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In the past 20 years, the global per capita protein demand has been increasing year by year, and thus the search for sustainable and healthier alternative proteins is the focus of current food research. Yeast proteins are of microbial origin with environmentally friendly advantages. They are high-quality proteins with high bioavailability and are expected to be used as novel alternative proteins for food applications. Although reports on yeast extracts continue to increase, studies on the composition, production methods, and functional properties of yeast proteins lack systematic reviews. In addition, the application of yeast proteins in the food industry has not been summarized previously. This paper reviews the composition of yeast proteins and the approaches for their isolation and extraction, and systematically introduces the functional properties and the wide applications in food fields. Future perspectives for yeast proteins to sustainably and healthily meet the world's growing protein demand are also elucidated. Yeast proteins have great application potential as alternative proteins with a reasonable proportion of amino acid composition. Yeast proteins can be hydrolyzed to produce yeast peptides and can also be used as protein supplements, fining agents, meat extenders, etc. Overcoming the limitations of high nucleic acid content and high cost, and improving the functional properties and sensory acceptability of yeast proteins will greatly promote their market applications. This review will provide ideas and guidance for the research and development of yeast proteins in food applications. Yeast proteins have high nutritional value with an ideal amino acid composition and a wealth of functions and properties. The excellent characteristics allow yeast proteins to be used as sustainable alternative proteins in food applications. [Display omitted] • The compositions and extraction approaches of yeast proteins are overviewed. • The functional properties of yeast proteins are summarized. • The applications of yeast proteins as alternative proteins in food are reviewed. • The strategies to improve the utilization of yeast proteins are emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The mesocosm experiment was used to track bacterial community dynamics. • Organic amendments increase the bacterial diversity during drought stress. • Organic amendments increase the compositional resilience during rewetting. • Pathogen inhibition ability in NOF was enhanced after rewetting. • NOF possesses a strategy-balancing community during whole drought event. The soil bacterial microbiome plays a crucial role in ecosystem functioning. The composition and functioning of the microbiome are tightly controlled by the physicochemical surrounding. Therefore, the microbiome is responsive to management, such as fertilization, and to climate change, such as extreme drought. It remains a challenge to retain microbiome functioning under drought. This work aims to reveal if fertilization with organic fertilizer, can enhance resistance and resilience of bacterial communities and their function in extreme drought and subsequent rewetting compared with conventional fertilizers. In soil mesocosms, we induced a long-term drought for 80 days with subsequent rewetting for 170 days to follow bacterial community dynamics in organic (NOF) and chemical (NCF) fertilization regimes. Our results showed that bacterial diversity was higher with NOF than with NCF during drought. In particular, the ecological resilience and recovery of bacterial communities under NOF were higher than in NCF. We found these bacterial community features to enhance pathogen-inhibiting functions in NOF compared to NCF during late recovery. The other soil ecology functional analyses revealed that bacterial biomass recovered in the early stage after rewetting, while soil respiration increased continuously following prolonged time after rewetting. Together, our study indicates that organic fertilization can enhance the stability of the soil microbiome and ensures that specific bacterial-driven ecosystem functions recover after rewetting. This may provide the basis for more sustainable agricultural practices to counterbalance negative climate change-induced effects on soil functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using Sentinel-2 imagery and deep learning, rapeseed fields' spatial distribution can be detected during initial flowering. • PSPNet accurately identified rapeseed fields with high effectiveness (F1 = 88.17 %). • The detection of initial flowering provides valuable data for the management of pollinators. • The PSPNet rapeseed field detection model in the initial flowering period has been validated. In high-intensity farming, swiftly and accurately adjusting the proportion of artificially reared pollinators according to the flowering phenology of crops is vital. This adjustment is essential for sustaining crop yields without disrupting the ecological niche of native pollinators. Although advancements in remote sensing provide practical means to gather data on crop coverage and extent, identifying insect-pollinated crops during their initial flowering to guide the deployment of managed pollinators is an underexamined research area. Here, we tested the capability of utilizing Sentinel-2 satellite images combined with a deep learning model to map crop fields during the initial flowering stage of insect-pollinated crops in Zhaosu County, Xinjiang, China. Specifically, we examined rapeseed fields by employing 12 neural network designs to identify images of the initial flowering stage. Different network combinations of three convolutional neural network (CNN) models (U-Net, PSPNet, and DeepLab V3) and four different backbone networks (ResNet-18, ResNet-34, ResNet-50, and ResNet-101) were explored to determine the most effective model for detecting rapeseed fields at the initial flowering stage. A comparison was conducted with Sentinel-2 images obtained at the peak stage of rapeseed flowering. Our results suggest that the use of a deep learning model in combination with Sentinel-2 image data can successfully identify rapeseed fields at the initial flowering stage, thereby offering preliminary insights for the strategic introduction of managed pollinators. The PSPNet model emerged as the superior choice for the identification of rapeseed fields, exhibiting high accuracy in both detection and boundary recognition, with F1 scores of 88.17 % and an intersection over union (IoU) of 53.11 % during initial flowering and F1 scores of 93.33 % with an IoU of 53.49 % during peak flowering. The planting area of rapeseed fields detected by the model in Zhaosu County was 122.16 km2, distributed within an area of 1068 km2. These findings can provide foundational data for informed decisions regarding artificial pollinator supplementation, helping to sustain the health and stability of agricultural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging massive noisy and incomplete data is transforming the conventional graph to the uncertain graph. In this paper, we study rough maximal cliques enumeration (RMCE) in incomplete graphs, which we define as the novel problem of enumerating all maximal cliques where some of edges are unknown to users. The hardness of RMCE is proved to NP-complete. To tackle this problem, an efficient framework for obtaining the rough maximal cliques based on P artially- K nown C oncept L earning (PKCL). With this framework, a given incomplete graph is initially represented as an incomplete formal context. Then, the partially-known SE-ISI concept lattice is generated through the constructed incomplete formal context. Based on the constructed SE-ISI concept lattice, an equivalence theorem between SE-ISI equiconcepts and rough maximal cliques is presented. The detailed topological structural analysis from the point of views of roughness and SE-ISI concept stability of rough maximal cliques are separately discussed. The evaluation results demonstrate that our proposed PKCL algorithm can better identify the rough maximal cliques under different probability distribution models of links compared to the existing baseline algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ternary ZnO/Ag/g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction was synthesized by a polymer-network gel method. • ZnO/Ag/g-C 3 N 4 possesses high surface area, strong sunlight absorption and enhanced charge separation. • ZnO/Ag/g-C 3 N 4 exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity to Rhodamine B. • ZnO/Ag/g-C 3 N 4 shows superior photoactivated gas-sensing performance for NO 2 detection. It is important to seek effective strategies to fabricate nanomaterials with multi-functionalities in noxious gas detection and poisonous waste treatment. Herein, Ag nanoparticles and g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets co-modified ZnO heterostructure was synthesized via a one-step polymer-network gel method, which is used as both photocatalyst and sensing material. Being a visible-light-driven photocatalyst, the ternary ZnO/Ag/g-C 3 N 4 composite produced 100 % Rhodamine B degradation within 30 min with good cycling stability. Besides, the gas sensor based on ZnO/Ag/g-C 3 N 4 exhibited superb room-temperature sensing performance under neutral light excitation, with a response value of 15.3–5 ppm NO 2 and a lower detection limitation. The excellent performance was mainly attributed to the significantly enhanced visible-light absorption as well as effectively suppressed charge recombination because of the synergism between the individual components. Moreover, the formation of g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets during thermal oxidation etching plays a critical role in