Enhancing the Efficiency and Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells Using Chemical Bath Deposition of SnO2 Electron Transport Layers and 3D/2D Heterojunctions.

Chemical bath deposition (CBD) is an effective technique used to produce high-quality SnO2 electron transport layers (ETLs) employed in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). By optimizing the CBD process, high-quality SnO2 films are obtained with minimal oxygen vacancies and close energy level alignment with the perovskite layer. In addition, the 3D perovskite layers are passivated with n-butylammonium iodide (BAI), iso-pentylammonium iodide (PNAI), or 2-methoxyethylammonium iodide (MOAI) to form 3D/2D heterojunctions, resulting in defect passivation, suppressing ion migration and improving charge carrier extraction. As a result of these heterojunctions, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the PSCs increased from 21.39% for the reference device to 23.70% for the device containing the MOAI-passivated film. The 2D perovskite layer also provides a hydrophobic barrier, thus enhancing stability to humidity. Notably, the PNAI-based device exhibited remarkable stability, retaining approximately 95% of its initial efficiency after undergoing 1000-h testing in an N2 environment at room temperature.

SND1 Regulates Organic Anion Transporter 2 Protein Expression and Sensitivity of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells to 5-Fluorouracil.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant tumors in the world. Inadequate efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on HCC could be related to low expression of human organic anion transporter 2 (OAT2). However, the knowledge of downregulation of OAT2 in HCC remains limited. We explored the underlying mechanism focusing on protein expression regulation and attempted to design a strategy to sensitize HCC cells to 5-FU. In this study, we revealed that the 1 bp to 300 bp region of OAT2 mRNA 3' untranslated region (UTR) reduced its protein expression and uptake activity in Li-7 and PLC/PRF/5 cells. Mechanistically, it was demonstrated that staphylococcal nuclease and Tudor domain containing 1 (SND1) bound at the 1 bp to 300 bp region of OAT2 mRNA 3' UTR, leading to a decrease in OAT2 protein expression. Enrichment analysis results indicated reduction of OAT2 might be mediated by translational inhibition. Furthermore, the knockdown of SND1 upregulated OAT2 protein expression and uptake activity. Based on this, decreasing SND1 expression enhanced 5-FU-caused G1/S phase arrest in Li-7 and PLC/PRF/5 cells, resulting in suppression of cell proliferation. Additionally, the knockdown of SND1 augmented the inhibitory effect of 5-FU on PLC/PRF/5 xenograft tumor growth in vivo by increasing OAT2 protein expression and accumulation of 5-FU in the tumor. Collectively, a combination of inhibition of SND1 with 5-FU might be a potential strategy to sensitize HCC cells to 5-FU from the perspective of restoring OAT2 protein level. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: We investigated the regulatory mechanism of OAT2 protein expression in HCC cells and designed a strategy to sensitize them to 5-FU (OAT2 substrate) via restoring OAT2 protein level. It found that SND1, an RNA binding protein, regulated OAT2 protein expression by interacting with OAT2 mRNA 3' UTR 1-300 bp region. Through decreasing SND1, the antitumor effect of 5-FU on HCC was enhanced in vitro and in vivo, indicating that SND1 could be a potential target for sensitizing HCC cells to 5-FU.

Integrative Analysis of Histone Acetylation Regulated CYP4F12 in Esophageal Cancer Development.

