CHUWD-H v1.0: a comprehensive historical hourly weather database for U.S. urban energy system modeling.

Reliable and continuous meteorological data are crucial for modeling the responses of energy systems and their components to weather and climate conditions, particularly in densely populated urban areas. However, existing long-term datasets often suffer from spatial and temporal gaps and inconsistencies, posing great challenges for detailed urban energy system modeling and cross-city comparison under realistic weather conditions. Here we introduce the Historical Comprehensive Hourly Urban Weather Database (CHUWD-H) v1.

Impacts of climate change, population growth, and power sector decarbonization on urban building energy use.

Climate, technologies, and socio-economic changes will influence future building energy use in cities. However, current low-resolution regional and state-level analyses are insufficient to reliably assist city-level decision-making. Here we estimate mid-century hourly building energy consumption in 277 U.

Dual challenges of heat wave and protective facemask-induced thermal stress in Hong Kong.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing protective facemasks (PFMs) can effectively reduce infection risk, but the use of PFMs can amplify heat-related health risks. We studied the amplified PFM-induced human thermal stress via both field measurements and model simulations over a typical subtropical mountainous city, Hong Kong. First, a hot and humid PFM microenvironment has been observed with high temperature (34-35 °C) and high humidity (80-95%), resulting in an aggravated facial thermal stress with a maximal PFM-covered facial heat flux of 500 W/m under high-intensity activities.

Relationship between serum lipid level and meibomian gland dysfunction subtype in Korea using propensity score matching.

To analyze the relationship between systemic lipid profile levels and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) subtype in Korea. The ophthalmic data of 95 eyes and the serum lipid profiles of 95 patients were reviewed. These factors were compared with those of the general population using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), which evaluated 2,917 subjects.

Discordance in Retinal and Choroidal Vascular Densities in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

Purpose: In the present study, the retinal and choroidal vascular densities (VDs) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients were analyzed using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Methods: The study included 282 eyes of 152 patients with type 2 DM (114 without retinopathy, 79 nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), 48 severe NPDR, and 41 proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) eyes). The superficial and deep retinal vessel, choriocapillaris, and choroidal VDs were measured using a binarization method on OCTA images.

Efficacy of Seven-day High-dose Esomeprazole-based Triple Therapy versus Seven-day Standard Dose Non-esomeprazole-based Triple Therapy as the First-line Treatment of Patients with Infection.

Background/aims: The rates of () eradication have declined with the use of proton pump inhibitor- amoxicillin-clarithromycin as the first-line triple therapy. On the other hand, several studies have suggested that high gastric pH levels could affect the eradication rate by enhancing the efficacy of antimicrobials. This study compared the efficacy of seven-day high-dose esomeprazole-based triple therapy (7-HEAC) for first-line eradication with the seven-day standard dose non-esomeprazole-based triple therapy (7-NEAC) to identify the risk factors related to eradication failure.

Colloidal quantum dot light-emitting diodes employing solution-processable tin dioxide nanoparticles in an electron transport layer.

Colloidal quantum-dot-based light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) have gained tremendous attention as great candidates to potentially replace current emissive display technologies. The luminescence efficiency of a QD LED has increased rapidly in the past decade; this was triggered by the use of metal oxides in the charge transport layers, particularly zinc oxide (ZnO) for the electron transport layer (ETL). However, the ZnO ETL often results in undesirable device performance such as efficiency roll-off and poor device stability because of excessive electron injection into the QD emissive layer.

CdSe tetrapod interfacial layer for improving electron extraction in planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells.

We demonstrate the improvement in the efficiency of planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells by employing cadmium selenide tetrapods (CdSe TPs) as an electron extraction layer. The insertion of the CdSe TP layer between the titanium oxide (TiO) and perovskite film facilitates electron transfer at the TiO/perovskite interface, as indicated by the significantly quenched steady-state photoluminescence of the perovskite film. Furthermore, we observed a conductivity enhancement of the perovskite film by introducing the CdSe TP layer.

Analysis of Interfacial Layer-Induced Open-Circuit Voltage Burn-In Loss in Polymer Solar Cells on the Basis of Electroluminescence and Impedance Spectroscopy.

Stable and robust open-circuit voltage (V) is essential to achieve a long lifetime for polymer solar cells (PSCs). Here, we investigate the V burn-in loss mechanism on the basis of the analysis of electroluminescence quantum efficiency (EQE) and impedance measurements in amorphous PSCs, with an inverted structure having different electron transport layers (ETLs) of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and the sol-gel processed ZnO layer. We found that both charge recombination and energetic disorder account for a substantial proportion of the V burn-in loss.

Influence of External Pressure on the Performance of Quantum Dot Solar Cells.

