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We report a facile fabrication of carbon dots (CDs)/Cu 2 MoS 4 nanosheets hybrid photocathodes for potential application in photoelectrochemical cells (PECs). The structural, morphological and photoelectrochemical characteristics are studied. Compared with pristine Cu 2 MoS 4 , the photoelectrocatalytic activity of CDs/Cu 2 MoS 4 nanosheets composites was significantly improved under artificial solar light, as confirmed by the lowered onset potential and improved photocurrent response. Our study provides useful insights in the design of low-cost and earth abundant materials for high-efficiency solar fuel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanosized Ag 2 O decorated Bi 2 MoO 6 hierarchical microspheres were successfully prepared and evaluated as efficient visible-light-responsive photocatalysts. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed that the formation of the Ag 2 O and Bi 2 MoO 6 composites while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) results revealed the relatively uniform deposition of Ag 2 O nanoparticles on the surface of Bi 2 MoO 6 microspheres. The visible light photocatalytic activity of the composites was studied by photodegradation of methyl orange (MO) and the composite with Ag to Bi ratio of 1: 1 shows the highest activity due to the effective separation of photocarriers. The photocatalytic mechanism study indicates photogenerated holes play a key role for the dye degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual machine (VM) placement is a fundamental problem about resource scheduling in cloud computing; however, the design and implementation of an efficient VM placement algorithm are very challenging. To better multiplex and share physical hosts in the cloud data centers, this paper presents a VM placement algorithm based on the peak workload characteristics, which models the workload characteristics of VMs with mathematical method, and measures the similarity of VMs' workload with VM peak similarity. Avoiding virtual machines whose workload has high correlation are placed together, it places the virtual machines with peak workload staggering at different time together, which achieves better VM consolidation through VM peak similarity. This paper focuses on the mathematical analysis of VM peak similarity, and proves that compared to cosine-similarity method and correlation-coefficient method, peak-similarity method is better theoretically. Finally, numerical simulations and algorithm experiments show that our proposed peak-similarity-based placement algorithm outperforms the random placement algorithm and correlation-coefficient-based placement algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan Strait is a special channel for subtropical East Asian Monsoon and its western coast is an important economic zone in China. In this study, a suburban site in the city of Xiamen on the western coast of Taiwan Strait was selected for fine aerosol study to improve the understanding of air pollution sources in this region. An Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and an Aethalometer were deployed to measure fine aerosol composition with a time resolution of 5 min from May 1 to 18, 2015. The average mass concentration of PM1 was 46.2 ± 26.3 μg/m3 for the entire campaign. Organics (28.3%), sulfate (24.9%), and nitrate (20.6%) were the major components in the fine particles, followed by ammonium, black carbon (BC), and chloride. Evolution of nitrate concentration and size distribution indicated that local NOx emissions played a key role in high fine particle pollution in Xiamen. In addition, organic nitrate was found to account for 9.0%–13.8% of the total measured nitrate. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) conducted with high-resolution organic mass spectra dataset differentiated the organic aerosol into three components, including a hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA) and two oxygenated organic aerosols (SV-OOA and LV-OOA), which on average accounted for 27.6%, 28.8%, and 43.6% of the total organic mass, respectively. The relationship between the mass concentration of submicron particle species and wind further confirmed that all major fine particle species were influenced by both strong local emissions in the southeastern area of Xiamen and regional transport through the Taiwan Strait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Norcantharidin (NCTD) is a Chinese FDA approved, chemically synthesized drug for cancer treatment. The effect of NCTD on signaling proteins of EGFR and c-Met was systematically elucidated in current study.Methods: Two human colon cancer cell lines, HCT116 and HT29, were used as model systems to investigate the anti-cancer molecular mechanism of NCTD. Cell cycle arrest and early/late apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. The levels of EGFR, phospho-EGFR, c-Met, phospho-c-Met and other related proteins were quantified by western blot analysis.Results: NCTD induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase in both cell lines. The early and late apoptosis was also observed. Further investigation indicated that NCTD suppressed not only the expression of the total EGFR and the phosphorylated EGFR but also the expression of the total c-Met and the phosphorylated c-Met in colon cancer cells. Moreover, EGFR expression could be mostly restored by co-treatment with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor. In addition, NCTD-induced cell death was comparable to that of the anti-cancer drug gefitinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor for EGFR, based on the immunoblot analysis of the expressed proteins after the drug treatment.Conclusions: NCTD might be a useful and inexpensive drug candidate to substitute for gefitinib to serve the treatment needs of cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effects of climate change on crops is vital for food security. We aimed to characterise the coincidence of yield variations with weather variable for potato in northern China using long-term datasets. Daily climate variables obtained from 607 meteorological stations from 1961 to 2014, detailed field experimental data for the period of 1982 to 2012 in northern China, and multivariate linear statistical model were used in this study. In particular, the first difference method was used to disentangle the contributions of climate change to potato yield. We concluded that during the potato growing, the average daily, maximum and minimum temperatures significantly increased by 0.23 °C per decade, 0.20 °C per decade and 0.36 °C per decade from 1961 to 2014 in northern China, respectively. However, average total radiation, total annual precipitation and potential evapotranspiration from April to September all exhibited downward trends, but the variation of evapotranspiration (− 9.99 mm per decade) was greater than that of precipitation (− 2.65 mm per decade). The key climatic factors limiting potato yields in northern China over the past 30 years at a regional scale were diurnal temperature range, precipitation, radiation and ET 0 . The potato yield in northern China was the most sensitive to variation of the diurnal temperature range followed by radiation, precipitation and reference crop evapotranspiration (ET 0 ). Specifically, when the diurnal temperature range decreased 1 °C, the potato yield increased 543.9 kg·ha − 1 . When the total radiation decreased 1 MJ·m 2 , the potato yield increased 63.8 kg·ha − 1 . When the ET 0 decreased 1 mm, the potato yield increased 62.7 kg·ha − 1 . When the precipitation increased 1 mm, the potato yield increased 62.9 kg·ha − 1 . A regression model describing the combined effects of different climate variables on potato yield