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Source separation and recycling (SSR) for municipal solid waste is an important strategy for the transition to a circular economy and requires broader resident participation. How can residents’ participation in SSR be promoted? Here, we consider 13 cities in Jiangsu as microcosms of China. We quantify residents’ intentions to participate in SSR by distributing a validated questionnaire to 2,963 urban residents, analyze the results through structural equation modeling, and propose localized policy recommendations. We find that residents have positive attitudes toward SSR, although 92.6% of residents in southern Jiangsu were more willing to participate than those in northern Jiangsu (84.6%). Additionally, the influencing factors and their degree of influence on resident SSR participation intentions exhibit disparities across cities. “Accessibility of SSR facilities” simultaneously affects the 13 studied cities and is a key factor. “Environmental knowledge” and “environmental attitudes” are important impact factors, with occurrence frequencies of 84.6% and 69.2%, respectively. However, laws and regulations have no significant effect on residents’ SSR participation intentions. We recommend that the government create favorable external conditions related to facilities and services, promote extensive publicity and educational activities through various channels, and improve the effectiveness of SSR laws and regulations. Future SSR management strategies should be localized, flexible and comprehensive. This research could help decision makers in China and other countries design policy guides to promote SSR and help link current research areas to social development.

Background: The COVID-19 mortality is very low in the regions with a low transmission rate and sufficient medical resources. However, strict prevention measures greatly altered people’s social activities, diet, and hygienic habits, which had potential impact on non-COVID-19 deaths. Therefore, this study is to evaluate the impact of short-term lifestyle change on non-COVID deaths in the region with a low COVID-19 transmission rate. Methods: We performed a retropective observational study with statiscal analysis via Student’s t-test (significance defined as P-value < 0.05). The number of registered deaths among 8.8 million permanent residents with specific causes from January 2018 to June 2020 were sourced from Xuzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Death rates were calculated and compared by weeks, months, and years with a focus on the period of COVID-19 pandemic from Jan 24 to March 27, 2020 in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Findings: Within the COVID-19 timeframe, all-cause mortality (138.03/105 vs. 158.28/105 vs. 152.57/105, P < 0.001), respiratory disorders (13.99/105 vs. 24.48/105 vs. 21.22/105, P < 0.001), cerebrovascular diseases (36.35/105 vs. 38.69/105 vs. 38.61/105, P < 0.05), and cardiovascular diseases (35.70/105 vs. 42.06/105 vs. 39.55/105, P < 0.001) are consistently lower than those in the same period in 2018 and 2019. The traffic death dropped significantly, while mortalities of mental health disorders and out-of-hospital sudden death significantly increased during the pandemic time. Interpretation: Our study suggests the short-term lifestyle alteration can have significant impact on all-cause mortality. This could provide evidences for adjusting future healthcare policies to reduce specific-cause mortalities such as respiratory, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Trial Registration: This study was registered at the ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT 04550312). Funding: Xuzhou Talent Fellowship Program 2019. Conflict of Interest: We declare no competing interests. Ethical Approval: The medical research ethics committee of the affiliated hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, approved the study (9th, September 2020, No. XYFY2020-KL142-01).

