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By combining linkage analysis and the multi-objective programming model, this study establishes a fresh analytical framework that embeds tourism-related sectors to identify the direction of change in the structure of the tourism industry for a low-carbon economy. In a demonstration of the analytical framework, it is applied to an empirical study of China. The main results reveal that most tourism-related sectors are not key emission sectors, and that significant heterogeneity exists in the economic and emission linkage characteristics of these tourism-related sectors. In the optimal scenario, increasing the output of tourism by using the optimal production structure reduces the emission intensity of tourism and offsets macroeconomic losses caused by emission constraints. In the optimisation of the industrial structure aimed at a low-carbon economy, the direction of change in output varies across tourism-related sectors. Therefore, it is essential to avoid promoting emission reductions indiscriminately across the tourism industry. Finally, the practicality and implications of the proposed analytical framework are illustrated.

Graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4), a two-dimensional polymer semiconductor material, has good semiconductor properties, suitable electronic energy band structure, excellent physical and chemical stability. It is widely used in the field of energy and materials science such as photoelectric conversion. In this paper, the progress of g-C3N4 in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) and perovskite solar cells (PSC) was reviewed. As a new semiconductor material, g-C3N4 has the advantages of simple preparation, abundant amino and Lewis basic groups. Therefore, on the basis of excellent structure of g-C3N4, its electronic and optical properties are utilized to further expand its application in the field of photoelectric conversion.

Many studies have recognized that circular RNAs (circRNAs) can be promising targets for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) by acting as competing endogenous RNAs for miRNAs. This study intends to uncover the implication of a novel circRNA, circ_000926 in RCC, and how it affects tumorigenesis. Microarray-based circRNA/gene expression profiling of RCC was used to identify differentially expressed circRNAs/genes in RCC and normal tissues. miRNAs targeting the screened circRNAs/genes were predicted online, followed by analyzing circ_000926 expression in RCC. The crosstalk among circ_000926, miRNA-411 (miR-411), and CDH2 was then validated. The expression of circ_000926, miR-411, and cadherin 2 (CDH2) was up-regulated or down-regulated in RCC cells to unearth their effects on the biological behaviors of RCC cells. circ_000926 was highly expressed in RCC tissues and cell lines, whereas CDH2 was verified to be a target of miR-411. As a competing endogenous RNA, circ_000926 could directly bind to miR-411 to up-regulate CDH2. Down-regulation of circ_000926 resulted in inhibited growth, migration, and invasion abilities of RCC cells, as well as suppressed epithelial-mesenchymal transition and tumor growth. However, the inhibition of miR-411 or elevation of CDH2 reversed the antitumor effects induced by silencing circ_000926. Down-regulation of circ_000926 exerts an inhibitory effect on RCC progression through miR-411-dependent CDH2 inhibition, highlighting a potential target for RCC treatment.

This study sought to investigate the differentially expressed miRNAs in Aortic dissection (AD) and explore the downstream mechanisms in regulating AD.Exosomes of AD patients and healthy people were isolated by differential centrifugation, and the differentially expressed miRNAs were evaluated by RNA sequencing. The downstream target of miR-222-3p was predicted by bioinformatics method and validated by dual-luciferase assay. Angiotensin II and Promethazine were used to establish AD mouse model and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) was used to induce human vascular smooth muscle cells (HVSMCs) to elucidate the effect of miR-222-3p upregulation on AD in vivo and in vitro. The relative level of miR-222-3p was evaluated by RT-qPCR. The level of several proteins was investigated by Western blot. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the stress fiber formation. Cell migration was evaluated by wound healing and Transwell assay. The proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of HVSMCs were assessed by CCK-8 and flow cytometry, respectively.MiR-222-3p was downregulated in AD and PDGF-BB induced HVSMCs. The upregulation of miR-222-3p alleviated the symptom of AD in vivo by targeting STAT3, and inhibited stress fiber formation, abnormal migration, proliferation and apoptosis of HVSMCs induced by PDGF-BB by regulating the expression of α-SMA, SM22α, MMP2, MMP9 and p-Smad2.The upregulation of miR-222-3p attenuates the progression of AD. Our study provides a theoretical basis for exploring new strategies against AD.

A stochastic micromechanical framework is presented to predict the probabilistic behavior of the hybrid fiber reinforced concrete (HFRC). The proposed framework consists of the stochastic descriptions for the material's microstructures, deterministic micromechanical model for HFRC and maximum entropy based stochastic simulation program. The HFRC is represented as multiphase composite composed of the aggregate, the interfacial transition zone (ITZ), the bulk cement paste and different types of fibers. Multi-level homogenization schemes are presented to predict the material's effective properties, where the effects of aggregates, ITZs and multi-types of fibers are quantitatively calculated. By modeling the volume fractions and properties of constituents as stochastic, we extend the deterministic framework to stochastic to incorporate the inherent randomness of effective properties among different specimens. Maximum entropy based simulation procedures are employed to characterize the material's probabilistic behavior, including different order moments and the probability density function. Numerical examples including limited experimental validations, comparisons with existing micromechanical models, commonly used probability density functions and the direct Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the proposed models provide an accurate and computationally efficient framework in characterizing the material's effective properties. Finally, the effects of different fibers and ITZs on the materials' macroscopic probabilistic behaviors are investigated based on our proposed stochastic micromechanical framework.

