The development of biofuels has been considered as an important countermeasure to abate anthropogenic CO2 emissions, suppress deteriorated atmospheric greenhouse effect, and mitigate global warming. ...To produce biofuels from biomass, thermochemical conversion processes are considered as the most efficient routes wherein torrefaction has the lowest global warming potential. Combustion is the easiest way to consume biomass, which can be burned alone or co-fired with coal to generate heat and power. However, solid biomass fuels are not commonly applied in the industry due to their characteristics of hygroscopic nature and high moisture content, low bulk density and calorific value, poor grindability, low compositional homogeneity, and lower resistance against biological degradation. In recently developing biomass conversion technologies, torrefaction has attracted much attention since it can effectively upgrade solid biomass and produce coal-like fuel. Torrefaction is categorized into dry and wet torrefaction; the former can further be split into non-oxidative and oxidative torrefaction. Despite numerous methods developed, non-oxidative torrefaction, normally termed torrefaction, has a higher potential for practical applications and commercialization when compared to other methods. To provide a comprehensive review of the progress in biomass torrefaction technologies, this study aims to perform an in-depth literature survey of torrefaction principles, processes, systems, and to identify a current trend in practical torrefaction development and environmental performance. Moreover, the encountered challenges and perspectives from torrefaction development are underlined. This state-of-the-art review is conducive to the production and applications of biochar for resource utilization and environmental sustainability. To date, several kinds of reactors have been developed, while there is still no obviously preferred one as they simultaneously have pros and cons. Integrating torrefaction with other processes such as co-firing, gasification, pyrolysis, and ironmaking, etc., makes it more efficient and economically feasible in contrast to using a single process. By virtue of capturing carbon dioxide during the growth stage of biomass, negative carbon emissions can even be achieved from torrefied biomass.
Interfacial engineering of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is attracting intensive attention owing to the charge transfer efficiency at an interface, which greatly influences the photovoltaic ...performance. This study demonstrates the modification of a TiO2 electron‐transporting layer with various amino acids, which affects charge transfer efficiency at the TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3 interface in PSC, among which the l‐alanine‐modified cell exhibits the best power conversion efficiency with 30% enhancement. This study also shows that the (110) plane of perovskite crystallites tends to align in the direction perpendicular to the amino‐acid‐modified TiO2 as observed in grazing‐incidence wide‐angle X‐ray scattering of thin CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite film. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals less charge transfer resistance at the TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3 interface after being modified with amino acids, which is also supported by the lower intensity of steady‐state photoluminescence (PL) and the reduced PL lifetime of perovskite. In addition, based on the PL measurement with excitation from different side of the sample, amino‐acid‐modified samples show less surface trapping effect compared to the sample without modification, which may also facilitate charge transfer efficiency at the interface. The results suggest that appropriate orientation of perovskite crystallites at the interface and trap‐passivation are the niche for better photovoltaic performance.
The (110) plane of CH3NH3PbI3 crystallites adjacent to the amino‐acid‐modified TiO2 surface tends to align in the direciton perpendicular to the TiO2 surface. Such crystalline orientation significantly enhances charge transfer efficiency at the TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3 interface and greatly improves the photovotaic performance of perovskite solar cells.
The human body is colonized by a wide range of microorganisms. The field of viromics has expanded since the first reports on the detection of viruses via metagenomic sequencing in 2002. With the ...continued development of reference materials and databases, viral metagenomic approaches have been used to explore known components of the virome and discover new viruses from various types of samples. The virome has attracted substantial interest since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Increasing numbers of studies and review articles have documented the diverse virome in various sites in the human body, as well as interactions between the human host and the virome with regard to health and disease. However, there have been few studies of direct causal relationships. Viral metagenomic analyses often lack standard references and are potentially subject to bias. Moreover, most virome-related review articles have focused on the gut virome and did not investigate the roles of the virome in other sites of the body in human disease. This review presents an overview of viral metagenomics, with updates regarding the relations between alterations in the human virome and the pathogenesis of human diseases, recent findings related to COVID-19, and therapeutic applications related to the human virome.
Objective
Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) present variably, and epileptic seizures are the most common symptom. The factors contributing to cavernoma‐related epilepsy (CRE) and drug ...resistance remain inconclusive. The outcomes of CRE after different treatment modalities have not yet been fully addressed. This study aimed to characterize the clinical features of patients with CRE and the long‐term seizure outcomes of medical and surgical treatment strategies.
