| 1. |
- Xu, Chun Kai, et al.
(författare)
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Nonlinear inelastic electron scattering revealed by plasmon-enhanced electron energy-loss spectroscopy
- 2014
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Ingår i: Nature Physics. - 1745-2473 .- 1745-2481. ; 10:10, s. 753-757
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electron energy-loss spectroscopy is a powerful tool for identifying the chemical composition of materials(1-5). It relies mostly on the measurement of inelastic electrons, which carry specific atomic or molecular information. Inelastic electron scattering, however, has a very low intensity, often orders of magnitude weaker than that of elastically scattered electrons. Here, we report the observation of enhanced inelastic electron scattering from silver nanostructures, the intensity of which can reach up to 60% of its elastic counterpart. A home-made scanning probe electron energy-loss spectrometer(6) was used to produce highly localized plasmonic excitations, significantly enhancing the strength of the local electric field of silver nanostructures. The intensity of inelastic electron scattering was found to increase nonlinearly with respect to the electric field generated by the tip-sample bias, providing direct evidence of nonlinear electron scattering processes.
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| 2. |
- Xu, Weidong, 1988-, et al.
(författare)
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Rational molecular passivation for high-performance perovskite light-emitting diodes
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature Photonics. - : Springer Nature Publishing AG. - 1749-4885 .- 1749-4893. ; 13:6, s. 418-424
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A major efficiency limit for solution-processed perovskite optoelectronic devices, for example light-emitting diodes, is trap-mediated non-radiative losses. Defect passivation using organic molecules has been identified as an attractive approach to tackle this issue. However, implementation of this approach has been hindered by a lack of deep understanding of how the molecular structures influence the effectiveness of passivation. We show that the so far largely ignored hydrogen bonds play a critical role in affecting the passivation. By weakening the hydrogen bonding between the passivating functional moieties and the organic cation featuring in the perovskite, we significantly enhance the interaction with defect sites and minimize non-radiative recombination losses. Consequently, we achieve exceptionally high-performance near-infrared perovskite light-emitting diodes with a record external quantum efficiency of 21.6%. In addition, our passivated perovskite light-emitting diodes maintain a high external quantum efficiency of 20.1% and a wall-plug efficiency of 11.0% at a high current density of 200 mA cm−2, making them more attractive than the most efficient organic and quantum-dot light-emitting diodes at high excitations.
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| 3. |
- Xu, Yan, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of Amine Additives on Perovskite Precursor Aging : A Case Study of Light-Emitting Diodes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1948-7185 .- 1948-7185. ; 12:25, s. 5836-5843
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Amines are widely employed as additives for improving the performance of metal halide perovskite optoelectronic devices. However, amines are well-known for their high chemical reactivity, the impact of which has yet to receive enough attention from the perovskite light-emitting diode community. Here, by investigating an unusual positive aging effect of CH3NH3I/CsI/PbI2 precursor solutions as an example, we reveal that amines gradually undergo N-formylation in perovskite precursors over time. This reaction is initialized by hydrolysis of dimethylformamide in the acidic chemical environment. Further investigations suggest that the reaction products collectively impact perovskite crystallization and eventually lead to significantly enhanced external quantum efficiency values, increasing from similar to 2% for fresh solutions to greater than or similar to 12% for aged ones. While this case study provides a positive aging effect, a negative aging effect is possible in other perovksite systems. Our findings pave the way for more reliable and reproducible device fabrication and call for further attention to underlying chemical reactions within the perovskite inks once amine additives are included.
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| 4. |
- Zhang, Jun-Jun, et al.
