Search

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture is a common debilitating injury that can cause instability of the knee. We aimed to investigate the best management strategy between reconstructive surgery and non-surgical treatment for patients with a non-acute ACL injury and persistent symptoms of instability. Methods: We did a pragmatic, multicentre, superiority, randomised controlled trial in 29 secondary care National Health Service orthopaedic units in the UK. Patients with symptomatic knee problems (instability) consistent with an ACL injury were eligible. We excluded patients with meniscal pathology with characteristics that indicate immediate surgery. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by computer to either surgery (reconstruction) or rehabilitation (physiotherapy but with subsequent reconstruction permitted if instability persisted after treatment), stratified by site and baseline Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score—4 domain version (KOOS4). This management design represented normal practice. The primary outcome was KOOS4 at 18 months after randomisation. The principal analyses were intention-to-treat based, with KOOS4 results analysed using linear regression. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, ISRCTN10110685, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02980367. Findings: Between Feb 1, 2017, and April 12, 2020, we recruited 316 patients. 156 (49%) participants were randomly assigned to the surgical reconstruction group and 160 (51%) to the rehabilitation group. Mean KOOS4 at 18 months was 73·0 (SD 18·3) in the surgical group and 64·6 (21·6) in the rehabilitation group. The adjusted mean difference was 7·9 (95% CI 2·5–13·2; p=0·0053) in favour of surgical management. 65 (41%) of 160 patients allocated to rehabilitation underwent subsequent surgery according to protocol within 18 months. 43 (28%) of 156 patients allocated to surgery did not receive their allocated treatment. We found no differences between groups in the proportion of intervention-related complications. Interpretation: Surgical reconstruction as a management strategy for patients with non-acute ACL injury with persistent symptoms of instability was clinically superior and more cost-effective in comparison with rehabilitation management. Funding: The UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme.

The integration of luminescence and chirality in carbon dots (CDs) encourages candidates to explore novel functions and applications of CDs, however, the preparation of chiral CDs is very limited. Herein, we report a hydrothermal method to fabricate chiral CDs by utilizing amino acid enantiomers as the precursors. LGln-CDs or DGln-CDs with uniform size of 3–4 nm show excitation-dependent blue fluorescence in solutions. Circular dichroism measurement confirms the opposite optical rotation of chiral CDs in the region from 200 nm to 300 nm, and the signals can be regulated by concentrations of CDs solution. Time-dependent density functional calculation reveals that polypeptides may exist on the surface of CDs due to the polycondensation of L/DGln at high temperature, and the optical activity of CDs originates from the stacking of neighboring carbonyl groups. The facile synthetic methodology proposed will provide potential opportunities for the preparation and application of chiral and chiroptical CDs-based materials.

Multi-target detection has been widely applied for the sensitive measurement of cancer-related biomarkers; however, the design and application of single platforms for diverse target detection are still challenging. Herein, a robust and sensitive electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensing platform was constructed for the measurement of microRNA-21 (miRNA-21) and mucin 1 (MUC1) based on dual catalytic hairpin assembly (DCHA). The catalytic hairpin assembly (CHA) process (Cycle I) was initiated by the target miRNA-21 to introduce abundant CdS:Mn quantum dots (CdS:Mn QDs) on the electrode surface, leading to a considerable ECL response and the sensitive detection of miRNA-21 with a limit of detection as low as 11 aM. Subsequently, the second CHA process (Cycle II) was triggered by the MUC1-aptamer complex, which allowed copious amounts of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) to approach the CdS:Mn QDs. A decreased ECL signal was obtained due to the ECL resonance energy transfer (ECL-RET) effect between the CdS:Mn QDs and AuNPs; meanwhile, MUC1 was sensitively detected with a limit of detection of 0.40 fg mL−1. This single sensing platform achieved dual cancer-related biomarker detection, which could provide a rational approach for future clinical analyse.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) may be an alternative treatment of Candida albicans (C. albicans) infections. The aim of this study was to investigate the antifungal effect of PDT mediated by a new photosensitizer (PS) derived from BODIPY (BDP-4L) on C. albicans biofilms.C. albicans biofilms were incubated with BDP-4L of different concentrations and then irradiated at the light doses of 1.8, 3.6, 5.4, 7.2 and 9.0 J/cmC. albicans biofilms were inactivated in light dose-dependent and PS concentration-dependent manners using BDP-4L as PS. Without irradiation, no inactivation effect was observed when PS concentrations varied from 5 μM to 80 μM. 40 μM PS with 3.6 J/cmOur results suggested that BDP-4L mediated PDT exhibited a favorable antifungal effect on C. albicans biofilms.

