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Objective. To analyze the interaction of positive coping style and quality of life (QoL) between survivors of pancreatic cancer and their family caregivers based on the Conceptual Framework of Caring Experience of Cancer Family and Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). Methods. This study adopted a cross-sectional design that selected 200 pairs of survivors of pancreatic cancer and their family caregivers hospitalized in the First and Second Affiliated Hospitals of Nanjing Medical University from August 2020 to February 2021. Survivors of pancreatic cancer and their family caregivers completed Simple Coping Style Questionnaire and 12-item Short-Form Health Survey, whose results successfully built an APIM model. Results. The spousal relationship was the most common type of dyadic relationship. Family caregivers had higher levels of positive coping and QoL than cancer survivors. In terms of actor effects, the positive coping style of both survivors and caregivers significantly affected individual total scores of QoL and personal physical and psychological dimensions of QoL. As for the partner effects, the positive coping style of both survivors and caregivers significantly impacted their partners' total QoL scores and the positive coping style of survivors significantly impacted their caregivers' psychological level of QoL. Conclusions. The positive coping style of survivors of pancreatic cancer affects both their own QoL and their partner's QoL. Examining mutual effects between coping styles and QoL among survivors and their informal caregivers is an essential first step in providing comprehensive and cooperative care. The study has been reviewed by the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, and registration information has been sent to the central database of the World Health Organization International Clinical Trial Registration Platform for global retrieval. This trial is registered with ChiCTR2300074087. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scarcity of samples and disunity of feature inputs hinder the enhancement of transformer fault diagnosis performance, and there are mutual influences between model construction and feature selection, which cannot only consider a single process. Therefore, this study proposes a novel two‐stage transformer fault diagnosis strategy, which includes a multi‐filter interactive feature selection method (MIFS) constructed, and a diagnosis model ASSA‐SVM based on the adaptive sparrow algorithm (ASSA) optimised support vector machine (SVM). Firstly, the proposed MIFS incorporates ReliefF and mRMR to establish a comprehensive criterion ReliefF‐mRMR for feature importance ranking, and then performs dimension‐by‐dimension input classifier interaction selection based on the ranking results to obtain the optimal feature subset. Secondly, ASSA was proposed to optimise the kernel parameters of SVM. A two‐stage integration model MIFS‐ASSA‐SVM was developed. Finally, Experiments were conducted using real fault data, and the diagnostic performance of different feature inputs, optimisation algorithms and classifiers were compared. The results show that the proposed method performs well on parameter optimisation, can dynamically and interactively select feature subsets with few dimensions and good generalisation performance, its overall diagnosis accuracy reached 92.47%, and the diagnosis performance of each fault type has good performance in multiple evaluation metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using deep learning-based object detection algorithms for landslide hazards detection is very popular and effective. However, most existing algorithms are designed for landslides in a specific geographical range. This paper constructs a set of landslide detection models YOLOX-Pro, based on the improved YOLOX (You Only Look Once) target detection model to address the poor detection of complex mixed landslides. Wherein the VariFocal is used to replace the binary cross entropy in the original classification loss function to solve the uneven distribution of landslide samples and improve the detection recall; the coordinate attention (CA) mechanism is added to enhance the detection accuracy. Firstly, 1200 historical landslide optical remote sensing images in thirty-eight areas of China were extracted from Google Earth to create a mixed sample set for landslide detection. Next, the three attention mechanisms were compared to form the YOLOX-Pro model. Then, we tested the performance of YOLOX-Pro by comparing it with four models: YOLOX, YOLOv5, Faster R-CNN, and Single Shot MultiBox Detector (SSD). The results show that the YOLOX-Pro(m) has significantly improved the detection accuracy of complex and small landslides than the other models, with an average precision (AP0.75) of 51.5%, APsmall of 36.50%, and ARsmall of 49.50%. In addition, optical remote sensing images of a 12.32 km 2 group-occurring landslides area located in Mibei village, Longchuan County, Guangdong, China, and 750 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images collected from the Internet were also used for landslide detection. The research results proved that the proposed method has strong generalization and good detection performance for many types of landslides, which provide a technical reference for the broad application of landslide detection using UAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds & Aims: The nutritional evaluation of pancreatic cancer (PC) patients lacks a gold standard or scientific consensus, we aimed to summarize and systematically evaluate the prognostic value of nutritional screening and assessment tools used for PC patients. Methods: Relevant studies were retrieved from major databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library) and searched from January 2010 to December 2023. We performed meta-analyses with STATA 14.0 when three or more studies used the same tool. Results: This analysis included 27 articles involving 6,060 PC patients. According to a meta-analysis of these studies, poor nutritional status evaluated using five nutritional screening tools Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI), Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), Controlling Nutritional Status Score (CONUT), Nutrition Risk Screening (NRS2002) and Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) was associated with all-cause mortality in PC patients. But Modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) did not. Of all tools analyzed, CONUT had the maximum HR for mortality (HR = 1.978, 95%CI 1.345–2.907, P = 0.001). Conclusion: All-cause mortality in PC patients was predicted by poor nutritional status. CONUT may be the best nutritional assessment tool for PC patients. The clinical application value of Short Form Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA-SF), Generated Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and Patient-generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) in PC patients need to be confirmed. In order to improve patients' nutritional status and promote their recovery, nutritional screening tools can be used. Registration: This systematic review was registered at the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (number CRD42022376715). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Purpose To screen novel candidate biomarkers in primary colorectal cancer (CRC), and indentify their clinical valuation in progress of colorectal cancer. Methods By using antibody microarray, 274 target proteins in tissue samples from primary colorectal cancer patients were detected. Among differently expressed proteins in CRC tissues, As promising candidate biomarker, RANTES/CCL5 was validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbentassay and immunohistochemistry (IHC), and the clinical significance of CCL5 was analyzed. Results Totally, 25 differentially expressed proteins were indentified between colorectal cancers and matched normal mucosa. CCL5 expression was significantly associated with adverse pathological progress, apt to lymph node metastasis and higher T stage. Conclusions CCL5 may contribute to promoting tumor growth, and CCL5 is a promising target that may help in understanding the pathogenesis of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the effect of cracks in Vertisols and red earth on shear strength, the experimenters used imaging software and fractal dimension based on box dimension algorithm ideological and digital image technology in Vertisols and red earth in Fujian, china. Under different moisture content, direct shear tests are carried out on the samples, the relationship between the fractal dimension and shear strength is given. The results show that with the increase in the moisture content, the shear strength of the samples would decrease. The shear strength of two kinds of soils has a good correlation with fractal dimension and shear strength, which could be an identification index of the strength of two soils. There is a positive correlation of fractal dimension (D) and shear strength (τ), which can be formulated as τ = a + bD +cD2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent years, manifold learning methods have been widely used in data classification to tackle the curse of dimensionality problem, since they can discover the potential intrinsic low-dimensional structures of the high-dimensional data. Given partially labeled data, the semi-supervised manifold learning algorithms are proposed to predict the labels of the unlabeled points, taking into account label information. However, these semi-supervised manifold learning algorithms are not robust against noisy points, especially when the labeled data contain noise. In this paper, we propose a framework for robust semi-supervised manifold learning (RSSML) to address this problem. The noisy levels of the labeled points are firstly predicted, and then a regularization term is constructed to reduce the impact of labeled points containing noise. A new robust semi-supervised optimization model is proposed by adding the regularization term to the traditional semi-supervised optimization model. Numerical experiments are given to show the improvement and efficiency of RSSML on noisy data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that bullying victimization may be related to internalizing and externalizing problems; however, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unknown. This study explored the mediating role of sleep disturbance and the moderating role of parental attachment. A total of 1543 Chinese primary school students (M age = 8.92 years, SD1.7 years; range, 6–12) completed bullying victimization, sleep disturbance, and parental attachment measures, and provided information on their parents' occupations. The parents or guardians (n = 1995) also completed ratings on their children's internalizing and externalizing problems. It was found that bullying victimization directly affected internalizing and externalizing problems and also influenced sleep disturbance. Regardless of the parent's socioeconomic status, parental attachment was found to moderate the relationship between bullying victimization and internalizing problems. These findings contribute to understanding the partial mediating mechanism of sleep disturbance in the association between bullying victimization and internalizing and externalizing problems. The protective role of parental attachment proved central to preventing internalizing problems in bullied children. Intervention programs that enhance parental attachment and improve sleep quality could assist in mitigating the impact of bullying victimization on internalizing or externalizing problems. • Being bullied causes psychological and behavioral problems. • Sleep is a mediator for bullying and psychological/behavioral problems. • Parental attachment moderated the bullied path for psychological problems. • Improved sleep quality and attachment may alleviate effects on bullied children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the avascular nature of cartilage, it is difficult to heal and regenerate spontaneously after injury. At present, tissue engineering has become a promising strategy for repairing damaged cartilage, but the use of seed cells and growth factors is limited. In addition, the importance of mechanical compatibility of scaffold materials is often ignored. In this study, osteochondral scaffold was designed as a bilayer structure with a dense γ-Polyglutamic acid/carboxymethyl chitosan/bacterial cellulose (PGA/CMCS/BC) hydrogel cartilage layer and a porous nano HA-containing PGA/CMCS/BC hydrogel osteogenic layer. In addition, bioactive ions were introduced into the hydrogel scaffold to adjust the mechanical and swelling properties of the material to match the mechanical properties of natural articular cartilage. At the same time, based on the structural characteristics of bone and cartilage, magnesium and copper ions were introduced into the double-layer hydrogel scaffold, respectively, to prepare the cartilage layer and the bone layer, which endowed the material with excellent antibacterial properties and achieved the purpose of the integrated repair of bone and cartilage. The results showed that, after adding magnesium ions, the tensile breaking strength of material was increased from 0.66 MPa to 1.37 MPa，the corresponding compression modulus of the material (strain 0–12%) increased from 0.15 MPa to 0.58 MPa whilst the maximum mass swelling rate decreased from 155% to 75%. The results of in vivo experiments show that the group with bioactive ions had a much better effect on the repair of osteochondral defects, compared with group without bioactive ions, demonstrating such double ion regulation strategy is a very practical strategy for the treatment of osteochondral defects. [Display omitted] • Adding magnesium ion to DN hydrogel can improve its mechanical properties. • DN-3Mg/Cu bi-layer hydrogel can promote regeneration of cartilage and bone, and integrate perfectly with surrounding tissues. • DN-3Mg/Cu double-layer hydrogel scaffold has potential application value in cartilage tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), common chemical contaminants found in office and home environments, are one of the main causes of sick building syndrome. To efficiently remove the VOCs in terms of energy efficiency, product selectivity, safety and durability is the main target for current indoor VOCs control study toward the aim for future commercial application. The main challenge to achieve this goal is represented by removal specific VOCs with low concentration under room temperature. In a chemical kinetics sense, this means overcoming the activation barriers to achieve considerable reaction rate for reactants with low concentration without the aid of increasing temperature. Assistance the VOCs catalysis degradation reaction with oxidizing species or pre-degradation the reactants to easier treated substances could also help to increase the reaction rate by providing an alternative route for the reaction with lower activation energy. This technique route thus holds great promise to achieve commercial application for indoor VOCs degradation study. Therefore, we provide here an overview of the efforts that have been developed already on combing traditional photocatalysis and catalysis technology with techniques capable of producing highly active species to remove indoor VOCs. The assistance techniques include, but not limited to technologies, such as vacuum ultraviolet, ozone, plasma. Special emphasis is placed on rational catalyst designing to meet the challenge of indoor VOCs removal in the kinetic sense. Last but not least, we also identified future opportunities for indoor air quality control including: (a) combining high-voltage electrostatics in the system using post catalyst bed configuration to solve the issues of VOCs abatement and particulate matter capture in one basket. (b) To obtain a more complete understanding of the mechanism underlying the combination effects, which is crucial to get a better catalyst designing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Co1−xLaxOy catalysts were synthesized by citric acid complex method and their catalytic activities for soot combustion in air were investigated in this study. The best performance was observed over Co0.93La0.07 oxide catalysts with T50 =402°C. Co4+ in the surface of LaCoO3 leads to the formation of more oxygen vacancies, thus contributing to the activities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

