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In recent years, domestic and international policies to support energy-efficient buildings have been intensively introduced, and a consensus has been reached in the direction of green buildings. Building photovoltaic integration is a key technology to solve the demand for electricity in energy-efficient buildings. Meanwhile, prefabricated assembly house construction, as a common construction technology in the current building field, has the advantages of a short construction period, low project cost, a wide range of applications, and high structural stability. Green building and building industrialization are the direction of future construction industry development, combining building photovoltaic (PV) integration with assembly building, breaking down the whole structure into simple components in the factory standardization, batch production, and then on-site assembly, can reduce the mold cost, speed up the construction speed, and improve economic efficiency. The PV solar integrated assembled facade is in line with the concept of energy saving, low carbon, and environmental protection, with significant social benefits, which helps to promote rapidly in the market. In this article, by analyzing the performance and characteristics of PV modules, we propose the design method of PV-integrated prefabricated components for assembled buildings based on sensing technology, extract relevant design parameters from the database of building PV-integrated components, and test the feasibility of the modeling scheme in four stages of engineering design. The use of the results shows that the method of this article can target to improve the accuracy of PV-integrated prefabricated components, ensure the efficiency of component production and processing, and play an important role in supporting the widespread application of modern construction technology for building PV-integrated prefabricated assemblies.

Despite the increasing popularity of Chinese and the recognition of the growing commodifying ideology of Chinese language in many contexts [Liu, Y., & Gao, X. (2020). Commodification of the Chinese language: Investigating language ideology in the Irish media. "Current Issues in Language Planning," 21(5), 512-531. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2020.1741236], the ideological orientations of the Chinese diaspora community towards the Chinese language remain under-researched. This research seeks to bridge this gap by investigating the micro-level language ideologies embedded in Chinese complementary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Informed by Ruíz's [(1984). Orientations in language planning. "NABE Journal," 8(2), 15-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/08855072.1984.10668464] metaphorical representations of language, 11 Chinese complementary schools' websites were analysed as discursive texts that signal the language policy and ideology to prospective learners and parents. The results of the analysis suggest that a move from a portrayal of Chinese as linked to student heritage identity, to the commodification of linguistic and cultural diversity, is evident. It denotes the growing commodifying ideology among the Chinese complementary schools in the Republic of Ireland. This study contributes to wider discussions of language ideology and language planning, with regards to modern language learning and heritage language maintenance.

While task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a teaching methodology favoured by the Chinese Ministry of Education, it has not been sufficiently researched to be validated empirically in practice in the EFL classroom. Few studies have investigated teachers' responses to TBLT in the Chinese college English context. This research contributes to addressing this gap by investigating EFL teachers' perceptions of TBLT and assessing the current implementation of TBLT. A mixed-method methodology was used with quantitative and qualitative data collected via questionnaires and interviews. The findings show that there is potential for the positive implementation of TBLT in the Chinese context. Most of the Chinese ELT teachers surveyed hold positive views on TBLT implementation and report a high frequency of using TBLT. However, this study also reveals that the majority of the participants are not confident in their understanding of TBLT, though they are willing to undergo training. In addition, the study found that the public examination system is seen as one of the key reasons that impede the implementation of TBLT. The article concludes with a discussion of practical implications of the findings of this small-scale study on how successful implementation of TBLT can be encouraged in the Chinese context.

