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Today, poor water and air quality caused by fine particulate matters (PMs), toxic spills, and antibiotic-containing wastewater are posing serious threats and risks to the environment and human heal...

Considering the complexity of toxic ingredients in practical polluted water, the development of energy- and labor-saving and environmentally friendly multifunctional materials to decontaminate wastewater is of great necessity. Herein, a multifunctional branched poly(ethylenimine) (bPEI) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)/tungsten oxide/polyacrylonitrile (PP/WO

Mental abacus is mental arithmetic with the help of an imagined abacus. Children skilled in mental abacus have been shown to exhibit top-quality arithmetic abilities. The current study investigated whether children with high-level mental abacus ability could outperform untrained control children in non-symbolic number sense, which is considered to be fundamental for arithmetic development. One hundred and fifty children (75 children skilled in mental abacus and 75 controls) took part in this study. Children skilled in mental abacus completed a mental abacus level test. The two groups of children performed serial cognitive tasks, assessing non-symbolic number comparison, arithmetic, language, spatial processing, visual perception, attention, processing speed, working memory, and general intelligence. Results showed that children skilled in mental abacus had significantly better non-symbolic number sense than the other children after controlling for general intelligence. The significant difference in non-symbolic number sense remained after controlling for age, gender, all types of cognitive processing available, and arithmetic performance. A mediation model showed that non-symbolic number sense partially mediated the group difference in arithmetic development. These findings suggest that children skilled in mental abacus have enhanced non-symbolic number sense and raise the possibility that mental abacus training could directly improve children’s non-symbolic numerical skills.

A void zone, the so-called raceway, may be formed when gas is laterally injected into a particle packed bed and the char particles may combust when the gas enters at a high temperature for example coke combustion in the raceway of ironmaking blast furnaces. Experimental and numerical studies of multiphase flow in the raceway have been conducted widely in recent years, however, the study of reacting flows in the raceway is still limited at a particle scale. This work is to study the gas-solid reacting flows in the raceway using a particle scale CFD-DEM approach, featuring heat and mass transfers and chemical reactions between the gas and solid phases. The simulation results are comparable with the measurements in the physical experiments and previously calculated results. The key phenomena of flow and thermochemical behaviour related to the raceway formation at the particle scale are obtained. Then the model is used to study the dependency of raceway formation and thermochemical behaviour on several key raceway variables including gas inlet velocity, particle size, bed height and particle discharge rate. The simulation results indicate that before generating a stable raceway, a larger blast inlet velocity or a larger discharge rate can form a larger raceway cavity, while the effect of packed bed level shows an opposite trend. The model provides fundamental insights into the complex reacting flows in the raceway zone for a better understanding and optimization in operations.

Purpose To determine the prevalence of anorexia among advanced lung cancer patients at the beginning of receiving home-based palliative care and to examine the predictive role of anorexia in survival of patients with advanced lung cancer. Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed data from 918 advanced lung cancer patients who had received home-based palliative care between March 2010 and March 2020. We used Kaplan-Meier survival curves to determine the factors associated with survival time and applied the Cox proportional hazards model to examine the effect of anorexia on survival. Results The study included 918 patients with a mean age of 63.5 years; and 72.2% of them were men. Factors associated with shortened survival included gender, place of residence, weight loss, anorexia, nausea and Karnofsky performance status (KPS). In a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model, after adjusting for male gender, patient lives in city, and low KPS, we found that anorexia was an independent negative predictor of survival. Conclusions As an independent factor predicting the survival of patients with advanced lung cancer, anorexia should be taken seriously by medical staff. This predictive factor may serve as early risk identification indicator for healthcare workers who provide home-based palliative care, thereby providing personalized palliative care for advanced lung cancer patients.

Progressive muscle relaxation training (PMRT) has been widely applied to improve the physical and mental health of patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of PMRT on the symptoms and quality of life (QOL) of cancer patients.Nine databases (Web of Science, CENTRAL, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, OpenGrey, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP database) were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed the effects of PMRT on health-related outcomes for cancer patients. The risk of bias of the included studies and the evidence quality were appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach, respectively. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.Twelve RCTs sampling 1147 patients were included. PMRT showed significant effects of alleviating anxiety [standardized mean difference (SMD) = -1.32, 95% CI (-1.88, -0.75), P 0.001] and pain [SMD = -1.02, 95% CI (-1.93, -0.11), P = 0.030], and improving QOL [SMD = 1.65, 95% CI (0.53, 2.76), P = 0.004] in cancer patients. Regarding depression, self-esteem, nausea, and vomiting, PMRT showed better effects compared to the control group. However, no significant effect of reducing fatigue was detected [SMD = -1.00, 95% CI (-2.27, 0.27), P = 0.120]. The overall quality of evidence was moderate to very low.PMRT is a promising complementary therapy that may improve the health-related outcomes of cancer patients. Future studies with rigorous research design are needed to obtain valid conclusions.

