Simultaneous Formation of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ and electron transport layers using antisolvent method for efficient perovskite solar cells

A new antisolvent method was developed to prepare CH₃NH₃PbI₃ and electron transport layers for making efficient hybrid perovskite solar cells. By directly using [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester in chlorobenzene solution as antisolvent, CH₃NH₃PbI₃ and electron transport layers were simultaneously formed in the films. This method not only simplifies the fabrication process of devices, but also produces uniform perovskite films and improves the interfacial structures between CH₃NH₃PbI₃ and electron transport layers. Large perovskite grains were observed in these films, with the average grain size of >1 μm. The so-formed CH₃NH₃PbI₃/electron transport layers demonstrated good optical and charge transport properties. And perovskite solar cells fabricated using these simultaneously-formed layers achieved a higher power conversion efficiency of 16.58% compared to conventional antisolvent method (14.92%). This method reduces nearly 80% usage of chlorobenzene during the fabrication, offering a more facile and environment-friendly approach to fabricate efficient perovskite solar cells than the conventional antisolvent method

Antioxidant properties of fermented soymilk and its anti-inflammatory effect on DSS-induced colitis in mice

Lactic acid-fermented soymilk as a new plant-based food has aroused extensive attention because of its effects on nutrition and health. This study was conducted to delve into the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities of lactic acid-fermented soymilk. To elucidate the key factors that affect the antioxidant properties of fermented soymilk, the strains and preparation process were investigated. Findings show that the fermented soymilk prepared using hot-water blanching method (BT-80) demonstrated a better antioxidant activity than that using conventional method (CN-20). Besides, a huge difference was observed among the soymilks fermented with different strains. Among them, the YF-L903 fermented soymilk demonstrated the highest ABTS radical scavenging ability, which is about twofold of that of unfermented soymilk and 1.8-fold of that of L571 fermented soy milk. In vitro antioxidant experiments and the analysis of H2O2-induced oxidative damage model in Caco-2 cells showed that lactic acid-fermentation could improve the DPPH radical scavenging ability, ABTS radical scavenging ability, while reducing the content of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in Caco-2 cells induced by H2O2, and increasing the content of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Consequently, cells are protected from the damage caused by active oxidation, and the repair ability of cells is enhanced. To identify the role of fermented soymilk in intestinal health, we investigate its preventive effect on dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis mouse models. Results revealed that the fermented soymilk can significantly improve the health conditions of the mice, including alleviated of weight loss, relieved colonic injury, balanced the spleen-to-body weight ratio, reduced the disease index, and suppressed the inflammatory cytokines and oxidant indexes release. These results suggest that YF-L903 fermented soymilk is a promising natural antioxidant sources and anti-inflammatory agents for the food industry. We believe this work paves the way for elucidating the effect of lactic acid-fermented soymilk on intestinal health, and provides a reference for the preparation of fermented soymilk with higher nutritional and health value

Micro-topographies formed by erosion can drive seedling emergence by rebuilding micro-habitats on weathered waste dumps in northeastern China

Restoring vegetation on waste dumps is imperative because soil erosion heavily impacts these areas and creates erosion micro-topographies, including bare slopes, rills, ephemeral gullies, and deposit bodies. These micro-topographies may affect seedling emergence by forming special micro-habitats, although the mechanism is vague. This study determined the substrate chemical (i.e., pH and electrical conductivity) and physical (i.e., capillary porosity, capillary water content, and mechanical composition) properties of different micro-topographies. In addition, the temporal dynamics of micro-climates (i.e., air temperature and air humidity), substrate hydrothermal conditions (i.e., substrate temperature and water content), and seedling emergence were investigated. Redundancy analysis (RDA), random forest (RF), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were then used to identify the main factors affecting seedling emergence and clarify the relationships among the environmental conditions. Our results demonstrate that seedling densities in the rill, ephemeral gully, and deposit body were 1.78 times, 3.42 times, and 3.97 times higher than those on the bare slope, respectively. More species were found in the rill, ephemeral gully, and deposit body (Artemisia annua, Salsola collina, Setaria viridis, and Tribulus terrestris) than on the bare slope (Salsola collina). The main factors affecting seedling emergence were air humidity, substrate temperature, and substrate water content. The mechanical composition may have affected substrate water content during the initial stage of seedling emergence and substrate temperature during the entire period. We demonstrate that the ephemeral gully and deposit body may provide micro-habitats with a lower substrate temperature and higher substrate water content, which are favorable to seedling emergence, thus guiding vegetation restoration on waste dumps or other disturbed areas

