Symmetry-preserving modeling for lithographic imaging.

In computational imaging and lithography, it has been a challenge for a numerical model to faithfully preserve symmetries in the physical imaging system. In this Letter, we present a project-to-symmetry-subspace (PTSS) method to prevent symmetry loss during the iterative generation of optical kernels. Essentially, PTSS is to project iterative vectors onto a predefined symmetric subspace when decomposing the transmission cross coefficient (TCC). Simulation results demonstrate the PTSS-generation of a truncated set of optical kernels that are substantially free of symmetry error, regardless of the order of truncation.

Electrochemical desulfurative formation of C-N bonds through selective activation of inert C(sp3)-S bonds.

In this study, we introduce an efficient, metal-free electrocatalytic desulfurative protocol for forming C-N bonds by selectively activating inert C(sp3)-S bonds of alkyl thioethers. This method offers a straightforward and environmentally friendly approach for modification of heterocyclic compounds from readily accessible thioethers. Preliminary mechanistic investigations suggest that the reaction proceeds via a carbocation intermediate. Furthermore, successful synthesis on a 10-gram scale was achieved in a continuous flow electrochemical reactor.

Metal-free photoinduced C(sp3)-H/C(sp3)-H cross-coupling to access α­tertiary amino acid derivatives.

The cross-dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reaction is the most direct and efficient method for constructing α-tertiary amino acids (ATAAs), which avoids the pre-activation of C(sp3)-H substrates. However, the use of transition metals and harsh reaction conditions are still significant challenges for these reactions that urgently require solutions. This paper presents a mild, metal-free CDC reaction for the construction of ATAAs, which is compatible with various benzyl C-H substrates, functionalized C-H substrates, and alkyl substrates, with good regioselectivity. Notably, our method exhibits excellent functional group tolerance and late-stage applicability. According to mechanistic studies, the one-step synthesized and bench-stable N-alkoxyphtalimide generates a highly electrophilic trifluoro ethoxy radical that serves as a key intermediate in the reaction process and acts as a hydrogen atom transfer reagent. Therefore, our metal-free and additive-free method offers a promising strategy for the synthesis of ATAAs under mild conditions.

Responses of soil fertility and microbiomes of atrazine contaminated soil to remediation by hydrochar and persulfate.

Peroxydisulfate (PDS) is widely used in field-scale remediation of organically polluted soil, yet PDS is detrimental to the soil microbiome. In this work, sludge-derived hydrochar was used to alleviate the oxidative damage of PDS to the soil ecosystem and simultaneously improve atrazine (ATZ) degradation. Response surfaces showed that ATZ degradation was enhanced with an increased dosage of PDS (regression slope of 24.09) and hydrochar (regression slope of 4.19). In contrast, bacterial abundance was negatively related to PDS dosage but positively to hydrochar dosage. At the optimum dosage of PDS (2.21% dry weight of soil) and hydrochar (5% dry weight of soil), ATZ degradation reached 95.31%, and bacterial abundance recovered to 7.72 log gene copy number g-1 soil (versus 8.44 in raw soil). Hydrochar alleviated the negative impacts of PDS on soil fertility such as urease activity. High PDS dosages (3% dry weight of soil) facilitated the proliferation of Halomonas, while moderate dosages (1.5% dry weight of soil) stimulated Alicyclobacillus. Hydrochar facilitated the growth of functional genera like Comamonas, Cloacibacterium, and Terrabacter. ATZ degradation pathway was positively correlated with Bacillus and nitrogen metabolism pathway. Hydrochar mediated intracellular reactive oxidative species scavenger reactions in catalase activity, allowing microbial survival under harsh oxidative conditions due to PDS addition.

One-Step In Situ Preparation of Polymeric Selenium Sulfide Composite as a Cathode Material for Enhanced Sodium/Potassium Storage.

Alkali metal-sulfur/selenium batteries have attracted much attention because they offer promising high energy density. However, the shuttle effect of the polysulfide dissolutions, poor electrical conductivity, and relatively large volume variations greatly hinder their potential applications. Herein, a novel organic carbon/selenium sulfide (OC/SeS2) composite has been prepared by a one-step in situ method by heating the mixture of commercial polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with selenium sulfide powder in vacuum. The carbonized PAN matrix with an N-doped carbon ring structure could effectively confine SeS2 in the form of small molecules and regulate its electronic structure. The superior sodium/potassium storage performance of the OC/SeS2 composite electrodes stems from their rational chemical structure design, including high electrical conductivity of the N-doped organic carbon network and chemical binding with SeS2 molecules. As a result, the OC/SeS2 cathode delivers a reversible capacity of 416 mAh g-1 after 700 cycles for sodium-ion batteries and 216 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles for potassium-ion batteries at 0.5 A g-1, respectively. These findings could open a new window to develop selenium sulfide cathode for metal-sulfur/selenium batteries.

The best body spot to detect the vital capacity from the respiratory movement data obtained by the wearable strain sensor.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to find the best body spots on the chest and abdomen wall to obtain the correlated indicators to the vital capacity. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty healthy male staff of the center served as the participants were advised to conduct a breathing movement using spirometer and a wearable strain sensor (WSS) respectively, which was the measured at four spots on chest and abdomen wall from maximal end of inspiration to maximal end of expiration. The Pearson's correlation analysis was conducted to find the correlation of the data obtained respectively by the WSS and spirometer. [Results] The correlation of the mobility data at the four body spots to the vital capacity data were calculated for each level by means of Pearson's correlation coefficient, which showed that the values at each body spot were positive significant correlations and the highest value was at the 10th rib. [Conclusion] There was a correlation between the mobility data of the chest and abdomen obtained by the WSS and the vital capacity data obtained by the spirometer, for which, the 10th rib is the best body spot to detect the positive significant correlation.

Reliability and validity of measuring respiration movement using a wearable strain sensor in healthy subjects.

[Purpose] The purpose of this research was to verify the reliability and validity of measuring respiration movement using a wearable strain sensor (WSS) which has been developed newly for clinical objective assessment. [Subjects and Methods] The 21 healthy male students were advised to conduct a breathing movement using measuring tape (MT) and WSS respectively, which was the measured at four locations on chest and abdomen wall. The different degree of chest expansion from maximal end of expiration to maximal end of inspiration was confirmed at each location. The intra-rater ICC (1,1) with 95% confidence interval was used to assess the test-retest reliability, Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to establish the validity. [Results] All ICC values for intra-rater reliability were from 0.94 to 0.98 at all locations, which means that there is a high correlation. All values for validity showed significantly positive, indicating that there is a correlation between the measuring tape and WSS at four locations. [Conclusion] Compared to the measuring tape, WSS has been proved to have high reliability and validity. The finding of this research indicated that WSS is reliable to use for objective measurement of respiratory movements on the chest and abdomen wall in clinical assessment.