Customizing Aniline-Derived Molecular Structures to Attain beyond 22% Efficient Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells.

The characteristics of the soft component and the ionic-electronic nature in all-inorganic CsPbI3-xBrxperovskite typically lead to a significant number of halide vacancy defects and ions migration, resulting in a reduction in both photovoltaic efficiency and stability. Herein, we present a tailored approach in which both anion-fixation and undercoordinated-Pb passivation are achieved in situ during crystallization by employing a molecule derived from aniline, specifically 2-methoxy-5-trifluoromethylaniline (MFA), to address the above challenges. The incorporation of MFA into the perovskite film results in a pronounced inhibition of ion migration, a significant reduction in trap density, an enhancement in grain size, an extension of charge carrier lifetime, and a more favorable alignment of energy levels. These advantageous characteristics contribute to achieving a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 22.14% for the MFA-based CsPbI3-xBrx perovskite solar cells (PSCs), representing the highest efficiency reported thus far for this type of inorganic metal halide perovskite solar cells, to the best of our knowledge. Moreover, the resultant PSCs exhibits higher environmental stability and photostability. This strategy is anticipated to offer significant advantages for large-area fabrication, particularly in terms of simplicity.

Administration with curcumin alleviates spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury by regulating anti-oxidative stress and microglia activation-mediated neuroinflammation via Nrf2/NF-κB axis.

Spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SCII) ranks as the common complication after aortic surgery, usually leading to devastating post-operative paraplegia. Microglia over-activation and neuronal cell loss are key pathological features of SCII. Curcumin is involved in several I/R injuries. However, its underlying mechanism in SCII remains elusive. Here, curcumin attenuated oxygen and glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced oxidative injury in PC12 neuronal cells by increasing cell viability, inhibiting cell apoptosis, lactate dehydrogenase, malondialdehyde levels, but elevating anti-oxidative superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels. Furthermore, curcumin restrained OGD/R-evoked microglia M1 activation by decreasing microglia M1 polarization marker IBA-1 and iNOS transcripts. Moreover, the increased inflammatory cytokine levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in microglia under OGD/R conditions were suppressed after curcumin treatment. Importantly, neuronal cells incubated with a conditioned medium from OGD/R-treated microglia exhibited lower cell viability and higher apoptotic ratio, which were overturned when microglia were treated with curcumin. Intriguingly, curcumin could inhibit the activation of the NF-κB pathway by Nrf2 enhancement in OGD/R-treated PC12 cells and microglia. Notably, targeting Nrf2 signaling reversed the protective efficacy of curcumin against OGD/R-evoked oxidative insult in neuronal, microglia M1 activation, inflammatory response, and microglial activation-evoked neuronal death. In vivo, curcumin improved histopathologic injury and neurologic motor function in SCII rats and attenuated oxidative stress, microglia activation and neuroinflammation in spinal cord tissues, and activation of the Nrf2/NF-κB pathway. Thus, curcumin may alleviate SCII by mitigating I/R-evoked oxidative injury in neuron and microglia activation-induced neuroinflammation and neuron death through Nrf2/NF-κB signaling, supporting a promising therapeutic agent for SCII.

Optimization of heterogeneous vehicle logistics scheduling with multi-objectives and multi-centers.

Industrial enterprises have high requirements on timeliness and cost when delivering industrial products to their customers. For this reason, this paper studies the vehicle routing problem (VRP) of different vehicle models in multiple distribution centers. First of all, we consider the multi-dimensional constraints in the actual distribution process such as vehicle load and time window, and build a multi-objective optimization model for product distribution with the goal of minimizing the distribution time and cost and maximizing the loading rate of vehicles. Furthermore, an Improved Life-cycle Swarm Optimization (ILSO) algorithm is proposed based on the life cycle theory. Finally, we use the order data that Yunnan Power Grid Company needs to deliver to the customer (municipal power supply bureau) on a certain day to conduct a dispatching experiment. The simulation and application results show that the transportation cost of transportation obtained by the ILSO algorithm is reduced by 0.8% to 1.6% compared with the other five algorithms. Therefore, ILSO algorithm has advantages in helping enterprises reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Task-Similarity-Based VNF Aggregation for Air-Ground Integrated Networks.

