Energies, Vol. 8, Pages 14272-14286: Multi-Agent System-Based Microgrid Operation Strategy for Demand Response

The microgrid and demand response (DR) are important technologies for future power grids. Among the variety of microgrid operations, the multi-agent system (MAS) has attracted considerable attention. In a microgrid with MAS, the agents installed on the microgrid components operate optimally by communicating with each other. This paper proposes an operation algorithm for the individual agents of a test microgrid that consists of a battery energy storage system (BESS) and an intelligent load. A microgrid central controller to manage the microgrid can exchange information with each agent. The BESS agent performs scheduling for maximum benefit in response to the electricity price and BESS state of charge (SOC) through a fuzzy system. The intelligent load agent assumes that the industrial load performs scheduling for maximum benefit by calculating the hourly production cost. The agent operation algorithm includes a scheduling algorithm using day-ahead pricing in the DR program and a real-time operation algorithm for emergency situations using emergency demand response (EDR). The proposed algorithm and operation strategy were implemented both by a hardware-in-the-loop simulation test using OPAL-RT and an actual hardware test by connecting a new distribution simulator.

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Primary Tumor FDG Avidity Affects the Performance of FDG PET/CT for Detecting Gastric Cancer Recurrence

The usefulness of FDG PET in gastric cancer recurrence is limited by low sensitivity. Given that detectability by PET is dependent on the tumor's metabolic characteristics, we tested whether the performance of PET for gastric cancer recurrence is enhanced in patients with FDG avid primary tumors. Methods: Subjects were 368 patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent FDG PET/CT for initial staging and for recurrence surveillance following curative surgery. On initial PET/CT, primary tumors were FDG avid if they displayed focal uptake with SUV_max ≥ 4. Follow up FDG PET/CT was evaluated for recurrent disease. Results: On initial PET/CT, the primary tumor was FDG avid in 236/368 (64.1%) and non -avid in 132 patients (35.9%). During follow-up for 18.9 ± 13.3 mo, 72 patients (19.6%) had recurrence. Of the 63 PET scans with recurrence, 42 (66.7%) and 21 (33.3%) were scans of patients with FDG avid and non-avid primary tumors, respectively. PET sensitivity was higher in scans of patients with FDG avid than non-avid tumors for all recurrences (81.0% vs. 52.4%, P = 0.018) and non-anastomosis site recurrences (82.1% vs. 47.4%; P = 0.006). Sensitivity for detecting peritoneal recurrence was also higher for the avid tumor group. PET specificity was similarly high (97.1% and 97.5%) for both groups. Adding cell type and Lauren classification to tumor FDG avidity did further enhance PET sensitivity. Conclusion: Surveillance FDG PET/CT following resection of gastric cancer has significantly higher sensitivity in patients with FDG avid primary tumors, and may have greater value in this group.

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Optimized peptide amount and activity for Y-90-labeled DOTATATE therapy

In peptide receptor radionuclide therapy with ⁹⁰Y-labeled DOTATATE, the kidney absorbed dose limits the maximum amount of total activity, which can be safely administered in many patients. A higher tumor to kidneys absorbed dose ratio might be achieved by optimizing the amount of injected peptide and activity, as recent studies have shown different degrees of receptor saturation for normal tissue and tumor. The aim of this work was to develop and to implement a modeling method for treatment planning to determine the optimal combination of peptide amount and pertaining therapeutic activity for each patient. Methods: A whole body physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed. General physiological parameters were taken from the literature. Individual model parameters were fitted to series (N = 12) of planar gamma camera and serum measurements (¹¹¹In-DOTATATE) of patients with meningioma or neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Using the PBPK model and the individually estimated parameters, the tumor, liver, spleen and red marrow biologically effective doses (BED) for a maximal kidney BED (20 Gy2.5) were determined for different peptide amounts and activities. The optimal combination of peptide amount and activity for maximal tumor BED, considering the additional constraint of a red marrow BED < 1 Gy15, was individually quantified. Results: The PBPK model describes the biokinetic data well considering the criteria of visual inspection, the coefficients of determination, the relative standard errors (< 50%) and correlation of the parameters (< 0.8). All fitted parameters were in a physiologically reasonable range but varied considerably between patients, especially tumor perfusion (meningioma 0.1-1 ml•g-1•min-1 and NETs 0.02-1 ml•g-1•min-1) and receptor density (meningioma 5-34 nmol•L-1 and NETs 7-35 nmol•L-1). Using the proposed method, the optimal amount and pertaining activity was identified to be 76±46 nmol (118±71 µg) and 4.2±1.8 GBq for meningioma and 87±50 nmol (135±78 µg) and 5.1±2.8 GBq for NET patients. Conclusion: The presented work suggests that to achieve higher efficacy and safety for ⁹⁰Y-DOATATE therapy, both, the administered amount of peptide and activity should be optimized in treatment planning using the herein proposed method. This approach could also be adapted for therapy with other peptides.

