mlsa-iai-msu-lab/ru_sci_bench_zho_cite_reranking huggingface dataset:
Size effects in lithium ion batteries

Size-related properties of novel lithium battery materials, arising from kinetics, thermodynamics, and newly discovered lithium storage mechanisms, are reviewed. Complementary experimental and computational investigations of the use of the size effects to modify electrodes and electrolytes for lithium ion batteries are enumerated and discussed together. Size differences in the materials in lithium ion batteries lead to a variety of exciting phenomena. Smaller-particle materials with highly connective interfaces and reduced diffusion paths exhibit higher rate performance than the corresponding bulk materials. The thermodynamics is also changed by the higher surface energy of smaller particles, affecting, for example, secondary surface reactions, lattice parameter, voltage, and the phase transformation mechanism. Newly discovered lithium storage mechanisms that result in superior storage capacity are also briefly highlighted.
Understanding oxygen reactions in aprotic Li-O_2 batteries

Although significant progress has been made in many aspects of the emerging aprotic Li-O_2 battery system, an indepth understanding of the oxygen reactions is still underway. The oxygen reactions occurring in the positive electrode distinguish Li-O_2 batteries from the conventional Li-ion cells and play a crucial role in the Li-O_2 cell’s performance (capacity, rate capability, and cycle life). Recent advances in fundamental studies of oxygen reactions in aprotic Li-O_2 batteries are reviewed, including the reaction route, kinetics, morphological evolution of Li_2O_2, and charge transport within Li_2O_2. Prospects are also provided for future fundamental investigations of Li-O_2 chemistry.
Li-ion batteries: Phase transition

Progress in the research on phase transitions during Li~+ extraction/insertion processes in typical battery materials is summarized as examples to illustrate the significance of understanding phase transition phenomena in Li-ion batteries. Physical phenomena such as phase transitions (and resultant phase diagrams) are often observed in Li-ion battery research and already play an important role in promoting Li-ion battery technology. For example, the phase transitions during Li~+ insertion/extraction are highly relevant to the thermodynamics and kinetics of Li-ion batteries, and even physical characteristics such as specific energy, power density, volume variation, and safety-related properties.
Mechanics of high-capacity electrodes in lithium-ion batteries

Rechargeable batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, play an important role in the emerging sustainable energy landscape. Mechanical degradation and resulting capacity fade in high-capacity electrode materials critically hinder their use in high-performance lithium-ion batteries. This paper presents an overview of recent advances in understanding the electrochemically-induced mechanical behavior of the electrode materials in lithium-ion batteries. Particular emphasis is placed on stress generation and facture in high-capacity anode materials such as silicon. Finally, we identify several important unresolved issues for future research.
Entropy and heat generation of lithium cells/batteries

The methods and techniques commonly used in investigating the change of entropy and heat generation in Li cells/batteries are introduced, as are the measurements, calculations and purposes. The changes of entropy and heat generation are concomitant with the use of Li cells/batteries. In order to improve the management and the application of Li cells/batteries, especially for large scale power batteries, the quantitative investigations of the change of entropy and heat generating are necessary.
Memcapacitor model and its application in a chaotic oscillator

A memcapacitor is a new type of memory capacitor. Before the advent of practical memcapacitor, the prospective studies on its models and potential applications are of importance. For this purpose, we establish a mathematical memcapacitor model and a corresponding circuit model. As a potential application, based on the model, a memcapacitor oscillator is designed, with its basic dynamic characteristics analyzed theoretically and experimentally. Some circuit variables such as charge, flux, and integral of charge, which are difficult to measure, are observed and measured via simulations and experiments. Analysis results show that besides the typical period-doubling bifurcations and period-3 windows, sustained chaos with constant Lyapunov exponents occurs. Moreover, this oscillator also exhibits abrupt chaos and some novel bifurcations. In addition, based on the digital signal processing (DSP) technology, a scheme of digitally realizing this memcapacitor oscillator is provided. Then the statistical properties of the chaotic sequences generated from the oscillator are tested by using the test suit of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The tested randomness definitely reaches the standards of NIST, and is better than that of the well-known Lorenz system.
Quantum walks with coins undergoing different quantum noisy channels

