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The permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) has recently garnered significant interest due to its high efficiency, lightweight, and low life cycle cost, positioning it as a strong candidate for the next-generation traction system in railway applications. By comparing the widely used induction motor (IM) with the PMSM, this paper integrates the dynamic motor efficiency map, which plays a crucial role in energy saving, into the energy-efficient train control (EETC) problem. The paper adopts auxiliary variables and utilizes data transformation to perform double surface-fitting for highly nonlinear and non-convex dynamic efficiency. This transformation naturally distinguishes the train traction and braking operating states, further enhancing the solution accuracy of the EETC model. Results reveal that the proposed model, while maintaining high computational accuracy, can achieve millisecond-scale computation time, and the results are closer to the actual distribution of train operating points. Based on a real case analysis of Qingdao Metro Line, it was found that replacing the IM with PMSM as a traction motor does not require adjustments to the train operation control strategy, and the PMSM can save at least 1.01 kWh/km, achieving an energy-saving rate of 12.96%.

Purpose: Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography is a novel ultrasound technique, which can detect early subclinical myocardial dysfunction with high sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to explore the value of speckle tracking echocardiography in the evaluation of subclinical myocardial injury in patients with Cushing’s syndrome. Methods: 35 patients with Cushing’s syndrome and 29 healthy controls matched for age, sex, BMI, and systolic blood pressure were included in the study. All subjects were assessed using both conventional Doppler echocardiography and speckle tracking echocardiography. Among patients, they were further divided into inactive group (n = 7) and active group (n = 28) based on cortisol levels. Trend analysis was used among patients in different disease activity. Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were used to explore influence factors related to subclinical myocardial dysfunction. Results: Left ventricular ejection fraction value showed no statistical difference between patients Cushing’s syndrome and control group. However, GLS and LVSD, show significant differences in Cushing’s syndrome group. Also, among active Cushing’s syndrome group, inactive Cushing’s syndrome group and control group, GLS (−15.4 ± 3.0 vs −18.1 ± 3.1 vs-19.4 ± 2.4, P < 0001) and LVSD (48.9 ± 21.5 vs 43.5 ± 17.9 vs 28.5 ± 8.3, P < 0001) changed significantly with the disease activity status. In addition, GLS and LVSD were both linearly corrected with 24-hour urinary cortisol level. Conclusion: GLS and LVSD are sensitive parameters in detecting and monitoring subclinical myocardial systolic dysfunction in patients with Cushing’s syndrome. Myocardial injury is linearly correlated with cortisol level, which can be partially reversed after the biochemical control of cortisol.

A low-profile multiple linear-polarization (multi-LP) reconfigurable cavity-backed magneto-electric (ME)-dipole antenna is developed in this letter. The magnetic-dipole is realized by a TM$_{020}$-mode slotted substrate-integrated cavity, and the electric-dipole is the printed microstrip dipole coupled above the slotted cavity. By introducing a rotationally symmetrical configuration of ME-dipoles with switchable feeding networks, we have realized the reconfigurable multi-LP states for the cavity-based ME-dipole antenna. As a benefit of the dipole-loaded slotted cavity configuration, the antenna profile is only $0.09\lambda _{0}$, which is much lower than conventional reconfigurable ME-dipole antennas. The developed antenna is capable of switching eight LP states at a $22.5^{\circ }$ interval in real time by electronically controlling PIN diodes loaded on the slotted cavity. Measured results agree well with the simulated ones. At the center frequency of 5.04 GHz, a measured maximum gain of 4.46 dB is obtained for all polarization states. It is the first time to achieve simultaneous multi-LPs and low profile for ME-dipole antenna.

Lithiated Cu current collectors with a lean Li supply have been extensively explored as prospective composite anodes for constructing lithium metal batteries (LMBs) but suffer from low Coulombic efficiencies (CE) and uncontrollable dendrite growth. Herein, two hexaazanonaphthalene (HATN)-based compounds comprising rich conjugated aromatic rings and redox-active C═N groups are synthesized and exploited to modify the Cu surface for mediating smooth Li plating/stripping. Compared to the HATN compound interlinked through flexible sigma bonds, the one conjugated through dual sp2-carbon manifests a more rigid backbone, improved electric conductivity, and enhanced mesoporosity. As a result, Cu electrodes modified with the latter demonstrate enhanced CE and suppressed dendrites in both half and symmetric cells, apart from a stable operation over 250 cycles in the LiFePO4full cells with a capacity retention of 94.9% at 1 C. This study signifies the tailoring of intramolecular conjugation and chain configuration of lithiophilic macromolecules to facilitate reversible Li deposition on Cu for achieving high-performance LMBs.

Heat accumulation seriously affects the electro-optical conversion efficiency of high-power InGaN blue laser diodes (LDs). In this letter, diamond substrates metallized by direct plating copper (DPC) process were proposed to enhance the heat dissipation of high-power blue LDs. The thermal resistance of diamond substrate is only 0.665 K/W. The blue LDs packaged with diamond substrate achieve excellent optical and thermal performances. The electro-optical conversion efficiency of blue LDs packaged with diamond substrate reaches up to 44.1% at an operating current of 2.0 A, which is 17.6% and 16.1% higher than that of blue LDs packaged with AlN substrates (~37.5%) and SiC substrates (~38.0%), respectively. Under a high current of 4.0 A, the surface temperature of blue LDs packaged with diamond substrate is only 79.9°C at a maximum light power of 7.4 W, which was verified by simulation and experiments. It can be seen that the diamond substrate packaging is an efficient approach to enhance heat dissipation of high-power devices.

