Real-time molecular characterization of air pollutants in a Hong Kong residence: Implication of indoor source emissions and heterogeneous chemistry

Due to the high health risks associated with indoor air pollutants and long-term exposure, indoor air quality has received increasing attention. In this study, we put emphasis on the molecular composition, source emissions, and chemical aging of air pollutants in a residence with designed activities mimicking ordinary Hong Kong homes. More than 150 air pollutants were detected at molecular level, 87 of which were quantified at a time resolution of not less than 1 hour. The indoor-to-outdoor ratios were higher than 1 for most of the primary air pollutants, due to emissions of indoor activities and indoor backgrounds (especially for aldehydes). In contrast, many secondary air pollutants exhibited higher concentrations in outdoor air. Painting ranked first in aldehyde emissions, which also caused great enhancement of aromatics. Incense burning had the highest emissions of particle-phase organics, with vanillic acid and syringic acid as markers. The other noteworthy fingerprints enabled by online measurements included linoleic acid, cholesterol, and oleic acid for cooking, 2,5-dimethylfuran, stigmasterol, iso-/anteiso-alkanes, and fructose isomers for smoking, C₂₈-C₃₄ even n-alkanes for candle burning, and monoterpenes for the use of air freshener, cleaning agents, and camphor oil. We showed clear evidence of chemical aging of cooking emissions, giving a hint of indoor heterogeneous chemistry. This study highlights the value of organic molecules measured at high time resolutions in enhancing our knowledge on indoor air quality.     

Indoor solid fuel use for heating and cooking with blood pressure and hypertension: A cross-sectional study among middle-aged and older adults in China

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the impact of solid fuel use for heating and cooking on blood pressure (BP) and hypertension, using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The primary fuels used for indoor heating and cooking were collected by questionnaires, respectively. Hypertension was defined based on self-report of physician's diagnosis, and/or measured BP, and/or anti-hypertensive medication use. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to assess the associations. Among 10 450 eligible participants, 68.2% and 57.2% used indoor solid fuel for heating and cooking, respectively. Compared with none/clean fuel users, solid fuel for heating was associated with elevated BP (adjusted β: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.04–3.01 for systolic BP; adjusted β: 1.36, 95% CI: 0.78–1.94 for diastolic BP) and increased risk of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03–1.29). The impact of indoor solid fuel for heating on BP was more evident in rural and north residents, and hypertensive patients. We did not detect any significant associations between solid fuel use for cooking and BP/hypertension. Indoor solid fuel use is prevalent in China, especially in the rural areas. Its negative impact on BP suggested that modernization of household fuel use may help to reduce the burden of hypertension in China.     

Ultrafast Electron–Phonon Coupling at Metal-Dielectric Interface

Energy transfer from photo-excited electrons in a metal thin film to the dielectric substrate is important for understanding the ultrafast heat transfer process across the two materials. Substantial research has been conducted to investigate heat transfer in a metal-dielectric structure. In this work, a two-temperature model in metal was used to analyze the interface electron and dielectric substrate coupling. An improved temperature and wavelength-dependent Drude–Lorentz model was implemented to interpret the signals obtained in optical measurements. Ultrafast pump-and-probe measurements on Au-Si samples were carried out, where the probe photon energy was chosen to be close to the interband transition threshold of gold to minimize the influence of non-equilibrium electrons on the optical response and maximize the thermal modulation to the optical reflectance. Electron-substrate interface thermal conductance at different pump laser fluences was obtained, and was found to increase with the interface temperature.     

Advances in the in vitro digestion and fermentation of polysaccharides

In vitro digestion models are widely used to study the structural changes, digestion and release of food components under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. As compared to the in vivo digestion tests, the in vitro digestion reflects the digestion and utilisation of food after ingestion and has the advantages of being time consuming, inexpensive, reproducible and free from moral and ethical restrictions. This study reviewed the current research studies on the in vitro simulated digestion of polysaccharides conducted in the last 5 years and focused on the oral, gastric and intestinal digestion models, with the aim of providing a basis for the further testing of changes in the content, structure and active ingredients of polysaccharides before and after digestion.     