Quantum walks have significantly different properties compared to classical random walks, which have potential applications in quantum computation and quantum simulation. We study Hadamard quantum walks with coins undergoing different quantum noisy channels and deduce the analytical expressions of the first two moments of position in the longtime limit. Numerical simulations have been done, the results are compared with the analytical results, and they match extremely well. We show that the variance of the position distributions of the walks grows linearly with time when enough steps are taken and the linear coefficient is affected by the strength of the quantum noisy channels.
Spin dynamics of the potassium magnetometer in spin-exchange relaxation free regime

The laser-pumped potassium spin-exchange relaxation free (SERF) magnetometer is the most sensitive detector of magnetic field and has many important applications. We present the experimental results of our potassium SERF magnetometer. A pump–probe approach is used to identify the unique spin dynamics of the atomic ensemble in the SERF regime. A single channel sensitivity of 8 f·THz~(-1/2) is achieved with our SERF magnetometer.
生物多样性科学的热点问题

由于不断加剧的人类活动的影响, 生物多样性正以前所未有的速度丧失(MA, 2005)。这已经引起国际社会、各国政府和科学界的广泛关注。为了采取有效的行动保护受到严重威胁的生物多样性, 国内外开展了大量的研究。通过Web of Science检索可知, 以“biodiversity”为主题的论文数量不断增加,近两年平均每年发表的论文数量比10年前增加了2倍, 比2000年增加了12倍(附录1)。相关的学科, 如保护生物学(Conservation Biology) (Primack, 1993)、保护生态学(Conservation Ecology) (Cox, 1993)和生物多样性科学(Biodiversity Science) (Cracraft, 1995)应运而生。
Low-Temperature and Surfactant-Free Synthesis of Mesoporous TiO_2 Sub-Micron Spheres for Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are one of the most promising next-generation solar cells due to their advantages over other counterparts. The photoanode of DSSCs has a great effect on the photovoltaic performance. Traditional photoanode includes a bottom nanoparticle layer and an upper scattering layer for better light capture in longer wavelength. Mesoporous nanostructures with size comparable to the wavelength of visible light are considered to be excellent light scattering centers by providing extra places for dye loading. Developing a green synthetic method is of great importance. Herein we report a facile and surfactant-free synthesis of mesoporous rutile TiO_2 submicrometer-sized spheres at temperature as low as 70 ℃. DSSCs based on photoanodes with an upper scattering layer composed of as-obtained mesoporous spheres on nanoparticle dense layer demonstrate an 18.0% improvement of power conversion efficiency. This simple approachmay offer an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative for DSSCs fabrication.
Controllable hydrothermal synthesis of star-shaped Sr_3Fe_2(OH)_(12) assemblies and their thermal decomposition and magnetic properties

Pure phase star-shaped hydrogarnet Sr_3Fe_2(OH)_(12) assemblies were synthesized by a mild hydrothermal method (210 ?C, 12 h), and the effects of the preparation conditions on the phase composition of the product were investigated. It was found that the impurity phases could be decreased or eliminated by increasing the molar ratio of Sr~(2+) to Fe~(3+), and that high temperatures favored the formation of Sr_3Fe_2(OH)_(12) and reduced the concentration of CO_3~(2-)-containing byproducts. The thermal decomposition of the star-shaped Sr_3Fe_2(OH)_(12) assemblies was examined, and the results showed that the dehydration process at higher temperatures is accompanied by the formation of SrFeO_(3-δ). Above 655 ?C, a solid state reaction between the SrFeO_(3-δ) and Sr(OH)_2 or SrCO_3 results in the formation of Sr_4Fe_3O_(10-δ).The magnetic properties of the as-synthesized Sr_3Fe_2(OH)_(12) and of samples calcined at different temperatures were assessed. A sample calcined at 575 ?C exhibited greatly enhanced ferromagnetic properties, with a remanent magnetization of 1.28 emu/g and a coercivity of 4522.1 Oe at room temperature.
Mesoporous carbon-supported cobalt catalyst for selective oxidation of toluene and degradation of water contaminants

