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Coherent phonon spectroscopy of an a-plane wurtzite InN epitaxial thin film is demonstrated with time-resolved second-harmonic generation technique. Coherent E1(LO) phonons are launched via a transient electric field screening process in the near surface region of the a-plane wurtzite InN. Because of the macroscopic electric dipole interaction between coherent E1(LO) phonons and photoexcited plasmons, two hybridized vibration modes, phononlike (L-) and plasmonlike (L+) E1(LO) phonon-plasmon coupling modes, are identified. The investigation of these coupling modes allows us to understand the ultrafast carrier and phonon dynamics in a-plane wurtzite InN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Inflammation is an important risk factor for the development of colorectal cancer ( CRC). Pelvic inflammatory disease ( PID) comprises a spectrum of upper genital tract infections and inflammatory diseases. We aimed to evaluate the association between CRC and PID. Design Matched cohort study using the National Health Insurance Research Database. Setting Women with PID in Taiwan. Population and sample From the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 ( LHID2005) in Taiwan, we obtained data on women from 13 to 45 years of age who were diagnosed with PID. The women with PID were matched 1:4 to selected members of the population without PID based on age and year of first entry into the LHID2005. Methods A Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the hazard ratio for CRC during the 5-year follow-up period, after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and selected comorbid medical disorders. Main outcome measures Colorectal cancer. Results Of the 19 029 women with PID, 30 were diagnosed with CRC during the 78 965 person-year follow-up period. Of the 76 116 control women, 66 were diagnosed with CRC. The CRC hazard ratio during the 5-year follow-up period was 2.00 (95% CI 1.30-3.08) for women with PID relative to control women. Similarly, after adjusting for age, Charlson comorbidity index score, urbanisation level and monthly income, the adjusted CRC hazard ratio was 1.71 (95% CI 1.10-2.65) for the women with PID relative to the women in the comparison cohort. Conclusions Here we show a weak association between PID and CRC. Additional studies are needed to further evaluate this association and examine plausible mechanisms, including the influence of specific microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the classical dividend discount model (DDM) is a well-known and widely used model in evaluating the intrinsic price of common stock, the practical pattern of dividends, required rate of return or growth rate of dividend do not generally coincide with any of the model's assumptions. It is just the opportunity to develop a fuzzy logic system that takes these vague parameters into account. This paper extends the classical DDMs to more realistic fuzzy pricing models in which the inherent imprecise information will be fuzzified as triangular fuzzy numbers, and introduces a novel λ-signed distance method to defuzzify these fuzzy parameters without considering the membership functions. Through the conscientious mathematical derivation, the fuzzy dividend discount models (FDDMs) proposed in this paper can be regarded as one more explicit extension of the classical (crisp) DDMs, so that stockholders can use it to make a specific analysis and insight into the intrinsic value of stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Psoriasis is regarded as a systemic inflammatory disease, having been linked in recent studies, to a wide range of systemic disorders. Previous studies have reported a positive correlation between psoriasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, no studies have been conducted on an ethnic Chinese population. Methods We conducted a population-based study, using a representative cohort from the National Health Insurance database in Taiwan, between 2004 and 2006. The risk of COPD was compared between patients with psoriasis and a matched reference cohort. This study included 2096 psoriasis patients and 8384 randomly selected controls. Results After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and selected chronic diseases, the hazard ratio (HR) for COPD in psoriasis patients was 2.35 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.42-3.89) compared with the control group in 18 months of follow-4 up. Men (HR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.36-4.18) and patients with psoriasis over 50 years of age (HR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.27-3.77) were more likely to contract COPD. Conclusions We concluded that psoriasis patients were at a greater risk of developing COPD with significantly lower COPD-free survival rates than the comparison cohort ( P < 0.001). Physicians should be aware of this potential risk to reduce comorbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clin. Otolaryngol. 