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The ever-growing interest in MXenes has been driven by their distinct electrical, thermal, mechanical, and optical properties. In this context, further revealing their physicochemical attributes remains the key frontier of MXene materials. Herein, we report the anisotropic localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) features in Ti3C2TxMXene as well as site-selective photocatalysis enabled by the photophysical anisotropy. Both experimental and theoretical studies provide direct evidence of the occurrence of transverse and longitudinal dipolar plasmon resonance modes, respectively, driven by in-plane and out-of-plane vibrations of the two-dimensional (2D) MXene nanoflakes. Wavelength-controlled excitation of the two LSPR modes is demonstrated to activate either the on-edge or the in-plane active sites for plasmonic charge carrier-induced site-selective catalysis. Our findings uncover the presence as well as the mechanism of the anisotropic plasmon resonance in nonmetallic 2D nanomaterials and provide intriguing design principles for next-generation plasmonic nanocatalysts.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a widely used approach for evaluating the relative efficiency of decision-making units (DMUs) in multiple-input and multiple-output situations. Although traditional DEA models use precise input–output data, real-world problems often involve mixed uncertainties, including fuzziness and stochasticity. This paper focuses on dealing with situations where inputs and outputs have both fuzzy and stochastic characteristics, using DEA models for efficiency evaluation. Through the integration of the α-level approach and chance-constrained programming, novel DEA models with fuzzy stochastic variables (FSVs) are proposed, and deterministic equivalent interval DEA models with linear constraints are provided to address this problem. The main contributions and advantages of the proposed model over existing DEA models with FSVs are fourfold: (1) linear and always-feasible models are proposed; (2) a fixed and uniform production boundary (i.e., the same set of constraints) is used to measure the efficiency of DMUs with fuzzy stochastic input and output; (3) the obtained results can distinguish between efficient and inefficient DMUs; (4) Equivalent interval DEA models were obtained to provide a more comprehensive assessment of the efficiency of the DMUs. Finally, a numerical example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed models and the feasibility of the obtained solutions.

Aiming at the problems of large background noise of acoustic signals collected by distributed fiber acoustic sensor (DAS) system and unsatisfactory noise filtering effect of conventional filtering methods, in the study, an improved wavelet denoising scheme based on robust principal component analysis (RPCA) is proposed. The acoustic signal collected by DAS is first separated by the RPCA algorithm, and then the separated noisy signal is denoised by combining the improved wavelet threshold algorithm with a low-pass filter. The test results show that the proposed scheme can improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by 12–22 dB, and the perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) and correlation coefficient (CC) by 0.6–0.9 and 0.44–0.68 respectively, which can effectively improve the acoustic signal quality. The proposed scheme can accurately restore acoustic signals in noisy environments, which is of great significance in the fields of acoustic communication, recognition, and military reconnaissance.

High carrier mobility and uniform device performance are of crucial importance for organic field-effect transistor (OFET)-based device and integrated circuit applications. However, strategies for achieving high device performance with small variations from batch to batch are still desired. Here, we report a thin liquid crystal-like film of 2,8-difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl) anthradithiophene (dif-TES-ADT) grown on a N,N′-ditridecylperylene-3,4,9,10-tetra-carboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C13) template, confirmed by atomic force microscopy and polarized fluorescence microscopy. The liquid crystal-like films with large crystalline domains are further employed as carrier transport channels for OFETs. As a result, we achieved high-performance OFETs with a saturation carrier mobility of 1.62 ± 0.26 cm2V−1s−1and a small variation of 16% among three batches. This finding provides a new strategy to design materials and device structures to simultaneously achieve high carrier mobility and device uniformity.

