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Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is a serious agricultural pest worldwide. Neonicotinoids are the most important new class of synthetic insecticides used in the management of B. tabaci. However, B. tabaci populations have developed resistance to various active ingredients in neonicotinoids following long-term and widespread application.Dinotefuran exhibited high toxicity against most B. tabaci field populations. One population (Din-R) with a high level of resistance to dinotefuran (255.6-fold) was first identified in the field. The Din-R population exhibited medium to high levels of resistance to all the tested neonicotinoid insecticides and a high level of resistance to spinetoram. Genetic inheritance analysis revealed that resistance to dinotefuran was incompletely recessive and polygenic. The synergist piperonyl butoxide significantly increased the toxicity of dinotefuran to Din-R. P450 activity in the Din-R population was 2.19-fold higher than in the susceptible population. RNA-sequencing analysis showed that 12 P450 genes were significantly upregulated in the Din-R population, of which CYP6DW5, CYP6JM1 and CYP306A1 were found to exhibit more than 3.00-fold higher expression in Din-R when using a reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Expression of eight P450 genes was obviously induced by dinotefuran, and CYP6DW5 showed the highest expression level. After knockdown of CYP6DW5 in Din-R, the toxicity of dinotefuran increased significantly.P450 had a crucial role in dinotefuran resistance in B. tabaci, and CYP6DW5 was involved in the resistance. These results provide important information for the management of resistance in B. tabaci and improve our understanding of the resistance mechanism of dinotefuran. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

This study assessed the cross-sectional associations of low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs) and low-fat diets (LFDs) with hepatic steatosis in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Diet was measured using the 24-hour recalls. Hepatic steatosis was defined by vibration-controlled transient elastography. The odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using logistic regression. Substitution analysis was performed using the leave-one-out model.Participants with higher adherence scores (comparing extreme tertiles) for an overall (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.61-0.96, psubtrend/sub = 0.049) or a healthful LCD (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43-0.87, psubtrend/sub lt; 0.001) exhibited lower odds of steatosis. Replacing 5% of the energy from carbohydrates with total fat and protein (OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.83-0.99) or unsaturated fat and plant protein (OR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.84-0.94) was associated with lower steatosis prevalence. High overall (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.13-2.40, psubtrend/sub = 0.006) or unhealthful (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.10-1.80, psubtrend/sub lt; 0.001) LFD scores were associated with increased likelihood of steatosis.These findings suggest that the associations between LCDs and LFDs and steatosis may depend on the quality and food sources of the macronutrients.

Research Question/Issue: We examine the role of corporate executives in dividend tunneling activity by controlling shareholders and whether the correlation between executive ownership and dividend tunneling is influenced by internal and external governance mechanisms. Research Findings/Insights: We find increased executive ownership may lead to a higher level of dividend tunneling. This is further strengthened by our finding that the positive effect of executive ownership on dividend tunneling is more pronounced for firms with weaker minority shareholder protection. In addition, our results show that higher degrees of state ownership may further intensify this positive association. Finally, we find that analyst coverage has a moderating effect and constrains the collusion between controlling shareholders and executives in dividend tunneling activity. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Our study contributes to the literature on the role of managerial ownership in controlling shareholders' dividend tunneling activity. We fill a gap in the literature on the corporate agency problem by providing evidence that dividends have been employed by controlling shareholders as a means of tunneling and that executives with higher ownership are more likely to collude with controlling shareholders in dividend tunneling activities. Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study contributes to the debates around the promotion of the cash dividend policy in China, as our findings show that cash dividends are used as a tunneling vehicle. Providing important evidence to regulators, our findings support the argument that external monitoring by financial analysts can effectively constrain dividend tunneling by dominant shareholders, especially in the context of emerging stock markets with high ownership concentration, weak minority shareholder protection, and an underdeveloped legal system.

