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The sintering process is the main process that affects the performance of ternary cathode materials. Due to the closed, continuous, and long-term characteristics of the sintering process carried out in a roller kiln, the reaction state including reaction degree, particle size, and etc., of the raw materials cannot be directly obtained through sampling detection, resulting in ineffective temperature control. This article mainly focuses on modeling the dehydration reaction stage of the sintering process to obtain the reaction state of the raw materials. Firstly, a two-sphere model is established based on Newton's second law and the particle volume conservation equation to describe the relationship between the particle radius and sintering temperature of lithium hydroxide and ternary precursor; Secondly, the chemical kinetic parameters of the dehydration reaction in the two-sphere model are obtained by combining the single heating rate scanning method with the multiple heating rate scanning method; Then, in order to improve the accuracy of the two-sphere model and reduce the impact of external environmental temperature changes, a physics-informed neural network model is constructed by combining the two-sphere model with the neural ordinary differential equation model. Finally, the effectiveness of the modeling method is verified through numerical simulation and empirical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a multiscale framework capturing the primary interaction, displacement cascade generation and evolution, and realistic observable damaged structure based on Monte Carlo, Molecular Dynamics, and Object Kinetic Monte Carlo using an effective defect information transmitting scheme. The radiation effects of phosphorus-doped n-type silicon materials are simulated based on a multiscale framework, and the results are consistent with experimental observations. The simulation results show that, the incident particle type has a large effect on the concentrations and distribution of defects, which is closely related to the Primary Knock-On Atom (PKA) energy spectra and the defects evolution of defects. A negative correlation between defect concentration and fluence rate is attributed to the dissipation of subsequent PKA kinetic energy in the pre-cascade region. By comparing the interatomic bond length, we reveal that the doped atom can change displacement threshold energy, thereby affecting the defect concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents prediction of the high velocity, oblique impact response and quasi-static residual tensile strength of thin [45/90/−45/0] 2s carbon/epoxy laminates using finite element (FE) models. A High-Fidelity Finite Element Method (Hi-FEM) with an automated unit cell meshing technique was employed. The predicted impact damage, characterised by the extent of fibre failure and delamination area, was validated against results from gas-gun tests for a range of impact velocities. The numerical results captured the trend of increasing impact damage with impact energy as observed from the tests. Changes in projectile orientation before impact were shown to increase the extent of fibre failure at high impact energies, up by 38% in edge impact cases. The residual tensile strength of the impacted laminates was then investigated, where the numerical results for edge-impacted laminates agreed with the test data within 8%. On the other hand, the residual strength modelling results of centre-impacted laminates were found to be unconservative, mainly due to the extent of fibre failure predicted during impact. Machined notches were also studied for their residual tensile strength in comparison to impact induced damage. The predicted strength of edge-notched laminates was found to be in close agreement with the experimental results for edge-impacted laminates, differing by an average of 9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the remarkable semi-metallicity and edge states, graphene-based nanoelectronics has become an intense arena in low-dimensional atomic device science and technology. Nowadays, various single atomic chains have been successfully fabricated, which can serve as multi-functional interconnects to bridge atomic devices. Using first principles approach, the spintronic applications of graphene-based carbon atomic chains and boron nitride atomic chains MTJs (magnetic tunnelling junctions) are systematically investigated in this work. The results show that the half-metallicity is only contact-dominated (sp and sp 2 contacts), which cannot be switched by gate voltages, strain, the length of atomic chains, or the width of zigzag graphene nanoribbon leads. The intrinsic physics is that the electronic coupling in sp junctions provides partial transmission states for both spin currents, while one spin state is completely blocked by the electronic coupling in sp 2 junctions. Therefore, the sp 2 junctions present half-metallicity and remarkable tunnelling magneto-resistance (105%–106%), demonstrating the potential applications as spin-valve. This work discloses the origin of the contact-dominated effect in graphene-based spintronics which is unknown before. Image 1 • The half-metallicity of graphene-ACs/BNACs junctions is dominated by contacts. • The sp 2 junctions are fully polarzied and not the case in sp junctions. • The tunnelling magneto-resistance of sp 2 junctions can remarkably reach 105%-106%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of water molecules can significantly determine the macroscopic mechanical property and microscopic chain dynamics of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). However, to date it has remained fully understood the molecular mechanism behind experimentally and theoretically. Herein, we systematically examine the effect of water contents on the mechanical property, glass transition, free volume, and intermolecular interactions by combining experimental and MD simulation. Our results show that the presence of water significantly reduces the mechanical strength of PVA, and only 1.8 wt% of water reduces the tensile strength by ~32% but notably increases the plasticity of PVA by ~2.5 times. Meanwhile, the inclusion of water remarkably lowers the glass transition temperature, increases free volume, and promotes the relaxation and mobility of PVA chains. This is mainly because the presence of water gives rise to both the plasticization and even lubricating effect on the PVA chains. This work unravels how water governs the mechanical performances of the PVA. Image 1 • The presence of water significantly reduces the mechanical strength of PVA. • 1.8 wt% of water reduces tensile strength by ~32% but increases the ductility of PVA by ~2.5 times. • The inclusion of water remarkably lowers the glass transition temperature of PVA. • The addition of water increases the free volume and promotes the relaxation of PVA chains. • The presence of water giving rise to the plasticization and lubricating effect on the PVA chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A virtual finite element framework is presented to provide the transition from a high fidelity model to a more computationally efficient continuum model for simulating fibre-dominated damage behavior in composite laminates subjected to tensile loadings. The high fidelity method in LS-DYNA is based on the use of cohesive interface elements to simulate both intra-laminar matrix cracks and delamination. Applied to IM7/8552 carbon fibre reinforced plastic laminates in over-height compact tension (OCT) tests, this modeling strategy is used to determine the effective damage parameters for the nonlocal continuum damage model, CODAM2, implemented as MAT219 in LS-DYNA. The prediction of CODAM2 is thoroughly assessed against quantitative and qualitative results obtained from the high fidelity model. Furthermore, the characterized CODAM2 model is applied to simulations of large-scale OCT, open–hole tension (OHT) and center-notched tension (CNT) specimens and results are compared to corresponding experimental data. Due to its nonlocal feature to track the crack trajectory without the need to align the mesh with fibre orientation, the continuum damage model CODAM2 is able to accurately predict the structural response in all large-scale OCT, OHT and CNT test cases with significant computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defects such as out-of-plane wrinkles are known to strongly affect in-plane strength but there has been very little research on their effect on out-of-plane properties. Experimental and numerical studies of multi-directional curved-beam laminates were thus carried out to understand the effects of out-of-plane wrinkles on through-thickness tensile strength. The initially selected layup saw free-edge delamination interacting with transverse cracking, which is undesirable. After suppressing the free-edge delamination by dispersing the plies near the specimen surfaces, through-thickness tensile failure was observed near the mid-plane. The effects of out-of-plane wrinkles could be studied with this appropriate layup, showing a 16% reduction in strength. A High-fidelity Finite Element Method (Hi-FEM) has been used to distinguish between the different failure modes and to understand the effects of wrinkles. Good agreement was achieved between the numerical and experimental results in terms of through-thickness tensile strengths and delamination locations. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, a Yb3+ doped Lu3ScAl4O12 single crystal has been grown by the Czochralski method. The cell parameters were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD). The absorption spectrum, emission spectrum and fluorescence lifetime of Yb:Lu3ScAl4O12 crystal were measured at room temperature. The absorption bandwidth, emission bandwidth, absorption cross-section, emission cross-section and fluorescence lifetime have been estimated as 25nm, 12.6nm, 0.54×10−20 cm2, 1.47×10−20 cm2 and 1.43ms. The spectral properties of Yb:Lu3ScAl4O12 crystal were compared with those of Yb:Lu3Al5O12 (Yb:LuAG) crystal. The results indicate that Yb:Lu3ScAl4O12 crystal should be a potential candidate used for generating short pulses in mode-locking operation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The creation of high-performance polylactic acid (PLA) materials combining excellent mechanical robustness and flame-retardant performances are essential to meet demanding performances requirements for their practical applications in industry. Despite encouraging advances, current strategies by introducing toughening agents and flame retardants usually show compromised mechanical strength/ductility because of the irrational interphase reaction design of multi-component polymer blends. To date it remains challenging to robust and flame-retardant PLA via controlling interphase reactions. We, herein, report the rational design of mechanically robust and flame-retardant PLA by in situ manipulating interphase reactions between PLA, epoxidized soybean oil (ESO), a biobased and inexpensive toughening agent, and ammonia polyphosphate (APP), an effective eco-friendly flame retardant. We show that in addition to a high tensile strength of 42.0 MPa, as-designed PLA/ESO/APP ternary blend exhibits a high extensibility of 165% and a fracture toughness as high as 46 MJ/m3, which are respectively 21 and 14 folds of that of the bulk PLA. Meanwhile, a desired V-0 rating and a high limited oxygen index of 30.2% are achieved. Such outstanding performance portfolios are enabled by the rational manipulation of interphase reactions, leading to the in situ formation of favorable phase structures. This work offers an innovative methodology for facilely and massively creating high-performance multi-component polymer blends by tailoring interphase reactions, and contributes to expanding the extensive applications of PLA. Image 1 • Advanced PLA/ESO/APP ternary blends have been rationally designed via manipulating interphase reactions. • As-designed PLA/ESO/APP blend exhibits a large extensibility of 165% and a fracture toughness as high as 46 MJ/m3. • The PLA/ESO/APP ternary blend retains a high tensile strength of 42.0 MPa. • The PLA/ESO/APP blend can pass a V-0 rating in addition to showing a high LOI of 30.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The friction and thermal conductivity are two vital factors affecting braking components in manned aircraft. It is imperative to find a rational design basis for high-performance lightweight polymeric materials with excellent toughness, coefficient of friction, and thermal conductivity. In light of the outstanding mechanical strength, stiffness, and good dimensional stability of polyamide 6 (PA6), herein, we have demonstrated the fabrication of high-performance PA6 composites by adding one-dimensional SiC whiskers (SCWS) as both a reinforcement agent and anti-abrasion agent. The results show that addition of 2 wt% SiC whiskers (SCWS) increases the tensile strength of PA6 by 37.6% (reaching 58.2 MPa). Meanwhile, the elongation at break is over five times (around 280%) of that of the PA6 matrix, which means that the fracture toughness is increased around seven-fold. Moreover, the addition of 30 wt% SCWS reduces the coefficient of friction from 0.31 for the PA6 to 0.15, indicating improved anti-abrasion performance. Such significant improvements in both mechanical and anti-wear properties are primarily due to the high stiffness of SCWS and the strong interfacial interactions with the PA6 matrix. This work provides a facile approach to the design of mechanically robust, wear-resistant polymer composites which hold significant promise for producing advanced gears and bearing parts in aerospace and automobile applications. • High-performance PA6 composites by adding various loading levels of SiC whiskers (SCWS) were prepared. • The addition of 2wt% SCWS increases the tensile strength of PA6 by 37.6%. • Adding 2wt% of SCWS increases the elongation at break of PA6 over 5 times and the fracture toughness by around 7 times. • The addition of 30 wt% SCWS reduces the friction coefficient from 0.31 for the PA6 to 0.15. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composite components are required to be resilient against Foreign Object Damage (FOD) induced by localised high velocity impact events. Here an experimental investigation into high velocity oblique impacts and residual tensile strength of thin quasi-isotropic carbon/epoxy laminates is reported. Oblique (45°) impacts between 100 m/s and 350 m/s were carried out using 3 mm steel cubes on the edge and the centre of the laminates, mounted as a cantilever beam. Impact induced damage was characterised using X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) and the residual strength of impacted laminates was determined through quasi-static tensile tests. The residual strength shows a strong dependence on the impact damage size, characterised in terms of fibre fracture width and delamination area. Machined notches were then investigated and compared to impacted laminates in terms of residual strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cr4+:Yb3Al5O12 (Cr4+:YbAG) single crystal of high quality has been grown by the Czochralski method. X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) experiments showed that the Cr4+:YbAG crystal had the same structure as YAG (Y3Al5O12) crystal. The data of thermal expansion and specific heat of the crystal have been measured. The thermal expansion coefficient is α=8.63×10-6/K. The specific heat is 131.8 cal/mol·K at 320.5 K. The results show that Cr4+:YbAG crystal is a promising self-Q-switched laser crystal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Multifunctional wound dressings are promising medical materials for various applications. Among them, dressings with antimicrobial activity, high biosafety, and real-time monitoring have attracted considerable research interest. Herein, a biodegradable hemostatic sponge comprising a chitosan skeleton and polyelectrolyte–surfactant complex (CS–PEC) was developed as a versatile wound dressing for wound pH monitoring and inhibition of bacterial infection. CS–PEC sponge with high porosity exhibited satisfactory fluid absorption capacity and biocompatibility, along with antibacterial properties against E. coli and S. aureus. In vivo experiments in rat liver trauma model revealed that wounds treated with the CS–PEC sponge recorded less blood loss (97.1 mg) and shorter hemostasis time (27.2 s) than those treated with commercial gelatin sponge (309.1 mg and 163.5 s, respectively). Furthermore, PECs based on unconventional luminescent molecules (L -C 16 -Hyp) were used as pH fluorescent indicators, which endowed the sponge with fluorescence-responsive behavior to wound pH changes in the range of 5.0–8.5. Visual images can be captured using a smartphone and converted to RGB color mode values