Speech Emotion Recognition using MFCC

Speech Emotion Recognition is an emerging research field and is expected to benefit many application domains by providing effective Human Computer Interface. Researchers are extensively working towards decoding of human emotions through speech signal in order to achieve effective interface and smart response by computers. The perfection of speech emotion recognition greatly depends upon the types of features used and also on the classifier employed for recognition. The contribution of this paper is to evaluate twelve different Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks models as classifier based on Mel-Frequency Cepstrum Coefficients (MFCC) feature. The paper presents performance evaluation in terms of important parameters such as: precision, recall, F-measure and accuracy for four emotions like happy, neutral, sad and angry using the emotional speech databases namely Ryerson Audio-Visual Database of Emotional Speech and Song (RAVDESS). The measurement accuracy obtained is 89% which is 9.5% more than reported in recent literature. The suitable LSTM model is further successfully implemented on Raspberry PI board creating standalone Speech Emotion Recognition system.

An acoustic Doppler-based silent speech interface technology using generative adversarial networks

An acoustic Doppler-based silent speech interface technology using generative adversarial networks

Technology Development for Non-Contact Interface of Multi-Region Classifier based on Context-Aware

Technology Development for Non-Contact Interface of Multi-Region Classifier based on Context-Aware

Research on interface performance of anionic/zwitterionic surfactant compound system

Research on interface performance of anionic/zwitterionic surfactant compound system

Aluminum beam reinforced by externally bonded composite materials

A recently popular method for retrofitting reinforced structure beams is to bond composite plates to their tensile faces. An important failure mode of such plated beams is the debonding of the composite plates from the base material of the beam due to high level of stress concentration in the adhesive at the ends of the composite plate. This paper, shows and presents in more detail a closed-form rigorous solution for interfacial stress in cantilever aluminum beams strengthened with bonded composite (sika wrap) plates and subjected to a uniformly distributed load. The results show that there exists a high concentration of both shear and normal stress at the ends of the laminate, which might result in premature failure of the strengthening scheme at these locations. A parametric study has been conducted to investigate the sensitivity of interface behavior to parameters such as laminate and adhesive stiffness, the thickness of the laminate; the effect on plate length of the strengthened cantilever beam region, the effect of adhesive (modules, thickness) and the effect of loading and geometry for the cantilever beam; where all were found to have a marked effect on the magnitude of maximum shear and normal stress in the composite member. The theoretical predictions are compared with other existing solutions. Finally, this research is helpful for the understanding on mechanical behaviour of the interface and design of the composite-aluminum hybrid structures.