Li-metal batteries(LMBs)regain research prominence owing to the ever-increasing high-energy requirements.Commercially available carbonate electrolytes exhibit unfavourable parasitic reactions with Limetal anode(LMA),l...Li-metal batteries(LMBs)regain research prominence owing to the ever-increasing high-energy requirements.Commercially available carbonate electrolytes exhibit unfavourable parasitic reactions with Limetal anode(LMA),leading to the formation of unstable solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)and the breed of Li dendrites/dead Li.Significantly,lithium nitrate(LiNO_(3)),an excellent film-forming additive,proves crucial to construct a robust Li_(3)N/Li_(2)O/Li_(x)NO_(y)-rich SEI after combining with ether-based electrolytes.Thus,the given challenge leads to natural ideas which suggest the incorporation of LiNO_(3) into commercial carbonate for practical LMBs.Regrettably,LiNO_(3) demonstrates limited solubility(~800 ppm)in commercial carbonate electrolytes.Thence,developing stable SEI and dendrite-free LMA with the incorporation of LiNO_(3) into carbonate electrolytes is an efficacious strategy to realize robust LMBs via a scalable and cost-effective route.Therefore,this review unravels the grievances between LMA,LiNO_(3)and carbonate electrolytes,and enables a comprehensive analysis of LMA stabilizing mechanism with LiNO_(3),dissolution principle of LiNO_(3) in carbonate electrolytes,and LiNO_(3) introduction strategies.This review converges attention on a point that the LiNO_(3)-introduction into commercial carbonate electrolytes is an imperious choice to realize practical LMBs with commercial 4 V layered cathode.展开更多
The current study investigates the toxic effects of acute dose of an endocrine disruptor atrazine on Grass carp (<em>Ctenepharyngodon idella</em>) using histopathological changes as biomarkers. Histopathol...The current study investigates the toxic effects of acute dose of an endocrine disruptor atrazine on Grass carp (<em>Ctenepharyngodon idella</em>) using histopathological changes as biomarkers. Histopathology is promising field for research in aquatic toxicology, in this manner vital organs;brain, gills, and liver tissues were inspected histological after exposing to sublethal groupings of atrazine 0.025 and 0.03 μl/L for 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 days individually with equal untreated control group. Against various doses, rapid movements, gulping of air and jumping of fish to scat from toxic medium were noticed. Various severe (+++) morphological modifications in tissue were documented in comparison with control group comprised of degenerated neurons, vacuolization, inflammatory cells infiltration and neural necrosis in brain tissue. The most well-known gills tissue alteration at all concentrations of atrazine was epithelial hyperplasia, desquamation, epithelial lifting and smaller aneurism while hepatic injuries were described by overcast expanding of hepatocytes esteemed as cloudy swelling of hepatocytes followed by karyolysis, karyohexis and dilation of sinusoids which shows that atrazine introduction upgraded the toxicosis impacts with the increase concentration, influenced the strength of the fish, inferable from histological inconsistencies.展开更多
Lead-based halide perovskites have emerged as excellent semiconductors for a broad range of optoelectronic applications, such as photovoltaics, lighting, lasing and photon detection. However, toxicity of lead and poor...Lead-based halide perovskites have emerged as excellent semiconductors for a broad range of optoelectronic applications, such as photovoltaics, lighting, lasing and photon detection. However, toxicity of lead and poor stability still represent significant challenges. Fortunately, halide double perovskite materials with formula of A_2M(I)M(III)X_6 or A_2M(IV)X_6 could be potentially regarded as stable and green alternatives for optoelectronic applications, where two divalent lead ions are substituted by combining one monovalent and one trivalent ions, or one tetravalent ion. Here, the article provides an up-to-date review on the developments of halide double perovskite materials and their related optoelectronic applications including photodetectors, X-ray detectors, photocatalyst, light-emitting diodes and solar cells. The synthesized halide double perovskite materials exhibit exceptional stability, and a few possess superior optoelectronic properties. However, the number of synthesized halide double perovskites is limited, and more limited materials have been developed for optoelectronic applications to date. In addition, the band structures and carrier transport properties of the materials are still not desired, and the films still manifest low quality for photovoltaic applications. Therefore, we propose that continuing e orts are needed to develop more halide double perovskites, modulate the properties and grow high-quality films, with the aim of opening the wild practical applications.展开更多
Dimethoxymethane(DMM),a diesel blend fuel,is being researched with high interest recently due to its unique fuel properties.It is commercially produced via a two step-process of methanol oxidation to make formaldehyde...Dimethoxymethane(DMM),a diesel blend fuel,is being researched with high interest recently due to its unique fuel properties.It is commercially produced via a two step-process of methanol oxidation to make formaldehyde,followed by its condensation with methanol.This study presents a one-pot method of DMM synthesis from methanol mediated carbon dioxide hydrogenation over novel heterogeneous catalysts.The effect of catalyst pore structure was investigated by synthesizing 3 wt%Ru over novel hierarchical zeolite beta(HBEASX)and comparing against Ru doped commercial zeolite beta(CBEA)and desilicated hierarchical zeolite beta(HBZDS).The results showed that 3%Ru/HBEASX provided the best activity for DMM production due to its large average pore size.It also showed the decisive role of SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)molar ratio,with SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)=75 providing the highest DMM yield of 13.2 mmol/gcat.LMeOH with ca.100%selectivity.The activity of 3%Ru/HBEAS3 after 5 recycle steps demonstrated the reusability of this catalyst.展开更多
