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Given a descriptive text query, text-based person search (TBPS) aims to retrieve the best-matched target person from an image gallery. Such a cross-modal retrieval task is quite challenging due to significant modality gap, fine-grained differences and insufficiency of annotated data. To better align the two modalities, most existing works focus on introducing sophisticated network structures and auxiliary tasks, which are complex and hard to implement. In this paper, we propose a simple yet effective dual Transformer model for text-based person search. By exploiting a hardness-aware contrastive learning strategy, our model achieves state-of-the-art performance without any special design for local feature alignment or side information. Moreover, we propose a proximity data generation (PDG) module to automatically produce more diverse data for cross-modal training. The PDG module first introduces an automatic generation algorithm based on a text-to-image diffusion model, which generates new text-image pair samples in the proximity space of original ones. Then it combines approximate text generation and feature-level mixup during training to further strengthen the data diversity. The PDG module can largely guarantee the reasonability of the generated samples that are directly used for training without any human inspection for noise rejection. It improves the performance of our model significantly, providing a feasible solution to the data insufficiency problem faced by such fine-grained visual-linguistic tasks. Extensive experiments on two popular datasets of the TBPS task (i.e., CUHK-PEDES and ICFG-PEDES) show that the proposed approach outperforms state-of-the-art approaches evidently, e.g., improving by 3.88%, 4.02%, 2.92% in terms of Top1, Top5, Top10 on CUHK-PEDES.

The inadequate hydrophobicity and the degradation in usage seriously hampered the applications of the existing antipollution flashover coatings. In this paper, a superhydrophobic polyurea coating with antipollution flashover ability was fabricated through chemically grafting the silica onto the chains of polyurea by utilizing silane coupling agent and hydrophobic modification. It is demonstrated that the coating exhibits outstanding antipollution flashover performances. Noteworthy, the surface pollution flashover voltage has been increased by 33.8% compared with the room temperature vulcanizing silicone rubber (RTV silicone rubber). In addition, the volume resistivity is above 1.0 × 1012Ω·m, and the dielectric strength achieves to 28.85 kV/mm, which represents excellent insulating property. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic polyurea coating exhibits outstanding abrasion resistance, adhesion, acid–base resistance, and durability. As a result, it holds great promise for use in preventing pollution flashover in electrical insulators.

The transfer function is crucial for direct volume rendering (DVR) to create an informative visual representation of volumetric data. However, manually adjusting the transfer function to achieve the desired DVR result can be time-consuming and unintuitive. In this paper, we propose Differentiable Design Galleries, an image-based transfer function design approach to help users explore the design space of transfer functions by taking advantage of the recent advances in deep learning and differentiable rendering. Specifically, we leverage neural rendering to learn a latent design space, which is a continuous manifold representing various types of implicit transfer functions. We further provide a set of interactive tools to support intuitive query, navigation, and modification to obtain the target design, which is represented as a neural-rendered design exemplar. The explicit transfer function can be reconstructed from the target design with a differentiable direct volume renderer. Experimental results on real volumetric data demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.

This paper proposes a new driving solution which adds a skew detection module under the original architecture of source driver to solve the phase skew caused by TCON or SOC instability in the initial state during panel power on, causing the source driver to lock this phase skew and possibly generate the lock signal, thereby causing the source driver to re‐lock and resulting in abnormal display. It can be proven that this driving solution can effectively solve the problems, while ensuring that the skew of different transmission differential pairs is within ± 0.5UI, to avoid the occurrence of abnormal display.

How to effectively deal with the polluted water by the pollutant of organic dyes is the world problem. It is of great significance if the organic dyes in the polluted water can be directly turned into the useful materials through a facile approach. Herein, the water which contains the common organic dye, Reactive red 2 (RR2), has been chosen to be the model to synthesize graphene quantum dots (GQDs) by a facile route. The comprehensive characterizations, including TEM (HRTEM), XPS, Raman, PL and UV–Vis. spectra, have been performed to confirm the structures and explore the properties of the synthesized GQDs. Meanwhile, the excellent PL properties and low biotoxicity of the GQDs confer them with the potential applications in the biological fields. When the GQDs are excited by the wavelength of 360 nm, the maximum emission is achieved at 428 nm. It is well demonstrated that the synthesized GQDs are able to detect the Al3+which causes multiple diseases, such as Parkinson, Alzheimer, kidney disease, and even cancer. The detection range is from 90 to 800 μM, which is different from the reported kinds of the literature. Therefore, this work not only provides an economical and environmental route on solving the universal problem from organic dyes, but also facilitates to advancing the synthesis and application of GQDs.

