Mutual Self‑Regulation of d‑Electrons of Single Atoms and Adjacent Nanoparticles for Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysis and Rechargeable Zinc‑Air Batteries

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries(ZABs)are a promising energy conversion device,which rely critically on electrocatalysts to accelerate their rate-determining reactions such as oxygen reduction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reactions(OER).Herein,we fabricate a range of bifunctional M-N-C(metal-nitrogen-carbon)catalysts containing M-Nx coordination sites and M/MxC nanoparticles(M=Co,Fe,and Cu)using a new class ofγ-cyclodextrin(CD)based metal-organic framework as the precursor.With the two types of active sites interacting with each other in the catalysts,the obtained Fe@C-FeNC and Co@C-CoNC display superior alkaline ORR activity in terms of low half-wave(E1/2)potential(~0.917 and 0.906 V,respectively),which are higher than Cu@C-CuNC(~0.829 V)and the commercial Pt/C(~0.861 V).As a bifunctional electrocatalyst,the Co@C-CoNC exhibits the best performance,showing a bifunctional ORR/OER overpotential(ΔE)of~0.732 V,which is much lower than that of Fe@C-FeNC(~0.831 V)and Cu@C-CuNC(~1.411 V),as well as most of the robust bifunctional electrocatalysts reported to date.Synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy and density functional theory simulations reveal that the strong electronic correlation between metallic Co nanoparticles and the atomic Co-N4 sites in the Co@C-CoNC catalyst can increase the d-electron density near the Fermi level and thus effectively optimize the adsorption/desorption of intermediates in ORR/OER,resulting in an enhanced bifunctional electrocatalytic performance.The Co@C-CoNC-based rechargeable ZAB exhibited a maximum power density of 162.80 mW cm^(−2) at 270.30 mA cm^(−2),higher than the combination of commercial Pt/C+RuO2(~158.90 mW cm^(−2) at 265.80 mA cm^(−2))catalysts.During the galvanostatic discharge at 10 mA cm^(−2),the ZAB delivered an almost stable discharge voltage of 1.2 V for~140 h,signifying the virtue of excellent bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalytic activity.

How to make the "jump" on understanding the importance of the intrinsic foot muscles for propulsion

In this issue of the Journal of Sport and Health Science,Smith and colleagues1addressed a unique aspect of human locomotion;they evaluated the effects of the intrinsic foot musculature on the mechanical properties and energetic function of the human foot.By performing a controlled jumping experiment to mimic components of human locomotion.

A Nonstandard Computational Investigation of SEIR Model with Fuzzy Transmission, Recovery and Death Rates

In this article,a Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered(SEIR)epidemic model is considered.The equilibrium analysis and reproduction number are studied.The conventional models have made assumptions of homogeneity in disease transmission that contradict the actual reality.However,it is crucial to consider the heterogeneity of the transmission rate when modeling disease dynamics.Describing the heterogeneity of disease transmission mathematically can be achieved by incorporating fuzzy theory.A numerical scheme nonstandard,finite difference(NSFD)approach is developed for the studied model and the results of numerical simulations are presented.Simulations of the constructed scheme are presented.The positivity,convergence and consistency of the developed technique are investigated using mathematical induction,Jacobean matrix and Taylor series expansions respectively.The suggested scheme preserves all these essential characteristics of the disease dynamical models.The numerical and simulation results reveal that the proposed NSFD method provides an adequate representation of the dynamics of the disease.Moreover,the obtained method generates plausible predictions that can be used by regulators to support the decision-making process to design and develop control strategies.Effects of the natural immunity on the infected class are studied which reveals that an increase in natural immunity can decrease the infection and vice versa.

