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porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), caused by porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection, is an important swine infectious disease that causes substantial losses worldwide each year. PRRSV is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that is highly susceptible to mutation and recombination, making vaccine and drug research for the disease extremely difficult. In this study, the binding of PRRSV nsp2 to HSP71 protein was detected by using the IP/MS technique. And the inhibitory effect of HSP71 on nsp2 antagonistic activity was validated by measuring NF-kB luciferase reporter. According to stress from inhibitory effects, the amino acid variation profile of PRRSV nsp2 under HSP71 stress was further analyzed using second-generation sequencing. Surprisingly, the results indicated that HSP71 pressure limits the random mutations of PRRSV nsp2 and maintains the dominant PRRSV strain within the population. Mutant strain showed weaker antagonistic activity and replication capability in cell. These results imply the binding of HSP71 with PRRSV nsp2 may lead to maintain the stability of highly virulent strains of PRRSV. • Hsp71 binds and inhibits PRRSV nsp2. • hsp71 binding contributes to the stabilization of PRRSV nsp2. • PRRSV nsp2 is prone to random mutations in normal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Aspergillus and G- bacteria are the predominant strains in FN children. • mNGS is far superior to TPD in detecting fungal infections. • mNGS is conducive to targeted therapy and improved prognosis of FN children. To investigate the application value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in children with hematological diseases presenting with Febrile Neutropenia (FN). We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 49 hematological children with FN, and compared the results of mNGS with those of traditional pathogen detection (TPD) and the prognoses of mNGS positive group and negative group. A total of 77 pathogenic strains were identified, of which 70 strains were detected by mNGS, 19 strains by TPD, and Aspergillus and G- bacterias were the predominant strains in FN children who developed bloodstream infections. 42 cases were in the mNGS-positive group, of which 17 were simple infections, 25 were mixed infections, and 7 were in the negative group; the TPD-positive group contained 19 cases, all of which were simple infections. The detection rate of total and mixed pathogens was higher than that of TPD, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The mNGS positive group was detected earlier than the negative group, and with lower mortality and drug-related adverse events (DRAE), and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). For FN children with hematological diseases, early mNGS can effectively improve the efficacy of pathogen detection, and precise treatment after clarifying the pathogens can reduce mortality and avoid antibiotic abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A zwitterionic hydrogel was introduced for moisture-energy generation. • The polyelectrolyte changes were resisted through the salt-in effect. • The adsorption capacity of the hydrogel reached 3.0 g g−1 at 90% RH and 25 °C. • The device exhibiting an I sc of up to 945 μA cm−1 and a V oc of 0.802 V. Hygroscopic salt composite hydrogels (HSCHs) offer a promising solution for combating global water scarcity by harvesting atmospheric water. Importantly, this is aided by an interior water gradient that facilitates ion transport, which opens up opportunities for power generation. The current and potential outputs are restricted by inadequate water collection and excessive cross-link density. Herein, a novel zwitterionic nanocomposite conductive hydrogel (ZNCH) is introduced to resist polyelectrolyte changes by leveraging the salt-in effect of cationic and anionic functional groups. The poly-[2-(methacryloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide-based ZNCH endows the HSCH with an enhanced swelling property together with an improved water storage capacity. The adsorption capacity of water reaches 3.0 g g−1 after 10 h of operation at 25 °C and 90% RH. More importantly, ZNCH replaces H bonds with Li bonds under the Hofmeister effect, resulting in the generation of a substantial number of free H+ ions. These endow the ZNCH with highly efficient power generation performance, associating with a short-circuit current of up to 945 μA, a current density of 945 μA cm−1, and an open-circuit voltage of 0.802 V. This work motivates the improvement of materials and devices that convert energy from atmospheric water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sb 2 Te thin film exhibits remarkable crystallization speed, which allows rapid data conversion in phase change memory (PCM). Thermal stability is a key challenge to enable reliable data retention. Meanwhile, it is necessary to study the transition energy in the process of crystallization when the thermal stability of the amorphous state is improved. Herein, we demonstrated an alloying strategy to optimize thermal stability and transition energy. Zn was screened to be a promising alloying element. Nano-composite Zn 0.75 Sb 2 Te thin film was designed, which exhibited excellent thermal stability and optimized transition energy. The data retention temperature for 10 years (T 10-yr) increased by ∼ 218 %, and the transition energy consumption decreased by ∼ 27 % compared with Sb 2 Te thin film. The enhancement of these properties originated from Zn-modified local chemical bonding. Zn induced the formation of tetrahedron with strong bonds (Zn–Te and Zn–Sb bonds) and dragged the atomic diffusion in amorphous phase to improve thermal stability. The structural disorder and complexity of the first and second nearest neighbors of atoms were stimulated by Zn alloying, which inhibited the carrier transports, increased the amorphous resistance, and reduced the transition energy in the process of crystallization. [Display omitted] • An alloying strategy is proposed to improve the thermal stability. • Transition energy could also be reduced by the alloying strategy. • Zn induces the formation of tetrahedrons in amorphous Sb 2 Te film. • Nano-composite Zn–Sb 2 Te film is prepared. • Microstructure and phase change mechanism of Sb 2 Te film depend on the Zn content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Risk compensation effect of helmet use is studied based on selected bicyclists. • Targeted maximum likelihood estimator and ensemble learning are applied in this study. • Our results suggest the existence of risk compensation effect due to helmet use. Introduction: Safety is a critical factor in promoting sustainable urban non-motorized travel modes like bicycles. Helmets have shown to be effective in reducing injury severity in bicycle crashes, however, their effects on bicyclists' behaviors still requires deeper understanding, especially amid the emerging trend of using shared bicycles. Risk compensation effects suggest that bicyclists may offset perceived gains in safety from wearing a helmet by increasing risk-taking behaviors. A better understanding of these compensation effects can be useful in assessing various bicycle safety related programs. Method: Using a sample of 131 bicyclists from the San Francisco Bay area, this research studies how bicyclists respond with respect to risk-taking behaviors under various urban-street conditions, as a function of helmet use. Study participants were each shown 12 videos, shot in Berkeley, California, from the perspective of a bicyclist riding behind another bicyclist. A fractional factorial experiment design was used to systematically vary contextual attributes (e.g., speed, bike lane facilities, on-street parking, passing vehicles) across the videos. After each video, participants were asked to indicate if they would overtake the bicyclist in the video. With the help of data adaptive estimation techniques, targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) was applied to estimate the average risk difference between helmeted users and non-users, controlling for self-selection effects. Individual-based nonparametric bootstrap was performed to assess the uncertainty associated with the estimator. Results: Our findings suggest, on average, individuals more likely to wear a helmet are 15.6% more likely to undertake a risky overtaking maneuver. Practical Applications: This study doesn't try to oppose mandatory helmet laws, but rather serves as a cautionary warning that road safety programs may need to consider strategies in which unintended impact of bicycle helmet use can be mitigated. Moreover, our findings also provide additional evaluation component when it comes to the cost-benefit assessment of helmet-related laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coordination-based supramolecular self-assembly is an effective approach for construction of the theranostic nanoplatforms. • Coordination-based supramolecular self-assembly is capable of modulating the nanostructures and physicochemical properties. • High performance theranostics are highlighted including multiple, responsive and enhanced theranostic applications. • Small biomolecules are promising candidates for the development of coordination-based supramolecular nanoplatforms. Theranostics possessing great potential in the treatment of various diseases gain attentions in recent years. Coordination-assembled supramolecular nanoplatforms are