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On Cu(111) surface and in interaction with a single hexa-tert-butylphenylbenzene molecule-gear, the rotation of a graphene nanodisk was studied using the large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator molecular dynamics simulator. To ensure a transmission of rotation to the molecule-gear, the graphene nanodisk is functionalized on its circumference by tert -butylphenyl chemical groups. The rotational motion can be categorized underdriving, driving and overdriving regimes calculating the locking coefficient of this mechanical machinery as a function of external torque applied to the nanodisk. The rotational friction with the surface of both the phononic and electronic contributions is investigated. For small size graphene nanodisks, the phononic friction is the main contribution. Electronic friction dominates for the larger disks putting constrains on the experimental way of achieving the transfer of rotation from a graphene nanodisk to a single molecule-gear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phosphors Ca3(PO4)2:Tm3+ by co-doping Ce3+ have been synthesized by conventional high-temperature solid-state reaction method. Their spectroscopic properties in the UV-VIS-NIR range have been investigated. The first 5d crystal field level location and stokes shift have been determined from the UV excitation and emission spectra of Ca3(PO4)2:Ce3+. The three-photon NIR quantum-cutting luminescence of Tm3+ assigned to the electronic transitions of 1G4→3H4, 3H4→3F4 and 3F4→3H6 is observed, whether in Ca3(PO4)2:Tm3+ or Ca3(PO4)2:Tm3+,Ce3+. The energy transfer from Ce3+ to Tm3+ takes place with energy-transfer efficiency up to 34.5% for the Ca3(PO4)2:Tm3+,Ce3+. A cross relaxation scheme using the 5d states of Ce3+ and f-f transition of Tm3+ is proposed. The mechanism is revealed from energy level and decay measurements. The results show that the broadband absorption of Ce3+ sensitizer not only extends the spectrum conversion in UV region but also greatly enhances the photoluminescence intensities of the three-photon quantum cutting luminescence of Tm3+ doped Ca3(PO4)2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamond thin films were deposited on WC–Co substrates by hot filament chemical vapor deposition to improve the tribological performance. The influence of the substrate surface topography was found to play an important role during the nucleation stage and the later growth rate as well. In this study, we systematically investigated the relation between substrate surface irregularity, which was evaluated by fractal dimension as well as statistical roughness parameters and the quality of the later deposited diamond film. Preseeding processes, in diamond acetone suspensions with two particle diameters, by supersonic vibrator were also implemented to investigate the effect of particular size on diamond nucleation. The original surfaces were measured with a stylus profiler and contact-mode atomic force microscopy. The diamond deposited substrates were examined by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffractometry, Raman spectroscopy, and Rockwell-C indentation to study substrate topography, crystalline structure of the coating, the composition of diamond films, and adhesion between deposited layers and substrates, respectively. The synergetic influence of the substrate’s fractal dimension and the particular size of pre-seeding diamond suspension were studied and addressed. The deposited film of a WC–Co substrate with higher surface fractal dimension (>2.50), preseeded by fine diamond suspension (4–12 nm particle size) in advance, has a high diamond-rich composition and adhesion strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with autocorrelation function analysis have been applied to investigate the evolution of structural order in germanium ion-implanted amorphous silicon (a-Si) layers. A high density of Si nanocrystallites as small as 1 nm in size was detected in as-implanted a-Si layers. The density of embedded nanocrystalline Si was found to diminish in a-Si layers with annealing temperature first then increase. The results are discussed in the context of free energy change with annealing temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High device density and high power density intensify the self-heating effect in scaled FinFET circuits to degrade both device and back-end-of-line (BEOL) reliability. The boundary scattering in nanostructure, alloy scattering in SiGe, and interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) between different materials even worsen the self-heating. A modularized FinFET SPICE model consisting of distributed ${R} _{\textsf {th}}$ – ${C} _{\textsf {th}}$ network is used to provide a transient thermal response. A two-step pseudo isothermal plane model is proposed to characterize the thermal behavior of BEOL. Both BEOL and FinFET SPICE model are verified by TCAD simulation with dc and ac inputs. The ITR significantly raises the junction temperature of the FinFETs ($\Delta {T}_{\textsf {j}}\sim \textsf {42}~^{\circ }\text{C}$). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The murine maternal immune activation (MIA) offspring model enables longitudinal studies to explore aberrant social behaviors similar to those observed in humans. High levels of cytokines, chemokines and cell adhesion molecules (CAM) have been found in the plasma and/or brains of psychiatric patients. We hypothesized that upregulation of the systemic or brain immune response has an augmenting effect by potentially increasing the interplay between the neuronal and immune systems during the growth of the MIA offspring. In this study, a C57BL/6j MIA female offspring model exhibiting social deficits was established. The expression of fetal interferon (IFN)‐stimulated (gbp3, irgm1, ifi44), adolescent immunodevelopmental transcription factor (eg, r2, tfap2b), hormone (pomc, hcrt), adult selectin (sell, selp) and neuroligin (nlgn2) genes was altered. Systemic upregulation of endogenous IL‐10 occurred at the adult stage, while both IL‐1β and IL‐6 were increased and persisted in the sera throughout the growth of the MIA offspring. The cerebral IL‐6 levels were endogenously upregulated, but both MCP‐1 (macrophage inflammatory protein‐1) and L‐selectin levels were downregulated at the adolescent and/or adult stages. However, the MIA offspring were susceptible to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. After reinjecting the MIA offspring with LPS in adulthood, a variety of sera and cerebral cytokines, chemokines and CAMs were increased. Particularly, both MCP‐1 and L‐selectin showed relatively high expression in the brain compared with the expression levels in phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS)‐treated offspring injected with LPS. Potentially, MCP‐1 was attracted to the L‐selectin‐mediated immune cells due to augmentation of the immune response following stimulation in MIA female offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that examined photoreflectance temperature dependence of graded heterojunction bipolar transistor layers. Method of the study; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

Objective: Although there have been many studies on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, there are few data about survival analysis of lupus patients receiving dialysis. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze risk factors predicting mortality in lupus patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). In addition, we also delineate the relationship between predialysis comorbid illnesses, damage accrual, and mortality in lupus patients undergoing PD. Methods: This longitudinal cohort study included 38 lupus patients undergoing PD between 1990 and 2008. The clinical parameters, disease activity (non-renal SLEDAI, nrSLEDAI), comorbid illnesses, and damage accrual were collected. We applied the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), Khan Index, and Davies Index to elucidate the impact of predialysis comorbidity on mortality. Moreover, we examined prognostic value of predialysis SDI (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Disease Damage Index) for lupus PD patients. Results: There were 33 women and five men included for analysis. The mean age at PD entry was 32.2±10.4 years and mean duration of PD was 39.7±22.4 months. The nrSLEDAI score during PD significantly decreased, compared to the predialysis one (2.13±2.09 vs. 4.00±3.08, p<0.001). All comorbidity indices and SDI scores were significantly and positively correlated with each other (p<0.001). Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that serum creatinine level, date at PD entry, and the CCI were predictors for mortality. The predialysis nrSLEDAI and SDI scores did not have roles in predicting mortality of lupus PD patients. Conclusions: The predialysis CCI, instead of SDI, determines an increased risk for mortality in lupus patients treated with PD. The prognosis of lupus patients treated with PD largely depends on the severity of predialysis comorbidity, especially cardiovascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clin Microbiol Infect 2010; 16: 663–670 The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the influenza vaccine among cancer patients in Taiwan. We determined the effect of immunization on the following outcomes of disease: hospitalizations, emergency department visits, hospital outpatient visits, physician office visits, and deaths. Cost-effectiveness was analysed from the perspectives of the healthcare system and society. A decision tree was used, with estimates of disease burden and costs based on data from published and unpublished sources. The model followed 34 112 cancer patients aged 20–64 years who were registered by the Taiwan National Cancer Registry in 2002. An influenza immunization programme for the cancer population would prevent 2555 cases of all types of influenza infection, 660 of which would be serious cases involving hospitalization, emergency department visits and death. From the perspective of the healthcare system, the programme would cost US$7.7 million, providing net savings of US$5.4 million. From a societal perspective, the programme would cost US$28.6 million, providing net savings of US$22.3 million. This corresponds to savings of US$2107 and US$6338 per case averted, from healthcare and societal perspectives, respectively, as well as 110 lives saved. Lesser disease burden, greater vaccine efficacy and lower cost of hospitalizations increased cost-effectiveness. Influenza immunization for cancer patients is cost-saving and cost-effective from a healthcare and societal perspective in Taiwan. We highly recommend annual influenza vaccinations for this patient group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The present study was carried out to examine the role of protein kinases in the development of acute tolerance to the effects of ethanol on spinal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated pressor responses during prolonged ethanol exposure.Experimental Approach: Blood pressure responses induced by intrathecal injection of NMDA were recorded. The levels of several phosphorylated residues on NMDA receptor NR1 (GluN1) (NR1) and NMDA receptor NR2B (GluN2B) (NR2B) subunits were determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis.Key Results: Ethanol inhibited spinal NMDA-induced pressor responses at 10 min, but the inhibition was significantly reduced at 40 min following continuous infusion. This effect was dose-dependently blocked by chelerythrine [a protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, 1-1000 pmol] or PP2 (a Src family tyrosine kinase