Multiscale Investigation of the Mechanism and Selectivity of CO2 Hydrogenation over Rh(111)

CO2 hydrogenation over Rh catalysts comprises multiple reaction pathways, presenting a wide range of possible intermediates and end products, with selectivity toward either CO or methane being of particular interest. We investigate in detail the reaction mechanism of CO2 hydrogenation to the single-carbon (C1) products on the Rh(111) facet by performing periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulations, which account for the adsorbate interactions through a cluster expansion approach. We observe that Rh readily facilitates the dissociation of hydrogen, thus contributing to the subsequent hydrogenation processes. The reverse water-gas shift (RWGS) reaction occurs via three different reaction pathways, with CO hydrogenation to the COH intermediate being a key step for CO2 methanation. The effects of temperature, pressure, and the composition ratio of the gas reactant feed are considered. Temperature plays a pivotal role in determining the surface coverage and adsorbate composition, with competitive adsorption between CO and H species influencing the product distribution. The observed adlayer configurations indicate that the adsorbed CO species are separated by adsorbed H atoms, with a high ratio of H to CO coverage on the Rh(111) surface being essential to promote CO2 methanation.

Challenges and Breakthroughs in Enhancing Temperature Tolerance of Sodium-Ion Batteries

Lithium-based batteries (LBBs) have been highly researched and recognized as a mature electrochemical energy storage (EES) system in recent years. However, their stability and effectiveness are primarily confined to room temperature conditions. At temperatures significantly below 0 °C or above 60 °C, LBBs experience substantial performance degradation. Under such challenging extreme contexts, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) emerge as a promising complementary technology, distinguished by their fast dynamics at low-temperature regions and superior safety under elevated temperatures. Notably, developing SIBs suitable for wide-temperature usage still presents significant challenges, particularly for specific applications such as electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, and deep-space/polar explorations, which requires a thorough understanding of how SIBs perform under different temperature conditions. By reviewing the development of wide-temperature SIBs, the influence of temperature on the parameters related to battery performance, such as reaction constant, charge transfer resistance, etc., is systematically and comprehensively analyzed. The review emphasizes challenges encountered by SIBs in both low and high temperatures while exploring recent advancements in SIB materials, specifically focusing on strategies to enhance battery performance across diverse temperature ranges. Overall, insights gained from these studies will drive the development of SIBs that can handle the challenges posed by diverse and harsh climates.

Effect of Water Absorption and Stacking Sequences on the Tensile Properties and Damage Mechanisms of Hybrid Polyester/Glass/Jute Composites

The aim of this work is to analyze the effect of water absorption on the mechanical properties and damage mechanisms of polyester/glass fiber/jute fiber hybrid composites obtained using the compression molding and vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) techniques with different stacking sequences. For this purpose, the mechanical behavior under tensile stress of the samples was evaluated before and after hygrothermal aging at different temperatures: TA, 50 °C, and 70 °C for a period of 696 h. The damage mechanism after the mechanical tests was evaluated using SEM analysis. The results showed a tendency for the mechanical properties of the composites to decrease with exposure to an aqueous ambient, regardless of the molding technique used to conform the composites. It was also observed that the stacking sequence had no significant influence on the dry composites. However, exposure to the aqueous ambient led to a reduction in mechanical properties, both for the molding technique and the stacking sequence. Damage such as delamination, fiber pull-out, fiber/matrix detachment, voids, and matrix removal were observed in the composites in the SEM analyses.

Investigation of Corrosion Inhibition of Mild Steel in 0.5 M H2SO4 with Lachancea fermentati Inhibitor Extracted from Rotten Grapefruits (Vitis vinifera): Adsorption, Thermodynamic, Electrochemical, and Quantum Chemical Studies

Corrosion inhibition of mild steel (MS) was studied using Lachancea fermentati isolate in 0.5 M H2SO4, which was isolated from rotten grapes (Vitis vinifera) via biofilm formation. Biofilm over the MS surface was asserted by employing FT-IR and FE-SEM with EDXS, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), AFM, and DFT-ESP techniques. The weight loss experiments and temperature studies supported the physical adsorption behavior of the corrosion inhibitors. The maximum inhibition efficiency (IE) value (90%) was observed at 293 K for 9 × 106 cfu/mL of Lachancea fermentati isolate. The adsorption of Lachancea fermentati isolate on the surface of MS confirms Langmuir's adsorption isotherm model, and the -ΔG values indicate the spontaneous adsorption of inhibitor over the MS surface. Electrochemical studies, such as potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) and EIS were carried out to investigate the charge transfer (CT) reaction of the Lachancea fermentati isolate. Tafel polarization curves reveal that the Lachancea fermentati isolate acts as a mixed type of inhibitor. The Nyquist plots (EIS) indicate the increase in charge transfer resistance (Rct) and decrease of double-layer capacitance (Cdl) values when increasing the concentration of Lachancea fermentati isolate. The spectral studies, such as UV-vis and FT-IR, confirm the formation of a complex between MS and the Lachancea fermentati isolate inhibitor. The formation of biofilm on the MS surface was confirmed by FE-SEM, EDXS, and XPS analysis. The proposed bioinhibitor shows great potential for the corrosion inhibition of mild steel in acid media.

Temperature Effect Separation of Structure Responses from Monitoring Data Using an Adaptive Bandwidth Filter Algorithm

Temperature is one of the most important factors significantly affecting damage detection performance in civil engineering. A new method called the Adaptive Bandwidth Filter Algorithm (ABFA) is proposed in this paper to separate the temperature effect from quasi-static long-term structural health monitoring data. The Adaptive Bandwidth Filter Algorithm (ABFA) is referred to as an algorithm of automatically adjusting the frequency bandwidth filter via the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. Considering the obvious multi-scale feature of the collected data of civil structure, the acquired time series are divided into different time scales (for example, day, month, year, etc.), and these scales in the frequency domain correspond to the center frequencies of the adaptive bandwidth filter. The temperature effect on structure responses across different time scales is thereafter explored by adaptively adjusting the frequency bandwidth of the filter based on the known center frequencies of different scales. The relationship between the temperature and the structure responses is established through statistical regression facilitated by sufficient in situ monitoring data. Simulation and experiment results show the very promising performance of the proposed algorithm and decouple the temperature effect accurately from the contaminated data; thus an enhanced capability of damage detection is achieved.

Fatigue Life Prediction for Injection-Molded Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polyamide-6 Considering Anisotropy and Temperature Effects

The effects of anisotropy and temperature of short carbon fiber-reinforced polyamide-6 (CF-PA6) by the injection molding process were investigated to obtain the static and fatigue characteristics. Static and fatigue tests were conducted with uniaxial tensile and three-point bending specimens with various fiber orientations at temperatures of 40, 60, and 100 °C. The anisotropy caused by the fiber orientations along a polymer flow was calculated using three software connecting analysis sequences. The characteristics of tensile strength and fatigue life can be changed by temperature and anisotropy variations. A semi-empirical strain-stress fatigue life prediction model was proposed, considering cyclic and thermodynamic properties based on the Arrhenius equation. The developed model had a good agreement with an R2 = 0.9457 correlation coefficient. The present fatigue life prediction of CF-PA6 can be adopted when designers make suitable decisions considering the effects of temperature and anisotropy.

Evaluating the effect of environmental conditions on high compressive strain rates in unfilled and filled neoprene rubbers

Elastomers are known for their strain-rate-dependent properties not only to quasistatic but also to high strain rate deformations, where mechanical behavior is significantly affected by inertia. Concurrently, environmental changes, such as temperature and humidity variations, can impact their stress response to deformation. This study investigates the effects of material layers within neoprene samples on mitigating these environmental changes. While the presence of an intermediate layer proves effective against temperature and humidity influence, it fails to block the impact of increasing high strain rates. Moreover, the different humidity levels at room and elevated temperatures do not significantly alter the mechanical behavior of filled neoprene samples compared to pure neoprene. Notably, in unfilled neoprene, an increase in humidity levels, other than an absolutely dry environment, leads to a notable stress level rise at room temperature, while under elevated temperature conditions, there is a significant stress decrease with increasing humidity. However, neoprene filled with polyester/cotton or nylon displays resilience to diminishing mechanical behavior under various temperature and humidity regulations, indicating that the material layer within these samples effectively "protects" the rubbers from potential stress lapses observed in unfilled neoprene. While a high strain rate compression affects the behavior of the filled variants significantly, increasing humidity and temperature have minimal impact on their stress levels. These findings offer valuable insights into the dynamic responses of elastomers to environmental changes, highlighting the advantages of using filled rubbers in diverse applications.

