Misaligned Structures Research Articles

Influence of weft yarn distribution on 3D woven composites under impact loading

This paper provides new insights into the impact resistance of 3D woven composites from a weft yarn distribution perspective. Two 3D through-thickness angle interlock (3D ATT) woven composites with aligned and misaligned weft yarn distributions were prepared for investigation. And a macro-meso combination model based on a bottom-up multi-scale framework was constructed to elucidate the damage evolution and dynamic response mechanisms of the composites during impact. The results show that the misaligned structure has superior impact resistance, more dispersed damage distribution, and less permanent damage at similar area density. The synergistic effect of finely dispersed resin pockets and misaligned yarns helped to retard the damage evolution, thereby improving the performance. The multi-scale simulation framework proved to be an effective tool for analyzing the mechanical properties of 3D woven composites, with misaligned weft yarns playing a critical role in stress and damage distribution. This research will aid in the design and application of 3D woven composites in impact resistant fields such as bird impact, ballistic impact, and explosions.

Static X-ray differential phase contrast imaging via bidirectional-misalignment grating

Grating-based X-ray differential phase contrast imaging (GB-DPCI) offers excellent imaging contrast for soft tissues. Limited by the phase stepping of gratings, the conventional GB-DPCI leads to a high radiation dose. This study presents a static GB-DPCI method employing an analyzer grating with a misaligned structure in both vertical and horizontal directions. A signal retrieval algorithm is developed for this method to permit the use of neighboring pixels on the detector to approximate multiple phase stepping positions, thereby obtaining the phase contrast signal in a single exposure. This study reduces high radiation doses and time-consumption caused by phase stepping. The presented method is validated with datasets from a laboratory X-ray tube and synchrotron radiation. Considering synchrotron results as example, minimal improvements in Feature Similarity Index Measure are 2.48%, 6.31%, and 7.06% for absorption, dark field, and phase contrasts, and in Information-Weight Structure Similarity Index Measure are 3.24%, 16.07%, and 8.61%.

Study on pressure fluctuation characteristics of the mixed-flow pump with the tandem misaligned blade structure

Abstract As supporting equipment for deep-sea oil and gas resource exploitation, how to improve the transmission performance and stability of the impeller of the mixed-flow pump (MFP) has become a key technical problem. This paper focuses on studying the impeller blade of the MFP. Based on the blade optimization technology, four different tandem misaligned blade (TMB) angle schemes of α=0°,15°,45°,75° are proposed. The SST k-ω turbulence model is used to simulate the different blade angles under the pure liquid condition. The pressure pulsation of the MFP and the blade load distribution are studied. This result show that the TMB structure increases the pressure fluctuation inside the MFP. The pressure coefficient inside the impeller exhibits a more consistent pattern at an angle of α=45° compared to other angles, and the internal flow field of the MFP exhibits most stable. From this analysis of blade load distribution, TMBs have a greater effect on the pressure surface of the front blade of the MFP. When α=15°, the best pressurization performance of the MFP. This study may serve as a benchmark for subsequent iterations of optimizing the MFP’s model and hydraulic design.

A rotated object detection strategy for remote sensing images using misaligned cross-fusion structures

Remote sensing image object detection is a challenging task with a focus on detection accuracy. In the object detection task of remote sensing images, scenes often contain objects with varying scales and dense arrays, leading to issues such as low accuracy, missed detections, and false alarms. To address these challenges, this paper introduces MCSC-Net, a rotated object detector, designed to enhance detection performance for objects of different scales in densely arranged scenarios. The proposed detector features a novel neck network named MCFN-V3, which incorporated a cross-fusion structure. MCFN-V3 facilitates simultaneous feature extraction in upper and lower layers with feedback to the middle layer. Through the cross-fusion of feature layers, it achieves the integration of multi-scale feature information, thereby enhancing the network's detection capabilities for objects at multiple scales. Additionally, the paper presents the STC module to address the problem of poor feature correlation in high-resolution image processing by CNN networks. This module improves feature expressiveness and range, strengthening inter-feature relationships within layers. Furthermore, in the target positioning stage, the paper transforms the angle regression problem into a classification task, making the network more suitable for detecting rotated objects in dense scenes. To assess the effectiveness of the algorithm, experiments were conducted on two publicly available remote sensing datasets, DOTA and UCAS-AOD. Our method achieved a multiclass average precision (mAP) of 77.4 % on DOTA and an outstanding performance of 97.0 % on UCAS-AOD. These experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Commentary: Expanding the vision of Registered Reports for qualitative mental health research: A response and extension to 'Misaligned incentives in mental health research - the case for Registered Reports', Baldwin (2023).

