Nano-Porous Light-Emitting Silicon Chip as a Potential Biosensor Platform

Nano-porous silicon (PS) offers a potential platform for biosensors with benefits both in terms of light emission and the large functional surface area. A light emitting PS chip with a stable and functional surface was fabricated in our laboratory. When protein was deposited on it, the light emission was reduced in proportion to the protein concentration. Based on this property, we developed a rudimentary demonstration of a label-free sensor to detect bovine serum albumin (BSA). A serial concentration of BSA was applied to the light chip and the reduction in light emission was measured. The reduction of the light intensity was linearly related to the concentration of the BSA at concentrations below 10-5 M. The detection limit was 8×10-9 M

A study of Bao Zhao and his poetry : with a complete English translation of his poems

In Chinese literature the evaluation of Bao Zhao (409-466) of the Liu Song Dynasty has been an age-old controversy. Biographical accounts and literary criticisms on him are unable to avoid partiality, fragmentation, and insubstantiality. Thus this thesis intends to provide a substantial biographical account of Bao Zhao as a Scholar-official, to delineate the mentality of him as a poet and an intellectual, and to offer an integral account of his position in the history of Chinese literature. This thesis consists of a biographical study of Bao Zhao, a complete English translation of his poems, and an analytical study of his poetry. The complete translation is to provide spectrum of Bao Zhao's poetry for a better analytical perspective. After elaborating on various controversial issues of Bap Zhao's life, the biographical study asserts that contrary to the traditional view of him as a humble and insignificant official neglected by his contemporaries and discriminated against by historians, Bao Zhao was an imperial favorite courtier entrusted with power and authority throughout Emperor Xiaowu's reign, a popular belletrist, well-received by the elites of his time, and held in high esteem in the History of the Song Dynastv. The literary study confirms generic achievements of Bao Zhao as a great cultivator of Short Stanzas, Poems in Imitation, the Landscape Poems, Poems on Things and the Frontier Poems, an essential reviver and cultivator of Ballad Songs and Critical Realism, and an epitomizer of the Heptasy1labic Poems and Songs. It then delineates Bao Zhao's understanding of the vicissitudes of life, his conviction of the accessibility of Great Harmony under a wise ruler, his belief of one's responsibility to do his best in life, and his aspirations to serve the world. These engender in his allusive, metaphorical, and allegorical poems a group of heroic, indignant and critical sentiments, and a group of sincere, devoted, and transcendental pathos, the integration of which brings forth the characteristics of Bao Zhao's poetry. The thesis concludes by recognizing Bao Zhao as the most important poet of the Liu Song Dynasty and one of the major poets in the history of Chinese 1iterature.Arts, Faculty ofAsian Studies, Department ofGraduat

A dataset of lake level changes in China between 2002 and 2023 using multi-altimeter data

ABSTRACTLake water levels are an important indicator of water balance and water cycles, and are essential for climate and environmental change studies and water resource evaluation. Currently, lake level measurements are scarce or inconsistent throughout the country, and traditional gauge measurements of many lakes are not feasible, so satellite altimetry is a vital alternative to gauge lake levels. However, the accuracy and sampling frequency of lake level time series are usually low because of time and space coverage limitations; therefore, it is necessary to utilize multi-altimeter data to monitor lake levels and obtain lake level changes over long time series. In this study, we extracted the water level changes in 988 lakes (>10 km2) in China between 2002 and 2023 based on ICESat/-2, Cryosat-2, Jason-1/2/3, and Sentinel-3A/3B altimetry data using waveform retracking, lake level extraction, lake level time series construction, the fusion of multi-altimeter lake level time series, and outlier removal. A total of 55% of the lakes in this dataset have been monitored for more than 10 years, and 34% have more than 12 times the annual average water level monitoring. At the same time, in situ data from 21 lakes were used for validation, and the average root mean square error (RMSE) for each of the datasets of ICESat/-2, Cryosat-2, Jason-1/2/3, and Sentinel-3A/3B versus the in situ lake levels are 0.223 m, 0.163 m, 0.207 m, 0.596 m, 0.295 m, 0.275 m, 0.243 m, and 0.317 m, respectively, and the mean RMSE of the fused lake levels reaches 0.332 m. During the monitoring period, the water levels in Chinese lakes generally increased. The overall annual average rate of change at the 20 and 10-year scales was 0.123 m/a and 0.151 m/a, respectively, among which the overall water levels in large lakes increased significantly. The lakes with a faster rate of decline in the water level were primarily small. The water storage in each lake region in China shows an upward trend, with the most significant increase in the Tibetan Plateau region, where the average annual water level change rate has remained above 0.15 m/a over the past two decades. This dataset has high spatiotemporal coverage and accuracy and can support the estimation of changes in lake water storage, analysis of lake level trends, plateau flooding, and the relationship between lake ecosystems and water resources

Intermolecular Chemistry in Solid Polymer Electrolytes for High-Energy-Density Lithium Batteries

