Occupant behavior, thermal environment, and appliance electricity use of a single-family apartment in China.

The household is the basic unit of a residential community or building. High-resolution, long-term open data are necessary to help study residential electricity consumption, smart home technologies, and electricity flexibility technologies at household level. This paper introduces an IoT-based data collection platform (IDCP) consisting of gateways, sensors, and cloud servers. This platform can collect data on the occupant presence, indoor environment, window-opening states, and appliance electricity consumption simultaneously. This study deployed the IDCP in a single-family apartment in Beijing, China, and compiled a dataset, namely, CN-OBEE, including data on the per-minute occupant behavior, thermal environment, and appliance electricity use of the apartment for an entire year (from May 31, 2021, to May 31, 2022), and hourly meteorological data collected by the nearest national weather station during the same period. This dataset is the first detailed and publicly available occupant behavior and electricity use dataset for Chinese homes. As a regional feature, the dataset compiled by this study includes window-opening behavior and the use of split air conditioners (ACs).

A boost of thermoelectric generation performance for polycrystalline InTe by texture modulation.

The new rising binary InTe displays advantageously high electronic conductivity and low thermal conductivity along the [110] direction, providing a high potential of texture modulation for thermoelectric performance improvement. In this work, coarse crystalline InTe material with a high degree of texture along the [110] direction was realized by the oriented crystal hot-deformation method. The coarse grains with high texture not only maintain the preferred orientation of the zone-melting crystal as far as possible, but also greatly depress the grain boundary scattering, thus leading to the highest room temperature power factor of 8.7 µW cm-1 K-1 and a high average figure of merit of 0.71 in the range of 300-623 K. Furthermore, the polycrystalline characteristic with refined grains also promotes the mechanical properties. As a result, an 8-couple thermoelectric generator module consisting of p-type InTe and commercial n-type Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 legs was successfully integrated and a high conversion efficiency of ∼5.0% under the temperature difference of 290 K was achieved, which is comparable to traditional Bi2Te3 based modules. This work not only demonstrates the potential of InTe as a power generator near room temperature, but also provides one more typical example of a texture modulation strategy beyond the traditional Bi2Te3 thermoelectrics.

An investigation of the effects of ZnO inverse opal pore size in the composite of ZnO nanorods/ZnO inverse opal on the performance of quantum dot-sensitized solar cells.

A semiconductor oxide composite consisting of ZnO nanorods (NRs) and ZnO inverse opal (IO) was fabricated and used in the photoanode of quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs). Using polystyrene spheres 500, 800, 1000, and 1500 nm in diameter as the IO template, ZnO composites and corresponding QDSSCs with ZnO IOs of different pore sizes were fabricated. The oxide composite prepared with ZnO IOs of different pore sizes showed similar micro-morphologies; however, the photovoltaic performance of the QDSSCs based on these composites varied greatly. The QDSSCs based on the ZnO composite achieved high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of more than 6%, and the maximum PCE was 7.26% when the ZnO IO pore diameter in the composite was 800 nm. This resulted in very high PCE values for the QDSSCs using CdS/CdSe quantum dot sensitizers. With further interface modifications of NH4F and ZnS, the QDSSC achieved an even higher PCE value of 11.38%. Subsequently, the effects of ZnO IO pore size in the composite on QDSSC performance were investigated.

Downregulation of miR-574-5p inhibits HK-2 cell viability and predicts the onset of acute kidney injury in sepsis patients.

BACKGROUND: Increased levels of microRNA-574-5p (miR-574-5p) have been found to be associated with increased survival of septic patients, indicating the potential role of miR-574-5p in protecting against septic progression and complications. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the most common and serious complications of sepsis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test these hypotheses: (1) in a renal cell culture line (HK-2), upregulated expression of miR-574-5p increases, and downregulated expression of miR-574-5p decreases cell viability, and (2) serum levels of miR-574-5p from patients with sepsis and AKI are lower than those of patients with sepsis but no AKI. METHODS: The expression of miR-574-5p was regulated by cell transfection in HK-2 cells, and HK-2 cell viability was measured using the Cell Counting Kit-8. Serum miR-574-5p expression was analyzed using qRT-PCR. The predictive value of miR-574-5p for AKI onset was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curve and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The overexpression of miR-574-5p promoted HK-2 cell viability. Fifty-eight sepsis patients developed AKI, who had significantly lower miR-574-5p expression. miR-574-5p expression was decreased with AKI stage increase and correlated with kidney injury biomarker and had relatively high accuracy to predict AKI occurrence from sepsis patients. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of miR-574-5p in cultured HK-2 cells increases cell viability and knocked-down expression of miR-574-5p decreases cell viability. Consistently, septic patients with AKI were found to have less upregulation of miR-574-5p expression compared to septic patients without AKI. Thus, serum miR-574-5p may provide a novel biomarker for septic AKI.

