Xianming Zhang

A sensitive and simple method for detecting Cu2+ in the water source was proposed by using surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) based on the Ag@SiO2 /Au core-shell composite. The Ag@SiO2 SERS tag was synthesized by a simple approach, in which Ag nanoparticles were first embedded with Raman reporter PATP and next coated with a SiO2 shell. The Ag@SiO2 nanoparticles had strong stability even in a high-concentration salty solution, and there were no changes to their properties and appearance within one month...

Current real-time direction judgment systems are inaccurate and insensitive, as well as limited by the sampling rate of analog-to-digital converters. To address this problem, we propose a dynamic real-time direction judgment system based on an integral dual-frequency laser interferometer and field-programmable gate array technology. The optoelectronic signals resulting from the introduction of a phase subdivision method based on the amplitude resolution of the laser interferometer when measuring displacement are analyzed...

The death of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is primarily due to from critically ill patients, especially from ARDS complications caused by SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, it is essential to contribute an in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and to identify biomarkers for predicting critically ill patients at the molecular level. Immunogenic cell death (ICD), as a specific variant of regulatory cell death driven by stress, can induce adaptive immune responses against cell death antigens in the host...

Neonatal spinal cord tissues exhibit remarkable regenerative capabilities as compared to adult spinal cord tissues after injury, but the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) in this process has remained elusive. Here, we found that early developmental spinal cord had higher levels of ECM proteins associated with neural development and axon growth, but fewer inhibitory proteoglycans, compared to those of adult spinal cord. Decellularized spinal cord ECM from neonatal (DNSCM) and adult (DASCM) rabbits preserved these differences...

In this Letter, we propose a dual-polarized coherent millimeter-wave system based on differential delta-sigma modulation (D-DSM) intended for long-distance wireless transmission in the W-band. The proposed system can transmit polarization-division-multiplexed (PDM) D-DSM signals with modulation orders up to 4194304QAM over a wireless channel for 4.6 km at a signal baud rate of 20 G. After 4.6 km of wireless transmission, we successfully achieve a bit error rate (BER) lower than the hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) of 3...

BACKGROUND: While recent studies have suggested a potential involvement of circRNAs in acute kidney injury (AKI) after ischemia, mmu_circ_003062 role is undetermined. METHODS: The levels of mmu_circ_003062, miR-490-3p, CACNA1H, GRP78, CHOP and hsa_circ_0075663 were detected by Relative qPCR in Boston University mouse proximal tubule (BUMPT) cells, mouse kidneys, and human renal tubular epithelial (HK-2) cells. Moreover, the levels of hsa_circ_0075663 in serum and urine of patients with AKI following cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were detected by absolute quantitative PCR...

Repairing spinal cord injury (SCI) is a global medical challenge lacking effective clinical treatment. Developing human-engineered spinal cord tissues that can replenish lost cells and restore a regenerative microenvironment offers promising potential for SCI therapy. However, creating vascularized human spinal cord-like tissues that mimic the diverse cell types and longitudinal parallel structural features of spinal cord tissues remains a significant hurdle. In present study, vascularized spinal cord tissues (VSCT) were engineered using embryonic human spinal cord-derived neural cells and endothelial cells on linear ordered collagen scaffolds (LOCS)...

The oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata (Walker), an important migratory pest of maize and wheat, is posing a severe threat to maize production in Asian countries. As source areas of spring-summer emigratory populations, the control of M. separata in southwestern China is of great significance for East Asian maize production. To assess the toxicity of Bt maize against the pest, bioassays of Bt-(Cry1Ab+Vip3Aa) maize (event DBN3601T), Bt-Cry1Ab maize (event DBN9936), and Bt-Vip3Aa maize (event DBN9501) were conducted in Yunnan province of southwest China...

Materials exhibiting strong absorption in the NIR-II region are appealing for photothermal conversion-based imaging, diagnosis, and therapy, due to better thermal effect and decreased absorption of water in such a region. 3,3',5,5'-Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), the typical substrate in ELISA, has been explored in photothermal immunoassay, since its oxidation product (oxTMB) is photothermally active in the NIR region. However, its absorption at 1064 nm (the most often used laser wavelength in photothermal studies) is not appreciable, thus limiting the assay sensitivity...

Pillar[n]arenes (P[n]A, n = 5-10) have attracted much attention because of their highly symmetric pillar-shaped architecture with π-electron rich cavity. Nevertheless, the use of ionic liquid functionalized P[n]A in chromatography has not been reported up to data. This work reports the investigation of the imidazolium ionic liquids functionalized pillar[6]arene (P6A-C10-IM-C8[NTf2 ]) as the stationary phase for gas chromatography (GC). The statically coated P6A-C10-IM-C8[NTf2 ] column (0.25 mm i...

