Synthesis and characterization of a new hyperbranched organic–inorganic solid polymer electrolyte with cyanuric chloride as a core element

A new hyperbranched organic–inorganic hybrid electrolyte based on the use of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine (cyanuric chloride, CC) as the coupling core to couple with oligo(oxyalkylene)-amines, followed by condensation with (3-glycidoxypropyl)-trimethoxysilane (GLYMO) and complexed with LiClO₄, has been prepared and characterized. The Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher (VTF) like conductivity behavior is observed in the present organic–inorganic hybrid electrolytes with a maximum ionic conductivity value of 4.4 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C. Multinuclear NMR techniques are used to provide a microscopic view for the specific interaction between the polymer chains and Li⁺ cations and their dynamic behaviors. The results of 2D ¹H–¹³C wide-line separation (WISE) and ⁷Li static line NMR width measurements divulge that the mobility of the ⁷Li cations is strongly related to a dynamic environment created by the polymer motion in the amorphous phase. The combined results of conductivity and ⁷Li pulse-gradient spin-echo (PGSE) NMR self-diffusion coefficient measurements reveal that the conductivity enhancement at low salt concentrations is mainly caused by the high mobility of the lithium cations.     

Fecal Microbiota Transplantation during and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 is a major pandemic facing the world today, which has implications on current microbiome-based treatments such as fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) used for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections. The bidirectional relationship between the inhabitants of our gut, the gut microbiota, and COVID-19 pathogenesis, as well as the underlying mechanism involved, must be elucidated in order to increase FMT safety and efficacy. In this perspective, we discuss the crucial cross-talk between the gut microbiota and the lungs, known as the gut–lung axis, during COVID-19 infection, as well as the putative effect of these microorganisms and their functional activity (i.e., short chain fatty acids and bile acids) on FMT treatment. In addition, we highlight the urgent need to investigate the possible impact of COVID-19 on FMT safety and efficacy, as well as instilling stringent screening protocols of donors and recipients during COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 pandemic to produce a cohesive and optimized FMT treatment plan across all centers and in all countries across the globe.     

提高大直径连轧机组芯棒使用寿命的措施

针对大直径连轧机组三段式芯棒表面"掉肉"和螺栓连接处断裂两种失效问题,通过控制芯棒冷却效果、调整石墨润滑层厚度、降低最大直径芯棒轧制特薄壁钢管的延伸系数、在连轧机的伺服系统设计"芯棒躲避"功能、在连接杆和工作段接缝处添加垫片组等措施解决了芯棒表面"掉肉"和断裂问题,提高了芯棒的使用寿命,芯棒使用成本降低8％左右.     

Mitochondria and Calcium Homeostasis: Cisd2 as a Big Player in Cardiac Ageing

The ageing of human populations has become a problem throughout the world. In this context, increasing the healthy lifespan of individuals has become an important target for medical research and governments. Cardiac disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in ageing populations and results in significant increases in healthcare costs. Although clinical and basic research have revealed many novel insights into the pathways that drive heart failure, the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac ageing and age-related cardiac dysfunction are still not fully understood. In this review we summarize the most updated publications and discuss the central components that drive cardiac ageing. The following characters of mitochondria-related dysfunction have been identified during cardiac ageing: (a) disruption of the integrity of mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM) contact sites; (b) dysregulation of energy metabolism and dynamic flexibility; (c) dyshomeostasis of Ca²⁺ control; (d) disturbance to mitochondria–lysosomal crosstalk. Furthermore, Cisd2, a pro-longevity gene, is known to be mainly located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondria, and MAM. The expression level of Cisd2 decreases during cardiac ageing. Remarkably, a high level of Cisd2 delays cardiac ageing and ameliorates age-related cardiac dysfunction; this occurs by maintaining correct regulation of energy metabolism and allowing dynamic control of metabolic flexibility. Together, our previous studies and new evidence provided here highlight Cisd2 as a novel target for developing therapies to promote healthy ageing     

Diagnosing Multiple Byzantine Open-Segment Defects Using Integer Linear Programming

Faulty behaviors of open-segment defects are non-deterministic due to the Byzantine effect induced by the physical circuit layout. It is the test pattern and difficult for traditional ATPGs to manifest the corresponding faulty effect. Therefore, we propose a three-stage diagnosis approach for finding multiple open-segment defects. Stage one applies path tracing to help extract candidate fault sites from error outputs of failing patterns. An ILP solver in stage two effectively enumerates all fault combinations when considering fault candidates and simulation responses simultaneously. During stage three, fault simulation with support of physical information is responsible for identifying true open-segment defects by pruning false cases. Experimental results show good resolutions (only 1.7X and 1.5X total numbers of segments on average under 1,000 random and 5-detect patterns, respectively) for all ISCAS’85 circuits with 2–5 randomly-injected open-segment defects.     

