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We revisit our earlier extension of the CRM and introduce a new version of the dose escalation procedure. Its performance is assessed by simulation, with respect to a template of five operating measures BEARS (Benchmark, Efficiency, Accuracy, Reliability, Safety) that was used in Zhang, Wang and Yang. Our goal is to correctly identify the maximum tolerated dose with a high probability while protecting trial subjects from undue risk of toxicity. Simulation results show that this may be achieved for some considered scenarios, selective models, and considered competing designs. We discuss the pros and cons of the new version of the dose escalation procedure in the face of treatment versus experimentation dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the influence of spindle speed and amplitude on the surface integrity, TC18 titanium alloy samples were milled by the process of conventional milling and longitudinal ultrasonic vibration assisted milling. The experimental data were obtained by dynamometer, thermometer, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, and three-dimensional surface topography instrument for observation and analysis. The results show that the spindle speed has a significant effect on the cutting force, cutting temperature, surface morphology, and surface residual stress. Compared with conventional milling, the surface micro-texture produced by longitudinal ultrasonic vibration assisted milling is more regular, and the cutting force and cutting temperature can be reduced by 34.1% and 19.5%, respectively. Then, the surface residual compressive stress and surface roughness can be increased by 50.9% and 163.88%, respectively. In addition, a certain depth of plastic deformation layer can be formed under the surface of ultrasonic vibration machining, and the depth of deformation layer increases with the increase of amplitude, and when the amplitude is 4 μm, the depth of plastic deformation can reach about 5.2 μm. This study lays a theoretical foundation for further research and optimization of ultrasonic milling technology for difficult machining materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a new design of the continual reassessment method and systematically evaluate its performance on certain operating measures to satisfy the requirements of collective and individual ethics. Simulation results are derived to compare the new design with currently available designs on criteria BEARS: Benchmark, Efficiency, Accuracy, Reliability, Safety. Overall, the new design performs well and safely avoids toxic doses (hence safeguarding individual ethics) while reliably identifying the maximum tolerated dose (hence protecting collective ethics). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A beetle-like fiber with rapid nucleation and fast drop removal is fabricated. • A beetle-like harp with a high water collection rate of ∼2.6 × 104 g/m2/h is fabricated. • A beetle-like network with a high water collection rate of ∼6.5 × 104 g/m2/h is fabricated. • The mechanism of drops coalescence and jumping, drop sweeping and collision removal on the network are revealed. Water harvesting in arid and semi-arid areas gains increasing attention, and harvesting water from the atmosphere are one of the effective ways to solve this problem. This work provides a structured microfiber coated with a beetle-like coating to obtain highly efficient water harvesting through self-induced drops jumping, drops sweeping and droplets collision. Then, the water collection efficiency of the beetle-like fiber is ∼4.7 times that of the lotus-like fiber and ∼4 times that of the initial fiber. Further more, the beetle-like harp structure exhibits a high water collection rate up to ∼2.6 × 104 g/m2/h, and the beetle-like network with a high water collection efficiency of ∼6.5 × 104 g/m2/h. These findings are considered instrumental in the further design and implementation of bionic microfiber for cost-efficient atmospheric water harvesting, industrial vapor recovery and seawater desalination, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrocatalytic water splitting for industrial hydrogen production at large current densities requests highly active and cost‐effective catalysts with long‐term stability. Here, conductive nickel foam is proposed to be used as a substrate to support (Fe,Ni)(OH)2 nanosheet arrays and a reducing agent to reduce Ru3+ ions to metallic Ru. The formed 3D self‐supported Ru/(Fe,Ni)(OH)2/NF (denoted as RFNOH) with a superhydrophilic surface and high conductivity ensures rapid release of gases and efficient electron transportation and mass transfer at a high current density. The resultant RFNOH requires an overpotential of only 152 mV to achieve a current density of 1 A cm−2 for hydrogen evolution reaction in 1 m KOH solution, along with excellent stability at high current density. Meanwhile, density functional theory calculations suggest that (Fe,Ni)(OH)2 promotes the dissociation of water molecules considerably, which plays a critical role in enhancing the generation of molecular hydrogen on Ru nanoparticles. Furthermore, the proposed dual‐active site mechanism solves the problem of low water‐dissociation efficiency faced by noble metal‐based catalysts under alkaline media. This study provides a new route for the practical production of large quantities of hydrogen via electrochemical water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • A hybrid superwettable coating surface with superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic nanoparticles is developed by maskless photocatalytic technology. • The provided surface have remarkable water collection efficiency, self-cleaning capability and wetting stability. • The relationship between the surface wettability and the drop stripping efficiency is clarified. • The principle of improving water collection efficiency on the hybrid surface is explained by the combination of self-propelled bouncing phenomenon and surface wetting theory. Abstract Water collection gains increasing attention for harvesting atmospheric water in semi-arid deserts and inland areas. A new biomimetic method, inspired by the fog harvesting ability of hydrophobic-hydrophilic surfaces of Namib desert beetles, is presented in this study. It envisages a low-cost preparation (by the photocatalysis of titanium dioxide through ultraviolet irradiation) of a titanium dioxide-silicon dioxide hybrid superwettable surface combining superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic nanoparticles and exhibiting excellent water/fog collection properties. The surface wettability, condensation properties, water collection rate, and wetting stability of the product samples are investigated in detail. The results obtained strongly indicate that the proposed hybrid superwettable surface prepared by maskless photocatalysis enhances the water drop condensation and water collection characteristics, with very stable wettability. The best water collection and drop removal efficiency was experimentally determined at the ultraviolet irradiation time of 200 s. This work findings are considered instrumental in the further design and implementation of hybrid superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic surfaces for cost-efficient atmospheric water harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the problem of minimizing ruin probability by joint decisions of excess-of-loss reinsurance