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The MnO2-based aqueous Zn cell can meet the requirements of safety, flexibility, and low cost for portable/wearable electronics; however, its low intrinsic conductivity, weak kinetics, and poor high-loading capacity restrict its practical performance. In this study, the synergistic architecture of MoS2-loaded, oxygen-defect-rich MnO2-x nanocrystals with a carbon coating (M-PM2-x-H2 aerogel) was prepared. As corevealed by various characterizations, this synergistic design not only improves the electronic/ionic conductivity but also motivates the conversion kinetics of the surficial electrochemical reaction. As a result, the M-PM2-x-H2 cathode delivers a much improved capacity of 567 mA h·g-1 at 0.1 A·g-1 and shows a high capacity retention of 176% after 150 cycles at 0.5 A·g-1. More impressively, the high areal loading (3.97 mg·cm-1) of the M-PM2-x-H2 electrode also displays a high capacity of 367 mA h·g-1 at 0.1 A·g-1. In addition, the derived all-solid-state cell exhibits excellent flexibility and safety under the conditions of weight loading, cutting, and bending.

Ammonia, as a zero-carbon fuel, is drawing more and more attention. The major challenge of using ammonia as a fuel for the combustion engines lies in its low chemical reactivity, and therefore more fundamental researches on the combustion characteristics of ammonia are required to explore effective ways to burn ammonia in engines. In this study, the laminar burning characteristics of the premixed ammonia/hydrogen/air mixtures are investigated. In the experiment, the laser ignition was used to achieve stable ignition of the ammonia/air mixtures with an equivalence ratio range from 0.7 to 1.4. The propagating flame was recorded with the high-speed shadowgraphy. Three different processing methods were introduced to calculate the laminar burning velocity with a consideration of the flame structure characteristics induced by the laser ignition. The effects of initial pressure (0.1 MPa–0.5 MPa), equivalence ratio (0.7–1.4), hydrogen fraction (0–20%) on the laminar burning velocity were investigated under the initial ambient temperature of 360 K. The state-of-the-art kinetic models were used to calculate the laminar burning velocities in the CHEMKIN-pro software. Both the simulation and experimental results show that the laminar burning velocity of the ammonia mixtures increases at first, reaches the peak around ϕ of 1.1, and then decreases with the equivalence ratio increasing from 0.7 to 1.4. The peak laminar burning velocities of the ammonia mixture are lower than 9 cm/s and are remarkably lower than those of hydrocarbon fuels. The laminar burning velocity of the ammonia mixture decreases with the increase of the initial ambient pressure, and it can be drastically speeded up with the addition of hydrogen. While the models except for those by Miller and Bian can give reasonable predictions compared to the experimental results for the equivalence ratio from 0.7 to 1.1 in the ammonia (80%)/hydrogen (20%)/air mixtures, all the kinetic models overpredict the experiments for the richer mixtures, indicating further work necessary in this respect.

The development of clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated protein (Cas) variants with a broader recognition scope is critical for further improvement of CRISPR/Cas systems. The original Cas9 protein from Streptococcus canis (ScCas9) can recognize simple NNG-protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) targets, and therefore possesses a broader range relative to current CRISPR/Cas systems, but its editing efficiency is low in plants. Evolved ScCas9+ and ScCas9++ variants have been shown to possess higher editing efficiencies in human cells, but their activities in plants are currently unknown. Here, we utilized codon-optimized ScCas9, ScCas9+ and ScCas9++ and a nickase variant ScCas9n++ to systematically investigate genome cleavage activity and cytidine base editing efficiency in rice (Oryza sativa L.). This analysis revealed that ScCas9++ has higher editing efficiency than ScCas9 and ScCas9+ in rice. Furthermore, we fused the evolved cytidine deaminase PmCDA1 with ScCas9n++ to generate a new evoBE4max-type cytidine base editor, termed PevoCDA1-ScCas9n++ . This base editor achieved stable and efficient multiplex-site base editing at NNG-PAM sites with wider editing windows (C- 1 -C17 ) and without target sequence context preference. Multiplex-site base editing of the rice genes OsWx (three targets) and OsEui1 (two targets) achieved simultaneous editing and produced new rice germplasm. Taken together, these results demonstrate that ScCas9++ represents a crucial new tool for improving plant editing.

A novel ammonia/hydrogen dual-fuelled Linear Joule Engine Generator (LJEG) is developed for medium to large scale power generations and electrification of ship propulsion systems. The characteristics of premixed ammonia/hydrogen combustion of the LJEG are investigated through chemical kinetic modelling. Three representative mechanisms are compared based on their accuracy of reproducing experimental results. With robust combustion and low N O x emission as the primary targets, laminar burning velocity, ignition delay and flame species concentration are investigated over a wide range of equivalence ratio ( 0.8 − 1.6 ) , hydrogen blending ratio ( 0.0 − 0.6 ) , oxygen content ( 0.21 − 1.00 ) , inlet temperature ( 300 K − 700 K ) and pressure ( 1 b a r − 20 b a r ) . Rate of production (ROP) analysis is carried out to gain in-depth understanding of critical N O production and consumption pathways. The results indicate that an equivalence ratio around 1.1 is beneficial for both combustion robustness and N O x emission reduction. Both adding hydrogen in the fuel ( 40 % V o l ) and enriching oxygen in the oxidizer ( 60 % V o l ) promote burning velocity to the similar level of methane ( 37 c m / s ) . Explicit reduction of N O emission is observed when pressure increases, which can be attributed to the combination of N H i radicals. The findings show the potential of the ammonia and hydrogen fuelled LJEG for ultra-low emission power generation.

