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Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their ideal optoelectronic properties, such as high color purity, high fluorescence quantum yield, and tunable light color. The perovskite layer plays a decisive role in the performance of PeLEDs and the solvent engineering of the perovskite layer is the key technological breakthrough in preparing high quality films. In this study, we have proposed the strategy of adding different amounts of solvents to the perovskite precursor solution to optimize the morphology of perovskite films and device performance. As a result, with the decreasing concentration of perovskite precursor solution, the perovskite film morphology is smoother and more favorable for carrier injection and combing, which induces an enhanced external quantum efficiency. The maximum luminance of PeLEDs was increased from 1667 cd/m2 to 9857 cd/m2 and the maximum current efficiency was increased from 6.7 cd/A to 19 cd/A. This work provides a trend to achieve improved film morphology and device performance for perovskite optoelectronic devices.

Abstract Adsorbent regeneration is critical for a continuous adsorption–regeneration process and often underestimated. In this work, the regeneration of bifunctional AgXO@SBA-15 for [O]-induced reactive adsorptive desulfurization of liquid fuel is reported and further investigated. The spent AgXO@SBA-15 was regenerated in various types of solvents followed by calcination and tested in multiple desulfurization–regeneration cycles. The effects of regenerate solvents were also compared systematically. The original and regenerated AgXO@SBA-15 was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, N2 adsorption, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrometry. The recovery of desulfurization capacity using various solvents follows the order of acetonitrile > acetone > ethanol > methanol > water. Owing to the complete reduction of silver species to Ag0 and severe agglomeration of Ag0, the bifunctional AgXO@SBA-15 demonstrating > 85% (2.60 mg-S/g) of sulfur removal dramatically reduced to

Illicium difengpi K.I.B. et K.I.M. is a member of the Illiciaceae family with a yet not fully explored utilization value. To provide references for the systematic understanding of I. difengpi (Illiciaceae), the morphological and structural characteristics, wild resource distribution, chemical compounds, pharmacological effects, utilization, and protective measures of this species are reviewed. We conclude that (i) I. difengpi (Illiciaceae) is an endemic and indigenous medicinal species that has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and traumatic injury in China; (ii) I. difengpi (Illiciaceae) can endure various abiotic stresses, especially extreme drought, and thus has scientific value for exploring adaptive mechanisms of tolerance to extreme drought and in the ecological restoration of karst rocky desertification areas; and (iii) the beautiful tree shapes of I. difengpi (Illiciaceae) give it potential ornamental value. However, the wild resources of I. difengpi (Illiciaceae) have rapidly decreased, and there is an urgent need to protect this endangered species to maintain its diversity. Protection measures include the protection of wild germplasm resources, the establishment of an I. difengpi (Illiciaceae) germplasm resource bank, and the development of large-scale ecological planting techniques. In further research, the medicinal and scientific value of I. difengpi (Illiciaceae) should be systematically explored to clarify the plant’s effective pharmaceutical value, clinical applications, mechanisms of drought adaptation, and genetic diversity.

The article describes a study which determined the expression and antigenicity characterization for truncated capsid protein of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) in swine herds. PCV-2 causes porcine dermatitis, nephropathy syndrome and exudative epidermitis. The study revealed that all fusion proteins had positive reactions to PCV-2 antiserum and His-XF2-2. The study also confirmed that the binding regions of 7 mABs are capsid protein N-terminal parts 55 to 96 amino acid (aa), 97 to 141 aa and 143 to 211 aa.

