1. |
- Kristan, Matej, et al.
(author)
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The first visual object tracking segmentation VOTS2023 challenge results
- 2023
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In: 2023 IEEE/CVF International conference on computer vision workshops (ICCVW). - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. - 9798350307443 - 9798350307450 ; , s. 1788-1810
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Visual Object Tracking Segmentation VOTS2023 challenge is the eleventh annual tracker benchmarking activity of the VOT initiative. This challenge is the first to merge short-term and long-term as well as single-target and multiple-target tracking with segmentation masks as the only target location specification. A new dataset was created; the ground truth has been withheld to prevent overfitting. New performance measures and evaluation protocols have been created along with a new toolkit and an evaluation server. Results of the presented 47 trackers indicate that modern tracking frameworks are well-suited to deal with convergence of short-term and long-term tracking and that multiple and single target tracking can be considered a single problem. A leaderboard, with participating trackers details, the source code, the datasets, and the evaluation kit are publicly available at the challenge website1
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2. |
- Fu, Yongshuo H., et al.
(author)
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Global warming is increasing the discrepancy between green (actual) and thermal (potential) seasons of temperate trees
- 2023
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 29:5, s. 1377-1389
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Over the past decades, global warming has led to a lengthening of the time window during which temperatures remain favorable for carbon assimilation and tree growth, resulting in a lengthening of the green season. The extent to which forest green seasons have tracked the lengthening of this favorable period under climate warming, however, has not been quantified to date. Here, we used remote sensing data and long-term ground observations of leaf-out and coloration for six dominant species of European trees at 1773 sites, for a total of 6060 species–site combinations, during 1980–2016 and found that actual green season extensions (GS: 3.1 ± 0.1 day decade−1) lag four times behind extensions of the potential thermal season (TS: 12.6 ± 0.1 day decade−1). Similar but less pronounced differences were obtained using satellite-derived vegetation phenology observations, that is, a lengthening of 4.4 ± 0.13 and 7.5 ± 0.13 day decade−1 for GS and TS, respectively. This difference was mainly driven by the larger advance in the onset of the thermal season compared to the actual advance of leaf-out dates (spring mismatch: 7.2 ± 0.1 day decade−1), but to a less extent caused by a phenological mismatch between GS and TS in autumn (2.4 ± 0.1 day decade−1). Our results showed that forest trees do not linearly track the new thermal window extension, indicating more complex interactions between winter and spring temperatures and photoperiod and a justification of demonstrating that using more sophisticated models that include the influence of chilling and photoperiod is needed to accurately predict spring phenological changes under warmer climate. They urge caution if such mechanisms are omitted to predict, for example, how vegetative health and growth, species distribution and crop yields will change in the future.
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3. |
- Wu, Cary, et al.
(author)
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Chinese Citizen Satisfaction with Government Performance during COVID-19
- 2021
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In: Journal of Contemporary China. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1067-0564 .- 1469-9400. ; 30:132, s. 930-944
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While foreign pundits have alternatively blamed and praised the Chinese government’s handling of the COVID-19 virus, little is known about how citizens within China understand this performance. This article considers how satisfied Chinese citizens are with their government’s performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. It first considers the impact of authoritarian control, political culture, and/or actual government performance on citizen satisfaction. Then, it tests the consequences of satisfaction and specifically whether citizen satisfaction leads to greater trust. Analyzing data from the first post-COVID survey of its kind (n = 19,816) conducted from April 22 to 28 April 2020, the authors find that Chinese citizens have an overall high level of satisfaction, but that this satisfaction drops with each lower level of government. Further, authoritarian control, political culture, and awareness of government performance all contribute to citizen satisfaction and this in turn, has enhanced public support for the Chinese government.
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4. |
- Wu, Jianlong, et al.
