Research on the development of new lightweight Al-Li alloys using selective laser melting pro-cess has great potential for industrial applications. This paper reports on the development of novel aluminum-lithium alloys using selective laser melting technology. Al-Cu-Li-Mg-Ag-Sc-Zr pre-alloyed powders with lithium contents of 1 wt.%, 2 wt.% and 3 wt.%, respectively, were prepared by inert gas atomization. After SLM process optimization, the microstructure and me-chanical properties of the as-formed specimens were investigated. The densification of the three newly developed alloys are 99.51 %, 98.96 % and 92.01 %, respectively. They all have good form-ability, with the lithium loss rate about 15 %. The as-formed alloy with 1% Li content presents good comprehensive properties with a yield strength of 412.6 ± 16.0 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 461.1 ± 11.7 MPa, and an elongation of 13.6 ± 1.1%. The three alloys exhibit a layered molten pool stacking morphology and have a typical heterostructure. The columnar crystals and equiaxed fine grains are alternately arranged, and most of the precipitated phases are enriched at the grain boundaries. The change of Li content mainly affects the precipitation of Cu-containing phase. When the Li content is 1 wt.%, there are θ phase, T1 phase and TB phase. When Li increased to 2 wt.%, T1 and T2 phases precipitated together. When Li reaches 3 wt.%, δ' phase precipitates with T2 phase. This study provides useful guidance for the future SLM form-ing of new crack-free and high-strength Al-Li alloys.

Lithium rich layered oxides (LRLO) are a wide class of innovative active materials for positive electrodes in lithium-ion (LIB) and lithium-metal secondary batteries (LMB). LRLOs are over-stoichiometric layered oxides rich in lithium and manganese, with general formula Li1+xTM1-xO2, where TM is a blend of transition metals comprising Mn (main constituent), Ni, Co, Fe and others. Due to the very variable composition and the extended defectivity their structural identity is still debated among researchers being likely an unresolved hybrid between a monoclinic (mC24) and a hexagonal lattice (hR12). Once casted in composite positive electrode films and assembled in LIBs or LMBs, LRLOs can delivery reversible specific capacities above 220-240 mAhg-1, thus beyond any other available intercalation cathode material for LIBs, with mean working potential above 3.3-3.4 V vs Li for hundreds of cycles in liquid aprotic commercial electrodes. In this review we critically outline the recent advancements in the fundamental understanding of the physico-chemical properties of LRLO as well as the most exciting innovations in their battery performance. We focus in particular on the elusive structural identity of these phases, on the complexity of the reaction mechanism in batteries as well as on practical strategies to minimize or remove cobalt from the lattice while preserving the outstanding performance upon cycling.

Co-free Li-rich oxide is a promising cathode for low cost high energy density Li-ion battery but presents poor cyclic stability. To address this issue, CeO2 is coated on Co-free Li-rich oxide through a low-temperature aged process, resulting in a novel CeO2-coated Li-rich oxide compo-site. Due to the low-temperature aged process, a uniform CeO2 coating layer of 6 nm in thickness is successfully coated on Co-free Li-rich oxide. With this uniform coating, the resulting CeO2-coated Li-rich oxide composite presents improved cyclic stability as well as rate capability as the cathode of Li-ion battery. The capacity retention of the resulting CeO2-coated Li-rich oxide is enhanced from 67% to 85% after 100 cycles and its capacity retention of 5C/0.05C is enhanced from 10% to 23%, compared with the uncoated sample. Such significant improvements enable this low-temperature aged process to be helpful for the practical application of Li-rich oxide materials, not limited to Co-free Li-rich oxide.

A flexible asymmetric supercapacitor (ASCs) is successfully developed by using the composite of MoO3 and graphene oxide (GO) electrochemically deposited on carbon cloth (CC) (MoO3/rGO/CC) as the negative electrode, the MnO2 deposited on CC (MnO2/CC) as the positive electrode and Na2SO4/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as gel electrolyte. The results show that the introduction of GO layer can remarkably increase the specific capacitance of MoO3 from 282.7 F g-1 to 341.0 F g-1. Furthermore, the combination of such good electrode materials and a neutral gel electrolyte renders the fabrication of high-performance ASC with a large operating potential difference of 1.6 V in 0.5 mol L-1 Na2SO4 solution of water. Furthermore, the ASCs exhibit excellent cycle ability and the capacitance can maintain 87 % of its initial value after 6000 cycles. The fact that a light-emitting diode can be lighted up by the ASCs indicates the device’s potential applications as energy storage devices. The encouraging results demonstrate a promising application of the composite of MoO3 and GO in energy storage devices.

This paper presents an optimized energy management strategy for Li-ion power batteries used on electric vehicles (EVs) at low temperatures. Under low-temperature environments, EVs suffer a sharp driving range loss resulted from the energy and power capability reduction of the battery. Simultaneously, because of Li plating, battery degradation becomes an increasing concern as temperature drops. All these factors could greatly increase the total vehicle operation cost. Prior to battery charging and vehicle operating, preheating battery to a battery-friendly temperature is an approach to promote energy utilization and reduce total cost. Based on the proposed LiFePO4 battery model, the total vehicle operation cost under certain driving cycles is quantified in the present paper. Then given a certain ambient temperature, a target temperature of preheating is optimized under the principle of minimizing total cost. As for the preheating method, a liquid heating system is also implemented on an electric bus. Simulation results show that the preheating process becomes increasingly necessary with a decreasing ambient temperature; however, the preheating demand declines as driving range grows. Vehicle tests verify that the preheating management strategy proposed in this paper is able to save total vehicle operation cost.

The phenomenon of ordered self-assembly on solid substrates is a topic of interest in both fundamental surface science research and its applications in nanotechnology. The regulation and control of two-dimensional (2D) self-assembled supra-molecular structures on surfaces have been realized through applying external stimuli. By utilizing scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), researchers can investigate detailed phase transition process about self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), providing insight into the interplay between intermolecular weak interactions and substrate-molecule interactions, which govern the formation of molecular self-assembly. This review will discuss the structural transition of self-assembly probed by STM in response to external stimuli and provide state-of-art methods such as tip induced confinement for the alignment of SAM domains and selective chirality. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in the field of self-assembly and STM.

A low-cost bio-mass-derived carbon substrate has been employed to synthesize MoS₂@carbon composites through a hydrothermal method. Carbon fibers derived from natural cotton provide a three-dimensional and open framework for the uniform growth of MoS₂ nanosheets, thus constructing hierarchically coaxial architecture. The unique structure could synergistically benefit fast Li-ion and electron transport from the conductive carbon scaffold and porous MoS₂ nanostructures. As a result, the MoS₂@carbon composites, when served as anodes for Li-ion batteries, exhibit a high reversible specific capacity of 820 mAh g^-1, high-rate capability (457 mAh g^-1 at 2 A g^-1), and excellent cycling stability. The superior electrochemical performance makes the MoS₂@carbon composites to be low-cost and promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries.

This research analyses extreme precipitation events in the Huaihe River Basin in China, a densely populated region with a history of human settlements and agricultural activities. This study aims to explore the impact of extreme precipitation index changes and provide decision-making suggestions for flood early warning and agricultural development in the Huaihe River Basin. The study utilises the NEX-GDDP-CMIP6 climate models dataset and the daily value dataset (V3.0) from China's national surface weather stations to investigate temporal and spatial changes in extreme precipitation indices from 1960 to 2014 and future projections. At the same time, this study adopted the RclimDex model, Taylor diagram and Sen+Mann-Kendall trend analysis research methods to analyse the data. The results reveal a slight increase in extreme precipitation indices from northwest to southeast within the basin, except for CDD, which shows a decreasing trend. Regarding spatial, the future increase of extreme precipitation in the Huaihe River Basin will show a spatial variation characteristic that decreases from northwest to southeast. These findings suggest that extreme precipitation events are intensifying in the region. Understanding these trends and their implications is vital for adaptation strategy planning and mitigating the risks associated with extreme precipitation events in the Huaihe River Basin.

We fabricated high-quality MAPbBr3 single crystals (SC) by introducing moderate amount electron-rich poly(propylene glycol bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (PEA) additives with an inverse temperature crystallization (ITC) method. The intramolecular vibrations and defective states of prepared MAPbBr3 single crystals were systemically studied by the in situ variable-temperature Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES), et al. We infer that the proper amount of PEA additives would prevent the formation of intermediate states and crystal boundaries, passivating the density of defective states. The X-ray detection properties of single-crystal MAPbBr3 crystals were investigated, using both high dose and low dose X-ray photons at 40keV in synchrotron beamlines. The photocurrent of optimized PEA-treated MAPbBr3 single crystals demonstrate better performance compared with the as-prepared single crystals. Meanwhile, the decay time of MAPbBr3 single crystal is decreased from 460 ns to 210 ns by Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) decay measurement, owing to the defect passivation by 0.5wt% PEA additives. The PEA-treated single crystals possess much faster decay time than the commercialized Ce:YAG scintillator (>500ns). These results help elucidate the passivation of defective states and contribute paths to manufacture high-quality single crystal perovskites for next-generation optoelectronic devices.

We report on the role of synergistic polarization of Ba0.9Sr0.1TiO3 (BST) nanoparticles in sulfur cathodes to enhance the redox kinetics of polysulfides for high-capacity Li-S batteries. Ferroelectric nanoparticles are known to significantly improve the electrochemical performance of Li-S batteries due to their inherent self-polarization and high adsorption capacity towards polysulfides. X-ray diffraction spectra confirmed the tetragonal symmetry (c/a=1.0073), while Raman spectroscopic analysis validated the presence of tetragonal orientation Raman modes in BST-modified composites. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed a homogeneous distribution of BST in the sulfur cathode system, with grain sizes ranging from 1 to 1.5 μm. Notably, the BST-coupled S50BST30CB10PVDF10 composite cathode achieved a capacity of approximately 820 mAh/g at 100 mA/g, maintaining stability over 100 cycles, demonstrating improved electrochemical performance. Two distinct plateaus between 2.3 V to 2.0 V and 2.0 V to 1.5 V further underscore the superior performance of BST ferroelectric nanoparticles in enhancing the redox kinetics of Li-S batteries. By leveraging the favourable affinity of polar substances towards polysulfides, we aimed to create a more stable reactive environment within the cathodic site, effectively trapping polysulfide intermediates through the synergistic polarization of BST nanoparticles. The synergistic polarization induced by the asymmetric crystal structure of ferroelectrics is anticipated to generate internal electric fields, enhancing chemisorption with heteropolar reactive. The observed high cyclic stability further validates the efficacy of these composite cathodes in mitigating the polysulfide shuttle effect, offering promising prospects for advancing Li-S battery technology.

Thin twin-roll cast strips from a model Al-Cu-Mg-Li-Zr alloy with a small addition of Sc were prepared. A combination of a fast solidification rate and a favorable effect of Sc microalloying impacts the size and distribution of primary phase particles and the dimension of eutectic cells. Small interdendritic spacing in the range of 10-15 um enables substitution of the initial long-term homogenization annealing by a two-step annealing at 300 and 450 °C and a short solution treatment at 530 °C before quenching and the final age-hardening procedure. A dense dispersion of small Al3(Sc,Zr) precipitates intensively inhibiting recrystallization forms during this treatment. Further refining and fragmentation of the structure were performed using constrained groove pressing before the solution treatment. Small pre-straining of quenched specimens and subsequent age-hardening simulating T8 temper were used to promote the formation of a homogeneous distribution of strengthening particles and to suppress preferential heterogeneous precipitation on subgrain and grain boundaries. Microstructural features and microhardness evolution during annealing were critically examined and confronted with microstructural characteristics observed on reference mold cast alloy or alloys without Sc alloying. The proposed treatment represents a model near net shape procedure for manufacturing thicker sheets for the aerospace industry.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations present a sophisticated nano-scale computational approach that can play a critical role in material design for next generation batteries. One critical piece of information needed for MD simulations is the non-bonded potential parameters, which can be obtained through quantum mechanics (QM) calculations or experimental methods. However, experimental data is not available for exploratory and novel materials to derive the potential parameters. Also, the QM approach needs significant computational power and is too time consuming for large systems. On the other hand, current Artificial Intelligence techniques are faster, but they cannot be generalized across molecules and properties. As a result, there is a significant barrier to discovering and exploring new materials. Overcoming this barrier, in this work, we propose a Machine Learning (ML) based technique that can learn inter-atomic potential parameters for various particle-particle interactions employing QM calculations. This ML model can be used as an alternative for QM calculations for predicting non-bonded interactions in a computationally efficient manner. Using these parameters as input to MD simulations, we can predict a diverse range of properties, enabling researchers to design new and novel materials suitable for various applications in the absence of experimental data. We employ our ML-based technique to learn the Buckingham potential, a non-bonded interatomic potential. Subsequently, we utilize these predicted values to compute the densities of four distinct molecules, achieving an accuracy exceeding 93%. This serves as a strong demonstration of the efficacy of our proposed approach.

The complete genomic sequence of a Cassava common mosaic virus Linggao isolate (CsCMV-LG) was determined from cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) with mild leafy mosaic symptom to no symptom in China. Excluding the poly(A) tail, the CsCMV-LG genome (GenBank accession No. MT038420) is 6374 nucleotides (nts) in length, with five major open reading frames encoding a 1450-amino acids (aa) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), three triple gene block (TGB) proteins (231-aa, 110-aa and 95-aa), and a 229-aa coat protein (CP). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the complete genome of the CsCMV-LG is closely related to that of CsCMV-Brazilian which has been assigned to the genus Potexvirus, but the sequence identity shared only 88.0%. Notable, the mild CsCMV-LG isolate can also infect Nicotiana benthamiana in laboratory through rub inoculation causing mild vein yellowing at 15-day post inoculation. This is the first full-length genome sequence of a distinct isolate of Cassava common mosaic virus (CsCMV) infecting cassava in Hainan, China.

