| 393321. |
- Hu, Lingna, et al.
(författare)
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Towards an optical diagnostic system for otitis media using a combination of otoscopy and spectroscopy
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Biophotonics. - : Wiley. - 1864-063X .- 1864-0648. ; 12:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An improved method, where conventional otoscope investigation of human suspicious otitis media is combined with diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and gas in scattering media absorption spectroscopy (GASMAS) is being developed. Otitis media is one of the most common infectious diseases in children, whose Eustachian tube connecting the middle ear with the nasal cavity is more horizontal than for adults, which leads to impaired fluid drainage. At present, the use of an otoscope to visually observe possible changes in the tympanic membrane appearance is the main diagnostics method for otitis media. Inaccurate diagnosis related to similar symptoms, and the difficulty for small children to describe the condition experienced, frequently leads to over-prescription of antibiotics and alarming increase in bacterial resistance development. More accurate diagnostic methods are highly desirable. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy is a non-invasive quantitative spectroscopic technique that enables to objectively quantify changes in the hemoglobin content of the tympanic membrane related to inflammation. If an infection is present, the ventilatory function of the Eustachian tube is frequently impaired and the middle-ear cavity will be filled with fluid. GASMAS, a non-invasive detection method, can non-invasively determine if gas is replaced by fluid in the middle-ear cavity.
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| 393322. |
- Hu, Liangbing, et al.
(författare)
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Transparent and conductive paper from nanocellulose fibers
- 2013
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Ingår i: Energy & Environmental Science. - 1754-5692 .- 1754-5706. ; 6:2, s. 513-518
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here we report on a novel substrate, nanopaper, made of cellulose nanofibrils, an earth abundant material. Compared with regular paper substrates, nanopaper shows superior optical properties. We have carried out the first study on the optical properties of nanopaper substrates. Since the size of the nanofibrils is much less than the wavelength of visible light, nanopaper is highly transparent with large light scattering in the forward direction. Successful depositions of transparent and conductive materials including tin-doped indium oxide, carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires have been achieved on nanopaper substrates, opening up a wide range of applications in optoelectronics such as displays, touch screens and interactive paper. We have also successfully demonstrated an organic solar cell on the novel substrate.
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| 393323. |
- Hu, Lixia, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding followers’ stickiness to digital influencers : The effect of psychological responses
- 2020
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Ingår i: International Journal of Information Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0268-4012 .- 1873-4707. ; 54
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ability of digital influencers to convert their followers into paying customers relies heavily on the followers’ “stickiness”, a topic that has not been adequately investigated in the existing literature. From a psychological perspective, this study develops a theoretical model of followers’ stickiness. Two forms of followers’ psychological responses to digital influencers are jointly considered: wishful identification and parasocial relationships. This study also categorizes and examines the moderating effects exerted by the genres of digital influencers’ revenue models, which represent a vital contextual factor for forming followers’ stickiness. A survey was conducted on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, with a sample of 319 followers of real digital influencers that are using different genres of revenue models. The findings indicate that both wishful identification and parasocial relationships have significant but different impacts on followers’ stickiness in different genres of influencers’ revenue models. This paper enriches our understanding of the phenomenon of followers’ stickiness toward digital influencers and provides practical guidance for digital influencers and social commerce/media platform providers.
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| 393324. |
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| 393325. |
- Hu, Li-Xin, et al.
(författare)
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What is in Nigerian waters? Target and non-target screening analysis for organic chemicals
- 2021
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Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Elsevier BV. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 284
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Emerging organic contaminants (e.g., active pharmaceutical ingredients and personal care products ingredients) are ubiquitous in the environment and potentially harmful to ecosystems, have gained increasing public attention worldwide. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of data on these contaminants in Africa. In this study, various types of water samples (wastewater, surface water and tap water) collected from Lagos, Nigeria were analyzed for these chemicals by both target and non-target analysis on an UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS. In total, 109 compounds were identified by non-target screening using the online database mzCloud. Level 1 identification confidence was achieved for 13 compounds for which reference standards were available and level 2 was achieved for the rest. In the quantitative analysis, 18 of 38 target compounds were detected, including the parent compounds and their metabolites. Acetaminophen, sulfamethoxazole, acesulfame, and caffeine were detected in all samples with their highest concentrations at 8000, 5300, 16, and 7700 μg/L in wastewater, 140000, 3300, 7.7, and 12000 μg/L in surface water, and 66, 62, 0.17 and 1000 μg/L in tap water, respectively. The occurrence of psychoactive substances, anticancer treatments, antiretrovirals, antihypertensives, antidiabetics and their metabolites were reported in Nigeria for the first time. These results indicate poor wastewater treatment and management in Nigeria, and provide a preliminary profile of organic contaminants occurring in Nigerian waters. The findings from this study urge more future research on chemical pollution in the aquatic environments in Nigeria.
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| 393326. |
- Hu, Min, et al.
