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Abstract Limiting global warming to 1.5-2 °C requires a 50-90% reduction in CO2 emissions in 2050, depending on different scenarios, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage is a promising technology that can help reach this objective. Calcium oxide (CaO) carbon capture is an appealing choice because of its affordability, large potential capacity, and ability to withstand the high temperatures of flue gases. However, the structural instability and capacity fading challenge its large-scale industrial applications. Here, we design a reversible reaction shuttle in CaO-based sorbents to improve the structure stability by changing the initial alumina phases. Diverse alumina phases (x-Al2O3) are first synthesized and utilized as the aluminum source for creating CaO@x-Al2O3 composites. As expected, the CaO@δ-Al2O3 composite demonstrates a carbon capture capacity of 0.43 g-CO2/g-sorbent after 50 cycles, with an impressive capacity retention of 82.7%. Combined characterizations and calculations reveal that this stability improvement is attributed to a transition shuttle between Ca3Al2O6 and Ca5Al6O14, which can effectively restrain the complete decompositions of those structure-stabilized intermediate phases. An economic assessment further identifies the significance of heat transfer efficiency improvement upon cycles, and control of capital/operation cost, energy price and carbon tax for a future cost-effective commercialization of current strategy.

The oxidation behavior of a medium carbon Cr–Mn–Si alloyed steel was investigated under a mold flux melt environment exposed to different high temperatures of 1175–1425 °C, and holding time of 5–85 min. The results showed that the thicknesses of oxide layers contained Cr–Mn–Si oxide particles significantly increased from 10 to 183 μm with the increasing of oxidation temperature and holding time. The selective oxidation of Cr, Mn and Si elements in the grain boundaries is caused by the diffusion of free oxygen (O2−) migrating from mold flux to steel matrix, which leads to the growth of oxide layer thicknesses. Moreover, the oxidation rate constant (kp) of the Cr–Mn–Si alloyed steel was revealed under the mold flux environment at the temperatures of 1175–1375 °C. In addition, it was found that the growth kinetics of oxide particles in the oxide layer consists of a rapid growth stage and a slow-steady growth stage, and the growth of oxide particles is co-controlled by the diffusion of O2− within the steel matrix and the competing oxidation reactions involving Fe, Cr, Mn, and Si elements.

Introduction Genomic profiling is performed in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer, in order to direct cancer treatment, often sequencing tumor-only, without a matched germline comparator. However, because many of the genes analyzed on tumor profiling overlap with those known to be associated with hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes (HCPS), tumor-only profiling can unknowingly uncover germline pathogenic (P) and likely pathogenic variants (LPV). In this study, we evaluated the number of patients with P/LPVs identified in BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) via tumor-only profiling, then determined the germline testing outcomes for those patients. Methods A retrospective chart review was performed to identify patients with BRCA1/2 variants on tumor-only genomic profiling, and whether they had germline testing. Results This study found that of 2923 patients with 36 tumor types who underwent tumor-only testing, 554 had a variant in BRCA1/2 (19.0%); 119 of the 554 patients (21.5%) had a P/LP BRCA1/2 variant, representing 4.1% of the overall population who underwent genomic profiling. Seventy-three (61.3%) of 119 patients with BRCA1/2 P/LPV on tumor-only testing did not undergo germline testing, 34 (28.6%) had already had germline testing before tumor-only testing, and 12 (10.1%) underwent germline testing after tumor-only testing. Twenty-eight germline BRCA1/2 P/LPVs were detected, 24 in those who had prior germline testing, and 4 among the 12 patients who had germline testing after tumor-only testing. Conclusion Tumor-only testing is likely to identify P/LPVs in BRCA1/2. Efforts to improve follow-up germline testing is needed to improve identification of germline BRCA1/2 alterations.

