Transparent Structure Research Articles

Impaired retinal microcirculation in multiple sclerosis

Background: The transparent ocular structure enables quantitative analysis of microvasculature of retina, a neuronal tissue affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether the retinal blood flow velocity and flow volume at the macula are impaired in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). Methods: A total of 17 RRMS patients and 17 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects were assessed. A retinal function imager was used to measure the blood flow velocity of retinal arterioles and venules and to calculate the total perifoveal blood flow volume. Results: The blood flow velocities of the retinal arterioles (3.34 ± 0.89 mm/s) and venules (2.61 ± 0.6 mm/s) were significantly lower in MS patients than normal subjects (arteriole: 4.10 ± 0.87 mm/s; venule: 3.22 ± 0.65 mm/s, both p = 0.01). In addition, the total perifoveal blood flow volume in arterioles (3.74 ± 1.64 nL/s) and venules (3.81 ± 1.60 nL/s) were significantly lower in MS patients than in normal subjects (arteriole: 4.87 ± 1.41 nL/s, p = 0.02; venule: 4.71 ± 1.64 nL/s, p = 0.04). Conclusion: The impaired retinal microcirculation in RRMS patients indicates microvascular dysfunction in MS.

Connections in Glass

Enclosed envelopes without any visible supporting structure or stairs which seem to float on air are the dreams of many architects and designers. Glass is one of the few materials that can allow this dream to become a reality. For this reason full glass structures can appear to be practically invisible and the observer experiences the wonderful sensation of seeing a floating, weightless and totally transparent structure, as if it's almost not there. To fulfill these demands but also to enable the integrity of the whole glass structure, the connections between the elements represent one of the most critical aspects for this type of glass design. These elements represent the “remaining visible” parts and therefore these details become the central focus of interest when looking at an all glass structure. Simple borehole connections often do not satisfy the architect’s demands these days. In this article we will show a few of our recent all glass structures with a keen focus on the all important connecting parts. There will be shown a solution with special glass treatment for a customized structure as well as applications for transparent glued connection elements which can be used by the industry in general product applications. The generalization of details in the use of load carrying full glass structures could open new fields of application for full glass structures apart from the typical and well known facade industry.

An Objective Framework to Test the Quality of Candidate Indicators of Good Environmental Status

Large efforts are on-going within the EU to prepare the Marine Strategy Framework Directive’s (MSFD) assessment of the environmental status of the European seas. This assessment will only be as good as the indicators chosen to monitor the eleven descriptors of good environmental status (GEnS). An objective and transparent framework to determine whether chosen indicators actually support the aims of this policy is, however, not yet in place. Such frameworks are needed to ensure that the limited resources available to this assessment optimize the likelihood of achieving GEnS within collaborating states. Here, we developed a hypothesis-based protocol to evaluate whether candidate indicators meet quality criteria explicit to the MSFD, which the assessment community aspires to. Eight quality criteria are distilled from existing initiatives, and a testing and scoring protocol for each of them is presented. We exemplify its application in three worked examples, covering indicators for three GEnS descriptors (1, 5 and 6), various habitat components (seaweeds, seagrasses, benthic macrofauna and plankton), and assessment regions (Danish, Lithuanian and UK waters). We argue that this framework provides a necessary, transparent and standardized structure to support the comparison of candidate indicators, and the decision-making process leading to indicator selection. Its application could help identify potential limitations in currently available candidate metrics and, in such cases, help focus the development of more adequate indicators. Use of such standardized approaches will facilitate the sharing of knowledge gained across the MSFD parties despite context-specificity across assessment regions, and support the evidence-based management of European seas.

Controllable Synthesis of Graphene by Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition and Its Related Applications.

Graphene and its derivatives hold a great promise for widespread applications such as field‐effect transistors, photovoltaic devices, supercapacitors, and sensors due to excellent properties as well as its atomically thin, transparent, and flexible structure. In order to realize the practical applications, graphene needs to be synthesized in a low‐cost, scalable, and controllable manner. Plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is a low‐temperature, controllable, and catalyst‐free synthesis method suitable for graphene growth and has recently received more attentions. This review summarizes recent advances in the PECVD growth of graphene on different substrates, discusses the growth mechanism and its related applications. Furthermore, the challenges and future development in this field are also discussed.

