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[Display omitted] • Perturbing O-antigen ligation shortened the resuscitating lag phase. • Higher ATP levels of Δ rfaL VBNC cells promote resuscitation. • ATP consumption during lag phase was highly correlated with resuscitation efficiency. • ATP was utilized to activate the Handler and salvage pathways to synthesize NAD+. • VBNC cells using residual ATP recover metabolic activity, driving cells to exit dormancy. Entry into the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state is a survival strategy adopted by bacteria to survive harsh environment. Although VBNC cells still have metabolic activity, they lose the ability to form colonies on nonselective culture media. Thus, conventional bacterial detection methods, such as plate counting, are unable to detect the presence of VBNC cells. When the environmental conditions are appropriate, VBNC cells can initiate resuscitation, posing a great risk to the safety of public health. The study of the VBNC resuscitation mechanism could provide new insights into the prevention and control of VBNC resuscitation. Uncovering the molecular mechanism of VBNC cell resuscitation by investigating the role of O-antigen ligase (RfaL) in inhibiting the resuscitation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in the VBNC state. RfaL was screened and verified as a resuscitation inhibitor of VBNC Escherichia coli O157:H7 by detecting resuscitation curve and time-lapse microscopy. The mechanism of RfaL impacts VBNC E. coli resuscitation was investigated by detecting the single cell ATP content, metabolomic changes, NAD(H) content and new protein biosynthesis of WT and Δ rfaL at different stage of resuscitation. Mutation of rfaL , which encoded an O-antigen ligase, markedly shortened the resuscitating lag phase. Further studies indicated that Δ rfaL VBNC cells contained higher ATP levels, and ATP consumption during the resuscitating lag phase was highly correlated with resuscitation efficiency. Metabolomic analysis revealed that ATP was utilized to activate the Handler and salvage pathways to synthesize NAD+, balancing redox reactions to recover cell activity and promote cell resuscitation. Our findings revealed a strategy employed by VBNC cells for revival, that is, using residual ATP to primarily recover metabolic activity, driving cells to exit dormancy. The synthesis pathway of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rfaL null mutant was inhibited and could supply more ATP to synthesis NAD+ and promote resuscitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triethanolamine (TEA) has been broadly used as the organic amine conditioning agent to modify the workability of cement-based materials. However, the effect of TEA on the structure and property of porous silicate cement membranes has not been reported. In this paper, TEA was applied to study its effect on parameters of porous silicate cement membranes based on the preparation method combining freeze casting and heat-dry curing, because it is easy to form complexes with cement particles. The effect and acting mechanism of TEA on porous silicate cement membranes were researched using a series of characterizations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Results showed that TEA significantly improved the performance of porous silicate cement membranes. The addition of TEA changed the pore morphology of porous silicate cement membranes from lamellar structures to cellular structures, with mesoporous size distribution focusing on 2.5–4.5 nm at TEA doping ratio of 0.16 wt%. The oil-water separation performance could reach up to 99.6 %. Through comprehensive comparison, the porous silicate cement membrane with 1.0 wt% TEA showed better holistic preponderance of oil-water separation and permeation flux. Quantum chemistry calculation and MD simulation were used to briefly explain the influence of TEA on phase transformation. MD showed that adding TEA changed the morphology and structure of ice crystals. The percentage of the Ih structure significantly increased from 53 % to 86 % after adding TEA. This study might expand the application of TEA in other aspects and enlighten relevant workers in new experimental designs. [Display omitted] • TEA noticeably changed the pore morphology form lamellar to cellular structures. • Cement membranes doped TEA showed excellent separation performance and stability. • Effects of TEA on crystals were analyzed via quantum chemistry and MD simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparation of porous cement-based materials via freeze casting is a process with great potential. However, freeze-drying and steam curing complicate the preparation process and increase the preparation period. To simplify the process, heat-dry curing was used for replacing freeze-drying and steam curing during operation. The new preparation method combined freeze casting and heat-dry curing possesses characteristics of low-energy, simplicity, and time-saving. Compared with the traditional preparation method of porous cement-based materials, the novel preparation process can shorten preparation time by at least 16 % and retrench energy consumption by at least 18 %. As the improvement condition, temperature of heat-drying curing has great influence on the structure and performance of the samples. Therefore, it is of great significance to discuss the relationship between heat-dry temperatures and structural parameters by SEM, N 2 -adsorption/desorption, TG, and ATR-FTIR. Lamellar pores of membranes can be easier observed at low temperatures than that at 100 °C. The separation performance of oil-water is generally improved with the increase of temperature. Meanwhile, the molecular dynamics simulation was operated to illustrate the reaction mechanism of hydration with three temperatures. This study probably provides more theoretical basis for expanding the application of porous silicate cement membranes. [Display omitted] • Novel coupled method simplifies the fabricating process complexity of cement-based samples. • Influences of heat-dry curing temperatures on porous silicate cement membranes are discussed. • Silicate cement membranes own excellent permeation, oil-water separation and mechanical strengths. • Influences of heat-dry curing temperatures are illustrated by using molecular dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparation of porous cement-based materials via freeze casting is a process with great potential. However, freeze-drying and steam curing complicate the preparation process and increase the preparation period. To simplify the process, heat-dry curing was used for replacing freeze-drying and steam curing during operation. The new preparation method combined freeze casting and heat-dry curing possesses characteristics of low-energy, simplicity, and time-saving. Compared with the traditional preparation method of porous cement-based materials, the novel preparation process can shorten preparation time by at least 16 % and retrench energy consumption by at least 18 %. As the improvement condition, temperature of heat-drying curing has great influence on the structure and performance of the samples. Therefore, it is of great significance to discuss the relationship between heat-dry temperatures and structural parameters by SEM, N 2 -adsorption/desorption, TG, and ATR-FTIR. Lamellar pores of membranes can be easier observed at low temperatures than that at 100 °C. The separation performance of oil-water is generally improved with the increase of temperature. Meanwhile, the molecular dynamics simulation was operated to illustrate the reaction mechanism of hydration with three temperatures. This study probably provides more theoretical basis for expanding the application of porous silicate cement membranes. [Display omitted] • Novel coupled method simplifies the fabricating process complexity of cement-based samples. • Influences of heat-dry curing temperatures on porous silicate cement membranes are discussed. • Silicate cement membranes own excellent permeation, oil-water separation and mechanical strengths. • Influences of heat-dry curing temperatures are illustrated by using molecular dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BNT-6BT-based lead-free ceramics have gained significant attention due to their relatively large piezoelectric coefficients and tunable morphotropic phase boundary conditions. In this investigation, SrTiO 3 (ST) was added to BNT-6BT ceramics to fabricate the BNT-6BT- x ST (BNBT- x ST) composition. The impact of ST content on the phase structure and dielectric permittivity of the BNBT- x ST ceramics was studied. The XRD refinement data show that with increasing ST content, the crystal structure of BNBT- x ST ceramics was transformed from the morphotropic phase structure (coexisting tetragonal (P4/mmm) and pseudo-cubic (Pmm) phase) to the pseudo-cubic phase. The dielectric permittivity data of the BNBT-80ST showed that the T m (the maximum permittivity temperature) moved to −61.9 °C, which caused the room temperature to fall within the range of T m < T < T B (the Burns temperature). This makes the BNBT-80ST a superparaelectric state in relaxor ferroelectrics (RFE). Furthermore, the maximum energy density and the charge-discharge efficiency of the BNBT-80ST achieved 5.48 J/cm3 and 87% at 495 kV/cm, respectively. The energy density of the BNBT-80ST was improved by 2.97-fold and 49% compared with that of the BNBT-30ST and BNBT-70ST. This is mostly attributed to weakened ferroelectricity and improved paraelectricity in the BNBT-80ST. This investigation demonstrates that BNBT- x ST ceramics can be adjusted to a superparaelectric state with an ST content of 80%. This makes the material to possess both a large polarization and a high breakdown field. This material holds