Nitrogen-containing groups (pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen) played a crucial role in the improvement of biochar water-holding capacity.Nitrogen- and oxygen-containing groups inhibited the evaporation of biochar-bound water.Biochar rich in nitrogen and oxygen may be an effective water retention agent to maintain soil moisture.

Carbon dots (CDs) are likely to encounter heavy metal ions (i.e., Cd2+) because of their widespread application and inevitable release into the environment, wherein the ubiquitous low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) may affect their co-transport behaviors in aquifer systems. Herein, citric acid was used as a typical LMWOA. The effect of citric acid on the CD-mediated transport of Cd2+through sand columns was investigated. The results demonstrated that CDs could serve as carriers to markedly enhance the transport of Cd2+, which was attributed to the abundant adsorption sites of nanoparticles for Cd2+and the excellent mobility of CDs. Citric acid promoted the CD-facilitated transport of Cd2+due to the formation of water-soluble metal–citric acid complexes, the facilitation of the adsorption of Cd2+on the CDs by citric acid, and the high mobility of the CDs. Interestingly, the enhanced role of citric acid in CD-facilitated transport declined as the pH was raised from 6.0 to 8.0, since the predominant Cd2+species (e.g., free Cd2+) in the influents preferred to deposit onto sand surfaces at a higher pH. The findings provide meaningful insights into understanding the co-transport of carbon-based nanoparticles and heavy metals affected by the presence of LMWOAs in the natural subsurface environment.

Achieving the controlled release of H2through an effective approach still faces many challenges. Herein, high-quality graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are synthesized from a new precursor, 1,2,4-trihydroxy benzene, and a multifunctional platform of Rh@GQDs is further developed for the controlled H2evolution upon the hydrolysis of NH3BH3(AB). More importantly, the designing concepts of multistep and stepless speed controls have been introduced in the domains of both H2evolution for the first time. Through a novel designing protocol, the rate of H2evolution can be freely regulated and constantly varied on demand by means of chelation between Zn2+and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). The density functional theory calculation indicates that Zn2+has the priority to be adsorbed onto Rh(100) due to its larger adsorption energy (107.98 kcal·mol–1) than that of AB (36.36 kcal·mol–1). A controlling mechanism is presented such that Zn2+will cover the active sites of the nanocatalyst to prevent the H2evolution, and EDTA can chelate Zn2+to reactivate the nanocatalyst for the production of H2, greatly facilitating use of this strategy in other catalytic reactions. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the protocol is equally valid for diverse hydrogen storage materials. Therefore, this work not only establishes whole new concepts for the controlled production of H2but also explains their mechanism, thus remarkably advancing the utilization of H2energy and significantly enlightening the controlled process of catalysis.

The different effects of nitrogen‐flow (NF) and air‐limitation (AL) pyrolysis on the characteristics and nutrient retention of biochars (BCs) are unclear. Hence, in this study, BCs derived from bamboo, corn straw, and wheat straw were produced in AL and NF atmospheres at various temperatures (300–750 °C), and their different characteristics and nutrient retention rates were compared systematically. Nitrogen‐flow pyrolysis facilitates C retention and graphitic C formation, and AL pyrolysis improves the polarity and supports the formation of oxygen‐containing groups. With increasing pyrolysis temperature, C retention and graphitic C formation in BCs derived from AL pyrolysis decreases more significantly compared with BCs from NF pyrolysis. At 750 °C, the polarity and oxygen‐containing groups of BCs derived from AL pyrolysis increase, whereas those from BCs derived from NF pyrolysis decrease. The observations are attributable to the AL and high‐temperature–enhanced oxidization and gasification of C. An AL atmosphere with a higher pyrolysis temperature supports porosity and results in a larger specific surface area. Although pyrolysis temperature and atmosphere have negligible effects on nutrient retention, a low pyrolysis temperature facilitates the formation of water‐soluble Ca, Mg, and P, and AL pyrolysis facilitates the formation of water‐soluble P because the high pyrolysis temperature improves the pH and mineral stability of BCs, and air limitation facilitates the oxidation of organic P into PO43−. This study provides a reference for selecting AL or NF pyrolysis based on various pyrolysis temperatures to produce BCs and applying these in C sequestration, contaminant sorption, and soil quantity improvement.