Organic semiconductor (OSC) gas sensors are receiving tremendous attention with the rise of wearable devices. Due to the complicated charge transport characteristics of OSCs, it is usually difficult to optimize their gas sensitivity by directly tailoring the original signals, as in many other kinds of sensors. Instead, device engineering strategies are frequently centered on enhancing the gas–film interaction. Herein, by introducing interface doping between self-assembled monolayers and triisopropylsilylethynyl-substituted pentacene films, we report a wide tuning of OSC gas sensitivity via charge transport manipulation and achieve an ultrahigh sensitivity of nearly 2000%/ppm to NO2, simultaneously resulting in a fast square-wave-like response feature. In addition, this sensor demonstrates good humidity stability and operates well in flexible devices. More importantly, we identify that charge transport manipulation tailors the gas sensibility of OSCs by means of electronic structure instead of original signal values: compared to shallow traps, the presence of proper deep traps is conducive to gaining high sensitivity and ultrafast response/recovery speeds. This approach is also effective for tuning the sensitivity to reductive gases, verifying its generality for promoting the performance of OSC gas sensors, as well as a promising strategy for other types of sensors or detectors.

Gas sensors based on organic semiconductors receive tremendous attentions owing to their advantages on high selectivity and room temperature operation. However, until now, most organic semiconductor based sensors still suffered from problems, such as low sensitivity, slow response/recovery speed and poor stability. In addition, a clear correlation between the sensing performance and the film property is still absent. Herein, we report the investigation on sensing performance of a series of organic films with various morphologies. By simply adjusting the quality of self-assembled monolayer(SAM) on the silicon wafer surface, we obtain organic semiconductor 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-pentacene) films with varied morphologies and different charge transport abilities. The film with a small grain size and a continuous morphology presents the highest sensing performance to NO2, with a sensitivity up to 730%/ppm(ppm=parts per million, volume ratio). We thus reveal that the high sensitivity of the organic film is evident related with the charge transport ability and initial conductivity of the films, as well as the morphologies of both modification layer and the active films.

Digital twins provide a solution for information-sharing between enterprises, thereby alleviating uncertainties in the supply chain. In light of the public crisis caused by COVID-19, the authors suggest a signal game model for a two-stage supply chain with two suppliers and two manufacturers. Based on the model, the impact of the digital twin platform on the profits of the local industrial symbiosis network is analyzed. The results show that the uncertainty of supply and demand caused by the public crisis has led to fluctuations in profits and profit volatility. Under this influence, suppliers are willing to participate in information-sharing on the digital twin platform, but manufacturers are less willing to participate. Moreover, application of the digital twin platform in information-sharing is conducive to maintaining and promoting the smooth operation of the industrial chain under these conditions of uncertainty.

With both light detection and intrinsic amplification functions, organic phototransistors have demonstrated promising applications, including photodetection and photomemory. To achieve excellent photoresponse and superior photogain, a common and effective strategy is to modulate the trapping effect with the purpose of reducing recombination or prolonging the lifetime of the photogenerated charge carriers. However, introducing trapping sites delicately is challenging and might sacrifice the response rate together with a typical persistent photoconductivity. Here, we demonstrate a facile strategy for achieving high photo-responsive organic phototransistors with both persistent and switchable photoconductivity features viainterface terminal group regulation. By varying the terminate groups of self-assembled monolayer (SAMs) from the strong electron withdrawing group — F, neutral −CH3to electron donating −NH2on the dielectric surface, we realize both minority carrier trapping and majority carrier trapping in the organic phototransistor based on the C8-BTBT active layer. The electron withdrawing effect of F significantly enhances the minority carrier trapping process and yields a high photoresponsivity with a long-lasting persistent photoconductivity. In contrast, the electron donating group −NH2with a distinct majority carrier trapping ability causes switchable photoconductivity so that the photocurrent can rise pronouncedly and fully decay along with light on/off. Attractively, both cases can deliver high performance with photoresponsivities higher than 104A W−1together with a photosensitivity in the level of 107and a detectivity of approximately 1015–1016Jones. Such a tunable, excellent photoresponse property enables the convenient exploration of organic phototransistors to satisfy different application requirements.

