We report a 2-family cluster of persons infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in the city of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, China, during January 2020. The infections resulted ...from contact with an infected but potentially presymptomatic traveler from the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province.
Microplastics (MPs) derived from plastic wastes have attracted wide attention throughout the world due to the wide distribution, easy transition, and potential threats to organisms. This study ...proposes efficient Mg/Zn modified magnetic biochar adsorbents for microplastic removal. For polystyrene (PS) microspheres (1 µm, 100 mg/mL) in aqueous solution, the removal efficiencies of magnetic biochar (MBC), Mg modified magnetic biochar (Mg-MBC), and Zn modified magnetic biochar (Zn-MBC) were 94.81%, 98.75%, and 99.46%, respectively. It is supposed that the adsorption process was a result of electrostatic interaction and chemical bonding interaction between microplastics and biochar. The coexisting H2PO4- and organic matters in real water significantly affected the removal efficiency of Zn-MBC due to competitive adsorption effect. Microplastic degradation and adsorbent regeneration were accomplished by thermal treatment simultaneously. The degradation of adsorbed MPs was promoted by the catalytic active sites originated from Mg and Zn, releasing adsorption sites. Thermal regeneration maintained the adsorption capability. Even after five adsorption-pyrolysis cycles, MBC (95.02%), Mg-MBC (94.60%), and Zn-MBC (95.79%) showed high microplastic removal efficiency. Therefore, the low-cost, eco-friendly, and robust Mg/Zn-MBCs have promising potential for application in microplastic removal.
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•Mg/Zn-MBCs were prepared as adsorbents for microplastic removal.•The modification by Mg and Zn-MBC enhanced removal efficiency significantly.•Zn-MBC maintained stable adsorption performance in various conditions.•MBCs promoted MPs degradation by thermal treatment for adsorbents regeneration.•Recycled Zn-MBC showed the highest removal efficiency of reported adsorbents.
Recent studies in animal models and humans show that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the development of atherosclerosis, which contributes to the pathological foundation of coronary ...artery disease (CAD). LncRNAs in plasma and serum have been considered as promising novel biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases, especially CAD. We here measured the circulating levels of 8 individual lncRNAs which are known to be relevant to atherosclerosis in the plasma samples from 300 patients with CAD and 180 control subjects by using quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) methods. We found that the plasma level of H19 and long intergenic non-coding RNA predicting cardiac remodeling (LIPCAR) were significantly increased in patients with CAD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.631 for H19 and 0.722 for LIPCAR. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that plasma H19 and LIPCAR were independent predictors for CAD, even after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Further studies identified that plasma levels of H19 and LIPCAR were also increased in CAD patients with heart failure compared to those with normal cardiac function. Taken together, our results suggest that increased plasma levels of H19 and LIPCAR are associated with increased risk of CAD and may be considered as novel biomarkers for CAD.
The origin of fast radio bursts (FRBs) is still unknown. Multiwavelength observations during or shortly after the FRB phase would be essential to identify the counterpart of an FRB and to constrain ...its progenitor and environment. In this work, we investigate the brightness of the "fast optical bursts" (FOBs) associated with FRBs and the prospects of detecting them. We investigate several inverse Compton (IC) scattering processes that might produce an FOB, including both the one-zone and two-zone models. We also investigate the extension of the same mechanism of FRB emission to the optical band. We find that a detectable FOB with the current and forthcoming telescopes is possible under the IC scenarios with very special conditions. In particular, the FRB environment would need to invoke a neutron star with an extremely strong magnetic field and an extremely fast spin, or an extremely young supernova remnant surrounding the FRB source. Furthermore, most electrons in the source are also required to have a fine-tuned energy distribution such that most of the IC energy is channeled in the optical band. We conclude that the prospect of detecting FOBs associated with FRBs is low. On the other hand, if FOBs are detected from a small fraction of FRBs, these FOBs would reveal extreme physical conditions in the FRB environments.
As an intermediate step during energy usage, supercapacitors with superior power density, long‐term cycling stability, and moderate energy density have attracted immense interest as a facile route to ...use energy in a clean, efficient, and versatile manner in smart grid applications, as well as portable devices and other applications. Currently, the major drawback of supercapacitors is the low energy density. Electrode materials are the key components determining the cell performance. Great research efforts are made to develop nanostructured electrode materials with high performance. On the other hand, integrating supercapacitors with other applications have led to the emergence of many new types of multifunctional supercapacitors, which are attractive for a myriad of applications. The current understanding on charge/discharge mechanisms of electric double layer capacitors and pseudo‐capacitors is discussed along with recent development in designing nanostructured electrode materials by structure/morphology engineering, doping, and crystal structure controlling. Achievements in multifunctional supercapacitors like flexible supercapacitors, all‐solid‐state supercapacitors, self‐healing supercapacitors, electrochromic supercapacitors, self‐chargeable supercapacitors, and supercapacitors integrated with sensors are illustrated. Finally, opportunities and challenges in developing high performance and multifunctional supercapacitors are proposed.