The high-voltage cathode material based on the sodium super ionic conductor (NASICON) structured Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP) has been found to be a potential candidate for Mg storage. In this work, to improve its electrochemical performance, we construct honeycomb-like structured NVP/C/G with faster electronic and ionic transport by a convenient and universal spray-drying method for the first time. After electrochemically desodiating two Na from the NVP/C/G (ED-NVP/C/G), the ED-NVP/C/G is tested in highly anhydrous Mg electrolyte, and the insights into its Mg storage property and mechanism are carefully studied. An initial capacity of 87 mAh g−1 with a relatively high average discharge voltage of 2.47 V vs. Mg2+/Mg is obtained at 0.1 C. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the inserted Mg2+ ions tend to occupy the Na2 (at 18e sites) vacant sites. The investigation of kinetic process by galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) reveals that the Mg diffusion kinetics is faster during the demagnesiation process. The electrochemical reaction bases on two-phase transition mechanism, and the Rct value shows a positive relationship to the formation of NaV2(PO4)3 phase. Finally, a Mg full cell prototype based on the ED-NVP/C/G cathode with Mg metal anode is built. The rational structure design of NVP/C/G improves the electrochemical performance for Mg storage, and our work also gives new understanding into the Mg storage mechanism in the ED-NVP/C/G structure.

Background : Canida albicans can cause opportunistic infections ranging from superficial mucous membrane lesions to life-threatening disease. The aim of this study is to investigate the antifungal effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) mediated by curcumin (CUR) on C. albicans biofilms in vitro. Methods : One standard strain ATCC 90028 and two clinical isolates from HIV (CCA1) and oral lichen planus (CCA2) patients’ oral cavities were used in this study. Biofilms were photosensitized with 60 μM CUR and irradiated by light emitting diode (LED) under the wavelength of 455 nm and energy densities of 2.64, 5.28, 7.92, 10.56, 13.2 J/cm2. Then the antifungal effects of CUR-PDT were evaluated by XTT reduction assay and confocal light scanning microscopy (CLSM) observations. The effects of CUR-PDT on the expression levels of hypha-specific and biofilm-related genes including EFG1, UME6, HGC1 and ECE1 were assessed by quantitative Real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) method. Results : The inhibition rates after CUR-PDT in three biofilms(ATCC 90028, CCA1, CCA2)were 90.87%, 66.44% and 86.74% respectively (p Conclusions : Curcumin-mediated PDT could effectively inactivateCandida albicans biofilms in vitro. Expression of genes involved in biofilms formation were downregulated after CUR-PDT.

A two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic framework (MOF) Na2Zn2(C9H3O6)2(H2O)8·3H2O has been synthesized based on the principal of stabilizing organic ligand by crystallization and coordination effect in MOFs. It exhibits unique multi-emissive room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) centered at 455 nm, 482 nm and 525 nm with lifetimes of 92 ms, 97 ms and 351 ms, respectively. Such Zn-based 2D MOF also shows temperature-responsive photoluminescence performance.