emerged as promising candidates for theranostic applications. With the facile, robust and versatile fabrication, these systems overcome the drawbacks of many existing theranostic nanoplatforms. Coordination-based supramolecular self-assembly offers the possibility for modulating the physicochemical properties, thus paving the way for theranostic applications. We highlight the most recent advances on the modulation of structures and properties of coordination-assembled supramolecular nanoplatforms and their exploration in theranostic applications. The long-term goal of this field is to achieve high-performance theranostics in clinic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Deep-UV nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals of NaBe 2 BO 3 F 2 were successfully grown. • Calculated refractive indices suggest NaBe 2 BO 3 F 2 is a viable deep-UV NLO crystal. • The structure-property relationships are compared across the entire KBBF family. The deep-ultraviolet (deep-UV) nonlinear optical (NLO) crystal NaBe 2 BO 3 F 2 (NBBF) is grown by the spontaneous nucleation method with the dimensions up to 20 × 20 × 1.5 mm3. The crystal structure was determined using single-crystal x-ray diffraction analysis and its space group was defined as C2 , which belongs to the biaxial class. The optical properties including the transmittance and the NLO coefficients were first determined. The band structure and density of states of NBBF were also calculated. Based on the calculated refractive indices, the Sellmeier equations were fitted to evaluate its ability for deep-UV laser generation. Our results suggest that NBBF is a viable deep-UV NLO crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) has long been the primary air pollutant with alarming public health risk in China. PM 2.5 pollution control in China still mainly concerned concentration declining. The qualification and identification of PM 2.5 -attributable health loss is crucial for China's air quality improvement and pollution prevention. This study assessed the annual health loss and economic impact attributed to PM 2.5 exposure at a city level in China from 2015 to 2017. The health benefits from achieving specific PM 2.5 concentration control targets were estimated for 2020. The economic value of health loss in China was 3205.05, 3223.51, and 3344.80 billion Yuan in 2015, 2016, and 2017, representing 4.34%, 4.07%, and 3.85% of the gross domestic product of China. The health loss value in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) and surrounding areas and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration in 2017 was 731.93 and 520.27 billion Yuan, accounting for 21.88% and 15.56%, respectively, of the total economic value of all assessed cities. The economic value of health loss in provincial cities was high. From 2015 to 2017, high health loss in BTH and surrounding areas showed a diffusion trend toward cities in Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi Provinces. High health loss in the YRD urban agglomeration transferred to cities located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. If PM 2.5 concentration control targets can be achieved by 2020, premature mortality attributed to PM 2.5 exposure will fall by 91,860 cases, representing 11.20% of which in 2017. This study, for the first time, highlighted the spatial distribution and temporal variation characteristics of health loss in Chinese cities based on ground-monitoring PM 2.5 concentration data and annual real-time population data. Distributional feature and time-trend analysis would provide a measurable assessment of health loss in Chinese cities to policymakers for effective allocating their efforts on air quality improvement. Graphical abstract Economic value of public health loss attributed to PM 2.5 exposure at the city level in 2017. Image 1 Highlights • We assessed the annual health loss and economic impact of PM 2.5 exposure in China. • We used PM 2.5 and population data (2015–2017) of prefecture-level cities or above. • Health loss declined from 0.91 (2015) to 0.82 (2017) million premature mortalities. • Annual economic value of health loss increased but declined as a percent of GDP. • Meeting updated PM 2.5 targets by 2020 could reduce mortality by 11% of 2017 levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The structural stability and equation of state (EoS) of sodium formate (NaHCOO) up to ∼6 GPa have been investigated using in - situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique, at room temperature. The results indicate that sodium formate remained the monoclinic structure at high pressures and exhibited anisotropic compressibility, the b - and c -axes are more compressible than a -axis. The experimental pressure-volume data are fitted well with the third-order Birch-Murnaghan EoS, yielding a bulk modulus of B 0 = 26.0(1) GPa with its first pressure derivative B 0 ' = 4.5(7). The present results can provide some insight for better understanding of the structural stability of alkali and alkaline earth metal formates under high pressure. Highlights • High-pressure behaviors of sodium formate were investigated up to ∼6 GPa. • The isothermal bulk modulus is B 0 = 26.0(1) GPa and its first pressure derivative is B 0 ' = 4.5(7). • Axial compressibility shows obvious anisotropy, the crystallographic b - and c -axes are more compressible than a -axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Apply ensemble learning techniques to improve airline fuel burn prediction. • Propose a prediction interval based discretionary fuel estimation approach. • The new approach can achieve $61 million annual fuel savings for the study airline. • CO 2 emission can also be reduced by 428 million kg per year for the study airline. Abstract Reducing fuel consumption is a unifying goal across the aviation industry. One fuel-saving opportunity for airlines is the possibility of reducing discretionary fuel loading by dispatchers. In this study, we propose a novel discretionary fuel estimation approach that can assist dispatchers with better discretionary fuel loading decisions. Based on the analysis on our study airline, our approach is found to substantially reduce unnecessary discretionary fuel loading while maintaining the same safety level compared to the current fuel loading practice. The idea is that by providing dispatchers with more accurate information and better recommendations derived from flight records, unnecessary fuel loading and corresponding cost-to-carry could both be reduced. We apply ensemble learning techniques to improve fuel burn prediction and construct prediction intervals (PIs) to capture the uncertainty of model predictions. The upper bound of a PI can then be used for discretionary fuel loading. The potential benefit of this approach is estimated to be $61.5 million in fuel savings and 428 million kg of CO 2 reduction per year for our study airline. This study also builds a link between discretionary fuel estimation and aviation system predictability in which the proposed models can also be used to predict benefits from reduced fuel loading enabled by improved Air Traffic Management (ATM) targeting on improved system predictability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the popularization of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC), research on the packing of steel fiber-aggregate (F-A) mixtures has become a significant prerequisite for the mix design of SFRC. Although the compressible packing model (CPM) can be used to predict the packing density (PD) of F-A mixtures, its interaction coefficients are determined from the elementary particle classes without fibers (narrow particle size distribution), which limits the applicability of the CPM. In this study, after adding steel fibers to binary aggregate with wide particle size distribution, the PDs of steel fiber-binary aggregate (F-BA) mixtures were measured. The method of establishing interaction coefficients for F-A mixtures was modified, and the general formulas of interaction coefficients were proposed. The novel CPM model after comprehensive corrections of fiber disturbance parameter and interaction coefficients for F-A mixture was established. Compared with the conventional CPM, the prediction accuracy of novel CPM was greater. [Display omitted] • The effect of aggregate combinations and steel fiber combinations on packing density evolution was studied. • Corrections of fiber disturbance parameter and interaction coefficients in Compressible Packing Model were proposed. • The novel CPM was developed for packing density prediction of steel fiber-binary aggregate mixtures. • The novel CPM can be applied to aggregate with large particle classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ultrahigh through-plane thermal conductivity achieved by continuous carbon fibers. • Thermal-induced and slant slicing-induced flexibility. • Leakage proof capacity from polymer skeleton and carbon fiber arrays. • Novel thermal management capacity from high through-plane thermal conductivity and heat absorbed during phase change. With the rapid development of micro-nano electronics, thermally conductive materials with remarkable through-plane thermal conductivity (κ ⊥) and great flexibility are greatly urgent to effective thermal management. The fillers with high thermal conductivity (TC) are commonly assembled to achieve this target. However, the imperfect contact between the joint fillers will lead to high thermal resistance (R), hindering thermal transport. Herein, we