Thermal Conductivity and Temperature Dependency of Magnetorheological Fluids and Application Systems-A Chronological Review

Many studies on magnetorheological fluid (MRF) have been carried out over the last three decades, highlighting several salient advantages, such as a fast phase change, easy control of the yield stress, and so forth. In particular, several review articles of MRF technology have been reported over the last two decades, summarizing the development of MRFs and their applications. As specific examples, review articles have been published that include the optimization of the particles and carrier liquid to achieve minimum off-state viscosity and maximum yield stress at on-state, the formulation of many constitutive models including the Casson model and the Herschel-Bulkley (H-B) model, sedimentation enhancement using additives and nanosized particles, many types of dampers for automotive suspension and civil structures, medical and rehabilitation devices, MRF polishing technology, the methods of magnetic circuit design, and the synthesis of various controllers. More recently, the effect of the temperature and thermal conductivity on the properties of MRFs and application systems are actively being investigated by several works. However, there is no review article on this issue so far, despite the fact that the thermal problem is one of the most crucial factors to be seriously considered for the development of advanced MRFs and commercial products of application systems. In this work, studies on the thermal conductivity and temperature in MRFs themselves and their temperature-dependent application systems are reviewed, respectively, and principal results are summarized, emphasizing the following: how to reduce the temperature effect on the field-dependent properties of MRFs and how to design an application system that minimizes the thermal effect. It is noted here that the review summary is organized in a chronological format using tables.

Lamb Wave-Based Structural Damage Detection: A Time Series Approach Using Cointegration

Although Lamb waves have found extensive use in structural damage detection, their practical applications remain limited. This limitation primarily arises from the intricate nature of Lamb wave propagation modes and the effect of temperature variations. Therefore, rather than directly inspecting and interpreting Lamb wave responses for insights into the structural health, this study proposes a novel approach, based on a two-step cointegration-based computation procedure, for structural damage evaluation using Lamb wave data represented as time series that exhibit some common trends. The first step involves the composition of Lamb wave series sharing a common upward (or downward) trend of temperature. In the second step, the cointegration analysis is applied for each group of Lamb wave series, which represents a certain condition of damage. So, a cointegration analysis model of Lamb wave series is created for each damage condition. The geometrical and statistical features of Lamb wave series and cointegration residual series are used for detecting and distinguishing damage conditions. These features include the shape, peak-to-peak amplitude, and variance of the series. The validity of this method is confirmed through its application to the Lamb wave data collected from both undamaged and damaged aluminium plates subjected to temperature fluctuations. The proposed approach can find its application not only in Lamb wave-based damage detection, but also in other structural health monitoring (SHM) systems where the data can be arranged in the form of sharing common environmental and/or operational trends.

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Tensile and Failure Response of Multiple-Hole-Fiber-Reinforced Magnesium Alloy Laminates under Various Temperature Environments

In this paper, the tensile mechanical behavior and progressive damage morphology of glass-fiber-reinforced magnesium alloy laminate for different numbers of holes in a temperature range of 25-180 °C were investigated. In addition, based on extensive tensile tests, the tensile mechanical behavior and microscopic damage morphology of porous-glass-fiber-reinforced magnesium alloy laminates at different temperatures were observed by finite element simulation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, the numerical simulation and experimental results were in good accordance with the prediction of mechanical properties and fracture damage patterns of the laminates, the average difference between the residual strength values of the specimens at ambient temperature was 5.57%, and the stress-strain curves were in good agreement. The experimental and finite element analysis results showed that the damaged area of the bonded layer tended to expand with the increase in the number of holes, which has a lesser effect on the ultimate tensile strength. As the temperature increased, the specimens changed from obvious fiber breakage (pull-out) and the resin matrix damage mode to matrix softening damage and interfacial delamination fracture damage. As the testing temperature of the specimens increased from 25 °C to 180 °C, the tensile strength of the specimens decreased by an average of 51.59%, while the tensile strength of the specimens showed a nonlinear decreasing trend. The damage mechanism of porous-glass-fiber-reinforced magnesium alloy laminates at different temperatures is discussed in this paper, which can provide a reference for engineering applications and design.

Variation Pattern of the Elastic Modulus of Concrete under Combined Humidity and Heat Conditions

The coupling effect of moisture content and temperature on the elastic modulus of concrete is experimentally investigated. The elastic modulus of dry concrete exhibits a clear temperature-weakening effect, while the elastic modulus of wet concrete exhibits a water-strengthening effect at room temperature. Under humidity-heat conditions, the elastic modulus of wet concrete declines with the temperature rise. When the temperature is 20 °C, 200 °C, 400 °C, 520 °C, and 620 °C, the humidity-heat coupling factors of the elastic modulus change rate DI˙F with moisture content are 0.08, 0.07, 0.04, 0.01, and -0.03, respectively, and the declining rate increases with the rise of moisture content. The relation between the humidity-heat coupling factor DIF, moisture content, and temperature was established; The equivalent relation between the water-strengthening effect and the temperature-weakening effect of the elastic modulus was obtained. The temperature range of the strengthening effect and "apparent weakening effect" of water stored inside concrete before heating on elastic modulus was determined; The evolutionary mechanism of the competition between the microcrack expansion and healing of concrete under combined humidity and heat conditions was revealed.

Functioning of a Fluorescein pH-Probe in Aqueous Media: Impact of Temperature and Viscosity

In this work, we considered the influence of viscogenic agents (glycerol, sucrose) as well as the temperature on the fluorescent characteristics of fluorescein at pH 6.5 in order to describe the acid-base status of local environment in terms of a spectrally detectable dianion-anion equilibrium. The protolytic equilibrium of fluorescein was found to depend on the solvent viscosity in a complex way. Whereas in the presence of sucrose the ratiometric signal of fluorescein (I⁴⁸⁸/I⁴³⁵) remains rather unchanged, the addition of glycerol (up to 40% w/w) results in the increase of the signal (up to 19%), that can be attributed to the different mechanisms of cosolvents effects on dye molecules in the ground state. Molecular dynamics of the dye in the presence of glycerol and sucrose revealed that the cosolvents preferentially interact with fluorescein monoanion and dianion, displacing water molecules from the local environment which in turn reduces the average number of the hydrogen bonds between xanthene ring of the dye and water molecules. The ratiometric signal demonstrates linear growth with the temperature in the range of 10-80 °C regardless of the presence of viscogenic agents. A linear correlation between the temperature sensitivity of the ratiometric signal and the change in the molar enthalpy of the proton dissociation reaction in buffer and viscous media was determined.

Integrated Coupling Utilization of the Solar Full Spectrum for Promoting Water Splitting Activity over a CIZS Semiconductor

Most of the existing photocatalysts can only use ultraviolet light and part of visible light, so broadening the spectrum response range and realizing the full spectrum coverage are key measures to improve the solar-to-hydrogen (STH) efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting. A spatially separated photothermal coupled photocatalytic (PTC) reaction system was designed using carbonized melamine foam (C-MF) as a substrate to absorb visible and infrared light and Cu_0.04In_0.25ZnS_y@Ru (CIZS@Ru) as a photocatalyst to absorb UV-visible light (UV-vis). By comparing the three modes of bottom, liquid level, and self-floating, it is found that the surface temperature of the system has a significant effect on the hydrogen evolution activity. The monochromatic light and activation energy experiments verify that the enhancement of photocatalytic activity comes from the strengthened photothermal effect of the substrate. Combined with theoretical calculations, it is further confirmed that the introduction of photothermal materials provides additional kinetic energy for carrier transmission and promotes directional carrier transmission efficiency. Based on the photoenergy-thermal integrated catalytic strategy, the hydrogen production rate reaches 603 mmol h^-1 m^-2. The structural design of photocatalysis has potential application in the field of photoenergy-fuel conversion.