2011, 36, 558-565 Objectives: The relationship between physician case volume and patient outcome in patients with head and neck cancers such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated by radiotherapy is unknown. This study was designed to investigate the association between the case volume of radiation oncologists and the survival of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Based on nationwide claims data (National Health Research Insurance Database) in the years 2002-2008. Participants: Newly diagnosed patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma receiving curative radiotherapy in the year 2003. Main outcome measures: Overall survival until 2008. We used the running log-rank test to decide the optimal threshold for categorising the case volume of radiation oncologists. The characteristics of patients, their treatments and contact with health service providers were considered as co-explanatory variables. The log-rank test and Cox regression were performed. Sensitivity analyses were carried out regarding major study assumptions. Results: Five hundred and sixty-two patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma newly diagnosed in 2003 were identified as the study cohort. The 5-year overall survival was better among patients treated by high-volume (≥6 patients in year 2002) radiation oncologists than by low-volume (<6 patients in year 2002) radiation oncologists (77% versus 64%, P = 0.0007). The adjusted hazard ratio of death was 0.65 (95% confidence interval, 0.48-0.91) upon multivariate analysis. Patients aged at least 65 years also had a lower survival rate than those younger than 65 years old (adjusted hazard ratio of death: 2.81, 95% confidence interval: 1.94-4.08).The physician case volume and patient outcome effect remained the same after sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated by high-volume radiation oncologists have better survival compared with those treated by low-volume radiation oncologists. Further studies are needed to verify our findings with similar cancer cohorts treated by modern radiotherapy techniques or other types of radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines human papillomavirus (HPV) studies which appeared in 1,072 journals listed in the 99 Science Citation Index (SCI) subject categories. It mentions the aspects to which all articles referring to HPV are assessed. It notes that trend studies and cluster analysis are also performed with regards to many areas including immunology, screening methodology, and behavioral sciences.

Abstract: To provide comprehensive observations and in-depth standy of the physical property of the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), the Lulin Observatory in Taiwan has started a program to study the time variabilities of lightcurves of large TNOs and dwarf planets. Our initial results show that (50000) Quaoar has a significant brightness variation of Δm ∼0.3 with a rotation period of about 18.84h while (136199) Eris (formerly 2003 UB313) has very little brightness variation (Δm ∼0.05). The rotation period of Eris is hence highly uncertain even though a periodicity of 3.55h is suggested by our measurements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study is focused on experimentally investigating the relationship between design details and column base performance, such as strength and rigidity. Results from specimens tested under combined axial and lateral loads were used to define the effectiveness of the base connections. It was observed from test comparisons that the rigidities of the base connections increased when the embedded depths were increased. It was also found that the base connections possessed higher stiffness and energy dissipating capability when stiffeners were added to the base connections. Finally, an empirical expression for base rigidity estimation is proposed for design references. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this study was to detect differential expression of genes in the pituitary gland in laying geese by suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). Pituitary glands from prelaying and laying geese were dissected for mRNA extraction. The cDNA from pituitary glands of prelaying geese was subtracted from the cDNA from the pituitary glands of laying geese (forward subtraction); the reverse subtraction was also performed. We screened 384 clones with possible differentially expressed gene fragments by differential screening. Sixty-five clones from the differential screening results were subjected to gene sequencing and further analysis. We found that at least 19 genes were highly expressed in the pituitary glands of laying geese compared with prelaying geese. Among these, 6 genes (including 4 novel genes) were confirmed by virtual Northern analysis. We found that prolactin and visinin-like protein were highly expressed in the pituitary glands of laying geese compared with prelaying geese (P < 0.05). Further investigation is needed to demonstrate specific functions of the novel genes discovered in the current study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We demonstrate that InN quantum dots (QDs) can be spontaneously formed on AlN and GaN surfaces by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy under the Stranski–Krastanow (S–K) mode. Both Si(111) wafers and metal–organic chemical vapor deposition grown GaN/Al2O3(0001) templates were used as substrates in this work. Silicon is particularly interesting as a substrate for InN QD applications because of its electrical conductivity and transparency in the near-infrared. By using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), the formation process of InN QDs can be monitored in situ. We observed the 2D–3D transition of S–K growth mode and the lattice constant varied dramatically at the 2D–3D transition point from AlN to InN lattice constant. Furthermore, from the ex situ atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy measurements, we directly imaged InN QDs on the AlN surface with an average diameter of ∼14 nm and high areal density of ∼1.6×1011 