Enhancing the Selectivity and Transparency of the Electron Contact in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells by Phosphorus Catalytic Doping

An intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H(i)) film and a doped silicon film are usually combined in the heterojunction contacts of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. In this work, a post-doping process called catalytic doping (Cat-doping) on a-Si:H(i) is performed on the electron selective side of SHJ solar cells, which enables a device architecture that eliminates the additional deposition of the doped silicon layer. Thus, a single phosphorus Cat-doping layer combines the functions of two other layers by enabling excellent interface passivation and high carrier selectivity. The overall thinner layer on the window side results in higher spectral response at short wavelengths, leading to an improved short-circuit current density of 40.31 mA cm⁻² and an efficiency of 23.65% (certified). The cell efficiency is currently limited by sputter damage from the subsequent transparent conductive oxide fabrication and low carrier activation in the a-Si:H(i) with Cat-doping. Numerical device simulations show that the a-Si:H(i) with Cat-doping can provide sufficient field effect passivation even at lower active carrier concentrations compared to the as-deposited doped layer, due to the lower defect density.     

Review: Investigation of Partially Pre-mixed Charge Ignitions (PPCI) Engine Mode

This paper embraces the key points of unpolluted internally combusted engine emissions. Core objective is focused on the recent effort to improve compression ignition(CI) and spark ignition(SI) engine to have fuel-efficient and minimized pollutant emissions. There are many advanced internal combustion engines to overcome the challenges of conventional compression ignition engines of the high level of particulate matter(PM) and oxides of nitrogen emission. One of the latest options on which many ...     

Bioactive Peptides Derived from Seaweed Protein and Their Health Benefits: Antihypertensive,Antioxidant, and Antidiabetic Properties

Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are the biggest causes of death globally. Therefore, prevention of these diseases is a focus of pharmaceuticals and functional food manufacturers. This review summarizes recent research trends and scientific knowledge in seaweed protein‐derived peptides with particular emphasis on production, isolation and potential health impacts in prevention of hypertension, diabetes and oxidative stress. The current status and future prospects of bioactive peptides are also discussed. Bioactive peptides have strong potential for use in therapeutic drug and functional food formulation in health management strategy, especially cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Seaweeds can be used as sustainable protein sources in the production of these peptide‐based drugs and functional foods for preventing such diseases. Many studies have reported that peptides showing angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition, antihypertensive, antioxidative and antidiabetics activities, have been successfully isolated from seaweed. However, further research is needed in large‐scale production of these peptides, efficient isolation methods, interactions with functional foods and other pharmaceuticals, and their ease to digestion in in vivo studies and safety to validate the health benefits of these peptides.     

Effects of a liquid metal co-filler on the properties of epoxy/binary filler composites

Liquid metals (LMs) with high fluidity and high thermal conductivity (TC) are receiving considerable attention in the research on thermal management polymer composites as alternatives to conventional rigid solid fillers or as co-fillers to overcome the trade-off between TC and composite processability at high filler loads. While most previous studies have investigated the effects of LM fillers in soft elastomeric matrices, their effects on the composite properties with rigid matrices, such as epoxy-based polymers, have not been discussed extensively. Herein, we investigated the effects of LM eutectic Ga-In (EGaIn) as a co-filler on the properties of rigid epoxy-based composites with a binary filler (Al₂O₃/EGaIn) system. The increase in the volume fraction of LM fillers significantly improves the processability of uncured precursor composites but markedly decreases the mechanical strength of the cured composites at their high loads—the latter effects have rarely been examined in previous studies. However, with adequate LM loads, the composites exhibited superior mechanical properties compared with the all-solid-filler system, withstanding a surprisingly high compressive load (~100 kN) under which the all-solid-filler system fractured. Furthermore, the epoxy/binary filler composites exhibited reasonably high TC values (~1 W/mK) comparable to that of commercial epoxy molding compounds, suggesting their potential applicability for electronic packaging.     

Ethanol-Assisted Aqueous Enzymatic Extraction of Peony Seed Oil

An ethanol-assisted aqueous enzymatic extraction was performed for peony seed oil (content of 30%). This method included cooking pretreatment, pectinase hydrolysis, and aqueous ethanol extraction, and the corresponding variables in each step were investigated. The changes in viscosity and dextrose equivalent values of the reaction medium as a function of changing enzymatic hydrolysis time were compared to the oil yield. The microstructures of peony seeds were analyzed using confocal laser scanning microscopy to understand the process of oil release as a result of cooking and grinding. The highest oil yield of 92.06% was obtained when peony seeds were cooked in deionized water with a solid–liquid ratio of 1:5 (w/v) at 110°C for 1 hour, ground to 31.29 μm particle size, treated with 0.15% (w/w) pectinase (temperature 50°C, pH 4.5, time 1 hour), and then extracted with 30% (v/v) aqueous ethanol (temperature 60°C, pH 9.0, time 1 hour). After processing with pectinase followed by ethanol extraction, the residual oil content in water and sediment phase decreased to 5% and 3%, respectively. The quality of the oil obtained by ethanol-assisted aqueous enzymatic extraction was good, complying with the Chinese standard.     

