Multifunctional Elements Research Articles

Severe Water Deficiency during the Mid-Vegetative and Reproductive Phase has Little Effect on Proso Millet Performance

Climate change can result in extreme droughts, significantly affecting crop production. C4 crop proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) has the lowest water consumption among all of the cereal crops. Understanding its survival mechanisms is thus crucial for agriculture. Furthermore, yield reduction does not only occur directly due to water shortage, but is also a consequence of an impaired element uptake during drought. This study aimed to examine the effect of water deficiency on proso millet leaf traits, plant biomass partition, and yield. In addition, leaf element contents were analysed, including silicon, which is an important multifunctional element for grasses. The majority of the measured parameters showed little change from the control to the moderate and severe water shortage treatments, even though the soil moisture levels differed significantly. The most pronounced reduction in comparison to the control was for leaf biomass, leaf stomatal conductance, and leaf silicon, phosphorus, calcium, and sulphur contents. Conversely, an increase was obtained for leaf potassium and chlorine contents. Panicle biomass was the same for all plant groups. Leaf silicon was positively correlated to reflectance in the UV region, while leaf calcium was negatively correlated to reflectance in the visible regions, which might prevent damage due to short-wave UV radiation and provide sufficient visible light for photosynthesis. The efficient light and water management, reduction of leaf biomass, and same-sized root system may be the mechanisms that mitigate the negative effects of water shortage in proso millet.

Differences in tree species diversity along the rural-urban gradient in Bengaluru, India

Trees are invaluable and multifunctional elements of many land cover types. In urban areas trees serve particularly important ecological and environmental functions. In order to manage the multi-functionality of trees as efficiently as possible, biophysical information on the presence and distribution of species is helpful, as is general information about their provenance, utilization and services. This study examined the tree species diversity along the rural-urban gradient in the rapidly expanding megacity of Bengaluru, India, where the focus was on density and species composition. A number of 23 observation plots of 1-ha each in built-up environments were established within a 50 × 5 km transect running from the city center to the rural surroundings. Tree species diversity decreased with increasing distance to the city center due to the abundance of non-native ornamental tree species in the urban areas. The percentage of native species was about the same along the gradient (around 35% in urban, transition and rural areas). Our study offers a comprehensive description of tree species diversity along the rural-urban gradient in Bengaluru, which may bear connections, for example, to bird and insect diversity, and which may also be of interest and relevant for city planners and administrators as well as for researchers and the general public. Moreover, our study does adds to the relatively limited information available on this topic in South Asia and suggests a design that is transferable to other urban areas. In addition, we hope to raise a critical awareness that contributes to protecting and developing the unique tree cover in Bengaluru.

Coupled simulation of thermally active building systems to support a digital twin

Based on 2050 Swiss and European Union targets, significant energy performance improvements will be required for new and renovated buildings. However, the construction industry has a poor record for delivering productivity and efficiency advancement. As proven in other industries, digital methods can shorten product development time and cost by reducing prototyping with the use of numerical simulation. Further, a digital twin is an extensive computational model of a product that is planned to improve over its lifecycle by leveraging operational data. This paper presents a coupled simulation for the thermal design of a heating and cooling system that is integrated with a lightweight roof structure. The concrete roof structure is shape optimised to provide a low embodied energy building element, which is thermally activated to supply space conditioning from a renewable geothermal source. This work is focused on the modelling methodology used by the energy domain to support the development of a digital twin for a multifunctional building element. High-resolution analysis is used to resolve building physics issues and to provide the initial system performance. A parametric geometry model is used to apply the hydronic pipework to a complex roof shape. With input from the previous two steps, a reduced resolution method is used to add the characteristics of the system to an industry standard whole building simulation model. This final step allows for the development of initial control strategies for the novel multifunctional element. The implications of the research findings are discussed in the context of possible alternations to the building design process due to the influence of digital fabrication.

Attitude dynamics of nanosatellite with a module on retractable beams

Attitude dynamics of nanosatellites with a module on retractable beams is considered. The movable module is attached to the main body of the nanosatellite with the help of retractable beams of variable length. The attitude control is fulfilling by the beams length changing that translates the position of the mass center and creates the torque from the jet-engine with constant fixation relative the main body. The movable module can represent the multifunctional element, e.g. telescope, radiometer etc. Such control scheme allows to use the functional module as the simple actuator of the control system. So in this case the control don’t need the presence of special executive bodies.