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Dirac semimetals have demonstrated significant attraction in the field of optoelectronics due to their unique bandgap structure and high carrier mobility. Combining them with classical semiconductor materials to form heterojunctions enables broadband optoelectronic conversion at room temperature. However, the low light absorption of layered Dirac semimetals substantially limits the device’s responsivity in the infrared band. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) heterostructure, composed of silicon nanopillars (SiNPs) and a conformal PtTe2film, is proposed and demonstrated to enhance the photoresponsivity for uncooled broadband detection. The light trapping effect in the 3D heterostructure efficiently promotes the interaction between light and PtTe2, while also enhancing the light absorption efficiency of silicon, which enables the enhancement of the device responsivity across a broadband spectrum. Experimentally, the PtTe2-SiNPs heterojunction device demonstrates excellent photoelectric conversion behavior across the visible, near-infrared, and long-wave infrared (LWIR) bands, with its responsivity demonstrating an order-of-magnitude improvement compared to the counterparts with planar silicon heterojunctions. Under 11 µm laser irradiation, the noise equivalent power (NEP) can reach 1.76 nW·Hz–1/2(@1 kHz). These findings offer a strategic approach to the design and fabrication of high-performance broadband photodetectors based on Dirac semimetals.

Converting CO2to value-added chemicals through a photoelectrochemical (PEC) system is a creative approach toward renewable energy utilization and storage. However, the rational design of appropriate catalysts while being effectively integrated with semiconductor photoelectrodes remains a considerable challenge for achieving single-carbon products with high efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate a novel sulfidation-induced strategy for in situgrown sulfide-derived Ag nanowires on a Si photocathode (denoted as SD-Ag/Si) based on the standard crystalline Si solar cells. Such an exquisite design of the SD-Ag/Si photocathode not only provides a large electrochemically active surface area but also endows abundant active sites of Ag2S/Ag interfaces and high-index Ag facets for PEC CO production. The optimized SD-Ag/Si photocathode displays an ideal CO Faradic efficiency of 95.2% and an onset potential of +0.26 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, ascribed to the sulfidation-induced synergistic effect of the surface atomic arrangement and electronic structure in Ag catalysts that promote charge transfer, facilitate CO2adsorption and activation, and suppress hydrogen evolution reaction. This sulfidation-induced strategy represents a scalable approach for designing high-performance catalysts for electrochemical and PEC devices with efficient CO2utilization.

Implementing the synergistic effects between the metal and the ligand has successfully streamlined the energetics for CO2activation and gained high catalytic activities, establishing the important breakthroughs in photocatalytic CO2reduction. Herein, we describe a Ni(II) N-confused porphyrin complex (NiNCP) featuring an acidic N–H group. It is readily deprotonated and exists in an anion form during catalysis. Owing to this functional site, NiNCPgave rise to an outstanding turnover number (TON) as high as 217,000 with a 98% selectivity for CO2reduction to CO, while the parent Ni(II) porphyrin (NiTPP) was found to be nearly inactive. Our mechanistic analysis revealed a nonclassical reaction pattern where CO2was effectively activated via the attack of the Lewis-basic ligand. The resulting ligand-bound CO2adduct could be further reduced to produce CO. This new metal–ligand synergistic effect is anticipated to inspire the design of highly active catalysts for small molecule activations.

We constructed a new ab initio potential energy surface (PES) for CO–N2O which includes the intramolecular Q3normal coordinate for the N2O ν3antisymmetric stretching vibration. The intermolecular potential was evaluated employing the supermolecular method at the [CCSD(T)]-F12a level, with the aug-cc-pVTZ basis set plus bond functions. By integral over the intramolecular Q3coordinate, we obtained the vibrationally averaged PESs for the CO–N2O system in the ground and ν3excited states of N2O. Each PES features one nearly T-shaped global minimum and one skewed T-shaped local minimum. Based on these obtained PESs of CO–N2O, the radial discrete variable representation/angle finite base representation method and the Lanczos algorithm were applied for the calculations of bound states and rovibrational energy levels. The calculated ν3vibrational band origin shift of the N2O monomer in CO–N2O is 2.7570 cm–1, matching well with the observed value of 2.9048 cm–1. The computed microwave and infrared transition frequencies, as well as the rotational parameters, are consistent with the experimental observations.

ABSTRACT Heterogeneous constitutive properties across the welded zone affect the accuracy of the simulation of the fracture and large plastic deformation of the welded steel joints. Neglecting the heterogeneous nature [...]

This communication introduces a new approach to achieve symmetrical array patterns using only phase adjustments in a Chebyshev-phase framework, employing a particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique known as PC-PSO. The initial phase setup, taken from the Catenary function, acts as the fundamental phase for adjusting phases. This helps in stopping the optimization process from getting stuck in local best solutions. Afterward, the phase adjustments are made in a lower-dimensional space using even-order Chebyshev polynomials, focusing on the coefficients of these polynomials for optimization. This method not only reduces the number of factors involved and speeds up the optimization but also achieves precise pattern shaping. To showcase its effectiveness, three examples involving linear and circular planar arrays were examined, confirming the advantages of this approach.

In this communication, an electrochromic antenna with wideband and high gain is designed, fabricated and measured. Herein, an hydrochloric (HCl)-doped polyaniline (PANI) porous film with excellent infrared (IR) regulation ability is fabricated via in situ electrochemical deposition on an Au substrate, which can realize modulation of emissivity in the range of 0.835–0.455 ( $\Delta \varepsilon = 0.38$ ) and 0.773–0.420 ( $\Delta \varepsilon = 0.353$ ) in the range of 8– $14~\mu \text{m}$ and 2.5– $25~\mu \text{m}$ , respectively. Furthermore, in order to eliminate the high shielding of electromagnetic wave due to Au layers, we have innovatively structured the electrochromic material and treated it as part of the partially reflective surface (PRS). The measured results show that the electrochromic antenna exhibits a good impedance matching over a frequency of 9.35–12 GHz with a peak gain of 15.03 dBi. The 3-dB gain bandwidth can reach 13.9% (from 9.4 to 10.8 GHz). Also, the proposed antenna can change its color between yellow and dark green by electrical control in the digital imaging system and adjust IR radiation in the thermal imaging system. The developed electrochromic antenna may serve as a good candidate for multispectral camouflage or intelligent IR thermal management applications.