Current therapeutic strategies for esophageal cancer (EC) patients have yielded limited improvements in survival rates. Recent research has highlighted the influence of drug metabolism enzymes on both drug response and EC development. Our study aims to identify specific drug metabolism enzymes regulated by histone acetylation and to elucidate its molecular and clinical features. CYP4F12 exhibited a notable upregulation subsequent to trichostatin A treatment as evidenced by RNA sequencing analysis conducted on the KYSE-150 cell line. The change in gene expression was associated with increased acetylation level of histone 3 K18 and K27 in the promoter. The regulation was dependent on p300. In silicon analysis of both The Cancer Genome Atlas esophageal carcinoma and GSE53624 dataset suggested a critical role of CYP4F12 in EC development, because CYP4F12 was downregulated in tumor tissues and predicted better disease-free survival. Gene ontology analysis has uncovered a robust correlation between CYP4F12 and processes related to cell migration, as well as its involvement in cytosine-mediated immune activities. Further investigation into the relationship between immune cells and CYP4F12 expression has indicated an increased level of B cell infiltration in samples with high CYP4F12 expression. CYP4F12 was also negatively correlated with the expression of inhibitory checkpoints. An accurate predictive nomogram model was established combining with clinical factors and CYP4F12 expression. In conclusion, CYP4F12 was crucial in EC development, and targeting CYP4F12 may improve the therapeutic efficacy of current treatment in EC patients. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: CYP4F12 expression was downregulated in esophageal cancer (EC) patients and could be induced by trichostatin A. During EC development, CYP4F12 was linked to reduced cell migration and increased infiltration of B cells. CYP4F12 also is a biomarker as prognostic predictors and therapeutic guide in EC patients.

Regulating Surface Dipole Moments of TiO2 for the pH-Universal Cathodic Fenton-Like Process.

Although electro-Fenton (EF) processes can avoid the safety risks raised by concentrated hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the Fe(III) reduction has always been either unstable or inefficient at high pH, resulting in catalyst deactivation and low selectivity of H2O2 activation for producing hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Herein, we provided a strategy to regulate the surface dipole moment of TiO2 by Fe anchoring (TiO2-Fe), which, in turn, substantially increased the H2O2 activation for •OH production. The TiO2-Fe catalyst could work at pH 4-10 and maintained considerable degradation efficiency for 10 cycles. Spectroscopic analysis and a theoretical study showed that the less polar Fe-O bond on TiO2-Fe could finely tune the polarity of H2O2 to alter its empty orbital distribution, contributing to better ciprofloxacin degradation activity within a broad pH range. We further verified the critical role of the weakened polarity of H2O2 on its homolysis into •OH by theoretically and experimentally investigating Cu-, Co-, Ni-, Mn-, and Mo-anchored TiO2. This concept offers an avenue for elaborate design of green, robust, and pH-universal cathodic Fenton-like catalysts and beyond.

Constructing green superhydrophilic and superoleophobic COFs-MOFs hybrid-based membrane for efficiently emulsion separation and synchronous removal of microplastics, dyes, and pesticides.

Oil spills and micropollutants have become thorny environmental issues, posing serious threat to ecosystem and human health. To settle such dilemma, this study successfully constructed a robust and environmentally-friendly MOFs-COFs hybrid-based membrane (FS-50/COF(MATPA)-MOF(Zr)/PDA@PVDF) for the first time through solution synthesis and solvothermal method, combined with surface modification of FS-50 molecule. Importantly, we employed a simple two-step strategy to obtain the high-aspect-ratio MOFs fibers: (1) solvent regulation to generate smaller needle-like whiskers during the in-situ growth of MOFs on COFs; (2) high pressure induced directional crystallization in filtration process. The introduction of polydopamine (PDA) greatly improved the adhesion between coating and PVDF membrane. The in-situ growth of high length-diameter ratio MOFs fibers on blocky COFs greatly enhanced the specific surface area of MOFs-COFs hybrid, thus provided sufficient absorption sites. The functional groups of FS-50 endowed the hybrid membrane with superhydrophilicity and superoleophobicity, which facilitated to selectively penetrate water molecules and repel non-polar pollutants. The separation efficiency and decontamination mechanism of hybrid membrane to the simulated oily wastewater (containing various MPs, dyes, and pesticides) were investigated through experiments and theoretical calculations. The hybrid membrane could selectively and synchronously adsorb various dyes (20 mg/L-120 mg/L, almost 100% removal) and pesticides (10 mg/L for DIF and TET, adsorption rates 93.2% and 90.9%, respectively) from oil-water emulsion (50 mL). The large-scale coated sponge (6 cm × 4.5 cm × 3 cm) could quickly achieve separation of oil-water mixture (almost 100%) with a water permeability of more than 162 L m-2·h-1·bar-1, and simultaneously remove various MPs (PP-2000, PP-100, PE-2000, PS-100, 0.2 g/300 mL for each), Sudan Ⅲ (C0 = 200 mg/L), and DIF (C0 = 10 mg/L) from a simulant oily wastewater (300 mL), with the removal rates of almost 100% for MPs, 99.7% for Sudan Ⅲ, and 95.8% for DIF. Furthermore, we elucidated the removal mechanism of pesticide and dyes through simulating the theoretical adsorption energy and potential adsorption sites. The hybrid membrane not only provides a promising candidate for the removal of multiple pollutants from oil-water emulsion, but also opens a new strategy for achieving efficient and clean aquatic environment restoration.

