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Interference caused by wind power integration has aggravated peak load regulation difficulty of power systems, especially, for the negative peak load regulation capacity. The energy storage system (ESS) is regarded as a desirable alternative for peak load regulation due to its good properties in flexibility. In order to fully exploit the advantages of ESS in peak load regulation, an optimization model aiming at maximizing the negative peak load regulation capacity is proposed in this paper. The impact of wind power uncertainty and the assistance of participated ESS on the peak shaving are considered. Then, the optimal scheme of ESS is obtained which can reduce the negative peak load regulation pressure obviously. Finally, the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated with actual power system in North China.

Excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) take up the neurotransmitter glutamate from the synaptic cleft and maintain glutamate concentrations below neurotoxic levels. Recently, the crystal structures of thermostable EAAT1 variants have been reported; however, little is understood regarding the functional mechanism of the transmembrane domain (TM) 4b-4c loop, which contains more than 50 amino acids in mammalian EAATs that are absent in prokaryotic homologues. To explore the spatial position and function of TM4 during the transport cycle, we introduced pairwise cysteine substitutions between the TM4b-4c loop and TM8 in a cysteine-less version of EAAT1, CL-EAAT1. We observed pronounced inhibition of transport by Cu(II)(1,10-phenanthroline)3 (CuPh) for doubly substituted V238C/I469C and A243C/I469C variants, but not for corresponding singly substituted CL-EAAT1 or for more than 20 other double-cysteine variants. Dithiothreitol treatment partially restored the uptake activity of the CuPh-treated V238C/I469C ...

Background As the selective inhibitor of BRAF kinase, vemurafenib exhibits effective antitumor activities in patients with V600 BRAF mutant melanomas. However, acquired drug resistance invariably develops after its initial treatment. Methods Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression of iNOS and hTERT, p-p65, Epcam, CD44, PCNA in mice with melanoma xenografts. The proliferation and migration of melanoma cells were detected by MTT, tumorsphere culture, cell cycle, cell apoptosis, AO/EB assay and colony formation, transwell assay and scratch assay in vitro, and tumor growth differences were observed in xenograft nude mice. Changes in the expression of key molecules in the iNOS/hTERT signaling pathways were detected by western blot. Nucleus-cytoplasm separation, and immunofluorescence analyses were conducted to explore the location of p50/p65 in melanoma cell lines. Flow cytometry assay were performed to determine the expression of CD44. Pull down assay and ChIP assay were performed to detect the binding ability of p65 at iNOS and hTERT promoters. Additionally, hTERT promoter-driven luciferase plasmids were transfected in to melanoma cells with indicated treatment to determine luciferase activity of hTERT. Results Melatonin significantly and synergistically enhanced vemurafenib-mediated inhibitions of proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion and promoted vemurafenib-induced apoptosis, cell cycle arresting and stemness weakening in melanoma cells. Further mechanism study revealed that melatonin enhanced the antitumor effect of vemurafenib by abrogating nucleus translocation of NF-κB p50/p65 and their binding at iNOS and hTERT promoters, thereby suppressing the expression of iNOS and hTERT. The elevated anti-tumor capacity of vemurafenib upon co-treatment with melatonin was also evaluated and confirmed in mice with melanoma xenografts. Conclusions Collectively, our results demonstrate melatonin synergizes the antitumor effect of vemurafenib in human melanoma by inhibiting cell proliferation and cancer-stem cell traits via targeting NF-κB/iNOS/hTERT signaling pathway, and suggest the potential of melatonin in antagonizing the toxicity of vemurafenib and augmenting its sensitivities in melanoma treatment. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-019-1036-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Parkinson's disease (PD) features the degeneration and death of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the formation of Lewy bodies that contain α-synuclein. Among the numerous PD etiologies, glutamate excitotoxicity is a research hot spot, and glutamate transporters play key roles in this theory. It has been shown that the expression of the glutamate transporter is regulated by microRNAs. In this study, we found that the levels of expression and function of glutamate transporter type 1 (GLT-1) were significantly reduced and miR-543-3p was upregulated during the development of PD. Furthermore, our results indicated that GLT-1 plays an important role in the pathomechanism of PD. We found that miR-543-3p can suppress the expression and function of GLT-1 in MPP+-treated astrocytes and MPTP-treated mice. Inhibition of miR-543-3p can rescue the expression and function of GLT-1 and relieve dyskinesia in the PD model, which suggests that inhibition of miR-543-3p could serve as a potential therapeutic target for PD.

