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Two flexible and colorless polymers are synthesized based on a phosphorus-containing derivative of a bio-based aromatic aldehyde (4-hydroxybenzaldehyde) by a thiol-ene reaction. Thanks to the high ...

Two fluoro-containing low dielectric polymers have been successfully prepared based on thermo-crosslinkable trifluorovinyl ether (TFVE) monomers with big tetrahedral units (adamantane and spirobifluorene). These polymers exhibit an average dielectric constant (Dk) of lower than 2.6, and the polymer with adamantane units displays the lowest Dk of 2.26 and an average dielectric loss (Df) of 1.14 × 10−3 at a range of frequencies from 1 to 10 MHz. In contrast, the polymer with spirobifluorene units displays a Dk of 2.54 and a Df of 1.53 × 10−3. Such results are attributed to the existence of intrinsic micropores produced by the big adamantane and spirobifluorene units in the polymers. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) indicates two different micropores in both the polymers, with sizes of 2.354/4.354 and 2.949/4.408 A, respectively. Because the polymer with adamantane units possesses bigger pore sizes, it shows a lower dielectric constant. These data mean that the polymer with adamantane units is suitable for use as encapsulation resins of integrated circuit (IC) dies for applications in the microelectronics industry.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with layered architecture and excellent optoelectronic properties have been a hot spot for light-emitting diodes (LED). However, the light-emitting efficiency of TMDC LEDs is still low due to the large size limit of TMDC flakes and the inefficient device architecture. First and foremost, to develop the highly-efficient and reliable few-layer TMDC LEDs, the modulation of the electronic properties of TMDCs and TMDC heterostructures is necessary. In order to create efficient TMDC LEDs with prominent performance, an in-depth understanding of the working mechanism is needed. Besides conventional structures, the electric (or ionic liquid)-induced p-n junction of TMDCs is a useful configuration for multifunctional LED applications. The significant performances are contrasted in the four aspects of color, polarity, and external quantum efficiency. The color of light ranging from infrared to visible light can be acquired from TMDC LEDs by purposeful and selective architecture construction. To date, the maximum of the external quantum efficiency achieved by TMDC LEDs is 12%. In the demand for performance, the material and configuration of the nano device can be chosen according to this review. Moreover, novel electroluminescence devices involving single-photon emitters and alternative pulsed light emitters can expand their application scope. In this review, we provide an overview of the significant investigations that have provided a wealth of detailed information on TMDC electroluminescence devices at the molecular level.

Heteroglycopolymers displaying different sugar motifs have been increasingly used as tools to investigate the inherent heterogeneity in carbohydrate–protein binding to date. However, the fabrication of well-defined heteroglycopolymers still remains a challenge for chemists. Herein a library of well-defined homo and hetero-glycopolymers consisting of different sugar units in the side chain were generated by reacting poly(pentafluorophenyl acrylate) (pPFPA) with difunctionalized sugar amines via post-polymerization modification, in which one class of sugar motifs is linked by the flexible thiol ether bond while the same or different sugar motifs are connected by the rigid triazole ring in the side chain. A series of difunctionalized sugar amines were synthesized by implementing sequential CuAAC and thiol–ene click reactions, which could serve as a facile methodology for achieving heterogeneous sugar synthetic blocks with functional control. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurements of the obtained glycopolymers with concanavalin A (Con A) as the model receptor indicated that heterogeneous glycopolymers bearing binding units α-D-mannose and non-binding sugar motifs in the side chains show higher affinities to Con A as compared to monoglycopolymer P(αManN-ene) in which the non-binding sugar motif was substituted with a non-sugar unit. We hypothesized that this may be due to the presence of β-glucose and β-galactose units as secondary sugar units producing a synergistic effect for the binding of α-mannose units to Con A. More surprisingly, heterogeneous glycopolymers in which α-D-mannose is linked by the flexible thiol ether bond in the side chain showed higher binding affinity to Con A in comparison with the heterogeneous glycopolymers in which α-D-mannose is linked by the rigid triazole ring since the flexible linker could provide more spaces on the polymer chain to bind Con A.

The understanding of the influence of hierarchically nanostructured architectures as support materials for catalysts loading, is critical towards development of efficient electrocatalytic interfaces. The knowledge on mass transport limitation of reactants within such catalyst-support structures remains elusive. Herein, we performed systematic investigation through a novel hierarchical 1D–3D structure by loading mesoporous Pd with an average pore size of ∼10 nm and wall thickness of ∼4 nm onto highly ordered TiO2 nanotube arrays via pulse electrodeposition. Electrochemical CO2 reductions achieved a CO2-to-formate faradaic conversion efficiency of 88 ± 2% under optimal conditions. Importantly, the product selectivity is found to depend significantly on the tube length, highlighting the influence of mass transport limitations of CO2. This work offers vital insight into practical consideration in designing efficient catalyst-support interfaces with an optimal hierarchically geometry, that must optimise mass transport as well as electrochemical kinetics.

Renewable biomass has been attracting extensive attention because of its advantages over fossil fuels, including renewability, ready availability and abundance. Anethole, as a kind of aromatic inedible plant oil, has been converted to various functional materials by skillful designing and preparation. As for the chemical structure of anethole, the propenyl group enables anethole not only to co-polymerize with electro-deficient monomers by the initiation of free radicals, but also to undergo cationic copolymerization to form oligomers. The methoxy group enables anethole to be functionalized by other groups. Because of its high reactivity, anethole has been developed as a reliable monomer or precursor for diverse materials with potential applications, such as microsphere adsorbents, dielectric materials, and high-performance polymers. The results show that anethole is a promising candidate for replacement of petroleum-based raw materials. This review summarizes the chemical conversions and applications of anethole, which may offer some inspiration for the application of other biomass materials widely existing in or extracted from nature.

