Search

[Display omitted] • A 3D soft-rigid PVDF@SnO 2 nanofiber layer is electrospun on copper current collector. • The soft nanofiber layers realize uniform Li+ flux and dendrite-free Li deposition. • Rigid SnO 2 offers abundant Li+ nucleation sites and promotes highly stable SEI layer. • Nanofiber flexible skeleton can accommodate and mitigate electrode volume expansion. • Such soft-rigid nanofiber layers account for prolonged cycle life of Li metal cells. Lithium (Li) metal is regarded as the most desirable anode candidates for high-energy–density batteries by virtue of its lowest redox potential and ultrahigh theoretical specific capacity. However, uncontrollable Li dendritic growth, infinite volume variation and unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) ineluctably plague its commercialization process. Herein, the three-dimensional (3D) nanofiber functional layers with synergistic soft-rigid feature, consisting of tin oxide (SnO 2)-anchored polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers, are directly electrospun on copper current collector. This strategy can effectively regulate uniform Li deposition and strengthen SEI stability through the dual effect of physical accommodation and chemical ionic intervention. On the one hand, the nanofiber interlayers with excellent electrolyte affinity and well-distributed Li+ transport pathways can promote uniform Li+ flux distribution and large-size Li deposition. On the other hand, the rigid SnO 2 contributes to reducing Li nucleation overpotential and stabilizing SEI layer assisted by its spontaneous reaction with Li. As a result, the smooth and dense Li deposition is achieved by such soft-rigid nanofiber interlayers, thereby extending the cycling life and improving the safety application of Li metal batteries. This work offers a new route for efficient protection of Li metal anodes and brings a new inspiration for developing high-energy–density Li metal batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expeditious advancement and elevation of the manufacturing industry's transformation and upgrading represent pivotal strides for China in its ascent toward the upper echelons of the global manufacturing value chain. Currently, China's manufacturing-industry transformation faces the dual-lag quandary of digitalization and servitization. The notion of digital servitization elucidates the interdependent relationship between digitalization and servitization, unveiling the mechanisms underlying the formation of digital servitization. This holds significant implications for advancing the comprehension of digitalization and servitization and, crucially, facilitates the acceleration of China's manufacturing sector transitioning from production-centric to service-centric paradigms. Harnessing the technology-organization-environment (TOE) theoretical framework, we constructed a model elucidating the driving factors underpinning manufacturing digital servitization. By employing the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we explored strategic decisions and path dependencies in the transformation of manufacturing digital servitization, offering valuable insights to foster China's manufacturing sector in its digital-servitization journey. The following findings were obtained. (1) A singular condition was insufficient as a prerequisite for manufacturing digital servitization and necessitated the coordinated alignment of multiple variables. (2) Three pathways existed for achieving manufacturing digital servitization: TOE, organization-environment collaborative-oriented, and technology-organization collaborative-oriented. (3) The progression of manufacturing digital servitization resulted from the collective impact of numerous factors, exhibiting a characteristic of different paths leading to the same destination. Various manufacturing enterprises pursued distinct trajectories to achieve digital servitization, contingent upon their unique circumstances. These findings have the potential to provide valuable insights for effectively fostering manufacturing digital servitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures based on inorganic layered materials have been demonstrated as potential candidates for a variety of electronic applications due to their flexibility in energy band engineering. However, the presence of unstable charge-trapping states in atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials may limit the performance of devices. Here, we aim to conduct a systematic investigation on hybrid heterostructured memory devices that consist of 2D layered organic and inorganic materials. The objective is to explore the potential of these devices in offering efficient charge-trapping states. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is employed as a channel, while N, N′-Dimethyl-3,4,9,10-perylenedicarboximide (Me-PTCDI) serves as the charge-trapping layer to store charges from MoS2. The hysteresis window of these heterostructured devices can be effectively modified within a range of 13–70 V by manipulating both the thickness of the organic layer and the gate voltages. The largest hysteresis window is found in a combination of a few-layer Me-PTCDI (12.6 nm) and MoS2 (6 nm), showing a high on/off current ratio (>104) and a long retention time (104 s). Furthermore, the endurance test, which lasts for over 1000 cycles, demonstrates an exceptional level of stability and reliability. In addition, multilevel memory effects can be observed when gate pulses with different widths and amplitudes are applied. These 2D hybrid heterostructured devices have the capability to broaden the scope of material systems and present substantial potential for functional neuromorphic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A dual-network structured nanofiber separator with fast ionic conductor is prepared. • This separator has well-distributed nanopore, high porosity and good heat-resistance. • LLZTO can well anchor free anions and offer fast Li+ channels to boost Li+ migration. • This separator achieves high t Li +, homogenized Li+ flux and uniform Li deposition. • Batteries with this separator show good cycle stability and high C-rate capability. Separator plays an important role in improving the long-term cycle stability and safety performance of high-energy–density lithium-metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, a robust thermotolerant separator is prepared by one-step electrospinning technique, combing fluorinated poly (m-phenylene isophthalamide) nanofibers with Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 (LLZTO), a fast ionic conductor. The synergistically incorporated poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) and LLZTO trigger off the formation of a fancy dual-network structure with high porosity and well-distributed nanopores, in which ultrafine secondary nanonets are tightly bound with three-dimensional nanofiber scaffold. LLZTO can not only provide sufficient Li+ migration channels, but also immobilize free anions to strengthen ionic transmission. Moreover, this nanofiber separator possesses high mechanical strength, excellent thermal stability and desirable electrolyte affinity. It can gel liquid electrolyte well, leading to high t Li +, homogenized Li+ flux and uniform Li deposition. Consequently, LMBs with this dual-network structured nanofiber separator deliver satisfactory cycle stability and high C-rate capability. This contribution provides new insights into the design and development of high-quality nanofiber separators for dendrite-free and high-safety LMBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Methods Results Conclusion In this study, we investigated the safety and practicability of ultra‐fast track anesthesia (UFTA) for endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS).A total of 72 patients with palmar hyperhidrosis undergoing ETS were randomly divided into three groups: the UFTA group (group I), the group undergoing single‐lumen tracheal intubation with local infiltration anesthesia technique (group II), and the group undergoing single‐lumen tracheal intubation with routine anesthesia (group III). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were recorded for all three groups at the following six time points: Before anesthetics administration (T0), the time of intubating or inserting laryngeal mask airway (T1), the time of incising skin (T2), the time of disconnecting of the right sympathetic nerve (T3), the time of disconnecting of the left sympathetic nerve (T4), the time of withdrawing the tracheal tube or laryngeal mask airway (T5), and the time of transferring the patient to a post‐anesthesia care unit (PACU) (T6). The three groups were compared from the following perspectives: surgery duration; anesthesia recovery duration, that is, the duration from discontinuation of anesthesia to extubating the tracheal tube; the dose of propofol and remifentanil per kilogram body mass per unit time interval (the time at the end of the procedure, which lasted from anesthesia induction to incision suturing); and the visual analog scale (VAS) in the resting state in the PACU.Based on pairwise comparisons, the average HR and average MAP values of the three groups differed significantly from T2 to T6 (p < 0.05). As demonstrated by the correlation analysis between remifentanil and propofol with HR and MAP, the doses of the total amount of remifentanil and propofol were lower, and group I used less remifentanil and propofol than group II. No patient in group I experienced throat discomfort following surgery. Patients in groups II and III experienced a range of postoperative discomfort. The VAS scores of groups I and II were significantly lower than those of group III, with group I lower than group II.When utilized in ETS, UFTA can provide effective anesthesia for minor traumas. It is safe, effective, and consistent with the enhanced recovery philosophy of fast‐track surgery departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for mobile devices has generated interest in lightweight human pose estimation. Currently, lightweight estimation generally uses heatmap-based methods, which has demonstrated