Size-dependent effect on biaxial and shear nonlinear buckling analysis of nonlocal isotropic and orthotropic micro-plate based on surface stress and modified couple stress theories using differential quadrature method

The size-dependent effect on the biaxial and shear nonlinear buckling analysis of an isotropic and orthotropic micro-plate based on the surface stress, the modified couple stress theory （MCST）, and the nonlocal elasticity theories using the differential quadrature method （DQM） is presented. Main advantages of the MCST over the classical theory （CT） are the inclusion of the asymmetric couple stress tensor and the consideration of only one material length scale parameter. Based on the nonlinear von Karman assumption, the governing equations of equilibrium for the micro-classical plate consid- ering midplane displacements are derived based on the minimum principle of potential energy. Using the DQM, the biaxial and shear critical buckling loads of the micro-plate for various boundary conditions are obtained. Accuracy of the obtained results is validated by comparing the solutions with those reported in the literature. A parametric study is conducted to show the effects of the aspect ratio, the side-to-thickness ratio, Eringen＇s nonlocal parameter, the material length scale parameter, Young＇s modulus of the surface layer, the surface residual stress, the polymer matrix coefficients, and various boundary conditions on the dimensionless uniaxial, biaxial, and shear critical buckling loads. The results indicate that the critical buckling loads are strongly sensitive to Eringen＇s nonlocal parameter, the material length scale parameter, and the surface residual stress effects, while the effect of Young＇s modulus of the surface layer on the critical buckling load is negligible. Also, considering the size dependent effect causes the increase in the stiffness of the orthotropic micro-plate. The results show that the critical biaxial buckling load increases with an increase in G12/E2 and vice versa for E1/E2. It is shown that the nonlinear biaxial buckling ratio decreases as the aspect ratio increases and vice versa for the buckling amplitude. Because of the most lightweight micro-composite materials with high strength/weight and stiffness/weight ratios, it is anticipated that the results of the present work are useful in experimental characterization of the mechanical properties of micro-composite plates in the aircraft industry and other engineering applications.

CO_(2)methanation boosted by support-size-dependent strong metal-support interaction and B-O-Ti component

Strong metal-support interaction(SMSI)has a great impact on the activity and selectivity of heterogeneous catalysts,which was usually adjusted by changing reduction temperature or processing catalyst in different atmosphere.However,few researches concentrate on modulating SMSI through regulating the structure of the support.Herein,we show how changing the surface environment of the anatase TiO_(2)(B–TiO_(2))can be used to modulate the SMSI.The moderate TiOx overlayer makes the Ni metal highly dispersed on the high specific surface area of support,resulting in a substantially enhanced CO_(2)methanation rate.Besides,a novel phenomenon was observed that boron dopants promote the for-mation of the B–O–Ti interface site,enhancing the catalytic performance of CO_(2)hydrogenation.DFT calculations confirm that the B–O–Ti structure facilitates the activation of CO_(2)and further hydrogenation to methane.

Size-dependent Biological Effects on Vascular Endothelial Cells Induced by Different Particulate Matters

Summary： The contribution of particles to cardiovascular mortality and morbidity has been enlightened by epidemiologic and experimental studies. However, adverse biological effects of the particles with different sizes on cardiovascular cells have not been well recognized. In this study, sub-cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs） were exposed to increasing concentrations of pure quartz particles （DQ） of three sizes （DQPM1, 〈1 μm; DQPM3-5, 3-5 μm; DQPM5, 5 μm） and carbon black particles of two sizes （CB0.1, 〈0.1 μm; CB 1, 〈 1 μm） for 24 h. Cytotoxicity was estimated by measuring the activity of lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） and cell viability. Nitric oxide （NO） generation and cyto- kines （TNF-α and IL-1β） releases were analyzed by using NO assay and enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay （ELISA）, respectively. It was found that both particles induced adverse biological effects on HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. The size of particle directly influenced the biological activity. For quartz, the smaller particles induced stronger cytotoxicity and higher levels of cytokine responses than those particles of big size. For carbon black particles, CB0.1 was more capable of inducing adverse responses on HUVECs than CB 1 only at lower particle concentrations, in contrast to those at higher concentrations. Meanwhile, our data also revealed that quartz particles performed stronger cell damage and produced higher levels of TNF-α than carbon black particles, even if particles size was similar. In conclusion, particle size as well as particle composition should be both considered in assessing vascular endothelial cells injury and inflammation responses induced by particles.