and investment in a financial market. The insurer's reserve is modeled by a diffusion process and may be invested in a financial market consisting of a risky asset with the price process following the geometric Brownian motion and a risk-free asset with a fixed return rate. Borrowing is allowed, but with an interest rate higher than the interest rate of the risk-free investment. Meanwhile, an excess-of-loss reinsurance may be purchased to alleviate the risk of ruin. We apply stochastic control theory and find the optimal strategy of joint reinsurance and investment decisions, and derive the closed form expression of the minimum ruin probability function. Results are illustrated numerically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of big data, a traditional offline setting to processing image data is simply not tenable. We simply do not have the computational power to process every image with every possible tag; moreover, we will not have the manpower to clean up the potentially noisy results. In this paper, we introduce a query-driven approach to visual tagging, focusing on the application of face tagging and clustering. We integrate active learning with query-driven probabilistic databases. Rather than asking a user to provide manual labels so as to minimize the uncertainty of labels (face tags) across the entire data set, we ask the user to provide labels that minimize the uncertainty of his/her query result (e.g., “How many times did Bob and Jim appear together?”). We use a data-driven Gaussian process model of facial appearance to write the probabilistic estimates of facial identity into a probabilistic database, which can then support inference through query answering. Importantly, the database is augmented with contextual constraints (faces in the same image cannot be the same identity, while faces in the same track must be identical). Experiments on the real-world photo collections demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Longitudinal-torsional ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling is a machining method that can effectively improve the quality of the machined surface. When this method is used for the end milling of TC18 titanium alloy, however, the law of influence on the machined surface and subsurface remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of the ultrasonic amplitude, feed rate, and cutting speed on the machined surface morphology, roughness, surface residual stress, and subsurface microstructure in the longitudinal-torsional ultrasonic vibration-assisted end-milling process. According to the results, longitudinal-torsional ultrasonic vibration-assisted end milling can help form more obvious surface microtextures with a more distinct surface texture regularity at large amplitude, small feed rate, and high cutting speed. Compared with conventional milling, longitudinal-torsional ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling generates a larger roughness and surface residual stress and a deeper plastic deformation layer of the subsurface in the case of an obvious highly perturbed layer. In addition, the surface residual stress becomes greater and the plastic deformation layer gets deeper at a larger amplitude. When the amplitude was 5 µm, the surface residual stress was − 450.625 MPa and the depth of the deformation layer was 5.4 µm. The stress and depth increased by 21.55 % and 134.78 %, respectively, compared with those of conventional milling. The increase in the feed rate enhanced the roughness, decreased the surface residual stress, and did not significantly alter the depth of the plastic deformation layer. When the feed rate was 0.01 mm/z, the roughness was 0.383 µm and the surface residual stress was − 479.1 MPa. The feed rate and roughness increased by 42.63 % and 20.62 %, respectively, compared with those of conventional milling. With the increase in the cutting speed, the roughness increased, and the surface residual stress and the depth of the plastic deformation layer decreased. When the cutting speed was 15 m/min, the roughness was 0.31 µm, the surface residual stress value was − 454.7 MPa, and the depth of the plastic deformation layer was 5.7 µm. These three parameters increased by 17.8 %, 18.79 %, and 92.5 %, respectively, compared with those of conventional milling. This research has certain application prospect in surface machining of titanium alloy and quality control of machined surface. [Display omitted] • Low feed and high cutting speed could form more regular surface texture. • Ultrasonic milling may increase the surface residual compressive stress. • Ultrasonic milling can produce strong plastic deformation in the subsurface [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent research emphasizes more on analyzing multiple features to improve face recognition (FR) performance. One popular scheme is to extend the sparse representation based classification framework with various sparse constraints. Although these methods jointly study multiple features through the constraints, they just process each feature individually such that they overlook the possible high-level relationship among different features. It is reasonable to assume that the low-level features of facial images, such as edge information and smoothed/low-frequency image, can be fused into a more compact and more discriminative representation based on the latent high-level relationship. FR on the fused features is anticipated to produce better performance than that on the original features, since they provide more favorable properties. Focusing on this, we propose two different strategies which start from fusing multiple features and then exploit the dictionary learning (DL) framework for better FR performance. The first strategy is a simple and efficient two-step model, which learns a fusion matrix from training face images to fuse multiple features and then learns class-specific dictionaries based on the fused features. The second one is a more effective model requiring more computational time that learns the fusion matrix and the class-specific dictionaries simultaneously within an iterative optimization procedure. Besides, the second model considers to separate the shared common components from class-specified dictionaries to enhance the discrimination power of the dictionaries. The proposed strategies, which integrate multi-feature fusion process and dictionary learning framework for FR, realize the following goals: (1) exploiting multiple features of face images for better FR performances; (2) learning a fusion matrix to merge the features into a more compact and more discriminative representation; (3) learning class-specific dictionaries with consideration of the common patterns for better classification performance. We perform a series of experiments on public available databases to evaluate our methods, and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We generalize the bandit process with a covariate introduced by Woodroofe in several significant directions: a linear regression model characterizing the unknown arm, an unknown variance for regression residuals and general discounting sequence for a non-stationary model. With the Bayesian regression approach, we assume a normal-gamma conjugate prior distribution of the unknown parameters. It is shown that the optimal strategy is determined by a sequence of index values which are monotonic and determined by the observed value of the covariate and updated posterior