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Open-pit mining activities inevitably affect the surrounding ecological environment. Therefore, it is crucial to clarify the disturbance characteristics of open-pit mining activities on the surrounding vegetation and scientifically implement ecological restoration projects. This study investigates the impact of open-pit coal mining in arid and semi-arid regions on surrounding vegetation from a vegetation phenology perspective. Initially, we construct a high-frequency time series of vegetation indices by Harmonized Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 surface reflectance dataset (HLS). These time series are then fitted using the Double Logistic and Asymmetric Gaussian methods. Subsequently, we quantify three pivotal phenological phases: Start of Season (SOS), End of Season (EOS), and Length of Season (LOS) from the fitted time series. Finally, utilizing mine boundaries as spatial units, we create a buffer zone of 100 m increments to statistically analyze changes in phenological phases. The results reveal an exponential variation in vegetation phenological metrics with increasing distance from the mining areas of Heidaigou-Haerwusu (HDG-HEWS), Mengxiang (MX), and Xingda (XD) in northwest China. Then, we propose a method to identify the disturbance range. HDG-HEWS, MX, and XD mining areas exhibit disturbance ranges of 1485.39 m, 1571.47 m, and 671.92 m for SOS, and 816.72 m, 824.73 m, and 468.92 m for EOS, respectively. Mineral dust is one of the primary factors for the difference in the disturbance range. The HDG-HEWS mining area exhibits the most significant disruption to vegetation phenological metrics, resulting in a delay of 6.4 ± 3.4 days in SOS, an advancement of 4.3 ± 3.9 days in the EOS, and a shortening of 6.7 ± 3.5 days in the LOS. Furthermore, the overlapping disturbance zones of the two mining areas exacerbate the impact on phenological metrics, with disturbance intensities for SOS, EOS, and LOS being 1.38, 1.20, and 1.33 times those caused by a single mining area. These research results are expected to provide a reference for the formulation of dust suppression measures and ecological restoration plans for open-pit mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subway alleviates the traffic pressure in the city but also brings the potential risk of land subsidence. The land subsidence caused by the subway is a global problem that seriously affects the safety of subway operations and surrounding buildings. Therefore, it is very important to carry out long-term deformation monitoring on the subway system. StaMPS-PS is a time-series Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) technique that serves as an effective means for monitoring urban ground subsidence. However, the accuracy of external (Digital Elevation Models) DEM will affect the accuracy of StaMPS-PS monitoring, and previous studies have mostly used SRTM-1 arc DEM (30 m) as the external DEM. In this study, to obtain a more precise measurement of surface deformation caused by the excavation of the Hohhot subway, a total of 85 scenes of Sentinel-1A data from July 2015 to October 2021, as well as two different resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) (ALOS PALSAR DEM and SRTM-1 arc DEM), were used to calculate and analyze the subsidence along the subway line in Hohhot city. The StaMPS-PS monitoring results showed the ALOS PALSAR DEM, as an external DEM, had higher accuracy, and there was regional subsidence in both the construction processes of Line 1 and Line 2 of the Hohhot subway, with a maximum subsidence rate of −21.1 mm/year. The dynamic changes in subway subsidence were fitted using the Peck formula and the long short-term memory (LSTM) model. The Peck formula results showed the width and maximum subsidence of the settlement troughs gradually expanded during the construction of the subway. The predicted values of the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of the LSTM model were less than 4 mm and 10%, respectively, consistent with the measured results. Furthermore, we discussed the factors that affect settlement along the subway line and the impact of two external DEMs on StaMPS-PS. The study results provide a scientific method for DEM selection and subsidence analysis calculations in the StaMPS-PS monitoring of urban subway subsidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate adoption of renewables has been lukewarm at best in Singapore. This study aims to identify the drivers and barriers to renewable procurement, establish key criteria for renewable energy certificates (RECs, a type of renewable energy product), and recommend policies to accelerate corporate renewable energy adoption in Singapore. We surveyed seven drivers, 12 barriers, nine criteria of RECs, and 11 actions for REC adoption with 35 experienced professionals from major business sectors in Singapore. The top three drivers of corporate renewable procurement were to meet corporate sustainability goals, reduce energy procurement costs, and demonstrate corporate leadership. The most concerning criterion of RECs was traceability that RECs must be generated and transacted through a REC tracking system endorsed by the government or a third party. The most significant barrier to REC adoption was the lack of awareness of RECs and their benefits. Plausible actions to address the barriers include seeking support from senior management, establishing corporate sustainability targets, developing national standards for RECs, promoting successful local business cases, and for government to endorse private-sector REC tracking system(s). The findings could raise corporate awareness and assist policymakers in formulating policies, infrastructure, and initiatives to accelerate renewable energy adoption in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Measure the solubility profile of gemcitabine form A in pure and mixed solvents; • Investigate the mechanism of weak solubility through non-specific and specific interactions by using the method of KAT-LSER analysis; • Present the specific interaction in terms of hydrogen bonding in aqueous with the preferential solvation parameters; • The quantitative analysis of the local surface electrostatic potential of gemcitabine molecule was completed; • Some thermodynamic parameters of dissolution process were evaluated. To understand the solvation mechanism of gemcitabine in pure and mixed solvents, its mole fraction solubility was investigated. The results show that the maximum solubility in mole fraction at 318.15 K is 2.158 × 10-2 in methanol, followed by the sequence of ethanol > isopropanol > n-propanol > water > ethyl acetate. The strictly monotonic decreasing of solubility in ethyl acetate + ethanol / isopropanol mixtures further confirms that gemcitabine does not belong to weakly polar compounds. Based on the quantitative analysis of the local surface electrostatic potential of gemcitabine molecule, the dissolution behavior was investigated in the light of molecular interactions between solvent and gemcitabine via multiple linear regression analysis of the solvent effect. The preferential solvation parameters of gemcitabine in two binary mixtures were derived from their thermodynamic properties by means of the inverse Kirkwood-Buff integrals method. The preferential solvation parameter δx 1,3 is positive in alcohols-rich but negative in intermediate compositions and ethyl acetate-rich. It is conjecturable that in alcohols-rich mixtures the solvent action of ethyl acetate may be related to the breaking of the slightly ordered structure of alcoholic molecules around the polar moieties of gemcitabine which decreases the solvation of this solute. While, in intermediate compositions and ethyl acetate-rich, possibly the interaction due to acidic hydrogen bonding by alcoholic molecules with the basic sites of gemcitabine molecule plays an important role in the solvation process. Additionally, the correlation fitting of solubility profile was performed through the some thermodynamic models, furthermore, different solvent parameters involving Abraham solvation parameters (AP i), Hansen solubility parameters (HP i), and Catalan parameters (CP i) were used to quantify the relationship between solvent properties and solubility profile in neat solvents, and the maximum mean relative deviations (MRD %) was 5.88 %. The dissolution process is an "endothermic and entropy-driven" process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryopreservation is essential for the long‐term storage of primary cell samples and enables accessing primary cells anytime via a simple thawing process. However, low viability and cell fragmentation are the major issues for cryopreserved cell samples due to the toxicity of cryoprotective agents and crystallization of intracellular contents during cooling at low temperature. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in high viability are critical for pathophysiological and therapeutic research of infectious diseases, especially for the current worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019. Conventional viability enrichment techniques for primary PBMC samples provoke either cryoinjury caused by cell sorting mechanism or substantial cell loss due to multiple sample preparation steps. Here, a label‐free viability assessment and on‐demand enrichment system for cryopreserved primary human PBMCs with validation by fluorescent label‐based flow cytometry, is demonstrated. It can provide consistent viability assays by discriminating viable PBMCs from apoptotic, DMSO toxicity‐induced dead cells and cell debris, and deliver over 90% viability of sorted samples in one step after thawing. This integrated cell viability assay and on‐demand enrichment of viable cells has broad applications in diverse cellular biology research and cell‐related biomedical diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A linear weighted model coupling AHP and Entropy (AELW) is proposed to calculate indicator weight. • The eco-geo-environmental vulnerability (EGEV) of Zhungeer City was assessed and mapped via the AELW model and multi-source data integration. • EGEV of towns and open-pit mining aggregation areas are analyzed. • This study provides some practical suggestions for reducing regional EGEV and adaptive management. Assessing the ecological and geological environment vulnerability (EGEV) of cities arid and semi-arid regions is important for urban planning, development, and ecological protection. This study investigated the ecological and geological environmental problems and possible potential risk factors in Zhungeer City and constructed an EGEV assessment index system covering the geological environment, human activities, coal mining, and hydrological conditions. We proposed a linear weighted model to calculate the comprehensive weight of each indicator using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Entropy method based on distance function optimization (AELW), and frequency ratio accuracy is then introduced to compare the remarkable classification performance between AELW and other models. The frequency ratio accuracy results show that AELW model has the highest accuracy for EGEV assessment (62.77 %), followed by Multiplicative Integrated Normalization Model (MINM, 61.46 %), AHP (60.98 %), Ideal Point Model (IPM, 60.30 %) and Entropy (53.55 %). The EGEV of Zhungeer was classified as I-V from lowest into highest, among which the EGEV of I-II-III accounted for 78.15 %, EGEV of IV accounted for 16.42 %, and the EGEV of V risk area accounted for 5.43 %, with a good overall ecological and geological environment quality. These results can provide tangible management suggestions for reducing EGEV in Zhungeer city, and the AELW model provides direction for EGEV assessment in other similar areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two major trends are changing the face of the construction industry. Sustainability concerns are driving innovations to improve building's energy efficiency while advances in prefabrication are improving buildings’ speed, cost, and quality. As new materials and techniques emerge, their overall environmental impact must be evaluated using techniques such as life cycle assessment (LCA). This paper reports a life cycle assessment (LCA) of an innovative magnesium oxide structural insulated panel (MgO SIP) used for a high-performance smart home in Vancouver. The LCA compares the environmental impacts across six indicators for the MgO SIPs, traditional SIPs, and traditional stick-frame construction across the life cycle phases of raw material extraction, manufacturing, transportation, construction, and operation. The results show that the MgO SIPs do not outperform conventional alternatives notably due to the long-distance transportation of materials. However, further LCA of hypothetical scenarios demonstrates that MgO SIPs have a great potential to become more environmentally friendly than the conventional alternatives by sourcing MgO domestically, implementing local or onsite manufacturing, and designing the MgO SIPs without oriented strand board. Although the results are context-dependent, the investigation of hypothetical scenarios offers insight to improve the environmental performance of this innovative product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeowners, the largest group of stakeholder in the building sector, are often under-served and suffer from difficulty in pursuing a green home. Few sustainability assessments and decision-making tools have been created for nonprofessionals. This research adopted a design science method to create an integrated path for green renovation to make it easy for homeowners to make sustainable renovation decisions. A tool named SWAHO (Sustainability Weighting Assessment for Homeowners) plays a central role in the proposed path for green renovation. SWAHO enables tradeoffs among renovation actions based on the homeowner’s perception of sustainability. The conceptual model of SWAHO integrates all the tasks of a green renovation, from decisions on renovation actions to ordering products. A prototype of SWAHO was developed that considers 48 renovation actions and 12 sustainability criteria, and a knapsack problem technique was used to optimize solutions. Prototype testing, through surveys, user interviews, and internal consistency checks, showed that SWAHO provides a useful approach for supporting green renovation actions by homeowners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Two new pyrene-cored covalent organic polymers (COPs), CK-COP-1 and CK-COP-2, were synthesized via the one-step polymerization of two thiophene-based isomers, 1,3,6,8-tetra(thiophene-2-yl) pyrene ( L1) and 1,3,6,8-tetra(thiophene-3-yl) pyrene ( L2). The resulting pyrene-cored COPs exhibit rather different surface areas of 54 m2 g−1 and 615 m2g−1 for CK-COP-1 and CK-COP-2, respectively. The CO2 uptake capacities of CK-COP-1 and CK-COP-2 also show different values of 2.85 and 9.73 wt % at 273 K, respectively. Furthermore, CK-COP-2 offers not only a larger CO2 adsorption capacity but also a better CO2/CH4 selectivity at 273 K compared with CK-COP-1. CK-COP-1 and CK-COP-2 also exhibit considerable differences in their photophysical property. The different structure and properties of CK-COPs could be attributed to the isomer effect of their corresponding thiophene-based monomers. © 2017 Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 2383-2389 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied how irradiation with fast (14 MeV) and thermal (<0.4 eV) neutrons affected the properties of GaN PIN diodes, measuring their I-V characteristics before and after irradiation. Irradiation with fast neutrons caused the carrier removal effect when the reverse bias was low. Irradiation with thermal neutrons significantly increased the reverse-bias current, possibly because of damage to the passivation layer, defects induced in the GaN, and defects near the metal/GaN interface acting as tunneling sites. However, the forward current decreased both after fast neutron radiation and after thermal neutron radiation. Irradiation with thermal neutrons destroyed the SiO2 passivation layer. The crystal quality and optical properties of the GaN PIN diodes were characterized by examining changes in the photoluminescence (PL) and micro-Raman scattering spectra. As the fluence of neutrons increased, the yellow luminescence (YL) intensity increased because of the increase in \text V\mathrm {{Ga}} -related defects. Irradiation with fast and thermal neutrons destroyed the lattice integrity and changed the strain state of the devices, which was the main reason for the shift in the \text E\mathrm {{2}}^{\mathrm {{high}}} phonon mode. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For over half a century, traditional silicon-based integrated circuits (ICs) have been the basis of computational electronics and are widely used in computers, cell phones, and other fields. With the rapid development of human society, silicon-based semiconductor technology is approaching its physical and engineering limits. Our increasing diversity of non-traditional computing needs, such as ultra-small, ultra-fast, ultra-low-power wearables, and space radiation protection, is driving the search for new electronic materials. Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) have many excellent electrical properties, such as high carrier mobility and high ballistic transport, making them strong candidates for new semiconductor materials in the post-Moore era. Carbon-based electronic technology has been developed for over 20 years, and the fundamental issues such as the material purification of s-SWCNTs, preparation prospects of s-SWCNT-based field-effect transistors (CNT FETs), and device physics based on CNT FETs have been basically solved. However, the chiral diversity of s-SWCNTs may lead to problems such as fluctuations in the electrical performance of CNT FETs, limiting the application of s-SWCNTs in high-end ICs. Monochiral s-SWCNTs not only have excellent electrical properties but also have a controllable structure and uniformity, which are crucial for the high-end IC of CNTs. However, some problems exist in the purity and yield of monochiral s-SWCNT preparation and the optimization of monochiral CNT FETs. Therefore, the chiral sorting of CNTs is reviewed in this paper, and the progress of polymer reprocessing in chiral separation is highlighted. Then, the research progress of monochiral CNT FETs is introduced, and possible development directions are summarized and analyzed. Finally, the application prospects of chiral-enriched s-SWCNTs include challenges and future opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The CdS/MIL-53(Fe) composites, as an advanced photocatalyst, achieve efficient H 2 production coupled with benzyl alcohol oxidation without sacrificial agents, obtaining two high value-added products simultaneously under visible light. [Display omitted] • The CdS/MOF composites were prepared, solving the defects of individual components. • Realizing photocatalytic H 2 production coupled with benzyl alcohol oxidation. • CdS/MIL-53(Fe) shows high photocatalytic activity, superior to single CdS and MOF. • Adopting Z-scheme transfer mechanism, which shortens the charge transfer pathway. Photocatalytic H 2 production or photocatalytic organic oxidation has been extensively studied. However, due to the limitation of the half-reaction, the overall photocatalytic process is unfavorable. Herein, we have coupled H 2 production and selective oxidation of organic substrates benzyl alcohol to realize an overall redox cycle reaction without sacrificial agent, which simultaneously obtain two high value-added products of H 2 and benzaldehyde in one reaction. The CdS-decorated MOF composites (namely, CdS/MIL-53(Fe)) have been synthesized, and exhibited high photocatalytic activity of H 2 (2334 μmol g-1h−1) and benzaldehyde yield (2825 μmol g-1h−1), far exceeding the single component of CdS and MOF, under irradiation of visible light. Photoluminescence (PL), photocurrent, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Mott-Schottky measurements indicate that the Z-scheme photocatalyst of CdS/MOF composites has faster charge transfer and inhibit the recombination of photo-generated charges, ultimately improve photocatalytic activity. This work provides an overall reaction strategy to obtain two meaningful products at the same time, and also provides ideas for the preparation and mechanism research of advanced Z-scheme photocatalysts for semiconductor/MOF composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Multi- physical properties-based label-free particle sorting. • Tunable acoustofluidic system integrated with elasto-inertial particle focusing. • Particle separation at submicron size difference. • Separation of particles with the same size but different material properties. Acoustophoretic manipulation has been drawing great attention in the area of microfluidics-based cell/particle isolation and sorting due to its advantages of high biocompatibility, contactless manipulation and fabrication simplicity. Most label-free microfluidic particle sorting methodologies are solely based on a single physical property for example particle size, density or material composition, which hinder their broad usage in various applications. In this work, we demonstrate a tunable acoustofluidic device for continuous particle separation based on multi-physical properties such as size, density, compressibility and speed of sound. The tunable acoustofluidic system utilizes an elasto-inertial particle focusing technique to align particles into a single line and integrates a slanted interdigitated transducer (SFIT) that generates a tunable travelling surface acoustic wave to separate the particles with improved sorting accuracy and efficiency. The presented acoustofluidic sorting device allows the generation of a variable frequency from 99 MHz to 247 MHz corresponding to the wavelength 40 μm and 16 μm using the SFIT. We have successfully sorted 5.26 μm from 5 μm polystyrene particles at 90 % accuracy with a relative size difference of 5.2 %. Furthermore, a theoretical analysis of acoustic radiation force (ARF) exerted on rigid particles of different materials (i.e., polystyrene, PLGA, PMMA) is presented. Based on the optimal frequencies identified in the theoretical analysis, we have also experimentally demonstrated effective sorting of the three above-mentioned materials of particles with the same particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We reviewed the application of MOF materials in removal of Hg2+ ions. • We described the advantages of MOF membrane in removal of Hg2+ ions. • We propose the current problems faced by Hg2+ ions treatment and future solutions. Mercury pollution of water has caused serious health problems in humans. Therefore, reducing the mercury content into the drinking water standard is currently a priority measure. As a kind of porous frame materials with adjustable structure and easy to design and synthesize, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) materials have attracted widespread attention. Their large specific surface area and adjustable pores make MOFs an excellent platform for removing mercury metals from water. In this review, we discussed the mercury removal performance of functionalized MOF powder materials, including sulfur-functionalized MOF, nitrogen-functionalized MOF, nitrogen-sulfur co-functionalized MOF, MOF composites and MOFs-derived materials. Compared to MOF powder materials, MOF membranes can easily recycle and effectively avoid secondary pollution. Therefore, we also reviewed nanofiber MOF membranes and polymer-supported MOF membranes. At the same time, in order to further explore the potential of MOF materials in heavy metal adsorption, we also introduced the current problems and challenges faced by MOF materials in detail, and proposed future research directions and difficulties to be overcome. We will hope that the review may provide more researchers with a more comprehensive, intuitive, clear cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the state-of-the-art smart building research by a bibliometric analysis, a content analysis, and a qualitative review. The bibliometric analysis of 364 academic papers shows that smart building is a burgeoning, interdisciplinary field with a relatively high international collaboration level. Keyword's clustering identified two major themes: (1) IoT, WSN, and cloud computing for automation control and (2) the balance between energy efficiency and human comfort based on continuous monitoring and machine learning. The content analysis statistically detected a transition from the cyber-physical system (CPS) to the human-cyber-physical system (HCPS) in smart building research. We therefore proposed an HCPS framework with three dimensions—cyber-physical scale, human needs, and human roles—to summarize current research and discover potential gaps. Under this framework, five HCPS future research directions for occupants-centered smart buildings were proposed: adaptive building envelope, integrated building management system, enhanced building energy management, adaptive thermal comfort, and microgrid adoption. [Display omitted] • Conducted a bibliometric analysis of smart building research. • A statistical content analysis of 364 papers shows a transition from CPS to HCPS. • Proposed an HCPS framework to brainstorm potential research focus. • Proposed five HCPS future research directions for smart buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the conditions of the dip-coating method of SiO2 nanospheres are optimized, and a neatly arranged single-layer SiO2 array is obtained. On this basis, a "top-down" inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique is used to etch the p-GaN layer to prepare a periodic triangular nanopore array. After the etching is completed, the compressive stress in the epitaxial wafer sample is released to a certain extent. Then, die processing is performed on the etched LED epitaxial wafer samples. The LED chip with an etching depth of 150 nm has the highest overall luminous efficiency. Under a 100 mA injection current, the light output power (LOP) of the etched 150 nm sample is 23.61% higher than that of the original unetched sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Through energy band engineering to optimize the interior inorganic structure and passivate the surface defects, the designed and prepared water-soluble MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs with PL quantum yield up as high as 70% and mono-exponential PL decay dynamics were generated. By optimizing the thickness of CdS shell, the MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs probe with appropriate CdS shell thickness exhibited excellent linear linearity and sensitivity for the detection of Cu2+ ions with limit of detection as low as 0.05 nM. This results provided new insights to design and synthesize high-performance QDs-based fluorescence probes with controllable exciton emission behavior for their applications in biosensor and biological fields. • The MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs with controllable exciton behavior exhibited mono-exponential PL decay dynamics. • The sensing system had excellent sensitivity for Cu2+ determination with the detection limit as low as 0.05 nM. • The fluorescence quenching mechanism of MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs towards Cu2+ was discussed in details. • The proposed method was simple, low lost, and highly sensitivity. Improving the sensitivity of the fluorescence method is crucial in biosensor fields. In this study, an ultrasensitive and excellent selectivity method was developed for the detection of trace Cu2+ ions using 3-mercaptopropionic acid capped CdSSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots (MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs) as a fluorescent probe. Through energy band engineering to optimize the interior inorganic structure and passivate the surface defects, the photoluminescence quantum yield of the MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs in aqueous solution had as high as 70 %. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis revealed the prepared CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs were cubic zinc blende structure with average diameter 7.2 nm. Further, the fluorescence of the MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs was significantly quenched by the Cu2+ with fast response time through an efficient photo-induced electron transfer (PET) progress. By optimizing the thickness of CdS shell, the MPA-CdSSe/CdS/ZnS QDs probe with appropriate CdS shell thickness exhibited excellent linear linearity and sensitivity for the detection of Cu2+ ions with limit of detection as low as 0.05 nM, originating from the CdSSe core QDs possessed a gradient alloy internal structure and photon-generated electrons on the conduction band of CdSSe core QDs were easier delocalized to sample surface. Additionally, ions interference experiments demonstrated the good selectivity of the probe towards Cu2+. Furthermore, this sensing system could also be applied to the measurement of Cu2+ ions in real water samples with satisfactory recoveries. This work provided new insights to design and synthesize high-performance QDs-based fluorescence probes with controllable exciton emission behavior for their applications in biosensor and biological fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing availability of satellite monitoring data, the demand for storage and computational resources for updating the results of monitoring the surface subsidence in a mining area continues to rise. Sequential adjustment (SA) models are considered effective for rapidly