Metal sulfides have been drawing more and more attention as electrode materials in batteries due to their high theoretical capacities. However, the volume expansion and loss of active materials are two major problems, hindering further improvement in their electrochemical performances. Herein, a strategy based on physical confinement/chemical adsorption is proposed to fabricate CoS and Co9S8 electrodes for advanced lithium batteries. Via a facile two-step method, porous C/CNT micro/nano-spheres embedding cobalt sulfide nanoparticles are successfully fabricated, in which sulfur is immobilized by C S bonds. Physically, the porous C/CNT micro/nano-spheres well accommodate the volume change and inhibit the loss of active materials. Chemically, the sulfur species are anchored by C S bonds to alleviate the migration and loss. Assembled as lithium battery anodes, the porous cobalt sulfide/carbon composites, particularly the CoS/C/CNT (CoS-0.4C) and Co9S8/C/CNT (Co9S8-0.8C), exhibit superior lithium storage properties to those without any complexing or any C S bonding. Furthermore, an in-situ electrochemical measurement is proposed to detect the existence of Li2S, which is helpful to understand the mechanism of conversion reaction-based metal sulfides.

The air-side pressure drops and overall heat transfer coefficients of a finless heat exchanger with and without a vortex generator, as well as those of five all-aluminum parallel multi-port heat exchangers, were experimentally measured and compared under dry, wet, and frosting/defrosting conditions. The multi-port heat exchangers included three exchangers with louvered fins featuring fin pitches of 1.2 mm, 1.4 mm, and 1.6 mm, and two exchangers featuring slit fins with pitches of 1.2 mm and 1.4 mm. For the fin-tube heat exchangers, the effects of fin pitch and type on the air-side pressure drop and overall heat transfer performance were discussed. Under the dry condition, the heat transfer performance of a finless heat exchanger with a longitudinal vortex generator (LVG) is still approximately 40% less than that of a fin-tube heat exchanger. However, the pressure drop is similar. Under wet conditions, due to the excellent drainage performance of the finless heat exchanger, the heat transfer coefficient reached the same level. However, the pressure drop is lower. Under the frosting/defrosting condition, the heat transfer coefficient is similar, but the pressure drop is much lower. It only reaches 50 Pa at the end of each frosting period. Overall, the performance of a finless heat exchanger with a vortex generator is still lower than that of a fin-tube heat exchanger in dry conditions, but it demonstrates superiority in wet and frosting/defrosting conditions.

A design for a parallel, finless, flat-tube heat exchanger is proposed and assessed for high performance in air conditioners. In this design, a longitudinal vortex generator (LVG) plate consisting of thousands of LVGs is placed in front of the finless heat exchanger in the airflow path, thus resulting in improved heat transfer. The LVG was installed in front of the finless heat exchanger with a gap of about 1 mm, which ensured that under wet and frost/defrost conditions, the condensed or defrosted water would not drip onto the LVG. Therefore, the drain and defrosting performance was not affected by the LVG. A novel, double-triangular shape was developed for the LVG using a numerical method, and some parameters which significantly affect the performance of LVG were numerically analyzed.

Influenza virus and bacterial infection contributed to massive morbidity and mortality. However, the underlying mechanisms were poorly understood. A coinfected model was generating by using sublethal doses of influenza A virus H1N1 A/FM/1/47(H1N1) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Further, the model was optimized to achieve the highest peak of mortality initiated by intranasal infection with 0.2LD

Absract The influence of oxygen-related thermal donors (TDs) on the performance of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells was explored experimentally in this paper. It is found that a certain number of thermal donors could do much harm to the performance of SHJ solar cells. The efficiency of SHJ solar cells is usually reduced by a value of ~ 1% absolute in the case of thermal donors with a concentration of nearly 1015 cm−3. The microwave photoconductance decay and Hall Effect studies have proved that the TDs can significantly reduce the carrier lifetime of n-type silicon substrate, but have no influence on the carrier mobility. Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements have further demonstrated that the TDs cause an energy level at Ec-0.13 eV with carrier capture cross-section of 10−15 cm2, which is responsible for the reduction of carrier lifetime and solar cell efficiency.

