Preparations of TiO_2 film coated on foam nickel substrate by sol-gel processes and its photocatalytic activity for degradation of acetaldehyde

Anatase TiO2 films were successfully prepared on foam nickel substrates by sol-gel technique using tetrabutyl titanate as precursor. The characteristics of the TiO2 films were investigated by XPS, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM and UV-Vis absorption spectra. The photocatalytic activities of TiO2 films were investigated by photocatalytic degradation reactions of gaseous acetaldehyde, an indoor pollutant, under ultraviolet light irradiation. It was found that Ni^2＋ doping into TiO2 films due to the foam nickel substrates resulted in the extension of absorption edges of TiO2 films from UV region to visible light region. The pre-heating for foam nickel substrates resulted in the formation of NiO layer, which prevented effectively the injection of photogenerated electrons from TiO2 films to metal nickel. The TiO2 films displayed high photocatalytic activity for the degradation of acetaldehyde, and were enhanced by calcining the substrates and coating TiO2 films repeatedly. The high activity was mainly attributed to the improvement of the characteristics of substrate surface and the increase of active sites on photocatalyst.

Recent developments in selective laser processes for wearable devices

Recently,the increasing interest in wearable technology for personal healthcare and smart virtual/augmented reality applications has led to the development of facile fabrication methods.Lasers have long been used to develop original solutions to such challenging technological problems due to their remote,sterile,rapid,and site-selective processing of materials.In this review,recent developments in relevant laser processes are summarized under two separate categories.First,transformative approaches,such as for laser-induced graphene,are introduced.In addition to design optimization and the alteration of a native substrate,the latest advances under a transformative approach now enable more complex material compositions and multilayer device configurations through the simultaneous transformation of heterogeneous precursors,or the sequential addition of functional layers coupled with other electronic elements.In addition,the more conventional laser techniques,such as ablation,sintering,and synthesis,can still be used to enhance the functionality of an entire system through the expansion of applicable materials and the adoption of new mechanisms.Later,various wearable device components developed through the corresponding laser processes are discussed,with an emphasis on chemical/physical sensors and energy devices.In addition,special attention is given to applications that use multiple laser sources or processes,which lay the foundation for the all-laser fabrication of wearable devices.

NADARAYA-WATSON ESTIMATORS FOR REFLECTED STOCHASTIC PROCESSES

We study the Nadaraya-Watson estimators for the drift function of two-sided reflected stochastic differential equations.The estimates,based on either the continuously observed process or the discretely observed process,are considered.Under certain conditions,we prove the strong consistency and the asymptotic normality of the two estimators.Our method is also suitable for one-sided reflected stochastic differential equations.Simulation results demonstrate that the performance of our estimator is superior to that of the estimator proposed by Cholaquidis et al.(Stat Sin,2021,31:29-51).Several real data sets of the currency exchange rate are used to illustrate our proposed methodology.

Multimodal Data-Driven Reinforcement Learning for Operational Decision-Making in Industrial Processes

Dear Editor, This letter proposes a multimodal data-driven reinforcement learning-based method for operational decision-making in industrial processes. Due to the frequent fluctuations of feedstock properties and operating conditions in the industrial processes, existing data-driven methods cannot effectively adjust the operational variables. In addition, multimodal data such as images, audio.

An Interpretable Light Attention-Convolution-Gate Recurrent Unit Architecture for the Highly Accurate Modeling of Actual Chemical Dynamic Processes

To equip data-driven dynamic chemical process models with strong interpretability,we develop a light attention–convolution–gate recurrent unit(LACG)architecture with three sub-modules—a basic module,a brand-new light attention module,and a residue module—that are specially designed to learn the general dynamic behavior,transient disturbances,and other input factors of chemical processes,respectively.Combined with a hyperparameter optimization framework,Optuna,the effectiveness of the proposed LACG is tested by distributed control system data-driven modeling experiments on the discharge flowrate of an actual deethanization process.The LACG model provides significant advantages in prediction accuracy and model generalization compared with other models,including the feedforward neural network,convolution neural network,long short-term memory(LSTM),and attention-LSTM.Moreover,compared with the simulation results of a deethanization model built using Aspen Plus Dynamics V12.1,the LACG parameters are demonstrated to be interpretable,and more details on the variable interactions can be observed from the model parameters in comparison with the traditional interpretable model attention-LSTM.This contribution enriches interpretable machine learning knowledge and provides a reliable method with high accuracy for actual chemical process modeling,paving a route to intelligent manufacturing.

