Analysis of piezoelectric semiconductor fibers under gradient temperature changes

Piezoelectric semiconductors(PSs)possess both semiconducting properties and piezoelectric coupling effects,making them optimal building blocks for semiconductor devices.PS fiber-like structures have wide applications in multi-functional semiconductor devices.In this paper,a one-dimensional(1D)theoretical model is established to describe the piezotronic responses of a PS fiber under gradient temperature changes.The theoretical model aims to explain the mechanism behind the resistance change caused by such gradient temperature changes.Numerical results demonstrate that a gradient temperature change significantly affects the physical fields within the PS fiber,and can induce changes in its surface resistance.It provides important theoretical guidance on the development of piezotronic devices that are sensitive to temperature effects.

Impacts of multi-scenario land use change on ecosystem services and ecological security pattern: A case study of the Yellow River Delta

The Yellow River Delta(YRD), a critical economic zone along China's eastern coast, also functions as a vital ecological reserve in the lower Yellow River. Amidst rapid industrialization and urbanization, the region has witnessed significant land use/cover changes(LUCC), impacting ecosystem services(ES) and ecological security patterns(ESP). Investigating LUCC's effects on ES and ESP in the YRD is crucial for ecological security and sustainable development. This study utilized the PLUS model to simulate 2030 land use scenarios, including natural development(NDS), economic development(EDS), and ecological protection scenarios(EPS). Subsequently, the InVEST model and circuit theory were applied to assess ES and ESP under varying LUCC scenarios from 2010 to 2030. Findings indicate:(1) Notable LUCC from 2010 to 2030, marked by decreasing cropland and increasing construction land and water bodies.(2) From 2010 to 2020, improvements were observed in carbon storage,water yield, soil retention, and habitat quality, whereas 2020–2030 saw increases in water yield and soil retention but declines in habitat quality and carbon storage. Among the scenarios, EPS showed superior performance in all four ES.(3) Between 2010 and 2030, ecological sources, corridors, and pinchpoints expanded, displaying significant spatial heterogeneity. The EPS scenario yielded the most substantial increases in ecological sources,corridors, and pinchpoints, totaling 582.89 km^(2), 645.03 km^(2),and 64.43 km^(2), respectively. This study highlights the importance of EPS, offering insightful scientific guidance for the YRD's sustainable development.

An Improved Coupled Level Set and Continuous Moment-of-Fluid Method for Simulating Multiphase Flows with Phase Change

An improved algorithm for computing multiphase flows is presented in which the multimaterial Moment-of-Fluid(MOF)algorithm for multiphase flows,initially described by Li et al.(2015),is enhanced addressing existing MOF difficulties in computing solutions to problems in which surface tension forces are crucial for understanding salient flow mechanisms.The Continuous MOF(CMOF)method is motivated in this article.The CMOF reconstruction method inherently removes the"checkerboard instability"that persists when using the MOF method on surface tension driven multiphase(multimaterial)flows.The CMOF reconstruction algorithm is accelerated by coupling the CMOF method to the level set method and coupling the CMOF method to a decision tree machine learning(ML)algorithm.Multiphase flow examples are shown in the two-dimensional(2D),three-dimensional(3D)axisymmetric"RZ",and 3D coordinate systems.Examples include two material and three material multiphase flows:bubble formation,the impingement of a liquid jet on a gas bubble in a cryogenic fuel tank,freezing,and liquid lens dynamics.

Closed circle DNA algorithm of change positive-weighted Hamilton circuit problem

Chain length of closed circle DNA is equal. The same closed circle DNA＇s position corresponds to different recognition sequence, and the same recognition sequence corresponds to different foreign DNA segment, so closed circle DNA computing model is generalized. For change positive-weighted Hamilton circuit problem, closed circle DNA algorithm is put forward. First, three groups of DNA encoding are encoded for all arcs, and deck groups are designed for all vertices. All possible solutions are composed. Then, the feasible solutions are filtered out by using group detect experiment, and the optimization solutions are obtained by using group insert experiment and electrophoresis experiment. Finally, all optimization solutions are found by using detect experiment. Complexity of algorithm is concluded and validity of DNA algorithm is explained by an example. Three dominances of the closed circle DNA algorithm are analyzed, and characteristics and dominances of group delete experiment are discussed.

