The III–V Triple-Junction Solar Cell Characteristics and Optimization with a Fresnel Lens Concentrator

At present, the Fresnel lens are commonly used as the condenser in high-concentrating photovoltaic (HCPV) modules. It is ideally believed that the output power of a III–V triple-junction solar cell which is placed on the focal plane of a Fresnel lens is the largest, because the intensity of the sunlight on the focal plane is the largest. Actually, according to our work, the dispersion of sunlight through a Fresnel lens and the nonparallelism and divergence of the incident light will lead to changes in the spectrum and the homogeneity of illumination, and cause a drop of the solar cell output. In this paper, the influence of the dispersion and nonparallel incidence of the light on the output of a triple-junction solar cell at different positions near the focal plane were theoretically studied, combined with the light-tracing simulation method and triple-junction solar cell circuit network model. The results show that the III–V triple-junction solar cell has the highest output power in both sides of the focal plane positions. The output power can be increased by about 15% after being optimized. The simulation results were verified by the experiments

ATF4, p75NTR and IL-8 participated in SFO-induced EndoMT in HUVECs.

<p>Cells were preincubated with 40 nM ATF4, IL-8 or 60 nM p75NTR siRNA or scramble siRNA for 48 h, then 50 µg/ml SFO for 3 h for qPCR and 6 h for western blot assay. (A and B) Western blot analysis of siRNA-mediated downregulation of ATF4 and p75NTR in HUVECs. Data below the western blot bands were used to quantify the density of the bands. (C) qPCR analysis of siRNA-mediated downregulation of IL-8. GAPDH was a normalization control. (D and E) Analysis of effect of ATF4, p75NTR and IL-8 siRNA on SFO-induced α-SMA in HUVECs by qPCR (D) and western blot (E). (F) qPCR analysis of siRNA effects on eNOS expression in HUVECs. Expression was normalized to that of GAPDH. (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, n = 3).</p

SFO promoted endothelial–mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) in HUVECs.

<p>HUVECs were exposed to 10–70 µg/ml SFO in normal medium. (A) qPCR analysis of mRNA expression of α-SMA, CD31 and eNOS in HUVECs treated with SFO at 3, 6 and 12 h. Expression was normalized to that of GAPDH. *p<0.05;**p<0.01 vs. Ctr, n = 4. (B) Western blot analysis of protein expression of α-SMA, CD31 and eNOS in HUVECs treated with SFO at 6 and 12 h. Results are representative of 3 independent experiments. (C) HUVECs were treated with ethanol (Control) or 50 µg/ml of SFO for 6 h, then exposed to 30 µM sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) for 1 h, with or without rescue for 1 h, and contraction of cells was calculated. VSMC stimulated with SPC was as a positive control (**p<0.01, n = 3).</p

ATF4, p75NTR and IL-8 were increased by SFO in HUVECs and MS1 cells.

<p>HUVECs were exposed to 50 µg/ml of SFO at 3, 6 and 12 h, then the relative mRNA level of the three genes was detected by qPCR (A to C) and western blot analysis (D and E) or ELISA (F). Data below the western blot bands were used to quantify the density of the bands. β-actin was a normalization control. MS1 cells were exposed to 50–150 µg/ml SFO at 6 h (The effective time and concentration used in this study was according to our preliminary experiment), the relative mRNA level and protein level of ATF4, p75NTR and IL-8 were detected by qPCR (G to I) and western blot analysis (J and K). IL-8 secretion was detected by ELISA (L). β-actin was used as a normalization control (*p<0.05; **p<0.01 vs. Ctr, n = 3).</p

Microarray assay of gene expression induced by 50 µg/ml of SFO in medium for 6 h.

<p>(A) Scatter plot of differentially expressed genes. (B) The 13 genes with more than eight-fold change in expression and ATF4 on microarray analysis. The microarray results represent a single experiment.</p

The ATF4/p75NTR/IL-8 signaling pathway was involved in the induction of EndoMT by SFO.

<p>(A and B) Cells were preincubated with ATF4 siRNA for 48 h, then 50 µg/ml SFO for 3 h for qPCR assay and 6 h for western blot assay. Effect of ATF4 siRNA on SFO-induced p75NTR expression in HUVECs was detected by qPCR assay (A) and western blot assay (B). Data below gels were used to quantify the density of the bands. (C to F) Cells were preincubated with p75NTR siRNA for 48 h, then 50 µg/ml of SFO for 3 h for qPCR assay and 6 h for western blot or ELISA assay. Effect of p75NTR siRNA on SFO-induced ATF4 expression in HUVECs was detected by qPCR assay (C) and western blot assay (D). Effect of p75NTR siRNA on SFO-induced IL-8 expression and release in HUVECs was detected by qPCR assay (E) and ELISA (F). G. A schematic of the signaling pathways of SFO in HUVEC transdifferentiation. (**p<0.01; & p>0.05, n = 3).</p

Tobacco Waste Liquid-Based Organic Fertilizer Particle for Controlled-Release Fulvic Acid and Immobilization of Heavy Metals in Soil

Every year, a large amount of tobacco waste liquid (TWL) is discharged into the environment, resulting in serious pollution for the environment. In this work, a TWL-based particle (OACT) was fabricated by CaO, attapulgite (ATP), and TWL, and, then, OACT was coated by amino silicon oil (ASO) to form OACT@ASO. Therein, OACT@ASO had high controlled-release ability for fulvic acid (FA), because of the nanonetworks structure for ATP and the high content of FA in TWL. The release ratio (RR) of FA from OACT@ASO reached 94% at 75 h in deionized water, and 23% at 32 d in silica sand. Furthermore, the release mechanism of FA from OACT@ASO was consistent with the First-order law. Additionally, OACT@ASO also possessed high immobilization capacity for Cu(II), Cd(II), and Pb(II) (CCP) in soil. Notably, a pot experiment indicated that OACT@ASO could facilitate the growth of pakchoi seedlings and decrease the absorption of CCP by pakchoi seedlings. Thus, this study provides a new kind of organic fertilizer which could not only release FA, but also immobilize CCP in soil

LncRNA MALAT1 promotes growth and metastasis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma by repressing VHL through a non-canonical function of EZH2

Abstract Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are implicated in malignant progression of human cancers. Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), a well-known lncRNA, has been reported to play crucial roles in multiple malignancies including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the underlying mechanisms of MALAT1 in HNSCC progression remain to be further investigated. Here, we elucidated that compared with normal squamous epithelium, MALAT1 was notably upregulated in HNSCC tissues, especially in which was poorly differentiated or with lymph nodes metastasis. Moreover, elevated MALAT1 predicted unfavorable prognosis of HNSCC patients. The results of in vitro and in vivo assays showed that targeting MALAT1 could significantly weaken the capacities of proliferation and metastasis in HNSCC. Mechanistically, MALAT1 inhibited von Hippel–Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL) by activating EZH2/STAT3/Akt axis, then promoted the stabilization and activation of β-catenin and NF-κB which could play crucial roles in HNSCC growth and metastasis. In conclusion, our findings reveal a novel mechanism for malignant progression of HNSCC and suggest that MALAT1 might be a promising therapeutic target for HNSCC treatment