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The oxygen deficiency-rich TiO 2 /oxygen deficiency-poor TiO 2 stacking structure grown by mist chemical vapor deposition method is used as resistive switching layers of resistive random access memory. Three different annealing temperatures of 500, 600, and 700oC are used to grow the oxygen deficiency-poor TiO 2. The experimental results indicate that the resistances of the oxygen deficiency-rich TiO 2 /oxygen deficiency-poor TiO 2 and the single-layer TiO 2 resistive random access memories are switchable by forming and rupturing the filament paths which are composed of oxygen deficiencies. The number of the filament paths is limited by the oxygen deficiency-poor TiO 2 layer, which improves the memory window and endurance of the resistive random access memory. The stacked structure with the oxygen deficiency-poor TiO 2 which is annealed at 600oC has the largest memory window of 7.8 × 105, endurable switching operation (>103 voltage loops), and long retention time (>104 s). In addition, the current conduction mechanism at the high resistance state of the RRAM with the stacked structure as the resistive switching layer is different from the one using the as-deposited TiO 2 as the resistive switching layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning models have achieved high performance across different domains, such as medical decision-making, autonomous vehicles, decision support systems, among many others. However, despite this success, the inner mechanisms of these models are opaque because their internal representations are too complex for a human to understand. This opacity makes it hard to understand the how or the why of the predictions of deep learning models. There has been a growing interest in model-agnostic methods that make deep learning models more transparent and explainable to humans. Some researchers recently argued that for a machine to achieve human-level explainability, this machine needs to provide human causally understandable explanations, also known as causability. A specific class of algorithms that have the potential to provide causability are counterfactuals. This paper presents an in-depth systematic review of the diverse existing literature on counterfactuals and causability for explainable artificial intelligence (AI). We performed a Latent Dirichlet topic modelling analysis (LDA) under a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to find the most relevant literature articles. This analysis yielded a novel taxonomy that considers the grounding theories of the surveyed algorithms, together with their underlying properties and applications to real-world data. Our research suggests that current model-agnostic counterfactual algorithms for explainable AI are not grounded on a causal theoretical formalism and, consequently, cannot promote causability to a human decision-maker. Furthermore, our findings suggest that the explanations derived from popular algorithms in the literature provide spurious correlations rather than cause/effects relationships, leading to sub-optimal, erroneous, or even biased explanations. Thus, this paper also advances the literature with new directions and challenges on promoting causability in model-agnostic approaches for explainable AI. • A survey on model-agnostic counterfactual approaches for XAI. • A novel taxonomy for model-agnostic counterfactual approaches for XAI. • A set of properties for causability systems for XAI. • Opportunities and challenges for causability systems based on modelagnostic counterfactual approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, DDR membranes with a layer thickness of approximately 700 nm were studied for separation feeds comprising mixtures of CO 2 and CH 4. The membranes displayed the highest CO 2 over CH 4 permselectivity and CO 2 permeability reported in literature. This was ascribed to a defect-free and ultra-thin zeolite film as well as an open and highly permeable support. For equimolar mixtures, the highest CO 2 over CH 4 permselectivity of 727 was observed when the pressure at the feed side was 5 bar(a) and the permeate pressure was 1 bar(a) at 25 °C. At these conditions, the CO 2 permeability was very high at 45 × 10−7 mol/(m2 s Pa). Separation experiments for 80/20 and 20/80 mixtures were also performed, and in these cases, CO 2 over CH 4 permselectivities of 1011 and 622 were observed, respectively. For all feeds, the membrane permselectivity decreased slightly at higher temperature and in all cases, higher permselectivity was observed when vacuum was applied at the permeate side. One-stage membrane processes for upgrading biogas to biomethane at three different operating pressures were designed based on the experimental data. In all cases, a quite low membrane area, methane slip and power need were observed. [Display omitted] • DDR membranes with ultrahigh CO 2 permeance for CO 2 /CH 4 separation. • One-stage DDR membrane processes for biogas upgrading. • Low membrane area, CH 4 slip, and power use for these processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CSFV-specific epitopes, the target of neutralizing antibodies, are identified on the D/A domain of E2 protein. • Epitopes 780–794, 810–824, and 846–850 likely form a complex conformational epitope domain. • The residues 783-MGD-785, 789-FGLCPF-794, 813-AFYLVCPIGWTG-824, and 846-REK-848 are critical for antigenicity. • The residue F789 is critical for the antigenic difference between the Riems strain and other CSFV strains. • The identified epitopes are important for developing improved diagnostic tests for CSF. Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) shares high antigenic homology with other members of the genus Pestivirus. Because several pestivirus species can also infect swine, eliciting cross-reactive antibodies, it is important to define CSFV-specific epitopes for the differential diagnosis of classical swine fever (CSF) by serology. For this purpose, epitope mapping of seven monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), recognizing sites on the D/A domain of glycoprotein E2, was performed using recombinant expressed antigenic domains and mutants of E2, as well as an overlapping peptide library. Three CSFV-specific epitopes, i.e. , 780-IEEMGDDFGFGLCPF-794, 810-NGSAFYLVCPIGWTG-824, and 846-REKPF-850, were identified within the D/A domain of E2. Site-directed mutagenesis further confirmed that residues 783-MGD-785, 789-FGLCPF-794, 813-AFYLVCPIGWTG-824, and 846-REK-848 were critical residues in these regions. In addition, a F789S difference within the epitope 780-IEEMGDDFGFGLCPF-794 was responsible for the absence of binding of two mAbs to the E2 protein of the live attenuated CSFV vaccine strain Riems. Structural modeling revealed that, the three epitopes are located near each other, suggesting that they may form a more complex conformational epitope on the D/A domain in vivo. Six of the mAbs neutralized viruses of diverse genotypes, indicating that the target epitopes are involved in virus interaction with cells. The binding of CSFV to cells was significantly reduced after pre-incubation with either truncated E2 proteins comprising the D/A domain or with the CSFV-specific mAbs targeting the domain D/A. These epitopes identified on the D/A domain are important targets for virus neutralization that might be involved in the early steps of CSFV infection. These findings reveal potential candidates for improving the differential diagnosis of pestiviruses by serology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seismic permanent displacement is an essential aspect to evaluate the seismic stability of slope. The conventional Newmark block method commonly adopts a constant yield acceleration to determine the seismic permanent displacement of slope. In order to reflect a more realistic behavior of seismic displacement, the dynamic kinetic failure mechanism and the instant displacement model of slope reinforced by prestressed anchors in infinitesimal time are established. The time-dependent formula for dynamic yield acceleration is deduced based on upper bound method. A modified method is proposed to determine the seismic permanent displacement within the framework of Newmark block theory. The results are compared with the existing work with regard to the yield acceleration and seismic permanent displacement. Three typical seismic ground motions are performed to study the responses of the anchor force, the dynamic yield acceleration and the seismic permanent displacement. Results show that the anchor force, the dynamic yield acceleration and the seismic displacement all increase continuously during the excitation of seismic ground motion. The anchor causes the yield acceleration to increase, and the seismic permanent displacement to decrease significantly. The conventional method adopting a constant yield acceleration greatly overestimates the seismic permanent displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that nanosecond repetitively pulsed discharges were able to mitigate the response of lean methane-air swirl flames to acoustic excitations, at pressures up to 3 bar. Flame transfer functions with and without plasma discharges were investigated at pressures of 1.2, 2.0, and 3.0 bar, in a frequency range 48–380 Hz. Results show that the plasma discharges decreased by up to 50% the gain of the flame transfer functions, regardless of the pressure. Mechanisms responsible for this effect are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Botanicals (BOTs) are well known for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. They have been widely used as feed additives to reduce inflammation and improve intestinal functions in agricultural animals. However, the effects of BOTs on chicken intestinal epithelial functions are not fully understood. The 3D apical-out chicken enteroids recapitulate the intestinal tissue, and allow convenient access to the luminal surface, thus serving as a suitable model for investigating gut functions. The aim of this study was to identify the roles of BOTs in protecting the intestinal epithelium in chicken enteroids under challenging conditions. Apical-out enteroids were isolated from the small intestines of 18 days-old chicken embryos. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS , 10 µg/mL) and menadione (400 µM) challenges were performed in the media with or without BOTs. Paracellular Fluorescein isothiocyanate–dextran 4kD (FD4) permeability, inflammatory cytokine gene expression, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation were analyzed post-BOTs and challenges treatments. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc multiple comparisons among treatments. The results showed that the LPS challenge for 24 h induced a 50% increase in FD4 permeability compared with nontreated control; thymol, thyme essential oil, and phenol-rich extract significantly (P < 0.02) reduced FD4 permeability by 25%, 41%, and 48% respectively, in comparison with LPS treatment. Moreover, the gene expression of inflammatory cytokines was upregulated, tight junction proteins and defensins were downregulated (P < 0.05) after 6 h of LPS treatment, while these BOTs treatments significantly restored the LPS-induced gene expression alterations (P < 0.05). Menadione oxidative challenge for 1 h significantly increased the ROS level compared with unchallenged control. Enteroids treated with thymol and thyme essential oils showed 30% reduced ROS levels, while the phenol-rich extract reduced them by 60%, in comparison with the challenged group (P < 0.0001). These data confirmed the role of BOTs in supporting the barrier function and reducing the disruptive effects of inflammation and oxidation in the chicken intestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of tumor cell-targeting drugs that have developed rapidly in recent years. From the perspective of further improving ADC targeting and developing natural macromolecules as drug carriers, it is still challenging and necessary to try new targeted drug delivery modalities. In this study, we have developed an antibody-modified prodrug nanoparticle based on biomacromolecule dextran (DEX) to delivery antitumour drug doxorubicin (DOX). Firstly, oxidized dextran (ODEX) and DOX were bonded to yield ODEX-DOX via Schiff base reaction, which can self-assemble into nanoparticles (NPs) carrying some aldehyde groups. Subsequently, the amino groups of CD147 monoclonal antibody were bound to the aldehyde groups on the surface of ODEX-DOX NPs, resulting in acid-responsive and antibody-modified CD147-ODEX-DOX NPs with relatively small particle size and high DOX loading. FT-IR, UV-Vis, HPLC, and 1H NMR were used to demonstrate the successful synthesis of polymer prodrug ODEX-DOX NPs and antibody-modified nanomedicine CD147-ODEX-DOX NPs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used to evaluate the stability and the pH responsiveness of ODEX-DOX NPs in different media and tumour microenvironment. The in vitro total release content of DOX reached approximately 70% in PB 5.0 buffer solution after 103 h. Furthermore, the in vivo antitumour efficacy and biodistribution experiments confirmed that CD147-ODEX-DOX NPs could significantly inhibit the growth of HepG2 tumour. All of the results indicate that this acid-sensitive nanomedicine has higher safety and targeting effects. It promises to be an ideal strategy for future targeted drug delivery systems and anticancer therapies. [Display omitted] • An antibody-modified nanoprodrug based on oxidized dextran (ODEX) and doxorubicin (DOX) was prepared. • CD147 mAb was bound onto the surface of prodrug ODEX-DOX nanoparticles by Schiff base reaction. • The multifunctional nanoparticles have abilities of active targeting and pH responsive drug delivery. • In vitro and in vivo tests prove that antibody-bonded nanoprodrugs have good targeting and tumor-inhibiting effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Zeolite membrane processes were designed for biogas upgrading. • The processes were compared with polymeric membranes processes. • Zeolite membrane displayed 1000 times higher permeance and much higher selectivity. • Two and three membrane stages were needed for zeolite and polymeric membranes, respectively. • Zeolite membrane processes need significantly less electricity and are less costly. Zeolite membrane processes were designed for biogas upgrading for feed pressures ranging from 5 to 20 bar and compared with corresponding polymeric membrane processes. The mass transfer through zeolite membranes was estimated by a model accounting for adsorption and diffusion through the surface barriers and the interior of the pores, while the mass transfer through polymeric membranes was estimated using reported permeances for commercial polymeric membranes. The zeolite membranes displayed approximately three orders of magnitude higher permeance and up to 7 times higher selectivity. To reach a low methane loss, two and three membrane stages were needed for zeolite and polymeric membranes, respectively, because of the differences in selectivity. Due to the higher selectivity, the electricity need for the zeolite membrane process was only 50–60% of that for the corresponding polymeric membrane process. As a result of the much higher permeability, the zeolite membrane processes were much more compact than the equivalent polymeric membrane processes. The estimated cost for zeolite membranes prepared in small scale including modules was much lower than the cost for industrially produced polymeric membranes including modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel strategy to modify the dense framework from different types of amine-functionalized organosilica membranes has been successfully applied via nickel-coordination to induce the formation of microporous membranes. Prior to the nickel-coordination reaction, aminosilica sols were prepared via hydrolysis of several types of amine precursors: bis [3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl] amine (BTPA), trimethoxy [3-(methyl amino) propyl] silane (MAPTS), and 3-aminopropyl triethoxy silane (APTES). The optimal nickel/amine mole ratio was established within a range from 0 to 0.50 mol mol−1, and calcinations of the membranes were performed at 250, 300, and 350 °C. We found that nickel doping restructured the aminosilica network via a coordination bond, which then increased both the rigidity of the organic chain and the surface area of the resultant materials on the order of nickel-doped bis [3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl] amine (Ni-BTPA) > nickel-doped 3-aminopropyl triethoxy silane (Ni-APTES) > nickel-doped trimethoxy [3-(methyl amino) propyl] silane (Ni-MAPTS). Spectroscopy characterization studies such as Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) along with micropore analysis of N 2 sorption isotherms revealed that the formation of a coordinated network could be sterically hindered by the existence of non-hydrolyzable methyl groups on the pendant chain. The prepared composite membranes were utilized for the pervaporation of various types of organic mixtures for a composition ratio of methanol/solvents of 10/90 wt% at 50 °C. All nickel-composite membranes showed high flux and outstanding performance for the pervaporation of methanol/dimethyl carbonate (MeOH/DMC) and methanol/toluene (MeOH/Tol) mixtures. Ni-BTPA membranes with bridge-structured secondary-amine ligands recorded values for the flux that reached as high as 1.42 kg m−2 h−1 with an optimum separation factor for MeOH/Tol of 5,000. [Display omitted] • Hybrid nickel-doped aminosilica membranes were modified via bridge and pendant structure. • Nickel doping restructured the aminosilica network, resulting in higher rigidity and porosity. • The effect of nickel/amine mole ratio and calcination temperature were studied. • New formed subnanopores and the excess of nickel facilitated the diffusion of methanol. • Bridge-aminosilica structure gives the best pervaporation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) may contribute to inflammation in Alzheimer's disease through interactions with neuropathological Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides. Previous studies reported activation of FPR2 by Aβ1-42, but further investigation of other FPRs and Aβ variants is needed. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the interactions of mouse and human FPRs with different physiologically relevant Aβ-peptides using transiently transfected cells in combination with calcium imaging. We observed that, in addition to hFPR2, all other hFPRs also responded to Aβ 1-42, Aβ1-40, and the naturally occurring variants Aβ11-40 and Aβ17-40. Notably, Aβ11-40 and Aβ17-40 are very potent activators of mouse and human FPR1, acting at nanomolar concentrations. Buffer composition and aggregation state are extremely crucial factors that critically affect the interaction of Aβ with different FPR subtypes. To investigate the physiological relevance of these findings, we examined the effects of Aβ11-40 and Aβ17-40 on the human glial cell line U87. Both peptides induced a strong calcium flux at concentrations that are very similar to those obtained in experiments for hFPR1 in HEK cells. Further immunocyto-chemistry, qPCR, and pharmacological experiments verified that these responses were primarily mediated through hFPR1. Chemotaxis experiments revealed that Aβ11-40 but not Aβ17-40 evoked cell migration, which argues for a functional selectivity of different Aβ peptides. Together, these findings provide the first evidence that not only hFPR2 but also hFPR1 and hFPR3 may contribute to neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease through an interaction with different Aβ variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, single channel tubular zeolite CHA membranes with a length of 50 cm and a membrane area of 100 cm2 were evaluated by SEM and permeation experiments with single components and industrially relevant humid mixtures. The membranes comprised well-intergrown and smooth CHA films with a thickness of <500 nm supported on the inside of a highly porous tube. For single component permeation, a very low SF 6 permeance of 4.5 × 10−10 mol/(m2‧s‧Pa) was observed, which indicated nearly defect free membranes. On the contrary, the membranes displayed a very high CO 2 permeance of 128 × 10−7 mol/(m2‧s‧Pa), which illustrated the very high permeability of the CHA pores. Finally, the membranes displayed excellent selectivity for separation of industrially relevant CO 2 /CH 4 /H 2 O mixtures, which was attributed to selective interaction between the CO 2 molecules and the polar water molecules in the pores. The highest observed CO 2 /CH 4 separation selectivity was as high as 198 in combination with a CO 2 permeance of 14 × 10−7 mol/(m2‧s‧Pa) at a feed pressure of 600 kPa (including 2.2 kPa water) and 293K. The corresponding CO 2 flux was 0.39 mol/(m2‧s) and the corresponding CO 2 /CH 4 separation factor was 162. The observed membrane performance was reduced by concentration polarisation due to the limited feed flow in the experimental setup. The corresponding selectivity and CO 2 permeance corrected for concentration polarisation were as high as 236 and 16 × 10−7 mol/(m2‧s‧Pa), and the corrected CO 2 flux was 0.44 mol/(m2‧s) and corrected separation factor was 198. An estimate showed that even at a low feed pressure of 500 kPa, it would be sufficient with as few as 64 membranes for processing of a feed of 100 Nm3/h raw biogas, i.e. the capacity of a typical biogas plant at a large farm, to biomethane with high purity. These results illustrated that the membranes are promising candidates for industrial separation of CO 2 from e.g. natural gas and biogas. [Display omitted] • The first report described industrially relevant CHA membranes. • The membrane was a single channel tube with a membrane area of 100 cm2. • CO 2 single gas permeances was as high as 128 × 10−7 mol/(m2‧s‧Pa). • The highest observed CO 2 /CH 4 separation factor was 169. • Effect of concentration polarisation on separation was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The TGA and MD simulations are used to explore the influence of Na 2 O on the volatilization of fluoride. • The mechanism of the effect of Na 2 O on melt volatilization is analyzed in detail. • Providing a substantial theoretical and experimental basis for the volatilization of fluoride. Volatilization of fluorides is a common phenomenon and an environmental concern in metallurgy, welding, glass, and other industries. In order to understand the effect of Na 2 O on the volatilization behavior of fluorides in molten slags, thermogravimetric analysis together with molecular dynamic (MD) simulation was employed in the present study. The MD simulation results are consistent with the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). That is, the increase of Na 2 O promotes the volatilization of fluoride. Investigation of melt microstructure showed that the diffusion of Na+ plays a key role in the volatilization of fluoride. The main contributing microstructural factors to the diffusion coefficient of Na+ are the extent of polymerization in Si O and Ca F networks and the Na F clustering. Collectively, this research offered a thorough understanding of the microstructure and process of fluorine volatilization in molten slags. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposed a kinetic model for RP-3, the most widely used military-civilian aviation fuel in China. Four hydrocarbons within the typical size of major components in RP-3, i.e., n-dodecane, iso-dodecane (2,2,4,6,6-pentamethylheptane), decalin and n-butylbenzene, were included in the component palette to improve the ability of the surrogate to mimic the properties related to the molecular weight. Seven properties, cetane number, molecular weight, H/C ratio, threshold sooting index, lower heating value, the proportion of -CH 3 and -CH 2 in the total carbons were selected as targets aiming at the comprehensive emulation of the chemical and physical propensities of RP-3. By sequential use of the genetic algorithm and a local search method, a surrogate containing 27.44% n-dodecane, 28.81% iso-dodecane, 26.12% decalin and 17.63% n-butylbenzene by mole was formulated. The autoignition delay times of the surrogate were measured using a heated rapid compression machine at pressures of 10, 15, 20 bar and equivalence ratios of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 over low-to-intermediate temperature range. Results show that the surrogate can not only emulate the target properties but also the key non-targeted properties. A kinetic model of 3065 species and 11,898 reactions was then developed based on the proposed surrogate to describe the chemical process during the combustion of RP-3. Simulations show that the model can predict the fundamental combustion datasets in the present work and literature satisfactorily, suggesting the rationality and applicability of the model. Rate of production and evolution histories of OH and HO 2 were then conducted using the kinetic model to provide insight into the combustion of RP-3. Analysis suggests that negative temperature coefficient behavior also exists in the first stage ignition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallurgical solid waste blast furnace water quenched slag (WBFS) was employed as carrier materials to prepare Fe–TiO 2 /WBFS composite photocatalyst using a sol-gel method for improving both the photocatalytic activity and the high-value utilization of metallurgical solid waste. The Fe3+ doping technology was adopted to increase the utilization of solar energy. The influencing factors and photocatalytic activity were systematically evaluated by thermogravimetry/differential thermal analyser (TG-DSC), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, scanning electron microscopy-energy spectrometer (SEM-EDS), X-ray photoelectric spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis absorption spectrum and photoluminescence spectra technology through the degradation rate of methylene blue (MB) solution. The results showed that the Fe3+ ions were successfully incorporated into the TiO 2 lattice, which had no effect on the crystalline phase of TiO 2 and expanded the spectral response range of TiO 2 from the ultraviolet region to the visible light region. When the calcination temperature was at 450 °C and the number of Fe–TiO 2 sol loading cycles was two times, the photocatalytic activity of Fe–TiO 2 /WBFS presented the strongest, and the degradation ratio of MB reach the maximum value of 98.9 %. A uniform and dense anatase TiO 2 thin film was wrapped on the surface of WBFS. The photocatalytic activity first improved and then weakened with an increase of calcination temperature, Fe3+ doping amounts and the loading cycles of sol. The TiO 2 film changed from thin to thick and uneven to uniform, until cracking and spalling phenomenon finally occurred with an increase of Fe–TiO 2 sol loading cycle from 1 to 3 times. When the Fe–TiO 2 /WBFS was reused for four times, the degradation rate of MB could still show 67.4 %, being far higher than that of TiO 2 /WBFS of 25.4 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial emotional intelligence (AEI) is an important ability for intelligent systems. Representing emotional states as a continuous sentiment intensity could achieve a more fine-grained sentiment application than traditional categorical approaches. By using sentiment intensity, the main challenge of the existing variational autoencoder methods lies in distinguishing emotional information from semantic information. Practically, it is difficult to ensure that the input training texts do not contain any sentiment. If the disentangled latent variable for text generation contains sentiment features that conflict with the assigned sentiment, the generated texts will be messy. Therefore, we propose a decoupled variational autoencoder (VAE) with interactive attention to solve this problem. The proposed method applies a sentiment decoupler to extract the sentiment from the text. Then, sentiment embeddings are applied to map the intensities into the latent space. To enhance the representation ability of sentiment embeddings and the performance of the decoder, we consider affective text generation as a process of denoising, design a noisy sampling strategy in training, and then continuously update the emotional information with variational attention through a dynamic update mechanism. Extensive experiments are conducted on the Yelp dataset and the Amazon dataset, and the experimental results show that our method outperforms other VAE-based methods in fine-grained affective text generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A disease occurrence characterized by fever and rash was monitored in China. • The etiological and epidemiological investigation was initiated. • We proved that a novel species of genus Ehrlichia was its pathogen. • We named the new species as " Candidatus Ehrlichia erythraense". From March to June 2021, the reported number of clinically diagnosed endemic typhus in Anhui and Hubei provinces of China nearly increased four-fold compared with the monthly average numbers in last 5 years. An etiological and epidemiological investigation was initiated. The clinical specimens from the reported patients and the potential vector ticks were collected for molecular and serological detection, as well as cell culturing assay to identify the potential pathogen. Polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis of rrs and groEL showed that the pathogen from these patients was Ehrlichia sp., isolated from Haemaphysalis longicornis attached to these patients. The phylogenetic analysis based on 39 Ehrlichia genomes suggested that it should be taxonomically classified as a novel species, tentatively named " Candidatus Ehrlichia erythraense". A total of 19 of 106 cases were confirmed as Candidatus Ehrlichia erythraense infections by polymerase chain reaction, sequencing, and/or serological tests. The most frequent symptoms were fever (100%), rashes (100%), asthenia (100%), anorexia (100%), and myalgia (79%). The occurrence of the disease presenting with fever and rashes in Anhui and Hubei provinces was caused by a novel species of the genus Ehrlichia ; physicians need to be aware of this newly-discovered pathogen to ensure appropriate testing, treatment, and regional surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carrier selection for photocatalytic materials is critical for photocatalytic degradation technology. In this study, blast furnace slag fibre (BFSF) prepared using metallurgical waste was employed as a carrier for TiO 2. The photocatalytic activity of the resulting TiO 2 /BFSF composite and its influencing factors during the sol-gel process was systematically investigated via TG-DTA, XRD, SEM-EDS, BET, UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, degradation of methylene blue (MB) experiments, and mass loss technology. The results showed that the crystal phase of TiO 2 transformed from pure anatase to a mixture of anatase and rutile and then to pure rutile as the calcination temperature increased from 350 °C to 800 °C. When the number of TiO 2 loading cycles increased from 1 to 6, the TiO 2 film changed from thin to thick and from uneven to uniform, until cracking and spalling finally occurred. When the number of TiO 2 loading cycles and calcination temperatures increased, the photocatalytic activity increased and then decreased. After loading TiO 2 sol four times and calcining at 450 °C for 2.5 h, a uniform and dense anatase TiO 2 film was observed to be wrapped on the BFSF, achieving the highest photocatalytic activity and a maximum degradation ratio of 95.3%. The TiO 2 /BFSF composite showed excellent reusability. After four reuse cycles, the degradation ratio remained at 66.2%. Three potential mechanisms were proposed for photocatalytic degradation. The water and alkali resistance of BFSF markedly increased after the TiO 2 thin film was loaded. This study therefore provides strategies to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 and expands the high-value-added application of BFSF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual heteroatom-doped carbon materials show great promise as electromagnetic wave absorbers. However, synthesizing carbons containing multiple heteroatoms at controlled heteroatom doping levels has provided challenges to date. Herein, we report a simple method for manufacturing dual heteroatom doped carbons (N,X–C, where X = P, B, or S) by direct carbonization of polypyrrole synthesized in the presence of H 3 PO 4 , H 3 BO 3 , or H 2 SO 4 , respectively. The heteroatom content of the N,X–C products could be precisely tuned by varying amounts of acid dopant used in the polypyrrole synthesis. The N,X–C materials showed excellent electromagnetic wave absorption properties, especially N,S 1 –C (prepared using equimolar amounts of pyrrole and H 2 SO 4) which offered a wide absorption bandwidth up to 6.6 GHz (11.38–18 GHz), and a RL min of −32.3 dB (14.2 GHz) at 2.5 mm at a filler loading of 9.0 wt%. The outstanding electromagnetic wave absorption performance of N,S 1 –C was attributed to the presence of N dopant species, defects, C–S, and C–SO x groups, which optimized dipole polarization and conduction loss in the dielectric loss leading to excellent impedance matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With restricted usage of growth-promoting antibiotics, identifying alternative feed additives that both improve intestinal barrier function and reduce inflammation is the center to improve chickens' health. This study examined the effects of a microencapsulated feed additive containing citric acid, sorbic acids, thymol, and vanillin on intestinal barrier function and inflammation status. A total of 240 birds were assigned to either a commercial control diet or control diet supplemented with 500 g/MT of the microencapsulated additive product. Birds were raised by feeding a 2-phase diet (starter, d 1 to d 21; and grower, d 15 to d 42). Growth performance was recorded weekly. At d 21 and d 42, total gastrointestinal tract permeability was evaluated by FITC-dextran (FD4) oral gavage. Jejunum-specific barrier functions were evaluated by Ussing chamber. Intestinal gene expression of selected epithelial cell markers, tight junction (TJ) proteins, inflammatory cytokines, and endocannabinoid system (ECS) markers were determined by RT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed using Student t test. Results showed significant improvement of feed efficiency in the birds supplemented with the blend of organic acids and botanicals. At d 21, both oral and jejunal FD4 permeability were lower in the supplemented group. Jejunal transepithelial resistance was higher in the supplemented birds. At d 21, expression of TJs mRNA (CLDN1 and ZO2) was both upregulated in the jejunum and ileum of supplemented birds, while CLDN2 was downregulated in cecum. Proliferating