Polyoxometalate encapsulated by metal–organic framework (POM@MOF) hybrid is an ideal precursor for electrocatalysts because it provides a homogeneous catalyst system with a flexible synergistic effect. However, controlling its fine structures to activate the derived catalyst after pyrolysis remains a challenge. The uniformly distributed carbon-defect tungsten oxides on the 3D carbon matrix were synthesized by using phospho-tungstic acid confined in HKUST-1 (PA@HKUST-1) as the precursor. By choosing ethanol as the solvent, the framework of PA@HKUST-1 was retained integrally and each pore of HKUST-1 kept intact even with holding the PA molecule inside. The well-organized structure of PA@HKUST-1 facilitated to offer a highly distributed metal source, and further transform into defect-rich catalyst. The average size of the resulting WOxCy/C catalysts was 1.5 nm, which was similar to a single molecule of PA. The WOxCy/C catalysts exhibited superior activity in the methanol oxidation reaction after being platinized due to the enhanced resistance to CO poisoning, which is also confirmed by DFT. This finding suggests a new route to design and achieve the defect-rich catalyst with controllable size.

Organic electrochemical transistor(OECT) with bulk current modulation capability based on the ion penetration into the organic semiconducting channel exhibits unique features, including high transconductance, low voltage and large capacitance. The high current at a low voltage, together with the compatibility with aqueous environment, makes OECT particularly suitable for bioelectronic applications, such as biological interfacing, printed logic circuitry and neuromorphic devices. However, the operation mechanism and structure-performance relationship of OECT are rather complicated and remain unclear to date. One of the critical issues is the ion penetration and transportation process. This review focuses on the research progresses of how to improve the OECT performance specifically through materials design, interfacing and morphology modulation. Different strategies of promoting the ion doping process are compared and discussed in order to optimize the device performance so that a deep understanding of the OECT operation principle could be gained.

Miniaturized organic single-crystal arrays that are addressed by reading-out circuits are crucial for high performance and high-level integration organic electronics. Here, we report a lithography compatible strategy to fabricate organic single-crystal arrays via area-selective growth and solvent vapor annealing (SVA). The organic semiconducting molecules can first selectively grow on photographically patterned drain-source electrodes, forming ordered amorphous aggregates that can further be converted to discrete single-crystal arrays by SVA. This strategy can be applied to self-align the microsized organic single crystals on predesigned locations. With this method, suppression of cross-talk among devices, organic field-effect transistors, and basic logic gate arrays with reading-out electrodes are further demonstrated.

To investigate the relationship between visceral fat thickness measured by US and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in patients with obesity who did not have hypertension or diabetes and who had normal renal function. Inclusion criteria included an estimated GFR of greater than 90 mL/min/1.73 m2, blood pressure lower than 120/80 mm Hg, and a fasting blood glucose level of less than 126 mg/dL. Patients were divided into groups with (body mass index ≥28 kg/m2) and without (body mass index <28 kg/m2) obesity. Subcutaneous and visceral fat thicknesses were measured with ultrasound. A total of 95 patients were enrolled with an age range of 25 to 58 years. The patients were divided into groups with (n = 48) and without obesity (n = 47); patients with obesity were further divided into subcutaneous obesity (n = 23) and visceral obesity (n = 25) groups. The estimated GFR in the group with obesity was significantly lower than that in the group without obesity (P= .037), and the estimated GFR in the group with visceral obesity was significantly lower than that in the group with subcutaneous obesity (P= .006). Moreover, the estimated GFR was negatively correlated with visceral fat thickness (V1:r= −0.750;P7 < 0.001;V2:r= −0.824;P< 0.001) but not correlated with subcutaneous fat thickness. Ultrasound is an easy and accurate practical evaluation modality for measuring the thickness of fat. There was an inverse relationship between the estimated GFR and visceral fat thickness in patients with obesity who did not have hypertension or diabetes and who had normal renal function. This result suggests that as visceral fat increases, the estimated GFR may be reduced accordingly.