cm−2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report on the first global QCD analysis of the quark transversity distributions in the nucleon from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS), using a new Monte Carlo method based on nested sampling and constraints on the isovector tensor charge gT from lattice QCD. A simultaneous fit to the available SIDIS Collins asymmetry data is compatible with gT values extracted from a comprehensive reanalysis of existing lattice simulations, in contrast to previous analyses, which found significantly smaller gT values. The contributions to the nucleon tensor charge from u and d quarks are found to be δu=0.3(2) and δd=-0.7(2) at a scale Q²=2 GeV². [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article regarding the colorectal cancer risk in women with pelvic inflammatory disease by M. I. Hsu and H. W. Lin in the previous issue of the journal.

The questions of how the bulk of the Universe's visible mass emerges and how it is manifest in the existence and properties of hadrons are profound, and probe the heart of strongly interacting matter. Paradoxically, the lightest pseudoscalar mesons appear to be key to a further understanding of the emergent mass and structure mechanisms. These mesons, namely, the pion and kaon, are the Nambu–Goldstone boson modes of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). Unravelling their partonic structure and the interplay between emergent and Higgs-boson mass mechanisms is a common goal of three interdependent approaches—continuum QCD phenomenology, lattice-regularised QCD, and the global analysis of parton distributions—linked to experimental measurements of hadron structure. Experimentally, the anticipated electron–ion collider will enable a revolution in our ability to study pion and kaon structures, accessed by scattering from the 'meson cloud' of the proton through the Sullivan process. With the goal of enabling a suite of measurements that can address these questions, we examine key reactions that identify the critical detector-system requirements needed to map tagged pion and kaon cross-sections over a wide range of kinematics. The excellent prospects for extracting pion structural, functional, and form-factor data are outlined, and similar prospects for kaon structures are discussed in the context of a worldwide programme. The successful completion of the programme outlined herein will deliver deep, far-reaching insights into the emergence of pions and kaons, their properties, and their role as QCD's Goldstone boson modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we continue our study initiated in [11]. We show that the generating functions of Gromov-Witten invariants with ancestors are invariant under a simple flop, for all genera, after an analytic continuation in the extended Kähler moduli space. The results presented here give the first evidence, and the only one not in the toric category, of the invariance of full Gromov-Witten theory under the K-equivalence (crepant transformation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychiatric disorders have been shown to be associated with impaired immune response, including decreased cellular immunity to varicella-zoster virus. However, the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in psychiatric patients is, to date, unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in psychiatric patients compared with the general population. We used data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database from 2004 to 2006. Our study cohort consisted of patients aged 18 years and older diagnosed with psychiatric disorders in 2004 ( N = 42 340). The comparison cohort ( N = 169 360) consisted of four age- and gender-matched controls randomly selected for every patient in the study cohort. All subjects were followed from the date of cohort entry until they developed HZ or the end of 2006, whichever was earliest. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regressions were performed to compute the 2-year HZ-free survival rates. After adjusting for potential confounders, we found patients with psychiatric disorders were more likely to have an episode of HZ than the control population [adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 1.29; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.18-1.38]. When stratified by age and psychiatric diagnostic categories, in patients aged ≤60 years, the adjusted HRs for HZ were 1.34 ( P = 0.026) for patients with affective psychoses, 1.42 ( P < 0.001) for those with neurotic illness or personality disorders and 1.53 ( P < 0.001) for patients with other mental disorders. However, in patients aged >60 years, only neurotic illness or personality disorders were significantly associated with an increased risk of HZ (adjusted HR, 1.26; P = 0.003). Our analysis suggests that patients with psychiatric disorders are at increased risk of HZ, especially those aged ≤60 years. Further study is required to elucidate the nature of this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We demonstrate that vertically aligned InN nanorods have been grown on Si(111) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) at low and high growth temperatures (LT- and HT-InN nanorods). High-resolution scanning electron microscopy images clearly show that InN nanorods grown on Si(111) are hexagonal in shape, vertically aligned, well separated and densely distributed on the substrate. The size distribution of LT-InN nanorods is quite uniform, while the HT-InN nanorods exhibit a broad, bimodal distribution. The