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Two-step thermochemical cycle (TSTC) is a promising approach for solar-driven H 2 O splitting. However, extremely high reduction temperature (T red) is a key challenge limiting the development of TSTC. Two-step electro-thermochemical cycle (TSEC) has recently emerged to overcome this problem. However, the pros and cons of TSEC and TSTC are under debate. In this paper, a thermodynamic model was developed for studying the thermodynamic fundamentals and the variation rules of energy efficiency of TSEC and TSTC. The thermodynamic mechanisms of TSTC and TSEC were compared using the Gibbs free energy method and the Exergy & energy level analysis method. In comparison to TSTC, TSEC tends to operate at a lower T red , enabling isothermal operation at moderate temperatures (<1473 K) while sustaining a high H 2 O conversion rate. In addition, energy efficiency analysis reveals that the introduction of 0.2 V auxiliary voltage can increase the energy efficiency from 0.25 in TSTC to 0.38 in TSEC, showing the advantage of TSEC for H 2 O splitting in terms of energy efficiency. This study analyses the advantages and disadvantages of TSTC and TSEC for H 2 O splitting, demonstrating a reference for further development of solar-driven H 2 O splitting. • The thermodynamic mechanisms of TSTC and TSEC are compared. • TSEC tends to operate at a lower reduction temperature with a high H 2 O conversion rate. • A thermodynamic model is developed for studying the energy efficiency of TSEC for H 2 O splitting. • 0.2 V auxiliary voltage can increase the energy efficiency from 0.25 to 0.38. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar driven CO 2 /H 2 O splitting is a promising path for large-scale and long-term solar energy conversion and storage. In this work, a thermodynamic model of solar driven high-temperature CO 2 /H 2 O electrolysis was established, with the full solar spectrum split at a tunable cut-off wavelength for meeting the electrical and thermal energy demands of the process at a high efficiency. Compared with the system without spectral splitting, the solar-to-H 2 efficiency can be significantly improved from 36.0 % to 45.5 % by introducing spectral splitting. Besides, the optimal electrolysis temperature can be largely lowered, from 1623 K to 1323 K due to the significant reduction of the solar radiation input for electricity generation. The exergy efficiency of CO 2 electrolysis was shown to be higher than that of H 2 O electrolysis due to the higher molar exergy of CO compared to H 2 , although the first-law efficiency of H 2 O electrolysis is higher at T ele < ∼1200 K. A high concentration ratio of the solar-thermal process can lead to both high solar-to-fuel efficiency and high optimal electrolysis temperature because of the reduction of reradiation loss. The electrolysis temperature and the use of excessive CO 2 /H 2 O were shown to have an important effect on both the efficiency and the optimal cut-off wavelength because they are closely related with the thermal and electrical energy demands of the whole process. The optimal cut-off wavelength can be as low as 540 nm at electrolysis temperature of 1873 K (T ele = 1873 K) and excessive H 2 O coefficient of 6 (r = 6), and increases to the working limit of the photovoltaic material (900 nm in this work) as the electrolysis temperature and excessive coefficient decrease to T ele < 1023 K and r < 2. [Display omitted] • A thermodynamic model coupling the full solar spectrum with high temperature electrolysis of H 2 O/CO 2 was established. • Solar spectral splitting at a tunable cut-off wavelength was employed. • Solar-to-fuel efficiency can be significantly improved by the introduction of spectral splitting. • H 2 O and CO 2 electrolysis were compared and effects of various key parameters were investigated. • The model can be extended to other solar-driven hydrogen production processes with hybrid driving forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A comprehensive network meta-analysis comparing the effects of individual sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors on patients with and without comorbidities including diabetes mellitus (DM), heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) has not been previously conducted. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials up to March 28, 2023. Network meta-analysis using a random-effects model was conducted to calculate risk ratios (RRs). Risk of Bias tool 2.0 was used to assess bias, and CINeMA to assess the certainty of evidence. In the subgroup analysis, the SGLT2 inhibitors were classified into highly (dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, and ertugliflozin) and less selective SGLT2 inhibitors (canagliflozin and sotagliflozin). Results: A total of fourteen trials with 75,334 patients were analyzed. Among these, 40,956 had taken SGLT2 inhibitors and 34,378 had not. One of the main results with particular findings was empagliflozin users had a significantly lower risk of all-cause death compared to dapagliflozin users in DM population (RR: 0.81, 95% CI 0.69–0.96). In HF population, sotagliflozin users had a borderline significantly lower risk of CV death or hospitalization for HF (HHF) than dapagliflozin users (RR: 0.90, 95% CI 0.80–1.01). In non-HF population, those who used canagliflozin had a significantly lower risk of CV death or HHF compared with those who used dapagliflozin (RR: 0.75, 95% CI 0.58–0.98). At last, for HF patients, those who used less selective SGLT2 inhibitors had a significantly lower risk of MACEs compared to those who used highly selective SGLT2 inhibitors (RR: 0.75, 95% CI 0.62–0.90). Conclusions: Our network meta-analysis revealed that empagliflozin users with diabetes experienced a lower risk of dying from any cause than those using dapagliflozin. Additionally, canagliflozin users demonstrated a reduced risk of cardiovascular death or HHF compared to dapagliflozin users in those without HF. In HF patients, less selective SGLT2 inhibitors showed superior CV composite outcomes, even surpassing the performance of highly selective SGLT2 inhibitors. Trial registration: PROSPERO [CRD42022361906]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Klotho is a multifunctional protein, but its biophysiological roles during fish early development are unclear. (2) Methods: We carried out anti-sense Klotho morpholino injection and whole-mount in situ hybridization experiments in this study. (3) Results: Our results showed that in the Klotho MO1-injected group, embryos displayed longitudinal shapes and swelling yolks compared to those of the un-injected groups. Their length/width ratio by 9 hpf for the uninfected group is 1 ± 0.1; but for 0.1 mM-, 0.2 mM-, and 0.5 mM-MO-injected are 1.1 ± 0.1, 1.2 ± 0.1, and 1.3 ± 0.1, respectively, suggesting that the klotho knockdown-induced length/width ratio changes are in a dose-dependent manner. Whole-mount in situ hybridization showed that several cell migration-related gene expressions, including goosecoid, floating head, bone morphogenetic protein 4, and even-skipped-liked 1 were affected in the Klotho MO-injected embryos. (4) Conclusions: We suggest that knockdown of klotho leads to cell movement impairment during zebrafish gastrulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home blood pressure (HBP) has been recognized as a prognostic predictor for cardiovascular events, and integrated into the diagnosis and management of hypertension. With increasing accessibility of oscillometric blood pressure devices, HBP monitoring is easy to perform, more likely to obtain reliable estimation of blood pressures, and feasible to document long-term blood pressure variations, compared to office and ambulatory blood pressures. To obtain reliable HBP estimates, a standardized HBP monitoring protocol is essential. A consensus regarding the optimal duration and frequency of HBP monitoring is yet to be established. Based on the current evidence, the "722" protocol, which stands for two measurements on one occasion, two occasions a day (morning and evening), and over a consecutive of 7 days, is most commonly used in clinical