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Molecular-Guided Endoscopy Targeting Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A for Improved Colorectal Polyp Detection

Small and flat adenomas are known to carry a high miss-rate during standard white-light endoscopy. Increased detection rate may be achieved by molecular-guided endoscopy with targeted near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent tracers. The aim of this study was to validate vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted fluorescent tracers during ex vivo colonoscopy with a NIR endoscopy platform. Methods: VEGF-A and EGFR expression was determined by immunohistochemistry on a large subset of human colorectal tissue samples: 48 sessile serrated adenomas/polyps (SSA/P), 70 sporadic high-grade dysplastic (HGD) adenomas, 19 hyperplastic polyps (HP) and tissue derived from patients with Lynch syndrome (LS): 78 low-grade dysplastic (LGD) adenomas, 57 HGD adenomas and 31 colon cancer samples. To perform an ex vivo colonoscopy procedure, 14 mice with small intraperitoneal EGFR-positive HCT116luc tumors received intravenously bevacizumab-800CW (anti-VEGF-A), cetuximab-800CW (anti-EGFR), control tracer IgG-800CW or sodium chloride. Three days later, 8 resected HCT116luc tumors (2-5 mm) were stitched into one freshly resected human colon specimen and followed by an ex vivo molecular-guided colonoscopy procedure. Results: Immunohistochemistry showed high VEGF-A expression in 79-96% and high EGFR expression in 51-69% of the colorectal lesions. Both targets were significantly overexpressed in the colorectal lesions compared to the adjacent normal colon crypts. During ex vivo molecular-guided endoscopy all tumors could clearly be delineated for both bevacizumab-800CW and cetuximab-800CW tracers. Specific tumor uptake was confirmed with fluorescent microscopy showing respectively stromal and cell membrane fluorescence. Conclusion: VEGF-A is a promising target for molecular-guided fluorescence endoscopy as it showed a high protein expression, especially in SSA/P and LS. We demonstrate the feasibility to visualize small tumors real-time during colonoscopy using a NIR fluorescence endoscopy platform, providing the endoscopist a wide-field 'red-flag' technique for adenoma detection. Clinical studies are currently being performed in order to provide in-human evaluation of our approach.

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99mTc-nanocolloid SPECT-MRI fusion for the selective assessment of non-enlarged sentinel lymph nodes in patients with early stage cervical cancer

We aimed to explore the accuracy of ^99mTc SPECT–MRI fusion for the selective assessment of non-enlarged sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) for diagnosing metastases in early stage cervical cancer patients. Methods: We consecutively included stage IA1 – IIB1 cervical cancer patients who presented to our tertiary referral center between March 2011 and February 2015. Patients with enlarged lymph nodes (short axis ≥10mm) on MRI were excluded. Patients underwent a SLN procedure with preoperative ^99mTc-nanocolloid SPECT–CT based SLN mapping. By creating fused datasets of the SPECT and MRI, SLNs could be identified on MRI with accurate correlation to the histological result of each individual SLN. An experienced radiologist, blinded to histology, retrospectively reviewed all fused SPECT–MRI's and scored morphologic SLN parameters on a standardized case report form. Logistic regression and receiver operating curves (ROC) were used to model the parameters against the SLN status. Results: In 75 cases, 136 SLNs were eligible for analysis of which 13 (9.6%) contained metastases (8 cases). Three parameters, short axis diameter, long axis diameter and absence of sharp demarcation significantly predicted metastatic invasion of non-enlarged SLNs with a quality adjusted odds ratios of 1.42 (95%CI: 1.01 – 1.99), 1.28 (95%CI: 1.03 – 1.57) and 7.55 (95%CI: 1.09 – 52.28) respectively. The area under the curve of the ROC combining these parameters was 0.749 (95%CI: 0.569 – 0.930). Heterogeneous gadolinium enhancement, cortical thickness, round-shape or SLN-size compared to the nearest non-SLN, showed no association with metastases (p 0.055 – 0.795). Conclusion: In cervical cancer patients without enlarged lymph nodes, selective evaluation of only the SLNs – for size and absence of sharp demarcation – can be used to noninvasively assess the presence of metastases.

