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Understanding the characteristics of coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) in goaf under different porosities is crucial for comprehending the mechanism of CSC and its prevention and control. In this paper, a multi-field coupled model of CSC in the goaf, considering porosity variation, is developed to investigate the effect of porosity on the CSC characteristics in the goaf. The results indicate that, as the goaf depth increases, both porosity and permeability decrease. When the highest goaf porosity is 25%, the average airflow velocity is between 0.00134 and 0.00139 m/s. In contrast, the average airflow velocity in the goaf with a porosity of 40% is approximately six times greater than that of the goaf with a porosity of 25%. As the goaf porosity increases, the overall oxygen concentration, temperature, and oxidized zone area also rise. Moreover, the oxidation zone area can be quantified and visualized, thereby enabling more effective prediction of the CSC risk in the goaf. The findings of the study have a positive significance in guiding the prevention and control of coal fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The deubiquitinase ovarian tumor domain-containing 1 (OTUD1) has been considered as a tumor suppressor in many tumors, but there is minimal research on the role of OTUD1 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) pathogenesis. Methods: Bioinformatics analyses and western blot were applied for investigating OTUD1 expression in lung cancer and the drug that upregulated OTUD1. Kaplan–Meier analysis with log-rank test was used for survival analyses. IP-MS and co-IP were performed for identifying potential protein interactions with OTUD1. In vitro and in vivo assays were used for exploring the function of OTUD1 during the progression of LUAD. Results: OTUD1 was dramatically downregulated in tumors and cell lines of human lung cancer. OTUD1 inhibited proliferation and migration of lung cancer cells in vitro. Moreover, OTUD1 inhibited growth of xenografts in nude mice and formation of primary lung tumors in urethane-induced lung cancer model. Mechanistically, we showed that OTUD1 deubiquitinated and stabilized FHL1. Furthermore, we listed and identified VE-822 as a candidate agonist for OTUD1. VE-822 inhibited proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: These results indicated that the deubiquitinase OTUD1, which was upregulated by VE-822, inhibited the progression of LUAD in vitro and in vivo by deubiquitinating and stabilizing FHL1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The piezoelectric properties of lead zirconate titanate [Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 or PZT] ceramics could be enhanced by fabricating textured ceramics that would align the crystal grains along specific orientations. We present a seed-passivated texturing process to fabricate textured PZT ceramics by using newly developed Ba(Zr,Ti)O3 microplatelet templates. This process not only ensures the template-induced grain growth in titanium-rich PZT layers but also facilitates desired composition through interlayer diffusion of zirconium and titanium. We successfully prepared textured PZT ceramics with outstanding properties, including Curie temperatures of 360°C, piezoelectric coefficients d33 of 760 picocoulombs per newton and g33 of 100 millivolt meters per newton, and electromechanical couplings k33 of 0.85. This study addresses the challenge of fabricating textured rhombohedral PZT ceramics by suppressing the otherwise severe chemical reaction between PZT powder and titanate templates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we prepared a series of Nb-doped SrTiO 3 ceramics sintered in both air and N 2 atmospheres. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicated that all samples had a pure cubic phase perovskite structure with no secondary phase. The dielectric test showed that the Nb-doped SrTiO 3 ceramics had a high dielectric permittivity (>3 × 104) and low dielectric loss (<0.004) over a broad temperature range from −100 to 300 °C with a breakdown strength over 20 kV/cm. The dielectric performance is attributed to the designated T i T i ′ − V O · · − T i T i ′ deep-lattice-defect states localising weak-hopping electrons to generate high defect-dipole concentrations, as verified by systematic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments. This study offers a route for designing other types of high dielectric permittivity ceramics. • Synthesized a novel Nb-doped SrTiO 3 ceramics with dense and fine-grained microstructure. • Achieved giant permittivity of 3 × 104 and low loss (<0.004) at room temperature. • The designated deep-lattice-defect states localize weak-hopping-electrons to generate high defect-dipoles concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

6G wireless networks have raised increasing attention with computation-sensitive services such as AI Internet of things (AIoT) and mobile augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) applications. Mobile edge computing (MEC) provides rich computation resources for user equipments (UE) at the edge of networks. Aided by MEC servers, computation-intensive applications that are commonly modeled as Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAG) can be performed locally and offloaded to MEC servers to enhance execution efficiency. However, it is a key issue to efficiently provide low latency with limited energy. In this paper, we investigate a multiobjective task scheduling problem in MEC-aided 6G network. Then, an improved multiobjective cuckoo search (IMOCS) algorithm is proposed to deal with a DAG-based task scheduling problem, which aims to reduce the execution latency and energy consumption of UE. Particularly, the proposed IMOCS algorithm is based on the single-objective cuckoo search algorithm and Pareto dominance. An external archive is used to record nondominated solutions, whose update strategy improves the quality of solutions by the aid of fast nondominated sorting and crowding distance sorting. Simulation results demonstrate that IMOCS algorithm outperforms other four benchmark algorithms, which can provide optimal task scheduling policy for MEC severs in 6G networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we prepare a series of NiCu alloy film catalysts with different contents by magnetron sputtering to investigate the synergistic effect between Ni and Cu in electrocatalytic hydrogenation of benzaldehyde. The results show that alloying of Ni and Cu can significantly enhance the electrocatalytic activity of benzaldehyde hydrogenation. With the increase of Ni content, the conversion rate of benzaldehyde increases two to three orders of magnitude, and the Faradaic efficiency of the Ni-rich catalysts is higher than that of the Cu-rich catalysts. In addition, the alloy composition affects the relative coverages of H and benzaldehyde, leading to different reaction orders in benzaldehyde. The boosted electrocatalytic activity with the increase of Ni content is in accordance with the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy that increasing Ni content can decrease the charge transfer resistance of the alloy catalysts. [Display omitted] • A series of NiCu film catalysts were prepared by magnetron sputtering. • NiCu alloy catalysts improve the ECH of benzaldehyde. • The increasing Ni content decreases the charge transfer resistance of NiCu alloys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • 91.38% NO was removed at 175 ℃ via Fenton-like enhanced SCR reactions over