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Age-based division of labor among workers is a fundamental life-history trait of many social insects, including the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Extensive studies of the causation of the most pronounced transition from performing tasks in the nest to outside foraging indicate hormonal regulation of complex physiological changes. However, the proximate neurobiological mechanisms that cause the behavioral repertoire to change are still not understood and require novel approaches to be fully characterized. Thus, we established the first comprehensive monoclonal antibody microarray in honey bees with 16,320 antibodies to directly identify proteins in the brain that regulate the transition to foraging. Major royal jelly protein (MRJP) 1 and MRJP3 were identified as potential protein effectors and further investigated. A series of experimental manipulations of the workers' behavioral transition led to changes in MRJP1 and MRJP3 quantities in accordance with their presumed functional role. Injection of MRJPs into the brain resulted in increased task-reversal from foraging to nursing and decreased task-progression from nursing to foraging, while the latter was increased by injection with MRJP antibodies. Finally, down-regulation of MRJP1 and MRJP3 expression via RNAi injection into the brain increased the transition from in-hive nursing to outside foraging, confirming a causal role of these two proteins in the proximate regulation of behavior and life-history of honey bee workers. Interaction partners of MRJP1 and MRJP3 in the honey bee brain included other regulators of honey bee behavior and life history. Thus, our transformative methodological advancement of proteome analysis in honey bees reveals novel regulators of honey bee behavior, extends our understanding of the functional pleiotropy of MRJPs, and supports a general nutrition-based model of the regulation of the age-based division of labor in honey bees.

Background: Wenyang Pingchuan Formula (WPCF) is an empirical formula for the treatment of acute childhood asthma. However, the “time-effect” relationship of this prescription is not clear. This paper explores the relationship between Janus activated kinase signal transducer and activator of transcriptions (JAK/STAT), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and microRNA (miR-19a), and also preliminarily determines the best time-effect relationship of WPCF in reducing the airway inflammation in asthmatic mice. Method: 80 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups: control (CON) group, model (MDL) group, dexamethasone (DEX) group, and WPCF group. MDL group was established through intraperitoneal injection of 10% ovalbumin (OVA) and Al(OH)3 solution and the inhalation of aerosolized 5% OVA solution. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), real-time PCR and Western blot were conducted to determine the levels of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-13, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), contents of miR-19a mRNA and STAT6, phosphorylated signal transducers and activators of transcription 6 (p-STAT6), p65, phosphorylated p65 (p-p65), suppressors of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1), and tumor necrosis factor α-induced protein-3 (Tnfaip3) proteins after 7 and 28 days of intervention respectively. Results: Significant down-regulation of IL-4 and IL-13 expression (P

Defects can locally tailor the electronic properties of 2D materials, including the band gap and electron density, and possess the merit for optical and electronic applications. However, it is still a great challenge to realize rational defect engineering, which requires quantitative study of the effect of defects on electronic properties under ambient conditions. In this work, we employed tip-enhanced photoluminescence (TEPL) spectroscopy to obtain the PL spectra of different defects (wrinkle and edge) in mechanically exfoliated thin-layer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with nanometer spatial resolution. We quantitatively obtained the band gap and electron density at defects by analyzing the wavelength and intensity ratio of excitons and trions. We further visualized the strain distribution across a wrinkle and the edge-induced reconstructive regions of the band gap and electron density by TEPL line scans. The doping effect on the Fermi level and optical performance was unveiled through comparative studies of edges on TMDC monolayers of different doping types. These quantitative results are vital to guide defect engineering and design and fabrication of TMDC-based optoelectronics devices.

It is the basic characteristic of pure vortex light that there is a phase singularity at the origin. Such a singularity may be multiple degenerate, which determines the order of vortex light. Singularities splitting phenomenon means that singularities no longer concentrate at the origin but distribute around the space, usually occurring in impure vortex light. In this paper, we demonstrate the singularities splitting phenomenon and propose an analysis method, based on which one may rapidly estimate the modal components of impure vortex light. As two common singularity discrimination methods, the spiral and fork wire interference patterns are compared in distinguishing splitting singularities. The most widely used spiral interference pattern is revealed to be the worst form because of the low resolution. Instead, the fork wire interference pattern is with higher and easily adjusted resolution. 1‰ impurity is still able to be distinguished through fork wire interference patterns in the experiment.

