High Humidity Research Articles

Detection of the levels of immune cytokines (IL4, IL5, TNF-α) in school-age and preschoolers with an Ascaris lumbricoides infection.

Gastrointestinal parasite infections have been identified as a significant public health concern in regions with high humidity levels globally. Ascaris lumbricoides, a prevalent human pathogen, is widely distributed throughout several regions globally. It is estimated that around 1.5 billion cases are attributed only to A. Lumbricoides. These types of disorders are associated with a wide range of diseases. Several animal studies have demonstrated the significance of T helper cell type 2 responses to helminths in the digestive system, as well as the crucial role of specific interleukins (ILs), such as IL-4 and IL-5, in eliminating parasites and combating infections. However, there is a limited body of research examining the response of human cytokines to gut helminths, particularly in relation to the cellular reactions to Ascariasis in populations where it is prevalent. This is a case-control study and included 100 children suffering from Ascaris infection, aged between 4 and 15 years, and 50 healthy children as a control group. Samples were collected at Al-Habobbi Teaching Hospital after ethical approval. The children were diagnosed by stool examination and the concentration method was performed. Five milliliter of blood was collected from each participant, and the levels of interleukins 4, interleukins 5 and TNF-α were measured by ELISA. The levels of TNF-α and IL-5 exhibited statistically significant variance between the preschool and school-age groups at P = <0.01. The difference in the level of IL-4 was non-significant between preschool and school-age groups at P > 0.05. The difference in the levels of TNF-α and IL-5 was significant between control and moderate infection (P = <0.05), while that of IL-4 was non-significant (P > 0.05). When comparing control, the modest groups showed significantly higher IL-5 and IL-4 levels (P = >0.05). The difference in TNF-α, IL-5 and IL4 levels between mild and control groups was significant (P < 0.001), except for TNF-α which was not significant (P = 0.86). The difference in levels of interleukins in children according to age group and severity of infection indicates the role of the cellular immune response in the emergence and development of the disease and its severity in children.

Toward rationally designing high-performance perovskite sensing material: Role of dielectric constant and crystal symmetry

P-type oxide semiconductor gas sensors have gained increasing attention for their distinctive catalytic activity, high oxygen adsorption, and high humidity resistance. However, the low gas response of p-type sensors restricts their utilization, prompting numerous attempts to overcome this limitation. In this study, we have successfully engineered a promising p-type gas sensor by increasing the dielectric constant and optimizing crystal symmetry, departing from conventional approaches such as reducing particle size, constructing complex heterojunctions, and decorating with noble metals. The as-prepared multiferroic Bi0.92Dy0.8FeO3 gas sensor exhibits a well-defined gas response to acetone, demonstrating ultralow detection limits, distinctive selectivity, high humidity resistance, and long-term stability. Through comparisons of crystal symmetry, morphology, specific surface area, atomic chemical environment, dielectric properties, and sensing properties among a series of Dy3+ doped BiFeO3 solid solutions, we attribute this extraordinary sensing performance of Bi0.92Dy0.8FeO3 to its higher dielectric constant and unique domain-wall structure arising from its non-centrosymmetric crystal structure. This work provides additional perspective for preparing high-performance gas sensors.

Stability of influenza A virus in droplets and aerosols is heightened by the presence of commensal respiratory bacteria.

Aerosol transmission remains a major challenge for control of respiratory viruses, particularly those causing recurrent epidemics, like influenza A virus (IAV). These viruses are rarely expelled alone, but instead are embedded in a consortium of microorganisms that populate the respiratory tract. The impact of microbial communities and inter-pathogen interactions upon stability of transmitted viruses is well-characterized for enteric pathogens, but is under-studied in the respiratory niche. Here, we assessed whether the presence of five different species of commensal respiratory bacteria could influence the persistence of IAV within phosphate-buffered saline and artificial saliva droplets deposited on surfaces at typical indoor air humidity, and within airborne aerosol particles. In droplets, presence of individual species or a mixed bacterial community resulted in 10- to 100-fold more infectious IAV remaining after 1 h, due to bacterial-mediated flattening of drying droplets and early efflorescence. Even when no efflorescence occurred at high humidity or the bacteria-induced changes in droplet morphology were abolished by aerosolization instead of deposition on a well plate, the bacteria remained protective. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae were the most stabilizing compared to other commensals at equivalent density, indicating the composition of an individual's respiratory microbiota is a previously unconsidered factor influencing expelled virus persistence.IMPORTANCEIt is known that respiratory infections such as coronavirus disease 2019 and influenza are transmitted by release of virus-containing aerosols and larger droplets by an infected host. The survival time of viruses expelled into the environment can vary depending on temperature, room air humidity, UV exposure, air composition, and suspending fluid. However, few studies consider the fact that respiratory viruses are not alone in the respiratory tract-we are constantly colonized by a plethora of bacteria in our noses, mouth, and lower respiratory system. In the gut, enteric viruses are known to be stabilized against inactivation and environmental decay by gut bacteria. Despite the presence of a similarly complex bacterial microbiota in the respiratory tract, few studies have investigated whether viral stabilization could occur in this niche. Here, we address this question by investigating influenza A virus stabilization by a range of commensal bacteria in systems representing respiratory aerosols and droplets.