Using a sample of 1,632 U.K. firm-year observations from 2002 to 2013, this paper investigates the impact of multidimensional corporate environmental performance (CEP) on firm risk. Considering two dimensions of CEP, namely environmental management performance (EMP) and environmental operational performance (EOP), we find that EMP serves as an effective mechanism in reducing firm risk, and such an effect is mainly driven by the manufacturing sector. Meanwhile, there is no clear association between EOP and firm risk. However, our findings highlight a moderating effect of EOP on the relationship between negative EMP and firm risk. This provides new insights into the value of multidimensional CEP and suggests that the complex relationship between outcome- and process-based environmental performance is important for understanding the real effects of CEP on firm risk. Our results have important implications for managerial decision-making in strategy and risk management, as well as for policymaking in environmental regulation.

Oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL) can damage vascular endothelial cells and cause atherosclerosis, but its epigenetic regulatory mechanism has not been fully elucidated. We show that ox‐LDL induced significant apoptosis and loss of function in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs). At the same time, ox‐LDL significantly decreased the expression of Hippo–YAP/ZAP (Yes‐associated protein/YLP motif–containing 1) pathway proteins as compared to that of the control. The luciferase reporter system confirmed that microRNA (miR)‐496 silenced YAP gene expression by binding to its 3′ untranslated region (3′ UTR). Ox‐LDL–treated miR‐496 overexpression HUVECs had a higher apoptosis rate and more severe dysfunction compared to the control cells. This in‐depth study shows that ox‐LDL inhibits YAP protein expression by inducing miR‐496 expression, leading to its inability to enter the nucleus, thereby losing its function as a transcriptional cofactor for activating the downstream genes. Our findings reveal that, through epigenetic modification, ox‐LDL can inhibit the normal expression of Hippo–YAP/ZAP pathway proteins via miR‐496 expression and induce vascular endothelial cell dysfunction.

Xanthoangelol (XAG), a prenylated chalcone isolated from the Japanese herb Angelica keiskei Koidzumi, has been reported to exhibit antineoplastic properties. However, the specific anti-tumor activity of XAG in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and the relevant mechanisms are not known. Herein, we evaluated the effect of XAG against HCC in vitro and in vivo. Although XAG treatment did not significantly reduce the viability of the Hep3B and Huh7 cell lines, it suppressed cell migration, invasion, and EMT. This anti-metastatic effect of XAG was due to induction of autophagy, because treatment with the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyadenine (3-MA) or knockdown of the pro-autophagy Beclin-1 effectively abrogated the XAG-induced suppression of metastasis. Mechanistically, XAG induced autophagy via activation of the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway, and XAG treatment dramatically increased the expression of p-AMPK while decreasing p-mTOR expression. In addition, blocking AMPK/mTOR axis with compound C abrogated the autophagy-mediated inhibition of metastasis. The murine model of HCC metastasis also showed that XAG effectively reduced the number of metastatic pulmonary nodules. Taken together, our results revealed that autophagy via the activation of AMPK/mTOR pathway is essential for the anti-metastatic effect of XAG against HCC. These findings not only contribute to our understanding of the anti-tumor activity of XAG but also provide a basis for its clinical application in HCC. Before this study, evidence of XAG on HCC was purely anecdotal; present study provides the first comprehensive assessments of XAG on HCC metastasis and investigates its underlying mechanism. Results suggest that XAG exerts anti-metastatic properties against HCC through inducing autophagy which is mediated by the activation of AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. This research extends our knowledge about the antineoplastic properties of XAG and suggests that induction autophagy may represent future treatment strategies for metastatic HCC.