studies and recommended in relevant guidelines and consensus documents. HBP monitoring based on the "722" protocol fulfills the minimal requirement of blood pressure measurements to achieve agreement of blood pressure classifications defined by office blood pressures and to predict cardiovascular risks. In the Taiwan HBP consensus, the frequency of repeating the "722" protocol of HBP monitoring according to different scenarios of hypertension management, from every 2 weeks to 3 months, is recommended. It is reasonable to conclude that the "722" protocol for HBP monitoring is clinically justified and can serve as a basis for standardized HBP monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud technologies have significantly facilitated healthcare. In such a context, medical data are collected by the terminals from the patients, manipulated, and stored on the cloud by hospitals (doctors). This brings asymmetry problems in medical data access control, processing, and storage between doctors and patients, which results in medical data sharing face many challenges such as privacy leakage and malicious feedback from cloud servers on queries. To solve these asymmetry problems, this paper proposes a medical data sharing scheme with cloud-chain cooperation and policy fusion in the IoT. Regarding asymmetrical access control rights, a conflict resolution and fusion algorithm that enables co-authorization of medical data by the doctor and the patient is introduced. To balance the symmetry of medical data storage and processing, a cloud-chain cooperation ciphertext retrieval method is proposed by means of two-stage joint searching from cloud servers and the blockchain, which can not only detect malicious medical data feedback from cloud servers, but also improve the data search efficiency. The security analysis showed that this scheme satisfies the confidentiality and verifiability of the retrieved information, and the feasibility of the proposed scheme was demonstrated through experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lysine demethylase 4C (KDM4C) is a nuclear protein that is essential for histone modification and acts as an important regulator of several transcription factors. Previous studies have shown that KDM4C may also play a role in mediating stress responses. The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of KDM4C in kidney development and acute kidney injury (AKI). Methods: The effect of KDM4C on kidney development was assessed by comparing the kidney phenotype between 96 zebrafish embryos treated with kdm4c-morpholino oligonucleotide and 96 untreated zebrafish embryos. We further examined whether KDM4C is essential for maintaining cell survival in AKI. Cultured human renal tubular cells were used for the in vitro study. Wild-type and Kdm4c knockout mice (C57BL/6NTac-Kdm4ctm1a(KOMP)Wtsi) were divided into a sham group and model group, and then subjected to ischemic reperfusion kidney injury (IRI-AKI). Blood samples and kidneys were collected at different time points (day 3, day 7, day 14, and day 28) and were processed for in vivo studies (n = 8 in each group). Results: Kdm4c knockdown significantly decreased zebrafish embryo survival and impaired kidney development. The in vitro study showed that KDM4C inhibition by JIB04 significantly increased cellular apoptosis under oxidative stress conditions. KDM4C knockdown cells had impaired autophagy function under stress conditions. The IRI-AKI mice study showed that KDM4C protein levels dynamically changed and were significantly correlated with HIF-1α levels in AKI. Kdm4c−/− mice had significantly more severe renal impairment and increased kidney fibrosis than the wild-type mice. Cytokine array results also indicated that the kidneys of Kdm4c−/− mice had increased inflammation in AKI compared with the wild-type mice. Further RNA sequence analysis revealed that KDM4C may regulate transcription factors related to mitochondrial dynamics and function. Conclusions: Our study suggests that KDM4C may play a critical role in regulating mitochondria, which is related to a protective effect on maintaining cell survival in AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interleukin (IL) −12 p40 subunit is the common subunit of IL-12 and IL-23. It affects the immune inflammatory response, which may be closely related to cardiac remodeling. In this study, the regulatory effect of IL-12p40 knockout (KO) on cardiac remodeling was investigated, and the underlying mechanism was explored. Mice were subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC) to establish a model of cardiac remodeling. First, IL-12p40 was deleted to observe its effects on cardiac remodeling and cardiac inflammation, and the results showed that IL-12p40 deletion reduced both T helper 17 (Th17) and γδT17 cell differentiation, decreased proinflammatory macrophage differentiation, alleviated cardiac remodeling, and relieved cardiac dysfunction in TAC mice. Next, we explored whether IL-17 regulated TAC-induced cardiac remodeling, and the results showed that IL-17 neutralization alleviated proinflammatory macrophage differentiation and cardiac remodeling in IL-12p40 knockout mice and WT mice. Neutralization with cluster of differentiation 4 receptor (CD4) and γδ T-cell receptor (γδTCR) antibodies inhibited pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization and improved cardiac remodeling, and CD4 neutralizing antibody (NAb) had more significant effects. Finally, adoptive transfer of Th17 cells aggravated proinflammatory macrophage differentiation and cardiac remodeling in TAC-treated CD4 KO mice, while neutralization with the IL-12p40 antibody alleviated these pathological changes. Mainly Th17 cells but not γδT17 cells secrete IL-17, which mediates IL-12p40, promotes the polarization of proinflammatory macrophages, and exacerbates cardiac remodeling in TAC mice. IL-12p40 may be a potential target for the prevention and treatment of cardiac remodeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This letter proposes a direction of arrival (DOA) and time of delay (TOA) joint estimation algorithm with deep transfer learning. Recently deep learning technique has been applied to solve the joint estimation problem by using the pretrained network and perform well. But in real applications, different scenarios require to cost much time to obtain different pretrained network. In order to overcome these problems, a transfer scheme for DOA and TOA joint estimation is proposed based on a multi‐task network, which uses a shared‐private structure to enhance the transferability of the pretrained network in different signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) scenarios. Thus, for different target scenarios, the proposed transferring scheme just uses a few of data from new scenario to fine‐tune pretrained network, which can effectively reduce the computation complexity with satisfied estimation accuracy. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is superior to other traditional methods in estimation accuracy and efficiency under different SNR testing scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La 0.6 Sr 0.4 MnO 3 (LSM) has seen enormous interest since they were proposed for the two-step thermochemical cycle (TSTC). However, its oxidation kinetics is notably deficient, and few studies have been documented. In this work, the reactivity activity relaxation (RAR) and electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) methods are used to investigate the reaction kinetics of CO 2 splitting by LSM oxidation. The results of RAR test show that the Sestak-Berggren model is the most precise depiction of the reaction mechanism, and the apparent kinetic parameters are obtained. In addition, the chemical bulk diffusion coefficient and the oxygen surface exchange coefficient of the reactions are obtained using the ECR method. It's found that the surface reaction process is the rate-limiting step of the whole oxidation reaction process. In conclusion, this study examines in detail the kinetic properties of LSM oxidation reaction and provides a reference for its application in TSTC. [Display omitted] • The kinetics of CO 