The Effect of Addition Potassium Permanganate on Bond Strength of Hot-Dip Galvanized Plain Bars with Cement Paste.

In this paper, the effect of gradually increasing amounts of KMnO4 (10-4, 10-3, 10-2 mol·L-1) in cement paste on the bond strength of a plain hot-dip galvanized steel bar was evaluated. The open-circuit potential of HDG samples in cement paste with various additions of MnO4- was monitored in order to follow a transfer of zinc from activity to passivity. Furthermore, the influence of the addition of these anions on the physicochemical properties of normal-strength concrete or cement paste was evaluated by means of hydration heat measurements, X-ray diffraction analysis, and compressive strength. The effective concentration of MnO4- anions prevents the corrosion of the coating with hydrogen evolution and ensures that the bond strength is not reduced by their action, which was determined to be 10-3 mol·L-1. Lower additions of MnO4- anions (10-4 mol·L-1) are ineffective in this respect. On the other hand, higher additions of MnO4- anions (10-2 mol·L-1), although they ensure the corrosion of the coating in fresh concrete without hydrogen evolution, but affect the hydration process of the cement paste that was demonstrated by slight water separation.

Surface Enhancement Using Black Coatings for Sensor Applications.

The resolution of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is particularly crucial for gas sensor applications where low concentrations are detected. This resolution can be improved by increasing the effective surface of QCM electrodes and, thereby, enhancing their sensitivity. For this purpose, various researchers have investigated the use of micro-structured materials with promising results. Herein, we propose the use of easy-to-manufacture metal blacks that are highly structured even on a nanoscale level and thus provide more bonding sites for gas analytes. Two different black metals with thicknesses of 280 nm, black aluminum (B-Al) and black gold (B-Au), were deposited onto the sensor surface to improve the sensitivity following the Sauerbrey equation. Both layers present a high surface roughness due to their cauliflower morphology structure. A high response (i.e., resonant frequency shift) of these QCM sensors coated with a black metal layer was obtained. Two gaseous analytes, H2O vapor and EtOH vapor, at different concentrations, are tested, and a distinct improvement of sensitivity is observed for the QCM sensors coated with a black metal layer compared to the blank ones, without strong side effects on resonance frequency stability or mechanical quality factor. An approximately 10 times higher sensitivity to EtOH gas is reported for the QCM coated with a black gold layer compared to the blank QCM sensor.

External communication of automated shuttles: Results, experiences, and lessons learned from three European long-term research projects.

Automated shuttles are already seeing deployment in many places across the world and have the potential to transform public mobility to be safer and more accessible. During the current transition phase from fully manual vehicles toward higher degrees of automation and resulting mixed traffic, there is a heightened need for additional communication or external indicators to comprehend automated vehicle actions for other road users. In this work, we present and discuss the results from seven studies (three preparatory and four main studies) conducted in three European countries aimed at investigating and providing a variety of such external communication solutions to facilitate the exchange of information between automated shuttles and other motorized and non-motorized road users.

The Influence of Graded Amount of Potassium Permanganate on Corrosion of Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel in Simulated Concrete Pore Solutions.

This paper evaluates the amount of KMnO4 in simulated concrete pore solution (pH 12.8) on the corrosion behaviour of hot-dip galvanized steel (HDG). In the range of used MnO4- (10-4, 10-3, 10-2 mol·L-1), corrosion behaviour is examined with regard to hydrogen evolution and composition (protective barrier properties) of forming corrosion products. The corrosion behaviour of HDG samples is evaluated using Rp/Ecorr and EIS. The composition of corrosion products is evaluated using SEM, XRD, XPS and AAS. The effective MnO4- ion concentration to prevent the corrosion of coating with hydrogen evolution is 10-3 mol·L-1; lower concentrations only prolong the time to passivation (corrosion with hydrogen evolution). The highest used MnO4- concentration ensures corrosion behaviour without hydrogen evolution but also leads to the formation of less-protective amorphous corrosion products rich in MnII/MnIII phases.

