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Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are facing the challenge of chloride salt hot corrosion in the marine environment. In the manuscript, 7YSZ feather-like columnar structure coatings were prepared by plasma spray-physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD). The Al2O3-modification based on in-situ synthesis was used as the strategy to improve the hot corrosion resistance of the coating. Then, the coatings were subjected to test of 900 °C NaCl thermal exposure and combustion gas-salt spray ablation. The microstructure and phase evolution results of the coatings show that NaCl has a strong corrosive effect on the as-sprayed PS-PVD TBC and leading to catastrophic oxidation. In contrast to this, the Al2O3-modified coating shows good corrosion resistance. In the hot corrosion behavior of NaCl, the metal elements in the bond layer are rapidly oxidized and accumulated on the surface of TGO layer through the electrochemical corrosion mechanism, which makes the TGO thicken rapidly. After combustion gas-salt spray corrosion, the YSZ coatings sintered and the evolution of mechanical properties were analyzed. Compared with the initial sprayed state, the hardness of the as-sprayed coating and the Al2O3-modified coating increased by 13.04 GPa and 11.47 GPa, respectively. And the elastic modulus of as-sprayed coating and Al2O3-modified coating increased by 133.00 GPa and 129.60 GPa, respectively.

Transition metal electrocatalysts with high activity and long durability are desired for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Here, the surface fluorinated nickel-graphene nanocomposites (F–Ni–G) are synthesized via the reduction of Si–H bonds produced by silicon and ammonium fluoride in hydrothermal condition. During this process, ionic nickel-F bonds and semi-ionic C–F bonds are introduced to the catalysts as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. When F–Ni–G nanocomposites are employed as MOR catalysts, the surface fluorination is contributed to the formation of nickelic, which can increase the activity and kinetics for MOR. The onset oxidation potential of F–Ni–G-2 for methanol oxidation is 53 mV lower than that of the Ni/G catalyst without fluorine. The mass activity of F–Ni–G-2 (2493.3 A g−1) is 3.90 folds than that of Ni/G (638.5 A g−1). In addition, the density functional theory calculation indicates that the modified fluorine in graphene results in the decreased reaction energy barrier from ∗CO to ∗COOH step in MOR. The strong electronegativity of F atom makes intermediates easier to attract OH− groups and repel protons, which is conductive to decrease the reaction energy barrier for MOR. Such a facile method for the fabrication of the surface fluorinated catalytic system may be extended to the preparation of other transition metal electrocatalysts.

A phytochemical investigation on the aerial parts of Laggera pterodonta resulted in the isolation and identification of 23 compounds, including twelve sesquiterpenoids (1–12), two norisoprenoids (13, 14), three alkaloids (15-17), one lignan (18), and five flavonoids (19-23). Among them, norpterodonols A (1) and B (2) are two undescribed norsesquiterpenoid derivatives. Their structures were established on the basis of NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic analysis. All isolates were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on the NO production in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages, and compounds 8, 10, 16, 18, 20, 21, and 23 were shown to have obvious anti-inflammatory effects.

A phytochemical investigation on the roots of Sophora flavescens resulted in the isolation of two undescribed lavandulylated acylphloroglucinols, flavescenols A (1) and B (2), together with biogenetically related analogues (3–6). Their structures were established on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR, and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic analysis. Since flavescenols represent the first example of lavandulylated acylphloroglucinols, the biogenetical relationship of compounds 1-6 is proposed. In addition, all isolates were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against HepG2 cell lines and inhibitory effects on LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 cells.

Excess lead iodide (PbI2) plays a crucial role in passivating the defects of perovskite films and boosting the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the photolysis of PbI2 is easily triggered by light illumination, which accelerates the decomposition of perovskite materials and weakens the long-term stability of PSCs. Herein, the high light tolerance of lead iodide (PbI2) is reported by introducing an electron-donor molecule, namely, 2-thiophenecarboxamide (2-TCAm), to strengthen the [PbX6]4- frame. Characterization reveals that the retarded decomposition of PbI2 is attributed to the interactions between Pb2+ and the organic functional groups in 2-TCAm as well as the optimized distribution of PbI2. The crystallization and morphology of 2-TCAm-doped perovskite films are improved simultaneously. The 2-TCAm-based PSCs achieve a 16.8% increase in PCE and nearly 12 times increase in the lifetime as compared to the reference device. The demonstrated method provides insight into the stability of PbI2 and its influence on PSCs.

In the present study, we analyze the nonlinear forced vibration of thin-walled metal foam cylindrical shells reinforced with functionally graded graphene platelets. Attention is focused on the 1:1:1:2 internal resonances, which is detected to exist in this novel nanocomposite structure. Three kinds of porosity distribution and different kinds of graphene platelet distribution are considered. The equations of motion and the compatibility equation are deduced according to the Donnell’s nonlinear shell theory. The stress function is introduced, and then, the four-degree-of-freedom nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) are obtained via the Galerkin method. The numerical analysis of nonlinear forced vibration responses is presented by using the pseudo-arclength continuation technique. The present results are validated by comparison with those in existing literature for special cases. Results demonstrate that the amplitude–frequency relations of the system are very complex due to the 1:1:1:2 internal resonances. Porosity distribution and graphene platelet (GPL) distribution influence obviously the nonlinear behavior of the shells. We also found that the inclusion of graphene platelets in the shells weakens the nonlinear coupling effect. Moreover, the effects of the porosity coefficient and GPL weight fraction on the nonlinear dynamical response are strongly related to the porosity distribution as well as graphene platelet distribution.