for on-site assessment of wound status. This study sheds light on the design and application of unconventional luminescent materials in wound dressing and provides a smart and effective solution for wound management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel concurrent learning-based adaptive boundary observer designed to tackle the joint estimation problem of system states and unknown parameters for a class of hyperbolic partial differential equation systems under the circumstance of unsatisfied persistent excitation conditions. By leveraging concurrent learning technique, an adapted data points selection algorithm is employed concurrently with current data to construct the adaptation law of unknown parameters, which overcomes the limitations imposed by persistent excitation conditions and ensures exponential convergence of estimation errors of unknown parameters under finite excitation conditions. Furthermore, combining the ideas of backstepping and swapping filters on the basis of uncertain estimation, a concurrent learning-based adaptive boundary observer is designed, accompanied by rigorous theoretical analysis and proofs to demonstrate its capability of achieving exponential convergence in estimation. Finally, the corresponding illustrative simulations are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. • A concurrent learning adaptive boundary observer for hyperbolic PDE systems under FE. • Using historical stack matrix omits persistent excitation in joint estimation task. • Exponentially convergent parameter estimation based on adapted data selection rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper develops an adaptive constrained tracking control technique for a class of 2 × 2 hyperbolic partial differential equation (PDE) systems with boundary actuator dynamics, which are described by a set of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) in the presence of unknown parametric nonlinearities. Since the control input only appears in the uncertain ODE subsystem rather than directly on the boundary of PDE subsystem, the control task becomes quite difficult and the existing direct boundary control approaches are ineffective. Moreover, in this paper, a more challenging problem is considered such that the controlled output and the states of ODE actuators are constrained. To this end, by utilizing finite and infinite dimensional backstepping techniques, barrier Lyapunov functions (BLFs) and adaptive methods, a novel adaptive tracking control approach is proposed. It is the first time that such a constrained tracking control problem is addressed for the PDE-ODE coupled systems considered in this paper. On the basis of the presented method, the rigorous theoretical proof is provided to show that the PDE controlled output and all the states of the ODE actuator stay within the predefined compact sets. Finally, the results are illustrated via a comparative numerical simulation. [Display omitted] • For a linear 2 × 2 hyperbolic PDE systems, the high-order unknown nonlinear actuator dynamics described by a set of ODEs are considered in the boundary point of the PDE. A tracking controller with adaptive dynamic compensation mechanism is developed such that the tracking control problem is addressed for the PDE-ODE coupled system considered in this paper. • For practical requirements for state constraints such as safe operations, physical limitations and so on, the Barrier Lyapunov function is employed to constrain the spatially distributed output of infinite-dimensional system and all the actuator states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, a pioneering approach involving the fusion of matrix fragments-related spectral data was proposed to improve the underperformance observed in raw meat and bone meal (MBM) when employed for species discrimination analysis. Initially, the MBM matrix was characterized as a binary mixture comprising bone fragment (BF) and meat fragment (MF). Subsequently, the disparities in near infrared (NIR), mid infrared (MIR), and Raman spectra between BF and MF samples were individually identified and elucidated. Following, the spectral fusion data related to matrix fragments were synthesized and subjected to analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for species-specific evaluation. The suggested data fusion strategy was authenticated by its capacity to facilitate improved differentiation within the principal component space, along with reduced classification errors in PLS-DA. Further, complementarity of matrix fragments-related spectral variables for MBM species discrimination analysis was explicitly scrutinized and contributions to MBM derived from four species were meticulously traced. Additionally, the proposed analytical strategy for MBM could serve as a reference for the spectral characterization of other agricultural materials with complex matrices. • Spectral fusion data of MF and BF were firstly used to trace MBM species. • The proposed fusion strategy greatly improved the MBM species-specific analysis. • Contributions of fragments-related spectral variables for tracing MBM species were analyzed in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let R (k 1 , ... , k r) denote the classical r -color Ramsey number for integers k i ≥ 2. The Diagonal Conjecture (DC) for classical Ramsey numbers poses that if k 1 , ... , k r are integers no smaller than 3 and k r − 1 ≤ k r , then R (k 1 , ... , k r − 2 , k r − 1 − 1 , k r + 1) ≤ R (k 1 , ... , k r). We obtain some implications of this conjecture, present evidence for its validity, and discuss related problems. Let R r (k) stand for the r -color Ramsey number R (k , ... , k). It is known that lim r → ∞ R r (3) 1 ∕ r exists, either finite or infinite, the latter conjectured by Erdős. This limit is related to the Shannon capacity of complements of K 3 -free graphs. We prove that if DC holds, and lim r → ∞ R r (3) 1 ∕ r is finite, then lim r → ∞ R r (k) 1 ∕ r is finite for every integer k ≥ 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Incorporated inter-building effects and energy consumption correlations. • Integrated building network and long short-term memory algorithm. • Five building groups on two campuses was used for validation. • The proposed model can forecast accurate energy dynamics at district-scale. With the development of data-driven techniques, district-scale building energy prediction has attracted increasing attention in recent years for revealing energy use patterns and reduction potentials. However, data acquisition in large building groups is difficult and adjacent buildings also interact with each other. To reduce data cost and incorporate the inter-building impact with the data-driven building energy model, this study proposes a deep learning predictive approach that fuses the building network model with a long short-term memory learning model for district-scale building energy modeling. The building network was constructed based on correlations between the energy use intensity of buildings, which can significantly reduce the computational complexity of the deep learning models for energy dynamic prediction. Five typical building groups with energy use data from 2015 to 2018 on two institutional campuses were selected to perform the validation experiment with TensorFlow. Based on the prediction error assessments, the results suggest that for total building energy use intensity prediction, the proposed model can achieve a mean absolute percentage error of 6.66% and a root mean square error of 0.36 kWh/m2, compared to 12.05% and 0.63 kWh/m2 of the conventional artificial neural network model and to 11.06% and 0.89 kWh/m2 for the support vector regression model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective exploration is the key to achieving high returns for reinforcement learning. Agents must explore jointly in multi-agent systems to find the optimal joint policy. Due to the exploration problem and the shared reward, the policy-based multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithms face policy overfitting, which may lead to the joint policy falling into a local optimum. This paper introduces a novel general framework called Learning Joint-Action Intrinsic Reward (LJIR) for improving multi-agent reinforcement learners' joint exploration ability and performance. LJIR observes agents' state and joint actions to learn to construct an intrinsic reward online that can guide effective joint exploration. With the