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Current electrolytes of mixing different functional solvents inherit both merits and weaknesses of each solvent, thus cannot simultaneously meet all the requirements of high energy, long cycle life, and high safety for Li metal batteries (LMBs). Here, we design a high voltage and safe electrolyte (VSE) by integrating different functional groups into one molecule. The VSE electrolyte has a wide electrochemical stability window of ~5.6 V enabling a Li anode to achieve high Coulombic efficiency of >99.3%, Li | |LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 coin cell to maintain capacity retention of 92% after 500 cycles, and the 3.5-Ah-grade Li | |LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 pouch cell to deliver a high energy density of 531 Wh kg −1 without any flame and expansion after cycled under extreme conditions. The VSE electrolyte even enables 5.0 V Li | |LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 cells to charge/discharge for 200 cycles without capacity decay. This work provides a promising direction for the rational design of high-voltage and intrinsically safe electrolytes for LMBs. This work provides a high voltage and intrinsically safe electrolyte (VSE) designed by integrating different functional groups into one molecule that enables Li metal batteries to safely operate at high temperatures and achieve a high energy density.

A new ether-based electrolyte to match lithium metal electrode is prepared by introducing 1, 4-dioxane as co-solvent into lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide/1,2-dimethoxyethane solution. Under the synergetic effect of solvents and salt, this simple liquid electrolyte presents stable Li cycling with dendrite-free Li deposition even at relatively high current rate, high coulombic efficiency of ca. 98%, and good anodic stability up to ~4.87 V vs Li RE. Its excellent performance will open up a new possibility for high energy-density rechargeable Li metal battery system.

Background Recent evidences indicated that some local anaesthetic agents played a role in inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells; Whether ropivacaine is able to promote apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ropivacaine on the apoptosis of HCC cells. Methods In the present study, we treated the HCC cell lines, Bel7402 and HLE with ropivacaine. MTT, DAPI stain, trypan blue exclusion dye assay, flow cytometry, electron microscopy, computational simulation, laser confocal microscope, Western blotting, and enzyme activity analysis of caspase-3 were applied to detect the growth and apoptosis of HCC cells and to explore the role mechanism of ropivacaine. Results Ropivacaine was able to inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis of HCC cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Ropivacaine also has a trait to inhibit the migration of HCC cells; ropivacaine damaged the mitochondria of HCC cells. The results also indicated that ropivacaine was able to interact with caspase-3, promote cytoplasmic caspase-3 migration into the nucleus, stimulate cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP-1, caspase-9 proteins, inhibit the expression of Bcl-2, promote expression of Apaf-1 and mitochondria release cytochrome C, and activate the activity of caspase-3. Conclusions Ropivacaine has a novel role in promoting apoptosis of HCC cells; The role mechanism of ropivacaine maybe involve in damaging the function of mitochondria and activating the caspase-3 signalling pathway in HCC cells. Our findings provide novel insights into the local anaesthetic agents in the therapy of HCC patients.

Addressing the current issue of not considering the influence of road geometry in the recognition of aggressive turning, a dangerous driving behavior, this paper proposes a method to eliminate the impact of road curvature on the recognition of aggressive turning based on On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) trajectory data and high-precision electronic map data. The method is validated using Jinan City as the study area. The results show that the proposed method effectively removes the influence of road curvature on the recognition of aggressive turning (left or right turns), reduces misjudgments of dangerous driving behaviors of drivers, and enhances the accuracy of identifying drivers' aggressive turning hazardous behaviors.

Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus is a freshwater fish but can tolerate a wide range of salinities. The mechanism of salinity adaptation at the molecular level was studied using RNA-Seq to explore the molecular pathways in fish exposed to 0, 8, or 16 (practical salinity unit, psu). Based on the change of gene expressions, the differential genes unions from freshwater to saline water were classified into three categories. In the constant change category (1), steroid biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis, fat digestion and absorption, complement and coagulation cascades were significantly affected by salinity indicating the pivotal roles of sterol-related pathways in response to salinity stress. In the change-then-stable category (2), ribosomes, oxidative phosphorylation, signaling pathways for peroxisome proliferator activated receptors, and fat digestion and absorption changed significantly with increasing salinity, showing sensitivity to salinity variation in the environment and a responding threshold to salinity change. In the stable-then-change category (3), protein export, protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, tight junction, thyroid hormone synthesis, antigen processing and presentation, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis-keratan sulfate were the significantly changed pathways, suggesting that these pathways were less sensitive to salinity variation. This study reveals fundamental mechanism of the molecular response to salinity adaptation in O. niloticus, and provides a general guidance to understand saline acclimation in O. niloticus.