Metallized ceramic substrate with mesa structure for voltage ramp-up of power modules

As the available wide bandgap semiconductors continuingly increase their operating voltages, the electrical insulation used in their packaging is increasingly constrained. More precisely the ceramic substrate, used in demanding applications, represents a key multi-functional element is being in charge of the mechanical support of the metallic track that interconnects the semiconductor chips with the rest of the power system, as well as of electrical insulation and of thermal conduction. In this complex assembly, the electric field enhancement at the triple junction between the ceramic, the metallic track borders and the insulating environment is usually a critical point. When the electrical field at the triple point exceeds the critical value allowed by the insulation system, this hampers the device performance and limits the voltage rating for future systems. The solution proposed here is based on the shape modification of the ceramic substrate by creating a mesa structure (plateau) that holds the metallic tracks in the assembly. A numerical simulation approach is used to optimize the structure. After the elaboration of the structures by ultrasonic machining we observed a significant increase (30%) in the partial discharge detection voltages, at 10 pC sensitivity, in a substrate with a mesa structure when comparing to a conventional metallized ceramic substrate.

Light-rewritable geometric phase and reflectance modulations enabled by pattern-aligned photoresponsive liquid crystal superstructures

ABSTRACT We propose a universal method of fabricating and operating a multifunctional diffractive optical element (DOE) with light-rewritable geometric phase and reflectance modulations enabled by pattern-aligned photoresponsive liquid crystal superstructures via manipulating the photoalignment layers as well as the phototunable helical pitch of the cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) under different light stimuli, i.e. ultraviolet and visible (green) lights. The diffractive behaviour of the fabricated CLC DOE is simultaneously governed by the geometric phase induced by the pattern-aligned CLC and the reflectance (amplitude) modulation attributed to the helical pitch manipulation, endowing the proposed DOE with versatile practical light-controllable characteristics and outstanding performance.

Superior visible light photocatalysis and low-operating temperature VOCs sensor using cubic Ag(0)-MoS2 loaded g-CN 3D porous hybrid

Two-dimensional materials are incipient as an innovative class of multifunctional elements with promising attributes for energy and environmental applications. Herein, a novel nanohybrid consisting of Ag-MoS2 loaded mesoporous g-C3N4 (herein ‘m-CN’) with ordered structure was synthesized by a nanocasting method using cubic and ordered mesoporous silica (KIT-6) as a hard template. Due to its unique 3D mesoporous architecture, the as-synthesized Ag-MoS2@m-CN nanohybrid revealed excellent visible-light absorption for enhanced charge separation of photo-induced e−–h+ pairs to improve the degradation performance, high stability, and reusability with respect to Rhodamine B (RhB). The measured very high degradation efficiency is explained by synergistic effects from catalytically active Ag and MoS2 nanoparticles cumulatively decorated on the cubic mesoporous m-CN in form 3D mesoporous architecture. Additionally, the Ag-MoS2@m-CN nanohybrid exhibits high response and selectivity toward n-butanol gas at low-operating temperatures for reliable detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The photocatalysis behavior and VOC sensing response of Ag-MoS2@m-CN nanohybrid material are discussed in detail for possible various application avenues toward environmental purifications and monitoring.

Re-evaluating safety risks of multifunctional dikes with a probabilistic risk framework

Abstract. It is not uncommon for a flood defence to be combined with other societal uses as a multifunctional flood defence, from housing in urban areas to nature conservation in rural areas. The assessment of the safety of multifunctional flood defences is often done using conservative estimates. This study synthesizes new probabilistic approaches to evaluate the safety of multifunctional flood defences employed in the Netherlands and explores the results of these approaches. In this paper a case representing a typical Dutch river dike combining a flood safety function with a nature and housing function is assessed by its probability of failure for multiple reinforcement strategies considering multiple relevant failure mechanisms. Results show how the conservative estimates of multifunctional flood defences lead to a systematic underestimation of the reliability of these dikes. Furthermore, in a probabilistic assessment uncertainties introduced by multifunctional elements affect the level of safety of the dike proportional to the reliability of the dike itself. Hence, dikes with higher protection levels are more suitable to be combined with potentially harmful uses for safety, whereas dikes with low protection levels can benefit most from uses that contribute to safety.