A three-week trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of the oligosaccharide stachyose on performance, diarrhoea incidence and intestinal bacterial populations in weaned pigs (7.96 ± o-2 kg). A total of 144 crossbred (Landace x Large White x Duroc) pigs weaned at 28 days were alloted to one of four treatments with six pens per treatment and six pigs per pen. The experimental diets were based on maize, dried whey and whole-fat milk and were supplemented with 0, 1 or 2% stachyose. A fourth diet contained no milk but instead contained 20% soybean meal to provide 0.78% stachyose and 0.21% raffinose. Inclusion of 1 or 2% stachyose in the diet depressed growth compared with pigs fed the control diet. Pigs fed the soybean meal diet gained weight at a rate similar to pigs fed and diet containing 1% added stachyose. Diarrhoea incidence was highest for pigs fed the soybean meal diet and lowest for pigs fed the control diet, with pigs fed the diets containing stachyose being intermediate. Pigs fed 1% stachyose had more lactobacilli in the ileum as well as more bifidobacteria in the caecum and colon than control pigs. They also had fewer enterobacteria in the colon. In contrast, pigs fed the diet containing 2% stachyose had fewer lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the jejunum, ileum and caecum than did control pigs. Volatile fatty acids in the ileum, caecum and colon were highest for pigs fed 1% stachyose and lowest for pigs fed 2% stachyose. Volatile fatty acid concentrations were not significantly different between pigs fed the soybean meal diet and those fed the control. The overall results of this experiment indicate that the oligosaccharide stachyose had a negative effect on pig performance and its presence may partially explain the poorer performance observed when soybean meal is used as the sole source of supplemental protein in cereal-based diets fed to weaned pigs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A planar device structure FTO/TiO _2 /SnO _2 /Cs _0.1 [HC(NH _2 ) _2 ] _0.74 (CH _3 NH _3 ) _0.13 PbI _2.48 Br _0.39 (Cs _0.1 FA _0.74 MA _0.13 PbI _2.48 Br _0.39 )/CuSCN/Au with cation and anion co-mixed Cs _0.1 FA _0.74 MA _0.13 PbI _2.48 Br _0.39 as light harvester was modeled and investigated by using modeling program wxAMPS. The energy band structure, carrier concentration, carrier generation rate, recombination rate, and other data were obtained through simulation to analyze the specific influence on the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In order to better optimize device performance, we investigated the effects of perovskite and the interface between each functional layer defect density, film thickness, and test temperature environment on the performance of PSCs. The simulation results show that the device performance has higher dependence on the effect of perovskite and interface defect density. By further optimizing the parameters of defect density (10 ^13 cm ^−3 ), film thickness (400 nm), and test temperature (300 K), the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the finally obtained PSCs was enhanced from the initial 11.65% to 21.95%. This investigation will enable us to better understand the internal working mechanism of PSCs and provide theoretical guidance for the fabrication of high-performance PSCs in experiments.

The investigation of crystal growth is crucial for us to improve the film quality and photophysical properties of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3). In the two-step spin-coating process, the crystal structure could be modulated by controlling the growth conditions of PbI2 and CH3NH3I (MAI) layers. In this paper, the PbI2 layer was treated with annealing under different times. A liquid–liquid diffusion (LLD) mechanism is proposed to modify the deposition of MAI precursor solution and enhance the flatness of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite film. Furthermore, the perovskite films are prepared using different concentrations of MAI. The evolution process of perovskite structure is observed by modulating the concentration of MAI. The spin-coating of moderate MAI tends to form high quality MAPbI3 films with enhanced absorption and carrier extraction capabilities. The high concentration of MAI would cause the perovskite phase transition, which provides a novel perspective to modulate the structure of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite in the two-step spin-coating process, although it deteriorates the device performance.

In recent years, flexible perovskite solar cells have drawn tremendous attention in the field of wearable devices, and optimization of perovskite composition plays an important role in improving film quality and photophysical properties. At present, some researchers have only studied A-site organic cations mixing or X-site halide anions mixing in the ABX3 structure of perovskite, but there are few reports on co-mixing of A-site and X-site ions in flexible perovskite solar cells. In this paper, we mainly try to study the effects of different concentrations of mixed formamidine methylamine halide (FAxMA1-xBrxClyI1-x-y) precursor solutions on the quality and photophysical properties of perovskite films under low temperature process. We conclude that the film quality and photophysical properties reached the best results when the optimized precursor solution concentration was 60:6:6. The investigation on composition optimization in this experiment laid the foundation for the improvement of the performance of flexible perovskite solar cells. We also use the results of this experiment to prepare flexible perovskite solar cells based on carbon electrodes, which are expected to be applied in other flexible optoelectronic or electro-optical devices.