Vitrimers have constituted one of the hottest research fields in recent years since they are not only mechanically robust and thermally stable like traditional thermosets but also can be recycled through a physical hot press like thermoplastics. Epoxy vitrimers are the most promising of all vitrimers because they are easy to prepare and durable for long-term service. Aromatic biomass has recently been shown to replace commercial bisphenol A as a raw material for epoxy vitrimers, but it is usually difficult to use it to achieve high performance and reprocessability at the same time. Starting from protocatechuic acid, a series of high-performance epoxy vitrimers with different catalyst loadings and ratios of epoxy/anhydride were prepared. In this work, the new epoxy resins showed much better thermal and mechanical properties (Tg = 157 °C, tensile strength = 65 MPa) than commercial BPA-based epoxy resins. Moreover, these bio-based epoxy vitrimers can also be reprocessed with extremely high efficiency and degraded in NaOH solution. The great properties of epoxy vitrimers derived from protocatechuic acid indicate that they can be used as renewable alternatives to BPA epoxy resins.

The rapid development of wearable devices has stimulated the pursuit of unconventional and multifunctional flexible supercapacitors such as stretchable, compressible, electrochromic, self-healable or transparent supercapacitors. Redox-active conducting polymers (CPs) that combine metal like electrically conductive properties with polymer like mechanical properties are ideal materials for use. However, they suffer from poor performance due to volume variations during charge and discharge processes. The integration of CPs with other materials to form composites provides an effective approach to achieve excellent performance. This review discusses the recent progress on the design and fabrication of CP composites with tailored microstructures for these novel supercapacitors. It will cover a wide range of materials with different intrinsic properties (e.g. carbon materials, metal oxides/hydroxides, and two dimensional materials) to be incorporated with CPs. It aims to provide insights into the synergistic effect of components on the supercapacitive performance of composites. We also present the strategies towards their practical applications in integrated systems and future perspectives.

Vitrimers are cross-linked networks through reversible dynamic covalent bonds. Usually, self-healing of vitrimers are realized by rearrangement of the networks under high temperature (>150 °C) and ...

Trichogramma japonicum Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) and Trichogramma dendrolimi Matsumura (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) are important parasitoids of Lepidopteran pests and are used for biological control in rice fields. In this study, the response of two of these parasitoids to four insecticides (chlorpyrifos, chlorantraniliprole, emamectin benzoate, and spinosad) were evaluated at target sublethal concentrations (TSC10 and TSC25, representing the LC10 and LC25 to the target pest) of the important rice pest, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée). Each of the insecticides led to the mortality of adult T. japonicum and T. dendrolimi at TSC10 and TSC25, whereas no significant differences in the mortality of T. japonicum between TSC10 of chlorantraniliprole and control groups occurred. The parasitic capacity increased at F0 of T. japonicum at the two TSCs of spinosad treated host eggs, whereas the TSC10 was lower for emamectin benzoate at F1 for T. japonicum. The TSCs of chlorpyrifos treated host eggs negatively influenced the emergence rates of T. japonicum at F1. Emamectin benzoate with TSC10 reduced the female ratio of T. japonicum at F1. For T. dendrolimi, the TSCs of chlorpyrifos treated host eggs negatively influenced the emergence rates at F1. These findings indicate that T. japonicum and T. dendrolimi are affected by insecticides at TSCs, and among the four insecticides, chlorantraniliprole had the lowest mortality rates for T. japonicum and T. dendrolimi at TSCs.

Using carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) imprinted polymerized ionic liquid hydrogel as a recognition element and hollow gold nanoballs/MoSe2 nanosheets as a photoactive element, a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing platform was successfully fabricated. To accomplish the imprinted process under room temperature to maintain the biological activity and the configuration of CEA, and thus to improve the sensing performances, 3-{[{4-N,N-Bis[(carbamoyl)ethylmethacrylate]butyl}((carbamoyl)amino)ethyl methacrylate] -propyl}-1-ethenyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium bromide (BCCPEimBr) ionic liquid was synthesized. By using BCCPEimBr ionic liquid as the functional monomer, CEA as the template, a molecularly imprinted hydrogel film was prepared on a hollow gold nanoballs/MoSe2 nanosheets modified glassy carbon electrode surface. After removing the template, a CEA imprinted photoelectrochemical sensor was successfully fabricated. The imprinted PEC sensor shows good selectivity, sensitivity and stability towards CEA, produces a linear response in the concentration range from 0.05 to 5.0 ng mL−1 and shows a detection limit of 11.2 pg mL−1 (S/N = 3) under the optimized conditions. The imprinted PEC sensor was used to determine CEA in clinical human serum samples accurately. The procedure for the imprinted PEC sensing platform can be used for other biomolecules just by substituting the template.

Freestanding flexible electrodes with high areal mass loading are required for the development of flexible high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Currently they face the challenge of low ma...