(författare)
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Murine Membranous Nephropathy : Immunization with alpha 3(IV) Collagen Fragment Induces Subepithelial Immune Complexes and Fc gamma R-Independent Nephrotic Syndrome
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Immunology. - : The American Association of Immunologists. - 0022-1767 .- 1550-6606. ; 188:7, s. 3268-3277
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Membranous nephropathy (MN) is a leading cause of nephrotic syndrome in adults and a significant cause of end-stage renal disease, yet current therapies are nonspecific, toxic, and often ineffective. The development of novel targeted therapies requires a detailed understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms, but progress is hampered by the lack of a robust mouse model of disease. We report that DBA/1 mice as well as congenic Fc gamma RIII-/- and FcR gamma(-/-) mice immunized with a fragment of alpha 3(IV) collagen developed massive albuminuria and nephrotic syndrome, because of subepithelial deposits of mouse IgG and C3 with corresponding basement membrane reaction and podocyte foot process effacement. The clinical presentation and histopathologic findings were characteristic of MN. Although immunized mice produced genuine anti-alpha 3NC1 autoantibodies that bound to kidney and lung basement membranes, neither crescentic glomerulonephritis nor alveolitis ensued, likely because of the predominance of mouse IgG1 over IgG2a and IgG2b autoantibodies. The ablation of activating IgG Fc receptors did not ameliorate injury, implicating subepithelial deposition of immune complexes and consequent complement activation as a major effector pathway. We have thus established an active model of murine MN. This model, leveraged by the availability of genetically engineered mice and mouse-specific reagents, will be instrumental in studying the pathogenesis of MN and evaluating the efficacy of novel experimental therapies.
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| 5. |
- Feng, Yue Hua, et al.
(författare)
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Increased apolipoprotein M induced by lack of scavenger receptor BI is not activated via HDL-mediated cholesterol uptake in hepatocytes
- 2018
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Ingår i: Lipids in Health and Disease. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-511X. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI) is a classic high-density lipoprotein (HDL) receptor, which mediates selective lipid uptake from HDL cholesterol esters (HDL-C). Apolipoprotein M (ApoM), as a component of HDL particles, could influence preβ-HDL formation and cholesterol efflux. The aim of this study was to determine whether SR-BI deficiency influenced the expression of ApoM. Methods: Blood samples and liver tissues were collected from SR-BI gene knockout mice, and serum lipid parameters, including total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C and LDL-C) and ApoM were measured. Hepatic ApoM and ApoAI mRNA levels were also determined. In addition, BLT-1, an inhibitor of SR-BI, was added to HepG2 cells cultured with cholesterol and HDL, under serum or serum-free conditions. The mRNA and protein expression levels of ApoM were detected by RT-PCR and western blot. Results: We found that increased serum ApoM protein levels corresponded with high hepatic ApoM mRNA levels in both male and female SR-BI-/- mice. Besides, serum TC and HDL-C were also significantly increased. Treatment of HepG2 hepatoma cells with SR-BI specific inhibitor, BLT-1, could up-regulate ApoM expression in serum-containing medium but not in serum-free medium, even in the presence of HDL-C and cholesterol. Conclusions: Results suggested that SR-BI deficiency promoted ApoM expression, but the increased ApoM might be independent from HDL-mediated cholesterol uptake in hepatocytes.
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| 6. |
- Gao, Xuerui, et al.
(författare)
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Feasibility evaluation of solar photovoltaic pumping irrigation system based on analysis of dynamic variation of groundwater table
- 2013
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Ingår i: Applied Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0306-2619 .- 1872-9118. ; 105, s. 182-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) pumping irrigation system has become a widely applied solar energy technology over the past decades, in which the pump is driven by electricity produced by solar energy and lifts groundwater or surface water to irrigate the crop or grassland for agriculture. Qinghai Province, located in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, features abundant solar energy, but the problem of local grassland degradation and ecological deterioration has become increasingly serious. Using the clean solar energy to pump groundwater or surface water is of great significance for grassland recovery, environment protection and ecological restoration. In this study, we selected a demonstration site (with an area of 3.15 ha) in Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Golog at the southern part of Qinghai Province and evaluated the feasibility and performance of the PV pumping irrigation system at field scale. Firstly, water demand of pasture was predicted in different hydrological level years to determine water deficiency, which should be replenished mainly by pumping groundwater according to the local water resources conditions. Secondly, through modeling the unsteady flow of partially penetrating well in unconfined aquifer, we analyzed the change of groundwater table of the pumping well in both irrigation season and non-irrigation season, and then evaluated whether the groundwater resources can satisfy the pumping water demand for the growth of grassland. Results show that groundwater resources in the demonstration area are satisfactory and water yield in the pumping well can generally fulfill the water demand of grassland. Finally, based on balance analysis between solar energy supply and demand, a set of technical parameters were given to design the PV pumping irrigation system in the demonstration area. We also made the benefit analysis for the PV pumping irrigation system. It is concluded that, the PV system has good economic and ecological performance in the demonstration site compared to the diesel engine irrigation system, showing promising prospects to be popularized in Western China at large scale.
