Influence of the Nature of A Cation on Dynamics of Charge Transfer Processes in Perovskite Solar Cells

The electronic processes occurring within the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are strongly influenced by the nature of the organic A cations present within the inorganic framework. In this study, the impact of FA (CH(NH₂)₂⁺) and Cs⁺ cations on the intrinsic and interfacial properties in the FAPbBr₃ and CsPbBr₃ PSCs is investigated. The analysis of current density ( J _SC) and photovoltage ( V _OC) as a function of illumination intensity establishes that the interfacial charge transport is more rapid in FAPbBr₃ devices. Small perturbation measurements including intensity modulated photocurrent and photovoltage spectroscopy are applied to explore the resistive and capacitive elements. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements are found to correlate well with the photovoltaic characteristics of FAPbBr₃ and CsPbBr₃ PSCs. Overall, the in‐depth analysis of various phenomena occurring within the bromide PSCs allows to underline the working principle, which provides a key to optimize the device performance. The present protocol is not only valid for PSCs but can also be extended to devices based on alternative light harvesters.     

Circuit‐based logical layer 2 bridging in software‐defined data center networking

With the expansion of the size of data centers, software‐defined networking (SDN) is becoming a trend for simplifying the data center network management with central and flexible flow control. To achieve L2 abstractions in a multitenant cloud, Open vSwitch (OVS) is commonly used to build overlay tunnels (eg, Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network [VXLAN]) on top of existing underlying networks. However, the poor VXLAN performance of OVS is of huge concern. Instead of solving the performance issues of OVS, in this paper, we proposed a circuit‐based logical layer 2 bridging mechanism (CBL2), which builds label‐switched circuits and performs data‐plane multicasting in a software‐defined leaf‐spine fabric to achieve scalable L2 without overlay tunneling. Our evaluations indicate that direct transmission in OVS improves throughput performance by 58% compared with VXLAN tunneling, and data‐plane multicasting for ARP reduces address resolution latency from 149 to 0.5 ms, compared with control‐plane broadcast forwarding. The evaluation results also show that CBL2 provides 0.6, 0.4, and 11‐ms protection switching time, respectively, in the presence of switch failure, link failure, and port shutdown in practical deployment.     

Multidate MESMA for monitoring vegetation growth forms in southern California shrublands

Identifying habitats that should be protected from further disturbance or conversion and isolating high-risk areas is a focus of community habitat plans in southern California shrublands. Larger wildfires are occurring at shorter intervals in recent decades, contributing to degradation and conversion of shrubland vegetation. Multitemporal remote-sensing approaches can bridge the gap between vegetation mapping and field sampling in habitats where frequent quantification and mapping of vegetation growth forms over large extents is required. The objective of this study is to examine the reliability and stability of a multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) approach with moderate spatial resolution imagery for monitoring changes in growth form fractional cover in shrubland habitats. Estimates from visual interpretation of high spatial resolution image were used as reference data for validating MESMA-derived maps and as basis for providing complementary monitoring protocols that may be accurate and cost-effective across multiple scales. Growth form proportions modelled in burned and unburned management areas compare well with expected fractional cover in mature and regenerating shrublands. In the management areas recovering from fire, herbaceous cover fraction exceeded 0.40 for all three study dates, suggesting that large portions of those management areas may already be invaded. From 2008 to 2011 overall herbaceous cover fraction in shrubland area increased by 2%. Herbaceous cover fraction was modelled with an overall mean absolute error (MAE) of 0.08, a smaller percentage than the percentage of herbaceous cover change recorded in areas recovering from fire (increase in herbaceous cover fraction from 0.09 to 0.13). This MESMA approach would be effective for quantifying changes in fractional cover that exceed 0.10, providing a way to delineate and quantify herbaceous invasions and expansions following disturbance or succession.     

Development of a Predictive Equation for Modelling the Infiltration Process Using Gene Expression Programming

In this study, the soft computing technique of Gene expression programming (GEP) has been employed to generate a predictive equation of infiltration rate (f_p). Infiltration experiments were conducted at 124 different sites and soil samples were collected to assess various soil properties throughout the Himalayan lake catchment. Parameters determined from observed data using nonlinear-Levenberg Marquardt algorithm were substituted in Horton, Kostiakov and Philip infiltration models and f_p were predicted. Using soil data generated by laboratory investigation of soil samples, the GEP model was developed. Training and testing of the GEP model was performed using 70% and 30% of data respectively. Performance of GEP developed functional relationship was evaluated by comparing predictions from it and aforementioned infiltration models with field observed f_p, and by applying overall performance index (OPI) computed using Coefficient of Determination (R²), Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (E_NS), Willmott’s Index of Agreement (W), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). Expression developed using GEP indicated feasibility of developed equation with E_NS, R², W, RMSE and MAE of 0.84, 0.84, 0.96, 1.9, and 0.8, respectively for training data-set and 0.84, 0.85, 0.95, 1.2, and 0.95, respectively for testing data-set. Comparative analysis revealed that though with a slightly higher OPI value (0.7–0.8), the performance of conventional models is better compared to the GEP model (0.66) but the GEP model having satisfactory performance may be used for f_p prediction particularly in absence of observed data.

