Search

Due to the current status of English as a lingua franca in numerous domains, increasing attention has been directed toward the economic potential of English. However, research on languages other than English from an economic perspective remains limited. This study aims to address this gap by examining the labor market demand for Japanese language skills in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China. Drawing on data from the job advertisements published on two prominent job websites in mainland China in 2019 and 2022, this study suggests an increasing overall demand for Japanese language skills, as well as a request for higher proficiency in Japanese in the PRD labor market between 2019 and 2022, despite variations observed across different economic sectors. Furthermore, the results also indicate a growing tendency to interweave Japanese and global English in the PRD labor market. The findings provide implications for language instructors, job applicants, and educational institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency physicians play a critical role in mitigating the opioid epidemic in public health. To analyze the prescribing of emergency physicians for opioids among Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the Part D program from 2013 to 2019. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive analysis of Medicare Part D prescriber data, focusing on opioid claims between 2013 and 2019. The primary outcome variables evaluated included proportion of opioid claims, trends of the most prescribed opioids, cost of opioid claims, and days' supply per claim. A total of 63,586 emergency physicians were identified over the study period. Opioid prescription by emergency physicians decreased from 14.45% to 11.55%, and the cost spent on opioid drugs declined by 50%. The use of drugs such as hydrocodone-acetaminophen and oxycodone-acetaminophen declined substantially, whereas tramadol and acetaminophen-codeine prescription increased. The opioid prescribing rate and days' supply also decreased. The decline in traditional opioid agents such as hydrocodone-acetaminophen was partly offset by an increase in opioids like tramadol, which carry additional potential adverse events. Opioid prescribing rate, average days' supply, and cost of opioid drugs significantly decreased from 2015 to 2019, after a spike in 2015. All regions observed a decrease in emergency physicians, but opioid prescribing rates varied across regions. These trends highlight successful opioid stewardship practices in some areas and the need for further development in others. This information can aid in designing tailored guidelines and policies for emergency physicians to promote effective opioid stewardship practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/Introduction: Gastric cancer, one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide, is affected by insulin resistance. The triglyceride glucose (TYG) index is considered a surrogate indicator of insulin resistance; however, its prognostic value in patients with gastric cancer remains obscure. This study aimed to determine whether the TYG index could predict the long‐term prognosis of patients with gastric cancer after radical resection gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients with gastric cancer who underwent radical resection gastrectomy. The preoperative TYG index was calculated using the patients' laboratory data. Patients were divided into two groups based on a high or low TYG index. We observed overall survival and evaluated the clinical application value of the index using Cox proportional hazards regression to calculate independent parameters. A prediction model was also established. Results: In total, 822 patients with gastric cancer were included. The high and low TYG index groups comprised 353 and 469 patients, respectively. The overall survival time was significantly longer in the high‐index group than in the low‐index group. In the multivariate analysis, TYG index, preoperative age, surgical procedure, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, N stage, and postoperative complications (all p < 0.01) were considered independent prognostic predictors. Based on the multivariate analysis, the riglyceride glucose (TYG) index hazard ratio was 0.70 (95% confidence interval, 0.54–0.89, p = 0.004). Conclusions: We established a model with a high clinical application value and clinical practice relevance to predict the prognosis of gastric cancer. In this model, TYG was an independent protective factor for gastric cancer prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow water dissociation process in alkaline electrolyte severely limits the kinetics of HER. The orientation of H2O is well known to affect the dissociation process, but H2O orientation is hard to control because of its random distribution. Herein, an atomically asymmetric local electric field was designed by IrRu dizygotic single‐atom sites (IrRu DSACs) to tune the H2O adsorption configuration and orientation, thus optimizing its dissociation process. The electric field intensity of IrRu DSACs is over 4.00×1010 N/C. The ab initio molecular dynamics simulations combined with in situ Raman spectroscopy analysis on the adsorption behavior of H2O show that the M−H bond length (M=active site) is shortened at the interface due to the strong local electric field gradient and the optimized water orientation promotes the dissociation process of interfacial water. This work provides a new way to explore the role of single atomic sites in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow water dissociation process in alkaline electrolyte severely limits the kinetics of HER. The orientation of H2O is well known to affect the dissociation process, but H2O orientation is hard to control because of its random distribution. Herein, an atomically asymmetric local electric field was designed by IrRu dizygotic single‐atom sites (IrRu DSACs) to tune the H2O adsorption configuration and orientation, thus optimizing its dissociation process. The electric field intensity of IrRu DSACs is over 4.00×1010 N/C. The ab initio molecular dynamics simulations combined with in situ Raman spectroscopy analysis on the adsorption behavior of H2O show that the M−H bond length (M=active site) is shortened at the interface due to the strong local electric field gradient and the optimized water orientation promotes the dissociation process of interfacial water. This work provides a new way to explore the role of single atomic sites in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of twenty-two quinazolinamine derivatives showing potent inhibitory activities on breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) and p-glycoprotein (P-gp) were synthesized. A cyclopropyl-containing quinazolinamine 22 was identified as a dual BCRP and P-gp inhibitor, while azide-containing quinazolinamine 33 showed BCRP inhibitory activity. These lead compounds were further investigated in a battery of mechanistic experiments. Compound 22 changed the localization of BCRP and P-gp in cells, thus inhibiting the efflux of anticancer drugs by the two ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters. In addition, both 22 and 33 significantly stimulated the ATP hydrolysis of the BCRP transporter, indicating that they can be competitive substrates of the BCRP transporter, and thereby increase the accumulation of mitoxantrone in BCRP-overexpressing H460/MX20 cells. Azide derivative 33, exhibited a greater inhibitory effect on BCRP after UV activation and can serve as a valuable probe for investigating the interactions of quinazolinamine derivatives with BCRP. Notably, the dual BCRP and P-gp inhibitors 4–5, 22–24, 27, and BCRP inhibitor 33 showed improved metabolic stability compared to Ko143. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shijing 詩經 is the earliest collection of Chinese poems and songs traditionally considered to be compiled by Confucius. Scholarship on this collection deems the widespread wind imagery contained in it to be either a metaphor for males or a medium of emotional expression. However, the religious ideas involved in the sacrifices to the wind gods in early China, which are, in fact, deeply linked with the "wind" in Shijing, warrant further consideration. This article focuses on the relation between the "wind" in Shijing and the religious ideas involved in sacrificial rites ("ningfeng 寧風" and "difeng 禘風") to the wind gods. Drawing upon the history of wind disasters and sacrifices to the wind gods in early China, this article suggests that the pieces entitled "Gufeng 谷風" (included in the Xiaoya 小雅 section) and "Herensi 何人斯" provide descriptions of "ningfeng" (appeasing unwanted wind). Moreover, it argues that the pieces entitled "Kaifeng 凱風" and "Tuoxi 蘀兮" depict a genial wind in connection with harvest, childbearing, and prosperity involved in "difeng". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical nonlinear expectile regression has two shortcomings. It is difficult to choose a nonlinear function, and it does not consider the interaction effects among explanatory variables. Therefore, we combine the random forest model with the expectile regression method to propose a new nonparametric expectile regression model: expectile regression forest (ERF). The major novelty of the ERF model is using the bagging method to build multiple decision trees, calculating the conditional expectile of each leaf node in each decision tree, and deriving final results through aggregating these decision tree results via simple average approach. At the same time, in order to compensate for the black box problem in the model interpretation of the ERF model, the measurement of the importance of explanatory variable and the partial dependence is defined to evaluate the magnitude and direction of the influence of each explanatory variable on the response variable. The advantage of ERF model is illustrated by Monte Carlo simulation studies. The numerical simulation results show that the estimation and prediction ability of the ERF model is significantly better than alternative approaches. We also apply the ERF model to analyse the real data. From the nonparametric expectile regression analysis of these data sets, we have several conclusions that are consistent with the results of numerical simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide electroreduction (CO2RR) is a sustainable way of producing carbon‐neutral fuels. Product selectivity in CO2RR is regulated by the adsorption energy of reaction‐intermediates. Here, we employ differential phase contrast‐scanning transmission electron microscopy (DPC‐STEM) to demonstrate that Sn heteroatoms on a Ag catalyst generate very strong and atomically localized electric fields. In situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐IR) results verified that the localized electric field enhances the adsorption of *COOH, thus favoring the production of CO during CO2RR. The Ag/Sn catalyst exhibits an approximately 100 % CO selectivity at a very wide range of potentials (from −0.5 to −1.1 V, versus reversible hydrogen electrode), and with a remarkably high energy efficiency (EE) of 76.1 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide electroreduction (CO2RR) is a sustainable way of producing carbon‐neutral fuels. Product selectivity in CO2RR is regulated by the adsorption energy of reaction‐intermediates. Here, we employ differential phase contrast‐scanning transmission electron microscopy (DPC‐STEM) to demonstrate that Sn heteroatoms on a Ag catalyst generate very strong and atomically localized electric fields. In situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐IR) results verified that the localized electric field enhances the adsorption of *COOH, thus favoring the production of CO during CO2RR. The Ag/Sn catalyst exhibits an approximately 100 % CO selectivity at a very wide range of potentials (from −0.5 to −1.1 V, versus reversible hydrogen electrode), and with a remarkably high energy efficiency (EE) of 76.1 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high degree of freedom and novel nonlinear phenomena of multimode fiber are attracting attention. In this work, we demonstrate a spatiotemporal mode-locked multimode fiber laser, which relies on microfiber knot resonance (MKR) via dissipative four-wave-mixing (DFMW) to achieve high-repetition-rate pulses. Apart from that, DFMW mode locking with switchable central wavelengths can also be obtained. It was further found that high pulse energy induced nonlinear effect of the dominant mode-locking mechanism transforming from DFMW to nonlinear Kerr beam cleaning effect (NL-KBC). The experimental results are valuable for further comprehending the dynamic characteristics of spatiotemporal mode-locked multimode fiber lasers, facilitating them much more accessible for applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two high-entropy ferrite ceramic systems, Sr(CrMnFeCoNi) 12 O 19 and Sr(MgAlTiCrFe) 12 O 19 , were designed according to AB 12 O 19 composition and synthesised using elevated-temperature solid phase reaction. The B-site was loaded with five atoms in equal proportions. We focused on preparing high-entropy hexagonal magnetoplumbite strontium ferrites. However, spinel structure significantly formed in the Sr(CrMnFeCoNi) 12 O 19 system. The extruded strontium outside the lattice pulled out a part of chromium, causing phase separation and element segregation. The strontium extrusion outside the lattice and non-formation of hexagonal ferrite, which was reported for the first time, could be attributed to the electrovalence change in the elements. First-principles calculation of the (CrMnFeCoNi) 3 O 4 spinel system was used to analyse the band structure and density state. After entropy engineering design, it was mutated into a wide direct band gap (2.3 eV at 0 K). Although the non-magnetic elements reduced the magnetic performance, they significantly improved the mechanical performance with a flexural strength of 208.7 ± 0.9 MPa. These results may contribute to the element selection and preparation of high-entropy strontium ferrites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work proposes an effective strategy to synthesize hierarchical-hollow NiSe 2 nanosheets with high electrocatalytic activity for electrolytic water splitting. • NiSe 2 nanosheets show low overpotential of ∼85 mV at the current density of 10 mA/cm2 for the HER in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 and ∼270 mV for OER in 1 M KOH. • NiSe 2 nanosheets requires an ultralow voltage of 1.73 V to achieve the current density of 1 A/cm2 for full water splitting, outperforming most of the reported other Ni/Ni-Se based structures. • DFT simulations confirm that the hierarchical hollow NiSe 2 structure promotes the formation of intermediates and accelerates the catalytic kinetics in the HER/OER process. Electrolytic water splitting (EWS), regarded as a sustainable and promising strategy for hydrogen production, has received huge attention in recent years. However, the practical application of EWS is greatly hindered by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we proposed an efficient strategy for the synthesis of hierarchical hollow nickel selenide with significant HER and OER electrocatalytic activity. The as-synthesized NiSe 2 possesses low overpotential of ∼85 mV at the current density of 10 mA/cm2 for the HER in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 and ∼270 mV for OER in 1 M KOH. Importantly, when employed into full water splitting on membrane electrode assembly, it merely requires an ultralow voltage of 1.73 V to achieve the current density of 1 A/cm2, outperforming most of the reported other Ni/Ni-Se based structures. Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations confirm that the hierarchical hollow NiSe 2 structure facilitates the reduction of the Gibbs free energy change of H- and O-containing intermediates in the HER/OER process, which promotes the formation of intermediates and thus accelerates the catalytic kinetics. This work offers an important structure engineering route to develop high catalytic performance materials and sheds light on the promotion of electrocatalytic activity for clean energy utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteria in phycosphere engage in intricate interactions with microalgae by exchanging organic and inorganic matter. However, elucidating the primary roles of bacteria in phycosphere has been a big challenge, due to the lack of adequate methods for separating tightly associated bacteria from microalgal cells. In this study we evaluated several isolation methods including centrifugation, filtration, sonication combined with filtration, and tween lysis followed by sonication and filtration, aiming to efficiently acquire complete bacterial communities from phycosphere. The results demonstrated that the sonication-filtration approach maximally preserves the original characteristics of the bacterial communities. This method will facilitate the acquisition and further analysis of future experimental data. • A sonication-filtration approach preserving phycosphere bacterial communities were proposed. • This approach could effectively mitigate influences from host microalgae. • This approach could facilitate the omics and metabolic analysis on phycosphere bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activated two-dimension (2D) materials are used in various applications as high-performance catalysts. Breaking the long-range order of the basal plane of 2D materials can highly promote catalytic activity by supplying more active sites. Here we developed a method to synthesize ultrathin MCoOx (M = V, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn) amorphous nanosheets (ANSs). These Co-based ANSs show high oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity in alkaline solution due to the broken long-range order and the presence of abundant low bonded O on the basal plane. The stable Fe1Co1Ox ANSs also show an overpotential of ca. 240 mV of achieving 10 mA/cm2 in OER, better than most reported transition metal-based electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superhydrophobic materials are currently undergoing rapid development in various industries, with increasing attention being paid to their service life. Herein, we report an all-weather self-healing superhydrophobic cotton fabric based on photothermal and Joule-heating effects, which can be used for efficient oil-water separation. With the assistance of Safranine T, unique cauliflower-like polypyrrole (PPy) was prepared. Subsequently, titanium nitride (TiN) was loaded to enhance the photothermal performance of the fabric, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was grafted onto surface to improve the water repellency of PPy@TiN/PDMS fabric. The fabric not only has strong light absorption in visible-near infrared region, but also has good Joule-heating effect, up to 116.3 °C (light intensity of 5 sun) and 128.5 °C (voltage of 8 V). Due to unique all-weather heating performance, the migration of low surface energy PDMS chains is accelerated, so that the PPy@TiN/PDMS fabric after air plasma etching and oxydation can quickly heal its water contact angle (WCA) to 156° under light or low voltage conditions. Additionally, the fabric demonstrates an outstanding performance for the separation of various oil-water mixtures and in multiple cycle separation experiments. This study presents a novel approach for extending the longevity of superhydrophobicity and addressing the issue of waste oil treatment. [Display omitted] • Cauliflower-like PPy was grown in situ on cotton fabric using Safranine T as a template. • Synergistic effect of cauliflower-like PPy and TiN enhances the photothermal conversion performance. • PPy@TiN/PDMS fabric can be heated all-weather to heal the superhydrophobic layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruthenium (Ru)‐based catalysts, with considerable performance and desirable cost, are becoming highly interesting candidates to replace platinum (Pt) in the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The hydrogen binding at Ru sites (Ru−H) is an important factor limiting the HER activity. Herein, density functional theory (DFT) simulations show that the essence of Ru−H binding energy is the strong interaction between the 4dz2 orbital of Ru and the 1s orbital of H. The charge transfer between Ru sites and substrates (Co and Ni) causes the appropriate downward shift of the 4dz2 ‐band center of Ru, which results in a Gibbs free energy of 0.022 eV for H* in the RuCo system, much lower than the 0.133 eV in the pure Ru system. This theoretical prediction has been experimentally confirmed using RuCo alloy‐nanosheets (RuCo ANSs). They were prepared via a fast co‐precipitation method followed with a mild electrochemical reduction. Structure characterizations reveal that the Ru atoms are embedded into the Co substrate as isolated active sites with a planar symmetric and Z‐direction asymmetric coordination structure, obtaining an optimal 4dz2 modulated electronic structure. Hydrogen sensor and temperature program desorption (TPD) tests demonstrate the enhanced Ru−H interactions in RuCo ANSs compared to those in pure Ru nanoparticles. As a result, the RuCo ANSs reach an ultra‐low overpotential of 10 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 20.6 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH, outperforming that of the commercial Pt/C. This holistic work provides a new insight to promote alkaline HER by optimizing the metal‐H binding energy of active sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruthenium (Ru)‐based catalysts, with considerable performance and desirable cost, are becoming highly interesting candidates to replace platinum (Pt) in the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The hydrogen binding at Ru sites (Ru−H) is an important factor limiting the HER activity. Herein, density functional theory (DFT) simulations show that the essence of Ru−H binding energy is the strong interaction between the 4dz2 orbital of Ru and the 1s orbital of H. The charge transfer between Ru sites and substrates (Co and Ni) causes the appropriate downward shift of the 4dz2 ‐band center of Ru, which results in a Gibbs free energy of 0.022 eV for H* in the RuCo system, much lower than the 0.133 eV in the pure Ru system. This theoretical prediction has been experimentally confirmed using RuCo alloy‐nanosheets (RuCo ANSs). They were prepared via a fast co‐precipitation method followed with a mild electrochemical reduction. Structure characterizations reveal that the Ru atoms are embedded into the Co substrate as isolated active sites with a planar symmetric and Z‐direction asymmetric coordination structure, obtaining an optimal 4dz2 modulated electronic structure. Hydrogen sensor and temperature program desorption (TPD) tests demonstrate the enhanced Ru−H interactions in RuCo ANSs compared to those in pure Ru nanoparticles. As a result, the RuCo ANSs reach an ultra‐low overpotential of 10 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 20.6 mV dec−1 in 1 M KOH, outperforming that of the commercial Pt/C. This holistic work provides a new insight to promote alkaline HER by optimizing the metal‐H binding energy of active sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the effect of the CeO 2 in the microporous layer (MPL) on the durability of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells is investigated. The 400 h dry-wet accelerated stress test (AST) and the open-circuit voltage (OCV) holding testing were used to identify the function of CeO 2 in the microporous layer (MPL) on the durability and performance of MEA. The results show that the performance decay of the sample with CeO 2 is much smaller than the sample without CeO 2 (e.g., 24 mV vs. 140 mV@ 1200 mA cm−2). More importantly, the OCV decrease rate for sample without CeO 2 is as high as 7.250μV/cycle, which is 9.6 times as the value of 0.752μV/cycle for sample with CeO 2. And it is interesting that the addition of CeO 2 in MPL does not increase the inner resistance in the cell. Therefore, the addition of CeO 2 to the MPL not only can significantly improve the cell durability but also can effectively alleviate the negative impact of Ce ions on the proton conductivity in proton exchange membrane. [Display omitted] • The effect of the CeO 2 in MPL on the durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells is investigated. • The performance decay of the sample with CeO 2 is much smaller than the sample without CeO 2. • The addition of CeO 2 to the MPL can significantly improve the cell durability. • The CeO 2 in MPL can effectively alleviate the negative impact of Ce ions on the proton conductivity in PEMFC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A brief overview of CBD development in recent