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Quantifying the microstructure of materials is of significance in material development, especially for building the relationship between structure and property. To establish a remarkable structure‐property (SP) linkage, a novel concept referred to as irregular‐representative volume element (IRVE) based on panoramic image stitching technology (PIST) is proposed and a data‐driven scheme integrating irregular domain‐oriented two‐point statistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and symbolic regression based on genetic programming (GPSR) is constructed. Combining with advanced image processing and genetic programming technologies, this scheme improves the microstructure quantization framework. This scheme can not only be applied in different complex conditions for extracting the information of a material microstructure, but can also to embody details of microstructure from the perspective of large scale. IRVE is demonstrated to have both strong statistical representativeness and sufficient physical interpretation, which makes the scheme robust and reliable. Performing the scheme on an example of ferrite heat‐resistant steels, it shows a powerful ability in building an equational SP linkage with high precision (R = 0.91, RMSE = 13.17), the generalization ability of the linkage is also validated by an unseen steel (relative percentage error is 2.66%). The scheme has bright application prospects in predicting mechanical property and accelerating alloy design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the key factor driving the efficiency and stability of semiconductor devices is vital. To date, the key factor influencing the long‐term stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) remains unknown because of the many influencing factors. In this work, through machine learning, the influences of five factors, including grain size, defect density, bandgap, fluorescence lifetime, and surface roughness, on the efficiency and stability of PSCs have been revealed. It is found that the bandgap has the greatest influence on the efficiency, and the surface roughness and grain size are most influential to the long‐term stability. A mathematical model is given to predict efficiency based on fluorescence lifetime and bandgap. Guided by the model, four groups of experiments are conducted to confirm the machine‐learning predictions and a PSC with 23.4% efficiency and excellent long‐term stability is obtained, as manifested by retention of 97.6% of the initial efficiency after 3288 h aging in the ambient environment, the best stability under these conditions. This work shows that machine learning is an effective means to enrich semiconductor physical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, studies on low-dimensional conducting domain walls (DWs) in insulating ferroelectrics have opened up new research areas that allow information to be mechanically written and electrically read on the nanoscale. Large strains in thin films can change the polarization gradient across the DW region and thus increasing the DW current significantly. This phenomenon can enable the development of high sensitivity mechanical vibration sensors. In this study, the effects of variable uniaxial strain on the structures of 180° conducting DWs in LiNbO 3 (LNO) single-crystal thin films bonded onto Si/SiO 2 substrates were investigated. After the creation of antiparallel domains within each LNO nanosensor integrated at the film surface, strain modulation of DW currents was observed through simple mechanical bending of the film. The DW current increases under application of tensile strain along the axis of polarization, but decreases under application of in-plane compression by a factor of approximately 25. Phase field simulations showed the dramatic change in polarization gradients around the DW regions under the increase in tensile strain, which reduced the band gap. Repetitive band-gap narrowing/broadening with change in local electric field intensity under vibrating mechanical forces can periodically modulate both the carrier density and the DW conduction in the sensors. This finding not only provides the new fundamental physics to enrich the ferroelectric theory, but also paves the way to the near-future development of bending actuators, piezolighters, and micro-/nano-manipulators, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese traditional ceramic culture and art are an important foundation for the progress of civilization today, and these cultural foundations are closely related to the daily lives of modern people. Traditional ceramics, as a valuable cultural heritage leftover from ancient times, are inseparable from the various daily lives of modern people and have always played an important leading role in modern people's daily life. Ceramic painting is also an important embodiment form of traditional culture, and the integration of the two is very conducive to enriching people's spiritual world. This paper proposes a VRML-oriented method suitable for establishing a virtual ceramic product space model, that is, a method of building a VRML model with 3DS MAX and other three-dimensional modeling tools combined with a VRML visual editor. According to this method, based on the LOD node, the method is given the optimization and integration method of the virtual ceramic display space scene and completed the modeling of the outdoor background and building required by the virtual ceramic product display space scene. Subsequently, the interactivity of the virtual ceramic display space in the web application is explained, the realization method of the color switching and placement of the virtual ceramic product based on the built-in sensor is proposed, and the interaction based on the external data source of the web page is also given. Finally, in this article, the response time of the page can be basically controlled below 4 s/time, and after a long-term stress test, the system can still maintain the stability of operation, and the probability of serious errors is less than 0.512%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An intelligent alloy design strategy integrating machine learning and adaptive sampling is proposed and successfully applied to an example of martensitic stainless steel. Short iterative experiments prove the feasibility of this strategy in quickly finding new alloys with hardness higher than that of the current best and reasonably augmenting training data to create a high‐confidence prediction model. A credible relationship between the composition and hardness is demonstrated by the proposed model and the most promising candidate in the designed space is identified. In contrast to the traditional approaches, this strategy can meet the goal of global quest as it offers the advantages of flexibility, reliability, and efficiency. The suggested strategy can be extended to guide the experimental design of other materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the deepening of reform and opening up, the development of China's ceramic industry has been rapidly improved, leading the world, and various ceramic varieties have also been greatly developed. However, as the growth rate of the global economy has gradually slowed down and structural imbalances have become more obvious, China's economy has gradually entered a new development trend. In the context of supply-side structural reforms, the severe macroenvironment and policy pressure to eliminate backward production capacity have further promoted the development of China's ceramic industry to face greater challenges. In the context of the rapid development of various high-tech technologies such as "Internet +" and intelligent manufacturing, this paper discusses the use of VR technology in the design of ceramics from the principles and characteristics of ceramic design and, according to the characteristics of virtual design of ceramics, demonstrates the feasibility of its shape, decoration, color matching, and so on. The ceramics are classified according to their use functions, and the characteristics of different types of virtual display of ceramics and their suitable virtual display methods are discussed. Finally, this paper combines panoramic image display technology and graphic VR display technology to create the best virtual display method suitable for different types of ceramic products, implements the interactive design in virtual software, and then performs virtual