Interfacial engineering through lead binding using crown ethers in perovskite solar cells

In the domain of perovskite solar cells(PSCs),the imperative to reconcile impressive photovoltaic performance with lead-related issue and environmental stability has driven innovative solutions.This study pioneers an approach that not only rectifies lead leakage but also places paramount importance on the attainment of rigorous interfacial passivation.Crown ethers,notably benzo-18-crown-6-ether(B18C6),were strategically integrated at the perovskite-hole transport material interface.Crown ethers exhibit a dual role:efficiently sequestering and immobilizing Pb^(2+)ions through host-guest complexation and simultaneously establishing a robust interfacial passivation layer.Selected crown ether candidates,guided by density functional theory(DFT)calculations,demonstrated proficiency in binding Pb2+ions and optimizing interfacial energetics.Photovoltaic devices incorporating these materials achieved exceptional power conversion efficiency(PCE),notably 21.7%for B18C6,underscoring their efficacy in lead binding and interfacial passivation.Analytical techniques,including time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry(ToF-SIMS),ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy(UPS),time-resolved photoluminescence(TRPL),and transient absorption spectroscopy(TAS),unequivocally affirmed Pb^(2+)ion capture and suppression of non-radiative recombination.Notably,these PSCs maintained efficiency even after enduring 300 h of exposure to 85%relative humidity.This research underscores the transformative potential of crown ethers,simultaneously addressing lead binding and stringent interfacial passivation for sustainable PSCs poised to commercialize and advance renewable energy applications.

Developing nonlinear additive tree crown width models based on decomposed competition index and tree variables

Crown development is closely related to the biomass and growth rate of the tree and its width(CW)is an important covariable in growth and yield models and in forest management.To date,various CW models have been proposed.However,limited studies have explicitly focused on additive and inherent correlation of crown components and total CW as well as the influence of competition on crown radius from the corresponding direction.In this study,two model systems were used,i.e.,aggregation method system(AMS)and disaggregation method system(DMS),to develop crown width additive model systems.For calculating spatially explicit competition index(CI),four neighbor tree selection methods were evaluated.CI was decomposed into four cardinal directions and added into the model systems.Results show that the power model form was more proper for our data to fit CW growth.For each crown radius and total CW,height to the diameter at breast height(HDR)and basal area of trees larger than the subject tree(BAL)significantly contributed to the increase of prediction accuracy.The 3-m fixed radius was optimal among the four neighborhoods selection ways.After adding decomposed competition Hegyi index into model systems AMS and DMS,the prediction accuracy improved.Of the model systems evaluated,AMS based on decomposed CI provided the best performance as well as the inherent correlation and additivity properties.Our study highlighted the importance of decomposed CI in tree CW modelling for additive model systems.This study focused on methodology and could be applied to other species or stands.

Prediction of tree crown width in natural mixed forests using deep learning algorithm

Crown width(CW)is one of the most important tree metrics,but obtaining CW data is laborious and timeconsuming,particularly in natural forests.The Deep Learning(DL)algorithm has been proposed as an alternative to traditional regression,but its performance in predicting CW in natural mixed forests is unclear.The aims of this study were to develop DL models for predicting tree CW of natural spruce-fir-broadleaf mixed forests in northeastern China,to analyse the contribution of tree size,tree species,site quality,stand structure,and competition to tree CW prediction,and to compare DL models with nonlinear mixed effects(NLME)models for their reliability.An amount of total 10,086 individual trees in 192 subplots were employed in this study.The results indicated that all deep neural network(DNN)models were free of overfitting and statistically stable within 10-fold cross-validation,and the best DNN model could explain 69%of the CW variation with no significant heteroskedasticity.In addition to diameter at breast height,stand structure,tree species,and competition showed significant effects on CW.The NLME model(R^(2)=0.63)outperformed the DNN model(R^(2)=0.54)in predicting CW when the six input variables were consistent,but the results were the opposite when the DNN model(R^(2)=0.69)included all 22 input variables.These results demonstrated the great potential of DL in tree CW prediction.

Changes in concentrations and transcripts of plant hormones in wheat seedling roots in response to Fusarium crown rot

Fusarium crown rot(FCR) is a soilborne disease causing severe yield losses in many wheat-growing areas of the world. Diseased plants show browning and necrosis of roots and stems causing white heads at maturity. Little is known about the molecular processes employed by wheat roots to respond to the disease. We characterized morphological, transcriptional and hormonal changes in wheat seedling roots following challenge with Fusarium pseudograminearum(Fp), the main pathogen of FCR. The pathogen inhibited root development to various extents depending on plants' resistance level. Many genes responsive to FCR infection in wheat roots were enriched in plant hormone pathways. The contents of compounds involved in biosynthesis and metabolism of jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, cytokinin and auxin were drastically changed in roots at five days post-inoculation. Presoaking seeds in methyl jasmonate for 24 h promoted FCR resistance, whereas presoaking with cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine made plants more susceptible. Overexpression of TaOPR3, a gene involved in jasmonic acid biosynthesis, enhanced plant resistance as well as root and shoot growth during infection.