2 splitting via La 0.6 Sr 0.4 MnO 3 oxidation are investigated employing relaxation test methods. • Essential reaction kinetics parameters are acquired through the utilization of the Arrhenius equation. • Determination of the chemical bulk diffusion coefficient and the oxygen surface exchange coefficient is performed. • The oxidation process is predominantly controlled by the surface reaction, serving as the limiting step in the overall reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-light image enhancement (LLIE) is mainly used to restore image degradation caused by environmental noise, lighting effects, and other factors. Despite many relevant works combating environmental interference, LLIE currently still faces multiple limitations, such as noise, unnatural color recovery, and severe loss of details, etc. To effectively overcome these limitations, we propose a DICNet based on the Retinex theory. DICNet consists of three components: image decomposition, illumination enhancement, and color restoration. To avoid the influence of noise during the enhancement process, we use feature maps after the image high-frequency component denoising process to guide image decomposition and suppress noise interference. For illumination enhancement, we propose a feature separation method that considering the influence of different lighting intensities and preserves details. In addition, to address the insufficient high-low-level feature fusion of the U-Net used in color restoration, we design a Feature Cross-Fusion Module and propose a feature fusion connection plug-in to ensure natural and realistic color restoration. Based on a large number of experiments on publicly available datasets, our method outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods in both performance and visual quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submicrometer lutetium‐gadolinium oxyorthosilicate ((Lu0.95Gd0.05)2SiO5, LGSO) powder with a magnetic susceptibility of 4.19 ×$ \times $ 10−6 (5.4 times that of lutetium oxyorthosilicate) was synthesized via a sol‐gel method. Slip casting with a 6 T assisted magnetic field and pressureless sintering at 1600°C for 16 h in the air effectively produced the textured LGSO ceramics with an orientation factor f of 0.96. The grains of textured LGSO ceramics grow with the preferred orientation along the b‐axis. The thermal conductivity of the textured LGSO ceramics reaches only 2.05 W·m−1·K−1 at 300 K, which is 34.5% lower than that of untextured LGSO ceramics. Textured LGSO ceramics provide increased fracture toughness. This work presents a microstructural design method for RE2SiO5 ceramics to regulate thermal and mechanical properties through texture engineering, as well as advice for the selection or optimization of RE2SiO5 ceramics as a Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cubic phase Ca 9-x Al 6 O 18 :xEu3+ red phosphors have been successfully fabricated using the hydrothermal assisted solid state method. The atomic site occupation of the matrix, morphology, luminescent properties, quenching mechanisms, and thermal stabilities are investigated. The possible sites of Eu3+ in a matrix crystal lattice are investigated via formation energy using first principle calculations. Under 395 nm excitation, Ca 9-x Al 6 O 18 :xEu3+ shows a red emission at 618 and orange emission at 594 nm and the optimal Eu3+ ion concentration is x = 0.06. The effect of the reaction solution composition on the morphology and emission spectra are investigated using SEM and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum measurements. The results reflect that the samples have different morphologies in different reaction solutions. Additionally, the PL intensities of Ca 8.94 Al 6 O 18 :0.06Eu3+ decreased to 80.6% as the temperature increased from room temperature to 150 °C. Ca 9 Al 6 O 18 :Eu3+ phosphors may potentially be used for white LEDs. Unlabelled Image • Ca 9-x Al 6 O 18 :xEu3+ phosphors were synthesized by HASS method for the first time. • The samples take on different morphology in different reaction solutions. • The optimum site of Eu3+ ions in the host are calculated by the first principle. • The as-product has good thermal stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Previous investigations have shown that end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) is associated with an increased risk of malignancies. The aim of this study was to explore the association between ESRD in patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis (HD) and the incidence of malignancies according to age. Methods: We analysed a nationwide cohort retrieved from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to study the incidence of malignancies in patients who were and were not receiving HD. One million beneficiaries were randomly selected and followed from 2005 to 2013. Of these 1 000 000 patients, 3055 developed ESRD and commenced maintenance HD during this period. For each HD patient, four age‐, gender‐ and diabetes‐matched controls were selected from the database (n = 12 220). We further stratified the patients according to age. The study endpoint was the occurrence of malignancy. Results: The incidence rates of malignancy were 6.8% and 4.9% in the HD and control groups, respectively. Competing risk regression analysis indicated that age, HD, male gender and diabetes were associated with an increased risk of malignancy. When further stratified according to age, the odds ratios of developing cancer were 5.8, 1.9, 1.9 and 1.5 among the HD patients aged <40 years, 40–49 years, 50–59 years and 60–69 years, respectively. Conclusion: The patients with ESRD who received HD had a significantly higher cumulative risk of malignancy, especially those with a young age. Therefore, specialized cancer screening protocols for young HD patients might help to prolong their lifespan. SUMMARY AT A GLANCE: End‐stage kidney disease is associated with an increased risk of many malignancies. This epidemiological study from Taiwan reviews the incidence rates of malignancies in a large haemodialysis cohort compared to a control group, revealing a higher cumulative risk of malignancies especially in those of a young age on dialysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are a series of challenges in microgrid transactions, and blockchain technology holds the promise of addressing these challenges. However, with the increasing number of users in microgrid transactions, existing blockchain systems may struggle to meet the growing demands for transactions. Therefore, this paper proposes an efficient and secure blockchain consensus algorithm designed to meet the demands of large-scale microgrid electricity transactions. The algorithm begins by utilizing a Spectral clustering algorithm to partition the blockchain network into different lower-level consensus set based on the transaction characteristics of nodes. Subsequently, a dual-layer consensus process is employed to enhance the efficiency of consensus. Additionally, we have designed a secure consensus set leader election strategy to promptly identify leaders with excellent performance. Finally, we have introduced an authentication method that combines zero-knowledge proofs and key sharing to further mitigate the risk of malicious nodes participating in the consensus. Theoretical analysis indicates that our proposed consensus algorithm, incorporating multiple layers of security measures, effectively withstands blockchain attacks such as denial of service. Simulation experiment results demonstrate that our algorithm outperforms similar blockchain algorithms significantly in terms of communication overhead, consensus latency, and throughput. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ablation of gold nanoparticle films on polymer was explored using a nanosecond pulsed laser, with the goal to achieve feature size reduction and functionality not amenable with inkjet printing. The ablation threshold fluence for the unsintered nanoparticle deposit was at least ten times lower than the reported threshold for the bulk film. This could be explained by the combined effects of melting temperature depression, lower conductive heat transfer loss, strong absorption of the incident laser beam, and the relatively weak bonding between nanoparticles. The ablation physics were verified by the nanoparticle sintering characterization, ablation threshold measurement, time resolved ablation plume shadowgraphs, analysis of ablation ejecta, and the measurement and calculation of optical properties. High resolution and clean feature fabrication with small energy and selective multilayer processing are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A deep-learning-based time of arrival (TOA) estimation method is proposed with a new sparse encoding scheme based on the sinc-kernel function. This scheme can effectively reduce the quantization errors and facilitate the CNN network to explore more off-grid features. • The proposed method designs the CNN framework with residual block and SE block, to improve the estimation efficiency of different off-grid distributions. • The superior performance of the proposed method is shown by comparing with other CNN based estimation methods and classical off-grid estimation methods. This letter proposes a deep-learning-based method for time of arrival (TOA) estimation with a new sparse encoding scheme, aiming to solve the problems caused by quantization errors and off-grid effects. The proposed method utilizes a convolutional neural network (CNN) to learn the relationship between the training signals and the TOA parameters encoded by the proposed kernel sparse representation. It encodes true TOA values into an approximate sparse representation by the sinc-kernel function. This scheme can reserve more off-grid features of the estimated TOA parameters to enhance the optimization efficiency of the CNN-based network, so it can effectively minimize the quantization errors and improve the estimation performance of different off-grid distributions. Numerical simulations show that the proposed encoding model is superior to the existing encoding models under the same CNN framework, and the proposed method achieves better TOA estimation accuracy than the competitive end-to-end CNN-based estimation methods and outperforms in accuracy and speed compared with other existing off-grid estimation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A DMAc/H 2 O/LiCl system was used to bleach human hairs high efficiently. Hypothesized bleaching mechanism of DMAc/LiCl to human hairs was proposed based on its selective high-swelling ability against scale layer. This composite-structure based hypothesis was in accordance with the altered morphology of expanded gaps between scale layers of human hairs after bleaching via SEM and TEM. FTIR further confirmed this mechanism from the chemical structure aspect. Optimized bleaching condition of 5 g/L FeSO 4 and 6:4 vol ratio of DMAc to H 2 O under 30 min resulted in human hairs with balanced whiteness of up to 50.8 and a fracture strength of 15.73 cN/dtex. Composite keratin (from bleached human hairs)/PVA/alginate film showed the advantages of this DMAc/H 2 O/LiCl system in color, as evidenced by a better transparency without deteriorating the mechanical properties. Highlights • Regeneration of human hairs by improved bleaching efficiency. • Regulation of bleaching efficiency by controlling mass transfer of H2O2. • Accelerated bleaching mechanism. • Alleviate the burden of human hairs to the environment. • Transparent composite keratin (from bleached human hairs)/PVA/alginate film without deteriorating the mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • This paper proposes a novel supervised multi-view learning algorithm named MMDP, which considers both inter-view and intra-view discriminant information and can maintain the geometric construction of the data manifold. • This paper improves the performance of MMDP via imposing a graph as regularization term to give a penalization of the data geometric structure breaking and generalize MMDP to GMMDP. • The extensive experiments on face recognition tasks have confirmed the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed MMDP and GMMDP methods. Abstract Multi-view data has become commonplace in today's computer vision applications, for the same object can be sampled through various viewpoints or by different instruments. The large discrepancy between distinct even heterogenous views bring the challenge of handling multi-view data. To obtain intrinsic common representation shared by all views, this paper proposes a novel multi-view algorithm called Multiview Marginal Discriminant Projection (MMDP), which is a supervised dimensionality reduction method for searching latent common subspace across multiple views. MMDP takes both inter-view and intra-view discriminant information into account and can preserve the global geometric structure and local discriminant structure of data manifold. Furthermore, the performance of MMDP is improved via imposing graph embedding as a regularization term to give a penalization of the local data geometric structure violation, which is called Graph regularized Multiview Marginal Discriminant Projection (GMMDP). The extensive experimental results on face recognition tasks demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of MMDP and GMMDP. Finally, this paper excavates a new application scenario of multi-view learning and introduce it including the proposed GMMDP into solving hyperspectral image classification (HIC) problem, which leads to a satisfactory result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims Type 2 diabetes is a global health problem that is associated with a wide variety of vascular complications and associated morbidity and mortality. Klotho is an enzyme and transmembrane protein, and increasing evidence suggests that Klotho may contribute to reduced oxidative stress, improved endothelial function, and vasoprotection. To date, the physiological role of Klotho in vascular complications associated with diabetes is unclear. Methods We prospectively recruited 252 patients with type 2 diabetes, who visited an outpatient clinic at our hospital between 2009 and 2011. Patients in the top and bottom tertiles of circulating Klotho levels were enrolled for analysis. Results Of the 168 patients enrolled, 45.8% were male, the mean age was 57.2 years, and the average duration of diabetes was 7.58 years. In multiple regression analysis, a high Klotho level was associated with a reduced risk of developing coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular accidents. Klotho level was also an independent predictor for the development of macroangiopathies within the 7-year study period. Conclusions Our results suggest that circulating Klotho level is a predictor of long-term macrovascular outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Large Hadron Collider Luminosity upgrade (HiLumi) program requires new low-β triplet quadrupole magnets, called MQXF, in the interaction region to increase the LHC peak and integrated luminosity. The MQXF magnets, designed and fabricated in collaboration between CERN and the U.S. LARP, will all have the same cross section. The MQXF long model, referred as MQXFA, is a quadrupole using the Nb3Sn superconducting technology with 150 mm aperture and a 4.2 m magnetic length and is the first long prototype of the final MQXF design. The MQXFA magnet is based on the previous LARP HQ and MQXFS designs. In this paper, we present the baseline design of the MQXFA structure with detailed three-dimensional (3-D) numerical analysis. A detailed tolerance analysis of the baseline case has been performed by using a 3-D finite element model, which allows fast computation of structures modeled with actual tolerances. Tolerance sensitivity of each component is discussed to verify the actual tolerances to be achieved by vendors. Tolerance stack-up analysis is presented in the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous studies have demonstrated that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play important roles in cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis, artery calcification, myocardial remodeling, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and diabetic