Porous CoNiOOH nanosheets derived from the well-mixed MOFs as stable and highly efficient electrocatalysts for water oxidation

The development of efficient and stable electrocatalysts is of great significance for improving water splitting. Among them, transition metal oxyhydroxides show excellent performance in oxygen evolution reactions (OER), but there are certain difficulties in direct preparation. Recently, Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as precatalysts or precursors have shown promising catalytic performance in OER and can be decomposed under alkaline conditions. Therefore, using a mild and controllable way to convert MOFs into oxyhydroxides and retaining the original structural advantages is crucial for improving the catalytic activity. Herein, a rapid electrochemical strategy is used to activate well-mixed MOFs to prepare Co/Ni oxyhydroxide nanosheets for efficient OER catalysts, and the structural transformation in this process was investigated in detail by using scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical methods. It is discovered that electrochemical activation can promote ligand substitution of well-mixed MOFs to form porous oxyhydroxide nanosheets and tune the electronic structure of the metal (Co and Ni), which can lead to more active site exposure and accelerate charge transfer. In addition, the change of structure also improves hydrophilicity, as well as benefiting from the strong synergistic effect between multiple species, the optimal a-MCoNi–MOF/NF has excellent OER performance and long-term stability. More obviously, the porous CoNiOOH nanosheets are formed in situ during electrochemical activation process through structural transformation and acts as the active centers. This work provides new insights for mild synthesis of MOFs derivatives and also provides ideas for the preparation of highly efficient catalysts.     

Tuning of emission by effect of local symmetry in BaLaLiWO6:Dy3+/Eu3+ for WLEDs

The luminescence center energy transfer, crystal field strength, and covalency are limited by the crystal structure of the host and subsequently affect the luminescence efficiency, color, and intensity. Here, we report an excellent red phosphor BaLaLiWO₆:0.40Eu³⁺ and the dependence between symmetry and luminous performance. A model for changing symmetry is drawn by analyzing the Coulomb potential and structure for the application of a double-perovskite phosphor BLLWO: Dy³⁺, Eu³⁺ in white light LEDs. The addition of Dy³⁺/Eu³⁺ makes the W-O bond formed by the B-site and oxygen ion longer and the Li-O bond shorter, and the difference between the eight octahedral around the A-site is reduced, increasing the symmetry of the A-site. Local symmetry was successfully modulated by changing the Eu³⁺ concentration to control the Y/B ratio of Dy³⁺ and the R/O ratio of Eu³⁺ and smoothly achieved (0.382, 0.373) warm white light color coordinate. The phosphor has excellent thermal stability and still has 92.3% intensity at 475 K. The above results show that the wavelength composition of the luminescence is tunable by changing the symmetry of the environment in which the doped ions are located. It applies to single hosts for the regulation of white light emission.     

Structural health monitoring system based on multi-agent coordination and fusion for large structure

In practical applications of structural health monitoring technology, a large number of distributed sensors are usually adopted to monitor the big dimension structures and different kinds of damage. The monitored structures are usually divided into different sub-structures and monitored by different sensor sets. Under this situation, how to manage the distributed sensor set and fuse different methods to obtain a fast and accurate evaluation result is an important problem to be addressed deeply. In the paper, a multi-agent fusion and coordination system is presented to deal with the damage identification for the strain distribution and joint failure in the large structure. Firstly, the monitoring system is adopted to distributedly monitor two kinds of damages, and it self-judges whether the static load happens in the monitored sub-region, and focuses on the static load on the sub-region boundary to obtain the sensor network information with blackboard model. Then, the improved contract net protocol is used to dynamically distribute the damage evaluation module for monitoring two kinds of damage uninterruptedly. Lastly, a reliable assessment for the whole structure is given by combing various heterogeneous classifiers strengths with voting-based fusion. The proposed multi-agent system is illustrated through a large aerospace aluminum plate structure experiment. The result shows that the method can significantly improve the monitoring performance for the large-scale structure.     

Incidence and costs of bicycle-related traumatic brain injuries in the Netherlands

The main cause of death and serious disability in bicycle accidents is traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this population-based study was to assess the incidence and costs of bicycle-related TBI across various age groups, and in comparison to all bicycle-related injuries, to identify main risk groups for the development of preventive strategies.Data from the National Injury Surveillance System and National Medical Registration were used for all patients with bicycle-related injuries and TBI who visited a Dutch emergency department (ED) between 1998 and 2012. Demographics and national, weighted estimates of injury mechanism, injury severity and costs were analysed per age group. Direct healthcare costs and indirect costs were determined using the incidence-based Dutch Burden of Injury Model.Between 1998 and 2012, the incidence of ED treatments due to bicycle-related TBI strongly increased with 54%, to 43 per 100,000 persons in 2012. However, the incidence of all bicycle-related injuries remained stable, from 444 in 1998 to 456/100,000 in 2012. Incidence of hospital admission increased in both TBI (92%) and all injuries from cycling (71%). Highest increase in incidence of both ED treatments and hospital admissions was seen in adults aged 55+. The injury rate of TBI per kilometre travelled increased (44%) except in children, but decreased (−4%) for all injuries, showing a strong decrease in children (−36%) but an increase in men aged 25+, and women aged 15+. Total costs of bicycle-related TBI were €74.5 million annually. Although bicycle-related TBI accounted for 9% of the incidence of all ED treatments due to cycling, it accounted for 18% of the total costs due to all bicycle-related injuries (€410.7 million). Children and adolescents (aged 0–24) had highest incidence of ED treatments due to bicycle-related injuries. Men in the working population (aged 15–64) had highest indirect costs following injuries from cycling, including TBI. Older cyclists (aged 55+) were identified as main risk group for TBI, as they had highest ED attendance, injury rate, injury severity, admission to hospital or intensive care unit, and costs.Incidence of ED treatments due to cycling are high and often involve TBI, imposing a high burden on individuals and society. Older cyclists aged 55+ were identified as main risk group for TBI to be targeted in preventive strategies, due to their high risk for (serious) injuries and ever-increasing share of ED visits and hospital admissions.     

