| 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. |
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| 3. |
- Kristan, Matej, et al.
(författare)
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The Ninth Visual Object Tracking VOT2021 Challenge Results
- 2021
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Ingår i: 2021 IEEE/CVF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER VISION WORKSHOPS (ICCVW 2021). - : IEEE COMPUTER SOC. - 9781665401913 ; , s. 2711-2738
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Visual Object Tracking challenge VOT2021 is the ninth annual tracker benchmarking activity organized by the VOT initiative. Results of 71 trackers are presented; many are state-of-the-art trackers published at major computer vision conferences or in journals in recent years. The VOT2021 challenge was composed of four sub-challenges focusing on different tracking domains: (i) VOT-ST2021 challenge focused on short-term tracking in RGB, (ii) VOT-RT2021 challenge focused on "real-time" short-term tracking in RGB, (iii) VOT-LT2021 focused on long-term tracking, namely coping with target disappearance and reappearance and (iv) VOT-RGBD2021 challenge focused on long-term tracking in RGB and depth imagery. The VOT-ST2021 dataset was refreshed, while VOT-RGBD2021 introduces a training dataset and sequestered dataset for winner identification. The source code for most of the trackers, the datasets, the evaluation kit and the results along with the source code for most trackers are publicly available at the challenge website(1).
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| 4. |
- Langer, Judith, et al.
(författare)
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Present and Future of Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering
- 2020
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Ingår i: ACS Nano. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1936-086X .- 1936-0851. ; 14:1, s. 28-117
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The discovery of the enhancement of Raman scattering by molecules adsorbed on nanostructured metal surfaces is a landmark in the history of spectroscopic and analytical techniques. Significant experimental and theoretical effort has been directed toward understanding the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect and demonstrating its potential in various types of ultrasensitive sensing applications in a wide variety of fields. In the 45 years since its discovery, SERS has blossomed into a rich area of research and technology, but additional efforts are still needed before it can be routinely used analytically and in commercial products. In this Review, prominent authors from around the world joined together to summarize the state of the art in understanding and using SERS and to predict what can be expected in the near future in terms of research, applications, and technological development. This Review is dedicated to SERS pioneer and our coauthor, the late Prof. Richard Van Duyne, whom we lost during the preparation of this article. ©
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| 5. |
- Kristan, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Eighth Visual Object Tracking VOT2020 Challenge Results
- 2020
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Ingår i: Computer Vision. - Cham : Springer International Publishing. - 9783030682378 ; , s. 547-601
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Visual Object Tracking challenge VOT2020 is the eighth annual tracker benchmarking activity organized by the VOT initiative. Results of 58 trackers are presented; many are state-of-the-art trackers published at major computer vision conferences or in journals in the recent years. The VOT2020 challenge was composed of five sub-challenges focusing on different tracking domains: (i) VOT-ST2020 challenge focused on short-term tracking in RGB, (ii) VOT-RT2020 challenge focused on “real-time” short-term tracking in RGB, (iii) VOT-LT2020 focused on long-term tracking namely coping with target disappearance and reappearance, (iv) VOT-RGBT2020 challenge focused on short-term tracking in RGB and thermal imagery and (v) VOT-RGBD2020 challenge focused on long-term tracking in RGB and depth imagery. Only the VOT-ST2020 datasets were refreshed. A significant novelty is introduction of a new VOT short-term tracking evaluation methodology, and introduction of segmentation ground truth in the VOT-ST2020 challenge – bounding boxes will no longer be used in the VOT-ST challenges. A new VOT Python toolkit that implements all these novelites was introduced. Performance of the tested trackers typically by far exceeds standard baselines. The source code for most of the trackers is publicly available from the VOT page. The dataset, the evaluation kit and the results are publicly available at the challenge website (http://votchallenge.net ).
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Pecunia, Vincenzo, et al.
(författare)
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Roadmap on energy harvesting materials
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 2515-7639. ; 6:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)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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| 8. |
- Zhao, Xue-Ke, et al.
(författare)
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Focal amplifications are associated with chromothripsis events and diverse prognoses in gastric cardia adenocarcinoma
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of focal amplifications and extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) is unknown in gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA). Here, we identify frequent focal amplifications and ecDNAs in Chinese GCA patient samples, and find focal amplifications in the GCA cohort are associated with the chromothripsis process and may be induced by accumulated DNA damage due to local dietary habits. We observe diverse correlations between the presence of oncogene focal amplifications and prognosis, where ERBB2 focal amplifications positively correlate with prognosis and EGFR focal amplifications negatively correlate with prognosis. Large-scale ERBB2 immunohistochemistry results from 1668 GCA patients show survival probability of ERBB2 positive patients is lower than that of ERBB2 negative patients when their surviving time is under 2 years, however, the tendency is opposite when their surviving time is longer than 2 years. Our observations indicate that the ERBB2 focal amplifications may represent a good prognostic marker in GCA patients.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Abou Ghayda, Ramy, et al.
(författare)
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The global case fatality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 by continents and national income: A meta-analysis
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Virology. - : WILEY. - 0146-6615 .- 1096-9071. ; 94:6, s. 2402-2413
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study is to provide a more accurate representation of COVID-19s case fatality rate (CFR) by performing meta-analyses by continents and income, and by comparing the result with pooled estimates. We used multiple worldwide data sources on COVID-19 for every country reporting COVID-19 cases. On the basis of data, we performed random and fixed meta-analyses for CFR of COVID-19 by continents and income according to each individual calendar date. CFR was estimated based on the different geographical regions and levels of income using three models: pooled estimates, fixed- and random-model. In Asia, all three types of CFR initially remained approximately between 2.0% and 3.0%. In the case of pooled estimates and the fixed model results, CFR increased to 4.0%, by then gradually decreasing, while in the case of random-model, CFR remained under 2.0%. Similarly, in Europe, initially, the two types of CFR peaked at 9.0% and 10.0%, respectively. The random-model results showed an increase near 5.0%. In high-income countries, pooled estimates and fixed-model showed gradually increasing trends with a final pooled estimates and random-model reached about 8.0% and 4.0%, respectively. In middle-income, the pooled estimates and fixed-model have gradually increased reaching up to 4.5%. in low-income countries, CFRs remained similar between 1.5% and 3.0%. Our study emphasizes that COVID-19 CFR is not a fixed or static value. Rather, it is a dynamic estimate that changes with time, population, socioeconomic factors, and the mitigatory efforts of individual countries.
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| 11. |
- Chen, Baoqing, et al.