AIM: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and their association with possible transmission routes in the general population of Lahore, as the data exclusively related to this city is limi...AIM: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and their association with possible transmission routes in the general population of Lahore, as the data exclusively related to this city is limited. METHODS: Complete data regarding patient's history, possible route of infection and biochemical tests was collected from the public hospital for 1364 patients. SPSS version 16 windows software was used for data analysis by univariate and multivariate techniques. RESULTS: Age range ≤ 40 years showed high prevalence of HCV infection. HCV genotype 3a was dominant (55.9%), followed by 1a (23.6%), 4a (12.5%), 3b (3.2%), untypable (2.5%), 4b (1.2%) and mixed type (1.2%). Blood transfusion, dental surgery and barber shops were the main risk factors for HCV transmission. Genotype prevalence was independent of age (P = 0.971) and gender (P = 0.122) while risk factors showed a significant association with age (P = 0.000) and genotypes (P = 0.000). We observed an independent association of risk factors and genotype 3a, while patients with genotype 1 and 4 were mostly infected due to dental surgery blood transfusion and barber shops. Risk factors of intravenous drug use and sexual exposure were exclusively found in ≤ 40 years age group. CONCLUSION: An increase in genotypes 1a and 4a suggest migration of people, possibly from Balochistan and the northern war-zone area. Government should focus on public education regarding infection routes.展开更多
The objective of this research was to enhance adsorption capacity of Acacia nilotica(keekar) sawdust for the abatement of chromium bearing wastewater and to investigate the effect of process parameters on adsorption c...The objective of this research was to enhance adsorption capacity of Acacia nilotica(keekar) sawdust for the abatement of chromium bearing wastewater and to investigate the effect of process parameters on adsorption capacity. The sawdust was activated by acid wash and functionalized subsequently with formaldehyde.Functionalization of activated sawdust raised its chromium removal efficiency of almost 10% as compared to its adsorption removal efficiency of HCl treated sawdust in a batch adsorption study. Adsorption kinetic data provided better fitting with pseudo second order model. Maximum adsorption capacity calculated through the best fitting Langmuir model was 6.34 mg·g^(-1) and 8.2 mg·g^(-1) for HCl treated and formaldehyde functionalized sawdust adsorbents, respectively. The adsorption of Cr(Ⅵ) was endothermic when studied by varying temperature from 20 °C to 50 °C for both activated and functionalized adsorbents.展开更多
We applied the reduced graphene oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/nickel oxide(RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O)nanocomposite as the counter electrode(CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates b...We applied the reduced graphene oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/nickel oxide(RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O)nanocomposite as the counter electrode(CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates by blade doctor method. Power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 8.13 % was achieved for this DSSCs device, which is higher than that of DSSCs devices using Ni O, RGO, and RGO/Ni O-CE(PCE = 2.71 %, PCE = 6.77 % and PCE = 7.63 %). Also, the fill factor of the DSSCs devices using the RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O-CE was better than that of other CEs. The electron transfer measurement of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O film could provide fast electron transfer between the CE and the electrolyte, and high electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of triiodide in a CE based on RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O in a DSSC.展开更多
Several toxic compounds are known to induce apoptosis in mammalian cell lines.The human neuroblastoma cells(SHSH-SY5Y)were exposed to the phosphatase inhibiting toxin okadaic acid(OA)or hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)to induc...Several toxic compounds are known to induce apoptosis in mammalian cell lines.The human neuroblastoma cells(SHSH-SY5Y)were exposed to the phosphatase inhibiting toxin okadaic acid(OA)or hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)to induce apoptosis as well as generate reactive oxygen species(ROS).Mitoxantrone(MXT)was used as a positive control for apoptosis.The SHSH-SY5Y cells were transfected with eukaryotic expression plasmid pHyPer-dMito encoding mitochondrial-targeted fluorescent or pHyPer-dCito encoding cytoplasmic-targeted fluorescent sensor for hydrogen peroxide(HyPer).The ERp57,also called GRP58(Glucose-regulated protein 58),is a stress protein induced in conditions like glucose starvation and viral infection.Recently ERp57 was shown to translocate from the endoplasmatic reticulum to the cell surface in anthracycline-induced apoptotic cells.ERp57 co-translocation together with calreticulin has been suggested to be crucial for recognizing tumor cells to induce immunogenic cell death.ERp57 translocation after exposure to okadaic acid was studied using immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy.These studies indicated that okadaic acid has induced the translocation of ERp57 to the cellular membrane.展开更多
The present study deals with the depositional facies, diagenetic processes and sequence stratigraphy of the shallow marine carbonates of the Samana Suk Formation, Kohat Basin, in order to elucidate its reservoir quali...The present study deals with the depositional facies, diagenetic processes and sequence stratigraphy of the shallow marine carbonates of the Samana Suk Formation, Kohat Basin, in order to elucidate its reservoir quality. The Samana Suk Formation consists of thin to thick-bedded, oolitic, bioclastic, dolomitic and fractured limestone. Based on the integration of outcrop, petrographic and biofacies analyses, the unit is thought to have been deposited on a gentle homoclinal ramp in peritidal, lagoonal and carbonate shoal settings. Frequent variations in microfacies based sea-level curve have revealed seven Transgressive Systems Tracts(TSTs) and six Regressive Systems Tracts(RSTs). The unit has undergone various stages of diagenetic processes, including mechanical and chemical compaction, cementation,micritization, dissolution and dolomitization. The petrographic analyses show the evolution of porosity in various depositional and diagenetic phases. The fenestral porosity was mainly developed in peritidal carbonates during deposition,while the burial dissolution and diagenetic dolomitization have greatly enhanced the reservoir potential of the rock unit, as is further confirmed by the plug porosity and permeability analyses. The porosities and permeabilities were higher in shoal facies deposited in TSTs, as compared to lagoonal and peritidal facies, except for the dolomite in mudstone, deposited during RSTs. Hence good, moderate and poor reservoir potential is suggested for shoal, lagoonal and peritidal facies,respectively.展开更多