fabricated thermal interface materials (TIMs) with ultra-high κ ⊥ (up to 168.4 W m−1 K−1) and adjustable flexibility by the combination of highly thermally conductive carbon fiber bundles (CF) and polymer encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs). The alignment of consecutive CF guarantees the continuity of thermal paths, greatly facilitating thermal transport. While the slantly slicing technique and softening effect of PCMs beyond phase transition temperature lead to an attenuated compression stress (1.6 MPa@10% strain with a CF loading of 50 wt%). What's more, the latent heat absorbed by PCMs is also conducive to thermal management. Thus, during a CPU temperature-control experiment, the application of as-prepared TIMs manifests a temperature decline of 33.9 °C of CPU. This work opens a new perspective to fabricating TIMs with ultrahigh κ ⊥ and low compression stress (σ) by the combination of thermally induced flexible matrix and the slantly slicing technique of aligned CFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Atypical clinical features make it hard to identify VL in HLH in non-epidemic area. • VL is difficult to diagnose when traditional tests are ineffective, while mNGS is. • mNGS can be used as a detection method of HLH in children caused by rare pathogens. Visceral leishmaniasis-related hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (VL-HLH) is a secondary hemophagocytic syndrome, which can be life-threatening, caused by leishmania and transmitted by infected sandflies. Rapid and accurate identification of leishmania is crucial for clinical strategies. Here, we report an infantile infection in a non-epidemic area of China. The infant was a 9.5-month-old girl with fever, pancytopenia and hepatosplenomegaly, which meet the HLH-2004 standard, and the negative gene results exclude congenital HLH. However, chemotherapy is ineffective and is accompanied by severe infection. Fortunately, she is diagnosed with VL-HLH (visceral leishmaniasis-related hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis), as leishmania is detected by next-generation meta-genome sequencing (mNGS) and quickly relieved after treatment with libosomal amphotericin B (L-AMB). mNGS can detect leishmania in pediatric HLH, and should be performed as a new detection for VL-HLH, particularly for infants, who may not respond to HLH-2004 regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growth of air traffic, airport surfaces are congested and air traffic operations are disrupted by the formation of bottlenecks on the surface. Hence, improving the efficiency and predictability of airport surface operations is not only a key goal of NASA’s initiatives in Integrated Arrival/Departure/Surface (IADS) operations, but also has been recognized as a critical aspect of the FAA NextGEN implementation plan. While a number of tactical initiatives have been shown to be effective in improving airport surface operations from a service provider’s perspective, their impacts on airlines’ scheduled block time (SBT) setting, which has been found to have direct impact on airlines’ on-time performance and operating cost, have received little attention. In this paper, we assess this impact using an econometric model of airline SBT combined with a before/after analysis of the implementation of surface congestion management (SCM) at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in 2010. Since airlines do not consider gate delay in setting SBT, we find that reduction in taxi-out time variability resulting from SCM leads to more predictable taxi-out times and thus decreases in SBT. The JFK SCM implementation is used as a case study to validate model prediction performance. The observed SBT decrease between 2009 and 2011 at JFK is 4.8 min and our model predicts a 4.2 min decrease. In addition, Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) is used as an example to demonstrate how different surface operations improvements scenarios can be evaluated in terms of SBT reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), a key enzyme regulating aerobic glycolysis, is overexpressed in many human cancers, and correlates with poor clinical outcomes. Aerobic glycolysis is a hallmark of cancer, and drugs targeting its regulators, including LDHA, are being developed. However, the mechanisms of LDHA inhibition and the physiological significance of the LDHA inhibitors in cancer cells are unclear. Here, we show that microRNA-30a-5p (miR-30a-5p) suppresses LDHA expression by directly targeting its 3′-UTR. Through inhibition of LDHA, miR-30a-5p dampens glycolysis by decreasing glucose uptake, lactate production, ATP generation, and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR), and increasing oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in breast cancer cells. Importantly, glycolysis regulated by miR-30a-5p is critical for its regulating breast tumor growth and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. In breast cancer patients, miR-30a-5p expression is negatively correlated with LDHA expression. Moreover, patients who had increased glucose uptake in tumors assessed by PET scans showed decreased miR-30a-5p expression and increased expression of LDHA. Our findings provide clues regarding the role of miR-30a-5p as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer through the inhibition of LDHA. Targeting LDHA through miR-30a-5p could be a potential therapeutic strategy in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel fiber can significantly improve the tensile strength, toughness, and crack resistance of concrete matrix, but there is limited research on the packing of single steel fiber-aggregate (SF-A) and hybrid steel fiber-aggregate (HF-A) mixtures. To investigate the effect of steel fibers on the packing of aggregates, the loosely-packed packing density (PD) of 36 SF-A mixtures and 36 HF-A mixtures was measured via the high-rigidity container. The results indicated that the PD always decreased with increasing fiber volume regardless of single or hybrid steel fibers and the size ratio of steel fiber to aggregate particle was a crucial parameter affecting this lowering effect. Moreover, a novel prediction model considering the relative size of fiber and aggregate as key factors was developed and the synergistic effect on aggregates by hybrid fibers was also incorporated into the model. Prediction errors less than 1% were evaluated after calibrating the model parameters. [Display omitted] • The packing rules of the steel fiber-aggregate mixtures are clarified. • A synergistic effect of hybrid steel fibers on aggregate is proposed. • The calculation method for the fiber disturbance factor is modified. • A prediction model of packing density for single and hybrid steel fiber-aggregate mixtures is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effective and low-consumption finishing strategy for multifunctional stainless steel mesh and sponges. • Superhydrophobic coating with micro/nano structures is rationally constructed without organic solvents. • Rational water-based aza-Michael addition reaction coating strategy realizes on-demand special wettability. Superhydrophobic porous materials are widely used in oil-water separation due to their water-blocking and oil-passing properties. However, the preparation of most superhydrophobic porous materials is generally energy-intensive and must be performed using organic solvents. In this study, we describe a straightforward and cost-effective strategy for fabricating superhydrophobic coatings on nanosized soil particle-modified stainless steel mesh (SSM). The coating is prepared via the aza-Michael reaction of stearyl acrylate and melamine-urea–formaldehyde (MUF) resin catalysed by methyl cyclodextrin in water. Superhydrophobic meshes with water contact angles (WCAs) exceeding 150° are obtained, exhibiting extraordinary water repellency. The superhydrophobic mesh also effectively prevents surface contamination, creating a self-cleaning surface that is both waterproof and dustproof. Most importantly, the superhydrophobic mesh presents excellent oil separation performance for oil-water mixtures of various compositions, maintaining extremely high separation efficiency (>98%) even after 80 cycles. Additionally, we successfully apply this strategy to the preparation of superhydrophobic melamine sponges with excellent oil adsorption capacity (17.6–44.2 g/g). This innovative study provides an effective strategy for designing biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces and is a promising development in the field of environmentally friendly oil-water separators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scheduled block time (SBT) is the time between gate departure and gate arrival assumed by airlines for use in published timetables and operations planning. SBT setting has critical impacts on airlines’ operating cost and on-time performance. Air carriers regularly update their SBTs to respond to changing operating conditions and evolving business strategies. Most existing studies have focused on investigating the impact of SBT on on-time performance or predicting SBT based on historical performance and market characteristics. However, the dynamics of adjusting SBT, which may allow deeper understanding about the trade-offs airlines make between SBT and on-time performance, have been rarely studied. In this paper, we assume that SBT adjustment choices reveal preferences. Based on airlines’ practice in setting SBT, hypothetical SBT scenarios and their