Browse Articles

Numerical investigation of SWCNT–H₂O nanofluid and core topology effects on the thermal and moisture performance of sandwich panels

Mesoporous Anti‐Perovskite CuNi ₃ N for Sustainable Formate Electrosynthesis from Complete Electrooxidation of Biomass Glucose

ABSTRACT Electrocatalytic glucose oxidation reaction (GLUOR) offers a sustainable route to realize efficient biomass upcycling and synthesize highly valuable chemicals under ambient conditions. Despite great potentials, main challenges remain to simultaneously hold high yield rate and Faradaic efficiency (FE). In this study, mesoporous anti‐perovskite CuNi 3 N (m‐CuNi 3 N) is reported as a novel high‐performance electrocatalyst to enable complete GLUOR for sustainable formate electrosynthesis. In comparison to counterpart electrocatalysts, m‐CuNi 3 N delivers remarkable electrocatalytic performance for formate electrosynthesis, with a superior formate FE of 92.5% and an impressive formate yield rate of 1.93 mmol h −1 cm −2 as well as excellent cycling stability of reaching 210 h at 1.65 V (vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode). Multiple experiments and density functional theory calculations reveal that m‐CuNi 3 N follows an indirect GLUOR mechanism, in which Cu‐induced charge redistribution of Ni leads to rapid accumulation of Ni(III)‐OOH and high nucleophilic activity of Ni 3+ ‐O‐(OH) ads intermediate. These features, combined with enhanced glucose adsorption ability, synergistically promote the oxidation cleavage of C─C bonds and thus maximize selective formate electrosynthesis. More impressively, this route is electrocatalytically available for upcycling of the most common macromolecular biomass of starch wastes into valuable potassium formate, highlighting high economic feasibility and market potential in industry.

Modeling the enablers and barriers to circular economy integration in Nigeria’s construction industry: a structural equation approach

Grain texture and starch physicochemical properties of waxy maize in response to contrasting ecological conditions

Quadrature solution of fractional coupled burgers and plankton-oxygen dynamics under climate change

An intelligent approach for automated vehicle damage classification

Abstract Manual examination using imitative assessment methods requires considerable investment in time, effort, resources, and funds. Furthermore, these assessments often exhibit inconsistencies. Therefore, this study introduces a framework for accurately detecting and classifying vehicle damage and estimating repair costs using deep learning and machine learning approaches. In this study, YOLOv5 and YOLOv8 models were applied to detect and classify vehicle damage types, such as broken lamps, glass shatters, cracks, scratches, and dents. Repair costs were predicted using the XGBoost machine learning model. The dataset used for damage detection, classification, and cost prediction was created from scratch. It was developed by identifying the types of damage and generating bounding box coordinates around damaged areas. After extracting the bounding box coordinates and damage types, additional features were incorporated. The YOLOv8 model outperformed YOLOv5 in both detecting and classifying vehicle damage, achieving a precision of 87% on the validation dataset and mean absolute precision 90.7% on the test dataset. The XGBoost model achieved an R² score of 97.28% and a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 128.50. These results confirm that the proposed framework enhances the precision of vehicle damage detection and classification while accelerating assessment and ensuring its effectiveness in real-world scenarios.

Tuning Redox Potentials in NASICON Cathode via Covalent Lattice Modulation

ABSTRACT NASICON‐type Na 3 MnTi(PO 4 ) 3 is a promising cathode for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs), yet its energy density remains limited by the incomplete activation of high‐potential Mn redox couples. This study shows that the strategic incorporation of chromium effectively modulates Mn–O covalency, thereby lowering the energy of antibonding Mn (3 d ‐ e g *) orbital and consequently elevating the redox potentials of the Mn 3+/2+ and Mn 4+/3+ couples. The resulting Na 3.5 MnTi 0.5 Cr 0.5 (PO 4 ) 3 cathode achieves a high average discharge voltage of 3.40 V (vs. Na + /Na) and a competitive energy density of 586 Wh kg − 1 , which surpasses many recently reported NASICON cathodes. Mechanistic studies reveal this material exhibits a highly reversible single‐phase solid‐solution reaction within minimal volume expansion (2.5%), enabling exceptional cycling stability (87.6% retention over 5000 cycles at 20 C) and robust performance across a wide temperature range (−30 to 40 °C). The high level of cyclability exhibited by the Na 3.5 MnTi 0.5 Cr 0.5 (PO 4 ) 3 //hard carbon full‑cell (88.6% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 2 C) further validates its practical viability. This work underscores the effectiveness of covalent modulation in tuning electronic structures, offering a generalizable strategy for designing high‐voltage polyanionic frameworks for next‐generation energy storage.

