Improved homomorphic filtering using fractional derivatives for enhancement of low contrast and non-uniformly illuminated images

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The main objective of the image enhancement is to improve the visual appearance or quality of an image. In this paper, the proposed scheme aims to improve the...     

Bottom-Up Design of a Green and Transient Zinc-Ion Battery with Ultralong Lifespan

Transient batteries are expected to lessen the inherent environmental impact of traditional batteries that rely on toxic and critical raw materials. This work presents the bottom-up design of a fully transient Zn-ion battery (ZIB) made of nontoxic and earth-abundant elements, including a novel hydrogel electrolyte prepared by cross-linking agarose and carboxymethyl cellulose. Facilitated by a high ionic conductivity and a high positive zinc-ion species transference number, the optimized hydrogel electrolyte enables stable cycling of the Zn anode with a lifespan extending over 8500 h for 0.25 mA cm⁻² – 0.25 mAh cm⁻². On pairing with a biocompatible organic polydopamine-based cathode, the full cell ZIB delivers a capacity of 196 mAh g⁻¹ after 1000 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g⁻¹ and a capacity of 110 mAh g⁻¹ after 10 000 cycles at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹. A transient ZIB with a biodegradable agarose casing displays an open circuit voltage of 1.123 V and provides a specific capacity of 157 mAh g⁻¹ after 200 cycles at a current density of 50 mA g⁻¹. After completing its service life, the battery can disintegrate under composting conditions.     

Static deformation due to a long buried dip-slip fault in an isotropic half-space welded with an orthotropic half-space

Closed-form analytical expressions for the displacements and the stresses at any point of a two-phase medium consisting of a homogeneous, isotropic, perfectly elastic half-space in welded contact with a homogeneous, orthotropic, perfectly elastic half-space due to a dip-slip fault of finite width located at an arbitrary distance from the interface in the isotropic half-space are obtained. The Airy stress function approach is used to obtain the expressions for the stresses and the displacements. The case of a vertical dip-slip fault is considered in detail. The variations of the displacements with the distance from the fault and with depth have been shown graphically.     

Transient Rechargeable Battery with a High Lithium Transport Number Cellulosic Separator

Transient batteries play a pivotal role in the development of fully autonomous transient devices, which are designed to degrade after a period of stable operation. Here, a new transient separator-electrolyte pair is introduced for lithium ion batteries. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are selectively located onto the nanopores of polyvinyl alcohol membranes, providing mobile ions to interact with the liquid electrolyte. After lithiation of CNCs, membranes with electrolyte uptake of 510 wt%, ionic conductivities of 3.077 mS·cm^–1, electrochemical stability of 5.5 V versus Li/Li⁺, and high Li⁺ transport numbers are achieved. Using an organic electrolyte, the separators enable stable Li metal deposition with no dendrite growth, delivering 94 mAh·g^–1 in Li/LiFePO₄ cells at 100 mA·g^–1 after 200 cycles. To make the separator-electrolyte pair transient and non-toxic, the organic electrolyte is replaced by a biocompatible ionic liquid. As a proof of concept, a fully transient Li/V₂O₅ cell is assembled, delivering 55 mAh·g^–1 after 200 cycles at 100 mA·g^–1. Thanks to the reversible Li plating/stripping, dendrite growth suppression, capacity retention, and degradability, these materials hold a bright future in the uptake of circular economy concepts applied to the energy storage field.     

Cross-Modality Breast Image Translation with Improved Resolution Using Generative Adversarial Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - Unpaired cross domain medical image translation is a challenging problem as the target image modality cannot be mapped directly from the input data distribution....     

The effect of a doubly modified carbon nanotube derivative on the microstructure of epoxy resin

The surface of multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was first covalently functionalized with oleyl amine and then non-covalently wrapped with polycarbosilane (PCS). The hybrid functional groups were chosen to introduce different features in the MWCNTs properties. For covalent functionalization a long chain unsaturated aliphatic amine was used to simultaneously achieve the dissociation of MWCNT bundles along with the dispersion and interaction with the host matrix using the amide functionality and double bond. On the other hand, a thermally stable polymer was selected which can interact with both resin and glass fabric to promote interfacial adhesion. This hybrid doubly modified MWCNT is thus possesses duel advantages in glass fiber based epoxy composite. The pristine, covalent, noncovalent and covalent-noncovalent doubly modified MWCNT systems were used to study the viscoelastic behavior and interactions of functionalized MWCNTs in the matrix above and below the glass transition temperature of the matrix. The PCS coating on the MWCNTs is amorphous and thermally insulating whereas the nanotube is highly graphitized and thermally conducting. This contrasting behavior provides us to insight into the temperature dependant resin microstructure and curing thermodynamics of epoxy resin in the presence of MWCNTs.     

Quantum dots trace lymphatic drainage from the mouse eye

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the world, often associated with elevated eye pressure. Currently, all glaucoma treatments aim to lower eye pressure by improving fluid exit from the eye. We recently reported the presence of lymphatics in the human eye. The lymphatic circulation is known to drain fluid from organ tissues and, as such, lymphatics may also play a role in draining fluid from the eye. We investigated whether lymphatic drainage from the eye is present in mice by visualizing the trajectory of quantum dots once injected into the eye. Whole-body hyperspectral fluorescence imaging was performed in 17 live mice. In vivo imaging was conducted prior to injection, and 5, 20, 40 and 70 min, and 2, 6 and 24 h after injection. A quantum dot signal was observed in the left neck region at 6 h after tracer injection into the eye. Examination of immunofluorescence-labelled sections using confocal microscopy showed the presence of a quantum dot signal in the left submandibular lymph node. This is the first direct evidence of lymphatic drainage from the mouse eye. The use of quantum dots to image this lymphatic pathway in vivo is a novel tool to stimulate new treatments to reduce eye pressure and prevent blindness from glaucoma.     

An improved approach for single and multiple copy-move forgery detection and localization in digital images

Multimedia Tools and Applications - With the expeditious advancement in digital technology and image editing software, it has become easy to manipulate digital images. Copy-move is a common type of...     

Ga doping induced structural and optical modification in $$\hbox {Ge}_{2}\hbox {Sb}_{2}\hbox {Te}_{5}$$ Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 thin films

\(\text {Ge}_2\text {Sb}_2\text {Te}_5\) (GST) is considered a promising candidate for next-generation data storage devices due to its unique property of non-volatility and low power consumption. In present work, the bulk alloys and thin films of (\(\text {Ge}_2\text {Sb}_2\text {Te}_5\))\(_{100-x}\text {Ga}_x\) (x = 0, 3, and 10) are prepared using melt quenching and thermal deposition method, respectively. The effect of Ga doping on host composition is investigated by analyzing X-ray diffraction patterns and field emission scanning electron microscope images. From obtained results, it is found that all doped thin films retained the amorphous nature and exhibited uniform and smooth morphology. In Raman spectra, the appearance of a new peak in 10% Ga-doped GST thin film indicated an alteration in the atomic arrangement of host lattice. Transmission spectra revealed the highly transparent nature of all deposited thin films in the near-infrared region. The optical band gap of Ga-doped GST thin film is lower than that of the pure GST thin film which can be correlated with an increase in band tailing, attributed to an increase in localized defect states in the band gap. Due to the pronounced electronegativity difference between the Ga and Te element, new Ga–Te bonds with a higher number of wrong bonds (Ge–Ge, Sb–Sb, and Ge–Sb) are expected to thermally stabilize the amorphous phase. Such results predict the better performance of Ga-doped GST composition for better performance of phase-change random access memory.