Southwest University

About: Southwest University is a education organization based out in Chongqing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Bombyx mori. The organization has 29772 authors who have published 27755 publications receiving 409441 citations. The organization is also known as: Southwest University in Chongqing & SWU.

Localization and speciation of mercury in brown rice with implications for pan-Asian public health.

Abstract: Cultivation of paddy rice for human consumption is a dominant agricultural activity throughout Asia. High levels of mercury (Hg) in rice grain pose a potential threat to human health, although the extent of risk is dependent on the chemical speciation of Hg inside the grain. We have investigated the speciation and localization of Hg in three fractions of rice grain (hull, bran, and white rice) collected from a Hg-contaminated region in China. On a mass basis, the majority of inorganic mercury (IHg) in a rice grain is found in hull and bran. However, the majority of the more toxic species methyl mercury (MeHg) is found in edible white rice. Our data show that during grain processing, most of the IHg (∼78%) is eliminated, but the majority of the MeHg remains in the food product (∼80%). Synchrotron radiation microscopic X-ray fluorescence (SR-μXRF) mapping shows strong localization of Hg at the surface of brown rice grains, corresponding to the pericarp and aleurone layer. We infer that this Hg is predominan...

Multifunctional organic ammonium salt-modified SnO2 nanoparticles toward efficient and stable planar perovskite solar cells

Abstract: Bulk and interfacial nonradiative recombination hinder the further enhancement of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of SnO2-based planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs) To date, it is still a huge challenge to minimize the bulk and interfacial nonradiative recombination losses, and thus maximize the potentials of PCE and stability Herein, a novel and effective multifunctional modification strategy through incorporating Girard's Reagent T (GRT) molecules with multiple functional groups to modify SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs), which significantly reduces the bulk and interfacial nonradiative recombination losses through the simultaneous achievement of suppressing nanoparticle agglomeration, improving the electronic property of SnO2 films, facilitating the vertical growth and enlarging the grain size of perovskite crystals, and passivating interfacial defects is reported As a result, the device based on GRT modification delivers a much higher PCE of 2163%, along with significantly suppressed hysteresis, as compared to the control device (1977%) The device stability is ameliorated after GRT modification The unencapsulated device with GRT maintains 995% of its initial PCE after aging at 60 °C for 720 h and 585% after illumination for 672 h under one sun, respectively The present work provides guidance for the design of multifunctional modification molecules toward efficient and stable PSCs

A Memristive Multilayer Cellular Neural Network With Applications to Image Processing

Abstract: The memristor has been extensively studied in electrical engineering and biological sciences as a means to compactly implement the synaptic function in neural networks. The cellular neural network (CNN) is one of the most implementable artificial neural network models and capable of massively parallel analog processing. In this paper, a novel memristive multilayer CNN (Mm-CNN) model is presented along with its performance analysis and applications. In this new CNN design, the memristor crossbar circuit acts as the synapse, which realizes one signed synaptic weight with a pair of memristors and performs the synaptic weighting compactly and linearly. Moreover, the complex weighted summation is executed in an efficient way with a proper design of Mm-CNN cell circuits. The proposed Mm-CNN has several merits, such as compactness, nonvolatility, versatility, and programmability of synaptic weights. Its performance in several image processing applications is illustrated through simulations.

Amino-acid transporters in T-cell activation and differentiation.

Abstract: T-cell-mediated immune responses aim to protect mammals against cancers and infections, and are also involved in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. Cellular uptake and the utilization of nutrients is closely related to the T-cell fate decision and function. Research in this area has yielded surprising findings in the importance of amino-acid transporters for T-cell development, homeostasis, activation, differentiation and memory. In this review, we present current information on amino-acid transporters, such as LAT1 (l-leucine transporter), ASCT2 (l-glutamine transporter) and GAT-1 (γ-aminobutyric acid transporter-1), which are critically important for mediating peripheral naive T-cell homeostasis, activation and differentiation, especially for Th1 and Th17 cells, and even memory T cells. Mechanically, the influence of amino-acid transporters on T-cell fate decision may largely depend on the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. These discoveries remarkably demonstrate the role of amino-acid transporters in T-cell fate determination, and strongly indicate that manipulation of the amino-acid transporter-mTORC1 axis could ameliorate many inflammatory or autoimmune diseases associated with T-cell-based immune responses.