Study on Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on TiO2 Composite Nanomaterials

With the continuous development of nanomaterials, how to improve the conversion efficiency of DSSCs has been the focus of scholars. Nano-TiO2 material is a wide bandgap semiconductor with a bandgap of 3.2eV. It exhibits good performance in dye adsorption, charge separation, electron transport, etc., and has good chemical stability and strong acid and alkali resistance. Therefore, it was always the material of choice for the preparation of photoanodes. In this paper, different thicknesses of TiO2 NRs barrier layers were prepared on FTO substrates by solvothermal method and two-step spin coating method, and their electrochemical and photoelectric properties were tested by using relevant test instruments. The effects of barrier layers with different thicknesses of TiO2 NRs on the performance of DSSCs were analysed. The anatase TiO2 NRs with an average length of 28±10nm and a diameter of 2±1nm were obtained. The concentration of TiO2 NRs was 0.245mol·L-1 (TiO2 NRs-12). When the thickness is 88.58nm, DSSCs exhibit the best photoelectric performanc

Tracing children's vocabulary development from preschool through the school‐age years: an 8‐year longitudinal study

In this 8‐year longitudinal study, we traced the vocabulary growth of Chinese children, explored potential precursors of vocabulary knowledge, and investigated how vocabulary growth predicted future reading skills. Two hundred and sixty‐four (264) native Chinese children from Beijing were measured on a variety of reading and language tasks over 8 years. Between the ages of 4 to 10 years, they were administered tasks of vocabulary and related cognitive skills. At age 11, comprehensive reading skills, including character recognition, reading fluency, and reading comprehension were examined. Individual differences in vocabulary developmental profiles were estimated using the intercept‐slope cluster method. Vocabulary development was then examined in relation to later reading outcomes. Three subgroups of lexical growth were classified, namely high‐high (with a large initial vocabulary size and a fast growth rate), low‐high (with a small initial vocabulary size and a fast growth rate) and low‐low (with a small initial vocabulary size and a slow growth rate) groups. Low‐high and low‐low groups were distinguishable mostly through phonological skills, morphological skills and other reading‐related cognitive skills. Childhood vocabulary development (using intercept and slope) explained subsequent reading skills. Findings suggest that language‐related and reading‐related cognitive skills differ among groups with different developmental trajectories of vocabulary, and the initial size and growth rate of vocabulary may be two predictors for later reading development. “In this 8‐year longitudinal study, we traced the vocabulary growth of Chinese children, explored potential precursors of vocabulary knowledge, and investigated how vocabulary growth predicted future reading skills. Three subgroups of lexical growth were classified, namely high‐high (with a large initial vocabulary size and a fast growth rate), low‐high (with a small initial vocabulary size and a fast growth rate) and low‐low (with a small initial vocabulary size and a slow growth rate) groups. Low‐high and low‐low groups were distinguishable mostly through phonological skills, morphological skills and other reading‐related cognitive skills. Childhood vocabulary development (using intercept and slope) explained subsequent reading skills. Findings suggest that language‐related and reading‐related cognitive skills differ among groups with different developmental trajectories of vocabulary, and the initial size and growth rate of vocabulary may be two predictors for later reading development.”Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109871/1/desc12190.pd

Phonological awareness and naming speed in good and poor Chinese readers

published_or_final_versiontocabstractLinguisticsMasterMaster of Philosoph

The role of paired-associate learning skill and rapid naming in learning to read Chinese

published_or_final_versionPsychologyDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph

A Novel Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in WNT4 Promoter Affects Its Transcription and Response to FSH in Chicken Follicles

The signaling pathway of the wingless-type mouse mammary tumor virus integration site (Wnt) plays an important role in ovarian and follicular development. In our previous study, WNT4 was shown to be involved in the selection and development of chicken follicles by upregulating the expression of follicle-stimulating hormone receptors (FSHR), stimulating the proliferation of follicular granulosa cells, and increasing the secretion of steroidal hormones. FSH also stimulates the expression of WNT4. To further explore the molecular mechanism by which FSH upregulates WNT4 and characterize the cis-elements regulating WNT4 transcription, in this study, we determined the critical regulatory regions affecting chicken WNT4 transcription. We then identified a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in this region, and finally analyzed the associations of the SNP with chicken production traits. The results showed that the 5′ regulatory region from −3354 to −2689 of WNT4 had the strongest activity and greatest response to FSH stimulation, and we identified one SNP site in this segment, −3015 (G > C), as affecting the binding of NFAT5 (nuclear factor of activated T cells 5) and respones to FSH stimulation. When G was replaced with C at this site, it eliminated the NFAT5 binding. The mRNA level of WNT4 in small yellow follicles of chickens with genotype GG was significantly higher than that of the other two genotypes. Moreover, this locus was found to be significantly associated with comb length in hens. Individuals with the genotype CC had longer combs. Collectively, these data suggested that SNP−3015 (G > C) is involved in the regulation of WNT4 gene expression by responding FSH and affecting the binding of NFAT5 and that it is associated with chicken comb length. The current results provide a reference for further revealing the response mechanism between WNT and FSH