Organic semiconductor (OSC) gas sensors have garnered considerable attention due to their promising selectivity and inherent flexibility. Introducing a functional group or modification layer is an important route to modulate the doping/trapping state of the active layer and the gas absorption/desorption process. However, the majority of the functionalization lies in the surface/interface assembling process, which is difficult to control the functional group density. This in turn brings challenges for precise modulation of the charge transport and the doping/trapping density, which will affect the repeatability and reproducibility of sensing performance. Herein, we propose a facile bulk trapping strategy incorporating amino-terminated additive molecules via the vacuum deposition process, achieving ultrahigh sensitivity of ~2000%/ppm at room temperature to NO2gas and approaching ~3000%/ppm at 50 °C. Additionally, the device exhibits commendable reproducibility, stability, and low concentration detection ability, reaching down to several ppb, indicating promising potential for future applications. Comprehensive analysis of electrical properties and density functional theory calculations reveals that these exceptional properties arise from the favorable electrical characteristics of the bulk trapping structure, the high mobility of C8-BTBT, and the elevated adsorption energy of NO2. This approach enables the construction of stable and reproducible sensitive sensors and helps to understand the sensing mechanism in OSC gas sensors.

High-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is a promising method for characterizing organic semiconductors to obtain a deep understanding of organic semiconductor physics. However, organic films on conductive single-crystal substrates, which are required for STM, usually present different growth behaviors than the films on inert substrates such as SiO2. Here, we reported a simple modification method for modulating the organic semiconductor film growth on the highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and Au(111) substrates and investigated the detailed morphology evolution. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) fabricated from vacuum deposition and solution processing were introduced on these conductive substrates. Pentacene, a prototypical organic semiconductor, presented quasi-layer-by-layer growth on HOPG or Au(111) sufaces modified with solution-processed alkane monolayer. The pentacene film resembled the upright packing and terraced morphology but with larger grain size than that of thin-film phase on SiO2. The introduced n-dotriacontane layer decreased the interaction between pentacene adsorbates and the active substrate and provided a lower surface energy which supported the upright orientation of pentacene. Modification of the substrates with alkanes provides a feasible approach to grow high-quality organic thin films that are suitable for characterization down to the molecular level. Additionally, this approach is effective for two-dimensional substrate materials such as graphene and is not limited to single-crystal substrates.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the kidney is considered the "innate foundation," and the abundance or diminution of its essence directly affects the growth, development, physical form, and physiological functions of the human body. As people reach middle age and old age, the essence in the kidney gradually decreases, and the signs of aging become more apparent. Immune aging is a common phenomenon in life, characterized by quantitative or functional changes in cells and molecules within the immune system. It is one of the main causes of organ aging, leading to increased inflammation, decreased immune regulatory capacity and declining organ function. TCM has a rich clinical practice and pharmacological research supporting its efficacy in delaying aging. This review focuses on Chinese medicine and formulas that tonify kidney yangand kidney yin, with the goal of delaying aging by regulating immune mechanisms. It provides a theoretical basis for understanding the role of TCM in anti-aging and prevention of senescence, as well as guiding the development of new products, theories, and directions in anti-aging research.

Background

At present, the enormous environmental pressure caused by the manufacturing industry has promoted the development of the recycling industry. The recycling industry is pivotal for sustainable utilization of regional resources, pollution reduction and environmental protection. LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), as a comprehensive analytical tool, plays an important role in the analysis of the cyclical industry from different levels, including regional level, industry level, enterprise level and product/service levels. The product service system, a new production system with high integration and overall optimization of products and services, is conducive to obtaining complete product/service information and management. The LCA based product service systems in the field of circular economy is not only crucial in the life cycle management of the product/service for the enterprise, but also contributes to the comprehensive assessment of the environmental benefits of the recycling enterprise. This paper summarizes and systematic reviews the applications of the LCA and PSS (Product Service System) integration in circular economy from a micro perspective. Based on that, the study identifies the challenges for current researches and propose future research directions to promote the development of LCA in circular economy from the perspective of enterprises.