Acoustic emission (AE) experiments were carried out to study short-time creep behavior under uniaxial compression for cuboid-shaped fine sandstone specimens with two pre-existing cracks (the sample scale was 70 mm × 70 mm × 140 mm and the lengths of cracks were 2a = 20 mm and 2a = 30 mm) using the RLJW-2000 servo-controlled triaxial rheological test system of rock and PCI-II AE system. Based on the experimental results of creep curves, the mechanical properties of specimens with different pre-existing crack lengths were analyzed. The experimental results showed that compared to the intact specimen as the standard, the specimens with pre-existing crack lengths of 20 and 30 mm exhibited a decrease in the creep damage strength from 160.4 to 100 and 55 MPa, respectively. The pre-existing crack length significantly affected the strength of the specimen. Based on the experimental results of the spatial evolution of AE events, the three-dimensional evolution law of micro-cracks in the specimens was studied. The experimental results showed that the AE events could well reflect the crack evolution process of specimens with cracks. The occurrence of AE event points was mainly due to the initiation and propagation of micro-cracks within the sample; and with the increase of stress levels, the distribution of event points exhibited different characteristics. In the first two stages of creep loading, AE events were produced to a lesser extent and were evenly distributed inside the sample. With the increase of the creep stress level, the AE activity increased, in particular at the four ends of pre-existing cracks, and evolved from the ends of the fissures, thereby enabling the prediction of the penetration position of the micro-cracks within the fractured rock mass. Moreover, AE location results also directly reflected the interior stress field propagation process. AE location results directly reflected the spatial position, direction, and spatial curved face of crack propagation in the rock sample with pre-existing cracks, which are extremely significant to study the mechanism of rock failure.

Due to its low cost and high efficiency, dye-sensitized solar cells have been widely studied. As all of known, nanoparticles are not conducive to the separation and transmission of electrons and holes. One-dimensional (1D) TiO2 nanofibers (NF), synthesized via electrospinning method, were used to replace the nanoparticles film. It offered a direct pathway and can absorb dyes to improve the efficiency, which had revealed distinct properties as a photoanode in DSSC. In addition, ZrO2, as a barrier layer on NF, enhanced the efficiency of dye sensitized solar cell. Moreover, the ZrO2 layer can availably enhance the efficiency by preventing recombination of electron-hole between TiO2 and the dye/electrolyte. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements provided evidence that the coating ZrO2 reduced recombination losses at the photoanode-TiO2-dye|I3−/I− electrolyte interface, which passivated localized surface states. Results of photovoltaic measurements of the NP/NF/ZrO2 DSSC revealed that a barrier layer of ZrO2 could improve efficiency. The NP/NF/ZrO2-based devices exhibited a higher efficiency of 6.72% than that of NP/NF (6.14%). This work provides a novel approach for the rational design of the photoanodes in DSSC, which also implies the potential application of this structure in other type of solar cells.

Triethanolamine (C6H15NO3, TEA) is one of the known organic amine accelerators for the cement-based materials. Triethanolamine hydrochloride (C6H15NO3·HCl, TEA·HCl), part of whose molecular structure is the same as TEA, can also be regarded as chloride. Thus the water requirement for the normal consistency, setting time, strength, hydration heat liberation, calcium hydroxide (CH) and ettringite (AFt) contents in the hardened paste with TEA·HCl were analyzed and the effect of TEA·HCl on the performance of cement paste was studied to assess the feasibility of TEA·HCl used as an identical accelerator. The results indicate that moderate TEA·HCl decreases the water requirement for the normal consistency and this decline is related to the formation of the absorbed film on the cement particle. Zeta electric potential result also proves the appearance of the absorbed film. It also shortens the setting times and alters strengths. But the alterations of setting times and strengths depend on the TEA·HCl content. Heat liberation result implies that it delays the end time of the induction period and also postpones tricalcium silicate (3CaO·SiO2, C3S) hydration at early age, however moderate TEA·HCl increases the rate of C3S hydration in accelerated phase. Excessive TEA·HCl accelerates the AFt conversion to monosulfoaluminate (AFm) after several hours. The conversion product is the AFm with 14 H2O. TEA·HCl changes the total heat liberation, and these pastes with more TEA·HCl liberate more heat before about 12 h, but this case is reverse after about 12 h. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) results conformably confirm that excessive TEA·HCl delays C3S hydration and decreases CH content in the hardened paste, but it increases the AFt content in the hardened paste. Hardened pastes with TEA·HCl provide the higher content of AFt than the control even at 28d. Heat liberation, CH and AFt contents are closely responsible for the results of the setting times and strengths. These results will provide a reference for the TEA·HCl application as an accelerator in the practice.

Vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) responding to acceleration stimuli is originated from the vestibular apparatuses and thus widely used as an in vivo indicator of the vestibular function. We have developed a vestibular function testing (VFT) system that allows to evaluate VOR response with improved efficiency. The previously required surgical procedure has been avoided by using a newly designed animal-immobility setup. The efficacy of our VFT system was demonstrated on the mice with vestibular abnormalities caused by either genetic mutations (Lhfpl5−/− or Cdh23−/−) or applied vestibulotoxicant (3,3′-iminodipropionitrile, IDPN). Daily longitudinal inspection of the VOR response in the IDPN-administered mice gives the first VOR-based daily-progression profile of the vestibular impairment. The capability of VOR in quantifying the severity of toxicant-induced vestibular deficits has been also demonstrated. The acquired VOR-measurement results were validated against the corresponding behavioral-test results. Further validation against immunofluorescence microscopy was applied to the VOR data obtained from the IDPN-administered mice. We conclude that the improved efficiency of our surgery-free VFT system, firstly, enables the characterization of VOR temporal dynamics and quantification of vestibular-impairment severity that may reveal useful information in toxicological and/or pharmaceutical studies; and, secondly, confers our system promising potential to serve as a high-throughput screener for identifying genes and drugs that affect vestibular function.

The present study aimed to provide preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of a brief CBT intervention focusing on relapse prevention and positive symptom in a Chinese first episode schizophrenia (FES) population. This randomized controlled trial recruited eighty outpatients with FES (as determined using the DSM-IV), aged 16-45 years, and on a current atypical antipsychotic. Patients were randomized to either 10 sessions of individual CBT (intervention group) adjunctive to treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone (control group). Outcome assessment of symptoms, relapse, hospitalization, insight and social functioning were administered at baseline and then post treatment (10 weeks), and at 6-month and 12-month follow ups. At 12 months, patients in the intervention group had significantly greater improvements in positive symptoms, general psychopathology and social functioning, as well as significantly lower rates of relapse, compared to the control group. Although patients in both groups demonstrated significantly improved negative symptom and insight scores from baseline, no group differences were found. This RCT demonstrates that FES patient can greatly benefit from CBT designed to target relapse prevention and positive symptom, with improvements sustained for 1 year following treatment.

The purpose of this work was to investigate the feasibility of using black tea powder produced through green technology (plant-source material and biotechnology) as multifunctional admixture for the hemihydrate gypsum. The hemihydrate gypsums were mixed with black tea, and the setting times, densities, hydration characteristics and strengths of different plasters were discussed, and the mechanisms responsible for their performance variations were explored by isothermal calorimeter, X-ray powder diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. Besides, the economic and environmental compatibilities were also considered. The results indicate that black tea lowers the water requirement and improves the normal consistency, and then the high density is acquired. It prolongs the setting times. Moreover, this prolongation is more remarkable as more black tea is introduced. The gypsum strength is related to the content of black tea. Moderate black tea has the positive role in the improvement of strength, but the excessive black tea poses a negative effect. Furthermore, black tea alters the gypsum hydration process. It decreases the hydration rate and delays the hydration time of gypsum. Although more black tea seriously delays the gypsum hydration, all hemihydrate gypsum thoroughly converts into dihydrate gypsum after 28d. SEM results show that black tea changes the gypsum crystal morphology. All gypsum crystals are long and needlelike in the hardened pastes with less than 1% black tea. However, these crystals become shorter and larger as more black tea is mixed. Various crystal morphologies mainly contribute to the strength alteration of gypsum with black tea. These results show that black tea can serve as an alternative to the traditional functional admixture and then acquire a green and sustainable technology for the preparation of hemihydrate gypsum functional admixture, but also expand the commercial utilization of black tea in the building materials industries and foster the development of building industry towards green-oriented and sustainability.

Sufficient dimension reduction (SDR) for nonignorable nonresponse poses a challenge and the literature about this issue is very rare. In the nonignorable case, the SDR methods developed for ignorable missing data generally yield serious estimation bias and thus are invalid. A regression-calibration-based cumulative mean estimation (RC-CUME) procedure is proposed to recover the central subspace (CS) with the aid of a surrogate subspace. Asymptotic properties of the RC-CUME are investigated. A modified BIC-type criterion is used to determine the structural dimension of the CS. Some extensions to other SDR methods are presented. Simulation studies are conducted to access the finite-sample performance of the proposed RC-CUME approach, and a real data set is analyzed for illustration.

Lipid homeostasis is dysregulated in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). A decrease in serum high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C and LDL-C) is significantly associated with the worse prognosis of PAH. However, no study has investigated the differential distribution of lipids in various PAH subtypes. We enrolled 190 patients in this retrospective study, which includes 20 patients with congenital heart disease without PAH (CHD-nonPAH), 101 patients with PAH associated with congenital heart disease (CHD-PAH), 69 patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH) and 81 healthy controls. Laboratory parameters such as liver and renal function, serum lipids, C-reactive protein, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), echocardiography, right heart catheterization and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) were performed. All types of cholesterol including HDL-C, LDL-C and total cholesterol (CHOL) were significantly lower in IPAH patients in association with right heart function. Although LDL-C and CHOL were lower in CHD-PAH, they were not associated with disease severity or heart failure. Thus, we conclude that IPAH and CHD-PAH patients exhibited a differential distribution pattern of serum lipids.