Chen Kaige, a famous Chinese “scholar-type director”, usually contains rich cultural connotations in his films and his works are always full of Chen Kaige-style romanticism. Although he is good at narrative, making The Battle of Changjin Lake a pure war film is a challenge. Therefore, this article takes the film as the research focus. The analysis of aesthetic elements, such as scenes and scope, picture composition, color and so on, expounds into detail the narrative style of romanticism displayed by Chen Kaige in the film.

Additional file 2: Decomposition of the age-specific mortality contribution to the gap in life expectancy between advanced schistosomiasis patients and general population.

Additional file 3: Decomposition of the age-specific mortality contribution to the gender gap in life expectancy of advanced schistosomiasis and general population groups.

Additional file 4: Age-specific contributions to the changes in life expectancy decomposed by Pollard’s decomposition method.

Additional file 2: Table S2. List of primers for RT-qPCR.

Additional file 5: Healthy life expectancy and its gender gap among patients with advanced schistosomiasis.

Additional file 1: Table S1. SDC1 overexpression.

All-fiber mode converters for generating orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams have many applications in optical communications, optical sensing and lasers. Currently, it is a great challenge to use a long-period fiber grating (LPFG) to broadband excite high-order OAM modes above the second-order. Here, we demonstrate a preset-twist LPFG fabrication method, which introduces asymmetry in the refractive index modulation area, for efficient generation of third-order modes. Through optimization, the generation of third-order OAM modes with 99.55% conversion efficiency, 0.81 dB insertion loss, and over 99% purity is achieved with only 40 pitch number. In addition, a multi-period preset-twist LPFG is proposed and demonstrated to achieve the excitation of broadband third-order mode with conversion efficiency of more than 99%, insertion loss of less than 1 dB, and mode purity of more than 90%. The 15 dB bandwidth (96.8% conversion efficiency) of the LPFG is 109 nm in the wavelength range from 1475 nm to 1584 nm, and the 20 dB bandwidth (99% conversion efficiency) of the LPFG is 92 nm from 1488 nm to 1580 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to generate efficient and broadband third-order mode using a long-period fiber grating.

Tumor hypoxia is a common feature in colorectal cancer (CRC), and is associated with resistance to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Thus, a specifically targeted probe for the detection of hypoxic CRC cells is urgently needed. Carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9) is considered to be a specific marker for hypoxic CRC diagnosis. Here, a nuclear imaging Indium-111 (111In)-labeled dual CA9-targeted probe was synthesized and evaluated for CA9 detection in in vitro, in vivo, and in human samples. The CA9-targeted peptide (CA9tp) and CA9 inhibitor acetazolamide (AAZ) were combined to form a dual CA9-targeted probe (AAZ-CA9tp) using an automatic microwave peptide synthesizer, which then was conjugated with 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) for radioisotope (111In) labeling (111In-DOTA-AAZ-CA9tp). The assays for cell binding, stability, and toxicity were conducted in hypoxic CRC HCT15 cells. The analyses for imaging and biodistribution were performed in an HCT15 xenograft mouse model. The binding and distribution of 111In-DOTA-AAZ-CA9tp were detected in human CRC samples using microautoradiography. AAZ-CA9tp possessed good CA9-targeting ability in hypoxic HCT15 cells. The dual CA9-targeted radiotracer showed high serum stability, high surface binding, and high affinity in vitro. After exposure of 111In-DOTA-AAZ-CA9tp to the HCT15-bearing xenograft mice, the levels of 111In-DOTA-AAZ-CA9tp were markedly and specifically increased in the hypoxic tumor tissues compared to control mice. 111In-DOTA-AAZ-CA9tp also targeted the areas of CA9 overexpression in human colorectal tumor tissue sections. The results of this study suggest that the novel 111In-DOTA-AAZ-CA9tp nuclear imaging agent may be a useful tool for the detection of hypoxic CRC cells in clinical practice.

