| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 2. |
- Jin, Ying-Hui, et al.
(author)
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Chemoprophylaxis, diagnosis, treatments, and discharge management of COVID-19 : An evidence-based clinical practice guideline (updated version)
- 2020
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In: Military Medical Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2054-9369. ; 7:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of a rapidly spreading illness, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), affecting more than seventeen million people around the world. Diagnosis and treatment guidelines for clinicians caring for patients are needed. In the early stage, we have issued "A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infected pneumonia (standard version)"; now there are many direct evidences emerged and may change some of previous recommendations and it is ripe for develop an evidence-based guideline. We formed a working group of clinical experts and methodologists. The steering group members proposed 29 questions that are relevant to the management of COVID-19 covering the following areas: chemoprophylaxis, diagnosis, treatments, and discharge management. We searched the literature for direct evidence on the management of COVID-19, and assessed its certainty generated recommendations using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Recommendations were either strong or weak, or in the form of ungraded consensus-based statement. Finally, we issued 34 statements. Among them, 6 were strong recommendations for, 14 were weak recommendations for, 3 were weak recommendations against and 11 were ungraded consensus-based statement. They covered topics of chemoprophylaxis (including agents and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) agents), diagnosis (including clinical manifestations, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respiratory tract specimens, IgM and IgG antibody tests, chest computed tomography, chest x-ray, and CT features of asymptomatic infections), treatments (including lopinavir-ritonavir, umifenovir, favipiravir, interferon, remdesivir, combination of antiviral drugs, hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine, interleukin-6 inhibitors, interleukin-1 inhibitors, glucocorticoid, qingfei paidu decoction, lianhua qingwen granules/capsules, convalescent plasma, lung transplantation, invasive or noninvasive ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)), and discharge management (including discharge criteria and management plan in patients whose RT-PCR retesting shows SARS-CoV-2 positive after discharge). We also created two figures of these recommendations for the implementation purpose. We hope these recommendations can help support healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients.
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| 3. |
- Abbafati, Cristiana, et al.
(author)
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- 2020
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 4. |
- Fang, Evandro F., et al.
(author)
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A research agenda for ageing in China in the 21st century (2nd edition): Focusing on basic and translational research, long-term care, policy and social networks.
- 2020
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In: Ageing Research Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 1568-1637. ; 64
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- One of the key issues facing public healthcare is the global trend of an increasingly ageing society which continues to present policy makers and caregivers with formidable healthcare and socio-economic challenges. Ageing is the primary contributor to a broad spectrum of chronic disorders all associated with a lower quality of life in the elderly. In 2019, the Chinese population constituted 18 % of the world population, with 164.5 million Chinese citizens aged 65 and above (65+), and 26 million aged 80 or above (80+). China has become an ageing society, and as it continues to age it will continue to exacerbate the burden borne by current family and public healthcare systems. Major healthcare challenges involved with caring for the elderly in China include the management of chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs), physical frailty, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, with emerging challenges such as providing sufficient dental care, combating the rising prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among nursing home communities, providing support for increased incidences of immune diseases, and the growing necessity to provide palliative care for the elderly. At the governmental level, it is necessary to make long-term strategic plans to respond to the pressures of an ageing society, especially to establish a nationwide, affordable, annual health check system to facilitate early diagnosis and provide access to affordable treatments. China has begun work on several activities to address these issues including the recent completion of the of the Ten-year Health-Care Reform project, the implementation of the Healthy China 2030 Action Plan, and the opening of the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders. There are also societal challenges, namely the shift from an extended family system in which the younger provide home care for their elderly family members, to the current trend in which young people are increasingly migrating towards major cities for work, increasing reliance on nursing homes to compensate, especially following the outcomes of the ‘one child policy’ and the ‘empty-nest elderly’ phenomenon. At the individual level, it is important to provide avenues for people to seek and improve their own knowledge of health and disease, to encourage them to seek medical check-ups to prevent/manage illness, and to find ways to promote modifiable health-related behaviors (social activity, exercise, healthy diets, reasonable diet supplements) to enable healthier, happier, longer, and more productive lives in the elderly. Finally, at the technological or treatment level, there is a focus on modern technologies to counteract the negative effects of ageing. Researchers are striving to produce drugs that can mimic the effects of ‘exercising more, eating less’, while other anti-ageing molecules from molecular gerontologists could help to improve ‘healthspan’ in the elderly. Machine learning, ‘Big Data’, and other novel technologies can also be used to monitor disease patterns at the population level and may be used to inform policy design in the future. Collectively, synergies across disciplines on policies, geriatric care, drug development, personal awareness, the use of big data, machine learning and personalized medicine will transform China into a country that enables the most for its elderly, maximizing and celebrating their longevity in the coming decades. This is the 2nd edition of the review paper (Fang EF et al., Ageing Re. Rev. 2015).