(författare)
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The Long Noncoding RNA CCAT2 Induces Chromosomal Instability Through BOP1-AURKB Signaling
- 2020
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Ingår i: Gastroenterology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0016-5085 .- 1528-0012. ; 159:6, s. 2146-2162
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background & AimsChromosomal instability (CIN) is a carcinogenesis event that promotes metastasis and resistance to therapy by unclear mechanisms. Expression of the colon cancer–associated transcript 2 gene (CCAT2), which encodes a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), associates with CIN, but little is known about how CCAT2 lncRNA regulates this cancer enabling characteristic.MethodsWe performed cytogenetic analysis of colorectal cancer (CRC) cell lines (HCT116, KM12C/SM, and HT29) overexpressing CCAT2 and colon organoids from C57BL/6N mice with the CCAT2 transgene and without (controls). CRC cells were also analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy, γ-H2AX, and senescence assays. CCAT2 transgene and control mice were given azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium to induce colon tumors. We performed gene expression array and mass spectrometry to detect downstream targets of CCAT2 lncRNA. We characterized interactions between CCAT2 with downstream proteins using MS2 pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, and selective 2′-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension analyses. Downstream proteins were overexpressed in CRC cells and analyzed for CIN. Gene expression levels were measured in CRC and non-tumor tissues from 5 cohorts, comprising more than 900 patients.ResultsHigh expression of CCAT2 induced CIN in CRC cell lines and increased resistance to 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin. Mice that expressed the CCAT2 transgene developed chromosome abnormalities, and colon organoids derived from crypt cells of these mice had a higher percentage of chromosome abnormalities compared with organoids from control mice. The transgenic mice given azoxymethane and dextran sulfate sodium developed more and larger colon polyps than control mice given these agents. Microarray analysis and mass spectrometry indicated that expression of CCAT2 increased expression of genes involved in ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis. CCAT2 lncRNA interacted directly with and stabilized BOP1 ribosomal biogenesis factor (BOP1). CCAT2 also increased expression of MYC, which activated expression of BOP1. Overexpression of BOP1 in CRC cell lines resulted in chromosomal missegregation errors, and increased colony formation, and invasiveness, whereas BOP1 knockdown reduced viability. BOP1 promoted CIN by increasing the active form of aurora kinase B, which regulates chromosomal segregation. BOP1 was overexpressed in polyp tissues from CCAT2 transgenic mice compared with healthy tissue. CCAT2 lncRNA and BOP1 mRNA or protein were all increased in microsatellite stable tumors (characterized by CIN), but not in tumors with microsatellite instability compared with nontumor tissues. Increased levels of CCAT2 lncRNA and BOP1 mRNA correlated with each other and with shorter survival times of patients.ConclusionsWe found that overexpression of CCAT2 in colon cells promotes CIN and carcinogenesis by stabilizing and inducing expression of BOP1 an activator of aurora kinase B. Strategies to target this pathway might be developed for treatment of patients with microsatellite stable colorectal tumors.
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| 12. |
- Cheng, Hong, et al.
(författare)
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Home environment exposure and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms among adults in southern China : Health associations in 2010 and 2019
- 2024
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We studied time trends in home environment and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms in a repeat study in five cities in southern China. Moreover, we studied associations between home environment exposure and SBS symptoms. Parents from randomly selected day care centers were invited. One parent per family answered a questionnaire on the home environment and their own SBS symptoms. Data collection was performed in two surveys in 2010 and 2019 (27,292 participants in 2010 and 32,073 in 2019). We used two-level logistic regression to analyze health associations. Asthma decreased from 1.7% to 1.5% (P < 0.05) but allergic rhinitis increased from 6.5% to 16.4% (P < 0.001). All SBS symptoms decreased from 2010 to 2019 (all P < 0.001). Most aspects of the home environment improved from 2010 to 2019 but there were less cleaning, more cats, dogs, and urbanization in 2019. Redecoration, new furniture, and pests were associated with most types of SBS symptoms, similarly in 2010 and 2019. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) was associated with SBS symptoms in 2019 only. In conclusion, prevalence of SBS symptoms among young parents in southern China decreased from 2010 to 2019 but allergic rhinitis increased. Cockroaches, rats, mice, mosquitoes or flies can be consistent biological risk factors for SBS symptoms. Redecoration, buying new furniture and traffic air pollution are other risk factors for SBS symptoms. Daily cleaning, frequently putting bedding to sunshine, and having a fan in the bathroom can be protective factors. ETS is an emerging risk factor for SBS symptoms.
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| 13. |
- Cui, Yong, et al.
(författare)
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Single-Junction Organic Photovoltaic Cells with Approaching 18% Efficiency
- 2020
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Ingår i: Advanced Materials. - : WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH. - 0935-9648 .- 1521-4095. ; 32:19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optimizing the molecular structures of organic photovoltaic (OPV) materials is one of the most effective methods to boost power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). For an excellent molecular system with a certain conjugated skeleton, fine tuning the alky chains is of considerable significance to fully explore its photovoltaic potential. In this work, the optimization of alkyl chains is performed on a chlorinated nonfullerene acceptor (NFA) named BTP-4Cl-BO (a Y6 derivative) and very impressive photovoltaic parameters in OPV cells are obtained. To get more ordered intermolecular packing, the n-undecyl is shortened at the edge of BTP-eC11 to n-nonyl and n-heptyl. As a result, the NFAs of BTP-eC9 and BTP-eC7 are synthesized. The BTP-eC7 shows relatively poor solubility and thus limits its application in device fabrication. Fortunately, the BTP-eC9 possesses good solubility and, at the same time, enhanced electron transport property than BTP-eC11. Significantly, due to the simultaneously enhanced short-circuit current density and fill factor, the BTP-eC9-based single-junction OPV cells record a maximum PCE of 17.8% and get a certified value of 17.3%. These results demonstrate that minimizing the alkyl chains to get suitable solubility and enhanced intermolecular packing has a great potential in further improving its photovoltaic performance.
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| 14. |
- Du, Chenqiu, et al.
(författare)
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Home dampness/mold(D/M) improvement in children's residences over the past decade in China-a comparison of repeated surveys in 2010 and 2019
- 2021
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 205
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is mounting evidence that exposure to household dampness/mold (D/M) is the cause of respiratory, allergic diseases for children. While few research focuses on the effects caused by building environment changes, from a longitudinal investigation perspective, especially for China experiencing a rapid development in recent years. This study aimed to explore the changes of D/M in Chinese homes over the past 10 years and identify the impacts of climate, building energy efficiency and residents' behaviors. The cross-sectional surveys were repeatedly conducted in children' residences in 2010 (Period I) and 2019 (Period II), among Taiyuan, Urumqi in northern China, and Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing in southern China. Finally, 23465 children in Period I and 34720 children in Period II were involved, with no changes of residences since birth. The results showed that the proportions for reported D/M indicators were significantly reduced in Period II: e.g., 93.8% and 84.1% residents respectively answered no visible mold spots and damp stains in current residences, compared to only 78.3% and 62.2% in Period I. Southern homes accounted for high proportions for D/M indicator occurrences; warm-humid climate, annual higher precipitation and lower sunshine hours, etc., exacerbated the indoor D/M exposure risks. While residents' behaviors like ventilation, airing quilt/beddings, regular cleaning ameliorated the reported D/M significantly. The findings, from a temporal and spacious dimension perspective, advance our understanding of indoor D/M changes, precisely improvement in children' homes over the past 10 years, benefiting to promote indoor air quality standards in China.