To deal with the electromagnetic radiation, a bio-based shielding material with dissimilar surface resistivity was fabricated by electroless Ni–Fe–P plating on bamboo surface. The effects of plating parameters, such as pH, main salt mole ratio, etc. on the deposition rate, resistivity, and chemical composition of the coating were investigated. The SEM, EDS, XRD, and XPS were used to study the surface morphologies, chemical composition, and crystal structures of the optimal coating. Besides, the results of electrical conductivity, magnetism, and shielding effectiveness (SE) showed the bamboo was endowed with good conductivity, magnetism, and SE after plating. Thereinto, the SE of plated bamboo was higher than 55 dB (0.1 MHz–2.0 GHz), which far surpassed the targeted value of 20 dB for commercial applications. Additionally, the corrosion property and thermal stability of material were also concerned. The TGA results displays the thermal stability of Ni–Fe–P-coated bamboo was enhanced compared with raw bamboo. Moreover, we found the alloy was not simply surface-coated but permeated into bamboo because of its porosity. Furthermore, an interesting phenomenon has been found for the first time: the Ni–Fe–P-coated bamboo has the characteristic of surface resistivity dissimilarity which could be reflected in different structures, different planes, and different locations.

Stimuli-responsive membranes exhibit a flexible adjustment in response to environmental stimuli and have been established many applications. In this paper, dual-stimuli-responsive ultrafiltration m...

Hierarchically one-dimensional nanomaterials represent a kind of promising catalyst for photocatalytic of hydrogen generation, where the photoinduced charge carriers can effectively separate and be engaged in the target reaction. Herein, we report the synthesis of hierarchically one-dimensional ZnxCd1-xS/NiTiO3 nanofibers and the investigations of their photocatalytic performance. These well-designed nanofibers demonstrate a typically one-dimensional heterostructure with an excellent continuity, and the element mapping, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy collectively confirm the ZnxCd1-xS nanoparticles being decorated on the surface of NiTiO3 nanofibers successfully. The ZnxCd1-xS/NiTiO3 nanofibers exhibit enhanced efficiency in photocatalytic hydrogen production under visible light, compared with the ZnxCd1-xS/TiO2 nanofibers. The electrochemical impedance spectra measurements reveal that ZnxCd1-xS/NiTiO3 nanofibers facilitated the transport and separation of the photoexcited charge carriers. The superior photocatalytic performance is synthetically attributed to the visible-light-responsive NiTiO3 substrate, pure phase, large region of interface and relatively small grain size.

Nutrient loading in the fall is a practical way to improve seedling quality and has been proven to increase nutrient accumulation, translocation and utilization. Few studies have reported on the variation in free amino acids as a result of fall fertilization, especially for different seasonal needle habits (evergreen, deciduous). Therefore, a balanced two-factor factorial design with one fall fertilization treatment (10 mg N/seedling) and Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) and Prince Rupprecht’s larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr.) seedlings was used to examine growth response over one nursery season. Associated changes between fall fertilization, N storage and free amino acids were analyzed. Results showed that: (1) stem height, diameter and biomass for both species were similar between controls and fall fertilization treatments; (2) compared to controls, fall fertilization increased Chinese pine needle and root N by 17.7% and 36.9%, respectively. For Prince Rupprecht’s larch, fall fertilization resulted in 26.3% and 34.54% more N in stem and roots, respectively, than controls; (3) the three main amino acids in control and fertilization treatments in Prince Rupprecht’s larch seedlings were glutamine, arginine and proline, and in Chinese pine seedlings were glutamine, arginine and γ-amino butyric acid; (4) total amino acid contents were not significantly increased by fall fertilization, but glutamine in Chinese pine and Prince Rupprecht’s larch increased by 64.2% and 35.2%, respectively. Aboveground biomass of Prince Rupprecht’s larch had higher proline contents than Chinese pine, which suggests that the stress resistance of the aboveground tissue may be higher for Prince Rupprecht’s larch. The results indicate that different plant organs with various response are well adapted to nitrogen loading for nutrient storage in evergreen and deciduous conifer seedlings.

Increasing the energy density, power density as well as widening the operation voltage are essential to electrochemical capacitors to meet the practical energy demands. Herein, a novel flexible quasi-solid-state dual-ion asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) with Ni(OH)2 and Nb2O5 nanosheets directly grown on stainless steel mesh is developed. In the dual-ion ASC, Nb2O5 negative and Ni(OH)2 positive electrodes react with Li+ and OH− respectively in alkaline gel electrolyte to store energy, which is quite different from conventional alkali metal ion SCs and alkaline SCs. The as-assembled flexible device has an extended working voltage of 1.7 V and delivers a capacity of 5.37 mAh cm−2, a maximum energy density and power density of 0.52 mWh cm−3 and 170 mW cm−3, respectively. The device maintains around 60% capacity retention after long cycling up to 1000 cycles. Moreover, our device can light up a LED light efficiently upon fast charging. The proposed quasi-solid-state dual-ion ASC has potential applications in future portable electronics and flexible energy storage devices. Keywords: Nickel hydroxide, Niobium pentoxide, Nanoarrays, Flexible supercapacitor, Dual ion capacitor

In this work, the Ag loaded Ce-based catalyst was synthesized (by the sol-gel method) and its performance was studied by TG, H2-TPR, XRD, SEM, TEM, BET and XPS. The results show that Ag nanoparticles be successfully loaded onto the CeO2 surface and the relative content of Ag nanoparticles is about 10.22 wt.% close to the theoretical value (10%). XPS shows that Ag nanoparticles induce a great number of oxygen vacancies in the CeO2 lattice through the electronic transfer, and H2-TPR indicates that the Ag-assisted CeO2 catalyst exhibits a better reduction performance and Ag nanoparticles can promote O- transform into O2-. The catalytic activity for soot oxidation was studied by TG under air atmosphere and the activity was found to be obviously enhanced when Ag nanoparticles be load on the surface of CeO2 (T10 = 386 °C, T90 = 472.5 °C, Tm = 431 °C). The reaction mechanism was also presented and O 2 - species is regarded as the determinant factor for the catalytic activity.

