Calculation of Critical Nucleation Rates by the Persistent Embryo Method: Application to Quasi Hard Sphere Models

We study crystal nucleation of the Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) model, using the recently introduced Persistent Embryo Method (PEM). The method provides detailed characterization of pre-critical, critical and post-critical nuclei, as well as nucleation rates that compare favorably with those obtained using other methods (umbrella sampling, forward flux sampling or seeding). We further map our results to a hard sphere model allowing to compare with other existing predictions. Implications for experiments are also discussed.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figure

Aggregating Long-term Sharp Features via Hybrid Transformers for Video Deblurring

Video deblurring methods, aiming at recovering consecutive sharp frames from a given blurry video, usually assume that the input video suffers from consecutively blurry frames. However, in real-world blurry videos taken by modern imaging devices, sharp frames usually appear in the given video, thus making temporal long-term sharp features available for facilitating the restoration of a blurry frame. In this work, we propose a video deblurring method that leverages both neighboring frames and present sharp frames using hybrid Transformers for feature aggregation. Specifically, we first train a blur-aware detector to distinguish between sharp and blurry frames. Then, a window-based local Transformer is employed for exploiting features from neighboring frames, where cross attention is beneficial for aggregating features from neighboring frames without explicit spatial alignment. To aggregate long-term sharp features from detected sharp frames, we utilize a global Transformer with multi-scale matching capability. Moreover, our method can easily be extended to event-driven video deblurring by incorporating an event fusion module into the global Transformer. Extensive experiments on benchmark datasets demonstrate that our proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art video deblurring methods as well as event-driven video deblurring methods in terms of quantitative metrics and visual quality. The source code and trained models are available at https://github.com/shangwei5/STGTN.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, and the code is available at https://github.com/shangwei5/STGT

A Biomechanical Analysis of the Interlock Suture and a Modified Kessler-Loop Lock Flexor Tendon Suture

OBJECTIVE: In this work, we attempted to develop a modified single-knot Kessler-loop lock suture technique and compare the biomechanical properties associated with this single-knot suture technique with those associated with the conventional modified Kessler and interlock suture techniques. METHODS: In this experiment, a total of 18 porcine flexor digitorum profundus tendons were harvested and randomly divided into three groups. The tendons were transected and then repaired using three different techniques, including modified Kessler suture with peritendinous suture, interlock suture with peritendinous suture, and modified Kessler-loop lock suture with peritendinous suture. Times required for suturing were recorded and compared among groups. The groups were also compared with respect to 2-mm gap load, ultimate failure load, and gap at failure. RESULTS: For tendon repair, compared with the conventional modified Kessler suture technique, the interlock and modified Kessler-loop lock suture techniques resulted in significantly improved biomechanical properties. However, there were no significant differences between the interlock and modified Kessler-loop lock techniques with respect to biomechanical properties, gap at failure, and time required. CONCLUSIONS: The interlock and modified Kessler-loop lock techniques for flexor tendon sutures produce similar mechanical characteristics in vitro

Joint Video Multi-Frame Interpolation and Deblurring under Unknown Exposure Time

Natural videos captured by consumer cameras often suffer from low framerate and motion blur due to the combination of dynamic scene complexity, lens and sensor imperfection, and less than ideal exposure setting. As a result, computational methods that jointly perform video frame interpolation and deblurring begin to emerge with the unrealistic assumption that the exposure time is known and fixed. In this work, we aim ambitiously for a more realistic and challenging task - joint video multi-frame interpolation and deblurring under unknown exposure time. Toward this goal, we first adopt a variant of supervised contrastive learning to construct an exposure-aware representation from input blurred frames. We then train two U-Nets for intra-motion and inter-motion analysis, respectively, adapting to the learned exposure representation via gain tuning. We finally build our video reconstruction network upon the exposure and motion representation by progressive exposure-adaptive convolution and motion refinement. Extensive experiments on both simulated and real-world datasets show that our optimized method achieves notable performance gains over the state-of-the-art on the joint video x8 interpolation and deblurring task. Moreover, on the seemingly implausible x16 interpolation task, our method outperforms existing methods by more than 1.5 dB in terms of PSNR.Comment: Accepted by CVPR 2023, available at https://github.com/shangwei5/VIDU

Bis[2,6-bis­(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)pyridine]manganese(II) bis­(per­chlorate) acetonitrile solvate

In the cation of the title compound, [Mn(C11H13N5)2](ClO4)2·CH3CN, the metal atom is located on a twofold rotation axis and is six-coordinated by six N atoms from two different 2,6-bis­(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)pyridine (bip) ligands in a distorted octahedral geometry. The O atoms of the perchlorate anions are disordered with occupancies in the ratio 0.593 (10):0.407 (10). In the crystal, mol­ecules are stabilized by two N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming zigzag chains along the a axis, which are further inter­connected by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.50 (1) Å] into a three-dimensional network

Stacking Group Structure of Fermionic Symmetry-Protected Topological Phases

In the past decade, there has been a systematic investigation of symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in interacting fermion systems. Specifically, by utilizing the concept of equivalence classes of finite-depth fermionic symmetric local unitary (FSLU) transformations and the decorating symmetry domain wall picture, a large class of fixed-point wave functions have been constructed for fermionic SPT (FSPT) phases. Remarkably, this construction coincides with the Atiyah-Hirzebruch spectral sequence, enabling a complete classification of FSPT phases. However, unlike bosonic SPT phases, the stacking group structure in fermion systems proves to be much more intricate. The construction of fixed-point wave functions does not explicitly provide this information. In this paper, we employ FSLU transformations to investigate the stacking group structure of FSPT phases. Specifically, we demonstrate how to compute stacking FSPT data from the input FSPT data in each layer, considering both unitary and anti-unitary symmetry, up to 2+1 dimensions. As concrete examples, we explictly compute the stacking group structure for crystalline FSPT phases in all 17 wallpaper groups using the fermionic crystalline equivalence principle. Importantly, our approach can be readily extended to higher dimensions, offering a versatile method for exploring the stacking group structure of FSPT phases

Phase Diagram and Structure Map of Binary Nanoparticle Superlattices from a Lennard-Jones Model

A first principle prediction of the binary nanoparticle phase diagram assembled by solvent evaporation has eluded theoretical approaches. In this paper, we show that a binary system interacting through Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential contains all experimental phases in which nanoparticles are effectively described as quasi hard spheres. We report a phase diagram consisting of 53 equilibrium phases, whose stability is quite insensitive to the microscopic details of the potentials, thus giving rise to some type of universality. Furthermore, we show that binary lattices may be understood as consisting of certain particle clusters, i.e. motifs, which provide a generalization of the four conventional Frank-Kasper polyhedral units. Our results show that meta-stable phases share the very same motifs as equilibrium phases. We discuss the connection with packing models, phase diagrams with repulsive potentials and the prediction of likely experimental superlattices

1,4-Bis(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzene–4-amino­benzene­sulfonic acid–water (1/2/2)

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C12H14N4·2C6H7NO3S·2H2O, contains one half of a centrosymmetric 1,4-bis­(4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-yl)benzene (bib) molecule, one 4-amino­benzene­sulfonic acid molecule and one water mol­ecule. In the bib molecule, the imidazole ring adopts an envelope conformation. The benzene rings of bib and 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid are oriented at a dihedral angle of 21.89 (4)°. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯N and O—H⋯O inter­actions link the mol­ecules into a three-dimensional network. Weak π–π contacts between the benzene and imidazole rings and between the benzene rings [centroid–centroid distances = 3.895 (1) and 3.833 (1) Å, respectively] may further stabilize the structure