This study examines university teachers' beliefs and practices related to task-based language teaching while teaching English as a foreign language. Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has become a prominent topic for researchers and practitioners in recent decades. It is also advocated by the Chinese Ministry of Education for college English teaching. However, few studies have investigated local EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers' perceptions of and difficulties in implementing TBLT. This study aims to fill this gap. Data were collected via 12 semi-structured interviews, and the results revealed that the Chinese EFL teachers employed a weak version of the approach, i.e. the task-supported language teaching approach. They tended towards a student-centred teacher–student relationship. These findings suggest that the role of traditional Chinese values in influencing the implementation of TBLT has been overemphasized. Implications for the sustainable development of teaching pedagogy and professional learning are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the truck–cargo matching problem in less-than-truckload (LTL) logistics hubs, focusing on optimizing the three-dimensional loading of goods onto standardized pallets and assigning these loaded pallets to a fleet of heterogeneous vehicles. A two-stage hybrid heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve this complex logistics challenge. In the first stage, a tree search algorithm based on residual space is developed to determine the optimal layout for the 3D loading of cargo onto pallets. In the second stage, a heuristic online truck–cargo matching algorithm is introduced to allocate loaded pallets to trucks while optimizing the number of trucks used and minimizing transportation costs. The algorithm operates within a rolling time horizon, allowing it to dynamically handle real-time order arrivals and time window constraints. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the proposed method achieves high pallet loading efficiency (close to 90%), near-optimal truck utilization (nearly 95%), and significant cost reductions, making it a practical solution for real-world LTL logistics operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC facilitates the formation of S, N-rich, dense and robust cathode–electrolyte interphase on NaNMF cathode, which improves the cycling stability under high voltage. By utilizing NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC, the Na||NaNMF batteries achieved an impressive retention of 81.15% after 400 cycles at 2 C with the cutoff voltage of 4.2 V. The study offers a reference for the utilization of sulfolane-based electrolytes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), while the nonflammability of the NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC enhances the safety of SIBs. Sodium-ion batteries hold great promise as next-generation energy storage systems. However, the high instability of the electrode/electrolyte interphase during cycling has seriously hindered the development of SIBs. In particular, an unstable cathode–electrolyte interphase (CEI) leads to successive electrolyte side reactions, transition metal leaching and rapid capacity decay, which tends to be exacerbated under high-voltage conditions. Therefore, constructing dense and stable CEIs are crucial for high-performance SIBs. This work reports localized high-concentration electrolyte by incorporating a highly oxidation-resistant sulfolane solvent with non-solvent diluent 1H, 1H, 5H-octafluoropentyl-1, 1, 2, 2-tetrafluoroethyl ether, which exhibited excellent oxidative stability and was able to form thin, dense and homogeneous CEI. The excellent CEI enabled the O3-type layered oxide cathode NaNi1/3Mn1/3Fe1/3O2 (NaNMF) to achieve stable cycling, with a capacity retention of 79.48% after 300 cycles at 1 C and 81.15% after 400 cycles at 2 C with a high charging voltage of 4.2 V. In addition, its nonflammable nature enhances the safety of SIBs. This work provides a viable pathway for the application of sulfolane-based electrolytes on SIBs and the design of next-generation high-voltage electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activation of lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism (LOM) will endow iridium‐based electrocatalysts with desired acid‐available water oxidation activity, compared to the conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM). However, the inherent symmetric [IrO6] octahedra of commercial Ir‐based catalysts generally thermodynamically favor the AEM pathway contributing to the moderate water oxidation performance. Here, based on typical layered Ca2IrO4 (CIO) modeled materials, the d‐orbitals electron repulsion strategy is demonstrated, via constructing asymmetrically polarized Ir‒O‒Ru configuration in Ru‐CIO, to effectively activate the lattice oxygen participating in water oxidation process for decent oxygen‐related electrocatalytic activity. Specifically, a great increase of ≈700‐fold and ≈170‐fold in mass activity and turnover frequency, respectively, has been realized for the optimal Ru‐CIO electrocatalyst in an acid medium relative to the commercial IrO2 electrocatalysts, where a small overpotential of only 175 mV is required for achieving 10 mA cmgeo‒2. In situ X‐ray fine structure spectroscopies combined with in situ 18O‐ isotope‐labeled differential electrochemical mass spectrometry analyses reveal that desirable LOM has been boosted by the activated lattice oxygen and the flexible Ir(3+δ)+ active sites of asymmetric [IrO6] octahedra, which results in superior OER kinetics for Ir‐based oxide catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated college EFL teachers' attitudes toward task-based language teaching (TBLT), regarding their familiarity with the idea of TBLT, their actual use of TBLT, and contextual factors that impede the implementation of TBLT in the higher education context in China. The study described here is a questionnaire survey with 26 valid responses. Results of this study are derived from discussion concerned with qualitative and quantitative data. The findings in the study show that though there are constraints from various aspects (including, the teaching materials, large class size etc.) for the successful implementation of TBLT, TBLT as a communicative teaching approach received very positive feedback from teachers. The majority of the teachers in this study hold positive views towards TBLT even though they have a low-level understanding of principles and practices of TBLT. The results addressed the issues existed in the pre-service and in-service training of Chinese EFL teachers. This study also highlighted the need for the Chinese ELT teachers to further develop their professional skills in terms of their competence to deal with large class size teaching, material development and English proficiency. Based on the findings, suggestions for teacher education and further development were made. This research is intended to yield informative insights regarding sustainable curriculum change management, policy implementation and professional development of English teachers in the Chinese EFL context.