Search Results (21)

With consumers increasing in environmental awareness, manufacturers have integrated green R&D into their strategies, aiming to grasp the green market. However, manufacturers may be too bullish on the market potential of green products and maintain an optimistic attitude toward green R&D. Despite having an optimistic attitude, manufacturers often have no demand information advantage over downstream retailers due to their position in the supply chain, away from the market. It is worth exploring what impact optimistic green R&D in a sustainable supply chain with demand information asymmetry will have. Previous studies have not managed to reveal this. In this study, a stylized model is introduced to explore this question. The main findings are as follows: (1) optimistic green R&D increases the feasibility of the retailer sharing demand information, which facilitates information communication in the sustainable supply chain; (2) in most cases, optimistic green R&D does not bring higher profits for the manufacturer, yet is likely to allow the retailer to earn more, thereby resulting in a loss–win outcome; and (3) depending on the green R&D efficiency of the manufacturer and the consumer’s environmental awareness, optimistic green R&D may not generate higher environmental benefits. Full article

This paper proposes a hybrid synchronization control modular multilevel converter-based hybrid energy storage system (HSC-MMC-HESS) that innovatively integrates battery units within MMC submodules (SMs) while connecting a supercapacitor (SC) to the DC bus. The configuration synergistically combines the high energy density of batteries with the high power density of SCs through distinct energy/power pathways. The operational principles and control architecture are systematically analyzed, incorporating a hybrid synchronization control (HSC) strategy to deliver system inertia, primary frequency regulation, fault-tolerant mode transition capabilities, and isolation control. A hierarchical control framework implements power distribution through filtering mechanisms and state-of-charge (SOC) balancing control for battery management. Hardware-in-the-loop experimental validation confirms the topology’s effectiveness in providing inertial support, enabling flexible operational mode switching and optimizing hybrid energy storage utilization. The demonstrated capabilities indicate strong application potential for medium-voltage distribution networks requiring dynamic grid support. Full article

Sunburn in apple peel significantly affects fruit appearance and reduces its commercial value. Previous research has shown that apple peel reduces sunburn by increasing the accumulation of proanthocyanidins (PAs) and other protective compounds. However, the precise molecular regulatory mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we systematically investigated MdANR, a key gene involved in PAs biosynthesis. We found that MdANR expression in apple peel is responsive to temperature and light fluctuations, with higher expression levels observed under increased temperature and light exposure. Functional analysis revealed that MdANR overexpression in apple peel and callus enhanced resistance to high-temperature and -light-intensity stress, accompanied by a corresponding increase in PAs and chlorogenic acid contents. In addition, we demonstrated that MdMYBR9 can activate MdANR promoter activity and promote its expression through yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase, and electrophoretic mobility transfer experiments. The results indicated that MdMYBR9 was an upstream regulator of MdANR. Based on these findings, this study proposes the MdMYBR9-MdANR-PAs regulatory model for apple sunburn resistance, providing a molecular framework for enhancing sunburn tolerance in apple breeding programs. Full article

The planar solid-state pulse-forming line (planar solid-state PFL) is an important solid-state device used in compact pulse power systems. Moreover, pulsed power systems constitute a crucial element within electroporation systems. In this paper, we present theoretical and simulation analyses of the influence of the ground electrode structure of the planar solid-state PFL on the edge electric field and thermal distribution of high-voltage electrodes and the design of a novel improved solid-state PFL (opposite-electrode PFL) that differs from the classic planar solid-state PFL (full-electrode PFL) in which the ground electrode covers the entire plane. The ground electrode of the opposite-electrode PFL is structured to be consistent with the high-voltage electrode and positioned directly opposite to enhance the withstand voltage capacity of the planar solid-state PFL. The simulation results show that when the ground electrode width is the same as the high-voltage electrode, the electric field strength at the edge of the electrodes is smaller. In the electrostatic field simulation, the edge electric field strength of the high-voltage electrode in the opposite-electrode PFL is smaller than that of the full-electrode PFL, which indicates that the opposite-electrode PFL may have a higher withstand voltage. The experimental results show that the opposite-electrode PFL has a higher withstand voltage than the full-electrode PFL, which verifies the correctness of the theoretical and simulation analyses. Furthermore, the opposite-electrode PFL surface temperature rise showed a better performance after running the same test repeatedly. The findings of this study are conducive to enhancing the maximum output voltage or compactness of pulsed power systems and highlight the additional potential for the utilization of solid-state pulse generators in electroporation systems. Full article

