Tunable Nb-Doped WO for High-Performance Bifunctional Aqueous Zn-Based Electrochromic Batteries.

Aqueous Zn-based electrochromic energy storage devices (ZEESDs) integrating electrochromism and energy storage functions are considered promising candidates in next-generation advanced energy-saving smart windows or displays. However, their practical applications are severely hindered by the unsatisfactory performances. Herein, we report a high-performance aqueous ZEESD utilizing tunable Nb-doped WO as the electrochromic material/cathode, a metal Zn sheet as the anode, and 1 M ZnSO aqueous solution as the electrolyte.

China's county-level monthly CO emissions during 2013-2021.

The top-down method is widely used to estimate China's CO emissions at the county level. However, studies have relied on a single indicator of regional total nighttime light brightness as an instrumental variable for prediction, leading to the assumption that there is a positive correlation between CO emissions and total nighttime light brightness in all regions within the same province. This assumption overlooks other heterogeneous relationships and does not correspond to reality.

Monitoring the Chemical Transformation and Detoxification Process of Herbs during Processing by Maximum-Quantum Filter NMR Spectroscopy.

Processing is an ancient technique to make Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) more effective or less toxic; however, the traditional process control for processing is empirical, and it is highly desired to monitor chemical markers that are pharmacologically or toxicologically relevant to evaluate such processing practice, but this task is challenging due to the complexity of natural products. The processing of herbs is a classic case in TCM practice. Traditional processing operations, such as boiling or steaming, are needed to detoxify the herbs before their medicinal use, so holistic analysis of toxic substances is meaningful for safety assessment of the processed herbs.

Determination of Carbazole Derivatives Associated With Photoelectric Materials in Sediments Using QuEChERS Pretreatment Coupled With Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

Carbazole derivatives (CZDs) are an important class of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds which have been widely used in photoelectric materials, dyes, medicine, supramolecules and other fields. The ecological risks of CZDs released into environment during the production and product utilization have gradually attracted people's attention. However, for the lack of analytical methods of CZDs in environment, the levels of CZDs entering the environment remain unclear.

The Structural Basis of Binding Stability and Selectivity of Sarolaner Enantiomers for RDL Receptors.

The ionotropic γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor (GABAR) is a key target for the development of antiparasitic agents, particularly against ectoparasites, such as fleas and ticks. Binding stability and selectivity of sarolaner enantiomers for RDL receptors (RDLR) were investigated in the current study. Wild-type (WT) RDLR and its A285S mutant were constructed using homology-based, fragment-based threading and AI-driven approaches, of which, SWISS-MODEL generated the most reliable structures.

Ir-Induced Local Charge and Electron-Spin Regulation on CoNi LDH Electrocatalyst for Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Nonprecious metal CoNi layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have received extensive attention as binary LDH-type catalysts with the lowest overpotential in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, its relatively low electrical conductivity and strong adsorption on oxygen-containing intermediates limit the OER reaction rate. Therefore, we doped the iridium element containing 5d orbitals into CoNi LDH and obtained the ternary CoNiIr ZLDH (ZIF-67 derived LDH) electrocatalyst with an efficient OER performance.

Integration of nanohydrogel with covalent organic framework: Tailoring interfacial amphiphilicity for advanced chromatographic separation.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), featuring high surface reactivity and robust stability, are promising candidates for chromatographic stationary phases. However, the abundant aromatic groups in COF may lead to overly strong interactions with hydrophobic analytes, causing chromatographic peak tailing and low column efficiency. Moreover, the limited hydrophilicity of the conventional COF material results in insufficient separation ability of COF@SiO composites for polar substances, thereby restricting their wide applicability.

Dinuclear Au(0) Complex Supported by Tridentate P-Mg-P Ligands.

Despite significant advances in gold chemistry, the synthesis and stabilization of gold centers in a low oxidation state, particularly dinuclear Au(0) species, remain a considerable challenge. In this work, we report the successful isolation of a novel dinuclear Au(0) complex stabilized by tridentate P-Mg-P ligands. Computational studies demonstrate that the Au(0)-Au(0) σ-bond acts as a two-electron donor to the Mg centers.

Precision fabrication of polymer nanostructures on recyclable DNA template.

