Comparison of ERA5 turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface with measurements from a wave-following platform

Turbulent fluxes at the air-sea interface were estimated with data collected in 2011-2020 with a low-profile platform named OCARINA during eight experiments in five regions:2011,2015,and 2016 in the Iroise Sea;2012 in the tropical Atlantic;2014 in the Chilie-Peru upwelling;2017 and 2018 in the Mediterranean Sea,and 2018 and 2020 in Barbados.The observations were carried out with moderate winds(2-10 m s^(-1))and average wave heights of 1.5 m.In this study,the authors used the fluxes calculated by the bulk method using OCARINA-sampled data as the input.These data can validate the fluxes estimated from ERAS reanalysis data.The OCARINA and ERA5 data were taken concomitantly.To do this,the authors established an algorithm to extract the OCARINA data as closely as possible to the reanalysis data in time and position.The measurements of the OCARINA platform can conclude on the relevance of the widely used reanalysis data.

Analysis of the Identification of Local Agriculture Products in the Municipality of Aileu, Manufahi, and Ainaro That Have Potential for Export and Attract Foreign Investments in Agricultural Sector

The objective of this study is to identify and collect information on local agriculture products and identify local potential agriculture and livestock that can attract foreign investments. Used Stratified Random Sampling and data was collected from both primary and secondary data (both quantitative and qualitative data. The data analyzed used qualitative and quantitative analysis. The supply chain analysis was carried out to develop a description of the value chain to identify potential high-value market areas and current and potential products in the domestic and export markets. The results of the study revealed that most farmers in the research location grow different types of crops and livestock. In particular for Aileu and Ainaro where most of the areas are up-land, therefore, horticulture crops (mustard, cabbage, carrots, and tomato) and coffee are dominated in these areas. For Manufahi, some parts are lowland areas, where most crops grown are maize, cassava, and paddy rice. The study reveals that local potential agriculture products and livestock in the municipalities of Aileu, Ainaro, and Manufahi are vegetable, coffee, maize, and paddy rice, banana, shallot, tangerine, cabbage, carrot, cattle, mung-bean, and banana. To accelerate economic growth, in these municipalities, there is a need to modernize agricultural production, requiring markets for both inputs supply and for the sale of output products. Opportunities to increase the productivity of these products are feasible and this can be done through the use of high-variety seeds and better farm management, and the government and private sector can play an important role in improving productivity as this will have a further implication in improving food security.

Packed Bed Thermocline Thermal Energy Storage for Medium-Temperature Concentrating Solar Systems: Numerical and Experimental Study

Thermal Energy Storage is becoming a necessary component of sustainable energy production systems as it helps alleviate intrinsic limitations of Renewable Energy Sources, such as intermittent use and mismatch between power demand and supply. This paper discusses a packed bed thermocline tank as a thermal energy storage solution. Firstly, this paper presents the development of a numerical model calculating heat transfers within the tank, based on a discretization over several nodes and the nodal formulation of the heat balance equation. The model considers a filler material and a heat transferring fluid and uses the finite difference method to calculate the temperature evolution of the two media across the tank. The model was validated with two different packed bed systems from the literature during a discharging process, presenting a good fit with the experimental results. Secondly, the experimental packed bed is presented and characterized for a charging cycle from ambient temperature to approximately 180?C. The charging experiment was accurately reproduced with the numerical model requiring minimal computational time. Two additional charging modes were simulated with different inlet HTF conditions: constant temperature and varying temperature following the profile produced by a thermal solar collector field. The temperature profiles obtained from the three charging modes were analysed and compared to each other. The proposed numerical and experimental tools will be used in future studies for a better understanding of the design and operating conditions of packed bed thermal energy storage systems.

Hyphenated LC-ABTS$t and LC-DAD-HRMS for simultaneous analysis and identification of antioxidant compounds in Astragalus emarginatus Labill.extracts

The compounds in leaf and stem extracts of Astragalus emarginatus Labill.(AEL),a plant species used in traditional Lebanese medicine,were investigated for antioxidant properties.First,the activity of various extracts was assessed using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity,oxygen radical absorption capacity,and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate assays.The extract obtained using 30%ethanol showed the greatest activity.The antioxidant compounds in this extract were screened using a hyphenated high-performance liquid chromatography-2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate)radical(ABTS$t)system before being separated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and identified using high-resolution mass spectrometry and ultra-violet-visible diode array detection.Approximately 40 compounds were identified.Hydroxycinnamates(caffeic,ferulic,and p-coumaric acid derivatives)and flavonoids(quercetin,luteolin,apigenin,and isorhamnetin derivatives)were the two main categories of the identified compounds.The active compounds were identified as caffeic acid derivatives and quercetin glycosides.In addition,the catechol moiety was shown to be key to antioxidant activity.This study showed that AEL is a source of natural antioxidants,which may explain its medicinal use.

