Carbon fibers (CFs) are notable for their lightweight, high strength, and excellent electrical conductivity, making them promising for applications like electrical wiring. However, integrating CFs into copper-based wiring systems faces challenges, particularly regarding conductivity loss in fractured CFs. This article discusses a two-step experiment to enhance electrical and mechanical connection. Electrothermal-induced solvent evaporation (EISE) and meniscus-confined electrochemical deposition (MECD) were identified as effective methods for welding fractured CFs and were successfully implemented in open-air environment. Deposition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) around the fiber improved conductivity by reducing fiber-tofiber contact resistance and creating a metal-like surface. Microstructural analysis and EDS analysis revealed that the CNT cladding exhibited high density and fewer irregularities and bulges in the joint area. Furthermore, the CNTs were tangled, forming a less organized structure compared to the original CF. In contrast, the Cu cladding exhibited paint-like coverage, significant irregularities, bulges, and cracks but maintained a small thickness. Electrical testing revealed that the average resistance of a single joined fiber decreased to resistance of 11.45 Ω and an electrical resistivity of 2.27 Ω/m, demonstrating improved electrical conductivity. Under optimal conditions, the joined fibers exhibited plastic fracture, and all joints showed improved performance except joint 1.e-g enhanced mechanical strength and stress tolerance.

With a growing number of working-age individuals receiving knee arthroplasty, optimizing return to work (RTW) has become a crucial goal for both public health and society. This paper highlights three evidence-based actions demonstrating how physical therapists (PTs) play a pivotal role in facilitating timely RTW after knee arthroplasty. This review presents a narrative synthesis of recent studies on RTW after knee arthroplasty highlighting the important role of PT’s. The studies focus on the Work, Osteoarthritis and joint-Replacement Questionnaire (WORQ), Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), and the Back At work After Surgery (BAAS) work-integrated care pathway. The WORQ effectively identifies patients at risk for delayed RTW based on their ability to perform knee-demanding work activities. Patients with WORQ scores < 51 at 3 months post-surgery showed significantly delayed RTW compared with those scoring > 70. Incorporating GAS into rehabilitation significantly increased satisfaction with work-related activities by 11 points (95% confidence interval: 2.0–19.4) vs. usual care. The BAAS pathway— which integrates hospital, outpatient, and occupational care—resulted in full RTW 27 days earlier than usual care. One year post-surgery, 98% of BAAS patients had fully resumed work vs. 84%–87% in controls. BAAS yielded cost reductions of €4,493 (7,442,452 KRW, employer perspective) with a return on investment of 532%. This corresponds to a total cost reduction of about €69.5 million (115,123 million KRW) annually in The Netherlands. In conclusion, PTs are key drivers of successful work reintegration after knee arthroplasty. By using the WORQ for early detection of patients at risk for delayed RTW, implementing GAS to align rehabilitation with individual work goals, and participating in perioperative interdisciplinary care such as BAAS, PTs can substantially enhance RTW and reduce socioeconomic burden.

It is addressed that the challenges of poor cyclic stability and low conductivity in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) hinder their application in energy storage. Here, we synthesized binary metal MOFs through a one-step hydrothermal process, subsequently calcined to produce Co–Mn/reduced graphene oxide (rGO). This approach not only carbonized the organic framework but also enhanced its electrical conductivity and stability. Our findings demonstrated that the synergistic effects of Co and Mn within the assembled electrode resulted in remarkable performance, achieving a specific capacitance of 3558.65 F g− 1 at 1 A g− 1 and a rate capability of 1000 F g− 1 at 30 A g− 1. The Co–Mn/rGO anode in the asymmetric supercapattery exhibited a broadened operating potential window of 1.5 V, delivering an energy density of 54.65 W h kg− 1 at a power density of 125 W kg− 1, and maintaining 11.375 W h kg− 1 at a high power density of 12,500 W kg− 1. Notably, the capacitance retention rate reached 99.99% after 10,000 cycles at a current density of 10 A g− 1. These results suggest that the developed Co–Mn/rGO composite represents a promising candidate for advanced energy storage systems, offering both high performance and stability.