There is a growing exploration of how Registered Reports can benefit individual researchers and wider research fields as part of a wider shift towards open research principles and practices. In 'Misaligned incentives in mental health research - the case for Registered Reports', Baldwin examines this in the context of mental health research, arguing that Registered Reports (RRs)can be a valuable solution to misaligned incentive structures in the field. However, this original piece was generally inclined towards how such incentives and the use of RRs can play out in the context of quantitative research. Such reflection is valuable, but to examine the case for RRs in mental health research as a field, we must also explore such practices within the context of qualitative research. In this commentary, we therefore expand and reframe this discussion to make the case for RRs in qualitative mental health research. We explore the place for qualitative research in the mental health research field and examine possibilities for how RRs fit within principles and practices in such methods. We discuss the various benefits and challenges of RRs in qualitative research, reflecting on our experiences as authors and reviewers of qualitative RRs and exploring how research infrastructure can facilitate engagement with this publishing approach.

Interfacial design of Ti3C2Tx/TiO2/CoFe2O4/Co3Fe7 nanocomposites for enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption

The electromagnetic wave absorption (EMA) capabilities of nanocomposites are significantly influenced by their interface structure, and one useful method for improving the EMA properties is to create a variety of heterogeneous interfaces. In view of this, a Ti3C2Tx with misaligned stacking structure (ST) was achieved through a suitable oscillation-ultrasonication treatment firstly in this work. Then the CoFe2O4 (CFO) nanoparticles with magnetism were in-situ grown in the interlayers of the Ti3C2Tx. Finally, the obtained Ti3C2Tx-CoFe2O4 (ST-CFO) nanocomposite was thermally reduced to generate a multicomponent nanocomposite Ti3C2Tx/TiO2/CoFe2O4/Co3Fe7 (ST-CFO-A) with abundant heterogeneous interfaces. It is found that the oscillation, ultrasonication and in-situ growth processes ensure sufficient contact between ST and CFO, and the thermal reduction treatment leads to the formation of two new phases, i.e., TiO2 with low-dielectric constant and Co3Fe7 with high permeability, resulting in the successful construction of rich heterogeneous interfaces. As a result, the ST-CFO-A exhibits outstanding electromagnetic absorbing performance of −49.04 dB (9.4 GHz, thickness of 1.6 mm), which is 24.52 and 1.86 times higher than that of the ST and ST-CFO, respectively. The goal of this work is to improve the electromagnetic absorption capabilities of Mxene-based materials by creating many heterogeneous interfaces through interfacial design.

Muscle Energy Technique Effects On Pain, Cervical Range of Motion, and Functional Disability

An unfavorable sensory or emotional encounter connected to actual or potential tissue injury is referred to as neck pain, and it affects the region of the neck between the superior nuchal line and the first thoracic spinous process. Mechanical neck pain often commences insidiously and is of multifactorial etiology, causing disability and clinical symptoms. It is a comparative study where 30 male and female subjects were assessed and identified with Mechanical Neck Pain, recruited for the study, and randomly divided into two groups with 15 subjects in each group. Outcome measures were the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), goniometer, and neck disability index (NDI). Pre-Test and Post-Test were carried out for both groups and analyzed using paired 't-tests and independent 't-tests in an IBM SPSS statistics 26 software. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of muscle energy technique with conventional therapy vs. kinesio taping with conventional therapy in chronic mechanical neck pain, cervical range of motion, and functional disability of the neck. KT provides sensory feedback, tension, and afferent stimulation to reduce pain and improve ROM. It also helps in lymphatic and vascular flow and corrects misaligned structures. Muscle energy technique and Kinesio taping showed significant improvement in VAS, Goniometer, and NDI in mechanical neck pain patients, making them suitable for inclusion in mechanical neck pain treatment.