novel combination of Transformer and random network distillation, LJIR selects the novel states to give more intrinsic rewards, which help agents find the best joint actions. LJIR can dynamically adjust the weight of exploration and exploitation during training and keep the policy invariance finally. To ensure LJIR seamlessly adopts existing MARL algorithms, we also provide a flexible combination method for intrinsic and external rewards. Empirical results on the SMAC benchmark show that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art performance in challenging tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to summarize the experience of precise nursing in 6 patients who experienced failed allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (allo-HSCTs) that underwent second allo-HSCT salvage treatment. The key points of nursing care included strictly implementing infection prevention and control measures to prevent secondary infections, precise symptom management to improve the graft survival rate of patients, formulating reasonable nutrition programs to meet their requirements, and paying attention to the psychological care of patients to enhance their self-confidence in overcoming diseases. The patients developed different degrees of complications in the process of transplantation. During the transplantation, 2 patients had oral mucositis, 2 had hemorrhagic cystitis, 3 had a perianal infection, and one had lower gastrointestinal bleeding. After careful treatment and nursing, the neutrophils transplanted in the 6 patients were alive at a median of 16.5 (13-20) days after the second allo-HSCT, and the patients were successfully transferred out of the laminar flow chamber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the current study, the epoxy/amine system is reinforced by the biodegradable Acacia Catechu (AC) particles on 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 wt (wt.) %. The AC/epoxy composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and mechanical properties. The increased hydrogen bonding for the AC/epoxy composites was observed by FTIR spectroscopy and DSC study confirmed the improved conversion of epoxy after the AC particles addition. 14% increase in the flexural strength and 94% improved impact strength were recorded on only 1.0 wt. % AC addition due to change in morphology and crosslink density. Moreover, slightly improved thermal stabilities were also recorded due to the aromatic tannin phenol structures of AC particles. The glass transition temperature values for AC/epoxy composites were observed at 143 and 148 °C by DSC and DMA, respectively; the decline in the values can be dedicated to the flexible segment of AC particles. The SEM analysis demonstrated shear banding phenomena between particles and matrix. Highlights • Epoxy resin was modified by using the acacia catechu (AC) particles. • FTIR analysis evidenced the progress of chemical reaction between particles and matrix. • The composites have high flexural stress and bending strain. • Shear banding phenomena and plasticization also increases impact strength. • TGA showed improved thermal stability on increasing the AC amount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nd:LuAG transparent ceramics were fabricated by the solid-state reaction under vacuum sintering using SiO 2 and MgO as sintering aids, commercial Lu 2 O 3 , Al 2 O 3 and Nd 2 O 3 as raw materials. The Nd doping concentration was adopted from 0 at. % to 1.3 at. %. The phase transformation and microstructure evolution of 1.3 at. % Nd:LuAG ceramics under different sintering temperature was investigated in detail. Meanwhile, the effects of Nd 2 O 3 on the grain growth were surveyed. The results shown that when the samples were sintered at 1780 °C, the 1.3 at. % Nd:LuAG ceramic had clean gain boundary, and the transmittance of it reached 83.8% at 1064 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the TAG transparent ceramics doped with 0.4 wt.% TEOS and different concentration of MgO were fabricated by a reactive sintering process under vacuum sintering combined with hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment. The effect of MgO on the microstructure evolution and optical properties of delivered ceramics were investigated. The results showed that the TAG ceramics doped with 0.4 wt.% TEOS and 0.1 wt.% MgO exhibited the optimum optical transmittance, which can reach about 81% in the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions. The addition of MgO inhibited the grain growth and accelerated the densification of TAG ceramic at the sintering temperature reached about 1600 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report comparative studies on diode-pumped eye-safe Nd:LuAG ceramic lasers at 1.4 μm spectral region in continuous-wave regime. Six differently doped samples have been used to experimentally determine the optimized laser results. A maximum output power of 1.78 W is achieved with simultaneous dual-wavelength laser emission at 1418 and 1442 nm, which is believed the highest output power of Nd:LuAG ceramic at this specific wavelength. Using a V 3+ :YAG as saturable absorber, passively Q-switched Nd:LuAG ceramic laser is also realized, for the first time to our knowledge, with maximum average output power of 0.58 W and pulse width of about 34 ns at pulse repetition rate of 11.91 kHz, which lead to pulse energy of 49.3 μJ and pulse peak power of 1.43 kW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Tb x Y 1−x ) 3 Al 5 O 12 (x = 0.2, 0.5, 0.8) transparent ceramics were synthesized by a solid-state reaction and HIP. All the samples were pre-sintered at 1650 °C for 4 h in a muffle and later HIPed at 1650 °C for 3 h. (Tb 0.2 Y 0.8 ) 3 Al 5 O 12 transparent ceramics exhibit best microstructure with an average grain size of approximately 5.22 μm and optical transmittance of over 65% in the region of 500–1600 nm. Additionally, average grain sizes of all the samples are less than 10 μm. XRD scanning patterns indicate that only the (Tb 0.8 Y 0.2 ) 3 Al 5 O 12 samples have little secondary phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectral properties of lightly doped Er:CaF 2 and Er,Pr:CaF 2 single crystals were investigated. Benefited from particular clustering effect, 2.79 μm continuous-wave (CW) laser operation was demonstrated in lightly doped 3 at.% Er:CaF 2 crystal. After co-doping small amount of Pr 3+ , the lifetime gap between Er 3+ : 4 I 11/2 and Er 3+ : 4 I 13/2 was shortened from 7.86 ms to about 1 ms. Moreover, the near-infrared and up-conversion fluorescence were significantly quenched. Thus, the CW laser performance was greatly improved. The slope efficiency was effectively improved from 8.0% to 15.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite excellent ductility and dimension stability, the relatively low mechanical strength and stiffness of PA612 extremely restrict its engineering applications. We herein have demonstrated the fabrication of high-performance PA612 composites combining superior mechanical and abrasion resistance properties by choosing two dimensional alumina platelets with a relatively low aspect ratio (∼35). Infrared spectra show that Al 2 O 3 forms strong hydrogen-bond interactions with PA612. Tensile results demonstrate that adding 30 wt% of Al 2 O 3 platelets increases the tensile strength and elastic modulus of PA612 by 55% (∼73 MPa) and 128% (∼3.38 GPa), respectively. In addition, the specific wear rate is reduced by about 61%. Such remarkable improvements in mechanical and abrasion resistance properties are mainly due to the high strength and stiffness of alumina platelets and the strong interfacial interactions with the PA612 matrix. This work offers one new methodology for creating advanced polymer composites by choosing suitable building blocks and by regulating the interfacial interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe a thulium-doped (Lu,Y) 3 Al 5 O 12 mixed crystal that was designed and grown to achieve a large pulse energy in Q-switched laser operation. Its absorption cross-sections at 781.3 nm and 1629.2 nm were calculated to be 3.4 × 10 −21 cm 2 and 5 × 10 −21 cm 2 , respectively, and the emission cross-section at 2018.3 nm was calculated to be 1.92 × 10 −21 cm 2 . The highest single pulse energy of 1.4 mJ near 2.02 μm was realized in an actively Q-switched solid-state laser, and further power scaling was just limited by the damage of the crystal coating. Based on the calculated spectrum parameters, theoretical simulation of the single pulse energy that considering the cross-relaxation process was proposed, which was well consistent with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an ERP study, classic Chinese poems with a well-known rhyme scheme were used to generate an expectation of a rhyme in the absence of an expectation for a specific character. Critical characters were either consistent or inconsistent with the expected rhyme scheme and semantically congruent or incongruent with the content of the poem. These stimuli allowed us to examine whether a top-down rhyme scheme expectation would affect relatively early components of the ERP associated with character-to-sound mapping (P200) and lexically-mediated semantic processing (N400). The ERP data revealed that rhyme scheme congruence, but not semantic congruence modulated the P200: rhyme-incongruent characters elicited a P200 effect across the head demonstrating that top-down expectations influence early phonological coding of the character before lexical-semantic processing. Rhyme scheme incongruence also produced a right-lateralized N400-like effect. Moreover, compared to semantically congruous poems, semantically incongruous poems produced a larger N400 response only when the character was consistent with the expected rhyme scheme. The results suggest that top-down prosodic expectations can modulate early phonological processing in visual word recognition, indicating that prosodic expectations might play an important role in silent reading. They also suggest that semantic processing is influenced by general knowledge of text genre. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There is a risk of homologous recombination when using BEVS. • We used efficient methods to reduce the homologous recombination rate of baculovirus. • These methods facilitate viral stability and integrity in BEVS. The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is widely used for producing recombinant proteins. To achieve high expression level of recombinant proteins, baculoviral elements, such as enhancers, promoters, signal peptide coding sequences and 3′-UTR, have been extensively employed. There is a recombination risk derived from homologous sequences between viral genome and functional baculovirus-derived elements associated with foreign genes. Although homologous recombination have distinct biological functions, these potential adverse recombination may trigger a DNA fragment being inverted or looped out, resulting in the production of defective viruses and eventual yields declines of recombinant proteins. However, the risk of such homologous recombination has not been systematically assessed. Here, we measured the recombination rate using a promoter-less fluorescent reporter integrated with various lengths homologous of p10 coding region. Homologous fragments longer than 60 bp possess sufficient recombination probability and exerts effect on purity and integrity of virus. Shortening the length of homologous fragments and separating homologous fragments by point mutations can effectively reduce unfavorable recombination. These findings reveal a homologous recombination risk resulted from genome-homologous baculoviral elements and propose reliable strategies reducing recombination rate to facilitate viral stability and integrity in baculovirus expression vector system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2 at.% Tm, xat.% Dy:Y 2 O 3 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1) transparent ceramics were fabricated via vacuum sintering. The microstructural properties of the prepared ceramics were determined using XRD and SEM. The absorption cross-section of 2 at.% Tm, 1 at.% Dy:Y 2 O 3 ceramic was 0.53 × 10−20 cm2 with the FWHM of 43.59 nm. The increased cross-section originates from a large overlapping range appearing in the absorption spectrum of the Dy3+:6H 15/2 → 6F 5/2 and Tm3+:3H 6 →6H 4 transitions. The J-O intensity parameters Ω 2 , Ω 4 and Ω 6 and the fluorescence characteristics of the pivotal luminescent level of the Dy3+ ions were investigated. Under 793 nm excitation, the emission cross section of the Tm,Dy:Y 2 O 3 ceramic at 3094 nm was 3.63 × 10−21 cm2 with the FWHM of 355 nm. The fluorescence lifetimes of Dy3+:6H 13/2 level of 2 at.% Tm, xat.% Dy:Y 2 O 3 (x = 0.1, 0.5 and 1) ceramics were fitted to be 357 μs, 282 μs and 149 μs, respectively. In order to explore the quenching mechanism of Tm3+:3F 4 level, the fluorescence lifetimes of Tm3+:3F 4 of the 2 at.% Tm, xat.% Dy:Y 2 O 3 ceramics (x = 0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1) were measured to be 4.878 ms, 462 μs, 104 μs and 61 μs, respectively. The possible energy transfer mechanisms between Tm3+ and Dy3+ ions are discussed. The results show that adding Tm3+ ions to Dy:Y 2 O 3 ceramics can effectively enhance the 2.9 μm MIR through energy transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioflocculants like polysaccharides are excellent alternatives to harmful synthetic flocculants and usability under stricter levels of ecosystem protection. In this study, an exopolysaccharide producing strain Paenibacillus sp. M21629 was isolated. The exopolysaccharide was abundant in carboxylic groups and named floccuronic acid with a high weight average molecular weight of 2.38 × 108 Da. The hexasaccharide repeating units of floccuronic acid were →3)-α-D-Man p -(1 → 3)-4-Suc-β-D-Man p -(1 → 3)-β-D-Glc p -(1 → 4)-β-D-Glc p A-(1 → 4)[4,6-Pyr-β-D-Gal p -(1 → 3)]-β-D-Gal p -(1→. The floccuronic acid at 0.5–1 ppm showed high turbidity removal efficiency in kaolin suspension (99.8%), coal wastewater (98.8%), and high-turbidity drinking water (89.2%). The flocculation ability of floccuronic acid depended on the instability of solid particles. Owing to these encouraging results, floccuronic acid is expected to be a useful bioflocculant applied in wastewater treatment and the utilization of water resources. [Display omitted] • A Paenibacillus isolate produces the exopolysaccharide floccuronic acid with molecular weight of 2.38×108 Da. • The floccuronic acid is composed of mannose, galactose, glucose, and gluconic acid with pyruvic and succinyl substitutions. • The floccuronic acid shows high turbidity removal efficiency in several suspensions. • The bridging mechanism underpins the flocculant action of floccuronic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The performance of passively mode-locked Nd:LMA laser was achieved for the first time. • A continuous wide tuning range of roughly 38 nm was obtained for the tuning operation. • The highest output power of Nd:LMA ultrafast laser was achieved. A 5 at.% Nd:LaMgAl 11 O 19 (Nd:LMA) disordered crystal was successfully fabricated by the Czochralski method. A continuous wide tuning range of roughly 38 nm (1051 nm ∼ 1089 nm) was obtained for the tuning operation. The performance of diode-pumped passively mode-locked Nd:LMA laser was successfully achieved for the first time. By employing a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), a continuous-wave mode-locked (CWML) laser with pulse duration of 11.2 ps was delivered, corresponding repetition rate was 55 MHz. The maximum average output power was 122 mW at a central wavelength of 1054.7 nm. These results indicated that the Nd:LMA was a promising laser material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An analytical parameters estimation results by the MLE method for the Wiener process with random effects is obtained. • The comparative study between different MLE methods is implemented. • An unbiased parameters estimation method is proposed and applied to other types of Wiener process-based degradation models. • An empirical unbiased parameters estimation results when the degradation data is measured at different times is developed. • Mis-specification issue about whether considering the random effects is analyzed in theory. Accurate parameters estimation is one of the most crucial components in remaining useful life (RUL) prediction. This paper proposes an unbiased parameters estimation method and analyzes the impact of model mis-specification of Wiener process-based degradation model with random effects. First, we obtain an analytical expression of parameters estimation for the linear Wiener process. Then, by analyzing the natures of parameters estimation, an unbiased parameters estimation method is proposed and applied to other types of Wiener process-based degradation models. This unbiased estimation method is very similar to the sample variance of normal distribution. Since the sample size of degradation data is typically small, hence the proposed unbiased estimation method is suggested. After that, we present an empirical unbiased parameters estimation method with a closed-form solution when the degradation data is measured at different times. The proposed unbiased estimation method could increase computational speed and avoid falling into local minimum. In addition, based on parameters estimation results, the mis-specification issue about whether the random effects should be considered in the degradation modeling is analyzed in theory. Finally, several numerical examples and case studies are used for experimental verification. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed unbiased parameters estimation method is superior to other parameters estimation methods and the random effects are suggested to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a femtosecond semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) mode-locked Yb:LuYAG laser. Pumped by a 976 nm single-mode fiber laser, a self-starting mode-locked Yb:LuYAG laser was demonstrated, delivering a 618-mW output power with 140-fs pulses and a 95.4-MHz repetition rate. The output spectrum is centered at 1053 nm with a spectral width of 10.4 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest pulse ever generated from a mode-locked Yb:LuYAG laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho,Pr:CaYAlO 4 (Ho,Pr:CYA) crystal doped with 1 at.% Ho3+ and 0.1 at.% Pr3+ was successfully grown using the Czochralski method. Polarized absorption spectra, emission spectra, and fluorescence lifetime measurements were performed. The impact of Pr3+ co-doping on the ∼3 μm emission of Ho3+ ions was analyzed. The energy transfer efficiency from Ho3+:5I 7 to Pr3+:3F 2 energy level was calculated to be 60.66 %, indicating that Pr3+ effectively mitigated the self-termination effect in Ho,Pr:CYA crystals. The absorption cross-section at 645 nm was found to be 1.53 × 10−20 cm2 for σ polarization and 2.62 × 10−20 cm2 for π polarization. The emission cross-section at 2842 nm was calculated to be 0.86 × 10−20 cm2 for σ polarization and 1.33 × 10−20 cm2 for π polarization at 2908 nm, with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 139 nm and 88 nm, respectively. The fluorescence lifetimes of the 5I 6 and 5I 7 levels were measured to be 0.17 ms and 2.01 ms, respectively. These results collectively suggest that Ho,Pr:CYA crystals hold great potential as a candidate for 2.8 μm laser applications. • Ho3+,Pr3+ co-doped CaYAlO 4 crystal was grown by the Czochralski method. • The crystal structure, polarized absorption and emission spectra were investigated. • The intensity parameters were obtained using J-O theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing porous and flexible electrodes with excellent electrochemical properties is crucial to fabricate high-performance flexible supercapacitors. Conductive polymer-based electrospun fibers are expected to be an ideal material for constructing flexible electrodes due to the enormous specific surface area, unique pore structure and inherent flexibility. However, the exploration of such electrospun fibers with facile preparation methods and high areal capacitance remains challenging. Herein, a novel polyetherimide@polyaniline core-shell fibrous membranes (PEI@PANI CFMs) is fabricated via simply coaxial electrospinning and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) secondary doping. With the aid of polyetherimide, highly concentrated emeraldine base polyaniline (EB-PANI) can be perfectly wrapped on the surface of fibers without any spinning assistants, ensuring the well-developed pore structures, superior hydrophilicity, good electrical conductivity and outstanding mechanical flexibility. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of structure and constituents, such flexible PEI@PANI CFMs as electrode materials can provide more accessible electrochemical active sites and decrease the ion diffusion resistance. Therefore, the PEI@PANI CFMs present outstanding areal capacitance of 1159.9 mF cm−2 and remarkable energy density of 46.91 μW h cm−2 in the electrodes and symmetric supercapacitors, demonstrating great potential for applications in flexible energy storage field. This fabrication strategy provides a simple and practicable way to manufacture polyaniline-based fibrous membranes for high-performance flexible electrode materials. [Display omitted] • PEI@PANI CFMs were firstly developed by coaxial electrospinning with high density PANI solution. • Continuous PANI shell without spinning assistants enabled high redox activity after AMPS doping. • PEI@PANI CFMs showed unique 3D network pore structure, superior hydrophilicity and flexibility. • PEI@PANI CFMs as electrode exhibited 1159.9 mF cm−2 area specific capacitance at 1 mA cm−2. • The symmetric device delivered remarkable energy density of 46.91 μW h cm−2 at 0.23 mW cm−2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was aimed to find promising targets for cancer therapy involved in the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Identification of STEAP4 in HCC between GSE54503 and TCGA datasets by performing RNA-seq. The STEAP4 mRNA expression level was determined by qRT-PCR. DNA methylation was measured by MSP and BSP. Besides, the effect of STEAP4 tumorigenesis was determined by in vivo experiments. The function of STEAP4 on methylation was further assessed by 5–Aza‑dC, a demethylating agent. Reduced STEAP4 expression was found in HCC tissues. Promoter region methylation correlated with the downregulated expression of STEAP4. STEAP4 inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells. Re-expression of STEAP4 was induced 5–Aza‑dC. STEAP4 mediated the biological effects of HCC cells through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibition. Our findings indicate that STEAP4 functions as a suppressor gene in HCC, and hypermethylation is a driving factor in cancer progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terrorism and security threats are global phenomena. Almost every region has been affecting by different terrorism and violence incidents; that is why terrorism has become a devastatingly global concern for the past two decades. This paper examines the socio-economic and fractionalization (Internal and External conflicts) determinants of terrorism and its related incidents using the Global Terrorism Database for 14 countries of East, South, and North Asia (ESNA) from 2006 to 2018. By applying the one-step system GMM estimation, the results show that among ESNA, South Asia is the most vulnerable region where population and state legitimacy are the most ignite factors of terrorism incidents. However, in East and North Asia, the education budget's socio-economic disparity is the foremost determinant of terrorism and related antagonism. It also analyses that the fractionalization elite acts as a mechanism to ignite terrorism incidents in ESNA. It further revealed that State legitimacy, Fractionalization Elites, population growth, and budget allocation of health and education are the significant determinants of terrorism in ESNA. The study concludes that terrorism and its related activities have different trends depending on region to region, referencing study results. Furthermore, this study suggests that the United Nations and other governing bodies should play their role to resolve the socio-economic incongruence in ESNA and effective regional conflict resolution strategies to make it a peaceful and affluent region. In combating socio-economic disparities and conflicts, a prudent and effective regional policy should be enforced. • Impact of socio-economic determinants on terrorism incident is evaluated in ESNA. • Impact of fractionalization elites on terrorism incident is examined in ESNA. • Terrorism and its related activities have different trends from region to region. • South Asia is the most vulnerable region to terrorism due to state illegitimacy. • East and North Asia expose to terrorism due to socio-economic disparity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-mRNA splicing is an essential step during gene expression, which takes place in the spliceosome, a large dynamic ribonucleoprotein complex assembled in a stepwise manner. During the last decade, several spliceosomal mutants were functionally identified to cause a