Correlation of Microbiological Stability with Redox Processes in White Wines

In this paper, the authors analyzed the correlation between the microbiological stability of white wines and the content of sulfur dioxide, which influences the main redox processes that take place in the technological stages of the wine. The consecutive, parallel and spontaneous development of several redox processes and their impact on the quality, microbiological and crystalline stability of white wines were examined. The reduction of additive and subtractive technological interventions, of the amounts of adjuvants (sulphurous anhydride) is essential for the production of organic wines.

Numerical Study on the Impacts of Hydrometeor Processes on the“21·7”Extreme Rainfall in Zhengzhou Area of China

The impacts of hydrometeor-related processes on the development and evolution of the“21·7”extremely heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou were investigated using WRF simulations.Surface precipitation was determined by the hydrometeor microphysical processes(all microphysical source sink terms of hydrometeors)and macrophysical processes(local change and flux convergence of hydrometeors).The contribution of hydrometeor macrophysical processes was commonly less than 10%,but could reach 30%–50%in the early stage of precipitation,which was largely dependent on the size of the study area.The macrophysical processes of liquid-phase hydrometeors always presented a promotional effect on rainfall,while the ice-phase hydrometeors played a negative role in the middle and later stages of precipitation.The distributions of microphysical latent heat corresponded well with those of buoyancy and vertical velocity(tendency),indicating that the phase-change heating was the major driver for convective development.Reasonable diagnostic buoyancy was obtained by choosing an area close to the convective size for getting the reference state of air.In addition,a new dynamic equilibrium involving hydrometeors with a tilted airflow was formed during the heavy precipitation period(updraft was not the strongest).The heaviest instantaneous precipitation was mainly produced by the warm-rain processes.Sensitivity experiments further pointed out that the uncertainty of latent heat parameterization(±20%)did not significantly affect the convective rainfall.While when the phase-change heating only altered the temperature tendency,its impact on precipitation was remarkable.The results of this study help to deepen our understanding of heavy rainfall mechanisms from the perspective of hydrometeor processes.

THE EXTREMES OF DEPENDENT CHI-PROCESSES ATTRACTED BY THE BROWN-RESNICK PROCESS

Motivated by some recent works on the topic of the Brown-Resnick process, we study the functional limit theorem for normalized pointwise maxima of dependent chi-processes. It is proven that the properly normalized pointwise maxima of those processes are attracted by the Brown-Resnick process.

Modeling and analysis of air combustion and steam regeneration in methanol to olefins processes

Light olefins is the incredibly important materials in chemical industry.Methanol to olefins(MTO),which provides a non-oil route for light olefins production,received considerable attention in the past decades.However,the catalyst deactivation is an inevitable feature in MTO processes,and regeneration,therefore,is one of the key steps in industrial MTO processes.Traditionally the MTO catalyst is regenerated by removing the deposited coke via air combustion,which unavoidably transforms coke into carbon dioxide and reduces the carbon utilization efficiency.Recent study shows that the coke species over MTO catalyst can be regenerated via steam,which can promote the light olefins yield as the deactivated coke species can be essentially transferred to industrially useful synthesis gas,is a promising pathway for further MTO processes development.In this work,we modelled and analyzed these two MTO regeneration methods in terms of carbon utilization efficiency and technology economics.As shown,the steam regeneration could achieve a carbon utilization efficiency of 84.31%,compared to 74.74%for air combustion regeneration.The MTO processes using steam regeneration can essentially achieve the near-zero carbon emission.In addition,light olefins production of the MTO processes using steam regeneration is 12.81%higher than that using air combustion regeneration.In this regard,steam regeneration could be considered as a potential yet promising regeneration method for further MTO processes,showing not only great environmental benefits but also competitive economic performance.