Interface Processing of Amorphous–Crystalline Silicon Heterojunction Prior to the Formation of Amorphous-to-Nanocrystalline Transition Phase

Two effective interface optimizations, i.e., hydrogen-plasma treatment (HPT) and oxygen incorporation (OIn), have been investigated to optimize the interface structure and promote the formation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) with an amorphous-to-nanocrystalline transition phase based on the surface passivation of crystalline silicon. Both multistep HPT and intentional OIn are capable of producing a compact interface and a transition phase in the case of initial a-Si:H films deposited under different conditions. An appropriate multistep HPT is responsible for modifying the a-Si:H into a transition phase, whereas an effective OIn forms a disordered and more compact interface, as well as a crystallite-isolated and more transparent structure.

ASSURE: a model for the simulation of urban expansion and intra-urban social segregation

ABSTRACTNumerous cities in developing regions worldwide are expanding at a tremendous rate. This requires adequate strategies to address the needs of these growing cities with diverse populations. Nonetheless, the development of urban policies is often hampered by the lack of reliable data or insight in the socio-spatial dynamics of this urban expansion. This paper therefore presents ASSURE, a spatially and temporally explicit model that can simulate urban growth and intra-urban social segregation, taking into account alternative policy strategies and expected social dynamics. The model has a flexible structure that allows incorporating specific city conditions that influence residential decision-making and adapting the simulation to the data available. This, in combination with the transparent model structure, makes ASSURE a potentially valuable decision support tool for urban planning. The potential is demonstrated with an example where the urban growth of and social segregation in Kampala (Uganda) is simulated based on (semi-)quantitative and qualitative data for ca. 800 households collected through interviews. The results of the simulations show that depending on the scenario, the spatial segregation and accessibility problems will evolve highly differently.

Effect of nitrogen precursors on the electrochemical performance of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide towards oxygen reduction reaction

A series of nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxides (NGs) with different ratios are synthesized by thermal annealing of graphene oxide with melamine or urea. The total nitrogen content in NG is high, with values of up to 5.88 at.%. The NG samples prepared by melamine exhibited thin transparent graphene sheets structure, with consist of higher nitrogen doping level and quaternary N content compared to those NG samples prepared from urea. Electrochemical characterizations show that NG is a promising metal-free electrocatalyst for an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Incorporation of nitrogen atoms into graphene basal plane can enhances its electrocatalytic activity toward ORR in alkaline media. The onset potential and mean number of electron transfers on NG 1 are −0.10 V and 3.80 respectively, which is higher than that of reduced graphene oxide (−0.15 V, 3.52). This study suggests that quaternary-N of the NG samples is the active site which determines the ORR activity Moreover, the NG samples with the transparent layer of graphene-like structure have better ORR performances than that of bulk graphite-like NG samples.

Optical and electrical properties of nanolaminate dielectric structures

The aim of this study was formation of a multilayered transparent conductive nanolaminate structure with optimized conductivity vs. transparency parameters. The nanolayered structure comprised one or two thin layers of dielectric materials. The overall electrical conductivity was modified by tuning the size of the planar metal granules. Magnetron sputtering system with three different targets was used for layers deposition. The advantages are: the good reproducibility of a low-temperature process allows for effective process control and, optionally, selective formation of conductive areas in a dielectric structure. Our studies revealed that the relation between the sheet resistance and the maximum transparency in the visible spectral range depends on the size of the metal granules and the film thickness of the dielectric coating. The technology provides transparent conductive coatings with well-controlled optical and electrical properties.

Reply to “The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe. Panagos P. et al., 2015 Environ. Sci. Policy 54, 438–447—A response” by Evans and Boardman [Environ. Sci. Policy 58, 11–15

The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe (Panagos et al., 2015a) was commented by Evans and Boardman (2016), who raised not only concerns related to the spatial differences outlined by our work compared to their visual semi-qualitative assessment conducted in Britain during the late eighties, but also generally to the suitability, validity and scientific robustness of the applied modelling approach. The objective of the pan-European assessment using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was not to outcompete any regional- or national-scale modelling, but to harmonize and improve our knowledge and our understanding of current soil erosion rates by water across the European Union. The focus of such a modelling project is on the differences and similarities between regions and countries beyond national borders and nationally adapted models. In order to do so, a state-of-the-art large-scale spatially distributed modelling exercise using harmonized datasets and a unified methodology to suit the pan-European scale was carried out. We reply that the semi-qualitative approach proposed by Evans and Boardman (2016) is not suitable for application at the European scale because of work force and time requirements, input data accessibility issues, accuracy of field-based estimates, subjectivity of soil loss estimates during the aerial and terrestrial photo interpretation, impossibility of upscaling or downscaling, inadequate representation of sheet erosion processes, lack of spatial and temporal representativeness, and lack of detailed description expressing the risk level. As such, their methodology has limited applicability, with today’s financial resources it is not feasible at European or at national scale and, most important, cannot respond to policy requests regarding scenarios of climate and land cover/use change. In contrast to Evans and Boardman (2016), we do know that RUSLE, like probably any other approach, is not able to reproduce “reality”. The latter is actually a misjudgment which has been extensively discussed 20years ago. Modelling in general and large-scale modelling specifically can per se not aim at an accurate prediction of point measurements, but tests our hypothesis on process understanding, relative spatial and temporal variations, scenario development and controlling factors (Oreskes et al., 1994). As such, our approach can be offered as a helpful tool to policy makers at pan-European scale. We are confident that the simple transparent structure of RUSLE as well as the discussion of the uncertainties of each modelling factor will help to supply objective guidance to policy makers.

