New hybrid magnetic materials based on HDPE filled with Со and Ni nanoparticles have been prepared via the metal vapor synthesis. Properties of the metal-polymer composites have been elucidated as a function of MVS parameters and metal nature. The Faraday method has been applied to characterize the magnetic properties of the systems. The microstructure of the samples has been studied with a number of X-ray and synchrotron techniques, including XRD, EXAFS and SAXS. Core-level and valence band spectra were measured by XPS. The peak at binding energy of 282.8 eV characteristic of C-Ni bond was recorded in the C 1s spectrum. It was shown that properties of nanocomposite materials with similar compositions are determined both by the synthesis conditions and post-synthesis factors.

In this policy insight, the author lays out the context of the BRI and its role in global development. He also explains why the US should consider working with China on the BRI. The author opines on China’s possible approach and strategy to get global private investors to come on board for the massive BRI projects. He suggests that the global players can establish a third-party market cooperation and coordination mechanism to turn the BRI into a platform for win-win global collaboration.

The paper examines the motivations, financing, expansion and challenges of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI was initially designed to address China’s overcapacity and promote economic growth in both China and in countries along the “Belt” and “Road” through infrastructure investment and industrial capacity cooperation. It took into account China’s strategic transition in its opening-up policy and foreign policy to pay more attention to the neighboring countries in Southeast Asia and Central and West Asia when facing greater strategic pressure from the United States in East Asia and the Pacific region. More themes have been added to the initiative’s original framework since its inception in 2013, including the vision of the BRI as China’s major solution to improve international economic cooperation and practice to build a “community of shared future for mankind”, and the idea of the Green Silk Road and the Digital Silk Road. Chinese state-owned enterprises and policy and commercial banks have dominated investment and financing for BRI projects, which explains the root of the problems and risks facing the initiative, such as unsustainable debt, non-transparency, corruption and low economic efficiency. Measures taken by China to tackle these problems, for example, mitigating the debt distress and improving debt sustainability, are unlikely to make a big difference anytime soon due to the tenacity of China’s long-held state-driven investment model.

Application of nanoparticles have been proven to aid heat transfer in engineering systems. This work experimentally investigated the performance of a domestic refrigerator under the influence of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles dispersed in mineral oil based lubricant at different charges (40, 60 and 80 g) of LPG refrigerant. The performance of the system was then investigated using test parameters including: power consumption, evaporator air temperature (pull-down time), to attain the specified International Standard Organisation (ISO) requirement for standard evaporator air temperature with small refrigerator size. Results showed improved pull down time and steady state evaporator air temperatures for the nano-lubricant based LPG. Improvement of about 11.79% in coefficient of performance (COP) was obtained with Al₂O₃-lubricant based LPG at 40g charge on the refrigerator system, while reduction of about 2.08% and 4.41% in COP were observed at 60 and 80 g charge of LPG based on Al₂O₃-lubricant respectively. Furthermore, reduction of about 13.4% and 19.53% in the power consumption of the system were observed at 40 and 60g charges of Al₂O₃-lubricant based LPG, whereas at 80 g, an increase of about 1.28% was recorded. Using Al₂O₃-LPG nano-refrigerant in domestic refrigerators is economical  and also a better alternative to pure LPG.

The market demand for uniformity and productivity of commercial carrot roots has prioritized hybrid materials over open-pollinated varieties. In this sense, the objective of this work was to estimate the combining ability of carrot genitors for root productivity and resistance to leaf scorch. The experiments were conducted in Gama, DF, in the agricultural years 2012/13 and 2013/14. We evaluated 33 carrot hybrids, originated from crosses between three male-sterile populations, with 11 male-fertile S2 lines, all the genitors being of tropical origin. At 90 days after sowing, the severity of the leaf blight disease was estimated in the plots. At 100 days after sowing, harvesting was performed and root yield characters were evaluated. Analysis of variance and partial diallel analysis were performed for each year and jointly for both years. It was found that additive and non-additive genes are important in the manifestation of root yield and leaf blight resistance traits in carrot hybrids. The male-sterile parents with higher overall combining ability for root productivity are strains LM-649 and LM-650 and, among the male-fertile, strain LM-555-2-2. The best hybrids for root yield and leaf blight resistance are LM-649 × LM-555-11-1, LM-650 × LM-555-7-1 and LM-650 × LM-554-8-1.

Diamond-like Nanocomposites (DLN) is a newly member in amorphous carbon (a:C) family. It consists of two or more interpenetrated atomic scale network structures. The amorphous silicon oxide (a:SiO) is incorporated within diamond-like carbon (DLC) matrix i.e. a:CH and both the network is interpenetrated by Si-C bond. Hence, the internal stress of deposited DLN film decreases remarkably compare to DLC. The diamond-like properties have come due to deform tetrahedral carbon with sp³ configuration and high ratio of sp³ to sp² bond. The DLN has excellent mechanical, electrical, optical and tribological properties. Those properties of DLN could be varied over a wide range by changing deposition parameters, precursor and even post deposition treatment also. The range of properties are: Resistivity 10^-4 to 10¹⁴ Ωcm, hardness 10–22 GPa, coefficient of friction 0.03-0.2, wear factor 0.2-0.4 10^-7mm³/Nm, transmission Vis-far IR, modulus of elasticity 150-200 GPa, residual stress 200-300 Mpa, dielectric constant 3-9 and maximum operating temperature 600^°C in oxygen environment and 1200^°C in O₂ free air. Generally, the PECVD method is used to synthesize the DLN film. The most common procedures used for investigation of structure and composition of DLN films are Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), HRTEM, FESEM and X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS). Interest in the coating technology has been expressed by nearly every industrial segment including automotive, aerospace, chemical processing, marine, energy, personal care, office equipment, electronics, biomedical and tool and die or in a single line from data to beer in all segment of life. In this review paper, characterization of diamond-like nanocomposites is discussed and subsequently different application areas are also elaborated.