Chia-Yu Huang,1– 3 Ming-Cheng Huang,3,4 Mao-Feng Sun,3,4 Cheng-Li Lin,5,6 Mei-Yao Wu,4,7 Wu-Chou Lin,3,8,&ast; Hung-Rong Yen3,4,9,10,&ast; 1Department of Family Medicine, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung, 427, Taiwan; 2School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, 970, Taiwan; 3Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 4Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 5Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 6College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 7School of Post-baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 8Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 9Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404, Taiwan; 10Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, 404, Taiwan&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hung-Rong Yen Tel +886-4-22053366 ext. 3313Email hungrongyen@mail.cmu.edu.twWu-Chou Lin Tel +886-4-22052121Email d0562@mail.cmuh.org.twBackground: Major depressive disorder is a significant public health concern, which often leads to loss of productivity, functional decline, and various complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture in the risk reduction of coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients with depression.Methods: We enrolled patients diagnosed with depression between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2010, through the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). Propensity score was used to match equal numbers (n=14,647) of acupuncture cohort and no-acupuncture cohort based on characteristics including sex, age, baseline comorbidity and medication. Patients were followed up until December 31, 2013, or withdrawn from the NHIRD. The Cox regression model was used to compare the hazard ratios (HRs) of CHD in the two cohorts.Results: The basic characteristics of the two groups were similar. A lower cumulative incidence of CHD was noted in the acupuncture cohort (Log rank test, p < 0.001). Over time, 1626 patients in the acupuncture cohort (21.05 per 1000 person-years) and 2412 patients in the no-acupuncture cohort (39.84 per 1000 person-years) developed CHD (adjusted HR=0.50, 95% CI 0.47– 0.53). The decreased CHD incidence was independent of age, sex, comorbidities, and medications used. The cumulative incidence of CHD was significantly lower in the acupuncture cohort than in the no-acupuncture cohort (Log rank test, p< 0.001).Conclusion: The results provided a real-world evidence that acupuncture may have beneficial effect on CHD risk reduction in patients with depression.Keywords: acupuncture, depression, coronary heart disease, National Health Insurance Research Database, real-world evidence

For many years, the number and losses of modes have restricted the large-scale application of hollow core photonic bandgap fibers (HC-PBFs) in data transmission. Researchers have successfully reduced fiber loss to an extremely low level; however, little attention has been given to the specific characteristics of the higher-order modes (HOMs) in HC-PBF. In this paper, the high-order mode characteristics of a 7-cell HC-PBF are investigated in detail, and the non-degenerate phenomenon of HE21 is observed. Through an in-depth theoretical analysis by discussing the influence of the structural deformation of the fiber near the core on the high-order mode characteristics, the cause of the phenomenon is described. Thus, an optimized 7-cell HC-PBF for supporting 6 modes is developed. Additionally, the bending losses of all the HOMs in the fiber are measured. Marked bending loss is not observed even when the bending radius is as small as 0.5 cm, which is different from a solid core four-mode fiber. These findings will provide a reference for HC-PBF as a new type of few-mode fiber for the mode division multiplexing field.

Chinese classical literature has attracted much attention in the Western world. As an important part of Chinese classical literature, Du Fu’s poetry, also as an important carrier, plays a great role in the international communication of cultural confidence. In recent years, some domestic research institutions and scholars have also written literature reviews on the research progress of Du Fu, but few works of literature comprehensively review related western research results. With the combination of big data and visualization tools, this study uses the title keyword “Du Fu Poetry” to search the English literature of Google scholar. VOSviewer is used to make visual analysis and draw a knowledge map from the aspects of literature quantity, authors, research institutions, co-citation, keyword clustering, etc., to analyze the research situation and hotspots of the Western study of Du’s poetry. The following conclusions are drawn: 1) In recent decades, western translation of Du Fu’s poetry have emerged constantly, attracting more and more famous international publishing houses to cooperate; 2) The study of Du’s poetry abroad mainly focuses on the English translation of Du’s poetry as well as the interpretation and evaluation of poets' thoughts; 3) The study of Du’s poetry abroad ignores the dynamic study of Du's poetry development, and there are some obvious cultural errors or omissions in translation. In a word, this study objectively reflects the development, theme and hotspots of modern western Du Fu poetry research, which has certain significance for fully understanding the general situation of Du Fu research field in Western countries and help to deepen Du Fu’s research.