The term Poincaré beam, which describes the space-variant polarization of a light beam carrying spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM), plays an important role in various optical applications. Since the radius of a Poincaré beam conventionally depends on the topological charge number, it is difficult to generate a stable and high-quality Poincaré beam by two optical vortices with different topological charge numbers, as the Poincaré beam formed in this way collapses upon propagation. Here, based on an all-dielectric metasurface platform, we experimentally demonstrate broadband generation of a generalized perfect Poincaré beam (PPB), whose radius is independent of the topological charge number. By utilizing a phase-only modulation approach, a single-layer spin-multiplexed metasurface is shown to achieve all the states of PPBs on the hybrid-order Poincaré Sphere for visible light. Furthermore, as a proof-of-concept demonstration, a metasurface encoding multidimensional SAM and OAM states in the parallel channels of elliptical and circular PPBs is implemented for optical information encryption. We envision that this work will provide a compact and efficient platform for generation of PPBs for visible light, and may promote their applications in optical communications, information encryption, optical data storage and quantum information sciences., Well-controlled Poincaré beams are potentially useful in optical communications applications. Here, the authors present phase-only metasurfaces that generate broadband, perfect Poincaré beams in the visible, with radius independent of the topological number.

A structure-based modeling of the CaO−‘FeO’−MgO−Al2O3−SiO2 system and its subsystems was investigated based on iron extraction from nickel slag by aluminum dross. Parameters optimization in the present model indicated that the coefficient of free O2− in FeO, $$a_{{{\text{O}}_{{{\text{FeO}}}}^{{2 - }} }}$$ , on the lengths of network linkage had the largest value and $${\text{O}}_{{{\text{FeO}}}}^{{2 - }}$$ (free O2− in FeO) had the largest mobility. The coefficients of bridging oxygen (aSi−O−Al and aAl−O−Al) were lower than those of non-bridging oxygen and free oxygen (O2−). Viscosity prediction for the CaO−‘FeO’−(8 wt.%) MgO−Al2O3−SiO2 system was conducted at a fixed slag basicity, which indicated that the predicted viscosity changed monotonously with the FeO content. However, the non-monotonous evolution with Al2O3 content reflected the amphoteric behavior of Al2O3. In addition, the performances of the present model in predicting viscosity from binary (‘FeO’−SiO2) to quinary (CaO−‘FeO’−MgO−Al2O3−SiO2) system were analyzed and a comparison with the established models was made.

Three ester-containing gemini surfactants (CmDEGs) were used to construct UV-responsive micellar systems with sodium trans-ortho-methoxycinnamate (trans-NaOMCA) as photo-sensitive additive. The effect of tail-chain length and spacer chain length on the UV-responsive ability was preliminarily explored. Longer tail chain and shorter spacer chain are favorable factors for enhancing UV-responsive ability. The addition of trans-NaOMCA into N,N′-bis(2-(dodecanoyloxy)ethyl)-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-1,3-propane diammonium dibromide (C12DEG3) aqueous solution leads to a peak in zero-shear viscosity (η0) versus composition curve, and its further addition induces aqueous two-phase separation. For the C12DEG3/trans-NaOMCA/H2O mixed micellar systems, the UV responsiveness of significant decrease in η0 ascribes to microstructural transitions arising from the changes in counterion binding modes due to the trans-cis photoisomerization of NaOMCA. In comparison with the gemini surfactant 12-3-12, C12DEG3 has ester groups introduced in its tail chains. The introduction of ester groups leads to a significant effect on enhancing the photo-responsive ability in viscosity decrease of the constructed UV-responsive micellar systems. Furthermore, the effect of the addition of an amino acid–based surfactant sodium lauroylglutamate (SLGlu) into the C12DEG3/trans-NaOMCA/H2O mixed system on the UV-responsive behaviors was explored. In addition to UV-induced significant decrease in η0 and phase transition from aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) to isotropic single-phase systems, the addition of SLGlu can also cause UV-induced increase in η0 and lead to richer UV-induced phase transition behaviors. The reason leading to these differences due to the presence of SLGlu was discussed based on 1H NMR spectra, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, and molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) analysis.

Self-assembled lignin nanospheres (LNS) have attracted much attention due to the new opportunities provided for the preparation of value-added products derived from lignin. However, the internal co...

One luminescent Cd2+ coordination polymer, {[Cd(tbca)(H2O)]}n (1) (Htbca = 4'-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid), has been synthesized and characterized by infrared spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. Structural analysis revealed that 1 was a 3D framework with a 3,6-connected rtl topology. Fluorescence titration experiments demonstrated that 1 was an excellent multi-functional probe for metal ions and amino acids.

Low back pain associated with degenerative disc diseases has been a major health concern that brings suffering to the patients physically and economically. Many existing therapeutic strategies provide short-term relief of symptoms rather than treatment of the underlying cause. Development of an engineered tissue for disc regeneration is still in its infancy due to the limited autologous healthy disc cell source from the patients. It is also challenging to mimic the complexity of micro-architecture in the native disc tissue that determine their unique structural properties. To date, simple tissue models that mimic the annulus fibrosus (AF) micro-environment for understanding the potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in AF tissue engineering are still lacking. In this study, the assembly of a coiled hydrogel microfiber has shown its capability to encapsulate MSCs and create an engineered tissue model that mimics the multiple lamellae of native AF. Using this model, we investigated the potential of MSCs that were previously induced by ascorbic acid (AA). Compared to non-induced MSCs, AA-induced MSCs exhibited significant increase in AF-associated biomarkers during later development in the engineered AF tissue model and also encouraged collagen accumulation through the down-regulated catabolic gene MMP1 and upregulated anti-catabolic gene TIMP1. Furthermore, AA-induced MSCs exhibited a Col2/Col1 ratio closer to that of a native AF tissue. These results suggested that AA-induced MSCs could be a potential cell source for AF tissue engineering and this established tissue model may provide a simple tool for successful AF tissue engineering strategies in the future.

A Lewis acid-promoted [6+1] annulation between sulfur ylides and modified vinyl benzoxazinanones was described. In this reaction, the newly designed vinyl benzoxazinanones could serve as a novel six-atom synthon, and the key to success is the installation of an electron-withdrawing group on the alkene moiety of the benzoxazinanones. A broad range of substrates are compatible with this mild reaction system, thereby providing a facile and practical approach for constructing a benzo[b]azepine skeleton.

