Effect of solvent vapor annealing on TiOPc thin films and the application on hybrid solar cells

This article reports on effect of solvent vapor annealing on TiOPc thin films and the application on hybrid solar cells based on ZnO/TiOPc with DH-alpha6T as an electron blocking layer. The band gap shows a change for the TiOPc thin film solvent vapor annealed with various solvents, which may be due to the phase transition from amorphous to alpha-phase, beta-form or alpha+beta-form. The phase separation could be responsible for the variations of the optical properties. No significant change is observed in the pi-pi* transition at various phase behaviors. Device performance of hybrid solar cells could be improved and open-circuit voltage (VOC), short-circuit current (ISC) and power conversion efficiency (eta) were enhanced by solvent vapor annealing, which originated from amorphous TiOPc films transformed into crystalline alpha-phase, beta-form or alpha+beta-form.nbsp At alpha-TiOPc, the device achieved the highest performance with VOC, ISC and eta of 0.57 V, 1.40 mA/cm2, and 0.22 %, respectively, which originated from alpha-TiOPc with the widest red and near-IR absorption band

Correlating Heteroatoms Doping, Electronic Structures, and Photocatalytic Activities of Single‐Atom‐Doped Ag25(SR)18 Nanoclusters

Atomic‐level manipulation of catalysts is important for both fundamental studies and practical applications. Here, the central metal atom in an atomically precise Ag25 nanocluster (NC) is replaced with a single Pd, Pt, and Au atom, respectively, and employed as a model system to study the structure–property–activity relationship at the atomic level. While the geometric structures are well‐preserved after doping, the electronic structures of Ag25 NCs are significantly altered. The combination of Ag25 and TiO2 enhances the charge separation at the interface, exhibiting a 10 times higher hydrogen production rate in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction compared to bare TiO2. Further results show that heteroatoms doping has a negative impact on performance, particularly in the cases of Pd and Au doping. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations suggest that the lower activities are due to an energy mismatch between the levels of doped NCs and TiO2. These findings not only reveal the impact of heteroatoms doping on the electronic properties and photocatalytic activities of NCs, but can also guide the design of heterometallic NCs for photocatalytic applications

Correlating Heteroatoms Doping, Electronic Structures, and Photocatalytic Activities of Single‐Atom‐Doped Ag25(SR)18 Nanoclusters

Atomic‐level manipulation of catalysts is important for both fundamental studies and practical applications. Here, the central metal atom in an atomically precise Ag25 nanocluster (NC) is replaced with a single Pd, Pt, and Au atom, respectively, and employed as a model system to study the structure–property–activity relationship at the atomic level. While the geometric structures are well‐preserved after doping, the electronic structures of Ag25 NCs are significantly altered. The combination of Ag25 and TiO2 enhances the charge separation at the interface, exhibiting a 10 times higher hydrogen production rate in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction compared to bare TiO2. Further results show that heteroatoms doping has a negative impact on performance, particularly in the cases of Pd and Au doping. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations suggest that the lower activities are due to an energy mismatch between the levels of doped NCs and TiO2. These findings not only reveal the impact of heteroatoms doping on the electronic properties and photocatalytic activities of NCs, but can also guide the design of heterometallic NCs for photocatalytic applications.Heteroatoms doping alters the electronic structures of Ag25 nanoclusters (NCs), while keeping the geometric structures unchanged. In this way, the geometrical effects and the electronic effects are clearly distinguished. The photocatalytic activities of as‐prepared NCs deposited onto TiO2 are investigated. The performances follow the order of Ag25 ≥ PtAg24 > PdAg24 ≥ AuAg24. image © 2023 WILEY‐VCH GmbHDFG http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659China Scholarship Council http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004543Peer Reviewe

Willingness of Chinese Men Who Have Sex With Men to Use Smartphone-Based Electronic Readers for HIV Self-testing: Web-Based Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: The need for strategies to encourage user-initiated reporting of results after HIV self-testing (HIVST) persists. Smartphone-based electronic readers (SERs) have been shown capable of reading diagnostics results accurately in point-of-care diagnostics and could bridge the current gaps between HIVST and linkage to care. OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed to assess the willingness of Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) in the Jiangsu province to use an SER for HIVST through a web-based cross-sectional study. METHODS: From February to April 2020, we conducted a convenience web-based survey among Chinese MSM by using a pretested structured questionnaire. Survey items were adapted from previous HIVST feasibility studies and modified as required. Prior to answering reader-related questions, participants watched a video showcasing a prototype SER. Statistical analysis included descriptive analysis, chi-squared test, and multivariable logistic regression. P values less than .05 were deemed statistically significant. RESULTS: Of 692 participants, 369 (53.3%) were aged 26-40 years, 456 (65.9%) had ever self-tested for HIV, and 493 (71.2%) were willing to use an SER for HIVST. Approximately 98% (483/493) of the willing participants, 85.3% (459/538) of ever self-tested and never self-tested, and 40% (46/115) of unwilling participants reported that SERs would increase their HIVST frequency. Engaging in unprotected anal intercourse with regular partners compared to consistently using condoms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.04, 95% CI 1.19-7.74) increased the odds of willingness to use an SER for HIVST. Participants who had ever considered HIVST at home with a partner right before sex compared to those who had not (AOR 2.99, 95% CI 1.13-7.90) were also more willing to use an SER for HIVST. Playing receptive roles during anal intercourse compared to playing insertive roles (AOR 0.05, 95% CI 0.02-0.14) was associated with decreased odds of being willing to use an SER for HIVST. The majority of the participants (447/608, 73.5%) preferred to purchase readers from local Centers of Disease Control and Prevention offices and 51.2% (311/608) of the participants were willing to pay less than US $4.70 for a reader device. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the Chinese MSM, especially those with high sexual risk behaviors, were willing to use an SER for HIVST. Many MSM were also willing to self-test more frequently for HIV with an SER. Further research is needed to ascertain the diagnostic and real-time data-capturing capacity of prototype SERs during HIVST

