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Understanding the relationship between the fabrication process and the dielectric behavior of thermo-responsive dielectric materials and accordingly optimizing the dielectric response behavior through simple regulation is critical to advancing their practical applications. For this purpose, we systematically analyze and demonstrate the effects of blow-spinning process parameters, the feed rate and airflow pressure, on the orientation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) chains, the individual phase fractions of PVDF, the structure of the core-sheath nanofibers, the mechanical properties, and the dielectric pulsing properties in polyethylene glycol (PEG)-PVDF core-sheath fiber films, and achieve the goal of effectively regulating the thermo-responsive dielectric behavior. In particular, by increasing the airflow pressure, the polar phase fraction of the PVDF can be effectively increased, thus strengthening the dielectric pulsing effect. The significant influence of the processing parameters on the nanofiber structure also allows us to tailor the strength and toughness of the nanofiber films over a wide range by adjusting the feed rate and airflow pressure. Our work shows that the regulation of feed rate and airflow pressure can be used as an effective strategy to optimize the dielectric pulsing and mechanical properties of PEG-PVDF films, enabling a simple and low-cost performance optimization of thermo-responsive dielectric materials. Highlights * Effective regulation of thermal dielectric behavior by tuning process parameters. * Simple tuning of mechanical properties of nanofiber films over a wide range. * High ratio of [beta]- and [gamma]-phases of PVDF by solution blow spinning. * Major polar phases contribute to improved mechanical and dielectric properties. KEYWORDS blow spinning, coaxial nanofiber, dielectric pulse, processing, PVDF, 1 | INTRODUCTION Nowadays, electrical energy storage and conversion, sensing, information storage, and communication are the most important actual and potential applications for dielectric materials. (1-6) In particular, electrical energy [...]

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform firm-customer interactions. However, current AI marketing agents are often perceived as cold and uncaring and can be poor substitutes for human-based interactions. Addressing this issue, this article argues that artificial empathy needs to become an important design consideration in the next generation of AI marketing applications. Drawing from research in diverse disciplines, we develop a systematic framework for integrating artificial empathy into AI-enabled marketing interactions. We elaborate on the key components of artificial empathy and how each component can be implemented in AI marketing agents. We further explicate and test how artificial empathy generates value for both customers and firms by bridging the AI-human gap in affective and social customer experience. Recognizing that artificial empathy may not always be desirable or relevant, we identify the requirements for artificial empathy to create value and deduce situations where it is unnecessary and, in some cases, harmful., Author(s): Yuping Liu-Thompkins [sup.1] , Shintaro Okazaki [sup.2] , Hairong Li [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.261368.8, 0000 0001 2164 3177, Strome College of Business, Old Dominion University, , 2123 Constant [...]

Abstract Thermo-responsive dielectric materials have attracted broad attention in smart electronic device applications. Here, we present a facile one-step fabrication technique of thermo-responsive dielectric fibrous mats via efficient solution blow [...]

Dielectric materials with thermally responsive property are being pursued in fields such as next-generation sensors, smart switches, and novel actuators. These applications require that the dielectric materials have mechanical durability and stable serviceability besides thermally responsive dielectric behavior. Herein, we report a novel thermally responsive, mechanically durable, and low-cost dielectric composite simply fabricated by vacuum impregnating polyethylene glycol (PEG) into kapok fiber and compounding them with polyvinylidene fluoride. A remarkable dielectric susceptibility, controlled dielectric transition temperature, and obvious thermal hysteresis of the composite films induced by the solid-liquid phase transition of PEG are demonstrated. The effect of molecular weights of PEG on the dielectric response behaviors is evaluated. Such thermally responsive dielectric materials with satisfactory mechanical durability will offer a chance toward constructing thermally responsive systems for reliable and stable operation. KEYWORDS dielectric response, kapok fiber, polarization, polyethylene glycol, polyvinylidene fluoride, temperature, 1 | INTRODUCTION Thermally responsive dielectric materials have received increasing attention in the last decade because of their ability to undergo dielectric transitions in response to temperature stimuli.[1-4] These materials [...]

Objective: It was elucidated the anti-inflammatory active components and their mechanisms of action in the fruits of Diospyros lotus. Methods: Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) was used to qualitatively analyze the chemical constituents of Diospyros lotus fruits, and combined with network pharmacology to explore the potential anti-inflammatory active components and their mechanisms of action, and validated the results by molecular docking. Results: A total of 26 flavonoid compounds, including 10 myricetin derivatives, 7 quercetin derivatives, 4 kaempferol derivatives, 2 apigenin derivatives, and 3 other flavonoid compounds, were identified from extract of D. lotus fruits based on molecular ion peaks and mass spectrometry cleavage characteristics in negative ion mode, among which 12 compounds were reported for the first time in the fruits. Network pharmacological analysis showed that compounds myricetin 3-sambubioside, myricetin 3-(2G-rhamnosylrutinoside), morin, myricetin 3-rhamnosyl-(1->2)-rhamnoside, isorhamnetin-3-O-glucoside, myricetin, quercetin, naringenin, apigenin and kaempferol had potential anti-inflammatory activities and exerted anti-inflammatory effects mainly related to PI3K-Akt, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance and cancer signaling pathway. Molecular docking showed that the active components stably docked with the key targets, and the results were consistent with the network pharmacological predictions. Conclusion: Flavonoids in D. lotus extracts have potential anti-inflammatory effects and are useful as adjunctive preventive agents in inflammatory diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A delayed diffusive predator-prey system with nonmonotonic functional response subject to Neumann boundary conditions is introduced in this paper. First, we analyze the associated characteristic equation to research the conditions for local stability of the positive equilibrium point and the occurrence of Turing instability induced by diffusion in the absence of delay. Second, we provide conditions for the existence of Hopf bifurcation driven by time delay. By utilizing the normal theory and center manifold theorem, we derive explicit formulas for Hopf bifurcation properties such as direction and stability from the positive equilibrium. Third, a hybrid controller is added to the system. By judiciously adjusting the control parameters, we effectively enhance the stability domain of the system, resulting in a modification of the position of the Hopf bifurcation periodic solutions. Numerical simulations demonstrate the presence of rich dynamical phenomena within the system. Moreover, sensitivity analysis was conducted using Latin hypercube sampling (LHS)/partial rank correlation coefficient (PRCC) to explore the impact of parameter variations on the output of prey and predator populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]