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The study of dissipative systems has attracted great attention, as dissipation engineering has become an important candidate toward manipulating light in classical and quantum ways. Here, the behavior of a topological system is theoretically investigated with purely dissipative couplings in a synthetic time‐frequency space. An imaginary bandstructure is shown, where eigen‐modes experience different eigen‐dissipation rates during the evolution of the system, resulting in mode competition between edge states and bulk modes. Numerical simulations show that distributions associated with edge states can dominate over bulk modes with stable amplification once the pump and saturation mechanisms are taken into consideration, which therefore points to a laser‐like behavior for edge states robust against disorders. This work provides a scheme for manipulating multiple degrees of freedom of light by dissipation engineering, and also proposes a great candidate for topological lasers with dissipative photonics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil shale kerogen is a kind of composite nature of fossil energy polymer. Kerogen pyrolysis is a feasible and alternative strategy to produce fossil fuels from shales. However, the disadvantages including the high energy consumption, the high cost, and the low hydrocarbon conversion, significantly hinder the development and utilization of unconventional hydrocarbon resources. Herein, the hexagonal crystal structural layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with the Ni/Fe ratio of 5.64:2.36 is proposed as pyrolysis catalyst to improve the catalytic efficiency, the selectivity of target hydrocarbons, and lower the temperature for the process of kerogen pyrolysis. As a result, needle-like nanoscale NiFe-LDHs are prepared successfully to perform the fast thermal upgrading of Balikun oil shale kerogen. The catalytic pyrolysis performance has been observed that the temperature for maximum conversion (Tmax) is 401.18 °C, presenting a Tmax reduction of 37.84 °C, the yield of shale oil is increased by 7.83 wt%. And during 350°C– 400°C, a progressive increment of 147.67%, 230.86%, and 310.61% is obtained corresponding to the content of C1-C5, C6-C14, and C14+ hydrocarbons, respectively. This finding enriches the catalyst candidates for kerogen pyrolysis and provides new insights into industrial applications of in-situ pyrolysis technology for oil shale recovery processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of COVID‐19 outbreak has promoted truck‐drone delivery from trials to commercial applications in end‐to‐end contactless solutions. To fully integrate truck‐drone delivery in contactless solutions, we introduce the robust traveling salesman problem with a drone, in which a drone makes deliveries and returns to the truck that is moving on its route under uncertainty. The challenge is to find, for each customer location in truck‐drone routing, an assignment to minimize the expected makespan. Apart from the complexity of this problem, the risk of synchronization failure associated with uncertain travel time should be also considered. The problem is first formulated as a robust model, and a novel efficient frontier heuristic is proposed to solve this model. By coupling the implicit adaptive weighting with epsilon‐constraint methods, the heuristic generates a series of scalarized single‐objective problems, where the goal is to minimize expected makespan under the constraint of synchronization risk. The experiment results show that the robust (near‐)optimal solutions offer a considerable reduction in risk, yet only hint at a small increase in makespan. The heuristic in the present study is effective to construct approximations of Pareto frontier and allows for assignment decisions in a priori or a posteriori manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the impact of irradiation and temperature on the mechanical properties of GaN single crystals holds significant relevance for rational designs and applications of GaN-based transistors, lasers, and sensors. This study systematically investigates the influence of C-ion irradiation and temperature on pop-in events, hardness, Young's modulus, and fracture behavior of GaN single crystals through nanoindentation experiments. In comparison with unirradiated GaN samples, the pop-in phenomenon for ion-irradiated GaN samples is associated with a larger critical indentation load, which decreases with increasing temperature. Both unirradiated and ion-irradiated GaN samples exhibit a decline in hardness with increasing indentation depth, while Young's moduli do not exhibit a clear size effect. In addition, intrinsic hardness displays an inverse relationship with temperature, and ion-irradiated GaN single crystals exhibit greater intrinsic hardness than their unirradiated counterparts. Our analysis further underscores the significance of Peierls stress during indentation, with this stress decreasing as temperature rises. Examinations of optical micrographs of indentation-induced fractures demonstrate an irradiation embrittlement effect. This work provides valuable insights into the mechanical behavior of GaN single crystals under varying irradiation and