| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 2. |
- 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
-
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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| 3. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(author)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
-
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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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Zarkada, Georgia, et al.
(author)
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Chylomicrons Regulate Lacteal Permeability and Intestinal Lipid Absorption
- 2023
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In: Circulation Research. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0009-7330 .- 1524-4571. ; 133:4, s. 333-349
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Lymphatic vessels are responsible for tissue drainage, and their malfunction is associated with chronic diseases. Lymph uptake occurs via specialized open cell-cell junctions between capillary lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs), whereas closed junctions in collecting LECs prevent lymph leakage. LEC junctions are known to dynamically remodel in development and disease, but how lymphatic permeability is regulated remains poorly understood.Methods: We used various genetically engineered mouse models in combination with cellular, biochemical, and molecular biology approaches to elucidate the signaling pathways regulating junction morphology and function in lymphatic capillaries.Results: By studying the permeability of intestinal lacteal capillaries to lipoprotein particles known as chylomicrons, we show that ROCK (Rho-associated kinase)-dependent cytoskeletal contractility is a fundamental mechanism of LEC permeability regulation. We show that chylomicron-derived lipids trigger neonatal lacteal junction opening via ROCK-dependent contraction of junction-anchored stress fibers. LEC-specific ROCK deletion abolished junction opening and plasma lipid uptake. Chylomicrons additionally inhibited VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor)-A signaling. We show that VEGF-A antagonizes LEC junction opening via VEGFR (VEGF receptor) 2 and VEGFR3-dependent PI3K (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase)/AKT (protein kinase B) activation of the small GTPase RAC1 (Rac family small GTPase 1), thereby restricting RhoA (Ras homolog family member A)/ROCK-mediated cytoskeleton contraction.Conclusions: Our results reveal that antagonistic inputs into ROCK-dependent cytoskeleton contractions regulate the interconversion of lymphatic junctions in the intestine and in other tissues, providing a tunable mechanism to control the lymphatic barrier.
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| 6. |
- He, Haoran, et al.
(author)
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Deciphering microbiomes dozens of meters under our feet and their edaphoclimatic and spatial drivers
- 2024
-
In: Global Change Biology. - 1354-1013. ; 30:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Microbes inhabiting deep soil layers are known to be different from their counterpart in topsoil yet remain under investigation in terms of their structure, function, and how their diversity is shaped. The microbiome of deep soils (>1 m) is expected to be relatively stable and highly independent from climatic conditions. Much less is known, however, on how these microbial communities vary along climate gradients. Here, we used amplicon sequencing to investigate bacteria, archaea, and fungi along fifteen 18-m depth profiles at 20–50-cm intervals across contrasting aridity conditions in semi-arid forest ecosystems of China's Loess Plateau. Our results showed that bacterial and fungal α diversity and bacterial and archaeal community similarity declined dramatically in topsoil and remained relatively stable in deep soil. Nevertheless, deep soil microbiome still showed the functional potential of N cycling, plant-derived organic matter degradation, resource exchange, and water coordination. The deep soil microbiome had closer taxa–taxa and bacteria–fungi associations and more influence of dispersal limitation than topsoil microbiome. Geographic distance was more influential in deep soil bacteria and archaea than in topsoil. We further showed that aridity was negatively correlated with deep-soil archaeal and fungal richness, archaeal community similarity, relative abundance of plant saprotroph, and bacteria–fungi associations, but increased the relative abundance of aerobic ammonia oxidation, manganese oxidation, and arbuscular mycorrhizal in the deep soils. Root depth, complexity, soil volumetric moisture, and clay play bridging roles in the indirect effects of aridity on microbes in deep soils. Our work indicates that, even microbial communities and nutrient cycling in deep soil are susceptible to changes in water availability, with consequences for understanding the sustainability of dryland ecosystems and the whole-soil in response to aridification. Moreover, we propose that neglecting soil depth may underestimate the role of soil moisture in dryland ecosystems under future climate scenarios.
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| 7. |
- Holmes, Natalie P., et al.
