Search

With rising market competition, increasing numbers of firms are launching advertising to attract customers and promote product sales. The increase in operating costs caused by advertising places greater pressure on small retail businesses that are prone to capital shortages, leading them to seek financing from upstream firms. However, in the financing process, upstream and downstream firms may not be able to acquire all of one another’s real information, which inevitably has a significant impact on their operating strategies. By constructing a Stackelberg game, this paper studies the effects of information asymmetry on the retailer’s initial capital and the manufacturer’s financing rate on their advertising strategies. We find that in the symmetric information scenario, when the advertising cost coefficient is low, manufacturer advertising is the superior strategy and increases the retailer’s and manufacturer’s profits and social welfare; when it is moderate, retailer advertising is the superior policy; but when it is high, retailer advertising is more beneficial for the manufacturer’s profit and social welfare but is more unfavorable for the retailer’s profit. In addition, information asymmetry on the manufacturer’s financing rate affects the advertising strategies of the manufacturer and the retailer, but information asymmetry on the retailer’s initial capital fails. Additionally, we further extend the model to the Nash game scenario and cooperative advertising scenario and draw some different conclusions. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the advertising strategies of the retailer and the manufacturer with asymmetric financing information, and guides the design of advertising strategies for companies in practice.

Textile dyes, including methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO), pose a significant threat to water quality. This study delves into the competitive adsorption mechanisms pivotal for the concurrent removel of cationic MB and anionic MO dyes using nitrogen-rich seaweed-based carbon adsorbents. Synthesized through the pyrolysis and NaOH activation of Enteromorpha seaweed biomass, the preparation method is both uncomplicated and cost-effective, holding promising applications in industry. Characterization unveiled a commendable specific surface area of 911 m2/g, accompanied by abundant nitrogen- and oxygen-containing functional groups. Batch adsorption experiments showcased exceptional removal efficiencies surpassing 99.8% for both dyes. Molecular dynamics simulations offered valuable insights into the dynamic multi-stage adsorption behavior, while density functional theory calculations clarified the chemisorption-based interaction mechanism. Notably, MB displayed superior adsorption affinity compared to MO. An integrated adsorption mechanism was proposed, encompassing electrostatic attraction, migration, and enhanced chemisorptive binding of dye aggregates at active sites on the adsorbent surface. The innovative adsorption mechanism adopted by this carbon-based adsorbent prepared from nitrogen-rich seaweed can effectively remove cationic and anionic dyes, laying a solid foundation for future research on real water bodies with complex compositions.

Abiotic stress such as high temperature at flowering is one of many conditions reducing yield of corn (Zea maysL.). Mixing corn cultivars with diverse functional traits increases within-crop diversity and provides a potential means of mitigating yield losses under stress conditions. We conducted a three-year field study to investigate the effects of cultivar mixtures on kernel setting rate, pollen sources, and yield. This study consisted of six treatments, including two high temperature-tolerant (HTT) monocrops of WK702 and DH701, two high temperature-sensitive (HTS) monocrops of DH605 and DH662, and two HTT–HTS mixtures of WK702-DH605 and DH701-DH662. The anthesis–silking interval (ASI) was 0.9–1.6 days shorter in mixtures than in monocrops. Kernel setting rate was increased in mixtures (86.4%–88.7%) compared with those in monocrops (74.7%–84.1%) as a result of synchrony and complementarity of pollination. Grain yields of the HTT–HTS mixtures increased by 13.3%–18.7%, equivalent to 1169 to 1605 kg ha−1, in comparison with HTS corn monocrops. The results of SSR markers showed that cross-fertilization percentage in corn cultivar mixtures ranged from 29.3% to 47.8%, partially explaining yield improvement. Land equivalent ratio (LER) was 1.12 for corn mixtures and the partial land equivalent ratio (e.g., > 0.5) showed the complementary benefits in corn mixtures. The results indicated that mixing corn cultivars with diverse flowering and drought-tolerance traits increased yields via pollination synchrony.

