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Ongoing research is dedicated to tackling the trade‐off between out‐coupling efficiency, transparency, and conductivity for transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs), owing to their continuously increasing application in smartphones/watches, augmented/virtual reality, and naked eye 3D projection. Herein, an aluminum substrate‐mediated hybrid plasmon mode is deliberately embedded in solution‐processed organic light‐emitting diode (SOLED). The created TCE with a 6‐nm‐Al film‐mediated indium tin oxide (ITO) displays an average transmittance of 88.3%, an average ultra‐low haze of 0.2%, and a sheet resistance of 9.5 Ω sq−1, surpassing commercial ITO substrates. By precisely controlling the geometry of this aluminium film/dielectric spacer/silver nanoparticle (Al film‐TAPC‐Ag NP) coupled system, a hybrid dipolar, and quadrupolar mode is required, providing further enhanced scattering strength and plasmon coupling effect in the resultant OLED. These Al film‐TAPC‐Ag NP system mediated SOLEDs display improved decay rate of triplet excitons, elevated electroluminescence out‐coupling efficiency, and suppressed waveguide confinement. Consequently, enhanced stability by 10% after 580 h storage without encapsulation, forward‐directed emission with a ± 70° light‐emitting angle, and a 22% current efficiency enhancement are simultaneously realized, compared with conventional SOLEDs. This work presents new opportunities for LED design and for the implementation of solution‐processed LEDs in large‐area high‐performance displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A key issue for nano‐additive to effectively exert tribological function is to ensure its entrance to and adhesion on the frictional contact surfaces. But the adhesion of nano‐additive on the rubbed surfaces under oil lubrication faces the challenge of the competitive adsorption of lubricant base oil thereon. In this study, oleic acid–modified ultra‐small cerium oxide (OA‐CeO2) nanoparticle was synthesised by one‐pot liquid‐phase surface‐modification method in the presence of OA as the surface modifier. The susceptibility of non‐polar poly–alpha olefin 6 (PAO6) and polar diisooctyl sebacate (DIOS) base oils to the as‐prepared OA‐CeO2 nano‐additive was investigated, and the effect of the OA‐CeO2 nano‐additive on the friction‐reducing and anti‐wear abilities of the two kinds of base oils towards a steel–steel sliding contact was investigated with four‐ball friction and wear tester. Furthermore, the tribological mechanism of the adsorption and deposition of the OA‐CeO2 nano‐additive on the surface of friction steel and the competitive adsorption of base oil were discussed. Characterisations by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrate that the as‐prepared OA‐CeO2 nanoparticle is of a spherical shape and has an ultra‐small average size of 1.2 nm. As the lubricant additive in PAO6 and DIOS base oils, the OA‐CeO2 nano‐additive exhibits different tribological properties, which is attributed to the difference in the base oils' polarity. Namely, the CeO2 nanoparticle in the non‐polar PAO6 base oil is more easily adsorbed on the rubbed surface of the steel–steel sliding contact, thereby forming the CeO2 deposition film to improve the tribological properties of the base oil. However, the CeO2 nanoparticle added in polar DIOS base oil is difficult to form the CeO2 deposition film, because of the competitive and preferential adsorption of the polar base oil on the rubbed steel surface. Therefore, it is imperative to select the base oils with proper polarity to better exert the friction‐reducing and anti‐wear functions of the OA‐CeO2 nano‐additive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lymphocyte activation gene‐3 (LAG‐3) is a type I transmembrane protein with structural similarities to CD4. Overexpression of LAG‐3 enables cancer cells to escape immune surveillance, while its blockade reinvigorates exhausted T cells and strengthens anti‐infection immunity. Blockade of LAG‐3 may have antitumor effects. Here, we generated a novel anti‐LAG‐3 chimeric antibody, 405B8H3(D‐E), through hybridoma technology from monoclonal antibodies produced in mice. The heavy‐chain variable region of the selected mouse antibody was grafted onto a human IgG4 scaffold, while a modified light‐chain variable region was coupled to the human kappa light‐chain constant region. 405B8H3(D‐E) could effectively bind LAG‐3‐expressing HEK293 cells. Moreover, it could bind cynomolgus monkey (cyno) LAG‐3 expressed on HEK293 cells with a higher affinity than the reference anti‐LAG‐3 antibody BMS‐986016. Furthermore, 405B8H3(D‐E) promoted interleukin‐2 secretion and was able to block the interactions of LAG‐3 with liver sinusoidal endothelial cell lectin and major histocompatibility complex II molecules. Finally, 405B8H3(D‐E) combined with anti‐mPD‐1‐antibody showed effective therapeutic potential in the MC38 tumor mouse model. Therefore, 405B8H3(D‐E) is likely to be a promising candidate therapeutic antibody for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CD137 (4‐1BB, TNFRSF9), an inducible T‐cell costimulatory receptor, is expressed on activated T cells, activated NK cells, Treg cells, and several innate immune cells, including DCs, monocytes, neutrophils, mast cells, and eosinophils. In animal models and clinical trials, anti‐CD137 agonistic monoclonal antibodies have shown anti‐tumor potential, but balancing the efficacy and toxicity of anti‐CD137 agonistic monoclonal antibodies is a considerable hindrance for clinical applications. Here, we describe a novel fully human CD137 agonistic antibody (PE0116) generated from immunized harbor H2L2 human transgenic mice. PE0116 is a ligand blocker, which is also the case for Utomilumab (one of the leading CD137 agonistic drugs); PE0116 partially overlaps with Urelumab's recognized epitope. In vitro, PE0116 activates NF‐κB signaling, significantly promotes T‐cell proliferation, and increases cytokine secretion in the presence of cross‐linking. Importantly, PE0116 possesses robust anti‐tumor activity in the MC38 tumor model. In vivo, PE0116 exhibits a good safety profile and has typical pharmacokinetic characteristics of an IgG antibody in preclinical studies of non‐human primates. In summary, PE0116 is a promising anti‐CD137 antibody with a good safety profile in preclinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being one important class in dendrimer chemistry, internally functionalized dendrimers (IFDs) are still exiguous. Here, the first construction of IFDs involving fully substituted 1,2,3‐triazole rings as interior functionality carriers is demonstrated. Through divergent or convergent synthetic protocols established on the efficient iridium‐catalyzed annulation of internal 1‐thioalkynes with organic azides, sequence‐controlled heterolayered dendrimers with different branched structures are achieved in a convenient manner. 