Elucidating the Discrepancy between the Intrinsic Structural Instability and the Apparent Catalytic Steadiness of M-N-C Catalysts toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

Despite the widespread investigations on the M-N-C type single atom catalysts (SACs) for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), an internal conflict between its intrinsic thermodynamically structural instability and apparent catalytic steadiness has long been ignored. Clearly unfolding this contradiction is necessary and meaningful for understanding the real structure-property relation of SACs. Herein, by using the well-designed pH-dependent metal leaching experiments and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, an unconventional structure reconstruction of M-N-C catalyst during OER process was observed. Combining with density functional theory calculations, the initial Ni-N coordination is easily broken in the presence of adsorbed OH*, leading to favorable formation of Ni-O coordination. The formed Ni-O works stably as the real active center for OER catalysis in alkaline media but unstably in acid, which clearly explains the existing conflict. Unveiling the internal contradiction between structural instability and catalytic steadiness provides valuable insights for rational design of single atom OER catalysts.

Mitigating Ion Migration with an Ultrathin Self-Assembled Ionic Insulating Layer Affords Efficient and Stable Wide-Bandgap Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells.

Wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are attracting increasing attention because they play an irreplaceable role in tandem solar cells. Nevertheless, wide-bandgap PSCs suffer large open-circuit voltage (VOC ) loss and instability due to photoinduced halide segregation, significantly limiting their application. Herein, a bile salt (sodium glycochenodeoxycholate, GCDC, a natural product), is used to construct an ultrathin self-assembled ionic insulating layer firmly coating the perovskite film, which suppresses halide phase separation, reduces VOC loss, and improves device stability. As a result, 1.68 eV wide-bandgap devices with an inverted structure deliver a VOC of 1.20 V with an efficiency of 20.38%. The unencapsulated GCDC-treated devices are considerably more stable than the control devices, retaining 92% of their initial efficiency after 1392 h storage under ambient conditions and retaining 93% after heating at 65 °C for 1128 h in an N2 atmosphere. This strategy of mitigating ion migration via anchoring a nonconductive layer provides a simple approach to achieving efficient and stable wide-bandgap PSCs.

[Identification of Characteristic lncRNA Molecular Markers in Osteoarthritis by Integrating GEO Database and Machine Learning Strategies and Experimental Validation].

Objective: To screen for long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) molecular markers characteristic of osteoarthritis (OA) by utilizing the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database combined with machine learning. Methods: The samples of 185 OA patients and 76 healthy individuals as normal controls were included in the study. GEO datasets were screened for differentially expressed lncRNAs. Three algorithms, the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE), and random forest (RF), were used to screen for candidate lncRNA models and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to evaluate the models. We collected the peripheral blood samples of 30 clinical OA patients and 15 health controls and measured the immunoinflammatory indicators. RT-PCR was performed for quantitative analysis of the expression of lncRNA molecular markers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Pearson analysis was performed to examine the correlation between lncRNA and indicators for inflammation of the immune system. Results: A total of 14 key markers were identified with LASSO, 6 genes were identified with SVM-RFE, and 24 genes were identified with RF. Venn diagram was used to screen for overlapping genes identified with the three algorithms, showing HOTAIR, H19, MIR155 HG, and NKILA to be the overlapping genes. The ROC curves showed that these four lncRNAs all had an area under the curve ( AUC) greater than 0.7. The RT-PCR findings revealed relatively elevated expression of HOTAIR, H19, and MIR155HG and decreased expression of NKILA in the PBMC of OA patients compared with those of the normal group ( P<0.01). The results were consistent with the bioinformatics predictions. Pearson analysis showed that the candidate lncRNAs were correlated with clinical indicators for inflammation. Conclusion: HOTAIR, H19, MIR155 HG, and NKILA can be used as molecular markers for the clinical diagnosis of OA and are correlate with clinical indicators of inflammation of the immune system.