temperature conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers increasingly recycle end-of-life products to realize residual economic value and mitigate environmental impacts on the economic system. Concurrently, with the burgeoning growth of the product-service system, leasing models offer an alternative method to complete the material loop without direct collection. While prior research has delved into recycling channels, incentive mechanisms, and remanufacturing within closed-loop supply chain management, a comparative analysis between recycling and leasing strategies remains under-explored. This study seeks to bridge this gap by elucidating the manufacturer's strategic decision-making process, factoring in consumers' product ownership perceptions. We propose a manufacturer decision model anchored on consumer choices and segment it into three scenarios based on varying ownership perceptions. Our analysis contrasts market demand and profit outcomes across these scenarios. Notably, we discern that a hybrid strategy is optimal when ownership perception is low; however, when such perception is heightened, a dedicated recycling strategy proves more advantageous. Importantly, introducing a leasing option does not entirely overshadow the conventional sales market but is susceptible to being overshadowed itself. From a managerial standpoint, while integrating a leasing program might augment revenue streams, sole reliance on it is inadvisable. Furthermore, reshaping consumption paradigms to emphasize product functionality over ownership can pave the way for more expansive leasing strategies, optimizing revenue generation within a closed-loop framework. Plain Language Summary: This paper uses the consumer choice model and the decision model to analyze the two approaches for closing the loop, leasing and recycling. In contrast to previous studies of closed-loop supply chains, this paper considers leasing as another way of closing the loop and takes into account its cannibalization effect on the market for new products and its priming effect on consumers with lower willingness to pay. The paper concludes that the leasing strategy cannot completely cannibalize the selling market and is conditional on implementation, while the recycling strategy can completely cannibalize the leasing market and is always effective. This paper has some applications for closed-loop decision making for manufacturers to improve economic and environmental gains. Manufacturers and policy makers should advocate new forms of consumption that encourage consumers to care more about product function than property rights, thus leaving more room for the rental market to acquire greater benefits. This paper does not consider the supply of P2P platforms when portraying the leasing program and does not use empirical studies to verify the conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rich nontrivial topological phases rooted in the interplay between magnetism and topology in the layered antiferromagnet EuCd2As2 have captured vast attention, especially the ideal Weyl semimetal state realized in the spin‐polarized ferromagnetic (FM) structure driven by a moderate external magnetic field. In this work, combining magnetization, magneto‐transport, and structure measurements under high pressure and first principles calculations, this study finds that the pressure can drive the in‐plane antiferromagnetic structure of EuCd2As2 across an intermediate in‐plane FM structure then into the out‐of‐plane FM structure. This study also finds butterfly‐shaped MR and anomalous Hall effect under large pressure, which may support the pressure‐driven FM state. High‐pressure angle‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray absorption near‐edge spectroscopy measurements exclude structure transition and/or change of Eu2+ valence state as sources for the magnetic phase transitions. Alternatively, apparently reduced axial ratio (c/a) and compressed Eu‐layer space distance should play important roles. Interestingly, the calculations unveil that the out‐of‐plane FM structure hosts only one pair of Weyl nodes around the Fermi level, suggesting that pressure can be an alternative way to realize the ideal Weyl semimetal state in EuCd2As2 and will be useful for exploring exotic topological properties in such layered magnetic topological phase with strongly competing magnetic exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Titanium dioxide (Ti[O.sub.2]) nanowires with two different dimensions (i.e., < 100 nm and ~200 nm in diameter) were synthesized and studied under high pressure up to 37 GPa by Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Direct anatase to baddeleyite phase transitions were observed in both samples upon compression, but with different onset pressures. The observed phase transitions are in contrast to bulk Ti[O.sub.2], where the anatase phase transforms to α-Pb[O.sub.2] phase and then the baddeleyite phase. Compressibility of the anatase and baddeleyite phases was found different than both nanocrystals and the corresponding bulk materials. Our comparative study demonstrated not only that the morphology of Ti[O.sub.2] nanowire substantially influences the high pressure behaviors, but dimensions play a determining role in terms of transformation pressures, phase stability regions, and compressibility. Key words: high pressure, Ti[O.sub.2] nanowires, phase transformation, Raman spectroscopy, synchrotron radiation. Resume: Des nanofils de dioxyde de titane (Ti[O.sub.2]) de deux dimensions differentes (c.