CuS nanospheres interconnected by the carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been successfully prepared via a facile one-step microwave-assisted method. The component and microstructure of CuS/CNTs hybrid materials are well characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Assembled as electrodes and tested in lithium ion batteries, the composites show impressive electrochemical performances. After 450 cycles, the CuS/0.1 CNT and CuS/0.5 CNT release more than 437 and 569 mAh g−1, respectively, at 400 mA g−1, which are superior to those of contrast experiments (pristine CuS and CuS mechanically mixing with CNTs). Even at the high current density of 6400 mA g−1, the CuS/0.5 CNT still displays the reversible capacity of about 400 mAh g−1. The improved performances can be ascribed to the inherently CNTs conducting network, boosting the interior electron transport and reaction kinetics, so that a significantly enhanced reversible capacities and rate capability can be realized. Furthermore, the surface properties and reaction kinetics of electrodes are also investigated via cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic intermittence titration (GITT) measurements, proving the enhanced lithium storage properties.

The excitation-dependent blue photoluminescent and oxygen-rich carbon nanodots (CNDs) have been prepared through calcinations and etching from MgAPO-44 zeolite occluding N-methylpiperidine organic template. The as-prepared CNDs, with about 3.4 nm in diameter, possess excellent dispersibility and photostability in both water and ethanol solution. These CNDs exhibit high selectivity and sensitivity for picric acid (PA) in detection of nitro and nitrophenol compounds in water and ethanol solution with the detection limit as low as 0.36 μM and Ksv of 1.30 × 105. Detection effect can be influenced by the concentration and pH value of CNDs in water solution. Study reveals that the efficient and fast detection of PA can be attributed to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET).

Plastic recycling is critical for dematerializing of plastics. It has a profound implication on decoupling economic growth from environmental pressure and advancing waste plastic governance domestically and internationally while identifying drivers that might improve decoupling. In this study, plastic consumption and recycling patterns are presented, and the factors influencing the acceleration of dematerialization subsequent to the ban were investigated in the G7 countries and China. The results show that plastic consumption increases from 7.60 million metric tons (mt) to 12.60 mt between 2017 and 2019, and subsequently rapidly decreases to 6.84 mt in 2020. The plastic recycling rate drastically decreased by 21.3% in 2017, and decreased slightly from 2017 to 2020, at an annual rate of 2.9% on average. China's ban shocked the decoupling trends, which showed resilience and motivated the development of robust plastic recycling, and the global recycling transformation pattern accelerated the dematerialization of plastics. Decoupling performances of the G7 and China gradually stabilized in 2019, and all the countries were strongly decoupled in 2020, although decoupling index (DI) fluctuates from 2017 to 2020. Among the recycling-trading drivers, the improvement of waste plastic quality in recycling contributes more to decoupling, the recycling rate shows a more negative decoupling effect on China before the ban, and the population effect is weak relative to other influencing factors. The factors revealed the mechanism of decoupling of plastic consumption in the recycling-trading process, and the recyclability improvement in terms of plastic quality is important for dematerialization.

As solid electrolytes in fuel cells, high proton conductivity and framework robustness of crystalline porous materials should be both achieved. Herein, we report the highly stable aluminosilicate FAU zeolites with excellent proton conductivity at room temperature (up to 3.35 × 10-3 S cm−1) and high temperature 353 K (up to 1.17 × 10−2 S cm−1) owing to the large amount of confined water molecules and sodium ions. Strikingly, robust framework of FAU zeolites endows them high performance (over 10−3 S cm−1 at 298 K-353 K), even after zeolites being treated in boiling water, acidic and alkaline solutions, as well as upon calcination.

Background Biofilm-associated Candida albicans (C. albicans) infections are hard to cure due to their high levels of resistance to antifungal agents. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising approach for controlling infections caused by C. albicans. This study was designed to explore the inhibitory activity of PDT using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) as photosensitizer against C. albicans biofilms. Methods C. albicans cell suspensions were incubated for 48 h to form mature biofilms. ALA solution was diluted to 15 mM and incubated with C. albicans biofilms for 5 h before irradiated by red light semiconductor laser under the light intensity of 300 J/cm2 and fluence rate of 100 mW/cm2 for 50 min. The inhibitory activity was evaluated from subcellular level, molecular level and transcriptional level using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation, flow cytometry analysis and quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) assays, respectively. Results From subcellular level, the degraded content of the cytoplasm, nuclear condensation and mitochondrial swelling were observed after ALA-PDT. From molecular level, ALA-PDT resulted in 19.4 % cell apoptosis. From transcriptional level, ALA-PDT significantly reduced the mRNA expressions of hyphae-specific genes (HWP1 and ALS3) and long-term biofilm maintenance genes (UME6 and HGC1), whereas ALA or red light alone had no significant effect. Conclusions The inhibitory activity indicated that ALA-PDT may have the potential to serve as an antifungal strategy in eliminatingC. albicans biofilms.