ABSTRACT Two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains, Pediococcus pentosaceus SC1 and Lactobacillus paraplantarum SC2 isolated from king grass silage, were characterized and their effectiveness to improve the silage fermentation quality of stylo ( Stylosanthes guianensis Sw.) was studied. Strain SC1 was able to grow at a high temperature of 45°C, while SC2 did not. SC2 normally grew at a low pH of 4.0, while SC1 could not. These two strains and a commercial inoculant of LAB ( L. plantarum, LP) were used as additives to stylo silage preparation at various temperatures (20°C, 30°C and 40°C). All LAB inoculants significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced the pH value and ammonia-N content, and increased the ratio of lactic acid to acetic acid and quality score compared with the control. In addition, inoculating LAB strains markedly ( P < 0.05) reduced butyric acid content at the temperatures of 30°C and 40°C. Compared to SC2 and LP strains, strain SC1 was the most effective for improving stylo silage quality at 20°C, indicated by the increase in lactic acid, ratio of lactic acid to acetic acid and quality score. At 30°C and 40°C, there were no significant differences among SC1, SC2 and LP treatments in pH values, contents of acetic acid, butyric acid and ammonia-N ( P > 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A 0.5wt% Pt/ZSM-5 catalyst was used for the low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with C3H6 in the presence of excess oxygen. Under an atmosphere of 150ppm NO, 150ppm C3H6 and 18vol% O2 (GHSV 72,000h−1), Pt/ZSM-5 showed remarkably high catalytic performance giving 77.1% NO reduction to N2 +N2O and 79.7% C3H6 conversion to CO2 simultaneously at 140°C. The samples were characterized by means of NO temperature programmed desorption (TPD), NO/C3H6 temperature programmed oxidation (TPO), BET surface area, XRD and TEM. The catalytic activities of C3H6 combustion and NO oxidation are improved by well-dispersed platinum significantly. It is found that the enhanced activity of Pt/ZSM-5 for the low-temperature SCR is associated with its outstanding activities in the TPO processes of NO to NO2 and C3H6 to CO2 in low temperature range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Multilayered carbon nanotubes/silicon dioxide (CNTs/SiO2) electromagnetic wave absorbing ceramic matrix composite material was fabricated by hot-pressed sintering. The gradient layer structure was designed to improve its absorbing properties. The multilayered CNTs/SiO2 composite was shaped by adding five kinds of mixed powders with different CNTs contents (0wt%, 2.5wt%, 5wt%, 7.5wt% and 10wt%) to the graphite die in turn, and its average CNTs content was 5wt%. Meanwhile, a single layered composite with the same content of CNTs (5wt%) was fabricated as a contrast sample. The electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) and reflecting effectiveness (RE) were studied with insertion loss (IL) and return loss (RL) measurements in the range of 8–12GHz. The results showed that the gradient multilayered sample had a better absorbing effectiveness and its absorbance was 1.5 times as high as the single layered sample’s, while their SEs were almost the same. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A series of TiO2 supported catalysts with 0.5wt% noble metal (Pt, Pd, Rh and Ru) were used for the low-temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with propylene in the presence of excess oxygen. Under an atmosphere of 150ppm NO, 150ppm C3H6 and 18vol% O2 (GHSV 72,000h−1), the Pt/TiO2 was found to be the most active catalyst giving a complete C3H6 conversion and 63% NO x reduction simultaneously at 140°C. The enhanced activity of Pt/TiO2 may be associated to its outstanding activities in the temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) of NO to NO2 and C3H6 to CO2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Interval graphs play important roles in analysis of DNA chains in Benzer [S. Benzer, On the topology of the genetic fine structure, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 45 (1959) 1607–1620], restriction maps of DNA in Waterman and Griggs [M.S. Waterman, J.R. Griggs, Interval graphs and maps of DNA, Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 48 (2) (1986) 189–195] and other related areas. In this paper, we study a new combinatorial optimization problem, named the minimum clique partition problem with constrained bounds, in weighted interval graphs. For a weighted interval graph and a bound , partition the weighted intervals of this graph into the smallest number of cliques, such that each clique, consisting of some intervals whose intersection on a real line is not empty, has its weight not beyond . We obtain the following results: (1) this problem is-hard in a strong sense, and it cannot be approximated within a factor in polynomial time for any ; (2) we design three approximation algorithms with different constant factors for this problem; (3) for the version where all intervals have the same weights, we design an optimal algorithm to solve the problem in linear time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Nitrogen (N)-doped TiO2 samples with high specific surface areas were directly prepared by heating the mixture of urea and TiO2, where the TiO2 was obtained with titanium tetrachloride as precursor. The absorption spectrum of the N-doped TiO2 shifted to wavelength up to 600nm with increasing urea contents. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements showed that the N presented in TiO2 was in the state of both molecularly chemisorbed N2 and substituted N. While both of them contribute to the response to visible light, the latter gave the prepared samples with hydrogen evolution under visible light. The apparent photocatalytic activity of water splitting demonstrated as high amount of H2 evolution was partly due to the phase transformation from anatase to rutile for the N-doped TiO2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Analyzes the concentration and flux transportation of bioaerosol in Nanjign, China. Cycle of the solar radiation and atmospheric turbulent intensity; Factors affecting the bioaerosol concentration; Use of Bowen ration method.

In the swiftly progressing landscape of wearable electronics and the Internet of Things (IoTs), there is a burgeoning demand for devices that are lightweight, cost‐effective, and self‐powered. In this study, a self‐powered bidirectional knee joint motion monitoring system is introduced, leveraging a dual ratchet sensing (DRS) system fabricated using 3D printing technology. This approach offers substantial economic and portability benefits. The DRS system is engineered to harness the negative work generated from knee joint movements to power commercial electronic devices, obviating the need for additional metabolic energy from the human body. By synergizing the DRS with virtual reality technology, it becomes feasible to monitor knee joint movements in real‐time with remarkable accuracy, presenting a novel avenue for the integration of digital twin technology. Through the amalgamation of convolutional neural network machine learning algorithms with Bayesian optimization techniques, the DRS system can discern up to 97% of knee joint movements, paving the way for innovative applications in smart rehabilitation and healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines developments in the legal framework intended to entrench and protect equal rights for women. The author then considers the reasons, legal and practical, why the ideals set out in the legislation fail far short in practice. The author also discusses a practical program in which she has been involved that has been undertaken to educate citizens and officials at the local level about accepting and, more important, embracing the principles set out in the Law of the PRC on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Particle agglomerate behavior under electric field is quantitatively analyzed. • Agglomerate' 3D twist visualization was realized under flow-electric field. • Action mechanism of dipole moment on particle agglomerate was further developed. The research developed a new mechanism for particle agglomeration growth and fracture in the flow-electric coupling field. Microscopic visualization experiments reveal an optimum voltage range for controlling agglomerate growth dynamics. Additionally, we observed, for the first time, twisting behaviors of particle agglomerates during the growth and fracture process under the influence of the flow-electric field. A correlation between twist and fracture, varying with the increase in applied voltage, was identified. Moreover, we identified two distinct agglomeration modes: dendritic and chain agglomerates, each exhibiting unique growth characteristics. We discovered that the growth, twisting, and fracture of inclined dendritic agglomerates are influenced by two components of the electric dipole moment: the axial (P g) and radial (P t) components, with the aid of numerical simulation. Chain-like agglomerates exhibit growth followed by fracture. Our findings offer insights into the controlled growth of submicron particle agglomerates in gas phases using electric fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self‐disclosure (SD) is a common psychological intervention that involves expressing the patient's feelings and thoughts. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of different themes of SD on cancer patients. We searched eight databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library Trials, Web of Science, CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, CNKI and Wanfang from inception to July 2022. Other sources included clinical data registers. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool was used to assess the risk of bias in the included studies. RevMan Analysis software 5.3 was used for data analysis. The protocol of this meta‐analysis has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022339661). Twenty‐two RCTs studies were included. The pooled results demonstrated that self‐regulation self‐disclosure (SRD) had significant effects on patients' sleep quality, benefit‐finding, anxiety and quality of life (QOL), whereas emotional disclosure (ED) did not. Furthermore, enhanced self‐regulation self‐disclosure (ESRD) or cancer‐related self‐disclosure (CD) significantly improved patients' QOL, although health education self‐disclosure (HED) and positive self‐disclosure (PD) did not. Our study suggests that different themes of SD have varied effects on patients, but it remains unclear which themes to use at what point in time. Future research should investigate what themes of SD are adopted at different points in time and the duration of different periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Operando observation system is developed to make in-situ test on lab-on-a-chip. • Actual evolution process of charged submicron particles is recorded intuitively. • This work demonstrates direct influence of drag force on particle chain fracture. • It is first-time visualization of mechanism elucidation of particle re-entrainment. Inhalable particle is a harmful air pollutant that causes a significant threat to people's health and ecological environments, which should be removed to purify air, but there exists limited removal efficiency due to particle re-entrainment. Here, Operando observation system based on microscopic visualization method is developed to make in situ test of particle migration, deposition and re-entrainment characteristics on a lab-on-a-chip to achieve the investigation in micro-level scale. The deposition evolution of charged particles is recorded in electric field region intuitively, which confirms the fracture of particle chain occurs during the growth process of deposited particles. It captures the instantaneous process that a larger particle with micron size due to the coagulation of submicron particles fractures from main body of the particle chain for the first time. The analysis of migration behavior of a single submicron particle near electrode surface demonstrates the direct influence of drag force on the fracture of particle chain. This work is the first-time visualization of dynamic process and mechanism elucidation of particle re-entrainment at the micron level, and the findings will provide the theory support for the particle re-entrainment mechanism and bring inspires of enhancing capture efficiency of inhalable particle. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a pin-cylinder charger was employed to investigate the electrostatic field characteristic and its influence on submicron particle charging in positive and negative voltage polarity, respectively. The submicron particle's charging characteristics were also investigated thoroughly, including polarity, gas velocity, applied voltage, and injection position. Results showed that the increase of the applied voltage was proved a useful approach to enhance particle charging, especially for positive polarity. A 0.4 μm diameter particle achieved about a 60% increase from 5 kV to 8 kV. The negative polarity had advantages on particle charging, whose superiority could reach approximately 15% for 0.1 μm diameter particle in 8 kV voltage. The particle trajectory was a helpful bond to connect the particle charging with the electrostatic field, which decided the charging number and charging rate through the different distribution and intensity in two polarity conditions. Unlabelled Image • The detailed electrostatic field was obtained in two polarity conditions. • The relationship between particle charging and electrostatic field was analyzed. • The effect factors of particle charging were discussed for consideration of voltage polarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, a numerical method was adopted to study the capture process of fine particles in two electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) with corrugated and parallel plates, respectively. 1 1 Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) The simplified models were established to evaluate and predict the distribution of electrostatic field, gas dynamic, particle charging, and transport behavior. The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow with different applied voltage at various gas velocities was presented on the basis of two kinds of models, and the detailed influence on particle dynamic, including particle trajectory, migration velocity to collection plates, and particle capture had also been investigated thoroughly. 2 2 Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) Numerical results indicated that corrugated plate electrostatic precipitator (CP ESP), 3 3 Corrugated plate electrostatic precipitator (CP ESP) possessed greater electrostatic field characteristic than parallel plate electrostatic precipitator (PP ESP) and it also had a stronger capacity of resisting the influence of EHD flow, which was beneficial from the particular structure. 4 4 Parallel plate electrostatic precipitator (PP ESP) Besides, the EHD flow would make smaller particle present more apparent fluctuant trajectory near discharge wires when fine particles traveled in ESPs at a low gas velocity or with a high applied voltage, and that caused a more severe movement towards collection plates. Numerical results of the evolution of EHD flow showed that the faster elimination of ionic wind vortexes in CP ESP gave rise to higher collection efficiency. With the increment of gas velocity, the intensity of EHD flow exhibited a declining trend, and the difference of collection efficiency between two ESPs also decreased, which suggested that EHD flow had a significant effect on the <1 μm particle collection and the structure optimization could provide an available approach to evade the influence of EHD flow. Unlabelled Image • A corrugated plate ESP model was established to investigate the evolution of EHD flow. • The influence of EHD flow on particle dynamic had been investigated thoroughly. • Corrugated plate ESP could eliminate ionic wind vortex fast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The cellular communication and signaling pathways that modulate mucosal healing among macrophage subsets remain to be revealed. • Single cell and bulk RNA sequencing identify M2d macrophages are potential therapeutic targets for mucosal healing in ulcerative colitis. • IL10- IL10RA and VEGF-VEGFR1 signaling pathways in M2d macrophages provide new insight into mucosal healing of UC. Mucosal healing is essential for treating ulcerative colitis (UC), which results from imbalanced macrophage polarization and dysregulated inflammatory responses. However, the mechanisms of cellular communication and signal transduction that regulate mucosal healing among macrophage subtypes require further investigation. We use bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing analysis to reveal that macrophage subtypes vary in different UC states. At the same time, chemokine and angiogenesis signaling is strongly associated with M2 macrophage's infiltrated proportion. To get more insight into subtypes of macrophages in mucosal healing, we divided macrophages into M1, M2b, and M2d macrophages. Based on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between M2d and M1 macrophages, KEGG and GO analysis highlights M2d macrophages' ability to alleviate inflammation and promote epithelial healing. Trajectory