Self-assembly of noble metal nanoparticles into sub-100 nm colloidosomes with collective optical and catalytic properties.

Self-assembly at the nanoscale represents a powerful tool for creating materials with new structures and intriguing collective properties. Here, we report a novel strategy to synthesize nanoscale colloidosomes of noble metals by assembling primary metal nanoparticles at the interface of emulsion droplets formed by their capping agent. This strategy produces noble metal colloidosomes of unprecedentedly small sizes (<100 nm) in high yield and uniformity, which is highly desirable for practical applications. In addition, it enables the high tunability of the composition, producing a diversity of monometallic and bimetallic alloy colloidosomes. The colloidosomes exhibit interesting collective properties that are different from those of individual colloidal nanoparticles. Specifically, we demonstrate Au colloidosomes with well-controlled interparticle plasmon coupling and Au-Pd alloy colloidosomes with superior electrocatalytic performance, both thanks to the special structural features that arise from the assembly. We believe this strategy provides a general platform for producing a rich class of miniature colloidosomes that may have fascinating collective properties for a broad range of applications

Synthesis of ultrathin platinum nanoplates for enhanced oxygen reduction activity.

Ultrathin Pt nanostructures exposing controlled crystal facets are highly desirable for their superior activity and cost-effectiveness in the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and they are conventionally synthesized by epitaxial growth of Pt on a limited range of templates, such as Pd nanocrystals, resulting in a high cost and less structural diversity of the ultrathin Pt nanostructures. To solve this problem, we demonstrate that ultrathin Pt nanostructures can be synthesized by templating conveniently available Ag nanocrystals without involving galvanic replacement, which enables a much-reduced cost and controllable new morphologies, such as ultrathin Pt nanoplates that expose the {111} facets. The resulting ultrathin Pt nanoplates are ∼1-2 nm in thickness, which show an ∼22-fold increase in specific activity (5.3 mA cm-2), an ∼9.5-fold increase in mass activity (1.62 A mg-1) and significantly enhanced catalytic stability in the ORR, compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst. We believe this strategy opens a door to a highly extendable family of ultrathin noble metal nanostructures, thus promising excellent activity and stability in a broad range of catalytic applications

Safety assessment of upper buried gas pipeline under blasting vibration of subway tunnel: a case study in Beijing subway line

As the buried gas pipelines are not easily field monitored, its status under the influence of tunnel blasting vibration is often difficult to obtain. In order to assess the safety of an upper buried gas pipeline under blasting vibration in the Beijing subway line 16, we established the 3D numerical model of the real field engineering to calculate and analyze the distribution of peak particle velocity (PPV) on the surface soil, proved its reliability by using the field monitoring data and discussed the dynamic response of the pipeline. Based on the analysis, we further assessed the safety of pipeline subjected to tunnel blasting vibration and concluded that the pipeline is only subjected to limited effect of tunnel blasting vibration and thus is safe

Agenda 21.

