Regulating Growth Kinetics of Carbon Nanotubes Toward Efficient Microwave Absorption.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show great promise for microwave absorption (MA) due to their excellent electrical conductivity and lightweight properties, which are conferred by the one dimensional hollow tubular structure. However, the ambiguous intrinsic motivations behind the formation of CNTs and the intricate growth processes have resulted in a lack of a systematic methodology for precisely controlling their electromagnetic properties. Herein, a flexible CNTs regulation strategy is designed to develop, with the core focus being the directional growth of carbon atoms and the differential catalysis of metal sources.

Highly Transparent, Mechanically Robust, and Conductive Eutectogel Based on Oligoethylene Glycol and Deep Eutectic Solvent for Reliable Human Motions Sensing.

Recently, eutectogels have emerged as ideal candidates for flexible wearable strain sensors. However, the development of eutectogels with robust mechanical strength, high stretchability, excellent transparency, and desirable conductivity remains a challenge. Herein, a covalently cross-linked eutectogel was prepared by exploiting the high solubility of oligoethylene glycol in a polymerizable deep eutectic solvent (DES) form of acrylic acid (AA) and choline chloride (ChCl).

Development and Application of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS).

Since the discovery of the phenomenon of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), it has gradually become an important tool for the analysis of material compositions and structures. The applications of SERS have been expanded from the fields of environmental and materials science to biomedicine due to the extremely high sensitivity and non-destructiveness of SERS-based analytical technology that even allows single-molecule detection. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) phenomenon.

Transparent, mechanically robust, conductive, self-healable, and recyclable ionogels for flexible strain sensors and electroluminescent devices.

A mechanically robust, self-healable, and recyclable PVP-based ionogel was achieved through a simple one-pot photoinitiated polymerization process. This ionogel exhibits a combination of excellent properties, including transparency, high mechanical strength, good ionic conductivity, self healability, and recyclability. A wearable resistive strain sensor based on the ionogel is successfully assembled and demonstrated accurate response to human motion.

Comprehensive analysis of a stochastic wireless sensor network motivated by Black-Karasinski process.

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) encounter a significant challenge in ensuring network security due to their operational constraints. This challenge stems from the potential infiltration of malware into WSNs, where a single infected node can rapidly propagate worms to neighboring nodes. To address this issue, this research introduces a stochastic model to characterize worm spread in WSNs.

Advanced Science and Technology of Polymer Matrix Nanomaterials.

The advanced science and technology of polymer matrix nanomaterials are rapidly developing fields that focus on the synthesis, characterization, and application of nanomaterials in polymer matrices [...

Fabrication of Multifunctional Silylated GO/FeSiAl Epoxy Composites: A Heat Conducting Microwave Absorber for 5G Base Station Packaging.

A multifunctional microwave absorber with high thermal conductivity for 5G base station packaging comprising silylated GO/FeSiAl epoxy composites were fabricated by a simple solvent-handling method, and its microwave absorption properties and thermal conductivity were presented. It could act as an applicable microwave absorber for highly integrated 5G base station packaging with 5G antennas within a range of operating frequency of 2.575-2.

Special Issue: Advanced Science and Technology of Polymer Matrix Nanomaterials.

Polymer matrix nanomaterials have revolutionized materials science due to their unique properties resulting from the incorporation of nanoscale fillers into polymer matrices [...

Theoretical and numerical analysis of COVID-19 pandemic model with non-local and non-singular kernels.

The global consequences of Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been evident by several hundreds of demises of human beings; hence such plagues are significantly imperative to predict. For this purpose, the mathematical formulation has been proved to be one of the best tools for the assessment of present circumstances and future predictions. In this article, we propose a fractional epidemic model of coronavirus (COVID-19) with vaccination effects.

Achieving Ultra-Wideband and Elevated Temperature Electromagnetic Wave Absorption via Constructing Lightweight Porous Rigid Structure.

Realizing ultra-wideband absorption, desirable attenuation capability at high temperature and mechanical requirements for real-life applications remains a great challenge for microwave absorbing materials. Herein, we have constructed a porous carbon fiber/polymethacrylimide (CP) structure for acquiring promising microwave absorption performance and withstanding both elevated temperature and high strength in a low density. Given the ability of porous structure to induce desirable impedance matching and multiple reflection, the absorption bandwidth of CP composite can reach ultra-wideband absorption of 14 GHz at room temperature and even cover the whole X-band at 473 K.

Impact of Levy noise on a stochastic Norovirus epidemic model with information intervention.

In this article, we study the dynamics of Norovirus infection by developing a stochastic epidemic model having Levy noise. The study shows that Levy noise and informative interventions have more influence on the said dynamics. Firstly, we show that the model has a unique global positive solution.

Fabrication and Investigation of PE-SiO@PZS Composite Separator for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Commercial polyolefin separators exhibit problems including shrinkage under high temperatures and poor electrolyte wettability and uptake, resulting in low ionic conductivity and safety problems. In this work, core-shell silica-polyphosphazene nanoparticles (SiO@PZS) with different PZS layer thicknesses were synthesized and coated onto both sides of polyethylene (PE) microporous membranes to prepare composite membranes. Compared to pure silica-coated membranes and PE membranes, the PE-SiO@PZS composite membrane had higher ionic conductivity.

Special Issue: Advanced Science and Technology of Polymer Matrix Nanomaterials.

Nanotechnology has witnessed an incredible resonance and a substantial number of new applications in various areas during the past three decades [...

Impact of information and Lévy noise on stochastic COVID-19 epidemic model under real statistical data.

