Tianjin Chengjian University

PURPOSE: Mercaptopurine (MP) is the mainstay of curative therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify comprehensively the genetic basis of MP intolerance in children with ALL. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The discovery GWAS and replication cohorts included 657 and 371 children from two prospective clinical trials. MP dose intensity was a marker for drug tolerance and toxicities and was defined as prescribed dose divided by the planned protocol dose during maintenance therapy; its association with genotype was evaluated using a linear mixed-effects model. RESULTS: MP dose intensity varied by race and ethnicity and was negatively correlated with East Asian genetic ancestry (P < .001). The GWAS revealed two genome-wide significant loci associated with dose intensity: rs1142345 in TPMT (Tyr240Cys, present in *3A and *3C variants; P = 8.6 × 10(-9)) and rs116855232 in NUDT15 (P = 8.8 × 10(-9)), with independent replication. Patients with TT genotype at rs116855232 were exquisitely sensitive to MP, with an average dose intensity of 8.3%, compared with those with TC and CC genotypes, who tolerated 63% and 83.5% of the planned dose, respectively. The NUDT15 variant was most common in East Asians and Hispanics, rare in Europeans, and not observed in Africans, contributing to ancestry-related differences in MP tolerance. Of children homozygous for either TPMT or NUDT15 variants or heterozygous for both, 100% required ≥ 50% MP dose reduction, compared with only 7.7% of others. CONCLUSION: We describe a germline variant in NUDT15 strongly associated with MP intolerance in childhood ALL, which may have implications for treatment individualization in this disease.

In this paper, two kinds of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), MIL-53(Al) and MIL-53(Al)-NH 2, were synthesized. Then these MOFs were used to remove methylene blue and malachite green dyes from aqueous solution. Characterizations of MOFs were carried out by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometry, and zeta potential. Experimental results showed that MIL-53(Al)-NH 2 can rapidly bind to the two kinds of cationic dyes from aqueous solution with high adsorption capacity. However, the adsorption capacity of MIL-53(Al) for cationic dyes is extremely low. The adsorptive selectivity of MIL-53(Al)-NH 2 to the cationic dyes resulted from the hydrogen bonding interaction between amimo groups of the dyes molecule and the MIL-53(Al)-NH 2, while the extremely low adsorption capacity of MIL-53(Al) for the dyes may be main caused by the “breathing” behavior of MIL-53(Al). The factors including adsorption time, temperature, and the pH of solution that affected adsorption of the two dyes on MIL-53(Al)-NH 2 were studied. Pseudo first-order kinetic, pseudo second-order kinetic, and Weber–Morris models were used to fit the adsorption data, and the pseudo second-order kinetic model showed a better fit for the adsorption of methylene blue and malachite green than that of the pseudo first-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the internal diffusion model which represented by Weber-Morris model was involved in the step of speed control, but it was not the only speed control step, while out-diffusion also played an important role in the adsorption process. The adsorption isotherm and thermodynamics of methylene blue and malachite green on MIL-53(Al)-NH 2 were also studied. The adsorption of methylene blue and malachite green dyes on MIL-53(Al)-NH 2 can be fitted to both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm, but the former was better than the latter. The adsorption thermodynamic experiments demonstrated that adsorption reaction was spontaneous and endothermic. Finally, according to the experimental phenomenon, the possible mechanism of adsorption was proposed. Besides, the used adsorbent can be reused for adsorptive removal through simply washing.

