Southwest University

About: Southwest University is a education organization based out in Chongqing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Gene & Population. The organization has 29772 authors who have published 27755 publications receiving 409441 citations. The organization is also known as: Southwest University in Chongqing & SWU.

Determinants of Water Conservation Intention in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Abstract: Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, has faced frequent water shortages during the past decade, but little effort has been made to encourage or implement water conservation among household water users. We employ the theory of planned behavior (TBP) as a theoretical framework in evaluating determinates of intention to implement a set of specific water conservation behaviors among Blagoevgrad residents. In addition to the TPB variables, we consider the effects of sociodemographics, environmental attitudes, information possession, and concern over future shortages on water conservation intention. The analysis is based on 728 questionnaires collected during the summer of 2003. The TPB variables all showed positive and significant correlation with water conservation intention. Self-perceived knowledge of climate change was also significantly related to intention. Environmental attitudes and concern over future shortages were significant but relatively weak determinants.

Dopant-Free Organic Hole-Transporting Material for Efficient and Stable Inverted All-Inorganic and Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells.

Abstract: Designing new hole-transporting materials (HTMs) with desired chemical, electrical, and electronic properties is critical to realize efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) with a p-i-n structure. Herein, the synthesis of a novel 3D small molecule named TPE-S and its application as an HTM in PVSCs are shown. The all-inorganic inverted PVSCs made using TPE-S, processed without any dopant or post-treatment, are highly efficient and stable. Compared to control devices based on the commonly used HTM, PEDOT:PSS, devices based on TPE-S exhibit improved optoelectronic properties, more favorable interfacial energetics, and reduced recombination due to an improved trap passivation effect. As a result, the all-inorganic CsPbI2 Br PVSCs based on TPE-S demonstrate a remarkable efficiency of 15.4% along with excellent stability, which is the one of the highest reported values for inverted all-inorganic PVSCs. Meanwhile, the TPE-S layer can also be generally used to improve the performance of organic/inorganic hybrid inverted PVSCs, which show an outstanding power conversation efficiency of 21.0%, approaching the highest reported efficiency for inverted PVSCs. This work highlights the great potential of TPE-S as a simple and general dopant-free HTM for different types of high-performance PVSCs.

Gold-Coated Fe3O4 Nanoroses with Five Unique Functions for Cancer Cell Targeting, Imaging and Therapy.

Abstract: The development of nanomaterials that combine diagnostic and therapeutic functions within a single nanoplatform is extremely important for molecular medicine. Molecular imaging with simultaneous diagnosis and therapy will provide the multimodality needed for accurate diagnosis and targeted therapy. Here, we demonstrate gold-coated iron oxide (Fe3O4@Au) nanoroses with five distinct functions, which integrate aptamer-based targeting, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical imaging, photothermal therapy and chemotherapy into one single probe. The inner Fe3O4 core functions as an MRI agent, while the photothermal effect is achieved through near-infrared absorption by the gold shell, causing a rapid rise in temperature and also resulting in a facilitated release of the anticancer drug doxorubicin carried by the nanoroses. Where the doxorubicin is released is monitored by its fluorescent. Aptamers immobilized on the surfaces of the nanoroses enable efficient and selective drug delivery, imaging and photothermal effect with high specificity. The five-function-embedded nanoroses show great advantages in multimodality.

Enhanced electrical conductivity and piezoresistive sensing in multi-wall carbon nanotubes/polydimethylsiloxane nanocomposites via the construction of a self-segregated structure

Abstract: Formation of highly conductive networks is essential for achieving flexible conductive polymer composites (CPCs) with high force sensitivity and high electrical conductivity In this study, self-segregated structures were constructed in polydimethylsiloxane/multi-wall carbon nanotube (PDMS/MWCNT) nanocomposites, which then exhibited high piezoresistive sensitivity and low percolation threshold without sacrificing their mechanical properties First, PDMS was cured and pulverized into 40–60 mesh-sized particles (with the size range of 250–425 μm) as an optimum self-segregated phase to improve the subsequent electrical conductivity Then, the uncured PDMS/MWCNT base together with the curing agent was mixed with the abovementioned PDMS particles, serving as the segregated phase Finally, the mixture was cured again to form the PDMS/MWCNT nanocomposites with self-segregated structures The morphological evaluation indicated that MWCNTs were located in the second cured three-dimensional (3D) continuous PDMS phase, resulting in an ultralow percolation threshold of 0003 vol% MWCNTs The nanocomposites with self-segregated structures with 02 vol% MWCNTs achieved a high electrical conductivity of 0003 S m−1, whereas only 487 × 10−10 S m−1 was achieved for the conventional samples with 02 vol% MWCNTs The gauge factor GF of the self-segregated samples was 74-fold that of the conventional samples at 30% compression strain Furthermore, the self-segregated samples also showed higher compression modulus and strength as compared to the conventional samples These enhanced properties were attributed to the construction of 3D self-segregated structures, concentrated distribution of MWCNTs, and strong interfacial interaction between the segregated phase and the continuous phase with chemical bonds formed during the second curing process These self-segregated structures provide a new insight into the fabrication of elastomers with high electrical conductivity and piezoresistive sensitivity for flexible force-sensitive materials

An Improved Genetic Algorithm with Initial Population Strategy for Symmetric TSP

Abstract: A new initial population strategy has been developed to improve the genetic algorithm for solving the well-known combinatorial optimization problem, traveling salesman problem. Based on the k-means algorithm, we propose a strategy to restructure the traveling route by reconnecting each cluster. The clusters, which randomly disconnect a link to connect its neighbors, have been ranked in advance according to the distance among cluster centers, so that the initial population can be composed of the random traveling routes. This process is -means initial population strategy. To test the performance of our strategy, a series of experiments on 14 different TSP examples selected from TSPLIB have been carried out. The results show that KIP can decrease best error value of random initial population strategy and greedy initial population strategy with the ratio of approximately between 29.15% and 37.87%, average error value between 25.16% and 34.39% in the same running time.