1. |
- Ahmed, Ahfaz, 1985, et al.
(author)
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A comprehensive combustion chemistry study of n-propylcyclohexane
- 2021
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In: Combustion and Flame. - : Elsevier BV. - 1556-2921 .- 0010-2180. ; 233
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Alkylated cycloalkanes are vital components in gasoline, aviation, and diesel fuels; however, their combustion chemistry has been less investigated compared to other hydrocarbon classes. In this work, the combustion kinetics of n-propylcyclohexane (n-Pch) was studied across a range of experiments including pressurized flow reactor (PFR), jet stirred reactor (JSR), shock tube (ST), and rapid compression machine (RCM). These experiments cover a wide range of conditions spanning low to intermediate to high temperatures, low to high pressures at lean to rich equivalence ratios. Stable intermediate species were measured in PFR over a temperature range of 550–850 K, pressure of 8.0 bar, equivalence ratio (φ) of 0.27, and constant residence time of 120 ms. The JSR was utilized to measure the speciation during oxidation of n-Pch at φ of 0.5–2.0, at atmospheric pressure, and across temperature range of 550–800 K. Ignition delay times (IDTs) for n-Pch were measured in the RCM and ST at temperatures ranging from 650 to 1200 K, at pressures of 20 and 40 bar, at φ=0.5,1.0. In addition, a comprehensive detailed chemical kinetic model was developed and validated against the measured experimental data. The new kinetic model, coupled with the breadth of data from various experiments, provides an improved understanding of n-Pch combustion.
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2. |
- Ahmed, Ahfaz, et al.
(author)
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Small ester combustion chemistry : Computational kinetics and experimental study of methyl acetate and ethyl acetate
- 2019
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In: Proceedings of the Combustion Institute. - : Elsevier BV. - 1540-7489. ; 37:1, s. 419-428
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Small esters represent an important class of high octane biofuels for advanced spark ignition engines. They qualify for stringent fuel screening standards and could be synthesized through various pathways. In this work, we performed a detailed investigation of the combustion of two small esters, MA (methyl acetate) and EA (ethyl acetate), including quantum chemistry calculations, experimental studies of combustion characteristics and kinetic model development. The quantum chemistry calculations were performed to obtain rates for H-atom abstraction reactions involved in the oxidation chemistry of these fuels. The series of experiments include: a shock tube study to measure ignition delays at 15 and 30 bar, 1000-1450 K and equivalence ratios of 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0; laminar burning velocity measurements in a heat flux burner over a range of equivalence ratios [0.7-1.4] at atmospheric pressure and temperatures of 298 and 338 K; and speciation measurements during oxidation in a jet-stirred reactor at 800-1100 K for MA and 650-1000 K for EA at equivalence ratios of 0.5, 1.0 and at atmospheric pressure. The developed chemical kinetic mechanism for MA and EA incorporates reaction rates and pathways from recent studies along with rates calculated in this work. The new mechanism shows generally good agreement in predicting experimental data across the broad range of experimental conditions. The experimental data, along with the developed kinetic model, provides a solid groundwork towards improving the understanding the combustion chemistry of smaller esters.
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3. |
- Li, Pu, et al.
(author)
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Self-balanced real-time photonic scheme for ultrafast random number generation
- 2018
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In: APL PHOTONICS. - : AMER INST PHYSICS. - 2378-0967. ; 3:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We propose a real-time self-balanced photonic method for extracting ultrafast random numbers from broadband randomness sources. In place of electronic analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), the balanced photo-detection technology is used to directly quantize optically sampled chaotic pulses into a continuous random number stream. Benefitting from ultrafast photo-detection, our method can efficiently eliminate the generation rate bottleneck from electronic ADCs which are required in nearly all the available fast physical random number generators. A proof-of-principle experiment demonstrates that using our approach 10 Gb/s real-time and statistically unbiased random numbers are successfully extracted from a bandwidth-enhanced chaotic source. The generation rate achieved experimentally here is being limited by the bandwidth of the chaotic source. The method described has the potential to attain a real-time rate of 100 Gb/s.
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4. |
- Zhou, Yanli, et al.
(author)
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Dentists have a high occupational risk of neck disorders with impact on somatosensory function and neck mobility
- 2021
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In: Journal of Occupational Health. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1341-9145 .- 1348-9585. ; 63:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the neck and shoulder region may be associated with significant impairment of quality of life and well-being. The study was to determine the prevalence of painful MSDs in Chinese dentists and evaluate somatosensory function and neck mobility compared with non-dental professional controls. Methods One hundred dentists (age: 36.5 +/- 9.8 years) and 102 controls (age: 36.2 +/- 10.0 years) were recruited between September 2019 and December 2020. The Medical Outcome Study 36-item short-form health survey questionnaire and information of MSDs history were recorded. The cervical range of motion (CROM) with and without pain, and the pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) of the facial and neck muscles were tested. Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The factors in the multiple linear regression analysis were occupation, working age, and gender. Results The prevalence rate of neck pain was significantly higher in dentists (73.0%) compared with the controls (52.0%) (P = .002). The regression models of cervical range of posterior extension, lateral flexion and rotation were statistically significant (P <= .001). The regression models of PPTs of the tested facial and neck muscles were statistically significant (P < .001). Conclusion Dentists are at higher risk of neck pain. The bigger cervical range of left rotation of dentists could be related to the working posture. The lower PPTs in dentists may reflect a hypersensitivity in the facial and neck muscles. Preventive measures are needed to reduce occupational hazards in dentists.
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5. |
- Flury, Sophia R., et al.
(author)
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The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. I. New, Diverse Local Lyman Continuum Emitters
- 2022
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In: Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0067-0049 .- 1538-4365. ; 260:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The origins of Lyman continuum (LyC) photons responsible for the reionization of the universe are as of yet unknown and highly contested. Detecting LyC photons from the Epoch of Reionization is not possible due to absorption by the intergalactic medium, which has prompted the development of several indirect diagnostics to infer the rate at which galaxies contribute LyC photons to reionize the universe by studying lower-redshift analogs. We present the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS) comprising measurements made with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph for a z = 0.2-0.4 sample of 66 galaxies. After careful processing of the far-UV spectra, we obtain a total of 35 Lyman continuum emitters (LCEs) detected with 97.725% confidence, nearly tripling the number of known local LCEs. We estimate escape fractions from the detected LyC flux and upper limits on the undetected LyC flux, finding a range of LyC escape fractions up to 50%. Of the 35 LzLCS LCEs, 12 have LyC escape fractions greater than 5%, more than doubling the number of known local LCEs with cosmologically relevant LyC escape.
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6. |
- Flury, Sophia R., et al.
(author)
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The Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey. II. New Insights into LyC Diagnostics
- 2022
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 930:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Lyman continuum (LyC) cannot be observed at the epoch of reionization (z greater than or similar to 6) owing to intergalactic H i absorption. To identify LyC emitters (LCEs) and infer the fraction of escaping LyC, astronomers have developed various indirect diagnostics of LyC escape. Using measurements of the LyC from the Low-redshift Lyman Continuum Survey (LzLCS), we present the first statistical test of these diagnostics. While optical depth indicators based on Ly alpha, such as peak velocity separation and equivalent width, perform well, we also find that other diagnostics, such as the [O iii]/[O ii] flux ratio and star formation rate surface density, predict whether a galaxy is an LCE. The relationship between these galaxy properties and the fraction of escaping LyC flux suggests that LyC escape depends strongly on H i column density, ionization parameter, and stellar feedback. We find that LCEs occupy a range of stellar masses, metallicities, star formation histories, and ionization parameters, which may indicate episodic and/or different physical causes of LyC escape.
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7. |
- 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
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In: Journal of Controlled Release. - : ELSEVIER. - 0168-3659 .- 1873-4995. ; 311, s. 104-116
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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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8. |
- Merugu, Siva Bharath, et al.