in northern China was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial engineering is an effective strategy for the design of active oxygen evolution electrode. Yet the intrinsic mechanism of heterogeneous interfaces remains largely unclear for the lack of direct evidence of real active phases. Herein, operando ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) and Raman spectroscopies were used to probe the surface reconstruction behaviors of FeOOH@NiFe layered double hydroxides (LDH) hybrid catalysts, which revealed that FeOOH@NiFe LDH was converted into highly active FeOOH@ β-Ni(Fe)OOH phases during the OER process. The FeOOH-NiFe LDH interface can promote interfacial charge transfer, delay the Ni oxidation and induce the NiFe LDH phases to highly reactive β-Ni(Fe)OOH. The FeOOH@ β-Ni(Fe)OOH exhibited excellent OER performance (252 mV at 100 mA cm−2) and a 1.6 times increase (at overpotential of 300 mV) in turnover frequency (TOF) with respect to the active phase γ-Ni(Fe)OOH of NiFe LDH. This work clarifies that ration interface engineering can regulate the generation of highly active phases in the OER process. [Display omitted] • Reconstruction of FeOOH@NiFe LDH was study by operando UV–vis and Raman spectroscopies. • FeOOH induced the phase transformation of NiFe LDH to β-Ni(Fe)OOH at the interface. • The interfacial electric field of NiFe LDH and FeOOH promoted the charge transfer. • As-formed FeOOH@ β-Ni(Fe)OOH showed superior OER activity to γ-Ni(Fe)OOH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim is to assess the relationship between the hemoglobin glycation index(HGI) and dietary patterns, and investigates whether inflammation and oxidative stress mediate the relationship.Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 453 dwellers in a Chinese rural community. Diet was assessed using 24 h food recalls. Based on the energy intake ratio from three macronutrients, dietary patterns were identified by cluster analysis. The HGI was defined as the observed HbA1c minus predicted HbA1c. Indicators of inflammation and oxidative stress were assessed.Result: 3 dietary patterns were clustered, namely "fat(n = 100)", "balance(n = 186)" and "carbohydrate(n = 167)". The fat dietary patterns had lower HGI than the other two dietary patterns. TNFα was higher in the carbohydrate dietary pattern. Linear regression analysis suggested that the carbohydrate dietary pattern was correlated with higher HGI levels(β = 0.204,95 %CI(0.071,0.338)), compared with the fat dietary pattern. The relationship disappeared after accounting for biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress. Mediation analyses indicated that TNFα might explain for 19.15 % effects of the carbohydrate dietary pattern on HGI, compared with the fat dietary pattern.Conclusion: The carbohydrate dietary pattern had positive associations with HGI and TNFα. TNFα partly mediated the relationship between dietary patterns and HGI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro (nano)plastics (MNPs) have become emerging environmental contaminants, yet their toxicity and systemic effects via intranasal exposure remain unclear. This study investigated the in vitro toxicity of thirteen polystyrene MNPs with different surface functionalization (carboxylic (C-PS), amino (A-PS), and bare (PS)) and sizes (20–2000 nm) on human nasal epithelial cells (HNEpCs) at 10–1250 μg/mL as well as their in vivo toxicity to rats via intranasal administration at 125 μg/mL. The in vitro study showed that PS20, PS50, A-PS50, PS500, and A-PS500 significantly inhibited cell viability, which was dependent on particle concentration. A-PS induced higher cytotoxicity than C-PS and PS, and most MNPs inhibited cell proliferation after 24-h. Flow cytometry analysis suggested that PS induced cell apoptosis, while A-PS caused cell necrosis. MNPs were phagocytosed by HNEpCs and entered nucleus. The in vivo study showed that MNPs inhibited dietary behaviors of rats. Histological analysis indicated that PS20, PS200, and A-PS50 thinned out nasal mucosa. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that exposure to PS20, PS200, and A-PS50 enhanced expression of transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily M (melastatin) member 8 (TRPM8). Systemic effects including hepatocyte cytoplasmic vacuolation and renal tubule dilatation were observed. The results suggested that nasal inhalation of MNPs may disturb energy metabolism and damage upper respiratory tract, liver, and kidneys. [Display omitted] • Both in vitro and in vivo toxicity of MNPs via intranasal exposure were investigated. • PS20, PS50, A-PS50, PS500, and A-PS500 significantly inhibited viability of HNEpCs. • Cellular uptake of MNPs was observed and amino-modified MNPs had higher cytotoxicity. • MNPs inhibited dietary behavior, thinned nasal mucosa, and enhanced TRPM8 expression. • MNPs caused hepatocyte cytoplasmic vacuolation and renal tubule dilatation of rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Melting phenomenon in large cavities is much different from that in small cavities. • Both conduction and convection regimes play a fundamental role in large cavities. • Heating configuration controls the melting front evolution of pure/composite PCM. • A non-dimensional correlation was fitted to model the melting of composite PCM. This study explores the effects of material types and structural parameters of metal foam, and heating configurations on the evolution of melting front, heat transfer characteristics, and temperature distribution of metal foam/paraffin composite phase change materials (PCMs) in large cavities. Copper and iron foams were used as the heat transfer enhancement medium, while paraffin with a melting point of 45 °C was chosen as the PCM to store heat. This study identified the heat transfer regimes in large cavities during the melting process. The experimental results on different heating configurations indicated that different from small cavities, both conduction and convection regimes played a fundamental role in the melting process. In addition, the heating configuration controlled the evolution of the melting front of the pure PCM and composite PCM. On the basis of these results, a non-dimensional correlation validated against a large dataset of experiments was fitted to model the melting process of the composite PCMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low thermal conductivity of most phase change materials (PCMs) limits the practical application of latent thermal energy storage. This study aims to investigate the role of the partial and gradient filling strategies of copper foam on the heat transfer characteristic of latent thermal energy storage. A visual test rig was built to capture the evolution of the melting front over time. An infrared camera and T-type thermocouples measured the temperature fields and temperature profiles at specific points, respectively. The melting rate, temperature distribution and storage efficiency were investigated and analyzed in detail. The melting rate of PCM first increases and then decreases with the increase of filling ratio, and reaches the maximum value when the filling ratio is 5/6. The application of partial filling strategy reduces the maximum temperature difference of PCM and enhances the stability of the system. In the application of gradient filling strategy, copper foam with larger porosity should be arranged close to the heating wall or above the cavity. Partial and gradient strategy can increase the melting rate of PCM by reducing or maintaining the filling quantity of metal foam, which is of great significance for the practical application of metal foam in latent energy storage. [Display omitted] • Visual test rig is built to study the effect of partial and gradient strategy