Numerical Investigation of Malaria Disease Dynamics in Fuzzy Environment

The application of fuzzy theory is vital in all scientific disciplines.The construction of mathematical models with fuzziness is little studied in the literature.With this in mind and for a better understanding of the disease,an SEIR model of malaria transmission with fuzziness is examined in this study by extending a classicalmodel ofmalaria transmission.The parametersβandδ,being function of the malaria virus load,are considered fuzzy numbers.Three steady states and the reproduction number of the model are analyzed in fuzzy senses.A numerical technique is developed in a fuzzy environment to solve the studied model,which retains essential properties such as positivity and dynamic consistency.Moreover,numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate the analytical results of the developed technique.Unlike most of the classical methods in the literature,the proposed approach converges unconditionally and can be considered a reliable tool for studying malaria disease dynamics.

Dynamical Comparison of Several Third-Order Iterative Methods for Nonlinear Equations

There are several ways that can be used to classify or compare iterative methods for nonlinear equations,for instance;order of convergence,informational efficiency,and efficiency index.In this work,we use another way,namely the basins of attraction of the method.The purpose of this study is to compare several iterative schemes for nonlinear equations.All the selected schemes are of the third-order of convergence and most of them have the same efficiency index.The comparison depends on the basins of attraction of the iterative techniques when applied on several polynomials of different degrees.As a comparison,we determine the CPU time(in seconds)needed by each scheme to obtain the basins of attraction,besides,we illustrate the area of convergence of these schemes by finding the number of convergent and divergent points in a selected range for all methods.Comparisons confirm the fact that basins of attraction differ for iterative methods of different orders,furthermore,they vary for iterative methods of the same order even if they have the same efficiency index.Consequently,this leads to the need for a new index that reflects the real efficiency of the iterative scheme instead of the commonly used efficiency index.

Effect of magnetic flux advection on the dynamics of shock in accretion flow around a rotating black hole

We investigate the dynamical behavior of a magnetized,dissipative accretion flow around a rapidly rotating black hole.We solve the magnetohydrodynamic equations and calculate the transonic accretion solutions which may contain discontinuous shock transitions.We investigate the effect ofζ-parameter(parametrizing the radial variation of the toroidal magnetic flux advection rate)on the dynamical behavior of shocks.For a rapidly rotating black hole and for fixed injection parameters at the outer edge,we show that stationary shocks are sustained in the global magnetized accretion solutions for a wide range ofζand accretion rate(˙m).To investigate the observational implications,we consider dissipative shocks and estimate the maximum accessible energy from the post-shock corona(PSC)for nine stellar mass black hole candidates.We compare this with the observed radio jet kinetic power reported in the literature,whenever available.We find close agreement between the estimated values from our model and those reported in the literature.

New Optimal Newton-Householder Methods for Solving Nonlinear Equations and Their Dynamics

The classical iterative methods for finding roots of nonlinear equations,like the Newton method,Halley method,and Chebyshev method,have been modified previously to achieve optimal convergence order.However,the Householder method has so far not been modified to become optimal.In this study,we shall develop two new optimal Newton-Householder methods without memory.The key idea in the development of the new methods is the avoidance of the need to evaluate the second derivative.The methods fulfill the Kung-Traub conjecture by achieving optimal convergence order four with three functional evaluations and order eight with four functional evaluations.The efficiency indices of the methods show that methods perform better than the classical Householder’s method.With the aid of convergence analysis and numerical analysis,the efficiency of the schemes formulated in this paper has been demonstrated.The dynamical analysis exhibits the stability of the schemes in solving nonlinear equations.Some comparisons with other optimal methods have been conducted to verify the effectiveness,convergence speed,and capability of the suggested methods.