与地震相关的电离层电子密度扰动的空间分布统计特征

目前针对地震电离层现象研究的报道依然存在很大的争论，有很多专家和学者认为地震作为一个非常复杂的地球物理现象，它的动力学过程是不规则、非线性的，从而导致与其相关的前兆参数也具有很高的不确定性，加之研究中使用数据的来源不尽相同，可能来自不同高度的卫星，不同测量仪器，使得每一个地震的分析结果中所表现出的异常变化特征也各不相同。对同一地震分析，有的研究人员发现地震发生前有增大的异常变化，也有的报道探测到降低的异常变化，很难形成一个统一的认识。

Diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance and hepatitis C virus infection: A contemporary review

AIM To summarise the literature data on hepatitis C virus(HCV)-infected patients concerning the prevalence of glucose abnormalities and associated risk.METHODS We conducted a PubM ed search and selected all studies found with the key words "HCV" or "hepatitis C virus" and "diabetes" or "insulin resistance". We included only comparative studies written in English or in French, published from January 2000 to April 2015. We collected the literature data on HCV-infected patients concerning the prevalence of glucose abnormalities [diabetes mellitus (DM) and insulin resistance (IR)] and associated risk [i.e., severe liver fibrosis, response to antivirals, and the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)]. RESULTS HCV infection is significantly associated with DM/IR compared with healthy volunteers and patients with hepatitis B virus infection. Glucose abnormalities were associated with advanced liver fibrosis, lack of sustained virologic response to interferon alfa-based treatment and with a higher risk of HCC development. As new antiviral therapies may offer a cure for HCV infection, such data should be taken into account, from a therapeutic and preventive point of view, for liver and non-liver consequences of HCV disease. The efficacy of antidiabetic treatment in improving the response toantiviral treatment and in decreasing the risk of HCC has been reported by some studies but not by others. Thus, the effects of glucose abnormalities correction in reducing liver events need further studies.CONCLUSION Glucose abnormalities are strongly associated with HCV infection and show a negative impact on the main liver related outcomes.

China's Global Shipping Connectivity:Internal and External Dynamics in the Contemporary Era(1890–2016)

China's global shipping connectivity had been somewhat overlooked as the bulk of related studies predominantly focused on the throughput volume of its own port cities. This article tackles such lacunae by providing a relational perspective based on the extraction of vessel movement archives from the Lloyd's List corpus. Two complementary analyses are proposed: long-term dynamics with all ships included(1890–2008) and medium-term dynamics focusing on container flows(1978–2016). Each analysis examines China's maritime connectivity in various ways and on different spatial scales, from the global to the local, in terms of concentration, vulnerability, and expansion. The main results underline the influence of technological, economic, and political factors on the changing distribution of connectivity internally and externally. In particular, China has managed to reduce its dependence upon external transit hubs, to increase the internal connectivity of its own port system, and to strengthen its dominance towards an increasing number of foreign nodes and trade partners through the maritime network.

Ex vivo antioxidant effects of D-004, a lipid extract from Roystonea regia fruits, on rat prostate tissue

Aim： To investigate whether oral treatment with D-004, a lipid extract of the Cuban royal palm fruit, produces antioxidant effects in the prostate tissue of normal and testosterone （T）-treated rats. Methods： In our first experiment, normal rats were distributed into five groups： one group treated with the vehicle and four groups treated with D-004 （100, 200, 400 or 800 mg/kg）. In our second experiment, rats were randomized into five groups： a negative control group and four T-injected groups. The latter were comprised of a positive control group treated with the vehicle, and three groups treated with D-004 （200, 400 or 800 mg/kg）. Results： In normal rats, D-004 （100-800 mg/kg） inhibited significantly and dose-dependently iron-initiated malondialdehyde （MDA） accumulation in prostate homogenates （35.7%-80.0%） vs. the controls. D-004 （200-800 mg/kg） significantly reduced baseline MDA and carbonyl groups in prostate homogenates of normal rats to approximately 80% and 50%, respectively, and totally （100%） in T-treated rats. Conclusion： Oral treatment with D-004 reduced MDA and carbonyl groups dose-dependently and markedly in normal and T-injected rats. These findings show that D-004 given at doses effective to prevent prostate hyperplasia also produces antioxidant effects in the prostate tissue.

