Public acceptability and its determinants of unit pricing for municipal solid waste disposal: Evidence from a household survey in Beijing.

Unit pricing for domestic waste, or pay-as-you-throw (PAYT), affords a promising policy option for waste classification and reduction at source. As an emerging economy, China intends to adopt the sophisticated instrument of unit pricing. The public attitude to this policy is of high relevance for its actual implementation.

Measurement of human body parameters for human postural assessment via single camera.

We present a camera-based human body parameters measurement approach and develop a human postural assessment system. The approach combines the conventional contact measurement method and the non-contact measurement method to overcome some shortcomings in terms of time, expense, and professionalism in early methods. The entire measurement system consists of a computer, a high-definition camera, and the sticky points that are applied to the participant's body before the measurement.

Design of Airborne Large Aperture Infrared Optical System Based on Monocentric Lens.

Conventional reconnaissance camera systems have been flown on manned aircraft, where the weight, size, and power requirements are not stringent. However, today, these parameters are important for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This article provides a solution to the design of airborne large aperture infrared optical systems, based on a monocentric lens that can meet the strict criteria of aerial reconnaissance UAVs for a wide field of view (FOV) and lightness of airborne electro-optical pod cameras.

Plasmonic and bi-piezoelectric enhanced photocatalysis using PVDF/ZnO/Au nanobrush.

The photocatalytic degradation, as an environmental-friendly technology, has great significance for cost-effective and efficient catalysis processes, wherein piezo-photocatalysis can significantly increase the catalytic degradation rate using both solar and mechanical energy. Here, a ternary heterostructure PVDF/ZnO/Au (PZA) nanobrush photocatalyst with high piezo-photocatalytic efficiency was presented via low-temperature hydrothermal and chemical reduction methods. Under both solar and mechanical energy, the current response and degradation rate of the as-synthesized PZA nanobrush all increase significantly compared with that under solar alone and under mechanical energy alone, and the excellent recyclability is investigated.

Research of Online Hand-Eye Calibration Method Based on ChArUco Board.

To solve the problem of inflexibility of offline hand-eye calibration in "eye-in-hand" modes, an online hand-eye calibration method based on the ChArUco board is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a hand-eye calibration model based on the ChArUco board is established, by analyzing the mathematical model of hand-eye calibration, and the image features of the ChArUco board. According to the advantages of the ChArUco board, with both the checkerboard and the ArUco marker, an online hand-eye calibration algorithm based on the ChArUco board is designed.

Poly(lactic acid)/artificially cultured diatom frustules nanofibrous membranes with fast and controllable degradation rates for air filtration.

Unlabelled: The worldwide pandemic, coronavirus COVID-19, has been posing a serious threat to the global economy and security in last 2 years. The monthly consumption and subsequent discarding of 129 billion masks (equivalent to 645,000 tons) pose a serious detrimental impact on environmental sustainability. In this study, we report a novel type of nanofibrous membranes (NFMs) with supreme filtration performance and controllable degradation rates, which are mainly composed of polylactic acid (PLA) and artificially cultured diatom frustules (DFs).

Fast Self-Healing Superhydrophobic Thermal Energy Storage Coatings Fabricated by Bio-Based Beeswax and Artificially Cultivated Diatom Frustules.

Diatom frustules (DFs) with delicate hierarchical pores and a large specific surface area are extracted from artificially cultured diatoms, showing their utilization potential as shape-stabilized phase change materials (ss-PCMs). Herein, we successfully prepared a fully biomass-based ss-PCM, superhydrophobic thermal energy storage (STES) coating by employing beeswax (BW) as phase change materials (PCMs) and DFs as supporting materials via a facile spraying method. DFs can adsorb as much as 65 wt % BW without leakage, accompanied with a high heat storage capacity of 112.

Hybrid Fiber Optic Sensor, Based on the Fabry⁻Perot Interference, Assisted with Fluorescent Material for the Simultaneous Measurement of Temperature and Pressure.

Herein we design a fiber sensor able to simultaneously measure the temperature and the pressure under harsh conditions, such as strong electromagnetic interference and high pressure. It is built on the basis of the fiber-optic Fabry⁻Perot (F⁻P) interference and the temperature sensitive mechanism of fluorescent materials. Both halogen lamps and light-emitting diodes (LED) are employed as the excitation light source.

Laser-Induced-Plasma-Assisted Ablation and Metallization on C-Plane Single Crystal Sapphire (c-Al₂O₃).

Laser-induced-plasma-assisted ablation (LIPAA) is a promising micro-machining method that can fabricate microstructure on hard and transparent double-polished single crystal sapphire (SCS). While ablating, a nanosecond pulse 1064 nm wavelength laser beam travels through the SCS substrate and bombards the copper target lined up behind the substrate, which excites the ablating plasma. When laser fluence rises and is above the machining threshold of copper but below that of SCS, the kinetic energy of the copper plasma generated from the bombardment is mainly determined by the laser fluence, the repetition rate, and the substrate-to-target distance.

Graphene-Ag Hybrids on Laser-Textured Si Surface for SERS Detection.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been extensively investigated as an effective approach for trace species detection. Silver nanostructures are high-sensitivity SERS substrates in common use, but their poor chemical stability impedes practical applications. Herein, a stable and sensitive SERS substrate based on the hybrid structures of graphene/silver film/laser-textured Si (G/Ag/LTSi) was developed, and a simple, rapid, and low-cost fabrication approach was explored.

Laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition setup for fast synthesis of graphene patterns.

An automatic setup based on the laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition method has been developed for the rapid synthesis of graphene patterns. The key components of this setup include a laser beam control and focusing unit, a laser spot monitoring unit, and a vacuum and flow control unit. A laser beam with precision control of laser power is focused on the surface of a nickel foil substrate by the laser beam control and focusing unit for localized heating.

Hybrid micro/nano-structure formation by angular laser texturing of Si surface for surface enhanced Raman scattering.

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has drawn much research interest in the past decades as an efficient technique to detect low-concentration molecules. Among many technologies, which can be used to fabricate SERS substrates, laser ablation is a simple and high-speed method to produce large-area SERS substrates. This work investigates the angular texturing effect by dynamic laser ablation and its influence on SERS signals.

[The effects of mechanical ventilation with different tidal volumes on the expression of caveolin-1 in lung tissue and its related downstream signaling in rats].

Objective: To investigate the expression of caveolin-1 (cav-1) and its downstream signal under mechanical ventilation with different tidal volumes (VT) in lung tissue of rats.

Methods: Forty healthy male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into five groups (each n=8). The rats in control group (group A) remained to have spontaneous breathing but underwent tracheostomy only.