We report the fabrication of tungsten trioxide (WO3) with different morphologies applied in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) was incorporated onto WO3 for the first time with the aim of improving its photoelectrocatalytic activity under visible-light illumination. In the present work, WO3 of different morphologies were fabricated on FTO glass via adjusting the pH value via a facile hydrothermal method and the morphological effect on the photoelectrocatalytic activity of the obtained samples has been discussed. WO3/Sb2S3 heterojunction photoelectrocatalysts were subsequently synthesized successfully to further improve the photoelectrocatalytic activity. Among them, WO3/Sb2S3 heterojunction photoelectrocatalyst based on WO3 micro crystals achieved an enhanced photocurrent of 1.79 mA/cm(2) at 0.8 V versus RHE under simulated sunlight, compared to 0.45 mA/cm(2) of pristine WO3 micro crystals. This excellent PEC performance benefits from the enhanced light absorbance, construction of suitable energy band gap, the improved photogenerated electron-hole pairs separation and transfer efficiency, which potentially provides new insights into PEC water splitting systems.

Synthetic process of ZIF-8 and a mechanism of tetracycline bound to ZIF-8 due to electrostatic attraction and π–π stacking interaction.

Radiotherapy is often the most straightforward first line cancer treatment for solid tumors. While it is highly effective against tumors, there is also collateral damage to healthy proximal tissues especially with high doses. The use of radiosensitizers is an effective way to boost the killing efficacy of radiotherapy against the tumor while drastically limiting the received dose and reducing the possible damage to normal tissues. Here, we report the design and application of a good radiosensitizer by using ultrasmall Au(29-43)(SG)(27-37) nanoclusters (<2 nm) with a naturally-occurring peptide (e.g., glutathione or GSH) as the protecting shell. The GSH-coated Au(29-43)(SG)(27-37) nanoclusters can escape the RES absorption, leading to a good tumor uptake (~8.1% ID/g at 24 h post injection). As a result, the as-designed Au nanoclusters led to a strong enhancement for radiotherapy, as well as a negligible damage to normal tissues. After the treatment, the ultrasmall Au(29-43)(SG)(27-37) nanoclusters can be efficiently cleared by the kidney, thereby avoiding potential long-term side-effects caused by the accumulation of gold atoms in the body. Our data suggest that the ultrasmall peptide-protected Au nanoclusters are a promising radiosensitizer for cancer radiotherapy.

Metamaterials that exhibit negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) are known as auxetics. They laterally expand or contract when they are axially tensioned or compressed. A re–entrant chiral auxetic structure (RCA) is a recently developed structure, which combines the topological features of re–entrant and chiral honeycombs. Comparative study between the RCA structure and popular benchmarks subjected to uniaxial compression has been conducted experimentally and numerically. Specimens have been fabricated from polyamide12 (PA12) using Multi Jet Fusion (MJF). Numerical models have been developed using ABAQUS/Explicit and verified by the experiments. The experimental measurements manifest the high accuracy of the MJF process to produce robust components with precise details. It has been found that the RCA structure outperforms the other types of honeycombs in terms of strength and specific energy absorption when loaded in the Y direction, while only the tetrachiral honeycomb surpasses the RCA structure in terms of specific energy absorption when loaded in the X direction. The auxeticity (NPR) of the RCA structure compressed in the Y direction was larger than that of the other honeycombs. Numerical models have been employed to study the effects of friction and the number of cells on the mechanical response of the RCA structure.

Abstract Chloride is reported to play a significant role in corrosion reactions, products and kinetics of ferrous metals. To enhance the understanding of the effects of soil environments, especially the saline soils with high levels of chloride, on the corrosion of ductile iron and carbon steel, a 3-month corrosion test was carried out by exposing ferrous metals to soils of six chloride concentrations. The surface morphology, rust compositions and corrosion kinetics were comprehensively studied by visual observation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), weight loss, pit depth measurement, linear polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. It showed that chloride ions influenced the characteristics and compositions of rust layers by diverting and participating in corrosion reactions. α-FeOOH, γ-FeOOH and iron oxides were major corrosion products, while β-Fe 8 O 8 (OH) 8 Cl 1.35 rather than β-FeOOH was formed when high chloride concentrations were provided. Chloride also suppressed the decreasing of corrosion rates, whereas increased the difficulty in the diffusion process by thickening the rust layers and transforming the rust compositions. Carbon steel is more susceptible to chloride attacks than ductile iron. The corrosion kinetics of ductile iron and carbon steel corresponded with the probabilistic and bilinear model respectively.