Purpose This study aims to examine the Taiwan setting, where audit partners’ names are presented in the audit report and where audit committee formation is voluntary in the initial stage of audit committee reform. This paper investigates the effects of the formation of voluntary audit committees on the selection of individual audit partners, and, in turn, the audit quality. This contrasts with previous studies investigating the relationship between audit committees and auditor selection at the audit firm level. Design/methodology/approach This paper samples all of Taiwan’s publicly listed firms for the period 2007–2012 and uses Heckman’s (1979) two-stage estimation model to achieve our objectives. Findings Using different characteristics of individual engagement partners as proxies for a higher quality auditor, the main empirical results show that voluntary audit committee formation is positively related to an industry specialist lead partner and a lead partner that has a larger number of clients. In addition, this paper also finds that voluntary audit committee formation has a positive impact on audit quality (proxied by discretionary accruals). The results suggest that the voluntary formation of an audit committee contributes positively to both auditor selection and audit quality. Furthermore, an additional test shows that the main empirical results are robust to a validity threat that firms that have good corporate governance prior to the formation of voluntary audit committees tend to select high-quality audit partners. Originality/value The paper contributes to the audit committee literature in the following ways: this paper takes advantage of Taiwan’s unique setting, where forming an audit committee is not compulsory in the initial stage of audit committee reform, to investigate the voluntary audit committee, auditor selection and audit quality; this paper expands on Abbott and Parker’s (2000) study of audit committee characteristics and auditor selection at the audit firm level by examining this relationship at the individual audit partner level; this paper responds to the call by Church et al. (2008) and DeFond and Francis (2005) who propose more studies on audit quality at the individual engagement partner level.

PurposeUsing a data set of Taiwanese listed firms from 2002 to 2015, this paper aims to examine the determinants to voluntarily appoint independent directors.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses panel estimation to exploit both the cross-section and time-series nature of the data. Further, this paper uses Tobit regression, generalized linear model (GLM) in the additional analysis and the two-stage least squares to mitigate for a possible endogeneity issue.FindingsThe main findings show that Taiwanese firms with large board sizes tend to voluntarily appoint independent directors and firms that already have independent supervisors more willingly to accept additional independent directors onto the board. Furthermore, ownership concentration and institutional ownership are positively associated with the voluntary appointment of independent directors. On the contrary, firms controlled by family members are generally reluctant to voluntarily appoint independent directors.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings are important for managers, shareholders, creditors and policymakers. In particular, when considering the determinants of the voluntary appointment of independent directors, the results indicate that independent supervisors, outside shareholders and institutional investors are significant factors in influencing effective internal and external corporate governance mechanisms. This research work focuses on the voluntary appointment of independent directors. It would be interesting to compare the effectiveness of voluntary appointments with a mandatory appointment within Taiwan and with other jurisdictions.Originality/valueThis study incrementally contributes to the corporate governance literature in several ways. First, this study extends the earlier research by using a more comprehensive data set of non-financial Taiwanese firms and using alternative methodologies to investigate the determinants of voluntary appointment of independent directors. Second, prior studies tend to neglect the possible issue of using a censored and fractional dependent variable, the proportion of independent directors, which might yield biased and inconsistent parameter estimates when using ordinary least squares regression estimation. Finally, this study addresses the relevant econometric issues by using the Tobit, GLM and the two-stage least squares for a possible endogeneity concern.

Investigation of proteins in their native state is the core of proteomics towards better understanding of their structures and functions. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has shown its unique advantages in protein characterization with fingerprint information and high sensitivity, which makes it a promising tool for proteomics. It is still challenging to obtain SERS spectra of proteins in the native state and evaluate the native degree. Here, we constructed 3D physiological hotspots for a label-free dynamic SERS characterization of a native protein with iodide-modified 140 nm Au nanoparticles. We further introduced the correlation coefficient to quantitatively evaluate the variation of the native degree, whose quantitative nature allows us to explicitly investigate the Hofmeister effect on the protein structure. We realized the classification of a protein of SARS-CoV-2 variants in 15 min, which has not been achieved before. This study offers an effective tool for tracking the dynamic structure of proteins and biomedical research.

Water security requires not only sufficient availability of and access to safe and acceptable quality for domestic uses, but also fair distribution within and across populations. However, a key research gap remains in understanding water security inequality and its dynamics, which in turn creates an impediment to tracking progress towards sustainable development. Therefore, we analyse the inequality of water security using data from 7603 households across 28 sites in 22 low- and middle-income countries, measured using the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale. Here we show an inverted-U shaped relationship between site water security and inequality of household water security. This Kuznets-like curve suggests a process that as water security grows, the inequality of water security first increases then decreases. This research extends the Kuznets curve applications and introduces the Development Kuznets Curve concept. Its practical implications support building water security and achieving more fair, inclusive, and sustainable development.

