[en] The summer Asian–Pacific Oscillation (APO) is a major teleconnection pattern that reflects the zonal thermal contrast between East Asia and the North Pacific in the upper troposphere. The performance of Beijing Climate Center Climate System Models (BCC_CSMs) with different horizontal resolutions, i.e., BCC_CSM1.1 and BCC_CSM1.1(m), in reproducing APO interannual variability, APO-related precipitation anomalies, and associated atmospheric circulation anomalies, is evaluated. The results show that BCC_CSM1.1(m) can successfully capture the interannual variability of the summer APO index. It is also more capable in reproducing the APO’s spatial pattern, compared to BCC_CSM1.1, due to its higher horizontal resolution. Associated with a positive APO index, the northward-shifted and intensified South Asian high, strengthened extratropical westerly jet, and tropical easterly jet in the upper troposphere, as well as the southwesterly monsoonal flow over North Africa and the Indian Ocean in the lower troposphere, are realistically represented by BCC_CSM1.1(m), leading to an improvement in reproducing the increased precipitation over tropical North Africa, South Asia, and East Asia, as well as the decreased precipitation over subtropical North Africa, Japan, and North America. In contrast, these features are less consistent with observations when simulated by BCC_CSM1.1. Regression analysis further indicates that surface temperature anomalies over the North Pacific and the southern and western flanks of the Tibetan Plateau are reasonably reproduced by BCC_CSM1.1(m), which contributes to the substantial improvement in the simulation of the characteristics of summer APO compared to that of BCC_CSM1.1.

[en] We report on a method for chemiluminescence (CL) determination of the glycoprotein tenascin-C. Carboxylated carbon nanoparticles (cCNPs) were prepared from activated carbon. Next, the cCNPs were conjugated to magnetic beads (MBs) with a diameter of ∼1 μm by linking its carboxy groups to the amino groups of the MBs. The assay involves the following steps: (a) An aptamer labeled with the CL reagent N-(4-aminobutyl)-N-ethylisoluminol (ABEI) (the labeled aptamer) was adsorbed onto the surface of the carboxy-modified magnetic carbon nanoparticles to form labeled aptamer modified cCNPs-MBs. (b) On addition of sample tenascin-C, it will interact with the labeled aptamer to form a complex with the labeled aptamer. (c) This tenascin-aptamer complex is then dissociated from the surface of the particles and detected by CL whose intensity is linearly related to the concentration of tenascin-C in the 1 pM to 1 nM range. The detection limit is as low as 0.4 pM, and the RSD is 4.2 % at a 50 pM level (for n = 7). The method has been successfully applied to the determination of tenascin-C in human serum samples and holds promise as a widely applicable general platform for aptamer-based CL detection of proteins. (author)

[en] Single-ion conducting polymers have been widely reported in the literature as solid polymer electrolytes, but their low ionic conductivity has limited industrial applications at ambient temperature. Here, we employed a perfluoroalkyl sulfonamide-based single-ion conducting polymer-lithiated poly(perfluoroalkylsulfonyl)imide (LiPFSI) to promote the migration of free Li-ions and diminish cell polarization in lithium-ion batteries. After blending with Al₂O₃ powder, the LiPFSI/Al₂O₃ composite was coated on a commercial polyethylene separator. Adding the high surface energy of Al₂O₃ particles and the exceptional ionic conductivity of LiPFSI resulted in a LiPFSI/Al₂O₃ composite-coated separator with excellent wettability and low impedance. A LiFePO₄/Li half-cell with this separator showed a highly improved charge–discharge cyclability up to 130 mAh/g that maintained 98% retention of the original reversible capacity after 220 charge–discharge cycles at a high current rate of 2 C (1 C = 170 mAh/g). Even at a high rate of 5 C, the cell capacity could be maintained above 100 mAh/g. Herein, we present a simple and effective method to optimize the separator with the LiPFSI/Al₂O₃ composite and thus improve the high rate charge–discharge performance of Li-ion batteries.

[en] Highlights: • A modification mechanism for magnesium hydroxide using silane by dry process was proposed. • Si−O−Mg bonds were formed directly by the reaction between Si-OC_2H_5 and hydroxyl groups of magnesium hydroxide. • Dispersibility and compatibility of modified magnesium hydroxide improved in organic phase. - Abstract: In order to improve the compatibility between magnesium hydroxide (MH) and polymer matrix, the surface of MH was modified using vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) by dry process and the interfacial interaction between MH and VTES was also studied. Zeta potential measurements implied that the MH particles had better dispersion and less aggregation after modification. Sedimentation tests showed that the surface of MH was transformed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, and the dispersibility and the compatibility of MH particles significantly improved in the organic phase. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analyses showed that a thin layer had formed on the surface of the modified MH, but did not alter the material’s crystalline phase. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the VTES molecules bound strongly to the surface of MH after modification. Chemical bonds (Si−O−Mg) formed by the reaction between Si-OC_2H_5 and hydroxyl group of MH, also there have physical adsorption effect in the interface simultaneously. A modification mechanism of VTES on the MH surface by dry process was proposed, which different from the modification mechanism by wet process.

[en] The defect evolution in InP with the 75 keV H⁺ and 115 keV He⁺ implantation at room temperature after subsequent annealing has been investigated in detail. With the same ion implantation fluence, the He⁺ implantation caused much broader damage distribution accompanied by much higher out-of-plane strain with respect to the H⁺ implanted InP. After annealing, the H⁺ implanted InP did not show any blistering or exfoliation on the surface even at the high fluence and the H₂ molecules were stored in the heterogeneously oriented platelet defects. However, the He molecules were stored into the large bubbles which relaxed toward the free surface, creating blisters at the high fluence. (special topic)

[en] Highlights: • Flow condensation heat transfer of R14/R170 mixtures was tested. • Effects of different experimental parameters on heat transfer were analyzed. • Mixtures exhibit great heat transfer degradation than pure fluids. • An improved heat transfer correlation for zeotropic mixtures was proposed. Tetrafluoromethane (R14) and ethane (R170) are important components to improve the recuperation process in the middle and low temperature regions of a mixed-refrigerant Joule-Thomson (MRJT) refrigeration system. In this paper, an experimental investigation on flow condensation heat transfer characteristics of R14/R170 mixtures (0.193/0.807, 0.437/0.563, 0.632/0.368 and 0.799/0.201 by mole) in a horizontal smooth tube was carried out. Experiments were implemented at mass fluxes from 100 to 350 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ and saturation pressures from 1.5 to 2.5 MPa over the entire range of vapor quality. The effects of concentration, mass flux, saturation pressure and vapor quality were analyzed and discussed. Compared with linear interpolation values of pure fluids, heat transfer degradation of mixtures increases with the rise of vapor quality. In addition, all experimental data were compared with sixteen well-known correlations combined with equilibrium method. It is found that all models underestimate the current experimental data. This should be due to the neglect of the intensifying effect of vapour-liquid interface fluctuation. Finally, an improved heat transfer correlation for zeotropic mixtures was proposed and predicted the experimental results well with a mean absolute relative deviation of 13.91%.