Free Energy Approach to the Formation of an Icosahedral Structure during the Freezing of Gold Nanoclusters

The freezing of metal nanoclusters such as gold, silver, and copper exhibits a novel structural evolution. The formation of the icosahedral (Ih) structure is dominant despite its energetic metastability. This important phenomenon, hitherto not understood, is studied by calculating free energies of gold nanoclusters. The structural transition barriers have been determined by using the umbrella sampling technique combined with molecular dynamics simulations. Our calculations show that the formation of Ih gold nanoclusters is attributed to the lower free energy barrier from the liquid to the Ih phases compared to the barrier from the liquid to the face-centered-cubic crystal phases

An Improved Upper Bound for the Ring Loading Problem

The Ring Loading Problem emerged in the 1990s to model an important special case of telecommunication networks (SONET rings) which gained attention from practitioners and theorists alike. Given an undirected cycle on $n$ nodes together with non-negative demands between any pair of nodes, the Ring Loading Problem asks for an unsplittable routing of the demands such that the maximum cumulated demand on any edge is minimized. Let $L$ be the value of such a solution. In the relaxed version of the problem, each demand can be split into two parts where the first part is routed clockwise while the second part is routed counter-clockwise. Denote with $L^*$ the maximum load of a minimum split routing solution. In a landmark paper, Schrijver, Seymour and Winkler [SSW98] showed that $L \leq L^* + 1.5D$, where $D$ is the maximum demand value. They also found (implicitly) an instance of the Ring Loading Problem with $L = L^* + 1.01D$. Recently, Skutella [Sku16] improved these bounds by showing that $L \leq L^* + \frac{19}{14}D$, and there exists an instance with $L = L^* + 1.1D$. We contribute to this line of research by showing that $L \leq L^* + 1.3D$. We also take a first step towards lower and upper bounds for small instances

Algal proliferation risk assessment using Vine Copula-based coupling methods in the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China

The Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China (MRSNWDPC), i.e., the longest inter-basin water diversion project (1,432 km) in the world, has delivered more than 60 billion m3 of water resources to North China and benefiting more than 100 million people since December 2014. However, the abnormal algal proliferation in the main canal under low nutrient background has seriously threatened the water quality safety of this mega project. In this research, 3 years of monitoring data matrix, including water temperature (WT), flow discharge (Q), flow velocity (V), dissolved oxygen (DO), and the algal cell density (ACD), from the main canal of the MRSNWDPC were analyzed. The nonlinear relationships were determined based on multiple regression models, and a composite risk analysis model was constructed by Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method coupled with Vine Copula function. The impacts of different hydrological and environmental factors on algal proliferation were comprehensively analyzed by Bayesian theory. The results showed that the WT gradually decreased from upstream to downstream, with a narrow range of 16.6–17.4°C, and the annual average concentrations of DO showed a gradual increase from upstream to downstream. The flow velocity of MRSNWDPC had a tendency to increase year by year, and the maximum flow velocity exceeds 0.8 m/s upstream, midstream and downstream by 2018. The ACD accumulated along the main canal, and the annual average ACDs of downstream were the highest, ranging from 366.17 to 462.95 × 104 cells/L. The joint early-warning method considering both water temperature and flow velocity conditions is an effective way for algal proliferation risk warning management. When water temperatures of the upstream, midstream, and downstream were below 26, 26, and 23°C, respectively, the algal proliferation risk can be controlled under 50% by the flow velocity at 0.3 m/s; otherwise, the flow velocity needs to be regulated higher than 0.8 m/s. In order to keep the midstream and downstream avoid abnormal algal proliferation events (ACD ≥ 500 × 104 cells/L), the corresponding ACDs of the upstream and midstream need to be controlled lower than 319 × 104 cells/L and 470 × 104 cells/L, respectively. This study provides a scientific reference for the long-distance water diversion project’s algal control and environmental protection. The proposed coupling Vine Copula models can also be widely applied to multivariate risk analysis fields

Produksi VCO Secara Tradisonal sebagai Obat Alami dalam Meningkatkan Pendapatan Masyarakat Desa Watukamba

Virgin Coconut Oil is an oil that is processed from the extraction carried out from fresh coconut fruit which is processed in various ways, one of which is by using traditional methods, namely the natural processing process, namely by photosynthesis. The purpose of making Virgin Coconut Oil is to take advantage of the potential of nature in agriculture in increasing the empowerment of the creative economy of coastal communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used is socialization and training on the process of making Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO). The result obtained is that the people of Watukamba Village realize the importance of utilizing the natural potential in agriculture and being able to produce VCO independently to increase the economic income of the community. The conclusion after community service activities during the pandemic is still felt the benefits by the community and the sustainability of virgin coconut oil (VCO) processing

Promising bulk nanostructured Cu₂Se thermoelectrics via high throughput and rapid chemical synthesis

A facile and high yield synthesis route was developed for the fabrication of bulk nanostructured copper selenide (Cu2Se) with high thermoelectric efficiency. Starting from readily available precursor materials and by means of rapid and energy-efficient microwave-assisted thermolysis, nanopowders of Cu2Se were synthesized. Powder samples and compacted pellets have been characterized in detail for their structural, microstructural and transport properties. alpha to beta phase transition of Cu2Se was confirmed using temperature dependent X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry analyses. Scanning electron microscopy analysis reveals the presence of secondary globular nanostructures in the order of 200 nm consisting of <50 nm primary particles. High resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed the highly crystalline nature of the primary particles with irregular truncated morphology. Through a detailed investigation of different parameters in the compaction process, such as applied load, heating rate, and cooling profiles, pellets with preserved nanostructured grains were obtained. An applied load during the controlled cooling profile was demonstrated to have a big impact on the final thermoelectric efficiency of the consolidated pellets. A very high thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) above 2 was obtained at 900 K for SPS-compacted Cu2Se nanopowders in the absence of the applied load during the controlled cooling step. The obtained ZT exceeds the state of the art in the temperature ranges above phase transition, approaching up to 25% improvement at 900 K. The results demonstrate the prominent improvement in ZT attributed both to the low thermal conductivity, as low as 0.38 W m(-1) K-1 at 900 K, and the enhancement in the power factor of nanostructured Cu2Se. The proposed synthesis scheme as well as the consolidation could lead to reliable production of large scale thermoelectric nanopowders for niche applications

Scandium-doped zinc cadmium oxide as a new stable n-type oxide thermoelectric material

Scandium-doped zinc cadmium oxide is proposed as a new n-type oxide thermoelectric material, which is stable in air at high temperature up to 1073 K, and having a 7-fold-reduced thermal conductivity at RT and the highest ZT ∼0.3 at 1173 K.</p

Metal-Metal Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser with Hybrid Mode Section

A hybrid mode section is integrated into the end of the metal-metal (MM) waveguide of a terahertz (THz) frequency quantum cascade laser (QCL) by removing sub-wavelength portions of the top metal layer. This allows a hybrid mode to penetrate into the air, which reduces the effective index of the mode and improves the out-coupling performance at the facet. The transmission of the processed metal-metal hybrid section (MMHS) waveguide is further increased by ensuring its length fulfills the criterion for constructive interference. These simple modifications to a 2.5 THz MM QCL waveguide result in a significant increase in the output emission power. In addition, simulations show that further improvements in out-coupling efficiency can be achieved for lower frequencies with effective refractive indices close to the geometric mean of the indices of the MM waveguide and air