Educational inequalities in disability among older adults: a trend analysis in 15 European countries (2002 to 2023)

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the magnitude and trends of educational inequalities in disability among older men and women (≥ 60 years) in 15 European countries. We used data of 11 waves of the European Social Survey (ESS, 2002 to 2023, N = 98,300). Disability was assessed by a variant of the Global Activity Limitation Indicator. In the latest wave of the ESS (2023), there was an educational gradient in the prevalence of disability in the 15 European countries. In terms of time trends among men, disability significantly declined in high education groups in ten countries while it increased among those with low education in three countries. Trends in prevalence were quite different among women. There was a significant decline among low as well as high education groups in five countries and prevalences were stable in eight countries. Overall, among men, there was a significant increase of inequalities in disability between low and high educational groups from 2002 to 2023, while this trend was not significant among women. The mechanisms behind these inequalities in disability are not yet fully understood. Future studies should investigate to what extent behavioural, psychosocial, and material factors contribute to their explanation. A better understanding of these explanatory factors is needed to develop and implement interventions for a reduction of inequalities in disability in aging societies.

Decoupling Kinetically Coupled Steps via Hierarchical Relay Catalysis on High‐Entropy Alloy for Efficient Ammonia Decomposition

ABSTRACT Ammonia (NH 3 ) is a promising hydrogen carrier owing to its high gravimetric hydrogen storage density (17.6 wt%), but its practical utilization is hindered by sluggish decomposition kinetics at moderate temperatures. For commonly used Ru‐based catalysts, the reaction remains constrained by kinetically coupled elementary steps, including both N‐H bond activation and inhibited H desorption. Herein, we propose a hierarchical relay catalysis strategy enabled by a RuNiCoFeMo high‐entropy‐alloy (HEA) catalyst, wherein distinct metallic centers are rationally integrated to regulate individual elementary steps within a single catalytic framework. Specifically, NiCoFe sites preferentially promote sequential N‐H bond scission, while Mo incorporation electronically modulates the alloy to weaken metal‐H interactions and suppress hydrogen poisoning, thereby breaking scaling constraints across multiple elementary steps. Consequently, the optimized catalyst exhibits ca. 56% and 54% higher NH 3 and H 2 reaction orders relative to the monometallic Ru, respectively, indicating enhanced NH 3 activation and alleviated hydrogen poisoning. These kinetic benefits translate into a threefold increase in NH 3 conversion and H 2 production, reaching ca. 80% NH 3 conversion at 450°C, which is among the highest activities reported for Ru‐based catalysts. This work provides a general design principle for catalyst design in complex multistep reactions beyond NH 3 decomposition.

Development of a novel phage-displayed fusion protein of newcastle disease virus as a highly specific antigen for serological assays

Lock‐and‐Key Assembly Enables Record Birefringence in Monocyclic π‐Conjugated Crystals via Spatial Confinement of Linear Polyhalide

ABSTRACT Birefringent crystals are central to polarization optics, yet pushing birefringence (Δ n ) beyond 1.0 while retaining transparency ( E g > 2.0 eV) has been pursued almost exclusively by extending π‐conjugation from monocyclic to polycyclic aromatics. Monocyclic π‐systems have long been considered intrinsically capped below Δ n  = 1.0. Here, we challenge this assumption by demonstrating that geometric precision, rather than π‐system enlargement, can unlock this performance ceiling. We introduce a halogenation‐induced dimensional reduction strategy in which halogen substituents redirect the hydrogen‐bonding topology of cytosine from non‐directional 2D networks into wave‐like 1D chains, whose complementary concave pockets form capsule‐shaped cavities. These cavities act as lock ‐and‐ key templates that confine linear polyhalides into strict collinear alignment while enforcing π‐plane coplanarity. This strategy affords five new birefringent hybrid crystals: (HXCy) 2 (I 2 Cl)·Cl (X = Cl,  I ; Br,  II , Cy = cytosine), (HClCy) 2 (ICl 2 )·Cl ( III ), and (HBrCy)(BrCy)·IBr 2 ( IV ) and·Br 3 ( V ). I  and  II  reach calculated Δ n  = 1.336 and 1.324 at 546 nm, the highest among all π‐conjugated and inorganic crystals reported, while  V  retains Δ n  = 1.311 with a widened  E g  = 2.25 eV, demonstrating that birefringence and transparency can be independently tuned. These results establish geometric precision, rather than π‐system enlargement, as a powerful design route to high‐performance birefringent crystals.

A time-frequency collaborative cross-device bearing fault diagnosis model based on supervised transfer learning with limited data

Chiral Micellar Assemblies for Circularly Polarized Luminescence Amplification, Dye Encapsulation, and Multilevel Information Encryption

ABSTRACT Chiral micelles provide confined asymmetric environments that are attractive for diverse functional and technological applications. Here we report a BINOL‐derived aromatic amphiphile, ( R )‐/( S )‐ B‐Pyr , which self‐assembles into robust 5–6 nm nanomicelles in water and exhibits intrinsically strong CPL activity with | g lum | values up to 1.67 × 10 −2 —nearly an order of magnitude higher than the molecularly dispersed monomers. Furthermore, these micellar assemblies efficiently encapsulate diverse hydrophobic dyes and transfer chirality to the guests, generating multicolor CPL outputs from a single supramolecular platform. By orthogonally modulating color and handedness, we further demonstrate multilevel optical information encryption based on the chiral micellar assemblies. This work establishes a versatile design principle for aqueous CPL‐active nanomaterials, offering new opportunities in chiral photonics, secure data storage, and advanced optoelectronic systems.