Background: Numerous metabolic illnesses have obesity as a risk factor. The composition of the gut microbiota and endogenous metabolism are important factors in the onset and progression of obesity. Recent research indicates that cordycepin (CRD), derived from fungi, exhibits anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, showing potential in combating obesity. However, further investigation is required to delineate its precise impacts on endogenous metabolism and gut microbiota. Methods: In this work, male C57BL/6J mice were used as models of obesity caused by a high-fat diet (HFD) and given CRD. Mice’s colon, liver, and adipose tissues were stained with H&E. Serum metabolome analysis and 16S rRNA sequencing elucidated the effects of CRD on HFD-induced obese mice and identified potential mediators for its anti-obesity effects. Results: CRD intervention alleviated HFD-induced intestinal inflammation, improved blood glucose levels, and reduced fat accumulation. Furthermore, CRD supplementation demonstrated the ability to modulate endogenous metabolic disorders by regulating the levels of key metabolites, including DL-2-aminooctanoic acid, inositol, and 6-deoxyfagomine. CRD influenced the abundance of important microbiota such as Parasutterella, Alloprevotella, Prevotellaceae_NK3B31_group, Alistipes, unclassified_Clostridia_vadinBB60_group, and unclassified_Muribaculaceae, ultimately leading to the modulation of endogenous metabolism and the amelioration of gut microbiota disorders. Conclusions: According to our research, CRD therapies show promise in regulating fat accumulation and stabilizing blood glucose levels. Furthermore, through the modulation of gut microbiota composition and key metabolites, CRD interventions have the dual capacity to prevent and ameliorate obesity. Full article

The visible-infrared person re-identification (VI-ReID) task aims to retrieve the same pedestrian between visible and infrared images. VI-ReID is a challenging task due to the huge modality discrepancy and complex intra-modality variations. Existing works mainly complete the modality alignment at one stage. However, aligning modalities at different stages has positive effects on the intra-class and inter-class distances of cross-modality features, which are often ignored. Moreover, discriminative features with identity information may be corrupted in the processing of modality alignment, further degrading the performance of person re-identification. In this paper, we propose a progressive discriminative feature learning (PDFL) network that adopts different alignment strategies at different stages to alleviate the discrepancy and learn discriminative features progressively. Specifically, we first design an adaptive cross fusion module (ACFM) to learn the identity-relevant features via modality alignment with channel-level attention. For well preserving identity information, we propose a dual-attention-guided instance normalization module (DINM), which can well guide instance normalization to align two modalities into a unified feature space through channel and spatial information embedding. Finally, we generate multiple part features of a person to mine subtle differences. Multi-loss optimization is imposed during the training process for more effective learning supervision. Extensive experiments on the public datasets of SYSU-MM01 and RegDB validate that our proposed method performs favorably against most state-of-the-art methods. Full article

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a commonly diagnosed condition that has been extensively studied. The composition and activity of gut microbes, as well as the metabolites they produce (such as short-chain fatty acids, lipopolysaccharides, trimethylamine N-oxide, and bile acids) can significantly impact diabetes development. Treatment options, including medication, can enhance the gut microbiome and its metabolites, and even reverse intestinal epithelial dysfunction. Both animal and human studies have demonstrated the role of microbiota metabolites in influencing diabetes, as well as their complex chemical interactions with signaling molecules. This article focuses on the importance of microbiota metabolites in type 2 diabetes and provides an overview of various pharmacological and dietary components that can serve as therapeutic tools for reducing the risk of developing diabetes. A deeper understanding of the link between gut microbial metabolites and T2D will enhance our knowledge of the disease and may offer new treatment approaches. Although many animal studies have investigated the palliative and attenuating effects of gut microbial metabolites on T2D, few have established a complete cure. Therefore, conducting more systematic studies in the future is necessary. Full article