Fast and convenient genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is highly desirable for pharmacogenomics-based personalized medicine in settings where a centralized laboratory is not available. Herein, we developed an allele specific DNAzyme assembly (ASDA) strategy for fast and simple SNP colorimetric genotyping directly from crude buccal swab samples without DNA extraction and purification. Using the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T allele as a model, novel allele specific primers were designed by introducing an optimized additional mismatch to eliminate cross amplification and tagging a G-quadruplex (G4)-containing hairpin tether to transform specific PCR amplification to numerous G4 DNAzyme assemblies. Based on this ASDA strategy, the proposed method can discriminate SNP alleles from as low as 200 cells, showing high sensitivity and excellent selectivity with a simple colorimetric assay, and showed remarkable accuracy, robustness and practicability for SNP genotyping directly from crude real samples with a total turnaround time of 90 min. The ASDA-based colorimetric assay presented a pragmatic platform toward simple and fast SNP genotyping in clinical laboratories, and a potential tool to improve the widespread application of personalized medicine, especially in developing areas.

It is well known that tailoring the interfacial structure is very important for perovskite solar cells, especially for its performance and stability. Here, we report a universal and versatile method of modulating the energetic alignment between the perovskite and hole-transporting layer by introducing a multifunctional dipole layer based on metallophthalocyanine derivatives copperphthalocyanine (CuPc) or highly fluorinated copper hexadecafluorophthalocyanine (F16CuPc). Both molecules were introduced through an “antisolution” process to treat the surface of organic–inorganic CH3NH3PbI3perovskite. The dipole layer can well align the interfacial energy levels, passivate the CH3NH3PbI3surface, and fill the grain boundaries, resulting in greatly suppressed charge recombination. As a result, our planar CH3NH3PbI3perovskite devices exhibit the best power conversion efficiency of 20.2%, with significantly enhanced open-circuit voltages (Voc) of 1.112 V (CuPc) and 1.145 V (F16CuPc), which is a record high Vocvalue for CH3NH3PbI3thin-film solar cells. More importantly, the use of highly fluorinated F16CuPc produces a significantly more hydrophobic surface, leading to drastically improved long-term stability under ambient conditions. We believe that our study offers a general approach to making multifunctional dipole layers, which are necessary for achieving both stable and efficient perovskite solar cells.

Understanding the structure-performance relationship is crucial for optimizing the performance of organic thin film transistors. Here, two interface modification methods were applied to modulate the thin film morphology of the organic semiconductor, 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene(TIPS-pentacene). The resulting different film morphologies and packing structures led to distinct charge transport abilities. A substantial 40-fold increase in charge carrier mobility was observed on the octadecyltrichlorosilane(OTS)-modified sample compared to that of the transis-tor on the bare substrate. A better charge mobility greater than 1 cm2·V‒1·s‒1is realized on the p-sexiphenyl(p-6P)-modified transistors due to the large grain size, good continuity and, importantly, the intimate π-πpacking in each domain.

The Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) plays a critical role in various management applications. Despite its importance, research efforts are still ongoing to improve lower bounds and reduce deviation values. This study aims to develop an innovative and straightforward algorithm for RCPSPs by integrating the "1+1" evolution strategy into a genetic algorithm framework. Unlike most existing studies, the proposed algorithm eliminates the need for parameter tuning and utilizes real-valued numbers and path representation as chromosomes. Consequently, it does not require priority rules to construct a feasible schedule. The algorithm's performance is evaluated using the RCPSP benchmark and compared to alternative algorithms, such as cWSA, Hybrid PSO, and EESHHO. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is competitive, while the exploration capability remains a challenge for further investigation. • A novel hybrid GA frame for RCPSPs. • Free of parameter tuning. • Need no priority rules to build a feasible schedule. • Uses both real valued number and path representation as chromosomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

•Systematically discussed the differences between unearthed wooden instruments.•Found the presence of regular bridge indentations on the wood panel should be the basis for identification.•Employed portable microscopes, three-dimensional laser scanners, and other equipment to investigate modern Zheng samples.•Established a set of methods that can be adopted to identify the plucked instrument.•The research provides ideas for the restoration of ancient musical instruments.