Synergistic effect of Cu metal-organic framework grafted polyaniline (Cu-MOF@PANI) on adsorptive removal of anionic dye

Correction: An open carbon–phenolic ablator for scientific exploration

Surface Spin‐State Manipulation via a Strong Electronegative Ligand Field Enables Direct Regeneration of Spent Lithium‐Ion Battery Cathodes

ABSTRACT The rapid growth of lithium‐ion batteries has intensified the need for efficient recycling of spent LiNi 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 O 2 (NCM) cathodes. However, direct regeneration is hindered by the high‐spin state of Ni 2+ ( S = 1) in degraded surface structures, which impedes Li + intercalation and limits repair efficiency. Here, we introduce a strong electronegative ligand field to modulate the surface NiO 6 coordination environment, enabling precise regulation of Ni spin state and electronic structure. This strategy alters the occupancy of Ni e g orbitals, converting high‐spin Ni 2+ (t 2 g 6 e g 2 , S = 1) to low‐spin Ni 3+ (t 2 g 6 e g 1 , S = 1/2) while downshifting the Ni d ‐band center. The resulting electronic reconfiguration weakens Ni‐Li interactions, enabling efficient lithiation and regeneration of the degraded NCM black mass. The regenerated cathode, when assembled into pouch cells, exhibits Ah‐level capacity with electrochemical performance comparable to commercial counterparts. This work establishes a direct correlation between Li + transport kinetics and the Ni spin‐state regulation, offering a new chemical paradigm for the direct regeneration of degraded cathodes.

Anonymous transaction amount verification system based on zero knowledge range proof

Hydrophobic Tag Degraders Overcome Endocrine‐Resistant Breast Cancer by Recruiting HSP27‐Mediated E3 Ligase Complex for ERα Proteasomal Degradation

ABSTRACT Hydrophobic tag (HyT)‐mediated protein degradation has emerged as a pivotal tool for targeted protein degradation (TPD), yet its underlying degradation mechanism remains incompletely elucidated. Herein, we designed structurally optimized HyT‐based degraders by covalently conjugating hydrophobic amino acid tags to ERα‐targeting ligands via alkane linkers of varying lengths, identifying the lead compound VI‐10h . VI‐10h exhibited potent antiproliferative activity and efficient ERα degradation in endocrine‐resistant breast cancer cells (LCC2, MCF‐7 D538G , MCF‐7 Y537S , and MCF‐7 EGFR ) and superior antitumor activity compared to the clinical drug fulvestrant ( Ful ) in MCF‐7 and tamoxifen‐resistant LCC2 xenograft models. To elucidate the HyT‐mediated degradation mechanism, we synthesized biotin‐conjugated HyTs ( biotin‐Lys and biotin‐Trp ) and performed pull‐down assays combined with mass spectrometry. Our results unveiled that VI‐10h selectively recruits heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) as a non‐canonical E3 ligase adaptor protein, forms an ERα–HSP27–RING1 ternary complex to promote ERα degradation, disrupts estrogen‐dependent oncogenic networks, and circumvents the drug resistance associated with conventional CRBN‐ or VHL‐dependent E3 ligase‐recruiting degraders. This study clarifies a HyT‐mediated ERα degradation mechanism and supports the feasibility of using HyT degraders to overcome resistance to conventional E3 ligase‐recruiting strategies and endocrine‐resistant breast cancer, thereby establishing a molecular design strategy for next‐generation targeted degraders.

Efficacy and safety of pilocarpine for the treatment of presbyopia: a systematic review and meta‑analysis of randomized controlled trials

Color‐Pure Organic Luminophores: Characteristics, Definitions, Physical Basis and Fundamental Design Principles

ABSTRACT Color‐pure all‐organic emitters, i.e., with narrow spectral characteristics, are intensively studied for high‐definition organic LEDs (mainly based on multi‐resonance structures), as well as for multi‐color bioimaging (mainly based on polymethine‐like structures). To guide targeted materials design beyond tedious trial‐and‐error procedures, this educative review discusses the spectral characteristics (including units and unambiguous definition of the spectral width, and the occurrence of artifacts), the physical basis of the spectral broadening (vibronic coupling, environmental effects, and a basal understanding of geometries in the ground and excited states). Subsequently, the structural factors are distilled, which govern reduced geometry change between ground and excited state (GS, ES)—quantified as the change in bond‐length alternation (Δ BLA ) upon excitation. On this basis, three complementary design strategies emerge, that is: (a) full and (b) partial bond length equalization, yielding intrinsically small‐ and mixed‐BLA emitters, and (c) MO topology inversion, with large BLA in GS and ES; secondary factors include, (d) rigidification and (e) the extension of the conjugated path. Finally, we address challenges and solutions when targeting not only color‐pure but also bright emitters. In all, our insights allow for an intuitive, chemical approach towards efficient color‐pure emitters beyond sole generation of structures and numbers.