In this letter, a laser-driven white light source with high luminescence saturation was fabricated by combining blue laser chips and an Al2O3-doped reflective color converter. The reflective converter was prepared by printing and sintering an Al2O3-doped phosphor-in-glass (PiG) film on an AlN substrate. The Al2O3-PiG film with intact crystal structure of YAG phosphor is robustly bonded on the substrate. The optical and thermal performances of Al2O3-PiG based phosphor-converted white laser diodes (pc-WLDs) were optimized with different Al2O3 contents. The pc-WLD achieves a maximum saturation threshold of 25.2 W/mm2 and a high luminous flux of 2138 lm (luminance of 1260 Mcd $\cdot \text{m}^{-{2}}{)}$ . The working temperature of 6%-Al2O3-PiG is only 88.4°C, which is reduced by 33.5% compared with that of Al2O3-free-PiG. The fabricated small pc-WLD device has high-luminance white light, excellent collimation, and long illumination distance, which is a promising light source for high-brightness lighting.

Radio spectrum prediction is an important task for dynamic spectrum management and spectrum congestion mitigation. However, due to the complexity and spatiotemporal variability of spectrum data, spectrum prediction has always been a challenging problem. To improve prediction accuracy, this paper proposes a multi-band spectrum prediction method based on attention graph convolutional recurrent neural networks (A-GCRNN), which applies temporal correlation and frequency band correlation to spectrum prediction tasks. This method represents the spectrum data of multiple bands as a graph, with each band corresponding to a node in the graph, and utilizes graph convolutional networks (GCNs) to learn the correlations between different bands. Then, a gated recurrent unit (GRU) network is employed to capture temporal correlations for each band, thereby fusing the acquired feature information to predict the future spectrum of each frequency band. In addition, an attention network is used to weight the output hidden states and further enhance the model's convergence rate. We conduct experiments on a real-world spectrum dataset and compare our method with other spectrum prediction methods. The results demonstrate that our approach achieves better performance in multi-band spectrum prediction tasks.

Phosphor-in-glass film (PiGF) has been considered as a credible color converter in laser-driven white lighting. However, the PiGF confronts the inevitable roadblock of low light extraction efficiency, serious backward scattering, and low saturation threshold in transmissive configuration. In this work, a unique reflection design of heat-conducting PiGF-B converter was proposed for high-quality laser-driven white lighting. The PiGF-B converters with different film thicknesses and side lengths were excited by a blue laser diode (LD) and their optothermal performance was evaluated and compared with the traditional PiGF-T converter. Attributing to the backward emission light collection of mirror Al reflection cup and the high thermal conductivity of sapphire heat sink, the saturation power density and luminous flux threshold of PiGF-B-5 converter are 1925.3 lm and 15 W/mm2, which are over two times higher than the traditional PiGF-T-5 converter of 398.6 lm and 6 W/mm2, respectively. Furthermore, the PiGF-B-5 converter displays better correlated color temperature (CCT) and thermal stability even under higher power laser excitation. The results demonstrate that the PiGF-B converter provides an effective strategy for enabling high-quality laser-driven white lighting.

Citrus fruits have a prominent position among the tree fruits and are extensively grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Citrus is a perennial fruit crop that is highly nutrient-responsive and requires appropriate nutrition for optimum growth and development. The transition from conventional chemicals to biofertilizer (organic) sources is gaining popularity these days. This study aimed to assess the effects of different organic and synthetic fertilizer doses on the yield and quality of 10-year-old ‘Kinnow’ mandarin trees (grafted on ‘Rough lemon’) for three consecutive seasons: 2015–2016, 2016–2017, and 2017–2018. Six different formulations of fertilizers were used in this study, i.e., farmyard manure (FYM), humic acid (HA), and inorganic fertilizers (NPK). As a source of nitrogen, we used calcium ammonium nitrate for phosphorous (single superphosphate, SSP) and sulphate of potash (SOP) were used. The recommended dosage of organic and inorganic fertilizers was used during the experiment, namely T1 (50 Kg/plant FYM + 1000:500:500 g/plant NPK); T2 (60 Kg/plant FYM + 750:375:375 g/plant NPK); T3 (70 Kg/plant FYM + 500:250:250 g/plant NPK); T4 (150 g/plant HA + 1000:500:500 g/plant NPK); T5 (200 g/plant HA + 750:375:375 g/plant NPK) and T6 (250 g/plant humic acid + 50% Basic dose of NPK). According to the results, T2 fertilizer significantly enhanced plant growth, canopy volume, and plant spread. Moreover fruit yield (55, 52, 54 g) was improved in T2 treatment for 3 consecutive years compared to the other treatments. The better fruit size (65, 67, 65 mm) and juice percentage (40, 45, 41%) remained substantially higher and increased in T2 compared to other tested treatments. The research findings exhibited that orchard nutrition management notably affected tree growth and productivity. The combination of a large quantity of organic (FYM) with a lower level of inorganic fertilizer showed significantly better plant growth and yield than other combinations. In the future, these doses should be advised for mandarins in the field conditions in order to improve yield and fruit quality.

SR-like CTD-associated factor 8 (SCAF8) can regulate transcriptional termination, but the function of circSCAF8 remains unclear. In our study, we observed a significant increase in circSCAF8 expression in gastric cancer, particularly in tissues with lymph node metastasis. The Kaplan-Meier curve revealed that high circSCAF8 expression was associated with a low overall survival time in gastric cancer patients. Moreover, circSCAF8 shRNA effectively decreased gastric cancer proliferation, invasion, and migration in vitro. Additionally, using bioluminescence imaging (BLI) technology in vivo, we found that circSCAF8 shRNA viruses inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors and gastric cancer lung metastasis. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and circRNA pulldown assays confirmed the direct binding of circSCAF8 to miR-1293, but circSCAF8 could not regulate the expression of miR-1293 in gastric cancer. Interestingly, circSCAF8 regulated the downstream gene tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1) of miR-1293, and this observation was further verified in gastric cancer tissues. Moreover, we confirmed that miR-1293 directly suppressed TIMP1 expression. Subsequent rescue experiments revealed that TIMP1 overexpression reversed the impact of circSCAF8 shRNA viruses on gastric cancer. In conclusion, circSCAF8 expression was elevated in gastric cancer, and circSCAF8 shRNA viruses inhibited gastric cancer growth and metastasis by upregulating TIMP1 expression via miR-1293.