Medium-Mn steels have garnered significant interest due to their unique combination of high strength and exceptional ductility. However, a high Mn content inevitably causes the macro-segregation of Mn, which can significantly compromise the mechanical properties. This study effectively prevented the formation of Mn macro-segregation by employing the sub-rapid solidification. It resulted in the distribution of Mn micro-segregation bands within dendritic gaps in Fe-9Mn-2Si-0.5Al-0.1C steel. Mn micro-segregation bands results in a high proportion of pre-existing austenite (γpre) with small size and suitable stability in the as-cast strip, forming a lamellar structure with alternating distribution of lath martensite and austenite on the micrometer scale. The as-cast strip necessitates only basic simple hot rolling control without the need for any tempering treatment to achieve excellent mechanical properties comparable to conventional lengthy processes (ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 1762 MPa, total elongation (TE) of 20 %, and product of strength and elongation (PSE) up to 35 GPa%). Utilizing this structure as a foundation, a simple austenite reverse tempering (ART) treatment can lead to additional enhancements in comprehensive mechanical characteristics with the UTS of 1529 MPa, TE of 25 % and PSE of 38 GPa%.

To investigate the effect of gelatin peptide on the inhibition of quality deterioration in stored pudding, gelatin peptide with antioxidant properties was added to pudding products. For this purpose, a pudding recipe containing gelatin peptides was created. The gelatin peptides were characterized based on their antioxidant activity and protein structure. It was found that gelatin peptides had better antioxidant properties, lower thermal stability and crystallinity, higher hydrophobic amino acid content, and greater surface hydrogen bond exposure than commercially available peptides. Properties such as the pH, colony growth, and sensory characteristics of the pudding were characterized at 4 °C and 25 °C. The results showed that the addition of 0.5–1.0 % gelatin peptide to pudding was capable of significantly (P < 0.05) slowing down the decline in pH and sensory scores of the pudding and significantly inhibiting colony growth. It could prolong its storage life by five days at 4 °C and three days at 25 °C.

An experimental investigation has been conducted with respect to the decomposition of austenite to various ferritic products from different initial phase states (molten-state of 1550 °C and solid-state of 1050 °C) and pre-defined cooling rates (1 °C/s and 10 °C/s) in a typical low-carbon steel using the confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Surface morphology, microstructure, internal stress and dislocation density were analyzed. Changing the initial states from the molten to the solid state and lowering the cooling rate from 10 °C/s to 1 °C/s increased the phase transformation starting temperature. Compared with the uniform cooling condition to produce polygonal ferrite of the solid-state sample, unevenly distributed internal stresses were found from the initial molten-state sample. Additionally, high dislocation densities were observed in stress concentrated areas of the initial molten-state samples resulting in the formation of lath-like ferrite but coarse quasi-polygonal ferrite in relatively stress-free areas. Moreover, when the cooling rate was increased to 10 °C/s, the proportion of lath-like ferrite obviously increased in the molten-state and the size of the polygonal ferrite decreased in the solid-state sample due to the increasing of nucleation rate from austenite to ferrite.

In this work, the interface characteristics between alumina and the steel liquid with different sulfur and oxygen concentrations were measured by an improved sessile drop method. And the behavior of alumina inclusions in front of the solid–liquid interface of steel liquid with different oxygen and sulfur concentrations was investigated by in-situ observation. Furthermore, the behavior of alumina particles in front of the solid–liquid interface on the surface of the steel liquid was discussed from the interface characteristics between alumina and the steel liquid with different sulfur and oxygen concentrations based on the interface gradient force, coulombic force, and Marangoni effect viewpoints. The results show that the large and small inclusion particles were engulfed and pushed, respectively, at the interface of solid–liquid, while the critical average radius for engulfed inclusion particles decreased from 7.73 μm to 6.21 μm and 4.84 μm, respectively, with sulfur and oxygen concentrations increasing. And the behavior can be described by a function formula concerning the interface characteristics between alumina and the steel liquid with the different sulfur and oxygen concentrations based on the interface gradient force, coulombic force, and Marangoni effect viewpoints. Further, it is found that the aggregation ability due to capillary force is weakened and even dispersed at the solid–liquid interface, which leads to the inclusion being easily pushed away from the front of the solid–liquid interface with the increase in sulfur and oxygen concentrations.