This paper adopts a text analysis method based on media reports. The corpus comes from relevant reports on Shanghai of Google News from 2016 to 2020. There are a total of 64 relevant reports, of which 25, we believe, can deeply reflect overseas media’s perception of Shanghai image. We classify, analyze, and select some typical sentences in an appropriate manner. Zhou Ning (2011) believes that “from the perspective of knowledge and imagination, the image of China contains three layers of meanings: first, western cognition and imagination of the reality of China to a certain extent; second, western self-recognition, anxiety and expectation of Sino-Western relations; third, the metaphorical expression of self-identity concerning Western culture”. This kind of imagination is based on reflecting facts and is a kind of cognition of the objective world. At the same time, it requires people’s mental intelligence to fill in the image with which is “absent” from reality (Belleretal, 1994). Due to the individual’s subjective initiative, this understanding will inevitably lead to an impression that is deviated from the original image. When analyzing the reports of Shanghai by foreign media, we use fact-based informational descriptions as a supplement, and turn our perspective to foreign media’s evaluation of Shanghai as a city and its urban culture for the aim of exploring the cultural image of Shanghai in the eyes of foreign media. The study will examine which of the reports reflect the western views and evaluations on the image of Shanghai, and which ones are a reflection of the image of Shanghai integrated with that of western countries. Based on the above, we divide the corpus of the Western media reports on Shanghai into two categories for study: overseas media’s cognition of Shanghai’s cultural image and the reflection of the image of Shanghai integrated with that of western countries western culture and their self-identity.

Innate immune systems are key defenses of animals and particularly important in species that lack the sophisticated adaptive immune systems as found in vertebrates. Here, we were interested to quantify variation in innate immune responses of insects in hosts that differ in their parasite susceptibility. To do this, we studied immune responses in honey bees, which can host a remarkable number of different parasites, which are major contributors of declining bee health and colony losses. The most significant parasite of honey bees is the mite Varroa destructor, which has infested the majority of global honey bee populations, and its control remains a major challenge for beekeepers. However, a number of nonmanaged honey bees seem able to control Varroa infections, for example, the Eastern honey bee Apis ceranacerana or the African honey bee Apis mellifera scutellata. These bees therefore make interesting study subjects to identify underlaying resistance traits, for example, by comparing them to more susceptible bee genotypes such as Western honey bees (A.melliferaligustica). We conducted a series of interlinked experiments and started with behavioral assays to compare the attractiveness of bee larvae to mites using different honey bee genotypes and castes. We found that 6-day-old larvae are always most attractive to mites, independently of genotype or castes. In a next step, we compared volatile profiles of the most attractive larvae to test whether they could be used by mites for host selection. We found that the abundance of volatile compounds differed between larval ages, but we also found significant differences between genotypes and castes. To further study the expected underlaying physiological differences between potentially resistant and susceptible host larvae, we compared the larval hemolymph proteomes of the three honey bee genotypes and two castes in response to mite exposure. We identified consistent upregulation of immune and stress-related genes in Varroa-exposed larvae, which differed between genotypes and castes. Tolerant honey bee castes and genotypes were characterized by stronger or more distinct immune esponses. In summary, we provide first insights into the complex involvement of the innate immune system of tolerant honey bees against mite infestations, which could be used for future breeding purposes.

With the help of big data and Citespace software, this research makes a statistical analysis of the journals and dissertations on College English teaching and learning materials collected by CNKI from 2011 to 2020. This paper, based on the knowledge map drawn by the visualized analysis of literatures volume, authors, research institutions and keywords clustering, analyzes the current research status and hotspots in the compilation of China’s College English textbooks. It is found that there are six problems in the compilation. Because of the complexity of teaching and learning materials and the dynamic progress of language learning, the nature of English teaching and learning materials is bound to turn from a learning tool to learning resources. Thus, this research, from the perspective of Complex Dynamic System Theory, attempts to develop big data-based College English learning materials with digital, individual and multi-dimensional characteristics by three paths: the establishment of big data-based English learning behaviors index system, the development of big data-based College English learning materials and the application of big data-based College English learning materials. This paper will explore a new way of developing China’s College English learning materials, improve and optimize the compilation and development of College English learning materials in China.

