Changes In Physical Characteristics Research Articles

Development observed in the field of the Antarctic bivalve mollusc Aequiyoldia eightsii at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands

ABSTRACT The embryonic development of marine ectotherms has been shown to be strongly temperature dependent across the world's oceans. However, at the coldest sites, in the polar regions, development is even slower than would be predicted on the basis of the temperature dependence of development in warmer waters, and this is thought to be a consequence of changes in physical characteristics of cytoplasm near 0 °C—such as viscosity and osmolyte packing that slow protein folding and increase the likelihood of interference by charged particles, and their effect on protein synthesis. The overwhelming majority of studies of rates of embryonic development have been laboratory-based, with animals either collected directly from the sea and spawned in the laboratory or held first in the laboratory and preconditioned to set environments before spawning. Few studies have assessed development from regularly collected samples and assessed field development, especially from polar latitudes. Here we present data for the Antarctic bivalve mollusc Aequiyoldia eightsii, tracking its development from spawning on 25/26 May to hatching of pelagic veligers on 12 June and the disappearance of pediveliger larvae from the water column at the end of September or early October, 108–114 days later. Larval dry mass was constant at 16.7 µg (SE = 0.19) across the pelagic phase, except for the initial few days after hatching when it was 9.55 µg (SE = 0.60). The difference was likely the calcification of the larval shell. The development time to trochophore was 189 h, and this was in line with previous studies showing larval development at temperatures around 0 °C is around 4–22 times slower than would be predicted from the general effect of temperature on development rates.

Karakteristik Fisika dan Kimia pada Tanah Ultisol di Lahan Perkebunan Karet di Desa Gunung Kupang Provinsi Kalimantan Selatan

Soil properties are the inherent characteristics of soil bodies in different locations that are influenced by factors such as mineral composition, structure, texture, and organic content. Soil has characteristics that affect the growth of the plants that are cultivated. This study aims to determine the physical and chemical characteristics of Ultisol soil at a depth of 0-50 cm on rubber plantation land in Cempaka District, Banjarbaru City. This research was conducted in the laboratory of ULM Soil Department. The land used was in Gunung Kupang, Cempaka Village, Cempaka District, Banjarbaru City, South Kalimantan Province. The research method used in this study is an exploratory descriptive method whose implementation is carried out directly at the research site and continued with soil sampling as material for analysis in the laboratory. Soil sampling was purposefully determined in 10 minipits in rubber plantations with two sides of observation at five depths, namely 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm, 30-40 cm, and 40-50 cm. Thus, all observations amounted to 100 samples. The data analysis used is presented in graphical form and analyzed descriptively. The results of this study show that increasing soil depth causes changes in soil physical characteristics. Physical characteristics of soil texture values affect the value of bulk density, particle density,and soil moisture content. The phenomenon of changes in physical characteristics ultimately affects the chemical characteristics of C-organic, soil pH, N-total, P-total and K-total values.

Comparison of different drying technologies for kiwifruit pomace: Changes in physical characteristics, nutritional properties and antioxidant capacities

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of different drying technologies including microwave drying (MD), vacuum microwave drying (VMD), sun drying (SD), vacuum drying (VD), hot air drying (HAD), and vacuum freeze drying (VFD) on the physical characteristics, nutritional properties and antioxidant capacities of kiwifruit pomace in order to realize by-product utilization and improve energy efficiency. Results showed that both MD and VMD significantly reduced drying time by >94.6%, compared to traditional thermal drying which took 14–48 h. MD exhibited the highest content of soluble dietary fiber (9.5%) and the lowest energy consumption. Furthermore, VMD resulted in the highest content of vitamin C (198.78 mg/100 g) and reducing sugar (73.78%), and the antioxidant capacities ranked only second to VFD. Given the financial advantages and product quality, VMD was suggested to be advantageous technology in actual industrial production.