esmaeili, Nardana/0000-0002-4912-9695; PEHLIVAN, NECLA/0000-0002-2045-8380 WOS: 000442068200030 PubMed: 30080613 Abiotic stresses are major threats to agricultural production. Drought and salinity as two of the major abiotic stresses cause billions of losses in agricultural productivity worldwide each year. Thus, it is imperative to make crops more tolerant. Overexpression of AVP1 or PP2A-C5 was previously shown to increase drought and salt stress tolerance, respectively, in transgenic plants. in this study, the hypothesis that co-overexpression of AVP1 and PP2A-C5 would combine their respective benefits and further improve salt tolerance was tested. the two genes were inserted into the same T-DNA region of the binary vector and then introduced into the Arabidopsis genome through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing both AVP1 and PP2A-C5 at relatively high levels were identified and analyzed. These plants displayed enhanced tolerance to NaCl compared to either AVP1 or PP2A-C5 overexpressing plants. They also showed tolerance to other stresses such as KNO3 and LiCl at harmful concentrations, drought, and phosphorus deficiency at comparable levels with either AVP1 or PP2A-C5 overexpressing plants. This study demonstrates that introducing multiple genes in single T-DNA region is an effective approach to create transgenic plants with enhanced tolerance to multiple stresses. Department of Biological Sciences and Graduate School of Texas Tech University; USDA Ogallala Aquifer Program; National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaNational Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [31571718]; State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control [2010DS700124-KF1711] This work was supported by Department of Biological Sciences and Graduate School of Texas Tech University, and by USDA Ogallala Aquifer Program. It was also supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China [31571718] and the State Key Laboratory Breeding Base for Zhejiang Sustainable Pest and Disease Control [2010DS700124-KF1711] to Guoxin Shen.

The aim of this work was to investigate the migration and transformation of sulfur in the municipal sewage sludge during disposal in cement kiln, and better understand the emission of the sulfur related pollutants in this process. In consideration of the temperature conditions in the practical operation, municipal sewage sludge was pre-dried at 105 °C, and then dried at 210, 260 and 310 °C, co-combusted with cement raw mill at 800, 900 and 1000 °C, and 1350, 1400 and 1450 °C respectively in the laboratory. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the S2p spectral lines of the municipal sewage sludge treated in the different process. Besides, The Thermal Analysis-Thermogravimetry (DTA-TG), Back Scattered Electron (BSE) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS) were also employed to explore the mechanism of sulfur subsistence at 1450 °C. The results indicate that sulfide, thiophene, sulfone and sulfate are mainly sulfur compound in the municipal sewage sludge dried at 105 °C. Sulfoxide, a new sulfur compound, appears after it is further dried at 210 °C. The relative contents of sulfide and thiophene are continuously declined as the drying temperature increases due to their evaporation, decomposition and transformation in this process. The transformation of sulfide and thiophene makes the relative contents of sulfoxide and sulfate accordingly increased. However, the relative content of sulfone experiences an elevating-lowering process while the dry temperature elevated from 210 to 310 °C. This case is related to its evaporation and decomposition, as well as its production for the transformation of sulfide and thiophene. In the co-combustion process, sulfide, thiophene and sulfone are entirely vanished for their evaporation, decomposition and transformation. Sulfone is still contained at 800 °C, but when the temperature unceasingly rises, it is completely decomposed or evaporated and sulfate is the only sulfur compound. The microstructures left by the gas release are also observed in the mixtures sintered at 1450 °C, however sulfate still exists even at 1450 °C. The BSE and EDS results show that the melt phase is the important contribution to the appearance of sulfate at the high temperature. These results will sever as a theoretically reference for the pollution control of the sulfur related pollutants in the disposal process of the municipal sewage sludge in cement kiln.

The influence of reused times on the characteristics and properties of Ti6Al4V (TC4) powder and resulting bulk materials were systematically investigated in additive manufacturing by electron beam melting (EBM). Optical microscope, X-ray diffraction and nano-indentation were used to characterize the powders. Optical microscope results indicated that the microstructure evolved from non-equilibrium to equilibrium state of α and β phase with increasing reuse times. The micro-hardness and Young’s modulus of reused powders were enhanced with the increase of reuse times. The tensile properties of bulk final product fabricated from the mixed powders were nearly equal or superior to that prepared by 100% fresh powder. In short, the mixing usage of initial and reused Ti6Al4V powders for additive manufacturing is acceptable.

The passivation strategy is considered to be one of the most effective methods to suppress the non-radiative recombination of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), resulting in excellent photovoltaic performance. Herein, it reported a valid strategy to enhance the photoconversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs by modifying graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanosheets into an electron transport layer interface. It is able to optimize surface morphology and crystal quality of perovskite film, which makes synergistic efforts to improve the PCE from 9.55% to 11.37% with these devices.

Mesoporous carbon (MC) and nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) were prepared through a dual-template approach with tetraethyl orthosilicate and Pluronic F127 as a dual-template, and phenol-formaldehyde and melamine-phenol-formaldehyde resins as carbon and carbon + nitrogen sources, respectively. Using them as the supports, the Pt/MC and Pt/NMC catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method and used for the decarboxylation of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids to alkanes. Activated carbon supported Pt catalyst (Pt/AC) was also prepared for comparison. Among the three catalysts, Pt/NMC exhibited the highest catalytic performance, achieving yields of the corresponding alkanes of more than 97.0% from lauric, myristic, palmitic and stearic saturated acids and 44.0%–66.1% from oleic and linoleic unsaturated fatty acids. The turnover frequencies of Pt/NMC were estimated as 335–522 h−1 in the decarboxylation of saturated acids, which were almost 2-fold higher than Pt/MC and 3-fold higher than Pt/AC. The excellent performance of the Pt/NMC catalyst might be attributed to the introduction of N species to the MC support, which not only improved the anchoring and the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles on the catalyst surface, but also provided alkaline sites to adsorb carboxyl group in fatty acids.

