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In this article, we prove that every compact simple Lie group $${\mathrm S}{\mathrm O}(n)$$ for $$n\ge 10$$ admits at least $$2\left( [\frac{n-1}{3}]-2\right) $$ non-naturally reductive left-invariant Einstein metrics.

Based on the representation theory and the results on involutions of compact simple Lie groups, we show that E 7 admits new naturally reductive and non-naturally reductive Einstein metrics.

Background The Valsalva maneuver (VM) is widely used in daily life, and has been reported to cause high intraocular pressure (IOP). This study aimed to assess changes in IOP, the Schlemm’s canal (SC), autonomic nervous system activity, and iridocorneal angle morphology in healthy individuals during different phases of the VM. Methods The high frequency (HF) of heart rate (HR) variability, the ratio of low frequency power (LF) and HF (LF/HF), heart rate (HR), IOP, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), the area of SC (SCAR), pupil diameter (PD), and some iridocorneal angle parameters (AOD500, ARA750, TIA500 and TISA500) were measured in 29 young healthy individuals at baseline, phase 2, and phase 4 of the VM. SBP and DBP were measured to calculate mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mean ocular perfusion pressure (MOPP). HF and the LF/HF ratio were recorded using Kubios HR variability premium software to evaluate autonomic nervous system activity. The profiles of the anterior chamber were captured by a Spectralis optical coherence tomography device (anterior segment module). Results Compared with baseline values, in phase 2 of the VM, HR, LF/HF, IOP (15.1 ± 2.7 vs. 18.8 ± 3.5 mmHg, P 2, P = 0.039), and PD increased significantly, whereas MOPP, AOD500, TIA500, and TISA500 decreased significantly. In phase 4, DBP, MAP, AOD500, ARA750, TIA500and TISA500 were significantly lower than baseline value, while PD and HF were remarkably larger than baseline. The comparison between phase 2 and phase 4 showed that HR, IOP (18.8 ± 3.5 vs. 14.7 ± 2.9 mmHg, P Conclusions The expansion and collapse of the SC in different phases of the VM may arise from changes in autonomic nervous system activity. Further, the effects of the VM on IOP may be attributed to changes in blood flow and ocular anatomy. Trial registration This observational study was approved by the ethics committee of Tongji Hospital (Registration Number: ChiCTR-OON-16007850, Date: 01.28.2016).

Aim: To measure changes in the sizes of Schlemm canal (SC) and trabecular meshwork (TM) in healthy individuals before and after topical application of 1% adrenaline at 15, 45, and 90 minutes using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT). Methods: Anterior chamber angle imaging of the nasal and temporal regions of the right eyes was performed with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (ASOCT) before and after topical application of 1% adrenaline at 15, 45, and 90 minutes. The diameter and area of SC, width and thickness of TM, anterior chamber depth (ACD) and pupil diameter (PD) were measured with ASOCT images. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was also recorded simultaneously. Results: A total of 15 healthy individuals were enrolled and included 7 male subjects and 8 female subjects; Compared with the parameters before intervention, both the SC diameter and area in the 2 quadrants increased after the application of adrenaline at the 3 time points (P .05). Conclusion: Topical application of 1% adrenaline in eye led to decrease in IOP with the SC diameter and area as well as the TM width increased after medication. While the TM thickness, ACD, PD seemed to remain constant.

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that microRNAs are associated with malignant biological behaviour, including tumorigenesis, cancer progression and metastasis via the regulation of target gene expression. Our previous study demonstrated that programmed cell death protein 4 (PDCD4), which is a tumour suppressor gene, is a target of microRNA-21 (miR-21), which affects the proliferation and transformation capabilities of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells. However, the role of miR-21 in the molecular mechanism underlying the migration, invasion and angiogenesis of RCC remains poorly understood. The effects of miR-21 on the invasion, migra tion and angiogenesis of RCC cells was determined through meta-analysis and regulation of miR-21 expression in vitro. After searching several databases, 6 articles including a total of 473 patients met the eligibility criteria for this analysis. The combined results of the meta-analysis revealed that increased miR-21 expression was significantly associated with adverse prognosis in patients with RCC, with a pooled hazard ratio estimate of 1.740. In in vitro experiments, we demonstrated that a miR-21 inhibitor decreased the number of migrating and invading A498 and 786-O RCC cells, along with a decrease in PDCD4, c-Jun, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2 and MMP9 expression. Additionally, inhibition of miR-21 was revealed to reduce tube formation and tube junctions in the endothelial cell line HMEC-1 by affecting the expression of angiotensin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor A, whereas PDCD4 small interfering RNA exerted opposite effects on the same cells. Overall, these findings, along with evidence-based molecular biology, demonstrated that miR-21 expression promoted the migration, invasion and angiogenic abilities of RCC cells by directly targeting the PDCD4/c-Jun signalling pathway. The results may help elucidate the molecular mechanism under lying the development and progression of RCC and provide a promising target for microRNA-based therapy.

