Large Amplification Research Articles

Site effects in 3D basins using 1D and 2D models: an evaluation of the differences based on simulations of the seismic response of Euroseistest

Site effects are one of the most predictable factors of destructive earthquake ground motion but results depend on the type of model chosen. We compare simulations of ground motion for a 3D model of the Mygdonian basin in northern Greece (Euroseistest) using different approximation for this basin. Site effects predicted using simple 1D models at many points inside the basin are compared to site effects predicted using four different 2D cross sections across the basin and with results for a full 3D simulation. Surface topography was neglected but anelastic attenuation was included in the simulations. We show that lateral heterogeneity may increase ground motion amplification by 100 %. Larger amplification is distributed in a wide frequency range, and amplification may occur at frequencies different from the expected resonant frequencies for the soil column. In contrast, on a different cross section, smaller conversion of incident energy into surface waves and larger dispersion leads to similar amplitudes of ground motion for 2D and 1D models. In general, results from 2D simulations are similar to those from a complete 3D model. 2D models may overestimate local surface wave amplitudes, especially when the boundaries of the basin are oblique to the selected cross section. However, the differences between 2D and 3D site effects are small, especially in regard of the difficulties and uncertainties associated to building a reliable 3D model for a large basin.

Cortical Bone as a Biomimetic Model for the Design of New Composites

Composite materials are widely used to build structures for their great mechanical performance combined with a low weight. However, the relatively low toughness of some composite materials is often a limitation as it can cause sudden failure. At present, there is a need for new lightweight materials with a good combination of strength and toughness, to be used for a variety of structural applications. Strength and toughness are the key requirements for structural materials. However, they are often mutually exclusive. Examples of effective design solutions can be found in natural materials, showing an optimal strength-toughness balance. Such materials can be a good source of inspiration for the design of new smart materials, by following a biomimetic approach. Among natural materials, bone tissue is an intriguing one. Bone combines few meagre constituents, hydroxyapatite and collagen, as building blocks to build up a complex hierarchical structure, reaching remarkable mechanical properties and a large amplification in toughness not observed in synthetic counterparts. For this reason, bone can be considered as a biomimetic model material that many researchers have recently tried to mimic adopting different techniques. In this study, we take inspiration from bone to design and manufacture new FRC (fiber-reinforced composite) materials inspired by the microstructure of cortical bone, with the aim of mimicking some toughening mechanisms and improving the toughness of conventional composites. We focus on the microstructural level, since the fundamental toughening mechanisms occur at the microscale, and we mimic the main features involved in the fracture process in our new design. The choice of the key features to be mimicked in the biomimetic material design process is guided by a previous experimental campaign performed on bovine cortical bone. Here we describe the design of a new bio-inspired material and an experimental campaign to assess the mechanical performance and the failure modes. The results of the tests allow us to confirm the promising mechanical characteristics of such material, compared to our previous design solutions and to similar classic structural composites (e.g. laminates). Moreover, the failure modes show many similarities with some of the toughening mechanisms occurring in cortical bone, confirming the key role, played by the mimicked bone-inspired microstructural features, in determining and enhancing the fracture toughness of the composites.

Identification of Unbalanced Aberrations in the Genome of Equine Sarcoid Cells Using CGH Technique