Molecular Bridge on Buried Interface for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

The interface of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is significantly important for charge transfer and device stability, while the buried interface with the impact on perovskite film growth has been paid less attention. Herein, we use a molecular modifier, glycocyamine (GDA) to build a molecular bridge on the buried interface of SnO2 /perovskite, resulting in superior interfacial contact. This is achieved through the strongly interaction between GDA and SnO2 , which also appreciably modulates the energy level. Moreover, GDA can regulate the perovskite crystal growth, yielding perovskite film with enlarged grain size and absence of pinholes, exhibiting substantially reduced defect density. Consequently, PSCs with GDA modification demonstrate significant improvement of open circuit voltage (close to 1.2 V) and fill factor, leading to an improved power conversion efficiency from 22.60 % to 24.70 %. Additionally, stabilities of GDA devices under maximum power point and 85 °C heat both perform better than the control devices.

Constructing Reactive Micro-Environment in Basal Plane of MoS2 for pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis.

MoS2 represents a promising catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water splitting, but the inefficient catalytic activity in a pH-universal environment is an obstacle to developing practical applications. Boosting and balancing the water dissociation and hydrogen desorption kinetics is crucial in designing high-performance catalysts for the overall pH range. Herein, it is experimentally demonstrated that cobalt single-atom doping can effectively construct a reactive CoMoS micro-environment on the basal plane of MoS2 and thus alter the uniformity of surface electron density, which is further confirmed by the theoretical results. The reactive micro-environment consisting of single-atom Co with the surrounding Mo and S atoms possesses excellent water dissociation and hydrogen desorption kinetics, exhibiting a superior performance of 36 mV at 10 mA cm-2 with a Tafel slope of 33 mV dec-1 in the alkaline condition. Meanwhile, it also shows worthy activity in the acidic (97 mV) and neutral (117 mV) environments. This work provides a facile strategy to improve the HER catalysis of MoS2 in pH-universal environments.

Reversing the Nucleophilicity of Active Sites in CoP2 Enables Exceptional Hydrogen Evolution Catalysis.

Precisely constructing the local configurations of active sites to achieve on-demand catalytic functions is highly critical yet challenging. Herein, an anion-deficient strategy to precisely capture Ru single atoms on the anion vacancies of CoP2 (Ru-SA/Pv-CoP2 ) is developed. Refined structural characterizations reveal that the Ru single atoms preferably bind to the anion vacancy sites and consequently build a superior catalytic surface with neighboring CoP and CoRu coordination states for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysis. The prepared Ru-SA/Pv-CoP2 nanowires exhibit an unprecedented overpotential of 17 mV at 10 mA cm-2geo , and the corresponding mass activity is 52.2 times higher than the benchmark Pt/C catalyst at the overpotential of 50 mV. Theoretical analysis illustrates that the introduced Ru-SAs can reverse electrons state distribution (from nucleophilic P sites to electrophilic Ru sites) and boost the activation of water molecules and hydrogen production. More importantly, such a construction strategy is also applicable for Pt single atom coupling, suggesting its generality in building catalytic sites. The capability to precisely construct active sites offers a powerful platform to manipulate the catalytic performance of HER catalysts and beyond.

Hexachloropentadiene in Soil, Air, and Biota Around an Agrochemical Factory: Concentrations, Distribution, and Risk Evaluation.

