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With the increasing attention received by lightweight metals, numerous essential fields have increased requirements for magnesium (Mg) alloys with good room-temperature and high-temperature mechanical properties. However, the high-temperature mechanical properties of commonly used commercial Mg alloys, such as AZ91D, deteriorate considerably with increasing temperatures. Over the past several decades, extensive efforts have been devoted to developing heat-resistant Mg alloys. These approaches either inhibit the generation of thermally unstable phases or promote the formation of thermally stable precipitates/phases in matrices through solid solution or precipitation strengthening. In this review, numerous studies are systematically introduced and discussed. Different alloy systems, including those based on Mg–Al, Mg–Zn, and Mg–rare earth, are carefully classified and compared to reveal their mechanical properties and strengthening mechanisms. The emphasis, limitations, and future prospects of these heat-resistant Mg alloys are also pointed out and discussed to develop heat-resistant Mg alloys and broaden their potential application areas in the future.

Accurate long-term power load forecasting in the grid is crucial for supply–demand balance analysis in new power systems. It helps to identify potential power market risks and uncertainties in advance, thereby enhancing the stability and efficiency of power systems. Given the temporal and nonlinear features of power load, this paper proposes a hybrid load-forecasting model using attention mechanisms, CNN, and BiLSTM. Historical load data are processed via CEEMDAN, K-means clustering, and VMD for significant regularity and uncertainty feature extraction. The CNN layer extracts features from climate and date inputs, while BiLSTM captures short- and long-term dependencies from both forward and backward directions. Attention mechanisms enhance key information. This approach is applied for seasonal load forecasting. Several comparative experiments show the proposed model’s high accuracy, with MAPE values of 1.41%, 1.25%, 1.08% and 1.67% for the four seasons. It outperforms other methods, with improvements of 0.25–2.53 GWh2 in MSE, 0.15–0.1 GWh in RMSE, 0.1–0.74 GWh in MAE and 0.22–1.40% in MAPE. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the data processing method and the impact of training data volume on forecasting accuracy are analyzed. The results indicate that decomposing and clustering historical load data, along with large-scale data training, can both boost forecasting accuracy.

Food packaging films were prepared by using guar gum/polyvinyl alcohol (GP) as the film matrix, 2% Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) as reinforcing filler and antimicrobial agent, and 1%, 2% and 3% pokeweed betacyanins (PB) as the colorant and antioxidant agent. The structures and color-changing, barrier, mechanical, thermal and antioxidant/antibacterial properties of different films were measured. The results show that the PB were pH-sensitive pigments with pink, purple and yellow colors at pH 3–8, pH 9–11 and pH 12, respectively. PB improved the compatibility of guar gum and polyvinyl alcohol through hydrogen bonds. The films with PB showed a color-changing capacity under ammonia vapor and good color stability in chilled storage. AgNPs and PB elevated the barrier capacity of GP film to light, water vapor and oxygen gas. Meanwhile, AgNPs and PB improved the stiffness, thermal stability and antioxidant/antibacterial activity of GP film. The film with AgNPs and 3% PB showed the highest barrier capacity, stiffness, thermal stability and antioxidant/antimicrobial activity. In shrimp spoilage test, the films with AgNPs and 2% and 3% PB indicated shrimp freshness through film color changes. The results reveal the potential use of the prepared films in active and smart packaging.

Humidity sensors are a common, but important type of sensors in our daily life and industrial processing. Graphene and graphene-based materials have shown great potential for detecting humidity due to their ultrahigh specific surface areas, extremely high electron mobility at room temperature, and low electrical noise due to the quality of its crystal lattice and its very high electrical conductivity. However, there are still no specific reviews on the progresses of graphene-based humidity sensors. This review focuses on the recent advances in graphene-based humidity sensors, starting from an introduction on the preparation and properties of graphene materials and the sensing mechanisms of seven types of commonly studied graphene-based humidity sensors, and mainly summarizes the recent advances in the preparation and performance of humidity sensors based on pristine graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, graphene quantum dots, and a wide variety of graphene based composite materials, including chemical modification, polymer, metal, metal oxide, and other 2D materials. The remaining challenges along with future trends in high-performance graphene-based humidity sensors are also discussed.

Hepatic steatosis can cause liver dysfunction and cell injury, on which natural functional factors are expected to be an effective approach for long-term intervention. However, the cellular molecular mechanisms are unclear. Chlorogenic acid is a phenolic compound, which can regulate lipid metabolism and is abundant in burdock root. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential molecular mechanism of the effect of chlorogenic acid from burdock root (ACQA) on steatosis in HepG2 cells. In this study, we found that ACQA reduced the number of lipid droplets and lipid levels in oleic acid-treated HepG2 cells. Molecular mechanistic results showed that ACQA enhanced CPT-1 expression by activating AMPK-related signaling pathways, and the concentrations of Ca2+ and cAMP were increased with the intervention of ACQA. In addition, ACQA enhanced the β-oxidation of fatty acids, reduced alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase, and inhibited apoptosis in oleic acid-treated HepG2 cells. Our studies elucidate a novel mechanism that ACQA enhances the β-oxidation of fatty acids through the AMPK/ACC/CPT-1 pathway to protect against steatosis in HepG2 cells, which provides insight into its molecular mechanism as well as intervention strategies for chlorogenic acid against fatty liver diseases.