Among a variety of renewable energy sources, only the use of forest biomass instead of fossil fuel is an excellent choice, because forest biomass is not only rich in reserves, but also has a relatively small impact on the local ecological environment after its consumption. Because the current development technology for forest biomass energy is not yet mature, the use of energy is relatively low. Therefore, it is imperative to construct a relatively standardized calculation model for forest biomass energy. To build a calculation model for forest biomass energy, it is necessary to rely on new technologies such as sensing technology, big data technology, and precise calculation control, especially biomass power generation and the demand for IoT technology from multiple energy sources. Based on the comparative analysis of the various parts of forest biomass energy, and relying on the overall framework of the Internet of Things technology, this article finds the integration point for the application of the Internet of Things technology in forest biomass energy and biodiversity monitoring. Through the use of PSCAD software, the planting of biomass energy plants was simulated, the composition type of forest biomass energy resources was determined, and the estimation model of forest biomass energy resources was established based on the bottom-up method, and its possible impact Carried out analysis and discussion. In the follow-up work, electromagnetic transient simulation software was used to simulate the planting of biomass energy plants, so as to determine the composition structure of forest biomass energy, and construct the calculation model of forest biomass energy using the method of linking up and down, and In-depth research on its possible impact. In view of the possible energy grid connection problems, solutions are proposed, and simulation experiments are carried out. Based on the actual construction data, the electromagnetic transient simulation software is used for simulation. The results show that the method in this paper can effectively provide data simulation for the development and utilization of forest biomass energy.

Biomass-based porous carbons as electrode materials in asymmetric Li-ion capacitors (LICs) have shown broad prospect application. In this work, one kind of copper hyperaccumulator-elsholtzia splendens was selected as biomass source to synthesize micro-/nanoporous carbons to be used as both anode and cathodefor LICs due to the need of waste disposal. On the basis of separate charge storage mechanisms of anode and cathode in this system, corresponding strategies were adopted to rationally optimize the microstructure of micro-/nanoporous carbons to promote their electrochemical performance. Electrochemical tests showed that hierarchical porous carbon microsphere (PECS) anode exhibited an excellent rate capability (215.6 mA h g−1 at 2 A g-1) and a long lifespan (87.1% capacity retention over 1000 cycles). Carbon cathode with an ultrahigh specific surface area of 2819 m2 g-1 revealed a high specific capacity of 90.9 mA h g−1 at 5 A g-1. Benefiting from the high rate capability of anode and the high specific capacity of cathode, the as-assembled LIC delivered a high energy density of 129.4 W h kg−1 and 51.9 W h kg−1 at a power density of 205.5 W kg−1 and 10.3 kW kg−1.

To improve the photoelectric performance of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), graphene oxide (GO), upconversion luminescent material NaYbF4:Ho3+ (UC) and porous hollow titanium dioxide microspheres (PHTS) were synthesized to couple with the commercial P25 for improving the light-harvesting of DSSCs. In the composited nanostructure, the GO reduces the internal charge recombination, while the UC doping broadens the absorption spectral range, both of which were applied to the novel PHTS for improving the dye adsorption capacity and light utilization. The P25, P25/GO, P25/UC/GO, P25/UC/GO + PHTS photoanodes were fabricated and the morphology and photoelectric performance were analyzed respectively. Among them, DSSC using P25/UC/GO + PHTS photoanode showed the best performance with the power conversion efficiency (PCE) reaching as high as 9.41%.

SnO2 has attracted extensive attention in planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs) owing to its outstanding photoelectric properties and low temperature preparation. However, pinholes are easy to appear in the annealing process of SnO2 films, which limits its application in planar PSCs. Here lists a simple and low-cost method: Urea-complexed tin oxide in deionized water can effectively control the concentration of SnO2. This process is conducive to forming a compact surface morphology. Meanwhile, the work explored the effect of the properties of PSCs with different thicknesses of SnO2 layers. The system analysis showed that PSCs based on 60 nm SnO2 layer and the methamphetamine lead iodide (MAPbI3) light absorber yielded the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 18%, a fill factor (FF) of 0.793, and good stability. Therefore, we believe our study provides an effective way for preparing electron transport layers.