Methods
This was a retrospective cohort of 135 patients with CCM who were diagnosed in 2007–2011 and followed up for 93.6 months on average. The patients were divided into drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE; n = 29), non‐DRE (n = 45), and no epilepsy (NE; n = 61).
Results
Temporal CCM was the factor most strongly associated with the development of both CRE and DRE. The majority of patients with single temporal CCMs had CRE (86.8%, n = 33), and 50% had DRE, whereas only 14.7% (n = 5) with a nontemporal supratentorial CCM had DRE (p < .05). The most common lesion site in the DRE group was the mesiotemporal lobe (50%). Multiple CCMs were more frequently observed in the CRE (29.2%) than the NE (11.5%) group (p < .05). In patients with CRE, multiple lesions were associated with a higher rebleeding rate (odds ratio = 11.1), particularly in those with DRE (odds ratio = 15.4). The majority of patients who underwent resective surgery for DRE (76.5%, n = 13) achieved International League Against Epilepsy Class I and II seizure outcomes even after a long disease course.
Significance
Temporal CCM not only predisposes to CRE but also is a major risk factor for drug resistance. The mesiotemporal lobe is the most epileptogenic zone. Multiple CCMs are another risk factor for CRE and increase the rebleeding risk in these patients. Surgical resection could provide beneficial long‐term seizure outcomes in patients with DRE.
•Torrefaction of two forest residues is studied using a thermogravimetric analyzer.•Torrefaction kinetics of spruce and birch residues is established.•A model is developed to estimate the biochar ...yield and elemental composition.•Distributions of initial, intermediate and final solid products are reported.•This method is useful for the design and optimization of industrial torrefaction processes.
In this work, a direct prediction method coupled with a consecutive reaction model is developed to estimate the biochar yield and elemental composition in a biomass torrefaction process. Norway forest residues were chosen as feedstock and torrefied at different temperatures under nitrogen atmosphere in a thermogravimetric analyzer. Obtained data were modeled to predict the mass loss during torrefaction. Distributions of initial, intermediate and final solid products as well as torrefaction kinetic parameters are reported. Thereafter, a direct method to predict the elemental composition of biochar is introduced. The results show that the decomposition of initial biomass to form an intermediate solid has higher conversion rate than the degradation of the intermediate. Moreover, the predictions reproduce well the experimental thermogravimetric curves and show composition trends similar to the literature data. This method is useful for the design and optimization of industrial torrefaction processes with predictable biochar yield and elemental composition.
This paper presents four one‐component Type II visible‐light‐absorbing chalcones (CY10‐13) that containing various fused aromatic rings as its π‐conjugated moiety, that is a 2‐naphthalene moiety for ...CY10, 1‐naphthalene for CY11, benzofuran for CY12, and benzothiophene for CY13. The absorption region changes significantly when introducing various fused aromatic rings. However, they all exhibit good absorption properties ranging from 300 to 450 nm that can be well‐matched under ultraviolet (UV), 365 and 405 nm light irradiations. Furthermore, the structure–reactivity relationship is also studied through thermal, photochemical, electrochemical, and computation properties. Finally, all the chalcones demonstrate photoinitiating ability without additive additional hydrogen donor in their systems. Both of the CY11 and CY12 based photoinitiating formulations initiate sufficiently upon UV and light‐emitting diode (LED)@405 nm light exposures. Furthermore, triphenylamine‐substituted chalcone analogous (CY8) is added for comparison. Although CY10‐13 compounds have lower light harvesting regions than CY8, some of those new chalcones exhibit better photoreactivity. Thus, a chalcone containing fuses aromatic ring featuring straightforward synthesis as well as versatile absorption region and photoinitiating performance, has great potential in photopolymerization applications.
One‐component Type II chalcones containing various fused aromatic rings as linkers are synthesized. Chalcones derived from 1‐naphthaldehyde and benzofuran, along with their photoinitiating formulations, demonstrate sufficient photoinitiation upon exposure to UV and LED@405 nm light. Intermolecular hydrogen ion reaction is proposed as the major reaction pathway for generating active radicals.