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| 15. |
- Fu, Baifeng, et al.
(författare)
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Three novel umami peptides derived from the alcohol extract of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) : identification, characterizations and interactions with T1R1/T1R3 taste receptors
- 2024
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Ingår i: FOOD SCIENCE AND HUMAN WELLNESS. - : Tsinghua University Press. - 2213-4530. ; 13:1, s. 146-153
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Oyster (Crassostrea gigas), the main ingredient of oyster sauce, has a strong umami taste. In this study, three potential umami peptides, FLNQDEEAR (FR-9), FNKEE (FE-5), and EEFLK (EK-5), were identified and screened from the alcoholic extracts of the oyster using nano-HPLC-MS/MS analysis, iUmami-Scoring Card Method (iUmami-SCM) database and molecular docking (MD). Sensory evaluation and electronic tongue analysis were further used to confirm their tastes. The threshold of the three peptides ranged from 0.38 to 0.55 mg/mL. MD with umami receptors T1R1/T1R3 indicated that the electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bond interaction were the main forces involved. Besides, the Phe592 and Gln853 of T1R3 were the primary docking site for MD and played an important role in umami intensity. Peptides with two Glu residues at the terminus had stronger umami, especially at the C-terminus. These results contribute to the understanding of umami peptides in oysters and the interaction mechanism between umami peptides and umami receptors. & COPY; 2024 Beijing Academy of Food Sciences. Publishing services by Tsinghua University Press. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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| 16. |
- Gu, Xiang, et al.
(författare)
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Occurrence, migration, and allocation of arsenic in multiple media of a typical semi-enclosed bay
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Hazardous Materials. - : Elsevier. - 0304-3894 .- 1873-3336. ; 384
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Under the gradients of salinity and redox, the transportation and distribution of dissolved, particulate, and sedimentary arsenic present differences from estuary to bay. Samples of water, suspended particulate sediment (SPS), and sediment from the Jiaozhou Bay were analyzed. The concentrations of arsenic decreased significantly from the estuaries toward the bay. The sedimentary arsenic mostly existed as hydrous oxide-bound and residual fractions and tended to be attached to smaller particles. Sedimentary particles were more capable of absorbing arsenic than SPS and the capacity increased from the estuaries toward the bay. The spatial distribution of arsenic was impacted by the residual currents, resulting in higher contents of dissolved arsenic in the eastern coastal zone and higher concentrations of sedimentary arsenic in the inner bay. In water, total phosphorus (TP), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and alkalinity had significant positive correlations with the dissolved arsenic. In sediments, Fe oxides and sediment organic matter (SOM) would promote adsorption of arsenic. The significant correlation between non-residual fractions and enrichment factors of arsenic indicated that the sedimentary arsenic was more likely to originate from anthropogenic sources, mainly impacted by riverine transport from the eastern urban regions and agricultural production in the western farmland.
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| 17. |
- Guo, Hui-Hui, et al.
(författare)
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Alleviation of allergic asthma by rosmarinic acid via gut-lung axis
- 2024
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Ingår i: Phytomedicine. - : Elsevier. - 0944-7113 .- 1618-095X. ; 126
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Asthma affects 3% of the global population, leading to over 0.25 million deaths. Due to its complexity, asthma is difficult to cure or prevent, and current therapies have limitations. This has led to a growing demand for alternative asthma treatments. We found rosmarinic acid (RosA) as a potential new drug candidate from natural medicine. However, RosA has poor bioavailability and remains mainly in the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration, suggesting the involvement of gut microbiota in its bioactivity. Purpose: To investigate the mechanism of RosA in alleviating allergic asthma by gut-lung axis. Methods: We used 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolites analysis to investigate RosA's modulation of gut microbiota. Techniques of molecular biology and metabolomics were employed to study the pharmacological mechanism of RosA. Cohousing was used to confirm the involvement of gut microbiota in RosA-induced improvement of allergic asthma. Results: RosA decreased cholate levels from spore-forming bacteria, leading to reduced 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) synthesis, bronchoconstriction, vasodilation, and inflammatory cell infiltration. It also increased short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) levels, facilitating the expression of intestinal tight junction proteins to promote intestinal integrity. SCFAs upregulated intestinal monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs), thereby improving their systemic delivery to reduce Th2/ILC2 mediated inflammatory response and suppress eosinophil influx and mucus production in lung. Additionally, RosA inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS) production and translocation, leading to reduced TLR4-NF kappa B mediated pulmonary inflammation and oxidative stress. Conclusions: The anti-asthmatic mechanism of oral RosA is primarily driven by modulation of gut microbiotaderived 5-HT, SCFAs, and LPS, achieving a combined synergistic effect. RosA is a safe, effective, and reliable drug candidate that could potentially replace glucocorticoids for asthma treatment.
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| 18. |
- Hu, Chang-Kang, et al.
(författare)
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Native Conditional iSWAP Operation with Superconducting Artificial Atoms
- 2023
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Ingår i: Physical Review Applied. - 2331-7019. ; 20:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Controlling the flow of quantum information is a fundamental task for quantum computers, which is unfeasible to realize on classical devices. Coherent devices, which can process quantum states are thus required to route the quantum states that encode information. In this paper we demonstrate experimentally the smallest quantum transistor with a superconducting quantum processor, which is composed of a collector qubit, an emitter qubit, and a coupler (transistor gate). The interaction strength between the collector and emitter qubits is controlled by the frequency and state of the coupler, effectively implementing a quantum switch. Through the coupler-state-dependent Heisenberg (inherent) interaction between the qubits, a single-step (native) conditional iSWAP operation can be applied. To this end, we find that it is useful to take into consideration the higher-energy level for achieving a native and high-fidelity transistor operation. By reconstructing the quantum process tomography, we obtain an operation fidelity of 92.36% when the transistor gate is open (iSWAP implementation) and 95.23% in the case of closed gate (identity gate implementation). The architecture has strong potential in quantum information processing applications with superconducting qubits.
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| 19. |
- Hu, Chang-Kang, et al.
(författare)
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Optimal charging of a superconducting quantum battery
- 2022
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Ingår i: Quantum Science and Technology. - : IOP Publishing. - 2058-9565. ; 7:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Quantum batteries are miniature energy storage devices and play a very important role in quantum thermodynamics. In recent years, quantum batteries have been extensively studied, but limited in theoretical level. Here we report the experimental realization of a quantum battery based on superconducting qutrit. Our model explores dark and bright states to achieve stable and powerful charging processes, respectively. Our scheme makes use of the quantum adiabatic brachistochrone, which allows us to speed up the battery ergotropy injection. Due to the inherent interaction of the system with its surrounding, the battery exhibits a self-discharge, which is shown to be described by a supercapacitor-like self-discharging mechanism. Our results paves the way for proposals of new superconducting circuits able to store extractable work for further usage.
