Search

Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles (LnNPs) possess unique optical properties and are employed in various optoelectronic and bioimaging applications. One fundamental limitation of LnNPs is their low absorption cross-section. This hurdle can be overcome through surface modification with organic chromophores with large absorption cross-sections. Controlling energy transfer from organic molecules to LnNPs is crucial for creating optically bright systems, yet the mechanisms are not well understood. Using pump–probe spectroscopy, we follow singlet energy transfer (SET) and triplet energy transfer (TET) in systems comprising different length 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene (BPEA) derivatives coordinated onto ytterbium and neodymium-doped nanoparticles. Photoexcitation of the ligands forms singlet excitons, some of which convert to triplet excitons via intersystem crossing when coordinated to the LnNPs. The triplet generation rate and yield are strongly distance-dependent. Following their generation, TET occurs from the ligands to the LnNPs, exhibiting an exponential distance dependence, independent of solvent polarity, suggesting a concerted Dexter-type process with a damping coefficient of 0.60 Å–1. Nevertheless, TET occurs with near-unity efficiency for all BPEA derivatives due to the lack of other triplet deactivation pathways and long intrinsic triplet lifetimes. Thus, we find that close coupling is primarily important to ensure efficient triplet generation rather than efficient TET. Although SET is faster, we find its efficiency to be lower and more strongly distance-dependent than the TET efficiency. Our results present the first direct distance-dependent energy transfer measurements in LnNP@organic nanohybrids and establish the advantage of using the triplet manifold to achieve the most efficient energy transfer and best sensitization of LnNPs with π-conjugated ligands.

The temperature and moisture of the pavement structure can be greatly influenced by the wind speed above pavement surface. The wind speed above pavement surface not only is dominated by the wind speed of atmosphere, but also it is highly related to the landform and buildings around road. However, currently there are no studies about the wind field above pavement surface in consideration of the effect of the landform and buildings. A simulation method, which is combined with geographic information system (GIS), wind data from meteorological observatory and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, is employed to study the effect of the landform and the wind speed of atmosphere on the wind field above pavement surface. Three cases are studied, including an urban road, a coastal road and a mountainous road. Furthermore, the wind field distribution above road surface in different wind directions was studied in our work. Results indicate that the wind field above pavement surface can be greatly affected by the landforms, buildings and wind direction. This simulation method can provide reliable results for the wind field above pavement surface. The maximum relative errors between simulated and measured wind speed can be less than 20% in the analysis of the three cases. It is recommended that the CFD simulation method is a good tool to accurately know the wind field above pavement surface.

In this paper, a high-isolation two-port co-linearly polarized (co-LP) composite antenna is proposed. Dipole and W8JK array modes with co-LP omnidirectional patterns can be simultaneously supported by a plate with two etched back-to-back tapered slots. A microstrip differential and a T-divider coupling feeding networks are developed to selectively excite the dipole and W8JK modes, which results in high isolation and low correlation between two co-LP ports without using any decoupling structures. Reflecting ground is applied to realize the directional radiation. Measurement results show that the overlapped operating band of the antenna can cover 3.4–4.1 GHz with low measured envelope correlation coefficients (< 2.5 × 10−3) and high isolation (> 20 dB). A dual-polarized four-port element with good performances can be easily obtained based on the proposed co-LP antenna. The simulated results of the four-port prototype indicate that the proposed antenna is a promising candidate for the future compact massive MIMO array antenna.

The cylindrical tungsten alloy fragment is often prefabricated in the directional warhead to improve the killing ability or interception ability of the warhead. To study the influence of the attitude of fragments on the ability to penetrate thin metal target plates, theoretical calculation, and numerical simulation are used to study the ultimate penetration velocity of cylindrical tungsten alloy fragments with different aspect ratios impacting thin metal target plates vertically with a different attitude. The angle between the axis of a cylindrical tungsten alloy fragment and the normal direction of the target plate is defined as the attitude angle of the fragment perpendicular to the target plate. It is found that when the attitude angle changes from 0° to 90°, the ultimate penetration velocity of fragments increases first and then decreases. When the length-to-diameter ratio of fragments is 1.0, 1.2, and 1.5, the relative errors between the minimum and maximum values of the ultimate penetration velocity are about 11.99%, 15.75%, and 14.35%, respectively. The ultimate penetration velocity of fragments increases with the increase of the projection area of fragments on the target plate.

A novel liquid flow fuel cell (LFFC) reaction system was developed to achieve electricity generation and furfural oxidation for furoic acid production with release of H2on Ag2O@Ni foam anode and production of H2O2in catholyte under mild conditions with air as the final oxidant by newly proposed reaction mechanisms.

Aging prediction plays a vital role in battery prognostics and health management, which contributes to preventing unexpected failure and evaluating battery systems’ residual value. In this study, a reliable cycling aging prediction based on a data-driven model is proposed to address the urgent issue of adaptive and early prediction of lithium-ion battery remaining useful life (RUL). First, to enhance the learning and generalization abilities of standard relevance vector machines (RVMs), a multi-kernel RVM model containing two kernel functions with different characteristics is constructed, followed by the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm for determining the kernel and weight parameters. Then, a similarity criterion of the battery capacity curves is proposed to screen battery offline data for model training to achieve early life prediction. Battery cycling aging data from two types of batteries under different aging conditions are used for model training and verification. Quantitative experimental results demonstrate that the proposed multi-kernel RVM model can realize the accurate prediction of the failure cycle and capacity attenuation trajectory of different types of batteries. Moreover, the proposed method has also been proved to be able to learn the general fading characteristics from other types of batteries.

