Exposure to virtual nature: the impact of different immersion levels on skin conductance level,heart rate,and perceived relaxation

Virtual Reality - It is generally accepted that natural environments reduce stress and improve mood. Since access to natural environments is sometimes limited, virtual natural environments,...     

Technological Aspects of Synthesizing Ceramic Coatings by Flow-Through Micro-Arc Oxidation

Refractories and Industrial Ceramics - The paper introduces a promising technology for utilizing a traditional scheme for implementing a flow-through micro-arc oxidation method to restore localized...     

吸湿凉爽机织物的结构设计与性能

为研究织物组织结构与复合纱线线密度对织物凉爽性能的影响,将线密度为7.4和9.8 tex涤纶分别与线密度为7.8 tex锦纶反向加捻、并线后作为纬纱,以8.3 tex涤纶/竹浆纤维50/50混纺纱作经纱,设计平纹、二上一下斜纹和透孔组织织物.测试织物的瞬间接触凉感、热湿舒适性能及织物干、湿态升温曲线,并采用凉爽温度指数对织物的综合凉爽性能进行评价.研究结果表明:6种设计织物的瞬间接触凉感均高于标准,且平纹织物最好,纬纱粗细对瞬间接触凉感影响不显著;透孔织物透气性最好,且在人体出汗的状态下具有较好的导湿散热性能.平纹织物凉爽温度指数最高,最大凉爽温度为2.8℃,综合凉爽性能最好.     

TEMPO氧化修饰的天然多糖纳米纤维增强复合材料及其功能化研究进展

纤维素和几丁质具有相似的结构，是自然界中储量丰富的两类天然多糖。经2, 2, 6, 6-四甲基哌啶氮氧化物(TEMPO)氧化修饰制备的纤维素和几丁质纳米纤维，不仅具有多糖类物质的良好亲水性、生物可降解性、生物相容性及丰富的官能团(羟基、羧基、乙酰氨基和氨基等)所带来的特定化学性质，而且还具有纳米纤维的纳米尺寸效应、大比表面积、高表面活性、高结晶度和手性液晶相结构等特点，已成为生物质纳米材料领域的研究重点之一。本文对TEMPO氧化修饰制备天然多糖纳米纤维的方法及剥离机制进行了总结，同时重点综述了TEMPO氧化修饰的天然多糖纳米纤维在薄膜、凝胶、导电、医用、电磁屏蔽及环境等复合材料的增强和功能升级等方面的研究进展，强调了纤维素和几丁质纳米纤维的官能团及纳米尺寸在复合材料中的增效机制。最后，对天然多糖纳米纤维的发展方向及其在各领域应用的机遇与挑战进行了展望。     

Designing optical glasses by machine learning coupled with a genetic algorithm

Engineering new glass compositions have experienced a sturdy tendency to move forward from (educated) trial-and-error to data- and simulation-driven strategies. In this work, we developed a computer program that combines data-driven predictive models (in this case, neural networks) with a genetic algorithm to design glass compositions with desired combinations of properties. First, we induced predictive models for the glass transition temperature (T_g) using a dataset of 45,302 compositions with 39 different chemical elements, and for the refractive index (n_d) using a dataset of 41,225 compositions with 38 different chemical elements. Then, we searched for relevant glass compositions using a genetic algorithm informed by a design trend of glasses having high n_d (1.7 or more) and low T_g (500 °C or less). Two candidate compositions suggested by the combined algorithms were selected and produced in the laboratory. These compositions are significantly different from those in the datasets used to induce the predictive models, showing that the used method is indeed capable of exploration. Both glasses met the constraints of the work, which supports the proposed framework. Therefore, this new tool can be immediately used for accelerating the design of new glasses. These results are a stepping stone in the pathway of machine learning-guided design of novel glasses.     

