Association between sleep quality and duration during pregnancy and risk of gestational diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with several adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Previous studies reported a link between altered sleep and risk of GDM. This systematic review aims to collate evidence on the association between impaired sleep quality and duration, and the risk of GDM.

Rapid Evaporation of a Metal Electrode for a High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cell.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted considerable attention due to the excellent optoelectronic properties of perovskite materials. The energy consumption and high cost issues of metal electrode evaporation should be addressed before large-scale manufacturing and application. We developed an effective metal electrode evaporation procedure for the fabrication of high-efficiency planar heterojunction (PHJ) PSCs, with an inverted device structure of glass/indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA)/perovskite/[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)/(E)-β-caryophyllene (BCP)/Ag.

CircRNA MFACR Is Upregulated in Myocardial Infarction and Downregulates miR-125b to Promote Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis Induced by Hypoxia.

Circular RNA (circRNA) MFACR promotes cardiomyocyte death that leads to myocardial infarction (MI). This study aimed to explore the role of MFACR in MI. T-qPCRs were performed to measure the expression levels of MFACR and miR-125b in plasma samples from both MI patients (n = 61) and healthy controls (n = 61).

Simultaneous removal of SO and NO from flue gas by low-temperature adsorption over activated carbon.

An exceptional phenomenon has been observed that SO and NO in flue gas can be effectively adsorbed over activated carbon with a surprising capacity at cold temperatures with the presence of oxygen. In this study, the adsorption characteristics of NO and SO over activated carbon at 80, 20, 0, and - 20 is experimentally investigated. Without the presence of oxygen, adsorption of NO is negligible.

Automatic microbial electro-Fenton system driven by transpiration for degradation of acid orange 7.

Microbial electro-Fenton system (MEFS) shows potential application for degradation of recalcitrant pollutants. In order to simplify the MEFS and adapt to the practical application situations, such as water, soil or sludge remediation, we developed an automatic MEFS (AMEFS) for degradation of a recalcitrant dye, acid orange 7. The AMEFS contained a microchannel-structured carbon decorated with iron oxides as electro-Fenton cathode.

[Characterization and molecular modification of β-glucosidase from Citrobacter koser GXW-1].

Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize β-glucosidase from Citrobacter koser GXW-1 isolated from soil and to improve the enzyme by molecular modification.

Mehods: A bacterial strain with β-glucosidase activity was screened from the soil around Wuming sugar mill in Guangxi by esculin-ferric ammonium citrate selecting plate. The 16S rDNA of the strain was obtained and analyzed.

Selective production of rubusoside from stevioside by using the sophorose activity of β-glucosidase from Streptomyces sp. GXT6.

In order to produce rubusoside, enzymes with preferential specificity for the saccharide sophorose were tested for ability to produce rubusoside from stevioside. We identified BGL1, a β-glucosidase from Streptomyces sp. GXT6, as an enzyme for rubusoside production.

Temperature dependence of elastic properties and piezoelectric applications of BaTeMo2O9 single crystal.

BaTeMo(2)O(9) (BTM) single crystal, as a lead-free piezoelectric material, belongs to the monoclinic system, space group P2(1). We report the temperature dependence of the elastic constants by the transmission method over the range -50°C to 150°C. The first-order temperature coefficients of the elastic constant s(44) is about 180 × 10(-6)/°C.

Studies of the isomerization and photophysical properties of a novel 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine-based ligand and its complexes.

A novel 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine-based ligand L and its complexes [ML(2)](ClO(4))(2)·CH(2)Cl(2) (M = Cd 1, Zn 2, Cu 4, Mn 5), [CoL(2)](ClO(4))(2)3, CdLI(2)6 and CdL(SCN)(2)7 were synthesized and fully characterized. The crystal structures of 1-6 were solved by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The linear absorption and emission properties, and third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of all the complexes were systematically investigated.

Efficient Tm:LuVO₄ laser at 1.9 μm.

We report an efficient laser-diode-pumped Tm-doped LuVO₄ crystal laser at about 1.9 μm. For the first time to our knowledge, the π-polarized Tm:LuVO₄ laser was achieved.

Fabrication of flower-like silver structures through anisotropic growth.

Using a simple chemical reaction, a new nanostructure of silver, which we call a "flower-like silver structure", is produced. The flower-like silver structure consists of a silver core and many rod-like tips protruding out in three dimensions. Besides common face-centered-cubic (FCC) phase of silver, there exists hexagonal-close-packed (HCP) phase in these tips.

Nd:YGG crystal laser at 1110 nm: a potential source for detecting carbon monoxide poisoning.