In this study, 3-carboxyphenylboronic acid (CP)-functionalized amino-modified Fe3O4(Fe3O4@NH2-CP, FNC) magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (FNC@MIPs) were synthesized and applied for the quick identification and selective separation of luteolin (LTL). The structure and morphology were characterized in detail by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and vibrating specimen magnetometry (VSM) methods. The FNC@MIPs had a homogeneous shape, excellent magnetic characteristics, quick binding kinetics, a high adsorption capacity, acceptable selectivity, and stable reusability. The solid-phase extraction parameters and preparation conditions were both optimized. Under optimized conditions, the maximal adsorption capacity was 14.26 mg g−1and the imprinting factor was 3.62. Furthermore, the experimental kinetics data were best fitted with the pseudo-first-order model (R2= 0.9877), and the Langmuir model could describe the adsorption process (R2= 0.9979), suggesting a monolayer covering. The practical application of the sorbent for LTL detection in Lonicera japonicaThunb samples showed recoveries in the range of 84.5–108.7%. Therefore, the strategy offers a fresh avenue for the extraction and purification of LTL.

A facile path to rapidly prepare sulfide electrolyte powders and reduce the thickness of electrolyte layer. Modified ASSLBs with cell-level energy density of 311 Wh kg−1show excellent cyclic stability.

The revised Tax Administration and Collection Law (the new law) was approved by the 21st Session of the Ninth Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's [...]

All-solid-state lithium-metal batteries (ASSLMBs) with sulfide electrolytes have attracted attention owing to their superior safety and high energy density. However, interfacial instability of sulfide electrolytes against Li metal still hinders their applications. Herein, F-doping is adopted to optimize the structure of Li10SnP2S12. It is demonstrated that the Li9.95SnP2S11.95F0.05(LSPSF) electrolyte exhibits a high ionic conductivity of 6.4 mS cm–1because of F-doping, which can reduce the impurity Li2SnS3and generate Li+vacancies. In addition, the Li6PS5I (LPSI) glass–ceramic interlayer is employed to enhance the interfacial stability between the sulfide electrolyte and Li metal by restraining the reduction of Sn4+cations, as indicated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As a result, the assembled ASSLMBs with the LPSI interlayer deliver high initial discharge capacity and remarkable cycling stability. This work provides a new design route for manufacturing high-performance ASSLMBs.

The role of oxygen in the activation of C–H bonds in methane on clean and oxygen-precovered Cu(111) and Cu2O(111) surfaces was studied with combined in situ near-ambient-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Activation of methane at 300 K and “moderate pressures” was only observed on oxygen-precovered Cu(111) surfaces. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the lowest activation energy barrier of C–H on Cu(111) in the presence of chemisorbed oxygen is related to a two-active-site, four-centered mechanism, which stabilizes the required transition-state intermediate by dipole–dipole attraction of O–H and Cu–CH3species. The C–H bond activation barriers on Cu2O(111) surfaces are large due to the weak stabilization of H and CH3fragments.

The advanced oxidation process based on Fe(Ⅱ) activated is easy to produce Fe(Ⅲ) accumulation, and the slow process of Fe(III)/Fe(II) conversion greatly hinders pollutant degradation performance of Fe(III)/peroxymonosulfate (PMS) system. Herein, protocatechuic acid (PCA)-regulated Fe(III)-activated PMS system was proposed for remediation of SMX-contaminated groundwater. The results presented the highest degradation efficiency (97.2%) at room temperature and neutral pH with appropriate PCA-Fe(III) ratio (1:3) and PS concentration (1mM), which was 89.5% higher than that of the system without PCA, and over 60% higher than that of other acid-regulated systems. The excellent degradation performance was principally owing to the reduction and chelation of PCA, which expedited the circulation of Fe(III)/Fe(II) via generating PCA-Fe chelate and benzoquinone, thus promoting the PMS activation. Moreover, SO4•−, O•H, O2•−, and 1O2worked together to contribute to SMX decomposition, and 1O2played a dominant role. In addition, the system had strong tolerance to co-existing ions (e.g., CO32−, Cl−, and NO3−) and humic acid in groundwater, Cl-, NO3−and HA had no significant effect on SMX degradation, and although CO32−reduced the degradation efficiency of SMX, more than 80% of SMX was removed after reaction. And the system possessed universal applicability to real water bodies and different pollutants. Overall, the PCA/Fe(III)/PMS system presented preeminent application potential for the remediation of organics-polluted groundwater.

A quarter‐circular arc piezoelectric Vibration energy harvester (VEH) based on nonlinear geometry is proposed with both bending moment and torque deformation mode, so it can effectively absorb multidirectional vibration at the same resonance frequency. The theoretical model of quarter‐circular arc piezoelectric VEH is established to study the resonance frequency and the output voltage. In order to demonstrate multi‐directional performance of the quarter‐circular arc VEH, the stress distribution is compared with that of the traditional piezoelectric VEH in multi‐direction vibration, and the output voltage of the circular arc piezoelectric VEH are relatively increased 267.26% in X‐direction, 463.18% in Y‐direction, and 17.24% in Z‐direction. The external load is equipped in circuit to measure output power, whose matching resistance is around 21kΩ, and the maximum output powers are 7.57mW in X‐direction, 2.39mW in Y‐direction, and 9.93mW in Z‐direction.