In this study, the dynamic response of buried fluid-conveying pipelines subjected to blast loading using the Love shell theory has been investigated. The fluid is considered as ideal fluid, and the velocity potential is used to describe the fluid pressure acting on the pipeline. The governing equations of the buried fluid-conveying pipelines are derived through Hamilton’s principle. The modal superposition method and the Newmark integral method are used to analyze the dynamic response of the pipelines under blast loading. Results show that the displacement amplitudes of the pipelines are larger in the soil with a higher acoustic impedance. The Winkler foundation can enhance the stiffness of the pipelines. Moreover, the increase in the scaled distance leads to the decrease in the displacement amplitudes of the pipelines. The increase in the fluid velocity results in the rise of the displacement amplitudes of the pipelines. In addition, the maximum displacement increases first and then decreases with the increase in length-to-radius ratio of the pipelines. With the increase in thickness-to-radius ratio, the maximum displacement of the pipelines tends to decrease.

Design and fabrication of high-efficiency electrocatalysts are important to generate hydrogen via urea electrocatalysis with the minimum required energy. In this study, in situ growth of a branch-like Mo-doped Ni3S2 nanoforest on Ni foam was achieved through a facile one-pot hydrothermal process. The as-obtained catalyst exhibited excellent activity and robust durability because of its unique hierarchical nanostructures and doping-optimized electronic structural configuration, and required merely 1.33 V (vs. RHE) and 90 mV (overpotential) to attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2 for the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), without any noticeable loss in activity even after 120 h of operation. On the basis of the experimental results and theoretical calculations, it was confirmed that the incorporation of Mo in Ni3S2 altered the morphology and electronic structure of the catalyst; hence, more active sites were exposed and the Gibbs adsorption energy of the intermediates in the UOR was optimized. Notably, the overall urea electrolysis cell could afford a low voltage of 1.45 V (vs. RHE) to attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2 and showed excellent durability over 120 h. The findings from this study provide new insights into efficient electrocatalysts for urea electrolyzers, which hold great potential in electrochemical energy conversion and sewage treatment applications.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite has been verified as a suitable semiconductor for hot carrier solar cells via transient absorption spectroscopy. Recently, an internally photoemitted hot carrier (IPHC) solar cell with a novel and innovative structure based on organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite has been achieved. This is a breakthrough in hot carrier study based on perovskite material. To further improve the performance of this newly developed hot electron collection device, a simple and efficient method of adding lithium fluoride (LiF) surface modification layer was applied onto the outmost perovskite layer that benefits both reduction of the trap states and formation of interface dipoles. The IPHC device with LiF modification layer shows a remarkable increase of the short-circuit current density with 20.31% increment. This successful interface engineering proposes a new guideline for further optimizing the performance IPHC and also traditional solar cells based on perovskite.

Place attachment has been a research focus in the fields of park and recreation management. Place attachment plays an important role in promoting sustainable development of parks and mountain tourism destination, however, there are limited studies that identified the spatial patterns of place attachment, especially in the context of mountain tourism destinations in China. Also, the geospatial spectrum of visitors is usually broad, examining the multivariate relationships among spatial proximity, perceived authenticity, and place attachment are essential for mountain tourism destinations to promote destination image and strengthen emotional bonding with targeted visitor groups. In this study, we selected an iconic and highly visited park, Jiuzhai Valley National Park in China, as our study site and conducted an on-site visitor survey to collect 557 samples. Study uses factor analysis and the structure equation model to analyze the relationship among spatial proximity, perceived authenticity, and place attachment. Results validate the two-dimension structure of place attachment and perceived authenticity. Study findings suggest that spatial proximity has significant impacts on existential authenticity and place identity, but has no significant impacts on place dependence. Perceived authenticity has a positive impact on place attachment. Study results advance the theories of place attachment and provide effective strategies to enhance emotional attachment between visitors and mountain tourism destinations.

As a promising candidate for next-generation mobile platforms, virtual reality and augmented reality have the potential to revolutionize the way we perceive and interact with various types of digital information. In the meantime, ultrathin planar liquid crystal polarization optics are enabling a new evolutionary trend in near-eye displays. A recent invited review paper published in eLight provides an insightful review on liquid crystal optical elements and their applications toward AR and VR.

Herein, lignin derived hierarchical porous carbon (LHPC) supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd/LHPC) were synthesized and developed as advanced electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation. In the Pd/LHPC, the special hierarchical porous carbon with the interconnected micropores and mesopores uniformly distribute on the surface and walls of macropores can provide facile transport for electroactive species and more reaction available surface. The Pd/LHPC exhibits larger specific electrochemically active surface area, higher electrocatalytic activity and better stability toward the oxidation of ethanol than the black carbon (Vulcan XC-72) supported Pd (Pd/XC-72) and commercial Pd/C electrocatalysts. The strategy reported will open a new road to effectively use industrial waste to synthesize advanced carbon material for efficient electrocatalysts and other electrochemical energy-conversion devices.

Chemical potassium (K) fertilizer is commonly used in apple (Malus domestica L. Borkh) production but K is easily fixed by soil, resulting in reduced K fertilizer utilization and wasted resources. K-solubilizing bacteria (KSB) can cost-effectively increase the soluble K content in rhizosphere soil. Therefore, the objectives were to select high-efficiency KSB from apple orchards under various soil management models and evaluate their effects on apple seedling growth. Maize (Zea mays L.) straw mulching (MSM) increased the total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN) and available potassium (AK) in the rhizosphere and improved fruit quality. The number of KSB in the rhizosphere soil of MSM was 9.5×104 CFU g−1 soil, which was considerably higher than that in the other mulching models. Fourteen KSB strains were isolated with relative K solubilizing ability ranging from 17 to 30%, and five strains increased the dry weight per apple seedling. The most efficient strain was identified as Paenibacillus mucilaginosus through morphological observation and sequence analysis of 16S rDNA, named JGK. After inoculation, the colonization of JGK in soil decreased from 4.0 to 1.5×109 CFU g−1 soil within 28 d. The growth of the apple seedlings and the K accumulation in apple plants were promoted by irrigation with 50 mL JGK bacterial solution (1×109 CFU mL−1), but there was no significant increase in the AK content of rhizosphere soil. High-performance liquid phase analysis (HPLC) data showed that the JGK metabolites contained phytohormones and organic acids. Hence, the JGK strain promoted the growth of two-month-old apple seedlings by stimulating function of the produced phytohormones and enhanced K solubility by acidification for apple seedling uptake. This study enriches the understanding of KSB and provides an effective means to increase the K utilization efficiency of apple production.

