Search

The transparent [Li 0.04 (K 0.5 Na 0.5) 0.96 ]NbO 3 +0.5mol% Er 2 O 3 (KNNLN-Er) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics were prepared by stereolithography technique. The influence of different sintering holding time (4h∼8h) on the micromorphology, relative density, shrinkage, electric properties, and photoluminescence properties were systematically investigated. The KNNLN-Er ceramics show the coexistence of orthorhombic and tetragonal structures. The grain size increases obviously and then decreases slightly with the holding time increasing. The KNNLN-Er ceramics exhibit good piezoelectric performance (piezoelectric constant d 33 ∼97 pC/N, electromechanical couple coefficient k t ∼0.36) and the moderate transparency of 34% when the holding time is 6h during sintering at 1120°C. Besides, the intensity of the photoluminescence emission spectra increases with the holding time increasing. Furthermore, in order to estimate the properties of the KNNLN-Er transparent ceramics, an ultrasonic transducer with a center frequency of 10.5 MHz was fabricated, which can be used for photoacoustic and fluorescence imaging. The results indicate that the KNNLN-Er ceramics have potential for multimode imaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tungsten trioxide (WO 3) is a classical electrochromic (EC) material with advantages of abundant reserves, high coloration efficiency and cyclic stability. However, WO 3 films are often accompanied by a narrow spectrum of modulation due to a single-color change from transparent to blue. In this work, we report a wide-spectrum tunable WO 3 ·H 2 O nanosheets EC film solvothermally grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass. Interestingly, the crystalline WO 3 ·H 2 O nanosheets film is transformed into amorphous WO 3 after annealing at 250 °C for 1 h. The amorphous film can be transformed into crystalline WO 3 film by increasing the annealing temperature to 450 °C. After annealing at 250 °C, the WO 3 film exhibits an optical modulation of 75.8% in a broad solar spectrum range of 380–1400 nm and blocks 88.9% of solar irradiance. Fast switching responses of 4.9 s for coloration and 6.0 s for bleaching, and a coloration efficiency of 86.4 cm2 C−1 are also achieved. Additionally, the WO 3 film annealed at 250 °C also demonstrates an excellent cyclic stability, where 99.6% of the initial optical modulation can be retained after 1500 cycles. This simple and mild solvothermal method used in this work provides a new idea for the preparation of wide-spectrum tunable WO 3 EC films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, high-performance 0.11 Pb(In 1/2 Nb 1/2)O 3 -0.89 Pb(Hf 0.47 Ti 0.53)O 3 -0.8Ta 2 O 5 (PIN-PHT-0.8Ta) ceramics are successfully synthesized. In addition, performance improvement is comprehensively analyzed from viewpoints of microstructure, phase structure and electrical properties. Experimental results reveal that the addition of Ta 2 O 5 changes phase structure of PIN-PHT ceramics from ferroelectric tetragonal phase to rhombohedral phase. This leads to the appearance of morphotropic phase boundaries (MPBs). At the same time, the addition of Ta 2 O 5 reduces grain size and enhances grain uniformity. Also, Ta 2 O 5 doping improves internal and external contribution of piezoelectric response, which greatly improves dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of PIN-PHT. Key performance parameters include d 33 , k p , T C , ε r and tan δ , which are found to be 630 pC/N, 0.73, 322.6 °C, 1917 and 1.55%, respectively. In particular, thermal stability of PIN-PHT-0.8Ta ceramics is found to be higher than PZT-based ceramics, as well as d 33 value and performance retention rate of PIN-PHT-0.8Ta are found to be 560 pC/N and 89% at 300 °C, respectively, which are far superior to commercial PZT-5 and PZT-8 ceramics. These properties indicate potential of PIN-PHT-0.8Ta ceramics in high-temperature applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MIL-101(Cr) nodes were tethered by ionic liquids bearing hydrogen-bond donor. • MIL-101(Cr) derivative as catalyst boosted the epoxide cycloaddition with CO 2. • The heterogeneous catalyst containing carboxyl displayed superior activity. • The catalyst exhibited the great durability and recyclability. It is critical to design an effective catalyst for CO 2 conversion into cyclocarbonate to achieve the carbon neutrality. Herein, MIL-101(Cr) tethered by hydrogen bond donors (HBD)-containing ionic liquids (denoted as MIL-101-ILs(R), R = OH, NH 2 , and COOH) were synthesized through the implantation of 4,4′-bipyridine into MOF nodes via the post-synthetic modification, followed by the decoration with bromoalkanes including bromoethanol, bromoethylamine, and bromoacetic acid. Their catalytic performance were evaluated by the epoxide cycloaddition reaction under 1.0 MPa CO 2 and 80 ℃ for 6 h in the absence of solvent and cocatalyst. Compared to MIL-101-ILs without HBD, MIL-101-ILs(OH) and MIL-101-ILs(NH 2) demonstrated the more chloropropene carbonate (CPC) yield of 88 % and 83 %, respectively. Notably, MIL-101-ILs(COOH) exhibited an uppermost activity with a CPC yield of 96 %, attributed to the cooperativity of Lewis acidity originating from Cr 3 O clusters, hydrogen-bond interaction afforded by carboxyl groups, and the strong nucleophilicity offered by Br- ions of ILs. Moreover, MIL-101-ILs(COOH) presented excellent recyclability. A potential catalytic mechanism for epoxide cycloaddition with CO 2 into cyclic carbonate has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disinfection by-products (DBPs) are prevalent contaminants in drinking water and are primarily linked to issues regarding water quality. These contaminants have been associated with various adverse health effects. Among different treatment processes, nanofiltration (NF) has demonstrated superior performance in effectively reducing the levels of DBPs compared to conventional processes and ozone-biological activated carbon (O 3 -BAC) processes. In this experiment, we systematically investigated the performance of three advanced membrane filtration treatment schemes, namely "sand filter + nanofiltration" (SF + NF), "sand filter + ozone-biological activated carbon + nanofiltration" (SF + O 3 -BAC + NF), and "ultrafiltration + nanofiltration" (UF + NF), in terms of their ability to control disinfection by-product (DBP) formation in treated water, analyzed the source and fate of DBP precursors during chlorination, and elucidated the role of precursor molecular weight distribution during membrane filtration in relation to DBP formation potential (DBPFP). The results indicated that each treatment process reduced DBPFP, as measured by trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP) and haloacetic acid formation potential (HAAFP), with the SF + O 3 -BAC + NF process being the most effective (14.27 μg/L and 14.88 μg/L), followed by the SF + NF process (21.04 μg/L and 16.29 μg/L) and the UF + NF process (26.26 μg/L and 21.75 μg/L). Tyrosine, tryptophan, and soluble microbial products were identified as the major DBP precursors during chlorination, with their fluorescence intensity decreasing gradually as water treatment progressed. Additionally, while large molecular weight organics (60–100,000 KDa) played a minor role in DBPFP, small molecular weight organics (0.2–5 KDa) were highlighted as key contributors to DBPFP, and medium molecular weight organics (5–60 KDa) could adhere to the membrane surface and reduce DBPFP. Based on these findings, the combined NF process can be reasonably selected for controlling DBP formation, with potential long-term benefits for human health. [Display omitted] • The SF + NF, SF + O 3 -BAC + NF, and UF + NF processes help eliminate TCM and DCAA precursors. • Proteins and soluble microbial products are the main precursors for DBP formation. • Small molecular weight organics (0.2–5 KDa) are particularly likely to form DBPs. • The process chosen should consider energy consumption and economic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driver distraction recognition has been studied by many researchers. However, most studies have failed to balance the efficiency and accuracy of models. In this study, a lightweight network called CaTNet is proposed. The CaTNet is a simplified framework based on the existing model ConvNeXt, which prunes redundant feature layers. And a whole new module CaT containing self-attention is introduced in tandem, both of which are combined to enhance the feature characterization. It captures long-range dependencies and retains the local inductive bias provided by the convolutional neural network (CNN). The proposed method is verified on the dataset of American University in Cairo (AUC) and the State Farm Distracted Driver Detection (SFD3) Dataset. The CaTNet achieves 94.82% and 99.91% Top-1 accuracy while the number of model parameters is only 2.832M, with 12.44 frames per second (FPS) running on Jetson Nano. These results are superior to other existing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Development trend