It is still a big challenge to simultaneously enhance the ionic conductivity, dendrite suppression capability, and interfacial compatibility of sulfide solid electrolytes. In this work, a novel Li7P2.88Nb0.12S10.7O0.3solid electrolyte is prepared via Nb and O cosubstitution of glass-ceramic Li7P3S11. This sulfide-based electrolyte possesses a high ionic conductivity (3.59 mS cm–1) at 298 K, improved critical current density (1.16 mA cm–2), and excellent interfacial compatibility between the sulfide electrolyte and Li2S active material. The improved electrochemical stability of the sulfide solid electrolyte against metallic lithium is attributed to the formation of Nb and Li2O at the interface, which can induce uniform Li deposition and prevent further side reaction. The all-solid-state Li/Li2S batteries based on this electrolyte exhibit remarkably enhanced cycling stability and rate performance.

ABSTRACTMacroautophagy (autophagy) is driven by the coordinated actions of core autophagy-related (Atg) proteins. Atg8, the core Atg protein generally considered acting most downstream, has recently been shown to interact with other core Atg proteins via their Atg8-family-interacting motifs (AIMs). However, the extent, functional consequence, and evolutionary conservation of such interactions remain inadequately understood. Here, we show that, in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Atg38, a subunit of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PtdIns3K) complex I, interacts with Atg8 via an AIM, which is highly conserved in Atg38 proteins of fission yeast species, but not conserved in Atg38 proteins of other species. This interaction recruits Atg38 to Atg8 on the phagophore assembly site (PAS) and consequently enhances PAS accumulation of the PtdIns3K complex I and Atg proteins acting downstream of the PtdIns3K complex I, including Atg8. The disruption of the Atg38-Atg8 interaction leads to the reduction of autophagosome size and autophagic flux. Remarkably, the loss of this interaction can be compensated by an artificial Atg14-Atg8 interaction. Our findings demonstrate that the Atg38-Atg8 interaction in fission yeast establishes a positive feedback loop between Atg8 and the PtdIns3K complex I to promote efficient autophagosome formation, underscore the prevalence and diversity of AIM-mediated connections within the autophagic machinery, and reveal unforeseen flexibility of such connections.Abbreviations: AIM: Atg8-family-interacting motif; AP-MS: affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry; Atg: autophagy-related; FLIP: fluorescence loss in photobleaching; PAS: phagophore assembly site; PB: piggyBac; PE: phosphatidylethanolamine; PtdIns3K: phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; PtdIns3P: phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate.

Nickel base single crystal superalloy is widely used in hot end parts of aeroengine because of its excellent creep, fatigue and oxidation resistance. In the face of strong market demand and the emergence of new technologies and methods, in 2019, nickel-based single crystal superalloys have made remarkable achievements in preparation and heat treatment processes, repair techniques, test methods, characterization methods, theoretical simulation analysis and composition design, which continuously promotes the development of nickel base single crystal superalloy to the direction of high performance and low cost. The present work reviews the progresses from preparation and heat treatment process, repair technology of service alloy structure, service evaluation of alloy, high flux composition design. The progress in the design, preparation and engineering application of superalloy materials will eventually promote the development of a new generation of aeroengine.

As a clean and efficient renewable energy, hydrogen energy will play an important role in the future energy system. The utilization of hydrogen energy involves various fields including production, application, storage and transportation, and the storage of hydrogen has become the main technical bottleneck restricting the wide application of hydrogen energy. Rare earth-based hydrogen storage alloys are promising hydrogen storage medium and have been widely used as anode materials for commercial Ni/MH batteries because of the excellent hydrogen storage and electrochemical properties. In this paper, the research progress of AB5 and R-Mg-Ni-based rare earth-based hydrogen storage alloys is described in detail. The alloy composition, preparation process, heat treatment and surface treatment process have significant influence on the comprehensive properties of rare earth-based hydrogen storage alloys. The effects of element substitution on the hydrogen storage capacity, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and electrochemical properties of the alloys are emphasized. This paper provides a guidance and a theoretical basis for the development and application of rare earth-based hydrogen storage materials.

Graphene-structure GeSe2nano-films (NFMs) were prepared by chemical vapour deposition. The synthesized GeSe2NFMs were characterized by using various techniques such as SEM and XRD. Our work provides a simple and effective method to prepare GeSe2NFMs. The GeSe2NFM prepared by chemical vapour deposition has good uniformity and compactness, which provides a new process route for the preparation of GeSe2NFM.

High-pressure vapor–liquid equilibrium data for the binary system of 1-methylnaphthalene + CO2were measured using a set of visible phase equilibrium-measuring apparatus with the analytical isobaric–isothermal method, and then, the measured data were correlated with the Peng–Robinson equation of state (PR EOS) and Soave–Redlich–Kwong equation of state (SRK EOS), in combination with different mixing rules of Adachi–Sugie, Melhem, and Panagiotopoulos–Reid. Compared with the correlation derivations from different models, the model of PR EOS + PR mixing rule leads to a relatively satisfactory correlation for the 1-methylnaphthalene + CO2system.

This study investigated the removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in aqueous solutions using pomelo peel (PP) and FeCl3-modified pomelo peel (FPP) as novel biomass adsorbents. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of pH, time, temperature, initial concentration, and adsorbent dose on Cr(VI) removal by PP and FPP. The results show that the maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) was 21.55 mg/g for FPP and 0.57 mg/g for PP at a pH of 2.0 and a temperature of 40°C. The surface shape, microstructure, and chemical composition of FPP were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and compared with those of PP. The results show that the adsorption performance of FPP was much better than that of PP, indicating that FPP can be an alternative high-efficiency adsorbent for Cr(VI) removal.

