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Magnetic-fluorescent nanocomposites have a tremendous potential in biomedicine realms as a revolutionary dual-modality probe tool for more accurate medical detection. However, complicated and inefficient postprocesses pose obstacles to obtaining high-quality magnetic-fluorescent nanocomposites. Thus, the fabrication of magnetic-fluorescent functional nanocomposites via a simple, effective, and ideal method remains a challenge and is still waiting to be tapped. The new synthesis approaches are becoming impending demands and probably enable us to address these above-mentioned problems. In this contribution, we present a novel self-assembly synthesis route for the construction of magnetic-fluorescent bimodal imaging nanocomposites rather than adopting sophisticated postpreparative processes. The Fe3O4 and quatum dots (QDs) nanocomposites were cross-linked fleetly by cerium(III) ion driven coordination bonds in which the cerium(III) ions served as the cross-connecting node and the carboxylate groups acted as bridging ligands. The potential application for dual-modality imaging capability was validated on tumor-bearing mice. This ingenious strategy was extremely efficient and handy for the magnetic-fluorescent Fe3O4-QDs nanocomposite construction. Significantly, our cerium(III) ion driven self-assembly method probably has a wide applicability for nanoparticles and organic molecules containing carboxyl groups but extensive explorations are still necessary.

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) has the advantages of a high strength-weight ratio and excellent fatigue resistance and has been widely used in aerospace, automotive, civil infrastructure, and other fields. The properties of CFRP materials under high temperatures are a key design issue. This paper presents the quasi-static tensile mechanical properties of unidirectional CFRP plates at temperatures ranging from 20 to 600 °C experimentally. The laser displacement transducer was adopted to capture the in situ displacement of the tested specimen. The results showed that the tensile strength of the CFRP specimen was affected by the high-temperature effect significantly, which dropped 68% and 16% for the 200 and 600 °C, respectively, compared with that of the room temperature. The degradation measured by the laser transducer system was more intensive compared with previous studies. The elastic modulus decreased to about 29% of the room temperature value at 200 °C. With the evaporation of the resin, the failure modes of the CFRP experienced brittle fracture to pullout of the fiber tow. The study provides accurate tensile performance of the CFRP plate under high-temperature exposure, which is helpful for the engineering application.

Waterlogging has negative effects on crop yield. Physiological and transcriptome data of two peanut cultivars [Zhongkaihua 1 (ZKH 1) and Huayu 39 (HY 39)] were studied under normal water supply and waterlogging stress for 5 or 10 days at the flowering stage. The results showed that the main stem height, the number of lateral branches, lateral branch length, and the stem diameter increased under waterlogging stress, followed by an increase in dry matter accumulation, which was correlated with the increase in the soil and plant analysis development (SPAD) and net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and the upregulation of genes related to porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis. However, the imbalance of the source–sink relationship under waterlogging was the main cause of yield loss, and waterlogging caused an increase in the sucrose and soluble sugar contents and a decrease in the starch content; it also decreased the activities of sucrose synthetase (SS) and sucrose phosphate synthetase (SPS), which may be due to the changes in the expression of genes related to starch and sucrose metabolism. However, the imbalance of the source–sink relationship led to the accumulation of photosynthate in the stems and leaves, which resulted in the decrease of the ratio of pod dry weight to total dry weight (PDW/TDW) and yield. Compared with ZKH 1, the PDW of HY 39 decreased more probably because more photosynthate accumulated in the stem and leaves of HY 39 and could not be effectively transported to the pod.

