The research explores the predictive capacity of the shear strength of reinforced concrete walls with different cross-sectional shapes using the XGBoost model.

Structurally, the lateral load-bearing capacity mainly depends on reinforced concrete (RC) walls. Determination of flexural strength and shear strength is mandatory when designing reinforced concrete walls. Typically, these strengths are determined through theoretical formulas and verified experimentally.

Plasma-induced nanogap narrowing and morphological transformation in gold nanoparticle assemblies.

The plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) assemblies are critically influenced by the nanogaps between particles. Here, we demonstrate that plasma treatment effectively narrows these nanogaps and ultimately merges the nanoparticles. This process induces a sequential redshift, weakening, broadening, and an eventual blueshift of the plasmon coupling peak in UV-vis spectra, indicating transitions from classical to quantum regimes and finally to contact modes.

Early Rise and Persistent Inhibition of Electromyography during Failed Stopping.

Reactively canceling movements is a vital feature of the motor system to ensure safety. This behavior can be studied in the laboratory using the stop-signal task. There remains ambiguity about whether a "point-of-no-return" exists, after which a response cannot be aborted.

Combinatorial Approach to Find Nanoparticle Assemblies with Maximum Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

Plasmonic nanoparticles exhibit unique properties that distinguish them from other nanomaterials, including vibrant visible colors, the generation of local electric fields, the production of hot charge carriers, and localized heat emission. These properties are particularly enhanced in the narrow nanogaps formed between nanostructures. Therefore, creating nanogaps in a controlled fashion is the key to achieving a fundamental understanding of plasmonic phenomena originating from the nanogaps and developing advanced nanomaterials with enhanced performance for diverse applications.

SERS-ELISA using silica-encapsulated Au core-satellite nanotags for sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The sensitive detection of viruses is key to preventing the spread of infectious diseases. In this study, we develop a silica-encapsulated Au core-satellite (CS@SiO) nanotag, which produces a strong and reproducible surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) signal. The combination of SERS from the CS@SiO nanotags with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) achieves a highly sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Core-satellite-satellite hierarchical nanostructures: assembly, plasmon coupling, and gap-selective surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

The plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), such as color tunability, electric field generation, hot carrier generation, and localized heating, are significantly enhanced in the nanogaps between AuNPs. Therefore, the creation and control of nanogaps are key to developing advanced plasmonic nanomaterials. Most AuNP nanoassemblies, including dimers, trimers, and core-satellites, have a single type of nanogap within the assembly.

Plasmon-driven protodeboronation reactions in nanogaps.

Boronic acids are the key compounds in Suzuki coupling reactions and in the detection of monosaccharides. The C-B bond cleavage deboronation is an important side reaction that lowers the Suzuki coupling reaction yield and even disables saccharide detection. Here, we report that protodeboronation occurs for 4-mercaptophenylboronic acid (MPBA) within narrow nanogaps between gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and planar gold substrates.

How Does a Plasmon-Induced Hot Charge Carrier Break a C-C Bond?

Hot-electron chemistry at gold nanoparticle (AuNP) surfaces has received much attention recently because its understanding provides a basis for plasmonic photocatalysis and photovoltaics. Nonradiative decay of excited surface plasmons produces energetic hot charge carriers that transfer to adsorbate molecules and induce chemical reactions. Such plasmon-driven reactions, however, have been limited to a few systems, notably the dimerization of 4-aminobenzenethiol to 4,4'-dimercaptoazobenzene.

Opposing Intermolecular Tuning of Ca Affinity for Calmodulin by Neurogranin and CaMKII Peptides.

We investigated the impact of bound calmodulin (CaM)-target compound structure on the affinity of calcium (Ca) by integrating coarse-grained models and all-atomistic simulations with nonequilibrium physics. We focused on binding between CaM and two specific targets, Ca/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and neurogranin (Ng), as they both regulate CaM-dependent Ca signaling pathways in neurons. It was shown experimentally that Ca/CaM (holoCaM) binds to the CaMKII peptide with overwhelmingly higher affinity than Ca-free CaM (apoCaM); the binding of CaMKII peptide to CaM in return increases the Ca affinity for CaM.

Phase diagram of the ground states of DNA condensates.

The phase diagram of the ground states of DNA in a bad solvent is studied for a semiflexible polymer model with a generalized local elastic bending potential characterized by a nonlinearity parameter x and effective self-attraction promoting compaction. x=1 corresponds to the wormlike chain model. Surprisingly, the phase diagram as well as the transition lines between the ground states are found to be a function of x.

Geostatistical modeling of the spatial distribution of soil dioxin in the vicinity of an incinerator. 2. Verification and calibration study.

A key component in any investigation of cause-effect relationships between point source pollution, such as an incinerator, and human health is the availability of measurements and/or accurate models of exposure at the same scale or geography as the health data. Geostatistics allows one to simulate the spatial distribution of pollutant concentrations over various spatial supports while incorporating both field data and predictions of deterministic dispersion models. This methodology was used in a companion paper to identify the census blocks that have a high probability of exceeding a given level of dioxin TEQ (toxic equivalents) around an incinerator in Midland, MI.

Geostatistical modeling of the spatial distribution of soil dioxins in the vicinity of an incinerator. 1. Theory and application to Midland, Michigan.

Deposition of pollutants around point sources of contamination, such as incinerators, can display complex spatial patterns depending on prevailing weather conditions, the local topography, and the characteristics of the source. Deterministic dispersion models often fail to capture the complexity observed in the field, resulting in uncertain predictions that might hamper subsequent decision-making, such as delineation of areas targeted for additional sampling or remediation. This paper describes a geostatistical simulation-based methodology that combines the detailed process-based modeling of atmospheric deposition from an incinerator with the probabilistic modeling of residual variability of field samples.