Rubber composites are hyperelastic materials with obvious stress-softening effects during the cyclic loading–unloading process. In previous studies, it is hard to obtain the stress responses of rubber composites at arbitrary loading–unloading orders directly. In this paper, a hyper-pseudoelastic model is developed to characterize the cyclic stress-softening effect of rubber composites with a fixed stretch amplitude at arbitrary loading–unloading order. The theoretical relationship between strain energy function and cyclic loading–unloading order is correlated by the hyper-pseudoelastic model directly. Initially, the basic laws of the cyclic stress-softening effect of rubber composites are revealed based on the cyclic loading–unloading experiments. Then, a theoretical relationship between the strain energy evolution function and loading–unloading order, as well as the pseudoelastic theory, is developed. Additionally, the basic constraints that the strain energy evolution function must satisfy in the presence or absence of residual deformation effect are derived. Finally, the calibration process of material parameters in the hyper-pseudoelastic model is also presented. The validity of the hyper-pseudoelastic model is demonstrated via the comparisons to experimental data of rubber composites with different filler contents. This paper presents a theoretical model for characterizing the stress-softening effect of rubber composites during the cyclic loading–unloading process. The proposed theoretical model can accurately predict the evolution of the mechanical behavior of rubber composites with the number of loading–unloading cycles, which provides scientific guidance for predicting the durability properties and analyzing the fatigue performance of rubber composites. Full article

The effect of varying the weight percentage composition (wt.%) of low-cost expandable graphite (EG), ammonium polyphosphate (APP), fibreglass (FG), and vermiculite (VMT) in polyurethane (PU) polymer was studied using a traditional intumescent flame retardant (IFR) system. The synergistic effect between EG, APP, FG, and VMT on the flame retardant properties of the PU composites was investigated using SEM, TGA, tensile strength tests, and cone calorimetry. The IFR that contained PU composites with 40 wt.% EG displayed superior flame retardant performance compared with the composites containing only 20 w.t.% or 10 w.t.% EG. The peak heat release rate, total smoke release, and carbon dioxide production from the 40 wt.% EG sample along with APP, FG, and VMT in the PU composite were 88%, 93%, and 92% less than the PU control sample, respectively. As a result, the synergistic effect was greatly influenced by the compactness of the united protective layer. The PU composite suppressed smoke emission and inhibited air penetrating the composite, thus reducing reactions with the gas volatiles of the material. SEM images and TGA results provided positive evidence for the combustion tests. Further, the mechanical properties of PU composites were also investigated. As expected, compared with control PU, the addition of flame-retardant additives decreased the tensile strength, but this was ameliorated with the addition of FG. These new PU composite materials provide a promising strategy for producing polymer composites with flame retardation and smoke suppression for construction materials. Full article

As a new imaging inspection method with characteristics of a wide view field and non-contact, spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) is very suitable to evaluate the optical properties of agricultural products to ensure the sustainable development of agriculture. However, due to the unique forward scattering characteristics of fruit skin, only a few photons can return to the skin surface after interacting with the flesh, thus affecting the detection accuracy of the flesh layer. This study aims to propose a more accurate and wider applicable method to extract the optical properties of two-layer tissue from SFDI measurements. Firstly, a two-layer model was proposed by optimizing the reflectivity of the flesh layer through the optical properties and thickness of the skin layer. Secondly, the influence of the optical properties and thickness of different skin layers on the reflectivity optimization of the flesh layer was investigated by a Monte Carlo simulation, and then, the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed model was evaluated for practical inspection by phantom experiments. Finally, this model was used to obtain the optical properties, layer by layer, of four thin-skinned fruits (pear, apple, peach and muskmelon) to verify its universality. The results showed that, for the skin layer, the average errors of the absorption coefficient (μ_a1) and the reduced scattering coefficient (μ′_s1) were 10.87% and 7.91%, respectively, and for the flesh layer, the average errors of the absorption coefficient (μ_a2) and the reduced scattering coefficient (μ′_s2) were 16.76% and 8.64%, respectively. This study provides the basis for the SFDI detection of optical properties of two-layer tissue such as thin-skinned fruits, which can be further used for nondestructive fruit quality evaluations. Full article

Theoretically, the topological charge l in the vortex can be any integer or fraction, thus the vortex carrying different topological charges can form an infinitely orthogonal orbital angular momentum state space, which can provide new dimensional resources for optical communication. However, high-capacity optical communication requires low delay, thus real-time detection of the OAM is significant for communication. Metasurfaces have the characteristics of low loss, ultra-thin, easy integration, and flexible phase controls, which provide a meaningful way to realize integrated OAM generation and detection. Here, an optimized streamlined metasurface (OSM) is presented, which can detect high-order vortex beams in a single, simple, and rapid manner by photon momentum transformation (PMT). Since different vortices are converted into focusing modes with distinct azimuthal coordinates on a transverse plane through PMT, a single measurement can determine OAMs in an ample mode space. In addition, the OSM can detect more and higher order OAMs compared with a discrete metasurface (DM) at the same size, due to its better wavefront sampling capabilities. With the merits of an ultra-compact device size, simple optical structure, and outstanding vortex recognition ability, our approach may underpin the development of integrated optics and quantum systems. Full article

