| 1. |
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| 2. |
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- 2019
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 3. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Klionsky, Daniel J., et al.
(author)
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Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy
- 2012
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In: Autophagy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1554-8635 .- 1554-8627. ; 8:4, s. 445-544
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
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| 6. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.522.7) and 16.5 cm (13.319.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 7. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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In: eLIFE. - : eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 5
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5–22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3– 19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8– 144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Kristanl, Matej, et al.
(author)
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The Seventh Visual Object Tracking VOT2019 Challenge Results
- 2019
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In: 2019 IEEE/CVF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTER VISION WORKSHOPS (ICCVW). - : IEEE COMPUTER SOC. - 9781728150239 ; , s. 2206-2241
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Visual Object Tracking challenge VOT2019 is the seventh annual tracker benchmarking activity organized by the VOT initiative. Results of 81 trackers are presented; many are state-of-the-art trackers published at major computer vision conferences or in journals in the recent years. The evaluation included the standard VOT and other popular methodologies for short-term tracking analysis as well as the standard VOT methodology for long-term tracking analysis. The VOT2019 challenge was composed of five challenges focusing on different tracking domains: (i) VOT-ST2019 challenge focused on short-term tracking in RGB, (ii) VOT-RT2019 challenge focused on "real-time" short-term tracking in RGB, (iii) VOT-LT2019 focused on long-term tracking namely coping with target disappearance and reappearance. Two new challenges have been introduced: (iv) VOT-RGBT2019 challenge focused on short-term tracking in RGB and thermal imagery and (v) VOT-RGBD2019 challenge focused on long-term tracking in RGB and depth imagery. The VOT-ST2019, VOT-RT2019 and VOT-LT2019 datasets were refreshed while new datasets were introduced for VOT-RGBT2019 and VOT-RGBD2019. The VOT toolkit has been updated to support both standard short-term, long-term tracking and tracking with multi-channel imagery. 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(1).
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| 10. |
- Liu, W., et al.
(author)
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Changes in chemical phases and microscopic characteristics of fly ash blended cement pastes in different CO 2 concentrations
- 2020
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In: Construction and Building Materials. - : Elsevier BV. - 0950-0618. ; 257
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The effects of CO2 concentration on changes in chemical phases and microscopic characteristics for fly ash (FA) blended cement pastes were investigated in this study. Several microscopic test methods, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (29Si NMR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), were used to characterize the chemical compositions and microscopic features. The XRD results showed that the precipitation of allotropic calcium carbonate (CC̅) includes calcite (c), aragonite (a) and vaterite (v). The ratio of c/(a + v) was around 0.6 under 3% and 20% CO2, while more percentage of calcite was generated under 100% CO2 (c/(a + v) = 0.79). The precipitation of more calcite than vaterite and aragonite happened with the CO2 concentration elevated to 100%. TGA analysis indicated that the total content of CC̅ was similar under all accelerated conditions and higher than that under natural carbonation. Additionally, in the 29Si NMR spectra, more C-S-H (about 70%) was decalcified after accelerated carbonation compared with natural carbonation (54.1%). The decalcification degree was the same for 3% and 20% CO2 and showed the highest value under 100% CO2. The microstructure changes characterized by SEM observation exhibited denser microstructure after carbonation with the formation of CC̅ but no apparent difference was observed with different CO2 concentrations based on the SEM pictures. Compared with the carbonation of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) paste, the carbonation of FA blended cement paste was more inclined to precipitate as calcite than vaterite and aragonite and caused a lower decalcification degree of C-S-H. Overall, similar to OPC paste, the carbonation results obtained in natural and accelerated conditions for FA blended cement pastes were different and the conditions between 3% and 20% CO2 were similar while 100% CO2 showed different results.
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| 11. |
- Liu, Wei, et al.
(author)
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Coherent dynamics of multi-spin V-B(-) center in hexagonal boron nitride
- 2022
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In: Nature Communications. - : Nature Portfolio. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has recently been demonstrated to contain optically polarized and detected electron spins that can be utilized for implementing qubits and quantum sensors in nanolayered-devices. Understanding the coherent dynamics ofmicrowave driven spins in hBN is of crucial importance for advancing these emerging new technologies. Here, we demonstrate and study the Rabi oscillation and related phenomena of a negatively charged boron vacancy (V-B(-)) spin ensemble in hBN. We report on different dynamics of the V-B(-) spins at weak and strong magnetic fields. In the former case the defect behaves like a single electron spin system, while in the latter case it behaves like a multi-spin system exhibiting multiple-frequency dynamical oscillation as beat in the Ramsey fringes. We also carry out theoretical simulations for the spin dynamics of V-B(-) and reveal that the nuclear spins can be driven via the strong electron nuclear coupling existing in V-B(-) center, which can be modulated by the magnetic field and microwave field.
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| 12. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(author)
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First M87 Event Horizon Telescope Results. IX. Detection of Near-horizon Circular Polarization
- 2023
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 957:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations have revealed a bright ring of emission around the supermassive black hole at the center of the M87 galaxy. EHT images in linear polarization have further identified a coherent spiral pattern around the black hole, produced from ordered magnetic fields threading the emitting plasma. Here we present the first analysis of circular polarization using EHT data, acquired in 2017, which can potentially provide additional insights into the magnetic fields and plasma composition near the black hole. Interferometric closure quantities provide convincing evidence for the presence of circularly polarized emission on event-horizon scales. We produce images of the circular polarization using both traditional and newly developed methods. All methods find a moderate level of resolved circular polarization across the image (〈|v|〉 < 3.7%), consistent with the low image-integrated circular polarization fraction measured by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (|vint| < 1%). Despite this broad agreement, the methods show substantial variation in the morphology of the circularly polarized emission, indicating that our conclusions are strongly dependent on the imaging assumptions because of the limited baseline coverage, uncertain telescope gain calibration, and weakly polarized signal. We include this upper limit in an updated comparison to general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulation models. This analysis reinforces the previously reported preference for magnetically arrested accretion flow models. We find that most simulations naturally produce a low level of circular polarization consistent with our upper limit and that Faraday conversion is likely the dominant production mechanism for circular polarization at 230 GHz in M87*
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| 13. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(author)
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First Sagittarius A∗ Event Horizon Telescope Results. VII. Polarization of the Ring
- 2024
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 964:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Event Horizon Telescope observed the horizon-scale synchrotron emission region around the Galactic center supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A∗ (Sgr A∗), in 2017. These observations revealed a bright, thick ring morphology with a diameter of 51.8 ± 2.3 μas and modest azimuthal brightness asymmetry, consistent with the expected appearance of a black hole with mass M≈ 4 × 106 M⊙. From these observations, we present the first resolved linear and circular polarimetric images of Sgr A∗. The linear polarization images demonstrate that the emission ring is highly polarized, exhibiting a prominent spiral electric vector polarization angle pattern with a peak fractional polarization of ∼40% in the western portion of the ring. The circular polarization images feature a modestly (∼5%°-10%) polarized dipole structure along the emission ring, with negative circular polarization in the western region and positive circular polarization in the eastern region, although our methods exhibit stronger disagreement than for linear polarization. We analyze the data using multiple independent imaging and modeling methods, each of which is validated using a standardized suite of synthetic data sets. While the detailed spatial distribution of the linear polarization along the ring remains uncertain owing to the intrinsic variability of the source, the spiraling polarization structure is robust to methodological choices. The degree and orientation of the linear polarization provide stringent constraints for the black hole and its surrounding magnetic fields, which we discuss in an accompanying publication.
