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Background: Time perspective is strongly associated with depression. However, the characteristics and associations between trait and state time perspective in adolescents with depression remain unknown. Methods: A total of 211 adolescents with depression (mean age: 14.60 ± 1.69 years) and 215 healthy controls (mean age: 14.66 ± 1.73 years) were selected and assessed using the Chinese version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory to quantify their trait time perspective. Thirty adolescents were randomly selected from each group to create nine-grid sandplay productions to assess their state time perspective. Results: (1) Regarding the trait time perspective, depressed adolescents scored significantly higher on past negative, present fatalistic, present impulsive, and deviation-balanced time perspective (p < 0.001) and significantly lower on past positive and future (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. (2) In terms of state time perspective, depressed adolescents showed a significantly higher number of squares related to past negative, present negative, and future negative in their nine-grid sandplay productions compared to the control group (p < 0.01).Conversely, they had significantly fewer squares associated with past positive, present positive, future positive than the control group (p < 0.05). (3) Past negative, present fatalistic, and deviation from balanced time perspective traits were negatively correlated with positive state time perspective and positively correlated with negative state time perspective. Past positive and future traits were positively correlated with positive state time perspective and negatively correlated with negative state time perspective. Conclusion: Adolescents with depression are characterized by dwelling on the past, having a severely negative attitude toward the past, being pessimistic about the future, and having a tendency to blame fate or external forces for their problems. In the future, standardized methods for measuring state time perspective should be further explored, as well as the effectiveness of the nine-grid sandplay, for improving time perspective in patients with depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement mortar with sticky rice pulp is an innovative composite material. Investigating its mechanical properties and strength mechanism is essential for the future engineering application. Taking the pulp concentration and the mortar ages as the variables, we tested five groups of blocks for the compressive strength and flexural strength, and observed their microstructures with a scanning electronic microscope. The results indicated that the microstructure got dense if the added pulp had a concentration of about 0.3%, and thereby its flexural strength would significantly improve, while the hydration products agglomerated and the microstructure got loose if the added pulp had a concentration of more than 1.0%, which caused a substantial decline in flexural strength. Besides, the hydration reaction was hindered at the early stage due to the addition of the pulp; hence the early strength of the mortar is on the low side. According to the strength mechanism analysis, all the results are mainly attributed to the effects: "water-reduction", agglomeration and retarding, caused by the addition of the pulp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing scales for measuring balanced time perspective (BTP) have limitations, such as poor‐fitting structures or a complex calculation method. Based on previous studies, we conceptualize BTP as an individual's overall positive outlook on the past and future and mindfully living in the present. The present study aimed to develop the Time Perspective Inventory (TPI) for Chinese adults, determine its psychometric properties, and examine a simple calculation method for generating a score to represent BTP. In study 1, a 7‐factor structure of TPI – Past Positive, Past Negative, Mindful Present, Present Hedonistic, Present Excessively Task‐oriented, Future Positive, and Future Negative – was established through exploratory (sample 1, N = 529) and confirmatory (sample 2, N = 577) factor analyses. Findings supported the internal consistency, test–retest reliability, and criterion‐related validity of the TPI. We proposed using the score difference between positive time perspectives and negative time perspectives to calculate the BTP. Findings showed that the correlations between BTP and subjective well‐being indicators and anxiety were higher than among individual dimensions of TPI. Study 2 (sample 3, N = 713) compared the effects of the TPI and the Chinese version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI‐C) on well‐being indicators and anxiety. Results indicated that the variance of life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and anxiety explained by BTP measured with TPI was higher than deviation from BTP (DBTP) measured with ZTPI‐C. Together, the TPI yields reliable and valid BTP scores among Chinese adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered MoSSe nanostructures have been shown as potential candidates for the anode of lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries. The diffusion properties are generally critical to the performance of ionic batteries. The possible migration paths and associated diffusion energy barriers of Li-ions are systematically explored in MoSSe bilayer anodes with different stacking patterns by means of first-principles simulations. It is found that the diffusion properties strongly depend on interfaces and stacking patterns. Furthermore, the simulation results show that the diffusion energy barrier (and thus the diffusion coefficient) can be significantly reduced (enlarged) by applying a positive strain gradient, while increased (reduced) by applying a negative one. For example, the diffusion coefficient is increased roughly by 100 times relative to that of the pristine one when subjected to a strain gradient of 0.02 Å−1. In particular, it is found that less maximum strain is required in the strain-gradient than the uniform strain in order to achieve the same diffusion energy barrier. By careful analysis, the underlying mechanism can be attributed to the flexo-diffusion coupling effect. The coupling strength is characterized by the so-called flexo-diffusion coupling constant which is also calculated for each simulation model. The results of this work may provide valuable insights into the design and optimization of the anodes of ionic batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) with theoretical simulation, fabrication, and testing. Conventional methods using a PCB or an external horn to adjust the PMUT acoustic field angle are limited by the need for transducer size. To address this limitation, the stepped-tube (expanded tube) backside cavity PMUT has been proposed. The stepped-tube PMUT and the tube PMUT devices have the same membrane structure, and the acoustic impedance matching of the PMUT is optimized by modifying the boundary conditions of the back cavity structure. The acoustic comparison experiments show that the average output sound pressure of the stepped-tube backside cavity PMUT has increased by 17%, the half-power-beam-width (θ-3db) has been reduced from 55° to 30° with a reduction of 45%, and the side lobe level signal is reduced from 147 mV to 66 mV. In addition, this work is fabricated on an eight-inch wafer. The process is compatible with standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), conditions are stable, and the cost is controllable, plus it facilitates the batch process. These conclusions suggest that the stepped-tube backside cavity PMUT will bring new, effective, and reliable solutions to ranging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dechlorination of epoxidized Cardol (E‐Cardol), which is a high‐performance and sustainable adhesive and packaging material for electronics, remains challenging. The previous work proposed a new alcohol‐sodium refining method to efficiently remove the chlorine of E‐Cardol. However, this method is strongly limited by the trade‐off between the dechlorination efficiency and its polymerization side effect, which leads to the viscosity as well as the epoxy equivalent increase of E‐Cardol. Based on the detailed analysis of the refining process using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), simultaneous thermal analysis (STA), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (NMR) epoxidized Cardol (E‐Cardol), this trade‐off is studied. It is found that the dechlorination efficiency increases with the increase of the usage of the alcohol sodium. Meanwhile, when the residual alcohol‐sodium content after refining exceeds 3000 ppm, the viscosity of the E‐Cardol increases significantly due to the increased polymerization of E‐Cardol by epoxy ring‐opening reaction. It is demonstrated that the alcohol‐sodium refining method can efficiently reduce the chlorine content of E‐Cardol with the initial hydrolyzable chlorine content not higher than 3000 ppm to below 300 ppm without influencing their epoxy equivalent and viscosity. This paper thoroughly explores the mechanism and application range of the proposed alcohol‐sodium refining method, which is crucial for the facile preparation of electronic‐grade E‐Cardol materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the relationship between loneliness and hopelessness and mobile phone addiction (MPA) in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) adolescents, exploring the mediating role of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping., Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited a total of 1545 NSSI adolescents and 553 non-NSSI adolescents from over 20 specialized psychiatric hospitals across multiple provinces in China. The participants were asked to complete the Beck's Hopelessness Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Coping Style Scale, and Mobile Phone Addiction Index questionnaire. We mainly used the t -tests and structural equation model to analyze the data., Results: T -tests showed that NSSI adolescents had lower scores on problem-focused coping and higher scores on MPA, loneliness, hopelessness, and emotion-focused coping than non-NSSI adolescents. Structural equation model showed that loneliness and hopelessness were positively related to MPA for non-NSSI adolescents. Hopelessness was positively related to MPA for NSSI adolescents. Emotion-focused coping played a mediating role in the relationship between loneliness/hopelessness and MPA for both NSSI and non-NSSI adolescents., Conclusion: These findings suggest that NSSI adolescents with loneliness and hopelessness may have mobile phone dependence, highlighting the mediating role of emotion-focused coping style. Such findings help to understand the formation mechanism of MPA for adolescents with NSSI. Alleviating the loneliness and hopelessness and improving adaptive coping styles of adolescents with NSSI have potential implications for reducing their MPA., Competing Interests: The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© 2024 Li et al.)

