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The 1420 Al–Li alloy has been widely used in the aerospace field. To investigate the hot workability of the alloy, a series of hot compression tests were carried out on the spray-formed alloy in the temperature range of 300°C–450 °C with strain rates of 0.0001s−1-10s−1. First, an improved Johnson-Cook model was developed by considering the coupling effect of strain, strain rate, and temperature, and the prediction error of the model was reduced to 5.3 %. Subsequently, processing maps with various strains were established. In addition, the microstructural evolution under various deformation conditions was systematically studied using the electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. The alloy exhibited uniform deformation under the synergistic effect of the continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX) and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) mechanisms. Finally, the feasible hot working windows were identified as 425°C–450°C and 0.01s−1-0.1s−1based on processing maps and microstructural evolution results. This work could offer comprehensive guidance for the hot working process of 1420 Al–Li alloy from both the macro and the micro aspects.

The computational efficiency of unit commitment (UC) is important for power system operations. Traditionally the unit commitment problem is solved per hour in a day, but with the scale of the power system and the electricity market continuing to expand, the large-scale UC problem will be hard to be solved within 1 h which will affect the power system operation and market clearing. To reduce the solving time of the large-scale UC problem, an ultra-fast optimization algorithm of neural branching for unit commitment (NBUC) is proposed. NBUC learns the branch and bound (B&B) decision made by full strong branching (FSB), which can generate the perfect B&B order to minimize the iterative process but take a lot of time to decide the perfect order by using graph convolutional neural network according to the historical data, and then makes the perfect order prediction with a certain precision without spending a lot of time to make B&B decision which minimizes the solving time including the iteration time and decision time in order to solve the large-scale UC problem quickly. A modified RTS-96 bus system is used to validate the effectiveness of the proposed NBUC. The results show 9.3% and 23.2% reductions in computational time compared with commercial software CPLEX and SCIP.

Accumulation of senescent cells in the elderly impairs bone homeostasis. It is important to alleviate cell senescence and scavenge excessive oxidative stress for enhanced bone fracture healing in elderly patients. In this study, resveratrol (RSV), an antioxidant drug, was encapsulated in a biocompatible zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanoparticle to protect it from oxidation and improve its bioavailability. Cells responsible for bone healing, including osteoblasts, bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), macrophages, and endothelial cells, were used to evaluate the regulatory role of the nanoformulation in the alleviation of cellular senescence and promotion of cell functions. It was proved that the nanoformulation sustainably released RSV with well-preserved bioactivity and improved bioavailability. Cell experiments confirmed that ZIF-8/RSV was capable of alleviating the senescence of cells [human osteoblasts (HOBs), BMSCs, H2O2-induced senescent vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs)] and scavenging excessive intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Excitingly, the ZIF-8/RSV improved the osteogenic ability of senescent osteoblasts and promoted macrophage M2 polarization. In addition, the ZIF-8/RSV also enhanced the angiogenic function of senescent HUVECs. More importantly, the ZIF-8/RSV nanoformulation outperformed the REV alone, indicating the critical role of encapsulation using ZIF-8. These findings suggest that the ZIF-8/RSV nanoformulation exhibits potential for bone fracture treatment in elderly patients.

The employment of combustion catalysts is an effective way to improve ammonium perchlorate (AP) decomposition performance during the combustion process of composite solid propellants. A classic half-sandwich iron carbonyl complex was proposed as the leading structure for exploring high-performance combustion catalysts, in which functionalized cyclobutadienes (Cb) tune the thermal stability and catalytic activity. The thermolysis of Fe2(CO)9and substituted alkynes initiated [2 + 2] cyclization of alkyne triple bonds and gave η4-cyclobutadiene iron(0) tricarbonyl complexes, CbR1,R2-Fe-CO (1–6), with decent yields. A molecular structure analysis found that the conjugation of the aromatic substituents aryl, ferrocenyl (Fc), and triazinyl (Tz) finely tuned the coordination bonds around the Fe(0) center. The DSC/TG experiments found a remarkable thermal stability of CbTz,R-Fe-CO (3–6) with characteristic thermolysis temperatures (CTT) as high as 500 °C. The catalytic experiments demonstrated that the CTT of Cb-Fe-CO (2-6) overlapped with AP high-temperature decomposition (HTD). The thermal cross-coupling of HTD of AP and CTT of CbTz,Fc-Fe-CO (6) significantly augmented catalytic AP decomposition, resulting in a maximum energy release as high as 2828 J/g.