This paper aimed at investigating the action of the combined presence of calcium silicate hydrate seeds - polycarboxylate (C-S-Hs-PCE) and triethanolamine (TEA) on the performances of cement paste/mortar. Simultaneously, the mechanisms behind this action were explored. The results demonstrate that the composite addition of C-S-Hs-PCE and TEA further promotes the setting behaviour of cement pastes, but this promotion depends mainly on the TEA content. The composite use of 0.02% TEA and 0.5–2% C-S-Hs-PCE increases the mortar compressive strengths at 1, 3, 7 and even 28 days. This increase is related to the promotion of tricalcium silicate (C3S) hydration at 1 and 3 days, the increment of the calcium hydroxide (CH) content over 1–28 days, and the decrement of the number of gel pores and the volumes of the pores with sizes of less than 100 nm in the pastes with 0.02% TEA and 0.5%–2% C-S-Hs-PCE. However, the composite addition of 0.5%–1% TEA and 0.5%–2C-S-Hs-PCE reduces the compressive strengths at 1 and 28 days: 0.5%–1% TEA and 0.5%–2% C-S-Hs-PCE enhance the monosulfate (AFm) content at 1 day, promote the reaction from ettringite (AFt) to AFm, decrease the CH content, retard the C3S hydration at 1 day and 3 days and increase the gel pore quantity and the volume of the pores that are distributed from several nm to 100 nm. As a result, the mortars with 0.5%–1% TEA and 0.5%–2% C-S-Hs-PCE exhibit lower compressive strengths at 1 day and 28 days. These findings provide theoretical guidance for the composite use of TEA and C-S-Hs-PCE in cement-based materials.

It is still uncertain whether β-hemihydrate and dihydrate gypsum influence the properties, especially the phase conversion, of white calcium aluminate cement (CAC). Therefore, in this study, we prepared CAC pastes/mortars containing β-hemihydrate and dihydrate and comparatively assessed their setting times and compressive strengths. Simultaneously, the influence of β-hemihydrate and dihydrate on their chemical shrinkage, hydration-heat, pore size distributions, crystalline, and thermogravimetric characteristics was investigated. It is interesting that 0.5% β-hemihydrate and dihydrate significantly postponed the setting, whereas more than 0.5% β-hemihydrate and dihydrate slightly prolonged the initial setting and significantly shortened the final setting. Both β-hemihydrate and dihydrate decreased the compressive strength of CAC pastes hardened for 1 and 3 days to different extents; however, CAC pastes with a β-hemihydrate or dihydrate content less than 1% exhibited a high compressive strength at 28 days. Beyond this dosage, the compressive strength of the specimens was found to reduce. In addition, CAC pastes containing more than 0.5% β-hemihydrate or dihydrate exhibited high chemical shrinkage over 3–12 h. Furthermore, β-hemihydrate and dihydrate enhanced the gel micro and meso pores. They accelerated or decreased CAC hydration in the fast reaction and first deceleration periods, prolonged or shortened the induction period, enhanced or reduced the hydration heat before or after 12 h. These cases are closely associated to their contents. Their inclusion restricted CAH10 formation while promoting the generation of C2AH8, AFm, and AH3 and conversion of CAH10 to C3AH6 after 3 days. Besides, there are some significant differences in their influence on the properties and phase conversion of CAC pastes. For these differences, CAC pastes/mortars with β-hemihydrate and dihydrate presented different setting times and compressive strengths.

Current management for red brick waste is insufficient, and a new method is needed. We sought to develop a new approach for effective management. Red cement-based decorative plasters were prepared with red brick waste powder (RBWP), white Portland cement, quartz sand, redispersible emulsion powder, hydroxypropyl-methyl cellulose ethers and silicone hydrophobic agent. The colors, water absorptions and strengths of different plasters were investigated, and the mechanisms responsible for their performance variations were explored by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. The relative economic and environmental benefits were also analyzed. The feasibility of recycling RBWP in the production of cement-based red decorative plaster for walls was evaluated. The resulting plaster provided appropriate color adjustment, and the water resistance of the plaster was not greatly affected. The compressive and flexural strengths of plaster were improved. However, the improvement decreased as the sand replacement ratio increased. The tensile bond strength of the plaster is related to the RBWP content. More RBWP negatively affects the tensile bond strength of the plaster. Calcium hydroxide in the hardened paste varies with RBWP content. This variation correlates with the appearance and level of pozzolanic reaction in the plaster with RBWP. Plaster with RBWP has a denser microstructure than the control. In addition to the pozzolanic reaction, this denser microstructure also contributes to performance improvements such as compressive and flexural strengths. To improve the economic and environmental efficiencies, it is also feasible to recycle RBWP in the production of cement-based red decorative plaster for walls. These results demonstrate the effective use of red brick waste. They also provide a reference strategy for the management of red brick waste in other developing countries that are carrying out or will carry out urbanization activities.

Friedel’s salt usually forms in cement paste with CaCl2, however, it is still uncertain whether calcium silicate hydrate seed - polycarboxylate (C-S-Hs-PCE) promotes the formation of Friedel's salt, especially improves the performances of cement paste/mortar with CaCl2. Therefore, in this study, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) were used to quantify the Friedel’s salt content in pastes with different contents of C-S-Hs-PCE and CaCl2. Simultaneously, their setting times and compressive strengths at 1, 3 and 28 days were comparatively analyzed and the pore size distributions, hydration and chemical shrinkages of all pastes were also carried out to investigate the relative mechanism. The results reveal that C-S-Hs-PCE promotes the formation of Friedel's salt in paste with CaCl2, but this promotion is related to the contents of C-S-Hs-PCE and CaCl2. C-S-Hs-PCE hardly influences the compressive strengths at 1, 3 and 28 days of mortars with less than 2% CaCl2, however, 2% C-S-Hs-PCE significantly improves the compressive strength of mortar with 2% CaCl2. It is worth noting that it increases the specific surface area of pore in paste with CaCl2, but it decreases the volume and average diameter of pore in it. More importantly, it still enhances the heat flow in the initial fast reaction, first deceleration and induction periods of paste with CaCl2. It also advances the merged main exothermic peak and enhances the heat flow at this merged peak. It does not increase the hydration heat during 72 h, but 1–2% C-S-Hs-PCE promotes the hydration of paste with CaCl2 during 72–168 h. It leads to the further decrement in the setting times of paste with CaCl2 for the hydration promotion in the initial fast reaction, first deceleration and induction periods.