Abstract Sarcoid is the most common skin cancer in horses. The etiology of the tumor is associated with BPV infection (BPV-1, -2, -13), which is an inducer of malignant transformation. The comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) technique identifying the unbalanced chromosome aberrations was used to analyze the genome of equine sarcoid cells and to diagnose the chromosome rearrangements involving large deletions or amplification. The results were based on the analysis of 100 metaphases and their karyograms as well as the diagram showing the average ratio of the intensity of the green to red fluorescence, using MetaSystems software (Isis). Based on a comparison of the fluorescence intensity ratios we found duplication in the subtelomeric regions of chromosome pairs 1, 4, 7, 8 and 23. Duplicated region of chromosome pair 1 also included the coding region of the rDNA. In the chromosome 23 next to the duplication occurring in the centromeric region of q arm (23q11) we also found the presence of deletions involving 23q18-23q19 region. For the chromosome pairs 25 to 31 and the X chromosome the software failed to generate CGH diagram, but on the individual karyograms we were able to observe fluorescence signals characteristic of duplication (red), in rDNA regions of chromosome pairs 28 and 31. The study showed that duplications of DNA present in the sarcoid cells are found mainly in the telomeric and rDNA regions. The presence of the duplication of telomeric regions is associated with increased activity of the telomerase enzyme, which is a hallmark of cancer cells, affecting the immortality of these cells. Accordingly, duplications of rDNA coding regions increase activity of nucleolar organizer region which is a tumor marker.

Halogen mediated voltammetric oxidation of biological thiols and disulfides.

The electrochemical generation of the halides, bromine and iodine, in the presence of biologically relevant organosulfur is demonstrated to result in an analytically useful response. In the case of the iodide/iodine redox couple only the thiol causes an increase in the electrochemical oxidative peak current. Conversely, the formed bromine may catalytically oxidise both thiols and disulfides. Hence, the differing reactivities of the halide ions readily allow discrimination between the closely related thiol and disulphide species. For all of the organosulfur species investigated (glutathione, cysteine and homocysteine) micromolar limits of detection are attainable. In the case of the bromine mediated oxidation this sensitivity at least partially arises from the large catalytic amplification, such that, for each disulphide molecule up to ten electrons may be transferred. Ultimately this bromine oxidation results in the formation of the sulfonate species. For the iodine mediated oxidation of the thiols the oxidation proceeds no further than to the formation of the associated disulfide.

Novel photoswitchable dielectric properties on nanomaterials of electronic core-shell γ-FeOx@Au@fullerosomes for GHz frequency applications.

We unexpectedly observed a large amplification of the dielectric properties associated with the photoswitching effect and the new unusual phenomenon of delayed photoinduced capacitor-like (i.e. electric polarization) behavior at the interface on samples of three-layered core-shell (γ-FeOx@AuNP)@[C60(>DPAF-C9)](n)2 nanoparticles (NPs) in frequencies of 0.5-4.0 GHz. The detected relative dielectric constant amplification was initiated upon switching off the light followed by relaxation to give an excellent recyclability. These NPs having e(-)-polarizable fullerosomic structures located at the outer layer were fabricated from highly magnetic core-shell γ-FeOx@AuNPs. Surface-stabilized 2 in a core-shell structure was found to be capable of photoinducing the surface plasmonic resonance (SPR) effect by white LED light. The accumulated SPR energy was subsequently transferred to the partially bilayered C60(>DPAF-C9) fullerosomic membrane layer in a near-field (∼1.5 nm) region without producing radiation heat. Since the monostatic SAR signal is dielectric property-dependent, we used these measurements to provide evidence of derived reflectivity changes on a surface coated with 2 at 0.5-4.0 GHz upon illumination of LED white light. We found that a high, >99%, efficiency of response amplification in image amplitude can be achieved.

Fluorescent aptamer-based assay for thrombin with large signal amplification using peroxidase mimetics

This article describes an aptamer-based thrombin assay using a hemin-based peroxidase mimetic for signal amplification. Thrombin is recognized by an immobilized primary aptamer (G1-quadruplex). The G1-quadruplex/hemin complex formed quenches the fluorescence of CdTe quantum dots (QDs) due to photoinduced electron transfer (PET). In the next step, thrombin is associated with a secondary aptamer (G2-quadruplex) consisting of Pt nanoparticles (NPs), G2-quadruplex and hemin to form a sandwich structure. Both the G1-quadruplex/hemin complex and the Pt NPs/G2-quadruplex/hemin complex associated with thrombin act as enzyme mimetics and catalyze the oxidation of hydroquinone by H2O2 to form 2-hydroxy-p-benzoquinone (HPB). The HPB produced quenches the fluorescence of the CdTe QDs via a PET and an inner filter effect, thus causing large signal amplification. The effects were exploited to design a highly sensitive and selective thrombin assay. Under optimized conditions, a linear fluorescence response is achieved in the 0.05 pmol·L−1 to 10 nmol·L−1 concentration range, with a lower detection limit of 15 fmol·L−1. This approach, in our perception, represents a promising platform for sensitive detection of biomolecules for which appropriate aptamers can be found.