In this study, the effects of various beryllium (Be) addition (Be-free, 0.1, 0.25, 0.50 wt.%) on the microstructure, mechanical properties, and corrosion corrosion of the Al-Mg-Li alloys were systematically investigated. The best performance was obtained in alloy with 0.1 wt.% Be addition. Trace Be addition promotes the grain refinement of the as-cast alloy ingot and contributes positive effects to the recrystallization, bringing improvement of tensile property. Meanwhile, the best anti-corrosion behavior is also presented at 0.1 wt.% Be addition, due to its potential to reduce the width of precipitates free zone (PFZ). As the Be content increase to an excessive level, the comprehensive performance decreases. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that adding trace Be element into Al-Mg-Li alloys has a positive effect on the comprehensive service performance.

Accurate lithium battery diagnosis and prognosis is critical to increase penetration of electric vehicles and grid-tied storage systems. They are both complex due to the intricate, nonlinear, and path-dependent nature of battery degradation. Data-driven models are anticipated to play a significant role in the behavioral prediction of dynamical systems such as batteries. However, they are often limited by the amount of training data available. In this work, we generated the first big data comprehensive synthetic datasets to train diagnosis and prognosis algorithms. The proof-of-concept datasets are over three orders of magnitude larger than what is currently available in the literature. With benchmark datasets, results from different studies could be easily equated, and the performance of different algorithms can be compared, enhanced, and analyzed extensively. This will expend critical capabilities of current AI algorithms, tools, and techniques to predict scientific data.

Li₂MnO₃ is critical component in the well-studied Li-excess cathode materials xLi₂MnO₃•(1- x)LiMO₂ for achieving high lithium storage capacity. In this article, the diffusion of Li ions in Li₂MnO₃ is studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with well-behaved empirical force fields obtained by fitting against the crystal structure from experiment and phonons calculated using Density Function Theory (DFT). We have found two possible tetrahedral hopping channels, 0-TM and 1-TM(Mn⁴⁺) channel, which are differentiated by the face sharing octahedral cations. Simulation results show that the 0-TM channel is active for Li hopping, while 1-TM(Mn4+) channel is inactive. During the delithiation process, the Li ions in the TM layered are firstly removed, then those in the Li layer. However, the Li ions will be trapped in the tetrahedral 0-TM channels as long as the four face sharing octahedral sites are cleared. Up to x=1.0 for Li₂-xMnO₃, almost all the Li ions are located at the tetrahedral sites, forming a regular array along a axis. The de-intercalation of tetrahedral Li ions requires a high voltage (>5.2 V vs. Li/Li+), limiting the practical capacities measured in lab. The diffusion of Mn ions into the Li layers is observed in a deeper delithiated structure (x=1.2 for Li₂-xMnO₃), indicating an initial phase transformation to a spinel-like structure. However, the Mn ions are mainly trapped in the tetrahedral sites in the Li layer, instead of the octahedral sites fin spinel-like structure. A few of Mn ions diffusing into the octahedral sites in Li layers have no face sharing tetrahedral Li ions, revealing a further Li de-intercalation is imperative for the complete phase transformation. Our model is not stable for x≥1.4 in Li₂-xMnO₃. Other charge compensation mechanism should be considered in this high delithiation stage, eg. oxygen release.

Sensory descriptive analysis was used to evaluate the aged Feng-flavored baijiu. The results indicated that there are notable differences in the samples of different ages. The samples with shorter storage times and fresh distilled Baijiu present bran flavor, and fresh green flavor. with the increase of storage time, the fragrance of honey, sweetness, flowers, and aging gradually increases. The samples of Feng-flavored baijiu were dected by Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC–TOFMS) , in total, 496 sustances were identified in all samples, mainly containing 14 types of substances, such as esters, aldehydes etc., of which 42 substances were found in Feng-flavored baijiu for the first time. Chemometrics was used to analyze the key differential compounds. 143 differential compounds closely related to aging were preliminarily screened, and principal component analysis revealed that these samples were separated by year. 65 differential compounds were selected out by partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA). Furthermore, 43 key differential compounds were selected from the aged Feng-flavored baijiu combined with variable importance in projection and Pearson correlation coefficients. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to research the correlation of sensory properties and key differential compounds, and the results indicated that most compounds were closely related to the aged Baijiu . This study afford theoretical basis and reference for flavor research of Feng-flavored baijiu.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis, a metabolic bone disease associated with aging and that affects bones throughout the body, is emerging as an urgent public health concern and imposes a substantial healthcare burden on society. The clinical application of bisphosphonate, the primary treatment for osteoporosis, is limited owing to the drug’s severe complications. Herein, we investigate the synthesis and utilization of strontium-doped mesoporous bioactive glass loaded with alendronate (ALN@Sr-MBG) as a novel therapeutic agent for osteoporosis, to explore its potential as an alternative to alendronate (ALN). Strontium-doped mesoporous bioactive glass (Sr-MBG) was synthesized using the sol-gel method, while ALN@Sr-MBG was obtained by incorporating Sr-MBG into an alendronate saturated solution. The bioactivities of ALN@Sr-MBG, including biotoxicity, inflammation inhibition, and anti-osteoclast differentiation, were investigated in vitro using CCK-8, flow cytometry, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining, and RT-PCR assays. Animal models were established by surgically removing the ovaries from non-pregnant female C57/BL mice, followed by weekly intraperitoneal injections of ALN@Sr-MBG, ALN, or excipients. After 8 weeks, the mice femurs were extracted and analyzed through Micro-CT scanning, and hematoxylin-eosi, osteoblastic, and osteogenic staining. The in vitro findings demonstrated that ALN@Sr-MBG displayed enhanced biological efficacy compared to ALN in terms of inflammation inhibition, osteogenesis promotion, and osteoclastogenesis inhibition. Furthermore, micro-CT analysis revealed that ALN@Sr-MBG significantly augmented bone mineral density (BMD), bone volume fraction (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), while reducing trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) and structural model index (SMI) in mice with ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis. The osteoblast and osteogenic staining results indicate the enhanced bioactivities of ALN@Sr-MBG in promoting bone formation and inhibiting bone resorption compared to ALN. In vitro and in vivo assessments further confirmed that ALN@Sr-MBG exhibits superior anti-osteoporotic bioactivity compared to ALN. The study findings confirm the potential of ALN@Sr-MBG as a novel alternative therapy to ALN and drug candidate for the treatment of osteoporosis.

In recent times, there has been significant enthusiasm for the development of all solid state batteries. This interest stems from a dual focus on safety—addressing concerns related to toxic and flammable organic liquid electrolytes—and the pursuit of high energy density. \cite{SCHNELL2018160,Zheng2018}. While liquid electrolyte batteries constitute for now the vast majority of commercial cells, solid electrolyte batteries show great promise. In parallel with experimental research, computational models \cite{GrazioliEtAlCM2016} clarify the several fundamental physics \cite{LiMonroeARCBM2020} that take place throughout battery operations. We review some classical models, emphasizing the conceptual advancements documented in the most recent works.

The possibility of using graphane monolayer crystals as the electrode material is becoming popular. Graphane is stable at room temperature and has large surface area, but its chemical inertness hinders its direct interactions with Li ions. In this study, we performed density functional theory calculations to study the energetic stability, structural and electronic properties of Li on graphane with various CH divacancy configurations (v12, v13 and v14 ). The results show that adsorption of Li atom reduces the formation energy of the CH divacancy configurations. The Li-v12 is most stable with the highest binding energy of 3.25 eV/Li and relaxes to in-plane with other C atoms. Altering the Li charge state to have Li−1-v12 or Li+1 -v12 affects the energetic stability and electronic characters of Li-v12 . The Li−1-v12 (Li +1-v 12 ) enhances (reduces) the binding force between Li and v 12 configuration, and furthermore it improves (deteriorates) the conductivity of the structure. Further investigation of graphane with vacancies is encouraged due to these intriguing observations, as it holds promise for potential utilization as an electrode material.

Li-rich manganese-based cathode materials (LRMs) are considered one of the most promising cathode materials for the next generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of their high energy density. However, there are problems such as capacity decay, poor rate performance, and continuous voltage drop, which seriously limit their large-scale commercial applications. In this work, Li1.2Mn0.54Co0.13Ni0.13O2 coated with Li2MoO4 with unique spinel structure was prepared by wet chemistry method and the subsequent calcination process. The Li2MoO4 coating layer with spinel structure can provide a 3D Li+ transport channel, which is beneficial for improving rate performance, while protecting LRMs from electrolyte corrosion, suppressing interface side reactions, and improving cycling stability. The capacity retention rate of LRMs coated with 3wt% Li2MoO4 increased from 69.25% to 81.85% after 100 cycles at 1C, and the voltage attenuation decreased from 7.06 to 4.98 mV per cycle. The lower Rct also exhibits improved magnification performance. The results indicate that the Li2MoO4 coating effectively improves the cyclic stability and electrochemical performance of LRMs.

Microfluidics is facing critical challenges in the quest of miniaturizing, integrating, and automating in vitro diagnostics, including the increasing complexity of assays, the gap between the macroscale world and the microscale devices, and the diverse throughput demands in various clinical settings. Here a “3D extensible” microfluidic design paradigm that consists of a set of basic structures and unit operations was developed for constructing any application-specific assay. Four basic structures- check valve (in), check valve (out), double-check valve (in and out), and on-off valve, were designed to mimic basic acts in biochemical assays. By combining these structures linearly, a series of unit operations can be readily formed. We then proposed a “3D extensible” architecture to fulfill the needs of the function integration, the adaptive “world-to-chip” interface, and the adjustable throughput in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. To verify this design paradigm, we developed a fully integrated loop-mediated isothermal amplification microsystem that can directly accept swab samples and detect Chlamydia trachomatis automatically with a sensitivity one order higher than that of the conventional kit. This demonstration validated the feasibility of using this paradigm to develop integrated and automated microsystems in a less risky and more consistent manner.

As one of the critical state parameters of the battery management system, lithium battery state of charge (SOC) can provide an essential reference for battery safety management, charge/discharge control, and energy management of electric vehicles. To analyze the application of deep learning in electric vehicle power battery SOC estimation, this study reviewed the technical process, common public datasets, and the neural networks used, structural characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of lithium battery SOC estimation in deep learning method. First, the specific technical processes of the deep learning method for SOC estimation were analyzed, including data collection, data preprocessing, feature engineering, model training, and model evaluation. Secondly, the current commonly and publicly used lithium battery dataset was summarized. Then, the input variables, data sets, errors, and advantages and disadvantages of four types of deep learning methods, were concluded using the structure of neural network used for training as the classification criterion. Finally, the challenges and future development directions of lithium battery SOC estimation in deep learning method were explained.

We have proposed a data-driven approach for designing mesoscale porous structures of Li-ion battery electrode with three-dimensional virtual structures and machine learning techniques. Over 2,000 artificial 3D structures assuming positive electrode composed of random packed spheres as active material particles are generated, and charge/discharge resistance has been evaluated using simplified Physico-chemical model. In this model, resistance from Li diffusion in active material particles (diffusion resistance), transfer resistance of Li+ in electrolyte (electrolyte resistance) and reaction resistance on the interface between active material and electrolyte are simulated based on mass balance of Li, Ohm’s law in and linearized Butler-Volmer equation, respectively. Using these simulation results, regression models via Artificial Neural Network (ANN) have been created in order to predict charge/discharge resistance from porous structure features. In this study, porosity, active material particle size and volume fraction, pressure in the compaction process, electrolyte conductivity, and binder volume fraction are adopted as features, associated with controllable process parameters for manufacturing battery electrode. As results, the predicted electrode resistance by ANN regression model is good agreement with the simulated values. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis and optimization of the process parameters have been carried out. The proposed data-driven approach could be a solution as a guiding principle for manufacturing battery electrode.

In this paper the application of recycled Li-ion batteries spent cathode (LIB-SC) combined with NaHCO₃/H₂O₂ system is presented for the first time in the literature as an alternative for degradation of potentially toxic organic molecules. The model pollutant choice was methylene blue molecule. The spent cathode composition corresponds to LiCoO₂, which was proved by the XRD and EDX. Regarding the decolorization of methylene blue solution, the addition of NaHCO₃ in comparison with only H₂O₂ reduces the complete decolorization time in 96%. This reduction occurs because the radical CO₃ is more stable than OH. In this way, the application the system proposed in this article is aimed at solving two major global problems: the disposal of cell phone batteries and the pollution of liquid effluents.

Avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is the causative agent of infectious bronchitis, which causes considerable economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide. It is imperative to develop safe and efficient candidate vaccines to control IBV infection. In the current study, recombinant baculoviruses co-expressing S1 and N proteins, mono-expressing S1 or N proteins alone of IBV were constructed and prepared into subunit vaccines rHBM-S1-N, rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N. The levels of immune protection of these subunit vaccines were evaluated by inoculating specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens at 14 days of age, boosting with the same dose 14 days later, and following challenge with a virulent GX-YL5 strain of IBV 14 days post-booster (dpb). The commercial vaccine strain H120 was used as a control. The IBV-specific antibody levels as well as the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes were detected within 28 days post-vaccination (dpv). The morbidity, mortality, and re-isolation of virus from the tracheas and kidneys of challenged birds were evaluated at 5 days post-challenge (dpc). The results showed that the IBV-specific antibody levels and the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocyte in rHBM-S1-N group were higher than those of rHBM-S1 and rHBM-N groups, especially the cellular immunity response. At 5 dpc, the mortality, morbidity and virus re-isolation rate of rHBM-S1-N were slightly higher than those of H120 group, but were lower than those of rHBM-S1 group and rHBM-N group. The present study demonstrated that the protection of recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins was better than that of recombinant baculoviruses mono-expressing S1 or N protein alone. Thus, the recombinant baculovirus co-expressing S1 and N proteins could serve as a potential IBV vaccine and this demonstrates that the bivalent subunit vaccine including the S1 and N proteins might be a strategy for the development of an IBV subunit vaccine.