This work aimed to improve the setting behavior and strengths of cement paste/mortar with ethylene and vinyl acetate copolymer redispersible powder (EVA-DP) using C-S-H seeds and polycarboxylate superplasticizer (C-S-Hs-PCE) and meanwhile explore the reasons for these two improvements by means of the heat flow, water requirement, air content, apparent density and pore size distribution. The experimental results show that C-S-Hs-PCE used in this work notably cuts down the setting behavior and increases the strengths at 3d of mortars with EVA-DP; however, less than 2% C-S-Hs-PCE hardly increases their strengths at 28d. C-S-Hs-PCE promotes the hydration of paste with EVA-DP in several manners; it enhances heat flow in the first deceleration period, the initial several hours in the acceleration period and at the main exothermic peaks/merged peak, or advances the onset of the acceleration period, or shifts the maximum of the hydration rate to earlier time. This promotion in the hydration at different levels is the reason for the shortened setting behavior of paste with EVA-DP in the presence of C-S-Hs-PCE. Except for the promoted hydration, the increased apparent density resulted from lowered water requirement, as well as the less pores, especially the middle and large capillary pores, are the other main contributors to the increment in the strengths of mortar with EVA-DP and C-S-Hs-PCE, especially the strengths at 28d of the mortars with 6% and 10% EVA-DP and 2% C-S-Hs-PCE.

This study aims to improve the osteogenic differentiation in vitro and bone formation in vivo through polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds modified with the osteogenic growth peptide (OGP). Three-dimensional (3D)-printed PCL scaffolds were designed with computer-aided design (CAD) software and fabricated by 3D layer-by-layer fused deposition. After the scaffold surfaces were modified by surface amination, the OGP was successfully loaded onto the scaffolds using a electrostatic self-assembly method. The effects of these scaffolds on the biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) were studied in vitro. The modification did not influence the adhesion or proliferation, but had a notable osteogenic effect in vitro. This may be attributed to the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular regulated protein kinase (MAPK/ERK) signalling pathway. Based on the results obtained after implantation into a rat cranial defect model, the PCL/OGP scaffolds notably promoted bone formation and accelerated mineralisation. The innovative modification method introduced in this work, will improve the application of PCL scaffolds in tissue engineering.

Aimed to enhance the performance of the cement and powder silane water repellent based waterproof mortar, different contents of nucleation C-S-H seed were thus introduced into various mortars and pastes, their performances such as strengths, water capillary absorptions, anti-penetration capacities, drying shrinkages and chemical shrinkages were evaluated. The pore size distributions of hardened mortars, heat liberations and crystalline phases of pastes cured for different ages were also measured to explore the mechanisms which are responsible for the enhanced performances. The results indicate that the nucleation C-S-H seed significantly increases the strengths and anti-penetration capacity, reduces the water capillary absorption and drying shrinkage of the waterproof mortar. It slightly affects the chemical shrinkage, but significantly reduces the volumes of the pores, especially the gel and large capillary pores. Overall, it promotes the early hydration of the cement and powder silane paste. It accelerates the conversion of ettringite (AFt) to monosulfoaluminate (AFm) and increases calcium hydroxide (CH) content in the hardened paste cured for 3d. It cuts down the entering time of acceleration period and the contents of un-hydrated clinker phases such as tricalcium silicate (C3S) and dicalcium silicate (C2S). These results will provide a theoretical reference for the preparation of cement and powder silane based waterproof mortar with better performances.

It is still uncertain whether there are some differences between their influences of TEA and TEA·HCl on the properties of cement paste. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the differences between their influences of TEA and TEA·HCl on the properties of cement paste. Then the cement pastes or mortars with 0%, 0.01%, 0.015%, 0.02%, 0.06%, 0.10%, 0.20%, 0.50% and 1.00% TEA and TEA·HCl respectively were prepared and their setting times and compressive strengths were investigated. Meanwhile, the chemical shrinkage, pore size distributions, hydration heat releases, thermogravimetric (TG) characteristics and microstructures of vaious pastes were studied to explore the mechanisms that are responsible for these differences. The results show that less than 0.2% TEA·HCl reduces the initial setting time more significantly, whereas 0.02%, 0.06% and 0.1% TEA·HCl are inclined to shorten the finial setting time as comparing with the same content of TEA. Less than 0.1%, 0.02% and moderate TEA·HCl more significantly enhance the compressive strengths at 3 d, 7 d and 28 d respectively in comparison to the same content of TEA. These pastes with less than 0.2% TEA·HCl have the greater chemical shrinkage at 24 and 72 h, the cement pastes with less than 0.02% TEA·HCl provide the greater rate of hydration liberation in the initial fast reaction period, these pastes with 0.2% TEA·HCl display the more significantly increaseed rate of hydration heat liberation in the acceleration period as well as the more total hydration heat liberation at 72 h, as comparing with the cement pastes with same content of TEA. Besides, TG result indicates that these hardened pastes with TEA·HCl form the more CH at 3 d, whereas these hardened pastes with less than 0.06% TEA have the more CH at 28 d. These hardened pastes with 1%, 0.2% and 0.5% TEA·HCl have the relatively less pore voume as compared with the pastes with same contents of TEA at 28 d. The result of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) image shows that in the presence of same content of TEA and TEA·HCl, TEA·HCl is more liable to alter AFt and CH morphology. These discriminative results in the chemical shrinkage, pore sizes distribution, hydration heat release, TG and SEM provide an envience for the differences between their influences of TEA and TEA·HCl on the properties of cement paste. These results will provide a reference for the selective use of TEA and TEA·HCl as an accelerator.