In this paper, we propose a new strategy for the sensitive and specific detections of dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), as a simulant of nerve agent Sarin. Our silicon nanowire based sensor is modified with carboxyphenylboronic acid (CPBA) to demonstrate great efficiency. The response time is less than 100 seconds to recognize the DMMP, which is a key ability for on-site monitoring. The sensor exhibits a good reversibility during the repeated measurements between DMMP vapor and air. The sensor still performs well after being exposed in high concentration of DMMP vapor with excellent recovery for 3 times. The sensor is demonstrated to have a linear behavior in detecting DMMP within the concentration of 13~65 ppm in gaseous phase with the limit of detection (LOD) of 100 ppb. It is expected that the proposed sensor enables the testing system accurate, rapid, sensitive and reversible for on-site detection of nerve agents in the future.

It is widely accepted that catalysts in batteries can decrease the energy barriers of conversion reactions. However, little attention has been paid to their influence on ionic diffusion in the electrode or across the interface. Herein, we report that lithium ion diffusivity can be significantly accelerated in an intrinsically electrode by atomically-distributed metal catalyst. Electrochemical measurements have found single atomic cobalt catalyst embedded in a nanocarbon network is capable of increasing the kinetics of lithium ion, providing rapid conversion reaction rate in an ultrahigh-rate Li2S battery. Meanwhile, density functional theory simulations have revealed that the lithium ion diffusion barrier on a nanocarbon surface is highly sensitive to the dopant atoms and can be decreased by introduction of cobalt atoms. The synergetic effects of the well-known Li2S decomposition catalysis and the lithium ion diffusion acceleration allow us to achieve a high Li2S mass loading cathode with superior rate performance and reversibility. The as-prepared Li2S electrode converted from cheap Li2SO4 precursors can deliver a high rate capacity (441 ​mA ​h ​g-1 based on Li2S at 10 ​C) and long lifespan for 1500 cycles at 2 ​C with average capacity fading of 0.04% per cycle. Impressively, the high areal mass loading cells display a specific capacity of 340 ​mA ​h ​g-1 based on Li2S mass at 23.4 ​mA ​cm-2 (5 ​C) and a long cycle life (2.26 ​mA ​h ​cm-2 at 6.77 ​mA ​cm-2 after 200 cycles), which have not been reported for Li2S cathodes.

This study aims to explore the possible mechanism of TUG1 regulating ApoM in AS. To this end, expression levels of TUG1 and ApoM were measured in high fat dieted C57BL/6J mice, normal dieted C57BL/6J mice, ob/ob mice and db/db mice. LV‐TUG1 or sh‐TUG1 was injected into C57BL/6J mice before isolating peritoneal macrophages to measure cholesterol efflux (CE) and expression levels of ABCA1, ABCG1 and SR‐BI. Meanwhile, CE in RAW264.7 cells was also measured after cell transfection. Dual luciferase reporter assay and anti‐AGO2 RIP were applied to verify the relationship among TUG1, FXR1 and miR‐92a. Total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low‐density lipoprotein cholesterin (LDL‐C), high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL‐C) as well as expressions of inflammatory cytokines (TNF‐α, IL‐1β and IL‐6) in plasma were measured. Knock‐down or expressed TUG1, FXR1 or miR‐92a in NCTC 1469 cells or in ApoE−/− AS mice to determine the alteration on ApoM and plaque size. TUG1 was highly expressed while ApoM was down‐regulated in high fat dieted C57BL/6J mice, b/ob and db/db mice. Overexpression of TUG1 could reduce the expression of ApoM, ABCA1 and ABCG1 in addition to slowing down CE rate. Reversed expression pattern was found in cells with knock‐down of TUG1. TUG1 can compete with FXR1 to bind miR‐92a. FXR1 negatively target ApoM. Overexpression of TUG1 in ApoE−/− mice can increase plaque size and enhance macrophage contents accordingly. TUG1 can inhibit ApoM in both liver tissues and plasma to inhibit CE through regulating miR‐92a/ FXR1 axis. TUG1 is a promising target for AS treatment.

Noble metals supported on metal oxides are promising materials for widely applying on gas sensors because of their enviable physical and chemical properties in enhancing the sensitivity and selecti...

Since the preparation of TNT is always proceeded in acid solution, it is very difficult to accurately detect it at the production stage. Developing a TNT sensor which can work in sulfuric acid solution will be very helpful. This paper presents a TNT sensor based on SiNWs-FET which can quickly detect TNT in sulfuric acid. The detection mechanism is based on the fact that TNT molecules can selectively bond to the amino group of nanowires, which act as grid elements and modulate the conductance of the silicon nanowires, leading to the variation of SiNWs-FET drain-source current. The SiNWs-FET devices were fabricated on a (111) silicon-on-insulator wafer using controllable silicon anisotropy etching and self-limiting oxidation. The silicon nanowires were treated with oxygen plasma and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) to form hydroxyl and amino groups on the surface of the nanowires, respectively. The SiNWs-FET sensor demonstrated highly sensitive detection to TNT molecule in aqueous solution with 0.1% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and sulfuric acid solutions. These experimental results show that the SiNWs-FET sensor can work stably and reliably in some harsh environment, even in high concentration of sulfuric acid. The rapid response time also reflected the advantages of SiNWs-FET sensors in TNT fast detection. In addition, the SiNWs-FET sensor showed selectivity to TNT, due to the specific bind between amino groups and nitro groups.

Baked adzuki beans are rich in tantalizing odor and nutritional components, such as protein, dietary fiber, vitamin B, and minerals. To analyze the final quality of baked beans, the acrylamide and volatile formation of adzuki beans were investigated under the conditions of microwave baking and drum roasting. The results indicate that the acrylamide formation in baked adzuki beans obeys the exponential growth function during the baking process, where a rapid increase in acrylamide content occurs at a critical temperature and low moisture content. The critical temperature that leads to a sudden increase in acrylamide content is 116.5 °C for the moisture content of 5.6% (w.b.) in microwave baking and 91.6 °C for the moisture content of 6.1% (w.b.) in drum roasting. The microwave-baked adzuki beans had a higher formation of the kinetics of acrylamide than that of drum-roasted beans due to the microwave volumetric heating mode. The acrylamide content in baked adzuki beans had a significant correlation with their color due to the Maillard reaction. A color difference of 11.1 and 3.6 may be introduced to evaluate the starting point of the increase in acrylamide content under microwave baking and drum roasting, respectively. Heating processes, including microwave baking and drum roasting, for adzuki beans generate characteristic volatile compounds such as furan, pyrazine, ketone, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, pyrroles, sulfocompound, phenols, and pyridine. Regarding flavor formation, beans baked via drum roasting showed better flavor quality than microwave-baked beans.

