Publications by authors named "Zhou Zhifang"

Hybrid wood fiber/plastic composites offer a high-value-added utilization for agroforestry waste, which also providing a promising solution for reducing white pollution. However, the interface incompatibility between natural wood fibers and polymers significantly impairs the mechanical properties of the composites. Herein, a straightforward procedure is proposed to solve this problem, involving the removal of low-thermal-stability hemicellulose from wood fibers by hydrothermal pretreatment, followed by compositing with polyamide to produce hydrothermally treated wood fiber/polyamide composites (HWPACs).

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Thermoelectrics converting heat and electricity directly attract broad attentions. To enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, one of the key points is to decouple the carrier-phonon transport. Here, we propose an entropy engineering strategy to realize the carrier-phonon decoupling in the typical SrTiO-based perovskite thermoelectrics.

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Bovine milk exosomes (BmExo) have been identified as versatile nanovesicles for anti-cancer drugs delivery due to their natural availability and biocompatibility. However, tumor-specific delivery based on BmExo often requires post-isolation modifications of the membrane surface with active-targeting ligands. In this study, we report an alternative approach to functionalize BmExo with nanobody combining facile chemical modification and Sortase A-mediated site-specific ligation, as demonstrated by the development of an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted drug delivery system.

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The mobilization and redistribution of organic contaminants in groundwater is the basis and key to explore its dynamic evolution and appropriate remediation. The naturally occurring diametrical temperature gradient during freezing and thawing cycle leads to distinct behaviors of organic contaminants in groundwater. In this study, the pore-scale distribution of diesel oil in the porous media was quantitatively divided into capillary fluid state (CFS) and free fluid state (FFS) based on multiphase flow dynamics, employing low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) technology.

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Hybrid halide perovskites are good candidates for a range of functional materials such as optical electronic and photovoltaic devices due to their tunable band gaps, long carrier diffusion lengths, and solution processability. However, the instability in moisture/air, the toxicity of lead, and rigorous reaction setup or complex postprocessing have long been the bottlenecks for practical application. Herein, we present a simultaneous configurational entropy design at A-sites, B-sites, and X-sites in the typical (CHA)PbBr two-dimensional (2D) hybrid perovskite.

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Objectives: Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP4) has been proved to be an important regulatory factor for the pathological process of atherosclerosis (AS). However, there are few related clinical studies. This study aims to investigate the levels of plasma BMP4 in patients suffering from the arterial occlusive diseases (ACD) characterized by AS, and further to test the relationship between BMP4 and inflammation and vascular injury.

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BiCuSeO is a promising oxygen-containing thermoelectric material due to its intrinsically low lattice thermal conductivity and excellent service stability. However, the low electrical conductivity limits its thermoelectric performance. Aliovalent element doping can significantly improve their carrier concentration, but it may also impact carrier mobility and thermal transport properties.

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This study presents the fabrication of a novel porous composite of graphene oxide-montmorillonite (GO-MMT) through the modification of montmorillonite using the freeze-drying method for the purpose of Pb removal. The characterization of the GO-MMT composite was conducted using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction. The results from batch adsorption experiments revealed that the GO-MMT composite exhibited a superior capacity for Pb removal compared to MMT.

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Aquitards significantly affect groundwater flow in multi-aquifer systems through adjacent aquifer leakage. Despite this, studies focusing on their heterogeneity and the non-conventional diffusion patterns of their flow are still limited. In this study, a factional derivative approach was first extended to explore the time-dependent behavior of flow transport in the aquitard.

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Corporate water performance and sustainable development are currently vital focus areas for scholars. Therefore, this paper investigates the experience of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) with water shortage influences corporate water performance by focusing on listed companies in water-intensive and high-water-risk industries in China between 2014 and 2019. This paper manually collected information relative to the cities and provinces where CEOs grew up to evaluate their early exposure to water shortages.

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Shiga toxin (Stx) is associated with foodborne infections of some spp. and Shiga toxin-producing (STEC), leading to life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Target-specific therapeutics against HUS are currently unavailable in clinical practice.

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Three-dimensional (3D) spacer fabric has the characteristics of a light weight and high strength, and its unique three-dimensional structure gives it great potential for development in terms of insulation. For the purpose of further improving the thermal insulation performance of 3D spacer fabric, the fabric was treated with silica aerogel while solving the problem of powdering during use. Firstly, the electronic Jacquard machine was modified for weaving spacer fabrics.

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Background: To observe the level of serum Sema7A in acute aortic dissection (AAD) and its diagnostic value for AAD.