Consumer demand for low-carbon products is primarily met through a green supply chain network involving manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. The manufacturers' choice between online and offline channels is influenced by consumers' varying degrees of low-carbon preferences, necessitating comprehensive considerations of factors such as product quality and sales prices. This study advances the existing product demand analysis in the manufacturer's secondary supply chain network by innovatively conducting systematic modelling and algorithmic solutions for the manufacturer's dual-channel selection under different consumer low-carbon preferences. The simulations, facilitated by MATLAB tools, reveal that consumers' low-carbon preferences tend to strengthen over time, prompting manufacturers to prefer online channel strategies.

Phosphor-in-glass film (PiGF)-based phosphor-converted white laser diode (pc-WLD) is regarded as a potential high-brightness white lighting source. For reflective PiGF converters, the optothermal performances are particularly related to heat dissipation efficiency, mainly depend on the heat-conducting substrate and extra heat dissipation method. In this article, we prepared PiGF-Al2O3 substrate (PiGF-AS) converters by coating and sintering LSN:Ce phosphor glass film directly on Al2O3 substrates to slash thermal conduction resistance. The other factors that significantly impact heat dissipation efficiency—substrate size (area and thickness) and the presence or absence of heat sink—are extensively evaluated in the PiGF-AS-based pc-WLD. It is delightful to find that both the optical performance and reliability of PiGF-AS could be improved by expanding the substrate area, increasing substrate thickness, and combining the heat sink. The PiGF-AS achieves a maximum luminous flux (LF) of 1564 lm under a laser power density of 12.36 W/mm2. The PiGF-AS-based pc-WLD with $5\times 5\times0.5$ mm3 Al2O3 substrate realizes cool white lighting with a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 4918 K and a chromaticity coordinate of (0.3440, 0.3592). Furthermore, the working temperature of PiGF-AS is reduced by the heat sink from 218 °C to 58.3 °C (~73.1%) under a 3.18-W/mm2 laser. The results show that the prepared PiGF-AS-based pc-WLD shows excellent optothermal performances and great potential in white laser lighting. Meanwhile, this work provides a reference for the high heat-dissipation packaging design of PiGF-based pc-WLD.

Herein, luminescence-tunable white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) with enhanced color quality were fabricated by cone-shape multi-color phosphor-in-glasses (PiGs) with 3D ceramic substrate. The optical performance of WLEDs was studied by adjusting the red film thickness of PiG and the cavity depth of ceramic substrate. As the cavity depth increases from 1 to 1.3 mm, the luminous efficiency (LE) and correlated color temperature (CCT) increase first and then decrease. The LE and CCT decrease with the increase of red film thickness. Besides, the WLEDs packaged by varied cavity depth and red phosphor thickness all achieve a CRI of above 80. The PiG3-WLED gains a CCT deviation of 243 K, which improve 90.4% and 71.2% than that of PiG1-WLED and PiG2-WLED, respectively. The results demonstrate that the proposed WLEDs can achieve high color uniformity and good CRI with tunable luminescence.

We propose a novel generalization of constrained Markov decision processes (CMDPs) that we call the semi-infinitely constrained Markov decision process (SICMDP). Particularly, we consider a continuum of constraints instead of a finite number of constraints as in the case of ordinary CMDPs. We also devise two reinforcement learning algorithms for SICMDPs that we refer to as SI-CMBRL and SI-CPO. SI-CMBRL is a model-based reinforcement learning algorithm. Given an estimate of the transition model, we first transform the reinforcement learning problem into a linear semi-infinitely programming (LSIP) problem and then use the dual exchange method in the LSIP literature to solve it. SI-CPO is a policy optimization algorithm. Borrowing ideas from the cooperative stochastic approximation approach, we make alternative updates to the policy parameters to maximize the reward or minimize the cost. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to apply tools from semi-infinitely programming (SIP) to solve constrained reinforcement learning problems. We present theoretical analysis for SI-CMBRL and SI-CPO, identifying their iteration complexity and sample complexity. We also conduct extensive numerical experiments to illustrate the SICMDP model and demonstrate that our proposed algorithms are able to solve complex control tasks leveraging modern deep reinforcement learning techniques.

A novel method is presented to efficiently synthesize circular flat-top patterns with circular planar arrays, employing dimensionality reduction techniques. Considering the symmetry of the circular planar array geometry, we define the distance from each element to the array geometric center as the independent variable, then expand the excitation distribution using the even-order polynomials of a single Chebyshev polynomials. With the help of such polynomial expansion, we can synthesize pattern by solving polynomial coefficients instead of directly solving array excitation distribution, significantly reducing the number of optimization variables by over 98% compared with the number of array elements, which effectively converts a high-dimensional problem into a more manageable low-dimensional one. Two synthesis examples involving circular planar arrays with equispaced and nonequispaced elements are conducted to validate the effectiveness and advantages of our proposed method.

In the context of modern retail and mobile e-commerce, the buy online and pick-up in store (BOPS) model offers a promising opportunity to boost profits by seamlessly integrating online and in-store shopping resources in the omni-channel supply chain. This study employs the Stackelberg game model to optimise strategies and contracts for manufacturers and retailers in both online and traditional in-store shopping markets. This is the first innovative analysis of the impact of revenue-sharing contracts on the profit returns of different entities in the omni-channel supply chain. By incentivising BOPS operations through revenue-sharing contracts, this approach protects traditional in-store shopping while capitalising on the advantages of online and in-store integration to enhance profitability. The results of the system simulation and the numerical validation show that revenue-sharing contracts outperform traditional wholesale price contracts, achieving Pareto optimisation and creating a win-win situation for all stakeholders who are involved in the omni-channel supply chain.

