Abstract:The scattering and backscattering coefficients of 15 phytoplankton species were determined in the laboratory using the acs and BB9 instruments. The spectral variability of scattering properties was investigated and the homogenous sphere model based on Mie theory was also evaluated. The scattering efficiencies at 510 nm varied from 1.42 to 2.26, and the backscattering efficiencies varied from 0.003 to 0.020. The backscattering ratios at 510 nm varied from 0.17% to 0.97%, with a mean value of 0.58%. The scattering properties were influenced by algal cell size and cellular particulate organic carbon content rather than the chlorophyll a concentration. Comparison of the measured results to the values estimated using the homogenous sphere model showed that: (1) The model could well reproduce the spectral scattering coefficient with relative deviations of 5-39%, which indicates that cell shape and internal structure have no significant effects on predicting the scattering spectra; (2) Although the homogenous sphere model generally reflected the spectral trend of backscattering spectra for most species, it severely underestimated the backscattering coefficients by 1.4-48.6 folds at 510 nm. The deviations for Chaetoceros sp. and Microcystis aeruginosa were large and might be due to algal cell chain links and intracellular gas vacuoles, respectively. 6057-6067 (1997).

T1rho CMR has potential to detect fibrosis in HCM patients. 4-SD may be the appropriate threshold for assessment.

Niobium dioxide (NbO 2 ) features a high theoretical capacity and an outstanding electron conductivity, which makes it a promising alternative to the commercial graphite negative electrode. However, studies on NbO 2 based lithium-ion battery negative electrodes have been rarely reported. In the present work, NbO 2 nanoparticles homogeneously embedded in a carbon matrix are synthesized through calcination using a dental resin monomer (bisphenol A glycidyl dimethacrylate, Bis-GMA) as the solvent and a carbon source and niobium ethoxide (NbETO) as the precursor. It is revealed that a low Bis-GMA/NbETO mass ratio (from 1:1 to 1:2) enables the conversion of Nb (V) to Nb (IV) due to increased porosity induced by an alcoholysis reaction between the NbETO and Bis-GMA. The as-prepared NbO 2 /carbon nanohybrid delivers a reversible capacity of 225 mAh g −1 after 500 cycles at a 1 C rate with a Coulombic efficiency of more than 99.4% in the cycles. Various experimental and theoretical approaches including solid state nuclear magnetic resonance, ex situ X-ray diffraction, differential electrochemical mass spectrometry, and density functional theory are utilized to understand the fundamental lithiation/delithiation mechanisms of the NbO 2 /carbon nanohybrid. The results suggest that the NbO 2 /carbon nanohybrid bearing high capacity, long cycle life, and low gas evolution is promising for lithium storage applications.intercalation behavior and to reveal the fundamental mechanisms of NbO 2 based lithium-ion battery negative electrodes. A size reduction to the nanoscale range is identified of being crucial to demonstrate electrochemical activity toward lithium intercalation, where micrometer and sub-micrometer-sized particles only possess very limited actual capacities. [2e] The deposition of nanosized Nb 2 O 5 particles onto a carbon foam followed by high-temperature annealing in a reducing atmosphere proved to be an effective way to synthesize NbO 2 nanoparticles bearing a reasonable electrochemical performance in lithium microbatteries. [4b] Nevertheless, the limited amount of NbO 2 nanoparticles within the carbon foam resulted in a low total energy output, which made it only suitable for microbatteries. Hydrothermal reaction was applied to synthesize NbO 2 / carbon core shell nanocomposites, which showed a good electrochemical performance in super capacitors. [4a] However, an application as lithium-ion battery negative electrode was not addressed. Besides, the suggested synthetic method will be difficult to scale up, which renders this approach from the literature to be nonfeasible for practical applications.In our previous work, a new concept was developed to synthesize intercalation negative electrode in a facile scalable way. TiO 2 /C and Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 /C nanohybrid particles with super-small-sized TiO 2 or Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 nanoparticles were in situ formed and homogeneously embedded in a carbon matrix. [5] The dental resin monomers of bisphenol A glycidyl dimethacrylate (Bis-GMA) and triethylene glycol dimethacrylate ...

Lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely applied and studied as an effective energy supplement for a variety of electronic devices. Titanium dioxide (TiO2), with a high theoretical capacity (335 mAh g−1) and low volume expansion ratio upon lithiation, has been considered as one of the most promising anode materials for LIBs. However, the application of TiO2 is hindered by its low electrical conductivity and slow ionic diffusion rate. Herein, a 2D ultrathin mesoporous TiO2/reduced graphene (rGO) heterostructure is fabricated via a layer‐by‐layer assembly process. The synergistic effect of ultrathin mesoporous TiO2 and the rGO nanosheets significantly enhances the ionic diffusion and electron conductivity of the composite. The introduced 2D mesoporous heterostructure delivers a significantly improved capacity of 350 mAh g−1 at a current density of 200 mA g−1 and excellent cycling stability, with a capacity of 245 mAh g−1 maintained over 1000 cycles at a high current density of 1 A g−1. The in situ transmission electron microscopy analysis indicates that the volume of the as‐prepared 2D heterostructures changes slightly upon the insertion and extraction of Li+, thus contributing to the enhanced long‐cycle performance.

No abstract

Vitiligo is an acquired disfiguring dermatosis characterized by patchy depigmentation due to the selective loss of functioning melanocytes. The incidence rate of vitiligo is approximately 0.5%-1.0% of the world's population. 1 At present, the aetiology of vitiligo remains unclear. Multiple studies demonstrated that massive oxidative stress may lead to vitiligo. Oxidation pathway is regarded as the important steps in the development of vitiligo. 2 In human skin, each melanocyte forms an epidermal melanin unit with 36 keratinocytes, which play an important role in maintaining melanocyte homeostasis. 3 Various growth factors produced by keratinocytes affect melanocyte proliferation and differentiation, such as endothelin-1, stem cell factor and basic fibroblast growth factor. 4-6 Additionally, keratinocyte-derived soluble factors regulate the melanogenesis of neighbouring melanocytes. 7 Moreover, various hormonal and peptide factors produced

BackgroundDiastolic heart failure is a common and deadly complication of diabetes mellitus, with the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy as one of the key determinants of the disease’s complex pathology. The cause of the association is unknown and has no approved therapy strategies as of yet. However significant advances in this area may come from studies on suitable animal models.MethodsA total of 25 male rhesus monkeys (12-16 years, 9-13 kg) were enrolled. Fifteen of them were diagnosed as spontaneous type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, FPG ≥ 104 mg/dl, HbA1c: 4.7-5.5 %, diabetes duration: 1-4 years). The other 10 monkeys were non-diabetic (ND, FPG < 90 mg/dl). Echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance were used for evaluating the cardiac structure and function. One T2DM monkey with impaired diastolic function and another ND monkey were both sacrificed to gain the necessary pathology and protein expression studies displayed here.ResultsSix out of 15 T2DM rhesus monkeys were diagnosed with diastolic dysfunction (DD) by echocardiography. Additionally, no abnormalities were found in the group which we determined as the ND monkeys. The six DD monkeys all showed low e’ velocity and decreased e’/a’ ratio, among which three of them showing decreased E/A ratio and the other 3 having elevated E/A ratio, this appears to be similar to the impaired relaxation pattern and pseudonormal pattern found in human patients respectively. The EF and FS of monkeys with pseudonormal pattern decreased significantly compared with ND subjects. A CMR study showed that LVID at end systole of 5 DD monkeys is significantly longer than that of 3 ND monkeys. Of great interest, myocardium lesions and mitochondria impairments and increased expression of AGEs and caspase-3 were found in a sacrificed DD subject.ConclusionThe changes in the imaging and physiological markers of spontaneous T2DM rhesus monkeys are similar to those key markers found in human type 2 diabetes and diastolic dysfunction. This monkey model could help the medical community and us to understand the pathology of this debilitating disease and serve as a beginning to explore important measures to prevent and treat diabetic cardiomyopathy.

No abstract