White-Matter Hyperintensities and Lacunar Infarcts Are Associated with an Increased Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease in the Elderly in China

Shuai Ye,Shuyang Dong,Jun Tan,Le Chen,Hai Yang,Yang Chen,Zeyan Peng,Yingchao Huo,Juan Liu,Mingshan Tang,Yafei Li,Huadong Zhou,Yong Tao 대한신경과학회 2019 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.15 No.1

Background and Purpose This study investigated the contribution of white-matter hyperintensities (WMH) and lacunar infarcts (LI) to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in an elderly cohort in China. Methods Older adults who were initially cognitively normal were examined with MRI at baseline, and followed for 5 years. WMH were classified as mild, moderate, or severe, and LI were classified into a few LI (1 to 3) or many LI (≥4). Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini Mental State Examination and the Activities of Daily Living scale. Results Among the 2,626 subjects, 357 developed AD by the end of the 5-year follow-up period. After adjusting for age and other potential confounders, having only WMH, having only LI, and having both WMH and LI were associated with an increased risk of developing AD compared with having neither WMH nor LI. Moderate and severe WMH were associated with an increased risk of developing AD compared with no WMH. Furthermore, patients with many LI had an increased risk of developing AD compared with no LI. Conclusions Having moderate or severe WMH and many LI were associated with an increased risk of developing AD, with this being particularly striking when both WMH and LI were present.

Membrane technologies for Li+/Mg2+ separation from salt-lake brines and seawater: A comprehensive review

Ye Zhang,Li Wang,Wei Sun,Yue-hua Hu,Honghu Tang 한국공업화학회 2020 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.81 No.-

Recent years have seen rapid improvement of technology and large-scale applications of lithium-ionbatteries, which leads to an increasing market demand for lithium. Since the land lithium resources arediminishing drastically, the sources of lithium extraction have shifted to the large amount of waterresources containing salt-lake brines and seawater. Among the varieties of aqueous recovery approaches,membrane technology seems to have huge development potential and good application prospect. This isbecause the membrane technologies exhibit excellent Li/Mg separation selectivity, with low energyconsumption and green process owing to no addition of chemicals. The present work reviews the latestadvances in various membrane technologies, including nanofiltration membrane, electrodialysis,membrane capacitive deionization approaches, solid electrolyte electrolysis-based technology, etc. Therecent developments in positively charged nanofiltration membrane are discussed in terms of thepreparation methods, membrane properties, and Li/Mg separation coefficient. In addition, the effects ofseveral factors on electrodialysis for lithium extraction and relevant mechanisms in both simple andactual saline systems are discussed, including applied voltage, VC/VD, and coexisting ions. Theapplications of electrodialysis with novel selective membrane involving nanofiltration membrane as wellas solid electrolyte membrane and perspectives for further investigation are proposed.

Analysis of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> cell viability, sublethal injury and death induced by synergistic combination of ultrasound and mild heat

Li, Jiao,Suo, Yuanjie,Liao, Xinyu,Ahn, Juhee,Liu, Donghong,Chen, Shiguo,Ye, Xingqian,Ding, Tian Elsevier 2017 Ultrasonics sonochemistry Vol.39 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>This study was designed to investigate the combined effects of ultrasound and mild heat on the viability of <I>S. aureus</I> in association with the cell membrane integrity and intracellular enzyme activity. Cells were treated by ultrasound under 55°C for 3, 5, 7, 10, and 15min. The dynamic changes of <I>S. aureus</I> cell viability, sublethal injury and death were evaluated using flow cytometric assay. Microscopies were applied to identify the morphological appearance, ultrastructure and topography of <I>S. aureus</I>. The results showed the membrane damage was synchronous with esterase inhibition during the exposure to sonication, leading to the immediate lethal effect. On the other hand, bacteria under the mild heat at 55°C were inactivated via a sublethal injury process. The different lethal modes were observed between sonication and mild heat treatments, which could synergistically inactivate <I>S. aureus</I>. The antibacterial value of thermo-sonication was greater than the sum of the individual treatments. The thermo-sonication combination synergistically reduced the number of sublethal cells and also resulted in severe cell damage.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> The lethal modes induced by ultrasound and mild heat were different. </LI> <LI> Two sterilization techniques were synergistic in cell inactivation. </LI> <LI> Cell viability, sublethal injury and death were distinguished by flow cytometry. </LI> <LI> Thermo-sonication treatment reduced the number of sublethal cells. </LI> <LI> Microscopies revealed <I>S. aureus</I> morphological changes and bactericidal effect. </LI> </UL> </P>