Two new coumarins, 6-hydroxymethyl-3-prenyl-7-methoxycoumarin (1) and 6-hydroxyethyl-3-prenyl-7- methoxycoumarin (2), together with three known coumarins (3–5), were isolated from the roots and stems of Yunyan-300, a variety of Nicotiana tabacum L. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including extensive 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Compounds 1 and 2 were tested for their anti-methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (anti-MRSA) activity and their antioxidant activity. The results revealed that compounds 1 and 2 showed good anti-MRSA inhibitions with IZD of 12.2 ± 1.8 and 11.8 ± 1.5 mm, respectively, and antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 4.65 and 4.85 μg/mL, respectively.

Mixed A-site engineering is an emerging strategy to overcome the difficulties in realizing high-quality perovskite films together with high ambient stability. Particularly, the α-FACsPbI3-based hybrid perovskites have been considered as a promising candidate for solar cell applications. However, the degradation mechanism of α-FACsPbI3 hybrid perovskites induced by light illumination remains unclear. Here, the illumination-caused instability of α-FACsPbI3 hybrid perovskites is investigated using various surface detection technologies, including photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. The experimental findings reveal that the A-site vacancies arise from the migration of Cs+ cations from the perovskite surface into the bulk under light illumination, while their content is dependent on the light energy. The visible light enlarges the crystal lattice on the perovskite surface, leading to the Cs+ cation migration along with the lattice distortion of the PbI64- octahedron and phase separation. However, the ultraviolet light further causes a stronger interaction between FA+ and [PbI6]4-, leading to the partial decomposition of [PbI6]4- into Pb0 and I-. These results enrich the photodegradation mechanism, guiding the design of efficient and stable perovskite solar cells through surface passivation to suppress the Cs+ cation migration and to increase the octahedron dissociation energy.

The visual aesthetic that involves color, brightness, and glossiness is of great importance for building integrated photovoltaics. Semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) are thus considered as the most promising candidate due to their superiority in transparency and efficiency. However, the realization of high color purity with narrow bandpass transmitted light usually causes the severely suppressed transparency in ST-OSCs. Herein, we present a spectrally selective electrode (SSE) by imitating the integrating strategy of beetle cuticle for achieving narrow bandpass ST-OSCs with high efficiency and long-term stability. The proposed SSE allows for efficient light-selective passage, leading to tunable narrow bandpass transmitted light from violet to red. An optimized power conversion efficiency of 15.07% is achieved for colorful ST-OSCs, which exhibit color purity close to 100% and a peak transmittance approaching 30%. Long-term stability is also improved for ST-OSCs made with this SSE due to the light-rejecting and the moisture-blocking abilities. The realization of bright and colorful ST-OSCs also indicates the application potential of SSEs in light-emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors.

Although perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are promising for next-generation displays and lighting, their efficiency is still considerably below that of conventional inorganic and organic counterparts. Significant efforts in various aspects of the electroluminescence process are required to achieve high-performance PeLEDs. Here, we present an improved flexible PeLED structure based on the rational interface engineering for energy-efficient photon generation and enhanced light outcoupling. The interface-stimulated crystallization and defect passivation of the perovskite emitter are synergistically realized by tuning the underlying interlayer, leading to the suppression of trap-mediated nonradiative recombination losses. Besides approaching highly emissive perovskite layers, the outcoupling of trapped light is also enhanced by combining the silver nanowires-based electrode with quasi-random nanopatterns on flexible plastic substrate. Upon the collective optimization of the device structure, a record external quantum efficiency of 24.5% is achieved for flexible PeLEDs based on green-emitting CsPbBr3 perovskite.

White organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs) using thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)-based single emissive layer (SEL) have attracted enormous attention because of their simple device structure and full exciton utilization potential for high efficiency. However, WOLEDs made of an all-TADF SEL usually exhibit serious efficiency roll-off and poor color stability due to serious exciton-annihilation and unbalanced radiative decays of different TADF emitters. Herein, a new strategy is proposed to manipulate the TADF-sensitized fluorescence process by combining dual-host systems of high triplet energy with a conventional fluorescent emitter of complementary color. The multiple energy-funneling paths are modulated and short-range Dexter energy transfer is largely suppressed due to the steric effect of peripheral tert-butyl group in the blue TADF sensitizer. The resulting all-fluorescent WOLEDs achieve an unprecedentedly high external quantum efficiency of 21.8% with balanced white emission of Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage coordinate of (0.292, 0.343), accompanied with good color stability, reduced efficiency roll-off, and prolonged operational lifetime. These findings demonstrate the validity of this strategy for precisely allocating the exciton harvesting in SEL WOLEDs.

Two new anti-tobacco mosaic virus (anti-TMV) xanthones, 4,7-dimethoxy-5-hydroxymethyl-1-methylxanthone (1) and 7-hydroxy-5-hydroxymethyl-4-methoxy-1-methylxanthone (2), were isolated from the whole plants of Comastoma pedunculatum. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including extensive 1D and 2D NMR techniques. Compounds 1 and 2 showed high anti-TMV activity with inhibition rates of 48.5 and 63.6%, respectively. These rates are higher than that of positive control.