Development of fingerprints based on DNA markers is necessary for proper identification and standardization of plant species. These techniques are widely used to develop an unquestionable method of plant identificatio...Development of fingerprints based on DNA markers is necessary for proper identification and standardization of plant species. These techniques are widely used to develop an unquestionable method of plant identification to protect the patents and quality control for industry. In this study, fifteen commercially important medicinal plants of Pakistan were collected from botanical garden of Qarshi Industries (Pvt.) Ltd, Pakistan. The objective was to optimize the extraction of genomic DNA for use in a PCR-based random amplified polymorphic DNA marker approach. The initial protocol used 60 decamers to amplify scorable amplicons;only nine markers produced significant bands in genomic DNA of medicinal plants. These markers generated 51 bands ranging between 250 and 1600 bp. The most important property of genomic markers is polymorphism to enable specific identification;all the used markers showed 100% polymorphism across 15 different plants. Further, six decamers amplified specific bands to reliably identify 8 species. The amplified bands were arranged in a binary matrix and analyzed by DNAMAN version 5.2.2 statistical software. A homology tree was constructed using binary data for nine markers, and four major clusters/clades were observed. The Rose, Mentha and Stevia accessions had shown clear clustering and grouped in major clusters/clads I, II and III respectively. Sixty decamers amplified 51 polymorphic loci in the genomes of 15 commercially valuable accessions. Moreover clear phylogenetic construction was observed in the generation of homolog tree. This protocol could therefore be useful to provide a baseline to authenticate, identify and perform phylogenetic analysis of important medicinal plants used in the Pakistani herbal medicine industry.展开更多
This paper reports the findings regarding morphology, DNA markers and fruit quality of Solanum muricatum L., a newly introduced fruit in Hazara University, Pakistan, and other locally grown members of the Solanaceae f...This paper reports the findings regarding morphology, DNA markers and fruit quality of Solanum muricatum L., a newly introduced fruit in Hazara University, Pakistan, and other locally grown members of the Solanaceae family. In this study, RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic NA) based PCR report on phylogenetic affinities of pepino with brinjal, chilies, potato and tomato was also included. Total genomic DNA was isolated and 120 arbitrary decamers were applied to the genomic DNA of all these species. Only five out of the 120 decamers produced 27 polymorphic loci with the range of 400 - 1400 bp. We observed the specificity of markers, and primer B-08 amplified 700 bp locus linked to Solanum muricatum L., (Pepino), which could be used to identify this particular species of this family. Cluster analysis was also performed using the DNAMAN software (version 5.2.2.0) against the bivariate data collected from the products of several decamers. The UPGMA (Unweighted pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) analyses depicted three distinct groups, i.e. group I sorted out brinjal-tomato, group II sorted out chili-potato and pepino sorted out into its independent group III. Though on the basis of morphological traits pepino clustered with tomato, its DNA analyses proved it as a distinct species, far more related to the tomato. Moreover a total six parameters in biochemical analysis were studied, which revealed that pepino is a juicy fruit with maximum 93.25% moisture. This study could be helpful to maximize the new crop pepino in Pakistan.展开更多
A decrease in energy metabolism is associated with Alzheimer’s disease(AD),but it is not known whether the observed decrease exacerbates or protects against the disease.The importance of energy metabolism in AD is re...A decrease in energy metabolism is associated with Alzheimer’s disease(AD),but it is not known whether the observed decrease exacerbates or protects against the disease.The importance of energy metabolism in AD is reinforced by the observation that variants of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase(DLD),is genetically linked to late-onset AD.To determine whether DLD is a suitable therapeutic target,we suppressed the dld-1 gene in Caenorhabditis elegans that express human Ab peptide in either muscles or neurons.Suppression of the dld-1 gene resulted in significant restoration of vitality and function that had been degraded by Ab pathology.This included protection of neurons and muscles cells.The observed decrease in proteotoxicity was associated with a decrease in the formation of toxic oligomers rather than a decrease in the abundance of the Ab peptide.The mitochondrial uncoupler,carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone(FCCP),which like dld-1 gene expression inhibits ATP synthesis,had no significant effect on Ab toxicity.Proteomics data analysis revealed that beneficial effects after dld-1 suppression could be due to change in energy metabolism and activation of the pathways associated with proteasomal degradation,improved cell signaling and longevity.Thus,some features unique to dld-1 gene suppression are responsible for the therapeutic benefit.By direct genetic intervention,we have shown that acute inhibition of dld-1 gene function may be therapeutically beneficial.This result supports the hypothesis that lowering energy metabolism protects against Ab pathogenicity and that DLD warrants further investigation as a therapeutic target.展开更多