Transcriptional profiling of Auricularia cornea in selenium accumulation

Auricularia cornea is a widely cultivated edible fungus with substantial nutritive value. This study aimed to enrich the multifunctional bionutrient element selenium in A. cornea to improve its quality and explore the accumulation of selenium in the fungus using high-throughput RNA-Seq technology. In general, the treatment group with a 100 µg/g supply of selenium outperformed the other treatment groups in terms of high yield, rich crude polysaccharides and a high total selenium concentration. Additional evidences demonstrated the budding and mature phases were two typical growth stages of A. cornea and were important for the accumulation of selenium. Therefore, the budding and mature phase tissues of A. cornea in the treatment group with a 100 µg/g supply of selenium were used for transcriptome analysis and compared to those of a control group that lacked additional selenium. A total of 2.56 × 105 unigenes from A. cornea transcriptome were assembled and annotated to five frequently used databases including NR, GO, KEGG, eggNOG and SwissProt. GO and KEGG pathway analysis revealed that genes involved in metabolic process and translation were up-expressed at the budding stage in response to selenium supplementation, including amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, ribosome. In addition, the differential gene expression patterns of A. cornea suggested that the up-expressed genes were more likely to be detected at the budding stage than at the mature stage. These results provide insights into the transcriptional response of A. cornea to selenium accumulation.

Constructing multifunctional wave plates with stereo-metastructure arrays.

Driven by the development of nanophotonics and integrated optics, manipulating polarization of light with metastructures has been extensively studied in recent decades. So far there is still a high demand for more efficient ways to control the polarization state of light with extraordinary performance. In this Letter, we report on constructing multifunctional wave plates with stereo-metastructure arrays (SMAs) by two-photon absorption polymerization. In one frequency range, the SMA can turn the polarization direction of incident linearly polarized (LP) light to its orthogonal direction, acting as a half-wave plate (HWP). In the other frequency range, it converts the LP incident light to circularly polarized (CP) light, acting as a quarter-wave plate (QWP). Such a multifunctional element is expected to possess an energy efficiency as high as 75%. By encoding SMAs with different rotation angles at different spatial areas, we show that SMAs can be applied in imaging and sensing, where the focal-plane-array (FPA) imaging demonstrates patterned contrast following different structural distribution.

O Discurso Direto e os Marcadores Conversacionais em Ambientes Forenses

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o uso do discurso direto e dos marcadores conversacionais em ambientes forenses e suas funções interacionais nesse tipo de contexto. O aporte teórico desta pesquisa está fundamentado nos princípios da Análise da Conversação em relação de interface com a Linguística Forense, e o corpus é formado de excertos de quatro audiências judiciais públicas, transcritas conforme Preti (2003). Os resultados mostram que o discurso direto constitui uma estratégia eficaz para atribuir um efeito de realidade, objetividade e veracidade nas informações fornecidas pelos falantes. Os marcadores conversacionais são elementos multifuncionais, pois contribuem para a organização e estruturação do texto falado, além de possuírem as funções de resumidores, de busca de aprovação discursiva, de planejamento verbal e de atenuadores.

Xist Deletional Analysis Reveals an Interdependency between Xist RNA and Polycomb Complexes for Spreading along the Inactive X

During X-inactivation, Xist RNA spreads along anentire chromosome to establish silencing. However, the mechanism and functional RNA elements involved in spreading remain undefined. By performing a comprehensive endogenous Xist deletion screen, we identify Repeat B as crucial for spreading Xist and maintaining Polycomb repressive complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1/PRC2) along the inactive X (Xi). Unexpectedly, spreading of these three factors is inextricably linked. Deleting Repeat B or its direct bindingpartner, HNRNPK, compromises recruitment of PRC1 and PRC2. In turn, ablating PRC1 or PRC2 impairs Xist spreading. Therefore, Xist and Polycomb complexes require each other to propagate along the Xi, suggesting a positive feedback mechanism between RNA initiator and protein effectors. Perturbing Xist/Polycomb spreading causes failure of de novo Xi silencing, with partial compensatory downregulation of the active X, and also disrupts topologicalXireconfiguration. Thus, Repeat B is a multifunctional element that integrates interdependent Xist/Polycomb spreading, silencing, and changes in chromosome architecture.

Printed Circuit Board-Based Electrolyte Regulator for Laminar Microfluidics

The trench on a printed circuit board was reconstructed to fabricate a microfluidic framework that allows low-cost production for small quantities and integration with multifunctional elements. An on-chip electrolyte regulator was thus proposed on this platform to analyze diffusion properties in laminar flow. A numerical model was developed, highlighting the interplay between the electrolyte migration and hydrodynamic properties. Solutions with dissolved sodium chloride were simulated and experimentally tested for the regulation of electrical conductivity under the guidance of the normalized Nernst-Planck equation. The diffusion mechanism and the resulting concentration field were demonstrated in detail. This approach provides a satisfactory manufacturing method and a useful tool for integrated microfluidic systems.