During comprehension, language users not only immediately integrate information from local sentence context, but also information from global discourse context for full understanding. In the present study, we examined whether the time course of these integration processes is constrained by language users' working memory capacity. Sentence and discourse stimuli were constructed. For the sentence stimuli, each sentence contained a critical word that was either congruent or incongruent with its preceding sentence context. For the discourse stimuli, each discourse contained four sentences with a target word embedded at the final sentence and the target word was either congruent or incongruent with the information provided at the first sentence of the discourse. Participants of high and low working memory span were instructed to read for comprehension. Our results showed that while the high span readers showed the N400 and P600 effects to semantically incongruent words, the low span readers only showed the P600 effect. This pattern was found regardless of whether the incongruent words were placed at sentence or discourse context. These results suggest that the low span readers are relatively delayed than the high span ones at both sentence- and discourse-level semantic integration and indicate that working memory functions have greater influence than context scope on the time course of semantic integration.

Figure S1. Melatonin enhanced the inhibition of cell proliferation by vemurafenib. (A). BRAF V600E, p-ERK and ERK was respectively detected by Western blot assay in melanoma cells (A375, SK-mel-28, G361 and A431). (B). ABCG2 was respectively detected by Western blot assay in A375 and A375R cells. (C). Human melanoma cells (A375R) were treated with the increasing doses of vemurafenib (VE), melatonin (MT) alone or their combination for 48 h, and the cell viability was examined by MTT assay. (D). The IC50 values of vemurafenib (VE) for cell viability inhibition in A375R cells treated with or without melatonin (MT) were determined. Figure S2. Melatonin enhanced the inhibition of cell migration and invasion by vemurafenib (A). Cell migration was analyzed by a scratch assay. A375R cells were treated with vemurafenib (VE) (4 μM), melatonin (MT) (1.0 mM) or their combination. After 36 h, the wound gap was observed and photographed, and the distance of migration cells were calculated relative to the original gap. (B). Cell invasion was analyzed by a transwell assay in A375R cells with different treatment. The invaded cells were stained and observed, and the number of the invasion cells was presented. The data is presented as mean ± SD of three separate experiments, *P

College physics course based on online teaching system can make the boring theoretical derivation process more intuitive and convenient with the help of the unique characteristics of multimedia technology and tools, so that students’ learning efficiency can be significantly improved, so it has high research value. Based on this, this paper first analyses the current situation and existing problems of college physics course teaching, then studies the necessity of constructing college physics online teaching platform, and finally gives the construction strategy of college physics online teaching system based on the construction of curriculum group.

With the continuous development of computer information technology, the DISLab system based on computer technology can effectively transform many abstract physical measurement parameters in college physics teaching into physical quantities that can be measured in real time with the help of computers, sensors and other software and hardware equipment, so it has been more and more widely studied and applied in physical experiments. Based on this, this paper first analyzes the application status and problems of DISLab device in college physics experiment teaching, then studies the necessity of DISLab in college physics experiment teaching, and finally analyzes the relationship between computer DISLab device and college physics experiment teaching.

Motivated by the "self-seeding" of the cancer cells, the EPR-independent nanoparticles (NPs)-based therapeutic strategy have been explored to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis in this paper, the mechanism of anti-metastasis of the NPs was also evaluated. We firstly have established an aggressive whole-body spreading orthotopic LM3 tumour model closing to actual cases of human patients and the synthesized Trojan Horse-like amphiphilic nanobowls have been engineered with dual drugs with completely different pharmacokinetic profiles for cancer cell-mediated anti-metastasis therapy. These Trojan Horse-like nanobowls can serve as dual-drug delivery depots for site-specific pH/NIR dual-stimuli drug release with effectively suppressed primary tumor growth and metastases. Furthermore, the multi-mode UCL/MR/CT imaging is competent for providing comprehensive and valuable information for evaluating and adjusting the treatment. The employ of cancer cell-mediated anti-metastasis therapeutic strategy delivering drugs into metastatic cells to defeat tumor metastases provides directions in the fields of anti-metastasis therapy.