A Novel Preparation of Nano-Copper Chalcogenide (Cu2S)-based Flexible Counter Electrode.

Copper nanowires (CuNWs) are used to prepare flexible, transparent conducting substrates due to their low cost and ease of fabrication on a large area. A CuNW/polymer composite substrate was prepared and vulcanized to create a novel flexible nano-Cu2S/polymer composite substrate. The physical and photovoltaic properties of the substrate can be controlled by tuning the concentration of CuNW dispersion during the preparation of CuNWs and nano Cu2S films. The nano-Cu2S-based composite substrate was used as an effective flexible counter electrode of a quantum-dot-sensitized solar cell (QDSSC) and resulted in a maximum cell efficiency of 1.01%.

microRNA-25 promotes cardiomyocytes proliferation and migration via targeting Bim.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are pleiotropic players in cardiac development. Recent evidence have suggested miRNAs as promisingly therapeutic targets for cardiac regeneration. This study aimed to reveal the potential effects of miR-25 on cardiomyocytes proliferation and migration. Sprague-Dawley rats received left coronary occlusion surgery to induce an in vivo model of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Expression changes of miR-25 and Bim were tested by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot. Besides, primary neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes were transfected by the antisense oligonucleotides or mimic specific for miR-25, and then 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT), 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), Boyden chamber, and terminal-deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay were respectively used to determine cardiomyocytes growth and migration. Binding effects of miR-25 on the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of Bim was assessed by dual-luciferase reporter assay. We found that miR-25 was low expressed, whereas Bim was highly expressed in I/R injury model and hypoxia-stimulated cardiomyocytes. Downregulation of miR-25 in neonatal and adult cardiomyocytes markedly reduced cell proliferation and migration, but promoted apoptosis. Consistently, downregulation of miR-25 decreased the expression of cyclin E2, cyclin D1, and CDK4, and increased the expression of p57 (KIP2) in cardiomyocytes. We additionally found that Bim was a target of miR-25. The inhibitory effects of miR-25 downregulation on cardiomyocytes survival and migration were all significantly attenuated when Bim was silenced. To sum up, our study demonstrates that miR-25 downregulation inhibits cardiomyocytes proliferation and migration, but promotes apoptosis. The role of miR-25 in cardiomyocytes was by targeting Bim.

Increased power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells with counter electrodes based on carbon materials.

The good catalytic activity, resistance to iodine corrosion, and stability of carbon materials make them ideally suited for the fabrication of counter electrodes used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Different carbon materials have been used to make counter electrodes, and each has its own advantages, such as good film formation or high electric conductivity. Herein, various carbon materials were mixed and employed for preparing counter electrodes in DSSCs. Both fine film morphology and improved charge-carrier transport were obtained, and the power conversion efficiency of the DSSCs was thus increased. Accordingly, a cell efficiency of 6.29% was obtained by the DSSC with a counter electrode composed of the optimum mixture of carbon nanotubes, graphite, conductive carbon black, and graphene. Furthermore, DSSCs with a flexible counter electrode were fabricated using the optimum carbon material mixture, and the corresponding DSSCs achieved a power conversion efficiency of 4.32%.

The origin, type and hydrocarbon generation potential of organic matter in a marine-continental transitional facies shale succession (Qaidam Basin, China).