Research Design And Methods: Patients with sudden chest pain including AAD, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or pulmonary embolism (PE) were enrolled. Patients without chest pain or cardiovascular diseases were included as the controls.

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Volatilization plays an important role in the attenuation and redistribution of petroleum products in contaminated porous media. However, the volatilization behavior of petroleum products exposed to freeze-thaw cycles is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the volatilization behavior of diesel oil-water-glass bead systems under different freeze-thaw cycles.

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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a high priority pathogen due to its life-threating infections to human health. Development of prophylactic or therapeutic anti-MRSA vaccine is a potential approach to treat S. aureus infections and overcome the resistance crisis.

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Article Synopsis
  • Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs) are complex genetic diseases linked to issues in glycan production, making diagnosis difficult due to their varied symptoms.
  • Recent research focused on developing a liposome-based vaccine that includes specific biomarkers for ALG1-CDG and PMM2-CDG, enhancing immune responses and promoting the production of high-affinity IgG antibodies.
  • The study found that the new vaccine platform effectively generated strong IgG responses targeted at CDG biomarkers, indicating potential for rapid diagnostic methods for these disorders.
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Thermoelectric materials can realize direct conversion between heat and electricity, showing excellent potential for waste heat recovery. CuSe is a typical superionic conductor thermoelectric material having extraordinary ZT values, but its superionic feature causes poor service stability and low mobility. Here, we reported a fast preparation method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis to realize in situ compositing of BiCuSeO and CuSe to optimize the service stability.

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A new catalyst, copper oxide/graphene oxide-diatomaceous earth (CuO/GO-DE), was prepared by the ultrasonic impregnation method. The optimal conditions for catalyst preparation were explored, and its structure and morphology were characterized by BET, XRD, SEM, TEM, FTIR, Raman and XPS. By taking ciprofloxacin as the target pollutant, the performance and reusability of CuO/GO-DE to degrade antibiotic wastewater was evaluated, and the optimal operating conditions were obtained.

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Accurate estimates of spatiotemporally resolved Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD/Fs, or dioxins) emissions are critical for understanding their environmental fate and associated health risks. In this study, by utilizing an empirical regression model for PCDD/Fs emissions, we developed a global emission inventory for 17 toxic PCDD/Fs congeners from 8 source sectors with a spatial resolution of 1° × 1° from 2002 to 2018. The results show that PCDD/Fs emissions decreased by 25.

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The ambition of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) became an integral part of carbon emission abatement. The BRI impact on African participating countries' battle against carbon emissions intensity is a contentious subject. Urbanization and industrialization are the main sources of CO emissions in Africa and the driving force in the BRI.

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Cell type-specific drug delivery is a straightforward strategy to achieve targeted cancer therapy and reduce side effects. Hyaluronic acid (HA), an U.S.

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Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) encompass a wide range of clinically and pathologically diverse diseases characterized by progressive long-term cognitive decline, memory and function loss in daily life. Due to the lack of effective drugs and therapeutic strategies for preventing or delaying neurodegenerative progression, it is urgent to diagnose NDDs as early and accurately as possible. Nanomaterials, emerged as one of the most promising materials in the 21st century, have been widely applied and play a significant role in diagnosis and treatment of NDDs because of their remarkable properties including stability, prominent biocompatibility, unique structure, novel physical and chemical characteristics.

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Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3 or CD77) is a tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen implicated in several types of cancer that serves as a potential cancer marker for developing target-specific diagnosis and therapy. However, the development of Gb3-targeted therapeutics has been challenging due to its carbohydrate nature. In the present work, taking advantage of its natural pentamer architecture and Gb3-specific targeting of shiga toxin B subunit (StxB), we constructed a pentameric antibody recruiting chimera by site-specifically conjugating StxB with the rhamnose hapten for immunotherapy of colorectal cancer.

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Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) are next-generation therapeutics for complex cancer treatment. Herein, we developed a dual-targeting non-IgG format of bsAbs by using a bispecific nanobody (bsNb) that can simultaneously target EGFR and HER2 on tumor cells. Site-specific modification of the anti-EGFR-HER2 bsNb was conducted using the rhamnose (Rha) hapten via sortase A-mediated ligation to reconstitute the missing crystallizable fragment (Fc) effector biological functions.

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Background: Primary dental caries is the most prevalent oral disease among preschool children, which can cause severe damage to teeth and even affect the mental well-being of children. Various studies have demonstrated that the oral microbiome plays a pivotal role in the onset and development of dental caries. However, it remains uncertain about the key microbial markers associated with caries, owing to the limited evidence.

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