inhibitor, 1-100 pmol) administered intrathecally 10 min following ethanol infusion. A significant increase in the immunoreactivity of phosphoserine 896 of NR1 subunits (pNR1-Ser896) and phosphotyrosine 1336 of NR2B subunits (pNR2B-Tyr1336) was found in neurons of intermediolateral cell column during the development of tolerance. Levels of pNR1-Ser896 and pNR2B-Tyr1336 were also significantly increased in lateral horn regions of the spinal cord slices incubated with ethanol for 40 min in vitro. The increases in pNR1-Ser896 and pNR2B-Tyr1336 levels were inhibited by post-treatment with chelerythrine and PP2, respectively, both in the in vivo and in vitro studies.Conclusions and Implications: The results suggest that activation of PKC and Src tyrosine kinase during prolonged ethanol exposure leading to increases in the levels of pNR1-Ser896 and pNR2B-Tyr1336 may contribute to acute tolerance to inhibition by ethanol of NMDA receptor function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-binding proteins play important roles in structural stability, signalling, regulation, transport, immune response, metabolism control, and metal homeostatis. Because of their functional and sequence diversity, it is desirable to explore additional methods for predicting metal-binding proteins irrespective of sequence similarity. This work explores support vector machines (SVM) as such a method. SVM prediction systems were developed by using 53,333 metal-binding and 147,347 non-metal-binding proteins, and evaluated by an independent set of 31,448 metal-binding and 79,051 non-metal-binding proteins. The computed prediction accuracy in 86.3%, 81.6%, 83.5%, 94.0%, 81.2%, 85.4%, 77.6%, 90.4%, 90.9%, 74.9% and 78.1% for calcium-binding, cobalt-binding copper-binding, iron-binding, magnesium-binding, manganese-binding, nickel-binding, potassium-binding, sodium-binding, zinc-binding, and all metal-binding proteins respectively. The accuracy for the non-member proteins of each class is 88.2%, 99.9%, 98.1%, 91.4%, 87.9%, 94.5%, 99.2%, 99.9%, 99.9%, 98.0%, and 88.0% respectively. Comparable accuracies were obtained by using a different SVM kernel function. Our method predicts 67% of the 87 metal-binding proteins non-homologous to any protein in the Swissprot database and 85.3% of the 333 proteins of known metal-binding domains as metal-binding. These suggest the usefulness of SVM for facilitating the prediction of metal-binding proteins. Our software can be accessed at the SVMProt server http//jing.cz3.nus.edu.sg/cgi-bin/svmprot.cgi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Hypersensitivity to gastric distension has been reported in functional dyspepsia (FD). The aim of this study was to assess the perception to gastric distension and its relationship to specific symptoms using the water load test (WLT) in FD and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Material and methods. A 5-min WLT was used to evaluate sensitivity of gastric distension in 1-7 FD and 61 GERD subjects, and 4'' healthy controls (HC). A visual analogue scale (VAS) measuring symptom severity was obtained from all subjects and its relationship with the maximal ingested volume was determined. The maximal ingested volume was registered and the subjective symptoms were assessed at baseline and 30 min after the WLT. Results. The maximal ingested volume by HC was 597 ± 33 ml, which was statistically greater than that of FD (422 ± 22 ml p<0.001) and GERD (504±23 ml, p <0.02) subjects. The maximal ingested volume did not differ significantly between FD and GERD. The maximal ingested volume correlated well with nausea (r = -0.49, p <0.01) and fullness (r= -0,33, p <0.05) in FD. Male subjects ingested more water than females in the HC (p <0.01) and GERD groups (p <0.05), but not in FD (p =NS). Conclusions. Both FD and GERD subjects have altered perception to gastric fullness induced by the WLT compared to healthy controls. Good correlations have been observed between the WLT and dyspeptic symptoms such as early satiety and postprandial fullness, but not in GERD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the growth, structural and optical characteristics of strained indium arsenic nitride/indium gallium arsenide quantum well structures on indium phosphide substrates grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy. Atomic nitrogen; Effect of incorporation of nitrogen on red-shifted photoluminescence.

The detailed description, the experimental demonstration, and the design of single-mode microwave cavity applicators are presented. These microwave applicators utilize an internally tuned, single-mode (or selective multimode) cylindrical cavity to focus and match microwave energy into cylindrical rod, disk-, or slab-shaped material loads. The combination of mode focus control and variable, internal cavity matching allows the efficient coupling of microwave energy into a wide range of solid material loads. The experimental operation of these applicators is demonstrated for low loss to lossy materials, which include nylon, water, and semiconducting silicon wafers. Overall microwave coupling efficiencies of 70%–95% were measured and experiments demonstrated the ability to precisely control material heating. The single-mode fields can be used to heat and diagnose during processing, and on-line process diagnosis was experimentally demonstrated using cavity perturbation theory. When using these cavity applicators, many system variables such as tuning control, cavity electric field strength, input, and reflected power are available as potential process system feedback signals for automated intelligent processing. These applicators can be used to carefully study the fundamentals of electromagnetic interactions of many materials. Applications include the electromagnetic heating of foods, semiconducting and biological materials, and the heating and