of collaborative security in middle reaches is considerable. • Collaborative security levels of Sichuan, Hunan and Jiangxi are lowest in 2020. • Bellman optimal equation is used to calculate expected benefits of measures. • Quantitative assessment is conducive to the collaborative security of the nexus. • Optimal implementation sequences of indictors with poor performance are proposed. Water, energy, and food are essential for human survival, and the production and consumption of these three resources are closely related. In the backdrop of limited resources and constantly expanding demand, the collaborative security of the water-energy-food nexus (WEF-nexus) is under serious threat. It is of great practical significance to study the adaptive management countermeasures of the collaborative security of the WEF-nexus in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) and to quantitatively evaluate the implementation sequence of relevant management countermeasures to improve the collaborative security and promote the sustainable development of the WEF-nexus. This study first establishes an evaluation indicator system for the collaborative security of the WEF-nexus in the YREB by utilizing the pressure-state-response (PSR) model. Then, the CRITIC and TOPSIS methods are used to determine the weight of indicators and the collaborative security level of the WEF-nexus in each province and city. The state transition matrix is determined based on the transition at the collaborative security level. Finally, based on the barrel theory to make up for shortcomings, the adaptive management countermeasures of provinces and cities with low collaborative safety levels are studied by combining the Bellman optimal equation. By comparing the expected returns of the same countermeasure in different implementation sequences and conducting quantitative research on the implementation sequence of adaptive management countermeasures, targeted policy suggestions are proposed based on regional characteristics, providing a reference for strategic decision-making of relevant resources in the YREB and improving regional WEF-nexus collaborative security. The results show that: (1) For Jiangxi, improving the water conservancy engineering regulation and storage capacity and other ways in a particular order can effectively improve the collaborative security level of nexus. (2) For Hunan, increasing the investment proportion of agriculture, forestry and water conservancy and resource exploration intensity and other means in a particular order can effectively improve the collaborative security level of the nexus. (3)For Sichuan, increasing the water-saving irrigation rate according to a particular order and other ways can effectively improve the collaborative security level of nexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple Kernel Clustering (MKC) is an effective approach for revealing nonlinear cluster structures in candidate kernels. However, existing MKC methods still face two key challenges. Firstly, the pairwise affinity in these methods is primarily determined by kernel similarity, disregarding the correlations among highly similar neighbors and resulting in redundant weight assignments and reduced clustering discriminability. Secondly, the direct utilization of affinity matrices overlooks high-order connections and introduces noise due to independent row-wise solving. To address these issues, we propose a novel local MKC method called LKRGDF. We begin by exploring affinity using the Local Kernel Reconstruction (LKR) model, reducing redundancy and enhancing clustering discriminability. Furthermore, we exploit the affinities with the Global heat kernel Diffusion (GD) procedure to capture long-range connections smoothly. The GD process acts as a low pass filter, focusing on small eigenvalues corresponding to top clusters. Finally, we integrate these smooth affinities within an auto-weighted Multiple Graph Fusion (MGF) framework to obtain a consensus graph. By assembling LKR, GD, and MGF in a sequential pipeline, our approach achieves the exploration and exploitation of local structures, gradually improving clustering performance while ensuring computational efficiency without the need for iterative steps. Extensive experiments on ten datasets demonstrate the superiority of our algorithm in terms of effectiveness and efficiency compared to state-of-the-art methods. The code for our method is publicly available at https://github.com/YanChenSCU/LKRGDF-2023.git. [Display omitted] • A new reconstruction method is developed to explore the local kernel structure. • A heat diffusion method is developed to exploit the global kernel structure. • A new sequential MKC method is proposed to explore and exploit kernel structure. • The experimental results show both the effectiveness and efficiency of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-organisms on the eggshell surface of affect the quality of the egg. Sometimes, these microbes even pose a serious threat to the health of the egg's consumer. Bacterial 16S rDNA and fungal internal transcribed spacer region were sequenced to analyze the microbial diversity on the shell surface of the eggs collected from 4 distinct regions of China: Guyuan (GY ; 1.5 million hens), Langfang (LF ; 0.1 million hens), Beihai (BH ; 1.2 million hens), and Dongguan (DG ; 0.2 million hens). The results showed a higher bacterial and fungal abundance on the eggs collected from the northern and southern China farms, respectively. The dominant bacterial phylum detected across all egg samples was Firmicutes. In addition, the shell surfaces of the DG and LF samples harbored abundant levels of Proteobacteria. The dominant fungal phyla detected across all egg samples were Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. The bacterial compositions on eggshell surfaces differed significantly across all geographic regions, and the fungal composition differed significantly between samples collected from the southern and northern farms (P < 0.05). The abundance and composition of microbial colonies on the eggshell surface varied based on their geographical location (climate and environment) and farming scale (management). Our findings provide an important reference for optimizing the cleaning and disinfection methods for fresh eggs collected from different sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) technology, which involves the vertical integration of multiple chips, has effectively reduced the size of electronic devices and mitigated chip interconnection delays. However, the high integration of 3D-IC brings serious thermal management challenges, especially the heat dissipation of middle-layer or bottom-layer chips. In this study, a 3D-IC thermal management scheme named SLHP based on loop heat pipe is proposed. An SLHP featuring micropillar arrays wick is designed and manufactured, and the feasibility of the SLHP for 3D-IC thermal management is verified through visual experiment, and the influence of changing the location of hotspots and introducing a composite wick on improving the performance of the SLHP is explored. The results indicate that the SLHP operates effectively, demonstrating the capability to adapt to abrupt changes in heat flux. Moreover, the micropillar arrays wick not only provides powerful capillary force, but also larger heat exchange area in limited space. Thoughtful placement of hotspots is profitable to supply liquid fluid and minimize heat leakage from evaporator to compensation chamber. Most significantly, the thermal conductivity of composite wick SLHP reaches 852.1 W/(m·K), surpassing the 810.0 W/(m·K) achieved by the single-size wick SLHP. • A 3D-IC thermal management scheme based on LHP is proposed. • The application of micropillars array wick in SLHP has been effective. • The impact of hotspots position on the fluid replenishment ability is explored. • SLHP with composite wick reaches the higher thermal conductivity of 852.1 W/(m∙K). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, CuF 2 -doped 0.08 Pb(In 0.5 Nb 0.5)O 3 –0.92 Pb(Hf 0.47 Ti 0.53)O 3 (PIN–PHT + CuF 2) ceramics were prepared via traditional solid-state route using lower temperature than conventional environment. Resultant materials were found to have high Curie temperature, high mechanical quality factor and excellent piezoelectric performance. The phase composition as well as piezoelectric, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the samples were detailedly studied, and Rayleigh's law fitting method was used to explore the piezoelectric response mechanism. Results indicate that the addition of CuF 2 makes PIN–PHT lattice shrink, the phase composition of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) is more symmetrical, that is, the content difference between rhombohedral and tetragonal phases decreases, and both intrinsic and extrinsic contributions of piezoelectric response are improved. For CuF 2 doping content of 0.75-at%, samples sintering at 1100 °C exhibited excellent overall performance, its dielectric and piezoelectric properties at room temperature and Curie temperature reach excellent values, i.e., d 33 = 488 pC/N, T C = 348 °C, ε r = 1630, tan(δ) = 0.14%, Q m = 387, and k p = 0.6. More importantly, after depolarization at 200 °C, d 33 still remained at 460 pC/N. The combined results show CuF 2 -doped PIN–PHT ceramics can be prepared at lower temperatures as well as have lower losses and higher values of Q m. These findings indicate that PIN–PHT + CuF 2 ceramics have greater ease of production and significantly improved application prospects, particularly as a result of their high temperature stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CircCUL3 overexpression drives cervical cancer progression. • CircCUL3 acts as a sponge for miR-223-3p to upregulate ATG7 and activate autophagy. • Chloroquine reverses circCUL3-induced effects by restoring miR-223-3p expression. Circular RNA (circRNA) has emerged as a pivotal regulatory factor in cancer biology, yet its exact role in cervical cancer remains incompletely understood. In this study, we investigated the functional role of circCUL3 in cervical cancer and explored its potential as a therapeutic target. Functional gain and loss experiments were conducted in Hela and Siha cell lines to elucidate the biological functions of circCUL3 in cervical cancer. The results revealed that circCUL3 overexpression significantly enhanced cell viability, migration, and invasion while suppressing apoptosis, while circCUL3 knockout displayed the opposite effects. Mechanistically, we identified hsa-miR-223-3p as a target of circCUL3, with its expression being negatively regulated by circCUL3. Furthermore, we discovered that circCUL3 could sequester miR-223-3p, leading to the upregulation of ATG7 expression, and this was linked to the regulation of autophagy in cervical cancer cells. In vivo validation using a xenograft mouse model further supported our in vitro findings. Notably, we found that chloroquine (CQ), an autophagy inhibitor, restored miR-223-3p expression and counteracted the oncogenic effect of circCUL3 overexpression. In conclusion, circCUL3 potentially contributes to the malignant progression of cervical cancer by acting as a sponge for miR-223-3p, resulting in the upregulation of ATG7 and the activation of autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Successfully designed and prepared a heterojunction VBiTNA. • VBiTNA exhibits excellent photocatalytic degradation of NOR. • Revealing the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and interfacial electric fields in VBiTNA. Fossil fuel consumption is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The Russia–Ukraine conflict has led to energy price volatility. Therefore, affordable energy poses a significant threat. The development of renewable energy to meet consumption demands has attracted researchers' attention in worldwide. In this study, a novel grey adaptive integrated model is proposed to balance the fitting and generalization abilities for renewable energy generation trends. First, feature selection was performed using the mutual information filter method for influencing factors and the wrapper method. Second, FGM(1,1) was used to mine the data features, and AGMC(1,n) was used to extract multivariate time-series relationships. Finally, an adaptive integrated model with a Gaussian kernel function was proposed in order to assign weights. It balances the results of the two forecasting models to avoid the underfitting/overfitting problem generated by excessive data volatility and the abrupt shift of the influencing factors. The study results have shown that the proposed integrated model solved the underfitting and overfitting problems to a certain degree. Its performance is better than single model. We analyze the forecasting results and propose corresponding suggestions for the government and enterprises separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a nanomixed valence FeWO 4 -coated 2D Ti 3 C 2 MXene (FW-MX) photocatalyst synthesised by a simple hydrothermal method. Ciprofloxacin, the main target pollutant, exhibited superior adsorption performance and high catalytic activity in the light-assisted Fenton system. In just 1 h, the removal rate of ciprofloxacin reached an impressive 76.89% using a minimal amount of FW-MX (10 mg). Meanwhile, the material exhibited good stability. Furthermore, the successful formation of mixed-valent FeWO 4 accelerated the rate-limiting step of Fe(III)/Fe(II) conversion, thereby enhancing the reactivity of the in situ photo-Fenton system. In the light-assisted Fenton system, FW-MX demonstrated greater potential compared to other common antibiotics, as FW-M100 exhibited superior photoreduction performance for heavy metal ions under the photo-Fenton oxidation system. This could further advance the practical application of AOPs technology in industrial wastewater treatment. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hybrid Ag-TiO 2 /water nanofluid in a copper porous nanochannel via MD. • Investigation of interaction energy, thermal conductivity, and heat flux values. • Effects of different atomic ratios of nanoparticles (1, 2, 3, 5 and 10%) were evaluated. Nanofluids have gained significant attention due to their improved heat transfer capability compared to traditional fluids, making them promising for various applications. Adding nanoparticles to the base fluid alters its thermophysical attributes, such as thermal conductivity, viscosity, and heat transfer characteristics. Understanding the thermal behavior of hybrid nanofluids in porous nanochannels is crucial for optimizing their performance in practical applications. Therefore, this research uses molecular dynamic simulation to evaluate the thermal performance of an Ag-TiO 2 /water hybrid nanofluid combined with a copper porous nanochannel. The changes in parameters such as interaction energy, thermal conductivity, and heat flux were evaluated with time. Also, the effects of different atomic ratios of nanoparticles (1, 2, 3, 5 and 10 %) on mentioned thermal parameters were evaluated. Based on the findings obtained from the molecular dynamics simulation, with the passage of 10 ns, the interaction energy, thermal conductivity, and heat flux values have converged to 1.356 kcal/mol.atom, 1.717 W/m.k and 114.09 W/m2, respectively. Also, by increasing the atomic ratio of added nanoparticles to 3 %, the thermal conductivity and heat flux values have increased to numerical values of 1.83 W/m.k and 126.84 W/m2. After that, by increasing the atomic ratio of nanoparticles to 10 %, the mentioned parameters reach numerical values of 1.79 W/m.k and 120.05 W/m2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large volume changes of lithium-ion batteries during battery operation affect battery lifetime and performance through mechanical degradation. Therefore, understanding the coupling between mechanics and electrochemistry in these systems is crucial. In this work, we use neutron diffraction to learn how commercial lithium-ion pouch cells are affected by stack pressure during charge and discharge. We find that a change in stack pressure affects the phase transitions in electrode materials, requiring more charge to reach higher state-of-charge phases which results in effective capacity loss for the battery. Also noteworthy is that the copper current collector experiences strain during charge and discharge due to the expansion of the graphite anode, something often overlooked in these systems. • Neutron diffraction reveals how stack pressure affects charging lithium-ion cells. • Lithium-ion pouch cells lose capacity when charged under applied stress. • Copper current collector experiences significant strain during charge cycling. • Electrode phase transitions require more charge under higher stack pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes an effective design of bioactive 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V scaffold with the CaO-MgO-SiO 2 glass-ceramic coating to realize a comparable elastic modulus of bone tissue and boost osteogenic differentiation. The improved elastic modulus and stiffness of Ti alloy were achieved via effectively increasing surface area of Ti alloy to reduce stress shielding effect. A hydrophilic surface and bioactive glass-ceramic coating were conducted via chemical etching and heat-treatment under argon atmosphere to enhance cells attachment and boost cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. The expression of osteogenic genes in bioactive CaO-MgO-SiO 2 glass-ceramic was evaluated through ALP, OPN, Runx2, and Col1A1 gene markers to explore the mechanism of superior osteogenic differentiation. Significant increase in OPN expression level confirmed the effect of CaO-MgO-SiO 2 coating for the enhancement of osteogenic bioactivity. This work provides a feasible approach through surface etching and bioactive CaO-MgO-SiO 2 glass-ceramic coating on the Ti alloy surface to enhance bioactivity and osteogenesis. [Display omitted] • A compatible bone tissue of 3D-printed Ti-6Al-4V scaffold with the novel bioactive CaO-MgO-SiO 2 glass-ceramic