In a harsh environment, function aggregation of air-ground integrated network service function chaining (SFC) deployment can easily cause network load imbalance, which affects the network security and reliability. In this study, a task-similarity-based virtual network function (VNF) aggregation scheme was proposed. It considered air-ground network resource consumption and load balance before SFC mapping. A model for selecting VNFs to be aggregated based on task similarity was built. The tasks were classified based on their similarity. Furthermore, the VNFs to be aggregated were selected within the class under the constraints of the underlying physical resources. Load balancing was achieved by adjusting the similarity threshold. Moreover, an SFC mapping selection scheme based on network resource awareness was used to obtain the most suitable physical nodes for single-chain and multi-chain mapping according to various attributes of physical network nodes. The simulation results indicated that the proposed scheme with a better load balance design outperformed existing works on VNF aggregation. We also demonstrated that the task-similarity-based scheme was resource-consumption efficient and effective.

[Temporal and Spatial Variation Characteristics of Heavy Metal in Atmospheric Deposition in China from 2000 to 2018].

Owing to the significant impact of heavy metals in atmospheric deposition on soil, clear knowledge on the present situation and temporal and spatial variation in fluxes of heavy metals in atmospheric deposition all around China is urgently needed. In this study, we collected 99 published papers on deposition fluxes of heavy metals from 2001 to 2021 based on the CNKI and Web of Science database and extracted 718 to 1672 monitoring points from these papers. The Meta-analysis method was used to calculate the weighted average of deposition fluxes of heavy metals, and the spatial-temporal characteristics in different periods from 2000 to 2018 were studied by subgroup analysis, which compared the differences between different types of areas, such as agricultural and rural areas and urban and industrial areas. The results showed that the annual fluxes of heavy metals in atmospheric deposition[mg·(m2·a)-1] in China were as follows:Zn (96.75)>Pb (23.37)>Cu (12.77)>Cr (11.04)>Ni (6.61)>As (2.97)>Cd (0.48)>Hg (0.05). Overall, the estimated value of deposition fluxes in China from 2000 to 2018 was higher than that of rural areas in England from 1995 to 1998. The deposition fluxes in industrial areas and urban areas were much higher than those in the agricultural and rural areas, especially the industrial areas where the heavy metal pollution was more serious. The deposition fluxes of As and Cd in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan area were relatively high, whereas the atmospheric deposition of heavy metals in Northeast China, the Pearl River Delta, and North China Plain was more serious than that in the other areas. In the past 20 years, the annual deposition fluxes of Cd fluctuated around the overall average, without an obviously declining trend, whereas the deposition fluxes of Cd in the urban, agricultural, and rural areas showed a trend of growth. These results suggested that precise and risk control measures of atmospheric emissions should be established based on the characteristics of regional industrial structure, which should cover all levels, all types, and all regions. In addition, more restrictive measures should be taken to solve the current problem caused by the higher deposition flux of Cd in atmospheric deposition.

Subaxial lordosis loss and influence factors after posterior atlantoaxial fusion.

Cervical sagittal balance is an important evaluation index of cervical physiological function and surgical efficacy. Subaxial kyphosis after atlantoaxial fusion is negatively associated with worse clinical outcomes and higher incidence of lower cervical disk degeneration. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to confirm the factors that influence subaxial lordosis loss after posterior atlantoaxial fusion. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of all patients following posterior C1-C2 fusion for atlantoaxial dislocation between January 2015 and December 2017. All charts, records, and imaging studies were reviewed for each case, and preoperative, immediate postoperative, and final follow-up plain films were evaluated. Comparing final follow-up and preoperative C2-C7 angle, patients were divided into two groups for further comparison: subaxial lordosis loss group and subaxial lordosis increase group. RESULTS: A total of 18 patients were included in the review, with an average radiographic follow-up of 8.4 ± 3.7 months (range 6-17 months). Subaxial lordosis loss was observed in 5 cases (27.8%) at the final follow-up, whereas 13 cases had an increase in subaxial lordosis. The cervical sagittal parameters of preoperative and final follow-up between two groups were compared, the preoperative C2-C7 angle of the subaxial lordosis loss group was bigger than the subaxial lordosis increase group (27.6° ± 10.5° vs 10.5° ± 10.5°, P < 0.05), but there was no statistical difference in other parameters. Univariate chi-square analysis showed that reduction in subaxial lordosis after posterior atlantoaxial fusion was associated with preoperative C2-C7 angle ≥ 20° (χ2 = 4.923, P = 0.026). However, Logistic regression analysis showed that the preoperative C2-C7 angle ≥ 20° was not an independent risk factor (OR = 0.147, P = 0.225). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that subaxial lordosis loss may occur after posterior atlantoaxial fusion, and preoperative C2-C7 angle ≥ 20° was a risk factor of postoperative loss of subaxial lordosis.