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) is one of the main diseases leading to death and disability. Studying the role and mechanism of drugs in mitigating CIRI is of great significance. In the present study, the effect of formononetin from Trifolium pratense L. on oxidative stress, energy metabolism impairment and inflammatory response after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) in mice were investigated. Formononetin was extracted from Trifolium pratense L. and was purified. The mice were treated with formononetin for six days. Then, the CIRI model was established. After 24 h of reperfusion, compared with model group, in formononetin group, the neurological deficit score, cerebral water content and cerebral infarction rate were significantly decreased, the brain tissue nitric oxide and malondialdehyde levels were significantly decreased, the brain tissue superoxide dismutase level was significantly increased, the brain tissue Na+-K+-ATPase, Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase and Ca2+-ATPase activities were significantly increased, and the brain tissue tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin 1β and interleukin 6 levels were significantly decreased. In conclusion, formononetin from Trifolium pratense L. can reduce the oxidative stress, energy metabolism impairment and inflammatory response in brain tissues, thus mitigating the CIRI in mice.

BackgroundThere have been reports of increasing azole resistance in Candida tropicalis, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. Here we report on the epidemiology and antifungal susceptibility of C. tropicalis causing invasive candidiasis in China, from a 9-year surveillance study.MethodsFrom August 2009 to July 2018, C. tropicalis isolates (n = 3702) were collected from 87 hospitals across China. Species identification was carried out by mass spectrometry or rDNA sequencing. Antifungal susceptibility was determined by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute disk diffusion (CHIF-NET10–14, n = 1510) or Sensititre YeastOne (CHIF-NET15–18, n = 2192) methods.ResultsOverall, 22.2% (823/3702) of the isolates were resistant to fluconazole, with 90.4% (744/823) being cross-resistant to voriconazole. In addition, 16.9 (370/2192) and 71.7% (1572/2192) of the isolates were of non-wild-type phenotype to itraconazole and posaconazole, respectively. Over the 9 years of surveillance, the fluconazole resistance rate continued to increase, rising from 5.7 (7/122) to 31.8% (236/741), while that for voriconazole was almost the same, rising from 5.7 (7/122) to 29.1% (216/741), with no significant statistical differences across the geographic regions. However, significant difference in fluconazole resistance rate was noted between isolates cultured from blood (27.2%, 489/1799) and those from non-blood (17.6%, 334/1903) specimens (P-value < 0.05), and amongst isolates collected from medical wards (28.1%, 312/1110) versus intensive care units (19.6%, 214/1092) and surgical wards (17.9%, 194/1086) (Bonferroni adjusted P-value < 0.05). Although echinocandin resistance remained low (0.8%, 18/2192) during the surveillance period, it was observed in most administrative regions, and one-third (6/18) of these isolates were simultaneously resistant to fluconazole.ConclusionThe continual decrease in the rate of azole susceptibility among C. tropicalis strains has become a nationwide challenge in China, and the emergence of multi-drug resistance could pose further threats. These phenomena call for effective efforts in future interventions.

1-Butanol/diesel blend is an ideal fuel for low-temperature combustion (LTC); it has the potential to reduce soot as well as nitrogen oxides (NOX) simultaneously. To date, comprehensive study on th...

The room temperature gas sensing properties of the hollow SnO2/ZnO heterojunction-based chemiresistive sensors under ultraviolet ${\left ({UV}\right)}$ radiation were investigated. The hollow SnO2/ZnO heterojunctions were fabricated using the template-assisted process followed with a hydrothermal treatment. The sensor using this core-shell SnO2/ZnO heterojunctions showed a much higher response to formaldehyde under UV illumination compared to that without UV. Moreover, the response of this hollow heterojunctions-based sensor to formaldehyde is higher than the respective pure SnO2 and ZnO hollow microspheres-based sensors under same conditions indicating the synthetic effect of the formed heterojunctions on the enhanced sensitivity. More strikingly, the response of the SnO2/ZnO heterojunctions-based sensors showed a much smaller response to ethanol, methanol, and toluene indicating an excellent selectivity whereas there is a large influence from ethanol if the sensor worked under the conventional heating method. It could be attributed to the lower oxidizing ability of the adsorbed, ionized oxygen with a negative monovalence on the oxide surface and thus a selective photo-catalytic conversion of formaldehyde over the other possible interferents. The long-term stability of the sensor operated under UV light was also studied.

Solid-phase speciation and porewater chemistry measured by the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique were used to understand the diagenesis of sulfur (S), iron (Fe), and phosphorus (P) in sediments of Jiaozhou Bay (China), which has been impacted by multiple anthropogenic perturbations. Despite water eutrophication, sediments of the bay are low in organic carbon and sulfide, but high in unsulfidized Fe(II). Dissimilatory iron reduction (DIR) prevails in sediments of the bay, and there is no evidence for responses of S and Fe diagenesis to the water eutrophication, which is largely attributable to unique depositional and diagenetic regimes in association with multiple anthropogenic perturbations. Good coupling of porewater Fe2+ and P in the porewaters suggests that P mobilization is driven mainly by DIR. Low Fe2+/P ratios in porewaters imply that oxidative regeneration of Fe oxides within the upper sediments is incapable of efficiently scavenging upward diffusing P.