improving the surface area and enriching the surface oxygen vacancies. Thus, this work provides novel insights for the synthesis and multi-applications of ZnO/Ag/g-C 3 N 4 heterostructure with high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the industrial fuel ethanol process, the initial feed conditions, which are static variables, and each control operation, which is dynamic variable and is changing during the producing process, have an impact on the concentration of ethanol out of the tank. Developing the accurate concentration model of ethanol out of the tank with the static variables and as early as possible dynamic variables is a challenging work and is useful in analyzing and optimizing the production process. Given that the ethanol fermentation process is multiphase and dynamic, a block concentration model of ethanol out of the tank based on multilayer perceptron (MLP) and long short-term memory (LSTM) is proposed to deal with the coexistence state of the static variables and the dynamic variables. A Channel-Squeeze-and-Excitation (CSE) module is constructed to solve the problem of high-dimensional input and low-dimensional output caused by the block model. The proposed model is applied for the industrial ethanol fermentation process. The results show that CSE-MLSTM is significantly different from other prediction models and improves the prediction accuracy. Temperature control experiments and ablation experiments effectively verify the reliability and effectiveness of CSE-MLSTM. • Use MLP and LSTM for static and dynamic data in the model respectively. • Accurate and universal model for predicting ethanol concentration out of the tank. • The channel-squeeze-and-excitation (CSE) to address the high-dimensional input. • CSE-MLSTM greatly improves the prediction accuracy and generalization performance. • Temperature control experiments to verify the validity of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercial exploitation of the deep-sea massive deep-sea polymetallic nodules depends on the excellent tractive performance of the deep-sea tracked miner. The walking safety and trafficability of the deep-sea tracked miner are greatly influenced by the traction of the crawler with multi track shoes. The total tractions generated from the two cases of failure surface under the uniformed pressure are deduced and analyzed based on the principle of virtual power. By substituting specified parameters, the traction weakening effect of multi track shoes is discovered, and then corresponding expression is put forward and verified by comparing the tested and theoretical traction relationships based on the traction test of multi track shoes. The research results show that the height and the distance should be considered into the design in a comprehensive way because of the existence of the weakening effect. The mechanism revealing of the source of the multi track shoe tractions could help to achieve the appropriate size of the track shoe and more traction according to the different track shoe distance. • Based on the principle of virtual power, the total tractions of multi track shoes of tracked deep-sea miner are deduced by analyzing the two cases of failure surface. • The traction weakening effect of multi track shoes is discovered, and then the corresponding inequity expression is put forward to predict the loss of traction. • The traction weakening effect is verified by comparing the tested and theoretical traction relationships based on the traction test of multi track shoes. • The mechanism of the multi track shoe tractions could help to achieve the appropriate track shoe size and more traction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous monoculture, conventional flood fertigation and low soil fertility increase the risk of soil-borne diseases in greenhouse vegetable production systems. Drip fertigation with straw incorporation (DIF+S) significantly improves resource use efficiency and reduces environmental risks compared to conventional fertigation. However, it remains unclear whether DIF+S positively affects soil microbial diversity and community structure and reduces the occurrence of soil-borne diseases. Therefore, a two-factor field trial was conducted in a greenhouse tomato production system with drip vs. flood fertigation, with and without straw incorporation across the seven growing seasons. The experimental treatments were as follows: (i) conventional flood irrigation with overfertilization (CIF); (ii) CIF + straw incorporation; (iii) drip fertigation with reduced irrigation and fertilization (DIF); and (iv) DIF + straw incorporation. Across the seven growing seasons, the average water and nitrogen use efficiency (WUE and NUE) was two- and threefold higher for DIF than for CIF, respectively, whereas tomato yields remained high. DIF significantly increased soil bacterial diversity and network complexity compared to CIF but had no effect on the soil fungal community. DIF significantly reduced the relative abundance of Fusarium -induced tomato wilt. Moreover, straw application significantly decreased fungal diversity while increasing fungal network complexity, although no effect on the bacterial community was found. The relative abundance of plant pathogens, such as Cladosporium , Fusarium and Alternaria , which are related to soil-borne diseases of tomato plants, was significantly reduced when straw was incorporated. Our results highlight that drip fertigation combined with straw incorporation significantly positively affects soil microbial diversity and stability. Thus, DIF+S is a sustainable and effective technology for maintaining soil health and reducing pesticide use in greenhouse vegetable production systems. [Display omitted] • Water and N use efficiency were 2–3 folds in drip (DIF) as in conventional (CIF) fertigation. • Soil bacterial diversity and complexity were higher for DIF than for CIF. • Straw incorporation decreased fungal diversity and increased network complexity. • DIF plus straw reduce plant pathogens related to soil-borne diseases of tomato plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If not properly managed, free-range livestock grazing could be a great threat to forest ecosystems by causing heterogeneous and unpredictable changes in forest structure, functions, and biodiversity. Understanding these changes is important for informing land management decisions compatible with long-term biodiversity conservation. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) of biodiversity may provide integrative indices for assessing grazing effects. However, little is known about the responses of soundscape characteristics to forest grazing, especially in temperate forests. Here, we use bioacoustics to assess the impact of continuous livestock grazing on acoustic indices at the landscape scale in Northeast China. We compared the acoustic complex index (ACI), acoustic diversity index (ADI), acoustic evenness index (AEI), bioacoustic index (BIO), total acoustic entropy (H), and normalized difference soundscape index (NDSI) between 16 cattle-grazed forest plots and 36 ungrazed forest plots for different time scales (24 h diel cycles, dawn, day, dusk and night). We collected and analysed over 7000 h of recordings from 52 sites. Our results showed that the six acoustic indices exhibited distinct diel patterns in both forest habitats. Moreover, several indices, except for the ADI and AEI, significantly responded to grazing over 24 h diel cycles, but with contrasting patterns; compared to grazed forests, ungrazed forests had much more bioacoustics activity measured by significantly higher ACI and NDSI values and significantly lower BIO and H values. Livestock grazing was a key driver of diel acoustic patterns, resulting in the loss of nocturnal and dawn soundscapes. Our results indicate that intensive/excessive livestock grazing has a significant negative impact on soundscape quality in human-dominated temperate forest areas, which is likely triggered by shifts in faunal assemblages. Livestock, for example, may reduce the occupancy of sika deer (Cervus nippon), resulting in fewer sika deer vocalizations in grazed forests. Cattle lowing and the intensive sounds of cattle bells may also mask biological vocalizations. We argue that multiple acoustic indices are required to adequately account for the complex responses of soundscapes to large-scale livestock grazing. For forest management, we propose employing PAM to quantify the acoustic communities of the landscape from a new perspective, thereby fostering evidence-based forest management at the local scale to reconcile the livestock sector with ecosystem conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Wind tunnel tests were carried out to reveal the aerodynamics and vortex-induced vibrations for various wavy cylinders. • A wavy cylinder with a / D = 0.03 and λ/ D = 6.00 was found to exhibit better aerodynamic performance than a circular cylinder. • Mechanisms of stronger 3D properties and less aerodynamic forces and vibrations of wavy cylinders could be different. • The vortex-induced vibrations were weaker for wavy cylinders than for a circular cylinder. Wavy cylinders have been reported to exhibit satisfactory aerodynamic performance at low Reynolds numbers. However, aerodynamic characteristics are still ambiguous at higher Reynolds numbers. A series of wind tunnel tests were conducted for different wavy cylinders with Reynolds numbers (Re) from 0.75 × 104 to 2.00 × 105, including measurements of the overall aerodynamic forces, local surface static pressure, and vortex-induced vibrations (VIVs). The experiments yielded the following results. First, the mean drag and fluctuating lift coefficients of wavy cylinders were generally lower than those of a circular cylinder in the tested Re range. The maximum