This paper finds that there are six problems in the compilation. Because of the complexity of teaching and learning materials and the dynamic progress of language learning, the nature of English teaching and learning materials is bound to turn from a learning tool to learning resources. Thus, this research, from the perspective of Complex Dynamic System Theory, attempts to develop big data-based College English learning materials with digital, individual and multi-dimensional characteristics by three paths: the establishment of big data-based English learning behaviors index system, the development of big data-based College English learning materials and the application of big data-based College English learning materials. This paper will explore a new way of developing China’s College English learning materials and improving and optimising the compilation and development of College English learning materials in China.

This work investigates the emission chirality of a chiral distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser, which is composed by incorporating an isotropic medium containing laser dye between two cholesteric liquid crystal polymer films. The emitted laser showed different ratios of circularly polarized states corresponding to different pitch numbers of the chiral mirror. Through Berreman matrix numerical calculations and experimental results, we validated the variations of the emission chirality coupling in the defect resonance mode as a function of pitch numbers, as well as the effect of the defect layer thickness on the wavelength and mode number of the emitted laser. We also observed the cone-shape emission and examined the threshold of the lasing. The results successfully demonstrated the realization of DBR laser with controllable orthogonal circular polarization ratios in the emitted laser light. These results offer considerable potential for the development of micro-laser sources with different emission chirality and wavelengths for various applications.

In recent years, the development of lasers using photonic crystals as resonant cavities has emerged and continued to grow. These photonic crystal lasers offer the advantages of reduced threshold levels and compact dimensions. Chiral liquid crystals (CLCs) are self-assembled one-dimensional photonic crystals that enable a wide range of photonic crystal lasers to exhibit broad wavelength tuning capabilities. Our research exploits the uniform standing helix (USH) and uniform lying helix (ULH) states of CLCs as resonant cavities; therefore, the direction of laser emission of CLC lasers can be changed by switching between USH and ULH states. Both USH and ULH lasers in CLCs also exhibit wavelength tuning. The USH laser induces a blue shift in the laser wavelength by dielectric heating, while the ULH laser achieves a redshift of the laser wavelength by applying a vertical electric field to lengthen the helical pitch. Such a reconfigurable chiral photonic crystal laser based on the CLCs provides bidirectional switching of the laser direction while maintaining the ability to tune the wavelength, so it has the potential for use in photonic applications.

Photonic crystals enable modulation of light waves in space, time, and frequency domains; in particular, chiral photonic crystals are uniquely suitable for polarization rotation and switching of complex vector fields. Current development of chiral photonic crystals, nevertheless, are still confronted with limitations of one form or the other such as large optical losses, limited or absence of tunability, narrow operation bandwidth, and/or insufficient optical thickness for practical implementation. In this work, we show that cholesteric liquid crystals as 1D tunable chiral photonic crystals are promising alternatives to not only address all these issues and deficiencies but also enable new photonic applications in wider temporal and spectral realms. Our work entails a detailed study of the dynamical evolution of cholesteric helical self-assembly and defect formation in the bulk of thick cholesteric liquid crystals under various applied electric field conditions and a thorough exploration of how applying fields of vastly different frequencies can eliminate and/or prevent the formation of unremovable defects and to control the alignment of cholesteric helices in the entire bulk. We have developed a dual-frequency field assembly technique that enables robust room-temperature fabrication of stable well-aligned cholesteric liquid crystals to unprecedented thickness (containing thousands of grating periods) demanded by many photonic applications. The resulting chiral photonic crystals exhibit useful much-sought-after capabilities impossible with other existing or developing chiral photonic crystals—compactness (single, flat, millimeter-thick optical element), high transmission, dynamic tunability, large polarization rotation, and various switching/modulation possibilities for ultrafast and continuous-wave lasers in the visible, near- and mid-infrared regimes.

A passively mode-locked Tm3+-doped fiber laser based on the mechanism of nonlinear polarization rotation and cascading chirped long period fiber grating (LPFG) to generate ultrafast cylindrical vector (CV) mode output is proposed and demonstrated. The fiber laser output traditional soliton pulses operating at 1878.8 nm with a 3 dB bandwidth of 3.94 nm. The pulse duration of the laser is ~1.05 ps with a repetition rate of 18.766 MHz. A cascading chirped LPFG, fabricated in a few-mode fiber by a CO2 laser, serves as a broadband transverse mode converter to achieve ultrafast CV mode generation. The LPFG has a 10 dB bandwidth (corresponding to conversion efficiency of 90%) of 20 nm from 1877 nm to 1897 nm, which perfectly covers the wide mode-locked spectrum. High purity radially and azimuthally polarized modes are obtained through adjusting the polarization controllers, and the mode purity is calculated to be about 95.1% and 94.9% for TE01 and TM01. To our best knowledge, this is the first mode-locked fiber laser emitting CV modes in $2~\mu \text{m}$ waveband using a broadband LPFG as a mode converter.