Velvet antler is the only renewable bone tissue of mammalian animals, which consists of a variety of growth factors, amino acids and polypeptides. But the mechanism of high-speed proliferation without carcinogenesis is still mystifying. The previous study of this work found that the velvet antler peptides (VAP) could not only inhibit the proliferation and migration of osteosarcoma cell lines MG-63 and U2OS, but also induced U2OS apoptosis and inhibited MG-63 epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through TGF-β and Notch pathways. These results lead us to conclude that VAP has the potential ability to mediate osteosarcoma cells by regulating related signaling pathways and growth factors. Therefore, finding a new appropriate inhibitor for OS is a valuable research direction, which will give patients a better chance to receive proper therapy. From an applied perspective, this review summarized the effects of velvet antler, genes, growth factors and research progress of relative pathways and genes of osteosarcoma, which are poised to help link regenerative molecular biology and regenerative medicine in osteosarcoma pathogenesis.

This study reported a novel humidity-insensitive nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas sensor based on tin dioxide (SnO2)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composites through the sol-gel method. The sensor demonstrated ppb-level NO2 detection in p-type sensing behaviors (13.6% response to 750 ppb). Because of the synergistic effect on SnO2/rGO p-n heterojunction, the sensing performance was greatly enhanced compared to that of bare rGO. The limit of detection of sensors was as low as 6.7 ppb under dry air. Moreover, benefited from the formed superhydrophobic structure of the SnO2/rGO composites (contact angle: 149.0°), the humidity showed a negligible influence on the dynamic response (Sg) of the sensor to different concentration of NO2 when increasing the relative humidity (RH) from 0 to 70% at 116°C. The relative conductivity of the sensor to 83% relative humidity was 0.11%. In addition, the response ratio (Sg/SRH) between 750 ppb NO2 and 83% RH was 649.0, indicating the negligible impaction of high-level ambient humidity on the sensor. The as-fabricated humidity-insensitive gas sensor can promise NO2 detection in real-world applications such as safety alarm, chemical engineering, and so on.

BACKGROUND: Different disease severities of COVID‐19 patients could be reflected on clinical laboratory findings. METHODS: In this single‐centered retrospective study, demographic, clinical, and laboratory indicators on and during admission were compared among 74 participants with mild, moderate, critical severe, or severe classification. Risk factors associated with disease severity were analyzed by multivariate analyses. The AUC and 95% CI of the ROC curve were calculated. RESULTS: The most common manifestations of these patients were fever and cough. Critical severe or severe group owned the longest length of stay (23 (19,31), p

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) field effect transistor (FET) sensor has been considered to be one of the most promising candidates in the low cost detection of biological and chemical molecules. However, because of silicon nanowires' size distribution, the responses to the same sample of different SiNWs FET sensors show obvious fluctuation. Such problem brings great obstacles to used SiNWs FET sensors in high-precision detection. Here, we proposed a new strategy to calibrate SiNWs FET sensors by using its photoresponse. The foundation of this method is the similar relationship between SiNWs FET sensor response to the target and its own response to the illumination. The validity of this method were confirmed through the results of experiments that calibrated SiNWs FET sensor can accurately get the concentration results of the target in serum samples from patients with breast cancer. This work represents an important step toward the using of SiNWs FET sensor for accurate quantitative biochemical sensing and is expected to open up exciting opportunities for widely clinical application in the future.

Microwavable plastic food containers (MPFCs) are extensively used for food storage, cooking, rapid heating and as take-out containers. There is an urgent need to investigate whether MPFCs pose potential health risks, as a result of the migration of chemicals into foods. Herein, 42 intentionally added substances (IAS) and > 100 non-IAS (NIAS) migrating from MPFCs were identified in food simulants according to Regulation (EU). The migration of major IAS and NIAS was higher in 95% ethanol compared to other simulants, and gradually decreased following repeated use. NIAS, including Cramer class III toxic compounds, such as PEG oligomers of N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl) alkyl(C8–C18)amines, isomers of hexadecanamide and oleamide, and Irgafos 168 OXO were detected and exceeded the recommended limits in some MPFCs. Furthermore, microplastics (MPs) were detected with high values of over one million particles/L in some MPFCs in a single test, and migration behaviors of MPs in different MPFCs were diverse. Surprisingly, this rigorous migration might result in an annual intake of IAS/NIAS up to 55.15 mg and 150 million MPs particles if take-out food was consumed once a day. Multi-safety evaluation studies on the migration of various chemicals from MPFCs to foodstuffs during food preparation should be assessed.

Electrically activated soft actuators capable of large deformation are powerful and broadly applicable in multiple fields. However, designing soft actuators that can withstand a high strain, provide a large actuation displacement, and exhibit stable reversibility are still the main challenges toward their practical application. Here, for the first time, we report a two-dimensional (2D) conductive metal-organic framework (MOF) based electrochemical actuator, which consists of vertically oriented and hierarchical Ni-CAT NWAs/CNF electrodes through the use of a facile one-step in situ hydrothermal growth method. The soft actuator prepared in this study demonstrated improvements in actuation performance and benefits from both the intrinsically ordered porous architecture and efficient transfer pathways for fast ion and electron transport; furthermore, this actuator facilitated a considerably high diffusion rate and low interfacial resistance. In particular, the actuator demonstrated a rapid response (

The paper aims to investigate ammonia/hydrogen premixed combustion in order to assist a high-efficient and low emission combustor design of a novel Linear Engine Generator. Characteristics of ammonia/hydrogen premixed combustion are revealed using a detailed chemical kinetics mechanism. An ammonia combustion mechanism is identified among many mechanisms and validated with published experimental data. In order to investigate the combustion characteristics under working conditions of the Linear Engine Generator with both internal and external combustor, a parametric analysis is carried out to study the effects of equivalence ratio (0.8-1.6), hydrogen blending ratio (0.0-0.6), initial temperature (300-700K) and initial pressure (1-20bar) on premixed laminar flame speed, ignition delay and concentrations of main pollutants. It is shown that an equivalence ratio of around 1.1-1.2 is beneficial to ammonia flame stability and cleaner emissions. Ignition delay is reduced and flame speed is enhanced with the increase of hydrogen blending ratio and initial temperature. However, excessive hydrogen blending (over 0.4) and ultra-high temperature result in the unburnt H2 and NH3 respectively, which would decrease the efficiency of combustion and the Linear Engine-Generator. It is also found that although high-pressure environment reduces the flame speed, ignition delay is shortened and NO emission is reduced considerably.