In recent years, polymer/graphene nanocomposites have attracted much attention because of their wide applications in many fields, such as chemistry, physics, materials and electronics. In this review, the preparation methods of polymer/graphene nanocomposites, including solution blending, melt blending and in situ polymerisation, were presented in order to study the relationship between these methods and their final properties. Each method has an influence on the final characteristics of the nanocomposites. Their respective advantages and disadvantages were discussed. Additionally, the potential application research of graphene-reinforced polymer nanocomposites, including supercapacitors, sensors and solar cells was detailed comprehensively. The current review demonstrated that the nanocomposites exhibit superior performances and will be applied as new materials or novel devices. The research direction of polymer/graphene nanocomposites in the future was also predicted.

Biochar is composed of carbonaceous and inorganic (ash) fractions. The structural properties of carbonaceous fractions and the composition of ash in biochar are both variable with pyrolysis temperature. However, it is unknown whether ash may play different roles in sorption of organic compounds to the carbonaceous fraction of biochars produced at different temperatures. Hence, in this study, the pristine biochars produced at 300–900°C and their corresponding deashed biochars were investigated, and the combined roles of carbonaceous fraction and ash in sorption of triclosan were compared. The results showed that the biochars produced at 300–400°C had high content of uncarbonized organic structure with dominating partition effect. The combination of uncarbonized organic structure and ash had comparable or even higher sorption coefficient (KD) for triclosan at low concentration compared with a single uncarbonized organic structure. However, for the biochars produced at 600–900°C, which were mainly composed of carbonized or graphitized carbon structure, ash had significant effect on triclosan sorption by reducing surface adsorption and pore filling effect. The combination of carbonaceous fraction and ash decreased KDvalues for triclosan at any tested concentrations. In addition, the results of pH effect on sorption indicated that ash possibly decreased the electrostatic repulsion of deprotonated phenolic hydroxyl between biochars and triclosan. Accordingly, it will be more valuable to design biochars for pollutant sorption from the perspective of combined role of carbonaceous fraction and ash rather than a single role of carbonaceous fraction.

This study seeks to offer a comprehensive and practical comprehension of the lessons that companies can derive from financial institutions to promote the adoption of blockchain technology for future growth. Utilising R3 Corda, the largest blockchain platform featuring prominent financial institutions, as a case study, this research collects a wealth of company-recorded videos, podcasts, webinars, and textual data that offer invaluable insights for this case analysis. This investigation strives to contribute to formulating a blockchain adoption framework, drawing inspiration from successful use cases in the financial sector. This research outlines the current institutional pressures, criteria for platform selection, a blockchain adoption checklist, and novel institutional arrangements, providing a structured approach for enterprises considering embracing blockchain solutions. This framework serves as a strategic guide, facilitating organisations in navigating the complexities of blockchain implementation and ensuring a seamless integration process that aligns with their unique goals and operational requirements. Hence, discerning how to judiciously select and participate in the right blockchain consortia/platform is paramount for fostering and managing new technological innovations as businesses undergo digital transformation.

Carbon neutral or negative mining can potentially be achieved by integrating carbon mineralization processes into the mine design, operations, and closure plans. Brucite [Mg(OH)2] is a highly reactive mineral present in some ultramafic mine tailings with the potential to be rapidly carbonated and can contain significant amounts of ferrous iron [Fe(II)] substituted for Mg; however, the influence of this substitution on carbon mineralization reaction products and efficiency has not been thoroughly constrained. To better assess the efficiency of carbon storage in brucite-bearing tailings, we performed carbonation experiments using synthetic Fe(II)-substituted brucite (0, 6, 23, and 44 mol % Fe) slurries in oxic and anoxic conditions with 10% CO2. Additionally, the carbonation process was evaluated using different background electrolytes (NaCl, Na2SO4, and Na4SiO4). Our results indicate that carbonation efficiency decreases with increasing Fe(II) substitution. In oxic conditions, precipitation of ferrihydrite [Fe10IIIO14(OH)2] and layered double hydroxides {e.g., pyroaurite [Mg6Fe2III(OH)16CO3·4H2O]} limited carbonation efficiency. Carbonation in anoxic environments led to the formation of Fe(II)-substituted nesquehonite (MgCO3·3H2O) and dypingite [Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2·∼5H2O], as well as chukanovite [Fe2IICO3(OH)2] in the case of 23 and 44 mol % Fe(II)-brucite carbonation. Carbonation efficiencies were consistent between chloride- and sulfate-rich solutions but declined in the presence of dissolved Si due to the formation of amorphous SiO2·nH2O and Fe–Mg silicates. Overall, our results indicate that carbonation efficiency and the long-term fate of stored CO2may depend on the amount of substituted Fe(II) in both feedstock minerals and carbonate products.