Background Mathematical expressions mainly include arithmetic (such as 8 − (1 + 3)) and algebra (such as a − (b + c)). Previous studies have shown that both algebraic processing and arithmetic involved the bilateral parietal brain regions. Although previous studies have revealed that algebra was dissociated from arithmetic, the neural bases of the dissociation between algebraic processing and arithmetic is still unclear. The present study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the specific brain networks for algebraic and arithmetic processing. Methods Using fMRI, this study scanned 30 undergraduates and directly compared the brain activation during algebra and arithmetic. Brain activations, single-trial (item-wise) interindividual correlation and mean-trial interindividual correlation related to algebra processing were compared with those related to arithmetic. The functional connectivity was analyzed by a seed-based region of interest (ROI)-to-ROI analysis. Results Brain activation analyses showed that algebra elicited greater activation in the angular gyrus and arithmetic elicited greater activation in the bilateral supplementary motor area, left insula, and left inferior parietal lobule. Interindividual single-trial brain-behavior correlation revealed significant brain-behavior correlations in the semantic network, including the middle temporal gyri, inferior frontal gyri, dorsomedial prefrontal cortices, and left angular gyrus, for algebra. For arithmetic, the significant brain-behavior correlations were located in the phonological network, including the precentral gyrus and supplementary motor area, and in the visuospatial network, including the bilateral superior parietal lobules. For algebra, significant positive functional connectivity was observed between the visuospatial network and semantic network, whereas for arithmetic, significant positive functional connectivity was observed only between the visuospatial network and phonological network. Conclusion These findings suggest that algebra relies on the semantic network and conversely, arithmetic relies on the phonological and visuospatial networks.

A binderless composite cathode for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Mo2C-decorated carbon cloth (denoted as CC/MC), is simply fabricated via a novel and unique strategy which involves a solid-solid phase interfacial electrochemical reaction between carbon fiber and bulk-MoS2 in molten NaCl-KCl (700 °C). MoS2, evenly coated on carbon cloth (CC), is electrochemically reduced in situ and readily reacts with the carbon fibers of CC current collector to form a Mo2C nanoparticle layer. The experiment and calculation results show that the applied electric field results in a declining migration barrier of Mo vacancies in Mo2C lattice, which promotes the diffusion of Mo atoms into carbon across the interfacial Mo2C layer, thereby impelling the combination of Mo with C in depth. The electrochemical tests indicate that the optimized cathode (CC/MC-2) exhibits a small overpotential of 134.4 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and stays stable for HER in acidic media. The catalytic capacity for N2 reduction of CC/MC-2 is analyzed. In addition, a Ni-doped Mo2C-modified carbon fabric electrode with enhanced HER activity (η10 = 96.6 mV) can be prepared through a similar process.

The aim of this study is to prepare a fibrous membrane scaffold that possesses a frogspawn structure for high-efficiency oil-water separation. Polyamic acid was first electrospun onto a rotating wheel-collector to obtain the fibrous membrane. Subsequently, post-processing by immersion in a polydimethylsiloxane solution and a silica nanoparticles suspension, followed by a thermal treatment generated a frogspawn-structured fibrous membrane. The obtained membrane achieved superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, with the water contact angle as high as 155.75° and the oil contact angle lower than 10°. The separation efficiencies of the membrane were higher than 99.55% and the permeate flux was maintained at greater than 4400 L/m2∙h after 20 separation cycles. Additionally, the wettability studies suggested the membrane exhibits high stability because it can resist damages due to high temperature (150 °C), acid/basic conditions and organic/inorganic solvents. These findings indicated that this composite membrane has great potential for use in gravity-driven oil-water separation and can extend the range of its application for treatments of oil spills incident, oily wastewater and spent liquor.

p-Arsanilic acid (p-ASA) is widely used as feed additives in animal production, and its transformation in environment media may cause arsenic contamination of soils and waters. It is essential to find a technology to effectively treat p-ASA, and meanwhile greatly decrease the mobility of the arsenic. Herein, we propose a disilicate-assisted Fe/Al electrolysis (D-FeAl-E) process for the degradation of p-ASA and the subsequent immobilization of inorganic arsenic. The results showed that, in the first stage of D-FeAl-E, namely the iron anode electrolysis process with disilicate, p-ASA was degraded by 92% under a near-neutral condition. The efficient degradation of p-ASA could be attributed to the disilicate-coordinated electrolytic ferrous ions, which activated dioxygen to produce more reactive oxygen species (e.g., O2−, H2O2 and OH in this study) to attack p-ASA molecules. Following the first stage, the produced inorganic arsenic and other intermediates can be further removed in the second stage of D-FeAl-E process (the Al anode electrolysis), via the coagulation effect initiated by the electrogenerated hydroxylated aluminum species. Electrogenerated Al(III) ions hydrolyzed into positively charged monomeric/oligomeric Al species, which could result in the dissociation of disilicate-Fe(III) complexes, and the formation of hydroxides and oxo-bridging polynuclear entities for arsenic immobilization. Leaching stability tests suggested that the D-FeAl-E process was superior to the conventional electrocoagulation method with respect to the stability of the generated arsenic-containing solid sludge. The D-FeAl-E process is free of the use of chemical oxidants and coagulants, but it provides both oxidation and coagulation effects for the abatement of p-ASA during the two-stage electrolytic process. Therefore, it is expected to be engineered as efficient and compact electrochemical technology capable of providing both oxidation and coagulation effect for decontamination.