Magnesium and magnesium alloy foils have great potential for application in battery anodes, electromagnetic shielding, optics and acoustics, and biology because of their excellent specific damping, internal dissipation coefficients, magnetic and electrical conductivities, as well as high theoretical specific capacity. However, magnesium alloys exhibit poor deformation ability due to their hexagonal close-packed crystal structure. Preparing magnesium and magnesium alloy foils with thicknesses of less than 0.1 mm is difficult because of surface oxidation and grain growth at high temperatures or severe anisotropy after cold rolling that leads to cracks. Numerous methods have been applied to prepare magnesium alloy foils. They include warm rolling, cold rolling, accumulative roll bonding, electric plastic rolling, and on-line heating rolling. Defects of magnesium and magnesium alloy foils during preparation, such as edge cracks and breakage, are important factors for consideration. Herein, the current status of the research on magnesium and magnesium alloy foils is summarized from the aspects of foil preparation, defect control, performance characterization, and application prospects. The advantages and disadvantages of different preparation methods and defect (edge cracks and breakage) mechanisms in the preparation of foils are identified.

Deuterium/Tritium (D/T) handling in defined proportions are pivotal to maintain steady-state operation for fusion reactors. However, the hydrogen isotope effect in metal-hydrogen systems always disturbs precise D/T ratio control. Here, we reveal the dominance of kinetic isotope effect during desorption. To reconcile the thermodynamic stability and isotope effect, we demonstrate a quantitative indicator of T gap and further a local coordination design strategy that comprises thermodynamic destabilization with vibration enhancement of interstitial isotopes for isotope engineering. Based on theoretical screening analysis, an optimized Ti-Pd co-doped Zr 0.8 Ti 0.2 Co 0.8 Pd 0.2 alloy is designed and prepared. Compared to ZrCo alloy, the optimal alloy enables consistent isotope delivery together with a three-fold lower T gap , a five-fold lower energy barrier difference, a one-third lower isotopic composition deviation during desorption and an over two-fold higher cycling capacity. This work provides insights into the interaction between alloy and hydrogen isotopes, thus opening up feasible approaches to support high-performance fusion reactors. Hydrogen isotope effect in metal-hydrogen systems disturbs precise Deuterium/Tritium (D/T) ratio control. Here, the authors demonstrate a local coordination strategy that comprises thermodynamic destabilization with vibration enhancement of interstitial isotopes for isotope engineering.

Transition metal oxides (TMOs), such as Fe 2 O 3 have been comprehensively investigated for high performance pseudocapacitors with a promising theoretical capacitance. However, their applications have been seriously restricted by the low electron conductivity. The construction of heterojunctions can effectively regulate the band structure of TMOs and the electron conductivity can be greatly optimized. In this work, a simple hydrothermal approach is used to synthesize a novel heterostructured g-C 3 N 4 /Fe 2 O 3 /CNT nanomaterial. The results demonstrate that the synergistic effects between g-C 3 N 4 and Fe 2 O 3 greatly accelerate electron transport speeds in the composite materials. The as-designed electrodes demonstrate a capacitance retention of 72.1% even at a current density of 9 A g −1 , with excellent cycle performance and remarkable capacitance of 610 F g −1 at 0.2 A g −1 . Meanwhile, the charge storage mechanisms and band structure of g-C 3 N 4 /Fe 2 O 3 have been investigated and discussed in detail. This interfacial engineering strategy for making heterostructures offers fresh insights into the development of metal oxide materials for electrodes with high capacitance and excellent rate performance.

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The effects of insoluble dietary fiber from fresh corn bracts modified by dynamic high-pressure micro-fluidization (DHPM) on the pathological characteristics of obesity, intestinal microflora distribution and production of short-chain fatty acids in high-fat-diet C57BL/6 mice were evaluated. The results show that the DHPM-modified dietary fiber from fresh corn bracts significantly reduces weight gain, insulin resistance and oxidative damage caused by a high-fat diet, and promotes the production of SCFAs, especially acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid. These modified dietary fibers also change the proportion of different types of bacteria in the intestinal microflora of mice, reduce the ratio of Firmicutes and Bacteroidota and promote the proliferation of Bifidobacteriales. Therefore, the DHPM-modified dietary fiber from fresh corn bracts can be used as a good intestinal microbiota regulator to promote intestinal health, thereby achieving the role of preventing and treating obesity.