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| 14. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(author)
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First Sagittarius A∗ Event Horizon Telescope Results. VIII. Physical Interpretation of the Polarized Ring
- 2024
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 964:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In a companion paper, we present the first spatially resolved polarized image of Sagittarius A∗ on event horizon scales, captured using the Event Horizon Telescope, a global very long baseline interferometric array operating at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. Here we interpret this image using both simple analytic models and numerical general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations. The large spatially resolved linear polarization fraction (24%-28%, peaking at ∼40%) is the most stringent constraint on parameter space, disfavoring models that are too Faraday depolarized. Similar to our studies of M87∗, polarimetric constraints reinforce a preference for GRMHD models with dynamically important magnetic fields. Although the spiral morphology of the polarization pattern is known to constrain the spin and inclination angle, the time-variable rotation measure (RM) of Sgr A∗ (equivalent to ≈ 46° ± 12° rotation at 228 GHz) limits its present utility as a constraint. If we attribute the RM to internal Faraday rotation, then the motion of accreting material is inferred to be counterclockwise, contrary to inferences based on historical polarized flares, and no model satisfies all polarimetric and total intensity constraints. On the other hand, if we attribute the mean RM to an external Faraday screen, then the motion of accreting material is inferred to be clockwise, and one model passes all applied total intensity and polarimetric constraints: a model with strong magnetic fields, a spin parameter of 0.94, and an inclination of 150°. We discuss how future 345 GHz and dynamical imaging will mitigate our present uncertainties and provide additional constraints on the black hole and its accretion flow.
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| 15. |
- Akiyama, Kazunori, et al.
(author)
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The persistent shadow of the supermassive black hole of M 87: I. Observations, calibration, imaging, and analysis*
- 2024
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 681
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration reported the first-ever event-horizon-scale images of a black hole, resolving the central compact radio source in the giant elliptical galaxy M 87. These images reveal a ring with a southerly brightness distribution and a diameter of ∼42 μas, consistent with the predicted size and shape of a shadow produced by the gravitationally lensed emission around a supermassive black hole. These results were obtained as part of the April 2017 EHT observation campaign, using a global very long baseline interferometric radio array operating at a wavelength of 1.3 mm. Here, we present results based on the second EHT observing campaign, taking place in April 2018 with an improved array, wider frequency coverage, and increased bandwidth. In particular, the additional baselines provided by the Greenland telescope improved the coverage of the array. Multiyear EHT observations provide independent snapshots of the horizon-scale emission, allowing us to confirm the persistence, size, and shape of the black hole shadow, and constrain the intrinsic structural variability of the accretion flow. We have confirmed the presence of an asymmetric ring structure, brighter in the southwest, with a median diameter of 43.3-3.1+1.5 μas. The diameter of the 2018 ring is remarkably consistent with the diameter obtained from the previous 2017 observations. On the other hand, the position angle of the brightness asymmetry in 2018 is shifted by about 30 relative to 2017. The perennial persistence of the ring and its diameter robustly support the interpretation that the ring is formed by lensed emission surrounding a Kerr black hole with a mass ∼6.5× 109M. The significant change in the ring brightness asymmetry implies a spin axis that is more consistent with the position angle of the large-scale jet.
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| 16. |
- Algaba, Juan-Carlos, et al.
(author)
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Broadband Multi-wavelength Properties of M87 during the 2017 Event Horizon Telescope Campaign
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 911:1
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2017, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration succeeded in capturing the first direct image of the center of the M87 galaxy. The asymmetric ring morphology and size are consistent with theoretical expectations for a weakly accreting supermassive black hole of mass ∼6.5 × 109 M o˙. The EHTC also partnered with several international facilities in space and on the ground, to arrange an extensive, quasi-simultaneous multi-wavelength campaign. This Letter presents the results and analysis of this campaign, as well as the multi-wavelength data as a legacy data repository. We captured M87 in a historically low state, and the core flux dominates over HST-1 at high energies, making it possible to combine core flux constraints with the more spatially precise very long baseline interferometry data. We present the most complete simultaneous multi-wavelength spectrum of the active nucleus to date, and discuss the complexity and caveats of combining data from different spatial scales into one broadband spectrum. We apply two heuristic, isotropic leptonic single-zone models to provide insight into the basic source properties, but conclude that a structured jet is necessary to explain M87's spectrum. We can exclude that the simultaneous γ-ray emission is produced via inverse Compton emission in the same region producing the EHT mm-band emission, and further conclude that the γ-rays can only be produced in the inner jets (inward of HST-1) if there are strongly particle-dominated regions. Direct synchrotron emission from accelerated protons and secondaries cannot yet be excluded.
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| 17. |
- Danaei, Goodarz, et al.
(author)
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Effects of diabetes definition on global surveillance of diabetes prevalence and diagnosis: a pooled analysis of 96 population-based studies with 331288 participants
- 2015
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In: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. - 2213-8595 .- 2213-8587. ; 3:8, s. 624-637
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Diabetes has been defined on the basis of different biomarkers, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-h plasma glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test (2hOGTT), and HbA(1c). We assessed the effect of different diagnostic definitions on both the population prevalence of diabetes and the classification of previously undiagnosed individuals as having diabetes versus not having diabetes in a pooled analysis of data from population-based health examination surveys in different regions. Methods We used data from 96 population-based health examination surveys that had measured at least two of the biomarkers used for defining diabetes. Diabetes was defined using HbA(1c) (HbA(1c) >= 6 . 5% or history of diabetes diagnosis or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs) compared with either FPG only or FPG-or-2hOGTT definitions (FPG >= 7 . 0 mmol/L or 2hOGTT >= 11 . 1 mmol/L or history of diabetes or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs). We calculated diabetes prevalence, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights. We compared the prevalences of diabetes using different definitions graphically and by regression analyses. We calculated sensitivity and specificity of diabetes diagnosis based on HbA1c compared with diagnosis based on glucose among previously undiagnosed individuals (ie, excluding those with history of diabetes or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs). We calculated sensitivity and specificity in each survey, and then pooled results using a random-effects model. We assessed the sources of heterogeneity of sensitivity by meta-regressions for study characteristics selected a priori. Findings Population prevalence of diabetes based on FPG- or-2hOGTT was correlated with prevalence based on FPG alone (r= 0 . 98), but was higher by 2-6 percentage points at different prevalence levels. Prevalence based on HbA(1c) was lower than prevalence based on FPG in 42 . 8% of age-sex-survey groups and higher in another 41 . 6%; in the other 15 . 6%, the two definitions provided similar prevalence estimates. The variation across studies in the relation between glucose-based and HbA(1c)-based prevalences was partly related to participants' age, followed by natural logarithm of per person gross domestic product, the year of survey, mean BMI, and whether the survey population was national, subnational, or from specific communities. Diabetes defined as HbA(1c) 6 . 5% or more had a pooled sensitivity of 52 . 8% (95% CI 51 . 3-54 . 3%) and a pooled specificity of 99 . 74% (99 . 71-99 . 78%) compared with FPG 7 . 0 mmol/L or more for diagnosing previously undiagnosed participants; sensitivity compared with diabetes defined based on FPG-or-2hOGTT was 30 . 5% (28 . 7-32 . 3%). None of the preselected study-level characteristics explained the heterogeneity in the sensitivity of HbA(1c) versus FPG. Interpretation Different biomarkers and definitions for diabetes can provide different estimates of population prevalence of diabetes, and differentially identify people without previous diagnosis as having diabetes. Using an HbA(1c)-based definition alone in health surveys will not identify a substantial proportion of previously undiagnosed people who would be considered as having diabetes using a glucose-based test.