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| 20. |
- Li, Kai, et al.
(författare)
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Metal thermopile infrared detector with vertical graphene
- 2023
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Ingår i: Wuli Xuebao/Acta Physica Sinica. - : Acta Physica Sinica, Chinese Physical Society and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. - 1000-3290. ; 72:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Thermopile infrared detector is a kind of detector device mainly composed of thermocouple as the basic unit. Because of its simple principle, no need of cooling equipment, and other advantages, it has been widely used in various fields of production and life. However, the absorption rates of the materials in conventional thermopile devices are poor, and the majority of them are incompatible with microfabrication methods. In this work, a metal thermopile infrared detector with vertical graphene (VG) is designed and fabricated. The VG is grown via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and retained at the device’s thermal ends to provide the thermopile IR detector’s wideband and high response characteristics. The detector achieves a room temperature responsivity reaching a value as high as 1.53 V/W at 792 nm, which can increase the response results about 28 times and reduce the response time to 0.8 ms compared with the thermopile detector without VG. After systematically measuring the response results, it is finally found that there are three main mechanisms responsible for the response on the composite device. The first one is the response generated by the metal thermopile itself alone. The second one is the response increased eventually by the contribution of VG covered at the metal thermal junction that expands the temperature difference. The last one is the response generated by the temperature gradient existing inside the VG on the surface of the device after the absorption of heat. The portion of each partial response mechanism in the total response is also analyzed, providing a new reference direction for analyzing the response generation mechanism of thermopile detectors with other absorbing materials. The process is compatible with the microfabrication, while the device performance is enhanced and suitable for mass production. Furthermore, by utilizing the surface plasmon resonance to combine VG with metal nanoparticles, the material’ s light absorption is found to be enhanced significantly under the same conditions, and the resulting thermal voltage can be increased to 6 times. The results indicate that VG promises to possess practical applications, in many fields such as photoelectric sensing and power production devices. This technology provides a new method to manufacture high-performance thermopile infrared detectors and other sensor devices.
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| 21. |
- Liu, Chun-Yan, et al.
(författare)
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Massively Parallel Aligned Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Nanofibrils in All-Organic Dielectric Polymer Composite Films for Electric Energy Storage
- 2023
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Ingår i: Macromolecules. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0024-9297 .- 1520-5835. ; 56:4, s. 1481-1491
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is a formidable challenge to combine the perform-ance advantages of linear and nonlinear polymer dielectrics for developing all-organic film capacitors with high energy density and low loss. In this work, massively parallel aligned poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibrils were in situ fabricated for the first time in the polyethylene (PE) matrix via a multistage stretching technology involving hot stretching and solid-state stretching at an elevated temperature. The largely enhanced interfacial area of PVDF nanofibrils could effectively induce interfacial polarization, imparting PE composite films with a high dielectric constant of 4.50. More interestingly, the nanoconfinement effect of PVDF nanofibrils greatly restricted the migration of free electrons and impurity ions, and an impressive breakdown strength of 624 MV m-1 was obtained. As a result, the as-prepared PE/PVDF composite films exhibited an attractive discharged energy density of as high as 6.4 J cm-3, which was more than 10 times of the conventional counterparts, and outperformed the current linear dielectric polymers. The ingenious structure design of in situ nonlinear dielectric nanofibrils provides a promising approach to maximize the advantageous polarizations and minimize the disadvantageous polarizations in the linear and nonlinear polymer dielectric blends, achieving all-organic polymer dielectric composite films with high energy density and low loss.
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| 22. |
- Liu, Yi, et al.
(författare)
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Porous, robust, thermally stable, and flame retardant nanocellulose/polyimide separators for safe lithium-ion batteries
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 11:43, s. 23360-23369
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is paramount for all users. One effective way to improve safety is incorporating heat-resistant polyimide (PI) separators, which can increase the thermal stability of batteries and minimize the risk of thermal runaway. However, preparing PI separators with both an ideal pore structure and adequate mechanical properties remains as a challenge. Here, we introduced decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) into PI and produced a hybrid separator with an outstanding pore structure and excellent mechanical properties. Aided with DBDPE, the separators attain a well-defined and uniform pore size (20 nm), while demonstrating high porosities (78%) through phase inversion processes. Owing to the addition of CNFs, the mechanical properties of the separators were significantly improved, with a tensile strength of 25.4 MPa and an elastic modulus of 550.1 MPa. Moreover, the separators demonstrate high ion conductivity (0.45 mS cm-1), excellent thermal-dimensional stability (up to 200 degrees C), remarkable flame retardancy, and outstanding electrolyte wettability. At room temperature, the batteries with the separators demonstrate comparable performance with those of polypropylene (PP) separators. However, when subjected to thermal shock treatments, the batteries with the separators outperform those with PP, showcasing their superior performance. The work introduces a novel strategy for designing high-performance separators, thereby paving the way for advancements in the fabrication of LIBs with enhanced safety features. A porous, robust, and thermally stable hybrid separator was developed to solve the dilemma between desired pore structures and mechanical properties in polyimide separators by introducing decabromodiphenyl ethane and cellulose nanofibers.
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| 23. |
- Park, Seung Hyun, et al.
(författare)
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Nonpharmaceutical interventions reduce the incidence and mortality of COVID-19: A study based on the survey from the International COVID-19 Research Network (ICRN)
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Virology. - : WILEY. - 0146-6615 .- 1096-9071. ; 95:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The recently emerged novel coronavirus, "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)," caused a highly contagious disease called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has severely damaged the worlds most developed countries and has turned into a major threat for low- and middle-income countries. Since its emergence in late 2019, medical interventions have been substantial, and most countries relied on public health measures collectively known as nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). We aimed to centralize the accumulative knowledge of NPIs against COVID-19 for each country under one worldwide consortium. International COVID-19 Research Network collaborators developed a cross-sectional online survey to assess the implications of NPIs and sanitary supply on the incidence and mortality of COVID-19. The survey was conducted between January 1 and February 1, 2021, and participants from 92 countries/territories completed it. The association between NPIs, sanitation supplies, and incidence and mortality were examined by multivariate regression, with the log-transformed value of population as an offset value. The majority of countries/territories applied several preventive strategies, including social distancing (100.0%), quarantine (100.0%), isolation (98.9%), and school closure (97.8%). Individual-level preventive measures such as personal hygiene (100.0%) and wearing facial masks (94.6% at hospitals; 93.5% at mass transportation; 91.3% in mass gathering facilities) were also frequently applied. Quarantine at a designated place was negatively associated with incidence and mortality compared to home quarantine. Isolation at a designated place was also associated with reduced mortality compared to home isolation. Recommendations to use sanitizer for personal hygiene reduced incidence compared to the recommendation to use soap. Deprivation of masks was associated with increased incidence. Higher incidence and mortality were found in countries/territories with higher economic levels. Mask deprivation was pervasive regardless of economic level. NPIs against COVID-19 such as using sanitizer, quarantine, and isolation can decrease the incidence and mortality of COVID-19.
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| 24. |
- Qu, Chang, et al.
(författare)
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Functional significance of asymmetrical retention of parental alleles in a hybrid pine species complex
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Systematics and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1674-4918 .- 1759-6831. ; 62:1, s. 135-148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Hybrid genomes usually harbor asymmetrical parental contributions. However, it is challenging to infer the functional significance of asymmetrical retention of parental alleles in hybrid populations of conifer trees. Here we investigated the diversity in the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene family in a hybrid pine Pinus densata and its parents (Pinus tabuliformis and Pinus yunnanensis). Plant GSTs play major roles in protecting plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, 19 orthologous groups of GST genes were identified and cloned from these three species. We examined their expression in different tissues, and then purified the corresponding proteins to characterize their enzymatic activities and specificities toward different substrates. We found that among the 19 GST orthologous groups, divergence in gene expression and in enzymatic activities toward different substrates was prevalent. P. densata preferentially retained P. yunnanensis-like GSTs for 17 out of the 19 gene loci. We determined the first GST crystal structure from conifer species at a resolution of 2.19 Å. Based on this structure, we performed site-directed mutagenesis to replace amino acid residuals in different wild-types of GSTs to understand their functional impacts. Reciprocal replacement of amino acid residuals in native GSTs of P. densata and P. tabuliformis demonstrated significant changes in enzyme functions and identified key sites controlling GSTs activities. This study illustrates an approach to evaluating the functional significance of sequence variations in conifer genomes. Our study also sheds light on plausible mechanisms for controlling the selective retention of parental alleles in the P. densata genome.
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| 25. |
- Ren, Xiaotong, et al.
(författare)
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Associations between home renovation and asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema among preschool children in Wuhan, China
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Environmental Health Research. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 0960-3123 .- 1369-1619. ; 32:10, s. 2298-2308
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To investigate the potential associations between household renovation and allergic diseases among preschool children in Wuhan, we conducted a large cross-sectional questionnaire survey among 9455 preschool children aged 3-6 years in Wuhan during November to December 2019. Data on demographics, health status, and home decoration conditions were analysed based on a questionnaire. Compared with tiles/stone/cement floor covering, the use of composite floor significantly increased the risk of diagnosed rhinitis and eczema among children (rhinitis: AOR, 95% CI: 1.36, 1.06-1.73; eczema: AOR, 95% CI: 1.47, 1.17-1.85). Household renovation had significant associations with diagnosed eczema (within 1 year before pregnancy: AOR, 95% CI: 1.34, 1.20-1.50; during pregnancy: AOR, 95% CI: 1.25, 1.08-1.44). This study suggests that use of artificial synthetic materials in home renovation during early childhood and pregnancy may be potential risk factors for childhood asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema.
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| 26. |
- Sjöstedt, Evelina, et al.
(författare)
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An atlas of the protein-coding genes in the human, pig, and mouse brain
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 367:6482, s. 1090-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The brain, with its diverse physiology and intricate cellular organization, is the most complex organ of the mammalian body. To expand our basic understanding of the neurobiology of the brain and its diseases, we performed a comprehensive molecular dissection of 10 major brain regions and multiple subregions using a variety of transcriptomics methods and antibody-based mapping. This analysis was carried out in the human, pig, and mouse brain to allow the identification of regional expression profiles, as well as to study similarities and differences in expression levels between the three species. The resulting data have been made available in an open-access Brain Atlas resource, part of the Human Protein Atlas, to allow exploration and comparison of the expression of individual protein-coding genes in various parts of the mammalian brain.
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| 27. |
- Stsiapanava, Alena, et al.
(författare)
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Structure of the decoy module of human glycoprotein 2 and uromodulin and its interaction with bacterial adhesin FimH
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1545-9993 .- 1545-9985. ; 29:3, s. 190-193
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AlphaFold2 predictions, X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM analyses reveal how related human glycoproteins GP2 and uromodulin catch pathogenic bacteria by presenting a high-mannose glycan that acts as a decoy for fimbrial adhesin FimH. Glycoprotein 2 (GP2) and uromodulin (UMOD) filaments protect against gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections by acting as decoys for bacterial fimbrial lectin FimH. By combining AlphaFold2 predictions with X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM, we show that these proteins contain a bipartite decoy module whose new fold presents the high-mannose glycan recognized by FimH. The structure rationalizes UMOD mutations associated with kidney diseases and visualizes a key epitope implicated in cast nephropathy.
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| 28. |
- Wang, Hao, et al.
(författare)
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In-situ growth of low-dimensional perovskite-based insular nanocrystals for highly efficient light emitting diodes
- 2023
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Ingår i: Light. - : SPRINGERNATURE. - 2095-5545 .- 2047-7538. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Regulation of perovskite growth plays a critical role in the development of high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, judicious control of the grain growth for perovskite light emitting diodes is elusive due to its multiple requirements in terms of morphology, composition, and defect. Herein, we demonstrate a supramolecular dynamic coordination strategy to regulate perovskite crystallization. The combined use of crown ether and sodium trifluoroacetate can coordinate with A site and B site cations in ABX(3) perovskite, respectively. The formation of supramolecular structure retard perovskite nucleation, while the transformation of supramolecular intermediate structure enables the release of components for slow perovskite growth. This judicious control enables a segmented growth, inducing the growth of insular nanocrystal consist of low-dimensional structure. Light emitting diode based on this perovskite film eventually brings a peak external quantum efficiency up to 23.9%, ranking among the highest efficiency achieved. The homogeneous nano-island structure also enables high-efficiency large area (1 cm(2)) device up to 21.6%, and a record high value of 13.6% for highly semi-transparent ones.
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| 29. |
- Wang, Lexiang, et al.