Mesoporous carbon-supported cobalt (Co-MC) catalysts are widely applied as electrode materials for batteries. Conversely, the development of Co-MC as bifunctional catalysts for application in organic catalytic reactions and degradation of water contaminants is slower. Herein, the catalyst displayed high activity in the selective oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde under mild conditions, attaining a high selectivity of 92.3%. Factors influencing the catalytic reaction performance were also investigated. Additionally, Co-MC displayed remarkable catalytic activity in degrading dyes relative to the pure metal counterpart. Moreover, the catalyst exhibited excellent reusability, as determined by the cyclic catalytic experiments. The paper demonstrates the potential of Co-MC as a bifunctional catalyst for both toluene selective oxidation and water contaminant degradation.
Mixed convection of alumina-water nanofluid inside a concentric annulus considering nanoparticle migration

A theoretical investigation was conducted of laminar fully developed mixed convection of alumina-water nanofluid through a vertical annulus, to improve its heating/cooling performance. We focused on controlling the nanoparticle migration and studying how it affected the heat transfer rate and pressure drop. Because the nanoparticles have very small dimensions, we only considered Brownian motion and thermophoretic diffusivity as the main causes of nanoparticle migration. Because thermophoresis is very sensitive to temperature gradients, we imposed various temperature gradients using asymmetric heating. Considering hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed flow, the governing equations were reduced to two-point ordinary boundary value differential equations and were solved numerically. The imposed thermal asymmetry changed the direction of nanoparticle migration and distorted the velocity, temperature, and nanoparticle concentration profiles. Moreover, we found optimum values for the radius ratio (ζ) and heat flux ratio (ε); with these optimum values, the nanofluid enhanced the efficacy of the system.
DNA barcoding reveals commercial fraud related to yak jerky sold in China

Dear Editor, Instances of food mislabeling and adulteration scandals focus public attention on food safety and market fraud. Such scandals force the authorities to enforce stringent regulations on food adulteration. The Chinese government and consumers are paying more attention to food resource quality and safety regulation than ever before. The growing food market requires food authenticity at all stages of product processing, while species identification of raw materials is fundamental for food safety. Species substitution causes economical loss to consumers and may negatively affect public sanitation because of possible presence of toxic and parasite-infected species (Galimberti et al., 2013). Globally, there is still inadequate regulation for species identification in food products, such as sliced and minced jerky. The main problem is that, after food processing, livestock products are morphologically indistinguishable because of the lack of discriminative features such as skull, fur, and tails. The recently developed technique of DNA barcoding has been proposed as a reliable, effective, and rapid technology for species identification (Hebert et al., 2003). DNA barcoding uses a short, standardized region to distinguish different taxa at the species level. Since DNA barcoding enables species identification for specimens lacking morphological features, it could be a convenient tool for tracing the raw materials of food at different stages of food industrial processing (Wallace et al., 2012).
Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based analysis provides global insights into the cotton ovule and fiber proteomes

Proteomic analysis of upland cotton was performed to profile the global detectable proteomes of ovules and fibers using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE). A total of 1,203 independent protein spots were collected from representative 2DE gels, which were digested with trypsin and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization-time-of-flight/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. The mass spectrometry or tandem mass spectrometry (MS or MS/MS) data were then searched against a local database constructed from Gossypium hirsutum genome sequences, resulting in successful identification of 975 protein spots (411 for ovules and 564 for fibers). Functional annotation analysis of the 975 identified proteins revealed that ovule-specific proteins were mainly enriched in functions related to fatty acid elongation, sulfur amino acid metabolism and post-replication repair, while fiber-specific proteins were enriched in functions related to root hair elongation, galactose metabolism and D-xylose metabolic processes. Further annotation analysis of the most abundant protein spots showed that 28.96% of the total proteins in the ovule were mainly located in the Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondrion and ribosome, whereas in fibers, 27.02% of the total proteins were located in the cytoskeleton, nuclear envelope and cell wall. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses of the ovule-specific protein spots P61, P93 and P198 and fiber-specific protein spots 230, 477 and 511 were performed to validate the proteomics data. Protein-protein interaction network analyses revealed very different network cluster patterns between ovules and fibers. This work provides the largest protein identification dataset of 2DE-detectable proteins in cotton ovules and fibers and indicates potentially important roles of tissue-specific proteins, thus providing insights into the cotton ovule and fiber proteomes on a global scale.
Transposable elements play an important role during cotton genome evolution and fiber cell development