Hundreds Dying Every day in Karachi as Pakistan Battles Brutal Summer

Global health and livelihoods have been severely impacted by climate change, which is expected to worsen in the future and bring more frequent and intense extreme events (Weiskopf et al,2020). Extreme heatwaves are increasingly common during summertime globally, contributing to an excess of mortality. As climate change continues, it is anticipated that heat-related illness and mortality will rise even more, with higher levels of global warming being associated with greater risk (Ebi et al,2021). Pakistan ranks sixth among nations most susceptible to the effects of climate change (Soomro &amp; Shahid,2024).According to the IPCC, surface temperatures have risen by roughly 1.0°C since the middle of the 19th century and could climb by 1.10°C to 6.40°C in the 21st (IPCC,2018). Pakistan is extremely sensitive to the consequences of climate change as a developing nation, including rising temperatures, variable monsoons, melting Himalayan glaciers, and more frequent and severe extreme weather events. Future disturbances to Karachi's local weather are anticipated because of climate change (Babar et al, 2021). According to a recent BBC report, Pakistan's heatwave has claimed the lives of nearly 500 people. There has been a notable rise in mortality in southern Pakistan due to temperatures above 40°C (104°F) and heavy humidity, which makes it feel like 49°C (120°F). With 141 deaths on 25th May alone, the Edhi ambulance service reported transporting 568 bodies, as opposed to the typical 30 to 40 each day to the Karachi municipal mortuary over the course of six days. The number of persons requesting assistance in hospitals is rising. Each case's precise cause of death is still being investigated (BBC, 2024). According to Soomro and Shahid (2024), Karachi recorded the hottest temperature in the region last month, with the province of Sindh clocking close to 52.2°C. The extreme heat is making life difficult for people in other parts of Pakistan as well. Low winds, high temperatures, and high humidity are the factors that cause heatwaves. When combined with malfunctioning water supply networks, frequent power plant outages, and blackouts, the consequences for those in lower socioeconomic categories in Karachi can be catastrophic. Conversely, in wealthy Karachian areas where petrol generators are typically used to break out blackouts, very few casualties were reported (Hanif, 2017). Pakistan is classified as a mediocre performer with a climate performance ranking of 30th overall. It receives high marks for GHG emissions and energy use, but poor marks for climate policy and very low marks for renewable energy. The absence of strong government organizations devoted to climate concerns impedes efforts despite the urgent need for climate action (SDG 13). As a result, not enough progress has been made in combating climate change (CCPI, 2024). Public health in Karachi would be much improved by addressing issues with cheap, clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, clean water and sanitation, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. Focusing on important problems like dirty water, air pollution, brittle infrastructure, and energy scarcity. Controlling infectious disease outbreaks and lowering respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses associated with air pollution would be made possible by proper sewage and water cleanliness. Heat stroke casualties could be saved by using inexpensive, sustainable energy technologies. These upgrades are the need to solve the environmental and climate-related issues in Karachi. Effective measures must be taken by the government of Pakistan.

