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Effect of the ex situ physical and in situ chemical modification of bacterial nanocellulose on mechanical properties in the context of its potential applications in heart valve design
PublicationBacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a promising material for heart valve prostheses. However, its low strength properties limit its applicability in cardiovascular surgery. To overcome these limitations, the mechanical properties of BNC can be improved through modifications. The aim of the research was to investigate the extent to which the mechanical properties of BNC can be altered by modifying its structure during its production...
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Mercury content in beetroot and beetroot-based dietary supplements
PublicationTotal mercury (THg) concentrations in fifty-four beetroot-based DSs and seven lots of conventional and organic beetroots (divided into unpeeled, peeled, and skins) were determined by direct thermal decomposition-gold amalgamation cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry. The analytical procedure was optimised and validated. The recovery (%) for Hg was 101.9 and 92.73 in BCR-463 and DOLT 4, respectively. The intermediate precision...
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Fragility analysis of structural pounding between adjacent structures arranged in series with various alignment configurations under near‑field earthquakes
PublicationA major cause of local to total damages is related to structural pounding in a large number of past earthquakes. In general, these collisions take place as a result of differences in the dynamic characteristics of the colliding structures. To acquire a better perception of the behavior of structures, in this paper, three structures featuring different heights are modeled in series and with various configurations next to each other...
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Planning the City Against Barriers. Enhancing the Role of Public Spaces
PublicationContemporary cities are being fragmented by growing number of technical barriers like roads, railways, infrastructural objects, that generate variety of problems of different nature. The aim of the research is to present the issues connected with such barriers in the city and the ways of solving them. Main problems are e.g.: the destruction of the complexity of urban fabric, functional disadvantages, environmental and landscape...
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Numerical Modeling and Simulation of Vehicular Crashes into Three-Bar Metal Bridge Rail
PublicationAdvanced finite element (FE) modeling and simulations were performed on vehicular crashes into a three-bar metal bridge rail (TMBR). The FE models of a sedan, a pickup truck, and a TMBR section were adopted in the crash simulations subject to Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Test Level 2 (TL-2) and Test Level 3 (TL-3) requirements. The test vehicle models were first validated using full-scale physical crash tests conducted...
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Switching Regulation in the Control of 5-Phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Fed by 3×5 Direct Matrix Converter
PublicationMatrix converter is an AC-AC direct power converter comprising of an array of bi- directional switches. It does not require an intermediate DC-link and allows sinusoidal output waveforms with varying amplitudes and frequencies. The configuration of these bi- directional switches decides the number of inputs and outputs...
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Hybrid constructed wetlands for the National Parks in Poland - a case study, requirements, dimensioning, preliminary results
PublicationWater and wastewater management, especially in rural areas, greatly affects loads of nutrients discharged to the Baltic Sea. In Poland, this management is unbalanced because of the dispersed development and in many locations con struction of sewerage system is uneconomic or even impossible. For this reason, a significant part of sewage from single-family houses in rural areas must be discharged into domestic sewage systems. The...
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Tourism for older and disabled people
PublicationTourist offer for the older and disabled is getting wider. Many hotels and cities are adjusted to disabled people's needs, but there are not enough safe places for leisure, where they could be surrounded by nature. In comparison with cities - villages and small towns have very little to offer as far as tourism is concerned. This problem is noticed by small local communities that threat it as a chance for their economical development....
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A Generalized Framework Towards Structural Mechanics of Three-layered Composite Structures
PublicationThree-layered composite structures find a broad application. Increasingly, composites are being used whose layer thicknesses and material properties diverge strongly. In the perspective of structural mechanics, classical approaches to analysis fail at such extraordinary composites. Therefore, emphasis of the present approach is on arbitrary transverse shear rigidities and structural thicknesses of the individual layers. Therewith...
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Load introduction to composite columns revisited—Significance of force allocation and shear connection stiffness
PublicationThe AISC 360-16 Specification recommends that the design shear force between parts of a composite column in the load introduction area shall be calculated based on the force allocation at ultimate limit state. Applicability of this straightforward method to the load levels that usually arise in slender composite columns is questionable, as this capacity-based force allocation is only true when the axial force is equal to the plastic...
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A novel hybrid adaptive framework for support vector machine-based reliability analysis: A comparative study
PublicationThis study presents an innovative hybrid Adaptive Support Vector Machine - Monte Carlo Simulation (ASVM-MCS) framework for reliability analysis in complex engineering structures. These structures often involve highly nonlinear implicit functions, making traditional gradient-based first or second order reliability algorithms and Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) time-consuming. The application of surrogate models has proven effective...