We report the influence of post-treatment via the external pressure on the device performance of quantum dot (QD) solar cells. The structural analysis together with optical and electrical characterization on QD solids reveal that the external pressure compacts QD active layers by removing the mesoscopic voids and enhances the charge carrier transport along QD solids, leading to significant increase in JSC of QD solar cells. Increasing the external pressure, by contrast, accompanies reduction in FF and VOC, yielding the trade-off relationship among JSC and FF and VOC in PCE of devices.

Improvement in the Photocurrent of Inverted Organic Solar Cells Using MoO(x)-Doped TAPC as a P-Type Optical Spacer.

In this work, we demonstrate enhancement in the short-circuit current of inverted organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) using a p-type optical spacer. The p-type optical spacer, which consists of molybdenum oxide (MoO(x))-doped 1,1-bis[(di-4-tolylamino)phenyl]cyclohexane (TAPC), shows improved transmittance at visible light with high electrical conductivity. The electrical field distribution of incident light at the active layer of OPVs can be controlled by tuning the thickness of the optical spacer in the OPVs.

Supplementary data of "Impacts of mesic and xeric urban vegetation on outdoor thermal comfort and microclimate in Phoenix, AZ".

An advanced Markov-Chain Monte Carlo approach called Subset Simulation is described in Au and Beck (2001) [1] was used to quantify parameter uncertainty and model sensitivity of the urban land-atmospheric framework, viz. the coupled urban canopy model-single column model (UCM-SCM). The results show that the atmospheric dynamics are sensitive to land surface conditions.

The influence of sequential ligand exchange and elimination on the performance of P3HT: CdSe quantum dot hybrid solar cells.

We report on a sequential ligand exchange and elimination process for the fast and easy surface modification of CdSe quantum dots (QDs) in order to improve the electronic interaction between poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and CdSe QDs in P3HT:CdSe hybrid solar cells. We systematically investigated the influence of surface treatment on the insulating ligand shell of CdSe QDs using (1)H-NMR analysis, and correlated their influence on the photovoltaic properties of P3HT:CdSe hybrid solar cells. A decrease in the average thickness of the ligand shells directly improved carrier transport properties.

Nanostructured Electron-Selective Interlayer for Efficient Inverted Organic Solar Cells.

We report a unique nanostructured electron-selective interlayer comprising of In-doped ZnO (ZnO:In) and vertically aligned CdSe tetrapods (TPs) for inverted polymer:fullerene bulkheterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. With dimension-controlled CdSe TPs, the direct inorganic electron transport pathway is provided, resulting in the improvement of the short circuit current and fill factor of devices. We demonstrate that the enhancement is attributed to the roles of CdSe TPs that reduce the recombination losses between the active layer and buffer layer, improve the hole-blocking as well as electron-transporting properties, and simultaneously improve charge collection characteristics.

High-efficiency inverted organic solar cells with polyethylene oxide-modified Zn-doped TiO2 as an interfacial electron transport layer.

High efficiency inverted organic solar cells are fabricated using the PTB7:PC71BM polymer by incorporating Zn-doped TiO2 (ZTO) and 0.05 wt% PEO:ZTO as interfacial electron transport layers. The 0.

Plasmonic organic solar cells employing nanobump assembly via aerosol-derived nanoparticles.

We report the effect of a nanobump assembly (NBA) constructed with molybdenum oxide (MoO3) covering Ag nanoparticles (NPs) under the active layer on the efficiency of plasmonic polymer solar cells. Here, the NPs with precisely controlled concentration and size have been generated by an atmospheric evaporation/condensation method and a differential mobility classification and then deposited on an indium tin oxide electrode via room temperature aerosol method. NBA structure is made by enclosing NPs with MoO3 layer via vacuum thermal evaporation to isolate the undulated active layer formed onto the underlying protruded NBA.

Origin of the mixing ratio dependence of power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells with low donor concentration.

We studied the origin of the improvement in device performance of thermally evaporated bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) with low donor concentration. Samples with three different donor-acceptor mixing ratios, 0:10 (C70-only), 1:9 (low-doped) and 3:7 (high-doped), were fabricated with 1,1-bis-(4-bis(4-methyl-phenyl)-amino-phenyl)-cyclohexane (TAPC):C70. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of these samples were 1.

Inducible HSP70 antagonizes IL-1β cytocidal effects through inhibiting NF-kB activation via destabilizing TAK1 in HeLa cells.

Background: Despite several reports describing the HSP70-mediated cytoprotection against IL-1, the precise mechanism for this phenomenon remains to be determined.

Methods/principal Findings: Here we used HeLa cells, a human epithelial carcinoma cell line, to evaluate the role of inducible HSP70 in response of IL-1β stimulation. We found that inducible HSP70 antagonized the cytotoxicity of IL-1β and improved the survival of HeLa cells.

Malachite green adsorption onto natural zeolite and reuse by microwave irradiation.

Natural zeolite was used for the removal of malachite green (MG) from aqueous solution in batch mode and reused by microwave irradiation. The isotherm data were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, and Koble-Corrigan isotherm model. The better fit for the equilibrium process was Koble-Corrigan model.