great promise for high energy density capacitor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of local structural coupling between the buffer and the superconducting layers on the superconductivity of a GdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (GdBCO)/La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSMO) bilayer. Epitaxial bilayers consisting of GdBCO with varying thicknesses (100, 300, and 500 nm), with and without LSMO (100 nm), were fabricated on a (001) SrTiO 3 substrate. To investigate the local structural distortion within the GdBCO/LSMO system, the temperature-dependent extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra were measured at the Mn- and Cu–K absorption edges. The EXAFS analyses revealed local structural non-uniformity, which manifested as anomalies in the temperature dependence of both the Mn–O and Cu–O bond distributions. A strong correlation exists between the local structural distortion of the Mn–O bond and the degree of lattice instability in the CuO 2 plane, which exhibits a strong thickness dependence. The inter-atomic potential of oxygen oscillations with an anharmonic approximation was adopted to interpret the structural anomalies. As a result, a double-well potential was obtained near T c , owing to the occurrence of longer Cu–O bonds in the CuO 2 plane. The difference in the degree of structural anomalies depending on the GdBCO thickness manifested as a difference in the distance between the two wells, which closely correlates with the appearance of a superconducting state. These experimental results demonstrate the role of local lattice fluctuations in the superconducting mechanism of the GdBCO/LSMO bilayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A direct joining of sapphire and Fe–36Ni alloy was successfully realized via femtosecond laser micro-welding for the first time. A sound joint without any voids or microcracks was obtained with a narrow interface width less than 1 μm. There was no obvious element diffusion or metallurgical reactions at the interface. Sapphire and Fe–36Ni alloy were found chemically bonded and mechanically interlocked evidenced by jagged feature at the interface due to "cold" machining of femtosecond laser ablation. The highly localized femtosecond laser irradiation and smaller heat-affected zone contributed to the shear strength of the joint as high as 108.35 MPa. A higher laser scanning speed corresponded with less jagged feature and thermal stress due to the reduced thermal deposition at the interface. Proper micro-welding parameters were obtained for sapphire/Fe–36Ni alloy, and was verified in the direct joining of sapphire/steel and sapphire/silicon. It appears the femtosecond laser micro-welding technique is promising for direct joining of materials with large physical property disparities, and beneficial for manufacturing of optomechanical components at high precision, efficiency and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous silicate cement membranes (PSCMs) fabricated by the freeze casting method show great potential to be utilized in seawater pretreatment, fermentation broth separation, and industrial wastewater treatment due to its merit of high-temperature resistance, low-cost, and hierarchically ordered porous structures, while the freeze casting method is complex and time-consuming. In this work, a combination of freeze casting and heat-dry curing was initially applied to generate PSCMs. The preparation periods of PSCMs could be shortened by simplifying preparation processes and reducing curing time. The resulting membranes presented double-layer structures, containing a nucleation zone (N-zone) with dense structures and a stability zone (S-zone) with lamellar pore structures. The X-ray diffraction pattern of membranes displayed the mixed hexagonal and rhombohedral structures. This novel method could save more than half of energy consumption compared with the traditional preparation technology of silicate cement samples. The membranes with a mesopore size of 3.794 nm showed high permeation performance with pure water flux reaching 207.23 L m−2 h−1 under 0.15 MPa and room temperature. The separation efficiency of oil-water was 78.05% under operating pressure of 0.05 MPa. Molecular dynamics simulation was applied to narrate the microscopic process of transformation during heat-dry curing, and obtained a good similarity of consequences between the computational method simulation and experimental operation. [Display omitted] • Freeze casting combined with heat-dry curing to fabricate porous silicate cement membrane. • Freeze drying and steam curing were replaced using heat-dry curing. • Porous silicate cement membranes showed lamellar porous structures. • Molecular dynamics simulation was used to elucidate the hydration process of heat-dry curing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using chitosan (CTS) and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC Na) as raw biobased materials, polyelectrolyte complex (PEC), which is the product of strong electrostatic interaction between two bio-based polyelectrolytes with opposite charges, was attempted to prepare. To enlarge the reactive contact area between CTS and CMC Na, the crosslinked vacuolar structure of PEC was prepared without addition of cross-linked agent. The preparation conditions had a significant impact on the yield of PEC and the bibulous rate of PEC. When pH, mass ratio of CMC-Na-to-CTS, stirring speed and reaction system temperature were 5, 1:2 [(1 wt% CMC Na, 2 wt% CTS), CMC-Na:CTS = 1:1 (v /v)], 800 rpm, 2 min and 25 °C, the yield of PEC reached 71.2 %. The prepared PEC was characterized by XRD and FT-IR. Afterwards, the antibacterial performance of PEC was examined. The prepared PEC had certain bacteriostatic effect on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The bacteriostasis ratios of PEC against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were 18.7 % and 31.3 %, respectively. By controlling the combination parameters of the preparation system, an effective strategy was successfully developed for preparation of biobased PEC with bacteriostatic and crosslinked vacuolar structure through simple physical blending without the application of additional crosslinker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite existing debates on the maritime cluster's institutional composition, geographical boundary, or evolutionary patterns, few studies have empirically scrutinized the relatedness of industrial sectors inside a maritime cluster. This study aims to develop an industry-relatedness model to quantitatively measure the paired industry relatedness among three maritime sectors: port-related, shipping-related, and maritime business services. Maritime sectors can be labour-intensive or capital-intensive, and thereby we constructed a compound ratio of capital per capita to address the heterogeneity issue in evaluating the industry relatedness. Instead of focusing on a specific maritime cluster, we applied the model to three representative maritime clusters, namely Western Europe, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), to enhance the generalizability of our findings and implications. Findings suggest that the maritime cluster in Western Europe is characterized by more inter-sector connections. In Western Europe, Ship owning and operating , and Ship management and agency are found to operate with the highest relatedness; GBA has a polarized maritime industry structure with Hong Kong specializing in Ship finance and Shipbroking ; cities in YRD operate with a speciality in Shipbuilding and repairing. This study found that differences in industry relatedness are mainly attributable to the focal region's evolutionary history and governance structure. We also provided a valuable reference for policymakers to plan and improve local and regional maritime cluster development. • Modify the co-occurrence model by considering the heterogeneity of different maritime sectors. • Quantify the industry relatedness between different maritime sectors. • Compare three typical maritime clusters in terms of maritime industry-relatedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The influences of seven critical parameters on the performance of dual-fuel engines were well investigated. • Methanol substitution for diesel benefits emissions reduction at low load and improves fuel economy at high load. • Soot and NOx emissions exhibit a sudden change at a diesel injection angle of 70°. • An increase in the initial swirl ratio improves fuel economy, reduces the ringing intensity, and lowers soot emissions at low load. Replacing fossil fuels with clean fuels as power sources is an effective method to reduce greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions, and methanol is a potential solution due to its excellent physical and chemical properties. The study comprehensively investigated the influences of the methanol substitution ratio (R m), three initial cylinder parameters, and three diesel injection parameters on the combustion and emission characteristics of a methanol/diesel dual fuel compression combustion engine. A CFD model coupling with the reaction mechanism for a dual-fuel engine was established and fully verified. The results indicate that methanol substitution for diesel benefits emissions reduction at low load and improves fuel economy at high load. Delaying the diesel injection time and increasing the diesel injection duration time deteriorate fuel economy but reduce NO x emissions. Soot and NO x emissions exhibit a sudden change at a diesel injection angle of 70°. Increasing the initial temperature of the combustion chamber promotes combustion while increasing the initial pressure improves fuel economy. The effect of the initial swirl ratio is mainly observed at low