Erbiak esan ziguna hitzaren eta ekintzaren inguruan

If words and actions have been joined by any philosophical research, this one is precisely Speech Act Theory. One of its topics is that verbal mood is a marker of illocutionary force. The transparent morphological structure of Basque verbs gives us the perfect choice to test it. For instance, the form nengo (S.1SG.stay.NPRS) would be a non-grammatical one, but it becomes a grammatical form supplied with one or another among some affixes: banengo (ba-nengo, if-S.1SG.stay.NPRS), nengoke (nengo-ke, S.1SG.stay.NPRS-COND), nengoen (nengo-en, S.1SG.stay.NPRS-PST). Similarly, near the non-grammatical form *gaitez (S.1PL.INTR.AUX.NIND.PRS), we have the correct bagaitez (ba-gaitez, if-S.1PL.INTR.AUX.NIND.PRS), gaitezke (gaitez-ke, S.1PL.INTR.AUX.NIND.PRS-POT) and gaitezen (gaitez-en, S.1PL.INTR.AUX.NIND.PRS-HORT/SBJV). At a first insight we would say that such affixes as the suppositive ba-, the consequential and conjectural -(te)ke and the past/hortative/subjunctive -n belong to one and the same semantic dimension, and really this is so. Contrary to what might be expected, the concepts useful for explaining these facts are not those of the most known version of Speech Act Theory (Searle's ones), but those others, mostly forgot aside, proposed by R. Mervyn Hare. Nevertheless, at some point they need an important supply of accuracy. The used version and its advantages are going to be exposed briefly in this article.

Solid-State Li-Ion Batteries Using Fast, Stable, Glassy Nanocomposite Electrolytes for Good Safety and Long Cycle-Life.

The development of safe, stable, and long-life Li-ion batteries is being intensively pursued to enable the electrification of transportation and intelligent grid applications. Here, we report a new solid-state Li-ion battery technology, using a solid nanocomposite electrolyte composed of porous silica matrices with in situ immobilizing Li(+)-conducting ionic liquid, anode material of MCMB, and cathode material of LiCoO2, LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2, or LiFePO4. An injection printing method is used for the electrode/electrolyte preparation. Solid nanocomposite electrolytes exhibit superior performance to the conventional organic electrolytes with regard to safety and cycle-life. They also have a transparent glassy structure with high ionic conductivity and good mechanical strength. Solid-state full cells tested with the various cathodes exhibited high specific capacities, long cycling stability, and excellent high temperature performance. This solid-state battery technology will provide new avenues for the rational engineering of advanced Li-ion batteries and other electrochemical devices.

Human Amniotic Membrane Transplantation - Different Modalities of its Use in Ophthalmology

The amniotic membrane (AM) is the inner layer of the fetal membranes and consist of 3 different layers: the epithelium, basement membrane and stroma which further consists of three contiguous but distinct layers: the inner compact layer, middle fibroblast layer and the outermost spongy layer. The AM has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, anti-angiogenic as well as anti-microbial properties. Also because of its transparent structure, lack of immunogenicity and the ability to provide an excellent substrate for growth, migration and adhesion of epithelial corneal and conjunctival cells, it is being used increasingly for ocular surface reconstruction in a variety of ocular pathologies including corneal disorders associated with limbal stem cell deficiency, surgeries for conjunctival reconstruction, as a carrier for ex vivo expansion of limbal epithelial cells, glaucoma surgeries and sceral melts and perforations. However indiscriminate use of human AM needs to be discouraged as complications though infrequent can occur. These include risk of transmission of bacterial, viral or fungal infections to the recipient if the donors are not adequately screened for communicable diseases, if the membrane is not processed under sterile conditions or if storage is improper. Optimal outcomes can be achieved only with meticulous case selection. This review explores the ever expanding ophthalmological indications for the use of human AM.