Bands of interdendritic porosity and positive macrosegregation are commonly observed in pressure die castings, with previous studies demonstrating their close relation to dilatant shear bands in granular materials. Despite recent technological developments, the micromechanism governing dilatancy in the high-pressure die casting (HPDC) process for alloys between liquid and solid temperature regions is still not fully understood. To investigate the influence of fluid flow and the size of externally solidified crystals (ESCs) on the evolution of dilatant shear bands in HPDC, various filling velocities were trialled to produce HPDC samples of Al8SiMnMg alloys. This study demonstrates that crystal fragmentation is accompanied by a decrease in dilatational concentration, producing an indistinct shear band. Once crystal fragmentation stagnates, the enhanced deformation rate associated with a further increase in filling velocity (from 2.2 ms−1 to 4.6 ms−1) localizes dilatancy into a highly concentrated shear band. The optimal piston velocity is 3.6 ms−1, under which the average ESC size reaches the minimum, and the average yield stress and overall product of strength and elongation reach the maximum values of 144.6 MPa and 3.664 GPa%, respectively. By adopting the concept of force chain buckling in granular media, the evolution of dilatant shear bands in equiaxed solidifying alloys can be adequately explained based on further verification with DEM-type modeling in OpenFOAM. Three mechanisms for ESC-enhanced dilation are presented, elucidating previous reports relating the presence of ESCs to the subsequent shear band characteristics. By applying the physics of granular materials to equiaxed solidifying alloys, unique opportunities are presented for process optimization and microstructural modeling in HPDC.

The reconstruction of the boundary heat flux between solidifying steel and water-cooled mold wall using measured temperature data is recognized as an inverse heat conduction problem (IHCP). A Tikhonov spatial regularization approach to enhance the smoothness of the Conjugate Gradient Method (CGMr) was proposed which incorporates three different orders of spatial regularization: zeroth, first, and second order. The optimal regularization parameter was selected using a modified L-curve method. The accuracy of the CGMr is investigated with Case 1: a triangular time-spatial variation heat flux, and Case 2: a step change in the form of rectangular variation heat flux. The effects of measurement noise, grid points and time-step size are investigated. The results show that the minimum relative error (eRMS) of the predicted Case 1 heat flux is 1.98%, 7.64%, and 8.02% for zeroth-, first-, and second-order spatial regularization, respectively. The corresponding values for the predicted Case 2 heat flux are 3.82%, 13.42%, and 14.91%. Subsequently, CGMr algorithm is applied to calculate the heat flux in a mold simulator experiment. By comparing the relationship between heat fluxes reconstructed by CGMr after different iteration numbers, it is observed that the recovered heat flux of 2.14 MW/m2 with zeroth regularization remains highly stable.

Twin-roll strip casting (TRSC) technology has unique advantages in the production of non-oriented electrical steel. However, the hot deformation behavior of high-grade electrical steel produced by TRSC has hardly been reported. This work systematically studied the hot deformation behavior of free-Al 2.43 wt.% Si electrical steel strip produced by twin-roll strip casting. During the simulated hot rolling test, deformation reduction was set as 30%, and the ranges of deformation temperature and strain rate were 750~950 °C and 0.01~5 s−1, respectively. The obtained true stress–strain curves show that the peak true stress decreased with an increase in the deformation temperature and with a decrease in the strain rate. Then, the effect of hot deformation parameters on microstructure and texture was analyzed using optical microstructure observation, X-ray diffraction, and electron backscattered diffraction examination. In addition, based on the obtained true stress–strain curves of the strip cast during hot deformation, the constitutive equation for the studied silicon steel strip was established, from which it can be found that the deformation activation energy of the studied steel strip is 83.367 kJ/mol. Finally, the kinetics model of dynamic recrystallization for predicting the recrystallization volume percent was established and was verified by a hot rolling experiment conducted on a rolling mill.

