Search

Risky driving is a major factor in traffic incidents, necessitating constant monitoring and prevention through Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Despite recent progress, a lack of suitable data for detecting risky driving in traffic surveillance settings remains a significant challenge. To address this issue, Bayonet-Drivers, a pioneering benchmark for risky driving detection, is proposed. The unique challenge posed by Bayonet-Drivers arises from the nature of the original data obtained from intelligent monitoring and recording systems, rather than in-vehicle cameras. Bayonet-Drivers encompasses a broad spectrum of challenging scenarios, thereby enhancing the resilience and generalizability of algorithms for detecting risky driving. Further, to address the scarcity of labeled data without compromising detection accuracy, a novel semi-supervised network architecture, named DGMB-Net, is proposed. Within DGMB-Net, an enhanced semi-supervised method founded on a teacher–student model is introduced, aiming at bypassing the time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks associated with data labeling. Additionally, DGMB-Net has engineered an Adaptive Perceptual Learning (APL) Module and a Hierarchical Feature Pyramid Network (HFPN) to amplify spatial perception capabilities and amalgamate features at varying scales and levels, thus boosting detection precision. Extensive experiments on widely utilized datasets, including the State Farm dataset and Bayonet-Drivers, demonstrated the remarkable performance of the proposed DGMB-Net. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: Ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) are essential enzymes in DNA synthesis. However, little is known about the RNRs in plants. Here, we identified a svstl1 mutant from the self‐created ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutant library of Setaria viridis. The mutant leaves exhibited a bleaching phenotype at the heading stage. Paraffin section analysis showed the destruction of the C4 Kranz anatomy. Transmission electron microscopy results further demonstrated the severely disturbed development of some chloroplasts. MutMap analysis revealed that the SvSTL1 gene is the primary candidate, encoding a large subunit of RNRs. Complementation experiments confirmed that SvSTL1 is responsible for the phenotype of svstl1. There are two additional RNR large subunit homologs in S. viridis, SvSTL2 and SvSTL3. To further understand the functions of these three RNR large subunit genes, a series of mutants were generated via CRISPR/Cas9 technology. In striking contrast to the finding that all three SvSTLs interact with the RNR small subunit, the phenotype varied along with the copies of chloroplast genome among different svstl single mutants: the svstl1 mutant exhibited pronounced chloroplast development and significantly fewer copies of the chloroplast genome than the svstl2 or svstl3 single mutants. These results suggested that SvSTL1 plays a major role in the optimal function of RNRs and is essential for chloroplast development. Furthermore, through the analysis of double and triple mutants, the study provides new insights into the finely tuned coordination among SvSTLs to maintain normal chloroplast development in the emerging C4 model plant S. viridis. Significance Statement: Understanding the chloroplast development of C4 plants is very important. Setaria viridis was used as a model system to study the functions of the three RNR large subunit genes in chloroplast development. SvSTL1 was identified by forward genetics, and SvSTL2 and SvSTL3 were identified by homolog analysis. All three genes were knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9. SvSTL1 plays a major role in chloroplast development. This study provides new insights into the fine control of RNRs on chloroplast development in an emerging C4 model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is known to be a leading cariogenic pathogen in the oral cavity. Antimicrobial peptides possess excellent properties to combat such pathogens. In this study, we compared the antimicrobial activity of novel linear reutericin 6‐ and/or gassericin A‐inspired peptides and identified LR‐10 as the leading peptide. Antibacterial assays demonstrate that LR‐10 is more active against S. mutans (3.3 μM) than many peptide‐based agents without resistance selection, capable of killing many oral pathogens, and tolerant of physiological conditions. LR‐10 also presented a faster killing rate than chlorhexidine and erythromycin, and appeared to