Publications by authors named "Rui-qin Zhang"

Deposition of low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) films as photoanodes is a crucial step for constructing photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells and exploring their PEC performance. Currently, the improvement of the photocurrent density of g-CN films is badly needed for their practical applications in PEC water splitting. Enhancing the g-CN crystallinity by optimizing their synthesis conditions only through screening appropriate reactant precursors is insufficient for this purpose.

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Cardiac atrophy is one of the critical characteristics of cancer cachexia though its mechanisms had not been fully clarified. In the present study, to study the mechanisms of cardiac atrophy in cancer cachexia and search for possible drug targets, cancer cachexia mice bearing C26 colon tumor cells and cultured H9c2 cardiomyocytes induced with simulated cancer cachexia injuries were used as in vivo and in vitro model, respectively. Results of both spatial metabolomics and LC-MS non-targeted metabolomics analysis of heart tissues suggested the disturbance of glycerophospholipid and fatty acid metabolism in the cancer cachexia hearts.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Average VOC levels were found to be higher at Zhengzhou University compared to other sites, with olefins and aromatic hydrocarbons showing significant photochemical loss.
  • * Key sources of VOCs included motor vehicles, industrial activities, and solvent use, with motor vehicles being the most significant contributor to overall pollution levels.
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The minimization of the commutator of the Fock and density matrices as the error matrix in the direct inversion of the iterative subspace (CDIIS) developed by Pulay is a powerful self-consistent field (SCF) acceleration technique for the construction of optimum Fock matrix, if initiated with a fair initial guess. In this work, we present an alternative minimized error matrix to the commutator in the CDIIS, namely the residual or the gradient of the energy-functional for a Slater determinant subject to the orthonormality constraints among orbitals, representing the search for a newly improved Fock matrix in the direction of the residual in the direct inversion of the iterative subspace (RDIIS). Implemented in the computational chemistry package GAMESS, the RDIIS is compared with the standard CDIIS and the second order SCF orbital optimization (SOSCF) for tested molecules started with a crude guess.

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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) originating from diverse sources with complex compositions pose threats to both environmental safety and human health. Photocatalytic treatment of VOCs has garnered attention due to its high efficacy at room temperature. However, the intricate photochemical reaction generates ozone (O), causing secondary pollution.

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Li-rich antiperovskite (LiRAP) hydroxyhalides are emerging as attractive solid electrolyte (SEs) for all-solid-state Li metal batteries (ASSLMBs) due to their low melting point, low cost, and ease of scaling-up. The incorporation of rotational polyanions can reduce the activation energy and thus improve the Li ion conductivity of SEs. Herein, we propose a ternary rotational polyanion coupling strategy to fasten the Li ion conduction in tetrafluoroborate (BF ) ion doped LiRAP LiOHCl.

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Organic acids in atmospheric particulate matter are widely involved in various physical and chemical reactions in the atmosphere and contribute greatly to the formation of secondary organic aerosols and haze pollutions. Therefore, the concentration distribution characteristics, sources, and secondary formation of organic acids in particulate matter are of great significance for further investigation of organic aerosols and their secondary transformation. Fine particulate matter (PM) samples were collected in Zhengzhou, and three types of organic acids, including dicarboxylic acids, fatty acids, and resin acids, were analyzed to explore their species distribution, seasonal variations, source contribution, and secondary generation.

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In order to study the pollution characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), continuous monitoring of VOCs in two pollution processes was conducted in June and December 2021 in Zhengzhou. Combined with meteorological conditions, the pollution characteristics, source contributions, and reactivity of VOCs in winter and summer were compared and analyzed. The results showed that the volume fraction of atmospheric VOCs in two episodes were (27.

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Carnosol exhibited ameliorating effects on muscle atrophy of mice developed cancer cachexia in our previous research. Here, the ameliorating effects of carnosol on the C2C12 myotube atrophy result from simulated cancer cachexia injury, the conditioned medium of the C26 tumor cells or the LLC tumor cells, were observed. To clarify the mechanisms of carnosol, the possible direct target proteins of carnosol were searched using DARTS (drug affinity responsive target stability) assay and then confirmed using CETSA (cellular thermal shift assay).

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Nitrate (NO), sulfate (SO), and ammonium (NH) are important components of PM, and studying their characteristics and influencing factors is essential for the continuous improvement of air quality. A series of online instruments were used to analyze the chemical components of PM in Zhengzhou in the summer of 2020. The results showed that the average (PM) was (28 ±13) μg·m, showing a daily variation characteristic of high at night and low during the day.

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The photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of bismuth vanadate (BiVO) suffers from sluggish charge mobility and substantial charge recombination losses due to its intrinsic defect. To rectify the problem, we developed a novel approach to prepare an n-n type II BVO-BVO homojunction with staggered band alignment. This architecture involves a built-in electric field that facilitating the electron-hole separation at the BVO/BVO interface.

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To investigate the change characteristics of secondary inorganic ions in PM at different pollution stages before and after COVID-19, the online monitoring of winter meteorological and atmospheric pollutant concentrations in Zhengzhou from December 15, 2019 to February 15, 2020 was conducted using a high-resolution (1 h) online instrument. This study analyzed the causes of the haze process of COVID-19, the diurnal variation characteristics of air pollutants, and the distribution characteristics of air pollutants at different stages of haze.The results showed that Zhengzhou was mainly controlled by the high-pressure ridge during the haze process, and the weather situation was stable, which was conducive to the accumulation of air pollutants.