cell marker SOX9 was higher expressed in jejunum and ceca. Goblet cell marker (MUC2) was upregulated, while Paneth cell marker (LYZ) was downregulated in the ileum. Proinflammatory cytokine expressions of IL1B, TNFA , and IFNG were downregulated in jejunum, while anti-inflammatory IL10 expression was higher in jejunum, ileum, cecum, and cecal tonsil. The ECS markers expressions were upregulated in most intestinal regions. Together, these results demonstrated that the blend of organic acids and botanical supplementation reduced inflammation, improved the TJs expression and intestinal barrier function, and thus improved chicken feed efficiency. The activated ECS may play a role in reducing intestinal tissue inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nanocavity geometry effects on nucleate boiling are first investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. • Bubble dynamics and heat transfer characteristics for different scenarios are systematically compared. • Underlying mechanisms are analyzed and elucidated based on numerous quantitative results. • Combined effects of nanocavity geometry and solid-liquid interaction are identified. • Provide essential guidance towards surface design in thermal energy systems. In recent years, surfaces with nanocavities have been identified to considerably improve boiling heat transfer, that is highly promising for advanced thermal energy systems. To boost developments in nanostructured boiling surfaces, effects of nanocavity geometry on nucleate boiling at the nanoscale are systematically studied for the first time by utilizing molecular dynamics simulation. Three typical nanocavities with rectangular, semicircular, and triangular cross-sectional shapes are constructed, which have the identical width and depth (8 nm and 4 nm). Moreover, three representative wetting conditions corresponding to different solid-liquid interaction strengths are further considered to provide a comprehensive understanding of geometry effects. The results manifest that nanocavity geometry effect on nucleate boiling can be attributed to the differences in their solid-liquid contact area and solid-liquid interactions play a vital role in reinforcement effectiveness. When the solid-liquid interaction is sufficiently strong (energy coefficient equals 1.5, termed ultra-superhydrophilicity), variations in nanocavity geometries will induce remarkable effects on boiling performance. Among three geometric configurations, the rectangular nanocavity exhibits the highest heat transfer efficiency and achieves maximum boiling enhancement, including significant improvements in bubble nucleation and growth, as well as critical heat flux. This study provides an essential insight into nanoscale boiling reinforcement mechanism. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulating the evolution of microstructures and the mechanical response of alloys with cubic and hcp structures is crucial for the industrial manufacturing of key alloy components. In this work, a modified Voce (ME-Voce) model is proposed, based on the extended Voce hardening model, to depict the variations of hardening rate with cumulative shear strain. Also, an orientation-dependent weight that describes the neighboring grain-induced 'drag' effect is evaluated. These improvements are numerically implemented in a standard viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) model. The ME-Voce parameters are determined through multi-parameter optimization using Matlab software. The influences of grain shape and neighboring grains on the hot deformation behavior of alloys are investigated. The proposed ME-Voce model is validated through hot compression experiments of alloys with cubic and hcp structures. The results show the VPSC embedded in the ME-Voce can reasonably predict the mechanical response under different deformation conditions. This enhances the predictive capability of the VPSC model and provides more options for crystal plasticity simulation of alloys with different crystal structures. • A modified Voce model is proposed to depict the variations of hardening rate with cumulative shear strain. • An orientation-dependent weight describing neighboring grain-induced 'drag' effect is evaluated. • Viscoplastic self-consistent model including ME-Voce can reasonably predict the mechanical response of alloys. • More choices for crystal plasticity simulation of alloys with different crystal structures are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane-based technology has garnered significant interest in the separation and purification of molecules due to its inherent advantages, such as high efficiency, low energy consumption, and ease of operation. In this study, rigid-flexible coupled organosilica membranes were fabricated through co-polymerization using 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)acetylene (BTESA) containing rigid acetylene bridges and 1,2-bis(triethoxysilyl)propane (BTESP) containing flexible propane bridges. The incorporation of flexible propane bridges into BTESA networks allowed for precise adjustment of the network structures, resulting in composite BTESA-P membranes with improved molecular sieving properties. BTESA-P membrane demonstrated significant promise for applications in both CO 2 capture and pervaporation (PV) dehydration due to its high potential. BTESA-P30 membrane, fabricated using the rigid-flexible coupled strategy, demonstrated a CO 2 permeance of 3807 GPU and a CO 2 /N 2 selectivity of approximately 40. These results surpassed those of numerous previously reported membranes, indicating significant potential for CO 2 capture applications. BTESA-P30 membrane exhibited significant competitiveness in the decarbonization process of natural gas. More significantly, analogous occurrences are evident in gas permeation and PV separation process, where the permeation mechanism of gas and PV separation is primarily governed by molecular sieving. The utilization of diverse organosilica precursors in the rigid-flexible coupled strategy proposed in this study offers increased potential for membrane structure design and energy-efficient separation of molecules. [Display omitted] • Rigid-flexible coupled organosilica membranes were fabricated. • BTESA-P membranes were endowed with enhanced sieving properties. • Rigid-flexible coupled strategy exhibited great potential for high-performance membranes design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the product of transesterification between various oils and alcohols, biodiesel exhibits characteristics of renewability and a wide range of raw materials. The ignition delay times (IDTs) of methyl oleate (MEOLE) and methyl linoleate (MLINO), the primary constituents of biodiesels, were measured in a heated rapid compression machine (RCM) to investigate the impact of C C double bond on the reactivity and autoignition characteristics. The experiment was conducted under two pressures of 8 bar and 10 bar at an equivalence ratio of 0.3–0.8 and a temperature range of 800–1000 K. The qualitative investigation unveiled the influence of compressed pressure, equivalence ratio, and oxygen mole fraction on the IDT of MEOLE and MLINO under varying compressed temperatures. Besides, a comparison of the IDTs for two fuels with different unsaturation degrees under identical conditions revealed that MEOLE exhibited greater reactivity at low temperatures compared to MLINO, while the increase in unsaturation degree can moderate and enhance reactivity at high temperatures. Moreover, three kinetic models in the literature were validated against the newly measured IDTs. The results indicate that the detailed lumped kinetic model exhibits better predictive capacity compared to other models, but it still underestimates the reactivity of MEOLE and MLINO within the investigated temperature range. Subsequently, the detailed kinetic model was optimized based on sensitivity analysis, resulting in excellent agreement between the predicted values of the optimized model and experimental data. Furthermore, accurate predictions were made regarding the relative reactivity changes of MEOLE and MLINO with temperature. Finally, different types of experimental data in the literature were employed to validate the optimized model, yielding satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capturing dibutyl phthalate (DBP) impurities from transformer oils and purifying them is crucial for maintaining long-term sustainable transformer operation. Furthermore, this process significantly reduces the generation of waste from aged transformer oils, thereby contributing to environmental protection and sustainable development. In this study, various metal ion-modified wood activated carbons (ACs) were prepared using the wet impregnation method. The adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics studies reveal that Fe/AC exhibits a significant enhancement of more than 40% in DBP adsorption capacity compared to the original AC. Consequently, Fe/AC is the material with the highest adsorption capacity for DBP in transformer oils up to now. Furthermore, the desorption activation energy of DBP on Fe/AC was 46.623 kJ/mol, 1.73 times higher than original AC. Ultimately, the adsorption mechanism was explained using the Hard-Soft-Acid-Base (HSAB) principle, which demonstrated a stronger interaction between hard base DBP and Fe/AC due to the hard acidic nature of Fe3+ and therefore a higher capture capacity of DBP by Fe/AC. The simplified preparation method and enhanced adsorption capacity of the modified Fe/AC make it an efficient and cost-effective approach to ensure reliable and sustained transformer operation, while also minimizing the generation of waste transformer oils. • High-performance DBP adsorbent achieved through Fe3+ impregnation on AC. • The loading of Fe resulted in a 40% increase in the DBP adsorption capacity. • Fe/AC exhibits nearly twice the DBP adsorption capacity of γ-Al 2 O 3. • The loaded Fe3+ as hard acid improved the adsorption capacity of AC on hard base DBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An in-depth study of the chemical kinetic mechanism of biodiesels can facilitate accurate prediction of engine combustion and emission characteristics. Surrogate fuel is a feasible method for simulating the combustion chemistry of real biodiesel. Methyl myristate (MMY), one of the main components and a widely used surrogate for biodiesel, was investigated for the autoignition characteristics using a newly heated rapid compression machine (RCM). In this work, the ignition delay times (IDTs) of MMY were measured at compressed pressures of 10/15/20/30 bar with compressed temperatures ranging from 700 K to 900 K, and equivalence ratios varying from 0.3 to 1.25. The experimental observation successfully captured a typical negative temperature coefficient (NTC) phenomenon of IDT. The present experiment is the first one to measure the IDTs of MMY in a RCM, while also marking the first instance of observing the NTC phenomenon in macromolecular fatty acid methyl esters above C10. Besides, a skeletal model for methyl myristate has been developed based on the idea of decoupling methodology. In terms of fuel-dependent reactions, the kinetic model is divided into two parts: high-temperature reactions and low-temperature chain branching reactions. Combined with the experimental and simulation results, the dependence of the IDT of methyl myristate on compressed temperature, compressed pressure, equivalence ratio, and oxygen mole fraction at low-to-intermediate temperature was systematically investigated. The simulation results show that the developed skeletal model captures the ignition delay times well