Arch-cruciform DNA are self-assembled on AuNPs/VS2 scaffold as a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical biosensor for michigan cancer foundation-7 (MCF-7) breast cancer cells. In the construction, arch DNA is formed using two single-strand DNA sequences embedded with the aptamer for MCF-7 cells. In the absence of MCF-7 cells, a cruciform DNA labeled with three terminal biotin is bound to the top of arch DNA, which further combines with streptavidin-labeled horseradish peroxidase (HRP) to catalyze the hydroquinone-H2O2 reaction on the electrode surface. The presence of MCF-7 cells can release the cruciform DNA and reduce the amount of immobilized HRP, thus effectively inhibiting enzyme-mediated electrocatalysis. The electrochemical response of the sensor is negatively correlated with the concentration of MCF-7 cells, with a linear range of 10~1 × 105 cells/mL, and a limit of detection as low as 5 cells/mL (S/N = 3). Through two-dimensional materials and enzyme-based dual signal amplification, this biosensor may pave new ways for the highly sensitive detection of tumor cells in real samples.

Formation of conversion coatings involves chemical reactions at the solid/liquid interface. A liquid membrane on Mg and its alloys was adopted to fabricate conversion films based on the hot corrosion reactions at the choline chloride-urea deep eutectic solvent (DES) membrane/substrate interface. Colour and corrosion resistance of the conversion films on pure Mg and AZ31B Mg alloys are found to be highly depended on the hot corrosion time. The conversion film possesses a porous surface. The size of crater-like features on the AZ31B is much smaller than that on the pure Mg (~80 nm vs. ~0.7 μm). The conversion film is mainly composed of MgCO3 and MgH2. The AZ31B magnesium alloy after the hot corrosion treatment by DES membrane shows black appearance, and the reflectance is very low (~10%) from visible light to near infrared light (400–2000 nm). Electrochemical polarization measurement and immersion test in NaCl aqueous solution show that the conversion film can improve the corrosion resistance of the substrates obviously.

Ce-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG)-based crystal powders were synthesized using a co-precipitation method. The effects of the sintering atmosphere and temperature on the luminescence property were investigated using the photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy along with X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PL and CL results showed that YAG:Ce samples sintered in an inert atmosphere at high temperatures had a higher luminescence intensity around 550 nm related to Ce3+ in the YAG host. The XRD results showed that high temperatures and inert atmosphere conditions were favorable to the growth of the YAG crystal. When the YAG:Ce samples were sintered in an inert atmosphere, the conversion of Ce3+ to Ce4+ could be suppressed effectively. Meanwhile, the CL intensity around 370 nm related to the antisite defects (AD) in the YAG lattice decreased significantly. Therefore, the YAG:Ce samples sintered in an inert atmosphere at high temperatures with a good crystal structure, high Ce3+ concentrations, and less AD had better luminescence properties. YAG:Ce samples synthesized using a co-precipitation method with excellent luminescence properties can be used as fast and efficient scintillation materials.

Compared with normal cells, cancer or tumor cells have a specific microenvironment and apparently possess a relatively large amount of ROS/RNS, and their overexpression is one of the important reasons for tumor development and deterioration. Therefore, monitoring the changes of intracellular ROS/RNS can improve the awareness of the clinical manifestations of the disease, which will be beneficial for the early diagnosis of cancer and improving treatment efficiency. Herein, in this study we have exploited and constructed a novel strategy based on the SiC@C nanowire electrode for intracellular electrochemical analysis to monitor ROS levels in cancer or tumor cells. Firstly, the SiC@C nanowire electrode was utilized to detect the intracellular ROS radical changes involved in the relevant biological processes of cancer cells where fluorescent zinc nanoclusters were biosynthesized in situ in target cancer cells by using the intracellular microenvironment and specificity of these cancer cells. By combining a confocal fluorescence microscopy study simultaneously, our observations illustrate that accompanied by the apparent change of the intracellular ROS, these in situ biosynthesized fluorescent nanoclusters gradually accumulate inside the cytosolic area with the increase of the reaction time. Moreover, it is evident that the size of the SiC@C nanoelectrodes can match the single cell dimensions, and its unique high spatial resolution provides the possibility of relevant intracellular molecular detection. These nanoelectrochemical biosensors can be adopted to quantitatively determine the change of the ROS content in target single cells in the relevant biological microenvironment or during the in situ biosynthesis process, and are also beneficial for understanding the related mechanism of some specific biological processes including the in situ synthesis at the single cell level.

