Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 59 in total

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  1. Structural engineering of electrodes for flexible energy storage devices
    Sun Y, Chong WG
    Mater Horiz, 2023 Jul 03;10(7):2373-2397.
    PMID: 37144354 DOI: 10.1039/d3mh00045a
    The emergence of multifunctional wearable electronics over the past decades has triggered the exploration of flexible energy storage devices. As an important component of flexible batteries, novel electrodes with good flexibility, mechanical stability and high energy density are required to adapt to mechanical deformation while powering devices. Electrodes with sophisticated designed structures are key to achieving novel batteries and supercapacitors with extended lifetimes under long-term deformation exposures. Many different novel structures including serpentine, auxetic and biomimetic are explored to construct electrodes thanks to their excellent mechanical deformability in three dimensions. This paper considers the various design strategies established for fabricating flexible electrodes using novel structural modifications. The current state-of-the-art developments of novel structures made of two-dimensional (2D) planar and three-dimensional (3D) cellular, interconnected architectures for flexible energy storage with different functionalities, are discussed. The key tunable geometrical parameters of structures for achieving high performance are critically assessed, and the challenges and limitations of electrodes facing their practical application are revealed, to offer new insights into future prospects of this field.
  2. Fulltext Factors Affecting the Manufacturing Industry Transformation and Upgrading: A Case Study of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
    Yang F, Sun Y, Zhang Y, Wang T
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 07 04;18(13).
    PMID: 34281094 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18137157
    This study aims to analyze the development trend of the manufacturing industry transformation and upgrading in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2008-2018). On the basis of synergetics, the order parameter method of factor analysis is used to study these factors. The results show that: (1) There are five slow variable factors, such as intelligent manufacturing industry, technological innovation, scale agglomeration, market demand, and fixed asset investment, which are important power sources of the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry in Greater Bay Area. The development of these factors is relatively mature, and they cooperate with each other. (2) Similar to a fast variable of manufacturing development ecology, green development is an important coordinating factor in removing bottlenecks. Finally, suggestions for the development of the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry are put forward.
  3. Fulltext Effects of macroprudential policies on ecological footprint: the moderating role of environmental policy stringency in the top 11 largest countries
    Luo H, Sun Y, Zhang L
    Sci Rep, 2024 Mar 28;14(1):7423.
    PMID: 38548882 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58015-9
    This study investigates the impact of macroprudential policies on ecological footprint (EF) in the top 11 largest countries. This study uses country-level panel data from these countries, covering the period from 1992 to 2020. Findings indicate that macroprudential policies alleviates ecological footprint in the sample. Macroprudential policies primarily reduce the ecological footprint before medium quantile (50%) while the environmental benefits of the policies end in the later quantiles. Moreover, environmental policy stringency (EPS) amplifies the positive influence of macroprudential policies on environmental sustainability. Estimate results stay the same with basic regression results in the post-global financial crisis (GFC) period while the impact is positive in the pre-GFC period. Finally, other robust tests validate the findings reported in basic regression model. This study suggests that governments should customize various types of macroprudential policies while also considering environmental concerns. The achievement of a sustainable environment can be facilitated by the combined effects of macroprudential policies and EPS.
  4. Fulltext Exploring Regional Advanced Manufacturing and Its Driving Factors: A Case Study of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
    Dou Z, Sun Y, Wang T, Wan H, Fan S
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 05 28;18(11).
    PMID: 34071373 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18115800