Comparison of ZnO and Ti-doped ZnO sensing membrane applied in electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor structure

In this paper, we demonstrate electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor devices for biochemical sensing applications prepared from ZnO and Ti-doped ZnO sensing membranes deposited on Si substrates by radio frequency sputtering. The structural, morphological, and compositional features of these deposited films with multitemperature annealing were studied using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Sensitivity, linearity, hysteresis, and drift rate were measured to determine the sensing and reliability performance of all fabricated devices. Compared to the ZnO electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS), the Ti-doped ZnO EIS sensor annealed at 700 °C exhibits a higher sensitivity of 57.56 mV/pH, lower hysteresis of 2.79 mV, and lower drift rate of 0.29 mV/h. For Ti-doped ZnO, sensitivities of 3.62 mV/mM and 6.42 mV/mM were obtained for urea and glucose sensing, respectively. The improvements are owing to Ti-doping, which produces a rougher sensing surface, a well-crystallized grain structure, and thinner silicate and SiO₂ at the silicon-oxide interface.     

Critical path effect based delay analysis method for construction projects

Assessing schedule delay's impact on total project duration to distribute delay liability remains a controversy. None of existing delay analysis methods is perfect because including an element of assumptions, subjective assessment and theoretical projection. Windows-based delay analysis methods are excellent in identifying and measuring construction schedule delays. Based on a previous study identifying potential problems in available windows-based delay analysis methods, this study proposes an innovative windows-based delay analysis method, called the effect-based delay analysis method (the EDAM method). The EDAM method performs delay analysis using extracted windows and determines delay impacts by considering the effects of delays on the critical path(s). According to its application to hypothetical cases and comparisons with other methods, the EDAM method is efficient in delay analysis and effective in solving concurrent delays and determining schedule shortened. The proposed EDAM method is a good alternative for schedule delay analysis for construction projects.     

Effect of iron oxide coloring agent on the sintering behavior of dental yttria-stabilized zirconia

To explore the use of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) for applications in dentistry, the effect of iron oxide coloring agent on the sintering behavior of YSZ is investigated. Through the use of a small amount of iron nitrate, the color of YSZ can be tailored. The iron nitrate starts to decompose to result in iron oxide, then to dissolve into zirconia grains before the shrinkage is even started. The iron solutes enhance the sintering activity of zirconia in terms of the temperatures at the start of shrinkage and at the maximum shrinkage rate. However, the size of zirconia grains is also increased along with Fe content. More monoclinic phase is found in the specimens with higher Fe content. The formation of m-phase is detrimental to both hardness and toughness of zirconia, limiting the amount of coloring agent can be added.     

Performance analysis and simulations of 32‐ary cyclic code‐shift keying

Cyclic code‐shift keying (CCSK) is the baseband 32‐ary symbol modulation scheme used by the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS), the communication terminal for Link‐16. CCSK is not orthogonal and an analytic expression for the probability of symbol error for CCSK has thus far been elusive. In this paper, an analytic upper bound on the probability of symbol error of CCSK is derived for the 32‐chip CCSK starting sequence chosen for JTIDS. The analytically obtained probability of symbol error is compared with two different Monte Carlo simulations for additive white Gaussian noise. The results of both simulations match the analytic results very well and show that the analytic method yields a tight upper bound. A new 32‐chip CCSK starting sequence which has a smaller maximum off‐peak cross‐correlation value than the current JTIDS starting sequence is proposed and evaluated both analytically and by simulation. The results obtained for the new CCSK starting sequence compare favorably with the CCSK starting sequence chosen for JTIDS. Published in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photo-catalytic effect enhanced by the chemisorption of phenylethyl-mercaptan-assembled monolayers on Au-clusters/TiO2-anatase thin film

A simple process is employed to increase the efficiency of TiO₂ photo-catalytic activity, for which the recombination probability of electron–hole pairs is relaxed. Au is selectively deposited on a high-transparency TiO₂-anatase thin film on a glass substrate, and then phenylethyl mercaptan (PEM) is chemisorbed onto the selectively covered Au-clusters/TiO₂-anatase thin film. The enhancement of the photo-catalytic activity on the PEM/Au-clusters/TiO₂-anatase thin film is evaluated via the induced degradation of methylene blue. The results demonstrate that the Au coverage ratio on TiO₂-anatase thin film and the photo-catalytic activity of the chemisorbed PEM/Au-clusters/TiO₂-anatase are related. The photo-catalytic contribution of PEM/Au-clusters/TiO₂-anatase differs from that of Au on a TiO₂-anatase thin film. An optimized photo-catalytic system, a composite of PEM/3.8% Au-clusters/TiO₂-anatase thin film, is proposed. The efficiency of the PEM/3.8% Au-clusters/TiO₂-anatase thin film is 52.1% higher than that of the as-deposited TiO₂-anatase thin film.