Enhancement of open-circuit voltage(Voc)is an effective way to improve power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the perovskite solar cells(PSCs).Theoretically,work function engineering of TiO2 electron transport layer can r...Enhancement of open-circuit voltage(Voc)is an effective way to improve power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the perovskite solar cells(PSCs).Theoretically,work function engineering of TiO2 electron transport layer can reduce both the loss of Voc and current hysteresis in PSCs.In this work,two-dimensional g-C_(3)N_(4) nanosheets were adopted to modify the compact TiO2 layers in planar PSCs,which can finely tune the work function(WF)and further improve the energy level alignment at the interface to enhance the Voc and diminish the hysteresis.Meanwhile,the quality of perovskite films and charge transfer of the devices were improved by g-C_(3)N_(4) nanosheets.Therefore,the PCE of the planar PSCs was champed to 19.55%without obvious hysteresis compared with the initial 15.81%,mainly owing to the remarkable improvement of VOC from 1.01 to 1.11 V.In addition,the stability of the devices was obviously improved.The results demonstrate an effective strategy of W_(F) engineering to enhance Voc and diminish hysteresis phenomenon for improving the performance of PSCs.展开更多
Chronic Hepatitis C Viral(HCV)infection is a leading health problem worldwide and resulted in fibrotic scar formation,and finally liver-cirrhosis.Although contemporary therapies can partially reverse this destructive ...Chronic Hepatitis C Viral(HCV)infection is a leading health problem worldwide and resulted in fibrotic scar formation,and finally liver-cirrhosis.Although contemporary therapies can partially reverse this destructive process,the rehabilitation is too slow and unsuitable for all chronic infections.The current study elucidates the mechanism of disease progression from early(F1)to moderate(F2,F3),and to severe fibrosis(F4)/cirrhosis in HCV genotype 3a infected patients to find out new candidates as potential disease progression markers and antiviral therapeutic agents.A total of 550 genes were found differentially regulated in the four fibrosis stages and grouped in 22 classes according to their biological functions.Gene set enrichment(GSEA)and Ingenuity pathway analysis(IPA)were used to identify the regulation of crucial biological functions and pathways involved in HCV progression.HCV differentially regulated the expression of genes involved in apoptosis,cell structure,signal transduction,proliferation,metabolism,cytokine signaling,immune response,cell adhesion and maintenance,and post translational modifications by pathway analysis.There was an increasing trend of proliferative and cell growth related genes and shutting down of immune response as the disease progress mild to moderate to advanced stage cirrhosis.The myriad of changes in gene expression showed more chances of developing liver cancer in patients infected with HCV genotype 3a in a systematic manner.The identified gene set can act as disease markers for prediction,whether the fibrosis lead to cirrhosis and its association with end stage liver disease development.展开更多
Culturing has been the cornerstone of microbiology since Robert Koch first successfully cultured bacteria in the late nineteenth century. However, even today, the majority of microorganisms in the marine environment r...Culturing has been the cornerstone of microbiology since Robert Koch first successfully cultured bacteria in the late nineteenth century. However, even today, the majority of microorganisms in the marine environment remain uncultivated. There are various explanations for the inability to culture bacteria in the laboratory, including lack of essential nutrients, osmotic support or incubation conditions, low growth rate, development of micro-colonies, and the presence of senescent or viable but nonculturable (VBNC) cells. In the marine environment, many bacteria have been associated with dormancy, as typified by the VBNC state. VBNC refers to a state where bacteria are metabolically active, but are no longer culturable on routine growth media. It is apparently a unique survival strategy that has been adopted by many microorganisms in response to harsh environmental conditions and the bacterial cells in the VBNC state may regain culturability under favorable conditions. The resuscitation of VBNC cells may well be an important way to cultivate the otherwise uncultured microorganisms in marine environments. Many resuscitation stimuli that promote the restoration of culturability have so far been identified;these include sodium pyruvate, quorum sensing autoinducers, resuscitation-promoting factors Rpfs and YeaZ, and catalase. In this review, we focus on the issues associated with bacterial culturability, the diversity of bacteria entering the VBNC state, mechanisms of induction into the VBNC state, resuscitation factors of VBNC cells and implications of VBNC resuscitation stimuli for cultivating these otherwise uncultured microorganisms. Bringing important microorganisms into culture is still important in the era of high-throughput sequencing as their ecological functions in the marine environment can often only be known through isolation and cultivation.展开更多
Perovskite solar cells(Pero-SCs)exhibited a bright future for the next generation of photovoltaic technology because of their high power conversion efficiency(PCE),low cost,and simple solution process.The certified la...Perovskite solar cells(Pero-SCs)exhibited a bright future for the next generation of photovoltaic technology because of their high power conversion efficiency(PCE),low cost,and simple solution process.The certified laboratory-scale PCE has reached 25.7%referred to small scale(<0.1 cm^(2))of Pero-SCs.However,with the increase of the area to module scale,the PCE drops dramatically mainly due to the inadequate regulation of growing large-area perovskite films.Therefore,there is a dire need to produce high-quality perovskite films for large-area photovoltaic modules.Herein,we summarize the recent advances in perovskite photovoltaic modules(PPMs)with particular attention paid to the coating methods,as well as the growth regulation of the high-quality and large-area perovskite films.Furthermore,this study encompasses future development directions and prospects for PPMs.展开更多
