| 1. |
- Du, Banghua, et al.
(author)
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Energy management and performance analysis of an off-grid integrated hydrogen energy utilization system
- 2024
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In: Energy Conversion and Management. - 0196-8904. ; 299
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In integrated hydrogen energy utilization systems, due to the low efficiency of hydrogen/electricity conversion, coordination of energy management and efficient waste heat recovery is required to optimize performance. To address this challenge, this paper presents a comprehensive and sophisticated modeling and energy management strategy to enhance the off-grid energy utilization rate while prolonging the main components' lifetime. The developed model incorporates multiphase flow and heat transport balance for electricity and heat production, enabling a highly accurate representation of real-world behaviors of the system. The proposed off-grid operation strategy is complemented by a designed heat recovery scheme, ensuring the use of energy resources and waste heat. In addition, the proposed energy management strategy monitors the real-time status of each subsystem, actively reducing the number of harmful start-stop cycles of the hydrogen production system, thereby mitigating short-term power impacts and delaying its aging. Specifically, the voltage degradation of the reduction cell is reduced from 4.67 mV to 4.48 mV, the energy utilization rate is increased from 47.6 % to 53.9 %, and the energy efficiency of fuel cells significantly increases from 53.6 % to 78.1 %.
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| 2. |
- Liu, Zhenhua, et al.
(author)
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A Rapid Prototyping Technique for Microfluidics with High Robustness and Flexibility
- 2016
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In: Micromachines. - : MDPI AG. - 2072-666X. ; 7:11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In microfluidic device prototyping, master fabrication by traditional photolithography is expensive and time-consuming, especially when the design requires being repeatedly modified to achieve a satisfactory performance. By introducing a high-performance/cost-ratio laser to the traditional soft lithography, this paper describes a flexible and rapid prototyping technique for microfluidics. An ultraviolet (UV) laser directly writes on the photoresist without a photomask, which is suitable for master fabrication. By eliminating the constraints of fixed patterns in the traditional photomask when the masters are made, this prototyping technique gives designers/researchers the convenience to revise or modify their designs iteratively. A device fabricated by this method is tested for particle separation and demonstrates good properties. This technique provides a flexible and rapid solution to fabricating microfluidic devices for non-professionals at relatively low cost.
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| 3. |
- Liu, Zhengtao, et al.
(author)
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Multi-omics network analysis on samples from sequential biopsies reveals vital role of proliferation arrest for Macrosteatosis related graft failure in rats after liver transplantation
- 2023
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In: Genomics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0888-7543 .- 1089-8646. ; 115:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- To investigate the molecular impact of graft MaS on post-transplant prognosis, based on multi-omics integrative analysis. Rats were fed by methionine-choline deficient diet (MCD) for MaS grafts. Samples were collected from grafts by sequential biopsies. Transcriptomic and metabolomic profilings were assayed. Post-transplant MaS status showed a close association with graft failure. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for in-vivo MaS were mainly enriched on pathways of cell cycle and DNA replication. Post-transplant MaS caused arrests of graft regeneration via inhibiting the E2F1 centered network, which was confirmed by an in vitro experiment. Data from metabolomics assays found insufficient serine/creatine which is located on one‑carbon metabolism was responsible for MaS-related GF. Pre-transplant MaS caused severe fibrosis in long-term survivors. DEGs for grafts from long-term survivors with pre-transplant MaS were mainly enriched in pathways of ECM-receptor interaction and focal adhesion. Transcriptional regulatory network analysis confirmed SOX9 as a key transcription factor (TF) for MaS-related fibrosis. Metabolomic assays found elevation of aromatic amino acid (AAA) was a major feature of fibrosis in long-term survivors. Graft MaS in vivo increased post-transplant GF via negative regulations on graft regeneration. Pre-transplant MaS induced severe fibrosis in long-term survivors via activations on ECM-receptor interaction and AAA metabolism.
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| 4. |
- Wang, Wenchao, et al.
(author)
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Systematic Assessment of Safety Threshold for Donor Age in Cadaveric Liver Transplantation
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Medicine. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 2296-858X. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Donor age affects allograft quality and the prognosis of recipients after liver transplantation (LT). Clinicians have assessed the quality of grafts from older donors based on their appearance and texture, with no reliable quantitative evidence. Our study aimed to assess the quantitative impact of donor age on post-transplant outcomes and its safety threshold for LT, based on the published literature. Methods: Relevant studies were retrieved from the Embase, PubMed, and ISI Web of Science databases. Pooled dichotomous relative risks (RRs) were calculated using metan. Continuous RRs were calculated using a two-stage random-effects model. Results: Eleven studies including 30,691 LT cases were included for further analysis. For categorical comparison, the RR of death within the first post-transplant year was significantly higher among patients who received grafts from older donors. Similarly, the RR of graft failure (GF) was increased within the 3 years after transplantation. For continuous comparison, advanced donor age affected transplant outcomes in a linear manner (P > 0.05). A 10-year increment in donor age was associated with RRs 1.10, 1.12, 1.15, 1.10, and 1.08 for 90-day, 180-day, 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year patient mortality and 1.08, 1.06, 1.10, 1.11, and 1.12, for 90-day, 180-day, 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year GF, respectively (all P < 0.05). A spline model showed that transplants using grafts from donors <43 years old were not associated with age-related risks (P > 0.05). The risk of GF was increased in subgroups with fewer LT cases, longer cold ischemic time, fewer male donors, and recipients with viral hepatitis (P < 0.06). Conclusion: Donor age might affect post-LT outcomes in a dose-dependent manner. The safety threshold for donor age in terms of GF should be lowered to 43 years as an early warning for the guarantee of satisfactory outcomes. Clinicians should weigh the benefits against the risks carefully for patients receiving grafts from older donors. Further studies are warranted to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the relationship between donor age and graft quality.