Brucella abortus is a facultative intracellular Gram-negative bacterium that causes chronic persistent infections in humans and livestock. In this study, conventional bio-typing, multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), and whole-genome sequencing-single-nucleotide polymorphism (WGS-SNP) were used to investigate the molecular epidemiology characteristics of Brucella abortus strains in China and their relationships to world lineages. A total of 100 strains were collected from 1953 to 2013, suggesting that B. abortus circulated in China in the past five decades. Moreover, most strains were mainly distributed in the northwest area. During this period, seven biovars were found, indicating that B. abortus displayed a high diversity of biovars and that the main epidemic areas are in the northern provinces. Strains have high genetic diversity, and bruce07 is the most helpful locus for genotyping of this population. Moreover, 17 MLVA-11 genotypes were found; 13 of them are of known genotypes and four are unassigned genotypes, indicating that B. abortus in this study had several geographic origins. Still, strains from unassigned genotypes may originate from China. Many shared MLVA-16 genotypes were observed in strains from the same provinces in Northern China, which confirmed a brucellosis outbreak within northern regions. WGS-SNP analysis showed that eight Chinese strains formed a ladder-like phylogram (C. Ⅶ) with strains from nine countries, including Uganda, Iraq, Russia, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Egypt, Mongolia, and China; strains were introduced to these countries from a single source. Notably, Chinese strains were closely related to strains from Russia and Mongolia; frequent animal (cattle) trade and exchanges may promote this process. We will provide new and insightful information for strength surveillance and control of B. abortus brucellosis in China.

Red mud (RM), a bauxite residue, contains hazardous radioactive wastes and alkaline material and poses severe surface water and groundwater contamination risks, necessitating recycling. Pretreated RM can be used to make adsorbents for water treatment. However, its performance is affected by many factors, resulting in a nonlinear correlation and coupling relationship. This study aimed to identify the best formula for an RM adsorbent using a mathematical model that examines the relationship between 11 formulation types (e.g., pore-assisting agent, component modifier, and external binder) and nine properties (e.g., specific surface area, wetting angle, and Zeta potential, among others). This model was built using a back-propagation neural networks(BP) based on single-factor experimental data and orthogonal test data. The model trained and predicted the established network structure to obtain the optimal adsorbent formula. The RM particle adsorbents had a pH of 10.16, specific surface area(BET) of 48.92 m2·g−1, pore volume of 2.10 cm3·g−1, compressive strength(ST)) of 1.12 KPa, and 24-h immersion pulverization rate(η_m) of 3.72%. In the removal of total phosphorus in flotation tailings backwater, it exhibited a good adsorption capacity (Q)and total phosphorous removal rate(η) of 48.63 mg·g−1 and 95.13%, respectively.

Globally,coastal regions are vital areas of human activities and, as such, are centres of population growth and urban and economic development. Long-term human development has had a major impact on the ecological environment of coastal zones. Therefore, exploring the distribution and provenance of marine sediment types in coastal areas heavily influenced by human activities can provide scientific evidence and references for the current and future ecological management of these sensitive environments. For this reason, we have conducted an analysis on the sediment grain size, Endmember, organic matter content and geochemical elements in the Lu’erhuan River‒Malan Island‒Sandun Island area in the eastern part of Qinzhou Bay, a region heavily influenced by human activities. Sediment grain size clearly differs throughout the study site and the material provenances and hydrodynamic conditions are also varied, likely due to the local environmental conditions and the significant impact human activities have had on the area. The finest-grained sediment is imported from either inland or coastal areas via rivers and weak tidal currents, the next finest component is input from coastal areas through weak tidal currents, and the moderately coarse component mainly originates from nearby beaches. The two coarsest-grained sediment components are influenced by the combination of human activities, tidal currents and waves and enter the water via erosion. Organic matter provenance resembles that of the sediment components, exhibiting varied characteristics. This is due to the combination of natural and human activities in the bay. The organic matter in the upper reaches of the Lu’erhuan River originates from the river and coastal paddy fields, with obvious terrigenous characteristics; the organic matter in northern Malan Island mainly comes from external sources related to oyster farming; while organic matter in eastern Sandun Island is mainly produced endogenously by marine plankton. Al, Ti, Fe, Mg, K, Ga and other elements indicate that terrestrial sediments are significantly disturbed by human activities. However，Mn reflects the marine distribution of terrestrial sediments from the Lu’erhuan River to Jishuimen. Ca and Sr, indicators of marine sediments, are distributed in the eastern offshore area of Sandun Island, which is connected to the open waters. Due to the influence of human activities, As and Cd are highly enriched in the study area, while Cu is less affected by human activities.

Initial water content significantly affects the efficiency of soil stabilization. In this study, the effects of initial water content on the compressibility, strength, microstructure and composition of a lean clay soil stabilized by compound calcium-based stabilizer were investigated by static compaction test, unconfined compression test, optical microscope observations, environment scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. The results indicate that as the initial water content increases in the range studied, both the compaction energy and the maximum compaction force decrease linearly and there are less soil aggregates or agglomerations, and smaller proportion of large pores in the compacted mixture structure. In addition, for specimens cured with or without external water supply and under different compaction degrees, the variation law of the unconfined compressive strength with initial water content is different and the highest strength value is obtained at various initial water contents. With the increase of initial water content, the percentage of oxygen element tends to increase in the reaction products of the calcium-based stabilizer, whereas the crystalline mineral of the soil did not change obviously.

This paper presents the concept of applying incremental capacity analysis (ICA) on the OCV curve in the SoC space. The OCV curve can be obtained from any sequence of discharge or charge current or power pulse with a necessary rest period to allow the cell to reach a pseudo-OCV after each pulse. With a higher resolution (>100 pulses) in the full SoC window, an OCV vs SoC curve can be obtained with sufficient accuracy to perform an ICA on the obtained OCV curve. ICA as a diagnostic technique has commonly been applied on Li-ion cells with a constant charge and discharge at slow currents. However, a slow controlled constant current charge or discharge is normally not feasible and cannot be easily applied to a battery in an application. Here we revisit pulse-based ICA to supplement the conventional constant-current-based technique. Conventional ICA performed on ageing data with constant current is directly compared to ICA performed on a selection of higher resolution OCV curves. The main advantage of OCV-ICA is that it can be applied to most cells and systems without significant interruption of normal cell operation. OCV-ICA provides valuable insights into ageing mechanisms as well as detailed information on changes in internal resistance.

Although Sn has been intensively studied as one of the most promising anode materials to replace commercialized graphite, its cycling performance and rate performance are still unsatisfactory owing to insufficient control of its large volume change during cycling and poor electrochemical kinetics. Herein, we propose a Sn-TiO2-C ternary composite as a promising anode material to overcome these limitations. The hybrid TiO2-C matrix synthesized via two-step high-energy ball milling effectively regulated the irreversible lithiation/delithiation of the active Sn electrode and facilitated Li-ion diffusion. At the appropriate C concentration, Sn-TiO2-C exhibited significantly enhanced cycling performance and rate capability compared to its counterparts (Sn-TiO2 and Sn-C). Sn-TiO2-C delivers good reversible specific capacities (669 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g-1 and 651 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 500 mA g-1) and rate performance (446 mAh g-1 at 3000 mA g-1). The superiority of Sn-TiO2-C over Sn-TiO2 and Sn-C was corroborated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which revealed faster Li-ion diffusion kinetics in the presence of the hybrid TiO2-C matrix than in the presence of TiO2 or C alone. Therefore, Sn-TiO2-C is a potential anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries.

This code provides computational facilities to simulate current versus time during the charging of Li-ion cells at desire constant voltage by considering multiscale physical phenomena. This code only considers a powder of active materials (at microscale or nanoscale) and a small part of electrolyte around it as a half cell. Then it is extended to a complete cell by applying correct boundary conditions. This code is very useful by modifying code parameters to understand the effect of the complex shape of active materials powder (surface area and powder size), kind of electrolyte, and the applied voltages on the charging response of Li-ion cell. As a summary, a microscale approach to the design of Li-ion cells has been provided via this code.

Metabolites present in the hemolymph of honey bees play a crucial role in modulating the metamorphic process within the species. However, the precise alterations in metabolite composition, along with the associated variances and regulatory pathways implicated during the larvae-to-pupae metamorphosis of honey bees, remain incompletely elucidated. In this investigation, we gathered hemolymph samples from honey bee larvae at three distinct physiological stages-feeding, prepupal, and pupae and subjected them to metabolite analysis utilizing the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) technique. Employing principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), we identified significant differential metabolites and conducted a metabolic pathway analysis on those differentially up-regulated during the prepupal and pupae stages. Notably, metabolites up-regulated in the hemolymph of prepupal stage larvae primarily governed glucose metabolism and fat digestion and absorption, while those in pupae stage larvae were involved in regulating chitin and lipopolysaccharide precursor formation, as well as the biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. These findings bear significant implications for advancing our comprehension of the metamorphic processes in honey bees.

In this study, Li-Al-OH layered double hydroxide (LDH), which was prepared by solvent-free one-step mechanochemical reaction of LiOH and Al(OH)₃, was applied to remove boron from aqueous solution. Dry-grinding for 3 h at a rotational speed of 500 rpm, Li/Al molar 1/2 was the optimum condition to prepare highly crystalline of Li-Al LDH phase with no evident impure phases. Two milling products with Li/Al molar ratio at 1/2 and 2/2 were evaluated for boron adsorption. The results confirmed that Li/Al molar ratio 2/2 sample showed high boron adsorption capacity due to the physical adsorption of Li-Al-OH LDH and chemical synergism of phase gel Al(OH)₃. The adsorption isotherms, described by the Langmuir model, indicated maximum monolayer boron uptake capacity 45.45 mg/g, implying competitive adsorption capacity of the material in our experiment.

Infrared small target detection (ISTD) plays a crucial role in both civilian and military applications. The detection of small targets against dense cluttered backgrounds remains a challenging task, requiring the collaboration of false alarm source elimination and target detection. Existing approaches primarily focus on modeling targets while often neglecting false alarm sources. To address this limitation, we propose a Target and False Alarm Collaborative Detection Network to leverage the information provided by false alarm sources and the background. Firstly, we introduce a False Alarm Source Estimation Block (FEB) that estimates potential interferences present in the background by extracting features on multiple scales and employing stepwise upsampling for feature fusion. Subsequently, we propose a framework that employs multiple FEBs to eliminate false alarm sources across multiple scales. Finally, a Target Segmentation Block (TSB) is introduced to accurately segment the targets to produce the final detection result. Experiments on public datasets demonstrate that, compared to other methods, our model achieves high accuracy in segmenting targets while being able to extract false alarm sources which can be used for further studies.

Taking a certain type of test centrifuge as the research object, the finite element model of the test centrifuge is established, the vibration characteristics and aerodynamic performance of the test centrifuge are analyzed, and the structural optimization design of the test centrifuge is carried out. In this paper, the load is applied according to the actual working condition of a certain type of test centrifuge. The vibration of the mounting seat of the test centrifuge is analyzed and the structure of the mounting seat is optimized. After optimization, the vibration of the mounting seat is 77.38 % lower than that of the original mounting seat. Then, the aerodynamic analysis of the test centrifuge is carried out. The analysis results show that the test centrifuge moves more smoothly under the whole package shell and the steady flow shell, and the resistance decreases and the shaft load decreases. Finally, the steady flow shell of the test centrifuge is optimized. The analysis shows that the increase of the width of the steady flow shell can reduce the resistance coefficient, which is helpful to the stability of the test centrifuge during operation and reduces the unbalanced response of the system caused by air resistance.

Background: The liver is involved in disseminated tuberculosis in more than 80% of the cases while primary liver involvement is rare, representing < 1% of all cases. Hepatic tuberculosis (TB) can be treated by conventional anti-TB therapy, however, diagnosing this disease still remains a challenge. The diagnosis might be particularly difficult in patients with a single liver lesion that could be misdiagnosed as a tumor or other focal liver lesions. While computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings have been described, there is a paucity of literature on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) features of hepatic TB. Case Summary: herein, we describe a case of a patient with tuberculous lymphadenopathy and chronic HCV-related liver disease who developed a single macronodular hepatic TB lesion. Due to the finding of a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) highly suggestive CEUS pattern, specifically a LR5 category according to the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS), and a good response to antitubercular therapy, a non-invasive diagnosis of HCC was made, and the patient underwent liver resection. We also review the published literature on imaging features of hepatic TB and discuss the diagnostic challenge represented by hepatic TB when occurs as a single focal liver lesion. Conclusions: this report shows for the first time that CEUS pattern of hepatic TB might be misinterpreted as HCC and specific imaging features are lacking. Personal history and epidemiological data are mandatory in interpreting CEUS findings of a focal liver lesion even when the imaging pattern is highly suggestive of HCC.

