| 1. |
- He, Haoran, et al.
(författare)
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Linking soil depth to aridity effects on soil microbial community composition, diversity and resource limitation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Catena. - 0341-8162. ; 232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With ongoing climate change, aridity is increasing worldwide, affecting biodiversity and ecosystem function in drylands. However, how the depth-profile microbial community structure and metabolic limitations change along aridity gradients are still poorly explored. Here, 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing and ecoenzymatic stoichiometry analysis were used to investigate both bacterial and fungal diversities and resource limitations in 1 m depth profiles across a wide aridity gradient (0.51–0.78) in a semiarid region. Results showed a sharp decrease in microbial diversity with soil depth, accompanied by an increase in microbial phosphorus (P) vs. N (nitrogen) limitation and a decrease in microbial carbon (C) vs. nutrient limitation. Aridity led to a strong shift in microbial community composition, but aridity has a threshold effect on microbial resource limitation through impacts on soil pH and C/P or N/P. When the aridity threshold (1-precipitation/evapotranspiration) exceeds 0.65, relationship between aridity and microbial resource demand was decoupled; but at aridity threshold = 0.65, microbial relative C limitation and C-acquiring enzyme activity dropped. These results suggest that aridity might have a stronger influence on microbial community composition, than on diversity, shaped by inherent soil biotic factors (i.e., MBC:MBP or MBN:MBP). These findings suggest that soil microbial diversity or enzymatic stoichiometry may be not necessary to mirror changes in water availability in the drylands, while aridity would be well explained by microbial community composition.
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| 2. |
- Liang, Hua, et al.
(författare)
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Recognition of maturity-onset diabetes of the young in China
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Diabetes Investigation. - : Wiley. - 2040-1116 .- 2040-1124. ; 12:4, s. 501-509
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims/Introduction: Given that mutations related to maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) are rarely found in Chinese populations, we aim to characterize the mutation spectrum of MODY pedigrees. Materials and Methods: Maturity-onset diabetes of the young candidate gene- or exome-targeted capture sequencing was carried out in 76 probands from unrelated families fulfilling the clinical diagnostic criteria for MODY. MAF <0.01 in the GnomAD or ExAC database was used to filter significant variants. Sanger sequencing was then carried out to validate findings. Function prediction by SIFT, PolyPhen-2 and PROVEAN or CADD was carried out in missense mutations. Results: A total of 32 mutations in six genes were identified in 31 families, accounting for 40.79% of the potential MODY families. The MODY subtype detection rate was 18.42% for GCK, 15.79% for HNF1A, 2.63% for HNF4A, and 1.32% for KLF11, PAX4 and NEUROG3. Seven nonsense/frameshift mutations and four missense mutations with damaging prediction were newly identified novel mutations. The clinical features of MODY2, MODY3/1 and MODYX are similar to previous reports. Clinical phenotype of NEUROG3 p.Arg55Glufs*23 is characterized by hyperglycemia and mild intermittent abdominal pain. Conclusions: This study adds to the emerging pattern of MODY epidemiology that the proportion of MODY explained by known pathogenic genes is higher than that previously reported, and found NEUROG3 as a new causative gene for MODY.
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| 3. |
- Fan, Yue, et al.
(författare)
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Unveiling inflammatory and prehypertrophic cell populations as key contributors to knee cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis using multi-omics data integration
- 2024
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Ingår i: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 0003-4967 .- 1468-2060. ; 83:7, s. 926-944
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analysis of human knee articular cartilage tissue to present a comprehensive transcriptome landscape and osteoarthritis (OA)-critical cell populations.METHODS: Single-cell RNA sequencing and spatially resolved transcriptomic technology have been applied to characterise the cellular heterogeneity of human knee articular cartilage which were collected from 8 OA donors, and 3 non-OA control donors, and a total of 19 samples. The novel chondrocyte population and marker genes of interest were validated by immunohistochemistry staining, quantitative real-time PCR, etc. The OA-critical cell populations were validated through integrative analyses of publicly available bulk RNA sequencing data and large-scale genome-wide association studies.RESULTS: We identified 33 cell population-specific marker genes that define 11 chondrocyte populations, including 9 known populations and 2 new populations, that is, pre-inflammatory chondrocyte population (preInfC) and inflammatory chondrocyte population (InfC). The novel findings that make this an important addition to the literature include: (1) the novel InfC activates the mediator MIF-CD74; (2) the prehypertrophic chondrocyte (preHTC) and hypertrophic chondrocyte (HTC) are potentially OA-critical cell populations; (3) most OA-associated differentially expressed genes reside in the articular surface and superficial zone; (4) the prefibrocartilage chondrocyte (preFC) population is a major contributor to the stratification of patients with OA, resulting in both an inflammatory-related subtype and a non-inflammatory-related subtype.CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight InfC, preHTC, preFC and HTC as potential cell populations to target for therapy. Also, we conclude that profiling of those cell populations in patients might be used to stratify patient populations for defining cohorts for clinical trials and precision medicine.