1H NMR, mass spectrometry, and size exclusion chromatography characterizations well identify their architecture and high purity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although wind power is a promising source of renewable energy, previous studies have focused on uncovering species and abundance decreases caused by wind farms. However, very few studies focus on collision risk of onshore wind farms in relation to birds' movements which are the important indicators for balancing wind energy development and biodiversity conservation. Here, birds' movement were recorded by combining 15 ducks' satellite tracking and six field surveys to assess collision risks in Yangtze River Mouth, the wintering site for migratory waterbirds along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. It is found that distances between ducks' locations and nearest wind turbines in middle and later wintering periods were significantly higher than during early period. Besides, ducks inside wind farm tended to fly outside turbine rotor height range (45–135 m: between lowest and highest points the rotor tips) within 300 m from the dyke where the turbines were located, thus decreasing their collision risk. Ducks also tended to fly below the minimum rotor tip height (< 45 m) when the turbines were rotating. These results suggest that ducks adopt behavioural avoidance strategies in response to wind farms, and turning off turbines to reduce collision risks may be unnecessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The tribological properties of lubricants containing the same additives often vary with varying hardness and composition of the frictional parts. This means that, in terms of the effectiveness of lubricant additives, most of current researches using GCr15 steel to assemble the frictional pair could not be directly cited by the moving parts made of other materials. Aiming at verifying if RNS‐1A‐PIBSA (referring to amino‐functionalized silica nanoparticle [RNS‐1A] after secondary surface‐capping by polyisobutylene succinic anhydride [PIBSA]) is suitable for multiple frictional parts made of different materials with varying hardness and composition, herein we investigate its applicability an additive in poly‐alpha‐olefin 6 (PAO6) base oil to three types of sliding pairs constructed from GCr15 steel, #45 steel, and ductile iron with much different hardness and composition by SRV‐5. A series of analyses of worn surface morphology and composition demonstrate that, independent of the composition and hardness of the frictional pairs, RNS‐1A‐PIBSA added in PAO6 base oil can form silica deposition film on the rubbed surfaces of the three kinds of sliding pairs, thereby effectively reducing friction and wear. Besides, we also examine the effect of RNS‐1A‐PIBSA on the thermal stability of the PAO6 base oil, and found the nano‐additive RNS‐1A‐PIBSA can delay the thermal decomposition of PAO6 base oil to some extent, which is favourable for its application in lubrication engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind farms offer a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels and can mitigate their negative effects on climate change. However, wind farms may have negative impacts on birds. The East China Coast forms a key part of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, and it is a crucial region for wind energy development in China. However, despite ducks being the dominant animal taxon along the East China Coast in winter and considered as particularly vulnerable to the effects of wind farms, the potential negative impacts of wind farms on duck populations remain unclear. We therefore assessed the effects of wind farms on duck abundance, distribution, and habitat use at Chongming Dongtan, which is a major wintering site for ducks along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, using field surveys and satellite tracking. We conducted seven paired field surveys of ducks inside wind farm (IWF) and outside wind farm (OWF) sites in artificial brackish marsh, paddy fields, and aquaculture ponds. Duck abundance was significantly higher in OWF compared with IWF sites and significantly higher in artificial brackish marsh than in aquaculture ponds and paddy fields. Based on 1,918 high‐resolution satellite tracking records, the main habitat types of ducks during the day and at night were artificial brackish marsh and paddy fields, respectively. Furthermore, grid‐based analysis showed overlaps between ducks and wind farms, with greater overlap at night than during the day. According to resource selection functions, habitat use by wintering ducks was impacted by distance to water, land cover, human activity, and wind farm effects, and the variables predicted to have significant impacts on duck habitat use differed between day and night. Our study suggests that wintering ducks tend to avoid wind turbines at Chongming Dongtan, and landscape of paddy fields and artificial wetlands adjoining natural wetlands is crucial for wintering ducks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: As multibody systems often involve unilateral constraints, nonsmooth phenomena, such as impacts and friction, are common in engineering. Therefore, a