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Design-oriented modeling of antenna structures by means of two-level kriging with explicit dimensionality reduction
PublicationThe employment of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis is a practical necessity in the design of contemporary antenna structures. This is because simpler models are generally not available or of limited accuracy. At the same time, EM-based design is computationally expensive. Consequently, the ways of accelerating tasks such as parametric optimization or uncertainty quantification have to be sought. A possible workaround that...
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Modelling AOB-NOB competition in shortcut nitrification compared with conventional nitrification-denitrification process
PublicationIn particular, mainstream deammonification and/or shortened nitrificationdenitrification via nitrite (so-called “nitrite shunt”) is a promising new treatment concept that has the potential to revolutionise how nitrogen removal is achieved at WWTPs. Understanding the role of the AOB/NOB competition in the nitrogen cycle in wastewater treatment systems will change operational strategies of the novel nitrogen removal processes. The...
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Simulation of the number of storm overflows considering changes in precipitation dynamics and the urbanisation of the catchment area: a probabilistic approach
PublicationThis paper presents a probabilistic methodology that allows the study of the interactions between changes in rainfall dynamics and impervious areas in urban catchment on a long- and short-term basis. The proposed probabilistic model predict future storm overflows while taking into account the dynamics of changes in impervious areas and rainfall. In this model, a logistic regression method was used to simulate overflow resulting...
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Improved Modeling of Microwave Structures Using Performance-Driven Fully-Connected Regression Surrogate
PublicationFast replacement models (or surrogates) have been widely applied in the recent years to accelerate simulation-driven design procedures in microwave engineering. The fundamental reason is a considerable—and often prohibitive—CPU cost of massive full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analyses related to solving common tasks such as parametric optimization or uncertainty quantification. The most popular class of surrogates are data-driven...
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Enhancing seismic performance of rigid and semi-rigid connections equipped with SMA bolts incorporating nonlinear soil-structure interaction
PublicationNowadays, using smart connections can improve the performance of buildings with some recentering features that are from the superelastic behavior of Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs). It seems that there is different rigidity between the designed connection and the real one in Steel Moment-Resisting Frames (SMRFs), which can be considered as a problematic issue due to the importance of connections in seismic performance assessment. This...
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Crystalline Silicon (c-Si)-Based Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) Solar Cells: A Review
PublicationContact selectivity is a key parameter for enhancing and improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based solar cells. Carrier selective contacts (CSC) are the key technology which has the potential to achieve a higher PCE for c-Si-based solar cells closer to their theoretical efficiency limit. A recent and state-of-the-art approach in this domain is the tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon)...
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Structure redetermination, transport and thermal properties of the YNi3Al9 compound
PublicationSingle crystals of completely ordered variant of the YNi3Al9 compound were grown by self-flux method with excess of aluminum. The crystal structure of the title compound was redetermined from single crystal X-ray diffraction data. The structure adopts ErNi3Al9 type, space group R32, parameters of the unit cell a = 7.2838(2) Å, c = 27.4004(8) Å. The growth of relatively large single crystals of the YNi3Al9 compound, having completely...
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Comprehensive Enhancement of Prepolymer-Based Flexible Polyurethane Foams’ Performance by Introduction of Cost-Effective Waste-Based Ground Tire Rubber Particles
PublicationMaterial innovations in polyurethane (PU) foams should ideally combine performance enhancement, environmental impact limitation, and cost reduction. These goals can be achieved by applying recycled or waste-based materials without broader industrial applications, implicating their low price. Herein, from 5 to 20 parts by weight of ground tire rubber (GTR) particles originated from the recycling of postconsumer car tires were incorporated...
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Determination of Vehicles Load Equivalency Factors for Polish Catalogue of Typical Flexible and Semi-rigid Pavement Structures
PublicationThe new Polish Catalog of Typical Flexible and Semi-rigid Pavement Structures was introduced to use in practice in 2014. Much of works were focused on actualization of vehicles load equivalency factors. For this purpose data delivered from weigh-inmotion were analyzed. Four methods of determination of load equivalency factors for pavement structure design were compared. The analysis showed that fourth power equation, AASHTO 1993...
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The lethal effect of hydrotechnical concrete on freshwater Bivalvia
PublicationMost hydrotechnical buildings under construction demand the concrete mixture to be set directly under water. The main reason for such a procedure is to limit the washing away of the the concrete binding mixture and to increase the efficiency of organisation of work so as to ensure continuity in concreting. The impact on the aquatic environment of recent developments in concrete technology and the use of new components has not yet...
