Large Modifications Research Articles

High Pressure Effect on Structural and Electrochemical Properties of Anionic Redox-Based Lithium Transition Metal Oxides

Summary The richness of anionic redox chemistry in the solid state offers new opportunities and a possible paradigm shift in energy storage. The excess capacity that goes beyond conventional theoretical values is attributed to the anionic redox in Li-rich transition metal oxide cathodes for Li-ion batteries. Their electrochemical behavior is thermodynamically determined by structural evolution. To better understand the electrochemical dependence on structural factors, we have induced structural modifications in pristine and electrochemically activated Li1.144Ni0.136Co0.136Mn0.544O2 through high-pressure treatment. A unique cyclical change of structural reordering is observed in the anionic redox-activated material during operando pressure sweep, characterized by a periodic evolution of superlattice peak intensity in synchrotron X-ray diffraction patterns. During the structural reordering period, the bulk compressibility of the material decreases, even becoming negative. These insights elucidate the structural flexibility and metastability of anionic redox-based materials, which can undergo large compressions and structural modifications while delivering good electrochemical properties.

Effects of corner modifications on wind loads and local pressures on walls of tall buildings

In this study, the aerodynamic characteristics of tall buildings with corner modifications (e.g., local wind force coefficients, mean pressure distributions, normalized power spectrum density, and extreme local pressure) were examined. Wind tunnel experiments were conducted to measure the wind pressures on building models with different heights and recessed corners of different ratios. At a wind direction of a = 0° (i.e., wind blowing on the front of a building), corner modifications effectively reduced wind forces in all cases. Specifically, small corner modification ratios reduced wind forces more effectively than their larger counterparts. However, corner modifications resulted in extreme local pressure on building surfaces. In addition, for small corner modification ratios, the probability of extreme local pressure occurring at a = 0° was high. This probability was also high for large corner modification ratios at a = 15° (i.e., wind blowing slightly obliquely on the front of a building) because wind blowing obliquely creates substantial vortex shedding on one side surface and extreme negative pressure over one building side surface. Results of computational fluid dynamic modeling were adopted to determine details of the aerodynamic characteristics of tall buildings with corner modifications.

Non-Additive Cost Functions for JPEG Steganography Based on Block Boundary Maintenance

Recent advances show that a reasonable non-additive cost function can significantly improve the security level of additive cost based steganography. So far, there is only one principle, called block boundary continuity (BBC), that has been proposed to define the non-additive cost function for JPEG steganography, and it aims at synchronizing the modification direction of inter-block boundaries in the spatial domain. In this article, we found that JPEG steganography usually introduces more and larger modifications on the boundary than on the inside of each intra-block in the spatial domain, which is another important factor affecting security. Therefore, we present a new principle, called block boundary maintenance (BBM), to minimize the modifications on the spatial block boundaries. In theory, we deduce the BBM principle on how to modify a pair of DCT coefficients of the intra-block to reduce the modifications on the spatial block boundary. According to the BBM principle, we design a new strategy to define non-additive cost functions for JPEG steganography by exploiting the coefficient correlation of the intra-block in the DCT domain. The experimental results show that the BBM-based strategy can minimize modifications on the spatial block boundaries and thus achieve a high-security level when resisting modern JPEG steganalysis. Furthermore, the two principles of BBC and BBM can be fused to further improve the empirical security.

Некоторые особенности модификации поверхности ионными пучками очень большого размера

Ion beam surface modification is typically carried out in a laboratory environment where the processing rate is not a big concern. Nevertheless, it is interesting to consider the possibilities that might allow substantial increase (orders of magnitude) in the processing rate, possibly for industrial application. Here we consider two possible approaches to very large scale ion beam surface modification – the use of very broad beam vacuum arc ion sources and the use of ion sources that have been developed to provide intense neutral beams as part of the world controlled fusion research effort. These sources can provide beam intensities in the tens of amperes range, and quasi-dc operation has been demonstrated. A third possibility is scale-up of the Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation approach, and some relevant work has been done along these lines. These approaches to giant ion beam surface modification systems, and the implied parameters and features of such systems, as well as the highly related concern of the necessary accompanying electrical systems, are briefly considered here.