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| 5. |
- Kattge, Jens, et al.
(author)
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TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
- 2020
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:1, s. 119-188
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
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| 6. |
- Song, Dan-Na, et al.
(author)
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Luminescent Thermochromic Silver Iodides as Wavelength-Dependent Thermometers
- 2020
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In: Inorganic Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0020-1669 .- 1520-510X. ; 59:18, s. 13067-13077
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Luminescent thermochromic materials with a dramatic shift of emission band under different temperatures are highly desirable in temperature sensing fields. However, the design of the synthesis of such compounds remains a great challenge. In this work, two new luminescent thermochromic silver iodides, (emIm)Ag3I4 (1) and (emIm)Ag2I3 (2) (emIm = 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazole), have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions. Compound 1 features a [Ag3I4]− anionic layer, while compound 2 possesses an infinite [Ag2I3]− chain structure, both of which are charge balanced by emIm+ cations. Particularly, they display luminescent thermochromism with a significant wavelength shift of emission maximum with temperature change. They represent rare examples of infinite layered or chain silver iodides that show luminescent thermochromism. Furthermore, the results indicate that compounds 1 and 2 are promising wavelength-dependent luminescent thermometers.
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| 7. |
- Wang, Mingyi, et al.
(author)
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Rapid growth of new atmospheric particles by nitric acid and ammonia condensation
- 2020
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 581:7807, s. 184-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A list of authors and their affiliations appears at the end of the paper New-particle formation is a major contributor to urban smog(1,2), but how it occurs in cities is often puzzling(3). If the growth rates of urban particles are similar to those found in cleaner environments (1-10 nanometres per hour), then existing understanding suggests that new urban particles should be rapidly scavenged by the high concentration of pre-existing particles. Here we show, through experiments performed under atmospheric conditions in the CLOUD chamber at CERN, that below about +5 degrees Celsius, nitric acid and ammonia vapours can condense onto freshly nucleated particles as small as a few nanometres in diameter. Moreover, when it is cold enough (below -15 degrees Celsius), nitric acid and ammonia can nucleate directly through an acid-base stabilization mechanism to form ammonium nitrate particles. Given that these vapours are often one thousand times more abundant than sulfuric acid, the resulting particle growth rates can be extremely high, reaching well above 100 nanometres per hour. However, these high growth rates require the gas-particle ammonium nitrate system to be out of equilibrium in order to sustain gas-phase supersaturations. In view of the strong temperature dependence that we measure for the gas-phase supersaturations, we expect such transient conditions to occur in inhomogeneous urban settings, especially in wintertime, driven by vertical mixing and by strong local sources such as traffic. Even though rapid growth from nitric acid and ammonia condensation may last for only a few minutes, it is nonetheless fast enough to shepherd freshly nucleated particles through the smallest size range where they are most vulnerable to scavenging loss, thus greatly increasing their survival probability. We also expect nitric acid and ammonia nucleation and rapid growth to be important in the relatively clean and cold upper free troposphere, where ammonia can be convected from the continental boundary layer and nitric acid is abundant from electrical storms(4,5).