Size-dependent behaviors of viscoelastic axially functionally graded Timoshenko micro-beam considering Poisson effects

A size-dependent continuum-based model is developed for the functionally graded(FG)Timoshenko micro-beams with viscoelastic properties,in which material parameters vary according to the power law along its axial direction.The size effect is incorporated by employing the modified couple stress theory and Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model,so that viscous components are included in the stress and the deviatoric segments of the symmetric couple stress tensors.The components of strain,curvature,stress and couple stress are formulated by combining them with the Timoshenko beam theory.Based on the Hamilton principle,the governing differential equations and boundary conditions for the micro-beam are expressed with arbitrary beam section shape and arbitrary type of loads.The size effect,FG effect,Poisson effect,and the influence of the beam section shape on the mechanical behaviors of viscoelastic FG micro-beams are investigated by taking the simply supported micro-beam subjected to point load as an example.Results show that the size effect on deflection,normal stress and couple stress are obvious when the size of the micro-beam is small enough,and the FG effects are obvious when the size of the micro-beam is large enough.Moreover,the Poisson ratio influences the size effect significantly and the beam section shape is also an important factor influencing the mechanical behavior of the micro-beam.

Disparities in tree mortality among plant functional types(PFTs)in a temperate forest:Insights into size-dependent and PFT-specific patterns

Tree mortality significantly influences forest structure and function,yet our understanding of its dynamic patterns among a range of tree sizes and among different plant functional types(PFTs)remains incomplete.This study analysed size-dependent tree mortality in a temperate forest,encompassing 46 tree species and 32,565 individuals across different PFTs(i.e.,evergreen conifer vs.deciduous broadleaf species,shade-tolerant vs.shade-intolerant species).By employing all-subset regression procedures and logistic generalized linear mixed-effects models,we identified distinct mortality patterns influenced by biotic and abiotic factors.Our results showed a stable mortality patte rn in eve rgreen conifer species,contrasted by a declining pattern in deciduous broadleaf and shadetolerant,as well as shade-intolerant species,across size classes.The contribution to tree mortality of evergreen conifer species shifted from abiotic to biotic factors with increasing size,while the mortality of deciduous broadleaf species was mainly influenced by biotic factors,such as initial diameter at breast height(DBH)and conspecific negative density.For shade-tolerant species,the mortality of small individuals was mainly determined by initial DBH and conspecific negative density dependence,whereas the mortality of large individuals was subjected to the combined effect of biotic(competition from neighbours)and abiotic factors(i.e.,convexity and pH).As for shade-intolerant species,competition from neighbours was found to be the main driver of tree mortality throughout their growth stages.Thus,these insights enhance our understanding of forest dynamics by revealing the size-dependent and PFT-specific tree mortality patterns,which may inform strategies for maintaining forest diversity and resilience in temperate forest ecosystems.

Observation of size-dependent boundary effects in non-Hermitian electric circuits

The non-Hermitian systems with the non-Hermitian skin effect(NHSE)are very sensitive to the imposed boundary conditions and lattice sizes,which lead to size-dependent non-Hermitian skin effects.Here,we report the experimental observation of NHSE with different boundary conditions and different lattice sizes in the unidirectional hopping model based on a circuit platform.The circuit admittance spectra and corresponding eigenstates are very sensitive to the presence of the boundary.Meanwhile,our experimental results show how the lattice sizes and boundary terms together affect the strength of NHSE.Therefore,our electric circuit provides a good platform to observe size-dependent boundary effects in non-Hermitian systems.