High-pressure vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the carbon dioxide + p-cymene system at 313.15, 333.15, and 353.15 K and pressures up to 12.0 MPa were measured by a flow-type visualization apparatus based on the dynamic analytical method with sampling. The measured VLE data were discussed and compared to existing literature results for the purpose of validating the reliability of the method, as well as the apparatus applied in this study. Soave–Redlich–Kwong (SRK) and Peng–Robinson equations of state combined with Quadratic and Adachi–Sugie (AS) mixing rules were utilized to represent our experimental values. The calculation results indicate that all four models are comparable, but the SRK/AS model is more accurate for our experimental data than other models.

Self‐luminous probes with near‐infrared (NIR) emission are powerful tools for deep‐penetration and autofluorescence‐free imaging, owing to the joint optimization of both excitation and emission. However, the limited emission wavelength and requirement for multistep energy transfer limit its potency. In this study, the concept of direct wavelength conversion is established from visible light (vis) to NIR‐IIb using an exquisitely designed sensitizer–activator ion pair. The manipulation of the doping hosts enables a pair of energy levels between the sensitizer and activator. Based on this a class of broadband vis‐responsive nanocrystals with intense NIR‐II emission is prepared. The stability and quantum yield (up to 7.4%) of the nanocrystals are further enhanced by ZnS passivation via coherent epitaxial growth. By coupling luciferase, the self‐luminous probe can convert bioluminescence to NIR‐IIb luminescence (>1500 nm) through a one‐step energy transfer. A maximum penetrable thickness of 6 mm is achieved in the porcine tissue model. Collectively, the distinctive photon‐conversion performance of this probe offers the prospect of high‐resolution labeling of deep‐seated lesions. The concept of directly converting broadband vis to NIR‐II photons is proposed by exploiting a sensitizer−activator ion pair to govern energy transfer. A class of NIR‐II luminescent nanocrystals with broadband vis response is prepared, with an enhanced stability and efficiency boosted by surface ZnS passivation. By coupling a luciferase, a bioluminescence probe is constructed capable of spontaneously radiating NIR‐IIb fluorescence.

Objectives: To investigate whether intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) with alteplase (a recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, rt-PA) before endovascular treatment (EVT) is beneficial for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients in different periods. Methods: This study enrolled a total of 140 patients hospitalized between 2019 and 2022 with AIS from large vessel occlusion (LVO) in the anterior circulation. Those patients were divided into the EVT alone group and IVT + EVT group, in which EVT was preceded by intravenous rt-PA. According to the time from onset to femoral artery puncture, the above two groups were divided into the following subgroups: < 4.5 h, between 4.5 and 6 h, between 6 and 8 h, and between 8 and 10 h. There were 78 patients in the EVT alone group and 62 patients in the IVT + EVT group. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in functional independence, recanalization rate, favorable outcome rate, or mortality between the EVT and IVT + EVT groups (P> 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors, a lower incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage was observed in the EVT group (P< 0.05). A comparison of time-dependent efficacy between the two groups showed that within 6–8 h, there were statistically significant differences between admission and postoperation in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores at 24 h (P= 0.01) or 7 days (P= 0.02). Conclusions: Although there was no difference in clinical efficacy and safety between the abovementioned two groups, treatment with IVT + EVT could increase the risk of bleeding compared to EVT. Moreover, in the 6–8 h subgroup, the efficacy of EVT alone was better than that of IVT + EVT.

Enhancing the areal capacity of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) via designing of thick electrodes attracts significant interest. To promote this issue, carbon microfiber (CMFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are introduced as most electrode skeletons to improve the kinetics of the thick electrodes. Herein, self-supportive integrated thick electrodes with dual hierarchical carbon skeleton of CMFs and CNTs, and TiO2are synthesized via vacuum filtration-casting technique. By tuning the ratio of both CMF and CNT, the optimized electrode achieves relatively high reversible areal capacity of 5.32 mAh cm−2@0.0125 A g−1, attractive rate performance of 0.91 mAh cm−2@0.50 A g−1and impressive cyclic stability areal capacity of 2.75 mAh cm−2@0.10 A g−1up to 150 cycles as anode material for LIBs. The enhanced performance can be attributed to the interconnected hierarchical carbon architecture and synergistic effect between the individual materials that facilitates better electrical conductivity for the rapid lithium-ion diffusion kinetics. Furthermore, in situ Raman analysis provides clear evidence for the rapid electronic/ionic transport kinetics in the proposed integrated architecture electrode. This work provides more options for the synthesis of thick electrodes for high performance and high areal capacity LIBs.

Radio- and photodynamic therapies are the first line of cancer treatments but suffer from poor light penetration and less radiation accumulation in soft tissues with high radiation toxicity. Therefore, a multifunctional nanoplatform with diagnosis-assisted synergistic radio- and photodynamic therapy and tools facilitating early prognosis are urgently needed to fight the war against cancer. Further, integrating cancer therapy with untargeted metabolomic analysis would collectively offer clinical pertinence through facilitating early diagnosis and prognosis. Here, we enriched scintillation of CeF3nanoparticles (NPs) through codoping Tb3+and Gd3+(CeF3:Gd3+,Tb3+) for viable clinical approach in the treatment of deep-seated tumors. The codoped CeF3:Gd3+,Tb3+scintillating theranostic NPs were then coated with mesoporous silica, followed by loading with rose bengal (CGTS-RB) for later computed tomography (CT)- and magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided X-ray stimulated synergistic radio- and photodynamic therapy (RT+XPDT) using low-dose, one-time X-ray irradiation. The results corroborated an efficient tumor regression with synergistic RT+XPDT relative to single RT. Global untargeted metabolome shifts highlighted the mechanism behind this efficient tumor regression using RT, and synergistic RT+XPDT treatment is due to the starvation of nonessential amino acids involved in protein and DNA synthesis and energy regulation pathways necessary for growth and progression. Our study also concluded that tumor and serum metabolites shift during disease progression and regression and serve as robust biomarkers for early assessment of disease state and prognosis. From our results, we propose that codoping is an effective and extendable technique to other materials for gaining high optical yield and multifunctionality and for use in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Critically, the integration of multifunctional theranostic nanomedicines with metabolomics has excellent potential for the discovery of early metabolic biomarkers to aid in better clinical disease diagnosis and prognosis.