Kinetic Effects of Ciprofloxacin, Carbamazepine, and Bisphenol on Biomass in Membrane Bioreactor System at Low Temperatures to Treat Urban Wastewater

This study analysed the kinetic results in the presence and absence of micropollutants (bisphenol A, carbamazepine, ciprofloxacin, and the mixture of the three compounds) obtained with respirometric tests with mixed liquor and heterotrophic biomass in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) working for two different hydraulic retention times (12-18 h) and under low-temperature conditions (5-8 °C). Independently of the temperature, the organic substrate was biodegraded faster over a longer hydraulic retention time (HRT) with similar doping, which was probably due to the longer contact time between the substrate and microorganisms within the bioreactor. However, low values of temperature negatively affected the net heterotrophic biomass growth rate, with reductions from 35.03 to 43.66% in phase 1 (12 h HRT) and from 37.18 to 42.77% in phase 2 (18 h HRT). The combined effect of the pharmaceuticals did not worsen the biomass yield compared with the effects caused individually.

Total Luminescence Spectroscopy for Quantification of Temperature Effects on Photophysical Properties of Photoluminescent Materials

Quantification of the temperature effects on the optical properties of photoluminescent (PL) materials is important for a fundamental understanding of both materials optical processes and rational PL materials design and applications. However, existing techniques for studying the temperature effects are limited in their information content. Reported herein is a temperature-dependent total photoluminescence (TPL) spectroscopy technique for probing the temperature dependence of materials optical properties. When used in combination with UV-vis measurements, this TPL method enables experimental quantification of temperature effects on fluorophore fluorescence intensity and quantum yield at any combination of excitation and detection wavelengths, including the fluorophore Stokes-shifted and anti-Stokes-shifted fluorescence. All model polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and xanthene fluorophores exhibited a strong excitation- and emission-wavelength dependence in their temperature effects. However, the heavy-atom effects used for explaining the strong temperature dependence of brominated anthracenes are not operative with xanthene fluorophores that have heavy atom substitutions. The insights from TPL measurements are important not only for enhancing the fundamental understandings of the materials photophysical properties but also for rational measurement design for applications where the temperature sensitivity of the fluorophore fluorescence is critical. An example application is demonstrated for developing a sensitive and robust ratiometric fluorescence thermometric method for in situ real-time monitoring of sample temperatures inside a fluorescence cuvette placed in a temperature-controlled sample holder.

Comparing the effects of water temperature and additives in glucose solution on pregnant women's taste, side effects, and glycemic levels during an oral glucose tolerance test: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The oral glucose tolerance test is a common method of diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus. This test causes several unpleasant side effects such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, and headache.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess the effect of liquid temperature and additives on pregnant women's taste perception, side effects, and glycemic levels in an oral glucose tolerance test.

STUDY DESIGN

This study was a single-center, randomized, and multi- and open-arm clinical trial. A total of 399 participants receiving the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes mellitus diagnosis were included. Solutions for use in the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test were prepared in 8 formulas, with the participants randomly assigned to 1 of the 8 groups: room-temperature water, hot water, cold water, hot water with tea bag, room-temperature water with tea bag, cold water with tea bag, room-temperature soda water, and cold soda water. The main study outcomes were glycemic levels, satisfaction, perceived taste, side effects, and gestational diabetes mellitus. Glycemic levels were measured when fasted and at 1 hour and 2 hours after glucose administration. Satisfaction, taste perception, and side effects were evaluated immediately after the oral glucose tolerance test, and gestational diabetes mellitus was determined on the basis of glycemic levels.

RESULTS

The cold soda water solution led to a significantly higher glycemic level at 1 hour after glucose intake compared with room-temperature soda water solution (P=.009). Glucose formula was found to not significantly affect gestational diabetes mellitus incidence (P>.05) or the participants' satisfaction, vomiting, headache, or abdominal bloating (P>.05). However, the formula did significantly affect perceived taste (P=.027) and the degree of nausea (P=.014).

CONCLUSION

Several glucose solutions, such as cold glucose solution and any-temperature glucose solution containing a tea bag, led to slightly higher taste scores and a lower degree of nausea compared with the room-temperature water-based glucose solution. However, soda water was found to affect the glycemic level at 1 hour after glucose intake, and is not suggested for use for gestational diabetes mellitus diagnosis.

Assessing thermal adaptation of a global sample of Aspergillus fumigatus: Implications for climate change effects

Aspergillus fumigatus is a common environmental mold and a major cause of opportunistic infections in humans. It's distributed among many ecological niches across the globe. A major virulence factor of A. fumigatus is its ability to grow at high temperature. However, at present, little is known about variations among strains in their growth at different temperatures and how their geographic origins may impact such variations. In this study, we analyzed 89 strains from 12 countries (Cameroon, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, India, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Peru, Saudi Arabia, and USA) representing diverse geographic locations and temperature environments. Each strain was grown at four temperatures and genotyped at nine microsatellite loci. Our analyses revealed a range of growth profiles, with significant variations among strains within individual geographic populations in their growths across the temperatures. No statistically significant association was observed between strain genotypes and their thermal growth profiles. Similarly geographic separation contributed little to differences in thermal adaptations among strains and populations. The combined analyses among genotypes and growth rates at different temperatures in the global sample suggest that most natural populations of A. fumigatus are capable of rapid adaptation to temperature changes. We discuss the implications of our results to the evolution and epidemiology of A. fumigatus under increasing climate change.

Temperature Effect on Ionic Polymers Removal from Aqueous Solutions Using Activated Carbons Obtained from Biomass

The main aim of this study was the determination of temperature influence on adsorption mechanisms of anionic poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and cationic polyethylenimine (PEI) on the surface of activated carbons (AC) obtained via chemical activation of nettle (NE) and sage (SA) herbs. All measurements were performed at pH 3 at three temperature values, i.e., 15, 25 and 35 °C. The adsorption/desorption of these polymers from single and mixed solution of adsorbates was also investigated. The viscosity studies were additionally performed to obtain hydrodynamic radius values characterizing polymeric macromolecules conformation in the solution. These data are very important for the explanation of changes of linear dimensions of polymer chains with the rise of temperature caused by the modification of polymer-solvent interactions. Moreover, the XPS studies for the systems showing the highest adsorbed amounts in the specific temperature conditions were carried out. These were the systems containing PEI, PAA and NE-AC activated carbon at 25 °C. In such a case, the maximum adsorption capacity towards PAA macromolecules from a single solution of adsorbate reaches the value of 198.12 mg/g. Additionally, the thermodynamic parameters including the free energies of adsorption, as well as changes in free enthalpy and entropy were calculated.

Methodology for Designing an Optimal Test Stand for Camera Thermal Drift Measurements and Its Stability Verification

The effects of temperature changes on cameras are realized by observing the drifts of characteristic points in the image plane. Compensation for these effects is crucial to maintain the precision of cameras applied in machine vision systems and those expected to work in environments with varying factors, including temperature changes. Generally, mathematical compensation models are built by measuring the changes in the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters under the temperature effect; however, due to the assumptions of certain factors based on the conditions of the test stand used for the measurements, errors can become apparent. In this paper, test stands for thermal image drift measurements used in other works are assessed, and a methodology to design a test stand, which can measure thermal image drifts while eliminating other external influences on the camera, is proposed. A test stand was built accordingly, and thermal image drift measurements were performed along with a measurement to verify that the test stand did eliminate external influences on the camera. The experiment was performed for various temperatures from 5 °C to 45 5 °C, and as a result, the thermal image drift measured with the designed test stand showed its maximum error of 16% during its most rapid temperature change from 25 °C to 5 °C.