distributions. We further show that the myopic strategy is not optimal in general. Such structural properties help to understand the tradeoff between information gathering and immediate expected payoff and may provide certain insight for covariate adjusted response adaptive design of clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider response adaptive designs when the binary response may be misclassified and extend relevant results in the literature. We derive the optimal allocations under various objectives and examine the relationship between the power of statistical test and the variability of treatment allocation. Asymptotically best response adaptive randomization procedures and effects of misclassification on the optimal allocations are investigated. A real-life clinical trial is also discussed to illustrate our proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We consider response-adaptive design of clinical trials under a variance-penalized criterion in the presence of mismeasurement. An explicit expression for the variance-penalized criterion with misclassified dichotomous responses is derived for response-adaptive designs and some properties are discussed. A new target proportion of treatment allocation is proposed under the criterion and related simulation results are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Degradation of the azo dye reactive brilliant red K-2BP (K-2BP) by ultrasound radiation combined with zero-valent iron (US-Fe0) was studied, and the mechanism of Fe0 enhancement for K-2BP degradation was investigated. By determining the of •OH radicals and Fe2+ in the US-Fe0 system, it was verified that the synergetic effect between sonication and Fe0 was mainly due to the increase in •OH radicals concentration resulting from Fenton's reaction. Degradation of K-2BP by the US-Fe0 process followed a pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the degradation rate constants were 3.04×10−3 min−1 and 3.88×10−2 min−1 for US alone and US-Fe0 process, respectively. Degradation rate of K-2BP increased with increase in Fe0 dosage and decreased with increase in the medium pH, reaction temperature, and dye initial concentration. The UV-Vis spectra of K-2BP at different sonication times showed that both azo and aromatic groups were destroyed during degradation in the US-Fe0 system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The ultrasonic degradation of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) in aqueous solution with CCl4 enhancement was studied. The effects of operating parameters such as CCl4 dosage, ultrasonic power, media temperature, the initial concentration of p-NP and initial pH value of the aqueous solution on the degradation of p-NP were investigated, and the enhancement mechanism of CCl4 for p-NP sonolysis was also discussed. The results showed that the sonochemical degradation of p-NP was obviously enhanced by adding CCl4. It attributed to the increase OH radicals concentration in the presence of CCl4 as a hydrogen atom scavenger, and the formation of some oxidizing agents such as free chlorine and chlorine-containing radicals. The degradation of p-NP follows a pseudo-first-order kinetics. The degradation rate of p-NP increased with decreasing the temperature, the initial pH value of the solution and decreasing the initial concentration of p-NP. It was also found that p-NP can be mineralized in this process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The degradation of azo dye direct sky blue 5B by sonication combined with zero-valent iron (US-Fe0)was investigated and an evident synergistic effect was observed. The synergetic effect is mainly due to the increase of OH radical concentration from Fenton’s reaction. The OH radical concentrations in sole sonication and US-Fe0 process were detected by using terephthalic acid as a fluorescent probe and found that OH radicals were generated continuously during sonication and the production of OH radicals in US-Fe0 process was much higher than that in sole sonication. The degradation of direct sky blue 5B followed a pseudo-first-order kinetics and the degradation rate constants were found to be 0.0206 and 0.169min−1 with sole sonication and US-Fe0 process respectively. It was also found that the degradation ratio of direct sky blue 5B increased with the increase of zero-valent iron dosage and decrease of pH value of the dye aqueous solution. The degradation mechanism of direct sky blue 5B with US-Fe0 process was discussed by the changes of UV–Vis spectrogram of the dye during degradation. The dramatic changes of UV spectra showed a disappearance of both azo and aromatic groups during the degradation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We consider a bandit process with delayed responses which are exponentially distributed survival times. The objective is to maximize the expected value of the total response from all selections. We formulate the problem and show that the optimal strategy is characterized by a sequence of break-even values. A monotonicity property of this sequence is derived, which implies the non-optimality of the myopic strategy and a special optimal stopping solution. An example is included to illustrate a possible application of the main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The degradation of reactive brilliant red K-2BP (K-2BP) in aqueous solution by using swirling jet-induced cavitation, ultrasonic cavitation, and swirling jet-induced cavitation combined with H2O2, ultrasonic cavitation combined with H2O2 was investigated. An obvious synergetic effect between hydrodynamic cavitation and H2O2 was found and a variety of reaction parameters were investigated for the degradation of K-2BP. It was found that the degradation of K-2BP by hydrodynamic cavitation combined with H2O2 follows a pseudo-first-order kinetics. Higher temperature of medium, higher-pressure of fluid and higher concentration of H2O2 are favorable for the degradation of K-2BP, and lower medium pH, lower initial dye concentrations also favored K-2BP degradation. The degradation mechanism of reactive brilliant red K-2BP also discussed with the UV–Vis spectra of the dye solution at different degradation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Degradation of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in aqueous solution by means of ozonolysis or ozonolysis combined with sonolysis was investigated for a variety of operating conditions. Synergistic effects can be observed when ozonolysis was combined with sonolysis because additional oduced. It was found that the degradation of EDTA in aqueous solution follows the pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics and the degradation rate depends on the initial concentration of EDTA, the temperature and the acidity of the aqueous medium. The main degradation products of EDTA, such as amino acid and nitrate were tentatively identified by using GC–MS and ion chromatogram techniques. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The degradation of rhodamine B in aqueous solution by using swirling jet-induced cavitation combined with H2O2 was investigated. It was found that there is an obvious synergetic effect between hydrodynamic cavitation and H2O2 for the degradation of rhodamine B. The effects of various operating parameters such as H2O2 dosage, medium pH, solution temperature, fluid pressure and the dye initial concentration on the degradation of rhodamine B have been studied. It was found that the removal of rhodamine B in aqueous solution was increased with increasing the addition of H2O2 and the fluid pressure, and the removal of rhodamine B was decreased with increasing the medium pH and dye initial concentration. It was also found that the degradation of rhodamine B is dependent on the solution temperature. The removal of rhodamine B increased with increase of temperature from 30 to 50°C, but less degradation ratio is observed at 60°C. The degradation kinetics of rhodamine B in aqueous solution using swirling jet-induced cavitation combined with H2O2 under various operational conditions was also investigated. It was found that the degradation of rhodamine B follows a pseudo-first-order kinetics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The degradation of alachlor aqueous solution by using hydrodynamic cavitation was systematically investigated. It was found that alachlor in aqueous solution can be deomposed with swirling jet-induced cavitation. The degradation can be described by a pseudo-first-order kinetics and the degradation rate was found to be 4.90×10−2 min−1. The effects of operating parameters such as fluid pressure, solution temperature, initial concentration of alachlor and medium pH on the degradation rates of alachlor were also discussed. The results showed that the degradation rates of alachlor increased with increasing pressure and decreased with increasing initial concentration. An optimum temperature of 40°C existed for the degradation rate of alachlor and the degradation rate was also found to be slightly depend on medium pH. Many degradation products formed during the process, and some of them were qualitatively identified by GC–MS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We examine the issue of asymptotic efficiency of estimation for response adaptive designs of clinical trials, from which the collected data set contains a dependency structure. We establish the asymptotic lower bound of exponential rates for consistent estimators. Under certain regularity conditions, we show that the maximum likelihood estimator achieves the asymptotic lower bound for response adaptive trials with dichotomous responses. Furthermore, it is shown that the maximum likelihood estimator of the treatment effect is asymptotically efficient in the Bahadur sense for response adaptive clinical trials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The chemical effect of swirling jet-induced cavitation was investigated with the decomposing reaction of rhodamine B in aqueous solution. It was found that rhodamine B in aqueous solution can be degraded with swirling jet-induced cavitation and the degradation can be described by a pseudo-first-order kinetics. The effects of operating conditions such as pressure, temperature, initial concentration of rhodamine B, pH of water on the degradation rate of rhodamine B were discussed. It was found that the degradation rate of rhodamine B increased with increasing pressure and decreased with increasing initial concentration. It was also found that the degradation of rhodamine B was strongly dependent of temperature and pH of aqueous solution. The oxidation efficiency of swirling jet-induced cavitation for rhodamine B degradation was discussed and compared with ultrasonic cavitation. The result indicated that the swirling jet-induced cavitation is more energy efficient as compared to sonochemical cavitation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Degradation of reactive brilliant red K-BP in aqueous solution by means of ultrasonic cavitation was investigated for a variety of operating conditions. It is found that the degradation of reactive brilliant red K-BP in aqueous solution follows pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics and the degradation rate is dependent on the initial concentration of reactive brilliant red K-BP, the temperature and acidity of the aqueous medium. The effects of Fe2+, Fenton reagent and NaCl addition on the sonochemical degradation of reactive brilliant red K-BP were also investigated. The results obtained here indicate that the degradation rate of brilliant red K-BP in aqueous solution was substantially accelerated by Fe2+, NaCl or Fenton reagent addition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Adaptive designs of clinical trials are ethical alternatives when the traditional randomization becomes ethically infeasible in desperate medical situations. However, such a design creates a dependency among trial data and its statistical analysis becomes more complex than the analysis for traditional randomized clinical trials. In this article, we examine adaptive designs with dichotomous responses from two treatments and extend some commonly used statistical methods for independent data. Under a regularity condition, the estimated odds ratio and its logarithm are shown to follow asymptotically normal distributions. Moreover, the ordinary goodness-of-fit test statistic for two-by-two contingency tables with dependent data is shown to be asymptotically chi-square distributed. We also discuss the consistency of maximum likelihood estimators of the unknown parameters for a wide class of adaptive designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical CO 2 reduction (ECR) to produce value added chemicals such as formic acid in aqueous solutions has gained significant attention to alleviate the increasing demand of industrial supplies in past two decades. The metal In, featuring with d10 orbit properties, holds a high potential to be efficient catalyst for ECR. Related literatures have reported that In is a promising electrocatalyst to generate formic acid. However, it's Faraday efficiency of producing formic acid is relatively low owing to a finite catalytic activity. Herein, we report an effective approach of introducing TiO 2 as the substrate of In catalyst to activate and stabilize the CO 2 − intermediates. The in-situ CO 2 − ultraviolet absorption spectrum test and scanning electrochemical microscope fully confirm that the ability of In catalyst to reduce CO 2 by one-electron can be extremely enhanced after introducing TiO 2 substrate. More importantly, the resultant In–TiO 2 catalyst for ECR to produce HCOOH has achieved an augmented catalytic activity with a high Faraday efficiency of 86% at −1.6 V (vs. SCE), which is obviously higher than that of In (58%) catalyst. Detailed investigation has revealed that the Ti3+ sites formed by self-doping on the surface of TiO 2 substrate are contributed to the one-electron reduction of CO 2 molecules to CO 2 − intermediates and the formation of Ohmic contact in the In–TiO 2 composites could promote the efficient conversion of CO 2 − intermediates to HCOOH products. Image 1 • A In–TiO2 composite catalyst used to heterogeneous system be designed and composited. • The catalyst exhibits high Faraday efficiency for electrochemical CO2 reduction to formic acid. • The CO2- intermediates be found by In-situ ultraviolet absorption spectrum test. • This work provides a new design idea of composite catalyst with Ohmic contact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cu embedded into Sn nanoparticles heterogeneous bimetallic catalyst was designed. • The catalyst exhibits highly efficiency for CO 2 electrochemical reduction to formate. • The catalyst' electronic regulation facilitates the formation of key intermediate HCOO. • The intermediates and the reaction pathway of CO 2 reduction were explored by In-situ Raman spectroscopy and DFT. Electrochemical reduction of CO 2 is promising for mitigating the excessive CO 2 emission. However, the low efficiency and poor selectivity for targeted products block the practical application of most conventional electrocatalysts. Here, we developed an electronic regulation Cu embedded into Sn nanoparticles heterogeneous bimetallic catalyst, with high catalytic activity and selectivity for electrochemical reduction of CO 2. The excellent performance of high activity is mainly due to the appearance of abundant Sn-Cu interfaces after Cu embedded into Sn nanoparticles. XPS characterization indicates that the atomic Sn electronic structure of the bimetallic catalyst was significantly regulated by deposited Cu atoms. DFT calculations in combination with In-situ Raman spectroscopy characterization on CO 2 reduction process further indicates that the electronic regulation of bimetallic catalyst facilitates the formation of key intermediate HCOO • followed by the generation of formate with high selectivity. The present design provides a method for prepare bimetallic catalyst with high catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a post-hoc examination of baseline MRI data from a clinical trial investigating the efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a treatment for patients with mild–moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, we investigated whether the analysis of baseline MRI data could predict the response of patients to rTMS treatment. Whole-brain T1-weighted MRI scans of 75 participants collected at baseline were analyzed. The analyses were run on the gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) of the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), as that was the rTMS application site. The primary outcome measure was the Alzheimer's disease assessment scale—cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog). The response to treatment was determined based on ADAS-Cog scores and secondary outcome measures. The analysis of covariance showed that responders to active treatment had a significantly lower baseline GM volume in the right DLPFC and a higher GM asymmetry index in the DLPFC region compared to those in non-responders. Logistic regression with a repeated five-fold cross-validated analysis using the MRI-driven features of the initial 75 participants provided a mean accuracy of 0.69 and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.74 for separating responders and non-responders. The results suggest that GM volume or asymmetry in the target area of active rTMS treatment (DLPFC region in this study) may be a weak predictor of rTMS treatment efficacy. These results need more data to draw more robust conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) hybrid perovskite semiconductors have recently emerged as promising materials for photovoltaics application. However, the strong quantum and dielectric confinement of RP perovskite compounds increases their optical bandgap and binding energy of exciton, which limit their application in solar cells. Herein, the doping of RP‐based (BA)2(MA)3Pb4I13 perovskite materials by means of Li+ is reported for the first time, which can significantly help to reduce dielectric confinement and thus the exciton‐binding energy via reducing the dielectric constant difference between organic spacer cation and inorganic framework. Furthermore, the Li+ doping boosts the carrier mobility, reduces the trap density states, and thus allows to achieve power conversion efficiency of ≈15% via Li+‐(BA)2(MA)3Pb4I13‐based perovskite solar cell, which is the highest efficiency for layered perovskites (n = 4) so far. This work highlights the promising ionic doping engineering for further improvement of the layered perovskite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anatase TiO2 with co‐exposed (001) and (101) surfaces [(001)‐(101)‐TiO2], as a semiconductor photocatalyst in crystal plane control engineering, has become a research hotspot in environmental purification and energy conversion due to its strong physicochemical stability, non‐toxic and harmless, and low production cost. This review briefly introduces the basic principles and influencing factors of [(001)‐(101)‐TiO2]. On this basis, the effect of heterostructures formed by different materials and modification methods on its photocatalytic activity are elaborated in detail. Mainly formed heterostructures mentioned in this review include oxygen vacancy/Ti3+‐[(001)‐(101)‐TiO2] heterostructures, noble metal‐[(001)‐(101)‐TiO2] heterostructures, metal sulfide‐[(001)‐(101)‐TiO2] heterostructures, metal oxide‐[(001)‐(101)‐TiO2] heterostructures and carbon material‐[(001)‐(101)‐TiO2] heterostructures. The light absorption range and charge separation mechanism of (001)‐(101)‐TiO2 after modification are discussed. Moreover, the application of photocatalytic redox reaction in simulating photosynthesis to prepare new energy (hydrogen evolution and CO2 reduction), environmental purification and sterilization is introduced in detail. Finally, various measures of designing (001)‐(101)‐TiO2 nanostructures for further applications in energy production and environmental remediation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-year mathematics instructors at universities across North America and the globe have been noticing a decline in the mathematics skills and preparation of their incoming students, who have been failing out of first-year mathematics courses at alarming rates. Though some universities have implemented placement or diagnostic tests to measure students' preparedness, many still use high school grades as the only indicator of readiness for university mathematics. However, researchers have questioned how effective these high school grades are at predicting success in university mathematics classes due to factors such as mis-aligned teaching methods, curriculum, and grade inflation. This study analyzes the relationship between grade 12 Pre-Calculus grades and first year university Calculus grades at a large Canadian university over the period from 2001–2015 in an attempt to quantify previous research in a large-scale, longitudinal manner. Results show that there is a significant disconnect between these grades, that the disconnect has been growing over time, and that it is is quite significant for students who are not performing well at the Calculus level. Recommendations moving forward include the implementation of placement examination in a wide-scale manner, and increased communication and collaboration between K-12 and university mathematics educators and administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Aristolochia plants wilt and decay, aristolochic acids (AAs) are released into the soil, causing soil contamination. It has been demonstrated that aristolochic acid can be accumulated and enriched in crops through plant uptake. However, there is a lack of systematic studies on the migration and accumulation of AAs in a realistic simulated soil environment. In this study, Aristolochia herbal extracts were mixed with soil for growing three typical vegetables: lettuce, celery, and tomato. The contents of AAs in the above-mentioned plants were determined by an established highly sensitive LC-MS/MS method to study the migration and accumulation of AAs. We found that AAs in the soil can be transferred and accumulated in plants. AAs first entered the roots, which were more likely to accumulate AAs, and