curing of epoxy and composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal regulation of the immune response was studied in toads following single injections of bacteriophage f2. The immune response was markedly inhibited in animals kept at 15° as compared to the controls (25°). The appearance of serum antibodies was delayed in animals kept at 15° for the first post-immunization week but their peak antibody levels were similar to those in toads maintained at 25° throughout. Transfer of animals from 25° to 15° 2 weeks after immunization only temporarily depressed the serum antibody levels but caused a marked delay in conversion from heavy to light antibodies. Our results are in keeping with the hypothesis that lowered environmental temperatures inhibit a variety of metabolic processes which may be concerned with the utilization of antigen and/or the synthesis of antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary and secondary immune responses of toads (Bufo marinus) were studied using the bacteriophage f2 as antigen. Antibodies were identified in the serum 2 weeks after primary immunization and peak antibody levels were reached at 6 weeks. Although both IgM and IgG antibodies can be found in toad serum, most of the antibody activity in our animals persisted in the IgM fraction until 8 weeks after immunization. When a second injection of antigen was given 4 weeks after primary immunization, there was a marked increase in the total serum antibody activity and IgG antibodies were found as early as 4 weeks after the second injection of antigen. These observations suggest that the toad, B. marinus, is capable of a true secondary response to the bacteriophage f2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 79 year old man with chronic hepatitis C related cirrhosis found to have multiple ill-defined liver lesions on abdominal ultrasound. In contrast to normal liver parenchyma, biliary hamartoma is usually presented as diffuse tiny or small cystic lesions in the liver without enhancement. [Extracted from the article]

Coherent phonon spectroscopy of GaInP/GaAs/GaInP single quantum wells is demonstrated with time-resolved second-harmonic generation. Coherent longitudinal optical phonons are impulsively launched via transient pump-induced field screening and stimulated Raman scattering in the well and barrier regions. A phonon mode at 9.4 THz is identified as interfacial phonon localized in the GaAs/GaInP hetero-interface. The free induced dephasing of this coherent interfacial phonon is analyzed with window-gated Fourier transform. Its dephasing time is used to characterize the interface quality of semiconductor heterostructures. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafast directional crystallization that combined the electric current stressing with metal-induced crystallization has been achieved for BF[sup +, sub 2]-implanted amorphous Si (a-Si) at room temperature. Polycrystalline Si was observed to grow from anode towards cathode and the channels of a-Si strips with a length of 140 µm and a width of 10 µm can be fully crystallized with a stressing time less than 0.2 s. The directional growth of crystalline Si nanowires, 50 nm in width and as long as 3 µm in length, with an extraordinarily high aspect ratio of 60, indicates a strong electric-field-induced effect on the growth. The growth method provides a promising scheme to solve the problems caused by high-temperature and long-term annealing treatment for the applications of optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced dopant activation and elimination of end-of-range (EOR) defects in BF[sup +][sub 2]-implanted silicon-on-insulator (SOI) have been achieved by high-density current stressing. With the high-density current stressing, the implantation amorphous silicon underwent recrystallization, enhanced dopant activation and elimination of the (EOR) defects. The current stressing method allows the complete removal of EOR defects that has not been possible with conventional thermal annealing in the processing of high-performance SOI devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient three-photon near-infrared (NIR) quantum cutting (QC) is reported in Tm3+ singly doped YVO4 polycrystalline phosphors, where an optimized content of Tm3+ is determined to be 1.0 mol. %. Upon the absorption of a visible photon around 473 nm, three NIR photons emitting at 1180, 1479, and 1800 nm can be obtained efficiently by the sequential three-step radiative transitions of Tm3+. The underlying mechanisms are analyzed in terms of the steady and dynamic fluorescence spectra measurements. Internal quantum yield is calculated to be 161.8% as a theoretical value when luminescence quenching due to defect species can be overcome. In addition, the broadband ultraviolet (UV)-excited [VO4]3- can strongly sensitize the 1G4 level of Tm3+ in the wavelength range likely from 250 to 360 nm, greatly increasing the UV photo-response and NIR fluorescent intensity of Tm3+. The further development of this broadband three-photon NIR QC material would explore the new route to improve the photo-response of novel photoelectronic devices, particularly in 250-360 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a case of the prenatal diagnosis of a very rare anomaly, namely isolated otocephaly, using two-dimensional and three-dimensional ultrasound at 24 weeks of gestation. Two-dimensional ultrasound revealed poly-hydramnios, absence of a stomach shadow, hypotelorism and a proboscis-like mass. Three-dimensional ultrasound gave a precise demonstration of the striking craniofacial features of otocephaly including agnathia, synotia, microstomia and protuberance of the nose-mouth fusion. The use of three-dimensional ultrasound provided a whole view of the very rare lethal malformation in utero and contributed significantly to prenatal diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compact radio sources exhibit scintillation, an interference pattern arising from propagation through inhomogeneous plasma, where scintillation patterns encode the relative distances and velocities of the source, scattering material, and Earth. In previous work, we showed that the scintillation velocity of the repeating fast radio burst (FRB) FRB20201124A could be measured by correlating burst spectrum pairs, with low values of the scintillation velocity and scattering time-scale suggesting scattering nearby the Earth at $\sim$ 0.4 kpc. In this work, we have measured the scintillation velocity at 10 epochs spanning 1 yr, observing an annual variation that strongly implies the screen is within the Milky Way. Modelling the annual variation with a 1D anisotropic or 2D isotropic screen results in a screen distance $d_{\mathrm{ l}} = 0.40\pm 0.04$ or $0.46\pm 0.06\,$ pc from the Earth, respectively, possibly associated with material outside of the Local Bubble or the edge of the Orion–Eridanus superbubble. Additional measurements particularly at times of low effective velocity will help probe changes in screen properties, and distinguish between screen models. Where scintillation of an FRB originates in its host galaxy or local environment, these techniques could be used to detect orbital motion, and probe the FRB's local ionized environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A GaAs0.7Sb0.3/GaAs type-II quantum-well laser with a InAs quantum-dot (QD) layer adjacent to the well is reported. The laser shows much lower threshold current density, lower internal loss and higher characteristic temperature than the device without adjacent QDs. The better performances are attributed to additional dimensional confinement, resulting from a spatial potential fluctuation induced by the adjacent QDs, for carriers in the active region of the laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the observations of the highly active FRB20201124A with the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) at 550–750 MHz. These observations in the incoherent array mode simultaneously provided an arcsecond localization of bursts from FRB20201124A, the discovery of persistent radio emission associated with the host galaxy, and the detection of 48 bursts. Using the brightest burst in the sample (F  = 108 Jy ms), we find a structure-maximizing dispersion measure of 410.8 ± 0.5 pc cm−3. We find that our observations are complete down to a fluence level of 10 Jy ms, above which the cumulative burst rate scales as a power law |$R(\gt \!F) = 10~{\rm h}^{-1} \left(F/10\mathrm{\, Jy\, ms}\right)^{\gamma }$|⁠ , with γ  = −1.2 ± 0.2. We find that the bursts are, on average, wider than those reported for other repeating fast radio bursts (FRBs). We find that the waiting time between bursts is well approximated by an exponential distribution with a mean of ∼2.9 min during our observations. We searched for periodicities using both a standard Fourier domain method and the fast folding algorithm, but found no significant candidates. We measure bulk spectro-temporal drift rates between −0.75 and −20 MHz ms−1. Finally, we use the brightest burst to set an upper limit to the scattering time of 11.1 ms at 550 MHz. The localization of FRB20201124A adds strength to the proof-of-concept method described in our earlier work and serves as a potential model for future localizations and follow-up of repeating FRBs with the uGMRT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). < This article has been retracted at the request of the Co-Editor-in-Chief after a complaint was registered on the PubPeer webpage (https://pubpeer.com/publications/2460573E8B5707B48D70D73FF31E54). The article duplicates images from a figure, with a 90o rotation, from a paper that had already appeared in PLoS ONE (2015), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143438 , also two panels in Fig 4C seem to be the same image. Several requests to the authors to resolve this went unanswered. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that the paper has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents a misuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.> [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether the sky rate of fast radio bursts (FRBs) depends on Galactic latitude using the first catalog of FRBs detected by the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment Fast Radio Burst (CHIME/FRB) Project. We first select CHIME/FRB events above a specified sensitivity threshold in consideration of the radiometer equation, and then we compare these detections with the expected cumulative time-weighted exposure using Andersonâ€"Darling and Kolmogorovâ€"Smirnov tests. These tests are consistent with the null hypothesis that FRBs are distributed without Galactic latitude dependence (p -values distributed from 0.05 to 0.99, depending on completeness threshold). Additionally, we compare rates in intermediate latitudes (∣ b ∣ < 15°) with high latitudes using a Bayesian framework, treating the question as a biased coin-flipping experimentâ€"again for a range of completeness thresholds. In these tests the isotropic model is significantly favored (Bayes factors ranging from 3.3 to 14.2). Our results are consistent with FRBs originating from an isotropic population of extragalactic sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the medical case involving a 28-year-old man presented with abdominal distension, increasing dyspnea and swelling of lower limbs. He was diagnosed with constrictive pericarditis based on the findings of medical examinations including computed tomography and abdominal paracentesis. The patient was identified with congestive hepatopathy, which usually resulted from ischemic heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disorders and constrictive pericarditis.