analysis revealed opposite differentiation of macrophage subsets between UC and healthy groups, with M1 and M2d macrophages coexisting in the same differentiation branch under UC conditions. Along the pseudotime axis, CCL3 and VEGFA expression increased in UC, while IL10RA remained stable in UC but increased in healthy controls. CellChat identified CCL3-CCR1 has strong communication between M1 and M2d macrophages, while the IL10 signaling pathway is activated explicitly in M2d macrophages to mitigate inflammation and promote epithelial healing. We also speculate that high levels of VEGFA activate endothelial cells expressing VEGFR and worsen inflammation. To conclude, we suggested IL10 and VEGF signaling in M2d macrophages as potential therapeutic targets for mucosal healing. However, it is necessary to establish reliable methods for isolating and purifying M2d macrophages before these targets can be effectively utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of iron and tungsten in the Mn/Ti catalyst system on the activity and H 2 O induced deactivation was evaluated for the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of NO. The properties of the catalysts were characterized by physicochemical measurements, including BET surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD), H 2 temperature-programmed reduction (H 2 -TPR), NH 3 temperature-programmed desorption (NH 3 -TPD), NO oxidation, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) analyses. The results indicated that the addition of iron promoted surface species dispersion and increased valence state of manganese species, which enhanced the low-temperature activity. The addition of tungsten enhanced the acid sites and improved the thermal stability of the acid sites. Thus, the Mn10Fe10/W3Ti exhibited excellent NO x conversion and N 2 selectivity during high temperature compared with Mn10/Ti and Mn10Fe10/Ti catalysts. Furthermore, the addition of tungsten exhibited excellent resistance to H 2 O induced deactivation. Accordingly, the co-addition of iron and tungsten with proper ratios to Mn/Ti resulted in excellent NO x conversion, N 2 selectivity and H 2 O resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, six kinds of two-stage ESPs with various ratios of charger and collector units are designed to research the capture enhancement mechanism of submicron particles. The working conditions are optimized by studying the influence of gas velocity, charger current, and electric field strength of collector. Results show that the electrostatic field characteristics of the two-stage ESP with Ra = 1/6 is beneficial to improve the collection efficiency while slightly less stable. The indicator factor of particle charging enhancement effect of two-stage ESP with Ra = 6/1 fluctuates between 0.06 and 0.1, which suggests that the two-stage ESP with a higher proportion of charger units cannot achieve the satisfying performance for the limitation of ionic wind effect. Under comprehensive consideration of ionic wind effect and ozone emission, the two-stage ESP with Ra = 2/5 is selected at the first priority by exerting the advantages of fully particle charging and enough collection space, which has a strong potential in both particle charging enhancement and electric field enhancement. However, for improving the collection efficiency of submicron particle with a size ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 µm which suffers from both of weak particle charging and agglomeration effect, the two-stage ESP with Ra = 4/3 is not recommended. [Display omitted] • Submicron particles with the lowest collection efficiency are selected as target. • Capture enhancement mechanism is investigated by designing two-stage ESPs. • Working conditions are optimized by studying the effect of operating parameters. • The electrostatic capture equipment with appropriate unit proportion is selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a spike-tubular electrostatic device was developed for effectively removing particulate matter (PM) and VOCs, based on multi-stage electric field enhancement and expanded arc interface ratio of corona discharge. In the experiment, it was equipped with a portable 12 V D.C. power supply module and a fan module; PM from moxa smoke, mainly composed of submicron particles with a high penetrate rate, and HCHO were employed to test its electrostatic precipitation and oxidation ability, respectively. Additionally, CFD numerical simulation was adopted to investigate the characteristics of the electric field, the flow field, and the ozone generation. Experimental results showed that the electrostatic device could remove 99% of the fine particles at 2 m/s. Meanwhile, it could also remove HCHO of 2.14 × 103-1.07 × 104 μg/m3 concentration with 100% efficiency. By comparison, its oxidation capacity could be about 80 times that of ozone oxidation, revealing the enhanced oxidation ability of other short-living reactive species. Simulation results proved that the promising purification performance resulted from the locally enhanced electric field strength, up to 2 × 107 V/m in the central region, and sufficient contact between pollutants and the corona discharge region. Finally, as verified by the airtight chamber cycle experiment and case comparison, the device owns feasible purification ability and promising energy yield (0.79 g/kWh) in the application. Moreover, prospects and strategies for the device's practical application in air purification and disinfection were proposed, which may provide helpful enlightenment for air purification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Operando observation system is constructed to make in situ test on lab-on-a-chip. • Image processing method is developed based on automatic object detection. • It is first-time visualization of dynamic deposition process of submicron particle. • The growth site and direction of particle chain are investigated systematically. • This work confirms the effect of drag force on ultimate height of particle chain. Submicron particle is a harmful air pollutant due to size effect, gathering characteristic and biological activity, which not only causes a serious threat to human health and public sanitary security, but also is difficult to capture with lowest removal efficiency. Here, Operando investigation system is constructed to explore deposition characteristics of submicron particles in electric-flow coupled fields through combining microfluidic technology for forming micro electric field on the lab-on-a-chip with micro-visualization technology for capturing dynamic deposition process. Besides, based on object detection and deep learning, an image processing method is developed which can realize automatic object detection and rapid extraction of required information. Results show that particle chain grows preferentially from the convex position to prove the influence of electrode surface roughness on the growth site. The global electric field has a positive effect on keeping particle chain growing up at upright direction, and the growth process of particle chain is proposed: forming growth site stage, grow fast stage and fluctuation stage. Particle velocity in the airflow direction presents a decrease trend during the process particle migrates towards to electrode surface, which proves the direct influence of boundary layer effect on the ultimate height of particle chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a novel approach for evaluating charged particles' collision probability in the external electric field of a regular two-stage electrostatic precipitator based on Lagrangian particle tracking method, which overcomes itself difficulties and that of the Eulerian method. The numerical simulation aims to obtain the particles' accumulated displacement which is a parameter to reflect the efficiency of particle collision. The effect factors of frequency, gas velocity, plate spacing and applied voltage are also considered. Results indicate that the external electric field of R-AC is more beneficial to particle collision compared to the other waveforms of AC. Besides, frequency and plate spacing are not found to have obvious or regular effect on collision probability, but the promotion effect of applied voltage on it was obtained. The dimensionless coefficient analysis provides extremely useful information for the optimization of working conditions in different types of the external electric field. [Display omitted] • A novel method was proposed to investigate the particle