load, where an increase in the initial swirl ratio improves fuel economy, reduces ringing intensity (RI), and lowers soot emissions. The conclusion of this article will guide the development of clean power sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Micro-ellipsometry, employing a pixelated polarizing camera, enables rapid and accurate measurements of thin films. • A pixelated polarizing camera captures four subpixel images simultaneously. • Precise alignment of polarizing optics enhances the accuracy of the system. Micro-ellipsometry, an on-axis optical configuration, offers submicron spatial resolution compared to conventional ellipsometry. However, its lower precision, inaccurate system calibration, and alignment requirements have prevented its widespread use for semiconductor inspection. To address these limitations, we propose an enhanced micro-ellipsometry equipped with a pixelated polarizing camera. This approach enables real-time and high-precision characterization of the optical properties of thin films and semiconductor devices. Additionally, we propose a simple and fast alignment method for polarizing optical elements, utilizing the symmetric property of micro-ellipsometry along the azimuth angle. Experimental results were in good agreement with commercial ellipsometry, validating our proposed technique as a powerful tool for real-time semiconductor inspection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Vibro-acoustic modulation analysis is carried out to identify the micro-cracks in steel strands. • Modulated signal bispectrum is proposed to analyze the nonlinear signal of contact-type defect. • The modulated signal bispectrum provides clear peak detection under high noise conditions. • Numerical and experimental tests of straight/helical wire and multi-wire strands are verified. Under continuous environmental erosion and long-time high tension, fatigue micro-cracks of bridge cables appear frequently to challenge the reliability of cables. The vibro-acoustic modulation analysis is adopted because of its sensitivity to contact-type defects, especially fatigue cracks. In this paper, using multiple sets of low-frequency vibration and high-frequency ultrasonic excitation, the propagation of the ultrasonic wave in the steel strands is studied. Then, the modulated signal bispectrum is proposed to improve the detection reliability of nonlinear modulation components in the nonlinear vibro-acoustic modulation signal of the contact-type defect. The numerical simulations and laboratory tests of straight wire, helical wire, and multi-wire strands are carried out for micro-crack detection to verify the robustness of the proposed method. Compared with the traditional method, the modulated signal bispectrum can still produce clearer peak detection under high noise conditions. The results show that it provides a promising, dynamic and rapid cable defect detection technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Neuropathic pain is chronic pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. Neuropathic pain, with a high incidence and complex pathogenesis, is one of the most significant areas of clinical medicine and basic research. Currently, prescribed treatments are still unsatisfactory or have limited effectiveness. A medicinal preparation is required that relieves the neuropathic pain and prolongs action time, which has not yet been discovered. In this study, MIL-101 (Fe) was employed as a drug carrier to regulate the release of diclofenac sodium, thereby achieving the effect of analgesia and sustained release. The release curves demonstrated that diclofenac sodium could be continuously released from MIL-101 (Fe) for more than 48 h. There was no toxicity in vitro and in vivo, and the safety of MIL-101 (Fe) was confirmed by hematoxylin and eosin as well as ELISA tests in vivo. The results of behavioral testing, pharmacokinetics, and RNA sequencing analysis showed that MIL-101 (Fe) loaded with diclofenac sodium could enhance the mechanical withdrawal threshold and alleviate cold allodynia induced by Spared Nerve Injury, prolonging the work time by three days. The results indicated that MIL-101 (Fe) exhibited excellent biocompatibility, while the MIL-101 (Fe)-DS demonstrated analgesic and controlled-release properties. These findings provide a scientific foundation for the clinical management of neuropathic pain and the development of a novel formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scattering and attenuation of light in no-homogeneous imaging media or inconsistent light intensity will cause insufficient contrast and color distortion in the collected images, which limits the developments such as vision-driven smart urban, autonomous vehicles, and intelligent robots. In this paper, we propose an all-in-one scene recovery network via multi-knowledge integration (termed AoSRNet) to improve the visibility of imaging devices in typical low-visibility imaging scenes (e.g., haze, sand dust, underwater, and low light). It combines gamma correction (GC) and optimized linear stretching (OLS) to create the detail enhancement module (DEM) and color restoration module (CRM). Additionally, we suggest a multi-receptive field extraction module (MEM) to attenuate the loss of image texture details caused by GC nonlinear and OLS linear transformations. Finally, we refine the coarse features generated by DEM, CRM, and MEM through Encoder-Decoder to generate the final restored image. Comprehensive experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and stability of AoSRNet compared to other state-of-the-art methods. The source code is available at https://github.com/LouisYuxuLu/AoSRNet. • AoSRNet can enhance imaging quality in hazy, sandy, underwater, and low-light scenes. • Multi-knowledge integration can robustly restores image in unpredictable scenes. • Optimized linear stretching and gamma correction improve AoSRNet's generalization. • We constructed a set of atmospheric light values for haze and sand image synthesis. • Extensive experiments verify AoSRNet's effectiveness with start-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to gain insight into how the addition of Cu element affects the crystallization mechanism of amorphous nanocrystalline alloys and soft magnetic properties, the crystallization behavior of (Fe 0.83 B 0.11 Si 0.02 P 0.03 C 0.01) 100-x Cu x (x = 0 and 0.5) amorphous ribbons was investigated based on kinetic and thermodynamic behavior under non-isothermal and isothermal annealing conditions. The results show that under non-isothermal annealing conditions, the Cu0.5 amorphous ribbon not only favors the formation of the amorphous structure, but also enlarges the temperature window for annealing and improves the thermal stability of the α-Fe(Si) phase. At the same time, the Cu0.5 amorphous ribbon shows slow kinetic and is insensitive to heating rate change during annealing treatment. Under isothermal conditions, the addition of Cu decreases the nucleation activation energy (E n) and increases the growth activation energy (E g). This further indicates that the nucleation of α-Fe(Si) grains is easier than the growth process, which is conducive to the formation of a homogeneous nanostructure and improves the soft magnetic properties of the alloy. Compared to Cu0 amorphous ribbon, it is also shown that the Cu0.5 amorphous ribbon changes the crystallization mechanism from diffusion-controlled one-dimensional to two-dimensional growth when the crystallization volume fraction x is 10–30 vol%. While three-dimensional growth become dominated when x is reaches 60 vol% for both ribbons. Therefore, the kinetics of crystallization as well as microstructure supports that the Cu0.5 ribbon is able to exhibit uniformly fine nanocrystalline structures. Further, the Cu0.5 nanocrystalline ribbon shows a higher B s of 1.85 T and a lower H c of 2.55 A/m, respectively, and the favorable (100) orientation of α-Fe(Si) grains formed after annealing is another factor to increase B s. • The Cu-containing alloy show kinetic insensitivity and is suitable for a high heating rate. • The addition of Cu changes the crystallization mechanism when x is between 10% and 30%. • When the applied magnetic field is ND, precipitation of (100) orientation α-Fe grains favors enhancing B s. • The Cu0.5 alloy show B s of 1.85 T, H c of 2.55 A/m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-state (solution and solid) highly emissive three-arm star polymethacrylates were synthesized via ATRP using TPA-BKI-3Br as initiator. [Display omitted] • Three-arm star polymethacrylates with bright luminescence in both solution and solid state were prepared and studied efficiently. • The photophysical characteristics of the polymethacrylates were notably impacted by the space charge transfer between the TPA-BKI unit and polymer chains. Organic/polymeric fluorescent materials with bright emission both in solution and in the solid state have garnered growing interest in biological and optoelectronic fields. Herein, triphenylamine-derived boron ketoimine (TPA-BKI-3Br) was utilized as the initiator for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) to prepare dual-state emission three-arm star polymethacrylates. Due to the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effect and highly distorted structure of the TPA-BKI unit, as well as the polymer arms constraining intramolecular motions, the resultant polymers displayed significant emission in solution. In the aggregated and solid states, the photophysical characteristics of the resultant polymethacrylates were notably impacted by the space charge transfer between the TPA-BKI unit and polymer chains. In addition, the TPA-BKI-based poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (TPA-BKI-(PDMAEMA)3) exhibited fluorescence responses to