Energy band alignment between perovskite layer and charge transport layers is critical to the perovskite solar cell efficiency. The thickness of functional layers also has a great influence on the device performance. We have optimized the energy band alignment at the interface between electron transport layer (ETL) and perovskite layer by using appropriate Cd _1-x Zn _x S ETL (x represents the Zn molar concentration). Different hole transport layers (HTLs) have also been selected to address the mismatching energy band alignment at perovskite/HTL interface. Additionally, the thickness of Cd _1-x Zn _x S ETL and perovskite layer (MAPbI _3 ) has been optimized. We performed all the analysis via numerical simulation with wx Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures (wxAMPS) software. We also compared the results obtained in this study, with results reported in other literature to ascertain the validity of the results. The results show that the device performance could be improved by appropriately increasing the molar concentration of Zn in Cd _1-x Zn _x S. Spike-type energy band structure at the interface of MAPbI _3 /HTL could favor the performance of perovskite solar cells when MASnBr _3 is adopted as HTL. Appropriate ETL and perovskite layer thickness would increase the short circuit current and reduce the recombination loss.

To ensure navigation integrity for safety-critical applications, this paper proposes an efficient Fault Detection and Exclusion (FDE) scheme for tightly coupled navigation system of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS). Special emphasis is placed on the potential faults in the Kalman Filter state prediction step (defined as “filter fault”), which could be caused by the undetected faults occurring previously or the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) failures. The integration model is derived first to capture the features and impacts of GNSS faults and filter fault. To accommodate various fault conditions, two independent detectors, which are respectively designated for GNSS fault and filter fault, are rigorously established based on hypothesis-test methods. Following a detection event, the newly-designed exclusion function enables (a) identifying and removing the faulty measurements and (b) eliminating the effect of filter fault through filter recovery. Moreover, we also attempt to avoid wrong exclusion events by analyzing the underlying causes and optimizing the decision strategy for GNSS fault exclusion accordingly. The FDE scheme is validated through multiple simulations, where high efficiency and effectiveness have been achieved in various fault scenarios.

The LCMV GP33 CD8 epitope has long been one of the most widely used antigens in viral immunology. Of note, almost all of the in vitro analyses of CD8 T cell responses to this epitope make use of an altered peptide ligand (APL) in which the cysteine from the original 9-mer peptide (KAVYNFATC) is substituted by a methionine at position 41 (KAVYNFATM). In addition, it is possible that the antigen processed during natural LCMV infection is an 11-mer peptide (KAVYNFATCGI) rather than the widely used 9-mer. Although previous affinity measurements using purified proteins for these antigen variants revealed minimal differences, we applied highly sensitive two dimensional (2D) biophysical based techniques to further dissect TCR interaction with these closely related GP33 variants. The kinetic analyses of affinity provided by the 2D micropipette adhesion frequency assay (2D-MP) and bond lifetime under force analyzed using a biomembrane force probe (BFP) revealed significant differences between 41M, 41C and the 11-mer 41CGI antigen. We found a hierarchy in 2D affinity as 41M peptide displayed augmented TCR 2D affinity compared to 41C and 41CGI. These differences were also maintained in the presence of CD8 coreceptor and when analysis of total TCR:pMHC and CD8:pMHC bonds were considered. Moreover, the three ligands displayed dramatic differences in the bond lifetimes generated under force, in particular the 41CGI variant with the lowest 2D affinity demonstrated a 15-fold synergistic contribution of the CD8 coreceptor to overall bond lifetime. Our analyses emphasize the sensitivity of single cell and single bond 2D kinetic measurements in distinguishing between related agonist peptides.

