Search

The present work reports our efforts to enhance the performance and uniformity for the long tapes of metal–organic deposition YBa2Cu3O7−x (MOD-YBCO) layer on ion-beam-assisted deposition MgO (IBAD-MgO) template. Reflection High-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is employed to realize the in-situ growth monitor of IBAD-MgO, as well as the correlation between the quantitative RHEED peaks and in-plane texture of Epi-MgO identified by XRD, which is an effective guide to improve the uniformity and performance of long YBCO tapes. In addition, the surface of the LMO layer during the magnetron sputtering process is improved via controlling the O2 flux, and then the critical-current density (Jc) of YBCO films has been improved. By optimizing the texture of the MgO layer and precisely controlling the LMO layer growth conditions, the performance and uniformity of YBCO-coated conductors grown by metal–organic deposition (MOD) have been greatly enhanced. The superconducting current-carrying capacities of 12-mm-wide tapes have upgraded steadily from 400–500 A to 500–550 A in past 3 years. The laminated CC tapes with current-carrying capacities of 150–170 A per 4-mm width show good uniformity and high quality along 500-m length, implying being promising for various commercial power applications.

Asthma can manifest in a variety of clinical phenotypes like cough variant asthma, chest tightness variant asthma (CTVA), and masked asthma. Patients with CTVA usually have a singular or primary complaint of chest tightness, which is often overlooked or misdiagnosed due to the lack of characteristic asthma symptoms. We hereby report a case of CTVA managed by omalizumab.A 15-year-old female patient reported to us with repeated coughing persisting for 3 weeks. Initial treatment with standard asthma drugs had minimal effect. Later during the disease, chest tightness became the primary symptom, and she was managed with steroids, β2 receptor agonists, and leukotriene receptor agonists but without complete relief. Based on clinical signs and symptoms, the response to baseline drugs, and results of bronchial provocation test, the diagnosis was revised to CTVA, and the patient was started on Omalizumab in addition to baseline drugs, which significantly improved her condition.CTVA is difficult to diagnose due to its insidious symptoms and poor characteristics. Improper treatment can lead to uncontrolled disease, negative psychological issues, and reduced quality of life. Comprehensive assessment of children's airway inflammation level, lung function, bronchial provocation test, and responsiveness to drug therapy should be performed for accurate diagnosis. Omalizumab in combination with standard drugs can significantly improve the outcomes of CTVA.

患儿 男，3岁10月龄，因“间歇发热2周伴咳嗽、气促”入上海交通大学医学院附属仁济医院（南部院区）定点医院隔离病房。患儿病初发热，确诊为新型冠状病毒肺炎（简称新冠肺炎），热退2 d再次持续高热3 d伴气促、吸气性凹陷，胸部CT示右肺下叶片状密度影，诊断“重型新冠肺炎”，行支气管镜肺泡灌洗，宏基因组病原检测确诊为混合肺炎支原体感染，治疗好转出院。提示临床医生诊治重型新冠肺炎时需警惕混合感染。.

Hemerocallis is a valuable commercial perennial with prominent flowers. In this study, a wild variety of Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus L. cv. Licheng 7 (H. lilioasphodelus, LC7) from China was chosen as the experimental material due to its stable flowering trait in cultivation. Three main conclusions were obtained. Our observations revealed that the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth had a strong relationship with shoot apical meristem (SAM) fasciation, and the process was outlined in four morphological transitional stages. In addition, we detected a temporary increase in soluble sugar in the shoot tip, which was suggested to be a physiological indicator of inflorescence primordium initiation. In addition, the full-length sequences of two phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family genes from the wild species LC7 were cloned. From quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) and correlation analyses, we elucidated that the two PEBP family genes were correlated with some SAM morphological traits and involved in the regulation of the floral transition of the wild species LC7. To the best of our knowledge, this study provided a precious resource investigation of critical periods in the floral transition of H. lilioasphodelus, which will be recommended for regulation of the flowering time in perennials in the future.

High-performance ultraviolet (UV) detectors with both high responses and fast speeds are hard to make on homogeneous crystal semiconductor materials. Here, the UV response characteristics of mixed-phase MgZnO thin films with different internal structure distributions are studied. The mixed-phase MgZnO-based detector with the given crystal composition has a high response at both deep UV light (96 A W

High performance UV detector with both high response and fast speed is hard to made on homogeneous crystal semiconductor materials. Here, the UV response characteristics of mix-phase MgZnO thin films with different internal structure distribution are studied, the mix-phase MgZnO based detector with given crystal composition own high response at both deep UV light (96 A/W at 240nm) and near UV light (80 A/W at 335nm). Meanwhile, because of quasi-tunneling breakdown mechanism within the device, the high response UV detector also show fast response speed (t

The home-designed metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system was applied to prepare the Gd0.5Y0.5Ba2Cu3O7-δ (GdYBCO) films at a high deposition rate in order to improve the production efficiency and reduce the preparation cost of high temperature superconducting tapes. Based on a simple self-heating method, the distance between the shower head and the substrate surface can be reduced effectively to increase the concentration of metal organic sources on the substrate surface, which can commendably improve the deposition rate of GdYBCO films and the utilization ratio of metal organic sources. At last, the GdYBCO films were successfully prepared on the LaMnO3 template at the high deposition rate of 1 μm/min by the MOCVD process based on the simple self-heating method and the critical current (Ic) was more than 220 A/cm-width (77 K, 0 T), corresponding to the critical current density (Jc) more than 4.4 MA/cm2 (77 K, 0 T).

The metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method was used to prepare GdYBCO films on LaMnO 3 / homo epitaxial-MgO/ ion-beam-assisted-deposition-MgO/ solution-deposition-planarization-Y 2 O 3 buffered Hastelloy tapes. By adopting a simple self-heating technique, the substrates were heated by the joule effect after applying a heating current ( I h ) through Hastelloy metal tapes. The effects of substrate temperature and (Gd, Y)/Ba ratio ( r c ) in the precursor on the biaxial texture, surface morphology and superconducting performance of GdYBCO films were systematically investigated by varying the values of I h and r c . Needle-like outgrowths formed on the substrate surface were characterized using a scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffraction system. The results show that a high I h or r c leads to the formation of needle-like outgrowths. Therefore, I h and r c are crucial process parameters that control the growth of needle-like outgrowths on the surface of GdYBCO films. Three hundred nanometer thick GdYBCO films were prepared at different I h and r c by the MOCVD process. At an I h of 27.0 A and an r c of 0.6, the surface of the GdYBCO film was very smooth and dense, which can provide a good template for multiple depositions of GdYBCO films. The critical current density of the deposited 300 nm-thick GdYBCO film was 4.4 MA/cm 2 (77 K, 0 T), which is attributed to good biaxial texture and appropriate film composition. Furthermore, the microwave surface resistance (77 K, 10 GHz) of the GdYBCO film was merely 0.581 mΩ.

The MOCVD process was adopted to grow the REBa2Cu3O7-δ ((REBCO), RE = rare earth elements) films on the LaMnO3 (LMO) templates. Meanwhile, the LMO-template tapes are heated by the joule effect after applying a heating current through the Hastelloy metal substrates. The surface of GdYBCO films prepared by MOCVD method is prone to form outgrowths. So the surface morphology of GdYBCO film is optimized by depositing the SmBCO layer, which is an important process method for the preparation of high-quality multilayer REBCO films. At last, the GdYBCO/SmBCO/GdYBCO multilayer films were successfully prepared on the LMO templates based on the simple self-heating method. It is demonstrated that the GdYBCO surface was well improved by the characterization analysis of scanning electron microscope. And the Δω of REBCO (005) and Δφ of REBCO (103), which were performed by an X-ray diffraction system, are respectively 1.3° and 3.3° What's more, the critical current density (Jc) has been more than 3 MA/cm2 (77 K, 0 T) and the critical current (Ic) basically shows a trend of good linear increase with the increase of the number of REBCO layers.

In this study, electroluminescence (EL) from n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunctions is investigated and tailored. The heterojunctions were obtained by depositing high-quality ZnO films on the p-GaN substrate through pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and the characteristics were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectra at room-temperature (RT, 300 K), current-voltage (I-V) characteristics curves, and the EL spectra. By means of the band energy theory, a simple and effective way to tailor the luminescent properties of the heterojunction was discussed. The ultra-violet (UV) emission from the n-ZnO was obtained through the improvement of the electrical properties of the films and the substrates. The visible light emissions were tailored through the transition of different defect caused color emissions. Besides, an unexpected yellow light (YL) emission caused by Ga-O interlayer was also studied.

In order to enhance the visible light-driven photocatalytic H2 production activity of CdZnS, an ethylenediamine-assisted hydrothermal pathway was used to synthesize CdxZn1-xS(en) with different Cd/Zn molar ratios. It was found out that the prepared Cd0.5Zn0.5S(en) possessed the highest photocatalytic H2 production rate of 13539.0 μmol h−1 g−1 that was higher than that of CdZnS. The key to this achievement could be ascribed to the stacking faults formation, the optimum band gap with conduction band position and small crystallite size. Based on this, Cd0.5Zn0.5S(en) was modified by NiS for further improving the activity. The obtained Cd0.5Zn0.5S(en) NiS with NiS loading content of 0.25 wt% exhibited much higher photocatalytic H2 production rate, reaching up to 38187.7 μmol h−1 g−1 that were among the highest efficiencies for semiconductor photocatalysts ever reported. It was confirmed that the nanosized NiS anchored on Cd0.5Zn0.5S(en) interface, acting as electron trapping sites, attributed to the spatial suppressions of electron-hole recombination. Meanwhile, the NiS loaded on the surface optimized the photogenerated electron transfer pathway between the semiconductor materials that gives rise to significantly enhanced photocatalytic activity. This study would put forward a facile method for developing high photocatalytic activity and low-cost catalytic material for H2 production, which provide a new thought to address the global energy crisis and the environmental contamination.

SmBa2Cu3O7-δ (SmBCO)-coated conductors containing La2Zr2O7 (LZO) artificial pinning centers (APCs) were fabricated on buffered Hastelloy substrates by low fluorine metal organic deposition method (MOD). The properties of LZO-doped SmBCO film were systematically studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Higher critical current density (Jc) values not only in self field but also in applied magnetic field were obtained by moderate LZO doping.

Background Thermal detection thresholds and thermal pain thresholds are important in quantitative sensory testing. Although they have been well studied for assessing somatosensory function, the investigation of thermal pain tolerance has been insufficient. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of thermal pain tolerance and pain ratings in healthy subjects. Methods Cold pain tolerance (CPTol) and heat pain tolerance (HPTol) were tested in 213 healthy adults aged 18-81 years recruited from the local community. The thermal detection and thermal pain thresholds were also tested to investigate the association with pain tolerance. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for assessing pain severity immediately after the thermal pain and tolerance tests. Results The normality of the CPTol and HPTol was acceptable. Most participants rated the pain induced by the CPTol and HPTol testing as moderate. HPTol was lower in women than in men (p = 0.001), but CPTol did not differ between sexes. The pain ratings of CPTol and HPTol did not differ between sexes, but significant age effects were observed. The association of the tolerance temperature with pain ratings was weak, while those of pain ratings for CPTol and HPTol were strong (r = 0.87). Conclusions Women were more sensitive to tolerance heat pain stimuli. Younger participants reported more pain for thermal pain and tolerance tests. Significance Thermal pain tolerance and pain rating for the thermal pain tolerance temperature depend on gender and age. Women are more sensitive to heat temperatures, young people rate more pain, and the pain ratings of heat and cold are strongly correlated.

Improving the thickness of superconducting layer in coated conductors is an effective way to enhance its critical current. In this work, tri-layer YBCO/YBCO/YDyBCO films were successfully deposited on buffered Hastelloy substrate using the multi-coating lowfluorine metal-organic decomposition (LF-MOD) method and the thickness of the films can be up to 2.4 μ m. The effects of high-temperature annealing time on microstructures and superconducting properties of the films were systematically studied. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) results reveal that there remains a large amount of F element in the upper layer of the film when the annealing time is too short. With increasing the annealing time, the fluoride-containing precursor converts to YBCO grains completely. But the coarsening of grains appeared, and the critical current density (J c) of the film dropped slightly when the annealing time is too long. The cross-sectional scanning electron microscope (SEM) image and EDS plane analysis were applied to investigate the microstructure and element distribution of the final triple-layer YBCO films, respectively. The critical current of the final YBCO superconducting film could reach 316 A (77 k, self-field) for 1.2-cm-wide tapes with the optimal annealing conditions.

Low temperature is one of the most important environmental factors limiting plant growth, development, and distribution. Moreover, cold stress can always lead to impaired growth, mal-development, or even physiological imbalance in plants. On the brighter side, plants have evolved a number of adaptive mechanisms to resist cold depending upon the activation of molecular networks involved in stress perception, signal transcription and transduction, expression of specific stress-related genes, and physiological reaction of tolerance. Research related to plant cold response performed over the last few years has made significant achievements in the molecular, physiology, and phenology aspects. Genome-wide analyses have dramatically improved the efficiency of gene discovery. With the development of omics-based technology, including transcriptome and protein mass spectrometry, large-scale transcriptome data has become available in both model and non-model species. This paper uses transcriptome-based analyses of cold response and signaling pathways in Lilium lancifolium as an example, in combination with the latest studies in other plants, focusing on the molecular aspects of cold stress adaptive mechanisms. It attempts to highlight the major findings in response to cold stress factors from transcriptome-based analyses, and provides a tentative signaling regulatory pathway.

Asiatic hybrid lily (Lilium) is an excellent cut flower because of its various types and colors. Also, because of its strong cold tolerance, Asiatic hybrid lily is a superior choice to breed new cultivars. A group of bulblets, obtained from hybridizing Lilium Asiatic 'Gironde' and Lilium Asiatic 'Renoir', was treated in vitro with nine different concentrations of exogenous hormone (abscisic acid (ABA), gibberellic acid 3 (GA3), and 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA)) solutions, then stored at 4°C for 5 weeks. The effects of exogenous hormone levels and low temperature on further bulb growth were studied. Exogenous ABA could restrain the increase of soluble sugar during the low-temperature treatment, especially when the ABA content reached 0.2 mg L-1. Meanwhile, the exogenous hormone GA3 raised the soluble sugar content remarkably. The relative content of carbohydrates is directly related to bulb growth and development after transplanting, thus, we can draw the conclusion that exogenous hormone (GA3, ABA) treatment could have a significant impact on plant height and leaf number of bulblets after transplanting. Furthermore, a decreasing amount of starch and high accumulation of soluble sugar in outer scales of bulblets were found in the process of dormancy breaking of Asiatic hybrid lily 'Gironde' × 'Renoir'.