Target therapy at buried interfaces toward efficient and stable inorganic perovskite solar cells

The enhancement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is critically affected by charge recombination induced by buried interface defects. In light of this, a simple and effective target therapy strategy has been developed by doping 4-(diphenylphosphino)benzoic acid (4DBA) molecules at the tin oxide (SnO2)/perovskite interface. The effects of 4DBA on carrier transport, perovskite growth, defect passivation, and PSCs properties were systematically investigated. It is illustrated that 4DBA molecules not only passivate oxygen vacancy (OV) defects on the SnO2 surface, enhancing the conductivity of the SnO2 film and accelerating electron transfer, but also passivate perovskite interface defects, thereby improving the quality of the perovskite film. Ultimately, the efficiency of CsPbBr3 device with 4DBA-modified buried interface increased from 8.87% to 10.78%, an improvement of 21.53%. Furthermore, the efficiency of CsPbI2Br increased from 12.83% to 14.44%, an improvement of 12.55%, further demonstrating the effectiveness and universality of this strategy. Excitingly, the unencapsulated PSCs exhibit excellent long-term stability under high relative humidity and high temperatures.

Application and comparison of point-of-care devices for field evaluation of underlying health status of Guatemalan sugarcane workers.

With chronic disease prevalence on the rise globally, surveillance and monitoring are critical to improving health outcomes. Point-of-care (POC) testing can facilitate epidemiological research and enhance surveillance systems in limited resource settings, but previous research has identified bias between POC devices and laboratory testing. We compared the performance of two POC blood analyzers, the iSTAT handheld (Abbott, Princeton, NJ, USA) and the StatSensor Creatinine (Nova Biomedical, Waltham, MA, USA) to concurrent blood samples analyzed at a local laboratory that were collected from 89 agricultural workers in Guatemala. We measured creatinine and other measures of underlying health status with the POC and the lab blood samples. Pearson correlation coefficients, Bland-Altman plots, no intercept linear regression models and two-sample t-tests were used to evaluate the agreement between the POC and lab values collected across three study days and to assess differences by study day in a field setting. On average there was no observed difference between the iSTAT and lab creatinine measurements (p = 0.91), regardless of study day. Using lab creatinine as the gold standard, iSTAT creatinine results were more accurate compared to the Statsensor, which showed some bias, especially at higher values. The iSTAT had good agreement with the lab for sodium and blood urea nitrogen (BUN), but showed differences for potassium, anion gap, bicarbonate (TCO2), glucose, and hematocrit. In this tropical field setting, the research team devised a protocol to prevent the devices from overheating. In limited resource settings, POC devices carry advantages compared to traditional lab analyses, providing timely results to patients, researchers, and healthcare systems to better evaluate chronic health conditions. Technical challenges due to use of POC devices in high heat and humidity environments can be addressed using a standard protocol for transporting and operating the devices.

Machine learning-based analysis and prediction of meteorological factors and urban heatstroke diseases.

Heatstroke is a serious clinical condition caused by exposure to high temperature and high humidity environment, which leads to a rapid increase of the core temperature of the body to more than 40°C, accompanied by skin burning, consciousness disorders and other organ system damage. This study aims to analyze the effect of meteorological factors on the incidence of heatstroke using machine learning, and to construct a heatstroke forecasting model to provide reference for heatstroke prevention. The data of heatstroke incidence and meteorological factors in a city in South China from May to September 2014-2019 were analyzed in this study. The lagged effect of meteorological factors on heatstroke incidence was analyzed based on the distributed lag non-linear model, and the prediction model was constructed by using regression decision tree, random forest, gradient boosting trees, linear SVRs, LSTMs, and ARIMA algorithm. The cumulative lagged effect found that heat index, dew-point temperature, daily maximum temperature and relative humidity had the greatest influence on heatstroke. When the heat index, dew-point temperature, and daily maximum temperature exceeded certain thresholds, the risk of heatstroke was significantly increased on the same day and within the following 5 days. The lagged effect of relative humidity on the occurrence of heatstroke was different with the change of relative humidity, and both excessively high and low environmental humidity levels exhibited a longer lagged effect on the occurrence of heatstroke. With regard to the prediction model, random forest model had the best performance of 5.28 on RMSE and dropped to 3.77 after being adjusted. The incidence of heatstroke in this city is significantly correlated with heat index, heatwave, dew-point temperature, air temperature and zhongfu, among which the heat index and dew-point temperature have a significant lagged effect on heatstroke incidence. Relevant departments need to closely monitor the data of the correlated factors, and adopt heat prevention measures before the temperature peaks, calling on citizens to reduce outdoor activities.