基金the support by the Leading Innovative and Entrepreneur Team Introduction Program of Zhejiang(2019R01006)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC:12205252)+3 种基金A Project Supported by Scientific Research Fund of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department(Y202250795)the Research Funds of Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou,the Basic Public Welfare Research Special Project of Zhejiang Province(LZY22B040001)the Science and Technology Project of Quzhou Research Institute,Zhejiang University(IZQ2021KJ2032)the Independent Scientific Research Project of Quzhou Research Institute,Zhejiang University(IZQ2021RCZX007)。
文摘Li-metal batteries(LMBs)regain research prominence owing to the ever-increasing high-energy requirements.Commercially available carbonate electrolytes exhibit unfavourable parasitic reactions with Limetal anode(LMA),leading to the formation of unstable solid electrolyte interphase(SEI)and the breed of Li dendrites/dead Li.Significantly,lithium nitrate(LiNO_(3)),an excellent film-forming additive,proves crucial to construct a robust Li_(3)N/Li_(2)O/Li_(x)NO_(y)-rich SEI after combining with ether-based electrolytes.Thus,the given challenge leads to natural ideas which suggest the incorporation of LiNO_(3) into commercial carbonate for practical LMBs.Regrettably,LiNO_(3) demonstrates limited solubility(~800 ppm)in commercial carbonate electrolytes.Thence,developing stable SEI and dendrite-free LMA with the incorporation of LiNO_(3) into carbonate electrolytes is an efficacious strategy to realize robust LMBs via a scalable and cost-effective route.Therefore,this review unravels the grievances between LMA,LiNO_(3)and carbonate electrolytes,and enables a comprehensive analysis of LMA stabilizing mechanism with LiNO_(3),dissolution principle of LiNO_(3) in carbonate electrolytes,and LiNO_(3) introduction strategies.This review converges attention on a point that the LiNO_(3)-introduction into commercial carbonate electrolytes is an imperious choice to realize practical LMBs with commercial 4 V layered cathode.
文摘The current study investigates the toxic effects of acute dose of an endocrine disruptor atrazine on Grass carp (<em>Ctenepharyngodon idella</em>) using histopathological changes as biomarkers. Histopathology is promising field for research in aquatic toxicology, in this manner vital organs;brain, gills, and liver tissues were inspected histological after exposing to sublethal groupings of atrazine 0.025 and 0.03 μl/L for 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 days individually with equal untreated control group. Against various doses, rapid movements, gulping of air and jumping of fish to scat from toxic medium were noticed. Various severe (+++) morphological modifications in tissue were documented in comparison with control group comprised of degenerated neurons, vacuolization, inflammatory cells infiltration and neural necrosis in brain tissue. The most well-known gills tissue alteration at all concentrations of atrazine was epithelial hyperplasia, desquamation, epithelial lifting and smaller aneurism while hepatic injuries were described by overcast expanding of hepatocytes esteemed as cloudy swelling of hepatocytes followed by karyolysis, karyohexis and dilation of sinusoids which shows that atrazine introduction upgraded the toxicosis impacts with the increase concentration, influenced the strength of the fish, inferable from histological inconsistencies.
基金supported by the Ministry of Education of China (IRT1148)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1732126, 11804166, 51602161, 51372119)+3 种基金the National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M630587)the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (YX03001)the Natural Science Foundation of NJUPT (NY217091)
文摘Lead-based halide perovskites have emerged as excellent semiconductors for a broad range of optoelectronic applications, such as photovoltaics, lighting, lasing and photon detection. However, toxicity of lead and poor stability still represent significant challenges. Fortunately, halide double perovskite materials with formula of A_2M(I)M(III)X_6 or A_2M(IV)X_6 could be potentially regarded as stable and green alternatives for optoelectronic applications, where two divalent lead ions are substituted by combining one monovalent and one trivalent ions, or one tetravalent ion. Here, the article provides an up-to-date review on the developments of halide double perovskite materials and their related optoelectronic applications including photodetectors, X-ray detectors, photocatalyst, light-emitting diodes and solar cells. The synthesized halide double perovskite materials exhibit exceptional stability, and a few possess superior optoelectronic properties. However, the number of synthesized halide double perovskites is limited, and more limited materials have been developed for optoelectronic applications to date. In addition, the band structures and carrier transport properties of the materials are still not desired, and the films still manifest low quality for photovoltaic applications. Therefore, we propose that continuing e orts are needed to develop more halide double perovskites, modulate the properties and grow high-quality films, with the aim of opening the wild practical applications.
基金Australian Research Council(Grant No.DP170104017)for the financial support of this projectAT and AS received financial support from the Institute for Catalysis,Hokkaido University as part of their Strategic Research Fellowship grant schemesupported by the Cooperative Research Program of Institute for Catalysis,Hokkaido University(Proposal No.19A1005)。
文摘Dimethoxymethane(DMM),a diesel blend fuel,is being researched with high interest recently due to its unique fuel properties.It is commercially produced via a two step-process of methanol oxidation to make formaldehyde,followed by its condensation with methanol.This study presents a one-pot method of DMM synthesis from methanol mediated carbon dioxide hydrogenation over novel heterogeneous catalysts.The effect of catalyst pore structure was investigated by synthesizing 3 wt%Ru over novel hierarchical zeolite beta(HBEASX)and comparing against Ru doped commercial zeolite beta(CBEA)and desilicated hierarchical zeolite beta(HBZDS).The results showed that 3%Ru/HBEASX provided the best activity for DMM production due to its large average pore size.It also showed the decisive role of SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)molar ratio,with SiO_(2)/Al_(2)O_(3)=75 providing the highest DMM yield of 13.2 mmol/gcat.LMeOH with ca.100%selectivity.The activity of 3%Ru/HBEAS3 after 5 recycle steps demonstrated the reusability of this catalyst.
基金Supported by Prime Minister Program for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis in Pakistan (2005-2010)Grant # 863 by Higher Education Commission
文摘AIM: To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and their association with possible transmission routes in the general population of Lahore, as the data exclusively related to this city is limited. METHODS: Complete data regarding patient's history, possible route of infection and biochemical tests was collected from the public hospital for 1364 patients. SPSS version 16 windows software was used for data analysis by univariate and multivariate techniques. RESULTS: Age range ≤ 40 years showed high prevalence of HCV infection. HCV genotype 3a was dominant (55.9%), followed by 1a (23.6%), 4a (12.5%), 3b (3.2%), untypable (2.5%), 4b (1.2%) and mixed type (1.2%). Blood transfusion, dental surgery and barber shops were the main risk factors for HCV transmission. Genotype prevalence was independent of age (P = 0.971) and gender (P = 0.122) while risk factors showed a significant association with age (P = 0.000) and genotypes (P = 0.000). We observed an independent association of risk factors and genotype 3a, while patients with genotype 1 and 4 were mostly infected due to dental surgery blood transfusion and barber shops. Risk factors of intravenous drug use and sexual exposure were exclusively found in ≤ 40 years age group. CONCLUSION: An increase in genotypes 1a and 4a suggest migration of people, possibly from Balochistan and the northern war-zone area. Government should focus on public education regarding infection routes.
文摘The objective of this research was to enhance adsorption capacity of Acacia nilotica(keekar) sawdust for the abatement of chromium bearing wastewater and to investigate the effect of process parameters on adsorption capacity. The sawdust was activated by acid wash and functionalized subsequently with formaldehyde.Functionalization of activated sawdust raised its chromium removal efficiency of almost 10% as compared to its adsorption removal efficiency of HCl treated sawdust in a batch adsorption study. Adsorption kinetic data provided better fitting with pseudo second order model. Maximum adsorption capacity calculated through the best fitting Langmuir model was 6.34 mg·g^(-1) and 8.2 mg·g^(-1) for HCl treated and formaldehyde functionalized sawdust adsorbents, respectively. The adsorption of Cr(Ⅵ) was endothermic when studied by varying temperature from 20 °C to 50 °C for both activated and functionalized adsorbents.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program(2011CB933300)of Chinathe National Natural Science Foundation of China(11374110,11204093,51371085,and 11304106)
文摘We applied the reduced graphene oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/nickel oxide(RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O)nanocomposite as the counter electrode(CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells(DSSCs) on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates by blade doctor method. Power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 8.13 % was achieved for this DSSCs device, which is higher than that of DSSCs devices using Ni O, RGO, and RGO/Ni O-CE(PCE = 2.71 %, PCE = 6.77 % and PCE = 7.63 %). Also, the fill factor of the DSSCs devices using the RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O-CE was better than that of other CEs. The electron transfer measurement of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O film could provide fast electron transfer between the CE and the electrolyte, and high electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of triiodide in a CE based on RGO/MWCNTs/Ni O in a DSSC.
文摘Several toxic compounds are known to induce apoptosis in mammalian cell lines.The human neuroblastoma cells(SHSH-SY5Y)were exposed to the phosphatase inhibiting toxin okadaic acid(OA)or hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)to induce apoptosis as well as generate reactive oxygen species(ROS).Mitoxantrone(MXT)was used as a positive control for apoptosis.The SHSH-SY5Y cells were transfected with eukaryotic expression plasmid pHyPer-dMito encoding mitochondrial-targeted fluorescent or pHyPer-dCito encoding cytoplasmic-targeted fluorescent sensor for hydrogen peroxide(HyPer).The ERp57,also called GRP58(Glucose-regulated protein 58),is a stress protein induced in conditions like glucose starvation and viral infection.Recently ERp57 was shown to translocate from the endoplasmatic reticulum to the cell surface in anthracycline-induced apoptotic cells.ERp57 co-translocation together with calreticulin has been suggested to be crucial for recognizing tumor cells to induce immunogenic cell death.ERp57 translocation after exposure to okadaic acid was studied using immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy.These studies indicated that okadaic acid has induced the translocation of ERp57 to the cellular membrane.
文摘The present study deals with the depositional facies, diagenetic processes and sequence stratigraphy of the shallow marine carbonates of the Samana Suk Formation, Kohat Basin, in order to elucidate its reservoir quality. The Samana Suk Formation consists of thin to thick-bedded, oolitic, bioclastic, dolomitic and fractured limestone. Based on the integration of outcrop, petrographic and biofacies analyses, the unit is thought to have been deposited on a gentle homoclinal ramp in peritidal, lagoonal and carbonate shoal settings. Frequent variations in microfacies based sea-level curve have revealed seven Transgressive Systems Tracts(TSTs) and six Regressive Systems Tracts(RSTs). The unit has undergone various stages of diagenetic processes, including mechanical and chemical compaction, cementation,micritization, dissolution and dolomitization. The petrographic analyses show the evolution of porosity in various depositional and diagenetic phases. The fenestral porosity was mainly developed in peritidal carbonates during deposition,while the burial dissolution and diagenetic dolomitization have greatly enhanced the reservoir potential of the rock unit, as is further confirmed by the plug porosity and permeability analyses. The porosities and permeabilities were higher in shoal facies deposited in TSTs, as compared to lagoonal and peritidal facies, except for the dolomite in mudstone, deposited during RSTs. Hence good, moderate and poor reservoir potential is suggested for shoal, lagoonal and peritidal facies,respectively.