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Gastrointestinal Bleeding Scintigraphy in the Early 21st Century

Gastrointestinal bleeding scintigraphy (GIBS) performed with ^99mTc-labeled autologous erythrocytes or historically with ^99mTc-sulfur colloid has been a clinically useful tool since the 1970s. This article reviews history of the techniques, the different methods of radiolabeling erythrocytes, an overview of the procedure along with useful indications, diagnostic accuracy and new techniques that one may find useful in their clinic including the use of single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) in the evaluation of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. A brief discussion of computed tomography angiography (CTA) evaluation for GI bleeding is also given. Causes of pediatric bleeding are discussed by age along with Meckel's diverticulum imaging.

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An association between low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity and the early G2-phase checkpoint in normal fibroblasts of cancer patients

Publication date: Available online 17 December 2015
Source:DNA Repair
Author(s): Dorota Słonina, Anna Gasińska, Beata Biesaga, Anna Janecka, Damian Kabat
In our previous study, low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS) effect was demonstrated for normal fibroblasts (asynchronous and G2-phase enriched) of 4 of the 25 cancer patients investigated. For the rest of patients, HRS was not defined in either of the 2 fibroblast populations. Thus, the study indicated that G2-phase enrichment had no influence on HRS identification. The conclusion contradicts that reported for human tumor cells, and suggests different mechanism of HRS in normal human cells. In the present paper we report, for the first time, the activity of early G2-phase checkpoint after low-dose irradiation in normal fibroblasts of these 4HRS-positive patients and 4HRS-negative patients and answer the question regarding the role of this checkpoint in normal human cells. The response of the early G2-phase checkpoint was determined by assessment of the progression of irradiated cells into mitosis using the mitotic marker, phosphorylated histone H3. We found evident differences in the activity of the early G2-phase checkpoint between HRS-positive and HRS-negative fibroblasts. In HRS-positive fibroblasts the checkpoint was not triggered and DNA damage was not recognized after doses lower than 0.2Gy resulting in HRS response. On the contrary, in HRS-negative fibroblasts the early G2-phase checkpoint was activated regardless of the dose in the range 0.1–2Gy. In conclusion, although cell cycle phase has no effect on the presence of HRS effect in normal human fibroblasts, the data reported here indicate that HRS response in these cells is associated with the functioning of early G2-phase checkpoint in a threshold-dose dependent manner, similarly as it takes place in most of human tumor and other cells.



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Automated evaluation of protein binding affinity of anti-inflammatory choline based ionic liquids

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Rosa Ribeiro, Paula C.A.G. Pinto, Ana M.O. Azevedo, Katharina Bica, Anna K. Ressmann, Salette Reis, M. Lúcia M.F.S. Saraiva
In this work, an automated system for the study of the interaction of drugs with human serum albumin (HSA) was developed. The methodology was based on the quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA by binding of the drug to one of its binding sites. The fluorescence quenching assay was implemented in a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system and the optimized assay was applied to ionic liquids based on the association of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with choline (IL-API).In each cycle, 100µL of HSA and 100µL of IL-API (variable concentration) were aspirated at a flow rate of 1mLmin⁻¹ and then sent through the reaction coil to the detector where the fluorescence intensity was measured.In the optimized conditions the effect of increasing concentrations of choline ketoprofenate and choline naproxenate (and respective starting materials: ketoprofen and naproxen) on the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA was studied and the dissociation constants (Kd) were calculated by means of models of drug–protein binding in the equilibrium. The calculated Kd showed that all the compounds bind strongly to HSA (Kd<100µmolL⁻¹) and that the use of the drugs in the IL format does not affect or can even improve their HSA binding.The obtained results were compared with those provided by a conventional batch assay and the relative errors were lower than 4.5%. The developed SIA methodology showed to be robust and exhibited good repeatability in all the assay conditions (rsd<6.5%).