Does Foreign Direct Investment Affect S0_(2) Emissions in the Yangtze River Delta?A Spatial Econometric Analysis

As the major source of air pollution,sulfur dioxide(S0_(2))emissions have become the focus of global attention.However,existing studies rarely consider spatial effects when discussing the relationship between foreign direct investment(FDI)and S0_(2) emissions.This study took the Yangtze River Delta as the research area and used the spatial panel data of 26 cities in this region for 2004-2017.The study investigated the spatial agglomeration effects and dynamics at work in FDI and S0_(2) emissions by using global and local measures of spatial autocorrelation.Then,based on regression analysis using a results of traditional ordinary least squares(OLS)model and a spatial econometric model,the spatial Durbin model(SDM)with spatial-time effects was adopted to quantify the impact of FDI on S0_(2) emissions,so as to avoid the regression results bias caused by ignoring the spatial effects.The results revealed a significant spatial autocorrelation between FDI and S0_(2) emissions,both of which displayed obvious path dependence characteristics in their geographical distribution.A series of agglomeration regions were observed on the spatial scale.The estimation results of the SDM showed that FDI inflow promoted S0_(2) emissions,which supports the pollution haven hypothesis.The findings of this study are significant in the prevention and control of air pollution in the Yangtze River Delta.

Interaction design for paediatric emergency VR training

Background Virtual reality(VR)in healthcare training has increased adoption and support,but efforts are still required to mitigate usability concerns.Methods This study conducted a usability study of an in-use emergency medicine VR training application,available on commercially available VR hardware and with a standard interaction design.Nine users without prior VR experience but with relevant medical expertise completed two simulation scenarios for a total of 18 recorded sessions.They completed NASA Task Load Index and System Usability Scale questionnaires after each session,and their performance was recorded for the tracking of user errors.Results and Conclusions Our results showed a medium(and potentially optimal)Workload and an above average System Usability Score.There was significant improvement in several factors between users'first and second sessions,notably increased Performance evaluation.User errors with the strongest correlation to usability were not directly tied to interaction design,however,but to a limited'possibility space'.Suggestions for closing this'gulf of execution'were presented,including'voice control'and'hand-tracking',which are only feasible for this commercial product now with the availability of the Oculus Quest headset.Moreover,wider implications for VR medical training were outlined,and potential next steps towards a standardized design identified.

Significant reduction in friction and wear of a high-entropy alloy via the formation of self-organized nanolayered structure

Sliding wear-induced nanolayering and its positive impact on wear resistance have been observed in conventional binary alloys with a matrix of high stacking fault energy(SFE),but this concept has never been reported in high-entropy alloys(HEAs)with low SFE.Here,we design and fabricate a(CoCrFeNi)_(90)Ag_(10)HEA,consisting of a face-center-cubic(fcc)CoCrFeNi HEA matrix with low SFE and uniformly dispersed Ag precipitates.In comparison with CoCrFeNi,a significant reduction in friction and wear was found in(CoCrFeNi)_(90)Ag_(10)HEA through the spontaneous formation of nanolayered subsurface microstructure during wear.The finding suggests a novel approach for designing HEAs that can achieve low friction and wear.

Impact of partial slip condition on mixed convection of nanofluid within lid-driven wavy cavity and solid inner body

In thermofluid systems,the lid-driven square chamber plays an imperative role in analyzing thermodynamics’first and second laws in limited volume cases executed by sheer effects with a prominent role in many industrial applications including electronic cooling,heat exchangers,microfluidic components,solar collectors,and renewable energies.Furthermore,nanofluids as working fluids have demonstrated potential for heat transfer enhancement systems,however there are some concerns about irreversibility problems in the systems.Due to this problem and in line with the applications of partial slip on fluid flow modification and irreversibilities,the present study considers laminar mixed convection and entropy generation analysis of aluminum oxide nanofluid inside a lid-driven wavy cavity having an internal conductive solid body in the presence of a partial slip on the upper surface,which to the best of our knowledge,has not been investigated so far.The fundamental equations of the current work with the appropriate boundary conditions are first made dimensionless and then solved numerically using the Galerkin weighted residual FEM.The main parameters of the flow and heat transfer,entropy generation,and Bejan number are presented and explained in details.The outcomes indicate that the partial slip is more effective when friction irreversibilities govern the cavity.In the presence of slip condition,the flow circulation changes the trend in the middle of the cavity around the solid block leading to a decrease in the isentropic lines at the dense sections with almost 30%less than the case of no-slip condition.It is concluded that partial slip shows different trends on the local Nusselt number interface along the wavy wall improving the average Nusselt number where high friction irreversibilities dominate.