structural analysis performed by Raman scattering indicates that PA-MBE grown InN nanorods have the wurtzite-type InN single-crystal structure with the rod axis (growth direction) along the c-axis. In addition, both types of nanorods contain high concentrations of electrons (unintentionally doped). Compared to the HT-InN nanorods and the PA-MBE-grown InN epitaxial film, the LT-grown InN nanorods have a considerable number of structural defects. Near-infrared photoluminescence (PL) from LT- (∼0.77 eV) and HT-InN (∼0.70 eV) nanorods is clearly observed at room temperature. In comparison with the LT-InN nanorods, the PL efficiency of HT-InN nanorods is better and the PL peak energy is closer to that of InN-on-Si epitaxial films (∼0.66 eV). We also find that the PL band at low temperatures from nanorods is significantly weaker (compared to the InN film case) and exhibits anomalous temperature effects. We propose that these PL properties are results of considerable structural disorder (especially for the LT-InN nanorods) and strong surface electron accumulation effect (for both types of nanorods). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: Prenatal screening during the first-trimester using fetal nuchal translucency (NT) measurement and maternal serum levels of free β-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) has become an established method for the detection of fetal Down syndrome. Increasing evidence has shown that some of the fetal structural abnormalities could be identified during NT scanning. Second trimester maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) measurements and ultrasound scans have been widely used in clinical practice to identify fetal neural tube defects (NTDs). In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of early diagnosis of fetal acrania during NT scanning. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 5890 pregnancies that were delivered in our hospital between January 1, 1999 and January 31, 2001. Among them, 3600 pregnant women received NT-based Down syndrome screening at 10–13 weeks’ gestation. Pregnancies with fetal NTDs were evaluated and their maternal serum levels of free β-hCG and PAPP-A were compared with those of the normal control pregnancies. Results: Seven of the 3600 pregnancies were identified with fetal acrania and all of them were detected during first-trimester NT scanning. Among the seven cases, five had measurements of maternal serum concentration free β-hCG and PAPP-A concentration, yet there were not significant difference between the pregnancies with fetal acrania and those of the control pregnancies (PAPP-A, 1.13 vs. 0.96; free β-hCG, 1.10 vs. 1.06; P>0.05). Two of the seven affected patients did not have maternal serum biochemical measurements due to the immediate termination of pregnancies. Conclusions: We demonstrated that pregnancies with fetal acrania could be easily identified at the time of NT scanning. Careful ultrasound inspection of fetal structure during NT measurements at 10–13 weeks of gestation provides an encouraging advantage for early diagnosis of fetal acrania. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper we investigate how implementing machine learning could improve the efficiency of the search for Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) within Dark Energy Survey (DES) data when used alongside orbit fitting. The discovery of multiple TNOs that appear to show a similarity in their orbital parameters has led to the suggestion that one or more undetected planets, an as yet undiscovered "Planet 9", may be present in the outer solar system. DES is well placed to detect such a planet and has already been used to discover many other TNOs. Here, we perform tests on eight different supervised machine learning algorithms, using a data set consisting of simulated TNOs buried within real DES noise data. We found that the best performing classifier was the Random Forest which, when optimized, performed well at detecting the rare objects. We achieve an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, (AUC) = 0.996 ± 0.001. After optimizing the decision threshold of the Random Forest, we achieve a recall of 0.96 while maintaining a precision of 0.80. Finally, by using the optimized classifier to pre-select objects, we are able to run the orbit-fitting stage of our detection pipeline five times faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate that vertically aligned InN nanorods can be grown on Si(111) by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy. Detailed structural characterization indicates that individual nanorods are wurtzite InN single crystals with the growth direction along the c axis. Near-infrared photoluminescence (PL) from InN nanorods can be clearly observed at room temperature. However, in comparison to the InN epitaxial films, the PL efficiency is significantly lower. Moreover, the variable-temperature PL measurements of InN nanorods exhibit anomalous temperature effects. We propose that these unusual PL properties are results of considerable structural disorder (especially for the low-temperature grown InN nanorods) and strong surface electron accumulation effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that, despite a large difference in lattice constants, high-quality InN/AlN heterostructures can be formed on Si(111) due to the existence of “magic” ratios between the lattice constants of comprising material pairs: 2:1 (Si/Si3N4), 5:4 (AlN/Si), and 8:9 (InN/AlN). For InN growth on AlN with nitrogen polarity, by using reflection