Developing highly active, durable, and cost-effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of prime importance in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis techniques. Ru-based catalysts have high activities but always suffer from severe fading and dissolution issues, which cannot satisfy the stability demand of PEM. Herein, a series of iridium-doped yttrium ruthenates pyrochlore catalysts is developed, which exhibit better activity and much higher durability than commercial RuO

Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). In addition, resveratrol was shown to regulate the expression of MALAT1. Therefore, the objective of this study was to clarify the role of resveratrol in PD. During the study, luciferase assays were conducted to determine the effect of resveratrol on the transcription efficiency of MALAT1 promoter as well as the regulatory relationships among MALAT1, miR-129, and SNCA. In addition, real-time PCR, Western blot analysis, MTT and flow cytometry analyses were conducted to investigate the mechanism of resveratrol in PD. Furthermore, a PD mouse model was established to study the role of resveratrol in vivo. It was found that resveratrol increased the number of TH+ cells and the expression of miR-129, while decreasing the expression of MALAT1 and SNCA. In addition, MALAT1 inhibited the expression of miR-129, a negative regulator of SNCA, thus increasing the expression of SNCA. A further mechanistic study revealed that resveratrol inhibited MALAT1 expression by blocking the transcription of the MALAT1 promoter. Finally, MPTP treatment could decrease cell proliferation and increase cell apoptosis, while resveratrol could partly offset the effect of MPTP. In summary, the therapeutic effect of resveratrol in the treatment of PD can be attributed to its ability to modulate the MALAT1/miR-129/SNCA signaling pathway.

The commercialization of perovskite solar cells is mainly limited by their operational stability. Interlayer modification by thin interface materials between the perovskite and the charge transport layers is one of the most effective methods to promote the efficiency and stability of perovskite devices. However, the commonly used interlayer materials do not meet all the demands, including good film quality, excellent stability, and passivation capability without interfering with the charge transport. In this work, we propose a new material, water stable haloplumbate [TBA]PbI3 for interfacial modification, which is formed on the perovskite surface in-situ by tetra-butylammonium iodide (TBAI) treatment. Benefiting from its passivation effect and robustness, the modified devices result in a power conversion efficiency of 22.90% with excellent environmental and operational stability.

Olfactory dysfunction is among the signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive impairment. It has been demonstrated Aβ was associated with olfactory impairment observed in both transgenic mice and in AD patients. In this study, we evaluated amyloid deposition in the olfactory circuit of APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of AD, which showed olfactory dysfunction in olfactory behavior tests. We found amyloid depositions were widely distributed in the whole olfactory circuit. Moreover, we think these amyloid depositions contribute to neuronal atrophy, dendritic abnormalities, synapse loss and axonal degeneration. Therefore, there was a correlation between olfactory deficits and amyloid deposition. Our findings provide initial insights into the pathological basis of AD-related olfactory dysfunction.

Aims/introduction In previous studies, hydrogen gas (H2) administration has clearly shown effectiveness in inhibiting diabetes. Here, we evaluated whether subcutaneous injection of H2 shows enhanced efficacy against type 2 diabetes mellitus induced in mice by a high-fat diet and low-dose streptozotocin treatment. Material and methods H2 was injected subcutaneously at a dose of 1 mL/mouse/week for 4 weeks. Type 2 diabetes mellitus-associated parameters were then evaluated to determine the effectiveness of subcutaneous H2 administration. Results The bodyweight of H2 -treated mice did not change over the course of the experiment. Compared with the untreated control animals, glucose, insulin, low-density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels in the serum were significantly lower in treated mice, whereas high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the serum was significantly higher. Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were both improved in H2 -treated mice. Diabetic nephropathy analysis showed significant reductions in urine volume, urinary total protein and β2-microglobulin, kidney/bodyweight ratio, and kidney fibrosis associated with subcutaneous injection of H2 . Conclusions Subcutaneous injection of H2 significantly improves type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy-related outcomes in a mouse model, supporting further consideration of subcutaneous injection as a novel and effective route of clinical H2 administration.

