Path planning for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is to assist in finding the proper path, serving as a critical role in the intelligence of a UAV. In this paper, a path planning for UAV in three-dimensional environment (3D) based on enhanced gravitational search algorithm (EGSA) is put forward, taking the path length, yaw angle, pitch angle, and flight altitude as considerations of the path. Considering EGSA is easy to fall into local optimum and convergence insufficiency, two factors that are the memory of current optimal and random disturbance with chaotic levy flight are adopted during the update of particle velocity, improving the balance between exploration and exploitation for EGSA through different time-varying characteristics. With the identical cost function, EGSA is compared with seven peer algorithms, such as moth flame optimization algorithm, gravitational search algorithm, and five variants of gravitational search algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that EGSA is superior to the seven comparison algorithms on CEC 2020 benchmark functions and the path planning method based on EGSA is more valuable than the other seven methods in diverse environments.

A modulational instability of nonlinearly interacting electron whistlers and magnetosonic perturbations is studied in the present paper. For typical parameters, there is no modulational instability. However, modulational instability appears in special cases. For example, when the whistler wavenumber is small enough, there is modulational instability. Its growth rate decreases as the angle between the external magnetic field and the perturbed wave's direction increases, while it increases as the whistler wavenumber increases. It is also found that there is no modulational instability when the whistler wavenumber is larger than a critical value ($k_0 > 0.05$), in which the perturbed wave frequency increases as the angle between the external magnetic field and the perturbed wave's direction increases when the angle between the external magnetic field and the perturbed wave's direction is large enough. Whereas, the perturbed wave frequency first increases as the whistler wavenumber increases, reaches a peak value and then decreases as whistler wavenumber increases.

Choline plays a crucial role in hepatic lipid homeostasis by acting as a major methyl-group donor. However, despite this well-accepted fact, no study has yet explored how choline’s methyl-donor function contributes to preventing hepatic lipid dysregulation. Moreover, the potential regulatory role of Ire-1α, an ER-transmembrane transducer for the unfolded protein response (UPRer), in choline-mediated hepatic lipid homeostasis remains unexplored. Thus, this study investigated the mechanism by which choline prevents hepatic lipid dysregulation, focusing on its role as a methyl-donor and the involvement of Ire-1α in this process. To this end, a model animal for lipid metabolism, yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) were fed two different diets (adequate or deficient choline diets) in vivo for 10 weeks. The key findings of studies are as follows: 1. Dietary choline, upregulated selected lipolytic and fatty acid β-oxidation transcripts promoting hepatic lipid homeostasis. 2. Dietary choline ameliorated UPRer and prevented hepatic lipid dysregulation mainly through ire-1α signalling, not perk or atf-6α signalling. 3. Choline inhibited the transcriptional expression level of ire-1α by activating site-specific DNA methylations in the promoter of ire-1α. 4. Choline-mediated ire-1α methylations reduced Ire-1α/Fas interactions, thereby further inhibiting Fas activity and reducing lipid droplet deposition. These results offer a novel insight into the direct and indirect regulation of choline on lipid metabolism genes and suggests a potential crosstalk between ire-1α signalling and choline-deficiency-induced hepatic lipid dysregulation, highlighting the critical contribution of choline as a methyl-donor in maintaining hepatic lipid homeostasis.

In this article, we report on the preparation of few-layered MoS2/graphene nanocomposite (MoS2/GNS-G) with enlarged interlayer distance as the lithium-ion battery anode via a facile hydrothermal method followed by glucose-assisted thermal annealing. During the synthesis, glucose serving as a small organic molecule can interlay into MoS2 nanosheets, which effectively hinder the aggregation and restacking of MoS2 during the process of heat treatment, retaining a sandwich structure of the composite. The enlarged interlayer distance (approximately 0.98 nm), along with the inserted amorphous carbon, could promote efficient lithium migration into active sites, buffer the volume change and stabilize the electrode structure effectively during the lithium insertion/extraction cycling. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that the MoS2/GNS-G delivers a high discharge capacity of 1583.0 mA h/g in the initial cycle at current density of 100 mA/g. The specific capacity remained at the relative high value of 673.5 mA h/g even at a current density of 1000 mA/g.