To conduct a precise impact assessment of marine diesel engines, a 200t floating impact platform was utilized to simulate realistic testing conditions. The testing generated the acceleration time curve and the impact response spectrum for the diesel engine. According to the applicable standards, the spectral velocity was chosen as the evaluation index, and an evaluation of the longitudinal, transverse, and vertical impact environment of the diesel engine was conducted. The shock factor interpolation method was corrected using the confidence interval based on normal distribution, and the interpolated confidence interval of the shock factor was determined. The findings reveal that: The 200t-class floating shock platform is capable of providing a reliable shock environment for diesel engine tests. The shock wave serves as the primary external force during the experiment, and the impact of bubble pulsation can be disregarded when assessing using the floating shock platform. To more accurately describe the experimental shock intensity when presented with dispersed data, the confidence interval can be utilized, and the resulting prediction formula provides a higher level of impact safety. The obtained conclusions can serve as a reference for predicting the shock environment of large shipboard equipment using the shock platform.

This is an exercise to explore the concentration of Lithium, Lithium-7 isotope and the possible presence of black dirty ice in the lunar surface using spectral data obtained from the Clementine mission. The main interest in tracing the lithium and presence of dark ice in the lunar surface are closely related to future human settlement missions in the Moon. We investigate the distribution of Lithium and 7 Li isotope on the Lunar surface, employing spectral data from the Clementine images. We utilized Visible (VIS-NIR) imagery at wavelengths of 450, 750, 900, 950, and 1000 nm, along with Near-Infrared (NIR-SWIR) at 1100, 1250, 1500, 2000, 2600, and 2780 nm, encompassing 11 bands in total. This dataset offers a comprehensive coverage of about 80% of the lunar surface, with resolutions ranging from 100 to 500 meters, spanning latitudes from 80°S to 80°N. In order to extract quantitative abundance of Lithium, ground truth sites were used to calibrate the Clementine images. Samples (12045, 15058, 15475, 15555, 62255, 70035, 74220 and 75075) returned from Apollo missions 12, 15, 16 and 17 have been correlated to the Clementine VIS-NIR bands and five spectral ratios. The 5 spectral ratios calculated synthesize the main spectral features of sample spectra that were grouped by their Lithium and 7 Li content using Principal Component Analysis. The ratios spectrally characterize substrates of anorthosite, silica-rich basalts, olivine-rich basalts and High-T mare basalts and Orange soils. Our findings reveal a strong linear correlation between the spectral parameters and the lithium content in the 8 Apollo samples. With the values of the 11 Clementine bands and the 5 spectral ratios for each of the 8 lunar soils we performed linear regression models to estimate the concentration of Lithium and 7 Li. Also, we calculated Digital Terrain Models (DTMs; Altitude, Slope, Aspect, DirectInsolation and WindExposition) from LOLA-DTM to discover relations between relief and spatial distribution of the extended models of lithium and 7 Li. The analysis was conducted in a mask polygon extracted from Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and located around the Apollo 15 landing site. This analysis seeks to uncover potential 7 Li enrichment through spallation processes, influenced by varying exposure to solar wind. To explore the possibility of find ice mixed with regolithe (black ice) we used a spectral library (350-2500nm) form ices dirty with different concentration of volcanic particles.

Herein, activated red mud particles are used as an adsorbent for adsorbing phosphorus. Different concentrations of HCl and deionized water are used for desorption tests, and the optimal desorption mechanism is investigated. The Langmuir isothermal model and pseudo-second-order kinetic linear model produce consistent results: the desorption is dominated by the surface desorption of the monomolecular layer, and chemical desorption limits the rate of surface desorption. The desorption thermodynamics indicates that the desorption of phosphorus by the desorbent is spontaneous and high temperature promotes desorption. The particle diffusion model demonstrates that the removal of phosphorus in the form of precipitation from the surface of an activated hematite particle adsorbent occurs primarily via a chemical reaction, and an analysis of the microscopic morphology indicates that the desorption process is primarily accompanied by the dissolution of the metal element Ca, followed by Al and Fe. The desorbent reacts with the active elements in red mud, and the vibration of the [SiO4]2− group calcite or aragonite group of calcium–iron garnet in the functional group disappears. The intensity of the wave peaks of the PO43− groups decreases considerably. Thus, desorption primarily involves the chemical desorption of the monomolecular layer.

In this study, modified red mud after phosphorus adsorption was used as the adsorbent, and hydrochloric acid and deionized water were used as desorbents to desorb phosphorus. The components in the adsorbent were optimized based on density functional theory, and adsorbent and desorbent models were established. Molecular dynamics simulation was performed to determine the phosphorus concentration before and after desorption, interaction energies, radial distribution function(RDF), mean-square displacement(MSD), and diffusion coefficient. The Monte Carlo method was used to simulate the desorption isotherm, desorption site, heat of desorption, and desorption energy. Simulation results showed that deionized water could only desorb phosphorus on the adsorbent surface, and the stability of the system deteriorated upon adding hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid destroyed the ionic and hydrogen bonding between the O atoms in H2PO4− and reactive metal and oxygen atoms in the activated red mud particles. Moreover, the van der Waals force decreased considerably. The ionic and hydrogen bonds between H2PO4− and the surface of activated red mud particles were broken by hydrochloric acid, which accelerated the desorption of phosphorus from the adsorbent surface. The interaction between hydrochloric acid and phosphorus accelerated the diffusion, which decreased the adsorption capacity. Moreover, the desorption capacity increased with increasing temperature.

This work simulates the performance of lithium batteries for electric vehicles under different charge and discharge rates. The simulation is based on similarity factors for power, voltage and current, reproducing the real operation conditions of an electric vehicle at the model scale. Most current driving modes have been analysed corresponding to discharge rates from 0.1C to 0.37C. The simulation has also been applied to determine charging time using charge power in real conditions, from 6.1 kW to 18.3 kW (0.1 C to 0.3C). Driving conditions are obtained using equations for vehicle motion including all forces. Tests have been run under two configurations, continuous and alternate current circuits, to reproduce the two types of engines that electric vehicles use. The simulation shows very good agreement in charge and discharge processes, average deviation of 3% related to real conditions, and 1.6% between them, which proves the validity of the simulation process.

A novel composite consisting of fluorine-doped carbon and graphene double-coated LiMn0.6Fe0.4PO4 (LMFP) nanorods, synthesized via a facile low temperature solvothermal method that employs a hybrid glucose and polyvinylidene fluoride as carbon and fluorine sources. As revealed by physicochemical characterization, F-doped carbon coating and graphene form a ‘point-to-surface’ conductive network, facilitating rapid electron transport and mitigating electrochemical polarization. Furthermore, the uniform thickness of the F-doped carbon coating alters the growth of nanoparticles and prevents direct contact between the material and the electrolyte, thereby enhancing structural stability. Strong electronegative F− is beneficial to inhibit the structural changes of LMFP caused by Li-insertion/extraction during charge/discharge, which effectively reduces the Jahn-Teller effect, and inhibits Mn dissolution. The distinctive architecture of LMFP/C-F/G cathode material exhibits excellent electrochemical properties, exhibiting an initial discharge capacity of 163.1 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and a constant Coulombic efficiency of 99.7% over 100 cycles. Notably, LMFP/C-F/G cathode material achieves an impressive energy density of 607.6 Wh kg−1 , surpassing that of commercial counterparts. Moreover, it delivers a reversible capacity of 90.3 mAh g−1 at a high current rate of 5 C. The high-capacity capability and energy density of the prepared materials give them great potential for use in next-generation lithium-ion batteries.

Li-rich layered oxide cathode materials have become one of the most promising cathode materials for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries owning to its high theoretical specific capacity, low cost, high operating voltage and environmental friendliness. Yet they suffer from severe capacity and voltage attenuation during prolong cycling, which blocks their commercial application. To clarify these causes, we synthesize 0.5Li2MnO3·0.5LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (LL-811) with high-nickel-content cathode material by a solid-sate complexation method, and it manifests a lot slower capacity and voltage attenuation during prolong cycling compared to LL-111 and LL-523 cathode materials. The capacity retention at 1C after 100 cycles reaches to 87.5% and the voltage attenuation after 100 cycles is only 0.460 V. Combining X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), it indicates that increasing the nickel content not only stabilizes the structure but also alleviates the attenuation of capacity and voltage. Therefore, it provides a new idea for designing of Li-rich layered oxide cathode materials that suppress voltage and capacity attenuation.

In this work commercial 18650 lithium-ion cells with LiMn₂O₄, LiFePO₄ and Li(Ni_0.33Mn_0.33Co_0.33)O₂ cathodes were exposed to external heating in an Accelerating Rate Calorimeter (es-ARC, THT Company) to investigate the thermal behavior under abuse conditions. New procedures for measuring external and internal pressure change of cells were developed. The external pressure was measured utilizing a gas-tight cylinder inside the calorimeter chamber in order to detect venting of the cells. For internal pressure measurements, a pressure line connected to a pressure transducer was directly inserted into the cell. During the thermal runaway experiments, three stages (low rate, medium rate and high rate reaction) have been observed. Both pressure and temperature change indicated different stages of exothermic reactions, which produced gases or/and heat. The onset temperature of thermal runaway was estimated according to temperature and pressure changes. Moreover, the different activation energies for the exothermic reactions could be derived from Arrhenius plots.

Vertically aligned Fe, S, and Fe-S doped anatase TiO₂ nanotube arrays are prepared by electrochemical anodization process using an organic electrolyte in which lactic acid is added as an additive. In the electrolyte, nanotube layers of greater length (12 μm) and high order with inner diameter of approx. 90 nm and outer diameter of approx. 170 nm are achieved. Doping of Fe, S, and Fe-S via simple wet impregnation method substituted Ti and O sites with Fe and S, which leads to enhance the rate performance at high discharge current densities. Discharge capacities of TiO₂ tubes increased from 82 mAh g-1 (bare) to 165 mAh g-1 for Fe-S doped TiO₂ at high current densities of 0.3 mAcm-2 after 100 cycles with exceptional capacity retention of 85% after 100 cycles. Owing to the enhancement of thermodynamic and kinetic properties by doping of Fe-S, Li-diffusion increas2ed resulting in remarkable discharge capacities of 143 mAh g-1 and 89 mAh g-1 at a current density of 7.4 mA cm-2 and 19 mA cm-2, respectively.

The migration paths and distribution driving factors of heavy metals in dry and windy area polluted by their production in the North China need a further research. To address this research gap, we collected 675 soil samples, 72 atmospheric deposition samples and 20 water samples around a production area and measured its heavy metal concentrations. Results showed that the Cu, Zn, As and Pb in 0-10 cm soil layer showed a fan-shaped distribution, which was consistent with their atmospheric deposition fluxes. It indicated the distribution patterns of these heavy metals were driven by strong winds in studied area. Although Cr concentrated to the production area in the 0-10 cm soil layer, principal component analysis showed that this migration was through wind as well. The concentration of Cd in the river increased from 0.257 mg/L to 0.460 mg/L along water flowing, and caused the same distribution trend in soil near the river from upstream to downstream. Unlike the above, surface runoff should drive the Cd migration. The concentration of Pb in the river was over threshold of pollution, and also led to an accumulation in the 5-10 cm soil layer. It suggested that the migration of Pb was through both wind and surface runoff. Six studied heavy metals showed different migration behaviors, and specific control strategies for individual heavy metal should be concerned.

Five new cembrane-type diterpenes, lobocalines A–E (1–5), and four new steroids, lobocalines F–I (9–12), along with six known related compounds (6–8 and 13–15) were isolated from the Yalong Bay soft coral Lobophytum catalai. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis, NMR calculation with DP4+ analysis, time-dependent density functional theory-electronic circular dichroism (TDDFT-ECD) calculations, X-ray diffraction analyses, and the comparison with the reported spectroscopic data of known compounds. Further, with the aid of X-ray diffraction analysis, the structure of lobocrasol B (15) was firmly revised as 15a. In in vitro bioassays, compound 2 showed moderate antibacterial activities against fish pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus parauberis KSP28 and Phoyobacterium damselae FP2244 with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 8.7 and 17.3 µg/mL, respectively. All the steroids exhibited antibacterial activities against the S. parauberis KSP28 with MIC values ranging from 12.3 to 53.6 µg/mL. Compounds 2, 7 and 14 have remarkable inhibitory effects on the hemolysin production of Staphylococcus aureus, while compounds 8–12 have medium inhibitory effects on the pyocyanin production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

The effects of exogenous inorganic [i.e., nitrate (NO3-)/ammonium (NH4+)] and organic [i.e., glutamate (Glu)/argine (Arg)] N alone and in combination on the accumulation of proline (Pro) in rice plant under trivalent chromium [Cr(III)] stress were studied through the mass balance matrix model (MBMM). ‘NH4+’ application showed the largest contribution to the Pro content in rice shoots under different concentrations of Cr(III), followed by ‘NO3-’, ‘Arg’, and ‘Glu’ application respectively. While, ‘Arg’ application displayed the largest contribution to the Pro content in roots under Cr(III) stress, followed by ‘NH4+’, ‘Glu’, and ‘NO3-’ application. Among the combination cases of N sources used, the application of ‘NH4++Arg’ showed the greatest contribution to the Pro content in both roots and shoots of Cr(III)-treated rice seedlings, while the application of ‘NO3-+Glu’ showed the least contribution to the Pro content in rice seedlings under Cr(III) stress. Results from this study indicated that the level of indigenous Pro in rice seedlings is quite sensitive to Cr(III) stress under different N sources, and mathematical modeling showed a reliable result to estimate the relationship between Pro content and N source application in rice plants in response to Cr(III) exposure .

