Estimating long-term time-resolved indoor PM2.5 of outdoor and indoor origin using easily obtainable inputs

To evaluate the separate impacts on human health and establish effective control strategies, it is crucial to estimate the contribution of outdoor infiltration and indoor emission to indoor PM_2.5 in buildings. This study used an algorithm to automatically estimate the long-term time-resolved indoor PM_2.5 of outdoor and indoor origin in real apartments with natural ventilation. The inputs for the algorithm were only the time-resolved indoor/outdoor PM_2.5 concentrations and occupants’ window actions, which were easily obtained from the low-cost sensors. This study first applied the algorithm in an apartment in Tianjin, China. The indoor/outdoor contribution to the gross indoor exposure and time-resolved infiltration factor were automatically estimated using the algorithm. The influence of outdoor PM_2.5 data source and algorithm parameters on the estimated results was analyzed. The algorithm was then applied in four other apartments located in Chongqing, Shenyang, Xi'an, and Urumqi to further demonstrate its feasibility. The results provided indirect evidence, such as the plausible explanations for seasonal and spatial variation, to partially support the success of the algorithm used in real apartments. Through the analysis, this study also identified several further development directions to facilitate the practical applications of the algorithm, such as robust long-term outdoor PM_2.5 monitoring using low-cost light-scattering sensors.     

Efficient hydrogen evolution by liquid phase plasma irradiation over Sn doped ZnO/CNTs photocatalyst

In this study, the liquid phase plasma (LPP) was irradiated over pure zinc oxide (ZnO), strontium (Sn) doped ZnO, and Sn doped ZnO/CNTs photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution from pure water and from aqueous solution of water-methanol. The possible relationship between hydrogen evolution and optical emissions from LPP for activation of ZnO based photocatalysts was revealed. The role of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as a support material for improved photocatalytic hydrogen evolution was also investigated in this study. The photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water mixed methanol under LPP irradiation was compared with pure water splitting. The photolysis produced negligible amount of hydrogen due to minimal photodecomposition of water molecules under LPP irradiation. The plasma born reactive species also played crucial role in photolysis. However, the hydrogen evolution rate increased significantly in the presence of ZnO photocatalyst. Further improvement in hydrogen evolution rate was noticed on Sn doping of ZnO and compositing with CNTs. The highest hydrogen evolution rate of 11.46 mmh⁻¹g⁻¹ from water mixed methanol was achieved with Sn doped ZnO/CNTs photocatalyst. This hydrogen evolution rate from water-methanol solution was 9 times higher than from the splitting of pure water. This hydrogen evolution rate is attributed to excessive production of hydroxyl radicals, red shift in optical band gap of Sn doped ZnO/CNTs photocatalyst, slow electron-hole recombination and fast decomposition of methanol as sacrificial reagent.     

Synthesis and Initial Characterization of a Selective,Pseudo-irreversible Inhibitor of Human Butyrylcholinesterase as PET Tracer

The enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) represents a promising target for imaging probes to potentially enable early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to monitor disease progression in some forms of cancer. In this study, we present the design, facile synthesis, in vitro and preliminary ex vivo and in vivo evaluation of a morpholine-based, selective inhibitor of human BChE as a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer with a pseudo-irreversible binding mode. We demonstrate a novel protecting group strategy for ¹⁸F radiolabeling of carbamate precursors and show that the inhibitory potency as well as kinetic properties of our unlabeled reference compound were retained in comparison to the parent compound. In particular, the prolonged duration of enzyme inhibition of such a morpholinocarbamate motivated us to design a PET tracer, possibly enabling a precise mapping of BChE distribution.     

Intense broadband photoemission from Bi-doped ZrO2 embedded in vitreous aluminoborate via direct melt-quenching

Tuning the optical properties of active species embedded within a glass matrix by modifying the ligand environment is of interest for luminescence-based technologies, for example, in optical sensing, data transmission, or spectral conversion. Here, we discuss a facile synthesis procedure for a glass-crystal composite material comprising of bismuth (Bi)-doped zirconia within an aluminoborate glass phase. The approach offers tunable and broad photoemission characteristics in the visible spectral region from 400 to 750 nm. Incorporation of Bi ions into the crystal phase enhances the photoemission intensity by two orders of magnitude, with an external quantum efficiency of about 29%. At higher ZrO₂ dopant concentration, we observe a red-shift of both the excitation and the emission bands to match commodity ultra-violet light emitting diodes as excitation sources. Encapsulation within the aluminoborate glass phase provides advantageous thermal behavior, with the emission intensity remaining at >80 % of its initial value up to a temperature of 400 K.     

Ternary type BaY2ZnO5: Eu3+ deep-red phosphor for possible latent fingerprint,security ink and WLED applications

Pc-WLEDs are considered to play a spectacular role in future generation light sources in view of their outstanding energy efficiency. In this regard, Eu³⁺ activated BaY₂ZnO₅ phosphor was prepared and investigated by XRD, PL and SEM analyses. Rietveld refinement analysis was carried out to confirm the structure of the synthesized phosphor. The prepared phosphor shows an intense red emission around 627 nm under excitation by near UV light. The ⁵D₀-⁷F₂ transition intensity of the prepared phosphor is three times higher compared to the commercial (Y,Gd)BO₃:Eu³⁺ red phosphor. The CIE colour coordinates of BaY₂ZnO₅:Eu³⁺ (9mol%) phosphor corresponds to be (0.6169, 0.3742) and it has a high 97.9 % colour purity. The obtained results reveal the utility of BaY₂ZnO₅:Eu³⁺ phosphor as an efficient red component in WLEDs, anti-counterfeiting and fingerprint detection applications.     