lengthened circadian period by introducing intron retention defects into circadian clock genes in Arabidopsis. However, the spliceosomal components that play opposite roles in the circadian period via alternative 3′ splice site (Alt 3'ss) are largely unknown. Here, we demonstrated that XCT (XAP5 CIRCADIAN TIMEKEEPER) is a key spliceosomal component associated with multiple splicing factors. Moreover, genome-wide analysis revealed that inactivation of XCT particularly results in defects in Alt 3'ss recognition by RNA sequencing. Further analysis indicated that a strong alteration in the 3′ splice sites of LHY and TIC partly accounts for the shortened circadian period of the xct mutant. Therefore, our results demonstrated that mutations in XCT shortened the circadian period partly by alternative splicing of LHY and TIC particularly in 3′ splice site recognition, which provides new insight into the link between alternative splicing and the circadian clock. • XCT is identified to be a spliceosomal component in Arabidopsis. • XCT is particularly required for 3′ splice site recognition in pre-mRNA splicing. • XCT regulates circadian rhythm partly via alternative splicing of LHY and TIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrosion of metallic materials can have a detrimental impact on their performance, leading to a shortened service life of engineering equipment and posing risks to both people and the environment. This paper presents a novel epoxy resin (EP)-based composite coating (PFANI-GO/EP) that offers triple corrosion protection functions: barrier, passivation, and corrosion inhibition. Perfluorooctanoic acid-doped polyaniline modified graphene oxide (PFANI-GO) demonstrates superhydrophobicity, effectively enhancing the coating's barrier ability against corrosive substances. The combination of PANI and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in composite materials aids in the formation of a passivation film and hydrophobic layer, which prevent metal corrosion. After a 15-day immersion in brine, the PFANI-GO/EP coating demonstrates the highest impedance modulus of 1 × 109 Ω·cm2 at 0.01 Hz, compared to pure EP coating, GO/EP coating, and PFANI/EP coating. Therefore, due to its corrosion resistance and prolonged corrosion aging time, PFANI-GO/EP coating shows promising potential for mitigating metal corrosion. • PFANI-GO with superhydrophobicity enhances the barrier effect of coatings against corrosive media. • PFANI-GO with passivation and corrosion inhibition properties is designed as a multifunctional nanofiller. • PFANI-GO/EP composite coatings with excellent barrier, passivation and corrosion inhibition properties. • The PFANI-GO/EP composite coating still possesses excellent corrosion protection properties after prolonged immersion at 3.5 wt%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al 2 O 3 –Y 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce (Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce) eutectic with weak attenuation at high temperature has a wide range of applications in high-power white light solid-state lighting. However, the general color rendering index (general CRI, R a , the average value of R 1 -R 8) of phosphor-converted white light-emitting diode (Pc-WLED) based on this material is usually no higher than 70 (CCT < 6500 K). We grew Al 2 O 3 -YAG eutectics doped with three ions of Ce3+, Pr3+, and Cr3+ by the micro pulling-down (μ-PD) method to improve the R a through the co-luminescence and energy-transfer. The co-luminescence and energy-transfer were analyzed by the excitation-emission spectrum and the spectral power distribution. Results show that the energy-transfer between Ce3+ and Pr3+ ions in Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce, Pr occurs with each other, visibly enhancing the emission at around 610 nm and 694 nm, increases the R a by 8.4 compared to Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce. Moreover, the R a of the Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce and Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Cr stacked Pc-WLED increases by 20.4 compared to Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce, reaching 78.7. In addition, (R 9 , the special CRI for strong red, is 59.). In addition, the annealed (H 2) single-doped eutectics have little change compared to unannealed ones in luminescence, but the co-doped ones with multiple ions have a significant change. Significantly, the luminous efficiency of Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce after annealing is only increased by 4%, while that of Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce, Pr is increased by 13%. These studies show that the CRI of Pc-WLED base on Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce eutectic can be improved by ion co-doping in eutectic or superposition of Al 2 O 3 -YAG eutectic doped with other ions. • The co-luminescence of Ce3+ and Pr3+ in Al 2 O 3 –YAG enhancing the emission of 610 nm and 694 nm, increases the R a by 8.4. • The Cr3+ in Al 2 O 3 –YAG:Ce absorbs the emission spectra of the Ce3+ but quenches the fluorescence produced by Ce3+, which seriously hinders the luminescence of Ce3+. • The R a of the Al 2 O 3 –YAG:Ce and Al 2 O 3 –YAG:Cr stacked phosphor-converted LED increases by 20.4, reaching 78.7 (R 9 = 59). • The luminous efficiency of Al 2 O 3 –YAG:Ce after annealing is only increased by 4%, while that of Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce, Pr is increased by 13%. • It is found that the co-doping of Pr3+ ions will increase the probability of Ce4+ in Al 2 O 3 -YAG:Ce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yb:CaYAlO 4 (Yb:CALYO) shaped crystal fibers with different Yb3+ doping concentration were successfully grown by the micro-pulling-down (μ -PD) method. The effect of the Yb3+ concentration on the structure, absorption, emission and lifetime was systematically studied. The strongest absorption peaks of Yb:CALYO crystal fibers are located at 977 nm for σ and π polarization. The micro-photoluminescence indicate that Yb3+ ions in CALYO single crystal fiber grown by the μ -PD method distributed evenly across a cross-section. The emission cross-section of 5 at.% Yb:CALYO crystal fiber was calculated to be 0.86 × 10−20 and 1.08 × 10−20 cm2 at 983 nm for σ and π polarizations. Benefited from the disordered structrure of CaYAlO 4 crystal, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) at 978 nm was 68.9 nm and 80.9 nm, respectively. The fluorescence lifetime of 2F 5/2 energy level of Yb:CALYO crystal fibers with concentration of 0.5 at.%, 1 at.%, 2 at.% and 5 at.% was calculated to be 435 μs, 484 μs, 514 μs and 453 μs, respectively. The experimental results show that Yb:CALYO crystal fiber is a potential laser medium for ultrashort laser operation. • Yb:CaYAlO 4 shaped crystal fibers were grown by the micro-pulling down method. • The crystal structure, polarized spectra were investigated. • The effect of Yb3+ concentration on the spectroscopic properties was evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A newly isolated bacterium, B1Z05, is capable of efficient alginate degradation. • B1Z05 contains an extended pathway for alginate metabolism. • The low-cost but efficient strategy has great potential to prepare AOSs. • The seaweed hydrolysis rates of B1Z05 are higher than the commercial product CE201. • The obtained seaweed extracts are rich in phytohormones. Brown algae are rich in biostimulants that not only stimulate the overall development and growth of plants but also have great beneficial effects on the whole soil–plant system. However, alginate, the major component of brown algae, is comparatively difficult to degrade. The cost of preparing alginate oligosaccharides (AOSs) is still too high to produce seaweed fertilizer. In this work, the marine bacterium Vibrio sp. B1Z05 is found to be capable of efficient alginate depolymerization and harbors an extended pathway for alginate metabolism. The B1Z05 extracellular cell-free supernatant exhibited great potential for AOS production at low cost, which, together with cellulase, can efficiently hydrolyze seaweed. The brown algal hydrolysis rates were significantly greater than those of the commercial alginate lyase product CE201, and the obtained seaweed extracts were rich in phytohormones. This work provides a low-cost but efficient strategy for the sustainable production of desirable AOSs and seaweed fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ba 