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Retrospective screening of pesticide metabolites in ambient air using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Antonio López, Vicent Yusà, Maurice Millet, Clara Coscollà
A new methodology for the retrospective screening of pesticide metabolites in ambient air was developed, using liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS), including two systematic workflows (i) post-run target screening (suspect screening) and (ii) non-target screening. An accurate-mass database was built and used for the post-run screening analysis. The database contained 240 pesticide metabolites found in different matrixes such as air, soil, water, plants, animals and humans. For non-target analysis, a "fragmentation-degradation" relationship strategy was selected. The proposed methodology was applied to 31 air samples (PM10) collected in the Valencian Region (Spain). In the post-target analysis 34 metabolites were identified, of which 11 (3-ketocarburan, carbofuran-7-phenol, carbendazim, desmethylisoproturon, ethiofencarb-sulfoxide, malaoxon, methiocarb-sulfoxide, N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-L-alanine, omethoate, 2-hydroxy-terbuthylazine, and THPAM) were confirmed using analytical standards. The semiquantitative estimated concentration ranged between 6.78 and 198.31pgm⁻³. Likewise, two unknown degradation products of malaoxon and fenhexamid were elucidated in the non-target screening.

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Interval ridge regression (iRR) as a fast and robust method for quantitative prediction and variable selection applied to edible oil adulteration

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Ozren Jović, Neven Smrečki, Zora Popović
A novel quantitative prediction and variable selection method called interval ridge regression (iRR) is studied in this work. The method is performed on six data sets of FTIR, two data sets of UV–vis and one data set of DSC. The obtained results show that models built with ridge regression on optimal variables selected with iRR significantly outperfom models built with ridge regression on all variables in both calibration (6 out of 9 cases) and validation (2 out of 9 cases). In this study, iRR is also compared with interval partial least squares regression (iPLS). iRR outperfomed iPLS in validation (insignificantly in 6 out of 9 cases and significantly in one out of 9 cases for p<0.05). Also, iRR can be a fast alternative to iPLS, especially in case of unknown degree of complexity of analyzed system, i.e. if upper limit of number of latent variables is not easily estimated for iPLS. Adulteration of hempseed (H) oil, a well known health beneficial nutrient, is studied in this work by mixing it with cheap and widely used oils such as soybean (So) oil, rapeseed (R) oil and sunflower (Su) oil. Binary mixture sets of hempseed oil with these three oils (HSo, HR and HSu) and a ternary mixture set of H oil, R oil and Su oil (HRSu) were considered. The obtained accuracy indicates that using iRR on FTIR and UV–vis data, each particular oil can be very successfully quantified (in all 8 cases RMSEP<1.2%). This means that FTIR-ATR coupled with iRR can very rapidly and effectively determine the level of adulteration in the adulterated hempseed oil (R²>0.99).

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Preparation of Cu2+-mediated magnetic imprinted polymers for the selective sorption of bovine hemoglobin

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Ruixia Gao, Xihui Cui, Yi Hao, Gaiyan He, Min Zhang, Yuhai Tang
In this work, a novel Cu²⁺-mediated core–shell bovine hemoglobin imprinted superparamagnetic polymers were synthesized. First, carboxyl group directly-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were produced by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method. Next, copper ions were introduced to chelate with carboxyl groups and further bonded with template bovine hemoglobin as co-functional monomer. Then, functional monomers 3-aminopropyltriethoxylsilane and octyltrimethoxysilane were adopted to form the thin polymer layers. Finally, after removal of the templates, the imprinting shells with specific recognition cavities for bovine hemoglobin were obtained on Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The resultant molecularly imprinted polymers have high adsorption capacity and satisfactory selectivity for bovine hemoglobin with the help of copper ions. The obtained magnetic nanomaterials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectra, X-ray diffraction, and vibrating sample magnetometer. The measurements demonstrated that the as-synthesized nanomaterials exhibited good dispersion, high crystallinity, and satisfactory superparamagnetic properties. The feasibility of this method was further confirmed by using the imprinted nanomaterials to specifically extract bovine hemoglobin from real bovine blood samples.