Wave Force on the Crown Wall of Rubble Mound Breakwaters at Intermediate Depths

Rubble mound breakwaters with a crown wall are a common coastal engineering structure.The wave force on crown walls is an important parameter for the practice engineering design.Particularly,the wave force on crown walls under intermediate depths has been studied through physical model tests and numerical simulations.In this study,a three-dimensional numerical wave flume was developed to investigate monochromatic wave interactions in a rubble mound breakwater with a crown wall.Armor blocks were modeled in detail.The Navier-Stokes equations for two-phase incompressible flows,combined with shear stress transport k-ωturbulence model and volume of fluid method for tracking the free surface,were solved.A set of laboratory experiments were performed to validate the adopted model.Subsequently,a series of numerical simulations were implemented to examine the impacts of different hydrodynamic parameters(including wave height,incident wave period,and water depth)and the berm width on the wave force of the crown wall.Finally,a comparison of the experimental results and Martin method shows that the latter method is not suitable for this experimental scope.New empirical formulas are proposed to predict the wave force on crown walls under intermediate depth.The results can provide a basis for the design of crown wall of rubble mound breakwaters at intermediate depths.

Li^(+)-ion bound crown ether functionalization enables dual promotion of dynamics and thermodynamics for ambient ammonia synthesis

Electrosynthesis of ammonia from the reduction of nitrogen is still confronted with the limited supply of gas reactant in dynamics as well as high activation barrier in thermodynamics.Unfortunately,despite tremendous efforts devoted to electrocatalysts themselves,they still fail to tackle the above two challenges simultaneously.Herein,we employ a heterogeneous catalyst adlayer-composed of crown ethers associated with Li^(+)ions-to achieve the dual promotion of dynamics and thermodynamics for ambient ammonia synthesis.Dynamically,the bound Li^(+)ions interact with the strong quadrupole moment of nitrogen,and trigger considerable reactant flux toward the catalyst.Thermodynamically,Li^(+)associated with the oxygen of crown ether achieves a higher density of states at the Fermi level for the catalyst,enabling effortless electron transfer from the catalysts to nitrogen and thus greatly reducing the activation barrier.As expected,the proof-of-concept system achieves an ammonia yield rate of 168.5μg h^(-1)mg^(-1)and a Faradaic efficiency of 75.3%at-0.3 V vs.RHE.This system-level approach opens up pathways for tackling the two key challenges that have limited the field of ammonia synthesis.

Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Responses of Bis(15-crown-5)-stilbenes Binding to One-or Two-Alkali Metal Cation(Li^(+),Na^(+)and K^(+))

Bis(15-crown-5)-stilbenes containing crown ether parts have been widely used in a variety of chemical applications,such as cation detectors,because of their ability to selectively bind to alkali metal cations,Bis(15-crown-5)-stilbenes and its derivatives with complexation of one-or two-alkali metal cation(Li^(+),Na^(+)and K^(+))have been theoretically investigat-ed by quantum chemistry methods.The coordination of alkali cations results in partial shrinkage of crown ethers,which directly affected natural distribution analysis charges and molecular orbital energy levels.The number of alkali metal ions has significant effects on absorption spectra and mean second hyperpolarizability.When one alkali metal ion was added to the anticonformer of bis(15-crown-5)-stilbene,the absorption spectra were obvious-ly redshifted and the mean second hyperpolarizability values were slightly increased;while two alkali metal ions were added to bis(15-crown-5)-stilbene,the absorption spectra were ob-viously blue shifted and the mean second hyperpolarizability values decreased.On the other hand,as the radius of the alkali ions increased,the mean second hyperpolarizability values of the compounds increased gradually.It is indicated that the mean second hyperpolarizability value is sensitive to the number and radius of the alkali metal cations,thus the third order nonlinear optical response can be used as a signal to detect the number and type of alkali met-al ions.