Synergistic effect of size-dependent PtZn nanoparticles and zinc single-atom sites for electrochemical ozone production in neutral media

Electrochemical ozone production(EOP) via water electrolysis represents an attractive method for the generation of high-purity O3. Herein, the X-PtZn/Zn-N-C electrocatalysts show a strong structural sensitive behavior depends on the size of the PtZn nanoparticles and their EOP activity exhibits a volcano-type dependence for the O3 performance in neutral media. The 7.7-PtZn/Zn-N-C exhibits EOP current efficiency of 4.2%, and shows the prominent performance in the production of gaseous O3 with a value of 1647 ppb at 30 min, which is almost 4-fold compared to 2.2-Pt Zn/Zn-N-C. Based on the experiments and theoretical calculations, the performance of the EOP process was determined by the nanoparticle size-effect and the synergistic effect between the PtZn nanoparticles and atomically dispersed Zn-N-C. Furthermore, the fivemembered cyclic structure of O3 can be stabilized between the PtZn nanoparticle and the Zn-N-C support,indicating that O3 is produced at the interface.

Size-dependent electromechanical properties in piezoelectric superlattices due to flexoelectric effect

Piezoelectric superlattice is a potential component for nanoelectromechanical systems. Due to the strong nonlocal effect such as flexoelectric effect at interfaces, classical piezoelectric theory is unable to accurately describe the electromechanical response of piezoelectric superlattice at nanoscale scale. Based on the previous nonlocal thermodynamics theory with flexoelectric effect Liu et al. （2016）, the size- dependent electromechanical properties of piezoelectric superlattices made of BaTiO3 （BTO） and PbTiO3 （PRO） layers are investigated systematically in the present work. Giant strain gradient is found near the interface between BTO and PTO layers, which leads to the significant enhancement of polarization in the superlattice due to the flexoelectric effect. For the piezoelectric BTO-PTO superlattices with different unit- cell sizes, the thickness of interface with nontrivial strain gradient is almost constant. The influence of strain gradient at the interface becomes significant when the size of superlattice decreases, As a result, a strong size dependence of electromechanical properties is predicted for the piezoelectric BTO-PTO superlattices, In particular, for the superlattices with a specific thickness ratio of BTO and PTO layers, the piezoelectric response can be several times larger than that of bulk structure. The present work demonstrates a practical wast to design the piezoelectric superlattices with high piezoelectric coefficient by using the nonlocal effect at nanoscale.

Locally Enhanced Flow and Electric Fields Through a Tip Effect for Efficient Flow‑Electrode Capacitive Deionization

Low-electrode capacitive deionization(FCDI)is an emerging desalination technology with great potential for removal and/or recycling ions from a range of waters.However,it still suffers from inefficient charge transfer and ion transport kinetics due to weak turbulence and low electric intensity in flow electrodes,both restricted by the current collectors.Herein,a new tip-array current collector(designated as T-CC)was developed to replace the conventional planar current collectors,which intensifies both the charge transfer and ion transport significantly.The effects of tip arrays on flow and electric fields were studied by both computational simulations and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy,which revealed the reduction of ion transport barrier,charge transport barrier and internal resistance.With the voltage increased from 1.0 to 1.5 and 2.0 V,the T-CC-based FCDI system(T-FCDI)exhibited average salt removal rates(ASRR)of 0.18,0.50,and 0.89μmol cm^(-2) min^(-1),respectively,which are 1.82,2.65,and 2.48 folds higher than that of the conventional serpentine current collectors,and 1.48,1.67,and 1.49 folds higher than that of the planar current collectors.Meanwhile,with the solid content in flow electrodes increased from 1 to 5 wt%,the ASRR for T-FCDI increased from 0.29 to 0.50μmol cm^(-2) min^(-1),which are 1.70 and 1.67 folds higher than that of the planar current collectors.Additionally,a salt removal efficiency of 99.89%was achieved with T-FCDI and the charge efficiency remained above 95%after 24 h of operation,thus showing its superior long-term stability.

