Influence of NH3 flow rate on the photoelectric properties of high Al content p-AlGaN.

High Al content (60%) p-AlGaN with different NH3 flow rates was grown using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), and changes in its photoelectric properties were studied using the Hall effect tester (Hall) and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectrometer. The results show that the film resistivity increases from 3.8â€…Ω·cm to 46.5â€…Ω·cm with increasing NH3 flow rate. The impurity peak intensity of p-AlGaN grown under high NH3 flow conditions is particularly high, indicating numerous point defects. The results of high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) show a large number of Ga interstitial atoms (Gai) at the interface. As Gai acts as a donor, this may be the main reason for the increase in resistivity. And under high NH3 flow conditions, a lattice distortion and a high density of dislocation occur between p-AlGaN and p-GaN, which can lead to enhanced carrier scattering and decreased mobility. Additional validation via LED growth experiments indicates that the luminescence intensity of samples with low ammonia concentration increased by more than 13000 times.

PLC, PTH and NF-κB increased during orthodontic bone remodeling in chronic stress rats.

This study was designed to investigate the potential effects of chronic stress on periodontal bone remodeling and its mechanism during orthodontic tooth movement in rats. Forty-eight male SD rats aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into control group and chronic stress group. Chronic unpredictable mild stress model (CUMS) was established in the stress group, which was validated by behavioral experiment as well as cortisol (CORT) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ATCH) levels. Then, the two groups were further divided into three distinct groups, namely group with no orthodontic force, group with 30 g orthodontic force and group with 50 g orthodontic force respectively to construct orthodontic tooth movement model. The rats were sacrificed after 14 days and maxilla on the loading side was obtained to measure tooth movement distance. It was found that compared with the control group, the chronic stress group displayed increased parathyroid hormone (PTH), amino terminal peptide of type I procollagen (PINP) and c-terminal peptide of type I collagen branch (CTX) levels as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) and TRAP staining showed fewer osteoblasts and more number of osteoclasts. The results of western blot showed no significant change in expression of Adenylate cyclase (AC) but increased phospholipase C (PLC) levels were noted. In addition, increased NF-κB expression was observed by immunohistochemistry. Overall, chronic stress can affect bone remodeling during orthodontic tooth movement by increasing the content of PTH in the blood and increasing PLC and NF-κB.

Effects of 12-week circuit exercise program on obesity index, appetite regulating hormones, and insulin resistance in middle-aged obese females.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of circuit exercise on obesity index, appetite regulating hormones and insulin resistance in middle-aged obese women. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects of this study were 26 obese middle-aged women who were selected among participants in exercise class at K Region Health Promotion Center in South Korea and were randomly assigned to the exercise group (n=13; age 50.15 ± 3.82, % body fat 38.79 ± 3.28) and the control group (n=13; age 49.84 ± 2.96, % body fat 37.46 ± 2.51). Circuit exercise consisted of aerobic exercise and resistance exercise for 5 weeks and 50 minutes for 12 weeks. Before and after exercise we measured obesity index, leptin, ghrelin, fasting blood glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance in all subjects. A repeated-measured two-way of variance was performed for comparison of the treatment effects between the exercise and control groups. [Results] Body weight, BMI, and body fat percentage of obese index decreased significantly. Leptin of dietary regulation hormone was significantly decreased and ghrelin was significantly increased. Insulin and insulin resistance was significantly decreased. [Conclusion] Circuit exercise can be viewed as an effective exercise program to induce changes in appetite regulating hormones and to improve insulin resistance by mechanisms of energy homeostasis by weight loss.

The relationship between physical activity levels and metabolic syndrome in male white-collar workers.