The global emergency caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic can only be solved with effective and widespread preventive and therapeutic strategies, and both are still insufficient. Here, we describe an ultrathin two-dimensional CuInP2S6(CIPS) nanosheet as a new agent against SARS-CoV-2 infection. CIPS exhibits an extremely high and selective binding capacity (dissociation constant (KD) < 1 pM) for the receptor binding domain of the spike protein of wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern, including Delta and Omicron, inhibiting virus entry and infection in angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)-bearing cells, human airway epithelial organoids and human ACE2-transgenic mice. On association with CIPS, the virus is quickly phagocytosed and eliminated by macrophages, suggesting that CIPS could be successfully used to capture and facilitate virus elimination by the host. Thus, we propose CIPS as a promising nanodrug for future safe and effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy, and as a decontamination agent and surface-coating material to reduce SARS-CoV-2 infectivity.

Low-dimensional halide perovskites with quantum-well structures are promising materials for electronics and optoelectronics because of their excellent optoelectronic properties. This work concerns two novel, lead-free, one-dimensional organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite-like Cu(I) halides, (MV)Cu2X4(MV = methyl viologen; X = Br, I), for optoelectronic applications. Both Cu(I) halides exhibited good stability under ambient conditions. The optical bandgaps of (MV)Cu2Br4and (MV)Cu2I4are 1.4 and 1.5 eV, respectively, which are in the ideal bandgap range for solar cells. (MV)Cu2Br4possessed a characteristic quantum-well structure in which [CuBr4]n3n–chains with a nanowire-like structure were rolled up and isolated by tightly packed organic cations. Thanks to quantum confinement in the unique structure, the optical bandgap of (MV)Cu2Br4fell in the ideal bandgap range for solar cells and was superior to that of (MV)Cu2I4. The good photoresponse properties of these Cu(I) halides suggest their great potential for application as light-harvesting materials in solar cells.

Helicobacter pylori(H. pylori) resistance due to antibiotics is becoming increasingly prevalent, and the search for healthy alternatives to drugs has become a popular research topic. Curcuma longaand Lactobacillus rhamnosusare not only inhibitory to H. pyloribut also have good compatibility. It was found that acid-tolerant L. rhamnosushad a significant coaggregation effect on H. pylori, but the inhibitory effect was weak. The polyphenol or flavonoid content of Curcumaextract was significantly correlated with the antimicrobial effect, but the inhibition time would be shortened due to its decomposition or destabilization in the digestive system. Both were able to synergistically inhibit H. pyloriadhesion and expression of certain genes (SabA, UreE, UreI, and UreG), with no significant synergistic effect in inhibiting urease. The combination of Curcumaextract with L. rhamnosusenhanced the inhibitory effect, solved the problem of drug resistance, and improved the short duration of inhibition of Curcumaextract. This study aimed to combine the antimicrobial effect of Curcumaextract with the function of L. rhamnosusin regulating the gastrointestinal flora and to investigate the synergistic inhibitory effect of the two on H. pylori. The findings provide a theoretical basis for subsequent cellular, animal, or clinical experiments.

Microplastics (MP) pollution is a global issue that raises concerns about potential toxicity for environmental and human health. The notion that SARS-CoV-2 is more stable when adsorbed on plastic surfaces urged us to examine whether the virus can attach to MP, which may facilitate infection upon inhalation or ingestion. Here, we describe that MP can bind SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus on their surface and enhance infection of human cells in vitro. This enhanced in vitroinfectivity was confirmed with authentic SARS-CoV-2, in parallel with increased expression of inflammation-related caspase-3, IL-8 and TNF-α genes. These results suggest that the presence of MP in the environment or in our respiratory or gastrointestinal tracts has the potential to interact with SARS-CoV-2, and potentially increase viral infectivity and spreading.

Although nanomaterials have shown promising biomedical application potential, incomplete understanding of their molecular interactions with biological systems prevents their inclusion into mainstream clinical applications. Here we show that black phosphorus (BP) nanomaterials directly affect the cell cycle’s centrosome machinery. BP destabilizes mitotic centrosomes by attenuating the cohesion of pericentriolar material and consequently leads to centrosome fragmentation within mitosis. As a result, BP-treated cells exhibit multipolar spindles and mitotic delay, and ultimately undergo apoptosis. Mechanistically, BP compromises centrosome integrity by deactivating the centrosome kinase polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1). BP directly binds to PLK1, inducing its aggregation, decreasing its cytosolic mobility and eventually restricting its recruitment to centrosomes for activation. With this mechanism, BP nanomaterials show great anticancer potential in tumour xenografted mice. Together, our study reveals a molecular mechanism for the tumoricidal properties of BP and proposes a direction for biomedical application of nanomaterials by exploring their intrinsic bioactivities.