A remote eavesdropping system based on the laser feedback interferometry is proposed. The diffuse objects neighboring the speaker can work as inconspicuous sensors. The modulated incident beam is scattered back to the laser cavity by the objects, forming the self-mixing interference. The huge amplification caused by the self-mixing interference provides the system with ultra-high sensitivity, even the feedback light whose intensity is -104dB lower than the laser output can still be sensed. The comprehensible voice reconstruction of the object at the distance of 200 m can be realized, although only 0.91 photon in each interference modulation cycle is scattered back into the laser cavity. Additionally, the range of the incident angle of the beam can be up to ±45 deg, and the optimal one is ±30 deg. This system can meet various requirements of acoustic signals detection and be potentially applied in fields as disaster relief and remote surveillance.

The energy density of LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2 (NCM523) can be enhanced by increasing the upper-limit charging potential, but it exhibits a significant “capacity decay” during cycling. Therefore, it is necessary to study the intrinsic mechanism for the performance improvement of high-voltage NCM523. In this work, through combining the intrinsic state-of-charge (SOC) of NCM523 revealed by Raman spectroscopy with the electrochemical characterization, the kinetic degradation of Li+ de-/intercalation is found to be a key factor for the apparent capacity decay of NCM523 under the high upper-limit charging potential (>4.3 V). Meanwhile, the apparent capacity loss can be restored significantly by reducing the current density or increasing the operating temperature. Furthermore, the formation of the electrochemical passivation layer on the surface of NCM523 particles is detected by the surface characterization of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which is proved to be another important factor for the kinetic degradation, besides the particle pulverization of NCM523 and the decomposition products of electrolyte adsorbed on the material surface. Thus, this work can help to rationally improve the electrochemical performance of the high-voltage NCM523.

Nanostructure construction and surface modification are effective ways to improve the electrochemical performances of electrode materials, especially for the conversion reaction-based materials. In this study, one-dimensional carbon coating bamboo-like Cu 2-x S nanorods have been delicately designed in a template-free method. The structure and morphology are well characterized via different instruments such as X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Tested in lithium batteries as the anode, the Cu 2-x S@C electrode shows superior electrochemical performances to pristine Cu 2-x S. At 1 and 2 C, the Cu 2-x S@C nanorod electrode releases 309 and 277 mAh g −1 after 300 cycles. At high rates of 15 and 22 C, the electrode still exhibits 269 and 264 mAh g −1 . The kinetics of electrodes are also investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic intermittence titration (GITT) measurements, proving the enhanced electrochemical properties. Thus, the one-dimensional bamboo-like Cu 2-x S voided nanorods can be a promising candidate for high-performance batteries.

CDs@ZIF-8 nanocomposites are designed and synthesized as nanoenzymes by a novel one-pot synthetic method in solvent-free system, in which ZIF-8 framework protects CDs from the aggregation and quenching, increasing the participation of CDs for catalytic reactions. The embedding of CDs into ZIF-8 matrix is conducted to rapid electron transfer, and their synergetic effect promotes the composite materials to have superior peroxidase-like activity. CDs@ZIF-8 materials have catalyzed the oxidation of a typical colorimetric substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzydine (TMB) in the presence of H2O2 with the color changes from colorless to blue oxidized TMB (ox-TMB). A colorimetric approach could be established to detect H2O2 and glutathione (GSH) due to the outstanding peroxidase-like activity of CDs@ZIF-8-a. This work gives a feasible strategy for the synthesis of CDs-based composite nanozyme with enhanced catalytic activity and thus broadens the application of CDs@MOFs materials in biological analytical field.