Conventional cross-breeding is still the main method to obtain new cultivars around the world. Here, crossing was made by a normal pollination technique to study the intra- and interspecific cross-compatibility of 46 lily cultivars. One hundred and twenty-nine crosses were designed among 46 cultivars (including Lilium Asiatic hybrids (A), Lilium Oriental hybrids (O), Lilium Longiflorum hybrids (L), hybrids of Longiflorum × Asiatic (LA) and hybrids of Oriental × Trumpet (OT)), which differ in flower color, flower spots, flower type, fragrance and plant height. A total of 1699 flowers were pollinated. Thirty-one crosses obtained tissue culture progeny that could be used as good breeding material. Results demonstrated that most of the crosses in the same hybrid group were compatible. Fruits and embryos were obtained easily in intraspecific crosses of Asiatic hybrids (fruits were obtained in 32 out of 38 crossing types, and embryos were obtained in 24 crossing types) Six of 11 A × LA, 17 of 21 LA × A and eight OT × O combinations had fruits and even embryos for the bridging function of Asiatic and Oriental hybrids. However, interspecific pollinations of A × L, A × O and O × A were less compatible, resulting in low percentage of setting seeds. We obtained five segregating populations with different color and spot traits, and three segregating populations with different plant heights from crosses of high seed setting rate and embryo numbers. Based on these results, we provide a new reference for lily crosses selection.

Thick superconducting multilayer architectures consisting of alternate superconducting and superconducting layers DyBCO/YBCO and alternate superconducting and insulating layers YBCO/CuO(Y 2 O 3 ) are developed on buffered Hastelloy tapes using a metal organic deposition process. It is revealed that multilayer intermittent structures for superconducting layers are effective to avoid the presence of microcracks that occur with increasing thickness, which are frequently observed in monolayer films of REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (REBCO, RE = Y, Gd, or other rare earth elements). This paper shows that the thicknesses of DyBCO/YBCO multilayer films can reach 2.8 μm with a homogeneous, dense and crack-free surface morphology. The out-plane FWHM of the YBCO (005) peaks and the critical current value reach 1.1° and 365 A/cm (77 K, self-field) for such a thick film consisting of DyBCO/YBCO multilayers. It is also revealed that the introduction of a CuO layer is effective to avoid the presence of a-axis grains and voids of the YBCO films, which are frequently observed in multilayer films. Note that the introduction of CuO shows little negative influence on the texture of multilayer structure, especially for the bottom CuO. However, the in-plane texture deteriorates seriously for Y 2 O 3 /YBCO/YBCO multilayer film. The critical current density of YBCO films with middle CuO and bottom CuO are 2.0 MA/cm 2 and 2.5 MA/cm 2 (77 K, self-field), respectively. The microstructure optimization including the texture, uniformity, crack, defect, and porosity in the multilayered films is probably the reason for the enhancement of superconducting performance.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the demographics and diagnostic yield in a cohort of Chinese pediatric patients undergoing colonoscopy in one institution over 12 years. METHOUDS: The study participants were consecutive patients aged

To elucidate the potential effects of Coiled coil domain-containing 3 (CCDC3) on proliferative, migratory, invasive potentials and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human cervical cancer cells.Protein and mRNA levels of CCDC3 in C33 and HeLa cells were determined by quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blot, respectively. Proliferative capacity and clonality of C33 and HeLa cells transfected with sh-CCDC3 were evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assay, respectively. Transwell assay and wound healing assay were conducted to determine the invasive and migratory potentials of cervical cancer cells with CCDC3 knockdown. Protein expressions of EMT-related genes in C33 and HeLa cells with CCDC3 knockdown were determined by Western blot.Transfection of sh-CCDC3 in C33 and HeLa cells markedly inhibited CCDC3 expression compared with those transfected with sh-EGFP. CCDC3 knockdown remarkably attenuated proliferative, migratory and invasive capacities. Moreover, CCDC3 knockdown inhibited protein levels of EMT-related genes in C33 and HeLa cells.Low expression of CCDC3 attenuated proliferative, migratory, invasive potentials and EMT of cervical cancer cells. Hence, CCDC3 may be utilized as a novel therapeutic target for cervical cancer.

Various artificial multilayers consisting of YDy0.2 Ba2Cu3O7−e /RE2O3/YDy0.2Ba2Cu3O7−e films (RE = Y, Gd, Eu, etc.) about 1 μm in a sandwich-type structure are fabricated on oxide-buffered Hastelloy substrates using low-fluorine metalorganic deposition (MOD) method. Superconducting and microscopic performances are studied on composite YDyBaCuO multilayer films with and without intercalated Y2O3, Gd2O3, and Eu2O3 ultrathin films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) are used to investigate growth orientation and surface morphology, revealing that multiple superconducting YDyBaCuO thin films separated by an ultrathin RE2O3 interlayer have better c-axis orientation, better in-plane and out-plane textures, as well as superior surface morphology. Using this interlayer technology, a significant enhancement of critical current density (J c) both in self-field and under applied magnetic field is obtained.

