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Yanlei Wang,* Zhaoxiang Liu,* Wenhui Zhao, Chenxiang Cao, Luqi Xiao, Jianzhong Xiao Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 102218, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jianzhong Xiao, Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University, No. 168 Litang Road, Changping District, Beijing, 102218, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +8610-5611-9057, Email xjza01150@btch.edu.cnBackground: Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome is characterized by tumorous lesions affecting multiple organs. Pancreatic involvement in VHL syndrome can present as endocrine tumors and pancreatic cysts, which can interfere with both exocrine and endocrine functions of the pancreas. Diabetes is an uncommon complication of VHL syndrome.Purpose: This study aims to summarize the various mechanisms of diabetes in VHL syndrome by reporting two cases and conducting a literature review.Methods: We analyzed the clinical and imaging data of two patients with VHL syndrome and diabetes. Additionally, we reviewed the existing literature to explore the clinical diversities and management strategies for VHL syndrome complicated with diabetes.Results: The first patient presented with liver metastasis of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor and multiple pheochromocytoma. After surgery, the patient’s diabetic control improved, as evidenced by a significant reduction in insulin dosage. This indicates a potential insulin resistance due to elevated metanephrine levels prior to surgery and partial insulin deficiency caused by distal pancreatectomy. The second patient had multiple hemangioblastomas, as well as multiple pancreatic cysts and positive pancreatic islet autoantibodies. Diabetes in this case may be attributed to pancreatic lesions and the coexistence of autoimmune insulitis. A literature r

Yi Zhang,1,2 Yanlei Wang,1,* Shengwu Zhang,1,* Yulin Zhang,3 Qiu Zhang1 On behalf of the China National Diabetic Chronic Complications Study Group1Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People’s Republic of China; 3The Second Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qiu Zhang, Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230022, People’s Republic of China, Email zhangqiu@ahmu.edu.cnBackground: Health risk factors (HRFs), including the adjustment of disturbed sleep patterns (including disorders and duration) and improvement of dietary intake, have become relatively novel and critical strategies to prevent the development of diabesity and treat diabetic complications.Objective: We aimed to explore 1) whether there was an association between diet styles (including healthy and unhealthy diets) and diabesity; 2) whether sleep patterns could moderate this relationship; and 3) whether there was a complex interaction association between sleep patterns, diet styles, and diabesity.Methods: The study was based on a national survey conducted by the China National Diabetic Chronic Complications Study Group, this study extracted data from some cities in Anhui Province and obtained basic and lifestyle information using a detailed questionnaire for analysis. The primary exposure was diet styles, and the outcomes were body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), while HbA1c and FBG and sleep patterns were moderators. Data were pooled using logistic regression and moderation analysis.Results: The overall response rate was 92.0%. This study ultimate

Circadian humidity fluctuation is an important factor that affects human life all over the world. Here we show that spherical cap-shaped ionic liquid drops sitting on nanowire array are able to continuously output electricity when exposed to outdoor air, which we attribute to the daily humidity fluctuation induced directional capillary flow. Specifically, ionic liquid drops could absorb/desorb water around the liquid/vapor interface and swell/shrink depending on air humidity fluctuation. While pinning of the drop by nanowire array suppresses advancing/receding of triple-phase contact line. To maintain the surface tension-regulated spherical cap profile, inward/outward flow arises for removing excess fluid from the edge or filling the perimeter with fluid from center. This moisture absorption/desorption-caused capillary flow is confirmed by in-situ microscope imaging. We conduct further research to reveal how environmental humidity affects flow rate and power generation performance. To further illustrate feasibility of our strategy, we combine the generators to light up a red diode and LCD screen. All these results present the great potential of tiny humidity fluctuation as an easily accessible anytime-and-anywhere small-scale green energy resource. © 2022, The Author(s).

Humidity-based power generation that converts internal energy of water molecules into electricity is an emerging approach for harvesting clean energy from nature. Here it is proposed that intrinsic gradient within a humidity field near sweating surfaces, such as rivers, soil, or animal skin, is a promising power resource when integrated with liquid-infused nanofluidics. Specifically, capillary-stabilized ionic liquid (IL, Omim+Cl-) film is exposed to the above humidity field to create a sustained transmembrane water-content difference, which enables asymmetric ion-diffusion across the nanoconfined fluidics, facilitating long-term electricity generation with the power density of ≈12.11 µW cm-2. This high record is attributed to the nanoconfined IL that integrates van der Waals and electrostatic interactions to block movement of Omim+ clusters while allowing for directional diffusion of moisture-liberated Cl+. This humidity gradient triggers large ion-diffusion flux for power generation indicates great potential of sweating surfaces considering that most of the earth is covered by water or soil. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH

Two-dimensional (2D) MXene-based lamellar membranes bearing interlayers of tunable hydrophilicity are promising for high-performance water purification. The current challenge lies in how to engineer the pore wall's surface properties in the subnano-confinement environment while ensuring its high selectivity. Herein, poly(ionic liquid)s, equipped with readily exchangeable counter anions, succeeded as a hydrophilicity modifier in addressing this issue. Lamellar membranes bearing nanochannels of tailorable hydrophilicity are constructed via assembly of poly(ionic liquid)-armored MXene nanosheets. By shifting the interlayer galleries from being hydrophilic to more hydrophobic via simple anion exchange, the MXene membrane performs drastically better for both the permeance (by two-fold improvement) and rejection (≈99 %). This facile method opens up a new avenue for building 2D material-based membranes of enhancing molecular transport and sieving effect.

Circadian humidity fluctuation is an important factor that affects human life all over the world. Here we show that spherical cap-shaped ionic liquid drops sitting on nanowire array are able to continuously output electricity when exposed to outdoor air, which we attribute to the daily humidity fluctuation induced directional capillary flow. Specifically, ionic liquid drops could absorb/desorb water around the liquid/vapor interface and swell/shrink depending on air humidity fluctuation. While pinning of the drop by nanowire array suppresses advancing/receding of triple-phase contact line. To maintain the surface tension-regulated spherical cap profile, inward/outward flow arises for removing excess fluid from the edge or filling the perimeter with fluid from center. This moisture absorption/desorption-caused capillary flow is confirmed by in-situ microscope imaging. We conduct further research to reveal how environmental humidity affects flow rate and power generation performance. To further illustrate feasibility of our strategy, we combine the generators to light up a red diode and LCD screen. All these results present the great potential of tiny humidity fluctuation as an easily accessible anytime-and-anywhere small-scale green energy resource. © 2022, The Author(s).

Humidity-based power generation that converts internal energy of water molecules into electricity is an emerging approach for harvesting clean energy from nature. Here it is proposed that intrinsic gradient within a humidity field near sweating surfaces, such as rivers, soil, or animal skin, is a promising power resource when integrated with liquid-infused nanofluidics. Specifically, capillary-stabilized ionic liquid (IL, Omim+Cl-) film is exposed to the above humidity field to create a sustained transmembrane water-content difference, which enables asymmetric ion-diffusion across the nanoconfined fluidics, facilitating long-term electricity generation with the power density of ≈12.11 µW cm-2. This high record is attributed to the nanoconfined IL that integrates van der Waals and electrostatic interactions to block movement of Omim+ clusters while allowing for directional diffusion of moisture-liberated Cl+. This humidity gradient triggers large ion-diffusion flux for power generation indicates great potential of sweating surfaces considering that most of the earth is covered by water or soil. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH

Humidity-based power generation that converts internal energy of water molecules into electricity is an emerging approach for harvesting clean energy from nature. Here it is proposed that intrinsic gradient within a humidity field near sweating surfaces, such as rivers, soil, or animal skin, is a promising power resource when integrated with liquid-infused nanofluidics. Specifically, capillary-stabilized ionic liquid (IL, Omim+Cl-) film is exposed to the above humidity field to create a sustained transmembrane water-content difference, which enables asymmetric ion-diffusion across the nanoconfined fluidics, facilitating long-term electricity generation with the power density of ≈12.11 µW cm-2. This high record is attributed to the nanoconfined IL that integrates van der Waals and electrostatic interactions to block movement of Omim+ clusters while allowing for directional diffusion of moisture-liberated Cl+. This humidity gradient triggers large ion-diffusion flux for power generation indicates great potential of sweating surfaces considering that most of the earth is covered by water or soil. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH

Assembling two-dimensional (2D) materials by polyelectrolyte often suffers from inhomogeneous microstructures due to the conventional mixing-and-simultaneous-complexation procedure (mix-and-complex) in aqueous solution. Herein a mix-then-on-demand-complex concept via on-demand in situ cascade anionization and ionic complexation of 2D materials is raised that drastically improves structural order in 2D assemblies, as exemplified by classical graphene oxide (GO)-based ultrathin membranes. Specifically, in dimethyl sulfoxide, the carboxylic acid-functionalized GO sheets (COOH-GOs) were mixed evenly with a cationic poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) and upon filtration formed a well-ordered layered composite membrane with homogeneous distribution of PIL chains in it; next, whenever needed, it was alkali-treated to convert COOH-GO in situ into its anionized state COO--GO that immediately complexed ionically with the surrounding cationic PIL chains. This mix-then-on-demand-complex concept separates the ionic complexation of GO and polyelectrolytes from their mixing step. By synergistically combining the PIL-induced hydrophobic confinement effect and supramolecular interactions, the as-fabricated nanofiltration membranes carry interface transport nanochannels between GO and PIL, reaching a high water permeability of 96.38 L m(-2) h(-1) bar(-1) at a maintained excellent dye rejection 99.79% for 150 h, exceeding the state-of-the-art GO-based hybrid membranes. The molecular dynamics simulations support the experimental data, confirming the interface spacing between GO and PIL as the water transport channels.

