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PPG-CNTs-nZVI bead was synthesized by polyvinyl alcohol, pumice, carbon nanotube, and guar gum-nanoscale zero-valent iron to be applied on simultaneously removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; phenanthrene) and heavy metals (Pb2+) via adsorption. The individual and simultaneous removal efficiency of phenanthrene and Pb2+ using the PPG-CNTs-nZVI beads was evaluated with a range of initial concentrations of these two pollutants. The kinetics and isotherms of phenanthrene and Pb2+ adsorption by the PPG-CNTs-nZVI beads were also determined. The PPG-CNTs-nZVI beads show reasonably high phenanthrene adsorption capacities (up to 0.16 mg/g), and they absorbed 85% of the phenanthrene (initial concentration 0.5 mg/L) in 30 min. High Pb2+ adsorption capabilities were also demonstrated by the PPG-CNTs-nZVI beads (up to 11.6 mg/g). The adsorption fits the Langmuir model better than the Freundlich model. The adsorption still remained stable with various ionic strength circumstances and a wide pH range (2–5). Additionally, the co-adsorption of phenanthrene and Pb2+ by the PPG-CNTs-nZVI beads resulted in synergistic effects. Particularly, phenanthrene-Pb2+ complex formation via π–cation interactions demonstrated a greater affinity than phenanthrene or Pb2+ alone. The present findings suggest that PPG-CNTs-nZVI beads may be effective sorbents for the simultaneous removal of PAHs and heavy metals from contaminated waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical switches are desired in telecom and datacom as an upgrade to electrical ones for lower power consumption and expenses while improving bandwidth and network transparency. Compact, integrated optical switches are attractive thanks to their scalability, readiness for mass production, and robustness against mechanical disturbances. The basic unit relies mostly on a microring resonator or a Mach–Zehnder interferometer for binary "bar" and "cross" switching. Such single-mode structures are often wavelength / polarization dependent, sensitive to phase errors and loss-prone. Furthermore, when they are cascaded to a network, the number of control units grows quickly with the port count, causing high complexity in electronic wiring and drive circuit integration. Herein, we propose a new switching method by thermo-optic waveguide lens. Essentially, this multimode waveguide forms a square law medium by a pair of heater electrodes and focuses light within a chip by robust 1 × 1 imaging. A 1 × 24 basic switch is demonstrated with 32 electrodes and only two are biased at a time for a chosen output. By two-level cascading, the switch expands to 576 ports and only four electrodes are needed for one path. The chips are fabricated on wafer scale in a low-budget laboratory without resorting to foundries. Yet, the performance goes beyond state of the art for low insertion loss, low wavelength dependence and low polarization dependence. This work provides an original, alternative, and practical route to construct large-scale optical switches, enabling broad applications in telecom, datacom and photonic computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar content is a critical factor in evaluating the quality of fresh peaches. This paper aims to develop a rapid and accurate prediction method for the sugar content of fresh peaches using Deep Learning combined with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The proposed model consists of three main steps. Firstly, the Multivariate Scattering Correction (MSC) is employed as a preprocessing technique to remove noise and redundant information from the raw NIR images of peaches which ensures the reliability of the subsequent analysis. Secondly, the Competitive Adaptive Reweighted Sampling (CARS) is utilized for bands selection which can effectively eliminate redundant information from the NIR spectral data and reduces computational complexity. Finally, a novel Linear Deep Belief Network (LDBN) model is constructed to predict the sugar content of fresh peaches. To validate the performance of the proposed method, a Fresh Peaches Near-infrared spectroscopy dataset (FPNIRS) containing sugar content information is constructed. The maximum value for the sugar content of fresh peaches was 13.4 and the minimum value was 7.5 in the collection of 180 fresh peach samples. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed LDBN achieves the best prediction performance, with the determination coefficient of prediction set ( R P 2 ) value of 0.9346 and the root mean square error of prediction set (RMSEP) value of 0.4409. This study suggests that the combination of Near-infrared spectroscopy technology and the LDBN provides an effective method for accurately predicting the sugar content of fresh peaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of insufficient feature fusion, large number of network parameters and low target saliency in the current digital meter detection algorithm, a digital meter detection algorithm based on YOLOv5s is designed. First, a new feature fusion structure Bi-Directional Feature Pyramid Network Based on Multi-Scale Feature Fusion is designed to realize the full fusion between different scale feature maps and improve the detection accuracy; second, a new convolutional module Ghostconv Combined Channel Shuffle, is designed to realize the lightweight design of the network and meet the requirements of real-time substation detection tasks; finally, to improve the network’s ability to characterize the instrumented digits, the Convolutional Block Attention Module is introduced in the backbone network to further enhance the network performance. Experiments are carried out on the homemade dataset, and the experimental results show that the algorithm proposed in this paper improves the average accuracy by 2.84–98.58% compared with the original network; the amount of network parameters is reduced by 26.4%, and the detection speed is improved by 25 FPS, and the detection time for each image is only 0.012 s. Compared with other digital meter detection algorithms, the network performance and the number of parameters also have a great advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most common filler in stormwater treatment, zeolite (NZ-Y) has good cation exchange capability and stabilization potential for the removal of heavy metal from aqueous solutions. In this study, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and NZ-Y were selected to preparing new adsorbent (SDS-NZ) by using a simple hydrothermal method. The sorption–desorption performance and mechanism of Cu(II) onto SDS-NZ were investigated. The results showed that the sorption of Cu(II) on SDS-NZ was in accordance with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model with an equilibrium time of 4 h. The sorption behavior fitted Langmuir isotherm with a saturation sorption capability of 9.03 mg/g, which was three times higher than that of NZ-Y. The modification of SDS increases the average pore size of NZ-Y by 3.96 nm, which results in a richer internal pore structure and more useful sorption sites for Cu(II) sorption. There was a positive correlation between solution pH values and sorption capability of Cu(II) in the range of 3.0–6.0. With the ionic strength increased, the sorption capability of Cu(II) onto SDS-NZ first decreased and then increased, which may be attributed to competitive sorption and compression of the electronic layer. The desorption of Cu(II) on SDS-NZ was favored by the increase in SDS concentration and ionic strength and decrease in solution pH values. The application of SDS-NZ in runoff improved the leaching risk of Cu(II). After several cycles, the ability of reused SDS-NZ to efficiently adsorb most heavy metals was verified with removal rates above 99%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anomalous Nernst effect (ANE), as a three-dimensional thermoelectric effect in ferromagnetic materials, is expected to break through the limitations of the traditional Seebeck effect, thereby improving thermoelectric conversion efficiency. This study reports an anisotropic anomalous Nernst effect in metallic nickel assembled by the alignment of nanowires. It is found that the ANE voltage varies with the angle to the alignment direction of nanowires within the in-plane of metallic nickel. The ANE voltage reaches 530 nV under a longitudinal temperature difference of 23 K when the magnetic field is applied parallel to the