Background: The increase of all-cause mortality in the areas with high COVID-19 transmission rate due to COVID-19 deaths and the collateral damage to other healthcare problems is well-known. However, the COVID-19 mortality is low in the regions with a low transmission rate and sufficient medical resources. In such regions, strict prevention measures altered people’s lifestyle and hygienic habits and had an impact on non-COVID-19 deaths. Yet, this aspect needs to be elucidated further. Methods: The number of registered deaths among 8.8 million permanent residents with specific causes from January 2018 to June 2020 were estimated. Death rates were calculated and compared by weeks, months, seasons and years with a focus on the period of the COVID-19 pandemic from January 24 to March 27, 2020. The numerical values of all-cause death and the death rates of non-COVID diseases were compared in various time points. Findings: During the pandemic in Xuzhou region, a total of 79 COVID-19 infected patients were diagnosed and treated. Meanwhile, stringent public health measures were taken to contain the virus transmission. Surprisingly, mortalities of all-cause casualty, respiratory disorders, cerebrovascular disease, and cardiovascular disease are consistently lower than those in the same periods in 2018 and 2019. Moreover, the first two weeks in the lunar new year presented the highest death rates from 2018–2020 and lowest in 2020 due to COVID-19 control. The traffic death dropped significantly, while mortality of mental health disorders and out-of-hospital sudden death significantly increased during the pandemic time. Interpretation: Control strategies in the region of low SARS-CoV-2 transmission rate during the COVID-19 outbreak alter the lifestyles of people and further exert an impact on non-COVID deaths, which could have a practical value in guiding clinical work and future management of chronic diseases. Funding Statement: Xuzhou Talent Fellowship Program 2019 Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the affiliated hospital of Xuzhou Medical University.

Heat is a major abiotic stressor seriously affects watermelon produce; however, its effects may be mitigated through grafting onto heat tolerant bottle gourd rootstock. To understand the genetic basis and select reliable markers are necessary in the variety breeding process. In this paper, the relative electric conductivity (REC) was used as a visual indicator for heat stress to study the genetics and SNP marker of heat tolerance in bottle gourd via QTL-seq approach. The results showed that recessive inheritance and a major QTL locus controlled REC related to heat tolerance. Seven heat-tolerant loci (qHT1.1, qHT2.1, qHT2.2, qHT5.1, qHT6.1, qHT7.1, andqHT8.1) exhibited high Δ(SNP-index) values (ranging from 0.19-0.38), and of these, the greatest value (0.32, P < 0.01) and greatest number of detected SNPs (9052) were found in chromosome 2 atqHT2.1region (11.03 - 19.25 Mb);qHT2.1was taken as a promising major QTL for heat tolerance in bottle gourd. A total of 34 putative candidate genes related to heat stress were detected within theqHT2.1region. Three polymorphic SNPs (BG_GLEAN_10022642, BG_GLEAN_10022727, and BG_GLEAN_10022589) that are involved in pollen sterility, intracellular transport, and signal recognition were validated and exhibited significant marker-trait association that could be used in heat tolerant molecular breeding for bottle gourd. TheqHT2.1region is an important finding can be used for fine mapping and discovering new genes associated with heat tolerance in bottle gourd.

Background Endophthalmitis is an uncommon and serious intraocular infection. Endophthalmitis most commonly follows on from cataract surgery or intravitreal injections. The rate of endophthalmitis has fallen in recent years with improved surgical techniques, and infection control. However, despite all precautions, cases of endophthalmitis continue to present. It is possible that poor intraocular immune function makes some patients susceptible to endophthalmitis. We propose that innate phagocytic function is one determinant of the development of endophthalmitis. In order to investigate this, we measured the innate phagocytic function and P2X7 receptor function acutely and at intervals through convalesence for patients who developed endophthalmitis, and compared it with the function of a published population control group.Methods Patients presented to a tertiary eye hospital emergency department with acute endophthalmitis. Informed consent was obtained, and peripheral blood taken. Innate phagocytosis of ethidium and fluorescent latex beads was then quantified using a validated flow cytometric-method at the Florey Institute. Patients had repeat bloods taken at 1 week and 3 months after recruitment.Results P2X7 receptor function was significantly reduced in the endophthalmitis cohort compared to controls. P2X7 function improved through convalescence as patients recovered from endophthalmitis but did not improve to the level of controls. Phagocytic function was reduced in the endophthalmitis cohort compared to controls at all time points. There was no improvement in phagocytic function observed as patients recovered from endophthalmitis.Conclusions The data from this study showed greatly lowered phagocytic function and P2X7 function in patients who developed endophthalmitis, as compared to population controls. This important finding may allow us to predict susceptibility or guide future therapeutics through enhancement of innate phagocytic function.