high-energy electron diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, we have found that the pseudomorphic to commensurate lattice transition occurs within the first monolayer of growth, resulting in an abrupt heterojunction at the atomic scale. This new route of lattice match allows the formation of commensurate and nearly strain-free interface with a common two-dimensional superlattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous enhancement of out-coupling efficiency, internal quantum efficiency, and color purity in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters is highly desired for the practical application of these materials. We designed and synthesized two isomeric TADF emitters, 2DPyM-mDTC and 3DPyM-pDTC, based on di(pyridinyl)methanone (DPyM) cores as the new electron-accepting units and di(tert-butyl)carbazole (DTC) as the electron-donating units. 3DPyM-pDTC, which is structurally nearly planar with a very small AEST, shows higher color purity, horizontal ratio, and quantum yield than 2DPyM-mDTC, which has a more flexible structure. An electroluminescence device based on 3DPyM-pDTC as the dopant emitter can reach an extremely high external quantum efficiency of 31.9% with a pure blue emission. This work also demonstrates a way to design materials with a high portion of horizontal molecular orientation to realize a highly efficient pure-blue device based on TADF emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yi-Chi-Tsung-Ming-Tang is a traditional Chinese medicine formula often prescribed for preventing or treating dizziness, tinnitus, mental fatigue and blurred vision. Recent study has demonstrated that Aβ(1-40)-induced neurotoxicity could be improved by this drug. The aim of present study was to determine the effects and protective mechanism of Yi-Chi-Tsung-Ming-Tang on Aβ(1-40)-induced death of primary cortical neurons. Primary cultures of Sprague-Dawley rat cortical neurons were exposed to Aβ(1-40), after the treatment with Yi-Chi-Tsung-Ming-Tang for 1 h. Methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium reduction assays were used to detect cell viability and the expression of acetylcholine receptors, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors and phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated forms of tau were measured by western blot. Fluorometric assays were applied to detect the generation of reactive oxygen species. Pretreatment of primary cortical neurons with Yi-Chi-Tsung-Ming-Tang significantly inhibited Aβ(1-40)-induced cytotoxicity and reversed Aβ(1-40)-induced β-amyloid accumulation and acetylcholine receptor expression in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, not only the Aβ(1-40)-reduced expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors 1/2A was reversed but also the Aβ(1-40)-induced reactive oxygen species generation and tau phosphorylation expression were inhibited by Yi-Chi-Tsung-Ming-Tang in a concentration-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of lattice QCD calculations of the magnetic moments of the lightest nuclei, the deuteron, the triton, and 3He, along with those of the neutron and proton. These calculations, performed at quark masses corresponding to mπ ∼ 800 MeV, reveal that the structure of these nuclei at unphysically heavy quark masses closely resembles that at the physical quark masses. In particular, we find that the magnetic moment of 3He differs only slightly from that of a free neutron, as is the case in nature, indicating that the shell-model configuration of two spin-paired protons and a valence neutron captures its dominant structure. Similarly a shell-model-like moment is found for the triton, μ3H ∼ μp. The deuteron magnetic moment is found to be equal to the nucleon isoscalar moment within the uncertainties of the calculations. Furthermore, deviations from the Schmidt limits are also found to be similar to those in nature for these nuclei. These findings suggest that at least some nuclei at these unphysical quark masses are describable by a phenomenological nuclear shell model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present first results on the cooling properties derived from Chandra X-ray observations of 83 high-redshift (0.3 < z < 1.2) massive galaxy clusters selected by their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signature in the South Pole Telescope data. We measure each cluster's central cooling time, central entropy, and mass deposition rate, and compare these properties to those for local cluster samples. We find no significant evolution from z ~ 0 to z ~ 1 in the distribution of these properties, suggesting that cooling in cluster cores is stable over long periods of time. We also find that the average cool core entropy profile in the inner ~100 kpc has not changed dramatically since z ~ 1, implying that feedback must be providing nearly constant energy injection to maintain the observed ?entropy floor? at ~10 keV cm2. While the cooling properties appear roughly constant over long periods of time, we observe strong evolution in the gas density profile, with the normalized central density (ρg,0/ρcrit) increasing by an order of magnitude from z ~ 1 to z ~ 0. When using metrics defined by the inner surface brightness profile of clusters, we find an apparent lack of classical, cuspy, cool-core clusters at z > 0.75, consistent with earlier reports for clusters at z > 0.5 using similar definitions. Our measurements indicate that cool cores have been steadily growing over the 8 Gyr spanned by our sample, consistent with a