Objective: This study compared the catechin composition of different tea byproducts and investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with green tea byproducts on the accumulation of abdominal fat, the modulation of lipid metabolism, and the inflammatory response in red feather native chickens. Methods: Bioactive compounds were detected, and in vitro antiobesity capacity analyzed via 3T3L1 preadipocytes. In animal experiments, 320 onedayold red feather native chickens were divided into 4 treatment groups: control, basal diet supplemented with 0.5% Jinxuan byproduct (JBP), basal diet supplemented with 1% JBP, or basal diet supplemented with 5x106 colonyforming unit (CFU)/kg Bacillus amyloliquefaciens+5x106 CFU/kg Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BA+SC). Growth performance, serum characteristics, carcass characteristics, and the mRNA expression of selected genes were measured. Results: This study compared several cultivars of tea, but Jinxuan showed the highest levels of the antiobesity compound epigallocatechin gallate. 3T3L1 preadipocytes treated with Jinxuan extract significantly reduced lipid accumulation. There were no significant differences in growth performance, serum characteristics, or carcass characteristics among the groups. However, in the 0.5% JBP group, mRNA expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acetylCoA carboxylase (ACC) were significantly decreased. In the 1% JBP group, FAS, ACC and peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor γ levels were significantly decreased. Moreover, inflammationrelated mRNA expression levels were decreased by the addition of JBP. Conclusion: JBP contained abundant catechins and related bioactive compounds, which reduced lipid accumulation in 3T3L1 preadipocytes, however there was no significant reduction in abdominal fat. This may be due to a lack of active antiobesity compounds or because the major changes in fat metabolism were not in the abdomen. Nonetheless, lipogenesisrelated and inflammationrelated mRNA expression were reduced in the 1% JBP group. In addition, dietary supplementation with tea byproducts could reduce the massive amount of byproducts created during tea production and modulate lipid metabolism and the inflammatory response in chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In plant genomes, the function of a substantial percentage of the putative protein-coding open reading frames (ORFs) is unknown. These ORFs have no significant sequence similarity to known proteins, which complicates the task of functional study of these proteins. Efforts are being made to explore methods that are complementary to, or may be used in combination with, sequence alignment and clustering methods. • A web-based protein functional class prediction software, SVMProt, has shown some capability for predicting functional class of distantly related proteins. Here the usefulness of SVMProt for functional study of novel plant proteins is evaluated. • To test SVMProt, 49 plant proteins (without a sequence homolog in the Swiss-Prot protein database, not in the SVMProt training set, and with functional indications provided in the literature) were selected from a comprehensive search of MEDLINE abstracts and Swiss-Prot databases in 1999–2004. These represent unique proteins the function of which, at present, cannot be confidently predicted by sequence alignment and clustering methods. • The predicted functional class of 31 proteins was consistent, and that of four other proteins was weakly consistent, with published functions. Overall, the functional class of 71.4% of these proteins was consistent, or weakly consistent, with functional indications described in the literature. SVMProt shows a certain level of ability to provide useful hints about the functions of novel plant proteins with no similarity to known proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) in conjunction with auto-correlation function (ACF) analysis has been applied to investigate the crystallization processes in amorphous silicon. For both electron beam evaporated and ion implanted amorphous silicon thin films, a high density of Si nanocrystallites was detected in as-deposited films. The density was found to diminish in amorphous films with annealing temperature first then increase. The conclusions are discussed in the context of free energy change with annealing temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the findings of an upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) observing campaign for FRB 180916.J0158+65, which was recently found to show a 16.35-d periodicity of its active cycle. We observed the source at 550–750 MHz for ∼2 h during each of three successive cycles at the peak of its expected active period. We find 0, 12 and 3 bursts, respectively, implying a highly variable bursting rate even within the active phase. We consistently detect faint bursts with spectral energies only an order of magnitude higher than the Galactic burst source SGR 1935+2154. The times of arrival of the detected bursts rule out many possible aliased solutions, strengthening the findings of the 16.35-d periodicity. A periodicity search over a short time-scale returned no highly significant candidates. Two of the beamformer-detected bursts were bright enough to be clearly detected in the imaging data, achieving subarcsec localization, and proving to be a proof-of-concept for FRB imaging with the GMRT. We provide a 3σ upper limit of the persistent radio flux density at 650 MHz of 66 μJy, which, combined with the European VLBI Network and Very Large Array limits at 1.6 GHz, further constrains any potential radio counterpart. These results demonstrate the power of the uGMRT for providing targeted observations to detect and localize known repeating FRBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present photoreflectance (PR) and surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) studies of GaAs1-xSbx/GaAs multiple quantum well structures with fundamental transition close to 1.3 μm. These two optical diagnostic tools are powerful supplementary techniques in the investigations of complicated quantum systems. PR gives detailed information about the heavy-holes related transitions, while SPS contains additional information concerning light-holes related ones. The comparison of experimental data and theoretical analysis based on the envelope function approximation, including strain and exciton binding energy, allows us to identify the observed PR and SPS features. The results point to the existence of weak type-I band alignment in samples being studied, and the Sb content dependent of