(author)
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Engineering Two-Phase and Three-Phase Microstructures from Water-Based Dispersions of Nanoparticles for Eco-Friendly Polymer Solar Cell Applications
- 2018
-
In: Chemistry of Materials. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0897-4756 .- 1520-5002. ; 30:18, s. 6521-6531
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nanoparticle organic photovoltaics, a subfield of organic photovoltaics (OPV), has attracted increasing interest in recent years due to the eco-friendly fabrication of solar modules afforded by colloidal ink technology. Importantly, using this approach it is now possible to engineer the microstructure of the light absorbing/charge generating layer of organic photovoltaics; decoupling film morphology from film deposition. In this study, single-component nanoparticles of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) were synthesized and used to generate a two-phase microstructure with control over domain size prior to film deposition. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and electron microscopy were used to characterize the thin film morphology. Uniquely, the measured microstructure was a direct input for a nanoscopic kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) model allowing us to assess exciton transport properties that are experimentally inaccessible in these single-component particles. Photoluminescence, UV-vis spectroscopy measurements, and KMC results of the nanoparticle thin films enabled the calculation of an experimental exciton dissociation efficiency (ηED) of 37% for the two-phase microstructure. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the materials was characterized with dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and thermal annealing led to an increase in ηED to 64% due to an increase in donor-acceptor interfaces in the thin film from both sintering of neighboring opposite-type particles in addition to the generation of a third mixed phase from diffusion of PC61BM into amorphous P3HT domains. As such, this study demonstrates the higher level of control over donor-acceptor film morphology enabled by customizing nanoparticulate colloidal inks, where the optimal three-phase film morphology for an OPV photoactive layer can be designed and engineered.
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| 8. |
- Jin, Ying-Hui, et al.
(author)
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Chemoprophylaxis, diagnosis, treatments, and discharge management of COVID-19 : An evidence-based clinical practice guideline (updated version)
- 2020
-
In: Military Medical Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2054-9369. ; 7:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of a rapidly spreading illness, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), affecting more than seventeen million people around the world. Diagnosis and treatment guidelines for clinicians caring for patients are needed. In the early stage, we have issued "A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infected pneumonia (standard version)"; now there are many direct evidences emerged and may change some of previous recommendations and it is ripe for develop an evidence-based guideline. We formed a working group of clinical experts and methodologists. The steering group members proposed 29 questions that are relevant to the management of COVID-19 covering the following areas: chemoprophylaxis, diagnosis, treatments, and discharge management. We searched the literature for direct evidence on the management of COVID-19, and assessed its certainty generated recommendations using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Recommendations were either strong or weak, or in the form of ungraded consensus-based statement. Finally, we issued 34 statements. Among them, 6 were strong recommendations for, 14 were weak recommendations for, 3 were weak recommendations against and 11 were ungraded consensus-based statement. They covered topics of chemoprophylaxis (including agents and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) agents), diagnosis (including clinical manifestations, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respiratory tract specimens, IgM and IgG antibody tests, chest computed tomography, chest x-ray, and CT features of asymptomatic infections), treatments (including lopinavir-ritonavir, umifenovir, favipiravir, interferon, remdesivir, combination of antiviral drugs, hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine, interleukin-6 inhibitors, interleukin-1 inhibitors, glucocorticoid, qingfei paidu decoction, lianhua qingwen granules/capsules, convalescent plasma, lung transplantation, invasive or noninvasive ventilation, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)), and discharge management (including discharge criteria and management plan in patients whose RT-PCR retesting shows SARS-CoV-2 positive after discharge). We also created two figures of these recommendations for the implementation purpose. We hope these recommendations can help support healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients.
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| 9. |
- Leebens-Mack, James H., et al.
(author)
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One thousand plant transcriptomes and the phylogenomics of green plants
- 2019
-
In: Nature. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 574:7780, s. 679-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Green plants (Viridiplantae) include around 450,000-500,000 species(1,2) of great diversity and have important roles in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Here, as part of the One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative, we sequenced the vegetative transcriptomes of 1,124 species that span the diversity of plants in a broad sense (Archaeplastida), including green plants (Viridiplantae), glaucophytes (Glaucophyta) and red algae (Rhodophyta). Our analysis provides a robust phylogenomic framework for examining the evolution of green plants. Most inferred species relationships are well supported across multiple species tree and supermatrix analyses, but discordance among plastid and nuclear gene trees at a few important nodes highlights the complexity of plant genome evolution, including polyploidy, periods of rapid speciation, and extinction. Incomplete sorting of ancestral variation, polyploidization and massive expansions of gene families punctuate the evolutionary history of green plants. Notably, we find that large expansions of gene families preceded the origins of green plants, land plants and vascular plants, whereas whole-genome duplications are inferred to have occurred repeatedly throughout the evolution of flowering plants and ferns. The increasing availability of high-quality plant genome sequences and advances in functional genomics are enabling research on genome evolution across the green tree of life.