Palindromic Molecular Beacon Based Z-Scheme BiOCl-Au-CdS Photoelectrochemical Biodetection.

This work presented an innovative and rationally engineered palindromic molecular beacon (PMB) based "Z-scheme" photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing protocol for the selective screening of kanamycin (Kana) through DNA hybridization-induced conformational conversion. Interestingly, the ingeniously designed PMB integrated the multifunctional elements including recognition region, primer-like palindromic fragment, and polymerization-nicking template. The cosensitized structures consisted of CdS quantum dot functionalized hairpin DNA2 (QD-HP2) and region-selectively deposited gold nanoparticles onto {001} facets of bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl-Au). Compared with BiOCl-Au alone, the attachment of CdS QDs onto BiOCl-Au (i.e., BiOCl-Au-CdS QDs) exhibited evidently enhanced photocurrent intensity thanks to the synergistic effect of Z-scheme BiOCl-Au-CdS QDs. After incubation with target Kana, Kana-aptamer binding could induce the exposure of PMB region for hairpin DNA1 (HP1). The exposed palindromic tails hybridized with each other (like a molecular machine) to consume the substrates (dNTPs) and fuels (enzyme) for the releasing of numerous nick fragments (Nick). The as-generated nick fragments could specifically hybridize with the complementary region of QD-HP2, thus resulting in decreasing photocurrent because of the increasing spatial distance for electron transfer between two-type photosensitizers. Under optimum conditions, the PMB-based sensing system exhibited satisfying photocurrent responses toward target Kana within the working range from 50 to 5000 fM at a low detection limit of 29 fM. Impressively, the concept of a palindromic fragment-mediated primer-free biosensing strategy offers a new avenue for advanced development of efficient and convenient biodetection systems.

Поликодовость в pоссийском медийном словотворчествe

На рубеже веков медийная коммуникация стала важнейшим общественным институтом, оказывающим влияние на упорядочивание социально значимой информации, качество публичного дискурса, создание альтернативной реальности, формирование моральных норм, эстетических вкусов, выстраивание иерархии ценностей. Характерной чертой современного медиатекста является его поликодовость как взаимодействие средств разных кодовых систем (буквенных и небуквенных средств воздействия: шрифтов, цифр, идеографических знаков, символов, колористики, рисунков, фото). В статье рассматриваются новые аспекты медийного словотворчества, связанные с поликодовым характером современного медиатекста: использование в новообразованиях – графических гибридах – разнофункциональных элементов одного языка (дефисация, парантезис, квотация, синграфемия), а также элементов разных кодовых систем (элементов алфавитов разных языков, разных шрифтов, цифр, идеограмм, рисунков, цвета). Поликодовость медийного словотворчества является эффективным средством речевого воздействия.

Shared-aperture multifunctional metasurface optical component with low-crosstalk characteristic

Abstract Implementation of multifunctional optical elements by controlling spectrum and wavefront simultaneously with conventional approaches is a difficult task due to their complicated structures and fabrication processes. We present a method to construct multifunctional optical components to achieve independent function at every operating wavelength in a shared-aperture configuration. The component contains amounts of periodical interleaved sectors composed of a metasurface layer sandwiched by two distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) and another metasurface layer upon the former. To demonstrate this method, we design and simulate a component which can focus the light wave at 0.521 μ m on a spot and deflect the wave at 0.585 μ m to a desired angle. The realized functions for different wavelengths will not interfere with each other, showing a low-crosstalk characteristic. Further improvement is applied to reduce the diffraction effect for light focusing and deflecting with smaller sidelobes by replacing the fixed period of the interleaved sectors with random periods. This work may provide an effective way of controlling the multiwavelength electromagnetic waves in extensive integrated optical systems.