P200 and phonological processing in Chinese word recognition

The present study examined the relationship between P200 and phonological processing in Chinese word recognition. Participants did a semantic judgment task on pairs of words. The critical pairs were all semantically unrelated in one of three conditions: homophonic, rhyme, or phonologically unrelated. Noting the possibility that P200 may be affected by phonological similarity and orthographic similarity and that literature studies may not have assessed such effects separately, the present study used visually dissimilar word pairs sharing no phonetic radicals. Relative to the control pairs, both the homophonic and rhyme pairs elicited a significantly larger P200 with a scalp distribution centering at the centroparietal areas. The results present strong evidence that P200 can be modulated by lexical phonology alone, independent of sub-lexical phonology, or lexical or sub-lexical orthography. P200 effects were comparable in amplitude and topography between the homophonic and the rhyme conditions, suggesting that P200 is sensitive to phonology at both the syllabic and the sub-syllabic levels. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Virulence and Molecular Diversity of the Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici Population in Xinjiang in Relation to Other Regions of Western China

In recent years, wheat stripe rust caused severe yield losses in western China, especially the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The population of the stripe rust fungus Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici in the vast region had not been well studied. To determine the population structure and compare it with the populations in the neighboring provinces or autonomous regions, P. striiformis f. sp. tritici isolates from Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, and Tibet in western China were characterized by virulence tests with 19 wheat genotypes that are used to differentiate races of P. striiformis f. sp. tritici in China and by genotyping tests with 15 simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers. In total, 56 races, including 39 previously known and 17 new races, were identified from 308 isolates obtained from the three epidemiological regions covering five provinces, of which 27 previously known and 8 unknown races were detected in Xinjiang, higher than the numbers in either of the other two regions. The races in Xinjiang consisted of those historically and recently predominant races in other regions of China. The P. striiformis f. sp. tritici population in Xinjiang had a higher genetic diversity than populations in other epidemiological regions. Molecular variation among subpopulations within Xinjiang was higher than in other regions. Both virulence and molecular data indicate that the P. striiformis f. sp. tritici population in Xinjiang is related to but more diverse than those in other epidemiological regions. The results show that Xinjiang is an important stripe rust epidemiological region in China, and the information should be useful for control of the disease in the region as well as in other regions

Ultrasound characteristics of normal parathyroid glands and analysis of the factors affecting their display

Abstract Background Parathyroid glands are important endocrine glands, and the identification of normal parathyroid glands is crucial for their protection. The aim of this study is to explore the sonographic characteristics of normal parathyroid glands and analyze the factors affecting their display. Methods Seven hundred three subjects who underwent physical examination at our hospital were included. The number, location, size, morphology, echogenicity and blood flow distribution of parathyroid glands were recorded. The ultrasound characteristics and display rate were also summarized. Meanwhile, shear wave elastography was performed in 50 cases to provide the stiffness measurements, and 26 cases received contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for the assessment of microcirculatory perfusion. Furthermore, we analyzed the factors affecting parathyroid display, including basic information of the subjects and ultrasound features of the thyroid. Results ① A total of 1038 parathyroid glands were detected, among which, 79.29% were hyperechoic, 20.71% were isoechoic, 88.15% were oval-shaped, and 86.71% had blood flow of grade 0-I. ② 81.79% of the subjects had at least one parathyroid gland detected. ③ The Emean, Emax, PI and AUC of the parathyroid glands were significantly lower than those of the adjacent thyroid tissue (P < 0.05). ④ The display of normal parathyroid glands was related to BMI, thyroid echogenicity and thyroid volume of the subjects (P < 0.05). Conclusions Normal parathyroid glands tend to appear as oval-shaped hyperechoic nodules with blood flow of grade 0-I. BMI, thyroid echogenicity and thyroid volume are independent factors affecting the display of parathyroid glands

P200 and phonological processing in Chinese word recognition

The present study examined the relationship between P200 and phonological processing in Chinese word recognition. Participants did a semantic judgment task on pairs of words. The critical pairs were all semantically unrelated in one of three conditions: homophonic, rhyme, or phonologically unrelated. Noting the possibility that P200 may be affected by phonological similarity and orthographic similarity and that literature studies may not have assessed such effects separately, the present study used visually dissimilar word pairs sharing no phonetic radicals. Relative to the control pairs, both the homophonic and rhyme pairs elicited a significantly larger P200 with a scalp distribution centering at the centroparietal areas. The results present strong evidence that P200 can be modulated by lexical phonology alone, independent of sub-lexical phonology, or lexical or sub-lexical orthography. P200 effects were comparable in amplitude and topography between the homophonic and the rhyme conditions, suggesting that P200 is sensitive to phonology at both the syllabic and the sub-syllabic levels. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved