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In this study, first-principles calculations have been performed to study the site occupancy of Ru in Co[Formula: see text]X[Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text], Mo and Nb) [Formula: see text] phases. Binding energy, defect formation energy, partial density of states and charge density difference show that Ru prefers to occupy the Co sites, revealing the substitution of Ru with Co doing favor of the [Formula: see text] phases stability. The results will provide a new thought for the design of superalloys.

The flow and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids in a square cavity were simulated using single-phase and mixed-phase flow models, and the simulation results were compared with the corresponding experimental values. The effects of different prediction models for the thermal properties of nanofluids, Grashof number, and volume fraction on the Nusselt number were analyzed. The velocity and temperature distributions of the nanofluid and de-ionized water in the square cavity were compared, and the effects of the temperature and flow fields on the enhanced heat transfer were analyzed according to the field synergy theory. The results show that for the numerical simulation of convective heat transfer in water, both the single-phase flow models and multiphase flow mixing models had high prediction accuracy. For nanofluids, single-phase flow did not reflect the heat transfer characteristics well, and the simulation results of the single-phase flow model relied more strongly on a highly accurate prediction model for the physical parameters. The multiphase flow mixing model could better reflect the natural convective heat transfer properties of the nanofluids in a square cavity. The nanofluid could significantly improve the flow state in the square cavity, thereby facilitating enhanced convective heat transfer. When the concentration is 2% (Grashof number is 1 × 106), the average Nusselt number of the nanofluid is increased by 19.7% compared with the base fluid.

To evaluate the treatment efficacy of the preoperative base-out recovery point as the surgical target angle for acute acquired comitant esotropia.Prospective study. Twenty-two patients with acute acquired comitant esotropia (AACE) underwent strabismus surgery based on the target angle of the preoperative base-out recovery point. The postoperative deviation, positive fusional vergence, and negative fusional vergence were evaluated and compared with those of 23 normal individuals.The mean follow-up period was 18.68 ± 19.48 months. At the last follow-up, 19 (86.4%) of 22 subjects had orthophoria, whereas 3 (13.6%) had minimal esophoria. The postoperative angle of deviation was significantly smaller than the preoperative angle of deviation at near (P 0.001) and distance (P 0.001). Postoperative sensory fusion was significantly better than preoperative fusion at near (P 0.001) and distance (P 0.001). The postoperative stereoacuity improved significantly after the surgery at near (P 0.001) and distance (P 0.001). Compared with the controls, the convergence and divergence amplitudes in the AACE patients were similar at distance (P 0.05) but were still narrower at near (P 0.001).Good alignment and binocular balance were obtained with the surgical target angle of the base-out recovery point in AACE.

The self-healing property of laser beams with special spatial structures is of great interest. We take the Hermite–Gaussian (HG) eigenmode as an example, theoretically and experimentally investigating the self-healing and transformation characteristics of complex structured beams composed of incoherent or coherent superposition of multiple eigenmodes. It is found that a partially blocked single HG mode can recover the original structure or transfer to a lower order distribution in the far field. When the obstacle retains one pair of edged bright spots of the HG mode in each direction of two symmetry axes, the beam structure information (number of knot lines) along each axis can be restored. Otherwise, it will transfer to the corresponding low-order mode or multi-interference fringes in the far field, according to the interval of the two most-edged remaining spots. It is proved that the above effect is induced by the diffraction and interference results of the partially retained light field. This principle is also applicable to other scale-invariant structured beams such as Laguerre–Gauss (LG) beams. The self-healing and transformation characteristics of multi-eigenmode composed beams with specially customized structures can be intuitively investigated based on eigenmode superposition theory. It is found that the HG mode incoherently composed structured beams have a stronger ability to recover themselves in the far field after occlusion. These investigations can expand the applications of optical lattice structures of laser communication, atom optical capture, and optical imaging.

The characteristics of hydraulic transmission oil directly affect the performance of ground equipment. The current evaluation method of hydraulic transmission oil is mostly focused on its physical and chemical performance analysis, which cannot meet the actual needs of the equipment. This paper carried out research work for the evaluation method of hydraulic transmission oil, starting from its working principle and then designing a hydraulic transmission oil performance evaluation bench. It proposed evaluation indexes and evaluation methods, which are of reference significance for the selection of oil for equipment and promoting oil development.

Background The effect of strabismus surgery on the quality of life of strabismus patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy is unclear, The aim of the study is to explore the effect of strabismus surgery on the quality of life of strabismus patients with quiescent thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO).Methods This study is a prospective case-series study. Strabismus patients with TAO who were admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from October 2011 to April 2016 were included in this study. The patients completed the Graves' ophthalmopathy quality of life questionnaire (GO-QOL) before the operation and 6 weeks after the operation. Preoperative and postoperative quality of GO-QOL scores were compared using paired samples t-test. The correlation between the angle of misalignment and the quality of life was analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis.Results We recruited 23 patients for this study, including 11 males and 12 females. Patients were 31-67 years old with a mean age of 49.04 years. Compared to preoperative GO-QOL scores, postoperative GO-QOL scores for visual function (43.04 vs. 73.50, pConclusions Strabismus surgery significantly improves the quality of life of the strabismus patients with quiescent TAO.

Obtaining energy from renewable natural resources has attracted substantial attention owing to their abundance and sustainability. Seawater is a naturally available, abundant, and renewable resource that covers >70% of the Earth’s surface. Reserve batteries may be activated by using seawater as a source of electrolytes. These batteries are very safe and offer a high power density, stable discharge voltage, high specific energy, and long dry storage life and are widely used in marine exploration instruments, life-saving equipment, and underwater weaponry. This review provides a comprehensive introduction to seawater-activated batteries. Here, we classify seawater-activated batteries into metal semi-fuel, high-power, and rechargeable batteries according to the different functions of seawater within them. The working principles and characteristics of these batteries are then introduced, and we describe their research statuses and practical applications. Finally, we provide an outlook on the development of seawater-activated batteries and highlight practical issues to drive further progress.

In order to comprehensively test the low temperature cold start performance of hydraulic oil and ensure their use effectiveness to the fullest, the idea of low temperature cold start performance index is proposed, so as to comprehensively evaluate the low temperature capability. Firstly, the cold start performance index system of hydraulic oil tested in low temperature environment is constructed, so as to describe its low temperature capability from multiple angles and in a comprehensive manner; secondly, for different index types, the corresponding data collection methods and data analysis methods are clarified, and the low temperature cold start performance of hydraulic fluid is evaluated. Finally, using the method as an example for three oils, the index types and assessment results are given to further illustrate the scientific nature of the research method. The research content can provide some technical support for the evaluation of the low temperature cold starting performance test of hydraulic winches.

This study focused on the evaluation of TiO2 nanofluid coolant for automobile engine cooling applications. It was observed that, about 3% of thermal conductivity enhancement and above 10% convective heat transfer enhancement could be achieved with the usage of 1.0 wt.% TiO2 nanofluid coolant compared to base coolant without nanoparticles. More importantly, corrosion-inhibiting properties of TiO2 nanofluid coolant were investigated, which indicated that the nanofluid coolant possess the characteristics of a qualified engine coolant should have. The evaluation results showed that the nanofluid coolant could be a promising engine coolant for automobiles.

The ZnO-modified TiO2 electrode was prepared by adding Zn(CH3COO)2·2H2O to the TiO2 colloid during the sol-gel production process, and was used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The open circuit voltage (V OC) and fill factor (ff) of the cells were improved significantly. The performances of the ZnO-modified TiO2 electrode such as dark current, transient photocurrent, impedance, absorption spectra, and flat band potential (V fb) were investigated. It is found that the interface charge recombination impedance increases and V fb shifts about 200 mV toward the cathodic potential. The effect mechanism of ZnO modification on the performance of DSCs may be that ZnO occupies the surface states of the TiO2 film.

A new kind of polythiophene derivative, Poly(3-{2-[4-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-phenyl]-vinyl}-2,2′-bithiophene) (PTh), was applied in dye-sensitized solar cell to extend the light response of nanocrystalline TiO2 electrode. UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectra were employed to investigate the interaction of PTh with nanocrystalline TiO2. The absorption coefficient of the PTh was high in visible part of spectrum, and the fluorescence emission of the PTh can be efficiently quenched by TiO2 nanoparticles owing to charge injection from the excited singlet state of PTh to the conduction band of the TiO2 particles. Cyclic voltammetry measurements were performed to study the dye regeneration reaction at the nanocrystalline TiO2/electrolyte interface. The solar cell sensitized with PTh exhibited a short-circuit photocurrent (I sc) of 3.08 mA/cm2, an open circuit voltage (V oc) of 511 mV and an overall efficiency of 0.9% under the illumination of 100 mW/cm2 (AM 1.5).

The nanocrystalline TiO 2 electrode of polythiophene sensitized solar cell was modified by coating gold nanoparticles with thermal decomposition method. The surface concentration of polythiophene adsorbed on TiO 2 electrode was increased obviously due to the participation of gold nanoparticles. The interfacial charge transfer kinetics were investigated by analyzing of photocurrent action spectrum of polythiophene sensitized TiO 2 electrode and fluorescence spectrum of polythiophene solution in the presence of TiO 2 nanocrystals. After modification with Au nanoparticles, short circuit current of polythiophene sensitized solar cell increased from 2.68 mA cm −2 to 3.92 mA cm −2 and power conversion efficiency from 0.88% to 1.30% at AM 1.5.