A Agenda 21 Brasileira é um processo e, ao mesmo tempo, instrumento de planejamento participativo para o desenvolvimento sustentável e que tem como eixo central a sustentabilidade, compatibilizando a conservação ambiental, a justiça social e o crescimento econômico. O documento e resultado de uma vasta consulta a população brasileira, sendo construída a partir das diretrizes da Agenda 21 global. Trata-se, portanto, de um instrumento fundamental para a construção da democracia ativa e da cidadania participativa no pais. A primeira fase foi a construção da Agenda 21 Brasileira. Esse processo, que se deu de 1996 a 2002, foi coordenado pela Comissão de Politicas de Desenvolvimento Sustentável e da Agenda 21 Nacional - CPDS e teve o envolvimento de cerca de 40.000 pessoas de todo o Brasil. O documento Agenda 21 Brasileira foi concluído em 2002. A partir de 2003, a Agenda 21 Brasileira não somente entrou na fase de implementação assistida pela CPDS, como também foi elevada a condição de Programa do Plano Plurianual, PPA 2004-2007, pelo atual governo. Como programa, ela adquire mais foça politica e institucional, passando a ser instrumento fundamental para a construção do Brasil Sustentável, estando coadunada com as diretrizes da politica ambiental do Governo-transversalidade, desenvolvimento sustentável, fortalecimento do Sistema e participação social, adotando referenciais importantes como a Carta da Terra. Portanto, a Agenda 21, que tem provado ser um guia eficiente para processos de união da sociedade, compreensão dos conceitos de cidadania e de sua aplicação, e hoje um dos grandes instrumentos de formação de politicas públicas no Brasil.Agenda 21 Brazilian is a process and, at the same time, instrument of participative planning for the sustainable development and that it has as central axle the sustentabilidade, compatibizando the ambient conservation, social justice and the economic growth. The document is resulted of a vast one consults the Brazilian population, being constructed from the lines of direction of global Agenda 21. It is treated, therefore, of a basic instrument for the construction of the active democracy and the participative citizenship in the Country. The first phase was the construction of Agenda 21 Brazilian. This process, that if gave of 1996 the 2002, was co-ordinated by the Commission of Politics of Sustainable Development and the National Agenda 21 - CPDS and had the envolvement of about 40.000 people of all Brazil. The document Agenda 21 Brazilian was concluded in 2002. From 2003, Agenda 21 Brazilian not only entered in the phase of implementation attended for the CPDS, as also condition of Program of the Puritanical Plan was raised a, PPA 2004-2007, for the current government. As program, it it acquires more force institutional politics and, starting to be basic instrument for the construction of Sustainable Brazil, being coadunate with the lines of direction of the ambient politics of the Government-transversaldade, sustainable development, fortalecimento of the System and social participation, adopting referenciais important as the Letter of the Land. Therefore, Agenda 21, that it has proven being an efficient guide for processes of union of the society, understanding of the concepts of citizenship and its application, is today one of the great instruments of formation of public politics in Brazi

Vomiting and wasting disease associated with hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis viruses infection in piglets in jilin, china

One coronavirus strain was isolated from brain tissues of ten piglets with evident clinical manifestations of vomiting, diarrhea and dyskinesia in Jilin province in China. Antigenic and genomic characterizations of the virus (isolate PHEV-JLsp09) were based on multiplex PCR and negative staining electron microscopy and sequence analysis of the Hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) gene. These piglets were diagnosed with Porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV)

Expert Consensus on Microtransplant for Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Elderly Patients -Report From the International Microtransplant Interest Group

Recent studies have shown that microtransplant (MST) could improve outcome of patients with elderly acute myeloid leukemia (EAML). To further standardize the MST therapy and improve outcomes in EAML patients, based on analysis of the literature on MST, especially MST with EAML from January 1st, 2011 to November 30th, 2022, the International Microtransplant Interest Group provides recommendations and considerations for MST in the treatment of EAML. Four major issues related to MST for treating EAML were addressed: therapeutic principle of MST (1), candidates for MST (2), induction chemotherapy regimens (3), and post-remission therapy based on MST (4). Others included donor screening, infusion of donor cells, laboratory examinations, and complications of treatment

Formation mechanism of anionic-surfactant-templated mesoporous silica (AMS)

This dissertation is focused on synthesis, characterization and formation mechanism of anionic-surfactant-templated mesoporous silica (AMS). Structural control mechanisms of AMS are investigated. First, different ionization degree of anionic surfactant affected by the acidity or alkalinity of the synthesis system gives rise to different charging density of micelles and therefore determines the organic/inorganic interface curvature, producing mesophases from cage-type to cylindrical, bicontinuous and lamellar. Second, mesocage/mesocage electrostatic repulsive interaction affects the formation of cage-type mesostructure, which is derived from a full-scaled synthesis-field diagram of AMS. The mesocage/mesocage interaction changes with charge density of mesocages and gives rise to their different packing manners. Third, the structural properties of AMS materials could be tuned by molecular features of surfactant and co-structure-directing agent (CSDA). The pore size of AMS is found to be controlled by alkyl chain length, ionization degree of surfactant and the CSDA/surfactant ratio. Alkyl chain length of surfactant determines size of micelles and thus mesopores. Larger ionization degrees of anionic surfactant give rise to smaller pore sizes due to thermodynamic coiling of alkyl chains of surfactant. The hydrophobic interactions between the pendant organic groups of CSDA on the silica wall and the hydrophobic core of the micelles drive a contraction of the mesopores. A mesoporous silica with novel bicontinuous cubic Pn-3m structure has been prepared using a diprotic anionic surfactant. 3d-reconstruction of the structure shows that it is bicontinuous composed of an enantiomeric pair of 3d mesoporous networks that are interwoven with each other, divided by a D surface. Inverse replication suggests the possible presence of ordered complimentary micropores in the material