This letter proposes a novel technique to produce desired circularly polarized (CP) pencil beams at entire working frequency band for ultrawideband (UWB) planar array while suppressing grating lobes in pencil beams at high-frequency band. The approach is based on a ${\text {2}}\times {\text {2}}$ irregular sequential rotated subarray (ISRS) configuration, using UWB linearly polarized elements. The synthesis procedure involves optimizing initial element rotation angle of each ISRS, while ensuring that the rotation interval of $\pi /2$ is still maintained between neighboring elements of each subarray. The phase term applied to the array elements is determined by the contribution of the phase associated with rotation. The proposed technique suppresses grating lobes in the obtained patterns at high-frequency band more effectively than the sequential rotation technique (SRT) while maintaining a simple sequential phase feeding network compared with the random SRT. Finally, one typical case of synthesizing pencil beam with a planar rotated Vivaldi array is presented to confirm the benefits of the proposed technique.

In order to reveal the evolution process of durability performance of anti-slide piles under the coupling action of long-term thrust loading and sulfate ions attack, a test system of cantilever anti-slide piles under the coupling action of thrust loading and sodium sulfate solution attack was constructed, the indoor physical model test of the bearing characteristics of cantilever anti-slide piles under the sodium sulfate solution attack was carried out, and the evolution laws of the bearing characteristics, internal force, deformation of cantilever anti-slide piles under the coupling action of long-term thrust loading and sulfate ion attack were revealed. The residual bearing capacity of cantilevered anti-slide piles exposed to Na2SO4solution attack showed a quadratic parabolic trend of rising first and then falling, and the growth rate of residual bearing capacity of anti-slide piles in the early stage of erosion and the deterioration rate in the later stage of erosion are positively correlated with the concentration of sodium sulfate solution. The bending moment in the direction of pile length of cantilever anti-slide piles exposed to sulfate attack environment is concentrated in the range of 30 cm above the sliding surface (0.25L) to 20 cm below the sliding surface (0.15L); the peak bending moment is located near the sliding surface, and the failure bending moment of cantilever anti-slide piles is negatively correlated with the concentration of Na2SO4solution and erosion age. With the increase in Na2SO4solution concentration and the extension of erosion age, the crack distribution range in the model piles becomes wider and wider, the number of cracks in the model piles gradually decreased, and the average spacing between cracks and the maximum crack width significantly increased. The research results have important scientific guiding significance and practical value for the durability evaluation of cantilever anti-slide piles exposed to sulfate ion attack.

ABSTRACT The digital image correlation (DIC) method has become popular to characterize the local constitutive properties distribution especially for the welded joints. Although the evaluation of the local constitutive properties [...]

For developing countries, the progress of urbanization will bring certain water pollution problems, and the treatment of industrial wastewater is more difficult. Aiming at the treatment of inorganic salt industrial wastewater containing chloride ions, a kind of strong alkali type anionic resin with bicarbonate radical free group and weak acid type cationic resin with large pore based on sodium bicarbonate solution is designed. A set of chloride ion inorganic salt purification method based on this material is designed. The laboratory findings denote that the maximum time of the improved salt solution resin, reverse osmosis membrane method and multi-stage contact oxidation process in the pH range of 6.5~8.5 is 150, 120 and 110 min, respectively. When the chloride ion concentration of the original wastewater is greater than 0.04 mol/L, the qualified rate of the effluent by the designed method is higher than that of all the compared processes. When the unit bed is less than 80, the average chloride ion concentration of the designed method, reverse osmosis membrane method and multi-stage contact oxidation are 47, 92 and 78 mg/L, respectively. From the experimental data that the process of alkaline salt solution resin designed based on this study is stronger than the commonly used methods in the market in terms of chloride ion inorganic salt purification capacity of wastewater, and the water purification capacity is longer.

Compact components are prone to failure at brazed joints. To ensure the reliability of brazed joints, it is vital to have a comprehensive understanding of the fracture mechanism of brazed joints which can be attributed to highly inhomogeneous microstructures and individual phase mechanical properties. This study measured the stress-strain curve of brazed joint micro-zone of 316L austenitic stainless steel with the BNi-2 filler alloy by a tensile testing machine equipped with a CCD camera. The instrumented indentation technique was used to determine the flow properties of individual phases in joints considering the size effect. Representative volume element (RVE) technology was applied to simulate the mechanical behavior of brazed joints, which was in good agreement with the tested. The fracture of brazed joints can be divided into ductile fracture and brittle fracture which includes the decohesion of the interface between the boride and the austenite matrix and the fragmentation of the boride in terms of the analysis of the morphology of cross-section and fracture surface in brazed joints. According to the stress and strain distribution in the brazing micro-zone, the plastic strain localization cause decohesion, and the stress concentration along the loading direction cause boride fragmentation.

Li-CO2batteries that integrate energy storage with greenhouse gas fixation have received a great deal of attention in the pursuit of carbon neutrality. However, cyclic accumulation of the insulative and insoluble Li2CO3on the cathode surface severely restrains the battery cyclability, especially under a high depth of discharge/charge. Herein, we design and fabricate a microreactor-type catalyst by embedding Ru nanoparticles into the shells of mesoporous hollow carbon spheres. We show that both the hollow cavity and mesoporous shell are indispensable for concertedly furnishing a high activity to catalyze reversible Li2CO3formation/decomposition. This unique structure ensures that the Ru sites masked by exterior Li2CO3deposits during charging can resume the redox process of discharge by working with the prestored electrolyte to establish an inner reaction path. The thus fabricated Li-CO2batteries demonstrate remarkable cyclability of 1085 cycles under 0.5 Ah g–1and 326 cycles under 2 Ah g–1at 1 A g–1, outshining most of the literature reports. This study highlights a smart catalyst design to boost the reversibility and cyclability of Li-CO2batteries through an “in & out” strategy.