Constructing a multi-junction structure by integrating homojunction and heterojunction is an effective strategy for adequate light absorption, effective charge separation and transfer of WO₃ photoanodes.

Abstract It is vitally important to develop highly active, robust and low‐cost transition metal‐based electrocatalysts for overall water splitting in neutral solution especially at large current density. In this work, amorphous Mo‐doped NiS 0.5 Se 0.5 nanosheets@crystalline NiS 0.5 Se 0.5 nanorods (Am−Mo−NiS 0.5 Se 0.5 ) was synthesized using a facil one‐step strategy. In phosphate buffer saline solution, the Am−Mo−NiS 0.5 Se 0.5 shows tiny overpotentials of 48 and 209 mV for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), 238 and 514 mV for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at 10 and 1000 mA cm −2 , respectively. Moreover, Am−Mo−NiS 0.5 Se 0.5 delivers excellent stability for at least 300 h without obvious degradation. Theoretical calculations revealed that the Ni sites in the defect‐rich amorphous structure of Am−Mo−NiS 0.5 Se 0.5 owns higher electron state density and strengthened the binding energy of H 2 O, which will optimize H adsorption/desorption energy barriers and reduce the adsorption energy of OER determining step.

A feasible strategy of spatially separated noble-metal cocatalysts for Cu₂O photocathodes to enhance light harvesting and charge separation.

Abstract One of the crucial challenges to enhance the photoelectrochemical water‐splitting performance of hematite (α‐Fe 2 O 3 ) is to resolve its very fast charge recombination in bulk. Herein, we describe the design and fabrication of dual‐axial gradient‐doping on 1D Fe 2 O 3 nanorod arrays with Zr doping for x ‐axial and Sn doping for y ‐axial directions to promote the charge separation. This dual‐axial gradient‐doping structure fulfills the requirements of a greater electron‐carrier concentration for increasing conductivity as well as a higher charge‐separation efficiency across the dual‐axial direction of Fe 2 O 3 nanorods, ultimately showing an excellent photocurrent density of 1.64 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE, which is 26.3 times more than that of the bare Fe 2 O 3 . Furthermore, the remarkably improved photocurrent density, when comparing the uniform Zr‐doped Fe 2 O 3 nanorod arrays (1.0 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE) with dual‐axial gradient‐doped (Zr and Sn) Fe 2 O 3 nanorod arrays, highlights the additional charge‐separation effect resulting from gradient codoping of Zr and Sn. Hence, this promising design may provide guidelines for dual‐axial gradient doping into photoelectrodes to realize efficient PEC water splitting.

Coaxial fiber-shaped supercapacitors with short charge carrier diffusion paths are highly desirable as high-performance energy storage devices for wearable electronics. However, the traditional approaches based on the multistep fabrication processes for constructing the fiber-shaped energy device still encounter persistent restrictions in fabrication procedure, scalability, and mechanical durability. To overcome this critical challenge, an all-in-one coaxial fiber-shaped asymmetric supercapacitor (FASC) device is realized by a direct coherent multi-ink writing three-dimensional printing technology via designing the internal structure of the coaxial needles and regulating the rheological property and the feed rates of the multi-ink. Benefitting from the compact coaxial structure, the FASC device delivers a superior areal energy/power density at a high mass loading, and outstanding mechanical stability. As a conceptual exhibition for system integration, the FASC device is integrated with mechanical units and pressure sensor to realize high-performance self-powered mechanical devices and monitoring systems, respectively.

