Publications by authors named "Mu Du"

Nanoporous structures play a critical role in a wide range of applications, including catalysis, thermoelectrics, energy storage, gas adsorption, and thermal insulation. However, their thermal instability remains a persistent challenge. Inspired by the extraordinary resilience of tardigrades, an "atomic armor" strategy is introduced to enhance the stability of nanoporous structures.

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Windows are a major contributor to energy loss in buildings, particularly in hot climates where solar radiation heat gain significantly increases cooling demand. An ideal energy-efficient window must maintain high visible light transmittance while effectively blocking ultraviolet and near-infrared radiation, presenting a significant challenge for material design. We propose a plasma silica aerogel window utilizing the local surface plasmon resonance effect of plasmonic nanoparticles.

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Despite their outstanding thermal insulation and ultralight structure, silica aerogels suffer from inherent mechanical fragility, making the investigation of their mechanical behavior crucial for expanding their practical utility in advanced applications. To enhance their mechanical performance, this study introduces a dual-phase reinforcement strategy by anisotropically incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) sheets into the aerogel matrix. Using molecular dynamic simulations, we systematically investigate the tensile behavior and pore structure evolution of these hetero-structured composites.

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The closed mesoporous polymer gels have garnered significant attention as advanced thermal insulation materials due to their superior lightweight characteristics and excellent thermal management capabilities. To accurately predict their thermal performance, this study develops a novel mathematical model that integrates fractal geometry theory, Kirchhoff's thermal conduction principles, comprehensive Rosseland diffusion approximation, and Mie scattering theory. The conductive thermal conductivity component was formulated based on a diagonal cross fractal structure, while the radiative component was derived considering microscale radiative effects.

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The mechanical stability of carbon aerogels, particularly their thermal insulation performance, is closely linked to their elastic modulus. This property plays a crucial role in determining the material's overall mechanical stability. The objective of this study is to enhance the accuracy of elastic modulus predictions for carbon aerogels using a power-scaling model.

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Background: Sitosterolemia is a rare lipid disorder characterized by elevated phytosterols and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), resulting from pathogenic variants in the and/or genes. To enhance the understanding of this condition, we systematically summarized the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, gene variations, and treatment effect outcomes in 12 pediatric patients diagnosed with sitosterolemia.

Methods: The clinical features, laboratory profiles, and gene variations of 12 children diagnosed with sitosterolemia were analyzed.

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The thermal insulation performance of windows is crucial for energy-efficient buildings. Windows are typically the weakest part of the building envelope, regarding thermal insulation. Due to its excellent thermal insulation and high transparency, silica aerogel shows great promise as a window material.

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Porous thermosensitive hydrogels exhibit a more flexible strategy for freshwater capture compared to conventional hydrogels. This study employs molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to investigate the deswelling behavior of poly(-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) grafted within the nanochannel, aiming to elucidate the deswelling elimination process at various temperatures. Notably, a distinct phase separation is observed at specific temperatures above the lower solution temperature (LCST).

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To assess the association between serum copper/zinc ratio (CZR) and overweight/obesity in children. Sociodemographic and clinical data of children aged 8-18 years old were extracted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database in this cross-sectional study. These associations were explored using weighted univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

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Objective: This study aims to emphasize the initiating role of facet joint (FJ) degeneration in the process of cervical spine degeneration induced by tangential load, and we further validate it in a novel cervical spine degeneration animal model.

Methods: The characteristics of cervical degeneration in patients of different ages were summarized through case collection. In the rat models, Hematoxylin-Eosin, Safranin O staining, and micro-computed tomography were used to show the histopathological changes and bone fiber structure of FJ and the height of intervertebral disc (IVD) space.

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The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the performance of a continuous-time random-walk (CTRW) diffusion model for differentiating malignant and benign breast lesions and to consider the potential association between CTRW parameters and the Ki-67 expression. Sixty-four patients (46.2 ± 11.

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Excessive mechanical load (overloading) is a well-documented pathogenetic factor for many mechano stress-induced pathologies, i.e. intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD).