drag reduction was up to 18%. Second, a very slight waviness of a / D = 0.03 could improve aerodynamic performance, which could be taken as a reference for practical application. Third, the aerodynamic characteristics of wavy cylinders exhibited obvious three-dimensional (3D) features. This is reflected by various parameters varying along the spanwise direction. Fourth, the mechanisms of stronger 3D properties and less forces might be different. The former is dependent on the degree of obliqueness, while the latter is more related to the spanwise wavelength. Fifth, compared to a circular cylinder, the VIV amplitude was reduced and the lock-in range was shifted to higher wind velocities for wavy cylinders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nine ruthenium CNC pincer complexes (1 – 9) were tested for anticancer activity in cell culture under both dark and light conditions. These complexes included varied CNC pincer ligands including OH, OMe, or Me substituents on the pyridyl ring and wingtip N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) groups which varied as methyl (Me), phenyl (Ph), mesityl (Mes), and 2,6-diisopropylphenyl (Dipp). The supporting ligands included acetonitrile, Cl, and 2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) donors. The synthesis of complexes 8 and 9 is described herein and are fully characterized by spectroscopic (1H NMR, IR, UV–Vis, MS) and analytical techniques. Single crystal X-ray diffraction results are reported herein for 8 and 9. The other complexes (1 – 7) are reported elsewhere. The four most lipophilic ruthenium complexes (6 , 7 , 8 , and 9) showed the best activity vs. MCF7 cancer cells with complexes 6 and 9 showing cytotoxicity and complex 7 and 8 showing light activated photocytotoxicity. The distribution of these compounds between octanol and water is reported as log(D o/w) values, and increasing log(D o/w) values correlate roughly with improved activity vs. cancer cells. Overall, lipophilic wingtip groups (e.g. Ph, Mes, Dipp) on the NHC ring and a lower cationic charge (1+ vs. 2+) appears to be beneficial for improved anticancer activity. [Display omitted] • One Ru complex shows light activated toxicity vs. MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. • The most active compound has a phototoxicity index of 21 and micromolar potency. • Structure-function relationships show that lipophilicity correlates with toxicity. • Synthetic procedures for making lipophilic CNC pincer complexes are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown that in the subcritical regime, wavy circular cylinders exhibit less wind-induced drag than standard circular cylinders. However, the aerodynamic performance of wavy cylinders at higher Reynolds numbers is still unknown. Hence, a series of wind tunnel tests including measurement of the surface pressure, vortex-induced vibration (VIV) and dry galloping were conducted for a wavy cylinder and a corresponding standard cylinder at Re = 1.00 × 105-3.86 × 105. The results indicate that the aerodynamic characteristics, including the mean and fluctuating pressure distributions, mean and fluctuating aerodynamic force coefficients, Strouhal number, flow regime classification, and non-Gaussian characteristics, are significantly modified when shifting from the standard cylinder to the wavy cylinder. Furthermore, these modifications highly depend on the Reynolds number. Regarding the wavy cylinder, related parameters obviously vary along the spanwise direction, indicating three-dimensional aerodynamic characteristics. Moreover, the maximum VIV amplitude of the wavy cylinder is 40% lower than that of the standard cylinder. The velocity corresponding to the maximum amplitude is increased by 11% for the wavy cylinder. Additionally, the maximum dry galloping amplitude is reduced by 11%. • Wind tunnel tests were carried out to reveal the aerodynamics and vibrations of a specific sinusoidal wavy cylinder. • Aerodynamic coefficients, pressure distributions, and Strouhal numbers were obtained at subcritical and critical regimes. • Aerodynamics along the spanwise direction were determined to possess significant three-dimensional characteristics. • The vortex-induced vibration and dry galloping are weaker for the wavy cylinder than for the standard cylinder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schematic diagram showing the effect of CH 3 CN addition on the interface structure and property of [BMIM]BF 4 /Au(1 0 0). Acetonitrile addition makes the orientation of imidazole ring gradually change from horizontal to incline, and the number of BF 4 - decreases gradually. [Display omitted] • The effect of acetonitrile on the interface structure of [Bmim]BF 4 /Au(1 0 0) determined by a MD simulation. • Acetonitrile addition changes the orientation of imidazole ring on Au(1 0 0) from parallel to inclined. • Acetonitrile weakens the interaction between anions and cations, resulting in lower viscosity and higher conductivity. • [Bmim]BF 4 IL exhibit micelle structure on Au (1 0 0) surface. The effect of acetonitrile on the interface structure of Au (1 0 0)/1-butyl-3-methyl tetrafluoroborate ionic liquid was determined by a molecular dynamics simulation. The effects of acetonitrile on the bulk properties of [Bmim]BF 4 , the molecular orientation of [Bmim]BF 4 at the interface, the number density, the mass density, and the charge density were determined. It was found that as the concentration of acetonitrile increases, the viscosity of the ionic liquid decreases and the conductivity increases. With the addition of acetonitrile, due to the strong interaction between [Bmim]+ cations and the plate, acetonitrile was found to enter the inner layer, causing the orientation angle of the imidazole ring to incline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• True multiaxial anisotropic fractional plasticity is developed. • State-dependant non-associated flow is realised through stress-fractional derivative. • Shear-induced anisotropy is modelled by rotational hardening and stress transformation. • Elastoplastic behaviour of anisotropically overconsolidated clay is captured. Clays in the field can experience various consolidation histories, e.g., isotropic or anisotropic overconsolidation, before subjected to three-dimensional loads exerted by the neighbouring geotechnical infrastructures. Correct representation of the multiaxial strength and deformation behaivour of anisotropically overconsolidated clay is a prerequisite for engineering design. Accordingly, a multiaxial constitutive model is developed in this study, by employing the anisotropic stress-fractional plasticity two surfaces. The consolidation history is represented by using an inclined bounding surface, while the loading behaviour in multiaxial stress space is captured through the stress transformation of an inclined loading surface. The incorporation of such stress transformation method overcomes the difficulty in obtaining the fractional derivative of the Lode's angle. To capture the dilatancy behaviour of anisotropically overconsolidated clay, a multiaxial state-dependant nonassociated plastic flow rule is developed by only using the stress-fractional gradient of the loading surface, which significantly differs from the prior attempts using traditional plasticity. In addition, a multiaxial rotational hardening law for the bounding/loading surface is suggested to characterise the shearing-induced fabric destruction of anisotropically overconsolidated clay. Finally, test results of two different clays under various consolidation histories and stress paths are adopted to validate the developed model. It is found that the predicted strength and deformation behaviour of clay depends the Lode's angle and anisotropic consolidation path, which agrees with the corresponding test results. Specifically speaking, the hardening and softening behaviour of clay induced at seven different overconsolidation ratios ranging from 1 to 10 can be quantified, and the multiaxial strength behaviour of clay loaded from a wide range of Lode's angles ranging from 0° to 60° can be also quantified. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rain-wind-induced vibration (RWIV) of stay cables has become a concern in bridge engineering over the past decades. Attaching helical fillets on the surface of stay cables is often used to suppress RWIV. In the critical Reynolds number range, stay cables also experience large amplitude vibration without rainfall, which is known as dry galloping. To investigate the optimal helical fillet parameters that can suppress RWIV and dry galloping, a series of wind tunnel tests were carried out. The results showed that a helical fillet can weaken the Reynolds number effect of the cable in the critical region, and the maximum C L and the decline value of C D are decreased. This effect gradually decreases with the decrease of helical fillet pitch, resulting in the decrease of the maximum C L in the critical region and the increase of C D in the supercritical region. The helical fillet has a good suppression effect on the dry galloping equilibrium position, and the suppression effect of the helical fillet on the dry galloping amplitude depends on the helical fillet parameters. A proper helical fillet setting can effectively suppress both RWIV and dry galloping. Compared with the helical fillet diameter, the suppression effect is more effective when changing its pitch. Finally, the drag coefficients in various Reynolds number regions are summarized to provide a reference for engineering design. • Wind tunnel tests were carried out to reveal the aerodynamics and vibrations for stay cables with helical fillets. • Aerodynamic force coefficients and Strouhal numbers of stay cables with helical fillets were obtained and compared. • The effects