coating. • A superior surface modification to enhance cells attachment and boost cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. • This work provides a feasible approach on the Ti-alloy surface to enhance bioactivity and osteogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of short-lived shallow trapping states in semiconductor-based photocatalysts hinders efficient utilization of charge carrier, which compromises the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. Here, we presented an engineered graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) nanosheets with long-lived shallow trapping states achieved through an n-π * electronic transition. This transition induces a significant red-shifted absorption edge at 600 nm, effectively extending the range of light absorption compared to pristine g-CN. Moreover, the engineered g-CN nanosheets exhibit lower exciton binding energies (36 meV) compared to pristine counterparts (50.1 meV), as revealed by temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS) confirms the presence of long-lived shallow trapping states (lifetime: 565.8 ps) in the engineered g-CN nanosheets. These states enable a greater participation of photoinduced electrons in photocatalytic reactions, resulting in significantly enhanced photoactivity. Notably, the g-CN sample with the n-π * transition achieves a remarkable photocatalytic H 2 production rate of 61.8 µmol h−1, which is a fivefold enhancement over pristine g-CN nanosheets. These findings highlight the crucial role of the n-π * transition in g-CN for prolonging shallow electron trapping and ultimately leading to superior photocatalytic performance. [Display omitted] • The n-π* transition expands g-CN's absorption edge to 600 nm. • The n-π* transition creates long-lived shallow trapping states in g-CN. • Engineered g-CN achieves 5-fold higher photocatalytic H 2 generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • 28 out of 57 target PFAS were detected in paper products from China. • 9 groups of PFAS with 1–3 confidence levels were identified by non-target analysis. • Ethanol in food simulants can increase the migration of PFAS. • Long-chain PFAS in popcorn bags can be degraded by microwave heating. • PFAS in some paper products exceeded the recommended daily intake values. The contamination characteristics, migration patterns and health risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were investigated in 66 Chinese paper products by using target and non-target screening methods. Among 57 target PFASs, 5 and 6 PFASs were found in the hygiene paper products (

• Oblique angle impact on fracture behaviors of nacre-like composites was emphasized. • Geometric and material impacts on crack paths in nacre-like composites were revealed. • Nacre-like composite fracture toughness was determined via PFM and compliance method. • Design criteria for improving overall mechanical properties were established. Nacre-inspired composites, composed of hard and soft phases, exhibit exceptional combinations of stiffness, strength, and fracture toughness. However, the fracture behaviors of these composites are significantly influenced by the geometric factors and material properties of their constituents. In this study, we systematically investigate the fracture behaviors of nacre-like composites by employing a phase-field fracture model considering the effects of oblique angle between loading and platelet directions, a critical factor often overlooked in previous studies, coupled with the effect of other geometric and material parameters, such as the aspect ratio, Young's modulus and fracture toughness ratio between hard and soft phase. Our findings highlight the significant influence of the oblique angle on the mechanical properties and fracture behaviors of these composites. Particularly, it is found the maximum Young's modulus and strength are obtained when the direction of hard platelet is aligned with the tension direction, while the maximum toughness is achieved at a moderate oblique angle, especially in cases of large aspect ratios, small Young's modulus and fracture toughness ratios between the hard and soft phases. Besides, the maximum fracture toughness is more likely to be obtained at a small aspect ratio and large Young's modulus ratio between hard and soft phases. The insights gained from our study would offer valuable guidance for the design and practical application of nacre-mimetic composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CsPbBr 3 with quantum-limited domain effects have reversible hydrochromic properties. • Different Organic solvents cause polarity-related discoloration of composites. • A detection model was developed for all-organic solvent polarity detection. Hydrochromic materials have received much attention in anticounterfeiting due to their reversible photoemission properties toward water. However, existing hydrochromic materials usually suffer from slow hydrochromic response and limited stability, repeatability, and color tunability. This paper found for the first time that CsPbBr 3 /Cs 4 PbBr 6 composites with quantum-limited domain effects had reversible hydrochromism. CsPbBr 3 /Cs 4 PbBr 6 composites were successfully synthesized in molecular sieve MCM-41 using an improved mechanochemical method. The composites underwent a reversible phase transition from Cs 4 PbBr 6 /CsPbBr 3 to CsPbBr 3 upon treatment with a trace amount of water, the photoluminescence colors underwent a change from blue to green, and reversion occurred due to heating. Mechanistic investigation revealed that quantum dots underwent soft agglomeration due to van der Waals forces in polar solvent environments, affecting the action of quantum domain-limiting effects. Therefore, organic solvents with different polarities can cause different degrees of reversible discoloration of the material. This study provides new ideas for understanding the phase transition and agglomeration of metal halide perovskite quantum dots in polar solvent environments. Additionally, it offered new options for aqueous color-changing materials and organic solvent polar detection materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is still a controversial issue that whether ductility of metals under high strain rates is varying or not. This paper presents results of a series of electromagnetic ring expansion experiments to study on this problem. Three types of probes were used to measure experimental signals. As a result, the strain at the fracture time can be acquired through in-situ diagnosis. It is found that for a typical metal material, i.e. Cu TU1 under strain rates between 1 × 1 0 3 and 9 × 1 0 3 s−1, the ductility is varying and the fracture strain increases monotonically. These results are new solid evidence of rate-dependent ductility of metals. • The strain at the fracture time can be acquired through in-situ diagnosis. • Through introducing B-dot probes, together with a Rogowski probe and PDV (photonic Doppler velocimetry) probes, more experiment data (current, voltage and velocity signals) is acquired. • Results in this paper offer solid evidence for rate-dependent ductility of the selected metal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the genomic epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in China to identify predominant lineages and their associations with clinical data and antimicrobial resistance profiles. We performed a national prevalence study of patients with S. aureus infections in 22 tertiary hospitals in China from 2015 to 2017. Clinical data from patients and the antimicrobial phenotypes were collected for each isolate. Genome sequencing was performed on a proportion of isolates and a phylogenetic analysis was undertaken. Genotypic and phenotypic β-lactam susceptibilities were compared. A total of 1900 patients with S. aureus infections were included, of which 40% involved MRSA. Community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections were 24% of the total isolates. Genomic data showed that more than three-quarters of the MRSA were from three dominant lineages CC239 (25%, 116/471), CC5 (21%, 96/471) and CC59 (33%, 154/471) with CC59 accounting for more than half of the CA-MRSA isolates. Penicillin susceptibility genomic features were observed in 53% (251/470) of MRSA, including almost all of the CC59 (152/154) lineage, and 96% (242/251) of these isolates demonstrated in vitro susceptibility to penicillin or amoxicillin combined with clavulanic acid. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the CC59 lineage can be divided into six lineages with all Asian CC59 isolates likely arising from an ancestral Mainland China lineage. This study showed a high prevalence of CA-MRSA in China, largely due to the widespread presence of CC59. As almost all isolates in this lineage possess genetic variants leading to increased β-lactam susceptibility, we suggest that to improve antibiotic stewardship combinations of penicillins and β-lactamase inhibitors should be included in the antibiotic susceptibility testing panels used to inform treatment decisions and research undertaken on this combination therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive brain disorder, and one of the most common causes of dementia and amnesia. Due to the complex pathogenesis of AD, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Although scientists have made increasing efforts to develop drugs for AD, no effective therapeutic agents have been found. Natural products and their constituents have shown promise for treating neurodegenerative diseases, including AD. Thus, in-depth study of medical plants, and the main active ingredients thereof against AD, is necessary to devise therapeutic agents. In this study, N2a/APP cells and SAMP8 mice were employed as in vitro and in vivo models of AD. Multiple molecular biological methods were used to investigate the potential therapeutic actions of oxyphylla A, and the underlying mechanisms. Results showed that oxyphylla A, a novel compound extracted from Alpinia oxyphylla, could reduce the expression levels of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and amyloid beta (Aβ) proteins, and attenuate cognitive decline in SAMP8 mice. Further investigation of the underlying mechanisms showed that oxyphylla A exerted an antioxidative effect through the Akt-GSK3β and Nrf2-Keap1-HO-1 pathways. Conclusions. Taken together, our results suggest a new horizon for the discovery of therapeutic agents for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The principle of difference information and the principle of minimum information are discussed. • The proposed method can deal with the environment problem in other regions. • The unequal adjacent accumulation multivariate grey model is used to forecast the public concern about air pollution. In grey theory, the principle of difference information holds that difference is information. To mine the difference information between data, the unequal accumulation is proposed in this paper. The unequal accumulation reduces the loss of difference information and improves the forecasting performance of the grey model. Based on the unequal accumulation, the unequal adjacent discrete multivariable grey model is proposed. According to the comparison with other models, the proposed model has good forecast performance and algorithm efficiency. To further prove the practical significance of the model, it is used to predict the public concern about air pollution in three cities of China. The results show that the public concern about air pollution in cities with different air pollution conditions is quite different. Environmental protection departments could pay attention to the public concern about air pollution to better control air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports on optimizing the Indirect Indentation Method for measuring the elastic properties of brittle materials by indentation. The method employs a thin metallic film that protects the brittle material by absorbing the inelastic damage causes by the penetrating indenter. It applies hyperbolic identities to the Zhou-Prorok Model for thin film indentation that approach an asymptote as the indenter advances toward the film/substrate interface. The slope of this asymptote has been shown to be directly related to the elastic modulus of the brittle material being tested. A parameter study was conducted and revealed that the method can be optimized when the film Poisson's ratio is lower than the brittle material tested. This more directly transfers the indenter load to the substrate, enabling it to participate in the composite elastic response earlier in the indentation process. The result is an expanded range of fit of the experimental data to the models linear asymptote, providing more accurate elastic property measurements. Chromium was identified as an ideal film material due to its low Poisson's ratio, ductility and ability to be deposited onto most ceramics with a strong interface. The improvement was demonstrated on 5 brittle materials with a wide variety of elastic properties; SiC, Al 2 O 3 , MgO, SiO 2 , CaCO 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic Pd decorated graphene oxide (Pd/GO) membrane with efficient catalytic activity was developed by in-situ reduction of Pd2+ on GO nanosheets followed by vacuum filtration. A high 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction efficiency was achieved by using the Pd/GO catalytic membrane with layered structure because of evenly distribution of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) in the interlayer space of GO membrane, ensuring sufficient contact between 4-NP molecules and Pd NPs. The apparent kinetic rate constant and turnover frequency (TOF) reached to 138.4 s−1 and 813 h−1 under a continuous-flow system using 4000 mg/L of 4-NP at 20 °C. During a 300 min of continuous-flow catalysis, the 4-NP conversion was kept above 98% at 20 °C. This high catalytic efficiency of the Pd/GO catalytic membrane under high 4-NP concentration and continuous-flow catalysis made it promising and competitive in the application of catalytic membrane for efficient catalytic process. [Display omitted] • 2D catalytic Pd/GO membrane with efficient catalytic activity was developed. • Pd/GO membrane with high tortuosity can reduce 5000 mg/L of 4-NP effectively. • A rate constant of 138.4 s−1 was achieved under a continuous-flow system. • During a 300 min of continuous-flow catalysis, 4-NP conversion was kept above 98%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen, as a clean and pollution-free energy with high calorific value, is one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels. Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), as a half reaction of electrochemical water splitting, has also received extensive attention. At present, the development of low-cost and high-performance hydrogen evolution catalysts still faces enormous challenges. In this work, we synthesized a series of RuNi/TiO 2 -oxMWCNT catalysts with different Ru and Ni ratio. After optimizing the composition and proportion, RuNi/TiO 2 -oxMWCNT with Ru:Ni=4:6 has the optimal hydrogen evolution performance. High HER performance of extremely low 14.8 mV overpotential at 10 mA·cm−2 and 38.4 mV·dec−1 Tafel slope with perfect stability is achieved, which is superior to most reported ruthenium-based catalysts and even commercial Pt/C. XPS and UPS indicates that there is a metal synergistic effect of Ru and Ni and a strong SMSI between Ru and TiO 2 in the RuNi/TiO 2 -oxMWCNT catalyst, which helps to improve hydrogen evolution performance. This study provides a pathway for the rational design of multi-component nanostructured catalysts for HER. [Display omitted] • Bimetallic RuNi/TiO 2 -oxMWCNT catalysts were successfully fabricated by deposition-precipitation method. • The strong metal carrier interaction between Ru and TiO 2 optimizes the electronic structure of the catalyst. • The synergistic effect of bimetallic Ru-Ni tremendously improved the hydrogen evolution performance of catalysts. • The RuNi/TiO 2 -oxMWCNT shows an excellent HER performance with the low overpotential and Tafel slope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dehazing based on deep learning neural networks (CNNs) has achieved remarkable results. However, the most existing dehazing CNNs perform well only on synthetic images and struggle with realistic hazy images. Moreover, training complex dehazing models is challenging due to the limited availability of realistic image datasets, leading to suboptimal performance. For this purpose, we develop a novel Image Prior Dehazing Network called IPDNet to tackle the challenge of dehazing realistic images with limited training data. The IPDNet comprises two sub-networks and a learnable fusion block. The global and local features are obtained by atmospheric scattering and direct mapping via two sub-networks with a sparse mechanism. And the learnable fusion block is settled to acquire the optimal fusion solution to improve the dehazing quality. The IPDNet offers several benefits: (1) a dual network with a learnable fusion block can effectively generate high-quality dehazed images at low computational cost; (2) an image preprocessing block based on dehazing prior can acquires the salient features of realistic hazy image, enhancing the dehazing performance on realistic hazy images; (3) the sub-network is designed by incorporating a feature attention (FA) block into the U-net structure, allowing flexible feature extraction on limited datasets. Extensive experiments on SOTS, NH-HAZE, and DENSE-HAZE datasets show that IPDNet outperforms other state-of-the-art methods on synthetic and realistic datasets. Specifically, our model achieved an improvement of approximately 0.84 dB in PSNR and 11.6% in SSIM, demonstrating its effectiveness in realistic scenarios, which contributes to improving traffic safety in adverse weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan area is a significant carbon emission center. The region's early achievement of peak carbon targets is critical to the nation's achievement of peak carbon