Recently, the MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab has updated the results with increased data and reported an excess of 560.6 ± 119.6 electronlike events (4.7σ) in the neutrino operation mode. In this ...paper, we propose a scenario to account for the excess where a Dirac-type sterile neutrino, produced by a charged kaon decay through the neutrino mixing, decays into a leptophilic axionlike particle (ℓ ALP) and a muon neutrino. The electron-positron pairs produced from the ℓ ALP decays can be interpreted as electronlike events provided that their opening angle is sufficiently small. In our framework, we consider the ℓ ALP with a mass ma = 20 MeV and an inverse decay constant ce/fa = 10−2 GeV−1, allowed by the astrophysical and experimental constraints. Then, after integrating the predicted angular or visible energy spectra of the ℓ ALP to obtain the total excess event number, we find that our scenario with sterile neutrino masses within 150 MeV ≲ mN ≲ 380 MeV (150 MeV ≲ mN ≲ 180 MeV) and neutrino mixing parameters between 10 −10 ≲ |Uμ4|2 ≲ 10−8 (3 × 10−7 ≲ |Uμ4|2 ≲ 8 × 10−7) can explain the MiniBooNE data.
Stretchable hybrid devices have enabled high-fidelity implantable
and on-skin
monitoring of physiological signals. These devices typically contain soft modules that match the mechanical requirements ...in humans
and soft robots
, rigid modules containing Si-based microelectronics
and protective encapsulation modules
. To make such a system mechanically compliant, the interconnects between the modules need to tolerate stress concentration that may limit their stretching and ultimately cause debonding failure
. Here, we report a universal interface that can reliably connect soft, rigid and encapsulation modules together to form robust and highly stretchable devices in a plug-and-play manner. The interface, consisting of interpenetrating polymer and metal nanostructures, connects modules by simply pressing without using pastes. Its formation is depicted by a biphasic network growth model. Soft-soft modules joined by this interface achieved 600% and 180% mechanical and electrical stretchability, respectively. Soft and rigid modules can also be electrically connected using the above interface. Encapsulation on soft modules with this interface is strongly adhesive with an interfacial toughness of 0.24 N mm
. As a proof of concept, we use this interface to assemble stretchable devices for in vivo neuromodulation and on-skin electromyography, with high signal quality and mechanical resistance. We expect such a plug-and-play interface to simplify and accelerate the development of on-skin and implantable stretchable devices.
Norovirus (NoV) infection is common in pediatric patients with immunodeficiency and is more likely to cause severe disease. Objective Our study aims to figure out the clinical differences and ...distribution of intestinal microbiota in immunocompromised children with NoV gastroenteritis.
Pediatric patients admitted to Shang-Ho Hospital with diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis including different immune status were enrolled and their medical records were reviewed. NoV gastroenteritis was validated using RT-PCR molecular methods. Viral shedding period was determined by real-time RT-PCR assays. Intestinal microbiota enrichment analysis was carried out by next generation sequencing after fecal DNA extraction and subsequent Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) Effect Size (LEfSe) method.
Significantly higher frequency of diarrhea mean, (IQR), 3.8 (3-5) /day and longer viral shedding time mean, IQR, 8.5 (5-13) days was found in immunocompromised NoV infections than in immunocompetent patients without NoV infections (p = 0.013*) and immunocompetent patients with NoV infections (p = 0.030**). The fever prevalence was significantly lower in immunocompromised NoV infections than in different immune or infection status. Intestinal microbiota metagenomics analysis showed no significant community richness difference while the LEfSe analysis showed a significant difference in commensal richness at the phylum level, the family level, and the genus level in patients under different immune status.
We evaluated the clinical significances and microbiota composition in immunocompromised children with norovirus gastroenteritis. This will further facilitate studies of the interaction between the intestinal microbiota in such patients with precise determination of their bacterial infection control and probiotic supplements strategy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The power conversion efficiency of the perovskite solar cell is high enough to be commercially viable. However, long-term stability is the inevitable issue that obstructs its commercialization. Here, ...we demonstrate that the half-year (∼4680 h) stable unencapsulated inverted solar cell has almost zero loss in performance, measured under controlled environmental condition, when using montmorillonite (MMT)/CH3NH3PbI3 nanocomposite as photoactive layer. It yields up to 17.29% in power conversion efficiency, owing to the formation of an outstandingly dense gas permeation barrier of exfoliated MMT shell that effectively retards the moisture from penetrating into the perovskite. It is believed that this extensively modified device and low-cost architecture will compellingly lead to the timely commercialization of perovskite solar cells.
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