Abstract Pressure sensors have attracted tremendous attention because of their potential applications in the fields of health monitoring, human–machine interfaces, artificial intelligence, and so on. Improving pressure‐sensing performances, especially the sensitivity and the detection limit, is of great importance to expand the related applications, however it is still an enormous challenge so far. Herein, highly sensitive piezoresistive pressure sensors are reported with novel light‐boosting sensing performances. Rose petal–templated positive multiscale millimeter/micro/nanostructures combined with surface wrinkling nanopatterns endow the assembled pressure sensors with outstanding pressure sensing performance, e.g. an ultrahigh sensitivity (70 KPa −1 , &lt;0.5 KPa), an ultralow detection limit (0.88 Pa), a wide pressure detect ion range (from 0.88 Pa to 32 KPa), and a fast response time (30 ms). Remarkably, simple light illumination further enhances the sensitivity to 120 KPa −1 (&lt;0.5 KPa) and lowers the detection limit to 0.41 Pa. Furthermore, the flexible light illumination offers unprecedented capabilities to spatiotemporally control any target in multiplexed pressure sensors for optically enhanced/tailorable sensing performances. This light‐control strategy coupled with the introduction of bioinspired multiscale structures is expected to help design next generation advanced wearable electronic devices for unprecedented smart applications.

We have performed a first-principles study to evaluate the electronic and optical properties of wurtzite Zn1−xCdxO up to x=0.25. We have employed the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof form of the generalized gradient approximation within the framework of density functional theory. Calculations have been carried out in different configurations. With increasing Cd concentrations, the band gap of Zn1−xCdxO is decreased due to the increase of s states in the conduction band. The results of the imaginary part of the dielectric function ε2(ω) indicate that the optical transition between O 2p states in the highest valence band and Zn 4s states in the lowest conduction band has shifted to the low energy range as the Cd concentrations increase. Besides, the optical band gap decreases from 3.2 to 2.84 eV with increasing Cd concentrations from 0 to 0.25. Meanwhile, the bowing parameter b, which has been obtained by fitting the results of the optical band gap, is about 1.21 eV. The optical constants of pure ZnO and Zn0.75Cd0.25O, such as optical conductivity, loss function, refractive index, and reflectivity, are discussed.

Concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in atmospheric particles were measured in Tianjin during January, April, July and October in 2008. The 24-h PM2.5 (particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 2.5 micrometer [μm]) and PM10 (particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 micrometer [μm]) samples were simultaneously collected every day during sampling periods. These samples were analyzed for OC/EC by thermal/optical reflectance (TOR) following the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) protocol. The annual average concentration was 109.8 ± 48.5 μg/m3 in PM2.5, and 196.2 ± 86.1 μg/m3 in PM10, respectively. The average ratio of PM2.5/PM10 was 57.9%, indicating the PM2.5 had been one of the main contaminations affecting urban atmospheric environmental quality in Tianjin. The concentrations of OC and EC in PM2.5 and PM10 were all relatively higher in winter and fall and lower in summer and spring. This seasonal variation could be attributed to the cooperative effects of changes in emission rates and seasonal meteorological conditions. The annual average concentration of the estimated secondary organic carbon (SOC) was 14.9 μg/m3 and occupied 61.7% of the total OC in PM2.5, while those in PM10 were 23.4 μg/m3 and 61.2%, respectively, indicating SOC had been an important contributor to organic aerosol in Tianjin. The distribution of eight carbon fractions (OC1, OC2, OC3, OC4, EC1, EC2, EC3 and OP) was also reported and found that the biomass burning, coal–combustion and motor-vehicle exhaust were all contributed to the carbonaceous particles in Tianjin.

