Mesoporous CdO/CdGa2O4 microsphere for rapidly detecting triethylamine at ppb level.

Developing fast, accurate and sensitive triethylamine gas sensors with low detection limits is paramount to ensure the safety of workers and the public. However, sensors based on single metal oxide materials still suffer from drawbacks such as low response sensitivity and long response and recovery times. To address these challenges, in this work, a series of mesoporous CdO/CdGa2O4 microspheres were synthesized. We optimized the sensor's sensing performance to triethylamine by fine-tuning the ratio of CdO to CdGa2O4. Among them, CdO:3CdGa2O4-based sensor demonstrates a rapid response time of 2 s to detect 100 ppm of triethylamine, with a high response value of 211 and exceptional selectivity. Furthermore, it exhibits a low detection limit of 20 ppb for triethylamine, making it suitable for practically testing fish freshness. Crucially, electron transfer between the heterojunctions increases the chemically adsorbed oxygen on the materials' surface, thereby enhancing the sensor's response sensitivity to triethylamine. This discovery provides new insights and methodologies for the design of highly efficient triethylamine gas sensors.

Cultural worldviews and waste sorting among urban Chinese dwellers: the mediating role of environmental risk perception.

Objective: Waste sorting has received considerable attention in recent decades. However, research on the mechanisms underlying the relationships among cultural worldview, environmental risk perception, and waste sorting is rather scarce. This study aims to explore the cultural worldviews, environmental risk perception, and waste sorting among urban Chinese and their mechanisms. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 744 urban Chinese residents (371 men and 373 women). A questionnaire was utilized to measure cultural worldviews, environmental risk perception, and waste sorting. Pearson correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were used to examine the relationship between cultural worldviews, perceptions of environmental risk, and waste sorting. Results: Waste sorting had a relatively insignificant negative relationship with fatalism and individualism. The correlation between environmental risk perception and cultural worldviews was negative except for egalitarianism, and the correlation between hierarchy and environmental risk perception was higher than the others, while individualism was higher than fatalism. Heightened environmental risk perception mediates the relationship between egalitarianism and waste sorting. Reduced environmental risk perception mediates the relationship between hierarchy and waste sorting, and mediates the relationship between individualism and waste sorting. Conclusion: These new findings provide initial support for the mediating role of environmental risk perception in the relationship between cultural worldviews and waste sorting. Both theoretical and practical implications for understanding the psychological mechanisms of waste sorting are discussed.

Synthesis, crystal structure and photoresponse of tetragonal phase single crystal CH3NH3PbCl3.

The performance of lead halogen perovskite is often closely related to its crystal structure. However, the chemical and optoelectronic properties of tetragonal phase single crystal MAPbCl3 (SC T-MAPbCl3) are rarely reported. In this study, we synthesized SC T-MAPbCl3 with the P4/mcc (124) space group by a modified inverse temperature crystallization (M-ITC) method. The twist angle of the Cl anion on the equatorial plane of the PbCl64- octahedron around the c-axis is 8.4°. The resistance (62 MΩ) of SC T-MAPbCl3 obviously decreased to 3 MΩ under 395 and 404 nm ultraviolet light. The photodetector based on SC T-MAPbCl3 under 3 V bias voltage exhibits high sensitivity (2.60 µA cm-2 under 1 W m-2 light intensity). The high selectivity of the device is in the ultraviolet region, rather than the visible region.

Organic-inorganic hybrid (CH3NH3)2FeCuI4Cl2 and (CH3NH3)2InCuI6 for ultraviolet light photodetectors.

Photodetectors play a key role in the military, aerospace, communications, bio-imaging, etc. In this study, we fabricate photodetector devices based on (CH3NH3)2FeCuI4Cl2 (MA2FeCuI4Cl2) and (CH3NH3)2InCuI6 (MA2InCuI6) for the first time. We find that the device based on MA2InCuI6 is highly selective for ultraviolet light (880 nA mW-1) and shows high anti-interference for visible-light (20-50 nA mW-1). The electrochemical impedance results indicate that the value (480 ± 10 Ω) of the resistance based on the MA2InCuI6 photodetector device is much smaller than that (1 ± 0.001 MΩ) based on the MA2FeCuI4Cl2 photodetector device, which in turn proves the difference in photoelectric response.

Role of human 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase isoforms (AKR1C1-AKR1C3) in the extrahepatic metabolism of the steroidal aromatase inactivator Formestane.

The clinical use of the steroidal aromatase inhibitor Formestane (4-hydroxandrostenedione, 4-OHA) in the treatment of advanced ER+ breast cancer has been discontinued, and therefore, interest in this remarkable drug has vanished. As a C-19 sterol, 4-OHA can undergo extensive intracellular metabolism depending on the expression of specific enzymes in the corresponding cells. We used the metabolites 4ß-hydroxyandrosterone, 4ß-hydroxyepiandrosterone and its 17ß-reduced derivative as standards for the proof of catalytic activity present in the cell culture medium and expressed by the isolated enzymes. All of the aldo-keto reductases AKR1C1, AKR1C2, AKR1C3 and AKR1C4 catalysed the reduction of the 3-keto-group and the Δ4,5 double bond of 4-OHA at the same time. Molecular docking experiments using microscale thermophoresis and the examination of the kinetic behaviour of the isolated enzymes with the substrate 4-OHA proved that AKR1C3 had the highest affinity for the substrate, whereas AKR1C1 was the most efficient enzyme. Both enzymes (AKR1C1and AKR1C3) are highly expressed in adipose tissue and lungs, exhibiting 3ß-HSD activity. The possibility that 4-OHA generates biologically active derivatives such as the androgen 4-hydroxytestosterone or some 17ß-hydroxy derivatives of the 5α-reduced metabolites may reawaken interest in Formestane, provided that a suitable method of administration can be developed, avoiding oral or intramuscular depot-injection administration.

Semi-Transparent and Stable Solar Cells for Building Integrated Photovoltaics: The Confinement Effects of the Polymer Gel Electrolyte inside Mesoporous Films.

The semi-transparent solar cells are promising to be applied in building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) and tandem solar cells. In this study, we fabricate semi-transparent and stable solar cells for BIPV by utilizing a poly (ethylene oxide) electrolyte and controlling the size of TiO2 nanoparticles and the thickness of the TiO2 film. The power conversion efficiency of the semi-transparent (over 50% transmittance at 620-750 nm) and quasi-solid solar cells is 5.78% under standard AM1.5G, 100 mW cm-2. The higher conductivity and smaller diffusion resistance of the quasi-solid electrolyte inside the mesoporous TiO2 film indicate the confinement effects of the polymer electrolyte inside a mesoporous TiO2 film. The unsealed semi-transparent and quasi-solid solar cell retains its initial efficiency during 1000 h irradiation in humid air.