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In this paper, we present a novel sampling-based motion planning method in various complex environments, especially with narrow passages. We use online the results of the planner in the ADD-RRT framework to identify the types of the local configuration space based on the principal component analysis (PCA). The identification result is then used to accelerate the expansion similar to RRV around obstacles and through narrow passages. We also propose a modified bridge test to identify the entrance of a narrow passage and boost samples inside it. We have compared our method with known motion planners in several scenarios through simulations. Our method shows the best performance across all the tested planners in the tested scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The bonding interface between the reinforcement and the matrix alloy in hybrid AZS fiber/SiC particle preform based aluminum metal matrix composites (Al MMCs) has been investigated as a function of reinforced particle size and the binder content. It is observed that high binder and large particle will result in a poor bonding interface. This has deleterious effects on the mechanical properties of the cast MMCs. Estimation of the binder thickness indicates that there exists a critical particle size above which the particles are not appropriate to be used in fabricating the hybrid fiber/particle preform based MMCs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Two types of host-guest inclusion complex were formed. • The properties of the emulsion formed by the inclusion complex were determined by various methods. • The mechanism of the emulsion stabilization of inclusion system were proposed. Emulsion formation is inevitable during polymer flooding. In order to study the mechanism of the emulsion stability formed by inclusion complex and crude oil, the optimal inclusion ratio of inclusion complex was determined, and then, the properties of the emulsion such as particle size, stability, and interface film strength were tested by microscope, laser particle size analyzer, rheometer, and stability analyzer. Test results show that the addition of cyclodextrin polymer in inclusion complex have a positive effect on the stability of the emulsion. There are two main mechanisms which cyclodextrin polymers enhance the stability of emulsions. Firstly, with the addition of the cyclodextrin polymer, the viscosity of the external phase is increased, making it difficult for emulsion to coalesce and demulsify. Secondly, the cyclodextrin polymer and the hydrophobic chain of the amphiphilic polymer are adsorbed at the oil-water interface together, which enhances the interface film strength. The stability mechanism of the emulsion formed by the inclusion complex and crude oil has laid a foundation for its application in oil displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After an inclusion complex formed by cyclodextrin polymer and amphiphilic polymer, the effect of cyclodextrin polymer on the gelation of amphiphilic polymer in the presence of an organic chromium crosslinker is studied in this paper. The gelation time and the gelation strength were monitored by a Rheolaser micro-rheometer based on dynamic light scattering. The results show that the cyclodextrin polymer has a significant impact on the gelation performance of amphiphilic polymer gel. The gelation of the inclusion complex formed by the cyclodextrin polymer and the amphiphilic polymer is weak at low concentration of organic chromium crosslinker as the cyclodextrin polymer increases. This phenomenon is due to cyclodextrin polymers' stronger binding capacity with organic chromium crosslinker, compared with amphiphilic polymers. Meanwhile, the cyclodextrin polymer has a small molecular weight (short molecular chain), so that it cannot form a strong gel even after cross-linking. In this work, it's the first time studied on the gelation process of the inclusion complex, in the meantime, the mechanisms of cyclodextrin polymers and amphiphilic polymers with organic chromium crosslinker was revealed, which provides new insights into the effective adjustment of polymer gel properties. The mean square displacement (MSD) curve of PADC. (C = 3000 mg/L, T = 85 °C). Unlabelled Image • Cyclodextrin polymer and amphiphilic polymer formed inclusion complexes' gel. • A non-destructive method is used. • Effect of cyclodextrin polymer on inclusion complex during gelation is clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The betaine-type amphiphilic polymer exhibits excellent salt-thickening properties due to the presence of betaine groups, but it also has some defects, such as poor water solubility at high betaine groups content, the viscosity-thickening ability is poor under the low betaine groups content. In order to solve the problem of poor viscosity-increasing ability of betaine-type amphiphilic polymers at low betaine group content, a cyclodextrin polymer was synthesized through free radical copolymerization. Characterization of the synthesized product was conducted by means of FT-IR and 1H_NMR. The two polymers were subjected to host-guest inclusion. Changes of viscosity, viscoelasticity, shear resistance and micro-morphology of the host-guest inclusion complex were measured by viscometer, rheometer, scanning electron microscope, and atomic force microscopy. The results showed that the optimal inclusion ratio for the complex was cyclodextrin polymer to betaine-type amphiphilic polymer ratio of 1:1. When the concentration of the host-guest inclusion complex reached 3000 mg/L, its viscosity increased twice compared to the betaine-type amphiphilic polymer with the same concentration. The host-guest inclusion complex was also more shear-resistant, which poses great potential application in chemical enhanced oil recovery. AFM images of PADC, PACA and CADC (C = 3000 mg/L, T = 25 °C). Image 1 • A new type of host-guest inclusion complex is formed. • Host-guest inclusion complex has better viscosity thickening and shear resistance properties. • The viscosity thickening and shear resistance mechanism of the host-guest inclusion complex is clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• As a charge transfer mode switcher, MoS 2 can transform the conventional type-II charge transfer mode to Z-scheme. • As electron-hole mediator, MoS 2 can quench the energy of the electrons from WO 3 and the holes from CdS in shorten length. • As a cocatalyst, the CB of MoS 2 can provide active sites for photocatalytic evolution H 2 driven by the electrons from CdS. • WO 3 @MoS 2 /CdS shows improved performance compared with WO 3 /CdS or MoS 2 /CdS owing to the multifunctional roles of MoS 2. A novel ternary Z-scheme system of WO 3 @MoS 2 /CdS is successfully constructed using a three-step wet-chemical route, where MoS 2 locates between the rod-shaped WO 3 and CdS nanoparticles and simultaneously plays multiple roles of the charge transfer mode switcher, electron-hole mediator and cocatalyst. As a charge transfer mode switcher, MoS 2 can transform the conventional type-Ⅱ charge transfer mode to Z-scheme. In such a Z-scheme system, as an electron-hole mediator, MoS 2 is applied to quench the energy of the electrons from WO 3 and the holes from CdS in shorten length, and thus the more left electrons from CdS can transfer to MoS 2 , which can be further applied to photocatalytic evolution H 2 owing to the cocatalyst role of MoS 2. Benefitting from the multifunctional roles of MoS 2 , such a Z-scheme system of WO 3 @MoS 2 /CdS shows an enhanced photocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel Z‐scheme photocatalytic system of In2O3/OV/In2S3 has been obtained by a facile two‐step in situ deposition method, where oxygen vacancies and In2S3 are in situ located on the surface of In2O3 in sequence. In such a photocatalytic system, oxygen vacancy anchored tightly on the surface of In2O3 serves as an electron mediator, efficiently extracting electrons from In2O3 and modulating the electron transfer paths to facilize constructing a Z‐scheme system. Due to the presence of another tight contact interface between the In2O3 and In2S3, the transfer rate of electrons from In2O3 to In2S3 can be further accelerated. Therefore, the synergistic effect of the above‐mentioned dual‐tight contact interface over In2O3/OV/In2S3 Z‐scheme system simultaneously enhances the charge separation and transfer, resulting in the high performance of photocatalytic H2 evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study focuses on future moisture flux change projections over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). The downscaling results for the historical period (1980-2005) was evaluated for water cycle aspects precipitation (P), evaporation (E) and P-E against the Global Land Data Assimilation Systems (GLDAS). Whether the mechanisms applying in the historical period continue to the future (2010-2100) is also investigated by WRF and CCSM projections under two scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The mechanism of P-E changes is analyzed by decomposing into dynamic, thermodynamic and transient eddy components. Compared to the coarse-resolution forcing, the downscaling better reproduces the historical spatial patterns and seasonal means of annual average P, E and P-E over the TP. WRF projects a diverse spatial variation of P-E changes with an increase in northern TP and decrease in southern TP in contrast to the averaged increase in CCSM. The dynamic component dominates P-E changes for the historical period in both CCSM and WRF. In the future, however, the thermodynamic component in CCSM contributes dominantly to P-E changes under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 from the near-term (2010-2039) to the long-term future (2070-2099). Unlike CCSM, WRF inherits the mechanism seen in the historical period: the dynamic component dominates P-E changes. Further, P-E changes in the dynamical downscaling in the future are less sensitive to warming than its coarse-resolution forcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a cylindrical cavity with a degenerate planar anchoring, the lyotropic chromonic nematic liquid crystals without intrinsic chirality tend to exhibit an escaped twisted configuration for the large saddle-splay-to-twist elastic modulus ratio, which is not found in most thermotropic liquid crystals. In this work, we consider thermotropic nematic liquid crystal 5CB with a chiral dopant confined in a cylindrical cavity with a degenerate planar anchoring. Based on the elastic theory of liquid crystal and the variation method, Euler equation and boundary conditions are obtained. The numerical results show that the director of 5CB forms an escaped twisted configuration, and the twist angle is influenced by the chiral parameter and the saddle-splay elastic constant. Under an axial electric field, the dielectric effect and the flexoelectric effect affect the LC director distribution. The single flexoelectric coefficient e1 has a large radial orientation effect on the director. The results provide a clearer understanding of the director configuration in the cylindrical cavity under the electric field and a theoretical basis for the measurement of the flexoelectric coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and cost-effective route to fabricating gold-coated glass nano-stings' arrays is presented for highly efficient surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) chips via reactive ion etching of the glass slide covered with polystyrene (PS) colloidal monolayer and sputtering deposition of gold on it. The as-fabricated SERS chips consist of the nearly-hemispherical particles with submicron-size, which are hexagonally arranged into the ordered arrays. There are many short and long Au-coated glass nano-stings standing vertically on the hemispherical particles, showing high density tips (up to 7.0 × 103μm−2). The formation of such gold-coated glass hierarchically structured array is attributed to the geometry of PS colloidal monolayer and the nanoscale roughness of glass slide's surface. Further, it has been demonstrated that such gold-coated glass array chip is highly SERS-active and can be utilized to detect trace organophosphorous toxicant with the limit below ppt level and good reproducibility in measurements. The intensity of the Raman peak shows the linear relation, in logarithmic scale, with the organophosphorous concentration from ppt to ppm level, exhibiting the possibility of quantitative detection in a large concentration range. This work has demonstrated the cost-effective method to fabricate the high performance SERS chips for trace detection of toxic molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Face frontalization refers to the process of synthesizing the frontal view of a face from a given profile. Due to self-occlusion and appearance distortion in the wild, it is extremely challenging to recover faithful high-resolution results meanwhile preserve texture details. This paper proposes a high fidelity pose in-variant model (HF-PIM) to produce photographic and identity-preserving results. HF-PIM frontalizes the profiles through a novel texture fusion warping procedure and leverages a dense correspondence field to bind the 2D and 3D surface spaces. We decompose the prerequisite of warping into dense correspondence field estimation and facial texture map recovering, which are both well addressed by deep networks. Different from those reconstruction methods relying on 3D data, we also propose adversarial residual dictionary learning to supervise facial texture map recovering with only monocular images. Furthermore, a multi-perception guided loss is proposed to address the practical misalignment between the ground truth frontal and profile faces, allowing HF-PIM to effectively utilize multiple images during training. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations on five controlled and uncontrolled databases show that the proposed method not only boosts the performance of pose-invariant face recognition but also improves the visual quality of high-resolution frontalization appearances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work demonstrated that 75 fold‐enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production over SrTiO3/TiO2 heterostructures by Au plasmon‐enhanced electron‐phonon decoupling to generate more amounts of energetic electrons for solar water splitting. Such Au modified SrTiO3/TiO2 heterostructures were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal post‐photoreduction method, consequently the hydrogen evolution rate is 467.3 μmol g−1 h−1, which is 187 and 75 folds enhancement compared with TiO2 and SrTiO3/TiO2 samples, respectively. Based on systematic investigations, it is proposed that the internal electric field (IEF) between the interfaces of SrTiO3/TiO2 and the enhanced near‐field amplitudes of localized surface plasmon (LSP) inhibit the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes in the bulk and accelerate the interfacial transfer of charge carriers. Simultaneously, electron spin resonance (ESR) showed the change of Ti3+ species in SrTiO3/TiO2 microspheres, mirroring the energetic electron transfer process from Au NPs to SrTiO3/TiO2 microspheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly monoaromatic hydrocarbon compounds (MACHs), pose a potential risk to the atmospheric environment and human health. Therefore, the progressive development of efficient detection methodologies is a pertinent need, which is still a challenge at present. In this study, we present a rapid and sensitive method to detect trace amounts of MACHs using a bifunctional SERS composite substrate. We prepared an Au/SiO2 enhanced layer and a porous Cu(OH)2 adsorption layer via microfluidic-assisted gas-liquid interface self-assembly. The composite substrate effectively monitored changes in benzaldehyde using time-varying SERS spectra, and track-specifically identified various