(author)
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Extracellular AGR2 activates neighboring fibroblasts through endocytosis and direct binding to β-catenin that requires AGR2 dimerization and adhesion domains
- 2021
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In: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications - BBRC. - : Elsevier. - 0006-291X .- 1090-2104. ; 573, s. 86-92
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Anterior gradient 2 (AGR2) is often overexpressed in several types of cancer. AGR2 is cytoplasmic or secreted as an extracellular signal. Intracellular AGR2 properties and role in cancer have been well studied, but its extracellular function is largely unclear. It has been shown that extracellular AGR2 activates endothelial cells and fibroblasts in culture, but the mechanism of AGR2 signaling is not well elucidated. Here, we report that tumor secreted or externally added AGR2 translocates into cytoplasm by endocytosis, binds to β-catenin and further co-translocates to the nucleus in NIH3T3 fibroblasts. Externally added AGR2 also increased β-catenin expression, stability, and accumulation in the nucleus in both fibroblasts and cancer cells. External AGR2 rescued the expression of β-catenin, which was suppressed by EGFR inhibitor AG1478 indicating an alternative pathway to regulate β-catenin independent of EGFR signal. These effects were abolished when a monoclonal antibody against AGR2 was added to the experiments, confirming the effects are caused by AGR2 only. Putting together, our results show that extracellular AGR2 signaling pathway involves endocytosis mediated cellular translocation, direct binding and regulating β-catenin nuclear accumulation. It is also a target against tumor initiated AGR2 signaling to form and maintain tumor microenvironment.
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9. |
- Wang, Bingjie, et al.
(author)
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The Low-redshift Lyman-continuum Survey : [S ii] Deficiency and the Leakage of Ionizing Radiation
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 916:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The relationship between galaxy characteristics and the reionization of the universe remains elusive, mainly due to the observational difficulty in accessing the Lyman continuum (LyC) at these redshifts. It is thus important to identify low-redshift LyC-leaking galaxies that can be used as laboratories to investigate the physical processes that allow LyC photons to escape. The weakness of the [S ii] nebular emission lines relative to typical star-forming galaxies has been proposed as a LyC predictor. In this paper, we show that the [S ii] deficiency is an effective method to select LyC-leaking candidates using data from the Low-redshift LyC Survey, which has detected flux below the Lyman edge in 35 out of 66 star-forming galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that LyC leakers tend to be more [S ii] deficient and that the fraction of their detections increases as [S ii] deficiency becomes more prominent. Correlational studies suggest that [S ii] deficiency complements other LyC diagnostics (such as strong Lyα emission and high [O iii]/[O ii]). Our results verify an additional technique by which reionization-era galaxies could be studied.
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10. |
- Xu, Xinfeng, et al.
(author)
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Tracing Lyα and LyC Escape in Galaxies with Mg ıı Emission
- 2022
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 933:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Star-forming galaxies are considered the likeliest source of the H i ionizing Lyman continuum (LyC) photons that reionized the intergalactic medium at high redshifts. However, above z ≳ 6, the neutral intergalactic medium prevents direct observations of LyC. Therefore, recent years have seen the development of indirect indicators for LyC that can be calibrated at lower redshifts and applied in the epoch of reionization. Emission from the Mg ıı λλ2796, 2803 doublet has been proposed as a promising LyC proxy. In this paper, we present new Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph observations for eight LyC emitter candidates, selected to have strong Mg ii emission lines. We securely detect LyC emission in 50% (4/8) of the galaxies with 2σ significance. This high detection rate suggests that strong Mg ii emitters might be more likely to leak LyC than similar galaxies without strong Mg ıı. Using photoionization models, we constrain the escape fraction of Mg ii as ∼15%–60%. We confirm that the escape fraction of Mg ıı correlates tightly with that of Lyα, which we interpret as an indication that the escape fraction of both species is controlled by resonant scattering in the same low column density gas. Furthermore, we show that the combination of the Mg ıı emission and dust attenuation can be used to estimate the escape fraction of LyC statistically. These findings confirm that Mg ıı emission can be adopted to estimate the escape fraction of Lyα and LyC in local star-forming galaxies and may serve as a useful indirect indicator at the epoch of reionization.
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