of wind speed, rain intensity, inclination, and yaw on the RWIV were studied. • The effects of the helical fillet diameter and distance on RWIV and dry galloping were analyzed. • The drag coefficients of cables at different Reynolds numbers were fitted to facilitate engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve cost competitiveness and the further application of metal-supported cells, it is important to explore cathodes suitable for low-temperature sintering. However, decreasing cathode sintering temperature while maintaining robust interface of cathode/electrolyte and decent electrochemical performances is challenging for solid oxide fuel cells. Herein, by combining the Pechini method with one-pot method, La 0.6 Sr 0.4 CoO 3-δ @ Gd 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 2-δ (LSC@GDC) composite cathodes are prepared and investigated, compared with mechanically mixed LSC-GDC cathodes. At the cathode sintering temperature of 800 °C, the LSC@GDC cathode single cells perform better performances, with deceased resistances, improved power density outputs and better feasibility to wide oxygen partial pressures from 0.21 atm down to 0.03 atm. The optimum composition of 70:30 wt% for LSC@GDC is proposed. The anode supported single cell with LSC@GDC30 cathode exhibits a maximum power density of 0.789 W/cm2 and 0.545 W/cm2 at 750 °C, under cathode oxygen partial pressure of 0.21 atm and 0.03 atm, respectively. Moreover, the low temperature sintered LSC@GDC50 cathode performs decent durability during repeatedly controlled thermal cycling over 10 times. • LSC@GDC cathode is successfully prepared by novel two-step one-pot method. • The cathode sintering activity improves as well as interface contact. • The cell performance in harsh condition is dramatically enhanced. • The cell exhibit decent long-term durability and thermal cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen-rich gas production from reforming of naphthalene as a typical tar model compound was investigated under catalytic, plasma and plasma-catalytic systems. The effect of Gd promoter and solvent on naphthalene decomposition and gaseous products within the reforming reaction was studied. The catalysts were prepared by the thermal fusion method and characterized by XRD, XPS, SEM, BET, TEM, TG and H 2 -TPR. Compared to catalytic systems and plasma systems, the plasma-catalytic system shows the highest naphthalene conversion, as well as highest yield of hydrogen-rich gas on account of the synergetic effect of plasma and catalyst. Ni–Gd/SiO 2 @Al 2 O 3 catalyst exhibits superior catalytic activity than that on Ni/SiO 2 @Al 2 O 3 , due to higher dispersity of nickel species and reducibility of catalysts, as well as more Ni0 species and more surface oxygen species. No sintering and no coke formed on the fusion used catalyst owing to low content and high dispersion of nickel species. Maximum both naphthalene conversion and H 2 yield were observed on Ni-10Gd catalyst, about 89 % and 0.17 mol/mol-naphthalene, respectively. Furthermore, the presence of OH· radicals originating from methanol and the subsequent methanol reforming reaction play a pivotal role in augmenting naphthalene conversion and facilitating the formation of H 2 , CO, and CH 4. [Display omitted] • Ni-10Gd catalyst showed the highest conversion in plasma reforming of naphthalene owing to synergetic effect. • Gd enhances the dispersity and reducibility of catalyst, Ni0 species and surface oxygen species, as well as the naphthalene disintegrates. • Fusion catalysts exhibited high resistance to carbon deposition and sintering. • More OH· radicals in methanol contribute to the activity in plasma-catalytic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lumnitzera littorea (Jack) Voigt is one of the most endangered mangrove species in China. Previous studies have showed the impact of chilling stress on L. littorea and the repsonses at physiological and biochemical levels, but few attentions have been paid at molecular level. In this study, we conducted genome-wide investigation of transcriptional and post-transcriptional dynamics in L. littorea in response to chilling stress (8 °C day/5 °C night). In the seedlings of L. littorea , chilling sensing and signal transducing, photosystem II regeneration and peroxidase-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging were substantially enhanced to combat the adverse impact induced by chilling exposure. We further revealed that alternative polyadenylation (APA) events participated in chilling stress-responsive processes, including energy metabolism and steroid biosynthesis. Furthermore, APA-mediated miRNA regulations downregulated the expression of the genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and elongation, and protein phosphorylation, reflecting the important role of post-transcriptional regulation in modulating chilling tolerance in L. littorea. Our findings present a molecular view to the adaptive characteristics of L. littorea and shed light on the conservation genomic approaches of endangered mangrove species. • Chilling stress caused damage to cell membrane and photosynthesis of L. littorea. • L. littorea coped with cold stress at transcriptional and post-transcriptional level. • Photosystem II regeneration and ROS scavenging were enhanced against oxidative damage. • APA acts a fine-tuning role in regulating stress-responsive gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) is an efficient green hydrogen production technology, which is a reverse of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). In this paper, an anode-supported SOEC produced via multi-layer organic co-tape casting with co-sintering process is investigated for high temperature steam electrolysis, carbon dioxide electrolysis, and co-electrolysis. SOEC cathode must maintain its electrocatalytic activity in a high temperature and humidity condition. La 0.75 Sr 0.25 Cr 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 3-δ (LSCM) is one of the most promising cathode materials because of its superior electrocatalytic ability and redox stability. The anode-supported structure of electrolysis cell reduces ohmic resistance obviously and LSCM cathode exhibits good catalytic performance. To evaluate the performance of co-electrolysis, a continuous voltage of 1 V is applied for 256 h with 60% H 2 O and 40% CO 2 at 750 °C. The anode-supported SOEC with LSM((La 0.8 Sr 0.2) 0.95 Mn 0.5 O 3-δ)/LSM-YSZ(Zr 0.92 Y 0.08 O 2-δ)/YSZ/LSCM structure has good electrochemical performance and durability under co-electrolysis conditions combined with the distribution relaxation of time analysis of impedance spectra. • An anode-supported SOEC was fabricated by multi-layer organic co-tape casting. • The cell's structure was LSM/LSM-YSZ/YSZ/LSCM. • The anode-supported SOEC with LSCM cathode was used for co-electrolysis. • LSCM cathode showed good catalytic performance and stability of the structure. • The current density is about 2 A cm−2 after constant electrolysis 200 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Depressurization followed CO 2 -N 2 injection for CH 4 recovery and CO 2 sequestration. • Effect of MH dissociation ratio on subsequently mixed hydrate formation. • CH 4 hydrate re-formation and dissociation occurred depending on CH 4 hydrate left. • CO 2 hydrate formation depended on the CH 4 left in both gas phase and hydrate phase. • Increasing CH 4 production decreased the CO 2 sequestration and hydrate restoration. Natural gas hydrates (NGHs) buried below the seafloor are globally abundant, energy-dense, and essential to the world's future energy mix. The combination of depressurization and CO 2 -N 2 injection processes for NGHs recovery has been identified as an environmental method to harvest energy, CO 2 sequestration, and to maintain the mechanical stability of sediment. In this regime, partial CH 4 was produced by depressurization followed by CO 2 -N 2 injection to form CH 4 -CO 2 -N 2 mixed hydrate (Mix-H). In this study, a series experiments were designed to examine the key factors in the depressurization process (i.e. bottom hole pressure BHP and CH 4 production ratio) on the subsequent processes of Mix-H formation, CO 2 sequestration and hydrate restoration. It was observed that Mix-H formation occurred in all cases, but the final amount of Mix-H were all lower than the initial amount of MH before depressurization. Particularly, the formation of CO 2 /N 2 hydrate in Mix-H is positively correlated with the amount of remaining CH 4 in the combined phases of gas and hydrate after depressurization. The formation of CH 4 hydrate in Mix-H during the reformation process occurred in five cases when MH dissociation ratio (D MH) reaches above 45.1 % during depressurization. MH was only observed to dissociate continuously after CO 2 /N 2 injection when D MH is low at 30.8 %, which indicates possible "CH 4 -CO 2 replacement reaction". Overall, increasing CH 4 production at the same BHP decreases the CO 2 sequestration and hydrate restoration. We first verified the feasibility of the combination method for synergistic CH 4 recovery and CO 2 sequestration in marine conditions. The experimental results provide possible guidance on the optimal design of the coupled processes and shed light on the relationship between CH 4 recovery and CO 2 sequestration that need to be wholistically balanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradient direction and fractional derivative direction of one function can be coaxial or non-coaxial, and this depends on the order value of fractional derivative. A fractional plasticity model was developed by using Caputo fractional derivative and a dilatancy equation pondering particle breakage for rockfill material in this study. In this fractional plasticity model, the gradient