Inference of the optimal probability distribution model for geotechnical parameters by using Weibull and NID distributions

To obtain the optimal probability distribution models of geotechnical parameters, the goodness of fit of the normal information diffusion (NID) distribution and Weibull distribution were investigated and compared for actual engineering samples and Monte Carlo (MC) simulated samples. Two datasets from actual engineering parameters (the strength of a rock mass and the average wind speed) were used to test the fitting abilities of these two distributions. The results show that the parameters of the NID distribution are easily estimated, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test results of the NID distribution are smaller than those of the Weibull distribution, and the NID distribution curves can perfectly reflect the stochastic volatility of geotechnical parameters with small sample sizes. The sample size effects on the fitting accuracy of the NID distribution and Weibull distribution were also investigated in this paper. Eight simulated samples with different sample sizes, namely, 15, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1000, were produced by using the MC method based on two known Weibull distributions. The results show that with an increase in the sample size, the K-S test results of the NID distribution gradually decrease and tend to converge, while the chi-square test results of the NID distribution remain low and are always lower than those of the Weibull distribution. The cumulative probability values of the NID distribution are larger than those of the Weibull distribution and are always equal to 1.0000. Finally, the comparison of the fitting accuracy between the NID distribution and normalized Weibull distribution was also analyzed

Enhanced phenol removal by permanganate with biogas residue biochar: catalytic role of in-situ formation of manganese dioxide and activation of biochar

Abstract Increased biogas residue related to the rapid development of anaerobic fermentation has become an urgent environmental problem. The pyrolysis of biogas residue into biochar is one of the most promising treatments. In this study, biochar derived from biogas residue was prepared, and the degradation efficiency of phenol by permanganate (KMnO4) increased from 25.3% to 73.4% in 60 min in the presence of biogas residue biochar (BRB). KMnO4 reacted with BRB to produce intermediate manganese dioxide (MnO2), while BRB was activated. The specific surface area increased by 132.25%, and the oxygen-containing functional groups C=O, C−O, and COOH increased after the reaction. The generated MnO2 complexed with BRB to form MnO2@BRB. The newly formed MnO2@BRB catalyzed KMnO4 to remove phenol, which explains the high removal efficiency of phenol. A significant removal rate was also observed for antibiotics and chlorophenols, which suggested that the KMnO4/BRB system has a relatively high ability to oxidize organic pollutants. In addition, the co-existing metal ions and the natural environment had little influence on the removal efficiency of the KMnO4/BRB system. This work provides a novel technology for the resource utilization of biogas residue and improved organic pollutant removal efficiency of KMnO4 in the presence of BRB. Graphical abstrac

Systematical Investigation of Flicker Noise in 14 nm FinFET Devices towards Stochastic Computing Application

Stochastic computing (SC) is widely known for its high error tolerance and efficient computing ability of complex functions with remarkably simple logic gates. The noise of electronic devices is widely used to be the entropy source due to its randomness. Compared with thermal noise and random telegraph noise (RTN), flicker noise is favored by researchers because of its high noise density. Meanwhile, unlike using RRAM, PCRAM and other emerging memory devices as the entropy source, using logic devices does not require any additional process steps, which is significant for industrialization. In this work, we systematically and statistically studied the 1/f noise characteristics of 14 nm FinFET, and found that miniaturizing the channel area of the device or lowering the ambient temperature can effectively increase the 1/f noise density of the device. This is of great importance to improve the accuracy of the SC system and simplify the complexity of the stochastic number generator (SNG) circuit. At the same time, these rules of 1/f noise characteristics in FinFET devices can provide good guidance for our device selection in circuit design

Suppression of Filament Overgrowth in Conductive Bridge Random Access Memory by Ta2O5/TaOx Bi-Layer Structure

Abstract Bi-layer structure has been widely adopted to improve the reliability of the conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM). In this work, we proposed a convenient and economical solution to achieve a Ta2O5/TaOx bi-layer structure by using a low-temperature annealing process. The addition of a TaOx layer acted as an external resistance suppressing the overflow current during set programming, thus achieving the self-compliance switching. As a result, the distributions of high-resistance states and low-resistance states are improved due to the suppression of the overset phenomenon. In addition, the LRS retention of the CBRAM is obviously enhanced due to the recovery of defects in the switching film. This work provides a simple and economical method to improve the reliability of CBRAM

In vitro comparative study of multimodal imaging nano-assembled microspheres with two clinical drug-eluting beads loaded with doxorubicin

AbstractDC Beads and CalliSpheres are commonly used microspheres in clinical transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, but these microspheres cannot be visualized by themselves. Therefore, in our previous study, we developed multimodal imaging nano-assembled microspheres (NAMs), which are visualized under CT/MR and the location of embolic microspheres can be determined during postoperative review, facilitating the evaluation of embolic areas and guiding subsequent treatment. Moreover, the NAMs can be carried with positively and negatively charged drugs, increasing the choice of drugs. Systematic comparative analysis of the pharmacokinetics of NAMs with commercially available DC Bead and CalliSpheres microspheres is important for evaluating the clinical application of NAMs. In our study, we compared the similarities and differences between NAMs and two drug-eluting beads (DEBs) in respect to drug loading capacity, drug release profiles, diameter variation and morphological characteristics. The results indicate that NAMs had good drug delivery and release characteristics as well as DC Bead and CalliSpheres in vitro experimental stage. Therefore, NAMs have a good application prospect in transcatheter arterial chemoembolization treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma