A Green Metal–Organic Framework-Cyclodextrin MOF: A Novel Multifunctional Material Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Highly Efficient Mechanical Energy Harvesting

The naturally available cyclodextrin has opened up a wide range of research avenues because of its superior characteristics such as being non-toxic, biocompatible, and edible. The cyclodextrin is the green multifunctional material that can add to the triboelectric series and extend its self-powered applications. The ultrasonic synthesized cyclodextrin metal–organic framework (CD-MOF) designed using sodium as a metal ion and cyclodextrin as a ligand for the triboelectric nanogenerator is reported. The various detailed characterizations of the CD-MOFs give an insight into the properties of the synthesized material. The Kelvin probe force microscopy suggests three types of CD-MOFs, exhibiting a positive potential. As per the surface potential, the output of the various CD-MOF based TENG is varied as alpha CD MOF/Teflon > gamma CD-MOF/Teflon > beta CD-MOF/Teflon. The alpha CD MOF/Teflon TENG produces an electrical output of 152 V, 1.2 μA, and 14.3 nC, respectively. The fabricated device output is utilized for powering numerous low-power electronics through a capacitor and bridge rectifier circuit. The multiunit Z-shaped TENG device is attached to various surfaces such as the shoe heel and the backside of the school bag, and the corresponding energy harvesting response is demonstrated.     

Cobalt(II)-Centered Fluorinated Phthalocyanine-Sulfur SNAr Chemistry for Robust Lithium–Sulfur Batteries with Superior Conversion Kinetics

Due to the exceptional theoretical energy density and low cost of elemental sulfur, lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are spotlighted as promising post-lithium-ion batteries. Despite these advantages, the performance of Li–S batteries would need to be improved further for their wide dissemination in practical applications. Here, cobalt(II)-centered fluorinated phthalocyanine, namely, F-Co(II)Pc, is reported as a multi-functional component for sulfur cathodes with the following benefits: 1) enhanced conversion kinetics as a result of the catalytic effect of the cobalt(II) center, 2) efficient sulfur linkage via the fluorine functionality, which undergoes a nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S_NAr) reaction, 3) suppression of the shuttling issue by the nitrogen atoms because of their strong affinity with polysulfides, and 4) the necessary aromaticity to engage in π–π interaction with reduced graphene oxide for electrical conductivity. The resulting electrode has promising electrochemical properties, such as sustainable cycling for 700 cycles and robust operation with a sulfur loading of 12 mg_sulfur cm⁻², unveiling the promising nature of phthalocyanine and its related molecular families for advanced Li–S batteries.     

Information Processing and Wireless Energy Harvesting in Interference-Aware Public Safety Networks

In a public safety environment, user equipments (UEs) located within the coverage area of evolved NodeB, relay network services to out-of-coverage UEs. However, relay UEs in public safety environments are typically energy constrained and cannot operate indefinitely without recharging. Radio frequency energy harvesting has been proposed as a solution for recharging wireless UEs. In this paper, we propose a scheme for extending the lifetime of a public safety network by wirelessly charging relay UEs. In addition, we propose a relay selection method considering the battery status of relay UEs. The proposed relay selection is defined as a bipartite graph matching problem and the optimal relay is obtained through matching games technique. The proposed scheme not only improves the network lifetime but also extend the network coverage. We also conduct system level simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. Simulation results show that the overall performance of the system is improved in terms of achievable throughput and network lifetime.     

Impact of Backup Power in Optimizing Deployment Cost of Hybrid Optical Wireless Broadband Access Network (HOWBAN) with Survivability

Wireless Personal Communications - The dependence on broadband to enhance the economy and environment sustainability is imposing immense urgency to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access...     

Performance Evaluation of Silence-Feature Normalization Model using Cepstrum Features of Noise Signals

Speech enhancement algorithms play an important role in speech signal processing. Over the past several decades, many algorithms have been studied for speech enhancement. A speech enhancement algorithm uses a noise removal method and a statistical model filter to analyze the speech signal in the frequency domain. Spectral subtraction and Wiener filters have been used as representative algorithms. These algorithms have excellent speech enhancement performance, but suffer from deterioration in performance due to specific noise or low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) environments. In addition, according to estimations of erroneous noise, a noise existing in a voice signal is maintained so that a spectrum corresponding to a voice signal is distorted, or a frame corresponding to a voice signal cannot be retrieved, and voice recognition performance deteriorates. The problem of deterioration in speech recognition performance arises from the difference between speech recognition and training model. We use silence-feature normalization model as a methodology to improve the recognition rate resulting from the difference in the noisy environments. Conventional silence-feature normalization has a problem in that the silent part of the energy increases, which affects recognition performance due to unclear boundaries categorizing the voice. In this study, we use the cepstrum feature of the noise signals in the silence-feature normalization model to improve the performance of silence-feature normalization in a signal with a low SNR by setting a reference value for voiced and unvoiced classification. As a result of recognition rate confirmation, the recognition rates improve in performance, compared with other methods.     