Recently, Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging (SFDI) has gradually become an alternative method to extract tissue optical properties (OPs), as it provides a wide-field, no-contact acquisition. SFDI extracts OPs by least-square fitting (LSF) based on the diffuse approximation equation, but there are shortcomings in the speed and accuracy of extracting OPs. This study proposed a Long Short-term Memory Regressor (LSTMR) solution to extract tissue OPs. This method allows for fast and accurate extraction of tissue OPs. Firstly, the imaging system was developed, which is more compact and portable than conventional SFDI systems. Next, numerical simulation was performed using the Monte Carlo forward model to obtain the dataset, and then the mapping model was established using the dataset. Finally, the model was applied to detect the bruised tissue of ‘crown’ pears. The results show that the mean absolute errors of the absorption coefficient and the reduced scattering coefficient are no more than 0.32% and 0.21%, and the bruised tissue of ‘crown’ pears can be highlighted by the change of OPs. Compared with the LSF, the speed of extracting tissue OPs is improved by two orders of magnitude, and the accuracy is greatly improved. The study contributes to the rapid and accurate extraction of tissue OPs based on SFDI and has great potential in food safety assessment. Full article

Any surface immersed in sea water will suffer from marine fouling, including underwater sound absorption coatings. Traditional underwater sound absorption coatings rely heavily on the use of toxic, biocide-containing paints to combat biofouling. In this paper, an environmentally-friendly nanocomposite with integrated antifouling and underwater sound absorption properties was fabricated by adopting MWCNTs-COOH and SiO₂ into PDMS at different ratios. SEM, FTIR and XPS results demonstrated MWCNTs were mixed into PDMS, and the changes in elements were also analyzed. SiO₂ nanoparticles in PDMS decreased the tensile properties of the coating, while erosion resistance was enhanced. Antibacterial properties of the coatings containing MWCNTs-COOH and SiO₂ at a ratio of 1:1, 1:3, and 1:5 reached 62.02%, 72.36%, and 74.69%, respectively. In the frequency range of 1500–5000 Hz, the average sound absorption coefficient of PDMS increased from 0.5 to greater than 0.8 after adding MWCNTs-COOH and SiO₂, which illustrated that the addition of nanoparticles enhanced the underwater sound absorption performance of the coating. Incorporating MWCNTs-COOH and SiO₂ nanoparticles into the PDMS matrix to improve its sound absorption and surface antifouling properties provides a promising idea for marine applications. Full article

In recent years, the high development of high-speed railway lines cross through areas with poor geological conditions, such as soft soil, offshore and low-lying marsh areas, resulting geotechnical problems, such as large settlements and reduction of bearing capacity. As a new soil reinforcement method in high speed railway lines, the piled raft structure has been used to improve soil conditions and control excess settlement. In order to study the dynamic behavior of piled raft supported ballastless track system in soft soil, an experimental study on vibration velocities of piled raft supported embankment and foundations is presented in soft soil with different underground water levels. Vibration velocities at specified positions of the piled raft supported embankment and foundations are obtained and discussed. The vibration velocity curves on various testing locations of piled raft foundations are clearly visible and have sharp impulse and relaxation pattern, corresponding to loading from train wheels, bogies, and passages. Vibration velocity distribution in the horizontal direction at three train speeds clearly follows an exponential curves. Most of the power spectrums of vibration velocity at various locations are mainly concentrated at harmonic frequencies. The change in water level has slight impaction on the peak spectrum of vibration velocity at harmonic frequencies. The vibration power induced by train loads are transmitted, absorbed, and weakened to a certain extent through embankment and piled raft structure. The dynamic response character of embankments are affected by their self-vibration characteristics and the dynamic bearing capacity of the piled raft structure. Full article

In recent years, the implementation of a sustainable concrete system has been a great topic of interest in the field of construction engineering worldwide as a result of the large and rapid increase in carbon emissions and environmental problems from traditional concrete production and industry [...] Full article