The emerging 2D layered transition metal trihalides (MX3 ) have attracted extremely high interest given their exceptional structural and physical properties. Continuing to extend the library of 2D MX3 is essential for exploring new physical phenomena and enabling new functionality. Herein, the optical and electrical properties and the photodetection behavior of atomically thin RhI3 flakes exfoliated from bulk crystals are reported. This compound exhibits superior air and thermal stability, as well as thickness-dependent bandgap from 1.1 (18L) to 1.4 eV (2L). Field-effect transistors based on the few-layer RhI3 flakes display n-type semiconducting behavior with competitive mobility of 2.5 cm2 V-1 s-1 and ON/OFF current ratio of 4 × 104 . Importantly, the outstanding responsivity of 11.5 A W-1 and high specific detectivity of 2 × 1010 Jones are recorded from the RhI3 photodetectors under 980 nm illumination at room temperature in air. These findings indicate a variety of potential applications of atomically thin RhI3 flakes in future 2D-material-based electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Excess lead iodide (PbI2 ), as a defect passivation material in perovskite films, contributes to the longer carrier lifetime and reduced halide vacancies for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. However, the random distribution of excess PbI2 also leads to accelerated degradation of the perovskite layer. Inspired by nanocrystal synthesis, here, a universal ligand-modulation technology is developed to modulate the shape and distribution of excess PbI2 in perovskite films. By adding certain ligands, perovskite films with vertically distributed PbI2 nanosheets between the grain boundaries are successfully achieved, which reduces the nonradiative recombination and trap density of the perovskite layer. Thus, the power conversion efficiency of the modulated device increases from 20% to 22% compared to the control device. In addition, benefiting from the vertical distribution of excess PbI2 and the hydrophobic nature of the surface ligands, the modulated devices exhibit much longer stability, retaining 72% of their initial efficiency after 360 h constant illumination under maximum power point tracking measurement.

We investigate determinants of financial distress in large financial institutions based on the Distance-to-Default and Z-Scores measures. Using data of U.S. bank holding companies (BHCs), we find that the housing price index is a consistently significant factor across all BHCs and the non-performing loan ratio is the most powerful indicator for financial distress. Short-term wholesale funding is also a reliable default risk indicator. We additionally find that all the three regulatory capital requirements are very important for controlling default risk, particularly in the post-crisis period. (JEL C53, G14, G21, G28)

Summary Clopidogrel has been shown to improve endothelial function in vitro and in patients with coronary artery disease. However, it remains unclear whether such an effect of clopidogrel is associated with CYP2C19 polymorphisms that determine the antiplatelet effect of clopidogrel. After genotyping, 12 healthy participants were enrolled in the study. Among them, six participants were CYP2C19*1/*1 (extensive metabolizers; EM) and the other six participants were CYP2C19*2/*2 or *3 (poor metabolizers; PM). All participants received 300 mg clopidogel orally. Endothelial function was assessed by measurement of flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery, and adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet aggregation was determined by using optical aggregometry at 0, 4 and 24 h after administration of 300 mg clopidogrel. Flow-mediated dilation was significantly higher at 4 and 24 h after a loading-dose administration of clopidogrel in both the CYP2C19 EM and PM groups, but showed no significant difference between the two groups. Adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet aggregation was significantly inhibited at 4 and 24 h after administration of clopidogrel in the CYP2C19 EM group. However, there was no statistical correlation between the change in flow-mediated dilation and adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet aggregation in the two CYP2C19 groups. This is the first study to report that clopidogrel improves endothelial function in healthy Chinese subjects, which is unrelated with the CYP2C19 genotype and independent of antiplatelet action.

In this paper, we study strategic asset allocation for China's foreign reserves using a risk-based approach. Four aspects of the risk management are investigated: an investment universe, dependence structure, allocation strategies under risk minimization and trade-off between risks and returns. A regime-switching copula model is developed to investigate the dynamic dependence between assets. One regime emphasizes a short-term safe asset and the other regime emphasizes a long-term safe asset. The optimal allocation is derived following two strategies: risk minimization and trade-off between risks and returns in utility maximization with disappointment avoidance. If the central bank focuses solely on risk minimization, the asymmetries in the asset return dependence encourage the flight to safety. However, if higher risks are allowed in exchange for higher returns, even the exchange is very conservative, and the asymmetries would discourage the flight to safety. Therefore, we suggest that China should mitigate its flight to safety after 2008 and increase holdings of short-term bank deposits, long-term treasury bonds and euro bonds.