corresponding on-time performance profiles are re-constructed to mimic the situations faced by airline schedulers. This enables us to infer how airlines trade-off between SBT, on-time arrivals, and earliness. By using correlated mixed logit models, we find that our five study airlines are willing to increase SBT from 0.38 to 0.54 min to increase on-time performance by 1%. We also find that both on-time performance and early arrival are valued by airlines, but the former is considerably more valuable. The estimated models can also be used to predict airlines’ SBT adjustments in response to changes in operational performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new schiff-base receptor L based on naphthalimide had been investigated as a selective and sensitive chemosensor for Al 3+ in CH 3 OH. Upon addition of Al 3+ , L showed a 39-fold enhancement at 508 nm with colorimetric and fluorometric dual-signaling response which might be induced by the integration of ICT and CHEF. A 1:1 stoichiometry for the L -Al 3+ complex was formed with an association constant of 1.62×10 4 M −1 , and the limit of detection for Al 3+ was determined as 7.4 nM. In addition, the potential utility of L in sensing Al 3+ was also examined in real water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new chloride borate, Ba 1.31 Sr 3.69 (BO 3 ) 3 Cl, was obtained when exploring potential phosphor materials. It belongs to orthorhombic system, Pnma space group, with cell parameters of a = 6.965(1) Å, b = 16.546(3) Å, c = 9.557(1) Å and Z = 4. Ba 5- x Sr x (BO 3 ) 3 Cl ( x = 0, 0.5, …to 5) was synthesized and the cell volumes of the solid solutions were obtained by Rietveld refinement. Detailed structure description of Ba 1.31 Sr 3.69 (BO 3 ) 3 Cl was conducted and the structure comparison between Ba 1.31 Sr 3.69 (BO 3 ) 3 Cl and M 5 (BO 3 )X (M = Ba or Sr, X = Cl or F) was illustrated. In Ba 1.31 Sr 3.69 (BO 3 ) 3 Cl, there are hexagonal tunnels extending along a -axis, which is the main feature of apatite family compounds. The density functional theory calculation suggested that in Ba 1.31 Sr 3.69 (BO 3 ) 3 Cl space group Pnma is more energy favourable than C 222 1 . DSC-TG showed that Ba 1.31 Sr 3.69 (BO 3 ) 3 Cl is stable up to 950 °C and Raman and Infrared spectroscopy demonstrate the existence of planar (BO 3 ) 3- in the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main disadvantage of electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) is their inefficiency in generating ultrasound. A new design of Rayleigh-wave EMAT is proposed with improved ultrasonic generation efficiency on non-ferromagnetic materials. The new EMAT's magnet is narrower than the meander-line coil used in the transducer and the coil itself has an uneven distribution of conductors. The principle of the new design is informed by finite element simulations, which show that the EMAT generates Rayleigh waves more efficiently by taking advantage of both horizontal and vertical magnetic fields of the magnet simultaneously. Experimental measurements verify that the maximum amplitude of the ultrasonic signal generated by the new design of EMAT working under a pulse-echo configuration has been enhanced by 90%, when compared to conventional designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal sulfides with diamond-like (DL) structures are systematically investigated in this study for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral region. All the selected materials are characterized by a 3D framework connected by various sulfide tetrahedral units, such as [PS 4 ], [SiS 4 ], [GeS 4 ], [GaS 4 ], [InS 4 ], [CdS 4 ], [ZnS 4 ], [LiS 4 ], and [AgS 4 ]. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of these materials are analyzed on the basis of first-principles calculations. It is concluded that it is relatively easy to achieve good balance between the bandgap and the NLO effect. Additionally, moderate birefringence Δn (∼0.03–0.10) is required for practical mid-IR NLO applications. In particular, several metal sulfides with normal DL and defect DL structures, exhibiting superior mid-IR NLO properties, are highlighted. These provide an instructive guide for the design and discovery of new materials with good mid-IR NLO performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the implementation of the western development strategy, large areas in western China are experiencing rapid industrialization and urbanization phases. Simultaneously, increasing energy consumption linked to CO 2 emissions is becoming a serious problem. The stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology model and the random parameters model were developed to assess and quantify the strength of the relationship between CO 2 emissions that are attributed to energy consumption and their major drivers (i.e., population, economy, and technology). The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which is a typical region in western China with low energy efficiency and rapid economic growth, was selected as an example. This study determined CO 2 emissions attributed to energy consumption from 1991 to 2011, and assessed the effects of the major drivers of CO 2 emissions at the county level. The following results were obtained. (1) The CO 2 emissions of Ningxia increased rapidly throughout the study period. (2) Increasing gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, urban employment, and the contribution to GDP of secondary industries would promote CO 2 emissions. By contrast, increasing the growth of the per capita annual disposable income of rural households, the contribution to GDP of tertiary industries, and population density would restrain CO 2 emissions. (3) The county-level heterognerity was found to be significant which suggests adopting a uniform policy might not be optimal. Finally, the study method, effects of CO 2 emission factors, and policy suggestions could also be applied to other provinces and autonomous regions in western China because of the similar characteristics of these areas such as vast lands, rich resources, and low development level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Magmatism formed during the initial stage (ca. 480Ma) and advanced stage (ca. 450Ma) of exhumation of subducted continental crust have been recognized in South Altyn western China. • Two stages of magmatism exhibits evidence for the partial melting of subducted continental crust during differential exhumation process of South Altyn in Palaeozoic. The early Palaeozoic continental subduction–collisional belt in South Altyn (SA) western China distributes a large amount of (ultra)-high-pressure ((U)HP) metamorphic and granitic rocks associated with subduction, collision, and exhumation. In this study, four granitic rocks were collected from Bashenwake located in eastern SA. The ages of the garnet-bearing alkali-feldspar granite (GAFG), garnet-bearing granitic gneiss (GGG), alkali-feldspar granite (AFG), and syenogranite (SG) are 458.0 ± 4.1, 483.0 ± 4.1, 450.0 ± 2.4, and 482.0 ± 4.9 Ma, respectively. Whole-rock major and trace elements and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope, and zircon Hf isotope compositions for all samples exhibit characteristics of a continental crustal source. Based on partial melting modeling, the source temperature of the GGG, GAFG, AFG and SG was concluded as 750–780 °C, 730–760 °C, 730–770 °C and ca. 800 °C, respectively. The source pressure was estimated as ca. 0.8 GPa for the GGG, GAFG and AFG, and ca. 1.2 GPa for SG. Combined with studies on (U)HP metamorphic rocks in SA, this study reveals that GGG is formed by metamorphism while SG is formed from partial melting of upper crustal rocks heated by upwelling mantle during the initial stage of exhumation (ca. 480 Ma) of subducted continental crust in SA. During further stage of exhumation of the subducted continental crust at ca. 450 Ma, the GAFG and AFG were formed from partial melting of GGG as a result of decreased pressure and further mantle upwelling. Consequently, the exhumation age of subducted continental crust in eastern SA is ca. 30 Myr earlier than that in western SA. Thus, the geochronology and petrogenesis of four granitic samples in this study exhibit one of very few evidence for partial melting of subducted continental crust during the exhumation and also provide magmatism exhibits evidence for the differential exhumation model of eastern SA in Palaeozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new chemosensor L based on the naphthalimide moiety was synthesized and characterized. L exhibited the high selectivity and sensitivity for Al 3 + in CH 3 OH, along with colorimetric and fluorometric dual-signaling responses based on the joint contribution of the ICT and CHEF processes. A 1:1 stoichiometry for the L -Al 3 + complex was formed with an association constant of 7.6 × 10 4 M − 1 , and the limit of detection for Al 3 + was determined as 6.9 μM. In addition, L was successfully applied to the determination of Al 3 + in real water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A superhydrophobic coating composed of epoxy on the bottom and siloxane-modified silica on the top was prepared by employing the scraping and spraying methods. The superhydrophobic coating possesses excellent mechanical properties, is superhydrophobic (water contact angle, WCA = 164.3°), and has low adhesion. The long-term corrosion resistance of the epoxy coating and the superhydrophobic coating in a 3.5 % NaCl solution and hydrogen sulfide environment was