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Shading, Dusting and Incorrect Positioning of Photovoltaic Modules as Important Factors in Performance Reduction
PublicationThe amount of solar radiation reaching the front cover of a photovoltaic module is crucial for its performance. A number of factors must be taken into account at the design stage of the solar installation, which will ensure maximum utilization of the potential arising from the location. During the operation of a photovoltaic installation, it is necessary to limit the shading of the modules caused by both dust and shadowing by trees...
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Investigation of MIEX® resin sedimentation in the aspect of particle sizes remaining in the supernatant
PublicationThe aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MIEX® resin sedimentation process, both new and repeatedly used in hybrid water treatment MIEX®DOC + microfiltration (MF) or ultrafiltration (UF) processes (repeatedly regenerated). The tests consisted of performing 1 h sedimentation of the suspension resin in nonflow conditions and analysis of supernatant water at different process durations. The suspension weight analysis...
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The efficiency and reliability of pollutant removal in a hybrid constructed wetland with giant miscanthus and Jerusalem artichoke in Poland
PublicationIn this paper, we analysed the pollutant removal efficiency and reliability of a vertical and horizontal flow hybrid constructed wetland (CW) planted with giant miscanthus and Jerusalem artichoke. The wastewater treatment plant, located in south-eastern Poland, treated domestic sewage at an average flow rate of 1.2m3·d−1. The tests were carried out during. 5-years of operation of the sewage treatment plant (2011–2016). During this...
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ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY MATERIALS IN ARCHITECTURE � MODERN TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTIONS
PublicationFor a long time the interest in environmentally friendly materials in architecture is no longer limited to the use of renewable and natural substances such as wood, stone, straw, or reusable materials, such as metals or glass. Today the so-called naturals and the materials compatible with the idea of sustainability constantly appear on the market in new forms. Increasing awareness of the necessity to limit the building sector’s...
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Experimental Investigation of the Thermal Performance of a Wickless Heat Pipe Operating with Different Fluids: Water, Ethanol, and SES36. Analysis of Influences of Instability Processes at Working Operation Parameters
PublicationIn this study, the influences of different parameters on performance of a wickless heat pipe have been presented. Experiments have been carried out for an input power range from 50 W to 300 W, constant cooling water mass flow rate of 0.01 kg/s, and constant temperature at the inlet to condenser of 10 C. Three working fluids have been tested: water, ethanol, and SES36 (1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluorobutane) with different filling ratios (0.32,...
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Fracture Surface Topography Parameters for S235JR Steel Adhesive Joints After Fatigue Shear Testing
PublicationThis paper presents the experimental results of a study investigating the effect of holes and notches made on the overlap ends on the strength of adhesive joints. Single-lap joints made of S235JR steel sheets bonded with Araldite 2024-2 epoxy adhesive were tested. For comparative reasons, static shear strength tests and high-cycle fatigue strength tests were performed. Adhesive-filled joints having three holes, each with a diameter...
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Design and Optimization of a Compact Super-Wideband MIMO Antenna with High Isolation and Gain for 5G Applications
PublicationThis paper presents a super-wideband multiple-input multiple-output (SWB MIMO) antenna with low profile, low mutual coupling, high gain and compact size for microwave and millimeter wave (mm-wave) fifth-generation (5G) applications. A single antenna is a simple elliptical-square shape with a small physical size of 20 × 20 × 0.787 mm3. The combination of both square and elliptical shapes results in an exceptionally broad impedance...
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Displacement piles - classification and methods for the calculation of bearing capacity.
PublicationDisplacement piles belong to a group of technologies whose main idea is to install or make a pile without extracting ground material. According to definition, contained in PN-EN:1997-1:2008, displacement piles should be considered as driven, pressed in using vibrators and made with the use of spread augers. The classification of piles used so far with regard to the technology of execution is modified. An additional element is the...
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Tuning Electrochemical Performance by Microstructural Optimization of the Nanocrystalline Functional Oxygen Electrode Layer for Solid Oxide Cells
PublicationFurther development of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) oxygen electrodes can be achieved through improvements in oxygen electrode design by microstructure miniaturisation alongside nanomaterials implementation. In this work, improved electrochemical performance of an La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-d (LSCF) cathode was achieved by the controlled modification of the La0.6Sr0.4CoO3-d (LSC) nanocrystalline interlayer introduced between a porous...
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Volatile Compound Emissions from Stereolithography Three-Dimensional Printed Cured Resin Models for Biomedical Applications
PublicationStereolithography three-dimensional printing is used increasingly in biomedical applications to create components for use in healthcare and therapy. The exposure of patients to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from cured resins represents an element of concern in such applications. Here, we investigate the biocompatibility in relation to inhalation exposure of volatile emissions of three different cured commercial resins...