In the search for novel, highly potent, and nontoxic adjuvant chemotherapeutics to resolve the major issue of ABC transporter-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR), pyrimidines were discovered as a promising compound class of modern ABCG2 inhibitors. As ABCG2-mediated MDR is a major obstacle in leukemia, pancreatic carcinoma, and breast cancer chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapeutics are highly desired for future clinical oncology. Very recently, docking studies of one of the most potent reversers of ABCG2-mediated MDR were reported and revealed a putative second binding pocket of ABCG2. Based on this (sub)pocket, a series of 16 differently 6-substituted 4-anilino-2-phenylpyrimidines was designed and synthesized to explore the potential increase in inhibitory activity of these ABCG2 inhibitors. The compounds were assessed for their influence on the ABCG2-mediated pheophorbide A transport, as well as the ABCB1- and ABCC1-mediated transport of calcein AM. They were additionally evaluated in MDR reversal assays to determine their half-maximal reversal concentration (EC50). The 6-substitution did not only show increased toxicity against ABCG2-overexpressing cells in combination with SN-38 but also a negative influence on cell viability in general. Nevertheless, several candidates had EC50 values in the low double-digit nanomolar concentration range, qualifying them as some of the most potent reversers of ABCG2-mediated MDR. In addition, five novel multitarget ABCB1, ABCC1, and ABCG2 inhibitors were discovered, four of them exerting their inhibitory power against the three stated transporters at least in the single-digit micromolar concentration range.

In this work, morphology-controlled lithium cobalt oxides (LCO) were obtained by a simple two-step method that involves a Co3O4 synthetic process, in which cubic and spherical Co3O4 were prepared by a hydrothermal method and a subsequent lithiation process with Li2CO3. The structures and morphologies of two materials were investigated by XRD, SEM and TEM. In contrast with the LCO prepared by using commercial Co3O4 precursor, the cubic and spherical LCO materials have an excellent performance in cyclic stability and rate capacity which is attributed to the better fluidity and less agglomeration with specific morphology of LCO materials.

Background Diosgenin, a steroidal saponin isolated from legumes and yams, has been confirmed to possess potent anticancer effect on multifarious tumors including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Purpose We aimed to further determine the anti-cancer activity of diosgenin and its mechanisms in CML cells. Methods The cell vitality was detected by MTT assay. Autophagic flux and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were analyzed by laser scanning confocal microscope. Apoptosis was observed by flow cytometry. All proteins expression was examined by western blotting. Results Autophagy induction was demonstrated by examination of autophagic flux including autophagosomes accumulation, autophagosome–lysosome fusion and degradation of autophagosomes. Moreover, blocking autophagy with inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) and 3-methyladenine (3-MA), enhanced diosgenin-induced apoptosis, indicating the protective effect of autophagy in diosgenin-treated CML cells. Further study suggested that diosgenin-induced autophagy and cytotoxicity were accompanied by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway inhibition. N -acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) administration, a scavenger agent of ROS, could down-regulate diosgenin-induced autophagy via reversion of mTOR pathway inhibition. Conclusion These results indicate that diosgenin obviously generates ROS and this oxidative pressure not only produces cytotoxic effect on CML cells but also induces autophagy. What's more, autophagy functions as a cytoprotective mechanism to overcome cytotoxicity of diosgenin in tumor cells and inhibition of autophagy can enhance the anti-CML activity of diosgenin.

Photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT) is an effective strategy to inactivate pathogenic and resistant microbes. However, pan-microbial photoinactivation has hardly achieved. In this manuscript, we built anti-microbial PSs based on 2,6-diiodo-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl BODIPY (2I-BDP) using anchoring strategy through modifications on boron atom with bis-cationic moieties. With appropriate bis-cationic anchoring, we could achieve effective PACT for pan-microbial photoinactivation via straight forward modifications. Our studies suggested that integration of an efficient photosensitizer, good amphiphilicity, as well as tight interaction with microbial membrane could be essential for effective PACT.