This organic-rich shale was analyzed to determine the type, origin, maturity and depositional environment of the organic matter and to evaluate the hydrocarbon generation potential of the shale. This study is based on geochemical (total carbon content, Rock-Eval pyrolysis and the molecular composition of hydrocarbons) and whole-rock petrographic (maceral composition) analyses. The petrographic analyses show that the shale penetrated by the Chaiye 2 well contains large amounts of vitrinite and sapropelinite and that the organic matter within these rocks is type III and highly mature. The geochemical analyses show that these rocks are characterized by high total organic carbon contents and that the organic matter is derived from a mix of terrestrial and marine sources and highly mature. These geochemical characteristics are consistent with the results of the petrographic analyses. The large amounts of organic matter in the Carboniferous shale succession penetrated by the Chaiye 2 well may be due to good preservation under hypersaline lacustrine and anoxic marine conditions. Consequently, the studied shale possesses very good hydrocarbon generation potential because of the presence of large amounts of highly mature type III organic matter.

Combined HQSAR, topomer CoMFA, homology modeling and docking studies on triazole derivatives as SGLT2 inhibitors.

AIM: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) is a promising target for diabetes therapy. We aimed to develop computational approaches to identify structural features for more potential SGLT2 inhibitors. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this work, 46 triazole derivatives as SGLT2 inhibitors were studied using a combination of several approaches, including hologram quantitative structure-activity relationships (HQSAR), topomer comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), homology modeling, and molecular docking. HQSAR and topomer CoMFA were used to construct models. Molecular docking was conducted to investigate the interaction of triazole derivatives and homology modeling of SGLT2, as well as to validate the results of the HQSAR and topomer CoMFA models. RESULTS: The most effective HQSAR and topomer CoMFA models exhibited noncross-validated correlation coefficients of 0.928 and 0.891 for the training set, respectively. External predictions were made successfully on a test set and then compared with previously reported models. The graphical results of HQSAR and topomer CoMFA were proven to be consistent with the binding mode of the inhibitors and SGLT2 from molecular docking. CONCLUSION: The models and docking provided important insights into the design of potent inhibitors for SGLT2.

A chemometric-assisted method for the simultaneous determination of malachite green and crystal violet in water based on absorbance-pH data generated by a homemade pH gradient apparatus.

An attractive method of generating second-order data was developed by a dropping technique to generate pH gradient simultaneously coupled with diode-array spectrophotometer scanning. A homemade apparatus designed for the pH gradient. The method and the homemade apparatus were used to simultaneously determine malachite green (MG) and crystal violet (CV) in water samples. The absorbance-pH second-order data of MG or CV were obtained from the spectra of MG or CV in a series of pH values of HCl-KCl solution. The second-order data of mixtures containing MG and CV that coexisted with interferents were analyzed using multidimensional partial least-squares with residual bilinearization. The method and homemade apparatus were used to simultaneously determine MG and CV in fish farming water samples and in river ones with satisfactory results. The presented method and the homemade apparatus could serve as an alternative tool to handle some analysis problems.

One-pot synthesis of water-soluble, ß-cyclodextrin-based polyrotaxanes in a homogeneous water system and its use in bio-applications.

A small, nano-sized, water-soluble polyrotaxane (PR) was synthesized using a highly efficient one-pot synthesis strategy in a homogeneous water system, formed from ß-cyclodextrin-(COOH)2, poly(propylene glycol)bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (PPG, 2 kDa) and a mono-(6-azido-6-desoxy)-ß-cyclodextrin stopper via room temperature click chemistry. ß-cyclodextrin-(COOH)2 and PR were characterized by one- and two-dimensional NMR as well as by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The number of carboxyl groups in one PR was determined by 1H NMR. Two-dimensional diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (2D DOSY) and nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (2D NOESY) show that ß-cyclodextrin-(COOH)2 and PPG successfully formed an inclusion complex. HR-TEM revealed the morphology of water-soluble PR as a spherical nanoparticle with a size of approximately 3.5 nm ± 1.5 nm. PR was labeled with rhodamine to assess its biocompatibility and cell membrane penetrability in vitro. The in vivo real-time fluorescent imaging biodistribution experiments indicated that water-soluble PR can actively target tumor sites using an enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, with a significantly prolonged blood circulation time in tumor-bearing mice.

[Changes of soil enzyme activities in heavy metals polluted region: a case study in a wastewater-irrigated agricultural area near a smelter in Xinluo District of Longyan City, Fujian Province].