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Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and genetic basis for three children with Congenital chlorine diarrhea (CCD).

Methods: Three children with CCD who attended the Affiliated Children's Hospital of Capital Pediatric Institute from June 2014 to August 2020 were selected as the research subjects. Peripheral blood samples of the three children and their parents were collected for genetic testing.

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Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a major role in the development of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Sirtuin 5 (SIRT5) participates in the maintenance of mitochondrial homeostasis through its desuccinylase activity. However, it is still unclear whether succinylation or SIRT5 is involved in the impairment of mitochondria and development of IDD induced by excessive mechanical stress.

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The risk of fire in the chemical industry's production process is fatal. Gel foam has been widely employed in petroleum storage tanks, oil pools, and other petrochemical equipment for fire extinguishing and thermal protection. Recently, nanoparticles have been doped into gel foam to enhance thermal stability and insulation.

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Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC), a cooling method that needs no additional energy, has become increasingly popular in recent years. The combination of disordered media and polymeric photonics will hopefully lead to the large-scale fabrication of high-performance PDRC devices. This work aims to study two typical PDRC structures, the randomly distributed silica particle (RDSP) structure and the porous structure, and systematically investigates the effects of structural parameters (diameter , volume fraction fv, and thickness ) on the radiative properties of the common plastic materials.

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Efficient noninvasive imaging techniques in the differentiation of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are very important because of their different management and prognosis. Our purpose was to evaluate the difference of parameters extracted from intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) between the two groups and their performance for the differentiation, as well as the significance of perfusion information. IVIM studies (9 -values) in 41 patients with either ICC or HCC were reviewed retrospectively by two observers.

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The effective thermal conductivity of soils is a crucial parameter for many applications such as geothermal engineering, environmental science, and agriculture and engineering. However, it is pretty challenging to accurately determine it due to soils' complex structure and components. In the present study, the influences of different parameters, including silt content (), sand content (), clay content (), quartz content (), porosity, and water content on the effective thermal conductivity of soils, were firstly analyzed by the Pearson correlation coefficient.

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Background: Former studies showed that magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is useful in diagnosing the presence of santorinicele; however, few studies have evaluated MRCP in diagnosing wirsungocele and the association between pancreatitis and santorinicele or wirsungocele. The purpose of the study was to explore the performance of MRCP in diagnosing santorinicele and wirsungocele and investigate the potential association among pancreatitis, pancreas divisum, and santorinicele or wirsungocele.

Methods: Sixty-five patients (mean age, 55.

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Objective: To summarize clinical manifestations and results of genetic testing in 12 children with Gitelman syndrome (GS).

Methods: Clinical data of the children was collected. Whole exome sequencing(WES) was carried out to screen potential variants of genomic DNA.

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Recently, two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers have attracted much attention owing to their excellent physical properties. In the present study, we systematically investigate the thermoelectric properties of different WS-WSe phononic crystals by utilizing first-principles calculations. First, the thermal properties of all phononic crystals with superlattices (SL1 and SL2) and their individual components (WS and WSe) are evaluated, in which the lattice thermal conductivities (k) of WS and WSe monolayers present isotropic behaviors, while the values of SL1 and SL2 monolayers reveal weak anisotropic behaviors.

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Article Synopsis
  • A new 2D material called graphether has gained interest because of its impressive electrical properties, prompting researchers to study its thermal conductivity.
  • Calculations show that at 300 K, graphether has a lattice thermal conductivity of 600.91 W m-1 K-1, significantly lower than graphene's 3544.41 W m-1 K-1, primarily due to differences in phonon characteristics.
  • The study highlights how phonon transport properties vary with the size of the material and offers insights for optimizing graphether in future electronic applications.
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Objective: To explore the genetic basis for a child with neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism.

Methods: Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples from the patient and her parents. Whole exome sequencing was carried out to screen potential mutations.

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Conventionally, patients with combined rare diseases are often difficult to diagnose. This is because some clinicians tend to consider the multiple disease symptoms as the presentation of a complicated "syndrome." This pattern of thinking also confines their way of filtering pathogenic mutations.

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