To improve the effect of sustainable agricultural development, this paper reports on sustainable agricultural development with the support of big data technology, combines the Internet of Things technology to apply blockchain in sustainable agricultural development, and analyzes the economic effect model. Moreover, this paper proves that the introduction of third‐party logistics in the vendor‐managed inventory strategy can effectively reduce the total cost of the supply chain. Through model analysis and model transformation, the inventory transportation integration optimization problem model is decomposed into two sub‐models: the transportation scheduling model and the replenishment delivery model. In addition, this paper designs a new solution algorithm based on the genetic algorithm and builds an intelligent blockchain model. The experimental research shows that the blockchain technology based on big data analysis proposed in this paper has certain effects. Introduction of third‐party logistics in the VMI strategy can effectively reduce the total cost of the supply chain.Through model analysis and model transformation, the inventory transportation integration optimization problem model is decomposed into two sub‐models.The two sub‐models are the transportation scheduling model and the replenishment delivery model.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) and ionic liquids (ILs) as raw materials exhibit effective catalytic performance and adsorption capabilities in the reaction of epoxides and atmospheric CO2, respectively. Nonetheless, bonding modes between ILs and COFs have restricted their utility, thereby constraining the in-depth study of synergistic catalytic mechanisms over these composite catalysts. Herein, a heterogeneous composite ([DBUH]2Cys@COF-X) were successfully prepared by the facile acid-base neutralization method, incorporating varying amounts of amino acid ILs ([DBUH]2Cys) into the pore channels of sulfonic acid-based COF (TpPa-SO3H). [DBUH]2Cys@COF-3 efficiently catalyzed epichlorohydrin with a yield of 96.38 % without any solvent or co-catalyst under atmospheric CO2. Notably, larger sterically hindered epoxides were selectively blocked on the surface of [DBUH]2Cys@COF-3, enabling [DBUH]2Cys@COF-3 to act as a gatekeeper for selectively catalyzing small sterically hindered epoxides due to [DBUH]2Cys was distributed within the pore channels of [DBUH]2Cys@COF-3. Through DFT calculations, comprehensive understanding of the synergistic activation conferred of -COO-and [DBUH]+towards CO2and epoxides in [DBUH]2Cys@COF-3 and the ring-opening mechanism was clarified. This work presents a fresh outlook on the catalyst design by the facile acid-base neutralization method for efficiently catalyzing small-hindered epoxides under atmospheric CO2.

AbstractThe primary motive behind this research is to see the role of China’s large agriculture sector in promoting or demoting CO2emissions. Therefore, we applied linear and non-linear ARDL models by collecting data over the period 1971–2019 for China. The results of the linear model suggest that livestock production can help to reduce CO2emissions both in the short and long run. In the non-linear model, the short-run estimates of livestock production are insignificant, however, in the long run, the positive shock in the livestock production helps to reduce the CO2emissions and the negative shock is insignificant. On the other side, an increase in crop production deteriorates the environmental quality in the short run in both linear and non-linear models. In long run, the estimate of crop production in the linear model is insignificant and in the non-linear model, the estimated coefficients of both positive and negative shocks in crop production are negative implying that a positive shock reduces the CO2emissions while the negative shock increases the CO2emissions.

Modulating the electronic characteristics of catalysts plays a significant role in optimizing their catalytic activity. Herein, Mn-doped nickel molybdate (MNMO) nanorods are synthesized via replacing the partial Ni sites by the Mn element, engineering a bimetallic synergistic effect to enhance the activation of oxygen (O2). Compared with the extremely low catalytic activity of pristine nickel molybdate (NiMoO4), complete desulfurization can be achieved by MNMO under the same reaction conditions. Characterization results show that the electronic structure and surface atomic composition of pure NiMoO4will be modulated owing to the introduction of Mn atoms, leading to the enhancement of the oxygen vacancy content and stronger O2activation capacity. Besides, the optimized catalyst MNMO-20 also displays satisfactory cycle performance, and the sulfur removal of dibenzothiophene still maintains 96.1% after six times of recycling. The distinctive engineering strategy and simple synthesis method provide a new insight in designing and developing oxidative desulfurization catalysts with high stability and effectivity.

[Display omitted]

A novel flame-retardant polymer electrolyte with outstanding flame-retardance and excellent Li-ion conductivity enables Li/S@pPAN cell enhanced safety and electrochemical performance.