collision in electric field. • The influence factors on the particle dynamic were analyzed systematically. • An optimization strategy for improving particle collision in the external electric field was put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilayered composites consisting of silica, carbon nanotubes ( CNTs), and continuous carbon fibers (Cf) were prepared by hot-pressing technique. Microstructures of different layer presented few pores of the composites. The thermal stability of the composites was analyzed by TG/ DTA measurement. After being heat treated at 400°C for 10 h, the composites retained the equivalent shielding property compared to room temperature, and the impedance matching property at material/wave interface was improved slightly. The multilayer CNTs/Cf/silica composites have not only the excellent absorbing properties but also the outstanding thermal stability, and it can be a promising candidate for high-temperature electromagnetic interference shielding applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: M-ZSM-5 (M=Zn, Cu, Mn) catalysts were prepared by ion-exchange of M ions with H+ in H-ZSM-5. TiO2 loading on M-ZSM-5 was realized by dipping method. All the catalysts were characterized by ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen isothermal adsorb-desorption measurement. The catalytic activities of the samples were investigated under UV, ozone and UV–ozone for acetaldehyde degradation. The results showed that the application of photocatalytic ozonation (UV–ozone) produced the improved efficiency for acetaldehyde removal, indicating a combined effect occurred when photocatalysis and ozonation were carried out simultaneously. Transition metal ions exchanged catalyst TiO2/M-ZSM-5 increase the apparent catalysis activity by increasing acetaldehyde adsorption and ozonation at the sites of M ions. TiO2/Mn-ZSM-5 presented the highest activity with acetaldehyde conversion among the prepared samples, which was higher than that of simple additive under UV and O3. The improvement was attributed to the exchanged Mn ions and the integrated effect among adsorption, ozonation and photocatalytic reactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increasing shortage of water resources has led to the development and adoption of aerobic rice system, which saves water input and increases water productivity by reducing water use during land preparation and limiting seepage, percolation, and evaporation. Aerobic rice also reduces labor requirement and greenhouse gaseous emission from rice field. In an aerobic rice system, the crop can be dry direct-seeded or transplanted and soils are kept aerobic throughout the growing season. Supplemental irrigation is applied as necessary. Aerobic rice cultivars are adapted to aerobic soils and have higher yield potential than traditional upland cultivars. Grain yields of 5-6 t ha can be reached in aerobic rice system. However, yield decline or even complete failure of aerobic rice under continuous monocropping threatens the widespread adoption of aerobic rice technology. Here, we review research findings on possible causes responsible for yield decline of continuous aerobic rice. Our main findings are: (1) both biotic and abiotic factors are involved in the continuous cropping obstacle of aerobic rice; (2) recent research focused on abiotic factors related to the continuous cropping obstacle, such as soil pH increase, ammonia toxicity, and nutrient deficiencies; and (3) strategies which will help in mitigating the continuous cropping obstacle of aerobic rice include selection of new aerobic rice cultivars, nutrient management practice, crop rotation, and soil acidification. Identifying the causes responsible for continuous cropping obstacle of aerobic rice and adopting effective strategies are crucial to achieve sustainability of aerobic rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: TiO2 photocatalysts coated on foam nickel were prepared by sol–gel method. Al2O3–SiO2 films introducing as transition interlayer between TiO2 and nickel metal foam were used to promote the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. The results show that TiO2/Al2O3–SiO2 composite films have much higher photocatalytic activity and stability for degradation of gaseous acetaldehyde than TiO2 films. The significant enhancement effect arises from the large specific surface area of Al2O3–SiO2, which provides more active sites for subsequent TiO2 loading and photocatalytic reaction. The Al2O3–SiO2 interlayer also inhibits the transfer of photo-generated electron from TiO2 to Ni metal and improves the photocatalytic activity of photocatalysts. Furthermore, Pt loading on TiO2 by photo-deposition was carried out to improve photocatalytic efficiency. The acetaldehyde degradation rate on Pt-loaded TiO2 photocatalyst is more than three times than that of TiO2 without Pt loading. The optimum Pt concentration is 0.3wt%. XRD, UV–vis and SEM were used to characterize the structural, physical and chemical features of all the samples and to reveal the mechanism of the improvement of the photocatalytic activity. The effects of photocatalyst preparation parameters along with their photocatalytic behavior in deactivation and reactivation are also presented in the present study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Anatase TiO2 films were obtained on glass substrates using a sol–gel method using titanium isopropoxide as a precursor. The thickness of the film was about 140 nm for one coating, and the thickness is controlled by the number of coating cycles. The spectra of UV-VIS absorption indicated that the absorption edge of the TiO2 films is ca. 385 nm, corresponding to the band gap energy of 3.20 eV. We obtained TiO2 films having a high activity for the hydrogen evolution from photocatalytic water cleavage. By loading with 0.3 wt% Pt rate of hydrogen production increases. No influence of film thickness and calcination temperature on the photocatalytic property is observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Drug resistance is an increasing problem in the treatment of vaginitis bacterial vaginosis and vulvovaginal candidiasis caused by biofilm-forming bacteria and fungi. In this study, the antimicrobial activities of the synergistic effects coordinated by antimicrobial peptides HPRP-A1, HPRP-A2, and chlorhexidine acetate (CHA), against biofilms caused by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, and one fungus Candida albicans, were investigated in vitro and in mouse and rat infection models. The minimal biofilm inhibitory concentration and the fractional biofilm inhibitory concentration of HPRP-A1, HPRP-A2 alone and in combination with CHA were determined by classical methods. The crystal violet staining assay was used to determine the biomass of agents on biofilms. The MTT assay was used to determine the metabolic activity of agents on biofilms. Different microscopy assays were used to observe the morphological characteristics of bacterial and fungal biofilms after drug treatments. The extracellular polysaccharide was detected by a phenol–sulfuric acid method. The combined uses of HPRP-A1, HPRP-A2 and CHA exerted strong synergistic effects to inhibit the formation of bacterial and fungal biofilms and disrupt the construction of biofilms in vitro and in vivo. In animal vaginitis models, the drug combination reduced 99.9% of the number of bacterial and fungal CFU, and showed significant therapeutic effects against biofilm vaginitis. The mechanism of membrane disruption coordinated by the combination of drugs depends not only on the inhibition of extracellular polysaccharides secreted by bacterial and fungal cells, but also on the ability of the peptides to penetrate the cell membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gradient-doping technique has been widely applied to induce an oriented built-in electric-field. However, it is still not efficient enough for charge mobility especially for particulate semiconductors, as the field is primarily in one direction from inner to surface. Here, we propose a multilocal gradient-doping technique that a nano-capsule is designed to store dopants and then release them into semiconductors nonuniformly. As an illustration, scattered pyrochlore-type K 2 Ta 2 O 6 nanoparticles have been validated the capability of storing and releasing K+, which subsequently diffuse into the substrate PCN. Multi point-radiative gradient in K+ concentration, confined within the K 2 Ta 2 O 6 's vicinity, will construct several 