Broad-Spectral-Range Sustainability and Controllable Excitation of Hyperbolic Phonon Polaritons in α-MoO3

Hyperbolic phonon polaritons (HPhPs) in orthorhombic-phase molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO₃) show in-plane hyperbolicity, great wavelength compression, and ultralong lifetime, therefore holding great potential in nanophotonic applications. However, its polaritonic response in the far-infrared (FIR) range remains unexplored due to challenges in experimental characterization. Here, monochromated electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) is used to probe HPhPs in α-MoO₃ in both mid-infrared (MIR) and FIR frequencies and correlate their behaviors with microstructures and orientations. It is found that low structural symmetry leads to various phonon modes and multiple Reststrahlen bands (RBs) over a broad spectral range (over 70 meV) and in different directions (55–63 meV and 119–125 meV along the b-axis, 68–106 meV along the c-axis, and 101–121 meV along the a-axis). These HPhPs can be selectively excited by controlling the direction of swift electrons. These findings provide new opportunities in nanophotonic and optoelectronic applications, such as directed light propagation, hyperlenses, and heat transfer.     

Stress distribution in thick-walled cylinder due to non-uniform radial pressure on the example of reinforcement corrosion in concrete

This paper presents an analytical solution to the non-uniform pressure on thick-walled cylinder. The formulation is based on the linear elasticity theory (plain strain) and stress function method. As an example, the proposed solution is used to model the stress distribution due to non-uniform steel reinforcement corrosion in concrete. The model is formulated considering different scenarios of corrosion pressure distribution. It is validated against the finite element model for different cases of non-uniform pressure distributions. The results show that the corrosion-induced cracks are likely to start just beyond the anodic zone. This is confirmed by the experimental tests on concrete cylinder exposed to non-uniform accelerated corrosion of steel reinforcement. The model can be effectively used to calculate the distribution of corrosion-induced stresses in concrete.     

A new metaheuristic for optimization: Optics inspired optimization (OIO)

Due to the law of reflection, a concave reflecting surface/mirror causes the incident light rays to converge and a convex surface/mirror causes the light rays to reflect away so that they all appear to be diverging. These converging and diverging behaviors cause that the curved mirrors show different image types depending on the distance between the object and the mirror. We model such optical phenomena metaphorically into the searching process of numerical optimization by a new algorithm called optics inspired optimization (OIO). OIO treats the surface of the numerical function to be optimized as a reflecting surface in which each peak is assumed to reflect as a convex mirror and each valley to reflect as a concave one. Each individual is assumed to be an artificial object (or light point) that its artificially glittered ray is reflected back by the function surface, given that the surface is convex or concave, and the artificial image is formed (a candidate solution is generated within the search domain) based on the mirror equations adopted from physics of optics. Besides OIO, we introduce different variants of it, called ROIO (Rotation based OIO), and COIO (Convex combination based OIO) algorithms and conduct an extensive computational effort to find out the merit of the new algorithms. Our comparisons on benchmark test functions and a real world engineering design application (i.e., optimization of a centrifuge pump) demonstrate that the new algorithms are efficient and compete better than or similar to most of state of the art optimization algorithms with the advantage of accepting few input parameters.     

Optimal resilient power grid operation during the course of a progressing wildfire

We study a two-stage stochastic and nonlinear optimization model for operating a power grid exposed to a natural disaster. Although this approach can be generalized to any natural hazard of continuous (and not instantaneous) nature, our focus is on wildfires. We assume that an approaching wildfire impacts the power grid by reducing the transmission capacity of its overhead lines. At the time when proactive decisions have to be taken, the severity of the wildfire is not known. This introduces uncertainty. In this paper, we extend previous work by more realistically capturing this uncertainty and by strengthening the mathematical programming formulation through standard reformulation techniques. With these reformulation techniques, the resulting two-stage, convex mixed-integer quadratically constrained programming formulation can be efficiently solved using commercial quadratic programming solvers as demonstrated on a case study on a modified version of the IEEE 123-bus test system with 100 scenarios. We also quantify the uncertainties through a second case study using the following three standard metrics of two-stage stochastic optimization: the expected value of perfect information, the expected result of using the expected value solution and the value of the stochastic solution.     

Capsiate Intake with Exercise Training Additively Reduces Fat Deposition in Mice on a High-Fat Diet,but Not without Exercise Training

While exercise training (ET) is an efficient strategy to manage obesity, it is recommended with a dietary plan to maximize the antiobesity functions owing to a compensational increase in energy intake. Capsiate is a notable bioactive compound for managing obesity owing to its capacity to increase energy expenditure. We aimed to examine whether the antiobesity effects of ET can be further enhanced by capsiate intake (CI) and determine its effects on resting energy expenditure and metabolic molecules. Mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 per group) and fed high-fat diet. Mild-intensity treadmill ET was conducted five times/week; capsiate (10 mg/kg) was orally administered daily. After 8 weeks, resting metabolic rate and metabolic molecules were analyzed. ET with CI additively reduced the abdominal fat rate by 18% and solely upregulated beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue (p = 0.013) but did not affect the metabolic molecules in skeletal muscles. Surprisingly, CI without ET significantly increased the abdominal fat rate (p = 0.001) and reduced energy expenditure by 9%. Therefore, capsiate could be a candidate compound for maximizing the antiobesity effects of ET by upregulating beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue, but CI without ET may not be beneficial in managing obesity.     

A Complexing Agent to Enable a Wide-Temperature Range Bromine-Based Flow Battery for Stationary Energy Storage

Bromine-based flow batteries (Br-FBs) are considered one of the most promising energy storage systems due to their features of high energy density and low cost. However, they generally suffer from uncontrolled diffusion of corrosive bromine particularly at high temperatures. That is because the interaction between polybromide anions and the commonly used complexing agent (N–methyl–N–ethyl–pyrrolidinium bromide [MEP]) decreases with increasing temperatures, which causes serious self-discharge and capacity fade. Herein, a novel bromine complexing agent, 1–ethyl–2–methyl–pyridinium bromide (BCA), is introduced in Br-FBs to solve the above problems. It is proven that BCA can combine with polybromide anions very well even at a high temperature of 60 °C. Moreover, the BCA contributes to decreasing the electrochemical polarization of Br⁻/Br₂ couple, which in turn improves their power density. As a result, a zinc–bromine flow battery with BCA as the complexing agent can achieve a high energy efficiency of 84% at 40 mA cm⁻², even at high temperature of 60 °C and it can stably run for more than 400 cycles without obvious performance decay. This paper provides an effective complexing agent to enable a wide temperature range Br-FB.     

Inductive effect in Mn-doped ZnO nanoribon arrays grown on Ni foam: A promising key for boosted capacitive and high specific energy supercapacitors

Transition metal oxides have been explored in supercapacitor applications owing to their safety, low cost, high specific capacitance and high electrochemical activity. Among all transition metal oxides, zinc oxide based materials show remarkable response for designing the supercapacitors with high electrochemical activity. Here in, Mn doped ZnO (Zn_1-xMn_xO₃ with x = 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1) was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. Doping of Mn into the ZnO increased the surface area and decease the charge transfer resistance for the Zn_0.5Mn_0.5O₃. All the synthesized materials were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy SEM), BET, electrochemical tests and other various analytical techniques to confirm the structural, morphological, textural and suprcapacitive properties. The synthesized material Zn_0.5Mn_0.5O₃ having the porous nanoribons structure with BET surface area (2490 cm²/g). The electrochemical studies showed significantly enhanced response toward pseudocapacitive nature. The synthesized material exhibited the excellent specific capacitance (515F/g), specific energy (28.61 Wh/kg) and specific power (1000 W/kg) at current density of 2 mA/g. Such impressive and superior properties make the MnZnO₃ material as promising candidate for new generation supercapacitor applications.     

Rapid synthesis of garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolyte with superior electrochemical performance

Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂-based garnet-type solid electrolytes are promising candidates for use in all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs). However, their potential in large-scale commercial applications is largely hindered by the time/energy-consuming and lithium-wasting synthetic method which typically needs a long-duration high temperature solid state reaction process. Herein we invent a fast preparation route that involves a short-period thermal reaction (1100 °C for 10 min) in laboratory muffle furnaces following by conventional hot pressing technique to get almost fully dense (Al, Ga, Ta, Nb)-doped garnet-type electrolytes with high phase purity (>99.9 %). The large and compact grains, low porosity and high phase purities of garnet ceramic electrolytes synthesized in this study ensure superior electrochemical performance. Particularly, Ga-doped cubic Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ shows extremely low E_a values (0.17?0.18 eV) and record-high lithium ionic conductivities (>2 × 10^?3 S cm^-1 at 25 °C).     

Skeletal Muscle Health and Cognitive Function: A Narrative Review

Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function with advancing age. It involves both complex genetic and modifiable risk factors, such as lack of exercise, malnutrition and reduced neurological drive. Cognitive decline refers to diminished or impaired mental and/or intellectual functioning. Contracting skeletal muscle is a major source of neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which regulate synapses in the brain. Furthermore, skeletal muscle activity has important immune and redox effects that modify brain function and reduce muscle catabolism. The identification of common risk factors and underlying mechanisms for sarcopenia and cognition may allow the development of targeted interventions that slow or reverse sarcopenia and also certain forms of cognitive decline. However, the links between cognition and skeletal muscle have not been elucidated fully. This review provides a critical appraisal of the literature on the relationship between skeletal muscle health and cognition. The literature suggests that sarcopenia and cognitive decline share pathophysiological pathways. Ageing plays a role in both skeletal muscle deterioration and cognitive decline. Furthermore, lifestyle risk factors, such as physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking, are common to both disorders, so their potential role in the muscle–brain relationship warrants investigation.     

基于组合双向拍卖的云资源调度方法

针对跨数据中心的资源调度问题，提出了一种基于组合双向拍卖（PCDA）的资源调度方案。首先，将云资源拍卖分为三个部分：云用户代理报价、云资源提供商要价、拍卖代理组织拍卖；其次，在定义用户的优先级及任务紧迫度的基础上，在拍卖过程中估算每一个工作发生的服务等级协议（SLA）违规并以此计算云提供商的收益，同时每轮竞拍允许成交多项交易；最终达到根据用户等级合理分配云资源调度的效果。仿真实验结果表明该算法保证了竞拍成功率，与传统一次拍卖成交一项的组合双向拍卖方案相比，PCDA在竞拍时间段产生的能耗降低了35.00%，拍卖云提供商的利润提高了约38.84%。