A Gram-stain-negative, facultative anaerobic, motile and straight rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain C1-9T, was isolated from rhizosphere soil of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Ktze collected from a tea garden in Huize, south-western PR China. Cells were oxidase-positive and catalase-negative. Growth occurred at 20–40 °C and pH 6.0–10.0, with an optimal growth at 30 °C and pH 7.0. The respiratory quinone was detected as ubiquinone-8 (Q-8). The major fatty acids were identified as summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), C16 : 0 and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c or C18 : 1ω6c). The cellular polar lipids contained phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified lipids, one unidentified aminophospholipid and one unidentified aminolipid. The polyamine types were detected as 1,8-diaminooctane and 2-hydroxyputrescine. The genomic DNA G+C content was 68.6 mol%. Based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain C1-9T (MF687442) showed highest sequence similarity to Rivibacter subsaxonicus DSM 19570T (97.1 %). The phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain C1-9T clustered close to R. subsaxonicus DSM 19570T, Methylibium petroleiphilum CCTCC AB 2014193T and species belonging to the genera Rhizobacter and Piscinibacter . The phylogenomic tree indicated that strain C1-9T formed a clade with R. subsaxonicus . The average nucleotide identity value was 76.0 % between strain C1-9T and R. subsaxonicus DSM 19570T, which is lower than the prokaryotic species delineation threshold of 95.0–96.0 %. The polyphasic taxonomic characteristics indicated that strain C1-9T represents a novel species of a new genus within the order Burkholderiales , for which the name Pseudorivibacter rhizosphaerae gen. nov., sp. nov. (type strain C1-9T = KCTC 62325T=CGMCC 1.13864T) is proposed.

Satellites have shown free-space quantum-communication ability; however, they are orbit-limited from full-time all-location coverage. Meanwhile, practical quantum networks require satellite constellations, which are complicated and expensive, whereas the airborne mobile quantum communication may be a practical alternative to offering full-time all-location multi-weather coverage in a cost-effective way. Here, we demonstrate the first mobile entanglement distribution based on drones, realizing multi-weather operation including daytime and rainy nights, with a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt S-parameter measured to be 2.41 ± 0.14 and 2.49 ± 0.06, respectively. Such a system shows unparalleled mobility, flexibility and reconfigurability compared to the existing satellite and fiber-based quantum communication, and reveals its potential to establish a multinode quantum network, with a scalable design using symmetrical lens diameter and single-mode-fiber coupling. All key technologies have been developed to pack quantum nodes into lightweight mobile platforms for local-area coverage, and arouse further technical improvements to establish wide-area quantum networks with high-altitude mobile communication., We demonstrate the first drone-based entanglement distribution under multi-weather conditions, which exhibits the third possible experimental strategy for quantum communication, in addition to fiber and satellite.

The use of bone tissue engineering scaffolds has become a promising potential treatment for bone defects as they expedite bone healing. A carbon nanotube-hydroxyapatite (CNT-HA) composite can accelerate the growth of cells. However, the molecular organized arrangement of organic and inorganic components is one of the most important biochemical phenomena in the formation of bones. This study aimed to prepare ordered CNT-HA scaffolds by applying agarose gel electrophoresis to imitate a biomimetic parallel pattern of collagens and hydroxyapatite hydrogel scaffolds (AG-Col-o-CNT). Significant improvements were presented in the mechanical properties of the scaffolds and cell growth in vitro or in vivo. The results showed that the AG-Col-o-CNT scaffolds accelerated the proliferation and differentiation of bone mesenchymal stem cell lines. In addition, the bone defects were repaired when the scaffolds were transplanted after 28 and 56 days in vivo. The superior performance of the ordered AG-Col-o-CNT scaffolds indicates that they have an enormous potential for bone tissue engineering.

Nickel–zinc (Ni–Zn) batteries are currently regarded as promising energy storage devices due to their high efficiency, high output voltage and good safety. However, the low energy density and poor rate performance caused by insufficient active sites and slow electron/ion transportation impede their future development in large-scale applications. To improve their electrochemical performance, we designed a new Ni-based composite with a unique structure by anchoring Ni–NiO nanoparticles onto a naturally derived and networked cellulose nanofiber carbon (denoted as Ni–NiO/CC), which can work as a robust cathode for Ni–Zn batteries. Benefiting from the elaborate structure that can speed up charge transportation and increase the number of active sites of cathode materials, the capacity of Ni–NiO/CC is remarkably improved from 2.3 mA h g−1 to 184 mA h g−1 at 0.625 A g−1. The as-fabricated Ni–NiO/CC//Zn battery delivers high capacity (256 mA h g−1 at 0.625 A g−1), superior rate performance (68.5% capacity retention at 25 A g−1), and good cycling durability (87.5% retention after 2000 cycles). More importantly, the maximum power density of the Ni–NiO/CC//Zn battery is 41.6 kW kg−1, presenting a peak energy density of 441.7 W h kg−1. This work promotes the facile manipulation of nanostructured electrodes based on sustainable biomass for green and advanced aqueous rechargeable batteries.

A sandwich-type supercapacitor consisting of self-healing layers and electrode layers can easily delaminate during deformation, thereby seriously affecting its reliability. In this work, a type of omni-healable electrode (denoted as CS@PANa–Fe3+–LiCl) is reported, which completely integrates a three-dimensional (3D) electrode material, a self-healing hydrogel and an electrolyte. Consequently, the ease of delamination and the large contact resistance due to the sandwich-type structure can be effectively overcome. Herein, the 3D porous carbon sponge (CS) serves both as an electroactive material and a carrier for the Fe3+-crosslinked sodium polyacrylate–LiCl (denoted as PANa–Fe3+–LiCl) hydrogel electrolyte. Combining the high electrical conductivity and good capacitance of the CS with the high ionic conductivity and excellent self-healability of the PANa–Fe3+–LiCl hydrogel electrolyte, the omnidirectionally integrated electrode exhibits good electrochemical and mechanical properties as well as excellent self-healing characteristics; furthermore, its capacity retention rate remains high (91.6%) even after five cutting/healing cycles. The as-fabricated CS@PA-SC device exhibits full self-healability, high energy density, good cycling stability, and integration characteristics. This investigation offers a facile and versatile strategy to integrate omni-healable electrodes that can be utilized to construct completely self-healable supercapacitors for wearable electronics.