The objective of this study was to retrospectively research the clinical characteristics, pathogen distribution, prognosis of nosocomial bloodstream infection (nBSI), and the associated risk factors for nBSI.

Thick plate of 5083 aluminum alloy with 8 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm thicknesses are joined by double-side GMAW method. The influence of plate thickness on the welding stability, weld bead formation, porosity formation, microstructure and mechanical properties are investigated and compared. The results reveal that, with the increase of plate thickness, the stability of GMAW process, weld bead formation of the welded joints and the results of bending tests are similar. In larger plate thickness, more welding passes resulting in more source of hydrogen, larger specific surface area caused by thinner droplet, and the high solidification rate synergistically contribute to easier formation of porosity. With the increasing of plate thickness, higher peak temperatures of thermal cycles can lead to larger grain size. Besides, lower density of second-phase particles and more porosity of welded joint in larger plate thickness result in lower strength.

Aims. To determine the electroclinical features of fixation‐off sensitivity (FOS) in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE). Methods. We searched the EEG database using the terms “fixation‐off sensitivity” and “idiopathic generalized epilepsy” over a four‐year period from March 2014 to April 2018 in the Xijing Hospital, Xi’an, China. FOS was evaluated according to the technique proposed by Panayiotopoulos. Photic stimulation procedure and neuropsychological testing were performed during video‐EEG monitoring. Results. FOS was observed in eight patients with several different IGE syndromes, including four with eyelid myoclonia/Jeavons syndrome, two with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, one with photosensitivity epilepsy, and one with epilepsy with generalized tonic‐clonic seizures only. FOS was associated with seizures in five patients manifesting with eyelid myoclonic, myoclonic, and myoclonic‐tonic‐clonic seizures, and eyelid myoclonic status. FOS coexisted with photosensitivity in six patients as independent EEG features. Neuropsychological testing revealed transitory cognitive impairments associated with FOS. Conclusions. FOS is associated with several different IGE syndromes and may coexist with photosensitivity in the same patient as independent EEG features. FOS may be associated with both clinical seizures and cognitive impairments. Intermittent photic stimulation and registration of different eye conditions with and without fixation will aid the study of the dynamics of the visual system in epilepsy patients. [Published with video sequences onwww.epilepticdisorders.com]

With the increasing consumption of the fossil energy and the global warming, hydrogen has attracted extensive research due to the clean, renewable, and high-energy density properties. As a hydrogen carrier, formic acid is a main byproduct from many biomass processes and can be used in fuel cells directly. More importantly, formic acid is recyclable by the “formic acid-carbon dioxide cycle”, which does not produce any exhaust. Based on the previous reports, this study is focused on liquid-phase heterogeneous dehydrogenation of formic acid and summarizes the corresponding catalysts including mono-metallic, bi-metallic, and tri-metallic samples. Moreover, the comparison of catalytic performance about the dehydrogenation process is demonstrated considering the parameters of solvent, TOF (turnover frequency), and temperature. Furthermore, the morphology, composition, and structure of the catalysts, as well as the synthetic methods, are discussed and compared. Finally, some suggestions are proposed to design the corresponding catalysts and enhance the catalytic performance for formic acid dehydrogenation.

In this study we report a combined surface science and electrochemical investigation of using palladium-modified tungsten carbide (Pd/WC) as an efficient catalyst for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). Compared to the Pd(111) surface, DFT calculations suggested that the Pd/WC(0001) surface should be less poisoned by the ethanol decomposition intermediates, consistent with surface science results that desorption temperatures of the detected intermediates were lower on the Pd/WC surface. Electrochemical evaluation coupled with in-situ infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) measurements of 5 wt% Pd/WC/C powder catalysts were then conducted. The EOR activity of the 5 wt% Pd/WC/C catalyst was noticeably enhanced, compared to the benchmark 40 wt% Pd/C. The IRRAS results showed that the EOR products were detected at a lower onset potential on 5 wt% Pd-WC/C than on 40 wt% Pd/C.

Thick plates of 5083 aluminum alloy are welded with double-side hybrid welding method, and the effects of different heat source positioning arrangement on porosity formation, microstructure and mechanical property of the welding joints are studied. The results show that relative stable arc and stable process can be obtained in laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) process, and the weld bead with lower porosity level can be achieved. Fewer air involved in the weld pool, better stability of the keyhole and the easier escape of bubbles from the weld pool are the three ways to suppress the porosity. In both arc-laser hybrid welding (ALHW) and LAHW processes, the columnar grains are found in the fusion boundary, while equiaxed grains are observed in the weld center. In LAHW process, although the grain size is larger, the strength of the joint is higher, which is attributed to less porosity formation, the slight loss of Mg, more second-phase particles with uniform distribution, and the formation of dislocation with higher density in the joints.