The impacts of international trade on global greenhouse gas emissions: A thought experiment based on a novel no-trade analysis.

Trade has been substantially influencing regional economic development, environmental sustainability, and human well-being. Enabled by the decomposition analysis, pollution haven hypothesis or "no-trade" scenarios (NTSs), the effects of trade on global/national social-economic-environmental development have been revealed. However, major limitations (e.g., using with-trade economic structures or neglecting price differences) existed in previous studies, and thus made the previous assessments of trade's effects unsatisfactorily. This study develops a novel NTS that addresses the existing limitations, and further applies it to estimate the effect of trade on global economic development and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We show that current international trade benefits the global economic growth but with a consequence of more GHG emissions compared with the NTS. The hypothetical production in small countries (e.g., Luxembourg or Japan) would be more constrained by the production factors (e.g., land) under the NTS, compared with those factor-endowment countries (e.g., the United States or India). For country-specific analysis, we find that today's developed countries would have a substantial increase in their GHG emissions of clothing- and service-related products under the NTS, whereas countries with net-export (e.g., China or Brazil) would have less GHG emissions under the NTS. Enhancing future global collaborations is vital, especially for small or resource-deficient economies, if they are to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Evaluation of Percutaneous Transforaminal Endoscopic Discectomy in the Treatment of Lumbar Disc Herniation: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) and open fenestration discectomy (OFD) in the treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). METHODS: Patients in our hospital with LDH who received PTED (n = 71) and OFD (n = 39) from 2013 to 2014 were retrospectively studied. Patient information, including age, gender, visual analogue scale (VAS) score for low back pain and leg pain, body weight, height, Oswestry disability index (ODI), Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA), and recurrence, was collected. The patients in the two groups were followed up for an average of 63 months after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 136 patients completed the operation and 110 patients were followed up completely. There was no significant difference in baseline data between the two groups (P > 0.05). The postoperative low back pain, leg pain, ODI, and JOA of the two groups were better than those preoperatively (P < 0.05). One week after surgery, the recovery of PTED patients was better than that of OFD. The ODI score of the PTED group was lower than that of the OFD group (10 [8, 12] vs 14 [11, 16]; P < 0.05), the waist VAS score of the PTED group was lower than that of the OFD group (2 [2, 3] vs 3 [2, 4]; P < 0.05), the leg VAS score of the PTED group was lower than that of the OFD group (1 [0,1] vs 1 [1, 2]; P < 0.05), while the JOA score of the PTED group was higher than that of OFD group [19(16, 20) vs 12(10, 17); P < 0.05]. There were no significant differences in ODI, JOA, waist and leg VAS scores between the two groups at 1 month after surgery and at subsequent follow-up (P > 0.05). At the end of the follow up, 89.7% (35/39) of patients in the OFD group had excellent improvement in the JOA score, and 88.7% (63/71) of patients in the PTED group had an excellent improvement. There was no significant difference between the two (P > 0.05). There was also no significant difference in the recurrence rate between the two groups [(5/71) vs (3/39); P > 0.05]. [Correction added on 05 March 2021, after first online publication: "3/29" was amended to "3/39" in the preceding sentence.] CONCLUSION: Both PTED and OFD can achieve good mid-term efficacy in the treatment of LDH but PTED has certain advantages, including the small incision, a shorter hospital stay, and quicker, earlier recovery. However, prospective randomized controlled studies with a larger sample size are needed.

Distribution characteristics of bone cement used for unilateral puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty in multiple planes.