VOCs such as benzene, xylene, styrene, and nitrobenzene. In general, the substrate exhibited a rapid response time of 20 s to gaseous benzaldehyde, with a minimum detection concentration of less than 500 ppt. Further experimental assessments revealed an optimum Cu(OH)2 thickness of the surrounding adsorption layer of 150 nm, which can achieve an efficient SERS response to MACHs. Furthermore, the recoverable and reusable property of the composite substrate highlights its practicality. This study presents a straightforward and efficient approach for detecting trace gaseous VOCs using SERS, with significant implications in the designing of SERS substrates for detecting other VOCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • A core–shell configuration of the ZIF-8 wrapped UAANs is designed and controllably fabricated. • The ZIF-8 wrapping can evidently increase the SERS performance of UAANs to the trace HCH molecules. • Such wrapping-enhanced SERS effect significantly increases with the reducing HCH concentration. • The enhancement of SERS performances is attributed to the enrichment of HCH in the ZIF-8 shell. • This work presents a highly efficient substrate for the SERS-based detection of the trace HCH. Abstract A core–shell configuration of the zeolite imidazole framework (ZIF-8) wrapped urchin-like Au-Ag alloyed nanocrystals (UAANs) were designed and fabricated via adding the pre-formed plasmonic nanoparticles into the ZIF-8 precursor solution with hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The UAANs are about 100 nm in size with high-density tips. The ZIF-8 shell layer is nanoporous and can be controlled in thickness from 10 nm to 40 nm by the CTAB concentration. Importantly, such ZIF-8 wrapped UAANs can be used as the highly efficient surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates for detection of the trace hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) molecules. The ZIF-8 shell layer with an appropriate thickness (-∼20 nm) can evidently increase the SERS performance of the UAANs to the trace γ-HCH and α-HCH. Such wrapping-enhanced SERS effect significantly increases, by a power function, with the decreasing HCH concentration, especially in the concentration below 10−6 M, which is attributed to the ever-increasing enrichment effect to the HCH molecules. The detection limit is down below 1.5 ppb. This work presents a highly efficient substrate for the SERS-based detection of the trace HCH, and also displays the potential application in the SERS detection of volatile small molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eu 3+ -doped CdMoO 4 luminescent ultra-thin films were fabricated by a facile aqueous solution method. The thin films were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and the results showed that Eu 3+ ions are doped into CdMoO 4 and the luminescent thin films are dense and smooth. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra, UV–vis absorption spectra and lifetimes were also used to characterize luminescent properties of the resulting films. The optimal doping concentration was found to be 10 mol% for the Eu 3+ -doped CdMoO 4 luminescent ultra-thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the forming law of an electrolytically modified surface at the intersection of cross holes and predict the radius of transition arc accurately, the numerical solution and data fitting method were conducted. The numerical solution of electrolytic repair under different machining voltages, times, and gaps is carried out on the basis of the established transition arc machining model at the intersection of ECM cross holes. Boundary point is then fitted using least squares method to obtain the radius value of transition arc. Anodic dissolution regression equation R (U, t, θ) is subsequently obtained by fitting transition arc radius values corresponding to each group of processing parameters. Finally, the regression equation is revised according to the test results to approximate real test data. The regression equation R (U, t, θ) presents a high fitting degree ( R s 2 = 0.96) after calculation. The three-dimensional model of the electrolytically modified surface at the intersection of cross holes can intuitively show the change of the transition arc, and the prediction error of the regression equation RM (U, t, θ) corrected with test data is reduced to 10.82%. Inputting different processing parameters can accurately predict the corresponding transition arc radius value, reduce the test workload, and guide the parameter selection of the actual process test with the modified anodic dissolution regression equation RM (U, t, θ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, vinyl-terminated polysiloxane (V-PDMS) had been prepared by ring-opening reaction, which was introduced as a monomer into polyacrylate emulsion via emulsion polymerization in order to obtain the acrylate-co-siloxane emulsion. The effect of V-PDMS content on the properties of the emulsion was investigated. Meanwhile, hydrochloric acid as catalyst and ethanol as dispersant, acidic silica sol had been prepared by the sol–gel method. Furthermore, the following three types of antireflection coatings were prepared. The first type of anti-reflection coating had been prepared by dipping a layer of copolymer emulsion on the substrate via the dip-coating method. Acidic silica sol and copolymer emulsion were sequentially dip-coated on the substrate in order to obtain the second type of anti-reflection coating, and the second type of anti-reflection coating was calcined to obtain the third type of anti-reflection coating. The effect of the interval time between two dips on the structure and light transmittance was investigated. The results show that the transmittance of the AR coating increases at the appropriate interval time. Among them, three types of antireflection coatings with different morphologies were prepared, each antireflection coating has a certain antireflection effect, and the highest transmittance can reach 94.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual instance segmentation ability is one of the effective means to promote the autonomy and intelligence of space agents. However, due to the limited airborne computing capacity, current methods are difficult to deploy on space agents, because these methods are developed based on GPU. To this end, this paper proposes a novel framework of instance segmentation by introducing depth information and combining traditional computer vision techniques with an object detection method. This framework provides a new idea for the implementation of instance segmentation. The experiment results show that the proposed method achieves a real-time performance under a common laptop CPU platform. In addition, thanks to the introduction of depth information, the proposed method can obtain better segmentation results compared to Mask R–CNN and SOLOv2 in complex scenes (poor illumination and occlusion). Finally, because the semantic information is obtained by the object detection method in this paper, the model training adopts a weakly supervised manner from bounding-box annotations, which can reduce various costs of data labeling to a certain extent. • A depth-aided instance segmentation fuses mask extraction and object detection. • Real-time performance on consumer grade laptop CPU; friendly to airborne platforms. • Better segmentation results in complex scenes compared with Mask-RCNN and SOLOv2. • Training process adopts a weakly supervised manner from bounding-box annotations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract For a long time, there has been global concern over the environment and energy problems. Recently, the problems, which have brought about serious effect on the global living condition, have been in the "spotlight" and given impetus to the universal's efforts to head for the same direction: stem the worst warming and strive for the renewable energy source. Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) is undoubtedly a good choice, which holds the promise as a clean, efficient, safe and transferrable energy carrier. Octahedral coordination polymer, Cd 3 (C 3 N 3 S 3) 2 , was found to be a robust photocatalyst for H 2 O 2 generation under visible light irradiation. To further improve the H 2 O 2 generation efficiency, adhering the octahedron to reduced graphene (rGO) was applied as the strategy herein. The study shows that by adhering Cd 3 (C 3 N 3 S 3) 2 to rGO, the formation of H 2 O 2 is 2.5-fold enhanced and its deformation is concurrently suppressed. This work not only demonstrates the effectiveness of adhering Cd 3 (C 3 N 3 S 3) 2 polymer to rGO for the improvement of the polymer's photocatalytic performance, but also proposes a general way for the fabrication of graphene/coordination compound hybrids for maximizing their synergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and flexible method of preparing an ultrathin semiconducting oxide layer-wrapped gold nanoparticles (NPs) is presented. The method is a single-step procedure based on laser ablation in a precursor solution. The spherical Au NPs (<20 nm in mean size) wrapped with a SnO 2 layer of approximately 2 nm in thickness are formed after the laser ablation of a gold target in SnCl 4 solutions with concentrations of 0.01–0.1 M. The thickness of such SnO 2 shell is nearly independent of Au particle sizes. Results reveal that the formation of Au@SnO 2 NPs involves a two-step process: the laser ablation-induced formation of Au NPs and subsequent Coulomb effect-based colloidal attachment and self-assembly on the Au NPs. Au@SnO 2 NPs-built film exhibits significantly stronger surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect to organic phosphor molecules (phenylphosphonic acid) and much better gas sensing performance to H 2 S at room temperature compared with the bare Au NPs and pure SnO 2 NPs films, respectively. This work presents a simple route to fabricating noble-metal NPs wrapped with symmetrical and ultrathin semiconducting oxide shells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly efficient detection of the organicphosphor nerve agents such as sarin and soman, based on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect, has been in challenge due to their weak adsorption property on coin metals. In this paper, a new strategy is presented to achieve the SERS-based ultrasensitive detection of sarin-simulated agent methanephosphonic acid (MPA) via the surface modification of SERS-substrates. The Au-coated Si nanocone array is surface-modified with 2-aminoethanethiol and used as SERS-substrate for detection of MPA. It has been shown that the modified substrate could preferentially capture MPA molecules in the solution with coupling agent and induce amidation reaction. The reaction products are still bound or anchor on the substrate’s surface. The MPA molecules can thus be detected by Raman spectral measurement of the solution-soaked SERS-substrate. The minimum detection level is down to ∼1 ppb. The Raman peak intensity versus the MPA concentration is subject to a linear double logarithmic relation from ∼1 ppb to ∼1000 ppm, which is attributed to Freundlich adsorption of MPA on the surface-modified SERS substrate. This study provides a new way for the highly efficient SERS-based detection of the organophosphorus nerve agents and some other target molecules weakly interacted with metal substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2014 outbreak of Ebola virus caused more than 10,000 human deaths. Current knowledge of suitable drugs, clinical diagnostic biomarkers and molecular mechanisms of Ebola virus infection is either absent or insufficient. By screening stem-loop structures from the viral genomes of four virulence species, we identified a novel, putative viral microRNA precursor that is specifically expressed by the Ebola virus. The sequence of the microRNA precursor was further confirmed by mining the existing RNA-Seq database. Two putative mature microRNAs were predicted and subsequently validated in human cell lines. Combined with this prediction of the microRNA target, we identified importin-α5, which is a key regulator of interferon signaling following Ebola virus infection, as one putative target. We speculate that this microRNA could facilitate the evasion of the host immune system by the virus. Moreover, this microRNA might be a potential clinical therapeutic target or a diagnostic biomarker for Ebola virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) provides an unprecedented opportunity for fingerprinting identification and trace-level detection in chemistry, biomedicine, materials, and so on. Although great efforts have been devoted to fabricating sensitive plasmonic nanomaterials, it is still challenging to batch-produce a SERS substrate with high sensitivity, good reproducibility, and perfect recyclability. Here, we describe a facile fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical Au/CuS nanocomposites, in which high-density Au nanotips enable highly SERS-active sensing, and the well-defined microflower (MF) geometry produces perfect signal reproducibility (RSD < 5%) for large laser spot excitations (>50 μm2), which is particularly suitable for practical on-site detection with a handheld Raman spectrometer. In addition, a self-cleaning ability of this Au/CuS Schottky junction photocatalyst under sunlight irradiation allows complete removal of the adsorbed analytes, realizing perfect regeneration of the SERS substrates over many cycles. The mass-production, ultra-sensitive, high-reproducibility, and fast-recyclability features of hierarchical Au/CuS MFs greatly facilitate cost-effective and field SERS detection of trace analytes in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulation materials have attracted a lot of attention due to their extensive applications in solar cells. Nearly 80% of photovoltaic (PV) modules are encapsulated by EVA materials. EVA has lots of advantages, such as good light transmittance and elasticity, low processing temperature, excellent melt fluidity, and adhesive property. In addition, the price is low, which makes it very suitable as a solar cell encapsulation material. However, there are also some problems with EVA. Its damp-heat aging resistance and ultraviolet aging resistance are not good. It also easily degrades and becomes yellow, reducing the energy conversion efficiency of the solar cell. This article pays special attention to improving the performance of EVA encapsulation films. In addition, it differentiates between different properties, including the aging resistance, adhesive strength and energy conversion efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, samples of worn spindle hook teeth were collected under different field working times to investigate their loss of ability to pick seed cotton owing to wear failure of the geometric structure. The wear characteristics of the surface of the hook teeth were tested and analyzed, and the development process of the wear region and the average value of the wear depth were obtained. This research established a wear process model for the surface of hook teeth. The results show that wear originates from the tip of the hook teeth, and a parallelogram-like wear region is gradually formed along the direction of the teeth edge. The size of the wear region and wear depth gradually decreased in the following order: hook teeth 1, hook teeth 2, and hook teeth 3. The relative errors of the front three hook teeth of simulated wear depth and wear depth were Δ 1 = 2.55%, Δ 2 = 1.43%, and Δ 3 = 4.02%, respectively. Thus, the accuracy of the picking spindle hook teeth wear process model was verified. Accordingly, the failure process of hook teeth wear can be predicted, laying a foundation for the subsequent optimization design of the spindle picking hook teeth geometric structure. • The development of the wear region on the picking spindle hook teeth is analyzed. • The wear depth leads to structural