The stereo vision results from the interaction between geometrical optics and visual psychology. Large depth will bring discomforts for the results of ghosting and flicker. The relevance of the ratio of jumping out depth (RJD) and electroencephalogram (EEG) gravity frequency (GF) was explored to reflect human health under different three-dimensional (3D) depth information (mainly the negative disparity) displayed on a three-dimensional television (3D-TV) with shutter glasses. EEG was obtained from 10 volunteers when they were watching 3D film segments with different negative disparities. The brain GF map shows that the depth information has a stronger influence on the frontal lobe than on the occipital lobe. For regression analysis, nonlinear curve fittings of GF to RJD in Fp1, F3, O2 and T5 channels were mainly performed when RJD ranged from 0 to 3.4, while linear fittings were performed in some special RJD ranges. It also confirms that RJD above 2.2 may lead to discomfort to human body. Finally, it suggests a suitable RJD range for people to watch from the objective method. The outcomes can be used as a guidance to decrease human discomforts induced by 3D production.

Weak-signal and high-dynamics are of two primary concerns of space navigation using GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) in the space service volume (SSV). The paper firstly defines a reference assumption third-order phase-locked loop (PLL) as the baseline of an onboard GNSS receiver, and proves the incompetence of this conventional architecture. Then an adaptive four-state Kalman filter (KF)-based algorithm is introduced to realize the optimization of loop noise bandwidth, which can adaptively regulate its filter gain according to the received signal power and line-of-sight (LOS) dynamics. To overcome the matter of losing lock in weak-signal and high-dynamic environments, an open loop tracking strategy aided by an inertial navigation system (INS) is recommended, and the traditional maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method is modified in a non-coherent way by reconstructing the likelihood cost function. Furthermore, a typical mission with combined orbital maneuvering and non-maneuvering arcs is taken as a destination object to test the two proposed strategies. Finally, the experiment based on computer simulation identifies the effectiveness of an adaptive four-state KF-based strategy under non-maneuvering conditions and the virtue of INS-assisted methods under maneuvering conditions.

BACKGROUND: It is controversial whether microRNA-126 is a tumor suppressive or oncogenic miRNA. More experiments are needed to determine whether microRNA-126 is associated with non-small cell lung cancer risk and prognosis. METHODS: Over-expression of microRNA-126 was performed to evaluate the cell invasion and tumor growth in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines and nude mouse xenograft model. Gain-of-function experiments and luciferase assays were performed to reveal the relationship between microRNA-126 and PI3K-Akt signal pathway in A549 cells. We analyzed the associations of the microRNA-126 expression between genetic variants within microRNA-126 and clinical information including smoking status, sex, age, and histological type and the tumor stage. RESULTS: Over-expression of microRNA-126 in NSCLC cell lines decreased cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in the nude mouse xenograft model. And microRNA-126 repressed the activity of PI3K-Akt pathway by targeting binding sites in the 3'-untranslated region of PI3KR2 mRNA. The expression level of microRNA-126 was decreased in NSCLC lines and tumor tissues. The patients with low microRNA-126 expression had significantly poorer survival time than those with high microRNA-126 expression (means for survival time (month): 24.392±1.055 vs. 29.282±1.140, P = 0.005). However, there was no significant difference in the genotype and allele frequencies of the microRNA-126 variant (G>A, rs4636297) between cases and controls (P = 0.366). In addition, there was no association between SNP rs4636297 and survival time in NSCLC patients (P = 0.992). And microRNA-126 expression had no significant difference among the three genotype groups (P = 0.972). CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that microRNA-126 is a tumor-suppressor gene in NSCLC and low microRNA-126 expression is a unfavorable prognostic factor in NSCLC patients. However, the regulatory mechanism of microRNA-126 remains to be elucidated in different normal and malignant tissues. Therefore, further research is needed to explore the tumor suppressive functions of microRNA-126 in NSCLC.

In the title compound, [CoCl2(C13H9Cl2N3O2)2(C12H8N2)]·CH3OH, the CoII atom is octahedrally coordinated by two N atoms from the pyridyl rings of the tridentate N′-(3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene)pyridine-4-carbohydrazide (H2L) ligand, two N atoms from the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand and two chloride ions. The acylhydrazone groups are not involved into the coordination of the metal ion. In the crystal packing an extended three-dimensional network formed by N—H...Cl, N—H...O, O—H...N, O—H...N and O—H...Cl hydrogen bonds is observed.