Combinatorial Walrasian Equilibrium

We study a combinatorial market design problem, where a collection of indivisible objects is to be priced and sold to potential buyers subject to equilibrium constraints. The classic solution concept for such problems is Walrasian equilibrium (WE), which provides a simple and transparent pricing structure that achieves optimal social welfare. The main weakness of the WE notion is that it exists only in very restrictive cases. To overcome this limitation, we introduce the notion of a combinatorial Walrasian equilibium (CWE), a natural relaxation of WE. The difference between a CWE and a (noncombinatorial) WE is that the seller can package the items into indivisible bundles prior to sale, and the market does not necessarily clear. We show that every valuation profile admits a CWE that obtains at least half the optimal (unconstrained) social welfare. Moreover, we devise a polynomial time algorithm that, given an arbitrary allocation, computes a CWE that achieves at least half its welfare. Thus, the economic ...

The Early Care and Education Workforce

In this article, Deborah Phillips, Lea Austin, and Marcy Whitebook examine educational preparation, compensation, and professional development among the early childhood workforce. Their central theme is that these features look very different for preschool teachers than they do for the elementary school teaching workforce. Most teachers of kindergarten through third grade can count on clear job requirements, professional development opportunities, workplace supports such as paid planning time, and a transparent and rational salary structure based on qualifications and experience. These teachers often earn a wage that approaches the median income in their communities. For most preschool teachers, Phillips, Austin, and Whitebook write, the situation is very different. Job requirements and qualifications vary wildly from program to program and from state to state. Professional development is both scarce and inconsistent. Compensation often fails to reward educational attainment or training; in fact, many preschool teachers are among the lowest-paid workers in the country. Poor compensation fuels turnover, which means that society loses investments in professional learning, and produces economic insecurity and stress among preschool teachers. The crux of quality in early childhood education lies squarely in the interactions that transpire between teachers and children, the authors write. Thus it’s long past time, they argue, to recognize prekindergarten through third grade as a continuum that requires a seamless system of professional learning and compensation tied to qualifications, including education. To move beyond incremental improvements in the quality of early care and education, they conclude, empirical research, intervention, and policy alike should focus on the preparation, professional development, compensation, and wellbeing of early childhood teachers.

Integration of Amorphous Silicon Balanced Photodiodes and Thin Film Heaters for Biosensing Application

This work presents the development and testing of an integrated system for on-chip detection of thermochemiluminescent biomolecules. The activation energy of the reaction is provided by a transparent structure of thin film heaters deposited on one side of a glass substrate. Light, passing through the substrate, reaches an array of amorphous silicon differential structure deposited on the opposite side of the glass substrate. The structure is designed to perform differential current measurements between a light- shielded diode, whose current is sensitive only to temperature, and a photosensor, sensitive to both incident light and temperature. The device therefore balances the thermal variations of the photodiode current and reduces the dark-current noise. These features make the presented system very appealing as highly miniaturized micro-analytical devices for biosensing applications.

Does GRI Reporting Impact Environmental Sustainability? An Industry-Specific Analysis of CO2 Emissions Performance between Reporting and Non-Reporting Companies

<p>The stated goal of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting framework is two-fold: to make it easier for organizations to communicate their sustainability performance to stakeholders, and to drive companies to become <em>more</em> sustainable. Our aim in this paper is to assess if GRI-reporting has any direct and positive impact on sustainability performance, and more specifically on CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of the reporting companies. This study is the first that attempts to answer this question in a quantitative and systematic manner. We analyze the CO<sub>2</sub> emissions data from 40 A-level GRI-reporting companies, over a period of six years and across five industry sectors, comparing them with a control group of 24 non-reporting companies, to assess any direct impact of reporting on emissions. We perform an industry-specific analysis of the CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of both reporting and non-reporting companies for each industry sector. We find that amongst all reporting companies and industries, only the Utilities industry exhibits a dramatic decrease in emission intensity between 2007-2012, while the others show only minimal reductions, while the overall absolute emissions levels have grown significantly for both sets of companies. On the more qualitative side, we also note, based on our own experience in undertaking this study, that the GRI reports are not conducive to providing stakeholders with a coherent, user-friendly or transparent structure of a company’s sustainability performance in general, or improvement thereof, concluding that neither of the GRI stated goals are currently attained. Finally, we provide constructive recommendations on how the GRI reporting process could better achieve its stated purpose. Academics, investors and analysts alike might find the review, the analysis as well as the recommendations of this paper useful, as they directly address the core objectives of the GRI reporting process and how it could be improved to have the desirable impact.</p>

Fuzzy rule base simplification using multidimensional scaling and constrained optimization