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out to explore the adsorptions of reactive species and the reaction mechanisms on Pd–Cu bimetallic catalysts during CO2hydrogenation to methanol. All the possible preferred adsorption sites, geometries, and adsorption energies of the relative intermediates on pure Cu(111) and three PdCu(111) surfaces were determined, revealing that both the adsorption configuration and corresponding adsorption energy are changed by doping with Pd atoms. The strengthened COOH* adsorption and the greatly weakened OH* adsorption change the rate-limiting step from CO2hydrogenation forming trans-COOH* on Cu(111), Pd3Cu6(111), and Pd6Cu3(111) surfaces to cis-COOH* decomposition forming CO* and OH* on Pd ML surface. Additionally, the highest activation barriers for the overall reaction pathway are reduced in the following trend: Cu(111) > Pd6Cu3(111) > Pd3Cu6(111) > Pd ML (monolayer). Compared to the reaction on clean Cu(111) surface, the complete reaction pathways for CH3OH synthesis on PdCu(111) surfaces, especially on Pd ML, were facilitated and the yields of byproducts CO and CH4are suppressed, which corroborates well with experimental reports showing that Pd–Cu bimetallic catalysts have a strong synergistic effect on CO2hydrogenation to methanol. The present insights are helpful for the design and optimization of highly efficient Pd–Cu bimetallic catalysts used in CH3OH formation from CO2hydrogenation.

This study investigated the degree of humification of dissolved organic matter (DOM) during different periods of cattle manure composting using ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐vis) and fluorescence spectroscopy (emission, synchronous scan, and excitation–emission matrix) and determined which method is more suitable for analysis of the humification degree of DOM. Two composting piles were prepared by mixing manure and corn straw. One pile (Pile A [PA]) contained inoculated exogenous composite agents at a ratio of 2% (v/v), and a pile without the addition of inoculants (PNA) served as the control treatment. The results showed that ultraviolet integrated absorption intensities in the range of 226 to 400 nm and 260 to 280 nm and specific ultraviolet absorbances at 254 and 280 nm of both PA and PNA gradually increased with composting time. Based on the fluorescence regional integration analysis and parallel factor analysis, the humic‐like substances became the main components of the DOM after composting. Our study demonstrated that the humification degree of DOM was enhanced during composting and that the inoculation composite agent was beneficial for the humification of DOM at the mesophilic and thermophilic phases of the composting process. Moreover, the results of correlation analysis and principal component analysis demonstrated that the fluorescence spectral parameters evaluated the humification degree of DOM during the whole cattle manure composting process better than the UV‐vis spectral parameters. We assessed the humification degree of DOM during composting process using EEM‐PARAFAC‐FRI.The fluorescence parameter evaluated humification of DOM better than the UV‐vis parameter.Composite agent inoculation composting enhanced the humification degree of DOM.We analyzed the UV‐vis absorbance and fluorescence properties of DOM.Results confirm the correlation of spectral parameters of DOM based on HCA and PCA.

It is widely known that solvent engineering has a significant effect on the growth of high quality perovskite film. However, the crystal evolution process and crystal compositions of perovskite film when applying the two-step method are multifaceted, and the effects on the photoelectrical properties for the perovskite layer still require further study. In this study, the above two issues are systematically studied. Combining the XRD and photoluminescence spectra results, it was observed that the residual PbI2decreased with the increase of DMSO in DMSO/DMF solvents and that there were two types of local phase crystallites (disordered and ordered) in the perovskite films. The phase transitions of the crystals were investigated with the ratio of DMSO increasing in the mixed solvents. In addition, the interfacial defect states in the PbI2/perovskite interface which can act as charge carrier trapping centers were significantly affected by the photo(dark) conductivity of the perovskite film. It was also observed that the photoconductivity of the perovskite film with the DMSO 30%, which contains mixed-phase (ordered/disordered) crystals and trace amounts of PbI2, was higher than the film with DMSO 60%. Finally, a high power conversion efficiency of 16.5% with trace amounts of PbI2was achieved when the volume ratio of the DMSO was 30%.

The upgrading of heavy oil from Karamay using supercritical methanol (SC-MeOH) as a solvent was studied in a batch reaction. Through orthogonal experiments, the effects of the temperature, mass ratio of methanol to oil, reaction time, and agitation speed were investigated. The optimal reaction conditions, depending on the boiling range of light products such as maltenes and the yields of byproducts such as asphaltenes, were as follows: reaction temperature of 350 °C, reaction time of 60 min, stirring agitation of 900 rpm, and mass ratio of methanol to oil of 1:1. A simultaneous increase agitation speed would significantly reduce the condensation behavior. Analysis of the simulated distillation of maltenes indicated that the components with boiling points lower than 380 °C increased from 19 wt % in the raw material to 38 wt % in the maltenes products. The viscosity of light products decreased to 24.1 mPa·s. The FTIR of asphaltene results showed that the temperature has contradictory influence on upgrading of heavy oils. With increasing temperature, the degree of aromatic ring condensation increases and the lengths of aliphatic side chains decrease. High temperature can promote the breakage of alkyl side chains and condensation of aromatic rings. The TG-FTIR spectrum proves that SC-MeOH can participant in the reaction as a reactant. However, heteroatom O was introduced into the maltene molecules. All these results proved that SC-MeOH is an excellent solvent for oil pyrolysis. However, the quantity of light products should be improved, the secondary generation of asphaltenes removal needs to be restrained, and heteroatoms need more detailed research.

Axially heavy-loaded screw pairs are widely used in rolling mill press systems and other heavy equipment. During the working process, the nut is pressed at both ends, which causes equivalent stress at the thread roots in a U-shaped distribution along the height. Thread roots at the ends tend to suffer fracture failure when the equivalent stress is too great. In this article, the finite element software ANSYS is used to establish a 3D model of screw pairs and analyse bearing characteristics. A new structure based on the results of finite element analysis, which improves U-shaped stress distribution, is proposed for the axially uniform-loaded nut, with a different strain–displacement relationship between the nut matrix and the thread teeth. Such a relationship can greatly reduce peak stress at the thread roots of the nut on both ends. Experiments are conducted on the nut using the electrometric method. Results are compared with the finite element results to directly verify the reliability of the finite element model of ordinary screw pairs and indirectly verify the reliability of the structural model of new screw pairs.