at low-to-intermediate temperatures and accurately predicts both the NTC phenomenon and the corresponding temperature range. Based on this, the key reactions in the combustion of MMY under different conditions were elucidated through sensitivity analysis. Ultimately, the model validation was conducted against the high-temperature IDT data from the literature. The chemical kinetic models of various biodiesels are essential for simulating the working process of internal combustion engines and accurately predicting the combustion and emission characteristics. Among these, the autoignition characteristic is one of the most important parameters for model validation. Besides, the carbon chain length of methyl myristate closely resembles that of real biodiesels, making it an ideal surrogate fuel for biodiesels. In this study, the IDTs of MMY were measured for the first time at low-to-intermediate temperatures in a heated RCM, thereby experimentally confirming the NTC phenomenon of methyl myristate. Additionally, a skeletal model of MMY was developed based on the idea of decoupling methodology, which can accurately predict the autoignition characteristics of MMY at low-to-intermediate temperatures. The simulated values demonstrate good agreement with experimental data. Overall, the present study provides an IDT database for the development and validation of the methyl myristate mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • M(AIP)(BPY) 0.5 (M = Co, Ni, and Zn) showed efficient C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 separation. • The separation mechanism was based on the thermodynamic-kinetic synergetic effect. • Ni(AIP)(BPY) 0.5 had the highest C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 uptake ratio of 4.26 at 298 K and 1 bar. Efficient adsorption separation of propylene (C 3 H 6) and propane (C 3 H 8) can largely lower the energy consumption compared to the current energy-intensive cryogenic distillation. Herein, we report an isoreticular family of pillar-layer metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), M(AIP)(BPY) 0.5 (M = Co, Ni, and Zn), for efficient C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 separation by simultaneously exploiting thermodynamic and kinetic effects, circumventing disadvantages of each separation mechanism. The three MOFs feature an open metal site for each metal node and uniform but narrow one-dimensional (1D) channels, offering strong binding sites toward C 3 H 6 via π-complexations while obstructing the diffusion of bulkier C 3 H 8. The Ni-MOF shows the best separation performance based on the highest thermodynamic and kinetic C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 selectivities, further verified by computational simulations. Ni(AIP)(BPY) 0.5 has a moderate C 3 H 6 uptake of 1.94 mmol/g but a remarkably high C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 uptake ratio of 4.26 at 298 K and 1 bar. Efficient C 3 H 6 /C 3 H 8 separation, good recyclability, moisture and water stability of Ni(AIP)(BPY) 0.5 are confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct ink writing (DIW) provides a new way to mould ceramic parts. When a single screw extruder is used to extrude SiC slurry, the deposits caused by low viscosity and the agglomerations resulting from the nonuniform mixing, form the obstacles in the channel, which affect the normal flow of the slurry, theoretical outlet velocity, and interaction with other printing parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to study the mechanism responsible for the effects of the obstacles on the flow. The obstacles are always irregular, which makes it difficult to directly analyse them. Irregular geometries are always composed of linear and/or arcuate elements; therefore, the obstacles can be simplified into regular geometries. In the present work, linear elements are analysed first. Then, an improved MRT LBM (multiple relaxation time lattice Boltzmann method) with a pseudo external force is proposed for the flow analysis. The improved MRT LBM is combined with rheological test data to investigate cases with two obstacles, and the results are applied to reveal the general mechanism in cases with multiple obstacles. The results show that the angles, sizes, and positions of the obstacles are three important factors influencing the flow. To obtain a stable and controllable slurry flow, it is recommended that the first angle θ 1 be an acute angle. In addition, the number of obstacles should be minimized, and the position of the last obstacle should be far away from the outlet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface barriers are influencing the mass transfer in nanopores, but their origin is unclear and can be quite different in different materials. For MFI and CHA membranes studied here, we show that the surface barrier may be a surface diffusion process with higher activation energy than the surface diffusion process in the pores, but other possible mechanisms such as pore blocking and pore narrowing has not been ruled out. The higher activation energy is probably a result of less interaction between adsorbed molecules at the pore mouth than inside the pores, i.e. the barrier is simply a geometrical effect in these materials. For pure components at low concentration in MFI zeolite, we found that barrier is proportional to the product of the molecular weight and heat of desorption. For MFI and CHA zeolite, we observed that the barrier is a function of concentration and approach zero at high concentration and that the barriers of the components become more similar due to interaction between the components in mixtures, which explains the high and selective mass transfer displayed by these nanoporous materials at high concentration. [Display omitted] • The surface barrier is a surface diffusion process with high activation energy. • The MFI surface permeability inversely proportional to M w and ΔH ads. • More similar surface permeabilities in mixtures, which results in high selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Molecular dynamics method was implemented. • Effect of the ultrasonic flow on the vibrational behavior of carbon nanotubes was investigated. • As the temperature and pressure of the simulated samples increase, the oscillation amplitude decreases. • With increasing temperature and pressure, these structures' frequency value rises. The carbon nanotubes are among the most robust materials known to main (both in terms of tensile strength and vibrational properties). This strength is derived from the covalent bonds between carbon particles. In this research, carbon nanotubes in different sizes and chiralities and argon flow at supersonic velocity are simulated with molecular dynamics simulations, and their mechanical behavior is investigated. In this study, the stability of atomic structures, the effect of temperature and pressure on carbon nanotubes' vibrational behavior, and the effect of the velocity of argon atoms (ultrasonic flow) on the vibrational behavior of carbon nanotubes were investigated. Numerically, as the temperature and pressure of the simulated samples increase, the numerical value of the oscillation amplitude decreases to 2.12 Å and 2.30 Å, respectively. Also, with increasing temperature and pressure, these structures' frequency value rises to the numerical value of 13.02 ps−1 and 12.59 ps−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia (NH 3) blending combustion strategy has been regarded as a high-efficient form of NH 3 utilization. To understand the high-pressure gas-phase auto-ignition characteristics of NH 3 blending with diesel, the ignition delay times of NH 3 /diesel mixtures with high NH 3 energy fractions of 70%, 80% and 90% were measured in an ultrahigh-pressure rapid compression machine, at high pressures of 50–120 bar, temperatures of 755–996 K, and equivalence ratios of 0.5–1.5. As a consecutive study of Part 1 (Combust. Flame, 251 (2023), 112391), this study mainly focuses on the auto-ignition characteristics and oxidation mechanism of NH 3 /diesel mixtures at pressures higher than 50 bar. The ignition-promoting effect of increasing pressure from 50 to 120 bar was experimentally confirmed. Moreover, the increase of the diesel energy fraction, equivalence ratio, and oxygen concentration was found to decrease the ignition delay time of the NH 3 /diesel mixtures. The chemical reaction mechanism proposed in Part 1 was utilized to simulate the auto-ignition of the NH 3 /diesel mixtures. Simulation results show that the mechanism was able to quantitatively capture the ignition delay times of the NH 3 /diesel mixtures at the wide pressures. The cross-reactions between NH 3 and diesel, especially reaction RH + NH 2 = R + NH 3 , was found to play a key role in the correct prediction of auto-ignition at high pressure. In addition, it is revealed the effect of pressure is closely related to OH production reactions 2OH (+M) = H 2 O 2 (+M) and NO + HO 2 = NO 2 + OH, the rate of which increase with rising pressure. The reaction H 2 NO + O 2 = HNO + HO 2 is an important pathway where oxygen concentration affects NH 3 /diesel mixture auto-ignition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni-Co Layered Double Hydroxide (LDH) shows great application potential in the field of anti-corrosion. However, the poor carrying capacity limits the performance of anticorrosion performance. In this study, Ni-Co hydrotalcite was grown on the surface of DE, and Ni-Co/DE@SP microcapsule with corrosion inhibitor loading up to 14.7% was successfully prepared. The adsorption capacity of Ni-Co/DE@SP for Cl− in 600 mmol/L NaCl solution was 6.72 mmol/g. It is worth noting that the impedance modulus of the prepared composite coating (EP/Ni-Co/DE@SP) is two orders of magnitude higher than that of the pure resin coating, and the wear resistance was improved by 33%. • The diatomite was used as the carrier, and the active filler with the synergistic anti-corrosion function was assembled. • The synergistic anti-corrosion of Ni-Co LDH adsorption of Cl− and passivation of corrosion inhibitor was realized. • The impedance modulus values of composite coating two orders of magnitude higher than that of the EP coating. • The friction loss and water absorption of the composite coating decreased by 33% and 51.36% respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A urea assisted hydrogen evolution device with high energy saving efficiency was proposed. • NiMoO 4 NC/NT electrocatalyst exhibited excellent activity for both UOR and HER. • The flow field effect assisted electrocatalysis can achieve the best catalytic activity. • The structures of NiMoO 4 nanocrystalline were synthesized in situ for the first time. • The results of DFT calculation prove that Mo is the priority adsorption site for urea molecule. Coupling hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with urea oxidation reaction (UOR) can significantly reduce the cell voltage, but also alleviate the environmental pollution caused by urea. We prepared NiMoO 4 nanocrystals (NC) in situ and cooperated with the hydrodynamics effect of nickel-micro tubes (NT), so that nanocrystals growing inside and outside the tube wall can fully react with electrolyte under the effect of flow field during the process of liquid flow, and achieve the best catalytic activity. Significantly, NiMoO 4 NC 400 /NT as electrode in coupled system achieving an ultralow cell voltage. And DFT calculations suggested a lattice oxygen involved urea oxidation reaction pathway with Ni-Mo site as the active site. Our approach can give a straightforward synthesis method for in-situ nanocrystal preparation, as well as break the shackles of standard