decades is presented. • Approaches for accessing specific carbohydrates and glycoconjugates are clarified. • Microarray and library are critical for rapid screening of bioactive carbohydrates. • Gut microbiota system is promising for evaluation of orally administrated CBD. • Advanced technologies and toolkit accelerated the CBD discovery. Carbohydrates, one of the most abundant and widespread biomolecules in nature, play indispensable roles in diverse biological functions, and represent a treasure trove of untapped potential for pharmaceutical applications. Here, we provide a brief overview of carbohydrate-based drug development (CBDD) over the past two decades. More importantly, advanced techniques and methodologies related to CBDD are emerging, including enzymatic synthesis, metabolic engineering, site-specific glycoconjugation, carbohydrate libraries and microarrays as well as carbohydrate-gut microbiome evaluation. These technologies have dramatically accelerated the speed of CBDD. The recently approved drugs and emerging techniques summarized herein will inspire new sights into potential opportunities to discover novel carbohydrate drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biologist's ruler for biodiversity is the species; accurate species identification is fundamental to the conservation of endangered species and in‐depth biological scientific exploration. However, the delimitation and affinities of Horsfieldia in China has been controversial, owing in part to very low levels of molecular divergence within the family Myristicaceae. Because species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships within Horsfieldia are also unclear, 13 samples were collected across its distribution in China and their genomes were subjected to shotgun sequencing using Illumina platforms. A total of 40 487 994–84 801 416 pair‐end clean reads were obtained and, after assembly, the complete chloroplast genome was recovered for all samples. Annotation analysis revealed a total of 112 genes, including 78 protein‐coding genes, 30 transfer RNA, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. Six variable loci (petN‐psbM, trnH‐psbA, ndhC‐trnV, psbJ‐psbL, ndhF, and rrn5‐rrn23) were identified. Phylogenetic analyses strongly support the presence of four distinct species of Horsfieldia in China. In addition, samples that had been identified previously as Horsfieldia kingii (Hook. f.) Warb. were indistinguishable from those of H. prainii (King) Warb., suggesting that if H. kingii does occur in China, it was not collected in this study. Similarly, the chloroplast genome of one H. hainanensis Merr. sample from Guangxi province was identical to H. tetratepala C. Y. Wu, suggesting that the distribution range of H. hainanensis might be narrower than assumed previously. The phylogenetic relationships between the Chinese Horsfieldia species based on the whole chloroplast genomes was supported strongly, indicating the potential for using entire chloroplast genomes as super‐barcodes for further resolution of the phylogeny of the genus Horsfieldia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the closest extant sister group to seed plants, ferns are an important reference point to study the origin and evolution of plant genes and traits. One bottleneck to the use of ferns in phylogenetic and genetic studies is the fact that genome-level sequence information of this group is limited, due to the extreme genome sizes of most ferns. Ceratopteris richardii (hereafter Ceratopteris) has been widely used as a model system for ferns. In this study, we generated a transcriptome of Ceratopteris, through the de novo assembly of the RNA-seq data from 17 sequencing libraries that are derived from two sexual types of gametophytes and five different sporophyte tissues. The Ceratopteris transcriptome, together with 38 genomes and transcriptomes from other species across the Viridiplantae, were used to uncover the evolutionary dynamics of orthogroups (predicted gene families using OrthoFinder) within the euphyllophytes and identify proteins associated with the major shifts in plant morphology and physiology that occurred in the last common ancestors of euphyllophytes, ferns, and seed plants. Furthermore, this resource was used to identify and classify the GRAS domain transcriptional regulators of many developmental processes in plants. Through the phylogenetic analysis within each of the 15 GRAS orthogroups, we uncovered which GRAS family members are conserved or have diversified in ferns and seed plants. Taken together, the transcriptome database and analyses reported here provide an important platform for exploring the evolution of gene families in land plants and for studying gene function in seed-free vascular plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-world driving conditions will likely cause hydrogen starvation at the anode chambers of stacks to trigger voltage reversal events, posing a tremendous challenge to the durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The reversal-tolerant anode (RTA), a material-based solution, that inclusion of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst into the anode is usually employed to cope with the voltage reversal issue. In this work, we investigate the impact of anode catalyst layer thickness on the voltage reversal performance of the membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) with conventional anodes (Pt/C catalyst) and RTAs doped with IrO 2 catalyst, a representative OER catalyst. We find that regardless of how thick the anode catalyst layer is, the conventional MEAs exhibit almost similar voltage reversal behaviors and times, only about 1 min to reach the shutdown voltage (−2.5 V). As for the RTA MEAs, a surprising thickness effect that the thinner RTA with the same IrO 2 loading shows superior voltage reversal tolerance. Notably, an ultra-thin RTA (~2 μm) exhibits the reversal tolerance time of 310 min, which is five times higher reversal tolerance time than most of the reported RTAs. We conclude that this thickness effect mainly results from the ionomer distribution on the OER catalyst. Besides, we observe that the RTA with a higher ionomer content shows the better reversal tolerance performance. Our work highlights the importance of the OER Triple-Phase-Boundary (TPB) and the need for improved electrode designs for robust RTAs. Image 1 • The thickness impact on the voltage reversal time (VRT) of the conventional and reversal-tolerant anode (RTA) is investigated. • Increasing anode Pt loading can limitedly prolong the VRT of the cell. • An ultra-thin RTA (~2 μm) shows the outstanding voltage reversal tolerance (VRT: 310 min). • The RTA with a higher Ionomer/Carbon ratio shows the better reversal tolerance. • The more available Triple-Phase-Boundary (TPB) is essential for robust RTAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new analytical formula is proposed to determine the mean outcrossing rate of nonstationary non-Gaussian performance functions. The performance function is firstly transformed into a standard Gaussian process using its first four moments and autocorrelation coefficient function, and the mean outcrossing rate of the time-variant performance function is then derived from the transformed standard Gaussian process and the cumulative distribution function of the correlated bivariate standard normal random variable. Based on the proposed mean outcrossing rate, an efficient methodology is then developed to evaluate the time-dependent structural failure probability of nonstationary non-Gaussian performance functions under the assumption that the outcrossing event (i.e., structural failure) is modeled as a Poisson process. Several numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method. It can be concluded that the proposed method provides an efficient and useful tool for time-dependent structural reliability assessment in engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive consumption of fossil fuels gives rise to the increasing emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and furthers the ecocrisis. Electrochemical CO2 reduction (ECR) has both functions of dwindling greenhouse gas concentration and converting it into valuable products. Due to the intrinsic chemical inertness of CO2 molecules, the study on