Dynamic nonlocal metasurface for multifunctional integration via phase-change materials.

Non-local metasurface supporting geometric phases at bound states in the continuum (BIC) simultaneously enables sharp spectral resonances and spatial wavefront shaping, thus providing a diversified optical platform for multifunctional devices. However, a static nonlocal metasurface cannot manipulate multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs), making it difficult to achieve multifunctional integration and be applied in different scenarios. Here, we presented and demonstrated phase-change non-local metasurfaces that can realize dynamic manipulation of multiple DOFs including resonant frequency, values, band, and spatial wavefront.

cypress: an R/Bioconductor package for cell-type-specific differential expression analysis power assessment.

Summary: Recent methodology advances in computational signal deconvolution have enabled bulk transcriptome data analysis at a finer cell-type level. Through deconvolution, identifying cell-type-specific differentially expressed (csDE) genes is drawing increasing attention in clinical applications. However, researchers still face a number of difficulties in adopting csDE genes detection methods in practice, especially in their experimental design.

Pulmonary hypertension across the spectrum of left heart and lung disease.

Aims: Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) are grouped based upon clinical and haemodynamic characteristics. Groups 2 (G2, left heart disease [LHD]) and 3 (G3, lung disease or hypoxaemia) are most common. Many patients display overlapping characteristics of heart and lung disease (G2-3), but this group is not well-characterized.

Ortho-Substituent Effects on Halogen Bond Geometry for N-Haloimide⋯2-Substituted Pyridine Complexes.

The nature of (imide)N-X⋯N(pyridine) halogen-bonded complexes formed by six N-haloimides and sixteen 2-substituted pyridines are studied using X-ray crystallography (68 crystal structures), Density Functional Theory (DFT) (86 complexation energies), and NMR spectroscopy (90 association constants). Strong halogen bond (XB) donors such as N-iodosuccinimide form only 1:1 haloimide:pyridine crystalline complexes, but even stronger N-iodosaccharin forms 1:1 haloimide:pyridine and three other distinct complexes. In 1:1 haloimide:pyridine crystalline complexes, the haloimide's N─X bond exhibits an unusual bond bending feature that is larger for stronger N-haloimides.

N-X⋅⋅⋅O-N Halogen Bonds in Complexes of N-Haloimides and Pyridine-N-oxides: A Large Data Set Study.

N-X⋅⋅⋅ O-N halogen-bonded systems formed by 27 pyridine N-oxides (PyNOs) as halogen-bond (XB) acceptors and two N-halosuccinimides, two N-halophthalimides, and two N-halosaccharins as XB donors are studied in silico, in solution, and in the solid state. This large set of data (132 DFT optimized structures, 75 crystal structures, and 168 H NMR titrations) provides a unique view to structural and bonding properties. In the computational part, a simple electrostatic model (SiElMo) for predicting XB energies using only the properties of halogen donors and oxygen acceptors is developed.

Identification of ferroptosis-related genes in male mice with sepsis-induced acute lung injury based on transcriptome sequencing.

Background: Sepsis can result in acute lung injury (ALI). Studies have shown that pharmacological inhibition of ferroptosis can treat ALI. However, the regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis in sepsis-induced ALI remain unclear.

Iron deficiency in pulmonary vascular disease: pathophysiological and clinical implications.

Aims: Iron deficiency is common in pulmonary hypertension, but its clinical significance and optimal definition remain unclear.

Methods And Results: Phenotypic data for 1028 patients enrolled in the Redefining Pulmonary Hypertension through Pulmonary Vascular Disease Phenomics study were analyzed. Iron deficiency was defined using the conventional heart failure definition and also based upon optimal cut-points associated with impaired peak oxygen consumption (peakVO2), 6-min walk test distance, and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) scores.

Process design and optimization on self-sustaining pyrolysis and carbonization of municipal sewage sludge.

Pyrolysis can realize the reduction and resource utilization of municipal sewage sludge (MSS). In this paper, a self-sustaining pyrolysis process is designed for municipal sewage sludge, and the process flow is simulated by Aspen plus software. By changing the initial moisture content of sludge, moisture content after drying, pyrolysis temperature and air supply in the incinerator, the possibility of achieving energy self-balance in the system is analysed.