Phylogenetic, ecological and intraindividual variability patterns in grass phytolith shape.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Grass silica short cell (GSSC) phytoliths appear to be the most reliable source of fossil evidence for tracking the evolutionary history and paleoecology of grasses. In recent years, modern techniques that quantitatively assess phytolith shape variation have widened opportunities for the classification of grass fossil phytoliths. However, phylogenetic, ecological and intraindividual variability patterns in phytolith shape remain largely unexplored. METHODS: The full range of intraindividual phytolith shape variation [3650 two-dimensional (2-D) outlines] from 73 extant grass species, 48 genera, 18 tribes and eight subfamilies (particularly Pooideae) was analysed using geometric morphometric analysis based on semi-landmarks spanning phytolith outlines. KEY RESULTS: The 2-D phytolith shape is mainly driven by deep-time diversification of grass subfamilies. There is distinct phytolith shape variation in early-diverging lineages of Pooideae (Meliceae, Stipeae). The amount of intraindividual variation in phytolith shape varies among species, resulting in a remarkable pattern across grass phylogeny. CONCLUSIONS: The phylogenetic pattern in phytolith shape was successfully revealed by applying geometric morphometrics to 2-D phytolith shape outlines, strengthening the potential of phytoliths to track the evolutionary history and paleoecology of grasses. Geometric morphometrics of 2-D phytolith shape is an excellent tool for analysis requiring large numbers of phytolith outlines, making it useful for quantitative palaeoecological reconstruction.

Inter- and intraspecific variation in grass phytolith shape and size: a geometric morphometrics perspective.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The relative contributions of inter- and intraspecific variation to phytolith shape and size have only been investigated in a limited number of studies. However, a detailed understanding of phytolith variation patterns among populations or even within a single plant specimen is of key importance for the correct taxonomic identification of grass taxa in fossil samples and for the reconstruction of vegetation and environmental conditions in the past. In this study, we used geometric morphometric analysis for the quantification of different sources of phytolith shape and size variation. METHODS: We used landmark-based geometric morphometric methods for the analysis of phytolith shapes in two extant grass species (Brachypodium pinnatum and B. sylvaticum). For each species, 1200 phytoliths were analysed from 12 leaves originating from six plants growing in three populations. Phytolith shape and size data were subjected to multivariate Procrustes analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate regression, principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. KEY RESULTS: Interspecific variation largely outweighed intraspecific variation with respect to phytolith shape. Individual phytolith shapes were classified with 83 % accuracy into their respective species. Conversely, variation in phytolith shapes within species but among populations, possibly related to environmental heterogeneity, was comparatively low. CONCLUSIONS: Our results imply that phytolith shape relatively closely corresponds to the taxonomic identity of closely related grass species. Moreover, our methodological approach, applied here in phytolith analysis for the first time, enabled the quantification and separation of variation that is not related to species discrimination. Our findings strengthen the role of grass phytoliths in the reconstruction of past vegetation dynamics.

Hybrid liquid-membrane lenses made by one fixed and one or two active optical components.

The paper presents a methodology of calculation of the inner structure of two- and three-component hybrid liquid-membrane lenses with variable focal length that have corrected spherical aberration and coma. Specifically, the formulas for calculation of initial-design inner parameters (radii of curvatures of individual surfaces, axial thickness, and refractive indices of a material of the lens) of a thin-lens system are derived for a hybrid two-component system (doublet) made by one glass and one liquid-membrane lens, and a hybrid three-component lens (triplet) made by one glass lens and two liquid-membrane lenses, which both have variable focal length and corrected spherical aberration and coma for an object at infinity. As optimization during the optical design process requires the starting point be very close to the optimal solution, the presented approach can be successfully used for its calculation, as it is based on fundamental proven formulas of optical aberrations.

Design of zoom systems composed of lenses with variable focal length.

This paper develops a methodology for a design of zoom-systems, which are composed of thin optical components with a variable focal length (e.g., membrane lenses). The proposed procedure allows us to design not only the outer parameters of the system (focal lengths and separation of lenses), but the inner structure of individual components of the system can be calculated as well (radii of curvature, thicknesses, and refractive indices) i.e., the starting values of the mentioned parameters can be calculated and used for the next optimization.

Fundamental characterization of a priori measurement accuracy of terrestrial laser scanning.

This paper summarizes, presents, and derives fundamental formulas and principles of characterization of a priori measurement accuracy of terrestrial laser scanning. The first part is focused on a general mathematical description of geometrical properties of the scanner, and useful general formulas for uncertainty analysis of all types of scanner constructions are presented. Afterwards, a description of physical aspects affecting terrestrial laser scanning follows. The final part of the paper summarizes the presented analysis on examples.

Effect of Elevated Temperature on the Bond Strength of Prestressing Reinforcement in UHPC.