Clearly identifying the critical success factors (CSFs) of construction projects and a good understanding of the interrelationships among CSFs will help project managers focus on the control of key factors and allow them to make reasonable resource allocations. To explore the interrelationships among CSFs, this research established a CSFs system by first identifying 62 CSFs of construction projects through a literature review, and then refining them to produce 46 CSFs by expert discussions. On the basis of the CSFs system, which consisted of three categories and ten subcategories, this study applied the structural equation model (SEM) to explore the interrelationships among the CSFs. One hundred twenty-four project data that were collected from a questionnaire survey were used to determine the hypothetical model. A detailed evaluation and modification was then performed to revise the model. On the basis of the revised model, which was verified through evaluating the goodness-of-fit (GOF) indexes, this paper makes a thorough discussion of the interrelationships among the CSFs. Interrelationships that were identified and verified in the model reveal the influence mechanism among these CSFs. For example, the factor “riot, revolution, and war” negatively influences the factor “price fluctuation of labor,” whereas the factor “price fluctuation of labor” negatively influences the factor “time expectation.” Therefore, “riot, revolution, and war” can positively influence “time expectation.” This indicates that if an owner’s time expectation is a determinant of the time performance of an emergency project, maintaining a stable political environment would be a critical control point for accomplishing the project. Thus, the interrelationships discovered in this paper will make it easier to take better control over CSFs and contribute to a project's success.

At present, the integration of green building, the intelligent building industry and high-quality development are facing a series of new opportunities and challenges. This review aims to analyze the digital development of smart green buildings to make it easier to create contiguous ecological development areas in green ecological cities. It sorts out the main contents of Intelligent Green Buildings (IGB) and summarizes the application and role of Digital Twins (DTs) in intelligent buildings. Firstly, the basic connotations and development direction of IGB are deeply discussed, and the current realization and applications of IGB are analyzed. Then, the advantages of DTs are further investigated in the context of IGB for DT smart cities. Finally, the development trends and challenges of IGB are analyzed. After a review and research, it is found that the realization and application of IGB have been implemented, but the application of DTs remains not quite integrated into the design of IGB. Therefore, a forward-looking design is required when designing the IGBs, such as prioritizing sustainable development, people’s livelihoods and green structures. At the same time, an IGB can only show its significance after the basic process of building the application layer is performed correctly. Therefore, this review contributes to the proper integration of IGB and urban development strategies, which are crucial to encouraging the long-term development of cities, thus providing a theoretical basis and practical experience for promoting the development of smart cities.

This review summarizes the labeling technology and applications of fluorescent dye probe in biology, especially the characteristics, modifications and applications of cyanine dyes. Based on the currently available modification methods of fluorescent dye probe, we discuss the studies of enhancing the water-solubility, improving the degree of biocompatibility and target-labeling, increasing the sensitivity and decreasing the toxicity of fluorescent dye. We also give a brief introduction on the modification method, that the fluorescent dye is directly introduced onto the cell surfaces by amine derivatives or azides to intensify the transferring information of aberrant cells. We suggest that fluorescent dye modified with chitosan oligosaccharide can obviously increase the degree of biocompatibility and target-labeling, and decrease the degree of toxicity.

A porphyrinic metal-organic framework (porph-MOF)-based composite photocatalyst with enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance is successfully constructed involving a bridging linker 4-PySH and TiO₂nanoparticles.

As a typical class of man-made nanoreactors, metal-loaded hollow carbon nanostructures (MHC nanoreactors) exhibit competitive potentials in the heterogeneous catalysis due to their tailorable microenvironment effects, in which the void-confinement effect is one of the most fundamental functions in boosting the catalytic performance. Herein this paper, Ru-loaded hollow carbon spheres are employed as nanoreactors with a crucial biomass hydrogenation process, levulinic acid (LA) hydrogenation into γ-valerolactone, as the probe reaction to further recognize the forming mechanism of this pivotal effect. We demonstrated that the void-confinement effect of the selected MHC nanoreactors is essentially driven by an integrating action of electronic metal-support interaction, reactant enrichment and diffusion, which are mainly ascribed to peculiar properties of hollow nanoreactors both in electronic and structural aspects, respectively. This work offers a distinct case for interpreting the catalytic behaviour of MHC nanoreactors, which could potentially promise broader insights into the microenvironment engineering strategies of hollow nanostructures.