High mobility group box1 (HMGB1) promotes inflammatory injury, and accumulating evidence suggests that it plays a key role in brain ischemia reperfusion (I/R), as well as the development of diabetes mellitus (DM). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether HMGB1 plays a role in brain I/R in a DM mouse model. Diabetes mellitus was induced by a high-calorie diet and streptozotocin treatment, and cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion. We examined HMGB1 levels following cerebral I/R injury in DM and non-DM mice and evaluated the influence of altered HMGB1 levels on the severity of cerebral injury. Serum HMGB1 levels and the inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6, and inflammation-related enzyme iNOS were significantly elevated in DM mice with brain I/R compared with non-DM mice with brain I/R. Blocking HMGB1 function by intraperitoneal injection of anti-HMGB1 neutralizing antibodies reversed the inflammatory response and the extent of brain damage, suggesting that HMGB1 plays an important role in cerebral ischemic stroke in diabetic mice.

A novel “coupling agent” N-(4-amino-phenyl)-2-methyl-acrylamide (APMA) was synthesized to efficiently enhance interfacial interactions between the carbon fiber (CFs) and vinyl ester resin (VE). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to characterize functional groups and chemical compositions of a carbon fiber surface, which indicated that the vinyl groups of APMA were grafted successfully on the surface of the CFs. Four different treatments of CFs (pristine CFs, carboxylic-CFs, acrylamide-CFs and APMA-CFs) were used to prepare the CF-reinforced VE composites. The mechanical properties were analysed and a micro-droplet test was performed to investigate the enhancement effect of the coupling agent on the interfacial strength of the composites. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that APMA-CFs were uniformly distributed throughout the matrix, and no open ring holes were found at the cross-section of the composites; furthermore, after micro-droplet test, some matrix was still attached to the debonded CF surface. As a result, APMA functionalized CFs improved the flexural strength of the APMA-CF/VE composites by 19.4%, and significantly improved the interfacial shear strength between APMA-CFs and VE by 90.53%.

Why do some state-owned enterprises (SOEs) embrace innovations during economic transitions, when institutional logics move from state socialism to market capitalism? The rise of a market capitalism...

The background and foundation of applying big data analysis to mobile communication network planning is precisely the current rapid growth of network data and the update and development of big data technology. With the help of big data analysis tools, based on the current communication network, planning goals, it can be more comprehensive Analyze and explore the value perception and behavior trajectory of network users, etc., so as to determine the market demand trend, formulate a more scientific and reasonable planning program. In short, the purpose of the application of big data in communication network, planning is to promote the healthy development of the network. The cellular wireless positioning algorithm that realizes TDOA positioning technology by using big data is a relatively important technology, which is studied in this paper.

Wave-front measurement based on coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) is a promising method for measuring wave-front aberrations, which has wide applications ranging from optical testing to adaptive optics. This study proposes a single-shot multi-planar wave-front measurement with multi-focal Fibonacci sieves to reconstruct the wave-front distribution of small transmissive objects. A Fibonacci sieve was designed to simultaneously capture multi-planar diffraction patterns at a single recording plane; thus, a multi-planar CDI algorithm can be used to reconstruct the test wave-front by a set of extracted sub-graphs. Its feasibility was proved in the optical region experimentally. Since diffractive optical elements used in the experiment are amplitude-only elements, the proposed wave-front measurement method opens up the possibility of practical real-time and on-line wave-front measurement ranging from x rays to terahertz.