An Analysis of Liberia’s Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Context of Least Developed Countries (LDCs): A Review

Climate change is an alarming global challenge, particularly affecting the least developed countries (LDCs) including Liberia. These countries, located in regions prone to unpredictable temperature and precipitation changes, are facing significant challenges, particularly in climate-sensitive sectors such as mining and agriculture. LDCs need more resilience to adverse climate shocks but have limited capacity for adaptation compared to other developed and developing nations. This paper examines Liberia’s susceptibility to climate change as a least developed country, focusing on its exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. It provides an overview of LDCs and outlines the global distribution of carbon dioxide emissions. The paper also evaluates specific challenges that amplify Liberia’s vulnerability and constrain sustainable adaptation, providing insight into climate change’s existing and potential effects. The paper emphasizes the urgency of addressing climate impacts on Liberia and calls for concerted local and international efforts for effective and sustainable mitigation efforts. It provides recommendations for policy decisions and calls for further research on climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Pixelated non-volatile programmable photonic integrated circuits with 20-level intermediate states

Multi-level programmable photonic integrated circuits(PICs)and optical metasurfaces have gained widespread attention in many fields,such as neuromorphic photonics,opticalcommunications,and quantum information.In this paper,we propose pixelated programmable Si_(3)N_(4)PICs with record-high 20-level intermediate states at 785 nm wavelength.Such flexibility in phase or amplitude modulation is achieved by a programmable Sb_(2)S_(3)matrix,the footprint of whose elements can be as small as 1.2μm,limited only by the optical diffraction limit of anin-house developed pulsed laser writing system.We believe our work lays the foundation for laser-writing ultra-high-level(20 levels and even more)programmable photonic systems and metasurfaces based on phase change materials,which could catalyze diverse applications such as programmable neuromorphic photonics,biosensing,optical computing,photonic quantum computing,and reconfigurable metasurfaces.

Spider Web‑Inspired Graphene Skeleton‑Based High Thermal Conductivity Phase Change Nanocomposites for Battery Thermal Management

Phase change materials(PCMs)can be used for efficient thermal energy harvesting,which has great potential for cost-effective thermal management and energy storage.However,the low intrinsic thermal conductivity of polymeric PCMs is a bottleneck for fast and efficient heat harvesting.Simultaneously,it is also a challenge to achieve a high thermal conductivity for phase change nanocomposites at low filler loading.Although constructing a three-dimensional(3D)thermally conductive network within PCMs can address these problems,the anisotropy of the 3D framework usually leads to poor thermal conductivity in the direction perpendicular to the alignment of fillers.Inspired by the interlaced structure of spider webs in nature,this study reports a new strategy for fabricating highly thermally conductive phase change composites(sw-GS/PW)with a 3D spider web(sw)-like structured graphene skeleton(GS)by hydrothermal reaction,radial freeze-casting and vacuum impregnation in paraffin wax(PW).The results show that the sw-GS hardly affected the phase transformation behavior of PW at low loading.Especially,sw-GS/PW exhibits both high cross-plane and in-plane thermal conductivity enhancements of~1260%and~840%,respectively,at an ultra-low filler loading of 2.25 vol.%.The thermal infrared results also demonstrate that sw-GS/PW possessed promising applications in battery thermal management.

Morphologic changes of simple star dunes during the growth process in Dunhuang,China

Star dune is one typical kind of aeolian geomorphology in global sand seas.It has attracted scholars in various research fields for years because of its unique morphologic features like Egyptian pyramid.The landform pattern of star dune is mainly dominated by factors such as regional wind regime,sand availability,and local topography.Star dunes grow vertically as they accumulate sand brought in from different directions;however,little is known regarding morphologic changes during this process.The stability of star dunes based on quantitative data is another unsolved question due to the limitation in measuring equipment or other factors.And whether the star dune can grow into star sand hills is another scientific problem which needs to be discussed.In this paper,the heightening development process and morphological changes of star dunes were monitored in Mingsha Mountain of Dunhuang with the 3D laser scanner.Results show that the star dunes in Mingsha Mountain were formed by a group of relatively steady winds,which were northwest,northeast and south winds.With the increase of the height of the star dunes,the morphological parameters of the dune,such as the volume and bottom area,did not show regular changes.The surface erosion of both Dune 1 and Dune 2 during the observation period was closely related to the regional wind conditions.During the growth of the star dunes,the overall trend of the dunes was relatively steady and the dune shape maintained its stability although the aspect and slope of the sand dunes changed,indicating that the stability of star dune was not complete and was dynamic.Moreover,the variation range of the dune slope was proportional to the volume change of the dune.