Deep-ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (DUV-LEDs) show wide applications in sterilization and disinfection, air and water purification, and biochemical detection. However, the light efficiency of DUV-LEDs is greatly affected by the chip-bonding material and technology. In this work, we investigated the inveracious enhancement effect of light efficiency in solder paste-bonded DUV-LEDs. The DUV-LEDs were packaged with different usage amounts of Sn-based solder pastes for chip bonding. The light output powers of these solder paste-bonded DUV-LEDs have remarkable rise after 48-h lighting time, and their maintenance rates increase to 104.9%, 112.3%, and 126.8% for the DUV-LED-S1, DUV-LED-S2, and DUV-LED-S3, respectively. Furthermore, under a UV + cleaning treatment, the DUV-LED-S1, DUV-LED-S2, and DUV-LED-S3 enable the higher light efficiency enhancement of 2.5%, 16.4%, and 39.3%, respectively, owing to the efficient removal of organic film on chip surface and the elimination of light loss influence. The UV + cleaning treated DUV-LED-S3 displays higher light output power than the untreated DUV-LED-S3 under various lighting times. The results indicate that the inveracious enhancement effect of light efficiency could be efficiently avoided by the UV + cleaning treatment. Our work opens a meaningful guidance and solution for the inveracious light efficiency enhancement effect of DUV-LEDs in solder paste packaging.

As the heat flux of high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) drastically rises, the chip junction temperature rises, which has a significantly negative impact on the longevity and dependability of LEDs. This work proposed a compact ceramic substrate integrated with a microchannel for heat dissipation enhancement of high-power LEDs. A set of copper tubes were closely arranged and directly bonded on the copper layer of ceramic substrate to form the microchannel, which combined the advantages of high integration and reliability. The compact ceramic substrate microchannel (CSM) was successfully applied to high-power LEDs with multichip module packaging. The working temperatures of these CSM-packaged LEDs under various currents were studied by thermal simulation and experiment and compared with the traditional fin-cooling (FC) packaged LEDs. The CSM maintains the LEDs with low working temperature even at a driving current of 3 A, and a maximum heat flux reaches 405.5 W/cm2. The CSM reduces the working temperature of LEDs from 206 °C to 63.5 °C with a decrease rate of 69.2%. Meanwhile, the light output power of LEDs is increased by 62.13% from 8.53 to 13.83 W. The results demonstrate that the ceramic substrate with integrated microchannel can significantly improve the heat dissipation of high-power LEDs.

ABSTRACT Stainless steel has significant potential in high-durability structural applications owing to its superior corrosion resistance. However, efficient fastener connections similar to slip-resistant connections are lacking in stainless steel structures. [...]

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Background: Dysphagia is a common problem that can seriously affect the health of elderly residents in long-term care facilities. Early identification and targeted measures can significantly reduce the incidence of dysphagia. Aim: This study aims to establish a nomogram to evaluate the risk of dysphagia for elderly residents in long-term care facilities. Methods: A total of 409 older adults were included in the development set, and 109 were included in the validation set. Least absolute shrinkage selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to select the predictor variables, and logistic regression was used to establish the prediction model. The nomogram was constructed based on the results of logistic regression. The performance of the nomogram was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Internal validation was performed using tenfold cross-validation with 1000 iterations. Results: The predictive nomogram included the following variables: stroke, sputum suction history (within one year), Barthel Index (BI), nutrition status, and texture-modified food. The area under the curve (AUC) for the model was 0.800; the AUC value for the internal validation set was 0.791, and the AUC value for the external validation set was 0.824. The nomogram showed good calibration in both the development set and validation set. Decision curve analysis (DCA) demonstrated that the nomogram was clinically valuable. Discussion: This predictive nomogram provides a practical tool for predicting dysphagia. The variables included in this nomogram were easy to assess. Conclusions: The nomogram may help long-term care facility staff identify older adults at high risk for dysphagia.

Background:: Hyaluronic acid dermal fillers are composed of cross-linked viscoelastic particles with high biocompatibility. The performance of the fillers is determined by the viscoelastic properties of particles and the connecting force between particles. However, the relationships among the properties of fillers, the interaction of the gels and the surrounding tissue are not clear enough. Method:: Four kinds of typical dermal filler were selected in this research to reveal the interaction between the gels and cells. A series of analytical tools was applied to characterize the structure and physicochemical properties of the gel, as well as observing their interaction with the surrounding tissues in vivo and discussing their internal mechanism. Result:: The large particles internal the gel and the high rheological properties endow the Restylane2 with excellent support. However, these large-size particles have a significant impact on the metabolism of the local tissue surrounding the gel. Juvéderm3 present gel integrity with the high cohesiveness and superior support. The rational matching of large and small particles provides the Juvéderm3 with supporting capacity and excellent biological performance. Ifresh is characterized by small-size particles, moderate cohesiveness, good integrity, lower viscoelasticity and the superior cellular activity located the surrounding tissues. Cryohyaluron has high cohesion and medium particle size and it is prominent in cell behaviors involving localized tissues. Specific macroporous structure in the gel may facilitate the nutrients delivering and removing the waste. Conclusion:: It’s necessary to make the filler both sufficient support and biocompatibility through the rational matching of particle sizes and rheological properties. Gels with macroporous structured particle showed an advantage in this area by providing a space inside the particle.

•This study compares lecture-based learning (LBL), case and problem-based learning (CPBL), and simulation-based learning (SBL) combined with CPBL teaching mode and explores the influence of each teaching mode on the subjective and objective evaluation of students.•This study uses SBL combined with CPBL teaching mode as a bridge between theory and practice, and applies simulated operations to promote the mastery of theoretical knowledge.•The simulated surgical operation of the bone-like model can promote spatial thinking ability and provide more opportunities for surgical operation in the clinical teaching of joint surgery.

Oxygen evolution reaction(OER) plays a key role in the electrochemical conversion and storage processes, but the sluggish kinetics of OER strongly impedes its large-scale applications. We herein reported the in situgrowth of Fe-benzenedicarboxylate(Fe-BDC) on Co(OH)2nanoplates[Fe-BDC/Co(OH)2] that showed remarkably enhanced OER activity than the pristine Co(OH)2. The incorporation of Fe species could enhance the intrinsic OER activity of Co and BDC could increase the electrochemically active surface area(ECSA), thus resulting in dramatically enhanced OER activity. In situRaman spectroscopy characterization disclosed that Fe-CoOOH reconstructed from Fe-BDC/Co(OH)2was the real active site for OER. This work highlights the significance of rational tailoring of the nanostructure and electronic structure of Co(OH)2and provides more opportunities for its widespread applications.

Objective: To observe the effect of moxibustion on behaviors and related products of tryptophan (Trp) metabolism in the colon of mice with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and to explore the mechanism of moxibustion in the IBS treatment. Methods: Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, a moxibustion group, and a probiotic group, with 6 mice in each group. The visceral pain model of IBS was established by enema with 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) solution. Mice in the moxibustion group were treated with mild moxibustion at bilateral Zusanli (ST36), and those in the probiotic group were treated with probiotics such as Bifidobacteriumby gavage. Abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR) test, elevated plus-maze (EPM) test, and forced swimming test (FST) were performed after treatment. The expression levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) in the colon were detected by immunofluorescence, and the expression levels of Trp, kynurenine (Kyn), and indole-2,3-oxygenase (IDO) in the colon were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Compared with the normal group, the AWR scores were increased significantly in the model group under different pressure values (P<0.01), the open-arm staying time and open-arm entries in the EPM test were decreased significantly (P<0.01, P<0.05), the motionless time in the FST was increased significantly (P<0.01), and the expression levels of colonic Trp, TPH1, IDO, 5-HT, and Kyn were increased significantly (P<0.01) in the models. Compared with the model group, the AWR scores were differently decreased (P<0.05 or P<0.01), the open-arm entries in the EPM test were increased (P<0.05), the motionless times in the FST were decreased (P<0.05), and the colonic expression levels of Trp, TPH1, IDO, and 5-HT were decreased (P<0.01 or P<0.05) in the moxibustion and probiotic groups; the open-arm staying time was significantly increased in the moxibustion group (P<0.01), and the colonic expression level of Kyn was significantly decreased in the probiotic group (P<0.01). Conclusion: Moxibustion at Zusanli (ST36) improves visceral pain and pain mood and down-regulates the expression levels of colonic TPH1, IDO, Trp, 5-HT, and Kyn in IBS mice.

As a pure combustible gas with a high calorific value, methane has long been favored, and that is why the CO2methanation reaction is attracting more and more attention. However, it is still challenging for this reaction due to the chemical inertness of CO2molecules, poor reaction efficiency at low temperatures, catalyst sintering at high temperatures, and carbon monoxide toxicity. Herein, the ammonia evaporation method was utilized to synthesize a series of Zn-modified Ni/SiO2catalysts with high surface area and high dispersity of active metals. The 80Ni-Zn/SiO2catalyst with an appropriate Ni/Zn molar ratio of 80:1 exhibited a high-performance breakthrough with a CO2conversion greater than 80% at 300 °C, good stability for 40 h at 310 °C, and a gas hourly space velocity of 18,000 mL·g–1·h–1. These catalysts were further characterized by using a series of methods like in situdiffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy to investigate the structural properties and potential reaction pathways. The effect of the Zn promoter on the Ni/SiO2catalyst for CO2methanation has been well investigated, namely, improving Ni dispersion and enhancing the H2adsorption. The findings demonstrate the broad availability, affordability, and remarkable high-performance practicability of the raw ingredients for the production of Ni-based catalysts for commercial applications.

Advanced lens fabricating techniques are urgently required for the development of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) packaging, due to the traditional LED lenses molding possesses presents many disadvantages like high cost, long-fabrication period, less compactness and low accuracy. The current study demonstrated the fabrication of lenses with transparent resin utilizing stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing. The SLA 3D printing parameters were optimized to accurately regulate the spheric and ellipsoidal lenses with the smooth surface and the acceptable transmittance. The illuminances, lighting efficiency (LE) and lighting distribution curves of the SLA-fabricated lens packaged WLEDs highly depended on the lens structure. The WLEDs with lower lens height exhibited more intense lighting energy density, higher LE and wider light output angle. SLA 3D printing offers a flexible approach of fabricating WLED lens, which provides a novel technical route for WLEDs to meet different lighting requirements.

The integrated CO2capture and conversion process to syngas viadry reforming of C3H8with little intensive energy swing was carried out over the bifunctional Pt/ZrO2–CaO catalysts. The bifunctional catalyst consists of Pt as the dry reforming catalyst and ZrO2–CaO as the CO2adsorbent and support. The effects of the Zr/Ca ratio in the catalysts on the integrated CO2capture and conversion process were studied. The results revealed that the Pt/ZrO2–5CaO catalyst could capture 10.3 mmol CO2g−1and convert it to CO completely at a conversion temperature of 600 °C, and in this integrated process, 77% of C3H8was reformed with CO2, and 23% of C3H8was dehydrogenated and cracked. Pt/ZrO2–5CaO exhibited excellent stability for the integrated CO2capture and utilization processes even after 10 consecutive CO2capture and conversion cycles.