Edge computing is gaining popularity these years, more service providers are shifting their services from clouds to the edge for better QoS provision. Recent studies in NFV also tend to deploy Network Function Virtualization (NFV) services in the edge network. However, the NFV deployment in the edge network is a challenging problem and differs from the similar problem in data centers. We mainly focus on a new NFV Chain Placement (NCP) problem in the paper. It is well known that the edge of the network is dynamic, and edge computing aims to utilize the physical edge resources efficiently and quickly. We first prove that the NCP problem is NP-complete. Then we propose a novel metric that can better measure the balance condition of the physical resources. We also analyze its advantages. Finally, we design an efficient algorithm, MINI, based on this metric. We evaluate MINI using extensive simulations. The results show that MINI has great advantages over a genetic algorithm (GA) in terms of physical resource utilization, acceptance rate, and running time.

In this paper, we give the classification of (n + 2)-dimensional metric n-Lie algebras in terms of some facts about n-Lie algebras.

Novikov super-algebras are related to quadratic conformal super-algebras which correspond to Hamiltonian pairs and play fundamental role in completely integrable systems. In this paper, we focus on quadratic Novikov super-algebras, which are Novikov super-algebras with associative non-degenerate super-symmetric bilinear forms. We show that quadratic Novikov super-algebras are associative and the associated Lie-super algebras of quadratic Novikov super-algebras are 2-step nilpotent. Moreover, we give some properties on quadratic Novikov super-algebras and classify the associated Lie-super algebras of quadratic Novikov super-algebras up to dimension 7.

While strategic alliances and joint ventures have become important organizational forms promising a variety of efficiency benefits for the economy, a body of research has been building showing that alliances between competitors can have significant anticompetitive consequences. This paper explores a particular kind of arrangement, here called a “buffer joint venture”, in which parent firms create an entity selling products located between their own locations in product or geographic space. Depending upon the governance structure of the joint venture and the timing of price-setting by the joint venture and its parents, the buffer joint venture may reduce competition between the parents leading to higher prices and profits and lower social welfare. By altering the per-period profits from collusion and deviation payoffs, a buffer joint venture can also affect the stability of collusion between parents in a repeated game context.

In this paper, we study a new Lie superalgebra constructed by a 2|2-dimensional Balinsky–Novikov superalgebra, which is called the superalgebra of W(2,2). It can be realized from semi product of the W-algebra W(2,2) and its module of the intermediate series. Finally, we determine all modules of the intermediate series over this superalgebra. Since it is difficult to do so directly, we make it by using modules of the intermediate series over the trivial super extension of the Witt algebra.

In this paper, we introduce the notion of a left-symmetric algebroid, which is a generalization of a left-symmetric algebra from a vector space to a vector bundle. The left multiplication gives rise to a representation of the corresponding sub-adjacent Lie algebroid. We construct left-symmetric algebroids from -operators on Lie algebroids. We study phase spaces of Lie algebroids in terms of left-symmetric algebroids. Representations of left-symmetric algebroids are studied in detail. At last, we study deformations of left-symmetric algebroids, which could be controlled by the second cohomology class in the deformation cohomology.

Assume that Γ is a finite abelian group and e is an antisymmetric bicharacter on Γ. Let V be a Γ-graded space with a non-degenerate e-symmetric bilinear form of degree zero. The goal of this paper is to develop a generalized Clifford theory on V. We first introduce the e-Clifford algebra C ( V ) and the e-exterior algebra Λ ( V ) , and then establish an analogue of Chevalley identification between C ( V ) and Λ ( V ) . Secondly, we extend the non-degenerate bilinear form of degree zero on V to a non-degenerate bilinear form on Λ ( V ) . Finally, as an application, we give a realization of the orthosymplectic e-Lie algebra.