Experiences and lessons from the mitigation of leading edge induced melting on actively cooled ITER-like W/Cu monoblocks for divertor target in EAST

EAST is the first tokamak to feature fully actively water-cooled ITER-like W/Cu monoblocks on the divertor target. In 2014 and 2021, the graphite tiles in the upper and lower divertor were upgraded to W/Cu monoblocks, respectively. With the increase in plasma parameters, severe melting phenomena were inspected at the leading edges of upper divertor from 2017 to 2020. Through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, two main factors, radial misalignment and chamfer structure have been identified to mainly impact the leading-edge induced melting of MBs. It was found that assembly misalignments increased gradually during the plasma discharges from 2015 to 2017 and the maximum misalignment can reach up to 3 mm, which play an important role that is responsible for the melting during 2018 to 2020. In 2020, engineering assembly improvements were implemented, resulting in a significant improvement compared to the previous situation, with all misalignments brought below 1 mm, and thus effectively prevent melting at the leading edge on upper divertor. In addition, the modification of chamfer structure to 1.5 × 17 mm at inter-CMs of the lower divertor further mitigated the issue of leading-edge-induced melting compared to upper divertor. Such experiences and lessons from the mitigation of leading edge induced melting provide important references for future fusion devices.

Enhanced stability of a disaggregated Aβ fibril on removal of ligand inhibits refibrillation: An all atom Molecular Dynamics simulation study

The extraneuronally deposited senile plaques, composed of neurotoxic aggregates of Aβ fibril, define Alzheimer's disease (AD). Natural compounds have been tested for their destabilization potential on Aβ fibril, thereby curing AD. However, the resultant destabilized Aβ fibril, needs to be checked for its irreversibility to the native organized state after removal of the ligand. Herein, we assessed the stability of a destabilized fibril after the ligand (ellagic acid represented as REF) is removed from the complex. The study has been conducted via Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation of 1 μs for both Aβ-Water (control) and Aβ-REF″ (test or REF removed) system. The increased value of RMSD, Rg, SASA, lower β-sheet content and reduced number of H-bonds explains enhanced destabilization observed in Aβ-REF″ system. The increased inter-chain distance demonstrates breaking of the residual contacts, testifying the drift of terminal chains from the pentamer. The increased SASA along with the ∆Gps(polar solvation energy) accounts for the reduced interaction amongst residues, and more with solvent molecules, governing irreversibility to native state. The higher Gibb's free energy of the misaligned structure of Aβ-REF″ ensures irreversibility to the organized structure due to its inability to cross such high energy barrier. The observed stability of the disaggregated structure, despite ligand elimination, establishes the effectiveness of the destabilization technique as a promising therapeutic approach towards treating AD.

Parallax image stitching combining improved feature optimization with optimal seam estimation

In the process of image stitching, many problems will inevitably arise, such as misalignment, artifacts and local structure distortion in the overlapping regions. A parallax image stitching algorithm combining improved feature optimization with an innovative iterative seam estimation is proposed. First, the point features and line features of input images are detected. To optimize point features, the histogram statistical approach is proposed to remove false matching points combined with RANSAC algorithm. Second, the mesh warp is optimized by minimizing the sparse quadratic total energy function so as to achieve accurate alignment in the overlapping regions. Finally, we propose an iterative seam estimation method using an improved quality evaluation strategy. Experimental results show that our method has higher matching accuracy and visually better image stitching performance than other methods.

Metropolitanization, civic capacity and metropolitan governance: Ireland in the metropolitan century

ABSTRACT The dynamics and politics of metropolitanization in Ireland have received limited attention, attributed in part to Ireland’s historic culturally embedded urban–rural divide. The publication of the National Planning Framework (2018) demonstrates an effort by the Irish government to centre spatial thinking on Ireland’s five major cities. However, despite evidence of enhanced civic engagement, the Irish case demonstrates the challenges of creating a metropolitan state-space in a country with a traditionally strong rural identity. Drawing on Nelles’ concept of civic capital and the importance of mobilizing a metropolitan identity, in this paper we draw attention to four factors that constrain the formation of the metropolitan civic identity necessary for spatial planning efforts to succeed: the lack of an urban identity, discordant temporalities, the absence of key enablers and misaligned governance structures. Our study adopts an exploratory research design using critical discourse analysis of key documents, participant observation, semi-structured interviews and survey methodology to further the understanding of metropolitanization processes, provide insights into alternative forms of metropolitan governance and discuss the limits of civic capital. We conclude that it is critical to understand the nature of the state in order to understand the accumulation (or not) of metropolitan civic capital.