    This study aims to analyze the development trend of the manufacturing industry of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (from 2008 to 2018) by constructing an evaluation system. On the basis of push-pull-mooring theory, we analyze these factors by using an entropy and cluster model. The results show the following: (1) Technological development had an obvious spatial distribution pattern of core regional radiation, while others did not. (2) Economic development was based on the city's existing industrial development system, while environmental development depended on governmental policies. (3) Compared with the environmental factor, the development trends of the economic and technological factors were more similar. Lastly, we provide four strategies for the development of the manufacturing industry in different cities.
  5. A Theoretical Study of Metalloporphyrin-Based Fluorescent Array Sensor using Density Functional Theory
    Gu H, Huang X, Chen Q, Sun Y, Tan CP
    J Fluoresc, 2020 May;30(3):687-694.
    PMID: 32378115 DOI: 10.1007/s10895-020-02546-7
    The influences of metal atoms on optimized geometry structures, relative energies, frontline molecular orbitals, and binding energies of metalloporphyrin-based fluorescent array sensor were systematically investigated by density functional theory (DFT) at B3LYP/LAN2DZ level. DFT calculated results reveal that the selected metal atoms in the center of the metalloporphyrin plane provide difference performances of metalloporphyrin-based fluorescent array sensor for the rapid determination of trimethylamine. The calculated binding energies have displayed in the following order at the most stable states: zinc porphyrin (ZnP) 
  6. Dynamic and causality linkages from transportation services and tourism development to economic growth and carbon emissions: New insights from Quantile ARDL approach
    Sun Y, Kamran HW, Razzaq A, Qadri FS, Suksatan W
    Integr Environ Assess Manag, 2021 Dec 24.
    PMID: 34951096 DOI: 10.1002/ieam.4570
    The present study investigates the pathway toward sustainability in Malaysia while observing the effects of tourism and transportation services on economic growth and carbon emissions. The study applied the quantile autoregressive distributed lag approach during the period 1970-2018, along with Granger causality to explore dynamic and asymmetric causal associations between the proposed variables. The empirical outcomes indicate that the error correction parameters are significant across major quantiles, confirming the presence of steady-state equilibrium in the long run. The results demonstrate that tourism and transportation services contribute significantly to economic growth in the long run; however, their contribution varies at different quantiles. On the other hand, tourism and transportation services were found to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions mainly across higher emission quantiles, confirming the sustainability of the transportation and tourism sector in Malaysia. We also observe a bidirectional causality between model variables. These results suggest important policy implications. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;00:1-15. © 2021 SETAC.
  7. Fulltext The relationship between school climate and general teachers' attitude toward inclusion in China: the mediation effect of teachers' efficacy
    Fu W, He X, Sun Y, Wang C, Wang J, Dong Y
    Int J Dev Disabil, 2023;69(4):602-610.
    PMID: 37346253 DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2021.1985919
    The prosperity of inclusion of students with disabilities largely rest on the attitudes of mainstream teachers. Few studies explore the relationship among school climate, teachers' attitude on inclusion and teachers' efficacy in China. This study surveyed 266 general teachers in China to understand the role of teachers' efficacy on inclusive education between school climate and teachers' attitude. The results indicated that teachers hold positive attitudes towards inclusion on average, especially in the dimension of affection. Additionally, school climate, teachers' efficacy and teachers' attitude were significantly associated, and the mediating effect of teachers' efficacy between school climate and teachers' attitude were proved by mediation analyses. The findings suggested that creating more inclusive school climate and improving general teachers' knowledge and skills on inclusive education, especially the skills on collaboration with others, which could contribute to promote more positive attitude on inclusive education of general teachers.
  8. Ultrasound-assisted phosphorylation of goose myofibrillar proteins: improving protein structure and functional properties
    Zhou Y, Sun Y, Pan D, Xia Q, Zhou C
    J Sci Food Agric, 2023 Aug 30;103(11):5412-5421.
    PMID: 37038882 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.12616
    BACKGROUND: Goose meat is rough and embedded with dense connective tissue, impairing protein solubility. Therefore, to improve the functional properties of goose myofibrillar protein (GMP), ultrasound was used to assist the phosphorylation of GMP.