Application of X-ray Computed Tomography in Characterization Microstructure Changes of Cement Pastes in Carbonation Process

The microstructure characteristics and meso-defect volume changes of hardened cement paste before and after carbonation were investigated by three-dimensional （3D） X-ray computed tomograpby （XCT）, where three types water-to-cement ratio of 0.53, 0.35 and 0.23 were considered. The high-resolution 3D images of microstructure and filtered defects were reconstructed by an XCT VG Studio MAX 2.0 software, The meso- defect volume fractions and size distribution were analyzed based on 3D images through add-on modules of 3D defect analysis. The 3D meso-defects volume fractions before carbonation were 0.79%, 0.38% and 0.05% corresponding to w/c ratio=0.53, 0.35 and 0.23, respectively. The 3D meso-defects volume fractions after carbonation were 2.44%, 0.91% and 0.14% corresponding to w/c ratio=0.53, 0.35 and 0.23, respectively. The experimental results suggest that 3D meso-defects volume fractions after carbonation for above three w/c ratio increased significantly. At the same time, meso-cracks distribution of the carbonation shrinkage and gray values changes of the different w/c ratio and carbonation reactions were also investigated.

Economic Implications of CO2 Emission Reduction in Japan Applying a Dynamic CGE Model with Endogenous Technological Change： Use of Emission Permit Revenue

This study analyzes the economic and environmental impacts of a climate change measure in Japan using a single-country dynamic computable general equilibrium model with technological change as an endogenous variable. In this way, a comprehensive analysis of the relationships between climate change and its measures, technology, and economy has been done. The model uses technological change as the accumulation of knowledge capital that is derived from research and development investment. The study investigates the impacts of a climate change measure considering the use of emission permit revenue and technological change induced by the policy implementation in the Japanese economy. Simulation results show that there is compatibility between CO2 emission reduction and positive effects on GDP that depends on the ways of the revenue use and technological change induced by emission reduction. However, it is not possible to find the ways to realize positive effects on both GDP and welfare simultaneously in the study. The sensitivity analysis for the elasticity of substitution between knowledge capital and other inputs also confirms the obtained results.

Development of a Client-Server System for 3D Scene Change Detection

In this paper, we present a client-server system for 3D scene change detection. A 3D scene point cloud which stored on the server is reconstructed by (structure-from-motion) SfM technique in advance. On the other hand, the client system in tablets captures query images and sent them to the server to estimate the change area. In order to find region of change, an existing change detection method has been applied into our system. Then the server sends detection result image back to mobile device and visualize it. The result of system test shows that the system could detect change cor- rectly.

Estimation of the Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources Using a Deterministic Distributed Hydrological Model in Cote d’Ivoire:Case of the Aghien Lagoon

This work aims to evaluate the impact of climate change on the quantitative availability of the Aghien lagoon located in the north of the Abidjan district in Côte d’Ivoire. In the first step, the semi-distributed SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tools) based physical model (Arnold et al., 1998) was calibrated and validated at the monthly time step over the period 1960-1981, in the Me watershed for which data from flow rates are available. SWAT was then applied on the watershed of the lagoon of Aghien which is ungauged but for which the challenges are considerable for the drinking water supply of the Abidjanese population. In the second step, the gross outputs (precipitation, temperatures) of six climate models of the CORDEX-Africa project under the “Representative Concentration Pathways” (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) scenarios were corrected using the delta method. These corrected outputs were used at the SWAT model input to project the impact of climate change on the flow of the Aghien lagoon to horizons 2040 (2035-2056), 2060 (2057-2078) and 2080 (2079-2100). The projections made on these different horizons were compared with the simulated flow over the period 1960-1981. The results show a sensible decrease in the annual flow of the Aghien lagoon compared to the reference period (1960-1981). Under the medium assumption (RCP 4.5), the models predict a decrease in the annual discharge almost 10% on average. Under the pessimistic hypothesis (RCP 8.5), the average annual discharge should decrease by more than 17%. On a monthly basis, flows in August and September would increase by more than 80% and those in October and November would increase by more than 20% in both RCP scenarios.