MgZnO thin films (with Mg0.4Zn0.6O as the target) were fabricated on fused quartz substrates employing PLD method under different laser energy densities. Cubic structured MgZnO thin films were made at laser energy densities of 20 J cm−2 and 22 J cm−2, whilst the MgZnO thin films were deposited along both cubic and hexagonal structures under higher laser energy density condition. When a higher energy density laser was focused on the MgZnO target during the deposition process, the MgZnO thin film was found to be deposited with a more hexagonal structure and a higher Zn composition. There are two response peaks located in the solar-blind UV and visible-blind UV regions within the UV response spectrum of the mixed-phase MgZnO based detector deposited at laser energy over 24 J cm−2. When the deposition laser energy density increased from 24 to 30 J cm−2, the maximum UV responsivity of the mixed-phase MgZnO-based detector increased from 0.06 A W−1 to 1 A W−1 at 40 V bias voltage, and the visible-blind UV response peak of the mix-phase MgZnO based detector was also higher due to the MgZnO adopting a more hexagonal structure; furthermore, a higher internal gain is obtained, which can be attributed to a higher density of interfaces between the MgZnO grains of different structures in the mixed-phase MgZnO thin film. At 5 V bias voltage, the Ilight(230 nm)/Idark ratio of the UV detector based on mix-phase MgZnO deposited at 24 J cm−2 reached 500, and the Ilight(290 nm)/Idark ratio of the UV detector based on mix-phase MgZnO deposited at 26 J cm−2 reached 1100. Therefore, the UV-detector based on mixed-phase MgZnO thin films is sensitive to solar-blind and visible-blind UV light with strong background noise (on Earth) when the boundaries between (111) an (200) cubic MgZnO makes obvious function in decreasing the dark current of the detectors at lower bias voltage.

H-related defects have been investigated in Ga-doped ZnO thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature in Ar+H2 ambient. When the flow ratio of H2/(Ar+H2) increases from 0 to 4%, the resistivity significantly decreases from 1·94 × 10−2 to 5·69 × 10−4 Ω cm. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that it should not be ascribed to the films’ crystalline quality, the chemical states and substitutional situation of Ga and Zn. It is suggested that there are a large number of acceptors in the films, the major role of H is to passivate the acceptors but H-donors themselves do not play a significant role. These acceptor-like defects are located at grain boundaries (dangling bonds) and in bulk (VZn and/or GaZn–VZn). Post-growth annealing experiment and optical transmittance results exhibit that the passivated acceptors are mainly at grain boundaries rather than in bulk.

The critical current density (Jc) performance of YBCO coated conductors (CCs) under magnetic field has become a considerable limitation for its commercial application in recent years. It is well known that the proper amount of element doping into the CCs is a convenient method to increase flux pinning and then to enhance the Jc. In the present work, we firstly introduce the co-doping of Eu and Hf and study the effect on the performance of YBa2Cu3.6O7-δ thin films. Three types of high temperature superconducting thin films, i.e., YBa2Cu3.6O7-δ, (Y,Eu)Ba2Cu3.6O7-δ and Hf doped (Y,Eu)Ba2Cu3.6O7-δ were prepared on the oxide buffered metallic substrates by using trifluoroacetate metal organic deposition (TFA-MOD). The component and structure of the as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Superconducting properties were measured with a SQUID magnetometer. It was revealed that the (Y,Eu)Ba2Cu3.6O7-δ thin films exhibit better out-plane and in-plane texture compared with the pure YBa2Cu3.6O7-δ thin film. The Jc of (Y,Eu)Ba2Cu3.6O7-δ thin film was improved compared with pure YBCO thin film. In case of Hf doping, however, the biaxial texture became worse while the in-field Jc performance was enhanced, implying the increase of flux pinning with proper Hf addition.

YEuxBa2Cu3.6O7−δ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) thin films were prepared on buffered substrates by trifluoroacetate metal organic deposition (TFA-MOD). The europium-doped film showed better out- and in-plane texture than the pure YBa2Cu3.6O7−δ thin film and special topography. In the meantime, the superconducting transition temperature T c was improved with the increase of europium content and spanned a small range when x= 0.5 doping levels. Besides, the J c value was obviously enhanced with europium addition, and YEu0.3Ba2Cu3.6O7−δ showed the best superconducting properties under self-field. Furthermore, the J c value was obviously improved under magnetic field, and the enhanced flux-pinning properties was also observed in europium-substituted samples which may be attributed to the good grain connections and the effective flux pinning centers introduced by europium addition. The thickness of prepared film samples were approximately 400 nm. The structure of samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectrum was used to investigate the crystallization and growth orientation, and the surface morphology of films were got by field-emission scanning electronic microscopy (FE-SEM). Moreover, energydispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was utilized to determine element composition. Spatial distribution of J c of the film was obtained by mapping analysis of inductive measurement at 77 K. And the superconducting properties under magnetic fields were measured by magnetic property measurement system with a SQUID magnetometer.

The growth of multifunctional thin films on flexible substrates is important technologically, because flexible electronics require such a platform. In this study, we examined the evolution of biaxial texture in MgO films prepared using ion beam-assisted deposition (IBAD) on a Hastelloy substrate. Texture and microstructure developments were characterized through in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction monitoring, x-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy, which demonstrated that biaxial texture was developed during the nucleation stage (~2.2 nm). The best biaxial texture was obtained with a thickness of approximately 12 nm. As MgO continued to grow, the influence of surface energy was reduced, and film growth was driven by the attempt to minimize volume free-energy density. Thus the MgO grains were subsequently rotated at the (002) direction toward the ion beam. In addition, an approach was developed for accelerating in-plane texture evolution by pre-depositing an amorphous MgO layer before IBAD.

Surface modification of metal oxide nanostructures with noble metals has attracted significant attention of researchers because of their importance in gas sensing applications. In this regard, mesoporous zinc oxide nanospheres (ZnO NSs) were designed through a simple template-free solvothermal approach and successive anchoring of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) onto it was achieved through a chemical process followed by thermal treatment. The synergistic effects of different Au NPs loadings onto the structure, surface morphology, element contents, as well as chemiresistive gas sensing activities of solvothermal-mediated ZnO NSs were examined thoroughly and discussed. Gas sensing studies demonstrated that the sensor based on Au@ZnO-3 NSs exhibits excellent acetone (CH3COCH3) sensing characteristics (Response = 194) compared to pristine ZnO NSs sensor (Response = 2.86) at a lower temperature of 170 °C. Besides, Au@ZnO NSs sensor is able to detect CH3COCH3 concentration down to ppb-levels (500 ppb) with excellent response repeatability. Observed CH3COCH3 sensing performances of all the Au loaded ZnO NSs sensors were found to be almost 50 times higher than pristine ZnO NSs sensor. Such an excellent CH3COCH3 sensing performance of Au@ZnO NSs is mainly credited to the catalytic activity of Au NPs and the strong metal-semiconductor contacts between Au NPs and ZnO NSs.

Human liver or hepatocyte transplantation is limited by a severe shortage of donor organs. Direct reprogramming of other adult cells into hepatic cells may offer a solution to this problem. In a previous study, we have generated hepatocyte-like cells from mouse fibroblasts using only one transcription factor (TF) plus a chemical cocktail. Here, we show that human urine-derived epithelial-like cells (hUCs) can also be transdifferentiated into human hepatocyte-like cells (hiHeps) using one TF (Foxa3, Hnf1α, or Hnf4α) plus the same chemical cocktail CRVPTD (C, CHIR99021; R, RepSox; V, VPA; P, Parnate; T, TTNPB; and D, Dznep). These hiHeps express multiple hepatocyte-specific genes and display functions characteristic of mature hepatocytes. With the introduction of the large T antigen, these hiHeps can be expanded in vitro and can restore liver function in mice with concanavalin-A-induced acute liver failure. Our study provides a strategy to generate functional hepatocyte-like cells from hUCs by using a single TF plus a chemical cocktail.

For enhanced photocatalytic performance of visible light responsive CdZnS, a series of Cd0.5Zn0.5S solid solutions were fabricated by different methods. It was found that the semiconductor obtained through the precipitation-hydrothermal method (CZS-PH) exhibited the highest photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of 2154 μmol h−1 g−1. The enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production of CZS-PH was probably due to stacking fault formation as well as narrow bandgap, a large surface area and a small crystallite size. Based on this, carbon nanotubes modified with Cu2+ (CNTs (Cu)) were used as a cocatalyst for CZS-PH. The addition of CNTs (Cu) enhanced notably the absorption of the composites for visible light. The highest photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of the Cd0.5Zn0.5S-CNTs (Cu) composite was 2995 μmol h−1 g−1 with 1.0 wt.% of CNTs (Cu). The improvement of the photocatalytic activity by loading of CNTs (Cu) was not due to alteration of bandgap energy or surface area, and was probably attributed to suppression of the electron-hole recombination by the CNTs, with Cu2+ anchored in the interface optimizing the photogenerated electron transfer pathway between the semiconductor and CNTs. We report here the successful combination of homojunction and heterojunction in CdZnS semiconductor, which resulted in promotion of charge separation and enhanced photocatalytic activity.