Gastric examination is a common endoscopic procedure that can be used to assess stomach diseases and lesions. However, because the stomach examination requires the use of radiation imaging technology, patients are exposed to radiation risks. Therefore, the aim of this study is to develop a specialized database of endoscopy and integrate it with an image annotation platform to achieve effective control of gastric examination radiation. An image labeling platform was developed to label gastric lesions and structures, annotate and label endoscopic images, and describe the details of gastric lesions more comprehensively and accurately. A complete radiation imaging control system for gastric examination was formed by integrating professional database and image labeling platform. Through this integrated system, doctors can quickly access the endoscopy images in the database when performing stomach exams, and label lesions on the image labeling platform to more accurately evaluate the lesions and structure of the stomach, while reducing the number of times patients undergo radiation examinations. The results show that the radiation imaging of gastric examination can be effectively controlled through the integration of endoscopy database and image annotation platform. This integrated system helps to improve the accuracy and safety of the examination, and has important clinical application value for both doctors and patients.

Reduction of acyl chlorides with dysprosium metal has been studied. The reducing ability of dysprosium metal is solvent-dependent. Dysprosium metal, which requires neither any additive nor pretreatment, can promote the cross-coupling of acyl chlorides in DMF or DEF to give amides in good yields. When the reaction was performed in N,N-dimethylacetamide, the reductive self-coupling reaction of aroyl chloride took place smoothly and afforded the diaryl-substituted acetylenes in moderate to good yield.

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) bifunctional electrocatalysts are essential for rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Here, a novel design strategy is demonstrated for developing highly dispersed Fe2Ni2N/Co trimetallic nitride nanocrystals strongly coupled with N-doped carbon nanotubes (Fe2Ni2N/Co@NCNT). This unique hybrid catalyst exhibits superior electrocatalytic activity and stability toward both ORR and OER over most reported non-noble metal catalysts. The resulting zinc-air battery shows an impressively small charge–discharge voltage gap of 83 mV at 20 mA cm−2, as well as ultra-long cycling stability even exceeding 850 cycles (850 h) at 5 mA cm−2. Notably, we followed the changes of interatomic distance and local coordination of FeFe and FeN bonds, using in situXAFS to investigate the origins of the excellent structural stabilities of the Fe2Ni2N/Co@NCNT catalysts during electrocatalysis.

Kinetic estimation of chemical reactions is considered to be a crucial step prior to design of a robust, controllable, and safe production process. Spectroscopic measurements are widely used for kinetic analysis. However, there may be unwanted contributions in the measured spectra, which may come from the instrumental variations (such as the baseline shift or distortion) or from the presence of inert absorbing interferences with no kinetic behavior. Here, the kinetic estimation problem with time-invariant contributions is studied in depth, and we derive conditions where the estimation accuracy is not affected by the time-invariant contributions. Moreover, kinetic parameter estimation and separation of time-invariant contributions can be performed simultaneously under proper conditions. Also, an approach for kinetic parameter estimation based on spectra with time-variant contributions is proposed. Finally, a novel unified framework is developed for kinetic parameter estimation when there is no prior information for unwanted contributions.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been widely accepted as the treatment for early-stage esophageal epithelial neoplasms. However, stricture is a common complication after large-circumference ESD. This retrospective study is conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intralesional steroid injection plus oral steroid administration in preventing esophageal stricture. 70 patients with a mucosal defect extending over more than two-thirds of the circumference after esophageal ESD for epithelial neoplasms were enrolled in this study. Those who received intralesional triamcinolone injection combined with oral prednisolone administration were assigned to the treatment group, while those who were treated without any prophylaxis of esophageal stricture were assigned to the control group. The primary observation result was the frequency of stricture. The secondary observation results were the number of endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) sessions and rate of complications. Compared with the control group, the frequency of stricture (14.7% 5/34 patients vs. 51.5% 19/36 patients) and number of EBD sessions (mean 0.2 vs. 3.3) were significantly lower in the treatment group. One patient suffered from perforation in the treatment group and recovered with conservative treatment. None steroid-related complications were found during a long-term follow-up. Intralesional steroid injection plus oral steroid administration is safe and effective in preventing stricture following esophageal ESD for esophageal epithelial neoplasms with a mucosal defect extending no less than two-thirds of the circumference in a long-term follow-up.