Investigation Flow Depth and Flow Speed Changes in the Karun River

In the present study, the Karun River in Khuzestan province in Iran is that is somehow considered the river with the most water in the country was examined. To examine the depth and speed of the flow, which undoubtedly have the greatest impact on the environment and ecosystem of the river, two-dimensional simulation by CCHE2D model was used. In this study, it was observed that, firstly, the changes of depth and velocity along the river have good coordination and the highest changes were observed in the meander and arches. Moreover, due to using two-dimensional model, there is the possibility of examining changes of parameters in the longitudinal and transverse direction that shows the two-dimensional model is an efficient and powerful model in studying river flows.

Multi-dimensional Simulation of Phase Change by a 0D-2D Model Coupling via Stefan Condition

Considering phase changes associated with a high-temperature molten material cooled down from the outside,this work presents an improvement of the modelling and the numerical simulation of such processes for an application pertaining to the safety of light water nuclear reactors.Postulating a core meltdown accident,the behaviour of the core melt(aka corium)into a steel vessel is of tremendous importance when evaluating the vessel integrity.Evaluating correctly the heat fluxes requires the numerical simulation of the interaction between the liquid material and its solid counterpart which forms during the solidification process,but also may melt back.To simulate this configuration,encoun-tered in various industrial applications,one considers a bi-phase model constituted by a liquid phase in contact and interaction with its solid phase.The liquid phase may solidify in presence of low energetic source,while the solid phase may melt due to an intense heat flux from the high-temperature liquid.In the frame of the in-house legacy code,several simplifying assumptions(0D multi-layer discretization,instantaneous heat transfer via a quadratic temperature profile in solids)are made for the modelling of such phase changes.In the present work,these shortcomings are illustrated and further overcome by solving a 2D heat conduction model in the solid by a mixed Raviart-Thomas finite element method coupled to the liquid phase due to heat and mass exchanges through Stefan condition.The liquid phase is modeled with a 0D multi-layer approach.The 0D-liquid and 2D-solid mod-els are coupled by a Stefan like phase change interface model.Several sanity checks are performed to assess the validity of the approach on 1D and 2D academical configurations for which exact or reference solutions are available.Then more advanced situations(genu-ine multi-dimensional phase changes and an"industrial-like scenario")are simulated to verify the appropriate behavior of the obtained coupled simulation scheme.

Visualization of Landscape Changes in a 3D Environment Using the Storytelling Approach—The Example of the City of Pristina

This study proposes a detailed concept of how landscape changes can be transferred and communicated in a 3D environment using the storytelling approach. In 2018, Mocnik and Fairbairn argued that maps are good for representing a geographic space but texts have a better benefit than maps for telling a story [1]. A framework is presented on how a landscape change can be retrieved out of textual descriptions. A prototype of a 3D model with a projection on top of it was developed. The case study tells the story of the landscape change in the city of Pristina. The key element of the visualization is a timeline. Several media like cadastral maps, orthophotos, texts, graphics, and background sound are used and combined in an animated light show and the visualization was evaluated within a user study.

The Influence and Implications of Climate Change on Water Quality in a Large Water Reservoir in the Southwest, USA

Maintaining water quality in large reservoirs is crucial to ensure continued delivery of high-quality water to consumers for municipal and agricultural needs. Lake Mead, a large reservoir in the desert southwest, USA, is projected to be affected by both loss of volume and rising air temperatures through the end of the 21st century. In this study, reductions in lake volume, coupled with downscaled climate projections for rising air temperatures through the end of the 21st century, are incorporated into the 3D hydrodynamic and water quality model for Lake Mead. If current management practices continue in the future, simulations indicate water temperatures will increase in all scenarios and could increase by as much 2℃under the most pessimistic scenarios, but nutrient loads would not increase to concerning levels. Releases from the dam to downstream users are projected to be much warmer, and warmer water temperatures and significant dissolved oxygen in the water column are expected to cause challenges for ecosystem and recreation in the future. Surprisingly, during the Winter and Autumn, retention of heat in Lake Mead is more pronounced at higher surface elevations than the lower elevations as expected. The effects of these projections on the lake water quality and consequently, lake management decisions, are discussed.