AbstractIn this paper, we consider two innovative structured matrices, CUPL-Toeplitz matrix and CUPL-Hankel matrix. The inverses of CUPL-Toeplitz and CUPL-Hankel matrices can be expressed by the Gohberg-Heinig type formulas, and the stability of the inverse matrices is verified in terms of 1-, ∞- and 2-norms, respectively. In addition, two algorithms for the inverses of CUPL-Toeplitz and CUPL-Hankel matrices are given and examples are provided to verify the feasibility of these algorithms.

In the development of nanoenabled technologies for large-scale water treatment, immobilizing nanosized functional materials into the confined space of suitable substrates is one of the most effective strategies. However, the intrinsic effects of nanoconfinement on the decontamination performance of nanomaterials, particularly in terms of structural modulation, are rarely unveiled. Herein, we investigate the structure evolution and decontamination performance of iron (hydr)oxide nanoparticles, a widely used material for water treatment, when confined in track-etched (TE) membranes with channel sizes varying from 200 to 20 nm. Nanoconfinement drives phase transformation from ferrihydrite to goethite, rather than to hematite occurring in bulk systems, and the increase in the nanoconfinement degree from 200 to 20 nm leads to a significant drop in the fraction of the goethite phase within the aged products (from 41% to 0%). The nanoconfinement configuration is believed to greatly slow down the phase transformation kinetics, thereby preserving the specific adsorption of ferrihydrite toward As(V) even after 20-day aging at 343 K. This study unravels the structure evolution of confined iron hydroxide nanoparticles and provides new insights into the temporospatial effects of nanoconfinement on improving the water decontamination performance.

5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) was efficiently oxidized to produce 2, 5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) with air as the final oxidant at low temperature by transforming a liquid flow fuel cell equipped with an electro-deposition modified nickel foam anode to an easily controllable reactor. The HMF conversion reached 100% with 144.5 g L–1FDCA final concentration and 96% total yield.

Direct methanol fuel cells have the advantages of simple system, convenient operation, high conversion rate and low carbon emission, which are considered as the environmental and friendly energy conversion devices. However, the low activity, CO-tolerance and high cost of anode catalysts restrict the large-scale commercial applications. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to design and construct the anodic catalysts with high activity, stability and low cost for methanol oxidation reaction. In this work, the PtM/Nb2O5–C (M ​= ​Co, Sn, Ni) catalysts are synthesized by the ethylene glycol solvothermal method using transition metal oxide Nb2O5as the support. The catalytic performance of differentcatalysts is further evaluated for alkaline MOR. The results show that the introduction of Ni (existence in Ni2+and Ni3+) has the most obvious improvement for alkaline MOR performance. By adjusting the doped ratio of Pt:Ni, it is shown that PtNi/Nb2O5–C has the highest mass activity (3877.9 ​mA·mgPt−1), 12 times that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst. CV, LSV, Tafel and EIS analysis show that PtNi/Nb2O5–C has the lowest onset potential and charge transfer resistance, and the fastest electrocatalytic oxidation rate of methanol. CA tests show that the electrochemical stability is also significantly improved with the introduction of Nb2O5and Ni. Combined with the structural characterization and electrochemical tests, it was found that the evident electronic effect among Pt and Ni, Nb2O5and the hydroxyl brought from Ni species were mainly ascribed for enhancing the activity, CO resistance and stability of PtNi/Nb2O5–C.

Phase-change materials (PCMs) are promising thermal storage medium for thermal management due to their efficient thermal energy harvesting capabilities. However, the low thermal conductivity (TC) and poor shape stability of PCMs have hindered their practical applications. Construction of an interconnected three-dimensional (3D) heat-conductive structure is an effective way to build phonon conduits and provide PCM confinement. Phonon scattering at the interface is an unavoidable effect that undermines the TC improvement in the PCM composite and necessitates careful engineering. This study focuses on creating a highly thermally conductive 3D carbon-bonded graphite fiber (CBGF) network to enhance the TC of the PCM, with attention especially on thermal interface engineering considering both filler–matrix (F–M) and filler–filler (F–F) interfaces. The composite with an optimized proportion of F–M and F–F interface area achieves the highest TC of 45.48 W·m–1·K–1, which is 188.5 times higher than that of the pure PCM, and a high TC enhancement per volume fraction of the filler (TCEF) of 831% per 1 vol % loading. This also results in an enhanced spatial construction for PCM confinement during the phase change. The results emphasize the significance of interface engineering in creating high-TC and form-stable phase-change composites, providing insightful guidance for rational structural design.