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have aroused wide interest in lithium batteries because of their sufficient mechanical properties, superior safety performances, and excellent processability. However, ionic conductivity and high-voltage compatibility of SPEs are still yet to meet the requirement of future energy-storage systems, representing significant barriers to progress. In this regard, intermolecular interactions in SPEs have attracted attention, and they can significantly impact on the Li+ motion and frontier orbital energy level of SPEs. Recent advances in improving electrochemcial performance of SPEs are reviewed, and the underlying mechanism of these proposed strategies related to intermolecular interaction is discussed, including ion-dipole, hydrogen bonds, pi-pi stacking, and Lewis acid-base interactions. It is hoped that this review can inspire a deeper consideration on this critical issue, which can pave new pathway to improve ionic conductivity and high-voltage performance of SPEs

A label free electrochemical nanobiosensor study

Nano-porous silicon (PS) is an attractive material for incorporation into biosensors, because it has a large surface area combined with the ability to generate both optical and electrical signals. In this paper, we describe a label-free nanobiosensor for bovine serum albumin (BSA). Nano-porous silicon produced in our laboratory was functionalized prior to immobilization of anti-BSA antibody on the surface. Reaction with BSA in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) buffer resulted in an impedance change which was inversely proportional to the concentration of the analyte. The system PBS buffer/antigen-antibody/PS constitutes an electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) structure, thus furnishing an impedance EIS nanobiosensor. The linear range of the sensor was 0-0.27 mg mL-1 and the sensitivity was less than 10 µg mL-1

Revealing the importance of suppressing formation of lithium hydride and hydrogen in Li anode protection

Abstract The reviving of the “Holy Grail” lithium metal batteries (LMBs) is greatly hindered by severe parasitic reactions between Li anode and electrolytes. Herein, first, we comprehensively summarize the failure mechanisms and protection principles of the Li anode. Wherein, despite being in dispute, the formation of lithium hydride (LiH) is demonstrated to be one of the most critical factors for Li anode pulverization. Secondly, we trace the research history of LiH at electrodes of lithium batteries. In LMBs, LiH formation is suggested to be greatly associated with the generation of H2 from Li/electrolyte intrinsic parasitic reactions, and these intrinsic reactions are still not fully understood. Finally, density functional theory calculations reveal that H2 adsorption ability of representative Li anode protective species (such as LiF, Li3N, BN, Li2O, and graphene) is much higher than that of Li and LiH. Therefore, as an important supplement of well‐known lithiophilicity theory/high interfacial energy theory and three key principles (mechanical stability, uniform ion transport, and chemical passivation), we propose that constructing an artificial solid electrolyte interphase layer enriched of components with much higher H2 adsorption ability than Li will serve as an effective principle for Li anode protection. In summary, suppressing formation of LiH and H2 will be very important for cycle life enhancement of practical LMBs

Multiple brain abscesses caused by Nocardia asiatica: Case report and literature review

Nocardia are opportunistic pathogens mainly affecting immunocompromised individuals. Nocardia asiatica, a novel species, can cause severe infections. We present a case of multiple brain abscesses due to Nocardia asiatica, discussing its diagnosis and treatment. In January 2022, a 27-year-old Chinese woman with a history of atypical membranous nephropathy presented with low-grade fever, cough, limb weakness, and headaches. Imaging revealed lung and brain lesions. Neurological symptoms worsened over time, culminating in recurrent seizures and severe headaches. A brain MRI confirmed multiple abscesses. Craniotomy and lesion removal were performed, leading to a diagnosis of brain abscesses caused by Nocardia asiatica. Empirical antibiotics were followed by targeted regimen. After successful treatment, the patient remained symptom-free during follow-ups. Nocardia asiatica multiple brain abscesses are exceedingly rare. This case underscores the importance of considering nocardiosis in immunosuppressed patients presenting with neurological symptoms. Timely neurosurgical intervention and effective antibiotic therapy are crucial. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing proved invaluable for rapid diagnosis. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) and a carbapenem followed by TMP-SMX alone achieved disease control. This case contributes to the understanding of Nocardia asiatica infections and highlights the role of neurosurgical procedures in managing disseminated nocardiosis

High-voltage Zn/LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 aqueous rechargeable battery by virtue of “water-in-salt” electrolyte

A LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 cathode and a Zn anode, for the first time, are combined in a full cell possessing a high operating voltage exceeding 1.8 V. By virtue of a water-in-salt electrolyte containing lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and ZnSO4, two reversible reactions of Li+ extraction/insertion (cathode) and Zn dissolution/deposition (anode) can be realized in the aqueous system. Such novel battery delivers an energy density of 183 Wh/kg based on the total mass of the active electrode materials. The high reversibility of the system enables sustaining more than 150 cycles (0.3 C) without obvious capacity fading. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the electrochemical characteristics of the LiMn0.8Fe0.2PO4 is critically dependent on the pH value of the electrolyte. Keywords: Zinc-based batteries, LiMnxFe1−xPO4, Water-in-salt electrolyte, Aqueous batteries, High voltag