A Method for Multi-Criteria Group Decision Making with 2-Tuple Linguistic Information Based on Cloud Model

This paper presents a new approach to solve the multi-criteria group decision making (MCGDM) problem where criteria values take the form of 2-tuple linguistic information. Firstly, a 2-tuple hybrid ordered weighted geometric (THOWG) operator is proposed, which synthetically considers the importance of both individual and the ordered position so as to overcome the defects of existing operators. Secondly, combining the advantages of the cloud model and 2-tuple linguistic variable, a new generating cloud method is proposed to transform 2-tuple linguistic variables into clouds. Thirdly, we further define some new cloud algorithms, such as cloud possibility degree and cloud support degree which can be respectively used to compare clouds and determine the criteria weights. Furthermore, a new approach for 2-tuple linguistic group decision making is presented on the basis of the THOWG operator, the improved generating cloud method as well as the new cloud algorithms. Finally, an example of assessing the social effects of biomass power plants (BPPS) is illustrated to verify the application and feasible of the developed approach, and a comparative analysis is also conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method

Seed-Mediated Synthesis of Thin Gold Nanoplates with Tunable Edge Lengths and Optical Properties

Thin Au nanoplates show intriguing localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) properties with potential applications in various fields. The conventional synthesis of Au nanoplates usually involves the formation of spherical nanoparticles or produces nanoplates with large thicknesses. Herein, we demonstrate a synthesis of uniform thin Au nanoplates by using Au–Ag alloy nanoframes obtained by the galvanic replacement of Ag nanoplates with HAuCl4 as the seeds and a sulfite (SO32−) as a ligand. The SO32− ligand not only complexes with the Au salt for the controlled reduction kinetics but also strongly adsorbs on Au {111} facets for effectively constraining the crystal growth on both basal sides of the Au nanoplates for controlled shape and reduced thicknesses. This seed-mediated synthesis affords Au nanoplates with a thickness of only 7.5 nm, although the thickness increases with the edge length. The edge length can be customizable in a range of 48–167 nm, leading to tunable LSPR bands in the range of 600–1000 nm. These thin Au nanoplates are applicable not only to surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy with enhanced sensitivity and reliability but also to a broader range of LSPR-based applications

An Extended VIKOR-Based Approach for Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Plant Site Selection with Heterogeneous Information

The selection of a desirable site for constructing a pumped hydro energy storage plant (PHESP) plays a vital important role in the whole life cycle. However, little research has been done on the site selection of PHESP, which affects the rapid development of PHESP. Therefore, this paper aims to select the most ideal PHESP site from numerous candidate alternatives using the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique. Firstly, a comprehensive evaluation criteria system is established for the first time. Then, considering quantitative and qualitative criteria coexist in this system, multiple types of representations, including crisp numerical values (CNVs), triangular intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (TIFNs), and 2-dimension uncertain linguistic variables (2DULVs), are employed to deal with heterogeneous criteria information. To determine the weight of criteria and fully take the preference of the decision makers (DMs) into account, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method is applied for criteria weighting. After that, an extended Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method is utilized to provide compromise solutions for the PHESP site considering such heterogeneous information. At last, the proposed model is then applied in a case study of Zhejiang province, China to illustrate its practicality and efficiency. The result shows the Changlongshan should be selected as the optimal PHESP