Co-delivery of hydrophilic/hydrophobic drugs in separate rooms and bimodal triggered drugs release from independent channels without mutual effect, coupled with multi-mode imaging are vitally significative for overcoming drug resistance and enhancing the therapeutic effects. Herein, we report the polydopamine@upconversion nanoparticle@mesoporous silica yolk-shell nanoparticles (PDA@UCNP@mSiO2 NPs) to simultaneously load the hydrophilic doxorubicin (DOX) and hydrophobic hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) in their distinct domains for combinational chemotherapy. The oleic acid-coated UCNPs attaching onto the surface of polydopamine (PDA) exhibited the multi-mode upconversion luminescence (UCL)/computed tomography (CT)/magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and the hydrophobic environment held great ability for storage of the hydrophobic HCPT. While the mSiO2 shell was used for loading the hydrophilic DOX and ensuring the good water dispersibility of the NPs. Additionally, the NPs with near-infrared (NIR) excitation possessed an efficient photothermal efficiency of 31.1% achieving through the PDA. In a word, the resulted NPs were successfully employed for multi-mode imaging-guided synergistic dual drug chemo-photothermal therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Phase-shifting digital holography (PSDH) is considered as a promising imaging technique with wide application in optical storage, topography measurement and defect detection. The amplitude-only vortex lens is a kind of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) which can be used for focusing and imaging in a wide spectral region, such as coherent X-rays and terahertz wave. Here four-step PSDH with an amplitude-only vortex lens is proposed. Four frames of hologram can be recorded by rotating the vortex lens installed in the reference beam path. Both a 1951 U.S. air force resolution test target and a vortex focal spot are measured by four-step PSDH with vortex lens. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis and verify the validity of our proposed PSDH with vortex lens.

Wavefront curvature sensing is considered a promising method for measuring wavefront aberrations, which has widespread applications ranging from adaptive optics to optical testing. Here, a single-shot curvature sensing with a noncoaxial Fibonacci-sieve filter in the telescope was proposed to reconstruct the wavefront distribution of tiny transmissive objects fabricated on a chrome plate. A noncoaxial Fibonacci-sieve filter in the telescope was designed to realize simultaneously triplanar diffraction patterns at a recording plane; thus, the wavefront can be quantitatively retrieved by a single exposure. A trifocal Fibonacci sieve was fabricated, and its feasibility was verified in the optical region experimentally. With the advantages of simple operation in real-time and reducing the effects of vibration, this method makes it possible to be applied to various imaging and detection techniques, especially for biological imaging and wavefront detection.Wavefront curvature sensing is considered a promising method for measuring wavefront aberrations, which has widespread applications ranging from adaptive optics to optical testing. Here, a single-shot curvature sensing with a noncoaxial Fibonacci-sieve filter in the telescope was proposed to reconstruct the wavefront distribution of tiny transmissive objects fabricated on a chrome plate. A noncoaxial Fibonacci-sieve filter in the telescope was designed to realize simultaneously triplanar diffraction patterns at a recording plane; thus, the wavefront can be quantitatively retrieved by a single exposure. A trifocal Fibonacci sieve was fabricated, and its feasibility was verified in the optical region experimentally. With the advantages of simple operation in real-time and reducing the effects of vibration, this method makes it possible to be applied to various imaging and detection techniques, especially for biological imaging and wavefront detection.

We conducted a meta-analysis of 78 task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies (1976 total participants) to reveal underlying brain activations and their overlap with large-scale neural networks in the brain during general discourse comprehension and its sub-processes. We found that discourse comprehension involved a neural system consisting of widely distributed brain regions that comprised not only the bilateral perisylvian language zones, but also regions in the superior and medial frontal cortex and the medial temporal lobe. Moreover, this neural system can be categorized into several sub-systems representing various sub-processes of discourse comprehension, with the left inferior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus serving as core regions across all sub-processes. At a large-scale network level, we found that discourse comprehension relied most heavily on the default network, particularly on its dorsal medial subsystem. The pattern associated with large-scale network cooperation varied according to the respective sub-processes required. Our results reveal the functional dissociation within the discourse comprehension neural system and highlight the flexible involvements of large-scale networks.

Curcumin is a conventional Chinese medicine, which exerts a marked effect on various tumor types and suppresses tumor invasion. The present study analyzed the antineoplastic effects of curcumin on human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells and determined the effects of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress on curcumin‑induced cytotoxicity. The Cell Counting Kit‑8 assay examined the viability of SUNE1 and SUNE2 NPC cells. The Annexin V/propidium iodide staining technique was used to detect cell apoptosis and flow cytometry was used to examine cell cycle distribution. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to detect ER stress‑associated molecules. Furthermore, the toxic effects of curcumin treatment alongside glucose‑regulated protein 78 (GRP78) knockdown using small interfering (si)RNA, and treatment with the pan‑caspase inhibitor Z‑VAD‑FMK and the protein kinase B (AKT) inhibitor MK‑2206 were detected. The results demonstrated that curcumin markedly reduced cell viability, blocked cell cycle progression and induced apoptosis of human NPC cells. In addition, curcumin activated ER stress‑associated proteins to participate in the apoptosis of human NPC cells. siRNA‑induced knockdown of GRP78 may be able to strengthen the toxic effects of curcumin through mediating the AKT signaling pathway. These findings indicated that downregulation of GRP78 promoted the therapeutic effects of curcumin on NPC cells. The present study identified a potential, novel therapeutic method for the treatment of NPC.