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| 10. |
- Li, Xun, et al.
(author)
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Investigation of burning velocity of lean and rich premixed NH3/H2 turbulent flames using multi-scalar imaging
- 2024
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In: Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. - 1540-7489. ; 40:1-4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two groups of both lean and rich NH3/H2/O2/N2 turbulent premixed piloted jet flames with the same laminar flame speed are investigated using simultaneous multi-scalar laser diagnostics techniques including NH3/NH/OH planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) and Rayleigh scattering. One group uses air as the oxidizer and the other uses an adapted mixture of atomic N-to-H ratio of 1:3 associated with in-situ hydrogen production from ammonia cracking. Turbulent rms velocity uʹ is varied in a wide range by changing the bulk flow velocity. Global consumption speeds ST,G are evaluated by measuring the inlet bulk flow rates of reactants and areas of time-averaged flame fronts extracted using different flame marker contours, i.e., cNH3 = 0.3, cNH = 0.3 (inner contour), and cOH = 0.4, where c designates species number density normalized using its maximum value. The obtained results show the following trends to be emphasized. First, an increase in ST,G,NH3 by uʹ is more pronounced when compared to two other global consumption speeds (ST,G,NHi , where i indicates the inner contour, and ST,G,OH ) and is close to a linear dependence. The adapted mixture shows only a moderate influence on ST,G,NH3 but not on the other two. Second, ST,G,NH3 is weakly affected by variations in Lewis number Le. On the contrary, third, ST,G,NHi is significantly higher in lean mixtures characterized by Le < 1 when compared to rich mixtures characterized by Le > 1. Fourth, these variations in ST,G,NHi are reasonably well approximated introducing an empirical factor of Le−0.9 into fitting ST,G,NHi /SL onto uʹ/SL . The qualitative difference between sensitivities of ST,G,NH3 and ST,G,NHi to variations in Le is attributed to the fact that the NH3 and NH isosurfaces are localized to preheat and reaction zones, respectively, of the laminar flames. The reported experimental data imply different influence of differential diffusion on flame preheat and reaction zones, thus, calling for further research into the issue.
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| 11. |
- Lin, Qing, et al.
(author)
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Exosome-like nanoplatform modified with targeting ligand improves anti-cancer and anti-inflammation effects of imperialine
- 2019
-
In: Journal of Controlled Release. - : ELSEVIER. - 0168-3659 .- 1873-4995. ; 311, s. 104-116
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Currently, most anti-cancer therapies are still haunted by serious and deleterious adverse effects. Here, we report a highly biocompatible tumor cell-targeting delivery systems utilizing exosome-like vesicles (ELVs) that delivers a low-toxicity anti-cancer agent imperialine against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). First, we introduced a novel micelle-aided method to efficiently load imperialine into intact ELVs. Then, integrin alpha 3 beta 1-binding octapeptide cNGQGEQc was modified onto ELV platform for tumor targeting as integrin alpha 3 beta 1 is overexpressed on NSCLC cells. This system not only significantly improved imperialine tumor accumulation and retention, but also had extremely low systemic toxicity both in vitro and in vivo. Our discoveries offer new ways to utilize ELV more efficiently for both drug loading and targeting. The solid pharmacokinetics improvement and extraordinary safety of this system also highlight possibilities of alternative long course cancer therapies using similar strategies.
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| 12. |
- Lu, Haiyu, et al.