conduction band offset is found to agree well with that reported by Wang et al. [Phys. Rev. B 70, 195339 (2004)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work systematically investigates the influence of InAs growth conditions and superlattice parameters on the optical properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) superlattice structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Using surface photovoltage spectroscopy, one directly obtains the absorption spectra up to the highest confined QD levels at room temperature. Based on photoluminescence measurements at different excitation wavelengths, a feature below the fundamental transition is attributed to the transition from uncoupled dots in the bottom layers. The QD transition energy shift was found to be correlated with material intermixing, driven by enhanced strain strength with the increase of layer number and the decrease of spacer thickness, and the growth rate of InAs. A blueshift observed in low growth rate samples is indicative of greatly enhanced intermixing. For QD superlattices grown at a relatively high deposition rate of InAs, the material intermixing effect is gradually enhanced with increasing layer numbers, which will compensate the electronically coupled effect and will prevent further energy shift toward the lower energy side. The absorption wavelengths in 10- and 30-period InAs/GaAs QD superlattices with higher growth rates are near 1.32 μm. The results suggest that these QD superlattice structures can be used as promising active media for long-wavelength QD lasers operating at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a detailed investigation on the optical transitions of strained type II GaAs[SUB0.7]Sb[SUB0.3]/GaAs (100) multiple quantum wells. For the theoretical calculations, both of the elastic deformational potential of intrinsic compressive biaxial strain, and quantum confinement effects are included. The asymmetric photoluminescence spectra reveal the features of excited state transition and quantum confinement Stark effect at high and low temperatures, respectively. The asymmetry features have also been investigated and confirmed by low-temperature photoluminescence experiments under different excitation power. From polarized photoluminescence excitation and photoconductivity spectra, both of the type I and type II optical transitions can also be clearly identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clin Microbiol Infect 2010; 16: 761–763 An epidemiological investigation with Legionella and molecular subtyping was conducted to determine the source of a case of nosocomial Legionnaires’ disease (LD) who was hospitalized in three hospitals within a month. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 3, an uncommon serogroup for infection, was isolated from the patient’s sputum. Environmental surveillance revealed Legionella colonization in all three hospitals; the patient isolate matched the isolate from the first hospital by molecular typing. Culturing the hospital water supply for Legionella is a pro-active strategy for detection of nosocomial LD even in hospitals experiencing no previous cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detailed studies are reported on the photoluminescence of InAsSb/InAs multiple quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InAs substrates with the Sb mole fraction ranging from 0.06 to 0.13. From 4 K photoluminescence the band alignment was determined to be staggered type II. By comparing the emission peak energies with a transition energy calculation it was found that both the conduction and valence bands of InAsSb alloy exhibit some bowing. The bowing parameters were determined to be in the ratio of 4:6. For a sample with Sb composition ∼0.12 in the quantum well the photoluminescence emission band covers the CO2 absorption peak making it suitable for use in sources for CO2 detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports that a highly strained GaAs/GaAs0.64Sb0.36 single quantum well laser has been grown on GaAs (100) substrate by using solid source molecular beam epitaxy. Ability of the uncoated broad-area laser to demonstrate 1.292 micron pulsed operation with a low threshold current density of 300 A/cm2; Spontaneous emission of the laser; Observation that the Auger recombination component dominates the threshold current at high temperature.

We report the effects of In[SUB0.33]Ga[SUB0.67]As capping layers on the structural and optical properties of InAs self-organized quantum dots grown by gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy. With different deposition methods for the InGaAs capping layer, the quantum-dot density can be adjusted from 2.3 × 10[SUP10] to 1.7 × 10[SUP11]cm[SUP-2]. As-cleaved 3.98-mm-long diode laser using triple stacks of InAs quantum dots with the capping layer grown by GaAs/InAs sequential binary growth demonstrates an emission wavelength of 1305 nm and a threshold current density of 360 A/cm[SUP2]. A ground-state saturation gain of 16.6 cm[SUP-1] is achieved due to the high dot density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the thermal relaxation of the photoluminescence (PL) in InAs/GaAs quantum dot superlattices having two to more than three times the critical thickness for spontaneous island formation. Role of repopulation in the PL quenching; Attribution of the temperature dependence of PL energy to the dilation of lattice and electron-lattice interaction.

Previous literature indicates that both light and photoreceptors may play key roles in host susceptibility to viruses. Studies have already suggested that phytochrome B is essential for the defence strategies of Nicotiana tabacum against Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Here, further investigations are made into the roles of phytochromes in N. tabacum against CMV. The recombinant vector pRNAi‐LIC‐PHYA/PHYB was used to produce tobacco phyA, phyB and phyAphyB mutants via the Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation method. The results suggest that both phyA and phyB deficiency increase the susceptibility of N. tabacum to CMV infection. Mutant plants showed more obvious CMV‐induced symptoms and higher transcriptional levels of the CMV coat protein gene than wild type plants, and the effect was clearly synergistic in the phyAphyB double mutant. Furthermore, the data show that mutations in phyA/phyB up‐regulate the sensitivity of N. tabacum to CMV by repressing the salicylic acid (SA)‐mediated defence pathway in tobacco plants. Additionally, the results indicate that phytochrome signalling strongly modulates the response of N. tabacum to