(författare)
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Prenatal and postnatal decoration in residence are associated with childhood allergies and respiratory diseases : A 10-year repeated retrospective observational study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 234
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The previous studies reported inconsistent associations of early residential decoration with childhood allergies and respiratory diseases. In this study, we conducted a 10-year retrospective observational survey among preschoolers from three urban districts in Chongqing of China in 2010 and in 2019, to investigate the associations of the prenatal and postnatal residential decorations with the childhood asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, wheeze, rhinitis, and pneumonia. We collected data from 4976 to 3971 of 3-6-year-olds preschoolers in the 2010 and 2019 surveys, respectively. The results showed that proportions of prenatal and postnatal residential decorations in different durations in 2010 were significantly higher than in 2019 (4.1%-19.6% vs. 2.1-5.3%). Except for allergic rhinitis (6.1% vs. 9.5%), prevalences of the studied diseases in 2010 also were significantly higher than in 2019 (for example: asthma: 8.2% vs. 6.1%; wheeze: 17.1% vs. 7.7%; rhinitis: 40.6% vs. 24.0%). In the two-level (district-child) logistic regression analyses, surveys in both 2010 and 2019 revealed that residential renovation and buying new furniture in prenatal and postnatal periods consistently increased odds of most studied diseases (ranges of adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.31-1.86). The prenatal decoration exposures had stronger associations with childhood allergies and respiratory diseases than the postnatal decoration exposures. The early residential decoration activities had stronger associations with allergies and respiratory diseases among girls and preschoolers without history of family allergy. Our findings indicate that prenatal and postnatal household decoration behaviors are risk factors for childhood airway diseases and allergies. Girls and children without family history of allergy are vulnerability groups.
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| 30. |
- Wang, Ling-Zhi, et al.
(författare)
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Sphagnumspore banks in two montane peatlands at different elevations
- 2020
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Ingår i: Wetlands Ecology and Management. - : SPRINGER. - 0923-4861 .- 1572-9834. ; 28:5, s. 825-835
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Spore production of bryophytes is common in subalpine ecosystems, but how spore banks of bryophytes vary with elevations is unknown. We used peat cores from twoSphagnumdominated peatlands, a low- (780 m a.s.l.) and a high-elevation (1480 m a.s.l.) site to test the hypotheses that spore concentration, accumulation rate, germinability and longevity are lower at a high-elevation peatland than those at lower elevation due to the assumed climatic limitations at high elevation. Along the cores,Sphagnumspores were extracted, burial time of spores was dated and spore germinability was tested layer by layer.Sphagnumspore concentration, accumulation rate and germinability were greater at the high-elevation peatland than at the low-elevation site. Both peatlands had long-term persistentSphagnumspore banks with a predicted longevity (the burial time when 1% spores are viable) ofc. 390 and 140 years for the low- and high-elevation sites, respectively. Our study suggests thatSphagnum, the ecological engineer of peatlands, by regulating spore production and longevity can maintain relatively constant spore banks which may be of great importance in population regeneration and persistence in a changing world.
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| 31. |
- Wang, Yi-Ming, et al.
(författare)
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Physiological and transcriptomic analysis provide novel insight into cobalt stress responses in willow
- 2020
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cobalt (Co) is an essential component of several enzymes and coenzymes in living organisms. Excess Co is highly toxic to plants. The knowledge of molecular response mechanisms to cobalt stress in plants is still limited, especially in woody plants. The responses of weeping willow (Salix babylonica) seedlings to Co stress were studied using morphological and physiochemical measurements and RNA-seq analysis. The physiological and biochemical indexes such as growth rate, the content of chlorophyll and soluble sugar, photosynthesis and peroxidase activity were all changed in willow seedlings under Co stress. The metal ion concentrations in willow including Cu, Zn and Mg were disturbed due to excess Co. Of 2002 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), 1165 were root-specific DEGs and 837 were stem and leaf-specific DEGs. Further analysis of DEGs showed there were multiple complex cascades in the response network at the transcriptome level under Co stress. Detailed elucidation of responses to oxidative stress, phytohormone signaling-related genes and transcription factors (TFs), and detoxification of excess cellular Co ion indicated the various defense mechanisms in plants respond to cobalt stress. Our findings provide new and comprehensive insights into the plant tolerance to excess Co stress.
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| 32. |
- Wigington, Callie P., et al.
(författare)
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Systematic Discovery of Short Linear Motifs Decodes Calcineurin Phosphatase Signaling
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Molecular Cell. - : Cell Press. - 1097-2765 .- 1097-4164. ; 79:2, s. 342-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Short linear motifs (SLiMs) drive dynamic protein-protein interactions essential for signaling, but sequence degeneracy and low binding affinities make them difficult to identify. We harnessed unbiased systematic approaches for SLiM discovery to elucidate the regulatory network of calcineurin (CN)/PP2B, the Ca 2+-activated phosphatase that recognizes LxVP and PxIxIT motifs. In vitro proteome-wide detection of CN-binding peptides, in vivo SLiM-dependent proximity labeling, and in silico modeling of motif determinants uncovered unanticipated CN interactors, including NOTCH1, which we establish as a CN substrate. Unexpectedly, CN shows SLiM-dependent proximity to centrosomal and nuclear pore complex (NPC) proteins—structures where Ca 2+ signaling is largely uncharacterized. CN dephosphorylates human and yeast NPC proteins and promotes accumulation of a nuclear transport reporter, suggesting conserved NPC regulation by CN. The CN network assembled here provides a resource to investigate Ca 2+ and CN signaling and demonstrates synergy between experimental and computational methods, establishing a blueprint for examining SLiM-based networks.
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| 33. |
- Xie, Xu-Qin, et al.
(författare)
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miR-124 Intensified Oxaliplatin-Based Chemotherapy by Targeting CAPN2 in Colorectal Cancer
- 2020
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Ingår i: MOLECULAR THERAPY-ONCOLYTICS. - : CELL PRESS. - 2372-7705. ; 17, s. 320-331
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Our previous study demonstrated that miR-124 was downregulated in colorectal cancer (CRC) compared with normal mucosa, and the downregulated expression of miR-124 was an independent prognostic factor in CRC patients. However, the function of miR-124 in CRC patients treated with chemotherapy is currently unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the miR-124 expression and its regulative role in oxaliplatin (L-OHP)-based chemotherapy of CRC patients. We observed that low miR-124 expression was correlated with worse overall survival (OS) in the 220 patients who received postoperative chemotherapy of 5-fluorouracil [5-FU] +leucovorin+L-OHP (FOLFOX) or capecitabine+L-OHP (XELOX). miR-124 overexpression promoted L-OHP-induced, but not 5-FU-induced, cytotoxicity and apoptosis in HT29 and SW480 cells. CAPN2 was a direct target of miR124, and its protein expression was reduced by forced expression of miR-124. miR-124 inhibited tumorigenesis and promoted OS of mice bearing xenograft tumors, especially upon L-OHP treatment. miR-124 also promoted L-OHP-induced apoptosis and restrained CAPN2 protein expression in xenograft tumors. Our results suggest that miR-124 could be considered as both a predictor of L-OHP-based chemotherapy for personalized treatment and a therapeutic target for CRC.
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| 34. |
- Xu, Ping, et al.