Replacement of Unesthetic Posterior Metal Crowns with Monolithic Zirconia Crowns: A Case Report

Advances in metal-free materials and the popularization of Computer-Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) have led to the wide clinical use of all-ceramic crowns for esthetic restorations. A 72-year-old woman presented to our hospital with unesthetic restorations on the right upper and lower posterior teeth. Intraoral examination revealed poorly fitting metal crown margins. Defective prostheses were removed, and provisional restorations were provided to stabilize the mandibular position. Optical impressions and the maxillomandibular relationship were recorded using an intraoral scanner, and monolithic zirconia crowns were fabricated using CAD/CAM technology for complete veneer crown restorative treatment. Occlusal examination revealed an improvement in occlusal force distribution at initial examination (right side: 33.5%, left side: 66.5%) after placement of the zirconia crowns (right side: 54.9%, left side: 45.1%). Occlusal force and occlusal force distribution area also showed an increasing trend. The Oral Health Impact Profile short form (OHIP-14) score decreased from 7 points at initial examination to 0 points after prosthodontic treatment. Appropriate diagnosis and treatment planning contributed to the increased occlusal force and balanced occlusal force distribution. Therefore, the present case indicates the potential of monolithic zirconia crowns to achieve both esthetic and stable functional outcomes.

Assessment of Cork Oak Decline Using Digital Multispectral Imagery in Relation with in Situ Crown Condition

Cork oak in Maamora forest is experiencing the dieback phenomenon. The evaluation of the latter in this forest has gained the importance over time and with the solicitation of managers to objectify its phytosanitary situation. Aiming at prioritizing management actions, remote sensing seems to be an effective tool to inquire about stands’ health conditions and their evolution. To this end, this study aims at mapping and validating health status of cork oak stands in Maamora. Sentinel 2 images in 2015 and 2020 were processed to calculate the differential normalized difference water index (NDWI), revealing vegetation moisture variation caused by drought. A statistical method based on thresholds was used to map cork oak dieback stands, those with no changes and those recovered. Results have shown that 54.63% of cork oak in Maamora forest have not changed in terms of phytosanitary situation between 2015 and 2020, 31.10% of oak stands are afflicted by a slight decline and 12.97% by a severe decline. Areas with slight or strong recovery remain minimal and represent 1.04% and 0.25% respectively. Ground data indicated that the map generated displayed a good distinction between stands severely and slightly declined with a global accuracy of 66.66%. Therefore, further research elaborating an advanced vegetation index reflecting the various factors of dieback would be of much importance.

三次CVC、五次CVC及SmartCrown辊形控制特性对比研究

通过对三次连续变凸度(continuously variable crown,CVC)、五次CVC及SmartCrown三种辊形方程进行推导分析,得出了各自的板形控制特性,提出了各自的辊形设计方法。研究表明:三次CVC只具备二次凸度控制能力,控制特性简单;五次CVC可根据二次及四次凸度控制需要灵活设计,凸度比在窜辊过程中并非恒定;SmartCrown四次凸度控制能力受形状角影响,凸度比恒为负值。

Measuring loblolly pine crowns with drone imagery through deep learning

In modeling forest stand growth and yield,crown width,a measure for stand density,is among the parameters that allows for estimating stand timber volumes.However,accurately measuring tree crown size in the field,in particular for mature trees,is challenging.This study demonstrated a novel method of applying machine learning algorithms to aerial imagery acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)to identify tree crowns and their widths in two loblolly pine plantations in eastern Texas,USA.An ortho mosaic image derived from UAV-captured aerial photos was acquired for each plantation(a young stand before canopy closure,a mature stand with a closed canopy).For each site,the images were split into two subsets:one for training and one for validation purposes.Three widely used object detection methods in deep learning,the Faster region-based convolutional neural network(Faster R-CNN),You Only Look Once version 3(YOLOv3),and single shot detection(SSD),were applied to the training data,respectively.Each was used to train the model for performing crown recognition and crown extraction.Each model output was evaluated using an independent test data set.All three models were successful in detecting tree crowns with an accuracy greater than 93%,except the Faster R-CNN model that failed on the mature site.On the young site,the SSD model performed the best for crown extraction with a coefficient of determination(R^(2))of 0.92,followed by Faster R-CNN(0.88)and YOLOv3(0.62).As to the mature site,the SSD model achieved a R^(2)as high as 0.94,follow by YOLOv3(0.69).These deep leaning algorithms,in particular the SSD model,proved to be successfully in identifying tree crowns and estimating crown widths with satisfactory accuracy.For the purpose of forest inventory on loblolly pine plantations,using UAV-captured imagery paired with the SSD object detention application is a cost-effective alternative to traditional ground measurement.

The Novel Benzo-15-Crown-5 with Palladium(II) Complex: [Na(B15CS)]_2,[Pd(SCN)_4]

A novel Pd(II) Benzo-15-crown-5 complex [Na(B15CS)]_2[Pd(SCN)_4] has been isolated and characterized by IR and X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystal structure belongs to monoclinic, space group P2_1,/n with cell dimensions, a = l.0164(6), b = l.3743(3), c = l.4987(7) nm, β = 95.248(6) °, V = 2.0847 'nm_3, Z = 2, F(000) = 944, R = 0.053, Rw = 0.072. The compound consists of two [Na(B15CS)]+ complex canons and a [Pd(SCN)4_]^(2-) complex anion. Each sodium ion is coordinated by five crown ether oxygen atoms and one N atom from the SCN group of [Pd(SCN)_4]^(2-) to form stable neutral complex.

