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Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common complication of type 1 and type 2 diabetes that can lead to kidney damage and high blood pressure. Increasing evidence support the important roles of microproteins and cytokines, such as β2-microglobulin (β2-MG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in the pathogenesis of this disease. In this study, we identified novel therapeutic options for this disease.To analyze the guiding significance of β2-MG, HbA1c, and VEGF levels in patients with DN.A total of 107 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with nephropathy and treated in our hospital from May 2018 to February 2021 were included in the study. Additionally, 107 healthy individuals and 107 patients with simple diabetes mellitus were selected as the control groups. Changes in β2-MG, HbA1c, and VEGF levels in the three groups as well as the different proteinuria exhibited by the three groups were examined.Changes in β2-MG, HbA1c, and VEGF levels in the disease, healthy, and simple diabetes groups were significantly different (The expression of serum β2-MG, HbA1c, and VEGF was closely correlated with DN progression, and disease progression could be evaluated by these factors.

There is an increasing need for more accurate information on the hazard and risk of flooding in local region. Besides the national-scale and regional-scale flood risk assessments, it is gradually developed with a focus on particular field-scale conditions in order to ensure that local conditions are taken into account in. On this basis, how to efficiently and effectively make use of the remote sensing monitoring products embedded with hydrological dynamics model is the critical issue for the field-scale flood disaster risk assessment. In this research, based on the established GIS database, it proposed a new combined assessment model, which integrating remote sensing products and SCS hydrological dynamics model to generate the weighted water level of inundated area for assessing the field-scale flood disaster in Hubei province. The major research methods and key technologies involved were discussed briefly. The example result reveals that combined remote sensing and hydrological dynamics field-scale risk assessment model conforms basically to the actual disaster data.

The hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) have attracted much attention recently due to their preeminent efficiency in solar cells. According to the difference on the crystalline structure, the HOIPs could be classified into layered and non-layered perovskites. Very recently, it has been realized that the non-layered HOIPs with common-vertex structure possess even better opto-electrical performance. Yet the carrier recombination mechanism in perovskite remains not very clear, and a clear understanding of this mechanism is essential to pinpoint the working mechanism of photovoltaic and electroluminescent materials. Here we report the optical studies on the hybrid perovskite crystalline nano-sheet of CH3NH3PbBr3 with common-vertex structure. It is shown that the non-layered perovskite crystalline nanosheets possess the exciton binding energy about two orders of magnitude smaller than that of the layered perovskite and the colloidal nanoplates, which is beneficial for the designing of the high-efficiency photovoltaic devices. By measuring the temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra, the excitation-power-variant PL spectra, and the time-resolved PL spectra, we identify that both the free-carrier and the localized exciton recombination channels may coexist in the crystallites. Further, for the thin crystallite (∼60 nm), the free-carrier recombination channel dominates; whereas when the thickness increases beyond 200 nm, the localized exciton recombination channel plays the major role. We suggest these results are helpful to improve further the photovoltaic and electroluminescent performances of perovskite devices.

We report here the electrodeposition of periodically structured single-crystalline zinc branches from an ultrathin aqueous electrolyte layer of ZnSO4. The main trunk and side branches of electrodeposits are regularly angled, and each branch is made of periodic bead-like structures. Layered morphology has been observed on each bead. During electrodeposition, spontaneous oscillation of electric current occurs when constant voltage is applied across the electrodes, and the oscillation leads to periodic patterns on deposit branches. According to electron diffraction of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the whole branch of electrodeposits has the same crystallographic orientation despite the fact that the branch looks like an assembly of beads. We interpret this unique growth behavior to the epitaxial nucleation in the transport-limited growth system. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The hydrodynamic behaviors of a steep density gradient Mg plasma produced by a short driving laser pulse is simulated, and it is shown that the temperature of a shorter scale‐length (steeper density gradient) plasma decreases faster. The rate equations of the energy level population are solved using the collisional radiative model. The ground states of MgX, MgXII, and MgXIII, and the 21 energy levels of MgXI, of which the principal quantum number n≤6, are considered in our calculation. The gain coefficients of several possible laser transitions at wavelengths less than 200 A in the MgXI plasma are presented. Finally the possibility of achieving a soft x‐ray laser near the water‐window is discussed.