Responses Toward Structural, Electrical, Optical, and Mechanical Properties of RbGeF3 Under Pressure: DFT Insights

AbstractDensity functional theory is used in the current study to thoroughly examine the physical properties of perovskites made of halide RbGeF3 under a variety of hydrostatic pressure ranges between 0 and 50 GPa. This research seeks to reduce the electronic bandgap of RbGeF3 under pressure to enhance the optical properties and evaluate the compounds' decency for usage in optoelectronic and electrical uses. The precision of the structural characteristics is relatively high, and they fit well with published earlier research. A higher interaction between atoms is also a result of the large drop in lattice characteristics and link length. Pressurization reveals the ionic and covalent characteristics of the bonds between Rb‐F and Ge‐F, respectively. Both the conductivity and the optical absorbance vary noticeably when hydrostatic pressure is applied. A zero bandgap finally arises via pressure‐induced bandgap shrinkage, improving conductivity and electromagnetic absorption. Based on their optical properties, the materials being studied could be used in a variety of visible and ultraviolet optoelectronic devices. External pressure increases the anisotropy and ductility of the aforementioned perovskites, hence influencing their mechanical behavior. This study describes the changes in physical characteristics brought on by applied stress and offers a thorough examination of those changes.

"Iron Ion Relative Weathering Index": A New Index for Identifying the Weathering Degree in Red Sandstone.

The red bed region in west central and southern China is affected by hot and humid climate, where sandstone is intensely weathered. The weathered hazardous rocks seriously threaten the road and slope, making it challenging to protect the Danxia red bed. After considering the red sandstone's material composition and the local area's main weathering effects. We noticed that iron ions in red sandstone are susceptible to weathering, which leads to changes in the valence and content of iron ions. This study attempts to establish a new chemical weathering index called the "iron ion relative weathering index" (IRWI) to classify the weathering degree of red sandstone. This paper mainly explores the changes of physical characteristics (mineral composition, physical indicator, microstructure, and pore structure) from the surface to the interior of red sandstone in the actual environment and their correlation with IRWI. The study on the correlation between the physical indicators such as longitudinal wave velocity, resistivity, density, water absorption, and IRWI reveals that they have the same trends and are closely related to the weathering degree. The shallow weathering zone of Chishui red sandstone is divided into strong, medium, and slight weathering zones. Microscopically, the cementation and pore distribution of the red sandstone are consistent with the characteristics of the weathering zone. Therefore, IRWI not only is a reliable chemical quantitative method in indicating the weathering of red sandstone but also takes into account the controlling role of iron in the color development of red beds, which provides a new research idea for the quantitative identification of weathering degree and color mechanism of red sandstone.

Effects of Increasing Pitch Count on Pitch Type Ball Metrics and Release Height in High School Softball Pitchers.

Softball research has investigated changes in physical characteristics, mechanics, and ball speed as elements of fatigue. However, the influence of pitch volume on ball metrics is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of pitch volume on ball performance and release metrics in softball pitchers across different pitch types. As pitch volume increased, there would be a decrease in ball metrics of the fastball and changes in breaking pitches would be observed earlier than the fastball or changeup. Descriptive laboratory study. Level 5. A total of 21 (15.4 ± 1.6 years; 1.6 ± 0.2 m; 76.0 ± 17.2 kg) softball pitchers participated. Procedures consisted of participants pitching a simulated game consisting of 100 pitches, taking a 30-minute break, and then throwing 12 pitches to simulate the first inning of a doubleheader. Participants randomly threw each pitch type (fastball, changeup, curveball, or dropball). Ball performance and release metrics were measured using a Rapsodo portable pitch tracker. A 3 (time) by 4 (pitch type) multivariate analysis of variance revealed that pitch speed was significantly higher in the first inning compared with the last inning and the doubleheader inning. The fastball, curveball, and dropball revealed a significant difference in pitch speed between timepoints. Specifically, the curveball and dropball first-inning pitch speed was significantly greater than the last and doubleheader inning. Alternatively, the fastball had a significant increase in pitch speed from the last inning to the doubleheader inning. The typical 30-minute break given between games for doubleheaders may be sufficient recovery time for the fastball but not for the curveball and dropball. The Rapsodo device is an accessible method of tracking ball performance and pitch release metrics and could be helpful in identifying when a pitcher may be experiencing performance detriments in response to increasing pitch count.