The fabrication of precisely patterned polymers at the nanoscale is of critical importance. We have previously succeeded in creating various nanopatterned polymers with nanoscale resolution through the use of in situ atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) techniques on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) origami. However, separating nanopatterned polymers from the origami template without damaging the origami presents a significant challenge, thereby increasing costs and limiting the development of applications involving nanopatterned polymers.

Ionic Hydrophobic Gates on Metal-Organic Frameworks Enable High-Purity CO Separation from Humid Flue Gas.

Efficient extraction of high-purity CO from humid flue gas via adsorptive separation offers a promising and sustainable solution for carbon reduction and downstream applications. However, the coadsorption of HO vapor and N from humid flue gas remains a persistent challenge that limits separation efficiency. To overcome this issue, this work introduces a novel concept of ionic hydrophobic gates on porous adsorbents, which enables one-step separation of high-purity CO directly from humid flue gas.

Zigzag antiferromagnetic property of two-dimensional NiPX (X = S/Se) monolayers in their pristine structure and Janus phase.

Transition metal phosphorous trichalcogenides TMPX (TM = transition metal, X = S/Se) with a variety of spin configurations serve as excellent platforms for studying the magnetic properties of two-dimensional systems. As an antiferromagnetic semiconductor, the coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic couplings between the nearest neighboring metal ions of NiPX remains a debatable topic. In this work, the electronic structures and magnetic properties of NiPX monolayers in their pristine structure and Janus phase were systemically investigated using first-principles calculations.

Synthesis and properties of starch grafted acrylamide flocculant for granite scrub tail mud.

Granite has been widely used as raw materials to produce various industrial products, accompanied by the generation of a large amount of tail sludge with high water content. To recycle water quickly and reduce environmental pollution, starch grafted acrylamide (Starch-g-AM) was successfully synthesized, which was applied to the flocculation treatment of granite scrub tail mud wastewater. The optimal synthesis conditions of Starch-g-AM were obtained as follows: the initiator concentration was 0.

Fabrication of ultra-stable boronic acid-functionalized quinoline-linked COF for selective adsorption of quercetin.

Background: Quercetin, a flavonoid with cis-diol moiety, is widely found in plants and exhibits significant pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-tumor activities. Efficient adsorption and separation of quercetin from complex matrices are crucial for advancing health and nutrition research. However, the structural diversity of flavonoids poses challenges for their selective separation.

Dynamic relationships of antibiotic resistomes and greenhouse gas-functioning microbes across diverse habitats.

Reservoir ecosystems with diverse habitats form critical interfaces where antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions converge. Despite their distribution and ecological implications of ARGs across diverse habitats remain greatly unknown. There is a critical gap in dissecting the interlinkages between antibiotic resistomes and GHG-functioning microbes.

Substituting the phenyl with alkynyl in donor unit over donor-acceptor covalent triazine frameworks for superior photosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been emerged as a kind of promising photocatalysts for the artificial synthesis of HO, but the efficiency is largely limited by the subpar transport of photogenerated carriers and sluggish surface O reduction process. Here, via tuning the functional group of donor monomer from phenyl into alkynyl group, two donor-acceptor (D-A) type covalent triazine frameworks (BT-COF and TT-COF) were synthesized, of which the triazine moiety acted as the principal active center for O reduction. Due to the high-density electrons of alkynyl group, experimental results revealed that the BT-COF catalyst owned the facilitated O adsorption and superior charge transportation, in addition to more negative reduction potential.

How to improve performance of Chinese BIM-supported civil engineering projects based on the qualitative comparative analysis method.

Building information modeling (BIM) demonstrates transformative potential in enhancing productivity within the architecture, engineering and construction industry. Nevertheless, determining how to improve the project performance through diverse BIM application conditions and identifying the performance improvement paths remains a valuable yet underexplored topic. Combined with the four actual application stages of BIM (the embryonic, the development, the stability, and the maturity stage) and five application conditions (BIM personnel training, BIM application points, BIM team building, BIM platform establishment, and BIM standard formulation), this study explores the performance improvement paths for Chinese BIM-supported civil engineering projects using the qualitative comparative analysis method.

Fully non-fused electron acceptor solar cells with 18% efficiency via a synergistic peripheral substituent strategy.