Quantification of modification of ground motion due to urbanization in a 3D basin using viscoelastic finite-difference modelling

This paper presents the quantification of modification of ground motion due to urbanization in a 3D basin as compared to the free-field motion. The complex interaction effects of basin and city on the ground motion during an earthquake are termed as site–city interaction (SCI) effect in this paper. The cities were developed using 3D building blocks of sixteen-storey (city 1) and eight-storey (city 2) buildings. The analysis, in terms of ground motion perturbation and % reduction in average spectral amplification (ASA) and kinetic energy (KE) as compared to free-field motion, of the simulated responses of the various 3D basin-city models revealed very large role of basin shape, sediment layering, city shape, building type in the city and city density in the SCI effects on the free-field motion. The first spectral amplification peak frequency at the top of the buildings corroborates with the combined fundamental frequency of the building block and sediment deposit in basin. The obtained very large amplification of the order of 49 at the top of a single B8 building may be due to the closeness of the fundamental frequency of the combined basin-building system with the fundamental frequency of the basin and the dominant frequency in the input signal. This was also responsible for the larger % reduction in ASA and KE in city 2 (B8 buildings) as compared to the city 1 (B16 buildings). Based on the analysis of the obtained results, it is concluded that if a city is developed considering into account the building type, city shape and city density as per the basin shape and sediment parameters can be highly beneficial in reducing the earthquake disaster.

Impedance matching of inverted conductors: Two-dimensional beam splitters with divergent gain

A thin conducting sheet - graphene, for example - transmits, absorbs, and reflects radiation. A sheet that is very thin, even vanishingly so, can still produce 50% absorption at normal incidence if it has conductivity corresponding to half the impedance of free space. We find that, regardless of the sheet conductivity, there exists a combination of polarization and angle of incidence that achieves this impedance half-matching condition. If the conducting medium can be inverted, the conductivity is formally negative and the sheet amplifies the incident radiation. To the extent that a negative half-match in a thin sheet can be maintained, enormous single-pass gain in both transmission and reflection is possible. Known semiconductors (e.g., gallium nitride) have the optical properties necessary to give large amplification in a structure that is, remarkably, both thin and nonresonant.

A simplified wave enhancement criterion for moving extreme events

AbstractAn analytical model is derived to efficiently describe the wave energy distribution along the main transects of a moving extreme weather event. The model essentially builds on a generalization of the self‐similar wave growth model and the assumption of a strongly dominant single spectral mode in a given quadrant of the storm. The criterion to anticipate wave enhancement with the generation of trapped abnormal waves defined as , with , , and , radial distance, average sustained wind speed, and translation velocity, respectively. Constants and follow the fetch‐law definitions. If forced during a sufficient time scale interval, also defined from this generalized self‐similar wave growth model, waves can be trapped and large amplification of the wave energy will occur in the front‐right storm quadrant. Remarkably, the group velocity and corresponding wavelength of outrunning wave systems will become wind speed independent and solely related to the translating velocity. The resulting significant wave height also only weakly depends on wind speed, and more strongly on the translation velocity. Compared to altimeter satellite measurements, the proposed analytical solutions for the wave energy distribution demonstrate convincing agreement. As analytically developed, the wave enhancement criterion can provide a rapid evaluation to document the general characteristics of each storm, especially the expected wavefield asymmetry.