Thunderstorm electrification has been studied for hundreds of years. Several mechanisms have been proposed to elucidate the electrification, including convective charging, inductive precipitation charging, and ice crystal-graupel collision charging. Field observations and model studies have demonstrated the vital roles that graupel and ice crystals play in the electrification, but the mechanism of the collision charging is still unclear. The fundamental essence of relative growth rate theory used for explaining the tripole charge structure in thunderclouds also needs a further exploration. We analyze the processes of ice crystal-graupel collision charging from charge migration inside hydrometeors to charge separation between two hydrometeors. The driving effects of temperature gradient and chemical potential gradient in charge migration are clarified, as well as the applicability of the relative growth rate theory, thermoelectric effect and surface tension gradient in different humidities. Based on the understanding from these electrification mechanisms, we propose that the essence of charge separation is driven by non-thermal equilibrium, and future studies on thunderstorm electrification should focus on the dynamical non-thermal equilibrium of cloud particles.

© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018. Paddy soils from mercury (Hg)-contaminated rice fields in Guizhou, China were studied with respect to total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations as well as Bacterial and Archaeal community composition. Total Hg (0.25-990 μg g-1) and MeHg (1.3-30.5 ng g-1) varied between samples. Pyrosequencing (454 FLX) of the hypervariable v1-v3 regions of the 16S rRNA genes showed that Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, Acidobacteria, Euryarchaeota, and Crenarchaeota were dominant in all samples. The Bacterial α-diversity was higher in samples with relatively Low THg and MeHg and decreased with increasing THg and MeHg concentrations. In contrast, Archaeal α-diversity increased with increasing of MeHg concentrations but did not correlate with changes in THg concentrations. Overall, the methylation gene hgcAB copy number increased with both increasing THg and MeHg concentrations. The microbial communities at High THg and High MeHg appear to be adapted by species that are both Hg resistant and carry hgcAB genes for MeHg production. The relatively high abundance of both sulfate-reducing δ-Proteobacteria and methanogenic Archaea, as well as their positive correlations with increasing THg and MeHg concentrations, suggests that these microorganisms are the primary Hg-methylators in the rice paddy soils in Guizhou, China.

Oomycetes and fungi facilitate pathogenesis via secretion of effector proteins that have apoplastic and intracellular localizations. These effector proteins have a diverse array of functions that aid in pathogenesis, including modification of defense responses. In the oomycetes, well characterized effector proteins that can translocate into the host cells share a pair of conserved N-terminal motifs known as RXLR and dEER. The RXLR motif has been shown to mediate translocation of the oomycete avirulence proteins Avr1b and Avr3a into host cells. Detailed mutagenesis of the RXLR motif of Avr1b revealed that the motif is tolerant to several amino acid substitutions while retaining functional translocation activity, resulting in the definition of a broadened RXLR-like motif, [R,K,H] X[L/M/I/F/Y/W]X. This motif has been used to identify functional translocation motifs in several fungal effector proteins, AvrL567, Avr2, and AvrLm6. Effectors with both RXLR and RXLR-like motifs bind phosphatidylinositol- 3-phosphate (PI-3-P) to mediate translocation via lipid raft mediated endocytosis. Mutations in RXLR or RXLRlike motifs result in loss of phospholipid binding and translocation by effectors. Effector entry into plant cells can be blocked by proteins and inositides that disrupt binding to PI-3-P, suggesting effector-blocking technologies that could be used in agriculturally important plant species. Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Technical Workshop true (Invited?) false (Extension publication?)