The Fe−Si−Zr alloys have attracted considerable interests in recent decades. It is important to study this ternary phase diagram for experimental design. In this paper, the Fe−Si−Zr ternary system is investigated by combining the experiments and thermodynamic calculations. Liquidus surface projection of the Fe−Si−Zr system is characterised using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The liquidus projection of this ternary system is constructed by identifying primary crystallization phases and invariant reaction temperatures in the as-cast alloys. Eleven different primary solidification regions are observed. Based on the experimental results of this work and the data from the previous work in the literature, the thermodynamic calculation of the Fe−Si−Zr system is performed using CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) technique. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of the Fe−Si−Zr system is obtained. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. This study provides a set of reliable thermodynamic parameters to the Fe-based thermodynamic database, and a cost-effective tool to design experiments and manufacturing processes.

Water scarcity and the uneven distribution of water resources in China have resulted in water shortages for agricultural irrigation in arid and semi-arid areas. Reclaimed water used for agricultural irrigation has become an effective solution in the context of the global water shortage. In order to improve soil productivity and solve the shortage of water resources, we carried out reclaimed water irrigation experiments on polluted soil. Compared with full irrigation treatments, the EC value of reclaimed water under deficit irrigation treatments decreased by 2.89–42.90%, and the content of organic matter increased by 6.31–12.10%. The proportion of Acidobacteria community in soils with different cadmium concentration gradients irrigated with reclaimed water ranged from 13.6% to 30.5%, its relative abundance decreased with the increase of soil cadmium concentration. In particular, the relative abundance of Pseudomonas pathogens in deficit irrigation treatments was lower than that of the full irrigation treatments. RDA analysis showed that the environmental factors that played a leading role in the change of microbial community structure were organic matter and pH. Furthermore, the metabolic function potential of the rhizosphere soil bacterial community in deficit irrigation treatments was higher than that of full irrigation treatments with reclaimed water. This study proved that reclaimed water irrigation for cadmium contaminated soil did not aggravate the pollution level and promoted the soil ecological environment with better microbial community diversity.

Efficient electrogeneration of hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) is critical for treatment of refractory pollutants by the electro-Fenton process. An effective strategy is developed by combining a flow-through reactor with a poly- tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-modified graphite felt cathode. In this design, anodic oxygen is directly used for efficient H(2)O(2) generation at the modified cathode. Experimental results show that the modified cathode with the optimum PTFE content can produce 29.6 mg/L of H(2)O(2), which is 16 times higher than the unmodified graphite felt cathode for a flow rate of 3 mL/min. Maximum H(2)O(2) production, up to 30.7 mg/L, was obtained under the following conditions: 120 mA, 3 mL/min, initial pH 13, no external aeration.

With increasing water pollution and human health problems caused by oily wastewater, the fabrication of oil-water separation materials has become an urgent task. However, most of the reported materials have a single function and poor performance. In this paper, a multifunctional zinc oxide/polyaniline/polyacrylonitrile (ZnO/PANI/PAN) nanofibrous membrane with needle-like ZnO nanorods was prepared by

In this paper, the active component zero-valent copper (ZVC) supported by chitosan activated carbon ball (CTS-ACB) (i.e. ZVC/CTS-ACS catalyst) was successfully prepared. The characterization results showed obvious characteristics of activated carbon and zero-valent copper. The catalyst was used to degrade fulvic acid (FA) in catalytic wet oxidation(CWO) system. The two significant factors acidity and temperature were found with the statistical tool Plackett-Buimanhe(PB) in CWO for FA removal. Then the response surface methodology(RSM) model was used to optimize the experimental conditions in order to obtain the optimal FA removal rate. With the optimal experimental parameters, that is, a temperature of 94°C and an acidity of 3.8, the average maximum removal rate of FA was 93.02%, which was in agreement with the expected result of the model 93.86%, indicating that the model is well established. The comparison of catalytic performance showed that the addition of catalyst ZVC / CTS-ACS could increase the removal rate of FA, colour number(CN) and TOC by 93.6%, 83.5% and 81.9% respectively. The utilization of ZVC can greatly increase the mineralization rate of FA , which indicates the high catalytic activity and minerazation of the catalyst.

