Rare-earth free sensitizer in NaLuCrF4:Er upconversion material

Upconversion phosphors are known as a material system that can convert near-infrared light into visible/ultraviolet emissions by sequentially absorbing multiple photons. The studies on upconversion materials often use two rare earth (RE) ions as a sensitizer-activator pair. We investigated the influences on luminescence intensity depending on Cr-doping content (x) of hexagonal NaLu_0.98–xCr_xF₄Er_0.02 (x = 0–0.9) upconversion material by substituting Lu³⁺ ions with Cr³⁺in the absence of Gd³⁺. The change in upconversion luminescence intensity appears with saddle-like shape. We suggest that Cr³⁺ ions play the dual role as a constituent in host lattice and a sensitizer in the upconversion process. Optimal conditions for gaining the strongest upconversion emission correspond to x = 0.3–0.5, where there are effective energy transfers between Cr³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions and CrEr dimers. Apart from these values, the emission intensity decreases rapidly which can be ascribed to the absence of multiple-photon absorption for the case of low Cr³⁺ contents, and to the coupling between Cr³⁺ and/or Er³⁺ ions for the case of high Cr³⁺ contents. Magnetization and electron-spin-resonant measurements were performed to understand the correlation between the optical and magnetic properties.     

Modelization of the whispering gallery mode in microgear resonators using the Floquet-Bloch formalism

In this paper, a two-dimensional (2-D) method describing the whispering gallery mode in a microgear resonator is presented. The microgear is a microdisk surrounded by a circular grating. The method, which is based on the Floquet-Bloch formalism, analytically describes the field within the disk and outside the grating. On the other hand, the field within the grating is calculated using a finite-difference scheme in polar coordinates. Matching the boundary conditions, it is possible to work in a forced oscillation regime or in a free oscillation regime (laser mode). The resonant wavelength and quality factor can then be deduced. Compared to the coupled mode theory and to 2-D finite-difference time-domain computations, the method is faster and more accurate. Moreover, a polarization effect of the microgear is demonstrated. The TE polarization experiences a Q-factor improvement contrary to TM polarization. Finally, microgear structures prove to be more efficient than micro flowers.     

The role of electrostatic interactions in the mechanism of peptide bond hydrolysis by a Ser-Lys catalytic dyad

General-base catalysis in the active site of serine proteasesis carried out by the imidazole side chain of a histidine. Duringformation of the transition state, an adjacent carboxylic acidgroup stabilizes the positive charge that forms on the general-basecatalyst and as a result contributes several orders of magnitudeto the catalytic efficiency of these enzymes. In the recentlydiscovered family of self-cleaving proteins exemplified by theLexA repressor of Escherichia coli, instead of the imidazoleof a histidine, the active-site general-base catalyst was foundto be the -amino of a lysine. The considerably higher capacityof the lysine side chain for proton acceptance raises interestingquestions concerning the role of electrostatic interactionsin the mechanism of proton transfer by this highly basic group.The negative charge elimination studies described here and theireffects on the k_max and pK of LexA self-cleavage are consistentwith a model in which electrostatic interactions between anacidic side chain and the general-base catalyst form a barrierto proton transfer. The implications are that the -amino group,unlike the imidazole group, is capable of effecting proton transferwithout the intervention of a countercharge.     

Near infrared light-induced disassembly of polymeric micelles based on methylene blue conjugated polyethylene glycol

Light-sensitive drug delivery systems are considered ideal for applications in the biomedical fields for their ability to release the payload in an on-demand spatiotemporal controlled manner through the manipulation of the light source. Among the broad radiation spectrum, near infrared (NIR) light is considered advantageous compared to UV and visible light, due to its inherently lower photodamage to normal tissues and deeper penetration to lesion areas. In this study, we report a successful synthesis of a polymer capable of undergoing partial degradation upon irradiation with NIR light by conjugating 10-N-carbamoyl linkage methylene blue (MB) moiety, a NIR photocleavable ligand, with polyethylene glycol (PEG). Through effective coupling of MB, a hydrophobic moiety, to the hydrophilic PEG molecule, an amphiphilic polymer was synthesized, as demonstrated by a lowered surface tension (55 mN/m at 0.1% wt/vol). Subsequently, photo-induced reversal of surface activity associated with self-assembled structure disruption, was displayed by surface tension measurements, size distribution analysis, and burst release profile of paclitaxel (PTX) from polymeric micelles upon the exposure to NIR irradiation.     