Surface soil samples were collected from a wastewater-irrigated agricultural area near a smelter in the Xinluo District of Longyan City, Pujian Province, and their basic physical and chemical properties, activities of urease, cellulase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, polyphenol oxidase and catalase, and contents of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn were determined, aimed to approach the effects of heavy metals pollution and soil properties on the activities of soil enzymes. Correlation analysis showed that the total and available contents of soil Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn had significant positive correlations with the activities of soil urease, cellulase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase and polyphenol oxidase, but significant negative correlation with the activity of soil catalase. Soil pH had significant positive correlation with the activity of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase, and soil silt content had significant negative correlation with the activity of soil catalase. Path analysis showed that Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn pollution promoted the activities of soil urease, cellulase and polyphenol oxidase, but had less effects on the activity of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase. Soil available Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn didn't directly affect the activity of soil catalase, but indirectly inhibited it significantly. Soil physical and chemical properties had greater effects on soil enzyme activities, e.g., alkaline-hydrolyzable N directly inhibited the activity of soil urease, total P directly stimulated the activities of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase and catalase and indirectly stimulated the activity of soil cellulase via available P, available P directly promoted the activity of soil cellulase but inhibited the activities of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase and catalase, total K directly inhibited the activities of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase and polyphenol oxidase, available K stimulated the activity of soil catalase via available P, and particle composition had significant effects on the activities of soil polyphenol oxidase and catalase. The above results demonstrated that because of the complicated and uncertain relationships between the contents of soil Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu and the activities of the five soil enzymes, it should be cautious to use the test enzyme activities to indicate soil heavy metals pollution.

Soil arsenic availability and the transfer of soil arsenic to crops in suburban areas in Fujian Province, southeast China.

The bioavailability, soil-to-plant transfer and associated health risks of arsenic in soils collected from paddy rice fields and vegetable fields in suburban areas of some major cities of Fujian Province were investigated. The total soil concentrations of arsenic ranged from 1.29 to 25.28 mg kg(-)(1) with a mean of 6.09 mg kg(-)(1). Available (NaH(2)PO(4)-extractable) arsenic content accounted for 0.7-38.2% of total soil arsenic and was significantly correlated with total soil arsenic content. For the vegetable soils, the available fraction (ratio of available As to total As) of arsenic decreased with decreasing silt (particle size 0.02-0.002 mm) and free iron (DCB extractable) contents and with increasing soil pH and organic matter content. The available fraction of arsenic in the paddy rice soils increased with increasing free iron and organic matter contents and decreasing soil pH and silt content. The correlation of NaH(2)PO(4)-extractable arsenic with the arsenic concentration of the vegetables was much better than that of total As. The transfer factor based on the soil available arsenic (TF(avail)) was chosen to compare the accumulation ability of the various crops. The TF(avail) values of rice grains (air-dried weight basis) ranged between 0.068 and 0.44 and were higher than those of the vegetables, ranging from 0.001 to 0.12. The accumulation ability of the crops decreased in the order of rice>radish>water spinach>celery>onion>taro>leaf mustard>fragrant-flowered garlic>pakchoi>Chinese cabbage>lettuce>garlic>cowpea>cauliflower>bottle gourd>towel gourd>eggplant. Daily consumption of rice and other As-rich vegetables could result in an excessive intake of arsenic, based on the provisional tolerable intake for adults for arsenic recommended by WHO.

Transfer characteristics of cadmium and lead from soil to the edible parts of six vegetable species in southeastern China.

The transfer characteristics of Cd and Pb from soils to the edible parts of six vegetable species were calculated from plant and corresponding surface soil samples collected from the fields in Fujian Province, southeastern China. The soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF) calculated from both total and DTPA-extractable Cd and Pb in the soils decreased with increasing total or DTPA-extractable Cd and Pb, indicating that the TF values of Cd and Pb depend on the soil metal content. For most plants studied, there was a significant relation between the TF values and the corresponding soil metal concentrations (total or DTPA-extractable) that was best described by an exponential equation (y=axb). We recommend that the representative TF value for a given crop-metal system should be estimated from the regression models between the transfer factors and the corresponding soil metal concentrations and at a given soil metal concentration.