A Highly Responsive Graphene Oxide Humidity Sensor Based on PVA Nanofibers.

Graphene oxide (GO) humidity sensors based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers have been proposed. The PVA nanofiber layers of different densities were obtained by adjusting the electrospinning time. Then, GO films were deposited on PVA nanofibers by a spin-coating method. The electrical properties of GO films are improved due to the increased distribution of PVA nanofibers in the GO films. The humidity sensors exhibit good sensitivity under a high relative humidity range of 40-80%. The response of sensors has reached 98.44% at a humidity level of 80% RH. The GO/PVA sensors have good stability at various humidity levels for 1 week. Furthermore, the GO/PVA sensors were used for respiration monitoring under different statuses. These sensors have good application prospects in the respiratory detection and analysis of diseases.

Study of Manipulative In Situ Pore-Formation upon Polymeric Coating on Cylindrical Substrate for Sustained Drug Delivery.

Herein, the micro-porous polylactic acid coating applied on the surface of the cylindrical substrate is fabricated by a novel in situ pore-formation strategy based on the combinational effect of breath figure (BF) and vapor-induced phase separation (VIPS) processes. Under the condition of high environmental humidity, solvent pair of chloroform and dimethylformamide is employed for post-treatment onto pre-formed PLA coating to induce the pore-formation following the mechanism of BF and VIPS, respectively. A composite porous structure with both cellular-like and bi-continuous network morphologies is obtained. By tunning the experimental factors including the ratio of the solvent pair, environmental humidity, and temperature, morphological manipulation upon the pore morphology can be facilely achieved based on the control of mechanism transition between BF and VIPS. Paclitaxel is used as a model drug and loaded into the porous coating by the wicking effect of post-immersion. Coatings with different morphological features show varying drug loading and release capacities. The 28-day release test reveals dynamic release profiles between different coating samples, with the total release rate ranging from 35.70% to 79.96%. Optimal loading capacity of 19.28µg cm-2 and 28-day release rate of 35.70% are achieved for the coating with composite BF-VIPS structure. This research established a cost-efficient strategy with high flexibility in the structural manipulation concerning the construction of drug-eluting coating with the feature of manipulative drug delivery.

A novel strategy for iodine removal from nuclear reactor accidental gases: efficient adsorption of CH3I on the moderately hydrophobic modified silver-loaded zeolite under high temperature and humidity conditions

ABSTRACT Ensuring nuclear energy safety through effective gas emission filtration from nuclear reactor containment in accident scenarios is paramount. The efficacy of hydrophobic modified Ag-loaded zeolites for methyl iodide (CH3I) removal under challenging conditions of high temperature, humidity, and irradiation is studied in this work. Through hydrophobic modification of AgX zeolite with three different silane coupling agents, a series of modified zeolites with varied hydrophobicity levels is produced. The adsorption capabilities of these modified materials are assessed using a self-designed gas adsorption setup, focusing on CH3I removal from a gas mixture emblematic of nuclear accident environments. Results indicate that all hydrophobically modified zeolites exhibited superior CH3I removal rates compared to their unmodified counterparts, with the variant modified with 10% phenyltriethoxysilane achieving the highest removal rate of 99%. Additionally, zeolites modified with octyltrimethoxysilane demonstrate commendable irradiation resistance at a radiation dose of 4.2 × 105 Gy. The results suggest that optimally hydrophobically modified AgX zeolites hold significant promise for filtering gases containing radioactive iodine, offering novel insights for the advancement of adsorbent materials in nuclear reactor containment discharge systems.

Distribution Characteristics and Prediction of Temperature and Relative Humidity in a South China Greenhouse