In this paper, we consider the dynamical behaviour of a stochastic coronavirus (COVID-19) susceptible-infected-removed epidemic model with the inclusion of the influence of information intervention and Lévy noise. The existence and uniqueness of the model positive solution are proved. Then, we establish a stochastic threshold as a sufficient condition for the extinction and persistence in mean of the disease.

The measles epidemic model assessment under real statistics: an application of stochastic optimal control theory.

A stochastic epidemic model with random noise transmission is taken into account, describing the dynamics of the measles viral infection. The basic reproductive number is calculated corresponding to the stochastic model. It is determined that, given initial positive data, the model has bounded, unique, and positive solution.

Fractal fractional based transmission dynamics of COVID-19 epidemic model.

We investigate the dynamical behavior of Coronavirus (COVID-19) for different infections phases and multiple routes of transmission. In this regard, we study a COVID-19 model in the context of fractal-fractional order operator. First, we study the COVID-19 dynamics with a fractal fractional-order operator in the framework of Atangana-Baleanu fractal-fractional operator.

Fractal-fractional and stochastic analysis of norovirus transmission epidemic model with vaccination effects.

In this paper, we investigate an norovirus (NoV) epidemic model with stochastic perturbation and the new definition of a nonlocal fractal-fractional derivative in the Atangana-Baleanu-Caputo (ABC) sense. First we present some basic properties including equilibria and the basic reproduction number of the model. Further, we analyze that the proposed stochastic system has a unique global positive solution.

The effect of polymerization temperature and reaction time on microwave absorption properties of Co-doped ZnNi ferrite/polyaniline composites.

This study presents the systematic potential effects of reaction parameters on the synthesis of Co-doped ZnNi ferrite/polyaniline composites prepared novel interfacial polymerization. Through intensive experiments and analysis, optimum reaction conditions including the polymerization temperature and reaction time are proposed so that the performance of the material is significantly improved. The structure, functional groups and morphologies of composites are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM).

Entangled signal pathways can both control expression stability and induce stochastic focusing.

Gene transcription is often controlled by multiple interacting signal pathways, but how these pathways impact gene expression is not fully understood. Here, we refine a mechanic model based on experiments in murine embryonic stem cells and analyze the influence of pathway-pathway cross-talk strength (CTS) on mRNA expression stability. We find that the CTS can tune this stability, depending on the manner of regulation.

The free-energy cost of interaction between DNA loops.

From the viewpoint of thermodynamics, the formation of DNA loops and the interaction between them, which are all non-equilibrium processes, result in the change of free energy, affecting gene expression and further cell-to-cell variability as observed experimentally. However, how these processes dissipate free energy remains largely unclear. Here, by analyzing a mechanic model that maps three fundamental topologies of two interacting DNA loops into a 4-state model of gene transcription, we first show that a longer DNA loop needs more mean free energy consumption.

Facile Synthesis and Hierarchical Assembly of Flowerlike NiO Structures with Enhanced Dielectric and Microwave Absorption Properties.

In this work, two novel flowerlike NiO hierarchical structures, rose-flower (S1) and silk-flower (S2), were synthesized by using a facial hydrothermal method, coupled with subsequent postannealing process. Structures, morphologies, and magnetic and electromagnetic properties of two NiO structures have been systematically investigated. SEM and TEM results suggested that S1 had a hierarchical rose-flower architecture with diameters in the range of 4-7 μm, whereas S2 exhibited a porous silk-flower architecture with diameters of 0.

The dynamic mechanism of noisy signal decoding in gene regulation.

Experimental evidence supports that signaling pathways can induce different dynamics of transcription factor (TF) activation, but how an input signal is encoded by such a dynamic, noisy TF and further decoded by downstream genes remains largely unclear. Here, using a system of stochastic transcription with signal regulation, we show that (1) keeping the intensity of the signal noise invariant but prolonging the signal duration can both enhance the mutual information (MI) and reduce the energetic cost (EC); (2) if the signal duration is fixed, the larger MI needs the larger EC, but if the signal period is fixed, there is an optimal time that the signal spends at one lower branch, such that MI reaches the maximum; (3) if both the period and the duration are simultaneously fixed, increasing the input noise can always enhance MI in the case of transcription regulation rather than in the case of degradation regulation. In addition, we find that the input noise can induce stochastic focusing in a regulation-dependent manner.

Mechanisms of information decoding in a cascade system of gene expression.

Biotechnology advances have allowed investigation of heterogeneity of cellular responses to stimuli on the single-cell level. Functionally, this heterogeneity can compromise cellular responses to environmental signals, and it can also enlarge the repertoire of possible cellular responses and hence increase the adaptive nature of cellular behaviors. However, the mechanism of how this response heterogeneity is generated remains elusive.

Decomposition and tunability of expression noise in the presence of coupled feedbacks.

Expression noise results in cell-to-cell variability in expression levels, and feedback regulation may complicate the tracing of sources of this noise. Using a representative model of gene expression with feedbacks, we analytically show that the expression noise (or the total noise) is decomposed into three parts: feedback-dependent promoter noise determined by a continuous approximation, birth-death noise determined by a simple Poisson process, and correlation noise induced by feedbacks. We clarify confused relationships between feedback and noise in previous studies, by showing that feedback-regulated noisy sources have different contributions to the total noise in different cases of promoter switching (it is an essential reason resulting in confusions).

Correction: Division time-based amplifiers for stochastic gene expression.

Correction for 'Division time-based amplifiers for stochastic gene expression' by Haohua Wang et al., Mol. BioSyst.