Evidence suggests that oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease (PD). Simvastatin has been suggested to protect against oxidative stress in several diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms by which simvastatin protects against neuropathology and oxidative damage in PD are poorly elucidated. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential neuroprotective effects of simvastatin owing to its anti-oxidative properties in 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-treated SH-SY5Y cells and mice. The results of 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) fluorescence and CCK-8 assay demonstrated that simvastatin reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and reversed apoptosis in 6-OHDA-treated SH-SY5Y cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that 6-OHDA-induced activation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was inhibited and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) nuclear transcription decreased in SH-SY5Y cells after simvastatin treatment. Enhanced expression levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit (GCLM) were observed after simvastatin treatment in 6-OHDA-treated SH-SY5Y cells. In vivo studies revealed that administration of simvastatin by gavage decreased limb-use asymmetry and apomorphine-induced rotations in 6-OHDA-lesioned mice. Simvastatin increased dopaminergic neurons and reduced protein tyrosine nitration and gliosis in the midbrain of PD mice. An inhibitory effect on activation of the NADPH oxidase/p38 MAPK was observed, and increased antioxidant protein expression in the midbrain were seen in the simvastatin plus 6-OHDA group compared with the 6-OHDA-lesioned group. Taken together, these results demonstrate that simvastatin might inhibit the activation of NADPH oxidase/p38 MAPK pathway, enhance antioxidant protein expression and protect against oxidative stress, thereby providing a novel antioxidant mechanism that has therapeutic validity.

According to the Ministry of Commerce statistics, in 2014 and 2015, actually utilized investment to China from Oceania was 18.92 billion and 24.43 billion. Actually utilized investment to China from Australia was 23853 ten thousand in 2014 and 30689 ten thousand in 2015.

Domestic and overseas scholars defined urban competitiveness from different angles. Urban competitiveness is an ability that a city can produce and sale better products than other cities. The main purpose of improvement of urban competitiveness is to improve the living standard of the city residents. There are four factors to evaluate competitiveness. They are economic structure, regional endowment, human resources and system environment.

In the field of investment, it transformed from trade oriented into production process and resource-based development, Investment fields were related to many aspects of trade, for example, production and processing, resource development, transportation, agriculture, agricultural comprehensive development, and so on; Many Chinese companies actively seek cooperation opportunities in new areas of construction, electricity, transportation, oil, communications, etc. On the scale of investment, according to Commerce Department statistics, China invested Africa a total of $29.78 billion and 32.02 billion in the year of 2014 and 2015.

In the process of China’s “go-out strategy”, China continue to increase foreign investment. The Middle East, central Asia, Africa are the main investment districts, because South America is distant, the investment to there is comparatively less than other place. However, in recent years, China has put more strength to South America. The investment to the South American market has been significantly increased; Greely group, Geely automobile, etc. have been entering to the market of the South America.

According to the China Statistical Yearbook, from 2001 to 2003, the amount of the Germany investment in China was 1.22 billion dollars, 0.93 billion dollars and 0.85 billion dollars. It kept rising from 2001 to 2006, and there was a temporary drop in 2007. In 2008 it went up again. After several years’ constant adjustment, it had slight fluctuation, but the general trend was spiral rise.

This book focus on investing in Mainland China and investment abroad from Mainland China. The foreign investment in China started in 1979 from the first Sino-foreign joint ventures called Beijing Aviation Food Co., LTD. Since then, the foreign direct investment in China developed in a dramatic speed. Since 1993, China has become the largest developing country in the world to attract foreign direct investment (FDI for short), and in 2002 it surpassed the United States as the world’s first foreign direct investment host. At end of 2015, China has approved a total of 838,087 foreign investment projects, and the amount of actual utilization of foreign capital has accumulated to 1479.401 billion dollars.

In November 1979, The Friendship Commercial Services Corporation of Beijing jointed with WanYi Itochu Corporation and established JingHe company in Tokyo limited by the shares. The main business scope of the enterprise was introducing technologies and equipment for the Beijing food industrial. It was the first overseas joint venture after China adopted a policy of reform to open up the economy.

The Chinese government has launched a series of policies and measures to support foreign projects contracting and foreign investments, even set up a Foreign Economic Cooperation Fund to support enterprises to explore the international markets.

The first stage (2000–2005), Japan’s investment in mainland China ushered in a new development stage of synchronous growth with the world’s investment in mainland China. The total contract amount reached $3.68 billion in 2000. In 2001, the growth rate of Japanese companies’ investment in mainland China far exceeded that of the world’s investment in mainland China, the total contract amount and the total use amount both accounted for more than 40%. In 2002, its investment in mainland China continued to show growth momentum, and Japanese companies accelerated in transferring its production bases to China, as China was increasingly becoming a global production base after joined the WTO. Annual report by Japan External Trade Organization noted that the main reason for a substantial increase of Japan’s investment in China in the second half of 2005 was that Japanese automobile manufacturers began to invest in China by a large-scale. Simultaneously, Japanese electronics manufacturers started to expand investment, increasing the supply of electronic products in China’s market. In addition, Japan’s investment of chemical pharmaceutical, finance and insurance, wholesale and retail, machinery and other industries in China surpassed $254 million.

This chapter is divided into 4 parts to introduce the past and present condition of provincial industries in the eastern, central, western and northeastern provinces in Mainland China.

China’s investment activities in Australia began in the 1980s. Compared to the traditional investors for Australia such as United States, Britain and Japan, China started relatively late.

According to the “Statistical Bulletin of China’s Foreign Direct Investment”, published by Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, National bureau of Statistics of China and State Administration of Foreign Exchange, in 2013, China’s FDI flowed to the European Union reached $4.524 billion, decreased by 2.8% compared to the previous years; accounting for 4.2% of its total FDI flows and 76% of its FDI flowed to Europe. By the end of 2013, China’s FDI stock in the European Union had reached $40.097 billion, accounting for 6.1% of the total and 75.4% of its FDI stock in Europe. By the end of 2013, China had established almost 2000 FDI enterprises in the European Union, and the enterprises had spread in 28 member countries and hired 47,000 local employees.

Memory deficiency is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), and conventionally, α-synuclein is considered to be an important biomarker for both motor and cognitive characteristics attributed to PD. However, the role of physiological α-synuclein in cognitive impairment remains undetermined. Ginsenoside Rb1 has been shown to protect dopaminergic neurons (DA) from death and inhibit α-synuclein fibrillation and toxicity in vitro. Our recent study also revealed that ginsenoside Rb1 ameliorates motor deficits and prevents DA neuron death via upregulating glutamate transporter GLT-1 in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of PD. Whether Rb1 can improve memory deficiency and the underlying mechanism is still unknown. In this study, we found that Rb1 can prevent the spatial learning and memory deficits, increase long-term potentiation (LTP) and hippocampal glutamatergic transmission, and protect hippocampal neurons from death in the MPTP mouse model. The underlying neuroprotective mechanism involves Rb1 improving hippocampal CA3 α-synuclein expression, restoring the glutamate in the CA3-schaffer collateral-CA1 pathway, and sequentially increasing postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95) expression. Thus, we provide evidence that Rb1 modulates memory function, synaptic plasticity, and excitatory transmission via the trans-synaptic α-synuclein/PSD-95 pathway. Our findings suggest that Rb1 may serve as a functional drug in treating the memory deficiency in PD. Funding Statement: This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81870991 and U1603281 to SQ, No. 81704130 to YZ), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China (No. 2017J05139 to YZ), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (No. 2017A030310643 to YZ), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2016M590598 to YZ). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: All experiments were conducted according to the National Institute of Health guidelines on the care and use of animals (NIH Publications No. 8023, revised 1978) and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Guangzhou Medical University.

Africa directly invested 101,826 ten thousands in 2014 and 58,507 ten thousands in 2015. The mutual investment between China and Africa was relatively unbalanced.