cardiomyopathy. Kielin/chordin-like protein (KCP) is a secreted protein that regulates the expression and function of BMPs. However, the role of KCP in cardiac aging remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of KCP in cardiac aging and its possible mechanisms. Echocardiogram showed that heart function was impaired in aged mice (24 months). In addition, analysis of heart structure showed that KCP knockout (KO) aggravated cardiac remodeling in aged mice. Moreover, KCP KO increased p-smad2/3 and TGF-β expression, while decreased BMP-2 expression in aged mice. Furthermore, KCP KO increased the expression of cardiac senescence-related proteins in aged mice. KCP KO aggravated the imbalance of oxidants and antioxidants and increased the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in aged mice. Our study demonstrated that KCP KO aggravated cardiac aging in mice by increasing the levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Key message: KCP KO aggravated aging-related cardiac dysfunction and remodeling in male mice. KCP KO aggravated cardiac aging by increasing the levels of oxidative stress, inflammation, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A two-step electro-thermochemical cycle is proposed to improve the solar-to-fuel efficiency. • The novel paths have significant advantages over pure two-step thermochemical cycle. • A thermodynamic model for CO 2 splitting based on ceria is established. • The reduction temperature could be lowered, thus improving the solar-to-fuel efficiency. • The oxygen carrier could be reduced in air instead of a low- p O 2 atmosphere. H 2 O/CO 2 splitting via two-step solar thermochemical cycles performed with metal oxides is a promising path for fuel production. However, currently the reduction temperature of two-step thermochemical cycles is still too high and the fuel productivity is relatively low, which significantly hinders the improvement of solar-to-fuel efficiency. In this work, a two-step electro-thermochemical cycle integrated with a solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is proposed to overcome the challenges faced by two-step thermochemical cycle. Meanwhile, the definition, classification and operating mode of this cycle are expounded in detail. Additionally, a thermodynamic model of electro-assisted reduction thermochemical cycle (ERTC) for CO 2 splitting is established and applied to investigate the effect of voltage (E), reduction temperature (T red), oxygen pressure (p O 2), heat recovery of the solid and gas phases on solar-to-fuel efficiency. The efficiency increases from 0.29 to 0.40 as E increases from 0 V to 0.6 V due to the required T red of ceria could be reduced from 1500℃ to 1000℃, with p O 2 = 10−6 bar. Moreover, the oxygen carrier in SOEC could even be reduced in air instead of a low- p O 2 atmosphere while maintaining high efficiency. The technological challenges of high T red and the oxygen carriers' high sensitivity to p O 2 can be mitigated in this innovative path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Liver transplantation can prolong survival in patients with end-stage liver disease. We have proposed that the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score calculated on post-transplant day 7 has a great discriminative power for predicting 1-year mortality after liver transplantation. The Chronic Liver Failure - Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (CLIF-SOFA) score, a modified SOFA score, is a newly developed scoring system exclusively for patients with end-stage liver disease. This study was designed to compare the CLIF-SOFA score with other main scoring systems in outcome prediction for liver transplant patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 323 patients who had received liver transplants in a tertiary care university hospital from October 2002 to December 2010. Demographic parameters and clinical characteristic variables were recorded on the first day of admission before transplantation and on post-transplantation days 1, 3, 7, and 14. Results: The overall 1-year survival rate was 78.3% (253/323). Liver diseases were mostly attributed to hepatitis B virus infection (34%). The CLIF-SOFA score had better discriminatory power than the Child-Pugh points, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, RIFLE (risk of renal dysfunction, injury to the kidney, failure of the kidney, loss of kidney function, and end-stage kidney disease) criteria, and SOFA score. The AUROC curves were highest for CLIF-SOFA score on post-liver transplant day 7 for predicting 1-year mortality. The cumulative survival rates differed significantly for patients with a CLIF-SOFA score ≤8 and those with a CLIF-SOFA score >8 on post-liver transplant day 7. Conclusion: The CLIF-SOFA score can increase the prediction accuracy of prognosis after transplantation. Moreover, the CLIF-SOFA score on post-transplantation day 7 had the best discriminative power for predicting 1-year mortality after liver transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 perovskite nanocrystals in nonpolar solvents were synthesized by microwave-assisted approach. • Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 nanocrystals exhibit a high PLQY of 35.8%. • A blue LED was fabricated by using the Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 nanocrystals as color conversion materials. Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have attracted much attention due to their remarkable performances in optoelectronic applications, but their development is greatly limited by the lead toxicity and instability in environmental conditions. In this paper, we reported a simple microwave-assisted (MW-AT) method for the synthesis of non-toxic and stable all-inorganic Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 perovskite NCs in nonpolar solvent. The as-prepared NCs show a highly efficient blue emission at 434 nm and 460 nm. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 NCs is raised from 8.47% to 35.8% because of effective passivation of surface trap-states by BiOBr. In addition, a blue light-emitting diode (LED) are fabricated by coating Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 NCs/silica composite onto a 365 nm GaN LED chip. This work provides a new synthetic path for preparing lead-free perovskite NCs, and demonstrates their promising application in solid-state lighting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cirrhotic patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) show extremely high mortality rates. We have proposed the MBRS scoring system, which can be used for assessing patients on the day of admission to the ICU; this new system involves determination of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and bilirubin level and assessment of respiratory failure and sepsis. We had used this scoring system to analyze the prognosis of ICU cirrhotic patients with AKI in 2008, and the current study was an external validation of this scoring system. Methods: A total of 190 cirrhotic patients with AKI were admitted to the ICU between March 2008 and February 2011. We prospectively analyzed and recorded the data for 31 demographic parameters and some clinical characteristic variables on day 1 of admission to the ICU; these variables were considered as predictors of mortality. Results: The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 73.2% (139/190), and the 6-month mortality rate was 83.2% (158/190). Hepatitis B viral infection (43%) was observed to be the cause of liver disease in most of the patients. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the MBRS and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III (ACPACHE III) scores determined on the first day of admission to the ICU were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients. In the analysis of the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves, the MBRS scores showed good discrimination (AUROC: 0.863±0.032, p<0.001) in predicting in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: On the basis of the results of this external validation, we conclude that the MBRS scoring system is a reproducible, simple, easy-to-apply evaluation tool that can increase the prediction accuracy of short-term prognosis in critically ill cirrhotic patients with AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we proposed a method to analyze the voltages, currents, and imaginary impedances of the resonant modes in the square ring resonator by converting the square ring resonator to a guided wavelength transmission line.The impedance of the first four resonant modes of the ring resonator can be found and used as the coupling region for the bandpass response design with a high quality and multispurious suppression. A filter example using this concept was designed, fabricated, and measured. The filter composed of two square ring resonators and a half wavelength microstrip line showed a wide rejection bandwidth until four times the passband frequency. The simulated and measured results of the filter example were in a good agreement. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:1089-1092, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26702 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solution-processable, high-concentration transparent ZnO nanoparticle (NP) solution was successfully synthesized in a new process. A highly transparent ZnO thin film was fabricated by spin coating without vacuum deposition. Subsequent ultra-short-pulsed laser annealing at room temperature was performed to change the film properties without using a blanket high temperature heating process. Although the as-deposited NP thin film was not electrically conductive, laser annealing imparted a large conductivity increase and furthermore enabled selective annealing to write conductive patterns directly on the NP thin film without a photolithographic process. Conductivity enhancement could be obtained by altering the laser annealing parameters. Parametric studies including the sheet resistance and optical transmittance of the annealed ZnO NP thin film were conducted for various laser powers, scanning speeds and background gas conditions. The lowest resistivity from laser-annealed ZnO thin film was about 4.75×10 Ω cm, exhibiting a factor of 10 higher conductivity than the previously reported furnace-annealed ZnO NP film and is even comparable to that of vacuum-deposited, impurity-doped ZnO films within a factor of 10. The process developed in this work was applied to the fabrication of a thin film transistor (TFT) device that showed enhanced performance compared with furnace-annealed devices. A ZnO TFT performance test revealed that by just changing the laser parameters, the solution-deposited ZnO thin film can also perform as a semiconductor, demonstrating that laser annealing offers tunability of ZnO thin film properties for both transparent conductors and semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Vehicle thermal loads and air conditioning ancillary loads are strongly influenced by the absorption of solar energy. The adoption of solar reflective coatings for opaque surfaces of the vehicle shell can decrease the “soak” temperature of the air in the cabin of a vehicle parked in the sun, potentially reducing the vehicle’s ancillary load and improving its fuel economy by permitting the use of a smaller air conditioner. An experimental comparison of otherwise identical black and silver compact sedans indicated that increasing the solar reflectance (ρ) of the car’s shell by about 0.5 lowered the soak temperature of breath-level air by about 5–6°C. Thermal analysis predicts that the air conditioning capacity required to cool the cabin air in the silver car to 25°C within 30min is 13% less than that required in the black car. Assuming that potential reductions in AC capacity and engine ancillary load scale linearly with increase in shell solar reflectance, ADVISOR simulations of the SC03 driving cycle indicate that substituting a typical cool-colored shell (ρ =0.35) for a black shell (ρ =0.05) would reduce fuel consumption by 0.12L per 100km (1.1%), increasing fuel economy by 0.10kmL−1 [0.24mpg] (1.1%). It would also decrease carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2.7gkm−1 (1.1%), nitrogen oxide (NO x ) emissions by 5.4mgkm−1 (0.44%), carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 17mgkm−1 (0.43%), and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions by 4.1mgkm−1 (0.37%). Selecting a typical white or silver shell (ρ =0.60) instead of a black shell would lower fuel consumption by 0.21L per 100km (1.9%), raising fuel economy by 0.19kmL−1 [0.44mpg] (2.0%). It would also decrease CO2 emissions by 4.9gkm−1 (1.9%), NO x emissions by 9.9mgkm−1 (0.80%), CO emissions by 31mgkm−1 (0.79%), and HC emissions by 7.4mgkm−1 (0.67%). Our simulations may underestimate emission reductions because emissions in standardized driving cycles are typically lower than those in real-world driving. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Indium tin oxide (ITO) coatings are widely used as transparent electrodes for optoelectronic devices. The most common preparation methods are sputtering, evaporation, and wet chemical deposition. ITO coatings can also be manufactured by solution deposition of ITO nanoparticles followed by furnace thermal annealing with the major motivation to reduce equipment investment. However, conventional furnace annealing is energy intensive, slow, and limited by the peak processing temperature. To overcome these constraints, we suggest using a laser beam for ITO nanoparticle annealing over a large area. It is shown in the present study that a low cost, high power, and high efficiency laser can yield large area functional ITO films in a process that carries substantial promise for potential industrial implementation. Furthermore, laser annealing generates higher electrical conductivity than conventional, thermally annealed nanoparticle films. The optical and electrical properties of the annealed ITO films can also be altered by adjusting laser parameters and environmental gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel NaZnPO 4 :Eu 3+ (NZPO:Eu 3+ ) phosphors were successfully synthesized via solid state reactions for the first time. The XRD analysis confirms that single orthorhombic phase of NZPO was obtained at 850 °C for 4 h. In NZPO:Eu 3+ phosphor, the 7 F 0 → 5 L 6 transitions resulted in the strongest near UV excitation centered at 395 nm and this phosphor shows strong magnetic-dipole transition dominant red emission at 595 nm. The decay lifetime and the CIE coordinate were investigated, respectively. The results suggest that NZPO:Eu 3+ red-emitting phosphor was a potential candidate for UV based white LEDs applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inkjet direct writing of functional materials provides a promising pathway towards realization of ultra-low-cost, large-area printed electronics, albeit at the expense of lowered resolution (∼20–50 μm). We demonstrate that selective laser sintering and ablation of inkjet-printed metal nanoparticles enables low-temperature metal deposition as well as high-resolution patterning. Combined with an air-stable carboxylate-functionalized polythiophene, all-inkjet-printed and laser-processed organic field effect transistors with micron to submicron critical feature resolution were fabricated in a fully maskless sequence, eliminating the need for any lithographic processes. All processing and characterization steps were carried out at plastic-compatible low temperatures and in air under ambient pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: High-level secretory expression of wheat (Triticum aestivum) germin/oxalate oxidase was achieved in Pichia pastoris fermentation cultures as an α-mating factor signal peptide fusion, based on the native wheat cDNA coding sequence. The oxalate oxidase activity of the recombinant enzyme is substantially increased (7-fold) by treatment with sodium periodate, followed by ascorbate reduction. Using these methods, approximately 1g (4×104 U) of purified, activated enzyme was obtained following eight days of induction of a high density Pichia fermentation culture, demonstrating suitability for large-scale production of oxalate oxidase for biotechnological applications. Characterization