Niobium addition effect in molds at last cooling step on EN-GJL250 gray cast iron: Microstructural changes and electrochemical behavior

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of niobium addition as an inoculation element on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of EN-FGL250 gray cast iron. Niobium additions are in a powder form and have a 0.5 mm particle size at dfferent proportions of 1 wt.% and 3 wt.%. The addition was done during casting of the metal in the mold at the last cooling step of the melt cast iron. These additions have a significant impact on the phenomenon of solidifi cation as the metal powder deposited in the sand molds creates new centers of germination and absorbs a lot of heat. The cooling rate directly affects the microstructure and electrochemical behavior. This is confirmed by SEM observations and electrochemical tests. Furthermore, the addition of niobium transforms the microstructure of gray cast iron from cellular structure into totally dendritic structure. As a consequence, the niobium addition affected the shape and size of graphite, thus considerably reducing the corrosion current density by increasing the polarization resistance Rp.

Improved crystallinity and self-healing effects in perovskite solar cells via functional incorporation of polyvinylpyrrolidone

Air moisture is the key issue for perovskites which invades the films and accelerates the damage of devices. Here, polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP) is introduced to the methylammonium lead iodide(MAPbI_(3)) perovskite precursor to control crystal growth and endow the devices with self-healing ability in a moisture environment. The strong C=O...ΗAΝ hydrogen bonding interactions between PVP and MAPbI_(3) was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. By introducing hydrogen bonding in the MAPbI_(3)-based PSCs, we form a compact perovskite film of excellent electronic quality with a power conversion efficiency(PCE) of up to 20.32%. Furthermore, the O...ΗAΝ hydrogen bonding interactions at the grain boundaries suppress the decomposition of methylammonium cations and improve the recyclable dissolution–recrystallization of perovskite. As a result, the MAPbI_(3)-PVP based cells exhibited striking moisture stability and self-healing behavior, with negligible decay in efficiency after 500 h of operation in high humidity(65% ± 5% relative humidity) and rapid recovering ability after their removal from the humid environment.

Quantum Isomorphic Shell Model: Multi-Harmonic Shell Clustering of Nuclei

The present multi-harmonic shell clustering of a nucleus is a direct consequence of the fermionic nature of nucleons and their average sizes. The most probable form and the average size for each proton or neutron shell are here presented by a specific equilibrium polyhedron of definite size. All such polyhedral shells are closely packed leading to a shell clustering of a nucleus. A harmonic oscillator potential is employed for each shell. All magic and semi-magic numbers, g.s. single particle and total binding energies, proton, neutron and mass radii of 40Ca, 48Ca, 54Fe, 90Zr, 108Sn, 114Te, 142Nd, and 208Pb are very successfully predicted.

Editorial:Special Topic on Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface(RIS)

Over the past two years,reconfigurable intelligent surface(RIS),as a promising emerging technology for Beyond 5 G(B5 G) and 6 G mobile communications systems,has attracted enormous interest from both academia and industry worldwide.In IMT-2030(6 G) Promotion Group of China,the RIS task force was created in June 2020.

用于大肠杆菌消毒的负载型和悬浮型TiO_2催化剂的动力学和催化效率（英文）

TiO2‐mediated photocatalysis is widely used in a variety of applications and products in the envi‐ronmental and energy fields, including photoelectrochemical conversion, self‐cleaning surfaces, and especially water purification systems. The dimensionality of the structure of a TiO2 material can affect its properties, functions, and more specifically, its photocatalytic performance. In this work, the photocatalytic inactivation of Gram‐negative Escherichia coli using three photocatalysts, differ‐ing in their structure and other characteristics, was studied in a batch reactor under UVA light. The aim was to establish the disinfection efficiency of solid TiO2 compared with that of suspended cata‐lysts, widely considered as reference cases for photocatalytic water disinfection. The bacterial inac‐tivation profiles obtained showed that: (1) the photoinactivation was exclusively related to the quantity of photons retained per unit of treated volume, irrespective of the characteristics of the photocatalyst and the emitted light flux densities;(2) across the whole UV light range studied, each of the photocatalytic solids was able to achieve more than 2 log bacterial inactivation with less than 2 h UV irradiation;(3) none of the used catalysts achieved a total bacterial disinfection during the treatment time. For each of the catalysts the quantum yield has been assessed in terms of disinfec‐tion efficiency, the 2D material showed almost the same performance as those of suspended cata‐lysts. This catalyst is promising for supported photocatalysis applications.

Anomaly of the ionospheric electron density close to earthquakes:Case studies of Pu'er and Wenchuan earthquakes

The electron density recorded onboard the DEMETER satellite was analyzed to search for possible anomalies before earthquakes both in space and time. To distinguish pre-earthquake anomalies from the other anomalies related to geomagnetic activity, data were filtered using the Kp index. The analysis is based on the comparison of data recorded closely to earthquakes in space and time and past data for the same area. In analyzing data around the time and location of the Pu＇er and Wenchuan earthquakes, obvious anomalies in electron density were found close to the epicenters, and some remarkable disturbances were detected before the earthquakes occurred. The results were finally compared with those of previous works that used the same data but employed different analysis methods. Good agreement was found which suggests that these anomalies have a close relation to the earthquake preparation.