direction and fractional derivative direction of the plastic potential function derived from a dilatancy equation were deduced and further used as the plastic flow direction and loading direction respectively, and the order controls the non-associated feature between the plastic flow direction and loading direction. For validation, drained triaxial test results under different stress paths of five rockfill materials are simulated by the proposed fractional plasticity model. It can be found from comparisons between the drained triaxial compression test results of rockfill materials and corresponding model predictions that the proposed model can well capture the stress-strain characteristics of rockfill material, including strain hardening and volume change behaviors etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation infrastructures filled with calcareous sand are subjected to a high-cyclic loading. Existing studies indicated that a key challenge in predicting the cumulative deformation of calcareous sand was a lack of thorough knowledge about the effects of various important field factors. This paper presents an experimental study on the drained monotonic and high-cyclic triaxial behavior of calcareous sand. The dependencies of cumulative deformation and particle breakage behavior on practical variables, such as mean effective stress (p '), cyclic stress ratio (ζ), void ratio (e), and stress-induced anisotropy, etc., were summarized for calcareous sand. It was found that a larger e and consolidation anisotropy led to a significant increase in the accumulated axial strain, transforming the stable shakedown behavior to transitional or unstable shakedown behaviors. The increase in anisotropy can cause a remarkable increase in dilatancy, as well as a severe failure. A phase transition state line (PTSL) was observed to exist in e -(p / p a)0.7 plane under high-cyclic loading, where the PTSL was found dependent on initial void ratios. As the p ', ζ , e , and anisotropy increase, a larger particle breakage index (B r) of calcareous sand was observed, where the total input energy (W in) played a substantial role. The relationship between B r and W in was found to be unique under high-cyclic loading, regardless of the stress conditions and initial void ratios. Moreover, the relationship between B r and W in under high-cyclic loading was discovered to differ dramatically from that under monotonic loading. An appropriate equation was thus developed to describe the correlation between B r and W in for high-cyclic loading. • Dependencies of cumulative deformation and particle breakage on field parameters are highlighted for calcareous sand. • A phase transition state line dependent on void ratio is observed under high-cyclic loading. • The energy consumption for particle breakage under high-cyclic loading is compared with that under monotonic loading. • The correlation between paticle breakage and energy under high-cyclic loading is unique regardless of stress and void ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eggshell is one of the most important indicators of egg quality, and due to low shell strength, pimple eggs (PE) are more susceptible to breakage, thus causing huge economic losses to the egg industry. At the current time, the molecular mechanisms that regulate the formation of pimple eggs are poorly understood. In this study, uterine tissues of PE-laying hens (n = 8) and normal egg (NE) -laying hens (n = 8) were analyzed by whole transcriptome sequencing, and a total of 619 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE mRNAs), 122 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE lncRNAs) and 21 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs) were obtained. Based on the targeting relationship among DE mRNAs, DE lncRNAs and DE miRNAs, we constructed a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network including 12 DE miRNAs, 19 DE lncRNAs, and 128 DE mRNAs. Considering the large amount of information contained in the network, we constructed a smaller ceRNA network to better understand the complex mechanisms of pimple egg formation. The smaller ceRNA network network contains 7 DE lncRNAs (LOC107056551, LOC121109367, LOC121108909, LOC121108862, LOC112530033, LOC121113165, LOC107054145), 5 DE miRNAs (gga-miR-6568-3p, gga-miR-31-5p, gga-miR-18b-3p, gga-miR-1759-3p, gga-miR-12240-3p) and 7 DE mRNAs (CABP1, DNAJC5, HCN3, HPCA, IBSP, KCNT1, OTOP3), and these differentially expressed genes may play key regulatory roles in the formation of pimpled eggs in hens. This study provides the overall expression profiles of mRNAs, lncRNAs and miRNAs in the uterine tissues of hens, which provides a theoretical basis for further research on the molecular mechanisms of pimpled egg formation, and has potential applications in improving eggshell quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A detailed review on metal/oxide heterointerface delivered by exsolution. • A comprehensive comparison among various strategies constructing metal/oxide heterointerface. • The mechanism understanding, control factor, and current advances of exsolution in heterocatalysis. • The enhancement factor, current challenges and future research directions of exsolution. The heterointerface consisting of metallic nanoparticles dispersed on oxide support represents one of the most important footstones for plenty of matured and emergent chemical reactions. Such kind of catalytic platforms were conventionally prepared by gas-based or liquid-based deposition methods, which suffer from the long-standing challenges of poor metal-oxide adhesion and durability. Alternatively, the emergence of solid-based exsolution strategy shows promising opportunities to deliver uniformly distributed metal nanoparticles with high activity, robustness, reproducibility and tunable functionality. With this regard, in this review, we will summarize the state-of-the-art understanding of the mechanistic insight, control parameters, and most recent advances of this practical strategy in heterocatalysis. We also quantitively analyze the enhancement factor resulting from exsolution manipulation in recent years and point out its unresolved challenges and future perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ni-modified ZSM-5 catalysts are developed by a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis. • Introducing Ni into the zeolite contributes to catalytic activity and stability. • Zeolite catalysts with a higher Si/Al ratio improves the conversion of naphthalene. • Strong metal-support interaction in catalyst with a proper metal content is formed. • The reaction mechanism involved in the reforming of naphthalene is proposed. Ni-modified ZSM-5 catalysts are prepared by a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method and applied to the steam reforming of naphthalene as a tar model compound. The effects of the reaction temperature, silica-alumina ratio (Si/Al) and metal content on the catalytic performance for reforming naphthalene are investigated. Characterization results indicate that the Ni-modified ZSM-5 catalysts maintain the original MFI structure of ZSM-5 and a portion of Ni is successfully introduced into the zeolite structure. When the reaction temperature is 800 °C, the conversion efficiency of naphthalene achieves 91.5% with a high yield (6.75%) of hydrogen. Zeolite catalysts with higher Si/Al ratios improve the conversion of naphthalene to syngas, demonstrating their better catalytic activity. An appropriate active metal content (2.4 wt%) contributes to the catalytic performance of the catalyst owing to the strong metal-support interaction, resulting in resistance to sintering and carbon deposition. The reaction mechanism involved in the catalytic reforming of naphthalene is proposed. The application of a novel one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method greatly promoted the catalytic activity of Ni@ZSM-5, which provided an appropriate and universal approach for the improvement and optimization of tar reforming catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aimed at improving the lifetime, active sites of the conventional Ti/SnO 2 electrode. In this study, a novel Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES electrode with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a guiding template was prepared for the first time by electrodeposition using a deep eutectic solvent (DES) system of choline chloride and urea. Electrochemical performance studies showed that the Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES electrode had a high oxygen evolution potential (2.29 V), conductivity and low charge transfer resistance. It was used for phenol degradation, the degradation extent of phenol increased from 69.72% to 98.09% and the COD removal extent increased from 47.69% to 85.36% within 120 min. Accelerated life tests showed that the accelerated life of the Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES electrode was 208 min (1 M H 2 SO 4 , 1 A/cm2), which was 40.8 times that of the Ti/SnO 2 –Sb–WT (5.1 min) electrodes. The adoption of DES instead of the conventional aqueous electrodeposition system and the use of CNTs as a guiding template, as well as the co-doping modification with Ni-Sb are the fundamental reasons for driving the improved electrode performance. [Display omitted] • A Ni–Sb co-doped Ti/SnO 2 electrode with carbon nanotubes as a guiding template was prepared using a deep eutectic solvent (DES). • The lifetime of Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES was 40.78 times longer than that of the Ti/SnO 2 –Sb–WT. • Phenol degradation and COD removal of Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES increased by 28.37% and 37.67%, respectively. Ti/SnO 2 –Sb electrodes have shown many practical advantages in the