Purpose To assess the efficacy and safety of bupivacaine compared with lidocaine in local anesthesia of nasopharynx through meta-analysis.Methods A number of medical literature data bases were searched electronically. Relevant journals and references of included studies were manually searched. Two reviewers independently performed data extraction and quality assessment.Results Four studies were included. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores, acceptable discomfort, and bleeding scores were analyzed for bupivacaine versus lidocaine. When considering the VAS scores, bupivacaine as a local anesthetic agent was better than lidocaine in controlling the pain of postoperative patients (p < 0.00001). From VAS scores of patients for transnasal fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscopic examination that was performed to evaluate upper airway structures, lidocaine was found to be better at pain management in patients who underwent transnasal endoscopic examination (p < 0.00001). However, when analyzing the acceptable discomfort of patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which serves as a valuable tool to evaluate upper gastrointestinal structures, the patients in the bupivacaine group demonstrated a higher acceptable discomfort than the patients in the lidocaine group (p = 0.008). With regard to the bleeding scores of the patients with nasal surgery, lidocaine was better at bleeding in postoperative patients compared with bupivacaine (p = 0.0007). These results indicated that bupivacaine showed better pain control of postoperative patients and acceptable discomfort in patients with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Lidocaine had a significantly increased ability the pain of patients with transnasal fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscopic examination and bleeding in postoperative patients. No systemic adverse events were reported.Conclusion Bupivacaine was found to have better promotion to pain control than did lidocaine for the patients after nasal surgery. Lidocaine had a significantly increased inhibition of bleeding in these postoperative patients; however, the efficacy between bupivacaine and lidocaine was unclear for the patients who had transnasal endoscopic examinations.

Biomass oxidation by synergic catalysis appears to be an efficient and sustainable approach for biomass valorization. Here we demonstrate the oxidation of glucose and its upstream biomass derivatives to glycolic acid (GA) under O2in the presence of polyoxometalates (POM) hybridized with ionic liquids (ILs). Particularly, 61.0% selectivity of GA with 88.2% conversion and excellent carbon balance was obtained by [C2COOHMIM]4PMoV. The catalytic system was also applicable to the oxidation of raw lignocellulose. The IL-POM hybrids exhibited excellent recyclability. Time-dependent reaction, temperature-dependent NMR, and computational studies revealed that IL with carboxyl groups was supposed to suppress over-oxidation via stabilization of sugar intermediates, while the superiority of V1/IL-POM originated from the single-substituted V on the 4H site of POM. Thus, the adsorption of protonated glucose was more exothermic and kinetically favorable with the barrier of 0.41 eV. This strategy is expected to provide clues for efficient biomass conversion over multifunctional catalysts.

The emergence of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnets provides a broad platform for studying the magnetic properties of low-dimensional materials in condensed matter physics. However, the intrinsic ferromagnetism of 2D materials is mostly observed below room temperature, and most of them are soft ferromagnetic materials. Here, we report two intrinsic ferromagnetic vdW materials with Curie temperatures (TC) above room temperature, MnSiTe3(TC∼ 378 K) and MnGeTe3(TC∼ 349 K). Moreover, MnSiTe3exhibits a large coercivity (HC) at room temperature with an unprecedented HCof 1450 Oe, which is an increase of nearly 500% compared to the reported room-temperature vdW ferromagnets. The discovery of these two materials fills the gap of vdW room-temperature hard ferromagnets, providing a broad platform and possibilities for future research on low-dimensional spin electronic device applications.