In order to study the crystallinity of different density polyethylenes, the experimental study on the transformation of the conductance mechanism under high electric field was carried out. The X-ray Diffraction(XRD), Different Scanning Calorimeter(DSC), Direct Current(DC) breakdown of Low-density polyethylene(LDPE), Linear low density polyethylene(LLDPE), Medium density polyethylene(MDPE) and High-density polyethylene(HDPE) and the electric field of 5-200kV/mm were tested. Conductivity characteristics experiments, in addition, using the mathematical formula of a variety of conductance mechanisms, the electric field-current density curves of the four kinds of polyethylene were fitted to analyze the conductance transition of the above four kinds of polyethylene in non-ohmic regions under different high field strengths. mechanism. The experimental results show that as the density of polyethylene increases, the crystallinity increases continuously, and the continuous increase of crystallinity causes the electric conduction flow under the same field strength to decrease significantly. The field strength corresponding to the two turning points in the conductance characteristic curve increases simultaneously. Large, the breakdown field strength increases; through analysis, it is found that in the high field, as the electric field increases, the conductance mechanism develops from the ohmic conductance of the low field strength region to the bulk effect of the high field strength region (Poole-Frenkel). Then the electrode effect to the high field strength (Schottky), and the threshold field strength of this conductance mechanism transition increases with the increase of crystallinity.

The effects of reaction temperature, reaction time, heating rate, nitrogen flow rate and catalyst quality on the oil yield and oxygen content in the oil were investigated by using the single factor principle. Too high and too low reaction temperature, nitrogen flow rate, heating rate and reaction time have improved the yield of bio-oil, but the oxygen content in bio-oil is higher. The reduction of catalytic dose is beneficial to the increase of oil yield but not conducive to the increase of aromatic compound content. The optimal reaction conditions were observed as reaction temperature of 500℃, nitrogen flow rate of 110 mL/min, heating rate of 20℃/min, reaction time of 15min, mass ratio of catalyst to coconut coat powder was 1, and the oil yield was 4.97%, aquatic yield was 35.80%, and solid yield was 30.78%. The gas yield was 28.45%, the oxygen content was 10.3%, and the aromatic compound content was 89.7%.The analysis of catalytic cracking mechanism shows that most of the oxygen-containing compounds in the bio-oil are generated into water and aromatic compounds by catalytic cracking reaction at high temperature, thus removing oxygen.

Density functional theory (DFT) and coupled cluster theory (CCSD(T)) calculations are performed to investigate the geometric, electronic structures and chemical bonding of a series of Cu-doped zinc oxide clusters, CunZn3O3 (n = 1-4). The structural evolution of CunZn3O3 (n = 1-4) clusters are elaborated in our work. The planar seven-membered ring of CuZn3O3 cluster plays an important role in the structural evolution, that is, the Cu atom, Cu dimer (Cu2) and Cu trimer (Cu3) anchor on the CuZn3O3 cluster. The aggregate behavior of Cu atoms on Zn3O3 may offer insight into the study of Cu/ZnO-based catalysts. Additionally, it is found that the CunZn3O3 clusters become more stable as the Cu content (n) increases. Bader charge analysis points out that as the Cu atoms doping, the reducibility of Cu aggregation (Cun-1) on the CuZn3O3 cluster increases. Combined with the d-band centers and the surface electrostatic potential (ESP), the reactivity and the possible reaction sites of CunZn3O3 (n = 1-4) clusters are also illustrated.

Nanoparticle carriers can selectively deliver the drug cargo to tumor cells, thus having the ability to pre-vent early drug release, reduce non-specific cell binding, and prolong in vivo drug retention. We con-structed paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded lipid-shell mesoporous silica nanoparticles (LMSNs) for targeted an-ti-cancer drug delivery. The physical properties of PTX-LMSNs were analyzed by scanning electron mi-croscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The drug loading (DL%) and entrapment efficiency (EE%) of PTX-LMSNs were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In vitro drug release test, in vivo imaging, tissue distribution and pharmacokinetics of PTX-LMSNs were also evaluated. The SEM examination showed that MSNs were sphere, whereas TEM showed that they were rich in fine pores. The uniform core-shell structure of PTX-LMSNs was also verified by TEM. The DL capacity of PTX-LMSN was as high as 21.75%, and PTX was released from the nanoparticles in vitro in a pH-dependent manner. The cumulative amount of free PTX increased at lower pH, which is conducive to selective drug release from LMSNs in the acidic tumor tissues. In vivo imaging showed prolonged reten-tion of PTX-LMSNs, which is beneficial to their therapeutic efficacy. In addition, PTX-LMSNs were primarily concentrated in the liver. Pharmacokinetic experiments showed that the half-life of PTX-LMSNs was 23.21% longer and 79.24% higher than that of Taxol. Together, LMSNs are a highly promising antineoplastic drug carrier system.

2-Pyridone ligand-facilitated palladium-catalyzed direct C–H bond functionalization via the transient directing group strategy has become an attractive topic. Here we report a Pd-catalyzed direct β-C(sp3) –H arylation reaction of tertiary aliphatic aldehydes by using an α-amino acid as a transient directing group in combination with a 2-pyridone ligand.

Crop residue burning produces a lot of polluting gases and fine particles, endangering human health, damaging soil structure, and causing fire accidents. In addition to the impact of residue burning on the local environment, pollutants can spread with the wind to more distant areas and impact the air quality of surrounding areas, especially cities. Nevertheless, a comparative analysis of the impact of two common residue burning parameters, the number of residue fire points and residue burned area, on urban air quality indicators has not been reported. In this study, the correlation between these two different residue burning parameters on air quality in Daqing City was investigated comparatively using the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) fire point product, the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) burned area product, and buffer zone analysis. The association between MODIS burned area products and air quality index (AQI) was found to be around 0.8, with a maximum of 0.816 at a buffer zone radius of 50 km. Meanwhile, it was found that the correlation between the number of residue fire points extracted from the VIIRS active fire products and air quality was above 0.6, again with a maximum of 0.745 at a buffer radius of 50 km. Within other levels of buffer zones, the correlation between residue burned area and AQI was consistently higher than that between residue fire points and AQI. By comparing the correlation between VIIRS fire points, MODIS burned area, and AQI with the concentration of each pollutant, we found that the correlation between residue burned area and AQI and the concentration of each pollutant is higher. MODIS burned area monitoring, on the other hand, detects changes in the time series of images taken by satellite at two transit moments to obtain the new burned area and cumulative burned area during this period, allowing the monitoring of fire traces caused by fire points at non-transit moments. From analyzing the correlation between residue fire points, residue burned area, and the concentration of each pollutant (PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, SO2, O3), we found significant correlations between residue burning and PM2.5, PM10, CO, and NO2 concentrations, with the highest correlation (R2) of 0.81 for PM2.5. Moreover, the correlation between residue burned area and PM2.5, PM10, CO, and NO2 concentrations was significantly higher than that between the number of residue fire points and their concentrations.

Multi-object tracking (MOT) in airborne videos is a challenging problem due to the uncertain airborne vehicle motion, vibrations of the mounted camera, unreliable detections, size, appearance and motion of the moving objects as well as occlusions due to the interaction between the moving objects and with other static objects in the scene.To deal with these problems, this work proposes a four-stage Hierarchical Association framework for multiple object Tracking in Airborne video (HATA). The proposed framework combines data association-based tracking (DAT) methods and target tracking using a Compressive Tracking approach, to robustly track objects in complex airborne surveillance scenes. In each association stage, different sets of tracklets and detections are associated to efficiently handle local tracklet generation, local trajectory construction, global drifting tracklet correction and global fragmented tracklet linking. Experiments with challenging airborne video datasets show significant tracking improvement compared to existing state-of-art methods.

Three new cembranoids (1–3) and a new casbanoid (4), along with three known analogues (5–7), have been isolated from the soft coral Sinularia nanolobata collected off Ximao Island. The structures including the absolute configurations of new compounds were established by extensive spectro-scopic data analysis, time-dependent density functional theory/electronic circular dichroism (TDDFT-ECD) calculations and the comparison with spectroscopic data of known compounds. In in vitro bioassay, compounds 1 and 5 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against human erythroleukemia (HEL) cells line with IC50 values of 37.1 and 42.4 uM, respectively.

Aflatoxin biosynthesis is correlated with oxidative stress and is proposed to function as a secondary defense mechanism to redundant intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). We find that the antioxidant gallic acid inhibits aflatoxin formation and growth in A. flavus in a dose-dependent manner. Global expression analysis (RNA-Seq) of gallic acid treated A. flavus showed that 0.8% (w/v) gallic acid revealed two possible routes of aflatoxin inhibition. Gallic acid significantly inhibited the expression of farB, encoding a transcription factor that participates in peroxisomal fatty acid β oxidation, a fundamental contributor to aflatoxin production. Secondly, the carbon repression regulator encoding gene creA was significantly down regulated by gallic acid treatment. CreA is necessary for aflatoxin synthesis and aflatoxin biosynthesis genes were significantly downregulated in DcreA mutants. In addition, the results of antioxidant enzyme activities and the lipid oxidation levels coupled with RNA-Seq data of antioxidant genes indicated that gallic acid may reduce oxidative stress through the glutathione- and thioredoxin-dependent systems in A. flavus.

With the swift advancement of wearable electronic devices and the electronic textile industry, the energy storage components of these devices must possess the capability to maintain stable mechanical and chemical properties even after undergoing multiple bending or tensile deformations. This circumstance has expedited research efforts toward novel materials, processing techniques, and designs for flexible energy storage devices. Among the myriad of materials investigated thus far, biomass-derived architectures have garnered significant attention due to renewability, cost-effectiveness, and abundance in earthly resources. Notably, flexible carbon membrane/ monolithic derived from biomass serve as a particularly promising option for self-supporting electrodes, align seamlessly with the requirements of next-generation electronic devices, and obviate the need for additional costs, unnecessary weight, and the high contact resistance that additive insulating adhesives may entail. This review delves into the comprehensive analysis of biomass feedstocks and methodologies employed in the synthesis of flexible self-supporting carbon electrodes. Subsequently, the advancements in their application in energy storage devices are elucidated. Finally, an outlook on the potential of biomass self-supported carbon architectures and the challenges they face is provided.

A homogenization of billets from Al-Cu-Li-Mg-Sc-Zr alloys should be accomplished at high annealing temperatures exceeding 500 °C. This type of aluminum alloy is susceptible to the depletion of surface layers from Li. Therefore, choosing a suitable homogenization temperature and duration is a crucial step in assuring a homogeneous distribution of alloying elements and optimal exploitation of the potential of the alloy. In-situ heating in an electron microscope was performed on a twin-roll cast Al-Cu-Li-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy to understand the peculiarities of the homogenization process. Four types of primary phase particles rich in Cu, Li, Mg, and Fe were identified in the as-cast material. They appear as coarse particles at the boundaries of eutectic cells. Their partial dissolution occurs at temperatures above 450 °C. They are almost fully dissolved at 550 °C, except for complex phases containing Fe and Cu. Small dimensions of eutectic cells in the range of 10 µm assure a homogeneous distribution of main alloying elements within the matrix after 20 min of annealing. Direct comparison with the same material prepared by mold-casting indicates that such short annealing times result in the dissolution of main primary phase particles but do not assure a homogeneous distribution of alloying elements in the whole volume of the specimen.

Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) through SMART UNS Company has conducted research and development of e-motorcycle conversion using Li-ion battery pack as a substitute for ICE energy source from the conventional motorcycle. Currently, the battery-pack that used for e-motorcycle conversion is in the development phase towards commercialization. The challenge of estimating production costs is the complicated production process and storing hidden expenses that can be a problem. This hidden cost is often a missing or varied factor that costs less or more expensive. This study presents an integrated parametric cost estimation model with activity-based cost assignments to estimate production costs through cost calculations for each activity. Activity-based costs break the production process into a specific cost element for each step. Each activity's cost is put into a parametric cost estimation model to calculate the cost of each activity into the total cost of production. Cost estimation results will be analyzed using a regression method to determine which variables most affect the production cost of Li-ion battery packs for the conversion of e-motorcycles in the SMART UNS company.

Li₂TiO₃ nanopowders were synthesized by hydrothermal process using anatase TiO₂ and LiOH H₂O as raw materials. Li₂TiO₃ crystallizes in the layered monoclinic structure (space group C2/c) with average crystallite size of 34 nm. Morphology, elemental composition and local structure of products were carried out using HRTEM, FESEM, EDS, Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. Transport properties investigated by d.c. (4-probe measurements) and a.c. (complex impedance spectroscopy) show the activation energy of 0.71 and 0.65 eV, respectively. The ionic transport properties of Li⁺ ions in nanocrystalline Li₂TiO₃ characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) validate the good electrochemical properties of this anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

CoCr2O4 and doped lithium Co1-xLixCr2O4 chromate powder and nanoparticles were prepared by modified by sol-gel method. The morphological and structural properties of nano chromates were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and Photoluminescence (PL). Nanoparticles of doped lithium were synthesized by adding appropriate amount of cobalt nitrate, chromium nitrate, lithium nitrate and 1,2 Ethanediol as a complexing agent. The sample were heated at 105 ˚C for ten hours in oven to obtain dry gel. Calcination temperature for these samples was 700˚C for 3 hours in a furnace. The particle size of parent compound ranges from 4.4 nm to 11 nm, determined by SEM. The tendency of particles to form the aggregates with the increased annealing temperature was observed. The SEM and optical characterization of this compound has shown the sol gel derived material may be successfully used as an effective doped lithium cobalt ceramic pigment with controlled variation in structural and optical properties. SEM images showed that spherical like doped particle have diameter 33nm. From PL spectra Nano structure shows band gap 2.5ev and when we doped Lithium in it band gap decreases and become 1.19ev, which is associated to band gap transition.