temperature variations owing to the presence of dimethylamino group. This study presents an approach for the advancement of dual-state emission polymeric materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two complexes based on phosphorescent viologen ligands have been synthesized. Complexes 1 and 2 not only possess reversible photochromic and electrochromic properties, but also exhibit fluorescence and persistent luminescence. They have potential applications in inkless print, color-changing films, data encryption, and anti-counterfeiting. [Display omitted] • Complexes 1 and 2 exhibit reversible photochromic and electrochromic behaviors. • Complexes 1 and 2 exhibit long-lived persistent phosphorescence. • Complexes show great potential in data encryption and anticounterfeiting. • Complexes have potential applications in inkless printing, color-changing films. Viologen-based complexes have garnered significant attention due to their multifunctional stimuli-responsive properties and tunable persistent luminescence. However, achieving ultralong afterglow emission and color change in these complexes remains a challenge, limiting their application in the field of persistent luminescence. Herein, two novel viologen-based complexes were successfully designed and synthesized using N,N′-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium dichloride (H 2 bybpy) ligands and trimesic acid (H 3 BTC) with the transition metals Zn(II)/Cd(II). Complexes 1 and 2 display reversible photochromic and electrochromic properties. Interestingly, complexes 1 and 2 in their crystal state exhibit dual fluorescence and persistent luminescence, emitting a green and cyan afterglow when the UV lamp is turned off at 77 K. Incorporating phosphorescent molecules and changing the metal significantly extended the duration of persistent luminescence and altered the hue. The complexes were also demonstrated to have potential applications in inkless printing, color-changing films, data encryption, and anti-counterfeiting. This work enhances the application of viologen-based complexes in light-controlled persistent fluorescence and provides ideas for achieving ultra-long afterglow emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The spectra-image features of defective maize kernels were obtain by HSI. • CNN and spectral-spatial attention were combined to recognize the HSI features. • The CNN-Spl-Spal-At based on fusion features had the excellent performance. • The identification results of various defective kernels were visualized. Rapid, effective and non-destructive detection of the defective maize kernels is crucial for their high-quality storage in granary. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) coupled with convolutional neural network (CNN) based on spectral and spatial attention (Spl-Spal-At) module was proposed for identifying the different types of maize kernels. The HSI data within 380–1000 nm of six classes of sprouted, heat-damaged, insect-damaged, moldy, broken and healthy kernels was collected. The CNN-Spl-At, CNN-Spal-At and CNN-Spl-Spal-At models were established based on the spectra, images and their fusion features as inputs for the recognition of different kernels. Further compared the performances of proposed models and conventional models were built by support vector machine (SVM) and extreme learning machine (ELM). The results indicated that the recognition ability of CNN with attention series models was significantly better than that of SVM and ELM models and fused features were more conducive to expressing the appearance of different kernels than single features. And the CNN-Spl-Spal-At model had an optimal recognition result with high average classification accuracy of 98.04 % and 94.56 % for the training and testing sets, respectively. The recognition results were visually presented on the surface image of kernels with different colors. The CNN-Spl-Spal-At model was built in this study could effectively detect defective maize kernels, and it also had great potential to provide the analysis approaches for the development of non-destructive testing equipment based on HSI technique for maize quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Damage or condition anomalies of stay cables will directly affect the safety of bridges in operation. As an important load type, the cyclic action of stochastic traffic flow (STF) is a main cause of cable performance degradation. However, due to its time-varying and complexity, there have been few studies on the anomaly diagnosis of stay cables under STF loading. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel condition monitoring method for stay cables based on the time-history area (THA) of cable forces under STF loading. First, mechanical analysis was performed to establish the theoretical relationship between THA and STF. The feature vector and matrix to characterize the normal condition of stay cables were developed based on the above relationship. Second, an online diagnosis model was established using the constant correlation between feature vector elements in the health state. On this basis, the Mahalanobis-squared distance (MSD) is employed to define an early warning index, which is used to inspect abnormal changes in cable performance. Third, according to numerical analysis, the rationality of the theoretical derivation was further confirmed and the feature vector variations in different simulated cases were presented. Finally, the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method was verified on an actual cable-stayed bridge. The results demonstrate that the established online model has satisfactory diagnostic capabilities, which can accurately monitor the service condition of stay cables. • The relationship between THA and ILA of cable forces is revealed for the first time under complex STF. • An online diagnosis model is established to realize the condition monitoring of stay cables in operation. • The effectiveness and practicality is verified by numerical verification and case study of an actual bridge. • The method can be applied using only cable forces to ensure wider engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major ampullate silk is noted for its great tensile strength and extensibility. The impressive material properties of major ampullate silk result from their component proteins that encoded by members of the spidroin (spider fibroin) gene family. Although the major ampullate spidroin type has evolved multiple variants within specific-species, most sequences are fragmented. Here, we present two complete major ampullate spidroin genes from the orb-weaving spider Araneus ventricosus. Due to the abundant GPG motifs in their repetitive region, the two MaSp genes were grouped in MaSp2 subclass and named MaSp2C and MaSp2D, respectively. Analysis of the full-length gene sequences reveals that both of them include a single enormous exon (10,851 bp for MaSp2C and 8640 bp for MaSp2D) that mainly translates into a central repetitive region containing multiple amino acid motifs that can be organized into five ensemble types. We use gene-specific PCR primers to search the cDNA from major ampullate glands and find evidence for alternative splicing of MaSp2D transcripts into a minor spliceoform lacking the entire repetitive domain as well as the partial terminal regions. Our results not only provide new templates for protein-based materials with tailored properties, but suggest gene and transcriptional diversity of major ampullate silk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The particular and homogeneous solutions of two-dimension (2D) thermal-elastic problems are expressed by using the virtual boundary element method (VBEM) and the superposition principle. Accordingly, two matrix equations are needed and formed for particular and homogeneous solutions by the novel nonsingular boundary element method with the radial basis function interpolation (RBFI), namely virtual boundary meshfree Galerkin method (VBMGM). Considering the boundary conditions of heat conduction and combining the Galerkin method, virtual source functions of particular solutions can be solved by first using VBMGM. Applying boundary conditions of transformation, virtual source functions of homogeneous solutions can be obtained by second employing VBMGM. The coefficients of two matrix equations are symmetrical. Formed equations are nonsingular and have merits of virtual boundary element method, meshfree method, and Galerkin method. The detailed expressions, calculation steps, and simplified flow chart are given in detail, that is convenient for other scholars to study other more complex thermo-elastic problems through the method of this paper. Three examples are calculated. Comparing their calculation results with other methods, the stability and the precision of VBMGM for 2D thermal-elastic problems are validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese enterprises have invested in more than 100 overseas ports globally in the past two decades, but their contribution to the local terminal's competitiveness remains unclear. Differing from the existing qualitative geopolitical interpretation of China-labeled port projects, this study empirically investigates how investor attributes with Chinese characteristics affect the throughput evolution and market shares of the respective container terminals. Our primary focus is on terminal-level performance to eliminate non-Chinese investors' influence in focal ports with multiple terminals. Pooled regression is used to analyze panel data for 68 overseas container terminals of three Chinese international port operators (COSCO Shipping Ports, China Merchants Holdings International and Hutchison Ports) from 2008 to 2019. The regression results show that being a state-owned enterprise, owing