Large parametric amplification in an optomechanical system

In a Fabry–Perot cavity optomechanical system the mechanical mode can be excited by placing the laser at the blue sideband of the cavity resonance. As soon as the optical driving force overcomes the mechanical losses, self-induced oscillations start to occur. When trying to achieve large parametric amplification in most experiments these self-induced oscillations cross over into chaotic motion due to secondary effects such as heating of the mirror by optical absorption. Here we demonstrate an optomechanical system in which the amplitude of mechanical mode can be greatly amplified due to the use of a low-absorption Bragg mirror on the mechanical oscillator. By scanning the laser across the optical cavity resonance and analyzing the optical output, we demonstrate that we can amplify the mechanical mode to an amplitude 450 times larger than the thermal amplitude at 300 K, without any appearance of unstable or chaotic motion.

JET and COMPASS asymmetrical disruptions

Asymmetrical disruptions may occur during ITER operation and they may be accompanied by large sideways forces and rotation of the asymmetry. This is of particular concern because resonance of the rotating asymmetry with the natural frequencies of the vacuum vessel (and other in-vessel components) could lead to large dynamic amplification of the forces. A significant fraction of non-mitigated JET disruptions have toroidally asymmetric currents that flow partially inside the plasma and partially inside the surrounding vacuum vessel (‘wall’). The toroidal asymmetries (otherwise known as the appearance of 3D structures) are clearly visible in the plasma current (Ip) and the first plasma current moments. For the first time we present here the asymmetries in toroidal flux measured by the diamagnetic loops and also propose a physical interpretation. The presented data covers the period of JET operation with a C-wall (JET-C from 2005 until late 2009) and with an ITER-like wall (JET-ILW from 2011 until late 2014), during which pick-up coil and saddle loop data at four toroidally orthogonal locations were routinely recorded. The observed rotations of the Ip asymmetries are in the range from −5 turns to +10 turns (a negative value is counted to the negative plasma current). Initial observations on COMPASS of asymmetric disruptions are presented, which are in line with JET data. The whole of the JET-ILW disruption database and the limited number of COMPASS disruptions examined confirm that the development of the toroidal asymmetry precedes the drop to unity of q95. It is shown that massive gas injection (MGI), which is routinely used to mitigate disruptions, significantly reduces the Ip asymmetries in JET. However, MGI produces fast plasma current quench and consequently high vessel eddy currents, which expose the machine to additional stresses. The effect of the large gas quantity used during the injection is of particular concern as well.

Whole-Genome Resequencing Reveals Extensive Natural Variation in the Model Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

We performed whole-genome resequencing of 12 field isolates and eight commonly studied laboratory strains of the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to characterize genomic diversity and provide a resource for studies of natural variation. Our data support previous observations that Chlamydomonas is among the most diverse eukaryotic species. Nucleotide diversity is ∼3% and is geographically structured in North America with some evidence of admixture among sampling locales. Examination of predicted loss-of-function mutations in field isolates indicates conservation of genes associated with core cellular functions, while genes in large gene families and poorly characterized genes show a greater incidence of major effect mutations. De novo assembly of unmapped reads recovered genes in the field isolates that are absent from the CC-503 assembly. The laboratory reference strains show a genomic pattern of polymorphism consistent with their origin as the recombinant progeny of a diploid zygospore. Large duplications or amplifications are a prominent feature of laboratory strains and appear to have originated under laboratory culture. Extensive natural variation offers a new source of genetic diversity for studies of Chlamydomonas, including naturally occurring alleles that may prove useful in studies of gene function and the dissection of quantitative genetic traits.