Here, we numerically prove that the severe polarization-induced electric field in the active region for [0001]-oriented InGaN-based green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is reduced when heavily Si-doped GaN quantum barriers are adopted. However, the electron injection is accordingly sacrificed for the insufficient confinement capability of the p-type electron blocking layer (p-EBL). Hence, p-EBL structures with/without gradient AlN alloys are discussed to reduce the electron leakage, and the importance of the positive sheet polarization charges at the interface between the last quantum barrier (LQB) and the p-EBL on affecting the blocking barrier height for electrons is especially highlighted. Moreover, we also suggest utilizing specially designed p-AlGaN/p-GaN structure instead of p-GaN structure to serve as the p-type hole supplier, which is able to increase the kinetic energy of holes, thus assisting holes to overcome the energy band barrier height in p-EBL and increasing the hole concentration within the quantum wells.

The present study aimed to investigate the role of Forkhead box protein C2 (Foxc2) in oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced macrophages and identify the potential mechanisms. RAW264.7 cells, the murine macrophage cell line, were stimulated by ox-LDL, and cell proliferation was examined. The levels of inflammation- and oxidative stress-related markers were detected using kits after induction with ox-LDL. Subsequently, the expression of Foxc2 was measured using Western blotting. After transfection with Foxc2 pcDNA3.1, intracellular lipid droplets were examined using oil red O staining. The levels of total cholesterol (TC), free cholesterol (FC), inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress markers were determined. Moreover, apoptosis of RAW264.7 cells was detected using flow cytometry, and apoptosis-related proteins were measured using Western blotting. Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (Angptl2) was predicted as a target gene of Foxc2. Therefore, the expression of Angptl2 was examined after Foxc2 overexpression in ox-LDL-induced RAW264.7 cells. Then, the changes of intracellular lipid droplets, TC, FC, inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress factors, and cell apoptosis were detected after Angptl2 overexpression or co-transfection with Foxc2 and Angptl2 pcDNA3.1. The results revealed that ox-LDL induction inhibited proliferation of RAW264.7 cells and promoted the release of inflammatory factors. Importantly, the expression of Foxc2 was obviously decreased after stimulation by ox-LDL. Foxc2 overexpression suppressed lipid accumulation, TC, FC levels, inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis induced by ox-LDL, whereas these inhibitory effects were relieved after co-transfection with Angptl2 pcDNA3.1. These findings demonstrated that Foxc2 can alleviate ox-LDL-induced lipid accumulation, inflammation, and apoptosis of macrophage via regulating the expression of Angptl2.

Development of stretchable potentiometric ion sensors has the observable potential for wearable devices to continuously monitoring of electrolytes in body fluids. However, the mechanical mismatch between soft elastomeric substrate and ion-selective electrode components greatly hinders sensor's fabrication and its stretching stability for long-term use. Here, we propose a new strategy to construct a potentiometric ion sensor on a surface strain redistributed elastic fiber (SSRE-fiber) with both high stretchability and high sensing stability. The SSRE-fiber is designed with a unique unilateral bead structure, which significantly changes its surface strain distribution during deformation. Benefit from this platform, the active sensing materials with high Young's modulus fabricated on the unilateral bead region can keep unchanged during stretching (0-200%). Thus, the as-prepared potentiometric sensors (ion-selective electrode and polymer/inorganic salt membrane-coated reference electrode) can perform with stable functions ignoring the stretching of the fiber. This new SSRE-fiber platform paves a way for the design of highly stretchable and stable electrochemical sensor capable of integrating into textiles for wearable biochemical detection applications.

Lithium sulfur batteries have exhibited unparalleled advantages in energy density. However, the sulfide oxidation reactions (SORs) in sulfur cathode are much more sluggish, which is mainly restricted by high conversion barriers. Herein, the catalytic “Li-N” bond sites are designed to activate SORs in high areal loading cathode with the multi-functions of bridging the active materials and carbon matrix tightly. The presence of catalytic “Li-N” bonds is co-revealed by X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy and electronic energy loss spectroscope. As unraveled by theoretical physical van der Waals interaction analysis and various electrochemical tests, the improved kinetics and mechanism of SORs are achieved by motivating polysulfide interconversions and propelling lithium ion diffusion. Consequently, the so-fabricated electrode with abundant Li-N bond catalytic sites deliveries 900 mA h g−1 at 0.05 C and a stable retention of 74.3% at 1 C after 300 cycles. More impressively, high-loading with high-weight-content cathodes remain rapid SORs kinetics, high capacity utilization and retention from 3.0 to 6.9 mg cm−2. At 6.5 mg cm−2, the cathode displays 550 mA h g−1 at 0.76 mA cm−2 corresponded to 3.58 mA h cm−2, which is better than many reports. These results shed light on using intrinsic catalytic sites to realize application of batteries.

Double surface dielectric barrier discharge (DSDBD) can simultaneously form two uniform plasma zones for ozone synthesis with an AC power supply, thus exhibiting great advantages in achieving high energy yield at high ozone concentration. However, effects of the experimental parameters on DSDBD is urgently to be investigated to optimize the discharge reactor and provide references for high-efficiency ozone generator design. Here we present a systematical experimental study of the DSDBD in oxygen for ozone generation. The effects of important parameters (gas-flow mode, dielectric, discharge gap, etc.) on DSDBD in oxygen were studied, and the optimal DSDBD reactor was screened out. The optimal DSDBD reactor can achieve ozone energy yield of 317.7–130.0 g/kWh within ozone concentration of 12.7–56.2 g/Nm3 and exhibit an excellent stability during a 2-h continuous test, demonstrating its much better performance in ozone synthesis than other conventional DBDs. The discharge characteristics and the optimization results suggest that the superior performance of the optimal DSDBD reactor lies in its complete interaction of oxygen and plasma, large numbers of reactive species and electrons as well as favorable energy distribution of the reactive species.