display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese ceramics have a long history and have been deeply recognized by the world after centuries of changes. The current world ceramic industry is diversified. Under this background, there is a huge challenge to the development of Chinese ceramics. The update of materials, the participation of computers in ceramic design, and the demonstration of ingredients all constitute technological factors that cannot be ignored in the development of the ceramic industry. Therefore, this study uses the SWOT analysis method to analyze the development of Chinese ceramics, puts forward its advantages and disadvantages, opportunities, and threats, and under the background of advanced technology, and how to use computer software to demonstrate raw materials and color matching to make Chinese ceramics. The development achieves the goal of self-improvement and then completes the upgrade of its production process and production. Through the research of this study, it is found that the current development of China's ceramic industry should be good at using SWOT analysis, face up to its shortcomings and pressure from other ceramic production areas in the world, give full play to its advantages, maximize strengths and avoid weaknesses, and use technological innovation, combined with technical factors from other disciplines, to promote ceramic industry design and production capabilities and provide a reference for the current ceramic industry development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocarriers, whose performance directly influences the effects of wastewater treatment, are the core of biofilm technology. In this study, the effects of a carrier's internal diameter size on biofilm characteristics were systematically investigated. Tubes with different internal diameter (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mm) were cut into stub tubes as biocarriers used in five laboratory-scale sequencing batch biofilm reactors for this experiment. Among all the carriers, the large internal diameter ones exhibited the highest biomass and biofilm thickness except total biomass. Carriers with a smaller (<6 mm) or large (>8 mm) diameter structure limited either wastewater to flow over carrier's internal surface or mass to be transferred into the depth of the excessively thick biofilm in which extracellular polysaccharides (especially the tightly-bound layer extracellular polymeric substances) were accumulated, resulting in a reduction of biofilm dehydrogenase enzyme activity (DHA). By contrast, medium internal diameter (6–8 mm) carriers had the best performance in terms of biofilm activity and nutrient removal. During the biofilm's mature period, biomass, biofilm thickness, and extracellular polymeric substances (especially for proteins) all showed higher positive correlation with the internal diameter size ranging from 2 to 10 mm. Controlling the biofilm characteristics by selecting an appropriate carrier diameter size is important to ensure proper microbial biomass, activity, and renewal rate in wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferroelectric domain-wall random access memory (DWRAM), based on the utilization of highly conductive domain walls in insulating ferroelectric LiNbO 3 (LNO) single-crystal thin films, holds great promise for the future of memory storage. The ability to scale this technology up in a crossbar architecture means that it has the otential to surpass the storage density capabilities of commercial ferroelectric random access memory devices. Nevertheless, the passivation layer in the vertically integrated structure (VIS) architecture is critical because it affects many vital parameters of the memory such as retention, on/off current ratio, reliability, etc. Therefore, a detailed strain investigation of silicon nitride and silicon dioxide fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) is presented. Furthermore, the effect of residual strain on the electrical properties of LNO DW cells was investigated. The results indicated that a monolayer of SiO 2 or Si 3 N 4 is not a good choice for the insulating layer because of the undesirable passivation caused by defects and residual strain. Hence, a Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 composite passivation layer is proposed, which not only solves the residual strain problem but also ensures good insulation performance. Finally, a crossbar array of DW memory cells with an on/off current ratio greater than 104 was fabricated using the Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 composite dielectric layer, demonstrating good uniformity and retention. This work validates the feasibility of high-density integration of LNO domain wall memories and provides a foundation for selecting passivation layers in the VIS architecture. • In ferroelectric domain wall random access memory, SiO 2 or Si 3 N 4 is not a good choice for insulating layer due to undesirable residual strain. • A Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 composite passivation layer not only solves the residual strain problem, but also ensures good insulation performance. • A crossbar array of DW memory cells was fabricated using the Si 3 N 4 /SiO 2 composite dielectric layer, demonstrating good uniformity and retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To research the isolation, identification, physiological property of Clostridium butyricum strain using lactic acid from pig and its effects on intestinal function of weaned piglets, the C. butyricum strain LY33 was isolated with an anaerobic culture method from the intestinal contents of healthy piglets fed with lactic acid bacteria fermented feeds. The strain LY33, which was identified as Clostridium butyricum according to morphological, physiological, biochemical and 16S rRNA sequence analyses, was found to be efficient in lactic acid utilisation and butyric acid conversion. Strain LY33 was non-toxic and resistant to heat, gastric acid and bile salts. It utilised lactic acid efficiently when cultured in LADM liquid medium (Lactic acid decomposition medium) under the initial conditions of pH 5.5 and a lactic acid concentration of 132 mmol. Strain LY33 also had inhibitory effects on Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and other pathogens. Conversely, it promoted the growth of lactic acid bacteria. Compared to the control group fed the basal diet, the indexes of intestinal function of piglets in the experimental group fed the strain LY33 preparation improved markedly, and for most of these indicators, a difference at p <.05 was achieved. In this study, one Clostridium butyricum strain LY33 was isolated from intestinal contents in healthy piglets which were fed lactic acid bacteria fermented feed, and was identified as Clostridium butyricum based on its morphological, physiological, biochemical and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The strain LY33 had better ability of utilising lactic acid, had a certain inhibitory effect on Escherichia coli, Salmonella and other pathogens, can promote the growth of lactic acid bacteria, and the preparation of Clostridium butyricum had a good effect on improving the intestinal function of weaned piglets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Implementing a two-way design of alloys by combining ANN with GA. • Performance of machine learning prediction shows ANN can be well optimized by GA. • The alloy designed meets the loading and environmental requirements. Abstract Materials for advanced ultra-supercritical (A-USC) power plants with steam temperatures of 700 °C and above are extremely needed in order to achieve high efficiency and low CO 2 emissions. Alloy design based on machine learning is of great importance to explore the space to decide connections between compositions and performances. In this work, we employed an artificial neural network (ANN) in the machine learning framework to compete a two-way design which is defined by predicting the target properties and designing alloys over the dataset consisted of experimental data. Combined with Genetic Algorithm (GA), the ANN model was optimized to improve the accuracy over 98% by training and testing the full dataset. Meanwhile, the model can find the global optimization values of two performances: yield strength and creep rupture life eventually. With a true accuracy of over 90%, we designed a group of compositions of Ni based superalloy to meet the requirements of microstructures