of copper foam. • Partial and gradient copper foam with different structural parameters are designed. • Melting performance of partial and gradient strategy is higher than that of uniform strategy. • The evolution of melting interface is affected by different filling strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• BiFeO 3 /Bi 2 O 3 composite was successfully fabricated by a facile flame annealing. • The formation of Bi 2 O 3 improves the PEC performance. • The maximum photocurrent of BiFeO 3 /Bi 2 O 3 is two times larger than BiFeO 3. • High PEC performance was attributed to improved light absorption and active sites. BiFeO 3 -based ferroelectrics are promising photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. To further enhance its photoelectrocatalytic activity, BiFeO 3 /Bi 2 O 3 composite is designed by a simple and cost-effective flame annealing process in this work. The obtained BiFeO 3 /Bi 2 O 3 photocathode achieves a photocurrent density of −0.21 mA/cm−2 at 0.38 V RHE , with a 160 mV positive shift of the onset potential. Furthermore, the photon-to-current efficiency of BiFeO 3 /Bi 2 O 3 displays an obvious enhancement. The improved PEC performance is due to the formation of composite, which reduces the recombination of carriers, promotes interfacial charge transfer and provides more active sites. Our work provides a promising approach to improve the performance of ferroelectric photoelectrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of highly efficient and robust cathodes is crucial for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC). Perovskite type SrCo 0.9 Ta 0.1 O 3-δ (SCT91) is a promising cathode but its instability against CO 2 limits the practical application. In this work, a new medium-entropy SrCo 0.5 Fe 0.2 Ti 0.1 Ta 0.1 Nb 0.1 O 3-δ (SCFTTN52111) cathode is designed and evaluated. The effect of configuration entropy on electrical conductivity, physical and electrochemical properties are studied in detail. The SCFTTN52111 cathode exhibits a lower polarization resistance of 0.033 Ω cm2 at 700 °C, superior to 0.040 Ω cm2 of SCT91 parent. The higher oxygen reduction activity is attributed to its larger surface exchange coefficient and smaller particle size. More importantly, SCFTTN52111 displays outstanding stability and high CO 2 tolerance, due to a more negative value of average metal-oxygen bond energy and significantly reduced surface Sr segregation. Our study provides a feasible and effective entropy engineering approach to design high-active and durable cathode materials for SOFCs. [Display omitted] • A medium-entropy cathode is developed for IT-SOFC. • SCFTTN52111 achieves a low polarization resistance of 0.033 Ω cm2 at 700 °C. • Greatly suppressed Sr segregation is found in medium-entropy cathode. • SCFTTN52111 shows superior resistance towards CO 2 poisoning. • Tailoring configuration entropy is a promising approach for new cathode design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Maresin1 (MaR1) can improve cognitive impairment in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) rats. • MaR1 can ameliorate neuroinflammation caused by CCH. • MaR1 can attenuate hippocampal blood–brain barrier (BBB) damage of CCH rats, which may improve cognition in CCH rats by MaR1. Chronic inflammation and blood–brain barrier destruction are interrelated pathological changes in chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) that promote vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Therefore, we discussed the impact of the macrophage mediator in resolving inflammation 1 (Maresin 1) on the CCH-induced cognitive impairment and its underlying mechanisms. 66 rats were randomly divided into three groups: Sham (n = 22), 2VO (n = 22), and 2VO + MaR1 (n = 22). Rats in three groups received 2-Vessel Occlusion (2VO) or sham operation and received intrathecal delivery of PBS or MaR1. Hippocampal blood flow and Modified neurological severity scores (mNSS) were used to confirm models' effect. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage was assessed by Evans blue (EB) leakage experiments and spectrophotometry, the BBB ultrastructure was observed with a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the expression of zonula occluden-1 (ZO-1), claudin-5, and matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9) were detected with Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Morris water maze (MWM) was used to assess cognitive function. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) expression were examined by Western blotting (WB) and ELISA. Immunofluorescence was used to detect microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Rats developed obvious cognitive impairment by CCH. BBB showed EB leakage, ultrastructural destruction, degradation of ZO-1, Claudin-5, and up-regulation of MMP-9. Inactivation of oligodendrocytes, activation of microglia and astrocyte and increased expression of NF-κB, TNF-α, and IL-1β has been detected. MaR1 administration significantly reverted these changes. MaR1 can improve the CCH-induced cognitive impairment. Inflammatory resolution and BBB protection may be the mechanism of MaR1 to prevent CCH-induced cognitive impairment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous in situ measurements of optical properties of fine aerosols (PM 2.5 ) were conducted in the urbanized coastal city Xiamen in Southeast China from November 2013 to January 2014. PM 2.5 samples were also collected and chemical compositions including organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and water-soluble inorganic ions were determined to investigate the impacts of chemical compositions on aerosol optical properties. Average values of scattering coefficient (b scat ), absorption coefficient (b abs ), extinction coefficient (b ext ) and single scattering albedo (SSA) were 164.0 Mm − 1 , 22.4 Mm − 1 , 187.0 Mm − 1 and 0.88, respectively. b scat , b abs and b ext showed obvious bi-modal diurnal variations with high values in the morning and at night while low value in the early afternoon, whereas SSA exhibited an opposite diurnal variation. Average b scat and b abs were largest in the wind direction of southwest and were larger with slower wind. b abs was mainly affected by EC, while b scat was affected by ammonium, sulfate, nitrate and OC. The IMPROVE formula was applied to estimate b ext based on the chemical species. Results shows that ammonium sulfate was the largest contributor, accounting for 36.4% of b ext , followed by organic matter (30.6%), ammonium nitrate (20.1%), EC (9.0%) and sea salt (3.9%). The deterioration in visibility was mainly led by increases in secondary aerosols including sulfate and nitrate. Backward trajectories analysis showed that during the sampling period Xiamen was significantly affected by the air masses originating from the Northern and Northeastern areas. Air masses from the Northern associated with relative higher b ext and less relative contribution from ammonium sulfate and more relative contribution from ammonium nitrate, organic matter and sea salt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access control is an indispensable security component of cloud computing, and hierarchical access control is of particular interest since in practice one is entitled to different access privileges. This paper presents a hierarchical key assignment scheme based on linear-geometry as the solution of flexible and fine-grained hierarchical access control in cloud computing. In our scheme, the encryption key of each class in the hierarchy is associated with a private vector and a public vector, and the inner product of the private vector of an ancestor class and the public vector of its descendant class can be used to derive the encryption key of that descendant class. The proposed scheme belongs to direct access schemes on hierarchical access control, namely each class at a higher level in the hierarchy can directly derive the encryption key of its descendant class without the need of iterative computation. In addition to this basic hierarchical key derivation, we also give a dynamic key management mechanism to efficiently address potential changes in the hierarchy. Our scheme only needs light computations over finite field and provides strong key indistinguishability under the assumption of pseudorandom functions. Furthermore, the simulation shows that our scheme has an optimized trade-off between computation consumption and storage space. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hafnia alvei is a facultative and rod-shaped gram-negative bacterium that belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Although it has been more than 50 years since the genus was identified, very little is known about variations among Hafnia species. Diversity in O-antigens (O-polysaccharide, OPS) is thought to be a major factor in bacterial adaptation to different hosts and situations and variability in the environment. Antigenic variation is also an important factor in pathogenicity that has been used to define clones within a number of species. The genes that are required to synthesize OPS are always clustered within the bacterial chromosome. A serotyping scheme including 39 O-serotypes has been proposed for H. alvei, but it has not been correlated with known OPS structures, and no previous report has described the genetic features of OPS. In this study, we obtained the genome sequences of 21 H. alvei strains (as defined by previous immunochemical studies) with different lipopolysaccharides. This is the first study to show that the O-antigen gene cluster in H. alvei is located between mpo and gnd in the chromosome. All 21 of the OPS gene clusters contain both the wzx gene and the wzy gene and display a large number of polymorphisms. We developed an O serotype-specific wzy-based suspension array to detect all 21 of the distinct OPS forms we identified in H. alvei. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to identify the genetic features of H. alvei antigenic variation and to develop a molecular technique to identify and classify different serotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has always promoted the pork traceability system; however, expensive traceable pork of limited variety containing single-level safety information cannot meet the differentiated consumer demand of the Chinese market. A survey was conducted of 2,080 consumers in five cities distributed in east, south, southwest, northeast, and central China, in which traceable pork hindquarter profiles were constructed by combining traceable safety information attributes with government certification, appearance, and price. Individual consumers' part-worth utilities were estimated using a choice experiment and hierarchical Bayesian inference. On this basis, combined with ordinary pork hindquarter profiles in the real market, different traceable pork hindquarter profiles were set to develop seven market schemes. Furthermore, market shares of each scheme were simulated using the random first choice method. Most consumers chose appearance rather than safety in the choice experiment, which also indicated that traceable safety information certified by the government had a higher part-worth utility. Simulation results suggested that a larger market share could be better achieved by supplying multilevel traceable pork hindquarters in the market at the same time, rather than by supplying single-level traceable pork hindquarters. Moreover, income was found to be the key factor in determining consumers' demand. Le gouvernement chinois a toujours fait la promotion du système de traçabilité des porcs. Toutefois, les produits traçables, qui sont couteux, peu variés et accompagnés d'un seul niveau d'information sur la salubrité, ne peuvent satisfaire la demande particulière des consommateurs chinois. Un sondage dans lequel figuraient des renseignements sur les quartiers arrière de porcs, dont de l'information sur la salubrité, la certification du gouvernement, l'apparence et le prix, a été réalisé auprès de 2080 consommateurs dans cinq villes situées dans l'est, le sud, le sud-ouest, le nord-est et le centre de la Chine. Nous avons estimé les utilités partielles des consommateurs à l'aide des méthodes des choix discrets et de l'inférence bayésienne hiérarchique. À partir de ces données, combinées à des renseignements sur des quartiers arrière de porcs ordinaires sur le marché réel, nous avons élaboré sept scénarios de marché. Nous avons aussi simulé les parts de marché de chaque scénario à l'aide de la méthode du premier choix aléatoire. Dans la méthode des choix discrets, la plupart des consommateurs ont choisi l'apparence plutôt que la salubrité, ce qui indique que l'information sur la salubrité certifiée par le gouvernement avait une utilité partielle élevée. Les résultats de la simulation autorisent à penser qu'il serait possible de conquérir une plus grande part de marché si les quartiers arrière de porcs étaient accompagnés d'information de plusieurs niveaux en même temps plutôt que d'information d'un seul niveau. D'après nos résultats, le revenu représente le facteur clé dans la détermination de la demande des consommateurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulin and liraglutide have been demonstrated to control blood glucose and exert neuroprotective effects. However, the impact of liraglutide or insulin alone or in combination on brain pathology in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and their underlying mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced via intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin in mice and subsequently mice were treated with insulin, liraglutide, a combination of the two drugs or saline. Changes in body weight and blood glucose were assessed weekly. The pathological changes in the brain tissue and the apoptosis of neurons were assessed using H&E staining and TUNEL staining. The mRNA and protein expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting, respectively. Moreover, Ki67 protein expression was analyzed using immunohistochemistry and the mRNA and protein expression levels of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related proteins were examined using RT-qPCR and western blotting, respectively. The results of the present study suggested that DM mice developed hyperglycemia and weight loss and also exhibited significantly increased neural cell apoptosis and significantly reduced numbers of Ki67-positive cells. Liraglutide significantly decreased blood glucose levels in DM mice, whereas both insulin and the combination of the two drugs failed to control blood glucose well. Insulin, liraglutide and their combination also failed to control body weight well, but significantly attenuated brain pathological changes and activation of the pro-apoptotic proteins Caspase-3 and Bax, which may have resulted in the significant increase in the expression levels of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-associated molecules such as Wnt3a and S9-pGSK-3β. Liraglutide also promoted the protein expression of the neurogenesis marker of Ki67 and the antiapoptotic factor Bcl-2. These results suggested that insulin and liraglutide may improve brain damage via upregulation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and could be of therapeutic relevance for improvement of cognitive impairment in patients with DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a key step for electrochemical water splitting and understanding the surface reconstruction of OER pre-catalysts