a vessel fleet and higher project ownership would benefit the focal container terminal's market share. In contrast, shareholder complexity may adversely impact the terminal's competitiveness. An interesting finding is that for state-owned enterprises, investments in politically unstable areas with fewer regional ports are more likely to result in a greater market share. These findings provide managerial implications for enterprises and enrich literature on foreign port investment. • We investigate how investor attributes affect the competitiveness of Chinese overseas terminals. • Pooled regression is used to analyze 68 overseas container terminals of three Chinese international port operators. • Being an SOE, owing a vessel fleet and higher project ownership benefit the market share. • Shareholder complexity adversely impact the terminal's competitiveness. • SOEs are better off when investing in politically unstable areas with fewer regional ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A new viologen complex was successfully synthesized and characterized. • Under UV irradiation, the samples heated at 120 and 180℃showed different colors. • We construct a "AND" logic-gate strategy, different inputs lead to disparate results. Electron transfer is crucial for the rapid response of viologen-based complexes and investigating the factors that affect electron transfer has always been a major challenge. Herein, a new viologen-based complex, formulated as {[Zn 5 (cbbbc) 3 (BTC) 3 (μ 1 , 1 -OH)(H 2 O) 5 ]·22H 2 O} n , with a three-dimensional framework was successfully designed and synthesized by viologen ligand 1-(3-carboxybenzyl)-4,4′-bipyridinium chloride (Hcbbpy), trimesic acid (H 3 BTC) and Zn(NO 3) 2 ·6H 2 O. In particular, complex 1 does not exhibit photochromic properties. However, samples of complex 1 heated at 120 and 180 ℃ display tunable colors under UV light irradiation. The experimental results indicate that the compound's light response is less sensitive with higher water content in the lattice. The polarity and hydrogen bonding ability of lattice water in viologen-based complexes can interact with the donor of viologen, leading to a reduction in electron transfer. This study demonstrates the impact of lattice water on electron transfer in viologen-based complexes and offers insights for designing faster response complexes in the future. The light response of the complexes becomes less sensitive as the water content in the lattice increases. This is because the lattice water hinders the electron transfer of the complexes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maritime transportation is the backbone of global trade, as ships carry over 80% of trading goods worldwide. As the shipping industry is mainly powered by heavy fuel oil, it has an adverse environmental footprint due to the emissions of greenhouse gases and polluting substances. To comply with IMO emission regulations and optimally save on fuel costs (which can account up for 50% to 60% of the total cost of operating a ship), shipping companies are motivated to optimize energy consumption. In this study, we first develop am innovative and tailored artificial neural network-based fuel consumption prediction model. This model innovates in that it explicitly considers shipping domain knowledge by modifying and optimizing its structure and parameters, where such properties have rigorously been proven. Moreover, it considers a broad range of influence factors based on data fusion technology. Next, we optimize the ship sailing speed profile for a bulk carrier in two application scenarios using the predicted fuel consumption rates by the proposed neural network-based model as the input: one is a bi-objective model, and the other considers market-based measures. Numerical experiments show that the proposed fuel consumption prediction model outperforms other models and that the model we propose can help to improve ship energy efficiency by a considerable extent. The proposed model conforms more closely to common sense than existing models; thus, it will likely have a better potential for use in the maritime industry and other problems with similar domain knowledge possessed. • Use data fusion to combine a wide scope of data sources into a single dataset for artificial neural network (ANN) model construction • Develop a tailored ANN model for ship energy consumption prediction considering monotonicity and convexity • The mean absolute percentage error of the developed ANN model is 7.5% • Develop ship sailing speed optimization models in various application scenarios • The proposed ANN model improves ship energy efficiency by 2% to 2.5% [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work demonstrates that the threshold energy E 0 can be obtained from a simple tentative rule and the bond length R can be obtained correctly by running the FIT program while fixing E 0. The extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra for C u , W , and A u metal foils are tested and for the anharmonic system, the experimental C u spectra measured at temperatures of 50, 150, 295, 400, 500, 600 and 700 K. From the tests, it is confirmed that a more precise bond length R comparable to the crystallographic data can be obtained for both cases. Moreover, it is deduced that the new running mode of the conventional EXAFS FIT program yields satisfactory results for the anharmonic system. • Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure. • Setting threshold energy in EXAFS. • Study of anharmonic vibrational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have seen a surge in interest in graph neural networks (GNNs) due to their superior performance in a range of graph and network mining applications. Graph embedding attempts to convert nodes in graph data to a low-dimensional vector representation by capturing the edges between them. However, because the bulk of GNNs currently use unstable graph structures, they perform well on graphs with a high degree of homogeneity and badly on those with a low degree of homogeneity. As a result, GNNs that rely solely on the original graph structure may give unsatisfactory results. In this research, we introduce an adaptive multi-channel Bayesian graph neural network (AMBGN 1 1 Code available at https://github.com/DongYang26/AMBGN.) for estimating new graph structures and adaptively fusing some depth-related information between the original topological structures. The key idea is to follow the GNN mechanism by estimating the ideal graph structure using Bayesian inference and extracting specific and common embeddings from estimated graph structures, topological structures, and their combinations. We are able to maximize both estimated graph structure learning and node embedding in an iterative framework by using the attention approach to learn the significant weights of these three node embeddings. Our extensive research on a number of benchmark datasets with varied degrees of homogeneity demonstrated that AMBGN reliably estimates the graph structure and effectively learns the most relevant node information in both graph representations, confirming the usefulness of AMBGN. • Explore graph structure learning, advocate GNN's concurrent learning from original and estimated graphs. • Adaptive integration enhances GNN's classification using useful information from both graphs. • Introduce Bayesian inference for learning posterior graph structures. • Propose attention mechanisms to quantify the importance of graphs in classification tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic wound therapy presents significant challenges in the clinical environment, where persistent bleeding, disturbed inflammatory regulation, impaired cellular proliferation, and impaired tissue remodeling are major features of diabetic wound healing. However, current treatment strategies need to be considered in the context of the dynamic and complex needs of chronic wound healing. Here, multifunctional dynamic boronic acid cross-linked hydrogels were prepared by the reaction of gelatin (Gel) inoculated with 5-carboxy 3-nitrophenylboronic acid (NPBA) and Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) to achieve rapid gelation at pH = 7.4, EGCG could interact electrostatically with cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMP) to achieve the effective loading of AMP in the hydrogels. This hydrogel can be injected and adhered to skin defects in diabetic patients to provide a barrier and rapid hemostasis. In a high glucose microenvironment, the rapid release of AMP effectively kills bacteria, while the responsive release of EGCG eliminates reactive oxygen species (ROS) and promotes macrophage M2 polarization. In addition, the hydrogel had excellent biocompatibility and degradability properties, degraded completely after 3 days of subcutaneous injection, and was non-toxic in H&E staining of major organs and serum liver function indices in mice. This multifunctional injectable hydrogel accelerates diabetic skin wound repair and is a promising dressing for the precise treatment of diabetic wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infection and chronic inflammation caused by oxidative stress are major challenges in chronic wound healing. Preparing a simple, efficient hydrogel with reactive oxygen–scavenging properties for chronic wound repair is a promising strategy. Herein, we report an injectable, self-repairing hydrogel with antioxidant and antibacterial properties that can be used to regenerate diabetic wounds. Hydrogels are prepared by coordination crosslinking of gelatin (Gel), a natural biopolymer derived from collagen, with Zr4+. Because of the dynamic properties of metal ion coordination bonds and the bactericidal effect of Zr4+, the obtained coordination hydrogels exhibit self-healing, injectable, and antibacterial properties. The plant polyphenol "proanthocyanidins," which has reactive oxygen–scavenging and anti-inflammatory effects, was simultaneously loaded into the coordination hydrogel during cross-linking. We obtained a versatile hydrogel that is easy to prepare, resistant to mechanical irritation, and antioxidant, and antibacterial in vitro. We further demonstrated that the injectable self-healing hydrogels could effectively repair diabetic skin wounds and accelerate collagen deposition and wound healing. This study shows that the multifunctional antioxidant hydrogel has great potential in developing multifunctional biomaterials for chronic wound healing. A facile and easy strategy for generating injectable gelatin-based hydrogels, which was further improved with multiple functions by in situ doping proanthocyanidins (PC) for accelerating the diabetic wound healing. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The simplified expression of bond potential in CBPD for isotropic linear elastic solids is clearly defined and validated. • An improved energy-based bond failure criterion by considering a bond energy distribution is proposed in CBPD to describe brittle fracture. • A stabilization technique to avoid the unexpected irregular damages is proposed in CBPD. • A direct coupling model of CBPD and FEM is established, and the ghost forces at the interface are negligible. • Several typical quasi-static and dynamic brittle fracture problems are accurately and stably predicted by the proposed method. Correspondence-based peridynamics (CBPD) is attractive and promising because of its outstanding ability to employ the traditional constitutive relations for material modeling. However, application of CBPD to brittle fracture problems is somewhat limited due to the numerical instability issue and lack of a rational bond failure criterion. To enable CBPD to accurately and stably predict brittle fracture problems, an improved energy-based bond failure criterion is firstly established in this work, in which the expression of bond potential is re-derived, and its simplified expression for isotropic linear elastic solids is clearly defined. The critical bond potential is determined by assuming it is directly proportional to the bond length, and the discretization error for the critical energy release rate in the discretized model is corrected with a correction factor. Besides the zero-energy mode control method, additional stabilization technique to reduce the influence of ill-posed or singular reference shape tensor on brittle fracture simulations is also explored to avoid the unexpected irregular damages during the fracture process. In addition, a direct coupling model of CBPD and FEM is established to improve the computational efficiency, and the ghost forces at the interface are verified to be negligible. Finally, several numerical examples involving typical quasi-static and dynamic brittle fracture problems are investigated, and fracture behaviors including the crack paths, load-displacement curves, and crack propagation speeds are all well predicted, which sufficiently demonstrates the accuracy and stability of the proposed method. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finite element model updating (FEMU) is a frequent method for minimizing the differences between actual and predicted bridge structural behavior. However, static model updating for long-span bridges usually requires load tests to obtain the response under known static loads, which is costly due to long traffic interruptions. To offset this disadvantage, a static FEMU method based on long-term monitoring data is proposed to update the model in real-time by taking stochastic traffic loads with certain statistical characteristics as known static loads. First, the theoretical relationship between stochastic traffic flow statistical characteristics, static response statistical characteristics, and structural stiffness parameters is established. An objective function based on the probability characteristics of the long-term vehicle-induced response is constructed. Then, the FEMU process based on monitoring data is introduced, including the acquisition of the finite element model vehicle-induced response, the extraction of the actual vehicle-induced response based on the monitoring data, the selection of model updating parameters, and the application of the global-local parameter updating optimization method. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by applying numerical examples and real bridge examples to a long-span suspension bridge. It can be concluded that the proposed method can achieve FEMU based on long-term monitoring data, avoiding the inconvenience and large cost caused by load tests. The accuracy and efficiency of the model updating can meet the engineering requirements well through comparison with the result of the traditional load test method. • This paper presents a static finite element model updating method based on the statistical characteristics of long-term monitoring data during normal operation, avoiding the inconvenience and large cost caused by the previous model updating method based on the load test. • The proposed method takes stochastic traffic load with known probability characteristics as known static load, and can realize model updating well by reducing the error of the actual response probability characteristics and finite element model prediction response probability characteristics. • The probabilistic characteristics of long-term vehicle-induced static response are related to structural stiffness parameters and probabilistic characteristics of stochastic traffic flow. When the probabilistic characteristics of stochastic traffic flow are the same, the static response probabilistic characteristics are related to only the structural stiffness parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the effect of the thickness of superconducting layer on the competition between ferromagnetism and superconductivity. The epitaxial bilayer systems consisting of GdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x (GdBCO) with varying thickness and La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSMO) were grown on (001) SrTiO 3 (STO) substrate. From the spectroscopic measurements, we observed an existence of a possible structural coupling between the GdBCO and the LSMO layers. The structural coupling is found to depend on the GdBCO thickness and to induce different types of strain on both layers, leading to the competition between the ferromagnetic and the superconducting orders. With respect to the flux pinning, an additional pinning contribution besides magnetic pinning induced by LSMO is emerged by the structural coupling, which is attributed to local atomic disorder. Controlling the thickness of GdBCO modifies the structural coupling and consequently, the degree of additional pinning contribution aroused by disorder on the CuO 2 plane can be adjusted. An appropriate structure with a certain thickness amplifies the hybrid effect of magnetic pinning and additional pinning, resulting in an enhancement of the critical current density at high magnetic fields. Our findings suggest a possibility of controlling complex flux pinning through an optimization of structural coupling between the GdBCO and the LSMO layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shading and blocking factor plays a significant role in the design of a heliostat field. It is the most computationally expensive task during the optimization process of a heliostat field. Over time, different methods have been developed to calculate the extent of the optical losses associated with shading and blocking. This paper focuses on the famous center point projection method and its implementation using Matlab. This work provides detailed procedures from the perspective of programming and simulation of central receiver systems. The underlying assumptions, the algorithm's strengths, and weaknesses are highlighted. The procedure and simulation parameters will help in developing optimization algorithms for designing high-efficiency heliostat fields. A dense radial staggered heliostat field is used for testing the performance of the algorithm. The field efficiency is calculated at different design points. The results show that the shading loss of the field changes with time, whereas there is negligible variation in the blocking loss. The instantaneous shading loss of a dense radial staggered field on December 21, noontime is 2.12%, whereas the blocking loss is 1.52%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining atomic structure of intercalated metallic layer under graphene is a hot-topic due to the potential applications in electronic engineering. In this study, Pb-intercalated graphene (PbG) is fabricated on SiC substrate and the atomic structure and electronic properties of the intercalated Pb atoms underneath graphene are investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). As the crystal facet of intercalated Pb atoms can be arranged in (111) (unit cell, 0.35 nm × 0.35 nm) and (110) (unit cell, 0.61 nm × 0.35 nm), mottled moiré pattern (period, 2.5 nm) and striated moiré pattern (period, 2.1 nm) are formed. Atomic arrangement of the intercalated Pb is sensitive to tip scanning resulting in the conversion of the two moiré patterns. Nevertheless, the crystal orientation of moiré patterns is always aligned with zigzag direction of graphene. As revealed by STS, PbG performs the similar electronic states to those of free-standing graphene due to the shielding effects of Pb intercalation. The crystallographic relationship between graphene and Pb atoms is also confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The study provides crucial for understanding the structure of intercalated Pb atoms underneath a graphene layer, which may enable the development of new 2D materials capped by graphene. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the main strategic port governance tools, port integration has been witnessed worldwide to facilitate regional port development. To examine whether the "interest balance" pattern observed in Chinese coastal region is also followed by the inland ports, this paper extends the work of Chen et al. (2020) by focusing on the implementations of port integration in the six inland provinces along the Yangtze River. A two-step methodological approach is adopted, including a descriptive analysis and an explanatory analysis. The findings suggest that a diversified implementation of port integration indeed exists on the Yangtze River and that inland ports follow the "interest balance" pattern. Specifically, institutional flexibility enables tailored implementations, which are characterized by diversity. The market structure and power distribution are recognized as the determinants that lead to the specific trajectories of port integration implementations. Notably, we also find that the geographical distance and the outside-in development model of inland ports can also affect inland port integration. This finding further enriches the "interest balance" pattern. Based on these findings, several general policy implications are proposed for inland port integration in different contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aimed to assemble a simple, portable and economical L-junction microfluidic device to realize the adjustment and tunability of homogeneous round-shaped particles synthesis. In this study, we synthesize two kind of microparticles, including magnetic alginate microparticles (MAM) and chitosan-coated magnetic alginate (CMAM) used for controlling the drug release under a mild condition. Comparing to the traditional method, the MAM synthesized via this microfluidic approach has uniform size distribution, adjustable diameter as well as tunable magnetism. By exploring the amoxicillin as model drug, the MAM displays excellent pH-sensitive release, the effect of particle size on the drug release rate was investigated as well. The results show the smaller particles (220 μm) show a faster release rate than the bigger materials (1000 μm) due to their larger specific area, providing more frequency to interact with the reaction solution. The positive polyelectrolyte, chitosan, coated on the magnetic alginate surface endows CMAM time extension in drug release by two times, successfully achieving drug controlled and sustained release via the kinetics analysis. In summary, this microfluidic approach provides a convenient and efficient fluidic design for the well-controlled synthesis of micro-and nanoscale particles, which is a potential choice used for controlled and sustained drug release. • A simple but efficient L-junction microfluidics for particulate materials synthesis • CMAM with uniform size, tunable diameter, magnetism and homogenous morphology • CMAM synthesized here fulfilled the controlled and sustained-release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE) is a shallow geothermal energy utilization technology, which can significantly reduce the building energy consumption. This study aims to investigate the effects of an EAHE on the indoor thermal environment in hot-summer and cold-winter regions. A full-scale experiment was conducted for a continuous 24 h period using two identical buildings (with and without an EAHE) exposed to the same outdoor conditions on typical summer and winter days. Experimental results show that the EAHE provides an average outdoor air temperature reduction of 9.12 °C under cooling conditions and increase of 5.53 °C under heating conditions. Moreover, the average outdoor air relative humidity increases by 46.89% and decreases by 27.41% in the cooling and heating conditions, respectively; the corresponding average EAHE coefficients of performance (COP) are 7.03 and 4.26, respectively. Compared to that of the building without EAHE, the average indoor air temperature of the building with EAHE decreases by 5.9 °C in summer and increases by 4.29 °C in winter, and the average walls' internal surface temperature decreases by approximately 6 °C and increases by approximately 5.8 °C. Moreover, the EAHE system reduces the average building cooling and heating loads by 55.4 and 40.43 W/m2, respectively. Image 1 • Earth-to-air heat exchangers are investigated in hot-summer and cold-winter regions. • The effects of earth-to-air heat exchangers on indoor thermal environments are examined. • The relation between the heat transfer efficiency and inlet air temperature is found to be strong. • The indoor air and building internal surface temperature are improved. • Building cooling and heating loads are reduced by 55.4 and 40.43 W/m2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon possesses widespread applications in energy-related fields due to its unique properties. However, preparation of porous carbon (specific surface area > 3000 m2 g–1) with high nitrogen content (> 10 wt%) remains great challenges because of high synthesis temperature. Herein, a covalent triazine polymer was innovatively designed by cyclotrimerization of tetracyanoethylene, and used to produce the high nitrogen-doped porous carbon. The as-prepared porous carbon (HNPC-900) possesses a high nitrogen content (14.2 wt%) and large specific surface area (3210 m2 g–1). When HNPC-900 was applied as the air-cathode for zinc–air batteries, it shows a high specific capacity (797 mAh g zn –1) and stable rechargeability (more than 380 h over 960 cycles at 5 mA cm–2), outperforming the cathode composed of RuO 2 and 20 wt% Pt/C. This ingenious design provides a feasible strategy to prepare high nitrogen-doped porous carbon, giving extensive application prospects of porous carbon for catalysis and energy storage fields. [Display omitted] • Tetracyanoethylene is used for preparing a new covalent triazine polymer (CTP). • HNPC derived from CTP possesses dual-superiority in N content and porosity. • HNPC exhibits excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic performances. • HNPC shows the recyclable ability for zinc–air battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crystal and electronic structures, and magnetic properties of polycrystalline tantalum substituted manganites CaMn 1- x Ta x O 3 (x = 0.00, 0.03, 0.06, 0.09 and 0.12) were studied by x-ray diffraction, x-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) at Mn K -edge, and by magnetization measurements. Large changes of cell volume and magnetic transition temperature, in addition to shift of Mn K -edge spectra and change of shape of XANES spectra, indicate the existence of Mn3+ as well as Mn2+ species induced by the substitution of Mn4+ by Ta5+. Cell parameters and cell volume increase with increasing x because the Mn3+, Mn2+ and Ta5+ ions are larger that substituted Mn4+ ion. According to XANES results, at least the x = 0.00 sample is oxygen deficient. The negative magnetization was observed in the CaMnO 3-δ sample, and a possible explanation of the phenomenon is given considering two canted (almost antiferro)magnetic sublattices and a shielding current, associated with the itinerant e g electrons, induced by the oxygen vacancies. • Negative magnetization (NM) and divalent manganese are observed in CaMn 1−x Ta x O 3-δ. • NM caused by canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) states and e g electron shielding current. • AFM state and shielding current originate from Ta- and/or oxygen vacancy- content. • Large decrease in T C and change in shape of XANES spectra due to Mn2+ are observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Mott-Schottky heterojunction is reported to boost the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation in Fenton-like reaction through a non-radical path. The heterojunction with Co nanoparticles encapsulated by nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon (N-GC) shell was synthesized via pyrolysis of ZIF67 @ZIF8 and subsequent acidic treatment. Benefiting from Mott-Schottky effect, the electrons were transferred from Co nanoparticles to the N-GC shell, leading to the rearranged electron density on N-GC surface and improvement of the PMS activation. The PMS activation efficiency of heterojunction (86.0%) was much higher than the reference catalyst without Mott-Schottky effect (35.3%), and even comparable to Co2+ (86.2%). 