Steel products typically undergo intricate manufacturing processes, commencing from the liquid phase, with casting, hot rolling, and laminar cooling being among the most crucial processes. In the background of carbon neutrality, thin-slab casting and direct rolling (TSCR) technology has attracted significant attention, which integrates the above three processes into a simpler and more energy-efficient sequence compared to conventional methods. Multi-scale computational modeling and simulation play a crucial role in steel design and optimization, enabling the prediction of properties and microstructure in final steel products. This approach significantly reduces the time and cost of production compared to traditional trial-and-error methodologies. This study provides a review of cross-scale simulations focusing on the casting, hot-rolling, and laminar cooling processes, aiming at presenting the key techniques for realizing cross-scale simulation of the TSCR process.

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) prepared 316L stainless steel has been widely deployed in academia and industry today. This paper studied the influence of laser power (50–450 W) and scanning speed (1000–2800 mm/s) on formability, hardness, microstructure, internal and external quality, and porosity of the built, and further analyzed the internal relationship between input energy density and them. The results revealed that high laser power needs to match high scanning speed to obtain better formability; that is, appropriate energy density was the fundamental guarantee of formability. Besides, high energy density will lead to a smaller ratio of width and height (W/H) and a larger area of the molten pool. And the cellular grain's size increased significantly from 181 to 1615 nm, with the energy density increasing from 26.8 to 750.0 J/mm3. In addition, the sample's quality was also related to the energy density. And the porosity variation trend was similar to that of surface roughness, indicating a strong correlation between internal quality and surface quality.

Abstract The multispectral compatible infrared camouflage technology is implemented these days to counter the developing infrared detectors and detectors of other bands. However, the conflict between delicate optical structures and scalable procedures has significantly impeded the development and application of multispectral‐compatible camouflage technology. Therefore, a semi‐open Fabry‐Perot structure is introduced, and the color and infrared emissivity by structural parameters for color‐matched visible‐infrared compatible camouflage are modulated. The prepared compatible camouflage film exhibits visible camouflage by the minimum color difference of 1.6 L*a*b* (under desert background) and infrared camouflage by low emission (ε3–5 µm ≈ 0.17 and ε8–14 µm ≈ 0.143). Due to its flexibility and scalability, the compatible camouflage film can be applied in practical applications and exhibits desirable visible and infrared camouflage performance in different battlefield backgrounds.

Abstract As one of the most fascinating phenomena, structural whiteness in natural organisms serves important functions in thermoregulation and mating. However, the architectures that cause visible broadband reflection are often in quasiordered distributions, which hinders systematic research on their color formation mechanisms. Here, through numerical analysis, the architectures in Morpho theseus scales are shown to be distributed in various tubular morphologies between tubular and gyroid structures. Then, the mechanism of structural white is discussed using the numerical model built with the combination of a periodic numerical framework and random elements. Thermodynamic experiments indicate that the white scales can efficiently help reduce the temperature of butterfly wings under a direct light beam. Our work provides a concise method for analyzing quasiordered structures. The methodology developed by this numerical model can facilitate a deep understanding of the performance improvement facilitated by these structural characteristics. Corresponding solutions can guide the design of nano-optical materials to achieve an efficient cooling, camouflage, and photothermal conversion system.

The pearlite phase transition behavior of the high-carbon steel (0.82% C) under different holding temperatures (1050 °C and 1450 °C) and cooling rates (60, 300 and 600 °C/min）were investigated using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). The phase diagram of the researched steel in an equilibrium state was calculated by JMatPro software, and the identifications of the pearlite lamellar spacing and dislocation density were conducted by SEM and TEM analysis, respectively. The in situ observation showed that the pearlite formed at the grain boundary and grew into austenite grains. As the cooling rate increased, the beginning and finishing temperature of pearlite transition moved in a lower direction as a whole. Compared with the normal heat treatment of 1050 °C, the pearlite formation temperature increased by 30 °C with a holding temperature of 1450 °C at the same cooling rate of 60 °C/min, which was contributed to the enhancement of dislocation density along the grain boundary. In addition, the liner relationship between average phase transition temperature and reciprocal of pearlite lamellar spacing was obtained.