Although immuno-oncotherapy in clinic has gained great success, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) existing in the “cold” tumor with insufficient and exhausted lymphocytes may result in a lower-than-expected therapeutic efficiency. Therefore, a properly designed synergistic strategy that can effectively turn the “cold” tumor to “hot” should be considered to improve the therapeutic effects of immuno-oncotherapy. Herein, TME-responsive penetrating nanogels (NGs) were developed, which can improve the delivery and penetration of the co-loaded resiquimod (R848) and green tea catechin (EGCG) in tumors by a nano-sized controlled releasing system of the soluble cyclodextrin-drug inclusion complex. Consequently, the NGs effectively promoted the maturation of dendritic cells, stimulated the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and decreased the PD-L1 expression in tumors. The combination of NGs with the OX40 agonist (αOX40) further synergistically enhanced the activation and infiltration of CTLs into the deep tumor and inhibited the suppression effects from the regulatory T cells (Tregs). As a result, an increased ratio of active CTLs to Tregs in tumors (20.66-fold) was achieved with a 91.56% tumor suppression effect, indicating a successful switch of “cold” tumors to “hot” for an immunologically beneficial TME with significantly improved anti-tumor immune therapeutics. This strategy could be tailored to other immuno-oncotherapeutic approaches to solve the urgent efficiency concerns of the checkpoint-based treatment in clinic.

5-Nitro-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one (NTO) is a representative and insensitive energetic compound mainly used as a component of low vulnerable ammunition, but its decomposition process is not clear up to date. Herein, online photoionization mass spectrometry combined with theoretical simulations was employed to shed light on the thermal decomposition mechanism of NTO. The experimental and calculated results provide evidences for the thermal decomposition of NTO through direct ring rupture and intermolecular hydrogen transfer pathways. The initial decomposition step of NTO single molecule is direct ring rupture, followed by NO2removal. The remaining structure undergoes C-N bond cleavage leading to HN2dissociation, the CONCH finally decomposes into CO and HCN. The major products of NTO decomposition include N2, CO2, H2N2, NH3, and the minor products are HN2, H3N3, H2O, which is basically consistent with experiments. The formation mechanism of decomposition products is also discussed in detail and the total decomposition pathways are constructed.

Hypoxia‐Responsive Nanogel In article 2302865, Yang Li and co‐workers develop a hypoxia‐responsive nanogel to improve the delivery and penetration of diacerein and EGCG into tumors. By improving the inflammatory tumor microenvironment, the nanogel effectively increases the infiltration of CD8+T lymphocytes into tumors and triggers a robust anti‐tumor immune response.

Despite the success of immuno‐oncology in clinical settings, the therapeutic efficacy is lower than the expectation due to the immunosuppressive inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME) and the lack of functional lymphocytes caused by exhaustion. To enhance the efficacy of immuno‐oncotherapy, a synergistic strategy should be used that can effectively improve the inflammatory TME and increase the tumor infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Herein, a TME hypoxia‐responsive nanogel (NG) is developed to enhance the delivery and penetration of diacerein and (‐)‐epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in tumors. After systemic administration, diacerein effectively improves the tumor immunosuppressive condition through a reduction of MDSCs and Tregs in TME, and induces tumor cell apoptosis via the inhibition of IL‐6/STAT3 signal pathway, realizing a strong antitumor effect. Additionally, EGCG can effectively inhibit the expression of PD‐L1, restoring the tumor‐killing function of CTLs. The infiltration of CTLs increases at the tumor site with activation of systemic immunity after the combination of TIM3 blockade therapy, ultimately resulting in a strong antitumor immune response. This study provides valuable insights for future research on eliciting effective antitumor immunity by suppressing adverse tumor inflammation. The feasible strategy proposed in this work may solve the urgent clinical concerns of the dissatisfactory checkpoint‐based immuno‐oncotherapy. A TME hypoxia‐responsive nanogel is developed to enhance the delivery and penetration of diacerein and EGCG in tumors. After systemic administration, diacerein effectively improves the tumor immunosuppressive condition through a reduction of MDSCs and Tregs in TME, and induces tumor cells apoptosis via the inhibition of IL‐6/STAT3 signal pathway, realizing a strong antitumor effect. EGCG can effectively inhibit the expression of PD‐L1, restoring the tumor‐killing function of CTLs.