valid nonsmooth dynamics method is highly important for multibody systems. An accuracy representation of multibody systems is an important performance indicator of numerical algorithms, and the energy balance can be used efficiently evaluate the performance of nonsmooth dynamics methods. In this article, differential algebraic equations (DAEs) of a multibody system are constructed using the D'Alembert's principle, and a novel nonsmooth dynamics method based on symplectic discrete format is proposed. The symplectic discrete format can maintain the energy conservation of a conservative system; this property is expected to extend to nonconservative systems with nonsmooth phenomena in this article. To evaluate the properties of the proposed method, several numerical examples are considered, and the results of the proposed method are compared with those of Moreau's midpoint rule. The results demonstrate that the solutions obtained using the proposed method, which is based on the symplectic discrete format, can realize a higher solution accuracy and lower numerical energy dissipation, even under a large time step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The lithium–sulfur (Li–S) battery is a promising candidate for next‐generation high‐density energy storage devices because of its ultrahigh theoretical energy density and the natural abundance of sulfur. However, the practical performance of the sulfur cathode is plagued by fast capacity decay and poor cycle life, both of which can be attributed to the intrinsic dissolution/shuttling of lithium polysulfides. Here, a new built‐in magnetic field–enhanced polysulfide trapping mechanism is discovered by introducing ferromagnetic iron/iron carbide (Fe/Fe3C) nanoparticles with a graphene shell (Fe/Fe3C/graphene) onto a flexible activated cotton textile (ACT) fiber to prepare the ACT@Fe/Fe3C/graphene sulfur host. The novel trapping mechanism is demonstrated by significant differences in the diffusion behavior of polysulfides in a custom‐designed liquid cell compared to a pure ACT/S cathode. Furthermore, a cell assembled using the ACT@Fe/Fe3C/S cathode exhibits a high initial discharge capacity of ≈764 mAh g−1, excellent rate performance, and a remarkably long lifespan of 600 cycles using ACT@Fe/Fe3C/S (whereas only 100 cycles can be achieved using pure ACT/S). The new magnetic field–enhanced trapping mechanism provides not only novel insight but unveils new possibilities for mitigating the “shuttle effect” of polysulfides thereby promoting the practical applications of Li–S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Li‐rich layer‐structured oxides are regarded one of the most promising candidates of cathode materials for high energy‐density Li‐ion batteries. However, the uninterrupted migration of the transition metal (TM) ions during cycling and the resultant continuous fading of their discharge potentials bring challenges to the battery design and impede their commercial applications. Various efforts have been taken to suppress the migration of the TM ions such as surface modification and elemental substitution, but no success has been achieved to date. Another strategy hereby is proposed to address these issues, in which the TM migration is promoted and the layered material is transformed to a rocksalt in the first few charge/discharge cycles by specially designing a novel Li‐rich layer‐structured Li1.2Mo0.6Fe0.2O2 on the basis of density functional theory calculations. With such, the continuous falling of the discharge potential is detoured due to enhanced completion of the cation mixing. In‐depth studies such as aberration‐corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy confirm the drastic structural change at the atomic scale, and in situ X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy clarify its charge compensation mechanism. This new strategy provides revelation for the development of the Li‐rich layered oxides with mitigated potential decay and a longer lifespan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium-ion batteries are promising for grid-scale storage applications due to the natural abundance and low cost of sodium. However, few electrodes that can meet the requirements for practical applications are available today due to the limited routes to exploring new materials. Here, a new strategy is proposed through partially/fully substituting the redox couple of existing negative electrodes in their reduced forms to design the corresponding new positive electrode materials. The power of this strategy is demonstrated through the successful design of new tunnel-type positive electrode materials of Na0.61[Mn0.61- xFe xTi0.39]O2, composed of non-toxic and abundant elements: Na, Mn, Fe, Ti. In particular, the designed air-stable Na0.61[Mn0.27Fe0.34Ti0.39]O2 shows a usable capacity of ≈90 mAh g−1, registering the highest value among the tunnel-type oxides, and a high storage voltage of 3.56 V, corresponding to the Fe3+/Fe4+ redox couple realized for the first time in non-layered oxides, which was confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy. This new strategy would open an exciting route to explore electrode materials for rechargeable batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nd3+-doped Y3Al5O12 single crystals have been grown by the horizontal directional solidification (HDS) method in different thermal zone. The Grashof ( Gr), Prandtl ( Pr), Marangoni ( Ma) and Rayleigh ( Ra) numbers of melt in HDS system have been discussed for our experimental system to understand the mechanism of melt flow patterns and concentration gradient of dopant. The concentration gradient of Nd3+ ions was explained with melt flow processes during crystal growth in different thermal zone, and results indicated that high growth temperature will be helpful for uniformity of dopant in HDS-grown single crystal. The main microscopic growth defects such as bubbles and irregular inclusions in HDS-grown Nd:YAG crystals were observed, and the causes were discussed as well. (© 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]