‘Fangshan’ persimmon is one of the most important astringent persimmon cultivars. The combined use of postharvest treatments, 5% CO2 and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), at two storage temperatures (1 °C and 20 °C) was evaluated to determine the change rules of persimmon nutritional quality during storage and a best storage method on astringent persimmon. Results show that Total phenols, soluble tannins and total flavonoids were significantly positively correlated to the DPPH (0.502 ≤ r≤ 0.617, P

Samarium (III) doped fluorapatite phosphors La6-xBa4(SiO4)6F2: xSm3+ (LBSF: Sm3+) were synthesized for the first time, via the conventional high-temperature solid-state method in the air atmosphere. The samples were measured by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy, i.e. emission and excitation spectra, as well as luminescence decay curves. The as-prepared samples can be excited in the range from 300–500 nm, centered at 404 nm. Photoluminescence measurements showed the emission spectra are composed of four sharp peaks characteristic of Sm3+ ions, at about 565, 603, 650 and 711 nm. The critical concentration for quenching of Sm3+ ions in the LBSF matrix is about 0.12 mol. According to the Dexter's theory, the mechanism of energy transfer between Sm3+ ions was considered to be dipole-quadrupole (d-q) interactions, with the critical distance calculated by the concentration quenching method to 9.89 A. Moreover, the temperature-dependent emission spectra showed that the as-prepared phosphors have good thermal stability, with an activation energy of about 0.161 eV. Finally, according to the CIE coordination, the phosphor exhibited reddish-orange emission. Thanks to the mentioned favorable structural and optical properties, the Sm3+-doped La6Ba4(SiO4)6F2 phosphors have a potential application character, for the near ultraviolet white light emitting diodes.

A facile anodic treatment for magnesium alloy was proposed in a choline chloride-ethylene glycol based deep eutectic solvent (DES). Conversion films with interconnected porous networks and jagged nanorod arrays can be formed, which depends on the applied anodic current density. Crystallographic orientation of the substrate is accordingly changed. The conversion films are mainly composed of MgCO3 which results from the interaction between the Mg alloy and the released species from the decomposition of DES. A higher anodic current density produces a better corrosion resistant conversion film. Superhydrophobic and slippery surfaces can be achieved on the as-prepared conversion films to further improve the corrosion resistance.

We aimed to elucidate the possible yield-increasing mechanisms through regulation of shade-avoidance responses at both physiological and molecular levels under monoseeding. Our results revealed that monoseeding decreased the main stem height but increased the main stem diameter and the number of branches and nodes compared to the traditional double- and triple-seeding patterns. The chlorophyll contents were higher under monoseeding than that under double- and triple-seeding. Further analysis showed that this, in turn, increased the net photosynthetic rate and reallocated higher levels of assimilates to organs. Monoseeding induced the expression patterns of Phytochrome B (Phy B) gene but decreased the expression levels of Phytochrome A (Phy A) gene. Furthermore, the bHLH transcription factors (PIF 1 and PIF 4) that interact with the phytochromes were also decreased under monoseeding. The changes in the expression levels of these genes may regulate the shade-avoidance responses under monoseeding. In addition, monoseeding increased pod yield at the same population density through increasing the number of pods per plant and 100-pod weight than double- and triple-seeding patterns. Thus, we inferred that monoseeding is involved in the regulation of shade-avoidance responsive genes and reallocating assimilates at the same population density, which in turn increased the pod yield.

A new nanocomposite adsorbent ZIF-67/D201, in which nanocrystalline ZIF-67 were immobilized inside the networking pores of a commercial polystyrene anion exchanger D201 by an alternate deposition method, with high capacity and enhanced selective affinity toward benzotriazole (BTA) was fabricated and characterized. ZIF-67/D201 demonstrated precise selective adsorption of BTA when benzimidazole (BMA), with very similar chemical structure to BTA, coexisted. After the uptake of BTA, ZIF-67/D201 could be regenerated for repeated use with slight capacity loss. According to kinetics data, two diffusion steps driven by electrostatic attraction were found prior to adsorption equilibrium: a fast diffusion of the contaminant into mesopores of D201 and then a relatively slow diffusion into micropores of ZIF-67. The underlying mechanism for the enhanced selective adsorption was revealed by spectral analysis and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Three sorts of interactions (coordination, electrostatic attraction and π-π interaction) contributed to the fixing of contaminants. Among them, coordination was the predominant effect. For each sort of interaction, the binding energy of adsorbent-BTA was always larger than that of adsorbent-BMA, which was the intrinsic reason of the high selectivity in molecular level. The above results provided a strategy for precise separation of components with similar structures in water.

Nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) nanostructures have been considered as promising bifunctional electrocatalyst materials for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolyte. However, the activity of these materials toward overall water splitting is still unsatisfactory because a larger voltage is needed to drive the reactions. This study shows that more-efficient bifunctional catalysts based on NiCo2O4 materials can be obtained by adopting an integrated composite electrode with robust hollow structures. This novel electrode is constructed by the growth of hollow Ni@NiCo2O4 nanorod arrays on three-dimensional (3D) Ni foam. The interlayer of Ni hollow nanorods is conformally covered by NiCo2O4 nanosheets, providing large surface area and fast electron transport. Benefiting from these integrated characteristics, the hollow Ni@NiCo2O4 electrode as an oxygen evolution electrocatalyst can deliver a low overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and present excellent electrochemical durability. Meanwhile, the HER performance also impressive, with an overpotential of about 87 mV at 10 mA cm−2. As a result, the hollow Ni@NiCo2O4 electrode as a bifunctional catalyst can achieve a current density of 10 mA cm−2 with a voltage of only 1.58 V, showing promise for high performance yet cheap electrocatalysts for the overall water splitting reactions.

Isaria cicadae is an entomogenous fungus that has been used as a traditional Chinese medicinal materials to treat different diseases, including cancer. However, Isaria cicadae conidia for inhibitory activity against breast cancer cells growth are still not systematically studied. The present aim was to elucidate the phytochemical composition of Isaria cicadae conidia and to explore relevant anti-cancer potential in gynaecological carcinoma MCF-7 and Hela cells. Isaria cicadae conidia were identified by UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS: high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray/quadrupole time of flight tandem mass spectrometry technology. Eight main compounds were identified which are nucleosides, cordycepic acid, cordycepin, beauvericin and myriocin by MS fragmentation ions. The nuclear morphology indicated the typical characteristics of apoptosis by Hoechst staining. Annexin V/PI staining revealed that the number of apoptotic cells was increased by Isaria cicadae conidia treatment. Furthermore, Isaria cicadae conidia also induced the caspase-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. The findings suggest that the full-scale active ingredients highlight the significance of Isaria cicadae conidia as potential anti-cancer agent in China.

Based on density functional theory calculation, we have investigated the hydrogen storage properties of three types of Ca-decorated borophene which have been recently synthesized experimentally. It is found that Ca atoms have strong bonding strength with borophene without the problem of aggregation. The configuration of borophene has an important effect on the H2 storage capacity. Ca-decorated borophene of S2 and S3 are promising materials system for high-capacity hydrogen storage with gravimetric hydrogen density 9.5 wt% and 7.2 wt% while that of S1 are not. Not only the polarization mechanism but also the orbital hybridization are involved in the adsorption of H2. The temperature and pressure have also been taken into consideration. All the hydrogen adsorbed structures of S2 and S3 are stable at room temperature under mild pressure. Our results indicate that Ca-decorated borophene of S2 and S3 structures could be expected to be promising H2 storage materials for H2 fuel battery.