    RESULTS: The fact that GMP attached covalently with the phosphate group of sodium tripolyphosphate (GMP-STP) was disclosed directly by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, ultrasound significantly improved the hydrophobicity and solubility of GMP-STP, which could be attributed to the conversion of α-helix to β-sheet, β-turns, and random coils by sonication. The spatial stabilization of the protein phosphorylation process was boosted by ultrasound, making the droplets more dispersed, and thus an improvement in the functional properties of GMP-STP was observed. Water-holding capacity, oil-binding capacity, and emulsifying and foaming properties were best at an ultrasound power of 400 W.

    CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-assisted phosphorylation has great potential to modulate the structure-function relationship of proteins. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

  9. Fulltext The asymmetric effect of oil price, news-based uncertainty, and COVID-19 pandemic on equity market
    Li C, Lin S, Sun Y, Afshan S, Yaqoob T
    Resour Policy, 2022 Aug;77:102740.
    PMID: 35502418 DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.102740
    Equity markets are prone to several external factors, especially in the lethal pandemic situation when the uncertainty regarding the spread of the COVID disrupts the daily financial and economic activities along with the sharp decline in the oil price causing severe devastations to people not just in terms of life and health but also in the form of finance. Therefore, to assess the presence of empirical association of the oil price, Covid-19, and news-based uncertainty with the equity market condition, the method of QARDL was applied in the current investigation. The results revealed that the relationship of OIL was found to be positive and significant across all of the quantiles of the Stock Price Index (SPI); news-based uncertainty was found to be negative and significant across all of the quantiles of SPI, whereas COVID19 has the negative and significant impact on SPI only in the bearish and stable market conditions. Based on the findings, balance government interventions are recommended, balancing the generation of economic activities and counter COVID spread.
  10. Fulltext A Future Forecasting for FMCG Firm Performance in Covid-19: An Investigation of Consumer and Business Survival
    Sun Y, Li Y, Wang Y, Jiang D, Liu X
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:723084.
    PMID: 34604162 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.723084
    The Covid-19 outbreak has spread over the world, limiting population and trade, causing job losses, and forcing businesses to close. The study's goal is to look at Covid-19's pandemic and consumer survival as a mediator for the future of running a business when FMCG companies are doing well. The researchers employed a basic random sampling strategy to do a layered transverse evaluation of samples. EFA, CFA, and SEM are used to choose data collection techniques for participants at Covid-19. According to the data, Malaysia has resulted in job losses, business growth, and customer satisfaction retention, as well as an increase in unemployment, company closures, and a drop in overall GDP. The impact of the Covid-19 epidemic on survival, production, and GDP has been demonstrated. Incorporating technology into all aspects of a company's working practices reveals the necessity and capacity of the organization to adapt to new scenarios.
  11. Fulltext Quaternary ammonium salt of chitosan: preparation and antimicrobial property for paper
    Liu P, Meng W, Wang S, Sun Y, Ashraf MA
    Open Med (Wars), 2015;10(1):473-478.
    PMID: 28352739 DOI: 10.1515/med-2015-0081
    A series of 2-hydroxypropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride chitosan (HACC) was prepared by the reaction of chitosan with glycidyl trimethyl ammonium chloride. Structure of HACC was characterized by FT IR and 1H NMR spectroscopies, and it was proved that substitution reaction mainly occurs on the N element. Antimicrobial activities of HACC was examined against S. aureus, E. coli, and A. niger. Results indicatd that the inhibitory effects of HACC solutions were varied with HACC concentration, quaternization degrees, pH values, metal ions, and heat treatment. The antimicrobial properties of handsheets prepared from HACC were studied by the inhibition zone method, and the sheets had good antimicrobial properties against S. aureus and E. coli, and low inhibition rate against A. niger.
  12. Fulltext Therapeutic Potential of Bama Pig Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the Treatment of Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Fibrosis
    Wu X, Zhang S, Lai J, Lu H, Sun Y, Guan W
    Exp Clin Transplant, 2020 12;18(7):823-831.
    PMID: 33349209 DOI: 10.6002/ect.2020.0108
    OBJECTIVES: Liver fibrosis is inevitable in the healing process of liver injury. Liver fibrosis will develop into liver cirrhosis unless the damaging factors are removed. This study investigated the potential therapy of Bama pig adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in a carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis Institute of Cancer Research strain mice model.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells were injected intravenously into the tails of mice of the Institute of Cancer Research strain that had been treated with carbon tetrachloride for 4 weeks. Survival rate, migration, and proliferation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the liver were observed by histochemistry, fluorescent labeling, and serological detection.

    RESULTS: At 1, 2, and 3 weeks after adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell injection, liver fibrosis was significantly ameliorated. The injected adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells had hepatic differentiation potential in vivo, and the survival rate of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells declined over time.

    CONCLUSIONS: The findings in this study confirmed that adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells derived from the Bama pig can be used in the treatment of liver fibrosis, and the grafted adipose-derived mesenchy-mal stem cells can migrate, survive, and differentiate into hepatic cells in vivo.

  13. The combined action of biochar and nitrogen-fixing bacteria on microbial and enzymatic activities of soil N cycling
    Gou Z, Zheng H, He Z, Su Y, Chen S, Chen H, et al.
    Environ Pollut, 2023 Jan 15;317:120790.
    PMID: 36460190 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120790
    This study aims to investigate the positive effects of the combined use of Enterobacter cloacae and biochar on improving nitrogen (N) utilization. The greenhouse pots experimental results showed the synergy of biochar and E. cloacae increased soil total N content and plant N uptake by 33.54% and 15.1%, respectively. Soil nitrogenase (NIT) activity increased by 253.02%. Ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and nitrate reductase (NR) activity associated with nitrification and denitrification decreased by 10.94% and 29.09%, respectively. The relative abundance of N fixing microorganisms like Burkholderia and Bradyrhizobium significantly increased. Sphingomonas and Ottowia, two bacteria involved in the nitrification and denitrification processes, were found to be in lower numbers. The E. cloacae's ability to fix N2 and promote the growth of plants allow the retention of N in soil and make more N available for plant development. Biochar served as a reservoir of N for plants by adsorbing N from the soil and providing a shelter for E. cloacae. Thus, biochar and E. cloacae form a synergy for the management of agricultural N and the mitigation of negative impacts of pollution caused by excessive use of N fertilizer.
  14. High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) reinforces solid encapsulation of d-limonene into V-type starch and its application in strawberry storage
    Sun Y, Jia X, Tan CP, Zhang B, Fu X, Huang Q
    Int J Biol Macromol, 2023 Apr 30;235:123886.
    PMID: 36870635 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.123886
    The formation of inclusion complexes (ICs) between V-type starch and flavors is traditionally conducted in an aqueous system. In this study, limonene was solid encapsulated into V6-starch under ambient pressure (AP) and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP). The maximum loading capacity reached 639.0 mg/g after HHP treatment, and the highest encapsulation efficiency was 79.9 %. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) results showed that the ordered structure of V6-starch was ameliorated with limonene, which avoided the reduction of the space between adjacent helices within V6-starch generated by HHP treatment. Notably, HHP treatment may force molecular permeation of limonene from amorphous regions into inter-crystalline amorphous regions and crystalline regions as the Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns indicated, leading to better controlled-release behavior. Thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) revealed that the solid encapsulation of V-type starch improved the thermal stability of limonene. Further, the release kinetics study showed that a complex prepared with a mass ratio of 2:1 under HHP treatment sustainably released limonene over 96 h and exhibited a preferable antimicrobial effect, which could extend the shelf life of strawberries.
  15. Synergistic effect of hydrophilic polyglycerol fatty acid esters and protein on the stability of interfacial membrane in low-fat aerated emulsions with different homogenization conditions
    Han W, Chai X, Zaaboul F, Sun Y, Tan CP, Liu Y
    Food Chem, 2024 Mar 01;435:137584.
    PMID: 37774617 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137584
    This study investigates the impact of various chain lengths of hydrophilic polyglycerol fatty acid esters (HPGEs), namely SWA-10D, M-7D and M-10D on protein interactions and their influence on the surface morphology and interfacial properties of low-fat aerated emulsions under different pressures conditions. M-7D and M-10D samples exhibited larger particle sizes, higher ζ-potential and rougher surface compared to SWA-10D sample at 1 % concentration of HPGEs. Consequently, M-7D and M-10D samples demonstrated lower values of G', G'', and higher values tan δ at the oil-water interface as pressure increased, thereby promoting the formation of less viscoelastic structures. M-7D sample, characterized by lower content of α-helix structures, resulted in an observable redshift in the NH and CO groups of the protein. Molecular docking analysis affirmed that M-7D sample exhibited a lower absolute binding energy value, indicating stronger interaction with the protein compared to other samples, ultimately contributing to the unstable interfacial membrane formed.