field of electrocatalytic oxidation for the treatment of organic wastewater. However, the short lifetime of the Ti/SnO 2 –Sb electrode seriously restricts its industrial application. To improve the stability of the Ti/SnO 2 –Sb electrode, a novel Ni/Sb co-doped Ti/SnO 2 electrode (Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the guiding template was prepared in this study using a deep eutectic solvent (DES) instead of the conventional aqueous electrodeposition system and used for the degradation of simulated phenol wastewater. The stability test results showed that this novel electrode achieved an accelerated lifetime of 208 min (1 M H 2 SO 4 , 1 A/cm2), which was 40.78 times higher than that of the Ti/SnO 2 –Sb–WT electrode. The electrocatalytic performance was further tested, and the results showed that the degradation rate of phenol was 98.09% and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate was 85.36% within 2 h for the Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES electrode. It was found that the enhanced performance of the Ti/CNT–Ni–SnO 2 –Sb–DES electrode was related to its rough surface, high coating hardness and bond strength, fine and uniform coating structure, abundant adsorbed hydroxyl species, more reactive oxygen species (OH and ozone) and high rate of charge transfer. This study is expected to open up a new pathway for the preparation of Ti/SnO 2 –Sb electrodes with excellent performance in an efficient, simple and economical way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcareous sand is an important filling material in marine engineering. The accurate interpretation of the calcareous sand's stress–dilatancy behavior under high-cycle loading can help improve the long-term stability of marine reclamation infrastructures. In this study, drained monotonic and high-cycle triaxial tests were conducted on calcareous sand and siliceous sand. Results show that the stress–dilatancy behavior of calcareous sand under high-cycle loading differed significantly from that under monotonic loading. Due to the continuous adjustment of the internal structure and state parameter (ψ) during cyclic loading, the number of loading cycles (N) has a considerable effect on the stress–dilatancy behavior of calcareous sands. As N increases, the stress–dilatancy of dense calcareous sand gradually transforms from loading-induced contraction and unloading-induced dilation to loading-induced dilation and unloading-induced contraction. A phase transition state line of calcareous sand under long-term cyclic loading is found in the e -(p / p a)0.7 plane, where its gradient is insignificantly influenced by the initial state, whereas its intercept depends on the initial pressure. Furthermore, a correlation between the number of loading cycles and the flow rule considering the state parameter (ψ) was proposed to describe the direction of strain accumulation for calcareous sand. • The stress-dilatancy behavior of calcareous sand under high-cycle loading was assessed. • Factors affecting the direction of strain accumulation under high-cycle loading were analyzed. • A phase transition state line under cyclic loading was found in the e -(p / p a)0.7 plane. • A high-cycle flow rule was developed for calcareous sand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method for the preparation of long-life Ti/SnO 2 -Sb electrodes using stepwise electrodeposition was developed. • High catalytic activity and long-life Ti/SnO 2 -Sb electrodes with homogeneous mesoporous structure were prepared. • The lifetime of the prepared electrode was 14.6 times longer than that of the coating thermal decomposition method. • The mechanism for improving the performance of Ti/SnO 2 -Sb electrode by stepwise electrodeposition technique was revealed. Aimed at improving the lifetime, active sites and specific surface area of the conventional Ti/SnO 2 electrode. In this study, a new method for the controlled preparation of mesoporous Ti/Ce–Mn/meso–SnO 2 –Sb electrodes was established by introducing a Ce–Mn composite interlayer with Pluronic F127 (EO 106 PO 70 EO 106) as the pore-forming agent and using a stepwise electrodeposition method. the mesoporous electrodes prepared using electrodeposition had a greater coating thickness (15.6 µm), better crystallinity and a larger specific surface area (68.37 m2 g−1) than those prepared using the conventional painting method. Electrochemical performance studies showed that the Ti/Ce–Mn/meso–SnO 2 –Sb electrode had a high oxygen evolution potential (2.16 V), conductivity and low charge transfer resistance. It was used for phenol degradation, and the degradation extent of phenol increased from 72.34% to 91.83% and the COD removal extent increased from 59.31% to 81.25% within 120 min. Accelerated life tests showed that the service life of the Ti/Ce–Mn/meso–SnO 2 –Sb electrode was improved nearly 15-fold compared with that of a Ti/SnO 2 –Sb electrode produced using the conventional painting method. The high specific surface area and mesoporous structure provided more in situ catalytic active sites and promoted the generation of •OH and catalytic oxidation of phenol, which was the fundamental reason for the improved performance of the Ti/Ce–Mn/meso–SnO 2 –Sb electrode. [Display omitted] In this study, a new method for the controlled preparation of mesoporous Ti/Ce–Mn/meso–SnO 2 –Sb electrodes was established by introducing a Ce–Mn composite interlayer with Pluronic F127 (EO 106 PO 70 EO 106) as the pore-forming agent and using a stepwise electrodeposition method. The results of the experiment indicated that the mesoporous electrodes prepared using electrodeposition had a larger specific surface area (68.37 m2 g−1), a high oxygen evolution potential (2.16 V) and good mechanical properties. The degradation extent of phenol increased from 72.34% to 91.83% and the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) removal extent increased from 59.31% to 81.25% within 120 min. The service life of the Ti/Ce–Mn/meso–SnO 2 –Sb electrode was improved nearly 15-fold compared with the conventional Ti/SnO 2 –Sb electrode produced using the brushing method. The results showed that the stepwise electrodeposition method can refine the coating grains. The introduction of the Ce–Mn intermediate layer increased the bonding between the coating and the Ti substrate. The mesoporous structure provided more in situ catalytic active sites and promoted the generation of •OH and catalytic oxidation of phenol. This method provides technical support and a theoretical basis for achieving controllable preparation and industrial application of high-performance titanium-based tin electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Machine learning framework for syngas to C 5+ fuels devised. • Database for Cobalt-based catalysts compiled. • Developed ensemble-tree models for predicting C 5+ fuels and CO conversion. • Model analysis isolates effects of individual descriptor on target variables. Thermocatalytic conversion of the renewable syngas into long chain hydrocarbons fuels was an attractive energy production technology, for combating climate change, energy crisis, and wastes disposal. However, this thermochemical process was very complicated, and target product also highly depended on the feedstock information, catalyst properties, and process condition. At present, it was still challenging to fully understand and optimize this process. To address this gap, we developed a machine learning framework to model Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process of syngas towards C 5+ hydrocarbons fuels from experimental descriptors. A database of Cobalt-based catalyst with 406 datapoints was compiled from literature and subjected to data mining. Accurate ensemble-tree models (R2 > 0.82) were developed to predict the CO conversion and C 5+ hydrocarbons fuels selectivity from 12 descriptors, where the significance of dispersion, pressure, temperature, and metal content was revealed. Casual analysis revealed that C 5+ hydrocarbons fuels selectivity was positively correlated with lower temperature (<481 K) and higher dispersion (>7.72 %). Besides, some interesting findings were also observed, for example, smaller cobalt size, and lower pore size (<9.27 wt%) and cobalt loading (<22 wt%) were positively related to C 5+ hydrocarbons fuels selectivity. The framework was purely data-driven, interpretable, and highlighted the ability of this method to unearth relationships of target variables and descriptors in thermocatalytic conversion of syngas, by isolating effects of individual design parameters in a manner that would be difficult to achieve experimentally. These insights could help design and optimization of subsequent experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composition of organic carbon molecules (OCMs) impacts microbial diversity and in turn regulates the microbial transformation of elements in soils. However, the potential association of OCMs characteristics with arsenic methylation mediated by arsenite S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) methyltransferase gene (arsM)-harboring microbes in paddy soils remains unclear. Here, we investigated the impacts of OCMs on microbial methylators and arsenic methylation by identifying OCMs with Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The results showed that arsenic methylation efficiency increased by 57.4–260.1% in pig manure- or rice straw-treated paddy soils compared to the control. Molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen (CHONs) with the atomic oxygen to carbon ratio (O/C) ranging from 0.5 to 0.8 had a more significant correlation (p < 0.01) with the abundance of the arsM gene than with that of 16S rRNA. This was confirmed by a significant positive correlation (p < 0.001) between consumed