Late effects of the treatment of childhood cancer

Excellent progress has been made in the last few decades in the cure rates of pediatric malignancies,with more than 80%of children with cancer who have access to contemporary treatment being cured.However,the therapies responsible for this survival can also produce adverse physical and psychological long-term outcomes,referred to as late effects,which appear months to years after the completion of cancer treatment.Research has shown that 60%to 90%of childhood cancer survivors(CCSs)develop one or more chronic health conditions,and 20%to 80%of survivors experience severe or life-threatening complications during adulthood.Therefore,understanding the late side effects of such treatments is important to improve the health and quality of life of the growing population of CCSs.

Novel Methodologies for Preventing Crack Propagation in Steel Gas Pipelines Considering the Temperature Effect

Using the software ANSYS-19.2/Explicit Dynamics,this study performedfinite-element modeling of the large-diameter steel pipeline cross-section for the Beineu-Bozoy-Shymkent gas pipeline with a non-through straight crack,strengthened by steel wire wrapping.The effects of the thread tensile force of the steel winding in the form of single rings at the crack edges and the wires with different winding diameters and pitches were also studied.The results showed that the strengthening was preferably executed at a minimum value of the thread tensile force,which was 6.4%more effective than that at its maximum value.The analysis of the influence of the winding dia-meters showed that the equivalent stresses increased by 32%from the beginning of the crack growth until the wire broke.The increment in winding diameter decelerated the disclosure of the edge crack and reduced its length by 8.2%.The analysis of the influence of the winding pitch showed that decreasing the distance between the winding turns also led to a 33.6%reduction in the length of the straight crack and a 7.9%reduction in the maximum stres-ses on the strengthened pipeline cross-section.The analysis of the temperature effect on the pipeline material,within a range from-40℃ to+50℃,resulted in a crack length change of up to 5.8%.As the temperature dropped,the crack length decreased.Within such a temperature range,the maximum stresses were observed along the cen-tral area of the crack,which were equal to 413 MPa at+50℃ and 440 MPa at-40℃.The results also showed that the presence of the steel winding in the pipeline significantly reduced the length of crack propagation up to 8.4 times,depending on the temperature effect and design parameters of prestressing.This work integrated the existing methods for crack localization along steel gas pipelines.

Relationship between parenting stress and behavioral and emotional problems in preschool children: A mediation effect analysis

BACKGROUND Emotional reactions,such as anxiety,irritability,and aggressive behavior,have attracted clinical attention as behavioral and emotional problems in preschool-age children.AIM To investigate the current status of family rearing,parental stress,and behavioral and emotional problems of preschool children and to analyze the mediating effect of the current status of family rearing on parental stress and behavioral/emo-tional problems.METHODS We use convenience sampling to select 258 preschool children in the physical examination center of our hospital from October 2021 to September 2023.The children and their parents were evaluated using a questionnaire survey.Pearson's correlation was used to analyze the correlation between child behavioral and emotional problems and parental stress and family rearing,and the structural equation model was constructed to test the mediating effect.RESULTS The score for behavioral/emotional problems of 258 preschool children was(27.54±3.63),the score for parental stress was(87.64±11.34),and the score for parental family rearing was(31.54±5.24).There was a positive correlation between the behavioral and emotional problems of the children and the“hostile/mandatory”parenting style;meanwhile,showed a negative correlation with the“support/participation”parenting style(all P<0.05).The intermediary effect value between the family upbringing of parents in parental stress and children's behavior problems was 29.89%.CONCLUSION Parental family upbringing has a mediating effect between parental stress and behavioral and emotional problems of children.Despite paying attention to the behavioral and emotional problems of preschool-age children,clinical medical staff should provide correct and reasonable parenting advice to their parents to promote the mental health of preschool-age children.