文摘公司 -- 催化表面上的反应都没被 usingLangmuir-Hinshelwood 学习有蒙特卡罗的热机制计算机模拟。在这个模型，当这些分子在表面上被使用化学方法吸附时，椰子排斥的一个新奇概念被介绍，它由于偶极子的形成有试验性的证据。系统被使用没有分离的二条途径调查。嗨第一个案例，总是不在表面上在吸附前分解成 N 和 O。在第二个案例中，不分子地在表面上吸附然后如果一个空缺在它的邻近的邻居是在场的，分裂进 N 和 O。稳定的州的反应窗户(即 CO2 和 N-2 的连续生产) 在表面上仅仅与 N 原子的散开被获得，它在第一个案例中与椰子排斥延长。在第二个案例中，然而，反应窗户独自与椰子排斥被获得。在这种情况中的反应窗户宽度相当大。一阶的阶段转变在两个被消除案例 withCO 公司排斥。
文摘Development of fingerprints based on DNA markers is necessary for proper identification and standardization of plant species. These techniques are widely used to develop an unquestionable method of plant identification to protect the patents and quality control for industry. In this study, fifteen commercially important medicinal plants of Pakistan were collected from botanical garden of Qarshi Industries (Pvt.) Ltd, Pakistan. The objective was to optimize the extraction of genomic DNA for use in a PCR-based random amplified polymorphic DNA marker approach. The initial protocol used 60 decamers to amplify scorable amplicons;only nine markers produced significant bands in genomic DNA of medicinal plants. These markers generated 51 bands ranging between 250 and 1600 bp. The most important property of genomic markers is polymorphism to enable specific identification;all the used markers showed 100% polymorphism across 15 different plants. Further, six decamers amplified specific bands to reliably identify 8 species. The amplified bands were arranged in a binary matrix and analyzed by DNAMAN version 5.2.2 statistical software. A homology tree was constructed using binary data for nine markers, and four major clusters/clades were observed. The Rose, Mentha and Stevia accessions had shown clear clustering and grouped in major clusters/clads I, II and III respectively. Sixty decamers amplified 51 polymorphic loci in the genomes of 15 commercially valuable accessions. Moreover clear phylogenetic construction was observed in the generation of homolog tree. This protocol could therefore be useful to provide a baseline to authenticate, identify and perform phylogenetic analysis of important medicinal plants used in the Pakistani herbal medicine industry.
文摘This paper reports the findings regarding morphology, DNA markers and fruit quality of Solanum muricatum L., a newly introduced fruit in Hazara University, Pakistan, and other locally grown members of the Solanaceae family. In this study, RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic NA) based PCR report on phylogenetic affinities of pepino with brinjal, chilies, potato and tomato was also included. Total genomic DNA was isolated and 120 arbitrary decamers were applied to the genomic DNA of all these species. Only five out of the 120 decamers produced 27 polymorphic loci with the range of 400 - 1400 bp. We observed the specificity of markers, and primer B-08 amplified 700 bp locus linked to Solanum muricatum L., (Pepino), which could be used to identify this particular species of this family. Cluster analysis was also performed using the DNAMAN software (version 5.2.2.0) against the bivariate data collected from the products of several decamers. The UPGMA (Unweighted pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) analyses depicted three distinct groups, i.e. group I sorted out brinjal-tomato, group II sorted out chili-potato and pepino sorted out into its independent group III. Though on the basis of morphological traits pepino clustered with tomato, its DNA analyses proved it as a distinct species, far more related to the tomato. Moreover a total six parameters in biochemical analysis were studied, which revealed that pepino is a juicy fruit with maximum 93.25% moisture. This study could be helpful to maximize the new crop pepino in Pakistan.
基金The C.elegans strains were provided by the CGC,which is funded by NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs(P40 OD010440)WA was supported by a IPRS scholarship from the Australian Government and the University of Queensland.
文摘A decrease in energy metabolism is associated with Alzheimer’s disease(AD),but it is not known whether the observed decrease exacerbates or protects against the disease.The importance of energy metabolism in AD is reinforced by the observation that variants of dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase(DLD),is genetically linked to late-onset AD.To determine whether DLD is a suitable therapeutic target,we suppressed the dld-1 gene in Caenorhabditis elegans that express human Ab peptide in either muscles or neurons.Suppression of the dld-1 gene resulted in significant restoration of vitality and function that had been degraded by Ab pathology.This included protection of neurons and muscles cells.The observed decrease in proteotoxicity was associated with a decrease in the formation of toxic oligomers rather than a decrease in the abundance of the Ab peptide.The mitochondrial uncoupler,carbonyl cyanide 4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone(FCCP),which like dld-1 gene expression inhibits ATP synthesis,had no significant effect on Ab toxicity.Proteomics data analysis revealed that beneficial effects after dld-1 suppression could be due to change in energy metabolism and activation of the pathways associated with proteasomal degradation,improved cell signaling and longevity.Thus,some features unique to dld-1 gene suppression are responsible for the therapeutic benefit.By direct genetic intervention,we have shown that acute inhibition of dld-1 gene function may be therapeutically beneficial.This result supports the hypothesis that lowering energy metabolism protects against Ab pathogenicity and that DLD warrants further investigation as a therapeutic target.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.11804166 and 51372119)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2018M630587).