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| 18. |
- Das, Oisik, et al.
(author)
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The Effect of Carbon Black on the Properties of Plasticised Wheat Gluten Biopolymer
- 2020
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In: Molecules. - : MDPI. - 1431-5157 .- 1420-3049. ; 25:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Wheat gluten biopolymers generally become excessively rigid when processed without plasticisers, while the use of plasticisers, on the other hand, can deteriorate their mechanical properties. As such, this study investigated the effect of carbon black (CB) as a filler into glycerol-plasticised gluten to prepare gluten/CB biocomposites in order to eliminate the aforementioned drawback. Thus, biocomposites were manufactured using compression moulding followed by the determination of their mechanical, morphological, and chemical properties. The filler content of 4 wt% was found to be optimal for achieving increased tensile strength by 24%, and tensile modulus by 268% along with the toughness retention based on energy at break when compared with those of glycerol-plasticised gluten. When reaching the filler content up to 6 wt%, the tensile properties were found to be worsened, which can be ascribed to excessive agglomeration of carbon black at the high content levels within gluten matrices. Based on infrared spectroscopy, the results demonstrate an increased amount of β-sheets, suggesting the formation of more aggregated protein networks induced by increasing the filler contents. However, the addition of fillers did not improve fire and water resistance in such bionanocomposites owing to the high blend ratio of plasticiser to gluten.
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| 19. |
- Deng, Bin, et al.
(author)
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Modelling asymmetric deformation along a curved strike-slip basement-fault system
- 2021
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In: International journal of earth sciences. - : Springer. - 1437-3254 .- 1437-3262. ; 110, s. 165-182
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large-scale curved strike-slip fault systems along which significant amounts of displacement have taken place are common in nature. Scaled analogue experiments were used in this study to investigate strike-slip deformation in cover units above a curved basement-fault system simulated by a rigid plate with an in-built curvature depicting a half-circular fault. The model results show that en-echelon, right-stepping Riedel shears and low-angle synthetic shears (Y-shears) always form at the beginning of deformation, and grow outwards with splay faults, most of which evolve into thrusts at later stages of deformation. Digital image correlation (DIC) analyses of the surface displacement vectors show that a diffuse zone of deformation progressively changes into en-echelon shears, which gradually develop into throughgoing shear zones with further deformation. The geometries of Riedel shears along two sides of the basement fault (i.e. concave and convex sides) show significant differences in fault shape and intersection angles between the faults and the curved basement fault, indicating an asymmetry in deformation with a much wider deformation zone occurring on the concave side. As a result, en-echelon and/or overlapping flower structures develop along the curved basement strike-slip fault system. In particular, Riedel shears with a upward-convex geometry are localised in both sides of the curved basement fault and a continuous reverse oblique-slip fault forms at the concave side. When compared with the geometry of curved strike-slip faults in nature (e.g. the Daliangshan shear zone in Xichang basin and the Red River shear zone in the Yinggehai basin, China) the model results depict the asymmetric evolution pattern of the faults on either side of curved basement faults.
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| 20. |
- Dong, Shichang, et al.
(author)
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Critical heat flux characteristics for subcooled flow boiling on an inclined downward-heating surface in a divergent channel
- 2024
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In: Applied Thermal Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 1359-4311 .- 1873-5606. ; 255
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To have a deep understanding on the critical heat flux (CHF) characteristics of ex-vessel core catcher system, the present study conducted subcooled flow boiling experiments on an inclined downward-heating surface in a diverging channel. The effects of inlet mass flux (100 kg/m2s to 400 kg/m2s), subcooling (1 K to 30 K) and inclination angle (5° to 45°) on the CHF were investigated. A high-speed camera and pressure transducer were used to simultaneously record the two-phase flow behavior and pressure. The results show that with the increase of heat flux, the small bubbles grow and coalesce into a bubble blanket gradually. The condensation of bubble blanket outside the heating surface induces the reversal of downward liquid. Beyond the subcooling threshold (ΔTin ≥ 20 K for θ = 5° and ΔTin ≥ 25 K for θ ≥ 15°), a two-phase flow instability characterized by the pressure shock was observed, which leads to a remarkable enhancement in CHF. An increase in the inclination angle also leads to an increase in CHF, but with a declining slope. The effects of key parameters on the characteristics of the bubble blanket were further analyzed. Especially, the reduced inclined angle makes it easier for bubble blanket to form, and it's easier for the reversible and irreversible dry patches to be formed on the wall. The dry patch fraction is much larger so that the hovering time is much longer and the frequency is lower, so the CHF decreases. And then, a dimensionless correlation between the bubble blanket parameters and the thermal–hydraulic parameters (mass flux, subcooling and inclination angle) was developed.
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| 21. |
- Dong, Zhiyue, et al.
(author)
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A cationitrile sequence encodes mild poly(ionic liquid) crosslinking for advanced composite membranes
- 2020
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In: Materials Horizons. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2051-6347 .- 2051-6355. ; 7:10, s. 2683-2689
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Polymer crosslinking is crucial for the preparation and consolidation of hierarchical nano- and micro-structures, hybrid interfaces, and collective assemblies. Here, for the first time, we showed that a cation-methylene-nitrile (CMN) functionality sequence encoded within repeating units of poly(ionic liquid)s (PILs) allowed for mild cyclizations of nitriles, processes otherwise requiring high temperatures and harsh catalysts. These new reactions facilitated by the CMN sequence were readily translated into freestanding nanomembranes (similar to 19 nm in thickness) and nanocomposite membranes by treating the PILs with mild ammonia vapor (0.2 bar, 20 degrees C). These materials were observed to be stable in various solvents, at different pH levels, and even in boiling water, exhibiting exceptional mechanical strength and solar-thermal desalination performance. The sequence was easy to synthesize, transferable in copolymers, and applicable to various cations, such as imidazolium, pyridinium, and triazolium. We expect it to provide a molecular code promoting programmable polymer crosslinking and the formation of hybrid structures for sustainable energy and water applications.
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| 22. |
- Duan, Chen, et al.
(author)
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Comparative analysis of gene expression profiles between primary knee osteoarthritis and an osteoarthritis endemic to Northwestern China, Kashin-Beck disease.
- 2010
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In: Arthritis and Rheumatism. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0004-3591 .- 1529-0131. ; 62:3, s. 771-780
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differences in gene expression profiles of adult articular cartilage from patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) versus those with primary knee osteoarthritis (OA).METHODS: The messenger RNA expression profiles of articular cartilage from patients with KBD, diagnosed according to the clinical criteria for KBD in China, were compared with those of cartilage from patients with OA, diagnosed according to the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA Index. Total RNA was isolated separately from 4 pairs of the KBD and OA cartilage samples, and the expression profiles were evaluated by Agilent 4x44k Whole Human Genome density oligonucleotide microarray analysis. The microarray data for selected transcripts were confirmed by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification.RESULTS: For 1.2 x 10(4) transcripts, corresponding to 58.4% of the expressed transcripts, 2-fold changes in differential expression were revealed. Expression levels higher in KBD than in OA samples were observed in a mean + or - SD 6,439 + or - 1,041 (14.6 + or - 2.4%) of the transcripts, and expression levels were lower in KBD than in OA samples in 6,147 + or - 1,222 (14.2 + or - 2.8%) of the transcripts. After application of the selection criteria, 1.85% of the differentially expressed genes (P < 0.001 between groups) were detected. These included 233 genes, of which 195 (0.4%) were expressed at higher levels and 38 (0.08%) were expressed at lower levels in KBD than in OA cartilage. Comparisons of the quantitative RT-PCR data supported the validity of our microarray data.CONCLUSION: Differences between KBD and OA cartilage exhibited a similar pattern among all 4 of the pairs examined, indicating the presence of disease mechanisms, mainly chondrocyte matrix metabolism, cartilage degeneration, and apoptosis induction pathways, which contribute to cartilage destruction in KBD.