Rapid growth of smart electronics and implantable medical devices markets has driven the development of next-generation sustainable, flexible, or implantable batteries. Conducting polymers with uni...

Herein, an efficient bamboo-plastic shielding composite (BPSCs) which containing Ni–Fe–P coated bamboo fibers (BF) was proposed for the first time. The electroless plating was applied to impart a compact Ni–Fe–P coating on the BF surface. Research showed the metalized BF possesses excellent electrical conductivity, which can be facilely tuned by changing the loading amount of raw BF. Moreover, it was found the interlaced coated BF constructed abundant conductive paths in the matrix, thus formed three-dimensional conductive network, which ultimately endowed conductivity and shielding effectiveness (SE) to BPSCs. Generally, the electrical conductivity and the SE of BPSC increased with increasing filling amount of metalized BF due to the more conductive fillers correspond to more complete conductive network. However, while the conductive network was well-formed, meaning the saturation of electromagnetic conduction was reached, the further increase of filler has less effect on the SE value. The supreme SE of BPSC could reach 85 dB (0.1 MHz–2.0 GHz), achieving the targeted value of 60–120 dB for military applications, indicating a promising application in the field of aerospace, weapons equipment, etc. Interestingly, other properties of composite, such as magnetic property, thermal property, hydrophobicity and mechanical property were also studied in detail, aiming to provide more comprehensive references for the practical application of BPSCs.

The ecofriendly waterborne alkyd coatings generally compromise the coating performance. Incorporation of polyaniline into alkyd to form nanocomposites can improve the corrosion resistance; however, the uniform distribution of polyaniline (PANI) within the alkyd resin remains a challenge. In this work, PANI is grafted onto epoxy functionalized phosphorylated poly (vinyl alcohol) (PPVA) with different side-chain configurations in order to improve compatibility and dispersion stability. These functionalized PPVA are synthesized using epichlorohydrin (ECIP) or γ-glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as modifying agents, and respectively labeled as E-PPVA and G-PPVA. G-PPVA/PANI dispersion is stable even at a high PANI loading of 50%, while the maximum PANI loading for E-PPVA/PANI is only 30%. With the incorporation of G-PPVA/PANI into waterborne alkyd resins (AR), the coating resistance is increased by 7 orders of magnitude, and the corrosion inhibition efficiency is up to 99.9%. The coating with the incorporation of G-PPVA/PANI also demonstrates superior long-term corrosion resistance in comparison with that AR/E-PPVA/PANI nanocomposite coating.

Molybdenum and tungsten chalcogenides have attracted tremendous attention in energy storage and conversion due to their outstanding physicochemical and electrochemical properties. There are intensive studies on molybdenum and tungsten chalcogenides for energy storage and conversion, however, there is no systematic review on the applications of WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2 as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), except MoS2. Considering the importance of these contents, it is extremely necessary to overview the recent development of novel layered WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2 beyond MoS2 in energy storage. Here, we will systematically overview the recent progress of WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2 as anode materials in LIBs and SIBs. This review will also discuss the opportunities, and perspectives of these materials in the energy storage fields.

Background: Prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis (PM) remains very poor, especially in less developed countries. Currently, few multi-centric studies on pediatric PM have been reported in mainland China. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the correlation of clinical and laboratory findings with complications and prognosis in pediatric PM. Methods: The pediatric PM patients were retrospectively recruited from ten pediatric tertiary hospitals across China between January 2013 and June 2018. Clinical, biochemical, and microbiological data and follow-up information were collected. Predictive factors for complications and prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and sequelae-free survival (SFS) were analyzed. Results: A total of 132 pediatric PM patients were included. Seventy-one patients had complications, 25 patients died, and 39 patients had neurological sequelae. Multivariate logistic regression suggested that age less than 28 months (adjusted OR=2.654, 95%CI=1.067-6.600, P=0.036) and lower white blood cells in blood (aOR=3.169, 95%CI=1.395-7.202, P=0.006) were associated with high risk of complications. Multivariate Cox's proportional hazard regression suggested that age less than 28 months (aHR=6.479, 95%CI=1.153-36.404, P=0.034), coma (aHR=9.808, 95%CI=2.802-34.323, P=0.000), and non-adjuvant steroid therapy (aHR=4.768 95%CI=1.946-11.678, P=0.001) were independent prognostic factors for poor OS; coma (aHR=5.841, 95%CI=2.652-12.864, P=0.000), septic shock on admission (aHR=2.949, 95%CI=1.049-8.290, P=0.040), and lower glucose level in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (aHR=2.523, 95%CI=1.336-4.765, P=0.004) were independent prognostic factors for poor SFS. Conclusion: Age, coma, and adjuvant steroid therapy were independent factors for OS, while coma, septic shock on admission, and lower glucose level in CSF were independent factors for SFS in pediatric PM patients. These factors might be used to identify PM patients with poor prognosis and guide individual treatment.