(author)
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Study on Direct Reduction in Carbon-Bearing Pellets Using Biochar
- 2023
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In: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 15:24
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As a renewable, carbon-neutral raw material, the application of biomass in steel production is conducive to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving green and sustainable development in the steel industry. The heating and reduction process of a rotary hearth furnace was simulated under laboratory conditions to roast and reduce biochar carbon-bearing pellets with coke powder and anthracite carbon-bearing pellets as a comparison. This was conducted to investigate the impact of biochar as a reducing agent on the direct reduction in carbon-bearing pellets. Under various reduction temperatures, carbon/oxygen ratios, and reduction times, tests were conducted on the compressive strength and metallization rate of carbon-bearing pellets made using typical binder bentonite. Results show that with the increase in reduction temperature, the metallization rate of pellets increases, while the compressive strength initially decreases and then increases, reaching the lowest point at 900 degrees C and 1000 degrees C. When the ratio of carbon to oxygen is between 0.7 and 0.9 and the reduction time is between 15 and 25 min, carbon-bearing pellets meet the requirements of both the metallization rate and the strength, with the metallization rate above 80%. However, severe volume swelling and low strength were observed in biochar carbon-bearing pellets at 900 degrees C and 1000 degrees C, which negatively impacted multi-layered charging and heat transfer efficiency in the blast furnace. Therefore, a novel laboratory-prepared binder was introduced in the preparation process of biochar carbon-bearing pellets at an appropriate addition ratio of 5-8%. Without producing any swelling concerns, the inclusion of this binder considerably improved the compression strength and metallization rate of the pellets, enabling them to fulfill the standards for raw materials in the blast furnace.
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5. |
- An, Hongbin, et al.
(author)
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A method of manufacturing microfluidic contact lenses by using irreversible bonding and thermoforming
- 2018
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In: Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. - : IOP PUBLISHING LTD. - 0960-1317 .- 1361-6439. ; 28:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper, we present the development of microfluidic contact lenses, which is based on the advantages of wearable microfluidics and can have great potential in the ophthalmology healthcare field. The development consists of two parts; the manufacturing process and the usability tests of the devices. In the manufacturing process, we firstly extended silane coupling and surface modification to irreversibly bond plastic membranes with microchannel-molded silicone rubber, to form the plastic-PDMS plane assemblies, and then molded the plane into a contact lens by thermoforming. We systematically investigated the effects of thermoforming factors, heating temperatures and the terrace die's sphere radius on channels by using the factorial experiment design. In addition, various tests were conducted to verify the usability of the devices. Through blockage and leakage tests, the devices were proved to be feasible, with no channel-blockages and could stand high pressures. Through a wearing test, the contact lenses were confirmed to be harmless on the living body. Furthermore, by performing the manipulating test, the device was proved to be liquid-controllable. These works provide a foundation for the applications of microfluidic contact lenses in ophthalmology.
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6. |
- An, Hongbin, et al.
(author)
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Microfluidic contact lenses for unpowered, continuous and non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring
- 2019
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In: Sensors and Actuators A-Physical. - : Elsevier BV. - 0924-4247 .- 1873-3069. ; 295, s. 177-187
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Intraocular pressure (IOP) is a crucial physiological indicator of the visual system and play a key role in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. However, the current handheld single measurement tools for IOP sensing cannot meet the future demands for glaucoma management. Thus, here we present the microfluidic contact lens sensors that could provide unpowered, continuous and non-invasive IOP monitoring. The microfluidic contact lens is comprised of a sensing layer of the micropatterned soft-elastomer and a hard plastic reference layer. The devices use the annular sensing chamber filled with the dyed liquid and a sensing microchannel as the IOP transducer. Resulting from the volume variance of the sensing chamber and caused by the deformation of the sensing layer under pressure, the IOP signal is detected as the displacement change of the dyed liquid's interface in the sensing channel, and in which, the displacement change can be optically observed by using the smart-phone camera. Based on the silicone rubber model eyeball, the sensing mechanism of the devices with different design parameters (the position of the sensing chambers and the dimension of the sensing channels) are explored by using the theoretical analyses and experimental investigations. The characteristics of these microfluidic contact lens sensors are tested, in which, the maximum sensitivity of the device (with the sensing chamber of 8.5 mm in diameter and the sensing channel of 100 x 40 um in size) can be achieved to 0.708 mm/mmHg in a working range of 0 (4) over tilde0 mmHg. Also, cyclical tests were conducted and indicated that the devices had a good reversibility and Long-term stability. Furthermore, the device (with the sensing chamber of 5.0 mm in diameter and the sensing channel of 150 x 40 urn in size) was test on the porcine eyes ex vivo, showing a sensitivity of 0.2832 mm/mmHg in a range of 8 (3) over tilde2 mmHg and, the device had a good reproducibility to its IOP change. This work provides a promising approach for unpowered, continuous and non-invasive monitoring of IOP.