Background. Chronic neck pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder caused by overuse of neck and upper back muscles or poor posture, and it is commonly combined with a limited range of motion in the neck and shoulders. Most cases will recover within a few days; however, the symptoms often recur easily. Fu’s subcutaneous needling (FSN) is a new therapeutic approach used to treat patients with chronic neck pain. However, there is no solid evidence to support the effectiveness of FSN on chronic neck pain and disability. Methods. Participants (n = 60) with chronic neck pain for more than 2 months with pain intensity scored by visual analog scale (VAS) more than five were enrolled in this trial. Participants were equally randomized into the FSN or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) group who received interventions once a day on day 1, day 2, and day 4. They were assessed by outcome measurements during pre- and post-treatment and followed up for 15 days. Results. The VAS was immediately reduced in the FSN and TENS groups and sustained for 15 days of follow-up (all P < 0.001 ). The immediate effects were also observed as the pressure pain threshold increased in the FSN group on day 2 ( P = 0.006 ) and day 4 ( P = 0.023 ) after treatment, and tissue hardness decreased by FSN on day 1 and day 2 after treatment (both P < 0.001 ). FSN and TENS treatment improved neck disability and mobility; moreover, FSN promoted participants to receive better sleep quality, as determined by PSQI assessment ( P = 0.030 ). TENS had no benefit on sleep quality. Conclusion. FSN was able to relieve pain and relax muscle tightness. Notably, FSN significantly improved neck disability and mobility and enhanced sleep quality. These findings demonstrated that FSN could be an effective alternative treatment option for patients with chronic neck pain. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03605576, registered on July 30, 2018.

Mycobacterium abscessus infections are notoriously difficult to be treated and newer treatment options are required. Coptis chinensis (C. chinensis) and its main compound berberine are frequently used to treat bacterial and viral infections. In this study, the susceptibility of M. abscessus to C. chinensis extract and berberine was assessed by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) evaluation. The effects of C. chinensis and berberine on biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibility in M. abscessus were observed. C. chinensis at concentrations of MIC (1.5 mg/mL) and 2 × MIC (3.0 mg/mL) and berberine at ½ × MIC (0.125 mg/mL) demonstrated a strong inhibition of biofilm formation. Concentration of C. chinensis at ½ × MIC resulted in a significant reduction in MICs of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SXT), clarithromycin (CLA), and linezolid (LZD). Similarly, ½ × MIC berberine had a significant effect on the MIC reductions of nine antibiotics including TMP/SXT, CLA, and LZD. Notably, the resistance level MIC of LZD against M. abscessus was reversed to a susceptible level by treatment with either C. chinensis or berberine. Therefore, C. chinensis and berberine have the potential to produce a synergistic antimycobacterial effect, reduce biofilm formation, and decrease antibacterial resistance to LZD in M. abscessus.

The conductive and transparent properties of ZnO/Cu/ZnO sandwich structures were investigated in this study. The I–V curves of single ZnO films with different thicknesses were recorded and plotted. The linear I–V curves confirmed the ohmic conduction mechanism for the ZnO thin films in the ZnO/Cu/ZnO sandwich structures. Moreover, the energy band diagram of the ZnO/Cu interface showed that the interface between ZnO and Cu exhibited ohmic contact behavior. The resistivity of the ZnO/Cu/ZnO sandwich structures (with thicknesses between 20/5/20 nm and 80/5/80 nm) ranged from 2.25 × 10−4 Ω cm to 9.72 × 10−4 Ω cm. The lowest resistivity (i.e., 2.25 × 10−4 Ω cm) occurred in the 20/5/20 nm thin film. In the ZnO/Cu/ZnO sandwich structures, the electrons are transported vertically through the upper ZnO thin film and transported horizontally in the sandwiched Cu thin film. Ohmic conduction behavior was verified throughout the conduction path in the ZnO/Cu/ZnO sandwich structure. The transmittance measurement in the visible region of the structures showed that the sandwiched ZnO layers increased the transmittance of the 5 nm Cu thin film. In addition, the transmittance of the ZnO/Cu/ZnO sandwich structure was dependent on the thickness of the sandwiched ZnO layers. The 60/5/60 nm sandwich structure exhibited the best enhancement effect on transmittance. The thickness dependence was found to be due to the destructive interference between the reflected light at the ZnO/Cu and Cu/ZnO interfaces in the ZnO/Cu/ZnO sandwich structures.