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In recent years, complex air pollution with the characteristic pollutant of PM has remained serious in China. Long term exposure to PM might harm residential health and can increase premature death from specific diseases. The annual average concentration of PM in Zhengzhou was much higher than the national secondary standard, which has an extremely negative impact on the health of residents.

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The incomplete understanding of electron correlation is still profound due to the lack of exact solutions of the Schrödinger equation of many electron systems. In this work, we present the correlation-induced changes in the calculated many-electron systems beyond the standard residual. To locate the minimum of the Rayleigh quotient, each iteration is to seek the lowest eigenpairs in a subspace spanned by the current wave function and its gradient of the Rayleigh-quotient as well as the upcoming higher-order residual.

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From July 2020 to June 2021, monthly offline sampling of atmospheric VOCs was carried out and analyzed at three urban sites and one suburban site in Zhengzhou. Then, the volume fraction levels, composition characteristics, reactivity, and source apportionment of atmospheric VOCs were discussed. The results showed that the volume fraction of atmospheric VOCs in Zhengzhou was (37.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has faced severe haze pollution but lacks comparative studies between urban and rural areas in northern Henan due to limited observational data.
  • A study conducted during a heavy pollution event from January 12-25, 2018, used advanced instruments to analyze PM components, revealing that nitrate was the most significant contributor to haze, particularly affecting urban sites more than rural ones.
  • Findings highlighted urban areas' need for reducing gaseous precursors while rural regions should focus on carbonaceous aerosol sources, showcasing important differences in pollution composition between these environments.
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First-principles calculations show a self-isomerization process of the nearly planar superatom, in which the maximum energy difference between different extreme points is below 0.1 eV and a crossing between singlet and triplet states is also involved. Further UV-Vis spectra reveal a correlation between the spectra and structures caused by self-isomerization.

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Driven by a high-speed rotating electric field (-field), molecular motors with polar groups may perform a unidirectional, repetitive, and GHz frequency rotation and thus offer potential applications as nanostirrers. To drive the unidirectional rotation of molecular motors, it is crucial to consider factors of internal charge flow, thermal noise, molecular flexibility, and so forth before selecting an appropriate frequency of a rotating -field. Herein, we studied two surface-mounted dipolar rotors of a "caltrop-like" molecule and a "sandwich" molecule by using quantum-mechanical computations in combination with torque analyses.

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To improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of photocatalysts, the doping strategy through covalent functionalization is often adopted to adjust material electronic structures. By contrast, this work demonstrates that the noncovalent interaction in the case of iodinated graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) film can also enhance the PEC performance. Through a facile synthesis method of rapid thermal vapor condensation (RTVC), the prepared iodinated g-CN film shows a significantly improved photocurrent density (38.

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Cancer-derived exosomes are involved in the development of cancer cachexia. Carnosol, which exhibited ameliorating effects on cancer cachexia of C26 tumour-bearing mice in our previous study, alleviated atrophy of C2C12 myotubes induced by exosomes of C26 tumour cells in the present study. MiR-183-5p was found to be rich in C26 cells and C26 exosomes, and miR-183-5p mimic could directly induce atrophy of C2C12 myotubes.

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Air pollution in Henan province is serious and is significantly impacted by pollution transmission and interactions with surrounding areas. The emission sources in 18 cities in Henan province were labeled and applied to the WRF-CMAQ traceability model for simulation in January, April, July, and October of 2017. The pollutant distribution results showed that due to the combined influence of emissions and meteorology, the concentrations of PM, NO, and SO in Henan province were the highest in winter and the lowest in summer.

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Iron-based catalysts have been demonstrated to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to generate reactive radicals, which is however limited by their complex preparation process, high costs and inefficiency for practical applications. Herein we obtain spent LiFePO (SLFP), with powerful catalytic capacity by a simple one-step treatment of the retired LiFePO cathode material, for PMS activation to decontaminate organic pollutants. Lithium defects and oxygen vacancies in SLFP play critical roles for PMS utilization, further confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

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Article Synopsis
  • P and N co-doped graphene (PNC-G) was studied to improve graphene's reactivity for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation, showing that higher nitrogen doping enhances charge transfer to oxygen molecules.
  • The performance of CO oxidation on PN-G is affected by the breaking apart of adsorbed oxygen, while PNC-G shows strong catalytic activity via both the Eley-Rideal and the ER mechanisms.
  • At room temperature, PNC-G achieves a significant reaction rate and low energy barriers for oxidation, suggesting practical applications for CO oxidation catalysis supported by theoretical calculations.
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Based on air quality station data and satellite remote sensing data, the interannual variation characteristics and seasonal variation trends of near-surface ozone (O) in Henan province were studied, and the variation in O sensitivity was analyzed. The results showed that the O concentration near the surface of Henan province increased first and then decreased from 2015 to 2020. The highest O concentration was found in 2018, and the annual mean of the maximum daily 8 h moving mean (MDA8) of O was 110.

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The COVID-19 lockdown was a typical occurrence of extreme emission reduction, which presented an opportunity to study the influence of control measures on particulate matter. Observations were conducted from January 16 to 31, 2020 using online observation instruments to investigate the characteristics of PM concentration, particle size distribution, chemical composition, source, and transport before (January 16-23, 2020) and during (January 24-31, 2020) the COVID-19 lockdown in Zhengzhou. The results showed that the atmospheric PM concentration decreased by 4.

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