Hexachloropentadiene (HCPD) is a highly toxic compound that is mainly used for preparation of organochlorine insecticides. To investigate HCPD contamination of the environment during pesticide processing, 153 air, soil, and biota samples were collected around an agrochemical factory in different seasons of 1 year and analyzed for HCPD. The HCPD concentrations were 0.01-12.7 ng/m3 (average 2.60 ng/m3) in the air samples and 0.14-51.5 ng/g (average 4.11 ng/g) in the soil samples. HCPD concentrations were highest within 1 km north of the production site, which was in the downwind direction of the factory and storage tanks, especially in autumn and winter. Soil-air exchange analysis showed that HCPD was deposited from air to soil with a flux of 0.003 to 0.20 ng/(m2 d) throughout the year. The dismantling of obsolete equipment accelerated the release of HCPD into the air and increased the amount of HCPD deposited in the soil. HPCD concentration ranges were 0.44-55.7 ng/g dry weight [d.w.] (average 22.2 ng/g d.w.) and 6.69-91.4 ng/g d.w. (average 26.2) in locally grown rice and wheat, respectively. The concentration range was 12.1-1596 ng/g lipid weight (average 560 ng/g lipid weight) in local organisms, except for chicken. In tissues from locally raised chicken, the HCPD concentrations decreased in the order of gizzard, liver, heart, and meat. HCPD was amplified through a short food chain (soil, Vigna unguiculata leaves, larvae of Pieris rapae, and chicken), and the bioaccumulation factor gradually increased over a range of 1.19-25.1 (mean 9.81).

Regulating Surface Reaction Kinetics through Ligand Field Effects for Fast and Reversible Aqueous Zinc Batteries.

Designing water-deficient solvation sheath of Zn2+ by ligand substitution is a widely used strategy to protect Zn metal anode, yet the intrinsic tradeoff between Zn nucleation/dissolution kinetics and the side hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains a huge challenge. Herein, we find boric acid (BA) with moderate ligand field interaction can partially replace H2 O molecules in the solvation sheath of Zn2+ , forming a stable water-deficient solvation sheath. It enables fast Zn nucleation/dissolution kinetics and substantially suppressed HER. Crucially, by systematically comparing the ligand field strength and solvation energies between BA and the ever-reported electrolyte additives, we also find that the solvation energy has a strong correlation with Zn nucleation/dissolution kinetics and HER inhibition ability, displaying a classic volcano behavior. The modulation map could provide valuable insights for solvation sheath design of zinc batteries and beyond.

Robust Self-Assembled Molecular Passivation for High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells.

Defect passivation via post-treatment of perovskite films is an effective method to fabricate high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the passivation durability is still an issue due to the weak and vulnerable bonding between passivating functional groups and perovskite defect sites. Here we propose a cholesterol derivative self-assembly strategy to construct crosslinked and compact membranes throughout perovskite films. These supramolecular membranes act as a robust protection layer against harsh operational conditions while providing effective passivation of defects from surface toward inner grain boundaries. The resultant PSCs exhibit a power conversion efficiency of 23.34 % with an impressive open-circuit voltage of 1.164 eV. The unencapsulated devices retain 92 % of their initial efficiencies after 1600 h of storage under ambient conditions, and remain almost unchanged after heating at 85 °C for 500 h in a nitrogen atmosphere, showing significantly improved stability.

Resistin-like molecule ß acts as a mitogenic factor in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension via the Ca2+-dependent PI3K/Akt/mTOR and PKC/MAPK signaling pathways.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell (PASMC) proliferation plays a crucial role in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (HPH). Previous studies have found that resistin-like molecule ß (RELM-ß) is upregulated de novo in response to hypoxia in cultured human PASMCs (hPASMCs). RELM-ß has been reported to promote hPASMC proliferation and is involved in pulmonary vascular remodeling in patients with PAH. However, the expression pattern, effects, and mechanisms of action of RELM-ß in HPH remain unclear. METHODS: We assessed the expression pattern, mitogenetic effect, and mechanism of action of RELM-ß in a rat HPH model and in hPASMCs. RESULTS: Overexpression of RELM-ß caused hemodynamic changes in a rat model of HPH similar to those induced by chronic hypoxia, including increased mean right ventricular systolic pressure (mRVSP), right ventricular hypertrophy index (RVHI) and thickening of small pulmonary arterioles. Knockdown of RELM-ß partially blocked the increases in mRVSP, RVHI, and vascular remodeling induced by hypoxia. The phosphorylation levels of the PI3K, Akt, mTOR, PKC, and MAPK proteins were significantly up- or downregulated by RELM-ß gene overexpression or silencing, respectively. Recombinant RELM-ß protein increased the intracellular Ca2+ concentration in primary cultured hPASMCs and promoted hPASMC proliferation. The mitogenic effects of RELM-ß on hPASMCs and the phosphorylation of PI3K, Akt, mTOR, PKC, and MAPK were suppressed by a Ca2+ inhibitor. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that RELM-ß acts as a cytokine-like growth factor in the development of HPH and that the effects of RELM-ß are likely to be mediated by the Ca2+-dependent PI3K/Akt/mTOR and PKC/MAPK pathways.