The Shelf-life, Microbiology Quality, and Characteristic Changes of Probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum Dad-13 Milk Jelly Candy during Storage

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when consumed in sufficient amounts, can provide health benefits to their host. L. plantarum Dad-13 milk jelly candies are non-fermented probiotic products. This study aims to evaluate the changes in the characteristics of probiotic milk jelly candies during storage and their microbiological quality. Characteristics such as pH, water activity (aw), hardness, chewiness, gumminess, brightness, and viability of lactic acid bacteria were analyzed over a period of 4 weeks at two temperatures, namely 4 and 30°C. Sub-lethal injury analysis was conducted to estimate the survival of probiotic cells during the jelly candy manufacturing process. Microbiological quality was assessed through Total Plate Count (TPC), Coliform, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Mold, and Yeast analyses. The research results showed that the number of probiotic cells experiencing injury was less than 5%. Furthermore, changes in physical characteristics were observed during the 4-week storage period, but the temperature difference only affected pH and aw. The viability of lactic acid bacteria was more stable at a storage temperature of 4°C, and the microbiological quality met the jelly candy standards, except for TPC. Based on the research findings, milk jelly candies can be used as a carrier for probiotic cells as a non-fermented probiotic product innovation, with a recommended storage temperature of 4°C and best consumed within 47 days. Additionally, probiotic milk jelly candies are free from other microbial contamination. Keywords: Jelly candy, L. plantarum Dad-13, Microbiological quality, Probiotic, Storage

Exploring the limit of detection on early implicit bruised ‘Korla’ fragrant pears using hyperspectral imaging features and spectral variables

This work aimed to compare the discrimination ability and detection of limit on the different early implicit bruised pears based on visible and short-wave near-infrared (400–1000 nm) hyperspectral imaging (Vis-SWNIR-HSI) features and spectral information. The changes of physical characteristics were much more sensitive than chemical parameters for bruised pears while the postharvest storage. The pear bruising changes can be addressed to the spectral variations at 416–486 nm, 516–646 nm, 939–954 nm, and 973 nm. The partial least squares discrimination models (PLS-DA) based on selected HSI spectral variables can satisfactorily identify the bruised pear area about 63.32 ± 9.02 mm2, with the discrimination accuracy of 90%, but not available of using imaging features. Further, PLS-DA models based on the fusion of selected HSI spectral variables and imaging features reached the discrimination rate of 98.8% between bruised and non-bruised pears, and provided the discrimination rate of 95% to successfully identify the early bruised pears with bruise area of 72.18 ± 7.32 mm2 after 1 day of storage. Consequently, the combination of hyperspectral imaging features and spectral variables had the best ability to detect early implicit bruised ‘Korla’ fragrant pears during postharvest storage.

Glacier melt detection at different sites of Greenland ice sheet using dual-polarized Sentinel-1 images

