Preparation of Cu2ZnSnS/Se4 Thin Films from Oxide Precursors and its Prospect for Other Cu2MSnS4 Thin Films

In this chapter, the preparation of Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) and Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films from oxide precursors was described. Such an oxides‐based route is a low cost, facile way for the kesteries thin films. The rationality of applying oxides method into CZTSe and CZTS thin films was also clarified, including the reactive thermodynamics and annealing process. Finally, this oxide‐based approach is also expected for the preparation of the other Cu2MSnS4 (M= Co2+, Fe2+, Ni2+, Mn2+) thin films

The hybrid spatialities of post-industrial Beijing: communism, neoliberalism, and brownfield redevelopment

While the redevelopment of urban brownfield sites in China has received much attention, the role of political ideology in this process is usually downplayed or sidelined to a set of stylized assumptions. This paper invites giving a greater analytical focus to the evolving and nonorthodox nature of China’s politico-ideological model as a factor shaping urban change and redevelopment. The paper provides an analytical framework integrating multi-level and evolutionary perspectives while exploring the experiences of the formation and post-industrial redevelopment of brownfield sites in Beijing. The analysis demonstrates that neoliberal economic policies and the communist political doctrine are co-constitutive in the production of China’s post-industrial urban space. This produces a sense of spatial hybridity that combines and co-embeds what may be assumed to be mutually exclusive

Rescue of recombinant peste des petits ruminants virus: creation of a GFP-expressing virus and application in rapid virus neutralization test

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) causes high mortality in goats and sheep and the disease has shown a greatly increased geographic distribution over the last 15 years. It is responsible for serious socioeconomic problems in some of the poorest developing countries. The ability to create recombinant PPRV would provide a useful tool for investigating the biology of the virus and the pathology of disease, as well as for developing new vaccines and diagnostic methods. Here we report the first successful rescue of recombinant PPRV from a full-length cDNA clone of the virus genome. Successful recovery of PPRV was achieved by using a RNA polymerase II promoter to drive transcription of the full-length virus antigenome. We have used this technique to construct a virus expressing a tracer protein (green fluorescent protein, GFP). The recombinant virus replicated as well as the parental virus and could stably express GFP during at least 10 passages. The newly established reverse genetics system for PPRV provides a novel method for constructing a vaccine using PPRV as a vector, and will also prove valuable for fundamental research on the biology of the virus. We found that our recombinant virus allowed more rapid and higher throughput assessment of PPRV neutralization antibody titer via the virus neutralization test (VNT) compared with the traditional method

SDT: A Low-cost and Topology-reconfigurable Testbed for Network Research

Network experiments are essential to network-related scientific research (e.g., congestion control, QoS, network topology design, and traffic engineering). However, (re)configuring various topologies on a real testbed is expensive, time-consuming, and error-prone. In this paper, we propose \emph{Software Defined Topology Testbed (SDT)}, a method for constructing a user-defined network topology using a few commodity switches. SDT is low-cost, deployment-friendly, and reconfigurable, which can run multiple sets of experiments under different topologies by simply using different topology configuration files at the controller we designed. We implement a prototype of SDT and conduct numerous experiments. Evaluations show that SDT only introduces at most 2\% extra overhead than full testbeds on multi-hop latency and is far more efficient than software simulators (reducing the evaluation time by up to 2899x). SDT is more cost-effective and scalable than existing Topology Projection (TP) solutions. Further experiments show that SDT can support various network research experiments at a low cost on topics including but not limited to topology design, congestion control, and traffic engineering.Comment: This paper will be published in IEEE CLUSTER 2023. Preview version onl

Optimum Research of Hot-Pressing Technology of the Composite Board with Waste Wood and Paper

On the rise of global low-carbon economy with the purpose of leveraging waste wood resources efficiently, waste wood and paper was processed into new type wood-based panels. The hot-pressing technology of the 9 mm composite board with waste wood and paper was studied through an orthogonal experiment, and the effects of resin content, hot-pressing temperature, hot-pressing time and the mass ratio of waste wood and paper were discussed. Results indicated that effects of resin content on the MOR (Modulus of rupture), MOE (modulus of elasticity) and 24h TS (thickness swelling) of the composite board were remarkable, while effects of hot-pressing temperature, hot-pressing time and the mass ratio of waste wood and paper were slight. Based on the quality indicators of MOR, it was found that the optimum condition of hot-pressing for the 9 mm composite board with waste wood and paper was estimated to include resin content of 19%, hot-pressing temperature of 120 °C, hot-pressing time of 12.5min, and the mass ratio of waste wood and paper of 7 to 13. Under these conditions, the composite board could be used as new materials for furniture, interior decoration and packaging.Key words: Waste wood; Waste paper; Composite board; Hot-pressing technolog

Measuring polycentric structures of megaregions in China: linking morphological and functional dimensions

The idea of megaregions, which focuses on polycentricity, competitiveness, and integration attracts much attention in research and policy. China has used megaregions as a normative governance framework that leverages polycentric regional development for balancing economic competitiveness and spatial development. This paper explores to what extent these megaregions actually reveal polycentric versus monocentric structures. The analysis demonstrates a divergence between the morphological and functional organization of China’s megaregions. Five types of megaregions are identified as per the relationships between the morphological and functional dimensions. Functionally, the Pearl River Delta, Shandong Peninsula, and Yangtze River Delta are among the most polycentric megaregions. The majority of others, even where morphologically polycentric, do not exhibit high degrees of functional polycentricity. The study demonstrates a problematic nature of megaregions as a governance agenda for regional polycentricity. It argues that if China genuinely wants to achieve greater levels of polycentricity and spatial cohesion, differentiated policies should be implemented for megaregions

Newcastle disease virus-vectored Nipah encephalitis vaccines induce B and T cell responses in mice and long-lasting neutralizing antibodies in pigs

AbstractNipah virus (NiV), a member of the Paramyxoviridae family, causes deadly encephalitis in humans and huge economic losses to the pig industry. Here, we generated recombinant avirulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) LaSota strains expressing the NiV G and F proteins respectively (designated as rLa-NiVG and rLa-NiVF), and evaluated their immunogenicity in mice and pigs. Both rLa-NiVG and rLa-NiVF displayed growth properties similar to those of LaSota virus in chicken eggs. Co-infection of rLa-NiVG and rLa-NiVF caused marked syncytia formation, while intracerebral co-inoculation of these viruses in mice showed they were safe in at least one mammalian species. Animal immunization studies showed rLa-NiVG and rLa-NiVF induced NiV neutralizing antibody responses in mice and pigs, and F protein-specific CD8+ T cell responses in mice. Most importantly, rLa-NiVG and rLa-NiVF administered alone or together, induced a long-lasting neutralizing antibody response in pigs. Recombinant rLa-NiVG/F thus appear to be promising NiV vaccine candidates for pigs and potentially humans