Causal temporal graph attention network for fault diagnosis of chemical processes

Fault detection and diagnosis(FDD)plays a significant role in ensuring the safety and stability of chemical processes.With the development of artificial intelligence(AI)and big data technologies,data-driven approaches with excellent performance are widely used for FDD in chemical processes.However,improved predictive accuracy has often been achieved through increased model complexity,which turns models into black-box methods and causes uncertainty regarding their decisions.In this study,a causal temporal graph attention network(CTGAN)is proposed for fault diagnosis of chemical processes.A chemical causal graph is built by causal inference to represent the propagation path of faults.The attention mechanism and chemical causal graph were combined to help us notice the key variables relating to fault fluctuations.Experiments in the Tennessee Eastman(TE)process and the green ammonia(GA)process showed that CTGAN achieved high performance and good explainability.

Multi-Perspective Data Fusion Framework Based on Hierarchical BERT: Provide Visual Predictions of Business Processes

Predictive Business Process Monitoring(PBPM)is a significant research area in Business Process Management(BPM)aimed at accurately forecasting future behavioral events.At present,deep learning methods are widely cited in PBPM research,but no method has been effective in fusing data information into the control flow for multi-perspective process prediction.Therefore,this paper proposes a process prediction method based on the hierarchical BERT and multi-perspective data fusion.Firstly,the first layer BERT network learns the correlations between different category attribute data.Then,the attribute data is integrated into a weighted event-level feature vector and input into the second layer BERT network to learn the impact and priority relationship of each event on future predicted events.Next,the multi-head attention mechanism within the framework is visualized for analysis,helping to understand the decision-making logic of the framework and providing visual predictions.Finally,experimental results show that the predictive accuracy of the framework surpasses the current state-of-the-art research methods and significantly enhances the predictive performance of BPM.

Local Torrential Rainfall Event within a Mei-Yu Season Mesoscale Convective System:Importance of Back-Building Processes

An extreme rainfall event occurred over Hangzhou,China,during the afternoon hours on 24 June 2013.This event occurred under suitable synoptic conditions and the maximum 4-h cumulative rainfall amount was over 150 mm.This rainfall event had two major rainbands.One was caused by a quasi-stationary convective line,and the other by a backbuilding convective line related to the interaction of the outflow boundary from the first rainband and an existing low-level mesoscale convergence line associated with a mei-yu frontal system.The rainfall event lasted 4 h,while the back-building process occurred in 2 h when the extreme rainfall center formed.So far,few studies have examined the back-building processes in the mei-yu season that are caused by the interaction of a mesoscale convergence line and a convective cold pool.The two rainbands are successfully reproduced by the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model with fourlevel,two-way interactive nesting.In the model,new cells repeatedly occur at the west side of older cells,and the backbuilding process occurs in an environment with large CAPE,a low LFC,and plenty of water vapor.Outflows from older cells enhance the low-level convergence that forces new cells.High precipitation efficiency of the back-building training cells leads to accumulated precipitation of over 150 mm.Sensitivity experiments without evaporation of rainwater show that the convective cold pool plays an important role in the organization of the back-building process in the current extreme precipitation case.

Comparison of a Spectral Bin and Two Multi-Moment Bulk Microphysics Schemes for Supercell Simulation:Investigation into Key Processes Responsible for Hydrometeor Distributions and Precipitation