We examine four variations of a model in which oligopolistic retailers compete in a downstream market and one of them is a large retailer that has its own exclusive supplier. We demonstrate that an increase in the buyer power of the large retailer vis-a-vis its supplier leads to a fall in the retail price and an improvement in consumer welfare. More interestingly, we find that the beneficial effects of an increase in buyer power are large when the intensity of downstream competition is low, with the effects being the largest in the case of downstream monopoly.

Apart from the familiar holdup problem, we investigate another implication of specific investment that has not been examined systematically in the literature. That is, the presence of specific investment can make a supplier vulnerable to large negative shocks to its customer’s business. We demonstrate that this vulnerability causes the supplier to under-invest and a larger volatility in the customer’s business exacerbates the supplier’s under-investment. More surprisingly, a higher degree of specificity may induce the supplier to invest more, rather than less, in the specific asset.

\ud Purpose: Studies were designed to evaluate changes in the size of the Schlemm's Canal (SC) and trabecular meshwork(TM) during accommodation stimuli and cycloplegia states in myopic children.\ud Methods: 34 children were enrolled. A -6D accommodation stimulus was achieved by looking at an optotype through a mirror. Cycloplegia state was induced with 1% tropicamide. Two states were confirmed by measuring the central lens thickness（CLT）, the anterior chamber depth and the pupil diameter. The size of the Schlemm's Canal (SC) and Trabecular Meshwork(TM) was measured using swept-source optical coherence tomography. And the associations between the change of the SC and the CLT were analyzed. \ud Results: When compared with the relaxation state, under -6D accommodation stimuli, the size of SC increased significantly: the SC area (SCA) amplified from 6371±2517μm2 to 7824±2727 μm2; the SC length (SCL) from 249±10 μm to 295±12 μm, and SC width (SCW) from 27±9 μm to 31±8 μm. Under cycloplegia state, the SCA reduced to 5009±2028 μm2; the SCL to 212±μm and the SCW to 22±5 μm. In addition, the changed areas of SCA (r=0. 35; P=0.0007), SCL (r=0. 251; P=0.0172), and SCW (r=0. 253; P=0.016) were significantly correlated with the change in CLT. However, the size of TM did not change substantially when compared with the relaxation state. Only the TM length (TML) increased from 562±45μm to 587±47μm after -6D accommodation stimulus.\ud Conclusion: SC size enlarges after -6D accommodation stimuli and shrinks under cycloplegia. However, for TM, only the TM length increase under accommodation stimulus state.\ud KEYWORDS: Schlemm’s Canal, Trabecular Meshwork, accommodation

We aimed to observe the opening status and morphological parameters of Schlemm's canal (SC) in normal eyes using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT). Consecutive EDI-OCT scans were used to examine the right eye of 20 normal individuals. EDI-OCT was performed clockwise for 8 regions (at the 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30, 9:00 and 10:30 o’clock positions). Image processing and analysis in java software was used to measure the area, perimeter, and diameter of SC. Twenty-one serial scans of each region were evaluated and a total of 168 images were included in the analyses of each eye. The SC was detected in 100.0% of the sections. The distribution of individual measurements of SC was highly variable. The mean values of SC size significantly differed among the different clock-face positions. The mean values of the area, perimeter, and diameter of SC in the 9:00 o’clock position were the lowest, and those at the 7:30 o’clock position were the highest (P

The aim of the present study was to investigate the utility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters of the central visual pathway and the size of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). To test this, 24 POAG patients and 24 age- and gender-matched controls underwent 3.0 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging examinations, including DTI and LGN structural imaging. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated and Spearman's correlation coefficients were also determined. The results indicated that regarding the discrimination of POAG patients from healthy controls, the fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the optic tract, at a cutoff of ≤0.412, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.931, exhibited the highest sensitivity (79.2%) and specificity (89.6%). The FA values of the optic tract and the optic radiation were significantly correlated with LGN size, while the mean diffusivity values were not. In conclusion, the FA value of the optic tract may be a sensitive and reliable biomarker for glaucoma evaluation.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems establish a direct communication channel from the brain to an output device. As the basis of BCIs, recognizing motor imagery activities poses a considerable challenge to signal processing due to the complex and non-stationary characteristics. This paper introduces an optimal and intelligent method for motor imagery BCIs. Because of the robustness to noise, wavelet packet decomposition and common spatial pattern (CSP) methods were implemented to reduce the dimensions of preprocessed signals. And a novel and efficient classifier projection extreme learning machine (PELM) was employed to recognize the labels of electroencephalogram signals. Experiments have been performed on the BCI Competition Dataset to demonstrate the superiority of wavelet-CSP in BCI and the outperformance of the PELM-based method. Results show that the average recognition rate of PELM approaches approximately 70%, while the optimal rate of other methods is 72%, whose training time and classification time are relatively longer as 11.00 ms and 11.66 ms, respectively, compared with 4.75 ms and 4.87 ms obtained by using the proposed BCI system.