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7. |
- Azevedo, Flavio, et al.
(author)
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Social and moral psychology of COVID-19 across 69 countries
- 2023
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In: Scientific Data. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2052-4463. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all domains of human life, including the economic and social fabric of societies. One of the central strategies for managing public health throughout the pandemic has been through persuasive messaging and collective behaviour change. To help scholars better understand the social and moral psychology behind public health behaviour, we present a dataset comprising of 51,404 individuals from 69 countries. This dataset was collected for the International Collaboration on Social & Moral Psychology of COVID-19 project (ICSMP COVID-19). This social science survey invited participants around the world to complete a series of moral and psychological measures and public health attitudes about COVID-19 during an early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic (between April and June 2020). The survey included seven broad categories of questions: COVID-19 beliefs and compliance behaviours; identity and social attitudes; ideology; health and well-being; moral beliefs and motivation; personality traits; and demographic variables. We report both raw and cleaned data, along with all survey materials, data visualisations, and psychometric evaluations of key variables.
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8. |
- Chen, Shouzhi, et al.
(author)
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Informing the SWAT model with remote sensing detected vegetation phenology for improved modeling of ecohydrological processes
- 2023
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In: Journal of Hydrology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-1694. ; 616
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model has been widely applied for simulating the water cycle and quantifying the influence of climate change and anthropogenic activities on hydrological processes. A major uncertainty of SWAT stems from the poor representation of vegetation dynamics due to the use of a simplistic vegetation growth and development module. Using long-term remote sensing-based phenological data, the SWAT model's vegetation module was improved by adding a dynamic growth start date and the dynamic heat requirement for vegetation growth rather than using constant values. The new SWAT model was verified in the Han River basin, China, and found its performance was much improved in comparison with that of the original SWAT model. Specifically, the accuracy of the leaf area index (LAI) simulation improved notably (coefficient of determination (R2) increased by 0.193, Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) increased by 0.846, and percent bias decreased by 42.18 %), and that of runoff simulation improved modestly (R2 increased by 0.05 and NSE was similar). Additionally, it is found that the original SWAT model substantially underestimated evapotranspiration (Penman-Monteith method) in comparison with the new SWAT model (65.09 mm (or 22.17 %) for forests, 92.27 mm (or 32 %) for orchards, and 96.16 mm (or 36.4 %) for farmland), primarily due to the inaccurate representation of LAI dynamics. Our results suggest that an accurate representation of phenological dates in the vegetation growth module is important for improving the SWAT model performance in terms of estimating terrestrial water and energy balance.
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9. |
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10. |
- Geng, Xiaojun, et al.
(author)
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Contrasting phenology responses to climate warming across the northern extra-tropics
- 2022
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In: Fundamental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 2667-3258. ; 2:5, s. 708-715
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Climate warming has substantially advanced the timing of spring leaf-out of woody species at middle and high latitudes, albeit with large differences. Insights in the spatial variation of this climate warming response may therefore help to constrain future trends in leaf-out and its impact on energy, water and carbon balances at global scales. In this study, we used in situ phenology observations of 38 species from 2067 study sites, distributed across the northern hemisphere in China, Europe and the United States, to investigate the latitudinal patterns of spring leaf-out and its sensitivity (ST, advance of leaf-out dates per degree of warming) and correlation (RT, partial correlation coefficient) to temperature during the period 1980–2016. Across all species and sites, we found that ST decreased significantly by 0.15 ± 0.02 d °C−1 °N−1, and RT increased by 0.02 ± 0.001 °N−1 (both at P < 0.001). The latitudinal patterns in RT and ST were explained by the differences in requirements of chilling and thermal forcing that evolved to maximize tree fitness under local climate, particularly climate predictability and summed precipitation during the pre-leaf-out season. Our results thus showed complicated spatial differences in leaf-out responses to ongoing climate warming and indicated that spatial differences in the interactions among environmental cues need to be embedded into large-scale phenology models to improve the simulation accuracy.
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11. |
- Li, Xinxi, et al.