display selective activity against S. mutans within 10 s. S. mutans is usually encased in plaque biofilms. Biofilm inhibitory assays indicated that LR‐10 had excellent inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation of S. mutans and biofilm‐encased cells in vitro at low concentrations (6.5 μM). Consistent with most peptides, LR‐10 kills S. mutans mainly by disrupting the cell membranes. Notably, both hemolytic activity assays and cytotoxicity tests indicated that LR‐10 could keep biocompatible at the effective concentrations. Hence, LR‐10 could be a good candidate for clinical treatment of dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth and scintillation properties of undoped and Ce 3+ -doped GdI 3 crystals were reported in this paper. These GdI 3 :χ%Ce (χ = 0, 1, 2) crystals were grown by the vertical Bridgman growth technique in evacuated quartz crucibles. X-ray excited optical luminescence spectra of GdI 3 :Ce exhibit a broad emission band (450 nm–650 nm) peaking at 520 nm corresponding to 5d 1 →4f 1 transition of Ce 3+ while the undoped GdI 3 crystal consists of a broad band (400 nm-600 nm) and several sharp lines peaking at 462 nm, 482 nm, 492 nm, 549 nm, 579 nm owing to the impurities ions and defects. The excitation spectra of Ce 3+ doped GdI 3 consist of two broad bands between 300 nm and 500 nm corresponding to 4f 1 →5d 1 absorption of Ce 3+ . The other absorption peaking at 262 nm in the spectrum of GdI 3 :2%Ce is assigned to band-to-band exciton transition. The excitation spectrum of undoped GdI 3 contains a flat absorption band from 330 to 370 nm and a broad band between 390 and 450 nm peaking at 414 nm corresponding to the absorption of the unintentionally doped Ce 3+ , Dy 3+ , Ho 3+ impurities and other defects. The emission spectrum of undoped GdI 3 under 332 nm excitation has the identical line peaks with the spectrum measured under X-ray excitation. The emission spectra of GdI 3 :2%Ce and GdI 3 :1%Ce show a broad band in the range of 450–750 nm with the maximum at 550 nm corresponding to 5d 1 →4f 1 transitions of Ce 3+ ion. The GdI 3 , GdI 3 :1%Ce and GdI 3 :2%Ce show fast principle decay time constant 73 ns, 69 ns and 58 ns respectively, besides, the undoped also shows a slow decay constant 325 ns which doesn't appear in Ce 3+ -doped GdI 3 crystal. The energy resolutions of GdI 3 :χ%Ce (χ = 1, 2) measured at 662 KeV are about 3%–5% and the undoped GdI 3 is 13.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanotube (CNT) supported copper oxide catalysts were prepared, and the morphology and structure of the catalyst were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and temperature-programmed desorption experiments. The CuO/CNT catalysts demonstrated high catalytic activities during the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO with NH over a temperature range of 150-250 °C. The amount of NH adsorbed on the catalyst surface was greater than that of NO or NO + O adsorbed on the catalyst surface. These results suggest that the SCR reaction might proceed on the surface of the CuO/CNT catalysts and occur between the adsorbed ammonia and gas phase NO or weakly adsorbed NO. The CuO/CNT catalysts exhibited good stability at low temperatures, which makes them suitable for potential applications in industry. Graphical Abstract: [InlineMediaObject not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: CdS/TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared via a simple wet chemical method, and characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Their ability to degrade Acid Rhodamine B was investigated under visible light irradiation. The results indicate that CdS/TiO2 nanocomposite with a mass ratio of 4:1(TiO2:CdS) showed high photocatalytic activity and the CdS loaded on TiO2 nanotube surface exhibited a hexagonal phase. The dispersion of CdS on TiO2 nanotube surface had an important effect on the degradation efficiency of pollutant, which provides a strategy for practical industry application. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this experiment, properties of LYSO crystals with different yttrium concentrations were investigated by Czochralski method. The concentrations of yttrium and cerium were analyzed by ICP-AES and the distribution coefficients of yttrium and cerium in LYSO crystal were calculated. It was found that the light output and the decay time of LYSO crystals are almost the same as that of cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate crystal (LSO). The energy resolutions of LYSO crystals, however, fluctuated in a large range. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, Φ25 mm lanthanum bromide scintillation crystals with 5%Ce3+ and different Sr2+ doping concentrations (0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5% in molar ratio) were successfully grown by spontaneous nucleation vertical Bridgman method. X-ray excited emission spectra, transmission spectra and pulse height spectra of these crystals were measured. Results show that, the emission spectra waveform of LaBr3:Ce crystals with different Sr2+ doping concentrations is basically consistent under X-ray excitation, and the emission peak shows a significant red shift compared with that of sample without Sr2+ doping. With the increase of Sr2+ doping concentration, the emission peak of LaBr3:Ce,Sr crystal shows a slight red shift. There is no obvious absorption peak range from 350 to 800 nm of LaBr3:Ce,Sr crystals with different Sr2+ doping concentrations. Compared with LaBr3:Ce crystals, transmittance of 0.3% and 0.5% Sr2+ doped LaBr3:Ce crystals decrease. In addition, with the increase of Sr2+ doping concentration, the energy resolution of the crystal increases correspondingly. LaBr3:Ce,0.5% Sr crystal has the highest energy resolution of 2. 99%@662 keV. The energy resolution of the encapsulated LaBr3:Ce,0.5%Sr crystal with size of Φ25 mm x 25 mm is 2.93%@662 keV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• High quality NaI:Tl and NaI:Tl,Li single crystals with a size of 11 mm in diameter and 135 mm in length were grown by the multi-ampoule Bridgman method. • The effective segregation coefficients of Tl and Li in NaI single crystals were estimated as 0.26 and 0.35, respectively. • The radioluminescence spectra under X-ray excitation, pulse height spectra and scintillation decay kinetics under γ-ray excitation of the samples taken from different solidification positions in NaI:Tl and NaI:Tl,Li single crystals were systematically studied. In this work, high quality NaI:Tl and NaI:Tl,Li single crystals with a size of 11 mm in diameter and 135 mm in length were grown by the multi-ampoule Bridgman method. The concentrations of Tl and Li ions along the solidification direction were measured by the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. The effective segregation coefficients of Tl and Li in NaI single crystals were estimated as 0.26 and 0.35, respectively. The radioluminescence spectra under X-ray excitation, pulse height spectra and scintillation decay kinetics under γ-ray excitation of the samples taken from different solidification positions in NaI:Tl and NaI:Tl,Li single crystals were systematically studied. For RL spectrum and scintillation decay time, there is a negligible position-dependent difference for both NaI:Tl and NaI:Tl,Li single crystals. In contrast, the energy resolution at 662 keV gradually deteriorates along the solidification direction, and the light yield maintains almost the same until reaching the last-to-freeze region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon carbide (SiC) supported vanadium catalysts were obtained using the wet chemical impregnation method, and their removal of NOx with the presence of SO 2 at low temperature was evaluated. The effect of carbon was observed by comparing different carbon-based catalysts. V 2 O 5 /SiC (1 wt.%) catalyst had a NOx removal efficiency of 86% in the presence of SO 2 at 250 °C with a GHSV of 180,000 h −1 . In this study, the temperature-programmed desorption of NH 3 (NH 3 -TPD) and temperature-programmed decomposition (TPDC) of NH 4 HSO 4 deposited on the catalysts and reaction were performed to determine the influence of carbon on the performance of a carbon-based catalyst in the presence of SO 2 . The NO on the carbon support can effectively react with the NH 4 HSO 4 formed on the catalyst surface at low temperatures. Additionally, the adsorption of NH 3 was higher on carbon-based catalysts that were pre-adsorbed with SO 2 + O 2 . Thus, SO 2 promotes the activity of a carbon-based catalyst at low temperatures, and carbon has very important effect on the promotion of that activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the burgeoning demands for captioning-related applications have inspired great endeavors in the remote sensing community. However, current benchmark datasets are deficient in data volume, category variety, and description richness, which hinders the advancement of new remote sensing image captioning approaches, especially those based on deep learning. To overcome this limitation, we present a larger and more challenging benchmark dataset termed NWPU-Captions is available at https://github.com/HaiyanHuang98/NWPU-Captions. NWPU-Captions contains 157 500 sentences, with all 31 500 images annotated manually by seven experienced volunteers. The superiority of NWPU-Captions over current publicly available benchmark datasets not only lies in its much larger scale but also in its wider coverage of complex scenes and the richness and variety of describing vocabularies. Furthermore, a novel encoder–decoder architecture, multilevel and contextual attention network (MLCA-Net), is proposed. MLCA-Net employs a multilevel attention module to adaptively aggregate image features of specific spatial regions and scales and introduces a contextual attention module to explore the latent context hidden in remote sensing images. MLCA-Net improves the flexibility and diversity of the generated captions while keeping their accuracy and conciseness by exploring the properties of scale variations and semantic ambiguity. Finally, the effectiveness, robustness, and generalization of MLCA-Net are proved through extensive experiments on existing datasets and NWPU-Captions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eu 2+ :CeBr 3 crystals were grown by vertical Bridgman growth method and slight aliovalent doping of Eu 2+ in the CeBr 3 crystal did not change the crystal structure. The X-ray stimulated luminescence, photoluminescence, decay kinetics and scintillation properties were investigated at room temperature. The X-ray stimulated luminescence spectra exhibited wide broad emission bands from 3.54 eV to 2.95 eV in the Eu 2+ :CeBr 3 crystal with high content of 620 ppm of Eu 2+ , which were the overlap of the emission bands ascribed to 5d → 4f transition of Ce 3+ and 4f 6 5 d 1 → 4f 7 transition of Eu 2+ , respectively. When the content of Eu 2+ was decreased to 70 ppm, another emission band centered at 2.29 eV was observed. The photoluminescence spectra showed the energy transfer from Ce 3+ to Eu 2+ . This decreased the Ce 3+ emission intensity but enhanced the Eu 2+ emission intensity. The photoluminescence decay time of Ce 3+ emission decreased from 14 ns to 10 ns when the content of Eu 2+ increased from 70 ppm to 620 ppm. The decay time of the emission of 525 nm did not change with the excitation wavelength and Eu 2+ content, which could be assigned to the excitons that were bound on Eu 2+ related centers. The light output of the Eu:CeBr 3 crystal under the excitation of 241 Am radioactive source was less than 20.2% of Tl:NaI crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ce0.03Gd2.97Ga2Al3O12 (Ce:GGAG) single crystals were successfully grown by the traveling solvent floating zone method (TSFZ). A series of compositions, where the mole ratio is Gd2O3 : Al2O3 = 25 : 75, 27 : 73, 29 : 71, were investigated as solvents. The 25 mol% Gd2O3-75 mol% Al2O3 solvent component was found to be the most effective in stabilizing the molten zone to obtain a crystal rod with uniform diameter. The crystal cracks were relieved clearly due to the improved molten zone stabilization during the crystal growth process. XRD patterns of the obtained crystals prove the garnet structure without any evident second phase. The characteristic Ce3+ emission located at around 540 nm was presented in the photoluminescence and X-ray excited luminescence spectra. The scintillation light yield reaches up to 34 132 pho MeV−1 and scintillation decay time was optimized to 64 ns with a high fast decay component of about 85%. The TSFZ method demonstrated the growth feasibility of Ce:GGAG crystals that have an incongruent-melting trend with lower Ga/Al ratio in the compositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The crystals of (Lu1−x Ce x )2Si2O7 (LPS) (x =0.003, 0.005, 0.0075, 0.01 and 0.013) are grown by Czochralski (Cz) method. The scintillation and optical properties of these LPS:Ce crystals were studied and compared systematically, mainly focused on the absorption, photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) and decay time. It is found that the self absorption of LPS:Ce is increased as the cerium doping concentration increases; the PLE curves of LPS:Ce samples are influenced by the both cerium doping concentrations and sample thickness. Specially, thicker and higher cerium doped LPS:Ce, i.e. the stronger self absorption, will lead to incomplete PLE curves. The temperature dependence of luminescence of LPS:0.3%Ce, including the decay time, PLE and PL properties, is investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Yttrium pyrosilicate (Y2Si2O7, YPS) is an incongruent compound and has five (or possibly six) different structural forms from 1535 to 1225°C. It should be very difficult to grow YPS single crystal through traditional pulling method. In this paper, cerium doped yttrium pyrosilicate (Y2Si2O7:Ce) single crystals were successfully grown by Floating Zone (Fz) method through composition adjustment and relative rapid growth speed and cooling rate. The crystal structure was confirmed to be orthorhombic with space group Pna21 and density of 4.04g/cm3. Typical Ce3+ luminescence was observed by photoluminescence spectrum measurement. Some optical properties of YPS:Ce, such as transmittance and decay time, were measured and compared with that of Lu2Si2O7:Ce crystal. Under 342nm excitation and 360nm emission, the decay time of YPS:Ce crystal was 30ns. This is the fastest value in the cerium doped silicate scintillators up to the present. Its potential application prospect as scintillation material will be also evaluated in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: This study was performed to explore the function of B-Raf proto-oncogene-activated non-coding RNA (BANCR) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and cisplatin resistance.Material and Methods: The relative expression level of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) BANCR was examined by qRT-PCR in tumor tissues and adjacent tissues, normal laryngeal cells (Het-1A) and laryngeal squamous carcinoma cells (TU686, TU177). Cisplatin-resistant laryngeal squamous carcinoma cell lines (TU686-DDP-R, TU177-DDP-R) were established. Next, we inhibited BANCR expression by transfecting siRNA-BANCR and enhanced BANCR expression by transfecting pcDNA3.1-BANCR into TU686, TU177, TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R cells. The CCK-8 assay and clone formation assay were performed to detect colony proliferation ability and formation ability of cells. Further, to investigate through which BANCR cell viability/formation is regulated, we detected the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, p-PKB, and Bax by western blot.Results: BANCR was highly expressed in laryngeal squamous carcinoma tissues and cells. Chemoresistance was generated in TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R compared with TU686 and TU177 cells after cisplatin treatment. In addition, upregulated lncRNA BANCR reduced or postponed cell sensitivity to cisplatin by enhancing cell proliferation in TU686 and TU177 cells. Meanwhile, the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, and p-PKB was increased, while Bax was reduced. After cisplatin treatment, down-regulation of BANCR could consequently attenuate TU686-DDP-R and TU177-DDP-R cell proliferation, and the expression of MRP1, Bcl-2, and p-PKB was decreased and Bax was increased.Conclusions: Down-regulation of BANCR reverses cisplatin resistance of cisplatin-resistant LSCC cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)-TiO 2 as an efficient, recyclable photocatalyst was prepared to accomplish the efficient acetalisations of carbonyl compounds, enabling access to a wide variety of acyclic and cyclic acetals, ketals, and thioacetals under blue light. [Display omitted] • This novel heterogeneous photocatalyst may be used in numerous industrial applications because of its merits such as a considerable recyclability, low requirement of catalyst loading, cost-effectiveness, and ease of handling; • This strategy exhibits striking features, such as the use of abundant, sustainable alcohols as solvents and coupling agents, excellent yields, a recyclable photocatalyst, and a broad substrate scope. Some bioactive aldehydes/ketones are suitable to this catalytic system; • Compared to those reported in previous studies, this strategy enables access to a wide variety of acetals with the striking merits of excellent yields. Carbonyl compounds are the most critical skeletons in organic synthesis owing to their ubiquitous and versatile reactivities. For instance, ketals and acetals may be employed as carbonyl-protecting groups, and several synthetic methods of preparing ketals and acetals have been reported in the recent decades. However, most of these transformations exhibit several limitations such as long reaction time, harsh reaction conditions, tedious workup procedures and unrecoverable catalyst, etc. Therefore, developing a novel metal–organic framework (MOFs)-TiO 2 as an efficient, recyclable photocatalyst for converting carbonyl compounds to acetals/ketals is critical. We demonstrate the efficient acetalisations of carbonyl compounds, enabling access to a wide variety of acyclic/cyclic acetals, ketals or thioacetal by using various aromatic or aliphatic aldehydes/ketones under blue light. This strategy exhibits striking features, such as the use of abundant, sustainable alcohols as solvents and coupling agents, excellent yields, a recyclable photocatalyst and broad substrate scope. Therefore, this strategy may be applied in broadly green catalytic systems in industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction behaviour of Co 3 O 4 by H 2 -TPR. • The Co 3 O 4 catalysts were prepared by in-situ pyrolysis of ZIF-67. • The calcination temperature influences the structural properties of Co 3 O 4 catalysts. • The Co 3 O 4 -400 shows the highest removal the toluene performance. • The catalyst shows some resistance to the water vapor. A serial of Co 3 O 4 catalysts were prepared through a facile method of calcining of ZIF-67 at different temperatures. Physicochemical properties of the samples were characterized by the powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermal analysis(TGA-DTA), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller(BET) equation, H 2 temperature-programmed reduction (H 2 -TPR) and The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques, and their catalytic performance were investigated for the oxidation of toluene. The structural characterization certified that the calcination temperature has an important effect to catalytic activities. With the increase of the calcination temperature, the BET surface area reduces, pore size increases and the ratio of Co3+/Co2+ and O ads /O latt firstly increase then decrease. The results showed that the conversion of toluene on the Co 3 O 4 -400 catalyst could reach 100 % when the reaction temperature was 240 ºC. The Co 3 O 4 -400 catalyst presented better performance and excellent resistance to H 2 O, which are very important to Industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Transparent CLLC crystals of were grown using the vertical Bridgman method. • Stoichiometric CLLC powder melts incongruently between 343 and 442 °C. • Stokes shift of CLLC is about 1358 cm−1. • The photoluminescence decay time of CLLC crystal is 34.6 ns. • The energy resolution of the Cs 2 LiLaCl 6 crystal with 0.5at% Ce was 7.1% at 662 keV. Abstract Cs 2 LiLaCl 6 :Ce (CLLC) is a promising scintillator material for dual gamma/neutron detection. The vertical Bridgman technique, with a LiCl-rich melt and high axial temperature gradient, was used to grow transparent CLLC crystals for the first time. The stoichiometric CLLC powder melted incongruently with a melting range of 343–442 °C. Additional LiCl suppressed the formation of Cs 3 LaCl 6 second phase, which was identified in crystals grown from stoichiometric melts. CLLC was found to have a Stokes shift of about 1358 cm−1 and a photoluminescence decay time of 34.6 ns. Direct electron-hole capture by Ce3+ ions and core-valence luminescence were the main contributors to the X-ray induced luminescence spectrum. A ∅9 × 8 mm3 cylinder of the CLLC crystal with 0.5at% Ce had an energy resolution of 7.1% at 662 keV. The scintillation decay times of the CLLC crystal excited with 662 keV gammas were 79 ns and 1491 ns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ce:Cs 2 LiYCl 6 (CLYC) crystal is a marketable halide inorganic scintillator with very high light yield, excellent energy resolution and pulse-shape discrimination between gamma rays and thermal neutrons. Although the scintillation performance of Ce:Cs 2 LiLaCl 6 (CLLC) crystal is better than CLYC crystal, the promising application was restricted by the crystal growth difficulties. To utilize the advantage of La 3+ halide, research on the growth of Ce:Cs 2 LiLa x Y 1-x Cl 6 (0 < x ≤ 0.4) crystals were undertaken. The Ce:Cs 2 LiLa x Y 1-x Cl 6 with x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 were grown by the vertical Bridgman technique, and transparent Ce:Cs 2 LiLa 0.1 Y 0.9 Cl 6 samples were successfully obtained. The crystal structure and composition of the as-grown crystals were characterized by powder x-ray diffraction patterns. The luminescence and scintillation properties of the mixed elpasolites Ce:Cs 2 LiLa x Y 1-x Cl 6 (0 < x ≤ 0.4) crystals were also investigated. Finally, it was found that Ce:Cs 2 LiLa 0.1 Y 0.9 Cl 6 is a very promising gamma-rays and thermal neutrons scintillator with relatively high optical quality grown from vertical Bridgman method, acceptable energy resolution and relatively fast decay time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the