  16. TMT-labeled quantitative proteomic reveals the mechanism of proteolysis and taste improvement of dry-cured bacon with Staphylococcus co-inoculation
    Zhou C, Wu X, Pan D, Xia Q, Sun Y, Geng F, et al.
    Food Chem, 2024 Mar 15;436:137711.
    PMID: 37839122 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137711
    To understand the mechanism of co-inoculation of Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus vitulinus (SX & SV) on structural protein degradation and taste enhancement of dry-cured bacon, protease activities, protein degradation, surface morphology of proteins and taste parameters of dry-cured bacon with Staphylococcus inoculation were investigated. The dry-cured bacon with co-inoculation of Staphylococcus xylosus and Staphylococcus vitulinus showed the best taste attributes. High residual activities in cathepsin B + L (more than 1.6-fold) and alanyl aminopeptidase (more than 1.4-fold) accelerated structural protein degradation in SX & SV. 32 down-regulated proteins were identified in SX & SV by TMT-labeled quantitative proteomic compared with control group; myosin and actin showed the most intense response to the accumulation of sweet and umami amino acids, and atomic force microscopy confirmed structural proteins breakdown by morphological changes. The accumulation of glutamic acid, alanine and lysine was mainly responsible for taste improvement of dry-cured bacon with Staphylococcus co-inoculation.
  17. Fulltext An efficient churn prediction model using gradient boosting machine and metaheuristic optimization
    AlShourbaji I, Helian N, Sun Y, Hussien AG, Abualigah L, Elnaim B
    Sci Rep, 2023 Sep 02;13(1):14441.
    PMID: 37660198 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41093-6
    Customer churn remains a critical challenge in telecommunications, necessitating effective churn prediction (CP) methodologies. This paper introduces the Enhanced Gradient Boosting Model (EGBM), which uses a Support Vector Machine with a Radial Basis Function kernel (SVMRBF) as a base learner and exponential loss function to enhance the learning process of the GBM. The novel base learner significantly improves the initial classification performance of the traditional GBM and achieves enhanced performance in CP-EGBM after multiple boosting stages by utilizing state-of-the-art decision tree learners. Further, a modified version of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) using the consumption operator of the Artificial Ecosystem Optimization (AEO) method to prevent premature convergence of the PSO in the local optima is developed to tune the hyper-parameters of the CP-EGBM effectively. Seven open-source CP datasets are used to evaluate the performance of the developed CP-EGBM model using several quantitative evaluation metrics. The results showed that the CP-EGBM is significantly better than GBM and SVM models. Results are statistically validated using the Friedman ranking test. The proposed CP-EGBM is also compared with recently reported models in the literature. Comparative analysis with state-of-the-art models showcases CP-EGBM's promising improvements, making it a robust and effective solution for churn prediction in the telecommunications industry.
  18. Effect of different chain lengths of monoglyceride on the O/W interfacial properties with high-melting and low-melting crystals in low-fat aerated emulsion
    Han W, Chai X, Zaaboul F, Sun Y, Tan CP, Liu Y
    Food Chem, 2023 Nov 30;427:136656.
    PMID: 37393637 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.136656
    The effect of different types of monoglycerides, including monopalmitin, capryl monoglyceride (GMB), and succinylated monoglyceride (GMSA) in combination with palm kernel stearin (PKS) and beeswax (BW), on the formation, crystal network structure, and partial coalescence properties of aerated emulsions (20 % w/w fat) was investigated. The stability of BW and PKS crystals with a 1 % concentration of GMSA and GMB, respectively, in the oil phase was lower than the other crystals. BW-GMSA and PKS-GMB crystals exhibited a lower crystallization rate, higher contact angles and no significant peak shift in the small-angle X-ray scattering results. The BW-GMSA and PKS-GMB emulsions had a lower nucleation rate in the bulk and a higher nucleation rate at the interface, resulting in a higher fraction of crystals adsorbed at the oil/water interface. This reduced the number of interfacial proteins and led to a high degree of partial coalescence and the formation of stable aerated networks.
  19. Fulltext More prevalent and more severe: gender differences of depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents
    Sun Y, Zhong Y, Sun W, Chu L, Long J, Fan XW
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1167234.
    PMID: 37521991 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1167234
    BACKGROUND: Adolescent depression has become a leading problem around the world, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has remained prevalent and heavily influenced people's mental health. While gender difference has always been a topic in the field of psychiatry, there are cultural differences across the world that must be taken into account. The current study is examining gender differences in symptoms of Chinese adolescents with depression.