We demonstrate in this paper the shape-controlled synthesis of α-Fe2O3 rhombohedra anchored graphene nanocomposites through a simple hydrothermal strategy by adopting inorganic species in the synthesis system. TEM investigations reveal that the rhombohedra with an average diameter of 80 nm is formed through oriented attachment of primary nanocrystals assisted by Ostwald ripening, and CH3COONa inorganic surfactant played an important role in control over the final morphology of the products. As high-performance anodes for lithium-ion batteries, the obtained Fe2O3 rhombohedra/graphene composite exhibits the first reversible capacity of 905.3 mAh g−1, and high capacity retention of 85.7% after 50 cycles. These values are much higher than those of bare Fe2O3 and Fe2O3 particle/graphene composites, indicating its excellent electrochemical stability. These results give us a guideline for the study of the morphology-dependent properties of functional oxide materials as well as further applications for magnetic materials, lithium-ion batteries, and gas sensors.

In the work, an in situ chemical synthesis approach has been developed to fabricate SnO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites in ethanol solution. X-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectrum revealed the formation of SnO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that SnO2 nanoparticles had a crystal size of about 3–4 nm and homogeneously distributed on reduced graphene oxide matrix. The electrochemical performances of the SnO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites as anode materials were measured by the galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling. The results indicated that as-synthesized SnO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites had a reversible lithium storage capacity of 1051 mAh/g and an enhanced cyclability, which can be attributed to increased electrode conductivity and buffer effect to volume change in the presence of a percolated reduced graphene oxide network embedded into the metal oxide electrodes.

The mesoporous and nanorods SnO2 are synthesized by controlling the state of SnCl2·2H2O precursor with SBA-15 as hard template, and the possible formation mechanisms at different assembling modes inside the ordered mesoporous silica templates are proposed. In addition, SnO2 nanoparticles are synthesized by hydrolysis depositing method. The electrochemical tests of as-prepared samples indicate that the reticular stacking structure of the nanorods would limit the Li+ ions to intercalate, but the effect of volume expansion in this case upon cycling is insignificant. The mesostructure SnO2 tends to be stable after partial structural collapse at first few cycles. And the Li+ ions can readily intercalate and de-intercalate into/from its ordered channels structure, which provides a high capacity and an improved cycle property. Although SnO2 nanoparticles deliver high capacity at an early stage, the agglomeration may induce the capacity to drop rapidly after a certain number of cycles.

A novel graphene-modified LiMnPO4 composite as a performance-improved cathode material for lithium-ion batteries has been prepared with LiH2PO4, Mn(CH3COO)2·4H2O, and graphite oxide (GO) suspension by spray-drying method. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests are applied to characterize these materials. The structure analysis shows that LiMnPO4 sheets with width of 100–200 nm and thickness of 20–30 nm are attached to the graphene sheets in pieces. The graphene sheets with good electrical conductivity serve as a conducting network for fast electron transfer between the active materials and charge collector, as well as buffered spaces to accommodate the volume expansion/contraction during the discharge/charge process. The electrochemical tests show that the composite cathode material could deliver a capacity of 105.1 mAh/g at 0.05 C in the voltage range of 2.5–4.4 V. Moreover, the cells showed fair good cycle ability over 50 cycles.

The porous Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 nanoplate is prepared by colloidal crystal template assembled by the poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) beads. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy results show that the nanoplates of porous solid solution cathodes are composed of nanoparticles with a size range of 30 nm, which interweave together forming an open porous structure. Electrochemical tests show that porous Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 cathode could deliver higher discharge capacity than that of bulk Li1.2Ni0.13Co0.13Mn0.54O2 cathode at all C-rates. The enhanced structural stability reflected by high ratios of integrated Intensity I(003)/I(104) and lattice parameters c/a, high specific surface area, a fast reaction and ionic diffusion kinetics of the nanoplates are considered attributable to the improved electrochemical properties.