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Microwave assisted one-pot synthesis of graphene quantum dots as highly sensitive fluorescent probes for detection of iron ions and pH value

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Chunfang Zhang, Yanyan Cui, Li Song, Xiangfeng Liu, Zhongbo Hu
Recently, carbon nanomaterials have received considerable attention as fluorescent probes owing to their low toxicity, water solubility and stable photochemical properties. However, the development of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) is still on its early stage. In this work, GQDs were successfully synthesized by one-step microwave assisted pyrolysis of aspartic acid (Asp) and NH4HCO3 mixture. The as-prepared GQDs exhibited strongly blue fluorescence with high quantum yield up to 14%. Strong fluorescence quenching effect of Fe³⁺ on GQDs can be used for its high selectivity detection among of general metal ions. The probe exhibited a wide linear response concentration range (0–50μM) to Fe³⁺ and the limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be 0.26μM. In addition, GQDs are also sensitive to the pH value in the range from 2 to 12 indicating a great potential as optical pH sensors. More importantly, the GQDs possess lower cellular toxicity and high photostability and can be directly used as fluorescent probes for cell imaging.

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The novel voltammetric method for determination of hesperetin based on a sensitive electrochemical sensor

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Junjun Wu, Lu Wang, Qinqin Wang, Lina Zou, Baoxian Ye
A highly sensitive voltammetric sensor, based on reduced graphene oxide on SWCNTs modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE), was constructed and used for sensitive detection of hesperetin. The electrochemical behavior of hesperetin at this sensor was investigated systematically and a novel voltammetric method for determination of hesperetin was proposed. The redox characters of hesperetin was discussed in detail and a reasonable reaction mechanism was proposed also. As the analytical method, the response currents were linear relationship with the hesperetin concentrations in the range of 5.0×10⁻⁸ to 3.0×10⁻⁶molL−¹, with a detection limit of 2.0×10⁻⁸molL⁻¹ (S/N=3). The method was also applied successfully to detect hesperetin in biological samples and Chinese herbal medicine Flos buddlejae with satisfactory results.

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Sensitive methanol sensor based on PMMA-G-CNTs nanocomposites deposited onto glassy carbon electrodes

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Mohammed M. Rahman, Mahmoud A. Hussein, Khalid A. Alamry, Faten M. Al Shehry, Abdullah M. Asiri
A new series of polymethyl methacrylate–graphene–carbon nanotubes crossbred nanocomposites in the form of PMMA-G-CNTs has been synthesized using simple dissolution procedure in organic media. The desired nanocomposites have been prepared using different loading (2∼30%) from consequently mixed GNPs/CNTs ratio and confirmed by various characterization techniques utilized to corroborate the assembly of these new hybrid series including X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The PMMA-G-CNTs nanocomposites were deposited on flat glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) to result in a sensor that has a fast response toward methanol in the phosphate buffer phase. Features including high sensitivity, low-sample volume, reliability, reproducibility, ease of integration, long-term stability, and enhanced electrochemical responses are investigated. The calibration plot is linear (r²=0.9895) over the 1.0nmolL⁻¹ to 10.0mmolL⁻¹ methanol concentration ranges. The sensitivity and detection limit is 13.491µAcm⁻²mmolL⁻² and 0.39±0.1nmolL⁻¹ (at a signal-to-noise-ratio, SNR of 3), respectively. With such excellent features of analytical parameters, the developed sensor provides a new strategy for determination of methanol in biomedical and environmental analytes with satisfactory results.

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Microfluidic chip-based silver nanoparticles aptasensor for colorimetric detection of thrombin

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Yaju Zhao, Xiaohui Liu, Jie Li, Weibing Qiang, Liang Sun, Hui Li, Danke Xu
In this paper, a colorimetric silver nanoparticles aptasensor (aptamer-AgNPs) was developed for simple and straightforward detection of protein in microfluidic chip. Surface-functionalized microfluidic channels were employed as the capture platform. Then the mixture of target protein and aptamer-AgNPs were injected into the microfluidic channels for colorimetric detection. To demonstrate the performance of this detection platform, thrombin was chosen as a model target protein. Introduction of thrombin could form a sandwich-type complex involving immobilized AgNPs. The amount of aptamer-AgNPs on the complex augmented along with the increase of the thrombin concentration causing different color change that can be analyzed both by naked eyes and a flatbed scanner. This method is featured with low sample consumption, simple processes of microfluidic platform and straightforward colorimetric detection with aptamer-AgNPs. Thrombin at concentrations as low as 20pM can be detected using this aptasensor without signal amplification. This work demonstrated that it had good selectivity over other proteins and it could be a useful strategy to detect other targets with two affinity binding sites for ligands as well.