of the recombinant protein shows that it is glycosylated, with N-linked glycan attached at Asn47. For potential biomedical applications, a nonglycosylated (S49A) variant was also prepared which retains essentially full enzyme activity, but exhibits altered protein–protein interactions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Laser aided deposition process offers the ability to make a metal component directly from CAD drawings. Analysis of metallic powder flow in the feeding system is of particular significance to researchers in order to optimize this technique. Powder flow simulation holds a critical role in understanding flow phenomenon so as to ensure proper design and sound functionality of the coaxial nozzle. Numerical study of metallic powder flow in the coaxial nozzle for laser aided deposition is, however, barely existent. This is partially because not all of gas-atomized powders and none of water-atomised powders can be considered spheres and an accurate and economic modeling approach in describing non-spherical powder dispersion behavior can rarely be seen. To quickly simulate realistic powder flow and also meet the practical requirement for design optimization of the coaxial nozzle, a stochastic model, which considers particle shape effects, is developed. The validity of the model is demonstrated through comparison with experiment. The application of the model to the evaluation of various nozzle geometrical configurations is shown. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses that DNA methylation is required for mammalian development, and dysregulation of the same lead to pathological conditions, like immunodeficiency-centromeric instability-facial anomalies syndrome (ICF) and microcephalic dwarfism. The enzymes are responsible for the addition and removal of DNA methylation but their cordination is in question.

Background Critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring kidney replacement therapy (KRT) have a grim prognosis. Recently, multiple studies focused on the impact of KRT initiation time [i.e. accelerated versus watchful waiting KRT initiation (WWS-KRT)] on patient outcomes. We aim to review the results of all related clinical trials. Methods In this systematic review, we searched all relevant randomized clinical trials from January 2000 to April 2021. We assessed the impacts of accelerated versus WWS-KRT on KRT dependence, KRT-free days, mortality and adverse events, including hypotension, infection, arrhythmia and bleeding. We rated the certainty of evidence according to Cochrane methods and the GRADE approach. Results A total of 4932 critically ill patients with AKI from 10 randomized clinical trials were included in this analysis. The overall 28-day mortality rate was 38.5%. The 28-day KRT-dependence rate was 13.0%. The overall incident of KRT in the accelerated group was 97.4% and 62.8% in the WWS-KRT group. KRT in the accelerated group started 36.7 h earlier than the WWS-KRT group. The two groups had similar risks of 28-day [pooled log odds ratio (OR) 1.001, P = 0.982] and 90-day (OR 0.999, P = 0.991) mortality rates. The accelerated group had a significantly higher risk of 90-day KRT dependence (OR 1.589, P = 0.007), hypotension (OR 1.687, P < 0.001) and infection (OR 1.38, P = 0.04) compared with the WWS-KRT group. Conclusions This meta-analysis revealed that accelerated KRT leads to a higher probability of 90-day KRT dependence and dialysis-related complications without any impact on mortality rate when compared with WWS-KRT. Therefore, we suggest the WWS-KRT strategy for critically ill patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-temperature sintering of metal nanoparticle inks is a promising technique in realizing large area and flexible electronics. It is demonstrated in this letter that spectroscopic ellipsometry in the spectral region of 0.75–3.5 eV can be employed to characterize the sintering process manifested by the evolution of film thickness, effective dielectric function, and percolation transition. A two-oscillator model can be used to model the effective dielectric function. The oscillator energy shifts lower and correlates well with the increase in dc conductance as demonstrated by both in situ and ex situ ellipsometric measurements. A simple model based on two-dimensional R-L-C impedance network was adopted to explain experimental results quantitatively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic light emitting material direct writing is demonstrated based on nanomaterial enabled laser transfer. Through utilization of proper nanoparticle size and type and the laser wavelength choice, a single laser pulse could transfer well-defined and arbitrarily shaped tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)Al patterns ranging from several microns to millimeter size. The unique properties of nanomaterials allow laser induced forward transfer at low laser energy (0.05 J/cm2) while maintaining good fluorescence. The technique may be well suited for the mass production of temperature sensitive organic light emitting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high resolution organic field effect transistor (OFET) fabrication process has been developed based on the selective laser sintering of ink-jet printed nanoparticle inks and the recent development of an air stable carboxylate-functionalized polythiophene semiconducting polymer. The entire fabrication and device characterization are performed at room temperature, ambient pressure, and air environment without using complex lithographic methods. This low temperature OFET fabrication process based on nanoparticle laser sintering has great potential for realizing inexpensive, large area flexible electronics on heat sensitive polymer substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Interleukin-23p19 (IL-23p19) has been demonstrated to be involved in the occurrence and development of cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to examine whether IL-23p19 regulates cardiac remodeling processes and explore its possible mechanisms. Transverse aortic constriction was performed to construct a mouse cardiac remodeling model, and sham surgery was used as a control. The results showed that IL-23p19 expression was increased in the heart after surgery and may be mainly produced by cardiac macrophages. Knockout of IL-23p19 attenuated M1 macrophage polarization, reduced ferroptosis, improved the process of cardiac remodeling and alleviated cardiac dysfunction in TAC mice. Cell culture experiments found that macrophages were the main cause of ferroptosis when phenylephrine (PE) was added, and blocking ferroptosis with ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1), a ferroptosis inhibitor, significantly inhibited M1 macrophage polarization. Treatment with Fer-1 also improved cardiac remodeling and alleviated cardiac dysfunction in IL-23p19-/- mice subjected to TAC surgery. Finally, TAC IL-23p19-/- mice that were administered macrophages isolated from WT mice exhibited an increased proportion of M1 macrophages and aggravated cardiac remodeling, and these effects were reversed when Fer-1 was administered. Knockout of IL-23p19 may attenuate M1 macrophage polarization to improve the cardiac remodeling process by reducing macrophage ferroptosis, and IL-23p19 may be a potential target for the prevention and treatment of cardiac remodeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution containing microorganisms poses a major hazard to human health. It is critical to develop air filters that are both highly efficient for indoor use and suitable for use in industrial settings. Developing long‐lasting electrostatic force‐assisted filtration while keeping high‐temperature resistance and antibacterial qualities is still challenging. Here, centrifugal spinning is used to fabricate fiber mats consisting of polyimide with silver incorporation (PI/Ag). The electrostatic force remained over –700 V after 330 days. The strong electrostatic effect improves the filtration efficiency, resulting in a high PM0.3 removal efficiency of 99.1% with a low‐pressure drop of 103.67 Pa. The high filtration efficiency remains above 