alignment direction of nanowires, which is 143% of its value in the vertical direction. This design concept for anisotropic materials may provide a novel path to enhanced thermoelectric efficiency in ANE-based thermoelectric devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in wearable ultrasound technologies have demonstrated the potential for hands-free data acquisition, but technical barriers remain as these probes require wire connections, can lose track of moving targets and create data-interpretation challenges. Here we report a fully integrated autonomous wearable ultrasonic-system-on-patch (USoP). A miniaturized flexible control circuit is designed to interface with an ultrasound transducer array for signal pre-conditioning and wireless data communication. Machine learning is used to track moving tissue targets and assist the data interpretation. We demonstrate that the USoP allows continuous tracking of physiological signals from tissues as deep as 164 mm. On mobile subjects, the USoP can continuously monitor physiological signals, including central blood pressure, heart rate and cardiac output, for as long as 12 h. This result enables continuous autonomous surveillance of deep tissue signals toward the internet-of-medical-things. A wearable ultrasound patch monitors subjects in motion using machine learning and wireless electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the problem of computation offloading in a high-mobility Internet of Vehicles (IoVs) environment. The goal is to address the challenges related to latency, energy consumption, and payment cost requirements. The approach considers both moving and parked vehicles as fog nodes, which can assist in offloading computational tasks. However, as the number of vehicles increases, the action space for each agent grows exponentially, posing a challenge for decentralised decision-making. The dynamic nature of vehicular mobility further complicates the network dynamics, requiring joint cooperative behaviour from the learning agents to achieve convergence. The traditional deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach for offloading in IoVs treats each agent as an independent learner. It ignores the actions of other agents during the training process. This paper utilises a cooperative three-layer decentralised architecture called Vehicle-Assisted Multi-Access Edge Computing (VMEC) to overcome this limitation. The VMEC network consists of three layers: the fog, cloudlet, and cloud layers. In the fog layer, vehicles within associated Roadside Units (RSUs) and neighbouring RSUs participate as fog nodes. The middle layer comprises Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) servers, while the top layer represents the cloud infrastructure. To address the dynamic task offloading problem in VMEC, the paper proposes using a Decentralized Framework of Task and Computational Offloading (DFTCO), which utilises the strength of MADRL and NOMA techniques. This approach considers multiple agents making offloading decisions simultaneously and aims to find the optimal matching between tasks and available resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a laser beam writes on a metallic film, it usually coarsens and deuniformizes grains because of Ostwald ripening, similar to the case of annealing. Here we show an anomalous refinement effect of metal grains: A metallic silver film with large grains melts and breaks into uniform, close-packed, and ultrafine (∼ 10 nm) grains by laser direct writing with a nanoscale laser spot size and nanosecond pulse that causes localized heating and adaptive shock-cooling. This method exhibits high controllability in both grain size and uniformity, which lies in a linear relationship between the film thickness (h) and grain size (D), D ∝ h. The linear relationship is significantly different from the classical spinodal dewetting theory obeying a nonlinear relationship (D ∝ h5/3) in common laser heating. We also demonstrate the application of such a silver film with a grain size of ∼ 10.9 nm as a surface-enhanced Raman scattering chip, exhibiting superhigh spatial-uniformity and low detection limit down to 10−15 M. This anomalous refinement effect is general and can be extended to many other metallic films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MOF-based catalytic membrane reactor (MCMR), which can simultaneously achieve membrane separation and chemical catalytic degradation in an integrated system, is a cutting-edge technology for effective treatment of organic pollutants in water. The coupling of MCMR and advanced oxidation process (AOP) not only significantly improves the pollutant removal efficiency but also inhibits the membrane pollution through self-cleaning effect, thus improving the stability of MCMR. This paper reviews different MCMR systems combined with photocatalysis, Fenton oxidation, and persulfate activation, elucidates the reaction mechanism, discusses key issues to improve system effectiveness, and suggests future challenges and research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the unsustainability of traditional petroleum-based char-forming agents, cyclodextrin (CD) as the bio-based polyhydroxy compounds has been employed to construct the intumescent flame-retardant system with ammonium polyphosphate (APP) for flammable and fire-hazardous silicone rubber (SR). On the basis of this, the poor compatibility and water resistance of SR composites have been improved by separately introducing the bio-inspired hydrophobic structure for CD and APP. The results have implied that limiting oxygen index (LOI) and vertical combustion of SR composites with 40 phr total fillers loadings could reach 30.7% and UL-94 V-0 rating. Moreover, the water soaking tests have verified that the flame retardancy of SR composites could be maintained under hot aqueous medium. Based on thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the reason for elevated flame retardancy of SR composites can be interpreted by good thermal stability and char-forming ability via the interaction of modified APP and CD. With the aid of analyzing combustion residues in details, the synergistic flame-retardant mechanism can be mainly elaborated as the gas phase dilution of inert gases and the condensed phase barrier of dense expanded carbon layer. Furthermore, the retained mechanical properties of SR composites via hydrophobic modification are beneficial to improve its application value. Thus, this paper has open up a novel, green and effective route for overcoming the crucial flame retardancy problem of SR materials in real-life applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particulate matter (PM), as an important carrier of carrying and transporting runoff pollutants, can significantly affect the behavior and removal efficiency of pollutants in bioretention facilities. In order to control the pollution caused by naphthalene in bioretention facilities, the removal efficiency and migration characteristics of naphthalene were systematically investigated under the influences of PM. The results showed that the removal efficiency of naphthalene was 74 ~ 97% in bioretention facilities under the influences of PM. With the higher concentration, the lower rainfall return period, and the longer antecedent drying period, the removal efficiency of naphthalene in each medium layer were higher. Furthermore, the PM could increase the naphthalene adsorption capacity onto medium in the first 10 cm depth, which showed more than 80% removal efficiency and lower mobility of naphthalene. The removal efficiency of naphthalene was significantly higher (90 ~ 97%), when the particle size and concentration of PM were 0 ~ 45 μm and 500 mg/L, respectively. This study investigated the important role of PM for naphthalene removal in bioretention facilities, and provided effective guidelines for runoff pollution control, design of stormwater facilities, and assessment risk of naphthalene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With distributed transceivers and scalable cooperative transmission, cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (CF-mMIMO) technology eliminates the “cells” of traditional mobile communications, thereby significantly improving the performance of wireless networks. CF-mMIMO is considered as a major technical tool for achieving the key performance indicators of sixth generation (6G) mobile communication systems. In this paper, a scalable implementation architecture