The electrophoretic deposition combined with common pressure hydrothermal treatment was employed to prepare nanocrystalline TiO2 thin film from suspension of tetra-n-butyl titanate and P25 at low temperature. The tetra-n-butyl titanate was hydrolyzed and crystallized into anatase to interconnect nanocrystalline TiO2 particles and to stick them to a conductive substrate by common pressure hydrothermal treatment to improve the electron transport properties of the deposited thin film. A dye-sensitized solar cell based on TiO2 thin film prepared by the low temperature method yielded the conversion efficiency of 6.12%. Due to the relative slower electron transport rate in the deposited film, its conversion efficiency was slightly lower than that of the cell with TiO2 thin film prepared by the conventional high temperature sintering method. Since it is free of high temperature sintering step, this method can be used to prepare nanocrystalline TiO2 thin film on plastic polymer conductive substrate for fabrication of flexible dye-sensitized solar cell.

The study was undertaken to investigate the gene expressions in N -methy- N -nitrosourea (MNU)-induced rat retinal degeneration (RD) by performing microarray analysis of retinal RNA at 12 h. All rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a 12 h model group and a 24 h model group. Rats in the two model groups received a single intraperitoneal injection of 40 mg/kg body weight of MNU, while those in the normal group were injected with equivalent volume of physiological saline. After 12 h and 24 h of the injection, rats in each respective group were sacrificed, respectively. One eye of each animal was used for hematoxylin and erosin (H&E) staining, and fresh retinas of the other eye of each animal in the both normal group and 12 h model group were used to extract total RNA, which was analyzed by microarray and real time RT-PCR. Retinal histological alteration was found in the 24 h model group. There were 75 genes differently expressed (ratio ≥2.0), including 64 genes up-regulated and 11 genes down-regulated. Seven genes were assayed by real time RT-PCR and demonstrated the same alteration tendency as in microarray analysis. These genes that expressed differently mainly involved signal transduction, development, immune and defense, and apoptosis, etc. The major pathways were MAP-kinase signaling pathways, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and apoptosis pathway involved. The results suggest that there are significant changes of gene expression in the early stage of MNU-induced RD. These microarray results provide clues to understand the molecular pathways underlying photoreceptor degeneration and indicate directions for future studies.

A new method for preparing platinum-modified electrodes by attracting nanometer-sized platinum particles from hydrosol to –SH coated surface of conductive glass obtained through Langmuir technique has been proposed. The electrode possessed a surface modified with homogeneously distributed platinum nanoclusters and a low platinum loading. The catalytic activity of thus fabricated electrode for the triiodide reduction was investigated by electrochemical impedance measurements. The charge-transfer resistance at the interface of electrolyte/electrode was much lower and the corresponding exchange current density was several hundreds micro ampere per centimeter square larger than conventional thermal decomposed Pt-modified electrode and Pt foil electrode.

Our previous studies demonstrated that qijudihuangtang, a compound of traditional Chinese medicine, protects from MNU (N-methy-N-nitrosourea)-induced rat retina photoreceptor injury. The current study was aimed to investigate protective effect of qijudihuangtang on the gene expression of retina in the same model.Thirty 46-day-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups (each group, n=10). The rats received a daily intragastric administration of qijudihuangtang in drug group, and 0.9% NaCl in model and normal groups for 4 days. On the fifth day, the rats in model and drug groups received a single intraperitoneal injection of 40 mg/kg body weight of N-methy-N-nitrosourea (MNU). Equivalent volume of 0.9% NaCl was injected to the rats of normal group. After 12 h of injection, all animals were sacrificed. Fresh retinas were used to extract total RNA, which was assayed by microarray and real time RT-PCR. The differentially expressed genes were also analyzed for the functional annotation and signal network mapping.There were 75 and 118 genes differently expressed (ratioor = 2.0) in model group versus normal group and model group versus drug group, respectively. The former mainly included genes upregulated and the latter included most genes downregulated. These genes were mainly assigned to the categories binding transcription factor, signaling molecular, receptor, nucleic binding and extracellular matrix, and involved biological processes including signal transduction, development, immune and defense, apoptosis. The differential expressed genes contributed to MAPK signaling pathways, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and apoptosis pathway.The gene expression in the early stage of MNU-induced rat retinal degeneration can be regulated significantly by the administration of qijudihuangtang. These changed genes were associated with specific functional groups.

The platinized FTO glass counter electrode was prepared by employing techniques of colloid preparation, Langmuir-Blodgett film and self-assembly. The present electrode had very low platinum loading, high catalytic activity for iodine/triiodide reduction reaction. Compared with the conventional counter electrodes used in nanocrystalline dye-sensitized solar cells, the present electrode had provided a much higher catalytic performance which was attributed to the structure of platinum nanoclusters distributed homogeneously on the electrode.