Quercetin and its glycoside derivatives were identified and quantified using high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) and liquid chromatograph/mass spectrometer/mass spectrometer (LC/MS/MS) in the leaves, flowers, and fruits of 22 Malusgenotypes. In all genotypes, small amounts of quercetin aglycone were present, with water-soluble glycoside forms were the most abundant in different Malusplant tissues, including quercetin-3-galactoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside, quercetin-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-xyloside, quercetin-3-arabinoside, and quercetin-3-rhamnoside. Among these six quercetin glycosides, quercetin-3-galactoside was the common form in Malusplants, except in the leaves and flowers of M. ceracifoliaand M. magdeburgensis, and in the fruits of M. micromalus‘Haihong Fruit’, where there was a higher concentration of quercetin-3-glucoside. Among the different tissues tested, leaves contained the highest concentration of quercetin and its glycosides, while fruits contained the lowest concentrations of these compounds. Among the genotypes we analyzed, no specific genotype consistently contained the highest concentration of quercetin and its glycoside derivatives. M. domestica‘Honeycrisp’ had the highest total compound concentration (approximately 1600 mg kg−1), whereas M. hupehensiscontained the lowest in its fruits. In contrast, the concentration of total quercetin and its glycosides was more than 5000 mg kg−1in the leaves of eight genotypes and greater than 2500 mg kg−1in the flowers of seven species. In general, the concentration of quercetin and its glycoside derivatives depended on the species and tissue type. These results may provide useful information for the evaluation and selection of edible Malusfruits and the materials for quercetin glycoside extraction.

Introduction

Graphene (graphene) is a new type of two-dimensional inorganic nanomaterial developed in recent years. It can be used as an ideal inorganic nanofiller for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites because of its high mechanical strength, excellent electrical conductivity and plentiful availability (from graphite). In this review, the preparation methods of graphene/polymer nanocomposites, including solution blending, melt blending and in situpolymerization, are introduced in order to study the relationship between these methods and the final characteristics and properties. Each method has an influence on the final characteristics and properties of the nanocomposites. The advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed. In addition, a variety of nanocomposites with different properties, such as mechanical properties, electronic conductivity, thermal conductivity and thermal properties, are summarized comprehensively. The potential applications of these nanocomposites in conductive materials, electromagnetic shielding materials, photocatalytic materials and so on, are briefly presented. This review demonstrates that polymer/graphene nanocomposites exhibit superior comprehensive performance and will be applied in the fields of new materials and novel devices. Future research directions of the nanocomposites are also presented.

Brain science, as an important branch of Neuroscience, is a discipline that studies the structure and function of brain nervous system of human and other mammals. With the invention of new technologies such as brain imaging, light microscopes and brain electromagnetics, brain science is gradually unraveling the mysteries of human emotion, intelligence and behavior. In this wave, data visualization punctuates the landmark advances in brain science since its beginning. This survey reviews the recent literature on brain network visualization (aka connectome) from the fields of both connectomics and visualization. In particular, we focus on the macroscopic-level brain network visualization techniques, that reveal the structural and functional connectivity of the whole brain, in comparison to microsopic-level neuronal connectivities. We also discuss the interactive visualization tools currently available for viewing the brain networks. Finally, we conclude with a number of ongoing challenges in macroscopic brain network visualization.

Praseodymium-doped indium zinc oxide (PrIZO) channel materials have been fabricated by a solution process with conventional chemical precursor. The PrIZO-based thin-film transistors (TFTs) exhibited a field-effect mobility of 10.10 cm2/V s, a subthreshold swing value of 0.25 V/decade, and an Ion/Ioffratio of 108. The as-fabricated PrIZO-TFTs showed an improved device performance against positive bias temperature stress (PBTS shift of 1.97 V for 7200 s), which was evidently better than the undoped IZO-TFTs (PBTS shift of 9.52 V). This result indicates that the organic residual (−OCH3and −CH2−) in metal–oxide semiconductor, which is confirmed to be a dominant effect on the performance of PBTS, can be passivated by the rare earth of praseodymium element. The residual is intended to be oxidized with a more stable ester group with the assistant of PrOx, weakening the electron-withdrawing characteristic during the thermal bias stress.