synergistic catalysis of toluene and NO x , CeTiO x catalysts with metal organic frameworks as sacrificial templates, were synthesized using a hydrothermal method. The activity results show that use of the Ce 1 TiO x catalyst affords a synergistic catalytic efficiency of more than 75% between 250 and 400 °C. Characterizations confirmed that the Ce 1 TiO x catalyst balanced the catalytic reduction reaction by reducing the concentration of Ce3+ and increasing the Lewis acid content, resulting in, an excellent synergistic catalytic activity. The mechanistic study revealed that NH 3 and toluene exhibited competitive adsorption and competed with toluene intermediates for reactive oxygen species, inhibiting the synergistic catalytic reaction. • Ce 1 TiO x reaches more than 75% synergistic catalytic activity at 250–400 °C • Ti ions inhibit the oxidation of the catalyst and improve the acidic strength • In synergistic catalysis, NO promotes and NH 3 inhibits Toluene oxidation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerium-doped 1% Ce:GdYGaAlO(GYGAG) single crystal samples grown via Czochralski method were annealed under air, O and N atmospheres from 350 to 1400 °C. The X-ray excited luminescence spectra, energy spectra and UV as well as thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) spectra were performed comparatively on 'as-grown' and thermally annealed samples. It was found that the luminescence efficiency after annealing in air and O was significantly enhanced compared to the non-annealed samples and this phenomenon was suggested to be caused by the existence of some oxygen vacancies in the Ce:GYGAG crystals. And the oxygen vacancies in the as-grown GYGAG crystals can be effectively eliminated by means of annealing in O containing atmosphere without changing the luminescence mechanism. From the TSL curves before and after annealing, three traps within 77-650 K were found to be related to oxygen vacancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixed terbium lutetium aluminum garnet Tb 2.2 Lu 0.8 Al 5 O 12 (LuTAG) single crystal was grown by Czochralski technique successfully. The structure had been analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The paramagnetic behavior was observed in magnetic measurement. Magneto-optical properties and thermal conductivity of LuTAG had been studied in detail and compared with these of TGG sample. The crystal exhibited a high thermal conductivity and very high transmittance, particularly in visible and near-infrared region, indicating terbium-lutetium-aluminum garnet could be a potential magneto-optical material using in high-power laser system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multicomponent garnets, due to their excellent light yield and energy resolution, become one of the most promising scintillators used for homeland security and nuclear non-proliferation applications. This work focuses on the optimization of Ce-doped (Gd,Y) 3 (Ga,Al) 5 O 12 scintillators using a combination strategy of pre-screening and scale-up. Ce-doped Gd x Y 1− x Ga y Al 5− y O 12 ( x =1, 2 and y =2, 2.2, 2.5, 2.7, 3) polycrystalline powders were prepared by high-temperature solid state reaction method. The desired garnet phase in all the samples was confirmed using X-ray diffraction measurement. By comparing the radioluminescence intensity, the highest scintillation efficiency was achieved at a component of Gd 2 Y 1 Ga 2.7 Al 2.3 O 12 :Ce powders. A (Gd 2 Y 1 )Ga 2.7 Al 2.3 O 12 doped with 1% Ce single crystal with dimensions of Ø35×40 mm was grown by Czochralski method using a <111> oriented seed. Luminescence and scintillation properties were measured. An optical transmittance of 84% was achieved in the concerned wavelength from 500 to 800 nm. Its 5d–4f emission of Ce 3+ is at 530 nm. The light yield of a Ce1%: Gd 2 Y 1 Ga 2.7 Al 2.3 O 12 single crystal slab at a size of 5×5×1 mm 3 can reach about 65,000±3000 Ph/MeV along with two decay components of 94 and 615 ns under 137 Cs source irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leprosy continues to be prevalent in some mountainous regions of China, and genotypes of leprosy strains endemic to the country are not known. Mycobacterium lepromatosis is a new species that was discovered in Mexico in 2008, and it remains unclear whether this species exists in China. Here, we conducted PCR- restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to classify genotypes of 85 DNA samples collected from patients from 18 different provinces. All 171 DNA samples from skin biopsies of leprosy patients were tested