and properties for A-USC plants. Further experimental validation was also conducted, which proved that our ANN model optimized by GA can be used to predict and design superalloys for A-USC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel electrochemical aptasensing transducer platform has been developed based on carbon nanotube (CNT)-V 2 O 5 -chitosan (CS) nanocomposites modified screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE) for the detection of ciprofloxacin. Using CNT-V 2 O 5 -CS/SPCE as the basal electrode transducer platform for the immobilization of the single-stranded DNA aptamer, and the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was selected for quantitative detection of ciprofloxacin (CIP). This aptasensor combines the biocompatibility of V 2 O 5 nanoparticles, the efficient electron transfer capability of multiwalled CNTs, the effective film-forming strength of CS and the portability of SPCE. Under optimized experimental parameters, the developed aptasensor exhibited a dynamic range from 0.5 to 64.0 ng mL −1 , where the linearity was between 0.5 to 8.0 ng mL −1 and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.5 ng mL −1 of CIP. Furthermore, it showed good selectivity to CIP. For practical application, the aptasensor performance was verified in spiked milk samples and the acceptable recovery percentage of 94.50–97.87% (%RSD = 4.38, n = 3) was obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La (1- x )/3 Li x NbO 3 (LLNbO) solid solutions constitute a promising family of electrolyte materials for use in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLIBs) because of their good electrochemical stability in contact with Li metal. Even in monocrystalline form, however, their Li-ion conductivities are insufficient for practical use. Post-synthesis heat treatment is a commonly applied technique for modifying nano- and microstructures, and hence properties of materials, although the effect of thermal treatment on A-site deficient layered perovskites is not well understood. Here we combine high temperature in situ X-ray diffraction, atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations to examine the effect of quenching on LLNbO with Li contents x  ≈ 0.05 (Li-poor) and x  ≈ 0.1 (Li-rich). Quenching results in a number of nanostructural changes, including weakening of the modulated structure by disordering of La atoms and vacancies within A1 layers, and movement of some La and Li atoms from A1 layers into A2 layers. Rumpling of Nb-O-Nb layers in the [001] p direction also becomes less pronounced and domain boundaries disappear as a result of suppression of NbO 6 octahedral tilting. In the case of the Li-poor sample, the Li-ion conductivity decreased by about 66% after quenching, while that of the Li-rich sample increased by about 20%. Thus, despite success in displacing some cations from A1 to A2 layers, the combined effects of quenching failed to increase the Li-ion conductivities to useful levels. More effective means of increasing charge carrier concentrations while decreasing migration barrier energies in LLNbO need to be found if it is to be competitive as a solid electrolyte in ASSLIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly sensitive hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) gas sensors were developed from a semiconducting heterostructure composed of CuO microspheres whose surface was modified with CuFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles. The CuO microspheres were fabricated utilizing a simple heating route carried out in a water bath, while CuFe 2 O 4 modification of CuO was carried out by a facile two-step method. The morphology and characteristics of the samples were examined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry. The H 2 S gas sensing properties were examined at different operating temperatures, and their dependence on molar ratio of CuFe 2 O 4 to CuO was also investigated. Results showed that the response of the optimized CuFe 2 O 4 -modified CuO heterostructures to 10 ppm H 2 S gas was approximately 20 times higher than that of the initial CuO microspheres at the optimal operating temperature (240 °C). Moreover, a fast response/recovery was also noticed, and the mechanism for enhanced sensing properties of such heterostructures was thoroughly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile method was used to prepare Pd-doped CuO nanoflowers with various doping concentrations. The samples were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), and Brunauer – Emmett – Teller (BET) specific surface area analysis. The responses (R g /R a or R a /R g , where R g is the resistance in gas, and R a is the resistance in air) of such sensors exposed to 50 ppm CH 4 , NO 2 , C 2 H 5 OH, H 2 S, NH 3 , and H 2 were measured for comparison. For 1.25 wt% Pd-doped CuO nanoflowers, the response (R g /R a ) to 50 ppm H 2 S was 123.4 at 80 °C, which was significantly higher than that of pure CuO (R g /R a = 15.7). Furthermore, excellent stability and repeatability of the gas sensor were also demonstrated. The observed results clearly revealed that it is an important and facile approach to detect the H 2 S at low operating temperature for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La (1- x )/3 Li x NbO 3 (LLNbO) is a promising electrolyte material for solid-state lithium-ion batteries because it is stable in contact with Li metal and contains a high concentration of intrinsic Li-ion vacancies. One strategy for improving its ionic conductivity and making it more competitive with other solid-state Li-ion electrolytes is to disorder the Li-ion vacancies by appropriate post-synthesis heat treatment, e.g., annealing. In this study, we examine the effects of annealing on single crystals of LLNbO with Li contents x = 0.07 and 0.13 based on simultaneous atomic resolution high angle annular dark field and annular bright field imaging methods using state-of-the-art aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopes. It is found that La modulation within A1 layers of the cation-deficient layered perovskite structure becomes more diffuse after annealing. In addition, some La atoms move to A-site positions and O4 window positions in the nominally vacant A2 layer, while O atom columns in this layer become rumpled in the [001] p direction, indicating that the NbO 6 octahedra are more heavily distorted after annealing. The observed crystal structure differences between as-prepared and annealed single crystals explain the drop in Li-ion conductivities of LLNbO single crystals after heat treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid-state Li-ion battery electrolyte materials La (1- x )/3 Li x NbO 3 (LLNbO) are layered A-site-deficient perovskites with complex structural features resulting from their high intrinsic cation vacancy concentrations. We report an atomic-scale study of a series of single crystals of LLNbO with Li contents x = 0, 0.04, 0.07, and 0.13 using state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscopy. By combining high angle annular dark field and annular bright field imaging techniques, columns of heavy and light atoms could be imaged simultaneously with atomic resolution. Structure modulation within La-rich layers, observed in all samples, was strongest for Li content x = 0.07, the content which has been reported to exhibit the highest conductivity. Unlike for end member La 1/3 NbO 3 ( x = 0), for Li content x = 0.04, significant tilting of NbO 6 octahedra occurs, with regions of different tilting directions corresponding to nanodomains within the crystal. This tilting and the associated nanodomains are absent when x = 0.07, but occur again when x = 0.13, with even greater distortion of NbO 6 octahedra. These structural differences help explain the changes in Li-ion conductivity with Li content in LLNbO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The reactor with C/N supplementation to 11 by pistachio shells had the best performance. • The correlation between sludge characteristics and wastewater treatment effect was analyzed. • The simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal was realized when C/N was 11. • The main functional bacteria were classified according to the Miseq high-throughput sequencing results. Acid-pretreated pistachio shells were used as carbon sources to investigate the effects of carbon source dosage on simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal under different carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios (7, 9, and 11). Results showed that C/N was positively correlated with mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) (R2 = 0.998, p < 0.01) and f value (R2 = 0.975, p < 0.05). Moreover, it was negatively correlated with the sludge volume index (SVI) (R2 = − 0.959, p < 0.05). C/N was also significantly negatively related to chemical oxygen demand removal rate (R2 = − 0.986, p < 0.05) and positively related to ammonia nitrogen (NH 4 +-N), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) removal rate (p < 0.05), the correlation coefficients were 0.992, 0.990 and 0.994, respectively. In the reactor with C/N of 11, the MLSS concentration and f value were the highest, the SVI was the lowest, and the removal efficiencies of NH 4 +-N (85.49 % ± 1.96 %), TN (84.19 % ± 1.42 %) and TP (94.10 % ± 1.67 %) were the highest. Furthermore, the relative abundance of denitrifying bacteria was the highest in the reactor. The abundance of nitrifying bacteria and phosphorus-removal bacteria was also relatively high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problem of shortage of carbon source for biological denitrification in advanced treatment of the effluent from secondary treatment of sewage, five kinds of fruit shells (pistachio shell, peanut shell, ginkgo shell, walnut shell and hazelnut shell) were preliminarily selected from eight kinds of fruit shells for experiments of static carbon release and denitrification. The carbon release performance (amount and law of carbon release and biodegradability of released carbon) and denitrification performance of different shells were investigated. Results showed that the peanut shell had the largest amount of carbon release (0.88 mg chemical oxygen demand [COD] g−1) and the highest removal rate of nitrate (NO 3 −-N) (76.48% ± 4.06%). However, the released carbon could not be fully utilized by denitrifying bacteria, resulting in a (205.90% ± 59.49%) increase in effluent COD compared with influent. The amounts of carbon release of ginkgo nut shell, walnut shell, and hazelnut shell were low (0.45, 0.41, and 0.43 mg COD g−1, respectively). The released carbon could not be used easily by microorganisms. Meanwhile, the contents of degradable aromatic protein and protein-like in dissolved organic matter (DOM) were low. Even the fulvic acid–like with low biodegradability also appeared in the soaking solution of the hazelnut shell. The NO 3 −-N and total nitrogen aveage removal rates were low in these three fruit shells and showed the removals within the 54.10–57.25% range and 52.21%–54.24% range, respectively. The amount of carbon release of pistachio shell was lower than that of peanut shell. However, the released carbon of the former was more biodegradable than that of the latter. Moreover, the relative molecular mass of DOM was small, and the contents of aromatic protein and protein-like were much higher than those of the four other kinds of fruit shells. The NO 3 −-N removal rate (71.48% ± 0.98%) of pistachio shell was only slightly lower than that of peanut shell. In conclusion, pistachio shell was the best carbon source for biological denitrification in the advanced treatment. [Display omitted] • Fruit shells were used as solid carbon sources for biological denitrification. • The performances of different fruit shells as carbon sources were compared. • DOM was used to characterize the quality of carbon sources. • Pistachio shell had the best carbon source quality and wastewater treatment effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Develop a modularity data-driven scheme with high efficiency and accuracy to quantitatively describe microstructural evolution. • Practical application of the scheme on a simulated eutectic patterns evolution by the phase-field method. • Uncovering the dynamic variation of eutectic patterns under different interface energy and initial lamellar spacing conditions. Solid-liquid interface dynamics plays a crucial role in microstructure evolution during solidification. However, it is difficult to extract sufficient spatial information to describe the variation in the irregular and non-periodic solid-liquid interface domains, resulting in a challenge remaining in quantifying analysis by a quick and low-dimensionally visualized way. We proposed an interface-oriented two-point statistics method to solve the unbiassed statistics of the spatial information in these irregular and non-periodic interfaces. The challenge was successfully overcome by a carefully designed data-driven scheme, which has the advantages of easy to operate, high accuracy and efficiency. Taking the eutectic microstructure evolution simulated by phase-field method as an example, we also obtained novel insights on tailoring eutectic patterns, that is, the transformation of four patterns (lamellar elimination, regular lamellae, oscillatory eutectics and branching lamellae) depends on initial lamella spacing whether the interface energy is isotropic or anisotropic. Additionally, interfacial energy anisotropy, compared to the isotropic case, not only prolongs the time of patterns transformation, but also narrows the spacing range between elimination and creation of lamellae. Our proposed scheme is also able to be applied into more occasions about microstructure evolution in different materials systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing-structure (PS) linkages play a significant role in materials development. Nevertheless, currently there is a fascinating but of bottleneck task in terms of instantiating microstructure to understand and validate PS linkages. Its challenge lies on the lack of a robust method in computation efficiency and accuracy. Inspired from several advanced techniques such as hybrid input-output (HIO) algorithm, image processing operations and different-phase neighbors-based pixel swapping rule, we proposed a continually reactivating iterative-projection process (CRIP) method to address the challenge above. The output at each iteration in CRIP is continuously improved by eliminating and moving isolated or noise pixels towards an error-reduction direction to activate the iterative-projection process of the next iteration. The performance of the method was examined on two microstructure examples. It shows at least 99.86% improvement in convergence time compared with the classical simulated annealing algorithm and around 6.14 × 10−4 reduction in error compared with the traditional HIO algorithm. More importantly, CRIP is suitable for the task of instantiating microstructure from periodic two-point statistics predicted by PS linkage, which has been demonstrated by applying it to two experimental datasets of Ni-based superalloys and dual-phase steels. Our proposed method has the advantages of high efficiency, easy operation, reliable accuracy and remarkable generalization ability. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of polymer materials in sculpture art creation is extensive and plays a significant role in the development of sculpture art. This article aims to systematically explore the application of polymer materials in contemporary sculpture art creation. The research comprehensively applies various techniques such as literature research, data comparison, and case analysis to explore in detail the ways, methods, and paths of polymer materials employed in the shaping, decoration, and protection of sculptural artworks. First, the article analyzes three methods of shaping sculpture artworks with polymer materials (casting, printing, and constructing). Secondly, it explores two techniques of using polymer materials to adorn sculpture artworks (coloring and imitating texture); then it discusses the significant approach of using polymer materials to protect sculptural artworks (protective spray film). Finally, the research identifies the merits and demerits of using polymer materials in contemporary sculpture art creation. The findings of this study are expected to enrich the effective application of polymer materials in contemporary sculpture art creation and offer novel techniques and ideas for contemporary sculpture art creators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ceramicized polymer composites are prepared by adding various additives into the polymer matrix, such as functional clay fillers, porcelain-forming additives, crosslinking agents, flame retardants, reinforcement agents, etc. In recent years, polymer materials have been widely used in the preparation of ceramic