The distributions and relationships of O2, CO2, and dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Changjiang (Yangtze) Estuary and its adjacent waters were investigated in June 2014. In surface water, mean O2 saturation level, partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), and DMS concentrations (and ranges) were 110% (89%–167%), 374 μatm (91–640 μatm), and 8.53 nmol L−1 (1.10–27.50 nmol L−1), respectively. The sea-to-air fluxes (and ranges) of DMS and CO2 were 8.24 μmol m−2 d−1 (0.26–62.77 μmol m−2 d−1), and −4.7 mmol m−2 d−1 (−110.8-31.7 mmol m−2 d−1), respectively. Dissolved O2 was oversaturated, DMS concentrations were relatively high, and this region served as a sink of atmospheric CO2. The pCO2 was significantly and negatively correlated with the O2 saturation level, while the DMS concentration showed different positive relationships with the O2 saturation level in different water masses. In vertical profiles, a hypoxic zone existed below 20 m at a longitude of 123°E. The stratification of temperature and salinity caused by the Taiwan Warm Current suppressed seawater exchange between upper and lower layers, resulting in the formation of a hypoxic zone. Oxidative decomposition of organic detritus carried by the Changjiang River Diluted Water (CRDW) consumed abundant O2 and produced additional CO2. The DMS concentrations decreased because of low phytoplankton biomass in the hypoxic zone. Strong correlations appeared between the O2 saturation level, pCO2 and DMS concentrations in vertical profiles. Our results strongly suggested that CRDW played an important role in the distributions and relationships of O2, CO2, and DMS.

In this study, the high nitrogen and vanadium micro-alloyed low carbon weathering steel (0.0320%N–0.096V) with excellent mechanical properties was produced. TEM and EDS tests of the hot rolled specimens were conducted and it was found that a great number of VN precipitates were generated and the size of VN particles was in the range of 10–300 nm, which exceeded the critical size of 7.89 nm for pinning dislocation line. Thermodynamic calculation results showed that, at high temperature, the precipitation performance of VN remarkably increased due to high nitrogen content. For the experimental steel, the initial precipitation temperature of VN reached 1133 °C and the precipitation rate of V exceeded 90% at the finish rolling temperature of 850 °C. The precipitation temperature time (PTT) curves drawn from kinetic data showed that the fastest precipitation temperature was about 950 °C. The total precipitation time was shortened from 110 to 10 s at 850 °C due to the high dislocation density caused by deformation, and the VN particles could thus be completely precipitated with a brief relaxation process. High nitrogen and vanadium micro-alloying was beneficial for improving the grain refinement and precipitation strengthening effect of vanadium.

In marine sediments factors that influence iron (Fe) geochemistry and its interactions with other elements are diverse and remain poorly understood. Here we comparatively study Fe speciation and reactive Fe-bound organic carbon (Fe-OC) in surface sediments of the East China Sea (ECS) and the south Yellow Sea (SYS). The objectives are to better understand the potential impacts of geochemically distinct sediment sources and depositional/diagenetic settings on Fe geochemistry and OC preservation by Fe (hydr)oxides in sediments of the two extensive shelf seas around the world. Contents of carbonate- and acid-volatile-sulfide (AVS)-associated Fe(II) (FeAVS + carb) and magnetite (Femag) in the ECS sediments are about 5 and 9 times higher, respectively, than in the SYS. This could be ascribed to the ferruginous conditions of the ECS sediments that favor the formation/accumulation of Fecarb and Femag, a unique feature of marine unsteady depositional regimes. Much lower total Fe(II) contents in the SYS than in the ECS suggest that lower availability of highly reactive Fe (FeHR) and/or weak Fe reduction is a factor limiting Fe(II) formation and accumulation in the SYS sediments. The ratio of FeHR to total Fe is, on average, markedly higher (2.4 times) in the ECS sediments than in the SYS, which may be a combined result of several factors relevant to different sediment sources and depositional/diagenetic settings. In comparison with many other marine sediments, the percent fractions (fFe-OC) of Fe-OC to total organic carbon (TOC) in the ECS and the SYS are low, which can be ascribed to surface adsorption of OC rather than coprecipitation or organic complexation as the dominant binding mechanisms. Based on the fFe-OC in this study, total Fe-OC estimated for global continental shelves is equivalent to 38% of the atmospheric CO2 pool, which indicates the important role of sorptive stabilization of Fe-OC in continental shelf sediments for buffering CO2 release to the atmosphere. In the SYS, consistently less 13C-depleted Fe-OC relative to 13C of non-Fe-bound OC (13Cnon-Fe-OC) suggests selective sequestration of labile marine OC in the marine OC-dominated sediments of the central SYS. In the ECS, however, efficient oxidation of OC and frequent redox cycling of Fe in the unsteady depositional regimes may complicate the isotopic compositions of Fe-OC. A combination of our results and literature data demonstrates that Fe-OC contents are strongly dependent on the availability of TOC and reactive Fe, but the fFe-OC is primarily controlled by the processes of Fe redox cycling in the sediments.

Herein, we propose an in-situ fabrication method to prepare S-doped graphene sensor integrated with micro-hotplatform (MHP). During the fabrication process, the graphene is transfeauthorrred only one time and sulfur is in-situ doped in graphene at 500 °C. The as-prepared sulfur doped graphene (SG) sensors are sensitive to NO 2 with large range from 500 ppt to 100 ppm at room temperature (RT). With the help of heater integrated in MHP, the SG sensors could quickly recover to the baseline within 5 min. Furthermore, the SG sensors exhibit excellent selectivity for NO 2 which is essential for practical applications.