Variations in quantifying patient reported outcome measures to estimate treatment effect

In the practice of healthcare,patient-reported outcomes(PROs)and PRO measures(PROMs)are used as an attempt to observe the changes in complex clinical situations.They guide us in making decisions based on the evidence regarding patient care by recording the change in outcomes for a particular treatment to a given condition and finally to understand whether a patient will benefit from a particular treatment and to quantify the treatment effect.For any PROM to be usable in health care,we need it to be reliable,encapsulating the points of interest with the potential to detect any real change.Using structured outcome measures routinely in clinical practice helps the physician to understand the functional limitation of a patient that would otherwise not be clear in an office interview,and this allows the physician and patient to have a meaningful conver-sation as well as a customized plan for each patient.Having mentioned the rationale and the benefits of PROMs,understanding the quantification process is crucial before embarking on management decisions.A better interpretation of change needs to identify the treatment effect based on clinical relevance for a given condition.There are a multiple set of measurement indices to serve this effect and most of them are used interchangeably without clear demarcation on their differences.This article details the various quantification metrics used to evaluate the treatment effect using PROMs,their limitations and the scope of usage and implementation in clinical practice.

Modeling size-dependent thermo-mechanical behaviors of shape memory polymer Bernoulli-Euler microbeam

The objective of this paper is to model the size-dependent thermo-mechanical behaviors of a shape memory polymer (SMP) microbeam.Size-dependent constitutive equations,which can capture the size effect of the SMP,are proposed based on the modified couple stress theory (MCST).The deformation energy expression of the SMP microbeam is obtained by employing the proposed size-dependent constitutive equation and Bernoulli-Euler beam theory.An SMP microbeam model,which includes the formulations of deflection,strain,curvature,stress and couple stress,is developed by using the principle of minimum potential energy and the separation of variables together.The sizedependent thermo-mechanical and shape memory behaviors of the SMP microbeam and the influence of the Poisson ratio are numerically investigated according to the developed SMP microbeam model.Results show that the size effects of the SMP microbeam are significant when the dimensionless height is small enough.However,they are too slight to be necessarily considered when the dimensionless height is large enough.The bending flexibility and stress level of the SMP microbeam rise with the increasing dimensionless height,while the couple stress level declines with the increasing dimensionless height.The larger the dimensionless height is,the more obvious the viscous property and shape memory effect of the SMP microbeam are.The Poisson ratio has obvious influence on the size-dependent behaviors of the SMP microbeam.The paper provides a theoretical basis and a quantitatively analyzing tool for the design and analysis of SMP micro-structures in the field of biological medicine,microelectronic devices and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) self-assembling.

Size-Dependent Oxidation-Induced Phase Engineering for MOFs Derivatives Via Spatial Confinement Strategy Toward Enhanced Microwave Absorption

Precisely reducing the size of metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)derivatives is an effective strategy to manipulate their phase engineering owing to size-dependent oxidation;however,the underlying relationship between the size of derivatives and phase engineering has not been clarified so far.Herein,a spatial confined growth strategy is proposed to encapsulate small-size MOFs derivatives into hollow carbon nanocages.It realizes that the hollow cavity shows a significant spatial confinement effect on the size of confined MOFs crystals and subsequently affects the dielectric polarization due to the phase hybridization with tunable coherent interfaces and heterojunctions owing to size-dependent oxidation motion,yielding to satisfied microwave attenuation with an optimal reflection loss of-50.6 d B and effective bandwidth of 6.6 GHz.Meanwhile,the effect of phase hybridization on dielectric polarization is deeply visualized,and the simulated calculation and electron holograms demonstrate that dielectric polarization is shown to be dominant dissipation mechanism in determining microwave absorption.This spatial confined growth strategy provides a versatile methodology for manipulating the size of MOFs derivatives and the understanding of size-dependent oxidation-induced phase hybridization offers a precise inspiration in optimizing dielectric polarization and microwave attenuation in theory.

Function of male and hermaphroditic flowers and size-dependent gender diphasy of Lloydia oxycarpa (Liliaceae) from Hengduan Mountains

Although hermaphroditism is common in flowering plants, unisexual flowers occur in many plant taxa,forming various sexual systems. However, the sexual system of some plants is difficult to determine morphologically, given that their sex expression may be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Specifically, androdioecy(the coexistence of both male and hermaphroditic individuals in the same population) has often been confused with the gender diphasy, a gender strategy in which plants change their sex expression between seasons. We studied the reproductive function of male and hermaphroditic flowers of Lloydia oxycarpa(Liliaceae), in order to investigate its sexual system and determine whether it is a gender-diphasic species. We found that although male flowers occur in a considerable number of plants, relative to hermaphrodites, they did not exhibit any significant reproductive advantage in terms of flower size, pollen quantity, attractiveness to visitors or siring success. In addition, this plant has spontaneous self-pollination and showed no inbreeding depression. These results render the maintenance of male individuals almost impossible. Furthermore, a considerable number of individuals changed their sex in successive years. The sex expression was found to be related to bulb size and dry weight, with larger individuals producing hermaphroditic flowers and smaller individuals producing male flowers. These results suggest that L. oxycarpa is not an androdioecious plant but represents a rare case of size-dependent gender diphasy.

Buckling and post-buckling analyses of size-dependent piezoelectric nanoplates

This paper attempts to investigate the buckling and post-buckling behaviors of piezoelectric nanoplate based on the nonlocal Mindlin plate model and yon Karman geometric nonlinearity. An external electric voltage and a uniform temperature rise are applied on the piezoelectric nanoplate. Both the uniaxial and biaxial mechanical compression forces will be considered in the buckling and post-buckling analysis. By substituting the energy functions into the equation of the minimum total potential energy principle, the governing equations are derived directly, and then discretized through the differential quadrature （DQ） method. The buckling and post-buckling responses of piezoelectric nanoplates are calculated by employing a direct iterative method under different boundary conditions. The numerical results are presented to show the influences of different factors including the nonlocal parameter, electric voltage, and temperature rise on the buckling and post-buckling responses.

Size-dependent catalytic activity of cobalt phosphides for hydrogen evolution reaction

Transition metal phosphides are a class of promising electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) to replace noble metals.In this work,we for the first time synthesize carbon supported CoP nanoparticles with the average particle sizes from 3.3 to 9.2 nm,via a solvothermal process followed by low-temperature topological phosphorization,and the size-dependent HER activity of the CoP is investigated by virtue of TEM,XRD,XPS and the electrochemical techniques.It is discovered that the 9.2nm-CoP particles possess high intrinsic HER catalytic activity as compared to the 3.3nm-CoP,although the smaller one displays a high mass activity due to the large surface area.Detailed studies manifest that the small CoP particles suffer from serious oxidation once exposing to air.In contrast,most cobalt remains in the quasi-metallic state in the relatively large CoP particles,which is beneficial for the desorption of Hads,the rate determining step of the HER process over CoP surface.In addition,the low charge transfer resistance across the liquid/solid interfaces also contributes to the excellent HER activity of the relatively large CoP particles.

Size-dependent melting properties of Sn nanoparticles by chemical reduction synthesis

Tin nanoparticles with different size distribution were synthesized using chemical reduction method by applying NaBH4 as reduction agent.The Sn nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm were less agglomerated and no obviously oxidized.The melting properties of these synthesized nanoparticles were studied by differential scanning calorimetry.The melting temperatures of Sn nanoparticles in diameter of 81,40,36 and 34 nm were 226.1,221.8,221.1 and 219.5？欲espectively.The size-dependent melting temperature and size-dependent latent heat of fusion have been observed.The size-dependent melting properties of tin nanoparticles in this study were also comparatively analyzed by employing different size-dependent theoretical melting models and the differences between these models were discussed.The results show that the experimental data are in accordance with the LSM model and SPI model,and the LSM model gives the better understanding for the melting property of the Sn nanoparticles.

Precise large deviations for sums of random vectors in a multidimensional size-dependent renewal risk model

Consider a multidimensional renewal risk model, in which the claim sizes {Xk, k ≥1} form a sequence of independent and identically distributed random vectors with nonnegative components that are allowed to be dependent on each other. The univariate marginal distributions of these vectors have consistently varying tails and finite means. Suppose that the claim sizes and inter-arrival times correspondingly form a sequence of independent and identically distributed random pairs, with each pair obeying a dependence structure. A precise large deviation for the multidimensional renewal risk model is obtained.