targets. In this paper, it is proposed to use different orders of grey models to classify into three scenarios. Based on three scenarios, the grey multivariate convolutional model with new information priority accumulation is adopted to predict carbon emissions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and select the scenario suitable for local development. The results show that: (1) The Beijing region has already achieved peak carbon, the Tianjin region may not reach its peak carbon target by 2030, and the Hebei region is expected to reach its peak carbon target by 2030. (2) The high rate of carbon emission reduction scenario will greatly improve the air quality of Beijing. The low-speed growth carbon emission scenario is more in line with the future development of Tianjin city. The low-rate carbon reduction scenario is more in line with the synergistic governance of pollution reduction and carbon reduction in Hebei Province. (3) Beijing's population policy in the most recent years has been conducive to improving the local environment. Tianjin's medium-term population policy is more in line with the local area. Hebei's medium-term industrial structure reform is favorable to local development. • Grey correlation analysis is used to analyze the factors affected carbon emissions in a region. • The factors with high correlation are predicted by using grey prediction models of different orders. • The high rate of carbon emission reduction scenario will greatly improve the air quality of Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new method to design origami cubes with rigid foldability, flat foldability and one DOF. • Four cases of crease patterns that enable origami cubes with distinct folding performances have been proposed. • The folding process has been analysed with kinematics of spherical linkage loops. • Flat folding of cubes are achieved with one DOF. Rigid origami is a branch of origami with great potential in engineering applications to deal with rigid-panel folding. One of the challenges is to compactly fold flat a polyhedron made from rigid facets with a single degree of freedom. In this paper, we present a new method to design origami cubes with three fundamental characteristics: rigid foldability, flat foldability and one degree of freedom (DOF). A total of four cases of crease patterns that enable origami cubes with distinct folding performances have been proposed, which covers all possible layouts of the diagonal creases on the square facets of origami cubes. The folding utilises spherical linkages formed by intersecting creases, and based on the kinematic equivalence between the rigid origami and the spherical linkages, the corresponding spherical linkage loops are introduced and analysed to reveal the motion properties of the origami cubes. The newly found method can be readily utilized to design deployable structures for various engineering applications including cube-shaped cartons, small satellites, containers, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

VO 2 (D) precursor with multi-step petaloid lamination structure was prepared by hydrothermal method, and then VO 2 (M) sample maintaining similar morphology and geometry with that of as prepared VO 2 (D) was obtained by subsequent annealing. The XRD Pattern of VO 2 (D) precursor and annealed samples at different temperature confirms the formation of required crystalline phases and exposes the presence of other intermediate phases. Surface morphology has been analyzed by SEM characterization, which reveals the variation in petaloid microstructure of the annealed samples at different temperatures. The reflection loss measurement results show that multi-step petaloid laminated structure VO 2 (M) sample has excellent microwave absorption performance. The sample annealed at 570 °C has the minimum reflection loss value of −37.99 dB at 3.5 mm, and the effective absorption bandwidth (RL < −10 dB) is up to 4.01 GHz at 1.3 mm. Detailed study shows that the excellent microwave absorption performance of the sample results from the combination of its geometry shape/surface polarization, induced loss and resistance loss. In addition, the curvature of the boundary of the laminated structure also affect the microwave absorption performance of the absorber. The discovery of this work effectively broadens the application of VO 2 (M) and provides a new idea for the design of new absorbing materials with tailored particle morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel metal W connected Z-scheme C fibers@WO 3-x (0 ≤ x < 3) core-shell composites were developed by simply pyrolyzing preoxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers impregnated with slurries of WO 3 nanopowder in absolute ethanol in a vacuum furnace. Such structured composites are a kind of more excellent solar-driven photocatalyst for degrading various aqueous organic and inorganic environmental pollutants, compared with pure tungsten oxides catalysts under the same condition. The optimally selected composite catalyst (x = 2.01) was also applied in photocatalytically purifying waste water from paper mills under sunlight, presenting high efficiency in reducing chemical oxygen demand, biology oxygen demand and heavy metal Cr content, displaying great prospect in environmental remediation through removing various toxic industrial chemicals. The greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance could be mainly ascribed to the C fiber core and metal W connection layer between the tungsten oxides and C core in the composites, which can promptly conduct electrons and promote the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. Moreover, this work provides a simple, eco-friendly and very efficient synthesis approach, which will be of much help to design diversified semiconductors composite structures, and suitable for large-scale production and thus practical industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genomic revolution ushered in an era of discovery and characterization of enzymes from novel organisms that fueled engineering of microbes to produce commodity and high-value compounds. Over the past decade advances in synthetic biology tools in recent years contributed to significant progress in metabolic engineering efforts to produce both biofuels and bioproducts resulting in several such related items being brought to market. These successes represent a burgeoning bio-economy; however, significant resources and time are still necessary to progress a system from proof-of-concept to market. In order to fully realize this potential, methods that examine biological systems in a comprehensive, systematic and high-throughput manner are essential. Recent success in synthetic biology has coincided with the development of systems biology and analytical approaches that kept pace and scaled with technology development. Here, we review a selection of systems biology methods and their use in synthetic biology approaches for microbial biotechnology platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts the injection model via an array of holes in three-dimensional numerical simulations of a rotating detonation engine with hollow chamber. Premixed stoichiometric hydrogen-air mixture is used. The calculation is based on the compressible Euler equations coupled with a one-step Arrhenius chemistry model. The numerical results show that this injection model can realize stable continuously rotating detonation wave in hollow chamber. In final stable detonation flow-field, besides the multiple detonation waves rotating along outer wall of chamber, there are reverse-rotating waves which propagate in opposite direction of detonation wave. The reverse-rotating wave is much weaker than detonation wave and curved along radial direction of combustion chamber. Pressure gradient contours are used to distinguish these weak reverse-rotating waves. Detonation waves and reverse-rotating waves periodically collide with each other, forming a counter-rotating wave system. The lateral slices of flow-field at various radial positions show that the collision process of counter-rotating waves in flow-field can be divided into two types, shock-to-shock collision and detonation-to-shock collision. In addition, the intensity of detonation waves is the highest on the outer wall and gradually decreases with radius going down. Finally, the detonation wave decouples at a certain radial position and degenerates into shock wave. • Three-dimensional simulations of hollow rotating detonation engine with array-hole injection models. • The existence of secondary wave (named as reverse-rotating wave in this paper) in flow-field besides detonations. • The reverse-rotating wave and detonation wave form the counter-rotating waves in combustion chamber. • The interaction process between counter-rotating waves in flow-field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• La/N co-doped TiO 2 /SrFe 2 O 4 /diatomite (LN-TSD) composite was prepared. • The visible-light-driven photoactivity of LN-TSD was investigated. • The optimal amount of co-dopant