FeV 1.31 O x. • The H 2 O 2 and NH 3 adsorpted over Fe 2 V 4 O 13 and FeVO 4 was evaluated via DFT methods. • The Fenton-like enhanced SCR reactions can be enhanced via modulating Fe-V oxides. Low-temperature NO removal technology was critical for tail gas purification. Our previous work has proposed an efficient Fenton-like enhanced SCR reaction over monoclinic FeVO 4. This work modulates the V to Fe ratio (V/Fe) in Fe-V oxides to enhance the NO removal activity. The textual characterization and NO removal of FeV 0.82 O x , FeV 1.31 O x , FeV 1.52 O x, and FeV 1.96 O x were carried out to investigate the structure–activity relationships. For the Fenton-like enhanced SCR reactions, the NO removal efficiency was affected by catalysts with different V/Fe. Based on XPS, NH 3 -TPD, and •OH annihilation tests, it could be deduced that the NO removal in Fenton-like enhanced SCR reactions was simultaneously affected by the performance of SCR reactions and Fenton-like reactions. The density functional theory calculation indicated that the H 2 O 2 was more likely adsorbed on Fe sites of Fe 2 V 4 O 13 , and the adsorption of NH 3 was conducive to the oxidized V sites of FeVO 4. The research elucidated the modulation strategy for NO removal via Fenton-like enhanced SCR reactions over Fe-V oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), a type of pervasive genes that regulates various biological processes, are differentially expressed in different types of malignant tumors. The role of lncRNAs in the carcinogenesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains unclear. Here, we investigated the role of the lncRNA DKFZp434J0226 in PDAC. Methods: Aberrantly expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs among six PDAC and paired non-tumorous tissues were profiled using microarray analysis. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to evaluate DKFZp434J0226 expression in PDAC tissues. CCK-8 assay, wound-healing assay, soft agar colony formation assay, and transwell assay were performed to assess the invasiveness and proliferation of PDAC cells. Furthermore, RNA pull-down, immunofluorescence, RNA immunoprecipitation, and western blotting assays were performed to investigate the association between DKFZp434J0226 and SF3B6. Tumor xenografts in mice were used to test for tumor formation in vivo. Results: In our study, 222 mRNAs and 128 lncRNAs were aberrantly expressed (≥ twofold change). Of these, 66 mRNAs and 53 lncRNAs were upregulated, while 75 lncRNAs and 156 mRNAs were downregulated. KEGG pathway analysis and the Gene ontology category indicated that these genes were associated with the regulation of mRNA alternative splicing and metabolic balance. Clinical analyses revealed that overexpression of DKFZp434J0226 was associated with worse tumor grading, frequent perineural invasion, advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage, and decreased overall survival and time to progression. Functional assays demonstrated that DKFZp434J0226 promoted PDAC cell migration, invasion, and growth in vitro and accelerated tumor proliferation in vivo. Mechanistically, DKFZp434J0226 interacted with the splicing factor SF3B6 and promoted its phosphorylation, which further regulated the alternative splicing of pre-mRNA. Conclusions: This study indicates that DKFZp434J0226 regulates alternative splicing through phosphorylation of SF3B6 in PDAC and leads to an oncogenic phenotype in PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials with colossal dielectric permittivity (CP) are in the focus of interest for the development of miniaturization and integration of electronic components. Despite the extensive study of these new classes of co-doped TiO 2 CP materials, the preparation of multilayer ceramics using this kind of CP materials is still challenging work. Here, we synthesize a series of (Sb5+, Nb5+) and (Sm3+, Y3+) co-doped Ti 0.9 Zr 0.1 O 2 ceramics (SNSYTZO) through the conventional solid-state reaction method. XRD spectrum identifies that ceramics under x = 0.04 show a perfect rutile phase with the tetragonal crystal structure; however, minor brookite orthorhombic crystal structure appears when x > 0.04. FESEM images show the prepared ceramics have excellent densification and low porosity. Dielectric, modulus, and impedance spectrum are systematically explored the underlying CP mechanism and compared with each other to find the optimal materials composition to prepare further multilayer ceramics, which is fabricated by the industrial tape casting method. FESEM, together with surface element mapping, indicates that all doping elements are homogeneously distributed. Also, we investigate the dielectric response without/with DC bias. This work sheds light on a promising feasible route to prepare the miniaturization of the next-generation electronics via a large scale industrial tape casting method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sesame flavour baijiu is an important style of Chinese liquor (Baijiu). However, the characteristic flavour substances of sesame flavour baijiu and associated microbial metabolic mechanisms are unclear. In recent years, research on sesame flavour baijiu has grown. This review focuses on current studies on the brewing process, the diversity of microorganisms involved in fermentation and the important aroma compounds in sesame flavour baijiu. This review will be helpful in understanding the brewing process of sesame flavour baijiu, but also in highlighting measures for improving quality. © 2020 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Lachnum polysaccharide (LEP) possessed anti-tumor effect on S180 cells in vivo. • LEP alleviated immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. • LEP promoted Th1 polarization and the secretion of IFN-γ. • LEP reset TAMs from pro-tumor M2 to anti-tumor M1 phenotype. • LEP activated M1 macrophages via TLR4 mediated NF-κB signaling pathway. Therapeutic strategies that targeting tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) reprogramming play a crucial role in ameliorating the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and boosting anti-tumor immune responses. In this study, we demonstrated that Lachnum polysaccharide (LEP) could work as an immunomodulator to reset TAMs from pro-tumor M2 to anti-tumor M1 phenotype. Mechanistically, LEP promoted Th1 polarization and the secretion of IFN-γ, which played a key role in M1 phenotype polarization. In parallel, LEP might directly activate M1 macrophages via TLR4 mediated NF-κB signaling pathway. Moreover, LEP also resulted in the accumulation of anti-tumor immune cells and decreased the infiltration of immunosuppressive cells such as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and Treg cells, thereby potentiating anti-tumor immunity. In summary, these results revealed a novel mechanism of the anti-tumor effect of LEP and provided a potential new avenue targeting TAMs and cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The antimetabolite 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) is a widely used antitumor agent, however the overall response rate to 5‐FU as a single agent is usually limited. Herein, how Lachnum expolysaccharide (LEP‐2a), a type of active polysaccharide isolated from Lachnum sp., acted synergistically with 5‐FU on HepG2 cells was investigated. It was found that LEP‐2a notably enhanced 5‐FU sensitivity in HepG2 cells in a synergistic manner. After combination treatment of 5‐FU and LEP‐2a, Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway were inactivated. In addition, combination treatment induced generation of reactive oxygen species, decreased the levels of intracellular antioxidant enzymes and triggered mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. Furthermore, 5‐FU combined with LEP‐2a also resulted in p53 activation and NF‐κB inhibition, and cell cycle arrest in the S phase as well as cell metastasis stagnation. Interestingly, LEP‐2a treatment also blocked the DNA damage repair procedure. These findings demonstrate that LEP‐2a enhanced 5‐FU sensitivity and combination of 5‐FU and LEP‐2a exerts synergistic antitumor efficiency through multiple approaches. HIGHLIGHTS: 1.Lachnum expolysaccharide (LEP‐2a) possesses antitumor effect on HepG2 cells in vitro.2.LEP‐2a combined with 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) has a synergistic effect against HepG2 cells in vitro.3.The synergistic effect is mediated by the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.4.Reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway promote the effect.5.LEP‐2a blocks DNA damage repair and induces cell cycle arrest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dielectric materials with high permittivity and low dielectric loss have a range of promising applications within electronic devices. Here, we report on Zr co-doped (Ga 0.5 Nb 0.5) 0.03 Ti 0.97 O 2 ceramics, fabricated using a solid-state reaction. The colossal permittivity (CP) of (Ga 0.5 Nb 0.5) 0.03 -(Zr x Ti 1-x) 0.97 O 2 ceramics was investigated (x = 0%, 1%, 4%, 6%, 10%, 20%). When the doping value of Zr was 4%, the dielectric loss was reduced to 0.098 and, at room temperature and at a frequency of 1000 Hz, the dielectric permittivity was recorded as 2420. In addition, the material's dielectric permittivity exhibited good stability at temperatures ranging from −50 °C to 200 °C. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we have observed that Zr doping reduces grain size and increases grain boundary regions. According to our XPS and impedance analysis, Zr doping also reduces the concentration of oxygen vacancies, which are considered to be the main cause of dielectric loss. We believe that the Zr doping is an effective method for reducing the dielectric loss of CP materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The (Nb + In) co-doped rutile TiO 2 ceramics were synthesized by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and traditional solid-state sintering (TS) techniques, respectively. Highly-density co-doped rutile TiO 2 ceramics are prepared with the SPS method by 20 min, whereas it takes nearly 30 h with the TS method. It is observed that SPS ceramics showed smaller and uniform grain size, and better densification than TS counterparts. Both sets of the co-doped TiO 2 ceramics showed single rutile phase according to X-ray diffraction (XRD) results. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is adopted to detect and compare the element-valence-state of both sets of the co-doped TiO 2 ceramics. The dielectric response, impedance spectroscopy (IS), and the effects of annealing treatment are systematically investigated, which could not only be helpful for optimizing their dielectric properties, but also shed the light on the colossal dielectric mechanism. Highlights • The sintering techniques is the most critical factor for CP in co-doped TiO 2 systems. • The existence of Ti3+ ions is a preliminary requirement for CP. • This paper shed light on the recognition of CP behavior in other metallic oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bootstrapping procedure has become the main bottleneck affecting the efficiency of all known fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) schemes. The state-of-the-art scheme for efficient bootstrapping, which is called fully homomorphic encryption over the torus (TFHE), accelerates polynomial multiplication by leveraging number theoretic transform (NTT) and implementing NTT in parallel on a GPU. Unfortunately, almost none of the recent advancements in NTT take full advantage of a GPU, leading to the need for more time. With this in mind, in this work, a novel faster number theoretic transform based on a GPU is proposed, in which matrix multiplication is used to implement a decomposed small-point NTT. When implementing matrix multiplication, we introduce a merging preprocessing method to merge multiple inputs of the small-point NTT, aiming to effectively minimize the count of modulo operations. Subsequently, when the merged result is multiplied by rotation factors, we use logical left shift rather than arithmetic multiplication to improve the computational efficiency. Our scheme can easily be used to realize a 1024-point NTT and the results of the experiments show that the speedup ratio of our method over the butterfly algorithm is about 2.49. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combination therapy with chemotherapeutics is attracting increasing attention as an important treatment option for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to its complex pathological characteristics. In this study, as a new therapy strategy, combination treatment of LEP-2a (a non-toxic polysaccharide from Lachnum sp.) with cyclophosphamide (CTX) was investigated. Results showed that combination treatment with LEP-2a and CTX processed a significantly synergistic anti-tumor effect in H22 tumor-bearing mice through Fas/FasL mediated caspase-dependent death pathway and mitochondria apoptosis pathway. Moreover, our study indicated that LEP-2a played a crucial role in enhancement of immune response, inhibition of tumor angiogenesis and down-regulation of survival associated proteins. Notably, side effects induced by CTX were relieved after LEP-2a treatment. These results support the conception that LEP-2a has the potential as an ideal adjuvant agent for a more effective combination therapy with CTX against HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the lamellar fluorphlogopite was structurally modified by the adjustment of layer charge and the rare earth Eu 3+ was doped to fluorphlogopite with a subsequent high temperature solid state reaction process. The structural modification involved a preliminary treatment of fluorphlogopite with HNO 3 and oxalic acid to reduce the layer charge density, and part of the charge-reduced fluorphlogopite was converted to a homoionic Na form by ion exchange with NaCl or NaB(C 6 H 5 ) 4 . It has been noticed that the interlayer spacing of modified fluorphlogopite is decreased as compared with the original fluorphlogopite due to the ionic radius difference between K + and Na + . The photoluminescence study suggests that adjustment of layer charge of fluorphlogopite is beneficial to enhance the luminescence intensity excited with near UV light, and the layered system may be a potential red light component for the use of solid-state lighting and other optoelectronic fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The evolution law of pore-fracture system during coal spontaneous combustion was studied. • The effect of temperature on the heterogeneity of coal pore-fracture system is analyzed. • The evolution law of coal strength during coal spontaneous combustion was studied. Understanding the variation law of pore–fracture system during coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) plays a crucial role in understanding the mechanism of CSC and its prevention as well as control. In this study, three different ranks of coal samples were heat-treated (25–500 °C). Through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and uniaxial compression (UC) tests, the changes in the pore-fracture system of different types of coal during CSC were comprehensively summarized. Based on the experimental results, the thermal rupture behavior of coal was simulated using PFC2D software. The results show that During CSC, the pore development of low-rank coal was obvious, the pore development of middle-rank coal was mainly concentrated in the high-temperature stage (T >300 °C), and the pore structure of high-rank coal was more stable. Meanwhile, the heterogeneity of the pore–fracture system of middle- and low-rank coals decreased, and the adsorption and seepage capacities increased. The heterogeneity of the pore–fracture system of high-rank coal was slightly influenced by temperature. The compressive strength of coal decreases with increasing temperature during CSC. The numerical simulation results were similar to the experimental results, i.e., the microcracks in the coal samples increased with temperature during heating; the effect of cracking caused by the high temperature will change the way the sample breaks, and the samples changed from ductile to brittle. The results of this study can serve as a reference for coal-fire control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the cross-layer resource optimization for wireless relay networks with dynamic node-selfishness information. The degree of intrinsic selfishness (DeIS) and the degree of extrinsic selfishness (DeES) of the relay node (RN) are defined as the effects of its own residual energy resource and the incentive in an incentive mechanism, respectively. A model of two-timescale node-selfishness dynamics is constructed to describe the time-varying characteristics of the RN's DeIS and DeES. Based on the two-timescale node-selfishness dynamics of the RNs, a two-timescale resource-optimization dynamical algorithm (TRODA) is employed to control the transmit powers of both RNs and end users (EU), as well as the flow rates of the data packets injected by all EUs. Meanwhile, the stability and the tracking error of the TRODA under the two-timescale node-selfishness dynamics are analyzed by Lyapunov theory. Our simulation results demonstrate that the two-timescale optimization algorithm is stable and has trivial tracking error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LEP-2a, previously obtained from Lachnum YM130 exopolysaccharide, was acetylated and benzoylated successfully, which were confirmed by FT-IR and 13 C NMR analyses. The derivatives were designated as ALEP-2a and BLEP-2a, respectively, and their respective degree of substitution were 0.220 and 0.574. Our study showed that LEP-2a and its derivatives treatments significantly increased the activities of SOD, GPx, CAT and decreased the level of MDA in heart of the diabetic mice, meanwhile, the levels of AGEs, hs-CRP, sICAM-1, NO and ET-1 in serum were markedly inverted. In addition, histopathological observation also showed that polysaccharide treatement alleviated myocardial structure disorder and confluent necrosis of cardiac muscle fibers in the diabetic mice, especially the 200 mg/kg dose ALEP-2a-treated and BLEP-2a-treated. The above results suggest that ALEP-2a and BLEP-2a can preferably maintain the levels of antioxidant enzymes and improve cardiovascular function in the diabetic mice. In conclusion, LEP-2a and its derivatives possess potent cardioprotective effect, supporting them as promising cardioprotective agents in diabetes mellitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial activity of Lachnum YM30 intracellular melanin (LIM). The dilution method was used to measure the MIC and MBC of Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Gram-positive bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus megaterium, Staphylococcus aureus . MIC values for each bacterial strain were 0.4, 2.4, 0.2, 0.6, 0.8, 0.3 mg/mL, and the MBC values were 0.4, 3.2, 0.3, 0.8, 0.8, 0.4 mg/mL, respectively. Bacteriostasis of LIM against S. aureus (G + ) and V. parahaemolyticus (G − ) was further revealed by SEM observation, testing integrity of cell membrane, NPN uptake and membrane potential. MTT experiment was used to estimate the cell cytotoxicity of LIM. The results showed that LIM significantly damaged the integrity of cell membrane, increased the leakage of cell contents, raised the quantity of NPN uptake and reduced the membrane potential. LIM had no obvious cell cytotoxicity at low concentrations. These findings indicated that LIM had antibacterial activity and could be applied as a potential natural bacteriostatic agent in the food or pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Nb + In) co-doped rutile TiO 2 (TINO) ceramics have received considerable attention, due to their high dielectric permittivity (on the order of 10,000) and low loss factor (<0.05) over a broad temperature/frequency range. The high dielectric permittivity of TINO has been attributed to a special defect-dipole structure. Here, we observed a similar dielectric behavior in hydrogen-reduced rutile TiO 2 crystals, where the colossal dielectric permittivity of ∼30,000 and the low loss factor of ∼0.05 exist in the temperature range of 30–480 K (frequency at 10∼10 5 Hz). Based on the investigations on the phase microstructures, the elemental valences, impedance spectroscopy, nonlinear I–V behavior and dielectric response, the colossal dielectric permittivity of the hydrogen-reduced rutile TiO 2 crystals was thought to be associated with the electronic relaxation polarization mechanism. This research further revealed that the weak-binding electron is the most critical factor for the high dielectric permittivity in rutile TiO 2 system, while a special defect-dipole structure may not be a preliminary requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between electrocaloric effect (ECE) and electrostrictive strain over a broad electric field was studied in (1-x)(Sr 0.7 Bi 0.2 )TiO 3 +x(Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 )TiO 3 relaxor based lead-free ceramics, where the electric field induced strain can reach the level of 0.28% at 12 MV/m. The experimental data revealed that the composition with highest strain response also generated the largest ECE near room temperature, e.g., ΔS=3.6 J kg −1 K −1 and an adiabatic temperature change ΔT=2.4 K at 13 MV/m. This research provides an effective approach for designing new ECE materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relaxor ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene–chlorofluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE-CFE)) and its blends have been shown to exhibit a giant electrocaloric effect (ECE) over a broad temperature range, e.g. from 0 to 50 °C. Here, a special calorimeter was designed to directly characterize the heat absorbed QECEdue to ECE cooling of the blend of P(VDF-TrFE-CFE) with P(VDF-TrFE) 65/35 mol% copolymer down to −15 °C, which covers the temperature range for many refrigeration applications. From QECE, the isothermal entropy change ΔSand adiabatic temperature change ΔTare deduced. The data reveal that at −15 °C the relaxor terpolymer/copolymer blend generates ΔS= 23.0J kg−1K−1and ΔT= 5.1K under 100 MV/m, which are still more than 65% of the ECE at room temperature. This temperature is far below the dielectric peak temperature of the relaxor blend and the results reveal the promise of the relaxor polymers for a broad range of EC cooling applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rare earth Ce 3+ and Tb 3+ ions -doped α-zirconium phosphate [Zr(HPO 4 ) 2 , abbreviated as ZrP] nanosheet phosphors were prepared by direct precipitation process at ambient temperature. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence emission and excitation spectra and the fluorescent lifetime measurements were used to characterize the crystal structure, morphology as well as the luminescent properties of the phosphor system. The Ce 3+ or/and Tb 3+ ions-doped ZrP system clearly exhibited nanosheet structure, as can be confirmed from their XRD and SEM results. Excited with ultra-violet (UV) light 368 nm, the Ce 3+ /Tb 3+ -codoped ZrP showed intense green emission at 546 nm corresponding to the 5 D 4 → 7 F 5 transition of Tb 3+ . With the increase of Ce 3+ doping concentration, the luminescent intensity and fluorescence lifetimes of Tb 3+ were gradually increased. The results manifested that the obvious energy transfer phenomenon from Ce 3+ to Tb 3+ happened, and the energy transfer mechanism should be due to the dipole–quadrupole interaction. Moreover, the chromaticity coordinate of ZrP:Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ nanosheet was also studied, and the emission color can be adjusted from blue-greenish to green by increasing the Ce 3+ concentration. The ZrP:Ce 3+ ,Tb 3+ nanosheet may be used as a green-light emitting candidate for the optoelectronic devices such as electroluminescence panels or white light-emitting diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop a simple and rapid method based on colorimetric sensor array (CSA) for evaluation of warmed-over flavour (WOF) in cooked chicken. All samples were classified according to storage time by CSA coupled with principle component analysis (PCA) or hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The CSA data were used to establish prediction models with thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), pentanal, hexanal, or heptanal associated with WOF by partial least square regression (PLSR). For the TBARS model, the coefficient of determination ( r p 2 ) was 0.9997 in the prediction range of 0.28–0.69 mg/kg. In each of the models for pentanal, hexanal, and heptanal, all r p 2 were higher than 0.960 in the range of 0.58–2.10 mg/kg, 5.50–11.69 mg/kg, and 0.09–0.16 mg/kg, respectively. These results demonstrate that the CSA was able to predict WOF development and to distinguish between each storage time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nano-emulsion (NE) composed of MCT oil, Tween 80 and lecithin was fabricated by ultrasonication method to encapsulate curcumin. Loading ability and efficiency of curcumin were 0.548 mg/mL and 95.10% respectively which indicated its water dispersibility was increased by 1400 fold. Chitosan with low, middle and high molecular weight (3 kDa, 30 kDa and 190–310 kDa respectively) was applied for coating the prepared NE. After chitosan coating, zeta potential value of NE was changed from negative to positive. At the same time, chitosan coating prevented NE phase separation in ionic strength test and inhibited degradation of curcumin during thermal and UV irradiation treatment. Using pH-stat method, it was found that middle and high molecular weight chitosan coating may interfere with lipolysis of NE during the in vitro digestion which also slightly decreased curcumin bio-accessibility. Therefore, NE coated with chitosan is a promising delivery system to promote the applications of curcumin in functional food and beverage system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starch nanoparticle loaded with curcumin was fabricated using a facile solution mixing method. Curcumin was encapsulated at various weight ratio and the results showed that 3 wt% loading achieved the highest encapsulation ability, encapsulation efficiency as well as storage ability. The obtained curcumin loaded starch (cur@star) was yellowish colored and well dispersed in water. Morphological properties were observed via transmission electron microscopy which revealed that the particles were spherical and unified distributed with diameter around 100 nm. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction were preformed to confirm that curcumin exists in the starch matrix in amorphous state. Moreover, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra indicate that hydrogen bonding may be responsible for the interaction between curcumin and starch. Cur@star increased the stability of curcumin against UV irradiation and retained its antioxidant ability. Due to the simple preparation procedures and low-priced material used, curcumin soluble starch nanocomposite reported here is promising to widen applications of curcumin in the food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospray technique was used to prepare alginate beads with controllable size from about 200 μm to 1.3 mm by adjusting the working voltage. The encapsulation ability of alginate beads for gallic acid, a model hydrophilic phenolic compound, was investigated. Loading amount of gallic acid varied from 7 g/100 g–12 g/100 g among alginate beads samples. Fourier-transform infrared and differential scanning calorimetry result confirmed the inclusion of gallic acid. Moreover, no autoxidation of gallic acid was observed in the formulated alginate beads. Release profile result indicated that in simulated intestinal fluid the release was faster than that in gastric fluid. The release pattern was influenced by both loading amount of gallic acid and size of alginate beads. Our results suggest that alginate beads fabricated by electrospray method is a promising delivery system for water soluble phenolic compound like gallic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the multiservice delivery between the source–destination pairs in distributed selfish wireless networks (SeWN), where selfish relay nodes (RN) expose their selfish behaviors, i.e., forwarding or dropping multiservices. Owing to the effect of the RNs’ node-selfishness on the multiservices, a distributed framework of the node-selfishness management is constructed to manage the RN’s node-selfishness information (NSI) in terms of its available resources, the employed incentive mechanism and the quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, and the other RNs’ NSI in terms of their historical behaviors. In this framework, the RNs’ NSI includes the degree of node-selfishness (DeNS), the degree of intrinsic selfishness (DeIS) and the degree of extrinsic selfishness (DeES). Under the distributed node-selfishness management, a path selection criterion is designed to select the most reliable and shortest path in terms of RNs’ DeISs affected by their available resources, and the optimal incentives are determined by the source to stimulate forwarding multiservices of the RNs in the selected path. Our simulation results demonstrate that this framework effectively manages the RNs’ NSI, and the optimal strategies of both the path selection and the incentives are determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanosuspensions (NSs) were fabricated to enhance water solubility, dissolution rate, and oral adsorption of water insoluble curcumin using sonoprecipitation method. As a good stabilizer, d-α-Tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) was used to improve the stability of curcumin-TPGS NSs (Cur-TPGS NSs). Ultrasonic homogenization (UH) could effectively enhance the solubility of curcumin and to produce homogeneous NSs with small particle sizes. Water solubility of curcumin was significantly improved from 0.6 μg/mL in pure water to 260 μg/mL in the mixture of curcumin and TPGS (1:10) with UH treatment. The mean particle size of Cur-TPGS NSs was decreased significantly after UH and maintained between 208 and 246 nm. Lyophilized powder of Cur-TPGS NSs was dissolved