Publications by authors named "Ziqiang Xu"

The low Li transport and poor interface have consistently been two major impediments to practical applications of Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based composite solid-state electrolytes (PCPE). In this work, a polymerizable deep eutectic electrolyte is meticulously designed with high fluidity which consists of Poly (Ethylene Glycol) Diacrylate (PEGDA), Fluoroethylene Carbonate (FEC), Succinonitrile (SN) and dual salts (LiTFSI/LiDFOB) to promote Li transport and ameliorate the interface of PCPE. Inclusion of PEGDA monomers and FEC alters the crystallinity of SN, enhancing the wettability of thick electrode, and formation of polymeric 3D network from polymerization of PEGDA can anchor SN and suppress the side reactions between SN and lithium metal.

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Background: Decidual mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) are easily obtained and exhibit strong anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. Compared with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), their role in cell transplantation after idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis remains unclear. We investigated whether the transplantation of BMSCs and DMSCs could alleviate pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis in a bleomycin-induced mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis.

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Objective: The objective of this research is to develop two methodologies, Enzymatic recombinase amplification (ERA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) coupled with Lateral Flow Dipstick (LFD), for the swift authentication of Gastrodia elata.

Methodology: Primers and nfo probes for the ERA of Gastrodia elata were developed based on the ITS2 genome sequences of Gastrodia elata and its counterfeits. Specific primers for the PCR analysis of Gastrodia elata were generated using the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information) online platform.

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The pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic intestine inflammatory disease primarily affecting adolescents, remains uncertain. Contemporary studies suggest that a confluence of elements, including genetic predispositions, environmental catalysts, dysregulated immune responses, and disturbances in the gut microbiome, are instrumental in the initiation and advancement of UC. Among them, inflammatory activation and mucosal barrier damage caused by abnormal immune regulation are essential links in the development of UC.

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Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has emerged as a valuable diagnostic tool for cardiac diseases. However, a significant drawback of CMR is its slow imaging speed, resulting in low patient throughput and compromised clinical diagnostic quality. The limited temporal resolution also causes patient discomfort and introduces artifacts in the images, further diminishing their overall quality and diagnostic value.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most prevalent form of RCC, known for being resistant to standard treatments and linked to poor patient outcomes.
  • - Elevated TYMP expression in ccRCC is connected to tumor growth and poor prognosis, with studies showing its influence on cancer cell behavior and correlation with disease severity.
  • - TYMP is associated with immune response and methylation patterns, suggesting its potential as a prognostic marker and a focus for new drug therapies in ccRCC treatment.
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Nanoceria have demonstrated a wide array of catalytic activity similar to natural enzymes, holding considerable significance in the colorimetric detection of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), which is a biomarker of various biological disorders. However, the issues of physiological stability and formation of protein corona, which are strongly related to their surface chemistry, limit their practical application. In this work, CeO nanoparticles characterized by enhanced dimensional uniformity and specific surface area were synthesized, followed by encapsulation with various polymers to further increase catalytic activity and physiological stability.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A new photosensitizer, APNO, has been developed, capable of rapidly identifying different types of bacteria and generating reactive oxygen species to combat bacteria when exposed to light.
  • * When combined with a PHEAA hydrogel to form APNO@gel, this innovative approach effectively inhibits MRSA growth and promotes wound healing, showing promise for faster treatment in clinical settings.
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Starvation therapy has shown promise as a cancer treatment, but its efficacy is often limited when used alone. In this work, a multifunctional nanoscale cascade enzyme system, named CaCO@MnO-NH@GOx@PVP (CMGP), was fabricated for enhanced starvation/chemodynamic combination cancer therapy. CMGP is composed of CaCO nanoparticles wrapped in a MnO shell, with glucose oxidase (GOx) adsorbed and modified with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP).

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Anticipation of pain engenders anxiety and fear, potentially shaping pain perception and governing bodily responses such as peripheral vasomotion through the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Sympathetic innervation of vascular tone during pain perception has been quantified using a peripheral arterial stiffness index; however, its innervation role during pain anticipation remains unclear. This paper reports on a neuroimaging-based study designed to investigate the responsivity and attribution of the index at different levels of anticipatory anxiety and pain perception.

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Background: Recently, the enzymatic cascade reactions during the cellular process are widely used for fabricating robust biosensors and they have attracted extensive attention in analyzing various clinical biomarkers. The enzymatic cascades analysis is commonly based on the peroxidase (POD)/oxidase coupled system. However, the requirement of harsh acidic environment, poor stability and interference from the oxidase further limit their analytical practicability.

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The water-oil-rock system's surfactant and electrostatic interactions are essential for removing oil droplets from rock substrates. Our work illustrates the impact of surface charge on the oil contact angle in an ideal system comprising silica, water, and dodecane; smaller contact angles are observed for more polar substrates. Modifying the polarity of the model silica surface allows for the observation of the creation of heteromolecule channels and the process of stripping crude oil while accounting for the impacts of water flow and different types of surfactant molecules.

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The peripheral arterial stiffness index has been proposed and validated as a noninvasive measure quantifying stimulus intensity based on amplitude changes induced by sympathetic innervation of vascular tone. However, its temporal response characteristics remain unclear, thus hindering continuous and accurate monitoring of the dynamic process of sympathetic activation. This paper presents a study aimed at modeling the transient response of the index across sensory stimuli to characterize the corresponding peripheral sympathetic activation.