As the use of clean energy such as wind power and nuclear power has been increasing, the base load operation of nuclear power units usually means huge pressure for local power systems in regulating peak demand. In order to use more regulation resources, a multi-area joint optimization model involving peak regulating of nuclear power is proposed. Match performance of peak load regulating of wind power and nuclear power is also examined according to their output characteristics. Furthermore, aiming to make nuclear power constraint linearize, a method is introduced herein to subdivide the depth of peak load regulating of nuclear power. On the other hand, considering the power constraints of AC/DC transmission channel, wind curtailment cost and the operating cost of peak load regulating of nuclear power, a joint scheduling model with complementary energy sources in multi-area is established, which can effectively reduce the adverse impact of negative peak regulating of wind power and enhance consumption of clean energy. Finally, China’s inter-regional interconnected power system is introduced to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Fucoxanthin (Fx), an allenic carotenoid from brown seaweeds or diatoms, has been demonstrated to prevent obesity. Gut dysbiosis and inflammation are two counted important incidence reasons of obesity and related diseases. In this paper, a mouse model induced by high-fat diet (HFD) was used to reveal the role of Fx in modulating intestinal homeostasis and treating obesity. In addition, 16S rRNA sequencing results inferred that Fx alleviated HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis by significantly inhibiting the growth of obesity-/inflammation-related Lachnospiraceae and Erysipelotrichaceae while promoting the growth of Lactobacillus/Lactococcus, Bifidobacterium, and some butyrate-producing bacteria. The correlation analysis showed that some gut microbiota taxa were strongly correlated with obesity phenotypes and the inflammation level. In conclusion, dietary Fx has the potential to alleviate the development of obesity and related symptoms through mediating the composition of gut microbiota as demonstrated in mice. This study provides scientific evidence for the potential effects of Fx on obesity treatment.

Fe3+and Zn2+ions were doped into the lattice of CeO2via the hydrothermal method. The microstructure and spectra features were analyzed systemically. XRD results show that the solid solubility of Fe3+and Zn2+ions in Ce1–x(Fe0.5Zn0.5)xO2can be identified as x = 0.16. The cell volumes are decreased by increasing the doped content. The TEM graphs prove that the grain size of the sample is about 10 nm, and the EDS result indicates that the doped contents are in accordance with that of the theory concentrations. Meanwhile, the doping also causes the increasing concentrations of the defects and oxygen vacancies which are supported by the XPS, Raman, UV and PL characterizations. The samples exhibit better catalytic activities for improving the hydrogen storage properties and the electrochemical kinetics of the ball milled Mg2Ni based composites. Further, the catalysis effects are improved by increasing the doped contents, which can be ascribed to the increasing contents of the oxygen vacancies, defects, the special electron transition states and the nature of the doped ions in CeO2-based solid solutions.

La-Mg-Ni alloys were prepared by melt-spinning with different cooling rates and followed by annealing. Elevation of the cooling rate leads to refinement of the grains size and increasing of the abundance of LaNi5. Annealing is favorable to formation of the A2B7-type phase and promotes the discharge capacity, cycling stability and high rate discharge ability of the as-spun alloys. Phase constitution of the annealed alloys is found to be closely related to the microstructure of the as-spun alloys. A single phase A2B7-type microstructure is obtained in the annealed alloy which is attributed to the lower abundance of the LaNi5of the original alloy spun with lower cooling rate. Formation of the single phase A2B7-type microstructure is also ascribed to the isolated and homogeneous distribution of the morphology of the as-spun alloy. The single phase alloy presents higher discharge capacity and better cycling stability compared with other annealed alloys.

On-demand engineering of cell membrane receptors to nongenetically intervene in cellular behaviors is still a challenge. Herein, a membraneless enzyme biofuel cell-based self-powered biosensor (EBFC-SPB) was developed for autonomously and precisely releasing Zn2+to initiate DNAzyme-based reprogramming of cell membrane receptors, which further mediates signal transduction to regulate cellular behaviors. The critical component of EBFC-SPB is a hydrogel film on a biocathode which is prepared using a Fe3+-cross-linked alginate hydrogel film loaded with Zn2+ions. In the working mode in the presence of glucose/O2, the hydrogel is decomposed due to the reduction of Fe3+to Fe2+, accompanied by rapid release of Zn2+to specifically activate a Zn2+-responsive DNAzyme nanodevice on the cell surface, leading to the dimerization of homologous or nonhomologous receptors to promote or inhibit cell proliferation and migration. This EBFC-SPB platform provides a powerful “sensing–actuating–treating” tool for chemically regulating cellular behaviors, which holds great promise in precision biomedicine.