Three new mycophenolic acid derivatives, penicacids L-N (1-3), together with four known analogues, were isolated from a fungus Penicillium sp. HN-66 derived from a South China Sea marine sediment. The structures of compounds 1-3 were determined on the basis of HR-ESI-MS, NMR ( 1 H, 13 C, HSQC and HMBC) data analyses, and comparison of optical rotations. Antimicrobial activities of 1-7 were tested. The results showed that compounds 1-3 and 5-7 had weak inhibitory effects against E. coli ATCC 25922 with the MIC values of 50 μg/mL., (© 2024 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.)

We propose a rapid and precise scheme for characterizing the full-field frequency response of a thin-film lithium niobate-based intensity modulator (TFLN-IM) via a specially designed multi-tone microwave signal. Our proposed scheme remains insensitive to the bias-drift of IM. Experimental verification is implemented with a self-packaged TFLN-IM with a 3 dB bandwidth of 30 GHz. In comparison with the vector network analyzer (VNA) characterization results, the deviation values of the amplitude-frequency response (AFR) and phase-frequency response (PFR) within the 50 GHz bandwidth are below 0.3 dB and 0.15 rad, respectively. When the bias is drifted within 90% of the V π range, the deviation fluctuation values of AFR and PFR are less than 0.3 dB and 0.05 rad, respectively. With the help of the full-field response results, we can pre-compensate the TFLN-IM for the 64 Gbaud PAM-4 signals under the back-to-back (B2B) transmission, achieving a received optical power (ROP) gain of 2.3 dB. The versatility of our proposed full-field response characterization scheme can extend to various optical transceivers, offering the advantage of low cost, robust operation, and flexible implementation.

Garnet-type Li 6.5 La 3 Zr 1.5 Ta 0.5 O 12 (LLZO) is considered a promising solid electrolyte, but the surface degradation in air hinders its application for all-solid-state battery. Recent studies have mainly focused on the final products of the LLZO surface reactions due to lacking of powerful in situ characterization methods. Here, we use ambient pressure X-ray spectroscopies to in situ investigate the dynamical evolution of LLZO surface in different gas environments. The newly developed ambient pressure mapping of resonant Auger spectroscopy clearly distinguishes the lithium containing species, including LiOH, Li 2 O, Li 2 CO 3 and lattice oxygen. The reaction of CO 2 with LLZO to form Li 2 CO 3 is found to be a thermodynamically favored self-limiting reaction. On the contrary, the reaction of H 2 O with LLZO lags behind that of CO 2 , but intensifies at high pressure. More interestingly, the results provide direct spectroscopic evidence for the existence of Li + /H + exchange and reveal the importance of the initial layer formed on clean electrolyte surface in determining their air stability. This work demonstrates that the newly developed in situ technologies pave a new way to investigate the oxygen evolution and surface degradation mechanism in energy materials., (© 2024. The Author(s).)