Baicalein (BE) has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. It has also been reported able to improve cerebral blood circulation in brain ischemic injury. However, its chronic efficacy and metabolomics in Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain unknown. In this study, BE at 80 mg/kg was administrated through the oral route in J20 AD transgenic mice aged from aged 4 months to aged 10 months. Metabolic- and neurobehavioural phenotyping was done before and after 6 months' treatment to evaluate the drug efficacy and the relevant mechanisms. Meanwhile, molecular docking was used to study the binding affinity of BE and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) which is related to neuronal injury. The open field test showed that BE could suppress hyperactivity in J20 mice and increase the frequency of the target quadrant crossing in the Morris Water Maze test. More importantly, BE restored cerebral blood flow back to the normal level after the chronic treatment. A 1H NMR-based metabolomics study showed that BE treatment could restore the tricarboxylic acid cycle in plasma. And such a treatment could suppress oxidative stress, inhibit neuroinflammation, alleviate mitochondrial dysfunction, improve neurotransmission, and restore amino homeostasis via starch and sucrose metabolism and glycolipid metabolism in the cortex and hippocampus, which could affect the behavioural and cerebral blood flow. These findings showed that BE is a potential therapeutic agent for AD.

The pig farm wastewater after anaerobic digestion has attracted much attention due to its difficulty to be biochemically treated. This paper evaluated the potential of the combined anaerobic-aerobic process to treat digested wastewater from synthetic pig farms in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic compound removal. The experimental results showed that despite the low COD/TN(C/N) ratio of digested wastewater from pig farms, the removal efficiency of ammonium, total phosphorus (TP), and organic compound could reach 100%, 85%, and 87% respectively after reaching a steady-state by the combined anaerobic-aerobic process with an average hydraulic retention time of 3 days. The Anammox and Algae-Bacteria Symbiosis (An-ABS) system was significantly more effective than the Algae-Bacteria Symbiosis (ABS) system for nitrogen and phosphorus removal. When anaerobic ammonia-oxidizing granular sludge was introduced, the sedimentation performance of the algae-bacterial synergistic symbiotic system was significantly improved. The addition of anaerobic ammonia-oxidized granular sludge not only reduced the sludge diversity but also changed the sludge community structure. In addition, the suspended growth of Chlorella vulgarisprotected ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) from Optical damage. This study would provide some new insights into the combined anaerobic-aerobic process system for treating digested wastewater from synthetic pig farms, which would contribute to the development of low-energy wastewater treatment processes.

AbstractThis study provides a global overview and comparison of residential building energy consumption (RBEC) in 8 climate zones in order to provide a visible foundation for policymakers and decision-makers with respect to sustainable future levels of RBEC. A total of 31 countries and 14 provinces/municipalities within these 8 climate zones are furthermore grouped into 20 different regions based on income. Demographic statistics regarding housing and RBEC of these regions are collected for analysis in this study. The results indicate that: 1) RBEC per capita and per m2in most Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries has decreased over the past two decades; 2) in developing countries, such consumption does not follow the same pattern of change; 3) within each climate zone, RBEC per m2is not significantly different for regions and countries in the same income groups, but there is significant difference in RBEC per capita for different regions and countries, even within the same climate zone and income group; and 4) RBEC per capita and per m2in the same climate zone differ widely between different income groups.

Gas sensors, as useful tools to detect specific gas species such as toxic and explosive gases or volatile organic compounds, are the key components for environmental monitoring, fruit maturity and food safety monitoring, health care, and so on. The present commercial products based on porous metal oxide materials still face problems, such as high temperature operation and low level of selectivity. Thin films or nanostructures of organic materials with thickness or grain size down to nanometer scale represent promising candidates for gas sensing due to their potential for achieving high selectivity, portability and low cost. However, there are still challenges related to their stability, reproducibility and response/recovery speed despite the efforts in materials design, morphology control or device configuration, all of which have been expended during the last few decades. In this review, we summarize the progress of recent research on gas sensors based on organic ultra-thin films and nanostructures. We specifically discuss the effect of microstructure in the active layer on the sensing performance and mechanism.