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High resolution mass spectrometry coupled with multivariate data analysis revealing plasma lipidomic alteration in ovarian cancer in Asian women

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Yangyang Zhang, Yingying Liu, Lin Li, Jinchao Wei, Shaoxiang Xiong, Zhenwen Zhao
Ovarian cancer (OC) is the most common cause of death from gynecologic malignancies in women. The identification of reliable diagnostic biomarkers for the early detection of this deadly disease is critical for reducing the mortality rate of OC. Plasma lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) levels were increased from OC patients vs. healthy controls. Therefore, lipidomics may represent an excellent developing prospect for the discovery of diagnostic biomarkers of OC. In this study, a nontargeted lipidomics approach based on ultra performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-QTOF-mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS) combined with multivariate data analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and (orthogonal) partial least squared discriminant analysis [(O)PLS-DA] was applied for the investigation of potential diagnostic biomarkers in plasma of OC patients. Patients with OC could be distinguished from healthy individuals and patients with benign gynecological tumor disease by this method, which shows a significant lipid perturbation in this disease. With the assistance of high resolution and high accuracy of MS and MS/MS data, the potential markers including lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), phosphatidylcholines (PCs) and triacylglycerols (TGs) with specific fatty acid chains, were identified. Interestingly, LPCs were up-regulated and PCs and TGs were down-regulated, compared OC group with benign tumor and normal control groups, and the glycerophospholipid metabolism emerged as a key pathway, in particular, the phospholipase A2 (PLA2) enzyme activity, that was disregulated in the disease. This study may provide new insight into underlying mechanisms for OC and proves that MS-based lipidomics is a powerful method in discovering new potential clinical biomarkers for diseases.

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Solvent-assistant self-assembly of an AIE+TICT fluorescent Schiff base for the improved ammonia detection

Publication date: 1 April 2016
Source:Talanta, Volume 150
Author(s): Tianyu Han, Wei Wei, Jing Yuan, Yuai Duan, Yaping Li, Liangyu Hu, Yuping Dong
Solvent-assistant self-assembly of an AIE+TICT fluorescent Schiff base into one-dimensional nanofilaments has been developed. The orientation of the assemblies can be controlled by a simple dewetting process: the filaments are interweaved when the self-assembly process is performed on a horizontal substrate, while tilting the substrate to a tiny angle results in the formation of highly oriented ones with long-range order as verified by microscopic examination. The compound shows remarkable fluorescent response to ammonia gas based on a TICT-LE transition. The self-assembled film presents higher detection sensitivity compared with the non-assembled test paper: the former enables 4.75 times faster response time and 6.86 times lower detection limit than the latter. Furthermore, the former demonstrates better selectivity toward ammonia gas in the presence of various organic amines. The sensing devices also enjoy the advantage of cyclic utilization. The fluorescence of the fumed devices can be converted back into the original state when they are heated at 100°C for 5min, as thermal treatment can desorb the ammonia gas that adsorbed in the sensing devices.

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Issue Information

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Ethnic/racial differences in the association between social support and levels of C-reactive proteins in the North Texas Heart Study

Abstract

Perceived social support has been reliably related to lower rates of morbidity and mortality. However, studies modeling C-reactive protein (CRP) as an important biological pathway linking social support to health have produced inconsistent results. Given purported ethnic/racial differences in sensitivity to social resources, the present study tested if ethnicity/race moderated the link between perceived support and CRP in a diverse community sample of 300 participants from the North Texas Heart Study. Consistent with prior research, there was no overall link between social support and CRP levels. However, the association between social support and high sensitivity (hs)-CRP levels was moderated by ethnicity/race as perceived support predicted lower hs-CRP levels primarily in African Americans. These results suggest the importance of considering how ethnicity/race may inform models on the complex biological mechanisms linking social support to health.

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Diversity and representation: Key issues for psychophysiological science

Abstract

This Special Issue is devoted to the illustration and discussion of three key demographic variables (sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status) that have been shown to moderate associations between psychophysiological processes and behavior. The introduction to the issue discusses the role of phenotypic plasticity in the emergence of different neural processes that achieve the same behavioral outcome, with emphasis on how these relatively stable developmental contexts affect brain/behavior associations without necessarily resulting in difference in behavior. These findings have profound significance for the implications of generalization and call into question the presumption that diverse samples produce an average result that is appropriately reflective of the individuals themselves. Increasing diversity within psychophysiological research is critical in elucidating mechanisms by which the human brain can accomplish cognitive and affective behaviors. This article further examines the logistical and ethical challenges faced in achieving this goal.

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