materials. Moreover, the addition of polymer materials in ceramic materials results in increased bending in the ceramic body, and its mechanical strength has been greatly improved; this advantage has led many contemporary ceramists to use polymer materials in the creation of ceramic works, providing ceramic creation more space for operation. The introduction of polymer materials into ceramic materials brings more possibilities than traditional ceramic creation based on the tests of toughness, strength, and yield of the ceramic body. This article investigates ceramic raw materials with high-polymer material ceramic function, high-polymer materials for modern pottery to convey the artistic expression of porcelain texture, as well as the use of high-polymer materials in gel-powered three-dimensional (3D) printing to refine the injection molding process, all of which solve the difficulties of creating delicate artworks in modern ceramic art creation. This paper mainly adopts the research method of recording and comparing the numerical value of adding ceramic materials into polymer materials and the physical shape after firing in ceramic creation, to form a relatively stable numerical value and firing curve for a certain type of ceramic creation form. In this regard, the integration of modern ceramic creation and polymer materials makes ceramic works a relatively special style in contemporary art, increasing its cultural connotation and visual tension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ferroelectric Bi3.33Sm0.67Ti3O12 (BSmT) thin films have been fabricated on Pt/TiO x /SiO2/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition and their structural and ferroelectric properties have been characterized. The structure and morphology of the films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. About 520-nm-thick BSmT films grown at 700 °C exhibit excellent ferroelectric properties with a remanent polarization (2P r) of 41.8 μC/cm2 and coercive field (E c) of 91.0 kV/cm, at an applied electric field of 385 kV/cm. The leakage current density was 2.0×10−6 A/cm2 at a dc electric field of 200 kV/cm. The films also demonstrate fatigue-free behavior up to 109 read/write switching cycles with 1 MHz bipolar pulses at an electric field of 192 kV/cm. As a result, Sm-substituted bismuth titanate films with good ferroelectric properties and excellent fatigue resistance are useful candidates for ferroelectric memory applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Polycrystalline samarium-substituted ferroelectric bismuth titanate films (Bi3.45Sm0.55Ti3O12) were prepared on Pt/TiO x /SiO2/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition (CSD) and were annealed at various temperatures. For comparison, films with similar composition were grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and annealed at 700 °C. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy results showed similar crystallographic orientations and structures for the films fabricated using these different deposition methods. It was found that film crystallinity, structural, dielectric, ferroelectric and leakage current properties were strongly dependent upon the annealing temperature for CSD-derived films. Atomic force microscopy showed that film surface roughness values are comparable for both deposition methods following annealing at the same temperature, although PLD-grown films had a more uniform grain size. Cross-sectional images obtained by scanning electron microscopy revealed distinct grain shapes and structures: dense, columnar grains for PLD-grown films, spherical grains and a more porous structure for CSD-derived films. The remanent polarization of CSD-derived films increased with increasing annealing temperature. The PLD-grown films annealed at 700 °C showed higher remanent polarization (2P r =41.8 μC/cm2) and lower coercive field (E c =91 kV/cm), than CSD-derived films annealed at the same temperature (27.4 μC/cm2 and 121 kV/cm). The former also had a lower leakage current density (6.7×10−7 A/cm2) than the latter (4.6×10−6 A/cm2) at a dc electric field of 100 kV/cm (∼10 V), and both film types demonstrated fatigue-free behaviour up to 109 read/write switching cycles with 1 MHz bipolar pulses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, a bimorph flexural piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer (PUT) with improved design principles for distance measurement was discussed. The profiles of vibration modes of PUT have been measured by laser Doppler interferometry and compared with finite element analysis (FEA) results. The results show the measurement modes and FEA calculated ones are well matched. The combination and comparison between FEA and advanced measurement tools have provided much help to the design and fabrication of PUT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We investigate a phase transformation in a Ni-Cr-Fe-based high-temperature alloy during the technologically important carburization process, with multi-length scale experimental techniques. The study focuses on the formation and stability of novel austenitic islands formed within carbide structures during the M 23 C 6 to M 7 C 3 phase-transformation. We demonstrate that the austenitic islands nucleate near the M 23 C 6 /M 7 C 3 transformation front, from a supersaturation of metal atoms in the M 23 C 6 -carbide as M 7 C 3 grows. After formation, the austenitic islands equilibrate their composition with the matrix temporally but remain relatively stable inside the carbides due to their large sizes (a few hundred nanometers in diameter) and a weak Gibbs-Thomson effect. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accelerating design and development of new materials by establishing process-structure-property (PSP) linkages is one of the core contents of materials science. One of the challenges is how to accurately forecast the property by the features including chemical compositions, experiment conditions, and structure information. In this study, with consistent features in statistics and materials science, we proposed a microstructure-informatic strategy to achieve the goal of accurately predicting Vickers hardness of austenitic steels. Feature engineering including correlations analysis, importance ranking and microstructural features extraction was employed to ensure the most information contained in the features related to the property. Through training and comparing six regression models with different input features, we demonstrated that one of the models inputting microstructural features obtained by two-point statistics combined with principal component analysis (PCA) maintains the highest accuracy (absolute error≤13.63 MPa, relative error≤8.86%) and predictive stability (minimum error range). The excellent generalization ability of this model was validated by eight experimental instances unseen in the original dataset. We believe that our strategy can be used to guide future experiments due to its high precision. Most importantly, the strategy can be generalized to predict other mechanical properties controlled by microstructures in more material systems. Unlabelled Image • A microstructure-informatic strategy to accurately predict mechanical property of steels. • Integrated module by advanced techniques and approaches to adaptively capture the optimal mapping from input to output. • Prediction with small uncertainty of Vickers hardness of steels based on experiment data. • Informative microstructure features extracted by two-point statistics and principal component analysis methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) toward chemical and fuel production is a compelling component of the new energy system. Two‐dimensional bismuth with a particular surface has been identified as a highly efficient electrocatalyst for converting CO2 to formate. However, the development of a controllable synthetic strategy for possible large‐scale production of such Bi materials remains highly challenging. Herein, a scalable chemical interface confinement reduction method is proposed for topotactic transformation of BiOBr (001) nanosheets to metallic Bi (001) porous nanosheets (PNS). As expected, the Bi (001) PNS exhibits excellent electrochemical performance on CO2 reduction to formate, with Faradaic efficiency of 95.2% and formate partial current density of 72 mA cm−2. Density functional theory calculations suggest that Bi PNS selectively exposes (001) surfaces with small‐angle grain boundaries