failure of the picking spindle hook teeth. • The picking spindle hook teeth wear process model close to the field test conditions was constructed. • The linear relationship between the working time of the picking spindle hook teeth and the wear depth was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With fascinating photophysical properties and a strong potential to utilize solar energy, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have become a prominent feature within photocatalysis research. However, the effectiveness of single MHP photocatalysts is relatively poor. The introduction of a second component to form a heterojunction represents a well‐established route to accelerate carrier migration and boost reaction rates, thus increasing the photoactivity. Recently, there have been several scientific advances related to the design of MHP‐based heterojunction photocatalysts, including Schottky, type II, and Z‐scheme heterojunctions. In this Review, we systematically discuss and critically appraise recent developments in MHP‐based heterojunction photocatalysis. In addition, the techniques for identifying the type of active heterojunctions are evaluated and we conclude by briefly outlining the ongoing challenges and future directions for promising photocatalysts based on MHP heterojunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With fascinating photophysical properties and a strong potential to utilize solar energy, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have become a prominent feature within photocatalysis research. However, the effectiveness of single MHP photocatalysts is relatively poor. The introduction of a second component to form a heterojunction represents a well‐established route to accelerate carrier migration and boost reaction rates, thus increasing the photoactivity. Recently, there have been several scientific advances related to the design of MHP‐based heterojunction photocatalysts, including Schottky, type II, and Z‐scheme heterojunctions. In this Review, we systematically discuss and critically appraise recent developments in MHP‐based heterojunction photocatalysis. In addition, the techniques for identifying the type of active heterojunctions are evaluated and we conclude by briefly outlining the ongoing challenges and future directions for promising photocatalysts based on MHP heterojunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A kind of polyurethane rubber (PU)/n-octadecane (n-OD)@silicon dioxide (SiO2)-polymethyl acrylate (PHEMA) form-stable phase change material (PCM) was fabricated in this paper. n-OD@SiO2-PHEMA microcapsules were prepared in one-pot, through interfacial hydrolysis polycondensation of alkoxy silanes and radical polymerization of HEMA. Then, n-OD@SiO2-PHEMA microcapsules were added into PU matrix to obtain PU/n-OD@SiO2-PHEMA composites. SiO2-PHEMA hybrid shell not only provides a shelter for core material, but also increases interfacial bonding between microcapsules with PU and effectively improves the mechanical properties of composites. The morphologies, chemical compositions and crystal structures of microcapsules and composites were characterized by SEM, TEM, FT-IR and XRD methods. The thermal and mechanical properties of the microcapsules and composites were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and mechanical performance tests. The results show that the thermal and mechanical properties of PU/n-OD@SiO2-PHEMA composites were better than those of neat PU. The PU/n-OD@SiO2-PHEMA composites endow the microcapsules with improved thermal reliability and leakage proof property. The composites were found as form-stable PCM with low leakage rate. The phase change latent heat of the PU/n-OD@SiO2-PHEMA composites was up to 85.1 J/g and the composites can be used for thermal energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sitafloxacin is a new fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent with high activity. In this article, we reported a simple, rapid and specific LC–MS/MS method for accurate determination of sitafloxacin concentrations in human urine from healthy volunteers in detail. A two-step dilution method for the analysis of sitafloxacin in human urine using LC coupled to positive MS/MS has been developed and validated according to US FDA guidelines and Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) guidelines for the validation of bioanalytical methods. The method uses 50 μL of urine and covers a working range from 0.025 to 20 μg/mL with a LLOQ of 0.025 μg/mL. This new LC–MS/MS assay is sensitive and specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The hydrophobic inert surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film has limited its practical bioapplications, in which case, better biocompatibility should be achieved by surface modification. In this work, the copolymer of functional β-cyclodextrin derivatives and styrene grafted surfaces was prepared via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) on initiator-immobilized PET. The structures, composition, properties, and surface morphology of the modified PET films were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurement, and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The results show that the surface of PET films was covered by a thick targeted copolymer layer, and the hydrophobic surface of PET was changed into an amphiphilic surface. The copolymer-grafted surfaces were also shown good biocompatibility on which SGC-7901 A549 and A549/DDP cells readily attached and proliferated, demonstrating that the functional copolymer-grafted PET films could be a promising alternative to biomaterials especially for tissue engineering. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The spiral-grooved structure has been proposed for promoting the load capacity and stiffness of hybrid air journal bearings. In this paper, the dynamic characteristics of spiral-grooved hybrid bearings are first calculated. The stability criteria of the bearings are proposed and analyzed with different groove structure parameters using frequency domain analysis. It is found that the length of the spiral-groove has significant influence on the stability of the spindle system. Finally, the critical speed of the spiral-grooved hybrid bearing and rotor system is analyzed, and an experiment is carried out to validate the proposed model, finding that groove structure can promote the stability of the air bearing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-precision, real-time, and long-range target geo-location is crucial to UAV reconnaissance and target strikes. Traditional geo-location methods are highly dependent on the accuracies of GPS/INS and the target elevation, which restricts the target geo-location accuracy for LRORS. Moreover, due to the limitations of laser range and the common, real time methods of improving the accuracy, such as laser range finders, DEM and geographic reference data are inappropriate for long-range UAVs. To address the above problems, a set of work patterns and a novel geo-location method are proposed in this paper. The proposed method is not restricted by conditions such as the accuracy of GPS/INS, target elevation, and range finding instrumentation. Specifically, three steps are given, to perform as follows: First, calculate the rough geo-location of the target using the traditional method. Then, according to the rough geo-location, reimage the target. Due to errors in GPS/INS and target elevation, there will be a re-projection error between the actual points of the target and the calculated projection ones. Third, a weighted filtering algorithm is proposed to obtain the optimized target geo-location by processing the reprojection error. Repeat the above process until the target geo-location estimation converges on the true value. The geo-location accuracy is improved by the work pattern and the optimization algorithm. The proposed method was verified by simulation and a flight experiment. The results