Silkworms with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) incorporated into their lipids (designated CLA silkworms) were produced to enhance the quality of silkworms having a synergistic effect with CLA functions by dietary synthetic CLA. Silkworm larvae were fed fresh mulberry leaves (control diet) until the third instar stage and were then subjected to various levels (0%, 0.1%, 1%, 5%, and 10%) of CLA-sprayed mulberry leaves (designated CLA diet) beginning on the first day of the fourth instar stage and continuing to the third day of the fifth instar stage. CLA contents in CLA silkworms increased proportionally with increasing CLA levels of CLA diets. CLA silkworms on a 1% CLA diet contained 2.2 g CLA/100 g lipid without body weight reduction, whereas CLA silkworms on a 10% CLA diet contained 14.8 g CLA/100 g lipid with a significant reduction of body weight, relative to the control silkworms. The CLA content in the lipids of CLA silkworms on a 10% CLA diet was significantly higher than that of CLA silkworms on a 5% CLA diet. A 0.1% CLA diet was not sufficient to accumulate CLA in the silkworms. Most of the CLA (approximately 99%) of silkworm lipids was present in triglyceride (TG) with a similar ratio of c9,t11 and t10,c12 CLA isomers. These results suggest that a 1% CLA diet was suitable for the production of CLA silkworms.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) inclusion complexes with α-cyclodextrin (α-CD), β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), and γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) (designated CLA/CDs inclusion complexes) were prepared to determine the mole ratio of CLA complexed with CDs and the oxidative stability of CLA in the CLA/CDs inclusion complexes. When measured by GC, 1H NMR, and T1 value analyses, 1 mole of CLA was complexed with 5 mol of α-CD, 4 mol of β-CD, and 2 mol of γ-CD. The oxidation of CLA induced at 35 °C for 80 h was completely prevented by the formation of CLA/CDs inclusion complexes. Keywords: Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA); cyclodextrins (CDs); inclusion complexes of CLA with CDs; oxidation

Oxidative stability of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) encapsulated in α-, β-, and γ-cyclodextrins (designated CLA/CDs microencapsules) was studied by measuring the headspace-oxygen depletion in airtight serum bottles and by measuring the peroxide values (POV). The rate of oxygen depletion was reduced from 41.0 (control) to 21.5, 2.1, 1.2, and 1.1 μmol/L·h-1 by CLA/α-CD microencapsules at 1:1, 1:2, 1:4, and 1:6 mole ratios, respectively, indicating that CLA oxidation was completely protected by a 1:4 mole ratio of CLA/α-CD. Such a protective effect by CLA/β-CD or CLA/γ-CD microencapsules was achieved at a 1:6 mole ratio, but the effect by CLA/β-CD was slightly greater than that by CLA/γ-CD. The protective effect of α-, β-, and γ-CDs for CLA oxidation was confirmed by their POV-reducing abilities in CLA/CDs. These results suggest that α-CD was the most effective for the protection of CLA oxidation by microencapsulation, followed by β-CD and γ-CD. Keywords: Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA); cyclodextrins (CDs)...

The observation of a two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) (1, 2), superconductivity (3, 4), magnetic effects (5) and electronic phase separation (6-8) at the interfaces of insulating oxides, especially LaAlO3/SrTiO3, has further enhanced the potential of complex oxides for novel electronics. The occurrence of the 2DEG is strongly believed to be driven by the polarization discontinuity (9) at the interface between the two oxides. In this scenario, the crystal orientation plays an important role and no conductivity would be expected for e.g., the interface between LaAlO3 and (110)-oriented SrTiO3, which should not have a polarization discontinuity (10, 11). Here, we report the observation of unexpected conductivity at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface prepared on (110)-oriented SrTiO3. The conductivity was further found to be strongly anisotropic, with the ratio of the conductance along the different directions parallel to the substrate surface showing a remarkable dependence on the oxygen pressure during deposition. The conductance and its anisotropy are discussed based on the atomic structure at the interface, as revealed by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) and further supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations., Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of Tongfeng trace elements nutrient balance agent on the various growth indicators, physiological indicators, and the contents of liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid in one-year old Glycyrrhiza uralensis. METHOD The plants of G. uralensis growing in Chifeng of Inner Mongolia and medicinal garden of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine were fertilized for two times, respectively. The photosynthetic physiological indicators were measured by LI-6400 photosynthetic instrument. The pigments and antioxidase activities of the leaves were determined. Then contents of liquiritin and glycyrrhizic acid in the plants were determined by HPLC. RESULT The application of this trace element nutrient balance agent could significantly improve the height, chla and chlb, and the photosynthetic physiology indicator such as P(n), C(i), and G(s). Similarly, it could significantly increase the fresh weight of shoots and dry weight of the roots. Compared with control block (CK), the fertilizer which was diluted by 300 times (T(1)) and 600 times (T(2)) significantly increased the content of glycyrrhizic acid by 24.72% and 20. 23%. There was significant difference between different treatments (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The Tongfeng trace elements nutrient balance agent could promote growth, physiology and the content of active constituents of G. uralensis, especially the effect of T(1) was superior to T(2).