Exposure-lag-response associations between weather conditions and ankylosing spondylitis: a time series study.

BACKGROUND: Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) have reported that their pain becomes worse when the local weather changes. However, there is limited evidence verifying the short-term associations between meteorological factors and outpatient visits for patients with AS. Therefore, this study evaluates this possible association. METHODS: Meteorological data and data on daily AS outpatient visits to a general hospital in Hefei, China, from 2014 to 2019 were collected and analysed. Distributed lag nonlinear models and Poisson regression models were employed to determine the association between weather conditions and outpatient visits; the results were also stratified by gender and age. RESULTS: High relative humidity is significantly associated with all patient visits in lag 1 (RR = 1.113, 95% CI 1.021 to 1.213) and lag 7 days (RR = 1.115, 95% CI 1.014 to 1.227). A low relative risk to the nadir is observed in lag 4 days (RR = 0.920, 95% CI 0.862 to 0.983). Male and young patients (< 65 years) are more vulnerable to damp weather, and elderly people (≥ 65 years) are significantly affected by high temperatures in lag 7 days (RR = 3.004, 95% CI 1.201 to 7.510). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest a potential relationship between exposure to weather conditions and increased risk of AS outpatient visits. These results can aid hospitals in preparing for and managing hospital visits by AS patients when the local weather conditions change.

Identification of lncRNAs associated with the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis.

BACKGROUND: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting the sacroiliac joint. To date, few studies have examined the association between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and AS pathogenesis. As such, we herein sought to characterize patterns of AS-related lncRNA expression and to evaluate the potential role played by these lncRNAs in this complex autoimmune context. METHODS: We conducted a RNA-seq analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples isolated from five AS patients and corresponding controls. These data were then leveraged to characterize AS-related lncRNA expression patterns. We further conducted GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of the parental genes encoding these lncRNAs, and we confirmed the validity of our RNA-seq data by assessing the expression of six lncRNAs via qRT-PCR in 15 AS and control patient samples. Pearson correlation analyses were additionally employed to examine the associations between the expression levels of these six lncRNAs and patient clinical index values. RESULTS: We detected 56,575 total lncRNAs in AS and control patient samples during our initial RNA-seq analysis, of which 200 and 70 were found to be up- and down-regulated (FC > 2 or < 0.05; P < 0.05), respectively, in AS samples relative to controls. In qRT-PCR validation assays, we confirmed the significant upregulation of NONHSAT118801.2, ENST00000444046, and NONHSAT183847.1 and the significant downregulation of NONHSAT205110.1, NONHSAT105444.2, and NONHSAT051856.2 in AS patient samples. We further found the expression of NONHSAT118801.2 and NONHSAT183847.1 to be positively correlated with disease severity. CONCLUSION: Overall, our findings highlight several lncRNAs that are specifically expressed in PBMCs of AS patients, indicating that they may play key functions in the pathogenesis of this autoimmune disease. Specifically, we determined that NONHSAT118801.2 and NONHSAT183847.1 may influence the occurrence and development of AS.

Cu2O-Ag Tandem Catalysts for Selective Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to C2 Products.

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) to C2 chemicals has received great attention. Here, we report the cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanocubes cooperated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles via the replacement reaction for a synergetic CO2RR. The Cu2O-Ag tandem catalyst exhibits an impressive Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 72.85% for C2 products with a partial current density of 243.32 mA·cm-2. The electrochemical experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the introduction of Ag improves the intermediate CO concentration on the catalyst surface and meanwhile reduces the C-C coupling reaction barrier energy, which is favorable for the synthesis of C2 products.