can significantly lower the free energy barrier for the formation of *OCHO, which are responsible for the high activity and selectivity toward CO2‐to‐formate conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexoelectric effect possesses potential applications in electromechanical conversion, and the flexoelectric coefficient of ferroelectrics is greatly larger than that of ordinary dielectrics. Among the ferroelectrics, BaTiO 3 (BT) ceramics are lead-free materials, also receive a high flexoelectric response. However, it is still inferior to the piezoelectric response of lead-based piezoelectric materials. Herein, we inhomogeneously added x wt. % ZrO 2 into BT ceramics (x wt. % ZrO 2 /BT ceramics, and x = 0.05, 0.5, 1, 2) to enhance the flexoelectric response of BaTiO 3 -based ceramics. The largest effective flexoelectric coefficients (μ ρ) of ∼800 μC/m at room temperature (RT) and ∼1500 μC/m near Curie temperature (T C ∼ 127 °C) were obtained in 0.5 wt % ZrO 2 /BT ceramics, which is ∼6.7 times and ∼3.9 times larger than that of the as-prepared BT ceramics at RT and near T C (∼131.7 °C here) respectively. Although T C of the 0.5 wt % ZrO 2 /BT ceramics decreases compared with that of BT ceramics, its higher μ ρ than that of the as-prepared BT ceramics maintains a wide temperature range, extending to 160 °C. The enhancement of the μ ρ of the 0.5 wt % ZrO 2 /BT ceramics is largely attributed to the compositional heterogeneity between grain boundaries gathered with irregular paraelectric and orthorhombic Ba(Zr, Ti)O 3 , and grains which are tetragonal BaTiO 3. The compositional heterogeneity is easily shaped into a strain gradient (namely a flexoelectric polarization), which plays a promoting effect on the flexoelectric coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-Ion Batteries: Cooling Induced Surface Reconstruction during Synthesis of High-Ni Layered Oxides (Adv. Keywords: high-Ni layered oxide cathodes; lithium-ion batteries; quenching; solid-state synthesis; surface reconstruction High-Ni layered oxide cathodes, lithium-ion batteries, quenching, solid-state synthesis, surface reconstruction. [Extracted from the article]

Transition metal layered oxides have been the dominant cathodes in lithium‐ion batteries, and among them, high‐Ni ones (LiNixMnyCozO2; x ≥ 0.7) with greatly boosted capacity and reduced cost are of particular interest for large‐scale applications. The high Ni loading, on the other hand, raises the critical issues of surface instability and poor rate performance. The rational design of synthesis leading to layered LiNi0.7Mn0.15Co0.15O2 with greatly enhanced rate capability is demonstrated, by implementing a quenching process alternative to the general slow cooling. In situ synchrotron X‐ray diffraction, coupled with surface analysis, is applied to studies of the synthesis process, revealing cooling‐induced surface reconstruction involving Li2CO3 accumulation, formation of a Li‐deficient layer and Ni reduction at the particle surface. The reconstruction process occurs predominantly at high temperatures (above 350 °C) and is highly cooling‐rate dependent, implying that surface reconstruction can be suppressed through synthetic control, i.e., quenching to improve the surface stability and rate performance of the synthesized materials. These findings may provide guidance to rational synthesis of high‐Ni cathode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nanocomposite was prepared from carbon nanotubes and MoSe2 (CNT-MoSe2). This nanomaterial quenches the fluorescence of fluorescein-labeled aptamers. When ciprofloxacin (CIP) binds to the aptamer, an aptamer/G-quadruplex complex will be formed and the interaction between labeled aptamer and CNT-MoSe2 nanostructures is weakened. This leads to significant fluorescence recovery. Under optimized experimental conditions, the limit of detection is 0.63 ng mL−1 with a good linearity in the range from 0.63 to 80 ng mL−1. The assay was applied to the determination of CIP in spiked milk, and the recoveries range between 94.3 and 97.0% (n = 3). Conceivably, the method is a generic approach that can be extended to the determination of other analyte for which adequate aptamers are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐temperature pyrolysis of nitrogen (N)‐rich, crystalline porous organic architectures in the presence of a metal precursor is an important chemical process in heterogeneous catalysis for the fabrication of highly porous N‐carbon‐supported metal catalysts. Herein, covalent triazine framework (CTF) and CTF‐I (that is, CTF after charge modulation with iodomethane) are presented as sacrificial templates, for the synthesis of carbon‐supported Ru catalysts—Ru‐CTF‐900 and Ru‐CTF‐I‐900 respectively, following high‐temperature pyrolysis at 900 °C under N2 atmosphere. Predictably, the dispersed Ru on pristine CTF carrier suffered severe sintering of the Ru nanoparticles (NPs) during heat treatment at 900 °C. However, the Ru‐CTF‐I‐900 catalyst is composed of ultra‐small Ru NPs and abundant Ru single atoms which may have resulted from much stronger RuN interactions. Through modification of the micro‐environment within the CTF architecture, Ru precursor interacted on charged‐modulated CTF framework shows electrostatic repulsion and steric hindrance, thus contributing toward the high density of single Ru atoms and even smaller Ru NPs after pyrolysis. A RuRu coordination number of only 1.3 is observed in the novel Ru‐CTF‐I‐900 catalyst, which exhibits significantly higher catalytic activity than Ru‐CTF‐900 for transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel blue-emitting triazine-containing hyperbranched amides with donor-acceptor architecture were designed and synthesized via a one-pot polycondensation using 2,4,6-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)-1,3,5-triazine (H3TATB) and p-phenylenediamine as reaction materials. The prepared polymers were characterized using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analyses. The two polymers are almost amorphous and are soluble in DMSO. Their solutions mainly emitted strong blue light (457-476 nm). The fluorescence quantum yields (QYs) in DMSO were calculated as 41% and 8% for P1-1 and P2-1, respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the highest occupied molecular orbit (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbit (LUMO) were effectively separated with p-phenylenediamine as a donor unit and H3TATB as an acceptor unit. The effective HOMO−LUMO separation helps to induce intramolecular charge transfer from the HOMO to the LUMO. This results a relatively small energy gap between the singlet and triplet excited states, and as a consequence, these polymers are expected to harness both singlet and triplet excitons for light emission, leading to high external electroluminescence efficiency. The merits of the two polymers are organo-solubility and high fluorescence quantum yield. Both P1-1 and P2-1 are sensitive fluorescent indicators for Fe3+ ion. They are potential useful in the area of blue light emitting, display and fluorescent chemosensor for Fe3+ ion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A machine learning model for eutectic high entropy alloys in Al–Co–Cr–Fe–Ni system are established. • The eutectics formation in the high entropy system is uncovered via data mining with machine learning. • A novel eutectic high entropy alloy design method with three steps is proposed. Eutectics in high entropy alloys (HEAs) have shown excellent properties and promising applications. With empirical rules, various of eutectic high entropy alloys (EHEAs) have been proposed. The current design strategies shed light on the formation of eutectics in HEAs, but they are incapable of confirming multiple variables quantitatively in the selection of a specific system. In the present study, the eutectic formation in the multi-principal element systems is uncovered via data mining with machine learning (ML), where the critical elements and strongly associated elements were discovered. Taking the Al–Co–Cr–Fe–Ni system as an example, Al is confirmed to be the critical element for the eutectic formation and Cr is the strongly associated element with Al, Ni, Co, Fe and minor additions with comparably large solid solubility can be considered overall. With these understandings, a three-step approach can be summarized for designing EHEAs in a given system. Within the designed EHEAs, properties can be tested for optimization of application orientated design. The findings can not only accelerate the exploitation of EHEAs with better performance but also provide new ideas for designing compositionally complex alloys. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin films of Er2O3 films were grown by atomic layer deposition using the Er precursor tris(1-(dimethylamino)-3,3-dimethylbut-1-en-2-olate)erbium(III) (Er(L1)3), with water as the co-reactant. Saturative, self-limited growth was observed at a substrate temperature of 200 °C for pulse lengths of ≥4.0 s for Er(L1)3 and ≥0.2 s for water. An ALD window was observed from 175 to 225 °C with a growth rate of about 0.25 Å per cycle. Er2O3 films grown at 200 °C on Si(100) and SiO2 substrates with a thickness of 33 nm had root mean square surface roughnesses of 1.75 and 0.75 nm, respectively. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the films were composed of polycrystalline Er2O3 at all deposition temperatures on Si(100) and SiO2 substrates. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed stoichiometric Er2O3, with carbon and nitrogen levels below the detection limits after argon ion sputtering to remove surface impurities. Transmission electron microscopy studies of Er2O3 film growth in nanoscale trenches (aspect ratio = 10) demonstrated conformal coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polytypism, or stacking disorder, in crystals is an important structural aspect that can impact materials properties and hinder our understanding of the materials. One example of a polytypic system is todorokite-MnO2, which has a unique structure among the transition-metal oxides, with large ionic conductive channels formed by the metal oxide framework that can be utilized for potential functionalization, from molecular/ion sieving to charge storage. In contrast to the perceived 3 × 3 tunneled structure, we reveal a coexistence of a diverse array of tunnel sizes in well-crystallized, chemically homogeneous one-dimensional todorokite- MnO2. We explain the formation and persistence of this distribution of tunnel sizes thermochemically, demonstrating the stabilization of a range of coherent large-tunnel environments by the intercalation of partially solvated Mg2' cations. Based on structural behavior of the system, compared to the common well-ordered alkali-stabilized polymorphs of MnO2, we suggest generalizable principles determining the selectivity of structure selection by dopant incorporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A surrogate model for dendritic microstructures in solidification is established. • A rational way to choose the reduced-order features is proposed. • Including more reduced-ordered features may worsen the microstructure prediction. Establishing a rigorous quantitative relationship between solidification parameters and microstructure is critical for facilitating the fabrication of metallic components with desired properties. Conventional approaches are time and effort intensive and lack a rigorous framework for the systematic and accurate quantification of microstructure. In this study, a novel data science approach is applied to extract high-value, computationally low-cost process-structure linkages from phase field simulations of dendritic grain growth during solidification. Reduced-order measures, which are adequate for identifying the salient features of microstructures and evaluating the effects of solidification process parameters, are obtained through two-point statistics and principal component analysis. Building on these reduced-order measures, computationally efficient surrogate models are established using various regression methods. It is demonstrated that the surrogate model with the best predictive performance can provide good predictions of not only the reduced-order measures but also the two-point statistics. Moreover, it is found that some reduced-order measures exhibit very complex relations with process parameters, which results in poor prediction accuracy. Compared with discarding the features with inaccurately predicted values, including them may lead to worse recovery of higher-order microstructure statistics. These results highlight the importance of microstructure feature selection in the improvement of prediction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mosquito-borne diseases threaten human health, but mosquito control faces various challenges, such as resistance to chemical insecticides. Thus, there is an urgent need for more effective and environment-friendly control agents. Capsaicin can downregulate the mTOR signaling pathway of tumor cells. The TOR signaling pathway can mediate the expression of vitellogenin (Vg) to regulate the fecundity of insects. Whether capsaicin has the potential to inhibit fecundity of mosquitoes by regulating TOR pathway and Vg expression is currently unclear. Methods: Anopheles stephensi were fed with blood of mice administered capsaicin by gavage or sugar containing capsaicin followed by a blood feeding with normal mice. Then, the engorged female mosquitoes were tubed individually and underwent oviposition. The eggs and individuals in the subsequent development stages, including larvae, pupae, and emerging adults, were counted and compared between the capsaicin treatment and control groups. Additionally, total RNA and protein were extracted from the engorged mosquitoes at 24 h post blood feeding. Real-time PCR and western blot were performed to detect the transcriptional level and protein expression of the key fecundity-related molecules of mosquitoes. Finally, TOR signaling pathway was inhibited via rapamycin treatment, and changes in fecundity and the key molecule transcription and protein expression levels were examined to verify the role of TOR signaling pathway in the effect of capsaicin on mosquito fecundity. Results: The laid and total eggs (laid eggs plus retained eggs) of An. stephensi were significantly reduced by feeding on the blood of capsaicin-treated mice (P < 0.01) or capsaicin-containing sugar (P < 0.01) compared with those in the control group. Moreover, the transcription and protein expression or phosphorylation levels of fecundity-related molecules, such as Akt, TOR, S6K, and Vg, were significantly decreased by capsaicin treatment. However, the effects disappeared between control group and CAP group after the TOR signaling pathway was inhibited by rapamycin. Conclusions: Capsaicin can decrease the fecundity of An. stephensi by inhibiting the TOR signaling pathway. These data can help us to not only understand the effect of capsaicin on the reproductive ability of An. stephensi and its underlying mechanism, but also develop new efficient, safe, and pollution-free mosquito vector control agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial-temporal correlations among the data play an important role in traffic flow prediction. Correspondingly, traffic modeling and prediction based on big data analytics emerges due to the city-scale interactions among traffic flows. A new methodology based on sparse representation is proposed to reveal the spatial-temporal dependencies among traffic flows so as to simplify the correlations among traffic data for the prediction task at a given sensor. Three important findings are observed in the experiments: (1) Only traffic flows immediately prior to the present time affect the formation of current traffic flows, which implies the possibility to reduce the traditional high-order predictors into an 1-order model. (2) The spatial context relevant to a given prediction task is more complex than what is assumed to exist locally and can spread out to the whole city. (3) The spatial context varies with the target sensor undergoing prediction and enlarges with the increment of time lag for prediction. Because the scope of human mobility is subject to travel time, identifying the varying spatial context against time lag is crucial for prediction. Since sparse representation can capture the varying spatial context to adapt to the prediction task, it outperforms the traditional methods the inputs of which are confined as the data from a fixed number of nearby sensors. As the spatial-temporal context for any prediction task is fully detected from the traffic data in an automated manner, where no additional information regarding network topology is needed, it has good scalability to be applicable to large-scale networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Samarium doping not only increases the population of