To ensure the accuracy of state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) estimation for battery packs while minimizing the amount of pre-experiments required for aging modeling and the scales of computation for online management, a decisive-cell-based estimation method with training-free characteristic parameters and a dynamic-weighted estimation strategy is proposed in this paper. Firstly, to reduce the computational complexity, the state estimation of battery packs is summed up to that of two decisive cells, and a new selection approach for the decisive cells is adopted based on the detection of steep voltage changes. Secondly, two novel ideas are implemented for the state estimation of the selected cells. On the one hand, a set of characteristic parameters that only exhibit local curve shrinkage with aging is chosen, which keeps the corresponding estimation approaches away from training. On the other hand, multiple basic estimation approaches are effectively combined by their respective dynamic weights, which ensures the estimation can maintain a good estimation accuracy under various load profiles. Finally, the experimental results show that the new method can quickly correct the initial setting deviations and have a high estimation accuracy for both the SOC and SOH within 2% for a series battery pack consisting of cells with obvious inconsistency.

The slag entrapment defect has become a big issue for the IF steel casting process. In this study, the mechanism of mold flux entrapment in deep oscillation mark of an IF steel shell was studied by a high-temperature mold simulator. Results show that both temperature and heat flux in a copper mold become lower when mold flux B with lower melting and viscosity is used, compared with these when mold flux A with higher melting and viscosity is used. The average thickness of the slag film for mold fluxes A and B is 1.31 mm and 1.63 mm, and the consumption of them is 0.33 kg/m2 and 0.35 kg/m2, respectively. The shell for mold flux A exhibits sharper oscillation marks, while the shell for mold flux B has shallower oscillation marks. These deeper oscillation marks capture the mold flux by overflow of molten steel at the meniscus, which finally produces the slag entrapment defect in the shell.

IntroductionGasless unilateral trans-axillary approach (GUA) thyroidectomy has witnessed rapid development in technologies and applications. However, the existence of surgical retractors and limited space would increase the difficulty of guaranteeing the visual field and disturb safe surgical manipulation. We aimed to develop a novel zero-line method for incision design to access optimal surgical manipulation and outcomes.MethodsA total of 217 patients with thyroid cancer who underwent GUA were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly classified into two groups (classical incision and zero-line incision), and their operative data were collected and reviewed.Results216 enrolled patients underwent and completed GUA; among them, 111 patients were classified into the classical group, and 105 patients were classified into the zero-line group, respectively. Demographic data, including age, gender, and the primary tumor side, were similar between the two groups. The duration of surgery in the classical group was longer (2.66 ± 0.68 h) than in the zero-line group (1.40 ± 0.47 h) (p 0.05).ConclusionThe “zero-line” method for GUA surgery incision design was simple but effective for GUA surgery manipulation and worth promoting.

An innovative cascade predictor is presented in this study to forecast the state of recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with delayed output. This cascade predictor is a chain-structured observer, as opposed to the conventional single observer, and is made up of several sub-observers that individually estimate the state of the neurons at various periods. This new cascade predictor is more useful than the conventional single observer in predicting neural network states when the output delay is arbitrarily large but known. In contrast to examining the stability of error systems solely employing the Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF), several new global asymptotic stability standards are obtained by combining the application of the Linear Parameter Varying (LPV) approach, LKF and convex principle. Finally, a series of numerical simulations verify the efficacy of the obtained results.

In this paper, two near-net-shape continuous casting technologies (strip casting and compact strip production) were used to produce a typical Si–Mn bearing Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) slab/strip, aiming to provide a clear understanding on the cooling rate on the solidification structure and corresponding properties. The results showed that strip casting (SC) technology under sub-rapid cooling conditions owns a higher heat transfer efficiency, and the solidified grains have been obviously uniformed and refined. Meanwhile, a substituted quenching process has been completed under high cooling strength of SC, leading the structural transformation from the initial ferrite/pearlite to the composite structure of martensite and bainite, which provides a very good structural basis for the excellent comprehensive mechanical performance of Si–Mn AHSS.