A Comprehensive HPTLC-Based Analysis of the Impacts of Temperature on the Chemical Properties and Antioxidant Activity of Honey

Honeys are commonly subjected to a series of post-harvest processing steps, such as filtration and/or radiation treatment and heating to various temperatures, which might affect their physicochemical properties and bioactivity levels. Therefore, there is a need for robust quality control assessments after honey processing and storage to ensure that the exposure to higher temperatures, for example, does not compromise the honey's chemical composition and/or antioxidant activity. This paper describes a comprehensive short-term (48 h) and long-term (5 months) study of the effects of temperature (40 °C, 60 °C and 80 °C) on three commercial honeys (Manuka, Marri and Coastal Peppermint) and an artificial honey, using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis. Samples were collected at baseline, at 6 h, 12 h, 24 h and 48 h, and then monthly for five months. Then, they were analysed for potential changes in their organic extract HPTLC fingerprints, in their HPTLC-DPPH total band activities, in their major sugar composition and in their hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content. It was found that, while all the assessed parameters changed over the monitoring period, changes were moderate at 40 °C but increased significantly with increasing temperature, especially the honeys' HPTLC-DPPH total band activity and HMF content.

High-Strain-Rate Compression of Elastomers Subjected to Temperature and Humidity Conditions

Elastomers exhibit a complex response to high-strain-rate deformation due to their viscoelastic behaviour. Environmental conditions highly impact this behaviour, especially when both temperature and humidity change. In several applications where elastomers are used, the quantity of real humidity might vary, especially when the temperature is elevated. In the current research, elastomeric materials were subjected to high-strain-rate compression in various elevated and lowered (cold) temperatures. Different humidity levels were applied at room and elevated temperatures to analyze the behaviour of rubbers in dry and moist conditions. Results showed that the mechanical behaviour of rubbers is highly affected by any environmental change. In particular, the impact caused by humidity variations is relative to their ability to absorb or repel water on their surface.

Residue Behavior of Methoxyfenozide and Pymetrozine in Chinese Cabbage and Their Health Risk Assessment

Methoxyfenozide and pymetrozine are used for pest control in the cultivation of Chinese cabbage. This has raised concerns in recent years due to health risks. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the residual concentrations of pesticides in the target crop and associated health risks. The dynamics and influence of environmental factors on the dissipation of methoxyfenozide and pymetrozine residues in Chinese cabbage were investigated. Analyses were performed using a modified QuEchERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) and an optimized high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The observed half-lives of methoxyfenozide and pymetrozine in cabbage samples ranged between two sampling seasons: in May−June, half-lives of methoxyfenozide and pymetrozine were 1.20 days and 1.89 days, respectively; during October−November, half-lives of methoxyfenozide and pymetrozine were 11.8 and 2.80 days, respectively. Meanwhile, a negative Spearman correlation was found between the residual concentrations and temperature (p < 0.01). This indicates that higher temperatures resulted in higher dissipation rates for methoxyfenozide and pymetrozine, suggesting that these pesticides degraded faster at higher temperatures. Additionally, higher pesticide residues in Chinese cabbage during low-temperature seasons resulted in higher risk quotients (RQ) (RQ > 1) for both analyzed compounds, which suggests that the effect of temperature on pesticide degradation needs to be considered as an essential factor while setting up the maximum residue limits (MRL).

Mechanic-Electric-Thermal Directly Coupling Simulation Method of Lamb Wave under Temperature Effect

Lamb Wave (LW)-based structural health monitoring method is promising, but its main obstacle is damage assessment in varying environments. LW simulation based on piezoelectric transducers (referred to as PZTs) is an efficient and low-cost method. This paper proposes a multiphysics simulation method of LW propagation with the PZTs under temperature effect. The effect of temperature on LW propagation is considered from two aspects. On the one hand, temperature affects the material parameters of the structure, the adhesive layers and the PZTs. On the other hand, it is considered that the thermal stress caused by the inconsistency of thermal expansion coefficients among the structure, the adhesive layers, and the PZTs affect the piezoelectric constant of the PZTs. Based on the COMSOL Multiphysics, the mechanic-electric-thermal directly coupling simulation model under temperature effect is established. The simulation model consists of two steps. In the first step, the thermal-mechanic coupling is carried out to calculate the thermal stress, and the thermal stress effect is introduced into the piezoelectric constant model. In the second step, mechanic-electric coupling is carried out to simulate LW propagation, which considers the piezoelectric effect of the PZTs for the LW excitation and reception. The simulation results at -20 °C to 60 °C are obtained and compared to the experiment. The results show that the A₀ and S₀ mode of simulation signals match well with the experimental measurements. Additionally, the effect of temperature on LW propagation is consistent between simulation and experiment; that is, the amplitude increases, and the phase velocity decreases with the increment of temperature.

On-State Current Degradation Owing to Displacement Defect by Terrestrial Cosmic Rays in Nanosheet FET

Silicon displacement defects are caused by various effects. For instance, epitaxial crystalline silicon growth and ion implantation often result in defects induced by the fabrication process, whereas displacement damage is induced by terrestrial cosmic radiation. Clustered displacement damage reportedly reduces the on-state current (I_on) in ordinary MOSFETs. In the case of an extremely scaled device such as a nanosheet field-effect transistor (NS-FET), the impact of displacement defect size was analyzed on the basis of the NS dimensions related to the device characteristics. In this study, we investigated the effect of displacement defects on NS-FETs using technology computer-aided design; the simulation model included quantum transport effects. The geometrical conditions, temperatures, trap concentrations, and scattering models were considered as the variables for on-state current reduction.

Micromechanical Modeling of the Biaxial Deformation-Induced Phase Transformation in Polyethylene Terephthalate

In this paper, a micromechanics-based constitutive representation of the deformation-induced phase transformation in polyethylene terephthalate is proposed and verified under biaxial loading paths. The model, formulated within the Eshelby inclusion theory and the micromechanics framework, considers the material system as a two-phase medium, in which the active interactions between the continuous amorphous phase and the discrete newly formed crystalline domains are explicitly considered. The Duvaut-Lions viscoplastic approach is employed in order to introduce the rate-dependency of the yielding behavior. The model parameters are identified from uniaxial data in terms of stress-strain curves and crystallization kinetics at two different strain rates and two different temperatures above glass transition temperature. Then, it is shown that the model predictions are in good agreement with available experimental results under equal biaxial and constant width conditions. The role of the crystallization on the intrinsic properties is emphasized thanks to the model considering the different loading parameters in terms of mechanical path, strain rate and temperature.

Experimental Study of Fatigue and Fracture Behavior of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Straps

The hanger is one of the important components for through and half-through arch bridges. Conventional steel hangers are vulnerable to corrosion due to corrosive environments. Therefore, a new type of bridge hangers consisting of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) straps was developed recently. The CFRP straps are self-anchored, which is formed by layers-winding, and they have great advantages in corrosive environments such as high resistance to corrosion. In this study, the fatigue and fracture behavior of CFRP straps has been experimentally investigated. Firstly, the tensile testing of four CFRP strap specimens was conducted to investigate the static fracture behavior of CFRP straps, and three stages were observed, including delamination, cracking, and brittle rupture. Then, a fatigue test of thirty-nine specimens (four groups) was carried out to study the fatigue behavior of CFRP straps, where two types of pins, titanium alloy pin and CFRP pin, and two loading frequencies, 10 Hz and 15 Hz, were used. The number of cycles to failure, displacement, fatigue failure strain, outside surface temperature at the vertex of specimen, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs were recorded and analyzed to investigate the fatigue behavior of CFRP straps. The experiment results show that the temperature development at the vertex of the CFRP strap varies obviously if different pins are used due to the different friction coefficients. In addition, the fatigue life of CFRP straps decreases significantly with the increase in loading rate for the titanium pin, while it only reduces slightly with the increase in loading rate for the CFRP pin.