In this work, ZnCr–mixed metal oxides (MMO) hybridized with functionalized carbon nanotubes (A-CNTs) have been successfully fabricated via vacuum calcination of the layered double hydroxide precursors. The structural and morphological characterization of the samples was investigated by multiple techniques such as XRD, SEM, TEM, XPS, BET, Raman and UV-vis DRS. The results showed that A-CNTs were well incorporated into the MMO nanoparticles to form a nanohybrid structure dependent upon intimate interfacial contact. As compared to pristine MMO, the obtained MMO–CNTs nanohybrids exhibited significantly enhanced photocatalytic performance for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation under simulative solar light irradiation, providing powerful evidence for the superiority of the hybridization with A-CNTs. The key role of A-CNTs played in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of the nanohybrids was probably ascribed to the larger surface area, higher visible light absorption and the more efficient restriction of charge carriers recombination.

In this study, CoMnAl mixed metal oxides (CoMnAl-MMO) were prepared and employed in heterogeneous activation of Oxone for bisphenol A (BPA) degradation. Typically, 10 mg L −1 of BPA could be completely degraded under the coexistence of 0.02 g L −1 of CoMnAl-MMO and 0.15 g L −1 of Oxone within 90 min at 25 °C. The degradation performance was evaluated in view of metal leaching and various effects, e.g., pH, Oxone dosage and temperature. The results indicated that the system of MMO/Oxone was suitable for the treatment of wastewater and presented favorable recycling and stability in both neutral and alkaline conditions. It was confirmed that BPA degradation catalyzed by CoMnAl-MMO followed well with the first order kinetics model and the an activation energy was calculated as 76.83 kJ mol −1 . The sulfate radicals were recognized as the main species to oxidize pollutants in the MMO/Oxone system. Particular attention was paid to the catalysis activation mechanism of peroxymonosulfate and the degradation pathway of BPA, which were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS), LC–MS and GC–MS.

In this study, aluminium powder was added to inorganic geopolymers, which created pores that foamed to reduce the specimen weight and effectively insulated heat. The produced material can be used as fire-resistant fillers for increasing the thermal-insulating performance of fire doors. The specimens were manufactured by mixing 0·1% aluminium powder with inorganic geopolymers for various mixing durations. The standard temperature rising curves regulated in China National Standards 12514 were used as the basis of the heating experiments. The specimen interior was heated at 945°C and the unexposed-surface temperature of the specimen was measured within 1 hour. The experimental results complied with the China National Standards 11227 requirements for Class A fire doors, which specify that the unexposed-surface temperature must not exceed 260°C after combusting at 925°C for 1 hour. Through this study, it was verified that the addition of aluminium powder into the inorganic geopolymers can be applied to the fir...

Under different migration energy of reactive Mg, Zn and O atoms from MgZnO target at different oxygen flow rate, (2 0 0) and (1 1 1) orientations MgZnO thin films with cubic structure were fabricated on fused quartz substrate by PLD method. And MgZnO thin film possesses relatively higher Zn composition and lower Mg composition when deposited more along (1 1 1) orientation. The band gap and UV absorption characteristics of MgZnO thin film do not change completely in accordance with the Mg/Zn atom ratio of MgZnO thin films deposited at different oxygen flow rate, but influenced more by the ratio between Mg and Zn atoms that combined with O atoms in MgZnO crystal lattice and the grain boundary density of MgZnO thin films deposited at different oxygen flow rate.

Cubic structure MgZnO thin films were made on fused quartz substrate at different temperature by PLD method, the preferred orientation of MgZnO thin films changed from (200) to (111) when growth temperature increased because of different substrate surface situation. MgZnO thin film deposited more along (200) orientation at 300 °C with narrower band gap because it contain more Zn atoms in MgZnO lattice than the ones deposited at other temperature, and the UV absorption edge of which is located in longer wavelength position. MgZnO thin film deposited more along (111) orientation at 700 °C with better crystal quality than the ones deposited at other temperature, but the band gap of this sample is wider than the other ones though it also contain more Zn atoms in MgZnO lattice as the one deposited at 300 °C, which is reason from the function of much lower grain boundary density in this MgZnO thin film.

A multi-aperture shower design is reported to improve the transverse uniformity of GdYBCO superconducting films on the template of sputtered-LaMnO3/epitaxial-MgO/IBAD-MgO/solution deposition planarization (SDP)-Y2O3-buffered Hastelloy tapes. The GdYBCO films were prepared by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process. The transverse uniformities of structure, morphology, thickness, and performance were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), step profiler, and the standard four-probe method using the criteria of 1 μV/cm, respectively. Through adopting the multi-aperture shower instead of the slit shower, measurement by step profiler revealed that the thickness difference between the middle and the edges based on the slit shower design was well eliminated. Characterization by SEM showed that a GdYBCO film with a smooth surface was successfully prepared. Moreover, the transport critical current density (Jc) of its middle and edge positions at 77 K and self-field were found to be over 5 MA/cm2 through adopting the micro-bridge four-probe method.