about 91.08% whereas the pristine curcumin powder was dissolved only 6.5% at pH 7.4. This study showed a great potential of Cur-TPGS NSs as a good nano-formulation of curcumin with enhanced solubility and improved oral adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green tea infusions were prepared with three different water types: distilled water, commercial mineral water and Ca Cl2 added distilled water (at 20 mg L−1). The impact of different water type on the colloidal particle parameters, namely size, polydispersity index ( PDI) and zeta potential, was examined within 24 h. Our results indicate that distilled water green tea infusion ( DWT) brewed at 80 °C for 5 min contained the smallest particles (242.17 ± 11.78 nm) as examined by dynamic light scattering ( DLS). Moreover, DWT showed smaller size increase during the 24 h storage than that of mineral water tea and Ca Cl2 added water tea infusion. The morphology characteristics of green tea infusion particles were visualised by transmission electron microscope ( TEM) which revealed that green tea infusion particles had heteromorphic shapes. Our results suggest that mineral composition of water impacts the colloidal size and stability of green tea infusion. Additionally, DLS and TEM could be useful tools to provide colloidal information which is important to understand quality characteristics of green tea infusion during processing and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Soy lecithin of different purity is used to prepare nanoliposome. • Crocetin is encapsulated in prepared nanoliposome for the first time. • Chitosan coating enhances stability of crocetin and attenuates it's release profile. • Nanoliposome retains the bio-activities of crocetin. The purity of soy lecithin exerts significant impact on nanoliposome (NL) properties for food applications. In this study, three soy lecithin of different purity were used to prepare NL. LC-MS analysis confirmed soy lecithin of relatively low purify (50% and 70%) contains multiple natural phospholipids. NL produced by soy lecithin of middle purity (70%) is smaller and more stable than other counterparts. Ultimately, soy lecithin of 70% purity was selected to develop NL encapsulated crocetin (CR) as model payload and further coated by chitosan (CS). The structure characteristic, physicochemical properties, antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory activity of crocetin nanoliposome (CR-NL) and chitosan coated crocetin nanoliposome (CS-CR-NL) were evaluated. NL encapsulation and CS coating significantly improve antioxidant and anti-inflammatory ability of CR, and prolong storage period of CR (p < 0.05). For food applications, soy lecithin of middle purity (70%) is cheaper and more appropriate than soy lecithin of high purity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a simple solution mixing method, curcumin was dispersed in the matrix of Eudragit® E PO polymer. Water solubility of curcumin in curcumin-Eudragit® E PO solid dispersion (Cur@EPO) was greatly increased. Based on the results of several tests, curcumin was demonstrated to exist in the polymer matrix in amorphous state. The interaction between curcumin and the polymer was investigated through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 1 H NMR which implied that OH group of curcumin and carbonyl group of the polymer involved in the H bonding formation. Cur@EPO also provided protection function for curcumin as verified by the pH challenge and UV irradiation test. The pH value influenced curcumin release profile in which sustained release pattern was revealed. Additionally, in vitro transdermal test was conducted to assess the potential of Cur@EPO as a vehicle to deliver curcumin through this alternative administration route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curcumin is well known for its pleiotropic activities such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. But curcumin has extremely low solubility in aqueous medium which limits its potential applications in food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, the combined pro-drug and nano-micelle strategy was attempted to address the limitation. We modified curcumin with hyaluronic acid (HA) based on the understanding that the hydrophilic polymer facilitates dissolution of curcumin in water. The amphiphilic curcumin derivative self-assembled into nano-micelle in water with the size around 100 nm and low PDI (< 0.3) which indicated that it had narrow size distribution. FT-IR spectrum verified that curcumin was successfully conjugated onto the backbone of HA. On the other hand, curcumin was also loaded into the hydrophobic core of the nano-micelle which worked as carrier for it. Using this combined strategy, the water solubility of curcumin was increased more than 1100 times compared to the pure curcumin. The morphology characteristic of curcumin loaded nano-micelle was examined by TEM which confirmed that curcumin loaded nano-micelle has spherical shape and unified size distribution. Meanwhile, the antioxidant activities of the nano-micelle and the curcumin loaded nano-micelle were examined by DPPH radical scavenging assay and reducing power assay the results of which indicated that the antioxidant potentials were significantly enhanced. The pro-drug and nano-micelle combined method reported here may be promising to address the curcumin challenge such as low water solubility and low availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Bi2O3 addition could promote the grain growth in Sr0.4Ba0.6Nb2O6 ceramics. [•] Doping Bi2O3 could improve the dielectric constant and lower the dielectric loss. [•] The dielectric characteristics of doping Bi2O3 samples showed relaxation behavior. [•] The P–E hysteresis loops for doping Bi2O3 ceramics became slimmer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sr0.7Ba0.3Nb2O6 (SBN70) ceramics were prepared by conventional sintering (CS) and microwave sintering (MWS) techniques. High-density ceramics were obtained by the MWS method in 2h of cycle time, whereas it took 14h by the CS method. Samples prepared by both sintering techniques showed single phase formation according to XRD results. It was observed that MWS SBN70 ceramics showed better densification and more uniform grain size than those of CS samples. The dielectric characteristics of both samples showed diffuse phase transition phenomenon features, which was confirmed by linear fitting of the modified Curie–Weiss law. Besides, the relaxor ferroelectric properties of both samples followed the Vogel–Fulcher relationship well. The value of spontaneous polarization (P s) and the P–E hysteresis loop for MWS samples were significantly higher and slimmer than those of the CS samples, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A conventional solid-state reaction was used to synthesize (1-x) Sr0.7Ba0.3Nb2O6–xBaTiO3 (0.00≤x≤0.10) ceramics. The phase structure, microstructure, and dielectric and relaxor ferroelectric properties of these ceramics were investigated. Tungsten bronze structure can be observed in ceramics, and addition of BaTiO3 can make the grain size decrease and the porosity increase. The dielectric characteristics show diffuse phase transition phenomena for all samples, which were demonstrated by a linear fit of the modified Curie-Weiss law with γ varying between 1.54 and 1.88. As the BaTiO3 content increases, the transition temperature (T C ) decreases gradually and has a minimum value of 37.53°C at composition x=0.06, and the maximum dielectric constant (ε max ) increases gradually from 66 to 3309 and subsequently decreases