Systemic Inflammation and the Breakdown of Intestinal Homeostasis Are Key Events in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Our aim was to investigate the subset distribution and function of circulating monocytes, proinflammatory cytokine levels, gut barrier damage, and bacterial translocation in chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Thus, 56 SCI patients and 28 healthy donors were studied. The levels of circulating CD14^+highCD16⁻, CD14^+highCD16⁺, and CD14^+lowCD16⁺ monocytes, membrane TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9, phagocytic activity, ROS generation, and intracytoplasmic TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-10 after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation were analyzed by polychromatic flow cytometry. Serum TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6 and IL-10 levels were measured by Luminex and LPS-binding protein (LBP), intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP) and zonulin by ELISA. SCI patients had normal monocyte counts and subset distribution. CD14^+highCD16⁻ and CD14^+highCD16⁺ monocytes exhibited decreased TLR4, normal TLR2 and increased TLR9 expression. CD14^+highCD16⁻ monocytes had increased LPS-induced TNF-α but normal IL-1, IL-6, and IL-10 production. Monocytes exhibited defective phagocytosis but normal ROS production. Patients had enhanced serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels, normal IL-1 and IL-10 levels, and increased circulating LBP, I-FABP, and zonulin levels. Chronic SCI patients displayed impaired circulating monocyte function. These patients exhibited a systemic proinflammatory state characterized by enhanced serum TNF-α and IL-6 levels. These patients also had increased bacterial translocation and gut barrier damage.     

The structure,vacancy characteristics,and magnetic properties of GdMn1-xCrxO3 ceramics

To investigate the evolution of the structural and enhanced magnetic properties of GdMnO₃ systems induced by the substitution of Mn with Cr, polycrystalline GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ samples were synthesized via solid-state reactions. XRD characterization shows that all GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ compounds with single-phase structures crystallize well and that Cr³⁺ ions entering the lattice sites of GdMnO₃ induce structural distortion. SEM results indicate that the grain size of the synthesized samples (a few microns) decreases as the Cr substitution concentration increases. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy reveals that vacancy-type defects occur in GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ ceramics and that the vacancy size and concentration clearly change with the Cr content. The temperature and field dependence of the magnetization curves show that Cr substitution significantly influences the magnetic ordering of the gadolinium sublattice, improving the weak ferromagnetic transition temperature and magnetization of GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃. The enhanced magnetization of GdMn_1-xCr_xO₃ is closely related to the vacancy defect concentration.     

On the Growth of Thin-Film AlGaN/GaN Epitaxial Heterostructures on Hybrid Substrates Containing Layers of Silicon Carbide and Porous Silicon

Semiconductors - Abstract—In our work, we carry out a structural-spectroscopic study of AlGaN/GaN epitaxial layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy with nitrogen-plasma activation on a hybrid...     

Modern Photodetector IR-Modules

Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics - In recent years, there has been a rapid improvement in photonics products due to the use of multilayer heterostructures grown on the basis of...     

Effect of heat treatment and zircon addition on the properties of low-cement castables based on recycled alumina grog

In this investigation, low-cement castables were prepared using 70% alumina grog aggregates obtained from crushed alumina brick waste. The aggregates were thermally treated at 1550 °C for 3 h. Four types of low-cement castables were prepared with various types of aggregates (alumina grog with or without thermal treatment) and fillers (with or without zircon addition), and they were evaluated in terms of their physical, thermal, and chemical properties. Microstructural analysis via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed on the castables before and after slag attack. Compared to the other fabricated castables, the thermally treated alumina grog castables with zircon showed better physical properties, such as a higher bulk density, cold crushing strength, and modulus of rupture and a lower apparent porosity and water absorption. In addition, they had a higher positive linear thermal expansion, refractoriness under load, permanent linear change, and hot modulus of rupture. The results of the SEM with energy dispersive X-ray analysis of the prepared castables confirmed that the mullite and anorthite phases were predominant when zircon was not added and the zircon–mullite phase additionally appeared upon the incorporation of zircon. A quantitative elemental analysis via X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was employed to determine the composition of the castables. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the alumina grog castables had a high mullite and low anorthite content, and the thermally treated alumina grog had a high anorthite, low mullite, and high zircon content. The improvement in the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of the castables with thermally treated alumina grog and added zircon can be attributed to the formation of the zircon–mullite phase with a low mullite phase content.