2 LaNbO 6 :Cr3+,Yb3+ double perovskite far-red and near-infrared phosphors were synthesized by high-temperature solid-state method. • Under 324 nm UV excitation, Ba 2 LaNbO 6 :Cr3+,Yb3+ phosphors emit far-red and near-infrared light in the ranges of 620–760 nm and 920–1120 nm, corresponding to the transitions Cr3+:2E→4A 2 and Yb3+:2F 5/2 →2F 7/2 , which coincides well with the absorption spectra of photosensitive pigment P FR and photosynthetic bacteria, respectively. Ba 2 LaNbO 6 :Cr3+,Yb3+ double perovskite far-red and near-infrared phosphors were synthesized by high-temperature solid-state method. The crystal structure and optical properties were systematically investigated, encompassing PL, PLE, and temperature-dependent PL spectra. The calculated value D q /B of Ba 2 LaNbO 6 :0.005Cr3+ phosphor was calculated to be 2.59, signifying a robust crystal field strength within the [NbO 6 ] octahedral environment occupied by Cr3+ ions. Under 324 nm UV excitation, Ba 2 LaNbO 6 :Cr3+,Yb3+ phosphors emit far-red and near-infrared light in the ranges of 620–760 nm and 920–1120 nm, corresponding to the transitions Cr3+:2E→4A 2 and Yb3+:2F 5/2 →2F 7/2 , which coincides well with the absorption spectra of photosensitive pigment P FR and photosynthetic bacteria, respectively. The energy transfer mechanisms involving Cr3+ and Yb3+ ions were also thoroughly investigated. The results demonstrate that Ba 2 LaNbO 6 :Cr3+,Yb3+ phosphors have potential applications in plant cultivation LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a novel bioinspired radial porous zinc-based metal-organic framework (Zn-MOF) doped sodium alginate/chitosan derivatives/pullulan-based SA/PSCS/Pul/Zn-MOF (SPCP/Zn) composites sponge with excellent antioxidant and antibacterial properties was fabricated by the ice-templating method. Boric acid (BA) and Ca2+, which were respectively used as hydrogen- and ionic- bonding cross-linkers, provided strong mechanical properties for sponge matrix composed of SA, PSCS, and Pul. The obtained SPCP/Zn sponge exhibited uniform porous morphology, proper hydrophilicity, and admirable biocompatibility. In addition, the SPCP/Zn sponge achieved a sustained release of Zn2+ and gallic acid, which displayed powerful antibacterial and antioxidant activities. Importantly, the SPCP/Zn sponge exhibited shorter rapid hemostasis (20.4 ± 2.9 s) and lower blood loss (19.8 ± 4.3 mg). The SPCP/Zn sponge also showed faster wound closure ratio for the rat full-thickness skin defect model. It was revealed that SPCP/Zn sponge could significantly accelerate and enhance wound healing through downregulating inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6) and increasing the expression of growth factors (VEGF). Due to its excellent properties, the SPCP/Zn sponge may have promising potential in wound healing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective management of excessive bleeding requires liquid hemostatic agents, especially in scenarios involving uncompressible and postoperative hemorrhage. This study introduces the microbial exopolysaccharide floccuronic acid (FA) as a liquid hemostatic agent, characterized by a high weight average molecular weight of 2.38 × 108 Da. The investigation focuses on the flocculation effect, hemostatic efficiency in both in vitro and in vivo settings, elucidating its hemostatic mechanism, and assessing its safety profile. Results reveal that FA solution significantly accelerates the coagulation process, leading to the formation of compact clots while specifically interfering with fibrin. Notably, FA demonstrates excellent hemostatic effects in animal liver models and a rat arterial rebleeding model. The biocompatible and biodegradable characteristics further underscore FA's potential as a valuable liquid hemostatic material, particularly suited for non-compressible and re-bleeding scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BGO single crystals doped with Er3+, Tm3+ and Ho3+ rare-earth ions were prepared in the form of rod-type crystal fibers via the micro-pulling down technique to perform an extensive investigation of their visible, near- and mid-infrared luminescence properties and to really decide on their interest as solid-state laser media in the various spectral domains. Revisiting and completing the absorption spectra already available in the literature led to the derivation of more reliable "effective" radiative lifetimes and branching ratios. Registration of the fluorescence decays of the most important emitting levels versus dopant concentrations led for the first time to an unambiguous determination of "intrinsic" emission lifetimes – corresponding to negligible contributions from inter-ionic energy-transfers - and non-radiative multiphonon relaxation rates. Such data also allowed for the determination of the dominant phonon energy which comes into play in the electron-phonon coupling responsible for these multiphonon relaxation processes and for its lattice vibration origin, i.e. a high phonon energy of the order of 820 cm−1 corresponding to the coupling between bending vibrations of (GeO 4)4- tetrahedra and vibrations corresponding to motions of these (GeO 4)4- tetrahedra against the Bi3+ ions for which the rare-earth dopant ions substitute. Using the above data and different methods for the calibration of the registered emission spectra in cross section unit and for the derivation of gain cross section curves finally show that mid-infrared emissions of Er:BGO, Tm:BGO and Ho:BGO around 1.55 μm, 1.9 μm and 2 μm, respectively, occur with comparable gain cross sections as in the most important reference mid-infrared laser materials, although over slightly shifted thus complementary spectral domains. It is shown that potentialities also exist with Tm:BGO in the blue, deep-red and near-infrared spectral domains around 470 nm, 800 nm and 1.45 μm, by pumping the crystals with conventional pump sources and using some suitable co-dopants to avoid detrimental self-terminating processes. • Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 rod-type crystal fibers doped with Er3+, Tm3+ and Ho3+ ions are successfully grown by using the micro-pulling down technique. • An extensive spectroscopic investigation is performed from the near-UV to the mid-infrared. • Effective radiative and intrinsic emission lifetimes are unambiguously determined for all the important emitting levels. • The origin and the energy of the phonons responsible for the non-radiative multiphonon relaxation of the emitting levels are clearly identified. • Emission and gain cross section spectra show the interest of Er3+, Tm3+ and Ho3+ doped BGO crystals for the high power mid-infrared laser application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy-efficient urban design is an important prerequisite to sustainable urban development and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This study proposes an automatic framework to optimize urban design through the use of an urban building energy model. Three optimization goals were defined: maximum solar energy utilization, solar lighting of the first floor, and minimum building energy demand. Urban morphology was integrated into the optimization process as the bridge between the urban design scenario and the actual urban block. To validate the model, this study abstracted basic urban forms from actual urban contexts to generate urban blocks with the Rhino tool and run optimization in the Wallacei X, for multi-objective optimization in Rhino. The long short-term memory (LSTM) network was applied to infer energy performance of 41 actual urban blocks in Jianhu, China. In the results, the proposed framework can be validated feasibly with optimization of 100 iterations. A set of optimal results will be achieved for three goals and five clusters defined for different concerns of urban design strategies. The LSTM can achieve the best accuracy of 1.21% and 1.37% for energy generation of photovoltaic and total building energy use intensity respectively. • Low-energy urban design is important to sustainable urban development. • Enhancing solar utilization and reducing energy demand are important in urban design. • Urban building energy modeling is a popular and inspiring tool in urban design. • This study proposes an automatic low-energy urban design using simulation and data-driven approach. • The framework is validated feasibly by actual urban design and real urban blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]