(author)
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Increasing importance of precipitation in spring phenology with decreasing latitudes in subtropical forest area in China
- 2021
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In: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-1923. ; 304-305
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Climate warming has significantly advanced plant spring phenology in temperate and boreal biomes in the northern hemisphere. However, the response of subtropical forest phenology to climate change remains largely unclear. This study aimed to determine the spatiotemporal patterns of spring photosynthetic phenology in subtropical forests in China over the period 2002-2017 and explore its underlying mechanism in response to the changes of different climate variables. We applied four methods to extract the start of the photosynthetic period (SOP) from a solar–induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) data set during the period 2002 to 2017, and determined correlations between SOP and environmental factors using partial correlation analyses. Overall, the SOP was advanced by 6.8 days. Furthermore, we found that the SIF-based SOP is highly correlated with the flux data–based photosynthetic onset dates, demonstrating that SIF can be a useful index in characterizing the photosynthetic phenology in subtropical forests. Interestingly, based on partial correlation analysation temperature dominated the SOP in the northern subtropical forest, but the importance of precipitation increased with decreasing latitudes, and the primary climatic control of SOP in southern monsoon evergreen forests is precipitation. These results suggested that the predicted increase in temperature and shift in precipitation regimes under ongoing climate change might potentially largely affect the photosynthetic phenology, and thus affect the carbon and water cycles in subtropical forests.
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12. |
- Qin, Chunxia, et al.
(author)
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An oral and maxillofacial navigation system for implant placement with automatic identification of fiducial points
- 2019
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In: International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery. - : SPRINGER HEIDELBERG. - 1861-6410 .- 1861-6429. ; 14:2, s. 281-289
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PurposeSurgical navigation system (SNS) has been an important tool in surgery. However, the complicated and tedious manual selection of fiducial points on preoperative images for registration affects operational efficiency to large extent. In this study, an oral and maxillofacial navigation system named BeiDou-SNS with automatic identification of fiducial points was developed and demonstrated.MethodsTo solve the fiducial selection problem, a novel method of automatic localization for titanium screw markers in preoperative images is proposed on the basis of a sequence of two local mean-shift segmentation including removal of metal artifacts. The operation of the BeiDou-SNS consists of the following key steps: The selection of fiducial points, the calibration of surgical instruments, and the registration of patient space and image space. Eight cases of patients with titanium screws as fiducial markers were carried out to analyze the accuracy of the automatic fiducial point localization algorithm. Finally, a complete phantom experiment of zygomatic implant placement surgery was performed to evaluate the whole performance of BeiDou-SNS. Results and conclusionThe coverage of Euclidean distances between fiducial marker positions selected automatically and those selected manually by an experienced dentist for all eight cases ranged from 0.373 to 0.847mm. Four implants were inserted into the 3D-printed model under the guide of BeiDou-SNS. And the maximal deviations between the actual and planned implant were 1.328mm and 2.326mm, respectively, for the entry and end point while the angular deviation ranged from 1.094 degrees to 2.395 degrees. The results demonstrate that the oral surgical navigation system with automatic identification of fiducial points can meet the requirements of the clinical surgeries.
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13. |
- Van Bavel, Jay J., et al.
(author)
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National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
- 2022
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In: Nature Communications. - : Nature Portfolio. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding collective behaviour is an important aspect of managing the pandemic response. Here the authors show in a large global study that participants that reported identifying more strongly with their nation reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies in the context of the pandemic. Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = -0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.
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14. |
- Wang, Guangwei, et al.
(author)
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Co-hydrothermal carbonization of polyvinyl chloride and pyrolysis carbon black for the preparation of clean solid fuels
- 2024
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In: Fuel. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-2361 .- 1873-7153. ; 361
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large quantities of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and waste tires generated daily have the disadvantage of high content of harmful elements. They cannot be directly applied to blast furnace ironmaking. In this study, Cl in PVC and Zn in pyrolysis products of waste tires (pyrolysis carbon black, CB) were effectively removed by co-hydrothermal carbonization (co-HTC). The results indicated the dechlorination and dezincification efficiencies of co-HTC were improved by 2.78 % and 64.69 %, respectively, compared to HTC. Compositional analysis shows that the ash content of co-HTC is reduced by at least 7.67 % compared to conventional HTC. The hydrochar produced by co-HTC has an higher heating value (HHV) ranging from 30.67 to 34.13 MJ/kg. Results of physical and chemical characteristics analysis showed increasing the proportion of CB can reduce the C–H and -CHCl- functional groups and improve the carbon orderliness of the hydrochar. Combustion characteristics and kinetic analyses show that the combustibility of hydrochar increases with an increase in the proportion of PVC added to the co-HTC. The thermal stability and activation energy of the hydrochar increase with the addition of CB. Overall, this study has removed major harmful elements from PVC and CB through co-HTC, converting both into high-quality solid fuels that can be utilised in blast furnace ironmaking.