This work aims to construct biocompatible, biodegradable core-cross-linked and insulin-loaded nanoparticles which are sensitive to glucose and release insulin via cleavage of the nanoparticles in a high-concentration blood glucose environment. First, a polyphosphoester-based diblock copolymer (PBYP-g-Gluc)-b-PEEP was prepared via ring-opening copolymerization (ROP) and the copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) in which PBYP and PEEP represent the polymer segments from 2-(but-3-yn-1-yloxy)-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane and 2-ethoxy-2-oxo-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane, respectively, and Gluc comes from 2-azidoethyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (Gluc-N3) that grafted with PBYP. The structure and molecular weight of the copolymer were characterized by 1H NMR, 31P NMR, GPC, FT-IR, and UV–vis measurements. The amphiphilic copolymer could self-assemble into core–shell uncore-cross-linked nanoparticles (UCCL NPs) in aqueous solutions and form core-cross-linked nanoparticles (CCL NPs) after adding cross-linking agent adipoylamidophenylboronic acid (AAPBA). Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the self-assembly behavior of the two kinds of NPs and the effect of different Gluc group contents on the size of NPs further to verify the stability and glucose sensitivity of CCL NPs. The ability of NPs to load fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled insulin (FITC–insulin) and their glucose-triggered release behavior were detected by a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results of methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and hemolysis activity experiments showed that the CCL NPs had good biocompatibility. An in vivo hypoglycemic study has shown that FITC–insulin-loaded CCL NPs could reduce blood glucose and have a protective effect on hypoglycemia. This research provides a new method for constructing biodegradable and glucose-sensitive core-cross-linked nanomedicine carriers for controlled insulin release.

The high-voltage Ni-rich LiNixCoyMnzO2cathode materials attract attention due to their high capacity and relatively low cost. However, the undesired instability originating from side reactions with liquid electrolytes at elevated temperatures still hinders their practical application. This research aims to build a stable interface between cathode and electrolyte. We use the coupling agent KH570 to induce vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC) monomers to in situ polymerize on the surface of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2(NCM622) to form a uniform, ultrathin (∼12 nm), and highly ion-conductive poly(vinyl ethylene carbonate) (PVEC) solid polymer electrolyte layer. The modified cathode material exhibits significant improvement in rate performance and cycling stability up to 4.5 V at elevated temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques prove that the flexible polymer coating layer effectively suppresses the mechanical degradation and crystal structure changes during cycling.

The nucleation properties and stability of the ordered precipitates in Al-Sc-Er alloy were extensively studied by first-principles calculation. The calculated substitutional formation energy reveals that the dissolved Sc or Er in the Al matrix is very favorable to substitute the X sublattice site in L12-Al3X (X = Sc/Er). The calculated solubility curve demonstrates the significant contribution of vibrational entropy to nucleation. The interface energies for Al/Al3Sc, Al/Al3Er and Al3Sc/Al3Er were calculated in the three directions of [100], [110] and [111], and we find that the interface structure in (100) plane is the most desirable, and the interface energy of Al/Al3Er is the largest. Regardless of temperature and Sc/Er ratio, the L12-Al3ScxEr1-xprecipitation phase mainly forms as the core-shell structure with Al3Er as the core and Al3Sc as the shell due to lower nucleation energy. The core-shell structure behaves higher stability once the particle radius is greater than 1 nm. Furthermore, the thermodynamic driving force for the segregating of Si or Zr in Al-Sc-Er alloy should accelerate the precipitation kinetics, where Si partitions occur preferentially to the Al3Er and Zr partitions preferentially to the Al matrix. Overall, these theoretical results can offer solid explanations to the available experimental results.