Two fluorescent probes (L1 and L2) based on an imidazole unit were synthesized for the specific detection of ClO− and HSO3−. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to assist in designing the probes. As predicted, L1 could be used to detect ClO− in real water samples and in living cells. It was shown to be a quenching probe. L2 could be used to monitor HSO3− in living cells and is an enhanced fluorescence probe. Further details of the fluorescence recognition mechanism were obtained via HRMS analysis. Moreover, both fluorescent probes showed relatively low detection limits (0.96 and 0.59 μM, respectively), and fast and highly selective fluorescence responses.

This study investigates the performance of scintillation mitigation for linear polarization shift on-off keying (LPS-OOK) transmission in free-space optical (FSO) communications. Scintillation effect is a critical issue for FSO communication in vertical links. The LPS-OOK signal with orthogonal linear x- and y-polarizations for bits ‘1’ and ‘0’ is modulated and transmitted from the transmitter end. The bits ‘1’ and ‘0’ suffer the scintillation effect in turbulence channel. Based on the orthogonal polarization characteristics of LPS-OOK, linear polarizer (LP) is used to mitigate the scintillation effect on bit ‘0’ by blocking its polarization without the distortion of bit ‘1’. Further, owing to the nonlinear gain characteristics of logarithmic amplification, it is used to equalize the intensity fluctuation of bit ‘1’. Finally, the equalized LPS-OOK is distinguished using fixed threshold decision (FTD) instead of a complex symbol-by-symbol estimation of adaptive threshold. The performance of the proposed technique was verified experimentally for various degrees of the turbulence channel. A Mach–Zehnder modulator (MZM)-based turbulence channel simulator was adopted to accommodate turbulence-induced scintillation effect. The experimental results confirmed that the proposed technique that employed FTD has an improved bit-error-rate (BER) performance compared with that of OOK that employed an adaptive threshold decision (ATD) under various degrees of turbulence channels.

A Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile, aerobic, catalase-negative and oxidase-positive bacterium, designated strain Sn-9-2T, was isolated from a cave soil sample collected from Tiandong cave, Guizhou Province, south-west PR China. Growth occurred at 15–40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 5.0–9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0–8.0) and with 0–1 % NaCl (w/v). The predominant respiration quinone was ubiquinone-10 (Q-10). The major cellular fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c or C18 : 1ω6c; 83.9 %) and C16 : 0 (5.8 %). The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified glycolipids, two unidentified polar lipids and one unidentified aminolipid. The DNA G+C content of strain Sn-9-2T was 67.5 mol%. Based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the nearest phylogenetic neighbours of strain Sn-9-2T (MF958452) were identified as Aquabacter spiritensis (FR733686) DSM 9035T (97.5 %), Xanthobacter autorophicus (jgi.1053054) DSM 432T (97.2 %) and Xanthobacter tagetidis ATCC 700314T RCTF01000015 (96.9 %). The average nucleotide identity values were 78.0, 77.4 and 77.6 % and the digital DNA–DNA hybridization values were 21.8, 22.0 and 18.8 % between strain Sn-9-2T and A. spiritensis DSM 9035T, X. autotrophicus DSM 432T and X. tagetidis DSM 11105T, respectively. The DNA–DNA hybridization data indicated that strain Sn-9-2T represented a novel genomic species. On the basis of the results of phylogenetic analysis, chemotaxonomic data, physiological characteristics and DNA–DNA hybridization data, strain Sn-9-2T should represent a novel species of the genus Aquabacter , for which the name Aquabacter cavernae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Sn-9-2T (=KCTC 62308T=CCTCC AB 2018270T).

Visual imaging that can extract three-dimensional (3D) space or polarization information on the target is essential in broad sciences and technologies. The simultaneous acquisition of them usually demands expensive equipment and sophisticated operations. Therefore, it is of great significance to exploit convenient approaches for four-dimensional (3D and polarization) visual imaging. Here, we present an efficient solution based on self-assembled asymmetric liquid crystal microlenses, with freely manipulated phase profiles and symmetry-breaking properties. Accordingly, characteristics of multifocal functionality and polarization selectivity are exhibited, along with the underlying mechanisms. Moreover, with a specific sample featured by radially increased unit sizes and azimuthally varied domain orientations, the discriminability of four-dimensional information is extracted in a single snapshot

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain L4-6T, was isolated from an arable soil sample of tobacco in Huize, south-western China and subjected to polyphasic taxonomic characterization. The cells showed oxidase-positive and catalase-positive reactions. Growth occurred at 20–35 °C, at pH 5.0–8.0 and with 0–2 % (w/v) NaCl, optimally at 30 °C, pH 6.0–7.0 and 0–1 % (w/v) NaCl. The major respiratory lipoquinone was ubiquinone-8. The predominant cellular fatty acids (>10.0 %) were identified as summed feature 9 (iso-C17 : 1ω9c or C16 : 0 10-methyl), iso-C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0. The polar lipid profile contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified phospholipids, two unidentified aminophospholipids and five unidentified aminolipids. The genomic DNA G+C content was 60.8 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain L4-6T should be affiliated to the genus Dyella and formed a clade with the most closely related organism Dyella soli JS12-10T. 16S rRNA gene sequences similarity analysis showed that strain L4-6T was mostly closely related to D. soli JS12-10T (98.73 %) and Dyella lipolytica DHOB07T (98.02 %). DNA–DNA hybridization data indicated that strain L4-6T represented a novel genomic species belonging to the genus Dyella . The polyphasic taxonomic characteristics indicated that the strain L4-6T represents a novel species of the genus Dyella , for which the name Dyella tabacisoli sp. nov. (type strain L4-6T=CGMCC 1.16273T=KCTC 62035T) is proposed.