(författare)
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Gender Differences in the Associations Between Physical Activity, Smartphone Use, and Weight Stigma
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers In Public Health. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-2565. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) is important for health. However, there is little evidence on how weight stigma, time spent on sedentary activities (including smartphone, social media, online learning), time spent on outdoor activity, and nomophobia associate with PA among Chinese individuals with consideration of gender. The present study examined the aforementioned associations in the COVID-19 pandemic era. MethodsUniversity students (N = 3,135; 1,798 females, 1,337 males) with a mean age of 19.65 years (SD = 2.38) years completed an online survey from November to December, 2021. The online survey assessed weight stigma (using the Perceived Weight Stigma Scale and Weight Bias Internalization Scale), PA (using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form), time spent on different activities (using self-designed items for time on smartphone, outdoor activity, social media, and online learning), and nomophobia (using the Nomophobia Questionnaire). Parallel mediation models were constructed (dependent variable: PA; mediators: perceived weight stigma, weight-related self-stigma, time spent on smartphone, time spent on outdoor activity, time spent on social media, and time spent online learning; independent variable: nomophobia) and evaluated using Hayes' Process Macro Model 4 (IBM SPSS 20.0). ResultsWeight-related self-stigma (beta = -0.06; p = 0.03), time spent on outdoor activity (beta = 0.21; p < 0.001), time spent on social media (beta = 0.07; p = 0.02), time spent on online learning (beta = 0.06; p = 0.03), and nomophobia (beta = -0.07; p = 0.01) were all significant factors explaining the PA among female participants. Perceived weight stigma (beta = -0.07; p = 0.01), time spent on outdoor activity (beta = 0.27; p < 0.001), and time spent on online learning (beta = 0.10; p = 0.002) were all significant factors explaining PA among male participants. ConclusionChinese healthcare providers should design programs on weight stigma reduction and outdoor activity improvement to enhance PA among university students.
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| 35. |
- Xu, Shu-ling, et al.
(författare)
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Double Derivatization Strategy for High-Sensitivity and High-Coverage Localization of Double Bonds in Free Fatty Acids by Mass Spectrometry
- 2020
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Ingår i: Analytical Chemistry. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0003-2700 .- 1520-6882. ; 92:9, s. 6446-6455
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Free fatty acids (FFAs) are key intermediates of lipid metabolism that have a crucial role in many critical biological processes. The specific locations of carbon-carbon double bonds (C=C) in FFAs are often associated with distinct biological functions. Despite the rapid development of analytical techniques, identification of C=C locations in FFAs with more than three C=C bonds in complex biological matrices remains a challenge. Herein, we describe a double derivatization strategy, coupled with shotgun-mass spectrometry (MS), for unambiguous and sensitive determination of a high-coverage C=C bond (from 1 to 6) locations of FFAs. Our approach is based on combination of acetone labeling of C=C bonds and N,N-diethyl-1,2-ethanediamine (DEEA) labeling of carboxyl groups within FFAs. Acetone labeling of C=C bonds via photochemical reaction provides diagnostic ions, specific to C=C locations, and DEEA labeling of carboxyl groups significantly enhances MS response of diagnostic ions, by invoking a readily protonated tertiary amine group on FFA analytes. By exploiting this double derivatization strategy, the assignment of C=C locations of FFAs with more than three C=C bonds was achieved with high sensitivity (limit of quantitation (LOQ) 0.1-1.5 nmol/L). In contrast, such assignments were not possible by acetone labeling alone, because of the low sensitivity of diagnostic ions in negative ionization mode of MS. The applicability of our method was demonstrated by profiling of FFAs, including unsaturated FFA C=C positional isomers, in liver samples from mice with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and their lean controls. The study showed that the high-specificity and high-sensitivity method developed here is promising for accurate identification and quantitation of a wide array of FFAs in biological samples.
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| 36. |
- Xu, Weiqi, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of a Canonical Image Representation for Sidescan Sonar
- 2023
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Ingår i: OCEANS 2023 - Limerick, OCEANS Limerick 2023. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Acoustic sensors play an important role in autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Sidescan sonar (SSS) detects a wide range and provides photo-realistic images in high resolution. However, SSS projects the 3D seafloor to 2D images, which are distorted by the AUV's altitude, target's range and sensor's resolution. As a result, the same physical area can show significant visual differences in SSS images from different survey lines, causing difficulties in tasks such as pixel correspondence and template matching. In this paper, a canonical transformation method consisting of intensity correction and slant range correction is proposed to decrease the above distortion. The intensity correction includes beam pattern correction and incident angle correction using three different Lambertian laws (cos, cos2, cot), whereas the slant range correction removes the nadir zone and projects the position of SSS elements into equally horizontally spaced, view-point independent bins. The proposed method is evaluated on real data collected by a HUGIN AUV, with manually-annotated pixel correspondence as ground truth reference. Experimental results on patch pairs compare similarity measures and keypoint descriptor matching. The results show that the canonical transformation can improve the patch similarity, as well as SIFT descriptor matching accuracy in different images where the same physical area was ensonified.
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| 37. |
- Xue, Tian-Tian, et al.
(författare)
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Ignored Biodiversity in Acid Soil Islands in Karst Areas, South China : Impatiens longlinensis (Balsaminaceae), a New Critically Endangered Species
- 2020
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Ingår i: Systematic Botany. - 0363-6445 .- 1548-2324. ; 45:4, s. 891-899
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The karst area in South China is notable for its fragile vegetation and unique flora with many narrow endemic species, and is one of the most threatened biodiversity hotspots in the world. However, the biodiversity of acid soil areas scattered in the karst area have previously been underestimated. With a recent increase of new discoveries of plants and animals, the conservation of biodiversity in these acid soil areas has become urgent. This study deals with a new species, Impatiens longlinensis . The new species is similar to I. yui and I. lasiophyton in having pubescence, two lateral sepals, funnelform lower sepal, and linear capsule. But it can be distinguished by having orbicular to obovate dorsal sepals and oblong to elliptic lower and upper lobes of lateral united petals. Moreover, molecular data and micro-morphological evidence also support that the species is new to science. The new species is only known from a valley near the summit of Mt. Jinzhongshan within an area of less than 5 km2. Based on the Red List categories and criteria developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the threat posed by exploitation for tourism development, we categorize it as Critically Endangered (CR).
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| 38. |
- Yu, Wei, et al.