is of vital importance. Herein, hybrid Ni 5 P 4 @FeP nanosheet arrays were evaluated as promising OER pre-catalysts. The dynamic surface evolution was probed by in situ Raman spectroscopy, which revealed that Ni 5 P 4 @FeP was rapidly reconstructed to NiFe 2 O 4 during the anodic scan. The structural instability of amorphous NiFe 2 O 4 led to partial reconstitution to Ni/FeOOH at high oxidation potentials. As-formed Ni/FeOOH@NiFe 2 O 4 hybrid with high structural reversibility was established as a truly active species, which exhibited excellent alkaline OER performance with a low overpotential of 205 and 242 mV under current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively. This work provides a facile strategy to in situ construct an amorphous spinel/oxyhydroxide hybrid structure using electrochemical activation that holds strong promise for potential application in electrochemical water splitting and related energy devices. [Display omitted] • Surface reconstruction of Ni 5 P 4 @FeP was probed by in situ Raman spectroscopy. • Ni 5 P 4 @FeP was oxidized to NiFe 2 O 4 and further to Ni/FeOOH at high potentials. • The real active intermediate was identified as Ni/FeOOH and NiFe 2 O 4 hybrid. • High structural reversibility between NiFe 2 O 4 and Ni/FeOOH was found. • As-formed amorphous NiOOH and NiFe 2 O 4 hybrid showed superior OER activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demand is increasing for ultrasensitive bioassays for disease diagnosis, environmental monitoring and other research areas. This requires novel signal amplification strategies to maximize the signal output. In this review, we focus on a series of significant signal amplification strategies based on polymeric nanocomposites and polymerization. Some common polymers are used as carriers to increase the local concentration of signal probes and/or biomolecules on their surfaces or in their interiors. Some polymers with special fluorescence and optical properties can efficiently transfer the excitation energy from a single site to the whole polymer backbone. This results in superior fluorescence signal amplification due to the resulting collective effort (integration of signal). Recent polymerization-based signal amplification strategies that employ atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and photo-initiated polymerization are also summarized. Several distinctive applications of polymers in ultrasensitive bioanalysis are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will show that quantum private comparison protocol is secure when a malicious third party is presented. The security of the protocol is considered in a cheat-sensitive model, in which the TP is kept honest by the possibility of being caught cheating. Besides, we enhance the privacy of the quantum private comparison protocol, where the participants' inputs and the comparison result can be preserved. Furthermore, in contrast to pervious protocols requiring a large amount of quantum resources, such as entanglement and quantum memory, our protocol is based on BB84 protocol, which is more feasible for practical applications. Finally, we analyze the security of the presented protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, decorating Ag 3 PO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 heterostructures with uniformly dispersed ultrafine Ag nanoparticles are obtained by a combination of solvothermal technique, deposition–precipitation method and in situ photoreduction process. Two visible-light active components (Ag 3 PO 4 , Bi 2 MoO 6 ) and the electron-transfer system (Ag) are spatially fixed in this heterostructures system. The photocatalytic studies revealed that the heterostructures system exhibits enhanced photocatalytic activity than the Bi 2 MoO 6 and Ag 3 PO 4 /Bi 2 MoO 6 heterostructures under visible light. The enhanced photocatalytic activity can be attributed to the effective separation of photogenerated carriers driven by the matching band potentials between Ag 3 PO 4 and Bi 2 MoO 6 , as well as the good electron trapping role of Ag nanoparticles in situ formed on the surfaces of Ag 3 PO 4 particles during the photocatalytic reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are important atmospheric pollutants that affect air quality, radiation, and human health. In this study, 14 typical SOA tracers were measured in PM 2.5 collected from three central cities of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in the winter of 2014 and the summer of 2015. Among the determined SOA tracers, α/β-pinene SOA tracers contributed 55.9%, followed by isoprene SOA tracers (33.7%), anthropogenic benzene SOA tracer (6.4%) and β-caryophyllene SOA tracer (4.0%). There was no significant difference in the concentration of individual SOA tracers among the three cities (p > 0.05), indicating a high degree of regional consistency. The concentrations of isoprene, α/β-pinene, and toluene SOA tracers were significantly higher in summer than in winter. A correlation of SOA tracers with temperature implies that the isoprene and α/β-pinene SOA tracers in summer were greatly boosted by plant emissions and the high DHOPA in summer could be attributed to evaporation of paint and solvent. In contrast, the elevated β-caryophyllene SOA tracer in winter was likely associated with active biomass burning. Furthermore, we observed a close correlation of summer isoprene and α/β-pinene SOA tracers with sulfate only in Shanghai, which verifies that biogenic SOA formation was facilitated by high concentration of sulfate. The ratios of MGA/MTLs and P/M were applied to reveal the impact of NO x on SOA formation and the aging degree of SOA, respectively. The MGA/MTLs ratios were comparable for the three cities, but much higher than the background value of this region as expected. The P/M ratios suggest that the aging degree of SOA in the YRD region was generally low, but the winter SOA were fresher than the summer SOA. Our research helps to understand pollution characteristics of SOA tracers in the urban agglomeration. [Display omitted] • PM 2.5 -bound SOA tracers in three central cities of the YRD region were investigated. • Reasons for the differences of SOA tracers among sites and seasons were discussed. • Implication of α/β-pinene SOA tracers for aerosol aging degree. • Isoprene SOA tracers indicates the effects of large anthropogenic NO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Flowerlike C-doped BiOCl nanostructure were synthesized via a wet chemical method for the first time. [•] PAM plays the role of both as chelating and doping agents. [•] The microstructrue, morphology and photocatalytic activity are greatly dependent on the PAM content. [•] C-doped BiOCl nanostructure showed greatly enhanced photocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] IMU reciprocating rotation was introduced to filter out bias from inertial elements. [•] IMU rotation is used to improve the observability of system parameters. [•] The IMU rotation can be projected onto the MEMS to calibration and alignment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Fe-Ni-S catalysts undergo surface self-reconstruction during alkaline electrocatalysis. • γ-NiOOH and metallic Ni act as reactive species for OER and HER, respectively. • Fe-Ni-S pre-catalysts show low overpotentials in OER and HER bifunctional activity. • An electrolyzer exhibits a cell potential of 1.55 V at 10 mA cm−2. Earth-abundant catalysts for both Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are highly required for electrochemical water splitting. Transition metal sulfides have been considered as efficient catalysts for both OER and HER, but their real active species in operation condition are still controversial. Herein, self-supported Ni 3 S 2 /FeNi 2 S 4 nanosheets (Ni-Fe-S) are synthesized and in-situ Raman measurement is conducted to monitor the phase transformation under realistic conditions. Combined with a series of ex-situ technologies, it can be concluded that, Ni-Fe-S nanosheets function as pre-catalysts which undergo dynamically structural reconstruction during electrolysis. The active species are determined to be γ-NiOOH for OER and metallic Ni0 for HER in 1 M KOH media, respectively. As-converted products only need overpotentials of 50 mV for HER and 201 mV for OER to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm-2, respectively. A two-electrode electrolyzer can afford a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a low cell voltage of 1.55 V. This work provides new perspectives to recognize the catalytic evolution process of nickel-based sulfides for water splitting and sheds light on the rational design of bifunctional materials in energy devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we describe the generation of a monomeric large Stokes shift (LSS) red fluorescent protein, mBeRFP, with excitation and emission peaks at 446 and 615 nm, respectively. Compared with two previously reported LSS-RFPs (mKeima and LSS-mKate2), mBeRFP is approximately three times brighter. In addition, mBeRFP is characterized by improved photostability, rapid maturation, an extended lifetime, and a monomeric nature. Additionally, mBeRFP can be paired with the Alexa 647 dye as a FRET donor to detect caspase 3 activity. This FRET pair has an extremely dynamic range and a large Förster radius (approximately 6.5 nm). To demonstrate the applicability of mBeRFP for imaging in living cells, we performed dual-color imaging of mBeRFP and CFP simultaneously excited by a single excitation source, and we demonstrated that these fluorescent proteins allow the clear visualization of the dynamics of Bax during cancer cell apoptosis. Thus, mBeRFP appears to be particularly useful for cellular imaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, we report controllable synthesis of ZnS–Ag2S composite microspheres by the two-step hydrothermal method, which demonstrate excellent photocatalytic properties. Structure and morphology evolutions are investigated by adjusting the weight ratios of ZnS precursor and AgNO3. Photocatalytic properties of the obtained samples are investigated by the photodegradation analysis of methylene orange (MO) dye. Surface modification of ZnS spheres by Ag2S leads to highly enhanced photocatalytic activity, in comparison to pure ZnS. Furthermore, this method could be extended to prepare other sulfide based composite catalysts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Protein trans-splicing by split inteins has many uses in protein production and research. Splicing proteins with synthetic peptides, which employs atypical split inteins, is particularly useful for site-specific protein modifications and labeling, because the synthetic peptide can be made to contain a variety of unnatural amino acids and chemical modifications. For this purpose, atypical split inteins need to be engineered to have a small N-intein or C-intein fragment that can be more easily included in a synthetic peptide that also contains a small extein to be trans-spliced onto target proteins. Here we have successfully engineered multiple atypical split inteins capable of protein trans-splicing, by modifying and testing more than a dozen natural inteins. These included both S1 split inteins having a very small (11–12 aa) N-intein fragment and S11 split inteins having a very small (6 aa) C-intein fragment. Four of the new S1 and S11 split inteins showed high efficiencies (85–100%) of protein trans-splicing both in E. coli cells and in vitro. Under in vitro conditions, they exhibited reaction rate constants ranging from ∼1.7×10−4 s−1 to ∼3.8×10−4 s−1, which are comparable to or higher than those of previously reported atypical split inteins. These findings should facilitate a more general use of trans-splicing between proteins and synthetic peptides, by expanding the availability of different atypical split inteins. They also have implications on understanding the structure-function relationship of atypical split inteins, particularly in terms of intein fragment complementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The carbonaceous species and potassium in PM2.5 were measured in the coastal urban agglomeration in the Western Taiwan Strait Region (WTSR), China in November 2010, January, April and August 2011, with the objectives to understand the spatiotemporal distribution of carbonaceous aerosols and to estimate the contribution from biomass burning and non-biomass burning to carbonaceous aerosols in this region. The average concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM2.5 at the urban sites in the WTSR were 12.7±4.3μgm−3 and 2.3±0.9μgm−3, respectively, with the maxima in January/April and minima in August for most sites. It was found that the OC concentrations on no-rain days were higher than those on rainy days due to precipitation scavenging. Total carbonaceous aerosol (OC×1.6+EC) made up 32.1±15.6% of PM2.5. High OC/EC ratios (average 5.8) indicated the formation of secondary organic carbon (SOC), which contributed higher to the OC in January than that in August. Strong correlations were observed between biomass-burning potassium (K+ bb) and OC (R 2 =0.56, p <0.01) and EC (R 2 =0.54, p <0.01) in November. It was roughly estimated that 42.1±15.1% of total carbon (TC) in November were attributed to biomass burning, which suggested that non-biomass burning was the main source of carbonaceous materials in aerosols in the coastal urban agglomeration in the WTSR. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The PRNP gene encodes a cellular protein named prion, whose misfolded form has been implicated in a number of neuropathic diseases in mammals such as the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle. BSE has brought devastating impact on the world economy and human health. Recently, several groups have performed the gene targeting strategy to disrupt the PRNP gene in bovine fibroblast cells and produce BSE-resistant cattle by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). However, the enrichment efficiency of the gene targeting vector was low. Here, we constructed a novel promoterless gene targeting vector to sequentially disrupt the PRNP gene in bovine fibroblast cells and generate gene targeted cattle by SCNT. The enrichment efficiency of the novel vector was 100% and 60%, respectively. After nuclear transfer, no significant difference was found in the rate of cleavage and blastocyst formation between the knockout and wild type cloned embryos. One PRNP +/− calf was born with no obvious abnormal development by now. Fusion RT-PCR and real-time PCR showed one allele of the PRNP gene was functionally disrupted, and the mRNA expression reduced dramatically in the PRNP +/− cattle. The reconstituted PRNP −/− embryos showed double alleles disruption, and no difference in the rate of cleavage and blastocyst formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: UV sensor based on an individual ZnO nanowire (NW) was fabricated by micro-grid template method. The photo-electric properties of the sensor were investigated under the illumination of He–Cd laser (325nm). The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics are linear and the resistivity of the ZnO NWs is calculated to be 1.7Ωcm in dark and 0.2Ωcm under UV illumination. The decay process, after the illumination is off, exhibits a third-order exponential decay function, with time constants of τ 1 =0.2s, τ 2 =8.5s and τ 3 =86.6s. It can be attributed to the electron–hole recombination, and the readsorption of vaporized water and oxygen molecules. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A mesophilic acidophilic consortium was enriched from acid mine drainage samples collected from several uranium mines in China. The performance of the consortium in column bioleaching of low-grade uranium embedded in granite porphyry was investigated. The influences of several chemical parameters on uranium extraction in column reactor were also investigated. A uranium recovery of 96.82% was achieved in 97days column leaching process including 33days acid pre-leaching stage and 64days bioleaching stage. It was reflected that indirect leaching mechanism took precedence over direct. Furthermore, the bacterial community structure was analyzed by using Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis. The results showed that microorganisms on the residual surface were more diverse than that in the solution. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans was the dominant species in the solution and Leptospirillum ferriphilum on the residual surface. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• C-CuO-Cu 2 O/CF hybrid was synthesized by a facile candle flame annealing. • The composition was confirmed by XRD, Raman and TEM techniques. • The C-CuO-Cu 2 O/CF electrode showed excellent photoelectrochemical activity. • High photoelectrochemical performance was due to carbon coating and hybrid composition. In this work, carbon coated-CuO-Cu 2 O composite on copper foam (C-CuO-Cu 2 O/CF) is synthesized by candle flame treatment and is evaluated as a photocathode of photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC). The photocurrent density of C-CuO-Cu 2 O/CF electrode can reach −1.2 mA cm−2 (at 0 V vs. RHE), which is about 12 times higher than that of Cu 2 O/CF. The high PEC performance is due to the carbon modification and the unique composition which increase the carrier concentration and reduce the carrier recombination rate and promote charge transfer at electrode-electrolyte interface. Our results proves that candle flame annealing is a promising way for the rational design of carbon modified photoelectrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Urea l-malic acid (ULMA) is one of the derivatives of urea. ULMA keeps the nonlinear optical properties and broad transparency range of urea with greatly reduced hygroscopicity. ULMA film (2 μm) was prepared with physical vapour deposition (PVD) method. XRD and FTIR measurements show that the film and the ULMA powder have the same composition and crystal structure. Furthermore, the film keeps the nonlinear properties of the ULMA crystal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sandwich pipe (SP), composed of two concentrically steel tubes with a strain-hardening cementitious composite (SHCC) filling core, is a new concept designed for oil and gas transportation in deep waters. Bending is a primary loading condition for the SP during the installation process. There is currently a lack of research on SPs' bending capacity, considering the actual interlayer behavior. The extreme adhesion conditions of fully bounded and unbounded layers have been commonly adopted in numerical simulations. This paper aims to study the actual interlayer behavior through push-out and self-stress tests and proposes an SP numerical model with a bond-slip layer, based on the finite element method. The results from experimental tests for bending on a rigid surface to simulate the reeling installation method are correlated with the results from the finite element model, presenting good agreement. A parametric study is then performed to investigate the influence of geometric parameters and the interlayer bond behavior on the ultimate bending strength. • Push-out and self-stress tests to study the actual interlayer behavior of sandwich pipes are presented. • A numerical model with a bond-slip layer for sandwich pipe is proposed. • Full-scale sandwich pipes bending tests are presented. • A correlation study between the experimental and numerical results is performed. • Influence of geometric parameters and initial ovality on the ultimate bending moments of sandwich pipe are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frontispiz: Phase-Junction Electrocatalysts towards Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Media Keywords: alkaline electrolytes; electrocatalysis; hydrogen evolution reaction; phase junctions EN alkaline electrolytes electrocatalysis hydrogen evolution reaction phase junctions 1 1 1 12/24/20 20210104 NES 210104 B Elektrokatalyse b Elektrokatalysatoren mit Phasenkontakt für die verstärkte Wasserstoffentwicklungsreaktion in alkalischen Medien werden von Bo Song et al. im Forschungsartikel auf S. 263 vorgestellt. Alkaline electrolytes, electrocatalysis, hydrogen evolution reaction, phase junctions. [Extracted from the article]

Developing efficient and nonprecious electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for the hydrogen generation via water splitting. Here we report the direct growth of heterostructural Ni 2 P–Fe 2 P hybrid electrocatalysts on NiFe foams. The redox engineered NiFe foam (rNF) significantly enhances the OER performance. Among prepared catalysts, Ni 2 P–Fe 2 P/rNF performs the highest OER activity, driving the current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm−2 at low overpotentials of 218 and 270 mV in 1 M KOH, respectively. Meanwhile, it can maintain 100 mA cm−2 for 24 h without obvious degradation. The morphology and composition of NFP/rNF after OER test were carefully studied. This work suggests that self-supported bimetal phosphides of NFP/rNF is an efficient and durable electrode material for water oxidation. Heterostructural Ni2P-Fe2P hybrid electrocatalysts were direct grown on NiFe foams, which show excellent oxygen evolution activity and stability. Image 1 • The formation of micro-sized pores on the skeleton of NiFe foam (NF) substrate can enlarge surface area. • The heterogeneous Ni2P-Fe2P structure provides plentiful active sites for OER. • The Ni2P-Fe2P/ rNF foam exhibits an extraordinary electro catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial steel slag aggregates were prepared via carbonating the mixes of steel slag, fly ash and Portland cement, of which the microstructure, property and their impact on the performance of concrete were investigated. Calcium carbonates were the main binders in the aggregates, of which the formation yielded dense microstructures and reduced crushing values. The carbonated artificial steel slag aggregates showed very stable volumes after the autoclaving test at 216 °C. This is due to the depletion of free-CaO contained in the steel slag as a result of carbonation. Concretes with compressive strengths of up to 45.5 MPa at 28d and stable volumes were prepared with the carbonated artificial steel slag aggregates. Owing to the water absorption in the artificial aggregates, higher relative humidity and in turn less autogenous shrinkages were induced in the concrete. This work provides a novel way to utilize steel slag to produce aggregates coupled with CO 2 sequestration. • Carbonated artificial steel slag aggregates were prepared via carbonation. • Calcium carbonates were the main binders in the artificial steel slag aggregates. • The artificial steel slag aggregate had light weight and stable volume. • Concrete with artificial aggregates gained compressive strength of 45.5 MPa at 28d • The artificial steel slag aggregates provided internal curing in concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) plays an important role in global climate change and air quality, and SOA tracers most directly characterize the sources and formation mechanisms of SOA. Four seasons of observation of SOA tracers was carried out in a coastal city of southeastern China. Fourteen PM 2.5 -bound SOA tracers, including isoprene (SOA I), α/β-pinene (SOA M), β-caryophyllene (SOA C), and toluene (SOA A), were measured using the GC–MS method. The concentrations of SOA tracers in Fuzhou were 25.9 ± 19.9 ng m−3 (SOA M), 7.45 ± 8.53 ng m−3 (SOA I), 3.15 ± 1.99 ng m−3 (SOA C), and 2.63 ± 1.54 ng m−3 (SOA A). The elevated SOA I concentration in summer was mainly controlled by high biogenic isoprene emission and strong oxidation, and biomass burning contributed strongly to DHOPA (SOA A) in fall. SO 4 2− and H+ insitu had an increased impact on later-generation SOA I products and low-NOx SOA M products. Based on the ratio of MGA/MTLs and MBTCA/(PA + PNA), atmospheric oxidation capacity (Ox, =NO 2 +O 3) had a significant impact on the aerosol aging of SOA tracers. The increased proportions of low-NOx SOA I products were 3.23–7.21 times higher than those of high-NOx products from non-haze to haze periods, suggesting the influence of high SO 4 2− concentration and RH on the reaction channel for SOA I formation. The percentages of later-generation SOA M products during RT were 2.46 times higher than those of first-generation products, suggesting the influence of aerosol aging during the regional transport. Both continental Asian outflow and biomass-burning plumes promoted precursor emissions and the formation process of SOA during the haze pollution events. These related findings help to understand the occurrence, sources and formation of SOA in coastal areas. • SO 4 2− and H+ insitu had an increased impact on low-NOx SOA I products and later-generation SOA M products. • The HO 2 channel was the main chemical reaction of SOA during haze periods. • Biomass-burning plumes promoted precursor emissions and the formation of SOA during haze events with regional transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ultraviolet upconversion emissions at 262, 276, 308 and 320nm were observed from Er3+-doped Y2O3 with a 532nm continuous wave compact solid-state laser excitation. Power-dependence analysis demonstrates that two-photon upconversion process populates the 4D5/2, 2H9/2 and 2P3/2 states. The energy transfer upconversion (ETU) plays an important role in populating 4D5/2 and 2P3/2 states. It appears that 2P3/2 state population originates from ETU 2H11/2+2H11/2→4I13/2+2P3/2, moreover, a subsequent excited state absorption (ESA) from the 4I9/2 level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) can effectively indicate photochemical pollution, and also plays a vital role in regional oxidant balance. One-year continuous monitoring of PAN in a coastal city of southeastern China was investigated. The mean concentration of PAN in winter (0.64 ppb) was close to that in autumn (0.73 ppb), indicating that photochemical pollution was still non-negligible in the cold season. The peak occurrence time between O 3 and PAN had a delay of 1–2 h in four seasons, due to the rapid decomposition rate of PAN in midday. Emission sources of the precursors are located to the south of the monitoring site, so high concentrations of PAN and O 3 are frequently observed under southerly wind conditions. The air mass with low concentration of PAN (0.22–0.34 ppb) and O 3 (18.17–23.67 ppb) originated from the ocean with less anthropogenic air pollutants. Continental air mass with high PAN concentration might be related to the contribution of heterogeneous reactions of PM 2.5 to the promotion of PAN formation. In the polluted case, PAN concentration was often higher than 1.0 ppb and reached the peak of 4.2 ppb, suggesting the influence of photochemical reactions and local accumulation. High concentrations of HONO and sufficient ultraviolet radiation might be the main factors for rapid photochemical production of PAN. Besides, the lifetime of PAN in winter under the condition of high PM 2.5 concentration (≥35 μg·m−3) was up to 3.246 days. This study provided insights into photochemical mechanism and pollution process in a coastal city of southeastern China. Unlabelled Image • Continuous field observation on peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) was conducted. • It was proved that OH radicals can replace the role of UV in PAN formation. • PAN was easy to accumulate in winter in PM 2.5 with concentration ≥ 35 μg·m−3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-based amorphous/nanocrystalline coatings were prepared by cold spraying. The microstructures and microhardness of the coatings were investigated. The single particle's deposition was prepared and the formation of coatings was discussed. The amorphous content decreased with increased preheating temperature. The main crystalline phase was α-Al at preheating temperatures below 400 °C, with the appearance of other crystalline phases at 440 °C. The porosity values remained in the 3–4% range at different preheating temperatures and the microhardness of coatings decreased as the amorphous content declined. Analysis of the single particle's morphology revealed no obvious jet splashing and some particles at the interface retained near-spherical shape due to inhomogeneous deformation. The interaction of particles with the deposited coatings revealed the importance of α-Al because the α-Al could promote deformation to some extent. Then three types of interactions of particles with the deposited coatings were put forward. The simulation results about the two particles' interaction confirmed the effect of α-Al phase on the coating formation. • Other crystalline phases except α-Al appeared when T temperatures was 440 °C. • Microhardness of coatings decreased as the amorphous content declined. • No obvious jet splashing was observed in single particle's deposition. • Three types of interactions about α-Al were put forward in the coating formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the combined effects of the East Asian monsoon and ocean emissions on wintertime and summertime PM 2.5 in island cities, filter samples were collected simultaneously at four different functional sites. Based on the chemical compositions of PM 2.5 , and positive matrix factorization (PMF) model analysis, the pollution characteristics and sources were determined. Insignificant differences, and some correlation in PM 2.5 reconstructed compositions were found among the sites (P t -test > 0.05, P >.05), while significant differences, and no correlation, were found between winter and summer (P ANOVA < 0.05, P >.05). There was more serious chloride depletion in summer (0.88 ± 0.05), caused by both significant Cl− depletion and Na+ enrichment, than in winter (0.18 ± 0.10). The concentrations of non-sea-salt-SO 4 2− in winter were close to those in summer, but the sulfate oxidation ratio (SOR) in winter was much lower than that in summer. The results could be explained by the fact that sea-salt-SO 4 2− has an important contribution to secondary inorganic aerosol on island cities. From both air trajectory clustering and PMF analysis, it was found that there was significant aerosol aging and regional transport in the island city during the East Asian monsoon, and that continental air masses control the variation of air pollution in winter, while sea breezes dominate the characteristics of PM 2.5 in summer. This study helps to understand the characteristics and source mechanisms of PM 2.5 pollution under complex meteorological conditions in island cities. • The combined effects of the East Asian monsoon and ocean emissions on PM 2.5 were investigated in an island city. • Obvious Cl-depletion was found in summer, and sea-salt-SO 4 2− has an important contribution to secondary inorganic aerosol. • Northeastward winds brought aged aerosols in winter, while oxidation conditions and sea salt enhanced the formation of aged aerosols in summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]