constant, ~150Mʘ yr-1 cooling flow that is unable to cool below entropies of 10 keV cm2 and, instead, accumulates in the cluster center. We estimate that cool cores began to assemble in these massive systems at zcool = 1.0+1.0-0.2, which represents the first constraints on the onset of cooling in galaxy cluster cores. At high redshift (z ≳ 0.75), galaxy clusters may be classified as "cooling flows" (low central entropy, cooling time) but not "cool cores" (cuspy surface brightness profile), meaning that care must be taken when classifying these high-z systems. We investigate several potential biases that could conspire to mimic this cool core evolution and are unable to find a bias that has a similar redshift dependence and a substantial amplitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-energy nΣ- interactions determine, in part, the role of the strange quark in dense matter, such as that found in astrophysical environments. The scattering phase shifts for this system are obtained from a numerical evaluation of the QCD path integral using the technique of lattice QCD. Our calculations, performed at a pion mass of mπ∼389 MeV in two large lattice volumes and at one lattice spacing, are extrapolated to the physical pion mass using effective field theory. The interactions determined from lattice QCD are consistent with those extracted from hyperon-nucleon experimental data within uncertainties and strengthen model-dependent theoretical arguments that the strange quark is a crucial component of dense nuclear matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current constraints from lattice QCD on the existence of the H-dibaryon are discussed. With only two significant lattice QCD calculations of the H-dibaryon binding energy at approximately the same lattice spacing, the forms of the chiral and continuum extrapolations to the physical point are not determined. In this brief report, we consider the constraints on the H-dibaryon imposed by two simple chiral extrapolations. In both instances, the extrapolation to the physical pion mass allows for a bound H-dibaryon or a near-threshold scattering state. Further lattice QCD calculations are required to clarify this situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geese have a short egg-laying period and a low egg production rate. To induce and maintain egg laying, genes related to generating hepatic lipid for yolk deposition should be adequately expressed. Liver mRNA from 6 laying geese was extracted and used for construction of a full-length enriched cDNA library. About 2,400 clones containing gene sequences were determined and National Center for Biotechnology Information Callus gallus Gene Index databases were used to compare and analyze these sequences. Ten highly expressed genes were selected to determine the differential expression between laying and prelay goose liver. Tissue distribution data showed that very low density apolipoprotein II, liver type fatty acid binding protein, vitellogenin I, and vitellogenin II transcripts were specifically expressed in the liver of laying geese. Ovoinhibitor, preproalbumin, α-2-hs-glycoprotein, and vitamin D binding protein mRNA were highly expressed in the liver and to a lesser extent in other tissues. Ovotransferrin mRNA was expressed in liver, ovary, oviduct, shell gland, brain, and adipose tissues. The concentration of transthyretin mRNA was high in the liver and brain. The mRNA concentrations of liver type fatty acid binding protein, α-2-hs-glycoprotein, and transthyretin in the livers of laying and prelay geese were not different. The concentrations of hepatic ovotransferrin, ovoinhibitor, preproalbumin, very low density apolipoprotein II, vitellogenin I, vitellogenin II, and vitamin D binding protein mRNA were higher in the liver of laying geese than in prelay geese, suggesting that these genes may be involved in laying function or lipid metabolism related to egg formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel method for generating an antigen-specific cancer vaccine and immunotherapy has emerged using a DNA vaccine. However, antigen-presenting cells (APCs) have a limited life span, which hinders their long-term ability to prime antigen-specific T cells. Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) has a role in cell survival. This study explored the intradermal administration of DNA encoding CTGF with a model tumor antigen, human papilloma virus type 16 E7. Mice vaccinated with CTGF/E7 DNA exhibited a dramatic increase in E7-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell precursors. They also showed an impressive antitumor effect against E7-expressing tumors compared with mice vaccinated with the wild-type E7 DNA. The delivery of DNA encoding CTGF and E7 or CTGF alone could prolong the survival of transduced dendritic cells (DCs) in vivo. In addition, CTGF/E7-transduced DCs could enhance a higher number of E7-specific CD8+ T cells than E7-transduced DCs. By prolonging the survival of APCs, DNA vaccine encoding CTGF linked to a tumor antigen represents an innovative approach to enhance DNA vaccine potency and holds promise for cancer prophylaxis and immunotherapy.Gene Therapy (2008) 15, 1007–1016; doi:10.1038/gt.2008.25; published online 20 March 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design:A case report and a review of literature.Objectives:To present the first youngest infant of a 4-month-old boy with spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma in cervicothoracic spine.Setting:National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.Methods:A 