BACKGROUND: Stable angina pectoris (SAP) is a clinical condition characterized by reversible and temporary myocardial ischemia and hypoxia. A majority of SAP patients also experience depressive disorders, which adversely affect their disease prognosis and overall quality of life. However, the clinical utility of existing antidepressants is constrained by their side effects. Ginkgo biloba dropping pill (GBDP), a Chinese patented medication, has demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of both coronary heart disease and mental disorders...

In this paper, numerical simulations of single-jet impingement cooling and double-jet impingement cooling processes of heated L-shaped steel are carried out using the VOF model. The SIMPLEC pressure-velocity coupling algorithm and realizable k-ε model are used for the solution. The effects of jet position, water flow, and jet distance in the single-jet condition are analyzed in the simulations. The distributions of impact pressure, turbulence kinetic energy, and Nusselt number were obtained, as well as the variation of the peak values of these three factors with the jet position, water flow, and jet distance...

Mutations in a Plasmodium de-ubiquitinase UBP1 have been linked to antimalarial drug resistance. However, the UBP1-mediated drug-resistant mechanism remains unknown. Through drug selection, genetic mapping, allelic exchange, and functional characterization, here we show that simultaneous mutations of two amino acids (I1560N and P2874T) in the Plasmodium yoelii UBP1 can mediate high-level resistance to mefloquine, lumefantrine, and piperaquine. Mechanistically, the double mutations are shown to impair UBP1 cytoplasmic aggregation and de-ubiquitinating activity, leading to increased ubiquitination levels and altered protein localization, from the parasite digestive vacuole to the plasma membrane, of the P...

The Zn anode of aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) have suffered from a series of rampant side reactions such as dendrite growth and corrosion, which seriously affect the reversibility and stability of Zn anodes. Herein, a polycarbonyl polymer poly(1,4,5,8-naphthalene tetracarboxylic anhydride anthraquinone) imine (PNAQI) as the protective coating is synthesized through a simple solvothermal method with the raw materials of the equimolar 1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (NTCDA) and 2, 6-aminoanthraquinone (2,6-DAAQ)...

Nickel-rich layered oxide cathodes promise ultrahigh energy density but is plagued by the mechanical failure of the secondary particle upon (de)lithiation. Existing approaches for alleviating the structural degradation could retard pulverization, yet fail to tune the stress distribution and root out the formation of cracks. Herein, we report a unique strategy to uniformize the stress distribution in secondary particle via Kirkendall effect to stabilize the core region during electrochemical cycling. Exotic metal/metalloid oxides (such as Al2 O3 or SiO2 ) is introduced as the heterogeneous nucleation seeds for the preferential growth of the precursor...

There are few studies on the changes of heart rate of the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus ), one of the largest tropical terrestrial mammals, with its self-factors and external environment. By measuring the heart rate of 35 Asian elephants, ranging in age from 4 months to 52 years, using a non-invasive electrocardiogram sensor in their natural habitat at Wild Elephant Valley, Xishuangbanna of China, we found factors that significantly influenced the HR were season, phase of the day, age, body weight, and the interaction between some of the above factors...

Modulating the electronic structure of platinum (Pt) through a support is an important strategy for enhancing its electrocatalytic properties. In this work, to explore the impact of support electronegativity on Pt's catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution, we chose diverse metals with varying electronegativities that are stable in acidic solutions, such as titanium (Ti), molybdenum (Mo), and tungsten (W), as supports. Ti is the optimal support according to density functional theory (DFT) calculations. As expected, the Pt@Ti catalyst demonstrated remarkable efficiency in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), displaying a minimal overpotential of 13 mV at -10 mA cm-2 , a Tafel slope of 34...

BACKGROUND: Gas chromatography is worldwide recognized as one of the most important analytical techniques, due to its high versatility and reliability. The heart of a gas chromatograph is the column, that allows analyte peak separations and, consequently, accurate qualitative and qualitative analyses. New and more efficient columns are always requested to satisfy new and challenging analytical needs. RESULTS: In this work, imidazolium ionic liquids functionalized pillar [5] arenes have been used for the first time as gas chromatographic stationary phases, considering their highly symmetric pillar-shaped architecture with cavities rich in π-electrons...

An ultrasonic phased array defect extraction method based on adaptive region growth is proposed, aiming at problems such as difficulty in defect identification and extraction caused by noise interference and complex structure of the detected object during ultrasonic phased array detection. First, bilateral filtering and grayscale processing techniques are employed for the purpose of noise reduction and initial data processing. Following this, the maximum sound pressure within the designated focusing region serves as the seed point...

BACKGROUND: For brain metastases (BMs) from EGFR/ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the best time to administer tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and brain radiotherapy (RT) has not been identified. This analysis was an attempt to solve this problem in part. METHODS: A total of 163 patients with EGFR/ALK-positive NSCLC and brain metastasis (BM) who were diagnosed between January 2017 and July 2022 were included in this study. Ninety-one patients underwent upfront RT, and 72 patients received deferred RT...