Bis(benzimidazol-1-yl)methane dihydrate

The bis­(benzimidazol-1-yl)methane mol­ecule of the title compound, C15H12N4·2H2O, displays a trans conformation with a twofold axis running through the methylene C atom. Two adjacent water mol­ecules are bonded to this mol­ecule through O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming a trimer. Adjacent trimers are connected together via C—H⋯O inter­actions, forming a chain running along the b-axis direction. Two such chains are joined together via π–π inter­actions [centroid–centroid distance = 3.556 (2) Å], forming double chains, which are connected via the water mol­ecules through C—H⋯O associations, forming a sheet structure. The sheets are stacked on top of each other along the a-axis direction and connected through O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O inter­actions, forming a three-dimensional ABAB layer network structure

Two-dimensional domain structures in Lithium Niobate via domain inversion with ultrafast light

Periodic inversion of ferroelectric domains is realized in a lithium niobate crystal by focused femtosecond near-infrared laser beam. One and two-dimensional domain patterns are fabricated. Quasi-phase matched frequency doubling of 815nm light is demonstrated in a channel waveguide with an inscribed periodic domain pattern with conversion efficiency as high as 17.45%.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Mannose‐Modified Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes as a Delivery Nanovector Optimizing the Antigen Presentation of Dendritic Cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) based cancer immunotherapy is largely dependent on adequate antigen delivery and efficient induction of DCs maturation to produce sufficient antigen presentation and ultimately lead to substantial activation of tumor‐specific CD8+ T cells. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted great attention in biomedicine because of their unique physicochemical properties. In order to effectively deliver tumor antigens to DCs and trigger a strong anti‐tumor immune response, herein, a specific DCs target delivery system was assembled by using multi‐walled carbon nanotubes modified with mannose which can specifically bind to the mannose receptor on DCs membrane. Ovalbumin (OVA) as a model antigen, could be adsorbed on the surface of mannose modified multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (Man‐MWCNTs) with a large drug loading content. This nanotube‐antigen complex showed low cytotoxicity to DCs and was efficiently engulfed by DCs to induce DCs maturation and cytokine release in vitro, indicating that it could be a potent antigen‐adjuvant nanovector of efficient antigen delivery for therapeutic purpose.Perfectly delivered! Mannose‐modified multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (Man‐MWCNTs) could efficiently deliver a large amount of antigen to bone marrow derived dendritic cells (DCs) through ligand/receptor interactions of mannose, inducing enhanced BMDCs maturation and cytokines secretion.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150607/1/open201900126-sup-0001-misc_information.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150607/2/open201900126.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150607/3/open201900126_am.pd

Visual characterization of associative quasitrivial nondecreasing operations on finite chains

In this paper we provide visual characterization of associative quasitrivial nondecreasing operations on finite chains. We also provide a characterization of bisymmetric quasitrivial nondecreasing binary operations on finite chains. Finally, we estimate the number of functions belonging to the previous classes.Comment: 25 pages, 18 Figure

Aerodynamic Enhancement of Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines Using Plain and Serrated Gurney Flaps

In light of the escalating demand for renewable energy sources, vertical-axis wind turbines have emerged as a pivotal technical solution for addressing the challenge of clean energy supply in residential and urban areas. As a simple and feasible passive control method, the plain Gurney flap (PGF) is widely applied to improve turbine aerodynamic performance. In this paper, the influence of a novel serrated gurney flap (SGF) with different flap heights is studied on the NACA0021 airfoil by numerical simulations. The findings demonstrate that, compared with the PGF, the SGF reduces the trailing edge reverse vortices from a pair to a single vortex and possesses lower drag. When the flap height reaches 6% of the chord (6%c), the lift-to-drag ratio of SGF surpasses that of PGF. A turbine rotor is equipped with an SGF and a PGF to compare their performances. The result confirms the flap effect depending on the rotor’s tip speed. At a low tip speed ratio (TSR), the PGF works better than the SGF. The SGF is preferred over the PGF for a higher tip speed ratio (TSR > 2.5). With the 6%c flap height, the performance of the SGF rotor surpasses the PGF by 13.9% at TSR = 2.62

Image_6_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p

Image_4_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p

Image_1_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p

Image_2_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p

Image_3_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p