ABSTRACT Synectic Aperture Radar (SAR) backscatter coefficient is sensitive to glacier surface physical characteristic changes, including the states of melting and refreezing, but it is also sensitive to incidence angle variation. This study explores the capability of monitoring Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melting status with Sentinel-1 dual-polarized images by referring to Automatic Weather Station (AWS) records. Sentinel-1 SAR images at five coastal regions of the GrIS are obtained from 2017 to 2021. The backscatter coefficients are normalized to an incidence angle of 30° with an empirical model. Time series of five backscatter coefficients profiles covering AWS illustrates different patterns of the ice surface dielectric constant dynamics in different elevations. The wet snow radar zone shows clear backscatter coefficients decreasing during the melting seasons, but the bare ice radar zone behaves more complexly during the melting seasons. The numbers of melting days at different elevations are also derived for each profile based on −3 dB backscatter coefficient decrease of HH and/or HV polarization, showing the heterogeneous ablation processes over the GrIS. The daily maximum 2 m air temperature on two consecutive days (before and on the SAR acquisition day) exceeds 0°C, and the daily average 2 m air temperature exceeds −0.5°C on the SAR acquisition day that was recorded by the AWS finds good agreements with the −3 dB decrease of the backscatter coefficients, suggesting the GrIS surface melting can be well captured by dual-polarized Sentinel-1 C-band SAR images. The overall agreement and Kappa coefficients are mostly better than 0.85 and 0.70, respectively, for HH images and 0.80 and 0.60, respectively, for HV images, suggesting a better performance of the co-polarized image. High temporal resolution and wide-swath SAR sequence imagery provide suitable data sources for monitoring glacier surface melting-refreezing stats; further analysis is requested to quantitatively link the volume of melting with backscatter coefficient and other SAR data sources.

Internal boundary layer characteristics at the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast

Abstract. The marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) over the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast is studied based on remote sensing measurements with a monostatic Doppler sodar system located at about 400 m inland. Long-term profile data (August 2008–October 2016) with high spatial (10 m) and temporal (20 min running averages at every 10 min) resolution was analysed to reveal the complex vertical structure of the coastal ABL at marine airflow. The processes of air masses transformation due to the sharp change in physical characteristics of the underlying surface lead to Internal Boundary Layer (IBL) formation. Its spatial scales as a sublayer of the coastal ABL depend on the distance from the shore. In the absence of temperature and humidity profile measurements, the turbulent profiles of marine air masses of different fetch over land (400 to 2500 m) were used to examine the characteristics of the IBL. Different fetch or distance passed by the marine airflow before reaching the sodar is considered selecting intervals of wind directions. IBL heights between 60 and 150 m depending on the fetch are obtained.

Real-Time Defect Detection Scheme Based on Deep Learning for Laser Welding System

Laser welding, as an important material processing technology, has been widely used in various fields of industry. In most industrial welding production and processing, high precision is required for welding parameters and fixed work pieces. However, in the process of laser welding, serious heat transfer effect will bring unpredictable welding deviations, and even a small deviation will lead to serious welding defects, which will affect the quality of the welded products. Traditional non-destructive testing methods have been widely used, but they have been proved to have some limitations. Existing laser welding defect detection schemes are mainly focused on the detection of post-weld defects, which requires a large amount of data, and the real-time detection cannot be guaranteed. In this paper, we propose a data acquisition system for collecting changes in physical characteristics during laser welding with the aids of multiple sensors. Based on the data originating from sensors’ system, an efficient laser welding defect detection model has been designed and investigated based on the MSCNN (multi-scale convolutional neural network), BiLSTM (bidirectional long short-term memory), and AM (attention mechanism). The final proposed MSCNN-BiLSTM-AM fusion detection model can achieve 99.38% detection accuracy, which make the laser welding system more efficient and more suitable.

Evaluation of aging and degradation for silicone rubber composite insulator based on machine learning

Silicone rubbers (SIRs), as the main material of composite insulator sheds, have aging phenomenon for the long-term operation in the outdoor, which has an important impact on the performance degradation of composite insulator. Periodic examine and replacement of severely aged composite insulator is of great significance for the safe operation of power system. However, there is no clear standard to estimate the aging degree. In order to evaluate the degree of aging and degradation more accurately, the experimental test and analysis of the SIR sheds were carried out from three aspects: physical characteristics, chemical composition and electrical properties. The physical characteristic results show that the surface of the aging SIR will appear obvious holes and cracks, as well as hardening. Chemical composition results show that the internal composition of the continuous decomposition, while a large number of heavy metal elements accumulate in the pollution. The change of physical characteristics and chemical composition of SIR sheds may lead to the deterioration of electrical properties. According to the above results, the influence rule of measurement parameters and aging degree was obtained, and the key characteristic parameters of aging were summarized and extracted. Based on the characteristic parameters, a decision tree aging evaluation model is established for state evaluation. The accuracy of machine learning is 100% and 93.2% respectively. For the on-site application, early warning of moderately aged insulators and replacement of severely aged insulators are proposed in the on-site maintenance of SIR composite insulators.