endogenous SA but not to endogenous jasmonic acid. Taken together, these results reinforce the idea that intact phytochrome signalling plays a positive role in the ability of N. tabacum to resist CMV and is required for the induction and development of SA‐mediated defence responses in CMV‐inoculated N. tabacum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Q fever (QF) is a worldwide zoonosis associated with outbreaks. Only a few nationwide studies regarding the surveillance and epidemiology of human QF have been reported. Although QF is endemic in Taiwan, a nationwide database investigation of the epidemiology and characteristics of QF and its associations with scrub typhus (ST), murine typhus (MT) and leptospirosis (LS) has never been reported. We analysed nationwide databases of suspected QF, ST, MT and LS cases from October 2007 to December 2014 obtained from the Centers for Disease Control, Taiwan. A total of 468 (4.2%) QF cases were identified among 11 109 suspected QF cases. QF cases were mainly distributed in the southern and Kaohsiung-Pingtung regions but rarely in the eastern region. Compared to non-QF cases, QF cases had significantly higher percentages of males (88.7 versus 66.2%) and high-risk occupations (farming, animal husbandry or veterinary medicine) (16.2 versus 10.5%). But the percentages of specific animal contact, including cattle (0.6 versus 0.8%) and goats (0.9 versus 1.0%), were low in both. The majority of suspected QF cases (89.4%) were simultaneously suspected with ST, MT or LS, and the combinations of suspected diseases differed between regions. The number of suspected QF cases from the eastern region decreased since 2009, which was not observed in other regions. A total of 1420 (12.8%) cases had confirmed diseases, including QF (453, 4.1%), QF+ST (7, 0.06%), QF+MT (4, 0.04%), QF+LS (4, 0.04%), MT (186, 1.7%), ST (545, 4.9%), ST+LS (11, 0.1%) and LS (210, 1.9%). Compared to cases of unknown disease, QF cases had larger percentages of high-risk occupations (16.2 versus 9.6%) but similar histories of animal contact (29.8 versus 25.1%). QF is an endemic disease in southern Taiwan. It is difficult to differentiate QF from ST, MT or LS only by high-risk occupations and history of animal contact, and co-infection of QF with these diseases should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antiviral drug resistance hepatitis B virus (HBV) variants ( HBV- DR) occur spontaneously in chronic hepatitis B ( CHB) patients and after exposure to nucleos(t)ide analogues ( NUCs). We determined the prevalence of HBV- DR variants among participants of the Hepatitis B Research Network ( HBRN) Cohort Study conducted at 21 sites in the United States ( US) and Canada. Samples obtained from 1342 CHB participants aged ≥18 years, and who were currently not receiving NUCs, were tested for HBV- DR variants by Sanger sequencing. In addition, next generation sequencing ( NGS) was used to characterize HBV- DR variants from 66 participants with and 66 participants with no prior NUC exposure matched for HBV genotype and HBV DNA level. Half the participants were men, 75% Asian, 26% HBeAg positive. Primary HBV- DR variants were detected by Sanger sequencing in 16 (1.2%) participants: 2/142 (1.4%) with and 14/1200 (1.2%) without prior NUC exposure; only 1 of these 16 had a secondary variant. In total, 23 (1.7%) participants had secondary variants, including 1 with prior NUC experience. In the subset of 132 participants, NGS detected HBV- DR variants in a higher proportion of participants: primary variants in 18 (13.6%) (8 [12.1%] with, and 10 [15.2%] without prior NUC therapy) and secondary variants in 10 (7.6%) participants. Based on Sanger sequencing, prevalence of primary HBV- DR variants is low (1.2%) among adults with CHB in US/Canada. The similar low prevalence of HBV- DR variants in participants with and without NUC treatment suggests transmission of these variants is uncommon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective This study evaluated customer attitudes, perceptions, and utilisation of a traffic-light food labelling (TFL) programme before and after the TFL was implemented in a worksite canteen in Taiwan. Study design A one-arm intervention was implemented in the canteen and buffet of a research park in Taiwan. Phase 1 consisted of dissemination of information regarding the TFL, targeting the customers (June–July, 2014); phase 2 consisted of implementation of the TFL in the buffet starting in August 2014. The TFL included red, yellow and green labels, indicating ‘unhealthy/stop’, ‘moderately unhealthy/wait’ and ‘healthy/go’, respectively. Methods The evaluation was based on two independent anonymous surveys in July 2014 (in phase 1) and April 2015 (in phase 2). Customers were invited to take a survey regarding the TFL programme, the food environment in the canteen, and their lunch choices. Logistic regression models examined the changes in customers' attention and attitudes towards the labelling and their food choices between the two surveys. Results The customers reported positive attitudes towards the TFL. The proportion of customers who reported choosing foods based on the recommendations increased from 38% to 50% (P < 0.01). The proportion of the buffet customers who chose green-light entrées and red-light entrées changed from 13% and 63% to 36% and 21%, respectively (P < 0.001). The availability of green-light entrées in the buffet increased as well. Conclusions This first report of a TFL intervention in an Asian worksite suggests that TFL is acceptable and well understood by this population and may assist customers in choosing healthier items when healthier choices are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) are the main products of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in many plants. However, their biological function during environmental stresses in plants is rarely reported. In the present study, the effects of pretreatment with PAs on the response of cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings to high irradiance (HI), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and cold stress were investigated. The PAs pretreament alleviated stress-induced oxidative damage in plant cells and increased the activity of alternative oxidase (AOX) and content of abscisic acid (ABA). Furthermore, PAs-pretreated seedlings suffered less damage by the stress conditions, maintained higher content of chlorophyll a+ b and AOX proteins in comparison with the control. Therefore, our findings suggest that PAs might contribute to plant tolerance to environmental stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]