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Aims/Introduction: We aimed to explore the clinical factors associated with glycemic variability (GV) assessed with flash glucose monitoring (FGM), and investigate the impact of FGM on glycemic control among Chinese type 1 diabetes mellitus patients in a real‐life clinical setting. Materials and Methods: A total of 171 patients were included. GV was assessed from FGM data. A total of 110 patients wore FGM continuously for 6 months (longitudinal cohort). Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting and 2‐h postprandial C‐peptide, and glucose profiles were collected. Changes in HbA1c and glycemic parameters were assessed during a 6‐month FGM period. Results: Individuals with high residual C‐peptide (HRCP; 2‐h postprandial C‐peptide >200 pmol/L) had less GV than patients with low residual C‐peptide (2‐h postprandial C‐peptide ≤200 pmol/L; P < 0.001). In the longitudinal cohort (n = 110), HbA1c and mean glucose decreased, time in range (TIR) increased during the follow‐up period (P < 0.05). The 110 patients were further divided into age and residual C‐peptide subgroups: (i) HbA1c and mean glucose were reduced significantly only in the subgroup aged ≤14 years during the follow‐up period, whereas time below range also increased in this subgroup at 3 months (P = 0.047); and (ii) HbA1c improved in the HRCP subgroup at 3 and 6 months (P < 0.05). The mean glucose decreased and TIR improved significantly in the low residual C‐peptide subgroup; however, TIR was still lower and time below range was higher than those of the HRCP subgroup at all time points (P < 0.05). Conclusions: HRCP was associated with less GV. FGM wearing significantly reduced HbA1c, especially in pediatric patients and those with HRCP. Additionally, the mean glucose and TIR were also found to improve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many bacteria, the stabilities and functions of small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) that act by base pairing with target RNAs most often are dependent on Hfq or ProQ/FinO‐domain proteins, two classes of RNA chaperone proteins. However, while all bacteria appear to have sRNAs, many have neither Hfq nor ProQ/FinO‐domain proteins raising the question of whether another factor might act as an sRNA chaperone in these organisms. Several recent studies have reported that KH domain proteins, such as KhpA and KhpB, bind sRNAs. Here we describe what is known about the distribution, structures, RNA‐binding properties, and physiologic roles of KhpA and KhpB and discuss evidence for and against these proteins serving as sRNAs chaperones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halide perovskite materials have emerged as a new type of optoelectronic materials serving as key active layer for next‐generation photovoltaics, light‐emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors. Manipulating the crystal size toward the so‐called perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) will endow new properties due to quantum confinement and ligand effect. However, like their bulk crystalline film, the lead toxicity is still one of decisive concerns that holds‐back their public acceptance. Design of lead‐free (LF) PNCs requires efforts on replacing the B‐site element with other metal candidates from the periodic table. In the past half‐decade, hundreds of new LF PNCs have been developed with various sizes, subdimensionalities, ligands, and electron/quantum confinements, as well as wide applications. Although the lead‐based perovskites still dominate the ongoing research fields, the LF PNCs can have a large potential if novel nonlead B‐site element is introduced to render new type of LF PNCs material that is more stable, less toxic, and more efficient in device performance. In this review, recent progresses on the LF PNCs are revisited to seek these opportunities. The paper is organized in subtopics on material structures, synthesis, properties, and their state‐of‐the‐art applications of different LF PNCs, coupled with an in‐depth discussion on the perspectives and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural composites have very simple compositions and complex hierarchical architectures consisting of several different levels. These features simultaneously endow them with strength, toughness, functional adaptation, and damage‐healing characteristics. Inspired by the microstructural features of natural materials, this work successfully fabricated Al2O3/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) fibrous monolithic ceramics with bamboo‐like structures by introducing a thin graphene oxide around Al2O3 fiber cells to form the rGO boundary phase. The detailed evolutions of the crack extension and fracture responses were investigated by a J‐integral method, and these bamboo‐like composites demonstrated high structural reliability with excellent damage tolerance and progressive plastic failure behavior. With the fiber cell diameter of 0.6 mm, such composites exhibited fracture toughness (29.46 ± 3.04 MPa m1/2) and work of fracture (799 ± 127 J m−2) that were 475% and 1075% higher than those of the monolithic Al2O3 ceramic, respectively. Their excellent fracture‐resistant behavior was attributed to the hierarchical architectures that provide crack deflection, delamination, and load redistribution. The results also established the structure‐activity relationships to guide the design and fabrication of these bamboo‐like composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear optical limiting, which enables dynamic radiation filtration, has important implications for photonics, medicine, and advanced manufacturing. A major challenge is the scalable fabrication of all‐inorganic materials with good stability, high optical quality, and excellent optical limiting performance. Herein, a topological engineering strategy is presented for constructing all‐inorganic composite