A 'little brother' of pain, itch is an unpleasant sensation that creates a specific urge to scratch. To date, various machine-learning based image classifiers (MBICs) have been proposed for quantitative analysis of itch-induced scratch behaviour of laboratory animals in an automated, non-invasive, inexpensive and real-time manner. In spite of MBICs' advantages, the overall performances (accuracy, sensitivity and specificity) of current MBIC approaches remains inconsistent, with their values varying from ~50% to ~99%, for which the reasons underlying have yet to be investigated further, both computationally and experimentally. To look into the variation of the performance of MBICs in automated detection of itch-induced scratch, this article focuses on the experimental data recording step, and reports here for the first time that MBICs' overall performance is inextricably linked to the sharpness of experimentally recorded video of laboratory animal scratch behaviour. This article furthermore demonstrates for the first time that a linearly correlated relationship exists between video sharpness and overall performance (accuracy and specificity, but not sensitivity) of MBICs, and highlight the primary role of experimental data recording in rapid, accurate and consistent quantitative assessment of laboratory animal itch.

Land-cover classification that uses very-high-resolution (VHR) remote sensing images is a topic of considerable interest. Although many classification methods have been developed, there is still room for improvements in the accuracy and usability of classification systems. In this paper, a novel post-processing approach based on a dual-adaptive majority voting strategy (D-AMVS) is proposed for improving the performance of initial classification maps. D-AMVS defines a strategy for refining each label of a classified map that is obtained by different classification methods from the same original image and fusing the different refined classification maps to generate a final classification result. The proposed D-AMVS contains three main blocks. 1) An adaptive region is generated by extending gradually the region around a central pixel based on two predefined parameters (T1 and T2) in order to utilize the spatial feature of ground targets in a VHR image. 2) For each classified map, the label of the central pixel is refined according to the majority voting rule within the adaptive region. This is defined as adaptive majority voting (AMV). Each initial classified map is refined in this manner pixel by pixel. 3) Finally, the refined classified maps are used to generate a final classification map, and the label of the central pixel in the final classification map is determined by applying AMV again. Each entire classified map is scanned and refined pixel by pixel based on the proposed D-AMVS. The accuracies of the proposed D-AMVS approach are investigated through two remote sensing images with high spatial resolutions of 1.0 and 1.3 m, respectively. Compared with the classical majority voting method and a relatively new post-processing method called general post-classification framework, the proposed D-AMVS can achieve a land-cover classification map with less noise and higher classification accuracies.

To address the limitations of the current anodes of Li+-ion batteries (LIBs), a Ge/GeO2/Carbon (Ge@GeO2-C) composite was designed by introducing a high-energy ball-milling process for advanced LIBs. Ge@GeO2-C is prepared and characterized by XPS, XRD, SEM, and TEM, which facilitate synthesis and provide controllability with respect to milling time. Interestingly, as the ball-milling time increased, the proportion of metallic Ge increased during the carbon thermal reduction reaction. The electrochemical characteristics of Ge@GeO2-C are assessed using differential capacity analysis (dQ/dV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques to confirm its viability as an anode material in LIBs. The results demonstrated decent initial and secondary capacities of approximately 1800 mAh g-1 (for the first cycle) and 838 mAh g-1 (for the second cycle) at a rate of C/60 by the reaction between Ge and the Li-Ge complex. Furthermore, postmortem characterization was performed to gain an understanding of the material, suggesting future prospects for advanced LIBs.

Half-metallic semi-Heusler compounds are currently at the forefront of scientific research due to their potential applications in spintronic devices. Unlike other semi-Heuslers, the p0(d0)-d compounds do not appear to crystallize in the typical variant of the C1b structure. We investigate this phenomenon in the p0-d Heusler compounds LiYGa and LiYGe, where Y varies between Ca and Zn, using first-principles ab-initio electronic band structure calculations. We examine the electronic and magnetic properties of these compounds in relation to the three possible C1b structures. Notably, LiVGa, LiVGe, LiMnGa, and LiCrGe are half-metallic ferromagnets across all three variations of the C1b lattice structure. Our findings will serve as a foundation for future experimental studies on these compounds.

Taking advantage of fact that the surface electrons of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) can be effectively released even at a low voltage bias, we demonstrate an improvement in the electrochemical performance of nano-sized Prussian Blue (PB) based secondary batteries by the incorporation of bare Ag or Ni NPs onto the vicinity of the working PB NPs. It is found that the capacity for electrochemical energy storage of the 17-nm-PB-based battery is significantly higher than the capacity of 10-nm-PB-based, 35-nm-PB-based or 46-nm-PB-based batteries. There is a critical PB size for the highest electrochemical energy storage efficiency. The full specific capacity CF of the 17-nm-PB-based battery stabilized to 62 mAh/g after 130 charge-discharge cycles at a working current of IW = 0.03 mA. The addition of 14 mass-percent of Ag NPs in the vicinity of the PB NPs gives rise to a 32% increase in the stabilized CF. A 42% increase in the stabilized CF can be obtained with the addition of 14 mass-percent of Ag NPs on the working electrode of the 35-nm-PB-based battery. An enhancement of CF is also found for electrodes incorporating bare Ni NPs but the effect is smaller.

A series of novel N-n-butyl-1,8-naphthalimide derivatives were synthesized via a three-step reaction involving nucleophilic substitution and acylation. All of the compounds were characterized by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, MS, and elemental analysis, and the crystal structure of N-n-butyl-4-[N’,N’-bis(2`,4`-dichlorobenzoyl)ethylamino]-1,8-naphthalimide was determined. The π-π stacking interactions and hydrogen bonds between the two molecular core planes (naphthalimide ring) and the van der Waals forces between the flexible n-butyl groups resulted in a 3D long-chain structure. The UV-vis and fluorescence properties of the title compounds were investigated. The results indicated that the monosubstituted 1,8-naphthalimide derivatives bearing an electron-donating group on the benzene ring or a structure with a larger conjugative effect exhibited enhanced fluorescence properties.

Schistosoma infection in snails can be monitored by microscopy or indirectly by sentinel mice. As both these approaches sometimes miss infections, more sensitive tests are needed, particularly in low-level transmission settings. In this study, the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique, designed to detect a specific 28S ribosomal S. japonicum gene with high sensitivity, was compared to microscopy using snail samples from 51 areas endemic for schistosomiasis in five Chinese provinces. The results were compared with those by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) adding DNA sequencing as a reference when needed. The testing of pooled snail samples showed that a dilution factor of 1/50, i.e., one infected snail plus 49 non-infected ones, would still result in a positive reaction after the recommended number of amplification cycles. Testing a total of 232 pooled samples, emanating from 4,006 snail specimens, with the LAMP assay showed a 6.5% rate of infection, while traditional microscopy found only 0.04% positive samples in the same materials. Parallel PCR analysis confirmed the diagnostic accuracy of the LAMP assay, with DNA sequencing even giving LAMP a slight lead. Microscopy and the LAMP test were carried out at local schistosomiasis-control stations demonstrating that the potential of the latter assay to serve as a point-of-care (POC) test with results available within 60–90 minutes, while the more complicated PCR test had to be carried out at the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases (NIPD) in Shanghai, China. In conclusion, LAMP was found to be clearly superior to microscopy and as good as, or better, than PCR. Application of LAMP testing would be useful for surveillance and risk prediction as it requires less time than other techniques and can be used under field conditions, which improves and accelerates schistosomiasis control.

The design and fabrication of low-cost catalysts for highly efficient oxygen reduction is of paramount importance for various renewable energy-related technologies, such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries. Herein, we report the in situ growth of Fe3N nanoparticles encapsulated N-doped carbon nanotubes on the surface of flexible biomass-derived carbon cloth (Fe3N@CNTs/CC) via a simple one-step carbonization process. Taking advantage of its unique structure, Fe3N@CNTs/CC was employed as a self-standing electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and possessed high activity as well as excellent long-term stability and methanol resistance in alkaline media. Remarkably, Fe3N@CNT/CC can directly play the role of both gas diffusion layer and electrocatalytic cathode in a zinc-air battery without additional means of catalyst loading, and display higher open circuit voltage, power density, and specific capacity in comparison with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. This work is anticipated to inspire the design of cost-effective, easy-preparation, and high-performance air electrodes for advanced electrochemical applications.

This study primarily investigates the effect of fly ash (FA) content on the mechanical properties and hydration performance of alkali-activated ground granulated blast furnace slag cements (AAGC), and compares the related properties with ordinary Portland cement (OPC). Additionally, the study examined the hydration products, thermal analysis, MIP, SEM, chemically bound water, and pH values of AAGC. The compressive strength of AAGC showed a retrogression phenomenon from 3 to 28 days, with the 14-day and 28-day compressive strengths of AAGC being higher than those of OPC. The AAGC with 20% FA content exhibits the highest 28-day compressive strength (75 MPa). The hydration heat release rate curved of OPC and AAGC can be divided into the initial induction period, induction period, acceleration period, deceleration period and steady period. As FA content increases, the 28-day pore volume of AAGC increased while pH values and chemically bound water decrease. SEM images of AAGC with low FA content showed more microcracks.

LiFePO4 (LFP) has undergone extensive research and is a promising cathode material for Li-ion batteries. The high interest is due to its low raw material cost, good electrochemical stability, and high-capacity retention. However, poor electronic conductivity and a low Li+ diffusion rate decrease its electrochemical reactivity, especially at fast charge/discharge rates. In this work, the volumetric energy density of lithium-ion batteries is successfully increased by using different amounts of conductive carbon (Super P) in the active material content. The particle size and morphology of the electrode material samples are studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Two-point-probe DC measurements and adhesive force tests are used to determine the conductivity and evaluate adhesion for the positive electrode. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and charge/discharge tests are used to analyze the electrochemical properties of the battery. The samples containing 88% LFP, 5.5% Super P and 6.5% PVDF perform best, with discharge capacities reaching 169.8 mAhg-1 at 0.1C, and they can also manage charging/discharging of 5C. EIS indicates that this combination produces the lowest charge-transfer impedance (67 Ω) and the highest Li+ ion diffusion coefficient (5.76 x 10-14 cm2s-1).

The abundant use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in a wide variety of electric devices and vehicles will generate a large number of depleted batteries, which contain several valuable metals such as Li, Co, Mn, and Ni present in the structure of the cathode material (LiMO2). The present work investigates chemical, technological, and environmental aspects in the treatment of such wastes, development of a methodology for the extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite by a carbochlorination pyrometallurgical process. Mixtures of cathode and anode materials (called black mass, mixed oxides of Li, Co, Ni, Mn, and graphite) from different LIBs, carbon black (as reducing agent), and CaCl2 (as chlorinating agent) were used. Non-isothermal thermogravimetric tests up to 850°C and isothermal tests at 700°C of the mixtures in an inert atmosphere were carried out. It was experimentally observed that the LiMO2-C-CaCl2 reaction takes place at 700°C. LiCl, Ni, and Co were obtained as final products, and to a lesser extent, CoO, NiO, and MnO2. CaCO3 was also obtained as a by-product. The obtained results show that carbochlorination is an efficient and effective alternative route for the extraction and recovery of metals from different LIBs, focused on the sustainability and circular economy

A systematic study has been conducted on barbiturate complexes of all five alkali metals Li–Cs prepared from the metal carbonates or hydroxide in aqueous solution without other potential ligands present, varying the stoichiometric ratio of metal ion to barbituric acid (BAH). Eight polymeric compounds (two each for Na, K, and Rb and one each for Li and Cs) have been characterised by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. All contain some combination of barbiturate anion BA− (necessarily in a 1:1 ratio with the metal cation M+), barbituric acid, and water. All organic species and water molecules are coordinated to the metal centres via oxygen atoms as either terminal or bridging ligands. Coordination numbers range from 4 (for the Li complex) to 8 (for the Cs complex). Extensive hydrogen bonding plays a significant role in all the crystal structures, almost all of which include pairs of N–H…O hydrogen bonds linking BA− and/or BAH components into ribbons extending in one dimension. Factors influencing the structure adopted by each compound include cation size and reaction stoichiometry as well as hydrogen bonding.

It is well known that human activities and climate change have increased steppe habitat loss and fragmentation in Northwest China. Carabid beetles are often used as bioindicators of environmental change because they are extremely sensitive to disturbance. We chose 42 landscapes (18 fragmented and 24 continuous) in both desert and typical steppes of Northwest China to examine the influence of habitat loss and fragmentation on carabid beetle communities. The results showed the largest correlation coefficient between carabid communities and landscape compositions within a 7-km spatial scale in both desert and typical steppes. Further, the response of carabid communities to habitat fragmentation was species-specific in both desert and typical steppes. Habitat fragmentation in the desert steppe had positive effects on the richness and abundance of carabid communities, while in the typical steppe, the effects were negative. Additionally, habitat fragmentation significantly decreased the abundance of two common carabid species in the desert steppe. Therefore, the effects of habitat fragmentation on carabid biodiversity differ with species characteristics and habitat traits, where plant communities, soil structure, and microclimate vary in the different steppe types. The results of this study provide experimental evidence and technical support for biodiversity conservation management in the steppes of Northwest China.