Hollow multishelled structures (HoMSs), with relatively isolated cavities and hierarchal pores in the shells, are structurally similar to cells. Functionally inspired by the different transmission forms in living cells, we studied the mass transport process in HoMSs in detail. In the present work, after introducing the antibacterial agent methylisothiazolinone (MIT) as model molecules into HoMSs, we discover three sequential release stages, i.e., burst release, sustained release and stimulus-responsive release, in one system. The triple-shelled structure can provide a long sterility period in a bacteria-rich environment that is nearly 8 times longer than that of the pure antimicrobial agent under the same conditions. More importantly, the HoMS system provides a smart responsive release mechanism that can be triggered by environmental changes. All these advantages could be attributed to chemical diffusion- and physical barrier-driven temporally-spatially ordered drug release, providing a route for the design of intelligent nanomaterials.

Hollow multishelled structures (HoMSs), with relatively isolated cavities and hierarchal pores in the shells, are structurally similar to cells. Functionally inspired by the different transmission forms in living cells, we studied the mass transport process in HoMSs in detail. In the present work, after introducing the antibacterial agent methylisothiazolinone (MIT) as model molecules into HoMSs, we discover three sequential release stages, i.e., burst release, sustained release and stimulus-responsive release, in one system. The triple-shelled structure can provide a long sterility period in a bacteria-rich environment that is nearly 8 times longer than that of the pure antimicrobial agent under the same conditions. More importantly, the HoMS system provides a smart responsive release mechanism that can be triggered by environmental changes. All these advantages could be attributed to chemical diffusion- and physical barrier-driven temporally-spatially ordered drug release, providing a route for the design of intelligent nanomaterials.

Steel tube confined concrete (STCC) is widely used in the vertical members of high-rise buildings such as columns. The axial load is not directly resisted by the steel tube in STCC, but is resisted via the interfacial frictional stress between steel tube and concrete core, which is different with that of concrete filled steel tube (CFT) members and would effectively suppress the outward local buckling of steel tube at early stage. Recently, fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) confined STCC presents a potential to enhance the ductility and durability of such vertical elements. This paper presents an experimental study on monotonic axial compressive behaviour of carbon FRP (CFRP) confined STCC (CFRP- STCC) stub column and an analytical study on the confinement mechanism of and the ultimate axial bearing capacity of the elements. A three-stage confinement mechanism involving the different contributions of the steel tube and the CFRP wrap in CFRP-STCC elements was proposed based on the test results. A prediction model of the ultimate axial bearing capacity of CFRP-STCC stub columns was developed subsequently. Results show that the presence of CFRP wrap enhances effectively the load-bearing capacity and the ductility of steel tube confined plain concrete and reinforced concrete elements, and significantly prevents the local buckling of the steel tubes in the elements. The proposed prediction model of ultimate axial bearing capacity assesses test results with a great agreement.

Steel tube confined concrete (STCC) is widely used in the vertical members of high-rise buildings such as columns. The axial load is not directly resisted by the steel tube in STCC, but is resisted via the interfacial frictional stress between steel tube and concrete core, which is different with that of concrete filled steel tube (CFT) members and would effectively suppress the outward local buckling of steel tube at early stage. Recently, fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) confined STCC presents a potential to enhance the ductility and durability of such vertical elements. This paper presents an experimental study on monotonic axial compressive behaviour of carbon FRP (CFRP) confined STCC (CFRP- STCC) stub column and an analytical study on the confinement mechanism of and the ultimate axial bearing capacity of the elements. A three-stage confinement mechanism involving the different contributions of the steel tube and the CFRP wrap in CFRP-STCC elements was proposed based on the test results. A prediction model of the ultimate axial bearing capacity of CFRP-STCC stub columns was developed subsequently. Results show that the presence of CFRP wrap enhances effectively the load-bearing capacity and the ductility of steel tube confined plain concrete and reinforced concrete elements, and significantly prevents the local buckling of the steel tubes in the elements. The proposed prediction model of ultimate axial bearing capacity assesses test results with a great agreement.

The conductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-graphene sheets (rGOs)-cellulose fiber was prepared with an eco-friendly wet-spinning method in which ionic liquid (IL) was used as both green solvent and dispersant. It was found that the selected IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate (EmimDep) shows remarkable capacities for dissolving cellulose and dispersing MWCNTs, and the synergistic effect of MWCNTs, rGOs, and cellulose results in a high electrical conductivity of 1195 S/m of MWCNTs-rGOs-cellulose fibers. Macropores and the double-layer structure of MWCNTs and rGOs can be observed by SEM in the studied fibers, and the number of macropores decreased with increasing rGOs amount, which is consistent with the result of the specific surface area. In addition, the prepared MWCNTs-rGOs-cellulose fibers present a nearly perfect electrical double-layer structure. The MWCNTs-rGOs-cellulose fiber with a mass ratio of 2:3:1 shows the best performance as the electrode candidate, with an electrical conductivity of 1195 S/m, specific capacitance of 597 mF/cm2, and specific surface area of 91 m2/g. Furthermore, the results from the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation evidenced that EmimDep can disperse CNTs effectively at 363.15 K, 1 atm compared to rGOs; the synergy effect of CNT and rGO exhibit great potential to enhance the dispersion than each individual component., Validerad;2020;Nivå 2;2020-01-09 (johcin)

The conductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-graphene sheets (rGOs)-cellulose fiber was prepared with an eco-friendly wet-spinning method in which ionic liquid (IL) was used as both green solvent and dispersant. It was found that the selected IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate (EmimDep) shows remarkable capacities for dissolving cellulose and dispersing MWCNTs, and the synergistic effect of MWCNTs, rGOs, and cellulose results in a high electrical conductivity of 1195 S/m of MWCNTs-rGOs-cellulose fibers. Macropores and the double-layer structure of MWCNTs and rGOs can be observed by SEM in the studied fibers, and the number of macropores decreased with increasing rGOs amount, which is consistent with the result of the specific surface area. In addition, the prepared MWCNTs-rGOs-cellulose fibers present a nearly perfect electrical double-layer structure. The MWCNTs-rGOs-cellulose fiber with a mass ratio of 2:3:1 shows the best performance as the electrode candidate, with an electrical conductivity of 1195 S/m, specific capacitance of 597 mF/cm2, and specific surface area of 91 m2/g. Furthermore, the results from the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation evidenced that EmimDep can disperse CNTs effectively at 363.15 K, 1 atm compared to rGOs; the synergy effect of CNT and rGO exhibit great potential to enhance the dispersion than each individual component., Validerad;2020;Nivå 2;2020-01-09 (johcin)

This paper studies experimentally the behaviour of circular FRP-steel-confined columns subjected to reversed cyclic loads. The influence of main structural factors on the cyclic behaviour of the columns is discussed. Test results show the outstanding seismic performance of FRP-steel confined reinforced concrete (RC) and steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) column. The lateral confinement effectiveness of FRP materials is verified in the steel tube confined RC columns. A simplified finite element method (FEM) model supported by OpenSees is developed to simulate the experimental results of the test columns. Based on the proposed FEM model, a parametric analysis is conducted for investigating the effects of several main factors on the reversed cyclic behaviour of GFRP-steel confined RC columns. Based on the test and numerical analyses, the study discusses the influence of variables such as the lateral confinement on the plastic hinge region and peak drift ratio of the studied concrete columns under reversed cyclic loads. Results indicate that the lateral confinement significantly affects the height of plastic hinge region of circular confined columns without H-steel. Based on the analysies of test data from the study and literature, the paper suggests a simple model to predict the peak drift ratio of the confined RC columns.

This paper studies experimentally the behaviour of circular FRP-steel-confined columns subjected to reversed cyclic loads. The influence of main structural factors on the cyclic behaviour of the columns is discussed. Test results show the outstanding seismic performance of FRP-steel confined reinforced concrete (RC) and steel-reinforced concrete (SRC) column. The lateral confinement effectiveness of FRP materials is verified in the steel tube confined RC columns. A simplified finite element method (FEM) model supported by OpenSees is developed to simulate the experimental results of the test columns. Based on the proposed FEM model, a parametric analysis is conducted for investigating the effects of several main factors on the reversed cyclic behaviour of GFRP-steel confined RC columns. Based on the test and numerical analyses, the study discusses the influence of variables such as the lateral confinement on the plastic hinge region and peak drift ratio of the studied concrete columns under reversed cyclic loads. Results indicate that the lateral confinement significantly affects the height of plastic hinge region of circular confined columns without H-steel. Based on the analysies of test data from the study and literature, the paper suggests a simple model to predict the peak drift ratio of the confined RC columns.