Analytical solutions for algebraic growth of disturbances in a stably stratified shear flow

We investigate analytically the short-time response of disturbances in a density-varying Couette flow without viscous and diffusive effects. The complete inviscid problem is also solved as an initial value problem with a density perturbation. We show that the kinetic energy of the disturbances grows algebraically at early times, contrary to the well-known algebraic decay at time tending to infinity. This growth can persist for arbitrarily long times in response to sharp enough initial perturbations. The simplest in our three-stage study is a model problem forced by a buoyancy perturbation in the absence of background stratification. A linear growth with time is obtained in the vertical velocity component. This model provides an analogy between the transient mechanism of kinetic energy growth in a two-dimensional density-varying flow and the lift-up mechanism of the three-dimensional constant density flow. Next we consider weak stable background stratification. Interestingly, the lowest order solution here is the same as that of the model flow. Our final study shows that a strong background stratification results in a sub-linear growth with time of the perturbation. A framework is thus presented where two-dimensional streamwise disturbances can lead to large transient amplification, unlike in constant density flow where three dimensions are required.

Computational wind engineering of large umbrella structures

The sensitivity of membrane structures to transient wind loads becomes severe at wide spans and low pre-stress levels of the membrane. At stationary wind loads, the elastic behaviour of the flexible membrane leads to deformations with an associated change of the flow conditions and wind pressure distributions. This effect can be enhanced by time dependant fluid fluctuations such as atmospheric or building induced turbulences. Common methods in wind engineering practise like small scale wind tunnel experiments do not fully cover non-linear structural behaviour, contact interaction between membrane and structural elements and the interaction of the flow field with the structural response. Therefore numerical tools are used for the structural design of lightweight membranes. This paper presents results of the first industrial application of the fully coupled fluid structure interaction simulation for aerodynamically sensitive membrane structures situated in a built environment. The dynamic behaviour for gust induced wind loads has been investigated and reaction forces were determined. The application of the fully computational wind engineering method, in time domain, allowing as well for non-linear structural effects as for fluid structure interaction effects, makes the discovery of large dynamic amplification factors possible. The described procedure and results were reviewed and approved by Buro Happold, one of the world leading structural engineering offices.

Synthesis of Photoswitchable Magnetic Au-Fullerosome Hybrid Nanomaterials for Permittivity Enhancement Applications.

We designed and synthesized several nanomaterials 3 of three-layered core-shell (γ-FeOx@AuNP)@[C60(>DPAF-C9)1or2]n nanoparticles (NPs). These NPs having e−-polarizable fullerosome structures located at the outer layer were fabricated from highly magnetic core-shell γ-FeOx@AuNPs. Fullerosomic polarization of 3 was found to be capable of causing a large amplification of material permittivity that is also associated with the photoswitching effect in the frequency range of 0.5‒4.0 GHz. Multilayered synthetic construction allows Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) of photoinduced accumulative surface plasmon resonance (SPR) energy in the gold layer to the partially bilayered C60(>DPAF-C9)1or2-derived fullerosome membrane shell layer in a near-field of direct contact without producing radiation heat, which is commonly associated with SPR.

PRODUCING MAGNETAR MAGNETIC FIELDS IN THE MERGER OF BINARY NEUTRON STARS

The merger of binary neutron stars (BNSs) can lead to large amplifications of the magnetic field due to the development of turbulence and instabilities in the fluid, such as the Kelvin-Helmholtz shear instability, which drive small-scale dynamo activity. In order to properly resolve such instabilities and obtain the correct magnetic field amplification, one would need to employ resolutions that are currently unfeasible in global general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations of BNS mergers. Here, we present a subgrid model that allows global simulations to take into account the small-scale amplification of the magnetic field which is caused by the development of turbulence during BNS mergers. Assuming dynamo saturation, we show that magnetar-level fields ($\sim 10^{16}\,{\rm G}$) can be easily reached, and should therefore be expected from the merger of magnetized BNSs. The total magnetic energy can reach values up to $\sim 10^{51}\,{\rm erg}$ and the post-merger remnant can therefore emit strong electromagnetic signals and possibly produce short gamma-ray bursts.