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| 23. |
- Georgiev, Boris, et al.
(author)
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A Universal Power-law Prescription for Variability from Synthetic Images of Black Hole Accretion Flows
- 2022
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In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 930:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a framework for characterizing the spatiotemporal power spectrum of the variability expected from the horizon-scale emission structure around supermassive black holes, and we apply this framework to a library of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulations and associated general relativistic ray-traced images relevant for Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations of Sgr A*. We find that the variability power spectrum is generically a red-noise process in both the temporal and spatial dimensions, with the peak in power occurring on the longest timescales and largest spatial scales. When both the time-averaged source structure and the spatially integrated light-curve variability are removed, the residual power spectrum exhibits a universal broken power-law behavior. On small spatial frequencies, the residual power spectrum rises as the square of the spatial frequency and is proportional to the variance in the centroid of emission. Beyond some peak in variability power, the residual power spectrum falls as that of the time-averaged source structure, which is similar across simulations; this behavior can be naturally explained if the variability arises from a multiplicative random field that has a steeper high-frequency power-law index than that of the time-averaged source structure. We briefly explore the ability of power spectral variability studies to constrain physical parameters relevant for the GRMHD simulations, which can be scaled to provide predictions for black holes in a range of systems in the optically thin regime. We present specific expectations for the behavior of the M87* and Sgr A* accretion flows as observed by the EHT.
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| 24. |
- He, Mao-Qiang, et al.
(author)
-
Species diversity of Basidiomycota
- 2022
-
In: Fungal diversity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1560-2745 .- 1878-9129. ; 114:1, s. 281-325
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)
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| 25. |
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| 26. |
- Janssen, Michael, et al.
(author)
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Event Horizon Telescope observations of the jet launching and collimation in Centaurus A
- 2021
-
In: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2397-3366. ; 5:10, s. 1017-1028
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of active galactic nuclei at millimetre wavelengths have the power to reveal the launching and initial collimation region of extragalactic radio jets, down to 10–100 gravitational radii (rg ≡ GM/c2) scales in nearby sources1. Centaurus A is the closest radio-loud source to Earth2. It bridges the gap in mass and accretion rate between the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in Messier 87 and our Galactic Centre. A large southern declination of −43° has, however, prevented VLBI imaging of Centaurus A below a wavelength of 1 cm thus far. Here we show the millimetre VLBI image of the source, which we obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope at 228 GHz. Compared with previous observations3, we image the jet of Centaurus A at a tenfold higher frequency and sixteen times sharper resolution and thereby probe sub-lightday structures. We reveal a highly collimated, asymmetrically edge-brightened jet as well as the fainter counterjet. We find that the source structure of Centaurus A resembles the jet in Messier 87 on ~500 rg scales remarkably well. Furthermore, we identify the location of Centaurus A’s SMBH with respect to its resolved jet core at a wavelength of 1.3 mm and conclude that the source’s event horizon shadow4 should be visible at terahertz frequencies. This location further supports the universal scale invariance of black holes over a wide range of masses5,6.
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| 27. |
- Ji, Mengwei, et al.
(author)
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Recent Advances in Organic Photovoltaic Materials Based on Thiazole-Containing Heterocycles
- 2023
-
In: Macromolecular Rapid Communications. - 1022-1336 .- 1521-3927. ; 44:13
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Organic solar cells (OSCs) have achieved great progress, driven by the rapid development of wide bandgap electron donors and narrow bandgap non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Among a large number of electron-accepting (A) building blocks, thiazole (Tz) and its derived fused heterocycles have been widely used to construct photovoltaic materials, especially conjugated polymers. Benefiting from the electron deficiency, rigidity, high planarity, and enhanced intra/intermolecular interactions of Tz-containing heterocycles, some related photovoltaic materials exhibit proper energy levels, optimized molecular aggregation, and active layer morphology, leading to excellent photovoltaic performance. This review focuses on the progress of Tz-based photovoltaic materials in the field of OSCs. First, the Tz-based donor and acceptor photovoltaic materials are reviewed. Then, the materials based on promising Tz-containing heterocycles, mainly including thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TzTz), benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d’]bis(thiazole) (BBTz), and benzo[d]thiazole (BTz) are summarized and discussed. In addition, the new emerging Tz-fused structures and their application in OSCs are introduced. Finally, perspectives and outlooks for the further development of Tz-containing heterocycle-based photovoltaic materials are proposed.
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| 28. |
- Jiao, Jian, et al.
(author)
-
Effectiveness of non-surgical periodontal therapy in a large Chinese population with chronic periodontitis
- 2017
-
In: Journal of Clinical Periodontology. - : Wiley. - 0303-6979. ; 44:1, s. 42-50
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT) and its influential factors in a large Chinese population with chronic periodontitis. Methods: Periodontal examination data of 10,789 patients with at least one periodontal re-evaluation record were extracted from a hospital-based electronic periodontal charting record system. Probing depth (PD) and bleeding index (BI) reductions after NSPT and their influential factors were analysed by multilevel analysis. Results: Mean PD reductions at patient level and site level were 0.62 and 0.65 mm respectively. Mean reductions of percentage of tooth with BI > 1 and BI > 2 were 14.9% and 25.21%. Multilevel analysis demonstrated that PD and BI reductions were mainly influenced by baseline PD, baseline attachment loss (AL), baseline mobility, tooth type and frequency of periodontal maintenance (FPM). Besides, PD reduction was associated with baseline BI for all sites and was associated with gender and smoking status for sites with baseline PD ≥ 5 mm. Conclusion: The effectiveness of NSPT on patients with chronic periodontitis was proved in a large Chinese population. Outcomes of NSPT were mainly influenced by baseline PD, baseline AL, baseline mobility, tooth type and FPM.
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| 29. |
- Kang, Nai-xin, et al.