(author)
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Identification of a characteristic doping for charge order phenomena in Bi-2212 cuprates via RIXS
- 2022
-
In: Physical Review B. - 2469-9969 .- 2469-9950. ; 106:15
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Identifying quantum critical points (QCPs) and their associated fluctuations may hold the key to unraveling the unusual electronic phenomena observed in cuprate superconductors. Recently, signatures of quantum fluctuations associated with charge order (CO) have been inferred from the anomalous enhancement of CO excitations that accompany the reduction of the CO order parameter in the superconducting state. To gain more insight into the interplay between CO and superconductivity, here we investigate the doping dependence of this phenomenon throughout the Bi-2212 cuprate phase diagram using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Cu L3 edge. As doping increases, the CO wave vector decreases, saturating near a commensurate value of 0.25 reciprocal lattice unit beyond a characteristic doping pc, where the correlation length becomes shorter than the apparent periodicity (4a0). Such behavior is indicative of the fluctuating nature of the CO; the proliferation of CO excitations in the superconducting state also appears strongest at pc, consistent with expected behavior at a CO QCP. Intriguingly, pc appears to be near optimal doping, where the superconducting transition temperature Tc is maximal.
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| 13. |
- Pan, Xun, et al.
(author)
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Environmentally friendly preparation of nanoparticles for organic photovoltaics
- 2018
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In: Organic Electronics: physics, materials, applications. - : Elsevier BV. - 1566-1199. ; 59, s. 432-440
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aqueous nanoparticle dispersions were prepared from a conjugated polymer poly[thiophene-2,5-diyl-alt-5,10-bis((2-hexyldecyl)oxy)dithieno[3,2-c:3′,2′-h][1,5]naphthyridine-2,7-diyl] (PTNT) and fullerene blend utilizing chloroform as well as a non-chlorinated and environmentally benign solvent, o-xylene, as the miniemulsion dispersed phase solvent. The nanoparticles (NPs) in the solid-state film were found to coalesce and offered a smooth surface topography upon thermal annealing. Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) with photoactive layer processed from the nanoparticle dispersions prepared using chloroform as the miniemulsion dispersed phase solvent were found to have a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.04%, which increased to 1.65% for devices utilizing NPs prepared from o-xylene. Physical, thermal and optical properties of NPs prepared using both chloroform and o-xylene were systematically studied using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and correlated to their photovoltaic properties. The PL results indicate different morphology of NPs in the solid state were achieved by varying miniemulsion dispersed phase solvent.
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| 14. |
- Pecunia, Vincenzo, et al.
(author)
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Roadmap on energy harvesting materials
- 2023
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In: Journal of Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 2515-7639. ; 6:4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ambient energy harvesting has great potential to contribute to sustainable development and address growing environmental challenges. Converting waste energy from energy-intensive processes and systems (e.g. combustion engines and furnaces) is crucial to reducing their environmental impact and achieving net-zero emissions. Compact energy harvesters will also be key to powering the exponentially growing smart devices ecosystem that is part of the Internet of Things, thus enabling futuristic applications that can improve our quality of life (e.g. smart homes, smart cities, smart manufacturing, and smart healthcare). To achieve these goals, innovative materials are needed to efficiently convert ambient energy into electricity through various physical mechanisms, such as the photovoltaic effect, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, triboelectricity, and radiofrequency wireless power transfer. By bringing together the perspectives of experts in various types of energy harvesting materials, this Roadmap provides extensive insights into recent advances and present challenges in the field. Additionally, the Roadmap analyses the key performance metrics of these technologies in relation to their ultimate energy conversion limits. Building on these insights, the Roadmap outlines promising directions for future research to fully harness the potential of energy harvesting materials for green energy anytime, anywhere.
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| 15. |
- Wang, Ze, et al.
(author)
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Experimental investigation of internal structures of NH3/H2/O2/N2 premixed jet flames using multi-scalar imaging
- 2024
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In: Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. - 1540-7489. ; 40:1-4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ammonia-hydrogen (NH3-H2) blends stand as a promising carbon-neutral fuel alternative. This study delves into the variation in the internal structure of NH3-H2 flames with varying Lewis numbers (Le) and turbulence intensities. Simultaneous multi-scalar imaging of NH3/NH/OH was performed to characterize the structures of turbulent jet flames with the same unstretched laminar flame speed (30.8 cm/s) but different H2 contents. Internal flame structures were characterized by isocontours of NH3, NH (both inner and outer edges, NHi and NHo), and OH to delimit the reaction zone. The parallelism of the selected isocontours (i.e., NH3, NHi, and NHo) with the OH baseline was quantified by calculating the probabilities, P(δp), of the selected isocontours overlapping with the OH baseline shifted by a distance of δp along its normal direction. On the one hand, results have revealed that increasing turbulence disrupts the parallelism of the selected isocontours with the OH baseline, leading to a larger and FWHM, as well as a reduced skewness of the P(δp) profiles. On the other hand, flames with higher H2 content and lower Le exhibit great resistance to turbulence but experience enhanced wrinkling due to the differential diffusion effect, which can also cause deviations in scalar parallelism at low turbulence intensity. For flames with reduced Le numbers, the NH3 isocontours are observed to be located even downstream of the NHi isocontours, which belong to the reaction zone. The extent of parallelism for the selected isocontours within the reaction zone is found to respond to turbulence and Le differently, deviating from an idealized picture of the flamelet manifold.