Abstract: The quench sensitivity (QS) related to hardness of TiB2/7050Al composite has been investigated by Jominy end quench (JEQ) test, and the underlying factors of microstructure characteristics to influence the QS of the composite were discussed. Once the JEQ experiment was completed, the hardness test was performed on aged samples to show that there was a significant decrease with the increasing distance from the quenching end. As the distance increased, more ηphases were found to precipitate and coarsen on grain boundaries, Al3Zr dispersoids and dislocations. Meanwhile, the precipitation free zones became wider and the η′ phase grew larger and less dispersive. The TiB2/7050Al composite was found to be more quench sensitive than its alloy counterpart. Through the detailed analyses, the elevated QS of the composite can be ascribed to four microstructure characteristics, which have inherited from the Al matrix and originated from the TiB2addition accordingly. Graphic abstract:

The terminations of the carbon vacancies can be modified by altering the synthesis environment. Importantly, these terminations play a key role in coordinating Pt-cocatalyst and carbon nitride materials.

Recently, production of a clean sulfur-free fuel and related green chemical processes have attracted the attention of researchers. The development of efficient desulfurizers is an effective strategy to meet this demand. Herein, a facile method to successfully construct W18O49nanoneedles (NNs) coupled with Pt species by a spontaneous redox reaction between reductive supports and oxidative platinum precursors was revealed. The closely arranged NNs hybrids with strong metal–support electron interaction and in situ-derived carbon are successfully constructed. The Pt species are stabilized on the defective W18O49NNs surface, which accelerates the adsorption and activation of molecular oxygen. The monolithic catalyst promotes the oxidation conversion of dibenzothiophene in the process of catalytic reactive-type desulfurization. By adjusting the reaction conditions, the catalyst shows over 99.0% dibenzothiophene conversion at only 0.8% Pt loading, and the polar products can be completely removed by extraction. Also, the catalyst showed a relatively stable regeneration and reused performance.

Synthesizing 3D porous carbon with atomic-scale control in geometry and topology of porous architectures is of great significance while it technically remains challenging. Dealloying, the selective dissolution of less-stable elemental components from an alloy, is one of the most effective top-down approaches to fabricate 3D nanoporous materials for a wide range of functional applications. Here, we report a sequential metastable-carbide-mediated chemical dealloying approach to fabricate 3D bimodal porous amorphous carbon that possesses geometrically well-defined and topologically self-similar meso- and microporosities. The synthetic route allows independent and precise control of the bimodal porosity, by which micropores can be regulated at angstrom-scale accuracy, and mesopores can be tailored over a wide range of lengths from several nanometers to hundreds of nanometers. The 3D bimodal porous amorphous carbon enables fast ion diffusion and hence delivers outstanding rate performance when used as the anodes for Na-ion storage. This study not only offers a new method for the controllable synthesis of 3D porous carbon materials but also demonstrates the capability of dealloying as an advanced material-processing method to engineer the porous structure down to the angstrom level.

The target recognition accuracy of the traditional motion image error correction method is low, which leads to its poor application effect. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a new image error correction method based on Bayesian classification for hockey players' step-by-step pull shooting action. The SLIC method is used to distinguish the hockey players' step-by-step pull shooting action from the image background area, to obtain the proportion of the hockey players' step-by-step pull shooting action in the super pixel area. The hockey players' step-by-step pull shooting action with incomplete Naive Bayesian classification model, and to correct the image error with interpolation method. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the method for the hockey players' step-by-step pull shooting action is higher than 98%, and the image quality is high after the error correction.

The search for catalysts with a perfect substrate selectivity toward the hydrogenation of nitroarenes is a goal of high importance, which still remains a significant challenge. Here, we designed a new type of catalyst with superior substrate selectivity by combining a space-confined effect and a hydrogen-bonding network, in which metal nanoparticles (MNPs) were confined in hierarchical hollow silica (HHS) with a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) coating. Given the strong induced properties of hydrogen-bond donors and acceptors in the HHS support and PNIPA coating, the as-synthesized catalyst would achieve perfect substrate selectivity for the hydrogenation of various nitroarenes and their mixture by thoroughly impeding the reduction of nitroarenes with any hydroxyl or carboxyl groups, which is typically very difficult to be realized over almost all of the reported supported-metal catalysts. Notably, the hydrogenation of nitroarenes can produce almost quantitative yields of anilines over the as-synthesized catalyst. Furthermore, density functional theory and experimental evidence are also provided for the hierarchical structure of HHS and PNIPA coating associated with substrates to demonstrate how a substrate could have access or be blocked into the confined active centers (MNPs). Therefore, this work would open a new window to design efficient catalysts for a wide variety of substrate-selective catalyses.