Submicron particle formation from co-firing of coal and municipal sewage sludge.

With the increasing production of municipal sewage sludge (MSS) in China every year, the co-firing of MSS and pulverized coal is getting more and more widely applied in large coal-fired power plants. The co-firing of MSS and pulverized coal will produce a large amount of particulate matter (PM) emissions, especially submicron particles. In this paper, the formation characteristics of submicron particles in the co-firing process of coal and MSS were studied in a drop tube furnace.

Ligand exchange among iodine(I) complexes.

A detailed investigation of ligand exchange between iodine(I) ions in [N⋯I⋯N] halogen-bonded complexes is presented. Ligand exchange reactions were conducted to successfully confirm whether iodine(I) complex formation, the classical [N⋯Ag⋯N] to [N⋯I⋯N] cation exchange reaction from their analogous Ag complexes, could be determined solely by using H NMR spectroscopy. In instances where the formation of the iodine(I) complex was unclear or in low yield by the traditional cation exchange reaction, a ligand exchange reaction was used to form the desired iodine(I) complexes in a quantitative manner.

Dual-band polarization-insensitive toroidal dipole quasi-bound states in the continuum in a permittivity-asymmetric all-dielectric meta-surface.

Ultra-high quality (Q) factor resonances derived from the bound states in the continuum (BICs) have drawn much attention in optics and photonics. Especially in meta-surfaces, they can enable ultrasensitive sensors, spectral filtering, and lasers because of their enhanced light-matter interactions and rare superiority of scalability. In this paper, we propose a permittivity-asymmetric all-dielectric meta-surface, comprising high-index cuboid tetramer clusters with symmetric structural parameters and configuring periodically on a glass substrate.

Macrocyclic complexes based on [N⋯I⋯N] halogen bonds.

New 1-2 nm macrocyclic iodine(I) complexes prepared a simple ligand exchange reaction manifest rigid 0.5-1 nm cavities that bind the hexafluorophosphate anion in the gas phase. The size of the cavities and the electrostatic interactions with the iodine(I) cations influence the anion binding properties of these macrocyclic complexes.

Dihypoiodites stabilised by 4-ethylpyridine through O-I-N halogen bonds.

Four (O-I-N) compounds have been synthesised from various dihypoiodites and 4-ethylpyridine. The compounds were characterised in both the solution and solid states by NMR spectroscopy (H, N), X-ray diffraction, and computational calculations.

Light- and pH-regulated Water-soluble Pseudorotaxanes Comprising a Cucurbit[7]uril and a Flavylium-based Axle.

A linear double pyridinium-terminated thread comprising a central chalcone moiety is shown to provide two independent binding sites with similar affinity for cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) macrocycles in water as judged from NMR, UV-Visible and fluorescence spectroscopies. Association results in [2] and [3]pseudorotaxanes, which are both pH and photosensitive. Switching from the neutral chalcone to the cationic flavylium form upon irradiation at 365 nm under acidic conditions provided an enhanced CB7 association (K increases from 1.

Robust estimates of regional treatment effects in multiregional randomized clinical trials with semiparametric logistic model.

In multiregional randomized clinical trials (MRCTs), determining the regional treatment effect of a new treatment over an existing one is important to both the sponsor and related regulatory agencies. Also of particular interest is to test the null hypothesis that the treatment benefit is the same among all the regions. Existing methods are mainly for continuous endpoint and use parametric models, which are not robust.

Damming an electronic energy reservoir: ion-regulated electronic energy shuttling in a [2]rotaxane.

We demonstrate the first example of bidirectional reversible electronic energy transfer (REET) between the mechanically bonded components of a rotaxane. Our prototypical system was designed such that photoexcitation of a chromophore in the axle results in temporary storage of electronic energy in a quasi-isoenergetic "reservoir" chromophore in the macrocycle. Over time, the emissive state of the axle is repopulated from this reservoir, resulting in long-lived, delayed luminescence.

Carbonyl Hypoiodites as Extremely Strong Halogen Bond Donors.