We have found that the formation of passivation film plays a major role in the negative shift of the decomposition voltage in the hydrogen-generating process. Both the hydrolysis of weak acid ions and the decarboxylation reaction of carboxylate can make the LiCO2CH3 produce a passivation film to inhibit the water decomposition to a certain extent. As for the LiCO2CF3 without hydrolysis of weak acid ion, it can be highly possible to facilitate the introduction of CO2 via its carboxylate specific decarboxylation reaction, and further produce lithium carbonate passivation film as well. However, the water decomposition voltage in the oxygen-producing process is more dependent on the properties of lithium salt anions. Those with strong electron-absorbing groups such as the trifluoromethyl are more likely to effectively endue the aqueous electrolyte with a high oxidative decomposition potential. Moreover, the concentration of LiCO2CF3 aqueous electrolyte can reach up to 28 mol kg−1, and hence the electrochemical stability window of this water-base electrolyte can be expanded to about 3.0 V. This work provides a new idea for the selection of high concentration lithium salt.

High hydrophobicity, non-polar structure and large pore volume are among the main criteria demanded breakthrough when designing or selecting materials with ultralow dielectric constants of k. Herein we proved the feasibility of PIM-1 films, a constitutive porous polymer with high free volume, as a rising ultra-low-k material in the field of microelectronics. An ultrathin PIM-1 film of approximate 60 nm in thickness was easily obtained by the spin-coating approach. Thermal treatment on the PIM-1 film (denoted as sPIM-1) enhanced its dielectric performance and the incorporation of cyanopropyltriethoxysilane (CPTES) to sPIM-1 improved the mechanical strength of the film significantly. The sPIM-1 films exhibited an ultralow dielectric constant (k = 1.5 at 10 kHz), substantial mechanical strength, and ability to withstand high humidity (soaking in water for 30 min) without losing their dielectric properties. The easy curing process and extremely stable performances even under the harsh conditions of practical application make it one of the most competitive candidates of low dielectric materials at present.

An open-framework zinc phosphate has been synthesized in the presence of ethylviologen (EV) dibromide, which exhibits rapid photochromic property responsive to soft X-ray while almost no response to UV light and hard X-ray. It also shows tunable luminescence upon irradiation, and mother liquid recycling can be utilized for the economical synthesis of such compound.

Nowadays, the high-nickel ternary cathode materials attract more and more attention because of their high capacity. However, compared with other cathode materials, the disadvantage of high-nickel ternary cathode materials in storage performance is very obvious. The obvious impurities on the surface of high-nickel ternary materials are generated after storage for a period of time, and its electrochemical performance produce a cliff-like decline. In this work, we use the pre-blending of conductive agent to simply and effectively improve the storage performance of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode materials under high temperature and high humidity conditions. Fine particles of conductive agent can be well filled in the gap between the primary particles of the material, suppressing the sites where impurities are most easily formed during storage. Compared with the pristine materials, when stored for the same time, the impurities generated on the surface of modified materials are significantly fewer, the increase of weight is smaller, and more excellent electrochemical performance is exhibited. It can be seen from the results that the pre-blending of the conductive agent can greatly improve the storage performance of the high-nickel ternary cathode materials.