     

Fluorination-controlled Aggregation and Intermolecular Interactions in Pt(II) Complexes with Tetradentate Luminophores

In this work we describe the synthesis and DFT-supported photophysical characterization of a series of Pt(II) complexes bearing tetradentate luminophores with increasing degree of fluorination. Aggregation into crystalline phases leads to substitution-dependent arrangements that in all cases hinder intermetallic coupling, as intermolecular interactions are dominated by hydrogen bonding and π-stacking. In amorphous matrices, on the other hand, we observed that an increasing level of fluorination favors the tendency towards Pt−Pt interaction upon aggregation, leading to a red-shifted phosphorescence, if compared with monomeric species in dilute solutions and crystalline solids.     

Effects of flow on polymeric reaction

The esterification of the maleic anhydride residue (MA) in a hydrogenated styrene‐butadiene‐styrene block copolymer (SEBS‐g‐MA) with a polycaprolactone diol (PCL) was carried out in a melt. Experiments in static melts found that the reaction had an induction period followed by a rapid consumption of the reactants. The gel content accumulation was found synchronous to the consumption of the acidic groups during the reaction process, indicating that the crosslinking between the copolymer molecules prevailed over the esterification of the pendant acid group generated by the ring opening of the MA residue. The reaction rate was strongly affected by both the intensity and the pattern of flow. The reaction rate increased as the flow intensity increased. A back‐and‐forth shear was more effective in promoting the reaction rate than a one‐way shear. This reaction rate enhancement is due to the increase in the interfacial area and concentration gradient caused by the breakup of the dispersed droplets in the melt.     

Geared robot manipulators with a jointed unit: Kinematic analysis and its application

An efficient and systematic methodology for the kinematic analysis of geared robot manipulators (GRMs) with a jointed unit is presented. It is shown that, by decomposing mechanical transmission lines of a GRM into serially connected jointed and disjointed units, kinematic relation between local inputs and local outputs of admissible jointed units can be systematically formulated. Accordingly, angular displacements of input links with respect to their associated primary links can be symbolically expressed in terms of joint angles by a unit‐by‐unit evaluation procedure. This unit‐by‐unit evaluation procedure provides better kinematic insights into how input torques are transmitted to various joints. It is also shown that an actuator in a GRM with a jointed unit can drive nonconsecutive joints by proper design of its gear train. A 3 degrees of freedom GRM with a jointed unit is used as an illustrative example. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Results from a Forensic Investigation of a Failed Cement Treated Base

After only 2 months in service, the frontage road of US 290 developed a series of depressions that caused a very poor ride. The main cause of the premature failure was attributed to disintegration of the cement treated base (CTB) layer. This was attributed to two primary factors: (1) a very coarse gradation of the aggregate used in the CTB layer which produced a mix that was prone to segregation during placement; and (2) the CTB layer was placed in two lifts, which were not well bonded together. Another contributing factor was the lack of bond between the CTB and the hot mix asphalt (HMA) surface layer. Secondary factors include high air voids in the HMA layer and low HMA layer thickness. The material, when prepared carefully in the lab at the design cement content, passed the strength requirement of 2.07?MPa. But this coarse mix appears to have been difficult to place correctly in the field. The coarsely graded aggregate used on this project appears to be prone to segregation, either during placement or compaction. The ground penetration radar results (with confirmation by core samples) indicated that most of the problems were at the bottom of the upper CTB lift. The CTB was placed in two lifts and very poor condition was found between the two CTB layers. This problem was coupled with a thin, porous, and poorly bonded HMA layer that permitted moisture to enter the CTB layer. Similar failures have also been reported recently on other CTB projects in Houston.     

Passive optical remote sensing of river channel morphology and in-stream habitat: Physical basis and feasibility

Successful monitoring of ecologically significant, vulnerable fluvial systems will require improved quantitative techniques for mapping channel morphology and in-stream habitat. In this study, we assess the ability of remote sensing to contribute to these objectives by (1) describing the underlying radiative transfer processes, drawing upon research conducted in shallow marine environments; (2) modeling the effects of water depth, substrate type, suspended sediment concentration, and surface turbulence; (3) quantifying the limitations imposed by finite detector sensitivity and linear quantization; and (4) evaluating two depth retrieval algorithms using simulated and field-measured spectra and archival imagery. The degree to which variations in depth and substrate can be resolved depends on bottom albedo and water column optical properties, and scattering by suspended sediment obscures substrate spectral features and reduces the resolution of depth estimates. Converting continuous radiance signals to discrete digital numbers implies that depth estimates take the form of contour intervals that become wider as depth increases and as bottom albedo and detector sensitivity decrease. Our results indicate that a simple band ratio can provide an image-derived variable that is strongly linearly related to water depth across a broad range of stream conditions. This technique outperformed the linear transform method used in previous stream studies, most notably for upwelling radiance spectra [R²=0.79 for the ln(560 nm/690 nm) ratio]. Applied to uncalibrated multispectral and hyperspectral images of a fourth-order stream in Yellowstone National Park, this flexible technique produced hydraulically reasonable maps of relative depth. Although radiometric precision and spatial resolution will impose fundamental limitations in practice, remote mapping of channel morphology and in-stream habitat is feasible and can become a powerful tool for scientists and managers.