Gender policy and HIV in China : , Gender policy and HIV in China : , کتابخانه دیجیتال جندی شاپور اهواز

This paper studies the applicability of Synthetic Environments (SE) for dynamic prototyping in the early phase of product design. For this purpose, a simple SE, built with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology, was employed to support the design of the lid of an X-Ray machine. Psychological experiments, statistical analysis of questionnaires, and user interviews indicated that for the design problem concerned, the SE was a proper substitution of the physical prototype, although the participants experienced difference in sense of presence. To further improve the applicability of SE, a design strategy of intuitive user interface is proposed for dynamic prototyping in SE to facilitate the communication among stakeholders with various knowledge backgrounds.

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We report the preparation of Mg$_{1-x}$B$_{2}$ (0$\le$x$\le$0.5) compounds with the nominal compositions. Single phase MgB$_{2}$ was obtained for x=0 sample. For 0$, Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

In this paper we use data from the 1 Per Cent Sample of the 1990 Census of China to calculate sex ratios for the Chinese provinces that are specific not only to parity, but also to the sex composition of previously‐born children. We analyze the degree of relationship among and between the SRB's and then consider the phenomenon of son preference. We find the variation in sex ratios at birth among the Chinese provinces is related in an important way to variation among the provinces in the degree of son preference. Our analysis shows abnormally high SRB's in most of the provinces of China, especially at parities 2 and higher when the prior births were daughters. Other societies, namely Taiwan and South Korea, with rapid fertility decline and strong son preference also manifest abnormally high SRB's at parities beyond the first.

Fertility trends in rural China during the 1980s are examined in terms of the cohort and period effect of fertility. Variations in fertility among the subregions of rural China are also examined, and it is demonstrated that birth bunching characterized the decade. The implications for future fertility and family planning are discussed also. Analysis is based on the stratified, systematic, cluster and random sample from the 2/1000 Fertility Sampling Survey, 1988, in 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China. 485,2356 households comprising 2,151,212 individuals were enumerated. 459,269 were married women 15-57 years. The total fertility rate (TFR) and the total parity progression rate (TPPR) are differentiated, and the trends revealed. Tables provide TFR and TPPR both parity and subregion for rural China for 1985-87. Fertility variation is also described for the years 1985-87 by TFR and TPPR. Birth bunching or the bunching of 1st births is also discussed at some length. High parity declined over the decade, but birth bunching existed in at least 15 of the 29 subregions. 2nd birth bunching also occurred in 11 of the 29 regions. Population planning programs overlooked the timing of marriage and childbearing, particularly in 1st marriage and 1st births. New options being proposed are the 27-4 option, which recommends 27 years of age as the minimum age for 1st childbearing and 4 years spacing between children, and granting permission to have 2 children and spacing them 8-10 years apart. Another option would be to raise the mean age of childbearing to 30 years. It is noted that except for Xinjiang and Tibet all subregions had a TFR 4.0 in the 1980s and the fertility of 3rd and higher parity had declined. The national TFR reached 2.3, but the 1-child policy tended to cluster around the eastern coastal regions. The fertility trends could be described as bunching of 1st births in the 1st part of the 1980s. The bunching of 2nd births in mid decade, and the tendency for 3rd births in rural areas at the end of the decade. Fertility decline was due to an increase in women of childbearing age, the ceiling effect of low fertility, and the onset of socioeconomic development. Reducing fertility and reaching replacement level are 2 distinct phenomena characterizing China's past trends. Socioeconomic development is ongoing and the effects on social, cultural, and economic conditions is of importance. Compared with the developing world, the death rates and natural increases are relatively low. Population problems continue, and TFR must be reduced to 2.0 by 2000. Population will exceed 1.2 billion after the mid 1990s. Migration and population movements will characterize the 1990s.