Study of ambipolar and linearity behavior of the misaligned double gate-drain dopant-free Nano-TFET: Design and performance enhancement

Work done in this article demonstrates the charge plasma based misaligned double gate-drain doping less tunnel field effect transistor. Designed devices such as perfectly aligned and misaligned, both are optimized by considering the secondary drain in order to investigate ambipolar and linearity behavior. As the work function of secondary drain increases reduction in the ambipolar current is observed with a little degradation in ON state current. It presents a tradeoff between ambipolar current and ON current hence suitable work function of secondary drain is necessary for the proper working of the device. Analog parameters such as ON current, ambipolar current, subthreshold slope, ON to OFF current ratio, ON current to ambipolar current ratio, threshold voltage are analyzed with respect to secondary drain. In order to investigate the device performance for low voltage and low noise applications various linearity parameters such as higher order transconductances, higher order harmonic distortions, higher order intermodulation point and transconductance gain factor have also been demonstrated all the designed structures. The values of ON current for perfectly aligned, underlap, overlap and both gate misaligned structure at 4.2eV of secondary drain work function is 52 μA, 30 μA, 18 μA and 12 μA respectively. And ambipolar current for perfectly aligned, underlap, overlap and both gate misaligned structure at 4.2eV of secondary drain work function is 3 pA, 23 pA, 247 pA and 705 pA respectively.

Aspirations and realities of intergovernmental collaboration in national- level interventions: insights from maternal, neonatal and child health policy processes in Nigeria, 2009–2019

In Nigeria’s federal government system, national policies assign concurrent healthcare responsibilities across constitutionally arranged government levels. Hence, national policies, formulated for adoption by states for implementation, require collaboration. This study...

An increase in black hole activity in galaxies with kinematically misaligned gas

External accretion events such as a galaxy merger or the accretion of gas from the immediate environment of a galaxy can create a large misalignment between the gas and the stellar kinematics. Numerical simulations have suggested that misaligned structures may promote the inflow of gas to the nucleus of the galaxy and the accretion of gas by the central supermassive black hole. We show for the first time that galaxies with a strong misalignment between the ionized gas and stellar kinematic angles have a higher observed fraction of active black holes than galaxies with aligned rotation of gas and stars. The increase in black hole activity suggests that the process of formation and/or the presence of misaligned structures are connected with the fuelling of active supermassive black holes.

Polarizability characteristics of twisted bilayer graphene quantum dots in the absence of periodic moiré potential.

Recent studies have documented a rich phenomenology in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG), which is significantly relevant to interlayer electronic coupling, in particular to the cases under an applied electric field. While polarizability measures the response of electrons against applied fields, this work adopts a unique strategy of decomposing global polarizability into distributional contributions to access the interlayer polarization in TBG, as a function of varying twisting angles (θ). Through the construction of a model of twisted graphene quantum dots, we assess distributional polarizability at the first-principles level. Our findings demonstrate that the polarizability perpendicular to the graphene plates can be decomposed into intralayer dipoles and interlayer charge-transfer (CT) components, the latter of which provides an explicit measurement of the interlayer coupling strength and charge transfer potential. Our analysis further reveals that interlayer polarizability dominates the polarizability variation during twisting. Intriguingly, the largest interlayer polarizability and CT driven by an external field occur in the misaligned structures with a size-dependent small angle corresponding to the first appearance of AB stacking, rather than the well-recognized Bernal structures. A derived equation is then employed to address the size dependence on the angle corresponding to the largest values in interlayer polarizability and CT. Our investigation not only characterizes the CT features in the interlayer polarizability of TBG quantum dots, but also sheds light on the existence of the strongest interlayer coupling and charge transfer at small twist angles in the presence of an external electric field, thereby providing a comprehensive understanding of the novel properties of graphene-based nanomaterials.

To imitate or not to imitate? A note on control misalignment in supply chains

For supply chain partners to realize existing potentials, effective controls are necessary to serve as the underlying basis of relationship management. The design and use of controls are ideally based on the principle of matching, in line with the transaction context. Yet, misaligned control structures commonly exist in practice – and this is often associated with negative performance implications. Based on prior research findings, this article points to imitating behavior as a potential source of control misalignment in supply chains. To imitate appropriately and, hence, avoid situations of misalignment, firms should consider tailoring and adapting the control structure to meet specific relationship needs.