91.3% for PM0.3 after placing it for 330 days and heating it at 280 °C. The PI/Ag fiber mats also show antimicrobial properties against the E. coli (Gram‐negative) and S. aureus (Gram‐positive) with prominent bacteriostatic zones >1.2 mm. The PI/Ag fiber mat filters are expected to have great potential for multi‐scenario air filtration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The waste polyester fibre was efficiently milled into ultrafine powders. • Dry ultrafine polyester powders were produced directly without complex process. • Waste polyester fibre was successfully recycled. Polyester has the highest share of world fibre market, which also leads to a large volume of polyester waste. In this study, a compact process combining alkali treatment and stone milling was used to recycle waste polyester fibre into ultrafine powder efficiently. The morphology of the original polyester fibre, alkali modified fibre and milled polyester powder were observed by Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The particle size, crystallinity and strength loss were also studied. It was found that the alkali treatment greatly reduced fibre strength and the crystallinity of the fibre largely decreased after stone milling. The waste polyester fibre was converted into micron powders easily and efficiently. About 700 g dry ultrafine powders with particle size of around 60 µm were achieved in 2 h. This method shows a great potential for industrial application of waste polyester in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have tried to elucidate the connection between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene (ApaI) polymorphism and periodontitis; however, so far there is no consensus. To further assess the impact of ApaI polymorphism on periodontitis risk, we have conducted a meta‐analysis of Chinese population. Relevant literatures were searched according to PubMed and Chinese database in January 2019. The strength of correlation was evaluated by combining odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs). Six case–control studies were identified with inclusion criteria, including 734 cases of periodontitis and 687 controls. Based on the overall analysis, the VDR ApaI polymorphism was not due to the risk of periodontitis in all models. Subgroup analysis showed that the risk of periodontitis in North China was significantly reduced. To sum up, the study shows that VDR‐ApaI polymorphism may be connected with a lower risk of periodontitis in northern China. It is suggested that inferential studies should be conducted in other ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A thermodynamic model coupling the full solar spectrum with a two-step thermo-electrolytic cycle was established. • Solar spectral splitting at an adjustable cut-off wavelength allows a flexible allocation of the solar spectrum. • Solar-to-H 2 efficiency can be significantly improved by the introduction of spectral splitting. • Effects of various reaction conditions and oxygen carrier properties were investigated. • The model can be extended to other solar-driven hydrogen production processes with hybrid driving forces. H 2 O splitting via redox cycles of metal oxides provides a promising path for solar hydrogen production. For various redox cycles with hybrid driving forces, the introduction of spectral splitting is expected to reduce the exergy degradation at the initial step and realize the cascade utilization of the full solar spectrum. A thermodynamic model coupling the full solar spectrum with a two-step thermo-electrolytic cycle was established in this work, based on which the cycling performance was theoretically examined. Solar spectral splitting at an adjustable cut-off wavelength was employed to allow for a flexible allocation of the solar spectrum to meet the thermal and electrical energy demands of the cycle. Solar-to-H 2 efficiency can be significantly improved by the introduction of spectral splitting. It can be as high as 35.4% for the redox cycle performed with CeO 2-δ , and the optimal reduction temperature can be lowered from 1323 K to 1123 K. Isothermal cycles have an efficiency advantage over non-isothermal cycles due to the elimination of the energy cost for oxygen carrier heating. However, they are also accompanied with lower H 2 O conversion rates and higher oxygen carrier demands, for which a compromise may be needed from a practical view. Oxygen carriers with lower oxygen affinity were shown to have a higher efficiency potential than pure ceria (CeO 2-δ). However, as the reduction enthalpy drops close to or even lower than the enthalpy of direct H 2 O splitting, the efficiency decreases fast due to insufficient driving force for the oxidation reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precast prestressed hollow core slabs (PPHCSs) are widely used in the construction of multistory cross-wall structures, but the floors are vulnerable to progressive collapse induced by unexpected loadings due to weak links between PPHCSs. Despite this fact, limited studies have been carried out on the progressive collapse resistance of PPHCSs. In this study, quasi-static tests were conducted to evaluate the progressive collapse resistance of PPHCSs. The test parameters were the types of connectors [i.e., single rebar connector (S1), double rebar connector (S2), partially debonded rebar connector (S3), kinked rebar connector (S4), and partial hinge rebar connector (S5)]. The progressive collapse resistance including the load-carrying capacity, deformation capacity, failure modes, and main load-resisting mechanism was evaluated. The energy dissipation capacity of all specimens was estimated based on the energy balance principle, and the energy dissipation capacity of S5 was 91%, 303%, 190%, and 85% greater than that of S1–S4, respectively. Further, the pseudo-static response of each specimen was calculated using a simplified dynamic assessment method. The test results revealed that all specimens generated effective compressive arch action and catenary action, and the ultimate strength (72.56 kN) of S5 using partial hinge was 64%, 334%, 110%, and 45% greater than that of S1–S4, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped fluorotellurite glasses were prepared. Intense green and red upconversion (UC) emissions corresponding to the transitions of 2H 11/2 , 4S 3/2 →4I 15/2 and 4F 9/2 →4I 15/2 were observed under 980 nm laser excitation, benefiting from the advantages of low phonon energy and good stability of fluorotellurite glasses. Temperature-dependent UC luminescence was carried on glasses with different doping concentration of Er3+ in the range of 298–568 K. Fluorescence intensity ratios (FIR) and absolute sensitivities (S a) were calculated, and the maximal sensitivity value of 54.09 × 10−4 K−1 was obtained at 531 K in the glass with the lowest Er3+ concentration at 0.1 mol%. This study indicates that Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped fluorotellurite glasses can be promising materials applied to non-touching temperature sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The occupy of Eu3+ ions in the crystal lattice of NZPO:Eu3+ ions are studied by theoretical calculation and experimental. The electric structure and density of states of NZPO and NZPO:Eu3+ were comparatively studied by the first-principles, which indicated that the band gap of NZPO decreased after doping Eu3+ ions. The XRD patterns and PL spectra of NZ 1-x PO:xEu3+ or N 1-y ZPO:yEu3+ phosphorare measured in the sake of prove the occupy of Eu3+ ions. The optimal sintering temperature are confirmed by the PL spectra and XRD patterns of a series NZPO:0.04Eu3+ phosphors prepared at different temperature.The effect of the charge compensator and different matrix component on the emission intensity of the phosphors was investigated. Moderate Na+ ions substitute for Zn2+ ions will enhance the emission intensity.The thermal quenching measurement revealed that NZPO:Eu3+ phosphor had better thermal stability. The results indicated that this phosphor can be used as a red supply light material for UV or blue based white LED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]