for CF-mMIMO is proposed, based on which potential key technologies such as channel information acquisition, transceiver design, dynamic user and access point association, and novel duplexing are introduced. Finally, based on low-cost commercial access points, a CF-mMIMO testbed with 64 transmit and receive antennas is developed, and the performance of the distributed receiver design is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive human–agent relationships can effectively improve human experience and performance in human–machine systems or environments. The characteristics of agents that enhance this relationship have garnered attention in human–agent or human–robot interactions. In this study, based on the rule of the persona effect, we study the effect of an agent's social cues on human–agent relationships and human performance. We constructed a tedious task in an immersive virtual environment, designing virtual partners with varying levels of human likeness and responsiveness. Human likeness encompassed appearance, sound, and behavior, while responsiveness referred to the way agents responded to humans. Based on the constructed environment, we present two studies to explore the effects of an agent's human likeness and responsiveness to agents on participants' performance and perception of human–agent relationships during the task. The results indicate that when participants work with an agent, its responsiveness attracts attention and induces positive feelings. Agents with responsiveness and appropriate social response strategies have a significant positive effect on human–agent relationships. These results shed some light on how to design virtual agents to improve user experience and performance in human–agent interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: It is first disclosed that the key to the efficient regular Ag-perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is a tunneling layer (silver iodide, AgI) that is in situ formed by the natural reaction between Ag and the migrated iodide. Based on the discovery, an ultrathin and uniform tunneling layer can be deposited on the fragile perovskite/charge transport layer to enrich the options of electrodes for efficient and stable regular PSCs. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are taking steps to commercialization. However, the halogen-reactive anode with high cost becomes a stumbling block. Here, the halogen migration in PSCs is utilized to in situ generate a uniform tunneling layer between the hole transport materials and anodes, which enriches the options of anodes by breaking the Schottky barrier, enabling the regular PSCs with both high efficiency and stability. Specifically, the regular PSC that uses silver iodide as the tunneling layer and copper as the anode obtains a champion power conversion efficiency of 23.24% (certified 22.74%) with an aperture area of 1.04 cm2. The devices are stable, maintaining 98.6% of the initial efficiency after 500 h of operation at the maximum power point with continuous 1 sun illumination. PSCs with different tunneling layers and anodes are fabricated, which confirm the generality of the strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies in solution processed, small molecular organic semiconductors have reported unparalleled advances in charge carrier mobilities, warranting promising application in organic electronic devices such as organic gas sensors and complimentary circuits. However, the in-solution crystallization of small molecular organic semiconductors has presented specific challenges including crystal misorientation, grain boundary and mobility variation. In this article, we first discuss the effects of these issues on charge transport and highlight the virtues of solvent choices to optimize the semiconductor morphology. Then, we conduct an in-depth review of the miscellaneous solvent exchange methods to effectively palliate these challenges. By discussing various benchmark semiconductor materials such as 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) and perylenetetracarboxyldiimide derivatives (PTCDI-Cn), we demonstrate the solvent exchange-based crystallization methods can modulate supramolecular aggregation, promote nucleation formation, improve semiconductor alignment, change crystal dimensionality, and enhance charge transport. We believe this work provides useful comprehension of employing the solvent exchange methods to powerfully regulate the crystallization, morphology and mobility of organic semiconductors, and thereby casts light on high performance organic electronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the co-contamination of heavy metals (HMs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has attracted more and more attention, and finding efficient and coordinated removal method has been the hot focus. In this study, Fe/Mn-SBA15 bimetallic mesoporous silica adsorbent (Fe/Mn-SBA15) was prepared by hydrothermal method with the functional groups Fe and Mn simultaneously doped into the framework structure of SBA15. Fe/Mn-SBA15 was systematically characterized by XRD, TEM, and BET and used in removal of typical PAHs-pyrene and heavy metal-Cu (II) from aqueous solutions simultaneously. The single and binary adsorption behaviors were studied by kinetics, isotherm, pH, and ionic strength. The results showed that the functional groups of Fe and Mn were successfully loaded into the structure of SBA15 and the prepared adsorbent was still a typical mesoporous adsorbent. The adsorption of pyrene and Cu (II) onto Fe/Mn-SBA15 was fast and the adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 100 min. The Langmuir model fitted the adsorption isotherm better and the maximum adsorption capacities for pyrene and Cu (II) were 120 mg/g and 10.52 mg/g, respectively. The increase of ionic strength could enhance and decrease the adsorption capacity of pyrene and Cu (II), which may be attributed to salting-out effect and potassium competitive. With the increase of pH values, the negative charge on the surface of the adsorbent increased, resulting in the decrease and increase of adsorption capacity of pyrene and Cu (II) onto Fe/Mn-SBA15. In addition, Fe/Mn-SBA15 was found to have a synergistic effect on the adsorption of pyrene and Cu (II). This result is mainly due to the formation of hydration complex by pyrene-Cu (II) through cation-π interaction, which increases the adsorption capacity by occupying each other's adsorption sites of adsorbent. This study provides a new method for the synergistic removal of PAHs and HMs from aqueous solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-target–off-tissue drug engagement is an important source of adverse effects that constrains the therapeutic window of drug candidates1,2. In diseases of the central nervous system, drugs with brain-restricted pharmacology are highly desirable. Here we report a strategy to achieve inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) while sparing mTOR activity elsewhere through the use of the brain-permeable mTOR inhibitor RapaLink-1 and the brain-impermeable FKBP12 ligand RapaBlock. We show that this drug combination mitigates the systemic effects of mTOR inhibitors but retains the efficacy of RapaLink-1 in glioblastoma xenografts. We further present a general method to design cell-permeable, FKBP12-dependent kinase inhibitors from known drug scaffolds. These inhibitors are sensitive to deactivation by RapaBlock, enabling the brain-restricted inhibition of their respective kinase targets.The combination of the brain-permeable mTOR inhibitor RapaLink-1 and the brain-impermeable FKBP12 ligand RapaBlock enable brain-specific inhibition of mTOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red mud based ceramic tiles were successfully fabricated by high-temperature sintering and the influence of the Fe2O3 content on their comprehensive performance, mineral phase, and microstructure were systematically investigated. The results indicate that iron is involved in the structural reorganization of mullite during the nucleating process. Adding 9% Fe2O3 elongated mullite crystals to an aspect ratio of 15.6 ± 2.1, and the crystals were successfully obtained at a sintering temperature of 1300°C for 2 h. In this case, the values for water absorption and compressive strength of the red mud based ceramics were 6.6% and 178.3 MPa, respectively, reaching the national standard for building materials. Putting the right amount of Fe2O3 into ceramics