Using multi-tissue transcriptome-wide association study to identify candidate susceptibility genes for respiratory infectious diseases

Objective: We explore the candidate susceptibility genes for influenza A virus (IAV), measles, rubella, and mumps and their underlying biological mechanisms.Methods: We downloaded the genome-wide association study summary data of four virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) level data sets (anti-IAV IgG, anti-measles IgG, anti-rubella IgG, and anti-mumps virus IgG levels) and integrated them with reference models of three potential tissues from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, namely, whole blood, lung, and transformed fibroblast cells, to identify genes whose expression is predicted to be associated with IAV, measles, mumps, and rubella.Results: We identified 19 significant genes (ULK4, AC010132.11, SURF1, NIPAL2, TRAP1, TAF1C, AC000078.5, RP4-639F20.1, RMDN2, ATP1B3, SRSF12, RP11-477D19.2, TFB1M, XXyac-YX65C7_A.2, TAF1C, PCGF2, and BNIP1) associated with IAV at a Bonferroni-corrected threshold of p < 0.05; 14 significant genes (SOAT1, COLGALT2, AC021860.1, HCG11, METTL21B, MRPL10, GSTM4, PAQR6, RP11-617D20.1, SNX8, METTL21B, ANKRD27, CBWD2, and TSFM) associated with measles at a Bonferroni-corrected threshold of p < 0.05; 15 significant genes (MTOR, LAMC1, TRIM38, U91328.21, POLR2J, SCRN2, Smpd4, UBN1, CNTROB, SCRN2, HOXB-AS1, SLC14A1, AC007566.10, AC093668.2, and CPD) associated with mumps at a Bonferroni-corrected threshold of p < 0.05; and 13 significant genes (JAGN1, RRP12, RP11-452K12.7, CASP7, AP3S2, IL17RC, FAM86HP, AMACR, RRP12, PPP2R1B, C11orf1, DLAT, and TMEM117) associated with rubella at a Bonferroni-corrected threshold of p < 0.05.Conclusions: We have identified several candidate genes for IAV, measles, mumps, and rubella in multiple tissues. Our research may further our understanding of the pathogenesis of infectious respiratory diseases

Promoting Cardiac Repair through Simple Engineering of Nanoparticles with Exclusive Targeting Capability toward Myocardial Reperfusion Injury by Thermal Resistant Microfluidic Platform

Nanoparticle (NP)-based intravenous administration represents the most convenient cardiac targeting delivery routine, yet, there are still therapeutic issues due to the lack of targeting efficiency and specificity. Active targeting methods using functionalization of ligands onto the NPs' surface may be limited by trivial modification procedures and reduced targeting yield in vivo. Here, a microfluidics assisted single step, green synthesis method is introduced for producing targeting ligands free heart homing NPs in a tailored manner. The generated beta-glucan-based NPs exhibit precise and efficient targeting capability toward Dectin-1(+) monocytes/macrophages, which are confirmed as main pathogenesis mediators for cardiac ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury, with a sequentially enhanced cardiac NP accumulation, and this targeting strategy is exclusively suitable for cardiac I/R but not for other cardiovascular diseases, as confirmed both in murine and human model. Comparing to FDA-approved nano-micelles formulation, beta-glucan NPs loaded with NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome inhibitor (CY-09) exhibit better efficiency in ameliorating myocardial injury and heart failure induced by surgically induced I/R. These findings indicate a simple production of targeting-ligand free NPs, and demonstrate their potential therapeutic applications for preclinical I/R-induced cardiac injury amelioration.Peer reviewe

Promoting Cardiac Repair through Simple Engineering of Nanoparticles with Exclusive Targeting Capability toward Myocardial Reperfusion Injury by Thermal Resistant Microfluidic Platform