titanate glass with robust performance in optical radiation control. Notably, the rational control of the topological configuration of highly polarized species and their local organization leads to the considerable enhancement of two‐photon absorption coefficients (≈7 times). Mechanical response can also be improved with an estimated elastic modulus and hardness of 10.5 and 115.4 GPa, respectively. This improvement allows the creation of novel all‐inorganic composite materials with excellent ability for dynamic optical radiation filtration. Results suggest that the proposed topological engineering strategy for constructing titanate glass can be extended to other highly polarized glass systems to develop a new generation of nonlinear photonic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) materials generally suffer from severe concentration quenching. Efficient non‐doped TADF emitters are generally highly twisted aromatic amine‐based compounds with isolated chemical moieties. Herein we demonstrate that co‐facial packing and strong π–π intermolecular interactions give rise to bright TADF emissions in non‐doped film and crystalline states within the compound 2,4‐diphenyl‐6‐(thianthren‐1‐yl)‐1,3,5‐triazine (oTE‐DRZ). Quantum chemistry simulations indicate that a disperse outer orbital of sulfur atoms, a folded thianthrene plane (for a reduced donor–acceptor distance), and a triazine acceptor with n–π* character, generate a spatially conjugated transition with a small singlet–triplet splitting energy. In company with a highly emissive non‐doped film, the corresponding organic light‐emitting diode achieved a 20.6 % external quantum efficiency, verifying its potential for high‐performance optoelectronic applications. In a crystalline state, it was verified that intra‐ and intermolecular dual TADF assisted by a hidden room‐temperature phosphorescent state. This state could preserve the long‐lived excitons while suppressing non‐radiation, and it could serve as a "spring‐board" for cascade up‐conversion processes. The oTE‐DRZ crystal showed greenish‐blue emission with a very high photoluminescent quantum yield of approximately 87 %, which is the highest among all TADF crystals reported to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of nonlinear optical materials featuring asymmetric transmission of light is of great technological importance for various applications, including optical switching and optical power limiting. A significant challenge is the scalable fabrication of material candidates with good photochemical stability, high optical transmittance, and excellent optical limiting performance. Here, we present a nanocrystallization avenue for constructing hybrid optical limiting materials that exhibit ultrafast and robust optical limiting performance. The experimental results show that the controllable relaxation of a niobate glass may lead to the clustering of Nb‐O units and contracting of the bandgap. It results in the notable improvement in nonlinear optical properties, including the enhanced saturation irradiance (380 GW/cm2), doubly increased nonlinear coefficient, and decreased limiting threshold (200 GW/cm2). Our results suggest a promising material that exhibits promising applications for protecting eyes and sensitive components from laser‐induced damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The BaZrxSi3O7+2x:Eu2+/Eu3+ (2%, molar ratio) phosphors were prepared with adding different amounts of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1) by a self‐reduction method under air conditions. X‐ray diffraction, photoluminescence properties, thermal quenching properties and luminescent lifetimes of the prepared samples were systematically analyzed. In BaZrxSi3O7+2x:Eu2+/Eu3+, both the 4f → 5d transitions of Eu2+ and sharp emissions assigned to 5D0 → 7FJ (J = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) transitions of Eu3+ were observed. In addition, the results also reveal that the amount of ZrO2 affects the crystal structure, the self‐reduction process and further influences the relative intensity of Eu2+/Eu3+ in all samples. Therefore, the diverse emission colors can be obtained and modulated by controlling the content of ZrO2. The highlight of this work is that the white light emission is observed, when x is 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Two diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives (DPP1 and DPP2) are used for generating multiple luminescent colors (yellow–orange–red–deep red) in solution, nanoparticle, aggregate and solid states through an aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) coupled excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) process. They are potentially useful for bioimaging due to their good biocompatibility and large Stoke shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Actualizing highly efficient solution‐processed thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) at high brightness becomes significant to the popularization of purely organic electroluminescence. Herein, a highly soluble emitter benzene‐1,3,5‐triyltris((4‐(9,9‐dimethylacridin‐10(9H)‐yl)phenyl)methanone was developed, yielding high delayed fluorescence rate (kTADF > 105 s−1) ascribed to the multitransition channels and tiny singlet–triplet splitting energy (ΔEST ≈ 32.7 meV). The triplet locally excited state is 0.38 eV above the lowest triplet charge‐transfer state, assuring a solely thermal equilibrium route for reverse intersystem crossing. Condensed state solvation effect unveils a hidden “trade‐off”: the reverse upconversion and triplet concentration quenching processes can be promoted but with a reduced radiative rate from the increased dopant concentration and the more polarized surroundings. Striking a delicate balance, corresponding vacuum‐evaporated and solution‐processed TADF‐OLEDs realized maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of ≈26% and ≈22% with