This paper proposes a novel approach for the development of highly accurate and interpretable fuzzy models with Gaussian fuzzy sets, under the framework of multidimensional scaling and non-linear constrained optimization. Upon the assumption that an accurate initial fuzzy model has already been designed, we introduce an effective methodology to approximate the similarity measure between fuzzy sets. The resulting similarity degrees guide the quantification of the dissimilarity degrees between rule antecedents. We, then, put the multidimensional scaling in place in order to transform the rule antecedents into points in a low dimensional Euclidean space. The elaboration on the distribution of these points is carried out by means of an objective-function based fuzzy clustering using a cluster validity index. Rules that correspond to points belonging to the same cluster are similar and therefore, are unified through a specialized merging process. With respect to each dimension, the aforementioned merging process acts to create a topology of fuzzy sets that enables us to elicit interpretability constraints, which are used to minimize the model's performance index in terms of non-linear constrained optimization. The established fuzzy model appears to possess a simple and transparent (i.e. interpretable) structure while maintaining a highly accurate behavior. The overall method is rigorously tested and evaluated through a number of simulation experiments that involve low and high dimensional data sets.

Gyro-viscosity and linear dispersion relations in pair-ion magnetized plasmas

A fluid theory has been developed by taking account of gyro-viscosity to study wave propagation characteristics in a homogeneous pair-ion magnetized plasma with a cylindrical symmetry. The exact dispersion relations derived by the Hankel-Fourier transformation are shown comparable with those observed in the experiment by Oohara and co-workers. The gyro-viscosity is responsible for the change in propagation characteristics of the ion cyclotron wave from forward to backward by suppressing the effect of the thermal pressure which normally causes the forward nature of dispersion. Although the experiment has been already explained by a kinetic theory by the present authors, the kinetic derivations are so involved because of exact particle orbits in phase space, finite Lamor radius effects, and higher order ion cyclotron resonances. The present fluid theory provides a simple and transparent structure to the dispersion relations since the gyro-viscosity is renormalized into the ion cyclotron frequency which itself indicates the backward nature of dispersion. The usual disadvantage of a fluid theory, which treats only fundamental modes of eigen-waves excited in a system and is not able to describe higher harmonics that a kinetic theory does, is compensated by simple derivations and clear picture based on the renormalization of the gyro-viscosity.

Highly Flexible Touch Screen Panel Fabricated with Silver Nanowire Crossing Electrodes and Transparent Bridges

A capacitive-type touch screen panel (TSP) composed of silver nanowire (AgNW) crossing electrodes and transparent bridge structures was fabricated on a polycarbonate film. The transparent bridge structure was formed with a stack of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) electrodes and SU-8 insulator. The stable and robust continuity of the bridge electrode over the bridge insulator was achieved by making the side-wall slope of the bridge insulator low and depositing the conformal AZO film with atomic layer deposition. With an extended exposure time of photolithography, the lower part of the SU-8 layer around the region uncovered by the photomask can be exposed enough to the UV light scattered from the substrate. This leads to the low side-wall slope of the bridge insulator. The fabricated TSP sample showed a large capacitance change of 22.71% between with and without touching. Our work supplies the technological clue for ensuring long-term reliability to the highly flexible and transparent TSP made by using conventional fabrication processes.

A phase‐field model for chemo‐mechanical induced fracture in lithium‐ion battery electrode particles

SummaryCapacity fade in conventional Li‐ion battery systems due to chemo‐mechanical degradation during charge–discharge cycles is the bottleneck in high‐performance battery design. Stresses generated by diffusion‐mechanical coupling in Li‐ion intercalation and deintercalation cycles, accompanied by swelling and shrinking at finite strains, cause micro‐cracks, which finally disturb the electrical conductivity and isolate the electrode particles. This leads to battery capacity fade. As a first attempt towards a reliable description of this complex phenomenon, we propose a novel finite strain theory for chemo‐elasticity coupled with phase‐field modeling of fracture, which regularizes a sharp crack topology. We apply a rigorous geometric approach to the diffusive crack modeling based on the introduction of a global evolution equation of regularized crack surface, governed by the crack phase field. The irreversible evolution of the crack phase field is modeled through a novel critical stress‐based growth function. A modular concept is outlined for linking of the diffusive crack modeling to the complex chemo‐elastic material response of the bulk material. Here, we incorporate standard as well as gradient‐extended Cahn–Hilliard‐type diffusion for the Li‐ions, where the latter accounts for a possible phase segregation. From the viewpoint of the methodology, the separation of modules for the crack evolution and the bulk response provides a highly attractive and transparent structure of the multi‐physics problem. This structure is exploited on the numerical side by constructing a robust finite element method, based on an algorithmic decoupling of updates for the crack phase field and the state variables of the chemo‐mechanical bulk response. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed coupled multi‐field formulation by an analysis of representative boundary value problems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.