There are more uncertainties with ice hydrometeor representations and related processes than liquid hydrometeors within microphysics parameterization(MP)schemes because of their complicated geometries and physical properties.Idealized supercell simulations are produced using the WRF model coupled with“full”Hebrew University spectral bin MP(HU-SBM),and NSSL and Thompson bulk MP(BMP)schemes.HU-SBM downdrafts are typically weaker than those of the NSSL and Thompson simulations,accompanied by less rain evaporation.HU-SBM produces more cloud ice(plates),graupel,and hail than the BMPs,yet precipitates less at the surface.The limiting mass bins(and subsequently,particle size)of rimed ice in HU-SBM and slower rimed ice fall speeds lead to smaller melting-level net rimed ice fluxes than those of the BMPs.Aggregation from plates in HU-SBM,together with snow–graupel collisions,leads to a greater snow contribution to rain than those of the BMPs.Replacing HU-SBM’s fall speeds using the formulations of the BMPs after aggregating the discrete bin values to mass mixing ratios and total number concentrations increases net rain and rimed ice fluxes.Still,they are smaller in magnitude than bulk rain,NSSL hail,and Thompson graupel net fluxes near the surface.Conversely,the melting-layer net rimed ice fluxes are reduced when the fall speeds for the NSSL and Thompson simulations are calculated using HU-SBM fall speed formulations after discretizing the bulk particle size distributions(PSDs)into spectral bins.The results highlight precipitation sensitivity to storm dynamics,fall speed,hydrometeor evolution governed by process rates,and MP PSD design.

Quantification of irrigation water transport processes in ZiZiphus jujuba garden using water stable isotopes

ZiZiphus jujuba,which is native to China,has become one of the main crops widely planted in the western Loess Plateau because of its drought and flood-tolerance,adaptability,and higher nutritional value of the fruit.The irrigation water infiltration in Z.jujuba gardens is complex,and understanding its mechanisms is essential for efficient water use and sustainable agriculture.This knowledge helps ensure the long-term success of jujuba cultivation.This paper describes a field experiment that investigates the infiltration process of irrigation water from Z.jujuba garden and quantifies the contribution of irrigation water to soil water at different depths using the MixSIAR model.According to the FC(Field water holding Capacity)of Z.jujuba,irrigation experiments with three volumes of 80%FC,60%FC,and 40%FC are set up in this study.The study finds that water retention is better in Z.jujuba garden soils with a higher proportion of coarse gravel in the soil particle composition.Soil water content exhibits a gradient change after irrigation,with deeper wetting front transport depth observed with increased irrigation water.Additionally,there is correlation between soil temperature and soil water content.The soil water in Z.jujuba garden generally exhibits a preferential flow signal in the 0-40 cm range.Below 40 cm,a piston flow pattern dominates.The rate of soil water infiltration increases with the amount of irrigation water.In the 0-40 cm range of the soil vertical profile,irrigation water was the main contributor to soil water.Z.jujuba demonstrated flexibility in water uptake,primarily absorbing soil water at depths of 0-40 cm.For optimal growth of Z.jujuba at this stage,40%FC irrigation is recommended.The results are expected to be valuable future irrigation practices and land use planning for Z.jujuba garden in arid zones,supporting sustainable agricultural development and water management.

Analysis of application range of simplified models for field to thermo-field to thermionic emission processes from the cathode

Electron emission plays a dominant role in plasma-cathode interactions and is a key factor in many plasma phenomena and industrial applications.It is necessary to illustrate the various electron emission mechanisms and the corresponding applicable description models to evaluate their impacts on discharge properties.In this study,detailed expressions of the simplified formulas valid for field emission to thermo-field emission to thermionic emission typically used in the numerical simulation are proposed,and the corresponding application ranges are determined in the framework of the Murphy-Good theory,which is commonly regarded as the general model and to be accurate in the full range of conditions of the validity of the theory.Dimensionless parameterization was used to evaluate the emission current density of the Murphy-Good formula,and a deviation factor was defined to obtain the application ranges for different work functions(2.5‒5 eV),cathode temperatures(300‒6000 K),and emitted electric fields(10^(5) to 10^(10) V·m^(-1)).The deviation factor was shown to be a nonmonotonic function of the three parameters.A comparative study of particle number densities in atmospheric gas discharge with a tungsten cathode was performed based on the one-dimensional implicit particle-in-cell(PIC)with the Monte Carlo collision(MCC)method according to the aforementioned application ranges.It was found that small differences in emission current density can lead to variations in the distributions of particle number density due to changes in the collisional environment.This study provides a theoretical basis for selecting emission models for subsequent numerical simulations.

