| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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. |
- Bi, Huijuan, et al.
(författare)
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A frame-shift mutation in COMTD1 is associated with impaired pheomelanin pigmentation in chicken
- 2023
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Ingår i: PLOS Genetics. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7390 .- 1553-7404. ; 19:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The biochemical pathway regulating the synthesis of yellow/red pheomelanin is less well characterized than the synthesis of black/brown eumelanin. Inhibitor of gold (IG phenotype) is a plumage colour variant in chicken that provides an opportunity to further explore this pathway since the recessive allele (IG) at this locus is associated with a defect in the production of pheomelanin. IG/IG homozygotes display a marked dilution of red pheomelanin pigmentation, whilst black pigmentation (eumelanin) is only slightly affected. Here we show that a 2-base pair insertion (frame-shift mutation) in the 5th exon of the Catechol-O-methyltransferase containing domain 1 gene (COMTD1), expected to cause a complete or partial loss-of-function of the COMTD1 enzyme, shows complete concordance with the IG phenotype within and across breeds. We show that the COMTD1 protein is localized to mitochondria in pigment cells. Knockout of Comtd1 in a mouse melanocytic cell line results in a reduction in pheomelanin metabolites and significant alterations in metabolites of glutamate/glutathione, riboflavin, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Furthermore, COMTD1 overexpression enhanced cellular proliferation following chemical-induced transfection, a potential inducer of oxidative stress. These observations suggest that COMTD1 plays a protective role for melanocytes against oxidative stress and that this supports their ability to produce pheomelanin.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Li, Songyang, et al.
(författare)
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Theoretical and experimental analysis of ceiling-jet flow in corridor fires
- 2011
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Ingår i: Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1878-4364 .- 0886-7798. ; 26:6, s. 651-658
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In tunnels or long corridors, the combustion products of the fire are confined to spread in one or two directions, forming a ceiling-jet flow. For safety assessment and emergency treatment, it is important to investigate and understand the behavior of the ceiling-jet flow. In this paper, a simple model has been presented, in terms of Richardson number and non-dimensional ceiling-jet thickness, to predict the temperature and the velocity of fire-induced ceiling-jet in a rectangular corridor. Besides, the location of hydraulic jump, occurring in ceiling-jet flow, has been estimated theoretically. In order to validate the theoretical predictions, a series of reduced-scale fire experiments were conducted in a 5 m long corridor. The predicted results, concerning non-dimensional excess temperature, agree favorably with experimental data in different fuels and heat release rates of the fire tests. Finally, the scaling issue has also been discussed and validated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 5. |
- Liu, R. S., et al.
(författare)
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CoFe alloy as middle layer for strong spin dependent quantum well resonant tunneling in MgO double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions
- 2013
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 87:2, s. 024411-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on spin dependent quantum well (QW) resonances in the CoFe alloy middle layer of CoFe/MgO/CoFe/MgO/CoFeB double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions. The dI/dV spectra reveal clear resonant peaks for the parallel magnetization configurations, which can be related to the existence of QW resonances obtained from first-principles calculations. We observe that the differential tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) exhibits an oscillatory behavior as a function of voltage with a sign change as well as a pronounced TMR enhancement at resonant voltages at room temperature. The observation of strong QW resonances indicates that the CoFe film possesses a long majority spin mean-free path, and the substitutional disorder does not cause a significant increase of scattering. Both points are confirmed by first-principles electronic structure calculation. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.87.024411
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| 6. |
- Liu, Zhan, et al.
(författare)
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Thermodynamic analysis on the feasibility of a liquid energy storage system using CO2-based mixture as the working fluid
- 2022
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Ingår i: Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0360-5442 .- 1873-6785. ; 238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pioneering investigation is conducted on the feasibility of designing novel liquid energy storage system by using working fluid blending CO2 with organic fluids to address the condensation problem of subcritical CO2. Organic substances are cautiously screened according to the criteria of environment effect, temperature glide, critical temperature and flammability of working fluid as well as the system performance. Mathematical model of the system is built for thermodynamic examination. An in-house code is developed to complete the system simulations combing with REFPROP subroutine. Results demonstrate that compared to the system with pure CO2, the system with mixture produces an improvement of net power output and energy density and a reduction of charge pressure at an expense of slightly decreasing round trip efficiency. The payment of 6.45 % for round trip efficiency can reduce 55.59 % of charge pressure by taking CO2/R32 as an instance. The system round trip efficiency, energy density and charge pressure decrease with the increase in organic fluid composition. An optimal compression ratio can be identified to reach a maximal round trip efficiency for all mixtures. The cooler outlet temperature is suggested being at the critical temperature of working fluid to reach better system performance.