extremely suppressed efficiency roll‐off. Notably, the wet‐processed one achieves to date the highest EQEs of 20.7%, 18.5%, 17.1%, and 13.6%, among its counterparts at the luminance of 1000, 3000, 5000, and 10 000 cd m−2, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ShenKang injection is traditional Chinese medicine used to treat chronic renal failure in China. It is a compound preparation that consists of four herbs: Rhubarb, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Safflower and Radix Astragali. We developed an ultra high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with Q Exactive hybrid quadrupole-orbitrap high resolution accurate mass spectrometry tandem mass spectrometry method to analyze its chemical compositions, and a total of 90 compounds were identified from ShenKang injection. Among them, 19 major compounds were unambiguously detected by comparing with reference standards. Meanwhile, 13 representative compounds selected as quality control markers were simultaneously quantified in ShenKang injection samples. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on a Waters ACQUITY HPLC® HSS C18 column using gradient elution. The method was validated with respect to linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision, reproducibility and stability. And the validated method was successfully applied for simultaneous determination of 13 bioactive compounds in ShenKang injection from ten batches of samples by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry. The results were analyzed by principal components analysis method, and three compounds had a significant relationship with the quality control of ShenKang injection. This research established a rapid and reliable method for the integrating quality control, including qualitation and quantification of ShenKang injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A novel aperture-coupled microstrip-to-waveguide transition is presented in this article. A vertically mounted strip has been inserted into the E-plane of a rectangular waveguide in order to provide broadband characteristics and higher forward transmission efficiency. A parametric study was made in order to obtain the optimal design data for broadband, low loss, and high efficiency. In addition, a tolerance study proves that the proposed transition is robust in regards to mechanical assembly and alignment. An X-band transition was designed, and the measured results demonstrate that the transition shows a broadband (49.5 % with a reference return loss of 10 dB), low insertion loss (0.41 dB), and high transmission efficiency (93.40 %). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 59:811-815, 2017 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

o‐Chlorobenzaldehyde (CBA) is a derivative of chlorobenzene (CB). The boiling point of CBA is 212 °C, much lower than 332 °C for 1,8‐diiodooctane (DIO). With CBA as solvent additive in CB host solvent, CBA could be fast removed during spin‐coating 100, 200, and 300 nm thick thieno[3,4‐b]thiophene/benzodithiophene polymer (PTB7):[6,6]‐phenyl C71‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) active layers, achieving power conversion efficiencies of 9.11%, 8.24%, and 7.11%, respectively, much higher than 7.53%, 5.71%, and 4.93% for corresponding DIO control devices with vacuum drying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical structure of conjugated polymers plays an important role in determining their physical properties that, in turn, dictates their performance in photovoltaic devices. 5-Fluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole, an asymmetric unit, is incorporated into a thiophene-based polymer backbone to generate a hole conducting polymers with controlled regioregularity. A high dipole moment is seen in regioregular polymers, which have a tighter interchain stacking that promotes the formation of a morphology in bulk heterojunction blends with improved power conversion efficiencies. Aliphatic side chain substitution is systematically varied to understand the influence of side chain length and symmetry on the morphology and resultant performance. This side chain modification is found to influence crystal orientation and the phase separated morphology. Using the asymmetric side chain substitution with regioregularity of the main chain, an optimized power conversion efficiency of 9.06% is achieved, with an open circuit voltage of 0.72 V, a short circuit current of 19.63 mA cm−2, and a fill factor over 65%. These results demonstrate that the local chemical environment can dramatically influence the physical properties of the resultant material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel nonaromatic amine containing hole‐transporting material, 3,3′‐(2‐methyl‐1,3‐phenylene)diphenoxathiine (mPXTMP), is developed and coevaporated with electron‐transporting materials to form comixed films. Pure‐blue, sky‐blue, and green thermally activated delayed fluorescent (TADF) exciplex emissions are observed. Though the mPXTMP:2,4,6‐tri([1,1′‐biphenyl]‐3‐yl)‐1,3,5‐triazine (T2T) bimolecular system exhibits a large singlet–triplet splitting energy (ΔEST) of 0.44 eV, its locally triplet excited states play vital roles in the cascade up‐conversion process, leading to an abnormal synergistic enhancement of TADF and phosphorescence from high‐lying triplet states at a low temperature, which violates Kasha's rule. Another bimolecular system, mPXTMP:PO‐T2T, achieves a fast up‐conversion rate of 106 s−1 benefiting from a small ΔEST of 0.10 eV and the enhanced spin–orbital coupling induced by the sulfur element rich environment. The corresponding organic light‐emitting diodes realize an exciton utilization ratio of 61.7–92.6%, verifying that these nonaromatic amine containing exciplex systems can be promising candidates toward purely organic electroluminescence with 100% internal quantum efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]