An Integrated Gold-Film Temperature Sensor for In Situ Temperature Measurement of a High-Precision MEMS Accelerometer.

Temperature sensors are one of the most important types of sensors, and are employed in many applications, including consumer electronics, automobiles and environmental monitoring. Due to the need to simultaneously measure temperature and other physical quantities, it is often desirable to integrate temperature sensors with other physical sensors, including accelerometers. In this study, we introduce an integrated gold-film resistor-type temperature sensor for in situ temperature measurement of a high-precision MEMS accelerometer. Gold was chosen as the material of the temperature sensor, for both its great resistance to oxidation and its better compatibility with our in-house capacitive accelerometer micro-fabrication process. The proposed temperature sensor was first calibrated and then evaluated. Experimental results showed the temperature measurement accuracy to be 0.08 °C; the discrepancies among the sensors were within 0.02 °C; the repeatability within seven days was 0.03 °C; the noise floor was 1 mK/√Hz@0.01 Hz and 100 µK/√Hz@0.5 Hz. The integration test with a MEMS accelerometer showed that by subtracting the temperature effect, the bias stability within 46 h for the accelerometer could be improved from 2.15 µg to 640 ng. This demonstrates the capability of measuring temperature in situ with the potential to eliminate the temperature effects of the MEMS accelerometer through system-level compensation.

[Effect of traditional Chinese medicine invigorating spleen unit therapy on inflammatory markers in patients with osteoarthritis based on random walk model].

To evaluate the effect of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) invigorating spleen unit therapy on inflammatory markers of osteoarthritis(OA) patients by random walk model. The patient information was collected by the data processing system of medical records of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In-patient information of the department of rheumatology of the hospital between June 2012 and December 2016 was collected and summarized. Based on the use of traditional Chinese medicine decoction and hospital-prepared compound Qiyi Capsules(Xinfeng Capsules),the patients were divided into the unit therapy group and the simple endotherapy group. The random walk model was used to evaluate the effect of traditional Chinese medicine invigorating spleen unit therapy on TCM spleen therapy unit(ESR) and high sensitive C reactive protein(hs-CRP). A total of 3 517 cases of OA patients met the study requirements. The simple endotherapy group had 1 771 cases(50. 36%),while the unit therapy group had 1 746 cases(49. 64%). The baseline data analysis showed that the general information of the cases,the TCM oral intake frequency and the core prescription information had no statistically significant difference,with comparability. The unit therapy group showed the maximum ESR stochastic volatility at 924,walking step number of 1 771,forward walking growth rate at 0. 264 5,ratio at3. 78,random fluctuation power law at 0. 306 5± 0. 076 8,positive increase rate of comprehensive evaluation index at 0. 264 5,and comprehensive evaluation index record number of 1 771; whereas the simple endotherapy group showed the maximum ESR random fluctuation value at 478,walking step number of 1 399,forward walking growth rate at 0. 152 4,ratio at 6. 56,random fluctuation power law at 0. 347 4±0. 101 7,positive increase rate of comprehensive evaluation index at 0. 152 4,and comprehensive evaluation index record number of 1 399. The unit therapy group showed the maximum hs-CRP random fluctuation value at 391,walking step number of1 081,forward walking growth rate at 0. 178 1,ratio at 5. 62,random fluctuation power law at 0. 343 6±0. 094 7,positive increase rate of comprehensive evaluation index at 0. 178 1,and comprehensive evaluation index record number of 1 081; while the simple endotherapy groups showed the maximum hs-CRP random fluctuation value at 210,walking step number of 797,forward walking growth rate at0. 113 2,ratio at 8. 83,random fluctuation power law at 0. 382 6±0. 109,positive increase rate of comprehensive evaluation index at0. 113 2,and comprehensive evaluation index record number of 797. According to our department of rheumatism,there was a longrange correlation between the two groups in the comprehensive evaluation index and the intervention measures. TCM spleen strengthening unit therapy has a better effect in alleviating the inflammatory index of OA than traditional Chinese medicine.