Deficiency in homologous recombination is associated with changes in cell cycling and morphology in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Exposure of eukaryotic cells to ionizing radiation or clastogenic chemicals leads to formation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). These lesions are also generated internally by chemicals and enzymes, in the absence of exogenous agents, though the sources and consequences of such endogenously generated DSBs remain poorly understood. In the current study, we have investigated the impact of reduced recombinational repair of endogenous DSBs on stress responses, cell morphology and other physical properties of S. cerevisiae (budding yeast) cells. Use of phase contrast and DAPI-based fluorescence microscopy combined with FACS analysis confirmed that recombination-deficient rad52 cell cultures exhibit chronically high levels of G2 phase cells. Cell cycle phase transit times during G1, S and M were similar in WT and rad52 cells, but the length of G2 phase was increased by three-fold in the mutants. rad52 cells were larger than WT in all phases of the cycle and displayed other quantifiable changes in physical characteristics. The high G2 cell phenotype was abolished when DNA damage checkpoint genes, but not spindle assembly checkpoint genes, were co-inactivated with RAD52. Several other RAD52 group mutants (rad51, rad54, rad55, rad57 and rad59) also exhibited the high G2 cell phenotype. The results indicate that recombination deficiency leads to accumulation of unrepaired DSBs during normal mitotic growth that activate a major stress response and produce distinct changes in cellular physiology and morphology.

Synthesis and characterization of isocyanic bonding agents by the reaction of TDI and 5,5‐dimethylhydantoin for use in composite propellants

AbstractThis paper aims to present the study of obtaining a potential isocyanic bonding agent. The process is based on introducing free isocyanate groups into hydantoin ring. In addition to acting as bonding agents, they can act as curing agents, promoting the formation of cross‐links with the binder so that the propellant cures. The synthesis process consisted of the reaction between toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and 5,5‐dimethylhydantoin (DMH) under different parameters (time, temperature, reaction atmosphere, solvent, and product purification). The reactions were monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in the mid‐infrared region (FT‐IR). Furthermore, the product obtained was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), elemental analysis (CHN), and volumetric chemistry (determination of the isocyanate‐NCO index). Changes in physical characteristics and the results of the determination of index NCO, FT‐IR, TGA, DSC, and CHN analysis indicate that the proposed reactions occurred. It is concluded that, among the parameters studied, those most suitable for the reaction system between isocyanic reagents TDI and DMH are a temperature of 90 °C, coupling of a nitrogen cylinder, and use of toluene solvent in the reaction system.

Two-stage drying of tomato based on physical parameter kinetics: operative and qualitative optimization

The industrial drying of tomatoes using hot air is a widespread practice. However, air drying has several issues in terms of time, energy consumption and qualitative characteristics of the final product. The study aims to improve drying through the monitoring of the tomato’s physical characteristics. The study was divided into two parts. In the first part, the kinetics of moisture, color, volume, and rehydration ratio during the drying of tomatoes were modeled according to the temperature used (50, 60, 70, and 80 °C). Moisture loss kinetics has an initial zero-order, followed by first-order kinetics once the critical moisture is exceeded. For color, a first constant trend is observed followed by a steadily increasing or decreasing variation according to the color considered (i.e., red, or brown). The use of low temperatures guarantees the least changes of physical characteristics but significantly increases the time (+ 189%). Conversely, high temperatures guarantee faster drying but cause greater tomato browning (+ 200%). During the drying, the volume decreased linearly according to the considered temperature. In the second part of the work, a tentative drying optimization was performed, based on color kinetics. A two-stage process using two temperatures was developed to reduce drying times without affecting the product quality. Also, two control tests were conducted at 50 °C and 70 °C constant temperatures. No significant quality differences were observed between tomatoes dried at 50 °C and those using the two-stage process (p < 0.05). This type of approach did not produce a qualitative deterioration of the final product and at the same time allowed a significant reduction (− 27.6%) in time.