The kinetics of ultrasonic-assisted magnesium oxide (MgO) hydration was investigated in the present paper. The degree of hydration at different temperature (298-338K) and reaction time (0.25-3h) was determined by thermal gravity analysis (TGA). And the products of the hydration were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and Particle Size Distribution analysis (PSD). A coupling model based on characteristic equations for chemical reaction control and inward diffusion control was employed to describe the hydration process. The experimental data indicated that the degree of hydration at 2h under ultrasound reaction condition was 18-25% higher than that of mechanical stirring reaction condition. However, the value was nearly the same at the first hour. Combined with the analysis results of degree of hydration, characterization of products and model fitting, the hydration process was supposed to be a mixed model, which controlled by both chemical reaction and inward diffusion. A reaction mechanism emphasized on the physical effect of ultrasound was proposed, assuming that the hydration product layer was broken and regenerated during the process. The calculated activation energy of 24.2kJmol-1 corroborated the mechanism proposed in this study.

In the work, a novel fabrication method for homogeneous and sharp nanoprobe array on (111) silicon wafer is presented. The specific spatial structure of {111} planes and the unique anisotropic etching mechanism on (111) wafer were utilized to form a size controllable funnel-neck structure. A highly downscaled size-reduction technology is developed for precise size control. Followed with a self-limiting oxidation procedure, sharp and long needles can be made with precise size control requiring only a series of conventional processes (dry etching of silicon by DRIE, anisotropic wet etching by potassium hydroxide solution and thermal-oxidation-based tip sharpening). The fabricated probe, whose tip’s diameter is less than 30 nm, can potentially have broad application to cell research.

The direct-injection of gaseous ammonia is a possible way to fuel engines to meet the scenario of zero-carbon emission. In this study, for the first time, the injection characteristics and fuel–air mixing process of ammonia jets are investigated. A Schlieren system is employed to characterize the macroscopic behavior of ammonia jets including the tip penetration and jet angle. Besides, the fuel concentrations of ammonia jets are quantitatively measured by LIBS to investigate the fuel–air mixing processes. According to the time evolutions of jet tip penetration, the three-stage behavior, namely the t, t0.5 and (t-τ)0.25 dependence corresponding to the early stage of injection, quasi-steady stage and after two times of injection duration respectively, are proposed and the mechanisms are discussed in detail. The effects of both injection and ambient pressures on the tip penetration and jet angle, as well as the fuel concentration distributions are investigated. The increased injection pressure leads to increases in the tip penetration and fuel concentration but decreases in the jet angle. The effects of ambient pressure are opposite, indicating that the ammonia jet development is governed by the injection-to-ambient pressure ratio. The comparisons between ammonia and methane jets are conducted. The results show they have quite similar tip penetrations and jet angles, as well as the nearly equivalent fuel mole fractions at the jet axis. However, the equivalence ratios in ammonia jets are significantly lower than those in methane jets, leading to the distinct flammable mixture distributions in ammonia and methane jets.

Fuel concentration information is critical to the development of high-efficiency combustion system of direct-injection natural gas engines. In this study, a one-dimensional (1-D) measurement approach based on laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is developed to quantitatively measure 1-D fuel concentration distributions in gas jets at high ambient pressures. Except for the spectral dimension, another dimension of the intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) is employed for the spatial resolution of measurements. The effects of laser energy and ambient pressure on plasma dynamics are investigated to explore the feasibility of 1-D LIBS in concentration measurements at high ambient pressure. Since the peak intensity ratio (PIR) of H656/N746 shows significant spatial variations in the plasma volume, a 1-D calibration strategy is developed by establishing respective calibration curves at different spatial positions to quantify the fuel concentration distributions. The measurement uncertainties are evaluated, including both the systematic and random errors. The temporal variations of the 1-D fuel concentration distributions in methane jets are presented, and the shot-to-shot fluctuations are analyzed in detail. The results show that the coefficient of variation of equivalence ratio is lowest at the end of injection (EOI), suggesting that ignition at the EOI could enable a relatively stable flame kernel formation. Along the radial direction of the jet, a high ignitable mixture percentage appears at approximately 3.0 mm from the jet axis at the EOI, suggesting an optimal ignition position. The results reveal that the 1-D LIBS could be a powerful tool for calibration of numerical models and optimal designs of combustion engines taking advantage of high-pressure gas jets.

The desulfurization efficiency is a major parameter of magnesium-based seawater exhaust gas clean system, which is one of the important means to control the sulfur dioxide emission from marine diesel engines. In this work, the RFlow, a computational fluid dynamics software, was used to analyze the flow field and sulfur dioxide absorption rate in the desulfurization tower of magnesium-based seawater exhaust gas clean system. The subdomain technology was applied for physics modeling and mesh generation of the desulfurization tower, and total number of the mesh is 2.25 million. The flow field model was set up by coupling the multi-fluid model with the dispersive k-ε turbulence model. Based on flow field model, the prediction model for desulfurization efficiency of magnesium-based seawater exhaust gas clean system was programmed in user-defined module of the RFlow software, according to the two-film theory and sulfur dioxide absorption reaction equations. The simulation results predicted a desulfurization efficiency of 97.9%, which agrees well with the practical result. In order to study the effect of gas and liquid flow rate on the desulfurization efficiency, the computational fluid dynamics prediction model was applied. And the verification tests were conducted on a container vessel. Comparing the predicted results with the experimental data, the maximum error is less than 2%. It is proved that the prediction model is reliable and useful for the magnesium-based seawater exhaust gas clean system.

As chemical sensors are in great demand for portable and wearable analytical applications, it is highly desirable to develop an all-solid-state ion-selective electrode (ISE) and reference electrode (RE) platform with simplicity and stability. Here we propose a wearable sensor platform with a new type of all-solid-state ISE based on a gold nanodendrite (AuND) array electrode as the solid contact and a poly(vinyl acetate)/inorganic salt (PVA/KCl) membrane-coated all-solid-state RE. A simple and controllable method was developed to fabricate the AuNDs on a microwell array patterned chip by one-step electrodeposition without additional processing. For the first time, the AuND electrodes with different real surface area and double layer capacitance were developed as solid contact of the Na+-ISE to investigate the relationship between performance of the ISE and surface area. As-prepared AuND-ISE with larger surface area (∼7.23 cm2) exhibited enhanced potential stability compared to those with smaller surface ar...