We examine the impact on firm value of independent directors based on Taiwanese firms. Using the changes in independent director composition mandated by the Amendments of Security and Exchange Act in Taiwan as a quasi-natural experiment, we document the arguably causal and negative effect of independent directors on firm value in both the short and long run. We also find that, in response to this act, firms have tended to replace existing non-independent directors, rather than simply adding new independent directors. We also find that the new independent directors have the same qualifications as those replaced non-independent directors but are costlier and busier. The evidence reflects the short supply of qualified independent directors and might explain the negative valuation effect.

Linear polarization rotators have been widely used in optical systems. Commonly used polarization rotators are still beset by strong dispersion and thus restricted spectral bandwidth of operation. This leads to the development of achromatic or broadband alternatives, but most of them incorporate multiple waveplates for retardation compensation, which comes at the cost of increased complexity and reduced flexibility in operation and system design. Here, we demonstrate a single-element achromatic polarization rotator based on a thin film of dual-frequency chiral liquid crystal. The angle of polarization rotation is electrically tunable from 0° to 180° with low dispersion (±3°) in the entire visible spectrum, and a high degree of linear polarization (>95%) at the output.

A flexible hybrid substrate was developed by affixing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto the surface of two-dimensional nanomica platelets (NMPs). The substrate was successfully used in biosensors with high efficiency and high selectivity through surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). By controlling the amphiphilicity of the hybrid substrate, the flexible substrate was made highly selective toward biomolecules. Four different SERS substrate systems were constructed, including intercalated mica, exfoliated NMPs, hydrophilic exfoliated NMPs, and hydrophobic exfoliated NMPs. NMPs were only 1 nm thick. AuNPs adsorbed on both sides of NMPs and thus created excellent three-dimensional hot junction effects in the

The English web portal of the Shanghai Municipal Government is a platform for the Shanghai Government to release information and provide services, and it is also the best window for publicizing Shanghai to the outside world. This research reviews the history of the English web portal construction of the Shanghai Municipal Government and finds its future direction by gaining enlightenment from the characteristics of foreign governments foreign-language web portals construction, so as to promote more accurate and timely release of information on the government website, and answer questions for foreigners. It is conducive to creating a real service-oriented web portal and increase the influence of communication. &nbsp

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. GS3 is subject to alternative splicing. (A) GS3 AS variants were shown by agarose gel electrophoresis. (B) GS3 AS variants were sequenced by reverse primer. (C) GS3 AS variants from Huaidao 5 were sequenced by the forward primer. Fig. S2 Structures and sequences of GS3 alternative splicing variants. (A) Structures of GS3 alternative splicing variants. Gray boxes represent UTR. Black and red boxes indicate exons. Gray and blue lines denote introns. (B) Sequences of GS3 alternative splicing variants. Fig. S3. Clone number of GS3 alternative splicing variants. Fig. S4. Expression pattern analysis of (A) GS3.1 and (B) GS3.2 by qRT-PCR. R1-3, root in seedling, tillering and heading stage, respectively. St1-2, stem in elongation and heading stage, respectively. L1-3, leaf in seedling, tillering and heading stage, respectively. Sp, spikelet. P1-3, panicles with 2 mm, 3 cm and 5 cm length, respectively. En1-3, Endosperm of 3, 12 and 20 days after pollination, respectively. The results from three biological replicates are consistent. Data are shown as mean �� SEM from three technical replicates. Fig. S5. Expression analysis of GS3.1 and GS3.2m overexpressors. (A) Expression level analysis of GS3.1 and GS3.2m overexpressors by qRT-PCR. Ubiquitin was used as internal control. Data are shown as mean �� SEM. (B) Sequencing of the amplification products from GS3.2 and GS3.2.m The red box indicated the mutation between GS3.2 and GS3.2m. Table S1. Information of alternative splicing of GS3 homologs and effects on grain size. Table S2. Summary of grain traits of GS3 variants overexpressors. Table S3. List of primers used in this study.