Assessment of protein nutritional quality and effects of traditional processes: a comparison between Ethiopian quality protein maize and five Ethiopian adapted normal maize cultivars

The present study was designed to quantitatively measure and compare the levels and variations of total protein, individual amino acids, and computed protein efficiency ratio (C-PER) in raw and traditionally processed products of one recently released quality protein maize (QPM BH542) with four high-yield maize hybrids, namely flint BH660, semi-dent BH140, Pioneer 30H83, and Pioneer 30G97, as well as one local maize cultivar. The total protein content was variable among the cultivars ranging from 7% for BH660 to 8.6% for Pioneer 30H83, 8.9% for BH140, 9.8% for QPM BH542, 10.1% for local maize cultivar, and 11.8% for Pioneer 30G97, respectively. However, the QPM BH542 maize protein proved to be higher in nutritional quality than common maize proteins because it contained 30% to 82% more lysine, higher levels of arginine, tryptophan, histidine, threonine, cysteine, and valine. As a result, the QPM BH542 amino acid profile gives a good balance of total essential amino acids, limited only in lysine, and has a C-PER ratio of 2.2 compared to 1.14, 1.2, 1.4, 1.66, and 1.67 for Pioneer 30G97, local, BH-140, BH660, and Pioneer 30H83, respectively. The various traditional processes of maize have no significant effect on the protein nutritional quality of the new quality protein maize. Hence, the widely dissemination of it in agricultural cultivation as well as consumption by the general population is recommended.     

Iron oxide induced bagasse nanoparticles for the sequestration of Cr6+ ions from tannery effluent using a modified batch reactor

The emphasis of the present study is to investigate the potential of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized using bagasse from sugarcane (M‐NIOB). M‐NIOB was infused onto the modified batch reactor (M‐BR) stirrers using mesh structures for the adsorption of Cr⁶⁺ contained in effluent from the leather industry. M‐NIOB exhibited supermagnetic properties under an external magnetic field with a saturation magnetization value of 9.192 emu/g at room temperature. M‐NIOB nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. The size of the M‐NIOB particles ranged from 50 to 200 nm. The most favorable time, pH, and temperature for the application of M‐NIOB to Cr⁶⁺ removal from tannery effluent was found to be 180 min, 5, and 318 K, respectively. M‐NIOB adsorbent performed its best at an adsorbent dosage of 800 mg/150 mL with a particle size of 150 nm. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies have been conducted. The applicability of various adsorption models for the Cr⁶⁺ adsorption data was tested. Moreover, the desorption studies carried out at 60 °C proved the capability of M‐NIOB for regeneration and reuse. Hence, M‐NIOB could be potentially applied for the treatment of effluent that has Cr⁶⁺ as a major constituent. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46683.     

Body-Patchable,Antimicrobial, Encodable TENGs with Ultrathin,Free-Standing,Translucent Chitosan/Alginate/Silver Nanocomposite Multilayers

Harvesting sustainable energy opens new avenues for powering portable electronic devices using triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Synthetic metals and polymers are used to construct most of the TENGs. Hence, ultrathin, free-standing, translucent, and chemically bonded chitosan (CH)- and alginate (AL)-based biopolymeric films are introduced here. These films are fabricated using a low-cost and environmentally friendly layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly method and impregnated with AgNO₃ (S) in the final fabrication step (denoted as [(CH/AL)_n:(CHS/AL)₁]_n+1). The LbL-assembled film displays remarkable antimicrobial and triboelectric properties, demonstrating a new type of TENG that is implantable in the body. By varying the number of CH and AL depositions, the dependence of TENG behaviors on thickness is investigated. It is demonstrated that a 0.87-µm-thick [CH/AL]₈ TENG resulted in the highest electrical output performance of 474 V and 36.9 mA m⁻² due to the highest surface potential and the lowest work function of 239.4 mV and 4.2 eV, respectively. A free-standing [(CH/AL)₄₉:(CHS/AL)₁]₅₀ TENG is designed for antimicrobial skin-patchable shape-adaptive nanogenerators, displaying ultrahigh translucency, long-term mechanical stability, and exceptional versatility. It is then attached to the arm to detect external stimuli, and the feasibility of its use as an encodable skin-touch sensor is demonstrated.     

A distributed digital rights management model for secure information-distribution systems

There is a need to protect digital information content and the associated usage rights from unauthorized access, use, and dissemination. The protection mechanisms should meet the requirements for the correct management of fine-grained access and usage controls and the protection of user privacy. Digital rights management (DRM) solutions have significant relevance in this context. This paper describes a distributed DRM model for a secure information-distribution system consisting of six trust-building blocks. These are (i) the user application, (ii) the authentication and authorization module, (iii) Rights-Carrying and Self-Enforcing Objects (SEOs), (iv) the privacy enforcement module, (v) theUsage Tracking and Monitoring Proxy (UTMP), and (vi) thesecurity infrastructure. SEOs are information objects that carry access and usage rights and are responsible for the fine-grained enforcement of these rights. The security infrastructure plays a pivotal role in the creation, distribution, storage, manipulation, and communication of information objects across organizational boundaries with the required level of security. Our model was originally developed for an Internet-based learning project in Norwegian schools and meets most of the aforementioned requirements.