OBJECTIVE: To study the distribution of bone cement in unilateral puncture percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 64 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF) who underwent unilateral PVP were included in this study. The vertebral body was longitudinally divided into four equal parts. The intermediate layer between each part was representative of the part and there were four layers in total. Each layer was divided into 4 regions a, b, c, and d by the crossed lines at the center of the vertebral body. Region c was the first half of the puncture side and region d was the second half of the puncture side. Region a was the first half of the opposite side, and b was the second half of the opposite side. Bone cement filling areas in the four layers and the four regions of each layer were compared. RESULTS: There were significant differences in visual analogue scale (VAS) scores before and after surgery (P < 0.05). Variance analysis indicated that the bone cement filling ratio of the region b in each layer was significantly lower than the other three regions, and that the bone cement filling ratio of region a was equal to that of the region d. CONCLUSION: Unilateral puncture PVP can reduce VAS scores, and plays a role in reducing pain. The bone cement showed a regular distribution.

Dynamics and extreme plasticity of metallic microparticles in supersonic collisions.

Metallic microparticles can acquire remarkable nanoscale morphologies after experiencing high velocity collisions, but materials science regarding the extreme events has been limited due to a lack of controlled experiments. In this work, collision dynamics and nonlinear material characteristics of aluminum microparticles are investigated through precise single particle collisions with two distinctive substrates, sapphire and aluminum, across a broad range of collision velocities, from 50 to 1,100 m/s. An empirical constitutive model is calibrated based on the experimental results, and is used to investigate the mechanics of particle deformation history. Real-time and post-impact characterizations, as well as model based simulations, show that significant material flow occurs during the impact, especially with the sapphire substrate. A material instability stemming from plasticity-induced heating is identified. The presented methodology, based on the use of controlled single particle impact data and constitutive models, provides an innovative approach for the prediction of extreme material behavior.

Model-based optimal planning of hepatic radiofrequency ablation.

This article presents a model-based pre-treatment optimal planning framework for hepatic tumour radiofrequency (RF) ablation. Conventional hepatic radiofrequency (RF) ablation methods rely on pre-specified input voltage and treatment length based on the tumour size. Using these experimentally obtained pre-specified treatment parameters in RF ablation is not optimal to achieve the expected level of cell death and usually results in more healthy tissue damage than desired. In this study we present a pre-treatment planning framework that provides tools to control the levels of both the healthy tissue preservation and tumour cell death. Over the geometry of tumour and surrounding tissue, we formulate the RF ablation planning as a constrained optimization problem. With specific constraints over the temperature profile (TP) in pre-determined areas of the target geometry, we consider two different cost functions based on the history of the TP and Arrhenius index (AI) of the target location, respectively. We optimally compute the input voltage variation to minimize the damage to the healthy tissue while ensuring a complete cell death in the tumour and immediate area covering the tumour. As an example, we use a simulation of a 1D symmetric target geometry mimicking the application of single electrode RF probe. Results demonstrate that compared to the conventional methods both cost functions improve the healthy tissue preservation.

Simultaneous Determination of 27 Pesticides in Ginseng by UPLC/MS/MS and Modified QuEChERS Procedure.

A novel, simple, and rapid method for the quantification of 27 commonly used pesticides in ginseng incorporating a modified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) procedure was developed and validated. The pesticides were extracted with 1% acetic acid in acetonitrile and extracts purified by use of the mixed sorbents primary-secondary amine, C18, and graphitized carbon black. Quantitative analysis of all pesticides was performed by ultra-performance LC/MS/MS in the positive ionization mode in a single run due to the fast polarity switching capability of the mass spectrometer. Two precursor-product ion transitions were monitored for each compound in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Quantification was carried out using matrix-matched standards for calibration. Recoveries of the proposed method from the spiked samples were achieved in the range 62.8-108.5%, and RSD ranged from 1.5 to 11.8%.

[Determination of 14 pesticide residues in crucian carp using on-line gel permeation chromatography-multi gas chromatography/mass spectrometry].