Community-based care services offered by senior centers are vital for supporting older adults’ independent living. The number of senior centers has escalated in China in recent years. Despite scholarly interest in the potential accessibility of senior centers, research on older adults’ realized access remains scarce. Using the geo-referenced check-in data of 2382 users of senior centers in Nanjing, China, this study aims to fill this gap by examining the disparities between older adults’ potential and realized access to senior centers and the influence of multilevel spatial and non-spatial factors. This study indicates that potential access is often significantly overestimated compared with the actual accessibility of senior centers, with older adults’ distances of realized access (mean = 1319 m) being considerably greater than potential access (mean = 325 m). Spatial and regression analyses confirm that older adults living in newly built, lower-priced houses in the inner city are more likely to travel longer distances to reach senior centers. Spatial proximity is less effective in predicting realized access for those living further from senior centers. Instead, the location and service quality of senior centers play a more prominent role. These findings enrich our understanding of older adults’ access to community-based care, informing planning and policy interventions for the development of age-friendly communities.

As critical infrastructure of age-friendly cities, senior centers are designed to be embedded in communities and facilitate service accessibility for older adults. However, their underutilization is widely documented, suggesting a need to reassess their effectiveness. Existing studies often analyze the issue focusing on socio-demographic factors, overlooking the spatial contexts in which senior centers are embedded and their impacts on older people’s access. This study aims to address the research gap by investigating the spatial embeddedness of senior centers using Space Syntax methods and examining its influence on older people’s access patterns. Using a geo-behavioral dataset collected in Nanjing, China, we find that about 70% of the senior centers in the research area are embedded in highly localized settings with limited connections to global street networks, which significantly restricts the access of older people from wider spatial contexts. This spatial segregation may force senior centers to incur higher costs to attract users, thereby reducing the effectiveness of community-based services. This study introduces a novel spatial perspective to evaluate community-based services, highlighting the critical influence of the spatial context on service accessibility. The findings provide valuable empirical insights for policymakers and planners striving to create age-friendly cities and communities.

Urban parks play a crucial role in children's development. With UGC demonstrating their value in capturing granular user experiences, they have become an increasingly important data source in park research. However, their application remains preliminary and challenging when studying children. This study investigates urban park services related to children's wellbeing through user-generated content from 46 parks in Shanghai. It developed a structured lexicon by integrating 11 established audit tools with UGC, quantifying public perception of services across 9 dimensions (including 44 indicators) of children's well-being. Through BERT sentiment analysis, regression modeling, and machine learning, this study assessed service performance, identified key services influencing perceptions of children's wellbeing, and captured their non-linear and interaction patterns. Findings indicate that Education services show substantial variation across parks; Safety, Nature, Comfort, and Play services significantly influence perceptions, with Play dominating in parks with sufficient facilities. Interaction effects between Play-Nature and Play-Safety combinations highlight the importance of integrated design. Additionally, the analysis revealed a conflict between safety management practices and user expectations in Shanghai parks, suggesting a shift from restrictive to supportive safety practices. These findings provide practical insights for park optimization and demonstrate the potential of UGC in child-friendly environment research.

To address the insufficient integration of performance evaluation and contextual analysis in traditional architectural design, this paper proposes a design workflow that combines data-driven and performance-driven approaches, establishing a comprehensive operational pathway from typology selection and design generation to performance assessment. Using Yanshen Ancient Town, a cold region, as the study area, the research evaluates 18 traditional courtyard types and 8 brick kiln courtyard types. Benchmark models are selected based on the combined performance of PET (Physiological Equivalent Temperature) and MRT (Mean Radiant Temperature) indices. Subsequently, multiple performance indicators, including indoor and outdoor thermal comfort, indoor illuminance, and building energy consumption, are integrated into the analysis. Using a genetic algorithm, Pareto optimal solutions that meet performance requirements are iteratively optimized and filtered. Based on the learning rates and various evaluation indicators, XGBoost is ultimately selected to classify and predict the overall building performance. Results indicate that the model achieves an average prediction accuracy of 83.6%. Additionally, SHAP analysis of the independent variables in the algorithm reveals distinct influencing trends under different performance labels. The workflow demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating performance prediction in the early design stage of village courtyards, significantly enhancing the efficiency of feedback and follow-up between design decision-making and performance evaluation.

In a nuclear power plant, the consequences of a multi-unit event occurring concurrently are more serious than those of a single-unit event. The first step in the probabilistic safety analysis of multi-units is to analyze the initiating events and calculate the frequency of initiating events for simultaneous events of multiple units. The difficulty in using the fault tree model is that the known data are all frequency data from a single unit and cannot be logically multiplied. In this paper, taking a dual unit as an example, we used the formula to convert the probability of failure of the second unit within 72 h and then build a fault tree model. After analyzing the results of the dual unit, the most frequent cut set was the common cause of failure of the main transformer and of the switching failure of the main and auxiliary external power. The final calculation of the frequency of simultaneous loss of off-site power events for the dual units within 72 h was 3.22 × 10−4/year. After comparing with the single-unit results, it was found that the common cause failure of each unit’s independent equipment was the main reason for the occurrence of a loss of off-site power. Shared equipment in a single unit was ranked low in all the cut sets (such as the stability of the external grid for the main and auxiliary power systems) but was ranked high in multiple units. The calculation results of the frequency of initiating events of double units were two orders of magnitude lower than those of a single unit. However, the consequences of simultaneous events of multiple units were higher than those of single reactors. Therefore, attention should be paid to the risk of a simultaneous loss of off-site power event of multiple units.