Digital twin for natural gas infrastructure operation and management via streaming dynamic mode decomposition with control

The gradual energy consumption increments and demand patterns diversification require an advanced operational protocol for natural gas infrastructure. However, conventional numerical methods suffer from low reliability and practicality due to the lack of usage of data that possess coherent physics in the system. The requirements to address this issue are system identification of data sequence and continuous modification to capture the changes of various environmental variables. Thus, we present the first data-driven digital twin model based on dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), which is well-suited for processing nonlinear, high-dimensional sequential data. It predicts pipeline flows and operating costs from measured data. Additionally, it adapts to changes in physical characteristics in pipelines. The proposed model was tested on real pipelines with a length of 5,000 km and demonstrated high accuracy, with a maximum error less than 0.2 MPa, and efficient computation, with a cost less than 2 s for 240 h. The proposed method constructs a reliable digital twin because it has the potential to be aware of the latent behavior of coherent physics in pipelines. The resulting digital twin forecast future status accurately and, based on this, may help establish advanced operating strategies in terms of safety and cost efficiency.

The effect of peppermint oil addition on the physical stability, irritability, and penetration of nanostructured lipid carrier coenzyme Q10.

Coenzyme Q10 is formulated into Nanostructured Lipid Carrier (NLC) added with peppermint oil (PO) 0% (F1), 1% (F2), 1.5% (F3) and 2% (F4) to increase its penetration. This study aims to determine the effect of PO addition on the irritability, stability, and penetration of Coenzyme Q10 in the NLC. Coenzyme Q10 NLC was prepared using the High Shear Homogenization method. Furthermore, physical characterization was carried out. Physical stability testing was carried out for 90 days at a temperature of 25±5oC and an RH of 60±10%. The in vivo irritation test was observed for mice's back skin after 24 hours while the penetration study was further evaluated at 2 hours of the sample application. Increasing the PO amount into Coenzyme Q10 NLC reduced the viscosity which was 329.1±15.5 cps for PO 0% to 219.9±2.9 cps for 2% addition. The observation of particle morphology showed that all NLC Coenzyme Q10 has a spherical particle shape with particle size between 188.25±13.22 to 197.80±14.19 nm. All formulas had high entrapment efficiency (>80%). PO addition did not cause changes in physical characteristics during 90 days of storage. The 24 hours' irritation test showed that F2 and F3 are non-irritating. By PO addition skin penetration improved at 2 hours' penetration study. PO addition up to 2% reduced viscosity, but did not affect particle size and morphology of Coenzyme Q10 NLC. Addition of PO up to 1.5% increased entrapment efficiency, did not irritate and increased the penetration of Coenzyme Q10 NLC.

Annual Changes in the Physical Characteristics of Japanese Division I Collegiate American Football Players

We aimed to examine the annual changes in various physical characteristics of Japanese Division I (D1) Collegiate American footballers according to their positional groups. We measured body mass, and assessed performance in three gym tests (bench press, back squat, and power clean) and three field tests (40-yard dash, pro-agility shuttle, and broad jump) at each pre-season from 2014 to 2016 for players from a Japanese D1 university. Data from 55 players who completed ≥ 50% (three out of six) of the performance measurements in consecutive years were used in this analysis. Performance data across the two positional groups (skill players and linemen) were analyzed using pairwise t-tests to determine annual changes. The skill players’ body mass increased from their freshman to sophomore years (p &lt; 0.05, Cohen’s d &gt; 0.8), but not from their sophomore to junior or junior to senior years. The skill players’ 40-yard sprint time was shorter between all the annual comparisons (p &lt; 0.05, d &gt; 0.8). The linemen’s body mass increased from their freshman to sophomore years, and maintained from their sophomore to junior years and junior to senior years. There were significant improvements in strength and power outputs, but limited improvements in the pro-agility run and broad jump among most of the annual class comparisons for each positional group. These results indicate that annual improvements in the physical characteristics occur nonlinearly for Japanese D1 footballers. They will benefit from targeted strength and conditioning programs. However, the improvements of jumping and agility performances may be limited.