3D potential wells which can not only accelerate the carrier separation but also offer more migration channels for both photo-induced electrons and holes to the surface. Consequently, the multilocal K+ gradient-doping PCN shows the longest carriers' lifetime and highest AQY (∼21.8% at 400 nm) compared with the other uniformly doping techniques. [Display omitted] • Multilocal gradient-doping technique is firstly proposed. • Nano-capsule is designed to store dopants and then release them into semiconductors. • Pyrochlore-type K 2 Ta 2 O 6 is proved to be a nano-capsule for alkali metal ion. • Multilocal K+ gradient-doping PCN has been successfully synthesized. • Multilocal gradient-doping results in the longest carriers' lifetime and highest AQY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, aiming at PM 1, namely submicron particles which are the most difficult to remove in traditional purification technologies, it tries to improve their removal efficiency depending on collision enhancement and agglomeration effect. The effect of electric field and plate structure on collision enhancement is studied. Besides, a novel structure of corrugated plate is put forward and its removal performance is compared with parallel plate. Results show that it confirms the key function of the external electric field on the enhancement of particle collision through the trajectory visualization of particle streams with different polarity charging types. The intense turbulence quickens the particle collision and agglomeration in corrugated plate, and the enhancement of electric field around the bend can bring a quick capture firstly, and then the nonuniformity of electric field also leads to the positive effect of particle collision. Corrugated plate can achieve a 12% improvement of removal efficiency for PM 1 compared with traditional parallel plate, under consideration of collision enhancement brought by the airflow arrangement and agglomeration effect under Coulomb force between positive and negative particles. [Display omitted] • Collision enhancement in external electric field is investigated through visualization and simulation. • Corrugated plate proves to achieve a 12% improvement of removal efficiency for submicron particles. • Collision model based on Coulomb force is developed to study agglomeration effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various manganese oxides (MnO x) prepared via citric acid solution combustion synthesis were applied for catalytic oxidation of benzene. The results showed the ratios of citric acid/manganese nitrate in synthesizing process positively affected the physicochemical properties of MnO x , e.g., BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface area, porous structure, reducibility and so on, which were in close relationship with their catalytic performance. Of all the catalysts, the sample prepared at a citric acid/manganese nitrate ratio of 2:1 (C2M1) displayed the best catalytic activity with T 90 (the temperature when 90% of benzene was catalytically oxidized) of 212℃. Further investigation showed that C2M1 was Mn 2 O 3 with abundant nano-pores, the largest surface area and the proper ratio of surface Mn4+/Mn3+, resulting in preferable low-temperature reducibility and abundant surface active adsorbed oxygen species. The analysis results of the in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (in-situ FTIR) revealed that the benzene was successively oxidized to phenolate, o -benzoquinone, small molecules (such as maleates, acetates, and vinyl), and finally transformed to CO 2 and H 2 O. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important part of atmospheric aerosol, airborne bacteria have major impacts on human health. However, variations of airborne community structure due to human-induced activities and their possible impact on human health have not been well understood. In this study, we sampled atmospheric microbial aerosols in three Chinese cities (Shanghai, Xiamen, and Zhangzhou) with contrasting social-economic levels and analyzed the bacterial composition using high-throughput sequencing methods. A high similarity of the predominant phyla was observed in three cities but the relative abundances were quite different. At the genus level, the most dominant genus in Shanghai and Xiamen was Deinococcus while the most dominant genus in Zhangzhou was Clostridium. The different characteristics of airborne bacterial in the three cities above may be ascribed to the environmental variables affected by human over-activities such as the vehicle exhausts and coal-burning emissions in Shanghai, the tourist aggregation and construction works in Xiamen, the extensive uses of chemical fertilizers, and agricultural activities in Zhangzhou. The variation of the bacterial community and the pathogenic bacteria detected in three cities would have a potential threat to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Following acute ischemic stroke (AIS), approximately half of patients do not achieve recanalization after intravenous administration of tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA). Thrombolysis resistance is a possible reason for recanalization failure. Thrombolysis resistance is likely related to the ultrastructure and composition of the thrombus. However, there is a paucity of published information on the relationship between thrombus ultrastructure and thrombolysis resistance.Case Presentation: Two patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy were observed within 4.5 h after stroke onset. One patient failed to respond to rt-PA (defined as thrombolysis resistant), and the other patient did not receive rt-PA treatment (non-rtPA). In each patient, the occluded artery was the internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery. According to the Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment classification, both patients had large atherosclerotic cerebral infarction. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we found that the thrombus structure was significantly different between the two patients.Conclusion: Grid-like dense fibrin, compressed polyhedral erythrocytes, and large accumulation of neutrophils may be characteristics of thrombolysis resistant thrombi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Reduction of Fe 2 O 3 weakened the inhibition of NH 3 blocking. • Isolated Fe3+ helped NO convert into NO 3 −/NO 2 − at low temperature. • Fe 2 O 3 promoted NH 4 + combination with Brønsted acid sites at high temperature. • Synergistic effect of isolated Fe3+ and Fe 2 O 3 created a wide active temperature window. The influence of preparation conditions (urea as precipitant, H 2 reduction, and air passivation) on the catalytic performance and mechanism of Fe-ZSM-5 for NH 3 selective catalytic reduction of NO was systematically investigated to understand the effect of iron species in depth. An appropriate molar ratio of urea addition to Fe-ZSM-5 prepared in a mixed solvent formed a large amount of Fe 2 O 3 , which increased the low-temperature activity. H 2 reduction transformed some Fe 2 O 3 into elemental Fe, which weakened the inhibiting effect of NH 3. It showed more than 90% NO conversion at 125 °C, but the loss of active components and Brønsted acid sites caused deteriorating high-temperature performance. Air passivation generated some isolated Fe3+ and adsorbed oxygen species on the surface, which resulted in similar low-temperature activity as a hydrogen-reduced catalyst. Moreover, the regenerated Fe 2 O 3 caused more NH 4 + to combine with Brønsted acid sites, which maintained excellent high-temperature performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Series of MnOx catalysts were synthesized through oxalate route and calcined at facile temperatures. Characterizations through XRD, N2-adsorption/desorption, HRTEM, C6H6-TPD, O2-TPD, XPS, and H2-TPR revealed that MnOx calcined at 250 °C (N250) with a main crystal phase of Mn2O3 showed micro-mesopores and largest specific surface area, and therefore had a high adsorption capacity of C6H6. N250 also presented better oxygen mobility, rich surface adsorbed oxygen species (Oads), and proper ratio of surface Mn4+/Mn3+. The starting temperature of H2-TPR of N250 was the lowest among the obtained MnOx samples. As a result, N250 exhibited the lowest T90 value of 191 °C in C6H6 thermal catalytic oxidation (WHSV 60,000 mL gcat.