The changes of Chinese policies on foreign capital began from the Convention of the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in December 1978. In this session, the central government decided to shift the focus of the work from political movement to the economic development, to reform and open up, and to accelerate the pace of socialist modernization. Since 1978, the process of FDI encouragement policies of China have been consistent with the reform and opening up. It’s an important part of China’s economic system reformation. The FDI encouragement policy in China can be summarized into two aspects, namely, FDI regional policies and FDI industrial policies, which will be represented in detail in the following two sections.

In the past 10 years, China’s direct investment in North America showed a rising trend. The investment area gradually expands and the investment industries increased diversely. Mergers and acquisitions in North America were more active than other regions.

From the year 2001 to 2002, the United States Investment in China experienced dramatic expansion. And the direct investment decreased since 2003. In 2003, the amount was 4.198 billion dollars, which dropped 22.59% compared with 2002. In 2004, it decreased 3.941 billion dollars, which fell 6.13% year-on-year. And in 2005, it reduced to 3.061 billion dollars, which fell 22.33% again. It decreased 2.363 billion dollars compared with the 5.434 billion dollars in 2002 which decreased nearly a half. In the end of 2004, the actual investment amount of the United States surpassed 48 billion dollars which occupied 8.5% of the national foreign investment amount. From 2007 to 2014, the United States investment amount went up a little in the trend of decrease. In 2013, the investment amount was 2.82 billion dollars which increased 8.5% than 2012. But in 2014, the investment amount fell again.

Aims. This article performed a retrospective cohort study to estimate the annual incidence rates of diabetes and to assess the utility of HbA1c as a predictor for progression to diabetes in Chinese community adults aged 40 years or older. Methods. In all, 2778 nondiabetic subjects (including 1901 women) underwent HbA1c testing and oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) measurements at baseline and after 3 years. Diabetes and prediabetes were defined using the WHO criteria. The HbA1c cutoff points were evaluated to predict the future risks of diabetes. Relative risk (RR) was calculated using the chi-square test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the predictive efficiency of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 hr postprandial plasma glucose (2hPG), and HbA1c for progression to diabetes. A superior cutoff point was defined as the point on the ROC curve with a larger Youden index. Results. Overall, 7.5% (210/2778) of the subjects progressed to diabetes, yielding an annual 2.5% diabetes incidence rate. Additionally, 4.5% (100/2227) of the subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and 19.6% (110/561) of the subjects with prediabetes progressed to diabetes, and the relative risk of progression to diabetes was 5.188 times higher in subjects with prediabetes than in subjects with NGT (p<0.001). Compared to subjects with HbA1c values ≤ 5.6%, the RRs of progression to diabetes in subjects whose HbA1c ranged from 5.7 to 5.8%, 5.9 to 6.2%, 6.3 to 6.4%, and ≥6.5% were 1.165, 2.582, 5.732, and 16.619, respectively. However, the RRs for subjects with HbA1c ranging from 5.7 to 5.8% and those with HbA1c ≤ 5.6% did not differ significantly (p=0.615). The AUCs for predicting diabetes after 3 years by FPG, 2hPG, and HbA1c were 0.752 (95% confidence interval 0.718–0.787), 0.710 (95% confidence interval 0.671–0.748), and 0.756 (95% confidence interval 0.720–0.793), respectively. The HbA1c cutoff point of 5.9% (sensitivity of 0.771 and specificity of 0.580) may better identify individuals at high risk of progression to diabetes than the 5.7% value (sensitivity of 0.862 and specificity of 0.371) due to the former’s larger Youden index of 0.351, which exceeded the indices for FPG and 2hPG. Conclusions. The use of HbA1c values ≥ 5.9% may provide greater accuracy in evaluating the risk of progression to diabetes and identify individuals with prediabetes with greater reliability among Chinese adults.

In this paper, we prepared and characterized nanocomposites of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) containing hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanofiller from 1 to 5 wt%. Using various techniques, we studied the friction and wear properties, thermal conductivity, morphology, and mechanical and thermomechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Adding h-BN nanoparticles to the PEEK improved the properties of the resulting nanocomposites. At 5 wt% h-BN content, it exhibited optimum improvement of friction and wear properties, thermal conductivity, hardness, and storage modulus. Thus, we demonstrated that PEEK nanocomposites reinforced with h-BN have a great potential as multifunctional materials for future industrial applications.