South China has a climate characteristic of high temperature and high humidity, and the temperature and relative humidity inside a Venlo greenhouse are higher than those in the atmosphere. This paper studied the effect of ventilation conditions on the spatial and temporal distribution of temperature and relative humidity in a Venlo greenhouse. Two ventilation conditions, with and without a fan-pad system, were studied. A GA + BP neural network was applied to predict the temperature and relative humidity in fan-pad ventilation in the greenhouse. The results show that the temperature in the Venlo greenhouse ranged from 15.8 °C to 48.5 °C, and the relative humidity ranged from 24.9% to 100% during the tomato-planting cycle. The percentage of days when the temperature exceeded 35 °C was 67.3%, and the percentage of days when the average relative humidity exceeded 70% was 83.7%. The maximum temperature differences between the three heights under NV (Natural Ventilation) and FPV (Fan-pad Ventilation) conditions were 3.4 °C and 4.5 °C, respectively. The maximum relative humidity differences between the three heights under NV and FPV conditions were 8.4% and 21.7%, respectively. The maximum temperature difference in the longitudinal section under the FPV conditions was 3.2 °C, while the relative humidity was 11.4%. The cooling efficiency of the fan-pad system ranged from 16.6% to 70.2%. The non-uniform coefficients of the temperature under the FPV conditions were higher than those under the NV conditions, while the nonuniform coefficients of the relative humidity were the highest during the day. The R2, MAE, MAPE and RMSE of the temperature-testing model were 0.91, 0.94, 0.11, and 1.33, respectively, while those of relative humidity model were 0.93, 2.83, 0.10, and 3.86, respectively. The results provide a reference for the design and management of Venlo greenhouses in South China.

ZrO2-CeO2/WO3 heterostructure films prepared by magnetron sputtering for humidity-tolerant triethylamine sensing

Up to now, the development of gas sensors based on metal oxide semiconductors (MOSs) that can detect triethylamine (TEA) under high humidity conditions remains a significant challenge. In this study, we present the ZrO2-CeO2/WO3 (ZCW) heterostructure films for TEA detection under high relative humidity, which were prepared by co-sputtering ZrO2 and CeO2 onto the surface of a WO3 film using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering method. The gas sensors based on the ZCW heterostructure films exhibited outstanding TEA-sensing performance, including high response (18.56–20 ppm), rapid response/recovery rate (1/5 s), excellent selectivity, wide detection range (0.5–500 ppm), outstanding reproducibility and stability, and ideal anti-humidity ability. The excellent TEA-sensing properties of the ZCW heterostructure films should be mainly attributed to their unique surface microstructure, abundant oxygen vacancies, and the formation of heterostructures between ZrO2, CeO2, and WO3. Compared to the WO3 film, both the CeO2/WO3 and ZrO2-CeO2/WO3 films demonstrated highly-enhanced humidity-tolerant performance, which should result from the redox reactions between the Ce3+ and Ce4+ ions. This study provides a general method for preparing the MOSs-based TEA sensors that could work under high humidity condition.

Moisture sorption behavior of an epoxy-based structural adhesive and its impact on the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of bonded joints in the oil and gas industry

Structural adhesives are widely used across industry sectors and, specifically in oil and gas, they appear as an alternative for structural joining instead of welding, to mitigate the risks arising from sparks in an environment with highly flammable products. In this sense, this article aims to evaluate the mechanical behavior of adhesive joints using the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB - to determine the GIC, mode I interlaminar fracture toughness) test before and after exposing these joints to severe environmental conditions, such as high humidity and high temperature. Also, three different surface treatments (manual sanding with abrasive sponge, solvent cleaning, and peel-ply application) of the adherend (carbon fiber/epoxy composite) are examined, as well as two different thicknesses of the adhesive layer (0.5 and 1.0 mm) to verify possible influences on the GIC behavior before and after conditioning. The results show that reducing manual surface treatment processes is a better option, to reduce the factors that cause greater dispersion in GIC values. In particular, cleaning the adherend with just isopropyl alcohol (solvent) before applying the adhesive yielded better GIC results among the tested techniques. Regarding thickness, the findings suggest that a greater thickness of the adhesive layer can lead to an increase in the plastic regions, enhancing the dissipation energy and improving the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness. Hygrothermal conditioning revealed the adverse effects of humidity on the adhesive, resulting in a 20–30 % reduction in GIC. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analyses demonstrate that conditioning caused a notable reduction in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the adhesive.