The study explores the effect of elevated temperatures on the bond strength between prestressing reinforcement and ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). Laboratory investigations reveal that the changes in bond strength correspond well with the changes in compressive strength of UHPC and their correlation can be mathematically described. Exposition of specimens to temperatures up to 200 °C does not reduce bond strength as a negative effect of increasing temperature is outweighed by the positive effect of thermal increase on the reactivity of silica fume in UHPC mixture. Above 200 °C, bond strength significantly reduces; for instance, a decrease by about 70% is observed at 800 °C. The decreases in compressive and bond strengths for temperatures above 400 °C are related to the changes of phase composition of UHPC matrix (as revealed by X-ray powder diffraction) and the changes in microstructure including the increase of porosity (verified by mercury intrusion porosimetry and observation of confocal microscopy) and development cracks detected by scanning electron microscopy. Future research should investigate the effect of relaxation of prestressing reinforcement with increasing temperature on bond strength reduction by numerical modelling.

Double curvature membrane lens.

The paper presents a theoretical analysis of properties of a specific liquid membrane lens composed of two axially symmetric membranes of different thicknesses and double curvature. These membranes enclose a space where an optical liquid is filled. Mechanical and optical properties of the lens are then changed by varying the volume of the liquid. The paper presents new formulas for calculation of membrane deflections, radii of curvatures of the membranes, and axial geometry, which offer to minimize the third-order spherical aberration of the lens for an object at infinity. The presented theory is examined on specific examples.

Diffraction by perfect and imperfect amplitude grating.

The paper presents theoretical formulas for calculation of diffraction by perfect infinite and finite amplitude gratings with Fresnel and Fraunhofer approximations. Further, general formulas for diffraction by an imperfect diffraction grating are derived where edges of the grating are described with general harmonic functions. Such a formalism provides enough power to accurately characterize imperfections of diffraction gratings, and it serves as a simple tool for a solution to a diffraction problem.

Calculation of a lens system with one or two aspherical surfaces having corrected spherical aberration.

The paper presents a detailed theoretical analysis of characteristics of a rotationally symmetric lens system with one or two aspherical surfaces having corrected spherical aberration and reduced coma aberration for a given position of the object and the image. Formulas for surface shape optimization are derived, and the procedure for calculating the aspherical system is shown. The presented formulas are verified with examples of ray tracing.

New AMS 14C dates track the arrival and spread of broomcorn millet cultivation and agricultural change in prehistoric Europe.

Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is not one of the founder crops domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but was domesticated in northeast China by 6000 BC. In Europe, millet was reported in Early Neolithic contexts formed by 6000 BC, but recent radiocarbon dating of a dozen 'early' grains cast doubt on these claims. Archaeobotanical evidence reveals that millet was common in Europe from the 2nd millennium BC, when major societal and economic transformations took place in the Bronze Age. We conducted an extensive programme of AMS-dating of charred broomcorn millet grains from 75 prehistoric sites in Europe. Our Bayesian model reveals that millet cultivation began in Europe at the earliest during the sixteenth century BC, and spread rapidly during the fifteenth/fourteenth centuries BC. Broomcorn millet succeeds in exceptionally wide range of growing conditions and completes its lifecycle in less than three summer months. Offering an additional harvest and thus surplus food/fodder, it likely was a transformative innovation in European prehistoric agriculture previously based mainly on (winter) cropping of wheat and barley. We provide a new, high-resolution chronological framework for this key agricultural development that likely contributed to far-reaching changes in lifestyle in late 2nd millennium BC Europe.

Safety effects of traffic lane and shoulder widths on two-lane undivided rural roads: A matched case-control study from Norway.

This study estimates the effects of lane and shoulder widths on occurrence of head-on and single-vehicle accidents on rural two-lane undivided roads in Norway while considering the differences between winter and non-winter accidents and their severity levels. A matched case-control method was applied to calculate the odds ratios for lane and shoulder width categories, while controlling for the effects of AADT and adjusting for the effects of region, speed limit, segment length, share of long vehicles in AADT and horizontal alignment. The study used a sample of 71,999 roadway segments identified in GIS and 1886 related accidents recorded by the police in five-year period. The results suggest that it is relevant to consider winter and non-winter accidents as well as severe and slight accidents separately when studying the effects of lane and shoulder widths on the occurrence of head-on and single-vehicle accidents. When examining lane and shoulder widths for all related accidents, the lane widths 1.50-2.50 m and shoulder widths 0.50-0.75 m were relatively safer than other categories on Norwegian two-lane rural undivided roads.

Fundamental design parameters of two-component optical systems: theoretical analysis.