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| 16. |
- Wen, Bo, et al.
(author)
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IPeak : An open source tool to combine results from multiple MS/MS search engines
- 2015
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In: Proteomics. - : Wiley-VCH Verlagsgesellschaft. - 1615-9853 .- 1615-9861. ; 15:17, s. 2916-2920
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Liquid chromatography coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is an important technique for detecting peptides in proteomics studies. Here, we present an open source software tool, termed IPeak, a peptide identification pipeline that is designed to combine the Percolator post-processing algorithm and multi-search strategy to enhance the sensitivity of peptide identifications without compromising accuracy. IPeak provides a graphical user interface (GUI) as well as a command-line interface, which is implemented in JAVA and can work on all three major operating system platforms: Windows, Linux/Unix and OS X. IPeak has been designed to work with the mzIdentML standard from the Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI) as an input and output, and also been fully integrated into the associated mzidLibrary project, providing access to the overall pipeline, as well as modules for calling Percolator on individual search engine result files. The integration thus enables IPeak (and Percolator) to be used in conjunction with any software packages implementing the mzIdentML data standard. IPeak is freely available and can be downloaded under an Apache 2.0 license at https://code.google.com/p/mzidentml-lib/.
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| 17. |
- Wu, Yuan, et al.
(author)
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A Comparison of Functional Features in Chinese and US Mobile Apps for Diabetes Self-Management : A Systematic Search in App Stores and Content Analysis
- 2019
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In: JMIR mhealth and uhealth. - : JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC. - 2291-5222. ; 7:8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Mobile health interventions are widely used for self-management of diabetes, which is one of the most burdensome noncommunicable chronic diseases worldwide. However, little is known about the distribution of characteristics and functions of in-store mobile apps for diabetes. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the distribution of characteristics and functions of the in-store mobile apps for self-management of diabetes in the United States and China using a predefined functional taxonomy, which was developed and published in our previous study. Methods: We identified apps by searching diabetes in English or Chinese in the Apple iTunes Store and Android Markets (both in the United States and China) and included apps for diabetes self-management. We examined the validity and reliability of the predefined functional taxonomy with 3 dimensions: clinical module, functional module, and potential risk. We then classified all functions in the included apps according to the predefined taxonomy and compared the differences in the features of these apps between the United States and China. Results: We included 171 mobile diabetes apps, with 133 from the United States and 38 from China. Apps from both countries faced the challenges of evidence-based information, proper risk assessment, and declaration, especially Chinese apps. More Chinese apps provide app-based communication functions (general communication: Chinese vs US apps, 39%, 15/38 vs 18.0%, 24/133; P=.006 and patient-clinician communication: Chinese vs US apps, 68%, 26/38 vs 6.0%, 8/133; P<.001), whereas more US apps provide the decision-making module (Chinese vs US apps, 0%, 0/38 vs 23.3%, 31/133; P=.001), which is a high-risk module. Both complication prevention (Chinese vs US apps, 8%, 3/38 vs 3.8%, 5/133; P=.50) and psychological care (Chinese vs US apps, 0%, 0/38 vs 0.8%, 1/133; P>.99) are neglected by the 2 countries. Conclusions: The distribution of characteristics and functions of in-store mobile apps for diabetes self-management in the United States was different from China. The design of in-store diabetes apps needs to be monitored closely.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
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| 20. |
- Zhao, Xue, et al.
