The reliability of colorimetry is precise(ly) as expected.

Figure S6. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of the differentially expressed genes between C1 and C2. (JPG 403 kb

A multi-criteria group decision-making method with fuzzy preference relations based on filtration-and-weighting-based triangular bounded consistency

In multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) problems with incomplete fuzzy preference relations (FPRs), the consistency based on bounded rationality is preferred to depend on the historical preferences of decision makers to generate complete FPR matrices. There are two factors in influencing the effect of historical preferences on complete FPR matrices and further decision makers’ satisfaction of group solutions. One is the effectiveness of historical preferences and the other is their relative weights. On this basis, this paper proposes a new MCGDM method with FPRs based on the filtration-and-weighting-based triangular bounded consistency (FWBTBC), where historical FPRs between three adjacent pairs of alternatives are characterized by triangles and these two factors are considered comprehensively. A triangle filtration process is designed based on the Grubbs criterion to filter the abnormal triangles in the collected ones. A weight determination process is developed, where a distance measure between remaining triangles is constructed to calculate their weights. Based on the combination of the two processes, the FWBTBC of FPRs is created and then the proposed method is presented. The validity of the proposed method is demonstrated by its application in analyzing a drainage tube supplier selection problem for a tertiary hospital located in Hefei, Anhui, China.</p

Exergy Analysis and Heat Integration of a Coal-Based Oxy-combustion Power Plant

Oxy-combustion is a competitive technology to enable the capture of CO₂ from coal-based power plants. The main challenge to implement this technology is the large energy penalty and investment cost related to CO₂ capture. A comprehensive exergy analysis has been performed for an entire coal-based oxy-combustion power plant. The exergy flows and irreversibilities are presented. The thermal efficiency penalty related to CO₂ capture is about 9.4 percentage points (on the basis of the higher heating value) and is mainly caused by the air separation unit and the CO₂ compression and purification unit. The theoretical minimum is 3.4 percentage points when the two units are assumed to be reversible, where the air separation unit contributes 1.4 percentage points and the CO₂ compression and purification unit is responsible for 2.0 percentage points. The compression processes are causing the largest exergy losses related to CO₂ capture. The case studies show that the integration of the compression heat with the steam cycle can increase the thermal efficiency by up to 0.72 percentage points

One-Step Transformation of Metal Meshes to Robust Superhydrophobic and Superoleophilic Meshes for Highly Efficient Oil Spill Cleanup and Oil/Water Separation

Phytic acid (PA), which is a natural and innoxious plant constituent, can strongly adsorb on the metal surface because of its six phosphate groups. In this work, based on the chelating properties of PA and the reaction between PA and hydrolyzable vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES), we developed a novel and facial strategy to generate hierarchical-layer nanospheres on the metal mesh surface and fabricated robust superhydrophobic and superoleophilic miniature metal mesh ships. Because of their superwetting properties, the modified meshes could easily remove and recycle the oil spills from the water surface (>90% collection efficiency), and have high oil/water separation capacity (>96%). The excellent stability, corrosion resistance, and robust mechanical durability endow the modified mesh ships with more advantages in a marine environment. We envision that these superhydrophobic meshes modified with PA and VTES are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and easy to scale up and hence display great potential in practical application

One-Step Transformation of Metal Meshes to Robust Superhydrophobic and Superoleophilic Meshes for Highly Efficient Oil Spill Cleanup and Oil/Water Separation

Phytic acid (PA), which is a natural and innoxious plant constituent, can strongly adsorb on the metal surface because of its six phosphate groups. In this work, based on the chelating properties of PA and the reaction between PA and hydrolyzable vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES), we developed a novel and facial strategy to generate hierarchical-layer nanospheres on the metal mesh surface and fabricated robust superhydrophobic and superoleophilic miniature metal mesh ships. Because of their superwetting properties, the modified meshes could easily remove and recycle the oil spills from the water surface (>90% collection efficiency), and have high oil/water separation capacity (>96%). The excellent stability, corrosion resistance, and robust mechanical durability endow the modified mesh ships with more advantages in a marine environment. We envision that these superhydrophobic meshes modified with PA and VTES are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and easy to scale up and hence display great potential in practical application