Background: Predicting the potential habitat of Phytolacca americana,a high-risk invasive species, can help provide a scientific basis for its quarantine and control strategies. Using the optimized MaxEnt model, we applied the latest climate data, CMIP6, to predict the distribution of potential risk zones and their change patterns for P. americanaunder current and future (SSP126, SSP245, SSP585) climate conditions, followed by invasion potential analysis. Results: The predictions of MaxEnt model based on R language optimization were highly accurate. A significantly high area of 0.8703 was observed for working characteristic curve (AUC value) of subject and the kappa value was 0.8074. Under the current climate conditions, the risk zones for P. americanawere mainly distributed in Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Hunan, and Guangxi provinces. The contribution rate of each climatic factor of P. americanawas calculated using the jackknife test. The four factors with the highest contribution rate included minimum temperature of coldest month (bio6, 51.4%), the monthly mean diurnal temperature difference (bio2, 27.9%), precipitation of the driest quarter (bio17, 4.9%), and the warmest seasonal precipitation (bio12, 4.3%). Conclusion: Under future climatic conditions, the change in the habitat pattern of P. americanagenerally showed a migration toward the Yangtze River Delta region and the southeastern coastal region of China. This migration exhibited an expansion trend, highlighting the strong future invasiveness of the species. Based on the predictions, targeted prevention and control strategies for areas with significant changes in P. americanawere developed. Therefore, this study emphasizes the need of an integrated approach to effectively prevent the further spread of invasive plants.

An efficient iodine‐mediated aza‐Michael addition/C−H functionalization procedure for the synthesis of indoles was achieved in one pot. By simple aza‐Michael addition between anilines and α,β‐ynones, a series of N‐aryl enaminones intermediate was generated, followed by iodine‐mediated C−H functionalization, a wide variety of indole derivatives were obtained in moderate to excellent yields under transition‐metal‐free conditions. Control experiments and in situ ESI‐MS analysis indicated the reaction occurred via a radical mechanism. Tandem bike: A highly efficient iodine‐mediated aza‐Michael addition/C−H functionalization procedure for the synthesis of indoles from aniline and α,β‐ynones was achieved. The reaction provides access to a wide variety of indole derivatives, in moderate to excellent yields under transition‐metal‐free conditions.

Graphene oxide (GO) has obvious desensitizing effect on the thermal decomposition of energetic materials such as HMX, CL-20, etc. 4,4′-Azo-1,2,4-triazole (ATRZ) is known as a new type of energetic material with high N content; the underlying thermal decomposition mechanism of graphene oxide–ATRZ (GO–ATRZ) complex with low sensitivity has not been studied. The present work studies the thermal decomposition mechanisms of GO, ATRZ,and the GO–ATRZ complex (the number of carboxyl groups on GO:ATRZ = 2:1) by the ReaxFF molecular reactive dynamic simulations and kinetics calculations. As a result, it has been found that the main decomposition pathway of GO is the exfoliation of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups on the graphene sheet, whereas ATRZ breaks its five-membered ring as the main decomposition path, and the ring further decomposes into small molecules, such as CHN, N2, HN2, H2N2, etc. The major effect of GO on ATRZ is probably derived from the stable graphene sheet, which has a space effect on ATRZ, and the strong oxidizing hydroxyl groups produced during GO decomposition, which results in the formation of CON and CHON. By calculating the activation energy of N2generation in the reactions, it can be concluded that the addition of GO can increase the decomposition activation energy of ATRZ (41.1 kJ·mol–1) in comparison with that of its pure substance (25.0 kJ·mol–1). Therefore, GO can be combined with ATRZ as a desensitizer where GO can improve the molecular stability of ATRZ.

Nanosized Fe3+and Eu3+codoped CeO2solid solutions were synthesized via hydrothermal method. The crystalline structure of Ce1−x(Fe0.5Eu0.5)xO2−δ(x=0.00–0.30) solid solutions was carried out by the X–ray diffraction technique, and the spectrum features were identified by UV–Vis and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. It was observed that the cell parameters were first increased then decreased by increasing the doped ions content. The phase separation was detected when the dopant concentration reached to x=0.30. UV–Vis spectrum showed that the width of the band gap gradually reduced by increasing the doped content, and the solid solubility was determined to be x=0.20. The Raman technique displayed that the peak position of F2gmode gradually shifted to lower frequencies from 465 cm−1for x=0.00 to 440 cm−1for x=0.20. The catalytic effects of Ce1−x(Fe0.5Eu0.5)xO2−δsolid solutions on the electrochemistry properties of Mg2Ni/Ni were measured by mixing them together via ball milling technique. The electrochemical properties of the Mg2Ni/Ni–Ce1–x(Fe0.5Eu0.5)xO2−δcomposites showed that the maximum discharge capability Cmaxand the cycle stability were improved obviously. Meanwhile, the EIS characteristic also indicated that the doped solid solutions could enhance the rate of charge transfer on the surface of alloy. The catalytic effect of the solid solutions was speculated to rely on both the concentration of oxygen vacancies and the cell volumes of the solid solutions.

Chlorogenic acid (CGA), a phenolic acid compound found in a variety of natural plants, has strong antioxidant capacity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of CGA on differentiation and lipid metabolism of 3T3-L1 cells, as well as its protective effect against cellular oxidative stress induced by H2O2. We found that CGA can reduce the accumulation of intracellular ROS and attenuate the production of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α under oxidative stress. CGA treatment significantly inhibited preadipocytes differentiation and lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 cells. Our results suggest that CGA may regulate lipid metabolism by reducing the expression of differentiation-related genes and inhibiting triacylglyceride synthesis. The findings of this study support CGA as a potential therapeutic agent for obesity. The effects of CGA and its metabolites in vivoshould be investigated to further support its application in functional foods.

Hydrothermal-sintering method was employed to obtain pure and Li, Co, Mn, Cu and Zn doped La2Ti2O7solid solutions. The substitution sites of doping ions are discussed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicate that the doped ions were incorporated into the lattice of La2Ti2O7successfully. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements prove that the doped ions with smaller radius induce the contraction of lattice. The results of UV and photoluminescence (PL) tests show that the doped ions cause the red-shift of band gap energies and enhance the concentrations of oxygen vacancies and defects. The electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of the samples were measured at 303 and 333 K, respectively. The discharge capacities of the doped samples keep growing by increasing the cycle number at 333 K. Meanwhile, the doped samples possess better kinetic performances than the pure La2Ti2O7. Among the samples, the Mn, Co and Li ions doped samples exhibit better electrochemical hydrogen storage properties. The hydrogen storage properties are closely related with the characteristics of doped ions, crystallite sizes, the content of the oxygen vacancies and defects in the lattice of La2Ti2O7.

To retard high-migration issues of the commercialized ferrocene-based burning rate catalysts (BRCs), six commercial ferrocenyl derivatives (FcR), including catocene, N, N-dimethylaminomethyl ferrocene, n-butylferrocene, tert-butylferrocene, n-octylferrocene and ferrocene, were filled into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by ultrasonication. The CNTs incorporated ferrocene nanocomposites (FcR@CNTs) were characterized by TEM, SEM, BET, XPS, FTIR, Raman and XRD techniques, which indicated that the ferrocenes are successfully filled into the CNTs. The anti-migration and anti-volatility tests unveiled that the FcR@CNTs exhibit neglectable migration tendency after four weeks of aging at 50 °C and low volatility when tested at 70 °C for 24 h. The combustion catalytic results displayed that the FcR@CNTs nanocomposites play a vital role in promoting the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate (AP), with the best one lowering the peak temperature of high-temperature decomposition stage (HTD) of AP by 114.2 °C and increasing its released heat by 160%. And it was found that the smaller the diameter of a CNT is, the lower the peak temperature of AP and the higher the released heat of AP. In addition, the decomposition mechanism of AP catalyzed by FcR@CNTs(L1) was studied by thermal decomposition kinetics, in-situ solid FTIR and TG-FTIR-MS methods. The results revealed that the nanocomposites can absorb more generated NH3and HClO4gases during AP decomposition with formation of superoxide anions (O2−), accelerating the oxidation of N2O to NO, and promoting the AP decomposition at lower temperature. Thus, a possible decomposition mechanism of AP catalyzed by FcR@CNTs is proposed.

The battery energy storage system (BESS) is regarded as one of the most promising address operational challenges caused by distributed generations. This paper proposes a novel multi-stage sizing model for utility-scale BESS, to optimize the BESS development strategies for distribution networks with increasing penetration levels and growth patterns of dispersed photovoltaic (PV) panels. Particularly, an integrated model is established in order to accommodate dispersed PVs in short-term operation scale while facilitating appropriate profits in long-term planning scale. Clusterwise reduction is adopted to extract the most representative operating scenarios with PVs and BESS integration, which is able to decrease the computing complexity caused by scenario redundancy. The numerical studies on IEEE 69-bus distribution system verify the feasibility of the proposed multi-stage sizing approach for the utility-scale BESS.

Mung bean, a kind of leguminous crop loved by people, contains high nutritional values as well as medicinal properties. Mung bean fermentation by lactic acid bacteria is a meaningful attempt for development of novel functional foods. In this study, the effects of Lactococcus lactisRQ1066 (L. lactisRQ1066) fermentation on physicochemical properties, anti-nutritional factors, antioxidant capacities, amino acids composition, and sensory evaluation of mung bean milk (MBM) were investigated. We found that L. lactisRQ1066 had the potential of utilizing MBM as the fermentation substrate, which can change amino acids composition and sensory characteristics of MBM. The protein hydrolysis degree, solubility and antioxidant capacities increased after fermentation, while the anti-nutritional factor contents were decreased. Moreover, the aroma, taste, and state of organization were higher than those of unfermented MBM. Our results illustrated that L. lactisRQ1066 fermentation can enhance physicochemical and functional properties of MBM, which provided a promising approach for the deep processing of mung bean products and the increase of the added value of mung bean.

A new heterogeneous cooperative catalysis system featuring the synergistic effect of an organometallic Lewis acid and a Brønsted acid supporter was developed. The catalysis system successfully catalyzed the direct Mannich reaction of both aromatic and aliphatic ketones in excellent yields. The catalyst can be recycled at least five times and the yield of the Mannich product remains over 90%.

Nanocrystalline and amorphous Mg2Ni-type (Mg24Ni10Cu2)100–xNdx(x= 0, 5, 10, 15, 20) alloys were prepared by melt-spinning technology. The structures of as-cast and spun alloys were characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Electrochemical performance of the alloy electrodes was measured using an automatic galvanostatic system. The electrochemical impedance spectra and Tafel polarisation curves of the alloy electrodes were plotted using an electrochemical work station. The hydrogen diffusion coefficients were calculated using the potential step method. Results indicate that all the as-cast alloys present a multiphase structure with Mg2Ni type as the major phase with Mg6Ni, Nd5Mg41and NdNi as secondary phases. The secondary phases increased with the increasing Nd content. The as-spun Nd-free alloy exhibited nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun Nd-doped alloys exhibited nanocrystalline and amorphous structures. These results suggest that adding Nd facilitates glass formation of Mg2Ni-type alloys. Melt spinning and Nd addition improved alloy electrochemical performance, which includes discharge potential characteristics, discharge capacity, electrochemical cycle stability and high-rate discharge ability.

To explore the true identity of palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction, montmorillonite (MMT)-supported transition metal nanoparticles (MMT@M, M = Pd, Cu, Fe, and Ni) were prepared, characterized, and evaluated systematically. Among all MMT@M catalysts, MMT@Pd/Cu showed the highest activity, and it was successfully extended to 20 examples with 57%–97% yields. The morphology characterization of MMT@Pd/Cu revealed that the crystalline bimetallic particles were dispersed on a MMT layer as nanoalloy with diameters ranged from 10 to 11 nm. In situ IR analysis using CO as molecular probe and XPS characterization found that the surface of Pd/Cu particles consisted of both catalytic active sites of Pd(0) and Cu(I). The experiments on the catalytic activities of MMT@M found that Pd/Cu catalyst system exhibited high activity only in nanoalloy form. Therefore, the Pd/Cu nanoalloy was identified as catalyst, on which the interatom Pd/Cu transmetalation between surfaces was proposed to be responsible for its synergistic activity.

Melt spinning technology was used to prepare the Mg2Ni-type (Mg24Ni10Cu2)100–xNdx(x=0, 5, 10, 15, 20) alloys in order to obtain a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure. The effects of Nd content and spinning rate on the structures and electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the alloys were investigated. The structure characterizations of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) linked with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) revealed that the as-spun Nd-free alloy displayed an entire nanocrystalline structure, whereas the as-spun Nd-added alloys held a nanocrystalline and amorphous structure and the degree of amorphization visibly increased with the rising of Nd content and spinning rate, suggesting that the addition of Nd facilitated the glass forming of the Mg2Ni-type alloy. The electrochemical measurements indicated that the addition of Nd and melt spinning improved the electrochemical hydrogen storage performances of the alloys significantly. The discharge capacities of the as-cast and spun alloys exhibited maximum values when Nd content was x=10, which were 86.4, 200.5, 266.3, 402.5 and 452.8 mAh/g corresponding to the spinning rate of 0 (As-cast was defined as the spinning rate of 0 m/s), 10, 20, 30 and 40 m/s, respectively. The cycle stability (S20, the capacity maintain rate at 20thcycle) of the as-cast alloy always rose with the increasing of Nd content, and those of the as-spun alloys exhibited the maximum values for Nd content x=10, which were 77.9%, 83.4% 89.2% and 89.7%, corresponding to the spinning rate of 10, 20, 30 and 40 m/s, respectively.