exceptional performance. However, their use of non-differentiable post-processing imposes considerable inference latencies. Conversely, integral-based approaches expedite the inference process by employing a soft-argmax operation but compromise in accuracy. Integrating explicit heatmap knowledge learned using the heatmap-based method into the implicit heatmap generated by the integral-based method, thereby combining the best of both worlds, offers a promising avenue. However, owing to the disparities in supervision and inference processes, the explicit and implicit heatmaps are heterogeneous. Consequently, direct transfer of knowledge presents difficulties in ensuring consistencies in heat value and location. In this paper, we propose a novel Heterogeneous Heatmap Distillation (HHD) framework that effectively tackles these challenges. The framework seamlessly integrates explicit heatmap knowledge that contains high-precision localization information into implicit heatmaps. The framework revolves around an unbiased heatmap alignment scheme encompassing two steps: heterogeneous heatmap normalization and unbiased cropping. Heterogeneous heatmap normalization separately normalizes the output feature maps of both the teacher and student models, alleviating potential heat value bias during the knowledge transfer. Unbiased cropping applies closed-form computation on the normalized teacher and student heatmap to eliminate location bias. Additionally, mirror expansion is implemented to handle potential cases wherein the cropped region extends beyond the image boundary. Extensive experiments demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of our methods on the MSCOCO and MPII datasets compared to other integral-based lightweight networks. Our source codes and pre-trained models are available at https://github.com/ducongju/HHD. • We propose a heterogeneousheatmap distillation(HHD) forhuman pose estimation. • The HHDtransfers knowledge from explicit heatmaps to implicit heatmaps. • Heterogeneous heatmap normalization mitigatesthe heat value bias between heatmaps. • Unbiasedcropping and mirror expansion mitigatethe location bias between heatmaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the rate of adverse events (AEs) caused by intravenous administration of sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles in abdominal and superficial applications retrospectively and to explore practical measures for prevention and treatment of them. Materials and methods: This study enrolled 83,778 contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examinations using sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles intravenously performed during 11 years. Age, gender, and target organs of all CEUS patients were recorded. For cases of AEs, their medical history and laboratory results were also collected. The process of AEs was assessed and categorized. Besides, the management of AEs were recorded. Results: Twenty patients had sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles-related AEs. The AE rate was 0.024%. No significant difference was observed between patients with AEs and the whole group for age and sex distribution. All AEs happened in liver examinations. Among them, 7 (35%) were mild, 8 (40%) were moderate, and 5 (25%) were severe. They were categorized into 15 allergic-like reactions and 5 physiologic reactions. The manifestations of mild and moderate AEs mainly include urticaria, chills, and mild hypoxia, which could be eased by simple management. Severe cases had anaphylactic shock, generalized convulsions, and diffuse erythema with hypotension respectively. They need close monitoring and oxygen inhalation with anti-shock and anti-anaphylactic treatment. Most cases started within 30 min and recovered within 1 day. Conclusions: Intravenous administration of sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles in abdominal and superficial applications was safe with rare AEs. AEs were more likely to happen in abdominal applications than superficial ones. A well-designed emergency plan should be available for clinical use of sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles to reduce AEs and to deal with AEs properly. Critical relevance statement: Intravenous administration of sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles in abdominal and superficial applications reported few AEs and could be considered safe but severe AEs are life-threatening. We analyzed the influence factors of AEs and propose some methods for prevention and treatment of them, which can further improve the safety of sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles in clinical practice. Key points: • The AE rate of sulfur hexafluoride microbubbles in abdominal and superficial applications was 0.024%. • Patients were more likely to have AEs in abdominal applications than superficial ones. • Severe AEs are life-threatening and need prompt identification and treatment. • We summarized some detailed suggestions for clinical prevention and treatment of AEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]