Typical Non–TiO2-Based Visible-Light Photocatalysts

Photocatalysis has received much attention as a potential solution to the worldwide energy shortage and for counteracting environmental degradation. However, the traditional photocatalyst, TiO2, cannot make use of visible light that accounts for 45% of solar spectrum because of a large bandgap (3.2 eV). Therefore, it is urgent to develop visible-light-driven photocatalysts. On the one hand, some modification technologies were explored to extend the light absorption of TiO2 to visible-light region, such as doping of metal and non-metal elements, dye sensitization, and so on. On the other hand, much effort has been directed toward the development of new visible-light photocatalysts. The good news is, some novel and efficient non-TiO2-based photocatalysts have been discovered, such as WO3, Ag3PO4, BiVO4, g-C3N4. In this chapter, these four typical visible light–driven semiconductor photocatalysts were highlighted. WO3 is a visible light–responsive photocatalyst that absorbs light up to ca. 480 nm. Besides that, WO3 has some advantages, such as low cost, harmlessness, and stability in acidic and oxidative conditions. Preparation of WO3 films with the deposition of noble metal is considered to be a promising approach for the photocatalytic applications. In addition, the characteristic morphology and improved photocatalytic performance of Ag3PO4-based and BiVO4-based have been raised up. New methods for fabrication Ag3PO4 with exposed high-energy facets and novel heterogeneous Ag3PO4 co-catalysts have been developed. Monoclinic BiVO4 is a promising photo-anode material for photocatalytic water splitting to produce hydrogen. Co-catalysts loaded on BiVO4 could improve the surface charge transfer efficiency. Furthermore, g-C3N4 is a promising visible-light photocatalyst due to its unique electronic structure. To date, g-C3N4-based photocatalysis has become a very hot research topic. The synthesis, bandgap engineering, and semiconductor composites of g-C3N4-based photocatalysts are highlighted

Optical coherence tomography angiography for assessment of changes of the retina and choroid in different stages of diabetic retinopathy and their relationship with diabetic nephropathy

Given the prevalence of diabetes worldwide, diabetic retinopathy (DR) has become the most prominent cause of blindness. However, DR can be diagnosed only when it is severe enough to be clinically detectable. Several studies have evaluated the correlation between DR and diabetic nephropathy (DN) by utilizing optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Compared with other diagnostic techniques, such as fluorescein angiography and fundus photography, OCTA has the ability to directly reflect the condition of the retinal and choroidal microcirculation at an early stage. This review focuses on the following aspects: the advantages of OCTA, the pathophysiology of DR, changes in OCTA images in patients with DR, and the relationships between OCTA parameters and renal function

Template-Free Synthesis of Monoclinic BiVO4 with Porous Structure and Its High Photocatalytic Activity

Monoclinic BiVO4 photocatalysts with porous structures were synthesized by a two-step approach without assistance of any templates. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photocurrent responses, and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). It is found that the as-prepared BiVO4 samples had a porous structure with aperture diameter of 50–300 nm. Moreover, the BET specific surface area of the porous BiVO4-200 °C sample reaches up to 5.69 m2/g, which is much higher than that of the sample of BiVO4 particles without porous structure. Furthermore, a possible formation mechanism of BiVO4 with porous structure was proposed. With methylene blue (MB) as a model compound, the photocatalytic oxidation of organic contaminants in aqueous solution was investigated under visible light irradiation. It is found that the porous BiVO4-200 °C sample exhibits the best photocatalytic activity, and the photocatalytic rate constant is about three times of that of the sample of BiVO4 particles without porous structure. In addition, the photocurrent responses and electrochemical impedance spectra strongly support this conclusion

An Integrative Framework for Online Prognostic and Health Management Using Internet of Things and Convolutional Neural Network

With the development of the internet of things (IoTs), big data, smart sensing technology, and cloud technology, the industry has entered a new stage of revolution. Traditional manufacturing enterprises are transforming into service-oriented manufacturing based on prognostic and health management (PHM). However, there is a lack of a systematic and comprehensive framework of PHM to create more added value. In this paper, the authors proposed an integrative framework to systematically solve the problem from three levels: Strategic level of PHM to create added value, tactical level of PHM to make the implementation route, and operational level of PHM in a detailed application. At the strategic level, the authors provided the innovative business model to create added value through the big data. Moreover, to monitor the equipment status, the health index (HI) based on a condition-based maintenance (CBM) method was proposed. At the tactical level, the authors provided the implementation route in application integration, analysis service, and visual management to satisfy the different stakeholders’ functional requirements through a convolutional neural network (CNN). At the operational level, the authors constructed a self-sensing network based on anti-inference and self-organizing Zigbee to capture the real-time data from the equipment group. Finally, the authors verified the feasibility of the framework in a real case from China

Serum lipid and lipoprotein levels of middle-aged and elderly Chinese men and women in Shandong Province

Abstract Background Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases have become leading causes of death in China as the economy develop and lifestyles change. This study aimed to estimate the relationship of the age, gender, and glucose metabolism with the serum lipid and lipoprotein levels of middle-aged and elderly Chinese men and women in Shandong Province. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study in Shandong Province that included 10,028 adults aged ≥40 years. Fasting serum total, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides were measured by standard methods. Results The estimates of total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol and triglycerides were as follows: 5.35, 3.18, 1.51, and 1.34 mmol/L in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese adult population; 5.14, 3.08, 1.42, and 1.33 mmol/L in male subjects; 5.46, 3.24, 1.56, and 1.34 mmol/L in females; 5.27, 3.11, 1.54, and 1.24 mmol/L in the normal glucose tolerance population, 5.49, 3.27, 1.50, and 1.41 mmol/L in the population with pre-diabetes, and 5.39, 3.23, 1.43, and 1.58 mmol/L in the population with diabetes, respectively. Moreover, 36.92 and 19.10% of the adults had borderline-high and high total cholesterol. The population estimates for borderline-high, high LDL and low HDL cholesterol levels were 25.24, 13.39, and 5.64%, respectively. Meanwhile, borderline high and high triglyceride levels accounted for 16.7 and 17.47% of the population, respectively. Conclusions Serum total and LDL cholesterol levels were high in the ≥40 years old population of Shandong Province. Age, gender, glucose metabolism status, body mass index (BMI) and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) can affect serum lipid and lipoprotein levels