Application of magnetic nanomaterials in magnetic in-tube solid-phase microextraction

Development of magnetic nanomaterials has greatly promoted the innovation of in-tube solid-phase microextraction. This review article gives an insight into recent advances in the modifications and applications of magnetic nanomaterials for in-tube solid-phase microextraction. Also, different magnetic nanomaterials which have recently been utilized as in-tube solid-phase microextraction sorbents are classified. This study shows that magnetic nanomaterials have gained significant attention owing to large specific surface area, selective absorption, and surface modification. Magnetic in-tube solid-phase microextraction has been applied for the analysis of food samples, biological, and environmental. However, for full development of magnetic in-tube SPME, effort is still needed to overcome limitations, such as mechanical stability, selectivity and low extraction efficiency. To achieve these objectives, research on magnetic in-tube SPME is mainly focused in the preparation of new extractive phases.

Which Method is More Reliable in Performing Model Modification: Lasso Regularization or Lagrange Multiplier Test?

ABSTRACT Data-driven model modification plays an important role for a statistical methodology to advance the understanding of subjective matters. However, when the sample size is not sufficiently large model modification using the Lagrange multiplier (LM) test has been found not performing well due to capitalization on chance. With the recent development of lasso regression in statistical learning, lasso regularization for structural equation modeling (SEM) may seem to be a method that could avoid capitalizing on chance in finding an adequate model. But there is little evidence validating the goodness of lasso SEM. The purpose of this article is to examine the performance of lasso SEM by comparing it against the LM test, aiming to answer the following five questions: (1) Can we trust the results of lasso SEM for model modification? (2) Does the performance of lasso SEM depend more on the effect size or the absolute value of the parameter? (3) Does lasso SEM perform better than the widely used LM test for model modification? (4) Are lasso SEM and LM test affected by nonnormally distributed data in practice? and (5) Do lasso SEM and LM test perform better with robustly transformed data? By addressing these questions with real data, results indicate that lasso SEM is unable to deliver the expected promises, and it does not perform better than the LM test.

Hoop Stress Modification, Stress Hysteresis and Degradation of a REBCO Coil Due to the Screening Current Under External Magnetic Field Cycling

Degradation of a REBCO coil under external magnetic fields is one of the major technical problems in the field of HTS magnet technology. A possible cause of such degradation is an inhomogeneous hoop stress distribution, or hoop stress modification (both increase and decrease), induced by the screening current. In this work, we investigate such a hoop stress modification by a small coil experiment with a strain measurement and a numerical simulation. An experimental result shows a very high stress increase factor of >4.1, defined by the maximum circumferential stress over BzJR stress, and the simulated result is in qualitative agreements. The strain (stress) shows a hysteresis effect corresponding to the screening current behavior. A large hoop stress modification causes not only a hoop stress increase, but also buckling of the conductor, which induces delamination and micro-clacks of the superconducting layer. We also show the stress modification can be reduced by bonding turns with epoxy.

On-Target CRISPR/Cas9 Activity Can Cause Undesigned Large Deletion in Mouse Zygotes.

Genome engineering has been tremendously affected by the appearance of the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9)-based approach. Initially discovered as an adaptive immune system for prokaryotes, the method has rapidly evolved over the last decade, overtaking multiple technical challenges and scientific tasks and becoming one of the most effective, reliable, and easy-to-use technologies for precise genomic manipulations. Despite its undoubtable advantages, CRISPR/Cas9 technology cannot ensure absolute accuracy and predictability of genomic editing results. One of the major concerns, especially for clinical applications, is mutations resulting from error-prone repairs of CRISPR/Cas9-induced double-strand DNA breaks. In some cases, such error-prone repairs can cause unpredicted and unplanned large genomic modifications within the CRISPR/Cas9 on-target site. Here we describe the largest, to the best of our knowledge, undesigned on-target deletion with a size of ~293 kb that occurred after the cytoplasmic injection of CRISPR/Cas9 system components into mouse zygotes and speculate about its origin. We suppose that deletion occurred as a result of the truncation of one of the ends of a double-strand break during the repair.

Volume expansion of amorphous silicon electrodes during potentiostatic lithiation of Li-ion batteries

Large volume modifications during electrochemical cycling of electrodes in Li-ion batteries often limit successful applications due to stress formation, electrode fracture and delamination from the current collector. In this study, we carried out investigations on the volume changes taking place during potentiostatic lithiation of the high capacity electrode material amorphous silicon. Thin film electrodes were investigated at potentials of 0.45, 0.28, 0.19 und 0.06 V vs Li/Li+ during lithiation using in-operando neutron reflectometry. We found a strongly non-linear correlation between volume and state-of-charge for each potential applied in strong contrast to the results of galvanostatic lithiation. A possible explanation might be that for high current densities occurring at the beginning of each potentiostatic lithiation step free volumes are created in the electrode material leading to disproportionate volume expansion.

Correction of defective textures in packaged dry-cured pork ham by applying conventional and ultrasonically-assisted mild thermal treatments

Pastiness is a textural defect characterized by an excessive softness and loss of elasticity which lacks corrective actions at industrial level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the textural and microstructural changes of dry-cured pork ham, with different pastiness levels, subjected to conventional and ultrasonically-assisted corrective mild thermal treatments. Pastiness was assessed by an expert sensory panel and hams were classified into three categories: high (HP), medium (MP) and no (NP) pastiness. Ham samples (n = 108) were heated (40 and 50 °C) with power ultrasound (PuS) and without (CV) PuS application. After heating, all of the textural parameters assessed were improved. Hardness increased by 102% and adhesiveness decreased by 55% and the ham became less viscoelastic. The largest modifications were found in the samples heated at 50 °C and no differences were found between CV and PuS treatments. The microstructure of pasty samples revealed that the treatment produced a shrinkage of the myofibrils, which could explain the increase in hardness and the improvement in texture of defective ham.

Testing bat abundance and diversity predictions by PREBAT, a connectivity-based habitat suitability model for insectivorous bats

Where large landscape modifications are planned, e.g. for infrastructure or exploitation, ecological impact assessments are required because of their potential effects on environment and species. Methods that make such assessments more standardized, efficient, and reliable are highly desirable. This paper proposes a new connectivity-based habitat model for bats (PREBAT), which could be used as a tool for impact assessments. Using data that was specifically collected for this purpose, the performance of PREBAT is critically analyzed and discussed. For this study, 50 sites within an area of 850 km2 in eastern Sweden were inventoried for four nights each using automatic ultrasound recorders to get an empiric measure of bat occurrence that could be compared with PREBAT predictions. The correlation between the predicted values from PREBAT and the observed bat activity (number of recordings) or species richness was tested using generalized linear mixed models. Predicted values of PREBAT are significantly correlated to the number of species that regularly (more than one night) occur at a given site, but not to the total number of species. PREBAT performed also much better at predicting the activity of forest-living species than overall bat activity, which makes PREBAT particularly suitable for predicting conflicts for those species. This study proposes a new habitat model for bats that takes spatial connectivity between habitat patches into account. PREBAT is shown to perform satisfyingly and has the potential to become a useful tool in assessing the ecological impact of large-scale landscape modifications.

Isogeometric independent coefficients method for fast reanalysis of structural modifications

PurposeThis paper aims to provide designers/engineers, in engineering structural design and analysis, approaches to freely and accurately modify structures (geometric and/or material), and then quickly provide real-time capability to obtain the numerical solutions of the modified structures (designs).Design/methodology/approachThe authors propose an isogeometric independent coefficients (IGA-IC) method for a fast reanalysis of structures with geometric and material modifications. Firstly, the authors seamlessly integrate computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE) by capitalizing upon isogeometric analysis (IGA). Hence, the authors can easily modify the structural geometry only by changing the control point positions without tedious transformations between CAE and CAD models; and modify material characters simply based on knots vectors. Besides, more accurate solutions can be obtained because of the high order degree of the spline functions that are used as interpolation functions. Secondly, the authors advance the proposed independent coefficients method within IGA for fast numerical simulation of the modified designs, thereby significantly reducing the enormous time spent in repeatedly numerical evaluations.FindingsThis proposed scheme is efficient and accurate for modifying the structural geometry by simply changing the control point positions, and material characters by knots vectors. The enormous time spent in repeated full numerical simulations for reanalysis is significantly reduced. Hence, enabling quickly modifying structural geometry and material, and analyzing the modified model for practicality in design stages.Originality/valueThe authors herein advance and propose the IGA-IC scheme. Where, it provides designers to fasten and simple designs and modify structures (both geometric and material). It then can quickly in real-time obtain numerical solutions of the modified structures. It is a powerful tool in practical engineering design and analysis process for local modification. While this method is an approximation method designed for local modifications, it generally cannot provide an exact numerical solution and its effectiveness for large modification deserves further study.

COMPARATIVE DIET ANALYSIS OF BARN OWL (TYTO ALBA) AND LONG- EARED OWL (ASIO OTUS) IN A HABITAT ISLAND IN NORTH-CENTRAL TEXAS

AbstractPredator-prey interactions often define the coexistence of species in space and time. In this research, we are filling a regional gap in knowledge of diet composition of the barn owl (Tyto alba) and the long-eared owl (Asio otus). The study was conducted at the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area (LLELA), a patch of tallgrass prairie and post oak forest surrounded by areas with large anthropogenic modifications in north-central Texas. We examined the remains found in owl pellets collected September 2016 to March 2017. Small mammals, mainly rodents, constituted 100% of the T. alba and 98.5% of the A. otus diet. The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) was the most common prey detected (68.2% for T. alba and 89.0% for A. otus). Diet niche breadth of T. alba was broader than that of A. otus (0.47 and 0.06, respectively), whereas mean prey size was smaller in the T. alba diet. Diet overlap between these owls was high (0.96), likely because they hunt similarly at night, on the wing, and the prey species have limited diversity. Most rodents eaten were juveniles and the sex ratio of prey was even in both owls’ diets. We highlight the value of conducting studies in such a unique and relatively pristine environment in the face of multiple threats. Additionally, although the occurrence of A. otus is rare and infrequent in the study area, we were still able to detect a difference in diet between the ubiquitous T. alba and A. otus.

Liquefaction Potential Assessment of Guwahati City Using One Dimensional Ground Response Analysis

Guwahati city which lies in the North Eastern region of India, falls in the highest seismic risk zonal level i.e. zone V in India. However, there are very few works on seismic hazard analysis of Guwahati soil considering the local site effects. The effect of large modifications in seismic waves that occur due to variation in soil properties near the surface of the earth is of great importance in geotechnical earthquake engineering. Seismic soil liquefaction, a soil seismic hazard, is evaluated in Guwahati city in terms of factor of safety against liquefaction along the soil profiles using ground response analysis. One dimensional ground response analysis has been conducted using equivalent linear and non linear method using the Deepsoil software. The input motion of 2011 Sikkim earthquake (Mw = 6.9) having bedrock PGA of 0.152 g at 30 m depth is considered. A comparative study has been made of the equivalent linear and non linear analysis in terms of surface PGA (g), maximum strain (%), maximum stress ratio and liquefaction potential using soil profiles of Guwahati city. It has been observed that stiffer soil layer results in similar PGA from both the analysis however non linear analysis generally gives a lesser surface PGA than by equivalent linear analysis. Non linear analysis generally gives a higher strain range and a lower maximum stress ratio as compared to the equivalent linear method. A slightly higher factor of safety is obtained using non linear analysis than using equivalent linear analysis. A soil database of 200 bore holes was used for the study. Spatial distribution of soil liquefaction potential is presented in the form of GIS based maps of factor of safety values.

Hydrodynamic slip enhanced nanofluidic reverse electrodialysis for salinity gradient energy harvesting

Nanofluidic reverse electrodialysis offers an alternative way to harvest the widely-existing salinity gradient energy. In this study, we investigate the impacts of surface hydrodynamic slip modification on the ionic current rectification and salinity gradient energy conversion via a conical nanopore by thermodynamic analysis and numerical simulation. Results reveal that in the configuration where hydrodynamic slip modification is employed on the surface near the tip side, a small modification fraction contributes to the ionic current rectification due to significantly enhanced ion enrichment, while a larger hydrodynamic slip modification fraction goes against the ionic current rectification for deteriorated ion enhancement and induced counter-electric field concentration gradient near the base side. For energy conversion, at low concentration ratios, a large modification fraction brings an obvious augment on the electric power. However, it decreases energy conversion efficiency. At a concentration ratio of 100-fold, the electric power is increased by 60.7%, when half of the nanopore wall is modified into hydrodynamic slip. And the energy conversion efficiency is decreased by 6.41%. These findings shed light on the role of hydrodynamic slip modification on the ion transportation and salinity gradient energy conversion, and help developing high performance nanofluidic systems via hydrodynamic slip modifications.

Noi cercetări asupra fortificațiilor de la Teliu, jud. Braşov / New investigations in the fortifications from Teliu, Brașov County

Two fortified sites were known in the vicinity of Teliu (Kreuzburg/Nyén/Keresztvár), Brașov county, since the 19th c. They were reported as located in close proximity one to another (200 m), at the foothills of Buzău Mountains - now covered in evergreen forests. Despite a long-time interest in them, including a series of excavations made during the 1960s and 1970s in Cetatea Mare (I), their full chronological attribution and function remained partially disputed. Following a series of works related to the building of a railway route along Teliu valley, during the interwar period, a stone quarry was opened right on top of Cetatea Mică (II), leading in time to its disappearance. A notorious connection with the Teuton early 13th c. fort of Cruceburg has been often explored in relation with these sites. The current contribution is a review of previously known data in the light of more recent investigations undertaken in 2019, in the area of the two fortified sites, 45 years after their last systematic exploration. The work is based on the general interest of the authors in advancing the knowledge regarding the uncertain dating of numerous fortified places of south-eastern Transylvania, characterized by repeated occupation and scarce archaeological deposits. A LiDAR based survey combined with a geophysical investigation (magnetic method) in Cetatea Mare allowed a better reconstruction of this site’s plan and layout of fortifications, revealing a more complex design in which the fortification ditches were continued with terraces on the two main site’s slopes. An additional ditch, unknown before, was identified in the northern site sector. In total, the area affected by anthropic works in Cetatea Mare can be recognized now on a 2 ha surface, while the number of enclosure lines reached five. By reopening a small part of an old trench (S XIII) we succeeded to establish correlations with the already published stratigraphic profiles and collect samples for dating with radiocarbon method. The results of these analyses combined with a critical review of the older data show that the site was repeatedly visited along the Bronze and Iron Ages for certain activities which did not left consistent traces. At least two major moments in which the site was affected by large scale levellings associated to enclosure rebuilding could be noticed, once dated in Hallstatt C-D (which could have relocated previous Schneckenberg and Wietenberg materials) and the other in the late 1st C. BC - early 1st c. AD. We date the large relief modifications affecting the entire site, based on C14 dated samples and stratigraphy, in the Augustan period, even if the main analogies for the building model are to be found in older sites in Transylvania, belonging to Hallstatt B2-C. A distinctive characteristic of the last fortification phase in Teliu Cetatea Mare was the reuse as secondary material incorporated in the core of the ramparts of a previously burnt structure of soil, stone and wood, perhaps a palisade. A radiocarbon dated sample may suggest a time in the 4th-3rd c. BC for this structure, but until additional analyses it remains just a hypothetical framing. A date anywhere between Hallstatt C and early 1st c. AD is still possible. The LIDAR data analysis and viewsheds have also disclosed the relations of the two fortified sites with the network of local ridge routes. In this regard, both sites are more relevant for a connection with Brașov Depression and the beginning of a road linking the area of Prejmer with the inner-mountain depression of Întorsura Buzăului. This road, through Pilișca peak, was still in use in the 19th c. before the opening of the main railway traffic through Teliu Valley, by inhabitants of Prejmer area going to their mountain pastures. In the same time, it appears that the two sites were related in different ways to this road (suggesting a difference in both chronology and function): Cetatea Mică was placed in a hidden position directly on a secondary pathway climbing to the main ridge route, while Cetatea Mare was adjacent to this road, occupying a dominant position for the entire Depression.