-a-d. de diametres < 100 nm et ~200 nm) ontete synthetises et analyses sous de hautes pressions allant jusqu'a 37 GPa par spectroscopie Raman et diffraction des rayons X synchrotron. Des transitions de phase directes anatase-baddeleyite ont ete observees dans les deux echantillons sous l'effet d'une compression, mais avec une pression exercee differente pour chaque echantillon. Les transitions de phase observees contrastent avec celles du Ti[O.sub.2] brut avec lequel la phase anatase se transforme en une phase α-Pb[O.sub.2] puis en une phase baddeleyite. La compressibilite des phases anatase et baddeleyite s'est averee differente de celle des deux nanocristaux et des materiaux bruts correspondants. Notre etude comparative a montre que non seulement la morphologie du nanofil de Ti[O.sub.2] influe grandement sur les comportements a haute pression mais egalement que leurs dimensions joue un role determinant en ce qui concerne les pressions de transformation, les domaines de stabilite des phases et la compressibilite. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: haute pression, nanofils de Ti[O.sub.2], transformation de phase, spectroscopie Raman, rayonnement synchrotron., Introduction Titanium dioxide (Ti[O.sub.2]), or titania, is a well-known semiconductor with a wide band gap. Ti[O.sub.2] exhibits a rich phase diagram including more than seven polymorphs. The most abundant forms, [...]

Abstract: Pressure-induced structural changes in di-iron nonacarbonyl [[Fe.sub.2][(CO).sub.9]] were examined by in situ Raman spectroscopy with the aid of a diamond anvil cell. Our results indicate that [Fe.sub.2][(CO).sub.9] undergoes a [...]

Purpose: Candida albicans (C. albicans) candidemia has been well reported in previous studies, while research on non-albicans Candida (NAC) bloodstream infections remains poorly explored. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with NAC candidemia. Patients and Methods: We recruited inpatients with candidemia from January 2013 to June 2020 in a tertiary hospital for this retrospective observational study. Results: A total of 301 patients with candidemia were recruited in the current study, including 161 (53.5%) patients with NAC candidemia. The main pathogens in NAC candidemia were Candida tropicalis (C. tropicalis) (23.9%), Candida parapsilosis (15.6%) and Candida glabrata (10.3%). Patients with NAC candidemia had more medical admissions (P=0.034), a higher percentage of hematological malignancies (P=0.007), a higher frequency of antifungal exposure (P=0.012), and more indwelling peripherally inserted central catheters (P=0.002) than those with C. albicans candidemia. In a multivariable analysis, prior antifungal exposure was independently related to NAC candidemia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.312; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.113– 0.859). Additionally, NAC was obviously resistant to azoles, especially C. tropicalis had a high cross-resistance to azoles. However, no significant differences were noted in the mortality rates at 14 days, 28 days and 60 days between these two groups. Conclusion: NAC is dominant in candidemia, and prior antifungal exposure is an independent risk factor. Of note, although the outcomes of NAC and C. albicans candidemia are similar, drug resistance to specific azoles as well as cross-resistance frequently occurs in patients with NAC candidemia, and this drug resistance deserves attention in clinical practice and further in-depth investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residual sulfate (SO42−) in precursor Ni0.8Co0.15Mn0.05(OH)2 (pre‐NCM) is commonly regarded as being harmful to Li[Ni0.8Co0.15Mn0.05]O2 (NCM) performance, leading to significant performance losses and also hampering the electrode fabrication. Therefore, manufacturers try their best to lower sulfate contents in pre‐NCM. However, how the sulfate affects the cathode materials is not systematically studied. To address these issues, NCM was synthesized with different amounts of intentionally added sulfate (NH4)2SO4 in pre‐NCM. It was demonstrated that anionic SO42− doped in NCM could influence the grain size in sintering process and stabilize the layer structure during the charge–discharge process at a certain doping amount. The first‐principles calculations suggested that the SO42− doped in the transition metal layer could effectively facilitate Li+ diffusion in the lattice. SO42− doping could reduce the energy barrier for Li+ migration and then suppress drastic contraction of the c axis during cycling. The phase transition of H2 to H3 caused by c axis contraction was suppressed and the cycling performance was enhanced. The capacity retention could reach 80.9 (0.2 C) and 80.4 % (1 C) after 380 and 240 cycles in coin cells, respectively. These findings illustrate that a certain amount of sulfate could be beneficial to NCM cathodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new design optimization method is proposed for the