| 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. |
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| 3. |
- Ji, Cheng, et al.
(author)
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Crystallography of low Z material at ultrahigh pressure : Case study on solid hydrogen
- 2020
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In: Matter and Radiation at Extremes. - : American Institute of Physics (AIP). - 2468-2047 .- 2468-080X. ; 5:3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Diamond anvil cell techniques have been improved to allow access to the multimegabar ultrahigh-pressure region for exploring novel phenomena in condensed matter. However, the only way to determine crystal structures of materials above 100 GPa, namely, X-ray diffraction (XRD), especially for low Z materials, remains nontrivial in the ultrahigh-pressure region, even with the availability of brilliant synchrotron X-ray sources. In this work, we perform a systematic study, choosing hydrogen (the lowest X-ray scatterer) as the subject, to understand how to better perform XRD measurements of low Z materials at multimegabar pressures. The techniques that we have developed have been proved to be effective in measuring the crystal structure of solid hydrogen up to 254 GPa at room temperature [C. Ji et al., Nature 573, 558–562 (2019)]. We present our discoveries and experiences with regard to several aspects of this work, namely, diamond anvil selection, sample configuration for ultrahigh-pressure XRD studies, XRD diagnostics for low Z materials, and related issues in data interpretation and pressure calibration. We believe that these methods can be readily extended to other low Z materials and can pave the way for studying the crystal structure of hydrogen at higher pressures, eventually testing structural models of metallic hydrogen.
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| 4. |
- Li, Xiaolong, 1991, et al.
(author)
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Solid solution softening at room temperature and hardening at elevated temperatures: a case by minor Mn addition in a (HfNbTi) 85 Mo 15 refractory high entropy alloy
- 2023
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In: Materials Research Express. - 2053-1591. ; 10:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To address the conflict between room-temperature (RT) ductility and high-temperature (HT) strength in single phase bcc-structured refractory high entropy alloys, here we propose to use minor alloying to achieve solid solution softening at RT and simultaneously, solid solution hardening at HT. Our strategy was manifested by minor Mn additions in a RT brittle (HfNbTi)85Mo15 refractory high entropy alloy, where nominal Mn additions ranging from 2 at. % down to 0.03 at. % were seen to soften the base (HfNbTi)85Mo15 alloy at RT, while to harden the base alloy at the temperature range from 400 to 800 °C. The yield stress in all studied alloys showed a three-stage pattern, characterized by a temperature dependent stage at temperatures below 400 °C, followed by a temperature independent stage at intermediate temperatures ranging from 400 to 800 °C, and finally another temperature dependent stage at temperatures higher than 800 °C. The mechanisms for solid solution softening and solid solution hardening in single phase bcc-structured refractory high entropy alloys were discussed, together with their temperature dependence.
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| 7. |
- Conti, David, V, et al.
(author)
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Trans-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of prostate cancer identifies new susceptibility loci and informs genetic risk prediction
- 2021
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Nature. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 53:1, s. 65-75
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Prostate cancer is a highly heritable disease with large disparities in incidence rates across ancestry populations. We conducted a multiancestry meta-analysis of prostate cancer genome-wide association studies (107,247 cases and 127,006 controls) and identified 86 new genetic risk variants independently associated with prostate cancer risk, bringing the total to 269 known risk variants. The top genetic risk score (GRS) decile was associated with odds ratios that ranged from 5.06 (95% confidence interval (CI), 4.84-5.29) for men of European ancestry to 3.74 (95% CI, 3.36-4.17) for men of African ancestry. Men of African ancestry were estimated to have a mean GRS that was 2.18-times higher (95% CI, 2.14-2.22), and men of East Asian ancestry 0.73-times lower (95% CI, 0.71-0.76), than men of European ancestry. These findings support the role of germline variation contributing to population differences in prostate cancer risk, with the GRS offering an approach for personalized risk prediction. A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies across different populations highlights new risk loci and provides a genetic risk score that can stratify prostate cancer risk across ancestries.
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| 8. |
- Ding, Yun Mei, et al.
(author)
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Effect of social support on illness perception in patients with atrial fibrillation during “Blanking Period” : Mediating role of sense of mastery
- 2023
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In: Nursing Open. - : Wiley. - 2054-1058. ; 10:1, s. 115-122
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: To explore whether sense of mastery can mediate the relationship between social support and illness perception in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) who were at the “Blanking Period.”. Design: A cross-sectional design. Methods: 405 patients with AF who were at the “Blanking Period” in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were recruited; they completed a set of questionnaires, including the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Personal Mastery Scale and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Results: Social support and sense of mastery were both adversely connected to illness perception. The indirect effect of social support on illness perception through sense of mastery was negative, accounting for 86.04% of the total effect. Conclusion: During the “Blanking Period,” better social support and sense of mastery contribute to a positive illness perception of AF patients. Social support also can influence patients' illness perception indirectly via the mediator of sense of mastery.
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| 9. |
- Hartley, Philippa, et al.
(author)
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SKA Science Data Challenge 2: analysis and results
- 2023
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 523:2, s. 1967-1993
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will explore the radio sky to new depths in order to conduct transformational science. SKAO data products made available to astronomers will be correspondingly large and complex, requiring the application of advanced analysis techniques to extract key science findings. To this end, SKAO is conducting a series of Science Data Challenges, each designed to familiarize the scientific community with SKAO data and to drive the development of new analysis techniques. We present the results from Science Data Challenge 2 (SDC2), which invited participants to find and characterize 233 245 neutral hydrogen (H i) sources in a simulated data product representing a 2000 h SKA-Mid spectral line observation from redshifts 0.25-0.5. Through the generous support of eight international supercomputing facilities, participants were able to undertake the Challenge using dedicated computational resources. Alongside the main challenge, 'reproducibility awards' were made in recognition of those pipelines which demonstrated Open Science best practice. The Challenge saw over 100 participants develop a range of new and existing techniques, with results that highlight the strengths of multidisciplinary and collaborative effort. The winning strategy - which combined predictions from two independent machine learning techniques to yield a 20 per cent improvement in overall performance - underscores one of the main Challenge outcomes: that of method complementarity. It is likely that the combination of methods in a so-called ensemble approach will be key to exploiting very large astronomical data sets.
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| 10. |
- Pecunia, Vincenzo, et al.
(author)
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Roadmap on energy harvesting materials
- 2023
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In: Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 2515-7639. ; 6:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere.
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