A novel Zn-Sn coating with a thickness of ~ 1 μm was potentiodynamically deposited on the Fe substrate from a deep eutectic solvent-based electrolyte without any additives. The Zn-Sn coating is a mixture of pure Zn and pure Sn single-phases. The Zn content is ~ 26.5 wt.% in the coating, but varies on the coating thickness. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows a double-layered structure in the coating, which contains a Sn-riched inner layer and a Zn-Sn alloy outer layer. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements indicate that the thin Zn-Sn coating shows obvious fluctuations of open circuit potential and significant passivations in the 3.5 wt.% NaCl aqueous solution. The formation of Zn hydroxides on the surface is responsible for the passivation of the thin coating, as revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The layered structure with varied compositions in the Zn-Sn coating is believed to depress the pitting corrosion and produce multiple passivations, thus improving the corrosion resistance of the coatings.

The aetiology of squash silverleaf (SSL) induced by the infestation of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) ‘biotype’ B (B. tabaci-B) is poorly understood. To help to find out how B. tabaci destroys Cucurbita pepo L. and induces SSL, changes induced by SSL and responses of C. pepo to B. tabaci-B infestation were studied by comparing chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and biochemical, morphological and anatomical aspects of grade 0–4 SSL leaves. The results showed that chlorophyll contents decreased and the chlorophyll a/b ratio increased with the increase of silvered leaf, which indicated that the decrease of chlorophyll contents led to silvered leaf. Anatomical observation showed that B. tabaci-B infestation changed the shape and arrangement of lower epidermis cells and spongy mesophyll cells. Moreover, air spaces appeared between upper epidermis and palisade tissue and in spongy tissue, which might be the cause of the increase in leaf thickness. Additionally, the altering of former spaces light reflection was another reason for leaf silvering. As response to B. tabaci-B infestation, the content of soluble proteins and soluble sugar decreased, and the content of Malondialdehyde (MDA) increased. Pearson correlation showed a significant correlation between fluorescence parameters (except α) and the other parameters measured in this study. The result also suggested that chlorophyll fluorescence can be widely used in field studies as an early diagnostic measure of stress in plant caused by adverse environmental conditions, especially by insect pests.

This study demonstrates the use of UV spectroscopy (UV) in combination with chemometrics as a simple and feasible approach for analysis of variety, adulteration, quality and ageing of apple juice. The results show that PCA-UV is adequate to differentiate apple juice varieties and adulteration. The percentage of the adulterant can be detected by PLSR-UV with RMSE 0.9980. For the evaluation of juice quality, PLSR-UV (RMSE=0.2555-2.3448; R-2=0.7276-0.9816) is recommended for the prediction of soluble solids, ascorbic acid, total flavonoids, total sugar and reducing sugar, whilst PCR-UV (RMSE=0.0000-2.7426; R-2=0.7073-1.0000) is adequate for the prediction of pH and antioxidant activity. In addition, PLSR-UV may be used to predict the storage time with RMSE=0.4681day and R-2=0.9832. Therefore, UV coupled with chemometrics has potential to be developed as a portable tool for the detection of variety, adulteration, quality and ageing of not only apple juices, but also other fruit and vegetable juices.

Large areas of gob containing a considerable amount of methane in China are produced annually. The practice of injecting CO 2 into gobs to extract methane could not only reduce the greenhouse gas emission, but also exploit clean methane resource. In this paper, an experimental apparatus was built to conduct the simulation of injecting CO 2 into gob. The results show that the gob volume can be orderly divided into three zones from bottom to top: the residual coal zone (RCZ), the gas transitive zone (GTZ) and the methane enrichment zone (MEZ). The gob methane concentration exhibits an increasing trend before and after CO 2 injection, and the methane concentration in the MEZ is obviously higher than that in the RCZ and GTZ. After CO 2 injection, the methane concentration in RCZ decreases, while the methane concentration in the MEZ significantly increases. Meanwhile, the methane concentration in the RCZ would decrease as the total amount of CO 2 injected increases and that the methane concentration in the MEZ would increase as the methane concentration in the RCZ increases. Based on the simulation results, a new in-situ technology was proposed and applied in a gob of Yiyuan mine in China to improve its methane extraction concentration by arranging a highly-located roadway in the MEZ and injecting CO 2 into the GTZ. The field testing shows that this technology can increase the gob methane concentration by 22% for the highly-located roadway with an original low methane concentration of 20%–25%.