The thin-film transistor (TFT) driving circuit is a separate electronic component embedded within the panel itself to switch the current for each pixel in active-matrix organic light-emitting diode displays. We reported a TFT-directed dye electroplating method to fabricate pixels; this would be a new method to deposit films on prepatterned electrode for organic full-color display, where TFT driving circuit provide a switching current signal to drive and direct dye depositing on selected RGB pixels. A prototype patterned color pixel matrix was achieved, as high-quality light-emitting films with uniform morphology, pure RGB chromaticity, and stable output.

As a new class of fluorescent carbon materials, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their outstanding properties and potential applications in biological, optoelectronic, and energy-related fields. Herein, top-down and bottom-up strategies for the fabrication of GQDs, mainly containing oxidative cleavage, the hydrothermal or solvothermal method, the ultrasonic-assisted or microwave-assisted process, electrochemical oxidation, controllable synthesis, and carbonization from small molecules or polymers, are discussed. Different methods are presented in order to study their characteristics and their influence on the final properties of the GQDs. The respective advantages and disadvantages of the methods are introduced. With regard to some important or novel methods, the mechanisms are proposed for reference. Moreover, recent exciting progresses on the applications of GQD, such as sensors, bio-imaging, drug carriers, and solar cells are highlighted. Finally, a brief outlook is given, pointing out the issues still to be settled for further development. We believe that new preparation methods and properties of GQDs will be found, and GQDs will play more important roles in novel devices and various applications.

Adakitic rocks in continental settings are commonly considered to be formed by partial melting of thickened or delaminated lower crust. Investigations on this kind of rocks can provide important information about crustal evolution complementary to information from other rocks. This paper reports adakitic granodiorite of the Lingxi pluton in the interior of the Cathayisa Block. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating shows that it was formed in the late Early Cretaceous (100±1 Ma). The granodiorite has geochemical features of adakitic rocks derived from partial melting of the thickened lower crust, e.g., high SiO2(mainly ranging from 64.4 to 68.9 wt.%) and Sr (624–894 ppm) contents, Sr/Y (49.9–60.8) and La/Yb (23.4–42.8) values, low Y (10.3–17.1 ppm), Ni (5.62–11.8 ppm) and MgO (mostly from 0.86 wt.% to 1.57 wt.%) contents and weak Eu anomaly. It has initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.7086–0.7091, εNd(t) values of −6.2 to −5.9 and zircon εHf(t) values mostly of −10.1 to −7.6. Based on the geochemical characteristics and simple modelling, it is suggested that the most likely generation mechanism of the Lingxi granodiorite is partial melting of a thickened Proterozoic lower continental crust at a pressure ≥12 kbar (or crust thickness ≥40 km), leaving a garnet-bearing amphibolite residue. Combining our results and previous studies of the tectonic evolution of the Cathaysia Block, we propose that the crust was thickened to over 40 km by a compressive event occurring during the late Early Cretaceous, which is supported by the observation that there is an angular unconformity between the Upper Cretaceous Series and the early Lower Cretaceous or the Jurassic rocks. After this event, the Cathaysia Block experienced a lithospheric extension and thinning probably driven by the high-angle paleo-Pacific subduction. With the attenuation of lithosphere, the lower crust was heated to partial melting by upwelling asthenospheric materials, resulting in generation of the Lingxi granodiorite and other coeval granitoids in the Cathaysia Block. This study provides new information on the crustal evolution of the Cathaysia Block during the Early Cretaceous.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirmed the increased number of M–N sites in the bimetallic Fe–Co catalyst.Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption fine structure demonstrated that the interaction in the coordination environments of the different transition metal sites facilitated the CO production in electroreduction reaction of CO2(ECO2RR).This bimetallic strategy has also been extended to fabricate other catalysts such as Cu–Co and Ni–Co, which also exhibited enhanced performance for ECO2RR.

Aliphatic waterborne polyurethane-ureas (WPUU) were prepared using 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) as mixed diisocyanates. The effects of the HDI/IPDI ratio on the phase morphology of WPUU films including the hydrogen bonding, crystallization of the soft segment and hard segment, and phase separation were investigated. The relationship between the phase morphology and the mechanical properties was also studied. The FTIR spectrum showed that the hydrogen bonding degree in the hard segments increased as the HDI/IPDI ratio increased. XRD analysis revealed the excellent crystallinity of WPUU films. DSC analysis indicated that the degree of phase separation was improved with increasing HDI/IPDI ratio, and DMA analysis showed that the storage modulus of the WPUU film increased at first and then decreased. When the HDI/IPDI ratio was 4:1, the WPUU films exhibited high tensile strength.