can not only promote the anisotropic growth of mullite crystals but can result in the formation of an interlocked network of mullite at lower temperatures. This work will contribute to a better understanding of the influence of Fe2O3 on basic material performance, such as structural, micro-analysis, and mechanical characteristics of ceramic tiles with iron-containing mullites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SiO2-engineered nanoparticles (SiO2-ENPs) are one of the most commonly employed nanomaterials. There was a lack of research on the comprehensive effects of environmental factors on the stability of SiO2-ENPs. In the present work, the aggregation size, surface charge, and percentage of nanoparticles have been studied under the presence of monovalent/divalent cations combined with natural organic matter (NOM), in an effort to provide a comprehensive investigation of the stability of SiO2-ENPs in complex environmental conditions. Results show that NOM adsorbed to the particles and made their zeta potential more negative, hence stabilizing them by electrostatic repulsion, and the stability of nano-SiO2 in NOM solutions follows the order of pH 9 > pH 7 > pH 5. In addition, SiO2-ENPs size in solutions with humic acid (HA) was larger than that with fulvic acid (FA). The aggregation of SiO2-ENPs enhanced with the increase of cation concentrations, and divalent cations (Ca2+) show stronger influence on SiO2-ENPs aggregate than monovalent cations. Divalent cations partially neutralized the adsorbed organic matter, and aggregation was enhanced with Ca2+, suggesting the presence of specific Ca2+-NOM bridges. The aggregation of SiO2-ENPs in electrolyte (CaCl2 or NaCl) and CaCl2 + NOM solutions follows in the order of pH 5~pH 9 > pH 7, showing that weakly acidic or alkaline conditions are not favorable for the stability of SiO2-ENPs in complex environmental systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The color of flour and its end-use products is an important quality trait of wheat. Understanding the genetic basis of this trait is essential for improving wheat quality. In this study, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for 27 color-related traits of flour, starch, gluten, dough sheet, steamed bread, and baked bread was performed using a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) with 173 lines of F9:10, tested in four environments. For this purpose, a high-density genetic map constructed using a 90 K SNP array, Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers was used. A total of 43 additive QTLs were detected, including 25 large-effect QTLs, located on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 2A, 4B, 5B, and 7B. Four of these major QTLs, namely QFa7B.7-1, QFb7B.7-2, QFb7B.7-1 and QGb4B.4, made the highest contribution and accounted for 29.60, 29.02, 27.45, and 22.24% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. Six stable QTLs (QSa4B.4, QSl4B.4-1, QFa7B.7-2, QFb7B.7-1, QFb7B.7-2, and QBca7B.7) were detected in more than one environment with high PVE values. In addition, two robust QTL clusters contribution to 13 evaluated traits were identified on chromosomes 4B (RAC875_c27536_611-wsnp_Ku_c28756_38667953) and 7B (wPt-1196-Kukri_c2348_2340). A locus within the interval Ex_c101685_705-RAC875_c27536_611 of 4B also harbored many genes previously reported to affect wheat quality and yield. These detected QTLs may be used for further study and be used to improve wheat quality in wheat-breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to analyze the effects of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury repair and serum urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), interleukin-1 (IL-1), and interleukin-4 (IL-4) levels. Sixty adult male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly classified into the model group (MG, n = 20), transplantation group (TG, n = 20), and control group (CG, n = 20). Rabbit models of right anterior forelimb ACL injury were injected with bioprotein gel (MG) or rabbit BMSC (TG) in the femoral and tibial tunnels, whereas rabbits in the CG were given no treatment. The IL-4, IL-1, TGF-β, and u-PA levels and tensile force required to break the cruciate ligaments were compared between the groups. After surgery, IL-4, IL-1, TGF-β, and u-PA levels gradually reduced in MG and TG. At the same time point, the highest IL-4 level was observed in MG and the lowest in CG. At 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks after surgery, MG required the minimal and CG the maximal tensile forces to break the cruciate ligaments. Rabbit BMSC transplantation is an effective method to repair ACL injury and improve serum u-PA, TGF-β, IL-1, and IL-4 levels in rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction waste bricks (CWB) were simply pre-treated as fillers applied in different filler layers of bioretention facility. The removal effect of runoff pollutants in CWB-modified facilities was investigated and compared with traditional facility with gravel and sand. Leaching test shows that both CWB-modified and traditional bioretention facilities leach TN, and CWB-based facilities leach Cr. CWB-based facility shows good removal effect toward TP, NH4+-N and COD, with the removal ratio of 0.90, 0.80 and 0.70, respectively. CWB-based facility also shows good removal effects toward Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Mn, with the removal ratio of 0.55–0.82, 0.65–0.92, nearly 1.00, above 0.90 and nearly 0.98, respectively. Generally, the removal effect of both CWB and traditional facilities on runoff pollutants is basically stable and the removal ratio is relatively high after running for 40 days. Economic calculation shows that CWB-based facilities could reduce the cost of fillers by 67.2–88.4%, which further confirmed the replacement of traditional fillers by CWB. This study could not only enhance the removal ability of runoff pollutants by bioretention facilities, but also provide a new way for the utilization of CWB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, two morphologies of crystalline Sb2S3 as dumbbell-like Sb2S3 and bundle-like Sb2S3 were synthesized by different phase-transformation of amorphous-to-crystalline, respectively. Different factors such as the variation of the solvent ratio, the surfactant, reaction temperature and reaction time were observed to obtain the key factor influencing the morphology. The bandgap of two Sb2S3 was obtained by diffused reflectance spectra and cyclic voltammetry. The charge separation was characterized by fluorescence spectrum, linear sweep voltammetry, transient photocurrent-time curve and electrochemical impedance spectrum. The results showed that bundle-like Sb2S3 had slightly higher light-harvesting and obvious higher charge separation ability, which was beneficial to the photodegradation of malachite green (MG). The photodegrdation path of MG implied the intermediates generated by bundle-like Sb2S3 were more easily decomposed to the small molecules. Bundle-like Sb2S3 displayed excellent reusability in the photodegradation of MG. Superoxide anion radical (·O2−) and hydroxyl radical (·OH) as the active species contributed to the photodegradation reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stormwater runoff samples were collected from five different land use sites (gas station, city road, campus, park, and residential) in a precipitation event on May 22nd, 2017, from a small suburban area (5 km × 2 km) of the city of Beijing, China. There were 72 types of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) found in these runoff samples, including 33 types of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs), 22 types of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 6 types of phthalate esters (PAEs), 9 types of pesticides and 2 types of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Especially, 26 types of SVOCs (7 MAHs, 9 PAHs, 5 PAEs, and 5 pesticides) were detected in all water samples. SVOCs concentrations were higher in the samples from gas station and city road, and lower in runoff from campus, park and residential sites. The change in the ratio of anthracene to anthracene plus phenanthrene (ANT/(ANT + PHE)) in this study, reflected the importance of PAH source and land use. Di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate, are two of the phthalate esters 100% detected in the runoff samples. The city road runoff DEHP concentrations recorded the highest