for the presence of Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis by amplifying the 16S rRNA gene using nested PCR, followed by DNA sequencing. The new species M. lepromatosis was not found among the 171 specimens from leprosy patients in 22 provinces in China. However, we found three SNP genotypes among 85 leprosy patients. A mutation at C251T in the 16S rRNA gene was found in 76% of the strains. We also found that the strains that showed the 16S rRNA C251T mutation belonged to SNP type 3, whereas strains without the point mutation belonged to SNP type 1. The SNP type 3 leprosy strains were observed in patients from both the inner and coastal regions of China, but the SNP type 1 strains were focused only in the coastal region. This indicated that the SNP type 3 leprosy strains were more prevalent than the SNP type 1 strains in China. In addition, the 16S rRNA gene sequence mutation at C251T also indicated a difference in the geographical distribution of the strains. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a new polymorphism in 16S rRNA gene in M. leprae in China. Our findings shed light on the prevalent genotypes and provide insight about leprosy transmission that are important for leprosy control in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ce3+ activated LaCl3 is a promising scintillation crystal for radiation detection. The starting raw materials used to grow LaCl3 crystals are rather hygroscopic and XRD proves that LaCl3·7H2O and LaCl3·3H2O are two main compounds in the raw materials. Five endothermal peaks, 100.4°C, 156.0°C, 181.0°C, 210.6°C and 840°C, are observed in the DTA curves, they are corresponding to the thermal dehydration effect of crystallized water and melting. The process of dehydration is described to be 7→6→3→1→0. In the dehydration process, little amount of LaOCl phase can be identified, its formation is related to the oxidation of LaCl3 at high temperature: LaCl3·nH2O→LaOCl+HCl↑. In addition, LaOCl phases also appear in the grown crystals, they are suggested to be responsible for the transmission loss of the crystals. The oxidation temperature of LaCl3 with oxygen is much lower than that with water. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

LiCaAlF 6 single crystals doped with different Eu concentrations varied from 1 at% to 5 at%, and LiCaAlF 6 :Eu single crystals co-doped with 3 at%Cu+, 2 at%Mg2+, 2 at%Ba2+ were grown by the Bridgman method in non-vacuum atmosphere. Their optical and scintillation performances were studied. The optimal scintillation efficiency was achieved in the LiCaAlF 6 :Eu single crystals with Eu concentrations between 2 and 2.5 at%. The influences of Cu+, Mg2+ and Ba2+ co-doping on optical properties, scintillation yield, scintillation decay and defect structures were studied. It was found that the Cu+ co-doping can improve the scintillation efficiency. The Mg2+ and Ba2+ co-doping have negligible effects on light yield. • Bridgman method in non-vacuum atmosphere were used to grow LiCaAlF 6 :Eu crystals. • The optimal scintillation efficiency obtained between 2 and 2.5 at%Eu concentration. • The Eu–Cu co-doping improve the scintillation efficiency than Eu doped LiCaAlF 6. • The Eu–Cu co-doping changed the defect structure than Eu doped LiCaAlF 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO:Ce) is an excellent scintillator with a large radiation hardness. But, in this work, some LSO:Ce crystals grown by SIC showed a new radiation damage phenomenon after exposure to 60Co γ-rays. An absorption band peaking at near 430nm was observed. Because of the absorption the emission spectra were distorted but no new emission center appeared. There is no new thermoluminescence (TL) peak in the TL curve but the relative intensity of peaks is different from that of normal samples. The peaks at 490 and 546K may be attributed to the appearance of absorption band that was proved by annealing at different temperatures. Absorption band can be eliminated a little at 200°C and completely at 300°C, either in air or in N2 atmosphere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cerium-doped lutetium oxyorthosilicate crystals with dimension of ∅40×60 mm3 were grown by Czochralski method from an inductively heated iridium crucible. The crystal structure was examined by XRD and confirmed to be monoclinic symmetry. Its optical transmission, UV-excited, X-ray excited emission and light yield were measured at room temperature. Its decay time was also tested under optical excitation and gamma excitation, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]