UV light absorption at 370 nm by mineral dust, organic carbon, and elemental carbon in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau

The mass and light absorption contributions of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and mineral dust influence glacial melting and potentially contribute to climate change over the high Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau (HTP). Plateau-scale investigations of these components and their respective light absorption are limited due to the high altitude. In this study, we combined the analysis of major light-absorbing substances and their corresponding multiwavelength absorption to determine their specific contributions firstly. We investigated the spatial variations of total suspended particle (TSP) mass across the HTP, noting high contributions from dust, carbonaceous components, and secondary inorganic aerosols (SNA, including sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium). Enhanced levels of primary and secondary OC and SNA were observed in the marginal areas of the HTP, associated with high relative humidity (RH) and OX levels (O3+NO2). EC was the primary contributor to light absorption, accounting for approximately 68%, 46%, and 64% in Ngari, Qinghai Lake, and Beiluhe, respectively. We found higher light-absorbing contributions from carbonaceous aerosols in the marginal areas compared to the central HTP site, particularly during the heating seasons (∼90%). Fugitive dust significantly contributed to TSP mass but not to light absorption. The concurrent constraints on the mass and optical properties of OC, EC, and dust in this study can help reduce uncertainties in climate models specific to the HTP.

Interaction between ambient CO and temperature or relative humidity on the risk of stroke hospitalization

Although the independent effects of ambient CO, temperature or humidity on stroke have been confirmed, it is still unclear where there is an interaction between these factors and who is sensitive populations for these. The stroke hospitalization and ambient CO, temperature, humidity data were collected in 22 Counties and districts of Ningxia, China in 2014–2019. The lagged effect of ambient CO, temperature or humidity were analyze by the generalized additive model; the interaction were evaluated by the bivariate response surface model and stratified analysis with relative excessive risk (RERI). High temperature and CO levels had synergistic effects on hemorrhagic stroke (RERI = 0.05, 95% CI 0.033–0.086) and ischemic stroke (RERI = 0.035, 95% CI 0.006–0.08). Low relative humidity and CO were synergistic in hemorrhagic stroke (RERI = 0.192, 95% CI 0.184–0.205) and only in ischemic stroke in the elderly group (RERI = 0.056, 95% CI 0.025–0.085). High relative humidity and CO exhibited antagonistic effects on the risk of ischemic stroke hospitalization in both male and female groups (RERI = − 0.088, 95% CI − 0.151to − 0.031; RERI = − 0.144, 95% CI − 0.216 to − 0.197). Exposure to CO increases the risk of hospitalization related to hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes. CO and temperature or humidity interact with risk of stroke hospitalization with sex and age differences.

A large-scale synthesizable superhydrophobic C2H6- selective MOF for C2H6/C2H4 separation

Developing C2H6-selective adsorbents for efficient separation of C2H6/C2H4 is of great significance for the petrochemical industry. Numerous C2H6-selective adsorbents have been created, but their applicability in real-world industrial settings is severely constrained by their unscalable production and generally low stability (particularly water resistance). Herein, we proposed a series of C2H6-selective adsorbents CUPMOF-2-M (M = Zn, Mn, Cu, Mg), in which CUPMOF-2-Zn (also termed MET-6) not only possesses good C2H6-selective separation effect but super-hydrophobicity and low cost. At 298 K and 80 % relative humidity, CUPMOF-2-Zn only adsorbs 0.4 mmol·g−1 of water, outperforming all previously reported C2H6-selective materials in terms of hydrophobicity. Moreover, dynamic breakthrough experiments solidly demonstrated that CUPMOF-2-Zn can efficiently separate C2H6/C2H4 in high humidity conditions. More importantly, CUPMOF-2-Zn can be synthesized in a large-scale at room temperature (one batch 10 kg), which is essential to industrial implementation for separation of C2H6/C2H4.

Genome-Wide Association Studies on Resistance to Pea Weevil: Identification of Novel Sources of Resistance and Associated Markers.

Little resistance to the pea weevil insect pest (Bruchus pisorum) is available in pea (Pisum sativum) cultivars, highlighting the need to search for sources of resistance in Pisum germplasm and to decipher the genetic basis of resistance. To address this need, we screened the response to pea weevil in a Pisum germplasm collection (324 accession, previously genotyped) under field conditions over four environments. Significant variation for weevil seed infestation (SI) was identified, with resistance being frequent in P. fulvum, followed by P. sativum ssp. elatius, P. abyssinicum, and P. sativum ssp. humile. SI tended to be higher in accessions with lighter seed color. SI was also affected by environmental factors, being favored by high humidity during flowering and hampered by warm winter temperatures and high evapotranspiration during and after flowering. Merging the phenotypic and genotypic data allowed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) yielding 73 markers significantly associated with SI. Through the GWAS models, 23 candidate genes were found associated with weevil resistance, highlighting the interest of five genes located on chromosome 6. These included gene 127136761 encoding squalene epoxidase; gene 127091639 encoding a transcription factor MYB SRM1; gene 127097033 encoding a 60S ribosomal protein L14; gene 127092211, encoding a BolA-like family protein, which, interestingly, was located within QTL BpLD.I, earlier described as conferring resistance to weevil in pea; and gene 127096593 encoding a methyltransferase. These associated genes offer valuable potential for developing pea varieties resistant to Bruchus spp. and efficient utilization of genomic resources through marker-assisted selection (MAS).