efficient and low‐cost catalysts has attracted much attention. Recently isolated atoms, dispersed in stable support, play an important role in decreasing energy barriers of intermediate steps and obtaining target products with high activity and selectivity for ECR. The effective regulation of central atoms or coordination environment is significant to realize the desired performances of ECR with a high efficiency and selectivity. Hence, a comprehensive summary about strategies for improving the performance of ECR on single atom catalysts (SACs) is necessary. Herein, the SACs on various supports are introduced, the methods to design stable SACs are discussed, and the strategies for tuning the performance of ECR on SACs are summarized. The localized environment manipulation is widely used for high‐performance SACs design, including regulating central atoms and coordination environment. Finally, the perspectives are discussed to shed light on the rational design of intriguing SACs for ECR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Claspin (CLSPN) expression is acknowledged as a poor clinical prognostic factor in various tumors. However, the clinical characteristics and biological functions of CLSPN in prostate cancer (PCa) are still to be clarified. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of CLSPN expression during PCa progression and its potential role in prognosis. Methods: We analyzed mRNA expression of the CLSPN gene with various clinicopathological features using the Cancer Genome Atlas and GSE21032 dataset. Immunohistochemical assays were used to detect the protein expression levels of CLSPN in human PCa tissue microarrays. Furthermore, we characterized the role of CLSPN in PCa progression through in vitro experiments using a CLSPN knockout. Results: Immunohistochemistry and public datasets revealed that CLSPN expression was increased in PCa with: a high Gleason score; advanced pathological stage; and positive surgical margins. In addition, upregulation of CLSPN was correlated with shorter biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival and overall survival. After we knocked-out CLSPN in DU145 and LNCaP cells, the in vitro phenotypic results showed that the ability of the knockouts to proliferate, migrate, and invade was attenuated; but that apoptosis was promoted. Conclusions: Our data support an oncogenic role for CLSPN in PCa progression. Moreover, increased CLSPN expression was identified as an independent factor in predicting bCR-free survival and disease-free survival in PCa patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the diffusion bonding among YG18 cemented carbide, 30Cr2Ni2Mo alloy steel, and M4 high-speed steel was successfully realized by hot isostatic pressing. The microstructure and element diffusion of 30Cr2Ni2Mo/M4, YG18/M4, and Y18/30Cr2Ni2Mo joints were studied by electron-probe microanalysis and field emission scanning electron microscope. The mechanical properties of the three joints were evaluated by a uniaxial testing machine. The results showed that significant element diffusion occurred at the three connection interfaces. Although Kirkendall voids appeared at the 30Cr2Ni2Mo/M4 interface due to the unbalanced interdiffusion of elements, the negative effect of the Kirkendall void on the interfacial bonding strength was negligible. The η phase with a thickness of ⁓1.5 μm was formed at the YG18/M4 and Y18/30Cr2Ni2Mo interfaces. A diffusion distance of ⁓20 μm was generated at these two interfaces, where Co diffused from YG18 to M4 or 30Cr2Ni2Mo, and Fe diffused from M4 or 30Cr2Ni2Mo to YG18. The ultimate tensile strength of the 30Cr2Ni2Mo/M4, YG18/30Cr2Ni2Mo, and YG18/M4 joints was 1300.4 MPa, 736.2 MPa, and 631.2 MPa, respectively and the corresponding shear strength was 879.9 MPa, 810.0 MPa, and 360.2 MPa. The tensile and shear strength of the 30Cr2Ni2Mo/M4, Y18/30Cr2Ni2Mo, and YG18/M4 joints reached 80% of that of YG18. The tensile specimens of the 30Cr2Ni2Mo/M4 and YG18/30Cr2Ni2Mo joints failed at the M4 or YG18 side rather than at the interface, indicating that the two interfaces achieved good metallurgical bonding. The tensile specimens of the YG18/M4 joint fractured at the interface due to the existence of cracks at the YG18/M4 interface. The hot isostatic pressing enabled reliable connection among YG18, M4, and 30Cr2Ni2Mo. This study provides valuable exploitation for the reliable connection of YG18 cemented carbide and steels by hot isostatic pressing. • Effective diffusion bonding among YG18 hard alloy, 30Cr2Ni2Mo steel, and M4 steel was successfully realized by HIP. • The microstructure observation and mechanical evaluation of interfaces were investigated in depth. • The tensile and shear strength of the interfaces were much higher than the values reported in previous publications. • This study proved the engineering reliability of HIP diffusion bonding for WC-Co cemented carbides and steels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • FeC 2 O 4 enhanced the separation of photogenerated e- and h+ in the system of FeC 2 O 4 /Bi 2.15 WO 6. • The reduction rate of Cr(VI) in the system of FeC 2 O 4 /Bi 2.15 WO 6 increased by 33.3 times. • Multipath collaboration mechanism enhanced the reduction of Cr(VI) by FeC 2 O 4 /Bi 2.15 WO 6. FeC 2 O 4 /Bi 2.15 WO 6 (FeC 2 O 4 /BWO) composites were prepared, and the mechanism involved in the photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) by FeC 2 O 4 /BWO was investigated. When the doping amount of FeC 2 O 4 was 10%, the obtained 10-FeC 2 O 4 /BWO composite exhibited the best Cr(VI) reduction activity with a rate constant of 0.1934 min−1, which was 33.3 times higher than that of BWO. The improved photocatalytic performance of 10-FeC 2 O 4 /BWO was ascribed to the efficient carrier separation, which was confirmed by the higher transient photocurrent and lower PL intensity than single BWO. Capture experiments further revealed that photogenerated electrons were the major species for reducing Cr(VI) by 10-FeC 2 O 4 /BWO. Dissolved Fe(II) (Fe(II) diss) released from the surface of FeC 2 O 4 can reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) directly, along with the formation of Fe(III) diss. Meanwhile, the potential difference between BWO and FeC 2 O 4 can form a built-in electric field. This field facilitates the movement of photogenerated electrons, leading to the conversion of Fe(III) diss to Fe(II) diss , could transform and drive the circulation of 'Fe(II) diss -Fe(III) diss -Fe(II) diss '. Furthermore, the electrons transferred to the conduction band (CB) of BWO enhance the reduction of Cr(VI). The above multipath collaboration mechanism enhanced the reduction of Cr(VI) by 10-FeC 2 O 4 /BWO. Therefore, this study provides data basis and theoretical support for remove Cr(VI) and other pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High quality of evidence comparing mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (mPNL) with standard percutaneous nephrolithotomy (sPNL) for the treatment of larger-sized renal stones is lacking. To compare the efficacy and safety of mPNL and sPNL for the treatment of 20–40 mm renal stones. A parallel, open-label, and noninferior randomized controlled trial was performed at 20 Chinese centers (2016–2019). The inclusion criteria were patients 18–70 yr old, with normal renal function, and 20–40 mm renal stones. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy PNL was performed using either 18 F or 24 F percutaneous nephrostomy tracts. The primary outcome was the one-session stone-free rate (SFR). The secondary outcomes included operating time, visual analog pain scale (VAS) score, blood loss, complications as per the Clavien-Dindo grading system, and length of hospitalization. The 1980 intention-to-treat patients were randomized. The mPNL group achieved a noninferior one-session SFR to the sPNL group by the one-side noninferiority test (0.5% [difference], p < 0.001). The transfusion and embolization rates were comparable; however, the sPNL group had a higher hemoglobin drop (5.2 g/l, p < 0.001). The sPNL yielded shorter operating time (–2.2 min, p = 0.008) but a higher VAS score (0.8, p < 0.001). Patients in the sPNL group also had longer hospitalization (0.6 d, p < 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in fever or urosepsis occurrences. The study's main limitation was that only 18F or 24F tract sizes were used. Mini mPNL achieves noninferior SFR outcomes to sPNL, but with reduced bleeding, less postoperative pain, and shorter hospitalization. We evaluated the surgical outcomes of percutaneous nephrolithotomy using two different sizes of nephrostomy tracts in a large population. We found that the smaller tract might be a sensible alternative for patients with 20–40 mm renal stones. This multicenter, parallel, open-label, and noninferior randomized controlled trial showed that mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy achieved noninferior stone-free rate with advantages of reduced blood loss, less postoperative pain, and shorter hospitalization. Mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy should be considered a sensible alternative treatment of 20–40 mm renal stones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extremely high frequency of Millimeter-Wave technology warrants Gbps throughput for the next-generation wireless communication systems, but mmWave signals also suffer from severe path loss due to high attenuation. To compensate for this loss, mmWave radios establish communication links via directional beams so as to increase channel gains and communication range. Until recently, the measurement studies on mmWave technology were mainly based on prototypes built from band-limited Software Defined Radio, which could not characterize performance in realistic settings. Latest studies using commodity hardware reports straightforward measurements on the impact of environment settings but did not present deep analysis on the correlations of low-layer information. Meanwhile, those studies lack the ability to configure commodity devices under controlled settings, for instance, a single beam pattern for experimentation, thus failing to perform deeper analysis on low-layer protocol parameters. In this paper, we conduct extensive measurements in typical indoor settings, utilizing 802.11ad-compliant commodity hardware. Different from earlier studies, we hack the firmware and gain the privilege to modify physical layer settings online, enabling us to gain more insights under controlled settings. Essentially, we have demonstrated that (1) Signal-to-Noise Ratio, the criteria for beam control, may not be positively correlated with throughput, (2) sticking to a single beam pattern during data transmission can lead to both channel gains and throughput improvement, and (3) only independent cross-links could interfere with each other while multi-links coordinated by one AP experience no interference. These insights lead us to rethink the existing beam control policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To comparatively evaluate the clinical outcomes of super‐mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (SMP) and mini‐percutaneous nephrolithotomy (Miniperc) for treating urinary tract calculi of >2 cm. Patients and Methods: An international multicentre, retrospective cohort study was conducted at 20 tertiary care hospitals across five countries (China, the Philippines, Qatar, UK, and Kuwait) between April 2016 and May 2019. SMP and Miniperc were performed in 3525 patients with renal calculi with diameters of >2 cm. The primary endpoint was the stone‐free rate (SFR). The secondary outcomes included: blood loss, operating time, postoperative pain scores, auxiliary procedures, complications, tubeless rate, and hospital stay. Propensity score matching analysis was used to balance the selection bias between the two groups. Results: In all, 2012 and 1513 patients underwent SMP and Miniperc, respectively. After matching, 1380 patients from each group were included for further analysis. Overall, there was no significant difference in the mean operating time or SFR between the two groups. However, the hospital stay and postoperative pain score were significantly in favour of SMP (both P < 0.001). The tubeless rate was significantly higher in the SMP group (72.6% vs 57.8%, P < 0.001). Postoperative fever was much more common in the Miniperc group (12.0% vs 8.4%, P = 0.002). When the patients were further classified into three subgroups based on stones diameters (2–3, 3–4, and >4 cm). The advantages of SMP were most obvious in the 2–3 cm stone group and diminished as the size of the stone increased, with longer operating time in the latter two subgroups. Compared with Miniperc, the SFR of SMP was comparable for 3–4 cm stones, but lower for >4 cm stones. There was no statistical difference in blood transfusions and renal embolisations between the two groups. Conclusions: Our data showed that SMP is an ideal treatment option for stones of <4 cm and is more efficacious for stones of 2–3 cm, with lesser postoperative fever, blood loss, and pain compared to Miniperc. SMP was less effective for stones of >4 cm, with a prolonged operating time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary of main observation and conclusion: Pyrogallic acid (PG) was used as a modeling carbon source in fabricating nano‐structured hollow carbon materials (HCMs) by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. We found that non‐isothermal deposition can improve the integrity of the obtained HCMs. The different pyrolyzed species from PG under varied temperatures lead to the temperature‐dependent deposition yield, graphitization degree and morphology of the HCMs. HCMs including hollow spheres of varied sizes, cubic boxes with yolk‐shell structure, nanotubes, mesoporous particles and double‐shelled fibers, were prepared by using different templates, demonstrating the universality of this strategy. The carbon source has been extended to other plant polyphenols. The abundant and renewable solid precursors for CVD method endow this strategy excellent operation safety, improved storage and transportation convenience and low cost, and would boost the production of morphology‐ and size‐controlled HCMs and their applications in the fields such as water treatment, electrode materials, adsorbent, drug delivery, and so forth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Performance-friendly regulation is illusion in China. • We document that investments and fees for environmental protection are mutually complementary in China. • We show that regulation in China leads to better firm performance but stimulate little for environment. Porter (1991) and follow-up scholars hypothesize that environmental regulation stimulates innovation to promote performance. As a complement to the existing literature, this paper reveals an ironic reality: performance-friendly regulation as a proxy for the "win–win" solution of environmental regulation is an illusion due to ineffective intensity for sustainability. With firm-level evidence from China, we measure the intensity of environmental regulation by a firm's investments for environmental protection (IEP) or fees for environmental protection (FEP). After identifying a positive causal effect on performance of IEP or FEP, we document that IEP and FEP are complementary and thus ineffective for sustainable development. We further document that the effects between IEP and FEP are mediated by performance insignificantly from an economic perspective, thereby revealing the incentive incompatibility of a firm in IEP and FEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ko143, a potent ABCG2 inhibitor that reverses multidrug resistance in cancer, cannot be used clinically due to its unsuitable metabolic stability. We identified benzoyl indoles as reversal agents that reversed ABCG2-mediated multidrug resistance (MDR), with synthetic tractability and enhanced metabolic stability compared to Ko143. Bisbenzoyl indole 2 and monobenzoyl indole 8 significantly increased the accumulation of mitoxantrone (MX) in ABCG2-overexpressing NCI–H460/MX20 cells, and sensitized NCI–H460/MX20 cells to mitoxantrone. Mechanistic studies were conducted by [3H]-MX accumulation assay, Western blot analysis, immunofluorescence analysis and ABCG2 ATPase assay. The results revealed that the reversal efficacies of compounds 2 and 8 were not due to an alteration in the expression level or localization of ABCG2 in ABCG2-overexpressing cell lines. Instead, compounds 2 and 8 significantly stimulated the ATP hydrolysis of ABCG2 transporter, suggesting