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15. |
- Wu, Mingxing, et al.
(author)
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Economical Pt-Free Catalysts for Counter Electrodes of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
- 2012
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In: Journal of the American Chemical Society. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0002-7863 .- 1520-5126. ; 134:7, s. 3419-3428
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Three classes (carbides, nitrides and oxides) of nanoscaled early-transition-metal catalysts have been proposed to replace the expensive Pt catalyst as counter electrodes (CEs) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Of these catalysts, Cr3C2, CrN, VC(N), VN, TiC, TiC(N), TiN, and V2O3 all showed excellent catalytic activity for the reduction of I-3(-) to I- in the electrolyte. Further, VC embedded in mesoporous carbon (VC-MC) was prepared through in situ synthesis. The I-3(-)/I- DSC based on the VC-MC CE reached a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.63%, comparable to the photovoltaic performance of the DSC using a Pt CE (7.50%). In addition, the carbide catalysts demonstrated catalytic activity higher than that of Pt for the regeneration of a new organic redox couple of T-2/T-. The T-2/T- DSCs using TiC and VC-MC CEs showed PCEs of 4.96 and 5.15%, much higher than that of the DSC using a Pt CE (3.66%). This work expands the list of potential CE catalysts, which can help reduce the cost of DSCs and thereby encourage their fundamental research and commercial application.
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16. |
- Zhang, Kaicheng, et al.
(author)
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SN 2014J in M82 : new insights on the spectral diversity of Type Ia supernovae
- 2018
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 481:1, s. 878-893
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present extensive spectroscopic observations for one of the closest Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), SN 2014J discovered in M82, ranging from 10.4 d before to 473.2 d after B-band maximum light. The diffuse interstellar band features detected in a high-resolution spectrum allow an estimate of line-of-sight extinction as A(v) similar to 1.9 +/- 0.6 mag. Spectroscopically, SN 2014J can be put into the high-velocity (HV) subgroup in Wang's classification with a velocity of Si II lambda 6355 at maximum light of upsilon(0) = 1.22 +/- 0.01 x 10(4) km s(-1) but has a low velocity gradient (LVG, following Benetti's classification) of (v) over bar = 41 +/- 2 km s(-1) d(-1), which is inconsistent with the trend that HV SNe Ia generally have larger velocity gradients. We find that the HV SNe Ia with LVGs tend to have relatively stronger Si III (at similar to 4400 angstrom) absorptions in early spectra, larger ratios of S II lambda 5468 to S II lambda 5640, and weaker Si II 5972 absorptions compared to their counterparts with similar velocities but high velocity gradients. This shows that the HV+ LVG subgroup of SNe Ia may have intrinsically higher photospheric temperature, which indicates that their progenitors may experience more complete burning in the explosions relative to the typical HV SNe Ia.
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17. |
- Zhao, Ningjiu, et al.
(author)
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Photoinduced Polaron Formation in a Polymerized Electron-Acceptor Semiconductor
- 2022
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In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : AMER CHEMICAL SOC. - 1948-7185. ; 13:23, s. 5143-5150
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Polymerized small molecular acceptor (PSMA) based all-polymer solar cells (all-PSC) have achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCE) over 16%, and the PSMA is considered to hold great promise for further improving the performance of all-PSC. Yet, in comparison with that of the polymer donor, the photophysics of a polymerized acceptor remains poorly understood. Herein, the excited state dynamics in a polymerized acceptor PZT810 was comprehensively investigated under various pump intensities and photon energies. The excess excitation energy was found to play a key role in excitons dissociation into free polarons for neat PSMA films, while free polarons cannot be generated from the polaron pairs in neat acceptor films. This work reveals an in-depth understanding of relaxation dynamics for PSMAs and that the underlying photophysical origin of PSMA can be mediated by excitation energies and intensities. These results would benefit the realization of the working mechanism for all-PSC and the designing of new PSMAs.
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