Wheat powdery mildew, caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (an obligate biotrophic pathogen) is a worldwide threat to wheat production that occurs over a wide geographic area in China. For monitoring genetic variation and virulence structure of Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici in Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Sichuan in 2015, 31 wheat lines with known Powdery mildew resistance genes and 2 EST-SSR markers were used to characterize the virulence and genetic diversity. Results indicated that 90% of all isolates were virulent on Pm3c, Pm3e, Pm3f, Pm4a, Pm5, Pm6 (Timgalen), Pm7, Pm16, Pm19, and Pm1 + 2 + 9 and 62.6% to 89.9% of isolates were virulent on Pm3a, Pm3b, Pm3d, Pm4b, Pm6 (Coker747), Pm8, Pm17, Pm20, Pm23, Pm30, Pm4 + 8, Pm5 + 6, Pm4b + mli, Pm2 + mld, Pm4 + 2X, Pm2 + 6. The Pm13 and PmXBD genes were effective against most collected isolates from Liaoning and Heilongjiang Provinces. Only Pm21 exhibited an immune infection response to all isolates. Furthermore, closely related isolates within each region were distinguished by cluster analyses using EST-SSR representing some gene exchanges and genetic relationships between the flora in Northeast China (Liaoning, Heilongjiang) and Sichuan. Only 45% of the isolates tested show a clear correlation between EST-SSR genetic polymorphisms and the frequency of virulence gene data. However, the EST-SSR polymorphism of isolated genes did not correspond to the virulence diversity of isolates in the single-gene lineage identification of hosts.

Tensile fracture of near-β-titanium alloys with bimodal microstructure （BM） is very sensitive to micro-void nucleation. In this study, micro-void nucleation, growth, and propagation during tensile fracture of Ti-55531 alloy are investigated. α/β grain boundary (α/β-GB) and α/β grain boundary shear (α/β-GBSH) micro-voids are the main void sources, accounting for 83% of the total voids. The reason for the formation of α/β-GB voids is the stress concentration caused by the difference in the strength of the primary α (αp) and β transformation (βtrans) microstructure and the low strength of the non-coherent αp/β interface. α/β-GB voids eventually lead to fractures along the αp/β interface. α/β-GBSH voids are caused by the difference in the strength of the αp phase, the grain boundary α phase and the βtrans structure, which will cause the αp phase to tear and fracture along the grain boundary α-phase. The {112¯2} twin is first observed in near-β-titanium alloy, which explains the high plasticity of the alloy.

Here the authors deploy a scalable synthesis route to prepare sodium-rich Na2−x FeFe(CN)6 cathode materials for sodium-ion battery. The highly reversible structural evolution during cycling between rhombohedral, cubic and tetragonal phases is the key to enable the good performance.

Summary: Electrocatalysis-assisted entrapment of polysulfide while ensuring efficient nucleation of Na2S holds the key to addressing the shuttle effect and sluggish kinetics of polysulfide in room-temperature (RT) Na/S batteries. The constrained active sites, however, dramatically limit the efficiency of electrocatalysts. Here, a strategy of electrochemically releasing nano-silver catalytic sites during the discharge process is presented, visualized, and implemented for accelerated Na2S nucleation. Because of the effective polysulfide immobilization and accelerated Na2S nucleation, the sulfur cathode, supported by a self-released silver electrocatalyst, exhibits a superior reversible capacity of 701 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and an ultra-stable cycling performance. Precise understanding of the electrochemically self-releasing mechanism and the catalysis in Na2S nucleation via in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) would aid, however, in fundamentally optimizing the working mechanism and for further development of more stable high-power RT Na/S batteries.

As one of the main methods for fabricating microstructured surfaces, micro-injection molding has the advantages of short cycle time, high production efficiency, and the potential for batch manufacturing. However, non-negligible residual stresses inside the molded part could affect the replication quality, dimensions, and physical properties of the microstructure. Therefore, studying the effects of processing parameters on residual stresses is a necessary prerequisite to ensure the successful fabrication of microstructured parts. In this paper, an injection molding simulation model of micro-pillar arrays was developed using molecular dynamics software, and a series of injection molding experiments were conducted. It was found that increasing the mold temperature and melt temperature can reduce the thermal residual stresses and molecular orientation stresses, and effectively improve the uniformity of residual stress distribution. The increase in the packing pressure can make the shear field of flow more intense and increase the molecular orientation stresses, thus making the residual stresses more severe.