The aim of this paper is to explore potential least-cost decarbonisation solutions for an off-grid and offshore fish farm power supply system under long term uncertainty. The Hinnøya island in Norway is used as a use case. Three distinctive off-grid and grid-based alternative power supply solutions were proposed and studied as a replacement to the existing diesel power solution in a three-stage stochastic model and under two critical long-term uncertainties: (1) access to strong grid and (2) storage battery cost. The TIMES modelling framework is applied. The stochastic model results reveal that grid integrated storage is an optimal near-term investment for a storage battery cost of 295 €/kWh and less by 2025. In scenarios with no access to strong grid, grid integrated storage continues to be a least-cost solution in the long-term as well, whereas in those scenarios with strong grid access, new investment in storage is not required after 2030. Contrary to the stochastic model runs, the equivalent deterministic model runs showed that a hybrid wind and diesel solution is an optimal near-term investment. From 2030, however, a similar technology pattern in both stochastic and deterministic model runs are observed. Nevertheless, the results are very sensitive to the assumed storage battery costs. Higher storage costs (as high as 704 €/kWh by 2025) would make the hybrid wind and diesel solution an optimal solution instead of the grid integrated storage solution in near-term investment in both stochastic and deterministic model runs.

The effect of groups in conjugated molecules on films’ interface morphology, electronic structure, and charge transport behavior is explored utilizing a series of crystalline organic heterostructures that are constructed by four rod‐like molecules and vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc). The four rod‐like molecules, which possess the same biphenyl endgroup but different central groups, present similar growth behavior along with different thin film structural parameters and electronic structures. The changes of the structure parameters result in diverse morphology of the VOPc/rod‐like molecule heterostructure because of the different lattice mismatch. The electronic structure differences in rod‐like molecules cause different interface electronic structure of the heterostructure. Under the conjunct effect of morphology and interface electronic structure, the transistors based on the crystalline heterostructures present diverse charge transport behavior and field‐effect mobilities. These results provide a clue for the development of crystalline organic heterostructure engineering and tailoring overall organic device performance through molecular design in local inducing layer.

Single-crystal-like organic heterojuntions are fabricated with disk-like molecules and different rodlike molecules. Hole transparent and blocking transport are demonstrated with photoemission spectroscopy and field-effect transistors. These results demonstrate a route to utilize adjustable interfacial electronic structure and control transport behavior in developing functional organic crystalline devices and crystalline nanocircuits.

City and regional planners have recently started exploring a circular approach to urban development. Meanwhile, industrial ecologists have been designing and refining methodologies to quantify and locate material flows and stocks within systems. This Perspective explores to which extent material stock studies can contribute to urban circularity, focusing on the built environment. We conducted a critical literature review of material stock studies that claim they contribute to circular cities. We classified each article according to a matrix we developed leveraging existing circular built environment frameworks of urban planning, architecture, and civil engineering and included the terminology of material stock studies. We found that, out of 271 studies, only 132 provided information that could be relevant to the implementation of circular cities, albeit to vastly different degrees of effectiveness. Of these 132, only 26 reported their results in a spatially explicit manner, which is fundamental to the effective actuation of circular city strategies. We argue that future research should strive to provide spatial data, avoid being siloed, and increase engagement with other sociopolitical fields to address the different needs of the relevant stakeholders for urban circularity.

We discuss the optimal design of line-tapered multimode interference (MMI) devices using a genetic algorithm (GA). A 1×4 MMI device is designed as a numerical example. Compared with the conventional design based on self-imaging theory, the present method demonstrates superior performance with low insertion loss and small non-uniformity.