−1 h−1, initial C6H6 concentration 190 ppm) among all the catalysts, and this T90 value is lower than those reported in many research. At last, a potential reaction pathway was proposed according to the results of in-situ FTIR measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ni2+ substituted spinel Ni x Co 3-x O 4 was synthesized for low-temperature removal of formaldehyde. • Ni 0.8 Co 2.2 O 4 was found to be the best low-temperature catalytic activity with T100 of 90 °C and 100% CO 2 selectivity. • Ni2+ substitution enriched surface hydroxyl over catalyst surface. • The active oxidant Co3+ and abundant hydroxyl were concluded to dominate the low-temperature activity of Ni x Co 3-x catalysts. Spinel Co 3 O 4 catalysts were modified by A2+ (A = Mg, Ni, Zn) and B3+ (B = Cr, Fe, Al) metal cation substitution respectively for low-temperature removal of formaldehyde. Among of those A2+ substituted catalysts, Ni 0.8 Co 2.2 O 4 was found to be the best low-temperature catalytic activity with T100 of 90 °C and 100% CO 2 selectivity. However, B3+ substitution was found negative to improve the low-temperature catalytic performance for relatively weaker oxidation capacity of Cr3+, Fe3+ and Al3+. Results of XRD and Raman characterization confirmed that both A2+ or B3+ cations substitution caused structural and surface electronic variation, and NiCo 2 O 4 had been successfully synthesized. XPS analysis revealed that surface hydroxyl coming from Ni(OH) 2 was enriched by Ni2+ substitution. The active oxidant Co3+ and abundant hydroxyl were concluded to dominate the low-temperature activity of Ni x Co 3-x catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cooking oil fumes as an important source of volatile organic compounds in metropolitan areas are poisonous to the environment and human health. In this study, the removal of hexanal (a representative of cooking fume) using "storage-plasma catalytic oxidation" at ambient conditions has been investigated. Alkali-modified Co-Mn catalysts were synthesized by coprecipitation method and further characterized by XRD, SEM, N 2 adsorption–desorption, H 2 -TPR, O 2 -TPD and XPS techniques. It was clearly shown that the Na modification afforded a remarkable enhancement in the hexanal storage capacity, which is ascribed to the formation of surface hydroxyls that resulted in the chemical adsorption. Moreover, the plasma-catalytic oxidation results showed 99.4% hexanal removal and 85.7% CO 2 selectivity at a GHSV of 47700 h−1. XPS results revealed that Na modification promoted the formation of more abundant Co3+, Mn3+ cations and surface adsorbed oxygen species, thus facilitated the oxidation process. In-situ FTIR results revealed that Na modification could trigger disproportionation reaction, resulting in the transformation of adsorbed hexanal into alcohol and carboxylic acid thus further speeds up the oxidation rate. This work provides a low-cost, highly efficient and energy-consuming approach for the removal of gaseous cooking fume by storage and plasma catalytic oxidation cycle at room temperature. Graphical abstract Na modification led to the formation of hydroxyl group, promoted chemical adsorption of hexanal, thus facilitated the catalytic oxidation reaction. Image 1 Highlights • Alkali-modified Co-Mn solid solution catalysts were successfully prepared by coprecipitation method. • CoMn-Na shows superior hexanal storage capacity due to the surface hydroxyls that resulted in the chemical adsorption. • Disproportionation of hexanal into alcohol and carboxylic acid further speeds up the oxidation rate. • The "storage-plasma oxidation" system offers a highly efficient and energy-consuming approach for VOCs removal in the cooking fume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Different levels of telemedicine systems have been built across China. To share high-quality medical resources and conduct centralized management of telemedicine systems, a regional telemedicine system (RTS) (such as a provincial level system) has been developed to integrate with small-scale telemedicine systems. Although the established systems offer integration services, they are tightly coupled systems, and not easily integrated with new systems. Meanwhile, with the increasing of input/output, it is difficult for them to run with high scalability, considering the cost of architecture redesign and further development. This article presents the design and implementation of regional integration system through a study in Henan, China, mainly aimed to integrate with heterogeneous small-scale telemedicine systems and provide high efficiency. Methods: A provincial telemedicine system and some city-level telemedicine systems have already been established. The provincial system has been built to act as a regional integration system to connect city-level systems. Adopting message-based technology, the provincial system achieves high availability and high scalability, respectively, through LevelDB + ZooKeeper and multicast. Results: The system achieved the centralized management of established telemedicine systems without restructuring their framework, improving high availability of RTS when one ActiveMQ service node in a group failed, and it did not negatively influence normal business logic when adding a new service node. At the same time, two "Master" state ActiveMQ service nodes provided services simultaneously, which enable the RTS to achieve high scalability. Conclusions: The message-based regional integration system enriched the RTS with high availability, easy extensibility, and provided a convenient way to integrate new small-scale telemedicine systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies have shown that skin exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) results in the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus altering the cellular function. The human epidermal skin layer is mainly composed of keratinocytes, which is damaged by UV-B radiation-induced intracellular oxidative stress. Neferine is an alkaloid extract from lotus seed embryos and is known to promote antioxidant activity. Objective: In this study for the first time, we investigated the photoprotective action of neferine, against UV-B-produced oxidative damage in human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKs). Methods: We established an in Vitro study model using HEKs. Cellular viability was determined by MMT assay kits. The intracellular oxidative stress was measured using ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA) assay kits. Endogenous antioxidants were measured by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) assay kits. Photoprotective nature of neferine was further evaluated by analyzing the morphological and ultrastructural alterations in keratinocytes. Results: Neferine inhibit the UV-B-mediated increase in ROS and MDA levels in pretreated keratinocytes. The antioxidants, SOD and GPx activities were significantly high in neferine pretreated UV-B groups. Mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum damage were less evident in neferine-pretreated UV-B groups as compared with the control group, which might be associated with reduced oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest that neferine can prevent UV-B-induced oxidative damage and may thus be a potential agent for prevention and treatment of skin damage and photoaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water promotion mechanism in the Fe-BEA catalyst on the NH 3 -SCR activity was investigated by in situ DRIFT studies. While a significant amount (mol/g) of Lewis acid sites was formed on the surface of the Fe-BEA without water addition, supplementary hydroxyl species caused Lewis acid sites to be transformed into Brønsted acid sites, thus resulting in more NO 3 − /NO 2 − and NH 4 + species adsorbed on the surface which increased the SCR activity under the presence of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, rod-like Co 3 O 4 (Co 3 O 4 -rod) nanocatalyst was prepared by a modified precipitation method, which showed an excellent performance for formaldehyde oxidation to carbon dioxide and water. The light-off temperature (10% conversion) and the temperature for complete conversion of formaldehyde was at 60 °C and 120 °C, respectively. XPS and CO 2 -TPD analyses indicated that Co 3 O 4 -rod had abundant Co 3 + and OH (hydroxyl) species on the surface compared with other morphologies of Co 3 O 4 investigated (e.g. Co 3 O 4 -sheet and Co 3 O 4 -cube). It was proposed that Co 3 + ions should be considered as active sites of good oxidation ability for formaldehyde catalytic oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]