Under γ-irradiation, thiacetamide (TAA) releases S2− in acidic solutions (e.g., pH = 3), and the S2− can react with available Cd2+ in soft templates to form CdS nanorods. Single-crystalline CdS nanorods were prepared in this study. The effects of various synthesis parameters on the crystalline type, morphology, average particle size, and photoelectric properties were thoroughly investigated, including the concentrations of reactants, dose of irradiation, and the type and dosage of templates. The structure and selected physical and chemical properties of products were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometer techniques. Results indicated that the ratio of reactants to templates greatly affected the morphology of CdS nanorods; the types of soft templates also had significant effects on the morphology and crystalline type of the nanorod products.

The spotted longbarbel catfish (Mystus guttatus) is a member of the family Bagridae and is mainly distributed in the Pearl River Valley and Nandujiang River of Hainan Island. It is one of the four most famous fishes in the history of Pearl River Valley. Nowadays, M. guttatus has become a potential target for aquaculture in China due to its high nutritional value, but its genetic background is still unknown. This study was carried out to estimate its population genetic diversity in Pearl River. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was performed on 30 samples, using 20 random primers of length 10 nucleotides. The results showed that each primer amplified 3–9 bands per sample. Twenty primers produced 3210 well-amplified DNA fragments with reproducible band patterns and the average number of amplified DNA fragments reached 107 in each individual. Broadly speaking, 48 (44.9%) of 107 loci were polymorphic. Only the S30 primer did not produce polymorphic loci. The genetic distance of individuals ranged from 0.0467 to 0.2804. The average genetic distance among the 30 individuals was 0.1526±0.037. Genetic data in this study could be useful in genetic resource assessment as well as in wild population conservation and exploitation of M. guttatus in the future.

A highly sensitive photodiode was fabricated with a metal-porous silicon junction. The spectral response was measured for the wavelength range from 400 nm to 1.075 μm. It was demonstrated that close to unity quantum efficiency could be obtained in the wavelength range of 630 to 900 nm without any anti-reflective coating. The detector response time is about 2 ns for a 9 volts reverse bias. The acceptance angle of photodiode is 2 times better than that of conventional Si detectors. The uniformity and stability were also studied. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

As part of the investigation of the use of Pd-based ohmic contacts to p-type GaAs, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy were used to explore the uniformity at the metal/GaAs interface and its composition profile after ohmic contact formation. Comparisons were made among Au:Be, Au:Be/Pd, and Au/Pd contacts. Regions of p+ were formed in n-type GaAs by a spin-on source which was rapid diffused at 950 °C for 6 s or by ion implantation at a dose of 3 × 1014 atoms/cm2 at 150 keV for 15 min. Metallizations were accomplished by evaporation with a base pressure of 3 × 10−6 Torr. Sintering of the metallizations was done in a furnace at 350 °C for 15 min. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscope studies revealed an absence of spiking when Be is present in the metallization scheme but a broad band diffused into GaAs. An improper metal/GaAs adhesion was observed when Pd is absent. Be assists in confining the reaction of Pd with GaAs and acts as a diffusion barrier to the p+ dopant. Electrical measurements, taken from transmission line and cross bridge Kelvin resistors, were best for the Pd/Au:Be, which yielded a contact resistance of 0.3 μΩ-cm2.

Stable, low resistance ohmic contacts to p-type GaAs were studied for use in semiconductor laser applications. Comparison was made between Cr/Au, Au:Be and Pd/Au:Be metallizations. Regions of P+ were formed in N-type GaAs by a spin-on source which was rapid diffused at 950°C for 6s. Surface doping of 2×1020/cm3 and junction depth of 0.4 μm were determined by SIMS, groove and stain, and electrochemical profile. Metallizations were accomplished by thermal evaporation with a base pressure of 3×10-6 Torr. Sintering of the metallizations was done by furnace or RTA at 350°C. This sintering temperature was selected after RBS studies predicted an absence of significant interdiffusion. Pd/Au:Be yielded the best result of 0.3 μΩ-cm2 based upon transmission line, cross-bridge Kelvin and van der Pauw studies. A layer of BeO was revealed on the surface of Au:Be contacts by Auger studies. Cross-section TEM studies on Pd/Au:Be revealed a uniform layer of alloyed Ga-Au with an absence of spiking.