Abstract Owing to the natural abundance and low cost of sodium resources, sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have drawn considerable attention for state‐of‐the‐art power storage devices over the last few years. To enable advanced SIBs with a brighter future, great effort has been made, not only through optimizing the electrode materials, but also with rationally designing various electrolyte systems. Among the available electrolyte systems, organic electrolytes, especially those based on esters as well as ethers, are the most promising ones for practical application in the foreseeable future, due to their numerous inherent advantages. This review is concerned with the recent research progresses on organic electrolytes for SIBs, focusing on ether‐based and ester‐based ones.

Transition metal carbides are attractive for electrochemical energy storage and catalysis, but cost effective preparation on a large scale is challenging. Here the authors use a direct pattern method to fabricate transition metal carbides for supercapacitors and solar energy harvesting for steam generation.

A combination of droplet solidification tester and confocal laser scanning microscope was used to simulate subrapid solidification and secondary cooling process pertinent to the strip casting. The IF steel droplet had a delamination structure and the bottom part went through sub-rapid solidification. During secondary cooling, γ/α transformation mechanism belonged to interface-controlled massive transformation and the ferrite grains grew quickly. With the increase of cooling rate, the γ/α transformation temperature decreased and the incubation period and phase transformation duration reduced. The hardness showed a slight increase due to fine-grain strengthening. With coiling temperature increasing from 600 °C to 800 °C, the grain size became larger, precipitates became coarse, and defects in grain were recovered. Consequently, the hardness decreased.

Modular prefabricated buildings effectively improve the efficiency and quality of building design and construction and represent an important trend in the development of building industrialization. However, there are still many deficiencies in the design and technology of existing systems, especially in terms of the integration of architectural performance defects that cannot respond to occupants’ comfort, flexibility, and energy-saving requirements throughout the building’s life cycle. This research takes modular prefabricated steel structural systems as its research object and sets the detailed design of an integrated modular envelope system as the core content. First, the researcher chose two types of thermal insulation materials, high insulation panels and aerogel blankets, in order to study the construction details of integrated building envelopes for modular prefabricated buildings. Focusing on the weakest heat point, the thermal bridge at the modular connection point, this work used construction design and research to build an experimental building and full-scale model; the goal was to explore and verify the feasibility of the climate-responsive construction technique called “reverse install.” Second, as a response to climate change, building facades were dynamically adjusted by employing different modular building envelope units such as sunshades, preheaters, ventilation, air filtration, pest control, and other functional requirements in order to improve the building’s climate adaptability. Finally, based on the above structural design and research, this study verified the actual measurements and simulation, as well as the sustainability performance of the structure during the operational phase, and provided feedback on the design. The results highlight the environmental performance of each construction detail and optimized possibilities for an integrated envelope design for modular prefabricated buildings during both the design and renovation phases.

The influence of various Zr contents (0–45 wt.%) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V alloy was investigated through a combinatorial approach. The diffusion multiples of Ti6Al4V–Ti6Al4V20Fe–Ti6Al4V20Cr–Ti6Al4V20Mo–Ti6Al4V45Zr were manufactured and diffusion-annealed to obtain a large composition space. Scanning electron microscopy, electron probe micro-analysis, and a microhardness system were combined to determine the relationships among the composition, microstructure, and hardness of these alloys. The Ti–6Al–4V–30Zr alloy was found to contain the thinnest α lath and showed peak hardness. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope results indicated that after quenching from the β-field, the metastable α″-phase formed; moreover, at the secondary aging stage, the metastable α″-phase acted as precursor nucleation sites for the stable α-phase. The bulk Ti6Al4V30Zr alloy was manufactured. After aging at 550 °C, the alloy showed excellent balance of strength and ductility, and the tensile strength was 1464 MPa with a moderate elongation (8.3%). As the aging temperature increased, the tensile strength and yield strength of the alloys rose, but the total elongation decreased. The lamella thickness and volume fraction of the α-phase were the major factors that had great impacts on the mechanical properties.