Neutral halogen-bonded O-I-N complexes were prepared from in situ formed carbonyl hypoiodites and aromatic organic bases. The carbonyl hypoiodites have a strongly polarized iodine atom with larger σ-holes than any known uncharged halogen bond donor. Modulating the Lewis basicity of the selected pyridine derivatives and carboxylates leads to halogen-bonded complexes where the classical O-I⋅⋅⋅N halogen bond transforms more into a halogen-bonded COO ⋅⋅⋅I-N ion-pair (salt) with an asymmetric O-I-N moiety.

Multiple Fano resonances excitation on all-dielectric nanohole arrays metasurfaces.

Both toroidal dipoles, electric dipoles and magnetic dipoles belong to one type of electromagnetic excitation. In this paper, we present an all-dielectric metasurface composed of an array of square nanoholes. It can simultaneously generate four resonance responses excited by TD, EQ and MD in the continuous near-infrared band.

Tuning Multiple Fano Resonances for On-Chip Sensors in a Plasmonic System.

This paper proposed a plasmonic resonator system, consisting of a metal-insulator-metal structure and two stubs, and a Fano resonance arose in its transmittance, which resulted from the coupling between the two stubs. On the basis of the proposed structure, a circle and a ring cavity are separately added above the stubs to create different coupled plasmonic structures, providing triple and quadruple Fano resonances, respectively. Additionally, by adjusting the geometric parameters of the system, multiple Fano Resonances obtained can be tuned.

Photochromic rotaxanes and pseudorotaxanes.

Among stimulus-responsive molecular ring-on-thread rotaxanes and pseudorotaxanes, variants incorporating photochromic sub-units are attracting considerable attention as their properties and structure can be remotely and precisely controlled, additionally without producing chemical waste. The focus herein is on photoswitching-driven assembly/disassembly and modulation of properties resulting from light-activated isomerization or changes in electronic properties.

[Epidemiological characteristics of imported malaria cases in Neijiang City, 2013].

Objective: To understand the epidemiological characteristics of imported malaria cases in Neijiang City in 2013, so as to provide the references for malaria elimination in the city.

Methods: The epidemiological data of malaria cases were collected from the Parasitic Diseases Information Management System of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the data were analyzed with the descriptive epidemiological method.

Results: Totally 19 cases of imported malaria cases were reported in Neijiang City in 2013, which was increased by 375% comparing to that in 2012 (4 cases) , and all the cases were confirmed by the laboratory.

The removal process of 2,2-dichloroacetamide (DCAcAm), a new disinfection by-product, in drinking water treatment process and its toxicity on zebrafish.

The removal process of 2,2-dichloroacetamide (DCAcAm), a new disinfection by-product (DBP) in conventional drinking water treatment plant (C-DWTP) and advanced DWTP (ADWTP) was studied with newly maximum formation potential (MFP) process. It was demonstrated that the advanced treatment displayed greater removal efficiency towards DCAcAm formation potential (MFP) than the conventional treatment. The hydrophilic natural organic matter and natural organic matter with molecular weight <1 kDa or >10 kDa leaded to more DCAcAm formation, and the aromatic protein was inferred as one part of DCAcAm precursor.

Occurrence, removal and risk assessment of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in an advanced drinking water treatment plant (ADWTP) around Taihu Lake in China.

The occurrence and removal of 39 selected pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) were investigated in an advanced drinking water treatment plant (ADWTP) around Taihu Lake. Fourteen of 39 targeted pharmaceuticals were detected in the raw water. After a series of purification processes, only indomethacin, caffeine and sulfamethoxazole were found in effluent, albeit at concentrations less than 2 ng L(-1).

The toxicity of a new disinfection by-product, 2,2-dichloroacetamide (DCAcAm), on adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) and its occurrence in the chlorinated drinking water.

The detection method of 2,2-dichloroacetamide (DCAcAm), a new disinfection by-product (DBP) in chlorinated drinking water, was established using a gas chromatograph coupled with a micro-electron capture detector. The chlorinated water samples were taken from ten drinking water treatment plants around Yangtze River or Taihu Lake in China. The concentration of DCAcAm was detected ranging from 0.

Integrated biomarker responses in zebrafish exposed to sulfonamides.

Dispersed pharmaceuticals such as sulfonamides pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems. We evaluated potential biomarkers of sulfonamide exposure using an extended zebrafish (Danio rerio) toxicity test. The tested sulfonamides induced obvious effects on spontaneous swimming activity and heartbeat rate in zebrafish.