Ultrathin planar absorbers hold promise in solar energy systems because they can reduce the material, fabrication, and system cost. Here, we present a general strategy of effective medium design to realize ultrathin p...Ultrathin planar absorbers hold promise in solar energy systems because they can reduce the material, fabrication, and system cost. Here, we present a general strategy of effective medium design to realize ultrathin planar broadband absorbers. The absorber consists of two ultrathin absorbing dielectrics to design an effective absorbing medium, a transparent layer, and metallic substrate. Compared with previous studies, this strategy provides another dimension of freedom to enhance optical absorption; therefore, destructive interference can be realized over a broad spectrum. To demonstrate the power and simplicity of this strategy, we both experimentally and theoretically characterized an absorber with 5-nm-thick Ge, 10-nm-thick Ti, and 50-nm-thick SiO2 films coated on an Ag substrate fabricated using simple deposition methods. Absorptivity higher than 80% was achieved in 15-nm-thick （1/50 of the center wavelength） Ge and Ti films from 400 nm to near 1 btm. As an application example, we experimentally demonstrated that the absorber exhibited a normal solar absorptivity of 0.8 with a normal emittance of 0.1 at 500 ~C, thus demonstrating its potential in solar thermal systems. The effective medium design strategy is general and allows material versatility, suggesting possible applications in real-time optical manipulation using dynamic materials.展开更多
Submerged membrane bioreactors （SMBR） are widely used in wastewater treatment. The permeability of a membrane declines rapidly because of the formation of a cake layer on the membrane surface. In this paper, a multi...Submerged membrane bioreactors （SMBR） are widely used in wastewater treatment. The permeability of a membrane declines rapidly because of the formation of a cake layer on the membrane surface. In this paper, a multiple staining protocol was conducted to probe the four major foulants in the cake layer formed on a filtration membrane. Fluorescent images of the foulants were obtained using a confocal laser scanning microscope （CLSM）. The three dimensional structure of the cake layer was reconstructed, and the internal flow was calculated using computational fluid dynamics （CFD）. Simulation results agreed well with the experimental data on the permeability of the cake layer during filtration and showed better accuracy than the calculation by Kozeny-Carman method. B-D-Glucopyranose polysaccharides and proteins are the two main foulants with relatively large volume fractions, while a-D-glucopyranose polysaccharides and nucleic acids have relatively large specific surface areas. The fast growth of B-D-glucopyranose polysaccharides in the volume fraction is mainly responsible for the increase in cake volume fraction and the decrease in permeability. The specific area, or the aggregation/dispersion of foulants, is less important to its permeability compared to its volume fraction.展开更多
Infectious microbes that spread easily in healthcare facilities remain as the severe threat for the public health,especially among immunocompromised populations.Given the intricate problem of dramatic increase in resi...Infectious microbes that spread easily in healthcare facilities remain as the severe threat for the public health,especially among immunocompromised populations.Given the intricate problem of dramatic increase in resistance to common biocides,the development of safe and efficient biocide formulated agents to alleviate drug resistance is highly demanding.In this study,Schiff-base ligands were successfully formed on natural biopolymer of epsilon-poly-L-lysine(ε-PL)decorated aldehyde functionalized mesoporous silica SBA-15(CHO-SBA-15)for the selective coordination of silver ions,which was affirmed by various physicochemical methods.Besides the identified broad-spectrum antibacterial activities,the as-prepared Schiff-base silver nanocomplex(CHO-SBA-15/ε-PL/Ag,CLA-1)exhibited an improved inhibitory effect on infectious pathogen growth typified by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in comparison with two control silver complexes without Schiff-base conjugates,SBA-15/ε-PL/Ag and CHO-SBA-15/Ag,respectively.In addition,CLA-1 remarkably inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis due to the excellent antimicrobial activity of silver species.Significantly,CLA-1 kills Candida albicans cells,inhibits biofilm formation,and eliminates preformed biofilms,with no development of resistance during continuous serial passaging.The antifungal activity is connected to disruption of bacterial cell membranes and increased levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species.In mouse models of multidrug-resistant C.albicans infection,CLA-1 exhibited efficient in vivo fungicidal efficacy superior to two antifungal drugs,amphotericin B and fluconazole.Moreover,CLA-1 treatment induces negligible toxicity against normal tissues with safety.Therefore,this study reveals the pivotal role of the molecular design of Schiff-base silver nanocomplex formation on biopolymer surface-functionalized silica mesopores as a green and efficient nanoplatform to tackle infectious microbes.展开更多