icosahedral order (ICO), but also promotes the formation of icosahedral medium range order. • Nucleation of α-Al predominantly happens in local regions with high bond orientational order (BOO) and low concentration of ICO. • Decoupling of fluctuations in BOO and local density is not only reflected in spatial discrepancy, but also in temporal inconsistency. • Sm promotes thermodynamic interface penalty locally against crystallization, which is also significant to avoid the participation of Sm in nucleation. A systematic investigation on connections between structural characteristics and crystal nucleation during isothermal devitrification of Al–Sm glasses has been carried out by utilizing molecular dynamics simulations combined with an effective data-driven approach named principal component analysis. The results suggest that icosahedral order dominants the local orders in Al–Sm liquids and glasses, whereas the development of crystal-like clusters has been greatly suppressed. Doping of Sm not only increases the population of icosahedral order in Al–Sm alloys, but also promotes the tendency of formation of icosahedral medium range order. Based on the calculation of local density and bond-orientational order parameters, a distinct decoupling in spatial distributions of fluctuations in local density and bond-orientational order is observed, and an obvious lagging of densification behind structural ordering is unveiled. These facts unambiguously evidence that the bond-orientational order instead of local density is the determinant factor for the origin of crystal nucleation in Al–Sm glass. Bond orientational order instead of local density is the determinant factor for the origin of crystal nucleation. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the detection of a virus, tentatively identified as Seoul virus (SEOV), from a rat ( Rattus norvegicus) collected in the city of Zhangmu, Tibet. SEOV RNA was detected in lung tissue by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, followed by sequencing. Serum samples collected from Zhangmu were positive for SEOV-specific antibodies (indirect fluorescent antibody test that used SEO antigen). Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of partial L and S sequences together with serology results suggest that the Zhangmu01 hantavirus is an isolate of SEOV, that hantaviruses circulate in Tibet, and that rats may act as natural reservoirs for the virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel method of co-adding steel slag (SS) was proposed for humification. • Adding SS accelerated organic matter (OM) degradation by promoting microhabitat. • Adding SS enhanced the stability and complexity of bacterial community. • Adding 5%-SS was effective in enriching Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. • OM degradation was the primary factor affecting humification. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different proportions (0%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%) of steel slag (SS) on humification and bacterial community characteristics during phosphate-amended composting of municipal sludge. Compared with adding KH 2 PO 4 alone, co-adding SS significantly promoted the temperature, pH, nitrification, and critical enzyme activities (polyphenol oxidase, cellulase, laccase); especially organic matter (OM) degradation rate (25.5%) and humification degree (1.8) were highest in the 5%-SS treatment. Excitation-emission matrix-parallel factor confirmed that co-adding SS could promote the conversion of protein-like substances or microbial by-products into humic-like substances. Furthermore, adding 5%-SS significantly improved the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and the genes related to carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, and enhanced the interactions of bacterial community in stability and complexity. The partial least squares path model indicated that OM was the primary factor affecting humification. These results provided a promising strategy to optimize composting of municipal sludge via SS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conducting domain walls (DWs) induced by an in‐plane electric field applied to a mesa‐like cell fabricated at the surface of an insulating LiNbO3 single‐crystal film play a key role in the diode‐like DW memory. However, the lateral shrinking of the cell size below a 20 nm‐node technology becomes challenging due to the presence of interfacial layers with the finite thickness above 30 nm. In this work, 15 nm‐sized LiNbO3 cells are fabricated in high on/off current ratio of ≈102 on the SiO2/Si wafers immune to the interfacial‐layer effect, which can be operated below 5 V and also promising to meet the CMOS processing. It is found that the interfacial‐layer thickness reduces almost linearly with the shrinking cell size from 100 to 15 nm and the DW current increases by 25 times. The retention time of written information at +/−3 V is over 48 h, the domain switching time can approach 5 ns at 4 V in high switching endurance (≈109 cycles). These achievements imply the high storage density of a ferroelectric DW memory without the fundamental interfacial‐layer limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Flame propagation process of a coal-derived rocket kerosene was analyzed. • The Markstein length was measured and used to investigate the flame instability. • The laminar burning velocity and ignition delay times of the fuel were reported. • A kinetic model was proposed to describe the combustion chemistry of the fuel. The energy structure of coal-rich and oil-poor in China, makes the conversion of coal to liquid fuels an attractive option to reduce petroleum dependence. In this study, the combustion characteristics of a newly developed coal-derived rocket kerosene were investigated to provide fundamental parameters for evaluating the feasibility and compatibility of the new fuel in potential applications. The laminar flame propagation properties of the fuel were studied at pressures of 1, 2 and 5 bar over a temperature range of 423–483 K for equivalence ratio of 0.7–1.8 in a constant volume combustion bomb, and the auto-ignition characteristics of the target fuel were then experimentally studied in a heated shock tube. Flame propagation process was studied based on the recorded flame morphology firstly. The unsteady transition from spark assisted ignition kernel propagation to normal flame was analyzed and was found to become less conspicuous in flames with stronger reaction intensity (higher initial pressure or temperature) and smaller Lewis number (higher equivalence ratio). The Markstein length was extracted by extrapolating the flame trajectories and used to investigate the flame instability. The results shows that the increase of pressure, equivalence ratio enhance the flame instability, but the impact of initial temperature shows no prominent pattern. The laminar burning velocity and ignition delay times were reported over a wide range to strengthen the understanding of combustion characteristics of the new fuel. A kinetic model was proposed to simulate the combustion chemistry of the fuel and kinetic analysis was performed to identify the key reactions driving the flame propagation and auto-ignition. The present study is hoped to provide insights into the evaluation of fuel application in the future and database support for further combustion reaction kinetic mechanism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a new, high‐performance, Pb‐based nanocomposite anode material for lithium‐ion batteries. A unique nanocomposite structure of Pb@PbO core‐shell nanoparticles in a carbon matrix is obtained by using a simple high‐energy ball milling method using the low‐cost starting materials PbO and carbon black. Electrochemical performance tests show its excellent reversible capacity (≈600 mAh g−1) and cycle stability (92% retention at 100th cycle), which are one of the best values reported for Pb‐based anodes in the literature. Synchrotron X‐ray diffraction and absorption techniques revealed the detailed lithium storage mechanism that can be highlighted with the unexpectedly wide reversible Pb redox range (between Pb2+ and Pb4−) and the evolution of Zintl‐type LiyPb structures during the electrochemical lithium reaction. The results provide new insights into the lithium storage mechanism of these Pb‐based materials and their potential as low‐cost, high‐performance anodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]