(författare)
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Increased risk of respiratory and allergic diseases in preschoolers from building envelope dampness exposure : Repeated cross-sectional surveys in multicity China
- 2023
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 241
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Building envelope dampness exposure is correlated with children's respiratory and allergic diseases. However, little research has compared the variation in the health impact of dampness exposure across multiple cities from a longitudinal perspective. A cross-sectional survey and a repeated one were conducted in children's residences in six cities: Chongqing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Changsha and Taiyuan, China, in 2010 (Phase I) and 2019 (Phase II). We selected 17,810 preschoolers during Phase I and 26,001 preschoolers during Phase II aged 3-6 years without changing residence since birth in the study. The proportion of residences with building envelope dampness exposure and the prevalence of respiratory and allergic diseases, except allergic rhinitis, in preschoolers significantly declined from Phase I to Phase II. Dampness exposure increased the risk for most childhood respiratory diseases in Phase II, with a 34% greater risk of lifetime-ever asthma in early residences and a 36% greater risk of current eczema in current residences. Most diseases showed a significantly positive exposureresponse relationship to the cumulative period of building envelope dampness exposure (p < 0.05). The risk of developing current eczema was approximately 1.35 and 1.73 times higher in children exposed to both early and current dampness in Phase I and Phase II, respectively, than in children who had never been exposed. These findings provide new insights into the respiratory and allergic diseases in Chinese preschoolers because of building envelope dampness exposure over the last decade. The increased risk in Phase II raises concerns about the household's dampness environment.
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| 39. |
- Zang, Xu-Feng, et al.
(författare)
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The role of the pi-bridge length in the performance of diketopyrrolopyrrole-based organic dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells
- 2021
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Ingår i: Synthetic metals. - : Elsevier. - 0379-6779 .- 1879-3290. ; 281
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Three novel diketopyrrolopyrrole-based metal-free organic dyes (TPh, BPh and SPh) with different pi-bridge lengths were designed and synthesized for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The phenyl units were employed as the additional pi-bridge for the three dyes, which located between the diketopyrrolopyrrole core and cyanoacrylic acid unit. Interestingly, it is the first time to report a diketopyrrolopyrmle-based dye with only one additional pi-bridge unit (SPh). The effects of pi-bridge length on photophysical, molecular planarity, energy level and photovoltaic properties of the dyes were systematically investigated. The results revealed that the prolongation of pi-bridge length by introducing an additional phenyl unit results in an extra torsion in the structural framework and reduces the molecule planarity, which has a negative impact on improving the light-harvesting ability, while it is beneficial in lowering the tendency of aggregation and enhancing the excited electron injection efficiency. Finally, with a moderate pi-bridge length (BPh), the best balance of overall performances is achieved, resulting in the highest power conversion efficiency (6.57%) without chenodeoxycholic acid.
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| 40. |
- Zhang, Bin, et al.
(författare)
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Dampness and mould in Chinese homes and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms - Associations with climate, family size, cleaning and ventilation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Building and Environment. - : Elsevier. - 0360-1323 .- 1873-684X. ; 245
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigated associations between dampness in Chinese homes and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms and studied the role of climate, family size, cleaning and ventilation for dampness, mould and SBS. A questionnaire survey was done in 2019-2020 among adults in five cities (32349 participants) and data on outdoor climate was collected. Multilevel logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs). In total, 2.2% had rhinitis, 1.8% eye, 1.6% throat and 2.9% skin symptoms, 2.1% headache and 8.7% fatigue (weekly symptoms). Overall, 12.1% reported indoor mould, 5.7% damp bedding, 5.3% mould odour and 33.8% humid air in current home. Mould was associated with all symptoms (ORs 1.86-2.15 for minor mold growth and 1.65-3.45 for major mould growth). Damp bedding was associated with all symptoms (ORs 2.18-2.80 for minor dampness and 2.51-8.03 for major dampness). Mould odour was associated with all symptoms (ORs 1.84-2.77 for sometimes odour and ORs 3.78-7.80 for weekly odour). Perception of humid air was associated with all symptoms. ORs increased by number of dampness signs. Precipitation, outdoor relative air humidity and temperature increased dampness, mould and SBS symptoms. Large family size increased dermal symptoms. Daily floor cleaning, airing in winter, putting bedding to sunshine and mechanical ventilation in the bathroom reduced dampness, mould and SBS symptoms. In conclusion, mould and dampness in Chinese homes can increase rhinitis and SBS-symptoms in a dose-response manner. A warmer and more humid climate can increase, and cleaning and ventilation in the home can decrease dampness, mould and SBS symptoms.
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| 41. |
- Zhang, Lei, et al.
(författare)
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Discovery of a radio jet in the Cloverleaf quasar at z = 2.56
- 2023
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 524:3, s. 3671-3682
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The fast growth of supermassive black holes and their feedback to the host galaxies play an important role in regulating the evolution of galaxies, especially in the early Universe. However, due to cosmological dimming and the limited angular resolution of most observations, it is difficult to resolve the feedback from the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to their host galaxies. Gravitational lensing, for its magnification, provides a powerful tool to spatially differentiate emission originating from AGN and host galaxy at high-redshifts. Here, we report a discovery of a jet-like radio structure in a strongly lensed starburst quasar, H1413+117 or Cloverleaf at redshift z = 2.56, based on observational data at optical, submillimetre, and radio wavelengths. With both parametric and non-parametric lens models and with reconstructed images in the source plane, we find a well-separated, kpc-scaled, single-sided radio jet located at projected to the north-west of the host galaxy in the source plane. This could indicate the co-existence of feedback from the AGN by both wind and jet in the Cloverleaf quasar.
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| 43. |
- Zheng, Nianye, et al.
(författare)
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Magnesium facilitates the healing of atypical femoral fractures : A single-cell transcriptomic study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Materials Today. - : Elsevier. - 1369-7021 .- 1873-4103. ; 52, s. 43-62
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bisphosphonates (BPs)-associated atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) present with impaired fracture healing, yet the underlying mechanism is unclear, which prevents the development of effective therapy. Peripheral sensory nerve has been shown to regulate fracture healing via releasing neuropeptides. Here we show that long-term BPs pre-treatment leads to fracture non-union in rats, characterized by reduced expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP, a predominant type of neuropeptides) and abundant fibrous tissues in the non-bridged fracture gap, mimicking clinical AFFs. By using single-cell RNA-sequencing, long-term BPs treatment was identified to promote transition of progenitor cells into a specific cluster of fibroblasts that actively deposit dense extracellular matrix (ECM) to prevent fracture callus bridging. Administration of exogenous CGRP at early stages of fracture repair, in contrast, eliminates the ECM-secreting fibroblast cluster, attenuates fibrogenesis, and facilitates callus bridging, suggesting CGRP is a promising agent to facilitate AFF healing. Accordingly, we have developed an innovative magnesium (Mg) containing hybrid intramedullary nail fixation system (Mg-IMN) to effectively rescue BPs-impaired fracture healing via elevating CGRP synthesis and release. Such device optimizes the fracture healing in BPs-pretreated rats, comparable to direct administration of CGRP. These findings address the indispensable role of CGRP in advancing the healing of AFFs and develop translational strategies to accelerate AFF healing by taking advantage of the CGRP-stimulating effect of Mg-based biodegradable orthopedic implant. The study also indicates fibrosis could be targeted by augmenting CGRP expression to accelerate fracture healing even under challenging scenarios where fibroblasts are aberrantly activated.
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