CFTR,a chloride channel and ion channel regulator studied mostly in epithelial cells,has been reported to participate in immune regulation and likely affect the risk of cancer development.However,little is known about...CFTR,a chloride channel and ion channel regulator studied mostly in epithelial cells,has been reported to participate in immune regulation and likely affect the risk of cancer development.However,little is known about the effects of CFTR on the differentiation and function ofγδT cells.In this study,we observed that CFTR was functionally expressed on the cell surface ofγδT cells.Genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition of CFTR both increased IFN-γrelease by peripheralγδT cells and potentiated the cytolytic activity of these cells against tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo.Interestingly,the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation ofγδT cell IFN-γproduction by CFTR were either TCR dependent or related to Ca^(2+)influx.CFTR was recruited to TCR immunological synapses and attenuated Lck-P38 MAPK-c-Jun signaling.In addition,CFTR was found to modulate TCR-induced Ca^(2+)influx and membrane potential(Vm)-induced Ca^(2+)influx and subsequently regulate the calcineurin-NFATc1 signaling pathway inγδT cells.Thus,CFTR serves as a negative regulator of IFN-γproduction inγδT cells and the function of these cells in antitumor immunity.Our investigation suggests that modification of the CFTR activity ofγδT cells may be a potential immunotherapeutic strategy for cancer.展开更多
Utilizing multiple-wave data from Chinese General Social Survey and the life table method,this study assesses the happy life expectancy of Chinese population aged 18 and older over 2005-2015.We also use the decomposit...Utilizing multiple-wave data from Chinese General Social Survey and the life table method,this study assesses the happy life expectancy of Chinese population aged 18 and older over 2005-2015.We also use the decomposition method to further iso-late the happiness effect and mortality effect on temporal changes and gender differ-ences.The results suggest that,Chinese adults,in general,live a great proportion of their lives happily,and the happy life expectancy increases pronouncedly over time in both absolute and relative terms.A rapidly rising level of happiness provides the major contribution to the temporal increase in happy life expectancy.Women exceed men in the length of happy life expectancy,and the gender difference enlarges over time.This gender gap in happy life expectancy mainly reflects a mortality effect.The results also indicate that with the increase of age,there is an increasing propor-tion of happy life years lived among the Chinese elderly,which is in sharp contrast with the decreasing proportion of healthy life years lived by this population,as sug-gested by previous studies on health life expectancy.We conclude that a combina-tion of healthy life expectancy and happy life expectancy can provide a fuller and more comprehensive reflection on people’s overall quality of life.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （Nos. 51236004 and 51321002）.
文摘Ultrathin planar absorbers hold promise in solar energy systems because they can reduce the material, fabrication, and system cost. Here, we present a general strategy of effective medium design to realize ultrathin planar broadband absorbers. The absorber consists of two ultrathin absorbing dielectrics to design an effective absorbing medium, a transparent layer, and metallic substrate. Compared with previous studies, this strategy provides another dimension of freedom to enhance optical absorption; therefore, destructive interference can be realized over a broad spectrum. To demonstrate the power and simplicity of this strategy, we both experimentally and theoretically characterized an absorber with 5-nm-thick Ge, 10-nm-thick Ti, and 50-nm-thick SiO2 films coated on an Ag substrate fabricated using simple deposition methods. Absorptivity higher than 80% was achieved in 15-nm-thick （1/50 of the center wavelength） Ge and Ti films from 400 nm to near 1 btm. As an application example, we experimentally demonstrated that the absorber exhibited a normal solar absorptivity of 0.8 with a normal emittance of 0.1 at 500 ~C, thus demonstrating its potential in solar thermal systems. The effective medium design strategy is general and allows material versatility, suggesting possible applications in real-time optical manipulation using dynamic materials.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.51176090 and 51321002)
文摘Submerged membrane bioreactors （SMBR） are widely used in wastewater treatment. The permeability of a membrane declines rapidly because of the formation of a cake layer on the membrane surface. In this paper, a multiple staining protocol was conducted to probe the four major foulants in the cake layer formed on a filtration membrane. Fluorescent images of the foulants were obtained using a confocal laser scanning microscope （CLSM）. The three dimensional structure of the cake layer was reconstructed, and the internal flow was calculated using computational fluid dynamics （CFD）. Simulation results agreed well with the experimental data on the permeability of the cake layer during filtration and showed better accuracy than the calculation by Kozeny-Carman method. B-D-Glucopyranose polysaccharides and proteins are the two main foulants with relatively large volume fractions, while a-D-glucopyranose polysaccharides and nucleic acids have relatively large specific surface areas. The fast growth of B-D-glucopyranose polysaccharides in the volume fraction is mainly responsible for the increase in cake volume fraction and the decrease in permeability. The specific area, or the aggregation/dispersion of foulants, is less important to its permeability compared to its volume fraction.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Programs of China(No.2018YFC0311003 to H.B.)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.U1703118 to J.C.)+5 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(No.BK20181364 to J.C.)the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD,to J.C.)the Cooperative Project between Southeast University and Nanjing Medical University(No.2018DN0004 to J.C.)the National Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions of China(No.18KJA310002 to H.B.,No.19KJA310003 to J.C)the Jiangsu Specially Appointed Professor and Jiangsu Medical Specialist Programs of China(to H.B.)Jiangsu Province“Innovative and Entrepreneurial Team”Program.