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

The association between two common polymorphisms in MicroRNAs and hepatocellular carcinoma risk in Asian population.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) participate in human carcinogenesis as tumor suppressors or oncogenes. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located in the miRNAs may influence the function of mature miRNAs and then affect the processing of carcinogenesis. It has been suggested that two common SNPs rs2910164 in miR-146a and rs3746444 in miR-499 are associated with susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, published results are inconsistent and inconclusive. To acquire a more precise effect of the association between these polymorphisms and HCC risk, we performed this meta-analysis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have conducted a search of case-control studies on the associations of SNPs rs2910164 and/or rs3746444 with susceptibility to HCC in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases for the period up to Sep 10th, 2012. A total of 6 studies were identified with 2071 cases and 2350 controls for miR-146a rs2910164 polymorphism, 667 cases and 1006 controls for miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphism. It was found that neither allele frequency nor genotype distribution of the two polymorphisms was associated with risk of HCC in all genetic models. Similarly, subgroup analysis in Asian population showed no associations between the two SNPs and the susceptibility to HCC. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This meta-analysis suggests that miR-146a rs2910164 and miR-499 rs3746444 polymorphisms may not be associated with the risk of HCC, especially for Asian population. However, well-designed studies with larger sample size and more detailed data are needed to confirm these conclusions

Multi-Objective Optimization for Submarine Cable Route Planning Based on the Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm

It is essential to design an appropriate submarine cable route to reduce costs and improve reliability. A methodology that can be used for multi-objective optimization in submarine cable route planning is proposed and numerically studied in this paper. The costs and risks are numerically assessed and mapped to the geographical map. The pheromone and heuristic functions of the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm are associated with the geographical map of costs and risks, which enables it to search for a submarine cable route with multi-objective optimization. The results show that the submarine cable route designed by the methodology can effectively avoid high-cost and high-risk regions, which means that the designed submarine cable route is cost-effective and highly reliability

The Knowledge, Attitude and Practice about Public Emergencies and the Response Capability of Residents in Shanghai after the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Cross-Sectional Study

People’s knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) are a part of the public’s emergency response capability and play an important role in controlling public health emergencies. This study aims to evaluate Shanghai residents’ KAP and the response ability regarding public health emergency events in China. An anonymous questionnaire investigation including demographics, socioeconomic characteristics and KAP was conducted through the online survey system from April 19 to April 30 2020. Of the 1243 people who completed the questionnaire, 1122 respondents (90.3%) had a good, positive attitude, while only 46.8% of participants had good knowledge, 46.2% performed well in the aspect of practice and 19.5% of residents had good response capability. It was found that men (OR:1.57,95% CI: 1.16–2.13), and people with 10 to 12 years or longer than 12 years of education (OR: 2.08,95% CI: 1.14–3.92; OR: 3.56,95% CI: 1.96–6.72) had the best public emergency response capability. Positive attitudes may be significantly associated with good practice (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.18–2.64). Internet and television were the major media for people to acquire knowledge and skills. A lack of knowledge, poor perception and poor emergency response ability were found in Shanghai residents. Target intervention should be developed and implemented to improve the knowledge and skills of people for dealing with public emergency events

Exploring the relationship between leadership and followership of Chinese project managers

Purpose – Followership is the free will recognition of leadership in the commitment towards realization of the collectively adopted organization vision and culture. The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationship between project managers’ leadership and their followership. Most project managers are both leaders and followers at the same time, but research typically investigates only their leadership. This ignores followership as an important aspect in understanding and predicting behavior, and further in the selection of project managers. Design/methodology/approach – The method used for this paper is explanatory and a deductive, through which the above research hypothesis is tested using quantitative techniques. Data are collected through a nation-wide survey in China. Data analysis is done through Factor Analysis, Canonical Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis. Findings – The results show that transformational leadership is positively correlated with transformational followership and transactional followership, and that transactional leadership is negatively correlated with transactional followership. Research limitations/implications – The paper supports a deeper investigation into leadership and followership theories. A model for both leadership and followership is developed. The findings from this paper will help organizations in choosing their project managers. Originality/value – The originality lies in the new way to examine the relationship between leadership and followership. It is the first study of this type on project managers. Its value lies in a new perspective towards the relationship between leadership and followership in project management

SOX1 and PAX1 Are Hypermethylated in Cervical Adenocarcinoma and Associated with Better Prognosis

Background. The increased risk and poor survival outcome of cervical adenocarcinoma (CAC) demand for effective early diagnostic biomarkers that can predict the disease progression and outcome. The purpose of this study was to investigate the value of methylation status of SOX1 and PAX1 in the detection and prognosis of CAC. Methods. We performed a quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction in 205 cervical paraffin-embedded specimens (175 CACs, 30 noncancer cervical tissues). Overall and progression-free survival (OS and PFS, respectively) rates were calculated and compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. The prognostic value of SOX1m and PAX1m on CAC patients was assessed by the Cox regression model. A mathematical formula combining SOX1m, PAX1m, and age was constructed for survival prediction. Results. The methylation status of SOX1 and PAX1 was higher in CAC tissues than in noncancer cervical tissues. In addition, SOX1m-positive CAC patients showed a higher 5-year OS rate than SOX1m-negative patients. In CAC patients with smaller tumor size (<4 cm), the PAX1m-positive group showed a higher 5-year PFS rate than the PAX1m-negative group. In the algorithm combining SOX1m, PAX1m, and age, the low-risk group showed a better 5-year OS and PFS rate than the high-risk group. Conclusion. SOX1 and PAX1 methylation levels are higher in CAC than in normal cervical tissues and are potential biomarkers for monitoring CAC prognosis