Aiming at exploring the effect of surface composition on the catalytic activity by density functional theory, the adsorption and complete dehydrogenation mechanisms of H2O on five Pd–Cu (100) surfaces have been investigated. With regard to adsorption, it is found that the adsorption OH, O, and H on Pd–Cu0–4, Pd–Cu1–3, Pd–Cu2–2, Pd–Cu3–1, and Pd–Cu4–0surfaces are chemisorption and that of H2O may be considered as physisorption. Interestingly, it is revealed that the difference of Pd–Cu doping ratios has no effect on the adsorption configurations of all intermediates; nevertheless, it has an evident influence on the interaction between adsorbates and substrates. In addition, the energy pathways for the complete dehydrogenation of H2O on five Pd–Cu (100) surfaces are analyzed to explore the dissociation mechanisms. It is found that the doped Pd atoms on the first layer of Cu (100) surface are beneficial for the scission of H–O bond of H2O except for that on the Pd–Cu4–0and Pd–Cu3–1surfaces and can promote the scission of H–O bond of OH except for that on the Pd–Cu4–0surface. Compared with that on other Pd–Cu (100) surfaces, it can be proposed that the Pd–Cu2–2surface is the optimal surface for H2O dissociation in kinetic and thermodynamic aspects. Therefore, by way of regulating the doped ratios of metal surfaces, the activity and selectivity of catalysts may be modulated effectively.

AbstractThis study was conducted to analyse the biosorption of manganese(II) from aqueous solutions by rice husk ash (RHA) in a continuous packed column reactor. Different column parameters were used, such as influent Mn(II) concentration, bed height and flow rate. The results showed that the equilibrium adsorption (mg g−1) has increased after increasing the influent Mn(II) concentration but decreased when increasing the flow rate and the bed height. When the influent Mn(II) concentration was expanded from 5 to 20 mg l−1at a fixed bed height and flow rate, then Mn(II) uptake also expanded from 2.73 to 4.76 mg g−1. Similarly, by increasing the bed height from 7.5 to 22.5 cm and flow rate from 5 to 15 ml min−1, the adsorption capacity of Mn(II) decreased from 7.57 to 2.97 mg g−1and 3.61 to 1.90 mg g−1, respectively. In addition, several empirical models such as Adams–Bohart, Wolborska, Thomas and Yoon–Nelson models were used in this study to investigate the breakthrough curves in a simple way. The best fitting was obtained with Adams–Bohart and Wolborska models which showed high degree of fitting (r2 ≥ 0.82). So Bohart–Adams and Wolborska models were the most suitable to estimate breakthrough curves obtained under varying experimental conditions.

Present study was conducted to clarify soil pH and temperature influence on different atrazine bioremediation techniques. For this purpose, sodium citrate, Arthrobactorsp. strain DNS10, sawdust and animal manure were selected to clarify their atrazine remediation efficiency under pH 5, 7 and 9 and temperatures 20, 30 and 40°C, respectively. Results showed that atrazine remediation was generally optimized at pH 7 and 30°C for all the treatments except sodium citrate as soil treated with sawdust was not temperature dependant, but at pH 5 remediation process was determined slower. Atrazine remediation in soil with no additional amendment was only 34%, while in soil treated with sawdust, DNS10, sodium citrate and animal manure were 75.17%, 89%, 74.17% and 76.83% at optimized pH and temperature. Overall atazine removal rate was significantly (≥0.01) higher with increasing in temperature at all the selected pH.

The present study was conducted to see the short term impact of organic and inorganic fertilizers on soil microbial biomass both in spring and summer. Also aimed to observe the correlation between soil microbial biomass and soil DNA. The study concluded that type of fertilizer might alter the soil microbial biomass and DNA contents. In soil treated with organic fertilizers resulted in higher concentrations of microbial biomass and DNA contents in summer as compared to spring dute to increase in temperature. Correspondingly, in case of inorganic fertilizer, concentrations of soil microbial biomass and DNA detected higher in summer instead of spring. The statistical correlation between soil microbial biomass, DNA and ODR in spring and summer along with organic and inorganic fertilizers were calculated highly significant (p>0.01). This study demonstrated the impact of fertilizers and seasonal variations on soil microbial biomass and also revealed significant correlation between soil microbial biomass and soil DNA.

Speech emotion recognition has been a popular topic of affective computing. Accuracy in speech emotion recognition depends on selecting the optimal prototype. In this paper, a new 2-D emotional speech recognition model based on a fuzzy k-important nearest neighbour (FKINN) and neuro-fuzzy network is described. In the FKINN algorithm, an important nearest neighbour selection rule is introduced. The neuro-fuzzy network applies a bounded sum of weighted fuzzy membership functions (BSWFM). During the training process, BSWFM calculates the Takagi-Sugeno defuzzification values for the 2-D visual model. The emotional speech signals used in this work were obtained from the Berlin emotional speech database. The proposed new model achieves 83.5% overall classification accuracy with the 2-D emotional speech recognition model. The classification accuracies of anger, happiness, sadness, and neutral were 94.1%, 65.9%, 81.1%, and 87.5%, respectively.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a novel device with the function to produce energy and degrade organic materials. The characteristics and the catalytic activity of anodic electrochemically active bacteria are one of the key factors to affect MFC performance. This review summarized the enrichment, source, taxonomy, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and electricity production ability of electrochemically active bacteria.

A ceramic coating grows on the surface of Q235 carton steel in situ by the micro-arc oxidation method and the silicate electrolyte system; and the phase composition, surface topography and elementary composition of the ceramic coating are analyzed by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that the ceramic coating growing on the surface of Q235 carton steel in situ presents an irregular porous structure; and the electrolyte and the element in the basal body exist in the ceramic coating in the form of amorphous state. And then, the author degrades the rhodamine B solution by the home-made ceramic coating and H2O2 Fenton system, so that the degradation rate of the rhodamine B solution can reach 97%; and meanwhile, the degradation rate is not reduced along the increased using times.

Flatness of the face milled surface usually changes within a time of resignation after released from the fixture; and machining parameters have significance influence on the flatness of the milling surface. This paper studies the different machining parameters’ effects on the time-dependent flatness. The experiment was designed by Taguchi method. The experiment results reveal that the time-dependent flatness is influenced by machining parameter.