Picture-Neutrosophic Trusted Safe Semi-Supervised Fuzzy Clustering for Noisy Data

Clustering is a crucial method for deciphering data structure and producing new information. Due to its significance in revealing fundamental connections between the human brain and events, it is essential to utilize clustering for cognitive research. Dealing with noisy data caused by inaccurate synthesis from several sources or misleading data production processes is one of the most intriguing clustering difficulties. Noisy data can lead to incorrect object recognition and inference. This research aims to innovate a novel clustering approach, named Picture-Neutrosophic Trusted Safe Semi-Supervised Fuzzy Clustering (PNTS3FCM), to solve the clustering problem with noisy data using neutral and refusal degrees in the definition of Picture Fuzzy Set (PFS) and Neutrosophic Set (NS). Our contribution is to propose a new optimization model with four essential components: clustering, outlier removal, safe semi-supervised fuzzy clustering and partitioning with labeled and unlabeled data. The effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed technique are estimated and compared with the state-of-art methods, standard Picture fuzzy clustering (FC-PFS) and Confidence-weighted safe semi-supervised clustering (CS3FCM) on benchmark UCI datasets. The experimental results show that our method is better at least 10/15 datasets than the compared methods in terms of clustering quality and computational time.     

Optimization of sodium sulfide treatment of rice straw to increase the enzymatic hydrolysis in bioethanol production

The efficiency of sodium sulfide-assisted alkaline pulping for cellulose preparation from Oryza sativa L. rice straw in Vietnam for enzymatic saccharification was investigated. The response surface methodology was used for the determination of optimal technological parameters of alkaline pulping such as active alkali dosage, temperature and time. The optimal technological parameters were established to be active alkali dosage of 7%, treatment temperature of 100 °C and treatment time of 120 min. At these regimes, a maximal sugar yield of 51.8% (over dry rice straw) was obtained. It meant that the saccharification efficiency up to 97.1% could be achieved by using sodium sulfide-assisted alkaline pretreatment method. Addition of sodium sulfide into alkaline pretreatment resulted in higher sugar yield, higher level of depolymerization of lignin and less loss of cellulose. Moreover, liquid hydrolyzate after enzymatic hydrolysis was analyzed by HPLC to determine the compositions of sugar mixture. The fiber morphology in pretreated biomass solid was also revealed by SEM.     

Robust self-stabilizing weight-based clustering algorithm

Ad hoc networks consist of wireless hosts that communicate with each other in the absence of a fixed infrastructure. Such networks cannot rely on centralized and organized network management. The clustering problem consists of partitioning network nodes into non-overlapping groups called clusters. Clusters give a hierarchical organization to the network that facilitates network management and that increases its scalability.In a weight-based clustering algorithm, the clusterheads are selected according to their weight (a node’s parameter). The higher the weight of a node, the more suitable this node is for the role of clusterhead. In ad hoc networks, the amount of bandwidth, memory space or battery power of a node could be used to determine weight values.A self-stabilizing algorithm, regardless of the initial system configuration, converges to legitimate configurations without external intervention. Due to this property, self-stabilizing algorithms tolerate transient faults and they are adaptive to any topology change.In this paper, we present a robust self-stabilizing weight-based clustering algorithm for ad hoc networks. The robustness property guarantees that, starting from an arbitrary configuration, after one asynchronous round, the network is partitioned into clusters. After that, the network stays partitioned during the convergence phase toward a legitimate configuration where the clusters verify the “ad hoc clustering properties”.     

Querying and creating visualizations by analogy

While there have been advances in visualization systems, particularly in multi-view visualizations and visual exploration, the process of building visualizations remains a major bottleneck in data exploration. We show that provenance metadata collected during the creation of pipelines can be reused to suggest similar content in related visualizations and guide semi-automated changes. We introduce the idea of query-by-example in the context of an ensemble of visualizations, and the use of analogies as first-class operations in a system to guide scalable interactions. We describe an implementation of these techniques in VisTrails, a publicly-available, open-source system.     

Diffuse transition and piezoelectric properties of Pb[(Zr1−xTix)0.74(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.20(Zn1/3Nb2/3)0.06]O3 Ceramics

In this work, the piezoelectric ceramic system of Pb[(Zr_1−xTi_x)_0.74(Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.20(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)_0.06]O₃, 0.47≤x≤0.57, with composition close to the morphotropic phase boundary, was studied. From the results of X-ray diffraction and piezoelectric measurement, ceramics near x=0.51 were found at the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between the tetragonal and pseudocubic perovskite. The planar coupling factor (k_p=0.72) is high at compositions near the MPB, but the mechanical quality factor (Q_m=75) is low. The calculation of the diffuseness of phase transition shows that the region of phase coexistence of this system is broader than that of the ternary system.