Microstructure of coupled Al/gray cast iron obtained by molding and its effect on mass loss

This study aims to consolidate the surface of gray cast iron with aluminum deposition by developing a method that combines the preparation and surface treatment in a single operation. The effect of the wall thickness of the castings on the microstructure of the formed layers was studied, and two thicknesses, 8 mm and 25 mm, were studied. The formation of a continuous and homogeneous rich aluminum layer on the surface of the cast iron was observed. The formed layer is composed of two successive zones identified as two proeutectoid phases FeAl+FeAl/FeAl2 and single-phase FeAl, which significantly increases the surface hardness. Furthermore, this change in surface composition makes it possible to reduce the mass of the immersed samples in a 1 M hydrochloric acid solution during different exposure times(1 to 4 days). Consequently, a clear improvement in the corrosion resistance of the treated layers is highlighted.

Plasma effects on the bacteria Escherichia coli via two evaluation methods

The degradation of Escherichia coli bacteria by treatment with cold, weakly ionised, highly dissociated oxygen plasma, with an electron temperature of 3 eV, a plasma density of 8 × 10^15 m^-3 and a neutral oxygen atom density of 3.5 × 10^21 m^-3 was studied. To determine the ＇real＇ plasma effects, two methods were used for evaluation and determination, as well as a comparison of the number of bacteria that had survived： the standard plate count technique （PCT） and advanced fluorescence-activated cell sorting （FACS）. Bacteria were deposited onto glass substrates and kept below 50 ℃ during the experiments with oxygen plasma. The results showed that the bacteria had fully degraded after about 2 min of plasma treatment, depending slightly on the amount of bacteria that had been deposited on the substrates. The very precise determination of the O flux on the substrates and the two-method comparison allowed for the determination of the critical dose of oxygen atoms required for the destruction of a bacterial cell wall--about 6 × 10^24 m^-2--as well as deactivation of the substrates--about 8 × 10^25 m^-2. These results were taken in order to discuss other results obtained by comparable studies and scientific method evaluations in the determination of plasma effects on bacteria.

A Triethyleneglycol C60 Mono-adduct Derivative for Efficient Electron Transport in Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells

Inverted perovskite solar cells(PSCs)have attracted increasing attention in recent years owing to their low-temperature fabrication proces s.However,they suffer from a limited number of electron transport materials available with[6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester(PCBM)to be the most widely studied based on its appropriate energy levels and high electron mobility.The low relative permittivity and aggregation tendency upon illumination of PCBM,however,compromises the solar cell efficiency whereas its modest hydrophobicity negatively impacts on the device stability.Alternative electron transport materials with desired properties and appropriate degree of hydrophobicity are thus desirable for further developments in inverted PSCs.Herein,we synthesize a triethyleneglycol C60 mono-adduct derivative(termed as EPF03)and test it as a novel electron transport material to replace PCBM in inverted PSCs based on a quadruple cation(RbCsMAFA)perovskite.We also compare this derivative with two novel fullerenes decorated with two(EPF01)or one dodecyl(EPF02)long side chains.The latter two fail to perform efficiently in inverted PSCs whereas the former enabled a power conversion efficiency of 18.43%,which represents a 9%improvement compared to the reference device using PCBM(17.21%).The enhanced performance mainly stems from improved electron extraction and reduced recombination enabled by the insertion of the large relative permittivity amongst other properties of EPF03.Furthermore,our results indicate that triethylene glycol side chains can also passivate perovskite trap states,suppress ion migration and enhance photostability and long-term stability of EPF03 based perovskite solar cells.

Polyhedral symmetry and quantum mechanics

A thorough study of regular and quasi-regular polyhedra shows that the symmetries of these polyhedra identically describe the quantization of orbital angular momentum, of spin, and of total angular momentum, a fact which permits one to assign quantum states at the vertices of these polyhedra assumed as the average particle positions. Furthermore, if the particles are fermions, their wave function is anti-symmetric and its maxima are identically the same as those of repulsive particles, e.g., on a sphere like the spherical shape of closed shells, which implies equilibrium of these particles having average positions at the aforementioned maxima. Such equilibria on a sphere are solely satisfied at the vertices of regular and quasi-regular polyhedra which can be associated with the most probable forms of shells both in Nuclear Physics and in Atomic Cluster Physics when the constituent atoms possess half integer spins. If the average sizes of the constituent particles are known, then the average sizes of the resulting shells become known as well. This association of Symmetry with Quantum Mechanics leads to many applications and excellent results.