Codon use bias is an important characteristic in the process of genetic information transmission of species. With the publication of the genome of C. panzhihuaensis, it is of great significance to investigate the codon use bias for understanding the genetic evolution of this species and for molecular breeding. In this study, Perl language and CodonW 1.4.2 software was used to systematically analyze the coding gene sequences of the C. panzhihuaensis genome, obtain the characteristics of codon use, and identify the sources of variation affecting codon use. The results showed that GC3s content, GCall content, and ENC value were 46.75%, 47.67%, and 52.8 respectively. As the first seed plant, the GC3 content of Cycas is similar to that of most gymnosperms and most dicotyledons, but considerably different from that of monocotyledons.RSCU value was greater than 1, among which 21 codons ended in U or A. Enc-plot analysis, PR2-plot neutral plot analysis, and correlation coefficient analysis of Axis1 with GC3s and CAI revealed that the codon bias was mainly affected by natural selection, but also by mutation pressure and other factors. Thirty-one optimal codons of Cycas genes were screened. This research can provide a reference for the phylogeny and genome codon evolution of Cycas.

Retired Electric vehicles (EVs) batteries are reused in second life energy storage applications. However, the overall performance of repurposed energy storage system (ESS) is limited by the unevenness of individual batteries use in it. Therefore, battery grading is required for optimal performance of ESS. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) based evaluation of battery aging is a promising way to grade lithium-ion batteries. However, it is not practical to measure impedance of mass retired batteries due to high complexity and slowness. In this paper, a broadband multi-sine binary signal (MSBS) perturbation integrated with multichannel EIS system is presented to measure impedance spectra for high-speed aging evaluation of lithium-ion batteries or modules. The measurement speed is multi-times higher than conventional EIS with single-channel configuration. The broadband MSBS is validated with reference sinusoidal sweep perturbation and corresponding root-mean-square error (RMSE) analysis is performed. Moreover, the accuracy of the presented multichannel EIS system is validated by impedance spectra measurement of Samsung INR18650-29E batteries and comparing it with those measured with commercial EIS instrument. A chi-squared error under 0.641% is obtained for all 8-channels. Since the non-linearity of battery has significant impact on quality of impedance spectra. Therefore, Kronig-Kramer (KK) transform validation is also performed.

We show that combining vibrational spectroscopy with signal processing can result in a scheme for ultrasensitive detection of molecules. We consider the vibrational spectrum as a signal on the energy axis and apply a matched filter on that axis. On the example of a nerve agent molecule, we show that this allows detecting a molecule by its vibrational spectrum even when the recorded spectrum is completely buried in noise, when conventional spectroscopic detection is impossible. Detection is predicted to be possible with signal-to-noise ratios in recorded spectra as low as 0.1. We study the importance of spectral range used for detection as well as of the quality of the computed spectrum used to program the filter, specifically, the role of anharmonicity, of the exchange correlation functional, and of the basis set. The use of the full spectral range rather than of a narrow spectral window with key vibrations is shown to be advantageous, as well as accounting for anharmonicity.

Aborycin is a type I lasso peptide with a stable interlocked structure, offering a favorable framework for drug development. The aborycin biosynthetic gene cluster gul from marine sponge-associated Streptomyces sp. HNS054 was cloned and integrated into the chromosome of S. coelicolor hosts with different copies. The 3-copy gul-integration strains S. coelicolor M1346::3gul showed better production than one-copy or 2-copy gul-integration strains, and the total titer reached approximately 10.4 mg/L, i.e., 2.1 times that of the native strain. Then, five regulatory genes, phoU (SCO4228), wblA (SCO3579), SCO1712, orrA (SCO3008) and gntR (SCO1678), which were reported to have negative effects on secondary metabolism, were further knocked out from the M1346::3gul genome by CRISPR/Cas9 technology. While the ΔSCO1712 mutant showed a significant decrease (4.6 mg/L) and the ΔphoU mutant showed no significant improvement (12.1 mg/L) in aborycin production, the ΔwblA, ΔorrA and ΔgntR mutations significantly improved the aborycin titers to approximately 23.6 mg/L, 56.3 mg/L and 48.2 mg/L, respectively, which were among the highest heterologous yields for lasso peptides in both Escherichia coli systems and Streptomyces systems. Thus, this study provided important clues for future studies on enhancing antibiotic production in Streptomyces systems.

As a member of smart materials, electrorheological elastomers (EREs) formed by pre-treating active electrorheological particles are attracting more and more attention. In this work, four Mg-doped strontium titanate particles with spherical, dendritic, flake-like and pinecone-like morphorlogies were obtained by hydrothermal and low-temperature co-precipitation. XRD, SEM, Raman and FT-IR were used to characterize the obtained products. The results showed that the sizes of Mg-doped strontium titanates are about 1.5‒2.0 μm, and the phase structure are dominated by cubic crystal. These Mg-doped strontium titanates were dispersed in a hydrogel composite elastic medium. Then, Mg-doped strontium titanate/glycerol/gelatin electrorheological composite hydrophilic elastomers were obtained with or without electric field. The electric field response properties of Mg-doped strontium titanate composite elastomers were investigated. It concluded that dendritic Mg-doped strontium titanate composite elastomers is high-performance EREs. And the maximum value of energy storage modulus of Mg-doped strontium titanate composite elastomers has achieved 8.70 MPa. This high electrorheological performance of the products is helpful for their applications in vibration control, force transducers, smart structures, dampers, and other fields.

The effect of H2S with high concentrations on catalytic dry reforming of methane (DRM) process has seldom been focused on previously. Herein, a thermodynamic analysis of the DRM reactions in the presence of H2S with the concentration varying in 0-20 vol% was conducted firstly. Several typical types of catalysts including MgO, NiO/MgO and LaNiO3 in different states were prepared for executing DRM at 800 C, 0.1 MPa in the feed of 20 vol% CO2 and 20 vol% CH4 balanced with N2. The catalytic performance of each catalyst for DRM process under conditions of absence and presence of H2S was compared. A promotion effect of increasing H2S concentration on both the conversions of CO2 and CH4 and the molar yields of CO and H2 was observed on all the catalysts especially the MgO and the pristine NiO/MgO. While a significant decline in catalytic activity of either the reduced NiO/MgO or the reduced LaNiO3 catalyst after adding H2S, moderate reactant conversions still sustained. The results of process analysis and catalyst structure characterization suggest that H2S participation can contribute to the increment in CO2 and CH4 conversion, and active S-adsorbed species may play the key role of catalysis in the reactions involving H2S.

The working environment of mining electric locomotives is wet and muddy coal mine 1 roadway. There may be idling or slipping between the wheels and rails of mining electric locomotives 2 due to low friction between the wheel and rail and insufficient utilization of creep rate. Therefore, it 3 is necessary to control the creep rate within a reasonable range. In this paper, the autonomous control 4 algorithm for mining electric locomotives based on improved ε-greedy is theoretically proven to be 5 convergent and effective firstly. Secondly, after analyzing the contact state between the wheel and rail 6 under wet and slippery road conditions, it was concluded that the value of creep rate is an important 7 factor affecting the autonomous driving of mining electric locomotives. Therefore, the autonomous 8 control method for mining electric locomotives based on creep control is proposed in this paper. 9 Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method was verified through simulation. The problem of 10 wheel slipping and idling caused by insufficient friction of mining electric locomotives in coal mining 11 environments is effectively suppressed. Autonomous operation of vehicles with optimal driving 12 efficiency can be achieved through quantitative control and utilization of the creep rate between 13 wheels and rails

The papaya mealybug Paracoccus marginatus is an invasive, polyphagous pest and poses a quarantine threat to tropical and subtropical countries. Infested commodity internationally should be undergoing phytosanitary treatment, while irradiation is recommended to replace methyl bromide fumigation. Dose-response tests were conducted on the 2-, 4-, and 6-d-old eggs and gravid females of P. marginatus using the X-ray radiation doses of 15–105 Gy with an interval of 15 Gy, respectively. Radiotolerance was compared using fiducial overlapping and lethal dose ratio (LDR) test, resulting in insignificant difference except for LDR test at LD90 (leading 90% mortality at 95% confidence level (CL)); the estimated dose for 99.9968% mortality at 95% CL was 176.5–185.2 Gy, which was validated in the confirmatory tests using gamma irradiation because gammy and X-rays have equal biological effect on pests. Therefore, a total of estimating 60,386 gravid females of papaya mealybug irradiated with 146.8–185.0 Gy resulted in no F1 nymphs developing. Eggs can therefore be used as an alternative to gravid females for dose-response tests; the recommended minimum dose for phytosanitary treatment of P. marginatus on infested commodity is 185 Gy, with treatment efficacy ≥ 99.9950% at 95% CL.

Lithium sulfur (Li–S) batteries are expected to be very useful for next-generation transportation and grid storage because of their high energy density and low cost. However, their low active material utilization and poor cycle life limit their practical application. The use of a carbon-coated separator in these batteries serves to inhibit the migration of the lithium polysulfide intermediate and increases the recyclability. We report the extent to which the electrochemical performance of Li–S battery systems depends on the characteristics of the carbon coating of the separator. Carbon-coated separators containing different ratios of carbon black (Super-P) and vapor-grown-carbon-fibers (VGCF) were prepared and evaluated in Li–S batteries. The results showed that larger amounts of Super-P on the carbon-coated separator enhanced the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries; for instance, the pure Super-P coating exhibited the highest discharge capacity (602.1 mAh g-1 at 150 cycles) with a Coulombic efficiency exceeding 95%. Furthermore, the separators with the pure Super-P coating had a smaller pore structure, and hence limited polysulfide migration, compared to separators containing Super-P/VGCF mixtures. These results indicate that it is necessary to control the porosity of the porous membrane to control the movement of the lithium polysulfide.

In this study, a cholera infection model with the bilinear infection rate is developed by considering the perturbation of the infection rate by the mean-reverting process. First of all, we give the existence of a globally unique positive solution for a stochastic system at arbitrary initial value. On this basis, the sufficient condition for the model to have an ergodic stationary distribution is given by constructing proper Lyapunov functions and tight sets. This indicates in a biological sense the long-term persistence of cholera infection. Furthermore, after transforming the stochastic model to an relevant linearised system, an accurate expression for the probability density function of the stochastic model around a quasi-endemic equilibrium is derived. Subsequently, the sufficient condition to make the disease extinct is also derived. Eventually, the theoretical findings are shown by numerical simulations. Numerical simulations show that the impact of regression speed and fluctuation intensity on stochastic systems.

Taking Korla fragrant pear as the research object, single factor testing and water and fertilizer coupling testing were conducted. Under the premise of the drip irrigation mode, the effects of water, nitrogen, and phosphorus on the growth, fruit quality, and yield of Korla Fragrant Pear were studied to provide a theoretical basis for efficient water and fertilizer management. Among them, the single factor test set water, nitrogen and phosphorus as the three factors, and each factor was set at five levels, namely, water (W1, 5460 m3·hm−2;W2, 5880 m3·hm−2;W3,6300 m3·hm−2; W4, 6720 m3·hm−2; W5, 7140 m3·hm−2), nitrogen (N1, 150 kg N·hm−2;N2, 225 kg N·hm−2; N3, 300 kg N·hm−2; N4, 375 kg N·hm−2; N5, 450 kg N·hm−2), phosphorus (P1,75 kg P2O5·hm−2; P2, 150 kg P2O5·hm−2; P3, 225 kg P2O5·hm−2; P4, 300 kg P2O5·hm−2; P5, 375 kg P2O5·hm−2). The results showed that the total nitrogen and total phosphorus contents in leaves under the W3, W4, N3, N4, P3, and P4 treatments were significantly higher than those under other treatments, and the fruit quality was better. Therefore, the W3, W4, N3, N4, P3, and P4 treatments were selected as the water and fertilizer inputs for the water–fertilizer coupling test for Korla fragrant pear. Eight treatments were set up in the water and fertilizer coupling test: Treatment 1 (T1, W3N3P3), Treatment 2 (T2, W3N3P4), Treatment 3 (T3, W3N4P3), Treatment 4 (T4,W3N4P4), Treatment 5 (T5, W4N3P3), Treatment 6 (T6, W4N3P4), Treatment 7 (T7, W4N4) P3), and Treatment 8 (T8, W4N4P4). The results showed that the leaf area index of the T1, T2, T3, and T4 treatments was significantly higher than that of the other treatments at maturity. The T3 treatment resulted in the highest fruit yield, single fruit weight, and primary fruit rate. The results of the grey correlation degree analysis of fruit quality showed that T3 treatment had the highest degree of correlation and ranking of each fruit quality index, indicating that T3 treatment had the highest fruit quality. Detailed investigation of pear tree growth and fruit quality showed that the T3 treatment (375 kg·hm−2 nitrogen application, 225 kg·hm−2 phosphorus application and 6300 m3·hm−2 irrigation) had the best fruit growth and development performance, and the sweet pear fruit quality was the best.