    METHODS: The sample was obtained from a total of 574 adolescent patients (172 males and 402 females) diagnosed with depression following the DSM-IV/ICD-10 diagnostic criteria; patients who also had other severe mental or physical illnesses were excluded. The ages of participants ranged from 10 to 19 years. Additionally, independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to examine differences in symptoms between different gender and age groups. The LPA was used to examine whether females and males were having different patterns of symptoms.

    RESULTS: Our analysis showed that compared to males, females exhibited higher rates of depression and more severe depressive symptoms across age groups. Likewise, the analysis also revealed an earlier onset of depression among Chinese adolescents compared to that in Western countries in previous studies. Finally, the LPA showed that mild to moderate depression was predominant in male patients, while severe depression was predominant in female patients.

    CONCLUSION: This study highlights the gender differences in the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents. The current study highlighted the importance of gender equality and developing gender-friendly interventions in maintaining the overall mental health of adolescents in China.

  20. Effects of limited enzymatic hydrolysis and polysaccharide addition on the physicochemical properties of emulsions stabilized with duck myofibrillar protein under low-salt conditions
    He S, Li M, Sun Y, Pan D, Zhou C, Lan H
    Food Chem, 2024 Jan 01;430:137053.
    PMID: 37549626 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.137053
    This study aimed to investigate the role of hydrolysis and guar gum (GG) participation on the emulsification of the duck myofibrillar protein (MP) and the related stability of oil-in-water emulsion in low-salt condition. Emulsions were prepared using one of each or both treatments, and that prepared with trypsin hydrolysis and GG (T-GG) exhibited the highest stability. FTIR analysis confirmed the hydrogen bond interactions between the system components. T-GG treatment improved emulsion properties and decreased oil droplet size. Moreover, CLSM indicated that aggregation of T-GG oil droplets was prevented. Physical stability was assessed such as Turbiscan stability index, creaming index, and rheological properties. The adsorbed percentage for T-GG was the lowest. However, interfacial tension, droplet size, stability, and peroxide value analyses indicated that a denser interfacial membrane structure is formed with T-GG. Thus, T-GG treatment could be applied in the food industry, such as in nutrient delivery systems and fat mimetics.
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