assessed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), polarization curve analysis, immersion testing, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Test results indicate that the superhydrophobic coating has excellent anti-corrosion capability in an H 2 S environment for 50 days and in a 3.5 % NaCl solution for 60 days. This is of great significance for developing the potential applications of superhydrophobic coatings in H 2 S environments. [Display omitted] • Epoxy resin and superhydrophobic surface combination for carbon steel substrate protection. • The coating showed anticorrosive effect in 3.5 % sodium chloride solution. • Superhydrophobic surface has excellent corrosion resistance in H 2 S environment of alternating temperatures and humidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase change materials (PCMs) are potential candidates in passive thermal regulation and energy storage fields due to their high latent heat capacity around phase transition temperature. However, the leakage problem and low thermal conductivity are two obstructive factors for the extended application of PCMs. Herein, a series of paraffin@silicon dioxide microcapsules (Pa@SiO 2)/graphene sheets (GS)/silicone rubber (SR) phase change composites (PCCs) were prepared. It is found that the inorganic SiO 2 shell is conducive to enhancing the thermal conductivity of PCCs and the double encapsulation by the SiO 2 shell and SR skeleton can restrict the leakage of liquid Pa during phase transition. With a Pa@SiO 2 content of 70 wt%, the PCCs have a high latent heat of 126.1 J/g and enhanced thermal conductivity of 0.37 W m−1 K−1, which is 131.25% higher compared to that of pure SR. In addition, the introduction of graphene sheets further boosts the thermal conductivity of PCCs to 2.69 W m−1 K−1. The obtained PCCs lead to a surprising temperature decline of nearly 35 °C of a commercial lithium-ion battery during a high discharge rate (7.4 C). This work provides an efficient route to fabricate microcapsules-based PCCs for passive thermal regulation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a symbolic ceramic oxide, the reaction of SiO 2 as an insulating layer with the Fe–Si–Al/SiO 2 soft magnetic composites (SMCs), substrate during heat treatment, as well as the resulting microscopic phase transition of the core–shell structure and its influence on the magnetic properties, are worth investigating. In this study, based on the successful synthesis of Fe–Si–Al based SMCs using fluidised chemical vapour deposition combined with an electric hot–press sintering method, the evolution of the insulating layers was investigated under different heat–treatment temperatures and closely linked to the magnetic performance of the composites. During heat treatment at high temperatures, the formation of high–resistivity oxides (Al 2 O 3) after heat treatment results in a low inter–particle eddy current loss, while excessive temperature causes disintegration of the core–shell heterostructure. This leads to a discernible increase in eddy current and hysteresis losses and a decrease in permeability and resistivity. The SMCs had an Ms of 115.8 emu/g, a resistivity of 6.86 mΩ cm, and a hysteresis loss of 56.3 kW/m3 at 10 mT and 100 kHz when heat-treated at 1373 K for 120 min, which was the best among all samples. This research provides a novel approach to building SMCs with inorganic ceramic insulating layers and a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the heat–treatment process parameters, microstructure, and magnetic properties which is highly significant for industrial production. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel adaptation of transformers for handwriting recognition tasks, bypassing recurrent neural nets. • Competitive results achieved in low resource scenario with synthetically pretrained model. • Extensive ablation and comparative studies conducted to understand and modify transformer properly for HTR. • Implicit language modelling ability proved. • The state-of-the-art performance achieved on public IAM dataset. The advent of recurrent neural networks for handwriting recognition marked an important milestone reaching impressive recognition accuracies despite the great variability that we observe across different writing styles. Sequential architectures are a perfect fit to model text lines, not only because of the inherent temporal aspect of text, but also to learn probability distributions over sequences of characters and words. However, using such recurrent paradigms comes at a cost at training stage, since their sequential pipelines prevent parallelization. In this work, we introduce a novel method that bypasses any recurrence during the training process with the use of transformer models. By using multi-head self-attention layers both at the visual and textual stages, we are able to tackle character recognition as well as to learn language-related dependencies of the character sequences to be decoded. Our model is unconstrained to any predefined vocabulary, being able to recognize out-of-vocabulary words, i.e. words that do not appear in the training vocabulary. We significantly advance over prior art and demonstrate that satisfactory recognition accuracies are yielded even in few-shot learning scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Array transducers can allow wavelength and frequency selectivity and can be used to generate different types of waves, such as ultrasonic bulk or guided waves. Dual-array transducers consist of two interlaced arrays, where the elements of each array are electrically connected. Therefore, by driving each array with a pair of phased pulses one can achieve a degree of wave generation control that allows unidirectional generation, unlike single array transducers that generate waves in both 0° and 180° directions with respect to the array's longitudinal axis. In this paper, we present a one-dimensional analytical model to determine the ultrasonic waves generated by dual-array transducers based on the excitability of the array in the frequency–wavenumber domain, the so-called operation region, determined by the joint spatial and temporal spectrum of the dual-array. We further exploited it to analyse the effectiveness of unidirectional generation with time-delayed excitation signals that provide ideal constructive or destructive interferences. The model also provides the time-domain received waveforms, which were compared to experimentally generated shear-horizontal ultrasonic guided waves, with a dual periodic permanent magnet array electromagnetic acoustic transducer, showing very good agreement. The adequate selection of the excitation signal allowed one to obtain up to about 40 dB unidirectionality experimentally. • Dual-array transducers are modelled in the frequency–wavenumber domain. • The interference mechanism of two types of time-delayed pulses is analysed. • A Dual-PPM EMAT is used to experimentally generate SH guided waves unidirectionally. • Model-predicted time-domain signals and experimental ones show excellent agreement. • About 40 dB unidirectionality was achieved with the ideal excitation pulses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe a new modification of the Koyanagi technique for the one-stage repair of severe hypospadias and its short-term outcomes.Patients and Methods: Our modified Koyanagi technique was performed in 24 patients with severe hypospadias between February 2012 and January 2015. The age of the patients ranged from 1.9 to 11.9 years (mean = 3.5 years). The flap design was similar to the Koyanagi technique, but our modified technique highlighted the following points: after the chordee was completely corrected, the urethral plate was recreated using foreskin, and then a U-shaped incision was made on the original and recreated urethral plate (as in the Duplay technique); a pedicled flap of the tunica vaginalis or scrotal dartos was used for additional coverage of the neourethra.Results: The operation time lasted from 120 to 150 minutes (mean = 140 minutes). There were 5 patients (20.8%) who developed complications: 4 patients (16.7%) developed a fistula and 1 patient (4.2%) developed dehiscence of the urethra. There were no reported urethral strictures, meatal stenosis, or urethral diverticula. The complications in the 5 patients were successfully addressed with secondary repair, and all patients achieved satisfactory cosmetic and urethral functional results.Conclusion: The modified Koyanagi technique simplified the operation and better preserved the blood supply to the flap. The additional coverage of the neourethra using a pedicled flap of the tunica vaginalis or scrotal dartos significantly decreased the rate of fistula formation. This technique is highly suitable for the one-stage repair of severe hypospadias with penoscrotal transposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bicycling and walking are gaining popularity for both commuting and recreation. However, when faced with limited right-of-way width, many transportation agencies find it impractical to designate separate space for bicyclists in urban roadway corridors, instead devoting their limited funds to other projects. As a result, some bicyclists – feeling threatened by motor vehicles – use sidewalks for at least part of their trip. Laws governing bicyclist use of sidewalks are not consistently enforced in various cities and countries. Pedestrian-bicycle shared space has rarely been studied from a pedestrian's perspective in an urban context. Therefore, gaining a better