CHONs with O/C of 0.5–0.8 and increased methylated arsenic. CHONs (with O/C of 0.5–0.8) increased the intracellular SAM concentration and methyltransferase activity, stimulating arsenic methylation in vivo. The specialization of arsM -harboring taxa in CHONs with different O/C were identified. These observations provide a basis for predicting the risk of straight-head disease in paddy soils. [Display omitted] • Microbial arsenic methylation in paddy soils is regulated by OCMs. • Priming effects of CHONs with O/C of 0.5–0.8 on arsenic methylation was found. • Increased SAM concentration and ArsM activity in methylators stimulate arsenic methylation. • Specialization of arsM -harboring taxa in CHONs with different O/C were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel cycle model of the capacitive salinity/heat engine mainly consisting of nano-porous super-capacitors is established for harvesting mixed free energy caused by salinity difference between the river water and the seawater, and the thermal energy due to the temperature difference. The heat engine is charged and discharged in the cycle of a low temperature brine and a high temperature fresh water, respectively. The analytical expressions of the cyclic work output and efficiency are given. General performance characteristics of the capacitive salinity/heat engine are analyzed. The temperature of the heat reservoir and salt concentration of seawater are optimized to improve the efficiency of the capacitive salinity/heat engine. The optimal selection ranges of several main parameters are provided. When the Stern distance is equal to 1 nm and the charging voltage is equal to 3.5V, the energy conversion efficiency of the capacitive salinity/heat engine is about 40%, while the pure thermal efficiency in the cycle is about 16.9%. The energy conversion efficiency of the capacitive salinity/heat engine is significantly larger than that of the capacitive heat engine. The results obtained can facilitate the application of this technology to real life, which can reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the rain-wind-induced vibration (RWIV) process, a water rivulet forms on the surface of stay cables, and the upper rivulet is considered to be an important factor in RWIV formation. The cables also exhibit galloping in the absence of rain. To reveal the effect of a rivulet on galloping and help explain the mechanism of RWIV, from the viewpoint of the Reynolds number effect, a cylinder with an artificial rivulet at multiple angles was tested in wind tunnel experiments. The results show that the rivulet has a significant effect on the aerodynamic force coefficients, and the increase in the rivulet position decreases the onset Reynolds number of TrBL0-1 transition. A large-angle rivulet limits reattachment on the upper surface of the model, and the vortex appears in TrBL1. Due to reattachment, bistability can be observed in the TrBL0-1 and TrBL1-2 transitions, and the wake vortex is suppressed. During the formation of a separation bubble, the aerodynamic forces change dramatically, which affects the aerodynamic damping of the cables and induces galloping instability in most cases. The condition of reattachment on the upper surface of cables may be an important reason for RWIV occurrences. • Wind tunnel tests were carried out to reveal the aerodynamics and vibrations for cables with rivulet positions. • Aerodynamic coefficients and Strouhal numbers of different Reynolds numbers are obtained and compared. • The vibration amplitude of cables with various rivulet positions is analyzed. • The mechanism of RWIV is discussed based on Reynolds number effect and aerodynamic damping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been recently shown that deep learning models exhibited remarkable performance of representing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data for the understanding of brain functional activities. With hierarchical structure, deep learning models can infer hierarchical functional brain networks (FBN) from fMRI. However, the applications of the hierarchical FBNs have been rarely studied. In this work, we proposed a hierarchical recurrent variational auto-encoder (HRVAE) to unsupervisedly model the fMRI data. The trained HRVAE encoder can predict hierarchical temporal features from its three hidden layers, and thus can be regarded as a hierarchical feature extractor. Then LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) regression was applied to estimate the corresponding hierarchical FBNs. Based on the hierarchical FBNs from each subject, we constructed a novel classification framework for brain disorder identification and test it on the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) dataset, a world-wide multi-site database of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We analyzed the hierarchy organization of FBNs, and finally used the overlaps of hierarchical FBNs as features to differentiate ASD from typically developing controls (TDC). The experimental results on 871 subjects from ABIDE dataset showed that the HRVAE model can effectively derive hierarchical FBNs including many well-known resting state networks (RSN). Moreover, the classification result improved the state-of-the-art by achieving a very high accuracy of 82.1 %. This work presents a novel data-driven deep learning method using fMRI data for ASD identification, which could provide valuable reference for clinical diagnosis. The classification results suggest that the interactions of hierarchical FBNs have association with brain disorder, which promotes the understanding of FBN hierarchy and could be applied to other brain disorder analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hydrogen-rich syngas was produced through plasma-catalytic biogas reforming. • Ni-based bimetallic catalysts were evaluated in the plasma-catalytic biogas reforming. • The maximum conversion of CO 2 and CH 4 (29.8% and 49.1%) was achieved. • The highest hydrogen yield of 18.7% was obtained at 60 W. • 10Ni3Co showed the best reaction performance compared to other catalysts. Biogas reforming to syngas is an attractive route for the efficient utilization of biogas. In this work, plasma-catalytic dry reforming of biogas into value-added fuels and chemicals over Ni-based bimetallic catalysts was achieved using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). The coupling DBD with 10Ni3Co exhibited the best reaction performance, reflected by the highest gas conversion, main gas product yield and selectivity, and fuel production efficiency (FPE). This hybrid process also favored the suppression of carbon deposition on the catalyst surface and the reduction of energy cost for both gas conversion and product formation. The maximum CO 2 and CH 4 conversion (29.8% and 49.1%) was obtained when the discharge power was 60 W, while a low discharge power (30 W) led to the highest FPE of 12.3%. By using Ni-based catalysts, we were able to tune the product distribution, favoring the generation of C 3 -C 4 hydrocarbons and syngas while reducing the production of C 2 hydrocarbons, with 10Ni3Co providing the most favorable results. Compared to other spent catalysts, the lowest carbon deposition (2.9%) was detected on the spent 10Ni3Co after 150 min of plasma reforming. Catalyst characterizations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the 10Ni3Co catalyst was superior due to a combination of factors such as a higher specific surface area, improved capability to adsorb CO 2 , strong interactions between the metals and the support, enhanced reducibility and the formation of a Ni-Co alloy. Furthermore, a simplified kinetics model was developed to better understand the effects of Ni-based bimetallic catalysts on the overall energy constant for the conversion of reactants in plasma-catalytic reforming of biogas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A Cu based perovskite photocatalyst toward CO 2 conversion was fabricated by consecutive in-situ exsolution/redispersion strategy. • The uniformly dispersed Cu site and modified band structure is beneficial for enhancing light absorption and photocatalytic activity. Excessive exploitation and depletion of fossil fuels have led to the escalation of CO 2 emissions, which are responsible for global climate deterioration. Cu-based solid catalysts can transform CO 2 into various hydrocarbons via a sustainable photocatalytic pathway. Herein, we fabricated a Cu-decorated LaFeO 3 photocatalyst using a sequential in situ exsolution (in H 2)/redispersion (in N 2) strategy. The dispersion of Cu was significantly enhanced (∼3 times), i.e., from 13.8 % (exsolved) to 41.4 % (redispersed). The combined theoretical and experimental results confirmed the successful formation of uniformly dispersed Cu active sites for efficient CO 2 adsorption and photocatalytic conversion. The enhancement of light absorption and manipulation of the band structure were also collectively achieved, offering an optimized catalyst involving superior CO and CH 4 production compared to its counterparts. In addition, photocatalytic water splitting was significantly suppressed, suggesting high selectivity of the photocatalytic pathway. This study offers a new perspective on the design principle of photocatalysts for selective CO 2 conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Propose a novel Recurrent Wasserstein Generative Adversarial Net (RWGAN) for unsupervised modeling of volumetric fMRI data. • With LASSO regression, the RWGAN can effectively learn meaningful brain representation including both temporal features and spatial features (functional brain networks, FBNs) from fMRI. • The RWGAN performed better in feature extraction of fMRI based on small training datasets than other deep learning models. • The generator of