Pea (Pisum sativumL.) is an important source of plant proteins. However, the use of pea flour as a food ingredient is greatly limited due to its strong beany flavor. In this work, we investigated the effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosusL08 (L. rhamnosusL08) fermentation on the physicochemical characteristics, amino acids composition and volatile flavor compounds of pea flour. We found that L. rhamnosusL08 had the probiotic potential of utilizing pea flour as fermentation substrate. L. rhamnosusL08 fermentation significantly increased the content of most amino acids, and total amino acid content increased from 222.18 mg/g at 0 h to 262.35 mg/g at 6 h. A total of 44 volatile compounds were identified in pea flour. L. rhamnosusL08 fermentation increased the variety of acids and esters, while reduced the unpleasant flavor such as nonanal, decanal, octanal, 1-hexanol and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol. The emulsifying stability and foam stability of pea flour were slightly enhanced during fermentation. Our results illustrate that lactic acid bacteria fermentation is a promising approach to eliminate undesirable aroma of pea flour. Moreover, this study provides theoretical support for the application of peas as high-quality protein source.

Epitaxial films of rare-earth zirconates, RE2Zr2O7(RE = La, Nd, Sm and Gd) were grown on yttrium stabilized zirconia (100) single crystal substrates using metal-organic deposition. A precursor solution of 0.25 '0.40 M concentration of total cations was spin-coated on yttrium stabilized zirconia substrates and crystallized at 1 000 8C for 3 h in Ar-4%H2after calcination at 500 8C for 1 h. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the resulting pyrochlore RE2Zr2O7films were highly textured with cube-on-cube epitaxy. Atomic force microscopy investigations revealed that the surfaces of La2Zr2O7, Nd2Zr2O7and Sm2Zr2O7films had a fairly dense and smooth microstructure without cracks and porosity, but that voids could be seen on the surface of the Gd2Zr2O7film. Optical microscopy measurements confirmed that the Gd2Zr2O7precursor solution showed poor wetting behavior on the substrate. It was concluded that the Nd2Zr2O7and Sm2Zr2O7films could be potentially used as buffer layers for YBa2Cu3O7-d coated conductors.

We have successfully prepared NdGaO3films with the (h00) preferred orientation on YSZ(100) single crystalline substrate by metal – organic deposition. The structure and morphology of the NdGaO3films were investigated by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the crystal orientation of the NdGaO3films depends on the heat treatment temperature and time. An optimal growth condition for highly textured NdGaO3films was obtained. The analysis by atomic force microscopy showed that the NdGaO3films are smooth and pinhole-free. Our results showed that the NdGaO3films prepared by the low-cost production method of metal – organic deposition could serve as a crystalline substrate with perovskite structure for many kinds of oxide electronic devices.

The free radical grafting of polyethylene with vinyl monomers by reactive extrusion was studied numerically. Numerical computation expressions of key variables, such as the concentrations of the initiator and polymer, grafting degree, average molecular weight and apparent viscosity, were deduced. The evolutions of the above variables were predicted by means of an uncoupled semi‐implicit iterative algorithm. The monomer conversion monotonically increases with decreasing throughput or increasing initial initiator concentration; with increasing barrel temperature, the monomer conversion first increases then decreases. The simulated results are nearly in good agreement with the experimental results.

Molybdenum K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy has been used to characterise the local structure around the metal centres in mesoporous silica MCM-41 derivatised with the complex salts [Mo₂(µ-O₂CCH₃)₂(CH₃CN)₆](BF₄)₂, [Mo₂(µ-CH₃CONH)₂(CH₃CN)₄](BF₄)₂, [Mo₂(CH₃CN)₁₀](BF₄)₄ and [Mo₂(µ-O₂CCH₃)₂(dppa)₂(CH₃CN)₂](BF₄)₂. Analysis of the EXAFS reveals that the molybdenum–molybdenum quadruple bond is retained in the grafted materials and that the equatorially coordinated ligands are not displaced. The results support the assumption that the complexes are immobilised on the silica surface by an interaction with silanol groups in axial positions. Consistent with these findings, catalysis tests show that the activities of the supported dimolybdenum complexes as initiators for the polymerisation of cyclopentadiene are comparable with those observed for the free complexes in the homogeneous phase. The XAFS results also reveal that air-oxidation of the supported catalysts leads to the rapid formation of surface-fixed dioxo-bridged binuclear species, characterised by a molybdenum–molybdenum interatomic distance of 2.56 ± 0.02 Å.