One-dimensional nano-structured materials have attracted attention due to its unique properties afforded such as the across-linked structures and large aspect ratios. In this work, one-dimensional CoSe@N-doped carbon nanofibers (CoSe@NC NFs) are successfully by combining the techniques of electrospinning and annealing. Selenium powder are directly dispersed in the polyacrylonitrile /N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) solution containing cobalt salt to form the product. The performance of these materials was investigated in Li-ion batteries after the annealing at different temperatures. The CoSe@NC nanofibers annealed at 550 °C (CoSe@NC-550) and displayed excellent storage properties, affording a high capacity of 796 mAh·g−1 at a current density of 1 A·g−1 for 100 cycles. Moreover, it is confirmed that the pseudocapacitive contribution of CoSe@NC-550 is up to 72.8% at the scan rate of 1 mV/s through the cyclic voltammetry analysis.

Crystal planes of a catalyst play crucial role in determining the electrocatalytic performance for CO2 reduction. The catalyst SnO2 can convert CO2 molecules into valuable formic acid (HCOOH). Incorporating heteroatom N into SnO2 further improves its catalytic activity. To understand the mechanism and realize a highly efficient CO2-to-HCOOH conversion, we used density functional theory (DFT) to calculate the free energy of CO2 reduction reactions (CO2RR) on different crystal planes of N-doped SnO2 (N-SnO2). The results indicate that N-SnO2 lowered the activation energy of intermediates leading to a better catalytic performance than pure SnO2. We also discovered that the N-SnO2 (211) plane possesses the most suitable free energy during the reduction process, exhibiting the best catalytic ability for the CO2-to-HCOOH conversion. The intermediate of CO2RR on N-SnO2 is HCOO* or COOH* instead of OCHO*. These results may provide useful insights into the mechanism of CO2RR, and promote the development of heteroatom-doped catalyst for efficient CO2RR.

Summary (E)‐β‐Farnesene (EβF) is the predominant constituent of the alarm pheromone of most aphid pest species. Moreover, natural enemies of aphids use EβF to locate their aphid prey. Some plant species emit EβF, potentially as a defense against aphids, but field demonstrations are lacking.Here, we present field and laboratory studies of flower defense showing that ladybird beetles are predominantly attracted to young stage‐2 pyrethrum flowers that emitted the highest and purest levels of EβF. By contrast, aphids were repelled by EβF emitted by S2 pyrethrum flowers. Although peach aphids can adapt to pyrethrum plants in the laboratory, aphids were not recorded in the field.Pyrethrum's (E)‐β‐farnesene synthase (EbFS) gene is strongly expressed in inner cortex tissue surrounding the vascular system of the aphid‐preferred flower receptacle and peduncle, leading to elongated cells filled with EβF. Aphids that probe these tissues during settlement encounter and ingest plant EβF, as evidenced by the release in honeydew. These EβF concentrations in honeydew induce aphid alarm responses, suggesting an extra layer of this defense.Collectively, our data elucidate a defensive mimicry in pyrethrum flowers: the developmentally regulated and tissue‐specific EβF accumulation and emission both prevents attack by aphids and recruits aphid predators as bodyguards.

Present paper deals with the preparation (by sol-gel method) and characterization (by H2-TPR, XPS, XRD, IR, SEM, TEM) of the Pt substituted LaMn1-xPtxO3 (x = 0,0.05,0.1,0.2,0.3) perovskite oxides and their activities towards the diesel soot oxidation at simulated atmosphere. The results show platinum enters the perovskite crystal structure when x＜0.1. With the increase of platinum doping amount, the oxygen vacancy concentration on the catalyst surface increases, and H2-TPR shows that the low-temperature oxidation-reduction performance of the catalyst is improved with the increase of platinum doping amount. Catalytic oxidation of soot was studied under tight contact with soot/catalyst ratio of 1/10 under a flow rate of air at 100 ml/min. LaMn0.8Pt0.2O3 perovskite catalyst was found to give the best result for soot oxidation with the light off temperatures T10 = 339 °C, T50 = 370 °C, T90 = 405 °C. The might reaction mechanism is also presented.

Background and Purpose— Emergency medical services (EMSs) are critical for early treatment of patients with ischemic stroke, yet data on EMS utilization and its association with timely treatment in China are still limited. Methods— We examined data from the Chinese Stroke Center Alliance for patients with ischemic stroke from June 2015 to June 2018. Absolute standardized difference was used for covariates’ balance assessments. We used multivariable logistic models with the generalized estimating equations to account for intrahospital clustering in identifying demographic and clinical factors associated with EMS use as well as in evaluating the association of EMS use with timely treatment. Results— Of the 560 447 patients with ischemic stroke analyzed, only 69 841 (12.5%) were transported by EMS. Multivariable-adjusted results indicated that those with younger age, lower levels of education, less insurance coverage, lower income, lower stroke severity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and peripheral vascular disease were less likely to use EMS. However, a history of cardiovascular diseases was associated with increased EMS usage. Compared with self-transport, EMS transport was associated with significantly shorter onset-to-door time, door-to-needle time (if prenotification was sent), earlier arrival (adjusted odds ratio [95% CIs] were 2.07 [1.95–2.20] for onset-to-door time ≤2 hours, 2.32 [2.18–2.47] for onset-to-door time ≤3.5 hours), and more rapid treatment (2.96 [2.88–3.05] for IV-tPA [intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator] in eligible patients, 1.70 [1.62–1.77] for treatment with IV-tPA by 3 hours if onset-to-door time ≤2 hours, and 1.76 [1.70–1.83] for treatment with IV-tPA by 4.5 hours if onset-to-door time ≤3.5 hours). Conclusions— Although EMS transportation is associated with substantial reductions in prehospital delay and improved likelihood of early arrival and timely treatment, rate of utilization is currently low among Chinese patients with ischemic stroke. Developing an efficient EMS system and promoting culture-adapted education efforts are necessary for improving EMS activation.