Transposable elements (TEs) usually occupy largest fractions of plant genome and are also the most variable part of the structure. Although traditionally it is hallmarked as "junk and selfish DNA", today more and more evidence points out TE's participation in gene regulations including gene mutation, duplication, movement and novel gene creation via genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. The recently sequenced genomes of diploid cottons Gossypium arboreum (AA) and Gossypium raimondii (DD) together with their allotetraploid progeny Gossypium hirsutum (AtAtDtDt) provides a unique opportunity to compare genome variations in the Gossypium genus and to analyze the functions of TEs during its evolution. TEs accounted for 57%, 68.5% and 67.2%, respectively in DD, AA and AtAtDtDt genomes. The 1,694 Mb A-genome was found to harbor more LTR(long terminal repeat)-type retrotransposons that made cardinal contributions to the twofold increase in its genome size after evolution from the 775.2 Mb D-genome. Although the 2,173 Mb AtAtDtDt genome showed similar TE content to the A-genome, the total numbers of LTR-gypsy and LTR-copia type TEs varied significantly between these two genomes. Considering their roles on rewiring gene regulatory networks, we believe that TEs may somehow be involved in cotton fiber cell development. Indeed, the insertion or deletion of different TEs in the upstream region of two important transcription factor genes in At or Dt subge-nomes resulted in qualitative differences in target gene expression. We suggest that our findings may open a window for improving cotton agronomic traits by editing TE activities.
A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motif 1 (ADAMTS1) expression increases in acute aortic dissection

Acute aortic dissection (AAD) is a life-threatening cardiovascular disease caused by progressive medial degeneration of the aortic wall. A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 1 (ADAMTS1) is a recently identified extracellular metalloproteinase participating in the development of vascular disease, such as atherosclerosis. In the present study, we found that ADAMTS1 was significantly elevated in blood samples from AAD patients compared with patients with acute myocardial infarction and healthy volunteers. Based on these findings, we established an AAD model by infusing angiotensin II in older mice. AAD was successfully developed in aorta tissues, with an incidence of 42% after 14 days in the angiotensin II group. Macrophage and neutrophil infiltration was observed in the media of the aorta, and ADAMTS1 overexpression was found in the aorta by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Double immunofluorescence staining showed the expression of ADAMTS1 in macrophages and neutrophils. Consistent with the upregulation of ADAMTS1 in aortic dissection tissues, versican (a proteoglycan substrate of ADAMTS1) was degraded significantly more in these tissues than in control aortic tissues. These data suggest that the increased expression of ADAMTS1 protein in macrophages and neutrophils that infiltrated aortic tissues may promote the progression of AAD by degrading versican.
An ultrasonic humidification fluorescent tracing method for detecting unsaturated atmospheric water absorption by the aerial parts of desert plants

Atmospheric water absorption by plants has been explored for more than two centuries, and the aerial parts of plants, particularly the leaves of certain species, have been demonstrated to have an ability to absorb and utilize saturated atmospheric water such as fog, dew and condensed water. So far, however, there have been few studies on the aerial parts of desert plants in their absorption of unsaturated water from the atmosphere. This study presents an ultrasonic humidification fluorescent tracing method of detecting unsaturated atmospheric water absorption by the aerial parts of desert plants. We constructed an organic glass room based on the sizes of field plants. Then, the aboveground parts of the plants were humidified in the sealed glasshouse using an ultrasonic humidifier containing fluorescent reagents. The humidity and wetting time were controlled by turning on or off the humidifier according to the reading of a thermo-hygrometer suspended in the glasshouse. Fluorescence microscopy was employed to observe these plant samples. This method can generate unsaturated atmospheric water vapor and incorporate other fluorescent reagents or water-soluble chemical reagents for gasified humidification. In addition, it can identify plant parts that absorb unsaturated atmospheric water from the air, detect water absorption sites on the surface of leaves or tender stems, and determine the ability of tissues or microstructure of aerial parts to absorb water. This method provides a direct visual evidence for the inspection of leaf or tender stem microstructure in response to unsaturated atmospheric water absorption. Moreover, this method shows that aqueous pores in the cuticles of leaves or tender stems of desert plants are large enough to allow the passage of ionic fluorescent brightener with a molecular weight of up to 917 g/mol. Thus, this paper provides an important approach that explores the mechanism by which desert plants utilize unsaturated atmospheric water.
Dynamics of ecosystem carbon stocks during vegetation restoration on the Loess Plateau of China

In the last few decades, the Loess Plateau had experienced an extensive vegetation restoration to reduce soil erosion and to improve the degraded ecosystems. However, the dynamics of ecosystem carbon stocks with vegetation restoration in this region are poorly understood. This study examined the changes of carbon stocks in mineral soil (0-100 cm), plant biomass and the ecosystem (plant and soil) following vegetation restoration with different models and ages. Our results indicated that cultivated land returned to native vegetation (natural restoration) or artificial forest increased ecosystem carbon sequestration. Tree plantation sequestered more carbon than natural vegetation succession over decades scale due to the rapid increase in biomass carbon pool. Restoration ages had different effects on the dynamics of biomass and soil carbon stocks. Biomass carbon stocks increased with vegetation restoration age, while the dynamics of soil carbon stocks were affected by sampling depth. Ecosystem carbon stocks consistently increased after tree plantation regardless of the soil depth;but an initial decrease and then increase trend was observed in natural restoration chronosequences with the soil sampling depth of 0-100 cm. Moreover, there was a time lag of about 15-30 years between biomass production and soil carbon sequestration in 0-100 cm, which indicated a long-term effect of vegetation restoration on deeper soil carbon sequestration.
Spatio-temporal variation of hydrological drought under climate change during the period 1960-2013 in the Hexi Corridor, China

In recent years, climate change has been aggravated in many regions of the world. The Hexi Corridor is located in the semiarid climate zone of Northwest China, which is particularly affected by climate change. Climate change has led to the spatial and temporal variations of temperature and precipitation, which may result in hydrological drought and water shortage. Thus, it is necessary to explore and assess the drought characteristics of river systems in this area. The patterns of hydrological drought in the Hexi Corridor were identified using the streamflow drought index (SDI) and standardized precipitation index at 12-month timescale (SPI12) from 1960 to 2013. The evolution of drought was obtained by the Mann-Kendall test and wavelet transform method. The results showed that both the mean annual SDI and SPI12 series in the Hexi Corridor exhibited an increasing trend during the study period. According to the results of wavelet analysis, we divided the study period into two segments, i.e. before and after 1990. Before 1990, the occurrence of droughts showing decreased SDI and SPI12 was concentrated in the northern part of the corridor and shifted to the eastern part of the corridor after 1990. The probability of drought after 1990 in Shule River basin decreased while increased in Shiyang River basin. The wavelet analysis results showed that Shiyang River basin will be the first area to go through the next drought period. Additionally, the relationships between drought pattern and climate indices were analyzed. The enhanced westerly winds and increased precipitation and glacier runoff were the main reasons of wet trend in the Hexi Corridor. However, the uneven spatial variations of precipitation, temperature and glacier runoff led to the difference of hydrological drought variations between the Shule, Heihe and Shiyang River basins.