understanding of the factors that influence pedestrian attitudes toward sharing a sidewalk with bicyclists can be useful in evaluating shared space strategies and guiding investments in bicycle facilities. Using the responses of 114 persons to 15 carefully constructed 60-s video clips of urban sidewalks in four Chinese cities, this study characterizes pedestrian attitudes regarding sharing sidewalks with bicycles under different sidewalk configurations. By estimating a random parameters ordered probability model (to account for unobserved heterogeneity across respondents), we found pedestrians who wanted a “safe distance” greater than 1.5 meters were more likely to possess a less tolerant attitude. Attitudes of pedestrians toward bicyclists on sidewalks also depend on the presence or absence of dedicated bicycle facilities. The effects of other significant factors are also quantified in this paper. Implications for policy makers in evaluating shared-space strategy can be drawn from this empirical study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose We investigated whether a 99m Tc radiolabeled anti-miRNA-155 oligonucleotide (AMO-155) could visualize the expression of miR-155 in multiple kinds of tumors in vivo . Methods AMO-155 was chemically synthesized and modified with 2′- O -methyl (2′-OMe) and phosphorothioate (PS). It was radiolabeled with 99m Tc via the conjugation with NHS-MAG3 at 5′ end. The characterization of radiolabeling and serum stability was evaluated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and agarose gel electrophoresis. The expression of C/EBPβ, one of the miR-155 target proteins, was assessed using Western blot. The cellular uptake and delivery of AMO-155 was further evaluated in tumor cells. 99m Tc-AMO-155 was tested in vivo in multiple tumor models, including miR-155 over-expressed and low-expressed tumor models. Finally, biodistribution of 99m Tc-AMO-155 was evaluated. Results 99m Tc-AMO-155 was prepared with high yield and radiochemical purity. It showed high stability in fresh human serum for 10 h. 99m Tc-AMO-155 displayed comparable capacity as unlabeled AMO-155 to increase the expression of C/EBPβ protein in MCF-7 cells. 99m Tc-AMO-155 showed an increased radioactive uptake in MCF-7 cells after 8 h of incubation, whereas no change of 99m Tc-pertechnetate uptake was observed. Carboxyfluorescein (FAM) labeled AMO-155 had higher fluorescent delivery than Control in HeLa and HepG2 cells by confocal microscopy. In miR-155 over-expressed tumor models, 99m Tc-AMO-155 showed significantly higher tumor accumulation than 99m Tc-Control. Furthermore, 99m Tc-AMO-155 was capable of discriminating between MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 tumors based on their expression of miR-155. Conclusions Our study successfully prepared and proved 99m Tc-AMO-155 as a prospective imaging agent for the noninvasive visualization of miR-155 expression in vivo . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report zircon U–Pb dating, Hf isotopes, geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopic data, with the aim the petrogenesis and regional tectonic evolution of Early Devonian bimodal volcanic rock in the South Altyn, NW China. New LA-ICPMS zircon U–Pb isotopic data constrained them at ca. 406 Ma. The mafic samples are characterized by high Fe, Cr and Ni contents, low Ti and Mg contents, slightly enriched LREE patterns, and low (La/Yb) N , La/Nb and La/Ta ratios, and positive ε Nd ( t ) values (+3.3 to +3.4), indicating that they were likely derived from strong batch-melting of the asthenosphere in the spinel facies field. The felsic rocks show an A-type affinity, with high alkalis, Fe, Ga, Zr, Nb, Ce and Y contents, low Mg, Sr content, high Rb/Sr and Ga/Al ratios, enrichment in LILE (e.g., Rb, K, Th, U and LREE) and depletion in Ba, Sr, Nb, Ta, P and Ti, and fractionated REE patterns with very strong negative Eu anomalies. These features, along with distinct ε Nd ( t ) values (−0.5 to +2.3) and mostly positive ε Hf ( t ) (−0.29 to +5.18), indicate that the felsic rocks were mainly generated by partial melting of the crust in low pressure and high temperature conditions, and simultaneously underwent slight magma mixing of such melts with mantle magma. According to the petrogenetic schemes and geological background of the Early Devonian bimodal volcanic rocks (tholeiite and A-type dacite–rhyolite), they should have formed in a post-collisional extensional setting. Moreover, on the basis of spatial and temporal distribution, and formation mechanism, the tectonic magmatic evolution of the early Paleozoic South Altyn Tagh could be divided into three stages: ① 505–472 Ma (continental collision), the magmatite formed under high-pressure conditions due to the deep subduction and initial tearing of continental slab; ② 467–450 Ma (continental slab break-off), the magmatite formed at high temperature and low pressure in virtue of felsic upper crust uplifting and mantle magma underplating; and ③ 432–385 Ma (post-collisional extension), the magmatite consists of A-type granites and bimodal volcanic rocks, which are the products of the interaction between mantle and crust, and asthenosphere upwelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) films are generally regarded as promising alternatives for non-biodegradable plastics films. However, the shortcomings of high hydrophilic performance, low elongation and poor folding endurance continue to pose challenges in commercial application. In the present study, we established controllable reflectance CNF films by applying a facile and scalable poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) reinforced strategy in a free chemical modification manner. CNF/PBAT films have the favorable combination of hydrophobicity, elongation and folding endurance. The results reveal a significant improvement in the hydrophobic properties of CNF/PBAT films (water contact angle >80°), as well as a 3 times improvement in folding resistance (1210 cycles), a 3.7 times improvement in tensile strength (89.8 MPa) and controlled reflectance properties. Additionally, we examined the hiding power and color difference of the CNF/PBAT films, and explored the underlying principle for the enhanced hydrophobicity, folding resistance, elongation and reflectance. Finally, the CNF/PBAT films exhibited stable comprehensive performance after we applied the films in drinking straws. The present study provides a facile strategy to prepare hydrophobic, folding resistant, reinforced and reflectance-controlled CNF films and could promote industrial use in the fields of glass film, beverage appliances, packaging, and flexible electronic devices. [Display omitted] • Increasing the layer spacing and porosity of CNF films by mixing with SiO2. • Mechanical, elongation, folding and reflectance properties of prepared composite improved markedly. • CNF/PBAT films display a controlled adjustment in reflectance, hiding power, and color difference. • CNF/PBAT films provide stability for packaging, electronics and other advanced applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Melamine modified carbon dots (Me-CDs) exhibits 92.36% corrosion inhibition efficiency on carbon steel in neutral medium. • Adsorption isotherm of Me-CDs conforms to Temkin adsorption model, involving both chemisorption and physisorption. • Hydrophobic Me-CDs film adheres on carbon steel via coordinate-covalent bond and multilayer accumulation effect. Melamine modified carbon dots (Me-CDs) was synthesized by hydrothermal method and used as effective corrosion inhibitor for Q235 carbon steel in 3.5 wt% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution. The microstructure and surface properties of Me-CDs were characterized using XRD, FTIR, XPS and TEM. The corrosion inhibition behavior and mechanism of Me-CDs for carbon steel were investigated using weight loss and electrochemical methods, in combination with some surface characterizations (including SEM, AFM and contact angle tester). Results showed that Me-CDs as mixed-type adsorbent inhibitor could effectively prevent carbon steel from corrosion, and the maximum corrosion inhibition efficiency can reach 92.36% at 200 mg/L. The absorption of Me-CDs conformed to Temkin adsorption model, involving both chemisorption and physisorption. Based on the results of characterization analysis, the chemisorption from multiple adsorption centers, physisorption by blocking and barrier effect, and the formation of hydrophobic film on the surface of carbon steel was proposed to clarify the corrosion inhibition mechanism of Me-CDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel strategy for spraying nanosized soil particles on steel mesh to prepare the superlyophobic soil mesh by a facile surface treatment technology, and successfully apply it to various immiscible liquids separation. [Display omitted] • A multifunctional, sustainable material for immiscible liquid mixtures separation. • Under nonpolar (polar) liquid superlyophobicity of polar (nonpolar) liquid. • Used chemical properties-structure relationships to give material performance. • Low cost manufacturing, environment friendly, dimplicity of operator. • Good corrosion resistance in acidic, alkaline and high salt environment. Immiscible liquids separation has recently become a worldwide challenge due to the expanding industrial activity. It is still thorny to put forward a universal strategy for constructing multi-superlyophobic surfaces in immiscible liquids systems due to a thermodynamic contradiction. Herein, a