Exploring inexpensive and earth-abundant transition metal–nitrogen-based carbon (MNC) catalysts to substitute the scarce and costly Pt-based electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is quite anticipated in metal–air batteries (MABs). Here, we demonstrate a facile vacuum-annealing method to synthesize Cu nanoclusters/FeN4amorphous composites embedded in N-doped graphene (Cu/Fe-NG). This approach avoids the long-term pyrolysis procedure and the use of an inert atmosphere in the conventional procedure for fabricating MNC catalysts. Interestingly, we discovered that the amorphous structure of Cu/FeN4composites can provide high-activity bimetallic M–Nxsites (M = Cu, Fe), because of which the Cu/FeN4composites exhibit boosted electrocatalytic activity with a positive half-wave potential of 0.88 V (vs RHE), long-term durability, and low hydrogen peroxide for the ORR. The origin of this enhancement was assigned to the concomitance of Fe–N4and Cu–Nxmoieties in Cu/Fe-NG, favoring adsorption and activation of the O2molecule as suggested by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analyses and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, examinations of Cu/Fe-NG in both liquid and quasi-solid-state Zn–air batteries (ZABs) can exhibit remarkable performances. This work may offer facile fabrication of enhanced performance MNC catalysts as well as a profound insight into the use of amorphous materials in the ORR and ZABs.

•Sandwich-like SnSe2/rGO composite is prepared by a simple one-pot solvothermal method.•Content of SnSe2in SnSe2/rGO composite is as high as 92.7 wt%.•Strong and abundant Sn-O-C bonding endows stable structure and cycling performance.•Initial coulombic efficiency is improved by compact interface of SnSe2/rGO.

Two novel hole transport materials (HTMs) with indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene (IDT) as core building blocks, termed IDT1and IDT2, were designed and synthesized. The side alkyl chains were introduced to regulate and control the morphology and stacking behavior of HTMs, and the peripheral triarylamine arms were introduced to adjust the energy levels and to facilitate efficient hole transport. Applied in mesoporous structured perovskite solar cells (PSCs), HTM IDT1achieved higher power conversion efficiency (PCE, 19.55%) and better stability than Spiro-OMeTAD (19.25%) and IDT2(15.77%) based PSC. These results suggest the potential of IDT1as a promising HTM for PSCs.

In this study, we report a diblock copolymer based on a polyphosphate backbone and pendant phenylboronic acid with glucose sensitivity. The copolymer, abbreviated as (PBYP-g-MPBA)-b-PEEP, was prepared via a combination of ring-opening copolymerization, “click” chemistry, and amide reaction, in which the PBYP and PEEP blocks, respectively, represent two kinds of polyphosphoester structures and MPBA represents 3-mercaptopropionic acid modified with 3-aminophenylboronic acid. The amphiphilic copolymer (PBYP-g-MPBA)-b-PEEP could self-assemble into core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous solutions. The average particle size and morphology of the NPs were measured by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The phenomenon that the NPs swelled at different glucose concentrations is due to the formation of boronate esters between the diol groups of glucose and boronic acid groups of phenylboronic acid. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)–insulin was loaded into the NPs and triggered to release in the presence of glucose. The more the glucose in the release media, the more the FITC–insulin released and the faster the release rate. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assays and hemolysis tests proved that the (PBYP-g-MPBA)-b-PEEP copolymers had good biocompatibility. All of these results verify that the glucose-sensitive polyphosphoester diblock copolymer is highly promising for an insulin delivery system.

Atomic-layered α-V2O5nanosheets with a thickness of 5–7 layers were synthesized successfully via a fast gas-driven exfoliation process. The main advantages of this method are its more facile operation procedures, shorter preparation time, and higher yield. The obtained α-V2O5nanosheets exhibit an enhanced aerobic oxidative desulfurization ability obviously. Sulfur removal of dibenzothiophene could reach up to 99.7% (less than 2 ppm) under optimized conditions.