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Fritillaria ussuriensis Maxim is one of the traditional Chinese valuable herbs, which is the dried bulb of Fritillaria, a plant of the lily family. The identification of authenticity about F. ussuriensis is still technically challenging.

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Article Synopsis
  • Repetitive stress from pain can trigger anticipatory cardiovascular changes in response to expected pain, and this study investigates how nitrous oxide/oxygen inhalation affects these responses.
  • Researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate, and arterial stiffness in young adults before and after a cold pressor test while using either nitrous oxide or a placebo.
  • Findings suggest that while 40% nitrous oxide reduces vascular stiffness and heart rate responses during pain anticipation, the body still shows a feedforward increase in heart rate with repeated pain experiences.
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The poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)-based composite solid-state electrolyte (CSE) has garnered attention due to its excellent comprehensive performance. However, challenges persist in the structural design and preparation process of the ceramic-filled CSE, as the PVDF-based matrix is susceptible to alkaline conditions and dehydrofluorination, leading to its incompatibility with ceramic fillers and hindering the preparation of solid-state electrolytes. In this study, the mechanism of dehydrofluorination failure of a PVDF-based polymer in the presence of LiCO on the surface of LiLaZrTaO (LLZTO) is analyzed, and an effective strategy is proposed to inhibit the dehydrofluorination failure on the basis of density functional theory (DFT).

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The limited ionic conductivity and unstable interface due to poor solid-solid interface pose significant challenges to the stable cycling of solid-state batteries (SSBs). Herein, an interfacial plasticization strategy is proposed by introducing a succinonitrile (SN)-based plastic curing agent into the polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based composite polymer electrolytes (CPE) interface. The SN at the interface strongly plasticizes the PAN in the CPE, which reduces the crystallinity of the PAN drastically and enables the CPE to obtain a low modulus surface, but it still maintains a high modulus internally.

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Background: People who were previously hospitalised with stroke may have difficulty operating a motor vehicle, and their driving aptitude needs to be evaluated to prevent traffic accidents in today's car-based society. Although the association between motor-cognitive functions and driving aptitude has been extensively studied, motor-cognitive functions required for driving have not been elucidated.

Methods: In this paper, we propose a machine-learning algorithm that introduces sparse regularization to automatically select driving aptitude-related indices from 65 input indices obtained from 10 tests of motor-cognitive function conducted on 55 participants with stroke.

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Objectives: The study aims to compare retrospectively three clinically applied methods for the diagnostic performance of cystic renal masses (CRMs) by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CECT) with Bosniak classification system.

Methods: A total of 52 cases of Bosniak II-IV CRMs in 49 consecutive patients were diagnosed from January 2013 to July 2022 and their data were analyzed. All patients had been subjected to CEUS and CECT simultaneously.

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Article Synopsis
  • Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) faces challenges like limited ionic conductivity and a narrow electrochemical window, which impacts its use in high-energy-density lithium metal batteries.
  • An innovative hybrid filler-enhanced solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) has been developed to improve electrochemical performance for lithium metal anodes and LiFePO cathodes, achieving high ionic conductivity and transference numbers.
  • The composite membrane shows impressive stability and performance, evidenced by 2000 hours of operation in symmetric cells and a high-capacity retention in batteries after 400 cycles, indicating that combining active and inactive fillers can boost solid-state battery performance.
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Single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes) open new possibilities for the development of artificial enzymes that have catalytic activity comparable to that of natural peroxidase (POD). So far, most efforts have focused on the structural modulation of the Fe-N moiety to mimic the metalloprotein heme center. However, non-heme-iron POD with much higher activity, for example, HppE, has not been mimicked successfully due to its structural complexity.

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Employing a photosensitive donor/acceptor planar heterojunction (DA-PHJ) with complementary optical absorption as the active layer is one of the key strategies for realizing broad spectral organic photodiodes (BS-OPDs). To achieve superior optoelectronic performance, it is vital to optimize the thickness ratio of the donor layer to acceptor layer (the DA thickness ratio) in addition to the optoelectronic properties of the DA-PHJ materials. In this study, we realized a BS-OPD exploiting tin(II) phthalocyanine (SnPc)/3,4,9,10-perylenete-acarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) as the active layer and investigated the effect of the DA thickness ratio on the device performance.

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Due to the worldwide ecological and environmental issues induced by heavy metal pollution, including zinc and manganese, the ratio-metric discrimination of Zn and Mn based on CDs is urgently required. In this work, reduced CDs (re-CDs) with the intrinsic dual emissive peaks are obtained, and specific discrimination of Zn and Mn is realized by re-CDs with ratio-metric mode. With the addition of Zn, the fluorescent (FL) intensity at 650 nm increases obviously, while that at 680 nm progressively decreases.

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Solid-state electrolytes have been widely investigated for lithium batteries since they provide a high degree of safety. However, their low ionic conductivity and substantial growth of lithium dendrites hamper their commercial applications. Garnet-type LiLaZrTaO (LLZTO) is one of the most promising active fillers to advance the performance of the solid polymer electrolyte.

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