In magnesium-based seawater exhaust gas clean system, the desulfurization by-product, magnesium sulfite (MgSO3), has a negative impact on the ecological environment, which needs to be treated to make harmless. Due to the limited space on board, the aeration oxidation method is used to convert it to magnesium sulfate. Because of the variable size, shape and flow field of aeration tank, it is difficult and expensive to design and verify the oxidation efficiency of the aeration tank by experimental method. In this work, in order to predict the oxidation efficiency accurately, RFlow, a computational fluid dynamics software, was used to analyze the flow field and MgSO3 oxidation reaction in aeration tank. The subdomain technology was adopted for physics modeling and mesh generation of the aeration tank, and the total number of meshes was 285,000. The multi-phase flow field model was set up using the multi-fluid model and dispersive k-ε turbulence model. Under the given initial conditions, the predicted oxidation efficiency was 94.2%. Compared with the results of the actual ship test, the prediction model for MgSO3 oxidation efficiency of the aeration tank is reliable.

As a case study, refined iron (Fe) speciation and quantitative characterization of the reductive reactivity of Fe (III) oxides are combined to investigate Fe diagenetic processes in a core sediment from the eutrophic Jiaozhou Bay. The results show that a combination of the two methods can trace Fe transformation in more detail and offer nuanced information on Fe diagenesis from multiple perspectives. This methodology may be used to enhance our understanding of the complex biogeochemical cycling of Fe and sulfur in other studies. Microbial iron reduction (MIR) plays an important role in Fe(III) reduction over the upper sediments, while a chemical reduction by reaction with dissolved sulfide is the main process at a deeper (> 12 cm) layer. The most bioavailable amorphous Fe(III) oxides [Fe(III)am] are the main source of the MIR, followed by poorly crystalline Fe(III) oxides [Fe(III)pc)] and magnetite. Well crystalline Fe(III) oxides [Fe (III)wc] have barely participated in Fe diagenesis. The importance of the MIR over the upper layer may be a combined result of the high availability of highly reactive Fe oxides and low availability of labile organic matter, and the latter is also the ultimate factor limiting sulfate reduction and sulfide accumulation in the sediments. Microbially reducible Fe(III) [MR-Fe(III)], which is quantified by kinetics of Fe(II)-oxide reduction, mainly consists of the most reactive Fe(III)am and less reactive Fe(III)pc. The bulk reactivity of the MR-Fe(III) pool is equivalent to aged ferrihydrite, and shows down-core decrease due to preferential reduction of highly reactive phases of Fe oxides.

InBi 3 (MoO 6 ) 2 nanoparticles were prepared via sol–gel citrate-complexation route. The sample has an average size of around 100 nm. The photocatalyst has a Scheelite-type structure, which was performed with the structural Rietveld refinement. The Scheelite framework is characterized by a superstructure constructed by the ordered arrangement of In/Mo tetrahedral on the B sites. The morphological properties were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmittance electron microscope (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The optical properties were measured by UV–vis absorption spectrum. InBi 3 (MoO 6 ) 2 shows the narrow band gap with the transition energy of 2.95 eV characterized by an indirect allowed type. The photodegradation experiments of the methylene blue (MB) dye and phenol solutions were conducted with the existence of InBi 3 (MoO 6 ) 2 nanoparticles. InBi 3 (MoO 6 ) 2 has efficient photocatalytic ability on MB degradation driven by UV to visible-light. The results were discussed on the Scheelite structure characteristics such as the hybridization between the 6 s and 6 p electric components of Bi 3+ , the Aurivillius type (Bi 2 O 2 ) 2+ units etc .

Utilization of hydrous ethanol in diesel engines is beneficial not only for reducing the exhaust pollutant emissions but also for improving the lifecycle fuel efficiency including both in engines and refineries. However, so far detailed investigations on spray combustion characteristics of hydrous ethanol diesel emulsified fuels are rarely reported, though this information is crucial in combustion system design for better application of these fuels in diesel engines. In this paper, emulsions of the 20 wt% water-containing ethanol and commercial diesel fuel with volume fraction of the hydrous ethanol varied from 10 to 30% were firstly developed. Then, the physicochemical properties including the mixture stability, density, kinematic viscosity, surface tension, distillation temperature, latent heat of evaporation, etc. were investigated. Finally, the characteristics of non-evaporating, evaporating and burning sprays under the various injection and ambient conditions were clarified with the common-rail fuel injection system and the high-temperature, high-pressure, constant-volume combustion vessel. The results reveal that the difference of the spray cone angle and tip penetration length under either the non-evaporating or evaporating conditions for various fuels are relatively small, while the maximum liquid penetration length in the evaporating spray increases drastically with increased addition of the hydrous ethanol in the emulsions. In the case of burning spray, the natural luminosity of the flame decreases remarkably with the hydrous ethanol increasing, indicating the soot reduction in the flame. This effect becomes more pronounced with the ambient oxygen concentration decreasing. The mechanism of the above phenomena is discussed in depth.

Pure and V 5+ -doped Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 (BTO) photocatalysts were prepared by sol–gel routine and subsequent hydrothermal synthesis. The samples were developed into the platelike microparticles with the exposed (001) facets. The crystalline phases were verified via the XRD measurement. The surface characteristics of the photocatalysts were studied by TEM, SEM, BET, EDX and XPS measurements. The UV–vis optical absorption spectra showed that the V-doped photocatalysts exhibit an obvious red shift in the visible light absorption band compared with the pure BTO. Rhodamine B (RhB) dye solution was used as the model organic pollutants to verify the influence of V-doping on the photocatalytic activity. The 10 mol % V-doped BTO showed efficient photocatalytic ability. The photocatalytic activities and mechanisms were discussed on the crystal structure characteristics and the measurements such as EES and XPS results.