showed that the proposed method can improve the geo-location accuracy by 38.8 times and 22.5 times compared with traditional methods and DEM methods, respectively. The results indicate that our method is efficient and robust, and can achieve high-precision target geo-location, with an easy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) could be a powerful technique for detecting trace gaseous sulfur-mustard, but it is still challenging due to the difficulty in efficiently capturing sulfur-mustard molecules by normal SERS substrates. Here, a chemically trapping strategy is presented for such detection via coating an ultrathin metal-oxide sensing layer on a SERS substrate. In the strategy, a SERS substrate Au-wrapped Si nanocone array is designed and fabricated by Si wafer-based organic template-etching and appropriate Au deposition, and coated with an ultrathin CuO for chemically capturing sulfur-mustard molecules. The validity of such strategy has been demonstrated via taking the gaseous 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (a simulant of sulfur-mustard, or 2-CEES for short) as the target molecules. The response of the CuO-coated SERS substrate to the gaseous 2-CEES is detectable within 10 min, and the lowest detectable concentration is 10 ppb or less. Further experiments have shown that there exists an optimal CuO coating thickness which is about 6 nm. The CuO coating-based capture of 2-CEES molecules is attributed to the surface hydroxyl-induced specific adsorption, which is subject to the pseudo-second-order kinetics and Freundlich-typed model. This study presents the practical SERS chips and new route for the trace detection of gaseous sulfur-mustard. [Display omitted] • A chemically trapping strategy is presented based on the CuO-coated SERS substrate. • The CuO coating evidently increases SERS responses to gaseous sulfur-mustard simulant. • The SERS response is detectable within 10 min and obeys pseudo-second-order kinetics. • The detection of the gaseous simulant is quantifiable with a lower limit below 10 ppb. • Such CuO coating-enhanced SERS response comes from the hydroxyl-induced adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enable the aerial photoelectric equipment to realize wide-area reconnaissance and target surveillance at the same time, a dual-band dynamic scan and stare imaging system is proposed in this paper. The imaging system performs scanning and pointing through a two-axis gimbal, compensating the image motion caused by the aircraft and gimbal angular velocity and the aircraft liner velocity using two two-axis fast steering mirrors (FSMs). The composition and working principle of the dynamic scan and stare imaging system, the detailed scheme of the two-axis FSM and the image motion compensation (IMC) algorithm are introduced. Both the structure and the mirror of the FSM adopt aluminum alloys, and the flexible support structure is designed based on four cross-axis flexural hinges. The Root-Mean-Square (RMS) error of the mirror reaches 15.8 nm and the total weight of the FSM assembly is 510 g. The IMC rate equations of the two-axis FSM are established based on the coordinate transformation method. The effectiveness of the FSM and IMC algorithm is verified by the dynamic imaging test in the laboratory and flight test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low temperature freezing stress has adverse effects on wheat seedling growth and final yield. The traditional method to evaluate the wheat injury caused by the freezing stress is by visual observations, which is time-consuming and laborious. Therefore, a more efficient and accurate method for freezing damage identification is urgently needed. Results: A high-throughput phenotyping system was developed in this paper, namely, RGB freezing injury system, to effectively and efficiently quantify the wheat freezing injury in the field environments. The system is able to automatically collect, processing, and analyze the wheat images collected using a mobile phenotype cabin in the field conditions. A data management system was also developed to store and manage the original images and the calculated phenotypic data in the system. In this experiment, a total of 128 wheat varieties were planted, three nitrogen concentrations were applied and two biological and technical replicates were performed. And wheat canopy images were collected at the seedling pulling stage and three image features were extracted for each wheat samples, including ExG, ExR and ExV. We compared different test parameters and found that the coverage had a greater impact on freezing injury. Therefore, we preliminarily divided four grades of freezing injury according to the test results to evaluate the freezing injury of different varieties of wheat at the seedling stage. Conclusions: The automatic phenotypic analysis method of freezing injury provides an alternative solution for high-throughput freezing damage analysis of field crops and it can be used to quantify freezing stress and has guiding significance for accelerating the selection of wheat excellent frost resistance genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The reaction kinetics and gelation behavior in atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT), and conventional free radical copolymerizations (FRP) of oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (OEGMEMA) and oligo(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylates (OEGDMAs) were investigated and compared with respect to the polymerization rate, gel point, and the evolution of network with vinyl conversion. All the three systems experienced autoacceleration in the reaction rate but occurred at different regions of vinyl conversion, caused by diffusion-controlled radical reactions: termination in the FRP, addition in the RAFT, and deactivation in the ATRP, respectively. In the FRP, significant amount of gel materials was collected by solvent extraction far before the onset of macro-gelation detected by an abrupt increase in complex viscosity. However, in the RAFT and ATRP, no gels were found until the systems approached their macro-gelation points. The observation suggests limited intramolecular crosslinking/cyclization reactions in the ATRP and RAFT systems. This is because the slow growth of primary chains (ATRP and RAFT in hours versus FRP in seconds) allowed adequate chain relaxation and diffusion of reacting species. The gel materials thus synthesized by ATRP and RAFT are expected to be more homogeneous in network structure than that by FRP. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was carried out separately on spherical silicon gel with surface-tethered α-bromoester initiator in aqueous media at ambient temperature. The chemical composition of the PMMA and PHEMA brushes grafted from the silicon gel surface was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As a result, two kinds of new inorganic/organic hybrid particles were obtained. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results indicated that the content of the grafted polymer was fairly high. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images revealed the significant change of the morphology between the pristine and polymer modified particles and the polymer modified particles owned core-shell structure. The polydispersity index (PDI) of PMMA brushes was low and the “living” character of the PMMA chain end was further ascertained by the subsequent growth of new MMA, using the PMMA brushes as the macroinitiators. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The prognosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) varies in children with nephrotic syndrome (NS), data on factors predicting the recovery and recurrence of AKI in children with NS are limited. This study aimed to explore the possible factors predicting the recovery from and recurrence of AKI in children with primary NS. Methods: Children with primary NS complicated with AKI from 1993 to 2017 in a single centre were reviewed retrospectively. The clinical pictures and possible factors predicting the recovery from and recurrence of AKI in children with primary NS were investigated. Results: Sixty-eight episodes of AKI in 59 children with NS were analysed: 88.2% of AKI recovered within 3 months, and 2.9% of AKI did not recover after 3 months. Survival analysis revealed that leucocyturia is significantly related to the AKI recovery time (P = 0.001), and children with leucocyturia [22 (4, 79) days] recovered significantly slower than did children without leucocyturia [12.0 (2, 39) days]. Renal tubular and interstitial injury were prominent in children with leucocyturia, and 11.9% of children with index AKI experienced the recurrence of AKI. Conclusions: Most episodes of AKI that occurred in children with NS recovered completely. Leucocyturia is a significant factor predicting the recovery time of AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a macroinitiator of β-CD-ONa was prepared by a substitution reaction of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with sodium (Na). The macroinitiator was then used in the ring-opening polymerization of octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4) to obtain a star polymer, in which β-CD is the core and polysiloxane is the arm. FTIR, NMR, TGA, CA, etc., were used to characterize the structure and properties of star polymers. The results indicated that there were four polysiloxane arms attached to each β-CD core, and the star polymer had good thermal stability. With the increase in D4 monomer dosage, the hydrophobicity of the star polymer slightly improved, but the reaction time had no significant effect on hydrophobicity. When the star polymer was coated onto polyethylene terephthalate membrane, the transmittance increased from 87.6% to 92.8%, and the haze did not change significantly. Furthermore, the surface of star polymer porous membranes was prepared by the static breath-figure method using n-hexane as solvent at 30 °C. The results showed uniform pore distribution and increased hydrophobicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To determine the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of abivertinib, a third‐generation epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in patients with advanced non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Seven patients with advanced NSCLC were given a single 200 mg/83 μCi oral suspension of [14C]‐abivertinib. Blood, urine and faeces were collected. Mass balance of radioactivity, the pharmacokinetics of abivertinib, and the total radioactivity were determined. Metabolite profiling and characterisation were performed. Results: The mean recovery was 82.16%, with 2.38 and 79.78% of the radioactive dose excreted in urine and faeces, respectively. The unchanged abivertinib was the major radioactive component detected in plasma within the first 24 hours after dosing, accounting for 59.17% of the total drug‐related radioactivity. Abivertinib in urine accounted for only 0.96% of the administered dose, whereas in faeces it accounted for 33.36%. Eight metabolites were detected and characterised in plasma, among which MII‐7, a product of cysteine glycine conjugate, was the only circulating metabolite, accounting for approximate 10.6% of the total drug‐related exposure. MII‐2 (an abivertinib cysteine–glycine adduct) and M7 (a reduced product of abivertinib) were the 2 major metabolites in the excreta, accounting for 20.0 and 12.4%, respectively, of the drug‐related radioactivity in faeces. Conclusion: Following a single oral administration, the unchanged abivertinib was the predominant drug‐related material in plasma, urine and faeces. The drug‐related materials were primarily eliminated via the faecal route. Direct glutathione conjugation of abivertinib played a significant role in the metabolic clearance and metabolite exposure of abivertinib. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SHR0534 is being developed for type-2 diabetes mellitus. Herein the tolerability, safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of SHR0534 in healthy Chinese subjects were assessed in a phase-I, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single- and multiple-ascending dose study. Forty subjects were randomized 4:1 to receive SHR0534 at the dose of 10, 25, 50 or 100 mg, or placebo, and another eleven subjects were allocated to either the 5 mg group or the placebo group at an 8:3 ratio. All subjects received a single dose on day 1, followed by a 9-day washout and once-daily administrations for 14 consecutive days. Serial samples were collected, and vital signs, electrocardiograms, laboratory tests, urinalysis and adverse events (AEs) were recorded. All doses of SHR0534 were safe and well tolerated with infrequent, generally mild-to-moderate AEs and no serious AEs in the study. SHR0534 was absorbed with a Tmax of approximately 4 hours, and systemic exposure increased with dose. Accumulation was minimal (2- to 3-fold) and steady state was reached after seven days of dosing. For pharmacodynamics, no significant hypoglycaemic effects were seen in healthy adults. Good pharmacokinetics and safety were demonstrated but no obvious effect was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, partly esterified β-cyclodextrin derivative had been synthesized by esterification of β-cyclodextrin and maleic anhydride. Then, it is amidated by diethanolamine. β-Cyclodextrin copolymer had been prepared from amidated β-cyclodextrin derivative, cholic acid and epichlorohydrin in sodium hydroxide aqueous solution. β-Cyclodextrin hydrogel had been prepared through radical polymerization of β-cyclodextrin copolymer, N-isopropylacrylamide and acrylic acid. The structures, compositions and morphology of the hydrogel were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry and field-emission scanning electron microscope. Its properties were tested and analyzed by ultraviolet spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and swelling experiments. The results show that the β-cyclodextrin hydrogel owns sustained release performance, temperature and pH sensitivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexoelectric effect and dielectric effect in uniform lying helix (ULH) cholesteric liquid crystals under cell boundary conditions of periodic anchoring at the bottom and vertical anchoring at the top are studied. They can be quantitatively analyzed by theoretically simulation of the polar angle and the tilt angle. It is found that a good ULH texture can be formed inside under periodic boundary conditions and the bulk director is not affected by the surface anchoring strength. The induced rotation angle of the helical axis by the flexoelectric effect is slightly non-uniform with the position, and the coupling of the flexoelectric effect and dielectric effect increases the inhomogeneous change. Our results will provide an accurate theory basis for the formation of a good ULH texture and the influence of dielectric effect on the optical axis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence, causes and risk factors of bilateral visual impairment in rural areas of Tianjin, China. Methods: A large population‐based, cross‐sectional study. A stratified random cluster sampling method was used to investigate 12 233 participants in all age groups living in rural Tianjin. Participants completed questionnaires and received professional ophthalmology examinations. Results: According to World Health Organization best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) criteria, the crude prevalence of bilateral visual impairment (BCVA < 20/63), bilateral low vision (BCVA < 20/63 to ≥20/400) and bilateral blindness (BCVA < 20/400) was 2.53%, 2.40% and 0.14% (age‐ and gender‐standardized prevalence was 1.86%, 1.76% and 0.11%). The prevalence increased with age and was higher in women than men. The most common causes of bilateral visual impairment in the total population were cataract (48.39%), refractive error/amblyopia (17.74%), age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) (10.00%), diabetic retinopathy (5.81%) and glaucoma (3.87%). For participants younger than 50 years, refractive error/amblyopia was the leading cause of low vision and blindness, while cataract was the major cause in the participants over 50. Female gender, older age and self‐reported diabetes were associated with increased risks of visual impairment. Conclusion: The age‐ and gender‐standardized prevalence of low vision, especially in the older group (50+), was higher in this study compared with previous studies in China. Refractive error/amblyopia was the leading cause of bilateral visual impairment in younger group, while cataract was the primary cause in the older group. These findings will provide useful information for planning comprehensive eye healthcare programmes in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • SERS detection of morphine can be realized by dropping or soaking with a solid chip. • This chip is fit for detecting morphine in aqueous solutions even domestic sewage. • Suitable modification of the chip can increase its SERS performances to morphine. The accurate, sensitive and portable detection of morphine is important to handle judicial cases, but remains to be a great challenge. In this work, a flexible route is presented for the accurate identification and efficient detection of trace morphine in solutions based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and a solid substrate/chip. A gold-coated jagged silicon nanoarray (Au-JSiNA) is designed and prepared via Si-based polystyrene colloidal template-reactive ion etching and sputtering deposition of Au. Such Au-JSiNA has three-dimensional nanostructure with good structural uniformity, high SERS activity and hydrophobic surface. Adopting this Au-JSiNA as SERS chip, trace morphine in solutions could be detected and identified in both dropping and soaking ways, and the limit of detection is below 10-4 mg/mL. Importantly, such chip is especially suitable for the detection of trace morphine in aqueous solutions and even domestic sewage. The good SERS performance is attributed to the high-density nanotips and nanogaps on this chip as well as its hydrophobic surface. Additionally, the appropriate surface modification of this Au-JSiNA chip with 3-mercapto-1-propanol or 3-mercaptopropionic acid/1-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-3-ethylcarbodiimide can further increase its SERS performances to morphine. This work provides a facile route and practical solid chip for SERS detection of trace morphine in solutions, which is significant to develop the portable and reliable instruments for on-site analysis of drugs in solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cr3+ doped near infrared (NIR) phosphors have remained exploding in the area of bioimaging, food detection and plant cultivation. Herein, the spinel ZnGa 2 O 4 :Cr3+ NIR phosphor was prepared and the defect was introduced into the matrix via substituting the bivalent Zn2+ with the trivalent Ga3+. Structure variation and the microstructure of the phosphors were investigated and the state of the elements was confirmed. The existence of the defect in the lattice was verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermoluminescence. By substituting Zn2+ with Ga3+ both the emission intensity and the thermal stability were improved. Thermal stability improvement was explored as the result of the defect level in the lattice. The emission intensity of the optimized Zn 0.98 Ga 2.02 O 4+δ :Cr3+ kept 77.3% at 423 K than that at room temperature. This work provides a strategy to enhance the luminescence efficiency and thermal stability simultaneously of Cr3+ doped NIR phosphors. • Simple strategy to introduce defects • Defect engineering induced thermal stability improvement • Good thermal stability of optimized Zn 0.98 Ga 2.02 O 4 :Cr3+ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Styrene, a prevalent volatile organic compounds (VOCs), is very harmful to atmosphere and humans. Consequently, the development of efficient detection technologies for styrene is of high importance, which is still in challenge! In this work, we crafted a layered double hydroxide (LDH) porous film-coated gold nanoarray, designed to act as a surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) chip for the efficient and portable detection of gaseous styrene. This chip features a covering layer composed of cross-linked LDH nanosheets, notable for their porous structure and high specific surface area. When the covering layer is 100–300 nm in thickness, this composite chip has significant enrichment effect and strong SERS performance to gaseous styrene with a lowest detectable concentration below 1 ppb (4.64 ×10-3 mg/m3), and can response within 10 s, showing the rapid response and high sensitivity. Additionally, the chip has strong anti-interference capabilities and maintains excellent response to styrene, even in mixed benzene-VOCs gases. The exceptional SERS performances of this chip is ascribed to its LDH covering layer-induced styrene-enrichment and structurally-enhanced SERS performances. This study provides a simple route and practical chip for the rapid and ultrasensitive SERS-based detection of gaseous styrene, which is also potentially beneficial for the detection of other gaseous VOCs. [Display omitted] • A layered double hydroxide (LDH) covered gold nanoarray is fabricated as SERS chip for trace styrene. • There exists an optimal thickness range (100–300 nm) of the LDH covering layer for this chip. • This chip can response to styrene molecules in < 10 s with a detection limit below 1 ppb. • This chip has good selectivity to styrene and strong anti-interference from other gaseous VOCs. • The superb SERS performance is attributed to the enrichment effect of the LDH covering to styrene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A step-by-step targeted biomimetic nanocomplexes containing Atorvastatin and Metformin was successfully constructed. • The synergy between the two drugs achieved effective atherosclerosis alleviation in both prophylactic and remedial therapy. • The biomimetic nanocomplexes alleviated atherosclerosis by reactivating efferocytosis through facilitating the M1-to-M2 transition and inhibiting the senescence of macrophages. Atherosclerosis is chronic inflammatory disease tightly related with defective efferocytosis of apoptotic cells (ACs) in the plaques. The strategy of efferocytosis reactivation using Atorvastatin (AT) and Metformin (Met) has attracted increasing attention for atherosclerosis treatment. Although these drug-based therapies could stimulate the phagocytic clearance of ACs, the rapid drug clearance and poor bioavailability limited their efficacy. In this study, by co-loading AT and Met into poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid nanoparticles (PLGA NPs), we developed a biomimetic nanocomplexes for targeted atherosclerosis treatment. Macrophages membrane-coated nanocomplexes efficiently avoided the clearance of NPs from immune system and achieved targeting ability to the atherosclerotic plaques. Moreover, modified hyaluronic acid (HA) delivered NPs into the dysfunctional efferocytic cells of plaques, and achieved the plaques-macrophages-targeted therapy. In vitro results indicated that the biomimetic nanocomplexes reactivated efferocytosis by facilitating macrophages polarization from M1 to M2 phenotype through enhancing ERK5/MerTK pathway and inhibiting cellular senescence through inhibiting p53-p16/pRB pathway. In vivo study indicated that this biomimetic nanocomplexes accumulated in the atherosclerotic plaques, resulting in reduction of necrotic core area and protection against plaque rupture by reactivating efferocytosis. These findings indicated that reactivation of efferocytosis by AT and Met co-delivered nanocomplexes provided a novel promising strategy for targeted atherosclerosis treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]