We demonstrated a laser-diode pumped Nd-doped yttrium gallium garnet crystal laser at 1110 nm for the first time to our knowledge. By suppressing the oscillation at about 1.06 μm, continuous-wave output power of 2.

Preparation of echinus-like SiO2@Ag structures with the aid of the HCP phase.

A novel echinus-like hybrid structure composed of a SiO(2)@Ag core-shell and many silver nanorods was synthesized. These silver rods have a rare HCP structure, while the initial silver nuclei have a FCC structure. The rapid and free growth of silver nuclei resulted in the appearance of the HCP phase.

A continuous wave SrMoO4 Raman laser.

We demonstrate a cw, laser diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4/SrMoO4 crystalline Raman laser. First Stokes laser output at 1173.5 nm of 2.

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement of polycyclic aromatic alkaloid derivatives and the crucial role of excited-state proton-transfer.

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) phenomenon is observed in the polycyclic aromatic alkaloid derivatives due to the configuration changes in the excited state, which is attributed to intramolecular proton-transfer and the formation of a new structure of enol form.

Large energy pulse generation modulated by graphene epitaxially grown on silicon carbide.

Graphene grown by thermal decomposition of a two-inch 6H silicon carbide (SiC) wafers surface was used to modulate a large energy pulse laser. Because of its saturable absorbing properties, graphene was used as a passive Q-switcher, and because of its high refractive index the SiC substrate was used as an output coupler. Together they formed a setup where the passively Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) crystal laser was realized with the pulse energy of 159.

Preparation of metal@silica core-shell particle films by interfacial self-assembly.

A universal self-assembly method is used to prepare a series of large-area silica-coated metal particle (metal@silica) films at the hexane/water interface. The decrease of hexane/water interfacial energy after the particle adsorption leads to the formation of films. Since external silica shells eliminate the coupling between neighboring metal core particles, the extinction peaks of closely packed metal@silica particle films are as narrow as those of monodispersed metal particles.

Watt-level self-frequency-doubling Nd:GdCOB lasers.

Laser-diode (LD) pumped self-frequency doubling (SFD) Nd:GdCa4O(BO3)3 (Nd:GdCOB) miniature laser was demonstrated. The output power as high as 1.35 W was achieved which is over than five times than previous values for Nd:LnCa4O(BO3)3 (Ln=Y or Gd) SFD lasers and becomes the highest continuous-wave output power in this field to our knowledge.

First-principles study of the electronic, optical properties and lattice dynamics of tantalum oxynitride.

First-principles calculations of the electronic, optical properties and lattice dynamics of tantalum oxynitride are performed with the density functional theory plane-wave pseudopotential method. The analysis of the electronic structure shows a covalent nature in Ta-N bonds and Ta-O bonds. The hybridization of anion 2p and Ta 5d states results in enhanced dispersion of the valence band, raising the top of the valence band and leading to the visible-light response in TaON.

Efficient two-photon excited amplified spontaneous emission from organic single crystals.

E, E-1, 4-bis[4'-(N,N-dibutylamino)styryl]-2,5-dimethoxy-benzene (DBASDMB) organic crystals with high crystalline quality, large size and excellent optical properties are prepared. The linear and nonlinear properties in the crystal are comparatively studied. The relaxation dynamics pumped by two-photon are very similar with that pumped by one-photon.

Efficient triwavelength laser with a Nd:YGG garnet crystal.

We demonstrate a laser-diode pumped efficient triwavelength laser at about 1.06microm with a Nd-doped yttrium gallium garnet crystal for the first time, to our knowledge. Continuous wave output power of 7.

Continuous-wave and passively Q-switched laser performance with a disordered Nd:CLNGG crystal.

We demonstrated efficient high-power continuous-wave (cw) and passively Q-switched disordered Nd:CLNGG laser performance. In cw operations, the output power was obtained to be 3.81 W with a slope efficiency of 30.

Two-photon absorption enhancement induced by aggregation with accurate photophysical data: spontaneous accumulation of dye in silica nanoparticles.

The accurate photophysical data of dye-concentrated nanoparticles have been measured by the strategy of constructing ethoxysilane hydrolysis-assisted nanomaterials, which give rise to a large enhancement in two-photon absorption.

Optical properties of the high-pressure phases of SnO(2): first-principles calculation.

We present a detailed investigation on the optical properties, including dielectric function, reflectivity, absorption, refractive index, and electron energy-loss spectrum, of the high-pressure phase SnO(2) in the rutile, pyrite, fluorite, and cotunnite structures by using the density functional theory (DFT) plane-wave pseudopotential method. The results indicate that with the increasing of pressure the band gaps become larger, the density of states are broader, so the curves of optical properties have a little blue shift. Except that the fluorite phase has some metallic properties, the other three phases exhibit excellent dielectric behavior.