Compression Induced Deformation Twinning Evolution in Liquid-Like Cu2Se

For practical applications of copper selenide (Cu₂Se) thermoelectric (TE) materials with liquid-like behavior, it is essential to determine the structure-property relations as a function of temperature. Here, we investigate β-Cu₂Se structure evolution during uniaxial compression over the temperature range of 400-1000 K using molecular dynamics simulations. We find that at temperatures above 800 K, Cu₂Se exhibits poor stability with breaking order that is described as a liquid-like or hybrid structure comprising a rigid Se sublattice and mobile Cu ions. A uniaxial load causes accumulated structural heterogeneity that is alleviated by diffusion-induced accommodation of local deformations. With increasing strain, the deformation mode changes into a combination of compression and shear, accompanied by restructuring in terms of twinning. Interestingly, in addition to a plastic behavior rarely found in inorganic semiconductors, we find that higher temperature promotes deformation twinning in liquid-like Cu₂Se, showing the role of thermal instability, including Cu diffusion, in structural adaptation and mechanical modulation. These findings reveal the micromechanism of hybrid structural evolution as well as performance tuning through twinning, which provides a theoretical guide toward advanced Cu₂Se TE materials design.

Ant Mortality with Food Competition in Forests along a Temperature Gradient

Simple Summary

Ants are aggressive, and many ants die from inter- or intraspecific attacks while acquiring food. Temperature influences animal behavior, including aggression and competition, but the effect of temperature on ant mortality due to food competition in the field remains unclear. We aimed to elucidate the relationship between temperature and mortality due to food competition in ant communities in forests. A field experiment was conducted using four bait types at six different oak forest sites with different mean annual temperatures along a temperature gradient. The results showed that the mortality rate due to food competition displayed a hump-shaped trend with temperature distribution being higher with intermediate temperatures and a linear trend increasing or decreasing with temperature along the temperature gradient. The mortality rate due to interspecific competition was higher than that due to intraspecific competition. The results indicated that mortality due to inter- or intraspecific competition for food was associated with temperature, density of other species, and species characteristics such as body size, dominance, feeding strategy, and aggressiveness.

Abstract

The authors elucidated the relationship between temperature and mortality due to food competition in ant communities in forests. A field experiment was conducted using four bait types at six different oak forest sites with different mean annual temperatures in South Korea. The mortality rate due to food competition showed a hump-shaped trend, with temperature distribution being higher at study sites with intermediate temperatures and a linear trend increasing or decreasing with temperature along the temperature gradient. In most species, the mortality rate due to interspecific competition was higher than that due to intraspecific competition, but the dominant species, which were less affected by other species, had a higher mortality rate due to intraspecific competition. In subordinate species that are highly affected by other species, the mortality rate due to intraspecific competition increased as the mortality rate due to interspecific competition decreased. The results indicated that mortality due to inter- or intraspecific competition for food was associated by temperature, density of other species, and species characteristics (body size, dominance, feeding strategy, and aggressiveness). Given the relationship between temperature and mortality due to food competition, the authors expect that changes in competition due to climate warming will affect the fitness of ant species.

Temperature Effect on Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: A Model Study Based on BiVO4 Photoanodes

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is typically studied at room temperature. In this work, the temperature effect on PEC water splitting is studied using crystalline BiVO₄ thin film photoanode as a model system. Systematic temperature-dependent electrochemical study demonstrates that the PEC activity is boosted at elevated electrolyte temperatures and indicates that thermal energy plays a main role in improving charge carrier transport in the bulk of BiVO₄. Irreversible surface reconstruction is observed after PEC reactions at elevated temperature in the presence of hole scavengers, with regularly spaced stripes emerging on BiVO₄ grains. The surface-reconstructed photoanode exhibits up to 40% improvement in photocurrent densities and ∼ 0.25 V shift of photocurrent onset to favorable direction. Detailed investigation shows the formation of an amorphous layer without stoichiometric change at the reconstructed surface. This work provides insights of the temperature effect on the photoelectrode in solar water splitting and reveals the non-negligible effect of hole scavengers in photoelectrochemical measurement.

On the Path to Thermo-Stable Collagen: Culturing the Versatile Sponge Chondrosia reniformis

The collagen proteins family is sought-after in the pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food industries for various biotechnological applications. The most abundant sources of collagen are pigs and cows, but due to religious restrictions and possible disease transmission, they became less attractive. An alternative source can be found in marine invertebrates, specifically in sponges. Alas, two problems arise: (1). Growing sponges is complicated. (2). Sponge collagen has low heat tolerance, which can impose a problem for human biotechnological usage. To fill these gaps, we studied the collagen-abundant sponge Chondrosia reniformis. Two culture experiments were conducted: (1). A sea-based system examined the difference in growth rates of C. reniformis from different habitats, growing under natural seasonal conditions; (2). A land-based controlled system, which assessed the growth-rate of C. reniformis at different temperatures. The results reveal that C. reniformis from shallow habitats are growing larger and faster than individuals from colder, deeper habitats, and that the optimal temperature for C. reniformis growth is 25 °C. The results demonstrate that C. reniformis is highly fit for culture and can produce thermally stable collagen. Further research is needed to determine the best conditions for C. reniformis culture for collagen extract and other exciting materials for bioprospecting.

Epidemiological Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Dynamics in the State of Odisha, India: A Yearlong Exploratory Data Analysis

COVID-19 remains a matter of global public health concern. Previous research suggested the association between local environmental factors and viral transmission. We present a multivariate observational analysis of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the state of Odisha, India, hinting at a seasonal activity. We aim to investigate the demographic characteristics of COVID-19 in the Indian state of Odisha for two specific timelines in 2020 and 2021. For a comparative outlook, we chose similar datasets from the state of New York, USA. Further, we present a critical analysis pertaining to the effects of environmental factors and the emergence of variants on SARS-CoV-2 transmission and persistence. We assessed the datasets for confirmed cases, death, age, and gender for 29 February 2020 to 31 May 2020, and 1 March 2021 to 31 May 2021. We determined the case fatalities, crude death rates, sex ratio, and incidence rates for both states along with monthly average temperature analysis. A yearlong epi-curve analysis was conducted to depict the coronavirus infection spread pattern in the respective states. The Indian state of Odisha reported a massive 436,455 confirmed cases and 875 deaths during the 2021 timeline as compared to a mere 2223 cases and 7 deaths during the 2020 timeline. We further discuss the demographic and temperature association of SARS-CoV-2 transmission during early 2020 and additionally comment on the variant-associated massive rise in cases during 2021. Along with the rapid rise of variants, the high population density and population behavior seem to be leading causes for the 2021 pandemic, whereas factors such as age group, gender, and average local temperature were prominent during the 2020 spread. A seasonal occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is also observed from the yearlong epidemiological plot. The recent second wave of COVID-19 is a lesson that emphasizes the significance of continuous epidemiological surveillance to predict the relative risk of viral transmission for a specific region.

Bridging Carotenoid-to-Bacteriochlorophyll Energy Transfer of Purple Bacteria LH2 With Temperature Variations: Insights From Conformational Changes

Photosynthesis is a key process for converting light energy into chemical energy and providing food for lives on Earth. Understanding the mechanism for the energy transfers could provide insights into regulating energy transfers in photosynthesis and designing artificial photosynthesis systems. Many efforts have been devoted to exploring the mechanism of temperature variations affecting the excitonic properties of LH2. In this study, we performed all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and quantum mechanics calculations for LH2 complex from purple bacteria along with its membrane environment under three typical temperatures: 270, 300, and 330 K. The structural analysis from validated MD simulations showed that the higher temperature impaired interactions at N-terminus of both α and β polypeptide helices and led to the dissociation of this hetero polypeptide dimer. Rhodopin-β-D-glucosides (RG1) moved centripetally with α polypeptide helices when temperature increased and enlarged their distances with bacteriochlorophylls molecules that have the absorption peak at 850 nm (B850), which resulted in reducing the coupling strengths between RG1 and B850 molecules. The present study reported a cascading mechanism for temperature regulating the energy transfers in LH2 of purple bacteria.