85.0% of tetracycline (TC) removal efficiency was realized after only 10.0 s. Moreover, the intrinsic advantages of non-radical path were well inherited by Mott-Schottky heterojunction, including high anti-interfere property toward various anions, cations and organics, high catalytic activity in a wide pH range, low metal leaching, and high magnetic recyclability. [Display omitted] • Electrons flow from Co NPs to N-GC and arranged in Mott-Schottky heterojunction. • PMS activation efficiency is comparable to Co2+ and 85.0% of TC is removed at 10 s. • Electrons play crucial role among ROSs, and PMS activation follows non-radical path. • Mechanism of Mott-Schottky effect on enhanced degradation performance is revealed. • EP-ZIF67 @ZIF8 is high environmental adaption, wide applicable pH, low leaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the saccharification efficiency of bulrush, the supplementary of metal chlorides in pretreatment of lignocellulose had been researched. The effect of metal chloride type and dosage on the ability of deep eutectic solvent (DES ChCl: Gly) pretreatment was evaluated by composition analysis of biomass, characterization analysis [scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infra spectra, X-ray diffraction, accessibility of cellulose (Direct red dye adsorption experiment), surface area of lignin (Azure B dye adsorption experiment)], and enzymatic saccharification. One-pot pretreatment of bulrush using the AlCl 3 /ChCl:Gly (molar ratio, 1:2:0.06) with the solid liquid ratio of 1:10 (w:w), lignin (70.8%) and hemicellulose (87.7%) could be effectively removed, and the enzymatic saccharification yield could reach 90.1%, much higher than that of raw bulrush (21.4%). AlCl 3 /ChCl:Gly pretreated bulrush showed an apparent reduction in lignin surface area due to lignin removal. The correlations between the Azure B dye adsorption data and delignification [Y (delignification) = 0.29 × X (surface area of lignin) + 226.9, R2 = 0.90] and glucose yield [Y (glucose yield) = −0.31 × X (surface area of lignin) + 247.9, R2 = 0.93] were observed during the AlCl 3 /ChCl:Gly pretreatment. This constructed pretreatment system could improve the bioconversion efficiency of bulrush, which had potential application in biorefinery of lignocellulose. [Display omitted] • The effects of metal chloride-assisting ChCl: Gly pretreatment were evaluated. • AlCl 3 /ChCl:Gly could efficiently remove lignin and hemicellulose. • Enzymatic hydrolysis of bulrush was clearly enhanced by AlCl 3 /ChCl:Gly treatment. • The yield of enzymatic saccharification reached 90.1%. • A linear correlation between cellulose accessibility and glucose yield was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of short video applications such as TikTok has brought new opportunities to maximize student learning experiences in online learning environments. Meanwhile, literature that explores its potential to foster student engagement is scarce. To understand the effect of short video applications on students' learning engagement, we take Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) as an example to include user experience variables (i.e., playfulness, satisfaction, anxiety) and technology features variables (i.e., interactivity and virtual reward). Five hundred-two valid questionnaire responses were collected from Chinese undergraduates. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesis. Overall, learning anxiety has a negative effect on learning engagement, whereas learning satisfaction has a positive effect. Virtual reward has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between interaction and anxiety. Still, it positively moderates the relationship between satisfaction and learning engagement. In addition, both years of using a mobile phone and TikTok positively influence learning engagement. Collectively, the proposed model was supported and provided empirical evidence regarding the importance of user experience and product features (such as Intelligent recommendation and virtual reward) on student engagement. Implications for theories and teaching practice and limitations were discussed. • We investigated the impacts of short video platforms (i.e., TikTok) on learning behavior. • A model to forecast students' learning engagement was tested. • Anxiety, virtual reward, and interactivity are crucial in short-video-supported learning. • Perceived playfulness and intelligent recommendation lead to satisfaction. • Our study provides insights into how short video platforms enhance the learning experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projections indicate increasing coastal hazards in the Yellow Sea region owing to relative sea-level rise. Accordingly, regional studies of such change over the Holocene timescale could be helpful in mitigating these threats. Here, we describe the Holocene record of relative sea-level change in the Gochang-Yeonggwang area of South Korea. We compared this record with that of other sites around the coast of the Yellow Sea, including Bohai Bay (China), the Tando Estuary and Gunsan Bay (South Korea), and sites on the east coast of the South Sea and Toyo-oka Basin, Japan. The findings are based on a multi-proxy study, including lithostratigraphy combined with radiocarbon dating and analyses of grain size distribution, magnetic susceptibility, and geochemistry, which facilitated the generation of 89 paleo-sea-level points reconstructed from 28 borehole cores. The early Holocene transgression was found to start later at Gochang-Yeonggwang than at Gunsan Bay, although the distance between them is only 150 km. This result was inferred from substantial differences in sediment delivery owing to Holocene differences in river basin size, topography, and tectonic context. Before ∼7 ka, the slope and highstands from the predicted mean sea-level models at Bohai Bay, Tando Estuary, and Gochang-Yeonggwang were steeper and lower, respectively, from north to south in the Yellow Sea, approaching the slope of the glacio-eustatic sea-level curve. Therefore, the levering effect of transgression in the early Holocene decreased southward in the Yellow Sea. The slight fluctuation in mean sea-level points of the late Holocene resulted from the formation of storm deposit layers in the coastal area, erosion and redeposition in the channel, and geomorphic effects. A partial difference occurred between the relative sea levels at Gochang-Yeonggwang and Toyo-oka. Future relative sea-level research at the southernmost part of the east coast of the Yellow Sea would further improve understanding of the coastal evolution of the region. • The RSL curve slope at ∼8 ka was the steepest among the Yellow Sea east coast sites. • Highstand on RSL is lower than any other east coast site of the Yellow Sea. • Early Holocene transgression levering effect decreased southern of the Yellow Sea east coast. • RSL in the late Holocene was influenced by glacio-eustatic sea-level change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Pressure resistant, sublethal injury and viable but non-culturable cells existed during the HPP treatment. • The pressure resistant property of different species was positively correlated with the sublethal injury cell count. • The pressure resistant property of different species was negatively correlated with the VBNC cell count. • The combination of HPP with CO 2 or Nisin could reduce the formation of pressure resistant, sublethal injury and VBNC cells. This study aimed to analyze and reduce the pressure resistance (PR), sublethal injury (SLI), and viable but non-culturable (VBNC) populations during HPP. Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum were selected for evaluation of PR, SLI and VBNC cell counts and proportions during HPP. The results revealed that the bactericidal efficiency against these strains gradually improved as the processing pressure increased. However, viable bacteria could still be detected, suggesting that there may involve the presence of resistant population that difficult to be killed or revived from SLI. Further detecting the quantity and proportion of PR, SLI and VBNC bacteria found that these state of cells were present during whole HPP treatment. Additionally, the more resistant a bacterial species was to high pressure, the fewer SLI and more resuscitable VBNC (RVBNC) populations it generated, and vice versa. Therefore, correlation analysis was also employed to make the relationship between log reduction, SLI and RVBNC population ratios clearer. The results demonstrated that the log reduction was highly positive correlation with SLI population ratios, and negative correlation with RVBNC population within our detected species at 500 MPa. Furthermore, CO 2 and Nisin were employed to combined with HPP to reduce these survivors. Comparing with 233, 218, 241 and 259 MPa for HPP treatment, it took 37, 89, 135 and 229 MPa for HPP + CO 2 , and 189, 161, 199 and 292 MPa for HPP + Nisin to the first decimal reduction for E. coli , S.aureus , B. amyloliquefaciens and L. plantarum , respectively. The results indicated that HPP combined with CO 2 or Nisin could significantly reduce the quantity of PR, SLI, and RVBNC cells during HPP, and provide better bactericidal effects. In conclusion, we quantified the presence of PR, SLI, and VBNC bacteria after high pressure treatment and investigate the effectiveness of HPP combined with CO 2 or Nisin to enhance the inactivation of bacteria and reduce the occurrence of PR, SLI, and RVBNC bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel combined H 2 SO 4 -ChCl/Gly pretreatment of reed stalks was developed. • Synergistic effect of H 2 SO 4 and ChCl/Gly eliminated xylan and lignin effectively. • H 2 SO 4 -ChCl/Gly-treated reed stalk was converted to glucose in a high yield of 91.1%. • High saccharification was due to enhanced accessibility and reduced lignin surface. In this study, an efficient combination of pretreatment solvents involving Choline chloride/Glycerol (ChCl/Gly) and H 2 SO 4 was firstly developed to assess the pretreatment performance and determine optimal pretreatment conditions. The results illustrated that the H 2 SO 4 -[ChCl/Gly] combination efficiently removed lignin (52.6%) and xylan (80.5%) from the pretreated reed stalk, and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis yielded 91.1% of glucose. Furthermore, several characterizations were conducted to examine the structural and morphological changes of the reed stalk, revealing apparently enhanced accessibility (128.4 to 522.6 mg/g), reduced lignin surface area (357.9 to 229.5 m2/g), and substantial changes on biomass surface. Based on the aforementioned study, possible mechanisms for the H 2 SO 4 -[ChCl/Gly] pretreatment of reed stalks were proposed. The comprehensive understanding of combined H 2 SO 4 -[ChCl/Gly] pretreatment system for enhancing the saccharification of the reed stalk was interpreted in this work. Overall, this novel approach could be efficiently applied to pretreat and saccharify reed stalks, empowering the biomass refining industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]