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| 5. |
- Xu, Lei, et al.
(author)
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The Role of Solution Aggregation Property toward High-Efficiency Non-Fullerene Organic Photovoltaic Cells
- 2024
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In: Advanced Materials. - : WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH. - 0935-9648 .- 1521-4095.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In organic photovoltaic cells, the solution-aggregation effect (SAE) is long considered a critical factor in achieving high power-conversion efficiencies for polymer donor (PD)/non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) blend systems. However, the underlying mechanism has yet to be fully understood. Herein, based on an extensive study of blends consisting of the representative 2D-benzodithiophene-based PDs and acceptor-donor-acceptor-type NFAs, it is demonstrated that SAE shows a strong correlation with the aggregation kinetics during solidification, and the aggregation competition between PD and NFA determines the phase separation of blend film and thus the photovoltaic performance. PDs with strong SAEs enable earlier aggregation evolutions than NFAs, resulting in well-known polymer-templated fibrillar network structures and superior PCEs. With the weakening of PDs' aggregation effects, NFAs, showing stronger tendencies to aggregate, tend to form oversized domains, leading to significantly reduced external quantum efficiencies and fill factors. These trends reveal the importance of matching SAE between PD and NFA. The aggregation abilities of various materials are further evaluated and the aggregation ability/photovoltaic parameter diagrams of 64 PD/NFA combinations are provided. This work proposes a guiding criteria and facile approach to match efficient PD/NFA systems. A systematic study of the representative organic photovoltaic systems shows that the aggregation competition between polymer donor (PD) and non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) is a decisive factor in the phase separation of blend film and thus the photovoltaic performance. Based on 64 PD/NFA combinations, the aggregation ability/photovoltaic parameter heatmaps are plotted, providing a new matching rule for developing high-efficiency PD/NFA systems. image
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Xu, Wenchao, et al.
(author)
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Viscosity-difference-induced asymmetric selective focusing for large stroke particle separation
- 2016
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In: Microfluidics and Nanofluidics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1613-4982 .- 1613-4990. ; 20:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We developed a new approach for particle separation by introducing viscosity difference of the sheath flows to form an asymmetric focusing of sample particle flow. This approach relies on the high-velocity gradient in the asymmetric focusing of the particle flow to generate a lift force, which plays a dominated role in the particle separation. The larger particles migrate away from the original streamline to the side of the higher relative velocity, while the smaller particles remain close to the streamline. Under high-viscosity (glycerol-water solution) and low-viscosity (PBS) sheath flows, a significant large stroke separation between the smaller (1.0 mu m) and larger (9.9 mu m) particles was achieved in a sample microfluidic device. We demonstrate that the flow rate and the viscosity difference of the sheath flows have an impact on the interval distance of the particle separation that affects the collected purity and on the focusing distribution of the smaller particles that affects the collected concentration. The interval distance of 293 mu m (relative to the channel width: 0.281) and the focusing distribution of 112 mu m (relative to the channel width: 0.107) were obtained in the 1042-mu m-width separation area of the device. This separation method proposed in our work can potentially be applied to biological and medical applications due to the wide interval distance and the narrow focusing distribution of the particle separation, by easy manufacturing in a simple device.
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| 8. |
- Yang, Wenlong, et al.
(author)
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Performance improvement and thermomechanical analysis of a novel asymmetrical annular thermoelectric generator
- 2024
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In: Applied Thermal Engineering. - 1359-4311. ; 237
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Enhancing thermoelectric performance hinges on optimizing the geometry of thermoelectric legs. In this study, we present a novel asymmetrical annular thermoelectric generator (ATEG) in which the proportions of P-type and N-type legs are meticulously balanced. We construct a one-dimensional analytical model tailored to this ATEG. Utilizing this model, we derive the relationship governing thermal-electrical impedance matching in an asymmetrical ATEG and formulate a general expression for optimizing the asymmetry coefficient. We explore the influence of various thermal boundary conditions on optimal impedance matching, ideal annular leg parameters, and the optimal asymmetry coefficient. Our findings reveal that thermal boundary conditions significantly affect the optimal load ratio. Furthermore, in comparison to traditional ATEGs, our proposed asymmetrical ATEG with the optimized structure exhibits a remarkable 16.2 % increase in output power while maintaining the same material volume. Additionally, we perform a three-dimensional numerical analysis of the asymmetrical ATEG using Comsol. Our research findings indicate that introducing the asymmetric structure leads to higher maximum thermal stress on the legs. Interestingly, the study of asymmetric thermal boundary conditions highlights that improving heat transfer between the ATEG and the cooler yields higher mechanical reliability compared to enhancing heat transfer between the ATEG and the heat source.
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