Selective Esterification of Phosphonic Acids

Here, we report straightforward and selective synthetic procedures for mono- and diesterification of phosphonic acids. A series of alkoxy group donors were studied and triethyl orthoacetate was found to be the best reagent as well as a solvent for the performed transformations. An important temperature effect on the reaction course was discovered. Depending on the reaction temperature, mono- or diethyl esters of phosphonic acid were obtained exclusively with decent yields. The substrate scope of the proposed methodology was verified on aromatic as well as aliphatic phosphonic acids. The designed method can be successfully applied for small- and large-scale experiments without significant loss of selectivity or reaction yield. Several devoted experiments were performed to give insight into the reaction mechanism. At 30 °C, monoesters are formed via an intermediate (1,1-diethoxyethyl ester of phosphonic acid). At higher temperatures, similar intermediate forms give diesters or stable and detectable pyrophosphonates which were also consumed to give diesters. ³¹P NMR spectroscopy was used to assign the structure of pyrophosphonate as well as to monitor the reaction course. No need for additional reagents and good accessibility and straightforward purification are the important aspects of the developed protocols.

Verification of Fatigue Damage and Prognosis Related to Degradation of Polymer-Ceramic

Statistically, road accidents involving pedestrians occur in the autumn and winter months, when outdoor temperatures reach −30 °C. The research presented in this paper investigates the impact of a pedestrian’s head on laminated windscreen, taking into account the effects of external temperature, heating of the windscreen from the inside, and fatigue of the glass. The automotive laminated windscreen under study is made from two layers of glass and a Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) resin bonding them together. PVB significantly changes its properties with temperature. The Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations of a pedestrian’s head hitting the windscreen of an Opel Astra II at <−30 °C, +20 °C> were performed. The obtained Head Injury Criterion (HIC) results revealed an almost twofold decrease in safety between +20 °C and −20 °C. The same test was then performed taking into account the heating of the windscreen from the inside and the fatigue of the glass layers. Surprisingly, the highest HIC value of all the cases studied was obtained at −30 °C and heating the windscreen. The nature of safety changes with temperature variation is different for the cases of heating, non-heating, and fatigue of glass layers. Glass fatigue increases pedestrian safety throughout the temperature range analysed.

Evaluation Approach of Fracture Behavior for Asphalt Concrete with Different Aggregate Gradations and Testing Temperatures Using Acoustic Emission Monitoring

Different aggregate gradations of asphalt concrete possess dissimilar skeleton structures, leading to diverse macroscopic and mechanical characteristics. Acoustic emission (AE) technology can realize real-time monitoring of the whole damage evolution process of materials. The objective of the present investigation was to demonstrate the fracture characteristics of asphalt concrete with three types of aggregate gradations, including dense-graded asphalt concrete (AC), stone mastic asphalt (SMA), and open-graded friction course (OGFC) under indirect tensile load on account of the acoustic emission (AE) technique. The Marshall compaction method was used to prepare specimens, and the indirect tensile test (IDT) and AE monitoring were conducted simultaneously at different temperatures. The corresponding AE parameters containing energy, cumulative energy, count, and cumulative count were adopted to characterize the fracture process of asphalt concrete with different aggregate gradations. The impact of temperature on the damage characteristics of asphalt concrete was also assessed. Test results indicated that the AE parameters could effectively classify the damage stages of asphalt concrete, and specimens with different aggregate gradations exhibited different AE characteristics during failure processes. The combination of AE parameters and cumulative AE parameters can accurately characterize the damage characteristics of asphalt concrete. SMA specimens possessed the best overall performance among these three types of asphalt concrete in terms of the variations in energy and cumulative energy at different temperatures. The findings obtained in this study can provide a practical AE-based evaluation approach for demonstrating the fracture mechanism of asphalt concrete with different aggregate gradations.

Temperature-Dependent Dynamical Evolution in Coum/SBE-β-CD Inclusion Complexes Revealed by Two-Dimensional FTIR Correlation Spectroscopy (2D-COS)

A combination of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance geometry (FTIR-ATR) and 2D correlation analysis (2D-COS) was applied here for the first time in order to investigate the temperature-dependent dynamical evolution occurring in a particular type of inclusion complex, based on sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (SBE-β-CD) as hosting agent and Coumestrol (7,12-dihydorxcoumestane, Coum), a poorly-soluble active compound known for its anti-viral and anti-oxidant activity. For this purpose, synchronous and asynchronous 2D spectra were calculated in three different wavenumber regions (960-1320 cm^-1, 1580-1760 cm^-1 and 2780-3750 cm^-1) and over a temperature range between 250 K and 340 K. The resolution enhancement provided by the 2D-COS offers the possibility to extract the sequential order of events tracked by specific functional groups of the system, and allows, at the same time, the overcoming of some of the limits associated with conventional 1D FTIR-ATR analysis. Acquired information could be used, in principle, for the definition of an optimized procedure capable to provide high-performance T-sensitive drug carrier systems for different applications.

Predictive Modeling of Thiol Changes in Raw Ground Pork as Affected by 13 Plant Extracts-Application of Arrhenius, Log-logistic and Artificial Neural Network Models

In this study, predictive models of protein oxidation, expressed as the content of thiol groups (SH), in raw ground pork were established and their accuracy was compared. The SH changes were monitored during, maximum, 11 days of storage at five temperature levels: 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 °C. The effect of 13 plant extracts, including spices such as allspice, black seed, cardamom, caraway, cloves, garlic, nutmeg, and onion, and herbs such as basil, bay leaf, oregano, rosemary, and thyme, on protein oxidation in pork was studied. The zero-order function was used to described SH changes with time. The effect of temperature was assessed by using Arrhenius and log–logistic equations. Artificial neural network (ANN) models were also developed. The results obtained showed very good acceptability of the models for the monitoring and prediction of protein oxidation in raw pork samples. High average R² coefficients equal to 0.948, 0.957, and 0.944 were obtained for Arhhenius, log-logistic and ANN models, respectively. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to assess the influence of plant extracts on protein oxidation and showed oregano as the most potent antioxidant among the tested ones in raw ground pork.

Prediction of Thiol Group Changes in Minced Raw and Cooked Chicken Meat with Plant Extracts-Kinetic and Neural Network Approaches

Simple Summary

Demand for poultry meat (chickens and turkeys) is constantly increasing. The upward trend in the production and consumption of poultry meat has two reasons. The first is the financial aspect because chicken meat is relatively cheap. The second reason is the nutritional and health aspect. Although the meat has high nutritional, dietary, culinary, technological, and sensory values, it is very susceptible to undesirable changes during storage, mainly due to the growth of microflora but also due to lipid and protein oxidation. The use of plant extracts in food technology is multifunctional, as they exhibit antioxidant and antibacterial effects and have a beneficial effect on the texture of meat and meat products. Moreover, the antioxidant effect of compounds isolated from plants may influence consumer health. Antioxidants of plant origin can be used as an additive to animal feed, as well as a component of stuffing or marinating mixes for meat. In addition, they are used in the coating of raw materials or in active packaging for food products. So far, many studies have shown the positive effect of plant and plant extract addition to meat on the oxidative status of its protein. However, the predictive approach to protein oxidation in raw meat is still little described. This study has demonstrated the potential usefulness of the kinetic model as well as models based on artificial neural networks (ANNs) to the realistic prediction of protein oxidation expressed as thiol group (SH) changes in raw and cooked chicken meat during storage. Such predictive models allow us to predict oxidative changes in minced meat under different time and temperature conditions as minced meat is particularly susceptible to oxidation through exposure to oxygen during the mincing process itself and through the increased contact surface with oxygen. This knowledge is very useful in designing food products and predicting their shelf-life. Additionally, the effectiveness of various spices in the raw and cooked meat system were compared. Meat is a very complex system and, according to the research, there is no direct correlation between the anti-oxidant activity of the spice itself and its antioxidant effectiveness in the product.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to develop predictive models of thiol group (SH) level changes in minced raw and heat-treated chicken meat enriched with selected plant extracts (allspice, basil, bay leaf, black seed, cardamom, caraway, cloves, garlic, nutmeg, onion, oregano, rosemary, and thyme) during storage at different temperatures. Meat samples with extract addition were stored under various temperatures (4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 °C). SH changes were measured spectrophotometrically using Ellman’s reagent. Samples stored at 12 °C were used as the external validation dataset. SH content decreased with storage time and temperature. The dependence of SH changes on temperature was adequately modeled by the Arrhenius equation with average high R² coefficients for raw meat (R² = 0.951) and heat-treated meat (R² = 0.968). Kinetic models and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to build the predictive models of thiol group decay during meat storage. The obtained results demonstrate that both kinetic Arrhenius (R² = 0.853 and 0.872 for raw and cooked meat, respectively) and ANN (R² = 0.803) models can predict thiol group changes in raw and cooked ground chicken meat during storage.