In vitro mineralisation of grafted ePTFE membranes carrying carboxylate groups

In vitro mineralisation in simulated body fluid(SBF)of synthetic polymers continues to be an important area of research as the outcomes cannot be predicted.This study evaluates a series of ePTFE membranes grafted with carboxylate-containing copolymers,specifically using acrylic acid and itaconic acid for grafting.The samples differ with regards to graft density,carboxylate density and polymer topology.The type and amount of mineral produced in 1.5×SBF was dependent on the sample characteristics as evident from XPS,SEM/EDX,and FTIR spectroscopy.It was found that the graft density affects the mineral phases that form and that low graft density appear to cause co-precipitation of calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate.Linear and branched graft copolymer topology led to hydroxyapatite mineralisation whereas crosslinked graft copolymers resulted in formation of a mixture of calcium-phosphate phases.This study demonstrates that in vitro mineralisation outcomes for carboxylate-containing graft copolymers are complex.The findings of this study have implications for the design of bioactive coatings and are important for understanding the bone-biomaterial interface.

Reconfigurable control as actuator fault-tolerant control design for power oscillation damping

This paper presents design of an self contained actuators unit in wide area damping control of power system in stabilizing system response for both nominal system condition and during actuator faults.First it is presented that use of multiple actuators in wide area control aid in improving damping in power system.A wide area damping controller feeding multiple actuators to satisfy multiple objectives in wide area damping control of power system is designed.Minimization of infinity norm of closed loop transfer function of power system with wide area controller in feedback path&closed loop poles placement techniques are used in controller synthesis.Second a reconfigurable control on the lines of fault hiding principle is added to the controller design to maintain system damping to pre-fault level in case of actuator faults.A reconfiguration component(RC)is activated on occurrence of actuator fault thereby reconfiguring system dynamics and redistributing wide area control signal among remaining active actuators.RC together with remaining active actuators and under same wide area damping controller maintains system damping to pre-fault level thereby preserving system dynamic response.In the reconfigurable control design presented here no new actuators outside the unit of actuators designed for wide area damping control is required.This makes for an self contained actuators unit in wide area damping control of power system both for nominal system condition and for system affected by actuator faults.A two area power system model is considered here for demonstrating effectiveness of designed robust damping controller with multiple outputs feeding multiple actuators in wide area control and illustrating the idea of self contained actuators unit for maintaining system damping in case of actuator faults.

AC loss and contact resistance in highly flexible rebco cable for fusion applications

High Temperature Superconductor(HTS)materials can operate at higher magnetic fields up to 20 T with high critical current and higher operating temperature,compared to low temperature superconductors(LTS).A Highly Flexible REBCO Cable(HFRC)is introduced at the Institute of Plasma Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences(ASIPP);a cabling method that is suitable for REBCO HTS tape having anisotropic material properties in its thin REBCO layer.This type of HTS superconducting cable shows high potential for applications in nuclear fusion.The alternating currents and magnetic fields in tokamak type of fusion magnets,cause AC power losses in such cables,which can provoke instability of the conductor by induced currents and increase the temperature.As a first step in characterizing the electromagnetic(EM)performance of an HFRC cable,the AC loss and contact resistance of the HFRC prototype cable were measured at the University of Twente.The measurements were done in liquid helium(4.2 K)with AC magnetic fields,applied perpendicular to the cable's long axis.The AC loss was measured simultaneously by a calibrated gas flow calorimeter utilizing the helium boil-off method,and by the magnetization method using pick-up coils.For the applied test conditions,no coupling loss could be distinguished as a part of the overall AC loss.It is suggested that this might be explained by the shielding of the conductor interior from the applied magnetic field by the outer tape layer due to the high critical current density of the REBCO tape,leading to a high penetration field.