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| 7. |
- Lu, Weifeng, et al.
(författare)
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β cell function and insulin resistance have gender-specific correlations with carotid intima-media thickness in type 2 diabetes
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Ingår i: International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries. - 0973-3930.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ObjectiveThe relationships between carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT) and β cell function and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have not been fully elucidated. This study is to investigate whether impaired glucose metabolism is etiologically associated with C-IMT in patients with T2D.MethodsThe study group consisted of 490 (284 men, 206 women) participants. Venous blood specimens were obtained from all subjects for biochemical profiles after an >8-h overnight fast. C-IMT was measured as the distance between the luminal-intimal leading edge (I-line) and the medial-adventitial leading edge (M-line) on the far wall. Insulin resistance was estimated with the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). The acute insulin response to arginine was calculated as the mean of the three plasma insulin levels obtained within 2, 4, and 6 min after the arginine bolus minus the pre-stimulus plasma insulin levels.ResultsThere was a graded increase in C-IMT values according to tertiles of HOMA-IR in men; the values of C-IMT were significantly decreased across the tertiles of acute insulin and C-peptide responses in women. Multivariate analysis revealed that HOMA-IR and age were positively associated with C-IMT among men participants, and acute insulin response and current smoking were the independent determinants of C-IMT in women.ConclusionEarly insulin response stimulated by arginine is independently associated with C-IMT in women T2D individuals, whereas insulin resistance is positively correlated with C-IMT in men T2D subjects.
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| 8. |
- Pi, Xuehui, et al.
(författare)
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Mapping global lake dynamics reveals the emerging roles of small lakes
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lakes are important natural resources and carbon gas emitters and are undergoing rapid changes worldwide in response to climate change and human activities. A detailed global characterization of lakes and their long-term dynamics does not exist, which is however crucial for evaluating the associated impacts on water availability and carbon emissions. Here, we map 3.4 million lakes on a global scale, including their explicit maximum extents and probability-weighted area changes over the past four decades. From the beginning period (1984–1999) to the end (2010–2019), the lake area increased across all six continents analyzed, with a net change of +46,278 km2, and 56% of the expansion was attributed to reservoirs. Interestingly, although small lakes (<1 km2) accounted for just 15% of the global lake area, they dominated the variability in total lake size in half of the global inland lake regions. The identified lake area increase over time led to higher lacustrine carbon emissions, mostly attributed to small lakes. Our findings illustrate the emerging roles of small lakes in regulating not only local inland water variability, but also the global trends of surface water extent and carbon emissions.
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| 9. |
- Zhao, Lina, et al.
(författare)
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Histidine protonation states are key in the LigI catalytic reaction mechanism
- 2022
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Ingår i: Proteins. - : Wiley. - 0887-3585. ; 90:1, s. 123-130
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lignin is one of the world's most abundant organic polymers, and 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylate lactonase (LigI) catalyzes the hydrolysis of 2-pyrone-4,6-dicarboxylate (PDC) in the degradation of lignin. The pH has profound effects on enzyme catalysis and therefore we studied this in the context of LigI. We found that changes of the pH mostly affects surface residues, while the residues at the active site are more subject to changes of the surrounding microenvironment. In accordance with this, a high pH facilitates the deprotonation of the substrate. Detailed free energy calculations by the empirical valence bond (EVB) approach revealed that the overall hydrolysis reaction is more likely when the three active site histidines (His31, His33 and His180) are protonated at the &ip.eop; site, however, protonation at the δ site may be favored during specific steps of the reaction. Our studies have uncovered the determinant role of the protonation state of the active site residues His31, His33 and His180 in the hydrolysis of PDC.
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