The noble gas radioisotopes 85Kr, 81Kr, and 39Ar are nearly ideal environmental tracers because of their chemical inertness and simple transport mechanisms. Recent advances in Atom Trap Trace Analysis have enabled measurements of 85Kr and 81Kr using 10-20 kg of water or ice, and 39Ar in only a few kilograms, making these tracers available to be applied in the earth sciences on a large-scale. To meet the resulting increase in demand, we have developed an automated process for the dual separation of krypton and argon from environmental samples based on titanium gettering and gas chromatography. 0.5-4 L STP air samples have been purified, demonstrating purities and recoveries of >90% for krypton and >99% for argon within 90-120 min of processing time. Samples of high methane admixtures, a challenge regularly encountered in groundwater applications, have been purified by exploiting the full potential of titanium gettering at high temperatures (>1000 °C). Samples with 0.4-48 L STP of methane admixture are processed in 2-5 h without compromising purity or recovery. The applicability of the purification system is further demonstrated using actual groundwater samples with carbon dioxide and methane content in the extracted gas up to 16 L STP and 42 L STP, respectively.

We report a highly chemo- and diastereoselective [3 + 2] cyclization of vinylethylene carbonates and 5-alkenyl thiazolones through palladium catalysis. The previously inert aza-thioester moiety on the thiazolone substrates is reacted selectively with the zwitterionic π-allylpalladium species. A variety of amide monothioacetals (AMTA) with two quaternary stereocenters are facilely synthesized. An additional spirocyclic quaternary stereocenter could be further installed by Rh-catalyzed metal-carbene insertion into the C-S bond on the AMTA moiety in a highly stereoselective manner.

This paper proposes the dual-wavelength transmission technique for improving the performance of the gain-saturated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based free-space optical (FSO) communication link. When the gain saturated SOA is used to suppress turbulence-induced scintillation, extinction ratio (ER) degradation effect occurs owing to the high-dynamic gain frequency characteristics for intensity modulation and direct detection (IM/DD) system. The proposed method uses small-spacing dual-wavelength (signal and supplemental wavelengths) transmission to compensate ER degradation by mitigating the gain difference between the bits ‘1’ and ‘0’. Regarding the supplemental wavelength, continuous wave (CW) with various average powers and differential signal (DS) transmissions are experimentally investigated. The proposed technique is evaluated under various turbulence channel strengths. The experimental results show that the bit-error rate (BER) performance is significantly improved via effective ER degradation compensation and scintillation suppression.

We study the fragmentation function of the gluon to color-octet 3S1 heavy quark-antiquark pair using the soft gluon factorization (SGF) approach, which expresses the fragmentation function in a form of perturbative short-distance hard part convoluted with one-dimensional color-octet 3S1 soft gluon distribution (SGD). The short distance hard part is calculated to the next-to-leading order in αs and all orders in velocity expansion. By deriving and solving the renormalization group equation of the SGD, threshold logarithms are resummed to all orders in perturbation theory. The comparison with gluon fragmentation function calculated in NRQCD factorization approach indicates that the SGF formula resums a series of velocity corrections in NRQCD which are important for phenomenological study.

This study investigated the improved properties of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) modified urea–formaldehyde (UF) resin adhesive for medium density fiberboard (MDF) production. The CaCO3 modified UF resins were prepared by adding different proportions of CaCO3 to a low molar ratio UF resin at the initial stage of a typical synthetic process of the resin. The physicochemical properties of the resins were measured. The mechanical and environmental performances of the resin-bonded MDF panels were tested. The results show that the viscosity and free formaldehyde content of UF resins with or without CaCO3 modification were not significantly different. The solid content of the CaCO3 modified UF resin was significantly lower than that of the control group. In addition, the measured gel time of the CaCO3 modified UF resin was 111–149 s, which was longer than that of the control resin (82 s). The gel time was further extended with the increase of the CaCO3 content in the UF resin. The chemical group and crystal structure of UF resins with or without the modification of CaCO3 were not significantly different. The internal bonding (IB) strength of the MDF panels significantly increased from 0.75 MPa to 0.97 MPa when the UF resin was modified with 2% of CaCO3. This study provides scientific support for the preparation of inorganic mineral modified UF resins for strength enhanced wood-based panel manufacturing.

This paper proposes a polarization-dependent semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based polarization shift keying (PolSK) modulation for turbulence-robust free-space optical (FSO) communication. Based on the nonlinear gain and polarization characteristics, the PolSK signal is modulated by the optical bit inversion using the polarization-dependent SOA and linear polarizer (LP). The capability of scintillation mitigation is analyzed under both balanced and polarization-independent SOA-based detections. The proposed technique is evaluated in experiments. The experimental results demonstrated that the bit-error-rate (BER) performance of the proposed technique was close to the conventional Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM)-based PolSK modulation under various scintillation effects.

Monochromatic light can be characterized by its three fundamental properties: amplitude, phase, and polarization. In this work, we propose a versatile, transmission-mode all-dielectric metasurface platform that can independently manipulate the phase and amplitude for two orthogonal states of polarization in the visible frequency range. For proof-of-concept experimental demonstration, various single-layer metasurfaces composed of subwavelength-spaced titanium-dioxide nanopillars are designed, fabricated, and characterized to exhibit the ability of polarization-switchable multidimensional light-field manipulation, including polarization-switchable grayscale nanoprinting, nonuniform cylindrical lensing, and complex-amplitude holography. We envision the metasurface platform demonstrated here to open new possibilities toward creating compact multifunctional optical devices for applications in polarization optics, information encoding, optical data storage, and security.