The Heart to Heart Card Game improves psychological health outcomes in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer, but effectiveness studies for patients at home are rare. This randomized controlled study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Heart to Heart Card Game on patients with advanced cancer receiving home-based palliative care. Sixty-six participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 34) and control group (n = 32). The quality of life, dignity, and psychological distress were considered as outcomes, which were assessed pre-intervention and six weeks after the intervention. There was a statistical difference in the quality of life (global health statues) between the intervention group and the control group after intervention (z = 2.017, p < 0.05). A significant difference was found in the quality of life (emotional, social function), dignity (symptom distress dimension), and psychological distress in the intervention group through intragroup comparison before and after the intervention. This randomized trial showed that the Heart to Heart Card Game likely alleviates barriers to end-of-life conversations and helps patients with advanced cancer maintain a more stable mental state. This trial has been registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (registration number: ChiCTR2100049933).

Wastewater pollution has always been one of the most severe worldwide environmental problems. In addition, in light of the frequent oil spills that have occurred in recent years, the treatment of oily wastewater is particularly important. In this work, a novel zeolitic imidazolate framework-8@thiolated graphene (ZIF-8@GSH) composites-based polyimide (PI) nanofibrous membrane was developed via a facile electrospinning and in situ hydrothermal synthesis approaches for effective purification of oily wastewater. The membrane showed superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity and high separation efficiency (>99.9%) for a wide range of oil/water mixtures and water-in-oil emulsions. Besides, the membrane demonstrated excellent photocatalytic dye degradation, antibacterial, self-cleaning, and mechanochemical durable abilities, showing high potential in oily wastewater treatment and water remediation.

Air particulate pollution from ever-increasing industrialization poses an enormous threat to public health. Thus, the development of a green air filter with high efficiency and performance is of urgent necessity. In this study, we introduce a new effective air filtration membrane that can be used for outdoor protection. The air filter's composite nanofibre materials were prepared from polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-sodium lignosulfonate (LS) via a "green" electrospinning method and thermal crosslinking. The addition of LS helped increase the PM2.5 removal efficiency compared to that of a pure PVA nanofibre membrane. The pressure drops of the electrospun PVA-LS membranes exceeded those of the pristine PVA air filter. The remarkable air filtration performance was maintained even after 10 cycles of circulation filtration. In addition, the PVA-LS composite nanofibre membrane exhibited excellent mechanical properties and transparency due to the introduction of LS. This study provides new insight into the design and development of high-performance and high-visibility green filter media, which include personal protection and building screens.

Removal of excessive nutrients (N and P) is one of the most concerned issues for wastewater treatment. This study presents a paired electrolytic system consisting of Al cathode and RuO2/Ti anode for the simultaneous removal of phosphate and ammonia in wastewaters. The comparative study on the dissolving behaviors of Al cathode and Al anode showed that Al cathode could achieve a continuous and stable dissolution of aluminum, thereby forming flocs and small amounts of water soluble aluminum species for decontamination. The electrogenerated OH– in the vicinity of cathode raised the local alkalinity and caused the chemical dissolution of aluminum. According to the experiment of non-electrolytic dissolution of aluminum in alkaline solution, the local pH resulting in the cathodic dissolution of Al was estimated. The paired electrolytic system showed the capability to simultaneously remove ammonia and phosphate in simulated wastewater, and the pH neutralizing effect in association with the formation of Al species could promote the electrochemical oxidation of ammonia. When the paired electrolytic system was applied to the treatment of landfill leachate, 96.9% of ammonia nitrogen, 87.4% of total phosphorous and 89.9% of COD could be eliminated after three hours of electrolysis at 80 mA/cm2. The results shown in study reveal that the dissolution process of Al cathode enables a convenient control on the dissolving-out amounts of aluminum via regulating the applied current density, and the paired electrolytic system can be developed as an energy-efficient electrochemical wastewater treating method.

The capacitive performances of carbon materials greatly rely on the porous structure and conductive network. However, the compromise of carbon materials with suitable porosity and 3D conductive framework still exists difficulty. Herein, a hierarchical porous free-standing carbon nanofiber (CNF) membrane was obtained from electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) nanofiber membrane via one-step carbonization and activation process. The influence of carbonization temperature on microstructure and electrochemical performance of carbons are investigated. The 800 °C carbonized sample CA-CNFs-800 exhibits large specific surface area of 720.8 m2 g−1 and suitable pore size distribution. The micropore dominated structure and three-dimensional conductive carbon networks enable fast electron/ion transport. The specific capacitance reaches 229.4 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 with good rate performance of 72.8% capacitance retention at 20 A g−1 for CA-CNFs-800. Moreover, CA-CNFs-800 possess high capacitance retention of 97.3% after 40,000 cycles at 20 A g−1. The CA-CNFs outperform other bio-based carbon materials, highlighting the great promise of CA-based CNFs for improving the capacitive performance of supercapacitors in electronic energy storage devices.