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Theoretical Encapsulation of Fluorouracil (5-FU) Anti-Cancer Chemotherapy Drug into Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) and Boron Nitride Nanotubes (BNNT)
PublicationIntroduction: Chemotherapy with anti-cancer drugs is considered the most common approach for killing cancer cells in the human body. However, some barriers such as toxicity and side effects would limit its usage. In this regard, nano-based drug delivery systems have emerged as cost-effective and efficient for sustained and targeted drug delivery. Nanotubes such as carbon nanotubes (CNT) and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT) are promising...
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Study on the Positioning Accuracy of the GNSS/INS System Supported by the RTK Receiver for Railway Measurements
PublicationCurrently, the primary method for determining the object coordinates is positioning using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) supported by Inertial Navigation Systems (INS). The main goal of this solution is to ensure high positioning availability, particularly when access to satellite signals is limited (in tunnels, areas with densely concentrated buildings and in forest areas). The aim of this article is to determine whether...
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Bioreactors and biophoton-driven biohydrogen production strategies
PublicationGiven the current issues with global warming and rising greenhouse gas emissions, biohydrogen is a viable alternative fuel option. Technologies to produce biohydrogen include photo fermentation, dark fermentation, direct and indirect bio-photolysis, and two-stage fermentation. Biological hydrogen generation is a green and promising technique with mild reaction conditions and low energy consumption compared to thermochemical and...
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Phytoextraction and recovery of rare earth elements using willow (Salix spp.)
PublicationSoil and water contaminations are caused by rare earth elements (REEs) due to mining and industrial activities, that threaten the ecosystem and human health. Therefore, phytoremediation methods need to be developed to overcome this problem. To date, little research has been conducted concerning the phytoremediation potential of Salix for REEs. In this study, two Salix species (Salix myrsinifolia and Salix schwerinii) and two Salix...
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Advanced sensitivity analysis of the impact of the temporal distribution and intensity of rainfall on hydrograph parameters in urban catchments
PublicationKnowledge of the variability of the hydrograph of outflow from urban catchments is highly important for measurements and evaluation of the operation of sewer networks. Currently, hydrodynamic models are most frequently used for hydrograph modeling. Since a large number of their parameters have to be identified, there may be problems at the calibration stage. Hence, sensitivity analysis is used to limit the number of parameters....
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Measures of Functional Reliability of Two-Lane Highways
PublicationRural two-lane highways are the most common road type both in Poland and globally. In terms of kilometres, their length is by far greater than that of motorways and expressways. They are roads of one carriageway for each direction, which makes the overtaking of slower vehicles possible only when there is a gap in the stream of traffic moving from the opposite direction. Motorways and express roads are dual carriageways that are...
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Understanding the kinetics and atmospheric degradation mechanism of chlorotrifluoroethylene (CF2=CFCl) initiated by OH radicals
PublicationThe atmospheric degradation of chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) by OH˙ was investigated using density functional theory (DFT). The potential energy surfaces were also defined in terms of single-point energies derived from the linked cluster CCSD(T) theory. With an energy barrier of −2.62 to −0.99 kcal mol−1 using the M06-2x method, the negative temperature dependence was determined. The OH˙ attack on Cα and Cβ atoms (labeled pathways...
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Społeczne uwarunkowania dostępności przestrzeni publicznej
PublicationDziałania projektowe urbanistów i architektów powinny iść w kierunku tworzenia pełnej dostępności przestrzeni publicznej, która spełni oczekiwania wszystkich mieszkańców, bez względu na wiek, stan zdrowia czy ogranicznia mobliności lub percepcji. Powszechna dostępność przestrzeni warunkuje prawidłowy rozwój jednostki i całych wspólnot oraz sprzyja tworzeniu zintegrowanego społeczeństwa obywatelskiego. Dla poprawy bezpieczeństwa...
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Review on friction stir welding of dissimilar magnesium and aluminum alloys: Scientometric analysis and strategies for achieving high-quality joints
PublicationMagnesium and aluminum alloys continually attract interest as lightweight structural materials for transport applications. However, joining these dissimilar alloys is very challenging. The main obstacle that hinders progress in dissimilar Mg-Al joining is the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds (IMCs). As a solid-state joining technique, FSW is an excellent candidate to attenuate the deleterious IMC effects in dissimilar...