[Purpose] Physical activity is important for preventing and managing metabolic syndrome. White-collar workers can be inherently predisposed to chronic diseases, as their jobs are primarily sedentary. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity and metabolic syndrome in male white-collar workers. [Subjects and Methods] Physical activity and metabolic syndrome factors were measured in 331 male public office workers. Physical activity was classified as high (N=101), moderate (N=115), or low (N=111) using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. To diagnose metabolic syndrome, the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program's standard was used. [Results] Waist circumference and triglyceride levels, factors of metabolic syndrome, were significantly higher in the low physical activity group than in the moderate or high activity group. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol was significantly lower in the low physical activity group than in the moderate or high activity group. Waist circumference and fasting glucose were negatively correlated with physical activity level, and HDL cholesterol showed a positive correlation with waist circumference. The odds ratios for metabolic syndrome were 2.03 times higher (95% confidence interval, 1.01-4.09) in the low physical activity group than in the high physical activity group. [Conclusion] Low physical activity was a risk factor for metabolic syndrome in white-collar workers. Therefore, increasing physical activity in daily life may prevent metabolic syndrome in white-collar workers.

Periostin down-regulation attenuates the pro-fibrogenic response of hepatic stellate cells induced by TGF-ß1.

Liver fibrosis is characterized by an exacerbated accumulation of deposition of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) plays a pivotal role in the development of liver fibrosis. Periostin has been shown to regulate cell adhesion, proliferation, migration and apoptosis; however, the involvement of periostin and its role in transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1-induced HSC activation remains unclear. We used RT-PCR and Western blot to evaluate the expression level of periostin in hepatic fibrosis tissues and HSCs, respectively. Cell proliferation was determined using the Cell Proliferation ELISA BrdU kit, cell cycle was analysed by flow cytometry. The expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I, TGF-ß1, p-Smad2 and p-Smad3 were determined by western blot. Our study found that periostin was up-regulated in liver fibrotic tissues and activated HSCs. In addition, siRNA-periostin suppressed TGF-ß1-induced HSC proliferation. The HSC transfected with siRNA-periostin significantly inhibited TGF-ß1-induced expression levels of α-SMA and collagen I. Furthermore, TGF-ß1 stimulated the expression of periostin, and siRNA-periostin attenuated TGF-ß1-induced Smad2/3 activation in HSCs. These results suggest that periostin may function as a novel regulator to modulate HSC activation, potentially by promoting the TGF-ß1/Smad signalling pathway, and propose a strategy to target periostin for the treatment of liver fibrosis.

The breakthrough curve combination for xenon sampling dynamics in a carbon molecular sieve column.

In the research of xenon sampling and xenon measurements, the xenon breakthrough curve plays a significant role in the xenon concentrating dynamics. In order to improve the theoretical comprehension of the xenon concentrating procedure from the atmosphere, the method of the breakthrough curve combination for sampling techniques should be developed and investigated under pulse injection conditions. In this paper, we describe a xenon breakthrough curve in a carbon molecular sieve column, the combination curve method for five conditions is shown and debated in detail; the fitting curves and the prediction equations are derived in theory and verified by the designed experiments. As a consequence, the curves of the derived equations are in good agreement with the fitting curves by tested. The retention times of the xenon in the column are 61.2, 42.2 and 23.5 at the flow rate of 1200, 1600 and 2000 mL min(-1), respectively, but the breakthrough times are 51.4, 38.6 and 35.1 min.

Fitting formula for the injection volume of a gas chromatograph for radio-xenon sampling in the lower troposphere.

GC is usually used for xenon concentration and radon removal in the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. In a gas chromatograph, the injection volume is defined to calculate the column capacity. In this paper, the injection volume was investigated and a fitting formula for the injection volume was derived and discussed subsequently. As a consequence, the xenon injection volume exponentially decreased with the column temperature increased, but exponentially increased as the flow rate increased.

Combining cortactin and CTTN detection with clinicopathologic features increases effectiveness of survival predictions for patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Cortactin is an important regulator involved in invasion and migration of tumor cells. Although the relationship between cortactin and tumor invasion has been reported, it lacks follow-up evidence to support the forecasting role of cortactin for HCC prognosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether cortactin detection combined with clinicopathologic features predicts the prognosis efficaciously. METHODS: 91 resectable HCCs were grouped according to clinicopathologic characteristics, and immunohistochemical (IHC) cortactin tumor tissue expression was evaluated. Cortactin gene (CTTN) mRNA of 77 HCCs, as well as that of 20 normal liver tissues, was examined by real-time PCR. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis. RESULTS: It was found that cortactin expression was associated with liver capsule integrity, cancer embolus in portal vein or distant neoplasm metastasis, and with TNM stage. (p < 0.01) Moreover, CTTN mRNA expression level was higher in high invasiveness group. But no statistical significance was found between low invasiveness and normal control groups. Combining cortactin and CTTN mRNA detection with clinicopathologic features improved the predictive power. High expression of both cortactin and CTTN indicated poor survival time of 12 +/- 3.67 months and low expression indicated longer median survival time of 65 +/- 6.62 months. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate for the first time that cortactin overexpression indicates highly invasive potentialities and poor prognoses with HCCs. Further, the results also suggest that this new accurate evaluating method may be more useful to survival prediction and, therefore, the clinical decision making for resectable