and catalyst dosage were determined. • The charge transfer between TiO 2 and SrFe 2 O 4 improved the photocatalytic activity. • The LN-TSD catalyst showed easy separation and good reusability after 5 recycles. Powdery photocatalyst has long been studied, yet its low reusability in suspension system is the bottleneck which hinders its large-scale application. An alternative method to overcome this drawback is developing magnetic recyclable composite. In this work, we prepared lanthanum-nitrogen co-doped titania/strontium ferrite/diatomite (LN-TSD) ternary composite via sol-gel technology. The as-prepared materials were characterized and analyzed, and the photocatalytic activity was evaluated via the elimination of antibiotic oxytetracycline (OTC) under visible light illumination. Charge transfer happened at the heterojunction interface between TiO 2 and strontium ferrite, and thus improved the photocatalytic efficiency by inhibiting the recombination of charge carriers. The photodegradation rate of OTC was accelerated by the high adsorption ability of substrate diatomite, due to the adsorption and degradation synergistic effect between photocatalytic components and substrate diatomite. The optimal dopant amount and catalyst dosage were determined, and the corresponding LN-TSD sample showed its degradation rate of OTC as 95.5% after 2.5 h. The ternary LN-TSD composite could simply be separated from OTC solution via an external magnet, and the repetition tests indicated that, after 5 turns of repetition, only slightly decrease of degradation rate could be observed (dropped to 94.2%). This composite was promising to be applied in wastewater remediation process, due to its good photocatalytic activity under visible light, as well as its good reusability and stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The preparation of crosslinked-compound was ideal by characterization. • The crosslinked-compound has synergistic hemostatic function. • The hemostatic safety was guaranteed because of low toxicity of raw materials. Composite porous starch (PS) with chitosan (CS) was easily cross-linked by sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP) to obtain a hemostat called STMP/PS/CS (SPC) with ideal hemostatic effect. The water absorption ratio and swelling ratio of SPC reach up to 150.8%, 355.0% respectively and it was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that a large amount of CS was combined with PS, which indicated the composite effect was ideal. Synergistic hemostatic effect of SPC was indicated in blood cells evaluation experiment and the activation of platelets triggers a multistep cascade that produces a clot by adsorbing more blood cells on the surface of SPC. The average hemostasis time of SPC in tail amputation 1 cm, 2 cm and liver laceration was shortened by 29%, 42%, 37% respectively compared with blank control, and had better hemostatic effect than CS, PS in the hemostatic performance on the rat tail amputation and liver laceration. Besides, we found SPC displayed a superior adhesiveness in rat injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have been focusing on the impact of the shale gas boom on our society, but the reverse relationship is not well documented. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of oil and gas prices on shale gas drilling activities. We analyze the well-level production data from all major producing shale gas plays in the United States (US) and identify a major productivity shock in 2009. We then estimate the price elasticity of shale gas drilling using the econometric methods. Our results show that the oil price elasticity increases from insignificant in the pilot stage (2000–2008) to 1.1 (significant) in the expansion stage (2009–2016), and the gas price elasticity increases from insignificant in the pilot stage to 0.6 (significant) in the expansion stage. This is the first quantitative estimation of shale gas drilling responsiveness to oil and gas prices based on near-full-sample well-level drilling data while taking account the structural break. The change in price elasticities indicates that the shale gas drilling becomes more responsive to oil and gas prices after the major productivity shock around 2009. The high oil-price elasticity after 2009 shows the importance of natural gas condensate in supporting shale gas drilling. The estimated oil and gas elasticities are important to forecasting shale gas supply and economic impacts in the new normal. • Examine the influence of energy prices on shale gas drilling and production. • Define two phases in shale gas development: the pilot stage and expansion stage. • Estimate the price elasticities using play-level fixed effects model for the first time. • Oil price elasticity increases from insignificant to 1.1 after the productivity shock. • Gas prices elasticity increases from insignificant to 0.6 across the structural break. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degradation rates and kinetics of one commonly used iodinated contrast medium, iohexol, were investigated and compared during ultraviolet (UV) photolysis, UV/H 2 O 2 and UV/ S 2 O 8 2 − advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Results indicate that the iohexol degradation rate increased in the order of UV/H 2 O 2 < UV irradiation < UV/ S 2 O 8 2 − and followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Increasing persulfate concentration significantly increased iohexol degradation rate, whereas increasing H 2 O 2 concentration caused reverse effect. Radical scavenging test results show that UV photolysis, OH and radicals all contributed to iohexol degradation during UV/ S 2 O 8 2 − , but OH was the main contributor during UV/H 2 O 2 and was consumed by excess H 2 O 2. The kinetic models of iohexol degradation by both AOPs were developed, and the reaction rate constants with OH and were calculated as 5.73 (±0.02) × 108 and 3.91 (±0.01) × 1010 M−1 s−1, respectively. Iohexol degradation rate remained stable at pH 5–9 during UV irradiation and UV/H 2 O 2 , but gradually decreased at pH 5–7 and remained stable at pH 7–9 during UV/ S 2 O 8 2 −. The presence of anions displayed inhibitory effects on iohexol degradation during UV/ S 2 O 8 2 − in the order of Cl − > HCO 3 − ≫ S O 4 2 − . UV/ S 2 O 8 2 − AOP exhibited high degradation efficiency and stability on the basis of UV irradiation, which can be applied as a promising degradation method for iohexol. UV/ S 2 O 8 2 − AOP can effectively mineralize iohexol to CO 2 but promoted the generation of toxic iodoform (CHI 3), and the subsequent chlorination had the potential to reduce the content of disinfection by-products; therefore, further evaluation of possible environmental hazards is warranted. • The degradation efficiency of iohexol increased in the order of UV/H 2 O 2 < UV irradiation < UV/ S 2 O 8 2 − . • The iohexol degradation by UV/H 2 O 2 oxidation was mainly contributed by OH radical without UV photolysis. • The rate constants of iohexol reacting with OH and · S O 4 − were calculated as 5.73 (±0.02) × 108 and 3.91 × 1010 (±0.01) M−1 s−1, respectively. • pH has a negligible impact on iohexol degradation during UV irradiation and slight influence during UV/ and UV/H 2 O 2. • Higher concentrations of chloride and bicarbonate (≥2 mM) inhibited iohexol degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric nanoparticle growth is a critical bridge between aerosol to clouds and climate. However, current mechanisms for nanoparticle growth are not yet fully understood due to unknown size-resolved chemical composition during the growth process. Here, we present comprehensive field measurements of the size-resolved chemical composition of the atmospheric nanoparticle growth in the size range from 10 to 100 nm using a custom-made Nanoparticle Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (NPCIMS). The typical chemical compositions of nanoparticles are quantified in both positive and negative ion modes during growth processes after sensitivity calibration. The quantification results for chemical compositions show that CHO organics account for ∼80% of the newly formed particle in the growth process with diameters from 10 to 25 nm. However, the nitrate component is rarely observed during the nanoparticle growth under size-resolved mode (10–25 nm), indicating the little contribution of the nitrate component to growth at diameters below 25 nm. Different from the contribution of aminium salts to nanoparticle growth according to the previous urban observations in Mexico, the newly formed particle growth in urban Beijing is dominated by ammonium, sulfate, and organic components in the size-resolved modes (10–25 nm) in springtime. [Display omitted] • The newly formed particle growth in urban Beijing is dominated by ammonium, sulfate, and organic components in springtime. • The contribution of nitrate, protonated methylammonium and protonated C 2 amines to nanoparticles growth is little. • CHO organics account up to ～80% in the growth of the newly formed organic particle with diameters from 10 to 25 