low-cost, environmentally friendly pre-wetted nanosized soil coated-mesh (NSCM) was prepared, which shows the property of under-nonpolar-liquid superlyophobic to polar liquid, or under-polar-liquid superlyophobic to nonpolar liquid. The NSCM was fabricated in aqueous solutions by spraying melamine formaldehyde resin modified nanosized soil particles on a stainless-steel mesh for selective immiscible liquid separation. After the NSCM is prewetted with heavy liquid, heavy liquid can be removed from the light immiscible liquid mixtures by gravity. The as-prepared NSCM showed a high separation efficiency of above 99% for a series of immiscible liquids mixtures, even after 60 separation cycles. More importantly, the electrochemical tests indicated that the NSCM exhibited the outstanding durability after being immersed in alkali (pH = 10.0, NaOH), acidic (pH = 4.0, HCl) and high-concentrated salt solutions (3.5 wt% NaCl) for 30 days. The calculated R t values were approximately 1.04 × 107, 2.65 × 106 and 7.59 × 105 Ω·cm2, respectively. And the corresponding corrosion rates were 0.013712, 0.96438, and 2.5818 μm/year, respectively. These excellent performances of the NSCM make it an ideal candidate material for separation, and even in a wider field of sea wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Single crystal structure of a novel ultraviolet NLO tourmaline was solved. • Sellmeier equations were obtained by fitting the measured refractive indices. • Phase matching range of the title crystal is obtained from the Sellmeier equations. • The linear and NLO properties were investigated by the experimental and theory calculation. Transparent tourmaline NaAl 9 (BO 3) 3 Si 6 O 21 OH is first reported by combining experimental and theory calculation methods, which exhibits potential ultraviolet nonlinear optical properties. [Display omitted] Tourmaline, as an important mineral, has received intensive interest, since it is not only a valuable gemstone, but also is a piezoelectric or pyroelectric material, due to the polar structural configuration. However, its nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were not explored so far, because a transparent crystal with high transmittance is scarce, being essential to optical functional materials. Here, we report a novel ultraviolet (UV) NLO tourmaline crystal with chemical composition NaAl 9 (BO 3) 3 Si 6 O 21 OH for the first time by combining first-principles analysis and experimental measurements. It exhibits a short UV absorption edge, considerable second harmonic generation effect and moderate birefringence, thereby facilitating its phase-matching coherent beam output in the range from visible to UV regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The amplitude of an ultrasonic signal generated by electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) is typically low when compared to those generated by contacting transducers, which restricts the application of EMATs in the fields of nondestructive testing and nondestructive evaluation. The transmission process of a surface wave EMAT is studied, based on a previously established 3-D model, with the aim of enhancing the amplitude of ultrasonic waves generated by the EMAT. The effect of changing various EMAT parameters on the surface wave is investigated, by utilizing the orthogonal test method. Results indicate that after optimization, the signal amplitude of the EMAT has increased by 25.2%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Superhydrophobic strategies based on condensation and addition reactions. • Oil spill clean-up through selective absorption and active filtration processes. • The scalable manufacturing strategy is low-cost and environment-friendly. oil pollution incidents emerge in endlessly, threatening global ecological security and environmental sustainability. It is a consensus of current scientific research to develop environmentally friendly, sustainable and degradable materials for polluted water body restoration. Cellulose is one of the most attractive candidate materials due to its abundant reserves and all-green degradability. Herein, a technique used to modify lignocellulose fibers via the condensation and addition reactions is reported, and the modified lignocellulose fibers exhibit excellent superhydrophobic and degradation properties. The modification process consists of two main steps: 1) the in situ construction of micro-nano structures on the surface of lignocellulose fibers through the condensation reaction using melamine and formaldehyde; 2) using the addition reaction between the isothiocyanate compound with low surface energy and the amino groups of the melamine resin. The superhydrophobic isothiocyanate/melamine/formaldehyde (IMF) lignocellulose fibers are extremely repellent to water both in atmospheric conditions and underoil. It can separate various oil–water mixtures by absorption (with a high oil absorption capacity of > 1000 wt%) and gravity-driven filtration (with a separation efficiency of > 96%). The embedded superhydrophobicity in the IMF lignocellulose fibers remained unperturbed (with the water contact angle of > 150° and the oil–water separation efficiency of > 97%) even after repeating for 50 cycles. The presented strategy not only indicates a new direction for the comprehensive utilization of abundant lignocellulose fibers, but also proposes a promising way for the development of oil–water remediation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-cost and scalable fabrication processes are needed to prepare efficient superhydrophobic materials, particularly for oil/water separation and metal protection against severe oil spills and metal corrosion. Here, an effective oil/water separation mesh with long-lasting acid/base durability and corrosive resistance is reported. In this work, the mesh was fabricated by simply spraying nano soil particles cross-linked with melamine resin and impregnating them with polyethylene (PE) solution. The multi-layered morphology obtained from the spraying and impregnating process which provides the unique wetting properties for the stainless steel (SS) mesh, such as superhydrophobicity and low water adhesion. Also the low chemical activity of alkyl sp3 carbon-hydrogen bonds provides acid/base resistance for the manufactured material. By utilizing these unique properties, not only can gravity-driven efficient oil/corrosive fluid separation be achieved, but the fabricated superhydrophobic stainless steel (SSS) mesh retains high separation efficiency (> 99%) and superhydrophobicity (water contact angle, WCA > 150°) in reuse process of wastewater in treated oil. More importantly, this excellent protection can effectively reduce the corrosion rate of the mesh by more than two orders of magnitude (SS mesh i corr 1.82 × 10−8 A·cm−2; SSS mesh i corr 9.84 × 10−11 A·cm−2) which providing a long-lasting protection even after 16 days of immersion in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. All in all, the easy operation, acid/base resistance, high separation efficiency, and corrosion inhibition efficiency of the SSS mesh give them great potential for oil/water separation and metal protection applications. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A video-clip based survey was conducted to investigate pedestrian perceived level of service. [•] A random parameters ordered probit model is developed. [•] Bicycles are found to have a strong negative impact on pedestrian perceptions of level of service. [•] The results provide guidance for making sidewalks more pedestrian friendly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Surface wave electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) are becoming preferred sensors of automatic inspection systems for the detection of surface-layer defects in hostile environments. Aiming at establishing a 3-D model for meander-line-coil surface wave EMATs operating on the Lorentz principle, a novel modeling method is proposed by combining numerical calculations and analytical solutions with special attention to the influence of the dynamic magnetic field. Simulation and analysis find that the frequency of the surface waves due to the dynamic magnetic field is twice that due to the static magnetic field; the excitation of surface waves with two frequencies can effectively improve the sensitivity of EMATs to flaws; and the force due to the dynamic magnetic field generates surface waves more efficiently than that due to the static one when the excitation current exceeds 528.9A. The accuracy of the established model is verified by experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The predictive capabilities of the density functional theory with various exchange–correlation functionals on the energy band gaps and optical properties in ultraviolet nonlinear optical (UV NLO) crystals are systematically investigated. We find that the energy band gaps of these crystals can be accurately predicted by the non-local hybrid functionals and sX-LDA functionals, but their calculated optical properties are not consistent with the experimental results compared to the usually adopted LDA or GGA functionals with the scissors corrections. Accordingly, we propose that a precise and effective strategy to study the optical properties in the UV NLO crystals without any experimental parameter should be the combination of different functional calculations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Type 1 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are deadly