Poly (methyl methacrylate-co-maleic anhydride) copolymer was synthesized through the solution polymerization on the different conditions. The samples were characterized by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the relationship between reaction temperature with the content of maleic anhydride (MAH) in the copolymer was investigated by the aid of titration method. It founded that the maleic anhydride content in P(MMA-co-MAH) copolymer was increased with the higher reaction temperature, but the maleic anhydride content in P(MMA-co-MAH) copolymer would increase a lesser degree when the temperature climbed well above 100 °C. Thermal gravity analysis (TGA) tests showed that the resultant copolymer displayed the better thermostability, and using the Ozawa and Kissinger equations to research the degradation kinetics of P(MMA-co-MAH) copolymer. The results showed that the thermostability of copolymer was affected by both the reaction temperature and the rate of charge of maleic anhydride together, and the content of maleic anhydride in copolymer played a significant important role in influencing the thermostability of P(MMA-co-MAH) copolymer.

Excitatory amino acid transporter 2, also known as glial glutamate transporter type 1 (GLT-1), plays an important role in maintaining suitable synaptic glutamate concentrations. Reentrant helical hairpin loop (HP) 2, as the extracellular gate, has been shown to participate in the binding of substrate and ions. Several residues in transmembrane domain (TM) 5 have been shown to be involved in the construction of the transport pathway. However, the spatial relationship between HP2 and TM5 during the recycling of glutamate has not yet been clarified. We introduced cysteine residue pairs in HP2 and TM5 of cysteine-less-GLT-1 by using site-directed mutagenesis in order to assess the proximity of HP2 and TM5. A significant decrease in substrate uptake was seen in the I283C/S443C and S287C/S443C mutants when the oxidative cross-linking agent copper(II) (1,10-phenanthroline)3 (CuPh) was used. The inhibitory effect of CuPh on the transport activity of the S287/S443C mutant was increased after the application of glutamate or potassium. In contrast, an apparent protection of the transport activity of the I283C/S443C mutant was observed after glutamate or potassium addition. The membrane-impermeable sulfhydryl reagent (2-trimethylammonium) methanethiosulfonate (MTSET) was used to detect the aqueous permeability of each single mutant. The aqueous permeability of the I283C mutant was identical to that of the S443C mutant. The sensitivity of I283C and S443C to MTSET was attenuated by glutamate and potassium. All these data indicate that there is a complex relative motion between TM5 and HP2 during the transport cycle.

Poly(ether ether ketone)/graphene/carbon fiber (PEEK/GE/CF) laminates with different weight percentages of GE were manufactured successfully through ball milling and hot-press processing. The effect of the GE on the morphology, thermal conductivity, friction performance, thermal and mechanical properties of composites was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the GE was uniformly distributed in matrix-rich regions. Thermal conductivity measurements demonstrated that addition of 0.7 wt% GE sharply improved the thermal conductivity of the laminates. Tribological tests revealed that the friction coefficient and wear rate rapidly decreased with the addition of GE. In the studied range, the friction reduction and wear resistance performance of PEEK/CF composites filled with 0.7 wt% GE is the most effective. Meanwhile, the obtained PEEK/GE/CF laminates also possessed excellent mechanical and thermal properties. Thus, graphene-reinforced PEEK/CF composites possessed better overall properties than conventional PEEK/CF composites.

The association of blood glucose [including fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-h postload blood glucose, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)] with the risk of a mild decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in healthy subjects was unclear. The aim of the study was to investigate this association in middle-aged and elderly healthy Chinese. The study included 1,112 healthy Chinese who were ≥40 years old, and all the subjects were divided into two groups based on FBG value of 5.6 mmol/L. A mildly reduced eGFR was defined as 60–90 mL/min/1.73 m2. Multiple linear or logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association of blood glucose with eGFR and the risk of a mildly reduced eGFR, respectively. A generalized additive model was used to explore a possible nonlinear relationship between FBG and eGFR. FBG was significantly associated with decreased eGFR and increased risk of a mildly reduced eGFR independent of age, gender, body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting insulin, smoking, and drinking. Additionally, FBG and eGFR showed a nonlinear association (P