BackgroundNo prior study has examined the effects of air pollution on the progression from healthy to chronic lung disease, subsequent chronic lung multimorbidity and further to death.MethodsWe used data from the UK Biobank of 265 506 adults free of chronic lung disease at recruitment. Chronic lung multimorbidity was defined as the coexistence of at least two chronic lung diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. The concentrations of air pollutants were estimated using land-use regression models. Multistate models were applied to assess the effect of air pollution on the progression of chronic lung multimorbidity.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 11.9 years, 13 863 participants developed at least one chronic lung disease, 1055 developed chronic lung multimorbidity and 12 772 died. We observed differential associations of air pollution with different trajectories of chronic lung multimorbidity. Fine particulate matter showed the strongest association with all five transitions, with HRs (95% CI) per 5 µg/m3increase of 1.31 (1.22 to 1.42) and 1.27 (1.01 to 1.57) for transitions from healthy to incident chronic lung disease and from incident chronic lung disease to chronic lung multimorbidity, and 1.32 (1.21 to 1.45), 1.24 (1.01 to 1.53) and 1.91 (1.14 to 3.20) for mortality risk from healthy, incident chronic lung disease and chronic lung multimorbidity, respectively.ConclusionOur study provides the first evidence that ambient air pollution could affect the progression from free of chronic lung disease to incident chronic lung disease, chronic lung multimorbidity and death.

The tensile strength is one of most significant parameters for rock, while few studies have been reported on the rupture mechanism regarding Brazilian test in rocks containing two fissures. In this work, the rock-like materials were adopted to prefabricate Brazilian disc specimens containing two prefabricated fissures. Based on the X-ray computed tomography technology and Particle Flow Code in 2 Dimension, the influences of different fissure dip angles on strength, deformation, fracture and other mechanical properties in Brazilian test are investigated. The research shows: When the dip angle of the upper fissure is 0°, with the dip angle of the lower fissure grows from 0° to 90°, the tensile strength decreases rapidly and then fluctuates slightly, while the elastic modulus is not affected; when the dip angles of the two fissures are comparable, as the angle between the two fissures gradually increases, the tensile strength decreases first and then increases, and the elastic modulus shows a monotonic growth, but the strain corresponding to the peak stress gradually decreases. In terms of the rupture mechanism, few shear cracks are developed from the fissure tip, while the micro-cracking activity is dominated by tensile failures inclined to the loading direction, which further penetrate across the bulk specimen.

Citrus fruits have a prominent position among the tree fruits and are extensively grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Citrus is a perennial fruit crop that is highly nutrient-responsive and requires appropriate nutrition for optimum growth and development. The transition from conventional chemicals to biofertilizer (organic) sources is gaining popularity these days. This study aimed to assess the effects of different organic and synthetic fertilizer doses on the yield and quality of 10-year-old ‘Kinnow’ mandarin trees (grafted on ‘Rough lemon’) for three consecutive seasons: 2015–2016, 2016–2017, and 2017–2018. Six different formulations of fertilizers were used in this study, i.e., farmyard manure (FYM), humic acid (HA), and inorganic fertilizers (NPK). As a source of nitrogen, we used calcium ammonium nitrate for phosphorous (single superphosphate, SSP) and sulphate of potash (SOP) were used. The recommended dosage of organic and inorganic fertilizers was used during the experiment, namely T1 (50 Kg/plant FYM + 1000:500:500 g/plant NPK); T2 (60 Kg/plant FYM + 750:375:375 g/plant NPK); T3 (70 Kg/plant FYM + 500:250:250 g/plant NPK); T4 (150 g/plant HA + 1000:500:500 g/plant NPK); T5 (200 g/plant HA + 750:375:375 g/plant NPK) and T6 (250 g/plant humic acid + 50% Basic dose of NPK). According to the results, T2 fertilizer significantly enhanced plant growth, canopy volume, and plant spread. Moreover fruit yield (55, 52, 54 g) was improved in T2 treatment for 3 consecutive years compared to the other treatments. The better fruit size (65, 67, 65 mm) and juice percentage (40, 45, 41%) remained substantially higher and increased in T2 compared to other tested treatments. The research findings exhibited that orchard nutrition management notably affected tree growth and productivity. The combination of a large quantity of organic (FYM) with a lower level of inorganic fertilizer showed significantly better plant growth and yield than other combinations. In the future, these doses should be advised for mandarins in the field conditions in order to improve yield and fruit quality.

Thick printed ceramic substrate (TPC) is a promising technique for the packaging of high-power light-emitting diode (LED). Nevertheless, the incorporation of glass phase and voids in the sintered Ag layer decrease the electrical conductivity and heat dissipation of TPC substrate, which contributes to an increase in the junction temperature of LED. This article demonstrates a novel packaging design to plate copper on the sintered Ag layer of TPC substrate, which was applied to enhance the optical–thermal performances of high-power LED. After plating, the copper layers are well bonded with the Ag layer and the sheet resistance decreases rapidly. With the plated copper on thick film (PCTF) substrate package, the total thermal resistance is 17.45% lower than that with TPC package, while the junction temperature change of LED samples is 8.04 °C and 9.92 °C, respectively. Moreover, the surface temperature of LED sample packaged with PCTF is 11.16% lower than that with TPC at the working current of 1600 mA, and the optical power is 4.79% and 3.2% higher at the working current of 400 and 1200 mA, respectively. The results demonstrate that the optical–thermal performances of LED are enhanced by using the PCTF substrate due to its excellent heat dissipation.

Li–O2/CO2batteries are of central importance for environmentally friendly energy technologies. However, the battery performance still needs to be improved, while the factors affecting the battery capacity are still ambiguous. Herein, we directly synthesized a series of N-doped carbon shell-encapsulated RuCo clusters to improve the battery performance as well as to deeply investigate the catalytic mechanism. Due to the porous structure and evenly dispersed RuCo alloy, the obtained Li–O2/CO2battery showed excellent discharge and charge performance as well as a long-time cyclic stability of 550 h and 560 cycles. In addition, the catalytic pathway was verified by comparing the discharge voltage of Li–O2and Li–O2/CO2, which confirmed the route of 4Li++ O2+ 2CO2+ 4e−= 2Li2CO3. To evaluate the effects of O2during the discharge process, the catalytic kinetics and battery capacity were verified by monitoring the capacity–current rate–O2content relationship. In conclusion, the capacity of Li–O2/CO2batteries relies on a balance of both the discharge current and O2-diffusion rate as well as the crystallization process of Li2CO3.