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| 4. |
- Feng, Zhaoxuan, et al.
(författare)
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Nano graphene oxide creates a fully biobased 3D-printed membrane with high-flux and anti-fouling oil/water separation performance
- 2024
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Ingår i: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 1385-8947 .- 1873-3212. ; 485
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Facile fabrication of green and renewable bio-based membranes with good anti-fouling and oil/water separation performance is of great importance to solve the oil spills and industrial oily wastewater threatening the ecological environment. Here, a fully biobased oil/water separation membrane with an ordered porous structure was 3D printed ultraviolet-assisted direct ink writing. The components of the bio-ink were obtained by methacrylation of chitosan (CS) and gelatin (GEL) to synthesize methacrylated chitosan (CSMA) and methacrylated gelatin (GELMA), while the nanographene oxide (nGO) was derived from CS through a simple microwave-assisted hydrothermal carbonization followed by oxidation step. The addition of nGO boosted the printability of the bio-ink, and the anti-fouling property and water permeation flux of the printed membranes. As a result, the membrane M−CSMA/GELMA/nGO-0.7 with the optimal performance possessed a low water contact angle in air of 0°, and high underwater oil contact angle of 161.5°, demonstrating a combination of superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic properties. M−CSMA/GELMA/nGO-0.7 has good corrosion resistance and long service life as evidenced from the separation efficiency of n-heptane/water, which kept above 99.5 % and a high water permeation flux above 38,300 L m−2h−1 after 20 cyclic tests in the harsh aquatic conditions containing 1 M NaCl, 1 M HCl, or 1 M NaOH, respectively. This shows promising potential for real-life applications.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Liu, Li, et al.
(författare)
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Involvement of yes-associated protein 1 activation in the matrix degradation of human-induced-pluripotent-stem-cell-derived chondrocytes induced by T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol alone and in combination
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 25:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol (DON) are two prevalent mycotoxins that cause cartilage damage in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). Cartilage extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in chondrocytes is a significant pathological feature of KBD. It has been shown that the Hippo pathway is involved in cartilage ECM degradation. This study aimed to examine the effect of YAP, a major regulator of the Hippo pathway, on the ECM degradation in the hiPS-derived chondrocytes (hiPS-Ch) model of KBD. The hiPS-Ch injury models were established via treatment with T-2 toxin/DON alone or in combination. We found that T-2 toxin and DON inhibited the proliferation of hiPS-Ch in a dose-dependent manner; significantly increased the levels of YAP, SOX9, and MMP13; and decreased the levels of COL2A1 and ACAN (all p values < 0.05). Immunofluorescence revealed that YAP was primarily located in the nuclei of hiPS-Ch, and its expression level increased with toxin concentrations. The inhibition of YAP resulted in the dysregulated expression of chondrogenic markers (all p values < 0.05). These findings suggest that T-2 toxin and DON may inhibit the proliferation of, and induce the ECM degradation, of hiPS-Ch mediated by YAP, providing further insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to cartilage damage caused by toxins.
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| 7. |
- Wang, Fei, et al.
(författare)
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Endothelial cell heterogeneity and microglia regulons revealed by a pig cell landscape at single-cell level
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Pigs are valuable large animal models for biomedical and genetic research, but insights into the tissue- and cell-type-specific transcriptome and heterogeneity remain limited. By leveraging single-cell RNA sequencing, we generate a multiple-organ single-cell transcriptomic map containing over 200,000 pig cells from 20 tissues/organs. We comprehensively characterize the heterogeneity of cells in tissues and identify 234 cell clusters, representing 58 major cell types. In-depth integrative analysis of endothelial cells reveals a high degree of heterogeneity. We identify several functionally distinct endothelial cell phenotypes, including an endothelial to mesenchymal transition subtype in adipose tissues. Intercellular communication analysis predicts tissue- and cell type-specific crosstalk between endothelial cells and other cell types through the VEGF, PDGF, TGF-beta, and BMP pathways. Regulon analysis of single-cell transcriptome of microglia in pig and 12 other species further identifies MEF2C as an evolutionally conserved regulon in the microglia. Our work describes the landscape of single-cell transcriptomes within diverse pig organs and identifies the heterogeneity of endothelial cells and evolutionally conserved regulon in microglia.
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| 8. |
- Xiao, Tianxiao, et al.