Nanoparticle (NP)-based intravenous administration represents the most convenient cardiac targeting delivery routine, yet, there are still therapeutic issues due to the lack of targeting efficiency and specificity. Active targeting methods using functionalization of ligands onto the NPs' surface may be limited by trivial modification procedures and reduced targeting yield in vivo. Here, a microfluidics assisted single step, green synthesis method is introduced for producing targeting ligands free heart homing NPs in a tailored manner. The generated beta-glucan-based NPs exhibit precise and efficient targeting capability toward Dectin-1(+) monocytes/macrophages, which are confirmed as main pathogenesis mediators for cardiac ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury, with a sequentially enhanced cardiac NP accumulation, and this targeting strategy is exclusively suitable for cardiac I/R but not for other cardiovascular diseases, as confirmed both in murine and human model. Comparing to FDA-approved nano-micelles formulation, beta-glucan NPs loaded with NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome inhibitor (CY-09) exhibit better efficiency in ameliorating myocardial injury and heart failure induced by surgically induced I/R. These findings indicate a simple production of targeting-ligand free NPs, and demonstrate their potential therapeutic applications for preclinical I/R-induced cardiac injury amelioration.Peer reviewe

All-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality and wildfire-related ozone: a multicountry two-stage time series analysis.

BACKGROUND Wildfire activity is an important source of tropospheric ozone (O3) pollution. However, no study to date has systematically examined the associations of wildfire-related O3 exposure with mortality globally. METHODS We did a multicountry two-stage time series analysis. From the Multi-City Multi-Country (MCC) Collaborative Research Network, data on daily all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory deaths were obtained from 749 locations in 43 countries or areas, representing overlapping periods from Jan 1, 2000, to Dec 31, 2016. We estimated the daily concentration of wildfire-related O3 in study locations using a chemical transport model, and then calibrated and downscaled O3 estimates to a resolution of 0·25° × 0·25° (approximately 28 km2 at the equator). Using a random-effects meta-analysis, we examined the associations of short-term wildfire-related O3 exposure (lag period of 0-2 days) with daily mortality, first at the location level and then pooled at the country, regional, and global levels. Annual excess mortality fraction in each location attributable to wildfire-related O3 was calculated with pooled effect estimates and used to obtain excess mortality fractions at country, regional, and global levels. FINDINGS Between 2000 and 2016, the highest maximum daily wildfire-related O3 concentrations (≥30 μg/m3) were observed in locations in South America, central America, and southeastern Asia, and the country of South Africa. Across all locations, an increase of 1 μg/m3 in the mean daily concentration of wildfire-related O3 during lag 0-2 days was associated with increases of 0·55% (95% CI 0·29 to 0·80) in daily all-cause mortality, 0·44% (-0·10 to 0·99) in daily cardiovascular mortality, and 0·82% (0·18 to 1·47) in daily respiratory mortality. The associations of daily mortality rates with wildfire-related O3 exposure showed substantial geographical heterogeneity at the country and regional levels. Across all locations, estimated annual excess mortality fractions of 0·58% (95% CI 0·31 to 0·85; 31 606 deaths [95% CI 17 038 to 46 027]) for all-cause mortality, 0·41% (-0·10 to 0·91; 5249 [-1244 to 11 620]) for cardiovascular mortality, and 0·86% (0·18 to 1·51; 4657 [999 to 8206]) for respiratory mortality were attributable to short-term exposure to wildfire-related O3. INTERPRETATION In this study, we observed an increase in all-cause and respiratory mortality associated with short-term wildfire-related O3 exposure. Effective risk and smoke management strategies should be implemented to protect the public from the impacts of wildfires. FUNDING Australian Research Council and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council

Mortality risks associated with floods in 761 communities worldwide: time series study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate lag-response associations and effect modifications of exposure to floods with risks of all cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality on a global scale. DESIGN: Time series study. SETTING: 761 communities in 35 countries or territories with at least one flood event during the study period. PARTICIPANTS: Multi-Country Multi-City Collaborative Research Network database, Australian Cause of Death Unit Record File, New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure, and the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and their Health Network database. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome was daily counts of deaths. An estimation for the lag-response association between flood and daily mortality risk was modelled, and the relative risks over the lag period were cumulated to calculate overall effects. Attributable fractions of mortality due to floods were further calculated. A quasi-Poisson model with a distributed lag non-linear function was used to examine how daily death risk was associated with flooded days in each community, and then the community specific associations were pooled using random effects multivariate meta-analyses. Flooded days were defined as days from the start date to the end date of flood events. RESULTS: A total of 47.6 million all cause deaths, 11.1 million cardiovascular deaths, and 4.9 million respiratory deaths were analysed. Over the 761 communities, mortality risks increased and persisted for up to 60 days (50 days for cardiovascular mortality) after a flooded day. The cumulative relative risks for all cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality were 1.021 (95% confidence interval 1.006 to 1.036), 1.026 (1.005 to 1.047), and 1.049 (1.008 to 1.092), respectively. The associations varied across countries or territories and regions. The flood-mortality associations appeared to be modified by climate type and were stronger in low income countries and in populations with a low human development index or high proportion of older people. In communities impacted by flood, up to 0.10% of all cause deaths, 0.18% of cardiovascular deaths, and 0.41% of respiratory deaths were attributed to floods. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the risks of all cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality increased for up to 60 days after exposure to flood and the associations could vary by local climate type, socioeconomic status, and older age