Dissolved silicate, as a ubiquitous inorganic component in natural waters, is reported to depress the reactivity of zero-valent iron (ZVI) for reductive reactions under anoxic conditions, but it is unclear if the same inhibitory effect occurs for a ZVI/O

A number of studies have investigated the cognitive deficits underlying dyslexia and dyscalculia. Yet, it remains unclear as to whether dyslexia and dyscalculia are associated with the common visual perception deficits. The current investigation analyzed cognitive performance in children with dyslexia, dyscalculia, comorbidity, and typically developing subjects. The results showed that children with dyslexia, dyscalculia and comorbidity exhibited common deficits in numerosity processing and visual perception. Furthermore, visual perception deficits accounted for deficits in numerosity processing in all three groups. The results suggest that visual perception deficits are a common cognitive deficit underlying both developmental dyslexia and dyscalculia.

The study investigated cross-cultural differences in variability and average performance in arithmetic, mathematical reasoning, symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude processing, intelligence, spatial ability, and mathematical anxiety in 890 6- to 9-year-old children from the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. Cross-cultural differences explained 28% of the variance in arithmetic and 17.3% of the variance in mathematical reasoning, with Chinese children outperforming the other two groups. No cross-cultural differences were observed for spatial ability and mathematical anxiety. In all samples, symbolic magnitude processing and mathematical reasoning were independently related to early arithmetic. Other factors, such as non-symbolic magnitude processing, mental rotation, intelligence, and mathematical anxiety, produced differential patterns across the populations. The results are discussed in relation to potential influences of parental practice, school readiness, and linguistic factors on individual differences in early mathematics. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Cross-cultural differences in mathematical ability are present in preschool children. Similar mechanisms of mathematical development operate in preschool children from the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. Tasks that require understanding of numbers are best predictors of arithmetic in preschool children. What does this study add? Cross-cultural differences in mathematical ability become greater with age/years of formal education. Similar mechanisms of mathematical development operate in early primary school children from the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. Symbolic number magnitude and mathematical reasoning are the main predictors of arithmetic in all three populations.

Numerous studies have shown that the brain regions around bilateral intraparietal cortex are critical for number processing and arithmetical computation. However, the neural circuits for more advanced mathematics such as mathematical problem solving (with little routine arithmetical computation) remain unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study (N = 24 undergraduate students) compared neural bases of mathematical problem solving (i.e., number series completion, mathematical word problem solving, and geometric problem solving) and arithmetical computation. Direct subject- and item-wise comparisons revealed that mathematical problem solving typically had greater activation than arithmetical computation in all 7 regions of the semantic system (which was based on a meta-analysis of 120 functional neuroimaging studies on semantic processing). Arithmetical computation typically had greater activation in the supplementary motor area and left precentral gyrus. The results suggest that the semantic system in the brain supports mathematical problem solving.

Free-standing N-doped carbon nanofiber membranes have been obtained from cellulose acetate (CA) and soy protein isolate (SPI). As an environmental friendliness, inexpensive and abundant polysaccharide in nature, cellulose and its derivatives have shown great potentials in the preparation of energy storage materials. This work successfully fabricated cellulose-based carbon nanofiber membranes through electrospinning, regeneration process and carbonization. Furthermore, this paper has intensively studied the electrospinning parameters of CA (main component) and SPI composite fiber membranes and explored the influence of carbonization temperature on their microstructure and electrochemical properties. The resultant CA-SPI derived carbon nanofiber membranes are applied in supercapacitors (SCs) for the first time, and display good electrochemical performance because of their unique structures and pseudo-capacitance contribution from heteroatoms. The as-received CA-SPI-800 exhibits large specific capacitance of 219.3 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 in 6 M KOH. CA-SPI-800 shows high cycling stability with 98.9% capacitance retention after 50,000 cycles at 20 A g−1. The symmetrical supercapacitor possesses 99% Columbic efficiency and outstanding cycling stability of 94.1% retention after 40,000 charging-discharging processes at 20 A g−1. It is expected that the design of CA-SPI nanofiber membranes will provide a successful route for the preparation of cellulose derived nanofibers, and broaden their applications in low-consumption and green energy storage devices.

Currently, air pollution as a thorny issue has been affecting the atmospheric environment and human health for a long time. Air filtration is a crucial and effective method to improve the air quality. The nanofiber membranes fabricated by electrospinning technology have play a prospective role in the field of air filtration due to their porous structure, high specific surface area, controllable morphology and multi-functional fiber surface. The excessive utilization of traditional air filter materials prepared from non-degradable polymers or glass fibers poses huge challenges to environmental protection. Supported by the advantages of wide availability, environmental sustainability, biocompatibility and biodegradability, natural polymers have become good candidates to substitute traditional synthetic polymers for manufacturing air filtration media. In this review, the necessity and mechanism of air filtration are firstly introduced. On this basis, it is proposed to evaluate the performance parameters of nanofiber membranes prepared by electrospinning technology in air filtration. In addition, in view of the restrictions of traditional air filtration materials, the valuable prospects of eco-friendly and sustainable natural bio-based materials are introduced in detail, as well as the diverse categories and comprehensive performance of their nanofiber membranes prepared by electrospinning technology in removing air pollutants. Given that the research summary of this review, we finally deliberate the remaining problems and future challenges.

Sb2S3 and CuSbS2 have been proposed as alternative earth-abundant absorber materials for thin-film solar cells. However, no thermodynamic study of the S−Sb binary system and the Cu−S−Sb ternary system were investigated. In this paper, The S−Sb system and the Cu−S−Sb system are calculated utilizing the so-called CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) technique. Using TEM-EDS and XRD, Cu0.9Sb1S2 is experimentally confirmed at the Cu1Sb1S2 and Sb2S3 two-phases region in the isothermal section at 673 K of the Cu−S−Sb ternary system. Given the asymmetric shape and miscibility gap of the liquidus in the S−Sb phase diagram, the associate solution model for the liquid phase is adopted. The solution phases (liquid, bcc, fcc) are treated with the Redlich–Kister equation. The compounds S3Sb2, Cu3SbS3, Cu12Sb4S13, CuSbS2, and Cu3SbS4 are described as a stoichiometric compound. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of the S−Sb binary system and the Cu−S−Sb ternary system are obtained. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. This study provides a set of reliable thermodynamic parameters to the Cu−Sb−S thermodynamic database, and a cost-effective tool to design material synthesis experiments and manufacturing processes.

In this study Cu-Fe bimetallic aerogel-like carbon based on sodium alginate (SA) was prepared as catalytic particle electrode by freeze-drying and carbonization process. The characterization indicates that Cu and Fe were loaded on the surface and inside SA-based biomass carbon (SAC) in the form of a zero-valent copper-iron alloy to form a Cu-Fe/Sodium alginate Carbon (Cu-Fe/SAC) particle electrode. After using a three-dimensional Electro-Fenton (3D-EF) system with the prepared particle electrode, the optimal experimental operating parameters for removal of fulvic acid (FA) were obtained as follows: voltage 2.5 V, pH 5.4, and catalyst dosage 4 g/L. A removal efficiency from 82.9% to 74.4% for FA was achieved in a wide pH range of 3–7. Comparison experimental results indicate that the 3D-EF system with bimetallic Cu-Fe/SAC as the catalytic particle electrode (CPE) has higher FA degradation rate and mineralization efficiency than two-dimensional Electro-Fenton (2D-EF) system, even higher than the 3D-EF system with Cu/SAC or Fe/SAC. Hydroxyl radicals (·OH) trapping experiments showed that the main contribution to FA degradation and mineralization in the 3D-EF system would be the ·OH radical produced by a heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction. The comparison and trapping experiment results indicate that the possible mechanism of the 3D-EF with Cu-Fe/SAC as CPE for FA degradation may involve adsorption, anode oxidation, heterogeneous and homogeneous Fenton-like reactions.

The phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties of the Al–Ge–Ni system are useful for understanding the diffusion process during the transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding. In this work, the thermodynamic description of the Al–Ge–Ni system over the whole composition and temperature ranges was performed by means of the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) method. The enthalpies of mixing of the liquid phase, three isothermal sections at 973, 823, and 673 K and nine vertical sections at 10, 20, 35, 55, 60, 70, 75, and 80 at% Ni and at a constant Al:Ni ratio of 1:3 were taken into account in the present optimization work. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of the Al–Ge–Ni system was first obtained. The liquidus projection and reaction scheme were constructed according to the thermodynamic parameters obtained in this work. The phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties calculated by the present thermodynamic description show satisfactory agreement with the available experimental information.

Sodium disilicate (SD), an inorganic and environmentally friendly ligand, is introduced into the conventional iron electrolysis system to achieve an oxidizing Fenton process to degrade organic pollutants. Electrolytic ferrous ions, which are complexed by the disilicate ions, can chemically reduce dioxygen molecules via consecutive reduction steps, producing H2O2 for the Fenton-oxidation of organics. At the near-neutral pH (from 6 to 8), the disilicate-Fe(II) complexes possess strong reducing capabilities; therefore, a near-neutral pH rather than an acid condition is preferable for the disilicate-assisted iron electrolysis (DAIE) process. Following the DAIE process, the different complexing capacities of disilicate for ferrous/ferric ions and calcium ions can be used to break the disilicate-iron complexes. The addition of CaO or CaCl2 can precipitate ferrous/ferric ions, disilicates and possibly heavy metals in the wastewater. Compared to previously reported organic and phosphorus ligands, SD is a low-cost inorganic agent that does not lead to secondary pollution, and would not compete with the target organic pollutants for •OH; therefore, it would greatly expand the application fields of the O2 activation process. The combination of DAIE and CaO treatments is envisioned to be a versatile and affordable method for treating wastewater with complicated pollutants (e.g., mixtures of biorefractory organics and heavy metals).