problem of high-precision aerodynamic design of multistage axial compressors. The method mainly contains three aspects: full-blade surface parametrization can significantly reduce the number of control variables per blade row and increase the degrees of freedom of the leading edge blade angle compared with the traditional semiblade parametric method; secondly, the artificial bee colony algorithm improved initialization and food source exploration and exploitation mechanism to enhance the global optimization ability and convergence speed, and a distributed optimization system is built on the supercomputing platform based on this method; finally, a phased optimization strategy based on the "synchronous change in multirow blades" is proposed, and expert experience is introduced to achieve a better balance between exploration and exploitation. The optimization method is applied to the AL-31F four-stage low-pressure compressor. As a result, the adiabatic efficiency is improved by 0.67% and the surge margin is improved by 3.1% under the premise that the total pressure ratio and mass flow rate satisfy the constraints, which verifies the effectiveness and engineering practicality of the proposed optimization method in the field of multistage axial flow compressor aerodynamic optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multistage axial compressor is the key component of aeroengine and gas turbine to realize energy conversion. In order to avoid the "curse of dimensionality" problem in the global optimization process of AL-31F four-stage low-pressure compressor under multiple working conditions, an optimization method based on phased parameterization strategy is proposed. The method uses the idea of "exploration before exploitation" for reference and divides the optimization process into two phases. In the first phase, the traditional parametric modification method based on stacking line is adopted; in the second phase, the full-blade surface parametric modification method with significant low-dimensional characteristics is adopted. Based on the improved artificial bee colony algorithm, a multitask concurrent optimization system is built on the supercomputing platform, and the engineering optimization solution is obtained within 91 hours. The optimization results are as follows: under the condition of meeting the constraints, the adiabatic efficiency is increased by 0.3% and the surge margin is 4.0% at the design speed; the adiabatic efficiency is increased by 0.8% and the surge margin is 2.3% at the off-design speed. These results verify the usefulness and reliability of the optimization method in the field of aerodynamic optimization of a multistage axial flow compressor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) combined with topological photonics provides on-chip integrated photonic devices CMOS-compatibility and backscattering-suppression. Here we propose a tunable SOI-based valley Hall topological insulator with two nonequivalent air holes to break inversion symmetry. Due to free-carrier excitation, the real and imaginary parts of the refractive index are modified to cause a blue-shift of bandgap and a reduction of transmittance, respectively. Based on this mechanism, we design a tunable all-optical switch with the merits of high transmittance contrast (about 23) and polarization-resolved characteristics simultaneously. Our proposed approach has potential in broadband tunable integrated photonic devices at telecommunication wavelengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of Adherence to Antihypertensive Drugs in Chinese Patients with Hypertension: A Retrospective Analysis Using the China Health Insurance Association Database . Treatment adherence, medicine possession ratio, hypertension, antihypertensive treatment. [Extracted from the article]

This retrospective, single-center study assessed the prognostic value of several emerging inflammatory markers as predictors of in-stent restenosis (ISR) after drug-eluting stent implantation for coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions. Consecutive patients (n = 416) who underwent successful percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for documented CTO lesions and with follow-up angiography were enrolled. Preprocedural high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and red cell distribution width (RDW) were analyzed. At mean follow-up of 14.4 ± 3.3 months, ISR occurred in 72 patients. Compared with the non-ISR group, preprocedural hsCRP level, PLR, NLR, and RDW were significantly higher in the ISR group. The ISR group also had significantly greater proportions of patients with diabetes and smoking history, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level and neutrophil count, longer stent length, and higher rate of severe dissection. In multivariate analysis, NLR (odds ratio [OR]: 3.110; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.102-4.063; P < .001) and PLR (OR: 1.029; 95% CI, 1.016-1.143; P < .001) were independent predictors of ISR, along with LDL-C level and stent length. In conclusion, higher preprocedural NLR and PLR levels were independent risk factors for the development of ISR in patients who underwent PCI for CTO lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]