The V 2 O 5 -coated LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 (LNMO) cathode materials are synthesized via a wet-coating method. V 2 O 5 is capable of lithium intercalating, so the surface of materials is purified. Furthermore lithium ion conductor V 2 O 5 is not only a barrier between electrolyte and LNMO surface to prevent electrolyte decomposition especially at high voltage, but also a HF scavenger thus the spinel structural integrity of LNMO can be preserved for a better cycling reversibility, especially at high temperatures under which conditions the dissolution of Mn 3+ ions into electrolyte via reacting with HF is severely problematic for pristine LNMO as cathode materials. The amount of V 2 O 5 coating affects the electrochemical properties of these samples. We discover that the optimal amount of V 2 O 5 on LNMO surface is about 5 wt%. Compared with pristine LNMO, the coating amount with 5 wt% exhibits an excellent rate capability and better reversibility. The discharge capacity is increased by 15.8%, 17.9%, 16.2%, 16.3%, 19.1% and 21.0% in comparison with pure LNMO, presenting a discharge specific capacity of 123.9, 119.1, 120.8, 117.5, 111.9 and 105.3 mAh g −1 at the rates of 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5 and 10C respectively. In addition, the sample presents a discharge capacity of 131.5 mAh g −1 at 1C, with a retention of 92.2% after 100 cycles. Even cycling at 5C rate and 55 °C, the cell with 5% V 2 O 5 -coated LNMO cathode can has a capacity of 126.3 mAh g −1 , with 92% capacity retention after 100 cycles, implying that V 2 O 5 -coating of LNMO is an effective modified method for lithium ion batteries.

A support vector machine (SVM) method has been used on the database of aluminophosphate (AlPO) synthesis with ca. 1700 reaction data to predict the formation of AlPOs with (6, 8)-rings based on 20 synthetic parameters associated with the gel composition, solvent and templates. Furthermore, four zeotype structures with different channel systems, such as AEN, AWO, ERI and CHA have been computational classified in the family of (6, 8)-ring-containing AlPOs. Analysis results reveal that several synthetic parameters, particular the molar ratio of solvent/Al 2 O 3 (F3), and the Van der Waals (VDW) volume (F14), the greatest length (F11), and the number of free rotated single bond (F20) of templates have significant effects in directing the formation of target structure. Using single or combinations of several parameters, a better classifier can be trained to distinguish the (6, 8)-ring-containing AlPOs with desired zeotype structure or not, and the classification accuracy is about 85%. This work demonstrates that the computational method together with database of AlPO synthesis provides a possibility to establish the relationship between the synthetic factors and the resulting structures, which is important in guiding the rational synthesis of microporous aluminophosphate materials.

A low flow rate and short diaphragm life are the two disadvantages of diaphragm compressors when applied in hydrogen refueling stations. A new generatrix of the cavity profile of a diaphragm compressor was developed in this study to increase the cavity volume and decrease the diaphragm radial stress. A reduction in the diaphragm radial stress that resulted from the new design was validated by experiment and numerical simulation. The volumes of the cavities with different generatrices and the radial stress distribution of the diaphragm were investigated under various design conditions. The results indicated that the volume of the cavity with the new generatrix was approximately 10% larger than that with a traditional generatrix at the same allowable stress and cavity radius. At a similar cavity volume and radius, the radial stress values of the diaphragm in the cavity with the new generatrix were low. The decrease rate of the maximal radial stress of the diaphragm in the cavity with the new generatrix reached 13.8%. In the diaphragm centric region, where additional stress was induced by discharge holes, the maximal radial stress decrease rate reached 19.6%.

The influence of the hydroxyl radicals generated from radical initiator on the crystallization of SAPO-34 and its methanol-to-olefin (MTO) performance has been studied. The existence of hydroxyl radicals can obviously shorten the induction period and accelerate the initial crystallization process of SAPO-34, as well as change the crystallization mechanism of SAPO-34 zeolites. By the advantage of high crystallinity produced by radical initiator and hierarchical structure formed in the initial stage of crystallization (before 6 h), the calcined SP34-1‰ (200 °C, 6 h) exhibits similar catalytic performance with the traditional SP34-0‰ (200 °C, 16 h), as well as some reported SAPO-34 zeolites.

Several experiments have been performed based on the results of four missing value estimation methods on the database of AlPO syntheses. The target products, aluminophosphate molecular sieves with AFI topology, have been prepared by using triethylamine (TEA), N , N -dimethylbenzylamine (BDMA) and N -(2-aminoethyl)-piperazine (AEP) as the structure-directing agents, and their structures have been characterized by PXRD, SEM, TG, CHN, ICP and NMR. The experimental results show that BP impute method is the most effective approach for estimation of missing data of microporous aluminophosphates. This work further indicates that data mining provides a useful guidance for the rational synthesis of inorganic microporous materials.