J Oral Pathol Med (2011) 40: 127–134 Objectives: The aim of this study was to define the biomarkers of lymphatic spread which facilitate the appropriate therapy for oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) patients at early stage. Here, we investigated the expression levels of seven biomarkers in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues as well as their associations with the clinicopathologic features of OTSCC patients. Methods: The OTSCC samples were obtained from 138 patients undergoing tumor resection. Immunohistochemical staining was performed by using ColIA, ColIVA, Fn1, MMP-1, MMP-2, uPA, and D2-40 antibodies. Expression level of theses biomarkers in normal and tumor tissues were compared. Risk factors of lymphatic dissemination were evaluated by logistic regression equation. Results: LVD, MMP-1, MMP-2, and uPA in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in normal tissue, and ColIA, ColIVA, and Fn1 in cancer tissue were significantly lower than those in normal tissue. Similar results were obtained from the comparison between metastatic tumor and non-metastatic tumor. All biomarker expressions were closely related with lymph node status and clinical stage. Additionally, the regression equation demonstrated that LVD is the risk factor of lymphatic metastasis in OTSCC patients (OR = 1.732; 95% CIs: 1.167–2.057; P

The present paper studies China's national level currency exposure since 2005 when the country adopted a new exchange rate regime allowing the renminbi (RMB) to move towards greater flexibility. Using generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic and constant conditional correlation-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic methods to estimate the augmented capital asset pricing models with orthogonalized stock returns, we find that China equity indexes are significantly exposed to exchange rate movements. In a static setting, there is strong sensitivity of stock returns to movements of China's tradeweighted exchange rate, and to the bilateral exchange rates except the RMB/dollar rate. However, in a dynamic framework, exposure to all the bilateral currency pairs under examination is significant. The results indicate that under the new exchange rate regime, China's gradualist approach to moving towards greater exchange rate flexibility has managed to keep exposure to a moderate level. However, we find evidence that in a dynamic setting, the exposure of the RMB to the dollar and other major currencies is significant. For China, the challenge of managing currency risk exposure is looming greater.

This paper demonstrates femtosecond laser direct writing mediated flexible integration of plasmonic Ag/Pd alloy nanostructures that can be potentially used as a robust surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrate inside the microfluidic chip. Silver–palladium alloy with controllable composition ratio can be patterned into plasmonic nanostructures due to two-photon absorption induced coreduction of silver/palladium double metal ions. Since the alloy structures can effectively protect the silver from oxidation, thus they can facilitate the stable on-chip detection devices with long lifetime. The as-fabricated silver–palladium alloy substrate with 18% content of palladium maintains a relatively high enhancement factor of about 2.62 × 108 while at the same time demonstrating the best stability against aerobic oxidation, as it is stable for up to 20 d under ambient aerobic conditions, exhibiting a significant improvement compared to those unprotected silver substrates which have a limited lifetime of only 3 or 4 d.

Changes with Li extraction in the crystal structure and electronic structure of monoclinic LiMnO2 have been investigated by first-principle calculations using spin-polarized generalized gradient approximation method. It is found that the Li extraction has changed the oxidation state of Mn ion from 3+ to 4+ and thereby induced a phase transition from the monoclinic structure to rhombohedral symmetry, which opens channels for the migration of Mn ions from their own octahedral sites to the interlayer Li vacancies. It is the migration of Mn ions that responds for the phase transition to a spinel-like structure and the severe capacity loss during the electrochemical cycles of monoclinic LiMnO2.