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Chitosan-coated coconut shell composite: A solution for treatment of Cr(III)-contaminated tannery wastewater
PublicationTannery industry generates a large amount of Cr(III)-contaminated wastewater daily. Unless properly treated, not only this effluent contaminates the water body, but also damages the environment and threatens public health. This batch study investigates the feasibility of chitosan-coated coconut shells as a low-cost material for removing Cr(III) from tannery wastewater. Both chitosan and coconut shell (CS) waste are abundantly available...
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Influence of external walls' thermal capacitance on indoor thermal comfort
PublicationThe doctoral thesis presents the results of numerical investigations on the influence of walls’ thermal capacitance on indoor thermal comfort. A proper set of thermal parameters of a building structure can considerably limit the heating / cooling demand, and passively increase the indoor thermal comfort. However the effect of building thermal capacitance on indoor conditions is complex and not always beneficial. Among a great number...
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Role of buttering layer composition on microstructural heterogeneity and mechanical properties of Alloy 617 and P92 steel dissimilar welded joints for future Indian AUSC program
PublicationRestrictive operating conditions (even exceeding 700 °C) of materials in advanced ultra super critical (AUSC) power plants and the need to minimize manufacturing and maintenance costs require the production of dissimilar metal welded joints (DMW). Significant differences in the physical and chemical properties of welded materials lead to phenomena that reduce the weldability of the metals used and force the search for solutions...
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Deep convolutional neural network for predicting kidney tumour malignancy
PublicationPurpose: According to the statistics, up to 15-20% of removed solid kidney tumors turn out to be benign in postoperative histopathological examination, despite having been identified as malignant by a radiologist. The aim of the research was to limit the number of unnecessary nephrectomies of benign tumors. Methods or Background: We propose a machine-aided diagnostic system for kidney...
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Validation and modification of HPLC method for monitoring acetaminophen plasma concentrations in patients with chronic pancreatitis
PublicationBackground. Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas. The infl ammation may occur suddenly and resolve in a few days with the treatment in case of acute pancreatitis (AP). Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a persistent inflammation of the pancreas that results in irreversible morphological changes and impairment of both exocrine and endocrine functions. Abdominal...
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Massively parallel linear-scaling Hartree–Fock exchange and hybrid exchange–correlation functionals with plane wave basis set accuracy
PublicationWe extend our linear-scaling approach for the calculation of Hartree–Fock exchange energy using localized in situ optimized orbitals [Dziedzic et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 214103 (2013)] to leverage massive parallelism. Our approach has been implemented in the ONETEP (Order-N Electronic Total Energy Package) density functional theory framework, which employs a basis of non-orthogonal generalized Wannier functions (NGWFs) to achieve...
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A multithreaded CUDA and OpenMP based power‐aware programming framework for multi‐node GPU systems
PublicationIn the paper, we have proposed a framework that allows programming a parallel application for a multi-node system, with one or more GPUs per node, using an OpenMP+extended CUDA API. OpenMP is used for launching threads responsible for management of particular GPUs and extended CUDA calls allow to manage CUDA objects, data and launch kernels. The framework hides inter-node MPI communication from the programmer who can benefit from...
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Modal Adjustment of Rayleigh Based Structural Damping and Coordinate-Partitioning Algorithm Dedicated to Frictionless Contact Constraints between Multibody System and Structure Modelled with Finite Elements
PublicationThe paper presents a dedicated numerical algorithm. The algorithm is advantageous during investigations of the dynamics of a hybrid multibody / finite-elements system. We focus our attention on interactions resulting from mechanical contact. Pointwise contact connects a vertex of the multibody structure and a surface of the elastic reference body. Instead of a positive value of the relative penetration factor, constraint equations...
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Electrophoretic Deposition of Chitosan/Eudragit E 100/AgNPs Coatings for Controlled Release of Antibacterial Substance
PublicationThe development of bacterial infection of the tissues surrounding an implant is one of the leading causes of implant surgery failure. In order to prevent the deposition of bacteria on the implant surface and the formation of biofilm, coatings that exhibit antibacterial properties are manufactured. However, the problem is the controlled release of the therapeutic substance from the coating over the extended life of the implant [1],...
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Group-9 Transition-Metal Suboxides Adopting the Filled-Ti2Ni Structure: A Class of Superconductors Exhibiting Exceptionally High Upper Critical Fields
PublicationTi2Ni and the related η-carbide structure are known to exhibit various intriguing physical properties. The Ti2Ni structure with the cubic space group Fd3̅m is surprisingly complex, consisting of a unit cell with 96 metal atoms. The related η-carbide compounds correspond to a filled version of the Ti2Ni structure. Here, we report on the structure and superconductivity in the η-carbide-type suboxides Ti4M2O with M = Co, Rh, and Ir....