© 2018 Académie des sciences In this paper, we investigate left-invariant geodesic orbit metrics on connected simple Lie groups, where the metrics are formed by the structures of flag manifolds. We prove that all these left-invariant geodesic orbit metrics on simple Lie groups are naturally reductive.

A large number of countries have introduced successful leniency programs into their competition law enforcement to encourage colluding firms to come forward with evidence that will help detect cartels and punish price-fixers. This paper studies a feature of some of these programs that has received relatively little attention in the literature: the inclusion of “no immunity for instigators clauses” (NIICs). These provisions deny leniency benefits to parties that instigate cartel behavior or function as cartel ringleaders. Our results show that NIICs can lead to increased or decreased levels of cartel conduct. By removing the instigator's benefit from cooperating with the authorities, a NIIC undoes some of the destabilizing benefit the leniency program was intended to generate and thereby furthers cartel stability. On the other hand, the instigator faces an asymmetrically severe punishment under a NIIC and this can reduce the incentive to instigate in the first place.

We call a metric $m$-quasi-Einstein if $Ric_X^m$, which replaces a gradient of a smooth function $f$ by a vector field $X$ in $m$-Bakry-Emery Ricci tensor, is a constant multiple of the metric tensor. It is a generalization of Einstein metrics which contains Ricci solitons. In this paper, we focus on left-invariant metrics on simple Lie groups. First, we prove that $X$ is a left-invariant Killing vector field if the metric on a compact simple Lie group is $m$-quasi-Einstein. Then we show that every compact simple Lie group admits non-trivial $m$-quasi-Einstein metrics except $SU(3)$, $E_8$ and $G_2$, and most of them admit infinitely many metrics. Naturally, the study on $m$-quasi-Einstein metrics can be extended to pseudo-Riemannian case. And we prove that every compact simple Lie group admits non-trivial $m$-quasi-Einstein Lorentzian metrics and most of them admit infinitely many metrics. Finally, we prove that some non-compact simple Lie groups admit infinitely many non-trivial $m$-quasi-Einstein Lorentzian metrics.

In this paper, we find some new homogeneous manifolds G/H admitting non-Riemannian Einstein-Randers metrics when G is the compact simple Lie group E 6, or E 7 or E 8. In the beginning, we prove that these homogeneous manifolds admit Riemannian Einstein metrics. Based on these metrics, we obtain non-Riemannian Einstein Randers metrics on them.

Purpose We aimed to measure the sizes of Schlemm’s canal (SC) and the trabecular meshwork (TM) in healthy individuals and to evaluate variations with age from childhood to old age by using swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods Anterior chamber angle imaging of the superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal regions of the right and left eyes was performed with swept-source OCT. The diameter and area of SC and TM width and thickness were measured manually from OCT images. Results A total of 114 healthy individuals were enrolled and included 48 male subjects and 66 female subjects; their ages ranged from 7 to 83 years. Both the SC diameter and area in the four quadrants decreased significantly with aging (P 0.05). Conclusions With aging, the SC diameter and area became smaller, TM thickness increased, and TM width seemed to remain constant. Measurements of the sizes of SC and the TM with swept-source OCT could assist in clinical assessments and treatment planning for glaucoma.

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Previous MRI studies have revealed that POAG can be associated with alterations in hippocampal function. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate a relationship between chronic high intraocular pressure (IOP) and hippocampal changes in a rat model. We used behavioural tests to assess learning and memory ability, and additionally investigated the hippocampal expression of pathological amyloid beta (Aβ), phospho-tau, and related pathway proteins. Chronic high IOP impaired learning and memory in rats and concurrently increased Aβ and phospho-tau expression in the hippocampus by altering the activation of different kinase (GSK-3β, BACE1) and phosphatase (PP2A) proteins in the hippocampus. This study provides novel evidence for the relationship between high IOP and hippocampal alterations, especially in the context of learning and memory.

The transcriptional pathways activated downstream of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling during angiogenesis remain incompletely characterized. By assessing the signals responsible for induction of the Notch ligand delta-like 4 (DLL4) in endothelial cells, we find that activation of the MAPK/ERK pathway mirrors the rapid and dynamic induction of DLL4 transcription and that this pathway is required for DLL4 expression. Furthermore, VEGF/ERK signaling induces phosphorylation and activation of the ETS transcription factor ERG, a prerequisite for DLL4 induction. Transcription of DLL4 coincides with dynamic ERG-dependent recruitment of the transcriptional co-activator p300. Genome-wide gene expression profiling identified a network of VEGF-responsive and ERG-dependent genes, and ERG chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq revealed the presence of conserved ERG-bound putative enhancer elements near these target genes. Functional experiments performed in vitro and in vivo confirm that this network of genes requires ERK, ERG and p300 activity. Finally, genome-editing and transgenic approaches demonstrate that a highly conserved ERG-bound enhancer located upstream of HLX (which encodes a transcription factor implicated in sprouting angiogenesis) is required for its VEGF-mediated induction. Collectively, these findings elucidate a novel transcriptional pathway contributing to VEGF-dependent angiogenesis.

In this paper, we study the uniqueness in the de Rham–Wu decomposition for pseudo-Riemannian manifolds.

We extend the Brander and Eaton (1984) model of product line rivalry to study the effects of asymmetry between firms on the equilibrium outcome. Our analysis shows that market interlacing can emerge as the equilibrium outcome even in situations where market segmentation would have been the only possible outcome had the firms been symmetric. We identify two strategic factors that lead to such an outcome.

In this paper, we get a class of homogeneous manifolds admitting Einstein Riemannian metrics. Moreover, we prove that they admit non-Riemannian Einstein–Randers metrics.

We investigate the relationship between venture capital (VC) networks and investment performance in China. Distinct features of China's VC networks are captured in our econometric model through the inclusion of an index of network stability and a dummy variable that indicates a VC firm's connections with the Chinese state. Our econometric analysis shows that a VC firm's position in its network, its network stability and close connections with the state all contribute to its investment performance. Comparison with the findings in Hochberg et al. (2007) indicates that networks are more important for investment performance in China than in the US. Moreover, our analysis suggests that familiarity with local culture and customs and understanding of the idiosyncrasies of China's markets and institutions are important for the success of a VC firm in China.

This paper analyzes the impact of product market competition on unemployment, wage and welfare in a model where unemployment is caused by the efficiency wage consideration and oligopolistic firms compete in quantity. It is shown that while more intense competition in the product market increases output and reduces price, it does not necessarily lead to a lower unemployment rate or a higher wage for workers. Depending on the technologies, the relationship between the intensity of competition and the level of employment (respectively, wage, welfare) is not always monotonic, and, in some instances, has an inverted U-shape. Resume Chomage et concurrence dans le marche du produit dans un modele a la Cournot en presence de salaires d'efficience. Ce texte analyse l'impact de la concurrence dans le marche du produit sur le chomage, le salaire et bien-etre dans un modele ou le chomage est cause par des considerations de salaires d'efficience et ou les firmes oligopolistiques se concurrencent par les quantites. On montre que meme si une concurrence plus intense dans le marche du produit accroit la production et reduit le prix, ceci n'entraine pas necessairement un taux de chomage plus bas ou un niveau de salaire plus eleve pour les travailleurs. Selon les technologies, la relation entre l'intensite de la concurrence et le niveau de l'emploi (respectivement, salaire, bien-etre) n'est pas toujours monotone, et parfois a la forme d'un U inverse.

Based on the representation theory and the study on the involutions of compact simple Lie groups, we show that \(F_4\) admits non-naturally reductive Einstein metrics.