Developing an efficient catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is one of the most effective ways to cope with the energy crisis. Here, we report a simple method to prepare A-site deficiency SrxCo0.8Fe0.2O3−δ (x = 0.9, 0.95, 1) perovskites by sol-gel. XRD、SEM and XPS are used to characterize structure and element valence of catalysts. The introduction of A-site deficiency results in the expansion of lattice expansion due to the increase of oxygen vacancies and optimization of eg occupancy of B-site transition metal, which greatly improves the OER activity of catalysts. Among them, Sr0.95Co0.8Fe0.2O3−δ (S0.95CF) exists the best activity. Besides, after the durability test, an unusual activation process with enhanced OER activity was observed for all the prepared perovskites. This work highlights the importance of tailoring A-site deficiency of perovskites as a valid strategy to improve OER activity.

The neighborhood network structure plays an important role in the collective opinion of an opinion dynamic system. Does it also affect the intervention performance? To answer this question, we apply three intervention methods on an opinion dynamic model, the weighted DeGroot model, to change the convergent opinion value $$\bar{x}$$ x ¯ . And we define a new network feature Ω, called ‘network differential degree’, to measure how node degrees couple with influential values in the network, i.e., large Ω indicates nodes with high degree is more likely to couple with large influential value. We investigate the relationship between the intervention performance and the network differential degree Ω in the following three intervention cases: (1) add one special agent (shill) to connect to one normal agent; (2) add one edge between two normal agents; (3) add a number of edges among agents. Through simulations we find significant correlation between the intervention performance, i.e., $$|\Delta {\bar{x}}^{\ast }|$$ | Δ x ¯ ⁎ | (the maximum value of the change of convergent opinion value $$|\Delta \bar{x}|$$ | Δ x ¯ | ) and Ω in all three cases: the intervention performance $$|\Delta {\bar{x}}^{\ast }|$$ | Δ x ¯ ⁎ | is higher when Ω is smaller. So Ω could be used to predict how difficult it is to intervene and change the convergent opinion value of the weighted DeGroot model. Meanwhile, a theorem of adding one edge and an algorithm for adding optimal edges are given.

Milk proteins have received much awareness due to their bioactivity. However, their encapsulation functions have not attracted enough attention. Milk proteins as encapsulation walls can increase the bioavailability of bioactive compounds. As the benefits of bioactive compounds are critically determined by bioavailability, the effect of interactions between milk proteins and active substances is a critical topic. In the present review, we summarize the effects of milk proteins as encapsulation walls on the bioavailability of active substances with a special focus. The methods and mechanisms of interactions between milk proteins and active substances are also discussed. The evidence collected in the present review suggests that when active substances are encapsulated by milk proteins, the bioavailability of active substances can be significantly affected. This review also provides valuable guidelines for the use of milk protein-based microcarriers.

Lily (Lilium spp.) is an important cut flower around the world. Flower senescence in lilies is characterized by the wilting and abscission of tepals, which results in a decrease in flower quality and huge economic loss. However, the mechanism underlying flower senescence in lilies is largely unknown. In this study, single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) and Illumina sequencing were carried out in L. oriental ‘Siberia’. Sequencing yielded 73,218 non-redundant transcripts, with an N50 of 3792 bp. These data were further integrated with three published transcriptomes through cogent analysis, which yielded 62,960 transcripts, with an increase in N50 of 3935 bp. Analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that 319 transcription factors were highly upregulated during flower senescence. The expression of twelve NAC genes and eleven senescence-associated genes (SAGs) showed that LoNAC29 and LoSAG39 were highly expressed in senescent flowers. Transient overexpression of LoNAC29 and LoSAG39 in tepals of lily notably accelerated flower senescence, and the promoter activity of LoSAG39 was strongly induced by LoNAC29. This work supported new evidence for the molecular mechanism of flower senescence and provided better sequence data for further study in lilies.

Background: HAdV is one of the common pathogens in hospitalized children with respiratory infection (RI). we aim to describe the epidemiological characteristics, clinical features, and genotype of inpatients with HAdV positive with RI.Methods: Respiratory samples were gathered from inpatients diagnosed RI in Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine and were detected by using Direct Immunofluorescence Assay (DFA) from 2018 to 2019. PCR amplification and sequencing of the hypervariable zone of hexon gene were used for genotyping. The clinical and laboratory features, and typing of HAdV, and epidemiological characteristic analysis were retrospectively performed. Results: Of 7072 samples collected, 488 cases were identified as HAdV-positive RI. The overall detection rate was 6.9%. The peaked detection rate was 14.1% in January 2019. HAdV-positive cases with RI mainly appeared in winter and summer. The detection rate was highest among children between 6 months and 2 years (8.7%, 123/1408). Clinical diagnosis included pneumonia (70.3%, 343/488), bronchitis (7.0%, 34/488) and acute upper respiratory tract infection (22.7%, 111/488). The common clinical manifestations were fever (93.4%, 456/488), cough (94.7%, 462/488), wheezing (26.2%,128/48), and shortness of breath (14.8%, 72/488). 213 (43.6%) cases had co-infection and 138 (28.3%) cases had extrapulmonary symptoms. 96(19.7%) cases had intrapulmonary and intrathoracic complications.78 (16.0%) had an underlying condition, the most of them were congenital heart diseases (20.5%,17/78). The proportions of hyperpyrexia, duration of fever more than 10 days, severe pneumonia, and proportion of wheezing in the co-infection group were remarkably higher than those in HAdV single-infection group (pp=0.000), while, HAdV-B55 was detected only in the severe group. HAdV-B7’s detection rate in the severe group was significantly higher than the non-severe infected group. Conclusion: HAdV detection rate is related to age and season. Bronchopneumonia accounts for about 70% HAdV -positive inpatients. The common manifestations include hyperpyrexia, cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath. HAdV-B3 and HAdV-B7 are the most common types in children diagnosed with RI.