updating time series interferometry synthetic aperture radar (TS-InSAR) measurements. However, the accuracy of surface subsidence values estimated through traditional sequential adjustment is highly sensitive to abnormal observations or prior information on anomalies. Moreover, the surface subsidence associated with mining exhibits nonlinear and large gradient characteristics, making general InSAR methods challenging for obtaining reliable monitoring results. In this study, we employ the phase unwrapping network (PUNet) to obtain unwrapped values of differential interferograms. To mitigate the impact of abnormal errors in the near real-time small baseline subset InSAR (SBAS-InSAR) sequential updating process in mining areas, a robust sequential adjustment method based on M-estimation is proposed to estimate the temporal deformation parameters by using the equivalent weight model. Using a coal backfilling mining face in Shanxi, China, as the study area and the Sentinel-1 SAR dataset, we comprehensively evaluate the performance of unwrapping methods and subsidence time series estimation techniques and evaluate the effect of filling mining on surface subsidence control. The results are validated using leveling measurements within the study area. The relative error of the proposed method is less than 5%, which can meet the requirements of monitoring the surface subsidence in mining areas. The method proposed in this study not only enhances computational efficiency but also addresses the issue of underestimation encountered by InSAR methods in mining area applications. Furthermore, it also mitigates unwrapping phase anomalies on the monitoring results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gemcitabine (GEM) and its derivatives of deoxycytosine is a promising anticancer candidate which is effective for the treatment of various cancers including lung cancer via cascade targetting Erk/Mek/Raf/Ras pathway and blocking the proliferation of the tumor cells. In this present work, we have described reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in the presence of anticancer utilizing ascorbic acid as reducing agents for lung cancer treatment. GEM reduced graphene oxide (termed as GEM-rGO) has resulted in a smooth and transparent morphological surface, which was confirmed by various spectroscopical investigations. The anticancer drug-loaded rGO has displayed remarkable cytotoxic activities against a panel of lung cancer cell lines when compared to the untreated lung cancer cells. Further, we examined the morphological observation of the cancer cell death was monitored through the fluorescence microscopic examinations. In addition, the cell deaths of the lung cancer cells were observed by the flow cytometry analyses. In addition, the non-toxic nature of potent GEM-rGO and GEM-rGO + NIR was confirmed by in vivo systemic toxicity analysis. Besides, the higher safety feature of the GEM-rGO and GEM-rGO + NIR was evidenced by histological analyses of the mice organs. The subcutaneous injection of GEM-rGO and GEM-rGO + NIR into mice bearing A549 xenografts more effectively inhibited the tumor than the free GEM. Based on the outcomes, we can summarise that the GEM reduced graphene oxide (GEM-rGO) can be used as a promising drug candidate for the treatment of lung cancer in the future. Unlabelled Image • We have efficiently fabricated Gemcitabine reduced graphene oxide (GEM-rGO). • Improved in vitro cytotoxicity against A549 and HEL-299 lung carcinoma cells. • GEM-rGO effectively induces apoptosis in human lung carcinoma cells. • The apoptosis mechanism was confirmed by flowcytometry techniques. • GEM-rGO shows less toxicity in animal models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There are direct and indirect paths of phenological influence on herbaceous AGB. • The paths and degrees of phenological influence differ between sedges and grasses. • These influences are related to herbaceous organ adjustments and survival strategies. Indirect influences of phenology on productivity (e.g., phenology-functional traits-productivity) could exist due to close associations between phenology and plant functional traits, which may further result in the divergent responses of vegetation biomass to phenology among plant functional groups (PFGs). Here, we introduced functional traits (i.e., plant height and growth rate) to analyse the influences of phenology on aboveground biomass (AGB) of two symbiotic PFGs based on 19-year in-situ observational data for plant phenology at 7 sites across the Tibetan Plateau alpine grasslands. The vegetative growth phase (VGP) and reproductive growth phase (RGP) were calculated according to the observed green-up date, first flowering date and first fruit-ripening date. The commonality analysis and structural equation modelling were applied to explore the paths and degrees of phenological influence on AGB. The results showed that the phenological influences on herbaceous AGB included both direct ("phenology-AGB") and indirect paths ("phenology-functional traits-AGB") and differed between two PFGs. Phenological metrics, especially VGP, were the key factors driving the adjustment (path coefficients |w| = 0.19 – 0.67), although maximum plant height (H max) contributed to the most to the AGB (|w| = 0.78). Specifically, the grasses had two indirect phenological influence paths on AGB, while the sedges had multiple direct and indirect influence paths. Comparing the differences in phenology and functional traits between two PFGs, our study implied that grasses may tend to preferentially adjust vegetative (stem) growth via phenology, while sedges may tend to preferentially adjust root and reproductive growth via phenology, which could be relevant to the differences in the synthesis, accumulation, allocation, and decomposition of organic matter in diverse organs and the growth and reproduction strategies, competition and symbiosis of different PFGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetron sputtering is adopted to deposit ~25 nm thick AlN on the surface of hexagonal BN(h-BN)/sapphire substrates, followed by epitaxial GaN growth on top of the AlN/h-BN/sapphire substrate using a metal–organic chemical vapor deposition system. Compared to GaN grown on the h-BN/sapphire surface directly, this method results in a continuous and smooth GaN film with a smaller root mean square roughness. Besides, the introduction of the sputtered AlN layer reduces the dislocation density of GaN by 35.7%. We provide a pathway of GaN epitaxy on the h-BN surface, which significantly improves its surface morphology and crystal quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• PMV/PPD based long-term indices do not correlate with the subjective evaluations. • The best existing index is %time that operative temperature falls outside a range. • Indices based on mean and overall variance of temperature have moderate performance. • The best new index is the frequency of daily temperature range exceeding 2 °C. • We recommend a new, combined index to evaluate long-term thermal comfort. Thermal comfort standards have suggested a number of physical indices which can be calculated from either building simulations or in situ physical monitoring to assess the long-term thermal comfort of a space. However, the prohibitively high cost of sensor technologies has limited the applications of these physical indices, and their usefulness has never been established using data collected in real buildings. This paper is the first assessment of the six types of existing indices (23 total) found in standards and five types of new indices (36 total) and their correlation with the long-term thermal satisfaction of building occupants. Correlation analyses were based on continuous thermal comfort measurements and post-occupancy evaluation surveys from four air-conditioned office buildings in Sydney, Australia. We found that the majority of existing indices, especially those based on predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) metrics, have a weak correlation with thermal satisfaction. The percentage of time outside a temperature range was the best-performing index from the standards (r = - 0.63). A new index based on the percentage of time that daily temperature range is greater than a threshold reported the strongest correlation (r = - 0.8) with thermal satisfaction for this dataset. The results suggest that occupants' long-term thermal comfort is influenced more by pronounced excursions beyond some acceptable temperature range and large variations in daily temperature than the average experience over time. These findings support the use of continuous monitoring technologies for long-term thermal comfort evaluation and inform potential amendments of international thermal comfort standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain excellent current spreading performance of ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UVLEDs), a 60-period stacked Si modulation-doped n-AlGaN/u-GaN structure is proposed to replace the traditional n-AlGaN structure. The high-resolution X-ray diffraction ω-scan rocking curves show that the periodic growth of AlGaN and GaN layers plays a positive role in reducing dislocation density. Compared with the conventional UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs), light emission micrographs of devices with a multi-layer stacked n-AlGaN/u-GaN structure reveal higher brightness and a more uniform distribution. In addition, the output power and external quantum efficiency under a 20-mA injection current are increased by 22% and 26.5%, respectively. Experimental and simulation results indicate that a multi-layer stacking structure can alleviate the current crowding effect in four ways: (1) a reduction in dislocation density; (2) replacement of quasi-two-dimensional electron transport with electronic bulk transport to enhance electron mobility; (3) an increase in electron concentration without improving the impurity concentration; and (4) a weakening of the electron scattering effect by reducing the impurity concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant carbon emissions from construction sites necessitate improved management through integrating diverse data sources. Ontologies are widely employed for data integration but there is an absence of domain-specific ontologies for carbon emissions management during construction. We developed a Carbon Emission Management Ontology (CEMO) utilizing a hybrid development approach. CEMO comprises eight modules, namely Project, Quantity of Works, Environment Parameters, Agents, Equipment, Observation, KPI, and Calculation. To assess its efficacy, CEMO was evaluated by experts based on criteria such as clarity, coverage, consistency, and extensibility. The feasibility and effectiveness of CEMO were demonstrated through a case study, showcasing its utility in carbon intensity calculation and evaluation of earned carbon value. CEMO facilitates seamless integration of data from disparate sources, enabling real-time and automated management of onsite carbon emissions as well as disclosure of carbon-related information. [Display omitted] • A construction ontology is proposed for carbon emission management. • The ontology integrates diverse carbon emission data sources. • Instantiated ontology supports carbon key performance indicator computation. • The ontology enables near real-time tracking of construction carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenide (e.g., MoS2) material can withstand large strains up to 11% to change its energy band structure, thereby further tuning its optical, electrical, and other physical properties. However, the slippage of 2D materials on substrate hammers the further strain tuning of the properties of 2D materials. Hereby, a facile three points approach combined with a dry transfer method that can apply uniaxial strain to two-dimensional materials is provided. The slippage of WSe2 on polycarbonate (PC) substrate can be suppressed by thermally annealing WSe2/PC in low pressure Ar atmosphere above 100 °C for 3 h. Straining cycle evolution experiments revealed that the thermal annealing of (1L) WSe2 could suppress slippage from the surface of the PC. The spectral gauge factor of 1L WSe2 is found to be around -60 meV/%. After thermal treatment, WSe2/PC stacking can survive in DI water for at least 24 h without the degradation of the spectral gauge factor. Dome structures are formed after thermal treatments with the interplay of the viscoelasticity and surface tension of the PC and the 0.4% tensile strain on WSe2, and the RMS roughness of WSe2/PC increased from 820 to 1292 pm, indicating that there could be larger lateral friction force to suppress slippage following thermal annealing. Our findings enrich the strain engineering of 2D materials and their device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains (HHM) region is located in the world&#x2019;s Third Pole. It isa biodiversity hotspot and home to Taxus wallichiana Zucc. (Himalayan yew), a relict tree,that has survived since the Quaternary glaciation. It is well-known because it contains taxol,which is one of the most successful anticancer drugs derived from natural sources. Althoughwidely distributed in the region, T. wallichiana is subject to international and nationalconservation measures because of its dramatic over-exploitation and decline over the last30 years. It is crucial to accurately determine the impact of climate change on T.wallichiana&#x2019;s distribution in order to further protect the wild population (in-situ orex-situ) and plan effective cultivation measures. Considering the super complexity ofEarth climate systems and the high uncertainty in climate models input data frommountainous areas, we integrated three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)(i.e., RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5) based on datasets from 14 Global Climate Models(GCMs) of CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 5) to 1) predictthe potential distribution of T. wallichiana under current (1960–1990) and future(2050s and 2070s) scenarios with the Species Distribution Model (SDM) MaxEnt,and 2) to detect the major bio-climatic influencing factors. We found there weresignificant differences in the distribution and area of potentially suitable areas under thefuture scenarios from 14 GCMs. Based on the values from statistical averages,highly suitable areas for T. wallichiana decreased by 30.61–55.06% at a rate of3.22–7.34% per decade, and moderately suitable areas decreased by 19.88–30.34%at a rate of 2.09–4.05% per decade. Moreover, the average altitude of potentiallysuitable areas of T. wallichiana would shift upwards extremely significantly by 390 m(14.81%) to 948 m (36.01%) at a rate of 42–100 m per decade in the future climatescenarios. The annual average temperature and its seasonal variation and annualprecipitation were the main bio-climatic variables affecting T. wallichiana habitats.These findings demonstrate the importance of protecting seedlings and scatteredmature individuals in marginally suitable areas. Priority protected areas and suitableplanting area may be delimited from the current and future potential distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Shading, evapotranspiration, thermal insulation, and wind barriers were analyzed. • Field measurements involve on-site and model-buildings investigations. • Numerical simulations rely on commercial software or self-developed models. • Understanding the roles of various parameters in mechanisms is important. Vertical greenery systems (VGS) integrate vegetation into the building facades to reduce wall surface temperature, thereby reducing building energy consumption. The mechanisms behind the cooling and energy-saving effects of VGS are mainly related to shading, evapotranspiration (ET), thermal insulation and wind barriers. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive review of the thermal effects of VGS, focusing on these mechanisms. Our review consolidates research methods, performance evaluations, and influencing factors discussed in previous studies. First, we sorted the methods and evaluation indicators used to investigate the thermal effects of the VGS. Field measurements involve on-site and model-buildings investigations, whereas numerical simulations rely on commercial CFD software or self-developed VGS thermal effect models. Second, we explored the performance and influencing factors of each mechanism individually, emphasizing the pivotal role of VGS type, plant and growing substrate characteristics, and meteorological conditions. And shading emerged as a dominant mechanism, contributing approximately twice as much as ET to the overall thermal effect. Finally, we thoroughly analyzed the factors affecting the overall thermal impact of VGS, encompassing meteorological parameters and design considerations. Notably, we identified that certain influencing factors exert diverse effects on each mechanism and the overall thermal effect. In conclusion, our study explored the distinct roles of each mechanism within the overall thermal effect, offering valuable insights to propel the advancement of VGS design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three p-type layer structures, i.e. a p-GaN layer, a short-period superlattice (SL) insertion layer, and a polarization-induced hole-doped double-aluminum composition gradient layer, were compared in terms of their performance in 395 nm high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The device with the polarization-induced hole-doped double-aluminum composition gradient layer has an operating voltage of 3.34 V and a wall-plug efficiency of 55.3% under a 350 mA injection current. Moreover, devices with the polarization-induced hole-doped double-aluminum composition gradient layer structure have better optical output power than devices with a short-period SL inserted in p-GaN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposed an automated deep learning-based framework for building facade parsing. • Provided an enhanced feature extraction algorithm utilizing BiFPN and SE module. • Dealt with the issue of occlusion and reflection based on the improved SOLOv2. • Achieved an accurate estimation of WWR with a mAP of 93% for window segmentation. • Discussed the effect of WWR granularity on energy simulation. Energy consumption simulation and renovation of existing buildings require accurate acquisition of building façade features which mostly relies on time-consuming manual calculations based on architectural drawings. In this article, we proposed an automated deep learning-based approach based on the SE module and BiFPN to achieve precise and efficient façade feature extraction. The approach eliminated the image distortion of building façades and then enabled accurate segmentation of windows and accessory structures even under the situation of occlusion and reflection. The improved SOLOv2 algorithm resulted in a high mean average precision of 93% for window segmentation, leading to a more precise window-to-wall ratio estimation with a mean absolute error of 2.9% than the experts' estimation and existing deep learning-based methods. Considering the accurate results of façade parsing, our method can be utilized for city-level building feature extraction, providing theoretical and practical references for urban building energy simulation, urban renewal, and building health examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has been deemed as one of the promising noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but it suffers from the inert basal plane and low electronic conductivity. Regulating the morphology of MoS2 during the synthesis on conductive substrates is a synergistic strategy for enhancing the HER performance. In this work, vertical MoS2 nanosheets were fabricated on carbon cloth (CC) using an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition method. The growth process could be effectively tuned through introducing hydrogen gas during vapor deposition process, resulting in nanosheets with increased edge density. The mechanism for edge-enriching through controlling the growth atmosphere is systematically studied. The as-prepared MoS2 exhibits excellent HER activity due to the combination of optimized microstructures and coupling with CC. Our findings provide new insights to design advanced MoS2-based electrocatalysts for HER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the performance and feasibility of magnesia‐alumina spinel (MgAl2O4) ceramics for thermal storage in solar thermal power generation, MgAl2O4 was prepared by theoretical composition using α‐Al2O3 as aluminium source, fused magnesia, magnesite, and light burned magnesia as different magnesium sources and kaolin as additive. The effects of magnesium source and the additive on sintering properties, thermal shock resistance and thermal properties of MgAl2O4 ceramics were researched. The results shown sample A1 (with fused magnesia) sintered at 1670°C possessed the optimum comprehensive properties, the bending strength increased by 7.71% after 30 thermal shock times (room temperature‐1000°C, air cooling), the specific heat capacity was 1.05 J/ (g·K). Therefore, the MgAl2O4 ceramics exhibited great potential in high‐temperature thermal storage material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The surface morphologies, anisotropic quality and optical properties of nonpolar and semipolar ultraviolet multiple quantum wells (MQWs) structures on GaN/sapphire deposited by metal organic chemical vapor deposition are investigated. The crystal planes of the MQWs are identified as nonpolar (11 2 ¯ 0) plane and semipolar (11 2 ¯ 2) plane by the 2θ−ω scan of high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). The results of the atomic force microscope and scanning electron microscope show that the surface morphologies of nonpolar and semipolar MQWs structures have obvious differences. The X-ray rocking curves of nonpolar and semipolar MQWs on-axis diffraction planes by HRXRD demonstrate that the semipolar MQWs structure has a better crystalline quality and a weaker anisotropy of crystal quality than nonpolar MQWs structure. The temperature dependence photoluminescence (PL) spectra reveal that the nonpolar MQWs structure have a stronger yellow band than semipolar MQWs structure. Besides that, the PL spectra of nonpolar MQWs structure also show a blue-shift as temperature increases within a certain range, and then, when the temperature increases continuously, it turns to a red-shift. However, for the semipolar MQWs structure, only the red-shift is observed in PL spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaN based ultraviolet multiple quantum well structures grown on a c -plane sapphire substrate by metal organic chemical deposition showed a microstructure with a large amount of huge hexagonal hillocks. The polarity of the sample is confirmed by etching with sodium hydroxide solution. The luminous intensity distribution of a typical hexagonal hillock was investigated by the phototluminescent mapping and the luminous intensity at hillock top regions was found to be 15 times higher than that of the regions around hillocks. The reduction of dislocations, the decreasing of the quantum confirmed stack effect caused by semipolar plane and the inclination of the sidewalls of the hexagonal hillock were responsible for the enhancement of luminous intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation and defect evolution in GaN-based UV LEDs under 3 MeV proton irradiation were throughly investigated in this work. Combined with the yellow luminescence band at ∼2.2 eV in photoluminescence spectra with the energy level of Ev + 0.16 eV extracted by deep-level transient spectroscopy measurement, an intrinsic CN-related defect with an abnormally decreased concentration after irradiation was identified. Based on energy levels, the spatial configuration of defects, and their correlations, several possible origins and evolution processes of the defects are systematically discussed. A defect evolution model under proton irradiation was established: C atoms departed from the CN-related defect aligned along the dislocation in the active region stimulated by the displacement damage effect, leaving behind a nitrogen vacancy (VN) aligned along the dislocation, accompanied by the generation of a non-interacting carbon interstitial (Ci). Both the increased VN and Ci were found to contribute jointly to the decrease in optical power and the increase in leakage current. This indicates that carbon—a common unintentional dopant in GaN-based optical devices—can be an important factor in the degradation of GaN-based UV LEDs under proton irradiation, and should be further noted in radiation resistance applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sichuan–Tibet Railway (STR) is currently under construction and serves as an important transportation route in western China. Identifying potential geohazards along the route is important for project construction. However, research on the frozen soil of the Western Sichuan Plateau, and on frozen soil identification using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is relatively negligible. As a low-cost, all-weather spatial geodesy tool, InSAR is frequently used for geohazard identification. We selected a study area located along the Litang section of the STR, starting from Litang County in the east and extending 60 km to the west. The geological conditions along the line are complex, with numerous fault zones and hidden danger points for landslide. To identify unstable slopes along the line, distribute scatterer InSAR (DS-InSAR) was used to obtain surface displacement information from 2018 to 2021. Based on the displacement information obtained from the ascending and descending orbit images from Sentinel-1, a spatial density clustering method identified 377 and 388 unstable slopes in the study area, respectively, of these, 132 were consistent. The identified unstable slopes were mostly located in areas with a relatively high altitude and moderate slope. The Luanshibao landslide, which is a typical landslide in the study area, had notable signs of displacement, where the displacement rate along the back edge of the landslide can reach 20 mm/a. An inversion method for the seasonal frozen soil area distribution was proposed based on the periodic subsidence and uplift model and time-series monitoring data; the calculated seasonal freeze–thaw amplitude exceeded 20 mm. Further analysis revealed a 2-month lag in the response of the freeze–thaw phenomenon to the air temperature. This study demonstrated that DS-InSAR offers optimal surface displacement data, which can provide an important basis to identify engineering geological hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) and multi-system compatible radio occultation (RO) techniques provides favorable conditions and opportunities for increasing the number of occultation events and improving their spatiotemporal coverage. The performance of the multiple GNSS RO event number, spatiotemporal coverage, and uniformity need assessments by robust and functional approaches. Firstly, a simulation system of RO events, which took the orbit perturbations into account, was established, and the concepts of global coverage fraction and uniformity of RO events were defined. Secondly, numerical experiments were designed to analyze the GNSS RO performances of a single-receiving satellite and satellite constellations under the condition of using current multiple GNSSs as transmitting satellite systems, in which the Earth was divided into 400 × 400 km2 grids. Finally, the number, timeliness, global coverage fraction, and uniformity of GNSS RO events for a single-receiving satellite and receiving satellite constellations were numerically calculated and analyzed. The results showed that ➀ multiple GNSS integration improved the number of GNSS RO events and their global coverage for a single polar-orbit satellite significantly, e.g., the 24 h multiple GNSS RO event number was about 7.8 times that of the single GNSS system, BeiDou navigation satellite system-3, while the corresponding 24 h global coverage fraction increased nearly 3 times. ➁ In the multiple GNSS integration scenario, the constellation composed of 12 polar-orbit low-Earth-orbit satellites achieved 100% RO event global coverage fraction within 24 h, of which the RO detection capability was comparable to the 100 Spire weather satellites and global positioning system (GPS) RO system. ➂ More GNSS RO events of the polar-orbit constellations were distributed in the middle- and high-latitude zones. Therefore, multiple GNSS integration could increase the RO event number and global coverage significantly to benefit the global climate monitoring and global numerical weather prediction, and the polar-orbit constellations were more favorable to atmospheric detection in middle- and high-latitude regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation index (VI) time series derived from satellite sensors have been widely used in the estimation of vegetation parameters, but the quality of VI time series is easily affected by clouds and poor atmospheric conditions. The function fitting method is a widely used effective noise reduction technique for VI time series, but it is vulnerable to noise. Thus, ancillary data about VI quality are utilized to alleviate the interference of noise. However, this approach is limited by the availability, accuracy, and application rules of ancillary data. In this paper, we aimed to develop a new reconstruction method that does not require ancillary data. Based on the assumptions that VI time series follow the gradual growth and decline pattern of vegetation dynamics, and that clouds or poor atmospheric conditions usually depress VI values, we proposed a reconstruction method for VI time series based on self-weighting function fitting from curve features (SWCF). SWCF consists of two major procedures: (1) determining a fitting weight for each VI point based on the curve features of the VI time series and (2) implementing the weighted function fitting to reconstruct the VI time series. The double logistic function, double Gaussian function, and polynomial function were tested in SWCF based on a simulated dataset. The results indicate that the weighted function fitting with SWCF outperformed the corresponding unweighted function fitting with the root-mean-square error (RMSE) significantly reduced by 26.82–52.44% (p < 0.05), and it also outperformed the Savitzky–Golay filtering with the RMSE significantly reduced by 13.98–54.04% (p < 0.05) for 270 sample points selected in mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, SWCF showed excellent robustness and applicability in regional applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we focus on the effect of high-temperature annealing (HTA) on ion beam-sputtered hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/sapphire samples with different thicknesses. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, and other test methods, the changes in the properties of the h-BN material after HTA were compared and discussed in depth. The experimental results showed that HTA can reduce the B/N ratio and carbon in the h-BN film, increasing the film's optical bandgap. In addition, based on the annealed h-BN/sapphire template, high-quality GaN film epitaxy on h-BN was achieved by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. The method of HTA for h-BN grown by IBSD has huge potential for large size, low cost, and safe production. • The method of HTA for h-BN grown by IBSD has huge potential for large size, low cost, and safe production. • The B/N stoichiometric ratio of hBN decreases after high temperature annealing. • The surface of hBN remains positive electron affinity (PEA) after high temperature annealing. • The screw dislocation density of GaN layer based on HTA-hBN/Sap MOCVD epitaxy can be reduced to 108 cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large-scale use of solar energy is an important means of achieving carbon neutrality. In cities, large stocks of building roofs are ideal for photovoltaic (PV) installations. However, the difficulty in acquiring urban building stock data limits the assessment of urban roof PV potential. Therefore, an instance segmentation model was used to extract all the roofs and their corresponding deep features from high-resolution open-source satellite maps. Subsequently, a multi-round semi-supervised clustering process was proposed to classify similar roofs. Finally, the total urban roof area was evaluated, involving pitched roof area correction. The PV available area ratios of all roofs were estimated by sampling each roof cluster to obtain the available roof area for PV installation. The corresponding urban PV potential capacity and energy generation were calculated. The proposed method was applied and validated in the Yangpu District of Shanghai, China. The results showed that the total building roof area of Yangpu District was 11.16 km2, and the roof PV available area ratio (R a s) varied between 0.4 and 0.92. The available roof area for PV installation was 7.46 km2. The PV installation area and capacity were 4.14 km2 and 913.74 MW, respectively. The annual PV energy production was 940.34 GW h. • Instance segmentation model was used for city-scale building roofs extraction. • A multi-rounds semi-supervised clustering process was proposed to classify roofs. • Potential roof PV capacity and energy production in Yangpu District were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is necessary to understand the relationship between the impervious surface area (ISA) distribution, variation trends and potential driving forces over Dongying, Shandong Province. We extracted ISA information from Landsat images with 3–5 year intervals during 1995 to 2018 using Minimum Noise Fraction (MNF) transform, Pixel Purity Index (PPI), and Linear Spectral Mixture Analysis (LSMA), followed by the analysis on three driving forces of ISA expansion (physical geography, socioeconomic factors, and urban cultural features). Our results show the retrieved ISA thematic map fit the limited requirement of root mean square error (RMSE). The correct classification accuracy of ISA is greater than 83.08%. Further, the cross–comparison exhibits the general consistent with the ISA distribution of the land use classification map published by the National Basic Geographic Information Center. The gradual increasing trend can be captured on the expansion of ISA from 1995 to 2018. Despite of the central region always shown as the high ISA density, it still keeps increasing annually and radiating the surrounding region, especially in the southward which has formed into a new large–scale and high intensity of ISA in 2015–2018. Though the ISA patches scattered in the west region or along the northern and eastern part of the ocean coastline are still small, the expansion trend of ISA can be detected. The expansion intensity index (EII) of ISA measuring the situation of its expansion changes from the lowest value 0.12% between 1995 and 2000 up to the highest 0.73% between 2000 and 2005. Richly endowed by nature, the city's natural geographical environment provides an elevated chance of further urbanization. The rapid increase of regional economy provides a fundamental driving force for expanding ISAs. The development of urban culture promotes the sustainable development of ISAs. Our results provide a scientific basis for future urban land use management, construction planning, and environmental protection in Dongying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MOF filter membrane is used to efficiently and quickly remove mercury ions from sewage. [Display omitted] • A simple and convenient method for preparing MOF membrane was proposed. • MOF membrane is more economical and environmentally friendly. • The MOF filter membrane can efficiently and quickly remove mercury ions. • The MOF filter membrane avoids the disadvantages of MOF powder material. • MOF filter membrane demonstrates excellent selectivity and stability. The mercury ions seriously threaten the environment and human health. It is desirable to remove mercury ions quickly and simply. Herein, the zirconium-based metal–organic framework (Zr-MOF) filter membranes for high efficiency mercury ions removing were in-situ prepared on the filter paper under mild conditions. Here, the Zr-MOF was constructed by coordination of Zr4+ ions and 2, 5-dimercaptoterephthalic acid (H 2 DMBD), which the free sulfhydryl group on the ligand is used to adsorb mercury ions. The prepared Zr-MOF filter membranes were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mercury removal efficiency of the filter membranes is as high as 97.8% within a few minutes. The high efficient removal efficiency is derived from the presence of sulfhydryl functional groups of MOF and the ultra-high specific surface area of the formed small-sized MOF particles on the filter membrane. Compared with other MOF membranes and the corresponding MOF powders, our membranes exhibit the short-term and high-efficiency removal abilities of the filter membranes. This work provides an insight for the preparation of high-performance MOF membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design procedure of a K‐band 0.1 μm GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (pHEMT) monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) for satellite communication downlinks. The method focuses on the selection and design of the matching network (MN) by applying the Approximate Optimal Impedance Region (AOIR) approach which is a composition of simple mathematical constraints. The AOIR approach overcomes the drawbacks of traditional MN design method which cannot control the reflection coefficient trajectory of the MN precisely. The method formulates the constraints through symbolic‐graphic combinations with integrated functions of computer‐aided design (CAD) tools. The impedance transformation trajectory of MN is combined to reduce the mismatch and the insertion loss using equations with multiple mathematical constraints to realize the automatic selection of the MN's topology. The AOIR method fully considers the underutilized characteristics of power amplifier (PA) and to maximize its performance in a balanced manner. The MMIC, was designed using the proposed technique, operates in 18 GHz‐23 GHz with a gain of 27 dB and has an average P−1dB of 27 dBm and PAE of 38% under the continuous wave (CW) drive signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Highly efficient toluene aerobic oxidation via V 2 O 5 @CN boosting benzylic C(sp3) H bond photoactivation. • Notable catalyst durability in multiple catalytic cycles, scalable long-term reactions, and available substrate scopes. • Experimental EPR study of CH 2 Ph, O 2 −, and OH reactive intermediates involved in photoredox catalysis. • Ample investigation of kinetic profile difference, mechanistic route, and photoredox catalysis model. Incorporating photocatalysis into benzylic C(sp3) H oxidation represents a recent advance of organic synthesis in a sustainable manner. Although photoinduced charge carriers enable the C(sp3) H bond to be activated under mild conditions, the reaction scale and activity remain hindered by the photoactivation efficiency. Herein, we present that the 1.0% V 2 O 5 @CN photocatalyst, a visible-light-active C 3 N 4 -based material, is striking active for the aerobic oxidation of benzylic C(sp3) H bonds, affording a conversion rate 11.6 times higher than that of independent CN. The enhanced activity and C(sp3) H bond photoactivation, as well as the induction period shortening and active period acceleration, are rationalized by the low- E VB hole injection from V 2 O 5 into CN