Strong flexible conductive hydrogel based on adaptive temperature and humidity characteristics

The development of conductive hydrogels has attracted great attention due to their broad applications. In this work, based on a dual-network structure, a highly flexible and adaptive conductive hydrogel has been developed, using the catalytic polymerization method, which also obtains Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS). Upon environmental warming, the double-network-structured hydrogel featuring a LiBr solution (LiBr@PAM-SA) undergoes a gradual water loss. However, significant moisture depletion occurs only when the temperature reaches 180 °C. Notably, compared to hydrogels devoid of a LiBr solution that experiences dehydration at 120 °C, LiBr@PAM-SA hydrogels manifest a superior capacity for adapting to varying environmental temperatures. Furthermore, this hydrogel maintains 90% of its inherent conductivity after undergoing 1000 cycles of stretching and compression. Upon incorporating 1 wt% PEDOT: PSS, the conductive hydrogel (LiBr@PAM-SA) displays the smallest volume resistivity of 0.022 Ω-cm and the highest volume conductivity of 44.665 µS/cm, in comparison to the hydrogels of single-layer graphene oxide (SLGO) and AgNWs. Additionally, its light transmittance and hydrogel quality improve in environments with lower temperatures or higher humidity. Finally, this conductive hydrogel might show great potential in varied fields of dynamic environment monitoring, intelligent conductive transmission, and intelligent sensing identification.

Hybrid Thin Film Encapsulation for Improving the Stability of PbS Quantum Dot Solar Cells.

The instability to moisture, heat, and ultraviolet (UV) light is the main problem in the application of quantum dot solar cells (QDSCs). Thin film encapsulation can effectively improve their operational stability. However, it is difficult to achieve multiple barrier effects with single layer of encapsulated film. Here, a hybrid thin-film encapsulation strategy is reported to encapsulate lead sulfide QDSCs, which can isolate moisture and partial thermal, and prevent the penetration of UV light, thus retarding the surface oxidation process of the quantum dots. After 60h, the encapsulated device retains a normalized power conversion efficiency of 83.8% and 80.6% at 85% humidity and 75 °C, respectively, which is three and six times of the value obtained in unencapsulated devices. At continuous UV illumination, encapsulated device exhibits five times higher stability than the reference. This strategy provides the way for the overall improvement of the operating stability of lead sulfide QDSCs in harsh environments of high humidity, high temperature, and UV light.

Influence of humidity and air pressure on thrust characteristics of ion wind propulsion systems

Ion wind propulsion systems have potential applications in the field of unmanned aerial vehicle due to their compactness, quiet operation, and simple design. Previous studies have focused on the influences of power source, electrode arrangement, size, and shape on the output thrust characteristics. However, few studies have been performed on the environmental conditions, which can be beneficial for the practical applications of ion wind aircraft in various climatic conditions. In this work, a measurement platform of the output characteristics of ion wind propulsion system under various environmental conditions has been established. The experimental pressure range was 1–0.7 atm, and the relative humidity (RH) range was 30%–92%. The effects of air pressure and humidity, and voltage level on the thrust, thrust-to-power radio (TPR) corona current have been investigated. The results showed that the corona current and thrust of the wire-wing electrode array decreased with RH within the range of 30%– to 80%. Under higher humidity, the corona current and thrust tend to increase at most voltage levels. Moreover, the thrust and current both decreased with reduced pressure when keeping the voltage-to-pressure ratio (U/P) unchanged. It was also found that the thrust was roughly proportional to the square of the pressure. Finally, the possible explanations of the coupled influences on the output characteristics were discussed.