Comparative Heat Transfer Data for Solid-Liquid Phase Change of D-Mannitol and Adipic Acid

The goal of this work was to measure the heat transfer rates from thermofluid, Therminol 66, to two phase change materials, D-mannitol and adipic acid. It concerns the determination of heat transfer coefficients for the design of a concentrated solar energy plant requiring PCM thermal energy storage and is part of a wider set of experiments, where several PCMs were tested. An experimental installation was used with a cylindrical vessel with three tubes disposed almost horizontally (5°inclination), containing the phase change material, around which the thermal fluid flowed almost perpendicular to the tubes. The experimental installation allowed to recreate heating and cooling cycles. In order to evaluate the influence of the flow on the rate at which the heating and cooling processes took place, tests were performed at different thermofluid mass flow rates, concluding that there is no great influence, since the thermal resistance inside the tubes is much higher than on the outside. D-mannitol and adipic acid, present different phase change temperatures, 164°C for D-mannitol and 152°C for adipic acid. The average heat transfer coefficient, during the phase change process, was of 340 W/(m2K) for D-mannitol and 1320 W/(m2K) for adipic acid.

The Impact of Climate Change on the Stratification of Coastal Areas of the Euboean Gulf and the Diffusion of Urban Wastewater in Them

Hydrodynamic circulation in a marine environment, characterized by the influence of strong tides, atmospheric loading and bathymetry, is a complex phenomenon. The physical and hydrodynamic characteristics of this flow are absolutely crucial for the vertical mixing of the sea masses and consequently for the mixing of their physico-chemical parameters, such as nutrients and oxygen, as well as for the diffusion and dispersion of passive pollutants, the recharge of the waters and the general environmental situation. This paper examines the effect of a future increase in mean air temperature on the water column stratification of coastal areas of interest, which are subject to the above loadings and receive treated urban wastewater, and how this increase could affect their diffusion and mixing of conservative pollutants contained therein.

Environmental Change in Agricultural Land in Southwest Cote d’Ivoire:Driving Forces and Impacts

Environmental conditions change in the Southwest of Cote d’Ivoire has been a major issue in development debates over the last decades. Using remote sensing based on land cover change analysis, climatic data, national statistical data, we analyzed the drivers of environmental change in Southwestern of Cote d’Ivoire. Being part of the perennial crops basin, Southwestern of Cote d’Ivoire has witnessed rapid degradation of environmental conditions caused by the conversion of forest areas to agricultural land during the last 20 - 30 years and by a combination of decline in precipitation, soil degradation, a diversity of policies with little concern for the environment and population pressure. We concluded that while climate variability has influenced environmental change in the area of Sassandra, various types of anthropogenic and State interventions in agriculture appear to have been the main underlying causes of environmental degradation.

Potential Impact of Climate Change on the Sediment Fluxes of a Watershed in West Africa: Cas of the Aghien Lagoon, Côte d’Ivoire

The semi-distributed SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tools) model was used in this study to model the sediment yield in the watershed of the Aghien lagoon with an area of 365 km2, located in the north of the district of Abidjan (South-East from C?te d’Ivoire). A sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, as well as calibration of the SWAT model, was conducted using the Sequential Uncertainty Adjustment Procedure (SUFI-2) which is one of the programs interfaced with SWAT in the SWAT-Cup package (SWAT-Calibration-Uncertainty Programs). Five parameters of the SWAT model were found to be more sensitive to sediment fluxes. These have been modified (calibration) sparingly in order to improve the reproduction of observed sediments data. Two measures were used to assess the uncertainty analysis of the model: P-factor and R-factor. The R2 and Nash-Sutcliffe (NS) coefficients of determination were used to assess the quality of the calibration. The P-factor obtained is 0.58 and the R-factor is 2.28. The NS and R2 coefficients in calibration over the period from June 2014 to January 2015 are 0.51 and 0.86 respectively. These values indicate correct consideration of uncertainties by the model and satisfactory calibration of the SWAT model for solid fluxes. Then, the model was used to simulate the sediment fluxes at the horizons 2040 (2035-2056), 2060 (2057-2078) and 2080 (2079-2100) in order to assess the impact of climate change on sediments in the watershed of the Aghien lagoon. The results indicate that sediment fluxes could increase in the future under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. With RCP 4.5, sediment fluxes would increase on average by 14.42%. They could increase by 17.95% on average under RCP 8.5.