bloodborne-transmitting pathogens. Due to sharing the routes of transmission, co-infection of HIV-1 and HCV is common with a high rate. Co-infection of HCV affects morbidity and mortality of patients with AIDS and impairs their tolerance to antiretroviral therapy. In this study, the roles of HCV proteins in the regulation of HIV-1 replication and the molecular mechanism involved in such regulation were investigated. We demonstrated that HCV NS3 protein stimulated HIV-1 LTR transcription and that HIV-1 Vpu protein was required for the activation of HIV-1 transcription regulated by HCV NS3/4A complex. Further study revealed that Vpu mediated ubiquitination-associated degradation of NS4A, detached NS3/4A complex and release NS3 for nuclear translocation. Since both degradation of NS4A and activation of HIV-1 LTR were closely correlated and mediated by Vpu, we proposed that Vpu impairs the stability of NS4A and releases NS3 from NS3/4A complex for the stimulation of HIV-1 transcription. This study enriched our understanding on HIV-1/HCV co-infection and provided new insights in molecular mechanism involved in the co-infection of the two viruses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Good thermal stability and high quantum efficiency (QE) are desirable properties for phosphors applied in white light-emitting diodes field. In this work, a Ce3+ doped phosphor Ba 2 LuAl 3 Si 2 O 12 :Ce3+ (BaLuAS:Ce3+) was designed and successfully obtained. Structure analysis of Ba 2 LuAl 3 Si 2 O 12 indicates that it adopts garnet structure and crystallizes in space group I a ¯3 d (No.230) of the cubic system. The wavelength-dependent photoluminescence emission property and the mechanism of concentration quenching effect of BaLuAS:xCe3+ were investigated systematically. The PL emission exhibits high thermal quenching resistance with the quenching temperature (T 50%) reaching up to 673 K (400 °C). By measuring thermoluminescence, the thermal ionization process was discussed. To compensate for the lack of orange-red emission region and avoid using multiple phosphors, Mn2+ ions were introduced into the host. The remarkable enhancements of the orange band are attributed to an efficient nonradiative energy transfer from Ce3+ to Mn2+ ions, which has been testified by the photoluminescence spectra and fluorescence decay dynamics. The w-LED fabrication results suggest that the broad emission of BaLuAS:Ce3+, Mn2+ is suitable for applying in high-quality warm w-LED. Targeted garnet phosphor Ce3+ doped Ba 2 LuAl 3 Si 2 O 12 was achieved via the hetero-valence substitution of Lu3+-Al3+ by Ba2+-Si4+ pairs starting from Lu 3 Al 5 O 12 : Ce3+ and the red component in the emission spectrum has been enhanced through Ce3+-Mn2+ energy transfer. Image 1 • The crystal structure of the compound and the corresponding specific position of Lu/Ba, Al/Si atoms were analysized. • The IQE and EQE of the BaLuASO:0.12Ce3+ phosphor can reach 88.2% and 49.7%, respectively. • The high luminescence quenching temperature (∼673 K) has been well established. • The effective energy transfer from the Ce3+ to Mn2+ ions was justified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel integrated language model for handwriting word recognition. • A sequence-to-sequence approach for handwritten word recognition.. • Candidate fusion incorporates language statistics and commonly produced errors. • We achieve state-of-the-art performances challenging datasets. Sequence-to-sequence models have recently become very popular for tackling handwritten word recognition problems. However, how to effectively integrate an external language model into such recognizer is still a challenging problem. The main challenge while training a language model is to deal with the language model corpus which is usually different to the one used for training the handwritten word recognition system. Thus, the bias between both word corpora leads to incorrectness on the transcriptions, providing similar or even worse performances on the recognition task. In this work, we introduce Candidate Fusion, a novel way to integrate an external language model to a sequence-to-sequence architecture. Moreover, it provides suggestions from an external language knowledge, as a new input to the sequence-to-sequence recognizer. Hence, Candidate Fusion provides two improvements. On the one hand, the sequence-to-sequence recognizer has the flexibility to not only combine the information from itself and the language model, but also choose the importance of the information provided by the language model. On the other hand, the external language model has the ability to adapt itself to the training corpus and even learn the most common errors produced from the recognizer. Finally, by conducting comprehensive experiments, the Candidate Fusion proves to outperform the state-of-the-art language models for handwritten word recognition tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) with high through-plane thermal conductivity (TC), softness, and electrical insulation are highly desired for modern electronics. However, it is challenging to simultaneously achieve these properties. Boron nitride (BN)-based polymer composites are promising candidates for advanced TIMs owing to the high TC and great electrical insulation of BN. However, previous works perform either low TC (< 8 W m−1 K−1) or high stiffness. The ultimate properties of BN-based TIMs remain largely unclear and unrealized. Here, we fabricate BN film-filled silicone rubber composites by a facile stacking-cutting method, which maintains the high degree of orientation the BN film, so that a record-high though-plane TC of 19.1 W m−1 K−1 and a low compressive modulus of 5.42 MPa are achieved. The low BN content (37 vol%) ensures the softness and resilience of the as-prepared TIMs. This work presents a highly efficient strategy to enhance the performance of BN based TIMs, promoting their large-scale manufacturing and practical applications. • Thermal interface materials based on boron nitride film (BNF) were fabricated by a facile stacking-cutting method. • The composites exhibit a high degree of orientation and densely overlapped structures. • The composites show a record-high though-plane TC of 19.1 W m−1 K−1 at 37 vol% BN content and a low compressive modulus of 5.42 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally investigate the reflection behaviors of negative permeability metamaterials (NPMs) consisting of a periodic array of copper hexagonal split ring resonators (SRRs). Results show that, for the two-dimensional (2-D) NPMs samples, a reflectivity peak with the height of 10 dB appears near the resonance frequency, and the reflectivity is remarkably weak on both sides of the transmission gap; the reflection behaviors of 3-D samples similar to that of the 2-D ones are strongly affected by the lattice constants; the reflection phase increases with the frequency, and an inflexion exists at the resonance frequency of 2-D samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed in situ Raman scattering and synchrotron angle-dispersive X-ray diffraction (ADXRD) investigations to explore high-pressure behaviors of azodicarbonamide (C 2 N 4 O 2 H 4 , ADC) to 21.6 and 23.8 GPa, respectively. ADC exhibits the representative two-dimensional (2D) hydrogen-bonded networks, and is the most hugely used foaming agent in industry both under ambient and high pressures. Careful identification of external modes and indexation of Bragg diffraction peaks under different pressures demonstrate ADC crystal remains the P 2 1 / c symmetry in this study. The bulk modulus (B 0) and its pressure derivative (B 0 ') are determined to be 13.2(7) GPa and 8.2(2) by fitting the isothermal third Vinet equation of state (EOS). The conformation change of ADC molecule has been observed at 12.7 GPa. And this is evidenced by the splitting of skeleton atoms vibrations and the discontinuous evolutions with respect to hydrogen bond donor (NH) vibrations. First principle calculation reveals the observed confirmation change arises from the discontinuous variation of the torsion angel between H 2 NC=O and CN=NC skeleton groups. Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates that the extensive hydrogen bonds within 2D networks dominate the intermolecular close contacts even under high pressures. The intermolecular interaction energy calculation also implies that the energy between neighboring molecules in the 2D layer dominates the networks stability, whereas the energy between neighboring molecules in the second nearest adjacent layer is the primary factor for crystal instability. The cooperativity of the molecular flexibility and directional hydrogen bonds is responsible for structural stability under high pressures. • The conformation change of ADC molecule has been observed at 12.7 GPa, which is evidenced by the splitting of skeleton atoms vibrations and the discontinuous evolutions with respect to hydrogen bond donor (NH) vibrations. • The intermolecular interaction energy calculation indicates that the unique 2D layer is a dominant factor for the stability, whereas the molecules in adjacent 2D layers play a prominent role in the instability of ADC under high pressures. • The intermolecular hydrogen bonds are strengthened through inspect of N and H contact contributions to Hirshfeld surfaces at high pressures. • The bulk modulus and its pressure derivative are determined to be 13.2(7) GPa and 8.2(2) by fitting the isothermal third Vinet equation of state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]