High strain rates deformation behavior of an as-extruded Mg–2.5Zn–4Y magnesium alloy containing LPSO phase at high temperatures

Mg–Zn–Y magnesium alloys comprising long-period stacking ordered (LPSO) phase have shown excellent strengthening effects, however, their deformation behavior and microstructure evolution under different strain rates and temperatures have not yet been thoroughly investigated. This work is based on the investigation of elevated temperature and high strain rate deformation behavior of an as-extruded Mg–2.5Zn–4Y magnesium alloy comprising LPSO phase, with the strain rates lying in the 700 s−1 to 2100 s−1 range, and temperature ranging from 293 K to 623 K. Electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and optical microscopy (OM) was employed for investigating the deformation microstructure. The results show that at early deformation the extension twinning coordinates the plastic deformation first, subsequently, pyramidal < c+a > slip and kinking of LPSO phase can also coordinate deformation for the experimental alloy at high strain rates at high temperatures. A peculiar phenomenon of misaligned LPSO phase structures (1600 s−1, 623 K) was also discovered. The fracture mode of the experimental alloy is mainly the cleavage fracture or the mixed ductile-brittle fracture during high-speed impact. A modified Johnson–Cook (J-C) constitutive model of the as-extruded Mg–2.5Zn–4Y was found to appropriately analyze the stress–strain values by comparing the computed results with the experimentally obtained data. It was, thus, demonstrated that the modified J-C model can make a reasonable prediction about the dynamic mechanical behavior of a Mg–2.5Zn–4Y magnesium alloy in its as-extruded condition throughout a range of high temperatures and strain rates with a high degree of accuracy.

A Long-Period Fiber Grating Sensor Based on a Core-Cladding Misalignment Structure

In this article, a novel long-period fiber grating (LPFG) sensor based on a core-cladding misalignment structure is described. The LPFG consists of multiple short-length singlemode fiber (SMF) segments joined with core-cladding misalignment splicing. Due to the refractive index (RI) difference between the core and the cladding, periodic RI modulation along fiber axis is achieved. The resonance wavelength responses of the core-cladding misalignment structure based LPFG to RI, strain and temperature are investigated experimentally, and a maximum RI sensitivity of 992.8 nm/RIU, a strain sensitivity of −7.4 pm/μϵ, and a temperature sensitivity of −31 pm/°C are obtained, respectively. Such a core-cladding misalignment structure provides a low-cost fabrication route for LPFGs while offering high sensitivities, which has potential applications for accurate measurement and sensing in industrial and harsh environments.

High sensitivity sensor based on mode interference of fiber arc-shaped misaligned welding structure for strain and torsion sensing

We propose a compact and ultrasensitive all-fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer sensor based on an arc-shaped misaligned structure that can measure strain and torsion sensing. The structure utilizes a single-mode fiber and was fabricated in an optical fiber fusion splicer through simple discharge and fusion splicing steps. The experimental and theoretical investigations of its response revealed an optimal strain sensitivity of up to ~267.17 pm /με¯. In addition, the maximum torsion sensitivities in the clockwise and counterclockwise rotation directions of the fiber cross section were ~ − 1.528 dB/(rad/cm) and ~1.2191 dB/(rad/cm), respectively. Further, the proposed device exhibited low temperature cross sensitivity. Therefore, this single-mode-fiber based core-cladding modal interferometer has great potential in the field of photoelectric sensing due to multiple advantages such as compact size, easy fabrication process, low cost, etc.

A high-sensitivity optical fiber temperature sensor with composite materials

An arc-shaped misaligned structure interferometer based on a single-mode fiber is proposed herein, in which a layer of composite material is coated onto the structure to improve its temperature sensitivity. Experiments show that the sensor has high sensitivity and linearity with respect to temperature, and the response to strain can be ignored. The temperature sensitivity reaches approximately −0.953 nm/°C, which is ∼79.4 times higher than that of the uncoated sensor. Owing to the advantages of a simple preparation method, low cost, and compact structure, this inter-mode interference-based fiber sensor is expected to be an ideal instrument for high-precision temperature sensing fields.