Thermoelectric properties and stability of glasses in the Cu‐As‐Te system

Chalcogenide glasses and more importantly their glass‐ceramics counterparts have been an interesting but very peculiar class of thermoelectric materials, with inherently low thermal conductivity (<0.3 W/m·K). In this study, we report on the fabrication of glasses in the ternary system Cu‐As‐Te (Cu_xAs_55?xTe₄₅ [5≤x≤20], Cu₁₅As_85?yTe_y [45≤y≤70], and Cu₂₀As_80?yTe_y [45≤y≤65]) by melt‐quenching and subsequent spark plasma sintering treatment. Their thermal and structural properties have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry and Raman spectroscopy, leading to give insights into the structural evolution of the glassy matrix. Coupling this information with the analysis of their electrical transport properties allowed us to deepen further our understanding of the compositional effect on their thermoelectric properties, and indirectly how the evolution of their electronic band structure is at play. Despite exhibiting low ZT values by themselves, Cu‐As‐Te glasses may still be interesting candidates for thermoelectricity through partial crystallization for which knowing the relationship between composition and properties remains essential.     

Achieving a foldable and durable OLED display with BT.2020 color space using innovative color filter structure

A foldable active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode display capable of enduring very severe folding and environmental impact was obtained using symmetric panel stacking with an innovative design of color filter structure. The display was subjected to in situ folding cycle under an ambient test condition of 60°C/90% relative humidity, and no performance degradation was found for the display and the touch function during and after the test. In addition, 95% coverage of BT.2020 color space was obtained without additional power consumption compared with that of the panel with National Television System Committee (NTSC) color space.     

Inkjet Printing of Latex‐Based High‐Energy Microcapacitors

Microenergy storage devices are appealing and highly demanded for diverse miniaturized electronic devices, ranging from microelectromechanical system, robotics, to sensing microsystems and wearable electronics. However, making high‐energy microcapacitors with currently available printing technologies remains challenging. Herein, the possibility to use latex polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as aqueous ink for making dielectric capacitors at the microscale is shown. The dielectric properties of printed microcapacitors can be optimized based on a novel approach, i.e., mixing PVDF latex with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to realize dielectric organic nanocomposites. The PVA prevents the coalescence of PVDF nanoparticles and serves as a continuous matrix phase with high dielectric breakdown strength. While the well‐dispersed PVDF nanoparticles serve as highly polarizable and isolated domains, providing large electric displacement under high fields. Consequently, a high discharged energy density of 12 J cm^?3 is achieved at 550 MV m^?1. These printed microcapacitors demonstrate mechanical robustness and dielectric stability over time.     

Identifying stakeholders’ roles and relevant project documents for 4D-based collaborative decision making

To fully understand and effectively implement 4D building information modelling (BIM) models and methods, we need to develop a precise knowledge of which project digital documents should be used and how they influence the decision-making (DM) process. This article studies the convergence between uses of 4D BIM and digital project documents. We hypothesize that a clear visualization of the construction simulation through a 4D model is a useful source of information and a support for DM at collaborative meetings. Through this research, we continue to progress toward a new 4D-based collective decision device, so these elements will contribute to propose 4D BIM as DM support on architecture engineering construction (AEC) projects. Further, the present research will be complemented by results from questionnaires given at a later research stage. The article presents a brief review of BIM context to consider ways of fostering the implementation of all 4D BIM uses (not only visualization). It then introduces a proposition for 4D BIM uses implementation by the project development phase. It concludes by summarizing stakeholders’ roles and documents relevant to 4D BIM uses.     

Walking a Mile in the User's Shoes: Customer Journey Mapping as a Method to Understanding the User Experience

This article introduces using Customer Journey Maps (CJM) in libraries and the role mapping can play in visualizing the user's journey in order to help library staff better understand and optimize the user's experience. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the importance and relevance of the mapping process for any library user experience. The article will also review findings from the Reed College Library use of mapping discovered during our own review of services and resource usage.     

Differential effect of N-ethyl maleimide on Δ6-desaturase activity in human fetal liver toward fatty acids of the n−6 and n−3 series

The effect of N-ethyl-maleimide (NEM) on Δ5-and Δ6-desaturase activities and the incorporation of substrates and products into different microsomal lipid classes and phospholipid (PL) subclasses were studied in human fetal liver microsomes, obtained after legally approved therapeutic abortion. Desaturase activities were measured by a radiochemical method using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After nonphospholipid (NPL) and PL separation on silica cartridges, the radioactivity in different lipids of the NPL group was assessed by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography, and their fatty acid (FA) composition by gas-liquid chromatography. The PL subclasses were separated, and the distribution of radioactivity between products and substrates was determined in PL subclasses. NEM inhibited the Δ5- and Δ6-desaturase activities in the n−6 series of FA but not the Δ6-desaturase activity in the n−3 series, which suggests the existence of two distinct Δ6-desaturases, one for the n−6 series and another for the n−3 series. Whether NEM was present or absent, most of the radioactivity was recovered in the free FA form (about 80%). The desaturation products, obtained in the presence or absence of NEM, were preferentially incorporated into PL, suggesting a channeling of the newly synthesized FA toward microsomal PL. The comparison of the distribution of substrates and products incorporated into the different PL classes showed that most of the labeled FA were incorporated into phosphatidylcholine and to a lesser degree into phosphatidylethanolamine.     

Capacity-enhanced receivers for low-latency Burst Optical Slot Switching rings

We propose a new receiver architecture for coherent detection in slotted optical packet switching rings with elastic (rate adaptive) optical transponders. Such rings are a candidate solution for future datacenter and metropolitan networks. The new receiver can detect more than a single packet per time slot and consequently has higher flexibility (translating into higher supported capacity, or, equivalently, lower end-to-end latency, or a combination or both), at the cost of a moderate increase in the transponder complexity and energy consumption (less than 10 %). We apply network planning and traffic engineering simulation tools (which we validate on small examples using theoretical models) to quantify the increase in network capacity and latency reduction that can be achieved thanks to the use of the new receivers. Finally, we identify the stability problem of the insertion process in the rings with the coherent receivers and propose a polynomial network planning algorithm, for the case of fast-tunable transmitters. We evaluate the cost of enforcing the stability, in terms of the additional transponders needed, for the mentioned case.