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of 3,3'-Dimethyl-dibenzo-18-crown-6

3,3′-Dimethyl-dibenzo-18-crown-6 was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, ^1H NMR, UV, MS spectra and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. It belongs to orthorhombic, space group Pna21 with a = 8.0790（18）, b = 16.780（4）, c = 15.222（3） .A, Z= 4, V= 2063.6（8） A3 Dc = 1.250 g/cm^3,μ = 0.090 mm^-1, F（000） = 832, R = 0.0474 and wR = 0.1103. According to structural analysis, the title compound possesses a boat-like configuration.

Calix[4]Crowns类化合物在分离铯中的应用

Calix[4]Crowns类化合物作为超分子识别材料能够有效地分离铯,并能很好地应用在溶剂萃取、液膜萃取、色谱分离等领域。介绍了Calix[4]Crowns类化合物及其复合超分子材料对铯离子的识别和分离效果,为寻求对Cs(Ⅰ)有优异配合能力的Calix[4]Crowns类有机配体结构及相应的功能材料提供参考。

Smart Crown轧辊轧制钨板过程有限元分析

针对传统轧制工艺轧制钨板过程中,轧辊易损坏、钨板轧废严重等现象,基于有限元分析软件,研究利用Smart Crown轧辊轴向移动轧制钨板,根据要求设计了一款Smart Crown轧辊。从辊形、应力、应变以及磨损方面,分析钨板轧制情况,发现同等轧制条件下,Smart Crown轧辊轴向移动轧制钨板的新工艺优于传统钨板轧制工艺。

基于WindowsCE和CROWN集群技术的DTVSP模式

摘 要：基于嵌入式操作系统技术、多媒体数据文件切片方案及网络电视、数字电视标准等提出了基于WindowsCE与Linux集群的DTVSP架构模型，并针对DTVSP模式中客户端功能的实现进行探索，使网络功能、（未来）用户个性化功能与安全性都予以充分的体现；同时使分布式DTVSP的整体功能与事件的管理成为可能。

Crown Morphology of Norway Spruce from Usual Tree Measurements

The crown morphology of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) was studied from 617 sample trees. In order to model branch and crown descriptors the linear and nonlinear regression methods were extensively used. Results show that the branch length can be fairly well predicted from the distance to the apex of the tree and that the branch spread has a high correlation with the branch length and the insertion angle. Models have been set up to predict the crown ratio, height to the base of the living crown, height to the first living branch and the height to the first dead branch from the usual whole-tree measurements, namely diameter at breast height total height and total age.

SILICA-BOUND CROWN ETHERS PLATINUM COMPLEX AS HYDROSILYLATION CATALYST

Silica-bound 15-Crown-5, 18-Crown-6 with a spacer of propyloxymethyl and their platinum complexes have been synthesized. It was found that they were efficient catalysts for the hydrosilylation of olefms with triethoxysilane in the temperature range of 60 to 130 ℃.

CROWN FUNCTIONALIZED LINEAR POLYSILOXANE PLATINUM COMPLEX AS HYDROSILYLATION CATALYST

A modified method of preparing crown functionalized linear polysiloxane has been described.4'-allylbenzo-15-crown-5 was subjected to hydrosilylation with methyldichlorosilane,followed bypolycondensation with silanol-terminated polydimethylsiloxane to give the title crownfunctionalized linear polysiloxane. It was found that the polysiloxane could be coordinated withplatinum salt to form platinum complex, which could catalyze the hydrosilylation of olefins withtriethoxysilane efficiently.

THE SELECTION OF CROWNING VALUES FOR HELICAL GEAR DRIVES

Gear crowning takes an important part in alleviating the concentration of local stresses when misalignment of the flanks exists. It is known that an excessive crowning will lead to a high local stress while an insufficient value will not be able to compensate the alignment error resulting in concentration. The selection of the crowning value is always based on empirical estimation. This paper deals with a theoretical method to determine the crowning value. The distribution forms of contact stresses on the flanks of a crowned pinion and a gear are treated as a series of complete or portions of semi-ellipsoids with the same size. The total volume of which equals the whole contact load. From this point of view a series of equations for the computation of the maximum stress is obtained. The calculation of contact stresses considering the existence of alignment errors gives insight into the selection ora proper crowning value for a gear drive.