RWGAN can yield high quality of fake data for potential application of fMRI augmentation. To understand brain cognition and disorders, modeling the mapping between mind and brain has been of great interest to the neuroscience community. The key is the brain representation, including functional brain networks (FBN) and their corresponding temporal features. Recently, it has been proven that deep learning models have superb representation power on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) over traditional machine learning methods. However, due to the lack of high-quality data and labels, deep learning models tend to suffer from overfitting in the training process. In this work, we applied a recurrent Wasserstein generative adversarial net (RWGAN) to learn brain representation from volumetric fMRI data. Generative adversarial net (GAN) is widely used in natural image generation and is able to capture the distribution of the input data, which enables the extraction of generalized features from fMRI and thus relieves the overfitting issue. The recurrent layers in RWGAN are designed to better model the local temporal features of the fMRI time series. The discriminator of RWGAN works as a deep feature extractor. With LASSO regression, the RWGAN model can decompose the fMRI data into temporal features and spatial features (FBNs). Furthermore, the generator of RWGAN can generate high-quality new data for fMRI augmentation. The experimental results on seven tasks from the HCP dataset showed that the RWGAN can learn meaningful and interpretable temporal features and FBNs, compared to HCP task designs and general linear model (GLM) derived networks. Besides, the results on different training datasets showed that the RWGAN performed better on small datasets than other deep learning models. Moreover, we used the generator of RWGAN to yield fake subjects. The result showed that the fake data can also be used to learn meaningful representation compared to those learned from real data. To our best knowledge, this work is among the earliest attempts of applying generative deep learning for modeling fMRI data. The proposed RWGAN offers a novel methodology for learning brain representation from fMRI, and it can generate high-quality fake data for the potential use of fMRI data augmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A systematic study was conducted on the dual-catalyst CFP of poplar sawdust. • Totally 18 catalysts belonging to three types were tested as first-layered catalysts. • Effects of the 18 first-layered catalysts on the bio-oil production were evaluated. • Synergistic effects between the dual-layered catalysts were studied and compared. • Porous materials + ZSM-5 provided the highest bio-oil yield and quality. Dual-catalyst catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) technology is effective in converting biomass waste into hydrocarbon-rich bio-oils. However, systematic studies on dual-catalyst biomass CFP are limited, especially with respect to the best-performed dual catalyst design. In this context, dual-catalyst CFP of poplar sawdust was conducted with 18 in-situ first-layered catalysts, including 6 inorganic salts (NaCl, KCl, MgCl 2 , ZnCl 2 , K 3 PO 4 , and K 2 HPO 4), 7 metal oxides (SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , CaO, MgO, ZnO, Fe 2 O 3 , and CuO), and 5 porous materials (SBA-15, MCM-41, Y zeolite, Beta zeolite, and SAPO-34), while the ZSM-5 zeolite was fixed as an ex-situ second-layered catalyst. The effects of the 18 first-layered catalysts on bio-oil production were investigated and compared. Applying the porous materials as the first-layered catalysts increased the bio-oil yields compared to the inorganic salts and metal oxides. In particular, mesoporous SBA-15 combined with ZSM-5 led to the highest bio-oil yield of 19.4 wt% and a satisfactory hydrocarbon selectivity of 30.5 area%. The synergistic effects of the dual-layered catalysts were also studied. The first-layered catalysts cracked the primary biomass volatiles into smaller oxygenates, while the second-layered ZSM-5 deoxidized these molecules to hydrocarbons. In addition, the porous materials exhibited better synergy with ZSM-5 by simultaneously deoxygenating all the oxygenate types. The dual catalysts configured by Beta + ZSM-5 converted the most oxygenates into hydrocarbons, and the hydrocarbon selectivity (41.4 area%) was twice that in the blank experiment (Thermal/ZSM-5). Therefore, combining the porous materials and ZSM-5 delivers a promising catalyst for dual-catalyst biomass CFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field distribution of oxygen concentration in cathode areas in planar type solid oxide fuel cell stack seriously affects power output, especially at the outlet of/beneath the interconnector where oxygen supply suffers from shortage. A new in-situ solvothermal growth method is applied to prepare gadolinium doped cerium oxide (GDC) nano particles decorated lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite (LSCF) heterostructure cathode (LSCF@GDC) which performed well under a wide oxygen partial pressure range (0.03–0.21 atm). The cathode shows enhanced specific surface area and improved sintering activity, yielding stronger cathode/electrolyte interface contact. Specifically, the cell equipped with LSCF@GDC cathode demonstrates 40-fold promoted performance under low oxygen partial pressures (p O 2 = 0.03 a t m) e.g. 0.415 W/cm2 for LSCF@GDC versus 0.0107 W/cm2 for bare LSCF at 750 °C. The systematic characterizations verify that the strong coupling effect between GDC and LSCF, i.e., the GDC serves as the oxygen reservoir to not only alter the crystal structure of LSCF with enhanced oxygen content, but also guarantee sufficient oxygen species for LSCF under oxygen-starving atmosphere. Simultaneously, the oxygen-abundant cathode surface and optimized interface are considered to collectively contribute to the improved electrochemical performances and enable efficient operation. [Display omitted] • LSCF@GDC heterostructure cathode is constructed via solvothermal method. • SOFC performance improvement by 40-fold under oxygen partial pressure of 0.03 atm. • Oxygen reservoir effect due to surface anchored GDC nano particles is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Feasibility of CH 4 recovery and CO 2 storage by gas injection at marine condition. • CH 4 hydrate co-growth and dissociation occurred depending on the gas composition. • High CO 2 composition is beneficial for co-growth of mixed hydrate. • Continuous CH 4 hydrate dissociation was observed with high N 2 composition. CH 4 hydrate have been considered as the future clean energy resource. Recovery of CH 4 from natural gas hydrates by CO 2 replacement is a promising method for energy harvest and CO 2 sequestration. Field production tests have proved the feasibility of gas production by CO 2 replacement in the permafrost region. However, most of the hydrate reservoirs are located at marine conditions where pressure and temperature conditions are not favorable for the replacement process. In this work, we identified a possible marine condition, where mixed hydrates could potentially form. We investigated the technical feasibility of CH 4 recovery by a depressurization process followed by the injection of CO 2 -N 2 gas. To quantify the dynamic behavior of mixed hydrates formation and dissociation, we developed a numerical method to estimate the phase partitioning during the replacement process. The effects of mixed gas compositions in the reactor on the replacement efficiency were investigated. Our experimental results showed that rapid co-growth of mixed hydrates occurs when the injected gas composed of a lower N 2 concentration (<25.2%). On the other hand, continuous CH 4 hydrate dissociation was observed when the injected gas was composed of a higher N 2 concentration (28.5%). During the prolonged replacement stage, the amount of CH 4 hydrate decreased and the amount of CO 2 -N 2 hydrates increased only slightly, which indicated that possible replacement occurred but at a very localized level. The results proved the technical feasibility of CH 4 production by gas injection at marine conditions, but the compositions of the mixture gas injected need to be well controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A Fe/Mn doped cobaltate catalyst was studied experimentally and theoretically. • Binary-dopant intensifies the involvement of lattice oxygen for OER. • The configurational entropy effect may determine the unique property of material. Lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism (LOM) on perovskite oxides for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) process has revealed kinetic superiority over conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM). However, feasibly enhancing the participation of lattice oxygen is still challenging. Here we designed a perovskite cobaltate (La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.8 Fe 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 3-δ , LSCFM) nanofiber, and discovered that the co-incorporation of Fe/Mn elements significantly intensifies the involvement of lattice oxygen for OER. Compared with its mono-dopant (Fe or Mn only) counterparts, the LSCFM gives rise to higher surface oxygen vacancies (V o) concentration and faster oxygen ion diffusion coefficient, endowing a small overpotential of 343 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and low Tafel slope of 63 mV dec−1. The strongest pH-dependent activity and metal–oxygen covalency are further unveiled on LSCFM by experimental and theoretical approaches, evidencing that the promoted OER kinetics on LSCFM predominantly stems from the formation of reactive lattice oxygen site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]