Taking Korla fragrant pear as the research object, single factor testing and water and fertilizer coupling testing were conducted. Under the premise of the drip irrigation mode, the effects of water, nitrogen, and phosphorus on the growth, fruit quality, and yield of Korla Fragrant Pear were studied to provide a theoretical basis for efficient water and fertilizer management. Among them, the single factor test set water, nitrogen and phosphorus as the three factors, and each factor was set at five levels, namely, water (W1, 5460 m3·hm−2;W2, 5880 m3·hm−2;W3,6300 m3·hm−2; W4, 6720 m3·hm−2; W5, 7140 m3·hm−2), nitrogen (N1, 150 kg N·hm−2;N2, 225 kg N·hm−2; N3, 300 kg N·hm−2; N4, 375 kg N·hm−2; N5, 450 kg N·hm−2), phosphorus (P1,75 kg P2O5·hm−2; P2, 150 kg P2O5·hm−2; P3, 225 kg P2O5·hm−2; P4, 300 kg P2O5·hm−2; P5, 375 kg P2O5·hm−2). The results showed that the total nitrogen and total phosphorus contents in leaves under the W3, W4, N3, N4, P3, and P4 treatments were significantly higher than those under other treatments, and the fruit quality was better. Therefore, the W3, W4, N3, N4, P3, and P4 treatments were selected as the water and fertilizer inputs for the water–fertilizer coupling test for Korla fragrant pear. Eight treatments were set up in the water and fertilizer coupling test: Treatment 1 (T1, W3N3P3), Treatment 2 (T2, W3N3P4), Treatment 3 (T3, W3N4P3), Treatment 4 (T4,W3N4P4), Treatment 5 (T5, W4N3P3), Treatment 6 (T6, W4N3P4), Treatment 7 (T7, W4N4) P3), and Treatment 8 (T8, W4N4P4). The results showed that the leaf area index of the T1, T2, T3, and T4 treatments was significantly higher than that of the other treatments at maturity. The T3 treatment resulted in the highest fruit yield, single fruit weight, and primary fruit rate. The results of the grey correlation degree analysis of fruit quality showed that T3 treatment had the highest degree of correlation and ranking of each fruit quality index, indicating that T3 treatment had the highest fruit quality. Detailed investigation of pear tree growth and fruit quality showed that the T3 treatment (375 kg·hm−2 nitrogen application, 225 kg·hm−2 phosphorus application and 6300 m3·hm−2 irrigation) had the best fruit growth and development performance, and the sweet pear fruit quality was the best.

Apiaceae plants have been widely used as traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for the treatment of removing dampness, relieving superficies, and dispelling cold, etc. In order to exploit the potential application and improve the yield and quality of Apiaceae medicinal plants (AMPs), The traditional use, phytochemistry, modern pharmacological use, effect of bolting and flowering (BF), and approaches for controlling the BF were summarized. Currently, about 228 AMPs have been recorded as TCMs with 6 medicinal parts, 72 traditional uses, 62 modern pharmacological uses, and 5 main kinds of metabolites. Three effect degrees (i.e., significantly affected, affected to some extent, and no significantly affected) could be classed based on the yield and quality. The BF of individual plants (e.g., Angelica sinensis) could be effectively controlled by the standard cultivation techniques, while the mechanism of BF has not been systemically revealed. This review will provide useful references for the reasonable exploration and high-quality production of AMPs.

Two-dimensional (2D) of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are potential candidates for thermoelectric (TE) applications due to their unique structural properties. In this paper, we constructed an 2D monolayer TMDCs semiconductor γ-PbSn2(X=S, Se, Te) and first-principles calculations and Boltzmann transport theory are used to study the thermoelectric performance. We found that γ-PbSnX2 had an ultra-high carrier mobility up to 4.04×103 cm2V−1s−1 leading to a metal-like electrical conductivity. Meanwhile, γ-PbSnX2 both have high Seebeck coefficients, resulting in high power-factors, and also shows intrinsic low lattice thermal conductivity of 6-8 W/mK at room temperature. The lower lattice thermal conductivity and high power-factors resulted in excellent thermoelectric performance. The high ZT values of γ-PbSnS2 and γ-PbSnSe2 were as high as 2.65 and 2.96 at 900 K, respectively. The result suggests that the monolayer γ-PbSnX2 are better candidates for excellent thermoelectric performance.

Exosomes are associated with cancer progression, pregnancy, cardiovascular diseases, central nervous system–related diseases, immune responses and viral pathogenicity. However, study on the role of exosomes in the immune response of teleost fish, especially antiviral immunity, is limited. Herein, serum-derived exosomes from mandarin fish were used to investigate antiviral effect for the exosomes of teleost fish. Exosomes were isolated from mandarin fish serum by ultracentrifugation could internalize into Mandarin fish fry (MFF-1) cells and inhibited Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) infection. To further investigated the underlying mechanisms of exosomes in inhibiting ISKNV infection. The protein composition of serum-derived exosomes was by analysis mass spectrometry and found that myxovirus resistance 1 (Mx1) was incorporated in the exosomes. Furthermore, the scMx1 protein was proved transferred to the recipient cells though the exosomes. Our results found that the serum-derived exosomes from mandarin fish could inhibit ISKNV replication and suggested an underlying mechanism of the serum-derived exosomes antivirus is that serum-derived exosomes incorporation of the Mx1 protein into exosomes and delivery into recipient cells. This study provided an evidence for the important antiviral role of exosomes in the immune system of teleost fish.

SARS-CoV-2, the newly identified human coronavirus causing severe pneumonia epidemic, was probably originated from Chinese horseshoe bats. However, direct transmission of the virus from bats to humans is unlikely due to lack of direct contact, implying the existence of unknown intermediate hosts. Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of SARS-CoV-2, but only ACE2s of certain species can be utilized by SARS-CoV-2. Here, we evaluated and ranked the receptor-utilizing capability of ACE2s from various species by phylogenetic clustering and sequence alignment with the currently known ACE2s utilized by SARS-CoV-2, predicting potential intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2.

As a dominant mangrove species, Kandelia obovata is distributed in an intertidal marsh with an active H₂S release. Whether H₂S participates in the salt tolerance of mangrove plant is still ambiguous although increasing evidence have demonstrated that H₂S functions in plant responses to multiple abiotic stresses. In this study, as an H₂S donor, NaHS was used to investigate the regulatory mechanism of H₂S on salt tolerance of K. obovata seedlings using a combined physiological and proteomic analysis. The results showed that the reduction in photosynthesis (Pn) caused by 400 mM NaCl was recovered by the addition of NaHS (200 μM). Furthermore, the application of H₂S enhanced the quantum efficiency of PSII and the membrane lipid stability, implying that H₂S is beneficial to the survival of K. obovata seedlings under high salinity. We further identified 37 differentially expressed proteins by proteomic approaches under salinity and NaHS treatment. Among them, the proteins related to photosynthesis, primary metabolism, stress response and hormone biosynthesis were primarily enriched. The physiological and proteomic results highlighted that exogenous H₂S up-regulated photosynthesis and energy metabolism to help K. obovata to cope with high salinity. Specifically, H₂S increased photosynthetic electron transfer, chlorophyll biosynthesis and carbon fixation in K. obovata leaves under salt stress. Furthermore, the abundances of other proteins related to metabolic pathway, such as antioxidation (APX, CSD2, PDX1), protein synthesis (HSP, Cpn 20), nitrogen metabolism (GS2, GS1:1), glycolysis (PGK, TPI), AsA-GSH cycle were increased by H₂S under high salinity. These findings provide new insights into the roles of H₂S in the adaptations of mangrove plant K. obovata to high salinity environment.

Fracture grouting has been a widely used mitigation measure against seepage in the Yellow River Embankment. However, there is currently a lack of systematic investigation for evaluating the anti-seepage effectiveness of fracture grouting employed in this longest river embankment in China. Therefore, in this work, laboratory and in-situ experiments are carried out for investigating the reinforcement effect of fracture grouting in the Jinan Section of the Yellow River Embankment. In particular, firstly, the laboratory tests concentrate on studying the optimum strength improvement for cement-silicate grout by varying the content of backfilled fly ash and bentonite as admixtures. Flexural strength and Scanning Electron Microscope photographs are investigated for assessing the strength and compactness improvement. Subsequently, based on the obtained optimum admixtures content, in-situ grouting tests are carried out in the Jinan Section of the Yellow River Embankment to evaluate the anti-seepage effectiveness of fracture grouting, where geophysical prospecting and pit prospecting methods are employed. Laboratory results show that, compared with pure cement-silicate grouts, the gelation time of the improved slurry is longer and gelation time increases as fly ash content increases. The optimum mixing proportion of the compound cement-silicate grout is 70% cement, 25% fly ash and 5% bentonite, and the best volume ratio is 2 for the investigated cases. Geophysical prospecting using the Ground Penetrating Radar and High Density Resistivity methods can reflect the anti-seepage effectiveness of fracture grouting on site. It shows that the grouting material mainly flows along the axial direction of the embankment. The treatment that is used to generate directional fracture is proved to be effective. The injection hole interval distance is suggested to be 1.2 m, where the lapping effect of the grouting veins is relatively significant. For the investigated cases, the average thickness of the grouting veins is approximately 6.0 cm and the corresponding permeability coefficient is averagely 1.6 × 10⁻⁶ cm/s, which meets the anti-seepage criterion in practice.

MoS2 lithium-based grease is suitable for lubrication protection between bearings at high temperatures and loads due to its excellent tribological properties. However, there is little research on the influence of different addition methods of MoS2 additive on the tribology and corrosion properties of lithium grease. In this work, vegetable oil with low toxicity, high biodegradation rate, and low cost was selected as the base oil, lithium 12-hydroxystearate as the thickener, and MoS2 as the additive. The effects of different adding modes of MoS2 on the tribology and corrosion properties of lithium grease were studied. The experimental results showed that adding 0.01wt% MoS2 before thickening was more conducive to improving the tribological properties of lithium grease. The average friction coefficient was 0.034, and the average spot diameter was reduced by 0.16mm. After grinding and adding 0.01wt% MoS2, the corrosion inhibition efficiency of the steel sheet was as high as 96.97%. The main reason was that the longer stirring and grinding were conducive to the uniform distribution of MoS2 in the grease, and the protective film formed by MoS2 and GCr15-bearing steel improved the lubrication performance and corrosion inhibition performance of the friction system.

This paper concentrates on the general birth-death processes with two different types of catastrophes. The Laplace transform of transition probability function for birth-death processes with two-type catastrophes are is successfully expressed with the Laplace transform of transition probability function of the birth-death processes without catastrophe. The first effective catastrophe occurrence time is considered. The Laplace transform of its probability density function, expectation and variance are obtained.

In 2020 the world experienced the threat of the COVID-19 epidemic, as seniors and chronic disease patients typically try to reduce their exercise and social activities to avoid increasing the risk of infection, which could lead to increased loneliness and even many diseases. This research combining golf croquet games with AIoT companion robots constructs a home-based intelligent exercise system thus uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), deduces users’ intention to use this system based on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, and adds the needs of love and belonging, esteem, cognitive, aesthetic, and self-actualization in Maslow’s needs theory to conduct system needs analysis. The analysis results show that participants have a high level of acceptance of this system, believing that it is easy to learn and operate, can increase interaction with others, also found that this system can improve self-confirmation, satisfying the third for knowledge, feeling happy, and self-actualization needs are easier to fulfill. In the future, we shall collect and record the seniors in the process of use, so as to find out their health problems as soon as possible, expand their daily life through this exercise, and achieve the goal of happy living and health care.

Molten salt electrolysis stands as an indispensable technique for the production of rare earth metals, where the judicious distribution of the electric field within the electrolytic cell is paramount for ensuring the seamless operation of the electrolysis process. This study introduces a pioneering approach by integrating the Nernst-Planck equation with the Butler-Volmer equation, thereby devising a holographic electric field model tailored for the electrolysis of the NdF3-LiF molten salt system. The paper presents pioneering experimental measurements concerning the potential distribution and voltage drop characteristics within a 6kA rare earth electrolytic cell, elucidating the interplay between decomposition voltage and current density, which substantiates the model's precision. Our findings unveil that, under operational conditions of 4010 amperes, the 6kA electrolytic cell incurs a total voltage drop of 6.3 volts, delineating a melt voltage drop of 4.43 volts, an ohmic voltage drop of 0.248 volts, and an interfacial voltage drop of 1.622 volts at the electrode-electrolyte junction. The discrepancy in error is confined to within 0.3% of the actual measured voltage of 6.28 volts.The simulation outcomes from the holographic electric field model have been confirmed to precisely and comprehensively reflect the characteristics of the electric field distribution during the rare earth molten salt electrolysis process, offering valuable theoretical insights for practical manufacturing applications.

Supramolecular solvent (SUPRAS) has received increasing interest as an innovative, efficient, and green solvent for the effective extraction and separation of bioactive compounds from natural resources. However, studies on the use of SUPRAS for the extraction of phenolic components from plants, which are highly valued in food products due to their excellent antioxidant capacity, are still lacking. The present study developed a green ultrasound-assisted and efficient SU-PRAS method to simultaneously determine three phenolic acids in Prunella vulgaris by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the experimental parameters were optimized in detail. The efficiency and antioxidant properties of the phenolic compounds obtained by different extraction methods were also compared. Under the optimal conditions, the extraction efficiency of SUPRAS, prepared with octanoic acid reverse micelles dispersed in ethanol-water, was substantially higher than conventional organic reagents. Moreover, this SUPRAS method also showed more significant antioxidant capacities. The confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images presented the spherical droplet structure of SUPRAS (A well-defined circle), which coincided with the position of the fluorescence position of phenolic acids. The phenolic acids were encapsulated in the vesicles by the SUPRAS droplets, which indicated the efficient extraction capacities of SUPRAS for the target compounds. Finally, combined with the CLSM method, the mechanism of the proposed method was further clarified, and the superior extraction performance of SUPRAS was theoretically demonstrated through molecular dynamics simulations. In comparison with conventional methods, the higher extraction efficiency of SUPRAS can be illustrated by the larger solvent contact surface area, more types of hydrogen bonds between extractants and supramolecular solvents, and stronger and more stable interaction forces. The results of the theoretical studies are in rational agreement with the experimental outcome.