water electrolysis and provide a new way to produce energy-saving hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the extensive exploration of advanced combustion modes and the increasing demand for engines with extremely high efficiency and low emissions, biodiesel has garnered significant attention and research as a renewable fuel source that boasts a wide range of raw materials. The ignition delay times (IDT) of methyl stearate, one of the main components in biodiesel, were measured in a new heated rapid compression machine (RCM). The data were obtained for the equivalence ratio of 0.3–0.8 and the compressed temperatures ranging from 820 K to 1000 K under three different pressures of 8, 10, and 12 bar. The influence of compressed temperature, compressed pressure, equivalence ratio, and oxygen mole fraction on ignition delay times was systematically discussed under experimental conditions, revealing the autoignition characteristics of methyl stearate in intermediate temperatures. Besides, the CRECK model and a skeletal model were verified against the experimental results, revealing that the model obtained by analogy significantly overestimates the low-temperature reactivity of methyl stearate. Furthermore, appropriate adjustments were made to the pre-exponential factors for the low-temperature elementary reactions in the CRECK model based on sensitivity analysis. The results indicate that the present model with optimization can well capture the dependence of the IDTs on the operating parameters under the investigated conditions, and the simulation results are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. Finally, the optimized model was verified against the experimental data from both the shock tube and jet-stirred reactor. To the authors' knowledge, this study represents the first gas-phase RCM experiment conducted on pure methyl stearate, which is a waxy solid at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isothermal compressive tests of a new hot isostatic pressed (HIPed) powder metallurgy (P/M) superalloy are performed at diverse deformation amounts, strain rates, and elevated temperatures. The impacts of hot compression parameters on the morphological evolution and dissolution behavior of γ' phase are studied. Results show that the morphology of γ′ phase changes from the various initial shapes (irregular, split-off branch, dendrite, butterfly-like, and cauliflower) to spherical, due to the overlap of the γ'/γ interface energy and the coherent strain energy related to lattice misfit. Besides, the dislocation accumulation leads to the increased local stress and enhances the spheroidization behavior of γ' phase. Increasing temperature/true strain or decreasing strain rate, the dynamic dissolution behavior of γ' phase is obvious. It is because the dislocation/ vacancies-assisted element diffusion is rapid at high deformation temperatures/true strains, and the low strain rate can provide the enough time for element diffusion. The substantial dissolution of γ' phase at 1140 °C and 1170 °C is also related to the deformation temperature approaching and exceeding the γ' solvus temperature (1150 °C), respectively. Additionally, the decreased fraction of γ' phase is also related to the high γ'/γ interfacial energy. To quantitatively describe the dissolution behavior of γ′ phase, a dynamic dissolution kinetics model is proposed, and the correlation coefficient between the predicted and experimental values is 0.990. It indicates that the proposed model can precisely depict the dissolution behavior of γ′ phase. The findings in this work can provide the theoretical guidance to optimize deformation parameters, as well as control the morphology and fraction of γ′ phases. • Dissolution and spheroidization mechanisms of γ′ phase in a novel HIPed P/M superalloy during hot deformation are studied. • The morphology of γ′ phase changes from the various initial shapes (irregular, split-off branch, et al.) to spherical. • The spheroidization of γ' phase mainly results from lattice misfit and the interaction between dislocation and γ' phase. • The dynamic dissolution behavior of γ' phase is obvious with increasing temperature/strain or decreasing strain rate. • The proposed dynamic dissolution kinetics model can precisely depict the dissolution behavior of γ′ phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ammonia (NH 3) is considered as a good carbon-free hydrogen-carrier fuel and has gained extensive attention as a promising alternative fuel for internal combustion engine in recent years. To explore the application potential of the NH 3 burned with diesel fuel in internal combustion engine, the auto-ignition delay times of NH 3 /diesel fuel blends were measured in a rapid compression machine at a wide NH 3 energy fraction of 20%, 40%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%, temperature range of 675–995 K, pressures of 20–50 bar, and equivalence ratios of 0.5–1.5. According to the variation of ignition delay times with temperature, three different combustion regimes for NH 3 /diesel mixtures can be determined. It is found that the typical NTC behavior and two-stage ignition process were only observed at the regime where diesel chemistry dominates. Both the first-stage and the total ignition delay times increase with rising NH 3 energy fraction, but decrease with the increase of equivalence ratio. Then, an updated NH 3 /diesel kinetic mechanism was proposed by adding new cross reactions between diesel and NH 3. Results show that the current mechanism exhibits an obvious improvement for ignition delay time prediction compared to the original mechanism, though it still fails to reproduce the ignition delay times of NTC range for the mixture containing 20% NH 3. Further sensitivity analysis and the OH radical rate of production analysis indicate that the overestimation of the reactivity for the NH 3 /diesel fuel blends at NTC range is closely related to reaction NO+HO 2 NO 2 +OH. The promoting effect of NO species on the conversion of inactive HO 2 radical into active OH radical at low temperature greatly accelerates the autoignition. In addition, the current mechanism does not include the cross reaction between the large NTC-related species (QOOH, OOQOOH, OQOOH, ROO) and the N-containing species (NO, NO 2 , NH 2), especially for the NO related reactions, which may have a great impact on the IDT simulation of the NH 3 /diesel mixtures. Consequently, this work presents new ignition delay time measurements and mechanism optimization for NH 3 /diesel mixtures. Continuous works should be emphasized on these unclear reactions to further understand the combustion behavior of NH 3 /diesel fuel blends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autoignition characteristics of methyl palmitate (C 17 H 34 O 2), a waxy solid at room temperature, were investigated in a newly developed heated rapid compression machine. Ignition delay times (IDT) of methyl palmitate were firstly measured at the low-to-intermediate temperatures of 780–980 K and equivalence ratios of 0.3–1.0 under three pressures of 10, 15, and 20 bar. A negative effect of the increase in compressed pressure, equivalence ratio, and oxygen mole fraction on IDTs at different compressed temperatures was qualitatively and quantitatively revealed. Besides, the dependence of IDTs on compressed pressure and equivalence ratio decreases with increasing temperature. A recently optimized mechanism was used to predict the experimental results. The simulations show an obvious negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behavior at the compressed temperatures of 780–830 K which was not observed in the experiment. Meanwhile, the mechanism pronouncedly underestimated the reactivity of methyl palmitate at higher temperatures in this study. Sensitivity analyses at different temperatures and pressures for equivalence ratios of 0.5 were conducted to determine the crucial reactions that caused the difference between the simulation and experiments. On this basis, further optimization was carried out and the simulation results of the latest mechanism show a good agreement with the experimental data. It is verified against shock tube experimental data that the optimization adjustment in this paper has a small positive impact on the prediction ability of the originally documented mechanism under temperatures above 1000 K. In the end, validation for the optimized mechanism against experimental data in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) was performed. Overall, the experimental results fill in gaps in IDT data on methyl palmitate at low-to-intermediate temperatures and provide a reference IDT database for the development and validation of methyl palmitate mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The artificial microbial consortium was adapted in the pretreated materials. • dCBP by the adapted microbial consortium was realized to produce d -glucaric acid. • dCBP had the most integrated bioprocess without filtration and autoclave. • A closed-circuit circulation from pretreatment, dCBP to separation was established. • The closed-circuit circulation was environment-friendly without waste water. d -glucaric acid production from lignocellulose is a valuable research field, but meets the same challenge as other biorefinery processes that prevents it from commercialization, high production costs. The very path to tackle this is to increase the titer, rate and yield (TRY) of d -glucaric acid production and simplify the process, on which this study focused. Herein we used a novel, clean and environmentally friendly pretreatment, subcritical water pretreatment (SCWP), based on which we compared consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) by the microbial consortium composed of Trichoderma reesei C10 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae LGA-1C3S2 with separated hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF). CBP was found to be advantageous over SHF because of its comparable yield, much more simplified bioprocess and bigger space for cost reduction. Then CBP was upgraded to direct consolidated bioprocessing (dCBP) by adapting the microbial consortium in the raw liquors of SCWP containing inhibitors and toxic chemicals. As a result, more integrated biorefinery processes from corn stover (CS), wheat straw (WS), rice straw (RS) and switchgrass (SG) to d -glucaric acid under SCWP were developed and scaled up from shake flasks to 10 L fermenters, stirred and airlift. The TRYs of d -glucaric acid were improved significantly. The airlift fermenter was preferable for the dCBPs, producing the highest concentrations of d -glucaric acid, which were 10.03 g/L from subcritical water pretreated CS (SWCPCS), 9.53 g/L from SWCPWS, 8.87 g/L from SWCPRS and 10.66 g/L from SWCPSG respectively. Subsequently, the dCBPs were coupled with the downstream separation to establish a closed-circuit circulation and 30 rounds was run successfully. The highly integrated process from lignocellulose to d -glucaric acid with the smallest number of single unit operations was obtained and reported for the first time, providing an important design for biorefinery. This work is of great significance for biomanufacturing d -glucaric acid and other bio-based chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of the interactions between catalyst and support is very important in heterogeneous catalysis of water splitting; however, it is still lacking. Herein, a Fe-based material of rod-like Fe 2 OF 4 is fabricated as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst. Strikingly, Fe 2 OF 4 loaded on nickel foam support can exhibit high-efficient OER activity with low overpotential and Tafel slope. Furthermore, we reveal that partial ferric ions within Fe 2 OF 4 can leach out into electrolyte; and then the ferric ions are electrochemically adsorbed on the surface of nickel foam, triggering dynamic surface reconstruction to generate highly active FeNi-oxyhydroxides under alkaline OER condition. Further, based on our findings, a promising approach is successfully proposed to prepare a large-size, low-cost and high-performance OER electrode via surface reconstruction on NF with ferric ions, showing remarkable performance. This work provides new insights into catalyst-support interactions, and proposes a straightforward surface reconstruction strategy for the scaling-up of electrocatalysts. [Display omitted] • A Fe-based material of rod-like Fe 2 OF 4 is successfully fabricated as OER catalyst. • There are strong interactions between Fe 2 OF 4 and NF support. • Ferric ions will leach from the Fe-based catalyst during OER process. • The ferric ions can trigger the dynamic surface reconstruction of nickel foam (NF). • The dynamic surface reconstruction of NF generates highly active FeNi-oxyhydroxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Compared the transcriptome profiles of between ucMSCs and bmMSCs of giant panda. • 478 genes upregulated, 601 genes downregulated in ucMSCs compared with bmMSCs. • PI3K-AKT pathway was more activated in ucMSCs compared with bmMSCs. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have pluripotent differentiation ability and play an important role in human clinical cell therapy. While, the research on MSCs in endangered wild animals is extremely rare. In our previous studies, the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSCs) and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (ucMSCs) of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) were successfully isolated. We aimed to characterize the differences in gene expression profiles between these two types of MSCs using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and to determine which potential pathways are involved in functional regulation. In total, 1079 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 478 genes were upregulated and 601 genes were downregulated. The significantly enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms mainly contained cell adhesion, biological adhesion, intracellular signal transduction, molecular function regulator, Ras protein signal transduction, small GTPase mediated signal transduction, and regulation of Rho protein signal transduction. The most enrichment pathways of DEGs enriched in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes Genomes (KEGG) were PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, cGMP-PKG signaling pathway and Signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells. In addition, quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that the AKT3 , CDK2 , MAPK3 , mTOR , PI3K and PTK2 genes associated with PI3K-AKT pathway were highly expressed (P < 0.01), and Caspase-3 was low expressed (P < 0.05) in ucMSCs group when compared with bmMSCs. After treatment with the PI3K inhibitor LY294002, genes AKT3, CDK2, MAPK3, mTOR, and PTK2 were significantly decreased in ucMSCs (P < 0.01), and Caspase-3 was significantly up regulated (P < 0.001). In conclusion, we for the first time compared and analyzed the transcriptome profiles of giant panda ucMSCs and bmMSCs, and found the PI3K-AKT pathway was highly activated and might be a key signaling pathway in the ucMSCs regulation. This study will be beneficial for the research on MSCs proliferation regulation and differentiation of giant pandas in the future, and lay the foundation for MSCs application and clinical therapy for endangered wild animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Compared the transcriptome profiles of between ucMSCs and bmMSCs of giant panda. • 478 genes upregulated, 601 genes downregulated in ucMSCs compared with bmMSCs. • PI3K-AKT pathway was more activated in ucMSCs compared with bmMSCs. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have pluripotent differentiation ability and play an important role in human clinical cell therapy. While, the research on MSCs in endangered wild animals is extremely rare. In our previous studies, the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSCs) and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (ucMSCs) of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) were successfully isolated. We aimed to characterize the differences in gene expression profiles between these two types of MSCs using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and to determine which potential pathways are involved in functional regulation. In total, 1079 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, of which 478 genes were upregulated and 601 genes were downregulated. The significantly enriched Gene Ontology (GO) terms mainly contained cell adhesion, biological adhesion, intracellular signal transduction, molecular function regulator, Ras protein signal transduction, small GTPase mediated signal transduction, and regulation of Rho protein signal transduction. The most enrichment pathways of DEGs enriched in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes Genomes (KEGG) were PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, cGMP-PKG signaling pathway and Signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells. In addition, quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that the AKT3 , CDK2 , MAPK3 , mTOR , PI3K and PTK2 genes associated with PI3K-AKT pathway were highly expressed (P < 0.01), and Caspase-3 was low expressed (P < 0.05) in ucMSCs group when compared with bmMSCs. After treatment with the PI3K inhibitor LY294002, genes AKT3, CDK2, MAPK3, mTOR, and PTK2 were significantly decreased in ucMSCs (P < 0.01), and Caspase-3 was significantly up regulated (P < 0.001). In conclusion, we for the first time compared and analyzed the transcriptome profiles of giant panda ucMSCs and bmMSCs, and found the PI3K-AKT pathway was highly activated and might be a key signaling pathway in the ucMSCs regulation. This study will be beneficial for the research on MSCs proliferation regulation and differentiation of giant pandas in the future, and lay the foundation for MSCs application and clinical therapy for endangered wild animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burning oxygenated hydrocarbon biofuels in engines is a viable path for saving energy and reducing carbon emissions. N-butanol and biodiesel are two representative biofuels and have attracted widespread interest. In this study, the blends of n-butanol and biodiesel (a waste cooking oil) with different n-butanol ratios (40%, 60%, 80% by volume) were adopted to study their autoignition characteristics in a newly developed ultrahigh-pressure rapid compression machine. The ignition delay times of the blends were precisely measured under wide pressures of 10/20/40/60 bar, equivalence ratios of 0.3/0.5/1.0, and a temperature range of 700–970 K. Experimental results show that the ignition delay time decreases with the increase of pressure and equivalence ratio at the investigated conditions regardless the blending ratios. It is also found that the ignition delay time becomes slightly longer with the increasing n-butanol ratio in the blends at temperatures below 820 K. However, as the temperature further increases, the ignition delay times of different blends get closer and has a crossover tendency. The composition of the biodiesel was quantitively analyzed and a surrogate fuel was developed. An optimized mechanism was proposed based on a documented detailed mechanism with 461 species and 18,217 reactions. Simulation results show that the optimized mechanism better captures the dependence of the measured ignition delay times on temperature, pressure, and blending ratios over the entire temperature range compared to the original mechanism. In the end, species evolution and sensitivity analysis were performed sequentially with the optimized mechanism to give kinetics insight into the chemical interaction between biodiesel and n-butanol. The experimental data and modeling results reported here provide a basis for understanding the combustion reaction kinetics of biodiesel/n-butanol blending fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High energy density is a desirable index for advanced energy storage materials. Here, core-shell structured nanoparticles Al 2 O 3 @ZrO 2 (A@Z) are synthesized to fabricate P(VDF-HFP)/A@Z nanocomposite films. Experimental and simulation results confirm that A@Z nanoparticles are effective in suppressing the local electric field distortion of nanocomposites, as well as intensifying the interfacial polarization without affecting the intrinsic orientational polarization. The activation energy of the interfacial relaxation in crystalline/amorphous region is increased from 0.96 eV of the neat P(VDF-HFP) to 1.25 eV of P(VDF-HFP)/5 vol%-A@Z nanocomposite. Meanwhile, a new dielectric relaxation with energy of ∼1.08 eV related to nanoparticles/amorphous phase of P(VDF-HFP) is induced. The modulated interfaces present substantial capability in inhibiting charge motion, which contributes to an improved electrical property and energy density of the nanocomposites. Specifically, a ∼200% enhancement in discharged energy density is achieved in the P(VDF-HFP)/5 vol%-A@Z nanocomposite, demonstrating a promising dielectric material choice for energy storage capacitor applications. Al 2 O 3 @ZrO 2 core-shell nanoparticles were employed to tune the interfacial relaxations and enhance the energy storage performance of P(VDF-HFP) nanocomposite. A new interfacial relaxation with energy of 1.08 eV in P(VDF-HFP) is induced, and an enhancement ratio of 200.3% in the discharged energy density is achieved in P(VDF-HFP)/5 vol%-A@Z nanocomposite, providing a potential dielectric material choice for high-energy storage capacitor applications. [Display omitted] • A@Z nanoparticles can suppress the local electric field distortion and intensify the interfacial polarizations. • A new dielectric relaxation with energy of 1.08 eV related to nanoparticles/amorphous phase of P(VDF-HFP) is induced. • An enhancement ratio of 200.3% in U d and 30.8% in E b is achieved in P(VDF-HFP)/5 vol%-A@Z nanocomposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• EM-Co-Co x S y -Ni/N,S-C composites were prepared using eggshell membrane of joint source of carbon, nitrogen and sulfide. • EM-Co-Co x S y -Ni/N,S-C composites possess sufficient polarization centers and multiple heterogeneous interfaces. • The performance derives from multiple loss mechanism and tunable impedance match. Eggshell membrane-derived Co-Co x S y -Ni/N,S-codoped carbon composites (EM-Co-Co x S y -Ni/N,S-C) were synthesized by heating a Co2+-Ni2+-2-methylimidazole/eggshell membrane precursor in a N 2 atmosphere. The dual atom (nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S)) doping of C was realized easily by using eggshell membrane as the joint source of carbon, N and S. The EM-Co-Co x S y -Ni/N,S-C composites showed remarkable electromagnetic wave absorption (EMWA) performance. The minimum reflection loss (RL min) reached −48.5 dB (10.1 GHz, 3.5 mm) and the Effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) achieved 7.4 GHz (10.3–17.7 GHz, 3 mm). By adjusting the concentration of 2-methylimidazole, impressive RL min (-41.5 dB, 13.9 GHz) and EAB (6.5 GHz, 11.5–18 GHz) could be achieved at an absorber thickness of 2.5 mm. Eggshell membrane exhibits considerable potential in designing heteroatom doped carbon based EMW absorbents with high-performance and low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, polypyrrole/titanium oxide/reduced graphene oxide (PTi/r-GO) electrodes were prepared and successfully applied for the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light. Polypyrrole-TiO 2 composites rich in p-n heterojunctions were first prepared, then modified with r-GO to improve the electrical conductivity and facilitate charge separation under visible light irradiation. The obtained PTi/r-GO composites were then deposited onto a titanium mesh, which served as the working electrode in PEC experiments. A MO removal efficiency of 93% was achieved in 50 min using PTi/r-GO electrode under PEC conditions (Xe lamp, λ > 420 nm, bias of 0.6 V, 0.1 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte), which was far higher than MO removal efficiencies under electrocatalytic oxidation (22%) or photocatalytic oxidation (47%) conditions. This confirmed that excellent activity of the PTi/r-GO electrode under PEC conditions was due to a combination of electrochemical and photocatalytic oxidation processes (involving •OH and •O 2 − generation). Further, PTi/r-GO was very stable under the applied PEC conditions, with the MO removal efficiency remaining >90% after five cycles. PEC degradation pathways for MO on PTi/r-GO were explored, with a number of key intermediates in the MO mineralization process identified. Results demonstrate that PEC electrodes combining p -type polypyrrole, n -type TiO 2 and rGO are very effective in the treatment of hazardous organic compounds in wastewater. [Display omitted] • A series of PTi/r-GO PEC electrodes photocatalysts were successfully fabricated. • PTi/r-GO PEC electrodes efficiently generated.