The toxicity of certain novel perfluoroalkyl substances (PFCs) has attracted increasing attention. However, the toxic effects of sodium p-perfluorous nonenoxybenzene sulfonate (OBS) on the endocrine system have not been elucidated. In this study, OBS was added to the drinking water during the pregnancy and lactation of the healthy female mice at dietary levels of 0.0 mg/L (CON), 0.5 mg/L (OBS-L), and 5.0 mg/L (OBS-H). OBS exposure during the pregnancy and lactation resulted in the presence of OBS residues in the placenta and fetus. We also analyzed physiological and biochemical parameters and gene expression levels in mice of the F0 and F1 generations after maternal OBS exposure. The total serum cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were significantly increased in female mice of the F0 generation. The androgen levels in the serum and the ovarian mRNA levels of androgen receptor (AR) also tended to increase after maternal OBS exposure in the F0 generation mice. Moreover, maternal OBS exposure altered the mRNA expression of endocrine-related genes in male mice of F1 generation. Notably, the serum TC and LDL-C levels were significantly increased in 8-weeks-old male mice of the F1 generation, and the serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were decreased in 24-week-old male mice of the F1 generation. These results indicated that maternal OBS exposure can interfere with endocrine homeostasis in the F0 and F1 generations. Therefore, exposure to OBS during pregnancy and lactation has the potential toxic effects on the dams and male offspring, which cannot be overlooked.

Osmanthus fragrans is a well-known ornamental plant that has been domesticated in China for 2500 years. More than 160 cultivars have been found during this long period of domestication, and they have subsequently been divided into four cultivar groups, including the Yingui, Jingui, Dangui, and Sijigui groups. These groups provide a set of materials to study genetic evolution and variability. Here, we constructed a reference genome of O. fragrans ‘Liuyejingui’ in the Jingui group and investigated its floral color traits and domestication history by resequencing a total of 122 samples, including 119 O. fragrans accessions and three other Osmanthus species, at an average sequencing depth of 15×. The population structure analysis showed that these 119 accessions formed an apparent regional cluster. The results of linkage disequilibrium (LD) decay analysis suggested that varieties with orange/red flower color in the Dangui group had undergone more artificial directional selection; these varieties had the highest LD values among the four groups, followed by the Sijigui, Jingui, and Yingui groups. Through a genome-wide association study, we further identified significant quantitative trait loci and genomic regions containing several genes, such as ethylene-responsive transcription factor 2 and Arabidopsis pseudoresponse regulator 2, that are positively associated with petal color. Moreover, we found a frameshift mutation with a 34-bp deletion in the first coding region of the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 4 gene. This frameshift mutation existed in at least one site on both alleles in all varieties of the Dangui group. The results from this study shed light on the genetic basis of domestication in woody plants, such as O. fragrans.

Sodium ρ-perfluorous nonenoxybenzene sulfonate (OBS), a novel kind of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl compound, has been widely detected in the environment. The toxicity of OBS to living organisms has become a public concern. A growing body of research showed that maternal exposure to environmental pollutants caused intestinal and metabolic diseases that could be conserved across offspring. Here, female C57BL/6 mice were treated OBS at dietary levels of 0.0 mg/L (CON), 0.5 mg/L (OBS-L) and 5.0 mg/L (OBS-H) during the gestation and lactation periods. The results demonstrated that OBS treatment not only induced significant changes in the mucus secretion and ionic transport, but also disrupted the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the intestine of F0 and F1 generations. Additionally, OBS exposure altered bile acids metabolism and affected the transcriptional levels of critical genes involved in bile acids synthesis, signaling transfer, transportation and apical uptake. Together, all these results indicated that OBS exposure was perceived as a major stress by the intestinal epithelium that strongly affected the intestinal barrier function (including mucus, CFTR, AMPs, inflammation), and ultimately led to imbalance in the metabolism of bile acids (BAs). Moreover, we found that maternal OBS exposure had a more obvious toxicity effect on the male offspring in this experiment. Taken together, maternal OBS exposure during pregnancy and lactation had the intestinal and metabolism toxic effects on the dams and offspring, indicating that effects of maternal exposure on the toxicity of offspring could not be ignored.