Mass Transfer-Promoted Fe^(2+)/Fe^(3+)Circulation Steered by 3D Flow-Through Co-Catalyst System Toward Sustainable Advanced Oxidation Processes

Realizing fast and continuous generation of reactive oxygen species(ROSs)via iron-based advanced oxidation processes(AOPs)is significant in the environmental and biological fields.However,current AOPs assisted by co-catalysts still suffer from the poor mass/electron transfer and non-durable promotion effect,giving rise to the sluggish Fe^(2+)/Fe^(3+)cycle and low dynamic concentration of Fe^(2+)for ROS production.Herein,we present a three-dimensional(3D)macroscale co-catalyst functionalized with molybdenum disulfide(MoS_(2))to achieve ultra-efficient Fe^(2+)regeneration(equilibrium Fe^(2+)ratio of 82.4%)and remarkable stability(more than 20 cycles)via a circulating flow-through process.Unlike the conventional batch-type reactor,experiments and computational fluid dynamics simulations demonstrate that the optimal utilization of the 3D active area under the flow-through mode,initiated by the convectionenhanced mass/charge transfer for Fe^(2+)reduction and then strengthened by MoS_(2)-induced flow rotation for sufficient reactant mixing,is crucial for oxidant activation and subsequent ROS generation.Strikingly,the flow-through co-catalytic system with superwetting capabilities can even tackle the intricate oily wastewater stabilized by different surfactants without the loss of pollutant degradation efficiency.Our findings highlight an innovative co-catalyst system design to expand the applicability of AOPs based technology,especially in large-scale complex wastewater treatment.

Solid-state impedance spectroscopy studies of dielectric properties and relaxation processes in Na_(2)O–V_(2)O_(5)–Nb_(2)O_(5)–P_(2)O_(5) glass

Solid-state impedance spectroscopy(SS-IS)was used to investigate the influence of structural modifications resulting from the addition of Nb2O5 on the dielectric properties and relaxation processes in the quaternary mixed glass former(MGF)system 35Na_(2)O–10V_(2)O_(5)–(55-x)P_(2)O_(5)–xNb_(2)O_(5)(x=0–40,mol%).The dielectric parameters,including the dielectric strength and dielectric loss,are determined from the frequency and temperature-dependent complex permittivity data,revealing a significant dependence on the Nb2O5 content.The transition from a predominantly phosphate glass network(x<10,region I)to a mixed niobate–phosphate glass net-work(10≤x≤20,region II)leads to an increase in the dielectric parameters,which correlates with the observed trend in the direct-cur-rent(DC)conductivity.In the predominantly niobate network(x≥25,region III),the highly polarizable nature of Nb5+ions leads to a fur-ther increase in the dielectric permittivity and dielectric strength.This is particularly evident in Nb-40 glass-ceramic,which contains Na_(13)Nb_(35)O_(94) crystalline phase with a tungsten bronze structure and exhibits the highest dielectric permittivity of 61.81 and the lowest loss factor of 0.032 at 303 K and 10 kHz.The relaxation studies,analyzed through modulus formalism and complex impedance data,show that DC conductivity and relaxation processes are governed by the same mechanism,attributed to ionic conductivity.In contrast to glasses with a single peak in frequency dependence of imaginary part of electrical modulus,M″(ω),Nb-40 glass-ceramic exhibits two distinct contributions with similar relaxation times.The high-frequency peak indicates bulk ionic conductivity,while the additional low-fre-quency peak is associated with the grain boundary effect,confirmed by the electrical equivalent circuit(EEC)modelling.The scaling characteristics of permittivity and conductivity spectra,along with the electrical modulus,validate time-temperature superposition and demonstrate a strong correlation with composition and modification of the glass structure upon Nb_(2)O_(5) incorporation.