(author)
-
Anemoside B4 inhibits enterovirus 71 propagation in mice through upregulating 14-3-3 expression and type I interferon responses
- 2022
-
In: Acta Pharmacologica Sinica. - : Springer Nature. - 1671-4083 .- 1745-7254. ; 43, s. 977-991
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is the major pathogens of human hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). EV71 efficiently escapes innate immunity responses of the host to cause infection. At present, no effective antiviral drugs for EV71 are available. Anemoside B4 (B4) is a natural saponin isolated from the roots of Pulsatilla chinensis (Bunge) Regel. P. chinensis extracts that shows a wide variety of biological activities. In this study, we investigated the antiviral activities of B4 against EV71 both in cell culture and in suckling mice. We showed that B4 (12.5-200 mu M) dose dependently increased the viability of EV71-infected RD cells with an IC50 value of 24.95 +/- 0.05 mu M against EV71. The antiviral activity of B4 was associated with enhanced interferon (IFN)-beta response, since knockdown of IFN-beta abolished its antiviral activity. We also confirmed that the enhanced IFN response was mediated via activation of retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) like receptors (RLRs) pathway, and it was executed by upregulation of 14-3-3 protein, which disrupted the interaction between yes-associated protein (YAP) and interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3). By using amino acids in cell culture (SILAC)-based proteomics profiling, we identified the Hippo pathway as the top-ranking functional cluster in B4-treated EV71-infected cells. In vivo experiments were conducted in suckling mice (2-day-old) infected with EV71 and subsequently B4 (200 mg center dot kg(-1) center dot d(-1), i.p.) was administered for 16 days. We showed that B4 administration effectively suppressed EV71 replication and improved muscle inflammation and limb activity. Meanwhile, B4 administration regulated the expressions of HFMD biomarkers IL-10 and IFN-gamma, attenuating complications of EV71 infection. Collectively, our results suggest that B4 could enhance the antiviral effect of IFN-beta by orchestrating Hippo and RLRs pathway, and B4 would be a potential lead compound for developing an anti-EV71 drug.
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| 30. |
- Kristan, Matej, et al.
(author)
-
The Sixth Visual Object Tracking VOT2018 Challenge Results
- 2019
-
In: Computer Vision – ECCV 2018 Workshops. - Cham : Springer Publishing Company. - 9783030110086 - 9783030110093 ; , s. 3-53
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Visual Object Tracking challenge VOT2018 is the sixth annual tracker benchmarking activity organized by the VOT initiative. Results of over eighty trackers are presented; many are state-of-the-art trackers published at major computer vision conferences or in journals in the recent years. The evaluation included the standard VOT and other popular methodologies for short-term tracking analysis and a “real-time” experiment simulating a situation where a tracker processes images as if provided by a continuously running sensor. A long-term tracking subchallenge has been introduced to the set of standard VOT sub-challenges. The new subchallenge focuses on long-term tracking properties, namely coping with target disappearance and reappearance. A new dataset has been compiled and a performance evaluation methodology that focuses on long-term tracking capabilities has been adopted. The VOT toolkit has been updated to support both standard short-term and the new long-term tracking subchallenges. 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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| 31. |
- Labandeira, Conrad C., et al.
(author)
-
The evolutionary convergence of mid-mesozoic lacewings and cenozoic butterflies
- 2016
-
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : Royal Society of London. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 283:1824
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Mid-Mesozoic kalligrammatid lacewings (Neuroptera) entered the fossil record 165 million years ago (Ma) and disappeared 45 Ma later. Extant papilionoid butterflies (Lepidoptera) probably originated 80–70 Ma, long after kalligrammatids became extinct. Although poor preservation of kalligrammatid fossils previously prevented their detailed morphological and ecological characterization, we examine new, well-preserved, kalligrammatid fossils from Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous sites in northeastern China to unravel a surprising array of similar morphological and ecological features in these two, unrelated clades. We used polarized light and epifluorescence photography, SEM imaging, energy dispersive spectrometry and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry to examine kalligrammatid fossils and their environment. We mapped the evolution of specific traits onto a kalligrammatid phylogeny and discovered that these extinct lacewings convergently evolved wing eyespots that possibly contained melanin, and wing scales, elongate tubular proboscides, similar feeding styles, and seed–plant associations, similar to butterflies. Long-proboscid kalligrammatid lacewings lived in ecosystems with gymnosperm–insect relationships and likely accessed bennettitalean pollination drops and pollen. This system later was replaced by mid-Cretaceous angiosperms and their insect pollinators.
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| 32. |
- Li, Dong-gang, et al.
(author)
-
Diffusion layer growth at Zn/Cu interface under uniform and gradient high magnetic fields
- 2008
-
In: Materials Science & Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-5093 .- 1873-4936. ; 495:1-2, s. 244-248
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As a common phenomenon occurring in many material processes, diffusion may induce significant changes in composition and microstructure near the interface. In the present study, liquid/solid (Zn/Cu) interface diffusion experiments in high magnetic fields (up to 12 T) were conducted and the thickness changes of diffusion layer under different magnetic field conditions were examined. It was found that there were no noticeable effects of high magnetic fields on the formation of intermetallic phases at the interface. However, the magnetic flux density exerted a non-linear influence on the diffusion layer thickness. This phenomenon should be attributed to the effect of magnetic fields suppressing natural convection and inducing thermo-electromagnetic convection. In addition, the diffusion of Zn into Cu could be retarded by a magnetic field gradient. These results indicate that both the strength and the gradient of high magnetic fields can be used to control the diffusion behavior.
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| 33. |
- Li, Qiang, et al.
(author)
-
Suspended InAsnanowire gate-all-around field-effect transistors
- 2014
-
In: Applied Physics Letters. - : AIP Publishing. - 0003-6951 .- 1077-3118. ; 105:11
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Gate-all-around field-effect transistors are realized with thin, single-crystalline, pure-phase InAs nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy. At room temperature, the transistors show a desired high on-state current I-on of similar to 10 mu A arid an on-off current ratio I-on/I-off of as high as 10(6) at sourcedrain bias voltage of 50 mV and gate length of 1 mu m with a gate underlap spacing of 1 mu m from the source and from the drain. At low temperatures, the on-state current I-on is only slightly reduced, while the ratio I-on/I-off is increased to 10(7). The field-effect mobility in the nanowire channels is also investigated and found to be similar to 1500 cm(2)/V s at room temperature and similar to 2000 cm(2)/V s at low temperatures. The excellent performance of the transistors is explained in terms of strong electrostatic and quantum confinements of carriers in the nanowires. (C) 2014 A1P Publishing LLC.
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| 34. |
- Li, Yong Qiang, et al.
(author)
-
Carbonation of the synthetic calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) under different concentrations of CO2: Chemical phases analysis and kinetics
- 2020
-
In: Journal of CO2 Utilization. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-9820. ; 35, s. 303-313
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, the chemical phases analysis and the kinetics of synthetic calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) under differentCO2concentrations (natural (0.03%), 3%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 100%) were investigated. For this aim, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were employed for microstructure characterisation. The 29Si magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (29Si MAS NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with mass spectrometer (MS) were used for characterising the chemical phases before and after carbonation. From the NMR results, it was found that C-S-H would be partly decalcified under the natural condition but completely under the accelerated conditions. Two equations related to the carbonation kinetics under natural and accelerated conditions were proposed respectively. The compositions in decalcified C-S-H were not affected by the CO2 concentration. The XRD analysis showed that vaterite, aragonite and calcite were coexistent after carbonation, which would be transformed to aragonite and calcite with further carbonation. The preferential formation of the allotropic calcium carbonate was not impacted by the concentration of CO2 either. Based on the TGA-MS test, the stoichiometric formula of synthetic C-S-H was determined with CaOâ'™SiO2â'™0.87H2O or Câ Sâ H0.87. In addition, a carbonation kinetics model was proposed to learn the carbonation kinetics of C-S-H carbonated in different CO2 concentrations. The experimental data fitted well with the model. The carbonation kinetics between 3% and 20% CO2 are similar, but different from that under 50% and 100% CO2
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| 35. |
- Liang, Jiamin, et al.