(author)
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Copper confined in vesicle-like BCN cavities promotes electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonia in water
- 2021
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY. - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 9:41, s. 23675-23686
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electrochemical methods to convert high-concentration nitrates present in sewage into high-value-added ammonia do not just alleviate the problem of environmental pollution but also provide less energy-intensive alternatives to the Haber-Bosch process. In this work, a metal-boron organic polymer precursor was annealed at high temperature to obtain copper nanoparticles encapsulated in a vesicle-like BCN matrix (BCN@Cu). In the electrochemical reduction of nitrate (E-NIRR), this species exhibited excellent catalytic activity. Specifically, the ammonia yields of BCN@Cu under applied potentials of -0.3 V, -0.4 V, -0.5 V, and -0.6 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode were 271.1 mu mol h(-1) mg(cat.)(-1), 354.8 mu mol h(-1) mg(cat.)(-1), 435.6 mu mol h(-1) mg(cat.)(-1), and 576.2 mu mol h(-1) mg(cat.)(-1), respectively, and the corresponding Faraday efficiencies were 86.3%, 88.0%, 89.3%, and 88.9%. Isotope labeling experiments with (NO3-)-N-15 confirmed that the detected ammonia had originated from the electrochemical reduction of NO3- on the catalyst surface. Moreover, the E-NIRR activity of BCN@Cu remained high even after using it ten consecutive times or 20 h of continuous operation, suggesting the practicality of the industrial application of BCN@Cu. The presence of copper was key in determining BCN@Cus E-NIRR activity, while the presence of boron greatly improved its catalytic performance. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations indicated that BCN does not itself promote the reaction but rather assists the dispersion of Cu nanoparticles, thereby expanding the catalysts active surface area.
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| 21. |
- Zhao, Xue, et al.
(author)
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Simultaneous anchoring of Ni nanoparticles and single-atom Ni on BCN matrix promotes efficient conversion of nitrate in water into high-value-added ammonia
- 2022
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In: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : Elsevier. - 1385-8947 .- 1873-3212. ; 433:Part 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electrochemical synthesis of ammonia driven by clean energy is expected to realize the supply of ammonia for distributed production of industry and agriculture. Here, nickel nanoparticles and nickel in the form of single atoms were simultaneously anchored on the electrochemically active carrier BCN matrix through a structured domain strategy, which realized a high-efficiency, high-value-added, conversion of nitrate in sewage. Specifically, the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NIRR) driven by BCN@Ni in alkaline media achieves an ammonia yield rate as high as 2320.2 μg h−1 cm−2 (at −0.5 V vs RHE), and Faraday efficiency as high as 91.15% (at −0.3 V vs RHE). Even in neutral and acidic media, the ammonia yield rates of NIRR driven by BCN@Ni are as high as 1904.2 μg h−1 cm−2 and 2057.4 μg h−1 cm−2, respectively (at −0.4 V vs RHE). The 15NO3- isotope labeling experiment verified that the recorded ammonia all came from the electrochemical reduction of NO3– on BCN@Ni. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that both nano-Ni and single-atom Ni in BCN@Ni have the ability to electrochemically convert NO3– into NH3, and that the addition of BCN can further promote the NIRR on Ni.
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| 22. |
- Zhao, Xue, et al.
(author)
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Two-dimensional BCN matrix inlaid with single-atom-Cu driven electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction to achieve sustainable industrial-grade production of ammonia
- 2021
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In: APPLIED MATERIALS TODAY. - : Elsevier. - 2352-9407. ; 25
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Electrochemical methods have been proven to effectively eliminate nitrates in sewage and convert them into high value-added ammonia products. Here, after annealing treatment of metal boron cluster organic polymers formed by the combination of 1,10-phenanthroline, Cu2+ and closo-[B12H12](2)(-), a Cu single-atom doped BCN (B-doped CN) with a diamond-shaped nanosheet structure was obtained. In the electrochem-ical reduction reaction of nitrate, BCN-Cu exhibits excellent catalytic activity, specifically: 1) the ammonia yield rate reached as high as 498.85 mu g h(-1) cm(-2), 1047.14 mu g h(-1) cm(-2), 1900.07 mu g h(-1) cm(-2) and 3358.74 mu g h(-1) cm(-2) at -0.3 V, -0.4 V, -0.5 V and -0.6 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode, respectively, and Faradaic efficiency is 95.90%, 97.28%, 98.23% and 97.37%; 2) after repeated use of BCN-Cu 10 times or continuous operation for 16 h, the activity against electrochemical reduction reaction of nitrate anions is almost unchanged. The (NO3-)-N-15 isotopic labeling experiment proved that the detected NH3 comes from the reduction of NO3- on BCN-Cu. Control experiments show that the presence of Cu determines whether BCN-Cu has the possibility of catalyzing electrochemical reduction reactions of nitrate, and the presence of the B element enhances the catalytic activity of BCN-Cu. Density functional calculations indicate that in the water phase the process of reducing NO3- to NH3 on Cu-0 is an exothermic reaction, and that the adsorption process of NO3- on Cu-0 is the rate-determining step.
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| 23. |
- Zhao, Zhiqi, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of enhanced turbulent heat transfer in a sharp turn channel having novel designed endwall with longitudinal vortex generator
- 2022
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In: International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer. - : Elsevier BV. - 0735-1933. ; 131
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This work provides a new method to enhance endwall heat transfer of a sharp turn channel. Several longitudinal vortex generators (LVGs) at various spacing and aspect ratio are placed in parallel on the inner side of endwall in a sharp turn channel. Liquid crystal thermography, pressure difference measurements, and a statistical method are applied to analyze the thermal behavior, friction factor, and temperature uniformity on the endwall mounted with an array of LVGs. The Reynolds number are in the range of 10,000 to 20,000. A comparison between the novel designed endwall and conventional turbulators in the same U bend channel is also conducted. Results indicate that the local Nusselt number is greatly augmented with the application of LVGs on the endwall, especially at the downstream part of the endwall. The LVGs with an aspect ratio of 2 and a spacing of 20 mm (dense case) provides the optimal thermal characteristics. The optimal design provides augmentation of heat transfer rate and thermal performance factor by up to 35.1% and 25.5%, respectively. The endwall fitted with delta-winglet vortex generators is a promising enhanced heat transfer method compared with the conventional design available for the same U-duct model.
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| 24. |
- Zhao, Zhiqi, et al.
(author)
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Experimental evaluation of longitudinal and transverse vortex generators on the endwall of a serpentine passage
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Thermal Sciences. - : Elsevier BV. - 1290-0729. ; 176
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A 180-deg turning channel can be seen in many heat exchange systems, and a strong three-dimensional flow phenomenon will occur at the turning point. In order to strengthen the heat transfer inside the turn and considering the lack of relevant enhanced endwall heat transfer approach, the present study innovatively demonstrates the measures of enhanced internal endwall heat transfer using arrays of delta-winglet and conical vortex generators. The studied parameters of the vortex generators include aspect ratio (AR), spacing, and angle of attack, etc. The experimental results indicate that the longitudinal vortex generators have more advantages in increasing the heat transfer than the transverse conical vortex generators in certain configurations with the same order of magnitude of the increased area. Besides, transverse conical vortex generators are more helpful to improve the endwall heat transfer uniformity than longitudinal vortex generators. The array of longitudinal vortex generators with 45-deg angle of attack, 0.02 m pitch, and 2 aspect ratio provides the highest thermal performance for all studied cases, indicating that the longitudinal delta-winglet vortex generators can induce near-wall flow turbulence as well as convective heat transfer of the endwall with a modest pressure loss penalty. For this optimally designed endwall, the Nusselt number is augmented by up to 35%. From the perspective of energy saving, the present studied vortex generators provide a superior thermal performance at identical pumping power, which can be useful in the future design of endwalls in sharp-turn channels.
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| 25. |
- Zhao, Zhiqi, et al.
(author)
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Experimental study on the augmented Nusselt number of the endwall through a square-sectioned sharp-turn channel using novel heat exchanger
- 2022
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In: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer. - : Elsevier BV. - 0017-9310. ; 192
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aquiring higher thermal efficiency with minimum energy consumption is the continuous pursuit of heat exchanger design. This work aims to demonstrate a novel enhanced heat exchange approach for a two-pass heat exchanger surface using four forms of a novel heat exchanger (nHEX), such as high straight and low curved turbulators, etc. The nHEXs are arranged parallel and equally spaced on the internal endwall. A comparison between current design and conventionally turbulated endwalls of sharp-turn channels is presented. The results indicate that the heat transfer rate is greatly augmented by inserting an array of nHEXs compared to a smooth endwall channel. The strategically placed vortex generators can improve the lowest heat transfer region on the smooth endwall to achieve overall thermal enhancement and temperature uniformity. Among the studied geometries, higher height or straight forms of the nHEXs are prone to enhance endwall heat transfer. The high straight forms of the nHEXs provide the maximum improvement of the normalized Nusselt number and thermal enhancement factor in a sharp-turn channel, which are 32% and 18% higher than the corresponding values of the smooth endwall, respectively. This study proved the potential of an array of parallel nHEXs to provide endwall heat transfer enhancement in a sharp-turn channel with an acceptable pressure drop penalty.
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| 26. |
- Zhao, Zhiqi, et al.
(author)
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The augmentation of internal tip heat transfer in gas turbine blades using a pair of delta-winglet vortex generators
- 2021
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In: Journal of Enhanced Heat Transfer. - 1065-5131. ; 28:3, s. 17-40
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A novel method to enhance the heat transfer on the internal tip surface of gas turbine blades was developed. Effects of delta-winglet vortex generators (DWVG) and their angle of attack on the vortical structures and mechanism of enhanced heat transfer were investigated. Seven different angles of attack were considered: 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, and 90°. The Reynolds number varies from 10,000 to 50,000. Flow topology analysis was employed to better understand the evolution of vortices in the turn region. Results showed that a vortex was induced on the leeward side of the DWVG as the angle of attack was greater than 0°, which significantly enhanced the local heat transfer. Also, an extra saddle point was generated at the tip surface on the windward side of the DWVG as the angle of attack is greater than 45°, indicating that a vortex wass formed. The internal tip heat transfer increased as the angle of attack of the DWVG increased. The optimal design was reached when the angle of attack is greater than 60°. Compared with the smooth channel, the heat transfer and overall thermal performance are enhanced by up to 9.5% and 8.1%, respectively.
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| 27. |
- Zhou, Weibin, et al.
(author)
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Targeting VEGF-A/VEGFR2 Y949 Signaling-Mediated Vascular Permeability Alleviates Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension
- 2022
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In: Circulation. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 146:24, s. 1855-1881
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background:Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is associated with increased expression of VEGF-A (vascular endothelial growth factor A) and its receptor, VEGFR2 (vascular endothelial growth factor 2), but whether and how activation of VEGF-A signal participates in the pathogenesis of PH is unclear. Methods:VEGF-A/VEGFR2 signal activation and VEGFR2 Y949-dependent vascular leak were investigated in lung samples from patients with PH and mice exposed to hypoxia. To study their mechanistic roles in hypoxic PH, we examined right ventricle systolic pressure, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary vasculopathy in mutant mice carrying knock-in of phenylalanine that replaced the tyrosine at residual 949 of VEGFR2 (Vefgr2(Y949F)) and mice with conditional endothelial deletion of Vegfr2 after chronic hypoxia exposure. Results:We show that PH leads to excessive pulmonary vascular leak in both patients and hypoxic mice, and this is because of an overactivated VEGF-A/VEGFR2 Y949 signaling axis. In the context of hypoxic PH, activation of Yes1 and c-Src and subsequent VE-cadherin phosphorylation in endothelial cells are involved in VEGFR2 Y949-induced vascular permeability. Abolishing VEGFR2 Y949 signaling by Vefgr2(Y949F) point mutation was sufficient to prevent pulmonary vascular permeability and inhibit macrophage infiltration and Rac1 activation in smooth muscle cells under hypoxia exposure, thereby leading to alleviated PH manifestations, including muscularization of distal pulmonary arterioles, elevated right ventricle systolic pressure, and right ventricular hypertrophy. It is important that we found that VEGFR2 Y949 signaling in myeloid cells including macrophages was trivial and dispensable for hypoxia-induced vascular abnormalities and PH. In contrast with selective blockage of VEGFR2 Y949 signaling, disruption of the entire VEGFR2 signaling by conditional endothelial deletion of Vegfr2 promotes the development of PH. Conclusions:Our results support the notion that VEGF-A/VEGFR2 Y949-dependent vascular permeability is an important determinant in the pathogenesis of PH and might serve as an attractive therapeutic target pathway for this disease.
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