One-Step Transformation of Metal Meshes to Robust Superhydrophobic and Superoleophilic Meshes for Highly Efficient Oil Spill Cleanup and Oil/Water Separation

Phytic acid (PA), which is a natural and innoxious plant constituent, can strongly adsorb on the metal surface because of its six phosphate groups. In this work, based on the chelating properties of PA and the reaction between PA and hydrolyzable vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES), we developed a novel and facial strategy to generate hierarchical-layer nanospheres on the metal mesh surface and fabricated robust superhydrophobic and superoleophilic miniature metal mesh ships. Because of their superwetting properties, the modified meshes could easily remove and recycle the oil spills from the water surface (>90% collection efficiency), and have high oil/water separation capacity (>96%). The excellent stability, corrosion resistance, and robust mechanical durability endow the modified mesh ships with more advantages in a marine environment. We envision that these superhydrophobic meshes modified with PA and VTES are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and easy to scale up and hence display great potential in practical application

One-Step Transformation of Metal Meshes to Robust Superhydrophobic and Superoleophilic Meshes for Highly Efficient Oil Spill Cleanup and Oil/Water Separation

Phytic acid (PA), which is a natural and innoxious plant constituent, can strongly adsorb on the metal surface because of its six phosphate groups. In this work, based on the chelating properties of PA and the reaction between PA and hydrolyzable vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES), we developed a novel and facial strategy to generate hierarchical-layer nanospheres on the metal mesh surface and fabricated robust superhydrophobic and superoleophilic miniature metal mesh ships. Because of their superwetting properties, the modified meshes could easily remove and recycle the oil spills from the water surface (>90% collection efficiency), and have high oil/water separation capacity (>96%). The excellent stability, corrosion resistance, and robust mechanical durability endow the modified mesh ships with more advantages in a marine environment. We envision that these superhydrophobic meshes modified with PA and VTES are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and easy to scale up and hence display great potential in practical application

Multi-criteria appraisal recommendation

Generating the overall assessments of cases from their observations on multiple criteria when large volumes of historical data have been accumulated is a key issue. This study, therefore, developed the framework of multi-criteria appraisal recommendation (MCAR). Five strategies belonging to three categories were designed to recommend the overall appraisals of new cases from their observations on multiple criteria based on relevant historical data. The proposed framework’s basic conditions and key issues were presented to widen its application. The framework was then used to generate the diagnostic recommendations for thyroid nodules from their observations based on the historical examination reports of six radiologists. The experimental results indicated that different strategies are appropriate for different radiologists, and no single strategy was found to be the most appropriate for all considered radiologists. The five strategies were compared with four representative machine learning models to highlight their performances and interpretabilities using the historical examination reports of the radiologists.</p

Score intervals of the IDPRs between any two candidates in the manager selection problem.

Score intervals of the IDPRs between any two candidates in the manager selection problem.</p

Supplementary material of “Interval-valued distributed preference relation and its application to group decision making”.

Appendix A. (Figure A) The function G′ with respect to x. (Figure B) The function K′ with respect to y. Appendix B. (Table A) Explanation of the ten criteria in the manager selection problem. (Table B) Relative weights of the four decision makers on the ten criteria in the manager selection problem. (Table C) IDPRs between the neighboring candidates and the IDPRs between specific pair of candidates used to construct additive consistency in the manager selection problem. (Table D) Group IDPRs between the neighboring candidates and the group IDPRs between specific pair of candidates used to construct additive consistency in the manager selection problem. (Table E) Values of the parameter a for decision makers and the group with the variation in s(Hn). (Figure C) Movement of the parameter a for decision makers and the group with the variation in s(Hn). (Table F) Values of the parameter b for decision makers and the group with the variation in s(Hn). (Figure D) Movement of the parameter b for decision makers and the group with the variation in s(Hn). (DOC)</p