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To construct a nonlinear fractional-order neural network reflecting the complex environment of the real world, this paper considers the common factors such as uncertainties, perturbations, and delays that affect the stability of the network system. In particular, not only does the activation function include multiple time delays, but the memristive connection weights also consider transmission delays. Stemming from the characteristics of neural networks, two different types of discontinuous controllers with state information and sign functions are devised to effectuate network synchronization objectives. Combining the finite-time convergence criterion and the theory of fractional-order calculus, Mittag-Leffler synchronization conditions for fractional-order multi-delayed memristive neural networks (FMMNNs) are derived, and the upper bound of the setting time can be confirmed. Unlike previous jobs, this article focuses on applying different inequality techniques in the synchronous analysis process, rather than comparison principles to manage the multi-delay effects. In addition, this study removes the restrictive requirement that the activation function has a zero value at the switching jumps, and the discontinuous control protocol in this paper makes the networks achieve synchronization over a finite time, with some advantages in terms of the convergence speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a highly contagious and pathogenic infectious disease caused by the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). It manifests as reproductive disorders in sows and respiratory disorders in piglets. PRRSV infects swine herds with symptoms such as abortions, stillbirths, and mummified fetuses in gestating sows. Piglets mainly experience abdominal respiration and respiratory symptoms. To date, the prevention of PRRS relies primarily on vaccination and the implementation of various preventive and control measures. Swine deaths caused by PRRS have resulted in significant economic losses to the pig industry worldwide. Non-structural protein 10 (NSP10) has helicase and adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activities that unwind DNA and RNA and play important roles in viral replication and transcription. Hence, it can be potentially used to develop novel reagents for the detection of PPRSV. This article reviews genetic variations, interaction with viral and host proteins, effects on PRRSV replication, immunomodulation, apoptosis, and viral virulence of NSP10, with the aim of providing a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of PRRS and drug development in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the application of LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries in electric vehicles has attracted extensive attention from researchers. This work presents a composite of LFP particles trapped in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets obtained through the high-temperature reduction strategy. The obtained LiFePO4/rGO composites indicate spherical morphology and uniform particles. As to the structure mode of the composite, LFP distributes in the interlayer structure of rGO, and the rGO evenly covers the surface of the particles. The LFP/rGO cathodes demonstrate a reversible specific capacity of 165 mA h g−1 and high coulombic efficiency at 0.2 C, excellent rate capacity (up to 10 C), outstanding long-term cycling stability (98%) after 1000 cycles at 5 C. The combined high electron conductivity of the layered rGO coating and uniform LFP particles contribute to the remarkable electrochemical performance of the LFP/rGO composite. The unique LFP/rGO cathode provides a potential application in high-power lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of epoxy vitrimers (EVs) with enhanced glass transition temperatures (Tgs) were synthesized by curing epoxy resin E51 with different ratios of phthalic anhydride and sebacic acid as curing agents, and 1,5,7-triazabicyclic [4.4.0] dece-5-ene as a transesterification catalyst, and their curing dynamics, rheological properties, mechanical properties, and thermal stability were comprehensively investigated. By adjusting the molar ratio of the anhydride to the carboxylic acid in the curing agent, the Tgs of the EVs increased from 79 to 143 °C with the increase in the anhydride content. In particular, the material EV-5.5 with a high usable Tg of 98 °C could undergo stress relaxation through the transesterification reaction when exposed to high temperatures (160 to 200 °C), and the correlation between the relaxation time and temperature follows the Arrhenius equation. Moreover, EV-5.5 exhibited elastomeric behavior, where brittle fractures occurred before yielding, which demonstrated a tensile strength of 52 MPa. EV-5.5 also exhibited good thermal stability with a decomposition temperature (Td5) of 322 °C. This study introduces new possibilities for practical applications of thermoset epoxy resins under special environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-based epoxy resin materials have obtained significant attention in the packaging industry due to concerns about the environmental and economic impacts of traditional petroleum-based plastics. The aim of this research is to improve