4-month-old boy who initially presented with irritable crying, neck stiffness, and fever followed by progressive quadriparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine disclosed a space-occupying lesion on the right posterior–lateral aspect of the cervicothoracic spinal canal. Laminectomy with reconstruction in situ from C4 to T4 was performed 5 days after the onset of symptoms.Results:The boy had gradual improvement of his neurological status. Follow-up visit 1 year later, the infant's growth and development was within normal limit without any neurological deficits; his repeat MRI showed complete fusion of each implanted lamina and well expansion of the spinal cord.Conclusions:Prompt surgical decompression is valuable, irrespective of the time interval between symptom onset and operation in infant.Spinal Cord (2007) 45, 586–590; doi:10.1038/sj.sc.3101976; published online 3 October 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppression subtractive hybridization was used to detect differential expression of genes in the livers of laying and prelaying geese. Liver tissues from prelaying and laying geese were dissected for mRNA extraction. The cDNA, reverse transcribed from liver mRNA of prelaying geese, was subtracted from the cDNA generated from the laying geese (forward subtraction). Five hundred seventy-six clones with possible differentially expressed gene fragments were observed by forward subtraction hybridization. After differential screening using the reverse and forward subtraction cDNA, 164 clones were subjected to gene sequence determination and further analysis. Using Northern analysis, 5 known and 8 unknown genes were shown to be highly expressed in the livers of laying geese compared with prelaying geese. Vitellogenin I, apoVLDL-II, ethanolamine kinase, G-protein gamma-5 subunit, and leucyl-tRNA synthase were highly expressed in the livers of laying geese compared with that from the prelaying geese (P < 0.05). The expression of these known genes suggests that their function in the liver of laying geese is primarily involved in lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. Several of these differentially expressed genes were found to be responsive to estrogen stimulation, confirming the involvement of these genes in the egg-laying function of the goose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: By using a new double-buffer-layer (AlN/Si3N4) technique, wurtzite-type InN(0001) epitaxial films have been grown on Si(111) substrates by nitrogen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. In this technique, a single crystal Si3N4 layer (commensurately matched to the (111) face of silicon) is used as a diffusion barrier to prevent intermixing and autodoping effects. And, the AlN(0001) layer is used to form a 9:8 commensurate heterointerface with InN(0001) despite a large difference in lattice constants. In this paper, we focus on the effects of the AlN buffer in terms of crystalline structure, optical, and electrical properties of grown InN epitaxial films. In addition to the use of the AlN buffer layer, the two-stage growth process (the growth of low-temperature (∼340°C) InN epilayer prior to the growth of the high-temperature (∼520°C) InN epilayer) was also found to be very important to obtain high-quality InN films. By using the AlN/Si3N4 double buffer, InN-on-Si epitaxial films can be grown with high structural and optical properties. This was confirmed by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and room-temperature photoluminescence. Furthermore, room-temperature Hall effect measurements indicate that increasing AlN buffer thickness leads to higher electron mobility and lower n-type carrier concentration in the InN epilayers, very important for electronic device applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Four 2-(styryl)triphenylene derivatives (TSs) were synthesized for deepblue dopant materials. By using a pyrene-containing compound, DMPPP, as the host, the TS-doped devices exhibited significant delayed fluorescence via triplet-triplet annihilation, providing the highest quantum efficiency of 10.2% and a current efficiency of 12.3 cd A-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a significant enhancement in terahertz emission from the indium nitride (InN) films grown along the a axis (a-plane InN), relative to the InN films grown along the c axis. The primary radiation mechanism of the a-plane InN film is found to be due to the acceleration of photoexcited carriers under the polarization-induced in-plane electric field perpendicular to the a axis, which effectively enhances the geometrical coupling of the radiation out of semiconductor. In addition, azimuthal angle dependence measurement shows that the p-polarized terahertz output consists of a large angularly independent component and a weak component with a distinctive fourfold rotation symmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raman studies of Mg-doped InN films with a Mg content from NMg=3.3×1019 to 5.5×1021 cm-3 are reported. Raman and secondary ion mass spectroscopy data on the Mg content have been found to correlate well. Lattice dynamics of hexagonal InN with substitutional impurities and vacancies has been investigated in the framework of the cluster approach. Energy positions of local vibrational modes in InN have been calculated and compared with experimental findings. It is concluded that Raman spectroscopy is a good tool for quantitative characterization of Mg-doped InN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]