to 1625 at x=0.10. In addition, the relaxor ferroelectric properties of these ceramics at x=0.8 are consistent with the Volgel-Fulcher relationship; polarization versus electric field ( P-E ) loops were measured at a different temperature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Let be a projective plane, and let and PSL(2, q)⩽ G ⩽PΓL(2, q) with q >3. If G acts point-transitively on , then q =7 and is of order 2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The re-burning of coal seams still occurs in coal fire areas after firefighting projects. A large amount of spontaneous combustion gas products is released from the surface fissure, which can cause air pollution and even threaten the production of surrounding mining areas. However, the distribution characteristics of fissure channels in the re-burning coal fire areas are local and scattered. Therefore, we developed a system for the in situ monitoring of spontaneous combustion gas emissions from fissure channels to conduct field investigations on the re-burning behavior of coal seams to explore the degree of re-burning in the coal fire area. The results showed that re-burning of the coal fire area induced fissure channels with different shapes. The CO2 concentrations are always higher than the CO concentrations among the spontaneous combustion gas products discharged from the fissure channels. The degree of re-burning of coal seams at different study locations was comprehensively determined using simplified MCE and CO2/CO ratios. The comprehensive factor α was obtained using the generalized principal component analysis (GPCA) by taking into account spontaneous combustion gas, meteorological factors, and the thermal physical characteristics of fissures. A carbon emission model for local fissure channels in the coal fire area was established, and the daily average carbon emissions at the study location were 2.56 t. Therefore, this provides essential theoretical support for taking corresponding fire extinguishing measures according to the degree of re-burning of the coal fire area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezocatalysis presents an innovative catalytic technique that utilizes the piezoelectric properties of catalysts to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, thereby driving chemical processes. While various methods for driving piezocatalytic reactions have been developed, there is a notable absence of comprehensive research on piezocatalytic performance across multiple methods. In this context, this study explores the potential of (1- x)Pb(Ni 1/3 Nb 2/3)O 3 - x PbTiO 3 (PNN-PT) based catalysts as efficient piezocatalysts using both ultrasonic vibration and ball milling. The optimal reaction rate constants of the PNN-PT piezocatalyst under ultrasonic vibration and ball milling are found to be 0.0775 min−1 and 0.0265 min−1, respectively. Notably, PNN-PT-based catalysts exhibit outstanding catalytic activity up to ultra-high substrate concentrations (65 mg/L), suggesting possible industrial applications. The exploration of the reaction mechanism indicates that •OH is the main reactive radical, the catalytic reaction activity demonstrates a direct relationship with •OH quenching, and the high •OH generation rate of PNN-PT further illustrated their suitability as environmental purification catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of a wild abortive-type (WA) cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) line and breeding its restorer line have led to the commercialization of three-line hybrid rice, contributing considerably to global food security. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying fertility abortion and the restoration of CMS-WA lines remain largely elusive. In this study, we cloned a restorer gene, Rf20 , following a genome-wide association study analysis of the core parent lines of three-line hybrid rice. We found that Rf20 was present in all core parental lines, but different haplotypes and structural variants of its gene resulted in differences in Rf20 expression levels between sterile and restored lines. Rf20 could restore pollen fertility in the CMS-WA line and was found to be responsible for fertility restoration in some CMS lines under high temperatures. In addition, we found that Rf20 encodes a pentatricopeptide repeat protein that competes with WA352 for binding with COX11. This interaction enhances COX11's function as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species, which in turn restores pollen fertility. Collectively, our study suggests a new action mode for pentatricopeptide repeat proteins in the fertility restoration of CMS lines, providing an essential theoretical basis for breeding robust restorer lines and for overcoming high temperature-induced fertility recovery of some CMS lines. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is an important genetic tool for breeding and exploiting hybrid vigor in crops. Rf genes can make CMS lines fertile. Song et al. show that structural variations of a new fertility restorer gene, Rf20 , underlie the restoration of wild abortive-type CMS in rice. Mechanistically, RF20 can compete with WA352 for binding with COX11 to enhance the scavenging of reactive oxygen species for the fertility restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a main carrier mode for the sustainable development of the construction industry in China, prefabricated building may lead to problems such as cost overruns, project delays, and waste of resources due to unreasonable selection of prefabricated components. Therefore, we quantitatively analyze the contribution rate of quality optimization of prefabricated components using QFD-SEM. Under the constraints of prefabrication rate, quality optimization contribution rate, and expected values of various sub-goals, we propose a multi-objective optimization method for prefabricated component combinations based on cost, duration, and carbon emissions. By using NSGA-II to solve the model, we can obtain a set of optimal Pareto solutions for prefabricated component combinations. Based on the optimal Pareto solution set, we establish a multi-objective evaluation model using simulated annealing optimization projection tracing method, and select the optimal prefabricated component combination solution according to the projected eigenvalues of the solutions. An empirical study is conducted using an eleven-story framed building in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China as a case study. The results show that: (1) Using this method, optimal solutions can be obtained in an unbounded solution space, with the optimal solution having advantages over both fully cast-in-place and fully prefabricated solutions. Compared to the fully cast-in-place solution, the duration and carbon emissions are reduced by 36.62% and 12.74% respectively, while compared to the fully prefabricated solution, costs are reduced by 4.15%. (2) There is a certain negative correlation between the cost of prefabricated component combinations and duration, carbon emissions, and quality optimization, while there is a certain positive correlation with the prefabrication rate. (3) The size of the optimal projection direction vector based on the optimization objectives indicates that carbon emissions have the greatest impact on the evaluation results of the solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the important electronic components, the dielectric capacitors for energy storage applications have been extensively studied in recent years. Among various dielectric materials, the perovskite