Room temperature pH-dependent ammonia gas sensors using graphene quantum dots

Chen, Wei,Li, Fushan,Ooi, Poh Choon,Ye, Yun,Kim, Tae Whan,Guo, Tailiang Elsevier 2016 Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Vol.222 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>We report a simple solution-process route to realize ammonia (NH<SUB>3</SUB>) gas sensor based on graphene quantum dots (GQDs). Transmission electron microscopy analysis confirmed that the 8–10nm GQDs were formed from multi-walled carbon nanotubes by using ultrasonication treatment. The as-fabricated gas sensor showed promising selectivity response when expose to NH<SUB>3</SUB> ambient at room temperature. It is indicated that by adjusting the pH value of the aqueous GQDs in acidic and neutral, two types of gas sensors with contrary current responses could be obtained, which might be resulted from quantum confinement, edge effects and presence of functional groups on GQDs.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> We report an NH<SUB>3</SUB> gas sensor at room temperature based on graphene quantum dots. </LI> <LI> GQDs were formed from multi-walled carbon nanotubes by ultrasonication treatment. </LI> <LI> Adjusting the pH value of the GQDs can lead to gas sensors with different behavior. </LI> <LI> Sensing mechanism might be resulted from the unique properties of GQDs. </LI> </UL> </P>

Highly stable flexible organic field-effect transistors with Parylene-C gate dielectrics on a flexible substrate

Kwon, Hyeok-jin,Ye, Heqing,An, Tae Kyu,Hong, Jisu,Park, Chan Eon,Choi, Yongseon,Shin, Seongjun,Lee, Jihoon,Kim, Se Hyun,Li, Xinlin Elsevier 2019 Organic electronics Vol.75 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Poly(chloro-p-xylene), or Parylene-C, is a polymeric insulating material that has good physical and chemical properties, such as a high dielectric strength, a pin-free surface, and good mechanical/chemical stability, but is difficult to apply to top-contact-structured OFETs since its hydrophobic and very rough surfaces hinder the growth of organic semiconductor crystals and promote the formation of interface traps. Herein, we applied a blend of PS and TIPS-PEN dissolved in 1,2,3,4 tetrahydronaphthalene to overcome these limitations of Parylene-C. To confirm the influence of this system, we analyzed the morphologies of crystals grown on Parylene-C surfaces modified by various organic and polymer materials, including methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane, hexamethyldisilazane, and dimethylchlorosilane-terminated polystyrene. Our investigation showed the ability of the PS:TIPS-PEN blend system to be used to overcome the above-described limitations of Parylene-C, and to manufacture top-contact OFETs displaying stable operation under gate-bias stress. Notably, we applied Parylene-C and this blend system in practical flexible OFETs that displayed highly stable properties.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Parylene-C film fabricated by CVD methods is characterized as gate insulating materials. </LI> <LI> Bottom gate top contact OFETs on hard/flexible substrate fabricated with TIPS-PEN: PS blend system and CVD based Parylene-C are reported. </LI> <LI> Morphological structure of TIPS-PEN is investigated using the tools including CPOM, SEM, AFM and 2D-GIXD. </LI> <LI> The OFETs show the mobility of 0.32, and 0.21 cm<SUP>2</SUP>/V in hard and flexible device type with negligible hysteresis both case. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Complete genome sequence of <i>Leuconostoc citreum</i> EFEL2700, a host strain for transformation of pCB vectors

Kim, Seul-Ah,Jang, Ye-Ji,Heo, Ji Eun,Li, Ling,Moon, Jin Seok,Han, Nam Soo Elsevier 2018 Journal of biotechnology Vol.287 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P> <I>Leuconostoc citreum</I> is an important lactic acid bacterium used as a starter culture for producing kimchi, the traditional Korean fermented vegetables. An efficient host strain for plasmid transformation, <I>L. citreum</I> EFEL2700, was isolated from kimchi, and it has been frequently used for genetic engineering of <I>L. citreum</I>. In this study, we report the whole genome sequence of the strain and its genetic characteristics. Genome assembly yielded 5 contigs (1 chromosome and 4 plasmids), and the complete genome contained 1,923,830 base pairs (bp) with a G + C content of 39.0%. Average nucleotide identity analysis showed high homology (≥ 99%) to the reference strain <I>L. citreum</I> KM 20. The smallest plasmid (4.3 kbp) was used as an <I>Escherichia coli</I> shuttle vector (pCB) for heterologous gene expression, and <I>L. citreum</I> EFEL2700 showed the highest transformation efficiency, 6.7 × 10⁴ CFU μg<SUP>−1</SUP> DNA. Genetic analysis of the genome enabled the construction of primary metabolic pathway showing a typical hetero-type lactic acid fermentation. Notably, no core genes for primary metabolism were observed in plasmid 4 and it could be eliminated to create an efficient host for gene transformation. This report will facilitate the understanding and application of <I>L. citreum</I> EFEL2700 as a food-grade microbial cell factory.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> <I>L. citreum</I> EFEL2700 is an efficient host for pCB vector transformation. </LI> <LI> It has 1 chromosome and 4 plasmids with 1.92 Mb size genome and 39% G + C content. </LI> <LI> Four plasmids have no genes involved in primary metabolism, thereby sequential elimination of plasmids may result in a higher transformation efficiency. </LI> <LI> This report will facilitate the understanding and application of <I>L. citreum</I> as a food-grade microbial cell factory. </LI> </UL> </P>

Fabrication of highly efficient coatable polarizer from tolane-based smectic reactive mesogen

He, Rui,Oh, Enche,Ye, Yang,Wen, Pushan,Jeong, Kwang-Un,Lee, Seung Hee,Li, Xiang-Dan,Lee, Myong-Hoon Elsevier 2019 Polymer Vol.176 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>This work is aimed to fabricate ultra-thin coatable polarizers on a single substrate based on “host-guest” effect between highly ordered smectic reactive mesogen (RM) and dichroic dye. We designed and synthesized a new tolane-based RM with a highly ordered smectic A phase at room temperature. Polymerizable “host-guest” mixture was formulated from the host RM, dichroic dye and additives, then spin-coated on a single substrate having an alignment layer. Subsequent in-situ photopolymerization by UV irradiation successfully resulted in a coatable polarizer with good polarizing properties. The fabricated coatable polarizer showed a dichroic ratio (DR) of 16.4 and a degree of polarization (DOP) of 99.3% with the thickness of 4 μm. The resulting coatable polarizer possessed a considerable solvent resistance, good thermal stability and robust mechanical properties. Moreover, we prepared a TN-mode LC cell by using the prepared coatable polarizers inside the cell (in-cell), in which the coatable polarizers acted as a polarizer and an alignment layer, simultaneously. The resulting TN cell with in-cell polarizers exhibited a decent electro-optical behavior. We believe that the coatable polarizer proposed in this study possesses practical application potential in ultra-thin LCDs or flexible OLEDs.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Reactive mesogen with smectic A phase was synthesized for coatable polarizer. </LI> <LI> Coatable polarizer was fabricated on a single substrate by “host-guest” method. </LI> <LI> Coatable polarizer exhibits considerable optical property and excellent stability. </LI> <LI> LCD with in-cell structure was demonstrated by using the prepared coatable polarizer. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Optimal design method for LLCL filters based on NSGA-III

Li, Baojin,Huang, Songtao,Ye, Jie,Li, Yesong,Shen, Anwen,Deng, Junli The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2020 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.20 No.5

The LLCL filter is usually used as a switching ripple suppressor since it can attenuate switching-frequency current harmonics much better than an LCL filter using lower total inductance and capacitance. However, it is more difficult to design LLCL parameters. In addition, it has a number of initial design constraints: the fundamental reactive power, the resonant frequency f_res, etc. are coupled and always contradictory, which means that designing the parameters is a Many-objective optimization problem (MaOP). The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-III (NSGA-III) does well in solving this kind of problem. In recent studies, the proposed methods only provide a range of parameters. Thus, obtaining certain parameters relies on experience, and using the boundary value cannot be proved optimal. However, using original NSGA-III is somewhat time-consuming for achieving specific parameters. To deal with this problem, this paper proposes a novel optimal design method for an LLCL filter based on NSGA-III with the handling of constraints. The proposed method gives a set of specific parameters and achieves a high computing efficiency. The proposed method is verified through simulations and a grid-connected inverter system based on a virtual instrument to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

New high-efficiency multifunctional buck/boost/buckboost PFC converter

Li, Lunquan,Ye, Chang,Chen, Qianhong,Li, Jun,Liu, Bin The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2021 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.21 No.1

A new three-phase buck/boost/buckboost power factor correction rectifier is presented in this paper. For the converter, only two high-frequency switching actions exist in each sample period, and only one inductor is used. As a result, system efficiency can be improved. The commutation procedures are analyzed for the three modes, the controller design of the rectifier is discussed, and the output duty is assigned between switches according to different intervals of input voltage. Experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed rectifier.

Mitochondrial genome and diverse inheritance patterns in Pleurotus pulmonarius

Li-Yun Ye,You-Jin Deng,Irum Mukhtar,Guo-Liang Meng,Yan-Jiao Song,Bing Cheng,Jin-bing Hao,Xiao-Ping Wu 한국미생물학회 2020 The journal of microbiology Vol.58 No.2

Pleurotus pulmonarius, a member of the Pleurotaceae family in Basidiomycota, is an edible, economically important mushroom in most Asian countries. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) of three P. pulmonarius strains – two monokaryotic commercial (J1-13 and ZA3) and one wild (X1-15) – were sequenced and analyzed. In ZA3 and X1-15, the mtDNA molecule was found to be a single circle of 68,305 bp and 73,435 bp, respectively. Both strains contain 14 core protein-coding genes and two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) subunit genes. The ZA3 strain has 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes and nine introns: eight in cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1), and one in the rRNA large subunit (rnl). Monokaryotic J1-13 and ZA3 mtDNAs were found to be similar in their structure. However, the wild strain X1-15 contains 25 tRNA genes and only seven introns in cox1. Open reading frames (ORFs) of ZA3/J1-13 and X1-15 encode LAGLIDADG, ribosomal protein S3, and DNA polymerase II. In addition, mtDNA inheritance in J1-13, ZA3, and X1-15 was also studied. Results showed that the mtDNA inheritance pattern was uniparental and closely related to dikaryotic hyphal location with respect to the parent. Results also show that mtDNA inheritance is influenced by both the parental nuclear genome and mitogenome in the zone of contact between two compatible parents. In summary, this analysis provides valuable information and a basis for further studies to improve our understanding of the inheritance of fungal mtDNA.