文摘Enhancement of open-circuit voltage(Voc)is an effective way to improve power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the perovskite solar cells(PSCs).Theoretically,work function engineering of TiO2 electron transport layer can reduce both the loss of Voc and current hysteresis in PSCs.In this work,two-dimensional g-C_(3)N_(4) nanosheets were adopted to modify the compact TiO2 layers in planar PSCs,which can finely tune the work function(WF)and further improve the energy level alignment at the interface to enhance the Voc and diminish the hysteresis.Meanwhile,the quality of perovskite films and charge transfer of the devices were improved by g-C_(3)N_(4) nanosheets.Therefore,the PCE of the planar PSCs was champed to 19.55%without obvious hysteresis compared with the initial 15.81%,mainly owing to the remarkable improvement of VOC from 1.01 to 1.11 V.In addition,the stability of the devices was obviously improved.The results demonstrate an effective strategy of W_(F) engineering to enhance Voc and diminish hysteresis phenomenon for improving the performance of PSCs.
文摘Chronic Hepatitis C Viral(HCV)infection is a leading health problem worldwide and resulted in fibrotic scar formation,and finally liver-cirrhosis.Although contemporary therapies can partially reverse this destructive process,the rehabilitation is too slow and unsuitable for all chronic infections.The current study elucidates the mechanism of disease progression from early(F1)to moderate(F2,F3),and to severe fibrosis(F4)/cirrhosis in HCV genotype 3a infected patients to find out new candidates as potential disease progression markers and antiviral therapeutic agents.A total of 550 genes were found differentially regulated in the four fibrosis stages and grouped in 22 classes according to their biological functions.Gene set enrichment(GSEA)and Ingenuity pathway analysis(IPA)were used to identify the regulation of crucial biological functions and pathways involved in HCV progression.HCV differentially regulated the expression of genes involved in apoptosis,cell structure,signal transduction,proliferation,metabolism,cytokine signaling,immune response,cell adhesion and maintenance,and post translational modifications by pathway analysis.There was an increasing trend of proliferative and cell growth related genes and shutting down of immune response as the disease progress mild to moderate to advanced stage cirrhosis.The myriad of changes in gene expression showed more chances of developing liver cancer in patients infected with HCV genotype 3a in a systematic manner.The identified gene set can act as disease markers for prediction,whether the fibrosis lead to cirrhosis and its association with end stage liver disease development.
基金The work was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2018YFE0124100)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.41730530 and 91751202)Marine S&T Fund of Shandong Province for Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology(Qingdao)(No.2018SDKJ0406-4).
文摘Culturing has been the cornerstone of microbiology since Robert Koch first successfully cultured bacteria in the late nineteenth century. However, even today, the majority of microorganisms in the marine environment remain uncultivated. There are various explanations for the inability to culture bacteria in the laboratory, including lack of essential nutrients, osmotic support or incubation conditions, low growth rate, development of micro-colonies, and the presence of senescent or viable but nonculturable (VBNC) cells. In the marine environment, many bacteria have been associated with dormancy, as typified by the VBNC state. VBNC refers to a state where bacteria are metabolically active, but are no longer culturable on routine growth media. It is apparently a unique survival strategy that has been adopted by many microorganisms in response to harsh environmental conditions and the bacterial cells in the VBNC state may regain culturability under favorable conditions. The resuscitation of VBNC cells may well be an important way to cultivate the otherwise uncultured microorganisms in marine environments. Many resuscitation stimuli that promote the restoration of culturability have so far been identified;these include sodium pyruvate, quorum sensing autoinducers, resuscitation-promoting factors Rpfs and YeaZ, and catalase. In this review, we focus on the issues associated with bacterial culturability, the diversity of bacteria entering the VBNC state, mechanisms of induction into the VBNC state, resuscitation factors of VBNC cells and implications of VBNC resuscitation stimuli for cultivating these otherwise uncultured microorganisms. Bringing important microorganisms into culture is still important in the era of high-throughput sequencing as their ecological functions in the marine environment can often only be known through isolation and cultivation.
基金This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52172205).
文摘Perovskite solar cells(Pero-SCs)exhibited a bright future for the next generation of photovoltaic technology because of their high power conversion efficiency(PCE),low cost,and simple solution process.The certified laboratory-scale PCE has reached 25.7%referred to small scale(<0.1 cm^(2))of Pero-SCs.However,with the increase of the area to module scale,the PCE drops dramatically mainly due to the inadequate regulation of growing large-area perovskite films.Therefore,there is a dire need to produce high-quality perovskite films for large-area photovoltaic modules.Herein,we summarize the recent advances in perovskite photovoltaic modules(PPMs)with particular attention paid to the coating methods,as well as the growth regulation of the high-quality and large-area perovskite films.Furthermore,this study encompasses future development directions and prospects for PPMs.