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| 8. |
- Bi, Chenghao, et al.
(author)
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Stable CsPb1- xZn xI3Colloidal Quantum Dots with Ultralow Density of Trap States for High-Performance Solar Cells
- 2020
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In: Chemistry of Materials. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0897-4756 .- 1520-5002. ; 32:14, s. 6105-6113
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- All inorganic halide perovskites in the form of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have come into people's view as one of the potential materials for the high-efficiency solar cells; nevertheless, the high surface trap density and poor stability of QDs restrict the performance improvement and application. Here, we obtain colloidal inorganic perovskite CsPb1-xZnxI3 QDs by the hot-injection synthesis process with the addition of ZnCl2. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption fine structures demonstrate that the guest Zn2+ ions are doped into the CsPbI3 structure to improve the local ordering of the lattice of the perovskite, reducing the octahedral distortions. The increase of the Goldschmidt tolerance factor and the Pb-I bond energy also enhance the stability of the perovskite structure. Furthermore, the Cl- ions from ZnCl2 occupy the iodide vacancies of the perovskite to decrease the nonradiative recombination. The synergistic effect of doping and defect passivation makes for stable colloidal CsPb0.97Zn0.03I3 QDs with ultralow density of trap states. The champion solar cell based on the QDs shows a power conversion efficiency of 14.8% and a largely improved stability under ambient conditions.
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| 9. |
- Le, Thanh-Tung, et al.
(author)
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Carbon-Decorated Fe3S4-Fe7Se8 Hetero-Nanowires: Interfacial Engineering for Bifunctional Electrocatalysis Toward Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution Reactions
- 2020
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In: Journal of the Electrochemical Society. - : ELECTROCHEMICAL SOC INC. - 0013-4651 .- 1945-7111. ; 167:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The design and synthesis of complex multi-component heterostructures is an effective strategy to fabricate cost-efficient catalysts for electrochemical water splitting. Herein, one-dimensional porous Fe3S4-Fe7Se8 heterostructured nanowires confined in carbon (Fe3S4-Fe7Se8@C) were synthesized via the selenization of Fe-based organic-inorganic nanowires. Benefiting from the merits of morphology, composition and surface structure characteristics, i.e., the high structural void porosity, the direct electrical pathways of nanowire topology and the conductive carbon layer coating, the titled catalyst not only offered a larger accessible electrocatalytic interface but also facilitated diffusion of the electrolyte and gas. Moreover, the electron redistribution at the Fe3S4-Fe7Se8 heterojunction interfaces reduced the adsorption free-energy barriers on the active sites, endowing the catalysts with faster reaction kinetics and improved electrocatalytic activity. Accordingly, the optimal Fe3S4-Fe7Se8@C produced a low hydrogen evolution reaction overpotential of 124 mV at 10 mA cm (-2) with a Tafel slope of 111.2 mV dec(-1), and an ultralow oxygen evolution reactions overpotential of 219 mV at 20 mA cm (-2 ), respectively. When applied as both anode and cathode for overall water splitting, a low battery voltage of 1.67 V was achieved along with excellent stability for at least 12 h. The work presented here offered a feasible scheme to fabricate non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts for water splitting. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP Publishing Limited.
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| 10. |
- Li, Constance H., et al.
(author)
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Sex differences in oncogenic mutational processes
- 2020
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sex differences have been observed in multiple facets of cancer epidemiology, treatment and biology, and in most cancers outside the sex organs. Efforts to link these clinical differences to specific molecular features have focused on somatic mutations within the coding regions of the genome. Here we report a pan-cancer analysis of sex differences in whole genomes of 1983 tumours of 28 subtypes as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium. We both confirm the results of exome studies, and also uncover previously undescribed sex differences. These include sex-biases in coding and non-coding cancer drivers, mutation prevalence and strikingly, in mutational signatures related to underlying mutational processes. These results underline the pervasiveness of molecular sex differences and strengthen the call for increased consideration of sex in molecular cancer research.
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