In this article the causes and implications of the recent reported sex ratio increase after the 1980s in China are analyzed. The sex ratio ought to have been 106 male/100 female births in the absence of social and behavioral interference. However the increase began in 1981 at 108.5 and is currently 113.8 (1989). The reported sex ratios for 0-4 years increased similarly; the ratios increased with increased parity. At parity of 4 or more the sex ratio in 1989 was 131.7. Hull says the possible causes are female infanticide prenatal sex identification followed by gender-specific induced abortion and underreporting of births. Johansson and Hygren suggest that about 50% of the "missing" girls were unreported births of adopted children and sex selected abortions but the primary cause was excess female infant mortality. The authors attribute the causes to underreporting of female births an increase in sex selected abortion and a very low incidence of female infanticide. Each cause is discussed in detail. A reverse survival method is used to calculate that underreporting was 2.26% for male births and 5.94% for female births. The corrected sex ratio at birth for 1989 and the first half of 1990 was estimated at 111.4 rather than 115.4. Correction of the 10% tabulation for 1989 was 109.8 rather than 113.8. The difference amounted to 5.13% for the 10% tabulation and 42.6% for the 1% sample data. The differences between the reported and estimated sex ratios for the 0-4 group in 1982 were relatively minor.

The relationships between socioeconomic development family planning and fertility among the 28 subregions of China circa 1982 were examined. The dependent variable was the total fertility rate in 1981. The 17 development variables include many of the social economic and demographic factors shown in earlier studies to be influential in accounting for fertility among the Chinese subregions. Table 1 presents means and standard deviations for the total fertility rate (TFR) the 17 development variables and the 11 family planning variables. The total fertility rate in 1981 had an average value among the 28 areas of 2.69 varying from lows of 1.32 in Shanghai 1.59 in Beijing and 1.65 in Tianjin to highs of 4.36 in Guizhou 4.12 in Ningxia and 4.10 in Guangxi. The relative effects of the varibles on fertility varied considerably. 4 of the family planning variables had the highest correlations: the first-birth rate (-0.92) the contraceptive use rate (-0.86) the birth planning rate (-0.83) and the 1-child certificate holder rate (-0.82). 8 socioeconomic development variables had correlations with fertility of -0.60 or higher and an additional 5 had correlations between -0.50 and -0.60. 3 separate tests of the theoretical model indicated consistently strong negative direct effects of family planning behavior and weak direct effects of family planning costs. Structural development had strong negative direct effects on fertility when it was introduced in an equation with rural quality of life; it had reduced effects when used in an equation with a development index gauging female status. The direct negative effects of quality of life on fertility were about the same as those of structural development but the 2 development indexes were not used in the same equation due to high collinearity. In regard to indirect effects of development on fertility only the female status index had high negative indirect effects through family planning behavior. All 4 development indexes had trivial indirect effects via the combined path through family planning costs and family planning behavior. The findings essentially are consistent with other analyzes.

We investigated the I-V characteristics of the double barrier stair-well structure. Resonant tunneling current is achieved by application of an electric field, which increases the transmission under positive bias and decreases it under the reverse bias. This asymmetry can be used for rectification and the device works as a quantum diode. Furthermore, the same structure can perform, under negative bias, resonant tunneling processes with different characteristics.