values (> 6000 ng/L), however, were still less than those wastewater DEHP pollutants measured in developed countries (e.g. UK, Canada, Finland, etc.). One-way ANOVA analysis in this study, showed that land use could significantly influence 23 SVOCs in the runoff samples, whereas the runoff SVOCs in different precipitation period showed no statistical changes in the five sites, and presented a general temporal trends "high (beginning)—low (middle period)—little raising (ending)". The findings in this study could be used in municipal management of wastewater collection and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While great progress has been achieved in the research of various solution-processed organic semiconductors, the randomized crystal orientations and charge carrier mobility variations have posed tremendous challenges to implement the organic semiconductors for organic electronic device applications. Among the miscellaneous polymer additives reported to tune the crystal growth and modulate charge transport, poly(α-methyl styrene) (PαMS) has been extensively studied for its capability to improve semiconductor crystallization, reduce bulk crystal misorientation, induce phase segregation, enhance morphological uniformity and boost electrical performance of organic thin film transistors and organic electronic devices. In the first section of this article, we review the recent progress of organic electronics and highlight the crystal misorientation and mobility variation as the challenges that need to be overcome. Then, the various merits from mixing polymeric additives with organic semiconductors are discussed. In the second section, we provide an overview of the previous works that employ PαMS for regulating the crystal orientation alignment and modulating charge transport of miscellaneous solution-processed small-molecular organic semiconductors including 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) and 2,8-difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)anthradithiophene (diF-TESADT). By discussing these important examples, we intend to demonstrate that PαMS can be versatilely implemented to improve other new organic semiconductor crystallization and mobility for high-performance organic electronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-cost ferro–nickel alloy was fabricated by recycling high-iron red mud and laterite nickel ore with coke reductant. Na2CO3 and CaO additives facilitated the reduction of fayalite and nickel ferrite. The phase analysis, morphology change and mechanical performance were determined by X-ray diffraction, optical emission spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy. Microstructural characterizations indicated that the ferro–nickel alloy consisted of ledeburite or martensite matrix, white cementite and graphite nodules. The addition of sodium carbonate intensified the reduction in metal oxides and improved the ferro-nickel alloy grain growth. The Ni and Cr from laterite ores led to austenite phase transition to martensite during cooling and improved the alloy hardenability. This work provides an economic and easy route to produce high-performance ferro-nickel alloy by recycling high-iron red mud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) affects a large portion of the population. Unfortunately, efficacious medications to treat the disease are limited. Studies in rodents suggest that mTORC1 plays a crucial role in mechanisms underlying phenotypes such as heavy alcohol intake, habit, and relapse. Thus, mTORC1 inhibitors, which are used in the clinic, are promising therapeutic agents to treat AUD. However, chronic inhibition of mTORC1 in the periphery produces undesirable side effects, which limit their potential use for the treatment of AUD. To overcome these limitations, we designed a binary drug strategy in which male mice were treated with the mTORC1 inhibitor RapaLink-1 together with a small molecule (RapaBlock) to protect mTORC1 activity in the periphery. We show that whereas RapaLink-1 administration blocked mTORC1 activation in the liver, RapaBlock abolished the inhibitory action of Rapalink-1. RapaBlock also prevented the adverse side effects produced by chronic inhibition of mTORC1. Importantly, co-administration of RapaLink-1 and RapaBlock inhibited alcohol-dependent mTORC1 activation in the nucleus accumbens and attenuated alcohol seeking and drinking. Chronic use of mTORC1 inhibitors produces undesirable side effects in humans which limit their value for CNS disorders treatment. The authors present a binary drug strategy to protects mTORC1 activity in the periphery and show its potential utility in preclinical models of alcohol use disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reach discharge limit, further treatment of bio-treated leachate from Chinese herbal medicine residue (BLCHMR) was very imperative. In this study, performance of combined coagulation/decantation-ozone/hydrogen peroxide (O3/H2O2)-biological aerated filter (BAF) technology used to further treat BLCHMR was investigated with pilot-scale experiment. Under optimal conditions, the COD (40–44 mg/L) and color (13–17 time) in treated BLCHMR indicated that combined process can efficiently treat BLCHMR. O3/H2O2 had good performance not only in mineralization and decomposing of organic matter but also in decolorization of BLCHMR. For dissolved organic matter (DOM), O3/H2O2 reacted with non-biodegradable fraction preferentially and oxidized different molecular weight (MW) fractions equally. O3/H2O2-BAF generated more higher MW DOM (namely F2 fraction) than BAF alone. Meanwhile, O3/H2O2 mainly influenced the amount and biodegradability on DOM but not the removal rate on DOM. Accordingly, the helpful influence on O3/H2O2 perhaps can be owed to the generalized influence on DOM but not the specific influence on improved biodegradability. Finally, inspiring (namely very low) cost (respectively, 0.3419 $/per ton bio-treated leachate and 0.5766 $/Kg COD removed) was achieved in the combined process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannulation is not only one of the most common medical procedures but also fraught with complications. The skill of the clinician performing cannulation directly impacts cannulation outcomes. However, current methods of teaching this skill are deficient, relying on subjective demonstrations and unrealistic manikins that have limited utility for skills training. Furthermore, of the factors that hinders effective continuing medical education is the assumption that clinical experience results in expertise. In this work, we examine if objective metrics acquired from a novel cannulation simulator are able to distinguish between experienced clinicians and established experts, enabling the measurement of true expertise. Twenty-two healthcare professionals, who practiced cannulation with varying experience, performed a simulated arteriovenous fistula cannulation task on the simulator. Four clinicians were peer-identified as experts while the others were designated to the experienced group. The simulator tracked the motion of the needle (via an electromagnetic sensor), rendered blood flashback function (via an infrared light sensor), and recorded pinch forces exerted on the needle (via force sensing elements). Metrics were computed based on motion, force, and other sensor data. Results indicated that, with near 80% of accuracy using both logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis, the objective metrics differentiated between experts and the experienced, including identifying needle motion and finger force as two prominent features that distinguished between the groups. Furthermore, results indicated that expertise was not correlated with years of experience, validating the central hypothesis of the study. These insights contribute to structured and standardized medical skills training by enabling a meaningful definition of expertise and could potentially lead to more effective skills training methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclic liquid nitrogen (LN2) fracturing is an innovative technology for reservoir stimulation with great potential in geothermal energy exploitation. Understanding of the mechanical responses of high-temperature rock to repetitive LN2 cooling at the laboratory scale is of great relevance to facilitate the field application of cyclic LN2 fracturing. In this work, granite samples were subjected to 0–24 heating–cooling cycles in two manners (i.e., slow heating to 300 °C followed by air cooling or LN2 cooling), and subsequent a series of laboratory tests with the aim of investigating the damage characteristics and mechanisms of rock samples after different heating–cooling cycles. The results concluded that increasing the number of cycles aggravates the internal structural damage of granite, which further deteriorates its physico-mechanical properties. Compared with air cooling, the cold shock effect of LN2 is more capable of facilitating the growth of microcracks within the rock, thereby inducing a more severe initial damage to granite sample. However, the damage of granite is prominent only in the first few cycles, and basically no longer intensified after more than about 12 cycles. This is related to the fact that the increase in micro-defects provides more space for thermal deformations of minerals and reduces the level of thermal stress within the rock. The results in this study are instructive for evaluating the effectiveness of cryogenic fracturing and determining the reasonable number of LN2 fracturing during reservoir stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report for the first time the combination of silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles and poly (styrene-block-4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) block copolymer supplements to tune random crystal growth and improve charge transport of small-molecule organic semiconductors. We chose 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-PEN) as a model semiconductor material to combine with both supplements. This led to a rigid alignment of the crystals that extended in long-range order as well as an increased coverage of the charge transport channel. In particular, the addition of 5% PS-b-P4VP supplement contributed to a low irregularity angle of 8.8° ± 6.7°, which indicates an 80% reduction of crystal random orientation. Bottom-gate, top-contact organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) based on the TIPS-PEN/SiO2/PS-b-P4VP combination film showed an average hole mobility of up to 0.033 ± 0.02 cm2/Vs and a 50% improvement of charge transport fidelity. The improved charge transport of TIPS-PEN crystals can be ascribed to both increased channel coverage due to the uniformity property of PS-b-P4VP polymer, and an effective nanoscale confinement of the random crystal growth due to the aggregation of nanoparticles. The facile method we reported in this work can be applied to manipulate the crystal growth and charge transport of the general solution-processed, small-molecule semiconductors for high-fidelity organic electronics applications on flexible substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we showcase the use of silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) treatment to regulate the thin film morphology and manipulate charge transport of solution-processed, small-molecular, organic semiconductors. 6,13-Bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) was blended with SiO2 nanoparticles as an exemplary organic semiconductor. A higher concentration of SiO2 nanoparticles were observed near the edge of TIPS pentacene crystals and enlarged the width of crystal edges. This greatly reduced the dendritic crystal growth pattern of TIPS pentacene and contributed to its enhanced orientation uniformity. In addition, the HMDS treatment effectively passivated the silanol groups on the hydrophilic gate dielectrics. As a result, bottom-gate, top-contact TIPS pentacene/SiO2 nanoparticle-based organic thin-film transistors boosted a performance consistency enhancement (defined by the ratio of average mobility to the standard deviation of mobility). The combinational approach to employ SiO2 nanoparticles and HMDS treatment as demonstrated in this work sheds light on important applications in high-performance organic electronics devices on flexible substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite solution processed organic semiconductors have attracted much research attention, the randomized crystallization and large prevalence of grain boundary remain as a challenge to realize high performance organic electronic applications. In this work, we report the incorporation of poly(butyl acrylate) polymer additive with organic semiconductors with the mediation of a solvent vapor annealing method in order to modify the nucleation and crystal growth process. As 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) was experimented as a benchmark semiconductor, we demonstrated that the TIPS pentacene/poly(butyl acrylate) mixture exhibits rigidly aligned crystals, large grain width and improved areal coverage. In particular, thin film morphological characterization indicated a substantial reduction in misorientation angle by approximately two orders of magnitude as well as a 5-fold enlargement of grain width. A grain boundary model is proposed as a theoretic basis to understand the connection between grain width and hole mobility. Bottom-gate, top-contact thin film transistors based on TIPS pentacene/poly(butyl acrylate) blends demonstrated enhanced hole mobility of up to 0.11 cm2/Vs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4/Fe3O4)–based magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) approach was established for fast and simple analysis of estrogens in milk powders. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and pore size distribution analyzer. Compared with the bulk g-C3N4, g-C3N4/Fe3O4 gave a narrower distribution of mesopores and provided an enhanced surface area from 77.1 to 113.7 m2/g. Polar analytes of estrogens were selected as model compounds and the extraction of four estrogens was achieved in n-hexane using 15 mg of adsorbent within only 2 min. Possible extraction mechanism of g-C3N4/Fe3O4 for these estrogens was explored in terms of the polarity of the analytes and the adsorption performance of the adsorbent. The hydrophobicity and the hydrogen-bond interaction between the estrogens and g-C3N4 were responsible for the efficient adsorption. Combined with HPLC, MSPE with the prepared adsorbent gave the enhancement factors of 20 to 24 and the linear ranges of 2–200 μg/kg for 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol, 1.5–150 μg/kg for estrone, and 3–300 μg/kg for hexestrol. The detection limits and quantification limits for the estrogens in milk powders were 0.5–0.9 μg/kg and 1.5–3.0 μg/kg, respectively. The recoveries varied from 75.1 to 97.2%, with the intra-day and inter-day precisions ≤ 14.2%. Furthermore, the enrichment of the analytes and the clean-up of fat and protein interferences were achieved simultaneously with one-step g-C3N4-based MSPE. The present method was convenient, fast, and sensitive, and therefore could be successfully applied for the determination of estrogens in milk powders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive understanding of the physico-mechanical behavior of rocks in hot dry rock (HDR) reservoir after different stimulation treatments is essential for the safe and effective exploitation of geothermal energy. In this study, the physico-mechanical properties of high-temperature granite (25–600 °C) subjected to slow cooling, water cooling, and liquid nitrogen (LN2) cooling were experimentally investigated, and the damage evolution and damage mechanism of the rock were discussed from the macro- and microscopic perspectives. According to the experimental results, the increase in thermal treatment temperature aggravates the deterioration of the physico-mechanical properties of granite specimens. It is found that 400 °C is the threshold temperature of the tested granite, after which the physico-mechanical properties of the rock present more prominent changes. Since LN2 can induce a more intense thermal shock within rocks, it has the most significant damage to the specimens compared with other two cooling methods, especially at a higher thermal treatment temperature. Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring can well reflect the failure process and the associated microcrack behavior of the specimens during loading. The results of thin slice analysis indicate that the generation and extension of microcracks are responsible for the macro-properties degradation of rocks. Both grain boundary and intra-grain microcracks are more common near quartz boundaries and inside quartz grains. The results in this study would shed light on performing HDR reservoir stimulations assisted with cryogenic LN2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMOylation in plants is associated with biotic and abiotic stress responses, flowering, and other aspects of development. ICE1 protein SUMOylation by the SUMO E3 ligase SIZ1 plays important roles in plant cold tolerance. Here, we reported the subcellular localization of EcaICE1 and its interaction with EcaSIZ1 in Eucalyptus camaldulensis. The genes EcaICE1 and EcaSIZ1 were isolated by homologous cloning. The subcellular localization analysis showed that EcaICE1 was located in nucleus. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) analysis revealed that EcaICE1 could interact with EcaSIZ1 in the nucleus of Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. Moreover, yeast two-hybrid assay confirmed that the amino acid region from position 84 to 126 in EcaICE1 was critical for the strong transactivation activity of EcaICE1 and that the C-terminal region from position 361 to 557 in EcaICE1 was the key region for its interaction with EcaSIZ1 using different truncated lengths of non-transactivation activity of EcaICE1 as the bait protein. Collectively, our results showed that EcaICE1 may have a SUMOylation pathway similar to Arabidopsis thaliana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of polymer additives provides an intriguing pathway to tune the electrical performance of solution-grown, small-molecular organic semiconductors. In this study, we report the effect of different polymer molecular weight on the crystal growth, phase segregation and charge transport of the organic semiconductors. A semicrystalline polymer additive polyethylene oxide (PEO) with 8000 and 100 K molecular weight was blended with a well-known organic semiconductor 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene). Distinctively different thin film morphology of the resultant TIPS pentacene/PEO blend film was identified and quantitatively characterized. In particular, PEO with a higher molecular weight of 100 K exerted a stronger effect on enhancing film formation, crystal coverage and likely mechanical properties, whereas PEO with an 8000 molecular weight yielded more superior crystal alignment and larger crystal sizes. Bottom-gate, top-contact TIPS pentacene/PEO OTFTs were fabricated to test the charge transport, which indicated loading the PEO polymer with molecular weight of 8000 demonstrated a five-fold enhancement in the extracted hole mobilities as compared to the 100 K counterpart. This work of using polymer additives with different molecular weight can be used to tune the crystallization of other solution-processed high-mobility small-molecular organic semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Intensive urbanization decreases the self-regulation of urban ecosystems, leading to accumulation of persistent pollutants such as trace metals and metalloids in urban environments. Road-deposited sediments (RDS) are important carriers of trace metals and metalloid contaminants that could contribute to urban runoff pollution. This study aims to investigate the concentration and speciation systemically and assess the risks of trace metals and metalloids from RDS comprehensively. Materials and methods: Road-deposited sediments (RDS) were analyzed for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn, in terms of total concentrations, speciation, release, and risks at 23 sites across six land types (the rural-urban fringe, commercial, residential, industrial, traffic, and the natural areas) in Daxing District of Beijing, China, in April 2018. Risk factors evaluating different aspects included contamination levels and ecological risk, Igeo, and RI; source of metal (natural or anthropogenic), EF; bioavailability, RAC. Six particle sizes vs. metal concentrations were also analyzed for trace metals and metalloids from rural-urban fringe samples. Results and discussion: Obvious variations were found for the concentrations of Cr, As, and Cd in rural-urban area, especially for Cr. Industrial sites exhibited highest average values for all trace metals and metalloids except for As and Cu. Cr, Cd, and Pb in particular posed more risk. Traffic area showed signs of contamination for Cu, Pb, and Zn. Commercial and residential areas presented low ecological risk. However, there were signs of As and Cu contaminations in both areas, and of Pb in the residential area as well. No research sites were contaminated by Mn, despite the high concentration values. Although high contamination levels of Cr were found in many sites, the risk level of Cr was low. Generally, RDS with smaller particle size (< 80, 80–150, and 150–300 μm) possessed higher concentrations of trace metals and metalloids compared to larger size (300–500 and 500–1000 μm). Conclusion: The study showed that metals of high concentration do not always pose high risk. More attention should be paid to the systematical risk assessment of trace metals and metalloids than the concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report that the vertical phase separation between a small-molecule organic semiconductor and a polymer additive can be utilized to drive semiconductor crystallization, enhance thin film morphology, and improve device performance of solution-processed organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). When 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) was demonstrated as a benchmark semiconductor material to blend with a polyacrylate polymer additive poly(2-ethylhexyl acrylate) (P2EHA), it was found that a vertical phase segregation occurred between TIPS pentacene and P2EHA, providing a confinement of anisotropic semiconductor crystallization and resulting in an elevated TIPS pentacene concentration at the charge transport interface. Accordingly, distinctive TIPS pentacene thin film morphology in terms of areal coverage, grain width, and crystal orientation was obtained by varying the loading ratio of the P2EHA polymer additive. Bottom-gate and bottom-contact OTFTs were fabricated to test charge transport and a hole mobility of up to 0.27 cm2/Vs was demonstrated with 80% loading ratio of P2EHA. The effective experimental method and important results as we showcased in this work can be applied to drive crystallization and optimize film morphology of small-molecule organic semiconductors other than TIPS pentacene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report an effective approach to tune the crystallization, microstructure and charge transport of solution-processed organic semiconductors by blending with a conjugated polymer additive poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). When 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) was used as a model semiconductor material to mix with different amount of P3HT, their intermolecular interactions led to distinctive TIPS pentacene film morphologies, including randomly-oriented crystal ribbons, elongated needles with enhanced long-range order, and grass-like curved microwires with interlinkages. Each type of morphology was found to further correlate to considerably different charge transport and device performance. As compared to pristine TIPS pentacene devices, bottom-gate, top-contact OTFTs with 2% in weight P3HT additive showed a 2-fold and 5-fold improvement of average field-effect mobility and performance consistency (defined as the ratio of average mobility to the standard deviation), respectively. The improvement in transistor electrical performance can be attributed to the combined effect of enhanced crystal orientation and uniformity, as well as increased areal coverage. This work can be applied beyond the particular example demonstrated in this study and to tune the charge transport of other small-molecule organic semiconductors in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we report for the first time the use of a nonconjugated semicrystalline polymer as a film-forming agent to control the crystallization and tune the charge transport of solution-processed, small-molecule organic semiconductors. When 6,13-bis (triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) was demonstrated as a representative material to blend with polyethylene oxide (PEO) polymer, it crystallized into uniformly-aligned needles with reduced random orientation, enhanced long-range order and elevated areal coverage. Specifically, an ultra-low misorientation angle of 7.9° ± 3.5° was obtained with 10% PEO additive, beneficial for charge transport in the TIPS pentacene/PEO hybrid