Modeling and analysis of Building Attached Photovoltaic Integrated Shading Systems (BAPVIS) aiming for zero energy buildings in hot regions

Photovoltaic systems are recently attached to existing building envelopes referred to as Building attached Photovoltaics. They act as multifunctional elements that generate electricity and also provide shading to the building and are referred to as Photovoltaic integrated (PVIS) systems. They can decrease the indoor thermal gain and lighting requirements and act as a power generator to reach zero energy buildings. Thus, there was a need studying the effect of PVIS systems on the energy generated and on the internal heat gain and lighting requirements in Egypt. In this study, four experimental models are manufactured out of the most thermally-conductive building materials where each model has a PVIS attached on its window. The experiments are carried out in summer 2017 in Egypt. Data is analyzed using Minitab® 17 to find predictive models of power generation, indoor illumination and indoor temperature which is a novel concept to be adopted, according to the pool of existing knowledge. Results showed promising predictive models with high R-Sq values. Later, the predictive models are optimized using particle swarm optimization to find the optimal tilt angle of PVIS that maximizes the power generation, indoor illumination and minimize the indoor temperature to reach Zero energy buildings. The optimal tilt angles for PVIS systems were in the range of 64° to 70° in Egypt.

Ranking of elements in system reliability modeling: The least influence method

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a new method of elements ranking in system reliability design using the theory of fuzzy relations. The problem is formulated as an automatic classification based on the transitive closure of the fuzzy similarity relations. This allows splitting the set of system elements into disjoint classes, which are similar in importance. To define the fuzzy relations of similarity we present the parameters of each element as a vector of influences. To measure the similarity of elements, we use the distance between the two vectors and for the degree of influence evaluation, we present a special algorithm using the expert knowledge about the least impact of an element and about the comparisons to the other influences using the 9‐point Saaty scale. The proposed method relaxes the assumption about the independence and the binary state (up/down) of elements. The possible fields of application are systems with ill‐defined structures and multifunctional elements such as organizational, ergatic, military, political, and other complex systems.

Architectural Integration of Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Collector Systems into Buildings for new Urban Planning

ABSTRACTThe existing buildings are responsible for use of large amount of energy for lighting, heating, cooling and use of various energy run equipments mostly powered by electricity grid from fossil energy. Today’s intention should be to replace this fossil fuel by solar energy which is free and available in abundance.At the moment, solar technologies in the form of photovoltaics PVs and solar thermal collectors STC are available in competitive prices. However, their use has not been to the expectation specially in building sector. The main reason for these technologies not being popular in building integration is the lack of good architectural quality rendered not meeting desired design considerations. Innovative approaches have to be explored in terms of design and implementation in order to match the modern technological components to the scale, proportion, material, colour scheme and balance of buildings. So, the objective of this study is to pave possible ways of integrating these technologies into buildings, both on existing and new constructions to add emphasis on the overall architectural expression in addition to producing energy. PVs and solar thermal collectors STC can deliberately be used as architectural design elements in a distinctive way. The development towards passive house, zero energy and zero emission buildings will cause a more frequent use of building integrated solar energy systems as a source of renewable energy. Many solar systems do exist on the market, and with better and better energy performance. It looks like PV integration have brought about some improvements in the architectural quality of building integration, but the solar thermal collectors STC lacks on this part to some extent. While the technical development and energy performance improvements are always in progress, the actual use of these systems in buildings is not increasing as it could and should do. Integrating these PV and solar thermal collectors STC systems into buildings is not only for clean energy but also to use them as multifunctional elements where they replace the conventional building elements. With this, the economical viability of integration is met and most importantly, they become architectural components. So the possible ways of architectural integration of PV and STC systems have been explored and analysed in this study with special focus made on the aesthetic part of integration. So the urban planners should tack into consideration the concept called nearly Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB). By the end of 2020, all EU member states need to ensure that all newly constructed buildings consume ‘nearly zero’ energy and that their energy needs are produced locally as much as possible and with renewable sources. Planning for such ZEBs in cities is therefore a difficult task since urban planners often do not have the technical knowledge to quantify the contribution of solar energy in their urban plans. This study also shows an exploration of geometrical forms of urban blocks and the potential of solar energy to the local production of energy. The following photos are practical examples of PVs and STC application systems for this study.

Infiltration experiments: Realization and evaluation

Drainage channels are artificial multi-functional elements in a landscape, which have their own specific functions. Although they are primarily used for the drainage of water, they can also even be used for an opposite function, i.e. the artificial water supply of specific regions. This article presents an evaluation of infiltration experiments in drainage channels in the southeastern part of Slovakia. These experiments served for the collection of input data for numerical modeling, especially the determination of the soil type and hydraulic conductivity. The methodology of experimental works in the field as well as some basic information about their evaluation is included.