Cr and Cr–P coatings were electrodeposited on Fe substrates from non-aqueous deep eutectic solvent-based electrolytes containing Cr(III). The optimized deposition parameters for the coating process were explored. A two-step process of Cr(III) reduction occurred, i.e. Cr(III) → Cr(II) → Cr(0), and the controlling step was promoted by adding NH4H2PO2. It was found that an electro-brush plated Ni underlayer was essential to obtain a smooth and compact Cr or Cr–P coating on the Fe substrate. The structure and composition of the as-deposited coatings were thoroughly analyzed. The corrosion behavior of the Cr and Cr–P coatings is quite different in 3.5 wt% NaCl and 0.1 M H2SO4 solutions. The diplex effects of the layered structures and ion-selective components in the as-prepared Cr-based coatings are suggested to be responsible for the different corrosion mechanism in different corrosion media.

Electro-brush plating (EBP) procedure using deep eutectic solvent (DES) based electrolytes was adopted for the first time to prepare nanocrystalline Ni coatings on Fe substrates. The electro-brush plated Ni (EBP Ni) coating is featured as lower surface roughness, better bonding strength, and higher wear resistance in comparison with the traditional electroplated Ni (EP Ni) from the same DES electrolyte. Nanoindentation tests indicate the EBP Ni has a high ratio of hardness to Young’s modulus (0.0551) and a high hardness of about 5.4 GPa, showing an optimum mechanical property. Moreover, the EBP Ni coating with a thickness of ∼3.6 μm exhibits an enhanced corrosion resistance over the EP Ni for protecting Fe substrate. The unique deposition dynamics at the electrode/DES interface during the EBP process is suggested as being responsible for the superior mechanical property and enhanced corrosion resistance of the EBP Ni coatings.

Trivalent cerium ions doped silica materials can be utilized as scintillator to detect ionizing radiation. At the same time, the damage induced by ionizing radiation can also influence the luminescence properties of Ce3+. In our research, we present the photoluminescence (PL) properties of Ce3+-doped silica materials prepared by sol-gel method after irradiation by 60Co gamma rays. The results show that PL emission band of Ce3+ in silica matrix has not changed pronouncedly, but the luminescence intensity decreases after irradiated by the dose of 500 Gy, 1 kGy and 10 kGy, which is due to the absorption of defect centers induced by the radiation damage. This implies that the radiation damage should be considered in the application of Ce3+-doped silica material as the scintillator detector.

The Ce3+-doped YAG-based powders have been synthesized with co-precipitation method. XRD spectra show a crystal phase. PL measurement shows that the luminescence spectrum is a broad emission band centered at 550 nm.

Gold-silver nanocages (GSNCs) are widely used in cancer imaging and therapy due to excellent biocompatibility, internal hollow structures, and tunable optical properties. However, their possible responses toward the tumor microenvironment are still not well understood. In this study, it is demonstrated that a kind of relatively small sized (35 nm) and partially hollow GSNCs (absorbance centered at 532 nm) can enhance the intrinsic photoacoustic imaging performances for blood vessels around tumor sites. More importantly, the high concentration of glutathione around the tumor cells' microenvironment may induce the aggregation, disintegration, and agglomeration of these GSNCs sequentially, allowing significant shifts in the absorbance spectrum of GSNCs to the near-infrared (NIR) region. This enhanced absorbance in the NIR region entails the significant photothermal therapy (PTT) effect. In vivo experiments, including photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) for cancer diagnosis and PTT in tumor model mice, also show coincident consequences. Taken together, the slightly hollow GSNCs may assist PAM-based tumor diagnosis and induce a tumor targeted PTT effect. This work paves a new avenue for the development of an alternative tumor diagnostic and therapeutic strategy.