Performance evaluation of structural concrete using controlled quality coarse and fine recycled concrete aggregate

This paper presents the fresh, mechanical, and durability performance, of a structural concrete mix classified as C-1, by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) made with controlled quality Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA). Five mixes with water-to-cementing material (w/cm) ratio of 0.40 were produced with various RCA contents and tested against two 0% RCA control mixes made with General Use (GU) cement, and General Use Limestone cement (GUL). The RCA contents in the mixes were 10%, 20%, and 30% by coarse aggregate volume replacement, as well as 10% and 20% fine and coarse (granular) aggregate volume replacement. All evaluated mixes met the specifications from the CSA for fresh, mechanical, and durability properties. The coarse RCA mixes performed better than the granular RCA mixes in terms of flexural and splitting tensile strengths, linear drying shrinkage, water sorptivity, and rapid chloride-ion permeability, where the test results were significantly affected by the ultra fines present in the granular RCA.     

A review on some classes of algebraic systems

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we review some algebraic control system. Precisely, linear and bilinear systems on Euclidean spaces and invariant and linear systems on Lie groups. The fourth classes of systems have a common issue: to any class, there exists an associated subgroup. From this object, we survey the controllability property. Especially, from those coming from our contribution to the theory.     

“These devices have not been made for older people's needs” – Older adults' perceptions of digital technologies in Finland and Ireland

This article examines how older adults use and perceive digital technologies in Finland and Ireland. These two countries are at different stages regarding two important global trends – demographic ageing and digitalization. Finland, being the fastest ageing society in Europe, is also one of the leaders in implementing digital technologies in social and health care services. In contrast, Ireland is a demographically younger and less digitalized society. Drawing on focus group discussions on the usage of digital technologies, conducted with older adults in both countries, we analyse how digital technologies are adopted and viewed by older generations. The analyses showed that older adults associate digitalization with both advantages and drawbacks. To encapsulate these two contrasting aspects, we developed the term Janus-faced conceptions of technology. This concept encapsulates how the successful adoption of digital technology facilitates everyday activities whereas the inability to utilise technologies results in feelings of alienation and being out-of-touch. The digital divide was found to occur not only between generations but also between different socioeconomic groups of older adults.     

Framework to manage multiple goals in community-based energy sharing network in smart grid

Smart grid has opened up a new role of “prosumer” in an energy value network, transforming many conventional energy consumers into prosumers, who not only generate green energy but also share the surplus with utilities and other consumers. The concept of a goal-oriented prosumer community group (PCG) has emerged recently as an effective way to fulfill sustainable energy exchange. Such community-based energy sharing networks comprise multiple irreconcilable objectives such as demand constraints, cost constraints, and income maximization. In many cases, one goal may be achievable only at the expense of other goals. This necessitates the development of an effective framework to manage the multiple goals and reduce the gap with their achievement levels. Therefore, in this research paper, an effective framework is developed to negotiate among the multiple goals and thus to define optimal mutual goals for each PCG in a more sustainable manner using multiple-criteria goal programming techniques. Simulation results are presented to illustrate how the methods work in practical situations, where each of the objective measure is given a target value and the unwanted deviations from this set are minimized in an achievement function.     

Stabilization of 6H-Hexagonal SrMnO3 Polymorph by Al2O3 insertion

We demonstrate the structural evolution of polymorphic phases in Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ ceramics synthesized by solid state reaction. While the 4H-hexagonal phase is predominant in pure SrMnO₃ ceramics, a small amount of 6H-hexagonal polymorph is identified in addition to the primary 4H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ and the secondary hexagonal SrAl₂O₄ phases in the as-sintered ceramics, evidenced by x-ray diffraction and subsequent Rietveld refinement analyses. The existence of the 6H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ phase is corroborated using Raman spectroscopy. The chemical compositions and electronic structures of the Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ compounds are also examined using energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The first-principles calculations reveal that there is no clear difference between the total energies of 4H- and 6H-hexagonal polymorphs regardless of the presence/absence of Sr and oxygen vacancies. Possible origins are discussed with the estimation of actual strain based on the refined lattice parameter of 6H SrMnO₃.     

Polyimide/nano-TiO2 hybrid films having benzoxazole pendent groups: In situ sol–gel preparation and evaluation of properties

Polyimide/titania (PI/TiO₂) nanocomposite films have been successfully fabricated through the in situ formation of TiO₂ within a PI matrix via sol–gel method. Poly(amic acid) (PAA), which is the precursor of PI, was successfully synthesized by mixing pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), with equimolar amount of a diamine monomer having a pendent benzoxazole unit and two flexible ether linkages in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent. Tetraethyl orthotitanate [Ti(OEt)₄] and acetylacetone were then added to the resulted PAA. After imidization at high temperature, PI/TiO₂ hybrid films were formed. The structure and morphology of the hybrid nanocomposites with different titania contents (0 wt%, 5 wt%, 10 wt%, and 15 wt%) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicate that the TiO₂ nanoparticles were homogeneously dispersed in the hybrid films. The thermogravimetric analysis of nanocomposites confirms the improvement in the thermal stability with the increase in the percentage of titania nanoparticle. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the nanoparticles with an average diameter of 25–40 nm were dispersed in the polymer matrix.