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, sodium alginate-based complex (flaxseed protein-sodium alginate) electrostatic complexes (FP-AG) were fabricated, acting as an effective emulsifier for the first time to stabilize Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPE). Interactions between FP and AG were evaluated by isothermal titration calorimeter and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. These results suggested that electrostatic interactions played a dominant role in FP-AG complexation, and stronger interactions between FP and AG occurred under acidic conditions, forming more viscoelastic layers. FP-AG complexes at pH 4.0 (FP-AG4) exhibited appropriate wettability (87.9°). HIPEs were prepared using FP-AG4 (HIPE-C), contrasted with FP at pH 8.0 (HIPE-P) as a control. Rheological results suggested that HIPE-C exhibited shear-thinning behavior (extrusion), high thixotropy (recovery), and high viscoelasticity (self-supporting), which possessed a great potential for 3D printing. Moreover, 3D printing and the stability of curcumin of HIPE were explored simultaneously for the first time. These results showed that HIPE-C exhibited outstanding printability and printing models presented smooth surfaces, regular shapes, and distinct resolution. HIPE-C showed a better protection for curcumin against ultraviolet and thermal treatments than HIPE-P. FP-AG complexes could be used as an effective HIPE stabilizer and novel edible ink with good 3D printability in food industry. [Display omitted] • FP-AG complexes could act as an effective emulsifier to stabilize HIPE. • Electrostatic interactions played a dominant role in FP-AG complexation. • Addition of AG could strengthen HIPE's network structure and mechanical strength. • HIPE-C showed outstanding extrudability and printability during 3D printing. • HIPE-C significantly protected Cur from degradation against UV and heat treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical studies demonstrated that P350 is a promising extractant for separation of neptunium and plutonium. [Display omitted] • The complexation behaviors of Np(IV,V,VI) and Pu(IV) with three neutral phosphate ligands were explored by DFT. • These phosphate ligands have the ability to Pu(IV)/Np(IV) and Np(VI)/Np(V) separation. • The complexing ability of P350 is stronger than TBP and TiAP. • P350 is the more promising extractant for separation of Np and Pu in nitric acid solution. Effective treatment of the transuranic neptunium and plutonium from nuclear waste is of great importance and remains a challenge for developing advanced nuclear fuel cycles. Currently, novel ligands for efficient separation of actinides need to be designed urgently. Neutral extractants containing phosphorus have shown great potential for actinides separation. In this paper, we systematically explored the extraction and separation performances of neptunium(IV,V,VI) and plutonium(IV) by three phosphorus derivatives, di(1-methyl-heptyl) methyl phosphonate (P350), tri- iso -amyl phosphate (TiAP), and tributyl phosphate (TBP) by density functional theory (DFT). The outcomes showed that these neutral phosphorus reagents act as monodentate ligands through the P O group for all the extraction complexes. According to bonding nature analysis, the P350 ligand has the strongest complexing ability to the studied actinide cations. In addition, these ligands show a preference to coordination with Pu4+ and NpO 2 2+ over Np4+ and NpO 2 +, respectively. As expected, the thermodynamic analysis demonstrated the potential application of these neutral extractants in Np and Pu separation, among which the P350 ligand is more promising than TBP and TiAP in acid solution system. This work can help to further understand the separation mechanism of Np/Pu with neutral phosphorus reagents and provide insight into the development of highly efficient extractants in recovery of Np and Pu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latecomer firms entering established industries face a pivotal strategic conundrum: Should they prioritize learning from industry leaders or directly compete against them? This paper examines two primary strategies that latecomers can adopt in response to this challenge. Each strategy emphasizes either learning or competition. Partial recapitulation underscores knowledge acquisition by selectively replicating the developmental pathways that have led industry leaders to their current dominant positions. Conversely, leapfrogging fosters competition by harnessing the most advanced products and practices to challenge industry incumbents directly. The appropriateness of these strategies heavily depends on the latecomers' internal capabilities and their external innovation ecosystems. We propose that partial recapitulation is optimal for latecomers with nascent capabilities operating in closed ecosystems, whereas leapfrogging is ideal for latecomers with strong capabilities within open ecosystems. The strategic choice between these two approaches not only delineates firms' competitive positioning but also defines their learning and innovation trajectory, with significant implications for their competitive performance and industry standing. Our framework enhances the understanding of key strategic choices in latecomer firms, providing valuable insights for decision-makers in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are naturally occurring hepatotoxins, and herbs containing PAs are of high concern. PAs are normally found in tertiary amines and N -oxide forms (PA N -oxides), yet the latter are less evaluated for their toxicokinetics. As a continuation of our investigation into the safety assessment of PA-containing herbal medicines, the toxicity and toxicokinetic characteristics of senecionine N -oxide (a representative toxic PA N -oxide) were investigated by using the UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A4 humanized mouse model (hUGT1A4 mouse model) and compared with those in wild-type mice simultaneously. Results show that the toxicity caused by senecionine N -oxide exposure was evidently decreased in hUGT1A4 mice as approved by pathology and biochemistry assays. In addition, a N -glucuronidation conjugate was exclusively found in hUGT1A4 mice but not in wild-type (WT) mice. In vitro studies proved that senecionine N -oxide initially reduced to the corresponding tertiary amine alkaloid (senecionine) and then underwent N -glucuronidation via human UGT1A4. The variation in toxicokinetic characteristics was also observed between hUGT1A4 mice and WT mice with a notably enhanced clearance of senecionine N -oxide and senecionine, and accordingly less formation of pyrrole–protein adducts in hUGT1A4 mice, which finally led to the detoxification of senecionine N -oxide exposure in hUGT1A4 mice. Our results provided the first in vivo toxicity data and toxicokinetic characteristics of senecionine N -oxide in a humanized animal model and revealed that human UGT1A4 plays an important role in the detoxification of senecionine N -oxide. [Display omitted] • Species difference of organisms in UGT1A4 misleads the safety assessment of senecionine N -oxide. • hUGT1A4 mice are more tolerant to senecionine N -oxide toxication than WT mice. • Senecionine N -oxide is initially reduced to senecionine before the occurrence of UGT1A4-catalyzed N -glucuronidation. • N -glucuronidation is a promising detoxification pathway of senecionine N -oxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • In-situ neutron diffraction was used to study the residual stress relaxation kinetics and the mechanisms of a large-size bulk sample. • The multi-stage kinetics of relaxation were found to be correlated to the competing stress relaxation mechanisms in the atomic scale. • The residual stresses were largely relieved after annealing for 14 ∼ 20 h at 718 °C. • The deviatoric stress components were accurately determined even when the samples have heterogeneous chemistry. Residual stresses in nickel-based superalloy engineering structure develop during various manufacturing stages, which can result in component distortion or reduction of performance reliability during high temperature service. Experimental quantification of residual stress built-up and its relaxation at high temperatures provides the time-dependent evolution and model validation for residual stress predictions. Via in situ time-of-flight neutron diffraction, a real-time study of residual stress relaxation is carried out on Inconel 718 (IN 718) blocks with different initial residual states after oil or water quenching and annealing processes. The residual stresses are largely relieved after 14 ∼ 20 h at 718 °C, and multi-stage kinetics of relaxation are observed. The staged feature is correlated to the competing stress relaxation mechanisms in the atomic scale that are clued from the evolution of neutron diffraction data. Although with large initial discrepancy in samples due to different thermal treatments, the final residual stresses tend to be within small variations after the relaxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]