Primary hepatocytes cultured in vitro are a powerful tool to study the functions of hepatocytes and to evaluate the metabolism and toxicity of new drugs. However, in vitro culture of hepatocytes has proven to be very difficult. Ordinary culture conditions lead to dedifferentiation of hepatocytes, resulting in rapid change in cell morphology and significant reduction in specific cell functions. In the current study, we show that hepatocyte dedifferentiation is a rapid process under 21% O2 conditions. Hepatocytes cultured in 21% O2 undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), obtain fibroblast-like morphology, and show decreased hepatic functions. In contrast, 5% O2 is very effective in maintaining the epithelial morphology and many functions of the primary hepatocytes cultured in vitro for up to five days. These functions include albumin production, glycogen storage, LDL-uptake and CYP450-mediated drug metabolism. Furthermore, we find that 5% O2 can relieve the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decrease the level of DNA damage in primary cultured hepatocytes. In addition, we also show that blocking the ERK and GSK-3β pathways can inhibit the dedifferentiation of hepatocytes to a certain extent. Lowering the oxygen tension in cell culture is easily achievable, we believe it could be combined with other methods, such as the use of small molecule cocktails and 3D culture, to maintain proliferation and functions of primary hepatocytes in vitro.

LaMnO3−δ (LMO) films with different oxygen contents are deposited on Epi-MgO/IBAD-MgO templates using reactive magnetron sputtering under varying temperatures and atmospheres. Subsequent YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) films are grown on LMO layers by metal-organic deposition (MOD) method. X-ray diffraction measurements reveal that YBCO texture cannot be further improved when the full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of LMO (011) -scans (evaluation on in-plane alignment) and LMO (002) ω-scans (evaluation on out-of-plane alignment) for LMO films are less than 8° and 4°, respectively. Sharp orientation with in-plane FWHM value of

In this study, the polymer solar cells based on P3HT/[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester 1:1 weight ratio blending were manufactured. TiO2 nanoparticles were added into the P3HT/[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester blending in order to improve the cell performance. The morphologies of polymer solar cells were improved after adding TiO2 nanoparticles. The effects of thermal annealing on the solar cell as with and without TiO2 nanoparticles addition were studied, respectively. A solar cell with high short circuit current density of 8.44 mA cm−2 was obtained by optimizing the thermal annealing condition and the amount of TiO2 nanoparticles. The efficiency of the photovoltaic device was improved after post-annealing with TiO2 nanoparticles doping in the active layer of the polymer solar cell.

Flowering is a critical step in plant reproduction. Oriental lily (Lilium) characterized by showy flowers is increasingly used; however, the blossom period is an important limiting factor influencing the value of lily. Improving the flowering of lily by molecular breeding technology has limitless applications, but the mechanism of the regulation of lily flowering remains to be studied. Transcriptomes providing comprehensive sequence profiling data of transcription variation during flowering process in Oriental hybrids lily Sorbonne were assembled from RNA-Seq data. Approximately 124.16 million 90 bp paired-end clean reads were assembled into 66 327 unigenes and compared with the UniProt databases. There are 30 254 unigenes that have significant hits to the sequences in the UniProt database, 60 738, 16 601, and 12 494 unigenes have similarity to the GO, KEGG, and COG databases, respectively. By analyzing dynamic changes in the transcriptome of lily flowering based on our RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data, some genes involved in floral induction were found, which revealed the complicated flower regulation network at the transcriptome level during lily flowering. Moreover, 12 DEGs related to flowering including LoLFY, LoMAF, LoFT, LoAG, LoCBF, LoAGL6a, LoSOC1, LoSEP1, LoNAC1, LoAPX, LoARF10, and LoICE were identified with real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis. The results suggested that the flower of Oriental lily possessed a high proportion of flowering genes active at different stages of flowering. According to the results of the present study, we predicted that they would play an important role during flowering process; these data provided the foundation for future studies of metabolism during flowering of Oriental lily.

In this paper, well-crystallized NiZnAl layered double hydroxides (NiZnAl-LDHs) at different Zn 2+ /Ni 2+ molar ratio (from 2 to 4) were prepared using dynamic urea hydrolysis method and further calcined at 873 K to obtain the layered NiZnAl mixed metal oxides with high photocatalytic activity. The as-synthesized catalysts were characterized by multiple techniques including XRD, FT-IR, TG-DSC, XPS, XRF, N 2 adsorption–desorption isotherms, UV–vis DRS, and SEM. Additionally, their photocatalytic properties were evaluated by degrading orange G (OG) under solar radiation, with the investigation of isothermal adsorption behavior of OG on NiZnAl-LDHs before. Several factors influencing the photocatalytic activity like Zn 2+ /Ni 2+ molar ratio of the catalyst, catalyst dosage, initial dye concentration, and initial pH, have been studied and optimized as 3, 0.5 g L − 1 , 50 mg L − 1 and neutral, respectively, with a maximum of 99% degradation of OG achieved within 100 min reaction. Furthermore, the kinetic study suggested that the photodecomposition process was well fitted to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model and the mineralization of OG was confirmed by the FT-IR analysis of the catalyst after the degradation. Finally, a probable mechanism was proposed to explain the process of photocatalytic reaction.