that these compounds could be competitive substrates of ABCG2 transporter. Overall, the results of our study indicated that compounds 2 and 8 significantly reversed ABCG2-mediated MDR by blocking the efflux of anticancer drugs. Image 1 • We synthesized benzoyl indoles as reversal agents that reversed ABCG2-mediated MDR. • Benzoyl indoles could interact with the substrate-binding site of ABCG2. • Benzoyl indoles have synthetic tractability and enhanced metabolic stability compared to Ko143. • Anticancer drug in combination with benzoyl indoles could evade ABCG2-mediated MDR in cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a combination of plasmonic metal cores (Ag, Au, and Cu) and catalytic metal/semiconductor shells is a viable approach to enhance photocatalytic chemical reactions such as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the energy transfer mechanism between the plasmonic core and the catalytic shell as well as the functional mechanism of plasmon in the OER reactions is still unclear. Here, we designed core-shell Au@Ni3S2 and yolk-shell Au-Ni3S2 with well-controlled morphology. We directly mapped the distribution of plasmon using monochromatic low-loss electron energy loss spectroscopy. The structural pore in the yolk-shell Au-Ni3S2 greatly changes the dielectric environment and significantly enhances absorption of incoming light. The incoming photoenergy was dominantly dissipated on the shell by forming electron-hole pairs, leading to a higher energy flow rate for OER reactions. The catalytic activity of yolk-shell Au-Ni3S2 achieved nearly sixfold of core-shell Au@Ni3S2 and over 80-fold of pure Ni3S2 under illumination. Our results suggest that delicate microstructural control of catalysts can be used as an effective approach to design more efficient catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of new generation super-mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (New-SMP) in the treatment of ≥20 mm renal stones. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the New-SMP procedures (14F) performed in the cases with ≥20 mm renal stones between April 1, 2016 and July 1, 2018. The cases with ipsilateral Double-J stent and/or nephrostomy tube preoperatively, ipsilateral ureteral stone, uncorrected coagulopathy, active urinary tract infection, congenital abnormalities, and urinary diversion were excluded. Results: Of totally 188 included cases, 8 (4.3%) were children (≤14 years) and 180 (95.7%) were adults. The cases had a mean age of 47.14 ± 15.13 years, a mean stone size of 31.57 ± 9.8 mm, and a mean S.T.O.N.E score of 7.02 ± 0.73. The New-SMP took a median operative time of 35 minutes (range 6–127). A total of 173 (92%) cases received single-access-tract procedure. The drop in hematocrit was 14.62 ± 8.36 g/L after the procedure. The serum white blood cells (WBCs) increased to 2.58 ± 2.89 × 109/L. The mean hospital stay was 2.4 ± 1.5 days. New-SMP had a stone-free rate of 84% within 48 hours and 91.5% at 3 months postoperatively. Five (2.7%) cases required auxiliary procedures. The tubeless rate was 87.2%, including 44.1% cases with total tubeless, 41.5% cases with Double-J stent, and 1.6% cases with ureteral catheter. Totally 9.6% cases got fever (>38°C), 1.0% cases had urosepsis, and no cases developed shock. In addition, no transfusion and arterial embolization were required. Conclusions: New-SMP could be a safe and efficacious approach for the management of ≥20 mm renal stones. The novel modified technique and system may extend the indication of SMP to large renal stones. Further clinical studies and direct comparisons between New-SMP and other available modalities of percutaneous nephrolithotomy are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of nickel-based superalloys still suffer from some detrimental carbides precipitated along the prior particle boundaries (PPBs), resulting in the degradation of mechanical properties of superalloy parts. In this study, a novel asynchronous loading HIP strategy, elevating temperature to the highest value first and then raising pressure, was proposed for FGH4097 to overcome this industrial challenge. The results manifest this novel strategy paves the way for fabricating nickel-based superalloys with both significantly enhanced strength and ductility by in-situ eliminating carbides precipitated along PPBs during HIP process, further boosting HIP process as a potential technology for the near-net manufacturing of key components in aerospace field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are expected to function under relatively higher back pressures for targeting higher outpower. Under this condition, the durability of fuel cells will be a huge challenge for commercialization. In our study, a 1000-h durability experiment was performed on a PEMFC to investigate the durability under high back pressures. A semi-empirical fuel cell polarization curve model was used to separate the activation and concentration losses, and study their changes with testing time at different current densities. In addition, the charge transfer resistance (R ct) related to oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the catalyst layer was also investigated. Additionally, the mass transfer resistance (Z d) was investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Moreover, the contact angle and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDX) of carbon paper surface were characterized. The results indicated that the increase in mass transfer resistance was the biggest contributor to the loss of cell voltage with testing time. The decrease in contact angle of carbon paper surface implied that the weakening of hydrophobicity contributed to an increase in the mass transfer resistance, which comes from the PTFE loss observed from EDX. This may result from the aggravated corrosion of carbon fiber or physical erosion induced by flooding in fuel cell under high back-pressure. • A durability test of 1000 h was achieved under a high back pressure of 250 kPa. • The degradation reasons of PEMFC were analyzed using polarization curve fitting. • Decrease in GDL water management led to performance degradation. • Corrosion of carbon and PTFE loss were accelerated under high back pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In-situ synthesized titanium borides reinforced Ti-6Al-4V composites with a tailored reinforcement architecture were successfully prepared by hot isostatic pressing (HIP) starting from a TiB 2 /Ti-6Al-4V powder system. The microstructure of the composite samples was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the mechanical properties were evaluated through room and high temperature tensile testing. It is found that during HIP the additive particles TiB 2 have totally transformed into TiB needles, which tend to decorate at prior particle boundaries of the consolidated powder particles to form a network structure. With increasing TiB 2 addition from 3 wt.% to 8 wt.%, the microstructural feature of the TiB network structure experiences the variations of discontinuous TiB reinforcement → quasi-continuous TiB reinforcement → continuous TiB reinforcement. The room temperature tensile properties of the composites are improved with increasing addition of TiB 2 from 3 wt.% to 5 wt.%, but the tensile strength of the sample with 8 wt.