The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of a novel oxidant system, namely the combined use of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) and permanganate (CUPP), for the degradation of benzene and trichloroethylene (TCE) in simulated groundwater. The CUPP process exhibited favorable oxidizing capability because the in-situ generated colloidal and amorphous MnO 2 linked the two oxidants. Compared with the separate use of permanganate or peroxymonosulfate, the CUPP process showed much better efficiency for the removal of refractory benzene. According to the electron paramagnetic resonance analysis and PMS-activating experiments, both colloidal and amorphous MnO 2 (AM-MnO 2 ) triggered the radical-mediated oxidation, but the AM-MnO 2 -activated PMS showed an adsorption-dependent oxidizing capability. For the CUPP process, higher temperatures promoted the initial degradation rate of benzene, but did not change its final removal efficiency. The degradation of benzene was mostly associated with the activated PMS, and the intermediates also competed with TCE for KMnO 4 . The KMnO 4 component played a more important role than PMS for the removal of TCE. For an aqueous mixture of 0.3 mM benzene and TCE, the combination of 2.4 mM PMS and 1.8 mM KMnO 4 was optimal, achieving removal efficiencies higher than 85% for both pollutants. Regarding the degradation of benzene, chloride ions had a concentration-dependent effect, and bicarbonate ions and dihydrogen phosphate showed different levels of retarding effect. The CUPP is envisaged to be used as a remedial reagent for the in-situ chemical oxidation of groundwater contaminants.

Arithmetic principles are the regularities underlying arithmetic computation. Little is known about how the brain supports the processing of arithmetic principles. The current fMRI study examined neural activation and functional connectivity during the processing of verbalized arithmetic principles, as compared to numerical computation and general language processing. As expected, arithmetic principles elicited stronger activation in bilateral horizontal intraparietal sulcus and right supramarginal gyrus than did language processing, and stronger activation in left middle temporal lobe and left orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus than did computation. In contrast, computation elicited greater activation in bilateral horizontal intraparietal sulcus (extending to posterior superior parietal lobule) than did either arithmetic principles or language processing. Functional connectivity analysis with the psychophysiological interaction approach (PPI) showed that left temporal-parietal (MTG-HIPS) connectivity was stronger during the processing of arithmetic principle and language than during computation, whereas parietal-occipital connectivities were stronger during computation than during the processing of arithmetic principles and language. Additionally, the left fronto-parietal (orbital IFG-HIPS) connectivity was stronger during the processing of arithmetic principles than during computation. The results suggest that verbalized arithmetic principles engage a neural network that overlaps but is distinct from the networks for computation and language processing.

The isothermal sections at 1073 and 1273 K, and liquidus surface projection of the Ti–V–Zr system were investigated using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Combined with experimental results in the present work and literature, the Ti–V–Zr system was optimized by the means of the CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagram) method. The solution phases, liquid, hcp (Ti, Zr) and bcc (Ti, V, Zr), were modeled with the substitutional solution model, and the compound V 2 Zr was treated as (Ti, V, Zr) 2 (Ti, V, Zr) based on its thermodynamic model in the V–Zr system and the experimental solid solubility of Ti in the Ti–V–Zr system. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of the Ti–V–Zr system was obtained.

A binderless composite cathode for efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Mo

Objective The present study used complex approximate and exact arithmetic computation problems to dissociate the brain networks for strategy-based approximate computation and procedure-based exact computation. Method Twenty-eight college students were scanned with MRI while they were solving complex approximate and exact computation problems, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of multidigit integers and fractions. The neuroimaging data were analyzed using whole brain, region of interest, and functional connectivity approaches. Results Results showed that approximate computation relative to exact computation elicited greater activation typically in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (orbital), middle temporal gyrus, angular gyrus, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The brain regions overlapped with the general semantic network that also supports mathematical problem solving. In contrast, exact computation elicited greater activations in the left rolandic operculum and bilateral hippocampus. Functional connectivity analysis based on the psychophysiological interaction approach showed that approximate computation had stronger connectivity from the left intraparietal sulcus to the semantic areas. In contrast, exact computation had stronger connectivity from the left intraparietal sulcus to the phonological areas. Conclusion The results suggest that the semantic network supports complex approximate computation and the phonological network supports complex exact computation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective Studies have demonstrated that damage to Broca's area causes problems in phonological processing, but leaves semantic processing mostly preserved. The current investigation explored whether problems in phonological processing caused by injury to Broca's area extends to numbers. Method Patient LXM presented with an injury to the left anterior fronto-temporal cortex (including Broca's area). LXM completed a series of neuropsychological tests for general cognitive processing, mathematical processing, and language processing. Results LXM exhibited normal semantic processing but had difficulty in speech production for both words and numbers (e.g., reading characters and numbers, naming pictures, and reporting arithmetic facts). Conclusions Broca's area is likely within the neuronal circuit governing semantic-based articulation of words and numbers.