•O 2 − and •OH radicals under photoexcitation. • Aqueous methyl orange were rapidly degraded by PTi/r-GO PEC electrodes. • PTi/r-GO PEC electrode was very stable and easily recycled for reuse. • Possible photocatalytic mechanism for PTi/r-GO PEC electrode was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sapindus saponins extracted from S. mukorossi have been reported to exert antibacterial activities against skin pathogenic bacteria, but their antibacterial mechanism is still at an exploratory stage. The objective of this study was to explore the synergistic antibacterial mechanism of the combination of two Sapindus saponins, namely Sapindoside A and B (S AB) against Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) 6919 via targeting the fatty acid compositions and membrane properties. After exposure to S AB , C. acnes cells increased the cell surface hydrophobicity and reduced the cell membrane fluidity by changing the composition of membrane fatty acids. In the fatty acid compositions, the content of two main fatty acids 12-methyl-tetradecanoic acid (isoC15:0) and octadecanoic acid (C18:0) reduced and improved respectively with the addition of S AB , and fatty acid biosynthesis-related genes were significantly down-regulated (p < 0.05). Further, molecular docking demonstrated that S AB interacted with FabD, which is an essential enzyme for bacterial type II fatty acid synthesis, via hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. In the above results, the contribution of S A to S AB was greater than that of S B. In summary, the results revealed that S AB changed the fatty acid compositions of C. acnes , further disrupting the cell membrane properties, and S A played a major role, suggesting that S AB could be a natural antiacne additive against C. acnes -associated infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, polypyrrole/titanium oxide/reduced graphene oxide (PTi/r-GO) electrodes were prepared and successfully applied for the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light. Polypyrrole-TiO 2 composites rich in p-n heterojunctions were first prepared, then modified with r-GO to improve the electrical conductivity and facilitate charge separation under visible light irradiation. The obtained PTi/r-GO composites were then deposited onto a titanium mesh, which served as the working electrode in PEC experiments. A MO removal efficiency of 93% was achieved in 50 min using PTi/r-GO electrode under PEC conditions (Xe lamp, λ > 420 nm, bias of 0.6 V, 0.1 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte), which was far higher than MO removal efficiencies under electrocatalytic oxidation (22%) or photocatalytic oxidation (47%) conditions. This confirmed that excellent activity of the PTi/r-GO electrode under PEC conditions was due to a combination of electrochemical and photocatalytic oxidation processes (involving •OH and •O 2 − generation). Further, PTi/r-GO was very stable under the applied PEC conditions, with the MO removal efficiency remaining >90% after five cycles. PEC degradation pathways for MO on PTi/r-GO were explored, with a number of key intermediates in the MO mineralization process identified. Results demonstrate that PEC electrodes combining p -type polypyrrole, n -type TiO 2 and rGO are very effective in the treatment of hazardous organic compounds in wastewater. [Display omitted] • A series of PTi/r-GO PEC electrodes photocatalysts were successfully fabricated. • PTi/r-GO PEC electrodes efficiently generated.•O 2 − and •OH radicals under photoexcitation. • Aqueous methyl orange were rapidly degraded by PTi/r-GO PEC electrodes. • PTi/r-GO PEC electrode was very stable and easily recycled for reuse. • Possible photocatalytic mechanism for PTi/r-GO PEC electrode was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Synergistic combination of Sapindoside A and B (S AB) inhibited C. acnes biofilm. • S AB disturbed C. acnes biofilm via decreasing adhesion and CSH, EPS and lipase. • S AB significantly downregulated the biofilm biosynthesis-associated genes. • Combination index method was first used to evaluate the antibiofilm activity of S AB. • Contribution of Sapindoside A was greater than that of Sapindoside B in the S AB. Sapindus saponins extracted from Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. have been reported to exert antibacterial activity against Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes). However, there are no reports about their potentials against its biofilm, which is a major contributor to the antibiotic resistance of C. acnes. This study aimed to investigate the synergistic antibiofilm activity and action of the combination of Sapindoside A and B (S AB) against C. acnes. S AB with sub-MICs significantly inhibited the early-formed and mature biofilm of C. acnes and decreased the adhesion and cell surface hydrophobicity (p < 0.05). Also, S AB greatly reduced the production of exopolysaccharide and lipase (p < 0.05), and the binding mode of S AB and lipase was predicted by molecular docking, via hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Biofilm observed with electron microscopies further confirmed the high antibiofilm activity of S AB against C. acnes. Furthermore, a significant down-regulation of biofilm biosynthesis-associated genes was observed. The combination index explained the synergistic effects of S AB leading to the above results, and the contribution of S A was greater than that of S B. The current results showed that S AB had synergistic antibiofilm activity against C. acnes , and the Sapindoside A played a major role, indicating that S AB could be a natural antiacne additive against C. acnes biofilm-associated infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sapindus saponins are obtained from the outer bark of Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn. (S. mukorossi), and they have become an interesting subject in the search for new anti-acne agents without resistance. This study aimed to screen the synergistic antibacterial combination from Sapindus saponins and investigated the synergistic antibacterial action via targeting the cell membrane of Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes) to reduce the effective dose. The combination of Sapindoside A and B (S AB) was obtained with synergistic activity against C. acnes. S AB led to the leakage of ions and disturbed the membrane morphology of C. acnes. The spectral features of cell membrane composition showed obvious changes based on Raman spectroscopy, and changes in membrane protein microenvironment were also observed by fluorescence spectroscopy. Among the above results, the contribution of Sapindoside A was greater than that of Sapindoside B to the synergistic combination of S AB. Furthermore, molecular docking demonstrated that Sapindoside A interacted with penicillin-binding protein 2, playing an important role in peptidoglycan synthesis for the cross wall, and showed a higher binding score than Sapindoside B, further indicating that the greater contribution in the synergistic action of S AB on membrane proteins. Collectively, these results showed that the synergistic antibacterial action of S AB against C. acnes could be achieved by attacking cell membrane, and Sapindoside A played a major role, suggesting that S AB has the potential to be the natural anti-acne agent additive in the cosmetic industry. [Display omitted] • Synergistic combination of Sapindoside A and B (S AB) inhibited Cutibacterium acnes. • S AB disturbed the membrane characteristics and morphology of Cutibacterium acnes. • Spectral features of membrane composition changed greatly based on Raman spectroscopy. • Changes in the membrane protein microenvironment were observed. • Contribution of Sapindoside A was greater than that of Sapindoside B in the S AB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effect of the presence of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles on the behavior of fluid flow is investigated. • Effect of number of layers and wall material on fluid flow is investigated. • The material of walls is considered as platinum, copper and iron. • By changing the material from copper to iron and platinum, the interactions between particles increase. Due to the increasing development of nanotechnology and its wide applications, the flow of a nanofluid in a duct is also optimal geometric construction of ducts in the fabrication and production of various ducts to increase efficiency in nanofluid behavior are essential. In this paper, by using the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation process, the effect of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles on the behavior of water-based fluid is investigated. Physical parameters such as total temperature, potential energy, fluid, nanofluid density profiles, fluid velocity, nanofluid profiles, and fluid and nanofluid temperature profiles are reported. Also, the effect of the number of layers and wall material on fluid flow is investigated. Therefore, the channel wall material in the following simulations will be considered as platinum, copper, and iron. Over time, the temperature of atomic structures reaches 300 K, which indicates the temperature stability in the simulated atomic structures. The results show that by increasing the number of wall layers in nanochannels and similar microchannels, interactions between fluid particles and walls increase. As these interactions increase, the accumulation of fluid particles in the vicinity of the channel walls increases, which increases the density of the shelves adjacent to the channel walls. Also, by changing the microchannel material from copper to iron and platinum, the number of interactions between particles in the present structures increases. This increase in the number of interactions between the particles present in the microchannel wall and the base fluid causes the maximum density to be observed in the platinum microchannel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]