The paper presents a detailed theoretical analysis of two-component optical systems of Petzval objective, tele-objectives, reverse tele-objectives, and objectives of anallactic type. This type of optical system is popular in practice, especially in the field of photographic technologies and surveying devices (theodolites, levelling devices, etc.), where anallactic telescopes with inner focusing are used. The paper presents methods of designing of fundamental parameters of the objective, i.e., focal distances of the objective's components and their mutual distance, and radii of curvatures of individual surfaces if the components are cemented doublets. Further, a detailed analysis of aberration properties of those optical systems is presented.

Kinetics of Zinc Corrosion in Concrete as a Function of Water and Oxygen Availability.

This paper studies the effect of water as an oxidation agent and also of oxygen on zinc corrosion kinetics in active state in concrete, using high-sensitivity electrical resistance sensors. It was proven that zinc corrosion in active state is strongly affected by the presence of water at its surface. Zinc corrosion in real concrete in the absence of water can be misinterpreted as salt passivity. The presence of oxygen results in an increase of zinc corrosion rate, however at pH 12.6, passivity can occur. It was verified that corrosion products consisting primarily of Ca[Zn(OH)3]2·2H2O cannot effectively passivate zinc surface in concrete, even after 1800 h of exposure and zinc, or hot-dip galvanized steel can corrode at an unacceptable corrosion rate (more than 4 µm·a-1).

Activity of the 2013 Geminid meteoroid stream at the Moon.

The Lunar Dust Experiment (LDEX) onboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission orbited the Moon from 2013 October to 2014 April and detected impact ejecta generated by the continual bombardment of meteoroids to the lunar surface. While the Moon transited the Geminid meteoroid stream, LDEX observed a large enhancement in the lunar impact ejecta cloud, particularly above the portion of lunar surface normal to the Geminids radiant. Here, we present the LDEX measurements during the Geminids, using the surface density of impact ejecta at the Moon as a proxy for meteoroid activity. We find two peaks during the Geminids, a smaller peak at solar longitude λ⊙ = 261°.3 ± 0°.12 followed by a larger peak at λ⊙ = 262°.2 ± 0°.12, with a surface density ratio of 2.6 between the two. Both peaks coincide with radar observations of shallower mass indices than most of the Geminids, suggesting an enhancement of larger particles during the two peaks. The total duration of the 2013 Geminid meteoroid shower at the Moon measured by LDEX is Δλ⊙ = 1°.7 for activity >10 per cent of the peak value, corresponding to a width of 1.9 × 106 km normal to the Geminids velocity vector. The timing of the main observed peak matches ground-based visual observations of meteors with magnitude of -1 to -3 and suggests LDEX is detecting ejecta from primary impactors with radii ~2 mm to 2 cm during this time.

Thermally enhanced in situ bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents - A field test.

In situ bioremediation (ISB) using reductive dechlorination is a widely accepted but relatively slow approach compared to other technologies for the treatment of groundwater contaminated by chlorinated ethenes (CVOCs). Due to the known positive kinetic effect on microbial metabolism, thermal enhancement may be a viable means of accelerating ISB. We tested thermally enhanced ISB in aquifers situated in sandy saprolite and underlying fractured granite. The system comprised pumping, heating and subsequent injection of contaminated groundwater aiming at an aquifer temperature of 20-30°C. A fermentable substrate (whey) was injected in separate batches. The test was monitored using hydrochemical and molecular tools (qPCR and NGS). The addition of the substrate and increase in temperature resulted in a rapid increase in the abundance of reductive dechlorinators (e.g., Dehalococcoides mccartyi, Dehalobacter sp. and functional genes vcrA and bvcA) and a strong increase in CVOC degradation. On day 34, the CVOC concentrations decreased by 87% to 96% in groundwater from the wells most affected by the heating and substrate. On day 103, the CVOC concentrations were below the LOQ resulting in degradation half-lives of 5 to 6days. Neither an increase in biomarkers nor a distinct decrease in the CVOC concentrations was observed in a deep well affected by the heating but not by the substrate. NGS analysis detected Chloroflexi dechlorinating genera (Dehalogenimonas and GIF9 and MSBL5 clades) and other genera capable of anaerobic metabolic degradation of CVOCs. Of these, bacteria of the genera Acetobacterium, Desulfomonile, Geobacter, Sulfurospirillum, Methanosarcina and Methanobacterium were stimulated by the substrate and heating. In contrast, groundwater from the deep well (affected by heating only) hosted representatives of aerobic metabolic and aerobic cometabolic CVOC degraders. The test results document that heating of the treated aquifer significantly accelerated the treatment process but only in the case of an abundant substrate.