In this paper, wave dispersion analysis of lipid tubules is presented by using the first-order shear deformation (FSD) shell theory. The small-scale effect is revealed explicitly based on the nonlocal strain gradient theory (NSGT). Different types of lipid tubules with size-dependent material properties are taken into account. Hamilton’s principle is utilized to derive the equations of wave motion. The analytical solutions of phase velocity and wave frequency of propagated waves are obtained. In addition, detailed investigations are implemented to highlight the effects of the types of lipid tubules, the longitudinal and circumferential wave numbers, the material length scale parameters and the nonlocal parameters on the wave dispersion characteristics of lipid tubules.

In this Letter, we propose a novel metasurface conveyor belt with periodic orientated arrays of gold plasmonic elliptical elements (GPEEs), which can be continuously lit in a relay way by switching the polarization of the excitation beam and can be used to trap, transport, and sort particles. The array of the hot field can provide a larger trapping area and better stiffness. With the incident optical intensity of 0.08 m W / µ m 2 , the depth of the potential well could be as high as 10 K B T . By setting a narrow interval between plasmonic ellipses in principal axes, it can help further enhance their directional resonant coupling and polarization dependence. Furthermore, based on consideration of the Brownian motion of trapped particles in aqueous solution, we analyzed its time response property of particle manipulation with different applied switching frequencies from a statistical point of view. As confirmed by numerical analysis, our design offers a novel scheme of particle sorting using a scalable hot spot array with better performance, which could be used in many on-chip optofluidic applications.

Polymer memristors with light weight and mechanical flexibility are preeminent candidates for low-power edge computing paradigms. However, the structural inhomogeneity of most polymers usually leads to random resistive switching characteristics, which lowers the production yield and reliability of nanoscale devices. In this contribution, we report that by adopting the two-dimensional conjugation strategy, a record high 90% production yield of polymer memristors has been achieved with miniaturization and low power potentials. By constructing coplanar macromolecules with 2D conjugated thiophene derivatives to enhance the π–π stacking and crystallinity of the thin film, homogeneous switching takes place across the entire polymer layer, with fast responses in 32 ns, D2D variation down to 3.16% ~ 8.29%, production yield approaching 90%, and scalability into 100 nm scale with tiny power consumption of ~ 10−15 J/bit. The polymer memristor array is capable of acting as both the arithmetic-logic element and multiply-accumulate accelerator for neuromorphic computing tasks., Though polymer memristors are promising for low‐power flexible edge computing applications, realizing efficient nanometer‐scale arrays remains a challenge. Here, the authors report a record high 90% production yield in nm‐scale 2D conjugated polymer memristors with homogeneous resistive switching.

The internal structure of carbon aerogels (CAs) is a key factor affecting their electrochemical performance and applications. In this study, the morphology of CAs and their effects on electrochemic...

Nanotherapies combined with stimuli-triggered activated agents have become attractive ways to traditional chemotherapy. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles was employed as the core coated firstly with hydrogels of dually loaded both doxorubicin and hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether. Then, the folic acid was grafted onto the surface of the composites to construct a laser-sensitized magnetic nanoparticles (LMNs), followed by these LMNs being loaded into BC membrane. On the 14th day after treatment, tumor growth inhibition (TGI) was evaluated to 80.38% under the target system. When delivered transdermally under a magnetic field and laser, the synthesized BC/LMNs could offer solutions to challenge in breast cancer treatment, including the limited penetration depth, which could facilitate the bypassing of the stratum corneum barrier and enhance transdermal drug delivery.

None-fullerene solar cells with ternary architecture have attracted much attention because it is an effective approach for boosting the device power conversion efficiency. Here, the crystalline polymer N2200 as the third component is integrated into J71: ITIC bulk heterojunction. A series of characterizations indicate that N2200 could increase photo-harvesting, balanced hole and electron mobilities, enhanced exciton dissociation, and suppressed charge recombination, which result in the comprehensive improvement of open circuit voltage, short circuit current and fill factor in the device. Moreover, after introduction of N2200, the morphology of the ternary active layer is optimized, and the film crystallinity is improved. This work demonstrates that adding a small quantity of high crystallization acceptor into non-fullerene donor: acceptor mixture is a promising strategy toward developing high-performance organic solar cells. Funding Agencies|National Science Foundation of China [11604099, 21875067, 51873138, 51811530011]; Shanghai Rising -Star [19QA1403100]; Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan [17JC1402500]; National Key Project for Basic Research of China [2017YFA0303403]; Swedish Research Council [2016-05498]; Swedish Government Strategic Research Area in Materials Science on Advanced Functional Materials at Linkoping University (Faculty Grant SFO-Mat-LiU) [2009-00971]; STINT grant [CH2017-7163]

Microemulsions have attracted great interest in the biomedical field involving drug delivery, skin treatment and immune-adjuvant. In any case, microemulsions administered in vivo will more or less contact blood tissue inevitably, however there is no specialized investigation on the interaction between microemulsions and human blood components at cellular and membrane levels. Herein we investigate the effect of a typical microemulsion formulation (Cremophor EL/ethanol/oleinic acid/water (CEOW-ME)) with different extent dilution on human blood components (red blood cells (RBCs), coagulation factor, plasma albumin) and blood coagulation function. It was found that CEOW-ME had a concentration dependent effect on blood components and displayed anti-coagulant activity, causing coagulation factor activation, platelet aggregation impairment and RBC morphology alteration, whereas no impacting on fibrinogen polymerization. Interestingly CEOW-ME had greater influence on the coagulation factors in the plasma related to intrinsic coagulation pathway than extrinsic coagulation pathway. Additionally, spectroscopy studies (DLS, UV-vis, Fluorescence and CD) demonstrated that the impact of CEOW-ME on the size, local micro-structure and conformation of albumin was mediated by hydrophobic binding-induced unfolding and disordering of hierarchical albumin structure. These findings give more comprehensive information for forecasting the potential interaction of the in vivo-administered microemulsions with the cells and bioactive molecules in the human blood.