A fully integrated switched-capacitor DC–DC converter with hybrid output regulation

In this paper, we propose a fully integrated switched-capacitor (SC) DC–DC converter with hybrid output regulation that allows a predictable switching noise spectrum. The proposed hybrid output regulation method is based on the digital capacitance modulation for fine regulation and the automatic frequency scaling for coarse regulation. The automatic frequency scaler and on-chip current sensor are implemented to adjust the switching frequency at one of the frequencies generated by a binary frequency divider with change in load current. Thus, the switching noise spectrum of the proposed SC DC–DC converter can be predicted over the entire load range. In addition, the bottom-plate losses due to the parasitic capacitances of the flying capacitors and the gate-drive losses due to the gate capacitances of switches are reduced at light load condition since the switching frequency is automatically adjusted. The proposed SC DC–DC converter was implemented in a 0.13 µm CMOS process with 1.5 V devices, and its measurement results show that the peak efficiency and the efficiency at light load condition are 69.2% and higher than 45%, respectively, while maintaining a predictable switching noise spectrum.     

Upgrading service availability of optical networks: A labor force perspective

Service availability is an important issue in optical networks. Much research attention has been drawn to the provisioning of reliable connections achieved by approaches such as routing and wavelength assignment and by protection and restoration mechanisms. In contrast, the research on upgrading networks to meet new or dynamic demands of service availability based on network upgrading process has been comparatively lacking. In this paper, we address this issue by upgrading service availability from the perspective of labor forces for network maintenance. Our approach is premised on the assumption that the time period for fixing an optical link can be reduced by using more network resources of labor forces. To model this concept, we conduct Amdahl's law, a well‐known theorem in parallel computing, to describe human teamwork. To show the effectiveness of this concept, we propose mixed integer linear programming aiming at either maximizing service availability under limited labor forces or minimizing labor forces for predetermined service availability. In addition, a heuristic algorithm for upgrading service availability is presented. Our experimental results show that our network upgrading process can improve service availability optimally with a fixed number of forces and the proposed heuristic algorithm can effectively save computation time.     

Hydrodynamically Guided Hierarchical Self‐Assembly of Peptide–Protein Bioinks

Effective integration of molecular self‐assembly and additive manufacturing would provide a technological leap in bioprinting. This article reports on a biofabrication system based on the hydrodynamically guided co‐assembly of peptide amphiphiles (PAs) with naturally occurring biomolecules and proteins to generate hierarchical constructs with tuneable molecular composition and structural control. The system takes advantage of droplet‐on‐demand inkjet printing to exploit interfacial fluid forces and guide molecular self‐assembly into aligned or disordered nanofibers, hydrogel structures of different geometries and sizes, surface topographies, and higher‐ordered constructs bound by molecular diffusion. PAs are designed to co‐assemble during printing in cell diluent conditions with a range of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and biomolecules including fibronectin, collagen, keratin, elastin‐like proteins, and hyaluronic acid. Using combinations of these molecules, NIH‐3T3 and adipose derived stem cells are bioprinted within complex structures while exhibiting high cell viability (>88%). By integrating self‐assembly with 3D‐bioprinting, the study introduces a novel biofabrication platform capable of encapsulating and spatially distributing multiple cell types within tuneable pericellular environments. In this way, the work demonstrates the potential of the approach to generate complex bioactive scaffolds for applications such as tissue engineering, in vitro models, and drug screening.     

Reinforcing the Built‐In Field for Efficient Charge Collection in Polymer Solar Cells

The collection efficiency of photogenerated charges in polymer solar cells (PSCs) is strongly influenced by the built‐in field (E_in) that develops across the photoactive materials. Here, by investigating the E_in‐development regimes in PSCs by introducing two types of interlayers, electric dipole layers (EDLs) and charge transport layers (CTLs), the device architecture is optimized to result in a larger E_in. By incorporating a pair of EDLs on both sides of the photoactive layer, the E_in is modulated by shifting the vacuum energy at each metal–semiconductor interface, providing a larger E_in than that in conventional PSCs using typical CTLs, such as metal oxides and/or conducting polymers. These devices using paired EDLs exhibit an average PCE of 9.8%, which far surpasses the average PCE of ≈8.5% for paired CTLs.