% TiB 2 drastically decreases. As to the high temperature properties, the titanium boride reinforced Ti-6Al-4V alloy composites can be an increased maximum service temperature by over 200 °C while retaining the same tensile strength accompanied with a suitable elongation. The strengthening mechanism is mainly attributed to the load-bearing transformation, grain refinement and dispersion strengthening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Au@mSiO 2 -PFH-PDA NPs can be synthesized via a judicious material design. • PDA coating renders the platform with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 61.2%. • The hybrid particles enables multiple PA/US/CT/thermal imaging of tumors. • The hybrid particles can completely eliminate the solid tumors under laser irradiation. • The ASPP-mediated PTT enables inhibition of the occurrence of lung metastasis. Abstract It is highly desirable to develop a new hybrid nanoplatform that integrates diagnosis and treatment elements for effective theranostics of tumors. Herein, we have skillfully designed a nanoplatform of polydopamine (PDA)-coated and perfluorohexane (PFH)-filled gold core/hollow mesoporous silica shell (Au@mSiO 2 -PFH-PDA, ASPP for short) particles for photoacoustic (PA)/ultrasound (US)/computed tomography (CT)/thermal imaging and photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumors. In this work, we first synthesized Au seed particles with a diameter of 15.8 nm using a sodium citrate reduction method, and coated Au seeds with polyvinylpyrrolidone for further growth of solid silica shell/mesoporous silica outer shell onto the Au seeds. After treatment via selective etching to remove solid silica shell, amination of surface of the particles, and filling of PFH into the internal cavity of the spheres with a diameter of 182.1 nm, PDA coating was performed to render the particles with an external shell thickness of 15.1 nm. The formed hybrid particles with a size of 212.2 nm are colloidally stable and exhibit good cytocompatibility, and display excellent PA/US/CT/thermal imaging property due to the co-presence of PDA, PFH, and Au nanoparticles. Furthermore, the PDA coating renders the platform with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 61.2%, enabling effective photothermal ablation of cancer cells in vitro and a xenografted 4T1 tumor model in vivo under irradiation with an 808 nm laser. More importantly, in the primary 4T1 tumor model, intratumoral injection of the ASPP and irradiation with an 808 nm laser can also completely inhibit the occurrence of lung metastasis induced by the 4T1 tumor. The as-prepared hybrid nanoplatform may hold a great promise to be adopted for multimode imaging and PTT of tumors and inhibition of tumor metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co9S8 has been regarded as a desirable anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity. However, lithium (Li) insertion caused large volume expansion, and subsequent pulverization and capacity decay are the major challenges for its practical applications in commercial LIBs. In this work, we design an Au@Co9S8 yolk-shell nanoparticle (NP) anode and use in-situ transmission electron microscopy to study the structural, morphological, and chemical evolutions in the NPs during lithiation. Our experimental results reveal that Li insertion leads to the volume expansion of the lithiated Co9S8 shell dominantly in the outward direction, and the conversion reaction between Li and Co9S8 induces the formation of a two-phase shell with metallic Co clusters dispersed in the as-formed Li2S matrix. With corroboration of chemo-mechanical simulations, we elucidate that the lithiation-generated comparative softer phase together with the inner stiffer unlithiated Co9S8 phase contributes to the outward only deformation pattern. In addition, the insulating nature of the as-formed Li2S results in an unexpected non-reactive Au yolk during lithiation. Our findings elucidate the significance of considering the dynamical phase transformations of active materials (i.e., Co9S8) for LIBs and provide valuable insights into the rational design of new generation high-performance LIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Surface modification of nanostructured catalysts is fundamental in accelerating sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein we demonstrate that nanostructured Nickel Selenide (NiSe2) exhibits excellent capability for OER owing to the high compatibility between (200) plane and alkaline solution. The dendrite-like nickel selenide achieves a specific current density of 10 mA/cm2 at an overpotential low to ∼299 mV. The NiSe2 has high stability, in which overpotential decreased ∼2 mV after 10 000 cycles. We demonstrated that the catalytic efficiency of OER could be promoted by increasing the exposure ratio of (200) plane. This work discloses that kinetics of OER are related to specific facets exposure, in which it opens up the possibility of designing active and stable catalysts for OER utilization. Graphical abstract Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, the in-situ synthesized TiB/Ti-6Al-4Vceramic-matrix nanocomposites with greatly enhanced hardness and wear resistant property have been prepared via selective laser melting (SLM) using a simple mixture of microsized Ti-6Al-4V and TiB 2 powders. In order to provide a valuable reference for fabricating TiB/Ti-6Al-4V parts with metallographic features, effects of reinforcement content on microstructure and mechanical properties have been systematically investigated. It is found that during SLM process, the additive particles TiB 2 are totally transformed into need-like nanoscaled TiB phase, and the microstructure of composites is composed of mutual parallel strips architecture with TiB rich in some regions but lean in the other regions. The SLM-producedTiB/Ti-6Al-4 V composites exhibit superior nanohardness of 6.0 GPa, which is much higher than its traditional sintering counterpart. Moreover, the in-site synthesized TiB reinforcement can remarkably improve in the wear resistance properties, the wear loss of TiB-free sample is approximately 2 times than that of the sample with 3 wt% TiB 2. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • In-situ synthesized TiB/Ti-6Al-4V nanocomposites have been prepared via SLM. • The need-like nanoscaled TiB phase formation and evolution mechanism during SLM is discussed in detail. • The interface orientation relationship between TiB and Ti matrix has been investigated. • The SLM-producedTiB/Ti-6Al-4V composites exhibit superior hardness and outstanding wear resistant property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the statistical moments of performance functions from the perspective of balancing accuracy and efficiency remains a challenge. This paper proposes an efficient algorithm for evaluating the statistical moments of performance functions. The main procedure of the proposed method consists of three steps. First, based on the bivariate dimension-reduction method, the performance function is approximated by a summation of one-dimensional and two-dimensional functions. Next, according to the criterion of delineating the existence of cross terms, the two-dimensional functions are decomposed as functions including and excluding cross terms. Third, the one-dimensional point estimate method is used to evaluate the statistical moments of the one-dimensional functions and the two-dimensional functions without cross terms, whereas the two-dimensional sparse grid stochastic collocation method is applied to estimate the statistical moments of the two-dimensional functions with cross terms. Several numerical examples are presented to illustrate the efficiency, accuracy, and applicability of the proposed method. The results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves a good balance between accuracy and efficiency and provides a useful tool for evaluating the statistical moments of performance functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ti-6Al-2Zr-1Mo-1V (TA15) with ultrafine crystallites and numerous nano-scale twins were successfully prepared by selective laser melting (SLM). The room-temperature and high-temperature (500 °C) tensile properties of SLM-fabricated samples were visibly higher than those of TA15 fabricated by conventional techniques, other near α titanium alloys and even comparable to TA15-based composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a facile Stöber approach to prepare polyphenol-based resin polymer spheres using tannic acid and formaldehyde as reactants. The tannic acid-formaldehyde (TAF) spheres directly convert into carbon spheres with monodispersity and structural integrity. In addition, TAF-Fe complex spheres are carbonized into Fe nanoparticles (NPs) decorated carbon spheres (TAF-C@Fe), which are successfully applied as electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. The electrocatalyst exhibits similar catalytic activity but better methanol tolerance performance to 20% commercial Pt/C in alkaline media. This feasible strategy presents a novel precursor for fabricating and tailoring the structure, composition, and size of polyphenol resin and derived carbon-based materials for energy conversion and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]