film. Bottom-gate, top-contact organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) based on TIPS pentacene/PEO mixture were found to show a field-effect mobility up to 2.5 × 10−2 cm2/Vs. This work may be universally applied to other organic semiconductors to regulate their crystal formation, enhance film forming and improve device performance of OTFTs. It contributes to the utilization of flexible substrates for future-generation high-performance organic electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much research progress has recently been achieved in solution-soluble, small-molecule, organic semiconductors, their randomly oriented crystals still remain as an issue that leads to nonuniform charge transport and severely degrades performance consistency of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). In the paper, we reviewed the various small-molecule additives that have been reported to blend with these semiconductors in order to reduce their crystal misorientation and mobility variations of OTFTs. By mainly studying the examples of a representative small-molecule organic semiconductor 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene, we intend to disclose the important effects of the various additives on controlling the semiconductor crystallization, film morphology, and charge transport. This work can be facilely employed to align the crystal orientation and tweak the electrical performance of newly discovered small-molecule organic semiconductors, and will provide an in-depth understanding of the important application in high-performance, solution-based, large-area organic electronics devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical performance of solution-processed, small-molecule organic semiconductors is largely restricted by their severe charge carrier mobility variations. In this work, we demonstrate an effective method to reduce such variations of the semiconductor mobilities and improve the performance consistency of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) by adding poly(α-methylstyrene) (PαMS) as a polymer additive. By using 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) as an example, we found that while pristine TIPS pentacene film exhibited random crystal orientation and large film gaps, the addition of PαMS polymer promoted the growth of semiconductor crystals, which formed uniformly aligned needles with significantly improved orientation and coverage within the channel regions. An ultra-low misorientation angle of 2.2° ± 1° was obtained from TIPS pentacene/PαMS blend film, which is a 20-fold reduction as compared to pristine TIPS pentacene. Bottom-gate, top-contact OTFTs with TIPS pentacene crystals aligned perpendicularly from source to drain contact electrodes demonstrated a hole mobility of up to 0.26 cm2/V s, as well a 6-fold enhancement of average mobility as compared to the pristine TIPS pentacene based counterparts. Notably, the addition of PαMS led to a performance consistency factor of 3.35, as defined by the ratio of the average mobility to standard deviation, implying a great reduction of charge carrier mobility variations. The improvement of electrical performance of OTFTs can be attributed to the combined outcome of crystal rigid alignment, extended long-range order, and almost full coverage of charge transport channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a crucial reaction for various energy conversion and storage devices, but the sluggish kinetics and the usage of noble metals greatly restrict its practical device applications. In this work, a well-designed high-performance catalyst for ORR was synthesized via a facile one-step Co-MOF carbonization method, in which Co-MOF was prepared using the cobalt acetate tetrahydrate and 2,2′-bipyridyl-5,5′-dicarboxylic acid (H2bpydc) as the only raw materials and H2bpydc as the favorable carbon and nitrogen source for in situ nitrogen doping and metallic cobalt reduction. The resultant 3D mesoporous carbon foam catalyst with embedded Co nanoparticles (CoN-CF) is enriched with nitrogen, which exhibits high specific surface area and abundant N-doping active sites for catalytic ORR. In particular, the optimized CoN-CF-700 sample displays the best catalytic performances including onset potential of 0.94 V, half-wave potential of 0.85 V, long-term durability and superior resistance to methanol poisoning. The demonstrated synthetic strategy provides a new insight into easy-synthesis and high-economy routes for metal-N-C catalysts and a deeper understanding of the effects of microstructures on catalytic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Minimizing the makespan in no-wait flow shop scheduling problem (NWFSP) is widely applied in various industries. However, it is a NP-hard problem. A novel quantum-inspired cuckoo co-search (QCCS) algorithm is proposed to solve this problem. The QCCS algorithm consists of the following three phases: 1) Quantum representation of solution. 2) A quantum-inspired cuckoo search-differential evolution (QCS-DE) search. 3) Local neighborhood search (LNS) algorithm. Meanwhile, the convergence property of the QCCS algorithm is analyzed theoretically. The Taguchi experiments are further designed for the calibration of parameters. The QCCS algorithm was performed on Rec and Car benchmark instances and compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms, including GA-VNS, HGA, TS-PSO, TMIIG, where the superiority of the proposed algorithm is verified by numerical analyses. In addition, the in-depth statistical analysis demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The numerical results verify that the proposed algorithm has strong optimization ability and can effectively solve the NWFSP with small and medium scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Memristor crossbar arrays have great potential in brain inspired computing and the next generation high-density memories. The sneak current issue, however, seriously degrades their performance with increasing array size. Selectors with volatile threshold switching (TS) behavior have become important components of the arrays to suppress this issue. Ag/Ta2O5/Pt diffusive devices have promising TS characteristics as selectors, including high ON/OFF ratio and low OFF current. However, their unidirectional TS excludes their application in arrays consisting of bipolar memristors. Bipolar memristors require voltage biases of different polarities to enable the device programming, thus selectors with bidirectional TS are essential for them. In this study, we realize reproducible bidirectional TS behavior on Ag/Ta2O5/Pt diffusive devices. The ON/OFF ratio and the OFF current of the device are ∼107 A and ∼ 10−12 A, respectively. The switching voltage is ∼ 0.35 V and the hold voltage is ∼ 0.125 V. The TS behavior can be also optimized by choosing suitable compliance current during a voltage sweep. Simulations of nanoparticles diffusion are also carried out to study the mechanism of this bidirectional TS process. The simulations show that this behavior can be attributed to the outer diffusion of Ag nanoparticles from an Ag electrode and their accumulation near the Pt electrode under the voltage sweep, which can serve as an additional counter active electrode. This work illustrates that Ag/Ta2O5/Pt diffusive devices are promising candidates for selector applications in bipolar memristor crossbar arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrations of eight trace metals (TMs) in road dust (RD) (particles < 25 μm) from urban areas of Xinxiang, China, were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The geometric mean concentrations of Zn, Mn, Pb, As, Cu, Cr, Ni and Cd were 489, 350, 114, 101, 60.0, 39.7, 31.6, and 5.1 mg kg−1, respectively. When compared with TM levels in background soil, the samples generally display elevated TM concentrations, except for Cr and Mn, and for Cd the enrichment value was 69.6. Spatial variations indicated TMs in RD from park path would have similar sources with main roads, collector streets and bypasses. Average daily exposure doses of the studied TMs were about three orders of magnitude higher for hand-to-mouth ingestion than dermal contact, and the exposure doses for children were 9.33 times higher than that for adults. The decreasing trend of calculated hazard indexes (HI) for the eight elements was As > Pb > Cr > Mn > Cd > Zn > Ni > Cu for both children and adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]