文摘Infectious microbes that spread easily in healthcare facilities remain as the severe threat for the public health,especially among immunocompromised populations.Given the intricate problem of dramatic increase in resistance to common biocides,the development of safe and efficient biocide formulated agents to alleviate drug resistance is highly demanding.In this study,Schiff-base ligands were successfully formed on natural biopolymer of epsilon-poly-L-lysine(ε-PL)decorated aldehyde functionalized mesoporous silica SBA-15(CHO-SBA-15)for the selective coordination of silver ions,which was affirmed by various physicochemical methods.Besides the identified broad-spectrum antibacterial activities,the as-prepared Schiff-base silver nanocomplex(CHO-SBA-15/ε-PL/Ag,CLA-1)exhibited an improved inhibitory effect on infectious pathogen growth typified by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in comparison with two control silver complexes without Schiff-base conjugates,SBA-15/ε-PL/Ag and CHO-SBA-15/Ag,respectively.In addition,CLA-1 remarkably inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis due to the excellent antimicrobial activity of silver species.Significantly,CLA-1 kills Candida albicans cells,inhibits biofilm formation,and eliminates preformed biofilms,with no development of resistance during continuous serial passaging.The antifungal activity is connected to disruption of bacterial cell membranes and increased levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species.In mouse models of multidrug-resistant C.albicans infection,CLA-1 exhibited efficient in vivo fungicidal efficacy superior to two antifungal drugs,amphotericin B and fluconazole.Moreover,CLA-1 treatment induces negligible toxicity against normal tissues with safety.Therefore,this study reveals the pivotal role of the molecular design of Schiff-base silver nanocomplex formation on biopolymer surface-functionalized silica mesopores as a green and efficient nanoplatform to tackle infectious microbes.
基金This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31420103901 to Z.Y.,31830021 to Z.Y.,31970830 to J.H.,81702876 to X.L.,31500734 to Y.D.,and 31700753 to G.C.)grants from the Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Bureau(201904010090 to J.H.and 201906010085 to X.L.)a grant from the Health Commission of Guangdong Province(A2019520 to J.H.).
文摘CFTR,a chloride channel and ion channel regulator studied mostly in epithelial cells,has been reported to participate in immune regulation and likely affect the risk of cancer development.However,little is known about the effects of CFTR on the differentiation and function ofγδT cells.In this study,we observed that CFTR was functionally expressed on the cell surface ofγδT cells.Genetic deletion and pharmacological inhibition of CFTR both increased IFN-γrelease by peripheralγδT cells and potentiated the cytolytic activity of these cells against tumor cells both in vitro and in vivo.Interestingly,the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation ofγδT cell IFN-γproduction by CFTR were either TCR dependent or related to Ca^(2+)influx.CFTR was recruited to TCR immunological synapses and attenuated Lck-P38 MAPK-c-Jun signaling.In addition,CFTR was found to modulate TCR-induced Ca^(2+)influx and membrane potential(Vm)-induced Ca^(2+)influx and subsequently regulate the calcineurin-NFATc1 signaling pathway inγδT cells.Thus,CFTR serves as a negative regulator of IFN-γproduction inγδT cells and the function of these cells in antitumor immunity.Our investigation suggests that modification of the CFTR activity ofγδT cells may be a potential immunotherapeutic strategy for cancer.
文摘Utilizing multiple-wave data from Chinese General Social Survey and the life table method,this study assesses the happy life expectancy of Chinese population aged 18 and older over 2005-2015.We also use the decomposition method to further iso-late the happiness effect and mortality effect on temporal changes and gender differ-ences.The results suggest that,Chinese adults,in general,live a great proportion of their lives happily,and the happy life expectancy increases pronouncedly over time in both absolute and relative terms.A rapidly rising level of happiness provides the major contribution to the temporal increase in happy life expectancy.Women exceed men in the length of happy life expectancy,and the gender difference enlarges over time.This gender gap in happy life expectancy mainly reflects a mortality effect.The results also indicate that with the increase of age,there is an increasing propor-tion of happy life years lived among the Chinese elderly,which is in sharp contrast with the decreasing proportion of healthy life years lived by this population,as sug-gested by previous studies on health life expectancy.We conclude that a combina-tion of healthy life expectancy and happy life expectancy can provide a fuller and more comprehensive reflection on people’s overall quality of life.