НЕРУЙНІВНІ МЕТОДИ КОНТРОЛЮ ПРОЦЕСІВ ТУЖАВЛЕННЯ І ТВЕРДІННЯ БУДІВЕЛЬНИХ КОМПОЗИЦІЙНИХ МАТЕРІАЛІВ ІЗ КРУПНИМ НАПОВНЮВАЧЕМ

The article deals with the problem of non-destructive control of the processes of setting and hardening of composite materials, for which coarse filler granules or mixtures of fillers of different granulometric composition are used. Since the use of standardized penetration methods in the cases under consideration becomes impossible, it is possible to draw conclusions about the stages of the processes of structure formation of a composite binder dough only by indirect signs. In such a study, methods are preferable that least disturb the structure of the hardening composite, up to non-contact ones. The article provides a comparative description of several such methods. Two of them are based on the measurement of electrical responses associ-ated with structure formation, the other two are based on the study of exothermic processes and, accordingly, the propagation velocity of ultrasonic pulses in a hardening binder dough. For a typical sample of the studied material, the time dependences of the corresponding physical characteristics are constructed. Qualitative changes in the course of these curves are comparedwith the boundaries of the stages of the structure formation process. The main qualitative changes in the time dependences of physical properties are interpreted from the standpoint of structural transformations occurring in the material. The measure-ment results are considered both from a theoretical standpoint, related to the interpretation of changes in the structure and properties of the hardening binder dough, and from an applied standpoint, focused on determining the setting time of the material, which is important for the technology of its application. Changes in physical characteristics are reduced to a single scale, which improves the accuracy of determining the setting time. It is shown that the main method, adequate to the problemunder consideration, is conveniently taken to be ultrasonic, which makes it possible to effectively display both the beginning and the end of setting. The remaining methods seem to be complementary, allowing a more thorough study of the processes during the completion of the setting. The considered research methods are also applicable to conventional materials, and some of them, with minimal modification, to hardening samples and products in the practice of building production.

Solvent-Type Passivation Strategy Controls Solid-State Self-Quenching-Resistant Behavior in Sulfur Dots.

Treatment of sulfur dots with polyethylene glycol (PEG) has been an efficient way to achieve a high luminescence quantum yield, and such a PEG-related quantum dot (QD)-synthesis strategy has been well documented. However, the polymeric insulating capping layer acting as the "thick shell" will significantly slow down the electron-transfer efficiency and severely hamper its practical application in an optoelectric field. Especially, the employment of synthetic polymers with long alkyl chains or large molecular weights may lead to structural complexity or even unexpected changes of physical characteristics for QDs. Therefore, in sulfur dot preparation, it is a breakthrough to use short-chain molecular species to replace PEG for better control and reproducibility. In this article, a solvent-type passivation (STP) strategy has been reported, and no PEG or any other capping agent is required. The main role of the solvent, ethanol, is to directly react with NaOH, and the generated sodium ethoxide passivates the surface defects. The afforded STP-enhanced emission sulfur dots (STPEE-SDs) possess not only the self-quenching-resistant feature in the solid state but also the extension of fluorescence band toward the wavelength as long as 645 nm. The realization of sulfur dot emission in the deep-red region with a decent yield (8.7%) has never been reported. Moreover, a super large Stokes shift (300 nm, λex = 345 nm, λem = 645 nm) and a much longer decay lifetime (109 μs) have been found, and such values can facilitate to suppress the negative influence from background signals. Density functional theory demonstrates that the surface passivation via sodium ethoxide is dynamically favorable, and the spectroscopic insights into emission behavior could be derived from the passivation effect of the sulfur vacancy as well as the charge-transfer process dominated by the highly electronegative ethoxide layer.