(författare)
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Autonomous self-healing hybrid energy harvester based on the combination of triboelectric nanogenerator and quantum dot solar cell
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nano Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 2211-2855 .- 2211-3282. ; 125
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Realization of multi-source energy harvesting with one single device would maximize power output. Thus, it is emerging as a promising strategy towards renewable energy generation and has attracted worldwide attention in the past decades. Capable of capturing mechanical energy that is ubiquitous in the ambient environment, triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been considered a novel yet effective source towards next-generation energy harvesting. In this work, a flexible hybrid energy harvester (HEH) is developed via the rational integration of autonomous self-healing TENG and high bending-stable lead sulfide quantum dot (PbS QD) solar cell, enabling independent electricity generation by two different mechanisms. The single-electrode mode TENG component with self-healing is realized by a polydimethylsiloxane/Triton X-100 (PDMS/TX100) mixture as the dielectric layer and the shared gold (Au) electrode, which generates 0.39 µA of output current (Iout), 24.6 V of output voltages (Vout), 15.4 nC of transfer charges (Qsc), and 7.80 mW m−2 of output power peak density. The thin-film solar cell component is based on a PbS QD layer as the light absorber with a planar structure fabricated under low-cost and compatible conditions, achieving 22.8 mA cm−2 of short-circuit current density (Jsc) and 4.92% of power conversion efficiency (PCE). As a proof of concept, an electronic watch is successfully powered by harnessing ambient mechanical and solar energy with a hybridized energy cell. This approach will offer more opportunities to construct a versatile platform towards remote monitoring and smart home systems.
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| 9. |
- Yin, Shanshan, et al.
(författare)
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In Situ GISAXS Observation and Large Area Homogeneity Study of Slot-Die Printed PS-b-P4VP and PS-b-P4VP/FeCl3 Thin Films
- 2022
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Ingår i: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1944-8244 .- 1944-8252. ; 14:2, s. 3143-3155
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mesoporous hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) thin films with high surface-to-volume ratios show great potential as photoelectrodes or electrochemical electrodes in energy conversion and storage. In the present work, with the assistance of an up-scalable slot-die coating technique, locally highly ordered alpha-Fe2O3 thin films are successfully printed based on the amphiphilic diblock copolymer poly(styrene-b-4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) as a structure-directing agent. Pure PS-b-P4VP films are printed under the same conditions for comparison. The micellization of the diblock copolymer in solution, the film formation process of the printed thin films, the homogeneity of the dry films in the lateral and vertical direction as well as the morphological and compositional information on the calcined hybrid PS-b-P4VP/FeCl3 thin film are investigated. Because of convection during the solvent evaporation process, a similar dimple-type structure of vertically aligned cylindrical PS domains in a P4VP matrix developed for both printed PS-b-P4VP and hybrid PS-b-P4VP/FeCl3 thin films. The coordination effect between the Fe3+ ions and the vinylpyridine groups significantly affects the attachment ability of the P4VP chains to the silicon substrate. Accordingly, distinct feature sizes and homogeneity in the lateral direction, as well as the thicknesses in the perpendicular direction, are demonstrated in the two printed films. By removing the polymer template from the hybrid PS-b-P4VP/FeCl3 film at high temperature, a locally highly ordered mesoporous alpha-Fe2O3 film is obtained. Thus, a facile and up-scalable printing technique is presented for producing homogeneous mesoporous alpha-Fe2O3 thin films.
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| 10. |
- Zhang, Xin, et al.
(författare)
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High-Performance All-Small-Molecule Organic Solar Cells Enabled by Regio-Isomerization of Noncovalently Conformational Locks
- 2022
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Ingår i: Advanced Functional Materials. - : WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH. - 1616-301X .- 1616-3028. ; 32:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of organic solar cells (OSCs) have surpassed 19% thanks to the innovation of polymer donors and molecular acceptors. However, the batch-to-batch variations in polymer materials are detrimental to the reproducibility of the device performance. In comparison, small-molecule donors (SMDs) possess some unique advantages, such as well-defined molecular weights, easy purification, and excellent batch-to-batch repeatability. Herein, a pair of regioisomeric SMDs (BT-O1 and BT-O2) has been synthesized with alkoxy groups as S center dot center dot center dot O noncovalently conformational locks (NoCLs) at the inner and outer position, respectively. Theoretical and experimental results reveal that the regioisomeric effect has a significant influence on the light-harvest ability, energy levels, molecular geometries, internal reorganization energy, and packing behaviors for the two SMDs. As a result, BT-O2-based binary device shows an impressive PCE of 13.99%, much higher than that of BT-O1 based one (4.07%), due to the better-aligned energy level, more balanced charge transport, less charge recombination, lower energy loss, and more favorable phase separation. Furthermore, the fullerene derivative PC71BM is introduced into BT-O2:H3 as the third component to achieve a notable PCE of 15.34% (certified 14.6%). Overall, this work reveals that NoCLs is a promising strategy to achieve high-performance SMDs for all-small-molecule OSCs.
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