Discovering two general characteristic times of transient responses in solid oxide cells.

A comprehensive understanding of the transient characteristics in solid oxide cells (SOCs) is crucial for advancing SOC technology in renewable energy storage and conversion. However, general formulas describing the relationship between SOC transients and multiple parameters remain elusive. Through comprehensive numerical analysis, we find that the thermal and gaseous response times of SOCs upon rapid electrical variations are on the order of two characteristic times (τ and τ), respectively.

Nanofluidic Aptamer Nanoarray to Enable Stochastic Capture of Single Proteins at Normal Concentrations.

Single-molecule experiments allow understanding of the diversity, stochasticity, and heterogeneity of molecular behaviors and properties hidden by conventional ensemble-averaged measurements. They hence have great importance and significant impacts in a wide range of fields. Despite significant advances in single-molecule experiments at ultralow concentrations, the capture of single molecules in solution at normal concentrations within natural biomolecular processes remains a formidable challenge.

Ginsenoside Rb1 protects dopaminergic neurons from inflammatory injury induced by intranigral lipopolysaccharide injection.

Accumulating studies suggest that neuroinflammation characterized by microglial overactivation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. As such, inhibition of microglial overactivation might be a promising treatment strategy to delay the onset or slow the progression of Parkinson's disease. Ginsenoside Rb1, the most active ingredient of ginseng, reportedly exerts neuroprotective effects by suppressing inflammation in vitro.

Fear conditioning downregulates miR-138 expression in the hippocampus to facilitate the formation of fear memory.

Fear memory is important for the survival of animals and is associated with certain anxiety disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. A thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms of fear memory, especially associative fear memory, is imperative. MicroRNA-138 (miR-138) is a widely distributed microRNA in the brain and is locally enriched at synaptic sites.

Population Pharmacokinetics and Dosing Optimization of Azithromycin in Children with Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Azithromycin is extensively used in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Currently, the intravenous azithromycin is used off-label in children partly due to lacking of pharmacokinetic data. Our objective was to evaluate the population pharmacokinetics (PPK) and optimize dose strategy in order to improve treatment in this distinctive population.

"Freezing", morphing, and folding of stretchy tough hydrogels.

Highly stretchable and tough Ca-alginate/polyacrylamide hydrogels were "frozen" and folded into program-controlled shapes by exposing them to an Fe ion aqueous solution. The elastic modulus of the as-made tough gels increased either in bulk or locally up to 2.90 MPa, while the toughness remained within the range from 8.

Hydrophilic Sponges for Leaf-Inspired Continuous Pumping of Liquids.

A bio-inspired, leaf-like pumping strategy by mimicking the transpiration process through leaves is developed for autonomous and continuous liquid transport enabled by durable hydrophilic sponges. Without any external power sources, flows are continuously generated ascribed to the combination of capillary wicking and evaporation of water. To validate this method, durable hydrophilic polydimethylsiloxane sponges modified with polyvinyl alcohol via a "dip-coat-dry" method have been fabricated, which maintains hydrophilicity more than 2 months.

Microfluidic Patterning of Metal Structures for Flexible Conductors by In Situ Polymer-Assisted Electroless Deposition.

is developed for patterning structures of highly conductive metals (e.g., copper, silver, and nickel) on chemically modified flexible polyethylene terephthalate thin films by in situ polymer-assisted electroless metal deposition.

A Comparative Evaluation of Hydroxycamptothecin Drug Nanorods With and Without Methotrexate Prodrug Functionalization for Drug Delivery.

We developed a novel self-targeted multi-drug co-delivery system based on rod-shaped 10-hydroxycamptothecin (CPT) nanoanticancer drug (CPT NRs) followed by a surface functionalization with self-targeting PEGylated lipid-conjugated methotrexate (MTX) pro-anticancer drug. The self-targeting effect and in vitro cell viability of the MTX-PEG-CPT NRs on HeLa cells were demonstrated by comparative cellular uptake and MTT assay of the PEG-CPT NRs. In vitro studies showed the feasibility of using this high drug-loading MTX-PEG-CPT NRs in self-targeted drug delivery, controlled-/sustained-release, and synergistic cancer therapy.

Further mapping of quantitative trait loci for female sterility in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Epistasis underlying fertility plays an important role in crop breeding. Although a new female sterile mutant in wheat, XND126, has been identified and a major quantitative trait locus (QTL), taf1, for the female sterility has been mapped, the genetic architecture of the female sterility needs to be further addressed. To identify the interaction involving the gene(s) controlling the female sterility, an investigation was carried out for the seed setting ratio in an F2 population derived from the cross between XND126 and Gaocheng 8901.

Efficient mapping of a female sterile gene in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

Studies on inheritance of fertility are of great importance in wheat breeding. Although substantial progress has been achieved in molecular characterization of male sterility and fertility restoration recently, little effort has been devoted to female sterility. To identify the gene(s) controlling female sterility in wheat efficiently, an investigation was conducted for the seed setting ratio using a set of F2 populations derived from the cross between a female sterile line XND126 and an elite cultivar Gaocheng 8901.

[The mixed major gene plus polygenes inheritance for female fertility in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)].

Three sets of data for the P1, P2, F1, and F2 populations derived from three crosses between the normal fertility wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars with different ecotypes and the female sterile line (XND126) were used to investigate the inheritance of female fertility in wheat using mixed major gene plus polygenes inheritance model in 2005 and 2006. The results from the joint segregation analysis of the four generations showed that female fertility in wheat is controlled by two major genes plus polygenes, and the interaction between the two major genes is also detected.