This paper challenges the conventional academic view that international outsourcing is just another form of gainful trade. Contrary to that view, we show that labour-service outsourcing can reduce the high-wage country's welfare even when product-market trade is beneficial, within a model that combines involuntary unemployment and monopolistic competition. Outsourcing's impact on welfare is worsened by a definite loss of jobs and a possible contraction in the range of varieties produced worldwide. While owners of capital benefit from outsourcing under certain conditions, labour's welfare always falls. Resume Consequences de la sous-traitance internationale sur le chomage et le bien-etre en regime de concurrence monopolistique. Ce texte remet en question le point de vue conventionnel des universitaires pour qui la sous-traitance internationale n'est qu'une autre forme de commerce porteur de gains. En opposition a ce point de vue, on montre que la sous-traitance de services de travail peut reduire le niveau de bien-etre du pays a hauts salaires meme quand le commerce dans le marche des produits est benefique – dans un modele qui combine chomage involontaire et concurrence monopolistique. L'impact de la sous-traitance sur bien-etre est rempire par une perte d'emplois et une contraction possible de la variete de produits au plan mondial. Alors que les proprietaires de capital beneficient de la sous-traitance dans certaines conditions, le bien-etre du travail decline toujours.

To investigate the relationship between morphological changes in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), as measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and damage to the optic disc in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients.A total of 23 patients with POAG and 23 age- and gender-matched non-glaucomatous subjects were enrolled. Every patient had structural damage to the optic disc. Cup-to-disc ratio (CDR) and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) were measured, and 3.0-Tesla MRI examinations performed. Bilateral LGNs were identified and manually extracted, and their maximum heights and volumes compared with the clinical damage to the optic disc.In POAG patients, morphological changes in LGNs and RNFLT were consistently varied (P0.05), while a negative correlation between LGN measurements and CDR was observed (P0.05). LGN height was more significantly correlated with damage to the optic disc than was LGN volume. In contrast, no significant correlation was found between morphological changes in LGNs and age or optic disc parameters in the non-glaucomatous controls (P0.05).LGN atrophy in POAG patients was altered in a manner consistent with damage to the optic disc. Morphological changes in LGNs as measured by MRI and especially LGN maximum height may be useful ways to detect optic nerve neuropathy in glaucoma.

This paper provides theoretical support for the popular objection to offshoring, whereby firms at home employ services of labor located abroad. In the presence of unemployment, our analysis highlights welfare losses from offshoring—not only for the static case of a fixed stock of capital, but also for the dynamic one of optimal saving and investment. We compare these static and dynamic losses to the gains that would instead arise under full-employment conditions, assumed by most of the theoretical literature on offshoring. Our results suggest that public concerns over offshoring are justified when unemployment is taken explicitly into account.

The degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) has been identified as a major problem in glaucoma. Previous studies have indicated an association between annexin A1 (ANXA1) and neuronal cell apoptosis, and RGCs apoptosis in acute ischemia-reperfusion was attributed to an increased production of IL-1β. We found that the expression and nuclear translocation of ANXA1 were upregulated in models of acute ischemia-reperfusion in RGCs in vivo. ANXA1 was found to have a promoting effect on the expression of IL-1β in primary cultured RGCs, which could be inhibited by treatment with ANXA1 shRNA or the p65 inhibitor BAY 11-7082. ANXA1 interacted with p65, and recruited it into the nucleus. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that ANXA1 accumulated at the IL-1β gene promoter. The reduction of p65 nuclear translocation using a membrane-permeable ANXA1 peptide containing a Ser5Ala mutation led to a decrease in the expression of IL-1β, and acute ischemia-reperfusion induced RGCs apoptosis in vivo. These results indicate that in RGCs, ANXA1 increases IL-1β expression by recruiting p65 to the nucleus, which induces cell apoptosis. The obtained results may help the development of a novel treatment strategy against RGCs apoptosis in acute ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Gastric cancer is a common malignancy, and is one of the most frequent causes of cancer deaths worldwide. Recently, members of the transglutaminases (TGM) family, especially TGM2, have been implicated in the progression and drug resistance of cancers, but the function of TGM1 in cancer development has been largely overlooked. In this study, we demonstrate the roles of TGM1 in development of gastric cancer. We found that expression levels of TGM1 were upregulated in both gastric cancer tissues and cultured gastric cancer cells, and that TGM1 expression levels were correlated with patient survival. In cultured gastric cancer cells, loss of TGM1 expression inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis, as well increased gastric cancer cell sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs and reducing stemness. These results strongly supported the participation of TGM1 in the regulation of gastric cancer development. In addition, we found evidence that the mechanism of action of TGM1 in regulating gastric cancer cell might involve the Wnt signaling pathway, as loss of TGM1 expression in gastric cancer cells led to a significant suppression of Wnt signaling activities.