(författare)
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Alterations of endometrial epithelial-mesenchymal transition and MAPK signaling components in women with PCOS are partially modulated by metformin in vitro. : Endometrial EMT and MAPK signaling components in PCOS patients
- 2020
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Ingår i: Molecular human reproduction. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2407. ; 26:5, s. 312-326
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Growing evidence suggests that epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its regulator mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) contribute to endometria-related reproductive disorders. However, the regulation of EMT and MAPK signaling components in the endometrium from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients has not been systematically investigated and remains elusive. In humans, how metformin induces molecular alterations in the endometrial tissues under PCOS conditions is not completely clear. Here, we recruited 7 non-PCOS patients during the proliferative phase (nPCOS), 7 non-PCOS patients with endometrial hyperplasia (nPCOSEH), 14 PCOS patients during the proliferative phase (PCOS), and 3 PCOS patients with endometrial hyperplasia (PCOSEH). Our studies demonstrated that compared with nPCOS, PCOS patients showed decreased Claudin 1 and increased Vimentin and Slug proteins. Similar to increased Slug protein, nPCOSEH and PCOSEH patients showed increased N-cadherin protein. Western blot and immunostaining revealed increased epithelial phosphorylated Cytokeratin 8 (p-CK 8) expression and an increased p-CK 8:CK 8 ratio in PCOS, nPCOSEH, and PCOSEH patients compared to nPCOS patients. Although nPCOSEH and PCOSEH patients showed increased p-ERK1/2 and/or p38 protein levels, the significant increase in p-ERK1/2 expression and p-ERK1/2:ERK1/2 ratio was only found in PCOS patients compared to nPCOS patients. A significant induction of the membrane ERβ immunostaining was observed in the epithelial cells of PCOS and PCOSEH patients compared to nPCOS and nPCOSEH patients. While in-vitro treatment with metformin alone increased Snail and decreased Claudin 1, N-cadherin and α-SMA proteins, concomitant treatment with metformin and E2 increased the expression of CK 8 and Snail proteins and decreased the expression of Claudin 1, ZO-1, Slug and α-SMA proteins. Our findings suggest that the EMT contributes to the switch from a healthy state to a PCOS state in the endometrium, which might subsequently drive endometrial injury and dysfunction. We also provide evidence that metformin differentially modulates EMT protein expression in PCOS patients depending on estrogenic stimulation.
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| 393327. |
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| 393328. |
- Hu, Min, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of a Three-Dimensional Fiber Orientation Model for Timber
- 2016
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Ingår i: Wood and Fiber Science. - 0735-6161. ; 48:4, s. 271-290
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wood is an orthotropic material with very different properties along and across fibers, and every board has its own pattern of knots and fiber deviations. Therefore, detailed knowledge of the three-dimensional (3D) fiber orientation of individual boards would enable more accurate assessment of properties such as stiffness, strength, and shape stability. This paper presents a method for modeling 3D fiber orientation of side boards of Norway spruce. The method is based on dot laser scanning and utilization of the tracheid effect, and it is verified by a comparison between strain fields calculated on the basis of the fiber orientation model and corresponding strains determined using digital image correlation (DIC) technique. By means of the method, it is possible to identify knots and to reproduce the fiber orientation in clear wood in the vicinity of knots. Fiber orientation models of side boards including traversing edge knots were established and integrated in finite element models of boards used for simulation of four-point bending tests. The same boards were also tested in laboratory and displacement fields of the wide faces were recorded at different load levels using DIC technique. Comparisons of strain fields from measurements and simulations showed close agreement, regarding both strain patterns and strain levels. Local strain concentrations caused by very small defects were detected using the models and also found from the laboratory test results. The modeling approach may be used both to achieve improved accuracy of existing machine strength grading methods and, after further development, also for more advanced analysis of eg crack propagation and strength of timber.
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| 393329. |
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| 393330. |
- Hu, Mengzhu, et al.
(författare)
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Broadband Absorption and Efficient Hot-Carrier Photovoltaic Conversion based on Sunlight-induced Non-radiative Decay of Propagating Surface Plasmon Polaritons
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Localized surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), which can decay non-radiatively into hot carriers, have been widely employed to extend the responses of traditional semiconductor-based photocatalytic and photovoltaic devices to sub-bandgap photons. However, radiative decay is unavoidable and adverse to device performances. Here, we propose to take advantage of propagating SPPs, another form of SPPs, which possess non-radiative decay only. A special gold-titanium dioxide nanowire array with each nanowire capped with a nanocone is proposed. The adjacent nanocones forming top gradual openings attribute to efficient sunlight harvesting, while the neighbouring nanowires forming bottom nanoslots allow sufficient absorption due to the propagating SPPs. With the combined advantages, almost 100% of light is absorbed by a very thin gold film in the visible range, and 73% in the whole considered range of 400-1170 nm, superior to the nanocone cell based on localized SPPs, let alone the nanowire-based and planar counterparts. Therefore, much better photovoltaic conversion performance is achieved with short-circuit current density of 0.74 mA/cm(2) and open-circuit voltage of 0.41 V. This work confirms the superiority of non-radiative decay of propagating SPPs to the localized SPPs in terms of generation of hot carriers, providing a promising way of extracting electrons in metal into photocurrent.
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