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| 7. |
- Hua, Sha, et al.
(författare)
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Influence of APOA5 locus on the treatment efficacy of three statins : Evidence from a randomized pilot study in Chinese subjects
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Pharmacology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1663-9812. ; 9:APR
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pharmacogenetics or pharmacogenomics approaches are important for addressing the individual variabilities of drug efficacy especially in the era of precision medicine. One particular interesting gene to investigate is APOA5, which has been repeatedly linked with the inter-individual variations of serum triglycerides. Here, we explored APOA5-statin interactions in 195 Chinese subjects randomized to rosuvastatin (5-10 mg/day), atorvastatin (10-20 mg/day), or simvastatin (40 mg/day) for 12 weeks by performing a targeted genotyping analysis of the APOA5 promoter SNP rs662799 (-1131T > C). There were no significant differences between the treatment arms for any of the statin-induced changes in clinical biomarkers. Reductions in LDL cholesterol were influenced by the APOA5 genotype in all three treatment groups. By contrast, changes in HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were only affected by the APOA5 genotype in the atorvastatin and simvastatin groups and not in the rosuvastatin group. Our results suggest that future studies may need to consider stratifying subjects not only by genetic background but also by prescribed statin type.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Kuang, Chaoyang, et al.
(författare)
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Critical role of additive-induced molecular interaction on the operational stability of perovskite light-emitting diodes
- 2021
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Ingår i: Joule. - : Cell Press. - 2542-4351. ; 5:3, s. 618-630
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite rapid improvements in efficiency and brightness of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), the poor operational stability remains a critical challenge hindering their practical applications. Here, we demonstrate greatly improved operational stability of high-efficiency PeLEDs, enabled by incorporating dicarboxylic acids into the precursor for perovskite depositions. We reveal that the dicarboxylic acids efficiently eliminate reactive organic ingredients in perovskite emissive layers through an in situ amidation process, which is catalyzed by the alkaline zinc oxide substrate. The formed stable amides prohibit detrimental reactions between the perovskites and the charge injection layer underneath, stabilizing the perovskites and the interfacial contacts and ensuring the excellent operational stability of the resulting PeLEDs. Through rationally optimizing the amidation reaction in the perovskite emissive layers, we achieve efficient PeLEDs with a peak external quantum efficiency of 18.6% and a long half-life time of 682 h at 20 mA cm(-2), presenting an important breakthrough in PeLEDs.
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| 10. |
- Luo, Guanghua, et al.
(författare)
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Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms using base-quenched probe: A method does not invariably depend on the deoxyguanosine nucleotide
- 2009
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Ingår i: Analytical Biochemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 1096-0309 .- 0003-2697. ; 386:2, s. 161-166
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most available methods for detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are based principally on the system that can produce an increased fluorescence signal during hybridization. In the current study, we demonstrate a method of base-quenched probe for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) genotyping that requires only a pair of primers and one fluorescent probe and does not invariably depend on the deoxyguanosine nucleotide. This method further exploits the phenomenon of fluorescence quenching of fluorescent-labeled probe during hybridization to its complementary target gene's sequence. 6-Carboxyfluorescein (FAM) can be directly conjugated to a base of either adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), or guanine (G), referred to as A-, T-, C-, or G-quenched probe, respectively, at either the 5' or 3' end. For describing the method in detail, we chose apolipoprotein M (apoM) as a target gene in the current study. DNA sequencing analyses validated that all four types of base-quenched probes could provide unbiased genotyping results (K = 1, P = 0.000), although the maximum speed of fluorescence increase, max(dF/dT), when using the G-quenched probe method, was approximately twofold lower than the others (P < 0.0001). Moreover, we applied this method to detect another seven SNPs in the genomes of phospholipase A2, monocyte chemoattractant protein I (MCP1), and L-ficolin, further confirming our method. It is concluded that this method is precise, simple, and economic as well as suitable for large-scale genotyping Studies. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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