The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (ENRR) under ambient conditions is considered as a promising process to produce ammonia. Towards highly efficient catalysts, here an optimized one-step pyrolysis strategy was tailored to design yolk-shell microcages (YS Co@C/BLCNTs), consisting of Co nanocrystals encapsulated in N-doped carbon framework and bridged by bamboo-like carbon nanotubes (BLCNTs). The cavity created between yolk and shell not only served as a "micro-bag" to store the reactant N2 and enhance its dissolution, but also induced a "cage effect" to confine the diffusion of reaction intermediate, hence making the reaction proceed in the direction of producing NH3 . This catalyst displayed excellent catalytic activities for ENRR: a high NH3 yield of 12.87 μg mgcat -1 h-1 at a high faradaic efficiency of 20.7 % at -0.45 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). After 5 cycles of consecutive ENRR process, the NH3 yield rate was 11.29 μg mgcat -1 h-1 , indicating the excellent electrocatalytic stability. These results provide a structural engineering for ENRR catalyst with doped N, cooperating with non-precious metal to activate the inert triple bond of N2 and achieve NH3 fixation.

Although tremendous progress has been made in preparing sulfur nanoparticles to achieve high-rate lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries, the synthetic methods involved are usually toxic, complicated and costly. To solve the above problem, a simple and green method through high pressure steam is developed to prepare sulfur nanoparticles (

Green chrysanthemums are difficult to breed but have high commercial value. The molecular basis for the green petal color in chrysanthemum is not fully understood. This was investigated in the present study by RNA sequencing analysis of white and green ray florets collected at three stages of flower development from the F1 progeny of the cross between Chrysanthemum × morifolium “Lüdingdang” with green-petaled flowers and Chrysanthemum vistitum with white-petaled flowers. The chlorophyll content was higher and chloroplast degradation was slower in green pools than in white pools at each developmental stage. Transcriptome analysis revealed that genes that were differentially expressed between the two pools were enriched in pathways related to chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis. We identified the transcription factor genes CmCOLa, CmCOLb, CmERF, and CmbHLH as regulators of the green flower color in chrysanthemum by differential expression analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis. These findings can guide future efforts to improve the color palette of chrysanthemum flowers through genetic engineering.

Target size is an important indicator for reconstructing the contour of the radar target. Early accurate prediction of target size is beneficial for subsequent target evaluation. In our paper, we propose a method to predict the target size for radar target using machine learning based on its monostatic Radar Cross Section (RCS). Our prediction scheme comprises a deep neural network (DNN) model with a multi-hidden layer. The experimental results show that the proposed approach achieves 100% prediction accuracies for the height and radius values of the cylinder target.

Safety issues currently limit the development of advanced lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and this is exacerbated when they are misused or abused. The addition of small amounts of fillers or additives into common liquid electrolytes can greatly improve resistance to abuse without impairing electrochemical performance. This review discusses the recent progress in such abuse‐tolerant electrolytes. It covers electrolytes with shear thickening properties for tolerating mechanical abuse, electrolytes with redox shuttle additives for suppressing electrochemical abuse, and electrolytes with flame‐retardant additives for resisting thermal abuse. It aims to provide insights into the functioning of such electrolytes and the understanding of electrolyte composition‐property relationship. Future perspectives, challenges, and opportunities towards practical applications are also presented., The addition of fillers/additives into liquid electrolytes has enabled the abuse‐resistant properties towards safe lithium‐ion batteries. This review presents three types of electrolytes that can provide the protection against the commonly encountered abuses, including shear thickening electrolytes to tolerate mechanical abuse, redox shuttle additive‐based electrolytes to suppress electrochemical abuse, and flame‐retardant additive based electrolytes to resist thermal abuse.

A novel water-based deep eutectic solvent was synthesized and used for the ultrasound-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction of parabens in edible oil and for their determination by high performance liquid chromatography. Herein, the water-based deep eutectic solvent was formulated at room temperature by tetrabutylammonium chloride as hydrogen bond acceptor and water as hydrogen bond donor at the molar ratio of 1:5. As component, water has the effect on tailoring the physicochemical properties of water-based deep eutectic solvent and assisting tetrabutylammonium chloride (hydrogen bond acceptor) capturing parabens (hydrogen bond donor) through in-situ deep eutectic solvent formation. The developed method has satisfactory linearity (1.5-500 μg/L), limits of detections (0.2-0.4 μg/L), precisions (RSDs ≤ 5.8%), and was fruitfully applied to detect parabens in edible oil with excellent recoveries (85.1-106.8%). The feature of the procedure lies in simplicity, low cost and high sensitivity, and this can be extended for the efficient separation of other hydrophobic compounds.

During plant senescence, energy and nutrients are transferred to young leaves, fruits or seeds. However, senescence reduces flower quality, which leads to huge economic losses in flower production. Ethylene is an important factor affecting the quality of cut roses during transportation and storage. Ethylene-responsive factors (ERFs) are key nodes in ethylene signaling, but the molecular mechanism underlying ERFs regulated flower senescence is not well understood. We addressed this issue in the present study by focusing on RhERF3 from Rosa hybrida, an ERF identified in a previous transcriptome analysis of ethylene-treated rose flowers. Expression of RhERF3 was strongly induced by ethylene during rose flower senescence. Transient silencing of RhERF3 delayed flower senescence, whereas overexpression (OE) accelerated the process. RNA sequencing analysis of RhERF3 OE and pSuper vector control samples identified 13,214 differentially expressed genes that were mostly related to metabolic process and plant hormone signal transduction. Transient activation and yeast one-hybrid assays demonstrated that RhERF3 directly bound the promoter of the 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (RhNCED1) gene and activated gene expression. Thus, a RhERF3/RhNCED1 axis accelerates rose flower senescence.

We successfully fabricated the hydrogenated TiO