Two New Species of Taygetina With a Possible Case of ‘Juxta Loss’ in Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)

Abstract The male genitalic characters of Hexapoda are well known for their great taxonomic and systematic value. Despite insect male genitalia displaying large diversity, variation, and modification across orders, some structures are consistently present, and such characters can serve as the basis for discussion regarding homology. In the order Lepidoptera, a male genitalic structure widely known as the ‘juxta’ is present in many taxa and absence or modification of this character can be phylogenetically informative at the generic or higher level. We here focus on the systematics of the so-called ‘Taygetis clade’ within the nymphalid subtribe Euptychiina, and report an unusual case of ‘juxta loss’ in a single species, Taygetina accacioi Nakahara & Freitas, n. sp., a new species from Brazil named and described herein. Additionally, we describe another west Amazonian Taygetina Forster, 1964 species, namely Taygetina brocki Lamas & Nakahara, n. sp., in order to better document the species diversity of Taygetina. Our most up-to-date comprehensive molecular phylogeny regarding ‘Taygetis clade’ recovered these two species as members of a monophyletic Taygetina, reinforcing the absence of juxta being a character state change occurring in a single lineage, resulting in an apomorphic condition, which we report here as a rare case in butterflies (Papilionoidea).

Thermal relativity, modified Hawking radiation, and the generalized uncertainty principle

After a brief review of the thermal relativistic corrections to the Schwarzschild black hole entropy, it is shown how the Stefan–Boltzman law furnishes large modifications to the evaporation times of Planck-size mini-black holes, and which might furnish important clues to the nature of dark matter and dark energy since one of the novel consequences of thermal relativity is that black holes do not completely evaporate but leave a Planck size remnant. Equating the expression for the modified entropy (due to thermal relativity corrections) with Wald’s entropy should, in principle, determine the functional form of the modified gravitational Lagrangian [Formula: see text]. We proceed to derive the generalized uncertainty relation which corresponds to the effective temperature [Formula: see text] associated with thermal relativity and given in terms of the Hawking ([Formula: see text]) and Planck ([Formula: see text]) temperature, respectively. Such modified uncertainty relation agrees with the one provided by string theory up to first order in the expansion in powers of [Formula: see text]. Both lead to a minimal length (Planck size) uncertainty. Finally, an explicit analytical expression is found for the modifications to the purely thermal spectrum of Hawking radiation which could cast some light into the resolution of the black hole information paradox.

Detecting Large Chromosomal Modifications Using Short Read Data From Genotyping-by-Sequencing.

Markers linked to agronomic traits are of the prerequisite for molecular breeding. Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) data enables to detect small polymorphisms including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and short insertions or deletions (InDels) that can be used, for instance, for marker-assisted selection, population genetics, and genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Here, we aim at detecting large chromosomal modifications in barley and wheat based on GBS data. These modifications could be duplications, deletions, substitutions including introgressions as well as alterations of DNA methylation. We demonstrate that GBS coverage analysis is capable to detect Hordeum vulgare/Hordeum bulbosum introgression lines. Furthermore, we identify large chromosomal modifications in barley and wheat collections. Hence, large chromosomal modifications, including introgressions and copy number variations (CNV), can be detected easily and can be used as markers in research and breeding without additional wet-lab experiments.

Real-Time Imaging and Quantification of Peptide Uptake in Vitro and in Vivo

Peptides constitute an important class of drugs for the treatment of multiple metabolic, oncological, and neurodegenerative diseases, and several hundred novel therapeutic peptides are currently in the preclinical and clinical stages of development. However, many leads fail to advance clinically because of poor cellular membrane and tissue permeability. Therefore, assessment of the ability of a peptide to cross cellular membranes is critical when developing novel peptide-based therapeutics. Current methods to assess peptide cellular permeability are limited by multiple factors, such as the need to introduce rather large modifications (e.g., fluorescent dyes) that require complex chemical reactions as well as an inability to provide kinetic information on the internalization of a compound or distinguish between internalized and membrane-bound compounds. In addition, many of these methods are based on end point assays and require multiple sample manipulation steps. Herein, we report a novel "Split Luciferin Peptide" (SLP) assay that enables the real-time noninvasive imaging and quantification of peptide uptake both in vitro and in vivo using a very sensitive bioluminescence readout. This method is based on a straightforward, stable chemical modification of the peptide of interest with a d-cysteine tag that preserves the overall peptidic character of the original molecule. This method can be easily adapted for screening peptide libraries and can thus become an important tool for preclinical peptide drug development.