A new method based on Fourier transformation to study the skin effects is presented. Using this method, the field amplitude in plasma is represented in terms of electric conductivity, and the normal and anomalous skin effects are described through one formula by omitting the plasma dispersion or not. The results are in agreement with other publications [e.g., J. P. Matte and K. Aguenaou, Phys. Rev. A 45, 2558 (1992)] for equivalent parameters. But for deeper positions inside a target, which have not been studied by others, it is found that the field amplitude is considerably enhanced due to an anomalous skin effect, even for constant collision frequency. In addition, the skin absorptions and some calculations on an anomalous skin effect for different collision frequencies are also presented.

In this article we report our experimental observations that the repeated polytypism of wurtzite (WZ) and zinc-blende (ZB) phases induced by the fluctuation of the density of stacking faults can lead to the self-organized formation of ZnO hierarchical nanostructures characterized by a hexagonal central trunk decorated with thin blades. The blades epitaxially nucleate on the ZB stripes assisted by the reentrant corners at the ZB-WZ interfaces. Consequently, the blades keep a fixed angle with respect to the central trunk and resemble two sets of mutually intercalated propellers, each set possessing its own threefold rotational symmetry and being rotated for 60${}^{\ensuremath{\circ}}$ with respect to each other. We also study the optical properties of such novel structures, and show through numerical simulations that the blades provide the essential boundary conditions to establish the resonant electromagnetic responses in the hierarchical nanostructures.

Using the analytical solution of hydrodynamic equations, energy level populations of the plasma dominated by He-like Mg ions are obtained by solving the rate equations numerically for a short pulsed pumping laser. Variations of gain coefficient for the lasing transition 1s3d-1s4f of MgXI ( λ=154 A ) versus time and space are calculated. Also, the influence of pumping laser pulse duration on gain coefficient is discussed.

We report here a unique in-plane self-templating electrochemical growth of arrays of copper nanopearl chains from an ultrathin layer of CuSO4 electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that the electrodeposit filaments form equally spaced bundles, which consist of long, straight, pearl-chain-like copper filaments with corrugated periodic structure. The bundle separation can be tuned by changing the applied electric current in electrodeposition. Experiments show that the periodic morphology on the nanopearl chain corresponds to the periodic distribution of copper and cuprous oxide. The mechanism for the bundle formation is discussed.

In this paper, we report the long-range ordering effect observed in the electro-crystallization of Zn and ZnO from an ultrathin aqueous electrolyte layer of ZnSO4 . The deposition branches are regularly angled, covered with random-looking, scalelike crystalline platelets of ZnO. Although the orientation of each crystalline platelet of ZnO appears random, transmission electron microscopy shows that they essentially possess the same crystallographic orientation as the single-crystalline zinc electrodeposit underneath. Based on the experimental observations, we suggest that this unique long-range ordering effect results from an epitaxial nucleation effect in electrocrystallization.

In this letter, we report a full-metallic broadband wave plate assembled by standing metallic L-shaped stereostructures (LSSs). We show that with an array of LSSs, high polarization conversion ratio is achieved within a broad frequency band. Moreover, by rotating the orientation of the array of LSSs, the electric components of the reflection beam in two orthogonal directions and their phase difference can be independently tuned. In this way, all the polarization states on the Poincare sphere can be realized. As examples, the functionalities of a quarter wave plate and a half wave plate are experimentally demonstrated with both reflection spectra and focal-plane-array imaging. Our designing provides a unique approach in realizing the broadband wave plate to manipulate the polarization state of light.

We report in this letter the fabrication of unique single-crystalline silver filaments with periodic, pearl-chain-like structures by electrodeposition without using any templates, surfactants, and additives. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, infrared focus-plane-array imaging, and numerical simulations demonstrate that the excited surface waves may sustain on the silver “pearl chains” in midinfrared range. Based on the propagation features of surface waves on the silver filaments, we suggest that such a structure can be applied for light transmission in midinfrared range.

The time-dependent characteristics of the second-harmonic generation of a short pulse are investigated theoretically. Transient coupled-wave equations are necessary to describe the time-dependent process of the second-harmonic generation of a short pulse. It is found that the fundamental waves experience both pulse broadening and compression with different waveform distortion during the frequency-doubling process. The pulse width of a frequency-doubled wave broadens monotonically along the crystal length. There is no phase distortion in the case of exact phase matching. Phase modulation (i.e., chirp) occurs only when there is phase mismatch and chirp can be determined by the phase mismatch.