基于大数据的电网公司安全生产数据分析平台设计

本文基于大数据视角设计了电网公司安全生产数据分析平台.通过平台挖掘分析电网公司实时运行数据信息,可全方位充分掌握公司安全生产状态,还可及时发现、共同解决不符合公司发展需要的相关问题,对于公司安全生产与长远稳定发展发挥着重要作用.通过研究表明,安全生产数据分析平台的设计可推动电网公司创新改革安全生产管理模式,切实整合信息资源,提高安全生产水平,实现精益化运营;而明确的平台发展定位与功能优化设计,可确保安全生产数据分析平台高效稳定运转.     

Influence of geosynthetic reinforcement on the stability of an embankment with rigid columns embedded in an inclined underlying stratum

Incompressible dipping substrata are commonly encountered in engineering practice. Compared to horizontal underlying strata, the inclined underlying stratum increase the risk of collapse of embankments reinforced with columns because it weakens the restraint of the column base. The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of geosynthetics on improving the embankment stability when the underlying stratum is inclined. The influence of geosynthetic tensile stiffness on the ultimate surcharge and failure mechanism is studied. A deep-seated failure with column tilting occurs when the geosynthetic tensile stiffness is low, whereas a lateral sliding occurs when the geosynthetic tensile stiffness is high. To illustrate the contribution of geosynthetics, the distribution of the lateral pressures acting on the columns is analyzed.     

Rational Designs for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with Low Electrolyte/Sulfur Ratio

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered a promising next-generation energy storage device owing to their high theoretical energy density. However, their overall performance is limited by several critical issues such as lithium polysulfide (PS) shuttles, low sulfur utilization, and unstable Li metal anodes. Despite recent huge progress, the electrolyte/sulfur ratio (E/S) used is usually very high (≥20 µL mg⁻¹), which greatly reduces the practical energy density of devices. To push forward LSBs from the lab to the industry, considerable attention is devoted to reducing E/S while ensuring the electrochemical performance. To date, however, few reviews have comprehensively elucidated the possible strategies to achieve that purpose. In this review, recent advances in low E/S cathodes and anodes based on the issues resulting from low E/S and the corresponding solutions are summarized. These will be beneficial for a systematic understanding of the rational design ideas and research trends of low E/S LSBs. In particular, three strategies are proposed for cathodes: preventing PS formation/aggregation to avoid inadequate dissolution, designing multifunctional macroporous networks to address incomplete infiltration, and utilizing an imprison strategy to relieve the adsorption dependence on specific surface area. Finally, the challenges and future prospects for low E/S LSBs are discussed.     

Threshold privacy-preserving cloud auditing with multiple uploaders

International Journal of Information Security - Data integrity is a critical security issue in cloud storage. The data integrity checking schemes by a third-party auditor (TPA) have attracted a lot...     

Crystallographic characteristics and microwave dielectric properties of Ni-modified MgTa2O6 ceramics

Ni²⁺ modified MgTa₂O₆ ceramics with a trirutile phase and space group P4₂/mnm were obtained. The correlations between crystallographic characteristics and microwave dielectric performance of MgTa₂O₆ ceramics were systematically studied based on the chemistry bond theory (PVL theory) for the first time. The results indicate that the introduction of Ni²⁺ causes a change in polarizability and the Mg–O bond ionicity, which contributes to the variation of dielectric constant. Moreover, the lattice energy, and packing fraction, full width at half maximum of the Raman peak of Ta–O bond, as the quantitative characterization of crystallographic parameters, regulate the dielectric loss of MgTa₂O₆ ceramics in GHz frequency band. In addition, the study of sintering behavior shows that the densification and micromorphology are the crucial factors affecting the microwave dielectric performance. Typically, Ni²⁺ doping on the A-site of MgTa₂O₆ can effectively promote the Q × f values to 173,000 GHz (at 7.43 GHz), which ensures its applicability in 5G communication technology.