Measurement and analysis of the extreme ultraviolet emission band of laser-produced antimony plasmas

The temporal evolution of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) emission spectra of laser-produced antimony (Sb) plasmas has been measured in the 7–16 nm wavelength region using spatio- temporally resolved lase-produced plasma spectroscopy technique. The spectral profiles involve an intense quasi-continuous band with superimposed intense characteristic radiation and are different with the increase of delay time. The spectral structures were also analyzed according to Hartree–Fock calculations with configuration interaction effects and contributed from 4d–4f, 4d–4p, and 4d–5f unresolved transition arrays of Sb⁷⁺ – Sb¹³⁺. A steady-state collisional- radiative model was used to estimate the electron temperature and density range of Sb plasmas. This work would enrich the spectral data of highly-charged ions and provided a possible selection for developing EUV light sources.     

Enhancement of optical emission generated from femtosecond double-pulse laser-induced glass plasma at different sample temperatures in air

In double-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(DP-LIBS), the collinear femtosecond double-pulse laser configuration is experimentally investigated with different initial sample temperatures using a Ti:sapphire laser. The glass sample is ablated to produce the plasma spectroscopy. During the experiment, the detected spectral lines include two Na(I) lines(589.0 nm and 589.6 nm) and one Ca(I) line at the wavelength of 585.7 nm. The emission lines are measured at room temperature(22 ℃) and three higher initial sample temperatures(T_s?=?100 ℃, 200 ℃, and 250 ℃). The inter-pulse delay time ranges from-250 ps to 250 ps.The inter-pulse delay time and the sample temperature strongly influence the spectral intensity,and the spectral intensity can be significantly enhanced by increasing the sample temperature and selecting the optimized inter-pulse time. For the same inter-pulse time of 0 ps(single-pulse LIBS), the enhancement ratio is approximately 2.5 at T_s?=?200 ℃ compared with that obtained at T_s?=?22 ℃. For the same inter-pulse time of 150 ps, the enhancement ratio can be up to 4 at T_s?=?200 ℃ compared with that obtained at T_s?=?22 ℃. The combined enhancement effects of the different initial sample temperatures and the double-pulse configuration in femtosecond LIBS are much stronger than that of the different initial sample temperatures or the double-pulse configuration only.     

Eco-driving: the role of feedback in reducing emissions from everyday driving behaviours

Eco-driving has been proposed as an approach to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions arising from personal automobile use. Eco-driving is the adoption of a measured driving style, minimising unnecessary breaking and aggressive acceleration. Eco-driving can be seen as a low cost and immediate approach to emission reduction as it involves the modification of drivers’ behaviours as opposed to the development and implementation of newer, more efficient technology. Despite the proposed benefits of eco-driving, numerous challenges are faced in order to encourage the adoption of these behaviours and maintain them long term. This narrative review presents the concept of eco-driving, with a focus on the long-term maintenance of these behaviours, including training programmes and feedback devices. It is clear within current literature that, despite the economic and environmental benefits of adopting eco-driving, drivers require feedback on their actions in order to promote long-term, behavioural, change.     

In‐plane shear damage behaviours of 2D needled C/SiC composites

Understanding the in‐plane shear behaviour of composites is essential to establish the design basis for practical applications. This study aims to investigate the shear damage behaviours of 2D needled C/SiC composites by various characterization techniques. The effect of layer arrangement on shear modulus and strength was discussed via shear stress‐strain responses. The shear strain field evolution and uniformity variation were studied by digital image correlation. It shows that the uniformity of shear strain field changes with the shear load, and the shear strain field evolution consist of 5 stages. The electrical resistivity measurement results indicate that structural deformation and damage evolution caused the electrical resistivity change. Furthermore, the damage evolution has a double effect on the electrical resistivity variation. The acoustic emission monitoring shows that the shear damage evolution is a 3‐stage nonlinear process before failure. The shear damages were categorized via acoustic characteristics. Besides, the postfailure behaviours were also discussed in this study.     

基于CSC方法的钢铁行业节能减排技术潜力分析

为了研究中国钢铁行业的节能减排潜力，以35项钢铁行业先进节能减排技术为研究对象，建立节能供应曲线(Conservation Supply Curve，简称CSC)模型，分析影响钢铁行业的节能减排收益、成本效益以及钢铁生产流程工序层面的节能减排潜力因素。结果表明，这35项技术全部应用可实现3.01 GJ/t的节能量以及398.22 kg/t的CO2减排量。将结果与第十三个五年计划推广技术作对比，在当前情况下，约有50%的推广技术并不符合成本效益；运用CSC模型进行了钢铁生产流程工序层面的节能减排潜力研究，得到各个工序的节能量和减排量，并据此分析了各项技术未来的发展趋势和应用前景。