Enhancing Light Outcoupling Efficiency via Anisotropic Low Refractive Index Electron Transporting Materials for Efficient Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes.

Thanks to the extensive efforts toward optimizing perovskite crystallization properties, high-quality perovskite films with near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield are successfully achieved. However, the light outcoupling efficiency of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) is impeded by insufficient light extraction, which poses a challenge to the further advancement of PeLEDs. Here, an anisotropic multifunctional electron transporting material, 9,10-bis(4-(2-phenyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-1-yl)phenyl) anthracene (BPBiPA), with a low extraordinary refractive index (ne ) and high electron mobility is developed for fabricating high-efficiency PeLEDs. The anisotropic molecular orientations of BPBiPA can result in a low ne of 1.59 along the z-axis direction. Optical simulations show that the low ne of BPBiPA can effectively mitigate the surface plasmon polariton loss and enhance the photon extraction efficiency in waveguide mode, thereby improving the light outcoupling efficiency of PeLEDs. In addition, the high electron mobility of BPBiPA can facilitate balanced carrier injection in PeLEDs. As a result, high-efficiency green PeLEDs with a record external quantum efficiency of 32.1% and a current efficiency of 111.7 cd A-1 are obtained, which provides new inspirations for the design of electron transporting materials for high-performance PeLEDs.

Quantifying the potential effects of air pollution reduction on population health and health expenditure in Taiwan.

Air pollution, particularly ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution, poses a significant risk to public health, underscoring the importance of comprehending the long-term impact on health burden and expenditure at national and subnational levels. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the disease burden and healthcare expenditure associated with PM2.5 exposure in Taiwan and assess the potential benefits of reducing pollution levels. Using a comparative risk assessment framework that integrates an auto-aggressive integrated moving average model, we evaluated the avoidable burden of cardiopulmonary diseases (including ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and diabetes mellitus) and related healthcare expenditure under different air quality target scenarios, including status quo and target scenarios of 15, 10, and 5 µg/m3 reduction in PM2.5 concentration. Our findings indicate that reducing PM2.5 exposure has the potential to significantly alleviate the burden of multiple diseases. Comparing the estimated attributable disease burden and healthcare expenditure between reference and target scenarios from 2022 to 2050, the avoidable disability-adjusted life years were 0.61, 1.83, and 3.19 million for the 15, 10, and 5 µg/m3 target scenarios, respectively. Correspondingly, avoidable healthcare expenditure ranged from US$ 0.63 to 3.67 billion. We also highlighted the unequal allocation of resources and the need for policy interventions to address health disparities due to air pollution. Notably, in the 5 µg/m3 target scenario, Kaohsiung City stands to benefit the most, with 527,368 disability-adjusted life years avoided and US$ 0.53 billion saved from 2022 to 2050. Our findings suggest that adopting stricter emission targets can effectively reduce the health burden and associated healthcare expenditure in Taiwan. Overall, this study provides policymakers in Taiwan with valuable insights for mitigating the negative effects of air pollution by establishing a comprehensive framework for evaluating the co-benefits of air pollution reduction on healthcare expenditure and disease burden.

Cardiovascular Disease Burden Attributable to High Body Mass Index in Taiwan.

Background: Studies on disease burden in Taiwan are lacking. We aimed to quantify the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) attributable to high body mass index (BMI) in Taiwan. Methods: Using a comparative risk assessment approach from the Global Burden of Disease study, we estimated the population attributable fraction (PAF), attributable CVD burden, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) according to sex, age, and area of residence in Taiwan. The BMI distribution for the population was obtained from the National Health Interview Survey in 2013. CVD was defined as an ischemic heart disease or stroke. Results: The attributable PAF for CVD from high BMI was 18.0% (19.6% in men and 15.6% in women), and it was highest (42.7%) in those aged 25-30 years. Adults aged 60-65 years had the highest absolute DALYs (11,546). The average relative age-standardized attributable burden was 314 DALYs per 100,000 person-years, and it was highest in those aged 75-80 years (1,407 DALYs per 100,000 person-years). Those living in Taitung County had the highest PAF of 21.9% and the highest age-standardized attributable burden (412 DALYs). Conclusions: In Taiwan, an 18% reduction in CVDs could be achieved if obesity/overweight was prevented. Prevention was most effective in early adulthood. The absolute CVD burden from obesity/overweight was highest in middle-aged men, and the relative burden was highest in older adults. Resource allocation in targeted populations and specific areas to eliminate CVD and health inequities is urgently required.

Effect of light-selective sunshade net on the quality and aromatic characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and wine: Exploratory experiment on strong solar irradiance in northwestern China.

The greenhouse effect is a global problem. In view of the intense sunlight radiation in Ningxia (an ideal wine-producing region in northwestern China), the effect of light-selective sunshade nets of different colors (black, red and white) on the quality and aromatic characteristics of grapes and wine was studied. With the treatments of different nets, the solar radiation intensity was significantly decreased. The sugar contents in both grapes and wines decreased, while the acid contents increased. The contents of total phenols, tannins and flavanols in grapes were increased, while the total flavonoids and anthocyanins were decreased. The contents of most phenolics in wine were increased. The contents of most aromas in grapes and wines under nets were higher than those in the control group. The black group usually possessed the highest variety and content. Red and black nets improved the fruity, floral and sweet aromas of grapes. The white net decreased the green and citrusy aromas.

A Near-Optimal Energy Management Mechanism Considering QoS and Fairness Requirements in Tree Structure Wireless Sensor Networks.

The rapid development of AIOT-related technologies has revolutionized various industries. The advantage of such real-time sensing, low costs, small sizes, and easy deployment makes extensive use of wireless sensor networks in various fields. However, due to the wireless transmission of data, and limited built-in power supply, controlling energy consumption and making the application of the sensor network more efficient is still an urgent problem to be solved in practice. In this study, we construct this problem as a tree structure wireless sensor network mathematical model, which mainly considers the QoS and fairness requirements. This study determines the probability of sensor activity, transmission distance, and transmission of the packet size, and thereby minimizes energy consumption. The Lagrangian Relaxation method is used to find the optimal solution with the lowest energy consumption while maintaining the network's transmission efficiency. The experimental results confirm that the decision-making speed and energy consumption can be effectively improved.

Effects of strigolactone and abscisic acid on the quality and antioxidant activity of grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) and wines.

This study employed various methods, including recording of phenological phenomena and analysis of physicochemical indicators, to scrutinize effects of strigolactone and abscisic acid on indicators of ripeness, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity. 50 µM GR24 (strigolactone analog), 200 µM ABA (abscisic acid), 50 µM GR24 + 200 µM ABA, and 200 µM ABA + 10 µM TIS108 (strigolactone-biosynthesis inhibitor) were employed in E-L34 and E-L35. Samples were collected from E-L34 to E-L38. Each treatment could improve sugar contents and reduce acid contents, especially in the ABA + TIS group whose contents were 1 °brix higher and 1.11 g/L lower than the control group. Additionally, the ABA and ABA + TIS groups could significantly contribute to phenolic accumulation, especially anthocyanins which were increased by at least 1.5 mg/g at each stage. However, the ABA + GR group had some inhibitory effects on ripening. Therefore, this study can lay a foundation for precisely applying exogenous ABA and GR24.

Cadmium-Doped Zinc Sulfide Shell as a Hole Injection Springboard for Red, Green, and Blue Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes.

A new strategy is developed in which cadmium-doped zinc sulfide (CdZnS) is used as the outermost shell to synthesize red, green, and blue (RGB) quantum dots (QDs) with the core/shell structures of CdZnSe/ZnSe/ZnS/CdZnS, CdZnSe/ZnSe/ZnSeS/CdZnS, and CdZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS/CdZnS, respectively. Firstly, the inner ZnS and ZnSe shells confine the excitons inside the cores of QDs and provide a better lattice matching with respect to the outermost shell, which ensures high photoluminescence quantum yields of QDs. Secondly, the CdZnS shell affords its QDs with shallow valence bands (VBs). Therefore, the CdZnS shell could be used as a springboard, which decreases the energy barrier for hole injection from polymers to QDs to be below 1.0 eV. It makes the holes to be easily injected into the QD EMLs and enables a balanced recombination of charge carriers in quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). Thirdly, the RGB QLEDs made by these new QDs exhibit peak external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of 20.2%, 19.2%, and 8.4%, respectively. In addition, the QLEDs exhibit unexpected luminance values at low applied voltages and therefore high power efficiencies. From these results, it is evident that CdZnS could act as an excellent shell and hole injection springboard to afford high performance QLEDs.

Physiological and transcriptomic analysis of Cabernet Sauvginon (Vitis vinifera L.) reveals the alleviating effect of exogenous strigolactones on the response of grapevine to drought stress.

Drought stress can significantly affect the growth and yield of grapevine. The application of exogenous strigolactone can relieve the drought symptoms of grapevine; however, little is known about the transcription levels in grapevine under drought stress following exogenous strigolactone application. The mitigative effect of exogenous strigolactone on grapevine leaves under drought stress was studied by transcriptome analysis based on RNA sequencing. On the 10th day of drought stress, the strigolactone treatment group had a higher relative water content and lower electrical conductivity, which significantly alleviated the drought damage. Compared to the drought (D) group, a total of 5955 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (2966 up-regulated genes and 2989 down-regulated genes) were detected in the exogenous strigolactone (DG) groups. Based on Gene Ontology analysis, the DEGs in the D and DG treatments were enriched in the processes of photosynthesis and organic acid catabolism. Pathway analysis showed that the DEGs in the D and DG treatments were enriched in carbon metabolism, ribosome, starch and sucrose metabolism, flavonoid biosynthesis, and circadian rhythm. Additionally, in the DG group, the antioxidant enzyme genes of CAT1, GSHPX1, GSHPX2, POD42, APX6, and SODCP were up-regulated, two NAC, three WRKY, and four MYB transcription factor genes were down-regulated, and the key gene of strigolactone synthesis D14 was up-regulated, compared with that in the D group. The results provide a new perspective for studying the adaptation of plants to drought stress.

Developing Efficient Dinuclear Pt(II) Complexes Based on the Triphenylamine Core for High-Efficiency Solution-Processed OLEDs.

The various applications of dinuclear complexes have attracted increasing attention. However, the electroluminescence efficiencies of dinuclear Pt(II) complexes are far from satisfactory. Herein, based on the triphenylamine core, we develop four dinuclear Pt(II) complexes that cover the emission colors from yellow to red with high photoluminescence quantum efficiencies of up to 0.79 in doped films. The solid-state structure of PyDPt is revealed by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction investigation. Besides, solution-processed OLEDs have been fabricated with different electron transport materials. With higher electron mobility and excellent hole-blocking ability, 1,3,5-tri(m-pyridin-3-ylphenyl)benzene (TmPyPB) can help to realize good charge balance in related OLEDs. In addition, angle-dependent PL spectra reveal the preferentially horizontal orientation of these dinuclear Pt(II) complexes in doped CBP films, which benefits the outcoupling efficiencies. Therefore, the yellow OLED based on PyDPt shows unexpected high performance with a peak current efficiency of up to 78.7 cd/A and an external quantum efficiency of up to 22.4%, which is the highest EQE reported for OLEDs based on dinuclear Pt(II) complexes so far. This study demonstrates the great potential of developing dinuclear Pt(II) complexes for achieving excellent electroluminescence efficiencies.