(author)
-
Synthesis of Zr2Al3C4 coatings on zirconium-alloy substrates with Al-C/Si interlayers as diffusion barriers
- 2019
-
In: Vacuum. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0042-207X .- 1879-2715. ; 160, s. 128-132
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Zr2Al3C4 coatings are potential candidates to prevent claddings of traditional Zr-based alloys from severe oxidation in water steam at high temperature. However, the diffusion of aluminum between coating and substrates at high temperature results in a coating composition deviating from the compositional domain for formation of the Zr2Al3C4 phase. Thus, synthesis of Zr2Al3C4 coatings on zirconium-alloy substrates is challenging. Here, we report that the Zr2Al3C4 phase can be obtained on zirconium alloy (ZIRLO) substrates where an Al-C/Si interlayer deposited by magnetron sputtering is introduced. The Al-C/Si interlayer prevented elemental diffusion of aluminum between the Zr-Al-C coating and the substrates during a post-annealing process at 800 degrees C for 3 h. The Al/Zr ratio of the Zr-Al-C coating after annealing was 0.96 and 0.59 in the cases of with and without Al-C/Si interlayer, respectively. Hence, the Al-C/Si interlayer acts as diffusion barrier and greatly decreases the deviation from the standard stoichiometric ratio of the Zr2Al3C4 phase, which facilitates the formation of the Zr2Al3C4 phase in the final coating.
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| 36. |
- Liu, Wei, et al.
(author)
-
XRD and( 29)Si MAS NMR study on carbonated cement paste under accelerated carbonation using different concentration of CO2
- 2019
-
In: Materials Today Communications. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-4928. ; 19:June, s. 464-470
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, the chemical composition of cement pastes, exposed to accelerated carbonation using different concentration of CO2 (3%, 10%, 20%, 50%,100%), have been determined and compared with those of natural carbonation (0.03%). Quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) and( 29)Si Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MAS NMR) were used for characterisation and quantitative analysis of the carbonated phases. The obtained QXRD results revealed that the complete carbonation was hardly attained. Calcite, aragonite and vaterite were in co-existence after accelerated carbonation, while vaterite was dominant. The preferential polymorphic precipitation of the three crystal forms of calcium carbonate was affected by the carbonation degree of C-S-H and the duration of the carbonation process, but not by the concentration of CO2. The NMR results indicated that C-S-H gel was strongly decalcified, and calcium modified silica gel was formed after carbonation. The C-S-H decalcification, under all the accelerated carbonation conditions, was clearly more pronounced than that under the natural carbonation conditions. When the concentration of CO2 was in the range of 3%-20%, the ratio of decalcified to remaining C-S-H was similar, in a range of 5-6, while under the higher concentration of CO2 this ratio was increased to > 8. Therefore, in consideration of both acceleration rate and measurement uncertainty, the higher concentration, up to 20%, of CO2 in an accelerated carbonation should be applicable.
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| 37. |
- Liu, Yang, et al.
(author)
-
Reduction of p120ctn isoforms 1 and 3 is significantly associated with metastatic progression of human lung cancer
- 2007
-
In: Acta Pathologica, Microbiologica et Immunologica Scandinavica (APMIS). - : Wiley. - 0903-4641 .- 1600-0463. ; 115:7, s. 848-856
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- P120-catenin plays an important role in cell adhesion and signalling transduction though the function of its isoforms is unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of p120-catenin isoforms in lung cancer and investigate their relationship to clinicopathological factors in lung squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and adenocarcinomas. The expression patterns of p120-catenin in lung cancer tissues and lung cancer cells were examined by p120-catenin immunofluorescence, Western blot, and reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Clear and continuous red fluorescence of p120-catenin is displayed at the cell membrane of corresponding normal bronchial epithelial cells, but not in lung cancer tissues that show reduction or absence of membrane expression of p120-catenin or cytoplasmic accumulation of p120-catenin. Compared with corresponding normal lung tissues, lung cancer tissues have significantly lower levels of p120-catenin proteins (P<0.001) and mRNA (P<0.001). The isoforms 1 (120 kD) and 3 (100 kD) proteins were major isoforms of p120-catenin expressed in normal lung tissues, which were significantly reduced in lung cancer samples (P=0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). The mRNA of p120-catenin isoforms 1.2, 1.3, 2.3, 3.1 and 3.3 was detected in corresponding normal lung tissues, but was significantly absent in lung cancer samples (P<0.001 and P=0.001, respectively). Furthermore, p120-catenin isoform 1 is negatively associated - whereas p120-catenin isoform 3 is positively associated - with lymph node metastasis. We conclude that reductions of isoforms 1 and 3 may play different roles in metastatic progression of human lung cancer. © Apmis 2007.
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| 38. |
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| 39. |
- Ren, Bo, et al.
(author)
-
An Iron(III) Catalyst with Unusually Broad Substrate Scope in Regioselective Alkylation of Diols and Polyols
- 2016
-
In: Chemistry - A European Journal. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 0947-6539 .- 1521-3765. ; 22:7, s. 2481-2486
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this study, [Fe(dibm)(3)] (dibm=diisobutyrylmethane) is shown to have unusually broad scope as a catalyst for the selective monoalkylation of a diverse set of 1,2- and 1,3-diol-containing structures. The mechanism is proposed to proceed via a cyclic dioxolane-type intermediate, formed between the iron(III) species and two adjacent hydroxyl groups. This approach represents the first transition-metal catalysts that are able to replace stoichiometric amounts of organotin reagents in regioselective alkylation. The reactions generally lead to very high regioselectivities and high yields, on par with, or better than, previous methods used for regioselective alkylation.
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| 40. |
- Roelofs, F., et al.
(author)
-
Polarimetric Geometric Modeling for mm-VLBI Observations of Black Holes
- 2023
-
In: Astrophysical Journal Letters. - 2041-8213 .- 2041-8205. ; 957:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is a millimeter very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) array that has imaged the apparent shadows of the supermassive black holes M87* and Sagittarius A*. Polarimetric data from these observations contain a wealth of information on the black hole and accretion flow properties. In this work, we develop polarimetric geometric modeling methods for mm-VLBI data, focusing on approaches that fit data products with differing degrees of invariance to broad classes of calibration errors. We establish a fitting procedure using a polarimetric “m-ring” model to approximate the image structure near a black hole. By fitting this model to synthetic EHT data from general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic models, we show that the linear and circular polarization structure can be successfully approximated with relatively few model parameters. We then fit this model to EHT observations of M87* taken in 2017. In total intensity and linear polarization, the m-ring fits are consistent with previous results from imaging methods. In circular polarization, the m-ring fits indicate the presence of event-horizon-scale circular polarization structure, with a persistent dipolar asymmetry and orientation across several days. The same structure was recovered independently of observing band, used data products, and model assumptions. Despite this broad agreement, imaging methods do not produce similarly consistent results. Our circular polarization results, which imposed additional assumptions on the source structure, should thus be interpreted with some caution. Polarimetric geometric modeling provides a useful and powerful method to constrain the properties of horizon-scale polarized emission, particularly for sparse arrays like the EHT.
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| 41. |
- Shi, Shu Wen, et al.