In this study, conductive carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were dispersed into epoxy resin and then infused into glass fiber fabric to fabricate CNF/glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates. The electrical resistance and strain of CNF/GFRP laminates were measured simultaneously during tensile loadings to investigate the in situ strain and damage monitoring capability of CNF/GFRP laminates. The damage evolution and conduction mechanisms of the laminates were also presented. The results indicated that the percolation threshold of CNFs content for CNF/GFRP laminates was 0.86 wt % based on a typical power law. The resistance response during monotonic tensile loading could be classified into three stages corresponding to different damage mechanisms, which demonstrated a good ability of in situ damage monitoring of the CNF/GFRP laminates. In addition, the capacity of in situ strain monitoring of the laminates during small strain stages was also confirmed according to the synchronous and reversible resistance responses to strain under constant cyclic tensile loading. Moreover, the analysis of the resistance responses during incremental amplitude cyclic tensile loading with the maximum strain of 1.5% suggested that in situ strain and damage monitoring of the CNF/GFRP laminates were feasible and stable.

In this study, conductive carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were dispersed into epoxy resin and then infused into glass fiber fabric to fabricate CNF/glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminates. The electrical resistance and strain of CNF/GFRP laminates were measured simultaneously during tensile loadings to investigate the in situ strain and damage monitoring capability of CNF/GFRP laminates. The damage evolution and conduction mechanisms of the laminates were also presented. The results indicated that the percolation threshold of CNFs content for CNF/GFRP laminates was 0.86 wt % based on a typical power law. The resistance response during monotonic tensile loading could be classified into three stages corresponding to different damage mechanisms, which demonstrated a good ability of in situ damage monitoring of the CNF/GFRP laminates. In addition, the capacity of in situ strain monitoring of the laminates during small strain stages was also confirmed according to the synchronous and reversible resistance responses to strain under constant cyclic tensile loading. Moreover, the analysis of the resistance responses during incremental amplitude cyclic tensile loading with the maximum strain of 1.5% suggested that in situ strain and damage monitoring of the CNF/GFRP laminates were feasible and stable.

Unsteady fragmentation of a fluid bulk into droplets is important for epidemiology as it governs the transport of pathogens from sneezes and coughs, or from contaminated crops in agriculture. It is also ubiquitous in industrial processes such as paint, coating, and combustion. Unsteady fragmentation is distinct from steady fragmentation on which most theoretical efforts have been focused thus far. We address this gap by studying a canonical unsteady fragmentation process: the breakup from a drop impact on a finite surface where the drop fluid is transferred to a free expanding sheet of time-varying properties and bounded by a rim of time-varying thickness. The continuous rim destabilization selects the final spray droplets, yet this process remains poorly understood. We combine theory with advanced image analysis to study the unsteady rim destabilization. We show that, at all times, the rim thickness is governed by a local instantaneous Bond number equal to unity, defined with the instantaneous, local, unsteady rim acceleration. This criterion is found to be robust and universal for a family of unsteady inviscid fluid sheet fragmentation phenomena, from impacts of drops on various surface geometries to impacts on films. We discuss under which viscous and viscoelastic conditions the criterion continues to govern the unsteady rim thickness., United States. Department of Agriculture (Award MDW-2016-04938)

The increasing interest in developing nanodevices for biophysical and biomedical applications results in concerns about thermal management at interfaces between tissues and electronic devices. However, there is neither sufficient knowledge nor suitable tools for the characterization of thermal properties at interfaces between materials of contrasting mechanics, which are essential for design with reliability. Here we use computational simulations to quantify thermal transfer across the cell membrane–graphene interface. We find that the intercalated water displays a layered order below a critical value of ∼1 nm nanoconfinement, mediating the interfacial thermal coupling, and efficiently enhancing the thermal dissipation. We thereafter develop an analytical model to evaluate the critical value for power generation in graphene before significant heat is accumulated to disturb living tissues. These findings may provide a basis for the rational design of wearable and implantable nanodevices in biosensing and thermotherapic treatments where thermal dissipation and transport processes are crucial., MIT-China seed fund, National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11472150), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2015CB351900), United States. Office of Naval Research (Grant No. N00014-16-1-233), United States. Office of Naval Research. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (Grant No. N00014-10-1-0562), United States. Air Force. Office of Scientific Research. FATE MURI (Grant No. FA9550-15-1-0514), United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, MIT Energy Initiative, National Science Foundation (U.S.). Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (Program) (award number DMR-0819762)

広島大学(Hiroshima University), 博士(工学), Doctor of Engineering, doctoral