It is still uncertain whether nucleation calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) seed can really improve the reactivity of granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) powder and accelerate the strength development. In this work, various pastes and mortars were prepared with cement, GGBS and C-S-H seed, and their compressive and flexural strengths, chemical shrinkages, the characteristics of hydration heat liberations and CH content in the hardened pastes, and reactivity indexes and reaction degrees of the GGBS in the presence of nucleation C-S-H seed were investigated. The results show that C-S-H seed notably increases the 1, 3, 7 and 28 d strength of the 50% GGBS and 50% cement mortar. The hardened pastes with nucleation C-S-H seed provide the greater strength reactivity index than the control at 7 and 28 d, especially 0.6, 1 and 2% C-S-H seed have more significant role on this index. It also enhances the chemical shrinkage and the more significantly increased chemical shrinkage is related to the higher content of nucleation C-S-H seed as the greater chemical shrinkage implies more hydration or reaction. It shortens the induction period, cut down the acceleration stage, accelerates the conversion of AFt to AFm and enhances the total hydration heat. It reduces the calcium hydroxide (CH) content in the hardened paste, and reaction degrees of the GGBS were investigated in order to further determine the role of nucleation C-S-H seed on the reactivity of GGBS, the results show that it improves the 1, 3, 7 and 28 d reaction degrees of GGBS, 1 and 2% C-S-H seed increase the percentages of the reacted GGBS at 1, 3, 7 and 28 d about 66% and 134%, 56% and 94%, 101% and 200%, 41.7% and 46.1% respectively by the control. These results will provide a reference for the more widely application of nucleation C-S-H seed as well as the activation of GGBS reactivity.

This work aimed to assess the influence of vinyl acetate and ethylene copolymer dispersible powder (VAE-P) on the performance and interfacial transition zone (ITZ) of pervious concrete, and explore the mechanism responsible for the resulted performance. Various pervious concretes and mortars were prepared, and the porosities, water permeability coefficients and strengths of pervious concretes were assessed, the fluidities, shear viscosities, air contents and strengths of various mortars were measured. The crystalline phase, pore characteristic and VAE-P layer in the ITZ were also investigated. The results indicate that VAE-P enhances fluidity and air content, and declines shear viscosity of fresh mortar. These pervious concretes with lower or similar porosity than the control still provide similar or better water permeability. It reduces mortar strength, but it significantly improves pervious concrete strengths. ITZ results indicate that it delays cement hydration, alters pore characteristic and especially increases the volume of pores with larger size. It increases VAE-P layer thickness. The pervious concrete with 10% VAE-P displays a cross-linked network layer structure. The pervious concrete with 5% VAE-P provides the lower strengths than that with 2.5% VAE-P, but pervious concretes with more VAE-P have relatively higher strengths. These results provide a reference for the preparation of pervious concrete with VAE-P.

The normal function of the vestibular system is crucial for the sense of balance. The techniques used to assess the vestibular function plays a vital role in the research of the vestibular system. In this article, we have systematically reviewed some popular methods employing vestibular reflexes and vestibular evoked potentials for assessing the vestibular function in rodent models. These vestibular reflexes and vestibular evoked potentials to effective stimuli have been used as nondestructive and objective functional measures. The main types of vestibular reflexes include the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), vestibulocollic reflex (VCR), and vestibulo-sympathetic reflex (VSR). They are all capable of indicating the functions of the semicircular canals and otoliths. However, the VOR assessment is much more prevalently used because of the relatively stereotypical inputoutput relationship and simple motion pattern of the ocular response. In contrast, the complicated motion pattern and small gain of the VCR response, as well as the undesired component possibly contributed from the acceleration receptors outside the labyrinths in the VSR response, restrict the widespread applications of VCR and VSR in the assessment of the vestibular system. The vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) and vestibular sensory evoked potentials (VsEPs) are the two typical evoked potentials that have been also employed for evaluating the vestibular function. Through exploiting different types of the VEMPs, the saccular and utricular functions can be evaluated separately. The sound-induced VEMPs, moreover, are capable of noninvasively assessing the unilateral vestibular function. The VsEPs, via the morphology of their signal waveforms, enable the access to the location-specific information that indicates the functional statuses of different components within the vestibular neural pathway.