(author)
-
Influence of local anesthesia on the outcomes of non-surgical periodontal treatment
- 2020
-
In: Chinese Medical Journal. - 0366-6999. ; 133:16, s. 1908-1914
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: There is limited evidence of the effects of local anesthesia (LA) on outcomes of non-surgical periodontal treatment (NSPT), in particular among the Chinese. This retrospective cohort study aimed to evaluate the effects of LA on short-term treatment outcomes of NSPT and to determine under what circumstances LA should be prescribed to improve these outcomes. METHODS: Data from periodontal examinations of 3980 patients were used. The data were from 3-month re-evaluation records of an electronic periodontal charting record system in the Department of Periodontology of Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from June 2008 to January 2015. Descriptive analyses included changes in probing depth (PD) and the Mazza bleeding index (BI). Two-level (patient and tooth) logistic regression models and three-level (patient, tooth, and site) linear regression models were constructed to analyze the influence of LA on PD for all teeth/sites and teeth/sites with an initial PD ≥ 5 mm. Decreases in PD and BI at sites under LA using the initial PD were also compared. RESULTS: A significantly higher mean decrease in PD after NSPT was found in the LA group than in the no local anesthesia (NLA) group (0.98 vs. 0.54 mm, t = 24.12, P < 0.001). A significantly higher probability of decreases was found in the LA group in BI (percentages of teeth with BI > 1 and BI > 2) for all teeth (16.7% vs. 13.8%, t = 3.75, P < 0.001; 34.7% vs. 28.1%, t = 6.73, P < 0.001) and PD for teeth with PD ≥ 5 mm (32.3% vs. 17.3%, t = 28.48, P < 0.001). The difference in PD between the LA and NLA groups increased as the initial PD increased. The difference between the two groups was 0.12 to 0.22 mm for sites with a baseline PD < 7 mm; however, it increased to 0.41 to 1.37 mm for sites with a baseline PD ≥ 7 mm. CONCLUSIONS: LA improved the decrease in PD after NSPT. Root debridement at sites with initial PD ≥ 7 mm should be performed under routine LA.
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| 42. |
- Shi, Zhen-Qiang, et al.
(author)
-
Engineering polyethersulfone hollow fiber membrane with improved blood compatibility and antibacterial property
- 2016
-
In: Colloid and Polymer Science. - : Springer. - 0303-402X .- 1435-1536. ; 294:2, s. 441-453
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hollow fiber membranes with satisfied blood compatibility and antibacterial property are desired in blood purification. Herein, a series of heparin-like copolymers of poly(methyl methacrylate-vinyl pyrrolidone -sodium styrene sulfonate-sodium acrylate) (poly(MMA-VP-SSNa-SA)) were synthesized by free radical solution polymerization. The mixture was directly blended with polyethersulfone (PES) solution to prepare hollow fiber membranes. The membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Blood compatibility of the hollow fiber membranes was evaluated via protein adsorption, platelet adhesion, clotting time, and hemolysis assay. Besides, Ag nanoparticles were immobilized onto the hollow fiber membranes efficiently by a simple and green method, and the antibacterial property and blood compatibility of the Ag-loaded membranes were then investigated. The results indicated that the approach towards blood compatible and antibacterial hollow fiber membrane is efficient and flexible for the modification for membrane materials.
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| 43. |
- Shoamanesh, Ashkan, et al.
(author)
-
Factor XIa inhibition with asundexian after acute non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke (PACIFIC-Stroke) : an international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial
- 2022
-
In: The Lancet. - 0140-6736. ; 400:10357, s. 997-1007
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Asundexian (Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany), an oral small molecule factor XIa (FXIa) inhibitor, might prevent thrombosis without increasing bleeding. Asundexian's effect for secondary prevention of recurrent stroke is unknown. Methods: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2b dose-finding trial (PACIFIC-Stroke), patients with acute (within 48 h) non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke were recruited from 196 hospitals in 23 countries. Patients were eligible if they were aged 45 years or older, to be treated with antiplatelet therapy, and able to have a baseline MRI (either before or within 72 h of randomisation). Eligible participants were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1), using an interactive web-based response system and stratified according to anticipated antiplatelet therapy (single vs dual), to once daily oral asundexian (BAY 2433334) 10 mg, 20 mg, or 50 mg, or placebo in addition to usual antiplatelet therapy, and were followed up during treatment for 26–52 weeks. Brain MRIs were obtained at study entry and at 26 weeks or as soon as possible after treatment discontinuation. The primary efficacy outcome was the dose–response effect on the composite of incident MRI-detected covert brain infarcts and recurrent symptomatic ischaemic stroke at or before 26 weeks after randomisation. The primary safety outcome was major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding as defined by International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis criteria. The efficacy outcome was assessed in all participants assigned to treatment, and the safety outcome was assessed in all participants who received at least one dose of study treatment. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04304508, and is now complete. Findings: Between June 15, 2020, and July 22, 2021, 1880 patients were screened and 1808 participants were randomly assigned to asundexian 10 mg (n=455), 20 mg (n=450), or 50 mg (n=447), or placebo (n=456). Mean age was 67 years (SD 10) and 615 (34%) participants were women, 1193 (66%) were men, 1505 (83%) were White, and 268 (15%) were Asian. The mean time from index stroke to randomisation was 36 h (SD 10) and median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 2·0 (IQR 1·0–4·0). 783 (43%) participants received dual antiplatelet treatment for a mean duration of 70·1 days (SD 113·4) after randomisation. At 26 weeks, the primary efficacy outcome was observed in 87 (19%) of 456 participants in the placebo group versus 86 (19%) of 455 in the asundexian 10 mg group (crude incidence ratio 0·99 [90% CI 0·79–1·24]), 99 (22%) of 450 in the asundexian 20 mg group (1·15 [0·93–1·43]), and 90 (20%) of 447 in the asundexian 50 mg group (1·06 [0·85–1·32]; t statistic –0·68; p=0·80). The primary safety outcome was observed in 11 (2%) of 452 participants in the placebo group versus 19 (4%) of 445 in the asundexian 10 mg group, 14 (3%) of 446 in the asundexian 20 mg group, and 19 (4%) of 443 in the asundexian 50 mg group (all asundexian doses pooled vs placebo hazard ratio 1·57 [90% CI 0·91–2·71]). Interpretation: In this phase 2b trial, FXIa inhibition with asundexian did not reduce the composite of covert brain infarction or ischaemic stroke and did not increase the composite of major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding compared with placebo in patients with acute, non-cardioembolic ischaemic stroke. Funding: Bayer AG.
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| 44. |
- Tao, Jun, et al.
(author)
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Catalytic cracking of biomass high-temperature pyrolysis tar using NiO/AC catalysts
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Green Energy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1543-5075 .- 1543-5083. ; 12:8, s. 773-779
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nickel oxide supported on activated carbon (NiO/AC) catalysts were prepared and used for catalytic cracking of tars from inert high-temperature pyrolysis of biomass. Rice husk was selected as the feedstock, and pyrolyzed at 800 °C using a lab-scale pyrolysis set. The pyrolysis vapors were subjected to either thermal cracking or catalytic cracking under 500-700 °C. The results indicated the thermal cracking was not very efficient to convert the tars, while the catalytic cracking reduced both the light and heavy tars significantly. The yield of the light and heavy tars were decreased from 4.4 wt% and 1.9 wt% in the non-catalytic process to 0.2 wt% and 0.1 wt% in the catalytic process by the NiO/AC (4.3 wt%) at 700 °C. The catalytic cracking also increased the gas product remarkably, mainly the H2 and CO2. The catalytic performance of the NiO/AC catalyst could enhance at elevated catalytic temperatures and increased NiO content of the catalyst.
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| 45. |
- Tao, Jun, et al.
