Insights into MWCNTs/polyimide nanocomposites: from synthesis to application as free-standing flexible electrodes in low-cost micro-supercapacitors

In the pursuit to enlarge the library of polyimide materials for energy applications, new polyimide/MWCNTs composite films have been developed by MWCNTs-assisted polycondensation reaction of a hydroxyl and triphenylmethane-containing diamine with benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride targeting to highlight their electrical storage capability as flexible electrodes in micro-supercapacitors (mSCs). The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, UV–vis, fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopies were used to demonstrate the evolution of interfacial interactions between MWCNTs and the precursors (diamine monomer and intermediate polyamidic acid) and polyimide matrix that proved to be the origin of MWCNTs homogeneous dispersion. Thus, composite films incorporating 1, 3, 5, and 10 w.t.% MWCNTs were obtained and thoroughly investigated with regard to their morphology, mechanical behavior, thermal stability, and electrical conductivity. The electrochemical performance of these composites was first analyzed in a classical three-electrode cell by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge in both aqueous and organic electrolyte systems. By far, the best electrical storage capacity was obtained with the composite polyimide film containing 10% MWCNTs that was further used as both active material and current collector in a flexible symmetric mSC realized by a straightforward and low-cost procedure. In the attempt to better exploit the advantages of this composite film, it was layered with a graphite-containing paint and tested as an electrode in a flexible mSC, which provided satisfactory results. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the electrical charge storage capability of a polyimide/MWCNTs free-standing film as a flexible electrode in mSCs, which do not require time- and resource-consuming processing steps.     

What is the optimal cutoff surface for ore bodies with more than one mineral?

In mine planning problems, cutoff grade optimization defines a threshold at every time period such that material above this value is processed, and the rest is considered waste. In orebodies with multiple minerals, which occur in practice, the natural extension is to consider a cutoff surface. We show that in two dimensions the optimal solution is a line, and in n dimensions it is a hyperplane.     

The Picone identity: A device to get optimal uniqueness results and global dynamics in Population Dynamics

This paper infers from a generalized Picone identity the uniqueness of the stable positive solution for a class of semilinear equations of superlinear indefinite type, as well as the uniqueness and global attractivity of the coexistence state in two generalized diffusive prototypes of the symbiotic and competing species models of Lotka–Volterra. The optimality of these uniqueness theorems reveals the tremendous strength of the Picone identity.     

Regularity of optimal sets for some functional involving eigenvalues of an operator in divergence form

In this paper we consider minimizers of the functional$\min \{{\lambda }_1(\mathrm{\Omega })+\cdots +{\lambda }_k(\mathrm{\Omega })+\mathrm{\Lambda }|\mathrm{\Omega }|,:\mathrm{\Omega }\subset D\text{ open}\}$ where $D\subset {\mathbb{R}}^d$ is a bounded open set and where $0<{\lambda }_1(\mathrm{\Omega })\le \cdots \le {\lambda }_k(\mathrm{\Omega })$ are the first k eigenvalues on Ω of an operator in divergence form with Dirichlet boundary condition and with Hölder continuous coefficients. We prove that the optimal sets ${\mathrm{\Omega }}^{⁎}$ have finite perimeter and that their free boundary $\partial {\mathrm{\Omega }}^{⁎}\cap D$ is composed of a regular part, which is locally the graph of a $C^{1,\alpha }$-regular function, and a singular part, which is empty if $d<d^{⁎}$, discrete if $d=d^{⁎}$ and of Hausdorff dimension at most $d-d^{⁎}$ if $d>d^{⁎}$, for some $d^{⁎}\in \{5,6,7\}$.     

基于GA_XGBoost模型的大学生科研能力预测问题研究

科学评价大学生科研创新能力对我国科研水平的提高具有重要意义.采用机器学习模型来预测大学生科研能力可以起到良好的效果,提出一种GAXGBoost模型来实现对大学生的科研能力预测.此模型是以Xgboost算法为基础,然后充分利用遗传算法的全局搜索能力自动搜索Xgboost最优超参数,避免了人为经验调参不准确的缺陷,最后采用精英选择策略以此确保每一轮都是最佳的进化结果.通过分析表明,所采用的GAXGBoost模型在大学生科研能力预测的结果中具有很高的精度,将此模型与Logistic Regression、Random Forest、SVM等模型进行对比,GAXGBoost模型的预测精度最高.     

Pattern transition and regulation in a subthalamopallidal network under electromagnetic effect

Although the significant roles of magnetic induction and electromagnetic radiation in the neural system have been widely studied, their influence on Parkinson's disease (PD) has yet to be well explored. By virtue of the magnetic flux variable, this paper studies the transition of firing patterns induced by magnetic induction and the regulation effect of external magnetic radiation on the firing activities of the subthalamopallidal network in basal ganglia. We find: (i) The network reproduces five typical waveforms corresponding to the severity of symptoms: weak cluster, episodic, continuous cluster, episodic, and continuous wave. (ii) Magnetic induction is a double-edged sword for the treatment of PD. Although the increase of magnetic coefficient may lead the physiological firing activity to transfer to pathological firing activity, it also can regulate the pathological intensity firing activity with excessive β-band power transferring to the physiological firing pattern with weak β-band power. (iii) External magnetic radiation could inhibit continuous tremulous firing and β-band power of subthalamic nucleus (STN), which means the severity of symptoms weakened. Especially, the bi-parameter plane of the regulation region shows that a short pulse period of magnetic radiation and a medium level of pulse percentage can well regulate pathological oscillation. This work helps to understand the firing activity of the subthalamopallidal network under electromagnetic effect. It may also provide insights into the mechanisms behind the electromagnetic therapy of PD-related firing activity.     

Viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polycarbonate films by liquid dewetting

A liquid dewetting method for the determination of the viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polymer films has been extended to study thickness effects on the properties of ultrathin polycarbonate (PC) films. PC films with film thicknesses ranging from 4 to 299 nm were placed on glycerol at temperatures from below the macroscopic glass transition temperature (T_g) to above it with the dewetting responses being monitored. It is found that the isothermal creep results for films of the same thickness, but dewetted at different temperatures can be superposed into one master curve, which is consistent with the fact of PC being a thermorheologically simple material. Furthermore, the results show that the T_g of PC thin films is thickness dependent, but the dependence is weaker than the results for freely standing films and similar to literature data for PC films supported on rigid substrates. It was also found that the rubbery plateau region for the PC films stiffens dramatically, but still less than what has been observed for freely standing polycarbonate films. The rubbery stiffening is discussed in terms of a recently reported model that relates macroscopic segmental dynamics with the stiffening. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1559–1566