CD23 is a transmembrane protein expressed on the surface of B-lymphocytes that binds IgE, CD21, CD11b, and CD11c. High concentrations of soluble CD23 and L-selectin are found in the serum of patients with B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). Because extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) causes shedding of L-selectin via activation of P2Z/P2X7 receptors expressed on B-CLL lymphocytes, we studied the effect of ATP on shedding of CD23. ATP-induced shedding of CD23 at an initial rate of 12% of that for L-selectin, whereas the EC50 for ATP was identical (35 μmol/L) for shedding of both molecules. Furthermore, benzoylbenzoyl ATP also produced shedding of CD23 and L-selectin with the same agonist EC50 values for both (10 μmol/L). Inactivation of the P2Z/P2X7 receptor by preincubation with oxidized ATP abolished ATP-induced shedding of both molecules. Moreover, KN-62, the most potent inhibitor for the P2Z/P2X7 receptor, inhibited ATP-induced shedding of both CD23 and L-selectin with the same IC50 (12 nmol/L). Ro 31-9790, a membrane permeant zinc chelator that inhibits the phorbol-ester-stimulated shedding of L-selectin, also inhibited shedding of CD23 from B-CLL lymphocytes. However, the IC50 for this inhibition by Ro31-9790 was different for L-selectin and CD23 (83 v 6 μmol/L, respectively). Although L-selectin was completely shed by incubation of cells with phorbol-ester, CD23 was not lost under these conditions. The data show that extracellular ATP induces shedding of L-selectin and CD23 from B-CLL lymphocytes by an action mediated by the P2Z/P2X7 receptor. However, different membrane metalloproteases seem to mediate the shedding of L-selectin and CD23.© 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.

We demonstrate how two-photon excitation with quantum light can influence elementary photochemical events. The azobenzene trans → cis isomerization following entangled two-photon excitation is simulated using quantum nuclear wave packet dynamics. Photon entanglement modulates the nuclear wave packets by coherently controlling the transition pathways. The photochemical transition state during passage of the reactive conical intersection in azobenzene photoisomerization is strongly affected with a noticeable alteration of the product yield. Quantum entanglement thus provides a novel control knob for photochemical reactions. The distribution of the vibronic coherences during the conical intersection passage strongly depends on the shape of the initial wave packet created upon quantum light excitation. X-ray signals that can experimentally monitor this coherence are simulated.

Core-excitations on different atoms are highly localized and therefore decoupled. By placing molecules in an X-ray cavity the core-transitions become coupled via the exchange of cavity photons and form delocalized hybrid light-matter excitations known as core-polaritons. We demonstrate these effects for the two inequivalent carbon atoms in 1,1-difluoroethylene. Polariton signatures in the X-ray absorption, two-photon absorption, and multidimensional four-wave mixing, signals are predicted.

Drop-on-demand inkjet printing is mostly based on thermal and piezo-actuation, allowing for densely packed nozzles in inkjet printers. However, the droplet diameter is typically defined by the nozzle diameter, thus limiting the range of viscosity that can be jetted to 10-100 mPa. s to prevent nozzle clogging. Here, we present a laser-assisted system for the delivery of micro-droplets of highly viscous fluids with sub-nozzle resolution. Highly focused supersonic jets have recently been demonstrated by focusing a nanosecond pulse of light into a micro-capillary filled with dyed water, hence generating a cavitation bubble. The consequent pressure wave impact on the concave free surface of the liquid generated flow-focused micro-jets. We implemented this technique for the production of low velocity micro-droplets with photopolymer inks of increasing viscosity (0.6-148 mPa. s) into a 300 mu m-wide glass capillary using low laser energies (3-70 mu J). Time-resolved imaging provided details on the droplet generation. Single micro-droplets of diameter 70-80 mu m were produced on demand with inks of viscosity 0.6-9 mPa. s with good controllability and reproducibility, thus enabling to print two-dimensional patterns with a precision of 13 mu m. Furthermore, the primary droplet produced with the most viscous fluid was about 66% of the capillary diameter. Preliminary results also showed that the process is linearly scalable to narrower capillaries (100-200 mu m), thus paving the way for a compact laser-assisted inkjet printer. A possible application of the device would be additive manufacturing as the printed patterns could be consequently cured.