(author)
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Catalytic Steam Reforming of Toluene as a Model Compound of Biomass Gasification Tar Using Ni-CeO2/SBA-15 Catalysts
- 2013
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In: Energies. - : MDPI AG. - 1996-1073. ; 7:6, s. 3284-3296
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nickelsupported on SBA-15 doped with CeO2 catalysts (Ni-CeO2/SBA-15)was prepared, and used for steam reforming of toluene which was selected as amodel compound of biomass gasification tar. A fixed-bed lab-scale set wasdesigned and employed to evaluate the catalytic performances of the Ni-CeO2/SBA-15catalysts. Experiments were performed to reveal the effects of several factorson the toluene conversion and product gas composition, including the reactiontemperature, steam/carbon (S/C) ratio, and CeO2 loading content.Moreover, the catalysts were subjected to analysis of their carbon contentsafter the steam reforming experiments, as well as to test the catalyticstability over a long experimental period. The results indicated that theNi-CeO2/SBA-15 catalysts exhibited promising capabilities on thetoluene conversion, anti-coke deposition and catalytic stability. The toluene conversionreached as high as 98.9% at steam reforming temperature of 850 °C and S/C ratioof 3 using the Ni-CeO2(3wt%)/SBA-15 catalyst. Negligible cokeformation was detected on the used catalyst. The gaseous products mainlyconsisted of H2 and CO, together with a little CO2
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| 46. |
- Tao, Jun, et al.
(author)
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Electric current enhanced catalytic steam reforming of biomass gasification tar model compounds to syngas
- 2014
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An efficient approach was proposed to convert biomass gasification tar into syngas via electrochemical catalytic reforming (ECR) using the Ni-CeO2/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. Three tar model compounds (toluene, benzene and 1-methyl naphthalene) were selected for ECR experiments in a lab-scale experimental set where an electrified Ni-Cr wire was installed in the catalyst bed to provide thermal electrons. Experiments were performed to reveal the effects of several factors on the conversion of the tar model compounds and product gas composition, as well as the catalytic stability over a long experimental period. The results indicated that the presence of the electric current enhanced the performance (carbon conversion and anti-coke deposition) of the catalyst remarkably. The toluene conversion reached as high as 99.9% under the electric current of 4 A, temperature of 850 °C and steam/carbon (S/C) ratio of 3.
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| 47. |
- Wang, Yong, et al.
(author)
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Characterization and formation mechanism of non-metallic inclusions in single bcc-phase high entropy alloy
- 2023
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In: Materials Characterization. - : Elsevier BV. - 1044-5803 .- 1873-4189. ; 205
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This work aims to provide a fundamental study of inclusion characteristics in the single bcc-phase high entropy alloy (HEA), Mn-rich and Al-contained multicomponent system (Al-Cr-Mn-Fe-Co-Ni) was selected as the prototype alloy in this study. According to the differential thermal analysis (DTA) measurements, the solidus (TS) and liquidus (TL) temperatures of this alloy were in the range of 1225–1228 °C (1226 ± 2 °C) and 1268–1271 °C (1270 ± 2 °C), respectively. Non-metallic inclusions were investigated in a two-dimensional (2D) cross-section method as well as extracted by a three-dimensional (3D) electrolytic extraction method. It was found that AlN was the dominant inclusion phase, also a small amount of Al2O3 inclusions were observed. They formed in the liquid alloy and mostly presented as Al2O3-AlN agglomerates, where the size range of the AlN inclusions was larger than that of Al2O3. The theoretical calculation showed that AlN inclusion has a higher coagulation coefficient and collision rate than those of Al2O3 inclusions, which agrees well with the experimental observations. The inclusion characteristics of Al2O3 and AlN were closely related to the relative contents of O and N in the presence of high Al content in the alloy. The impurity elements of N and O were the key issues in controling the stable inclusion phase in high entropic alloy.
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| 48. |
- Xu, Chao-Qun, et al.
(author)
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Genome sequence of Malania oleifera, a tree with great value for nervonic acid production
- 2019
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In: GigaScience. - : Oxford University Press. - 2047-217X. ; 8:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Malania oleifera, a member of the Olacaceae family, is an IUCN red listed tree, endemic and restricted to the Karst region of southwest China. This tree's seed is valued for its high content of precious fatty acids (especially nervonic acid). However, studies on its genetic makeup and fatty acid biogenesis are severely hampered by a lack of molecular and genetic tools. Findings We generated 51 Gb and 135Gb of raw DNA sequences, using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) single-molecule real-time and 10x Genomics sequencing, respectively. A final genome assembly, with a scaffold N50 size of 4.65 Mb and a total length of 1.51Gb, was obtained by primary assembly based on PacBio long reads plus scaffolding with 10x Genomics reads. Identified repeats constituted approximate to 82% of the genome, and 24,064 protein-coding genes were predicted with high support. The genome has low heterozygosity and shows no evidence for recent whole genome duplication. Metabolic pathway genes relating to the accumulation of long-chain fatty acid were identified and studied in detail. Conclusions Here, we provide the first genome assembly and gene annotation for M. oleifera. The availability of these resources will be of great importance for conservation biology and for the functional genomics of nervonic acid biosynthesis.
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| 49. |
- Yang, Zhenxing, et al.
(author)
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Tuning the band gap and the nitrogen content in carbon nitride materials by high temperature treatment at high pressure
- 2018
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In: Carbon. - : Elsevier. - 0008-6223 .- 1873-3891. ; 130, s. 170-177
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Carbon nitride (C-N) materials have been attracting great interest because of their extraordinary performance in photocatalysis and energy conversion. However, developing an effective strategy for achieving band-gap engineering of C-N materials to satisfy practical applications remains highly desired. Here we report an efficient way to tune the band gap and control the nitrogen stoichiometry in carbon nitride compounds by using high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) treatment. It is found that treating a g-C3N4 precursor at relatively low temperature (630oC and below) under pressure can efficiently narrow the band gap even down to the red light region (~600 nm), increase the crystallinity, and significantly improve the charge carrier separation efficiency (by two orders of magnitude), almost without changing their stoichiometry. When increasing the treatment temperature under pressure, nitrogen-doped graphene/graphite materials with weak ferromagnetism were obtained. We thus obtained C-N materials with tunable band gaps, ranging from semiconducting to metallic states. XPS measurements show that pyridinic nitrogen is preferentially eliminated under such HPHT conditions while graphitic nitrogen is preserved in the C-N network. Our results thus provide an efficient strategy for tuning the structure and physical properties of C-N materials for applications.
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| 50. |
- Ye, Jialei, et al.
(author)
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Poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based composite cryogel with embedded macroporous cellulose beads for the separation of human serum immunoglobulin and albumin
- 2013
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In: Journal of Separation Science. - : Wiley. - 1615-9314 .- 1615-9306. ; 36:24, s. 3813-3820
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A novel super-macroporous monolithic composite cryogel was prepared by embedding macroporous cellulose beads into poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) cryogel. The cellulose beads were fabricated by using a microchannel liquid-flow focusing and cryopolymerization method, while the composite cryogel was prepared by cryogenic radical polymerization of the hydroxyethyl methacrylate monomer with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate as cross-linker together with the cellulose beads. After graft polymerization with (vinylbenzyl)trimethylammonium chloride, the composite cryogel was applied to separate immunoglobulin-G and albumin from human serum. Immunoglobulin-G with a mean purity of 83.2% and albumin with a purity of 98% were obtained, indicating the composite cryogel as a promising chromatographic medium in bioseparation for the isolation of important bioactive proteins like immunoglobulins and albumins.
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