An analytical method based on stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) coupled with pulse glow discharge-ion mobility spectrometry (PGD-IMS) was developed for analysis of three triazine pesticide residues in water and soil samples. An injection port with sealing device and stir bars hold device were designed and constructed to directly position the SBSE fiber including the extracted samples into the heating device, making desorption and detection of analytes proceeded simultaneously. The extraction conditions such as SBSE solid phase material, extraction time, extraction temperature, pH value and salt concentration were optimized. Mixture of MWCNTs-COOH and PDMS were shown to be effective in enriching the triazines. The LODs and LOQs of three triazines were found to be 0.006-0.015μgkg(-1) and 0.02-0.05μgkg(-1), and the linear range was 0.05-10μgL(-1) with determination coefficients from 0.9987 to 0.9993. The SBSE-PGD-IMS method was environmentally friendly without organic solvent consumption in the entire experimental procedures, and it was demonstrated to be a commendable rapid analysis technique for analysis of triazine pesticide residues in environmental samples on site. The proposed method was applied for the analysis of real ground water, surface water and soil samples.

Self-organized macroporous tungsten trioxide (WO3) films are obtained by anodic oxidation of DC-sputtered tungsten (W) layers on 10 mm × 25 mm indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass. Under optimized experimental conditions, uniformly macroporous WO3 films with a thickness of ca. 350 nm are formed. The film shows a connected network with average pore size of 100 nm and a pore wall thickness of approximately 30 nm. The anodized film becomes transparent after annealing without significant change in macroporous structure. In 0.1 M H2SO4, the macroporous WO3 films show enhanced electrochromic properties with a coloration efficiency of 58 cm2 C−1. Large modulation of transmittance (∼50% at 632.8 nm) and a switching speed of about 8 s are also achieved with this macroporous film.

We report a self-supported Co3O4 nanowire array film prepared by a facile thermal oxidative decomposition method and its fast electrochomic properties. The electrochromic performances of Co3O4 nanowire array film are investigated in 0.1 M KOH by means of transmittance, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) measurements. The effective area of the Co3O4 nanowire array film is 2×2 cm–2. The Co3O4 nanowire array film exhibits a transmittance modulation of 32% in the visible region and fast response times with 1.8 s for coloration and 1.4 s for bleaching. The electrochemical stability of the Co3O4 nanowire array film is characterized by chronoamperometry with potentiostatic cycling. After 4500 cycles, the peak currents of the film maintain 88% of the highest values.

A hierarchically porous cobalt oxide (Co3O4) array film, in which the skeleton is composed of ordered non-close-packed bowl array possessing nanoporous walls, is successfully prepared by electrodeposition through self-assembled monolayer polystyrene sphere template. As an anodic coloring material for electrochromic application, the hierarchically porous Co3O4 array film exhibits enhanced electrochromic properties with higher optical modulation, faster switching speed and better cycling performance, compared to dense Co3O4 film. The porous Co3O4 array film presents a quite good transmittance modulation with 42% in the visible range and also shows good reaction kinetics with fast response time of about 2 s, much higher than those of the dense film (25% and 4.5 s). The better electrochromic performances of the porous film are attributed to its highly porous morphology, which shortens the ion diffusion paths and provides bigger surface area.

An all-solid-state electrochromic (EC) device based on NiO/WO3 complementary structure and solid polyelectrolyte was manufactured for modulating the optical transmittance. The device consists of WO3 film as the main electrochromic layer, single-phase hybrid polyelectrolyte as the Li+ ion conductor layer, and NiO film as the counter electrochromic layer. Indium tin oxide- (ITO) coated glass was used as substrate and ITO films act as the transparent conductive electrodes. The effective area of the device is 5×5 cm2. The device showed an optical modulation of 55% at 550 nm and achieved a coloration efficiency of 87 cm2 C−1. The response time of the device is found to be about 10 s for coloring step and 20 s for bleaching step. The electrochromic mechanism in the NiO/WO3 complementary structure with Li+ ion insertion and extraction was investigated by means of cyclic voltammograms (CV) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Recently, an important topic of research has been how climate change is seriously threatening the sustainability of agricultural production. However, there is surprisingly little experimental data regarding how elevated temperature and CO2 will affect the growth of medicinal plants and production of bioactive compounds. Here, we comprehensively analyzed the effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on the photosynthetic process, biomass, total sugars, antioxidant compounds, antioxidant capacity, and bioactive compounds of Gynostemma pentaphyllum. Two different CO2 concentrations [360 and 720μmolmol(-1)] were imposed on plants grown at two different temperature regimes of 23/18 and 28/23°C (day/night) for 60days. Results show that elevated CO2 and temperature significantly increase the biomass, particularly in proportion to inflorescence total dry weight. The chlorophyll content in leaves increased under the elevated temperature and CO2. Further, electron transport rate (ETR), photochemical quenching (qP), actual photochemical quantum yield (Yield), instantaneous photosynthetic rate (Photo), transpiration rate (Trmmol) and stomatal conductance (Cond) also increased to different degrees under elevated CO2 and temperature. Moreover, elevated CO2 increased the level of total sugars and gypenoside A, but decreased the total antioxidant capacity and main antioxidant compounds in different organs of G. pentaphyllum. Accumulation of total phenolics and flavonoids also decreased in leaves, stems, and inflorescences under elevated CO2 and temperature. Overall, our data indicate that the predicted increase in atmospheric temperature and CO2 could improve the biomass of G. pentaphyllum, but they would reduce its health-promoting properties.

Rationale Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a lethal malignancy. Once relapsed, the disease is irreversible and most of the patients will die of cancer aggravation in 1 to 2 months. In the past several decades, little progress has been made in the systemic treatment of SCLC. Apatinib, as a novel small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor specifically targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2), has achieved progress in treatment of a variety of cancers. However, there has been no report of the targeted therapy with apatinib in SCLC yet. Patient concerns A 63-year-old man, an ex-smoker, presented with a slight hoarseness and cough. The patient was admitted to our department with a primary diagnosis of SCLC at an extensive stage (ES-SCLC). After 17 months of successful first-, second-, and third-line chemotherapy, the disease eventually became relapsed. Then, apatinib treatment started promptly on demand by the patient and his family. Intervention After presenting an informed consent, the patient received apatinib treatment immediately at a dose of 250 mg/day orally. Outcomes (1) On the 28th day of apatinib therapy, the symptoms of dyspnea and poor appetite of the patient were notably improved. (2) The CT scan taken on the 70th day showed that the pleural effusion in the left lung almost disappeared. (3) The elevated serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) level was decreased. The patient died of acute respiratory failure on the 172nd day of apatinib treatment. Importantly, the tumor mass did not enlarge obviously during apatinib treatment. Lessons Here, we presented a case with relapsed SCLC who unexpectedly responded to single-agent apatinib treatment. Therefore, this report will shed light on future studies of targeted therapy with apatinib in SCLC at different stages.

Superhydrophobic coatings with Cassie state can physically isolate the coating/substrate from the corrosive medium by virtue of their entrapped air-pockets, thus providing corrosion protection. Self-healing coatings are of interest for their ability in self-repairing local damage caused by external factors. Such coatings with dual corrosion inhibiting function, i.e., superhydrohpobicity and self-healing, are seldom produced. In this study, a novel chemical conversion coating (CCC) on the AZ31B magnesium alloy with dual function of superhydrophobicity and self-healing is successfully fabricated from a Cr (III) containing deep eutectic solvent. The Cr(III) CCC is mainly composed of Cr2O3. Superhydrophobicity is achieved for the Cr(III) CCC by stearic acid modification due to its hierarchically microstructure. The smart Cr(III) CCC on the Mg alloy exhibits a great enhancement of corrosion resistance in the NaCl solution due to the proposed dual corrosion inhibiting function. The superhydrophobic effect of the coating provides the first corrosion barrier for the substrate. The second corrosion barrier can be stimulated when the superhydrophobicity is collapsed in the corrosion medium, i.e., the realization of self-healing behavior of the coating. The formation of Cr-based oxides or compounds caused by external factors is suggested as being responsible for the self-healing mechanism of the smart coating.