Provincial Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Gasoline and Plug-in Electric Vehicles in China: Comparison from the Consumption-Based Electricity Perspective

China has implemented strong incentives to promote the market penetration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). In this study, we compare the well-to-wheels (WTW) greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensities of PEVs with those of gasoline vehicles at the provincial level in the year 2017 by considering the heterogeneity in the consumption-based electricity mix and climate impacts on vehicle fuel economy. Results show a high variation of provincial WTW GHG emission intensities for battery electric vehicles (BEVs, 22-293 g CO₂eq/km) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs, 82-298 g CO₂eq/km) in contrast to gasoline internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs, 227-245 g CO₂eq/km) and gasoline hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs, 141-164 g CO₂eq/km). Due to the GHG-intensive coal-based electricity and cold weather, WTW GHG emission intensities of BEVs and PHEVs are higher than those of gasoline ICEVs in seven and ten northern provinces in China, respectively. WTW GHG emission intensities of gasoline HEVs, on the other hand, are lower in 18 and 26 provinces than those of BEVs and PHEVs, respectively. The analysis suggests that province-specific PEV and electric grid development policies should be considered for GHG emission reductions of on-road transportation in China.

Interlayer exchange couple based reliable and robust 3-input adder design methodology

In this paper, a novel inter-layer exchange coupled (IEC) based 3-input full adder design methodology is proposed and subsequently the architecture has been implemented on the widely accepted micromagnetic OOMMF platform. The impact of temperature on the IEC coupled full-adder design has been analyzed up to Curie temperature. It was observed that even up to Curie temperature the IEC based adder design was able to operate at sub-50 nm as contrast to dipole coupled adder design which failed at 5 K for sub 50 nm. Simulation results obtained from OOMMF micromagnetic simulator shows, the IEC based adder design was at a lower energy state as compared to the dipole coupled adder indicating a more stable system and as the temperature of the design was increased, the total energy increased resulting in reduced stability. Potential explanation for the thermodynamic stability of IEC model lies in its energetically favored architecture, such that the total energy was lower than its dipole coupled counterparts. IEC architecture demonstrates supremacy in reliability and strength enabling NML to march towards beyond CMOS devices.

Predictive Modeling of Changes in TBARS in the Intramuscular Lipid Fraction of Raw Ground Beef Enriched with Plant Extracts

The aim of the study was to develop and compare the predictive models of lipid oxidation in minced raw beef meat enriched with selected plant extracts (allspice, basil, bay leaf, black seed, cardamom, caraway, cloves, garlic, nutmeg, onion, oregano, rosemary and thyme) expressed as value changes of TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) in various time/temperature conditions. Meat samples were stored at the temperatures of 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 °C. The value changes of TBARS in samples stored at 12 °C were used as the external validation dataset. Lipid oxidation increased significantly with storage time and temperature. The rate of this increase varied depending on the addition of the plant extract and was the most pronounced in the control sample. The dependence of lipid oxidation on temperature was adequately modeled by the Arrhenius and log-logistic equation with high average R2 coefficients (≥0.98) calculated for all extracts. Kinetic models and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were used to build the predictive models. The obtained result demonstrates that both kinetic Arrhenius (R2 = 0.972) and log-logistic (R2 = 0.938) models as well as ANN (R2 = 0.935) models can predict changes in TBARS in raw ground beef meat during storage.

A Method to Compensate for the Errors Caused by Temperature in Structured-Light 3D Cameras

Although low cost red-green-blue-depth (RGB-D) cameras are factory calibrated, to meet the accuracy requirements needed in many industrial applications proper calibration strategies have to be applied. Generally, these strategies do not consider the effect of temperature on the camera measurements. The aim of this paper is to evaluate this effect considering an Orbbec Astra camera. To analyze this camera performance, an experimental study in a thermal chamber has been carried out. From this experiment, it has been seen that produced errors can be modeled as an hyperbolic paraboloid function. To compensate for this error, a two-step method that first computes the error and then corrects it has been proposed. To compute the error two possible strategies are proposed, one based on the infrared distortion map and the other on the depth map. The proposed method has been tested in an experimental scenario with different Orbbec Astra cameras and also in a real environment. In both cases, its good performance has been demonstrated. In addition, the method has been compared with the Kinect v1 achieving similar results. Therefore, the proposed method corrects the error due to temperature, is simple, requires a low computational cost and might be applicable to other similar cameras.

Temperature affects substrate-associated bacterial composition during Ganoderma lucidum hyphal growth

The growth of the well-known fungus Ganoderma lucidum is influenced by temperature, which has an impact on the associated microbial structure in the substrate. In this study, we analyzed the bacterial diversity of the substrate at different temperatures using next-generation sequencing technology. A total of 513 733 sequences from 15 samples were assigned to 19 bacterial phyla. The samples were dominated by Proteobacteria, followed by Firmicutes; the 2 phyla exhibited opposite changes with elevated temperature. Bacterial genera showed different abundances at different temperatures, in which Sediminibacterium maintained a stable abundance below 40 °C, while Ochrobactrum and Rhodococcus were enriched with elevated temperature and both showed their highest abundances at 40 °C. Functional prediction uncovered 39 identified KEGG pathways, and bacterial genes involved in the membrane transport pathway exhibited the highest abundance subject to heat (40 °C) during the growth of G. lucidum. In general, our findings illustrated the influence of temperatures on G. lucidum mycelial morphology and the bacterial community in the substrate, and the results will facilitate cultivation of this fungus.

Thermal Delamination Modelling and Evaluation of Aluminium-Glass Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Hybrid

This paper aims to propose a temperature-dependent cohesive model to predict the delamination of dissimilar metal–composite material hybrid under Mode-I and Mode-II delamination. Commercial nonlinear finite element (FE) code LS-DYNA was used to simulate the material and cohesive model of hybrid aluminium–glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminate. For an accurate representation of the Mode-I and Mode-II delamination between aluminium and GFRP laminates, cohesive zone modelling with bilinear traction separation law was implemented. Cohesive zone properties at different temperatures were obtained by applying trends of experimental results from double cantilever beam and end notched flexural tests. Results from experimental tests were compared with simulation results at 30, 70 and 110 °C to verify the validity of the model. Mode-I and Mode-II FE models compared to experimental tests show a good correlation of 5.73% and 7.26% discrepancy, respectively. Crack front stress distribution at 30 °C is characterised by a smooth gradual decrease in Mode-I stress from the centre to the edge of the specimen. At 70 °C, the entire crack front reaches the maximum Mode-I stress with the exception of much lower stress build-up at the specimen’s edge. On the other hand, the Mode-II stress increases progressively from the centre to the edge at 30 °C. At 70 °C, uniform low stress is built up along the crack front with the exception of significantly higher stress concentrated only at the free edge. At 110 °C, the stress distribution for both modes transforms back to the similar profile, as observed in the 30 °C case.