Toward commercialization of organic solar cells (OSCs), photoactive materials that enable high efficiency yet possess low cost should be developed. Fully non-fused ring electron acceptors (FNEAs) that extend the conjugated skeleton with carbon-carbon (C-C) single bonds solely have lower synthetic costs than their fused-ring counterparts. However, the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of FNEAs are lagging due to low acceptor crystallinity and difficulty in the formation of fibrillary bi-continuous interpenetrating network morphology.

Hierarchical in-out fusion for incomplete multimodal brain tumor segmentation.

Fusing multimodal data play a crucial role in accurate brain tumor segmentation network and clinical diagnosis, especially in scenarios with incomplete multimodal data. Existing multimodal fusion models usually perform intra-modal fusion at both shallow and deep layers relying predominantly on traditional attention fusion. Rather, using the same fusion strategy at different layers leads to critical issues, feature redundancy in shallow layers due to repetitive weighting of semantically similar low-level features, and progressive texture detail degradation in deeper layers caused by the inherent feature of deep neural networks.

PW-BALFC, a clinical dataset for detection and instance segmentation of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cell.

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology provides an important basis for the diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases. Current cytological analysis of BALF relies on manual microscopic examination, which is time-consuming, laborious, and experience-dependent. Automated identification of BALF cytology helps increase the accuracy and speed of screening qualified samples and subsequent cytomorphology analysis.

The Modification of ZnO with 2D g-CN as Electron Transport Layer for High-Performance and Stable Organic Solar Cells.

ZnO has been traditionally applied in organic solar cells (OSCs) as an electron transport layer (ETL). However, inevitable vacancy defects on the surface of ZnO result in trap-assisted recombination centers and thus low-efficiency electron transport in OSCs. Herein, an effective and facile method has been developed to modify the ZnO surface with 2D g-CN for high-performance and stable OSCs.

Unified solution of earth pressure at the end of shallow buried shield at different driving angles.

This study develops a three-dimensional sliding block model for estimating average face pressure in shield tunneling, considering three distinct driving directions based on limit equilibrium theory. The sliding surfaces initiate from the horizontal planes at both tunnel sides. The geometric dimensions of the sliding blocks beneath both tunnel sides are correlated with the shield tunneling direction angle β.

Fast-Charging MXene/TiN-Confined InSe Anode with Dual Hydrogen-Bonding Synergy for High-Capacity Ammonium-Ion Storage.

Aqueous ammonium-ion (NH ) based hybrid pseudocapacitors (NH-HPCs) integrate sustainability and cost-effectiveness, yet their cycling stability is critically challenged by sluggish NH transport, particularly in MXene-based anodes. Herein, NH-induced N-functionalization fabricates a MXene/TiN conductive substrate, enabling confined rotary hydrothermal growth of indium selenide (InSe) nanoparticles into an InSe@MXene/TiN heterostructure. Directional Ti─N bonds suppress MXene stacking and InSe agglomeration while synergizing charge-redistribution-induced lattice strain with hierarchical 2-5 nm pore channels, enabling ultrafast NH migration.

ICAFormer: An Image Dehazing Transformer Based on Interactive Channel Attention.

Single image dehazing is a fundamental task in computer vision, aiming to recover a clear scene from a hazy input image. To address the limitations of traditional dehazing algorithms-particularly in global feature association and local detail preservation-this study proposes a novel Transformer-based dehazing model enhanced by an interactive channel attention mechanism. The proposed architecture adopts a U-shaped encoder-decoder framework, incorporating key components such as a feature extraction module and a feature fusion module based on interactive attention.

Transient Symmetry Breaking in a Pumped Crystal via the Electric-Field-Dependent Stark Effect.

We have investigated the transient properties of a ZnO crystal under a pump pulse (pumped crystal) using a pump-probe methodology. By monitoring the second harmonic of the weak probe pulse generated from the pumped crystal, we observe that the angular distribution of the second-harmonic yield becomes asymmetric compared to that without the pump. Importantly, the asymmetry of the second-harmonic generation (SHG) appears to be retarded by nearly 25 fs relative to the pump pulse, and its scaling shows a highly nonlinear dependence on the pump intensity.

Synergistic effect of the hybrid compounds of cationic pillararene and an efflux pump inhibitor against Gram-negative bacteria.

Novel antibiofilm agents were designed by integrating cationic pillararene with an efflux pump inhibitor. The hybrid compounds were prepared and characterized using NMR and HRMS. These compounds exhibited potent activity to inhibit biofilm formation and disrupt the outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria.