| 1. |
- de Vries, Paul S., et al.
(author)
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Multiancestry Genome-Wide Association Study of Lipid Levels Incorporating Gene-Alcohol Interactions
- 2019
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In: American Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0002-9262 .- 1476-6256. ; 188:6, s. 1033-1054
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A person's lipid profile is influenced by genetic variants and alcohol consumption, but the contribution of interactions between these exposures has not been studied. We therefore incorporated gene-alcohol interactions into a multiancestry genome-wide association study of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. We included 45 studies in stage 1 (genome-wide discovery) and 66 studies in stage 2 (focused follow-up), for a total of 394,584 individuals from 5 ancestry groups. Analyses covered the period July 2014-November 2017. Genetic main effects and interaction effects were jointly assessed by means of a 2-degrees-of-freedom (df) test, and a 1-df test was used to assess the interaction effects alone. Variants at 495 loci were at least suggestively associated (P < 1 x 10(-6)) with lipid levels in stage 1 and were evaluated in stage 2, followed by combined analyses of stage 1 and stage 2. In the combined analysis of stages 1 and 2, a total of 147 independent loci were associated with lipid levels at P < 5 x 10(-8) using 2-df tests, of which 18 were novel. No genome-wide-significant associations were found testing the interaction effect alone. The novel loci included several genes (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 5 (PCSK5), vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGFB), and apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide 1 (APOBEC1) complementation factor (A1CF)) that have a putative role in lipid metabolism on the basis of existing evidence from cellular and experimental models.
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| 2. |
- Deng, Hui, et al.
(author)
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The electrolyte-layer free fuel cell using a semiconductor-ionic Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-delta - Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-delta composite functional membrane
- 2017
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In: International journal of hydrogen energy. - : Pergamon Press. - 0360-3199 .- 1879-3487. ; 42:39, s. 25001-25007
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Commercial double Perovskite Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-delta (SFM), a high performance and redox stable electrode material for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), has been used for the electrolyte (layer)-free fuel cell (EFFC) and also as the cathode for the electrolyte based SOFC in a comprehensive study. The EFFC with a homogeneous mixture of Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-delta (SDC) and SFM achieved a higher power density (841 mW cm(-2)) at 550 degrees C, while the SDC electrolyte based SOFC, using the SDC-SFM composite as cathode, just reached 326 mW cm(-2) at the same temperature. The crystal structure and the morphology of the SFM-SDC composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results showed that the charge transfer resistance of EFFCs were much lower than that of the electrolyte-based SOFC. To illustrate the operating principle of EFFC, we also conducted the rectification characteristics test, which confirms the existence of a Schottky junction structure to avoid the internal electron short circuiting. This work demonstrated advantages of the semiconductor-ionic SDC-SFM material for advanced EFFCs.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Deng, Na, et al.
(author)
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Comparative analysis of optimal operation strategies for district heating and cooling system based on design and actual load
- 2017
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In: Applied Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 0306-2619 .- 1872-9118. ; 205, s. 577-588
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Computational load significantly influences energy and cost savings when developing an operation strategy for a district heating and cooling system. In this study, a model was identified to study the effects of the difference between design load and actual load on an optimal operation strategy. The established model is strongly dependent on the economy principle, and the proposed optimal strategy could achieve a dynamic balance between the users' load and the system energy supply. This model was validated at 30% load rate, which demonstrated an obvious cost saving of 63.6% under the actual load and 42.2% under the design load. Based on the current strategy, the optimal strategy at different load rates was analyzed with respect to two characteristics of each subsystem: energy outputs and operation costs. Furthermore, in the optimal strategy, changes in total operation costs and cost savings rates under different load rates are also discussed. The results showed that, when the load rate was changed from 30 to 75%, the savings rates based on the design load were 42.2, 17.9, 2.5, and 12.6%, and the savings rates based on the actual load were 63.6, 49.8, 34.3, and 25.7%, respectively. Based on the actual load, the energy savings advantage of the optimal operation strategy could be maximized, in particular, during the initial stage of project construction. Furthermore, the commercial software MATLAB was used for programming and calculations. The simulation results indicated that the application of the combined cooling, heating, and power system could significantly improve the cost-effectiveness.
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| 5. |
- Dong, Jiankai, et al.
(author)
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An experimental study on a novel radiant-convective heating system based on air source heat pump
- 2018
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In: Energy and Buildings. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-7788 .- 1872-6178. ; 158, s. 812-821
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Air source heat pump (ASHP) has been widely applied to many parts of the world due to its simple structure and low initial cost. To save energy consumed for spacing heating and enhance the indoor thermal environment, improving the performances of ASHP has become one of the research focus in the relevant field. Currently, the most conventional heating terminal of ASHP system for spacing heating is finned tube heat exchanger coupled with air fan, which may cause strong draught sensation and dry eye problem and make users feel uncomfortable during convective heating. On the other hand, radiant heating is attracting more and more attention due to its comfortable indoor thermal environment. In this paper, a novel radiant-convective heating terminal was presented and coupled into an ASHP system. Both the operating characteristics and heating performances of the novel system were experimentally investigated. The experimental results showed that the novel system took about 28 min to enter a steady operating stage, during which the radiant panel surface temperature and outlet air temperature for the novel heating terminal, and COP of the novel system were 40.9 degrees C, 32.1 degrees C, and 3.11, respectively, under a standard heating condition. In addition, all parameters mentioned above saw a linear increase when the outdoor air temperature increased from -4.0 to 10.0 degrees C, and their respective rising rates were 0.41 degrees C, 0.28 degrees C and 0.04 per increased outdoor air temperature. Furthermore, the experimental results also demonstrated that adjusting the indoor air flow rate could effectively allocate the amount of heat generated by different heat transfer modes, which may have significant effects on the indoor thermal environment.
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| 6. |
- Feitosa, Mary F., et al.
(author)
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Novel genetic associations for blood pressure identified via gene-alcohol interaction in up to 570K individuals across multiple ancestries
- 2018
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public library science. - 1932-6203. ; 13:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Heavy alcohol consumption is an established risk factor for hypertension; the mechanism by which alcohol consumption impact blood pressure (BP) regulation remains unknown. We hypothesized that a genome-wide association study accounting for gene-alcohol consumption interaction for BP might identify additional BP loci and contribute to the understanding of alcohol-related BP regulation. We conducted a large two-stage investigation incorporating joint testing of main genetic effects and single nucleotide variant (SNV)-alcohol consumption interactions. In Stage 1, genome-wide discovery meta-analyses in approximate to 131 K individuals across several ancestry groups yielded 3,514 SNVs (245 loci) with suggestive evidence of association (P <1.0 x 10(-5)). In Stage 2, these SNVs were tested for independent external replication in individuals across multiple ancestries. We identified and replicated (at Bonferroni correction threshold) five novel BP loci (380 SNVs in 21 genes) and 49 previously reported BP loci (2,159 SNVs in 109 genes) in European ancestry, and in multi-ancestry meta-analyses (P < 5.0 x 10(-8)). For African ancestry samples, we detected 18 potentially novel BP loci (P< 5.0 x 10(-8)) in Stage 1 that warrant further replication. Additionally, correlated meta-analysis identified eight novel BP loci (11 genes). Several genes in these loci (e.g., PINX1, GATA4, BLK, FTO and GABBR2 have been previously reported to be associated with alcohol consumption. These findings provide insights into the role of alcohol consumption in the genetic architecture of hypertension.
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| 7. |
- Han, Peigeng, et al.
(author)
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Size effect of lead-free halide double perovskite on luminescence property
- 2019
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In: Science China Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1674-7291 .- 1869-1870. ; 62:10, s. 1405-1413
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lead-free halide double perovskites have gathered wide scientific interest since they are environmentally friendly and stable. However, compared to the lead perovskites, their optoelectronic properties are compromised. Herein we report a series of bulk lead-free mixed Bi-In halide double perovskites: Cs2AgBi1−xInxCl6 (0
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Li, Xuping, et al.
(author)
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A three-dimensional ratiometric sensing strategy on unimolecular fluorescence-thermally activated delayed fluorescence dual emission
- 2019
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In: Nature Communications. - : NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP. - 2041-1723. ; 10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Visualized sensing through fluorescence signals is a powerful method for chemical and physical detection. However, the utilization of fluorescent molecular probes still suffers from lack of precise signal self-calibration in practical use. Here we show that fluorescence and thermally activated delayed fluorescence can be simultaneously produced at the single-molecular level. The thermally activated delayed fluorescence serves as a sensing signal with its wavelength and lifetime both altered correlating to polarity, whereas the fluorescence always remains unchanged as an internal reference. Upon the establishment of a three-dimensional working curve upon the ratiometric wavelength and photoluminescence lifetime vs. polarity, disturbance factors during a relevant sensing process can be largely minimized by such a multiple self-calibration. This strategy was further applied into a precise detection of the microenvironmental polarity variation in complex phospholipid systems, towards providing new insights for convenient and accurate diagnosis of membrane lesions.
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| 10. |
- Ma, Tian, et al.
(author)
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Lipid engineering combined with systematic metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for high-yield production of lycopene
- 2019
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In: Metabolic Engineering. - : Elsevier BV. - 1096-7176 .- 1096-7184. ; 52, s. 134-142
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an efficient host for natural-compound production and preferentially employed in academic studies and bioindustries. However, S. cerevisiae exhibits limited production capacity for lipophilic natural products, especially compounds that accumulate intracellularly, such as polyketides and carotenoids, with some engineered compounds displaying cytotoxicity. In this study, we used a nature-inspired strategy to establish an effective platform to improve lipid oil–triacylglycerol (TAG) metabolism and enable increased lycopene accumulation. Through systematic traditional engineering methods, we achieved relatively high-level production at 56.2 mg lycopene/g cell dry weight (cdw). To focus on TAG metabolism in order to increase lycopene accumulation, we overexpressed key genes associated with fatty acid synthesis and TAG production, followed by modulation of TAG fatty acyl composition by overexpressing a fatty acid desaturase (OLE1) and deletion of Seipin (FLD1), which regulates lipid-droplet size. Results showed that the engineered strain produced 70.5 mg lycopene/g cdw, a 25% increase relative to the original high-yield strain, with lycopene production reaching 2.37 g/L and 73.3 mg/g cdw in fed-batch fermentation and representing the highest lycopene yield in S. cerevisiae reported to date. These findings offer an effective strategy for extended systematic metabolic engineering through lipid engineering.
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