Separation of 133Ba and 137Cs from Mixtures of 133Ba and 137Cs by Environmentally Benign PEG-Based Aqueous Biphasic System

Journal of Solution Chemistry - Thermodynamics of the protonation of chelidamic acid (4-oxo-1,4-dihydropyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid) was studied using potentiometry and calorimetry in...     

Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanospheres loaded with cobalt nanoparticles for oxygen reduction and Zn–air batteries

Mesoporous carbon supported with transition metals nanoparticles performs desired activities for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and clean energy conversion devices such as Zn–air batteries. In this work, we synthesized N-doped mesoporous carbon loaded with cobalt nanoparticles (CoMCN) through self-assembly method. There are sufficient mesopores on the carbon substrate which stem from the pore-forming agent. These mesopores can provide enough accessible active sites and profitable charge/mass transport for ORR. The high content of pyridinic and graphitic N is beneficial for promoting O₂ adsorption and reduction. The smaller value of I_D/I_G indicates the higher degree of graphitization of CoMCN, providing better electronic conductivity. The half-wave potential of CoMCN is 0.865 V in basic solution, which is 24 mV more positive than that of the commercial Pt/C (0.841 V). In addition, CoMCN performs excellent methanol tolerance and stability under both basic and acidic conditions. The Zn–air battery assembled with CoMCN performs the larger power density and open-circuit voltage than the commercial Pt/C-based battery, indicating the potential application in energy conversion systems. This work provides thoughtful ideas for fabricating transition metal nanoparticles based porous carbon for electrocatalysis and metal–air batteries.     

Superb thermal stability purple-blue phosphor through synergistic effect of emission compensation and nonradiative transition restriction of Eu2+

Phosphors with outstanding luminescence thermal stability are desirable for high-power phosphor-converted light-emitting diode (pc-LED) lightings. High structural rigidity and large bandgap of phosphor hosts are helpful to suppress nonradiative relaxation of optical centers and realize excellent thermal stability. Unfortunately, few host materials simultaneously possess aforementioned structural features. Herein, we confirm that Sr₃(PO₄)₂ (SPO) phosphate possesses high structural rigidity (Debye temperature, Θ_D = 559 K) and large bandgap (E_g = 8.313 eV) by density functional theory calculations. As expected, Eu²⁺-doped SPO purple-blue phosphors show extraordinary thermal stability. At 150/300 °C, SPO:5%Eu²⁺ presents emission loss of only 4%/8% and a predicated ultrahigh thermal quenching temperature of 973 °C. The most strikingly discoveries here are that thermal-induced emission compensation appears within two distinct Eu²⁺ sites of SPO host. The outstanding thermal stability, on one hand, is attributed to rigid structure and large bandgap of host that inhibits nonradiative relaxation of Eu²⁺ and on the other hand, the emission self-compensation of Eu²⁺. Benefiting from synergistic effect of emission compensation and nonradiative transition restriction of Eu²⁺, as-prepared SPO:5%Eu²⁺ purple-blue phosphor not only presents superior thermal stability but also high internal quantum efficiency of 95.1% and excellent hydrolysis resistant. Some advanced applications are explored including white LED lighting and wide-color-gamut display. Our work provides in-deep insights into structure-property relationships of thermally stable phosphors.     

Ultrasonic assisted extraction,characterization and gut microbiota-dependent anti-obesity effect of polysaccharide from Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae 'Chachiensis'

Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae 'Chachiensis' (PCRC), the premium aged pericarps of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, is widely used in traditional Chinese medicines with a diversity of promising bioactivity. Herein we report the extraction, characterization and underlying mechanism of anti-metabolic syndrome of an arabinan-rich polysaccharide from PCRC (PCRCP). This polysaccharide was obtained in a 7.0% yield by using ultrasound-assisted extraction under the optimized conditions of 30 mL/g liquid-to-solid ratio, 250 W ultrasound power for 20 min at 90 °C with pH 4.5. The PCRCP with an average molecular weight of 122.0 kDa, is mainly composed of D-galacturonic acid, arabinose and galactose, which may link via 1,4-linked Gal(p)-UA, 1,4-linked Ara(f) and 1,4-linked Gal(p). Supplementation with PCRCP not only effectively alleviated the weight gain, adiposity and hyperglycemia, but also regulated the key metabolic pathways involved in the de novo synthesis and β-oxidation of fatty acid in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Furthermore, PCRCP treatment caused a significant normalization in the intestinal barrier and composition of gut microbiota in mice fed by HFD. Notably, PCRCP selectively enriched Lactobacillus johnsonii at the family-genus-species levels, a known commensal bacterium, the level of which was decreased in mice fed by HFD. The depletion of microbiome induced by antibiotics, significantly compromised the effects of anti-metabolic syndrome of PCRCP in mice fed by HFD, demonstrating that the protective phenotype of PCRCP against anti-obesity is dependent on gut microbiota. PCRCP is exploitable as a potential prebiotic for the intervention of obesity and its complications.     

Phase retrieval for off-axis digital holography using multiplexing with hologram rotation and complex encoding

Optical Review - An efficient method of reconstructing the phase distribution for off-axis digital holography is proposed using hologram multiplexing with hologram rotation and complex encoding. A...     

自然环境条件下轮轨接触黏着特性研究进展

轮轨黏着是铁路运输中的关键基础性科学问题之一,而轮轨接触界面良好的黏着状态是列车安全和高品质运行的根本保障. 轮轨系统作为1个开放的系统,受到各种自然环境因素的影响,如湿度、温度、水、风沙甚至铁氧化物,而所有的这些环境因素都会影响轮轨接触界面的黏着状态和损伤行为. 本文中综述了水、湿度、温度和风沙等自然环境因素对轮轨黏着特性影响规律的研究进展,分析了自然环境因素下轮轨界面铁氧化物特征,重点探讨了自然环境因素对铁氧化物形成的影响及其对轮轨接触黏着特性的影响规律和作用机理,并提出了轮轨黏着的未来研究方向.      

An IO–Modification of Potential Method

In this paper we are performing some modification of Potential Method so that it can be recognized as an Input-Output method. This approach is tested on the ‘Japan City Banks’ example taken from Cooper and all. [Seiford L. M. Cooper, W. W. and K. Tone. Data Envelopment Analysis. Kluwer, 2002]. where authors are using Data Envelop Analysis technique. It is known that DEA is not capable to distinguish ‘efficient’ Decision Making Units among themselves. In our approach this is not the case — we obtain the ranking od all units in consideration.     

Stability results for impulsive pantograph equations

By employing the Lyapunov functions and Razumikhin technique, some stability results are obtained for pantograph equations with impulses. Our results reveal the fact that certain impulses may make an unstable system stable and that the stability of pantograph equations may also be inherited by impulsive pantograph ones under appropriate impulsive perturbations.     

A note on the article “Fuzzy totally continuous and totally semi-continuous functions”

A. Mukherjee has introduced the concepts of fuzzy totally continuous and fuzzy totally semi-continuous functions in 1999. Apart from the fact that fuzzy total continuity and fuzzy total semi-continuity were introduced in Mukherjee's paper without regard for whether they are topological notions (i.e. give rise to topological categories) or for whether there are deep, canonical examples of such concepts, we show in this note that there are mathematical errors in some of the claimed results of the paper as well.