In this study, an innovative heterogeneous Electro-Fenton system (R-FPE system) was designed for degrading bio-refractory 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP). Fe rod and polymer-carbon composite (PCC) electrodes were employed as anode and cathode, respectively; and sodium disilicate (SD) solution as electrolyte could coordinate with the electrogenerated ferrous iron (Fe(II)). Dual activation of O2 at near-neutral pH, i.e., both the electrochemical and chemical activation, accounted for the on-site generation of H2O2. As the heterogeneous catalyst, the reduced CoFe2O4 (R-CoFe2O4) displayed an excellent H2O2 decomposition activity, because it had larger surface area, smaller particle size and more surface oxygen defects than pristine CoFe2O4 (P-CoFe2O4). The radical scavenging and electron paramagnetic resonance tests revealed that hydroxyl radicals were the dominant species to destroy 2,4-DCP. The optimal parameters for 2,4-DCP degradation were 10 mM SD at pH 7.5, 10 mA electrical current, and 0.4 g/L R-CoFe2O4. The magnetism of R-CoFe2O4 enabled a magnetic separation process for its recovery, and a followed CaO-coagulation stage could effectively remove the remaining dissolved ferric iron in the reaction solution. According to this study, a process consisting of the oxidation in R-FPE system, the magnetic separation of R-CoFe2O4 catalyst and the CaO-coagulation is prospectively proposed for treating intractable organic wastewater.

This work proposes an anti-corrosive nanofibrous membrane by combining one-pot solvothermal reduction method and electrospinning technology as a solution to the ever-increasing water pollution issues. Such membrane is made of aromatic polymer-polyimide and further modified by reduced graphene oxide, which maintained the original performance under different external environment and multi-cycled test, and achieved high separation efficiency (99.19%) and flux (2040.04 L m-2h−1) at the same time. The purification process is suitable for various contaminants and different combinations. Additionally, the inherent purification mechanism was fully explored in this study. The practicability of the membrane can be tested for the contaminated water purification, the recycle of poisonous and harmful substances, pre-process of precision extraction and so on.

This study investigated whether numerical processing was important for two types of mathematical competence: arithmetical computation and mathematical reasoning. Thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven Chinese primary school children in third through sixth grades took eight computerised tasks: numerical processing (numerosity comparison, digit comparison), arithmetical computation, number series completion, non-verbal matrix reasoning, mental rotation, choice reaction time, and word rhyming. Hierarchical regressions showed that both non-symbolic numerical processing (numerosity comparison) and symbolic numerical processing (digit comparison) were independent predictors of arithmetical computation but neither was a predictor of mathematical reasoning (assessed by number series completion). These findings suggest that the cognitive basis of mathematical performance varies depending on the type of mathematical competence measured.

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors were widely used as lipid-lowing agents through effectively blocking the rate-limiting step of cholesterol biosynthesis. 8 analogs of Rosuvastatin were firstly prepared with different distance and functional group between the O5-hydroxyl group and terminal COOH group in the hydrophilic side-chain. In primary and secondary screening of the inhibitory activities against human HMG-CoA reductase, gem-difluoromethylenated derivatives exhibited more than 50% inhibition rate. Then 4 compounds with gem-difluoro group were further synthesized and evaluated in vitro, three compounds among them exhibited low single digital nmol/L IC50 values against HMG-CoA reductase. Molecular docking also well explained the observed special contribution of the gem-difluoro group.

The V–Zr system was investigated by experiments and thermodynamic modeling. In experiments, 10 crucial alloys were selected, and the microstructure, crystal structure and phase transformation temperatures of the alloys were obtained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). A thermodynamic modeling of the V–Zr system was then performed by considering the reviewed literature data and incorporating the present experimental results. The solution phases, liquid, hcp (Zr) and bcc(V, Zr), were modeled with the substitutional solution model, and the compound V 2 Zr was treated as (V, Zr) 2 (V, Zr) by means of two-sublattice model. A set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters of the V–Zr system was obtained.

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, more and more attention has been paid to the preparation of electrospun nanofibers. Electrospun nanofiber membranes play an important role in many fields due to their high specific surface area, high porosity and good functional abilities. Especially in the field of wastewater treatment, electrospun fiber membrane has solved the drawbacks of high energy consumption, low efficiency and difficult recycling of traditional methods. Herein, in this review, we first introduces the influencing factors of electrospinning technology and the research progress in the preparation of nanofibers with different morphology. Then, the mechanism of electrospun nanofiber adsorption and filtration of industrial wastewater is described. Furthermore, the researches and development of electrospun nanofiber membranes for wastewater treatment are summarized. Finally, the challenges and perspectives in this field are discussed.