Challenges and opportunities in the production of magnesium parts by directed energy deposition processes

Mg-alloys have gained considerable attention in recent years for their outstanding properties such as lightweight,high specific strength,and corrosion resistance,making them attractive for applications in medical,aerospace,automotive,and other transport industries.However,their widespread application is hindered by their low formability at room temperature due to limited slip systems.Cast Mg-alloys have low mechanical properties due to the presence of casting defects such as porosity and anisotropy in addition to the high scrap.While casting methods benefit from established process optimization techniques for these problems,additive manufacturing methods are increasingly replacing casting methods in Mg alloys as they provide more precise control over the microstructure and allow specific grain orientations,potentially enabling easier optimization of anisotropy properties in certain applications.Although metal additive manufacturing(MAM)technology also results in some manufacturing defects such as inhomogeneous microstructural evolution and porosity and additively manufactured Mg alloy parts exhibit lower properties than the wrought parts,they in general exhibit superior properties than the cast counterparts.Thus,MAM is a promising technique to produce Mg alloy parts.Directed energy deposition processes,particularly wire arc directed energy deposition(WA-DED),have emerged as an advantageous additive manufacturing(AM)technique for metallic materials including magnesium alloys,offering advantages such as high deposition rates,improved material efficiency,and reduced production costs compared to subtractive processes.However,the inherent challenges associated with magnesium,such as its high reactivity and susceptibility to oxidation,pose unique hurdles in the application of this technology.This review paper delves into the progress made in the application of DED technology to Mg-alloys,its challenges,and prospects.Furthermore,the predominant imperfections,notably inhomogeneous microstructure evolution and porosity,observed in Mg-alloy components manufactured through DED are discussed.Additionally,the preventive measures implemented to counteract the formation of these defects are explored.

LÉVY AREA ANALYSIS AND PARAMETER ESTIMATION FOR FOU PROCESSES VIA NON-GEOMETRIC ROUGH PATH THEORY

This paper addresses the estimation problem of an unknown drift parameter matrix for a fractional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process in a multi-dimensional setting.To tackle this problem,we propose a novel approach based on rough path theory that allows us to construct pathwise rough path estimators from both continuous and discrete observations of a single path.Our approach is particularly suitable for high-frequency data.To formulate the parameter estimators,we introduce a theory of pathwise Itôintegrals with respect to fractional Brownian motion.By establishing the regularity of fractional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes and analyzing the long-term behavior of the associated Lévy area processes,we demonstrate that our estimators are strongly consistent and pathwise stable.Our findings offer a new perspective on estimating the drift parameter matrix for fractional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes in multi-dimensional settings,and may have practical implications for fields including finance,economics,and engineering.

UV-Based Advanced Oxidation Processes for Antibiotic Resistance Control: Efficiency, Influencing Factors, and Energy Consumption

Antibiotic resistant bacteria(ARB)with antibiotic resistance genes(ARGs)can reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of antibiotics and thus threaten human health.The United Nations Environment Programme considers antibiotic resistance the first of six emerging issues of concern.Advanced oxidation processes(AOPs)that combine ultraviolet(UV)irradiation and chemical oxidation(primarily chlorine,hydrogen peroxide,and persulfate)have attracted increasing interest as advanced water and wastewater treatment technologies.These integrated technologies have been reported to significantly elevate the efficiencies of ARB inactivation and ARG degradation compared with direct UV irradiation or chemical oxidation alone due to the generation of multiple reactive species.In this study,the performance and underlying mechanisms of UV/chlorine,UV/hydrogen peroxide,and UV/persulfate processes for controlling ARB and ARGs were reviewed based on recent studies.Factors affecting the process-specific efficiency in controlling ARB and ARGs were discussed,including biotic factors,oxidant dose,UV fluence,pH,and water matrix properties.In addition,the cost-effectiveness of the UV-based AOPs was evaluated using the concept of electrical energy per order.The UV/chlorine process exhibited a higher efficiency with lower energy consumption than other UV-based AOPs in the wastewater matrix,indicating its potential for ARB inactivation and ARG degradation in wastewater treatment.Further studies are required to address the trade-off between toxic byproduct formation and the energy efficiency of the UV/chlorine process in real wastewater to facilitate its optimization and application in the control of ARB and ARGs.