oxide Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3‐based ceramics have become promising candidates due to their high polarization, dielectric tunability, environment‐friendly composition, and so forth. Herein, the relaxor ferroelectric ceramics of Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–SrTiO3–Bi(Mg0.5Zr0.5)O3 were prepared via solid‐state reaction method. The sample with optimal composition not only retains the high polarization by introducing Bi3+ ions, but also achieves the reduced remanent polarization by enhancing relaxor behavior and the promoted electric breakdown strength by the grain size refinement. Accordingly, a high recoverable energy density of 8.3 J/cm3 under 450 kV/cm and the superb charge/discharge properties (current density CD = 1200 A/cm2, power density PD = 150 MW/cm3, charge/discharge time t0.9 = 0.15 µs) are achieved, revealing great prospect in energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible piezoelectric energy harvesting devices based on inorganic piezoelectric materials have attracted wide attention for their outstanding physical properties and potential applications. Different strategies, such as adding ductile elements, increasing sintering time, sintering in various atmospheres, mixing with organic compounds which usually is not only for piezoelectric materials, are also used to fabricate highly flexible devices. However, these methods always accompanied by a sharp reduction in piezoelectric performance, and then the sensitivity of the device will be reduced. Here, The flexible piezoelectric energy harvesting device by mixing Ce-doped barium titanate (BaTiO 3 , BTO) nanofibers with poly (vinylidene fluoride-trifluorethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] nanofibers is studied. Due to the introduction of P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers, the device show high flexibility. The device with high output signal is obtained, since both fillers are piezoelectric materials. The results show that the output power density of the device fabricated by Ce-BTO/P(VDF-TrFE) composite nanofibers is about six times larger than the device obtained by P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers. This proposed method is expected to provide reference for the development of future nanoscale piezoelectric-based energy harvesting devices and sensors. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving comprehensive improvement in both piezoelectric coefficient (d33) and mechanical quality factor (Qm) has become a key issue in the research of high‐power piezoelectric ceramics. Here, we focused on Mn‐doped Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3‐Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)O3‐PbTiO3 (PIN‐PSN‐PT) relaxor ferroelectric ceramics, where Mn‐doping is employed to enhance Qm. The effects of doping concentration and PT content on phase structure, ferroelectric, dielectric, and electromechanical properties were systematically studied. The well radius matching between Mn ions and B‐site ions facilitates the ion substitution and significantly increases the concentration of oxygen vacancies, thereby enhancing the domain wall pinning effect. A significantly weakened mutual constraint relationship between d33 and Qm is observed in the 2 mol% Mn‐doped PIN‐PSN‐PT ceramics with tetragonal phase, which exhibits Qm exceeding 3000 while maintaining d33 higher than 320 pC/N and Curie temperature higher than 300°C, leading to the vibration velocity over 1.15 m/s. Rayleigh analysis reveals the higher intrinsic piezoelectric response in high PT components compared to that in low PT components, which was thought to be the origin for the weakened mutual constraint relationship between d33 and Qm in tetragonal Mn‐doped PIN‐PSN‐PT ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Piezoelectric ceramics with high electro strain are widely used in actuators, sensors, and so on. Here, this work investigates the electro strain of representative piezoelectric materials, and analyzes the influence of electrode type on the electro strain of PZT41 with significant strain anomalies. It is found that the occurrence of abnormally significant strain is not affected by the electrode but caused by intrinsic defects. Therefore, the ceramic samples with and without defects tailoring in Na 0.5 Bi 0.5 TiO 3 (NBT) based and PbZr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 (PZT) based systems were prepared by the solid-state reaction method, and the results show that abnormally ultrahigh electro strains occur in excessively thin samples with diploes due to defects tailoring. Through displacement configuration experiments and comprehensive analysis of polarization switching processes, it is found that the occurrence of asymmetric abnormal significant strains is caused by reversible bending deformation in excessively thin samples. This work provides new support for the emergence of ultrahigh electro strain in piezoelectric ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textured relaxor-PbTiO3 ceramics have received considerable attention from both academia and industry, due to their crystal-like properties, high composition homogeneity easy-to-process, and relatively low cost compared to their crystal counterparts. In this work, the ⟨ 001 ⟩ -oriented Pb(In1/2Nb1/2)O3-Pb(Sc1/2Nb1/2)O3-PbTiO3 textured ceramics were fabricated by the template grain growth method. To explore the property variation in these textured ceramics under practical applications of piezoelectric devices, their electromechanical properties were characterized and analyzed under uniaxial stress, hydrostatic pressure, and d.c. bias electric field. The results show that the dielectric constants of all textured ceramics increase with an increase in the uniaxial prestress and hydrostatic pressure but decrease with an increase in the d.c. bias electric field. Among all textured ceramics, the textured ceramic with 3 vol. % BT templates exhibits the best stability under external fields. In particular, the electromechanical coupling factors of the textured ceramic change less than 2% with the hydrostatic pressure increase to 100 MPa. This work provides important data on textured relaxor ferroelectric ceramics, which will benefit the design and application of piezoelectric devices based on textured piezoelectric ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth sodium titanate (Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3)-based relaxor ferroelectric ceramics have received ever-increasing interest for their potential application in dielectric capacitors owing to their sterling energy storage capability. Herein, the perovskite end-member Ba(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 (BFN) was incorporated into 0.7Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-0.3SrTiO3 (0.7BNT-0.3ST) ceramics to improve the relaxor characteristics and refine the grain, leading to slim polarization–electric field (P–E) hysteresis loops and enhanced electric breakdown strength. Particularly, the 0.85(0.7BNT-0.3ST)-0.15BFN ceramics achieved a high recoverable energy density of 5.7 J/cm3 and a high energy storage efficiency of 86.4% under a moderate electric field of 390 kV/cm. Additionally, remarkable stability in frequency, cycling, and temperature and excellent charge/discharge behavior were achieved at the same time. The above findings reveal that BFN-modified BNT-ST ceramics display greatly improved comprehensive energy storage properties, making them promising candidates in the field of electrostatic energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]