The exploration of high‐performance nanostructured supercapacitor materials and multifunctional supercapacitors have attracting immense attention in recent years. The details on the charge–discharge mechanism of supercapacitors, developments on various structure/morphology engineering of materials, and achievements in multifunctional supercapacitors are comprehensively presented. The perspectives on the standardization of measurements and challenges of supercapacitors are also addressed.
Backgrounds
Two technologies, cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) and subcutaneous implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (S‐ICD), can be successfully combined and applied to patients with ...advanced heart failure (HF) with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
Case Report
We reported a case of a 51‐year‐old man with reduced ejection fraction (LVEF = 33%) and a narrow QRS complex who first underwent simultaneous implantation of CCM and S‐ICD.
Conclusion
Our case report aimed to reveal that the simultaneous implantation of CCM and S‐ICD could be successfully used in patients with advanced HF, which could significantly improve the clinical symptoms of such patients during one surgery.
We report an asymptomatic child who was positive for a coronavirus by reverse transcription PCR in a stool specimen 17 days after the last virus exposure. The child was virus positive in stool ...specimens for at least an additional 9 days. Respiratory tract specimens were negative by reverse transcription PCR.
Information processing with optoelectronic devices provides an alternative way to efficiently process hybrid optical and electronic signals. Ferroelectric field‐effect transistors (FeFETs) can ...effectively respond to external optical and electrical stimuli by modulating their polarization states. Here, a 2D FeFET is demonstrated by the epitaxial growth of high‐quality 2D bismuth layered oxyselenide (Bi2O2Se) films on PMN‐PT(001) ferroelectric single‐crystal substrates. Upon switching the polarization direction of PMN‐PT, the authors realize in situ, reversible, and nonvolatile manipulation of the resistance of Bi2O2Se thin film (≈877%). The device simultaneously exhibits a polarization‐dependent photoresponse through visible light (λ = 405 nm) and infrared light (IR, λ = 980 nm) illumination. Combining optical stimuli with ferroelectric gating, it is demonstrated that the devices not only show nonvolatile memory and optoelectronic responses, but also show coincidence detection of visible and IR light. This work holds great potential in constructing new multiresponse and multifunction 2D‐FeFETs.
2D ferroelectric field‐effect transistors devices are fabricated by epitaxial growth of Bi2O2Se on Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3‐PbTiO3. The devices exhibit ferroelectric polarization‐dependent photoresponse upon visible light (λ = 405 nm) and infrared light (IR, λ = 980 nm) illumination. Combining optical stimuli with ferroelectric gating, the devices show not only nonvolatile memory and optoelectronic response, but also coincidence detection of visible and infrared light.
Dexmedetomidine (Dex) possesses analgesic and anaesthetic values and reported being used in cerebral ischaemic injury therapeutics. Accumulating studies have determined the effect of microRNAs ...(miRNAs) on the cerebral ischaemic injury. Thus, the present study aimed to unravel the molecular mechanism of miR‐381 and Dex in cerebral ischaemic injury. For this purpose, the cerebral ischaemic injury rat model was established by induction of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and expression of miR‐381 and IRF4 was determined. Thereafter, MCAO rats were treated with Dex, miR‐381 mimic, miR‐381 inhibitor and oe‐IRF4 respectively, followed by evaluation of neurological function. Furthermore, neuron cells were isolated from the hippocampus of rats and subjected to oxygen‐glucose deprivation (OGD). Then, OGD‐treated neuron cells and primary neuron cells were examined by gain‐ and loss‐of‐function assay. Neuron cell apoptosis was detected using TUNEL staining and flow cytometry. The correlation between interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) and interleukin (IL)‐9 was detected. Our results showed down‐regulated miR‐38 and up‐regulated IRF4 in MCAO rats. Besides, IRF4 was targeted by miR‐381 in neuron cells. Dex and overexpressed miR‐381, or silenced IRF4 improved the neurological function and inhibited neuron cell apoptosis in MCAO rats. Additionally, in MCAO rats, Dex was found to increase the miR‐381 expression and reduced IRF4 expression to decrease the IL‐9 expression, which suppressed the inflammatory response and cell apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Importantly, our study demonstrated that Dex elevated the expression of miR‐381, which ultimately results in the inhibition of inflammation response in rats with cerebral ischaemic injury.
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