partially entered the above-ground parts. This further confirms that AAs can enter the food chain through plants and can have serious effects on human health. It was also shown that plants with vigorous growth and a large size absorbed AAs from the soil at a faster rate. The more AAs present in the soil, the more they accumulated in the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation into the effects of cutting speed on cutting force and surface integrity during which experiments for conventional milling and longitudinal-torsional ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling for machining of a TC18 alloy were performed. Through an analysis of tool-workpiece kinematic characteristics, several advantages of torsional vibration cutting in the non-separated cutting area are illustrated, including variable cutting thickness, variable-front-angle cutting, and chip pulling by the cutter. The cutting force, surface quality, residual stress, and microstructure of the cutting surface were studied in detail during conventional milling and longitudinal-torsional ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling processes at different rotational speeds. The experimental results show that the average radial cutting force and the surface residual compressive stress both decreased with an increase in cutting speed. During the process of torsional vibration milling, the surface roughness increased with an increase in cutting speed before the rotational speed reached the critical speed (1107 rpm) of torsional vibration cutting without separation. After the critical speed was reached, the surface roughness decreased with an increase in cutting speed. Compared with conventional milling, the cutting force and surface roughness of longitudinal-torsional ultrasonic vibration-assisted milling are reduced by 16.05% and 45.65%, respectively. Then, the surface residual compressive stress can be increased by 24.35%. In addition, for both milling processes, the deformation layer thickness increased with an increase in rotational speed, and when the cutting speed is 1400 rpm, the depth of plastic deformation of the vibration milling sample can reach about 7.5 μm. When the rotational speed was greater than 1100 rpm, the grain was significantly elongated and refined along the cutting direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Degradation of acid orange 7 (AO 7) in aqueous solution was investigated by an integrated microwave irradiation/granular activated carbon adsorption method. Reaction kinetics of AO 7 decay were found to consist of a reaction and a stagnant stage, while two characteristic constants, the initial AO 7 decay rate and the final oxidative capacity of this process, are successfully derived and used to describe the two stages, respectively. A proposed model and the way to solve the two characteristic constants (the initial decay rate and the final oxidative capacity) are capable of describing the AO 7 degradation precisely under microwave irradiation at different reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel sonochemical method to directly prepare anatase nanocrystalline TiO2 has been established. TiO2 particles were synthesized by the hydrolysis of titanium tetraisopropyl in the presence of water and ethanol under high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation (20 KHz, 100 W/cm2) at 90 °C for 3 h. The product structure and the particle sizes were dependent upon the reaction temperature, the acidity of the medium and the reaction time. Characterization was accomplished using various different techniques, such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The TEM images showed that the particles of TiO2 were columnar in shape and the average sizes were ∼3×7 nm. The formation mechanism of nanocrystalline TiO2 under high-intensity ultrasonic irradiation was also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Uniformly distributed Ru nanoparticles on Ni 2 P/CC was synthesized. • The overpotential of Ru-Ni 2 P/CC for HER in 1 M KOH only requires 23 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. • The electronic configuration of Ni 2 P via Ru incorporation can improve HER energy barrier. • The strategy is highly desirable for loading noble metal onto non-precious metal catalysts. In order to achieve cost-effective hydrogen production, the development of efficient and stable electrocatalysts for alkaline water splitting has aroused wide attention recently. Here, Ni 2 P nanosheets arrays decorated with ruthenium nanoparticles are grown in situ on a carbon cloth substrate (denoted as Ru-Ni 2 P/CC) via surface modification engineering, exhibiting good electrical conductivity and superior hydrophilicity. The resulting Ru-Ni 2 P/CC-5 with Ru content of 8.98 wt% exhibits an ultra-low overpotential of only 23 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and good long-term stability in alkaline solution. The corresponding X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization displays the strong electron interaction between Ru and Ni 2 P, which facilitates the regulation of their internal electron configuration. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the Ni sites in Ni 2 P nanosheets are conducive to the dissociation of water molecules owing to lower energy barrier, while Ru sites act as catalytic active center for the production of molecular hydrogen. The present work offers a reasonable design route of efficient electrocatalyst for HER in alkaline solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although children have historically been excluded from clinical trials (CTs), many require medicines tested and approved in CTs, forcing health care providers to treat their pediatric patients based on extrapolated data. Unfortunately, traditional randomized CTs can be slow and resource-intensive, and they often require multi-center collaboration. However, an adaptive design (AD) framework for CTs could be used to increase the efficiency of pediatric CTs by incorporating prospectively planned modifications to CT methods without undermining the integrity or validity of the study. There are many possible adaptations, but each will have ethical, logistical, and statistical implications. It remains unclear which adaptations (or combinations thereof) will lead to real-world improvements in pediatric CT efficiency. This study will identify, evaluate, and synthesize the various regulatory, ethical, logistical, and statistical considerations and emerging issues of AD in CTs that could be used to evaluate the use of drugs in children.Methods/design: Following the development of a peer-reviewed search strategy, a systematic review on AD in CTs will be conducted. Data on regulatory, ethical, logistic, and statistical considerations as well as population and trial design characteristics will be synthesized. A mixed-methods study including surveys and focus groups with regulators, research ethics board members, biostatisticians, clinicians, and scientists, as well as representatives from patient groups and the public will evaluate the opportunities and challenges in applying AD in trials enrolling children and propose recommendations on best practices.Discussion: This study will deliver practical recommendations on the use of AD in pediatric CTs. Collaboration and consultation with national and global partners will ensure that our results meet the needs of researchers, regulators, and patients, both locally and globally, and that they remain current and relevant by engaging a wide variety of stakeholders. Overall, this research will enrich the knowledge base regarding if, how, and when AD can be used to answer research questions with fewer resources while still meeting the highest ethical standards and regulatory requirements for CTs. In turn, this will result in increased high-quality clinical research needed by health care providers so they have access to appropriate, population-specific evidence regarding the safe and effective use of medicines in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term anti-icing technology is one of the important measures to solve the industrial development in low temperature environment, and is still one of the important challenges at present although it has been vigorously developed. Here, we design a fluorine-modified CNT@epoxy electrothermal coating by cooperating passive anti-icing of superhydrophobic surfaces with active deicing of electrothermal property. The coating exhibits excellent superhydrophobicity, low resistivity, robust durability, higher electrothermal response rate, freezing resistance, and rapid electrothermal thawing ability. Excitedly, our coating can delay the freezing time to 8 h by 15 V pulse voltage with frequency of 10 s/100 s under − 20 °C, which confirms the effectiveness by synergizing active de-icing and passive anti-icing at low pulse voltage. This work promises new solutions for surface applications related to long-term anti-icing, expecting to serve in cryogenic system and equipment, power transmission system, high-altitude vehicle, and so on. [Display omitted] • We fabricate a F-CEE coating for long-term anti-icing by facile spraying method. • The F-CEE shows excellent wettability and electrothermal effect. • The F-CEE coating exhibits superior freezing delay and rapid thawing ability. • The F-CEE coating can delay the freezing time to 8 h under − 20 ℃. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ordinary flocculants rely on gravity settling for solid-liquid separation, it is difficult to meet the requirements of wastewater treatment in short flocculation settling time, few sludge production and low moisture content. A new type of flocculant is required to solve these difficulties. Magnetic materials are given more attention because of the magnetism in magnetic field. It is significant to prepare magnetic composite flocculant to realize solid-liquid separation with the combined effects of both gravity and external magnetic field. The gelatin-based magnetic flocculant consisted of poly (acrylamide-co-acryloyloxyethyl thimethylammonium chloride) grafted gelatin-coated Fe3O4[magnetic poly (AM-co-DAC)-g-gelatin] was prepared in this article. A Box-Behnken design for determination of optimal plan with three-level and three-variable was designed. The best conditions of preparing magnetic poly (AM-co-DAC)-g-gelatin were determined. The structure of magnetic poly (AM-co-DAC)-g-gelatin was studied by infrared spectrum and its magnetic properties were characterized by magnetic hysteresis loop. The flocculation of magnetic poly (AM-co-DAC)-g-gelatin was compared with conventional flocculant. The flocculation experiment results showed that the magnetic poly (AM-co-DAC)-g-gelatin was effective for removal of turbidity and significantly reduced the settling time of flocs, compared to conventional flocculants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cephalosporin residue (CR) was used to produce biochar (BC) and activated carbon (AC) at 600 °C (BC600 and AC600). To compare the removal behaviors and mechanisms of Cr(VI) by CR and derived chars, batch adsorption tests were performed in Cr(VI) microenvironment like pH, Cr(VI) concentration, adsorbent dosage, combing with the characterization of adsorbents before and after adsorption. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques were used. Results showed that the Cr(VI) removals by CR and CR-chars fitted Freundlich and Langmuir models. Based on the Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacities of CR, BC600 and AC600 towards Cr(VI) were 107.41, 88.19 and 74.07 mg g −1 , respectively. The CR rich in dissolved carbon (DOC), –NH 2 and –COOH, chiefly acted as chelating and reducing agents, while the AC600 with high surface area mainly supported Cr(VI) adsorption during Cr(VI) removal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • K, P, O and S were innovatively simultaneously doped into g-C 3 N 4. • K, P, O, S-g-C 3 N 4 has 12.85 times higher yield of H 2 O 2 than g-C 3 N 4. • The degradation rate of TC by K, P, O, S-g-C 3 N 4 was 1.5 times higher than the pure. • Four elements doping can promote the charge transfer in g-C 3 N 4. • Negatively charged S introduced into the g-C 3 N 4 can facilitate the ·O 2 − production. Elemental doping can modulate the electronic and molecular structure of g-C 3 N 4 to improve its photocatalytic properties. In this study, potassium (K), phosphorus (P), oxygen (O), and sulfur (S) were doped into the g-C 3 N 4 photocatalyst (K, P, O, S/g-C 3 N 4), and the four-element doped photocatalyst was successfully prepared. UV–vis diffuse reflection spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and transient photocurrent revealed that the co-doping of g-C 3 N 4 with K, P, O and S broadens the visible response and accelerates the transfer of photogenerated charges. Under visible light irradiation, the H 2 O 2 concentration produced with K, P, O, S/g-C 3 N 4 was 12.85 times higher than that with g-C 3 N 4. Moreover, tetracycline (TC) can be effectively degraded by the photocatalyst in surface water. The degradation pathway of TC and the molecular structures of 12 intermediates were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The superoxide radical (·O 2 −) trapping-electron spin resonance (ESR) technique confirmed that ·O 2 − is the main active species in the system. Therefore, the four-element doping strategy adopted in this research proved the feasibility of increasing the amount of H 2 O 2 produced and degrading the antibiotics in natural water under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a novel europium/graphene oxide/lead oxide (Eu/GO/PbO 2) composite based anode with excellent electrocatalytic performance towards degradation of hydroquinone was prepared by a facile co-electrodeposition method. The composition and micromorphology of the anode was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the results confirmed that europium (Eu) and graphene oxide (GO) were successfully composited with PbO 2 and a more compact structure was obtained, which was conductive to enhancing the corrosion resistance of the electrode. Besides, electrochemical measurements indicated that Eu/GO/PbO 2 electrode possessed longer service lifetime (87 h), higher oxygen evolution potential (2.64 V), and lower charge transfer resistance (41.08 Ω) than GO/PbO 2 and pure PbO 2 electrode. The promoted electrocatalytic activity of Eu/GO/PbO 2 electrode was ascribed to its stronger hydroxyl radical generation ability, more active sites and lower electron transfer resistance. Additionally, effects of initial hydroquinone concentration, applied current density and initial pH value on the degradation performance of Eu/GO/PbO 2 anode were systematically investigated. The behind degradation mechanism of hydroquinone by Eu/GO/PbO 2 anode was speculated on the basis of the major intermediates identified by high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (HPLC-MS). Under the continuous attack of free hydroxyl radicals, hydroquinone was finally decontaminated into CO 2 and H 2 O. The present work demonstrated that Eu/GO/PbO 2 composite anode exhibited excellent degradation performance towards hydroquinone. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A design principle for achieving stable anti-fingerprint surfaces is presented. • A standardized benchmarking method is proposed. • Contrasted wettability breaks up fingerprint oils into fragmented films. • The fingerprint resistance increases 74.6 % against oleophobic glass. • The fingerprint removal ability increases 59.2 % against oleophobic glass. The rapid development of user interface products (such as touch-operated smartphones, panels, and computers) has tremendously changed how we interact with technology. Inevitably, undesirable fingerprint oil contamination is often left on touchscreen glass, significantly impairing the users' visual experience. To date, attempts based on oil-repellent or oleophilic coatings have been utilized to prevent the deposition of fingerprints on glass. However, these methods exhibited limited performance, particularly under real-world conditions. Inspired by the heterogeneous wettability of Stenocara beetles, we designed a novel heterogeneous glass surface, made up of nanopillars consisting of oleophilic top surfaces with oleophobic sidewalls and bases. This configuration combines the anti-fingerprint properties of both oleophobicity and oleophilicity. The beetle-like heterogeneous structures with remarkable wettability contrast enable excellent optical and wetting properties, including high transparency, low haze, hydrophobicity, and oleophobicity. The synergistic integration of oleophobic and oleophilic characteristics contributes to the non-uniform distribution of adhesion force, leading to a 74.6 % increase in fingerprint resistance and a 59.2 % increase in the ease of fingerprint removal over conventional oleophobic glass. The heterogeneous glass also maintained stable anti-fingerprint properties after ten standard cycles of finger touch and wiping, and even up to 1000 cycles of continuous wiping, illustrating good mechanical robustness. Thus, our findings provide a new route for the future design of anti-fingerprint glass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] An evident synergistic effect was observed in the degradation of the dye K-2BP using SJC/Fenton process. [•] The effects of various operating parameters on the degradation of K-2BP were investigated. [•] The degradation mechanism of the dye K-2BP was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Eu-doped PbO 2 electrode was successfully prepared for electrochemical oxidation of hydroquinone, which gives promise for treatment of wastewater containing refractory organic pollutants. [Display omitted] • Eu-doped PbO 2 anodes were prepared using co-electrodeposition technique. • The incorporation of Eu can enhance the electrochemical activity and stability of PbO 2 electrodes. • Electrocatalytic degradation of hydroquinone was investigated by Eu-doped PbO 2 anodes. • The intermediates were identified and a possible degradation pathway was elucidated. • The Eu-doped electrodes were promising anode materials for pollutants degradation. The Eu-doped PbO 2 electrodes were prepared using co-electrodeposition technique for electrochemical oxidation of hydroquinone. The results of electrochemical measurements, accelerated service lifetime and bulk electrolysis experiments confirmed that Eu-doped PbO 2 electrodes possessed higher oxygen evolution overpotential, stability and acetamiprid removal ratio than pure PbO 2 electrodes and Eu-PbO 2 -3 electrode was considered as the ideal anode. The promoted electrocatalytic activity of Eu-PbO 2 -3 electrode was ascribed to its stronger hydroxyl radical generation ability, more active sites and lower electron transfer resistance. Additionally, the effect of operating parameters, including current density, initial hydroquinone concentration, and pH value, on the electrochemical oxidation of hydroquinone were subjected to systematical investigation. More significantly, the intermediates generated in the degradation process were identified by HPLC-MS and a possible hydroquinone degradation mechanism was proposed accordingly. The degradation pathway can be divided into three stages with the hydroquinone initially attacked by hydroxyl radicals. Finally, all the intermediates were converted to CO 2 and H 2 O. The present work confirmed that Eu-doped electrodes could be potentially applied in removal of refractory organic contaminants from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cationic copolymer latex of vinyl acetate (VA) with methacryloxyethyl trimethylammonium chloride (MTC) and anionic copolymer latex of VA with sodium acrylate (SA) were prepared via emulsifier-free emulsion copolymerization. Modifications of cement mortars by these copolymer latexes were studied, and the results were compared with mortars modified by homopolymer of VA (PVA) as well as with blank mortars. The experimental results showed that flow of the mortars modified by PVA homopolymer and P(VA–MTC) copolymer latexes were increased compared with the blank, whereas a decrease was observed for that modified by P(VA–SA) anionic copolymer latex; a volume expansion was detected in polymer modified mortars by PVA and P(VA–MTC), while no volume expansion was observed in the anionic P(VA–SA) modified mortars; the flexural strength of mortars modified by P(VA–MTC) increased by 79.5% compared to unmodified mortars after 5 day water curing plus 21 day air curing. This value reached 95% when the curing process was followed by a supplementary 24h vacuum curing. These polymer modified mortars were then subjected to hydration analysis through X-Ray diffraction (XRD). Mechanisms of the mortar modification are discussed based on the characterization results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The primary objective of this study was to observe the effect of hypnosis on hot flashes (HF) and overall quality of life in symptomatic patients. A secondary objective was to observe the effect of hypnosis on fatigue. Ten healthy volunteers and four breast cancer patients (total 14 patients) with symptoms of HF were treated with four, 1 h/wk sessions of hypnosis. The same physician, with the help of a nurse, conducted every session. All subjects recorded frequency, duration, and severity of HF in a HF diary. The QLQ-C30 and Brief Fatigue Inventory forms were used to assess the impact on quality of life and fatigue, respectively. The statistical evaluations were performed, including analysis of variance and nonparametric procedures. The frequency (p < 0.0001), duration (p < 0.0001), and severity (p < 0.0001) of HF were significantly reduced. The overall quality of life was also improved (p = 0.05). The subjects enjoyed better sleep and had less insomnia (p = 0.012). There was a significant improvement on current fatigue level (p = 0.017), but we did not find a statistically significant reduction in the total fatigue level. We conclude that hypnosis appears to be a feasible and promising intervention for HF, with a potential to improve quality of life and insomnia. Although improvement in current level of fatigue was observed in this pilot study, total fatigue improvement did not reach statistical significance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]