Dynamic behaviors of conventional SCR and lazy-wave SCR for FPSOs in deepwater

The general and detailed structural/dynamic performances of steel catenary risers (SCRs) and lazy-wave steel catenary risers (LWSCRs) are directly compared under the same storm and floater (deepwater turret-moored FPSO) conditions. Their global performances are simulated by using the hull/mooring/riser fully-coupled dynamic analysis program developed by authors. This study proves that conventional SCRs connected to the FPSO hull exhibit significant dynamic responses and negative tensions, which may induce large structural stress amplification, local dynamic buckling, and serious fatigue damage at the members nearby TD (touch-down) region. The generation, propagation, and decay of the elastic waves generated by the temporal dynamic buckling are investigated in detail. On the other hand, LWSCRs can eliminate the local dynamic buckling for the same floater/storm condition and significantly reduce the stress level and fatigue damage near TDZ (touch-down zone) due to the motion isolation effect. It is because the modified shape with intermediate sag and arch portions can effectively isolate and absorb the downward riser motion. Therefore, LWSCRs can effectively be used for FPSO under very harsh environmental conditions. Despite the big advantage in dynamic characteristics, LWSCR is generally more expensive, more difficult to design, and may have slugging problem for internal flows.

A new piezo-driven microgripper based on the double-rocker mechanism

This paper reports the design and modelling of a new piezo-driven microgripper with large output displacements. The design of the microgripper is based on the double-rocker mechanism and the parallelogram mechanism. The microgripper can produce a large output displacement and a parallel movement of the gripper tips. Theoretical models for the microgripper are derived using the pseudorigid-body-model method. Through several finite-element analysis simulations, the optimal geometric parameters of the microgripper are obtained, and the theoretical models are evaluated and verified. The performance of the proposed microgripper is demonstrated by several experiments, and a micromanipulation case is presented. The experimental results indicate that the microgripper with the double-rocker mechanism has a large output displacement of 213.9 μm and a large amplification ratio of 21.4. The microgripper is capable of multiscale micromanipulation.

Decreased water limitation under elevated CO2 amplifies potential for forest carbon sinks

Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations and changing rainfall regimes are creating novel environments for plant communities around the world. The resulting changes in plant productivity and allocation among tissues will have significant impacts on forest carbon storage and the global carbon cycle, yet these effects may depend on mechanisms not included in global models. Here we focus on the role of individual-level competition for water and light in forest carbon allocation and storage across rainfall regimes. We find that the complexity of plant responses to rainfall regimes in experiments can be explained by individual-based competition for water and light within a continuously varying soil moisture environment. Further, we find that elevated CO2 leads to large amplifications of carbon storage when it alleviates competition for water by incentivizing competitive plants to divert carbon from short-lived fine roots to long-lived woody biomass. Overall, we find that plant dependence on rainfall regimes and plant responses to added CO2 are complex, but understandable. The insights developed here will serve as an important foundation as we work to predict the responses of plants to the full, multidimensional reality of climate change, which involves not only changes in rainfall and CO2 but also changes in temperature, nutrient availability, and disturbance rates, among others.

Sharp focusing of laser beams in anisotropic uniaxial crystals

This paper discusses the sharp focusing of homogeneously polarized laser beams in a uniaxial crystal. It is shown analytically and numerically that, when homogeneously polarized radiation is sharply focused along the axis of a crystal, two foci are formed, corresponding to the ordinary and extraordinary rays. The introduction of a vortex phase into the incident beam results in the formation of zero intensity at the center of the focus of the ordinary rays and a longitudinal electric-field component at the center of the focus of the extraordinary rays. The contribution of the longitudinal component is greater, the sharper the focusing. With circular polarization, larger amplification of the longitudinal component is observed, and its intensity becomes comparable with that of the transverse components. This results in the formation of a focus of the extraordinary rays with a flat vertex.