A new method was developed for the determination of pesticide residues in crucian carp using on-line gel permeation chromatography-multi gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GPC-MDGC/MS). The pesticide residues were extracted with cyclohexane-ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v) for twice. After being frozen, the extract was filtered by 0.22 microm member, and then cleaned up and analyzed by online GPC-MDGC/MS. The pesticides were selectively transferred from the 1st column to the 2nd column by means of heart cutting. As a result, selective transfers of some pesticides from the first to the second dimension were at times essential to avoid overlapping. The selected separation conditions from the study with standards were applied to crucian carp spiked with some pesticide standards. The performance of this method was examined by recovery, linearity and precision. Inter-standard quantitative method was used for calculation. Good linear relationship was achieved in the range of 0.01-0.9 mg/L for the 14 pesticides with correlation coefficients above 0.99. The recoveries of the method ranged from 83.0% to 112.9% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) among 3.2%-12.0% at 3 spiked levels of 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg. This is a simple, rapid method for the analysis of multiple pesticide residues in crucian carp with high accuracy and sensitivity. The results prove that the employment of a multidimensional analysis technique permits to avoid interferences of the analytes with matrix components.

Simultaneous determination of 44 pesticides in tobacco by UPLC/MS/MS and a modified QuEChERS procedure.

A novel, simple, and rapid method for determination of the residues of 44 commonly used pesticides in tobacco was developed based on modified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) procedures. The pesticides were extracted with acetonitrile and purified on a mixed sorbents column of primary secondary amine, C18, and graphitized carbon black. Quantitative determination of all pesticides was performed by ultra-performance LC/MS/MS in the positive or negative ionization mode by a single run due to the fast polarity switching capability of the mass spectrometer. Two precursor-product ion transitions were monitored for each compound in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Quantification was carried out using matrix-matched standard calibration. The method has been validated by various tobacco cultivars, such as Burley, Oriental, and Virginia from different countries. Recoveries of the proposed method for spiked samples ranged from 71.1 to 109.8%, and RSD values were below 10%. The LOQ values were are all below the guidance residue levels proposed by the Agrochemical Advisory Committee of Cooperation Center for Scientific Research Relative to Tobacco. This method is valuable for measurement of pesticide residues in tobacco for QC and monitoring.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of heat shock protein 90 from Pacific abalone, Haliotis discus hannai Ino in response to dietary selenium.

In the present study, the cDNA of heat shock protein 90 from Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino (HdhHSP90) was cloned by the combination of homology cloning and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) approaches. The full-length cDNA of HdhHSP90 was of 2660 bp, including an open reading frame (ORF) of 2187 bp encoding a polypeptide of 728 amino acids with predicted molecular weight of 84.134 kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 4.619. BLAST analysis revealed that HdhHSP90 shared high similarity with other known HSP90s, and the five conserved amino acid blocks defined as HSP90 protein family signatures were also identified in HdhHSP90, which indicated that HdhHSP90 should be a cytosolic member of the HSP90 family. The expression levels of HdhHSP90 in haemocytes and hepatopancreas were measured by real-time PCR after Pacific abalone were fed with semi-purified diets containing graded levels of selenium (0.15, 1.32 and 48.70 mg Kg(-1)) for 20 weeks, respectively. The results showed that the expression levels of HdhHSP90 transcript were significantly up-regulated and reached the maximum (0.47-fold) in hepatopancreas of Pacific abalone fed with optimal dietary Se (1.32 mg Kg(-1)) (p < 0.05). However, these levels significantly decreased in hepatopancreas at the excessive dietary Se (48.70 mg Kg(-1)) (p < 0.01). In haemocytes, the expression of HdhHSP90 mRNA increased and reached the maximum (0.96-fold) at the excessive dietary Se (48.70 mg Kg(-1)) (p < 0.01). It is implied that the expression levels of HdhHSP90 could be affected by dietary Se in hepatopancreas and haemocytes, and HdhHSP90 was potentially involved in the anti-oxidation responses in Pacific abalone H. discus hannai.

Unprecedented (3,10)-connected 2-D metal-organic framework constructed from octanuclear cobalt(II) clusters and a new bifunctional ligand.

A metal-organic framework with the highest connectivity of 2-D topology was first assembled from an octacobalt(II) cluster as a 10-connected node and a new bifunctional ligand 1-(3,5-dicarboxy-phenyl)-4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole as a 3-connected node as well as "double bridge" linkers.