and the boosted charge separation. The durability and utility are affirmed in multiple catalytic cycles, scalable long-term reactions, and available substrate scopes. Reactive intermediate studies by EPR demonstrate the involvement of CH 2 Ph, O 2 −, and OH radicals in photoredox catalysis. The mechanism that causes the change of main product species is attributed to the formation of OH in the later reaction stage. This work indicates a unique photoactive V 2 O 5 @CN catalysis mode, opening up the efficient use of CN in scalable photocatalytic toluene oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of gamma (γ)-irradiation on AlGaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the short-wavelength ultraviolet (UVC, 210–280 nm) spectral range under electrical stress is characterized by electroluminescence and current–voltage measurement. Different from previous reports that γ-irradiation can hardly damage nitride devices, we observe that the optical power decreases and leakage current increases obviously after electrical stress under γ-irradiation. To delve into the nature of degradation, variation of defects is studied using temperature-dependent low-frequency noise measurement. After stress, the ~0.78-eV defects attributed to N antisite are generated and lead to device degradation, which is accompanied by a reduction of the intrinsic Ga vacancy with an energy level of ~0.38 eV. The variation of defects after stress in γ-irradiated environment is more evident than that in nonirradiated environment, which is well corresponding to the performance degradation behavior. In conclusion, γ-irradiation is found to accelerate degradation induced by electrical stress, and the study can help improve irradiation resistance in AlGaN-based UVC LEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Proposed a knowledge framework for 3D reconstruction in civil engineering. • Provided a technical framework of image-based 3D reconstruction with deep learning. • Summarized multi-scale state-of-the-practice of 3D reconstruction in civil engineering. • Pointed out eight research directions such as automated modeling, model fusion, etc. As a bridge between physical objects and as-built models, image-based 3D reconstruction performs a vital role by generating point cloud models, mesh models, textured models, and eventually BIMs from images. This study provides a quantitative and qualitative summary of image-based 3D reconstruction for civil engineering projects in the last decade. A bibliometric analysis of 286 journal papers suggested that 3D reconstruction is an interdisciplinary field that integrates photogrammetry, 3D point cloud analysis, semantic segmentation, and deep learning. Based on the analysis, we proposed a 3D reconstruction knowledge framework with three dimensions — essential elements, use phases, and reconstruction scales. The "essential elements" dimension is a technical framework of visual geometry and deep learning methods for 3D model generation. The "use phases" emphasize using 3D reconstruction techniques during the construction, operation, and maintenance phases, which are driven by the demands of visual inspection in various contexts. The "reconstruction scales" dimension synthesizes 3D reconstruction applications from the component level to the city scale with highlights of their opportunities and challenges. This 3D reconstruction knowledge framework sheds light on eight future research directions: automated modeling, model fusion, performance optimization, data fusion, enhanced virtual experience, real-time modeling, standardized reference, and in-depth deep learning research. This review can help scholars understand the present status and highlight research trends of image-based 3D reconstruction in civil engineering associated with the integration of deep learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient management of construction progress requires regular progress tracking, but monitoring progress on a daily basis can be both time-consuming and labor-intensive since the meticulous manual data processing is involved. Soil-foundation construction entails multiple uncertain underground safety risks, the elimination of which requires significant time and effort, thereby increasing the likelihood of schedule overruns. Automation and augmentation of progress monitoring are necessary for soil-foundation construction. There are two primary research challenges in the context of soil-foundation construction: the precise differentiation of objects with similar apparent characteristics, and the accurate detection of partially obscured objects. The existing approaches primarily address such issues by image post-processing rather than augmenting image feature inference. To enhance the efficiency of progress monitoring and facilitate unmanned inspection, an integrated computer vision-based framework for the tracking of soil-foundation construction progress was proposed. An improved SOLOv2 was utilized to qualitatively and quantitatively recognize the construction progress. Subsequently, the actual and differential progress could be integrated into streamlined BIM based on a self-adaptive grid-based mapping method. The approach was applied to a campus building project in China, resulting in a high segmentation accuracy (mAP = 90.9%). The improved SOLOv2 was found to surpass other state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms. Further, the impact of grid size on the mapping accuracy of construction progress was explored. The present study promotes automated schedule tracking and provides a feasible approach for developing a digital twin of soil-foundation construction. • Proposed a soil-foundation construction progress automated recognition framework. • Proposed an improved instance segmentation approach based on NAS-FPN. • Provided a enhanced feature extraction algorithm leveraging Swin Transformer. • Described a self-adaptive grid-based mapping method for progress visualization. • Applied the framework to a campus building project with a mAP of 90.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A self‐catalytic monomer of phthalonitrile, 2‐amino‐4,6‐bis[3‐(3,4‐dicyano‐phenoxy)phenoxy] pyrimidine (ACPP), was synthesized by a one‐pot method with resorcinol, 2‐amino‐4,6‐dichloropyrimidine, and 4‐nitrophthalonitrile. The chemical structure of the ACPP monomer was characterized by Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The curing behavior of ACPP monomer was studied by differential scanning calorimetric, which indicated that the ACPP monomer had a low melting point (84 °C) and revealed an autocatalytic reaction and tremendously wide processing window (193 °C). Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and FTIR analyses were employed to explore the microstructure of the ACPP polymers. The properties of the three polymers with different curing procedures were investigated, which implied that the ACPP polymers exhibited excellent thermal stability, high modulus, superior glass‐transition temperature (Tg > 400 °C), and low water absorption with the increase in curing extent. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2287–2294 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of valence states and vacancy defects on the properties of Mn doped InN were systematically investigated by the first-principle generalized gradient approximation + U (GGA + U) calculations. Calculations show the systems exhibits lower formation energy and better stability after Mn doping. The energies calculation results show that the double Mn2+ doped InN exhibits only antiferromagnetism, but mixed Mn2+/3+ doping in the nearest neighboring cation sites and mixed Mn2+/3+ doping with vacancy defects can obtain a better ferromagnetism and high Curie temperature. The electronic structures indicate that the p-d exchange interaction and double exchange interaction play important roles in the magnetic formation of the doping system. The vacancies in mixed Mn2+/3+ doped InN enhance the dominance of the p-d exchange interaction, and favor the doping system to obtain a high Curie temperature. It can be inferred that the mixed 2+/3 + valence of Mn ions and introduction of vacancy defects in InN is beneficial to stabilize the ferromagnetism. • Effects of valence states and vacancy defects on the magnetic properties of Mn doped InN were explored. • The antiferromagnetic is more stable among all configurations of double Mn2+ doped InN. • The ferromagnetic coupling plays a dominant role in mixed Mn2+/3+ doped InN with vacancies. • Vacancies in mixed Mn2+/3+ doped InN favor the doping system to obtain a high Curie temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaN was grown on the sputtered AlN/patterned sapphire substrate under two growth modes by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition, which was named as “rising tide” and “tsunami” growth modes, respectively, due to different characteristics of the GaN growth process. High-quality GaN epilayer was obtained under “tsunami” growth mode, and the full-width at half-maximums of GaN (002)/(102) high-resolution X-ray diffraction rocking curves were 58/90 arcsec. The green InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes fabricated on GaN under “tsunami” growth mode exhibited both higher light output power and external quantum efficiency. By monitoring the GaN films at different growth stages using the scanning electron microscope and the transmission electron microscope as well as cathodoluminescence, the dislocation annihilation mechanisms were researched. Under “tsunami” growth mode, GaN grew into the shape of a truncated pyramid that promoted dislocations originated from flat area bend toward the inclined planes, and it was noteworthy that the propagation of dislocations in grains on the conical surface was inhibited. While under “rising tide” growth mode, the dislocations on the conical surface had chances to extend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]