We investigated whether miRNAs in exosomes from EMT6 or 4THM tumor-bearing mice played a role in regulating inflammatory cytokine expression and/or metastasis in WT mice injected with EMT6 and/or 4THM tumor cells. EMT6 tumors in BALB/c CD200R1KO mice resolve following surgical resection of localized tumor and immunization with irradiated EMT6 cells along with CpG as adjuvant. Wild-type (WT) animals treated in the same fashion develop pulmonary and liver metastases within 20 days of surgery. DLNs from CD200R1KO mice contain no tumor cells detectable at limiting dilution. In contrast, 4THM tumor cells injected into CD200R1KO show increased metastasis compared with WT mice. Transfer of serum exosomes from 4THM tumor-bearing mice to WT animals increased metastasis of EMT6 tumors, an effect attenuated by anti-IL-6 antibody. We compared miRNA expression in exosomes from the serum of 4THM/EMT6 WT or CD200R1KO tumor-bearing mice, and the effects of antagomirs to miRNAs on tumor growth. Complex changes in miRNA expression were observed in the isolated exosomes. Some miRNAs, including miR155, have been reported to potentiate inflammatory responses and augment inflammatory cytokine expression. Expression of miR155 increased in exosomes from 4THM relative to EMT6 tumor bearers, and antagomirs to miR155 attenuated tumor growth and metastasis, and improved survival, following infusion into WT mice. Antagomirs to the miR205 family were thought to affect metastasis by targeting epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), increased growth and metastasis in both 4THM and EMT6 tumor-bearing mice, and decreased survival, with some modulation of inflammatory cytokine production. Multiple pathways are implicated in differential metastasis of EMT6/4THM, and targeting these may have clinical utility in human breast cancer.

In this paper, we study invariant Einstein metrics on Ledger-Obata spaces $F^m/\operatorname{diag}(F)$. In particular, we classify invariant Einstein metrics on $F^4/\operatorname{diag}(F)$ and estimate the number of invariant Einstein metrics on general Ledger-Obata spaces $F^{m}/\operatorname{diag}(F)$., Comment: 17 pages, comments are welcome

Left invariant flat metrics on Lie groups are revisited in terms of left-symmetric algebras which correspond to affine structures. There is a left-symmetric algebraic approach with an explicit formula to the classification theorem given by Milnor. When the positive definiteness of the metric is replaced by nondegeneracy, there are many more examples of left invariant flat pseudo-metrics, which play important roles in several fields in geometry and mathematical physics. We give certain explicit constructions of these structures. Their classification in low dimensions and some interesting examples in higher dimensions are also given.

This paper examines the impact of liberalizing the telecommunications services sector on investment and output in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries by estimating a system of four structural equations that takes into account the causal relationship between national income and telecommunications infrastructure. The degree of openness to trade in telecommunications is represented by a carefully constructed index that reflects a country's trade and investment policy in terms of market access, national treatment and regulatory principles. One interesting finding from the empirical analysis is that the effects of trade liberalization depend on the risk rating of a country. In countries with relatively high risk ratings liberalization reduces investment in telecommunications.

In this paper, we focus on pseudo-Riemannian associative fermionic Novikov algebras. We prove that the underlying Lie algebras of pseudo-Riemannian associative fermionic Novikov algebras are 2-step nilpotent and that pseudo-Riemannian associative fermionic Novikov algebras are 3-step nilpotent. Moreover, we construct a pseudo-Riemannian associative fermionic Novikov algebra in dimension 14, which is not a Novikov algebra. It implies that the inverse proposition of Corollary 2 in the paper "Pseudo-Riemannian Novikov algebras" [J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 41 (2008), 315207] does not hold.

We examine the contributions of the telecommunications infrastructure to economic growth in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies during the period from 1982 to 2003 using a modified version of the model developed by Roller and Waverman (2001). Our estimation results show that, consistent with Roller and Waverman (2001), telecommunication infrastructure has a significant effect on economic growth in the APEC region and that the inclusion of country fixed effects is important for obtaining a more reliable estimate of the growth effect. Moreover, the magnitude of the growth effect is inversely related to the level of telecommunications infrastructure in the APEC economies. While the marginal effect of an increase in telecommunications infrastructure in the APEC region is smaller than that in the OECD countries found in Roller and Waverman (2001), the total contribution of telecommunication infrastructure to economic growth is larger in the former than in the latter.

Expression of the molecule CD200 has been reported to increase allograft survival by suppression of inflammation and acquired immunity. In previous studies we have shown that increased skin and cardiac allograft survival in transgenic mice over-expressing CD200 (CD200(tg)) occurs in association with increased intra-graft expression of mRNAs for genes associated with altered T cell subset differentiation. We investigated changes in graft-infiltrating cells, Treg and mast cells in skin grafts post transplantation into control or CD200(tg) mice, using focused gene array and real-time PCR to assess altered gene expression, and FACS, immunohistology and MLC to determine numbers/function of those cells. Graft-infiltrating cells isolated from CD200(tg) recipients suppressed induction of CTL from control lymph node cells in vitro, and contained increased numbers of infiltrating, non-degranulating, mast cells and Foxp3(+)Treg. Mast cells were also evident in graft tissue of control animals, but there these cells showed evidence for degranulation, and fewer Foxp3(+)Treg were present than was the case of CD200(tg) mice. The infusion of a competitive inhibitor of CD200:CD200R interactions, CD200(tr), at high concentrations (50μg/mouse iv) caused rapid rejection of grafts in CD200(tg) mice, mast cell degranulation within graft tissue, and a decrease in Treg infiltrates. These effects were attenuated by simultaneous infusion of the mast cell stabilizer, sodium cromoglycate. We conclude that CD200 expression contributes to graft prolongation through local suppression of mast cell degranulation, attraction/expansion of Treg, and attenuation of T cell effector activation.

We have previously reported that transgenic overexpression of CD200 in either mouse skin graft donors or recipients significantly enhances skin allograft survival. By focused microarray analysis we showed this enhanced graft survival is associated with increased expression of Foxp3, GITR, CTLA-4 and CCR4 mRNA, all genes related to T(reg) cell induction/function, and of Gata3, IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and somewhat surprisingly, of T-bet, INF-γ and granzyme b. Gene-specific real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry analysis confirmed an increase in Foxp3(+) T(reg) cells in both the skin grafts and draining lymph nodes (DLNs) of CD200(tg) recipient mice at both 7/14 days post engraftment, as well as providing evidence for increased expression of the ligands for CCR4, CCL17 and CCL22 in both locations. Following lentivirus-mediated shRNA treatment of Dox-treated CD200(tg) mice to attenuate expression of CCR4 mRNA, the increased localization of T(reg) cells in skin/DLN of CD200(tg) recipients was abolished, and the enhanced graft survival similarly reversed. We conclude that enhanced CCR4 dependent migration of Foxp3(+) T(reg) to grafted tissue and DLNs is an essential step in the graft prolongation afforded by overexpression of CD200.

We study the efficiency losses of monopoly in a model where the firm¡¯s total cost of production decreases with the manager¡¯s effort to control cost. In contrast to the existing analyses of oligopolistic and monopolistically competitive markets that find an ambiguous relationship between competition intensity and managerial slack, we demonstrate that, under the same kind of cost condition, monopoly unambiguously reduces effort level and, in the case where ownership and control are separate, magnifies the effects of the moral hazard problem. Furthermore, under an alternative cost condition monopoly raises effort level rather than reducing it. In such a situation the separation of ownership and control may mitigate the productive inefficiency of monopoly.

The purpose of this paper is to study pseudo-Riemannian al- gebras, which are algebras with pseudo-Riemannian non-degenerate sym- metric bilinear forms. We flnd that pseudo-Riemannian algebras whose left centers are isotropic play a curial role and show that the decomposi- tion of pseudo-Riemannian algebras whose left centers are isotropic into indecomposable non-degenerate ideals is unique up to a special automor- phism. Furthermore, if the left center equals the center, the orthogonal decomposition of any pseudo-Riemannian algebra into indecomposable non-degenerate ideals is unique up to an isometry.