Unveiling the Formation of Solid Electrolyte Interphase and its Temperature Dependence in "Water-in-Salt" Supercapacitors

"Water-in-salt" (WIS) electrolytes have emerged as an excellent superconcentrated ionic medium for high-power energy storage systems such as supercapacitors due to their extended working potential compared to the conventional dilute aqueous electrolyte. In this work, we have investigated the performance of WIS supercapacitors using hollow carbon nanoplates as electrodes and compared it to that based on the conventional "salt-in-water" electrolytes. Moreover, the potentiostatic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been employed to provide an insightful look into the charge transport properties, which also, for the first time, reveals the formation of a solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) and their temperature-dependent impedance for charge transfer and adsorption. Furthermore, the effect of temperature on the electrochemical performance of the WIS supercapacitors in the temperature range from 15 to 60 °C has been studied, which presents a gravimetric capacitance of 128 F g^-1 and a volumetric capacitance of 197.12 F cm^-3 at 55 °C compared to 87.5 F g^-1 and 134.75 F cm^-3 at 15 °C. The in-depth understanding about the formation of SEI layer and the electrochemical performance at different temperatures for WIS supercapacitors will assist the efforts toward designing better aqueous electrolytes for supercapacitors.

Increases in Genetic Diversity of Weedy Rice Associated with Ambient Temperatures and Limited Gene Flow

Hypotheses regarding the association of increased species or genetic diversity with gradually warmer regions as a global pattern have been proposed, but no direct and solid experimental data are available to approve the association between plant genetic diversity and ambient temperatures. To test the diversity-temperature hypothesis, we studied genetic diversity and genetic differentiation of weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) populations occurring naturally in early- and late-season rice fields that share nearly the same ecological conditions but with slightly different temperatures. Data collected from 10-year historical climatic records indicated a ~2 ℃ higher average air temperature in the late rice-cultivation seasons than in the early seasons. Results based on molecular fingerprints of 27 SSR (simple sequence repeat) loci showed a higher level of genetic diversity in the late-season weedy rice populations than in the early-season populations. In addition, a positive correlation was detected between the increased proportion of genetic diversity (ΔHe ) and genetic differentiation among the weedy rice populations, suggesting limited gene flow. Therefore, we conclude from this study that increased genetic diversity in the late-season weedy rice populations is probably caused by the higher ambient temperatures. This finding provides evidence for the possible association between genetic diversity and ambient temperatures.

Temperature-Dependent Synergistic Effect of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Nanoplatelets on the Tensile Quasi-Static and Fatigue Properties of Epoxy Nanocomposites

Even though the characteristics of polymer materials are sensitive to temperature, the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites have rarely been studied before, especially for the fatigue behavior of hybrid polymer nanocomposites. Hence, the tensile quasi-static and fatigue tests for the epoxy nanocomposites reinforced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were performed at different temperatures in the study to investigate the temperature-dependent synergistic effect of hybrid nano-fillers on the studied properties. The temperature and the filler ratio were the main variables considered in the experimental program. A synergistic index was employed to quantify and evaluate the synergistic effect of hybrid fillers on the studied properties. Experimental results show that both the monotonic and fatigue strength decrease with increasing temperature significantly. The nanocomposites with a MWCNT (multi-walled CNT): GNP ratio of 9:1 display higher monotonic modulus/strength and fatigue strength than those with other filler ratios. The tensile strengths of the nanocomposite specimens with a MWCNT:GNP ratio of 9:1 are 10.0, 5.5, 12.9, 23.4, and 58.9% higher than those of neat epoxy at -28, 2, 22, 52, and 82 °C, respectively. The endurance limits of the nanocomposites with this specific filler ratio are increased by 7.7, 26.7, 5.6, 30.6, and 42.4% from those of pristine epoxy under the identical temperature conditions, respectively. Furthermore, the synergistic effect for this optimal nanocomposite increases with temperature. The CNTs bridge the adjacent GNPs to constitute the 3-D network of nano-filler and prevent the agglomeration of GNPs, further improve the studied strength. Observing the fracture surfaces reveals that crack deflect effect and the bridging effect of nano-fillers are the main reinforcement mechanisms to improve the studied properties. The pullout of nano-fillers from polymer matrix at high temperatures reduces the monotonic and fatigue strengths. However, high temperature is beneficial to the synergistic effect of hybrid fillers because the nano-fillers dispersed in the softened matrix are easy to align toward the directions favorable to load transfer.

Uniaxial Dynamic Compressive Behaviors of Hydraulic Asphalt Concrete under the Coupling Effect between Temperature and Strain Rate

To investigate the compressive dynamic properties of hydraulic asphalt concrete under various temperatures, four temperatures and four strain rates have been set to perform the uniaxial compression experiments using hydraulic servo machine in this paper. The influence of temperature and strain rate on the failure modes, stress-strain curves and mechanical characteristic parameters of hydraulic asphalt concrete is analyzed and the results reveal that the failure modes and stress-strain curves have significant temperature effect. When the temperature is between −20 °C and 0 °C, the failure mode is dominated by brittle failure of asphalt binder, and hydraulic asphalt concrete shows obvious strain softening. With the addition of temperature, the failure modes of specimens are transferred from brittle failure to ductile failure since the asphalt changes from elastic-brittleness to viscoelasticity. Influenced by temperature effect, the compressive stress-strain curves of hydraulic asphalt concrete show strain hardening while the peak stress of hydraulic asphalt concrete is obviously decreased, and the variation coefficient of peak stress has a power relation with temperature. With successive increases in strain rate, the stress-strain curves of hydraulic asphalt concrete gradually are transferred from strain hardening to strain softening. The peak stress and stiffness modulus of specimens under compression gradually increase, and the dynamic increase factor of peak stress is linearly related with the logarithm value of strain rate after dimensionless treatment. In terms of the quantitative analysis of the experimental data, two relationship models of the coupling effect between temperature and strain rate are proposed. The proposed models have good applicability to the quantitative analysis of the experimental results in the manuscript. This paper offers important insights into the application and development of hydraulic asphalt concrete in hydraulic engineering.

Strong Temperature Effect on the Ferroelectric Properties of CuInP2S6 and Its Heterostructures

Van der Waals (vdW) ferroelectric insulator CuInP₂S₆ (CIPS) has attracted intense research interest due to its unique ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. In this paper, we systematically investigate the temperature and frequency dependence of the ferroelectric properties of CIPS. We find that there is a large imprint in the CIPS capacitor, which can be attributed to the fixed dipoles induced by defects. At high temperatures and low frequencies, the amplitude and direction of the imprint become tunable by the preset pulse, as the copper ions are more mobile and these dipoles become switchable. When the polarization in CIPS changes direction, the graphene/CIPS/graphene ferroelectric diode exhibits switchable resistance since the Fermi level in graphene is modulated by the polarization in CIPS. For CIPS/MoTe₂ dual-gate transistor, a temperature-dependent nonvolatile memory window is observed, which can be attributed to the interplay between ferroelectric polarization and interface traps. This research provides experimental groundwork for vdW ferroelectric materials, expands the understanding of ferroelectricity in CIPS, and opens up exciting opportunities for novel electronic devices based on vdW ferroelectric materials.

Temperature Compensation Method for Raster Projectors used in 3D Structured Light Scanners

Raster projectors are commonly used in many various measurement applications where active lighting is required, such as in three-dimensional structured light scanners. The effect of temperature on the raster projector, in some conditions, can lead to significant deterioration of the measurements performed with such a scanner. In this paper, the outcomes of several experiments concerning the effects of temperature on raster projectors are presented. The described research is focused on the thermal deformations of projected images caused by common thermal effects observed in projectors: those caused by the warming-up process and changes in ambient environmental temperature. A software compensation method is also presented. It is suitable for implementation in any existing measurement method that uses raster projectors. The results of performed verification experiments show that the developed compensation method can decrease the thermal drift of the projected images by up to 14 times in the ambient temperature range .