Photocatalysis technology including hydrogen evolution from water splitting, CO2 reduction and N2 conversion to ammonia emerges as a significant approach for energy crisis and environmental pollution. For these conventional semiconductors such as TiO2, ZnO, WO3, CdS and g-C3N4, however, inefficient photoabsorption, rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers, and inadequate surface reactive sites hamper the photoinduced activity and stability. Defect engineering, especially oxygen vacancy, has recently drawn the attention of a number of investigators primarily in connection with its feasibility of regulatability, identifiability and effectiveness. A series of ferroelectric and piezoelectric semiconductors, with internal electric field generated by the polarization, are considered an excellent candidate for replacement of conventional semiconductors, because the observed charge separation ability of those is far from theoretical expectation. With the boost of oxygen vacancy, polarization behavior can be effectively regulated to further improve photocatalytic performance. Related studies based on the above background are the current hotspot of photocatalysis; this paper reviews the latest research progress of ferroelectric and piezoelectric photocatalysts with oxygen vacancy. Starting from the generation of oxygen vacancies, five preparation strategy including ion doping, thermal treatment, chemical reduction, ultraviolet irradiation, and plasma etching are introduced; advanced characterization are summarized in classification of spectroscopy, energy spectrum, electron microscopy, density function theory and in situ techniques. Secondly, the mechanism of oxygen vacancy regulated polarization and their synergistic photocatalytic reactions are reviewed and summarized. Finally, an overview on the prospect of advanced photocatalytic engineering concerned to oxygen vacancies involved ferroelectric and piezoelectric photocatalysts is proposed.

Iron selenides with high capacity and excellent chemical properties have been considered as outstanding anodes for alkali metal-ion batteries. However, its further development is hindered by sluggish kinetics and fading capacity caused by volume expansion. Herein, a series of FeSe2 nanoparticles (NPs)-encapsulated carbon composites were successfully synthesized by tailoring the amount of Fe species through facile plasma engineering and followed by a simple selenization transformation process. Such a stable structure can effectively mitigate volume changes and accelerate kinetics, leading to excellent electrochemical performance. The optimized electrode ( FeSe2@C2) exhibits outstanding reversible capacity of 853.1 mAh g− 1 after 150 cycles and exceptional rate capacity of 444.9 mAh g− 1 at 5.0 A g− 1 for Li+ storage. In Na+ batteries, it possesses a relatively high capacity of 433.7 mAh g− 1 at 0.1 A g− 1 as well as good cycle stability. The plasma-engineered FeSe2@ C2 composite, which profits from synergistic effect of small FeSe2 NPs and carbon framework with large specific surface area, exhibits remarkable ions/electrons transportation abilities during various kinetic analyses and unveils the energy storage mechanism dominated by surface-mediated capacitive behavior. This novel cost-efficient synthesis strategy might offer valuable guidance for developing transition metal-based composites towards energy storage materials.

Vespa mandarinia (Vespidae: Hymenoptera) is one of the two largest true hornets known to science. The species is a noted predator of social Hymenoptera and a significant pest of managed honey bees in its native range, but is also known to feed on a wide variety of other species when available. Most of the prey records for V. mandarinia are derived from visual observations in Japan, with sparse observations from other parts of its native range. A population of V. mandarinia was detected in North America in 2019 and five nests were removed between 2019 and 2021. We extracted DNA from larval meconia from four nests collected in Washington State, USA, and amplified the CO1 region to determine the potential prey base. We compared these with sequences generated from three nests in the Republic of Korea, and with prey pellets collected from foraging hornets at several locations in Korea. Results indicate that the prey base was much wider in the ROK than the USA, although social Hymenoptera were the most abundant and common prey items in both regions. Prey range seems to be bound by an intersection of organism size and local biodiversity, with little evidence to suggest that the latter is a limiting factor in colony success.

This study was conducted to assess the genetic variability and correlation of phenotypic characteristics in 12 tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) genotypes including 11 WorldVeg and one commercial variety (Pusa Ruby) in Terai (plain) region of Nepal in 2021–2022. This experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The phenotypic traits, including days to 50% flowering, plant vigor and height, fruit number/plant, fruit yield, fruit weight and diameter, fruit firmness and fruit pericarp thickness, and total soluble solids (TSS) content of the fruits, were studied. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for all the traits except for plant vigor. The genotype of AVTO1705 resulted the highest fruit yield (2.9 kg/plant) than Pusa Ruby, a commercial check (0.5 kg/plant). The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all the traits and PCV values were maximum for the number of fruits, fruit yield, and fruit weight. High PCV, GCV, and genetic advance (GA) were observed for yield, fruit weight, and plant height, respectively, indicating the additive gene effect. High heritability for fruit yield/plant and plant height inferred the phenotypic selection for their genetic improvement. Fruit yield was significantly (P<0.05) positively correlated with the fruit number and fruit weight, and direct selection of these traits are reliable for yield improvement in tomato.

With the evolution of Artificial intelligence (AI), emotional artificial intelligence service agents (AISA) have become common in service industry. However, how artificial empathy of AISA contributes to customer acceptance remains an open question. This study draws on Anthropomorphism Theory and Customer AI Experience Theory to examine whether and how artificial empathy has influence on customer acceptance of AISA. Evidence from three experiments (N=1057) designed by the Experimental vignette method (EVM) shows that: (1) artificial empathy including perspective-taking, empathic concern and emotional contagion has a positive impact on customer acceptance of AISA (study 1); (2) customer AI experience (emotional experience quality, social experience activation and social experience quality) mediates the relationship between artificial empathy and customer acceptance of AISA (study 2); (3) artificial empathy for hedonic (vs. utilitarian) services leads to a stronger effect on customer acceptance of AISA (study 3). This paper enriches our understanding of artificial empathy and provides practical guidance for practitioners strategically managing AISA services in AI-enabled marketing interactions.

In recent years, advances in the digital and live streaming economy have led to exponential growth in the number of self-employed streamers who have become an integral part of the self-driven digital labor force. However, previous research on the impact of streamers' work time arrangements on their virtual gifts remains scarce. To fill this gap in the literature, using large-scale data from Kuaishou live streaming platform, we demonstrate that several features of streamers' work time have an important impact on their virtual gifts. Specifically, our results suggest that work time duration and timing improve streamers' virtual gifts; meanwhile, work time tempo has an adverse effect on streamers' earnings. Taken together, our results provide novel and actionable insights for millions of self-employed streamers, agencies, platforms, and policymakers.

Over the last decade, the COBRAs have attracted the attention of researchers in relation to their motives or outcome for the brand. However, the corpus of literature on COBRAs still is at a nascent stage and has created new opportunities pertaining to knowledge development. Undoubtedly, there is a clear need for some structure through mapping the research terrain to guide future research and further its development. Thus, a systematic review methodology was performed producing a top-quality pool of 35 papers that forge a robust understanding of this phenomenon. This research is the first study to perform a systematic review to examine the literature on COBRAs. Based on this, the findings contribute to theoretical knowledge, with extensive opportunities for generating novel theory and new forms of marketing practices.

Epoxy resin (EP) is a thermosetting resin with excellent properties, but its application is limited due to its high brittleness and poor flame retardancy. Therefore, to solve this problem, a dispersion system of imidazole-containing ionic liquid ([Dmim]Es) and graphene in epoxy resin is designed based on the π–π stacking effect between imidazole and graphite layers. The study on the thermal and flame-retardant properties of the composites show that the modified [Dmim]Es–graphene nanosheets improved the flame retardancy, smoke suppression and thermal stability of epoxy resin. With the addition of 5wt% [Dmim]Es and 1% Gra, the exothermic rate (HRR) and total exothermic (THR) of the composites decrease by 35% and 30.2% compared with the untreated epoxy cross-linking, respectively. The limiting oxygen index reaches 33.4%, the UL-94 test rating reaches V-0. The characterization of mechanical properties shows that the tensile properties and impact properties increased by 13% and 30%, respectively. Through SEM observation, the addition of [Dmim]Es improves the dispersion of graphene in the EP collective and changes the mechanical fracture behavior. The results show that ionic liquid [Dmim]Es-modified graphene nanosheets are well dispersed in the matrix, which not only improves the mechanical properties of epoxy resin (EP), but also has a synergistic effect on flame retardancy. This work provides novel flame-retardant and graphene dispersion methods that broaden the range of applications of epoxy resins.

Lead sulfide ( PbS ) nanocrystals anchored on nitrogen-doped multiwalled carbon nanotubes ( CNx ) have been synthesized employing an environmentally friendly and inexpensive wet chemistry process. CNx∕PbS composites have been examined by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Theorical ab initio calculations have been developed to determine the samples structural, morphological and optical properties to explain the experimental evidences. The PbS nanoparticles exhibit of 4 nm to 27 nm particle size with a face-centered cubic crystal structure and are homogeneously distributed along the carbon nanotubes. The nitrogen-doped CNTs acts as binding sites for the PbS clusters as ab initio theoretical study suggests.

The sheep can be reproduced by natural mating as well as applied reproductive biotechnology, embryo transfer (ET). However, this method in sheep is influenced by several factors such as season, photoperiod, latitude, temperature, nutrition, and breed. In addition, there is still less research on assisted reproductive technologies in small ruminants, compared to other livestock species such as cattle and pigs. Because there has been a need for an optimization and a continuous improvement of ET techniques in small ruminants. the main objective of this study was to evaluate the conception rate obtained after ET in Mongolian sheep (Dorper breed). After embryo recover, code 1 and 2 embryos (morula or blastocyst stage) for ET in the present study were 63% (63/100) and 24% (24/100), respectively. Then Each single embryo was transferred to a synchronized recipient who prepared by estrous synchronization protocol with fluorogestone acetate-cloprostenol sodium. The results demonstrated that an average conception rate and lambing rate was 35.6% (31/87) and 33.3% (29/87), respectively. Further study is still necessary, but these results indicated that single embryo of Mongolian sheep with the present protocol was enough to conducting ET when the genetically superior sheep were necessary to be expanded.