The element Al in molten aluminum containing steel reacts with the liquid mold flux and thus be transferred into the mold flux during the continuous casting process. Additionally, the increase in alumina in a mold flux changes its performance significantly. Thus, in this paper, the heat transfer properties of mold fluxes with the Al2O3 content ranging from 7 to 40 wt. % were studied with the Infrared Emitter Technique (IET). Results found that heat flux at the final steady state decreased from 423 kW·m−2 to 372 kW·m−2 with the increase in Al2O3 content from 7% to 30%, but it increased to 383 kW·m−2 when the Al2O3 content was further increased to 40%. Both crystalline layer thickness and crystalline fraction first increased, then decreased with the further addition of A2O3 content. Moreover, it indicated that the heat transfer process inside the mold was dominated by both a crystallization of mold flux and the resulting interfacial thermal resistance. Further, the Rint increased from 9.2 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 to 11.0 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 and then to 16.0 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 when the addition of Al2O3 content increased from 7% to 20% and then to 30%, respectively; however, it decreased to 13.6 × 10−4 m2·kW−1 when the Al2O3 content reached 40%.

BACKGROUND: Postmortem muscle moisture loss leads to a decrease in carcass weight and can adversely impact overall meat quality. Therefore, it is critical to investigate water holding capacity (WHC) to enhance meat quality. Current research has primarily focused on examining the correlation between signaling molecules and meat quality in relation to the glycolysis effect on muscle WHC. But there exists a significant knowledge gap regarding the mechanism of WHC in Jersey cattle-yak meat. RESULTS: Jersey cattle-yak meat pH decreased and then increased during postmortem aging. Lactate content, cooking loss, pressing loss, drip loss and centrifuging loss of Jersey cattle-yak meat increased and then decreased during postmortem aging. The glycogen content of Jersey cattle-yak meat was significantly higher than that of yak meat at 6-120 h, being 8.40% higher than that of yak meat at 120 h. The activity of key glycolytic enzymes hexokinase (HK), pyruvate kinase (PK), phosphofructokinase (PFK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in Jersey cattle-yak meat was lower than that in yak meat. Correlation analysis showed that Jersey cattle-yak meat WHC was positively correlated with the activity of HK, PK, PFK and LDH. CONCLUSIONS: The WHC of Jersey cattle-yak meat was higher than that of Gannan yak meat, and it was significantly positively correlated with the activity of key enzymes of the glycolytic signaling pathway. Therefore, the glycolysis rate can be reduced by inhibiting enzyme activity to improve Jersey cattle-yak meat WHC and meat quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Genomic profiling is performed in patients with advanced or metastatic cancer, in order to direct cancer treatment, often sequencing tumor-only, without a matched germline comparator. However, because many of the genes analyzed on tumor profiling overlap with those known to be associated with hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes (HCPS), tumor-only profiling can unknowingly uncover germline pathogenic (P) and likely pathogenic variants (LPV). In this study, we evaluated the number of patients with P/LPVs identified in BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2) via tumor-only profiling, then determined the germline testing outcomes for those patients. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to identify patients with BRCA1/2 variants on tumor-only genomic profiling, and whether they had germline testing. Results: This study found that of 2923 patients with 36 tumor types who underwent tumor-only testing, 554 had a variant in BRCA1/2 (19.0%); 119 of the 554 patients (21.5%) had a P/LP BRCA1/2 variant, representing 4.1% of the overall population who underwent genomic profiling. Seventy-three (61.3%) of 119 patients with BRCA1/2 P/LPV on tumor-only testing did not undergo germline testing, 34 (28.6%) had already had germline testing before tumor-only testing, and 12 (10.1%) underwent germline testing after tumor-only testing. Twenty-eight germline BRCA1/2 P/LPVs were detected, 24 in those who had prior germline testing, and 4 among the 12 patients who had germline testing after tumor-only testing. Conclusion: Tumor-only testing is likely to identify P/LPVs in BRCA1/2. Efforts to improve follow-up germline testing is needed to improve identification of germline BRCA1/2 alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]