bio-based resins' properties by investigating varying formic acid contents in the presence of a green catalyst and characterizing their physical, chemical, and mechanical properties for further scaled-up bio-based resin production for industrial packaging applications. The crude soybean oil was epoxidized with formic acid as an oxidizing agent at varying equivalent weights of 10:1 to 10:10 of soybean oil: formic acid in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and choline chloride-oxalic acid as a bi-functional green catalyst. The effect of increasing the amount of formic acid used to epoxidize crude soybean oil was evaluated with infrared (IR) spectroscopy, rheological, and epoxy yield measurements. The results demonstrated that formic acid significantly influenced the epoxidation of soybean oil, leading to a higher conversion of carbon-carbon double bonds, with a selectivity of 98% when the ratio of soybean oil to formic acid was between 10:5 and 10:10. The bio-resin film was formulated using the improved epoxidized soybean oils—from ESO (10:2.5) to ESO (10:10)—and equal amounts of acrylic acid. The results showed that resin films led to an improvement in tensile strength (ca. 180 MPa) and thermal stability at 360 °C. Although further research is necessary, this study provides valuable insights for designing an effective epoxidation process for renewable sources and developing bio-resin materials for future packaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium (Li) metal is perceived as the "holy grail" of anodes for secondary batteries due to its innate merits. Regrettably, the commercial application of Li metal anodes (LMAs) has been hampered by problems derived from the uncontrollable growth of Li dendrites, which could result in formation of short-circuits, thereby leading to fatal safety accidents. Here, a three-dimensional lithiophilic gold (Au)-coated copper (Cu) pentagonal pyramid array (Au@CuPPA) is constructed on planar Cu foil via electrodeposition followed by a chemical reduction method. Owing to the features of the lithiophilic layer and 3D porous structure, the proposed Au@CuPPA can not only facilitate Li-ion migration and charge transfer, but also effectively diminish the nucleation overpotential. Consequently, an even and steady Li plating/stripping process for up to 460 h and with a charge capacity of 3 mAh cm−2 is accomplished by using the Au@CuPPA current collector. The Li@Au@CuPPA|LiFePO4 full cell achieves a high Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.4% for 150 cycles at 0.5 C with a capacity retention of 92.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of a lithiophilic phase on the surface of a current collector with a lithiophobic nature is an effective method to suppress Li dendrite growth by reducing the overpotential for Li nucleation and inducing the growth of homogeneous Li nuclei to obtain high-performance lithium metal anodes (LMAs). Nevertheless, the structural regulation of the lithiophilic phase and the underlying mechanism of lithiophilicity have been overlooked in previous studies. In this study, we designed a triporous, nanoporous AuLi3 (NPAuLi3) nanosheet-modified Ni foam (NF) (NPAuLi3@NF) composite current collector for use in LMAs. First principle calculations revealed that the lithiophilicity of the AuLi3 phase originates from the strong electronic interaction between the Au and Li atoms. The morphological characterization demonstrated that the as-designed NPAuLi3@NF current collector not only guided homogeneous Li nucleation and growth during the Li plating process, but also induced uniform Li removal during the Li stripping process, which effectively suppressed Li dendrite growth and formation of dead Li, leading to a boosted electrochemical performance in LMAs. The symmetric Li‖Li cells with the NPAuLi3@NF-based LMAs could run stably for 1990 and 1420 h without cell failure at current densities of 1 and 2 mA cm−2 with a capacity of 2 mA h cm−2, respectively, and the Li@NPAuLi3@NF‖LFP full cells showed an excellent capacity retention of 83.8% with a coulombic efficiency of 99.8% at 5C after 1000 cycles, and a good rate capability. This work provides insight into the design of the composition and structure of the lithiophilic phase on the surface of the current collector skeleton to obtain high-performance LMAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meconopsis Vig. is a genus possessing important medicinal and ornamental values in the Papaveraceae. Many species in this genus are commonly used in traditional Tibetan medicines over thousands of years. In this study, we reported the complete chloroplast genome sequence of Meconopsis punicea. Total lengths of the chloroplast genomes were 152,933 bp. The genome had typical quadripartite structure, LSC region (83,031 bp) and SSC region (17,920 bp) were separated by a pair of IRs (25,991 bp), respectively. Moreover, they were composed of 131 genes, including 86 protein coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, 8 rRNA genes and one pseudogene. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete chloroplast genomes showed that M. integrifolia had closer relationship with M. punicea; meanwhile, Meconopsis was closely related to Papaver in Papaveraceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]