Left-sided portal hypertension secondary to pancreatic cancer: clinical features, surgical treatment and outcome of 48 cases.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Features of LSPH secondary to pancreatic cancer is ambiguous, and controversy remains in the treatment. METHODS: 48 cases from our department were retrospectively analyzed to evaluate the clinical features, as well as the feasibility and effect of surgical treatment. RESULTS: 16 patients had gastrointestinal hemorrhage history. Laboratory findings showed normocytic and normochromic anemia, thrombocytopenia, lymphocyte reduction, and elevated liver enzyme. Tumor markers were normal in 12 patients. Ultrasonography showed splenic venous obstruction in 40 patients and splenomegaly in 35. Esophagogastric varices could be detected by endoscopy in 40 patients and by CT in 37. Radical resection was performed in 43 patients and splenectomy or additional devascularization in 29. 15 patients had gastrointestinal bleeding during follow-up, and the median survival time was 11.0 months. CONCLUSION: Associated LSPH brought special features to pancreatic cancer. Radical resection, as well as splenectomy or additional devascularization for varices above Grade II, was worth performing.

Grading-therapeutic strategy for pancreatic injury after blunt abdominal trauma: therapy based on the condition of pancreatic duct and report of 95 cases.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pancreatic injury after blunt abdominal trauma is always associated with a high morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a grading-therapeutic strategy and to highlight various challenges in the management of blunt pancreatic injury. METHODOLOGY: All cases of pancreatic injury after blunt abdominal trauma from January 1, 2008, to December 30, 2012, were retrospectively reviewed, and the clinical data were collected. RESULTS: Ninety-five patients formed the group, out of which 76 (80.0%) undertook operative management, 19 (20.0%) undertook non-operative management; 18 underwent ERCP for pancreatic duct evaluation, with 7 (38.9%) undergoing nasopancreatic drain placement and 4 (22.2%) transpapillary pancreatic duct stent placement. Operation was performed for patients according to pancreatic injury grading and results of intra-operative selective pancreatography. Twenty-three (30.3%) developed various pancreatic-related complications. CONCLUSIONS: Grading-therapeutic strategy for blunt pancreatic injury based on condition of the pancreatic duct could be performed safely and effectively. It not only expanded the scope of non-operative management, but also preserved the normal pancreatic tissue.

Can China's renewable energy industry policy support the low-carbon energy transition effectively?

To cope with global climate change and energy security, the realization of the low-carbon energy transition has become an inevitable choice for international carbon emission reduction requirements and energy structure adjustment. Vigorously developing renewable energy has become an essential part of energy policies in many countries. Under the incentive and guidance of renewable energy industry policy, China's renewable energy has developed rapidly, and energy structure has been optimized. However, many problems have been exposed. Can China's renewable energy industry policy effectively support low-carbon energy transition? This paper uses the method of theoretical analysis, combining literature analysis and data analysis. Based on the analysis of renewable energy policies in countries with relatively mature energy transitions, it analyzes the status quo, implementation effect, and problems of renewable energy policy in China and proposes policy suggestions. According to the research, the existing problems are as follows: (1) diminishing marginal effect of policies, (2) policy adjustment is not timely and lacks details and operability, (3) coordination conflicts between the old and new policies, (4) unreasonable policy supply structure, and (5) the negative impact of subsidy policy is increasing. Therefore, this paper argues that China's renewable energy industry policy cannot effectively support the low-carbon energy transition.

Role of financial development, foreign direct investment inflow, innovation in environmental degradation in Pakistan with dynamic ARDL simulation model.

The purpose of this research is to determine the impact of innovation, economic growth, financial development, trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), electricity consumption, and urbanization on the environmental degradations in Pakistan. This study has employed the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL), to investigate the actual change in the independent variables and its impact on the dependent variable through graphs. The findings demonstrate that energy consumption, GDP growth, urbanization, and trade negatively influence the carbon emissions in the short term. On the other hand, the findings indicate that in the long term, only GDP growth and trade had a significantly negative impact on emissions. Urbanization has a positive and considerable impact on the emissions of carbon dioxide in the long run. On the other hand, financial development and foreign direct investment (FDI) help reduce the environmental degradation in the short term and long term. Moreover, innovation positively affects the carbon emissions in both the long and short run. Policy recommendations are given based on the findings of this study.

Impacts of two-way foreign direct investment on carbon emissions: from the perspective of environmental regulation.

China's foreign direct investment is an important driving force for economic growth, which also aggravates carbon emissions. Based on China's provincial panel data from 2003 to 2018, this paper uses the panel-fixed effect model and panel threshold model to explore the impacts of two-way foreign direct investment on carbon emissions and analyze the threshold effects of different environmental regulations. The empirical results show that inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emissions, while outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) leads to the aggravation of carbon emissions. Considering regional heterogeneity, environmental regulation in high-carbon areas mainly affects local OFDI, and environmental regulation in low-carbon areas mainly inhibits carbon emissions by affecting IFDI. In addition, high-carbon regions can achieve the inhibition of OFDI on carbon emissions by strengthening command-and-control regulation and reducing the promotion of OFDI on carbon emissions by strengthening market incentive regulation and voluntary regulation. Meanwhile, excessive command-and-control regulation and market incentive regulation in low-carbon areas bring unexpected regulatory effects, but the inhibitory effect of IFDI on carbon emissions can be increased by strengthening voluntary regulation.

Impact of environmental regulation on technological innovation of thermal power industry in China: the mediating role of industrial transfer.

With the process of China's economic transformation and structural adjustment, the trend of thermal power industry transfer is more and more obvious. Under the background of industrial transfer, the research of the influence of environmental regulation on technological innovation has become a vital issue that needs to be discussed urgently for the current high-quality economic development. Based on the thermal power industry data in 30 provinces of China from 2008 to 2017, this paper constructs a mediating effect model to examine the relationship among environmental regulation, industrial transfer, and technological innovation. The results reveal that: (1) there is a U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and technological innovation; (2) the increase of environmental regulation intensity promotes the thermal power industry to move to areas with loose environmental regulation; (3) industrial transfers play a mediating role in the process of environmental regulation influencing technological innovation. Therefore, the government should formulate scientifically effective environmental regulation policies so that the thermal power industry can realize orderly transfer and realize technological innovation.

Can the incentives polices promote the diffusion of distributed photovoltaic power in China?

Government incentive policies play an important role in the promotion of distributed photovoltaic power. However, which policy is more effective for the diffusion of distributed photovoltaic power? This is a question that needs to be answered. Based on this, we combined the two-factor learning curve and system dynamics model to study the dynamic diffusion process of China's distributed photovoltaic power (DSP). The results show that (1) the coefficients of learning by doing and learning by researching for DSP are 0.0435 and 0.2971 respectively. This indicates that technological innovation caused by R&D expenditures in the DSP is the driving force for cost reduction. (2) Both demand-pull and technology-push policies contribute to the diffusion of DSP; (3) the effect of FIT policy on the diffusion of distributed photovoltaic technology is more significant than that of R&D policy; and the reduction of production cost of photovoltaic power industry by R&D policy is more significant than FIT policy.

Can support policies promote the innovative diffusion of waste-to-energy technology?

Currently, China is facing severe pressure of environmental emission reduction. As a kind of clean energy, waste-to-energy technology has the advantages of renewability, low pollution, and stable supply. To establish an affordable, effective, and sustainable waste disposable method is critical for the low carbon society transition. Therefore, the innovation diffusion of waste incineration power technology is a problem worth studying. Based on this, in order to answer this question scientifically, this paper constructs a system dynamics model of innovative diffusion, and analyzes the internal mechanism of innovation diffusion. The results show that firstly, the government support policies have a positive influence on the innovation and diffusion of waste incineration power technology; secondly, compared with the R&D policy, feed-in tariffs policy is more efficient to expand the installed capacity of waste incineration power; At last, technological innovation caused by government support policies is the main driving force of waste incineration power industry investment cost reduction.

Do economic openness and electricity consumption matter for environmental deterioration: silver bullet or a stake?

Developing countries are enthusiastically on the road to economic progress and economic openness, which is proved to be a silver bullet for them. However, it has put their environmental quality at stake. This study examines whether economic openness and electricity consumption matter for environmental deterioration by controlling for the influence of economic progress. For this, we have used time series frequency data of Pakistan from 1971 to 2016 and employed the state-of-the-art dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) simulation model. The model has the advantage over traditional ARDL in determining the positive and negative environmental deterioration variations induced by economic openness, electricity consumption, and economic progress. The main findings are as follows: Firstly, electricity consumption in both long and short run positively and significantly influenced CO2 emissions, while long-run influence exceeded that of short run. Secondly, economic progress validated an environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis and thus limited the environmental degradation. Thirdly, economic openness showed an insignificant influence on CO2 emissions both in the long and short run. Based on research findings, it is suggested that economic progress and economic openness are not the direct culprits to deteriorate a developing country's environmental condition like Pakistan; rather, electricity consumption remained the key role player. Therefore, the transition from fossil-based electricity consumption to renewable energy consumption would provide a sustainable pathway towards achieving sustainable economic openness in the future.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the Fatty Acid Desaturase Gene Family Reveals the Key Role of PfFAD3 in α-Linolenic Acid Biosynthesis in Perilla Seeds.

Perilla (Perilla frutescens), a traditional medicinal and oilseed crop in Asia, contains extremely high levels of polyunsaturated α-linolenic acid (ALA) (up to 60.9%) in its seeds. ALA biosynthesis is a multistep process catalyzed by fatty acid desaturases (FADs), but the FAD gene family in perilla has not been systematically characterized. Here, we identified 42 PfFADs in the perilla genome and classified them into five subfamilies. Subfamily members of PfFADs had similar exon/intron structures, conserved domain sequences, subcellular localizations, and cis-regulatory elements in their promoter regions. PfFADs also possessed various expression patterns. PfFAD3.1 was highly expressed in the middle stage of seed development, whereas PfFAD7/8.3 and PfFAD7/8.5 were highly expressed in leaf and later stages of seed development, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the evolutionary features coincided with the functionalization of different subfamilies of PUFA desaturase. Heterologous overexpression of PfFAD3.1 in Arabidopsis thaliana seeds increased ALA content by 17.68%-37.03%. These findings provided insights into the characteristics and functions of PfFAD genes in perilla.

Recent treatment progress of triple negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer (BC) is a serious worldwide disease that threatens women's health. Particularly, the morbidity of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is higher than that of other BC types due to its high molecular heterogeneity, metastatic potential and poor prognosis. TNBC lacks of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), so there are still no effective treatment methods for TNBC. Here, we reviewed the classification of TNBC, its molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis, treatment methods and prognosis. Finding effective targets is critical for the treatment of TNBC. Also, refining the classification of TNBC is benefited to choose the treatment of TNBC, because the sensitivity of chemotherapy is different in different TNBC. Some new treatment methods have been proposed in recent years, such as nutritional therapy and noncoding RNA treatment methods. There are some disadvantages, such as the side effect on normal cells after nutrient deprivation, low specificity and instability of noncoding RNA. More studies are necessary to improve the treatment of TNBC.

Neural stem cells and Alzheimer's disease: challenges and hope.

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by degeneration and dysfunction of synapses and neurons in brain regions critical for learning and memory functions. The endogenous generation of new neurons in certain regions of the mature brain, derived from primitive cells termed neural stem cells, has raised hope that neural stem cells may be recruited for structural brain repair. Stem cell therapy has been suggested as a possible strategy for replacing damaged circuitry and restoring learning and memory abilities in patients with Alzheimer's disease. In this review, we outline the promising investigations that are raising hope, and understanding the challenges behind translating underlying stem cell biology into novel clinical therapeutic potential in Alzheimer's disease.